Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment最新文献

{"title":"Enhanced rice phosphorus use efficiency under elevated atmospheric CO2 and its drivers","authors":"Haiwei Zhang ,&nbsp;Ting Xiao ,&nbsp;Zihua Shi ,&nbsp;Rui Ren ,&nbsp;Yu Jiang ,&nbsp;Yanfeng Ding ,&nbsp;Songhan Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109827","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109827","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil phosphorus (P) is the second most important nutrient for rice growth and development, but its use efficiency (PUE) is still very low. Meanwhile, the elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration during recent decades has increased the biomass and rice yield globally, but its impact on the PUE of rice is still not well understood. Therefore, this study aims to explore the effect of elevated CO₂ on PUE of rice and its underlying mechanisms, based on the evidence from two-years field free-air CO₂ enhancement (FACE) experiment and the results from a global meta-analysis, we use the open-top chamber (OTC) to explore its underlying mechanism. Results showed that compared to atmospheric CO₂ (ACO₂), elevated CO₂ (ECO₂) has significantly increased the PUE of rice, with a magnitude of 16.6 %. The effects of elevated CO₂ on PUE was higher for Japonica rice than that for Indica rice. These findings were also confirmed by the results from a global meta-analysis. Results based on OTC experiments showed that the aboveground biomass (AGB) of rice increased by 27.8 % and the soil available P increased by 20.3 % with elevated CO₂., two possible drivers accounting for the positive CO₂ effect on rice PUE were investigated, of which one was the enhanced aboveground biomass and the other one was the enhanced soil phosphatase and available P content, both could increase the P accumulation of rice under elevated CO₂ conditions. Further analysis showed that these two factors jointly controlled the elevated PUE at elevated CO₂ conditions, of which the contribution from enhanced aboveground biomass was larger. These findings thus suggested that elevated CO₂ will promote the absorption of P and accelerate the P cycles in rice soils. Our results also could provide important benefits for forming management strategies to balance the contradiction between increasing demand for food and limited P fertilizer resources in the context of climate change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"393 ","pages":"Article 109827"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144330854","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 organic matter fractions in the topsoil and subsoil of woody crop systems: Impact of reduced tillage plus cover crops under rainfed semi-arid Mediterranean conditions","authors":"Stallone Da Costa Soares ,&nbsp;Cristina Fernández-Soler ,&nbsp;Efraín Carrillo-López ,&nbsp;María Martínez-Mena","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109821","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109821","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Carbon dynamics in deep layers have potential for soil C sequestration and contribute to the fight against global climate change, however, in Mediterranean regions, most studies focus on the top 20–30 cm soil layer. To advance this knowledge, this study proposes to investigate the behavior of different SOC compartments in the topsoil (0–15 cm) and subsoil (15–60 cm) in two rainfed almond orchards under conditions typical of Mediterranean regions. The treatments evaluated included seeded cover crops (SCC), and spontaneous cover crops (NCC) combined with reduced tillage and traditional tillage (TT). Moreover, an undisturbed natural reference area (forest) representing the pre-cultivated conditions was included. Samples from two experimental sites (Burete and Cagitán) were collected at intervals of 0–15, 15–30, 30–50 and 50–60 cm, and quantified bulk density, soil organic carbon (SOC), particulate organic carbon (POC) and Nitrogen (PON), hot water extractable carbon (HWOC) and short-term mineralizable carbon (SMC). The results showed that the use of cover crops and reduced tillage improve microbial activity, increase soil organic matter fractions, and improve carbon storage, both in the topsoil and subsoil, being an effective and useful strategy for the improvement of soil C sequestration under rainfed almond crop systems in semi-arid areas. In addition, the positive effect of cover crops on SOC storage would have been underestimated by about 35–40 % without accounting for the stock at the 30–60 cm layer. The use of different organic carbon and nitrogen fractions has furthered the understanding of soil carbon dynamics and proved effective in detecting differences among soil management strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"393 ","pages":"Article 109821"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144322575","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":"Woodlands as refuges and resources for paddy spider communities: Varying importance with land consolidation intensity","authors":"Pengyao Li ,&nbsp;Ruxia Qin ,&nbsp;Mingzhu Shen ,&nbsp;Changliu Wang ,&nbsp;He Xiao ,&nbsp;Jian Liu ,&nbsp;Wenjin Qian ,&nbsp;Meichun Duan","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109815","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109815","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Land consolidation (LC) is vital for addressing land fragmentation and enhancing agricultural mechanisation, but it is often associated with farmland biodiversity loss. Preserving semi-natural habitats has been proposed as a solution, but their relative importance as refuges or resource providers for biodiversity at different LC intensities remains unclear. In a well-facilitated farmland demonstration area with high-intensity LC and the surrounding agricultural areas with low-intensity LC, we surveyed epigeic spiders in rice paddies and nearby semi-natural woodlands. We examined how LC intensity affected (1) spider communities activity density, species richness, and community composition in paddies and woodlands and (2) the influence of surrounding woodlands on spiders in paddies. Spider activity density in woodlands was higher than in paddies at high LC intensity but not at low LC intensity. Although spider species composition in paddies altered with LC intensity, that in woodlands remained unaffected. In the species-habitat network of generalist spiders, paddies with low LC intensity showed stronger interactions with woodlands than those with high LC intensity. While paddy spider species richness increased with landscape-scale woodland cover, their activity density increased only at low LC intensity. These results suggested that at high LC intensity, woodlands supported a larger proportion of spider communities across habitats, acting as more important refuges. At low LC intensity, woodlands benefited paddy spiders more effectively, serving as more important resources. These findings highlight the importance of preserving and managing semi-natural habitats in agricultural landscapes, considering their varying roles across LC intensities, to support biodiversity-friendly LC design and restoration.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"393 ","pages":"Article 109815"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144322084","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":"Bacterial community structure and resilience are partially restored after 30 years of rehabilitation of an agricultural riparian system","authors":"Tolulope G. Mafa-Attoye ,&nbsp;Dasiel Obregon ,&nbsp;Micaela Tosi ,&nbsp;Maren Oelbermann ,&nbsp;Naresh V. Thevathasan ,&nbsp;Kari E. Dunfield","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109813","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109813","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil microbiomes play critical roles in maintaining soil ecosystem functions, and therefore, they can be indicators of ecosystem recovery during the rehabilitation of degraded land. This study compared microbial community structure and co-occurrence patterns of potentially active bacterial communities in soils from a disturbance gradient: disturbed agricultural land (AGR), previously disturbed rehabilitated agroforest (RHF), and undisturbed natural forest (UNF). We quantified DNA and cDNA using qPCR and performed high-throughput amplicon sequencing to target potentially active bacterial communities. Bacterial transcript abundance was significantly higher in UNF compared to AGR, and the composition of potentially active bacterial communities varied significantly along the disturbance gradient. Soil temperature, nitrate, pH, carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, and total carbon were key soil properties driving differences in bacterial community composition. Key taxa such as <em>Burkholderiales, Haliangium,</em> and <em>Pseudomonas,</em> were differentially abundant along the disturbance gradient. Network robustness was used to evaluate network resilience and was highest in UNF, lowest in AGR, and RHF was intermediate, suggesting partial recovery of RHF following disturbance. Hub taxa from AGR were oligotrophs mainly from the phylum Actinomyceota, while forest soils hubs were from the phylum Pseudomonodata. UNF was the only site to have copiotrophic hub taxa such as <em>TRA3–20,</em> reflecting a functionally diverse network assembly in the nutrient-rich and less disturbed conditions. These findings show that after 30 years of rehabilitation the RHF has a similarity to UNF in terms of microbial abundance, composition, and soil characteristics, suggesting a recovery in ecosystem functionality at the site.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"393 ","pages":"Article 109813"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144312733","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":"Enhanced multifunctionality of sandy loam soil with co-application of biochar and organic manure is driven by microbial network complexity rather than community diversity","authors":"Xing Ma ,&nbsp;Jing Wang ,&nbsp;Kang Zhang ,&nbsp;Zhen Yang ,&nbsp;Yuru Gao ,&nbsp;Aijiao Wu ,&nbsp;Wenqing Chen ,&nbsp;Zhouping Shangguan ,&nbsp;Miaochun Fan","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109812","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109812","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Despite the prevalent application of biochar and organic manure in agro-ecosystems, their combined effects on the restoration of sandy soils mediated by microbial mechanisms remain understudied. Here, we conducted a field experiment in the Mu Us sandy land to characterize the responses of soil microbiomes (bacteria, fungi, protists) and ecosystem functions (soil fertility, plant growth, material cycling, carbon mineralization potential) to co-application of biochar and organic manure with planting. The experiment incorporated three levels of biochar (0, 25, 50 t/hm²), two levels of organic manure (0, 10 t/hm²), and four levels of plants (1, 3, 5, 9 legume or grass species). The results indicated that both biochar and organic manure, but not plants, contributed to significant enhancement in soil multifunctionality. The greatest soil multifunctionality was observed at the high biochar rate with organic manure, which increased by 52 % compared to the lowest multifunctionality observed under no application of biochar and organic manure. This was manifested by increased contents of soil organic carbon (761 %), total nitrogen (207 %), and total phosphorus (67 %), alongside stimulated plant growth, despite greater carbon mineralization potential. Various microbial communities exhibited differential responses to biochar and organic manure treatments, with decrease in bacterial diversity and increase in protistan diversity. Fungal diversity positively responded to biochar application rate only. Soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus emerged as the primary factors driving shifts in bacterial, fungal, and protistan communities. The complexity of microbial networks varied across treatments and positively correlated with the rate of organic manure (bacteria), biochar (fungi), or both (protist), but there was no response to planting. Linear regression analysis revealed a negative correlation between bacterial diversity and soil multifunctionality (<em>R</em>² = 0.14, <em>p</em> &lt; 0.01). Protistan diversity (<em>R</em>² = 0.14, <em>p</em> &lt; 0.01) and microbial network complexity (bacteria: <em>R</em>² = 0.25, <em>p</em> &lt; 0.001; fungi: <em>R</em>² = 0.13, <em>p</em> &lt; 0.01; protists: <em>R</em>² = 0.36, <em>p</em> &lt; 0.001) were positively correlated with soil multifunctionality. Variance partitioning analysis indicated that microbial network complexity had a greater influence on soil multifunctionality than community diversity, underscoring the role of microbial interactions. Our results indicate that the co-application of biochar and organic manure, not plants, enhances the multifunctionality of sandy loam soil, with microbiome complexity serving as a critical predictor of changes in soil functions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"393 ","pages":"Article 109812"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144307512","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":"Landuse affects the likelihood of soil colonization by a key plant pathogen","authors":"Rebecca Lyons ,&nbsp;Anna-Belle C. Clarke ,&nbsp;Hazel R. Lapis-Gaza ,&nbsp;Jiarui Sun ,&nbsp;Henry W.G. Birt ,&nbsp;Anthony B. Pattison ,&nbsp;Paul G. Dennis","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109814","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109814","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Fencing and other biosecurity measures can help to reduce the spread of soil-borne pathogens, but are often compromised by weather, animals and insects. Once contaminated soil spreads beyond a farm, neighbouring land can either help or hinder pathogen dispersal based on its susceptibility to colonization. Fusarium wilt of banana, caused by the soil-borne pathogen <em>Fusarium oxysporum</em> f. sp. <em>cubense</em> (<em>Foc</em>), poses a serious threat to global banana production. In the Wet Tropics Region of Queensland, where most of Australia’s bananas are grown, we found that banana production land is mostly bordered by rainforest, grassland, and sugarcane production areas. In soil inoculation experiments using quantitative PCR, we found that <em>Foc</em> was highly likely to colonize banana soils, moderately likely to colonize sugarcane soils, and unlikely to colonize rainforest or grassland soils, suggesting that rainforest and grassland may act as natural barriers against <em>Foc</em> spread. When sterilized soils were inoculated, <em>Foc</em> proliferated to high levels regardless of landuse, indicating that biotic factors underpin the differential response of landuses to <em>Foc</em> colonization. Differences in the extent and likelihood of <em>Foc</em> soil colonization between soils were associated most strongly with the soil fungal and bacterial community composition and fungal:bacterial biomass ratio. Based on our findings, we propose that future work should explore the use of ground covers, soil amendments and other strategies to improve soil suppressiveness to <em>Foc</em>. Together, our findings offer valuable insights for land managers and demonstrate the importance of rainforest and grassland soils in limiting <em>Foc</em> spread across the landscape.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"393 ","pages":"Article 109814"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144307511","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":"How bacterial traits scale to soil organic matter pool buildup revealed by long-term maize straw mulching experiment","authors":"Zhangmi He ,&nbsp;Xuefeng Zhu ,&nbsp;Feng Zhou ,&nbsp;Mengtao Zhu ,&nbsp;Xuelian Bao ,&nbsp;Fangbo Deng ,&nbsp;Hongbo He ,&nbsp;Xudong Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109816","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109816","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>No-till with maize straw mulching can enhance soil organic matter (SOM) accumulation. Soil bacterial communities, which are sensitive to habitat changes, can influence carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling during SOM pool buildup, yet their temporal mediation under long-term conservation tillage remains unclear. We used 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing to analyze bacterial traits across four maize straw mulching durations, 0 (M0), 6 (M6), 10 (M10), and 14 (M14) years in Northeast China. Compared with aboveground removal, bacteria at M6 exhibited traits of active growth and metabolism, such as higher phylogenetic diversity, increased copiotroph to oligotroph ratio (Copio/Oligo), enhanced species cross-feeding, and greater potential for biomass and carbohydrate biosynthesis efficiency. Similar trends persisted at M10, accompanied by stronger competition between Actinobacteria and other species. Till M14, bacteria further shifted toward reduced efficiency in carbohydrate biosynthesis. Correspondingly, SOM increased by 42.7 % at M10 and by 53.6 % at M14, accompanied by an increased C to N ratio, with M14 also showing higher labile C content. Such findings indicated that SOM pool buildup evolved from initial stability via bacterial turnover, to accelerated accumulation driven by bacterial transformation, and ultimately to enhanced both quantity and C availability. Structural equation modeling highlighted that temporally coupled bacterial succession, shaped by Copio/Oligo and growth strategies in response to shifting C availability, drove changes in SOM quality. Our findings suggest that bacterial traits can be effectively scaled up to understand SOM buildup under long-term maize straw mulching.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"393 ","pages":"Article 109816"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144297245","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 nutrient addition on yield, diversity, and nutritional quality in a Mediterranean grassland under variable rainfall","authors":"Jesús Fernández Habas ,&nbsp;Carla Nogueira ,&nbsp;Maria Conceição Caldeira ,&nbsp;Cristina Saro ,&nbsp;Mariana Carreira ,&nbsp;Miguel N. Bugalho","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109811","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109811","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Global eutrophication and increased precipitation variability affect the dynamics of Mediterranean grasslands, with significant implications for their stability, conservation, and functions, such as providing livestock feed and preserving biodiversity. This study investigates the long-term effects of multiple nutrient additions and the inter-annual precipitation variability on Mediterranean grassland productivity, diversity and nutritional quality. A long-term experiment was conducted using a randomised block design, where N, P, and K were applied in a full factorial combination. The study included two normal precipitation years (2016 and 2018, similar to the long-term average) and two dry years (2017 and 2019). We analysed the effects of nutrient addition and annual precipitation on yield, functional group composition, and plant diversity, while nutritional quality was analysed in 2019. The results reveal nutrient co-limitation effects on grassland productivity. The PK, NP and NPK treatments yielded 736.8 ± 38.1 g DM m⁻², 2.6-fold higher than the remaining treatments (284.6 ± 15.7 g DM m⁻²). Grassland yield declined by 28 % in dry years, irrespective of nutrient addition. Annual precipitation significantly influenced plant species richness, which decreased from 18.4 species m⁻² in normal precipitation years to 12.6 species m⁻² in dry years. Nutrient addition, particularly NPK, provided grasses a competitive advantage, leading to lower plant species richness. The interaction between nutrient addition and annual precipitation influenced legume abundance, with a positive response observed under P and PK treatments, depending on water availability. The proportion of forbs, and the Shannon-Wiener index showed particularly low values in dry years under NPK treatment. Nutrient addition had no significant effect on grassland nutritional quality. These findings underline the long-term effects of multiple nutrient additions and reduced precipitation on Mediterranean grassland diversity and productivity, providing valuable insights for management and conservation policies to sustain these ecosystems under changing environmental conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"393 ","pages":"Article 109811"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144290615","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":"Impact of different Brachiaria ruziziensis management practices in a crop-livestock integration system on soil health, soybean physiology, and yields","authors":"Laís Guerra Prado ,&nbsp;Eduardo Habermann ,&nbsp;Kátia Aparecida de Pinho Costa ,&nbsp;Luciana Maria da Silva ,&nbsp;João Victor Campos Pinho Costa ,&nbsp;Eduardo da Costa Severiano ,&nbsp;Adriano Carvalho Costa ,&nbsp;João Antônio Gonçalves e Silva ,&nbsp;Lourival Vilela ,&nbsp;Fabiano Guimarães Silva ,&nbsp;Carlos Alberto Martinez","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109808","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109808","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The utilization of <em>Brachiaria ruziziensis</em> (Congo grass) has been consolidated as a strategy to integrate livestock and agriculture (crop-livestock integration system), promoting sustainability and agricultural productivity. However, how different management practices of the forage crop during the off-season affect soil health and soybean physiology remains uncertain. This study aimed to compare conventional soybean cultivation with systems in which soybean is grown under soil cover residues under different <em>Brachiaria ruziziensis</em> management practices (free growth, cutting and regrowth of the forage, and grazing in the off-season) in a crop-livestock integration system, and to evaluate how these systems affect chemical and biological properties, cover biomass production, nutrient concentration, soil microclimate, and respiration. Additionally, physiological parameters, plant growth, and soybean yields were assessed. The experiment was conducted on a Quartzarenic Neosol (Entisol) soil using a randomized complete block design with four replicates. The treatments consisted of biomass production: <em>Brachiaria ruziziensis</em> in free growth; <em>Brachiaria ruziziensis</em> with cutting and regrowth of the forage and <em>Brachiaria ruziziensis</em> under grazing in the off-season and an additional treatment of soybean cultivation without soil cover biomass. Results showed that the free growth of <em>B. ruziziensis</em> produced the highest soil cover biomass, while <em>B. ruziziensis</em> under grazing exhibited higher concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur in the soil cover biomass and improved soil chemical attributes. Regardless of management type, systems with soil cover residues demonstrated lower soil temperatures, higher soil moisture, and increased enzymatic activity. Consequently, soybean plants in crop-livestock integration systems exhibited higher chlorophyll indices, resulting in taller plants with greater aboveground biomass production and an average 20.9 % increase in grain yield compared to soybean grown without soil cover residues. These findings highlight that crop-livestock integration systems in a Quartzarenic Neosol (Entisol) soil contribute to reducing mineral fertilizer, favoring the sustainability of agricultural production. Long-term studies to further explore these effects are strongly encouraged.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"393 ","pages":"Article 109808"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144279527","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":"Crop-precipitation coupling drives deep soil desiccation-revival cycles in semiarid agroecosystems of Chinese Loess Plateau","authors":"Chenyun Bai ,&nbsp;Sidra Sohail ,&nbsp;XiaoDi Tang ,&nbsp;HanYang Tian ,&nbsp;Xiaoyang Han ,&nbsp;Yuanjun Zhu ,&nbsp;Jiangbo Qiao","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109809","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109809","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Precipitation-driven water scarcity imposes a critical constraint on sustainable development in the Chinese Loess Plateau, where the development of desiccated soil layers (DSLs) through persistent soil water deficits has emerged as a major ecological stressor. Although previous studies have extensively characterized the dynamics of DSLs in reforested ecosystems, the mechanisms underlying their formation in agroecosystems remain not fully elucidated. Soil water dynamics throughout 0–300 cm soil profiles under a winter wheat (T<em>riticum aestivum</em> L.)–winter wheat–spring maize (<em>Zea mays</em> L.) rotation system (2003–2022) were systematically investigated using high-resolution monitoring data. The Soil Desiccation Index (SDI) was employed to quantified desiccation severity and evaluate interactions between precipitation variability and cropping patterns. Key findings revealed four primary thematic takeaways:1) Significant interannual fluctuations in soil water storage (SWS: 382.7–924.7 mm), with pronounced seasonal variability (minimum: 560.6 mm in June; maximum: 690.6 mm in October); 2) Drought memory effects dominated interannual dynamics – SDI exceeded 75 % during drought/post-drought years, sustaining strongly/extremely desiccated layers (&gt;8 months), yet all DSLs fully recovered following ≥ 2 consecutive wet years. Non-desiccated layers dominated observations in wet (72 %), normal (65 %), and drought years (49 %), reflecting precipitation-dependent water availability. 3) Deep soil desiccation (&gt;200 cm) showed heightened sensitivity to antecedent precipitation deficits, with SDI-precipitation correlations intensifying with depth (r² = −0.21 at 60–100 cm; −0.41 at 120–200 cm; −0.54 at 220–300 cm; <em>p</em> &lt; 0.01). 4) Spring maize cultivation outperformed winter wheat in soil water retention, particularly during June–September. These findings reveal the intervention mechanisms of cropping pattern adjustments on soil water resilience, clarify the hysteresis response patterns of deep soil drying to precipitation deficits, and enhance the theoretical framework of soil water resilience in semiarid regions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"393 ","pages":"Article 109809"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144279526","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}