Number and dissimilarity of global change factors influences soil properties and functions.

Soil biota and functions are impacted by various anthropogenic stressors, including climate change, chemical pollution or microplastics. These stressors do not occur in isolation, and soil properties and functions appear to be directionally driven by the number of global change factors acting simultaneously. Building on this insight, we here hypothesize that co-acting factors with more diverse effect mechanisms, or higher dissimilarity, have greater impacts on soil properties and functions.

COVID-19 pandemic-related drugs and microplastics from mask fibers jointly affect soil functions and processes.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an unprecedented increase in pharmaceutical drug consumption and plastic waste disposal from personal protective equipment. Most drugs consumed during the COVID-19 pandemic were used to treat other human and animal diseases. Hence, their nearly ubiquitous presence in the soil and the sharp increase in the last 3 years led us to investigate their potential impact on the environment.

How widespread use of generative AI for images and video can affect the environment and the science of ecology.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) models will have broad impacts on society including the scientific enterprise; ecology and environmental science will be no exception. Here, we discuss the potential opportunities and risks of advanced generative AI for visual material (images and video) for the science of ecology and the environment itself. There are clearly opportunities for positive impacts, related to improved communication, for example; we also see possibilities for ecological research to benefit from generative AI (e.

Combined application of up to ten pesticides decreases key soil processes.

Natural systems are under increasing pressure by a range of anthropogenic global change factors. Pesticides represent a nearly ubiquitously occurring global change factor and have the potential to affect soil functions. Currently the use of synthetic pesticides is at an all-time high with over 400 active ingredients being utilized in the EU alone, with dozens of these pesticides occurring concurrently in soil.

The potential risks posed by micro-nanoplastics to the safety of disinfected drinking water.

Micro-nanoplastics (M-NPs) have become an emerging critical issue in the environment because they migrate easily, can bioaccumulate with toxic effects, and are difficult to degrade. Unfortunately, the current technologies for removing or degrading M-NPs in drinking water are insufficient to eliminate them completely, and residual M-NPs in drinking water may pose a threat to human health by impairing human immunity and metabolism. In addition to their intrinsic toxic effects, M-NPs may be even more harmful after drinking water disinfection than before disinfection.

Soil Storage Conditions Alter the Effects of Tire Wear Particles on Microbial Activities in Laboratory Tests.

In this study, we focused on the fact that soil storage conditions in the laboratory have never been considered as a key factor potentially leading to high variation when measuring effects of microplastics on soil microbial activity. We stored field-collected soils under four different conditions [room-temperature storage, low-temperature storage (LS), air drying (AD), and heat drying] prior to the experiment. Each soil was treated with tire wear particles (TWPs), and soil microbial activities and water aggregate stability were investigated after soil incubation.

New insight into ammonium removal in riverbanks under the exposure of microplastics.

Riverbanks play the key role in ammonium removal from runoff entering river. Currently, microplastics (MPs) are frequently detected in riverbanks receiving urban and agricultural runoff. Nevertheless, the effect of MPs accumulation on ammonium removal in riverbanks is still unknown.

Aging behavior of microplastics affected DOM in riparian sediments: From the characteristics to bioavailability.

Riparian zone is a hub for microplastics (MPs), and MPs accumulation also changes the function of the riparian zone (e.g., carbon pool) to pose a great threat to river ecosystems.

Copper oxide nanoparticles inhibited denitrifying enzymes and electron transport system activities to influence soil denitrification and NO emission.

Nanopesticides are widely applied in modern agricultural systems to replace traditional pesticides, which inevitably leads to their accumulation in soils. Nanopesticides based on copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) may affect the soil nitrogen cycle, such as the denitrification process; however, the mechanism remains unclear. Here, acute exposure experiments for 60 h were conducted to explore the effects of CuO NPs (10, 100, 500 mg kg) on denitrification.