Unité Mixte de Recherche sur l'Ecosystème Prairial

The aim of the ecospat package is to make available novel tools and methods to support spatial analyses and modeling of species niches and distributions in a coherent workflow. The package is written in the R language (R Development Core Team) and contains several features, unique in their implementation, that are complementary to other existing R packages. Pre‐modeling analyses include species niche quantifications and comparisons between distinct ranges or time periods, measures of phylogenetic diversity, and other data exploration functionalities (e.g. extrapolation detection, ExDet). Core modeling brings together the new approach of ensemble of small models (ESM) and various implementations of the spatially‐explicit modeling of species assemblages (SESAM) framework. Post‐modeling analyses include evaluation of species predictions based on presence‐only data (Boyce index) and of community predictions, phylogenetic diversity and environmentally‐constrained species co‐occurrences analyses. The ecospat package also provides some functions to supplement the ‘biomod2’ package (e.g. data preparation, permutation tests and cross‐validation of model predictive power). With this novel package, we intend to stimulate the use of comprehensive approaches in spatial modelling of species and community distributions.

In the context of a recent massive increase in research on plant root functions and their impact on the environment, root ecologists currently face many important challenges to keep on generating cutting-edge, meaningful and integrated knowledge. Consideration of the below-ground components in plant and ecosystem studies has been consistently called for in recent decades, but methodology is disparate and sometimes inappropriate. This handbook, based on the collective effort of a large team of experts, will improve trait comparisons across studies and integration of information across databases by providing standardised methods and controlled vocabularies. It is meant to be used not only as starting point by students and scientists who desire working on below-ground ecosystems, but also by experts for consolidating and broadening their views on multiple aspects of root ecology. Beyond the classical compilation of measurement protocols, we have synthesised recommendations from the literature to provide key background knowledge useful for: (1) defining below-ground plant entities and giving keys for their meaningful dissection, classification and naming beyond the classical fine-root vs coarse-root approach; (2) considering the specificity of root research to produce sound laboratory and field data; (3) describing typical, but overlooked steps for studying roots (e.g. root handling, cleaning and storage); and (4) gathering metadata necessary for the interpretation of results and their reuse. Most importantly, all root traits have been introduced with some degree of ecological context that will be a foundation for understanding their ecological meaning, their typical use and uncertainties, and some methodological and conceptual perspectives for future research. Considering all of this, we urge readers not to solely extract protocol recommendations for trait measurements from this work, but to take a moment to read and reflect on the extensive information contained in this broader guide to root ecology, including sections I-VII and the many introductions to each section and root trait description. Finally, it is critical to understand that a major aim of this guide is to help break down barriers between the many subdisciplines of root ecology and ecophysiology, broaden researchers' views on the multiple aspects of root study and create favourable conditions for the inception of comprehensive experiments on the role of roots in plant and ecosystem functioning.

Abstract Estimates of carbon leaching losses from different land use systems are few and their contribution to the net ecosystem carbon balance is uncertain. We investigated leaching of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), and dissolved methane (CH 4 ), at forests, grasslands, and croplands across Europe. Biogenic contributions to DIC were estimated by means of its δ 13 C signature. Leaching of biogenic DIC was 8.3±4.9 g m −2 yr −1 for forests, 24.1±7.2 g m −2 yr −1 for grasslands, and 14.6±4.8 g m −2 yr −1 for croplands. DOC leaching equalled 3.5±1.3 g m −2 yr −1 for forests, 5.3±2.0 g m −2 yr −1 for grasslands, and 4.1±1.3 g m −2 yr −1 for croplands. The average flux of total biogenic carbon across land use systems was 19.4±4.0 g C m −2 yr −1 . Production of DOC in topsoils was positively related to their C/N ratio and DOC retention in subsoils was inversely related to the ratio of organic carbon to iron plus aluminium (hydr)oxides. Partial pressures of CO 2 in soil air and soil pH determined DIC concentrations and fluxes, but soil solutions were often supersaturated with DIC relative to soil air CO 2 . Leaching losses of biogenic carbon (DOC plus biogenic DIC) from grasslands equalled 5–98% (median: 22%) of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) plus carbon inputs with fertilization minus carbon removal with harvest. Carbon leaching increased the net losses from cropland soils by 24–105% (median: 25%). For the majority of forest sites, leaching hardly affected actual net ecosystem carbon balances because of the small solubility of CO 2 in acidic forest soil solutions and large NEE. Leaching of CH 4 proved to be insignificant compared with other fluxes of carbon. Overall, our results show that leaching losses are particularly important for the carbon balance of agricultural systems.

Global change drivers (GCDs) are expected to alter community structure and consequently, the services that ecosystems provide. Yet, few experimental investigations have examined effects of GCDs on plant community structure across multiple ecosystem types, and those that do exist present conflicting patterns. In an unprecedented global synthesis of over 100 experiments that manipulated factors linked to GCDs, we show that herbaceous plant community responses depend on experimental manipulation length and number of factors manipulated. We found that plant communities are fairly resistant to experimentally manipulated GCDs in the short term (<10 y). In contrast, long-term (≥10 y) experiments show increasing community divergence of treatments from control conditions. Surprisingly, these community responses occurred with similar frequency across the GCD types manipulated in our database. However, community responses were more common when 3 or more GCDs were simultaneously manipulated, suggesting the emergence of additive or synergistic effects of multiple drivers, particularly over long time periods. In half of the cases, GCD manipulations caused a difference in community composition without a corresponding species richness difference, indicating that species reordering or replacement is an important mechanism of community responses to GCDs and should be given greater consideration when examining consequences of GCDs for the biodiversity-ecosystem function relationship. Human activities are currently driving unparalleled global changes worldwide. Our analyses provide the most comprehensive evidence to date that these human activities may have widespread impacts on plant community composition globally, which will increase in frequency over time and be greater in areas where communities face multiple GCDs simultaneously.

Abstract The plant economics spectrum is increasingly recognized as a major determinant of plant species effects on terrestrial ecosystem functioning related to carbon cycling. However, the role of plant economic strategies in the effects of living root activity on soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics through rhizodeposition remains unexplored, despite SOC being the largest terrestrial carbon pool. Using a continuous 13 C‐labelling method allowing partitioning of plant and soil sources to carbon fluxes and pools, we studied here the linkages between plant economic strategies and SOC cycling processes in a ‘common garden’ greenhouse experiment. It includes a panel of 12 grassland species selected along a gradient of economic traits and belonging to three functionnal groups (C3 grasses, forbs and legumes). All species induced an acceleration of native SOC mineralization but this rhizosphere priming effect (RPE) substantially differed across species and varied eleven‐fold by the end of the experiment (from +26% to +295% relative to unplanted soil). Interspecific variation in RPE was primarily linked to plant photosynthetic activity associated to species economic strategies of light and CO 2 resource acquisition and processing. Fast‐growing acquisitive species, such as legumes, featured large RPE, in relation with their high canopy photosynthesis coupled to high leaf photosynthetic capacity and large net primary productivity allocated above‐ground. This large RPE was further associated with high root metabolic activity, rhizodeposition and soil microbial activity. In contrast, fine‐root growth and economic traits related to soil resource foraging ability were poor predictors of RPE. The formation of new root‐derived SOC varied nine‐fold across species and was similarly positively related to the net primary productivity allocated above‐ground. Fast‐growing acquisitive species with a high photosynthetic activity induced a disproportionately large RPE relative to SOC formation. Synthesis . Overall, our study demonstrates that rhizodeposition is a major mechanism through which plant economic strategies of grassland species control soil carbon dynamics. Acquisitive versus conservative species were associated with high versus low rates of photosynthesis and rhizodeposition, in turn leading to fast versus slow SOC turnover. This emphasizes the importance of considering rhizosphere processes for understanding plant species effects on soil biogeochemistry.

Soils are vital for supporting food security and other ecosystem services. Climate change can affect soil functions both directly and indirectly. Direct effects include temperature, precipitation, and moisture regime changes. Indirect effects include those that are induced by adaptations such as irrigation, crop rotation changes, and tillage practices. Although extensive knowledge is available on the direct effects, an understanding of the indirect effects of agricultural adaptation options is less complete. A review of 20 agricultural adaptation case-studies across Europe was conducted to assess implications to soil threats and soil functions and the link to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The major findings are as follows: (a) adaptation options reflect local conditions; (b) reduced soil erosion threats and increased soil organic carbon are expected, although compaction may increase in some areas; (c) most adaptation options are anticipated to improve the soil functions of food and biomass production, soil organic carbon storage, and storing, filtering, transforming, and recycling capacities, whereas possible implications for soil biodiversity are largely unknown; and (d) the linkage between soil functions and the SDGs implies improvements to SDG 2 (achieving food security and promoting sustainable agriculture) and SDG 13 (taking action on climate change), whereas the relationship to SDG 15 (using terrestrial ecosystems sustainably) is largely unknown. The conclusion is drawn that agricultural adaptation options, even when focused on increasing yields, have the potential to outweigh the negative direct effects of climate change on soil degradation in many European regions.

Soil life supports the functioning and biodiversity of terrestrial ecosystems. Springtails (Collembola) are among the most abundant soil arthropods regulating soil fertility and flow of energy through above- and belowground food webs. However, the global distribution of springtail diversity and density, and how these relate to energy fluxes remains unknown. Here, using a global dataset representing 2470 sites, we estimate the total soil springtail biomass at 27.5 megatons carbon, which is threefold higher than wild terrestrial vertebrates, and record peak densities up to 2 million individuals per square meter in the tundra. Despite a 20-fold biomass difference between the tundra and the tropics, springtail energy use (community metabolism) remains similar across the latitudinal gradient, owing to the changes in temperature with latitude. Neither springtail density nor community metabolism is predicted by local species richness, which is high in the tropics, but comparably high in some temperate forests and even tundra. Changes in springtail activity may emerge from latitudinal gradients in temperature, predation and resource limitation in soil communities. Contrasting relationships of biomass, diversity and activity of springtail communities with temperature suggest that climate warming will alter fundamental soil biodiversity metrics in different directions, potentially restructuring terrestrial food webs and affecting soil functioning.

Abstract Soil carbon dynamics is strongly controlled by depth globally, with increasingly slow dynamics found at depth. The mechanistic basis remains however controversial, limiting our ability to predict carbon cycle-climate feedbacks. Here we combine radiocarbon and thermal analyses with long-term incubations in absence/presence of continuously 13 C/ 14 C-labelled plants to show that bioenergetic constraints of decomposers consistently drive the depth-dependency of soil carbon dynamics over a range of mineral reactivity contexts. The slow dynamics of subsoil carbon is tightly related to both its low energy density and high activation energy of decomposition, leading to an unfavourable ‘return-on-energy-investment’ for decomposers. We also observe strong acceleration of millennia-old subsoil carbon decomposition induced by roots (‘rhizosphere priming’), showing that sufficient supply of energy by roots is able to alleviate the strong energy limitation of decomposition. These findings demonstrate that subsoil carbon persistence results from its poor energy quality together with the lack of energy supply by roots due to their low density at depth.

Europe has warmed more than the global average (land and ocean) since pre-industrial times, and is also projected to continue to warm faster than the global average in the twenty-first century. According to the climate models ensemble projections for various climate scenarios, annual mean temperature of Europe for 2071–2100 is predicted to be 1–5.5 °C higher than that for 1971–2000. Climate change and elevated CO2 concentration are anticipated to affect grassland management and livestock production in Europe. However, there has been little work done to quantify the European-wide response of grassland to future climate change. Here we applied ORCHIDEE-GM v2.2, a grid-based model for managed grassland, over European grassland to estimate the impacts of future global change. Increases in grassland productivity are simulated in response to future global change, which are mainly attributed to the simulated fertilization effect of rising CO2. The results show significant phenology shifts, in particular an earlier winter-spring onset of grass growth over Europe. A longer growing season is projected over southern and southeastern Europe. In other regions, summer drought causes an earlier end to the growing season, overall reducing growing season length. Future global change allows an increase of management intensity with higher than current potential annual grass forage yield, grazing capacity and livestock density, and a shift in seasonal grazing capacity. We found a continual grassland soil carbon sink in Mediterranean, Alpine, North eastern, South eastern and Eastern regions under specific warming level (SWL) of 1.5 and 2 °C relative to pre-industrial climate. However, this carbon sink is found to saturate, and gradually turn to a carbon source at warming level reaching 3.5 °C. This study provides a European-wide assessment of the future changes in productivity and phenology of grassland, and their consequences for the management intensity and the carbon balance. The simulated productivity increase in response to future global change enables an intensification of grassland management over Europe. However, the simulated increase in the interannual variability of grassland productivity over some regions may reduce the farmers’ ability to take advantage of the increased long-term mean productivity in the face of more frequent, and more severe drops of productivity in the future.

Abstract Nutritional strategies, including feed management measures, are promising methods for CH 4 and overall GHG reduction. Evidence from literature is reviewed in this article in relation to the effects of forage quality (digestible organic matter, DOM) and forage type (grasses vs. legumes, and maize). The major determinants of forage quality are botanical composition and phenological stage, i.e., at advanced growth stages of plants, the fibre content increases while DOM decreases. Methane yield (g/kg DMI) decreases with increased digestibility of forages in both dairy cattle and sheep, and also CH 4 intensity (g/kg milk) decreases with increased digestibility of forages for dairy cattle. Using forage legumes in ruminant feeding systems can reduce overall GHG emissions due to decreased N fertilizer use and related emissions. Recommended dietary mitigation measures are often related to a reduction in N excretion such as better matching of dietary protein to animal needs, shifting N excretion from urine to faeces (by tannin inclusion at low levels) and reducing the amount of excreted fermentable organic matter. Methane decreases with increasing intake of forage legumes rich in tannins and there is a shift of N partition from urinary N towards faecal N. Reduced CH 4 emissions from ruminants fed on forage‐based diets will decrease the carbon footprint of livestock and agriculture and improve the efficiency of productive ruminants in both developing and developed countries. Likewise, estimations of net CH 4 output should account for enteric CH 4 emissions and soil carbon (C) sequestration of land used for feed production (i.e., grasslands and croplands).

There is currently an intense debate about the potential for additional organic carbon storage in soil, the strategies by which it may be accomplished and what the actual benefits might be for agriculture and the climate. Controversy forms an essential part of the scientific process, but on the topic of soil carbon storage, it may confuse the agricultural community and the general public and may delay actions to fight climate change. In an attempt to shed light on this topic, the originality of this article lies in its intention to provide a balanced description of contradictory scientific opinions on soil carbon storage and to examine how the scientific community can support decision-making despite the controversy. In the first part, we review and attempt to reconcile conflicting views on the mechanisms controlling organic carbon dynamics in soil. We discuss the divergent opinions about chemical recalcitrance, the microbial or plant origin of persistent soil organic matter, the contribution of particulate organic matter to additional organic carbon storage in soil, and the spatial and energetic inaccessibility of soil organic matter to decomposers. In the second part, we examine the advantages and limitations of big data management and modeling, which are essential tools to link the latest scientific theories with the actions taken by stakeholders. Finally, we show how the analysis and discussion of controversies can guide scientists in supporting stakeholders for the design of (i) appropriate trade-offs for biomass use in agriculture and forestry and (ii) climate-smart management practices, keeping in mind their still unresolved effects on soil carbon storage.

Abstract The Integrated Carbon Observation System is a Pan-European distributed research infrastructure that has as its main goal to monitor the greenhouse gas balance of Europe. The ecosystem component of Integrated Carbon Observation System consists of a multitude of stations where the net greenhouse gas exchange is monitored continuously by eddy covariance measurements while, in addition many other measurements are carried out that are a key to an understanding of the greenhouse gas balance. Amongst them are the continuous meteorological measurements and a set of non-continuous measurements related to vegetation. The latter include Green Area Index, aboveground biomass and litter biomass. The standardized methodology that is used at the Integrated Carbon Observation System ecosystem stations to monitor these vegetation related variables differs between the ecosystem types that are represented within the network, whereby in this paper we focus on forests, grasslands, croplands and mires. For each of the variables and ecosystems a spatial and temporal sampling design was developed so that the variables can be monitored in a consistent way within the ICOS network. The standardisation of the methodology to collect Green Area Index, above ground biomass and litter biomass and the methods to evaluate the quality of the collected data ensures that all stations within the ICOS ecosystem network produce data sets with small and similar errors, which allows for inter-comparison comparisons across the Integrated Carbon Observation System ecosystem network.

Ecosystem functions are threatened by both recurrent droughts and declines in biodiversity at a global scale, but the drought dependency of diversity-productivity relationships remains poorly understood. Here, we use a two-phase mesocosm experiment with simulated drought and model oldfield communities (360 experimental mesocosms/plant communities) to examine drought-induced changes in soil microbial communities along a plant species richness gradient and to assess interactions between past drought (soil legacies) and subsequent drought on plant diversity-productivity relationships. We show that (i) drought decreases bacterial and fungal richness and modifies relationships between plant species richness and microbial groups; (ii) drought soil legacy increases net biodiversity effects, but responses of net biodiversity effects to plant species richness are unaffected; and (iii) linkages between plant species richness and complementarity/selection effects vary depending on past and subsequent drought. These results provide mechanistic insight into biodiversity-productivity relationships in a changing environment, with implications for the stability of ecosystem function under climate change.

Grassland soils are climate-dependent ecosystems that have a significant greenhouse gas mitigating function through their ability to store large amounts of carbon (C). However, what is often not recognized is that they can also exhibit a high methane (CH4) uptake capacity that could be influenced by future increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration and variations in temperature and water availability. While there is a wealth of information on C sequestration in grasslands there is less consensus on how climate change impacts on CH4 uptake or the underlying mechanisms involved. To address this, we assessed existing knowledge on the impact of climate change components on CH4 uptake by grassland soils. Increases in precipitation associated with soils with a high background soil moisture content generally resulted in a reduction in CH4 uptake or even net emissions, while the effect was opposite in soils with a relatively low background moisture content. Initially wet grasslands subject to the combined effects of warming and water deficits may absorb more CH4, mainly due to increased gas diffusivity. However, in the longer-term heat and drought stress may reduce the activity of methanotrophs when the mean soil moisture content is below the optimum for their survival. Enhanced plant productivity and growth under elevated CO2, increased soil moisture and changed nutrient concentrations, can differentially affect methanotrophic activity, which is often reduced by increasing N deposition. Our estimations showed that CH4 uptake in grassland soils can change from −57.7 % to +6.1 % by increased precipitation, from −37.3 % to +85.3 % by elevated temperatures, from +0.87 % to +92.4 % by decreased precipitation, and from −66.7 % to +27.3 % by elevated CO2. In conclusion, the analysis suggests that grasslands under the influence of warming and drought may absorb even more CH4, mainly because of reduced soil water contents and increased gas diffusivity.

Deciphering the effect of neutral and deterministic processes on community assembly is critical to understand and predict diversity patterns. The information held in community trait distributions is commonly assumed as a signature of these processes, but empirical and modelling attempts have most often failed to untangle their confounding, sometimes opposing, impacts. Here, we simulated the assembly of trait distributions through stochastic (dispersal limitation) and/or deterministic scenarios (environmental filtering and niche differentiation). We characterized the shape of trait distributions using the skewness-kurtosis relationship. We identified commonalities in the co-variation between the skewness and the kurtosis of trait distributions with a unique signature for each simulated assembly scenario. Our findings were robust to variation in the composition of regional species pools, dispersal limitation and environmental conditions. While ecological communities can exhibit a high degree of idiosyncrasy, identification of commonalities across multiple communities can help to unveil ecological assembly rules in real-world ecosystems.

Nitrogen (N) addition is known to affect soil microbial communities, but the interactive effects of N addition with other drivers of global change remain unclear. The impacts of multiple global changes on the structure of microbial communities may be mediated by specific microbial groups with different life-history strategies. Here, we investigated the combined effects of elevated CO2 and N addition on soil microbial communities using PLFA profiling in a short-term grassland mesocosm experiment. We also examined the linkages between the relative abundance of r- and K-strategist microorganisms and resistance of the microbial community structure to experimental treatments. N addition had a significant effect on microbial community structure, likely driven by concurrent increases in plant biomass and in soil labile C and N. In contrast, microbial community structure did not change under elevated CO2 or show significant CO2 × N interactions. Resistance of soil microbial community structure decreased with increasing fungal/bacterial ratio, but showed a positive relationship with the Gram-positive/Gram-negative bacterial ratio. Our findings suggest that the Gram-positive/Gram-negative bacteria ratio may be a useful indicator of microbial community resistance and that K-strategist abundance may play a role in the short-term stability of microbial communities under global change.

The CenW ecosystem model simulates carbon, water, and nitrogen cycles following ecophysiological processes and management practices on a daily basis. We tested and evaluated the model using five years eddy covariance measurements from two adjacent but differently managed grasslands in France. The data were used to independently parameterize CenW for the two grassland sites. Very good agreements, i.e., high model efficiencies and correlations, between observed and modeled fluxes were achieved. We showed that the CenW model captured day-to-day, seasonal, and interannual variability observed in measured CO2 and water fluxes. We also showed that following typical management practices (i.e., mowing and grazing), carbon gain was severely curtailed through a sharp and severe reduction in photosynthesizing biomass. We also identified large model/data discrepancies for carbon fluxes during grazing events caused by the noncapture by the eddy covariance system of large respiratory losses of C from dairy cows when they were present in the paddocks. The missing component of grazing animal respiration in the net carbon budget of the grazed grassland can be quantitatively important and can turn sites from being C sinks to being neutral or C sources. It means that extra care is needed in the processing of eddy covariance data from grazed pastures to correctly calculate their annual CO2 balances and carbon budgets.

Increasing evidence suggests that agricultural intensification is a threat to many groups of soil biota, but how the impacts of land-use intensity on soil organisms translate into changes in comprehensive soil interaction networks remains unclear. Here for the first time, we use environmental DNA to examine total soil multi-trophic diversity and food web structure for temperate agroecosystems along a gradient of land-use intensity. We tested for response patterns in key properties of the soil food webs in sixteen fields ranging from arable crops to grazed permanent grasslands as part of a long-term management experiment. We found that agricultural intensification drives reductions in trophic group diversity, although taxa richness remained unchanged. Intensification generally reduced the complexity and connectance of soil interaction networks and induced consistent changes in energy pathways, but the magnitude of management-induced changes depended on the variable considered. Average path length (an indicator of food web redundancy and resilience) did not respond to our management intensity gradient. Moreover, turnover of network structure showed little response to increasing management intensity. Our data demonstrates the importance of considering different facets of trophic networks for a clearer understanding of agriculture-biodiversity relationships, with implications for nature-based solutions and sustainable agriculture.

Climate change studies involve complex processes translating coarse climate change projections in locally meaningful terms. We analysed the behaviour of weather generators while downscaling precipitation and air temperature data. With multiple climate indices and alternative weather generators, we directly quantified the uncertainty associated with using weather generators when site specific downscaling is performed. We extracted the influence of weather generators on climate variability at local scale and the uncertainty that could affect impact assessment. For that, we first designed the downscaling experiments with three weather generators (CLIMAK, LARS-WG, WeaGETS) to interpret future projections. Then we assessed the impacts of estimated changes of precipitation and air temperature for a sample of 15 sites worldwide using a rice yield model and an extended set of climate metrics. We demonstrated that the choice of a weather generator in the downscaling process may have a higher impact on crop yield estimates than the climate scenario adopted. Should they be confirmed, these results would indicate that widely accepted outcomes of climate change studies using this downscaling technique need reconsideration.

Abstract. Knowledge of the effects of climate change on agro-ecosystems is fundamental to identifying local actions aimed to maintain productivity and reduce environmental issues. This study investigates the effects of climate perturbation on the European crop and grassland production systems, combining the findings from two specific biogeochemical models. Accurate and high-resolution management and pedoclimatic data were employed. Results have been verified for the period 1978–2004 (historical period) and projected until 2099 with two divergent intensities: the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) climate projections, Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 4.5 and RCP8.5. We have provided a detailed overview of productivity and the impacts on management (sowing dates, water demand, nitrogen use efficiency). Biogenic greenhouse gas balance (N2O, CH4, CO2) was calculated, including an assessment of the gases' sensitivity to the leading drivers, and a net carbon budget on production systems was compiled. Results confirmed a rise in productivity in the first half of the century (+5 % for croplands at +0.2 t DM ha−1 yr−1, +1 % for grasslands at +0.1 t DM ha−1 yr−1; DM denotes dry matter), whereas a significant reduction in productivity is expected during the period 2050–2099, caused by the shortening of the length of the plant growing cycle associated with rising temperatures. This effect was more pronounced for the more pessimistic climate scenario (−6.1 % for croplands and −7.7 % for grasslands), for the Mediterranean regions and in central European latitudes, confirming a regionally distributed impact of climate change. Non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions were triggered by rising air temperatures and increased exponentially over the century, often exceeding the CO2 accumulation of the explored agro-ecosystems, which acted as potential C sinks. The emission factor for N2O was 1.82 ± 0.07 % during the historical period and rose to up to 2.05 ± 0.11 % for both climate projections. The biomass removal (crop yield, residues exports, mowing and animal intake) converted croplands and grasslands into net C sources (236 ± 107 Tg CO2 eq. yr−1 in the historical period), increasing from 19 % to 26 % during the climate projections, especially for RCP4.5. Nonetheless, crop residue restitution might represent a potential management strategy to overturn the C balance. Although with a marked latitudinal gradient, water demand will double over the next few decades in the European croplands, whereas the benefit in terms of yield (+2 % to +10 % over the century) will not contribute substantially to balance the C losses due to climate perturbation.