Land Degradation & Development最新文献

{"title":"Forest Vapor Pressure Deficit Sensitivity: A Potential Indicator of Soil Carbon Stability Under Atmospheric Drying","authors":"Anquan Xia, Xiang Wei, Ma Cheng, Zhihong Xu, Tong Li","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70907","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.70907","url":null,"abstract":"This Short Report examines an underexplored link between atmospheric drying and soil organic carbon (SOC) stability. Rising atmospheric vapor pressure deficit (VPD) is becoming an increasingly important hydroclimatic stressor for terrestrial ecosystems. We propose that VPD sensitivity, the degree to which evapotranspiration (ET) and photosynthesis co‐vary with atmospheric demand, is a potentially useful and context‐dependent indicator of forest soil carbon resilience. Operationally, VPD can be quantified as the covariate‐adjusted slope or elasticity of ET or gross primary production (GPP) with respect to VPD. A short‐term reduction in VPD sensitivity may reflect protective stomatal regulation; only persistent changes accompanied by reduced carbon uptake or root‐derived inputs are proposed as a potential warning signal. Recognizing VPD sensitivity as a candidate indicator rather than a direct measure of SOC change provides a new lens through which to evaluate forest carbon stability under global drying.","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148979380","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"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 Straw Returning Combined With Mineral Fertilization Enhances Soil Quality but Elevates P Loss Risks in a Subtropical Rice–Wheat Rotation System, Central China","authors":"Wei Liu,&nbsp;Shan Jiang,&nbsp;Fang Hu,&nbsp;Songjie Fu,&nbsp;Zhiyi Zhang,&nbsp;Fulin Zhang,&nbsp;Yang Jiao,&nbsp;Sen Gu,&nbsp;Qingman Li","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70793","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ldr.70793","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Long-term straw returning is widely promoted to improve soil quality in intensive cropping systems, yet its combined effects with mineral fertilization on soil quality and phosphorus (P) loss risks remain unclear. Using a 16-year field experiment in a rice–wheat rotation system, we evaluated the impacts of straw returning (S), NPK fertilization (NPK), their combination (NPK + S), and an unfertilized control (CK) on soil properties, soil quality index (SQI), and P sorption indicators. Straw-return treatments improved soil chemical and biological properties, including soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), microbial biomass carbon, and available potassium, but had little effect on physical properties. NPK + S markedly increased the degrees of P saturation (DPS) and equilibrium P concentrations (ECP₀), indicating elevated P loss risk. A minimum data set (MDS) identified silt, SOC, N:P ratio, and total P as key indicators. SQI derived from the MDS (SQI_MDS) was highest in NPK + S and strongly correlated with both SQI from the total dataset and rice yield (<i>r</i> &gt; 0.92, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.01). Silt was the dominant soil quality factor, contributing 56.7%–64.8% to SQI_MDS. Both NPK and NPK + S increased SQI_MDS and P-related risk indicators relative to CK, with NPK + S showing the greatest improvement in soil quality but also the greatest P loss risk. Overall, long-term straw returning with NPK fertilization enhances soil fertility and productivity but increases soil P saturation and leaching potential. Sustainable residue management should therefore integrate straw returning with reduced or controlled P inputs to balance agronomic benefits and environmental protection.</p>","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"37 15","pages":"10732-10745"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ldr.70793","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148459274","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Influence Mechanisms of Spatial Optimization of the “Terraced Fields-Gully Land Reclamation Project (GLRP)” Cascades on Erosion-Transportation Processes in Watershed in the Loess Hilly-Gully Region of China","authors":"Zhe Gao,&nbsp;Xiaoqian Xu,&nbsp;Gen'guang Zhang,&nbsp;Hongke Hao,&nbsp;Shaobo Long,&nbsp;Wenzheng Li,&nbsp;Chuan Yang,&nbsp;Xinhua Zhang,&nbsp;Lei Liu,&nbsp;Jian'en Gao","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70792","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ldr.70792","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;Terraced fields and the Gully Land Reclamation Project (GLRP) are important soil and water conservation measures, widely constructed in China's Loess Plateau and other ecologically fragile areas in the world. However, under large-scale governance scenarios, the impacts of the “terraced fields-GLRP” cascade system on water and sediment processes in watersheds constitute a critical scientific issue that needs to be addressed for optimizing governance strategies under the context of high-quality development of the Loess Plateau. To address this issue, this study developed a novel watershed solid-scale physical model based on 3D scene reappearance. The spatial pattern of “terraced fields-GLRP” significantly affected watershed runoff and sediment production. The study defined the &lt;span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;math&gt;\u0000 &lt;semantics&gt;\u0000 &lt;mrow&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;msub&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;mi&gt;ξ&lt;/mi&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;mrow&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;mi&gt;T&lt;/mi&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;mo&gt;~&lt;/mo&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;mtext&gt;GLRP&lt;/mtext&gt;\u0000 &lt;/mrow&gt;\u0000 &lt;/msub&gt;\u0000 &lt;/mrow&gt;\u0000 &lt;annotation&gt;$$ {xi}_{Tsim GLRP} $$&lt;/annotation&gt;\u0000 &lt;/semantics&gt;&lt;/math&gt; coefficient (watershed erosion modulus reduction per unit area of terraced fields and GLRP) as their spatial layout control index, and proposed three deployment modes: series, parallel, and mixed. Under the series mode, the maximum watershed erosion reduction (86.25%) occurred when the relative layout area of terraced fields was 40%–50% and relative height 0.5 ~ 0.9; under the parallel mode, the maximum reduction (91.22%) was achieved at 40% relative terrace area; under the mixed mode, the maximum reduction (95.33%) was observed at 40% relative terrace area and 0.6–0.8 relative height. Watershed erosion remained stable when &lt;span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;math&gt;\u0000 &lt;semantics&gt;\u0000 &lt;mrow&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;msub&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;mi&gt;ξ&lt;/mi&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;mrow&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;mi&gt;T&lt;/mi&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;mo&gt;~&lt;/mo&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;mtext&gt;GLRP&lt;/mtext&gt;\u0000 &lt;/mrow&gt;\u0000 &lt;/msub&gt;\u0000 &lt;/mrow&gt;\u0000 &lt;annotation&gt;$$ {xi}_{Tsim GLRP} $$&lt;/annotation&gt;\u0000 &lt;/semantics&gt;&lt;/math&gt; was 0.4–0.5, with an erosion growth inflection point at &lt;span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;math&gt;\u0000 &lt;semantics&gt;\u0000 &lt;mrow&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;msub&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;mi&gt;ξ&lt;/mi&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;mrow&gt;\u0000 ","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"37 15","pages":"10712-10731"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ldr.70792","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148675243","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cereal-Legume Rotation Benefits Soil Ecosystem Multifunctionality by Improving the Efficiency of Microbial Carbon Pump","authors":"Quanyi Hu,&nbsp;Yanshi Li,&nbsp;Jing Luo,&nbsp;Guangshuai Wang,&nbsp;Yali Zhao,&nbsp;Tianmin Ding,&nbsp;Hongen Liu,&nbsp;Yingxin Xie,&nbsp;Xuelin Zhang","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70797","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ldr.70797","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Cereal-legume rotation is regarded as an important agricultural management strategy for enhancing soil organic carbon (SOC) and improving soil ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF). The soil microbial carbon pump (MCP) exerts a regulatory effect on the production of microbial necromass as well as the SOC accumulation. However, the understanding of how cereal-legume rotation regulates the link between the soil MCP and EMF remains largely insufficient. Based on this, this study was conducted by virtue of a 13-year long-term field positioning experiment in the North China Plain of China. Taking wheat-soybean (WS), wheat-maize (WM), and wheat-cotton (WC) rotation patterns as the experimental treatments, we conducted a systematic investigation and comparison of how these three rotation regimes impact soil enzyme activities, MCP efficiency, and EMF. Results demonstrated that, relative to WM and WC, WS significantly increased SOC by 11.4%–19.4%, total nitrogen by 16.7%–19.0%, dissolved organic carbon by 15.4%–27.1%, NO₃\u0000 ⁻–N by 28.5%–59.3%, and available phosphorus by 24.0%–35.6%. It also elevated microbial biomass carbon by 17.2%–18.4%, and microbial biomass nitrogen by 32.4%–36.5%. WS notably enhanced bacterial and fungal abundances by 21.8%–44.8% and 11.7%–21.7%, respectively, and stimulated the activities of β-glucosidase by 17.2%–17.4% and alkaline phosphatase by 46.9%–70.6%, accompanied by intensified soil phosphorus limitation. Moreover, WS significantly promoted microbial necromass carbon accumulation by 19.9%–29.5%, and boosted MCP efficiency by 7.7%–8.5% along with the microbial necromass accumulation coefficient by 5.2%–7.4%. While a significant discrepancy was observed in soil microbial necromass content between WM and WC, no significant differences were observed in their MCP efficiency and microbial necromass accumulation coefficient. Among these three rotation patterns, soil EMF was significantly higher in WS than in WM and WC, with WM showing a higher level than WC. The results of multi-method combined analysis showed that the cereal-legume rotation pattern regulated soil nutrient availability, altered soil microbial community structure and extracellular enzyme activities, further affected soil MCP efficiency, and ultimately drove changes in soil EMF. This study deepens the understanding of the interactive mechanism linking soil microbial carbon sequestration processes and EMF, and laying a theoretical foundation for the rational allocation and optimized utilization of rotation patterns.</p>","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"37 15","pages":"10795-10807"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ldr.70797","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148459685","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Iron/Manganese Oxide-Bound Nitrogen Suppresses Microbial Mediated Nitrate Reduction in Soil","authors":"Yu Cheng,&nbsp;Xuehao Zheng,&nbsp;Miao Yang,&nbsp;Shoujiang Liu","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70796","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ldr.70796","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Nitrogen cycling plays a pivotal role in sustaining ecosystem productivity and stability, while the chemical forms of nitrogen in soils critically influence both its efficiency and pathways. In this study, farmland soils from the Anning River Basin—an important watershed in Southwest China—were investigated to examine the regulatory effects of environmental factors, particularly iron/manganese oxides-bound nitrogen (IMOF-N), on microbial nitrogen cycling. Measurements of different nitrogen forms, nitrogen transformation percentage, metagenomic sequencing, and multivariate statistical analyses were integrated. Among the five nitrogen forms tested, IMOF-N emerged as the most influential factor affecting the abundance of nitrogen-cycling functional genes. Both random forest modeling and partial least squares path analysis revealed significant correlations between IMOF-N and key genes involved in assimilatory nitrate reduction (e.g., <i>nasB</i>, <i>nasC</i>) as well as dissimilatory nitrate reduction (e.g., <i>nirB</i>, <i>nirD</i>, <i>nrfA</i>). High IMOF-N levels significantly suppressed the expression of genes involved in dissimilatory nitrate reduction, with expression reductions ranging from 46.9% to 69.7%, and reduced the complexity, connectivity, and stability of microbial interaction networks, with <i>Actinobacteria</i> showing high sensitivity to IMOF-N perturbation. In contrast, ammonium nitrogen enhanced nitrogen cycling, while soil water content (SWC) negatively correlated with nitrification conversion percentage but positively with ammonification conversion percentage, likely via regulating oxygen availability. These findings reveal a novel mechanism whereby IMOF-N acts as a stable nitrogen form that suppresses key gene expression and simplifies microbial networks, thereby negatively modulating soil nitrogen cycling. The study provides a scientific basis for optimizing nitrogen management in the Anning River Basin and other Fe/Mn-enriched agricultural regions.</p>","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"37 15","pages":"10784-10794"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ldr.70796","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148564756","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Physical and Chemical Characterization of Soil in Urban Solid Waste Disposal Area","authors":"Mayara Aline Bones,&nbsp;Willian Fernando de Borba,&nbsp;Pedro Daniel da Cunha Kemerich,&nbsp;Cristiane Carine dos Santos,&nbsp;Jaqueline Ineu Golombieski,&nbsp;Lucindo Somavilla,&nbsp;Marcela de Melo Torchelsen,&nbsp;Claiton Nardini,&nbsp;Luma Schervenski Tejada,&nbsp;Mateus Guimarães da Silva","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70764","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ldr.70764","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Waste generation and subsequent disposal in adequate sites still have limitations in some Brazilian municipalities. Therefore, environmental monitoring of these areas is extremely important, as it helps to preserve the environment. The purpose of this study is to analyze the chemical and physical parameters of soil in a landfill area. For this, soil samples were collected at 10 sampling points, where the concentrations of seven chemical elements (Cadmium, Lead, Cobalt, Copper, Chromium, Nickel, and Zinc) were analyzed, at three depths (0, 50, and 120 cm). Furthermore, granulometry, permeability, and optimum moisture content were determined. The results indicated the presence of a Dystrophic Red Latosol (Oxisol). With 51.00% clay, 28.00% silt, and 21.00% sand, it is classified as a clayey soil, with 32.70% optimum moisture and a 2.11 × 10⁻⁷ cm.s⁻¹ permeability, thus within the values stipulated by current regulations. The chemical elements indicated changes in elements Copper and Nickel, mainly, and Copper may be of natural origin, due to the source material and its weathering products. As for Nickel, the values were similar to those found in research carried out in the same geological formation. Statistical analysis indicated that there was no difference between depths. Therefore, we conclude that the waste disposal activity did not alter the soil natural quality, possibly due to the natural protection system, through the low permeability clayey soil.</p>","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"37 15","pages":"10649-10657"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ldr.70764","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148717292","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Precision Restoration to Minimize Soil Loss in a Watershed in the Atlantic Forest Domain","authors":"Rodrigo Nobre Santana,&nbsp;Luíza Maria Affonso Lopes da Silva,&nbsp;Sady Júnior Martins da Costa Menezes,&nbsp;Getúlio Fonseca Domingues,&nbsp;Carlos Antônio Alvares Soares Ribeiro,&nbsp;Plinio Antonio Guerra Filho,&nbsp;Alexandre Rosa dos Santos","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70270","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ldr.70270","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The Turvo River Watershed, located in the Zona da Mata region of Minas Gerais and part of the Doce River Basin, faces serious problems of erosion and soil degradation, which compromise and reduce the quality of local water resources. Given this scenario, it is essential to implement environmental recovery strategies that prioritize the efficient allocation of vegetation zones, which serve as effective agents in reducing erosion caused by surface runoff in areas with exposed soil. The use of geotechnology tools, such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the Unit Stream Power-Based Erosion Deposition (USPED) model, helps identify areas most susceptible to sediment loss and deposition. Additionally, the application of Genetic Algorithms (GA) to maximize scenario simulations and optimize the placement of vegetation zones is crucial for minimizing erosion rates and achieving results more quickly and accurately. The results indicated that, among the simulated scenarios, erosion and deposition values remained mostly below 0.10 t ha⁻¹ year⁻¹, characterizing low soil loss. The application of GA reduced erosion by up to 53.85% in the most efficient scenario and increased forest cover by approximately 66.5%, demonstrating its effectiveness in precision environmental restoration. This methodology proved to be useful and applicable to any watershed, serving as an effective tool for environmental management, erosion and sediment deposition studies, and monitoring of natural resources.</p>","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"37 15","pages":"10585-10599"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ldr.70270","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145396762","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Simulated Root Exudation Gradient Reveals Dosage-Dependent Carbon Sequestration in Desertification Ecosystems","authors":"Ran Xue,&nbsp;Xuemei Fang,&nbsp;Dongming Chen,&nbsp;Fei Yan,&nbsp;Aomei Jia,&nbsp;Zhouwen Ma,&nbsp;Yongheng Gao,&nbsp;Jiqiong Zhou,&nbsp;Jian Zhang,&nbsp;Lin Liu","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70760","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ldr.70760","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Root exudates serve as a key driver for the restoration of soil organic carbon (SOC), particularly in aeolian desertification ecosystems where aboveground litter retention is limited. While <i>Salix cupularis</i> is widely planted as an effective pioneer shrub for ecological rehabilitation on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, how the quantity of its root exudates regulates the dynamics of microbial-derived SOC in sandy soils remains unclear. Using ¹³C isotope labeling and DNA-SIP, we simulated the root carbon exudation of <i>S. cupularis</i> with a glucose gradient: ambient rate (V), half the ambient rate (1/2 V), and twice the ambient rate (2 V) to investigate carbon decomposition pathways in sandy soil. We found that different glucose input levels significantly altered soil carbon components and enriched distinct microbial communities. Under V treatment, a higher proportion of glucose was efficiently incorporated into particulate organic carbon (POC). Conversely, both the 1/2 V and 2 V treatments diverted more glucose toward microbial respiration. While 1/2 V treatment increased microbial biomass, it simultaneously induced a positive priming effect, thereby exacerbating native soil carbon loss. Meanwhile, 2 V treatment significantly reduced microbial diversity and further elevated respiration, resulting in the lowest carbon sequestration efficiency. This study elucidates the mechanisms underlying microbial adaptation to varying nutrient inputs and reveals the dosage-dependent advantage of <i>S. cupularis</i> root exudation in maintaining soil carbon balance. These findings offer novel perspectives on optimizing carbon sequestration strategies and understanding the ecological restoration capacity of pioneer plants in desertified ecosystems.</p>","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"37 15","pages":"10640-10648"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ldr.70760","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148675073","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integrating Environmental Perceptions and Value Cognition to Understand Farmers' Livelihood Capacity: Evidence From a Rocky Desertification Area in China","authors":"Yue Qiu,&nbsp;Li Peng,&nbsp;Feiting Gao,&nbsp;Huijuan Zhang","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70791","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ldr.70791","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Rocky desertification poses a serious threat to the sustainable development of karst regions. Large-scale ecological restoration projects for ecologically fragile areas not only improve regional ecological quality but also affect farmers' perception of rocky desertification control (PRDC) and value cognition. In the context of ecological restoration projects, we surveyed 677 rural households in 29 villages in the South China karst region with the aim to assess the impact of farmers' PRDC and cognition of ecological, economic and social values on their sustainable livelihood capacity (SLC). We then used partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and Multi-group structural equation modelling (SEM) to analyse the farmer survey data. The results reveal that PRDC not only has a positive effect on farmers' SLC but also indirectly affects farmers' SLC by shaping farmers' cognition of ecological, economic and social values. The findings offer insights for developing targeted interventions to increase the livelihood capacity.</p>","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"37 15","pages":"10697-10711"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ldr.70791","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148408930","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Carbon-Fixing Bacterial Network Complexity Mediates Soil Multifunctionality in a Panax notoginseng-Pinus armandii Agroforestry System","authors":"Jingying Hei,&nbsp;Rui Rui,&nbsp;Shu Wang,&nbsp;Xiahong He","doi":"10.1002/ldr.70801","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ldr.70801","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Autotrophic carbon-fixing bacteria (CFB) are central contributors to soil carbon sequestration and biogeochemical carbon cycling in agroforestry ecosystems and can act as reliable biological indicators for evaluating agroforestry ecosystem sustainability. However, how the conversion of monoculture \u0000 <i>Pinus armandii</i>\u0000 (MP) to <i>Panax notoginseng</i> (Sanqi)-\u0000 <i>Pinus armandii</i>\u0000 agroforestry (SPA) system affects CFB communities and soil multifunctionality remains largely unclear. Here, we quantified the variations in CFB abundance, community diversity, and composition across MP and SPA systems using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and high-throughput sequencing technology. The results demonstrated that the SPA system significantly reduced CFB abundance but increased β-diversity in Sanqi and \u0000 <i>P. armandii</i>\u0000 soils, respectively. For Sanqi rhizosphere soil, CFB α-diversity was also remarkably elevated, with Shannon and Chao1 indices increasing by 20.18% and 28.57%, respectively. Main effect analysis showed that seasonal dynamics explained the majority of the variation in CFB abundance (<i>η</i>\u0000 ² = 0.27), while Sanqi introduction dominated the variation associated with CFB β-diversity (<i>η</i>\u0000 ² = 0.92). The abundance of <i>Bradyrhizobium</i> was markedly enriched in Sanqi rhizosphere soil rather than \u0000 <i>P. armandii</i>\u0000 soil. Furthermore, the SPA system increased the CFB network complexity by 9.10% in pine soil and 29.37% in Sanqi soil and improved the CFB network stability in pine soil. Structural equation modeling (SEM) showed that soil multifunctionality was closely associated with CFB network complexity. Overall, our study provides novel insights into the regulatory role of CFB in maintaining soil ecosystem functions during the transition from the MP to the SPA system.</p>","PeriodicalId":203,"journal":{"name":"Land Degradation & Development","volume":"37 15","pages":"10835-10850"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ldr.70801","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148415570","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}