Researchers developed a revised water footprint that distinguishes total water consumption from water appropriated through human land-use change. Applied to agriculture and forestry in south-central Chile, it produced an estimate 2.7 times lower than the conventional method. Irrigation dominated agricultural water appropriation, while forest plantations were the main source of rainwater appropriation. Nearly 45% of the region’s appropriated water was linked to exported products. The approach could support more targeted water management, land-use planning and evaluation of trade-related water pressures.

A review of more than 70 years of soil conservation in China documents a shift from individual measures such as terracing and afforestation to integrated watershed management, ecological restoration and digital monitoring. Between 1985 and 2023, China’s soil erosion area fell by about 28%, while annual erosion volume declined by roughly 47%. The review finds that meaningful improvements often require 10–20 years of sustained effort. China’s experience highlights the importance of coordinated policy, stable funding, technological innovation, public participation and locally adapted strategies for long-term soil recovery.

A new study introduces the concept of war brownfields to describe landscapes shaped by the long-term environmental and spatial legacies of warfare. The study identifies five main types: military fortifications, craters, ammunition contamination land, radioactive contamination land, and military storage and toxic contamination land. The study also proposes a decision-making framework that considers safety, environmental consequences, heritage, emotional impact, and regeneration potential when planning their future.

Researchers in China identified that the TraesCS4B02G044100 (TaGeBPL-4B) is a candidate gene of the GNS using QTL mapping and GWAS. Knockout and overexpression studies showed that TaGeBPL-4B participates in the positive regulation of the GNS. The RNA-seq and DAP-seq analyses revealed that TraesCS5B02G120800 (TaAAP-5B) is a direct downstream target gene of TaGeBPL-4B. We further confirmed this regulation by Y1H, Dual-Luc and EMSA. TaGeBPL-4B activates the expression of TaAAP-5B and modulates amino acid contents, which possibly influence wheat spike development and GNS.

Researchers in China functionally characterized the branching habit regulatory gene AhPILS in peanut through MutMap analysis. This gene encodes a PIN-like protein that mediates polar auxin transport, thereby establishing an auxin gradient at the base of lateral branches. The formed auxin gradient potentially promotes cell elongation, which facilitates the morphological transition of peanut lateral branches from a spreading growth habit to an upright growth habit. This study identifies a novel functional gene, reveals key insights into the molecular regulatory mechanism of peanut branching habit, and provides elite germplasm resources for the molecular breeding of peanut cultivars with ideal plant architecture.

Researchers in China uncovered how cold priming leaves a lasting molecular memory in wheat, helping plants cope better when chilling returns. They found that the recovery phase is a critical window in which stress-responsive genes are reprogrammed and histone modifications are reshaped, while primed plants maintain better photosystem performance and show a reduced need for photosystem repair during later chilling. The findings reveal a key role for post-stress recovery in maintaining cold memory and provide new insight into how wheat adapts to repeated low-temperature stress.