**7.1 Soil physical properties**

The impact of conservation tillage on soil physical properties can vary depending on several factors, including soil type, climate, prevalent cropping system, and managerial practices. Nevertheless, conservation tillage, on the whole, facilitates the enhancement of soil integrity, control of erosion, infiltration of water, conservation of moisture and organic matter content, and the reduction of soil compaction, thereby resulting in improved soil physical properties. The effects of conservation tillage on soil properties demonstrate variability, with the choice of a specific system playing a pivotal role in determining these variations. No-till (NT) systems, characterized by the maintenance of extensive surface soil coverage, have been found to induce notable alterations in soil properties, particularly within the upper few centimeters [25]. Numerous studies have indicated that the utilization of NT (no till) has led to a significant enhancement in both saturated and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. This improvement can be attributed to either the preservation of pore continuity, as observed by Benjamin in 1993 [26], or the facilitation of water flow through a limited number of larger pores. According to Butorac [27], there is evidence indicating that soils with good drainage, a light to medium texture, and low humus content demonstrate an optimal response when exposed to conservation tillage practices, specifically no tillage. According to the research conducted by Lal et al. [28], it has been established that the adoption of NT technologies offers notable advantages in terms of mitigating soil and crop residue disturbance, regulating soil evaporation, and reducing erosion losses. It has been observed that no-till (NT) soils exhibit a greater presence of stable aggregates in the upper soil surface when compared to in tilled soils. As a result, this leads to an increased overall porosity in the NT plots. According to a study conducted by Pagliai et al. [29], minimum tillage was found to enhance the soil pore system when compared to conventional plowing. The observed improvements were characterized by an increase in the storage pores ranging from 0.5 to 50 mm, as well as an increase in the quantity of elongated transmission pores ranging from 50 to 500 mm. The researchers established a correlation between the elevated microporosity observed in minimum tillage soils and an associated rise in soil water content. Consequently, this leads to an increase in enhanced water availability for plant uptake. In a study conducted by McVay et al. [30], it was seen that the topsoil (0–10 cm) under no-till (NT) practices exhibited a greater waterholding capacity or moisture content compared to soil that had undergone plowing. Consequently, in order to enhance soil water retention and optimize water utilization efficiency (WUE), numerous scholars have suggested substituting conventional tillage practices with conservation tillage methods [31, 32].
