The importance of insects for global food crop production is starting to be well-known but the level of dependence on insects is less referenced, especially for some aromatic crops. Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare, Mill.) is an aromatic mass-flowering crop cultivated in the south of France for its essential oil that contains anethole. This compound is of food and economical interest because of its anise

Cover crops have multiple benefits, such as improving water quality, providing a green manure effect, and storing carbon in the soil. They can, however, reduce drainage significantly during key periods of hydrosystem recharge, especially in winter. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of cover crops and/or crop diversification at the watershed scale on water in the downstream watershed

Understanding the impact of long-term fertilization in different soil types and its effect on soil bacteria and crop production is critical for designing sustainable agricultural practices across diverse landscapes. Here, we investigated the impact of 25–37 years of continuous fertilizer treatments in three parent materials (Phaeozem, Cambisol, and Acrisol) on crop yield, soil properties, and soil

The productivity of agroforestry systems (AFSs) and the provisioning of associated ecosystem services (ESs) are threatened by increasing cropping intensification and climate change. Compared to full-sun coffee, maintaining shade cover might protect against climate variability, forest degradation, and pests/diseases attack. However, there may be trade-offs between yields and ESs. While the impacts of

Rising demand for food production poses a major threat to biodiversity by placing competing pressures on land. Diversified farming systems are one widely promoted nature-based solution to this challenge, which aim to integrate biodiversity-based ecosystem services into agricultural production. The underlying theory behind this approach is that diverse communities enhance ecosystem service provision

Cropland expansion has been occurring over the last century, especially in South America, displacing non-crop areas mainly with soybean. Changes at a landscape level were followed by changes at a local scale, such as the adoption of insect-resistant transgenic crops. The homogenization of agroecosystem composition and agronomic practices have a great impact on arthropod predators and herbivore insects

Expanded shellfish mariculture is an important strategy to improve global food security. However, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with mariculture are a concern when evaluating the benefits of protein production. In this study, we conducted two field campaigns in a constricted tagelus (Sinonovacula constricta) farming system (March 3–5 and April 21–23, 2021) to observe the changes in GHGs

The role plant diversity has played in regulating insect communities has been of interest for decades. Recent syntheses from agroecosystems suggest increasing plant diversity can positively affect beneficial insects like predators, reducing pest pressure and increasing yield. However, the agricultural landscape of the Midwestern United States is dominated by just two crops—corn and soybean—which cover

Chinese milk vetch (Astragalus sinicus L) is a widely used leguminous green manure in paddy rice culture and has potential to replace or partly replace inorganic nitrogen (N) fertilizer. However, there is little quantitative information regarding replacing inorganic N with milk vetch on CH4 and N2O emissions. This study investigated the relationship between greenhouse gas production and carbon (C)

Agriculture is a major contributor to habitat transformation, homogenising biological communities, and reducing biodiversity at local and regional scales. Over time, biotic homogenisation causes regional biotas to become genetically, taxonomically, and functionally similar, impacting the functioning and resilience of natural and agricultural systems. Here, we assessed alpha and beta diversity, trait

Mires are among the ecosystems most affected by eutrophication caused by excessive nitrogen (N) inputs via N deposition of ammonium (NH4+), nitrate (NO3–), nitric acid (HNO3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ammonia (NH3). As NH3 emissions are mostly generated by agriculture, a particular conflict of interest exists in areas where agricultural production systems are located nearby sensitive ecosystems

Globally, replanted sugarcane (Rp) on hillslopes has accelerated soil erosion and associated nutrients entering the river, causing serious water pollution. Sugarcane planting patterns (SPPs), including the area ratios of Rp and intercropping (Ic) on the hillslopes, may mitigate these negative impacts by increasing surface coverage. But the effectiveness of SPPs on these impacts has not been quantified

Riparian buffer strips can have a significant role in reducing nitrogen (N) transfers from agricultural land to freshwater primarily via denitrification and plant uptake processes, but an unintended trade-off can be elevated nitrous oxide (N2O) production rates. Against this context, our replicated bounded plot scale study investigated N2O emissions from un-grazed ryegrass pasture served by three types

Different tillage and nitrogen (N) fertilization practices markedly alter soil carbon dynamics, yet the underlying mechanisms and their interactive controls on soil organic matter (OM) biogeochemistry are still not well defined. Soil samples were collected from a 24-year field trial comprising of two tillage practices (conventional and conservation) and two N fertilization rates (low: 12, moderate:

Fertilized cropland is a significant source of ammonia (NH3) emissions. Urea, the dominant synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizer, makes the largest contribution to NH3 volatilization from cropland in China. To improve environmental quality and resource utilization efficiency, stabilized urea (UI: Urea amended with the urease inhibitor Limus®) was tested in an intensive cropping system in the North China

How urbanization affects crop pollination has scarcely been studied, especially in the tropics. Here, we focus on the richness and abundance of wild bees and their pollination services to 30 small-scale fields of Lablab purpureus, a globally wide-spread grain legume, in the Indian megacity Bangalore. Farms were selected along a gradient of urbanization, measured as percentage of impervious surface

Pollination is essential for many crops since 70% of the world's cultivated plants depend on pollinators for their production. Floral resources within cultivated areas, especially those produced by flowering crops such as oilseed rape, are known to have a positive effect on wild pollinators. Nevertheless, little is known about the contribution of other floral resources, such as weeds within cultivated

Compound fertilizer and bulk-blend fertilizer are two major types of fertilizers used in wheat production. However, it remains unclear which type of fertilizers has lower ammonia (NH3) emission and greater wheat productivity. We conducted a field experiment in Hefei, China during 2018–2019 and 2019–2020 wheat growing seasons. The objectives were to assess the effects of three compound fertilizers and

Biodiversity conservation and promotion of agroecology (including organic farming) are focused as priorities by European Commission, as reported in the Biodiversity and Farm to Fork Strategies. In this context, agricultural practices can be considered for their contribution to harnessing ecosystem services to sustain agricultural production, while minimising negative environmental effects. Among these

The greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) are major contributor to climate change and farmlands are prominent source of GHGE that are affected by soil chemical and physical properties. Field management practices e.g. no-till (NT) and cropping sequences (CSs) can regulate GHGE by changing soil physicochemical properties. To understand the role of soil physicochemical properties on GHGE under different tillage

With the growing demand for food production worldwide, natural landscapes are increasingly being replaced by agricultural areas, which directly affects biodiversity and local ecosystem services. Agroforestry systems, which are the intentional integration of trees and shrubs into crop and animal farming systems, are a more sustainable production approach that has been increasing in several forested

Freshwater aquaculture ponds constitute one of the important anthropogenic sources of atmospheric methane (CH4). Nevertheless, estimates of global CH4 emissions from freshwater aquaculture have large uncertainties due to a lack of data from different aquaculture types. Furthermore, despite that ebullition is a major pathway of CH4 in aquatic systems, the quantification of ebullitive CH4 fluxes from

Arid and semiarid regions are the focus of terrestrial ecological vulnerability as a consequence of their distinctive geography and rapid evolution of anthropogenic controls. To understand the evapotranspiration (ET) variation in ecofragile regions, this study obtained seven years of eddy covariance (EC) observations from the Yulin site in Mu Us Sandy Land, and further proposed a framework to separate

Crop straw application in combination with fertilizer nitrogen (N) dose reduction is recommended to improve crop yields and carbon sequestration in soil. This practice may also promote soil nitrous oxide (N2O) emission, thus partially counterbalancing the expected benefits. However, the full straw return effect on the reduction of soil N2O to dinitrogen (N2) is not yet well known, owing to the methodological

Floral abundance and richness on farmland has been declining since the mid 1900 s. Agri-environment schemes (AES) can improve floral resource availability through establishment of flower-rich areas or careful management of areas set-aside to naturally regenerate on farmland. Ideal management regimes include sowing and re-sowing of seed mixes, regular cuts of growth, and removal of cuttings to optimise

Land-use changes driven by socio-economic factors have significantly altered the nitrogen (N) flows and loads to the agricultural environment with rising pollution threats. The present study evaluated and compared the N budget using substance flow analysis (SFA) between the traditional crop system (wheat-maize rotation) and the currently dominant kiwifruit orchard system in a typical catchment in Northwestern

The Human Appropriation of Net Primary Production (HANPP) of agroecosystems is critical to food security, sustainable cropland use, and key biogeochemical processes such as carbon cycling and energy flow. However, current agroecosystem management lacks the support of high-resolution crop-type-specific HANPP information. To this end, this study integrated multi-source data of crop type, Normalized Difference

Evidence of a decline in wild pollinators is increasing across global and local habitats. However, with regional variation, the number of managed pollinators has increased globally. Whether these managed pollinators can sufficiently meet the agricultural pollination demand given wild pollinator declines remains unclear. Data on 49 honeybee-pollinated crops cultivated worldwide and stocked honeybee

Anthropogenic activities have increased ecosystem phosphorus (P) inputs and have affected terrestrial ecosystem carbon (C) cycles. However, the fate of soil organic C (SOC) under P addition remains elusive, and the potential mechanisms underlying plant-microbial linkages mediated SOC formation and decomposition are poorly understood. Here, we conducted a field P fertilization experiment to explore

Resource-poor farmers who are living in the harsh environments of the West African Sahel (WAS) depend on subsistence orientated, low-input farming systems for meeting their livelihood needs. These largely extractive farming systems have resulted in nutrient depletion, soil fertility decline, low productivity and land degradation. A study conducted over 25 years in Niger, aimed to evaluate the long-term

Nitrate accumulation in the soil profile of uplands is an important fate of surplus nitrogen (N) fertilizer in intensive agricultural regions. A comprehensive understanding of the spatial variation in nitrate accumulation characteristics in the deep (>2 m) soil profile and identification of the key driving factors are important for mitigating N loss and associated environmental problems. We sampled

A diurnal asymmetric warming (CK: control; DW: daytime warming; NW: nighttime warming; DW+NW: daily warming) was conducted in an alpine agricultural system of the Tibet to investigate the effect of diurnal asymmetric warming on soil fungal diversity. Soil fungal community in May and August in 2017 was determined by the high-throughput sequencing. The 'NW' rather than the 'DW' and 'DW+NW' significantly

The alleviation of phosphorus (P) limitation by increasing carbon (C) input is an effective strategy for improving crop production and P uptake efficiency. However, the effects of straw returning on soil microbial biomass P (MBP) turnover and P fractions in paddy-upland rotation remain poorly understood. Soil MBP turnover involves the mineralization and immobilization of organic P (Po), potentially

Plants can have strong effects on soil biota and thus subsequent plant growth in those soils. In agroecosystems, these microbe-mediated plant-soil feedbacks (PSFs) can have strong positive or negative effects on subsequent crop growth, but how multiple factors including the identity of the species involved, crop diversity and soil characteristics influence PSF is poorly understood. To address this

Protected areas (PAs) are key to conserving biodiversity and ecosystem services globally, but their effectiveness increasingly depends on the ability of the surrounding agricultural areas to support biodiversity and secure connectivity at the landscape level. This requires monitoring the broader multi-use landscapes in which PAs exist and identifying the landscape characteristics that support rich

Mulching practices improve soil hydrothermal conditions, which cause changes in soil respiration. Conventional straw mulching has low productivity in areas with relatively low temperatures. Meanwhile, the responses of soil respiration to mulching practices and the relationship between changes in environmental factors caused by mulching and carbon (C) components are not clear in dryland agroecosystem

Agricultural intensification is known to lead to biotic homogenization by selecting against habitat and resource specialist species, but most studies on this phenomenon have been limited to certain parts of the landscape diversity gradient. We aimed to reveal the relationships between functional traits of diurnal Lepidoptera and landscape structure along a wide environmental gradient from nature reserves

Insectivorous birds provide key ecosystem services for agricultural production, such as biological pest control. However, habitat loss and degradation by agriculture are among the main causes of biodiversity loss globally, including the recent decline in bird populations. Habitat loss has particularly affected insectivorous birds due to the associated decrease in the availability of suitable nesting

The bacterium Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) is a major threat to European agriculture and notably to the olive and Citrus industry. It is transmitted by xylem-feeding insects, whose plant-feeding preferences still require investigation in European agroecosystems. Here we studied olive and clementine groves of the oriental plain of Corsica. Insect-vegetation type interaction networks for nymphs and adults

No-till farming is a conservation agriculture practice employed on over 100 million acres of farmland in the United States. This practice provides benefits ranging from erosion control to pest suppression but can also facilitate outbreaks of novel pests. In the Mid-Atlantic, USA, where no-till production is widely adopted to help maintain the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, slugs have become

Land use change, particularly the conversion of forest to agriculture, is an important driver of climate change but is rarely considered a major factor in northern temperate regions. This study explored the climate impacts of temperate forest clearing for agriculture in the northeastern United States, hypothesizing that compared to managed cool-season pasture, forest conversion to silvopasture would

In the discussion about glyphosate-based herbicides, the question of how repeated applications affect biodiversity has become prominent. However, approaches are lacking to assess direct glyphosate effects under real, on-farm field conditions. This paper focuses the effect of post-harvest and / or pre-sowing glyphosate use on weed density, richness, diversity and composition in arable cropping systems

Ammonia (NH3) volatilization reduces nitrogen (N) use efficiency (NUE) and damages the environment, resulting in economic costs and human health threats. Side-deep fertilization decreases NH3 volatilization and the fertilizer application amount but sometimes risks reducing rice yield because of an unstable N supply. Azolla incorporation can improve NUE and rice yield by biological N fixation in paddy

Improved agricultural soil management can facilitate the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to help keep planetary warming at or below 2 °C as outlined in the Paris Agreement. The application of compost to agricultural soils increases soil carbon by directly fertilizing the soil with carbon (no net carbon dioxide removal), and by stimulating plant productivity and plant-derived carbon inputs

Long-term heavy application of inorganic fertilizers is associated with a decrease in soil quality and biodiversity. Organic amendments have been reported to positively affect soil quality; however, relatively little is known regarding soil carbon (C) cycle enzyme kinetic parameters (Vmax and Km), community-level physiological profiles (CLPP), and the interactions between these factors and soil microbes

Farmland birds are declining globally due to anthropogenic activities, with particularly few studies in Asian agricultural landscapes. Various studies have examined the impacts of landscape heterogeneity on farmland bird composition, but few have considered seasonal changes in bird diversity and examined functional feeding guild assemblages. Here, we disentangle the impact of seasonal variation (summer

Tropical deforestation for fertilizer-based agriculture has greatly increased in the last decades resulting in significant greenhouse gas (GHG; carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O)) emissions. Unfortunately, empirical studies on soil GHG fluxes from African deforestation hotspots are still limited, creating uncertainties in global GHG budgets. Therefore, we assessed how soil

Irrigation, essential for food production and landscape maintenance, affects soil water dynamics, water quality, and soil chemistry. However, the multidimensional role of irrigation has not been a focus in irrigation sciences. We evaluated the performance of different irrigation scheduling methods regarding water saving, water quality protection, and greenhouse gas emission for improved irrigation

Field boundaries can provide ecosystem services to crops by creating better abiotic conditions for crop growth, and can also act as habitat for beneficial arthropods. This suggests that crop boundaries may create an intermediate hump-shaped increase in crop yield, where negative edge effects are cancelled out by increased ecosystem services from the field boundary. However, there is little large-scale

Woody perennial cropping systems have the potential to produce food while maintaining or improving soil health relative to annual cropping systems. We used space-for-time substitution to assess soil health improvements by a Chinese chestnut – pawpaw agroforestry (AF) system in Iowa, USA relative to corn – soybean rotation (CSR), representing conventional annual crop management, and secondary forest

Plant species generally absorb different nitrogen (N) forms from soil in ways that minimize N niche overlap, but whether and how grazing affects a plant’s preferred form of N remains unclear. Using the in-situ stable N isotope-labeling technique, we explored the preference of plants in taking up N of different chemical forms along an experimental gradient of grazing intensity in a semi-arid grassland