Pub Date : 2025-01-30DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2025.109516
Shucheng Li , Kaiwei Li , Tongrui Zhang , Shiming Tang , Zhe Zhang , Hongyang Chen , Ke Jin
Soil nitrogen (N) in grassland ecosystem is highly sensitive to grazing, thus understanding the responses of soil N retention to grazing is critical to maintaining grassland ecosystem function. Here, we quantified the effects of grazing on total and available soil N retention under different management regimes (in terms of grazing intensity and duration) and environmental factors (temperature, precipitation, and ecosystem N abundance) using 2785 paired observations from 179 publications, and found that grazing (particularly moderate-to-heavy grazing) reduced total and available N retention worldwide. Additionally, grazing is associated with more soil N loss from long-term grazing (> 4 years), warmer (mean annual temperature ≥ 5°C), drier (mean annual precipitation ≤ 300 mm), or relatively N-sufficient (initial N content ≥2 g kg−1 soil) grasslands, implying the importance of climatic and environmental factors in regulating N loss. Similarly, interactive effects of grazing with mean annual temperature, mean annual precipitation, duration and initial N content on soil total N were observed. More importantly, our results emphasize the grazing effect on soil N was best explained by the response ratios of plant belowground biomass. Our study provides global insights that will aid sustainable grazing management, and more research is needed to explore the regulatory role of grazing intensity and nutrient supplementation on global grassland N retention.
草地生态系统中的土壤氮（N）对放牧高度敏感，因此了解土壤氮的保留对放牧的响应对维持草地生态系统的功能至关重要。在此，我们利用 179 篇论文中的 2785 个配对观测数据，量化了放牧在不同管理制度（放牧强度和持续时间）和环境因素（温度、降水和生态系统氮丰度）下对土壤总氮和可用氮保留量的影响，发现放牧（尤其是中重度放牧）降低了全球土壤总氮和可用氮的保留量。此外，在长期放牧（> 4年）、温度较高（年平均气温≥5°C）、较干燥（年平均降水量≤300毫米）或氮相对充足（初始氮含量≥2 g kg-1土壤）的草原上，放牧与更多的土壤氮流失有关，这意味着气候和环境因素在调节氮流失方面的重要性。同样，我们还观察到放牧与年平均气温、年平均降水量、持续时间和初始氮含量对土壤全氮的交互影响。更重要的是，我们的研究结果强调，放牧对土壤氮的影响可以通过植物地下生物量的响应比率得到最好的解释。我们的研究提供了有助于可持续放牧管理的全球性见解，还需要更多的研究来探讨放牧强度和养分补充对全球草地氮保持的调节作用。
{"title":"The global effects of grazing on grassland soil nitrogen retention","authors":"Shucheng Li , Kaiwei Li , Tongrui Zhang , Shiming Tang , Zhe Zhang , Hongyang Chen , Ke Jin","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109516","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109516","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil nitrogen (N) in grassland ecosystem is highly sensitive to grazing, thus understanding the responses of soil N retention to grazing is critical to maintaining grassland ecosystem function. Here, we quantified the effects of grazing on total and available soil N retention under different management regimes (in terms of grazing intensity and duration) and environmental factors (temperature, precipitation, and ecosystem N abundance) using 2785 paired observations from 179 publications, and found that grazing (particularly moderate-to-heavy grazing) reduced total and available N retention worldwide. Additionally, grazing is associated with more soil N loss from long-term grazing (> 4 years), warmer (mean annual temperature ≥ 5°C), drier (mean annual precipitation ≤ 300 mm), or relatively N-sufficient (initial N content ≥2 g kg<sup>−1</sup> soil) grasslands, implying the importance of climatic and environmental factors in regulating N loss. Similarly, interactive effects of grazing with mean annual temperature, mean annual precipitation, duration and initial N content on soil total N were observed. More importantly, our results emphasize the grazing effect on soil N was best explained by the response ratios of plant belowground biomass. Our study provides global insights that will aid sustainable grazing management, and more research is needed to explore the regulatory role of grazing intensity and nutrient supplementation on global grassland N retention.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"383 ","pages":"Article 109516"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143180942","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}
Rice is one of the most important crops for humanity since more than half of the world’s population depends on it as their main source of nourishment. Among the main pests of this crop are rice stem borers, which are nocturnal moths that feed upon tillers during the larval stage and cause grain loss. Bats are major predators of nocturnal arthropods and have been described as efficient insect pest suppressors. However, many estimates of the value of this ecosystem service are based on untested assumptions on life history traits of bats and pests. In this study, we directly assessed the effect of insectivorous bat presence on the abundance of rice stem borers and crop damage using six large nocturnal exclusions in rice fields in Morelos State, Mexico. Our experiments showed a mean reduction of 58 % in crop damage due to the presence of insectivorous bats, while differences in weight yield were not significant. From crop damage results, we estimated an average economic value of 3.39 USD/ha/year for unmilled rice and 8.03 USD/ha/year for milled rice for bats pest suppression ecosystem service. Finally, we projected these values to the state and country scales under scenarios of low, medium, and high rice stem borer infestation. Our results provide evidence that bats significantly reduce rice stem borer abundance and crop damage based on experimental field exclosures and provide the first economic estimate of the ecosystem service for rice in the American continent. These findings represent valuable information to promote the implementation of conservation plans for bats in agroecosystems and to include them in integrated pest management plans.
{"title":"Bats over rice: Assessing the contribution of insectivorous bats to pest suppression in Mexican rice fields","authors":"Cárol Sierra-Durán , Ángel Torres-Alcántara , Adrià López-Baucells , Rodrigo A. Medellín","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109503","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109503","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rice is one of the most important crops for humanity since more than half of the world’s population depends on it as their main source of nourishment. Among the main pests of this crop are rice stem borers, which are nocturnal moths that feed upon tillers during the larval stage and cause grain loss. Bats are major predators of nocturnal arthropods and have been described as efficient insect pest suppressors. However, many estimates of the value of this ecosystem service are based on untested assumptions on life history traits of bats and pests. In this study, we directly assessed the effect of insectivorous bat presence on the abundance of rice stem borers and crop damage using six large nocturnal exclusions in rice fields in Morelos State, Mexico. Our experiments showed a mean reduction of 58 % in crop damage due to the presence of insectivorous bats, while differences in weight yield were not significant. From crop damage results, we estimated an average economic value of 3.39 USD/ha/year for unmilled rice and 8.03 USD/ha/year for milled rice for bats pest suppression ecosystem service. Finally, we projected these values to the state and country scales under scenarios of low, medium, and high rice stem borer infestation. Our results provide evidence that bats significantly reduce rice stem borer abundance and crop damage based on experimental field exclosures and provide the first economic estimate of the ecosystem service for rice in the American continent. These findings represent valuable information to promote the implementation of conservation plans for bats in agroecosystems and to include them in integrated pest management plans.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"383 ","pages":"Article 109503"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143180837","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-30DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2025.109515
Yulong Shi , Tingting Li , Li Zheng , Xuekai Jing , Hafiz Athar Hussain , Qingwen Zhang
Soil multifunctionality (SMF), the ability of soil to support multiple ecosystem functions, is under severe threat from soil erosion. Organic manure and straw mulching are well-known for mitigating soil erosion. However, the mechanisms by which these organic materials enhance soil multifunctionality during the restoration of erosion-degraded soil remain unclear. To address this, soil multifunctionality in eroded soil was investigated after a decade of continuous organic material application. Four treatments were established: 1) a control group applied only chemical fertilizer (CK); 2) organic manure with 20 % nitrogen substituted (OM); 3) straw mulching with 20 % nitrogen substituted (SW); and 4) a combination of organic manure and straw mulching (1:1) with 20 % nitrogen substituted (OMSW). The findings showed that organic manure, straw mulching, and the combination treatments reduced runoff by 2.12–45.97 % and sediment by 33.54–109.33 %, reduced nutrient loss and increased soil nutrient and water-stable aggregates (WSA) contents, especially in the straw mulching and the combination treatments. The improved soil environment enhanced microbial community stability, increased the microbial functional Shannon index, and enriched carbon (e.g., bcrB/C/D) and nitrogen (e.g., amoB/C, napA, and nirB) cycling genes, thus improving soil multifunctionality. Specifically, organic manure increased soil multifunctionality by 87.88 %, straw mulching by 457.40 %, and their combination by 154.73 %. Soil erosion environment and microbial functions, especially carbon and nitrogen cycling, were key factors influencing soil multifunctionality. Notably, key microbial taxa such as Proteobacteria play pivotal roles in stabilizing community structure and maintaining community function during soil restoration. This study underscores that organic manure application and straw mulching, mainly through reducing soil erosion, improved soil environment, optimized the composition and function of soil microbial communities, and ultimately enhanced soil multifunctionality. This is pivotal for safeguarding the ecological integrity of sloping farmland and fostering sustainable agricultural development.
{"title":"Enhancing soil multifunctionality through restoring erosion environment and microbial functions combined with organic manure and straw mulching","authors":"Yulong Shi , Tingting Li , Li Zheng , Xuekai Jing , Hafiz Athar Hussain , Qingwen Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109515","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109515","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil multifunctionality (SMF), the ability of soil to support multiple ecosystem functions, is under severe threat from soil erosion. Organic manure and straw mulching are well-known for mitigating soil erosion. However, the mechanisms by which these organic materials enhance soil multifunctionality during the restoration of erosion-degraded soil remain unclear. To address this, soil multifunctionality in eroded soil was investigated after a decade of continuous organic material application. Four treatments were established: 1) a control group applied only chemical fertilizer (CK); 2) organic manure with 20 % nitrogen substituted (OM); 3) straw mulching with 20 % nitrogen substituted (SW); and 4) a combination of organic manure and straw mulching (1:1) with 20 % nitrogen substituted (OMSW). The findings showed that organic manure, straw mulching, and the combination treatments reduced runoff by 2.12–45.97 % and sediment by 33.54–109.33 %, reduced nutrient loss and increased soil nutrient and water-stable aggregates (WSA) contents, especially in the straw mulching and the combination treatments. The improved soil environment enhanced microbial community stability, increased the microbial functional Shannon index, and enriched carbon (e.g., <em>bcrB/C/D</em>) and nitrogen (e.g., <em>amoB/C</em>, <em>napA</em>, and <em>nirB</em>) cycling genes, thus improving soil multifunctionality. Specifically, organic manure increased soil multifunctionality by 87.88 %, straw mulching by 457.40 %, and their combination by 154.73 %. Soil erosion environment and microbial functions, especially carbon and nitrogen cycling, were key factors influencing soil multifunctionality. Notably, key microbial taxa such as Proteobacteria play pivotal roles in stabilizing community structure and maintaining community function during soil restoration. This study underscores that organic manure application and straw mulching, mainly through reducing soil erosion, improved soil environment, optimized the composition and function of soil microbial communities, and ultimately enhanced soil multifunctionality. This is pivotal for safeguarding the ecological integrity of sloping farmland and fostering sustainable agricultural development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"383 ","pages":"Article 109515"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143180833","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}
Pub Date : 2025-01-28DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2025.109504
Takehiko Shimizu , Masayuki Senzaki , Shunsuke Hori , Kota Sueda , Shintaro Ichihara , Ryugo Ishida , Jou Yoshigai
Substantial areas of inland wetlands have been transformed into croplands globally. Although seasonal flooding in rice fields is well known to provide alternative habitats for species dependent on wetlands and aquatic environments, it remains unclear whether temporal flooding in other non-rice croplands, such as wheat fields, can serve a similar function. By focusing on the latest farming policy of short-term flooding on non-rice croplands in Japan, we investigated the diversity of a whole avian community and the major functional groups including waterbirds and globally declining migratory shorebirds in flooded croplands and conventional dry croplands from flooding to after-dried-out periods. We showed that species richness and abundance of waterbirds and shorebirds were significantly higher in the flooded croplands than in conventional dry croplands and dried-out croplands after flooding. The density of shorebirds in flooded non-rice fields was equivalent to that in the flooded rice fields in other regions. In contrast, terrestrial bird abundance and species richness were not significantly different between the land use types in both periods. Moreover, shorebird abundance and species richness decreased with the progressing season, which indicates their stopover habitat utilization might be highest at the peak of the migration. These results emphasize that short-term flooding even in non-rice fields is effective for serving artificial habitats to migrating waterbirds, potentially contributing to expanding waterbird conservation to broader regions and periods in which rice has not been growing.
{"title":"Short-term flooding in non-rice croplands provides stopover habitats for migrating waterbirds","authors":"Takehiko Shimizu , Masayuki Senzaki , Shunsuke Hori , Kota Sueda , Shintaro Ichihara , Ryugo Ishida , Jou Yoshigai","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109504","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109504","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Substantial areas of inland wetlands have been transformed into croplands globally. Although seasonal flooding in rice fields is well known to provide alternative habitats for species dependent on wetlands and aquatic environments, it remains unclear whether temporal flooding in other non-rice croplands, such as wheat fields, can serve a similar function. By focusing on the latest farming policy of short-term flooding on non-rice croplands in Japan, we investigated the diversity of a whole avian community and the major functional groups including waterbirds and globally declining migratory shorebirds in flooded croplands and conventional dry croplands from flooding to after-dried-out periods. We showed that species richness and abundance of waterbirds and shorebirds were significantly higher in the flooded croplands than in conventional dry croplands and dried-out croplands after flooding. The density of shorebirds in flooded non-rice fields was equivalent to that in the flooded rice fields in other regions. In contrast, terrestrial bird abundance and species richness were not significantly different between the land use types in both periods. Moreover, shorebird abundance and species richness decreased with the progressing season, which indicates their stopover habitat utilization might be highest at the peak of the migration. These results emphasize that short-term flooding even in non-rice fields is effective for serving artificial habitats to migrating waterbirds, potentially contributing to expanding waterbird conservation to broader regions and periods in which rice has not been growing.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"383 ","pages":"Article 109504"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143180835","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}
Pub Date : 2025-01-26DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2025.109509
Rongqin Zhang , Zhuoliang Liu , Yuanji Wang , Zhengfeng Jiang , Ming Li , Huike Li , Xining Zhao , Zhilong Duan , Xiaolin Song
Dissolved organic matter (DOM) plays a crucial role in soil biogeochemical processes. However, the dynamic changes in DOM composition under intercropping systems of different ages, as well as the underlying mechanisms through which microbes influence DOM formation, remain unclear. In this study, we analysed soil samples collected at varying depths from intercropping systems with white clover of different ages to determine DOM dynamics and how DOM is regulated by bacteria and fungi. The results showed that the DOM content increased by 16 and 61 % at depths of 0–40 cm in 8-year and 16-year intercropping systems, respectively, compared with clean tillage (CT). The 8-year soil profiles showed an increase in the relative abundance of biologically refractory DOM compounds (tannin- and humic-like), leading to enhanced chemodiversity. In contrast, the DOM composition in the 16-year soil profiles was similar to that in the CT. Significant changes in the bacterial community were observed in the 8-year soil profiles, characterised by increased relative abundances of dominant Proteobacteria, Nitrospirae, Cytophagia, and Chitinophagia, along with enhanced bacterial alpha diversity. The correlation results indicated that bacterial taxa exhibited strong and interconnected positive correlations with the DOM diversity index, highlighting the bacterial role in the transformation of DOM compounds and the increase in DOM chemodiversity. Conversely, the fungi appeared to selectively degrade lignin to form biologically refractory compounds because they exhibited negative correlations with numerous lignin-like compounds and showed positive correlations with humic-like molecules. In conclusion, this study suggests that bacteria and fungi regulate DOM diversity and the formation of biologically refractory compounds via distinct pathways, providing important insights into the roles of microbes in mediating soil DOM formation and transformation.
{"title":"Effects of intercropping on composition and molecular diversity of soil dissolved organic matter in apple orchards: Different roles of bacteria and fungi","authors":"Rongqin Zhang , Zhuoliang Liu , Yuanji Wang , Zhengfeng Jiang , Ming Li , Huike Li , Xining Zhao , Zhilong Duan , Xiaolin Song","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109509","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109509","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Dissolved organic matter (DOM) plays a crucial role in soil biogeochemical processes. However, the dynamic changes in DOM composition under intercropping systems of different ages, as well as the underlying mechanisms through which microbes influence DOM formation, remain unclear. In this study, we analysed soil samples collected at varying depths from intercropping systems with white clover of different ages to determine DOM dynamics and how DOM is regulated by bacteria and fungi. The results showed that the DOM content increased by 16 and 61 % at depths of 0–40 cm in 8-year and 16-year intercropping systems, respectively, compared with clean tillage (CT). The 8-year soil profiles showed an increase in the relative abundance of biologically refractory DOM compounds (tannin- and humic-like), leading to enhanced chemodiversity. In contrast, the DOM composition in the 16-year soil profiles was similar to that in the CT. Significant changes in the bacterial community were observed in the 8-year soil profiles, characterised by increased relative abundances of dominant Proteobacteria, Nitrospirae, Cytophagia, and Chitinophagia, along with enhanced bacterial alpha diversity. The correlation results indicated that bacterial taxa exhibited strong and interconnected positive correlations with the DOM diversity index, highlighting the bacterial role in the transformation of DOM compounds and the increase in DOM chemodiversity. Conversely, the fungi appeared to selectively degrade lignin to form biologically refractory compounds because they exhibited negative correlations with numerous lignin-like compounds and showed positive correlations with humic-like molecules. In conclusion, this study suggests that bacteria and fungi regulate DOM diversity and the formation of biologically refractory compounds via distinct pathways, providing important insights into the roles of microbes in mediating soil DOM formation and transformation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"382 ","pages":"Article 109509"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143169673","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}
Pub Date : 2025-01-26DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2025.109499
Anne M. Carey , Cole R. Dutter , Khadija Mbacke , Marshall D. McDaniel , Ajay Nair
Organic vegetable growers depend on organic fertilizer sources and must optimize on-farm nutrient cycling. Integrating poultry, such as chickens, in an organic vegetable rotation offers an opportunity to cycle unharvested plant material into nutrient-rich manure. Additionally, poultry consumption of weeds and insects can add additional agroecosystem services. While cover cropping is a common practice in organic production, integrating livestock is not, but it may further enhance on-farm synergies and improve soil health. Our objectives were to evaluate the impact of integrating organic vegetables and poultry (Gallus gallus domesticus) on vegetable yield, weed and cover crop biomass, and several measures of soil health, including: plant-available nutrients, soil bulk density, water infiltration rate, aggregate stability, earthworm abundance, and microbial biomass. We explored these effects over three years with three rotation treatments: a no-poultry control (vegetable-vegetable-cover crop, Control), vegetable-poultry-cover crop (V-P-CC), and vegetable-cover crop-poultry (V-CC-P). The treatments had no effect on aggregate stability and microbial biomass. However, integrating poultry consistently increased many essential plant macro- and micro-nutrients. For instance, the two poultry rotations increased spring plant-available N by 88 %, P by 30 % and K by 29 %, compared to Control. Integrating poultry increased infiltration rate, measured as field saturated hydraulic conductivity, by 108 % in V-P-CC and 148 % in V-CC-P, compared to Control. However, only V-CC-P increased earthworm abundance compared to Control, by 109 %. These increases in plant-available nutrients and soil health likely contributed to increased leaf lettuce yields in V-P-CC (+96 %) and V-CC-P (+86 %) relative to Control. Our results show that integrating poultry with organic vegetable production can have many benefits to soil health and crop productivity, and points to even greater benefits when the poultry are integrated after a summer cover crop.
{"title":"Integrating poultry improves soil health and vegetable yield in organic, cover-cropped system","authors":"Anne M. Carey , Cole R. Dutter , Khadija Mbacke , Marshall D. McDaniel , Ajay Nair","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109499","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109499","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Organic vegetable growers depend on organic fertilizer sources and must optimize on-farm nutrient cycling. Integrating poultry, such as chickens, in an organic vegetable rotation offers an opportunity to cycle unharvested plant material into nutrient-rich manure. Additionally, poultry consumption of weeds and insects can add additional agroecosystem services. While cover cropping is a common practice in organic production, integrating livestock is not, but it may further enhance on-farm synergies and improve soil health. Our objectives were to evaluate the impact of integrating organic vegetables and poultry (<em>Gallus gallus domesticus</em>) on vegetable yield, weed and cover crop biomass, and several measures of soil health, including: plant-available nutrients, soil bulk density, water infiltration rate, aggregate stability, earthworm abundance, and microbial biomass. We explored these effects over three years with three rotation treatments: a no-poultry control (vegetable-vegetable-cover crop, Control), vegetable-poultry-cover crop (V-P-CC), and vegetable-cover crop-poultry (V-CC-P). The treatments had no effect on aggregate stability and microbial biomass. However, integrating poultry consistently increased many essential plant macro- and micro-nutrients. For instance, the two poultry rotations increased spring plant-available N by 88 %, P by 30 % and K by 29 %, compared to Control. Integrating poultry increased infiltration rate, measured as field saturated hydraulic conductivity, by 108 % in V-P-CC and 148 % in V-CC-P, compared to Control. However, only V-CC-P increased earthworm abundance compared to Control, by 109 %. These increases in plant-available nutrients and soil health likely contributed to increased leaf lettuce yields in V-P-CC (+96 %) and V-CC-P (+86 %) relative to Control. Our results show that integrating poultry with organic vegetable production can have many benefits to soil health and crop productivity, and points to even greater benefits when the poultry are integrated after a summer cover crop.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"382 ","pages":"Article 109499"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143169672","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-25DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2025.109505
Xinya Wen , Jie Lu , Jun Zou , Joann K. Whalen , Shaoliang Lei , Matthew Tom Harrison , Robert M. Rees , Cairistiona F.E. Topp , Zhenwei Song , Fu Chen , Xiaogang Yin
Maize possesses exceptional diversity and undergoes rapid and extensive genetic changes during breeding. New genotypes impact soil microbiota, and respond differently to current climates compared with older genotypes in diverse environments, assessment of such interactions was a key novelty of the present study. Here, we investigated associations between genetic relationship, plant traits and soil bacterial and fungal composition based on six decades of maize breeding in China. Soil microbiome of six maize cultivars, each representing a popular variety developed each decade from the 1950s to 2000s, were collected from a long-term field experiment (established in 2012) and a pot experiment. Microbial community shifts were deduced from the taxonomic co-occurrence and co-exclusion network dynamics across maize growth stages. As expected, cultivar replacement influenced the soil bacterial and fungal composition (P < 0.001). At flowering, different maize genotype groups had distinctive bacterial community structure in the rhizosphere and root-zone soil. Aboveground dry matter, plant height and leaf area were plant traits that best explained the bacterial community variance (29.0 % in rhizosphere and 19.3 % in root-zone soil; P = 0.01) among maize cultivars. Specific root length showed a negative correlation with the gene copy numbers of α-Proteobacteria. The major maize cultivar from the 2000s (M00s) had relatively more cultivar-enriched bacterial taxa, with a greater proportion of the genera Acidibacter and Variibacter in root-zone soil. Furthermore, the M00s cluster contained the most phoD-genes related to phosphorus cycling at harvest, and had the highest bacteria/fungi ratio in the root zone at elongation and flowering. The predominant taxa in the biggest module changed with cultivar replacement, from Proteobacteria in the older maize cultivars to Acidobacteria in the M00s cultivar. The contemporary M00s cultivar may attract beneficial bacteria and fungi while reducing contact with other fungi, which improves soil nitrogen and phosphorus availability. If the plant-associated microbiome could serve as an extended phenotype, then specific gene locus in the maize genome could be targeted to optimize maize breeding for sustainable farming systems.
{"title":"Maize genotypes foster distinctive bacterial and fungal communities in the rhizosphere","authors":"Xinya Wen , Jie Lu , Jun Zou , Joann K. Whalen , Shaoliang Lei , Matthew Tom Harrison , Robert M. Rees , Cairistiona F.E. Topp , Zhenwei Song , Fu Chen , Xiaogang Yin","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109505","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109505","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Maize possesses exceptional diversity and undergoes rapid and extensive genetic changes during breeding. New genotypes impact soil microbiota, and respond differently to current climates compared with older genotypes in diverse environments, assessment of such interactions was a key novelty of the present study. Here, we investigated associations between genetic relationship, plant traits and soil bacterial and fungal composition based on six decades of maize breeding in China. Soil microbiome of six maize cultivars, each representing a popular variety developed each decade from the 1950s to 2000s, were collected from a long-term field experiment (established in 2012) and a pot experiment. Microbial community shifts were deduced from the taxonomic co-occurrence and co-exclusion network dynamics across maize growth stages. As expected, cultivar replacement influenced the soil bacterial and fungal composition (<em>P</em> < 0.001). At flowering, different maize genotype groups had distinctive bacterial community structure in the rhizosphere and root-zone soil. Aboveground dry matter, plant height and leaf area were plant traits that best explained the bacterial community variance (29.0 % in rhizosphere and 19.3 % in root-zone soil; <em>P</em> = 0.01) among maize cultivars. Specific root length showed a negative correlation with the gene copy numbers of <em>α</em>-Proteobacteria. The major maize cultivar from the 2000s (M<sub>00s</sub>) had relatively more cultivar-enriched bacterial taxa, with a greater proportion of the genera <em>Acidibacter</em> and <em>Variibacter</em> in root-zone soil. Furthermore, the M<sub>00s</sub> cluster contained the most <em>phoD</em>-genes related to phosphorus cycling at harvest, and had the highest bacteria/fungi ratio in the root zone at elongation and flowering. The predominant taxa in the biggest module changed with cultivar replacement, from Proteobacteria in the older maize cultivars to Acidobacteria in the M<sub>00s</sub> cultivar. The contemporary M<sub>00s</sub> cultivar may attract beneficial bacteria and fungi while reducing contact with other fungi, which improves soil nitrogen and phosphorus availability. If the plant-associated microbiome could serve as an extended phenotype, then specific gene locus in the maize genome could be targeted to optimize maize breeding for sustainable farming systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"382 ","pages":"Article 109505"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143169671","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}
Pub Date : 2025-01-24DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2025.109496
Yarong Guo, Jiao Ning, Shanning Lou, Fujiang Hou
To promote herbage nutritive yield under global warming, optimizing grazing and proper fertilizer application (nitrogen, N; phosphorus, P) are crucial for balancing herbage nutritive quality production and soil greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions in the arid regions. We conducted a 3-year experiment in a sown grassland to determine the effects of N (0, 75, and 225 kg ha−1) and P fertilizer (0, and 75 kg ha−1) applications and grazing (grazed, and non-grazed) on soil GHGs emissions, herbage nutritive quality (crude protein, CP; dry matter digestibility, DMD; metabolizable energy, ME), and yield scale of global warming potential over different periods (early growing period, peak growing period, late growing period, and non-growing season) from 2020 to 2022. The results show that grazing had no significant effect on soil GHGs emissions. Moreover, fertilizer application significantly increased soil CH4 uptake by 20.1 %, soil CO2 emissions by 12.8 % and soil N2O emissions by 59.1 %. Furthermore, the interaction of grazing and fertilizer application had an additive effect on soil CH4 uptake, and an antagonistic effect on soil CO2 emissions in early growing period. The results showed that grazing decreased herbage yield by 29.03 %, CP yield by 28.72 %, DMD yield by 35.4 %, and ME yield by 26.69 %, the fertilizer application increased herbage yield by 57.6 %, CP yield by 113.1 %, DMD yield by 62.2 % and ME yield by 46.3 %, respectively. In addition, the mean annual herbage, CP, DMD, and ME yield scale of GWP were 1.1 ∼ 7.5, 7.6 ∼ 65.4, 1.5 ∼ 15.7, 12.8 ∼ 84.3 t CO2.eg t−1 yield ha−1, respectively, with the lowest value of the nutritive yield scale of global warming potential found at 225 kg N ha−1 with 75 kg P ha−1 with/without grazing. Moreover, the CP yield could well predict GWP over different periods. Overall, application of 225 kg N ha−1 with 75 kg P ha−1 was the appropriate management, which balanced the herbage nutritive quality yield and global warming potential in sown pasture in the arid regions.
{"title":"Grazing and applications of nitrogen and phosphorus effects on herbage production and greenhouse gas emissions of pasture in an arid region","authors":"Yarong Guo, Jiao Ning, Shanning Lou, Fujiang Hou","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109496","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109496","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To promote herbage nutritive yield under global warming, optimizing grazing and proper fertilizer application (nitrogen, N; phosphorus, P) are crucial for balancing herbage nutritive quality production and soil greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions in the arid regions. We conducted a 3-year experiment in a sown grassland to determine the effects of N (0, 75, and 225 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>) and P fertilizer (0, and 75 kg ha<sup>−1</sup>) applications and grazing (grazed, and non-grazed) on soil GHGs emissions, herbage nutritive quality (crude protein, CP; dry matter digestibility, DMD; metabolizable energy, ME), and yield scale of global warming potential over different periods (early growing period, peak growing period, late growing period, and non-growing season) from 2020 to 2022. The results show that grazing had no significant effect on soil GHGs emissions. Moreover, fertilizer application significantly increased soil CH<sub>4</sub> uptake by 20.1 %, soil CO<sub>2</sub> emissions by 12.8 % and soil N<sub>2</sub>O emissions by 59.1 %. Furthermore, the interaction of grazing and fertilizer application had an additive effect on soil CH<sub>4</sub> uptake, and an antagonistic effect on soil CO<sub>2</sub> emissions in early growing period. The results showed that grazing decreased herbage yield by 29.03 %, CP yield by 28.72 %, DMD yield by 35.4 %, and ME yield by 26.69 %, the fertilizer application increased herbage yield by 57.6 %, CP yield by 113.1 %, DMD yield by 62.2 % and ME yield by 46.3 %, respectively. In addition, the mean annual herbage, CP, DMD, and ME yield scale of GWP were 1.1 ∼ 7.5, 7.6 ∼ 65.4, 1.5 ∼ 15.7, 12.8 ∼ 84.3 t CO<sub>2</sub>.eg t<sup>−1</sup> yield ha<sup>−1</sup>, respectively, with the lowest value of the nutritive yield scale of global warming potential found at 225 kg N ha<sup>−1</sup> with 75 kg P ha<sup>−1</sup> with/without grazing. Moreover, the CP yield could well predict GWP over different periods. Overall, application of 225 kg N ha<sup>−1</sup> with 75 kg P ha<sup>−1</sup> was the appropriate management, which balanced the herbage nutritive quality yield and global warming potential in sown pasture in the arid regions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"382 ","pages":"Article 109496"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143170697","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}
Pub Date : 2025-01-22DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2025.109481
Bianca Amato , Sophie Petit
Native vegetation remnants within agricultural landscapes play a crucial role in supporting biodiversity and ecosystem services such as pollination; however, their benefits are not always recognised by farmers. We investigated the influence of native vegetation remnants, both in fragment and linear forms, on pollination of Brassica napus (canola or oilseed rape) and Vicia faba (faba beans) in South Australia. We used the difference in the number of seeds per pod between open-pollinated (unbagged) plants and those unpollinated by animals (bagged) as pollination success. We found a positive relationship between seed set (and total crop yield) and the area of fragment and linear vegetation within 200 m for both crop species, with linear vegetation showing a stronger influence on both crop species possibly because of its use by exotic honeybees. Increasing distance to the closest vegetation had a significant negative effect on seed set. Sandy soils diminished the positive effects of native vegetation on bean seed set. Of the pods sampled from beans and canola, 12.2 % and 2.4 % respectively achieved maximum pollination; all were unbagged. Area of fragment and linear vegetation within 200 m of plants exerted a greater effect on maximum pollination than proximity to vegetation for canola. Only distance to vegetation was a significant predictor of bean maximum pollination. These results demonstrate the positive effects of non-crop vegetation with configurational heterogeneity on crop pollination. Given the common practice of crop rotation on commercial farms, the impact of various vegetation types fluctuates across cropping cycles. To ensure the continuity of pollination services over time, conserving and restoring fragment and linear vegetation in agricultural regions are imperative.
{"title":"Influence of fragment and roadside vegetation on canola (Brassica napus) and faba bean (Vicia faba) pollination in South Australia","authors":"Bianca Amato , Sophie Petit","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109481","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109481","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Native vegetation remnants within agricultural landscapes play a crucial role in supporting biodiversity and ecosystem services such as pollination; however, their benefits are not always recognised by farmers. We investigated the influence of native vegetation remnants, both in fragment and linear forms, on pollination of <em>Brassica napus</em> (canola or oilseed rape) and <em>Vicia faba</em> (faba beans) in South Australia. We used the difference in the number of seeds per pod between open-pollinated (unbagged) plants and those unpollinated by animals (bagged) as pollination success. We found a positive relationship between seed set (and total crop yield) and the area of fragment and linear vegetation within 200 m for both crop species, with linear vegetation showing a stronger influence on both crop species possibly because of its use by exotic honeybees<em>.</em> Increasing distance to the closest vegetation had a significant negative effect on seed set. Sandy soils diminished the positive effects of native vegetation on bean seed set. Of the pods sampled from beans and canola, 12.2 % and 2.4 % respectively achieved maximum pollination; all were unbagged. Area of fragment and linear vegetation within 200 m of plants exerted a greater effect on maximum pollination than proximity to vegetation for canola<em>.</em> Only distance to vegetation was a significant predictor of bean maximum pollination. These results demonstrate the positive effects of non-crop vegetation with configurational heterogeneity on crop pollination. Given the common practice of crop rotation on commercial farms, the impact of various vegetation types fluctuates across cropping cycles. To ensure the continuity of pollination services over time, conserving and restoring fragment and linear vegetation in agricultural regions are imperative.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"382 ","pages":"Article 109481"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143170867","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-21DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2025.109501
Qing Xia , Liangbin Zeng , Wenhao Yu , Zihao Liu , Mengqi Wang , Yuanru Yang , Shenyan Dai , Jinbo Zhang , Zucong Cai , Liangliang Liu , Jun Zhao
Reductive soil disinfestation (RSD) is an effective strategy for soil health management, although the disease control efficacy for replanting crops often varies due to the different organic substrates employed. The underlying mechanisms of this phenomenon remain to be elucidated. This study utilized two types of organic substrates, molasses (MO) and sugarcane bagasse (SB), to perform RSD treatment on Longya lily cultivated soils. Soil microbial abundance and community structure after RSD treatment and during replanted lily growth, as well as disease severity and biomass of lily bulbs at harvest stage were investigated. Results indicated that both RSD treatments significantly reduced fungal pathogens to a similar extent. However, the proliferation rate of Fusarium oxysporum and F. solani in SB-treated soil was slower compared to MO-treated soil during lily replantation, resulting in superior disease control efficacy with SB. Significant differences in microbial composition, diversity, structure, and dynamics were observed between MO and SB treatments. Mantel test revealed significant (P < 0.05) relationships between soil microbiome dissimilarities and variations in lily yield and disease. Notably, SB treatment fostered more complex soil microbial networks than MO, characterized by higher connectance, average degree, clustering coefficient, centralization degree, cohesion, and connectedness. The complexity of microbial networks exhibited a significant (P < 0.001) negative correlation with disease incidence and disease index, and a positive correlation with the theoretical yield of lily. This study demonstrates that the efficacy of RSD in disease control is closely associated with the structure of the soil microbiome and the complexity of microbial interactions.
{"title":"The efficacy of reductive soil disinfestations on disease control is highly dependent on the microbiomes they reconstructed","authors":"Qing Xia , Liangbin Zeng , Wenhao Yu , Zihao Liu , Mengqi Wang , Yuanru Yang , Shenyan Dai , Jinbo Zhang , Zucong Cai , Liangliang Liu , Jun Zhao","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109501","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109501","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Reductive soil disinfestation (RSD) is an effective strategy for soil health management, although the disease control efficacy for replanting crops often varies due to the different organic substrates employed. The underlying mechanisms of this phenomenon remain to be elucidated. This study utilized two types of organic substrates, molasses (MO) and sugarcane bagasse (SB), to perform RSD treatment on Longya lily cultivated soils. Soil microbial abundance and community structure after RSD treatment and during replanted lily growth, as well as disease severity and biomass of lily bulbs at harvest stage were investigated. Results indicated that both RSD treatments significantly reduced fungal pathogens to a similar extent. However, the proliferation rate of <em>Fusarium oxysporum</em> and <em>F. solani</em> in SB-treated soil was slower compared to MO-treated soil during lily replantation, resulting in superior disease control efficacy with SB. Significant differences in microbial composition, diversity, structure, and dynamics were observed between MO and SB treatments. Mantel test revealed significant (<em>P</em> < 0.05) relationships between soil microbiome dissimilarities and variations in lily yield and disease. Notably, SB treatment fostered more complex soil microbial networks than MO, characterized by higher connectance, average degree, clustering coefficient, centralization degree, cohesion, and connectedness. The complexity of microbial networks exhibited a significant (<em>P</em> < 0.001) negative correlation with disease incidence and disease index, and a positive correlation with the theoretical yield of lily. This study demonstrates that the efficacy of RSD in disease control is closely associated with the structure of the soil microbiome and the complexity of microbial interactions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"382 ","pages":"Article 109501"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143169651","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}
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号