Intercropping of Leguminous and Non-Leguminous Desert Plant Species Does Not Facilitate Phosphorus Mineralization and Plant Nutrition.

More efficient use of soil resources, such as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), can improve plant community resistance and resilience against drought in arid and semi-arid lands. Intercropping of legume and non-legumes can be an effective practice for enhancing P mineralization uptake, and plant nutrient status. However, it remains unclear how intercropping systems using desert plant species impact soil-plant P fractions and how they affect N and water uptake capacity.

Planting Systems Affect Soil Microbial Communities and Enzymes Activities Differentially under Drought and Phosphorus Addition.

The use of phosphorus (P) to alleviate soil nutrient deficiency alters resources in plant and microbial communities, but it remains unknown how mixed and monospecific planting of forest tree species shape soil microbial structure and functions in response to drought and its interplay with phosphorus addition. We investigated the microbial structure and chemical properties of forest soils planted with monoculture, . monoculture, and their mixed cultures.

Sulfur deposition changed the community structure of soil nematodes by affecting omnivores-predators.

Nematodes generally occupy multiple trophic levels in detrital food webs, which play a vital role in energy flow, material conversion and nematodes community structure stability in the underground ecosystem. Sulfur (S) is one of the important soil nutrients, and it plays an important role in the nutrient cycle of grassland ecosystem. However, the impacts of S on soil fauna and subsurface detrital food webs in grassland ecosystems were rarely studied.

Energy-water and seasonal variations in climate underlie the spatial distribution patterns of gymnosperm species richness in China.

Studying the pattern of species richness is crucial in understanding the diversity and distribution of organisms in the earth. Climate and human influences are the major driving factors that directly influence the large-scale distributions of plant species, including gymnosperms. Understanding how gymnosperms respond to climate, topography, and human-induced changes is useful in predicting the impacts of global change.

Contrasting effects of thinning on soil CO emission and above- and belowground carbon regime under a subtropical Chinese fir plantation.

Thinning plays a major role in forest soil carbon cycling. However, the mechanisms governing soil C fluxes, i.e.

Impact of phosphorus application on drought resistant responses of Eucalyptus grandis seedlings.

Eucalyptus grandis is the most widely planted tree species worldwide and can face severe drought during the initial months after planting because the root system is developing. A complete randomized design was used to study the effects of two water regimes (well-watered and water-stressed) and phosphorus (P) applications (with and without P) on the morphological and physio-biochemical responses of E. grandis.

Optimization of growth and production parameters of walnut (Juglans regia) saplings with response surface methodology.

Straw mulching is an effective conservation tillage tool that utilizes waste resources and reduces environmental pollution. To determine the optimal levels of quality, placement and quantity of straw mulching, we performed a field experiment that used the Box-Behnken design combined with response surface methodology. The treatments designed for walnut saplings (Juglans regia) considered three independent variables: quality, placement, and quantity of straw mulching.

Assessing changes in the value of ecosystem services in response to land-use/land-cover dynamics in Nigeria.

Increasing human activities worldwide have significantly altered the natural ecosystems and consequently, the services they provide. This is no exception in Nigeria, where land-use/land-cover has undergone a series of dramatic changes over the years mainly due to the ever-growing large population. However, estimating the impact of such changes on a wide range of ecosystem services is seldom attempted.

Phosphorous fertilization alleviates drought effects on Alnus cremastogyne by regulating its antioxidant and osmotic potential.

Alnus cremastogyne, a broad-leaved tree endemic to south-western China, has both commercial and restoration importance. However, little is known of its morphological, physiological and biochemical responses to drought and phosphorous (P) application. A randomized experimental design was used to investigate how drought affected A.

Soybean supplementation increases the resilience of microbial and nematode communities in soil to extreme rainfall in an agroforestry system.

A current challenge for ecological research in agriculture is to identify ways in which to improve the resilience of the soil food web to extreme climate events, such as severe rainfall. Plant species composition influence soil biota communities differently, which might affect the recovery of soil food web after extreme rainfall. We compared the effects of rainfall stress up on the soil microbial food web in three planting systems: a monoculture of the focal species Zanthoxylum bungeanum and mixed cultures of Z.

Phosphorous Application Improves Drought Tolerance of .

(Gold Phoebe) is a threatened tree species in China and a valuable and important source of wood and bioactive compounds used in medicine. Apart from anthropogenic disturbances, several biotic constraints currently restrict its growth and development. However, little attention has been given to building adaptive strategies for its conservation by examining its morphological and physio-biochemical responses to drought stress, and the role of fertilizers on these responses.

The response of the soil microbial food web to extreme rainfall under different plant systems.

An agroforestry experiment was conducted that involved four planting systems: monoculture of the focal species Zanthoxylum bungeanum and mixed cultures of Z. bungeanum and Capsicum annuum, Z. bungeanum and Medicago sativa and Z.