title: Soil compaction effects on soil health and cropproductivity: an overview.
abstract: Soil compaction causes substantial reduction in agriculture productivity and has always been of great distress for farmers. Intensive agriculture seems to be more crucial in causing compaction. High mechanical load, less crop diversification, intensive grazing, and irrigation methods lead to soil compaction. It is further exasperated when these factors are accompanied with low organic matter, animal trampling, engine vibrations, and tillage at high moisture contents. Soil compaction increases soil bulk density and soil strength, while decreases porosity, aggregate stability index, soil hydraulic conductivity, and nutrient availability, thus reduces soil health. Consequently, it lowers crop performance via stunted aboveground growth coupled with reduced root growth. This paper reviews the potential causes of compaction and its consequences that have been published in last two decades. Various morphological and physiological alterations in plant as result of soil compaction have also been discussed in this review.
authors.affiliation: MOA Key Laboratory of Crop Ecophysiology and Farming System in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Adnan Noor
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.affiliation: School of Land and Food, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia.
authors.forename: Mohsin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanveer
authors.affiliation: Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Babar
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shahzad
authors.affiliation: MOA Key Laboratory of Crop Ecophysiology and Farming System in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, People's Republic of China. ygzh9999@mail.hzau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Guozheng
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fahad
authors.affiliation: MOA Key Laboratory of Crop Ecophysiology and Farming System in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Saif
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.affiliation: Department of Agronomy, University College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad Adnan
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bukhari
authors.affiliation: MOA Key Laboratory of Crop Ecophysiology and Farming System in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shahbaz Atta
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Tung
authors.affiliation: MOA Key Laboratory of Crop Ecophysiology and Farming System in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Abdul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hafeez
authors.affiliation: MOA Key Laboratory of Crop Ecophysiology and Farming System in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Biangkham
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Souliyanonh
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D000818:Animals; D018517:Plant Roots; D016062:Porosity; D012987:Soil
chemical_list: D012987:Soil
keywords: Land degradation; Root growth; Soil compaction; Soil harness; Soil health; Stomatal conductance; Tillage