Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment最新文献

{"title":"Landscape context influences local management effects on birds and bats in Amazonian cacao agroforestry systems","authors":"Pablo Aycart-Lazo ,&nbsp;Blanca Ivañez-Ballesteros ,&nbsp;Carolina Ocampo-Ariza ,&nbsp;Johannes Wessely ,&nbsp;Stefan Dullinger ,&nbsp;Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter ,&nbsp;Evert Thomas ,&nbsp;Teja Tscharntke ,&nbsp;Bea Maas","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109545","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109545","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Agricultural expansion and intensification are major drivers of biodiversity loss, particularly in tropical regions. Cacao agroforestry systems can both support and benefit from high levels of biodiversity via associated pest control services from birds and bats, although their potential to do so likely depends on local management and the landscape context. However, how interactions between local-scale agroforestry practices and landscape-scale habitat features shape bird and bat communities in these systems remains poorly understood. We studied birds and bats in 28 smallholder cacao agroforests in the Peruvian Amazon, comparing two regions with contrasting levels of agricultural intensification. We analyzed how local tree diversity and canopy cover interact with surrounding landscape tree cover and regional agricultural intensity to influence species richness and community composition. Results showed that local tree diversity increased bird richness, but only in the intensively farmed region. Local canopy cover had contrasting effects: it negatively impacted bird richness, abundance, and bat activity in more open landscapes (&lt;55 % tree cover), but positively in forested landscapes (&gt;80 % tree cover). Notably, these interactions were significant when considering the landscape tree cover at small spatial scales (250 m), but not at 500 m or 1000 m. Our findings highlight the importance of adapting cacao agroforestry management to the surrounding landscape. Retaining high local canopy cover supports flying vertebrate diversity and associated ecosystem services in forested landscapes, while restoration of landscape tree cover could enhance bird and bat populations that may contribute to pest suppression services in deforested areas.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"385 ","pages":"Article 109545"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143487204","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}

{"title":"Plant diversity expands dietary niche breadth but facilitates dietary niche partitioning of co-occurring cattle and sheep","authors":"Man Xu,&nbsp;Yueqing Song,&nbsp;Yizhen Wang,&nbsp;Yonghuan Yue,&nbsp;Haoran Yu,&nbsp;Huixian Meng,&nbsp;Ling Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109566","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109566","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Extensive research has elucidated the effects of plant diversity on small invertebrate consumers; however, the corresponding impacts on large generalist herbivores remain comparatively under-explored. This gap is particularly notable in the context of dietary variations across different species of sympatric large generalist herbivores. Given the prevalence and crucial role of domestic herbivores in grassland ecosystems, our study experimentally investigated the dietary variation, either in terms of partitioning or overlap, between co-occurring cattle and sheep across a range of plant diversity gradients. Our results demonstrated a significant expansion in the dietary niche breadth of cattle and sheep with increased plant diversity. However, the dietary expansion of the two large herbivore species with available plant diversity did not increase interspecific overlap. Rather, cattle and sheep mainly exploited the same resources in different proportions by this augmented plant diversity, leading to significantly reduced dietary niche overlap and thereby facilitating dietary partitioning between them. Our results underscore the critical role of preserving high plant diversity in facilitating dietary partitioning among large herbivores. This could enhance the synergistic effects of cattle and sheep grazing on plant communities. Our study also has important implications for the management of livestock grazing, suggesting that adopting mixed grazing of cattle and sheep in grasslands with high plant diversity could be more beneficial than in low-diversity grasslands.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"385 ","pages":"Article 109566"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143487009","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":"Soil health responses to long-term grazing intensity gradients in two semiarid rangelands","authors":"Kalyn Taylor ,&nbsp;Justin D. Derner ,&nbsp;Daniel Liptzin ,&nbsp;Lauren M. Porensky ,&nbsp;Jocelyn M. Lavallee ,&nbsp;David J. Augustine ,&nbsp;David L. Hoover","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109548","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109548","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Semiarid rangelands constitute nearly 30 % of the world’s grassland ecosystems and livestock grazing is the most widespread land use in these ecosystems. These semiarid rangelands provide a variety of ecosystem goods and services, many of which may depend on soil health. While advances have been made with indicators of soil health for croplands, similar efforts for rangelands are lacking. The North American Project to Evaluate Soil Health Measurements (NAPESHM) sampled soils to 15 cm from long-term (≥ 40 years) grazing treatments spanning a range of grazing intensity (ungrazed to heavy grazing) in two semiarid rangelands, shortgrass steppe (SGS) and northern mixed-grass prairie (NMP), in fall 2019. Soils were analyzed for chemical (permanganate oxidizable carbon [POXC] and soil organic carbon [SOC]), biological (mineralizable soil carbon [MinC], phospholipid fatty acids [PLFA], ACE protein, and β-glucosidase enzyme activity [BG]), and physical (saturated hydraulic conductivity [SHC], available water capacity [AWC], and aggregate stability) indicators of soil health. Light particulate organic carbon and mineral associated organic carbon fractions were also analyzed at the SGS. Additionally, annual net primary productivity and the relative production of warm-vs cool-season grasses were evaluated from 2010 to 2019. Soil health responses to grazing intensity treatments in these two semiarid rangeland ecosystems were generally inconsistent across and within chemical, biological, and physical indicators. For instance, POXC and SOC differed between the two rangeland ecosystems, but neither soil health response within a site was significantly affected by grazing intensity. MinC and saturated hydraulic conductivity consistently decreased as grazing intensity increased in both rangeland ecosystems, while all other biological and chemical indicators were either 1) solely influenced by rangeland ecosystem type, 2) the interaction between rangeland ecosystem and grazing intensity, or 3) unaffected by rangeland ecosystem or grazing intensity. At SGS, δ13 C values of both organic carbon fractions became less negative as grazing intensity increased, consistent with a greater proportion of warm-season perennial grasses and lower proportion of cool-season grasses. Our results suggest that generalizations about the effects of multi-decadal grazing intensity gradients in western Great Plains semiarid rangelands in North America on chemical, biological, and physical indicators of soil health remain elusive.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"385 ","pages":"Article 109548"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143487076","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":"Simulating and mapping the risks and impact of fall army worm (Spodoptera frugiperda) and white grub (Holotrichia serrata) in maize production outlooks for Nigeria under climate change","authors":"Esther Shupel Ibrahim ,&nbsp;Claas Nendel ,&nbsp;Ayodele Ebenezer Ajayi ,&nbsp;Michael Berg-Mohnicke ,&nbsp;Susanne Schulz","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109534","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109534","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Agriculture in many developing countries is expected to be severely affected by climate change. The majority of Africa’s population traditionally depends on maize for their livelihoods. The recent invasion and spread of the fall armyworm (FAW), white grubs and other maize pests in Africa is therefore one of the major factors hindering sustainable food security on the continent. Estimating the simultaneous impact of climate change and major pests on maize yields, its spatio-temporal pattern and narrow time windows is most useful for early warning, but is not addressed in the current literature. We present an approach based on remotely sensed climate and biophysical data and agro-system modelling to fill this gap, using Nigeria as an example. We start from a baseline maize yield simulation that produces mean yields of 800–1200 kg ha^–1, 1000–1700 kg ha^–1 and 1200–2300 kg ha^–1 under low, medium and high nitrogen supply, respectively. Potential pest impacts can be responsible for mean yield losses of up to 18–75 % and 8–73 % (USD 72.4 – 675.3 ha^–1) for white grub and FAW, respectively, under different severity thresholds, depending on locations and when maize was sown. Our findings further collaborates that yield losses due to pests outweigh the direct effects of climate change. Importantly, our findings reveal the influence of changing sowing windows on the magnitude of yield losses. Early sowing resulted in higher yield losses, while medium and late sowing generated lower yield losses for all simulated years. Our pest risk predictions show moderate to high growth index numbers for FAW to occur in Nigeria, especially in the 2021–2060 windows, and most favourable in the cropping seasons in all agro-ecological zones (AEZs). Favourable breeding conditions for FAW decreased over time and were almost absent in the savannahs by 2100. However, the risk projections show higher stress indices occurring from 2081 to 2100 and a decline in growth index counts. This information is key to understanding pest adaptation in Nigeria, and how crop management can support sustainable yield improvements. The findings can be used to improve organic crop management and facilitate policy formulation for future climate change adaptation and mitigation for optimised agricultural production, innovative chemical control, sustainable environmental management, progressive agribusiness and secure access to food in Nigeria.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"385 ","pages":"Article 109534"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143480504","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}

{"title":"Grassland litter decomposition is accelerated by herbivore dung deposition via changes in bacterial communities","authors":"Zhiyang Zhang ,&nbsp;Xiaogang Dong ,&nbsp;Jing Tang ,&nbsp;Shiting Zhang ,&nbsp;Riikka Rinnan ,&nbsp;Yi Jiao","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109557","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109557","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The decomposition of herbivore dung and plant litter are two crucial ecological processes that maintain the biogeochemical cycles and functions of grazing grassland ecosystems. Herbivore dung deposition causes heterogeneous microenvironmental conditions (e.g., temperature, moisture, nutrients, and microbial activities), yet its influence on litter decomposition and the involved biotic and abiotic processes remains underexplored. This study conducted a three-year dung-litter decomposition experiment in a yak-grazed alpine pasture on the Tibetan Plateau to examine how dung deposition influences soil microclimate, litter chemical quality, extracellular enzyme activities, and microbial communities, and how these factors collectively regulate the decomposition of <em>Elymus nutans</em> litter, a dominant plant species in the region. Results showed that dung deposition accelerated litter mass loss by 22 %, primarily by enhancing the degradation of cellulose and hemicellulose. Dung deposition raised soil temperature by 1.5 °C and increased moisture content by 19 % on average, and enriched litter chemical quality by reducing the carbon to nitrogen (C: N) ratio and increasing N, dissolved organic C, and dissolved organic N content. It also boosted the activities of lignocellulose-degrading enzymes, including β-1,4-glucosidase (BG), β-1,4-xylosidase (BX), β-D-cellobiosidase (CBH), xylanase (XYL), peroxidase, and polyphenol oxidase. Changes in microbial communities were distinct: bacterial communities responded strongly in the first two years, driven by improved litter chemistry and the introduction of dung-derived bacteria, while fungal community shifts occurred mainly in years 2–3, influenced by C and N dynamics (e.g., C: N ratio). Dung deposition increased the abundances of bacterial phyla such as <em>Bacteroidota</em> and <em>Proteobacteria</em>, which correlated positively with cellulase activity (BG, BX, CBH, and XYL) and the degradation of cellulose and hemicellulose in litter. Structural equation modeling revealed that the acceleration of litter decomposition by dung deposition was predominantly mediated by bacterial communities and their associated enzymatic activities. Overall, this study underscores the pivotal role of herbivore dung deposition in accelerating litter decomposition via regulating bacterial-driven processes. The findings offer valuable insights for grassland management and enhance predictions of herbivore dung deposition impacts on ecosystem functions under global herbivore expansion.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"385 ","pages":"Article 109557"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143473923","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}

{"title":"Does slope cropland to natural and artificial conversion change patterns of soil moisture–carbon trade-offs in time and depth on the water-scarce Loess Plateau, China?","authors":"Guowei Nan ,&nbsp;Jinghui Wang ,&nbsp;Lei Han ,&nbsp;Xinyu He ,&nbsp;Wenting Jiang ,&nbsp;Jifu Ma","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109583","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109583","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Although large-scale afforestation is an effective carbon sequestration strategy on a global scale, afforestation in arid and semi-arid regions may lead to a soil moisture crisis. Therefore, understanding how agricultural conversion to forestland influences soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil moisture content (SMC) relationship at the spatiotemporal scales is of great significance for afforestation practices optimization and artificial ecosystem services enhancement in arid and semi-arid regions. Our study investigated the distribution characteristics of SOC and SMC in different ages at 0–500 cm depth of slope cropland to natural (abandoned land, AL) and artificial (<em>Robinia pseudoacacia</em>, RP) conversion and analyzed the coupled trade-off relationship between them. The results indicated that SOC and SMC in AL remained generally stable. Planting RP depleted more soil moisture and decreased SOC, indicating that cropland-to-forestland conversion resulted in excessive soil moisture depletion and did not increase the carbon sequestration, but rather there was carbon loss. In addition, SOC and SMC of AL and RP were the primary coordination level, except for RP25, which was barely coordinated. At 0–100 cm depths, RP had a better level of coupled coordination, but at 200–400 cm depths, RP had a more severe level of disorder. The trade-off analysis showed that the SMC provides higher benefits under AL and the early RP (8 and 25 years), and this benefit decreased with increased soil depth. While the later RP (45 years) provides inefficient SOC benefits. This inefficient SOC benefit occurs at 200–400 cm depths, and it is achieved at the cost of SMC depletion. All these indicate that neither AL nor RP is not optimal that can continuously exert efficient moisture-carbon benefits. Future vegetation restoration activities should comprehensively consider the coupled and coordinated effects of SOC and SMC, and should neither choose the conservative abandonment way nor the radical selection of high moisture-depletion tree species; a balanced low moisture-depletion and high carbon-sequestration vegetation restoration method and the selection of tree species are the priorities for our future research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"385 ","pages":"Article 109583"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143480503","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":"Coastal macroalgae aquaculture reduces carbon dioxide emission in a subtropical enclosed bay: Insights from eddy covariance measurements","authors":"Yueting Deng ,&nbsp;Xianghui Guo ,&nbsp;Xiaosong Zhao ,&nbsp;Haitao Zhou ,&nbsp;Lichun Li ,&nbsp;Yougan Chen ,&nbsp;Xudong Zhu","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109576","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109576","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Macroalgae aquaculture has been increasingly recognized as a promising nature-based solution to enhance carbon sinks towards climate change mitigation. However, a limited understanding of the temporal patterns of air-sea carbon dioxide (CO₂) fluxes and their environmental controls across time scales poses an enormous obstacle to the carbon sink potential assessment of macroalgae aquaculture. Here, we utilized the eddy covariance (EC) approach to acquire continuous and high-frequency measurements of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO₂ over the macroalgae aquaculture in a subtropical enclosed bay in southeast China, throughout one full year from April 2023 to March 2024. The results showed (a) this ecosystem acted as a CO₂ source in most months with the strongest source and sink occurring at the beginning of autumn and winter, respectively; (b) annually this ecosystem emitted 58.9 g C m⁻² of CO₂ into the atmosphere with nighttime source contributing 84.7 %; (c) macroalgae aquaculture of <em>Saccharina japonica</em> and <em>Gracilariopsis Lemaneiformis</em> tended to reduce CO₂ emission from this ecosystem, while the extent of the reduction varied with aquaculture types and growth stages; (d) temporal variability of NEE was most correlated with air temperature, while faster tidal currents tended to stimulate CO₂ emission during both flood and ebb tides. The strong temporal variability of NEE highlights the importance of high-frequency EC measurements in improving the understanding of temporal patterns of air-sea CO₂ fluxes over the macroalgae aquaculture ecosystems. This study suggests that macroalgae aquaculture has the potential to mitigate CO₂ emission, although the ecosystem itself overall functions as a net CO₂ source on an annual time scale.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"385 ","pages":"Article 109576"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143473925","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 effects of coated fertilizers: Enhancing soil properties, optimizing microbial structures, and boosting soil fertility and crop productivity","authors":"Xu Guo,&nbsp;Zaiju He,&nbsp;Hao Ren,&nbsp;Baizhao Ren,&nbsp;Jiwang Zhang,&nbsp;Peng Liu,&nbsp;Bin Zhao","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109564","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109564","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The widespread application of efficient fertilizers, particularly coated fertilizers, has been recognized as a dual-benefit approach to increasing major crop yields and addressing the global challenge of nitrogen loss. However, existing studies have mainly concerned themselves with how common urea impacts soil properties and the composition of microbial communities, with a limited understanding of the impact of coated urea on these aspects. We carried out an 11-year field experiment to systematically examine how various types of urea affect soil properties, microbial composition, co-occurrence networks, and crop productivity. Polymer-coated urea (CRF) significantly increased yield by 6.8 %–11.2 % over common urea (CCF) during 2021–2023, with its controlled-release mechanism improving soil environmental conditions. Compared to sulfur-coated urea (SCF) and CCF, CRF treatment significantly increased soil organic carbon content in the 0–20 cm layer by 5.1 % and 6.3 % (2021), and in the 20–40 cm layer by 6.2 % and 7.6 % (2022), respectively. The total nitrogen content in the 20–40 cm layer increased significantly by 13.1 % and 25.0 % (2021), and by 17.5 % and 8.0 % (2022), respectively. Compared to other N treatments, the CRF treatment exhibited higher soil pH in two years. CRF treatment significantly enhanced soil aggregate water stable aggregates (WSA)，mean weight diameter (MWD) and geometric mean diameter (GMD) (6.3 %–30.8 %) and reduced soil bulk density (2.1 %–9.1 %) in 2021. Differences in network topological features indicated that long-term use of CRF resulted in a sparser and more dispersed symbiotic network, thereby reducing its complexity. The Z-score of module #2 was significantly higher in CRF compared to SCF and CCF, which was associated with an increased relative abundance of plant growth-promoting microbes and populations involved in carbon and nitrogen cycling. Mantel tests and partial least squares path modeling models demonstrated that abundance of network ecological clusters was significantly correlated with soil physicochemical factors and had a significant impact on yield. Overall, CRF significantly enhanced soil fertility, promoted soil sustainability, and increased crop yields by improving soil properties and optimizing microbial communities. These findings enhance our comprehension of how coated fertilizers influence the soil environment and crop growth, offering a robust scientific foundation for optimizing agricultural management strategies and advancing agricultural sustainability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"385 ","pages":"Article 109564"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143473922","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":"Keystone ecological cluster rather than the whole community of phoD-encoding bacteria driving ecological function and the improvement of yield under long-term organic regime in greenhouse","authors":"Xiaoxia Li ,&nbsp;Pengjie Li ,&nbsp;Muhammad Awais ,&nbsp;Zhu Zhang ,&nbsp;Shuning Zhao ,&nbsp;Yufeng Liu ,&nbsp;Zhouping Sun ,&nbsp;Hongdan Fu ,&nbsp;Tianlai Li","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109568","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109568","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The <em>phoD</em>-encoding bacteria play a crucial role in mediating agricultural soil organic phosphorus mineralization and altering the bioavailability of phosphorus. Clarifying the effect of the <em>phoD</em>-encoding bacterial ecological functional characteristic and their contribution to soil multifunctionality response to different fertilization is essential for improving sustainable agricultural productivity in the intensive greenhouse. Therefore, we investigated the response of the <em>phoD</em>-encoding bacterial community to soil organic phosphorus pools and physiochemical features under eight long-term fertilization treatments, spanning both organic and inorganic regimes, and their subsequent impact on tomato yield. The results revealed total organic phosphorus (TPo) content tended to accumulate in moderately labile Po (MLPo) and fulvic acid-associated Po (FAPo) pools under organic regime compared to inorganic regime. Notably, nitrogen-phosphorus chemical fertilizers plus organic manure (MNP) significantly reduced the content of available P (AP), labile Po (LPo), and total inorganic P (TPi) pools compared to the phosphorus chemical fertilizer plus organic manure (MP) treatment, while enhancing the long-term supply of organic phosphorus availability by promoting its accumulation in the MLPo pool. Alkaline phosphomonoesterase (ALP) activity, which was significantly reduced by nitrogen fertilizer under inorganic regime, was significantly recovered and enhanced in organic regime. The <em>phoD</em>-encoding bacterial community was strongly influenced by organic regime, followed by phosphorus and nitrogen fertilizers, with soil organic matter (SOM) being a key determinant. Long-term fertilizers and regimes led to the formation of five keystone ecological clusters within the <em>phoD</em>-encoding bacterial community. SEM revealed that the increased cumulative relative abundance (CPM) of module #1 under organic manure physiologically regulated ALP activity. Additionally, the increased multibiodiversity of module #1 enhanced soil multifunctionality indirectly contributing to higher tomato yields. Collectively, long-term organic regime facilitated the formation of a keystone ecological cluster of <em>phoD</em>-encoding bacteria, which effectively mitigated the inhibitory effect of nitrogen fertilizer on ALP activity, thereby enhancing soil multifunctionality in increasing yield.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"385 ","pages":"Article 109568"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143473924","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":"“Biocontrol of diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella) in organic crops: Spatial and seasonal dynamics”","authors":"Jessa H. Thurman ,&nbsp;Michael J. Furlong","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109567","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109567","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Biocontrol presents a sustainable alternative to insecticides by using natural enemies to reduce pest populations. However, the occurrence of biocontrol agents and the services that they provide, varies across space and time. Factors that influence service provision for a key economic pest, the diamondback moth (<em>Plutella xylostella</em>) were investigated in field studies on commercial organic farms in southeast Queensland, Australia. Cohorts of the pest were placed on cabbage plants within cages that were either open or closed to natural enemies and then placed at varying distances from adjacent non-crop habitat to determine spatial variation in pest mortality. Seasonal variability was captured in repeated trials over three years. <em>Plutella xylostella</em> mortality was significantly higher in cages open to natural enemies. Marginal death rates due to parasitism from <em>Diadegma semiclausum</em>, which was the only parasitoid reared from larvae, were significantly higher than any other mortality factor. Beta regression models found parasitism and predation were predicted by seasonal, but not spatial treatments. Mortality due to parasitism was highest in cooler seasons, while predation was variable, but significantly lower in cooler seasons. This suggests that <em>P. xylostella</em> populations are primarily regulated by <em>D. semiclausum</em> on organic farms in southeast Queensland, but pest suppression is reduced when warmer temperatures occur, risking pest outbreaks. This study provides rare direct quantification of the contribution of arthropod natural enemies to pest population suppression on farms. The deployment of additional biocontrol agents may increase this ecosystem service and its stability across seasons.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"385 ","pages":"Article 109567"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143464620","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}