**11. Conclusions and future research directions**

The concept of strategic tillage represents a promising bridge between intensive conventional tillage and continuous no-till systems, aiming to provide targeted soil improvements while protecting long-term productivity and resilience. However, realizing the potential benefits requires further research and adaptive management.

#### **11.1 Summary of potential benefits**

When judiciously implemented, a growing body of evidence suggests that strategic tillage can provide multiple agronomic and environmental advantages compared to both intensive tillage and exclusively no-till systems. Documented benefits include reduced compaction, increased infiltration and rooting depth, incorporation of amendments, enhanced soil biological activity, increased carbon sequestration, improved nutrient availability and cycling, increased fertilizer efficiency, and higher crop yields where soil constraints are alleviated [1, 3, 4]. By remediating key limitations at critical times using minimal soil disturbance, strategic tillage offers opportunities to improve soil function and productivity without the extensive degradation associated with routine conventional tillage.

#### **11.2 Need for continued research**

However, there remain many open questions regarding long-term impacts, proper implementation, and applicability across diverse soil types, climates, and cropping

systems. Most studies on strategic tillage have evaluated relatively short-term effects over several years. More extended field research is needed to determine if periodic strategic tillage can sustain long-term soil carbon levels, biological activity, and stable aggregation compared to continuous no-till [29]. Quantifying and isolating the effects of strategic tillage frequency, depth, timing, and equipment settings requires further work. There is also a need to identify relevant indicators for when strategic tillage is warranted to address soil constraints versus conditions where no-till management alone is sufficient.
