Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment最新文献

{"title":"Soil microbial community structure and carbon dynamics in response to compost and livestock management in grassland soils","authors":"Laura L. de Sosa ,&nbsp;María José Carpio ,&nbsp;Marta Gil-Martínez ,&nbsp;Mathieu Thevenot ,&nbsp;Olivier Mathieu ,&nbsp;Engracia Madejón ,&nbsp;Marco Panettieri","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110261","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110261","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Organic amendments are widely promoted to restore soil fertility in degraded agroecosystems, yet their effects may depend strongly on land-use history. We evaluated the interactive influence of composted olive mill waste (<em>alperujo</em>) and three grazing management regimes—livestock exclusion, ovine, and equine grazing—on soil chemical properties, microbial communities, and carbon (C) mineralization in a Mediterranean <em>dehesa</em>. Across treatments, livestock exclusion consistently increased soil C and N contents compared with grazed areas, with total C (TC) 42 % higher than in equine-grazed plots and 52 % higher than in ovine-grazed plots, and total nitrogen (TN) 18 % higher than in equine plots (with similar TN levels in ovine plots across samplings). Compost addition further increased plant-available phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) by 243 % and 270 % in the more degraded equine-grazed soils. Compost did not significantly increase TC or TN but induced marked shifts in bacterial and fungal community composition, with responses modulated by grazing legacy and initial fertility. Taxonomic changes were most pronounced within oligotrophic and copiotrophic bacterial groups (e.g., <em>Chloroflexi, Verrucomicrobiota</em>) and certain fungal phyla (e.g., <em>Rozellomycota</em>, <em>Ascomycota</em>), although overall microbial diversity remained largely unchanged. Functionally, compost reduced both initial C mineralization rates and cumulative respiration, as well as the priming effect, especially in exclusion and ovine soils. This suppression likely reflects the compost’s high chemical stability, low labile C content, and its influence on microbial carbon-use strategies. Spatial heterogeneity of organic inputs remained a challenge in grazed systems, but compost partially mitigated nutrient depletion in under-enriched areas. Our findings highlight that the effects of organic amendments are context-dependent, shaped by grazing legacy and nutrient status. They underscore the importance of integrating organic amendments with tailored grazing management to optimize nutrient balance, microbial function, and long-term soil C sequestration in Mediterranean rangelands. However, as this study was conducted at a single site with one compost type over a short-term period, further research across sites, compost types, and longer time scales is needed to generalize these findings</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"400 ","pages":"Article 110261"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146033243","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Long-term fertilization shaped soil organic matter molecular diversity via microbial functional regulation in paddy soil","authors":"Shuotong Chen ,&nbsp;Keyao Zhu ,&nbsp;Fang Gao ,&nbsp;Bowen Yang ,&nbsp;Xianlin Ke ,&nbsp;Wenhai Mi","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110266","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110266","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The molecular diversity of soil organic matter (SOM) underpins its persistence, yet how fertilization alters the microbial assembly of SOM at the molecular level remains poorly understood in paddy soils. Here, we combined a 14-year field experiment in subtropical China with pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) and metagenomics to elucidate how fertilization regimes shape SOM molecular diversity across soil depths (topsoil, 0–15 cm; subsoil, 15–30 cm). Four fertilization regimes were compared: no fertilization (CK), synthetic NPK fertilizers alone (NPK), and NPK combined with either cattle manure (NPKM) or rice straw (NPKS). Organic amendments enhanced soil organic matter (SOM) molecular diversity in a depth-specific manner. Manure application increased SOM richness, Shannon index, and evenness in topsoil by 35.9 %, 15.4 %, and 9.6 %, respectively, whereas straw addition increased subsoil richness and Shannon index by 30.6 % and 16.4 % relative to CK (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05). In contrast, β-diversity was governed more by soil depth (R² = 0.32, <em>p</em> &lt; 0.001) than fertilization (R² = 0.19, <em>p</em> &lt; 0.001). These patterns were underpinned by distinct shifts in microbial functional traits. Straw enriched hemicellulose-degrading CAZymes, whereas manure stimulated lignin-oxidizing and chitin-degrading enzymes and upregulated lipid biosynthesis genes, resulting in enhanced aromatic turnover and lipid accumulation in topsoil. Subsoil lipid pools declined with downregulation of sterol and glycerophospholipid genes. Network and path analyses demonstrated that microbial functional traits, rather than fertilization inputs alone, were the dominant mediators linking fertilization to SOM molecular diversification (path coefficient = 0.94, <em>p</em> &lt; 0.05). Overall, our findings highlight that organic amendments expand microbial metabolic repertoires and strengthen SOM–microbe interactions, thereby enhancing SOM molecular complexity and carbon stabilization. This mechanistic understanding provides a microbiome-informed framework for optimizing fertilization strategies to sustain soil carbon and ecosystem functioning in paddy systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"400 ","pages":"Article 110266"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146033913","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multi-year drought has persistent forage quality and quantity effects that can be intensified by heavy grazing in semiarid rangelands","authors":"Lauren M. Porensky ,&nbsp;Sally E. Koerner ,&nbsp;Amanda R. Williams ,&nbsp;Megan L. Van Emon ,&nbsp;Kevin R. Wilcox ,&nbsp;Kimberly J. Komatsu ,&nbsp;John D. Dietrich ,&nbsp;Kurt O. Reinhart","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110231","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110231","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Growing season droughts have major impacts on grassland vegetation and are predicted to become increasingly frequent in semiarid rangelands, but little is known about how droughts and post-drought legacies interact with grazing management to affect forage quality and quantity. In two semiarid prairie rangelands, we assessed the separate and combined effects of experimental rainfall reductions and grazing management strategies on ruminant forage quality and quantity over five years. We measured forage fiber content, organic matter digestibility, relative feed value, forage quantity, and the quantity of digestible forage. During a 2-year experimental rainfall reduction period, rainfall reductions decreased both forage quality and quantity at one site. At the second site, reductions were only apparent in heavily grazed plots. In the first year after experimental rainfall reduction treatments ended, plots that formerly received large rainfall reductions displayed strong legacy effects, with 26–57 % less digestible forage biomass but greater forage quality than controls. Increases in forage quality with former rainfall reduction treatments were strongest in plots that had received heavier grazing during the experimental drought period. Experimental treatments did not induce long-term changes in forage quantity, but rainfall reductions caused forage quality reductions that persisted up to three years after droughts ended. In contrast, grazing treatments did not have long-term effects on forage quality. Our results highlight that forage production capacity in North American grasslands is resilient to both drought stress and grazing disturbance, but these drivers can have additive and long-term effects on forage nutritive value. Heavy grazing during drought may strengthen both negative (during drought) and positive (post-drought) effects of drought on ungulate nutrition.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"400 ","pages":"Article 110231"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146033244","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Managed fly pollinators ensure berry crop yields under variable weather conditions","authors":"Abby E. Davis ,&nbsp;Raylea Rowbottom ,&nbsp;Lena A. Schmidt ,&nbsp;Jelena Preradovic ,&nbsp;Karen C.B.S. Santos ,&nbsp;Blake M. Dawson ,&nbsp;Mavi Manrique ,&nbsp;Derek Wright ,&nbsp;Bar Shermeister ,&nbsp;Brad Hocking ,&nbsp;Joao Branco ,&nbsp;Maurizio Rocchetti ,&nbsp;Cameron Spurr ,&nbsp;Romina Rader","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110254","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110254","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Insect pollination is essential for global fruit and vegetable production, yet rising climate variability and widespread declines in bee populations threaten the reliability of this service. Flies (Diptera), despite their abundance and tolerance to different environmental conditions, remain largely overlooked as managed pollinators in agriculture. Here, we present field-based evidence from commercial farms in Australia showing that certain fly species can deliver effective and climate-resilient pollination services to high-value berry cropping systems. In replicated cage trials, European hover flies (<em>Eristalis tenax</em>) produced fruit comparable in weight and marketability to those pollinated by European honey bees (<em>Apis mellifera</em>) and Australian native stingless bees (<em>Tetragonula carbonaria</em>), whereas brown blow flies (<em>Calliphora stygia</em>) showed more variable performance. When scaled to full-sized commercial polytunnels, hover flies consistently produced market-quality blackberry fruit, matching open (mainly bee) pollination in spring and outperforming open pollination under the cooler, more variable conditions of winter. Hover fly-pollinated fruit equaled or exceeded the quality of hand-pollinated flowers and consistently outperformed self-pollinated controls. Across spring and winter floral visitation field surveys, hover flies maintained higher flower visitation than honey bees across cooler temperatures, broader humidity ranges, and early tomidday time periods, indicating greater climatic tolerance under field conditions. Together, these findings demonstrate that the hover fly, <em>E. tenax,</em> can provide scalable, climate-resilient pollination services and highlight the value of integrating flies into diversified pollination strategies to support resilient crop production under a changing climate.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"400 ","pages":"Article 110254"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146033221","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pesticide-free fields under minimum tillage and flower strips enhance carabid beetles and spiders through increased overwintering and spill over processes","authors":"Paul Bannwart ,&nbsp;Antoine Gardarin ,&nbsp;Violaine Deytieux ,&nbsp;Stéphane Cordeau ,&nbsp;Sandrine Petit","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110250","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110250","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Enhancing generalist arthropod predators in arable farming can contribute to pest control and pesticide use reduction, and be achieved through a diversity of management options at field and farm scales. Most studies however link management options to densities of circulating adults, which gives little insight into potential source-sinks dynamics and the occurrence of ‘source’ habitats enabling overwintering. In this study, we assessed the assemblages of emerging and circulating ground-dwelling carabids and spiders during four months in a continuous mosaic of pesticide-free winter-sown crops under contrasted tillage regimes (minimum <em>vs.</em> conventional tillage) and sown flower strips bordering fields. We detected clear patterns, with high in-field carabid and spider overwintering densities than in adjacent flower strips, which were rarely a preferred overwintering habitat. Our results nevertheless indicate that within both taxa, different species exhibit different responses and source-sink dynamics. Our results also demonstrate the key role of pesticide-free fields under minimum tillage, acting both as a high-quality overwintering site for some dominant carabid species and as a source habitat, as several predator species activity-density responded positively to the increased area of minimum tillage fields in the surroundings. We detected a comparable positive effect of the area of flower strips in the surrounding for some species, suggesting that these linear features could also act as a temporary refuge and source. These findings highlight that sustaining diverse communities of carabid beetles and spiders probably requires adopting several and complementary management options and that in-field farming practice represent a powerful lever to foster natural enemies populations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"400 ","pages":"Article 110250"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146033222","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Organic fertilization and hayseed application in traditional hay meadows: A pathway to biodiversity and ecological sustainability","authors":"Monika Janišová ,&nbsp;Polina Dayneko ,&nbsp;Martin Magnes ,&nbsp;Dariia Borovyk ,&nbsp;Lubov Borsukevych ,&nbsp;Denys Vynokurov ,&nbsp;Katarína Devánová ,&nbsp;Anna Kuzemko ,&nbsp;Corina Iosif ,&nbsp;Anamaria Iuga ,&nbsp;Iveta Škodová","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110214","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110214","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In Central Europe, low-intensity and low-input agriculture has fostered biodiverse landscapes and species-rich semi-natural grasslands, but implementation and ecological context of historical land-use practices remain poorly understood. We investigated meadow management practices that enhance hay productivity and quality in Poienile de sub Munte, Romania, a village with well-maintained historical land-use patterns. Specifically, we examined: (i) the implementation of manuring, ash fertilization, and hayseed application; (ii) their effects on plant species composition and diversity; and (iii) their potential in modern grassland conservation and restoration. Our study analyzed 47 vegetation plots, 30 hayseed samples, and land-use data from 30 farmers. Manure was mainly applied on gentle slopes, whereas ash was used in steep and hard-to-access areas. Hayseed was applied in 47 % of one-cut meadows and 33 % of two-cut meadows. Vegetation composition was primarily influenced by mowing frequency, soil calcium content, and the frequency of manuring and ash fertilization. Manuring decreased species richness by seven species through competitive exclusion favoring nitrogen-demanding species. In contrast, ash fertilization promoted oligotrophic specialists, including rare and vulnerable species, while increasing species richness by approximately seven species. Regular hayseed application enhanced richness through propagule supply without significant effect on vegetation composition. Hayseed composition differed from standing vegetation and was influenced by mowing time, with first-cut hay containing significantly more species and marginally more seeds than second-cut hay. Hayseed application creates a resilient system through continuous local seed reintroduction, effectively buffering historical disturbances and management variations. While this homogenizes vegetation composition across landscapes, it simultaneously maintains local diversity through enhancing functional connectivity, further supported by manuring and grazing. Traditional practices offer low-cost, accessible tools for restoring degraded grasslands, particularly when combining ash fertilization with locally-sourced hayseed under appropriate grazing regimes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"400 ","pages":"Article 110214"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146014538","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of short-term grazing prohibition on methane, nitrous oxide and nitric oxide fluxes from alpine meadows on eastern Tibetan Plateau","authors":"Xiao Chen ,&nbsp;Rui Wang ,&nbsp;Lei Ma ,&nbsp;Han Zhang ,&nbsp;Zhisheng Yao ,&nbsp;Kai Wang ,&nbsp;Wei Zhang ,&nbsp;Siqi Li ,&nbsp;Shenghui Han ,&nbsp;Chunyan Liu ,&nbsp;Yong Li ,&nbsp;Xunhua Zheng","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110259","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110259","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Short-term grazing prohibition (STGP) is a common practice to restore degraded alpine meadows. But its effects on emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG) and reactive nitrogen gases remain ambiguous, particularly regarding year-round dynamics and net climate impacts. Here, we address these knowledge gaps by investigating STGP′s influence on methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O) and nitric oxide (NO) in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau with a field trial comparing the conventionally grazed and short-term-ungrazed treatments. Using static opaque chamber methods, we year-roundly measured dynamical fluxes of these gases in the second full year of grazing prohibition. However, the net climate impact of STGP remains uncertain due to the lack of diurnal flux measurements and concurrent CO₂ exchange data. The STGP practice significantly (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.001) increased CH₄ uptake by ₄8 % annually and by 51 % in growing season. It significantly (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.001) raised N₂O emissions by 124 % annually and by 191 % in non-growing season while obviously (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) reducing NO emissions by about 63 % in growing season. Notably, the STGP-stimulated N₂O emissions surged by 288 % during freeze-thaw periods (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.001). In addition, STGP tended to reduce temperature sensitivity for CH₄ uptakes in non-growing season and for N₂O and NO emissions in growing season. Notably, the CO₂-equivalent balance reveals a trade-off: while the aggregate of CH₄ and N₂O remained a net sink at the 20-year horizon, it shifted to a source at the 100-year horizon, with STGP increasing the net positive emission by nearly 5-fold. This suggests that the climate benefit of enhanced CH₄ uptake could be offset by intensified N₂O emissions over the long term. However, the net climate impact of STGP still remains uncertain due to methodological constraints, including the use of static opaque chambers (which exclude diurnal and plant‑mediated fluxes) and the lack of simultaneous CO₂ exchange measurements. Future studies integrating complementary methods and longer‑term monitoring are needed to fully quantify STGP′s impact on net ecosystem GHG balance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"400 ","pages":"Article 110259"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146014804","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Natural habitats enhance pollination services in apple and sweet cherry orchards: Evidence from Southern Mediterranean agroecosystems","authors":"Camila B. García ,&nbsp;Keira Dymond ,&nbsp;Manuel López-Aliste ,&nbsp;Pablo Díaz-Siefer ,&nbsp;Francisco E. Fontúrbel ,&nbsp;Michael P.D. Garratt ,&nbsp;Juan L. Celis-Diez","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110220","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110220","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Wild pollinators play a critical role in crop production. However, the ongoing loss of natural habitats threatens pollination services and food security. We evaluated how the percentage of surrounding natural habitat and the distance from orchard edges influence wild floral visitors and pollination deficit in sweet cherry and apple orchards in Mediterranean Chile. Additionally, we examined the relationship between floral visitation and fruit production. We studied eighteen orchards of each crop and classified them into three categories according to the percentage of natural habitats within a 1 km radius: &lt; 35 %, 36–70 % and &gt; 70 %. Three pollination treatments (supplementary, open, and exclusion) were applied at the edge and into the orchard interior. We quantified floral visitor richness, floral visits, fruit set and fruit quality. Our results showed that sweet cherry orchards with less than 35 % surrounding natural habitat had significantly lower wild insect species richness and floral visits compared to orchards with &gt; 35 %. In both crops, species richness and wild floral visits declined with increasing distance from the orchard edge. Wild floral visitors enhanced fruit set in both crops, while honey bees contributed to sweet cherry fruit set and apple seed set. Although insect pollination improved fruit quality, we found no direct relationship between flower visitation and fruit quality. In apple orchards with &gt; 70 % natural habitat, fruit weight deficit was lower at the edge compared to both the interior and the edges of orchards with &lt; 35 % of natural habitat. We recommend conserving natural habitats around orchards to support wild pollinator diversity and visitation, thereby reducing pollination deficits.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"400 ","pages":"Article 110220"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146035274","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Beetle communities in agricultural landscapes: relative influences of climate, landscape, plant communities and agricultural practices","authors":"B. Penel ,&nbsp;L. Genty ,&nbsp;C. Marty ,&nbsp;A. Bourdonné ,&nbsp;A.-L. Clamens ,&nbsp;L. Benoit ,&nbsp;L. Soldati ,&nbsp;A. Migeon ,&nbsp;G.J. Kergoat ,&nbsp;J. Haran ,&nbsp;G. Fried ,&nbsp;C.N. Meynard","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110252","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110252","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Agricultural field margins are semi-natural habitats that play a key role in conservation and restoration, supporting threatened biodiversity of agroecosystems. However, most research on field margin biodiversity has focused on plant communities, while insect populations remain largely understudied. To address this gap, we leveraged a national monitoring network across France to provide a comprehensive taxonomic and functional characterisation of beetles, a highly diverse insect group of significant agricultural interest. We examined how climate, landscape, vegetation and agricultural practices influence the structure of field margin beetle communities. Using a combination of molecular and morphological approaches and multivariate analyses, we investigated beetle communities within the herbaceous field margins of 374 agricultural sites across continental France sampled between 2020 and 2023. Our surveys revealed a high diversity of beetles, with 797 species recorded, including hundreds of flower visitors and auxiliary species. Estimates based on accumulation curves suggest a richness of up to 1200 species, corresponding to approximately 10 % of the French beetle fauna. We also identified five community types, each having specific taxonomic and functional characteristics and associated with specific climatic, soil, landscape and agricultural environments. While large-scale climatic gradients were the main drivers shaping these community types, local vegetation played a key role in determining species richness. By contrast, agricultural practices appear to be an important structuring factor for both community types and richness. Finally, this study provides the first in-depth characterisation of beetle communities in French field margins, offering a solid baseline for future research and improving our understanding of the complex interactions among climatic, landscape, vegetation, and agricultural drivers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"400 ","pages":"Article 110252"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146035264","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Intercropping cotton with wheat or maize enhances biological pest control but only intercropping with wheat improves cotton yield","authors":"Shuangshuang Jia ,&nbsp;Enjing Hu ,&nbsp;Minlong Li ,&nbsp;Bing Liu ,&nbsp;Long Yang ,&nbsp;Wopke van der Werf ,&nbsp;Felix J.J.A. Bianchi ,&nbsp;Yanhui Lu","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110247","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110247","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Intercropping is a promising strategy for ecologically based pest management in field crops. However, its effects on pest suppression and crop yield vary across species combinations, requiring experiments to identify context-specific driving principles and guide practical application. We evaluated the effects of intercropping cotton with spring wheat or maize on pest suppression and yield. Aphid and natural enemy populations were monitored in intercropped and sole cotton, and predation activity was assessed using cotton bollworm egg cards. Cotton yield was also measured. Aphid densities on cotton were 63 % lower in both cotton-wheat and cotton-maize than in sole cotton in 2023, and 24 % and 29 % lower in cotton-wheat and cotton-maize than in sole cotton in 2024. No significant difference was observed in cotton aphid control between the two intercrops in either year. Ladybeetle densities during early cotton aphid population build-up were higher in the two intercrops than in sole cotton. The predation rate on cotton bollworm eggs was 10 % - 178 % higher in intercrops with wheat and maize. Cotton yield was 18 % higher in cotton-wheat but 18 % lower in cotton-maize than in sole cotton. Different strength of interspecific plant competition is the likely key driver for the difference in yield impact of the two companion species. We conclude that both spring wheat and maize enhance natural enemies and reduce aphid populations in cotton, but only intercropping with wheat enhanced cotton yield. Results indicate that cotton-cereal intercropping is a robust strategy to suppress cotton aphid and reduce reliance on insecticides, but interspecific plant competition needs to be considered to ensure cotton yield.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"400 ","pages":"Article 110247"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146035273","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}