Publications by authors named "Hua-yun Xiao"

Inorganic nitrogen (NH and NO) is a significant component of PM, influencing not only regional ecological systems but also on other regions through the migration of air masses. However, few studies have simultaneously investigated the sources of NH and NO, and their potential transport pathways remain poorly understood. Here, daily PM samples were collected in Jiaozuo, a key city in the air pollution transmission channel to the north China, from 1 September to 5 December, 2017.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Biomass pyrolysis greatly impacts climates, ecosystem dynamics, air quality, human health, global carbon and nitrogen cycle. The emissions of nitrogen-containing compounds from biomass pyrolysis highly depend on the protein nitrogen existing in biomass. However, the quantitative kinetic information, including the rate constant and apparent activation energy of individual amino acid induced by pyrolysis are still yet to be well-constrained.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Although total carbon (TC) is an important component of fine particulate matter (PM: particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter of <2.5 μm); its sources remain partially unidentified, especially in coastal urban areas. With ongoing development of the global economy and maritime activities, ship-generated TC emissions in port areas cannot be neglected.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Nitrate (NO) is an important contributor to PM which can adversely affect the environment and human health. A noticeable decrease in NO concentrations has been reported due to the lockdown measures implemented to curb the spread of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, questions remain, regarding the nonlinear relationship between NO and NO.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Understanding the nitrogen isotopic variations of individual amino acids (AAs) is essential for utilizing the nitrogen isotope values of individual amino acids (δN-AA) as source indicators to identify proteinaceous matter originating from biomass combustion processes. However, the nitrogen isotope effects (ε) associated with the degradation of individual amino acids during combustion processes have not been previously explored. In this study, we measured the nitrogen isotope values of residual free amino acids -following a series of controlled combustion experiments at temperatures of 160-240 °C and durations of 2 min to 8 h, as described in Part 1.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The size and composition of particulate matter (PM) are pivotal in determining its adverse health effects. It is important to understand PM's retention by plants to facilitate its atmospheric removal. However, the distinctions between the size and composition of naturally fallen PM (NFPM) and leaf-deposited PM (LDPM) are not well-documented.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The Tibetan Plateau is the third pole of the world, with an essential role in regulating Northern Hemisphere climate. Previous studies showed that atmospheric aerosols over the Tibetan Plateau are influenced by biomass burning (BB) products from South and Southeast Asia. In fact, open biomass burning (OBB) is also an important form of BB in Southeast Asian countries, causing serious springtime air pollution yearly.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Combustion-derived black carbon (BC) is increasingly recognized as a significant pollutant that can have adverse effects on the atmospheric environment, human health, and regional climate. Fossil fuel combustion is the main source of BC, yet understanding of the relative contributions to BC from coal and liquid fuel combustion remains incomplete. Moreover, few studies have assessed the relative contributions based on long-term continuous daily field observations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Reservoirs have been constructed as clean energy sources in recent decades with various environmental impacts. Karst rivers typically exhibit high dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentrations, whether and how reservoirs affect carbon cycling, especially organic carbon (OC)-related biogeochemical processes in karst rivers, are unclear. To fill this knowledge gap, multiple tracer methods (including fluorescence excitation-emission matrix (EEM), ultraviolet (UV) absorption, and stable carbon (δC) and radiocarbon (ΔC) isotopes) were utilized to track composition and property changes of both particulate OC (POC) and dissolved OC (DOC) along river-transition-reservoir transects in the Southwest China karst area.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The increase of affected river reaches by reservoirs has drastically disturbed the original hydrological conditions, and subsequently influenced the nutrient biogeochemistry in the aquatic system, particularly in the cascade reservoir system. To understand the seasonal variation of nitrogen (N) behaviors in cascade reservoirs, hydrochemistry and nitrate dual isotopes (δN-NO and δO-NO) were conducted in a karst watershed (Wujiang River) in southwest China. The results showed that NO-N accounted for almost 90% of the total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) concentration with high average concentration 3.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Nitrate (NO) has become recognized as the most important water-soluble ion in fine particulate (PM), and has been proposed as a driving factor for regional haze formation. However, nitrate formation mechanisms are still poorly understood. In this study, PM samples were collected from September 2017 to August 2018 in Shijiazhuang, a city located on the North China Plain, and NOconcentration, δO-NO and δN-NO values in PM were analyzed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Atmospheric ambient gaseous ammonia (NH), the most abundant alkaline gas, affects public health and climate change through its key role in the formation of secondary aerosols via reactions with acidic gases. Estimation of the contributions of ammonia sources is very challenging in the urban atmosphere. Stable nitrogen isotope ratio (δN) measurements have shown that urban aerosol NH and gaseous NH are derived from fossil fuel combustion-related (FF) sources, such as coal combustion, NH slip, and vehicle exhaust, and volatilization-related sources, such as agriculture and urban water volatilization.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Rapid accumulation of aerosol nitrate (NO) contributes to haze pollution; however, studies quantifying NO formation mechanisms remain scarce. To explore aerosol nitrate formation pathways, total suspended particulate (TSP) samples were collected in Beijing during the spring of 2013, and the concentration of NO and δO- NO value were analyzed. The NO concentrations on polluted days (PD) were higher than those on non-polluted days (NPD).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The effect of dams on dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) transport and riverine ecosystems is unclear in karst cascade reservoirs. Here, we analyzed water samples from a karst river system with seven cascade reservoirs along the Wujiang River, southwestern China, during one hydrological year. From upstream to downstream, the average concentration of DIC increased from 2.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Haplocladium microphyllum moss samples were collected in Nanchang, China. Free amino acid (FAA) concentrations and N isotope compositions (δN) in the samples were determined and compared with the bulk N concentrations and δN values. The aim was to determine whether δN values in moss (which are very variable) indicate the sources of atmospheric N.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Field investigation on the content of heavy metals in soils and three types of widely distributing compositae plants( L.) in lead-zinc tailings farmland of Yangshuo, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region was carried out, and the differential centrifugation technique and sequential chemical extraction method were used to study the subcellular distribution and chemical forms of heavy metals in these plants. The results indicated that the soil in the tailings farmland was highly contaminated by Cd, Pb and Zn, and their concentrations were 37.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aromatic plants show antimicrobial activity due to their essential oils, but their effect on litter decomposition is unclear. In this study, we evaluated the biomass loss and nutrient dynamics in leaf litters of two macrophytes (Miscanthus sacchariflorus and Carex brevicuspis) with and without addition of powdered material of the aromatic plant Polygonum hydropiper or the non-aromatic plant C. brevicuspis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

To constrain sources of anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition is critical for effective reduction of reactive N emissions and better evaluation of N deposition effects. This study measured δN signatures of nitrate (NO), ammonium (NH) and total dissolved N (TDN) in precipitation at Guiyang, southwestern China and estimated contributions of dominant N sources using a Bayesian isotope mixing model. For NO, the contribution of non-fossil N oxides (NO, mainly from biomass burning (24 ± 12%) and microbial N cycle (26 ± 5%)) equals that of fossil NO, to which vehicle exhausts (31 ± 19%) contributed more than coal combustion (19 ± 9%).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Rainwater samples were collected in the summer on "Shiyan 3" during the 2012 South China Sea Sectional Scientific Survey. The concentrations of anion and cation, and pH in precipitation were determined and backward trajectories of air mass were simulated to analyze the chemical characteristics of ions and examine the source of ions. The results indicated that the mean pH value of precipitation was 6.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In order to study the influence of atmospheric sulfur on soil sulfur, the forest surface soil samples and moss samples were collected in north areas of Jiangxi province. Contents and isotopes of sulfur in different forms (total sulfur, water-soluble sulfur, absorbed sulfur and organic sulfur) were determined. The average sulfur content of mosses was 0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study analyzed the inorganic sulfur (SSO4) and total sulfur (ST) content as well as the isotopic signatures (delta34SSO4 and 834ST) in leaves of Pinus massoniana lamb. collected from Guizhou and Yunnan areas. The results indicated that the SSO4 and ST content in leaves at Guiyang areas was significantly higher than that at Yunnan areas, and the content of inorganic sulfur in the leaves was found to be directly related to the concentration of ambient sulfur dioxide, but no correlation was seen between the ST content and the ambient sulfur dioxide, showing the SSO4 content in leaves was more reliable to reflect the ambient sulfur input.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Leaves of Platanus orientalis were collected since Mar. 2009 till Apr. 2010, in an urban area at Guiyang.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Foliar δ(34)S values of three soil-growing plant species (Platanus Orientalis L., Osmanthus fragrans L. and Cinnamomum camphora) have been analyzed to indicate atmospheric sulfur.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF