In a review published over two decades ago I asserted that, along soil fertility gradients,
plant traits change in ways that reinforce patterns of soil fertility and net primary productivity …

Conservation agriculture through the use of crop residue retention and no-tillage (NT) has
been widely practiced to improve agricultural soil quality, such as to increase soil organic …

Global nitrogen (N) deposition patterns have profoundly affected the production and
morphological structure of fine roots, which in turn changed the distribution of carbon in …

Functional diversity strengthens species diversity and ecosystem function relationships;
however, in the case of mixed forests, the relationship between fine root biomass and …

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the largest carbon sink in terrestrial ecosystems and plays a
critical role in mitigating climate change. Increasing reactive nitrogen (N) in ecosystems …

China is experiencing a high level of atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition, which greatly
affects the soil carbon (C) dynamics in terrestrial ecosystems. Soil aggregation contributes to …

Variation and tradeoffs within and among plant traits are increasingly being harnessed by
empiricists and modelers to understand and predict ecosystem processes under changing …

Roots are the interfaces between biochar particles and growing plants. Biochar application
may alter root growth and traits and thereby affect plant performance. However, a …

Higher ecosystem nitrogen (N) inputs resulting from human activities often suppress soil
microbial biomass and respiration, thereby altering biogeochemical cycling. Soil …

Straw mulching and straw incorporation are widely used for conservation tillage as the
primary methods of returning straw to the field. However, few studies have investigated the …