Publications

Burger D., Bauke S., Schneider F., Kappenberg A., Gocke M. (2024). Root-derived carbon stocks in formerly deep-ploughed soils – A biomarker-based approach. Organic Geochemistry, 190(), 104756. doi:10.1016/j.orggeochem.2024.104756

Roots can add significant amounts of carbon (C) to the subsoil, which improves soil physical properties and can mitigate climate change. About 5% of croplands in Germany have been deep-ploughed (30–120 cm) at least once. This can provide better root access to the subsoil and may increase yields, but…

Bauke S., Seidel S., Athmann M., Berns A., Braun M., Gocke M., Guigue J., Kautz T., Kögel-Knabner I., Ohan J., Rillig M., Schloter M., Schmittmann O., Schulz S., Uhlig D., Schnepf A., Amelung W. (2024). Short-term effects of subsoil management by strip-wise loosening and incorporation of organic material. Soil and Tillage Research, 236(), 105936. doi:10.1016/j.still.2023.105936

Agricultural production in Central Europe increasingly suffers from extreme drought events. Improving root access to nutrient and water resources in the subsoil below the plow layer is a potential option to maintain productivity during dry summers. Here, we tested a strip-wise subsoil amelioration m…

Burger D., Schneider F., Bauke S., Kautz T., Don A., Amelung W. (2023.0). Fifty years after deep‐ploughing: effects on yield, roots, nutrient stocks and soil structure. European Journal of Soil Science, (), . doi:10.1111/ejss.13426

Selzner T., Horn J., Landl M., Pohlmeier A., Helmrich D., Huber K., Vanderborght J., Vereecken H., Behnke S., Schnepf A. (2023.0). 3D U-Net Segmentation Improves Root System Reconstruction from 3D MRI Images in Automated and Manual Virtual Reality Work Flows. Plant Phenomics, 5(), . doi:10.34133/plantphenomics.0076

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used to image root systems grown in opaque soil. However, reconstruction of root system architecture (RSA) from 3-dimensional (3D) MRI images is challenging. Low resolution and poor contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs) hinder automated reconstruction. Hence, manual rec…

Schmittmann O., Lammers P. (2023.0). Assessing Subsoil Conditions with an ASABE Conform Vertical Penetrometer—Development and Evaluation. Sensors, 23(3), 1306. doi:10.3390/s23031306

Soil is the habitat for soil organisms and associated soil physical and chemical processes. The subsoil is a large reserve of water and nutrients. Soil and subsoil are thus significantly involved in the yield capacity of a site and its resilience in the case of unfavorable weather conditions. Subsoi…

Burger D., Bauke S., Amelung W., Sommer M. (2023.0). Fast agricultural topsoil re-formation after complete topsoil loss – Evidence from a unique historical field experiment. Geoderma, 434(), 116492. doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2023.116492

Erosion of fertile topsoil means severe land degradation and yield loss. Here, we show that reformation of the fertile topsoil and crop yield increase is possible by good agricultural management within a few decades. Evidence relies on a unique long-term field experiment in NE Germany, where in 1964…

Gocke M., Guigue J., Bauke S., Barkusky D., Baumecker M., Berns A., Hobley E., Honermeier B., Kögel-Knabner I., Koszinski S., Sandhage-Hofmann A., Schmidhalter U., Schneider F., Schweitzer K., Seidel S., Siebert S., Skadell L., Sommer M., von Tucher S., Don A., Amelung W. (2023.0). Interactive effects of agricultural management on soil organic carbon accrual: A synthesis of long-term field experiments in Germany. Geoderma, 438(), 116616. doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2023.116616

Crop production often leads to soil organic carbon (SOC) losses. However, under good management practice it is possible to maintain and even re-accumulate SOC. We evaluated how different cropland management techniques affected SOC stocks in the topsoil (0-30 cm depth) of 10 long-term experiments (LT…

Uhlig D., Berns A., Wu B., Amelung W. (2023.0). Mean nutrient uptake depths of cereal crops change with compost incorporation into subsoil – evidence from 87Sr/86Sr ratios. Plant and Soil, 489(1-2), 613-628. doi:10.1007/s11104-023-06047-x

Abstract    Background and Aims Root restricting layers often hinder crops from accessing the large reservoir of bioavailable mineral nutrients situated in subsoil. This study aims to explore changes in the mean nutrient uptake depth of cereal crops when removing root restricting layers through subs…

Lopez G., Ahmadi S., Amelung W., Athmann M., Ewert F., Gaiser T., Gocke M., Kautz T., Postma J., Rachmilevitch S., Schaaf G., Schnepf A., Stoschus A., Watt M., Yu P., Seidel S. (2023.0). Nutrient deficiency effects on root architecture and root-to-shoot ratio in arable crops. Frontiers in Plant Science, 13(), . doi:10.3389/fpls.2022.1067498

Plant root traits play a crucial role in resource acquisition and crop performance when soil nutrient availability is low. However, the respective trait responses are complex, particularly at the field scale, and poorly understood due to difficulties in root phenotyping monitoring, inaccurate sampli…

Secco D., Bassegio D., de Marins A., Chang P., Savioli M., Castro M., Mesa V., Silva É., Wendt E. (2023.0). Short-term impacts of different intercropping times of maize and ruzigrass on soil physical properties in subtropical Brazil. Soil and Tillage Research, 234(), 105838. doi:10.1016/j.still.2023.105838

Agricultural production in Central Europe increasingly suffers from extreme drought events. Improving root access to nutrient and water resources in the subsoil below the plow layer is a potential option to maintain productivity during dry summers. Here, we tested a strip-wise subsoil amelioration m…