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Landscape architects and ecologists alike are embracing the opportunities urban areas present for restoring biodiversity. Despite sharing this goal, their efforts are rarely coordinated. For landscape architects, aesthetics and programming are at the forefront of design and must be given substantial attention, while ecologists look to scientific research to guide their decision-making. However, the lack of scientific research aimed at developing best ecological practices for native landscaping—particularly at small urban scales—make this difficult at a time when many residents are converting their lawns to more sustainable landscapes (“lawn conversions”). We survey literature from the fields of design and ecology to synthesize relevant information about small-scale urban landscaping projects and to identify instances in which practitioners from both fields are already “speaking the same language,” only with slightly different vocabulary. To further promote transdisciplinary collaborations, we present a new glossary tool to highlight these parallel concepts across fields. We discuss specific situations in which design priorities can be aligned with ecological function and propose that more attention should be placed on traditional principles of garden design, including perception, complexity and repetition, rhythm and order, proportion and scale, and form and structure. Finally, we argue that each new urban lawn conversion presents an opportunity to test ecological theory at the site-scale, conduct much-needed research on the impacts of design principles on habitat potential, and promote a collaborative urban ecological design aesthetic.

Climate change has the potential to disrupt ecosystem services and further exacerbate the effects of human activities on natural resources. This has significant implications for educational institutions and the populations they serve. As the current crop of landscape architecture students struggles to define its role within the climate crisis and its related social and political underpinnings, a core mission of colleges and universities moving forward should be to provide students with applied knowledge about how climate change affects the landscape. This goes beyond coursework in climate science or policy; for landscape architecture students to be leaders in the response to climate change, they need applied, practical skills. An ever-growing body of the literature focuses on landscape design strategies for climate change adaptation; however, few frameworks integrate these strategies with the hands-on experience students will need to face real-world challenges after graduation. Educational institutions have the potential to utilize their campuses as demonstration sites for applied ecosystem research programs and actively engage students with the design, implementation, politics, and ongoing stewardship of these landscapes. This paper uses a case study methodology to understand how experiential and public-engaged learning pedagogies contribute to student preparedness to address climate change. It examines three cases of engaged learning at the University of California, Davis campus and attributes their impact to intentional connections with research, to the delegation of responsibility; to the openness of spaces for experimentation, and to self-reflection that connects climate with everyday behavior. By promoting experiential learning programs that require students to actively use their heads and their hands to construct and sustainably manage their own campus landscapes, service-learning studios and internships can provide opportunities for students to address the real scenarios of climate crisis and resilience.

Trade-offs between individual fitness and the collective performance of crop and below-ground symbiont communities are common in agriculture. Plant competitiveness for light and soil resources is key to individual fitness, but higher investments in stems and roots by a plant community to compete for those resources ultimately reduce crop yields. Similarly, rhizobia and mycorrhizal fungi may increase their individual fitness by diverting resources to their own reproduction, even if they could have benefited collectively by providing their shared crop host with more nitrogen and phosphorus, respectively. Past selection for inclusive fitness (benefits to others, weighted by their relatedness) is unlikely to have favoured community performance over individual fitness. The limited evidence for kin recognition in plants and microbes changes this conclusion only slightly. We therefore argue that there is still ample opportunity for human-imposed selection to improve cooperation among crop plants and their symbionts so that they use limited resources more efficiently. This evolutionarily informed approach will require a better understanding of how interactions among crops, and interactions with their symbionts, affected their inclusive fitness in the past and what that implies for current interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural systems are particularly impacted by global climate change (CC), responsible for the introduction of multiple environmental stressors negatively affecting plant growth. Soil microbial communities are crucial in agricultural practices, influencing crop performance and soil health. Human activities and CC threaten soil microbial biodiversity, leading to soil quality degradation and decreasing plant health and productivity. Among plant-beneficial microorganisms, mycorrhizal fungi are widespread in terrestrial ecosystems, including agroecosystems, and they play a key role by enhancing plants' fitness and resilience to both abiotic and biotic stresses. Therefore, exploring the role of mycorrhizal symbiosis in sustainable agriculture has become increasingly critical. Moreover, the application of mycorrhizal bioinoculants could reduce dependence on inorganic fertilizers, enhance crop yield, and support plants in overcoming environmental stresses. This review, after briefly introducing taxonomy, morphology and mechanisms supporting the symbiosis establishment, reports the roles of mycorrhizal fungi and their associated bacteria in improving plant nutrition and mitigating CC-induced abiotic stresses such as drought and salinity, also giving specific examples. The focus is on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), but ericoid mycorrhizal (ErM) fungi are also considered as promising microorganisms for a sustainable agricultural model. New emerging concepts are illustrated, such as the role of AMF hyphosphere in acting as a preferential niche to host plant growth-promoting bacteria and the potential of ErM fungi to improve plant performance on Ericaceae plants but also on non-host plants, behaving as endophytes. Finally, the potential and limitations of mycorrhizal-based bioinoculants are discussed as possible alternatives to chemical-based products. To this aim, possible ways to overcome problems and limitations to their use are discussed such as proper formulations, the systematic check of AMF propagule viability and the application of suitable agronomical practices in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant‐imposed, fitness‐reducing sanctions against less‐beneficial symbionts have been documented for rhizobia, mycorrhizal fungi, and fig wasps. Although most of our examples are for rhizobia, we argue that the evolutionary persistence of mutualism in any symbiosis would require such sanctions, if there are multiple symbiont genotypes per host plant. We therefore discuss methods that could be used to develop and assess crops with stricter sanctions. These include methods to screen strains for greater mutualism as resources to identify crop genotypes that impose stronger selection for mutualism. Single‐strain experiments that measure costs as well as benefits have shown that diversion of resources by rhizobia can reduce nitrogen‐fixation efficiency (N per C) and that some legumes can increase this efficiency by manipulating their symbionts. Plants in the field always host multiple strains with possible synergistic interactions, so benefits from different strains might best be compared by regressing plant growth or yield on each strain's abundance in a mixture. However, results from this approach have not yet been published. To measure legacy effects of stronger sanctions on future crops, single‐genotype test crops could be planted in a field that recently had replicated plots with different genotypes of the sanction‐imposing crop. Enhancing agricultural benefits from symbiosis may require accepting tradeoffs that constrained past natural selection, including tradeoffs between current and future benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beneficial root-microbiome interactions offer enormous potential to improve crop performance and stress tolerance. Domestication and improvement reduced the genetic diversity of crops and reshaped their phenotypic traits and their associated microbiome structure and function. However, understanding of the genetic and physiological mechanisms how domestication and improvement modulated root function, microbiome assembly and even coselective patterns remains largely elusive. This review summarizes the current status of how crop domestication and improvement (heterosis) affected root characteristics and their associated microbiome structure and function. Also, it assesses potential mechanisms how crop domestication and improvement reshaped root-microbiome association through gene regulation, root structure and function and root exudate features. A hypothetical strategy is proposed that entangles crop genetics and abiotic interactions with beneficial microbiomes to mitigate the effects of global climate change on crop performance. A comprehensive understanding of the role of crop domestication and improvement in root-associated microbiome interaction will advance future breeding efforts and agricultural management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The editorial in "Frontiers in Plant Science" discusses the importance of mycorrhizal symbioses in ecological dynamics and agriculture. Mycorrhizal fungi enhance plant nutrient absorption, carbon cycling, and soil structure, promoting plant health and ecosystem stability. Various studies highlighted in the editorial explore the diverse roles of mycorrhizal fungi in enhancing plant growth, resilience, and nutrient uptake, contributing to sustainable agricultural practices. Understanding and harnessing these symbiotic relationships are crucial for addressing global challenges in agriculture, conservation, and climate change adaptation. [Extracted from the article]

In recent years, the role of microbial communities in agricultural systems has received increasing attention, particularly concerning their impact on plant health and productivity. However, the influence of host plant genetic factors on the microbial composition of coffee plants remains largely unexplored. This study provides the first comprehensive investigation into how genotype affects the microbial communities present in the rhizosphere and fruits of Coffea canephora. Conducted on a commercial coffee farm in Brazil, we analyzed six genotypes of C. canephora var. Conilon. Soil and fruit samples were collected from which microbial DNA was extracted and sequenced, targeting the V3-V4 region of the 16 S rDNA and the ITS1 region for fungi. A total of 12,239,769 reads were generated from the 16 S rDNA and ITS1 regions. The PCoA revealed distinct patterns of beta diversity, with genotype 153 exhibiting significant isolation in soil bacterial communities. The dominant bacterial orders included Rhizobiales and Rhodobacterales, while the fungal community comprised diverse taxa from Saccharomycetales and Hypocreales. LEfSe analysis identified key metagenomic biomarkers, highlighting genotype Baiano 4 for its richness in fruit-associated taxa, whereas genotype 153 exhibited lower diversity in both soil and fruit samples. This work enhances our understanding of the microbiomes associated with different coffee genotypes, providing evidence of how host genetic variation influences microbial community composition. Our findings indicate that specific microbial taxa are enriched in the fruits and soil of various genotypes. Future research should focus on identifying these microorganisms and elucidating their specific functions within the rhizosphere and coffee fruits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic review examines the global agricultural relevance and practical environmental implications of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) within the phylum Glomeromycota. Following PRISMA guidelines, ensuring a comprehensive and unbiased literature review, a literature search was conducted, focusing on the functional roles of AMF in enhancing crop productivity, nutrient uptake, and soil health. Key findings reveal that AMF contribute significantly to sustainable agriculture by reducing the need for chemical fertilizers and increasing plant resilience to environmental stressors like drought, salinity, or pest resistance. The review highlights the importance of AMF in forming symbiotic relationships with plants, which enhance nutrient absorption and improve soil structure, showcasing long-term benefits such as reduced erosion or improved water retention. However, the current literature lacks in-depth exploration of the taxonomy and evolutionary aspects of AMF, as well as the specific functional roles they play in different agricultural contexts, e.g., understanding evolution could enhance strain selection for specific crops. This review identifies several urgent research gaps, including a need for a more refined understanding of AMF community dynamics under varying land management practices. For example, there are gaps in and a critical evaluation of advanced molecular techniques. Such techniques are essential for studying these interactions. Addressing these gaps will enhance the integration of AMF into sustainable agricultural systems and improve ecosystem management practices across different geographical regions. Future research should prioritize developing precise molecular imaging techniques and optimizing AMF applications for different crops and soil types to maximize their ecological and agricultural benefits. This could be practical through interdisciplinary collaboration (e.g., involving molecular biologists, agronomists, etc.). In conclusion, this review advances the practical application of AMF in agriculture and its contribution to biodiversity conservation in agroecosystems. Integrating these findings into policy frameworks could encourage sustainable farming practices, promote the adoption of AMF inoculants, and foster incentives for environmentally friendly land management strategies. Systematic review registration: https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n71. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Plants, People, Planet is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Plant Pathology is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are critical for soil ecosystem services as they enhance plant growth and soil quality via nutrient cycling and carbon storage. Considering the growing emphasis on sustainable agricultural practices, this study investigated the effects of conventional and organic farming practices on AMF diversity, abundance, and ecological functions in maize, pepper, and potato-cultivated soils. Using next-generation sequencing and quantitative PCR, we assessed AMF diversity and abundance in addition to soil health indicators such as phosphorus content, total nitrogen, and soil organic carbon. Our findings revealed that, while no significant differences in soil physicochemical parameters or AMF diversity were observed across farming systems when all crop data were combined, organic farming significantly enhances AMF abundance and fosters beneficial microbial ecosystems. These ecosystems play vital roles in nutrient cycling and carbon storage, underscoring the importance of organic practices in promoting robust AMF communities that support ecosystem services. This study not only deepens our understanding of AMF's ecological roles but also highlights the potential of organic farming to leverage these benefits for improving sustainability in agricultural practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of cover crops (CCs) based on tropical legumes, including Crotalaria ochroleuca, Crotalaria juncea, Crotalaria spectabilis, and Cajanus cajan, represents a pivotal aspect of agricultural rotations. These crops facilitate the incorporation of nitrogen through biological nitrogen fixation (BNF), thereby reducing the necessity for synthetic nitrogen fertilizers. Nevertheless, the capacity for the BNF of these species in Uruguay is relatively modest. To address this limitation, an approach is proposed that involves the immobilization of nitrogen in the soil using a highly energetic material, such as sucrose. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of incorporating sucrose into typical Uruguayan soil on aboveground dry matter production, nitrogen accumulation, and nitrogen fixation by legumes utilized as CCs. The experiments involved the planting of C. ochroleuca, C. juncea, C. spectabilis, and C. cajan in pots containing either soil alone or soil mixed with sucrose and the subsequent maintenance of these in a plant growth chamber for a period of 90 days. The addition of sucrose had a positive impact, with nearly double the aboveground dry matter production and nitrogen content observed. The percentage of nitrogen derived from the atmosphere (%Ndfa) increased significantly in all species, rising from an average of 83% to 96% in the sucrose-amended soil compared to the control. In the case of C. juncea, there was a notable threefold increase in aboveground dry matter and nitrogen accumulation across different treatments, accompanied by a 26% rise in %Ndfa and a fourfold increase in nitrogen fixation amounts. These findings indicate that C. juncea has the potential to significantly enhance performance and ecosystem services in typical Uruguayan soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gradual accumulation of phosphorus from historical fertilization can contribute to the eutrophication of surface waters by increasing the potential for subsurface leaching losses. Grazing lands areas are a priority for concern, and phytoremediation efforts in grazing lands have prioritized grasses that may be used as forage for cattle. This study investigated the influence of three different forage species—Paspalum notatum, Hemarthria altissima, and Cynodon nlemfuensis—on the loss of phosphorus in leachate from surface soils. The experiment used a nested pot mesocosm design that allowed us to monitor leachate volume and concentration biweekly over the course of 3 months. Pots containing P. notatum plants leached significantly more phosphorus than pots containing C. nlemfuensis or empty pots with no plants growing in them, despite losing an equivalent amount of water. H. altissima lost equivalent amounts of phosphorus in leachate water, but each H. altissima plant removed approximately 33.6 mg of phosphorus, approximately 2.5× that removed by P. notatum (13.4 mg). C. nlemfuensis had lower average leachate phosphorus concentrations at each biweekly sampling than either plant species (C. nlemfuensis‐P. notatum, padj = 0.001; C. nlemfuensis‐H. altissima, padj = 0.02), averaging only 0.110 ppm in leachate relative to 0.175 ppm and 0.200 ppm in pots beneath H. altissima and P. notatum, respectively. This, combined with C. nlemfuensis' slightly higher‐than‐average aboveground P content and overall aboveground biomass expression suggest it is the best possible phytoremediation candidate. As even minor leachate P loads can be critically threatening to neighboring oligotrophic water bodies, if the conservation of downstream environments is the priority, the short‐term threat of increased leachate must be considered. Further research is needed to explore the underlying mechanisms and field‐scale implications of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent declines in bee populations and ranges have been cause for concern due to the valuable pollination service that they provide. Several factors have been proposed to contribute to these declines, including habitat loss, pathogen spread, and pesticide usage, so many pollinator conservation schemes have involved the addition of pollinator-friendly habitat through wildflower plantings and artificial nesting sites. Because of this, many efforts have been made to enhance bee populations across different landscape types, including natural, agricultural, urban, and industrial areas. Many of these schemes have focused on providing habitat for bees and other animal pollinators in agricultural landscapes, but other managed areas, such as cities, suburbs, and industrialized areas may have untapped potential for pollinator conservation. Available green space can be enhanced to provide healthy forage and safe nesting sites for pollinators. As these areas are also often frequented by human residents, the needs and perceptions of people, as well as the potential benefits for pollinators, must be considered to ensure the success of pollinator conservation on anthropogenic habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The glomalin content is generally considered an indicator of the soil organic matter (SOM) quality. The content of easily extractable glomalin (EEG) and the total glomalin (TG) content was investigated across 71 different sites in the Czech Republic with arable soil and crop production (12 chernozems, 30 luvisols, 17 cambisols, and 12 fluvisols). The majority of the crops in the crop rotation were cereals (45.5%—mainly winter wheat, winter barley, and spring barley). The proportion of winter canola within the crop rotation was 15.9%. The contribution of other crops was substantially smaller (alfalfa, clover, potatoes, beet, silage maize, grain maize). The representation of crops in the crop rotation is standard for conventional farming in the Czech Republic. Based on the results of long-term field monitoring at 71 sites in different soil–climate conditions, we can state the following. The TG content was significantly correlated with the soil organic matter carbon content (CSOM), as well as another important indicator of SOM quality (humic and fulvic acid carbon content ratio—CHA/CFA). A significant and positive correlation was also determined for the TG and clay content (size < 0.002 mm), as well as particles smaller than 0.01 mm. The easily extractable glomalin content (EEG) did not differ based on the reference soil group (RSG). On the other hand, the total glomalin content (TG) was significantly higher in the chernozem RSG in comparison with other RSGs (luvisols, cambisols, fluvisols). There was no relationship between the pHCaCl2 and glomalin (EEG; TG). The same can be said about the relationship between glomalin (EEG; TG) and the bulk density and porosity. No link was established between the glomalin content (EEG; TG) and phosphorus plant-available content. There was no relationship between the amount of applied organic matter (carbon inputs) and the soil glomalin content (EEG; TG). This relationship was not influenced by the type of applied organic fertilizer. No significant relationship was found for either straw, manure, or compost. The data on the glomalin content are significantly influenced by the site (soil type and soil texture). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollinator activity is affected by landscape‐scale flower availability, and by pollinator interactions with co‐occurring organisms. Of special interest are potentially detrimental effects of herbivores on the attractiveness of plants to pollinators. While insect herbivores are abundant in natural and agro‐ecosystems, the combined effect of herbivory and landscape floral resources on pollinator activity and the delivery of pollination services is little studied and understood. Here we investigated the combined effects of surrounding flower cover and aphid herbivory on pollination services in agricultural landscapes. We apply a resource landscape approach for mapping the spatial distribution of floral resources across landscapes, using neighbourhood modelling and empirical data on flower availability in specific land‐use types. In each of 25 Mediterranean landscapes spanning a gradient of land‐use intensity ranging from natural to agricultural, we established paired patches of potted aphid‐infested or aphid‐free phytometer plants Diplotaxis erucoides. In each patch, we recorded the activity of insects visiting flowers and subsequent seed set. We also recorded the relative abundance of flowers in dominant land‐use locales within a 1 km radius of each patch. Neighbourhood analyses revealed that plant–pollinator interactions in our study system are shaped by herbivory, distribution of floral resources across the landscape, and the interaction between these factors. We found a negative competitive effect of flower cover on pollinator activity and phytometer seed‐set; this effect was stronger on aphid‐infested than aphid‐free plants. The main pollinator guilds in the study sites (wild bees, honeybees and non‐bee pollinators) responded differently to these factors. Our results highlight the importance of combining a resource landscape approach with the exploration of interactions among different organisms, when mapping pollination services and identifying the scale at which pollinators respond to foraging resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Koinonía: Revista Arbitrada Interdisciplinaria de Ciencias de la Educación, Turismo, Ciencias Sociales y Económicas, Ciencias del Agro y Mar y Ciencias Exactas y Aplicadas is the property of Fundacion Koinonia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Although Texas is not widely known for organic production, it is responsible for most organic peanut production in the United States. When managed effectively, this can be a lucrative practice due to consumer demands. However, farmers pursuing organic management must undergo a 3‐year transition period to obtain United States Department of Agriculture certification, which is often associated with depressed yields. The objective of this study was to measure the impact of organic management and cover crop selection on biological indicators of soil health during the second year of transitioning to an organic cotton–peanut rotation in West Texas. We conducted a field study at two locations, and soil health indicators including in situ respiration, carbon mineralization, enzyme activities, and phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) were measured. The use of a cover crop resulted in generally greater biological activities compared to the fallow after only one cover crop rotation, representing early elevated biological activities under plots treated with a cover crop. However, cover crop species selection typically does not affect soil biological parameters. Cover crop use also did not contribute to yield losses when compared to a fallow treatment. When comparing organic management to conventional management, both sites experienced elevated PLFA counts under organic management. Importantly, results indicated that although reduced peanut yields could be expected under transitional organic management, this was not cover crop species‐specific, nor was it a guarantee. Given the economic risk of organic management for farmers, this study will benefit producers deciding whether to pursue organic production and cover cropping. Core Ideas: Limited responses in soil health variables were observed under early transitional organic management.The cover crop type had little impact on responses to soil health variables during a transition to cover crop use.Soil health variables responded to the presence of cover crops in rotation during the transition to cover crop use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Societal Impact Statement: Mycorrhizal fungi are of huge significance for plants, people, and the planet. In addition to the fruiting bodies of many mycorrhizal fungi having great culinary, medical, and sometimes religious significance, by forming partnerships with the vast majority of land plants, mycorrhizal fungi are essential in the formation and functioning of global ecosystems. As such, mycorrhizas have great potential for future exploitation and management to facilitate a variety of sustainability programs in agriculture, conservation, and restoration, considerations that are particularly relevant during this time of global change and widespread depletion of natural resources. Summary Mycorrhizal fungi, of all types, hold huge significance for our planet and society. By forming mutualistic symbioses with the vast majority of land plants, mycorrhizas play an essential role in the formation and maintenance of global ecosystems. They also have great potential for exploitation to facilitate a variety of sustainability programs in agriculture, conservation, and restoration, particularly relevant in the context of global climate change and depletion of natural resources. As such, in addition to the fruiting bodies of many mycorrhiza‐forming fungal species being delicious, mycorrhizal symbioses are of critical and increasingly appreciated importance to human society. This editorial provides an overview of the relevance and potential roles of mycorrhizal fungi toward achieving global goals in sustainability, conservation and their significance within society, and highlights key directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Procambarus clarkii, an important freshwater species in China, is predominantly cultivated in an integrated rice–crayfish co-culture system. However, potential regional differences in the quality of P. clarkii have been scarcely reported. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the regional differences of P. clarkii through analyzing gut microbiota composition in specimens from ten major producing areas in China. Microbial sequencing analysis demonstrated that P. clarkii across various regions exhibit distinct microbial diversity and composition. These data would contribute to the assessment of the quality of P. clarkii aquaculture. The aim of this study was to assess the regional differences of Procambarus clarkii through analyzing gut microbiota in specimens from different areas in China. The P. clarkii were collected from ten integrated rice–crayfish farming systems locating across ten major producing areas as follows: Feixi (FX), Suqian (SQ), Yangzhou (YZ), Xuyi (XY), Qianjiang (QJ), Jianli (JL), Honghu (HH), Yueyang (YY), Changsha (CS), and Nanxian (NX). The composition of gut microbiota was assessed by analyzing 16S rRNA sequences. The PCoA results indicated significant differences in microbial community composition among the ten areas (R = 0.999, p = 0.001). The intestinal microbial diversity in P. clarkii cultured in rice fields from YY and CS exceeded that of other regions, with NX displaying the least diversity. At the phylum level, Proteobacteria were most abundant in HH, while Firmicutes showed increased relative abundances in FX and SQ, contrasted by lower relative abundances of Bacteroidetes in these areas. At the genus level, Ralstonia, Amedibacillus, Bacteroides, Anaerorhabdus, and Dysgonomonas were the dominant bacteria. The bacterial co-occurrence networks analysis revealed that the community structures in locations FX, SQ, XY, HH, and NX were comparatively simplistic, whereas those in the YZ, QJ, JL, YY, and CS regions displayed as more complex. In summary, the diversity and relative abundance of intestinal bacteria exhibits regional variability. These findings can offer theoretical data for evaluating the quality of P. clarkii aquaculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lowland meadows represent aboveground and belowground biodiversity reservoirs in intensive agricultural areas, improving water retention and filtration, ensuring forage production, contrasting erosion and contributing to soil fertility and carbon sequestration. Besides such major ecosystem services, the presence of functionally different plant species improves forage quality, nutritional value and productivity, also limiting the establishment of weeds and alien species. Here, we tested the effectiveness of a commercial seedmixture in restoring a lowlandmixed meadow in the presence or absence of inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and biostimulation of symbiosis development with the addition of short chain chito-oligosaccharides (CO). Plant community composition, phenology and productivity were regularly monitored alongside AM colonization in control, inoculated and CO-treated inoculated plots. Our analyses revealed that the CO treatment accelerated symbiosis development significantly increasing root colonization by AM fungi. Moreover, the combination of AM fungal inoculation and CO treatment improved plant species evenness and productivity with more balanced composition in forage species. Altogether, our study presented a successful and scalable strategy for the reintroduction of mixed meadows as valuable sources of forage biomass; demonstrated the positive impact of CO treatment on AM development in an agronomic context, extending previous observations developed under controlled laboratory conditions and leading the way to the application in sustainable agricultural practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) as biofertilizers has proven successful in boosting the yield and nutritional quality of a variety of crops. AMF associate with plant roots and exchange soil nutrients for photosynthetically derived C in the form of sugars and lipids. Past research has shown that not all AMF species are equal in their benefit to nutrient uptake and crop health, and that the most beneficial AMF species appear to vary by host species. Although an important human food staple, especially in developing regions where nutrient deficiency is a prevalent threat to public health, little work has been done to test the effectiveness of AMF in enhancing the nutritional quality of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Therefore, our objective was to determine the most beneficial AMF species for inoculation of this important crop. We inoculated black beans (Phaseolus vulgaris black turtle beans) with eight individual AMF species and one mixed species inoculum in an outdoor pot trial over 3 months and assessed the extent to which they altered yield, mineral nutrient and anthocyanin concentration of seeds and leaf tissues. Despite seeing no yield effects from inoculation, we found that across treatments percent root length colonized by AMF was positively correlated with plant tissue P, Cu, and Zn concentration. Underlying these broad benefits, seeds from plants inoculated with three AMF species, Claroideoglomus claroideum (+15%), Funneliformis mosseae (+13%), and Gigaspora rosea (+11%) had higher P concentration than non‐mycorrhizal plants. C. claroideum also increased seed potassium (K) and copper (Cu), as well as leaf aluminum (Al) concentration making it a promising candidate to further test the benefit of individual AMF species on black bean growth in field trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mezcal, a traditional Mexican alcoholic beverage, has been a vital source of livelihood for indigenous and rural communities for centuries. However, increasing international demand is exerting pressure on natural resources and encouraging intensive agricultural practices. This study investigates the impact of management practices (wild, traditional, and conventional) and environmental factors on the microbial communities associated with Agave angustifolia, a key species in mezcal production. High-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA and ITS2 gene regions revealed distinct prokaryotic and fungal community structures across different plant compartments (endosphere, episphere, and soil), identifying 8214 prokaryotic and 7459 fungal ASVs. Core microbial communities were dominated by Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Ascomycota, and Basidiomycota. Alpha diversity analyses showed significant increases in prokaryotic diversity from the endosphere to soil, while fungal diversity remained stable. Notably, conventional management practices were associated with reductions in beneficial microbial taxa. Environmental factors such as precipitation and temperature significantly influenced microbial diversity and composition, especially in the rhizosphere. Beta diversity patterns underscored the strong impact of plant compartment, with management practices and aridity further shaping microbial communities. These results reveal the intricate interactions between management practices, environmental conditions, and microbial diversity, providing valuable insights for the sustainable cultivation of A. angustifolia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil protists, the major predator of bacteria and fungi, shape the taxonomic and functional structure of soil microbiome via trophic regulation. However, how trophic interactions between protists and their prey influence microbially mediated soil organic carbon turnover remains largely unknown. Here, we investigated the protistan communities and microbial trophic interactions across different aggregates‐size fractions in agricultural soil with long‐term fertilization regimes. Our results showed that aggregate sizes significantly influenced the protistan community and microbial hierarchical interactions. Bacterivores were the predominant protistan functional group and were more abundant in macroaggregates and silt + clay than in microaggregates, while omnivores showed an opposite distribution pattern. Furthermore, partial least square path modeling revealed positive impacts of omnivores on the C‐decomposition genes and soil organic matter (SOM) contents, while bacterivores displayed negative impacts. Microbial trophic interactions were intensive in macroaggregates and silt + clay but were restricted in microaggregates, as indicated by the intensity of protistan‐bacterial associations and network complexity and connectivity. Cercozoan taxa were consistently identified as the keystone species in SOM degradation‐related ecological clusters in macroaggregates and silt + clay, indicating the critical roles of protists in SOM degradation by regulating bacterial and fungal taxa. Chemical fertilization had a positive effect on soil C sequestration through suppressing SOM degradation‐related ecological clusters in macroaggregate and silt + clay. Conversely, the associations between the trophic interactions and SOM contents were decoupled in microaggregates, suggesting limited microbial contributions to SOM turnovers. Our study demonstrates the importance of protists‐driven trophic interactions on soil C cycling in agricultural ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chlorophyll is the major light‐absorbing pigment for plant photosynthesis. While evolution has been selected for high chlorophyll content in leaves, previous work suggests that domesticated crops grown in modern high‐density agricultural environments overinvest in chlorophyll production, thereby lowering light use and nitrogen use efficiency. To investigate the potential benefits of reducing chlorophyll levels, we created ethanol‐inducible RNAi tobacco mutants that suppress Mg‐chelatase subunit I (CHLI) with small RNA within 3 h of induction and reduce chlorophyll within 5 days in field conditions. We initiated chlorophyll reduction later in plant development to avoid the highly sensitive seedling stage and to allow young plants to have full green leaves to maximise light interception before canopy formation. This study demonstrated that leaf chlorophyll reduction >60% during seed‐filling stages increased tobacco seed nitrogen concentration by as much as 17% while canopy photosynthesis, biomass and seed yields were maintained. These results indicate that time‐specific reduction of chlorophyll could be a novel strategy that decouples the inverse relationship between yield and seed nitrogen by utilising saved nitrogen from the reduction of chlorophyll while maintaining full carbon assimilation capacity. Summary statement: Reducing chlorophyll levels in tobacco plants during seed filling stages, without compromising canopy carbon assimilation, increased seed nitrogen concentration by up to 17%, suggesting a potential strategy to improve yield and seed nitrogen content simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Short-term drought events occur more frequently and more intensively under global climate change. Biochar amendment has been documented to ameliorate the negative effects of water deficits on plant performance. Moreover, biochar can alter the soil microbial community, soil properties and soil metabolome, resulting in changes in soil functioning. We aim to reveal the extent of biochar addition on soil nutrients and the soil microbial community structure and how this improves the tolerance of legume crops (peanuts) to short-term extreme drought. We measured plant performances under different contents of biochar, set as a gradient of 2%, 3% and 4%, after an extreme experimental drought. In addition, we investigated how soil bacteria and fungi respond to biochar additions and how the soil metabolome changes in response to biochar amendments, with combined growth experiments, high-throughput sequencing and soil omics. The results indicated that biochar increased nitrites and available phosphorus. Biochar was found to influence the soil bacterial community structure more intensively than the soil fungal community. Additionally, the fungal community showed a higher randomness under biochar addition when experiencing short-term extreme drought compared to the bacterial community. Soil bacteria may be more strongly related to soil nutrient cycling in peanut agricultural systems. Although the soil metabolome has been documented to be influenced by biochar addition independent of soil moisture, we found more differential metabolites with a higher biochar content. We suggest that biochar enhances the resistance of plants and soil microbes to short-term extreme drought by indirectly modifying soil functioning probably due to direct changes in soil moisture and soil pH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimized food acquisition is challenging because foraged diet items are chemically complex and often nutritionally imbalanced. These challenges are likely magnified when foraged foods are used to provision others (e.g. offspring, nestmates, symbionts) with different nutritional requirements.We used a theoretical framework of nutritional niches to study these provisioning challenges in leafcutter ants that cultivate a fungal symbiont with nutrients derived from freshly foraged plant fragments. While the leaf‐cutting behaviours of free‐ranging foragers are well studied, little is known about how colonies use these plant fragments to produce their fungal crop within underground nest chambers.For instance, gardener ants are known to convert vegetation into a nutritional mulch that they plant on the fungus garden. However, it remains poorly understood how the ants use this mulch to target the specific nutritional needs of their fungal crop, and whether the cultivar signals if provisioned mulch meets its nutritional needs. Towards answers, we performed three experiments to assess the precision and specificity of nutritional regulation in farming systems of the Panamanian leafcutter ant Acromyrmex echinatior.A laboratory feeding experiment with nutritionally defined diets showed that ant farmers collect a specific intake target for protein and carbohydrates and then linked strict protein regulation by foragers to the cultivar's fundamental niche for protein.An in vitro experiment with the fungal cultivar in isolation did not detect a signal of protein stress that could be used by the ants to regulate their provisioning behaviour, but it did identify an elevated fatty acid that may reinforce optimal nutritional provisioning if detected by gardening ants.A feeding experiment with isotopically labelled diets then revealed nutrient‐specific and caste‐specific allocation timelines, with nitrogen being assimilated into the cultivar's nutritional rewards before being exclusively consumed by developing brood. In turn, these combined results help resolve the integrated behaviours that give rise to resilient leafcutter farming productivity.We further show how nutritional niches can help disentangle reciprocal provisioning dynamics between symbionts as well as the nutritional transactions that more generally mediate symbiotic stability (e.g. sanctioning, screening, policing). Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BioAg, short for biological agriculture, is an umbrella term used by agricultural conglomerates to market biologically active products used for pest control and fertilization. Within this framing, I investigate the commodification of a type of fungus that forms a beneficial relationship with plant roots. Mycorrhizal fungi connect with root tips to exchange photosynthesized sugars for an array of what biologists call "ecosystem services," which include the translocation of soil minerals, water, and pathogen antagonism. I discuss three conditions that now give rise to the commodification of mycorrhizal fungi in industrial agriculture: the creation of an inoculant form produced under sterile (in vitro) conditions; the declaration of industrial arable soils as lacking functioning communities of mycorrhizal fungi, a deficit most easily remedied through the application of industrially produced inoculants; the build-up of a broader mycorrhizal subjectivity, which has made the loss of mycorrhizal fungi in agricultural lands a concern for those beyond agricultural and scientific communities. To analyze these three stages of the commodification of mycorrhizal fungi, I engage the framework of accumulation by restoration as part of the economy of repair. Following the work of Christopher Henke, I discuss how mycorrhizal inoculants are poised to bring about two forms of repair to soil ecologies and industrial agriculture: maintenance and transformation. I examine the challenges and controversies surrounding the efficacy of mycorrhizal inoculants, testing claims about ecological restoration and how an emergent and heavily promoted agricultural commodity might impact regional agricultural infrastructures, rural ecologies, and agrarian livelihoods. I use the case of mycorrhizal inoculants within BioAg to sort out promissory claims of sustainability, and look at how agricultural conglomerates are now building their envisioned future of industrial agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological intensification (EI) is the enhancement of ecosystem services to complement or substitute for the role of anthropogenic inputs in maintaining or increasing yields. EI has potential to increase farming's environmental sustainability, e.g. reducing environmentally harmful management activities while sustaining yields. EI is based upon ecological processes which in turn are influenced by biodiversity. We review how biodiversity, particularly vascular plant diversity, can regulate ecosystem processes relevant to EI at multiple spatial scales. At an individual plant genotype level, complementarity in functional traits has a direct impact on productivity. At in-field, population level, mixtures of crop types confer resilience to minimize the risk of pest and disease incidence and spread. Scaling up to the field level, a diversity of non-crop plants (i.e. weeds) provides resources necessary for in-field functional processes, both below ground (carbon inputs, decomposition) and above ground (resource continuity for pollinators and natural enemies). At the landscape scale, mosaics of semi-natural and managed vegetation provide buffers against extreme events through flood and drought risk mitigation, climate amelioration and pest population regulation. Overall this emphasizes the importance of heterogeneity across scales in maintaining ecosystem functions in farmland. Major research challenges highlighted by our review include the need: to better integrate plant functional diversity (from traits to habitat scales) into cropping system design; to quantify the (likely interactive) contribution of plant diversity for effective EI relative to other management options; and to optimize through targeted management the system function benefits of biodiversity for resilient, efficient and productive agroecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestic production of controlled-release, compost-based, and microbe-enhanced fertilizers is being expanded in the U.S. as a part of rural development. Sugarcane mill mud is a sterilized (≈90°C) agricultural byproduct in surplus that has received interests as a soil amendment in several Southern states, because of its high phosphorus and organic carbon contents. Addition of mill mud to sandy loam significantly increased the nodule formation compared to fertilized and unfertilized controls. Mill mud addition also resulted in pod yields similar to the fertilized control. Though not found in mill mud itself, mill mud additions correlated with an increase in soil Rhizobia as determined by deep 16S rRNA gene sequencing. We hypothesize that Firmicutes in sterilized mill mud induced Rhizobia that in turn enhanced soybean (Glycine max) growth. Collectively, mill mud enhanced the plant growth promoting bacteria when applied to a silt loam, although the relative influence of mill mud-derived bacteria, organic carbon, and nutrients is yet to be determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a field experiment was conducted to evaluate the growth and yield responses of Sri Lankan lowland rice (Oryza sativa L.) with the application of beneficial Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculum and intercropping with highly mycorrhizal-dependent vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides L.) under two different soil nutrient management systems (NMSs): conventional/chemical (CNMS) and organic (ONMS). The experiment was designed as a split plot with three blocks. Each CNMS and ONMS experiment included an untreated control (T0) and three treatments—AMF inoculation (T1), vetiver intercropping (T2), and the combination of AMF and vetiver (T3). According to the results, the colonization of rice roots with AMF was not affected significantly by the treatments and ranged from 0–15.8%. The effect was very low or absent in the early stage and then higher in the later stages of the rice plant. Furthermore, plant growth was not significantly different between the two NMSs, although grain yield was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in ONMS than for the respective controls (T0), with the order T1 (0.45 kg/m2) > T2 (0.42 kg/m2) > T3 (0.41 kg/m2) in CNMS and T2 (0.44 kg/m2) > T1 (0.41 kg/m2) > T3 (0.40 kg/m2), thus suggesting the utilization of AMF and vetiver in a lowland rice farming system is beneficial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The loss and fragmentation of natural habitats due to agricultural intensification have a strong negative impact on farmland biodiversity. The concomitant isolation of essential resources may exert selection pressures toward increased dispersal performance in flying insects, possibly resulting in differences in flight morphology and dispersal propensity across landscapes. Here, we compared condition, flight morphology, dispersal capacity, and propensity of the common butterfly Pieris rapae among four pairs of highly fragmented "modern" and less fragmented "traditional" agricultural landscapes. We did not find differences between landscape types, but between locations and sexes. These results are not entirely unexpected, as P. rapae is a highly mobile generalist species, able to exploit temporarily available resources such as rapeseed in modern agricultural landscapes. In addition, our negative results may suggest a lack of time for evolutionary change such that differences may appear in the future. However, more specialized species with low dispersal ability may show clearer patterns and may well suffer from habitat fragmentation, and investigating such interrelation is an important task for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphorus (P) is an essential macronutrient crucial for both plant growth and crop production, playing a pivotal role in agriculture since the early 20th century. The symbiotic relationship between AMF and plants serves as a classic illustration. These fungi play a regulatory role in the growth and development of plants, especially in facilitating the absorption of P and carbon molecules by plants. While there has been a growing body of research on the community assembly of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in recent decades, our knowledge of the processes governing the coexistence of these AMF communities influenced by P in agroecosystems remains limited. To investigate the impact of various P fertilizers on AMF communities in temperate agroecosystems, this study was conducted using soils sourced from wheat–maize rotation farmland at Henan Agricultural University Yuanyang Base. With the Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing technique, we systematically examined the taxonomic composition of soil AMF at the Yuanyang Base of Henan Agricultural University in a wheat–maize rotation agricultural field. Our primary objective was to unravel the mechanisms behind AMF community assembly and stability under varying P gradient fertilization conditions. Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS) analysis revealed significant differences among AMF communities in field soil subjected to various treatments (p < 0.05). A torus translations test demonstrated positive associations with the three treatments in 36 out of the 51 examined AMF operational taxonomic units (OTUs), making up 70.59% (p < 0.05) of the results. Furthermore, 37.84% (14/37) of the OTUs displayed preferences for the low P concentration treatment, while 34.29% (12/35) and 32.26% (10/31) favored medium and high P concentrations, respectively. An analysis of the Normalized Stochasticity Ratio (NST) and Checkerboard Score (C-score) indicated that in temperate agroecosystems, deterministic processes predominantly governed AMF in all treatment groups, with high P conditions exerting a stronger influence than low or medium P conditions. This study underscores the profound impact of long-term P fertilizer application on AMF community structures within temperate agricultural systems employing wheat–maize rotation. Additionally, it highlights the dominant role played by deterministic processes in shaping the assembly of AMF communities in these temperate agricultural systems that use P fertilizers. These findings emphasize the need for balanced nutrient management, particularly concerning P, to ensure the stability of AMF communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]