Agricultural & Environmental Letters最新文献

Quantifying soil organic carbon (SOC) and total soil nitrogen (TSN) at a cumulative depth of 0–30 cm under different land use and management scenarios remains a priority, particularly in the southeastern United States, where soil erosion can be intense with high rainfall and long history of intensive soil disturbance. Restoration of soil health is expected with conservation management, and sensitive indicators of change may be from SOC, TSN, and the active fraction of organic matter as soil-test biological activity (STBA). Cumulative frequency distributions were developed from data in published studies containing 1470 soil profiles that characterized SOC, TSN, and STBA under cropland, grassland, and woodland in the southeastern United States. Soil health targets were established at ratios of root-zone enrichment-to-baseline SOC and TSN of 2.0 ± 0.1 kg kg⁻¹; 4.7 ± 0.2 kg kg⁻¹ was the target for STBA. This database serves as a reference to begin classifying root-zone soil health conditions in the southeastern United States.

Interest in alternatives to traditional turfgrass lawns is growing, with pollinator lawns emerging as a popular option. Although these lawns offer some advantages over traditional ones, such transitions present challenges for homeowners. This study aimed to identify the most common obstacles encountered by current and prospective pollinator lawn owners and understand how individuals define pollinator lawns. Two primary areas of concern emerged: costs of establishing pollinator lawns and issues related to soil conditions/proper site preparation. Potential owners had higher levels of concerns overall compared to current owners. Alleviation of both actual and perceived challenges is needed on the production and distribution side (new lower cost mixes), and for homeowners through accessible guidance on common pitfalls and best practices for establishing and maintaining pollinator lawns to make transitions more successful to increase pollinator habitat in urban areas.

The management of herbicide-tolerant weeds is a challenge for many winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) producers. Implementing grass herbicide-tolerant wheat cultivars, such as those under the CoAXium production system, may be an important tool. The objective of this experiment was to develop a screening method that identifies winter wheat lines with homozygous AADD genotypes and demonstrates tolerance to Aggressor AX herbicide. In this experiment, both an herbicide seed soak assay and molecular techniques were used to determine if lines contained the AXigen trait. Fourteen of the 20 populations phenotypically selected a different number of lines than were expected to be tolerant. Of those which were selected phenotypically for tolerance using the herbicide seed soak assay, only 27% of the lines were homozygous for the AADD genotype. While using the phenotypic screen appeared to select lines that were tolerant, few lines exhibited the two-gene combination required for commercialization. Further research is needed to understand why the seed soak assay was selecting against two-gene homozygous lines while allowing non-homozygous lines to appear tolerant. Regardless, lines which were phenotypically screened first, and subsequently selected for homozygosity using molecular markers, demonstrated higher tolerance under field conditions compared to those only screened using markers. This two-step process may be helpful in better selecting lines with high levels of herbicide tolerance rather than relying on molecular marker screening alone.

There is relatively low adoption of winter cover crops across the United Staes, despite the many ecosystem service benefits they provide, and there has been much debate about corn yield penalties following cereal cover crops such as cereal rye (Secale cereale L.). This 12 site-year, coordinated study across a latitudinal gradient in the northeastern United States sought to determine the interactions between cereal rye biomass and fertilizer nitrogen (N) rate and timing on no-till corn (Zea mays L.) yield. Total N rates, not the timing of N fertilization, significantly affected corn yields, and higher cereal rye biomass slightly increased corn yields once sufficient N was added. We conclude that if total fertilizer N rates are sufficient, the split between starter N application at planting and sidedress N fertilization does not affect yield in no-till corn across a range of cereal rye cover crop biomass levels.

Haque, M. A., Minemura, Y., Sazawa, K., Kuramitz, H., & Wada, N. (2025). Interaction of organic nitrogen and C/N ratio enhances soil microarthropod abundance. Agricultural & Environmental Letters, 10, e70034. https://doi.org/10.1002/ael2.70034

The third author's first name “Kazuto” was incorrectly listed as “Kazuo.” The correct spelling of the author's name is “Kazuto Sazawa” and has been corrected in both the byline and the Author Contributions’ section and also in the ORCID list at the end of the pdf version of the article.

We apologize for this error.

As interest in the impact of climate-smart agricultural practices grows, it is increasingly important to understand how much practice adoption to expect, how long it will take for certain practices to be adopted, and where adoption of these practices may be most likely. Many current mitigation potential estimates for climate-smart agricultural practices assume instantaneous, 100% adoption of practices across all croplands, failing to reflect realistic conditions. However, tools like the Adoption Diffusion Outcome Prediction Tool (ADOPT) can help explain and clarify practice adoption dynamics and therefore right-size mitigation potential estimates. Here, we reviewed and compiled papers that reported ADOPT-derived predicted peak adoption rates (PPAR) and predicted time to peak (PTTP) adoption for various agricultural innovation types. We summarize PPAR and PTTP across innovations and farmer motivations, providing insights on practice adoption and highlighting the utility of understanding predicted adoption rates and timing of agricultural innovations.