Cropland recovery after degradation: soil legacies, nutrient constraints and evidence for hysteresis
Abstract
In degraded croplands, removal of the stressor, improvement in soil properties, and recovery of plant performance are often temporally decoupled. This asynchrony influences restoration outcomes but does not, by itself, demonstrate hysteresis. This mini review examines hydraulic and nutrient-sorption hysteresis alongside structural, biogeochemical, and microbial legacies that constrain root water and nutrient uptake. Controlled salinity–sodicity experiments resolve degradation and recovery branches of hydraulic conductivity, while phosphate studies demonstrate sorption–desorption asymmetry and effects of prior fertilization on plant response. Field studies of compaction, erosion, and acidification provide complementary evidence of incomplete recovery or intervention-dependent crop responses. We distinguish these findings from demonstrations of coupled plant–soil hysteresis. Recovery assessment requires paired measurements of the limiting soil process and plant resource acquisition, appropriate reference conditions, and explicit accounting for treatment duration and current inputs. Published concentration boundaries and response breakpoints illustrate process-specific constraints rather than universal restoration thresholds. An evidence-based diagnostic framework links the remaining constraint to intervention choice and guides tests of whether recovered function persists under renewed stress or reduced compensatory inputs.
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BibTeX
@article{kisvarga2026cropland,
title = {{Cropland recovery after degradation: soil legacies, nutrient constraints and evidence for hysteresis}},
author = {Szilvia Kisvarga and Katalin Horotán and Zsanett Istvánfi and Mohamed Zyad Mohamed Elsadek and László Orlóci},
journal = {Frontiers in Plant Science},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.3389/fpls.2026.2004974},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.2004974},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Cropland recovery after degradation: soil legacies, nutrient constraints and evidence for hysteresis
AU - Szilvia Kisvarga
AU - Katalin Horotán
AU - Zsanett Istvánfi
AU - Mohamed Zyad Mohamed Elsadek
AU - László Orlóci
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/09
JO - Frontiers in Plant Science
DO - 10.3389/fpls.2026.2004974
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.2004974
AB - In degraded croplands, removal of the stressor, improvement in soil properties, and recovery of plant performance are often temporally decoupled. This asynchrony influences restoration outcomes but does not, by itself, demonstrate hysteresis. This mini review examines hydraulic and nutrient-sorption hysteresis alongside structural, biogeochemical, and microbial legacies that constrain root water and nutrient uptake. Controlled salinity–sodicity experiments resolve degradation and recovery branches of hydraulic conductivity, while phosphate studies demonstrate sorption–desorption asymmetry and effects of prior fertilization on plant response. Field studies of compaction, erosion, and acidification provide complementary evidence of incomplete recovery or intervention-dependent crop responses. We distinguish these findings from demonstrations of coupled plant–soil hysteresis. Recovery assessment requires paired measurements of the limiting soil process and plant resource acquisition, appropriate reference conditions, and explicit accounting for treatment duration and current inputs. Published concentration boundaries and response breakpoints illustrate process-specific constraints rather than universal restoration thresholds. An evidence-based diagnostic framework links the remaining constraint to intervention choice and guides tests of whether recovered function persists under renewed stress or reduced compensatory inputs.
SN - 1664-462X
ER -