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To successfully conserve and restore agrobiodiversity, it is essential to understand the impact of multiple drivers and interlinkages across multiple taxa that occur above, across, and below the soil interface. Based on data from six agricultural landscapes in Central Germany, with 16 sampling plots per landscape, we used structural equation models to disentangle the impacts of climate, land-use, and soil factors on the diversity of multiple taxonomic groups. We expected belowground communities (soil bacteria and fungi) to be more driven by soil variables, mobile aboveground groups (wild bees, ground beetles) to be more driven by climate and land use, and vascular plants, that have an above- and belowground component, to respond to a combination of all factors.According to our expectations, climate and land-use variables had an important role in shaping aboveground and plant communities. In contrast to our expectations, soil characteristics were of lesser importance for belowground organisms. Moreover, climatic factors had a strong impact on the soil microbiome, but this effect was indirect, modulated by soil pH. We also found indications for cascading effects of environmental factors via interlinkages within and among the above- and belowground communities. Our results highlight the importance of direct and indirect effects of multiple drivers on the diversity of multiple taxonomic groups and support recent calls for a multifunctional approach for sustainable landscape management and nature restoration, suggesting to focus on the promotion of semi-natural habitats but also considering the climatic context.

Land use change is a critical factor affecting the structure and functioning of biological communities, particularly forest birds. The Hyrcanian forests in northern Iran are undergoing significant transformations due to increasing agricultural expansion and the growth of orchards encroaching upon forest edges. While research often suggests that the edge effect can enhance species diversity in heterogeneous agricultural-forest landscapes, the effects of different agricultural practices have received less attention. In this study, we integrated remote sensing, landscape ecology, and statistical analysis, and served bird communities as ecological indicators aiming to identify the impact of various land use modification on biological communities of an agricultural-forest landscape. We used Sentinel-2 images to generate a land use map of the region based on the random forest classification method. Explanatory variables extracted from the derived land use were measured in 75 cell grids (1200 × 1200 m) and bird information in 400 × 400-meter units. We calculated 15 landscape metrics for each 1200-meter landscape unit cell and combined them with residential area and road length data for statistical analysis. The Redundancy Analysis (RDA) method was employed to examine the effects of environmental variables on bird community composition. We identified a total of 38 breeding bird species belonging to 21 families in the region. The RDA variance partitioning accounted for 0.554 as the constrained fraction, indicating that 54 % of the bird community variance was explained by the explanatory variables. Generalist and urban-dwelling birds were mainly dispersed across negative values of canonical axis 1 (RDA1). Conversely, forest specialist birds were scattered along positive values of RDA1. Less specialized understory birds, depending on more open woods with higher species diversity, were mostly illustrated with shorter projections across RDA2 extremes, correlated with orchards. Our findings demonstrate that the marginal habitats of Hyrcanian forests, predominantly consisting of orchard plantations, exhibit greater bird community diversity compared to dense forests or croplands. Although species diversity has been observed to increase initially, the ongoing trend of orchard encroachment on forest patches may result in heightened edge effects, an increased presence of generalist species, and a decline in specialized forest species. These results can help guide land use planning to achieve biodiversity goals in heterogeneous agricultural-forest landscapes.

Rice is the dominant food staple and an important economic resource throughout Asia. Lowland rice production also provides important wetland habitats in support of biodiversity that may provide ecosystem services back to the rice agroecosystems. This review summarizes the literature on the ecosystem benefits that amphibians, birds, bats, and rodents support in the context of the Southeast Asia rice agroecosystems. The literature provides evidence that these taxonomic groups contribute to cultural, regulatory, and provisioning services in support of smallholder farmers and may allow for economic benefits through reduced use of chemical inputs into crops. We encourage a multipronged research approach to bring stakeholders together to provide structured and scalable education programs that will lead to improved human and agroecosystem health through the promotion of understanding the positive feedbacks from biodiversity in these important agricultural wetland habitats.

Although most prey are attacked by multiple predators, much of the ecological theory on prey suppression focuses on the effects of a single predator. The presence of multiple predators can lead to complex interactions such as trait-mediated interactions (TMIIs) and intraguild predation which can influence the suppression of pest populations. Here we explore the effect of two predators, a native anole lizard species Anolis cristatellus (Squamata: Dactyloidae) and a non-native ant species Wasmannia auropunctata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), on the coffee leaf miner, Leucoptera coffeella (Lepidoptera: Lyonetiidae) (CLM). In a laboratory experiment we examined the effects of these two predators in isolation and when co-occurring. Our results show that when each predator is alone, they are able to consume the CLM in a comparable way. However, when they are together, their effect is not greater than when alone. This indicates that there is a negative effect when both predators co-occur. The results from this experiment have practical implications since both predators are present in coffee agroecosystems in Puerto Rico, where the CLM is considered the main insect pest. Furthermore, these results demonstrate the potential dynamics among several predators in agroecosystems and the potential implications for herbivore regulation.

Mollisols rich in natural organic matter are a significant sink of carbon (C) and selenium (Se). Climate warming and agricultural expansion to the cold Mollisol regions may enhance soil respiration and biogeochemical cycles, posing a growing risk of soil C and Se loss. Through field-mimicking incubation experiments with uncultivated and cultivated soils from the Mollisol regions of northeastern China, this research shows that soil respiration remained significant even during cold seasons and caused co-emission of greenhouse gases (CO2 and CH4) and methylated Se. Such stimulus effects were generally stronger in the cultivated soils, with maximum emission rates of 7.45 g/m2/d C and 1.42 μg/m2/d Se. For all soil types, the greatest co-emission of CO2 and dimethyl selenide occurred at 25 % soil moisture, whereas measurable CH4 emission was observed at 40 % soil moisture with higher percentages of dimethyl diselenide volatilization. Molecular characterization with three-dimensional fluorescence and ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry suggests that CO2 emission is sensitive to the availability of microbial protein-like substances and free energy from organic carbon biodegradation under variable moisture conditions. Predominant Se binding to biodegradable organic matter resulted in high dependence of Se volatilization on rates of greenhouse gas emissions. These findings together highlight the importance of dynamic organic carbon quality for soil respiration and consequent Mollisol Se loss risk, with implications for science-based management of C and Se resources in agricultural lands to combat with Se deficiency.

In high-intensity farming, swiftly and accurately adjusting the proportion of artificially reared pollinators according to the flowering phenology of crops is vital. This adjustment is essential for sustaining crop yields without disrupting the ecological niche of native pollinators. Although advancements in remote sensing provide practical means to gather data on crop coverage and extent, identifying insect-pollinated crops during their initial flowering to guide the deployment of managed pollinators is an underexamined research area. Here, we tested the capability of utilizing Sentinel-2 satellite images combined with a deep learning model to map crop fields during the initial flowering stage of insect-pollinated crops in Zhaosu County, Xinjiang, China. Specifically, we examined rapeseed fields by employing 12 neural network designs to identify images of the initial flowering stage. Different network combinations of three convolutional neural network (CNN) models (U-Net, PSPNet, and DeepLab V3) and four different backbone networks (ResNet-18, ResNet-34, ResNet-50, and ResNet-101) were explored to determine the most effective model for detecting rapeseed fields at the initial flowering stage. A comparison was conducted with Sentinel-2 images obtained at the peak stage of rapeseed flowering. Our results suggest that the use of a deep learning model in combination with Sentinel-2 image data can successfully identify rapeseed fields at the initial flowering stage, thereby offering preliminary insights for the strategic introduction of managed pollinators. The PSPNet model emerged as the superior choice for the identification of rapeseed fields, exhibiting high accuracy in both detection and boundary recognition, with F1 scores of 88.17 % and an intersection over union (IoU) of 53.11 % during initial flowering and F1 scores of 93.33 % with an IoU of 53.49 % during peak flowering. The planting area of rapeseed fields detected by the model in Zhaosu County was 122.16 km2, distributed within an area of 1068 km2. These findings can provide foundational data for informed decisions regarding artificial pollinator supplementation, helping to sustain the health and stability of agricultural ecosystems.

Agricultural intensification is a significant process, transforming the land and modifying stream water quality and biodiversity. Land-use practices are associated with substantial changes in vegetation structure, significant inputs of nutrients, erosion, and increased sedimentation, all of which profoundly impact aquatic biota and ecosystem functioning. The effect of different agricultural practices (horticulture, extensive and intensive livestock) on stream water quality was compared in terms of physicochemical features, bacteria, habitat condition, riparian ecosystem, and macroinvertebrate variables in a temperate rural landscape (Patagonia). The main objective was to identify which variables related to land use were determinants in the configuration of biotic communities. Significantly higher values in water temperature, conductivity, nutrients, and bacteria were found at intensively developed sites than at reference ones. The quality of the habitat and the riparian ecosystem had been profoundly modified. A multidimensional scaling analysis revealed that macroinvertebrate assemblages also differed among land use categories, with the variables: total phosphorous, total nitrogen, bacteria (E. coli, mesophilic and total coliforms), water temperature, and oxygen having the highest predictive power. Macroinvertebrate metrics (richness of EPT (Ephemeroptera+Plecoptera+Trichoptera), Plecoptera, shredders and scrapers, and the percentage of scrapers and collectors) proved appropriate bioindicators for discriminating intensive land use impacts and highlighted a trend of biodiversity loss. Plecoptera richness, a taxa group with a high level of endemism, responded significantly to habitat condition degradation. These results confirm that the intensification of land use leads to increased nutrient levels and suppressed aquatic-terrestrial interactions involved in the provision of allochthonous detrital input, shade, and habitat structure for larval stages and adults. The Habitat Condition Index appears to be a useful tool for rapid stream assessment and providing early warnings. Several ecological services are threatened in these Patagonian agroecosystems. Restoring riverbank heterogeneity and improving management practices that ameliorate nutrient and sediment inputs are crucial to enhance biodiversity.

Conventional agriculture's high-intensity practices, involving agrochemicals and inorganic nutrients, pose a significant threat to biodiversity. On the other hand, organic farming offers a more environmentally friendly and low-intensity alternative. Amphibians, as sensitive indicators of environmental changes, are significantly affected by agricultural activities, making them vital for assessing ecosystem health. The objective of this study was to assess genotoxic and cytotoxic parameters in erythrocytes, and leukocyte profiles of Leptodactylus luctator and Rhinella arenarum populations inhabiting aquatic environments associated with different agricultural intensifications (conventional management and organic management). Water quality, and hematological biomarkers, like micronuclei (Mn), erythrocyte nuclear abnormalities (ENA), cytotoxic damage (CYT) and leukocyte profiles, were assessed in amphibian populations from agroecosystems with organic and conventional agricultural management practices. It was recorded that water bodies within organic agroecosystems exhibited lower Total Dissolved Solids and higher Dissolved Oxygen levels, indicating improved water quality. Populations of R. arenarum from conventional agroecosystems exhibited higher values of Mn, ENA, and CYT compared to those from organic agroecosystems, with the difference being statistically significant for the ENA parameter. In L. luctator populations, no significant differences were observed in the parameters related to geno/cytotoxic damage. Leukocyte profiles of both R. arenarum and L. luctator populations in organic agroecosystems showed lower percentages of lymphocytes and higher percentages of neutrophils and eosinophils compared to conventional agroecosystems, indicating healthier leukocyte profiles. The percentage of basophils and monocytes, as well as the N/L index, were higher in populations from organic agroecosystems, although statistical tests did not reveal a significant difference. The study demonstrates the potential benefits of organic farming in mitigating the negative effects of agricultural intensification on water quality and amphibian populations.

Understanding the main drivers of biodiversity loss in Europe's agricultural landscapes has been a research priority in the last decades. One of the most important factors promoting biodiversity in farmed landscapes is habitat heterogeneity, which has often proved crucial for avian species and communities. Birds are highly sensitive to environmental changes and make use of a broad range of ecological niches, thus being exceptionally sensitive to the loss of habitat heterogeneity. Remote sensing data are particularly suited to quantify habitat heterogeneity at fine scales over relatively large extents, allowing to consider how different measures of heterogeneity may affect biotic communities at a regional scale. Here, we used airborne LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) and satellite multispectral data to derive vegetation canopy height and primary productivity for 118 sites in complex agricultural landscapes in a region in the Central Alps. We computed different bird diversity indices and classified bird species into guilds according to specific traits to analyse the relationship between avian communities and different facets of habitat heterogeneity. Results confirmed that habitat heterogeneity is essential in shaping rich and diverse bird communities, and it is particularly important for several farmland birds. By comparing the effects of canopy height, primary productivity, and specific vegetation features (e.g., cover of grassland, shrub, and tree layers), we showed how different habitat characteristics as well as landscape heterogeneity affected bird richness, diversity, functional entropy, and trait patterns. Landscape and height heterogeneity, estimated by NDVI and LiDAR Rao's Q indices, strongly influenced all response variables, for example, high NDVI values promoted species diversity and ground-understory nesters, and shrub layer was important for ground-understory nesters and forest specialists. Finally, we provide recommendations for conservation practices and mitigation measures to improve bird diversity in agricultural landscapes.

The increased movement of humans throughout the world allowed the transportation of several species, such as Moringa oleifera Lam. (moringa), into biomes far away from their native habitation. Native to India, moringa is a versatile, drought-tolerant, and fast-growing tree that is easily adaptable to wide-ranging tropical and sub-tropical conditions around the world. It is used in cosmetics, as food and medicine for humans, livestock feed, crop biostimulant, and green manure. Even though moringa is an alien species to South Africa, its production is increasing, and its numerous uses are recognised by communities. Moringa forms part of a highly complex (social, ecological, and economic) system. This is because it is on the Species Under Surveillance for Possible Eradication or Containment Targets (SUSPECT) list under the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act (NEM:BA) of South Africa. Listing species that are regarded as beneficial to communities on national regulations can cause conflicts and uncertainties among various stakeholders (i.e., environmental policymakers, farmers, rural communities, and government bodies). In this paper, a systems thinking approach was applied to address complex and conflicting issues linked to the production and overall status (economic, ecological, legal, and social) of moringa in South Africa. The Causal Loop Diagram (CLD) was developed to present a broad insight into the complexity of moringa in South Africa and assist in underscoring the feedback mechanisms within the system. Moreover, the CLD indicated that the position of moringa within the country comprised a variety of interdependent variables of government policies, environment, and society, which are interconnected into a multifaceted system. The potential conflict dimensions and types associated with allocating moringa an impact category within the South African context were identified, and this may serve as a useful tool for facilitating engagements and decision-making processes among stakeholders in resolving the status of moringa in South Africa.

An increasing number of anthropogenic pressures can have negative effects on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. However, our understanding of how soil microbial communities and functions in response to multiple global change factors (GCFs) is still incomplete, particularly in less frequently disturbed subsoils. In this study, we examined the impact of different levels of GCFs (0–9) on soil functions and bacterial communities in both topsoils (0–20 cm) and subsoils (20–40 cm) of an agricultural ecosystem, and characterized the intrinsic factors influencing community resistance based on microbial life history strategy. Our experimental results showed a decline in soil multifunctionality, bacterial diversity, and community resistance as the number of GCFs increased, with a more drastic reduction in community resistance of subsoils. Specifically, we observed a significantly positive relationship between the oligotroph/copiotroph ratio and community resistance in subsoils, which was also verified by the negative correlation between 16S rRNA operon (rrn) copy number and community resistance. Structural equation modeling further revealed the direct effects of community resistance in promoting the ecosystem functioning, regardless of top- and subsoils. Therefore, these results suggested that subsoils may recruit more oligotrophic microbes to enhance their originally weaker community resistance under multiple GCFs, which was essential for maintaining sustainable agroecological functions and services. Overall, our study represents a significant advance in linking microbial life history strategy to the resistance of belowground microbial community and functionality.

Soil invertebrates are key to decomposition, a central ecosystem process related to soil health. In many temperate areas climate change will decrease soil water content, which strongly modulates biological activity. However, data are lacking on how shifts in rainfall patterns affect soil biota and the ecosystem processes they provide. Here, we used the bait-lamina test to experimentally assess how a severe drought event influenced detritivore feeding activity, during a wheat growing season, in soils under long-term organic or conventional farming. Additionally, biotic and abiotic soil parameters were measured. Feeding activity was reduced under extreme drought and conventional management, although no climate-management synergies were found. Vertical migrations of Collembola and Oribatida partially explained the unexpectedly higher bait consumption at shallower depths in response to drought. Exploratory mixed-effects longitudinal random forests (a novel machine learning technique) were used to explore whether the relative abundances of meso‑, microfauna and microbes of the decomposer food web, or abiotic soil parameters, affected the feeding activity of detritivores. The model including meso‑ and microfauna selected four Nematoda taxa and explained higher variance than the model with only microbiota, indicating that detritivore feeding is closely associated with nematodes but not with microbes. Additionally, the model combining fauna and microbiota explained less variance than the faunal model, suggesting that microbe-fauna synergies barely affected detritivore feeding. Moreover, soil water and mineral nitrogen contents were found to strongly determine detritivore feeding, in a positive and negative way, respectively. Hence, our results suggest that severe drought and conventional farming impair the feeding activity of soil detritivores and thus, probably, decomposition and nutrient mineralization in soils. Furthermore, machine learning algorithms arise as a powerful technique to explore the identity of potential key drivers relating biodiversity to ecosystem functioning.

Finding consensus in definitions of commonly-used terms and concepts is a key requirement to enable cooperations between interdisciplinary scientists and practitioners in inter- or transdisciplinary projects. In research on sustainable agriculture, the term ‘landscape’ is emphasised in particular, being used in studies that range from biogeochemical to socio-economic topics. However, it is normally used in a rather unspecific manner. Moreover, different disciplines assign deviating meanings to this term, which impedes interdisciplinary understanding and synthesis. To close this gap, a systematic literature review from relevant disciplines was conducted to identify a common understanding of the term “landscape”. Three general categories of landscape conceptualizations were identified. In a small subset of studies, “landscape” is defined by area size or by natural or anthropogenic borders. The majority of reviewed papers, though, define landscapes as sets of relationships between various elements. Selection of respective elements differed widely depending on research objects. Based on these findings, a new definition of landscape is proposed, which can be operationalized by interdisciplinary researchers to define a common study object and which allows for sufficient flexibility depending on specific research questions. It also avoids over-emphasis on specific spatio-temporal relations at the “landscape scale”, which may be context-dependent. Agricultural landscape research demands for study-specific definitions which should be meticulously provided in the future.

Polyethylene microplastics have been detected in farmland soil, irrigation water, and soil organisms in agroecosystems, while plastic mulching is suggested as a crucial source of microplastic pollution in the agroecosystem. Plastic mulch can be broken down from plastic mulch debris to microplastics through environmental aging and degradation process in farmlands, and the colonization of polyethylene-degrading microorganisms on polyethylene microplastics can eventually enzymatically depolymerize the polyethylene molecular chains with CO2 release through the tricarboxylic acid cycle. The selective colonization of microplastics by soil microorganisms can cause changes in soil microbial community composition, and it can consequently elicit changes in enzyme activities and nutrient element content in the soil. The biological uptake of polyethylene microplastics and the associated disturbance of energy investment are the main mechanisms impacting soil-dwelling animal development and behavior. As polyethylene microplastics are highly hydrophobic, their presence among soil particles can contribute to soil water repellency and influence soil water availability. Polyethylene microplastics have been shown to cause impacts on crop plant growth, as manifested by the effects of polyethylene microplastics on soil properties and soil biota in the agroecosystems. This review reveals the degradation process, biological impacts, and associated mechanisms of polyethylene microplastics in agroecosystems and could be a critical reference for their risk assessment and management.

Efforts to mitigate the effects of invasive plant species (IPS) have not produced the desired results due to poor adoption of land management practices developed by scientists and introduced to the community through a top-down approach. Little is known about adoption of Sustainable Land Management (SLM) practices that have been co-developed by a diverse group of local stakeholders through a participatory process. In this study, we assessed factors influencing the willingness of smallholder farmers to adopt SLM practices for the control of Lantana camara, Clidemia hirta, Pteridium acquilinum, and Prosopis juliflora in northern Tanzania. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information from 240 heads of households from eight villages affected by the four IPS. Binary logistic regression was applied to model the probability of factors that influence smallholder farmers' willingness to adopt the SLM practices. We found that farming experience, household income and conservation awareness were positively associated with the willingness for adoption of SLM practices. Surprisingly, the invasive species cover was negatively associated with the willingness for adoption of SLM practices for control of the IPS. We recommend that the extension service providers to continue raising awareness and education among farmers with low farming experience and income, and those with fields heavily infested with IPS.

Land-use change is a major cause of biodiversity loss. Particularly, the expansion of the agricultural frontier results from an increased resource demand by the human population. A biodiverse community provides positive ecosystem services for natural areas and commercial crops. Ecological intensification aims to increase crop yields while conserving biodiversity and the ecosystem services that it provides. This study aimed to assess vertebrate diversity in two commercial crops (apple and cherry) along a gradient of surrounding natural vegetation. We hypothesized that vertebrate composition would differ along the vegetation gradient in the landscape, and species diversity would increase in crops surrounded by more natural or semi-natural vegetation. For this purpose, we set up 54 camera trap points within the orchards. Vertebrate composition, abundance, and diversity were significantly different along the gradient, with those crops surrounded mainly by natural areas having the highest values of diversity and abundance of native species, but exotic species explained most of the differences. We conclude that maintaining natural areas nearby crop fields would enhance their biodiversity and the ecosystemic services native species provide.

Food systems are responsible for pushing human resource use past three thresholds of safe planetary operating space, yet the potential of agroecosystems to contribute to sustainability of food systems when managed for multiple benefits is underexplored. This gap has led to a call for food systems transformation. Previous reviews have acknowledged that governance of food systems transformations is not well understood. The aim of this review is to examine the challenges to transformative governance of agroecosystems, and the potential to apply existing paradigms of adaptiveness in agroecosystems for this transformation. Agricultural production landscapes have been found to be a key level of governance for realizing sustainability transformations of food systems and the landscape concept has been a key paradigm for managing multiple social and ecological objectives at a landscape scale. An examination of the landscape concept using five transformative governance characteristics and applying the earth system governance research lenses illustrated two key areas for further investigation and action for transformative governance. The first is landscape design for continuous social and ecological changes and evolving understandings of sustainability, and the second is the allocation of landscape costs, rights and benefits in present and future decision-making and among human and non-human entities. Managing the pluralistic diversities inherent to agroecosystems will be a key dynamic important to governance and policy for food systems transformations.

In natural environments, the removal and degradation of two major pollutants, heavy metals (HMs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), are explored through targeted experimental investigations. However, these endeavors reveal that outcomes in situ may significantly diverge from the idealized effects observed in laboratory settings due to the complex interaction between HMs and PAHs, underscoring a pressing need for thorough research into their mutual impacts. This review examines the origins and migratory pathways of compound pollution stemming from HMs and PAHs. Concurrently, it provides an overview of the farmland ecosystem's response to combined HMs-PAHs pollution. This encompassed the assessments of changes in the soil's physical and chemical properties, the intricacies of the migration and transformation processes of the combined pollution within plants, and the consequential impact on the physiological functions of soil microorganisms. The varying concentration ratios of HMs and PAHs can modulate the permeability of plant root cell membranes, thereby influencing the translocation of these substances within the plant via symplastic and apoplastic pathways. Recent research has uncovered the mechanisms underlying cation-π interactions between HMs and PAHs. This review aims to offer a comprehensive overview of the current state of HMs-PAHs co-pollution, offering both qualitative and quantitative insights into their interaction patterns within the farmland ecosystem. The ultimate goal is to establish a robust theoretical foundation to support the in-situ remediation of these pollutants in agricultural practices and to provide a theoretical basis for soil health management in agricultural production., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:Shiqiang Wei reports financial support was provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42177012). Shijing Li reports financial support was provided by the Graduate Research and Innovation Program of Southwest University (SWUB24049). If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Himalayas with diverse topographical and ecological zones sustain diverse agroecosystems. Differences in precipitation regimes, cropping systems, land-use systems and availability of resources significantly affect energy flow within agroecosystems (AGEs) of the region. Thus, the present study was aimed to evaluate the energy use pattern and economic profitability of different sized agroecosystems (small, medium and large) along the altitudinal gradient [very low altitude (VLA), low altitude (LA), mid altitude (MA) and high altitude (HA)] of Central Himalaya, India. The sampling was carried out following random stratified design and total 108 agroecosystems (4 altitudes× 3 sizes × 3 replicates × 3 seasons) were assessed. Data collected on quantities of agricultural inputs and outputs were converted to energy values using standard energetic constants and monetary values on the basis of local market price. Low altitude agroecosystems predominantly support cereal + pulse based cropping systems while, high altitudes favour cash crop cultivation (vegetables). Significant variation (P < 0.05) in total input and output energy was observed seasonally, while differences were insignificant across sizes and altitudes. Irrespective of the sizes and seasons, farmyard manure (organic fertilizer) contributed major share of total energy inputs across all altitudes in the order: HA AGEs (66.7 %) > MA AGEs (66.1 %) > VLA AGEs (62.6 %) > LA AGEs (52.1 %). The share of non-renewable energy inputs (inorganic fertilizers and fuel) declined along altitudinal gradient as: LA (31.1 %) > VLA (26.9 %) > MA (12.5 %) > HA (11.8 %). Seasonally, highest net energy was recorded during rainy season (92286 M J ha−1 yr−1) followed by summer (68906 M J ha−1 yr−1) and winter (18686 M J ha−1 yr−1). The economic yield significantly increased with increasing altitude and was recorded maximum for large sized agroecosystems. Energy use efficiency (EUE) differed distinctly (P < 0.05) across seasons and was recorded maximum during rainy season (8) while, across sizes and altitudes it did not vary significantly. EUE did not reflect any definite pattern along altitudinal gradient [HA AGEs (3.84) > VLA AGEs (3.81) > LA AGEs (3.56) > MA AGEs (3.01)]. Benefit-cost ratios (BCR) differed significantly (P < 0.05) along altitudes and was maximum at VLA AGEs (5.27) however, differences were insignificant across sizes and seasons. From present study, it can be concluded that season and altitude had significant impact on the energetics and economic flow of the agroecosystems while, no marked differences were observed for size classes. High altitude agroecosystems were energetically efficient while, monetary wise very low altitude systems.

Understanding the variability of soil quality indicators across topographic positions and agroecosystems (AES) is critical for improving soil fertility, productivity, and environmental sustainability. This study evaluates the variability of soil quality indicators along with the different landscape positions (upper, middle, and lower slopes) among the five AES of the Choke Mountain watershed in the upper Blue Nile Basin. A total of forty soil samples were gathered from Choke Mountain's five AES, upper, middle, and lower landscape positions. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to determine the minimum datasets (MDS) from fourteen soil quality indicators. Using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), the variability of soil quality indices among AES of the Choke, as well as variation with landscape positions, was investigated. The interaction effect of AES and topo-sequence (AES∗topo-sequence) has a substantial effect on three soil quality indicators, including soil silt content, soil pH, and available phosphorus. The highest mean value of silt content was found in the upper position of the hilly and mountainous highlands (AES 5), while the lowest was found in the lower part of the midland plain with black soil (AES 2). The highest mean pH of the soil was found in the lower part of the lowland and valley fragments (AES 1), and the lowest was in the lower position of the midland plain with brown soil (AES 3). The highest record of available P was found in AES 1's middle position and the lowest in AES 3's upper positions. AES had a significant impact on cation exchange capacity (CEC), and both AES and topography had a significant and distinct impact on organic matter (OM). Thus, the study suggests site-specific solutions to improve agricultural productivity and ease the constraints associated with each soil in each topo-sequence and AES.

On the scale of human generations, the soil is a non-renewable natural resource that provides fundamental ecosystem services for life on earth. Therefore, it is necessary to develop tools that allow to recover and maintain soil functions under sustainable conditions for both, agricultural and undisturbed ecosystems. In this context, the regulation of land use to sustain the potential productivity of agroecosystems becomes essential. Until now, the assessment of the sustainability of soil resources based on their fragility had not been sufficiently studied. Furthermore, strategies to manage soil resources to avoid their degradation over time require quantifiable tools that are made available to farmers, researchers, and institutions. We believe that it is critical to develop a soil fragility index for individual agricultural and undisturbed ecosystems. In the latter case, those indices applied to the agricultural sector would allow regulating the sustainable use of soils based on their functions within ecosystems. Thus, this article proposes a new approach to evaluate the fragility of the ecosystem.

A critique of the soil health framework is that biological indicators currently lag behind chemical and physical indicators of soil health. Incorporating nematode communities into the soil health framework could help to better reflect key aspects of soil food web structure and function and significantly contribute to ecosystem processes. However, little is understood regarding how nematode communities relate to soil biological health indicators such as permanganate oxidizable carbon (POXC), soil protein, mineralizable C, and enzyme activities in agroecosystems. Here, we use an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to quantitatively explore which set of soil health indicators best explain a given factor (i.e. soil health trait) using data from two long term experimental trials and 44 farm fields across Ohio. Specifically, this paper aims to 1) integrate our understanding of nematode structure and function with other soil biological health indicators to describe soil health traits; and 2) determine how management practices alter soil health traits. We found that soil biological health indicators represented four underlying soil health traits: fungal organic matter processing pathway, the rate of nutrient cycling, trophic complexity, and cumulative disturbance. Results indicated that soil biological health indicators, such as enzyme activities, POXC, mineralizable C and soil protein were more integrated with nematode feeding groups than with nematode indices. Additionally, tillage intensity had a significant effect on the fungal organic matter processing pathway and the rate of nutrient cycling. This study indicates that nematode feeding groups can be readily incorporated into the soil health framework and future soil health assessments.

This editorial article provides a brief overview of various articles published in the Special Issue: Managing Agroecosystems for Food and Nutrition Security.

Nowadays, the loss of biodiversity in agroecosystems due to the intensification of farming practices is happening very fast, and therefore, stopping or slowing it down should be a priority for conservation. To detect changes in these environmental contexts, one approach contemplates focusing on a limited set of indicator species that can alert us to ongoing changes in progress. In this research, we aimed to measure the biodiversity of vertebrates using a multi-taxa approach in an intensively cultivated and highly inhabited area located in northern Italy. We investigated the relationships between biodiversity and environmental characteristics and we identified the taxonomic groups that can be used as indicators of biodiversity. Data collection was carried out in 2016 with different methods depending on the taxonomic group, in 131 sampling units chosen using a Tessellation Stratified Sampling. Then we calculated for each sampling unit a standardized Biodiversity Index, which was related to environmental variables concerning the land use and the landscape configuration using Multiple Linear Regression Analysis and Information-Theoretic approach. We used correlation analyses and the Indicator Species Analysis (IndVal) to identify the taxonomic groups and species that can be used as indicators of biodiversity. Biodiversity was positively related to the number of patches of natural vegetation, whereas it was negatively affected by the number of patches of artificial surfaces and by habitat diversity. Our findings agree with those obtained by many other researchers, which pointed out that agroecosystems provide adequate shelters, suitable foraging habitats and nesting sites. The negative effect of habitat diversity was explained by the area-heterogeneity trade-off. Therefore, sites with high heterogeneity will not contain enough cover of residual natural vegetation, essential to maintain high biodiversity, because increasing compositional heterogeneity within a fixed area simultaneously reduces the surface of each cover type. The analyses showed that birds and reptiles might be used as biodiversity indicators of vertebrates. Eurasian Magpie and Green Whip Snake, both generalist species, were associated with sites of low biodiversity, whereas seven birds, both generalists and farmland specialists, were associated with sites of medium biodiversity. In high biodiversity sites there were not indicator species. To conclude, in less natural environments, such as urban and agricultural landscapes, a combination of specialist and generalist indicator species seems adequate to monitor biodiversity changes. Our findings increase the knowledge of these very dynamic ecosystems, being important both to plan strategies for biodiversity conservation and to guarantee ecosystems services useful for humans.

Enhancing functional connectivity is key to achieving a sustainable agroecosystem. There has been an increase in using connectivity metrics to understand how spatial heterogeneity affects dispersal, yet most studies have been single-species focused. Variability in species’ ecological traits, such as movement ability, are predicted to interact with landscape configuration in determining connectivity. We used network analysis to evaluate the landscape connectivity fortwo native bird species with distinct dispersal abilities and habitat requirements in an agricultural landscape dominated by sheep and beef cattle farming in north Canterbury, New Zealand. Both bird species would have previously occupied this landscape and the recovery of their populations is desired; however, New Zealand pigeon/ kererū (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) is highly mobile, whereas the southern brown kiwi/ tokoeka (Apteryx australis) is flightless. We compared the connectivity properties, and network metrics between a more densely forested agricultural area and an adjacent area dominated by pastoral grassland. The primary contributors to the dispersal networks were the habitability of the matrix, size and spatial arrangement of vegetation patches, and the species’ gap-crossing ability. Tokoeka were able to utilise smaller patches as stepping-stones for dispersal, while kererū had larger home ranges and moved between more dispersed habitat patches. Several large forest patches were key in providing multiple and stronger links among habitat patches for both species. Our work suggests that one size does not fit all, rather, conservation strategies should account for multiple species’ life-histories and movement traits when creating connected ecological networks that comprise a functional agricultural landscape.

In the Amazonian periphery, there are sources of numerous disservices, including deforestation, loss of wildlife habitat and biodiversity erosion. However, there are great opportunities to adopt appropriate agricultural management practices to take advantage of the benefits of ecosystem services for sustainable agricultural intensification. Thus, the aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of certain ecosystem services provided by combined use of legumes with residue of low- and high-quality on soil quality indicators, nitrogen use efficiency and sustainability of maize grain yield in infertile tropical soil. The overarching objective is to determine how ecosystem services can contribute to the improvement of land-use policy to ensure the sustainability of cultivated lands, in such a way that forest can be preserved by avoiding deforestation of other new areas through shifting cultivation systems. Four leguminous tree species were used, two with high-quality residues Leucaena leucocephala (leucaena) and Gliricidia sepium (gliricidia) and two with low-quality residues Clitoria fairchildiana (clitoria) and Acacia mangium (acacia). Maize grain yield was evaluated between 2011 and 2017 in these treatments. In 2018, to assess how ecosystem services affect crop performance, the treatments were divided into ten treatments with and without urea. We conclude that increased uptake of inorganic and organic N by maize resulting from improvement of the soil quality indicators may allow agricultural intensification. This improvement can help meet the challenges of sustainability and feasibility of agroecosystems of the Amazonian periphery by making the agroecosystem more productive year by year. Therefore, our results confirm that the utilization of an ecosystem services style approach can help meet the challenges of sustainability and feasibility in agrosystems of the Amazonian periphery. In addition, these results can contribute to the development of land-use policy in the Amazonian periphery, aiming for the intensification of agriculture in cropped areas to avoid deforestation of new areas from shifting cultivation systems.

The efficient management of fertilizer application in agriculture is vital for both food security and mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, as potassium fertilizer (KF) is an essential soil nutrient, its impact on soil GHG emissions has received little attention. To address this knowledge gap and identify key determinants of GHG emissions, we conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis of 205 independent experiments conducted worldwide. Our results revealed that, in comparison to sole nitrogen fertilizer (NF) application, the concurrent use of KF elevated nitrous oxide (N 2 O) and methane (CH 4 ) emissions by 39.5 % and 21.1 %, respectively, while concurrently reducing carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions by 8.1 %. The ratio of nitrogen and potassium fertilizer input (NF/KF) is identified as the primary factor explaining the variation in N 2 O emissions, whereas the type of KF plays a crucial role in determining CH 4 and CO 2 emissions. We observed a significant negative correlation between the NF/KF ratio and response ratios of N 2 O and CH 4 emissions and a positive correlation with CO 2 emissions response ratios. Furthermore, our findings indicate that when the NF/KF ratio surpasses 1.97, 4.61, and 3.78, respectively, the impact of KF on reducing N 2 O, CH 4 , and CO 2 emissions stabilizes. Overall, our results underscore that the global integration of KF into agricultural practices significantly influences N 2 O and CH 4 emissions, while simultaneously reducing CO 2 emissions at a large scale. These findings provide a foundational framework and practical guidance for optimizing fertilizer application in the development of GHG emission reduction models., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest We declare that no potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Beef cattle feedlot particulate matter (PM) is a complex mixture of dust, animal waste, agrochemicals, and bioaerosols. However, no empirical data exist quantifying downwind residential exposure to PM or PM-bound agrochemicals. In the current study, authors investigated transport of PM and co-occurring insecticides and anthelmintics downwind of three feedlots in the Southern Great Plains (SGP) of North America from May-August 2022. PM collected on total suspended particulate (TSP) filters was analyzed via UHPLC-MS/MS for six pyrethroids and five macrocyclic lactones (MLs). Downwind TSP concentrations rapidly declined from 0.01 to ≤1.6 km (Monte Carlo mean ± SEM; 5049 ± 96.1 μg/m 3 ) and stabilized >1.6-12.4 km (1791 ± 9.9; μg/m 3 ). Distance decay >1.6 km indicated downwind PM exceeded levels of safe human exposure during diurnal peak periods. Pyrethroids and MLs were detected >LOQ in 96.2 and 98.1 % of downwind samples. Screening-level cumulative residential exposure indicates elevated pyrethroid risk (LOC = 1; RI = 0.173) to rural children (1-2 yrs) living near cropland operations in the SGP, with disproportionate co-exposure to feedlot PM and legacy pollution in low-income, Hispanic and Latino communities. Frequent occurrence and sustained transport of pyrethroids downwind of feedlots facilitate residue accumulation in outdoor residential areas that must also be quantified to assess the magnitude of daily average and lifetime-adjusted oral and dermal exposure in surrounding communities. Results significantly expand the known distribution of feedlot-derived PM and agrochemicals and highlight human exposure pathways unrecognized in residential human health assessments supporting pesticide registration and feedlot risk evaluation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Polyethylene microplastics have been detected in farmland soil, irrigation water, and soil organisms in agroecosystems, while plastic mulching is suggested as a crucial source of microplastic pollution in the agroecosystem. Plastic mulch can be broken down from plastic mulch debris to microplastics through environmental aging and degradation process in farmlands, and the colonization of polyethylene-degrading microorganisms on polyethylene microplastics can eventually enzymatically depolymerize the polyethylene molecular chains with CO 2 release through the tricarboxylic acid cycle. The selective colonization of microplastics by soil microorganisms can cause changes in soil microbial community composition, and it can consequently elicit changes in enzyme activities and nutrient element content in the soil. The biological uptake of polyethylene microplastics and the associated disturbance of energy investment are the main mechanisms impacting soil-dwelling animal development and behavior. As polyethylene microplastics are highly hydrophobic, their presence among soil particles can contribute to soil water repellency and influence soil water availability. Polyethylene microplastics have been shown to cause impacts on crop plant growth, as manifested by the effects of polyethylene microplastics on soil properties and soil biota in the agroecosystems. This review reveals the degradation process, biological impacts, and associated mechanisms of polyethylene microplastics in agroecosystems and could be a critical reference for their risk assessment and management., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Biochar is widely suggested to improve soil physical properties and soil-water-plant interactions. Furthermore, the application of biochar to the soil can alter the dynamics of the roots and, in turn, affect the performance of the plant. Nevertheless, the long-term evolution of these effects is unknown and of critical importance because biochar persists in soil for centuries. The results of this work are part of a long-term study in the vineyard started in 2009 and still ongoing. In this work, the effect of applying biochar to soil on the plant-water relationships of Vitis vinifera, soil properties and fine root traits is evaluated 10 years after application. Even after 10 years, the ecophysiological measurements indicated an increase in soil water content and a significant increase in the water status of the plants in the plots treated with biochar. Independently of the diameter class considered, both doses of biochar led in the entire 40 cm of soil to a general reduction of the fine-root standing biomass and length, which is probably due to the lower need for fine root foraging. Moreover, the SRL did not show differences among different treatments. When fine-root traits were analysed along the soil depth at 10 cm intervals, we noted that both length and biomass were significantly higher in the control plant only in the upper soil layers (20 cm) and SRL was significantly higher only in the upper 10 cm of soil. These findings underscore how control plants plastically respond to the lower content of water in the soil by decreasing the fine-root cost-to-benefit ratio, especially in the topsoil layer. Research on the effect of biochar in viticulture can provide an effective contribution to the mitigation of climate change by increasing the water status of the soil and plants even 10 years after its application., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The role of winged aquatic insects that emerge from streams and subsidize terrestrial ecosystems has been demonstrated for natural forest landscapes, but almost no information is available for intensive agricultural landscapes. This study is the first to estimate aquatic subsidies provided by flying insects that emerge from streams and land on cropland. We investigated three major groups of aquatic insects - Trichoptera, Ephemeroptera and Chironomidae (Diptera) - that emerged from 12 third-order temperate, agricultural streams. We simultaneously monitored their emergence using floating traps and their terrestrial dispersal using passive interception traps. We estimated that the annual aquatic emerging dry mass (DM) of these groups varied from 1.4-7.5 g m -2 yr -1 , depending on the stream. We used a Bayesian approach to estimate parameters of the terrestrial dispersal function of each group. We combined emerging DM and the dispersal parameters to estimate how terrestrial deposition of aquatic insect DM varied with increasing distance from streams. The results highlighted that emerging DM and dispersal to land could be higher in intensive agricultural landscapes than that previously described in natural settings. We estimated that 12.5 kg ha -1 yr -1 of winged aquatic insect DM fell to the ground 0-10 m from stream edges, composed mainly of Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera. We also estimated that 2.2 kg DM ha -1 yr -1 fell 10-50 m from the stream, especially small-bodied species of Chironomidae, throughout the year, except for the coldest weeks of winter. By influencing aquatic insect communities that emerge from streams, intensive agricultural practices change the magnitude and spatial extent of aquatic subsidy deposition on land. Implications for terrestrial food webs and ecosystem services provided to agriculture are discussed., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Managing soil to support biodiversity is important to sustain the ecosystem services provided by soils upon which society depends. There is increasing evidence that functional diversity of soil biota is important for ecosystem services, and has been degraded by intensive agriculture. Importantly, the spatial distribution of reservoirs of soil biota in and surrounding arable fields is poorly understood. In a field experiment, grass-clover ley strips were introduced into four arable fields which had been under continuous intensive/conventional arable rotation for more than 10 years. Earthworm communities in arable fields and newly established grass-clover leys, as well as field boundary land uses (hedgerows and grassy field margins), were monitored over 2 years after arable-to-ley conversions. Within 2 years, earthworm abundance in new leys was 732 ± 244 earthworms m -2 , similar to that in field margin soils (619 ± 355 earthworms m -2 yr -1 ) and four times higher than in adjacent arable soil (185 ± 132 earthworms m -2 ). Relative to the arable soils, earthworm abundance under the new leys showed changes in community composition, structure and functional group, which were particularly associated with an increase in anecic earthworms; thus new leys became more similar to grassy field margins. Earthworm abundance was similar in new leys that were either connected to biodiversity reservoirs i.e. field margins and hedgerows, or not (installed earthworm barriers). This suggests that, for earthworm communities in typical arable fields, biodiversity reservoirs in adjacent field margins and hedgerows may not be critical for earthworm populations to increase. We conclude that the increase in earthworm abundance in the new leys observed over 2 years was driven by recruitment from the existing residual population in arable soils. Therefore, arable soils are also potential reservoirs of biodiversity., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The Modern period in Europe is marked by the introduction of deep agricultural changes. In the Basque Country (northern Spain), the implantation of an intensive crop rotation was made possible by the expansion of agricultural liming, although the extent and implications of this practice have not been previously explored in depth. The present paper proposes a multidisciplinary approach to this question, based on the combined analysis of archival sources, toponymy, visual prospection focused on the presence of limekilns, and agricultural soil coring in four local contexts of the Atlantic Basque Country. The results show, for the first time, evidence of concurrent and widespread liming in this territory at the edge of the 18th century, with strong implications for the model of agricultural management in the communities involved. The spreading of mineral fertilisation reflects an intensification in the forms of agricultural management, in the framework of a new relationship between land and labour that emerged after the introduction of American crops. Continuous liming for more than 200 years exerted a deep impact in the analysed soils, with interesting socio-economic and ecological implications that are representative of the potential short-term effects that changing relationship between humans and their socio-ecological environment may produce in agricultural soils., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)