Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment最新文献

{"title":"Spatial proximity to farmland enhances bat richness and activity in planted forests","authors":"Claudia Allegrini ,&nbsp;Vincenzo Meola ,&nbsp;Danilo Russo ,&nbsp;Boris Krasnov ,&nbsp;Carmi Korine","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109885","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109885","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Human activities increasingly turn natural landscapes into mosaics of habitats, including settlements, agro-pastoral systems, and planted forests, often with significant impacts on biodiversity. We studied the impact of the proximity of different habitats to pine forests on insectivorous bat species richness, activity, and behaviour. We predicted that pine plantations would host the highest species richness and activity of forest bats compared to other habitat types, particularly those near agricultural fields, which may offer linear features for navigation and abundant insect prey. We used a landscape approach to assess the effects of a matrix of human-modified habitats on bat communities in the pine plantations of the Judean Lowland, Israel. We conducted acoustic surveys and classified bat recordings according to species and their behaviour which include commuting, foraging, feeding, and social interactions. Bats occurred preferably in orchards and pine plantations, where species richness, activity, and social interactions were higher than in any other habitat type. Activity and richness of bats increased near the Mediterranean maquis. Farmland proximity, particularly orchards, positively influenced bat activity, feeding, and commuting within pine forests and Mediterranean maquis. Feeding activity was most frequent in orchards (vineyards and olive groves) and increased in adjacent pine plantations. We propose that farmland may serve as supportive, insect-rich habitats for bats in pine plantations, underscoring their potential value in forest management strategies and agricultural practices. These findings emphasise the importance of reevaluating human-modified landscapes, including planted forests, in conservation plans to protect a mosaic of ecologically highly valuable habitats for bats.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"394 ","pages":"Article 109885"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144865246","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":"Rice-maize rotation alters soil carbon dynamics in saline-alkaline soils of Ningxia province, northwest China","authors":"Zhuonan Hou ,&nbsp;Wenqian Han ,&nbsp;Dongrui Qin ,&nbsp;Xinnian Guo ,&nbsp;Yanxing Dou ,&nbsp;Zhaolong Zhu ,&nbsp;Yimei Huang ,&nbsp;Shaoshan An","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109916","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109916","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Long-term crop production practices have indicated that rice cultivation and rotation are effective strategies for enhancing soil quality and crop yields in saline-alkaline soils. However, the impacts of long-term rice-maize rotation on soil carbon dynamics remain unclear. To clarify the mechanisms by which soil salinization and alkalization mediate the distribution pattern of soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil inorganic carbon (SIC), the sample sites were reclaimed under same cultivation and management measures. 18 saline-alkaline sampling sites were selected where maize monoculture (M) and rice-maize rotation (RM) have been continuously for about 30 years in Ningxia province, northwest China. Soil samples were collected from both M and RM after the harvest of maize and rice in 2024, respectively. The results showed that there was no significant difference in most salinity properties between M and RM. The average contents of SOC were 9.55 g kg^–1 in topsoil and 6.22 g kg^–1 in subsoil of M, which were significantly (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.001) higher than that of RM. No significant difference was observed in SIC between different land use and soil depth, which was closely associated with pH. And soil depth significantly influenced TC (25.66 g kg⁻¹ in topsoil and 21.88 g kg⁻¹ in subsoil of M, 19.35 g kg⁻¹ in topsoil and 19.71 g kg⁻¹ in subsoil of RM) and SIC/SOC (1.71 in topsoil and 2.61 in subsoil of M, 3.51 in topsoil and 5.14 in subsoil of RM), which led to the difference in soil carbon stocks between M and RM. The dynamics of SOC and SIC in RM were affected by soil texture (silt and sand contents) and minerals (Fe_o and Fe_d c_ontents, Fe_o,/Fe_d), which played a key role in soil carbon sequestration. In brief, the study revealed that long-term rice-maize rotation can alter soil salinization and alkalization, compared with maize monoculture, and strongly govern soil carbon sequestration through organic and inorganic pathways, thereby contributing to the further understanding of agricultural practices in saline-alkaline environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"394 ","pages":"Article 109916"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144865245","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":"Intraspecific trait variation mediates intercropping productivity under different spatial arrangements","authors":"Junlong Ye ,&nbsp;Lufeng Zhao ,&nbsp;Liang Guo ,&nbsp;Yinghan Liu ,&nbsp;Dalv Chen ,&nbsp;Lei He ,&nbsp;Jianjun Tang ,&nbsp;Liangliang Hu ,&nbsp;Xin Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109911","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109911","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Functional traits have advanced our comprehension of crop-crop interactions and intercropping outcomes. Nonetheless, the role of intraspecific trait variation (ITV) in influencing intercropping productivity across various spatial arrangements has received little attention. This study examined three aspects of crop ITV (i.e., the plastic variation in trait means, trait range, and trait coordination) in a field experiment on maize (<em>Zea mays</em>)-pepper (<em>Capsicum annuum</em>) strip intercropping. We set up different spatial arrangements with maize to pepper row ratios of 2:2 (M2P2), 2:4 (M2P4), and 2:6 (M2P6). Results indicated that M2P4 was the only spatial arrangement to achieve overyielding (mean LER = 1.09, <em>p</em> &lt; 0.05). Intercropped maize consistently exhibited competitive advantages, but pepper displayed significant variability in biomass under different spatial arrangements. Compared to monoculture, intercropping increased the mean values of plant height and leaf area in maize (by 5.83 % and 4.67 % on average, respectively, <em>p</em> &lt; 0.05), but had minimal influence on trait range and trait coordination of maize. However, intercropping significantly increased the mean values of 6 out of the 11 traits (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05) with a significant decrease in root diameter (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.01), magnified trait range (by 26.5 % - 58.8 %, <em>p</em> &lt; 0.05), and diminished trait coordination (especially M2P2 and M2P6, <em>p</em> &lt; 0.05). Structural equation model analyses showed that plastic variation in trait means benefited the biomass of maize, but an increased trait range and elevated trait coordination favored the biomass of pepper. All three aspects of ITV functioned as effective mediators of the effect of spatial arrangement on crop-crop competition and intercropping productivity. Our findings suggest that intraspecific trait variation has considerable implications for the design of species-diversified agroecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"394 ","pages":"Article 109911"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144861026","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":"Proxydetection of the impact distance of trees on crops: An indicator of the Land Equivalent Ratio?","authors":"Yélognissè Agbohessou ,&nbsp;Alain Audebert ,&nbsp;Adama Ndour ,&nbsp;Louise Leroux ,&nbsp;Christophe Jourdan ,&nbsp;Cathy Clermont-Dauphin ,&nbsp;Sidy Sow ,&nbsp;Caroline Pierre ,&nbsp;Simon Taugourdeau ,&nbsp;Mame Sokhna Sarr ,&nbsp;Sekouna Diatta ,&nbsp;Diaminatou Sanogo ,&nbsp;Josiane Seghieri ,&nbsp;Guerric le Maire ,&nbsp;Rémi Vezy ,&nbsp;Daniel Fonceka ,&nbsp;Olivier Roupsard","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109918","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109918","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Faidherbia albida</em> is known to affect the yield of various crops, typically in a pattern where the impact decreases with increasing distance from the tree. While several studies have investigated the spatial extent of this effect, limited research has explored how this distance varies across different crops or its relationship with crop yield and the Land Equivalent Ratio. In this study, we used a geostatistical approach combined with multispectral UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) imagery to address these gaps in understanding. The results showed that, in contrast to its tripling effect on millet yield, <em>F. albida</em> does not have a significant impact on groundnut pod yield, it only improves its haulm yield under its crown by about 50 %. The geostatistical analysis showed that <em>F. albida</em> affects the groundnut crop up to 9.8-m, compared to 18-m for millet. Yield upscaling from subplots to the whole plot was achieved with an error of 8 % for groundnut pod yield and 13 % for haulm yield. Groundnut’s partial Land Equivalent Ratio (LERcp) was 1.02 for pod yield and 1.05 for haulm yield, which was lower than the LERcp for millet. We concluded that the distance at which agroforestry trees influence crops is a reliable predictor of their effect on yield and Land Equivalent Ratio. This approach offers a promising tool for future agroforestry studies, potentially guiding crop management strategies in agroforestry systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"394 ","pages":"Article 109918"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144852177","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":"Field selection in a guild of geese: Seasonal dynamics and implications for crop damage mitigation","authors":"Camilla Olsson ,&nbsp;Lovisa Nilsson ,&nbsp;Johan Elmberg ,&nbsp;Johan Månsson","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109913","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109913","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Goose management and crop damage mitigation are multi-species endeavors affected by agricultural practices and other environmental factors that vary in space and time. Yet, most previous studies concern single goose species and limited spatio-temporal scales. We analyzed selection of crop types in combination with field stages (pre- vs post-harvest) and assessed the probability of geese using different fields, in co-occurring goose species across seasons and over multiple years. The study was conducted in two landscapes differing in agricultural practices and seasonal composition of goose species and crops. We found several overarching trends in field selection and use of growing crops across species and study areas, but also considerable variability among seasons and species, highlighting the complexity goose management is facing. Fields used for livestock feed production, such as pastures and ley fields, were typically the most selected in spring and summer, as were post-harvest fields when and where available in summer. In autumn and winter geese mainly selected post-harvest fields. Selection for growing cereal crops was generally higher in winter and spring. A general advice for reducing goose grazing and potential damage to growing crops is to leave harvest residues in untilled fields for as long as possible in autumn and early winter. Sowing in spring rather than in fall is another way to reduce grazing, specifically on cereals during winter and early spring, if feasible given other factors affecting crop rotation. However, management needs to adopt adaptive strategies tailored to specific species, regions, and seasons to successfully reduce crop damage risk by grazing geese.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"394 ","pages":"Article 109913"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144852178","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":"Reforestation alleviates the impacts of forest-to-cropland conversion on the phosphorus cycle: a four-decade study","authors":"Mingyu Wang ,&nbsp;Xiangyu Liu ,&nbsp;Neng Li ,&nbsp;Rongze Luo ,&nbsp;Chengrong Chen ,&nbsp;Xin Sui","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109896","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109896","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Land-use change, including deforestation and reforestation, has driven significant alterations in soil properties, phosphorus (P) dynamics, and microbial communities. Reforestation might alleviate the disturbance of forest-to-cropland conversion. This study investigates the effects of converting natural forests (NF) to croplands (CP) and subsequent reforestation into cultivated forests (CF) on soil P fractions, and 18 P-cycling functional genes. The results showed that deforestation was associated with reductions in soil total nitrogen (TN), total organic carbon (TOC), pH, and microbial biomass phosphorus (MBP), along with a 37.5 % increase in available phosphorus (AP) pools. Reforestation decreased total P to levels comparable to those in NF. Additionally, CF exhibited lower concentrations of moderately labile (NaOH-Po and -Pi) and stable P pools (concentrated HCl-Pi and -Po), which may reflect enhanced biological P utilization or a gradual depletion of recalcitrant P reserves due to ongoing ecosystem recovery. Pi content was consistently 2–3 times higher than Po, with NF maintaining this ratio through greater Po conservation and stable P pools. Land-use change disrupted this balance, as reflected by shifts in P-cycling gene abundance. Deforestation was associated with higher abundances of genes related to inorganic P solubilization and organic P mineralization, whereas reforestation was associated with reductions in these genes to levels comparable to those observed in NF. For instance, <em>PhoB</em> and <em>phoU</em> showed higher abundances in CP with higher P availability. <em>Ugp</em> and <em>phnCDE</em> responsible for P uptake and organic P mineralization, which correlated with organic P content (NaOH-Po and concentrated HCl-Po). Utilizing a 40-year land-use chronosequence, this study uniquely captures the legacy effects on soil P cycling and microbial function by integrating metagenomic sequencing with phosphorus fractionation to offer a holistic view of nutrient cycling under land-use changes. The study highlights the importance of land management practices in maintaining P cycling and microbial community functions, with implications for potential improvements in reforestation strategies and nutrient management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"394 ","pages":"Article 109896"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144852179","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 multi-nutrient enrichment enhances aboveground biomass without compromising ecosystem temporal stability in a Tibetan alpine meadow","authors":"Fawei Zhang ,&nbsp;Wei Du ,&nbsp;Chenggang Song ,&nbsp;Hongqin Li ,&nbsp;Jingbin Zhu ,&nbsp;Naishen Liang","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109917","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109917","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Plant productivity in grasslands is constrained by nutrient and water limitations, yet how atmospheric nutrient deposition and altered precipitation regimes interactively regulate plant biomass allocation strategies and ecosystem stability remain poorly understood. We quantified responses of aboveground biomass (AGB), belowground biomass (BGB; 0–40 cm depth), the AGB/BGB ratio, and their temporal stability to multi-nutrient enrichment (nitrogen [N], phosphorus [P], and potassium [K]) and precipitation manipulation (±50 % ambient rainfall) in an eight-year (2017–2024) factorial experiment conducted in a northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau alpine meadow. AGB increased by 14.2 % (K addition) to 52.6 % (NPK addition) compared to controls, with functional groups responding differentially. Nitrogen was identified as the primary driver of AGB enhancement, exhibiting additive effects when combined with P and/or K. In contrast, BGB responses were limited, showing significant increases (∼18 %) only under NPK, NK, and N with 50 % decreased rainfall (N–50 %) treatments. These BGB gains were driven by enhanced surface-layer (0–10 cm) biomass, which outweighed declines in subsurface soil layers (10–40 cm). The AGB/BGB ratio increased by 20.1 % in N addition treatment alone, supporting the optimal partitioning hypothesis. Scaling slopes of ln(BGB) versus ln(AGB) (log-transformed biomass) remained unaltered by other treatments, consistent with allometric growth theory under multi-nutrient enrichment. Temporal stability of AGB, BGB, and the AGB/BGB ratio remain unaffected, likely due to compensatory dynamics among functional groups and resistance of dominant graminoid species. These findings reveal divergent growth strategies that AGB increased significantly through functional group niche differentiation in response to nutrient enrichment, while BGB remained conservative and decoupled from aboveground dynamics. Our results challenge the presumed trade-off between productivity and stability, highlighting the resistance of species-rich alpine meadows to atmospheric nutrient deposition and precipitation variability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"394 ","pages":"Article 109917"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144840631","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":"Intercropping and pollination mediate faba bean (Vicia faba ) yield and nodulation","authors":"Pibbe Dirkson ,&nbsp;Chloé A. Raderschall ,&nbsp;Anna Edlinger ,&nbsp;Dirk F. van Apeldoorn ,&nbsp;Laura G.A. Riggi","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109889","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109889","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Legume productivity depends on biotic interactions above and below ground, such as pollination and <em>Rhizobia</em> symbiosis. Yet, these interactions remain unexplored, particularly in the context of different cropping systems. This study investigated the interactive effects of intercropping and pollination on faba bean nodulation and yield in an organic system, where faba bean and pumpkin were alternated in 3 m-wide strips and compared to faba bean plants grown as a monocrop. Faba bean nodulation and yield were evaluated in open (insect-pollinated) and bagged (self-pollinated) plants. Results showed that faba bean yield and nodulation were enhanced at strip edges. Nodule mass increased by 45 %, the number of active nodules increased by 33 %, and seed weight per plant was 61 % higher compared to monocrops. Insect pollination treatment also increased nodule mass by 19 % and seed weight by 37 %. We found that pollination treatment influenced the relationship between active nodules and yield parameters with insect-pollinated plants being less dependent on active nodules for productivity. In addition, we found complex interactions between cropping system, pollination treatments and nodulation, whereby, in intercropping systems, both yield and nodulation benefit from pollination but not in monocropping systems. Our findings confirm that intercropping positively affects faba bean yield and nodulation, likely driven by nutrient competition and resource use complementarity between crops. Importantly, we provide the first evidence of pollination affecting faba bean-<em>Rhizobia</em> symbiosis, likely through shifts in plant resource allocation. These findings underscore the need to better understand interactions between above- and belowground symbioses for the transition towards sustainable agriculture.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"394 ","pages":"Article 109889"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144830180","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":"Artificial water sites increase amphibian resilience in a changing Mediterranean landscape","authors":"Andrea Costa ,&nbsp;Ilaria Bernabò ,&nbsp;Giacomo Rosa ,&nbsp;Sebastiano Salvidio ,&nbsp;Antonio Romano","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109912","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109912","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Amphibians are highly vulnerable to climate change, habitat loss, and fragmentation, particularly in agricultural landscapes, where land use practices are a substantial driver of biodiversity loss. However, in the Mediterranean region, the continuation of traditional land use practices over centuries has shaped the landscape, determining the coexistence of natural and artificial habitats, such as Mediterranean artificial water reserves, that are supposed to exert a positive effect on biodiversity. Our goal was to assess how landscape configuration, land-use heterogeneity, and the presence of artificial water bodies in the Mediterranean biodiversity hotspot shape amphibian community composition. Using spatial multi-species occupancy models, we analysed detection/non-detection data from 11 species across 1729 freshwater sites along the entire Apennine Mountain chain in Italy. Our findings indicate that among environmental variables, elevation is the only driver affecting the whole amphibian occupancy patterns. At the species level, the presence of artificial water sites is the factor which contributes the most to amphibian occupancy. Although the majority of species generally showed lower occupancy in artificial sites compared to natural habitats, these structures are capable of increasing amphibian resilience amid increasing droughts and changing climate conditions by modulating the ecological effect of environmental predictors. Amphibian resilience in Mediterranean agricultural landscapes can be strengthened by fostering the coexistence of natural and artificial habitats. The latter sites offer a cost-effective management solution that facilitates positive interactions between biodiversity conservation policies and agricultural stakeholders, supporting broader conservation goals in light of future environmental changes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"394 ","pages":"Article 109912"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144840630","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 fertilization causes differential nitrogen utilization efficiency by influencing function genes of nitrogen cycle and species richness in farmland","authors":"Yueyue Xu ,&nbsp;Xian Liu ,&nbsp;Ting Pan ,&nbsp;Zeyu Liu ,&nbsp;Fu Chen ,&nbsp;Juanling Wang ,&nbsp;Xuefang Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109909","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109909","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Fertilization is an important technology for the improvement of agricultural production capacity in arid areas in northern China. It is of great significance to study the influence mechanism of soil microbial community structure and functional genes of nitrogen cycle on nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUE) on soil nutrient management and fertility improvement. This study was based on the long-term fertilization positioning test established in 1988 in the loess Plateau, conducted (1) single nitrogen fertilizer (N), (2) single organic fertilizer (M), (3) nitrogen fertilizer increased lower organic fertilizer (M1N), (4) nitrogen fertilizer increased higher organic fertilizer (M2N), (5) no fertilization (CK) as a control. High-throughput sequencing, metagenomic sequencing and bioinformatics analysis were used to clarify the structure of soil microbial community composition, diversity characteristics and change of major functional genes related to nitrogen cycle, explored the microbial driving mechanism of nitrogen utilization efficiency under different fertilization management. The results showed that nitrogen fertilizer partial productivity (PFPN) decreased with the increase of nitrogen application. Compared with other treatments, the Shannon and Simpson indexes of the N treatment increased by 1.03 %-4.12 (&lt;em&gt;p&lt;/em&gt; &gt; 0.05) and 1.04 %-3.13 % (&lt;em&gt;p&lt;/em&gt; &gt; 0.05), respectively, and the Chao1 index increased by 3.31 %-9.37 % (&lt;em&gt;p&lt;/em&gt; &gt; 0.05), which did not achieve significant difference. The abundance of nitrogen cycle dominant bacteria treated with organic fertilizer increased by 17.65 %-37.68 % (&lt;em&gt;p&lt;/em&gt; &lt; 0.05). This study also selected 23 genes involved in assimilation nitrate reduction, dissimilatory ammonia nitrate reduction, nitrification, denitrification pathway. Compared with that of other treatments, M2N of assimilation nitrate reduction genes increased by 10.92 %- 47.07 %, in which, except for N treatment, there was no significant difference between other treatments. Denitrification reaction genes increased by 44.84 %-56.74 % (&lt;em&gt;p&lt;/em&gt; &lt; 0.05), which showed no significant difference between treatments N and M2N. Treatment M and M1N have great similarity in the functional gene composition of the nitrogen cycle, mainly &lt;em&gt;pmoC-amoC&lt;/em&gt; and &lt;em&gt;nirB&lt;/em&gt; in nitrification and dissimilatory ammonia nitrate reduction, while treatment N and M2N showed great similarity, mainly affected by denitrification and assimilation nitrate reduction, and the main affected genes were &lt;em&gt;nirK&lt;/em&gt; and &lt;em&gt;nasA&lt;/em&gt;. To sum up, the addition of organic fertilizer reduced the dissimilatory ammonia nitrate and nitrification related gene abundance, increased the assimilation nitrate and denitrification related gene abundance. Fertilization amount and species affected PFPN mainly through influencing microbial species richness and nitrogen cycle-dominant pathway. This study could provide theoretical basis for formulating scientific ","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"394 ","pages":"Article 109909"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144830179","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}