Crop rotation is an important agricultural practice that often affects the metabolic processes of soil microorganisms through the composition and combination of crops, thereby altering nutrient cycling and supply to the soil. Although the benefits of crop rotation have been extensively discussed, the effects and mechanisms of different crop combinations on the soil microbial community structure in specific environments still need to be analyzed in detail. In this study, six crop rotation systems were selected, for which the spring crops were mainly tobacco or gramineous crops: AT (asparagus lettuce and tobacco rotation), BT (broad bean and tobacco rotation), OT (oilseed rape and tobacco rotation), AM (asparagus lettuce and maize rotation), BM (broad bean and maize rotation), and OR (oilseed rape and rice rotation). All crops had been cultivated for > 10 years. Soil samples were collected when the rotation was completed in spring, after which the soil properties, composition, and functions of bacterial and fungal communities were analyzed. The results indicate that spring cultivated crops play a more dominant role in the crop rotation systems than do autumn cultivated crops. Crop rotation systems with the same spring crops have similar soil properties and microbial community compositions. pH and AK are the most important factors driving microbial community changes, and bacteria are more sensitive to environmental responses than fungi. Rotation using tobacco systems led to soil acidification and a decrease in microbial diversity, while the number of biomarkers and taxonomic indicator species differed between rotation patterns. Symbiotic network analysis revealed that the network complexity of OT and BM was the highest, and that the network density of tobacco systems was lower than that of gramineous systems. Different crop rotation combinations influence both soil microbial communities and soil nutrient conditions. The spring crops in the crop rotation systems had stronger dominating effects, and the soil bacteria were more sensitive than the fungi were to environmental changes. The tobacco rotation system can cause soil acidification and thereby affect soil sustainability, while the complexity of soil microbial networks is lower than that of gramineous systems. These results provide a reference for future sustainable applications of rotation crop systems.

The desert locust Schistocerca gregagia (Forskål, 1775) is one of the most harmful migratory pests in the world, posing a major threat to agricultural production, livelihoods, and food security. Climate, land use, and topography influence the distribution of desert locusts, but few studies have integrated all the factors on a global scale to explore the suitable areas for desert locusts and the paths through which this species could potentially spread. In this study, we established ensemble distribution models to investigate the distribution patterns and driving factors of desert locusts under baseline and future scenarios; we used ensembled niche dynamic models to evaluate their niche conservation during outbreaks. The results showed that the most important factor influencing desert locust distribution is climate, especially the minimum temperature of the coldest month, the annual precipitation, and the mean temperature of the driest quarter. Some areas with little or no desert locust distribution at present will be suitable for desert locusts in the future, and highly suitable contiguous areas may become the dispersal paths. The results also showed that the climatic niche of the desert locust is still conservative, which might explain why desert locusts tend to retreat after intermittent outbreaks rather than settle at the site of invasion. Therefore, more attention should be paid to the areas that are highly suitable for desert locusts, the key factors driving their outbreaks, and the shifting of their climatic niche in order to prevent desert locusts from settling in invasion areas and affecting local ecosystems and food security.

Human activities provide migration opportunities for many ornamental plants and make them become a new potential invasion risk, threatening the local ecosystem. However, ornamental plants come from a wide range of sources, and there is still a lack of understanding on the distribution driving factors, ecological niche dynamics and invasion ability of ornamental plants based on the origin of different latitudes to evaluate their potential invasion risks. In this study, an ensemble of ecological niche model and a niche dynamic model were used to analyze the invasion potential of herbaceous and woody ornamental plants originating from different latitudes. The results showed that there were significant differences in environmental factors driving the distribution of plants originating from different latitudes, and climate-related factors were the primary driving force for each plant in the native and introduced regions. Urban land was the most influential factor in the introduced areas of most plants, potentially reflecting the importance of human activities in the distribution of ornamental plants. Additionally, only woody plants originating from mid-latitudes showed greater diffusivity than those originating in high latitudes and low latitudes, and the niche widths of all the herbaceous plants in the introduced regions nearly exceeded those in the native regions. This phenomenon was observed only in woody plants with mid-latitude origins. The niche similarity of all plant species between the introduced and native regions was high, indicating that all species in the introduced regions inherited niche characteristics from plants in the native regions.

Studies on the impact of land-use patterns on soil health and sustainability have indicated that land-use changes and unsuitable agricultural practices are key driving factors in the degradation of soil. However, the impact of land-use patterns on soil microbial diversity is not entirely consistent or known, and the specific effects of environmental factors need to be further considered. This study explored the impact of three different land-use patterns—rotation land (RL), garden land (GL), and uncultivated land (UL)—on soil health in a farming region by analyzing the soil physicochemical properties and the diversity of the soil bacterial and fungal communities. In this study, the results showed that the soil pH of GL was significantly lower than that of RL and UL, total nitrogen was lowest in GL, and available potassium and soil organic carbon were higher in RL and GL than in UL. The impact of the land-use patterns on microbial diversity was somewhat inconsistent, but greater on soil bacteria than fungi, with 17 bacterial and 4 fungal metabolic pathways showing significant differences. In particular, a decrease in the relative abundance of dominant bacteria was observed in GL. The land-use patterns had little impact on fungal functional genes; however, plant pathogen-related fungi were significantly higher in GL than in RL and UL. Overall, these results indicate that while the soil basic nutrients in different land-use patterns were high, long-term single planting (GL) still had a negative impact on the health and sustainability of the soil, especially owing to low soil pH. Therefore, when evaluating the effect of different planting systems on soil health, it is necessary to consider the true effect of local agricultural measures on soil properties and microbial community composition, and monitor for microbial diseases in the field to determine the impact of land-use patterns on crop production.

Genotypic variations of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) to both phosphorus (P) deficiency and water deficiency are evident on the Loess Plateau of China. Here, we compare the adaptive mechanisms between an introduced cultivar (Arkaxiya) and a landrace (Longzhong) subjected to P- and water-limited conditions. The two genotypes were grown in a soil medium with 0, 4.2, 8.4 and 16.8 μg applied P per gram dry soil. Three water treatments were imposed (maintained at 75–90%, 45–55% and 30–35% of pot capacity (PC)) 28 days after sowing (DAS). At high soil P and high soil water content (SWC), high rates of net photosynthesis (Pn) contributed to greater plant growth and P-use efficiency (PUE) in the introduced Arkaxiya compared to the landrace Longzhong. However, at low SWC, Longzhong had enhanced antioxidative defense (mainly SOD and CAT) compared to Arkaxiya. In addition, shorter shoot length and greater branching in Longzhong than Arkaxiya may also facilitate adaptation to low SWC. The contrasting adaptive mechanisms of the two genotypes provide a number of early-screening parameters associated with plant growth for the selection and introduction of alfalfa targeted at different rainfall and available P environments.

Forest ecosystems are crucial for terrestrial ecosystem stability, particularly in carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, and water conservation. With climate change exacerbating, understanding changes in suitable habitats for the main European tree taxa [Norway spruce (Picea abies), pedunculate oak (Quercus robur), and European beech (Fagus sylvatica)] and their drivers is critical for forest conservation in Europe. Here, we analyzed the factors driving the tree taxa distribution and suitable habitats under the current and two future scenarios, namely, optimistic and pessimistic. Based on a species distribution model, climatic, land use, and topographic factors were introduced as variables. This study determined that the main factors driving the tree taxa distributions were temperature, followed by land use. Under the future optimistic scenario, the suitable habitats change for the three tree taxa. Suitable habitats emerge in high-latitude regions and the northern Mediterranean. Meanwhile, suitable habitats are decreasing in Central Europe. Under the pessimistic scenario, more significant changes occurred in these regions. The total suitable habitat area for the three tree taxa did not change consistently under both scenarios. The suitable habitat area for Norway spruce increased, whereas that for pedunculate oak decreased. However, both regions with increasing or decreasing suitable habitats face the potential for forest succession, which will also affect the stability of forest ecosystem functions and should be a key focus.