Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment最新文献

{"title":"Conservation agriculture systems reduce weed emergence and alter weed community structure in a cotton-based cropping system in Benin","authors":"Lucien Imorou ,&nbsp;Pierrot Lionel Yemadje ,&nbsp;Lalaina Ranaivoson ,&nbsp;Mathias Christina ,&nbsp;Pierre Gbènoukpo Tovihoudji ,&nbsp;Moussa Zime Soko N’Douro ,&nbsp;Cyrille Kanlindogbé ,&nbsp;Valérien Zinsou ,&nbsp;Oumarou Balarabe ,&nbsp;Stéphane Boulakia ,&nbsp;Emmanuel Sekloka ,&nbsp;Pablo Tittonell","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110262","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110262","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Weed management is a key to the adoption of conservation agriculture practices in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study assessed the effect of conservation agriculture practices, strip-tillage and direct mulch-based cropping system on weed emergence, biomass and community structure in cotton-based cropping systems in northern Benin. The experiment was conducted in 2023 and 2024 using a randomized complete block design with three replications under three cropping systems: conventional tillage, strip tillage (cotton in biannual rotation with maize-cowpea intercropping over strip tillage) and direct mulch-based cropping system (cotton in three-season rotation with maize and <em>Stylosanthes guianensis</em> intercropping and sorghum and soybean intercropping over direct mulch-based cropping system). Weed emergence and species were inventoried at seven-day intervals starting from the first rainfall triggering their germination. Weed biomass was measured at each weeding. Conservation agriculture systems significantly reduced weed emergence compared to conventional tillage. The reductions were 15 % (cotton) and 46 % (maize) under strip tillage, and 33 % (cotton) and 56 % (maize) under direct mulch-based cropping system. Weed biomass increased significantly under the strip tillage system, i.e. by 40 % in cotton plots and by 41 % in maize plots. Crop yields were not significantly affected by systems. Weed community structure was shaped by the interaction between the cropping system and seasons, with distinct indicator species associated with cropping systems. These findings demonstrate that conservation agriculture practices can reduce weed emergence and alter weed community structure without compromising yield performance. This is the first study to characterize weed management under conservation agriculture in Sub-Saharan African cotton-based cropping systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"401 ","pages":"Article 110262"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146077138","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 enhancement of wild bee abundance at the landscape scale through multiple types of agri-environmental interventions","authors":"Anina Knauer ,&nbsp;Chiara Durrer ,&nbsp;Denis Michez ,&nbsp;Ahlam Sentil ,&nbsp;Matthias Albrecht","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110281","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110281","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The ongoing biodiversity crisis and increasing land pressure call for efficient strategies that promote biodiversity and sustain ecosystem services while minimizing trade-offs with agricultural production. Here, we examine how the concurrent implementation of two agri-environmental interventions—flower strips and extensively managed meadows—can synergistically enhance wild bees in agricultural landscapes through three nonexclusive mechanisms: (i) habitat heterogeneity, (ii) resource complementarity, and (iii) resource continuity. We sampled plant-bee interaction networks and nest-site availability across all major habitat types in 28 Central European agricultural landscapes to assess landscape-level bee community composition and the spatiotemporal distribution of resources. Landscapes combining both intervention types showed a synergistic increase in wild bee abundance, including key crop pollinators. Consistent with habitat heterogeneity effects, bee species turnover was higher between different intervention types than between patches of the same type, resulting in increased species richness in landscapes with both interventions. Bee communities in landscapes with flower strips were dominated by smaller and more oligolectic species, whereas higher proportions of extensively managed meadows were associated with lower functional specialization and a more balanced bee community composition, likely reflecting alleviated environmental filtering. Extensively managed meadows provided suitable nesting habitat for ground-nesting bees and both interventions independently increased bees’ foraging generality toward a broadened diet, indicating resource complementarity. The bees’ extinction risk from agricultural landscapes was also reduced by both interventions, likely through measured staggered flowering periods that increased resource continuity. Overall, our findings demonstrate that combining complementary agri-environmental interventions can increase land-use efficiency and enhance ecosystem services by more effectively promoting wild pollinators, thereby reducing trade-offs between biodiversity conservation and agricultural production.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"401 ","pages":"Article 110281"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146146693","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":"Influence of winter-fallow management strategies on the stability of soil organic matter in a typical rice paddy region of southwestern China","authors":"Meihui Tian ,&nbsp;Sihua Zhu ,&nbsp;Bin Liu ,&nbsp;Jitao Lv ,&nbsp;Shanyi Tian ,&nbsp;Rong Huang ,&nbsp;Xiaohong Zuo ,&nbsp;Meichun Duan ,&nbsp;Yongguang Yin ,&nbsp;Tao Jiang ,&nbsp;Dingyong Wang ,&nbsp;Xinping Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110273","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110273","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil organic matter (SOM) dynamics driven by cropland management are critical for carbon sequestration in agricultural ecosystems. The stability of SOM in paddy soils under different management regimes has been widely studied, yet the mechanisms by which winter-fallow practices regulate SOM, while simultaneously accounting for microbial processes, carbon composition, and mineral protection, remain insufficiently understood. This study examined the effects of fully flooded (FF), flooded-to-moist (FM), and fully drained (FD) management on SOM stability in paddy soils during the fallow period by assessing SOM composition, carbon sources, microbial community dynamics, and SOM mineralization with a particular focus on temperature sensitivity (Q₁₀). Soil organic carbon (SOC) contents were significantly higher under FF and FM than under FD. However, FF primarily promoted the accumulation of labile carbon fractions, including particulate organic matter (POM), while the absence of strong mineral protection leads to higher Q₁₀ values, indicating that SOM in these soils is more vulnerable to warming. In contrast, FM increased microbial diversity and promoted the formation of mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM), thereby stabilizing SOM and facilitating the accumulation of more stable carbon pools. Soils under FM and FD, with higher MAOM, exhibited significantly lower Q₁₀ values compared with FF, underscoring the role of MAOM in buffering carbon loss under elevated temperatures. Overall, FM emerged as a more sustainable and resilient management strategy for maintaining SOM stability in paddy soils. These results emphasize the need to account for multiple interacting processes in land management strategies to improve SOM stability and promote long-term carbon storage under changing climatic conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"401 ","pages":"Article 110273"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146146692","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":"Cover crops as drivers of the rhizosphere microbiome: Impacts on a subsequent common bean crop in degraded soils","authors":"Carla Luciana Abán ,&nbsp;Giovanni Larama ,&nbsp;Antonella Ducci ,&nbsp;Ana Fallard ,&nbsp;Daniela Sabaté ,&nbsp;Silvina Vargas-Gil ,&nbsp;Carolina Pérez-Brandan","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110302","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110302","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil degradation is a significant challenge in modern agriculture, often leading to reduced soil fertility and productivity, threatening ecosystem functionality. Cover crops (CC) are promising tools to modulate the rhizosphere microbiome and restore soil functionality. A two-year field experiment was conducted on soils with approximately 50 years of continuous monoculture to assess the short-term effects of gramineous (brachiaria, triticale, and oat) and legume (vetch and melilotus) CC species on rhizosphere bacterial community composition and structure, key physicochemical and microbiological properties of the rhizosphere soil, soil-borne fungal disease incidence, and common bean yield. The introduction of CC primarily induced species-specific shifts in microbial composition and relative abundance in the rhizosphere. Vetch and melilotus enriched bacterial communities associated with nitrogen cycling, whereas brachiaria, oat, and triticale promoted favoured bacteria associated with carbon and sulphur cycling. These microbial changes were accompanied by improvements in rhizosphere soil properties: vetch and melilotus increased nitrogen content, microbial biomass, enzymatic activity, and water-holding capacity, while gramineous CC species (particularly brachiaria and oat) enhanced aggregate stability. All CC reduced soil-borne fungal disease incidence, with vetch and melilotus showing the strongest suppression, and increased common bean yield compared to common bean monoculture without CC.These findings underscore the potential of strategically selected CC, particularly legumes, to promote the ecological recovery of soils degraded by long-term intensive use, and enhance common bean productivity, with direct implications for the sustainability of cropping systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"401 ","pages":"Article 110302"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146152914","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":"Abundance of short- and long-tongued bees, and their impact on red clover seed production in four cultivars grown across a large latitude range","authors":"Kajsa Svensson ,&nbsp;Veronika Hederström ,&nbsp;Ida Valentin ,&nbsp;Sara Lindholm ,&nbsp;Linda Öhlund ,&nbsp;Mattias C. Larsson ,&nbsp;Åsa Lankinen","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110272","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110272","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Red clover (<em>Trifolium pratense</em> L.) is an important insect-pollinated forage crop. Low and variable seed production is a problem in many red clover cultivars, especially tetraploid ones, limiting their marketing potential. The roles of short- and long-tongued bees for red clover seed production, specifically in tetraploid cultivars, are not fully known. Here, we investigate the impact of short- and long-tongued bees, cultivar differences and plant traits for seed production, in one diploid and three tetraploid red clover cultivars managed for seed eating weevils (<em>Protapion</em> sp.) over two years. Since we expected the abundance of short- and long-tongued bees to vary across a latitudinal distribution, we included six sites distributed in southern and northern Sweden. We found no clear southern vs. northern pattern for the abundance of short- and long-tongued bees, while seed eating weevils were more abundant in the south. Seed yield (weight per area) was positively related to long-tongued bees, whereas seed set (proportion developed seeds per flower head) was positively related to both short- and long-tongued bees. Cultivars differed in seed production across sites. Moreover, some investigated plant traits - flowering flower head density and florets per flower head - were positively related to seed production. Total flower head density and number of florets per flower head varied among cultivars, sites and years. In conclusion, our results support the significance of both short-, and especially long-tongued bees for red clover seed production, and also suggest the importance of studying underlying genetic and non-genetic influence on cultivar differences.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"401 ","pages":"Article 110272"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146095811","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":"Slow and context-dependent: Responses to grassland extensification across a comprehensive set of ecosystem attributes","authors":"Falk-Rudhard Schreiner ,&nbsp;Norbert Hölzel ,&nbsp;Ute Hamer ,&nbsp;Judith Hinderling ,&nbsp;Veronika Irmscher ,&nbsp;Nahid Rasouli Paeenroudposhti ,&nbsp;Luis Daniel Prada-Salcedo ,&nbsp;Daniel Prati ,&nbsp;Selma Vieira ,&nbsp;Lena Neuenkamp","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110277","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110277","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Extensification - reducing the intensity of agricultural land-use - is a widely promoted strategy to restore biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in grasslands. However, its effectiveness under varying site-specific conditions remains poorly understood. We conducted a large-scale land-use reduction experiment across 45 grassland sites in three German regions to assess extensification responses in a broad set of above- and belowground indicators. Indicators included abiotic conditions, taxonomic and functional community composition of plants and soil microbes, as well as ecosystem functioning and services. We analysed variation in responses between regions and along a gradient of pre-extensification land-use intensity. A recently developed framework for multi-goal ecosystem restoration was applied to evaluate outcomes relative to predefined targets. After three years of extensification, significant changes were detected in around 40 % of all indicators, although fewer than half of these shifts aligned with restoration targets. Plant-related parameters responded most consistently, likely reflecting the immediate effects of reduced mowing. Belowground parameters, in contrast, remained largely unaffected, consistent with delayed, cascading recovery dynamics. Extensification outcomes varied with context: less productive regions showed stronger progress towards restoration targets, while pre-extensification land-use intensity did not consistently determine comprehensive restoration success. Overall, our findings demonstrate that extensification can promote shifts in ecosystem properties, even within short periods of time. However, some recovery processes - especially belowground - may require longer timescales. These results underscore the importance of site-specific planning and long-term monitoring in grassland restoration. Finally, the results provide an empirical basis for developing predictive scenarios of expected extensification outcomes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"401 ","pages":"Article 110277"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146110597","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":"Sustainable nitrogen management in paddy fields: Synergistic effects of deep fertilization and urease inhibitors on ammonia volatilization and associated soil microbiome","authors":"Xiantao Fang ,&nbsp;Xiao Zhu ,&nbsp;Juan Wang ,&nbsp;Chengli Tong ,&nbsp;Feng Zhou ,&nbsp;Deli Chen ,&nbsp;Jinshui Wu ,&nbsp;Jianlin Shen","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110297","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110297","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ammonia (NH₃) volatilization is a major nitrogen loss pathway in rice paddy ecosystems, resulting in considerable economic costs and adverse environmental hazards. Yet, the specific characteristics of NH₃ volatilization, its regional mitigation potential, and associated microbial responses under combined deep fertilizer placement and urease inhibitor application remain poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, a two-year continuous high-frequency field monitoring experiment was conducted in a subtropical double rice-cropping system. Six treatments were setting: no N input (CK), conventional N input (CON), 30 % reduced N application (RN); and under the reduced N rate: deep placement (RD, 7 cm below the soil surface), urease inhibitor application (RU), and combined deep placement with urease inhibitor (RUD). The results demonstrated that the RUD treatment reduced cumulative NH₃ volatilization by 68.0–73.8 % relative to the CON treatment. This mitigation effect was attributed to suppressed urea hydrolysis rates and soil urease activity, which significantly limited soil NH₄⁺ -N accumulation. Furthermore, the RUD treatment slightly reduced soil microbial α-diversity indices, weakened the active of microbial taxa related to urease production and downregulated microbial carbohydrate metabolism pathways. Based on experimental data, we estimated that nationwide adoption of the RUD practice could reduce NH₃ emissions from Chinese rice fields by 528.29 Gg N yr⁻¹. Regionally, central south of China exhibited as largest NH₃ reduction after RUD treatment, which accounted for 38 % of the total NH₃ reduction in China. Our findings highlight that the combined deep placement and urease inhibitor strategy as a promising approach to support sustainable agricultural development in double-rice cropping systems, and underscore the importance of prioritizing implementation in high‑emission regions to maximize environmental benefits.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"401 ","pages":"Article 110297"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146134421","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":"Agricultural intensification associated with significant reduction in epiphyte diversity on coffee plants","authors":"Jonathan R. Morris ,&nbsp;Fime de la Fuente Ramírez ,&nbsp;Sarah K. Morris ,&nbsp;Kevin Li ,&nbsp;Mariana Benítez ,&nbsp;Ivette Perfecto","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110249","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110249","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Agroforestry systems play an important role in tropical conservation. Coffee agroforests with high levels of shade and large trees can maintain diverse epiphyte communities, helping to buffer the loss of their native montane cloud forest habitat. While the impact of management on shade tree epiphytes has been investigated, less work has explored how general agricultural intensification impacts the community of epiphytes on coffee plants specifically, which may provide critical vegetative niche space on farms. Here we report results from a survey study, comparing the vascular epiphyte communities on coffee plants between two large farms of contrasting management – a low-input, high-shade organic polyculture, and a high-input, low-shade monoculture. We found that the shaded polyculture had significantly higher coffee epiphyte diversity, with nearly double the total number of species surveyed, an average of 76 % more species per coffee plant, and five times more orchid and bromeliad individuals. Communities between the farms were also distinct, with higher evenness in the shaded polyculture. Our assessment of potential farm management drivers revealed a positive impact of canopy cover and coffee height on epiphyte species richness and abundance, and a negative impact of the distance to the nearest forest patch on species richness in the shaded polyculture, illustrating the importance of understanding the effects of management at both the local and landscape scale. Overall, our results show how the diversity of epiphytes on coffee plants may be significantly reduced by coffee intensification practices and further demonstrate the potential for sustainable agroforestry management in biodiversity conservation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"401 ","pages":"Article 110249"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146095813","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":"Winter fallow straw–nitrogen co-application enhances rice yield and stability by regulating soil organic matter physical fractions and chemical composition","authors":"Xi Chen ,&nbsp;Danni Li ,&nbsp;Min Peng ,&nbsp;Yueling Zhang ,&nbsp;Tianshu Wang ,&nbsp;Jingdong Mao ,&nbsp;Shuihong Yao ,&nbsp;Bin Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110303","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110303","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Double-cropping rice systems face increasing challenges from climate-driven yield variability and soil degradation under intensive cultivation. Winter fallow straw–N management has been proposed as a promising strategy to improve soil organic matter (SOM) and productivity. However, its long-term effects on yield and SOM dynamics remain uncertain. This 11-year field experiment assessed long-term effects of winter fallow straw<strong>–</strong>N co-application on SOM fractions and composition, and grain yield and stability. Treatments were bare plots (CK), straw incorporation alone (S), basal N alone (N); and straw incorporation with 0 %, 30 % or 60 % of basal N co-applied during winter fallow (SN₀, SN₃₀, SN₆₀). Results showed that straw<strong>–</strong>N co-application enhanced early- and late-season rice yields, but yield responses showed interannual variability and sensitivity to seasonal climate. SN₃₀ achieved the highest average yields and relatively high yield stability, and enhanced SOC and SON primarily via increases in aggregate-occluded (o-POM) and mineral-associated (c-MAOM) fractions, rather than free particulate organic matter (f-POM). NMR spectroscopy revealed elevated levels of O-alkyl C and NCH functional groups, indicating intensified microbial processing of straw-derived organic matter. Random forest and squares path modeling identified SOM physical fractions as key drivers of average yield, while SOM chemical composition was more strongly associated with interannual yield stability. These findings highlight that both SOM quantity and quality, particularly MAOM fractions and nitrogen-rich compounds, are critical for maintaining productivity and resilience in intensive rice systems. Winter fallow straw<strong>–</strong>N management provides an effective strategy to enhance soil health and support production under climate variability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"401 ","pages":"Article 110303"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146160824","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 mesofauna promote mineral-associated organic matter formation under ambient and future climates","authors":"Gerrit Angst ,&nbsp;Lisa Hinkelthein ,&nbsp;Qun Liu ,&nbsp;Alfred Lochner ,&nbsp;Ondřej Mudrák ,&nbsp;Travis Meador ,&nbsp;Martin Schädler ,&nbsp;Stefan Scheu ,&nbsp;Marie Sünnemann ,&nbsp;Rui Yin ,&nbsp;Šárka Angst ,&nbsp;Nico Eisenhauer","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110294","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110294","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The diverse life strategies of soil fauna may substantially affect the persistence of carbon (C) in soil. However, experimental evidence linking soil fauna to C in less (particulate organic matter, POM) and more persistent pools (mineral-associated organic matter, MAOM) of soil organic matter is scarce. This hampers predictions of soil C dynamics in the face of global change and the implementation of management strategies focused on maintaining or establishing soils as C sinks. Here, we follow the transformation of isotopically labeled litter into POM and MAOM in replicated plots under grassland and agricultural management and ambient and simulated future climates. We show that access of mesofauna to agricultural–but not grassland–soil significantly increases the transfer of litter-derived C to MAOM relative to soil accessible only to microfauna (p ˂ 0.05; effect size [Cohen’s <em>d</em>], 2.1; confidence interval, 0.5–3.6 %) under both ambient and future climates, while not affecting C contents in POM (p ˃ 0.05). Notably, additional access of earthworms, which are considered strong drivers of MAOM formation, did not boost this transfer (p ˃ 0.05). Our findings suggest that conceptualizations of C dynamics and the accuracy of terrestrial C models will improve by including mesofaunal activity. This activity may be particularly relevant in soils with a large capacity to store additional C in MAOM, such as those under agricultural management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"401 ","pages":"Article 110294"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146110596","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}