Phosphorus sustains global food production and is, therefore, of crucial importance to human nutrition and health. However, its mismanagement can lead to water pollution and environmental degradation in addition to low crop yields. In many parts of sub-saharan Africa, phosphorus deficiency constrains agricultural productivity and exacerbates food insecurity. Despite these challenges, phosphorus remains a fragmented topic in global and African policy. To address these issues, the 8th Sustainable Phosphorus Summit (SPS8) was convened in Africa for the first time. SPS8 took place in Accra, Ghana, between 30th September and 3rd October 2025. The Summit was an international collaboration, with co-conveners from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) – Ghana, the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology West Africa Office, Lancaster University and Rothamsted Research. In this paper, we give a detailed overview of the key messages and insights that emerged from highlight talks, lectures, working groups and field trips. We also discuss and reflect on the challenges of delivering an inclusive summit, from designing solutions to benefit-sharing. SPS8 demonstrates that inclusive, cross-sector knowledge-exchange events are crucial to support and enable phosphorus sustainability on the continent of Africa and globally and to enable the next generation of interdisciplinary phosphorus researchers.

Soil has supported terrestrial food production for millennia; however, agricultural intensification may affect its resilience. Using a systems-thinking approach, we reviewed the impacts of conventional-agriculture practices on soil resilience and identified alternative practices that could mitigate these effects. We found that many practices only affect soil resilience with their long-term repeated use. Lastly, we ranked the impacts that pose the greatest threats to soil resilience and, consequently, food and feed security.

Riparian buffers are expedient interventions for water quality functions in agricultural landscapes. However, the choice of vegetation and management affects soil microbial communities, which in turn affect nutrient cycling and the production and emission of gases such as nitric oxide (NO), nitrous oxide (N2O), nitrogen gas (N-2) and carbon dioxide (CO2). To investigate the potential fluxes of the above-mentioned gases, soil samples were collected from a cropland and downslope grass, willow and woodland riparian buffers from a replicated plot scale experimental facility. The soils were re-packed into cores and to investigate their potential to produce the aforementioned gases via potential denitrification, a potassium nitrate (KNO3-) and glucose (labile carbon)-containing amendment, was added prior to incubation in a specialized laboratory DENItrification System (DENIS). The resulting NO, N2O, N-2 and CO2 emissions were measured simultaneously, with the most NO (2.9 & PLUSMN; 0.31 mg NO m(-2)) and N2O (1413.4 & PLUSMN; 448.3 mg N2O m(-2)) generated by the grass riparian buffer and the most N-2 (698.1 & PLUSMN; 270.3 mg N-2 m(-2)) and CO2 (27,558.3 & PLUSMN; 128.9 mg CO2 m(-2)) produced by the willow riparian buffer. Thus, the results show that grass riparian buffer soils have a greater NO3- removal capacity, evidenced by their large potential denitrification rates, while the willow riparian buffers may be an effective riparian buffer as its soils potentially promote complete denitrification to N-2, especially in areas with similar conditions to the current study.

With a growing body of research associating livestock agriculture with faster global warming, higher health costs and greater land requirements, a drastic shift towards plant-based diets is often suggested as an effective all-round solution. Implicitly, this argument is predicated on the assumption that the reallocation of resources currently assigned to animal production systems will automatically result in the efficient cultivation of human-edible crops without negative environmental, health or socioeconomic consequences. In reality, however, the validity of this assumption warrants careful examination, as a farm’s capability to adopt a new agricultural system is multifaceted and context-specific. Through a transdisciplinary review of literature, here we discuss examples of unintended consequences that could arise from the conversion of grasslands into arable production, including potentially adverse impacts on yield stability, biodiversity, soil fertility and beyond. We contend that few of these issues are being methodically considered as part of the current food security debate and call for a closer examination of supply-side constraints.

Purpose : The study examines the efficacy of using recycled abattoir waste fertilizer as a sustainable nutrient input for crop Production. Method : Two pot experiments were set up in a controlled environment room to examine biomass yields of ryegrass (Lolium perenne AberMagic), grain yields of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum KWS Cochise), and their micro and macronutrient uptakes, respectively, in an abattoir waste organomineral fertilizer amended soil compared to those treated with inorganic NPK fertilizer. Phosphorus was added at rates of 0, 25, 50, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 800, 1000, and 1200 mg P kg - 1 in a low P south-west England soil. Results : Total biomass yields of ryegrass in the NPK treatments were higher at application rates greater than 800 mg P kg - 1 soil compared with their corresponding abattoir waste organomineral fertilizer (Thallo TM ) treatments. Total wheat dry grain weights increased with P addition rates in both the Thallo TM and NPK amended soils until the application rates exceeded 800 mg P kg - 1 when the dry grain weights started to decline. Micronutrient concentrations in grass produced from Thallo TM fertilizer -amended soils were similar to those from their corresponding NPK fertilizer treatments. Conclusion : This study demonstrated that if the Thallo TM is added at rates not exceeding 200 mg P kg - 1 soil to 300 mg P kg - 1 soil, it can serve as a sustainable and cost-effective alternative P source for ryegrass and wheat grain production. However, its application did not increase the micronutrient density of ryegrass or wheat grain any more than inorganic NPK additions.

Flooding is known to solubilize soil nutrients, particularly those associated with redox-sensitive metals (Fe/Mn). Both soil flooding and drying are becoming more common due to climate change, but it is not clear how soil drying prior to flooding influences nutrient solubilization in soils, compared with flooding of already moist soils. This study was designed to examine how soil drying followed by ex-tended flooding might influence solubilization of micronutrient metals (Fe, Mn, Cu, Co, Zn and Ni). A series of laboratory mesocosm experiments was carried out by flooding samples of two contrasting grassland soils, which had each been ei-ther dried (40 degrees C for 10 days) or kept at field moisture conditions (25%, w/w). The flooding of dried soils generally resulted in higher concentrations of the micronu-trients (Mn, Co, Ni and Cu) in the water columns relative to their moist-flooded counterparts. The results demonstrate that the flooding-induced variations in pH and redox potential influence solubilization of micronutrients in the soils. The mobilization of Co and Ni appeared to be controlled by redox-driven reductive dissolution of Fe/Mn minerals. This was supported by significant (p < .001) nega-tive correlations between redox and metals: Co (r=-.712), Ni (r = -.784) and the positive correlations between Fe and metals: Co (r = .763) and Ni (r = .714) and between Mn and other metals: Co (r = .909) and Ni (r = .811). However, there were no significant correlations of Zn and Cu with Fe and Mn. The results sug-gest that soil drying followed by flooding has the potential to promote greater solubilization of soil micronutrients compared with flooding of moist soils, with potential implications for soil fertility and catchment water quality under future changes in weather patterns driven by climate change.

Soil erosion is a world-wide issue driven by land management and climate change. Research has focussed on soil loss rates from agricultural land. However, the loss of trace elements essential for soil and plant health, or potentially toxic elements that occur as impurities in fertilisers and manures, is poorly understood. This study reports on the loads and forms of copper, cadmium, manganese, nickel, selenium and zinc lost from three types of agricultural systems at Rothamsted Research's North Wyke Farm Platform over five individual storm events. Loads reflected a combination of concentrations in the soil, annual additions from fertilisers, the ability to leach from the soil and rainfall intensity. Arable fields demonstrated an order of magnitude greater loss of soil compared to pasture. Consequently, particulate-bound losses were higher, and the proportion of losses in solution were 29% lower on average, compared with pasture. Overall losses for each element were statistically similar for pastures. In comparison, arable fields showed greater average losses for five essential elements (15.3%) compared to pasture (9.7%). Nickel exhibited the greatest average loss (27% overall; 39% for arable) and zinc the lowest (2% overall; 3% for arable). The predominant loss of cadmium was in the dissolved phase (96% overall; 92% arable), followed by selenium (81%/63%), nickel (64%/35%) and copper (61%/34%). Conversely, dissolved losses of manganese (38%/21%) and zinc (28%/8%) were lower than particulate losses. We conclude that overall loss, and form of the loss, varies significantly between arable and pastoral systems, and the physico-chemical properties of the element itself.

This study addresses the effect of using animal excreta on the nutritional content of forages, focusing on macro- and micro-element concentrations (nitrogen; N, phosphorus; P, sulphur; S, copper; Cu, zinc; Zn, manganese; Mn, selenium; Se) from animal feed to excreta, soil, and plants. Data were collected from pot and field trials using separate applications of sheep or cattle urine and faeces. Key findings indicate that soil organic carbon (SOC) and the type of excreta significantly influences nutrient uptake by forages, with varied responses among the seven elements defined above. Although urine contributes fewer micronutrients compared to faeces (as applied at a natural volume/mass basis, respectively), it notably improves forage yield and micronutrient accumulation, thus potentially delivering positive consequences at the farm level regarding economic performance and soil fertility when swards upon clayey soil types receive said urine in temperate agro-climatic regions (i.e., South West England in the current context). In contrast, faeces application in isolation hinders Se and Mn uptake, once again potentially delivering unintended consequences such as micronutrient deficiencies in areas of high faeces deposition. As it is unlikely that (b)ovine grazing fields will receive either urine or faeces in isolation, we also explored combined applications of both excreta types which demonstrates synergistic effects on N, Cu, and Zn uptake, with either synergistic or dilution effects being observed for P and S, depending largely on SOC levels. Additionally, interactions between excreta types can result in dilution or antagonistic effects on Mn and Se uptake. Notably, high SOC combined with faeces reduces Mn and Se in forages, raising concerns for grazed ruminant systems under certain biotic situations, e.g., due to insufficient soil Se levels typically observed in UK pastures for livestock growth. These findings underscore the importance of considering SOC and excreta nutritional composition when designing forage management to optimize nutrient uptake. It should be noted that these findings have potential ramifications for broader studies of sustainable agriculture through system-scale analyses, as the granularity of results reported herein elucidate gaps in knowledge which could affect, both positively and negatively, the interpretation of model-based environmental impact assessments of cattle and sheep production (e.g., in the case of increased yields [beneficial] or the requirement of additional synthetic supplementation [detrimental]).

Abstract Riparian buffers are expedient interventions for water quality functions in agricultural landscapes. However, the choice of their vegetation and management affects soil microbial communities, which in turn affect nutrient cycling and the production and emission of gases such as nitric oxide (NO), nitrous oxide (N 2 O), nitrogen gas (N 2 ), and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). To investigate the potential fluxes of the above-mentioned gases, soil samples were collected from a cropland and downslope grass, willow, and woodland riparian buffers from a replicated plot scale experimental facility. The soils were re-packed into cores, and to investigate their potential to produce the aforementioned gases, a potassium nitrate (KNO 3 − ) and glucose (labile carbon)-containing amendment, was added prior to incubation in a specialized laboratory DENItrification System (DENIS). The resulting NO, N 2 O, N 2, and CO 2 emissions were measured simultaneously, with the highest NO (2.9 ± 0.31 mg NO m − 2 ), and N 2 O (1413.4 ± 448.3 mg N 2 O m − 2 ) generated by the grass riparian buffer and the highest N 2 (698.1 ± 270.3 mg N 2 m − 2 ) and CO 2 (27558.3 ± 128.9 mg CO 2 m − 2 ) produced by the willow riparian buffer. Thus, the results show that soils developed under grass and willow riparian buffers may potentially increase greenhouse gas fluxes, especially in areas with similar conditions to the current study.

In this chapter we address how grassland management affects soils, recognizing that this relationship is not unidirectional, and it is driven by interacting factors such as soil texture, climate, botanical composition, production systems (grazing or mowing for hay and silage) and management practices. Grasslands that are managed for pasture, hay and silage would not naturally be grasslands, but have been established on areas that historically would have been forest but have been cleared and developed for agricultural purposes. Consequently, grasslands have diverse soil textures that influence other physico-chemical properties and processes in soil.

Healthy soils are key to sustainability and food security. In temperate grasslands, not many studies have focused on soil health comparisons between contrasting pasture systems under different management strategies and treatment applications (e.g. manures and inorganic fertilisers). The aim of this study was to assess the responses of soil health indicators to dung, urine and inorganic N fertiliser in three temperate swards: permanent pasture not ploughed for at least 20 years (PP), high sugar ryegrass with white clover targeted at 30% coverage reseeded in 2013 (WC), and high sugar ryegrass reseeded in 2014 (HG). This study was conducted on the North Wyke Farm Platform (UK) from April 2017 to October 2017. Soil health indicators including soil organic carbon (SOC, measured by loss of ignition and elemental analyser), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total nitrogen (TN), C:N ratio, soil C and N bulk isotopes, pH, bulk density (BD), aggregate stability, ergosterol concentration (as a proxy for fungi biomass), and earthworms (abundance, mass and density) were measured and analysed before and after application of dung and N fertilizer, urine and N fertiliser, and only N fertiliser. The highest SOC, TN, DOC, ergosterol concentration and earthworms as well as the lowest BD were found in PP, likely due to the lack of ploughing. Differences among treatments were observed due to the application of dung, resulting in an improvement in chemical indicators of soil health after 50 days of its application. Ergosterol concentration was significantly higher before treatment applications than at the end of the experiment. No changes were detected in BD and aggregate stability after treatment applications. We conclude that not enough time had passed for the soil to recover after the ploughing and reseeding of the permanent pasture, independently of the sward composition (HG or WC). Our results highlight the strong influence of the soil management legacy in temperate pasture and the positive effects of dung application on soil health over the short term. In addition, we point out the relevance of using standardised methods to report soil health indicators and some methodological limitations.

BackgroundRiparian buffers are primarily implemented for their water quality functions in agroecosystems. Their location in the agricultural landscape allows them to intercept and process pollutants from immediately adjacent agricultural land. Vegetated riparian buffers recycle soil organic matter, which elevates soil carbon (C), which upon processing, processes and releases carbon dioxide (CO2). The elevated soil C and seasonally anoxic environments associated with riparian buffers promote denitrification and fermentation, further increasing soil CO2 production. AimAgainst this context, a replicated plot-scale experiment was established at North Wyke, UK, to measure the extent of soil CO2 emissions in permanent pasture served by grass, willow, and woodland riparian buffers, as well as a no-buffer control. MethodsSoil CO2 was measured using the static chamber technique in conjunction with soil and environmental variables between June 2018 and February 2019. ResultsCumulative soil CO2 fluxes were in the descending order: woodland riparian buffer; 11,927.8 +/- 1987.9 kg CO2 ha(-1) > no-buffer control; 11,101.3 +/- 3700.4 kg CO2 ha(-1) > grass riparian buffer; 10,826.4 +/- 2551.8 kg CO2 ha(-1) > upslope pasture; 10,554.6 +/- 879.5 kg CO2 ha(-1) > willow riparian buffer; 9294.9 +/- 1549.2 5 kg CO2 ha(-1). There was, however, no evidence of significant differences among all treatments of the current study. ConclusionsDespite the lack of significant differences, the results from our short-term study show that the woodland riparian buffer had relatively larger soil CO2 emissions than the remainder of the other riparian buffers and the upslope pasture it serves. Our short-term findings may be useful in developing soil CO2 mitigation strategies through careful selection of riparian buffer vegetation and may be useful in calibrating mechanistic models for simulating such emissions from similar agro systems.

Long term total phosphorus (P) concentration, inorganic P and / or organic P concentration in agricultural soils is not commonly measured. As a consequence, computer-based models, that have been developed to predict P responses to changing management practices, are typically tested against soil “agronomically available” P data (as measured by tests such as; Olsen-P, Morgan’s-P, Mehlich-3, etc.) and those that do test against total P are limited to a few agricultural experimental sites across the world. While there is some correlation with total soil P, the term “available P” is arguably a functional concept, influenced by a large number of biotic and abiotic factors, rather than a direct soil measurement. This highlights a developmental gap in P modelling which could help to further unlock our understanding of P biogeochemical cycling when used in conjunction with contemporary empirical P research. Investigating P cycling in agricultural systems using the computer-based model N14CP has demonstrated that the model can predict carbon and nitrogen cycling and crop yields well for systems receiving abundant fertiliser. However, in systems where there is no P applied, predicted yield responses are greatly underestimated, with “missing” P input concentrations equivalent to annual fertiliser application rates. To date, the testing of N14CP has not included the P pools due to a lack of soil total P and/or soil organic P data from long-term field trials. Using recent total, organic and inorganic phosphate concentrations in the topsoil and yield data from two contrasting long-term field trial sites in the UK and the USA, this research will test P outputs and modelled yields from N14CP. It is hypothesised that the model will underestimate soil P concentrations, and crop yield, in the absence of P fertiliser inputs. This study will then apply changes to the mode model inputs, outputs and control processes to investigate whether these are sufficient to supply the crops and soil with the “missing” P. Understanding this source of “missing” P in N14CP will not only be useful for developing our understanding of P processes in computer-based models but could also further understanding of P processes linked to P draw-down in agricultural systems that have a history of high legacy P concentrations.

Buffer strips continue to feature in the management of agricultural runoff and water pollution in many countries. Existing research has explored their efficacy for reducing environmental problems in different geoclimatic settings but, the evidence on the efficacy of different vegetation treatments is less abundant than that for other buffer strip characteristics, including width, and is more contradictory in nature. With policy targets for various environmental outcomes including water or air quality and net zero pointing to the need for conversion of agricultural land, the need for robust experimental evidence on the relative benefits of different vegetation types in buffer strips is now renewed. Our experiment used a replicated plot scale facility to compare the efficacy of 12 m wide buffer strips for controlling runoff and suspended sediment loss during 15 sampled storms spanning 2017-2020. The buffer strips comprised three vegetation treatments: a deep rooting grass (Festulolium cv. Prior), a short rotation coppice willow and native broadleaved woodland trees. Over the duration of the monitoring period, reductions in total runoff, compared with the experimental control, were in the order: willow buffer strips (49%); deciduous woodland buffer strips (46%); grass buffer strips (33%). The corresponding reductions in suspended sediment loss, relative to the experimental control, were ordered: willow buffer strips (44%) > deciduous woodland buffer strips (30%) > grass buffer strips (29%). Given the 3-year duration of our new dataset, our results should be seen as providing evidence on the impacts during the establishment phase of the treatments.

Vegetated land areas play a significant role in determining the fate of carbon (C) in the global C cycle. Riparian buffer vegetation is primarily implemented for water quality purposes as they attenuate pollutants from immediately adjacent croplands before reaching freashwater systems. However, their prevailing conditions may sometimes promote the production and subsequent emissions of soil carbon dioxide (CO2). Despite this, the understanding of soil CO2 emissions from riparian buffer vegetation and a direct comparison with adjacent croplands they serve remain elusive. In order to quantify the extent of CO2 emissions in such an agro system, we measured CO2 emissions simultaneously with soil and environmental variables for six months in a replicated plot-scale facility comprising of maize cropping served by three vegetated riparian buffers, namely: (i) a novel grass riparian buffer; (ii) a willow riparian buffer, and; (iii) a woodland riparian buffer. These buffered treatments were compared with a no-buffer control. The woodland (322.9 ± 3.1 kg ha− 1) and grass (285 ± 2.7 kg ha− 1) riparian buffer treatments (not significant to each other) generated significantly (p = < 0.0001) the largest CO2 compared to the remainder of the treatments. Our results suggest that during maize production in general, the woodland and grass riparian buffers serving a maize crop pose a CO2 threat. The results of the current study point to the need to consider the benefits for gaseous emissions of mitigation measures conventionally implemented for improving the sustainability of water resources.

Methane (CH4) has a global warming potential (GWP) 28-times that of carbon dioxide (CO2) over a 100-year horizon. Riparian buffers strips are widely implemented for their water quality protection functions along agricultural land, but conditions prevailing within them may increase the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), including CH4. However, only small amount of information is available regarding the dynamics of unintended emissions of soil CH4 in these commonplace features of agroecosystems and how the dynamics compare to those for agricultural land not containing buffer strips. To understand the dynamics of soil CH4 fluxes from a permanent upslope pasture and contiguous riparian buffer strips with different (grass, willow, and woodland) vegetation as well as controls with no buffer vegetation, field measurements were carried out using the static chamber technique on a replicated plot-scale facility. Gas fluxes were measured periodically with soil and environmental variables between June 2018 and February 2019 at Rothamsted Research, North Wyke, United Kingdom. Soils under all treatments were sinks of soil CH4 with the willow riparian buffer (-2555 ± 318.7 g CH4 ha-1) having the lowest soil CH4 flux followed by the grass riparian buffer (-2532 ± 318.7 g CH4 ha-1), woodland riparian buffer (-2318.0 ± 246.4 g CH4 ha-1), no-buffer control (-1938.0 ± 374.4 g CH4 ha-1), and lastly, the upslope pasture (-1328.0 ± 89.0 g CH4 ha-1) which had a higher flux. The three vegetated riparian buffers were more substantial soil CH4 sinks, suggesting that they may help reduce soil CH4 fluxes into the atmosphere in similar agroecosystems.

Riparian buffer strips can have a significant role in reducing nitrogen (N) transfers from agricultural land to freshwater primarily via denitrification and plant uptake processes, but an unintended trade-off can be elevated nitrous oxide (N2O) production rates. Against this context, our replicated bounded plot scale study investigated N2O emissions from un-grazed ryegrass pasture served by three types of riparian buffer strips with different vegetation, comprising: (i) grass riparian buffer with novel deep-rooting species, (ii) willow (young trees at establishment phase) riparian buffer, and (iii) deciduous woodland (also young trees at establishment phase) riparian buffer. The experimental control was ryegrass pasture with no buffer strip. N2O emissions were measured at the same time as total oxidized N in run-off, and soil and environmental characteristics in the riparian buffer strips and upslope pasture between 2018 and 2019. During most of the sampling days, the no-buffer control treatment showed significantly (P < 0.05) greater N2O fluxes and cumulative N2O emissions compared to the remainder of the treatments. Our results also showed that the grass riparian buffer strip is a sink of N2O equivalent to - 2310.2 g N2O-N ha(-1) day(-1) (95% confidence interval:-535.5 to 492). Event-based water quality results obtained during storms (12 November 2018 and 11 February 2019) showed that the willow riparian buffer treatment had the highest flow-weighted mean N concentrations (N-FWMC) of 0.041 +/- 0.022 and 0.031 +/- 0.015 mg N L-1, when compared to the other treatments. Our 9-month experiment therefore, shows that riparian buffer strips with novel deep-rooting grass can therefore potentially address emissions to both water and air. The results imply that over a shorter timeline similar to the current study, the grass riparian buffer strip can potentially address N emission to both air and water, particularly when serving a permanent pasture in similar settings as the current experiment.

Flooding is known to mobilise soil phosphorus (P). However, it is still not clear how climate change-driven extended periods of soil drying followed by flooding will affect soil-P dynamics. We tested the hypothesis under laboratory conditions that soil antecedent conditions (moist/dry) determine the amount of P mobilised upon flooding. A series of controlled laboratory experiments were carried out by flooding samples of two contrasting soils (a Dystric Cambisol [Crediton series] and a Stagni-Vertic Cambisol [Hallsworth series]), which had each been either dried (40 degrees C for 10 days) or kept at field moisture conditions (25% moisture content). Flooding was simulated by maintaining a 10-cm water column depth in mesocosms. Periodically collected water samples were analysed for dissolved reactive P (DRP), total dissolved P (TDP) and dissolved unreactive P (DUP). The onset of flooding significantly (p < 0.001) increased dissolved concentrations of all forms of P. The release of TDP coincided with a reduction in redox potential, suggesting reductive dissolution of P bearing iron/manganese (Fe/Mn) minerals as indicated by a significant positive correlation between TDP and dissolved Fe (r = 0.430, p < 0.001) and TDP and dissolved Mn (r = 0.622, p < 0.001). Flooding of the dried soils caused a significantly greater increase in the dissolved P concentrations of all forms of P relative to their moist-flooded counterparts. This could be due to a combination of factors which are associated with soil drying and flooding. The Crediton dry-flooded soils released higher concentrations of DRP upon flooding (e.g. 0.14 mg P L-1 on day 1 after flooding) perhaps due to its higher concentrations of water- and NaHCO3-extractable P than the Hallsworth dry-flooded (HDF) soil (0.03 mg P L-1 on day 1 after flooding). However, most of the P in the water column of the dry-flooded soils was unreactive, with the HDF soil releasing higher concentrations of DUP, likely due to its higher organic matter and microbial biomass P contents. The results suggest that flooding of dried soils has greater potential to enhance mobilisation of soil-P than flooding of moist soils and thus has potential implications for soil fertility and surface water quality. Highlights Flooding significantly increased dissolved concentrations of all forms of P. Dried soils released much greater P than their moist counterparts upon flooding. Increased amounts of P in the floodwater coincided with reductions in redox potential and biomass P. Soil with greater amount of biomass-P and organic matter released greater amounts of dissolved unreactive P.

Healthy soils are key to sustainability and food security. In temperate grasslands, not many studies have focused on the soil health comparison between contrasting pasture systems under different treatment applications. This study was conducted in the North Wyke Farm Platform (UK) over a grazing season (April 2017-October 2017). We assessed the effects of dung, urine and inorganic fertiliser applications in three pasture systems (PP: not ploughed permanent pasture; WC: high sugar ryegrass with clover ploughed and reseeded in 2013; HG: high sugar ryegrass ploughed and reseeded in 2014) on soil health indicators: soil organic carbon (SOC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total nitrogen (TN), C:N ratio, soil C and N bulk isotopes, pH, bulk density (BD), aggregate stability, ergosterol concentration (as a proxy for fungi biomass), and earthworms (abundance, mass and density). The highest SOC, TN, DOC, ergosterol concentration and earthworms as well as the lowest BD were found in PP, likely due to lack of ploughing for at least 20 years. Differences among treatments were observed due to the application of dung, resulting in an improvement in chemical indicators of soil health after 50 days of its application. Over the short term, the changes in chemical indicators and ergosterol concentration were mainly driven by weather conditions. No changes were detected in BD and aggregate stability after treatment applications. Our results reinforce the strong influence of the soil management legacy in temperate grassland and the positive effects of dung application on soil health over the short term.