Air pollution in Germany: Spatio-temporal variations and their driving factors based on continuous data from 2008 to 2018.

This study analyzed long-term observational data of particulate matter (PM, PM) variability, gaseous pollutants (CO, NO, NO, SO, and O), and meteorological factors in 412 fixed monitoring stations from January 2008 to December 2018 in Germany. Based on Hurst index analysis, the trend of atmospheric pollutants in Germany was stable during the research period. The relative correlations of gaseous pollutants and meteorological factors on PM and PM concentrations were analyzed by Back Propagation Neural Network model, showing that CO and temperature had the greater correlations with PM and PM.

Spatiotemporal Characteristics and Driving Factors of Black Carbon in Augsburg, Germany: Combination of Mobile Monitoring and Street View Images.

The study investigates the spatial pattern of black carbon (BC) at a high spatial resolution in Augsburg, Germany. Sixty two walks were performed to assess the concentrations of equivalent black carbon (eBC), ultraviolet particulate matter (UVPM), and equivalent brown carbon (eBrC) in different seasons and at different times of the day with a mobile platform (i.e.

Integration of air pollution data collected by mobile measurement to derive a preliminary spatiotemporal air pollution profile from two neighboring German-Czech border villages.

Generally, there are only a few fixed air quality monitoring stations installed in villages or rural areas and only a few studies on small-scale variations in air pollution have been described in detail, which make it difficult to estimate human exposure in such environments and related adverse health effects. Moreover, biomass combustion can be an important source of air pollution in rural areas, comparable to vehicle and industrial emissions in urban planning. And their air pollutants are mainly affected by local sources.

Biological inhibition of soil nitrification by forest tree species affects Nitrobacter populations.

Some temperate tree species are associated with very low soil nitrification rates, with important implications for forest N dynamics, presumably due to their potential for biological nitrification inhibition (BNI). However, evidence for BNI in forest ecosystems is scarce so far and the nitrifier groups controlled by BNI-tree species have not been identified. Here, we evaluated how some tree species can control soil nitrification by providing direct evidence of BNI and identifying the nitrifier group(s) affected.

Environmental factors determining distribution and activity of anammox bacteria in minerotrophic fen soils.

In contrast to the pervasive occurrence of denitrification in soils, anammox (anaerobic ammonium oxidation) is a spatially restricted process that depends on specific ecological conditions. To identify the factors that constrain the distribution and activity of anammox bacteria in terrestrial environments, we investigated four different soil types along a catena with opposing ecological gradients of nitrogen and water content, from an amended pasture to an ombrotrophic bog. Anammox was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and quantitative PCR (qPCR) only in the nitrophilic wet meadow and the minerotrophic fen, in soil sections remaining water-saturated for most of the year and whose interstitial water contained inorganic nitrogen.

Rhizosphere microbiomes of potato cultivated in the High Andes show stable and dynamic core microbiomes with different responses to plant development.

The rhizosphere hosts a rich microflora supporting plant nutrition and health. We examined bacterial rhizosphere microbiota of Solanum tuberosum grown in its center of origin, the Central Andean Highlands, at different vegetation stages and sites at altitudes ranging from 3245 to 4070 m.a.

Response of Archaeal and Bacterial Soil Communities to Changes Associated with Outdoor Cattle Overwintering.

Archaea and bacteria are important drivers for nutrient transformations in soils and catalyse the production and consumption of important greenhouse gases. In this study, we investigate changes in archaeal and bacterial communities of four Czech grassland soils affected by outdoor cattle husbandry. Two show short-term (3 years; STI) and long-term impact (17 years; LTI), one is regenerating from cattle impact (REG) and a control is unaffected by cattle (CON).

pH as a Driver for Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaea in Forest Soils.

In this study, we investigated the impact of soil pH on the diversity and abundance of archaeal ammonia oxidizers in 27 different forest soils across Germany. DNA was extracted from topsoil samples, the amoA gene, encoding ammonia monooxygenase, was amplified; and the amplicons were sequenced using a 454-based pyrosequencing approach. As expected, the ratio of archaeal (AOA) to bacterial (AOB) ammonia oxidizers' amoA genes increased sharply with decreasing soil pH.

Dynamics of soil bacterial communities in response to repeated application of manure containing sulfadiazine.

Large amounts of manure have been applied to arable soils as fertilizer worldwide. Manure is often contaminated with veterinary antibiotics which enter the soil together with antibiotic resistant bacteria. However, little information is available regarding the main responders of bacterial communities in soil affected by repeated inputs of antibiotics via manure.

Temporal dynamics of abundance and composition of nitrogen-fixing communities across agricultural soils.

Background: Despite the fact that the fixation of nitrogen is one of the most significant nutrient processes in the terrestrial ecosystem, a thorough study of the spatial and temporal patterns in the abundance and distribution of N-fixing communities has been missing so far.

Methodology/principal Findings: In order to understand the dynamics of diazotrophic communities and their resilience to external changes, we quantified the abundance and characterized the bacterial community structures based on the nifH gene, using real-time PCR, PCR-DGGE and 454-pyrosequencing, across four representative Dutch soils during one growing season. In general, higher nifH gene copy numbers were observed in soils with higher pH than in those with lower pH, but lower numbers were related to increased nitrate and ammonium levels.