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Soil nutrient levels play a crucial role in determining crop yield. A comprehensive understanding of the spatial distribution patterns and evaluation grades of soil nutrients is of significant practical importance for informed fertilization practices, enhancing crop production, and optimizing agricultural land utilization. This study focuses on the urban area of Kashi Prefecture in Xinjiang as a case study. Utilizing soil sample data, GIS spatial interpolation analysis was conducted, incorporating plot boundary information to propose a comprehensive evaluation method for assessing soil nutrient levels at the plot level. Experimental findings revealed the following: (1) The average values of soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (AN), total potassium (AK), and total phosphorus (AP) in the study area were determined to be 13.3 g/kg, 0.74 g/kg, 0.33 g/kg, and 0.03 g/kg, respectively. Among these, AN and SOM were classified as the fourth grade, indicating relatively deficient levels, while AK and AP were classified as the first and second grade, indicating relatively abundant levels. (2) The comprehensive evaluation of soil nutrient grades in the study area primarily fell within the third, fourth, and second grades, representing areas of 29.08 km2, 25 km2, and 4.05 km2, accounting for 50.03%, 43%, and 6.97% of the total area, respectively. (3) The evaluation results of soil nutrient levels at the plot level emphasized the boundary characteristics and provided a more refined assessment grade. This evaluation method is better suited to meet the practical production requirements of farmers and is considered feasible. The outcomes of this study can serve as a reference for precision agriculture management., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Xu, He. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Increasing densities of woody plants, known as woody plant encroachment, is a phenomenon affecting savannas and grasslands in many parts of the world. Yet, these ecosystems sustain a significant proportion of the human population through the provision of ecosystem services, such as forage for livestock and wildlife production. While low to medium altitude rangelands are encroached by many species of woody plants, high altitude rangelands in southern Africa show increasing densities of Leucosidea sericea, a woody shrub or small to medium-sized tree. Influences of this species on rangeland dynamics are unknown. This study aimed to determine the influence of L. sericea on rangeland functioning in the Vuvu communal area in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Effects of L. sericea on plant species diversity and composition, rangeland condition and grazing capacity were measured in sites of variable densities of the species in topographical locations designated as plains, upland and stream sites, using a point-to-tuft method along 50-m long transects. Soil samples were collected to a depth of 5 cm from plains, streams, and upland sites, and analysed for organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, and pH. Plant species richness and abundance were similar among topographical locations, which was reflected by the similar Shannon-Weiner (H') diversity indices among sites. Topographical locations differed significantly in species composition. The plains sites had a higher grazing capacity than stream sites, which had a grazing capacity similar to that of upland sites. Values of soil physicochemical properties were similar among the sites. Overall, soils were acidic (range in pH: 4.4-4.6) and had low amounts of organic carbon and total nitrogen. These findings suggest that L. sericea is not the primary cause of rangeland degradation as all sites were in poor condition as shown by the low grazing capacity, poor rangeland condition and depauperate species richness and diversity. Therefore, rangeland management should shift towards restoration strategies aimed to revitalise the rangeland., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Ndamane et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Shellfish aquaculture can provide important ecosystem services to coastal communities, yet these benefits are not typically considered within the aquaculture permit review process. Resource managers have expressed interest in easy-to-use tools, based on robust science, that produce location and operation-appropriate values for beneficial services. These values need to be produced in a format that aligns with existing regulatory processes to facilitate seamless integration with permit review. The removal of excess nitrogen from coastal waters by shellfish farms is well documented in the literature and has been incorporated into nutrient management in the USA. Shellfish assimilate nitrogen into their tissue and shell as they grow, and this nitrogen is removed from the environment upon harvest. We have assembled a dataset of nitrogen concentration and morphometric measurements from farmed eastern oysters across the US Northeast, and adapted methodology used by existing nutrient management programs to quantify harvest-associated removal of nitrogen. Variability in oyster tissue and shell nutrient concentration was low within the dataset, and an assessment of farm location, ploidy, and three common cultivation practices (floating gear, bottom gear, no gear) suggested that a simple regression-based calculation could be applied across all farms within the region. We designed the new, publicly available online Aquaculture Nutrient Removal Calculator tool https://connect.fisheries.noaa.gov/ANRC/ based on this analysis, which uses inputs related to oyster size and harvest number to predict harvest-based nitrogen removal from an eastern oyster farm located within the geographic range of North Carolina to Maine, USA. The tool also produces a report that has been designed to integrate with the US Army Corps of Engineers public interest review process, and similar state-level permitting processes, and provides a succinct summary of the ecological services associated with nutrient removal in eutrophic locations, project-specific values, and citations supporting the calculation of those values., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.)

Striking the right nutrient balance is essential for sustainable farming and ecosystem health. In this regard, field experiments were conducted in three phases viz., fertility gradient experiment, main experiment and validation experiment through a soil test crop response approach to develop and validate fertilizer prescription equations for sweet corn in comparison with general recommended dose and soil fertility rating approach. The soil data, fresh cob yield, and NPK uptake were used for establishing four important basic parameters, viz., nutrient requirement (kg t-1), contribution of nutrients from fertilizers, soil, and organic manure. The results revealed that nutrients required to produce one tonne of fresh cob yield (NR) were 5.85 kg, 0.87 kg and 4.31kg for N, P and K, respectively under the STCR NPK alone approach and 6.07 kg, 0.92 kg and 4.33 kg for N, P and K, respectively under STCR NPK+FYM approach. In the validation experiment, STCR NPK+FYM approach for the targeted yield of 25 t ha-1 recorded higher fresh cob yield (23.38 t ha-1) and dry stover yield (35.07 t ha-1) which were significantly higher compared to general recommended dose and soil fertility rating approach. The developed STCR equations for the aforesaid crop are valid as the percent deviation of cob yield from the targeted yield was within ±10%. Similarly, highest nutrient use efficiency was achieved with the STCR approach, specifically when targeting a lower yield through an NPK+FYM mode. Thus, implementation of the STCR approach of fertilizer prescription, with or without FYM, at targeted yields of 25 and 22 t ha-1, not only surpassed the effects of the other fertilizer recommendation approach in terms of cob yields, but also increased NPK uptake, improved nutrient use efficiency and greater economic returns., Competing Interests: The author reported no potential conflict of interest., (Copyright: © 2024 Rangaiah et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Raising attentions have focused on how to alleviate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from orchard system while simultaneously increase fruit production. Microalgae-based biofertilizer represents a promising resource for improving soil fertility and higher productivity. However, the effects of microalgae application more especially live microalgae on GHG emissions are understudied. In this study, fruit yield and quality, GHG emissions, as well as soil organic carbon and nitrogen fractions were examined in a hawthorn orchard, under the effects of live microalgae-based biofertilizer applied at three doses and two modes. Compared with conventional fertilization, microalgae improved hawthorn yield by 15.7%-29.6% with a maximal increment at medium dose by root application, and significantly increased soluble and reducing sugars contents at high dose. While microalgae did not increase GHG emissions except for nitrous oxide at high dose by root application, instead it significantly increased methane uptake by 1.5-2.3 times in root application. In addition, microalgae showed an increasing trend in soil organic carbon content, and significantly increased the contents of soil dissolved organic carbon and microbial biomass carbon, as well as soil ammonium nitrogen and dissolved organic nitrogen at medium dose with root application. Overall, the results indicated that the live microalgae could be used as a green biofertilizer for improving fruit yield without increasing GHG emissions intensity and the comprehensive greenhouse effect, in particular at medium dose with root application. We presume that if lowering chemical fertilizer rates, application of the live microalgae-based biofertilizer may help to reduce nitrous oxide emissions without compromising fruit yield and quality., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Ma et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum, L.) production in the semi-arid US Northern High Plains (NHP) is challenged by frequent droughts and water-limited, low fertility soils. Composted cattle manure (compost) and cover crops (CC) are known to provide agroecosystem services such as improved soil health, and in the CC case, increased plant diversity, and competition with weedy species. The main concern of planting CC in winter wheat fallow rotation in regions that are more productive than the NHP, however, is the soil moisture depletion. It is unknown however, whether addition of CC to compost-amended soils in the NHP will improve soil properties and agroecosystem health without compromising already low soil water content. The main objective of this study was to assess the effects of four CC treatments amended with compost (45 Mg ha-1) or inorganic fertilizer (IF) (.09 Mg ha-1 mono-ammonium phosphate, 11-52-0 and 1.2 Mg ha-1ammonium sulfate, 21-0-0) on the presence of weeds, soil and plant total carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and biological dinitrogen (N2) fixation (BNF). Mycorrhizal Mix (MM), Nitrogen Fixer Mix (NF), Soil Building Mix (SB), a monoculture of phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth L.) (PH), and a no CC control (no CC) were grown in native soil kept at 7% soil moisture in a greenhouse for a period of nine weeks. When amended with compost, MM was the most beneficial (48 g m-2 BNF and 1.7% soil C increase). SB had the highest germination, aboveground biomass, and decreased weed biomass by 60%. It also demonstrated the second highest amount of BNF (40 g m-2) and soil C increase by 1.5%. On contrary, IF hindered BNF by almost 70% in all legume-containing CC treatments and reduced soil C by 15%., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.)

Integrated nutrient management and crop rotation are important farming practices, which enhance the nutrient use efficiency of crops and reduce the incidence of diseases and insect pests. The study was carried out to address the gap in using integrated nutrient management in crop rotation systems for soil qualities and crop yield improvement. That was done by adjusting the balance ratio of dry bio-slurry and nitrogen fertilizers. The experiment was containing ten levels; Control (0,0), recommended nitrogen, 50% dry-bio slurry, 100% dry-bio slurry, 75% dry-bio slurry, 75% dry-bio slurry+25% recommended nitrogen, 50% dry-bio slurry+50% recommended nitrogen, 25% dry-bio slurry+75% recommended nitrogen, 100% dry-bio slurry + 25% recommended nitrogen and 100% dry-bio slurry + 50% recommended nitrogen that was laid out in randomized complete block design with three replications for three years. The data on soil properties and yield components of potatoes and wheat were collected and analyzed using statistical analysis system software 9.4. An application of dry bio-slurry with nitrogen fertilizer was significantly affected both crop yield and soil properties in the rotation system. The application of 25% dry bio-slurry with 75% recommended nitrogen gave the highest tuber yield of potato (27.6 tha-1) as compared to control. Similarly, using 100% and 75% sole dry bio-slurry resulted in the highest grain yield (3.85 tha-1) and above-ground biomass (9.59 tha-1) of wheat. The combination of 25% dry bio-slurry with 75% recommended nitrogen scored the highest net benefit (2889.2 US$) with an acceptable marginal return (4463.3%) via by improving crops yield in the system. So, an application of 25% dry bio-slurry with 75% recommended nitrogen could be promoted for yield-soil improvement in the study area and similar agroecology., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Addis et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

In the dryland area of the Loess Plateau in northwest China, long-term excessive fertilization has led to soil compaction and nutrient loss, which in turn limits crop yield and soil productivity. To address this issue, we conducted experiments using environmentally friendly organic fertilizer and bacterium fertilizer. Our goal was to investigate the effects of additional organic and bacterium fertilizer inputs on soil water migration, crop root architecture, and yield formation. We implemented six different fertilizer strategies, namely: Nm (mulching, N 30 kg/ha), NPK1m (mulching, N 60 kg/ha; P 30 kg/ha; K 30 kg/ha), NPK2m (mulching, N 90 kg/ha; P 45 kg/ha; K 30 kg/ha), NPKOm (mulching, N 90 kg/ha; P 45 kg/ha; K 30 kg/ha; organic fertilizer 2 t/ha), NPKBm (mulching, N 60 kg/ha; P 30 kg/ha; K 30 kg/ha; bacterium fertilizer 10 kg/ha), and N (N 30 kg/ha; no mulching). The results revealed that the addition of bacterium fertilizer (NPKBm) had a positive impact on soybean root system development. Compared with the other treatments, it significantly increased the total root length, total root surface area, and total root length density by 25.96% ~ 94.89%, -19.63% ~ 36.28%, and 9.36% ~ 28.84%, respectively. Furthermore, NPKBm enhanced soil water consumption. In 2018, water storage during the flowering and podding periods decreased by 12.63% and 19.65%, respectively, while water consumption increased by 0.97% compared to Nm. In 2019, the flowering and harvest periods decreased by 23.49% and 11.51%, respectively, while water consumption increased by 0.65%. Ultimately, NPKBm achieved high grain yield and significantly increased water use efficiency (WUE), surpassing other treatments by 76.79% ~ 78.97% and 71.22% ~ 73.76%, respectively. Subsequently, NPK1m also exhibited significant increases in yield and WUE, with improvements of 35.58% ~ 39.27% and 35.26% ~ 38.16%, respectively. The use of bacterium fertilizer has a profound impact on soybean root architecture, leading to stable and sustainable grain yield production., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Liu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Phytoplankton community characterized by strong vitality response to environmental change in freshwater ecosystems. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of using phytoplankton diversity as a water quality indicator in wetlands, and find out the main environmental variables affecting the distribution of phytoplankton. From 2020 to 2021, we examined phytoplankton assemblages and water environmental variables in spring, summer, and autumn at eight sampling sites from Hulanhe Wetland, Northeast (NE) China. The results showed that Bacillariophyta was the dominant species. Phytoplankton composition and abundance differed among sampling sites in each season; the abundance in summer (613.71 × 104 ind. L-1) was higher than that in autumn and spring. The water quality assessment of the trophic state index (TSI) based on the four physicochemical indicators was compared with phytoplankton diversity indices, which indicated that the phytoplankton community was stable, and these two indices were significantly lower in summer than in spring and autumn. According to redundancy analysis (RDA), total phosphorus (TP) and nitrogen (TN) were the main environmental variables affecting the distribution of phytoplankton. Temperature and dissolved oxygen (DO) changes also played a role, and their impact on the community was discussed. This work can provide relevant scientific references on the usefulness of phytoplankton diversity structure in assessing water quality in cold regions, in which the succession can be significantly affected by nutrients and temperatures., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Hui et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Fertilizer application is the basis for ensuring high yield, high quality and high efficiency of farmland. In order to meet the demand for food with the increasing of population, the application of nitrogen fertilizer will be further increased, which will lead to problems such as N2O emission and nitrogen loss from farmland, it will easily deteriorate the soil and water environment of farmland, and will not conducive to the sustainable development of modern agriculture. However, optimizing fertilizer management is an important way to solve this problem. While, due to the differences in the study conditions (geographical location, environmental conditions, experimental design, etc.), leading to the results obtained in the literatures about the N2O emission with different nitrogen fertilizer application strategies have significant differences, which requiring further comprehensive quantitative analysis. Therefore, we analyzed the effects of nitrogen fertilizer application strategies (different fertilizer types and fertilizer application rates) on N2O emissions from the fields (rice, wheat and maize) based on the Meta-analysis using 67 published studies (including 1289 comparisons). For the three crops, inorganic fertilizer application significantly increased on-farm N2O emissions by 19.7-101.05% for all three; and organic fertilizer increased N2O emissions by 28.16% and 69.44% in wheat and maize fields, respectively, but the application of organic fertilizer in rice field significantly reduced N2O emissions by 58.1%. The results showed that overall, the application of inorganic fertilizers resulted in higher N2O emissions from farmland compared to the application of organic fertilizers. In addition, in this study, the average annual temperature, annual precipitation, soil type, pH, soil total nitrogen content, soil organic carbon content, and soil bulk weight were used as the main influencing factors of N2O emission under nitrogen fertilizer strategies, and the results of the study can provide a reference for the development of integrated management measures to control greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural soils., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Hou et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Due to low adoption and sub-optimal fertilizer use and planting density recommendation in maize, redesigning and testing these technologies are required. The study was conducted to evaluate redesigned fertilizer use of maize in two pant densities (32,443 and 53,333 plants ha-1 in Central Rift Valley (CRV); 27724 and 62,000 plants ha-1 in Jimma) on farmers' fields in contrasting agro-ecologies of Ethiopia. The on-farm study was conducted in the 2017 and 2018 cropping seasons with 3 × 2 fertilizer and plant density, factors in both regions of Ethiopia. In redesigned fertilizer use, nutrients were estimated based on the target yield. In this study, 40.8, 0.0, and 12.2 kg ha-1 N, P, and K were estimated for the redesigned fertilizer use in CRV (50% of water-limited potential yield (Yw) = 3.1 t ha-1) whereas in Jimma (50% of Yw = 7.5 t ha-1) 149.8, 9, 130.6 kg ha-1 N, P and K were estimated to produce the 50% of Yw. Linear mixed modeling was used to assess the effect of fertilizer-plant density treatments on maize yield and nutrient use efficiency. The result revealed that the average estimated maize yield for WOF, FFU, and RDFU fertilizer treatments were 2.6, 3.6, and 4.5 t ha-1 under current plant density (32,443 plants ha-1) in CRV whereas the average yields of these treatments were 3.2, 4.5 and 4.5 t ha-1 respectively when maize was grown with redesigned plant density (53,333 plants ha-1) in the same location. The average maize yield with WOF, FFU, and RDFU were 3.0, 4.6, and 4.6 t ha-1 with 27,774 plants ha-1 plant density in Jimma whereas the average maize yields over the two seasons with the same treatments were 4.3, 6.0 and 8.0 t ha-1 respectively when the crop is planted with 62,000 plants ha-1 plant density. The RDFU and redesigned plant density resulted in significantly higher yield compared to their respective control CRV but RDFU significantly increased maize yield when it was planted at redesigned (62,000 plant ha-1) in Jimma. FFU and RDFU were economically viable and redesigned plant density was also a cheaper means of improving maize productivity, especially in the Jimma region. Soil organic carbon and N were closely related to the grain yield response of maize compared to other soil factors. In conclusion, this investigation gives an insight into the importance of redesigned fertilizer use and redesigned plant density for improving maize productivity and thereby narrowing the yield gaps of the crop in high maize potential regions in Ethiopia like Jimma., Competing Interests: The authors declared no competing interest., (Copyright: © 2024 Kenea et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Soilless agriculture is acknowledged worldwide because it uses organic leftovers as a means of supporting intensive and efficient plant production. However, the quality of potting media deteriorates because of lower nutrient content and excessive shrinkage of most organic materials. A current study was undertaken to identify the optimal blend of locally available organic materials with desirable qualities for use as potting media. Therefore, different ingredients, viz., Pinus roxburghii needles, sugarcane bagasse, and farmyard manure were used alone or in combination as potting media to test their suitability by growing spinach as a test crop. Results showed that an increase in Pinus roxburghii needles and sugarcane bagasse decreased medium pH and electrical conductivity. Higher pH and electrical conductivity were recorded for the treatments having a higher farmyard manure ratio (≥50%) in combination. Except for pine needles 100%, pH and electrical conductivity were in the recommended range. The growth attributes include, leaves plant-1, shoot length, fresh- and dry shoot weight along with plant macronutrients (nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium) and micronutrients (iron, copper, manganese, and zinc) content were higher in treatment pine needles 50%+farmyard manure 50% followed by pine needles 25%+farmyard manure 50%+sugarcane bagasse 25%. Moreover, the particular treatment of pine needles 50%+farmyard manure 50% exhibited the highest concentrations of macro- (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) as well as micronutrients (iron, copper, manganese, and zinc) in the potting media following the harvest. This study highlights the potential of utilizing agro-industrial litter/waste as a soilless growing medium for spinach production under greenhouse conditions. When employed in appropriate proportions, this approach not only addresses disposal concerns but also proves effective for sustainable cultivation. Further research is needed to investigate the use of these wastes as potting media by mixing various particle-size ingredients., Competing Interests: The authors declare they have no known conflict or competing interest., (Copyright: © 2024 Alam et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are a point source of nutrients, emit greenhouse gases (GHGs), and produce large volumes of excess sludge. The use of aquatic organisms may be an alternative to the technical post-treatment of WWTP effluent, as they play an important role in nutrient dynamics and carbon balance in natural ecosystems. The aim of this study was therefore to assess the performance of an experimental wastewater-treatment cascade of bioturbating macroinvertebrates and floating plants in terms of sludge degradation, nutrient removal and lowering GHG emission. To this end, a full-factorial experiment was designed, using a recirculating cascade with a WWTP sludge compartment with or without bioturbating Chironomus riparius larvae, and an effluent container with or without the floating plant Azolla filiculoides, resulting in four treatments. To calculate the nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and carbon (C) mass balance of this system, the N, P and C concentrations in the effluent, biomass production, and sludge degradation, as well as the N, P and C content of all compartments in the cascade were measured during the 26-day experiment. The presence of Chironomus led to an increased sludge degradation of 44% compared to 25% in the control, a 1.4 times decreased transport of P from the sludge and a 2.4 times increased transport of N out of the sludge, either into Chironomus biomass or into the water column. Furthermore, Chironomus activity decreased methane emissions by 92%. The presence of Azolla resulted in a 15% lower P concentration in the effluent than in the control treatment, and a CO2 uptake of 1.13 kg ha-1 day-1. These additive effects of Chironomus and Azolla resulted in an almost two times higher sludge degradation, and an almost two times lower P concentration in the effluent. This is the first study that shows that a bio-based cascade can strongly reduce GHG and P emissions simultaneously during the combined polishing of wastewater sludge and effluent, benefitting from the additive effects of the presence of both macrophytes and invertebrates. In addition to the microbial based treatment steps already employed on WWTPs, the integration of higher organisms in the treatment process expands the WWTP based ecosystem and allows for the inclusion of macroinvertebrate and macrophyte mediated processes. Applying macroinvertebrate-plant cascades may therefore be a promising tool to tackle the present and future challenges of WWTPs., Competing Interests: The authors have read the journal’s policy and have the following competing interests: LH reports financial support provided by Waterschap Rivierenland, Hoogheemraadschap de Stichtse Rijnlanden, Hoogheemraadschap Hollands Noorderkwartier outside of the submitted work. TVM reports financial support provided by Waterschap Rivierenland, Hoogheemraadschap de Stichtse Rijnlanden, Hoogheemraadschap Hollands Noorderkwartier outside of the submitted work. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. There are no patents, products in development or marketed products associated with this research to declare., (Copyright: © 2024 Hendriks et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Elemental ratios (δ13C, δ15N and C/N) and carbon and nitrogen concentrations in macrophytes, sediments and sponges of the hypersaline Al-Kharrar Lagoon (KL), central eastern Red Sea coast, were measured to distinguish their sources, pathways and see how they have been influenced by biogeochemical processes and terrestrial inputs. The mangroves and halophytes showed the most depleted δ13C values of -27.07±0.2 ‰ and -28.34±0.4 ‰, respectively, indicating their preferential 12C uptake, similar to C3-photosynthetic plants, except for the halophytes Atriplex sp. and Suaeda vermiculata which showed δ13C of -14.31±0.6 ‰, similar to C4-plants. Macroalgae were divided into A and B groups based on their δ13C values. The δ13C of macroalgae A averaged -15.41±0.4 ‰, whereas macroalgae B and seagrasses showed values of -7.41±0.8 ‰ and -7.98 ‰, suggesting uptake of HCO3- as a source for CO2 during photosynthesis. The δ13C of sponges was -10.7±0.3 ‰, suggesting that macroalgae and seagrasses are their main favoured diets. Substrates of all these taxa showed δ13C of -15.52±0.8 ‰, suggesting the KL is at present a macroalgae-dominated lagoon. The δ15N in taxa/sediments averaged 1.68 ‰, suggesting that atmospheric N2-fixation is the main source of nitrogen in/around the lagoon. The heaviest δ15N (10.58 ‰) in halophytes growing in algal mats and sabkha is possibly due to denitrification and ammonia evaporation. The macrophytes in the KL showed high C %, N %, and C/N ratios, but this is not indicated in their substrates due possibly to a rapid turnover of dense, hypersaline waters carrying most of the detached organic materials out into the Red Sea. The δ13C allowed separation of subaerial from aquatic macrophytes, a proxy that could be used when interpreting paleo-sea level or paleoclimatic changes from the coastal marine sediments., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Abu-Zied et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Wheat straw returning is widely practiced in agriculture; therefore, it is critical to determine the physicochemical and bacterial indicators in soil for the organic carbon storage, accumulative C mineralization, total nitrogen improvement, and nitrogen mineralization in various soil types after wheat straw returning. This study evaluated the influenced indicators of wheat straw addition on soil organic carbon and nitrogen transformation in diverse soil types. For this purpose, an incubation experiment was conducted to analyze the carbon and nitrogen transformation in soil from eight Chinese provinces treated with the same dry weight of wheat straw. The results indicated that the primary physicochemical and bacterial indicators that predict the carbon and nitrogen transformations in the acidic and alkaline soils were different. Of all the natural physicochemical properties of soil, cation exchange capacity and clay content were significantly correlated with organic carbon, mineralized carbon, total nitrogen, and mineralized nitrogen in the alkaline soil. In the acidic soil, the initial C/N ratio of soil was the most significant indicator of carbon and nitrogen transformation. From the perspective of the carbon- and nitrogen-relating bacterial communities, Proteobacteria were largely responsible for the accumulative C mineralization in both types of soil. Furthermore, Proteobacteria strongly regulated the organic carbon storage in the acidic soil after wheat straw addition, whereas Gemmatimonadetes was the main predicted indicator in the alkaline soil. Additionally, total nitrogen and mineralized nitrogen levels were largely explained by Bifidobacterium and Luteimonas in the alkaline soil and by Nitrospira and Bdellovibrio in the acidic soil. Soil physicochemical and biological properties significantly influence soil carbon and nitrogen transformation, which should be considered crucial indicators to guide the rational regulation of straw return in several areas., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Yang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The majority of Iranian fig production is exported, making it one of the world's most well-known healthy crops. Therefore, the main objective of the current experiment was to investigate the effects of various types of organic fertilizers, such as animal manure (cow and sheep), bird manure (partridge, turkey, quail, and chicken), and vermicompost, on the nutritional status of trees, vegetative and reproductive tree characteristics, fruit yield, and fruit quality traits in dried fig cultivar ("Sabz"). According to the findings, applying organic fertilizers, particularly turkey and quail, significantly improves vegetative and reproductive characteristics. However, other manures such as sheep, chicken, and vermicompost had a similar effect on the growth parameters of fig trees. Additionally, the findings indicated that except for potassium, use of all organic fertilizers had an impact on macro and microelements such as phosphorus, nitrogen, and sodium amount in fig tree leaves. Also, based on fruit color analysis in dried figs, the use of all organic fertilizers improved fruit color. Moreover, the analyses fruit biochemical showed that the use of some organic fertilizers improved that TSS and polyphenol compounds such as coumarin, vanillin, hesperidin gallic acid and trans frolic acid. In general, the results indicated that the addition of organic fertilizers, especially turkey manure, led to increased vegetative productivity and improvement in the fruit quality of the rain-fed fig orchard., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Jafari et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

This study aimed to measure maize (Zea mays) plant nutrient content and nutrient removal in grain, and to evaluate the residual soil nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium as impacted by planting date and density. Field experiments were conducted to evaluate six plant densities and seven planting dates using a split-split plot design with three replications. Besides the crop growth and yield parameters, six plants were collected at the maturity and soil was sampled from each plot for nutrient analysis. Plant N, P, and K concentrations varied with planting date and density and within the ranges of 0.6-1.024%, 0.054-0.127%, and 0.75-1.71%, respectively. Grain N, P, and K concentrations decreased with plant density and varied from 1.059 to 1.558%, 0.20 to 0.319%, and 0.29 to 0.43%, respectively. Soil residual nutrient varied with depth, planting density and date. Residual N concentration in the topsoil varied from 0.6 to 37.2 mg kg-1 in 2019 and from 1.5 to 11.2 mg kg-1 in 2020 and was high under the last two planting dates. Soil residual N concentration was higher in the second layer than in the topsoil. The N concentration in the third layer varied from 0.1 to 33.2 mg kg-1 and was impacted by plant density. Topsoil P did not vary among planting dates and densities. The second and third soil layers P concentration was not affected. There was 83% increase in topsoil K in 2020 compared to 2019, and a decrease of 65 and 23% in soil K was observed in the second and third soil layers, respectively. For maize production system sustainability, future research should use a holistic approach investigating the impact of planting date, plant density on crop growth, yield, nutrient uptake and remobilization, and soil properties under different fertilizer rates to develop the fertilizer recommendation for maize while reducing the environmental impact of the production system., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.)

The challenge facing Ethiopian farmers are the combination of low soil fertility and reduced agricultural productivity. The study aimed to quantify nitrogen and phosphorus-containing fertilizers for tef production in Sekota and Lasta-Lalibela districts, using four nitrogen and three phosphorus levels from urea and triple super phosphate sources. The Results showed that nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers significantly affected tef yield and yield components. Application of nitrogen at the rate of 92 kg ha-1 increased tef grain yield by 131.01%, 87.78% and 182.23% in Woleh, Sayda and Lasta Lalibela districts, respectively, compared to control treatment. Similarly, 23 kg ha-1 phosphorus increased tef grain yield by 7.42 and 8.52% in Woleh and Lasta Lalibela, respectively. In Lalibela and Woleh, the application of 92 kg N ha-1 resulted in a maximum net benefits of 2099.6 and 2007 United States Dollar (USD) respectively. Furthermore, in Sayda, the application of 92 kg N ha-1 and 23 kg P2O5 ha-1 yielded a net benefit of 1812.55 USD. The marginal rate of return (MRR) from these applications was 539.6% in Lalibela, 781% in Woleh and 352.44% in Sayda. Therefore, application of 92 N and 23 kg P2O5 ha-1 is appropriate for maximum tef production in Sekota and Lasta districts of Amhara region. Further research and extension services should focus on promoting the adoption of these optimized fertilizer practices among smallholder farmers to maximize the sustainable production of tef., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Melak et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Reducing fertilizer usage is a crucial measure for achieving high-quality development in Chinese agriculture. Utilizing panel data from 31 Chinese provinces spanning from 2004 to 2019, this study empirically analyzes the dynamic relationship between fertilizer application and grain production, exploring the underlying mechanisms. The study findings reveal that the application of fertilizers maintains a positive impact on grain production. The two variables will demonstrate a dynamic alternation between "strong decoupling" and "retreat decoupling," suggesting that grain production may either increase or gradually decline, while fertilizer application exhibits a decreasing trend. Mechanism analysis reveals a distinct substitution relationship between fertilizer use efficiency and application quantity. Increasing fertilizer use efficiency while reducing application quantity still facilitates the stable and increased production of grains. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the efficiency of fertilizer use has a more pronounced impact on grain yield in the eastern and western regions. Increasing fertilizer quantity is detrimental to wheat yield but has a promoting effect on corn yield. However, in the main grain-producing areas, increasing fertilizer quantity can enhance wheat yield but is unfavorable for the overall grain yield. Additionally, nitrogen fertilizer input has exceeded the optimal level compared to potassium fertilizer. Continuously increasing nitrogen fertilizer input will hinder the increase in grain yield. Therefore, there is a need to shift from the notion of "more fertilizer is better" and focus on improving fertilizer use efficiency to transition from the emphasis on "quantity" to "quality" of fertilizer application., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Xiong, Zhao. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Soil fertility maps are crucial for sustainable soil and land use management system for predicting soil health status. However, many regions of Nepal lack updated or reliable soil fertility maps. This study aimed to develop the soil fertility map of agricultural areas in Resunga Municipality, Gulmi district of Nepal using the geographical information system (GIS) technique. A total of 57 composite geo-referenced soil samples from the depth (0-20 cm) were taken from the agricultural land of an area of 52 km2. Soil samples were analyzed for their texture, pH, organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorous, available potassium, available boron, and available zinc. These parameters were modelled to develop a soil quality index (SQI). Using the kriging tool, obtained parameters were interpolated and digital maps were produced along with soil quality and nutrient indices. The result showed that the study area lies within the fair (0.4 to 0.6) and good (0.6 to 0.8) range of SQI representing 96% and 3% respectively. Soil organic matter and nitrogen showed moderate variability exhibiting a low status in 95% and 86% of the total study area. Phosphorous and potassium showed medium status in 88% and 75% of the study area, respectively. Zinc was low and boron status was medium in most of the area. To maintain soil fertility is by improving the rate of exogenous application of fertilizers and manures. The application of micronutrients like boron and zinc is highly recommended in the study area along with organic manures. The soil fertility map can be used as a baseline for soil and land use management in Resunga Municipality. We recommend further studies to validate the map and assess the factors affecting soil fertility in this region. Soil fertility maps provide researchers, farmers, students, and land use planners with easier decision-making tools for sustainable crop production systems and land use management systems., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Ghimire et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Mine reclamation is one of the most important stages of the mining activities in line with the basic principles of sustainable development. In this study, different post-mining land uses are evaluated in the Hongliulin mining area, which is located in Shen mu country of China. 145 soil samples were collected in the May,2021 by using the soil auger, and the sampling depths were 0-20 cm. The sampling points contains 45 to be reclaimed samples and 100 existing classification land use types. 14 environmental factors including soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (TN), available phosphate (AP), available potassium (AK), K, Slope steepness, curvatures, aspect, length, Topographic Wetness Index (TWI), NDVI and elevation were extracted and calculated based on laboratory test and digital elevation map. The random forest classier showed a great prediction capability, with only 1 miss-classified sample in the validation data-set, the accuracy of the classification model was 95%. The content of TN of C1 is 5 times more than C2 and 4 times more than C3. Also, the K value of C1 column is maximum and over 0.4, which means the soil particle is relatively smaller and the soil texture of it is sandy loam. In terms of the 45 to be reclaimed samples, 15 samples were classified into C1, 23 samples were classified into C2, 5 samples were classified into C3, 2 samples were classified into C4. The value of K and content of soil nutrients of the samples classified to be C1 column(C1-C) is maximum. The soybean and murphy were suggested based on the soil nutrients index and with the mining disturbance on cluster 2 of C1, the ground subsidence filling as well as soil nutrients increased strategy should be applied. The result may contribute to the land use planning and idle land utilization strategy., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist, (Copyright: © 2024 Bo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The use of chemical fertilizers under a rice-wheat cropping system (RWCS) has led to the emergence of micronutrient deficiency and decreased crop productivity. Thus, the experiment was conducted with the aim that the use of organic amendments would sustain productivity and improve the soil nutrient status under RWCS. A three-year experiment was conducted with different organic manures i.e. no manure (M0), farmyard manure @ 15 t ha-1 (M1), poultry manure @ 6 t ha-1(M2), press mud @ 15 t ha-1(M3), rice straw compost @ 6 t ha-1(M4) along with different levels of the recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) i.e. 0% (F1), 75% (F2 and 100% (F3 in a split-plot design with three replications and plot size of 6 m x 1.2 m. Laboratory-based analysis of different soil as well as plant parameters was done using standard methodologies. The use of manures considerably improved the crop yield, macronutrients viz. nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and micronutrients such as zinc, iron, manganese and copper, uptake in both the crops because of nutrient release from decomposed organic matter. Additionally, the increase in fertilizer dose increased these parameters. The system productivity was maximum recorded under F3M1 (13,052 kg ha-1) and results were statistically identical with F3M2 and F3M3. The significant upsurge of macro and micro-nutrients in soil and its correlation with yield outcomes was also observed through the combined use of manures as well as fertilizers. This study concluded that the use of 100% RDF integrated with organic manures, particularly farmyard manure would be a beneficial resource for increased crop yield, soil nutrient status and system productivity in RWCS in different regions of India., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Dhaliwal et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

It is urgent to mitigate the environmental impacts resulting from agriculture, especially in highly biodiverse and threatened areas, as the Brazilian Cerrado. We aim to investigate whether root acid phosphatase activity is alternative plant strategies for nutrient acquisition in maize genotypes cultivated under fertilized and unfertilized conditions in Brazil, potentially contributing to reducing the use of phosphate fertilizers needed for production. Three experiments were performed: the first was conducted in a glasshouse, with 17 experimental maize inbred lines and two phosphorus (P) treatments; the second in the field, with three maize inbred lines and two treatments, one without fertilization and another with NPK fertilization; and the third was also carried out in the field, with 13 commercial hybrids, grown either under NK or under NPK treatment. Plant variables were measured and tested for the response to fertilization, differences amongst genotypes and response to root acid phosphatase activity. The activity of root acid phosphatase was modulated by the availability of P and nitrogen (N) in the soil and promoted grain filling of commercial hybrids in soils with low P availability. These results demonstrate that it is possible to select genotypes that are more adapted to low soil P availability aiming at organic production, or to use genotypes that have high phosphatase activity under P fertilization to reduce the amount of added P needed for maize production in Brazil., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Lopes e Silva et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The South-to-North Water Diversion East Project (SNWDP-E) is an effective way to realize the optimal allocation of water resources in China. The North Dasha River (NDR) is the reverse recharge section that receives water from the Yufu River to the Wohushan Reservoir transfer project line in the SNWDP. However, the dissolved organic matter (DOM) evolution mechanism of seasonal water transfer projects on tributary waters has not been fully elucidated. In this paper, the NDR is the main object, and the changes in the composition and distribution of spectral characteristics during the winter water transfer period (WT) as well as during the summer non-water transfer period (NWT) are investigated by parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC). The results showed that the water connectivity caused by water transfer reduces the environmental heterogeneity of waters in the basin, as evidenced by the ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N) and total phosphorus (TP) in the water body were significantly lower (p<0.05, p<0.01) during the water transfer period than the non-water transfer period. In addition, the fluorescence intensity of DOM was significantly lower in the WT than the NWT (p<0.05) and was mainly composed of humic substances generated from endogenous sources with high stability. While the NWT was disturbed by anthropogenic activities leading to significant differences in DOM composition in different functional areas. Based on the redundancy analysis (RDA) and multiple regression analysis, it was found that the evolution of the protein-like components is dominated by chemical oxygen demand (COD) and NH4+-N factors during the WT. While the NWT is mainly dominated by total nitrogen (TN) and TP factors for the evolution of the humic-like components. This study helps to elucidate the impact of water transfer projects on the trunk basin and contribute to the regulation and management of inter-basin water transfer projects., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Liu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Investigating the impact of different factors on soil and nutrient loss and suggesting viable control measures is currently a significant concern. This study aims to examine the variations in soil erosion, as well as nitrogen and phosphorus loss, in the core area of the typical hilly diffuse Blackland erosion control. To achieve this, runoff plots with slopes of 3° and 5° were set up in the Sunjiagou sub-basin, located in the upper reaches of the Feiketu River. These plots were subjected to various soil and water conservation measures, along with different levels of vegetation cover. This study aims to analyze the soil and nutrient loss patterns and characteristics in each runoff plot during the natural rainfall events occurring between 2020 and 2022. The results show that soil and nutrient losses are highly significantly and positively correlated with rainfall intensity. The RUSLE model demonstrates a better fit for both cross ridge tillage and bare ground. The loss of nitrogen was much more significant than that of phosphorus, and nitrate nitrogen is the main form of nitrogen loss. Nitrogen loss is mainly dominated by nitrate nitrogen (NN), which is easily soluble in water and constantly migrates with runoff due to the negatively charged NN (NN accounted for 45.2% ~ 81.8% of total nitrogen (TN)). In contrast, the positively charged ammonia nitrogen (AN) is more stable in combination with the soil; large losses only occur under severe sediment erosion. Phosphorus is easily attached to sediment, and the high sediment production leads to a more serious loss of total phosphorus (PP) in the particulate state (PP accounts for 72.7% ~ 96.2% of total phosphorus (TP)). Changing longitudinal ridge tillage to cross ridge tillage and planting vegetation with better water retention and sediment fixation as plant hedges can effectively prevent the loss of soil, runoff, nitrogen, and phosphorus., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Dai et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

As plant litter decomposes, its mass exponentially decreases until it reaches a non-zero asymptote. However, decomposition rates vary considerably among litter types as a function of their overall quality (i.e., carbon:nitrogen (C:N) ratio and litter chemistry). We investigated the effects of hairy vetch (HV: Vicia villosa Roth):cereal rye (RYE: Secale cereale L.) biomass proportions with or without broadcasted poultry manure on overall litter quality before and during decomposition. As HV biomass proportions increased from 0 to 100%, the relative susceptibility of HV:RYE mixtures to microbial decomposition increased due to: (i) decrease in the initial C:N ratio (87:1 to 10:1 in 2012 and 67:1 to 9:1 in 2013), (ii) increase in the non-structural labile carbohydrates (33 to 61% across years), and (iii) decrease in the structural holo-cellulose (59 to 33% across years) and lignin (8 to 6% across years) fractions. Broadcasted poultry manure decreased the overall initial quality of HV-dominated litters and increased the overall initial quality of RYE-dominated litters. Across all HV:RYE biomass proportions with or without poultry manure, chemical changes during litter decay were related to proportional mass loss. Therefore, the relative decrease in carbohydrates and the concomitant increase in holo-cellulose and lignin fractions were more pronounced for fast decomposing litter types, i.e., litters dominated by HV rather than RYE. While our results suggest possible convergence of litter C:N ratios, initial differences in litter chemistry neither converged nor diverged. Therefore, we conclude that the initial chemistry of litter before decomposition exerts a strong control on its chemical composition throughout the decay continuum., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.)

Agricultural poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) and γ-PGA super absorbent polymer (SAP) are two forms of γ-PGA applied in agriculture. Different quantities of γ-PGA and γ-PGA SAP (40 kg/hm2, 80 kg/hm2, 120 kg/hm2 and 160 kg/hm2) were applied to the soil in order to investigate their effects on the microenvironment of soil root zone and the yield of winter wheat. The soil water content increased with increasing amounts of γ-PGA SAP. The content of nitrate nitrogen and ammonium nitrogen increased with the increasing amounts of γ-PGA, while γ-PGA SAP significantly increased the content of ammonium nitrogen. The number of soil microorganisms and soil enzyme activities in the root zone increased with the addition of γ-PGA and γ-PGA SAP. The yield of winter wheat increased with the addition of γ-PGA or γ-PGA SAP, but the increasing rate decreased when the amount of γ-PGA and γ-PGA SAP exceeded 80 kg/hm2, with increases of 5.95% and 6.77% compared to the control group, respectively. The addition of γ-PGA significantly increased the protein content of wheat grains, and the WUE increased with increasing amounts of γ-PGA and γ-PGA SAP., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Guo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

One of the biggest challenges to be addressed in world agriculture is low nitrogen (N) use efficiency (<40%). To address this issue, researchers have repeatedly underlined the need for greater emphasis on the development and promotion of energy efficient, and environmentally sound novel fertilizers, in addition to improved agronomic management to augment nutrient use efficiency for restoring soil fertility and increasing farm profit. Hence, a fixed plot field experiment was conducted to assess the economic and environmental competency of conventional fertilizers with and without nano-urea (novel fertilizer) in two predominant cropping systems viz., maize-wheat and pearl millet-mustard under semi-arid regions of India. Result indicates that the supply of 75% recommended N with conventional fertilizer along with nano-urea spray (N75PK+nano-urea) reduced the energy requirement by ~8-11% and increased energy use efficiency by ~6-9% over 100% nitrogen through prilled urea fertilizer (business as usual). Furthermore, the application of N75PK+ nano-urea exhibited ~14% higher economic yields in all the crops compared with N50PK+ nano-urea. Application of N75PK+nano-urea registered comparable soil N and dehydrogenase activities (35.8 μg TPF g-1 24 hrs-1 across all crops) over the conventional fertilization (N100PK). This indicates that application of foliar spray of nano-urea with 75% N is a soil supportive production approach. More interestingly, two foliar sprays of nano-urea curtailed nitrogen load by 25% without any yield penalty, besides reducing the greenhouse gases (GHG) emission from 164.2 to 416.5 kg CO2-eq ha-1 under different crops. Therefore, the application of nano-urea along with 75% N through prilled urea is an energy efficient, environmentally robust and economically feasible nutrient management approach for sustainable crop production., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Upadhyay et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Nowadays, there has been a rapid expansion of tea plantations in the mountainous areas of southwest China. However, little research has focused on the pollution problems caused by the losses of nitrogen and phosphorus from tea plantations in this area. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted using the runoff plots in situ monitoring method following farmers' conventional management from 2018 to 2020 in Guizhou Province, southwest China. The characteristics of nitrogen and phosphorus losses from tea plantation in the mountainous area were clarified, and the effect of rainfall intensity on the nitrogen and phosphorus losses were explored. 298 natural rainfall events with a total rainfall of 2258 mm were observed during the 2-year observation period, and erosive rainfall accounted for 78.1% of the total rainfall. The total surface runoff amount was 72 mm, and the surface runoff coefficient was 3.19%. The total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations in the surface runoff ranged from 0.68 to 14.86 mg·L-1 and 0.18 to 2.34 mg·L-1, respectively. The TN and TP losses from tea plantations were 1.47 kg N ha-1 yr-1 and 0.210 kg P ha-1 yr-1. Rainfall intensity directly and significantly affected the surface runoff and nitrogen and phosphorus loss. Where 72.6% of the cumulative rainfall, 92.5% of the total surface runoff amounts, 87.4% of total nitrogen loss, and 90.5% of total phosphorus loss were observed in rainfall events above 10 mm. Taken together, the results provide scientific guidance for quantifying the characteristics of nutrient loss in subtropical mountain tea plantations., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Huang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Thermophilic composting is a promising soil and waste management approach involving diverse micro and macro-organisms, including eukaryotes. Due to sub-optimal amounts of nutrients in manure, supplemental feedstock materials such as Lantana camara, and Tithonia diversifolia twigs are used in composting. These materials have, however, been reported to have antimicrobial activity in in-vitro experiments. Furthermore, the phytochemical analysis has shown differences in their complexities, thus possibly requiring various periods to break down. Therefore, it is necessary to understand these materials' influence on the biological and physical-chemical stability of compost. Most compost microbiome studies have been bacterial-centric, leaving out eukaryotes despite their critical role in the environment. Here, the influence of different green feedstock on the fungal and non-fungal eukaryotic community structure in a thermophilic compost environment was examined. Total community fungal and non-fungal eukaryotic DNA was recovered from triplicate compost samples of four experimental regimes. Sequencing for fungal ITS and non-fungal eukaryotes; 18S rDNA was done under the Illumina Miseq platform, and bioinformatics analysis was done using Divisive Amplicon Denoising Algorithm version 2 workflow in R version 4.1. Samples of mixed compost and composting day 84 recorded significantly (P<0.05) higher overall fungal populations, while Lantana-based compost and composting day 84 revealed the highest fungal community diversity. Non-fungal eukaryotic richness was significantly (P< 0.05) more abundant in Tithonia-based compost and composting day 21. The most diverse non-fungal eukaryotic biome was in the Tithonia-based compost and composting day 84. Sordariomycetes and Holozoa were the most contributors to the fungal and non-fungal community interactions in the compost environment, respectively. The findings of this study unravel the inherent influence of diverse composting materials and days on the eukaryotic community structure and compost's biological and chemical stability., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Matheri et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Limited information exists on mercury concentrations and environmental drivers of mercury bioaccumulation in high latitude terrestrial carnivores. Spatial patterns of mercury concentrations in wolverine (Gulo gulo, n = 419) were assessed across a 1,600,000 km2 study area in relation to landscape, climate, diet and biological factors in Arctic and boreal biomes of western Canada. Hydrogen stable isotope ratios were measured in wolverine hair from a subset of 80 animals to assess the spatial scale for characterizing environmental conditions of their habitat. Habitat characteristics were determined using GIS methods and raster datasets at two scales, the collection location point and a 150 km radius buffer, which was selected based on results of a correlation analysis between hydrogen stable isotopes in precipitation and wolverine hair. Total mercury concentrations in wolverine muscle ranged >2 orders of magnitude from 0.01 to 5.72 μg/g dry weight and varied geographically, with the highest concentrations in the Northwest Territories followed by Nunavut and Yukon. Regression models at both spatial scales indicated diet (based on nitrogen stable isotope ratios) was the strongest explanatory variable of mercury concentrations in wolverine, with smaller though statistically significant contributions from landscape variables (soil organic carbon, percent cover of wet area, percent cover of perennial snow-ice) and distance to the Arctic Ocean coast. The carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of wolverine muscle suggested greater mercury bioaccumulation could be associated with feeding on marine biota in coastal habitats. Landscape variables identified in the modelling may reflect habitat conditions which support enhanced methylmercury transfer to terrestrial biota. Spatially-explicit estimates of wet atmospheric deposition were positively correlated with wolverine mercury concentrations but this variable was not selected in the final regression models. These landscape patterns provide a basis for further research on underlying processes enhancing methylmercury uptake in high latitude terrestrial food webs., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Peraza et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Disturbances to forested watersheds often result in increases of nutrients and light to nearby streams. Such changes are generally expected to produce a shift to a more autotrophic aquatic ecosystem, with measurable increases in algae, and associated implications for food webs and fisheries. Although this paradigm is widely established, results from our 10-year study (2007-2016) in 12 headwater streams and four sites downstream in the Trask River Watershed (Oregon, USA), did not concur. In 2012, one watershed was thinned, three were clearcut harvested with variable buffers and three with uniform riparian buffers. After harvest, light to the stream surface significantly increased at the three watersheds with variable buffers while dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) significantly increased in all of the clearcut harvested streams. Despite the increase in DIN and light, algal standing stocks and chlorophyll a concentrations did not significantly increase. The common assumption of increased autotrophic responses in stream food webs following increases of nitrogen and light was not supported here. We postulate the co-limitation of nutrients, driven by low phosphorus concentrations, which unlike DIN did not increase post-harvest, and the characteristics of the algal community, which were dominated by low light adapted diatoms rather than green algae, contributed to our findings of no responses for standing stocks of epilithic algae or concentrations of chlorophyll a. The inclusion of multiple statistical analyses provided more certainty around our findings. This study documents responses to current forest practices and provides cautionary information for management and restoration activities aiming to increase fish abundance and standing stocks by opening riparian canopies and adding nutrients., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.)

The soft rock in Mu Us Sandy Land has rich resources and high content of clay minerals. The combination of soft rock with sand can play a certain role in sand fixation and promote the green development of ecological environment. In this paper, the aeolian sandy soil in Mu Us Sandy was taken as the research object, and it was mixed with soft rock to form composite soil. The four volume ratios of soft rock to sand were respectively 0:1, 1:5, 1:2 and 1:1. And CK, P1, P2 and P3 were used to represent the above four volume ratios in turn. By means of quantitative fluorescent PCR and high throughput sequencing, 16S rRNA gene abundance and community structure were investigated. The results showed that the soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents in 0-30cm soil layer were higher. Compared with CK, the SOC of P2 was improved by 112.77% and that of P1 was 88.67%. The content of available phosphorus (AP) and available potassium (AK) was higher in 30-60cm soil layer, and P3 was more effective. The abundance of 16S rRNA gene in the mixed soil bacteria ranged from 0.03×109 to 0.21×109 copies g-1 dry soil, which was consistent with the changes of nutrients. Under different soil layers, the three dominant bacteria in the mixed soil were the same, namely Phylum Actinobacteriota, Phylum Proteobacteria and Phylum Chloroflexi, and there were more unique genera in each soil layer. Both bacteria ɑ and β diversity showed that the community structure of P1 and P3 in 0-30cm soil layers was similar, and that of P1 and P2 in 30-60cm soil layers was similar. AK, SOC, AN (ammonium nitrogen), TN and NN (nitrate nitrogen) were the main factors contributing to the differentiation of microbial community structure under different compound ratios and soil layers, and Phylum Actinobacteria has the largest correlation with nutrients. The results showed that the soft rock could improve the quality of sandy soil, and that the growth of microbial growth was dependent on the soil physicochemical characteristics. The results of this study will be helpful to the study of the microscopical theory for the control of the wind-blown sand and the ecology of the desert., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Guo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Edge effects resulting from adjacent land uses are poorly understood in agroecosystems yet understanding above and belowground edge effects is crucial for maintaining ecosystem function. The aim of our study was to examine impacts of land management on aboveground and belowground edge effects, measured by changes in plant community, soil properties, and soil microbial communities across agroecosystem edges. We measured plant composition and biomass, soil properties (total carbon, total nitrogen, pH, nitrate, and ammonium), and soil fungal and bacterial community composition across perennial grassland-annual cropland edges. Edge effects due to land management were detected both aboveground and belowground. The plant community at the edge was distinct from the adjacent land uses, where annual, non-native, plant species were abundant. Soil total nitrogen and carbon significantly decreased across the edge (P < 0.001), with the highest values in the perennial grasslands. Both bacterial and fungal communities were different across the edge with clear changes in fungal communities driven directly and indirectly by land management. A higher abundance of pathogens in the more heavily managed land uses (i.e. crop and edge) was detected. Changes in plant community composition, along with soil carbon and nitrogen also influenced the soil fungal community across these agroecosystems edges. Characterizing edge effects in agroecosystem, especially those associated with soil microbial communities, is an important first step in ensuring soil health and resilience in these managed landscapes., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Aguiar et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Intercropping green manure (GM) may be a good solution to the problems of acid soil in tropical plantations. Soil organic nitrogen (No) may change due to the application of GM. A three-year field experiment was conducted to determine the effect of different utilization patterns of Stylosanthes guianensis GM on soil No fractions in a coconut plantation. Three treatments were set: no GM intercropping (CK), intercropping and mulching utilization pattern (MUP), and intercropping and green manuring utilization pattern (GMUP). The content dynamics of soil total N (TN) and soil No fractions including of non-hydrolysable N (NHNo) and hydrolyzable N (HN) in the cultivated soil layer was examined. The results showed that after three years of intercropping, the TN content of the MUP and GMUP treatment was 29.4% and 58.1% respectively higher (P < 0.05) than those of the initial soil, and the No fractions content of GMUP and MUP treatment was 15.1%-60.0% and 32.7%-111.0% higher (P < 0.05) than those of the initial soil. The further results indicated that after three years of intercropping, compared with CK, GMUP and MUP could increase the content of TN by 32.6% and 61.7% respectively, and No fractions content was also increased by 15.2%-67.3% and 32.3%-120.3%% respectively (P < 0.05). The No fractions content of GMUP treatment was 10.3%-36.0% higher than those of MUP treatment (P < 0.05). These results indicated that intercropping Stylosanthes guianensis GM could significantly increase the soil N including of the TN an No fractions content, and the GMUP was more effective than MUP, therefore, GMUP is a better GM utilization pattern to improve the soil fertility and should be popularized in the tropical fruit plantation., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Huang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The content and composition of soil organic carbon (SOC) can characterize soil carbon storage capacity, which varies significantly between habitats. Ecological restoration in coal mining subsidence land forms a variety of habitats, which are ideal to study the effects of habitats on SOC storage capacity. Based on the analysis of the content and composition of SOC in three habitats (farmland, wetland and lakeside grassland) generated by different restoration time of the farmland which was destroyed by coal mining subsidence, we found that farmland had the highest SOC storage capacity among the three habitats. Both dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and heavy fraction organic carbon (HFOC) exhibited higher concentrations in the farmland (20.29 mg/kg, 6.96 mg/g) than in the wetland (19.62 mg/kg, 2.47 mg/g) or lakeside grassland (5.68 mg/kg, 2.31 mg/g), and the concentrations increased significantly over time, owing to the higher content of nitrogen in the farmland. The wetland and lakeside grassland needed more time than the farmland to recover the SOC storage capacity. The findings illustrate that the SOC storage capacity of farmland destroyed by coal mining subsidence could be restored through ecological restoration and indicate that the recovery rate depends on the reconstructed habitat types, among which farmland shows great advantages mainly due to the nitrogen addition., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Zhao et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Little information is known on whether carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) immobilization is synchronized in different sizes of aggregates under different agricultural management practices. Carbon and N concentrations and the C/N ratios in different sizes of aggregates down to 40 cm depth were determined after long-term application of chemical fertilizers combined with manure or without manure in a wheat-rice cropping system. Manure application usually produced significantly (P < 0.05) higher C and N concentrations and lower C/N ratios in bulk soil and in different sizes of aggregates down to 20 cm depth than the other treatments, and the 1.5 MNPK treatment at 0-10 cm depth had the highest SOC concentration of 26.3 g/kg. The C and N concentrations in bulk soil and all aggregate fractions decreased markedly with increasing soil depth. Among water stable aggregates in all soil depths, the highest C (48.2-66.4%) and N (47.8-68.3%) concentrations as a percentage of SOC were found in the small macroaggregates (2000-250 μm, SM). Manure application significantly (P < 0.05) increased the mass and C and N concentrations of SM and SM fractions down to 20 depth. The mean C/N ratios of silt-clay within large and small macroaggregates (inter-SC) were 1.57 and 1.46 units lower than those of silt-clay particles, respectively, indicating that inter-SC had relative high N availability. Moreover, the C and N content of SM down to 40 cm depth tended to saturation with increasing C input rate. Overall, manure application effectively improved soil structure, SM were the dominant particles involved in soil C and N storage, and inter-SC were the main particles responsible for N availability., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Qiu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Nitrogen isotope ratio analysis (δ15N) of animal tissue is widely used in archaeology and palaeoecology to investigate diet and ecological niche. Data interpretations require an understanding of nitrogen isotope compositions at the base of the food web (baseline δ15N). Significant variation in animal δ15N has been recognised at various spatiotemporal scales and related to changes both in baseline δ15N, linked to environmental and climatic influence on the terrestrial nitrogen cycle, and animal ecology. Isoscapes (models of isotope spatial variation) have proved a useful tool for investigating spatial variability in biogeochemical cycles in present-day marine and terrestrial ecosystems, but so far, their application to palaeo-data has been more limited. Here, we present time-sliced nitrogen isoscapes for late Pleistocene and early Holocene Europe (c. 50,000 to 10,000 years BP) using herbivore collagen δ15N data. This period covers the Last Glacial-Interglacial Transition, during which significant variation in the terrestrial nitrogen cycle occurred. We use generalized linear mixed modelling approaches for interpolation and test models which both include and exclude climate covariate data. Our results show clear changes in spatial gradients of δ15N through time. Prediction of the lowest faunal δ15N values in northern latitudes after, rather than during, the Last Glacial Maximum is consistent with the Late Glacial Nitrogen Excursion (LGNE). We find that including climatic covariate data does not significantly improve model performance. These findings have implications for investigating the drivers of the LGNE, which has been linked to increased landscape moisture and permafrost thaw, and for understanding changing isotopic baselines, which are fundamental for studies investigating diets, niche partitioning, and migration of higher trophic level animals., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Reade et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Nitrate (NO3-1) leaching from soils results in the lower soil fertility, reduced crop productivity and increased water pollution. The effects of bentonite clay mixed with various nitrogen (N) fertilizers on NO3-1 leaching from sandy soils haven't been extensively studied. Therefore, the present lysimetric study determined NO3-1 leaching from bentonite [0, 2 and 4% (m/m)] treated sandy soil under three N sources (calcium nitrate [Ca(NO3)2], ammonium chloride [NH4Cl], and urea [CO(NH2)2] at the rate of 300 kg N ha-1). Results showed that bentonite markedly reduced NO3-1 release in the leachate, while 4% bentonite retained higher NO3 in the soil. The NO3-1 leaching from sandy soil varied with N sources as Ca(NO3)2 > NH4Cl > (CO(NH2)2. At early stages of leaching, higher concentrations of NO3-1 were detected in leachate with both NH4Cl and Ca(NO3)2, but leaching of NO3-1 increased with urea at later leaching stages. The amount of total NO3-1 retained in soil was conversely related to the amount of NO3-1 in the leachate. This study indicated that soil amendment with bentonite could efficiently mitigate NO3-1 leaching from sandy soil and hence prevent N fertilizer losses and groundwater pollution., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2022 Hussain et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

In response to the problems of low fertilizer application efficiency, poor operation quality, and uneven application of fertilizer by domestic tea garden trenching and fertilizing machines, an automatic depth-adjusting double screw trenching and fertilizing machine was designed. The machine uses a double spiral furrowing and fertilizer application method, which can complete the integrated operation of furrowing, fertilizer application, and mulching at one time. The key components of the machine such as the screw-type fertilizer discharger, trenching, and fertilizer application mechanism are designed using theoretical analysis, and the trenching depth is automatically adjusted through the hydraulic control system to maintain a consistent depth. A single-factor test and a quadratic regression rotary orthogonal test were conducted to select the diameter of the spiral fertilizer discharger, the rotational speed of the spiral fertilizer discharger, and the rotational speed of the trenching and fertilizer application mechanisms. Based on these tests, the fertilizer application performance of the fertilizer machine was evaluated, and a mathematical model of the fertilizer application volume and coefficient of variation was established. The influence of the test factors on the coefficient of variation was also analyzed. In the study, 58.36 and 480.35 r/min were found to be the optimal rotational speeds for spiral fertilizer discharge and trenching and fertilizer application, respectively, while 88.90 mm was found to be the optimal diameter for spiral fertilizer discharge. The coefficient of variation for the spiral fertilizer discharge was 3.95%, which meets the tea plantation's fertilizer application requirements., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2022 Zhan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

High nitrogen (N) input to soil can cause higher nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, that is, a higher N2O/(N2O+N2) ratio, through an inhibition of N2O reductase activity and/or a decrease in soil pH. We assumed that there were two mechanisms for the effects of N input on N2O emissions, immediate and long-term effect. The immediate effect (field applied fertilizer N) can be eliminated by decreasing the N input, but not the long-term effect (soil accumulated N caused by long-term fertilization). Therefore, it is important to separate these effects to mitigate N2O emissions. To this end, soil samples along a 0‒5.2 m profile were collected from a long-term N fertilization experiment field with two N application rates, that is, 600 kg N ha-1 year-1 (N600) and no fertilizer N input (N0). External N addition was conducted for each subsample in the laboratory incubation study to produce two additional treatments, which were denoted as N600+N and N0+N treatments. The results showed that the combined immediate and long-term effects led to an increase in the N2O/(N2O+N2) ratio by 6.8%. Approximately 32.6% and 67.4% of increase could be explained by the immediate and long-term effects of N input, respectively. Meanwhile, the long-term effects were significantly positively correlated to soil organic carbon (SOC). These results indicate that excessive N fertilizer input to the soil can lead to increased N2O emissions if the soil has a high SOC content. The long-term effect of N input on the N2O/(N2O+N2) ratio should be considered when predicting soil N2O emissions under global environmental change scenarios., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

This study evaluated in 2019-2021 the use of willow chips for compost production and its effect on Sinapis alba L. germination index and seedling growth. Peatlands and peat are of very important economic but above all environmental significance. The conservation of peatland resources is one of the most crucial future challenges. Composts and other forms of lignin-cellulosic biomass are potentially the best renewable alternative to peat in its economic use. Composted lignin-cellulosic biomass can replace peat and be used as a substrate for vegetable transplant production. The impact of modifying the willow lignin-cellulosic biomass composting process has not been well analysed. A compost experiment with willow biomass was conducted to study its effect on selected compost indexes (particle size structure in %, bulk density (kg m-3), and total nitrogen content). The quality assessment of the willow composts was determined after six months of composting process based on the N content and morphological characteristics of tested plant in vegetative chamber. Sinapis alba L. was germinated on a water extract made from willow compost using the following additives to willow biomasses: W0-without additives, WN-with the addition of nitrogen, WF-with the addition of mycelium, WNF-with the addition of nitrogen and mycelium. During the composting process, samples were taken after each mixing of the biomass pile to assess their maturity through the use of a bioassay. Willow biomass did not have a negative effect on biological evaluation parameters, and in some indicators, such as the length of embryonic roots in the VI period of the measurements, it was stimulating (61-84% longer in W0 and WF than in the control). The addition of nitrogen during the composting process, especially in the initial composting period, had a strong inhibitory effect., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Coal is the largest non-renewable energy as well as an important basic energy and industrial raw material. Thus, correctly understanding the molecular structure characteristics of coal has important theoretical value for realizing carbon neutralization. In this work, we clarified the molecular structure characteristics of anthracite, where the organic matter in anthracite was characterized and analyzed by industrial/elemental analysis, FTIR, XPS, XRD and solid 13C NMR. The ratio of bridge carbon to the perimeter carbon of anthracite was 0.38, and the degree of condensation in the aromatic structure was high. Nitrogen in coal primarily exists in the form of pyridine and pyrrole. Based on the information on functional group composition, the carbon skeleton structure, and surface element composition, a molecular structure model of Yangquan anthracite could be constructed, where the molecular formula was C208H162O12N4. This study may serve as a reference for researchers in this field to consult and refer to the construction ideas and methods of molecular structure models of different coal samples., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Soil organic carbon (SOC), a core soil quality indicator, is influenced by management practices. The objective of our 2012-2016 study was to elucidate the impact of gypsum, crop rotation, and cover crop on SOC and several of its biological indicators under no-till in Alabama (Shorter), Indiana (Farmland), and Ohio (Hoytville and Piketon) in the USA. A randomized complete block design in factorial arrangement with gypsum (at 0, 1.1, and 2.2 Mg/ha annually), rye (Secale cereal L.) vs no cover crop, and rotation (continuous soybean [Glycine max (L) Merr., SS] vs corn [Zea mays, L.]-soybean, both the CS and SC phases) was conducted. Composite soils were collected (0-15 cm and 15-30 cm) in 2016 to analyze microbial biomass C (SMBC), SOC, total N, active C, cold and hot-water extractable C, C and N pool indices (CPI and NPI), and C management index (CMI). Results varied for main effects of gypsum, crop rotation, and cover crop on SOC pools, total N, and SOC lability within and across the sites. Gypsum at 2.2 Mg/ha increased SMBC within sites and by 41% averaged across sites. Likewise, gypsum increased SMBC:SOC, active C, and hot-water C (as indicators of labile SOC) averaged across sites. CS rotation increased SOC, active C, CPI, and CMI compared to SS, but decreased SMBC and SMBC:SOC within and across sites. CPI had a significant relationship with NPI across all sites (R2 = 0.90). Management sensitive SOC pools that responded to the combined gypsum (2.2 Mg/ha), crop rotation (CS), and cover crop (rye) were SMBC, SMBC:SOC, active C, and CMI via SMBC. These variables can provide an early indication of management-induced changes in SOC storage and its lability. Our results show that when SOC accumulates, its lability has decreased, presumably because the SMBC has processed all readily available C into a less labile form., Competing Interests: No authors have competing interests.

Indian soils are inherently poor in quality due to the warm climate and erosion. Conversion of land uses like forests to croplands and faulty management practices in croplands further cause soil degradation. This study aimed to understand the extent of these impacts in a small representative part of eastern India, covering Himalayan terai and nearing alluvial plains. Soils were collected from (i) forests, (ii) croplands (under agricultural practices for more than 50-60 years) and (iii) converted lands (converted from forests to croplands or tea gardens over the past 15-20 years). Different soil quality indicators were assessed and soil quality index (SQI) was generated to integrate, scale and allot a single value per soil. Results indicated that continuous organic matter deposition and no disturbances consequence the highest presence of soil carbon pools, greater aggregation and maximum microbial dynamics in forest soils whereas high application of straight fertilizers caused the highest available nitrogen and phosphorus in cropland soils. The SQI scorebook indicated the best soil quality under forests ([Formula: see text] 0.532), followed by soils of converted land ([Formula: see text] 0.432) and cropland ([Formula: see text] 0.301). Comparison of the SQI spatial distribution with land use and land cover confirmed the outcome. Possibly practices like excessive tillage, high cropping intensity, no legume in crop rotations, cultivation of heavy feeder crops caused degraded soil quality in croplands. This study presented an example of soil quality degradation in India due to land use change and faulty management practices. Such soil degradation on a larger scale may affect future food security., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Sugarcane mill mud/filter cake is an activated sludge-like byproduct from the clarifier of a raw sugar production factory, where cane juice is heated to ≈90°C for 1-2 hr, after the removal of bagasse. Mill mud is enriched with organic carbon, nitrogen, and nutrient minerals; no prior report utilized 16S rRNA gene sequencing to characterize the microbial composition. Mill mud could be applied to agricultural fields as biofertilizer to replace or supplement chemical fertilizers, and as bio-stimulant to replenish microorganisms and organic carbon depleted by erosion and post-harvest field burning. However, mill mud has historically caused waste management challenges in the United States. This study reports on the chemical and microbial (16S rRNA) characteristics for mill muds of diverse origin and ages. Chemical signature (high phosphorus) distinguished mill mud from bagasse (high carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratio) and soil (high pH) samples of diverse geographical/environmental origins. Bacterial alpha diversity of all sample types (mill mud, bagasse, and soil) was inversely correlated with C/N. Firmicutes dominated the microbial composition of fresh byproducts (mill mud and bagasse) as-produced within the operating factory. Upon aging and environmental exposure, the microbial community of the byproducts diversified to resemble that of soils, and became dominated by varying proportions of other phyla such as Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Planctomyces. In summary, chemical properties allowed grouping of sample types (mill mud, bagasse, and soil-like), and microbial diversity analyses visualized aging caused by outdoor exposures including soil amendment and composting. Results suggest that a transient turnover of microbiome by amendments shifts towards more resilient population governed by the chemistry of bulk soil., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) plays a key role in regulating soil quality functions and ecosystem services. The objective of our study was to evaluate the impact of deforestation and subsequent land-use change on the SOC and total nitrogen (TN) concentration, quality, and lability under otherwise similar soil and environmental conditions. Geo-referenced composite soils (0 to 30 cm depth at 7.5 cm interval) sampled from agriculture, bioenergy plantations (Miscanthus x giganteus), Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), and wetland were analyzed for SOC, TN, active C (AC), humic- and fulvic acid (HA and FA), non-humic C (NH), E4: E6 ratio, humification indices (HI, HR, and DH), and carbon and nitrogen management indices (CPI, NPI, and CMI), compared to soils under protected forest as a control. Results showed that the CRP had the highest depth distribution and profile-wise stocks of SOC, TN, AC, and FA with respect to the lowest in agriculture upon conversion of forest. Moreover, the SOC and TN contents were significantly stratified in the CRP when compared to agriculture. While agriculture had the wider HA: FA ratios with highest HI and HR but lowest DH values, the CRP, in contrast, had the narrow HA: FA ratios with lowest HI but highest DH values, when compared to the forest. Spectral analyses have shown lower E4: E6 ratios under the forest when compared to both agriculture and the CRP; however, the later had significantly higher E4: E6 ratios than that of agriculture. The CPI, as measures of SOC accumulation or depletion, significantly decreased by 16% under agriculture but increased by 12% under the CRP. While the CMI, as measures of SOC accumulation or depletion and lability, with higher values under the CRP suggested a proportionally more labile SOC accumulation, in contrast, the smaller values under agriculture indicated a greater depletion of labile SOC over time. Moreover, the CRP may have favored a more labile SOC accumulation with higher proportions of aliphatic C compounds, whereas agriculture may have a SOC with high proportions of non-labile aromatic C compounds. Principal components analysis clearly separated and/or discriminated the land-use impacts on soil carbon pools and TN. Likewise, redundancy analysis of the relationship between measured soil parameters and land-use validated that the TOC, TN, FA, humin, and CPI were significantly impacted due to synergism among soil properties as positively influenced by the CRP upon conversion of agriculture., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Nutrient enrichment alters plant community structure and function at a global scale. Coastal plant systems are expected to experience increased rates of nitrogen and phosphorus deposition by 2100, caused mostly by anthropogenic activity. Despite high density of studies investigating connections between plant community structure and ecosystem function in response to nutrient addition, inconsistencies in system response based on the ecosystem in question calls for more detailed analyses of nutrient impacts on community organization and resulting productivity response. Here, we focus on nutrient addition impacts on community structure and organization as well as productivity of different lifeforms in a coastal grassland. We established long-term nutrient enrichment plots in 2015 consisting of control (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and nitrogen + phosphorus (NP) treatments. In 2017 we collected graminoid and forb productivity, root productivity, and community composition for each plot. We found no N x P interaction, but N enrichment was a significant main effect on productivity, highlighting N limitation in coastal systems. Importantly, nutrient enrichment treatments did not alter root productivity. However, all treatments caused significant differences in community composition. Using rank abundance curves, we determined that community composition differences were driven by increased dominance of nitrophilous graminoids, re-organization of subordinate species, and species absences in N and NP plots. Results of this study highlight how coastal grassland communities are impacted by nutrient enrichment. We show that community re-organization, increased dominance, and absence of critical species are all important mechanisms that reflect community-level impacts of nutrient enrichment in our coastal grassland site., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

The winter maize area is rapidly spreading in south India in response to rising demand from the poultry and fish feed industries due to the absence of major environmental constraints. Further farmers' are using the winter environment to expand maize area and production. Hence there is immense potential to increase the area under winter maize cultivation. There were no planned field experiments to explore and optimize the right time of sowing and quantity of fertilizer to be added previously due to the presence of negligible winter maize area. Farmers used to cultivate maize as per their choice of sowing time with the application of a quantity of fertilizer recommended for rainy season maize. There were no efforts made towards working on economic analysis including energy budgeting. And hence the investigation was conducted with the objective to explore the optimal planting period and fertilizer levels for winter maize through economic and energy budgeting. Planting windows (1st week of October, 2nd week of October, 3rd week of October, 4th week of October, and 5th week of October) and fertility levels (100 percent recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF), 150 percent RDF, and 200 percent RDF) were used as factors in Factorial Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. The present investigation revealed that significantly higher winter maize productivity was achieved from the first and second week of October planting along with the application of 200% RDF (recommended dose of fertilizer) followed by 150% RDF. Planting of winter maize during the first week of October recorded significantly higher grain yield (8786kg ha-1) and stover yield (1220 kg ha-1) and was found on par with sowing during the second week of October. Among fertility levels, significantly higher grain yield (8320 kg ha -1) and stover yield (1195 kg ha-1) was recorded with the application of 200% RDF and were found on par with the application of 150% RDF. Further interaction effect showed that higher dry matter production, more days for physiological maturity, higher accumulation of growing degree days, photothermal units, and heliothermal units were recorded from crops planted during the first and second week of October along with the application of either 200% or 150% RDF. However, higher nutrient use efficiency was recorded from the first and second week of October planted crop supplied with lower fertility level (100% RDF). Similarly, significantly higher net returns and gross returns, output energy, net energy, and specific energy were higher from crops planted during the first week of planting along with the application of 200% RDF. Whereas, energy use efficiency and energy productivity were higher with the first week of October planted crop applied with 100% RDF. From the overall interaction, it is recommended to plant winter maize during the first fortnight of October with the application of 150 percent RDF for sustaining higher maize productivity, energy output, and economics in the maize growing area of south India., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

In recent years, climate change has greatly affected rainfall and air temperature levels leading to a reduction in water resources in Southern Europe. This fact has emphasized the need to focus on the use of non-conventional water resources for agricultural irrigation. The reuse of treated wastewater (TWW) can represent a sustainable solution, reducing the consumption of freshwater (FW) and the need for mineral fertilisers. The main aim of this study was to assess, in a three-year period, the effects of TWW irrigation compared to FW on the biomass production of bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] plants and soil characteristics and to estimate the nutritional input provided by TWW irrigation. TWW was obtained by a constructed wetland system (CWs) which was used to treat urban wastewater. The system had a total surface area of 100 m2. An experimental field of bermudagrass was set up close to the system in a Sicilian location (Italy), using a split-plot design for a two-factor experiment with three replications. Results highlighted a high organic pollutant removal [five days biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5): 61%, chemical oxygen demand (COD): 65%] and a good efficiency in nutrients [total nitrogen (TN): 50%, total phosphorus (TP): 42%] of the CWs. Plants irrigated with TWW showed higher dry aboveground dry-weight (1259.3 kg ha-1) than those irrigated with FW (942.2 kg ha-1), on average. TWW irrigation approximately allowed a saving of 50.0 kg TN ha-1 year-1, 24.0 kg TP ha-1 year-1 and 29.0 kg K ha-1 year-1 on average with respect to commonly used N-P-K fertilisation programme for bermudagrass in the Mediterranean region. Soil salinity increased significantly (p ≤ 0.01) over the years and was detected to be higher in TWW-irrigated plots (+6.34%) in comparison with FW-irrigated plots. Our findings demonstrate that medium-term TWW irrigation increases the biomass production of bermudagrass turf and contributes to save significant amounts of nutrients, providing a series of agronomic and environmental benefits., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.