Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment最新文献

{"title":"Coupled shifts in phosphorus fractions and P-cycling genes driven by long-term cattle manure amendment across the 0–40 cm profile of a Mollisol","authors":"Zhenhua Yu ,&nbsp;Changkai Liu ,&nbsp;Xiaojing Hu ,&nbsp;Mikhail Semenov ,&nbsp;Junjie Liu ,&nbsp;Jian Jin ,&nbsp;Yuan Chen ,&nbsp;Xingyi Zhang ,&nbsp;Guanghua Wang ,&nbsp;Xiaobing Liu ,&nbsp;Yansheng Li","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110279","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110279","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sustainable intensification of agriculture is dependent on higher fertiliser inputs and balanced nutrient management to increase crop productivity while simultaneously maintaining soil health. Since the long-term use of higher doses of inorganic fertilisers can negatively affect soil ecosystem stability, manure inputs may be a viable alternative that also alters microbial phosphorus (P) metabolism. Using metagenomics and genome binning, we evaluated the shifts in microbial communities and P-cycling genes in a Mollisol after substitution of mineral fertilisers with manure additions. Soil samples were collected at different depths (0–10, 10–20, 20–30, and 30–40 cm) from a field that had undergone 30 years of mineral fertiliser application before transitioning to the following four treatments, each of which was applied for 12 years: no fertilisers (CK), continued mineral fertilisers (CF), CF with 15 Mg ha⁻¹ of cattle manure per year (FM1), and CF with 30 Mg ha⁻¹ of cattle manure per year (FM2). In comparison with CF, CK decreased the concentrations of most P fractions, whereas manure addition had positive effects on P fractions. Different fertilisers yielded distinct P-related microbial communities and networks across various soil depths. At the functional gene level, manure application increased the relative abundance of inorganic P solubilisation genes, particularly in the 0–10 cm and 30–40 cm layers, while reducing the abundance of P-starvation-response genes across all layers. Both mineral fertilisers and manure enhanced the abundance of organic P mineralisation genes in the 10–20 cm and 30–40 cm layers. The abundance of the <em>gcd</em> gene showed a positive relationship with inorganic P solubilisation in the surface layer, whereas those of the <em>ppk1</em>, <em>ppa</em>, and <em>ppx</em> genes were positively correlated with inorganic P solubilisation in the subsoil layers. The construction of metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) showed that deeper soil layers offer greater potential for harbouring novel and undescribed microbial lineages and functional genes involved in the P cycle. Overall, supplementation of mineral fertilisers with manure additions significantly affected not only the P fractions but also the P metabolic capacities of the soil microbiome, influencing the soil P cycle in fertilised ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"401 ","pages":"Article 110279"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146110599","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":"Silicon affects alpine cropland carbon cycling by enhancing the biomass carbon accumulation and phytolith production in highland barley","authors":"Jiayi Jiang ,&nbsp;Xiaomin Yang ,&nbsp;Zimin Li ,&nbsp;Dongchen Ruan ,&nbsp;Jie Zeng ,&nbsp;Qixin Wu ,&nbsp;Hai Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110246","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110246","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>With climate change, extensive Poaceae crop cultivation endows the agricultural systems with a distinctive and influential role in the global coupled biogeochemical cycles of silicon (Si) and carbon (C). This study selected highland barley (<em>Hordeum vulgare</em> var. <em>nudum</em>), a dominant Poaceae crop in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), to clarify the effects of Si on biomass C accumulation and phytolith-associated C production using a comparative analysis of Si-C interactions. Analytical results from quantitative statistics and qualitative characterization across most organs of highland barley demonstrated Si functional role in partially substituting C within the tissue biomass on a per-unit dry mass basis. Combined with the biomass data, Si accumulation (156.13 ± 73.07 kg ha^–‍1) was significantly positively correlated with biomass C accumulation (6.44 ± 2.33 ×10³ kg ha^–1) within aboveground organs of highland barley. These findings indicates that the Si accumulation promotes, rather than inhibits, C storage in Poaceae crops. Path model further revealed that plant available Si (PASi) in soil exerted a significant direct influence on crop biomass, with 20 % of explanation, whereas 76 % of the variance in phytolith-associated C production was explained. Given the widespread risk of Si deficiency in global cropland soils, our study indicates that increasing Si enrichment in Poaceae crops via improving Si fertilization management can ultimately drive global C cycling by enhancing the biomass C accumulation and phytolith-associated C production.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"400 ","pages":"Article 110246"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145973845","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":"Context-dependent effects of livestock grazing on forest attributes and ecosystem multifunctionality in Nothofagus forests","authors":"Paula Rodríguez ,&nbsp;Verónica Cruz Alonso ,&nbsp;Silvina Romano ,&nbsp;Gimena Bustamante ,&nbsp;Rosina Soler","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110219","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110219","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Forests under livestock grazing sustain important ecosystem services but face potential trade-offs between production and ecological integrity. While the effects of grazing on individual forest attributes are well documented, their integrated consequences remain poorly understood, particularly in temperate forest ecosystems. We evaluated the combined influence of livestock grazing intensity and canopy cover on individual attributes and ecosystem multifunctionality in native <em>Nothofagus</em> forests of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. Across eight ranches spanning two agroecological regions (Ecotone and Mountain Range), we quantified forest regeneration, understorey richness and biomass, and soil properties, integrating them into a multifunctionality index. Using generalized linear mixed models, we found strong context-dependence: in the Mountain Range, higher grazing intensity reduced seedling and sapling density, organic matter content, coarse woody debris, and overall multifunctionality. In the Ecotone, these effects of livestock use intensity were attenuated, and canopy cover diminished sapling density and multifunctionality, but moderate cover enhanced understorey. Our results extend multifunctionality research from grazed grasslands to grazed temperate forests and show that ecological responses and trade-offs vary across landscape units. We conclude that the Mountain Range is more vulnerable to grazing, requiring stricter management, whereas the Ecotone retains greater capacity to sustain multifunctionality under controlled livestock use intensity. These findings underscore the importance of region-specific silvopastoral strategies that reconcile food production with forest conservation in southern Patagonia and comparable temperate forest landscapes worldwide.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"400 ","pages":"Article 110219"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145941063","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":"Nitrogen reduction via cultivation of green manures in drylands: A microbial perspective on enhancing soil nitrogen availability to increase wheat yield","authors":"Chenxi Liu ,&nbsp;Shijie Wei ,&nbsp;Mengyun Li ,&nbsp;Qi Zhu ,&nbsp;Yongchun Cai ,&nbsp;Gaohai Han ,&nbsp;Huishuai Lv ,&nbsp;Zhaohui Wang ,&nbsp;Donglin Huang ,&nbsp;Xiaomin Wei ,&nbsp;Weidong Cao ,&nbsp;Yajun Gao ,&nbsp;Dabin Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110208","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110208","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The application of green manure (GM) and nitrogen (N) fertilizer strategies plays pivotal roles in regulating soil N pools within the winter wheat (<em>Triticum aestivum</em> L.) cropping system. However, the impacts and underlying mechanisms of these strategies on soil organic N (SON) fractions and microbial community composition in drylands, as well as the relationships between microorganisms and SON fractions, remain unclear. To address this, an 8-year field experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of three GM treatments [black bean (BB, <em>Phaseolus vulgaris</em> L.), rapeseed (RS, <em>Brassica napus</em> L.), and fallow (FW, control)] and three N fertilizer levels (N0, N120, and N240) on soil N pools, wheat yield, and microbial community composition on the Loess Plateau of China. Results indicated that both N fertilizer and GM treatments increased the contents of soil total N (TN), NO₃^--N, microbial biomass N (MBN), and total hydrolysable-N (AHN). Specifically, growing BB as a GM crop significantly enhanced the AHN content by 13.3 %, primarily through increases in amino acid-N (AAN), hydrolysable NH₄⁺-N (AN), and amino sugar-N (ASN). Notably, N fertilization reduced soil microbial interactions and bacterial diversity. However, GM cultivation mitigated the adverse effects of N fertilization on soil microbial communities and facilitated the microbial transformation of excessive mineral N into MBN. Compared to FW-N240, the cultivation of BB as GM coupled with reduced N fertilization not only increased wheat yield but also reduced N₂O emissions. However, cultivating RS reduced N₂O emissions and sustained wheat yield at the high N level (N240). Overall, integrating leguminous GMs with moderate N application (N120) enhanced soil N availability by promoting microbial-mediated N cycling, providing a sustainable strategy to regulate the N recycling process to enhance wheat productivity and soil fertility in dryland agroecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"400 ","pages":"Article 110208"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145902258","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":"Shade management and seasonal temperature shifts reshape termite feeding dynamics and soil health in cocoa agroforestry systems","authors":"Christian T.L. Djuideu ,&nbsp;Felicitas C. Ambele ,&nbsp;Hervé D.B. Bisseleua ,&nbsp;François X.A. Ndzana ,&nbsp;Sevilor Kekeunou","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110253","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110253","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Termites are major ecosystem engineers, contributing to organic matter recycling and soil health, but they are also increasingly recognized as a major constraint to cocoa production due to their damage to cocoa trees. However, the impact of reducing shade tree density and seasonal temperature shifts on termite assemblages, feeding behavior, and soil health remains unclear. We investigated termite functional diversity, cocoa tree infestation, and soil organic matter decomposition across five cocoa agroforestry systems over two seasons. We showed that shade management towards tree reduction associated with temperature increase significantly increased the number of cocoa trees infested by harmful termites. Cocoa trees in poorly shaded systems were more infested by non-beneficial termite species during dry seasons than those in heavily shaded systems during the same period. Soil-feeding species such as <em>Procubitermes undulans</em> and <em>Anenteotermes humerus</em> apparently shifted from below-ground foraging to attack cocoa branches in dry periods. Shade management towards tree reduction also contributed to reduce decomposition of soil organic matter (Humification score of 2.1 &lt;2.5). This result implies that reducing companion tree density in cocoa agroforestry systems may lead to more beneficial termite species becoming non-beneficial, more termite outbreaks, less soil organic matter and poor soil health. These phenomena could be severe with global increasing temperatures. Proper management of shade trees by keeping a diversity of shade trees is the recommended solution to reduce pest pressure on cocoa trees, improve cocoa soil health and enhance beneficial interactions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"400 ","pages":"Article 110253"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145995458","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":"Climatic and anthropogenic controls on contemporary and historic sediment sources in a lake-connected watershed: Insights from a hierarchical geochemical and compound-specific stable isotope (CSSI) fingerprinting approach","authors":"Maral Khodadadi ,&nbsp;William H. Blake ,&nbsp;Andrew Swales ,&nbsp;Greg Olson ,&nbsp;Max Gibbs","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110270","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110270","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding historical sediment sources and their drivers is essential for effective watershed management. This study provides a novel, century-scale assessment of sediment source dynamics by integrating geochemical and compound-specific stable isotope (CSSI) fingerprinting in the Zarivar Lake watershed, Iran. We measured tracers in potential sources, riverine sediments, and a lake sediment core. Consensus Ranking (CR) and Consistent Tracer Selection (CTS) were used to optimize the tracer combinations for robust source apportionment. This integrated approach identified channel banks (0.39 ± 0.09), uncultivated subsoil (0.29 ± 0.10), and irrigated farming (0.16 ± 0.07) as the dominant sediment sources from 1950s to 2018. Four distinct episodes of sedimentation fluctuations were identified: (i) an early-1930s peak linked to channel modifications; (ii) an early-1940s peak associated with extreme rainfall and mass movements; (iii) mid-1970s to 1980s peaks driven by deforestation and climatic extremes; and (iv) a sharp post-2008 decline following check dam construction, demonstrating the efficacy of sediment flux reduction. The findings reveal that changes in sediment loads were primarily governed by anthropogenic activities, while precipitation often acted as the primary amplifier of these impacts. This research underscores the power of a hierarchical geochemical-CSSI approach to provide a source-specific, century-scale perspective that is critical for designing effective conservation strategies in anthropogenically modified watersheds facing climate change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"400 ","pages":"Article 110270"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146090709","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 enclosure alters the impact of nitrogen enrichment on the grassland stability of plant productivity, composition and richness","authors":"Hanghang Tuo ,&nbsp;Hossein Ghanizadeh ,&nbsp;Ziming Yin ,&nbsp;Xiaorui Ma ,&nbsp;Xiaorong Wei ,&nbsp;Weijun Li ,&nbsp;Xinning Han ,&nbsp;Xiaoshan Zhang ,&nbsp;Yibo Wang ,&nbsp;Huihui Tian ,&nbsp;Faming Ye ,&nbsp;Qing Yang ,&nbsp;Xiaobao Li ,&nbsp;Wei Li","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110269","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110269","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding how global nitrogen enrichment impacts grassland stability, especially in the context of long-term ecological restoration, is a critical yet underexplored area of research. Although nitrogen enrichment is known to influence productivity and biodiversity, it remains unclear how these effects develop over different enclosure durations. We conducted an 11-year experiment involving six nitrogen enrichment levels across grasslands with different enclosure durations (10, 20, and 30 years) to quantify multiple dimensions of community stability, including productivity stability, compositional stability, and species richness stability. We found that nitrogen enrichment and longer enclosure time both increased aboveground productivity but decreased species richness. However, the magnitude of nitrogen`s effects declined with longer enclosure times, particularly after 30 years. Interestingly, the mechanisms underpinning community stability exhibited temporal shifts and responded to nitrogen enrichment. In terms of productivity stability, species asynchrony played a more significant role during the early stages of enclosure (10 years), whereas the stability of dominant species became increasingly influential in the later stages (20 and 30 years). Both nitrogen enrichment and enclosure influenced species composition and richness stability by enhancing the stability of dominant species, but reducing the stability of species richness. These findings clarify how nitrogen enrichment and enclosure interact to shape different aspects of grassland stability and provide a scientific basis for designing stage-specific management strategies in response to global environmental change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"400 ","pages":"Article 110269"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146090713","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":"Effects of local management and landscape factors on taxonomic and functional diversity of multiple taxa in managed grasslands","authors":"Matteo Conti ,&nbsp;Andrea Dalpasso ,&nbsp;Alberto Mattia Nodari ,&nbsp;Isabel Cantera ,&nbsp;Benedetta Barzaghi ,&nbsp;Mattia Brambilla ,&nbsp;Andrea Ferrari ,&nbsp;Gentile Francesco Ficetola ,&nbsp;Simone Giachello ,&nbsp;Elia Lo Parrino ,&nbsp;Valeria Messina ,&nbsp;Carlo Polidori ,&nbsp;Michele Pozzi ,&nbsp;Sofia Redaelli ,&nbsp;Andrea Zerboni ,&nbsp;Gianalberto Losapio ,&nbsp;Mattia Falaschi","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110257","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110257","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Semi-natural grasslands are among the most biodiversity-rich habitats in European agroecosystems, offering a broad spectrum of resources for many species, including plants, insects, and birds, potentially increasing the provision of key ecosystem services. Grassland biodiversity can be strongly influenced by both local- and landscape-level factors. Understanding how different biodiversity facets respond to biotic and abiotic factors across spatial scales remains challenging; yet this knowledge is essential for guiding management actions that support key ecological processes in agroecosystems. Here, we adopted a multi-taxa and multi-scale approach considering five groups: plants, bees, hoverflies, orthopterans, and birds. We assessed the effects of local management (annual mowing frequency, presence of uncut refuges) and landscape features (urban and agricultural cover, landscape heterogeneity) on taxonomic and functional diversity in managed grasslands. We found that multidiversity was positively associated with the presence of uncut refuges and with landscape heterogeneity, while it was negatively associated with urban and monoculture cover at the landscape level. The effect of mowing frequency was weak, potentially due to contrasting effects on different groups. Structural equation models showed that ecological effects varied across scales, groups, and biodiversity indicators: i) local scale management was particularly correlated with indicators of plants and hoverflies; ii) landscape scale factors had a stronger relationship with birds; iii) bees and orthopterans showed relationships at both local and landscape scales. Since different scales of agroecosystems management showed contrasting effects on different groups, we emphasize the importance of planning both local- and landscape-level management to embrace different facets of biodiversity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"400 ","pages":"Article 110257"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146090180","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-level oilseed rape cover shapes seasonal patterns of wild bee abundance in conservation areas","authors":"Carolin Biegerl ,&nbsp;Andrea Holzschuh ,&nbsp;Fabian A. Boetzl ,&nbsp;Jochen Krauss ,&nbsp;Jie Zhang ,&nbsp;Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110234","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110234","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In simplified agricultural landscapes, the continuous availability of food and nesting resources for pollinators, often associated with semi-natural habitats, is limited. This threatens pollinator populations and essential pollination services. Winter oilseed rape (OSR) can temporarily compensate for this lack of floral resources in spring by providing large amounts of nectar and pollen. While flowering OSR attracts pollinators, knowledge about its effects on pollinator populations in adjacent semi-natural habitats over the season remains vague. We therefore asked how OSR cover affects bee abundance in high-value semi-natural habitats throughout the season, and how habitat area, quality, and bee life-history traits modulate these effects. To answer this, we sampled bees in 40 semi-natural calcareous grasslands in Germany. Wild bee abundance (excluding bumblebees) in grasslands was positively related to landscape OSR cover during OSR flowering. Bumblebee abundance showed a positive relationship with OSR cover only after flowering, and only in large grasslands. Wild bees foraging on flowering OSR likely spilled over into calcareous grasslands which offer abundant nesting sites. Bumblebees, less restricted in nesting needs, built up populations in OSR-rich landscapes and benefited from continuous floral resources in large grasslands after OSR flowering. Although OSR positively affected wild bees, this effect was short-lived for non-<em>Bombus</em> bees and delayed for bumblebees. Our findings emphasize the ecological value of calcareous grasslands as high-quality foraging habitats after OSR flowering and crucial nesting sites during OSR flowering. We conclude that pollinator communities on calcareous grasslands can benefit from mass-flowering crops in the surrounding agricultural landscapes, but the conservation of these grasslands remains essential.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"400 ","pages":"Article 110234"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145973850","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":"Agroforestry balances plant–soil–microbe–enzyme interactions and improves its connectivity and homeostasis: Evidence from C:N:P stoichiometric networks","authors":"Qi-Wen Xu ,&nbsp;Meng-Die Feng ,&nbsp;Tian-Yang Li,&nbsp;Lin Xiong,&nbsp;Bo-Yu Ren,&nbsp;Yan-Zheng He,&nbsp;Bing-Hui He","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110256","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110256","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Plant–soil–microbe–enzyme interactions are essential links in nutrient cycling and maintaining ecosystem stability. Ecological stoichiometry analyses can be used to effectively capture cross-level relationships and explore the balance of chemical elements. However, the quantification of individual nutrient limitations and their intricate interactions, especially in response to changing planting patterns, remains unclear. Here, we assessed nutrient limitations and stoichiometric homeostasis across four planting patterns: bare soil control (BK), bean monoculture (A), Sichuan pepper monoculture (F), and Sichuan pepper-bean agroforestry (AF). We evaluated carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in plants (aboveground and belowground), soil (total and dissolved fractions), microbial biomass, and extracellular enzymes. These interactions were analyzed as ecological networks, with hub analysis identifying central elements in nutrient cycling. Across all planting patterns, soil nutrients were jointly limited by carbon and nitrogen. Bean growth was nitrogen-limited, whereas Sichuan pepper was phosphorus-limited in F pattern. Microbial biomass and enzyme activities indicated microbial resources were constrained by nitrogen and phosphorus, while microbial metabolism was nitrogen-limited. Compared to the BK, A, and F, the AF pattern alleviated co-limitation of soil carbon and nitrogen in total fractions and reduced phosphorus limitation of microbial resources. The AF also enhanced homeostasis and improved plant–soil network connectivity. Hub analysis revealed that monocultures (A and F patterns)focused on nitrogen-centered nutrient cycling, while AF shifted towards a carbon-centered cycle, prioritizing energy flow over nutrient cycling. This study provides novel insights into biogeochemical interactions and stoichiometric self-regulation of agroforestry, emphasizing their potential to optimize nutrient cycling and enhance ecosystem resilience.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"400 ","pages":"Article 110256"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146033242","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}