Input: Claim: Mycorrhizal fungi improve water and nutrient uptake for plants in nutrient-poor soils. [SEP] Text: Pisanello were harvested 11 times, from 22th July to 4th October 2019, while plants of var. were harvested six times, from 3rd August to 21th September 2020. For both varieties, the harvests were performed on 10 plants in the central area of each plot and fruit fresh weight per plant and number of fruits per plant were measured. Fruits of ripeness stage 6 (red) (USDA 1975) were collected at each harvest. This allowed to calculate the fruit fresh weight per plant at each harvest (Yield) and the production for the whole harvesting period per plant, namely the total fresh weight per plant (Total yield). In addition, the shoot dry weight (SWD) of tomato var. was determined at BBCH 22, after oven drying at 65°C up to constant weight. For total yield and SDW we also calculated the host benefit as (fresh or dry weight inoculated plant – fresh/dry weight not inoculated plant)/fresh or dry weight not inoculated plant) × 100. The fruits of var. Pisanello sampled at first and second harvest (22th of July and 1st August 2019, respectively) and the fruits of var. sampled at the second harvest (10th August 2020) were washed and immediately stored at -80°C. Fruit samples were lyophilized and ground to fine powder prior to the analysis of mineral nutrients. Approximately 0. 2 g of lyophilized tomato were digested using the (Co. , Ltd. , Shanghai, China) after the addition of 8. 0 mL of nitric acid (65%). The solution was diluted with Milli-Q water and analyzed. The concentration of and Mn was determined using a Spectroscopy instrument (4210 MP-) (Liberato et al. 2020), while N concentration was determined using the Kjedahl method (Jones et al. 1991). Effect of AM fungal inoculation on litter decomposition and bacterial and fungal abundance in soil In each replicate plot of var. Rio Grande, four litter bags filled with a standard organic substrate (hay) were inserted vertically into the soil at 10 cm soil depth near to the tomato roots. Five grams of hay composed by Dactylis glomerata L. (45%), Phleum pratense L. (50%) and Urtica dioica L.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Renewable agriculture often incorporates natural pest control instead of chemical pesticides. [SEP] Text: Each greenhouse consisted 10 rows of 60 cucumber plants (Cucumis sativus L. ), variety Paracoda, resulting into a total of 600 plants per greenhouse. Transplanting took place on December 17, 2022 and December 10, 2023. Traditional farming practices, including agricultural methods, irrigation and fertilization, were implemented according to the recommendations of the Ministry of Agriculture of Egypt. Daily temperatures and relative humidity data for this region were obtained from the for (CLAC), Dokki, Egypt. Source of natural enemies usedThe parasitoid A. albipodus, predator, C. carnea and the predatory mite, P. persimilis used in the field trials were obtained from the (PPRI), Center (ARC), Giza, Egypt. Experimental designTreatmentsThree treatments were assessed to determine their effectiveness against specific pests in the cucumber greenhouses. The first treatment (BIO 1) and second treatment (BIO 2) involved the release of the three natural enemies at two different release rates as shown in Table 1. These included; 1) mummies of the parasitoid A. albipodus that target aphids, 2) the second instar larvae of the predator C. carnea that target whitefly and thrips and 3) the predatory mite, P. persimilis, that target spider mites. The third treatment (conventional method) consisted of the application of recommended pesticides, following the recommended application time and rates by the grower (Table 1). The release of biological agents in the greenhouses BIO 1 & BIO 2 was started immediately on sight of the pests and the number of releases depended on the pest infestation level. Additionally, a control treatment was included in the greenhouse trials, free of biological agents or pesticides were applied. Table 1 Rates, concentrations and application time of the bio-agents and pesticides in the two seasons 2022–2023Full size tableAssessment of the effectiveness of treatmentsTo evaluate the effectiveness of the treatments, data were randomly collected by inspecting 25 plants chosen from each treatment (five plants per row) weekly, starting from seedling until harvest (about 3 months). The population density of pests was determined by counting the number of pests on three leaves that randomly selected and inspected from the top, middle and lower levels of each plant (75 leaves per treatment) in the greenhouse using square-inch hand-lens with 10× magnification for inspection.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Climate change will have no effect on global food supplies. [SEP] Text: Change: Sustaining Biodiversity, Energy and Download book PDF Download book 5, Karen Hussey5 & Andrew Stone6 30k Accesses 1 2. 1 from Climate ChangeModified weather patterns resulting from global climate change will affect rates of groundwater recharge differently in different parts of the world as outlined in Chap. 5. Precipitation will likely change in intensity, duration and frequency. In many areas, groundwater recharge may increase, as a result of increased precipitation totals, from more frequent large floods, or as a result of melting of permafrost (IPCC 2007a). In other regions, reduced precipitation and higher evapotranspiration are likely to decrease aquifer recharge. A number of these counter-veiling factors may occur in the same region making the outcome uncertain. For example, in the Murray-in south eastern Australia, while surface water availability may decline, under a changing climate, the infrequent but large floods may significantly contribute to aquifer recharge (CSIRO 2008; Hirabayashi et al. 2013). Changes in vegetation land cover affecting runoff and recharge will occur due to climatic change and will exacerbate human impacts such as deforestation. Shifting of traditional climate and vegetation zones will result in alterations in the species composition of forests, rising snow lines, and more frequent wildfires. The latter may impact flood frequency and intensity, erosion, and dam siltation. The resultant effects on groundwater recharge will in turn affect rates and volumes of groundwater discharge to springs, stream base-flow and the availability of groundwater for pumping (Bates et al. 2008). The challenge for groundwater managers is to develop strategies that account for uncertainty, in a manner that can provide satisfactory outcomes for water use under a range of climate conditions (WWDR 2012). Example strategies range from conservative allocation limits to the use of threshold or contingency policies that trigger alternative management arrangements according to water availability conditions, and augmentation of storage through managed aquifer recharge (Chaps. 17 and 18). In addition to the need for robust management that accounts for uncertainty, questions arise as to how climate change mitigation policies may avoid unsustainable impacts on groundwater, or how they may even benefit the resource. 2. 2 Mitigation PoliciesClimate change mitigation policies typically fall into three categories: demand side, supply side and sequestration or storage focused strategies (IPCC 2007b). Demand side policies aim to reduce energy consumption and thus emissions of greenhouse gasses.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Mycorrhizal fungi improve water and nutrient uptake for plants in nutrient-poor soils. [SEP] Text: (5%) (“Hay”, Vitakraft pet care GmbH & Co. KG, Bremen, Germany) were inserted into 10 cm x 10 cm polypropylene net litter bags (15 mm mesh) (Tenax-ortoclima plus, Tenax s. p. a. , Lecco, Italy). The hay was ground in a 3 mm grid forage mill (). Main hay characteristics on dry basis at the beginning of the experiment were: 32. 4% C, 0. 82% N, 18. 8 MJ kg− 1 energy, 2. 9% protein, 3. 7% lipid, 12. 2% lignin (determined as acid detergent lignin, ADL; et al. 1991), 35. 5% cellulose and 5. 7% hemicellulose (Baldi et al. 2021). The litter bags were sealed using staples and hot glue. A plastic label was added to the litter bags for identification in the field and for easiness of finding purposes. Four litter bags per plot were positioned at plant transplanting (23th May, BBCH 22) (defined as litter deposition time). Then, one litter bag from each plot was collected after 40 days (2nd July 2020), 52 (14th July 2020), 67 (29th July 2020) and 86 (10th August 2020) days from litter deposition. After sampling, litter bags were opened, gently cleaned from soil and spontaneous plants, dried at 40°C and weighted. The percentage of remaining mass compared to the initial one was calculated. Litter bag decomposition coefficient (k) was also calculated from mass loss and expressed as a first-order decay constant. The k for each sample was calculated as follows: k = ln (Co/Ct)/t where k is the first-order rate constant (day− 1); Co is the initial weight of the sample; Ct is the litter bags dry weight at each sampling data (t). To assess the bacterial and fungal abundance in soil, DNA from soil around the roots of tomato was extracted (0. 25 g dry soil per sample) using the Dneasy Power(), following the manufacturer’s instructions. Soil sampling for DNA extraction was performed in triplicate at stage BBCH 89 (var. Pisanello 30th August 2019, var. 27th August 2020).

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Renewable agriculture often incorporates natural pest control instead of chemical pesticides. [SEP] Text: The highest reduction in the aphid population was observed in BIO 2 and pesticides greenhouses, with both achieving similar proportions of reduction 84. 55 and 84. 35%, respectively. Statistical analysis of aphid populations indicated that there was nonsignificant difference observed among BIO1, BIO 2 and pesticides. However, there was significant difference among control and BIO 1, BIO 2 and pesticides (Table 2). Table 2 Comparison of the mean numbers of pests between biological control programs and chemical pesticides in during 2022–2023Full size tableIn 2023, the aphid population started at the 4th week after transplanting with the densities of 5. 23 ± 0. 54, 2. 2 ± 0. 87, 4. 3 ± 0. 53 and 5. 07 ± 0. 24 individuals/leaf in BIO 1, BIO 2, pesticides and control greenhouses, respectively (Fig. 1). Three applications of releasing aphid parasitoid A. albipodus were used on the 4th, 6th and 8th weeks after planting. After the third release, during the 13th week after planting, the aphid population reached 6. 4 ± 0. 33, 3. 6 ± 0. 12 individuals/leaf in BIO 1 and BIO 2, respectively. However, in the pesticides greenhouse, where eight pesticides applied, the aphid population reached 20. 6 ± 0. 64 individuals/leaf as compared to 47. 8 ± 0. 45 individuals/leaf in control greenhouse (Table 1 and Fig. 1). The pesticides greenhouse resulted in the lowest reduction in the aphid population reaching (65. 15%). The highest in the aphid population was observed in the BIO 2 greenhouse reaching (89. 88%) followed closely by BIO 1 greenhouse (81. 98%). There was nonsignificant difference between (BIO 1 and BIO 2), but there was a significant difference between BIO 1, BIO 2 and pesticides. Furthermore, there was a significant difference between control and treated greenhouses (BIO 1, BIO 2 and pesticides) (Table 2). After the release of the aphid parasitoid A. albipodus in the BIO1 and BIO 2 greenhouses, the presence of mummies was noticed on the leaves and the number of mummies increased up to the end of the two seasons. In both seasons, releases of aphid parasitoid, A.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Climate change will have no effect on global food supplies. [SEP] Text: Supply side policies shift the generation of energy away from fossil fuels to low-carbon sources. Sequestration approaches encourage the use of natural storage of greenhouse gasses in the landscape. Reducing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere to achieve an oft-expressed desire to limit global warming below 2 °C will require all of these approaches (Rogelj et al. 2013), and they all have implications for groundwater storage inventories. However, the groundwater consumption and storage implications of different mitigation measures vary considerably. Wallis et al. (2014) reviewed the water use implications of 74 mitigation measures for Australia and found that positive synergies existed between conserving energy and conserving water in a variety of demand management interventions. However, they also found that neutral and negative outcomes for water consumption are evident for a range of emerging low-emission energy technologies, and similarly, that very negative consequences could be expected from carbon sequestration measures. These findings are elaborated on below, specifically in relation to groundwater. 2. 2. 1 New and TechnologiesThe quest for low-emission energy sources is driving rapid policy change as regulations, carbon pricing and technological innovation combine to favour rapid deployment of more modern energy technologies. The focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions has meant that the impacts on water resources have received very little attention. Booming industries, such as biofuels in the (US) and unconventional gas production globally, have developed in advance of efforts by government regulators to require application of better practices, including sustaining groundwater resources (Hussey and Pittock 2012). In Australia, new financial incentives for low-emission energy sources have been adopted without fully considering how well carbon, energy and water markets are harmonised to avoid externalities (Pittock et al. 2013). To inform this analysis a number of cases with risks to groundwater from expansion of emerging energy technologies are considered, including biofuels, (hot-rock) geothermal, unconventional gas, solar thermal and ground-source heating and cooling systems. 2. 2. 1. 1 BiofuelsFirst generation biofuels use crops that are frequently irrigated from groundwater like corn, sugar cane and beet to produce ethanol and oil palm and soy to generate biodiesel. Water consumption to grow these feed stocks means that these alternative fuels have water footprints several orders of magnitude higher than most conventional and renewable energy systems (Gerbens-Leenes et al. 2008).

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Mycorrhizal fungi improve water and nutrient uptake for plants in nutrient-poor soils. [SEP] Text: To minimize extraction bias, soil subsamples were extracted in triplicate and DNA was pooled prior to the analysis. Fungal and bacterial relative abundances in each sample were quantified using a modification of the technique described by Fierer et al. (2005). Quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis was conducted using a CFX Connect Real-thermal cycler (Biorad, Hercules, California) with a program of 50°C for 10 min, 95°C for 15 min, 40 cycles of 95°C for 1 min, and 53°C for 30 s, followed by melting curve analysis. qPCR reactions consisted of 10 µL of a qPCR (® ), 0. 5 µL each of forward and reverse primers, 7 µL sterile water, and 15 ng DNA quantified by a Qubit 4 fluorometer using the Qubit 1x ds(). The16S rRNA gene region was used as bacterial target, whereas ITS1 region was used to estimate fungal abundance. The bacterial 16S rRNA gene was amplified using the pair of primers Eub338/Eub518 (Eub338: 5′--3′; Eub518: 5′--3′), while the fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region was amplified using the pair of primers ITS1f/5. 8 s (ITS1f: 5′--3′; 5. 8 s: 5′--3′) (Fierer et al. 2005). Each 96-well plate also contained reactions with ten-fold serial dilutions of pure bacterial and fungal DNA (Bacillus subtilis and Amanita rubescens) in order to verify the linearity of the relationship between threshold cycle (Ct) and DNA concentration. Standard curves were generated using triplicate of plasmids, from 103 to 109 copies of the template. values were divided by the mean slope of the standard curves across all runs, to ensure that increases in fungal and bacterial abundance were weighted equally. Each sample was run in triplicate, and the mean Ct value was used for analysis. The gene copies were referred to g of dry soil.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Renewable agriculture often incorporates natural pest control instead of chemical pesticides. [SEP] Text: albipodus successfully decreased the aphid population under the economic threshold (7 A. gossypii/cm2 of cucumber leaf). In contrast, in the pesticide greenhouse, the aphid population was higher than the economic threshold level. Although the predator C. carnea being released initially for whitefly control, the subsequent release of the aphid parasitoid A. albipodus proved to be highly effective in controlling aphid. The effectiveness was evident from the presence aphid parasitoid mummies and the significant increase in their numbers, indicating successful aphid control primarily attributed to the parasitoid. Effects of the predator Chrysoperla carnea and pesticides on the whitefly Bemisia tabaci and thrips, Thrips spp. populationsIn 2022, the whitefly population started to appear during the 3rd week after cucumber transplanting with densities of 3. 54 ± 0. 32, 4. 47 ± 0. 38, 5. 61 ± 0. 12 and 4. 56 ± 0. 33 nymphs/leaf in BIO 1, BIO 2, pesticides and control greenhouses, respectively. However, during the 11th week after three releases of the predator C. carnea and nine applications of pesticides in greenhouses, the whitefly population decreased to 2. 01 ± 0. 54, 1. 14 ± 0. 27 and 2. 07 ± 0. 48 nymphs/leaf in BIO 1, BIO 2 and pesticides greenhouses, respectively (Table 1). In contrast, the whitefly increased to10. 2 ± 0. 29 nymphs/leaf in a control greenhouse (Fig. 2). The pesticides treatment had the lowest reduction in the whitefly population, reaching (58. 46%). The whitefly population reduction was the highest in BIO 1 and BIO 2 greenhouses, with their proportions being close to each other, reaching (71. 31 and 72. 01%), respectively. Fig. 2Effect of different treatments on weekly average number of whitefly per leaf in cucumber greenhouses at the two seasons 2022 and 2023Full size imageSimilarly, the thrips population also started to appear during the 3rd week after transplanting with population densities of 2. 61 ± 0. 57, 1. 5 ± 0. 63, 1. 92 ± 0. 24 and 1. 77 ± 0.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Climate change will have no effect on global food supplies. [SEP] Text: Yet, there has been a rapid expansion of these industries driven by subsidies and renewable fuel quotas in jurisdictions including Australia, Brazil, the and the US (Pittock 2011). There are reports that up to 28 l of irrigation water are needed to produce enough soybeans to propel an average vehicle 1 km. In comparison, water needs for gasoline (petrol) are merely 0. 33 l of water for each vehicle 1 km (King and Webber 2008). As is true for the agricultural sector generally, limiting the impacts on groundwater resource use by biofuels requires good governance, including allocation systems that cap extraction at sustainable levels and maximise social and economic benefits from the water consumed. However, the political power of biofuel industries in some countries may compel policies that encourage non-sustainable use and allocation (Notaras 2011). For example, the 2007 in the US mandates an increase in annual biofuels production, requiring an additional 56. 8 billion litres of ethanol by 2015 and an additional 60. 6 billion litres of biofuels from cellulosic crops by 2022 (Dominguez-Faus et al. 2009). These mandated increases will likely increase the demand for groundwater resources, potentially pitting biofuel production against other irrigated agriculture including food production. In the absence of appropriate governance arrangements to allocate water resources efficiently between uses, this increased competition could have deleterious effects on both the water supply base and commodity prices. Simultaneously a number of transitions in less developed countries are beginning to revolve around biofuel related opportunities. Many producers are securing land and water resources in developing countries for production of crops, including for export of biofuels (Vermeulen and Cotula 2010; Zoomers 2010). In Africa, for example, agricultural proponents are pointing to little exploited groundwater resources as a major opportunity to expand production (MacDonald et al. 2012). To avoid the depletion of aquifers that has taken place in developed economies, groundwater governance will need to be strengthened in developing countries so as to manage these resources sustainably for both consumptive and non-consumptive purposes. At the same time, there is a considerable global research effort into second generation biofuels from processing grass or timber cellulose (Sims et al. 2010) and third generation feedstock crops and techniques, which also raises interception questions for aquifer recharge. These ‘wonder’ crops, like jatropha, are untested.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Mycorrhizal fungi improve water and nutrient uptake for plants in nutrient-poor soils. [SEP] Text: The fungi/bacteria ratio was determined as the ratio of the adjusted ITS1 Ct to the adjusted 16S Ct. The ratio fungal:bacteria (calculated as fungal gene copy number divided by bacterial gene copy number; F:B ratio) was used as a predictor of nutrient cycling and C storage. Statistical analysis One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed on AM fungal root colonization, total yield, fruit nutrient concentrations and contents, soil bacterial and fungal abundances and fungal:bacterial ratios, after the necessary transformations (e. g. , log10, arcsen). The differences between means were determined using orthogonal contrasts to test differences between + M (all four isolates) vs -M (mock inoculated controls) (1st comparison); between Gigasporaceae and Glomeraceae (2nd comparison: inter-family diversity); between the two isolates of Gigasporaceae (3rd comparison: intra-family diversity) and between the two isolates of Glomeraceae (4th comparison: intra-family diversity). Moreover, at each harvest, fruit yield was analyzed using one-way ANOVAs with AM fungal inoculation [five levels: control (-M), G. gigaspora, S. pellucida, F. mosseae and S. sinuosa] as fixed factor. Mycorrhizal infection potential (MIP) data of the AM fungal inocula were analyzed by a one-way ANOVA with AM fungal inoculation (G. gigaspora, S. pellucida, F. mosseae, S. sinuosa) as fixed factor, whereas MIP data of the field soil were analyzed by a one-way ANOVA with year (2019 and 2020) as fixed factor. Litter bag data of var. were analyzed by a two-way ANOVA with AM fungal inoculation (five level) and time of field exposure (four treatments: 40, 52, 67, 79 days) as fixed factors. All data were ln- or arcsine-transformed when needed to fulfil the assumptions of ANOVA. Post-hoc Tukey-B significant difference test was used for comparison among treatments. Means and standard errors given in tables and figures are for untransformed data. All analyses were performed using the software package on SPSS 21.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Renewable agriculture often incorporates natural pest control instead of chemical pesticides. [SEP] Text: 85 nymphs/leaf in BIO 1, BIO 2, pesticides and control greenhouses, respectively. During the 11th week after the three releases of the predator C. carnea the thrips population decreased to less than 1 nymph/leaf, 0. 54 ± 0. 12 and 0. 93 ± 0. 22 nymphs/leaf in BIO 1 and BIO 2, respectively. However, following nine applications of the pesticides the thrips population reached 2. 61 ± 0. 74 nymphs/leaf in pesticides greenhouse as compared to 4. 22 ± 0. 68 nymphs/leaf in a control greenhouse (Table 1, Fig. 3). The pesticides treatment caused the lowest reduction in the thrips population, reaching (61. 79%). The thrips population reduction was the highest in BIO 1 and BIO 2 greenhouses, with their proportions being close to each other, reaching (72. 08 and 75. 71%), respectively. Fig. 3Effect of different treatments on weekly average number of thrips per leaf in cucumber greenhouses at the two seasons 2022 and 2023Full size imageIn 2023, similar trends were observed. The whitefly population started to appear during the 2nd week after cucumber transplanting with a population of 3. 79 ± 0. 53, 6. 39 ± 0. 85, 7. 59 ± 0. 81 and 7. 02 ± 0. 33 nymphs/leaf in BIO 1, BIO 2, pesticides and control greenhouses, respectively. Four releases of C. carnea in the 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th weeks after planting were applied. It was also noticed that by the 11th week, after the fourth release of the predator the whitefly population reached 6. 3 ± 0. 72 and 3. 9 ± 0. 36 nymphs/leaf in BIO 1 and BIO 2, respectively. However, following nine applications of the tested pesticides, the whitefly population recorded 8. 9 ± 0. 68 nymphs/leaf in pesticides greenhouse as compared to 48. 06 ± 0. 42 nymphs/leaf in control greenhouse (Table 1, Fig. 2). The pesticides treatment had the lowest reduction in the whitefly population, reaching (75. 59%). The whitefly population reduction was the highest in BIO 1 and BIO 2 greenhouses, with their proportions being close to each other, reaching (82.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Climate change will have no effect on global food supplies. [SEP] Text: While these species may be able to grow on degraded lands and generate benefits for people in developing countries (Openshaw 2000), it is likely that widespread plantings would more effectively intercept precipitation and reduce aquifer recharge and surface runoff as land is cleared to establish the new crop (van Dijk and Keenan 2007). Proposals for third generation biofuels from farming microbes suggest that saline or wastewater may be used in these processes in the future (Yang et al. 2011), though commercial scale application has yet to be demonstrated. Each technological advance offers improvements in fuel production and may also meet other goals such as a reduction in GHG emissions, but biofuels are intrinsically linked with groundwater resources and can compete directly with agricultural food crops for water and land. In essence, current commercial biofuel production consumes significant water, for crop production, processing and transport, and if production is increased then pressures to exploit aquifers globally will also increase. Biomass for fuel production where irrigation and crop chemicals are also used results in greater risks of aquifer contamination and hence a potential reduction of economically-usable groundwater. Given the complex and often uncertain knock-on consequences of biofuels, policy interventions which aim to increase biofuel production must account for these risks. 2. 2. 1. 2 GeothermalThe generation of electricity from steam from underground aquifers where circulating groundwater is “boiled” by geological heat sources is a commercial energy technology and is sustainable in regions with substantial aquifer recharge such as in Iceland and New Zealand. Geothermal energy proponents are now exploring ways of generating electricity from ‘hot rock’ sources, where aquifers are small or absent, by injecting water in one borehole to be heated through fractured strata, then extracted as steam up a parallel borehole to generate electricity. Geothermal generation may be sustainable in regions where there is plentiful water but in dry areas the source of water is uncertain. For example, much of the geothermal ‘hot rock’ resource in Australia is located in arid areas or in the wet-dry tropics where surface water resources are seasonal or absent (Goldstein et al. 2009). Linking strata through boreholes and by fracking also raises the same questions (as for unconventional gas production) of managing potential risks of natural contaminants becoming incorporated in the production water and moving into previously constrained aquifers through fractures or borehole failures. 2. 2. 1.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Mycorrhizal fungi improve water and nutrient uptake for plants in nutrient-poor soils. [SEP] Text: 0 (SPSS Inc. , ). The permutational analysis of variance () was used to test the overall effect of AM fungal inoculation (Inoc) (five levels: -M, G. giga, S. pellu, F. mos, S. sin) on total fruit yield and fruit concentration of nutrients and AM fungal root traits (% of arbuscules, vesicles, AMF root colonization) of tomato varieties Pisanello and Rio Grande. Response data were fourth-root transformed and normalized, and the resemblance matrix was calculated using the Euclidean distance between samples. P values were calculated using the Monte-Carlo test (Anderson and Braak 2003). is sensitive to differences in multivariate location (average community composition of a group) and dispersion (within-group variability), the analysis of homogeneity of multivariate dispersion (; Anderson 2006) was performed to check the homogeneity of dispersion among groups (beta-diversity) (Anderson et al. 2006). indicated a significant effect, the principal coordinate analysis (PCO) was performed to visualize the most relevant patterns in the data. The circle in each plot, whose diameter is 1. 0, allows the reader to understand the scale of the vectors in the vector plot. pairwise comparisons between all pairs of the Inoc levels was also performed. Moreover, for the var. Rio Grande, to test the significance of the relationship between the matrix of percentages of remaining mass of litter bags at the four sampling times and the matrix of soil fungal and bacterial abundances, a analysis, based on Spearman rank and 999 permutations, was performed (ρ = 1 perfect relationship) (Clarke and Warwick 2001). All the analyses were carried out using 7 and + software (Anderson et al. 2008; Clarke and Gorley 2015). ResultsMycorrhizal infection potential of the AM fungal inocula and of the experimental soil The mycorrhizal infection potential (MIP) of the field soil sampled in 2019 and of 2020 were not significantly different. Averaged over years, the percentages of root length containing arbuscules and vesicles and AM fungal root colonization were 2. 2% ± 1. 2, 0. 03% ± 0. 03 and 9. 1% ± 2. 4, respectively (mean ± SE of five replicates per each field; data not shown).

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Renewable agriculture often incorporates natural pest control instead of chemical pesticides. [SEP] Text: 05 and 85. 94%), respectively. The thrips population started during the 3rd week after transplanting with population densities 0. 198 ± 0. 47, 0. 2 ± 0. 11, 0. 19 ± 0. 21 and 0. 29 ± 0. 13 nymphs/leaf in BIO 1, BIO 2, pesticides and control greenhouses, respectively. During the 11th week, after the fourth release of the predator, the thrips population reached 0. 99 ± 0. 12 and 0. 63 ± 0. 46 nymphs/leaf in BIO 1 and BIO 2 greenhouses, respectively. However, after nine applications of the pesticides, it was noticed that, the thrips population reached 0. 81 ± 0. 6 nymphs/leaf in pesticides greenhouse as compared to 4. 22 ± 0. 7 nymphs/leaf in control greenhouse, respectively (Table 1 and Fig. 3). The pesticides treatment had the lowest reduction in the thrips population, reaching (48. 84%). The thrips population reduction was the highest in BIO 1 and BIO 2 greenhouses, with their proportions being close to each other, reaching (59. 93 and 61. 38%), respectively. Statistical analysis indicated that nonsignificant difference among BIO1, BIO 2 and pesticides treatments for both whitefly and thrips in the two seasons. However, there was a significant difference among control and BIO 1, BIO 2 and pesticides (Table 2). The results of this study demonstrate that the release of the predator C. carnea was more effective in controlling the population of whitefly and thrips in cucumber greenhouses compared to the application of pesticides. Both methods achieved pest populations below the economic threshold (18. 4 adults/plant, or 4. 6 adults/leaf for whitefly on cucumber and 1. 3 adult thrips/cucumber leaf). However, the biocontrol agents approach exhibited higher reduction in pest populations compared to pesticide application. Effects of the predator mite, Phytoseiulus persimilis and pesticides on the two-spotted mite, Tetranychus urticae populationIn 2022, the two-spotted mite population observed during the 3rd week after transplanting cucumber, with densities of 0. 22 ± 0. 35, 0. 38 ± 0. 34, 0. 21 ± 0. 22 and 0.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Climate change will have no effect on global food supplies. [SEP] Text: This raises questions as to the risk of polluting potentially beneficial aquifers in other locations. The practice of using closed or evaporative basins to treat production water, especially saline water, was abandoned in Texas as erosion often resulted in the breakdown of containment structures. This analysis exposes a number of risks to aquifers from unconventional gas production that each has a technical solution, but only if the industry is consistently well governed and adheres to the highest standards of practice. As a result of public and political concerns, and because of the economic costs related to water use and disposal, the US oil and gas industry is currently researching and field-testing many different on-site water treatment technologies. In addition, technologies that reuse water or actually use zero water for the hydraulic fracturing process are in development. However, until there is a rise in the market value of gas, many of the promising technologies are unlikely to achieve widespread implementation. One concern that has not yet been well addressed in the development of the unconventional gas industry is the future of groundwater in depleted and abandoned gas fields. Aquifer depletion can be expected over long periods of time if associated with gas deposits, or fractured strata newly capable of holding water will recharge. What is unclear is how this will affect other water resources on basin scales, for example whether other surface and groundwater deposits may be depleted if they begin to fill the new, often deeper voids that are left behind. 2. 2. 1. 4 Solar ThermalSolar thermal power is an emerging technology that uses mirrors in large scale facilities to boil water and generate steam for electricity production. Currently deployed in California and Spain, these power stations work best when located in sunny, arid and semi-arid regions where water is naturally scarce. While the volumes of water required are modest compared with many other forms of energy technologies, sustainable groundwater availability may be a limiting factor for the location of these stations in deserts. The world’s largest solar thermal plant in the near the border of California and Nevada is the 392-MW Ivanpah project. At the official opening in 2014, the US Energy secretary stated that the station’s water needs for steam production “…will use roughly the same amount of water as two holes at the nearby golf course” (Phillips 2014). An additional water demand from the desert aquifers will be to regularly wash dust from the project’s 347,000 mirrors.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Mycorrhizal fungi improve water and nutrient uptake for plants in nutrient-poor soils. [SEP] Text: Declarationsauthours would like to thank Venerosi della Seta for allowing to run the field experiments at the “Prata” farm (Pisa, Italy), of the “Accademia di Agricoltura” of Torino giving us valuable advices for litter bag experiment set-up and interpretation of results and of the CCS Aosta for providing us the AM fungal inocula. Author contributions EP and LE acquired funding, conceived and designed the study. MA carried out the experimental procedures. EP and MA performed the molecular study, collected the data, performed the statistical analyses and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. LE and MN contributed to the discussion of the data. All authors commented on the manuscript and approved the final version. work was funded by the the Fund for 2007-2013 for Tuscany (Italy), measure 16. 1 (project; CUP Artea 743548) project leader Dr. and measure 16. 2 (project; CUP Artea 828090) project leader Prof. Laura Ercoli. was supported by a PhD scholarship from Sant’Anna (). Competing interests The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. All authours have no conflict of interests to declare. 54. Al-(2001) Response of two tomato cultivars differing in salt tolerance to inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi under salt stress. Mycorrhiza 11: 43–47. Anderson MJ (2006) Distance-based tests for homogeneity of multivariate dispersions. Biometrics 62:245–253. (2003) Permutation tests for multi-factorial analysis of variance. J Simul 73:85–113. (2006) Multivariate dispersion as a measure of beta diversity. 9:683–693. (2008) Permanova + for Primer:Guide to Software and Statistical Methods. Plymouth: Primer-E Limited. (2006) Functional diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal isolates in relation to extraradical mycelial networks. 172:347–357. -(2000) Carbon metabolism and transport in arbuscular mycorrhizas. 124:949–958. (2021) Effect of biofertilizers application on soil biodiversity and litter degradation in a commercial apricot orchard.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Renewable agriculture often incorporates natural pest control instead of chemical pesticides. [SEP] Text: 35 ± 0. 42 individuals/leaf in BIO 1, BIO 2, pesticides and control greenhouses, respectively. The spider mite population continued to increase gradually in all greenhouses. Three releases of predator mite P. persimilis in the 7th, 8th and 10th weeks after planting were applied. After the third release of predatory mite in 11th week, the spider mite population decreased to 9. 19 ± 1. 5 and 0. 96 ± 0. 43 individuals/leaf in BIO 1 and BIO 2 greenhouses, respectively (Fig. 4). However, in the pesticides greenhouse, despite nine applications of the pesticides, the spider mite population increased to 39. 12 ± 5. 66 individuals/leaf, while its population increased to 58. 68 ± 7. 65 individuals/leaf in the control greenhouse (Table 1 and Fig. 4). The highest reduction in mite population was observed in BIO 2 greenhouse (95. 92%) following by BIO 1 greenhouse (80. 87%) and pesticides greenhouse (26. 54%). Fig. 4Effect of different treatments on weekly average number of mite per leaf in cucumber greenhouses at the two seasons 2022 and 2023Full size imageIn 2023, a similar trend was observed. The two-spotted mite population started during the 4th week after transplanting with densities of 0. 53 ± 0. 41, 0. 66 ± 0. 19, 0. 63 ± 0. 64 and 0. 54 ± 0. 53 individuals/leaf in BIO 1, BIO 2, pesticides and control greenhouses, respectively. The spider mite population continued to increase gradually in all greenhouses and reached 17. 86 ± 2. 74, 7. 14 ± 1. 99, 40. 54 ± 3. 66 and 42. 84 ± 4. 32 individuals/leaf in BIO 1, BIO 2, pesticides and control greenhouses, respectively. After the second release of the predatory mite P. persimilis, the population of spider mite decreased gradually to reach 4. 53 ± 1. 3 and 0. 74 ± 0. 93 individuals/leaf in BIO 1 and BIO 2, respectively. However, in pesticides greenhouse, despite eight applications of the pesticides the spider mite population increased to 49. 92 ± 3. 96 individuals/leaf and in control greenhouse, it increased even more to 114. 81 ± 4.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Climate change will have no effect on global food supplies. [SEP] Text: University in Muncie, Illinois has installed a ground source system involving 3,600 boreholes to service 622,450 m2 of building space which will save the burning of 36,000 t of coal that was previously used each year (Roulo 2011). When applied on a large scale for college campuses, military installations etc. this technology is providing a developing field for hydrogeologists to characterize subsurface heat transfer capabilities and to assess potential impacts on aquifers, particularly if the heat dissipation is dependent on groundwater flow. A concern is the potential build-up of groundwater temperatures which could progressively decrease heat transfer efficiency. ATES technology and ground source heating and cooling raise a number of issues for future groundwater management. As with other technologies, their rapid increase in popularity since the 1990s has seen deployment in advance of adequate regulatory oversight (Bonte et al. 2011). Both systems can interfere with other underground infrastructure for electricity, water distribution and telecommunications technologies. The technology also raises questions of who owns the underground lands and waters and under what circumstances they can be exploited. The open systems risk diminishing biological and chemical water quality of aquifers through moving water about, and heating and cooling. The closed systems raise questions as to standards for containing the chemicals used and responsibilities for leaks and decommissioning. 2. 2. 1. 6 Fossil SubstitutionAs the above examples illustrate, new energy technologies offer opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but with some risks for groundwater resources. A number of the proponents of these newer technologies argue that they can be substitutes for water-intensive fossil fuel-fired power stations and thus may free up water for other uses. For example, Emissions argues that its proposal for a solar thermal power station in Port Augusta, Australia can be watered by decommissioning the local coal-fired power station (BZE 2010). Certainly in regions with high concentration of coal-fired power stations this may free up water, for example, in the Latrobe and Hunter valleys in Australia. However, this may also shift water consumption from places where water use is well-regulated to places where governance is poorer, for instance, from the two Australian coastal valleys to arid locations in the interior, where each litre of water may have more environmental and socio-economic value to other users. If governments and societies want this sort of water substitution to occur, then it will require active facilitation and regulation. 2. 2.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Mycorrhizal fungi improve water and nutrient uptake for plants in nutrient-poor soils. [SEP] Text: -wolfe L, Morton JB (2007) Role of niche restrictions and dispersal in the composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities. J Ecol 95:95–105. óbrega JA, (2020) Determination of macro and micronutrients in plants using the Agilent 4200 MP AES. (2002) Concentrations of K, Ca and Mg in maize colonized by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi under field conditions. 82:272–278. (2017) Fatty acids in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are synthesized by the host plant. Science 356:1175–1178. (2017) Understanding the arbuscule at the heart of endomycorrhizal symbioses in plants. 27:R952-R963. Maherali H, Klironomos JN (2007) Influence of phylogeny on fungal community assembly and ecosystem functioning. Science 316:1746–1748. Maherali H, Klironomos JN (2012) Phylogenetic and trait-based assembly of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities. PLoS One 7:e36695. (2016). Mutualism persistence and abandonment during the evolution of the mycorrhizal symbiosis. 188:E113-E125. von (2016) Soil fungal: bacterial ratios are linked to altered carbon cycling. 7:1247. (1990) A new method which gives an objective measure of colonization of roots by vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. 115:495–501. (2022) Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi promote litter decomposition and alleviate nutrient limitations of soil microbes under warming and nitrogen application. Ecol 171:104318. (2001) BBCH-Monograph: growth stages of mono-and dicotyledonous plants. In: Technical Report, 2nd edn. for Agriculture and Forestry, 142. (1998) Survey of vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizae in lettuce production in relation to management and soil factors. J 130:173–182.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Renewable agriculture often incorporates natural pest control instead of chemical pesticides. [SEP] Text: 77 individuals/leaf (Table 1 and Fig. 4). The highest reduction in mite population was observed in BIO 2 greenhouse (83. 95%) following by BIO 1 greenhouse (67. 42%) and pesticides greenhouse (25. 63%). Statistical analysis of mite populations revealed that nonsignificant difference between (BIO1 and BIO 2), (BIO1 and pesticides) and (control and pesticides) treatments in both seasons. However, significant differences were observed among control and BIO 1, BIO 2 (Table 2). Among the different tested treatments, it was observed that the spider mite population remained above the economic threshold level (less than1 mite/cm2 cucumber leaf) in both the BIO 1 (5 individuals/m2) greenhouse and the pesticide greenhouse during the two successive seasons. The highest release rate of the predatory mite, P. persimilis (15 individuals/m2) proved to be highly effective in maintaining the mite populations below the economic threshold level. Yields and cost benefit of control strategiesIn 2022, the cucumber yields produced were 311, 311, 315 and 68 kg in BIO 1, BIO 2, pesticides and control greenhouses, respectively. In 2023, the yields were 289, 294, 283 and 52 kg in BIO 1, BIO 2, pesticides and control greenhouses, respectively. Data proved that there were nonsignificant yield differences observed among the BIO 1, BIO 2 and pesticides greenhouses in season of 2022 and 2023. Yield data indicate that all treatments have a positive impact on the crop compared to non-treated, with values that ranged four times in 2022, while these values reached approximately five times in 2023. The costs of all agricultural practices were equal in the three greenhouses, except for the cost of pest control. The highest cost of pest control was observed in BIO 2 greenhouse with 481. 8LE (15. 59$) in 2022 and 286. 8 LE (9. 28$) in 2023, respectively. The BIO 2 greenhouse had a high rate of biological control agent release. This was followed by the pesticides greenhouse, with cost of 253. 5 LE (8. 2$) and 163. 5LE (5. 29$) in 2022 and 2023, respectively. The lowest cost of pest control was observed in BIO 1 greenhouse with 218. 4LE (7.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Climate change will have no effect on global food supplies. [SEP] Text: However, forests will normally intercept more precipitation than non-forested land uses, diminishing surface runoff into streams and aquifer recharge (van Dijk and Keenan 2007; Jackson et al. 2005). This inflow interception may not have significant impacts in wet environments such as in the wet tropics, but in the temperate zone significant reductions in flows are likely. In past decades in Australia, tree planting has been actively encouraged to reduce groundwater recharge in areas subject to salinity. Several means of reducing these impacts on water resources are possible, including: incorporating the plantation sector into cap and trade water markets, as occurs in limiting afforestation to landscapes where the impacts may be acceptable, such as the wet tropics and salinity prone lands; or scheduling planting over decades so that the impacts are spread over a longer period of time (Pittock et al. 2013). A number of other methods are being actively promoted to sequester more carbon in soils, although there is little evidence of widespread application thus far. Incorporating more biomass into soils is promoted as a way of enhancing agricultural productivity by improving soil structure, fertility and water infiltration, as well as sequestering carbon (Henriksen et al. 2011). Biochar – adding charcoal to soils – has a very active group of promoters (Kleiner 2009; Sohi et al. 2009). A lot of research investment has focussed at the field scale on the longevity of the carbon sequestration with often disappointing results (Lam et al. 2013). A common claim is that by developing more friable soils that these methods will enable more precipitation to be stored in the soil and advantage crop growth. If this proves to be the case one potential outcome is diminished surface runoff and aquifer recharge. Internationally, carbon sequestration in the landscape has a mandate under the umbrella of ‘land use change and forestry’ and it is being deployed through two programs of the UN on Climate Change. and proposed REDD+ scheme (from Degradation and Deforestation plus) enable projects applying approved methodologies for reducing emissions or sequestering carbon in land and vegetation in developing countries to generate carbon credits (CDM 2010; Pritchard 2009). However, the Mechanism’s current procedures for assessing and considering any negative impacts of proposed projects on water resources are token (Pittock 2010).

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Mycorrhizal fungi improve water and nutrient uptake for plants in nutrient-poor soils. [SEP] Text: Tommerup I, (1981) Prolonged survival and viability of VA mycorrhizal hyphae after root death. Biochem 13: 431–433. (2005) Antioxidant activity in different fractions of tomatoes. Int 38: 487–494. (1991) CO2-enhanced yield and foliar deformation among tomato genotypes in elevated CO2 environments. 96:713–719. (1971) Influence of potassium on carotenoid content of tomato fruit. J 96:763–765. USDA (1975) Color classification requirements in tomatoes. TM-L‐I. van (2009) Socialism in soil? The importance of mycorrhizal fungal networks for facilitation in natural ecosystems. J Ecol 97:1139–1150. van (2007) Functional traits in mycorrhizal ecology: their use for predicting the impact of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities on plant growth and ecosystem functioning. 17:244–250. Watts-(2014) Nutrient interactions and arbuscular mycorrhizas: a meta-analysis of a mycorrhiza-defective mutant and wild-type tomato genotype pair. 384:79–92. (2019) Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi increase grain yields: A meta-analysis. 222:543–555. (2020) Different arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi cocolonizing on a single plant root system recruit distinct microbiomes Msystems 5:e00929-20. Zhu Q, Ozores-(2018) Phosphorus application rates affected phosphorus partitioning and use efficiency in tomato production. 110:2050–2058. Zhu HH, (2004) Localized and systemic increase of phenols in tomato roots induced by Glomus versiforme inhibits Ralstonia solanacearum. J Phytopathol 152:537–542. .

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Renewable agriculture often incorporates natural pest control instead of chemical pesticides. [SEP] Text: 07$) and 129. 4 (4. 19$) LE in 2022 and 2023, respectively. DiscussionThe present study focused on evaluating the effectiveness of different rates of biocontrol agents’ release compared to chemical control for managing aphid, whitefly, thrips and two-spotted spider mite in cucumber commercial greenhouses during winter seasons of 2022–2023. Several pest species were recorded in cucumber greenhouses including; A. gossypii, B. tabaci, Thrips spp. , jassids and T. urticae (Güncan et al. 2006; Saleh et al. 2017). The study’s results indicated that both the application of two rates of release bio-agents and the use of pesticides were equally effective in controlling aphids, whiteflies, and thrips. The aphid parasitoid, A. albipodus successfully controlled aphids in the greenhouse of vegetable crops (Takada 2002). It was also found that initiating the release of parasitoids and predators immediately after the first appearance of pests and multiple releases led to significant reductions in pest populations. These findings agree with Campbell and Lilley (1999) who suggested that early-season releases of natural enemies in low pest density, are more effective than late-season releases when pest density is high. However, it remains uncertain whether increasing the release rate of natural enemies can achieve successful pest control as its population density increases. Both release rates of aphid parasitoid (4 and 8 mummies/m2) effectively maintained the aphid populations below the economic threshold level of 7 A. gossypii individuals/cm2 of cucumber leaf (Hussey 1985). Both release rates of the predator C. carnea (5 and 10 individuals 2nd larval instar/m2) and pesticides effectively maintained the whitefly and thrips, population below the economic thresholds of 18. 4 adults/plant, or 4. 6 adults/leaf for whitefly on cucumber (Shen et al. 2005) and 1. 3 adult thrips/cucumber leaf (Steiner 1990). Previous studies have indicated the possibility of using C. carnea to efficiently control whitefly and thrips on various vegetable crops in greenhouses. For instance, Ahmadzadeh and Hatami (2006) investigated the integrated use of insecticide (Confidor) and C.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Climate change will have no effect on global food supplies. [SEP] Text: Australia is one nation that has legislated in the (Initiative) Act 2012 for market-based carbon sequestration in the landscape, based on the Mechanism’s approach of approved methodologies (2011). The Act’s regulations attempt to limit the impact of carbon plantations on water by prohibiting commercial timber production and planting in areas within the 600 mm/year and above rainfall isohyet, subject to a number of exemptions (DCCEE 2011). The 600 mm/year rainfall isohyet was chosen as a threshold above which surface water runoff may be expected, however this may unreasonably restrict planting in environments where impacts may be insignificant, as in the tropics. The exemptions include planting for biodiversity conservation, and those agreed by poorly-resourced, state government mandated natural resource management organisations. National policy agreements to include significant inflow interception activities (including groundwater recharge ) within cap and trade water markets have only been implemented by one of the eight states and territories (NWC 2011). Consequently this odd collection of half implemented policies and the exemptions mean that there is a strong prospect of perverse impacts on groundwater recharge. Many other nations have prioritised reforestation in their climate mitigation policies, including China, India and Mexico, indicating that managing the trade-offs between planting for carbon sequestration and water use is a growing global challenge (Pittock 2011). The links between the projected impacts of climate change and the sustainable management of surface and groundwater resources makes the challenge all the more complex. For example, with so many countries pursuing carbon sequestration through tree plantings, and the on Climate Change’s projections for increased wildfire frequency and intensity, it is not inconceivable that governments may be increasing the risks of even bigger and more devastating wildfires by pursuing policies that are, ironically, attempting to mitigate the impacts of climate change. And, of course, the knock-on consequences of more frequent and intense wildfires are insidious: denuded catchments which in turn lead to more floods, erosion and siltation of water storages, which has important implications for the sustainable use of groundwater resources. 2. 3 Adaptation PoliciesHaving discussed the implications of climate change mitigation on groundwater resources, we now turn to consider how groundwater may be used and sustained through climate change adaptation measures.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Mycorrhizal fungi improve water and nutrient uptake for plants in nutrient-poor soils. [SEP] Text: If these extensions are not feasible, the scope of the work should be adapted to avoid speculation on long-term adaptations. Short time frame. Linked to the point above, the model is used to simulate a few days during a dry period, which is not enough to balance gains and costs of rhizodeposits. I wonder if at least longer simulations could be attempted to assess the behavior of the model when the soil nears the wilting point. At that point cavitation in the xylem might affect the results (see comment below). Also, longer simulations would allow studying how the deep soil water depletion affects HR occurrence. Other comments General: the manuscript needs proof-reading and a thorough check of sentence structure (see some examples below) Notation: I find the notation for the soil layers and leaves counterintuitive—the deeper layer is numbered 1, then moving up we find layer 2, and finally the leaves identified by subscript 0. This numbering makes it hard to follow the text and understand the figures L7: “happy accident” could be re-phrased in more scientific terms L17: not clear what “roots faced with nutrient and organic matter accumulation” means L19: missing word “could play” L87: typo “Therefore” L46: nitrogen is to some degree always present—do you mean that HR increased in nutrient amended plots? L50: explain/change term “variable resourced” Model concept: the model separates roots in two soil layers, defining them in terms of length or area per unit soil volume, but this does not imply that the model describes two long roots (Fig. 1 caption, and in L63); in fact, long roots would imply high hydraulic conductance, which has a series of consequences. I would reformulate in the caption and redraw the figure to avoid mis-interpretation; the model deals with many roots of different lengths, whose properties are defined on a per unit soil volume L110: what are the rhizodeposits made of? Units indicate mass, but in terms of dry/wet weight, mass of C?

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Renewable agriculture often incorporates natural pest control instead of chemical pesticides. [SEP] Text: carnea against different nymphal instars of whitefly on tomato plant. They found that the integrated treatments were equally effective in pest control. Similarly, Rehman et al. (2020), released different rates of larvae of C. carnea on tomato plants to control whitefly B. tabaci. They found that all release rates successfully decreased the whitefly nymph population. Additionally, Pijnakker et al. (2019) reported significant control of Japanese flower thrips, Thrips setosus by repeatedly releasing of the green lacewings alone or in combination with predatory thrips. Their study demonstrated a substantial reduction in thrips populations and minimal leaf and flower damage, which supports our observations of the effectiveness of biocontrol methods against thrips. Furthermore, Maisonneuve and Marrec (1999) reported the efficacy of the predator, Chrysoperla lucasina (Lacroix) against T. tabaci in cut flowers and in seedling leek, adding to the body of evidence supporting the potential of bio-agents for pest management. Although chemical control has successfully controlled aphid and whitefly, intensive use of insecticides has led to an increase in insecticide resistance (Sun et al. 1994). In this study, various treatments evaluated to control mite populations, and among them, the highest release rate of the predatory mite, P. persimilis (15 individuals/m2) proved to be highly effective in maintaining mite populations below the economic threshold level of less than1 mite/cm2 cucumber leaf (Park and Lee 2007 and Tehri et al. 2014). However, in the pesticide-treated greenhouse, the population density of the mite T. urticae continued to increase throughout the season. This development of resistance to spider mites could be attributed to extensive pesticide applications (Abamectin). Several studies have reported resistance of T. urticae populations to abamectin, emphasizing the urgent need for implementing integrated management programs to effectively control this pest (Díaz-Arias et al. 2019, Herron et al. 2021 and Martínez-Huasanche et al. 2021). In protected agriculture, the recommended release rate of the predatory mite, P. persimilis, is generally (5 female/m2), but this rate may vary between crops. Timing of introduction is crucial for P.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Climate change will have no effect on global food supplies. [SEP] Text: Climate change is likely to impact surface water supplies in particular places in a number of ways, including: increasing or decreasing precipitation; changing seasonality of snowmelt and river flows; increasing evapotranspiration, the intensity of storms and frequency of floods and droughts. Groundwater resources have the potential to complement or buffer surface water shortages to deliver key services (Bates et al. 2008). Three examples are now elaborated, namely urban water supply, food production and freshwater biodiversity conservation. 2. 3. 1 Water SupplySustaining a reliable supply of drinking water to urban areas is essential for the well-being of the majority of the planet’s people. Not only does good health depend on clean drinking water, but so too does the economic health of these communities. Climate change impacts, increasingly, jeopardise cities that depend on surface water catchments. Australia provides a salutary example. In the mid-1970s inflows into the city of Perth’s water storages began a series of ‘step changes’ such that a decline in the order of 70 % of the previous long-term average was experienced (Petrone et al. 2010). During the 2002–2010 another five cities in southern Australia also saw their water storages reduced to perilously low levels. A common response of the impacted states was to diversify the supplies of water for these cities by adding reuse, groundwater, and desalination sources. In particular, Adelaide, Perth and Sydney each drew on new groundwater resources, applied managed aquifer recharge or set aside aquifers as drought reserves. example highlights the potential of aquifers to grow in importance as existing urban water storage and sources become more sensitive to increasingly variable climatic and surface hydrological conditions. This capacity can be enhanced through managed aquifer recharge, as detailed in Chaps. 17 and 18. These same storage characteristics will also make aquifers more attractive as a source of water for food production. Additionally, an important buffering role of groundwater can be provided by individual on-site water wells. Private wells can reduce demand pressures on larger aquifers. In the US over 40 million people are supplied with their water needs from 15 million private wells (US 2007). In most instances homeowner wells (often in bedrock fractures) are accessing small discrete aquifer systems that are economically unusable for any major supply.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Mycorrhizal fungi improve water and nutrient uptake for plants in nutrient-poor soils. [SEP] Text: L292: longer simulations needed (see comment above) L297: explain/change term “initialize” L298: but if plants are so effective at promoting mineralization of native organic matter, its content will decrease through time, until it will not be able to provide nutrients; an equilibrium will be attained so the relative advantage might be temporary L312: enhanced mineralization with respect to what control/reference state? L326: define “good” L332: previously it was argued that microbial activity was stimulated, not slowed down L338: why only “often” and not always? are you referring to fertilized systems? Table A1: check units of A, now a volume, but labelled as specific surface area Citation: AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Teamrat Ghezzehei, 15 Jun 2022 We appreciate the constructive comments and feedback by the reviewer. Our replies to the comments and questions are in the supplemental document attached. Citation: RC2: 'Comment on bg-2022-52', #2, 11 Apr 2022 In the paper entitled “Roots induce hydraulic redistribution to promote nutrient uptake and nutrient cycling in nutrient-rich but dry near-surface layers”, the authors present a mathematical model of soil hydraulics, aimed to investigate the effects of soil modification by rhizosphere deposition on water and nutrient uptake. I think the mathematical model and the analyses presented in this paper are sound and of scientific value, but I do have two main issues with the presentation of the work. First, I think the framing of the work is not consistent with the methodology, and should be reconsidered. Second, I think that the writing is not up to the standard I expect for publication, and that the paper requires a thorough proof read to improve the text. The authors present the following knowledge gap in the abstract of the paper: “whether hydraulic redistribution is a passive happy accident or a process controlled by plants remains unclear”. In the introduction, the authors state: “The exact mechanism by which roots can induce HR is, however, not known. Here, we present a modelling study that demonstrates that alteration of rhizosphere soil by rhizodeposition facilitates HR”. I am of the opinion that this knowledge gap is not one that can be filled with the mathematical modelling approach presented in this paper.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Renewable agriculture often incorporates natural pest control instead of chemical pesticides. [SEP] Text: persimilis survival, and the release should coincide with the presence of sufficient prey to ensure optimal control (Stavrinides 2010). The numbers of spider mites decreased when the prey/predator ratio reached approximately 10:1 (Campbell and Lilley 1999). Yanar et al. (2019) demonstrated the potential of P. persimilis to provide effective control of T. urticae populations in cucumber greenhouse. Abou-Haidar et al. (2021) used IPM strategies, including the release of the biological control agents, Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot (Mesostigmata: Phytoseiidae) and P. persimilis to control whitefly, thrips and two-spotted spider mite populations on cucumber greenhouse plants. They found that biological control effectively maintained pest populations below the economic threshold when combined with other IPM strategy. Biological control agents were equally or more effective in suppressing pest populations compared to insecticides performed in the greenhouses. In terms of yields and costs, the three tested programs in this study resulted in similar yields, with the advantages of the biological control greenhouse being low in cost. Previous studies have also shown that using pesticides for whitefly and mite control can lead to yield reductions, while the use of biological control agents can increase crop yield (Edwards 1986; Shoeb et al. 2005; Atanassov 1997; Adly 2015). However, it is important to note that Eleawa and Waked (2016) reported significant differences in the total yield of cucumber. They found that the use of pesticides (Ortus 5% SC) resulted in the maximum yield of 10. 51 tons/feddan (Feddan = 4200 m2), followed by 7. 53 tons/feddan for the release of predatory mite, P. persimilis, and 5. 47 tons/feddan for the control group. These results indicate that there may be variations in yield outcomes depending on specific factors such as crop type, pest infestation and management practices. ConclusionsIn the present study, both high and low rates of the biological control agents (A. albipodus and C. carnea) as well as chemical control methods proved successful in controlling the population of aphid, whitefly and thrips. The introduction of the predatory mite, P.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Climate change will have no effect on global food supplies. [SEP] Text: Provided there is limited outside lawn watering, virtually all the pumped water is treated and returned to the sub-surface via septic systems and leach-fields. The key to continuing this harmonious use of groundwater is to ensure through zoning regulations that well density does not exceed renewability and that the rights of private well owners sharing access to aquifers with major pumpers are protected. “Deepest well wins” is not a good basis for groundwater management. 2. 3. 2 ProductionIn 2007, the (IWMI)’s “Comprehensive assessment of water management in agriculture” (CAoWMiA) reviewed the world’s future food needs and explored scenarios for how the required water may be sourced (CAoWMiA 2007). Around half of the globally accessible freshwater is already diverted for human uses and 70 % of the world’s water consumption is in agricultural production. CAoWMiA (2007) reported that food demand will double over the next 50–80 years, and that without improvements in productivity, water use in food production will need to increase by 70–90 % under a changing climate (CAoWMiA 2007). From a business perspective, a McKinsey & Company global report estimates “that the annual pace at which supply is added over the next 20 years in water and land would have to increase by 140 % and up to 250 %, respectively, compared with the rate at which supply expanded over the past two decades. This expansion of supply could have a wide range of potentially negative effects on the environment. In this case, there would be an additional 1,850 km3 of water consumption by 2030, 30 % higher than today’s levels …” (Dobbs et al. 2011: 8). A study by Wada et al. (2012) shows that on a global basis non-renewable groundwater abstraction represents 18 % of global gross irrigation water demand. In other words, on a global basis we are draining aquifer systems (see also Chap. 2 for more detail on aquifer depletion). This loss of groundwater inventory has greatly reduced the capacity of aquifers to serve as a buffer against current or future drought.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Mycorrhizal fungi improve water and nutrient uptake for plants in nutrient-poor soils. [SEP] Text: The fact that one can simulate HR by changing rhizosphere properties in a mathematical model does not provide evidence that real plants can do the same, and it will this not shed light on the mechanisms by which roots can induce HR. I am of the opinion that the paper should be reframed to focus on the results that show how changes in rhizosphere properties differentially affect water uptake, nutrient uptake, and nutrient mineralisation in different soils and soil water conditions. This can then be framed as a series of hypotheses that should be tested with experiments: namely that plants are able to modify soil properties in the way that was tested with the model through rhizosphere depositions, and that the exudation of these deposits is more common or more pronounced in soil types and soil water conditions where the model predicts the largest increase in the uptake of either water (under wet conditions and in sandy loams) or nutrients (under dry conditions and in sandy loam). However, I think that the authors currently overextend the impact of this work in sections 4. 3 and 4. 4. I think framing this work in the context of climate change is not appropriate in the paper’s current form, and a statement such as the one made in L. 363-365 (“Our results indicate that answering questions about plant adaptation to complex and changing soil and environmental conditions requires integrating biotic and abiotic feedback in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum”) does not match up with the model presented in this paper. Either the modelling should be extended significantly to include more than just a hydraulic model, or the framing of this work should not go beyond the metrics simulated by the model (i. e. water and nutrient uptake). This reframing should lead to significant re-writing of the introduction and the discussion (sections 4. 3 and 4. 4 in particular). I would suggest that the paper is carefully proofread to improve the text, which is currently full of grammatical flaws, especially in the introduction and discussion sections. I will mention a few examples I found in the first couple of paragraphs, but have not put the entire text to this level of scrutiny. L. 27: I guess this is the explanation of hydraulic redistribution? Please cue the term here if that is the case. L. 28: The current sentence structure reads as if roots modify their immediate surroundings and also modify hydraulic redistribution.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Renewable agriculture often incorporates natural pest control instead of chemical pesticides. [SEP] Text: Toxic effect of cyanobacterial (blue–green algae) extracts as natural pesticides for the control of Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) access Published: 09 August 2023 Toxic effect of cyanobacterial (blue–green algae) extracts as natural pesticides for the control of Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) C. H. Sharanappa1, M. Bheemanna1, A. Prabhuraj1, R. Naik Harischandra1, M. Naik Nagaraj1, N. Rao Saroja1 & …B. : orcid. org/0000-0002-2159-224X1,2 Show authors of Control 49. 09 and 61. 37 ppm, respectively. This was followed by Spirulina hexane extract, Spirulina petroleum ether extract, N. muscorum ethanol extract, N. muscorum methanol extract, Spirulina ethanol and methanol extract which were recorded 173. 16, 227. 22, 530, 730, 970 and 1000 ppm, respectively. Further, their potential effects on different biological parameters of S. frugiperda, viz. larval duration, pupal duration, percent pupation, pupal weight, pupal malformation, adult malformation, percent adult emergence, fecundity, and male and female adult longevity, were studied. The significant effects on different biological parameters were recorded by N. muscorum hexane and petroleum ether extract, followed by Spirulina hexane and petroleum ether extract. Similarly, an experiment was repeated for the confirmation of the first set of results, which followed by a similar trend. The first-ever novel study on S. frugiperda concluded that crude extracts of Spirulina sp. and N. muscorum extracts showed significant effects in causing larval mortality and affecting different biological parameters. ConclusionsThe experimental results can be recommended as a potential source of natural pesticides for the control of S. frugiperda. BackgroundCyanobacteria also called as blue–green algae are morphologically diverse groups of prokaryotic, photosynthetic organisms that flourish in diverse types of habitats. The cyanobacterial species, namely Spirulina sp. and N.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Climate change will have no effect on global food supplies. [SEP] Text: In the US over the last 100 years over 1,000 km3 of groundwater has been removed from major aquifers with the greatest losses from the Aquifer (350 km3) and California’s (150 km3) (Konikow 2013). These trends in groundwater depletions in the US have been observed and known for many years. However, effective and sustainable management strategies have eluded policy makers and only now, because of severe drought conditions, are end users and legislators in California, Texas and other impacted states beginning to talk about water metering and devising workable criteria for prioritizing allocations of the progressively scarce groundwater resources. These discussions are clouded by the issue of “water rights” and the spectre of litigation from end-users whose pumping might be curtailed. raises similar concerns. Noting “total annual sustainable freshwater supply remaining static at 4,200 billion cubic meters (m3), the annual deficit for 2030 is forecasted to be 2,765 billion m3, or 40 % of unconstrained demand, assuming that present trends continue. India and China are forecasted to have a combined shortfall of 1,000 billion m3 – reflecting shortfalls of 50 % and 25 %, respectively. There is little evidence of changing trends. Signals of scarcity and stress have had little impact on policies, demand, or the market. On the supply side, there is little room for finding and abstracting more water. In areas with physical water scarcity (including north [China], south and northwest India, and Pakistan), demand needs to lessen” (ADB 2013: vi). The increasingly frequent droughts predicted with climate change means that the greater security of food production afforded by irrigation will become increasingly popular. In Africa, for example, national governments have extensive plans to expand irrigated production (Sullivan and Pittock 2014). There has been extensive debate about why irrigated agriculture has performed very poorly in Africa, which points to a combination of problems with infrastructure, human capacity and economic viability (Lankford 2009). A number of researchers have pointed to extensive, but little used, groundwater resources in Africa as the basis for increased agricultural production (MacDonald et al. 2012).

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Mycorrhizal fungi improve water and nutrient uptake for plants in nutrient-poor soils. [SEP] Text: Change the order of these two statements to correctly follow up on “…separate advances in our understanding of…’ L. 29: Replace ’-an’ with ‘, which is’, and follow this with a better definition of the rhizosphere. L. 32: Rewrite by switching the order of plant water uptake and wetness of the rhizosphere. L. 33: ‘the rhizosphere’s carbon investment’ suggests that it is the rhizosphere that is doing the investing. L. 36: Change ‘peculiar’ to ‘specific’ Finally, I have a couple of minor comments. In the current analysis, do the results of changes in nutrient uptake include the combined effect of increased nutrient uptake and increased nutrient mineralisation? If so, it would be insightful to decouple the two, presenting both their individual effects and their combined effect. What is a rhizoshealth? (L. 302) I presume this should read rhizosheath, but I would still like an explanation of the term. The reasoning behind some of the model’s design is explained in detail in the discussion, but I feel this should have been explained in the introduction: L. 305-308 – ‘Increased rhizodeposits … nutrient mineralisation. ’ Citation: AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Teamrat Ghezzehei, 15 Jun 2022 We appreciate the constructive comments and feedback by the reviewer. Our replies to the comments and questions are in the supplemental document attached. Citation: Report abuse × Please provide a reason why you see this comment as being abusive. You might include your name and email but you can also stay anonymous. Please provide a reason why you see this comment as being abusive. Please confirm reCaptcha. Comment* Name: Email: discussion Status: closed Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse RC1: 'Comment on bg-2022-52', #1, 22 Mar 2022 The manuscript by Yan and Ghezzehei presents a soil-plant water transport model including a two layer-based hydraulic redistribution (HR) mechanism. The model is used to study how a prescribed rhizosphere volume around the roots mediates HR effects, with a particularly strong effect on nutrient transport and uptake.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Renewable agriculture often incorporates natural pest control instead of chemical pesticides. [SEP] Text: Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), has been observed feeding on all parts of the plant causing economic damage to maize, rice, sorghum, millet, sugarcane, vegetable crops and cotton, as well as more than 80 other crop species (Chormule et al. 2019). It is invasive, wreaking havoc on cereal crops in general and maize crops in particular. This pest is a tropical and subtropical American species that was first reported on maize in Shivamogga, Karnataka, India, in May and June of 2018 (Sharanabasappa et al. 2018). The pest was thought to have migrated from Africa, where it was initially discovered in late 2016 (Nagoshi et al. 2019) and was found in 44 African countries (Rwomushana et al. 2018). The maize is a more favoured host, with infection rates ranging from 6 to 100% in Africa and India (Mallapur et al. 2018). In the absence of appropriate management techniques, the FAW is projected to cause maize yield losses in Africa ranging from 8. 3 to 20. 6 MT per year (Day et al. 2017). The use of chemical pesticides has played a major role in increasing agricultural production and also in protecting crops from injury caused by insect pests. But the overuse of traditional pesticides to control insect pests leads to disturbance in ecosystem stability and increased resistance to pesticides in pests; therefore, there is an urgent need for alternative control methods (Mohan and Gujar 2003; Kariyanna 2019). The need for natural pesticides is one of the scientific research goals (Rahim and Mohamed 2013). Botanical pesticides are environmentally friendly alternative means to protect crops (Asaraja and Sahayaraj 2013). Examining natural alternative pesticides and extracts to identify new pesticides provides a method for researchers to uncover new chemical entities that have never been produced. Although plants hold considerable promise for the development of new pesticides, cyanobacteria (blue–green algae) make up the majority of the world's biomass and are a largely unexplored source. The insecticidal activity of Spirulina sp. and Nostoc muscorum extracts were not explored for their efficacy against S. frugiperda. Keeping this in view, an endeavor was made to study the toxic effect of cyanobacterial or blue–green algal extracts as natural pesticides for the management of fall armyworm, S. frugiperda.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Climate change will have no effect on global food supplies. [SEP] Text: The arguments for greater use of groundwater are many, but the most compelling are the increased cost efficiencies and drought resilience gained over traditional small-scale rainwater harvesting, and the capacity for groundwater resources to be developed to support more people across the landscape compared to centralised, surface irrigation schemes (Stirzaker and Pittock 2014). The obvious question about greater reliance in Africa on groundwater for agriculture is how to avoid the over-exploitation that has afflicted many parts of the world. The management of consumption using cap and trade groundwater markets as practised in Australia is unlikely to work in most of Africa where the reach of the state is not as strong. Work by the in regions of over-exploited groundwater in India indicates two examples of unconventional approaches that may be addressing the problem of over-exploitation of groundwater due to subsidized electricity for pumping. Reducing these power subsidies has not been politically feasible but other solutions have emerged. Over the past decade in Gujarat, India a USD $260 million scheme called (“Lighted Village”) has sought to overcome electricity theft and blackouts while rationing groundwater and ensuring the financial viability of utilities (IWMI 2011). Installation of a dual electricity distribution system has enabled one distribution system to be dedicated to providing reliable supplies to villages while the other system provides power for 8 h/day to groundwater pumps. This approach has curtailed energy consumption, encouraged more efficient groundwater pumping, and facilitated a tripling of agricultural production. More recently the state government of scrapped a permit system, instead connecting small pumps to the power grid at a fixed cost that only enables farmers to access annual monsoon recharge from shallow aquifers, conserving deeper groundwater resources. IWMI estimate that the area irrigated will expand in 3–5 years from 2. 98 to 4. 83 million hectares, increasing annual paddy rice production by 4. 62 million tonnes (IWMI 2012). 2. 3. 3 ConservationFreshwater biodiversity has been significantly impacted by overexploitation of surface and groundwaters (MEA 2005; see also Chaps. 14 and 15). Current approaches to conserving freshwater biodiversity, including for climate change adaptation, have focussed on providing surface environmental flows and in some countries, environmental water demand management (also called environmental works and measures in Australia) (Poff and Matthews 2013; Pittock and Lankford 2010; Richter 2010).

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Mycorrhizal fungi improve water and nutrient uptake for plants in nutrient-poor soils. [SEP] Text: The authors also show that the enhanced water content in the rhizosphere can promote decomposition of native organic matter. The topic is interesting and suitable for Biogeosciences, but the manuscript in my view is not always clear and would benefit from a thorough proof-reading. Most important, the proposed model now contains three components—rhizodeposits, organic matter, nutrients—that are connected conceptually but not mathematically. This makes hydrology and biogeochemistry in the model too un-coupled to support the conclusion that rhizodeposits are an adaptive response of plants to face dry conditions. My main comments are explained first, followed by other suggestions. Main comments Nutrients are modelled independently of organic matter mineralization. Nutrients are essentially regarded as a passive tracer, transported through the domain and taken up by plants. With higher hydraulic conductivity in the rhizosphere, nutrients are transported more rapidly according to the model, so the result that rhizosphere improves nutrient uptake is expected. Organic carbon decomposition rate is also enhanced thanks to the higher water content in the rhizosphere, which is also an expected result. In other words, both enhanced nutrient uptake and decomposition rates are a direct consequence of the model construction. This approach is simple and easy to understand, but has two drawbacks: i) nutrients are produced by decomposition of organic matter (now the two processes are independent) and ii) nutrients can be immobilized and re-mineralized by microbes in the rhizosphere (now only passively transported). Without this dynamic links between nutrient availability, organic matter and rhizosphere environmental conditions, it is difficult to say if nutrient availability actually improves thanks to the rhizosphere environment and HR. Rhizodeposits are not static and are costly for the plant. One component of the model deals with organic matter decomposition, referring to “rhizospheric C mineralization” (L171)—yet, the rhizosphere is regarded as fixed in terms of both extent and hydraulic properties (driven by rhizodeposit mass of C content). However, one could argue that the rhizosphere function needs to be ‘maintained’ by secreting C as the rhizosphere compounds are mineralized.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Renewable agriculture often incorporates natural pest control instead of chemical pesticides. [SEP] Text: 83 and 8 days, respectively, and the remaining treatments like Spirulina petroleum ether extract, N. muscorum ethanol extract, N. muscorum methanol extract, Spirulina ethanol extract and Spirulina methanol extract were at par with each other and recorded 8. 5, 8. 66, 8. 83, 8. 83 and 9 days, respectively, and showed significant difference over control (10. 83 days) and similar trends were observed in second set of the experiment. In the case of pooled data, the results revealed that N. muscorum hexane extract at their LC50 values significantly decreased the female adult longevity with a mean of 7. 08 days. This was followed by N. muscorum petroleum ether extract (7. 75 days) extract and Spirulina hexane extract (7. 92 days) and the remaining treatments like Spirulina petroleum ether extract, N. muscorum ethanol extract, N. muscorum methanol extract, Spirulina ethanol extract and Spirulina methanol extract were at par with each other and recorded 8. 33, 8. 50, 8. 67, 8. 75 and 9 days, respectively, and showed significant difference over control which was recorded high female adult longevity (10. 75 days) (Table 6). The overall results revealed that crude cyanobacterial extracts of Spirulina sp. and N. muscorum, in general, had a potential effect against larvae and other developmental stages of S. frugiperda. However, the degree of toxicity varied among different extracts wherein N. muscorum hexane extract and N. muscorum petroleum ether extract were proved to be the most effective against different biological parameters of S. frugiperda, followed by Spirulina hexane extract and Spirulina petroleum ether extract. Since it is of the first kind of study, similar kinds of studies were not reported against S. frugiperda but some other algae and cyanobacteria having insecticidal properties against other crop pests were reported. However, from a larger perspective, cyanobacterial extracts were also a type of biopesticides so, extracts of plant-originated biopesticides were utilized for discussion.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Climate change will have no effect on global food supplies. [SEP] Text: In countries like Australia, environmental flow programs have focussed on conserving large wetland systems, often in the lower reaches of river systems (Pittock and Finlayson 2011). An assumption is that surface water environment flows under conditions of short-term variability, and long-term climate change, will be sufficient to sustain the ecological character of these wetlands. Yet evidence is that desiccation and water quality impacts of drought events, exacerbated by climate change, are not adequately ameliorated by the current environmental watering programs (Pittock 2013; Pittock et al. 2010). In particular, these strategies assume that large wetlands in downstream reaches of river basins and ecosystems can be maintained in a similar state to the present. Contrary to this approach, there is an emerging focus on the importance of conserving groundwater flows as a key strategy for retaining freshwater biota in refugia during severe drought and climate change (Pittock and Finlayson 2011). The potential exists for groundwater inflows into river channels to maintain reaches with sufficient volumes of water of acceptable quality to sustain biota that may otherwise perish. There are numerous management challenges if this adaptation option is to succeed, not least gaining community support to conserve connected aquifers for this purpose (Lukasiewicz et al. 2013). Importantly, these refugia are often different to the freshwater habitats currently prioritised for conservation. For instance, in Australia’s Murray-, gaining reaches are often located in the mid and upper river systems rather than the downstream wetlands currently favoured (CSIRO 2008; Pittock and Finlayson 2011). This example of changing groundwater management priorities highlights the governance challenges brought on by global change. 3 Discussion and ConclusionThe need for Management (IGM) is set out in the first 1. Information. The often unseen nature of groundwater and the lack of a common currency with competing natural resource uses can lead to decisions with deleterious impacts on aquifers. We contend that making publicly available, and generating where necessary, compatible information on groundwater resources and major uses like the environment, energy, food and domestic water can facilitate integrated decision making. Examples of such information transparency include: publicly available water accounts, such as those of the of Meteorology (BoM and ABS 2011); the Australian Government’s online atlas of matters of national environmental significance that includes listed groundwater dependent biota (DOE n. d.

Output: contrast


Input: Claim: Mycorrhizal fungi improve water and nutrient uptake for plants in nutrient-poor soils. [SEP] Text: Nutrients are not produced in this model, just transported and taken up by the plants L245-246: multiple typos: space missing, “promotes”, “pronounced” Fig. 9 caption: the model describes only active nutrient uptake, but the caption mentions passive uptake L284: missing verb L285: not clear link to previous sentence despite “Therefore” L287: higher variability compared to what? L292: longer simulations needed (see comment above) L297: explain/change term “initialize” L298: but if plants are so effective at promoting mineralization of native organic matter, its content will decrease through time, until it will not be able to provide nutrients; an equilibrium will be attained so the relative advantage might be temporary L312: enhanced mineralization with respect to what control/reference state? L326: define “good” L332: previously it was argued that microbial activity was stimulated, not slowed down L338: why only “often” and not always? are you referring to fertilized systems? Table A1: check units of A, now a volume, but labelled as specific surface area Citation: AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Teamrat Ghezzehei, 15 Jun 2022 We appreciate the constructive comments and feedback by the reviewer. Our replies to the comments and questions are in the supplemental document attached. Citation: RC2: 'Comment on bg-2022-52', #2, 11 Apr 2022 In the paper entitled “Roots induce hydraulic redistribution to promote nutrient uptake and nutrient cycling in nutrient-rich but dry near-surface layers”, the authors present a mathematical model of soil hydraulics, aimed to investigate the effects of soil modification by rhizosphere deposition on water and nutrient uptake. I think the mathematical model and the analyses presented in this paper are sound and of scientific value, but I do have two main issues with the presentation of the work. First, I think the framing of the work is not consistent with the methodology, and should be reconsidered. Second, I think that the writing is not up to the standard I expect for publication, and that the paper requires a thorough proof read to improve the text. The authors present the following knowledge gap in the abstract of the paper: “whether hydraulic redistribution is a passive happy accident or a process controlled by plants remains unclear”.

Output: pass


Input: Claim: Renewable agriculture often incorporates natural pest control instead of chemical pesticides. [SEP] Text: Later noticed significantly decreased percent pupation, pupal weight and percent moth emergence of Agrotis ipsilon (Hufnagel) (Rahim and Mohamed 2013), ethanolic extract of the N. carneum significantly prolonged the larval and pupal duration of S. littoralis, whereas P. kessleri and N. carneum distinctly reduced the formation of pupae and significantly decreased the pupal weights, adult emergence, fecundity, and male and female longevity and increased pupal and adult malformation (Saber et al. 2018), ethanol extract of S. platensis significantly increased larval, pupal durations, pupal, adult malformation and significantly decreased fecundity of S. littoralis (Rania et al. 2020), and hydroalcoholic extracts of three seaweeds Sargassum asperifolium, S. dentifolium and S. linifolium affected different biological parameters of S. littoralis and S. frugiperda (Matloub et al. 2012). These contradictory results may be because each solvent has the capability of dissolving different bioactive compounds; moreover, hexane and petroleum ether extracts of N. muscorum and Spirulina sp. were not reported against S. frugiperda and results also varied with a different strain of cyanobacterial species, method of extraction and varied with each species of insects. ConclusionsThe novel study of the insecticidal activity of Spirulina sp. and N. muscorum extracts had a potential impact on larval mortality and different biological parameters of S. frugiperda. From the various cyanobacterial extracts, N. muscorum hexane and petroleum ether extracts recorded low LC50 values and significantly affected different biological parameters, viz. larval duration, pupal duration, pupation, pupal weight, pupal malformation, adult malformation, adult emergence, fecundity, and male and female adult longevity. These treatments were followed by Spirulina hexane and petroleum ether extract. The cyanobacterial extracts of Spirulina sp. N. muscorum were also a type of biopesticides which are eco-friendly in nature and serve as a natural and alternative source for the management of fall armyworm and other crop pests in various crop ecosystems. Availability of data and materials Not applicable.

Output: corroborate


Input: Claim: Climate change will have no effect on global food supplies. [SEP] Text: ); simple, online decision making models, such as one in Texas that enables businesses and regulators to match water resources to proposed power generators (Group n. d. ); and ‘traffic light’ status reports on the state of aquifers and other resources (Pittock et al. 2013). 2. Technology. There are many technologies that may use less groundwater while facilitating climate change mitigation and adaptation, such as dry cooling thermal power stations (NETL 2008) and more efficient irrigation equipment (Mushtaq et al. 2009). 3. Market incentives. Establishing cap and trade water markets can create powerful incentives for using groundwater more efficiently and sustainably, as is now practised in many parts of Australia (Grafton et al. 2011). However, given the lower price of water per volume compared to many other natural resources and the potential for externalities, it is essential that markets for natural resources such as water, timber and carbon are harmonised to prevent negative impacts on groundwater (Pittock et al. 2013). 4. Reforming governance. Systematically integrating decisions across sectors like water and climate policy will expose many of the perverse outcomes identified in this 1203. doi:10. 1016/j. ijhydene. 2011. 09. 1374029. doi:10. 1016/j. ijhydene. 2008. 05. 047256. doi:10. 1080/0250806040869177522. 627. doi:10. 1021/es201942m05. UN on Climate Change, Bonn 2011. Department of Canberra 3010. doi:10. 1021/es802162x4227. doi:10. 1021/es204001529. -IHE Institute for Water Education, Delft 239. doi:10. 1093/reep/rer0022. epa. gov/ghgreporting 10. 5751/ES-04176-160422(2013) Global flood risk under climate change. Change, advance online publication. doi:10. 1038/nclimate1911, 10. 5751/ES-04641-170131IPCC (2007a) 2007: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability, II contribution to the fourth assessment report of the on Climate Change. on Climate Change, Geneva 1947. doi:10. 1126/science. 11192825079.

Output: contrast