Search Results (5,657)

Background: Soil mulching is a widely adopted agricultural practice known to regulate soil microclimate and enhance crop productivity; yet the biochemical mechanisms by which intact plastic and biodegradable mulch films influence soil nitrogen (N) cycling at the metabolic pathway level remain largely unexplored. Understanding these nitrogen transformation pathways is critical for assessing the long-term impacts of mulching materials on soil microbial communities, soil health, and sustainable agricultural management. This study focuses on the biochemical effects of intact mulch film application on soil N metabolism. Methods: N cycle-related soil metabolites were profiled using GC‒MS/MS and MALDI TOF/TOF MS and then integrated with multivariate statistical modelling and pathway-level metabolic network perturbation analysis to compare conventional plastic and biodegradable plastic mulch film application against unmulched controls. Results: A panel of 62 KEGG-annotated N-cycle metabolites was profiled, and material-dependent metabolome separation was confirmed by OPLS-DA (R²Y 0.893–0.956; Q² 0.546–0.786). Both mulching materials significantly perturbed soil N-metabolite pools but differed in terms of pathway identity, magnitude, and directionality. Conventional plastic mulching caused the greatest disruption—near-complete suppression of N-storage and stress-adaptation pools (NES of −1.16; impact score of 10.01) and severe impairment of aspartate-centred metabolism—with L-aspartate identified as a critical stoichiometric hub. Biodegradable mulching material imposed a distinct profile dominated by inhibition of branched-chain amino acid catabolism and lysine degradation, with L-pipecolate as a treatment-specific critical impact node. Conclusions: These findings support that mulching material choice is a primary determinant of soil N-cycling biochemistry. The observed metabolite-level perturbations are suggestive of potential consequences for nitrogen retention. Though this inference is based on metabolite pool size differences and network topology metrics rather than directly measured process rates, it should therefore be interpreted with appropriate caution. Full article

Single-use plastic residues persist in agricultural and peri-urban soils of the Ecuadorian Andes. Regionally sourced starch-based films are a plausible local replacement for short-lifetime petroleum plastics, yet field-relevant degradation data for tropical high-altitude soils remain scarce. This study evaluated the soil biodegradability of bioplastic films produced from Colocasia esculenta (malanga blanca) and Manihot esculenta (yuca) across three contrasting soils from Chimborazo, Ecuador (ESPOCH, San Andrés and Río Chimborazo; 2825–3249 m a.s.l.) as a function of their physicochemical properties and bibliographically inferred microbial context. The films were prepared by citric acid starch extraction, glycerol plasticization and carboxymethylcellulose reinforcement; the gravimetric weight loss was tracked on days 0, 11, 18, 27, 40 and 47 on n = 20–21 film replicates per soil × feedstock combination, with the soils characterized by their pH, electrical conductivity and organic matter. After 47 days, the malanga films reached 42.3 ± 13.6%, 22.9 ± 10.7% and 54.1 ± 19.3% mean (±standard deviation, SD) weight loss in the ESPOCH, San Andrés and Río Chimborazo soils, respectively; the yuca films reached 24.4 ± 6.5%, 21.1 ± 6.8% and 49.4 ± 18.7%. The between-soil differences were statistically significant at 47 days according to the analysis of variance (ANOVA) (malanga: F = 22.17, p < 0.001; yuca: F = 34.08, p < 0.001; Tukey’s Honestly Significant Difference (HSD)), with the results corroborated by the Kruskal–Wallis method (H = 29.16 and 37.05; both p < 0.001), given the partial departure from normality identified by the Shapiro–Wilk test. The ordering of degradation departed from the bulk organic matter ranking, indicating that microbial community composition, rather than organic matter quantity alone, was the proximal driver. These findings extend the scarce evidence base on cassava/taro film degradation under high-Andean conditions. Full article

Protected areas (PAs) are increasingly challenged by the need to reconcile biodiversity conservation with sustainable human use, particularly in landscapes containing underutilized or resting area (RA). This study evaluated the potential of resting forest and agricultural lands to enhance biodiversity and support sustainable land use within protected areas of Cesme, Türkiye. A Geographic Information System (GIS)-based multi-criteria evaluation approach was employed, integrating land cover data, soil group maps, topographic parameters, and protected area classifications to generate Plant Suitability Maps (PSMs). Eight thematic layers were developed, incorporating soil depth, slope, erosion risk, and land capability classes to identify suitable plant species and land-use options. The results indicate that the strategic use of resting agricultural lands could contribute up to 35.5% to ecological enhancement, while resting forest lands could contribute an additional 18%. The proposed plant assemblages include medicinal and aromatic species, erosion-control plants, and economically valuable perennial species that support ecosystem services such as pollination, beekeeping, and agro-tourism. Overall, the findings demonstrate that integrating RA management into conservation planning can simultaneously strengthen biodiversity, improve ecosystem services, and generate socio-economic benefits for local communities. The proposed GIS-based framework offered a transferable and scalable methodology for sustainable land management in Mediterranean landscapes and other protected regions worldwide. Also, in this research, the aim was to determine plant species using GIS-based suitability analyses of multi-spatial datato guide vegetation decisions in multi-criteria PA. Full article

Rural sustainability planning requires spatially explicit methods that integrate agricultural resource bases, ecological condition, low-carbon feasibility, community implementation support, and cultural landscape values. Although the Circular and Ecological Sphere (CES) concept offers an integrative framework for rural transition, empirical CES studies remain largely qualitative or policy-oriented. This study develops a FarmMap-integrated Python-GIS workflow for proxy-based CES-oriented spatial prioritization in Yangpyeong-gun, a peri-rural county on the eastern fringe of the Seoul metropolitan region in Korea. Public spatial and administrative datasets were integrated into thirteen indicators grouped under five CES-relevant axes. The model does not measure realized circular material flows, governance quality, resident participation, or carbon emission reduction directly; instead, it identifies where CES-relevant spatial potentials co-occur. An axis-balanced entropy model assigned equal total weight to each axis while applying entropy weighting within axes. Robustness was tested through equal-weight, axis-emphasis, raw entropy diagnostic, Monte Carlo perturbation, and spatial-scale sensitivity analyses using 100 m diagnostic, 500 m, and eup/myeon supports. The final 250 m priority surface identified the top fifth of analyzed Yangpyeong-gun area as very-high relative priority and remained stable across weighting and spatial-support diagnostics. Rural-experience villages and village enterprises had significantly higher CES scores than random background locations. The results demonstrate a reproducible first-stage spatial screening workflow for CES-oriented rural planning while clarifying the limits of proxy-based circularity, governance, and low-carbon indicators. Full article

China regards shale gas as a key energy source for ensuring energy security, promoting the transformation of the energy structure, and addressing climate change. However, at this stage, the scarcity of land resources, coupled with various institutional restrictions, has brought numerous practical obstacles to the large-scale commercial development of shale gas. By analyzing the restrictive provisions concerning shale gas development in China’s current laws, this paper points out three major institutional constraints faced by the use of agricultural land for shale gas development: first, stringent land use control policies; second, the legal acquisition system for surface land remains unstable; third, institutional gaps in the supervision of subsurface space on collectively owned land. To overcome these institutional barriers, this study proposes fundamental reform measures for the current land legal framework. If comprehensive reform cannot be achieved immediately, partial breakthroughs may be sought within the existing institutional framework. The sequence has three phases. Near-term one to three years: negative-list quotas, refined land classification, land linkage, benefit balance, and community guidance. No law changes needed; provinces can act. Medium-term three to seven years: regulations and the mining land chapter in the revised Mineral Resources Law. Long-term beyond seven years: constitutional amendment for collective land transfer and dual-track supply reform. This study provides a theoretical reference for solving the land use issues in China’s shale gas development, and its conclusions also provide a reference for resolving the conflicts between shale gas development and agricultural land use in other jurisdictions. Full article

The shift to circular agrosystems necessitates using new ideas like sustainable biochar, which provides many eco-beneficial attributes like enhancing soil fertility, storing atmospheric carbon dioxide, and retaining soil moisture. However, there is still a small number of farmers worldwide (particularly those located in low-income countries) adopting biochar. Accordingly, this research is focused primarily on determining how factors affecting behavior will influence the decision of wheat producers in Marvdasht County, in Iran’s Fars Province, to use biochar as a circular technology for farming. The study will focus on addressing issues related to environmental challenges (e.g., degradation of soil and drought) through the implementation of resource-efficient, sustainable agricultural technologies. The intent of this paper was to research the behavioral characteristics associated with wheat farmers who choose to use biochar in the city of Marvdasht, Fars Region, Iran, using a new Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). The model is theoretically enriched through the inclusion of personal norms and connectedness to the land, allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of pro-environmental decision-making. Data was collected from a total of 386 wheat farmers through the use of a structured survey. The data was analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with the software Smart-PLS 3.0. The results reveal that attitude (β = 0.342, p < 0.001) and personal norms (β = 0.278, p < 0.001) are the strongest predictors of behavioral intention, while perceived behavioral control showed a weaker but significant effect (β = 0.178, p = 0.049). Subjective norms do not have a significant direct effect (β = 0.115, p = 0.199) but significantly influence intention indirectly through personal norms (β = 0.100, p < 0.001). Furthermore, connectedness to the land strongly affects personal norms (β = 0.420, p < 0.001) and exerts a significant indirect effect on intention (β = 0.117, p < 0.001), highlighting the importance of emotional attachment to land. The findings are significant because they demonstrated that farmers’ biochar adoption decisions are shaped not only by rational evaluations but also by moral obligations and emotional relationships with land. This study makes significant theoretical contributions by extending TPB with moral and relational constructs and empirically demonstrating their mediating roles in agricultural innovation adoption. The novelty of this study lies in integrating personal norms and connectedness to the land into the TPB framework to explain biochar adoption behavior within the context of circular agriculture in a developing country. Practically, the findings provide evidence-based insights for designing policies that integrate cognitive, ethical, and emotional drivers to promote biochar adoption and advance circular agriculture. Specifically, policymakers and extension agencies should prioritize behavioral-level strategies such as awareness campaigns, farmer training programs, and community-based initiatives that strengthen positive attitudes, environmental responsibility, and farmers’ emotional connection to land in order to enhance biochar adoption. Full article

Internet of things long range (IoT/LoRa) devices emit radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF), ensuring long-range, low-power communication, and their use in precision agriculture continuously expands. Thus, the interest in the impact of low-intensity but long-term EMF exposure on plants has increased. In this study, maize plants were exposed to 868 MHz, 10 mW EMF for the first 28 days of their development with soil-buried antennas. Plants were divided into three groups: Control, Sham-exposed, and EMF-exposed. Biological effects were followed on morphological, physiological, and biochemical levels every week. The plant height values were fitted to a Gompertz function modeling the growth. The results showed slightly faster early development of EMF-exposed plants in about 21 days. The relative dry-leaf biomass from EMF-affected plants was a bit higher than in the Control and Sham groups until day 21. Chlorophyll fluorescence analysis (JIP-test) indicated photosynthetic stability. Antioxidant enzyme activity, antioxidant capacity, content of malondialdehyde, hydrogen peroxide, and reducing sugars were measured, and principal component analysis was done for all parameters. Overall, the developmental stage accounts for most of the observed variations in the data rather than EMF exposure. The results suggest that under the tested conditions, IoT/LoRa-emitted EMF did not provoke adverse effects in maize and acted as a modest modulator of physiological functions. Full article

Pesticide-residue risk perceptions among agricultural professionals are shaped by factors that extend beyond knowledge gaps. This study examines how trust in regulatory systems and information sources jointly shape residue-related attitudes among Greek agronomists. We used principal components analysis (PCA) to identify coherent domains and then latent profile analysis (LPA) to derive person-centered profiles based on standardized component scores. Two dominant profiles emerged, differing in regulatory confidence, reliance on institutional/scientific information channels, and comparative risk framing. Residue-Concerned Skeptics expressed lower confidence in enforcement capacity (implementation and staffing) and in the system’s alignment with other EU Member States, together with concerns about chronic pesticide exposure. The System-Confident profile reported higher regulatory confidence and greater reliance on official and scientific channels, as well as stronger endorsement of IPM effectiveness and comparative risk rankings. External validation supported profile differences in perceived training adequacy, IPM beliefs, and organic avoidance behavior. Professional involvement in plant protection and older age were associated with membership in the System-Confident profile. These findings suggest that interventions should emphasize clear communication, capacity building, and address concerns about chronic exposure, beyond information provision alone. Full article

Clarithromycin is a widely prescribed macrolide antibiotic that can enter soils using sewage treatment plant effluents, where it is frequently detected. Because it could exert selective pressure on soil microbes, this study examined whether bacterial communities in 12 agricultural soils developed tolerance to clarithromycin after 42 days of exposure to different clarithromycin concentrations (7.8 mg kg⁻¹–2000 mg kg⁻¹). Results showed that tolerance increased in a clear dose-dependent manner and was significantly higher than in control soils at concentrations of 31.3 mg kg⁻¹ and above. Soil characteristics also shaped the response. At lower clarithromycin doses, tolerance was restricted in those soils with higher values of _eCEC, clay content, organic carbon, and C/N ratio. At higher doses, tolerance increased with pH, likely due to increased clarithromycin bioavailability. This study provides evidence of the impact of clarithromycin on soil microbiota and suggests that contamination by this antibiotic may promote the development of bacterial tolerance. Future studies should be carried out to further clarify the factors that influence the development of tolerance and also to determine the possible spread of this resistance in the environment. Full article

Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) requires real-time control systems that connect high-level Decision Support Systems with resource-constrained edge devices. This paper presents a hybrid Multi-Agent System (MAS) architecture for swine precision feeding designed to address the trade-off between semantic interoperability and real-time operational efficiency. The proposed Controlling Module uses a dual-layer communication strategy: a lightweight character-delimited TCP/IP protocol ensures deterministic performance for embedded controllers, while an XML-serialized format that maps to the FIPA Agent Communication Language preserves semantic interoperability. A custom serialization/deserialization algorithm was developed to process this XML structure within LabVIEW while avoiding the overhead typically associated with generic DOM/SAX parsers. The architecture was validated in a 120 h laboratory test that combined a Digital Twin simulation of 50 virtual feeders with Hardware-in-the-Loop testing of key sensing components. Under these test conditions, no communication failures were observed, all simulated network interruptions were recovered from, and the system operated with a modest resource footprint, including an average CPU use of 15% and a peak memory use of 350 MB. The platform also processed 2590 consumption events without reported data loss during the validation period. These results indicate that the proposed hybrid MAS architecture is a feasible solution for integrating interoperable decision support and deterministic edge control in PLF applications. Full article

In national park sections adjacent to large cities, protected wildlife habitats often intersect with roads, tourism, agriculture, forestry, and other community-use spaces. This overlap complicates the joint prioritization of multi-species conservation and potential human-wildlife conflict governance. Using species trace-point data from the Fourth National Giant Panda Survey, we developed 30 m MaxEnt distribution models for 12 mammal species in the Chengdu section of the Giant Panda National Park and integrated protected-species’ conservation priority with potential wild-boar-related conflict pressure. Test AUC values ranged from 0.702 to 0.897, and elevation was the dominant predictor for 11 species. The Top 15% weighted conservation priority area, based on protection status and rarity, covered 350.1 km². Potential wild boar conflict pressure was defined as wild boar suitability multiplied by human exposure, and the Top 15% risk area covered 348.3 km². Overlaying the two layers identified 61.6 km² of high-conservation-high-conflict areas. Functional-zone statistics showed that the core conservation zone concentrated higher multi-species conservation value, whereas the general control zone carried stronger potential wild boar conflict pressure. This framework provides a spatial basis for coordinating protected mammal monitoring, crop-damage warning, and community co-management. Full article

Drought remains a persistent challenge affecting agricultural and pastoral livelihoods, particularly in dryland mixed crop–livestock systems. Water Monitoring and Early Warning Systems (WM-EWS) have increasingly been promoted as tools for delivering climate information services and supporting drought-related decision-making. However, empirical understanding of how users perceive and engage with such systems in pastoral contexts remains limited. This study explores stakeholder perceptions regarding the usefulness and operational relevance of a WM-EWS implemented in the Borana zone of Ethiopia. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining survey data from 71 purposively selected mixed stakeholders with qualitative insights obtained through focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Findings indicate that respondents widely reported using WM-EWS information for water-related decision-making and perceived the system as useful in supporting drought preparedness and adaptive responses. Participants associated WM-EWS use with perceived changes in areas such as livestock management, access to water-related information, and coordination among stakeholders. Respondents also reported adopting multiple coping strategies, including early livestock sales, strategic herd mobility, and engagement with external support mechanisms. Respondents perceived fewer conflicts over water resources and greater engagement from humanitarian actors following WM-EWS implementation. Overall, the study provides exploratory insights into stakeholder experiences, perceived usefulness, and operational relevance of user-centered WM-EWS in drought-prone pastoral systems. The findings contribute to understanding how pastoral communities engage with climate information services while highlighting the need for future research using objective and longitudinal approaches to assess system effectiveness more rigorously. Full article

Environmental degradation caused by unsustainable farming practices has depleted soil resources across sub-Saharan Africa. Conservation agriculture (CA) has been promoted to reverse this damage, yet outcomes remain variable, and the role of long-term training is underexplored. Using propensity score matching with 238 smallholder households across five communities in Ghana, we examine the impacts of long-term CA training. Specifically, we assess whether participation in a training program characterized by repeated engagement and follow-up workshops improves yields, farmer knowledge of soil health, and soil indicators (nitrogen and carbon). Farmers receiving long-term CA training did not exhibit significantly better soil chemical metrics. However, they demonstrated significantly more accurate knowledge of soil health (nitrogen, p < 0.001; carbon, p < 0.05), produced a 10.7% higher maize yield (kg/acre) (p < 0.001), and reported fewer soil problems, including fertilizer runoff, top-soil erosion, and waterlogging, compared to conventional farmers (all p < 0.05). We conclude that long-term CA training enhances farmer knowledge and maize yields, suggesting it is a critical intervention for improving productivity and farm management resilience, even where direct improvements in measured soil metrics are not immediately detectable. These findings highlight the need for training programs to emphasize the full suite of CA principles and for evaluation timeframes of 5–10 years to capture soil regeneration. Full article

Mediterranean regions are forecasted to be increasingly threatened by climate change, leading to the occurrence of extreme events. One strategy to improve the resilience of agricultural systems is to introduce rotations that combine legumes and crops with high intraspecific diversity such as evolutionary populations (EPs). These cropping systems may be characterized by lower external input needs and higher buffering capacity than traditional ones. Our objective was to test if the introduction of wheat EPs impacts soil microbial functions—including microbial biomass, community structure, and enzymatic activity—and soil organic matter composition within a crop rotation framework. We conducted a two-year field experiment at two sites in Italy comparing a modern bread wheat variety to two EPs, evolved in different areas, in rotation with legumes. The composition and processes of rhizosphere microbial communities were characterized using EL-FAME and enzyme activities. In addition, rhizosphere soil organic matter signatures were measured by mid-infrared spectroscopy, and their relationships with microbial parameters were investigated using principal component analyses. The results showed that the EP–rhizosphere relationship, as well as its influence on microbial abundance and activity, is dependent both on the site of origin and local pedoclimatic conditions, although no consistent response was observed across the two sites. These effects may be buffered by the choice of the preceding crop in rotation. Full article

Mountain stream ecosystems are often considered among the least disturbed freshwater environments; however, increasing land-use pressures may affect their ecological integrity even under apparently high-water quality conditions. This study aimed to assess the relative influence of landscape, physicochemical, and hydromorphological factors on benthic macroinvertebrate communities in three sub-catchments (Ambroz, Jerte, and Tiétar) of the Sierra de Gredos (Central Spain). A total of 33 sampling sites were surveyed, and macroinvertebrate assemblages were analyzed in relation to environmental variables using partial Redundancy Analysis (pRDA) and variance partitioning. All sites were classified as having “Excellent” ecological status based on the Iberian Biological Monitoring Working Party (IBMWP) index. However, multivariate analyses revealed clear spatial patterns and responses to environmental gradients. Results indicated that catchment-scale landscape characteristics defined the pool of potential colonizers, while local physicochemical and hydromorphological conditions acted as secondary filters structuring macroinvertebrate assemblages. Landscape variables explained the largest fraction of variance in community structure (30.6%), followed by physicochemical parameters (29.0%) and hydromorphological indices (24.9%), with a significant shared component (16.5%) indicating interactions among drivers. Agricultural land use, particularly in the Jerte sub-catchment, was associated with shifts in community composition, favoring tolerant taxa such as Diptera, while sub-catchments dominated by natural vegetation supported higher richness of sensitive groups, including Ephemeroptera and Plecoptera. These findings highlight the importance of multi-scale processes in structuring mountain stream communities and reveal limitations of traditional biotic indices in detecting early ecological changes. The results support the integration of catchment-scale variables into ecological assessment frameworks and emphasize the need for preventive, basin-scale management strategies to maintain ecological integrity under increasing anthropogenic pressure. Full article