Normalized difference vegetation index analysis reveals increase of biomass production and stability during the conversion from conventional to organic farming.

Monitoring agriculture by remote sensing enables large-scale evaluation of biomass production across space and time. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is used as a proxy for green biomass. Here, we used satellite-derived NDVI of arable farms in the Netherlands to evaluate changes in biomass following conversion from conventional to organic farming.

Reading tea leaves worldwide: Decoupled drivers of initial litter decomposition mass-loss rate and stabilization.

The breakdown of plant material fuels soil functioning and biodiversity. Currently, process understanding of global decomposition patterns and the drivers of such patterns are hampered by the lack of coherent large-scale datasets. We buried 36,000 individual litterbags (tea bags) worldwide and found an overall negative correlation between initial mass-loss rates and stabilization factors of plant-derived carbon, using the Tea Bag Index (TBI).

Depth-dependent responses of soil organic carbon under nitrogen deposition.

Emerging evidence points out that the responses of soil organic carbon (SOC) to nitrogen (N) addition differ along the soil profile, highlighting the importance of synthesizing results from different soil layers. Here, using a global meta-analysis, we found that N addition significantly enhanced topsoil (0-30 cm) SOC by 3.7% (±1.

Global fine-resolution data on springtail abundance and community structure.

Springtails (Collembola) inhabit soils from the Arctic to the Antarctic and comprise an estimated ~32% of all terrestrial arthropods on Earth. Here, we present a global, spatially-explicit database on springtail communities that includes 249,912 occurrences from 44,999 samples and 2,990 sites. These data are mainly raw sample-level records at the species level collected predominantly from private archives of the authors that were quality-controlled and taxonomically-standardised.

Decoupled responses of above- and below-ground beta-diversity to nitrogen enrichment in a typical steppe.

Increased atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition affects biodiversity in terrestrial ecosystems. However, we do not know whether the effects of N on above-ground plant β-diversity are coupled with changes occurring in the soil seed bank. We conducted a long-term N-addition experiment in a typical steppe and found that above-ground β-diversity increased and then decreased with increasing N addition, whereas below-ground β-diversity decreased linearly.

Deciphering microbiomes dozens of meters under our feet and their edaphoclimatic and spatial drivers.

Microbes inhabiting deep soil layers are known to be different from their counterpart in topsoil yet remain under investigation in terms of their structure, function, and how their diversity is shaped. The microbiome of deep soils (>1 m) is expected to be relatively stable and highly independent from climatic conditions. Much less is known, however, on how these microbial communities vary along climate gradients.

Ecosystem consequences of invertebrate decline.

Human activities cause substantial changes in biodiversity. Despite ongoing concern about the implications of invertebrate decline, few empirical studies have examined the ecosystem consequences of invertebrate biomass loss. Here, we test the responses of six ecosystem services informed by 30 above- and belowground ecosystem variables to three levels of aboveground (i.

Litter and soil biodiversity jointly drive ecosystem functions.

The decomposition of litter and the supply of nutrients into and from the soil are two fundamental processes through which the above- and belowground world interact. Microbial biodiversity, and especially that of decomposers, plays a key role in these processes by helping litter decomposition. Yet the relative contribution of litter diversity and soil biodiversity in supporting multiple ecosystem services remains virtually unknown.

Globally invariant metabolism but density-diversity mismatch in springtails.

Soil life supports the functioning and biodiversity of terrestrial ecosystems. Springtails (Collembola) are among the most abundant soil arthropods regulating soil fertility and flow of energy through above- and belowground food webs. However, the global distribution of springtail diversity and density, and how these relate to energy fluxes remains unknown.

Protist Diversity Responses to Experimental N Deposition in Biological Crusts of a Semiarid Mediterranean Ecosystem.

Biological soil crusts (BSC) are associations of different macro and microorganisms and aggregated soil particles located on the surface of soils in many different habitats. BSC harbour a diverse and complex community of ciliates and testate amoebae. These phagotrophic protists play an important role in C and N recycling in soil ecosystems but have not been frequently studied in BSC.

Application of biostimulant products and biological control agents in sustainable viticulture: A review.

Current and continuing climate change in the Anthropocene epoch requires sustainable agricultural practices. Additionally, due to changing consumer preferences, organic approaches to cultivation are gaining popularity. The global market for organic grapes, grape products, and wine is growing.

Mowing enhances the positive effects of nitrogen addition on ecosystem carbon fluxes and water use efficiency in a semi-arid meadow steppe.

Grasslands are now facing a continuously increasing supply of nitrogen (N) fertilizers, resulting in alterations in ecosystem functioning, including changes in carbon (C) and water cycling. Mowing, one of the most widely used grassland management techniques, has been shown to mitigate the negative impacts of increased N availability on species richness. However, knowledge of how N addition and mowing, alone and/or in combination, affect ecosystem-level C fluxes and water use efficiency (W) is still limited.

Different drivers of soil C accumulation in aggregates in response to altered precipitation in a semiarid grassland.

Soil carbon (C) stabilization partially depends on its distribution within soil structural aggregates, and on the physicochemical processes of C within these aggregates. Changes in precipitation can alter the size distribution of aggregate classes within soils, and C input and output processes within these aggregates, which have potential consequences for soil C storage. However, the mechanisms underlying C accumulation within different aggregates under various precipitation regimes remain unclear.

Moving towards the ecological intensification of tree plantations.

The growing demand for timber and the boom in massive tree-planting programs could mean the spreading of mismanaged tree plantations worldwide. Here, we apply the concept of ecological intensification to forestry systems as a viable biodiversity-focused strategy that could be critical to develop productive, yet sustainable, tree plantations. Tree plantations can be highly productive if tree species are properly combined to complement their ecological functions.

Temporal rarity is a better predictor of local extinction risk than spatial rarity.

Spatial rarity is often used to predict extinction risk, but rarity can also occur temporally. Perhaps more relevant in the context of global change is whether a species is core to a community (persistent) or transient (intermittently present), with transient species often susceptible to human activities that reduce niche space. Using 5-12 yr of data on 1,447 plant species from 49 grasslands on five continents, we show that local abundance and species persistence under ambient conditions are both effective predictors of local extinction risk following experimental exclusion of grazers or addition of nutrients; persistence was a more powerful predictor than local abundance.

Altered precipitation and root herbivory affect the productivity and composition of a mesic grassland.

Background: Climate change models predict changes in the amount, frequency and seasonality of precipitation events, all of which have the potential to affect the structure and function of grassland ecosystems. While previous studies have examined plant or herbivore responses to these perturbations, few have examined their interactions; even fewer have included belowground herbivores. Given the ecological, economic and biodiversity value of grasslands, and their importance globally for carbon storage and agriculture, this is an important knowledge gap.

Biogeography of global drylands.

Despite their extent and socio-ecological importance, a comprehensive biogeographical synthesis of drylands is lacking. Here we synthesize the biogeography of key organisms (vascular and nonvascular vegetation and soil microorganisms), attributes (functional traits, spatial patterns, plant-plant and plant-soil interactions) and processes (productivity and land cover) across global drylands. These areas have a long evolutionary history, are centers of diversification for many plant lineages and include important plant diversity hotspots.

Soil element coupling is driven by ecological context and atomic mass.

The biogeochemical cycling of multiple soil elements is fundamental for life on Earth. Here, we conducted a global field survey across 16 chronosequences from contrasting biomes with soil ages ranging from centuries to millions of years. For this, we collected and analysed 435 topsoil samples (0-10 cm) from 87 locations.

Global impacts of fertilization and herbivore removal on soil net nitrogen mineralization are modulated by local climate and soil properties.

Soil nitrogen (N) availability is critical for grassland functioning. However, human activities have increased the supply of biologically limiting nutrients, and changed the density and identity of mammalian herbivores. These anthropogenic changes may alter net soil N mineralization (soil net N ), that is, the net balance between N mineralization and immobilization, which could severely impact grassland structure and functioning.