Global Synthesis Research Articles

A global synthesis of high-resolution stable isotope data from benthic foraminifera of the last deglaciation

We present the first version of the Ocean Circulation and Carbon Cycling (OC3) working group database, of oxygen and carbon stable isotope ratios from benthic foraminifera in deep ocean sediment cores from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 23-19 ky) to the Holocene (<10 ky) with a particular focus on the early last deglaciation (19-15 ky BP). It includes 287 globally distributed coring sites, with metadata, isotopic and chronostratigraphic information, and age models. A quality check was performed for all data and age models, and sites with at least millennial resolution were preferred. Deep water mass structure as well as differences between the early deglaciation and LGM are captured by the data, even though its coverage is still sparse in many regions. We find high correlations among time series calculated with different age models at sites that allow such analysis. The database provides a useful dynamical approach to map physical and biogeochemical changes of the ocean throughout the last deglaciation.

The Ordovician System: Key concepts, events and its distribution across Europe

Abstract The Ordovician was a key period in the biological and geological history of the planet. ‘A Global Synthesis of the Ordovician System’ is presented in two volumes of The Geological Society, Special Publications . This first volume (SP532) charts the history of the Ordovician System and explores significant advances in our understanding of the period's biostratigraphy, including more precise calibration of its timescale with tephra chronology and regional alignments using astrochronology and cyclostratigraphy. Changes in the world's oceans, their shifting currents and sea levels, the biogeography of their biotas and the ambient climate are described and discussed against a background of changing palaeogeography. This first volume also includes syntheses of Ordovician geology of most European countries, including historical key areas, such as the British Isles, Baltoscandia and Bohemia.

Magnitude and efficiency of straw return in building up soil organic carbon: A global synthesis integrating the impacts of agricultural managements and environmental conditions

Enhancing soil organic carbon (SOC) through straw return (SR) has been widely recommended as a promising practice of climate-smart agriculture. Many studies have investigated the relative effect of straw return on SOC content, while the magnitude and efficiency of straw return in building up SOC stock remain uncertain. Here, we present an integrative synthesis of the magnitude and efficiency of SR-induced SOC changes, using a database comprising 327 observations at 115 sites globally. Straw return increased SOC by 3.68 ± 0.69 (95 % Confidence Interval, CI) Mg C ha−1, with a corresponding C efficiency of 20.51 ± 9.58 % (95 % CI), of which <30 % was contributed directly by straw-C input. The magnitude of SR-induced SOC changes increased (P < 0.05) with increasing straw-C input and experiment duration. However, the C efficiency decreased significantly (P < 0.01) with these two explanatory factors. No-tillage and crop rotation were found to enhance the SR-induced SOC increase, in both magnitude and efficiency. Straw return sequestrated larger amount of C in acidic and organic-rich soils than in alkaline and organic-poor soils. A machine learning random forest (RF) algorithm showed that the amount of straw-C input was the most important single factor governing the magnitude and efficiency of straw return. However, local agricultural managements and environmental conditions were together the dominant explanatory factors determining the spatial differences in SR-induced SOC stock changes. This entails that by optimizing agricultural managements in regions with favorable environmental conditions the farmer can accumulate more C with minor negative impacts. By clarifying the significance and relative importance of multiple local factors, our findings may aid the development of tailored region-specific straw return policies integrating the SOC increment and its environmental side costs.

Dietary plasticity linked to divergent growth trajectories in a critically endangered sea turtle

Foraging habitat selection and diet quality are key factors that influence individual fitness and meta-population dynamics through effects on demographic rates. There is growing evidence that sea turtles exhibit regional differences in somatic growth linked to alternative dispersal patterns during the oceanic life stage. Yet, the role of habitat quality and diet in shaping somatic growth rates is poorly understood. Here, we evaluate whether diet variation is linked to regional growth variation in hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata), which grow significantly slower in Texas, United States versus Florida, United States, through novel integrations of skeletal growth, gastrointestinal content (GI), and bulk tissue and amino acid (AA)-specific stable nitrogen (δ15N) and carbon (δ13C) isotope analyses. We also used AA δ15N ΣV values (heterotrophic bacterial re-synthesis index) and δ13C essential AA (δ13CEAA) fingerprinting to test assumptions about the energy sources fueling hawksbill food webs regionally. GI content analyses, framed within a global synthesis of hawksbill dietary plasticity, revealed that relatively fast-growing hawksbills stranded in Florida conformed with assumptions of extensive spongivory for this species. In contrast, relatively slow-growing hawksbills stranded in Texas consumed considerable amounts of non-sponge invertebrate prey and appear to forage higher in the food web as indicated by isotopic niche metrics and higher AA δ15N-based trophic position estimates internally indexed to baseline nitrogen isotope variation. However, regional differences in estimated trophic position may also be driven by unique isotope dynamics of sponge food webs. AA δ15N ΣV values and δ13CEAA fingerprinting indicated minimal bacterial re-synthesis of organic matter (ΣV &amp;lt; 2) and that eukaryotic microalgae were the primary energy source supporting hawksbill food webs. These findings run contrary to assumptions that hawksbill diets predominantly comprise high microbial abundance sponges expected to primarily derive energy from bacterial symbionts. Our findings suggest alternative foraging patterns could underlie regional variation in hawksbill growth rates, as divergence from typical sponge prey might correspond with increased energy expenditure and reduced foraging success or diet quality. As a result, differential dispersal patterns may infer substantial individual and population fitness costs and represent a previously unrecognized challenge to the persistence and recovery of this critically endangered species.

Global historical trends and drivers of submerged aquatic vegetation quantities in lakes.

Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in lake littoral zones is an inland water wetland type that provides numerous essential ecosystem services, such as supplying food and habitat for fauna, regulating nutrient fluxes, stabilizing sediments, and maintaining a clear water state. However, little is known on how inland SAV quantities are changing globally in response to human activities, where loss threatens the provisioning of these ecosystem services. In this study, we generate a comprehensive global synthesis of trends in SAV quantities using time series (>10 years) in lakes and identify their main drivers. We compiled trends across methods and metrics, integrating both observational and paleolimnological approaches as well as diverse measures of SAV quantities, including areal extent, density, or abundance classes. The compilation revealed that knowledge on SAV is mostly derived from temperate regions, with major gaps in tropical, boreal, and mountainous lake-rich regions. Similar to other wetland types, we found that 41% of SAV times series are largely decreasing mostly due to land use change and resulting eutrophication. SAV is, however, increasing in 28% of cases, primarily since the 1980s. We show that trends and drivers of SAV quantities vary regionally, with increases in Europe explained mainly by management, decreases in Asia due to eutrophication and land use change, and variable trends in North America consistent with invasive species arrival. By providing a quantitative portrait of trends in SAV quantities worldwide, we identify knowledge gaps and future SAV research priorities. By considering the drivers of different trends, we also offer insight to future lake management related to climate, positive restoration actions, and change in community structure on SAV quantities.

A Global Synthesis of Multi‐Factors Affecting Water Storage Capacity in Forest Canopy, Litter and Soil Layers

AbstractWater storage capacity in the layers of canopy, litter, and soil of forest ecosystems has not yet been thoroughly investigated on a global scale. We estimated the global pattern of water storage capacity of forest ecosystems related to water regulation services (WSCFE) in the above three layers based on 1,288 observations and analyzed their 22 controlling environmental factors. The results show that the global mean WSCFE per unit area is 456.7 mm, and the total volume of WSCFE is 22,662.5 km3. Climatic variables are the leading factors contributing to the variations of WSCFE, followed by forest attributes, terrain factors, soil properties, and litter characteristics. This study advances the understanding of the large‐scale variation mechanisms of WSCFE in different forest types and climate zones and provides scientific evidence for ecological protection according to local conditions.

Crop residue return sustains global soil ecological stoichiometry balance.

Although soil ecological stoichiometry is constrained in natural ecosystems, its responses to anthropogenic perturbations are largely unknown. Inputs of inorganic fertilizer and crop residue are key cropland anthropogenic managements, with potential to alter their soil ecological stoichiometry. We conducted a global synthesis of 682 data pairs to quantify the responses of soil carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) and grain yields to combined inputs of crop residue plus inorganic fertilizer compared with only inorganic fertilizer application. Crop residue inputs enhance soil C (10.5%-12%), N (7.63%-9.2%), and P (2.62%-5.13%) contents, with an increase in C:N (2.51%-3.42%) and C:P (7.27%-8.00%) ratios, and grain yields (6.12%-8.64%), indicating that crop residue alleviated soil C limitation caused by inorganic fertilizer inputs alone and was able to sustain balanced stoichiometry. Moreover, the increase in soil C and C:N(P) ratio reached saturation in ~13-16 years after crop residue return, while grain yield increase trend discontinued. Furthermore, we identified that the increased C, N, and P contents and C:N(P) ratios were regulated by the initial pH and C content, and the increase in grain yield was not only related to soil properties, but also negatively related to the amount of inorganic N fertilizer input to a greater extent. Given that crop residual improvement varies with soil properties and N input levels, we propose a predictive model to preliminary evaluate the potential for crop residual improvement. Particularly, we suggest that part of the global budget should be used to subsidize crop residue input management strategies, achieving to a win-win situation for agricultural production, ecological protection, and climate change mitigation.

Synthesis and perspectives on the study of ant‐plant interaction networks: A global overview

Abstract In recent decades, the interest in complexity of ant‐plant relationships has increased considerably. However, because the spatial and biological information generated on ant‐plant interaction networks is dispersed in the literature it is necessary to synthesise current information, detect knowledge gaps, and outline needs for research leading to the development of a broad and systematic view on the subject. Here, we present a global synthesis of the scientific articles dealing with ant‐plant interaction networks, through a quantitative scientometric analysis to establish the state of the art in this topic and to propose future perspectives. We gather 54 articles published between 2006 and 2020 in 32 different scientific journals, which were written by 132 different authors. The studies were conducted in 15 countries and 9 biomes (most of them (61%) were in tropical lowlands), but Brazil and Mexico represented 87% of the global scientific production. Although most studies are related to ant‐plant interactions involving extrafloral nectaries (72%) usually in diurnal samplings, we also found other types of ant‐plant relationships such as floral nectar, extrafloral nectar, sap, myrmecophyte, seed/fruit, foraging substrate, and nesting sites. Furthermore, most studies used a bipartite framework of ant‐plant interaction mediated by only one type of resource, and researchers often reported a nested pattern of species interactions. Finally, we identify some regions, biotic interactions involving different types of resources, spatio‐temporal scales, and research questions that need further research for a better understanding of the complexity ant‐plant networks.

Taxonomy and biogeography of living species of the Family Notorotaliidae (Notorotalia, Parrellina, Porosorotalia, Buccella, Cristatavultus)

DNA sequencing shows that species of the genera Notorotalia, Porosorotalia and Buccella form a distinct branch (Notorotaliidae) of Rotaloidea, and cluster as sister to Elphidiidae. In this review we report on the sequencing of three species of Buccella (from the Arctic Ocean, Patagonia and Chile) and one each of Notorotalia (New Zealand) and Porosorotalia (Chile). This information has been combined with all the morphological descriptive information on species of these genera plus the genera Cristatavultus and Parrellina to provide a global synthesis of living species of the Notorotaliidae. We recognize 11 species of the southern hemisphere genus Notorotalia, which has a centre of diversity around New Zealand (8 species). A second southern-hemisphere-restricted genus, restricted to eastern Australia is Parrellina (3 species) although specimens (possibly introduced) have been recorded from the Mediterranean Sea. Cristatavultus has a single species, with a tropical west Pacific distribution.We synonymize Cribrorotalia under Porosorotalia, which has a disjunct distribution with one species in the northwest Pacific and a second around the southern parts of South America. Buccella is the most diverse and widespread genus (16 species recognized) with its greatest abundance in the Arctic Ocean and around subantarctic-temperate South America. Five species of Buccella live in a belt along the west coast of central America, from USA to Peru, with some spillage into the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Two new species of Buccella are recognized: B. dejardini (from South Georgia) and Buccella n. sp. A (from Chile).

Проявление скрипичного исполнительства в пространстве российской и зарубежной архитектуры и скульптуры

The author determines that violin performance finds its vivid embodiment and implementation in Russian and foreign architecture and sculpture. It is scientifically substantiated that modern architects have created a huge number of works of art in which violin is the main object. The study proves that world architects involve this bowed string instrument in global projects to provide a new picture of the world, demonstrating the ability of the violin to implement unprecedented cultural experiments. Thus, the author comes to the conclusion that violin art is becoming more and more visual. Each of the architects analyzed in this work tried in every possible way to embody in monuments and sculptures exactly that feature of violin art that they wanted to express, as well as to perpetuate the issues and contradictions that turned out to be the most relevant and topical. In terms of architectural and musical art, the sculptors sought to demonstrate various hypostases of violin art starting from the tragic and patriotic themes. The paper established that at present one needs to talk about the conceptual nature of violin visualization, its polyfunctionality, as well as the global synthesis of musical art with architecture and sculpture.

Determination of optimization criteria for a special­purpose infocommunication network management system

As of today, taking into account the realities of the war in the country and the prospects for the development of the special-purpose information communication network management system, it is possible to assert the presence of a stable trend of growth in the volume and improvement of the quality of telecommunication services provided. This leads to an increase in the quantity and quality of control information, which, in turn, leads to a disproportionate growth of the special purpose information communication network management system itself. The described trend determines the need to optimize the management system as part of a special purpose information and communication system. To solve this problem, it is necessary to define the optimization criteria for the management system of a special purpose information communication network. The characteristic features of the special purpose information communication network management system given in the article allow it to be considered a "big system". For such a "big system" the question of its optimization becomes urgent. Optimization can be considered both the optimization of the control system design process itself and the optimization of the operation of the control system. The determined directions of optimization are dependent on each other. The designed special purpose information communication network management system will have quality indicators that depend on the quality of development, resources and time spent, that is, on the optimality of the design process. On the other hand, the resources and time spent on the design of the control system will significantly depend on the expected quality parameters of the system. There are several ways to combine the partial criteria of the control system to obtain an integral generalized criterion, which will make it possible to implement a global synthesis of the control system taking into account all the selected partial criteria of the system. Thus, the paper presents a method of multi-criteria optimization of the management system of a special purpose information communication network. The external parameters of the special purpose information communication network management system, which are critical in modern conditions, are described: the amount of information, delay, survivability, functional flexibility, reliability and cost. The need to combine conflicting criteria such as the amount of control information, reliability, survivability, functional flexibility, latency, and cost is emphasized. The advantage of using multi-criteria optimization of the special-purpose information communication network management system compared to single-criteria optimization is shown.

Global Synthesis of the Status and Trends of Ocean Acidification Impacts on Shelled Pteropods

The accumulation of anthropogenic CO2 in the ocean has major ecological, socioeconomic, and biogeochemical impacts, with repercussions for the ocean as a critical carbon sink. Ocean acidification (OA) disproportionally affects marine calcifiers, among which pelagic zooplanktonic pteropods play a significant role in carbonate export. The pteropod, due to the susceptibility of its aragonite shell to rapid dissolution, is one of most vulnerable groups and a key indicator for OA regional monitoring, but its regional sensitivities have not yet been extrapolated over global scales. To delineate spatial and temporal changes in pteropod shell dissolution, global OA status and the OA rate of change were evaluated, based on gridded climatologies of observations and using a Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) biogeochemical/ecosystem model. Pteropods dominate in the polar and upwelling regions characterized by low aragonite saturation state and low buffering capacity, where extended pteropod subsurface dissolution is projected. We show that pteropods are most susceptible to OA in the polar regions, subpolar North Pacific, and eastern boundary upwelling system regions, particularly the California and Humboldt Current Systems. Rates of acidification and corresponding increases in pteropod shell dissolution are projected to be the fastest in the North and South Equatorial Currents.

Assessing the upper elevational limits of vegetation growth in global high-mountains

The upper elevational limits of vegetation growth in global high-mountains have been the focus for monitoring and assessment of climate change impacts on terrestrial ecosystems. However, existing studies have relied on field surveys that do not allow for large-scale analysis. Although remote sensing data have been used for local and regional monitoring of the vegetation upper boundaries, a global synthesis of the treeline and vegetation line (the upper altitudinal threshold for the existence of trees and the transition line from vegetation to bare land or permanent snow cover, respectively) in high-mountain ecosystems is still missing. To fill this gap, we developed two independent methods based on (1) the relationship between a Sentinel-2 vegetation index and elevation and (2) the European Space Agency's 10 m resolution land cover dataset (WorldCover), respectively, to automatically identify the upper elevational limits of treeline and vegetation line for each one-quarter degree grid across the global high-mountain areas. We obtained highly consistent results from the two methods, both of which are spatially consistent with ground surveyed treeline elevations. Our results are in line with the current understanding of the global distributions of tree and vegetation lines, which are observed at the highest elevations in the Tibetan plateau and decreasing for increasing latitudes. We find that the tree and vegetation lines are aspect-dependent, reaching higher elevations on the equatorial-facing slopes than on the polar-facing slopes in high latitudes, and the opposite in the middle latitudes. Our analysis shows that mountain height is the dominant factor in determining the upper elevational limits of tree and vegetation lines across the globe, while climatic conditions and soil properties also play important roles at regional scales. Our study provides a framework for monitoring the tree and vegetation lines in global high-mountains and provides an important benchmark for further examining their long-term changes in response to climate change.

A global synthesis of trends in human experience of nature

The popular perception that humans are undergoing a global extinction of “experience of nature” (EoN) is poorly supported by empirical evidence. Here, we provide – to the best of our knowledge – the first global systematic review of trends in EoN, identifying only 18 studies that measured temporal trends in EoN. Of those 18 studies, several reported negative trends over time for both direct EoN (for example, in‐person visits to parklands) and vicarious EoN (specifically, the presence of nature in cultural products, such as movies or books), and all were biased toward North America, Western Europe, and Japan. As an initial proxy for understudied regions, we calculated past trends in three metrics of global EoN opportunities and show that, over the past decades, the locations where humans live have shifted away from the natural world and become more urban, while forest cover in cities has decreased. Overall, our results suggest that while EoN may be declining globally, existing evidence is insufficient to assess the magnitude and generality of this phenomenon.

Universal drivers of cheese microbiomes

The culinary value, quality, and safety of cheese are largely driven by the resident bacteria, but comparative analyses of the cheese microbiota across cheese types are scarce. We present the first global synthesis of cheese microbiomes. Following a systematic literature review of cheese microbiology research, we collected 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequence data from 824 cheese samples spanning 58 cheese types and 16 countries. We found a consistent, positive relationship between microbiome richness and pH, and a higher microbial richness in cheeses derived from goat milk. In contrast, we found no relationship between pasteurization, geographic location, or salinity and richness. Milk and cheese type, geographic location, and pasteurization collectively explained 65% of the variation in microbial community composition. Importantly, we identified four universal cheese microbiome types, driven by distinct dominant taxa. Our study reveals notable diversity patterns among the cheese microbiota, which are driven by geography and local environmental variables.

Plant biomass responses to elevated CO2 are mediated by phosphorus uptake

Elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations [CO2] potentially alter carbon (C) and phosphorus (P) cycles in terrestrial ecosystems. Although numerous field experiments and a few meta-analyses have been conducted, it is still largely unclear how the P cycle affects plant biomass responses under elevated [CO2] globally. Here, we conducted a global synthesis by analyzing 111 studies on the responses of above- and belowground P cycling to elevated [CO2], to examine how changes in the P cycle affect the plant biomass response to elevated [CO2]. Our results show that elevated [CO2] significantly increased plant aboveground biomass (+13 %), stem biomass (+4 %), leaf biomass (+11 %), belowground biomass (+12 %), and the root: shoot ratio (+7 %). Effects of elevated [CO2] on aboveground biomass, belowground biomass, and root: shoot ratio were best explained by plant P uptake. In addition, elevated [CO2]-induced changes in the aboveground P pool, leaf P pool, and leaf P concentration were modulated by ecological drivers, such as ΔCO2, experimental duration, and aridity index. Our findings highlight the importance of plant P uptake for both above- and belowground plant biomass responses under elevated [CO2], which should be considered in future biosphere models to improve predictions of terrestrial carbon-climate feedbacks.

Significant effects of precipitation frequency on soil respiration and its components-A global synthesis.

Global warming intensifies the hydrological cycle, which results in changes in precipitation regime (frequency and amount), and will likely have significant impacts on soil respiration (Rs ). Although the responses of Rs to changes in precipitation amount have been extensively studied, there is little consensus on how Rs will be affected by changes in precipitation frequency (PF) across the globe. Here, we synthesized the field observations from 296 published papers to quantify the effects of PF on Rs and its components using meta-analysis. Our results indicated that the effects of PF on Rs decreased with an increase in background mean annual precipitation. When the data were grouped by climate conditions, increased PF showed positive effects on Rs under the arid condition but not under the semi-humid or humid conditions, whereas decreased PF suppressed Rs across all the climate conditions. The positive effects of increased PF mainly resulted from the positive response of heterotrophic respiration under the arid condition while the negative effects of decreased PF were mainly attributed to the reductions in root biomass and respiration. Overall, our global synthesis provided for the first time a comprehensive analysis of the divergent effects of PF on Rs and its components across climate regions. This study also provided a framework for understanding and modeling responses of ecosystem carbon cycling to global precipitation change.

Behavioural thermoregulation in cold-water freshwater fish: Innate resilience to climate warming?

Behavioural thermoregulation enables ectotherms to access habitats providing conditions within their temperature optima, especially in periods of extreme thermal conditions, through adjustments to their behaviours that provide a "whole-body" response to temperature changes. Although freshwater fish have been detected as moving in response to temperature changes to access habitats that provide their thermal optima, there is a lack of integrative studies synthesising the extent to which this is driven by behaviour across different species and spatial scales. A quantitative global synthesis of behavioural thermoregulation in freshwater fish revealed that across 77 studies, behavioural thermoregulatory movements by fish were detected both vertically and horizontally, and from warm to cool waters and, occasionally, the converse. When fish moved from warm to cooler habitats, the extent of the temperature difference between these habitats decreased with increasing latitude, with juvenile and non-migratory fishes tolerating greater temperature differences than adult and anadromous individuals. With most studies focused on assessing movements of cold-water salmonids during summer periods, there remains an outstanding need for work on climatically vulnerable, non-salmonid fishes to understand how these innate thermoregulatory behaviours could facilitate population persistence in warming conditions.

Global Recharge Data Set Indicates Strengthened Groundwater Connection to Surface Fluxes

AbstractGroundwater is an invaluable global resource, but its long‐term viability as a resource for consumption, agriculture, and ecosystems depends on precipitation recharging aquifers. How much precipitation recharges groundwaters varies enormously across Earth's surface, yet recharge rates often remain uncertain. Here we use a global synthesis of field‐estimated recharge across six continents to show that globally recharge first‐order follows a simple function of climatic aridity. We use this relationship to estimate long‐term recharge in energy‐limited systems outside of permafrost regions. Our aridity‐based recharge estimates are consistent with the global field data but, on average, double previous estimates of global models. Our higher recharge estimates are likely caused by preferential groundwater recharge and discharge occurring at grid scales finer than global models. The higher recharge estimates suggest that more groundwater contributes to evapotranspiration and streamflow than previously represented by global hydrological models and global water cycle diagrams.

A global synthesis of biochar's sustainability in climate-smart agriculture - Evidence from field and laboratory experiments

Biochar amendment has been proposed as a promising solution to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture and sustainably enhance crop yield. However, the net GHG mitigation potential of biochar remains uncertain, especially the controversial results from field and laboratory experiments. Using 9970 published observational data derived from 592 peer-reviewed papers, this study highlighted the effects of biochar in field experiments on crop yield, soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks, carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) fluxes, and soil nitrogen (N) dynamics (i.e., soil inorganic N stocks, nitrous oxide [N2O] emissions, ammonia [NH3] volatilization, and inorganic N leaching). Overall, field data indicated that biochar significantly increased gross SOC stocks (26.6%) and crop yield (15.7%), reduced soil CH4 (−14.8%) and N2O (−23.1%) emissions, and ammonium (−24.9%) and total inorganic N leaching (−23.2%) but had no effect on soil CO2 emissions. Whereas laboratory data generally showed greater effect sizes of biochar on these indictors. Global warming potential was decreased only in field experiments, but both experiments showed similar reductions in GHG intensity. Both experiments suggested that soil and biochar cation exchange capacity, pH, biochar application rate, and nitrogen fertilization interactively regulated biochar effects on crop yield and GHG emissions. The unrealistically high rates of biochar in laboratory experiments may overestimate its benefit on soil C sequestration and/or underestimate its mitigation potential. These findings provide a comprehensive view that biochar amendment may serve as a viable climate-smart agricultural practice that can help in partial achievement of multiple sustainable development goals.