Search Results (22,564)

Environmental nanomaterials (ENMs) are increasingly entering agroecosystems through industrial discharges, agricultural chemicals, nanotechnology, and atmospheric deposition. Consequently, a comprehensive understanding of their interactions with plants across growth stages is essential. This narrative review synthesizes current insights into nanomaterial uptake pathways, translocation dynamics, and intracellular trafficking from seed germination to reproductive maturity. It highlights the use of integrative multi-omics techniques, namely transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and epigenomics, to elucidate molecular reprogramming in response to ENMs exposure. The data indicates that nanomaterials can significantly affect seed vigor, root architecture, photosynthetic efficiency, and other yield-related traits through coordinated regulation of stress-responsive genes, antioxidant defense mechanisms, and phytohormonal signaling pathways. Furthermore, the review underscores the role of epigenetic modifications, including DNA methylation and histone remodeling, as critical regulatory layers that govern both transient and heritable plant responses to ENMs. Metabolomic remodeling, particularly the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites and redox-related pathways, represents the primary adaptive response linking molecular disturbances to phenotypic outcomes. This manuscript proposes a systems-level framework for evaluating nano–plant interactions, bridging nanoscale physicochemical properties with physiological and yield-level outcomes. Collectively, this integrative perspective aims to enhance mechanistic clarity, support the development of predictive and sustainable nanotechnology applications in agriculture, and identify critical gaps in long-term ecological and transgenerational assessments. Full article

Climate change is accelerating the frequency of extreme thermal environments, threatening animal welfare, global herd productivity, and agricultural economics. Heat stress—occurring when the ambient temperature-humidity index (THI) surpasses species-specific thermoneutral thresholds—initiates physiological heat-loss cascades (panting, sweating, and peripheral vasodilation), neuroendocrine disruptions (depressed thyroid hormones, elevated glucocorticoids, and insulin dysregulation), mitochondrial oxidative stress, and gut-barrier breakdown. These systemic disruptions drive substantial performance declines: voluntary dry matter intake drops by 15–25%, average daily gain by 15–30%, milk yield by 10–25%, conception rates by 30–50%, and poultry egg output and shell integrity by 15–25%. Species-specific vulnerability is governed by intrinsic anatomical and metabolic differences, including the substantial fermentation heat increment in ruminants, the lack of functional sweat glands and heavy feather insulation in poultry, and the low cutaneous evaporative capacity of swine. Furthermore, thermal stress induces oxidative damage via free radical accumulation and alters blood composition, triggering severe immunosuppression that heightens susceptibility to mastitis, respiratory complexes, and metabolic endotoxemia. Mitigation requires an integrated solutions matrix combining environmental cooling (tunnel ventilation, pad cooling, and shade), targeted nutrition (antioxidants, organic trace minerals, osmolytes, and rumen-protected fats), genomic selection (SLICK locus and thermotolerant crossbreeding), and real-time Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) monitoring. Addressing these challenges is paramount to ensuring sustainable livestock production, animal welfare, and global food security under impending climate scenarios. Full article

Plant biostimulants have emerged as key tools for sustainable agriculture by improving crop productivity, resource-use efficiency, stress resilience, and food quality while reducing dependence on external agricultural inputs. Despite their remarkable diversity in origin and composition, increasing evidence suggests that structurally distinct biostimulants may influence overlapping conserved regulatory networks controlling plant growth and environmental adaptation. This review proposes a mechanistic convergence framework to explain how structurally distinct plant biostimulants may influence overlapping regulatory networks controlling plant growth and environmental adaptation. We examine how humic substances, seaweed extracts, protein hydrolysates, amino acids, chitosan, silicon, and microbial biostimulants regulate extracellular perception, intracellular signalling, phytohormonal crosstalk, transcriptional reprogramming, and metabolic integration, ultimately enhancing root development, nutrient and water use efficiency, photosynthesis, carbon and nitrogen metabolism, redox homeostasis, stress tolerance, crop productivity, and food quality. We further discuss how transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, epigenomics, and computational biology are identifying recurring signalling and metabolic responses that may help define conserved regulatory processes and potential molecular biomarkers associated with the physiological responses induced by chemically diverse biostimulants. This systems-level framework provides a conceptual basis for the rational development of evidence-based precision biostimulants for sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture. Full article

Agricultural practices based on sustainable principles (e.g., conservation tillage, crop rotation, cover cropping, and the application of organic inputs) have been tested for their potential to improve soil structure, enhance soil organic matter, and support agrobiodiversity. These practices are directly linked to soil microbial diversity. Diverse soil microbial communities play multiple roles in promoting beneficial interactions between plants and their environment and in maintaining functional agroecosystems. Key functions enabled by soil microorganisms are carbon dynamics, nutrient cycling, soil structure improvement, pathogen suppression, plant growth promotion, and stress tolerance. Soil microorganisms are increasingly recognized as a promising but still underexploited source in tackling sustainability challenges in agricultural production. However, their potential varies depending on the interactions among abiotic and biotic factors, as well as the applied cultivation practices. In recent decades, advances in DNA extraction from soil and next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have enabled comprehensive characterization of microbial diversity, community composition, and functional potential for assessing soil health and agroecosystem functioning. Understanding, predicting, and exploring relevant plant–soil–microbiome interactions are essential for enhancing agroecosystem capacity for sustainable production. This review paper highlights how different factors and agricultural practices affect microbiome biodiversity. The focus is on microbiome approaches that integrate information on community composition with assessments of functional potential and measured microbial activity and ecosystem processes, combining state-of-the-art molecular monitoring, ecological indicators, and predictive modeling to support evidence-based management recommendations, distinguishing approaches that are currently applicable in agricultural practice from those that require further experimental validation. Full article

Soil contamination with phthalate esters (PAEs), particularly in e-waste-impacted regions, poses serious threats to crop productivity, soil health, and environmental sustainability. This study investigates the effectiveness of coconut shell biochar (BC) and zinc-modified biochar (Zn-BC) in mitigating PAE accumulation, improving wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) growth, and restoring soil fertility in contaminated soils. Characterization analyses revealed that Zn-BC possessed enhanced surface functionality, crystallinity, and elemental composition, favoring greater adsorption potential. Batch adsorption experiments demonstrated that Zn-BC exhibited higher equilibrium adsorption capacities for DMP (23.9 mg/g) and DBP (26.6 mg/g), following pseudo-second-order kinetics. Zn-BC significantly improved plant growth parameters including shoot height, root length, and biomass compared to unamended soil in a pot experiment. Post-harvest soil analysis showed increased pH (6.6), CEC (18.3 cmolc/kg), TOC (1.85%), and microbial biomass carbon (320 mg/kg) under Zn-BC treatment. Enzymatic activities such as dehydrogenase (45.2 µg TPF/g/d) and phosphatase (58.6 µg PNP/g/h) also improved markedly, indicating restored biological activity. These findings highlight the potential of Zn-BC as a sustainable amendment for remediating phthalate-contaminated soils and improving crop health under environmental stress conditions. Full article

The circular economy (CE) has gained increasing attention as a framework for improving resource efficiency and sustainability in agricultural systems. However, circular agriculture remains an evolving field characterized by conceptual diversity, heterogeneous practices, and different assessment approaches. This review examines its conceptual foundations, practical applications, and policy implications through combined bibliometric and qualitative thematic analysis. Following a structured literature search and screening process, 462 publications were analyzed using VOSviewer to identify the thematic structure and evolution of the field. The bibliometric analysis reveals a research landscape dominated by nutrient cycling, waste management, resource recovery, and environmental sustainability, while economic, social, governance, and implementation dimensions remain comparatively less developed. The qualitative synthesis shows that nutrient and biomass recycling, integrated farming systems, and resource-efficient and digital technologies can support resource circularity, although their sustainability outcomes are context-dependent. Importantly, greater circularity does not necessarily imply greater sustainability due to potential economic, environmental, technological, and system-level trade-offs. Future research should prioritize multidimensional assessment frameworks, long-term empirical evidence, economic and social performance, and governance conditions for implementation. Circular agriculture should ultimately be evaluated by whether resource recirculation generates measurable and lasting sustainability benefits. Full article

Phosphorus is an essential macronutrient for crop growth, but soil-available phosphorus is commonly lacking. Conventional chemical P fertilizers suffer from low utilization efficiency and dependence on finite phosphate rock reserves, necessitating the urgent development of green and efficient alternative strategies for phosphorus management. Phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms (PSMs) are capable of converting insoluble inorganic and organic phosphorus in soils into plant-available forms, thereby serving as key biological resources for enhancing phosphorus use efficiency, reducing dependence on chemical fertilizers, and promoting sustainable agricultural development. This review systematically covers the taxonomic diversity and multifaceted applications of PSMs, elucidates the mechanisms of inorganic P solubilization and organic P mineralization, and separately summarizes recent advances in functional genes involved in inorganic and organic P degradation. It further identifies key bottlenecks restricting PSM development and envisions the use of emerging technologies to transition PSM inoculants from empirical screening toward rationally designed precision deployment, thereby strengthening the scientific and technological foundation for enhancing phosphorus use efficiency and promoting green agricultural sustainability. Full article

The increasing occurrence of emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) in environmental matrices has intensified the demand for sensitive, selective, and sustainable analytical methods. Sample preparation plays a pivotal role, particularly for trace-level determination in complex matrices. Biochar is a promising sorbent for sample preparation because of its porous structure, tunable surface chemistry, low cost, and potential to be produced from renewable biomass waste. This review examines the use of biochar-based sorbents to extract EOCs from environmental matrices since 2020, with special emphasis on the relationships among precursor biomass, production conditions, surface chemistry, sorption mechanisms, and extraction performance. Agricultural waste was the predominant biomass class, while solid-phase extraction (SPE), magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE), and solid-phase microextraction (SPME) were the most frequently reported approaches. Biochar-based extraction has been applied to a wide range of EOCs, with pesticides being the most investigated analyte class. The authors discuss how pyrolysis conditions, activation, surface chemistry, and other parameters affect analyte retention and desorption. The authors compare different extraction approaches in terms of extraction efficiency, precision, and other analytical parameters. Finally, the authors discuss current limitations and research opportunities to guide the development of biochar-based sorbents as sustainable materials for sample preparation and environmental monitoring. Full article

Drought and water scarcity are threatening the food security in irrigation districts around the world, urging water-saving and highly efficient irrigation scheduling. However, the increasing uncertainty jointly caused by changing environment and human activities makes it much more difficult and unreliable. In this study, a chance-constrained multi-objective robust programming framework was proposed to optimize irrigation scheduling of multi-cropping systems, while dealing with hybrid uncertainty and multiple objectives simultaneously. It integrates deficit irrigation theory, soil water movement and reservoir regulation and was applied in a seasonal drought region of Southwest China with multi-cropping systems. The results show that: (1) the optimal irrigation schemes can substantially mitigate the seasonal drought and reveal the influence of uncertainty from parameters on the objectives; (2) compared with the current practice, the optimized irrigation scheduling can help save water for wet-season crops and reflect the response of crops to various water demand and supply scenarios; (3) the risk preferences, goal preferences, the expected objectives interval, and the preferences for robust penalty of decision makers were investigated to show their interactive influence on the results. Although there are still limitations, the developed model can help improve drought resistance, save water and realize sustainable development of agriculture. Full article

Rural low-carbon planning requires evaluation tools that connect carbon-related performance with the ecological, socioeconomic, and infrastructure conditions of rural settlements, yet carbon inventories and conventional human-settlement assessments do not fully integrate these dimensions. This study developed an exploratory carbon-benefit-oriented sustainability diagnostic and applied it to Qingge Village, Fujian Province. Fuzzy Delphi screening retained 27 indicators across ecological, social, production, and engineering subsystems; Delphi consultation generated expert-based weights; a dimensionless ratio transformation standardized the indicator values; threshold, standardization, and weighting sensitivity analyses evaluated the stability of results across analytical specifications. The primary composite score was 0.413 compared with 0.590 under the target-achievement transformation, and both expert-weighted transformations ranked subsystem contributions as production, ecological, social, and engineering. The ecological and production subsystems performed more strongly against the selected references than the social and engineering subsystems, whereas fully equal global weights placed ecology ahead of production. The principal diagnostic priorities were household energy emissions, green agricultural upgrading, public-transport access, and recorded energy-efficient building coverage. These findings indicate that the diagnostic can organize village-scale low-carbon planning priorities and translate multidimensional performance evidence into a sequenced set of spatial improvement options. This study therefore provides a transparent and practically applicable approach for linking carbon-related indicators with rural human-settlement planning and supporting evidence-informed low-carbon revitalization. Full article

Reliable crop mapping is essential for understanding agricultural practices, optimizing resource use, and analyzing rural dynamics, while also supporting modelling and sustainable agriculture planning. However, obtaining 10 m crop distribution maps remains challenging in Mediterranean regions, where data availability is often limited and landscapes are fragmented. The main European land use dataset, Corine Land Cover (CLC), lacks both the crop specificity required for accurate crop differentiation and the temporal frequency needed for timely monitoring. This study addresses these limitations by implementing the IOTA² automated chain in Sardinia (Italy), to create a large-scale crop map specifically targeting Mediterranean crops. The methodology leverages open-source satellite imagery with supervised machine learning, using the 2018 Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS), CLC, and Urban Atlas dataset for training. We compared two nomenclatures, detailed (32 classes) versus simplified (25 classes), testing each across three training sample sizes (10%, 50%, and 100%). Results indicate that the simplified nomenclature (N25) provided more robust performances, achieving an overall accuracy (OA) of 0.77 with full sampling, compared to 0.61 for the detailed version. These OA values refer to the subset of reference polygons held out from the reference data for independent pixel-level validation. Moreover, a final map was produced using the entire reference dataset for training and evaluated through zonal area agreement. Mapping showed high performance for specific crops like rice, citrus, and grapevine, while classes such as cereals and fruit trees presented classification challenges due to high fragmentation of the landscape and irregular crop-distribution patterns. Despite these challenges, this work delivers a 10 m spatial resolution reproducible framework that enhances thematic details of current European datasets. By running as a single automated processing chain rather than a sequence of manually executed steps, it offers a scalable solution for rapid, annual crop monitoring in complex, data-scarce Mediterranean environments. Full article

Efficient nitrogen (N) management in calcareous soils remains challenging due to limited nutrient availability, poor synchronization between N supply and crop demand, and low fertilizer use efficiency. While black soldier fly frass (BSFF) represents an emerging organic amendment, its comparative effects relative to vermicompost (VC) and mineral N fertilizers under calcareous soil conditions remain insufficiently understood. In this study, we evaluated the effects of BSFF- and VC-based integrated organic–mineral fertilization strategies involving urea (U) and ammonium sulfate (AS) on maize productivity, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), and selected soil chemical properties. A two-year field experiment was conducted at Quzhou Experimental Station, China Agricultural University, using a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with nine treatments: unfertilized control (CK), sole mineral fertilizers (U and AS), sole organic amendments (BSFF and VC), and integrated combinations (UBSFF, UVC, ASBSFF, and ASVC). All fertilizer treatments received 180 kg N ha⁻¹ and were replicated three times. Our results showed that ASBSFF increased maize grain yield by 101.9–114.6% compared with CK across both growing seasons, while ASVC increased yield by 92.5–103.9%. ASBSFF also resulted in the highest N uptake, increasing it by 121.3% compared with CK, and achieved the highest agronomic efficiency (26.01–27.51 kg grain kg⁻¹ N applied), apparent recovery efficiency (63.2%), and physiological efficiency (57.13–59.18 kg grain kg⁻¹ N uptake). BSFF-based integrated treatments increased soil NH₄⁺-N, NO₃⁻-N, available phosphorus, and available potassium compared with VC-based treatments, likely due to differences in nutrient composition between BSFF and VC. Overall, combining BSFF with mineral N fertilizers, particularly AS, improved maize productivity and NUE in calcareous soils, demonstrating its potential as a sustainable nutrient management strategy. Full article

Thiol-modified attapulgite (TM) combined with manganese sulfate (MnSO₄) can reduce cadmium (Cd) availability in alkaline soils, but the influence of MnSO₄ application timing on Cd transfer to wheat grain remains unclear. In this study, a soil incubation experiment and two wheat pot experiments were conducted to evaluate soil Cd immobilization, organ-specific Cd distribution, and the effects of applying MnSO₄ before sowing, at the jointing stage, or at the grain-filling stage. Low- and high-dose MnSO₄ treatments were applied alone or with TM, and the combined treatments were defined as TM+LS and TM+HS. Compared with the untreated control, TM+LS and TM+HS decreased dissolved Cd from 1.80 μg L⁻¹ to 0.35 and 0.20 μg L⁻¹, respectively, and reduced grain Cd from 0.19 mg kg⁻¹ to 0.08 and 0.06 mg kg⁻¹. These reductions were associated with decreased DTPA-extractable Cd, enhanced Cd adsorption, lower Cd desorption, and restricted Cd transfer from roots to shoots and from glumes to grains. Jointing-stage MnSO₄ application produced the lowest grain Cd concentration and glume-to-grain transport coefficient. These findings indicate that optimizing MnSO₄ application timing can improve TM-assisted Cd immobilization and wheat grain safety in alkaline Cd-contaminated soil. Full article

A. tauschii is the wild progenitor that contributed the D genome to common wheat. Since the 1990s, however, it has progressively become a destructive weed in northern China, posing a serious threat to wheat production. This review systematically summarizes current knowledge of A. tauschii, including its taxonomy, population differentiation, mechanisms underlying infestation and crop damage, environmentally sustainable management strategies, and the exploitation of its genetic resources. Two ecotypes have been identified in China: the wild-type and the weed-type. The weed-type spreads rapidly through pathways such as contaminated seed lots. Owing to its highly synchronized life cycle with winter wheat, strong environmental adaptability, prolific reproductive capacity, and superior competitive ability for ecological niches, A. tauschii can rapidly establish populations within wheat fields, resulting in substantial yield losses. Current management strategies emphasize an integrated control system combining primary agronomic practices, chemical control for rapid intervention, and smart agricultural technologies to enhance monitoring and precision management. A. tauschii represents an invaluable reservoir of genes associated with abiotic stress tolerance, disease resistance, and yield-related traits. Future research should integrate advances across multiple disciplines to simultaneously improve weed management and maximize the utilization of this important genetic resource. Full article

Differences in land use and land management significantly alter the physicochemical and microbial properties of soil, especially in the long term. These properties in turn determine the land’s ability to sustain plant growth and support agricultural productivity. Studies of soil properties, mainly microbial and enzymatic ones, have mainly focused on surface horizons, although substantial biological activity and transformation of soil organic matter are also known to occur in deeper horizons. An important role in shaping the biological activity of soil, including in its deeper horizons, is attributed to plant cover, and more precisely to variations in root mass and structure. That is why it is essential to assess the influence of differences in land use and plant species diversity by determining how plants with contrasting root system morphologies affect soil enzymes and other properties at different depths of the soil profile. We therefore aimed to study the differences in a set of soil properties among various soil depths (horizons) in eight soil profiles sampled from land under four different soil uses and management practices. The four land use systems represented were: arable lands (A), orchard (O), hop plantations (H), and grasslands (G). The potential hydrolase activities involved in the cycling of C, N and P were determined, as well as fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis (FDAH). In addition, the activity of selected oxidoreductases and the content of microbial biomass C and N were determined. We also evaluated the content of total and dissolved forms of C and N, pH in CaCl₂, CEC, available K and P, and clay content. The agricultural land uses differed in terms of their influence on both the microbial biomass content and enzyme activities. Considering the mean values for all five depths, six of the studied enzymes exhibited the highest activity in the G profiles, while five other enzymes were most active in the A profiles. A similar pattern of changes in the potential enzymatic activity in relation to the land use system was also noted for the top horizons of the studied profiles. Regardless of the cultivated plant species, soil variables exhibited a significant decline with increasing depth, and the most pronounced changes occurred between the surface and the second soil horizon (I–II) in the A and G profiles. The enzymatic activity throughout the O and H profiles was less variable, with relatively high activity in deep soil compared to the topsoils. The activity of two extracellular oxidases (phenol oxidase and peroxidase) differed in the patterns in their activity throughout the studied profiles as compared to the other enzymes and did not decrease progressively with depth. Sometimes, their activity was higher in deep horizons than in the surface ones. The soil C and N content had a stronger influence on the studied enzyme activities than other soil properties. This was confirmed by the significant and positive correlations calculated between various forms of C and N and enzyme activity. The highest correlation coefficients were noted between TOC and the FDAH rate and between TN and the FDAH rate (r = 0.818 and 0.888). No significant correlation coefficients were found between enzymatic activity and either pH in CaCl₂ or clay content. Because enzyme activities respond variously to different land use systems, they serve as suitable indicators for soil health assessment. Analysis of the variation in microbial and enzymatic properties throughout the soil profiles fills gaps in the existing knowledge about the biogeochemical processes and nutrient cycling that affect soil fertility and the health of agroecosystems. Full article