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Intensive tillage operations often disrupt soil structure and accelerate the decomposition of organic matter, resulting in negative long-term impacts on soil health. Thus, identifying sustainable tillage practices is key for enhancing soil nutrient cycling and improving soil biochemical and biological properties. This study evaluated the effects of five tillage modes on soil quality and ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) over three years in the North China Plain, where rotary tillage (RT) has degraded soil structure and hindered wheat yield increases. The treatments combined deep tillage (DT), RT, and shallow rotary tillage (SRT): (1) RT-RT-RT; (2) DT-RT-RT; (3) DT-RT-SRT; (4) DT-SRT-SRT; (5) DT-SRT-RT. Measurements included soil nutrients, microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen (C mic and N mic), enzyme activities, soil quality index (SQI), EMF, across 0–50 cm soil layers, as well as crop yields. We found that DT significantly improved various soil properties compared to continuous RT, thereby improving crop yield. In the first year of the cycle, DT increased available nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP), potassium (K), C mic , N mic , enzyme activities, SQI, and EMF in the 20–40 cm soil layer. These improvements persisted in the following two years. Compared to RT-RT-RT, the largest increases in SQI (13.0%–22.2%) and EMF (11.2%–126.9%) were found in the 0–30 cm layer under DT-SRT-RT. Random forest analysis identified C mic , AN, AP, C org, and N total as key EMF drivers. Meanwhile, wheat yield under DT-SRT-RT was 14.6% higher than under RT-RT-RT. These findings demonstrate that incorporating occasional DT enhances soil properties and crop yields, offering a sustainable strategy for cropping system management. [Display omitted] • Intermittent deep tillage increased microbial biomass and activity in subsoil. • Nutrient availability, microbial biomass and organic matter are key EMF drivers. • Intermittent deep tillage simultaneously increased soil quality, EMF, and crop yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water diversions can mitigate water scarcities by strategically reallocating water resources. Despite their benefits, these interventions may profoundly affect biodiversity and multiple ecological functions ("multifunctionality") within highly managed lake systems. However, the specific impact of such interventions on the relationship between biodiversity and multifunctionality remains elusive, which limits our grasp of how water regulation shapes the dynamics of managed lake ecosystems. In this study, we investigated the differences in biodiversity and ecological functions between periods with and without water regulation in a highly managed lake, and extended this analysis by calculating diversity and multi-diversity indices and assessing the ecosystem's multifunctionality, with the goal of improving our understanding of how water regulation affects the ecological integrity of such lakes. We found that the diversity and multi-diversity indices both decreased markedly during the regulation period, indicating a negative impact on biodiversity. Conversely, multifunctionality remained stable. To clarify these responses, we developed linear mixed-effects models that incorporated multi-diversity indices and multifunctionality. Our analysis uncovered a robust positive correlation between multi-richness and multifunctionality. However, this relationship weakened during the periods with water regulation. Finally, we established structural equation models based on trophic cascade theory to pinpoint the key biological groups that sustained multifunctionality. We found that plants and omnivorous fish were instrumental in supporting multifunctionality during the non-regulation period, whereas planktivorous fish played a crucial role during the regulation period. These findings significantly enhance our understanding of how water regulation influences both biodiversity and multifunctionality, and provide insights for future management of regulated lakes. • Water regulation decreased species diversity indices, but not multifunctionality. •Water regulation weakened the richness–multifunctionality relationship. •Water regulation may modify the key trophic groups that support multifunctionality. •Plants and omnivorous fish promoted multifunctionality outside regulation periods. •Planktivorous fish played a crucial role during regulation periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grazing exclusion is effective in restoring vegetation and ecological services in degraded grasslands within semi-arid regions. Variations in plant functional traits associated with the duration of grazing exclusion can indicate both ecological adaptability of plants and restoration processes of ecosystems. However, research on ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) under grazing exclusion and restoration mechanisms mediated by plant functional traits is relatively limited. In this study, we calculated EMF based on plant species diversity, above-ground biomass (AGB), below-ground biomass (BGB), storages of soil organic carbon (TSOC), soil nitrogen (TSN), and soil phosphorus (TSP) in grasslands under varying durations of grazing exclusion in the semi-arid Songnen Plain, China, and investigated the trait-based pathways involved in forming EMF. The findings revealed irregular fluctuations in plant species diversity, while AGB, TSOC, TSN, and TSP exhibited a linear increase with grazing exclusion duration. Additionally, BGB initially increased but experienced a slight decline over the 17 years of grazing exclusion (GE17). Notably, EMF peaked at 0.778 in GE17 site. In particular, the proportions of AGB and TSOC in the EMF were higher in grazing exclusion sites than that in grazing site. Leaf area (LA) and leaf weight (LW) were lowest in grazing site and highest in GE17 site. Redundancy analysis indicated that the plant functional traits, including LA, leaf nitrogen content (LNC), and LW, collectively explained a substantial proportion of the variance (70.85%) in ecosystem function indicators. Structural equation modelling analysis revealed a direct impact of grazing exclusion on EMF (P < 0.05). However, EMF was remarkably and directly affected by the AGB (P < 0.01) that regulated by the trade-off between LW and LNC. In addition, the synergy between LW and LA had an impact on TSP (P < 0.01), and further enhance EMF (P < 0.05). These findings prominently emphasize the advantageous outcomes of proper grazing exclusion concerning the functional aspects of degraded grasslands. Moreover, they persuasively validate the crucial significance of plant functional traits in relation to the enhancement of EMF. Consequently, this study is capable of providing valuable information for revealing multiple driven mechanisms of grassland EMF in the semi-arid regions. • Aboveground biomass and soil functions increased with grazing exclusion duration. • Ecosystem multifunctionality peaked at the 17th year after grazing exclusion. • Leaf area, weight, and nitrogen were the most important traits influencing functions. • Synergy and trade-off between functional traits enhanced ecosystem multifunctionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Afforestation is expected to contribute to mitigate global change by promoting carbon stocks and multiple ecosystem services. However, the success of plantations may be limited by the availability of soil nutrients. This is especially critical for plantations in tropical ecosystems which are known to be nutrient poor ecosystems. Enhanced rock weathering (ERW) represents a promising strategy for improving soil health and carbon sequestration in such ecosystems. We added wollastonite skarn, a calcium silicate rock, to soils in a rubber plantation in Yunnan, China, as part of an ERW strategy aimed at promoting soil functioning and biodiversity. Statistical significance was determined using a linear mixed-effects model, with p-values indicating the level of significance. The addition of wollastonite skarn significantly enhanced key ecosystem functions related to carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, silicon, biodiversity, and pathogen control. However, it did not significantly affect soil enzyme activity. Some of these responses to the addition of wollastonite skarn may be associated with an increase in soil pH. Microbial network complexity played a critical role in explaining the changes in ecosystem multifunctionality in response to ERW, through both direct and indirect pathways. Our findings suggest that ERW is a viable strategy for improving soil health and ecosystem resilience in tropical plantations, which are limited in nutrients. Thus, ERW has implications for carbon management and climate change mitigation. • Investigated the effects of Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) on ecosystem multifunctionality in tropical plantations. • ERW boosted carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and silicon cycles and improved pathogen control. • Soil pH changes and microbial network complexity drove improved ecosystem multifunctionality. • ERW-induced microbial diversity changes had minimal effects on ecosystem multifunctionality. • The study highlights ERW's role in improving soil health and resilience in tropical forest ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keystone taxa are significant within ecosystem multifunctionality, as certain species fulfil essential functions such as recycling soil nutrients, promoting plant growth, influencing biogeochemical processes, and contributing to human health maintenance. However, there are still gaps regarding the relationship between microbial communities in volcanic rhizospheric soil and ecosystem multifunctionality. As a result, in this research, we employed Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing to analyse the microbial community composition of rhizospheric soil from volcanic S. viridis. Compared with non-volcanic areas, volcanic soils have higher fungal alpha diversity and the absolute abundance of bacteria (16S gene copies) showed significant variation between the two successions (P < 0.0001). The network analysis further demonstrated that the microbial diversity in non-volcanic regions surpassed that of the volcanic area. The volcanic fungi network has more nodes and edges, is more complex than non-volcanic areas (Nodes: 425 vs. 770; Edges: 21844 vs. 74532), and more rhizosphere growth-promoting bacteria are enriched. Regression analysis and correlation networks showed that fungal communities were more closely associated with ecosystem multifunctionality than bacteria. This study lays the groundwork for examining the microbial keystone taxa in the rhizosphere of volcanic plants and offers valuable insights into the multifaceted functions of plant rhizospheric soil ecosystems. [Display omitted] • Volcanic soils have more keystone taxa. • Volcanic soils have higher fungal alpha diversity. • Volcanic soils had less SOC and lower cbbLR content than non-volcanic soils. • Fungal communities have more core microbes and are more closely related to EMF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contribution of biodiversity to supporting ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) is well established in natural ecosystems. However, the effects of multidimensional understory diversity, such as taxonomic diversity (TD), functional diversity (FD), and phylogenetic diversity (PD), on EMF remain largely unknown in plantations. Here, we investigated the TD, FD, PD, and EMF in plantations (Pinus tabuliformis, Robinia pseudoacacia, Platycladus orientalis) and natural forests (Quercus wutaishanica) on the Loess Plateau and examined the effects of stand structure, topography, and understory multidimensional understory diversity on EMF. The results showed that on the Loess Plateau, plantations had lower TD and PD than natural forests. However, the differences in FD between plantations and natural forests were nonsignificant. Natural forests were associated with higher EMF than plantations, except R. pseudoacacia , which performed better in N cycling function and water conservation. In general, EMF was positively correlated to TD, PD, and community-weighted means (CWM, represents the first principal component axis composed of eight leaf traits: leaf area, leaf dry matter content, leaf thickness, specific leaf area, leaf water content, leaf nitrogen content, leaf phosphorus content, and leaf carbon content). In contrast, EMF was negatively correlated to FD. In particular, CWM, FD, and PD mainly affected the N and P cycling, water conservation, and productivity of plantations. The structural equation models indicated that forest stand structure had a direct influence on EMF, while both forest stand structure and topography had an indirect influence on EMF through their effects on multidimensional understory plant diversity. [Display omitted] • Forest conversion reduced understory diversity and ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF). • Understory diversity affected N, P cycling, water conservation, and productivity. • Stand structure and topography regulated EMF by influencing understory diversity. • Stand structure was the most important driving factors affecting the EMF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetation degradation caused by intense human disturbances poses a significant challenge to the preservation and improvement of ecosystem functions and services in the karst region of southwest China. Soil microorganisms are major regulators of ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF). Currently, there is a dearth of knowledge regarding the effects of vegetation degradation on soil microbial communities and their corresponding multiple ecosystem functions in karst regions. In this study, we selected the vegetation degradation sequences of second natural forest (NF), agroforestry (AS) and cropland (CL) to investigate the diversity of bacterial, fungal and protistan communities, and their hierarchical co-occurrence network, and EMF to explore the relationships between them. Compared to the NF, the carbon cycling index, nitrogen cycling index, soil water regulation power, and the EMF were significantly decreased by 8.2%–50.6%, 48.7%–86.8%, 19.8%–24.5%, and 31.4%–69.5% in the AS and CL, respectively. The development of EMF can be explained by the fungal, protistan and microbial hierarchical β-diversity, as well as the complexity (e.g. degree) of microbial hierarchical interactions during the process of vegetation degradation. Notably, correlations between the abundances of sensitive amplicon sequence variants (sASVs) for different karst vegetation types and EMF varied in distinct network modules, being positive in module 1 and negative in module 2. Moreover, the relative abundance of keystone taxa in fungal and protistan communities provided greater contributions to EMF than the bacterial communities. Additionally, random forest modeling showed that carbon and nitrogen sources, and soil water content, and trace elements (e.g. exchangeable magnesium, iron, manganese, and zinc) were identified as key driving factors of the EMF. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that vegetation degradation obviously alters soil microbial diversities and hierarchical interactions, emphasizing their key role in maintaining ecosystem functions and health in karst regions. [Display omitted] • Fungal and protistan α diversities had no impact on soil ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF). • Karst vegetation degradation enhanced the complexity of soil microbial hierarchical networks. • Leotiomycetes, Eurotiomycetes and Variosea classes are important in regulating EMF during vegetation degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microplastics (MPs) are widely identified as emerging hazards causing considerable eco-toxicity in terrestrial ecosystems, but the impacts differ in different ecosystem functions among different chemical compositions, morphology, sizes, concentrations, and experiment duration. Given the close relationships and trade-offs between plant and soil systems, probing the "whole ecosystem" instead of individual functions must yield novel insights into MPs affecting terrestrial ecosystems. Here, a comprehensive meta-analysis was employed to reveal an unambiguous response of the plant-soil-microbial system to MPs. Results showed that in view of plant, soil, and microbial functions, the general response patterns of plant and soil functions to MPs were obviously opposite. For example, polyethylene (PE) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) MPs highly increased plant functions, while posed negative effects on soil functions. Polystyrene (PS) and biodegradable (Bio) MPs decreased plant functions, while stimulating soil functions. Additionally, low-density polyethylene (LDPE), PE, PS, PVC, Bio, and granular MPs significantly decreased soil microbial functions. These results clearly revealed that MPs alter the equilibrium of the plant-soil-microbial system. More importantly, our results further revealed that MPs tended to increase ecosystem multifunctionality, e.g., LDPE and PVC MPs posed positive effects on ecosystem multifunctionality, PE, PS, and Bio MPs showed neutral effects on ecosystem multifunctionality. Linear regression analysis showed that under low MPs size (<100 µm), ecosystem multifunctionality was gradually reduced with the increased size of MPs. The response of ecosystem multifunctionality showed a concave shape pattern along the gradient of experimental duration which was lower than 70 days. More importantly, there was a threshold (i.e., 5% w/w) for the effects of MPs concentration on ecosystem multifunctionality, i.e., under low concentration (< 5% w/w), ecosystem multifunctionality was gradually increased with the increased concentration of MPs, while ecosystem multifunctionality was gradually decreased under high concentration (i.e., > 5% w/w). These findings emphasize the importance of studying the effects of MPs on plant-soil-microbial systems and help us identify ways to reduce the eco-toxicity of MPs and maintain environmental safety in view of an ecology perspective. [Display omitted] • MPs posed opposite effects on plant and soil functions. • Soil microbial functions endured more severe damage from MPs. • MPs are likely to cause positive effects on ecosystem multifunctionality. • Impacts of MPs on EMF are type, size, concentration and duration dependency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical ecological areas (CEAs), as important regions for biodiversity and ecosystem functions, are crucial for ecological conservation and environmental management at regional and global scales. However, the methodology and framework of CEA identification have not been well established. In this study, a comprehensive CEA identification method was developed based on the ecosystem multifunctionality-stability-integrity framework by using K-means clustering, critical slowing down theory and possible connectivity. Taking the Yellow River basin (YRB) as a case study, our results showed that ecosystem multifunctionality gradually decreased from the southeast to northwest. A decrease in ecosystem stability was observed since 2017 and was mainly due to the increased impacts of human activities and urbanization within the 10–20 km distance threshold from the ecosystem. Based on the proposed framework, 15.13% of the YRB was identified as CEAs with reliable estimates, and most areas were distributed in the Three-River Headwaters, Qinling and Taihang Mountains. Moreover, urbanization and precipitation were found to be the dominant environmental factors affecting the CEA distribution in the YRB. Our results indicated that the proposed framework could provide a comprehensive approach for CEA identification and useful implications for ecological conservation and environmental management. [Display omitted] • An ecosystem multifunctionality-stability-integrity framework was developed to identify CEAs. • A total of 15.13% of the Yellow River basin was identified as CEAs with reliable estimates. • Ecosystem multifunctionality gradually decreased from southeast to northwest. • Urbanization could affect ecosystem stability within a 10–20 km distance threshold. • Urbanization and precipitation were dominant factors affecting CEA distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 'Grain-for-Green' program in China provides a valuable opportunity to investigate whether spontaneous restoration can reverse the deterioration of grassland ecosystem functions. Previous studies have focused on individual ecosystem functions, but the response of and mechanisms driving variation in ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) during restoration are poorly understood. Here, we quantified EMF using productivity, nutrient cycling, and water regulation functions along abandoned croplands in a recovery chronosequence (5, 15 and 20 years) and in natural grasslands in the desert steppe and typical steppe. We also analyzed the effects of plant and microbial diversity and an abiotic factor (soil pH) on EMF. Our results showed that EMF increased gradually concomitant with recovery time, shifting toward EMF values comparable to those in natural grasslands in both desert and typical steppe. Similar results were found for the productivity function, the water regulation function, and soil organic carbon. However, even after 20 years of restoration, EMF did not reach the levels observed in natural grasslands. Structural equation modeling showed that the driving mechanisms of EMF differed between the two steppe types. Specifically, in the desert steppe, plant diversity, especially the diversity of perennial graminoids and perennial herbs, had a positive effect on EMF, but in the typical steppe, soil bacterial diversity had a negative effect, while soil pH had a positive effect on EMF. Our results demonstrated that spontaneous grassland restoration effectively enhanced EMF, and emphasized the importance of biodiversity and soil pH in regulating EMF during secondary succession. This work provides important insights for grassland ecosystem management in arid and semi-arid regions. A conceptual framework of EMF recovery patterns and driving mechanisms during secondary succession in desert steppe and typical steppe. In the desert steppe, spontaneous restoration promoted EMF by increasing plant diversity. By contrast, spontaneous restoration promoted EMF by inhibiting soil microbial diversity but increasing soil pH in the typical steppe. Solid green arrows refer to positive effects and dashed red arrows refer to negative effects. PD: plant diversity; BD: bacterial diversity. [Display omitted] • Ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) increased significantly with secondary succession. • Twenty years is not sufficient for the restoration of EMF both in desert steppe and typical steppe. • Plant diversity had positive effects on the recovery of EMF in desert steppe. • In the typical steppe, bacterial diversity had negative effects on EMF recovery, but neutral pH had positive effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystem responses to changes in species diversity are often studied individually. However, changes in species diversity can simultaneously influence multiple interdependent ecosystem functions. Therefore, an important challenge is to determine when and how changes in species diversity that influence one function will also drive changes in other functions. By providing the underlying structure of species interactions, ecological networks can quantify connections between biodiversity and multiple ecosystem functions. Here, we review parallels in the conceptual development of biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) and food web theory (FWT) research. Subsequently, we evaluate three common principles that unite these two research areas by explaining the patterns, concentrations, and direction of the flux of nutrients and energy through the species in diverse interaction webs. We give examples of combined BEF-FWT approaches that can be used to identify vulnerable species and habitats and to evaluate links that drive trade-offs between multiple ecosystems functions. These combined approaches reflect promising trends towards better management of biodiversity in landscapes that provide essential ecosystem services supporting human well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]