Limited plastic responses in safety traits support greater hydraulic risk under drier conditions

Understanding how plants adjust their hydraulic system to the environment is essential to predict how these organisms will respond to global change. Here we compiled a dataset and performed meta-analysis on 223 studies on plastic and evolutionary adjustments of hydraulic traits to air temperature, CO2 concentration, irradiance, soil nutrient and water availability. On average, species plastically increased embolism resistance and sapwood area per leaf area under drier conditions, with a decrease in stem-specific hydraulic conductivity and water potential at the turgor loss point, which are consistent with adaptive responses. However, the average increased embolism resistance was not sufficient to compensate the reduction in the minimum water potential, implying a lower safety margin from lethal hydraulic failure under drought. These results point towards a general critical increase in the risk of hydraulic failure in future drier environments. Plastic responses to increased soil nutrient content and irradiance did not always align with those to drought, highlighting the potential for changes in light and nutrient conditions to modify plant hydraulic responses to climate-change-driven droughts

Biological durability of Guyanese fibre insulation boards in tropical context - part 2: Predicting fungal and termite resistance using explainable machine learning

The French Guianese Forest, covering over eight million hectares, represents a key resource for sustainable construction in French Guiana, where demand is rising. Residual wood offers opportunities for bio-based insulation panels; however, applications remain limited by lack of knowledge about biological durability in hot, humid, and biodiverse tropical environments. Few studies quantify how chemical composition and physical properties affect resistance to termites and fungi, and predictive approaches are scarce. This study applied supervised machine learning regression to predict panel mass loss from microorganism attacks, using SHapley Additive exPlanation (SHAP) analysis to interpret interactions between chemical composition, panel density, and biological degradation. Ten types of fibre-insulation panels, produced from sawmill residues, fast-growing species, and plantation wood, were tested under controlled tropical conditions. SHAP analysis identified the holocellulose-to-lignin ratio as the primary driver of degradation, with higher ratios increasing susceptibility to biological attacks. Extractives and moisture content significantly influenced Pycnoporus sanguineus resistance, whereas density had minimal effect on Reticulitermes flavipes and Cryptotermes dudleyi damage. Panels with high extractive content and low holocellulose-to-lignin ratios showed the best durability. These findings provide a data-driven framework for optimising tropical bio-based insulation materials by prioritising chemical composition, supporting sustainable construction and circular economy in French Guiana

Effects of tree species richness on topsoil carbon and fungal diversity in European planted mixed forests are modulated by environmental conditions

Mixed-species forests have emerged as a promising approach to mitigate climate change impacts through enhanced carbon (C) sequestration while maintaining productivity, biodiversity, and other ecosystem services. However, we still have a poor understanding of the context-dependency of soil C sequestration in tree mixtures, particularly how it is influenced by plant-soil-microbe interactions and environmental conditions.Using soil samples collected from nine European sites within the global network of tree diversity experiments, TreeDivNet, we examined how tree species richness is associated with topsoil C stocks, fungal community composition and diversity, and their interactions. We further investigated the influence of biotic, edaphic, and climatic factors on the relationship between tree richness and topsoil C stocks. We hypothesised that increased tree species richness leads to increased topsoil C stocks and fungal diversity, and that this effect is modulated by site-specific interactions between biotic and abiotic factors.Overall, we found topsoil C stocks in stands with high tree diversity to be greater than in monocultures across the study sites. Decreases in soil fertility, mean annual temperature, and interannual variability of temperature and precipitation were found to correlate with positive effects of tree diversity on soil C stocks. While tree diversity did not directly influence fungal diversity, topsoil C stocks were positively correlated to fungal species richness. In addition, fungal richness showed a positive correlation with the net diversity effect of tree mixtures on topsoil C, suggesting that fungal diversity may be one of several factors contributing to the context-dependency of tree diversity effects on soil C stocks.Our study shows that tree species diversity can increase topsoil C storage across Europe, influenced both directly and indirectly by fungal diversity and environmental conditions. The mediation of direct and indirect linkages between tree diversity, fungal diversity and topsoil C stocks by local abiotic context highlights the need to improve our mechanistic understanding for site-specific management of soil C sequestration in tree mixtures to promote climate change mitigation in European forests

Analyse prospective de l'agriculture sénégalaise en 2050 : agro-industrie versus agroécologie ? Rapport sur la prospective "Agroeco2050-Sénégal"

Ce rapport présente les résultats d'AgroEco2050-Sénégal, le premier exercice de prospective au Sénégal à l'échelle nationale explorant deux visions contrastées de l'agriculture sénégalaise à l'horizon 2050: une agriculture agroécologique et une agriculture industrielle conventionnelle.Ces trajectoires ont été analysées à travers des dimensions clés telles que l'emploi, la production alimentaire, l'utilisation des terres, la performance économique et le bien-être des populations rurales. L'approche méthodologique combine des outils de modélisation quantitative, des récits qualitatifs et une forte participation des acteurs de la société civile, académique, gouvernementaux et privé pour coconstruire des visions de futurs agricoles cohérentes, crédibles et contrastées.Au-delà des deux scénarios initiaux — agroécologique et agro-industriel — les échanges ont permis de faire émerger une vision intermédiaire, appelée "Coexistence verte", reflet des aspirations partagées par certains acteurs lors des ateliers participatifs. Le rapport vise à alimenter la réflexion stratégique sur les futurs possibles de l'agriculture sénégalaise, en apportant des éléments concrets pour orienter les politiques publiques et les choix collectifs. En particulier, il révèle les enjeux cruciaux à chacun des scénarios pour que ceux-ci émergent. Il s'accompagne également de la compilation de plusieurs bases de données dans un outil cohérent et visuel inédit sur les systèmes agricoles et alimentaires du Sénégal, offrant un éclairage structurel historique et prospectif précieux pour comprendre les transformations en cours

A phylogenetic host-range index reveals ecological constraints in phage specialisation and virulence

Phages are typically known for having a limited host range, targeting particular strains within a bacterial species, but accurately measuring their specificity remains challenging. Factors like the genetic diversity or population dynamics of host bacteria are often disregarded despite their potential influence on phage specialisation and virulence. This study focuses on the Ralstonia solanacearum species complex (RSSC), which comprises genetically diverse bacteria responsible for a major plant disease. It uses a diversified collection of RSSC phages to develop new host-range analysis methods and to test ecological and evolutionary hypotheses on phage host range. We introduce a new 'phylogenetic host-range index' that employs an ecological diversity index to account for the genetic diversity of bacterial hosts, allowing systematic classification of phages along a continuum between specialists and generalists. We propose and provide evidence that generalist phages are more likely to be represented in CRISPR-Cas immune system of bacteria than specialist phages. We explore the hypothesis that generalist phages might exhibit lower virulence than specialist ones due to potential evolutionary trade-offs between host-range breadth and virulence. Importantly, contrasted correlations between phage virulence and host range depend on the epidemiological context. A trade-off was confirmed in a context of low bacterial diversity, but not in a context of higher bacterial diversity, where no apparent costs were detected for phages adapted to a wide range of hosts. This study highlights the need for genetic analyses in phage host range and of investigating ecological trade-offs that could improve both fundamental phage knowledge and applications in biocontrol or therapy

Building the future one health workforce in eastern and southern Africa: Gaps and opportunities

The Quadripartite comprised of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Health Organization (WHO), World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), and the One Health High Level Expert Panel collectively support enhancing the One Health (OH) capacities of the workforce addressing OH issues; however, competencies for this workforce are not generally agreed upon, applied uniformly, or always relevant in the global South. The objectives of this study were to (1) develop an inventory of OH education offered by higher education institutes in Eastern and Southern Africa, and (2) define OH competencies relevant for OH training in Eastern and Southern Africa. A survey in 11 Eastern and Southern African countries was conducted with OH key informants purposively selected from higher education institutes offering OH education (n = 1–3/higher education institutes). Snowball sampling was used to identify additional higher education institutes/individuals. Results were validated by OH country representatives. Data were collected using questionnaires, and descriptive statistics were used to present the results. Forty-two questionnaires were completed from 29 higher education institutes, and 166 OH education interventions were reported with 69% being courses contributing to a degree, 21% as degree/diploma awarding, and the remainder were missing data (n = 16). Masters were the most common OH degree program of which the highest number of students taught were from public health/OH, food safety, and applied epidemiology. There are many OH educational courses and activities on offer in Eastern and Southern Africa; however, their total breadth is difficult to assess due to limited awareness of the availability of OH education not only between higher education institutes in a country but also even within a higher education institute between faculties. Numerous cross-cutting and technical competencies were considered essential to work in OH; however, this level of expertise is rarely logistically possible to provide in any single degree program. For OH education to be consistently applied, competency frameworks that are relevant to a region are necessary. Technical competencies are important from a disciplinary context; however, necessary cross-cutting competencies should be a focus in developing the future OH workforce