Carbon sequestration-related traits of spontaneous flora under agroecological intensification in European cropping systems
Abstract
Spontaneous flora is increasingly recognized as an important component of agroecosystem functioning. Plant functional traits may provide useful indicators of ecological processes potentially associated with soil carbon (C) sequestration, although these relationships remain indirect. This study investigated how agroecological intensification influences spontaneous flora diversity and soil C sequestration-related functional traits across seven European cropping systems. Vegetation surveys were conducted at minimum and maximum crop nutrient demand stages, and community-weighted means of canopy height, specific leaf area (SLA), grass-like morphology, support for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (SAM), and perenniality were calculated together with biodiversity indices. PCA, PERMANOVA, ANOVA/Kruskal-Wallis tests and Pearson correlations were used to evaluate the effects of management practices on community structure and functional traits.
Responses to agroecological intensification were strongly context-dependent. In case studies with sufficiently rich spontaneous flora communities, management induced community reassembly, accompanied by shifts in functional traits. Among the practices evaluated, no-till promoted higher proportions of perennial, grass-like and SAM species, traits potentially related to ecological processes involved in belowground C inputs and soil C stabilization. In some case studies, it also favoured opportunistic high-SLA species associated with rapid resource acquisition and faster biomass turnover. Cover crops partly moderated the dominance of these acquisitive species, promoting more balanced communities. Across all case studies, community evenness was more strongly associated with the selected functional traits than species richness.
The observed relationships should be interpreted as trait-based inferences, and direct measurements of soil C processes are required for validation.
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BibTeX
@article{testani2026carbon,
title = {{Carbon sequestration-related traits of spontaneous flora under agroecological intensification in European cropping systems}},
author = {Elena Testani and Skaidre Suproniene and Akin Un and Sebastien Fontaine and Sara Sanchez-Moreno and Isabelle Bertrand and Simon Sail and Grazina Kadziene and Ona Auskalniene and Antonio Rodriguez Hernandez and Gabin Piton and Dylan Warren Raffa and Andrea de Toma and Corrado Ciaccia and Danilo Ceccarelli and Alessandra Trinchera},
journal = {Agriculture, Ecosystems \& Environment},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.agee.2026.110799},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05841704v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Carbon sequestration-related traits of spontaneous flora under agroecological intensification in European cropping systems
AU - Elena Testani
AU - Skaidre Suproniene
AU - Akin Un
AU - Sebastien Fontaine
AU - Sara Sanchez-Moreno
AU - Isabelle Bertrand
AU - Simon Sail
AU - Grazina Kadziene
AU - Ona Auskalniene
AU - Antonio Rodriguez Hernandez
AU - Gabin Piton
AU - Dylan Warren Raffa
AU - Andrea de Toma
AU - Corrado Ciaccia
AU - Danilo Ceccarelli
AU - Alessandra Trinchera
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/27
JO - Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment
DO - 10.1016/j.agee.2026.110799
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05841704v1
AB - Spontaneous flora is increasingly recognized as an important component of agroecosystem functioning. Plant functional traits may provide useful indicators of ecological processes potentially associated with soil carbon (C) sequestration, although these relationships remain indirect. This study investigated how agroecological intensification influences spontaneous flora diversity and soil C sequestration-related functional traits across seven European cropping systems. Vegetation surveys were conducted at minimum and maximum crop nutrient demand stages, and community-weighted means of canopy height, specific leaf area (SLA), grass-like morphology, support for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (SAM), and perenniality were calculated together with biodiversity indices. PCA, PERMANOVA, ANOVA/Kruskal-Wallis tests and Pearson correlations were used to evaluate the effects of management practices on community structure and functional traits. Responses to agroecological intensification were strongly context-dependent. In case studies with sufficiently rich spontaneous flora communities, management induced community reassembly, accompanied by shifts in functional traits. Among the practices evaluated, no-till promoted higher proportions of perennial, grass-like and SAM species, traits potentially related to ecological processes involved in belowground C inputs and soil C stabilization. In some case studies, it also favoured opportunistic high-SLA species associated with rapid resource acquisition and faster biomass turnover. Cover crops partly moderated the dominance of these acquisitive species, promoting more balanced communities. Across all case studies, community evenness was more strongly associated with the selected functional traits than species richness. The observed relationships should be interpreted as trait-based inferences, and direct measurements of soil C processes are required for validation.
SN - 0167-8809
ER -