Drought and soil nitrogen (N) deficiency are the limiting factors for poplar plantation productivity improvement in semi-arid regions. N addition could alleviate the growth decline of trees caused by drought; however, the effectiveness under severe drought and the underlying ecophysiological understanding remains uncertain. To further clarify the mechanisms of N addition in regulating tree biomass accumulation under different drought levels, we investigated the effects of 6 g NH4NO3 per plant addition on the carbon and N assimilation and biomass accumulation of potted poplar seedlings under moderate or severe drought (40 % or 20 % of field capacity) conditions, with a particular emphasis on carbon and N interactions. We found that under moderate drought, N addition markedly promoted the activities of antioxidases, nitrate reductase (39 %), and N concentration (56 %) in leaves, significantly alleviated the damages of the membranes and photosystem II, and increased both leaf area (69 %) and chlorophyll content per unit leaf area, along with net photosynthesis rate (34 %), thereby significantly alleviating growth restrictions. However, under severe drought, although N addition increased the accumulation of both soluble sugars and N of the whole plant, it did not ameliorate the damage to membranes and photosystem II, nor did it improve chlorophyll content, leaf area, or biomass accumulation. Therefore, N addition could increase leaf area, enhance antioxidants, and positively influence leaf carbon assimilation (0.60, p < 0.001) in poplar seedlings under moderate drought. The restrictions on leaf area and carbon assimilation were exacerbated during severe drought, which mitigated the positive effects of N addition on carbon assimilation and biomass accumulation. The findings of this study suggest that the growth of hybrid poplar can be enhanced by applying N fertilizer under mild drought conditions. In contrast, N fertilization has no significant effect in severe drought conditions.

The majority of European forests are managed and influenced by natural disturbances, with wind being the dominant agent, both of which affect the ecosystem's carbon budget. Therefore, investigating the combined effect of wind damage and different soil preparation practices on forest carbon pools is of great importance. This study examines changes in carbon stocks in the soil and biomass of two 5-year-old Scots pine stands (namely Tlen1 and Tlen2), which were established approximately 2 years after a large-scale wind disturbance in northwestern Poland. These neighboring sites differ in terms of the reforestation methods applied, particularly regarding soil preparation: ploughing disc trenching at Tlen1 and partial preparation through local manual scalping at Tlen2. Using nearby forest soils as the best available reference for the pre-windthrow state, it was estimated that the total carbon stock in the soil (up to 50 cm depth, both organic and mineral) was depleted by approximately 17 % at Tlen1 and 7 % at Tlen2. The between-site differences were around 18 %, which nearly doubled when considering only the top 20 cm of the soil profile. In contrast, the total biomass, as well as the carbon stock in biomass, were significantly higher at the site with soil prepared using moderate ploughing (Tlen1) compared to the area with partial soil preparation (Tlen2). Our findings indicate that ploughing disc trenching, aimed mainly at weed removal and improving soil properties, significantly enhanced Scots pine seedlings' growth, survival, and development during the first four years after planting. Finally, when both carbon stock estimates are pooled together, regardless of the chosen technique, the growing biomass in the investigated stands did not fully compensate for the carbon losses caused by mechanical soil preparation. However, in the short term, the overall change in the ecosystem's carbon balance was only slightly negative and comparable between the two sites.

Sustainable polymers have attracted interest due to their ability to biodegrade under specific conditions in soil, compost, and the marine environment; however, they have comparatively lower mechanical properties, limiting their widespread use. This study explores the effect of incorporating waste soy biomass into sustainable polymers (including biodegradable and biobased) on the thermal and mechanical properties of the resultant blends. The dispersion of the waste soy biomass in the polymer matrix is also investigated in relation to particle size (17 mu m vs. 1000 mu m). Fine waste soy biomass did not significantly affect the melting temperature of the polymers (polyhydroxyalkanoates, polybutylene adipate terephthalate, polybutylene adipate terephthalate/poly(lactic) acid, and biobased linear low-density polyethylene) used in this study, but their enthalpy of fusion decreased after soy was melt-blended with the polymers. The tensile modulus of the polymers filled with fine waste soy biomass powder (17 mu m) was enhanced when melt-blended as compared to unfilled polymers. Additionally, it was found that fine waste soy powder (17 mu m) increased the tensile modulus of the polymer blends without significantly affecting processability, while coarse waste soy meal (1000 mu m) generally reduced elongation at break due to poor dispersion and stress concentration; however, this effect was less pronounced in PHA blends, where improved compatibility was observed.

Snow cover is a critical factor controlling plant performance, such as survival, growth, and biomass, and vegetation cover in regions with seasonal snow (e.g., high-latitude and high-elevation regions), due to its influence on the timing and length of the growing season, insulation effect during winter, and biotic and abiotic environmental factors. Therefore, changes in snow cover driven by rising temperatures and shifting precipitation patterns are expected to alter plant performance and vegetation cover. Despite the rapid increase in research on this topic in recent decades, there is still a lack of studies that quantitatively elucidate how plant performance and vegetation cover respond to shifting snow cover across snowy regions. Additionally, no comprehensive study has yet quantitatively examined these responses across regions, ecosystems, and plant functional types. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis synthesizing data from 54 snow cover manipulation studies conducted in both the field and laboratory across snowy regions to detect how plants performance and vegetation cover respond to decreased or increased snow cover. Our results demonstrate that plant survival, aboveground biomass, and belowground biomass exhibited significant decreases in response to decreased snow cover, with rates of survival having the greatest decrease. In response to increased snow cover, plant survival, growth, biomass and vegetation cover tended to increase, except for plant belowground length growth and biomass, which showed significant decreases. Additionally, our quantitative analysis of plant responses to changes in snow cover across regions, ecosystems, and plant functional types revealed that cold regions with thin snow cover, tundra and forest ecosystems, and woody species are particularly vulnerable to snow cover reduction. Overall, this study demonstrates the strong controls that snow cover exerts on plant performance, providing insights into the dynamics of snow-covered ecosystems under changing winter climatic conditions.

Background: The olive stone, a primary by-product of olive oil extraction, is mainly composed of a lignified shell and inner seed. It represents a substantial portion of the olive industry's biomass waste, contributing over 40 Mt annually. While typically regarded as waste, olive stones contain a variety of nutrients and bioactive compounds like lipids, proteins, phenolic compounds, and minerals found in the seed, as well as fibers in the shell. These elements hold significant value across multiple sectors, including food, energy, and agriculture. These phenolic compounds and nutrients provide notable antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, chemopreventive, and antimicrobial effects, supporting health and disease prevention. Scope and approach: This review explores the sustainable utilization of olive stone by-products, highlighting their potential to contribute to human health and environmental sustainability. It discusses the practical applications of olive stones in various domains, from functional ingredients in food products and pharmaceuticals to renewable energy sources and soil-enhancing agricultural inputs. Key findings and conclusions: Olive stones, particularly olive seeds, are rich in dietary fiber (47.6 %), lipids (30.4 %), proteins (13.5 %), and phenolic compounds (8.10 %), especially n & uuml;zhenide, n & uuml;zhenide 11-methyl oleoside and methoxyn & uuml;zhenide, and demonstrate a range of health-promoting properties. Additionally, they are shown to benefit metabolic health by combating disorders such as diabetes, hyperlipidemia, obesity, and car- diovascular and neurodegenerative diseases while also protecting organ functions like those of the liver and kidneys. The review underscores the promise of olive stone by-products as a sustainable, health-benefiting resource in circular economy practices within the olive oil industry.

Aerosols emitted from biomass burning affect human health and climate, both regionally and globally. The magnitude of these impacts is altered by the biomass burning plume injection height (BB-PIH). However, these alterations are not well-understood on a global scale. We present the novel implementation of BB-PIH in global simulations with an atmospheric chemistry model (GEOS-Chem) coupled with detailed TwO-Moment Aerosol Sectional (TOMAS) microphysics. We conduct BB-PIH simulations under three scenarios: (a) All smoke is well-mixed into the boundary layer, and (b) and (c) smoke injection height is based on Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS) plume heights. Elevating BB-PIH increases the simulated global-mean aerosol optical depth (10%) despite a global-mean decrease (1%) in near-surface PM2.5. Increasing the tropospheric column mass yields enhanced cooling by the global-mean clear-sky biomass burning direct radiative effect. However, increasing BB-PIH places more smoke above clouds in some regions; thus, the all-sky biomass burning direct radiative effect has weaker cooling in these regions as a result of increasing the BB-PIH. Elevating the BB-PIH increases the simulated global-mean cloud condensation nuclei concentrations at low-cloud altitudes, strengthening the global-mean cooling of the biomass burning aerosol indirect effect with a more than doubling over marine areas. Elevating BB-PIH also generally improves model agreement with the satellite-retrieved total and smoke extinction coefficient profiles. Our 2-year global simulations with new BB-PIH capability enable understanding of the global-scale impacts of BB-PIH modeling on simulated air-quality and radiative effects, going beyond the current understanding limited to specific biomass burning regions and seasons. Plain Language Summary Biomass burning includes wildfires, prescribed burns, and agricultural burns; and is an important source of aerosol particles in the atmosphere. These aerosol particles are important for climate and human health. Our work contributes to understanding the global and interannual impacts of changing the height of these particles in the atmosphere. We ran multiple global atmospheric chemistry model simulations with each simulation having different heights for aerosol particles from biomass burning. Simulations with a higher average emission height had more smoke aerosol particles in the entire atmosphere, resulting in an increase in the cooling radiative impact of biomass burning compared to simulations with a lower average emission height. We found that simulations with a higher average emission height for biomass burning aerosols had slightly better agreement with satellite observations relative to lower heights. This study shows the importance of biomass burning aerosol emission height on Earth's global air quality and climate.

Nanotechnology is an emerging tool which has the potential to stimulate photosynthetic process in stress related environment. Unfortunately, the role of nanotechnology on photosynthetic performance explaining photosystem II functionality and specific energy fluxes in crop plants are rather scarce. Photosystem II contributes 90% of the energy requirement in plants, therefore its participation in a sub-optimal environment cannot be ruled out. The current study not only elucidates the role of Zinc-NP on light harvesting efficiency of photosystem II and specific energy fluxes but also explains their subsequent involvement in physiological tolerance against salt stress in saline soil. Oryza sativa L. rice var. Diamond and Triticum aestivum L.wheat var. Benazir seeds were sown in plastic pots and were allowed to grow in natural condition. Fifteen-day-old plants were exposed to ZnO-NP at 0.02 g/L with or without salt stress (0, 75, and 150 mM) NaCl concentration. Application of nanoparticles in saline environment showed 22 to 36% increase in rice and 9 to 25% in wheat growth. Biomass accumulations and relative water content (RWC) were also increased from 10 and 111% in a suboptimal condition. Moreover, nanoparticles reduced the oxidative damages in both rice and wheat plants indicating -20.2 to -58.3% and -28.7 to -20.2% reduction in the MDA and H2O2 production under moderate to severe salt stress. Maximum quantum yield (Fv/Fm) was less affected in severe and moderate salt stress indicating -7 and -5.4% decrease in stress condition. Foliar application of ZnO-NP improves the size and number of active reaction centre of photosynthetic machinery (Fv/Fo) and performance index (PIabs) in saline soil. It was concluded that Zn-NP not only sustained light harvesting potential in both cereal plants under salinized soil but also increases the biomass accumulation and reduces oxidative damage in a sub-optimal environment.

The competitive ability of weeds against crop plants is determined by the amount of macronutrients taken up from the soil. Macronutrient uptake is influenced by nutrient concentrations in plants and, above all, the amount of weed biomass produced per unit area. The present study was conducted as a part of a field experiment with winter oilseed rape, which has been carried out since 1967. Winter oilseed rape has been grown continuously since 1967 in the same field and in a six-field crop rotation. In winter oilseed rape monoculture, weed management was implemented to mitigate soil fatigue. Winter oilseed rape yields were twice as high in crop rotation than in monoculture, and weed biomass was more than three times higher in the continuous cropping system than in crop rotation. Winter oilseed rape yields were higher in crop rotation without a weed control than in monoculture, including monoculture with a weed control. Nitrogen (N) uptake by rape seeds and straw was significantly higher, whereas N uptake by weeds was lower in crop rotation than in monoculture. In all years of this study, N uptake by weed biomass was higher in monoculture than in crop rotation due to higher weed infestation levels in the continuous cropping system, and N uptake was not significantly affected by N content. The weed control induced a greater increase in N uptake by rape seeds and straw in monoculture than in crop rotation. The results indicate that integrating crop rotation with herbicide protection can help increase yields while reducing weeds, which promotes a more sustainable crop production system. The use of crop rotation contributes to a more efficient use of nitrogen by crops, while reducing its uptake by weeds.

Highlights What are the main findings? The bast fibers extracted from the second generation of energy crop L. biomass have consistent yield and stable productivity across different seasons; Sida hermaphroditaThe results revealed a favorable moisture content, strength, and toughness, suitable for storage and processing. What are the implications of the main findings? fibers are suitable for use in a wide range of industrial applications, where a combination of lightness, strength, and toughness is required; Sida hermaphroditaAccording to the circular economy principles, a high percentage of side streams after fiber isolation are successfully applied for biofuel production.Highlights What are the main findings? The bast fibers extracted from the second generation of energy crop L. biomass have consistent yield and stable productivity across different seasons; Sida hermaphroditaThe results revealed a favorable moisture content, strength, and toughness, suitable for storage and processing. What are the implications of the main findings? fibers are suitable for use in a wide range of industrial applications, where a combination of lightness, strength, and toughness is required; Sida hermaphroditaAccording to the circular economy principles, a high percentage of side streams after fiber isolation are successfully applied for biofuel production.Abstract Virginia mallow or Sida hermaphrodita (L.) Rusby (SH) is a perennial plant from the Malvaceae family (mallows) that is used for medicinal purposes, reducing soil erosion, cleaning soil, and most recently for energy production. The potential of sustainable lignocellulosic agro-waste is immense as it represents Earth's most abundant organic compound. This paper explores fibers isolated from SH stems, a plant with significant industrial application potential, including technical textiles and biocomposites. The fibers were harvested in January, March, and November of 2020 and in January and March of 2021, and their yield, mechanical properties, moisture content, and density were thoroughly analyzed. The fiber yield showed slight variations depending on the harvest time, with consistent results observed across different years, suggesting stable productivity. The SH fibers demonstrated a favorable moisture content, making them suitable for storage and processing, and their density ranged between 1.52 and 1.58 g/cm3, comparable to that of other natural fibers. According to this research, the best mechanical properties were observed in the winter harvest. Furthermore, the high percentage of solid residue left after fiber extraction shows promise for sustainable utilization, primarily for biofuel production. This study underscores the versatility and sustainability of SH fibers, positioning them as a valuable resource for a wide range of industrial applications.

To effectively contribute to climate change mitigation, agronomists are increasingly focused on minimizing the application of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides while ensuring that crop yield and quality are not compromised. Plant biomass and organic fertilizers are known to improve soil quality, boost plant growth, and suppress diseases. However, their overall effectiveness remains limited, hence the need for further research to enhance their agricultural performance. This study aims to explore the potential application of two natural sources (manure digestate and crop Artemisia dubia) for crop fertilization and protection. During the growing season, winter wheat was fertilized twice (21-25 BBCH and 30-35 BBCH) with synthetic, organic (pig manure digestate), and combined synthetic-organic fertilizers. Artemisia dubia biomass was incorporated before sowing and planted in strips. The soil chemical composition, crop overwintering, weediness, and diseases were assessed after two years of the respective treatments. The results showed that the organic carbon content increased by 1-5% after fertilizing winter wheat with pig manure digestate and combining fertilizers (organic and synthetic). Additionally, fertilizer or pesticide use had a significant effect on the soil pH process. Combining synthetic and organic fertilizers increased the amount of mobile phosphorus in the soil by 38%. In conclusion, combining synthetic fertilizers with organic fertilizers is the most effective approach to maintain healthy soil conditions and prevent damage to sprouts in the soil. Overall, our findings offer more opportunities for organic and sustainable agricultural processes by integrating pig manure digestate and Artemisia dubia biomass as a natural approach to minimizing synthetic fertilizer and pesticide use.