Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment最新文献

{"title":"Particulate and mineral-associated organic matter in cropland soils: Meta-analysis of management effects","authors":"Ranran Zhou ,&nbsp;Yanfang Xue ,&nbsp;Amit Kumar ,&nbsp;Anna Gunina ,&nbsp;Jun Ling ,&nbsp;Zhenling Cui ,&nbsp;Yakov Kuzyakov ,&nbsp;Jing Tian","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110218","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110218","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil organic carbon (SOC), a critical component of terrestrial carbon storage, can be classified into particulate organic carbon (POC) and mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC), which differ in both stability and sensitivity to management. POC is dynamic and accumulates rapidly, whereas MAOC is more stable and critical for long-term sequestration, making their simultaneous increase a major challenge in agroecosystem management. Here, we synthesized 1702 paired observations from croplands globally to assess the individual and combined effects of nitrogen (N) and organic matter (OM) inputs on SOC pools, classifying their interactions as additive (sum of individual effects), antagonistic (less than expected), or synergistic (greater than expected). N fertilization alone primarily increased POC by 30 %, contributing to an 11 % rise in total SOC. OM inputs, whether applied alone or in combination with mineral N, increased both POC and MAOC, with integrated N and OM inputs showing predominantly additive effects—increasing POC and MAOC by 87 % and 24 %, respectively. MAOC dynamics were influenced by both edaphic and management factors, with responses being time-dependent and strongly modulated by initial SOC content and pH. Short-term increases in MAOC were particularly evident in low-carbon (&lt;16 g kg⁻¹) and alkaline soils. In contrast, POC was mainly governed by management factors, particularly the interactions between carbon source type and application duration, with manure co-application accelerating rapid accumulation within the first six years. Global projections indicated substantial potential for POC increases, especially in Southeast Asia and Europe, whereas MAOC gains remained spatially constrained. Overall, although N and OM inputs did not consistently yield synergistic effects, combined applications generally outperformed individual inputs and were able to increase POC and MAOC over short timescales, underscoring the advantages of context-dependent integrated management for efficiently increasing sequestration across multiple SOC pools.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"400 ","pages":"Article 110218"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145941077","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":"Carbon in above- and belowground harvest residues of silage maize under contrasting nutrient regimes","authors":"Azhar Zhartybayeva ,&nbsp;Bent T. Christensen ,&nbsp;Jørgen Eriksen ,&nbsp;Axel Don ,&nbsp;Johannes L. Jensen","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110243","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110243","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Models simulating management-induced changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in agricultural soils typically rely on crop-specific above- and belowground C inputs based on harvest yields and allometric functions. However, experimental data supporting these functions over a range of yield levels induced by different nutrient regimes are scarce. This study addresses this gap by quantifying above- and belowground harvest residues of silage maize grown in the Askov long-term experiment and subject to mineral fertilizers and animal manure applied at different levels (deficient, suboptimal, optimal, and over-optimal). Two methodological approaches (coring and excavation) were combined to quantify macro-root biomass (≥ 425 µm) in the 0–30 cm soil layer. Nutrient regime had a significant effect on maize harvest yield, but no significant effect on stubble and root biomass C was detected. The measured total above- and belowground C in harvest residues for silage maize grown with suboptimal to over-optimal nutrient supply averaged 1.67 Mg C ha⁻¹ without including rhizodeposition. Based on a single site and one experimental year, our results suggest that soil C models may better rely on fixed C inputs from maize stubble and roots, independent of nutrient regime and harvest yield, rather than on yield-dependent allometrics. Measurements of above- and belowground harvest residues in silage maize are rare, and further studies are needed to verify the estimation of C inputs for soil C modelling.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"400 ","pages":"Article 110243"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145974738","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":"Land use influences prokaryotes more than fungi in adjacent hedgerow soils","authors":"Luís Felipe Guandalin Zagatto,&nbsp;Valerie L. Kalle,&nbsp;Tanja Bakx-Schotman,&nbsp;Ciska Raaijmakers,&nbsp;Koen J.F. Verhoeven,&nbsp;Dina in 't Zandt,&nbsp;Wim H. van der Putten","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110238","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110238","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Intensive agricultural practices decrease aboveground and belowground biodiversity with an impact on ecosystem functioning. The planting of hedgerows has been advocated as a way to increase biodiversity in agricultural landscapes, but little is known about the effects of the adjacent land use on hedgerow biodiversity. Here, we show that the adjacent agricultural land use influences the composition, structure, and complexity of soil microbial communities underneath hedgerows that have been in place for more than hundred years. In the Maasheggen UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, we examined hedgerows adjacent to three land use types: low-intensity conservation grasslands, high-intensity production grasslands, and croplands. Soil samples were collected from both the center of the fields and underneath two adjacent hedgerows to analyze soil chemistry and microbial community composition, diversity, structure, and complexity. Our results show that hedgerow soils supported more complex and interconnected microbial communities than adjacent fields. Additionally, prokaryotic communities were highly responsive to land use, particularly to arable croplands, and prokaryote composition in hedgerows largely resembled that of the adjacent fields. In contrast, fungal communities consistently differed between hedgerows and adjacent fields, although hedgerows next to croplands hosted a fungal community that differed from hedgerows next to grasslands. We conclude that the community composition of prokaryotes in hedgerow soil was under strong control of adjacent field management, whereas fungal community composition was far less affected. Moreover, hedgerow soils harbored structurally more complex microbial communities than adjacent fields that were used for high-intensity agriculture. Further studies are needed to analyze costs and benefits of hedgerow soils for providing ecosystem services.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"400 ","pages":"Article 110238"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145974676","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 short-term grazing prohibition on methane, nitrous oxide and nitric oxide fluxes from alpine meadows on eastern Tibetan Plateau","authors":"Xiao Chen ,&nbsp;Rui Wang ,&nbsp;Lei Ma ,&nbsp;Han Zhang ,&nbsp;Zhisheng Yao ,&nbsp;Kai Wang ,&nbsp;Wei Zhang ,&nbsp;Siqi Li ,&nbsp;Shenghui Han ,&nbsp;Chunyan Liu ,&nbsp;Yong Li ,&nbsp;Xunhua Zheng","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110259","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110259","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Short-term grazing prohibition (STGP) is a common practice to restore degraded alpine meadows. But its effects on emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG) and reactive nitrogen gases remain ambiguous, particularly regarding year-round dynamics and net climate impacts. Here, we address these knowledge gaps by investigating STGP′s influence on methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O) and nitric oxide (NO) in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau with a field trial comparing the conventionally grazed and short-term-ungrazed treatments. Using static opaque chamber methods, we year-roundly measured dynamical fluxes of these gases in the second full year of grazing prohibition. However, the net climate impact of STGP remains uncertain due to the lack of diurnal flux measurements and concurrent CO₂ exchange data. The STGP practice significantly (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.001) increased CH₄ uptake by ₄8 % annually and by 51 % in growing season. It significantly (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.001) raised N₂O emissions by 124 % annually and by 191 % in non-growing season while obviously (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) reducing NO emissions by about 63 % in growing season. Notably, the STGP-stimulated N₂O emissions surged by 288 % during freeze-thaw periods (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.001). In addition, STGP tended to reduce temperature sensitivity for CH₄ uptakes in non-growing season and for N₂O and NO emissions in growing season. Notably, the CO₂-equivalent balance reveals a trade-off: while the aggregate of CH₄ and N₂O remained a net sink at the 20-year horizon, it shifted to a source at the 100-year horizon, with STGP increasing the net positive emission by nearly 5-fold. This suggests that the climate benefit of enhanced CH₄ uptake could be offset by intensified N₂O emissions over the long term. However, the net climate impact of STGP still remains uncertain due to methodological constraints, including the use of static opaque chambers (which exclude diurnal and plant‑mediated fluxes) and the lack of simultaneous CO₂ exchange measurements. Future studies integrating complementary methods and longer‑term monitoring are needed to fully quantify STGP′s impact on net ecosystem GHG balance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"400 ","pages":"Article 110259"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146014804","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 sustainability and soil carbon sequestration in fresh grain legume-based rotations: The vital role of the cover crop mixture","authors":"Zhi Liang ,&nbsp;Juliana Trindade Martins ,&nbsp;Leanne Peixoto ,&nbsp;Kirsten Lønne Enggrob ,&nbsp;Chiara De Notaris ,&nbsp;Jim Rasmussen","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110206","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110206","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Building soil carbon (C) while retaining nitrogen (N) is central to sustainable agriculture. Integrating fresh grain legumes (GLs) with cover crops could achieve both, yet documentation of combined C and N benefits is lacking at the rotation scale. In particular, no study has quantified total C inputs, including root fragments and rhizodeposited C, from both main GLs and cover crops within a single crop sequence. We conducted a two-year rotation in Denmark, comparing fresh GLs (faba bean, pea, pea-barley mixture) with a cereal reference (barley), each followed by two cover crop types (pure ryegrass or a mixture of ryegrass, plantain and chicory) and a subsequent cereal. We tracked N recycling (biological N₂ fixation, soil N availability, residual N fertility) and quantified root fragments and net rhizodeposited C from both main and cover crops (1-m), using a ¹ ³CO₂-labelling approach. Among GLs, faba bean fixed the most atmospheric N₂ and left substantial residual N, that cover crops captured and translated into higher subsequent cereal yields. GLs supplied less belowground C inputs than the barley reference (1 vs. 2 Mg C ha⁻¹), yet the cover crop mixture after faba bean remarkably added up to fivefold C (5 Mg ha⁻¹) that of the preceding main crops. Total C inputs from faba bean-cover crop matched those of the barley-cover crop reference (4–5 vs. 5–6 Mg C ha⁻¹). As the first empirical study, we demonstrated fresh GLs-cover crops, particularly faba bean-cover crop mixture, enhanced C inputs and sustained N recycling.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"400 ","pages":"Article 110206"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145895866","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":"Spatiotemporal patterns of ammonia fluxes on temperate dairy farm production grassland (Lolium perenne L.)","authors":"Claudia C. Schwennen ,&nbsp;Albert Tietema ,&nbsp;Emiel E. van Loon ,&nbsp;Klaus S. Larsen ,&nbsp;Tamar Tulp ,&nbsp;Bram Ebben ,&nbsp;Roland Bol ,&nbsp;S. Henrik Barmentlo","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110258","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2026.110258","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The nitrogen cycle is significantly altered by agricultural activities such as animal husbandry and fertilization, which can turn the landscape from a natural sink of ammonia (NH₃) to a net source. Ammonia fluxes at broader spatiotemporal scales have been well studied, however, smaller-scale, point source studies are needed to quantify atmosphere-biosphere nitrogen balances around individual agricultural sources such as extensively managed production grassland. The aim of this study was to quantify the spatiotemporal variation in NH₃ fluxes on dairy farm production grassland (<em>Lolium perenne</em> L.) throughout a full year. We focused on the dairy stable as a point emission source, as well as on the management practices (such as slurry application) performed by farmers. The temporal variation in NH₃ fluxes was assessed using novel automated dynamic flux chambers adapted for NH₃. Manual flux chambers were deployed to determine spatial variation. While fluxes did vary spatially, we found significant losses of NH₃ (99.6 %) during the growing and harvesting season (March to September). This was largely attributed to substantial emission rates directly after slurry application while net emission/deposition was close to zero during late-fall and winter. Overall, the net annual NH₃-N emission of this production grassland was 12 kg ha⁻¹ y⁻¹. Post slurry application emissions were especially high during warm and dry weather conditions. Optimizing the timing of fertilization application according to local weather conditions can therefore serve as a management practice to limit NH₃ emission, benefitting both farmers and the natural environment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"400 ","pages":"Article 110258"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146048016","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 rotation impacts on SOC fraction contents and stability: Insights from a global meta-analysis","authors":"Samuel Adingo ,&nbsp;Rui Jiang ,&nbsp;Zichun Guo ,&nbsp;Fahui Jiang ,&nbsp;Lei Gao ,&nbsp;Jianli Liu ,&nbsp;Shuai Liu ,&nbsp;Xinhua Peng","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110128","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110128","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Crop rotation (CR) is widely recognized as a sustainable agricultural practice that enhances soil organic carbon (SOC) accumulation and maintains soil health. However, the specific effects of CR on distinct SOC fractions and SOC stability in cropland soils remain largely unexplored. We synthesized 44 studies comprising 196 paired observations from Asia, Africa, and Europe to quantify CR effects on SOC fraction contents (particulate organic carbon, POC, and mineral-associated organic carbon, MAOC), as well as its stability across climate-soil-management contexts. Relative to continuous monocropping (MC), CR increased SOC, POC, and MAOC contents by 11.83 %, 23.56 %, and 8.57 %, respectively, and on average increased the SOC stability (indicated by POC/MAOC ratio, hereafter P/M) by 16.25 %, indicating a larger labile share at the global mean. However, subgroup analysis reveals conditions under which CR reduced the P/M ratio. Notably, CR increased SOC and its fractions but tended to reduce the P/M ratios at high temperatures and in humid regions. CR increased SOC and MAOC in acidic soils, while it enhanced POC in neutral soils relative to MC. Positive effects of CR on SOC, its fractions, and stability were observed in high initial SOC and loamy soils for POC and clayey soils for SOC, MAOC, and SOC stability. The opposite trend was observed in low initial SOC and sandy soils. The random forest results showed that changes in SOC fractions were predominantly regulated by climatic factors, while MAOC, POC, and the P/M ratio were more responsive to soil properties and agronomic practices, respectively. These findings argue for region-specific, diversified rotations paired with practices that channel inputs into MAOC to lower the P/M ratio. Incorporating the P/M ratio into monitoring, reporting, and verification complements total stock accounting by identifying systems that build durable carbon.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"399 ","pages":"Article 110128"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145689947","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":"Conservation management on an Oregon livestock ranch supports net soil carbon and nitrogen storage","authors":"Samuel W. Valliere ,&nbsp;David E. Prado-Tarango ,&nbsp;Jennifer M. Moore ,&nbsp;Serkan Ates ,&nbsp;Ricardo Mata-González","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110182","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110182","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rangelands are the world’s largest terrestrial ecosystems, covering 30 % of the ice-free land surface. Accurately monitoring their carbon status is essential for managing these ecosystems sustainably. We monitored soil carbon and nitrogen stocks in an Oregon, USA livestock ranch of 13,080 ha with a 20-year history of land conservation management. Soil samples (0–20 cm and 20–40 cm) were collected twice a year from 2020 to 2023. We found that soil carbon increased 2.5–5.1 Mg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ during this sampling period and nitrogen stocks increased at a rate of 0.4–0.7 Mg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. We also used the COMET-Farm™ model to estimate the ranch’s net carbon dioxide (CO₂) and nitrous oxide emissions (reported in CO₂ equivalents; CO₂e) based on past and current management practices and explored future management scenarios implementing legume seeding and stocking rate modifications. We modeled net CO₂e from current management practices, which involved crops (on 660 ha of the ranch), grazing, and livestock operations. The 1266 Mg CO₂e yr⁻¹ released from the land under cropland and from livestock were offset by carbon sequestered in the grazing lands (-0.33 Mg CO₂e ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ or 4076 Mg CO₂e yr⁻¹). When scaled across the entire ranch, this translated to a net offset of 0.21 Mg CO₂e ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ or −2809.7 Mg CO₂e yr⁻¹. Our data suggest that the current sustainable management practices may have a positive impact on soil carbon and nitrogen stocks, helping to mitigate climate variability; yet the lack of a control treatment limits the extrapolation of our results.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"399 ","pages":"Article 110182"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145837278","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 herbicide residues compromise nitrogen fixation and diazotrophic community stability in agricultural black soils","authors":"Hongzhe Wang ,&nbsp;Wenjie Ren ,&nbsp;Yongfeng Xu ,&nbsp;Yi Sun ,&nbsp;Wenbo Hu ,&nbsp;Yanning Li ,&nbsp;Yuqi Huang ,&nbsp;Tao Chen ,&nbsp;Ying Teng","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110160","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110160","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The widespread use of herbicides may threaten biological nitrogen fixation, a key process for maintaining nitrogen availability in agroecosystems. However, the effects of long-term, low-dose herbicide residue exposure on diazotrophic communities and nitrogen fixation under field conditions remain unclear. This study investigated the effects of long-term exposure to low-dose combined herbicide residues on diazotrophic community characteristics and the soil nitrogen fixation rate (NFR) in agricultural black soils of Northeast China with over 20 years of herbicide application. High herbicide residue concentrations (HG; &gt;310 μg/kg) significantly reduced <em>nifH</em> gene abundance, diazotrophic diversity, and NFR (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05). Herbicide-tolerant taxa were more abundant in soils with HG soils, whereas nitrogen-fixing functional taxa dominated in low herbicide residue concentrations (LG). Co-occurrence network and assembly analyses revealed that herbicide exposure altered diazotrophic community structure, promoted deterministic assembly processes, and narrowed ecological niche breadth. Total herbicide concentration was the strongest predictor of NFR. Overall, these findings demonstrate that long-term herbicide residues impair nitrogen fixation by disrupting the structure, assembly, and ecological strategies of diazotrophic communities, highlighting the need for more sustainable herbicide management to preserve belowground nitrogen cycling in black soil agroecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"399 ","pages":"Article 110160"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145731101","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 carbon availability determines the role of crop straws in regulating N2O emissions from maize agroecosystems","authors":"Nan Zhang ,&nbsp;Zengming Chen ,&nbsp;Ye Li ,&nbsp;Shiqi Xu ,&nbsp;Shujie Miao ,&nbsp;Yunfa Qiao ,&nbsp;Weixin Ding","doi":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110166","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agee.2025.110166","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Straw return enhances soil quality and cropland sustainability but increases risks of inducing larger nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions due to the simultaneous input of carbon and nitrogen (N). However, the response of N₂O emissions to straw remains controversial, depending on the management-driven dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC), especially its availability. Here, two fields with the same SOC quantity but distinct availability (HCA and LCA, i.e., high vs. low lability) were established with a factorial design of fertilization and straw, to track the straw decomposition, N₂O fluxes, available substrates, and N-cycling microbes. Furthermore, a meta-analysis was integrated with the field experiments to decipher how SOC availability regulates N₂O emissions responding to straw returning. Meta-analysis revealed that SOC availability mediates the effect of straw return on N₂O emissions from maize agroecosystems, with dissolved organic carbon (DOC) identified as the primary regulator of response direction and magnitude, and exhibits a negative correlation with N₂O emission response. Consistently, our field experiments showed that straw incorporation combined with fertilization significantly reduced N₂O emissions by 22 % in HCA soils but increased emissions by 55 % in LCA soils. Straw incorporation into HCA facilitated bacterial growth while reducing AOB abundance and ammonium supply, suggesting restricted nitrification due to promotion of N immobilization, which ultimately suppressed N₂O emissions. Conversely, straw in LCA soils exhibited a faster decomposition rate and stimulated denitrifiers (<em>nirS</em> and <em>nirK</em>) metabolism by increasing DOC concentration and biodegradability, leading to increased N₂O emissions. Consequently, the fertilizer-induced N₂O emission factor decreased from 1.53 % to 1.11 % by straw for HCA, while increased from 0.67 % to 1.19 % for LCA. Overall, these findings highlight that SOC availability determines the direction and magnitude of straw’s impact on N₂O emissions, which should be fully considered into sustainable straw management strategies to balance SOC improvement against climate change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7512,"journal":{"name":"Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment","volume":"399 ","pages":"Article 110166"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145731174","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}