Background and Aims Biophysicochemical soil properties in the rhizosheath are pivotal for crop yields and drive organic carbon cycling in agricultural soils. Yet, it remains uncertain how moderate soil drought may alter and interfere with rhizosheath properties in diverse soil types, and whether specific rhizosheath traits benefit crop yields under different water availability in heterogeneous field environments. Methods Maize...

Infectious diseases bear a great risk for populations of naïve host species. In the present article we inform about the first microscopic and molecular detection of the bird pathogen Trichomonas gallinae in the White-winged Snowfinch ( Montifringilla nivalis subsp. nivalis ). The emergence of trichomonosis in this highly specialised alpine bird species may pose a serious threat to its already declining population. Interspecies...

Summary C4‐dicarboxylates, such as fumarate, l ‐malate and l ‐aspartate represent substrates for anaerobic growth of Escherichia coli by fumarate respiration. Here, we determined whether C4‐dicarboxylate metabolism, as well as fumarate respiration, contribute to colonization of the mammalian intestinal tract. Metabolite profiling revealed that the murine small intestine contained high and low levels of l ‐aspartate and l ‐mala...

Aim Species–area relationships (SARs) are fundamental scaling laws in ecology although their shape is still disputed. At larger areas, power laws best represent SARs. Yet, it remains unclear whether SARs follow other shapes at finer spatial grains in continuous vegetation. We asked which function describes SARs best at small grains and explored how sampling methodology or the environment influence SAR shape. Location Palaearct...

Farmland is a major land cover type in Europe and Africa and provides habitat for numerous species. The severe decline in farmland biodiversity of the last decades has been attributed to changes in farming practices, and organic and low‐input farming are assumed to mitigate detrimental effects of agricultural intensification on biodiversity. Since the farm enterprise is the primary unit of agricultural decision making, managem...