Arsenic leaking from abandoned gold mines can harm forest ecosystems by entering soils and affecting soil organisms. In a recent study, researchers tested forest soils with different chemical properties to see how they influence arsenic mobility and toxicity in springtails. Results showed juveniles were more sensitive to mobile arsenic, while adults responded to total arsenic. These findings highlight the importance of soil chemistry and life stage in arsenic risk assessment.

In the upper Abbay basin, cradle of the Blue Nile, a team of researchers have predicted soils of the future: what will happen to soil organic carbon if we bet on regenerative agriculture—returning residues, organic manure, cover crops, agroforestry? Their 50-year modelling unveils a mixed picture: yes, land can regain fertility and resilience if we feed soils more; but under warming and increasingly erratic rains, these benefits weaken and vary greatly across territories.

Africa’s agrifood system emits nearly 2.9 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent every year—more than a quarter of global sector emissions. An international study compares Africa’s trajectory with China’s and proposes concrete solutions—from water management in rice paddies to modernizing logistics chains—to produce more food without worsening the climate.

 A decade-long field study has revealed that biochar, a charcoal-like material made from plant residues, can significantly improve soil quality and boost soybean production in continuous cropping systems. The findings provide new evidence that biochar could be a powerful tool for making agriculture more sustainable.

Researchers led by Prof. GAO Caixia from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Prof. QIU Jinlong from the Institute of Microbiology of CAS have developed a new system that enables rapid and scalable directed evolution of diverse genes directly in plant cells.

The UCO studied, for the first time, how alperujo storage times affect the subsequent composting process, taking into account both the quality of the product and the emission of greenhouse gases and microbiological activity