Soil salinization and insect herbivory pose significant threats to global food security. While biocontrol agents like parasitoid wasps are a key pest management strategy, their efficacy may be compromised by abiotic stressors cascading through trophic levels. This study investigates the tri-trophic interactions among tomato plants ( Solanum lycopersicum ), the caterpillar pest Helicoverpa zea , and its specialist endoparasitoi...

Background Topographic depressions within agricultural fields contribute disproportionately to regional nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions. These low-lying areas accumulate nutrients and fine particles through water inflow and erosion, creating conditions conducive to elevated N 2 O emissions. Because depressions remain part of fields, understanding how crop presence and management influence their N 2 O source strength is essenti...

The increasing salinization of agricultural land is a pressing problem, altering how plants interact with organisms across multiple trophic levels. While salinity-induced changes in plant chemistry are known to affect insect herbivores, it remains unclear how these changes shape predator responses. Here, we examined how prey quality (tomato fruitworm caterpillars— Helicoverpa zea ), shaped by soil salinity influences the forag...

The Beartooth Mountains of Montana and Wyoming, USA, record more than 4.0 billion years of Earth history. This area has inspired a century of geological research and contributed to the evolution of geological thought. This spectacular Alpine landscape supports diverse geoeducational and geotourism opportunities. Geologic features of the Beartooth Mountains include: (a) physiographic occurrence as a basement-cored, Laramide-sty...

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...

Species choice and richness in intensively managed grassland mixtures regulate soil carbon (C) input via rhizodeposition, with potential consequences for long‐term soil organic carbon storage. Based on a field trial with different grass–legume–forb mixtures, we removed roots from the soil, which was then subjected to particle‐size fractionation to trace fresh organic carbon (net C rhizodeposition) into particulate organic matt...