Monitoring Sustainable Soil Tillage Methods for Climate Change Mitigation: Aggregate Stability
Abstract
Soil aggregate stability is a critical indicator of the physical integrity, durability and quality of soil structure. It is also used as a fundamental criterion in evaluating sustainable soil management practices. Aggregate stability is an important potential early indicator of soil health and quality. This study aimed to determine the impact of various tillage methods [conventional (M1), reduced-1 (M2), reduced-2 (M3) and direct sowing (M4)] on the distribution of water-stable aggregates, mean weight diameter and soil aggregate stability. The aggregate size distribution, the mean weight diameter and the aggregate stability values were all significantly affected by the measurement periods and the soil tillage methods. M4 treatment produced the highest proportion of macroaggregates, the greatest mean weight diameter values, and the highest aggregate stability at both depths, while conventional tillage increased the proportion of smaller aggregates. There are fewer fluctuations in aggregate stability values between periods in a direct sowing. The results indicate that direct sowing and reduced tillage methods are more advantageous than conventional tillage methods in terms of soil structure preservation and the development of sustainable agricultural practices.
Keywords
Supporting Institution
Ethical Statement
Thanks
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Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Agricultural Machine Systems
Journal Section
Research Article
Authors
Esra Nur Gül
*
0000-0002-9865-1228
Türkiye
Engin Özgöz
0000-0003-0615-9613
Türkiye
Nurhan Mutlu
0000-0002-6680-4445
Türkiye
Publication Date
October 12, 2026
Submission Date
February 14, 2026
Acceptance Date
June 2, 2026
Published in Issue
Year 2026 Volume: 32 Number: 4