Leanne Peixoto, Christian Dold, Jørgen Eriksen, Søren O. Petersen
{"title":"Nitrous oxide emissions from maize following grass-clover: Treatment of plant cover and manure with 3,4-dipyrazol phosphate (DMPP) as mitigation strategy","authors":"Leanne Peixoto, Christian Dold, Jørgen Eriksen, Søren O. Petersen","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109755","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109755","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Animal agriculture is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, with nitrous oxide (N<sub>2</sub>O) playing a critical role. In dairy farming, grass-clover (GC) is widely used in crop rotations and often preceding maize, but the period between GC incorporation and maize N uptake has a high risk for environmental losses, including N<sub>2</sub>O emissions. This study investigated if a nitrification inhibitor, DMPP, can reduce spring N<sub>2</sub>O emissions from maize after GC on sandy soil with or without cattle slurry (CS) as supplementary N. The inhibitor was applied to GC before incorporation, together with CS, or both. Emissions of N<sub>2</sub>O and concentrations of N<sub>2</sub>O at 5, 10, 20 and 30 cm depth were monitored during spring in two years. The highest cumulative emissions were observed in the unamended GC+CS treatment (5.1 and 4.2 kg N ha⁻¹ in 2022 and 2023, respectively). N<sub>2</sub>O emissions often occurred at < 60 % WFPS, showing that GC residues and liquid manure created anaerobic conditions sustaining emissions. DMPP application to GC did not significantly reduce N<sub>2</sub>O emissions, possibly due to NO₃⁻ derived from roots. Also, N<sub>2</sub>O accumulation at 20–30 cm was enhanced by CS despite injection to 8 cm depth, suggesting downward transport of NO₃⁻. When applied with cattle slurry, DMPP effectively reduced emissions by an average 71 %, with some treatments even exhibiting net negative emissions. These findings highlight the complexity of soil N dynamics after termination of GC pastures and the importance of management strategies to mitigate this source of N<sub>2</sub>O emissions in dairy farming systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"392 ","pages":"Article 109755"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144123185","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}
Xinle Tong , Lichao Fan , Mingda Wang , Jingjing Guo , Lei Bao , Lingzhi Hui , Yichao Chen , Zhengrong Li , Shuai Qian , Xiaodong Xu , Lin Ma , Xiangtian Meng , Xuechen Zhang , Kazem Zamanian , Manoj Shukla , Xiaohong Tian , Maxim Dorodnikov
{"title":"Anthropogenic land-use driven changes in soil stoichiometry reduce microbial carbon use efficiency","authors":"Xinle Tong , Lichao Fan , Mingda Wang , Jingjing Guo , Lei Bao , Lingzhi Hui , Yichao Chen , Zhengrong Li , Shuai Qian , Xiaodong Xu , Lin Ma , Xiangtian Meng , Xuechen Zhang , Kazem Zamanian , Manoj Shukla , Xiaohong Tian , Maxim Dorodnikov","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109766","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109766","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) is a crucial parameter for characterizing soil organic carbon (C) dynamics. However, the response of microbial CUE to land-use change and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we estimated CUE using a biogeochemical equilibrium model across three paired natural and anthropogenic land-use systems. We found that the conversion from natural to anthropogenic ecosystems reduces CUE and increases microbial C limitation. Through a combination of variation partitioning modeling, random forest analysis, and partial least squares path modeling, we showed that elemental stoichiometry was up to 4.2 times more important in determining CUE than soil physiochemical properties and microbial physiological characteristics, and the microbial C to nitrogen ratio had a key positive effect on CUE. Therefore, the role of microbial eco-physiological traits (e.g., fungi:bacteria) in improving CUE and thus mitigating C loss from anthropogenic ecosystems requires consideration in land management strategies for C sequestration.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"392 ","pages":"Article 109766"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144106665","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}
Yiyang Zhao , Zhaokai Sun , Chengyang Zhou , Yong Ding , Yiran Zhang , Yuning Liu , Li Liu
{"title":"Livestock grazing increases soil bacterial alpha-diversity and reduces microbial network complexity in a typical steppe","authors":"Yiyang Zhao , Zhaokai Sun , Chengyang Zhou , Yong Ding , Yiran Zhang , Yuning Liu , Li Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109753","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109753","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The preservation of biodiversity and the proper functioning of grassland ecosystems depend on our ability to understanding the effects of livestock grazing on soil characteristics and microbial communities. However, how soil microbial communities— including their diversity, composition, and network complexity—respond undergo change in response to increasing grazing intensity in typical grasslands remains unclear. To address this, a meticulously designed, ten-year controlled experiment was conducted in a typical grassland in Inner Mongolia to investigate changes in the soil microbial community under increasing grazing intensity. The results showed that grazing significantly affected the structure and composition of soil microorganisms, leading to a significant decrease in bacterial β-diversity with increasing grazing intensity. In contrast, bacterial α-diversity significantly increased, while fungal α-diversity remained largely unchanged. However, higher grazing intensities reduced soil multifunctionality and network complexity, with stronger effects on bacteria. These findings enhance our understanding of how grazing intensity influences microbial communities and provide a theoretical basis for assessing grazing’s impact on grassland soil ecosystems, thereby addressing a critical knowledge gap regarding its effects on subsurface ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"392 ","pages":"Article 109753"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144106664","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}
Andrea Radici , Davide Martinetti , Daniele Bevacqua
{"title":"Optimizing fungicide deployment in a connected crop landscape while balancing epidemic control and environmental sustainability","authors":"Andrea Radici , Davide Martinetti , Daniele Bevacqua","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109722","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109722","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Bioaggressors cause significant losses in crop production and the efficacy of control methods, primarily based on chemical compounds, comes with considerable environmental and health costs. Plant protection practices implemented locally overlook the mobility of bioaggressors, which can spread between fields, connecting different crop populations. As a consequence, the yield in a given field depends also on the management of connected fields. In this study, the efficiency of different fungicide deployment strategies across a national-scale agriculture landscape is assessed, balancing the conflicting objectives of maximizing crop production and reducing fungicide use. A climate-driven metapopulation model describing the dynamics of the peach (<em>Prunus persica</em>)-brown rot (caused by <em>Monilinia</em> spp.) pathosystem in continental France is used. Fungicide deployment strategies are based on indices or algorithms, considering network topology, epidemic risk, territory, and stochastic sampling, which prioritize sites to be treated first. Finally, the objective of maximizing crop revenue is investigated, assuming that untreated fruit can be marketed at higher prices. The optimal strategy depends on the treatment allocation threshold: if up 20 % of the area is treated, epidemic risk provides the most effective prioritization. If more than 40 % of the area can be treated, a combination of random sampling and risk-based prioritization proves optimal. When only considering monetary revenues, we find that the higher the consumer’s willingness to pay for untreated fruit, the larger the proportion of untreated sites becomes. Fungicide use could be avoided if untreated fruit were sold at 2.9 times the price of treated fruit.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"392 ","pages":"Article 109722"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144106596","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}
Shuanglei Song , Zhipeng Sha , Kaihong Zhang , Xuejun Liu
{"title":"Are dual inhibitors superior to urease or nitrification inhibitors for mitigating environmental risk and enhancing agronomic efficiency?","authors":"Shuanglei Song , Zhipeng Sha , Kaihong Zhang , Xuejun Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109752","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109752","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Enhanced-efficiency fertilisers are recognised methods of mitigating reactive nitrogen (Nr) release. Although previous data-driven studies have assessed the reductions in Nr emissions and increases in crop production and N utilisation from using urease inhibitors (UIs) and nitrification inhibitors (NIs), they have not determined whether dual inhibitors (DIs) outperform single inhibitors or identified the factors driving their efficacy. Therefore, we adopted a method that combines meta-analysis with a machine-learning model to determine the efficacy of DIs for emissions control and agronomic efficiency, clarify any differences with UIs or NIs, and identify the primary drivers. The results show that compared to urea, DI amendment significantly reduced NH<sub>3</sub> volatilisation and N<sub>2</sub>O, NO, and CH<sub>4</sub> emissions by 47.0 %, 36.9 %, 65.3 %, and 51.0 %, respectively, while increasing crop yield, N uptake, and N use efficiency by 5.6 %, 7.2 %, and 29.3 %, respectively. Moreover, its efficacy was mainly determined by soil pH and soil organic carbon. Compared with the UI alone, the DI significantly increased NH<sub>3</sub> volatilisation, yield, and N uptake by 19.8 %, 2.0 % and 2.2 %, respectively, and decreased N<sub>2</sub>O and NO emissions by 23.9 % and 46.0 %, respectively. Compared with the NI alone, the DI significantly decreased NH<sub>3</sub> volatilisation by 46.5 % and increased N<sub>2</sub>O emission, crop yield, NUE, and N uptake by 9.2 %, 2.6 %, 8.0 %, and 5.2 %, respectively. These results underscore the ability of DI-based fertiliser to mitigate environmental risks and enhance agronomic efficiency and revealed suitable application practices for avoiding the trade-offs associated with a single inhibitor. This study provides suggestions for the selection of mitigation options and promotes sustainable N management in the crop production sector.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"392 ","pages":"Article 109752"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144106598","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}
Patricia Ramalho de Barros , Alison N. Schulenburg , Keryn Gedan , Christopher Miller , Katherine L. Tully
{"title":"Effects of saltwater intrusion on candidate restoration species in coastal agricultural fields","authors":"Patricia Ramalho de Barros , Alison N. Schulenburg , Keryn Gedan , Christopher Miller , Katherine L. Tully","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109757","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109757","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sea level rise (SLR) and saltwater intrusion (SWI) along the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S. are reducing crop productivity and driving farmland abandonment. However, planting native marsh species can accelerate the transformation of these degraded fields into thriving tidal marshes, enhancing their ecosystem services. This study evaluates the productivity and element dynamics of six native warm-season grasses, including <em>Panicum amarum</em>, <em>Panicum virgatum</em>, <em>Paspalum floridanum</em>, <em>Spartina patens</em>, <em>Spartina pectinata,</em> and <em>Tripsacum dactyloides</em> on two abandoned agricultural fields in Somerset County, Maryland, USA. Aboveground biomass and plant tissue element concentrations were analyzed to evaluate their potential for use on field edges (buffers) or whole-field restoration efforts. Additionally, soil samples were collected to measure electrical conductivity (EC, as a proxy for salinity) and sodium (Na) concentrations. We found <em>T. dactyloides</em> to be an ideal candidate for salt-affected fields due to its high biomass productivity, efficient phosphorus uptake, and eligibility for several federally-funded conservation practice standards (CPS), including conservation cover (CPS 327) and field borders (CPS 386). Similarly, both <em>Spartina</em> species performed well and exhibited the highest Na accumulation in their tissues, making them ideal candidates for transitional restoration efforts due to their ability to thrive in both saline and non-saline conditions. Moreover, <em>Spartina patens</em> and <em>Spartina pectinata</em> are currently recommended for some conservation practice standards, including CPS 580 (Streambank and shoreline stabilization) and CPS 390 (Riparian herbaceous cover). Collectively, these native grasses offer versatile strategies to mitigate the environmental impacts of SLR and SWI, while supporting ecosystem services essential for maintaining the resilience and long-term sustainability of coastal regions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"392 ","pages":"Article 109757"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144106597","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}
Marina Pérez-Llorca , Carolina Jaime-Rodríguez , Johana González-Coria , Rosa Maria Lamuela-Raventós , Maria Pérez , Anna Vallverdú-Queralt , Rocío Hernández , Olivier Chantry , Joan Romanyà
{"title":"Increasing soil organic matter and short-term nitrogen availability by combining ramial chipped wood with a crop rotation starting with sweet potato","authors":"Marina Pérez-Llorca , Carolina Jaime-Rodríguez , Johana González-Coria , Rosa Maria Lamuela-Raventós , Maria Pérez , Anna Vallverdú-Queralt , Rocío Hernández , Olivier Chantry , Joan Romanyà","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109740","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109740","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Increasing soil organic matter is essential for enhancing agricultural soil quality and ecosystem services, including crop yields. Ramial chipped wood (RCW), a pruning by-product, has great potential in this regard, yet its short-term effects on soil organic carbon (C) retention, nitrogen (N) availability, and crop yields remain unclear. This study aimed to rapidly increase soil organic matter and nutrient stocks by applying RCW combined with sweet potato, a starter crop suitable for low-nutrient soils. We monitored soil organic C and N stocks, crop yields, and N use in soils recently enriched with high or low doses of RCW, comparing them to organically managed soils that were regularly tilled and fertilized with either organic granulate or plant residue compost. For the first time, we show that RCW application rapidly increased N stocks in the fine earth fraction, particularly at the high dose. At two months in high-dose plots, 61 % of the remaining C was retained in the organic debris fraction, while 73 % of N was incorporated into the fine earth. After one year, 22 % of the added C was retained in soil with the high RCW dose, whereas neither the low dose nor compost application led to significant C increases. In contrast, N retention was nearly 100 % for both RCW doses and compost. Agronomic production and crop performance were maintained or slightly improved with the high RCW dose, suggesting that the increased N stocks supported crop nutrition. Additionally, RCW enhanced biological N fixation in sweet potato. These results indicate that high-dose RCW incorporation into soils with sweet potato cultivation is a promising catalytic strategy to boost soil organic matter and N reservoirs while achieving good crop yields. This practice also promotes a circular economy by repurposing a locally available C-rich resource and aligns with sustainable agriculture principles.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"392 ","pages":"Article 109740"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144106667","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}
Jie Zhou , Guodong Shao , Lili Li , Xiao Yang , Kazem Zamanian , Sulaiman Almwarai Alharbi , Ekaterina Filimonenko , Enke Liu , Xurong Mei , Yakov Kuzyakov
{"title":"The over-estimation of long-term mineral fertilizer on CO2 release from soil carbonates","authors":"Jie Zhou , Guodong Shao , Lili Li , Xiao Yang , Kazem Zamanian , Sulaiman Almwarai Alharbi , Ekaterina Filimonenko , Enke Liu , Xurong Mei , Yakov Kuzyakov","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109737","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109737","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil inorganic carbon (SIC) contributes up to half to the soil carbon (C) stock globally and is especially crucial in arid and semi-arid zones. Widespread soil acidification due to fertilization neutralize carbonates getting an irrecoverable net source of CO<sub>2</sub> out of SIC. Nevertheless, SIC is generally neglected as a CO<sub>2</sub> source and disregarded in the C balance between soil and atmosphere. A 40-year fertilization field experiment provides an excellent option to investigate the influences of mineral and organic fertilizers on carbonate-derived CO<sub>2</sub> efflux by partitioning CO<sub>2</sub> sources using the δ<sup>13</sup>C signature. Although 40 years of mineral fertilizers caused soil acidification and SIC neutralization, SIC-derived CO<sub>2</sub> was comparable with that from the control soils. This could be explained by that mineral fertilizer decreased soil-derived CO<sub>2</sub> production and the partial pressure of soil CO<sub>2</sub>, which led to the weak reduction of SIC dissolution in the long term. Thus, the annual contribution of SIC-derived CO<sub>2</sub> to total CO<sub>2</sub> under long-term mineral fertilization may look as of minor importance. Organic fertilizers (manure, straw) reduced the proportional contribution of SIC-derived CO₂ by 16–42 % relative to controls, despite elevating total CO₂ emissions by 5.4–9.1 Mg C ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. This divergence stems from Ca²⁺ inputs during organic matter decomposition, which catalyzed CO₂ reprecipitation as pedogenic carbonates, decoupling dissolution from atmospheric release. Crucially, manure amendments achieved net soil C sequestration (0.47 Mg C ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹). In contrast, straw-induced SIC losses (2.0 Mg C ha⁻¹ over 40 years) negated 52 % of SOC gains, yielding marginal net sequestration (2.4 ± 1.7 Mg C ha⁻¹). These results underscore the imperative to evaluate SIC-SOC interactions when assessing the climate efficiency of organic management. SIC-derived CO₂ efflux fluctuated seasonally, peaking during the flowering phase (19–35 % of total emissions), then declining by 5.0–9.7 %. This temporal decoupling highlights rhizosphere activity as a key regulator of SIC. Ignoring SIC contributions led to a 35 % overestimation of heterotrophic respiration in total CO₂ efflux, illustrating systemic biases in current C models. Our findings advocate for manure-based management to maximize C sequestration not as SOC but as SIC and to minimize CO<sub>2</sub> emissions from SIC, a dual strategy to reconcile agricultural productivity with climate resilience in semi-arid regions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"392 ","pages":"Article 109737"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144070393","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}
Garrett Sisk , Anaís Ostroski , Travis Dillard , Bruce Hall , Sarah C. Goslee , Christina M. Grozinger , Vikas Khanna , Heather Grab
{"title":"Unraveling microclimate effects on pollinator foraging and crop yield in lowbush blueberry","authors":"Garrett Sisk , Anaís Ostroski , Travis Dillard , Bruce Hall , Sarah C. Goslee , Christina M. Grozinger , Vikas Khanna , Heather Grab","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109734","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109734","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Pollination services are critical for many nutrient dense and high-value crops worldwide. However, pollinator foraging is not distributed evenly across space potentially contributing to crop yield variability. Here we evaluate how microclimate as well as distance from forest edge and managed honey bee hives influence fine-scale foraging by both wild and honey bees and correlate to lowbush blueberry yields. Topographic variation resulted in microclimates with differences of as much as 10 °C and 29 % relative humidity. Honey bees were the predominant visitors and were correlated with wild bee visitation which did not vary with distance from honey bee hives. Both groups had substantial temporal and microclimatic overlap in their foraging profiles, though wild bees foraged earlier and at a wider range of conditions. The positive effect of warmer microclimates on wild bee foraging was similar in magnitude to the negative effect of forest edge distance. Flower density, which was greater in sites with warmer microclimates, was the primary driver of foraging for both wild bees and honey bees as well as yields. After accounting for flower density, no relationship was observed between either wild or honey bee visitation rates and blueberry yields, suggesting that pollination services were not limiting yield. Our findings indicate that microclimates within fields can have stronger effects on crop yield than other well recognized factors, mediated by their effects on floral density and bee foraging. Given higher microclimatic variability at higher temperatures, our findings suggest an avenue by which climate change may impact within-field yield variability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"392 ","pages":"Article 109734"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144070403","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}
Thibault Gandara , Antoine Gardarin , James Desaegher , Sandrine Petit , Emmanuelle Porcher , Alice Michelot-Antalik
{"title":"A crop yield-based pollination index reveals the impacts of land cover and pesticide use on realized pollination at a landscape scale","authors":"Thibault Gandara , Antoine Gardarin , James Desaegher , Sandrine Petit , Emmanuelle Porcher , Alice Michelot-Antalik","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109747","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.109747","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The current pollinator loss raises numerous concerns, because animal pollination maintains the diversity of wild plant communities and is essential for human food. Yet, its consequences for pollination remain unclear, because there is no simple relationship between pollinator abundance or diversity and pollination efficiency. Large scale indicators based on direct measurements of pollination are therefore essential for an accurate assessment of the consequences of pollinator loss for pollination services. Here, we test whether the “realized pollination index” (RPI), a crop yield-based index, is informative on pollination services in a French agricultural landscape. We calculated the index at different spatial resolutions, down to individual fields, compared it with a “potential pollination index” (PPI) based on land cover/land use, and examined its relationship with pesticide use. At the landscape scale, the RPI was positively related to the land cover-based pollination index, and its temporal variations were strongly correlated with those observed at regional or national scales. At the field scale, the RPI was negatively related to pesticide use. These results suggest that the yield-based RPI captures variation in pollination services across landscapes accurately, with large-scale effects of landscape composition, including the spatial arrangement of semi-natural elements and cultivated fields, and more local effects of pesticide use. It could provide an unprecedented, easy-to-use tool for implementing automated pollination monitoring in farmland, from single fields to large areas, and help stakeholders to design biodiversity-friendly territories that efficiently deliver ecosystem services.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"392 ","pages":"Article 109747"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144070402","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}