Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment最新文献

{"title":"Managed grazing incrementally increased soil organic carbon amid larger temporal trends in a temperate pasture system","authors":"Aaron T. Simmons ,&nbsp;Lachlan Ingram ,&nbsp;Sarah McDonald ,&nbsp;Igor Kardailsky ,&nbsp;Warwick Badgery","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110010","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110010","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil carbon sequestration offers potential to decrease levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) and help mitigate the climate impacts of livestock greenhouse gas emissions. Low-cost management changes that can quickly increase soil organic carbon (SOC) are needed for widespread implementation. Grazing management, which can be implemented across extensive pasture systems, is often promoted to increase SOC. A grazing trial was established in 2012 to investigate the effect of stocking rate, rest length, and number of paddocks in rotation on SOC stocks. Plots were sampled regularly for pasture composition and biomass, and approximately every three years for SOC to a depth of 30 cm. All treatments increased SOC, primarily reflecting land-use conversion from cropping to permanent pasture three years prior to the start of the experiment. Differences between grazing treatments were also detected. Continuously grazed treatments had lower SOC stocks relative to rotationally grazed treatments. However, no consistent differences were detected in SOC stocks between rotationally grazed treatments with 15 or 30 paddocks, or different rest periods (56 or 112 days between grazing events). Paddocks that were rotationally grazed also had greater ground cover and pasture production relative to the continuously grazed treatments. These results suggest that allowing pasture recovery from grazing through a greater number of paddocks and rest periods likely enhanced pasture productivity, leading to marginally greater SOC stocks relative to continuous grazing. While land-use change from cropping to pasture was the dominant factor influencing SOC stocks, rotational grazing management provided additional carbon storage potential.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"396 ","pages":"Article 110010"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145263329","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":"The floral volatile methyl salicylate influences pollinators and pollination at multiple spatial scales","authors":"Yahel Ben-Zvi,&nbsp;Toviah Bass,&nbsp;Cesar Rodriguez-Saona","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110019","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110019","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Floral volatiles such as methyl salicylate (MeSA) can enhance pollination services by attracting pollinators, yet their effectiveness may depend on farm management and landscape context. We hypothesized that MeSA’s influence on pollinator activity and pollination is shaped by both field- and landscape-level factors in cranberry (<em>Vaccinium macrocarpon</em>), a pollinator-dependent crop. Over two years, we evaluated pollinator attraction and pollination using MeSA-baited and unbaited traps and cages across five cultivars at 50 sites on three cranberry farms in New Jersey, USA. We sampled managed honey bees (<em>Apis mellifera</em>) and wild pollinators, and measured berry count, volume, and mass to estimate yield, while also quantifying pesticide use and landscape complexity within 100, 250, 500, and 1500 m buffer zones. MeSA increased total pollinator captures, particularly <em>A. mellifera</em> and syrphid flies (<em>Toxomerus marginatus</em>), and enhanced yield. Fungicides reduced <em>A. mellifera</em>, especially in unbaited traps, whereas insecticides interacted positively with MeSA to increase yield. MeSA effects varied by cultivar, with ‘Crimson Queen’ showing greater <em>T. marginatus</em> abundance and larger berries. At the 1500 m scale, more waterbody patches were associated with increased pollinator visitation and berry metrics under MeSA, whereas greater edge length was linked to reduced benefits across scales. MeSA also interacted with forest and wetland cover to support higher <em>T. marginatus</em> counts. Overall, MeSA improved pollinator visitation and pollination services in cranberry, but its efficacy was context-dependent, influenced by both local management practices and landscape structure. These findings suggest that floral volatiles like MeSA can enhance pollination services under specific agroecological conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"396 ","pages":"Article 110019"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145262940","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":"Agroecological cashew cultivation increases pollinator abundance, diversity and flower visitation rates, with potential yield benefits","authors":"Iris Berger ,&nbsp;Arati Pannure ,&nbsp;Ailsa Harris ,&nbsp;Parthiba Basu ,&nbsp;Barbara M. Smith ,&nbsp;Lynn V. Dicks","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Agroecological approaches have the potential to reduce the adverse impacts of agriculture on the environment whilst sustaining productivity, yet rigorous assessments of associated policies’ ability to achieve these dual aims at farm scale remain scarce. Here, we evaluate the impacts of the Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) programme – a large-scale government-led agroecological strategy in South India – on the ecological and productivity performance of an emerging commodity crop associated with high deforestation-risk: cashew (<em>Anacardium occidentale</em> L.). ZBNF increased the abundance and species richness of insects visiting cashew flowers (including known cashew pollinators) by almost 400 % and 250 % respectively, with visitation rates to cashew flowers rising nearly fivefold compared to conventional, agrichemical-based systems. Whilst there was strong support for these positive effects, estimates of their magnitudes were imprecise. Around 40 % of all species were exclusively found at ZBNF orchards. ZBNF’s effect on cashew nut yield was uncertain due to high variability in the data, yet our results indicate a positive trend, with yields averaging over 70 % higher under ZBNF. Thus, ZBNF likely enhanced cashew pollination service provisioning and had insect conservation benefits, although more targeted actions may be needed for rare, specialist species. Whilst ZBNF can help shift cashew production towards sustainability, we stress that it must be paired with land-use planning and strengthened conservation efforts to prevent further cashew expansion into natural ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"396 ","pages":"Article 110006"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145263332","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":"Ecological networks reveal strong pest suppression complementarity between birds and bats within rice-dominated agroecosystems in West Africa","authors":"Patrícia P. Chaves ,&nbsp;Vanessa A. Mata ,&nbsp;Paula Lopes ,&nbsp;Mutaro Camará ,&nbsp;Daniel Coimbra ,&nbsp;Djunco Dabo ,&nbsp;Ricardo F. de Lima ,&nbsp;Miguel Lecoq ,&nbsp;Gonçalo Fernandes ,&nbsp;Patrícia Guedes ,&nbsp;Inês Lacerda ,&nbsp;Mark Massaad ,&nbsp;Christoph F.J. Meyer ,&nbsp;Raquel N. de Oliveira ,&nbsp;Jorge M. Palmeirim ,&nbsp;Ricardo Rocha ,&nbsp;Justino Biai ,&nbsp;Madalena Sottomayor ,&nbsp;Tiago Gonçalves ,&nbsp;Sónia Ferreira ,&nbsp;Sérgio Timóteo","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110020","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110020","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The growing demand for rice across West African countries requires urgent pest control strategies that are cost-effective and ecologically sustainable. Insectivorous birds and bats can act as biocontrol agents providing pest suppression services, reducing crop damage and potentially increasing yields. Here, we combined DNA metabarcoding and network analysis to uncover the diets and pest control potential of these predators in the lowland rainfed rice fields of northern Guinea-Bissau. We identified 2276 predator–prey interactions involving 34 predator species (18 bats, 16 birds) and 1347 prey OTUs, including 87 classified rice pests. Bats and birds consumed similar numbers of pest species but exhibited largely distinct diet preferences. The predator–prey network revealed low connectance and nestedness but high modularity, suggesting a compartmentalization into relatively independent subcommunities of interacting partner species, with little dietary overlap. Our network analysis revealed that species contributing most to overall predator–prey dynamics are not always the same as those driving pest suppression. While network degree, strength and module roles revealed that species such <em>Scotophilus</em> otu1, <em>Hipposideros cafer/ruber</em>, <em>Scotoecus</em> otu14, <em>Ploceus cucullatus</em>, and <em>Hirundo smithii</em> are key in the predator–prey community, species such as <em>Afronycteris nana</em> and <em>Euplectes franciscanus</em> also emerged as important for pest suppression. Our findings highlight the importance of maintaining and managing a diverse community of bats and birds for network resilience and as a potential nature-based solution for sustainable rice production.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"396 ","pages":"Article 110020"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145263331","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":"Landscape-scale drivers of insect pest regulation in sugar beet","authors":"Fabian A. Boetzl ,&nbsp;Nika Jachowicz ,&nbsp;Anne Lisbet Hansen ,&nbsp;Ola Lundin","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109999","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109999","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Recent policy shifts sparked by environmental and health concerns, insecticide resistance development, and limited new registrations have caused a dwindling availability of chemical insecticides. Sugar beet, a major cash crop in temperate agricultural systems, relied on now banned neonicotinoid insecticide seed coatings for pest control, creating a need for sustainable alternatives. Using a monitoring dataset from 134 sugar beet fields in Denmark and Sweden collected over five years, we assessed landscape-scale drivers of the occurrence and damage of five dominant sugar beet pests in the region: black bean aphid, flea beetles, beet leafminers, pygmy mangold beetle and thrips. We found that insect pests generally cause limited damage to sugar beet in our study area, with damage thresholds for any of the five pests being exceeded in 20 % of the fields. Damage by thrips was more common in Denmark and damage by flea beetles and beet leafminer eggs were more common in Sweden. Pest occurrence or damage could only partly be explained by landscape-scale factors. Cropland cover was positively related to black bean aphid and thrips damage presence but negatively related to flea beetle and pygmy mangold beetle damage. Edge density was negatively related to black bean aphid occurrence but positively related to flea beetle damage. An inter-annual increase in host crop cover was positively related to flea beetle damage and crop diversity to beet leafminer infestation. We conclude that further research on the cause and countermeasures for insect pest outbreaks is needed to develop economically and environmentally sustainable insect pest regulation in sugar beet.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"396 ","pages":"Article 109999"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145262938","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 biomass removal in grasslands reduces plant and soil phosphorus, increases carbon:phosphorus stoichiometry, but does not lead to microbial phosphorus limitation","authors":"Andrea Simpson ,&nbsp;David Whitehead ,&nbsp;Leo M. Condron ,&nbsp;Kate H. Orwin ,&nbsp;Keith C. Cameron ,&nbsp;Niklas J. Lehto","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110017","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110017","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Grassland management practices can disrupt the stoichiometric balance between available soil nutrients and microbial communities, thereby impacting ecosystem functioning. Using a long-term field trial, we investigated the effects of four contrasting mowing treatments with/without nitrogen (N) addition on the elemental concentrations and stoichiometries of soil, plant, and microbial biomass. Retaining biomass after mowing resulted in lower C:N and C:P in plant shoots (C:N = 18.8, C:P = 283.9) compared with never mowing (C:N = 24.5, C:P = 493.4). Similarly, the mean soil available C:N when retaining biomass after mowing (C:N = 2.68) was lower than the ratio in the never mown grassland (C:N = 3.44). Removing biomass after mowing strongly depleted soil available phosphorus (P) concentration, leading to significantly higher C:P (C:P = 16.10) than that in the never mown grassland (C:P = 3.85). There were no significant differences in soil available carbon (C) concentration among the treatments, indicating that shifts in the C:N and C:P ratios of available resources were largely due to differences in nutrient rather than C availability. Despite differences in the stoichiometry of available resources, microbial biomass C:N and C:P was similar among treatments and consistently higher than those for the available substrates. This indicates that soil microbes were unresponsive to varying nutrient availability across treatments, suggesting they may be C- rather than nutrient-limited. In this long-term trial, microbial stoichiometry was resilient to soil P depletion and insensitive to N addition. The components of agroecosystems (plants, soil, and soil microorganisms) can contrast in their stoichiometries. Managing one component’s nutrient limitation may have little influence with that of the other components.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"396 ","pages":"Article 110017"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145263330","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":"Encroaching shrub species alter arthropod community composition and trophic structure in southern African rangeland ecosystems","authors":"Martha Alfeus ,&nbsp;Robert Hering ,&nbsp;El Aziz Djoudi ,&nbsp;Simon Angombe ,&nbsp;Klaus Birkhofer","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110016","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110016","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Bush encroachment is rapidly transforming savannah and grassland ecosystems in southern Africa, altering vegetation structure and ecosystem functioning, while reducing rangeland productivity. Despite these shifts, its effects on local biodiversity, particularly arthropod communities remain understudied. This study evaluated the arthropod communities within areas dominated by three major encroaching shrub species in southern Africa: <em>Dichrostachys cinerea, Senegalia mellifera</em> and <em>Terminalia sericea.</em> Arthropods were sampled in northcentral Namibia using pitfall traps (ground-dwelling), pan traps (flying), and shrub beating (canopy-dwelling) during both wet and dry seasons. Arthropod community composition differed significantly among encroaching species, primarily driven by canopy-dwelling arthropods. <em>Senegalia mellifera</em> supported distinct communities distinguished by the exclusive presence of woodlice (Isopoda), while, <em>D. cinerea</em> and <em>T. sericea</em> plots hosted distinct taxa, including Caelifera, Mantodea and Strepsiptera. Also the trophic composition differed among shrubs, with omnivores dominating <em>S. mellifera</em> and phytophagous arthropods dominating <em>D. cinerea</em> plots. Formicidae and Collembola were numerically dominant across all plots. Brachycera, Curculionidae and Collembola were highly sensitive to local environmental variation, indicating their potential as bio-indicators for monitoring shrub encroachment and effectiveness of management interventions. Overall arthropod abundance positively correlated with ground cover, while taxonomic diversity showed a negative relationship. Therefore, conservation efforts in bush encroached areas should promote vegetation management strategies that enhance structural heterogeneity to support greater arthropod diversity. Our findings provide a key baseline on how encroaching shrub species affect arthropods, highlighting the need to consider invertebrate biodiversity in de-bushing efforts in southern Africa, which have traditionally focused on rangeland productivity over ecological impacts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"396 ","pages":"Article 110016"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145217630","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":"The effects of different biodiversity-based cropping systems on ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) biomass, nitrogen, carbon accumulation and soil nutrients","authors":"Yuzhuo Pan ,&nbsp;Weihu Wang ,&nbsp;Xia Yu ,&nbsp;Shihao Xiao ,&nbsp;Tingxian Yan ,&nbsp;Meijuan Lu ,&nbsp;Wenting Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110018","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110018","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cover crops are an interesting option for designing biodiversity-based cropping systems and moving toward agroecological systems. However, the influence of different biodiversity-based cropping systems on the cover crop biomass, nitrogen and carbon storage and soil nutrient is still unclear. In this four-year field experiments, two cropping systems (sweet corn monocropping+ryegrass, MC; sweet corn-soybean intercropping+ryegrass, CS) and three nitrogen rates for sweet corn (N0, 0 kg N ha⁻¹, N1, 150 kg N ha⁻¹, N2, 300 kg N ha⁻¹) were designed to investigate the effects of different cropping systems and N rates of the preceding crops (sweet corn) on biomass production, carbon and nitrogen accumulation of ryegrass and soil nutrients. The results indicated that the cumulative dry matter yields of ryegrass were significantly higher in the preceding intercropping system than that in the preceding monocropping system under N2. However, the preceding intercropping system suppressed the ryegrass biomass production under N0 and N1. Compared to N0, N2 increased ryegrass yield and carbon accumulation across all four years in both cropping systems (CS and MC), with the exception of the MC in 2021. Additionally, N2 increased ryegrass N accumulation across all four years in both cropping systems. However, N2 reduced the C/N ratio across all four years in the CS. Moreover, under N2, the soil nitrate was reduced in CS compared to MC in 2021 and 2022. The preceding intercropping had a significant negative correlation between soil nitrate-N and biomass, carbon and nitrogen accumulation of ryegrass under N2. In MC, ryegrass biomass, carbon and nitrogen accumulation, and C/N ratio were positive correlated with soil Olsen phosphorus with N application increasing, but had a contrary result in CS. In conclusion, the preceding cropping system and nitrogen rate for the preceding crop could affect the biomass production, and carbon and nitrogen accumulation of cover crop (ryegrass). Therefore, in order to increasing the biomass of cover crop and reducing soil residual nitrogen loss, the reasonable preceding cropping system and nitrogen application should be considered.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"396 ","pages":"Article 110018"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145228868","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":"Site-specific effects of nitrification inhibitors on N2O emissions from manure and urea ammonium nitrate","authors":"Misato Toda ,&nbsp;Leanne Peixoto ,&nbsp;Helle Sørensen ,&nbsp;Azeem Tariq ,&nbsp;Andreas Brændholt ,&nbsp;Line Vinther Hansen ,&nbsp;Diego Abalos ,&nbsp;Winnie Ntinyari ,&nbsp;Johannes W.M. Pullens ,&nbsp;Sander Bruun ,&nbsp;Lars Stoumann Jensen ,&nbsp;Jørgen E. Olesen ,&nbsp;Søren O. Petersen","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110014","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110014","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Nitrification inhibitors (NIs) can be an effective measure to mitigate nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions from agricultural soils. Meta-analyses indicate that the efficacy of NIs is influenced by soil properties and climate, but such effects have rarely been investigated by direct comparisons across field sites. Using four experimental field sites across Denmark, this study investigated the interacting effects of fertiliser type, soil type and rainfall on N₂O emissions and effects of two different NIs after spring fertilisation of spring barley in 2022 and 2023. The fertiliser materials included cattle slurry (CS), pig slurry (PS) and urea ammonium nitrate (UAN, 2022 only), applied at recommended rates with or without 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) or 2-chloro-6-(trichloromethyl) pyridine (nitrapyrin, NP), along with an unfertilised control. Rainfall was close to the long-term average at Askov and Vejen in 2022 but below average in the six other monitoring periods. The increase in net cumulative N₂O emissions from manure application without NIs varied between 0.16 and 1.5 kg N ha⁻¹ while with UAN it was between 0.05 and 0.46 kg N ha⁻¹. The amendment of NIs significantly reduced N₂O emissions but only the coarse sandy soil at Vejen showed consistent and large reductions with NI amendment leading to average reductions of 83 %, 67 %, and 77 % for cattle slurry, pig slurry, and UAN, respectively. Specific site effects of NI were attributed to differences in gas and solute diffusivity, and NI availability, across sites and years. In this study, NI amendment to synthetic N fertiliser and, especially, manure applied to sandy soil had the greatest N₂O mitigation potential, suggesting targeted use of NIs on sandy soil as a strategic N₂O mitigation scenario.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"396 ","pages":"Article 110014"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145228870","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":"Straw return improves soil multifunctionality by altering functional microbial diversity and abundance","authors":"Wenkang Yan ,&nbsp;Mingyang Xia ,&nbsp;Jiahao Liu ,&nbsp;Zhixiang Han ,&nbsp;Zhong Li ,&nbsp;Christopher Rensing ,&nbsp;Hend A. Alwathnani ,&nbsp;Beibei Chen ,&nbsp;Wenge Wu ,&nbsp;Hongmiao Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110015","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110015","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Returning straw to the field is widely recognized for its ability to sustain crop productivity and promote the long-term viability of agricultural ecosystems. However, the impact of prolonged straw return on soil functional microbiomes and their relationship with soil multifunctionality (SMF) remain insufficiently understood. This study is based on an 8-year field experiment comprising four treatments: no straw return (N), rice straw return (R), wheat straw return (W), and combined rice and wheat straw return (RW). All straw incorporation methods increased the wheat yield and SMF. Rice straw increased SMF by 69.7 %, while wheat straw enhanced SMF by 52.1 %, with RW exhibiting the most significant long-term positive effect (74.8 %). This enhancement was primarily attributed to elevated available soil nutrient levels and increased enzymatic activities associated with carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling. Straw return promoted C, N, and P cycling genes following the trend RW &gt; W &gt; R &gt; N. Random forest analysis identified the composition and abundance of functional microbial communities as key determinants of crop productivity. RW markedly diminished the abundance of plant-associated beneficial bacteria and consumers while promoting fungal pathogens in wheat leaves and reducing their prevalence in rhizosphere soil. Potentially beneficial bacteria exhibited a strong predictive capacity for wheat yield, significant associations with soil functionality, and compensatory effects with soil nutrients in their contributions. Structural equation modeling revealed that straw return was significantly positively correlated with enhanced SMF and C-N-P cycling efficiency, ultimately promoting wheat yield. Consequently, these findings suggest that straw return drives microbial community assembly, enhances nutrient cycling, and fosters improved soil fertility and multifunctionality.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"396 ","pages":"Article 110015"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145217632","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}