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The COVID‐19 pandemic is a major shock to society in terms of health and economy that is affecting both UK and global food and nutrition security. It is adding to the 'perfect storm' of threats to society from climate change, biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation, at a time of considerable change, rising nationalism and breakdown in international collaboration. In the UK, the situation is further complicated due to Brexit. The UK COVID‐19Food andNutritionSecurity project, lasting one year, is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and is assessing the ongoing impact of COVID‐19 on the four pillars of food and nutrition security: access, availability, utilisation and stability. It examines the food system, how it is responding, and potential knock on effects on the UK's food and nutrition security, both in terms of the cascading risks from the pandemic and other threats. The study provides an opportunity to place the initial lessons being learnt from the on‐going responses to the pandemic in respect of food and nutrition security in the context of other long‐term challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The plant Golgi apparatus is responsible for the processing of proteins received from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and their distribution to multiple destinations within the cell. Golgi matrix components, such as golgins, have been identified and suggested to function as putative tethering factors to mediate the physical connections between Golgi bodies and the ER network. Golgins are proteins anchored to the Golgi membrane by the C‐terminus either through transmembrane domains or interaction with small regulatory GTPases. The golgin N‐terminus contains long coiled‐coil domains, which consist of a number of α‐helices wrapped around each other to form a structure similar to a rope being made from several strands, reaching into the cytoplasm. In animal cells, golgins are also implicated in specific recognition of cargo at the Golgi.Here, we investigate the plant golgin Atgolgin‐84A for its subcellular localization and potential role as a tethering factor at the ER–Golgi interface. For this, fluorescent fusions of Atgolgin‐84A and an Atgolgin‐84A truncation lacking the coiled‐coil domains (Atgolgin‐84AΔ1‐557) were transiently expressed in tobacco leaf epidermal cells and imaged using high‐resolution confocal microscopy. We show that Atgolgin‐84A localizes to a pre‐cis‐Golgi compartment that is also labelled by one of the COPII proteins as well as by the tether protein AtCASP. Upon overexpression of Atgolgin‐84A or its deletion mutant, transport between the ER and Golgi bodies is impaired and cargo proteins are redirected to the vacuole. Lay Description: The Golgi apparatus is a specialised compartment found in mammalian and plant cells. It is the post office of the cell and packages proteins into small membrane boxes for transport to their destination in the cell. The plant Golgi apparatus consist of many separate Golgi bodies and is responsible for the processing of proteins received from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and their distribution to multiple destinations within the cell. Specialised proteins called golgins have been suggested to tether Golgi bodies and the ER. Here we investigate the plant golgin Atgolgin‐84A for its exact within the Golgi body and its potential role as a tethering factor at the ER‐Golgi interface. For this, we have fused Atgolgin‐84A with a fluorescent protein from jellyfish and we are producing this combination in tobacco leaf cells. This allows us to see the protein using laser microscopy. We show that Atgolgin‐84A localises to a compartment between the ER and Golgi that is also labelled by the tether protein AtCASP. When Atgolgin‐84A is produced in high amounts in the cell, transport between the ER and Golgi bodies is inhibited and proteins are redirected to the vacuole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serial block face imaging with the scanning electron microscope has been developed as an alternative to serial sectioning and transmission electron microscopy for the ultrastructural analysis of the three-dimensional organization of cells and tissues. An ultramicrotome within the microscope specimen chamber permits sectioning and imaging to a depth of many microns within resin-embedded specimens. The technology has only recently been adopted by plant microscopists and here we describe some specimen preparation procedures suitable for plant tissue, suggested microscope imaging parameters and discuss the software required for image reconstruction and analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical and biological soil stabilities (i.e. resistance and resilience) were measured on a range of arable farms across eastern Scotland under a range of management practices, with the objective of using a geographically restricted set of soils under similar land use to detect any underlying associations between soil stability, management factors and soil properties. Data were analysed using a combination of a stepwise fixed effects model selection within a linear mixed-model framework ( LMM) and neural network analysis using a Kohonen self-organising map ( KSOM). In general, physical and biological measures of stability were associated with both physical and biological soil properties, particularly bulk density, water retention characteristics, soil carbon and bacterial community structure. A strength of KSOM is its ability to fit more flexible models than the linear relationships of LMM. However, a weakness is that it does not have the ability of LMM to model the sampling design, which is likely to lead to overstating statistical significance. Consequently, KSOM identified more significant associations between soil properties and stability than LMM, while the latter identified significant associations at the between-farm level. The high-level land management decisions of farm type (conventional, organic, integrated), crop type or underlying soil type were not associated with stability at this regional scale, thus indicating that the effects of different management practices between farms were overridden by the soil properties on each farm. Management decisions on improving soil stability therefore need to be taken at the individual field scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A table of contents for volume 231 of "Journal of Microscopy" is presented.

The arable plant Capsella bursa-pastoris is phenotypically variable in many life history traits, particularly time from germination to flowering. The hypothesis was investigated that, associated with this variation, there are differences in traits that influence plant quality for insect herbivores. Significant within-species variation was found in plant growth, leaf surface characteristics and tissue nutrient composition among 21 accessions of Capsella. Short flowering time plants exhibited slow vegetative growth, relatively large shoot nitrogen content, high leaf hair densities and differences in phloem composition, compared with long flowering time plants. Insect herbivore response to distinctive trait combinations was assessed on a subset of seven accessions using the phloem-feeding aphids Aphis fabae and Myzus persicae. Variation in aphid performance was small but significant, with 15–25% fewer nymphs produced on plant variants that exhibited greater tissue water content and low tissue C:N ratio ( A. fabae) or on variants with less phloem nitrogen ( M. persicae). The differential responses exhibited by the two aphid species to the test accessions confirmed that quantifying intraspecific plant variation is a necessary first step in understanding plant functional diversity and its impact on consumers in arable systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extent of functional trait diversity is quantified for 157 different Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) medic (shepherd’s purse) accessions. These individuals encompass replicate progeny generated from seed of 53 different Capsella‘maternal lines’ that were isolated at random as they emerged from soil cores (used to estimate baseline seed bank numbers and weed diversity) at 34 different arable sites across the United Kingdom. The replicate progeny were subject to ex situ characterisation for traits determining life history and architecture. Seven leaf-type classes were identified and representative parents of each leaf type were distinguishable using four different simple sequence repeat markers. Life-history traits were only loosely associated with leaf shape, and cluster analysis grouped the accessions into three broad types: small plants that flowered early with intermediate reproductive output; large plants, with intermediate time to flowering and a high reproductive output; late-flowering plants, of intermediate size and low reproductive output. The most common leaf-type variants (83% of accessions) demonstrated a short time to flowering (ca. 70 days), while rarer variants included those that flowered after 140 days, accumulated more nitrogen and produced less seed: possibly representing advantageous and disadvantageous traits (respectively), in modern arable rotations. A wide trait variation was therefore found in Capsella bursa-pastoris despite decades of agricultural intensification, the range of time-to-flowering for C. bursa-pastoris being as broad the mean flowering times of the commoner annual and winter annual arable species. We propose the use of traits, rather than species, as the accounting unit to quantify functional biodiversity in arable systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of genetically modified herbicide-tolerant (GMHT) crops influences the abundance of weeds and some invertebrate groups because the associated herbicide regime contrasts with that of conventional systems. However, it is not clear to what extent these effects might be cumulative; should GMHT crops be grown continuously. In northern Europe, in the near future, this situation is most likely to apply to maize crops. Here, we consider the effects of continuous GMHT maize cropping on plant and invertebrate taxa using a split-field experiment. Half of each field was managed using GMHT and the other half with a conventional variety, with the treatments retained for two seasons. The treatment effects were broadly consistent with those found in the larger sample of non-continuous maize sites within the Farm Scale Evaluations. There was little evidence of effects being significantly more pronounced in the second year; any cumulative differences in above-ground biodiversity between GMHT and conventional cropping were too variable to be readily detected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural intensification has led to a systematic erosion of the biodiversity in arable ecosystems. Despite this, densities of plant species in the seedbank of arable fields are still sufficient to provide the potential for recovery of the arable flora and associated fauna. Identification of management practices to achieve this, while minimising negative effects of weed competition on crop yield, requires a mechanistic understanding of functional diversity in arable systems. However, a review of the ecological, physiological and genetic characteristics of 66 representative UK arable weed species revealed major gaps in this knowledge for even the most common species. Even less is known about the degree of variation between individuals within these species that contributes to overall levels of functional diversity. Classification of organisms into functional groups on the basis of species-level taxonomy is inadequate to describe the functional diversity of a system, since variability in a particular physiological trait can be as great between individuals within a species as between species. We therefore propose an individual based approach to examine the functional attributes of arable plants that affect resource acquisition, partitioning and energy transfer through the food web.Capsella(shepherd's purse) is proposed as a key species that is widespread, ecologically important, and physiologically and genetically diverse. Current understanding ofCapsellasystematics is therefore reviewed and a methodological approach is described that establishes a foundation for studies of biodiversity and function in arable systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary 1. Several genetically modified herbicide-tolerant (GMHT) crops have cleared most of the regulatory hurdles required for commercial growing in the United Kingdom. However, concerns have been expressed that their management will have negative impacts on farmland biodiversity as a result of improved control given by the new herbicide regimes of the arable plants that support farmland birds and other species of conservation value. 2. The Farm-Scale Evaluations (FSE) project is testing the null hypothesis that there is no difference between the management of GMHT varieties of beet, oilseed rape and maize and that of comparable conventional varieties in their effect on the abundance and diversity of arable plants and invertebrates. The FSE also aims to estimate the magnitude and consider the implications of any differences that are found. 3. The experimental design of the FSE is a randomized block, with two treatments allocated at random to half-fields. The target sample is around 60–75 fields for each crop, selected to represent variation of geography and intensity of management across Britain. The experimental crops are managed by commercial farmers as if under commercial conditions. 4. Biodiversity indicators have been selected from plants and terrestrial invertebrates to identify differences between crop management regimes that may result in important ecological changes over larger scales of space and time. Field sampling is at fixed points, mainly along transects from the field boundary, starting before the crop is sown and continuing into following crops. 5. Synthesis and applications. The FSE is best considered as an investigation into the effects of contrasting crop management regimes on farmland biodiversity, rather than a study of the effects of genetic modification. It could become a model for future studies of ecological effects of the way we use and manage agricultural land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AIMS: To analyse the research published in refereed nursing journals by Australian authors from 1995 to 2000. BACKGROUND: Analysis of the research topics and types of methodologies used by Australian nurse researchers has not been recently undertaken. The study was similar to an analysis of United Kingdom (UK) nursing research between 1988 and 1995 to allow comparison between the two countries. DESIGN: A quantitative approach analysed the research abstracts for the topic researched, source of data, location of data collection, paradigm and methodology used and funding source. RESULTS: A total of 509 articles from 11 generalist Australian and UK nursing journals were analysed. The highest numbers of articles were published in Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing and Journal of Advanced Nursing. The most popular topics were education of nurses (18.7%, n=95) and practice issues relating to patient care (15.3%, n=78). However, scant attention was paid to major Australian health issues. Most research was undertaken in the hospital setting (55.8%, n=247). Data were most often drawn from nurses themselves (40.7%, n=206), followed by patients (25.5%, n=129). Both quantitative (41%, n=203) and qualitative approaches (47%, n=230) were employed. A minority of studies acknowledged any funding (14.9%, n=76). CONCLUSIONS: Research findings need to be applied in practice to improve patient care. Nurse researchers need to publish their findings and align their research interests to meet national health priorities. They need to be involved in setting these health priorities to ensure that nursing has a place in health research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Aerenchyma formation in roots of maize (Zea mays L.) involves programmed death of cortical cells that is promoted by exogenous ethylene (1 µL L-1) or by endogenous ethylene produced in response to external oxygen shortage (3%, v/v). In this study, evidence that degeneration of the cell wall accompanies apoptotic-like changes previously observed in the cytoplasm and nucleus (Gunawardena et al. Planta 212, 205–214, 2001), has been sought by examining de-esterified pectins (revealed by monoclonal antibody JIM 5), and esterified pectins (revealed by monoclonal antibody JIM 7). In controls, de-esterified wall pectins were found at the vertices of triangular junctions between cortical cells (untreated roots). Esterified pectins in control roots were present in the three walls bounding triangular cell-to-cell junctions. After treatment with 3% oxygen or 1 µL L-1 ethylene, this pattern was lost but walls surrounding aerenchyma gas spaces became strongly stained. The results showed that cell wall changes commenced within 0·5 d and evidently were initiated by ethylene in parallel with cytoplasmic and nucleoplasmic events associated with classic intracellular processes of programmed cell death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hypothesis that inadequate rooting volume may reduce the growth stimulation by elevated CO2 in potted tree seedlings and saplings was tested experimentally and by surveying the literature. One-year-old cherry saplings were grown for one season in naturally lit growth chambers in eight combinations of CO2 concentration (ambient; ambient + 250 ppm) and root environment (four types). The latter included (1) moderately restrictive pot volume (4 l) in combination with two levels of fertilizer addition (1a, 1b); (2) 101 pots with total fertilizer content per pot as in treatment 1a, and (3) 20 l pots with five plants sharing five times the space and nutrient resources of treatment 1a. Plants were harvested in April, May, June. August and September. The overall mean effect of high CO2 on plant dry mass by the end of the season was +24 %. Interactive effects of root environments and CO2 concentrations on dry mass were not significant at the 5 % level, but repeated measurements of basal stem diameter of individual plants indicated a significant impact of root environment on the response to CO2. Overall growth enhancement by elevated CO2 did not differ significantly between harvests, but it tended to increase during the season in those root environments which restricted growth in ambient CO2 most strongly (1a and 3). The hypothesis was rejected for this experiment. Leaf area and stem height were not affected by any treatment. The variation of carbon allocation to roots and shoots with plant size was very similar in all treatments. Plants grew faster in elevated CO2 very early in the season, and this resulted in small but significant differences between seasonal patterns of biomass partitioning in ambient and elevated CO2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Making use of serial thin sections of conventionally fixed tissue we have constructed a model of the thylakoid system in a pre-granal, dividing chloroplast. The three-dimensional configuration of this plastid is compared with the thylakoid configurations seen in I μm thick sections of the zinc iodide-osmium impregnated tissue which were examined with a high voltage electron microscope. A comparison has also been made between the differential staining characteristics of the various membranous invaginations, vesicles and tubules which are frequently associated with the plastid envelope and which may play a part in development of the thylakoid system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An ultrastructural approach was used to study the effects of light and dark starvation on chloroplasts symbiotic in the mollusc Elysia viridis. Starvation for 27 days in a 16 h light/8 h dark photoperiod resulted in loss of starch grains and a gradual disintegration of the chloroplasts by a progressive increase in the inter-thylakoid spaces, resulting in the separation and degeneration of the photosynthetic membranes. To account for these observations a process of photodestruction is suggested. Chloroplasts in animals starved in total darkness for a corresponding period remained relatively intact, and showed a marked increase in the number of plastoglobuli per chloroplast. This increase in plastoglobuli may be a result of the normal ageing process of chloroplasts with a redundant photosynthetic apparatus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ultrastructure of chloroplasts in the frond of Codium fragile and in symbiotic association with the digestive cells of Elysia viridis is described. In the hepatopancreas the chloroplasts are always bounded by a host membrane and contaminant algal cytoplasm may be attached to the chloroplast envelope. The possibility that '`butterfly' shaped chloroplasts and chloroplasts with membranous baffles represent different forms of chloroplast division is discussed. The presence of non-Codium chloroplasts in the digestive cells of E. viridis is reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst plant cells are apparently equipped with all the necessary molecular machinery for receptor-mediated endocytosis, the physiological role of this process in these cells remains an enigma. In this article, we consider current opinions of endocytosis in plants and define some of the problems that have impeded progress in our understanding of the part played by endocytosis in the vesicle trafficking pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A monolayer depletion/adoptive immunization protocol that biased the immune response towards recognition of placental macrophage (pMO) antigens was established. BALB/c spleen cells immune to human pMO were adsorbed onto monolayers of the B-cell fine QIMR-WIL. Monolayer-depleted or unfractionated cells were transferred to irradiated recipients, which subsequently were restimulated with pMO then killed for hybridoma production. Screening of hybridomas revealed an increased proportion of pMO-specific hybridomas following transfer and fusion of monolayer-depleted cells. Two monoclonal antibodies (mAh), L9 and L21, which were generated through application of this protocol, are described. L9 recognized an antigen on cells within the villi in sections of term placenta and freshly isolated pMO. With time in culture, expression of this antigen decreased markedly. Macrophages, but no other cell type, in placental cell suspensions expressed this antigen. L9 failed to react with arty peripheral blood cells. Immunoprecipitation and SDS-PAGE analyses indicated that two proteins of molacular weight (MW) 40,000 and 43,000 were recognized by L9. Sections of term placenta and freshly isolated pMO failed to react with L21. After 2–3 days in culture, however, most macrophages expressed this antigen. L21 reacted weakly with peripheral monocytes and granulocytes but not other normal peripheral blood cells. Myeloid cell lines reacted strongly with this mAb only after activation with PMA. SDS-PAGE analyses of the L21 immunoprecipitate under non-reducing conditions revealed a single band of 61,000 MW, while two bands of 46,000 and 49,000 MW were detected under reducing conditions. Cellular distribution and molecular weight analyses indicated that the antigens recognized by these two mAb were apparently distinct from previously defined myeloid antigens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst the function and organization of the secretory machinery in eukaryotic cells exhibit basic similarities, the compartmentation of the endomembrane system can show significant differences between the fungal, plant and animal kingdoms. The use of the antibiotic brefeldin A (BFA) as an inhibitor of secretion in both animal and yeast cells has resulted in a remarkable advance in our understanding of the modes of action of vesicle shuttles between the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus and within the Golgi apparatus itself. It is now apparent that application of the drug to filamentous fungi and plants will also help unravel the workings of the secretory system in these organisms. In this paper we review recent progress in our laboratories on elucidating the effects of BFA on the morphology of the Golgi apparatus and compare these with recently published data on fungal and plant cells. Variation in the response to BFA are reported, which may not all be attributed to differences in drug concentration and time of treatment. These may reflect differences in cellular sensitivity or multiple sites of action of the drug, and the existence of a specific molecular target for BFA is questioned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coated vesicles are organelles frequently encountered in many plant cell types often in association with the plasma membrane, Golgi apparatus, partially coated reticulum and multivesicular bodies. They are readily identified by a characteristic cage or basket composed of interlocking triskelions of the protein clathrin which are bound to the surface of the vesicle membrane. Although their transport function has been well studied and characterized in mammalian systems, the possible importance of coated vesicles as transport organelles in plant cells is only just beginning to be explored. In this review, the authors describe the structure of higher plant coated vesicles and discuss their possible involvement in the endocytosis of marcromolecules, in exocytosis and in the intracellular transport of material between cytoplasmic compartments. Their possible role in maintaining the macromolecular composition of the plasma membrane whilst allowing recycling of excess lipid bilayer and their potential application as vehicles for the introduction of foreign macromolecules into plant cells are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immunoelectron microscopy using the anti-pectin monoclonal antibody JIM 7 confirmed earlier observations that pectin degradation is a primary event in the process of host cell wall breakdown during the development of chocolate spot disease (causal agent: Botrytis fabae (Sard.)) of broad bean. Close examination of infected and non-infected Vicia faba L.. leaves indicated a loss of JIM 7-labeling, and therefore, methyl-esterified pectin, from swollen walls of infected and contiguous epidermal cells. Modified mesophyll walls also possessed less methyl-esterified pectin than healthy walls. Enzymes which attack methyl-esterified pectin appeared to he most active in regions of host tissue close to sites of fungal infection. Ultrastructural studies using the enzyme, cellobiohydrolase conjugated to gold (CBH1-Au) revealed that the cellulose microfibrils of outer epidermal walls of non-infected V. faba leaf tissue were heavily masked by other components of the plant cell wall. Such material was most probably pectin because the cellulose microfibrils of swollen epidermal and modified mesophyll walls of infected host tissue were heavily labelled with CBH1-Au. These results were confirmed by double-labeling studies using JIM 7 and CBH1-Au. At early stages of the infection process, limited cellulose degradation was observed in infected leaf tissue. Double-labelling experiments using the monoclonal antibody BC-KH4 directed against Botrytis matrices and a marker for the plant cell wall (JIM 7 or CBH1-Au) confirmed previous observations that the fungal matrices extended through modified host walls and degenerate cytoplasm. It is suggested that the wall-modifying action of the pectin-degrading enzymes produced during the infection process might facilitate pervasion of matrix material associated with the infection process might facilitate pervasion of matrix material associated with the infection hyphae through host cell walls. ossible role(s) of such matrix material during the post-penetration rocesses of the V. faba-B. fabae relationship are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extracellular matrices associated with conidia and germ tubes of Botrytis fabae (Sard.) sporelings grown on Vicia faba L. leaves were clearly visualized by epi-fluorescence microscopy following immunolabelling with the monoclonal antibodies, BC-KH4 and BC-FD7-G9. These antibodies were raised against surface washings of B. cinerea, are directed against B. cinerea and B. fabae, and are known to recognize carbohydrate epitopes on a glycoprotein. Both BC-KH4 and BC-FD7-G9 also labelled matrix material located at the surface of penetration and infection hyphae inside the leaf tissue by epi-fluorescence microscopy. Such matrix material was not visible by DIC microscopy. Immunoelectron microscopy of B. fabae-infected leaf tissue, prepared by progressive low-temperature dehydration and embedding in acrylic resin, allowed further investigation of the spatial distribution of the antibody-binding sites. An abundance of BC-KH4 and BC-FD7-G9 antigenic sites were observed throughout the fibrillar-like matrix material surrounding the germ tubes on the leaf surface and the infection hyphae inside the host cells. However, close examination of the V. faba B. fahae interface inside the host tissue showed that this fibrillar material extended some distance from the surface of the infection hyphae and through the swollen epidermal and mesophyll cell walls. Such fibrillarmatrix material is though to be of fungalorigin. the possible role(s)of this matrix material in the infection process are discussed. Double-immunolabelling studies using the BC-KH4 MAb and a polyclonal antiserum directed against oligosdaccharides containing (1-3)-glocose were carried out in order to localize and distinugish between the examination of the interactions of the fungalmatrix components with the host walls and degenerate host cytoplasm. Finally, inward curling of the leaf cuticle suggested that mechanical pressure is involved in the penetration process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

J. Cosmet. Sci., 60, 337–345 (May/June 2009) Accepted for publication December 29, 2008. Synopsis During hair coloring a number of disulfide bonds in cystine are oxidized (1) to create cysteic acid, forming binding sites for metal ions such as Ca2+ and Cu2+ from tap water (2). The increased uptake of these metals can have a detrimental impact on fiber properties—for example, reducing shine and causing a poor wet and dry feel (3). In addition, the increased uptake of copper can also contribute to further fiber damage during subsequent coloring due to its ability to take part in metal-induced radical chemistry (4). It is important to know where in the fibers these metals are located in order to either effectively remove these metals or control their chemistry. Nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) has been used to locate the calcium and copper within hair that has been treated with a colorant and washed multiple times in tap water containing these ions. Untreated hair is used as a baseline standard material. Images with up to 50-nm spatial resolution of the preferential locations of calcium uptake were obtained, showing a high concentration of calcium in the cuticle region of colored hair, specifically in the sulfur-rich regions (A-layer and exocuticle). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction for the periodical "European Journal of Soil Science" is presented in which editor mentions several articles within the issue including soil process, ecosystem services, and farm scale experiments.