Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) is an important source of protein, starch, and mineral nutrients in many parts of the world. However, the impact of environment and cultivar on the enrichment of these nutrients is not well understood. Four lentil cultivars (‘Avondale’, ‘CDC Richlea’, ‘CDC Maxim’, and ‘CDC Imvincible’) varying in color, seed size, and maturity were evaluated at five Montana locations with diverse climatic and soil conditions over 3 yr. Significant cultivar, location, and year effects were found for yield, protein, starch, and minerals. Grain protein concentration was the highest at Moccasin (262 g kg−1) and lowest at Richland (246 g kg−1), whereas starch concentration was the highest at Richland (455 g kg−1) and lowest at Moccasin (441 g kg−1). Among cultivars, Avondale was the top yielding cultivar (1965 kg ha−1) and adaptable to most of the environments; CDC Imvincible was the top protein producer (265 g kg−1); and CDC Richlea is the leading starch producer (456 g kg−1). Grain protein concentration was negatively correlated with starch. Lentil grains varied in nutrient concentrations across locations, with the northcentral Montana region producing 10‐ to 20‐times greater selenium concentration than other locations. CDC Maxim had the highest iron (62.1 mg kg−1) and zinc (31.5 mg kg−1) concentrations. Seed protein concentration was positively correlated with phosphorus, sulfur, copper, and boron. Seed starch is positively correlated with magnesium and manganese. Results suggest that plant breeding and production site selection could enrich lentil nutrient concentrations to help combat malnutrition in the world.

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Snow avalanches are a significant natural hazard representing the primary risk of death to backcountry travelers in many alpine countries. Careful use of backcountry terrain through effective decision making can mitigate the risk of dangerous snowpack conditions, but requires relevant knowledge and experience.We present the results from a large-scale crowd sourced data collection method from backcountry users. Using GPS tracking via a smartphone application, coupled with online surveys, we investigate the intersection of geographical complexity, backcountry experience, demographics and behavioral biases on decision-making while navigating hazardous winter terrain. We use data from 770 GPS tracks, representing almost 1.3 million GPS points, as a geographic expression of a group's resulting decisions, and use them to quantify and understand their decision-making process.Our analysis focuses on the change in terrain use as quantified using the Avalanche Terrain Exposure Scale (ATES), and time spent in avalanche terrain, as a function of experience, avalanche hazard and other group factors. We show that self-identified experts rate themselves as significantly more skilled and also had higher levels of avalanche education. Experts also had an increased exposure to avalanche terrain overall, and also more severe terrain, as represented by median time in class 3 ATES terrain.

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C:N:P stoichiometry is widely used in ecological research, but its role in the allocation of plant biomass is unclear. To explore this issue, we collected soil and alfalfa samples from 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 10 year of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) plantations on the Mu Us Desert, China. We examined the aboveground and underground biomass of each plantation, the C, N, P contents, stoichiometric ratio of plants and soil, and soil biological characteristics. The C content of alfalfa increased first and then decreased with the growth age, which was opposite to N and P content, their most significant changes were in the 7-year stand. The individual changes of C-N-P in alfalfa led to the C:N and C:P increased first and then decreased, N:P increasing with the growth age. Soil OC, TN, C:P and N:P were increasing with the stand age, and TP content and C:N were increasing first and then decreasing. The C contents, C:P and N:P between alfalfa and soil were strongly correlated. N:P and underground biomass were positively correlated, while negatively correlated to aboveground. Our results show that the nutrient content and stoichiometric ratio in soil and plants were closely associated, after 7 years planting, the alfalfa's growth was limited by P, it responds to the increased N:P by increasing root-shoot ratio, and soil fertility had also been improved at same time. Overall, these results provide a reference for further research on stoichiometry as an indicator to alfalfa yields on the Mu Us Desert.