Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment最新文献

{"title":"Below-ground biodiversity in agricultural systems: The role of crop-specific management in shaping soil arthropod communities","authors":"S. Remelli ,&nbsp;F. Gatti ,&nbsp;P. Tarocco ,&nbsp;C. Scotti ,&nbsp;C. Menta","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109850","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109850","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil arthropod communities play a crucial role in ecosystem functioning, yet their response to agricultural land use and management practices remains poorly understood. This study aims to assess (i) soil biological quality, (ii) arthropod biodiversity, and (iii) community structure across different agricultural systems, evaluating the effects of soil management strategies (organic, integrated, conservative). A total of 414 sampling areas were investigated (during spring and, where the same crop was maintained, autumn, in the years 2019 and 2022) across arable land, vineyards, orchards, and grasslands, with soil properties characterization (texture, humidity, bulk density) and soil arthropods extracted and identified to the order or class level. The QBS-ar and QBS-c indices, Shannon diversity (H’), and Pielou’s Evenness (J) were used to evaluate soil biological quality and community structure. Results indicate that agricultural management significantly influences soil biological quality and arthropod abundance. Organic management improved biodiversity and QBS-ar in alfalfa and cereals but not in leguminous crops. Vineyards exhibited higher arthropod densities than arable land, where soil biological quality was most impacted. Seasonal variation influenced community structure, but not diversity indices. Specific arthropod taxa correlated with distinct land uses, with Pseudoscorpionidae, Isopoda, and Protura associated with vineyards, while Myriapoda, Diplura, and Hymenoptera thrived in organically managed alfalfa. These findings highlight the role of agricultural management in shaping soil arthropod communities and emphasize the need for crop-specific management approaches to enhance soil biodiversity and ecosystem services.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"393 ","pages":"Article 109850"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144556755","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":"Full nitrogen balances for different cattle slurry fertilization techniques in a temperate grassland","authors":"Sebastian Floßmann ,&nbsp;Kaiyu Lei ,&nbsp;Sigrid van Grinsven ,&nbsp;Ulrike Ostler ,&nbsp;C. Florian Stange ,&nbsp;Ingrid Kögel-Knabner ,&nbsp;Jörg Völkel ,&nbsp;Michael Dannenmann","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109843","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109843","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Modern slurry application techniques have been shown to reduce ammonia losses, yet a comprehensive evaluation of their nitrogen (N)-related agronomic and ecological impacts is missing. Therefore, we utilized ¹⁵N-labeled cattle slurry to examine traditional and modern application techniques regarding their effects on hydrological and gaseous N losses, plant N uptake, soil organic nitrogen (SON) formation, and total fertilizer N balances. Following the broadcast spreading of slurry, 43 % of fertilizer N was lost as gaseous emissions, irrespective of precipitation. In contrast to broadcast spreading, significant total N emission savings were achieved by the broadcast application of diluted slurry combined with a reduced N supply (47 % emission reduction). Open slot injection at depths of 5 cm and 2 cm led to even greater emission reductions of 60 % and 74 %, respectively. Recent fertilizer was typically leached in minimal amounts only, yet the application of diluted slurry elevated nitrate leaching due to increased infiltration. Overall, the high productivity and plant N uptake were hardly affected by the application method, because over 90 % of the plants' N uptake relied on mineralized SON rather than recent fertilizer. This promoted soil N mining, particularly for broadcast spreading and slurry dilution, resulting in distinctly negative N balances (17 – 37 kg N ha⁻¹ deficit per fertilization-harvest cycle). Utilizing slurry injection contributed to additional SON formation, effectively offsetting the N deficit and thereby supporting the long-term maintenance of N-related soil functions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"393 ","pages":"Article 109843"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144563175","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 strategies for soil microbial quotient enhancement: Insights from DOM vertical distribution characteristics","authors":"Yuanchen Zhu ,&nbsp;Wei Yang ,&nbsp;Juanjuan Qu ,&nbsp;Yue Jiang ,&nbsp;Ying Zhao ,&nbsp;Zhimin Wu ,&nbsp;Jie Su ,&nbsp;Xiaozeng Han ,&nbsp;Wenxiu Zou","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109840","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109840","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The soil microbial quotient (SMQ), a critical indicator of agricultural soil quality, exhibits significant responsiveness to dissolved organic matter (DOM). However, how the heterogeneity of DOM characteristics regulates the SMQ remains unclear, despite DOM being a critical energy source for microorganisms. We conducted a field experiment with four treatments: conventional tillage (CT), no-tillage with straw mulch (NTS), conventional tillage with straw mulch and incorporation (CTS), and deep tillage with straw incorporation (DTS), with soil samples collected at four depth intervals (0–10, 10–20, 20–30, and 30–40 cm) to investigate how DOM characteristics influence SMQ. The results indicated that SMQ declined with soil depth. Straw return enhanced SMQ, with effectiveness ordered as CTS &gt; NTS &gt; DTS &gt; CT. Compared to CT, straw return increased the content and humic-like components of DOM. Additionally, NTS and CTS accelerated depth-dependent variations in protein-like substances, whereas DTS promoted those in humic-like substances. Linear regression analysis showed that SMQ was positively correlated with both dissolved organic carbon and humic-like components of DOM. Random Forest analysis showed that soil enzyme activities and nutrients dominated SMQ regulation in the 0–20 cm layer, while DOM characteristics governed SMQ in the 20–40 cm layer. Among all treatments, CTS was identified as the most effective in enhancing SMQ. These findings elucidate the DOM-mediated mechanism of SMQ regulation under straw return, providing a scientific basis for optimizing agricultural management practices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"393 ","pages":"Article 109840"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144549694","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":"Synergistic effects of slow-release fertilizer and biochar on crop yield and soil carbon-nitrogen dynamics under reduced nitrogen input","authors":"Lianhao Zhao ,&nbsp;Wen Yin ,&nbsp;Qiang Chai ,&nbsp;Pan Li ,&nbsp;Zhipeng Guo ,&nbsp;Zhilong Fan ,&nbsp;Falong Hu ,&nbsp;Cai Zhao ,&nbsp;Aizhong Yu ,&nbsp;Pingxing Wan ,&nbsp;Wei He ,&nbsp;Hong Fan ,&nbsp;Yali Sun ,&nbsp;Feng Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109849","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109849","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Reducing fertilizer input while improving crop yield and enhancing soil carbon and nitrogen storage in agricultural ecosystems remains a serious challenge. However, it remains unclear whether the addition of exogenous additives with various functions can enhance soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stocks following nitrogen fertilizer reduction. Here, we report results from a wheat-maize rotation system with multiple cropping green manure designed to understand the response mechanism of soil C and N storage to slow-release fertilizer (SRF) and soil amendments (biochar and attapulgite) combination in two nitrogen level agricultural systems (no nitrogen reduction: NNR, and 30 % nitrogen reduction: NR30). We found that SRF and biochar combination significantly increased crop yield, soil nutrients (ammonium nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen), soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN) in both systems, and the increase magnitude was notably greater in the NR30 system (+19.5 % for yields, +60 %～85 % for nutrients, and +18 %∼44 % for MBC and MBN) compared with the NNR system (+17.0 % for yields, +31 %∼35 % for nutrients, and +16 %∼40 % for MBC and MBN) by inducing soil negative priming effects and ensuring the continuous nitrogen supply. The combination of SRF and biochar could reduce nitrogen input by at least 30 % while still increasing soil C (1.98 %∼7.90 %) and N storage (49.83 %∼56.61 %), which attributed to the dual control mechanism that nitrogen reduction alleviated the 'nitrogen repression' of green manure and biochar enhanced the sensitivity of soil nitrogen-related extracellular enzyme activities to changes in MBN under NR30 system. This finding offers new insights for sustainable dryland agriculture.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"393 ","pages":"Article 109849"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144556754","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":"Divergent responses of ecological functions to long-term herbivore exclusion in the Tibetan mountainous grasslands","authors":"Shuaihao Bai ,&nbsp;Jingxue Zhao ,&nbsp;Guangpeng Qu ,&nbsp;Lihua Tian ,&nbsp;Gao-Lin Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109846","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109846","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Herbivore exclusion is a widespread practice used to restore and manage degraded grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau. However, experimental evidence for the long-term impacts of herbivore exclusion on ecosystem structure and functioning of mountainous grasslands is still largely lacking. Here, we examined long-term herbivore exclusion impacts on ecological functions across four typical grassland types (alpine screes, alpine meadow, alpine steppe, and swamp meadow) along an elevation gradient on the southern slope of Nyaiqentanglha Mountain. The results showed that long-term herbivore exclusion had divergent influences on ecosystem functioning of mountainous grasslands, with the EMF tended to decrease in swamp meadow and alpine steppe but increase in alpine meadow and alpine screes. In addition, herbivore exclusion tended to decrease the aboveground ecosystem multifunctionality (AEMF) but had a trend to increase the belowground ecosystem multifunctionality (BEMF). Path analysis of the structural equation model showed that herbivore exclusion regulated EMF and BEMF mainly through altering plant productivity and soil nutrients while influenced the AEMF primary by affecting plant diversity. These findings revealed that the impacts of long-term herbivore exclusion on multiple ecological functions greatly depended on plant diversity, productivity, and soil nutrients, with the mountainous grasslands mostly experiencing decrease trends on ecosystem multifunctionality. The findings also highlighted the fundamental importance of developing proper grazing management practice for protecting ecosystem multifunctionality in the widespread mountainous grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"393 ","pages":"Article 109846"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144549695","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":"Direct and cascading impacts of landscape heterogeneity and agrochemical use on multi-trophic biodiversity in the patchy agroecosystem","authors":"Jing Liao,&nbsp;Xuewei Geng,&nbsp;Pei Zhang,&nbsp;Jianghong Ran","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109832","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109832","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Farmland biodiversity is declining globally due to intensified agricultural practices, landscape homogenization, and simplification. However, the direct and cascading effects of landscape heterogeneity and agrochemical use on various interacting taxa and trophic levels remain unclear. This study investigated the richness and abundance of taxa across trophic levels, including weeds, epigeic invertebrates, and birds, within a patchy agroecosystem in Pengzhou, Sichuan, China. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the responses of multi-taxa and trophic levels to agrochemical use, edge density and cropland diversity, and quantify the direct and indirect effects therein. Results showed that landscape heterogeneity and agrochemicals influenced the abundance and richness of weeds, epigeic invertebrates, and birds through direct impacts and bottom-up cascading effects. Agrochemicals negatively affected weeds and invertebrates at lower trophic levels, while edge density had positive effects. Both factors also exerted cascading effects on invertebrates and birds, and the magnitude of net effects diminished as trophic level increased. Cropland diversity reduced weed and invertebrate abundance, likely through competition between weeds and crops and frequent soil disturbances during farming, but exerted positive effect on crop-feeding birds probably due to additional food supply. These findings reveal varied responses of trophic groups with distinctive traits in size, mobility, and resource utilization to landscape heterogeneity and agrochemical use, and highlight the importance of biotic interactions in regulating these ecological processes. This study indicates that reducing agrochemicals use alongside enhancing landscape heterogeneity can promote multi-trophic biodiversity and sustain ecosystem services in patchy agroecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"393 ","pages":"Article 109832"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144535006","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":"Unravelling the effects of vineyard inter-row vegetation on soil biodiversity in South Africa","authors":"Emogine Mamabolo,&nbsp;René Gaigher,&nbsp;James S. Pryke","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109842","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109842","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>For sustainable viticulture it is suggested that farmers maintain vegetation cover in inter-rows to promote ecological balance. However, the extent to which inter-row vegetation influence soil biodiversity and associated ecosystem functions remains an open question. This study explored how different vineyard inter-row vegetation management practices influence soil fauna diversity, composition and functional structure. The research was conducted across 24 sites in the Stellenbosch area, Western Cape, South Africa. Three treatments were compared: bare (no vegetation), covered (vegetation allowed to grow), and natural (natural fynbos vegetation outside of the crop areas). Natural vegetation and covered vineyards had significantly higher species diversity and proportion of detritivores compared to bare vineyards. Vegetation cover had a positive influence on soil fauna diversity, particularly for spiders, and functional groups such as detritivores, omnivores, and predators. However, herbivores were negatively affected by vegetation cover, suggesting that vineyards with higher vegetation cover may have fewer herbivores. Litter cover was the primary variable influencing soil fauna diversity and composition, highlighting the importance of retaining organic matter in vineyards. The study also shows that plant species richness had a negative impact on ant species diversity, possibly due to increased competition for resources. In contrast, spiders were positively affected by litter cover, which may have facilitated prey trapping and reduced soil disturbance. The findings of this study emphasize the significance of vegetation management in maintaining soil fauna diversity and composition in vineyards. The results suggest that covered vineyards can support a more diverse range of soil fauna, which can contribute to ecosystem services. Overall, this study highlights the importance of adopting sustainable vineyard management practices that prioritize soil fauna conservation and biodiversity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"393 ","pages":"Article 109842"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144535066","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":"Arbor-shrub mixed vegetation restoration strategies cause greater increases in plant-derived carbon than microbial-derived carbon in limestone hills","authors":"Longyan Shi ,&nbsp;Tiandong Xu ,&nbsp;Yutian Zhang ,&nbsp;Linjing Zhang ,&nbsp;Hongbo Tao ,&nbsp;Jiahao Zhao ,&nbsp;Junjie Li ,&nbsp;Chenyi Yu ,&nbsp;Xinli Chen ,&nbsp;Qingwei Guan","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109836","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109836","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Both mixed and monoculture strategies significantly influence the sequestration of soil organic carbon (SOC) in limestone hills and are crucial for mitigating climate warming. However, the mechanisms underlying the differential responses of plant- and microbial-derived SOC in these forests remain poorly understood. In this study, lignin phenols and amino sugars were measured to explore the differences in plant- and microbial-derived carbon between arbor-shrub mixed forests and monoculture forests established on a limestone hill in 2012. The results indicated that mixed forests of <em>Acer pictum × Ligustrum quihoui</em> and <em>Pistacia chinensis × Pyracantha fortuneana</em> increases plant-derived carbon contents by 73.46 % and 40.41 %, respectively, with corresponding contributions to SOC rising by 10.18 % and 4.98 %, compared to their respective monoculture forests (<em>Acer pictum</em> and <em>Pistacia chinensis</em>). In contrast, microbial-derived carbon increased by 7.65 % and 22.22 %, while their contributions to SOC decreased by 9.39 % and 1.05 %, respectively. Notably, plant-derived carbon exhibited higher increases than microbial-derived carbon, underscoring its more prominent influence on soil carbon sequestration. Arbor-shrub mixed strategies enhanced both plant- and microbial-derived carbon content by affecting the soil bulk density, total nitrogen and phosphorus content, fine root biomass, fungal diversity, and β-glucosidase and sucrase enzyme activities, thereby contributing to an increase in SOC levels. Given the profound influence of plant- and microbial-derived carbon on carbon sequestration, these findings underscore the critical importance of prioritizing arbor-shrub mixed vegetation afforestation strategies for limestone hills.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"393 ","pages":"Article 109836"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144522992","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":"Bringing soil sulfur to the forefront: How long-term cropping impacts sulfur speciation in soil organic matter fractions","authors":"Meghan Barnard ,&nbsp;Ram C. Dalal ,&nbsp;Brigid A. McKenna ,&nbsp;Jeremy L. Wykes ,&nbsp;Bruce C.C. Cowie ,&nbsp;Peter M. Kopittke","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109833","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109833","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil sulfur (S) cycling is of increasing interest for crop S supply, given that S inputs to soils have declined due to the application of high-analysis (low-S) fertilisers and decreased atmospheric SO₂ emissions. This study uses three paired sites [undisturbed (native) and cropped (up to 82 y)] from subtropical Australia to examine the impact of land use change on soil S composition. Soil organic matter (SOM) was separated into three fractions: free particulate organic matter (fPOM), occluded POM (oPOM), and fine mineral-associated organic matter (fine-MAOM), before using X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy for analyses of S speciation. In the native soils, S speciation across the SOM fractions was distinct. Both POM fractions were dominated by reduced thiol and thio-ether groups (∼33 %), with an average S oxidation state of +2.4. In contrast, the S in the fine-MAOM was mostly oxidised sulfate ester and sulfate (44 %), with an average oxidation state of +3.9. The loss of SOM during long-term cropping caused a concomitant loss in S – up to 99 % of S was lost from the less protected fPOM fraction, while only 44 % of S was lost from the fine-MAOM. Under cropping, the bulk soil shifted to higher proportions of oxidised S. However, this was not caused by a change in S speciation within any SOM fraction but was due to the decreased contributions of POM fractions to the bulk soil. This study develops our understanding of the influence of cropping on S speciation and the role of SOM fractions in S dynamics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"393 ","pages":"Article 109833"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144518456","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":"Impacts of seasonal grazing on soil enzymes, physicochemical properties, and vegetation in alpine meadows","authors":"Barkat Ali,&nbsp;Haozhe Zheng,&nbsp;Muhammad Usman,&nbsp;Weikang Zhao,&nbsp;Fujiang Hou","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109837","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109837","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Alpine grasslands of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP) are vital for regional biodiversity and nutrient cycling but are increasingly affected by grazing-induced degradation. This study examined the effects of seasonal grazing (spring, summer, autumn, winter) on soil extracellular enzyme activities, key physicochemical properties, and plant biomass in alpine meadows of the QTP. Over two consecutive years (2021–2022), pre- and post-grazing soil and vegetation samples were collected from replicated seasonal grazing plots. Enzyme activities were analyzed in relation to biomass of dominant plant functional groups: <em>Cyperaceae, Poaceae, Leguminosae</em>, and miscellaneous grasses. Enzymes were categorized by function into nutrient cycling (phosphatase, hydroxylamine reductase), organic matter degradation (amylase, cellulase, chitinase, glucosidase, polyphenol oxidase), and proteolysis (alkaline proteases). The results revealed distinct seasonal patterns in enzymatic activity and plant biomass. Amylase (3066 μgd⁻¹g⁻¹) and hydroxylamine reductase (466 μgd⁻¹g⁻¹) activities were significantly higher during winter grazing (<em>p &lt;</em> 0.05), while chitinase (40 μgd⁻¹g⁻¹) and cellulase (675 μgd⁻¹g⁻¹) peaked during spring. Glucosidase activity was highest under summer grazing, while alkaline proteases exhibited minimal seasonal variation. Plant biomass varied by season: <em>Cyperaceae</em> dominated in winter, <em>Poaceae</em> in autumn, and <em>miscellaneous</em> grasses in summer, whereas <em>Leguminosae</em> biomass remained consistently low. Pearson correlation analysis showed significant correlations between elevated amylase (<em>p &lt;</em> 0.05) and hydroxylamine reductase (<em>p &lt;</em> 0.01) activities with increased Cyperaceae biomass in winter. Similarly, higher chitinase activity (<em>p &lt;</em> 0.01) during spring was positively correlated with the growth of miscellaneous grasses. These findings reveal that seasonal grazing alters soil enzymatic activity, influencing plant growth and species composition, and underscore the need for adaptive grazing strategies to sustain soil health and ecosystem resilience in alpine meadows.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"393 ","pages":"Article 109837"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144518459","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}