As a globally important alpine ecological zone, the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and the stability of its ecosystem are of substantial significance to the East Asian and global climates. Livestock grazing is a traditional and important method to use grassland resources and has influenced the structure and functions of alpine grassland ecosystems; therefore, a rational grazing management strategy is important

The agricultural practice of straw incorporation is often employed to enhance soil fertility, improve soil properties and reduce nitrate leaching via deep burying. Nevertheless, the tradeoff between nitrate leaching and NO emissions caused by deep straw incorporation in various soil types remains uncertain. To address this knowledge gap, a mesocosm column experiment was established to evaluate the

Rice paddies supply the staple food for 50% global population, but contribute 48% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from croplands. Temperature is the key factor of rice yield and GHG emissions, but warming effects (i.e. elevated temperature ≤ 2°C) are still unclear, especially in hotspots. Therefore, we collected the global observations of warming experiments and corresponding environmental factors

Biofertilizer and organic fertilizer (OF) are potential alternative strategies for agriculture sustainability. However, their effects on soil gross nitrogen (N) transformation and the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. Therefore, in this study, using (BA) as a biofertilizer agent, a N tracer was employed to quantify soil gross N transformation rates in acidic soils under tea cultivation

Pesticides are widely used in agriculture to manage pests, weeds and diseases with consequences on ecosystem and human health. Reducing pesticide reliance appears as a necessary step for transitioning to sustainable farming systems. Many non-chemical techniques to control pests, weeds and diseases are individually well documented, but quantitative assessment of how much the reliance on pesticides could

Phosphorus (P) runoff from agriculture exacerbates eutrophication globally. Despite diverse mitigation options, the issue persists, necessitating the evaluation of slow-release fertilizers for crop production to minimize environmental P losses. Struvite, a P-rich, recycled product with low water solubility, holds promise for minimizing off-site environmental impacts. Nevertheless, the specific implications

In Hesbaye region (Belgium) with a loamy soil and under temperate climatic condition, winter wheat is a key component of agricultural rotations. As part of these rotations, soil management is a known driver of soil fertility and carbon storage. However, it could also influence the weed flora. In this study, the long-term effect of four soil management on the expressed and potential weed flora was examined

Soil degradation in greenhouse vegetable production systems due to salinisation and soil-borne diseases can be mitigated by chemical soil disinfestation (CSD). However, the comprehensive effects of CSD on soil salinisation and the presence of potential pathogens are not well realised. Therefore, the efficacy of CSD in controlling salinisation and soil-borne diseases was studied in a 3-year field experiment

Paddy soil is an important terrestrial carbon (C) pool. Understanding the impact of organic amendments on soil organic matter (SOM) stabilization pathways is critical for the accurate estimation of C storage potential and SOM stability in paddy soil. However, the impact of organic matter amendment on plant- and microbe-derived C distribution within different SOM fractions, i.e., particulate organic

Sustaining yields for smallholder perennial agriculture under a rapidly changing climate regime may require consideration of landscape features and on-farm management decisions in tandem. Optimising landscape and management may not be possible for maximising yields in any one year but maintaining heterogeneous landscapes could be an important climate adaptation strategy. In this study, we observed

Extensive livestock grazing is a global human activity. In the Iberian Peninsula, extensive grazing and seminatural grasslands and open woodlands such as dehesas have co-evolved with human use for millennia. However, social, demographic, and economic factors are now pushing this traditional activity towards both conventional intensification and land abandonment, with consequences for the biodiversity

The arid and semi-arid regions of northwest China play a crucial role in ensuring the national cotton production. Soil water potential (SWP)-based deficit irrigation is potentially an effective irrigation strategy in maintaining agricultural productivity in these regions. However, the impact of various SWP thresholds and nitrogen application rates on carbon balance and environmentally friendly economic

Harnessing the activity of soil microorganisms is currently underutilized in sustainable agricultural management. One such underutilized microbial approach, referred to as reverse fertilization, is a practice that involves introducing substantial quantities of high carbon:nitrogen (C:N) amendments into the soil. The surplus of carbon stimulates the growth of soil microorganisms and triggers microbial

Herbal leys (multispecies swards) can potentially deliver greater agronomic and environmental benefits than conventional grass-clover swards in grazed agroecosystems. However, despite their popularity in agri-environment schemes, little is known about the effect of herbal leys on soil physical (e.g., porosity), chemical (e.g., carbon), and biological (e.g., soil fauna) characteristics. In the UK, a

Bees are declining, which is worrisome since they both have intrinsic conservation value and play a major role as pollinators in both natural and managed ecosystems. Land use change and lack of suitable habitats are often suggested as driving forces of bee decline. To propose mitigation measures to halt bee decline, it is important to understand how land use relates to bee abundance and diversity,

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play an important role in crop productivity, but their response to different fertilization regimes is variable. Understanding the mechanisms governing mycorrhizal responses under various fertilization regimes is key to maximizing the mycorrhizal contribution to ecosystem functioning. Indigenous AMF communities and soil were collected from long-term field experiments

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and high-water requirements in transplanted rice are critical issues contributing to climate change and the depletion of freshwater reserves. The adoption of water-saving irrigation practices and improved rice cultivars is important for mitigating GHG emissions and addressing water scarcity while maintaining high crop yields. The objective of this study was to investigate

Aboveground biomass (AGB) production is an important ecosystem function and service, especially where livestock feeding is the main human activity. Rangeland managers mainly use grazing exclusion to improve AGB in degraded arid and semiarid rangeland. However, the mechanism by which this nature-based management practice increases AGB and how it influences the mediating effects of biodiversity on AGB

Crop diversification represents a promising pathway towards sustainable farming system. In order to address the severe constraints imposed on agricultural and livestock development due to the scarcity of high-quality forage in the Yangtze River Basin, we employed the principles of crop diversification to enhance crop diversity and intensification at both spatial and temporal scales through intercropping

Farmland ecosystem services frequently result from different ecological functions simultaneous provided by specific biodiversity groups such as birds. These bundles of ecosystem services may be approached from inter-specific interaction networks, which inform about the structure of interactions while identifying the species more relevant for combining ecosystem services. Here, we studied how birds

Evaluating the contribution of diverse nitrogen (N) sources in agricultural systems is pivotal for optimizing sustainable farming practices. While knowledge exists about the roles of various N sources, there’s limited comprehensive data on the relative contributions of manure compost, fertilizer, and root residues to subsequent plant uptake. A comprehensive field study was conducted in Shandong Province

Enhancing biomass yield simultaneously with soil carbon (C) sequestration is a key aim of climate-smart cropping systems. Perennialization is believed to be a suitable mitigation strategy for climate change with the potential for enhancing soil C stocks. Based on a nine-year field experiment in Denmark, we measured the changes in soil C and nitrogen (N) stocks, biomass yield, and yield stability of

Climate change and water shortage are the two important driving factors for food insecurity. It is a common concern to ensure food security to cope with climate change by adopting the best management practices (e.g., irrigation methods and sowing date). A field simulation experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of management practices (water-saving irrigation and delayed sowing) on yield

Supplementing plants with silicon (Si) often improves plant productivity and resilience to biotic and abiotic stresses, but this is mostly reported in highly controlled experimental environments. The ecological consequences of Si supplementation, including environmental benefits and potential risks, are therefore poorly understood and require field-scale evaluation of how Si supplementation affects

Agricultural intensification and the drastic loss of grassland habitats have led to a general decline of grassland specialist species in Europe. Current greening measures in grasslands management have proven insufficient to halt this decline. Conservation measures need to be strengthened by taking into account the composition and configuration of the landscape at different scales as well as practices

Silicate fertilizer derived from iron slag (hereafter, silicate fertilizer) as a soil amendment has been added to Korean and Japanese rice paddies to improve soil pH and supply nutrients to the crop. However, the consequences of silicate fertilizer application to soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks remain unclear. Hypothetically, silicate fertilizer might deplete SOC by increasing soil pH and stimulating

Nitrogen non-point source pollution from paddies occurs in a wide area to the detriment of the environment. Paddies are usually connected with eco-ditches and wetlands in the dominant rice planting regions in southern China, forming a paddy eco-ditch wetland system. This system could effectively reduce nitrogen discharge from the source (paddies) to the process (eco-ditches and wetlands). However,

The combined effects of nitrogen (N) fertilizers and straw incorporation (SI) on GHG emissions, crop yields, and net ecosystem carbon budget (NECB) in summer maize-winter wheat rotation systems are still uncertain. We conducted a two-year field experiment to evaluate the effects of SI combined with different N fertilization practices on soil NO emissions, ecosystem respiration (Re), NECB, grain yields

Drought alters the diversity, composition, and network stability of microbial communities. Natural resources benefit from intercropping, particularly cereal-legume intercropping, where soil microbes are important for biogeochemical cycles and plant growth. However, little is understood about how different cropping environments' soil microbial communities respond to drought. Here, we examined bulk and

The growing world population and global market competition are putting pressure on high-yield food production, reducing the space available for low-intensity agricultural practices that support high biodiversity. In search of synergies between different environmental policy instruments, the potential of drinking water protection zones (WPZ) for high nature value (HNV) farmland conservation and connectivity

The influence of grazing on soil seed bank (SSB) characteristics determines the management of rangelands in different climates. Here we studied the responses of SSBs to livestock grazing in three regions with different climates – arid, semiarid and subhumid – in northern Iran. In each region 30 pairwise SSB samples were collected on 1 m2 plots, 15 in intensely grazed areas and 15 in ungrazed areas

Understanding the behavior of nitrate in the unsaturated zone is critical for predicting groundwater nitrate pollution. Although this issue has been intensively investigated for shallow soil profiles, it remains poorly understood in deep soils. We collected soil samples up to 20 m depth under farmland and apple orchards with trees that were 16 and 22 years old (A16 and A22). We then determined soil-water

Agricultural systems of the Argentinean Pampas generally use rotations of summer crops under no-tillage and apply fertilization at rates that do not compensate nutrient exports with grain harvest, resulting in negative balances and soil fertility loss. However, the humid climate, long fallow periods and soil factors enhance nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) leaching, which has a negative impact on freshwater

The integration of cover crops (CCs) in low-input systems is a widely adopted practice to re-capture surplus nitrogen (N) and avoid excessive losses to the environment by leaching or N2O emissions. Closing the N cycle within an agricultural system is therefore economically beneficial and lowers the negative impact of inorganic N on soil and water bodies. However, it is debated if pollution swapping

In weed control the aims of securing crop productivity and protecting biodiversity are often difficult to reconcile. Currently, the development of autonomous in-field intervention technology, such as field robots, is creating new potential for minimizing trade-offs between these two aims. To exploit this potential, weed management strategies need to adapt. However, it is currently unclear which kind

Mulching is widely adopted in arid regions to improve soil environment and crop productivity. However, our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of such improvements from enzyme activity and rhizosphere microbial community structure perspectives remain poor. To fill the gap, soil zymography was coupled with high-throughput sequencing to investigate enzyme activities and bacterial community structure

Alnus viridis is a shrub species that has been increasing in many European mountains over the past decades, leading to a loss of agricultural areas and several negative environmental impacts. Recently, targeted livestock management systems have been investigated to reduce its encroachment. This study aims to provide an exhaustive assessment of A. viridis leaf composition and its temporal variation

Climate change poses a challenge for resource utilization and environmental pollution issues caused by agricultural production, especially in arid to semi-arid regions. Farmland water, carbon and nitrogen balances are closely related to these resource and environmental issues. Thus, the Agro-Hydrological & chemical and Crop systems simulator was used to assess the response of water, carbon and nitrogen

Agricultural intensification, by changing land use and modifying the yearly configuration and composition through crop sequences, affects the abundance and diversity of pollinators and, consequently, pollination. This study aims to assess the impact of the characteristics of agricultural landscapes on pollinator abundance in the Mediterranean region. We studied the response of three major wild pollinator

The use of different cropping systems affects soil phosphorus (P) availability. Microbes play a main role in regulating soil P cycling. Currently, there is a knowledge gap on the effects of the long-term use of different crop rotation systems on microbial functional genes involved in P cycling on soil P availability. In this study, metagenomics was used to determine microbial functional genes involved

Upland terrestrial soils play a crucial role in the global methane (CH4) cycle, although their potential as sinks for CH4 remains inadequately quantified. This study investigated CH4 uptake rates spanning two full years at four locations representing typical soil types and crop rotations in Denmark. The sampling campaigns included a total of more than 5000 manual static chamber flux measurements. All

There is a need to explore management practices that reduce nitrate (NO3-) leaching and aid in meeting current greenhouse gas reduction goals. Tile drainage involves using perforated pipes to remove excess subsurface water from agricultural fields, also removing nutrients. The inclusion of cover crops in tile-drained systems in the Midwest has been shown to reduce NO3- losses and is potentially a strategy

Grassland biodiversity is vital for the provision of multiple ecosystem functions, termed ecosystem multifunctionality. As an effective practice of grassland management, grazing exclusion is widely used to restore the ecosystem multifunctionality of degraded grasslands, but it might not be always beneficial for conserving grassland biodiversity. Moreover, when grazing is excluded, it remains unknown

The negative impact of conventional farming on avian biodiversity has been increasingly documented. However, the potential effects of different farming practices on bird populations' health remain unclear. We aimed to investigate whether different farming practices (organic, integrated production, conventional/intensive) have differential effects on the body mass - as a proxy for body condition - and

Coastal reclamation has been used widely to accommodate urbanization and support increasing food demand. However, the responses of soil properties and soil-related ecosystem services (SES) to reclamation remain unclear. There are no effective operational methods for calculating the SES provided by reclaimed cropland. Using field sampling data of soil properties, we proposed a framework to evaluate

Increasing crop production and soil carbon sequestration is critical for sustainable agricultural development. Straw returning, a common agricultural practice, positively affects grain yield and soil organic carbon. Nevertheless, the slow decomposition rate and high carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of straw are significant obstacles to its effectiveness. A mmonifying straw using urea and calcium hydroxide

Soil and water conservation measures, widely promoted to control soil erosion in erosive orchards, can alter soil aggregates, thereby influencing the soil quality index (SQI). However, it's still unclear how these measures affect soil aggregate nutrients, stoichiometry, and their association with SQI at a long-term timescale. This study focused on a 22-year homogeneous orchard in subtropical hilly