Bioavailability of Macro and Micronutrients Across Global Topsoils: Main Drivers and Global Change Impacts

Understanding the chemical composition of our planet\u27s crust was one of the biggest questions of the 20th century. More than 100 years later, we are still far from understanding the global patterns in the bioavailability and spatial coupling of elements in topsoils worldwide, despite their importance for the productivity and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. Here, we measured the bioavailability and coupling of thirteen macro- and micronutrients and phytotoxic elements in topsoils (3–8 cm) from a range of terrestrial ecosystems across all continents (∼10,000 observations) and in response to global change manipulations (∼5,000 observations). For this, we incubated between 1 and 4 pairs of anionic and cationic exchange membranes per site for a mean period of 53 days. The most bioavailable elements (Ca, Mg, and K) were also amongst the most abundant in the crust. Patterns of bioavailability were biome-dependent and controlled by soil properties such as pH, organic matter content and texture, plant cover, and climate. However, global change simulations resulted in important alterations in the bioavailability of elements. Elements were highly coupled, and coupling was predictable by the atomic properties of elements, particularly mass, mass to charge ratio, and second ionization energy. Deviations from the predictable coupling-atomic mass relationship were attributed to global change and agriculture. Our work illustrates the tight links between the bioavailability and coupling of topsoil elements and environmental context, human activities, and atomic properties of elements, thus deeply enhancing our integrated understanding of the biogeochemical connections that underlie the productivity and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems in a changing world

Hotspots of biogeochemical activity linked to aridity and plant traits across global drylands

14 páginas.- 4 figuras.- 67 referencias.- The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-024-01670-7Perennial plants create productive and biodiverse hotspots, known as fertile islands, beneath their canopies. These hotspots largely determine the structure and functioning of drylands worldwide. Despite their ubiquity, the factors controlling fertile islands under conditions of contrasting grazing by livestock, the most prevalent land use in drylands, remain virtually unknown. Here we evaluated the relative importance of grazing pressure and herbivore type, climate and plant functional traits on 24 soil physical and chemical attributes that represent proxies of key ecosystem services related to decomposition, soil fertility, and soil and water conservation. To do this, we conducted a standardized global survey of 288 plots at 88 sites in 25 countries worldwide. We show that aridity and plant traits are the major factors associated with the magnitude of plant effects on fertile islands in grazed drylands worldwide. Grazing pressure had little influence on the capacity of plants to support fertile islands. Taller and wider shrubs and grasses supported stronger island effects. Stable and functional soils tended to be linked to species-rich sites with taller plants. Together, our findings dispel the notion that grazing pressure or herbivore type are linked to the formation or intensification of fertile islands in drylands. Rather, our study suggests that changes in aridity, and processes that alter island identity and therefore plant traits, will have marked effects on how perennial plants support and maintain the functioning of drylands in a more arid and grazed world.This research was supported by the European Research Council (ERC grant 647038 (BIODESERT) awarded to F.T.M.) and Generalitat Valenciana (CIDEGENT/2018/041). D.J.E. was supported by the Hermon Slade Foundation (HSF21040). J. Ding was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China Project (41991232) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China. M.D.-B. acknowledges support from TED2021-130908B-C41/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/Unión Europea Next Generation EU/PRTR and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation for the I + D + i project PID2020-115813RA-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. O.S. was supported by US National Science Foundation (Grants DEB 1754106, 20-25166), and Y.L.B.-P. by a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellowship (MSCA-1018 IF) within the European Program Horizon 2020 (DRYFUN Project 656035). K.G. and N.B. acknowledge support from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) SPACES projects OPTIMASS (FKZ: 01LL1302A) and ORYCS (FKZ: FKZ01LL1804A). B.B. was supported by the Taylor Family-Asia Foundation Endowed Chair in Ecology and Conservation Biology, and M. Bowker by funding from the School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University. C.B. acknowledges funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41971131). D.B. acknowledges support from the Hungarian Research, Development and Innovation Office (NKFI KKP 144096), and A. Fajardo support from ANID PIA/BASAL FB 210006 and the Millennium Science Initiative Program NCN2021-050. M.F. and H.E. received funding from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (grant 39843). A.N. and M.K. acknowledge support from FCT (CEECIND/02453/2018/CP1534/CT0001, SFRH/BD/130274/2017, PTDC/ASP-SIL/7743/2020, UIDB/00329/2020), EEA (10/CALL#5), AdaptForGrazing (PRR-C05-i03-I-000035) and LTsER Montado platform (LTER_EU_PT_001) grants. O.V. acknowledges support from the Hungarian Research, Development and Innovation Office (NKFI KKP 144096). L.W. was supported by the US National Science Foundation (EAR 1554894). Y.Z. and X.Z. were supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U2003214). H.S. is supported by a María Zambrano fellowship funded by the Ministry of Universities and European Union-Next Generation plan. The use of any trade, firm or product names does not imply endorsement by any agency, institution or government. Finally, we thank the many people who assisted with field work and the landowners, corporations and national bodies that allowed us access to their land.Peer reviewe

Facilitación de la regeneración de Quercus ilex en dehesas ibéricas por dos especies contrastadas de matorral: jara y retama

Se ha inventariado la densidad de plántulas y brinzales de Quercus ilex en 40 dehesas del Oeste español. En cada finca se evaluaron 2 parcelas de características similares, pero diferenciadas por la presencia o ausencia de cobertura arbustiva. En 20 fincas la parcela con matorral presentaba Cistus ladanifer (50-100% cobertura; sistema radicular somero) y en el resto de las fincas estaba presente Retama sphaerocarpa (20-60% cobertura; sistema radicular profundo). En cada una de las 80 parcelas se realizaron 4 transectos de ~ 300 m x 2 m en 4 fechas (primavera y otoño de 2007 y 2008). En una finca de cada tipo se sembraron bellotas en 4 micro-hábitats: pasto abierto, bajo encina, bajo matorral, bajo encina+matorral. Se sembraron, protegidas de herbívoros y roedores, 6 bloques de 50 bellotas por finca y micro-hábitat, realizando el seguimiento de supervivencia de plántulas durante 2 años. Las 2 especies de matorral mostraron un efecto facilitador para la regeneración de las encinas, pero su efecto positivo se sustenta en diferentes mecanismos. Mientras que la jara parece favorecer sobre todo la protección y dispersión de las semillas, la retama favorece sobre todo la supervivencia a largo plazo de las plántulas emergidas

The enduring effects of sowing legume-rich mixtures on the soil microbial community and soil carbon in semi-arid wood pastures.

[Aims] Agroforestry systems and legume sowing have been reported as efficient in terms of soil function, gaining momentum as environmentally sustainable agricultural practices. This paper examines how the soil microbial community of Mediterranean pastures responds to legume-enrichment.[Methods] We used phospholipid fatty acids profiling (PLFA) to measure microbial community composition, community-level physiological profiling (CLPP) to measure their activity and functional diversity, and analysed soil labile and bulk organic carbon in four wood pastures. Each site included a triplet of treatments composed of a native pasture (Control) and two native pastures enriched with a legume-rich mixture sowed ≤ 7 (young) and ≥ 11 (old) years ago, and two habitats (under tree canopy vs open pasture). The sites were fertilized with varying amounts of phosphorous.[Results] We found large variations among legume-plot ages and habitats, with microbial biomass, diversity and CLPP-activity higher in the legume-plots than in the control plots, and under tree than in open pastures. The community shift after sowing was driven by increased abundance of gram-negative bacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and decreased saprophytic fungi. Soil bulk and labile C stocks steadily increased after the sowing, and were related to legume abundance, P-fertilization and forage yield, both directly and indirectly, through the positive effect on microbial biomass and CLPP-activity.[Conclusions] The shift in microbial community structure together with the increased soil C stocks, soil P and likely N fixed by legumes form a positive legacy that can help to enhance the productivity and climate-resilience of pastures, although this needs further research.The authors thank Virginia Gascón (IRNASA-CSIC) for her valuable task in laboratory analyses. This paper was developed as part of the project PID2019-108313RB-C31/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 funded by the Spanish State Research Agency. A. Hernández-Esteban was supported by a fellowship from Fundación Tatiana Pérez de Guzmán el Bueno, Madrid (Spain). V. Rolo was supported by a “Talento” fellowship (TA18022) funded by the regional government of Extremadura (Spain). José M. Igual was supported by project “CLU-2019-05 – IRNASA/CSIC Unit of Excellence”, funded by the Junta de Castilla y León and co-financed by the European Union (ERDF “Europe drives our growth”).Peer reviewe

Hipouricemia con hipercalciuria. Estudio longitudinal y revisión del tema

Resumen: Antecedentes y objetivo: La asociación de hipouricemia e hipercalciuria es poco frecuente. En 1974 se describió un nuevo síndrome nominado Hipouricemia con hipercalciuria y reducción de la densidad ósea. Posteriormente, se publicaron algunos casos con esa asociación en los que la excreción fraccional de urato era superior a 20/100 ml FGR. Hemos analizado una serie de niños que fueron diagnosticados de hipouricemia e hipercalciuria y que fueron controlados evolutivamente. El objetivo del trabajo es intentar conocer si nuestros pacientes podrían estar afectos del síndrome antes mencionado o ser portadores de una variante de hipercalciuria idiopática. Pacientes y métodos: Estudio retrospectivo longitudinal en el que se estudiaron las historias clínicas de 8 pacientes (5 V y 3 M) diagnosticados de hipouricemia e hipercalciuria en la infancia. Se anotaron la clínica al diagnóstico, los hallazgos ecográficos y densitométricos, y determinadas variables bioquímicas, con especial hincapié en el manejo tubular renal del urato. Los resultados se compararon con los de 36 niños afectos de hipercalciuria idiopática sin hipouricemia (14 V y 22 M). Resultados: En el grupo con hipouricemia los niveles iniciales de uricemia fueron 1,9 (0,3) mg/dl (rango: 1,5-2) y los del cociente calcio/creatinina en primera orina del día, 0,27 (0,05) mg/mg (rango: 0,23-0,31). En todos los casos la excreción fraccional de urato fue inferior a 20 ml/100 ml FGR. Los valores de z-DMO fueron menores de −1 en 4/8 casos. En el último control, solo en 3 casos persistía el cociente calcio/creatinina elevado, y en todos la uricemia era superior a 2 mg/dl. El valor de z-DMO había mejorado en 5 casos y empeorado en otros 3. En relación con el grupo sin hipouricemia, no se observaron diferencias entre los diversos parámetros estudiados incluido el valor de z-DMO, con la excepción de la excreción fraccional y la reabsorción tubular de urato, aunque los niveles de uricemia seguían siendo significativamente inferiores. Conclusión: Nuestros pacientes con hipercalciuria e hipouricemia estarían afectos de una variante de hipercalciuria idiopática en la que por causa desconocida la reabsorción tubular proximal de urato está reducida discretamente y mejora con el tiempo. Es posible que el síndrome de Hipouricemia con hipercalciuria y reducción de la densidad ósea no sea una entidad específica. Abstract: Background and objective: The association of hypouricemia and hypercalciuria is rare. In 1974 a new syndrome named Hypouricemia with hypercalciuria and decreased bone density was described. Afterwards, some cases with such association were published in which the fractional excretion of urate was higher than 20/100 ml FGR. We have analyzed a series of children who were diagnosed with hypouricemia and hypercalciuria and who were monitored. The aim of this study was to determine whether our patients could be affected by the aforementioned syndrome or be carriers of a variant of idiopathic hypercalciuria. Patients and methods: Retrospective longitudinal study in which the medical records of eight patients (5 V and 3 M) diagnosed with hypouricemia and hypercalciuria in childhood. Clinical features at diagnosis, ultrasound and densitometric findings and selected biochemical variables were noted, with special emphasis on renal tubular handling of urate. Results were compared with 36 children with idiopathic hypercalciuria without hypouricemia (14 V and 22 M). Results: In the hypouricemia group baseline urate levels were 1.9 (0.3) mg/dl (range: 1.5-2) and first day urine calcium/creatinine ratio 0.27 (0.05) mg/mg (range: 0.23-0.31). In all cases fractional urate excretion was less than 20/100 ml FGR. The z-DMO values were less than −1 in 4/8 cases. At the last follow-up only three cases still had an elevated calcium/creatinine ratio and in all of them the urates levels was greater than 2 mg/dl. The z-DMO value had improved in five cases and worsened in three others. In relation to the group without hypouricemia, no differences were observed between the various parameters studied including the z-DMO value, with the exception of fractional excretion and tubular urate reabsorption although plasmatic uric acid levels were still significantly lower. Conclusion: Our patients with hypercalciuria and hypouricemia would be affected by a variant of idiopathic hypercalciuria in which, due to an unknown cause, the proximal tubular reabsorption of urate is modestly reduced and improves over time. Hypouricemia with hypercalciuria and decreased bone density may not be a specific entity

Optimizing biodiversity gain of European agriculture through regional targeting and adaptive management of conservation tools

Agricultural intensification continues being a major threat for biodiversity worldwide. Despite the incorporation of diverse conservation tools in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) since the 1990s, European agriculture continues intensifying. The last CAP reform introduced compulsory greening, including measures to support semi-natural habitats across the wider countryside (referred to in this paper as Green and Blue Infrastructure, GBI), and by these means biodiversity. However, the actual benefits of greening implementation have not been evaluated formally through field studies, and its effectiveness is questioned. We assess the capacity of a variety of GBI features that can be supported by CAP greening to promote biodiversity across a variety of agricultural systems. We analyze the relationships between diversity (birds and plants) and a set of habitat indicators linked to distinct greening options in 115 plots from six case study areas, including arable land, pastures and mixed farming systems in Spain, Germany and Bulgaria. Relationships between biodiversity and the different GBI elements varied considerably between regions, systems and organisms' groups. Some of these relationships were non-linear. Although most GBI elements showed potential for promoting biodiversity, they should be adapted to specific conservation targets and landscape constraints regionally. The next CAP reform could include compulsory measures that support connectivity, heterogeneity and small-landscape elements characteristic in each region (e.g. field margins and trees or preventing field size enlargement), combined with more regionally-orientated voluntary measures (e.g., promoting grassland and fallow). Performance evaluation and adaptation ought to accompany the implementation of these measures to ensure their ecological success.This work is a contribution to the projects BIOGEA ‘Testing BIOdiversity Gain of European Agriculture with CAP greening’ (BiodivERsA3-2015-180), funded by the Spanish State Research Agency, the Bulgarian Science Fund, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and the European Commission within the ERA-Net BiodivERsA Co-Fund scheme, and REMEDINAL TE-CM (S2018/EMT-4338). E.D.C. and V.R. are each recipient of a Juan de la Cierva - Incorporación postdoctoral fellowship (IJCI-2016-30964 and IJCI-2015-24733, respectively) from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities

To what extent does the European common agricultural policy affect key landscape determinants of biodiversity?

Agricultural intensification continues to threaten habitat and biological diversity in farmland. In Europe, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has established several measures to support biodiversity-fostering elements such as landscape features, semi-natural habitats and extensive land uses, together referred to as Green and Blue Infrastructure (GBI). However, CAP measures’ effectiveness to support GBI has not been accurately evaluated yet. We assess GBI occurrence across a variety of European agricultural systems covering a gradient of farming intensity and analyse to what extent the CAP is supporting their presence by enhancing farmer's awareness and the uptake of measures that foster GBI. We carried out habitat surveys in 115 Landscape Test Squares (LTS) of 500m × 500m in six case study areas, including arable land, pastures and mixed farming systems in Spain, Germany and Bulgaria. We mapped GBI including small landscape elements, in-field elements (both semi-natural and productive) and connectivity features. We used historical imagery to map changes on GBI occurrence in LTS from 2012 to 2018. We also used questionnaires with farmers and stakeholders on their GBI awareness and compared their answers to elements mapped. Results showed that landscape and in-field GBI occurrence was higher in extensive than in intensive farming systems regardless of the region, whereas the opposite was found for connectivity features (e.g. grassy strips). The analysis of habitat changes showed a small increase of certain biodiversity-fostering in-field GBI, but no substantial change in connectivity features or landscape elements. Moreover, a significant reduction of valuable GBI like grasslands was observed. There were several mismatches between the patterns of GBI identified by farmers and stakeholders and their mapped abundances. Our results indicate that the CAP has not substantially increased the availability of biodiversity-fostering GBI in these regions and that adopted features were mostly related to neutral or negative effects on biodiversity. Farmers’ perception of GBI features seems driven by production management decisions rather than by biodiversity concerns.This work is a contribution to the projects BIOGEA 'Testing BIOdiversity Gain of European Agriculture with CAP greening' (BiodivERsA3-2015-180), funded by the Spanish National Research Agency, the Bulgarian Science Fund, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and the European Commission within the ERA-Net BiodivERsA Co-Fund scheme, and REMEDINAL TE-CM (52018/EMT-4338). A.P. is recipient of a postdoctoral fellowship funded by the Regional Government of Extremadura (P017006) and co-funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) of the European Union. V.R. was supported by Regional Government of Extremadura (TA18022). E.D.C. is recipient of a Juan de la Cierva-IncorporaciOn postdoctoral fellowship (IJCI-2016-30964) from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio