Responses of runoff and sediment yield to slope length and gravel content of Lou soil engineering accumulation slope in Guanzhong region, Northwest China.

With the economic development, a large number of engineering accumulation bodies with Lou soil as the main soil type were produced in Guanzhong area, Northwest China. We examined the characteristics of runoff and sediment yield of Lou soil accumulation bodies with earth (gravel content 0%) and earth-rock (gravel content 30%) under different rainfall intensities (1.0, 1.

Yield, Quality, and Nitrogen Leaching of Open-Field Tomato in Response to Different Nitrogen Application Measures in Northwestern China.

The overuse of fertilizers in open-field tomato leads to soil deterioration through nutrient leaching and increases the risk of agricultural non-point source contamination. Currently, the combined effects of different fertilization methods on soil nitrogen leaching and tomato production are still unclear. Therefore, the most effective fertilization method for open-field tomato should be discovered by examining how different fertilization methods affected tomato yield and quality, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), and soil nitrogen leaching.

Hotspots of biogeochemical activity linked to aridity and plant traits across global drylands.

Perennial plants create productive and biodiverse hotspots, known as fertile islands, beneath their canopies. These hotspots largely determine the structure and functioning of drylands worldwide. Despite their ubiquity, the factors controlling fertile islands under conditions of contrasting grazing by livestock, the most prevalent land use in drylands, remain virtually unknown.

Environmental Controls on Evapotranspiration and Its Components in a Qinghai Spruce Forest in the Qilian Mountains.

Qinghai spruce forests, found in the Qilian mountains, are a typical type of water conservation forest and play an important role in regulating the regional water balance and quantifying the changes and controlling factors for evapotranspiration (ET) and its components, namely, transpiration (), evaporation () and canopy interceptions (), of the Qinghai spruce, which may provide rich information for improving water resource management. In this study, we partitioned ET based on the assumption that total ET equals the sum of , and , and then we analyzed the environmental controls on ET, and . The results show that, during the main growing seasons of the Qinghai spruce (from May to September) in the Qilian mountains, the total ET values were 353.

Vectorized dataset of silted land formed by check dams on the Chinese Loess Plateau.

Check dams on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) have captured billions of tons of eroded sediment, substantially reducing sediment load in the Yellow River. However, uncertainties persist regarding the precise sediment capture and the role of these dams in Yellow River flow and sediment dynamics due to the lack of available spatial distribution datasets. We produced the first vectorized dataset of silted land formed by check dams on the CLP, combining high-resolution and easily accessible Google Earth images with object-based classification methods.

Identification of the soil physicochemical and bacterial indicators for soil organic carbon and nitrogen transformation under the wheat straw returning.

Wheat straw returning is widely practiced in agriculture; therefore, it is critical to determine the physicochemical and bacterial indicators in soil for the organic carbon storage, accumulative C mineralization, total nitrogen improvement, and nitrogen mineralization in various soil types after wheat straw returning. This study evaluated the influenced indicators of wheat straw addition on soil organic carbon and nitrogen transformation in diverse soil types. For this purpose, an incubation experiment was conducted to analyze the carbon and nitrogen transformation in soil from eight Chinese provinces treated with the same dry weight of wheat straw.

Carbon reduction and water saving potentials for growing corrugated boxes for express delivery services in China.

Corrugated packaging for express grew by 90 times to 16.5 Mt y in China, where 81% of recent global express delivery growth occurred. However, the environmental impacts of production, usage, disposal, and recycling of corrugated boxes under the entire supply chain remain unclear.

Urea fertilization increased CO and CH emissions by enhancing C-cycling genes in semi-arid grasslands.

Global climate change is predicted to increase exogenous N input into terrestrial ecosystems, leading to significant changes in soil C-cycling. However, it remains largely unknown how these changes affect soil C-cycling, especially in semi-arid grasslands, which are one of the most vulnerable ecosystems. Here, based on a 3-year field study involving N additions (0, 25, 50, and 100 kg ha yr of urea) in a semi-arid grassland on the Loess Plateau, we investigated the impact of urea fertilization on plant characteristics, soil properties, CO and CH emissions, and microbial C cycling genes.

Effects of temperature and initial pH on the growth of four dominant cyanobacteria species in biological soil crusts.

Biological soil crusts are of great significance for environment health and sustainable development in arid and semi-arid areas. Cyanobacteria, , sp., sp.

[Soil microbial carbon pump conceptual framework 2.0].

Microorganisms are essential actors in the biogeochemical cycling of elements within terrestrial ecosystems, with significant influences on soil health, food security, and global climate change. The contribution of microbial anabolism-induced organic compounds is a non-negligible factor in the processes associated with soil carbon (C) storage and organic matter preservation. In recent years, the conceptual framework of soil microbial carbon pump (MCP), with a focus on microbial metabolism and necromass generation process, has gained widespread attention.

Deterministic assembly of grassland soil microbial communities driven by climate warming amplifies soil carbon loss.

Perturbations in soil microbial communities caused by climate warming are expected to have a strong impact on biodiversity and future climate-carbon (C) feedback, especially in vulnerable habitats that are highly sensitive to environmental change. Here, we investigate the impact of four-year experimental warming on soil microbes and C cycling in the Loess Hilly Region of China. The results showed that warming led to soil C loss, mainly from labile C, and this C loss is associated with microbial response.

Enhancing soil health and nutrient cycling through soil amendments: Improving the synergy of bacteria and fungi.

The synergy between bacteria and fungi is a key determinant of soil health and have a positive effect on plant development under drought conditions, with the potentially enhancing the sustainability of amending soil with natural materials. However, identifying how soil amendments influence plant growth is often difficult due to the complexity of microorganisms and their links with different soil amendment types and environmental factors. To address this, we conducted a field experiment to examine the impact of soil amendments (biochar, Bacillus mucilaginosus, Bacillus subtilis and super absorbent polymer) on plant growth.

Effects of environmentally relevant concentrations of oxytetracycline and sulfadiazine on the bacterial communities, antibiotic resistance genes, and functional genes are different between maize rhizosphere and bulk soil.

Antibiotic contamination in soil has become a major concern worldwide. At present, it is not clear how two co-existed antibiotics with environmentally relevant concentrations would affect soil bacterial community structure, the abundances of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and functional genes, and whether the effects of antibiotics would differ between rhizosphere and bulk soil. We conducted a greenhouse pot experiment to grow maize in a loess soil treated with oxytetracycline (OTC) or sulfadiazine (SDZ) or both at an environmentally relevant concentration (1 mg kg) to investigate the effects of OTC and SDZ on the rhizosphere and bulk soil bacterial communities, abundances of ARGs and carbon (C)-, nitrogen (N)-, and phosphorus (P)-cycling functional genes, and on plant growth and plant N and P nutrition.

Impact of climate change on agriculture and adaptation strategies in Ethiopia: A meta-analysis.

Ethiopia is a rainfall-based agricultural country that is susceptible to the impacts of climate change and risk. Floods and droughts, which happen more frequently and intensely, significantly and negatively influence agricultural production. The objective of the meta-analysis is to identify impacts on various sectors, adaptation strategies, and the challenges of climate change in the Ethiopian context.

Soil nitrogen cycling gene abundances in response to organic amendments: A meta-analysis.

Quantification of nitrogen (N) cycling genes contributes to our best understanding of N transformation processes. The application of organic amendment (OA) is widely recognized as an effective measure to improve N management and soil fertility in various ecosystems. However, our understanding of N-cycling gene abundances in response to OA application remains deficient.

Responses of soil dissolved organic carbon properties to the desertification of desert wetlands in the Mu Us Sandy Land.

In desert wetlands, the decline in ground water table results in desertification, triggering soil carbon and nutrient loss. However, the impacts of desertification on soil dissolved organic carbon (DOC) properties which determine the turnover of soil carbon and nutrients are unclear. Here, the desertification gradient was represented by the distance from the wetland center (0∼240 m) traversing reed marshes, desert shrubs and bare sandy land in the Hongjian Nur Basin, north China.

Factor analysis of hydrologic services in water-controlled grassland ecosystems by InVEST model and geodetector.

Water conservation is highly important for a successful desert grassland ecosystem, but there was no comprehensive view on how to assess influencing factors in managing and addressing water yield and water conservation in desert steppe. The Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) model, which is specifically used for the assessment of ecosystem services, was combined with geographic detectors to identify the priority areas for water conservation function and analyze the driving factors of water conservation in the Tabu River Basin, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China, using different meteorological data sources. (i) The InVEST model has the advantage of modeling water yield and water conservation at spatial scales by fusion downscaling data.

Integrating satellite and reanalysis precipitation products for SWAT hydrological simulation in the Jing River Basin, China.

In hydrological studies, satellite and reanalysis precipitation products are increasingly being used to supplement gauge observation data. This study designed the composite simulation index (COSI), considering two factors: F1 (data accuracy assessment) and F2 (hydrological simulation performance), to compare the performance of the latest satellite-based and reanalysis-based precipitation products (IMERG, ERA5, ERA5-Land), the prior precipitation products (TRMM, CMADS), and the multi-source weighted-ensemble precipitation (MSWEP). The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was then applied to compare and analyze the hydrological simulation performance of four preferred products using three data fusion methods including simple model averaging, variance-based weighted averaging, and the latest quantile-based Bayesian model averaging (QBMA).

Environmental applications of lignin-based hydrogels for Cu remediation in water and soil: adsorption mechanisms and passivation effects.

Heavy metal pollution, particularly the excessive release of copper (Cu), is an urgent environmental concern. In this study, sodium lignosulfonate/carboxymethyl sa-son seed gum (SL-Cg-g-PAA) designed for remediation of Cu-contaminated water and soil was successfully synthesized through a free radical polymerization method using lignin as a raw material. This hydrogel exhibits remarkable Cu adsorption capability when applied to water, with a maximum adsorption capacity reaching 172.

Response of the C-fixing bacteria community to precipitation changes and its impact on bacterial necromass accumulation in semiarid grassland.

Climate change-induced warming has the potential to intensify drought conditions in certain regions, resulting in uneven precipitation patterns. However, the impact of precipitation-induced changes on soil C-fixing bacterial community composition to changes and their subsequent effect on the accumulation of microbial necromass in the soil remains unclear. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted an in-situ simulated precipitation control experiment in semi-arid grasslands, encompassing five primary precipitation gradients: ambient precipitation as a control (contr), decreased precipitation by 80% and 40% (DP80, DP40), and increased precipitation by 40% and 80% (IP80, IP40).

Regulation of wheat growth by soil multifunctionality and metagenomic-based microbial functional profiles under mulching treatments.

Soil microbial functional genes play key roles in biogeochemical processes that are closely related to crop development. However, the regulation of crop growth by the composition and potential interactions of metagenomic-based functional genes is poorly understood. Therefore, in a long-term mulching experiment, the regulation of wheat growth by soil multifunctionality, microbial functional profiles driven by soil properties and microbial activity was studied.

Unlocking the potential of biochar in the remediation of soils contaminated with heavy metals for sustainable agriculture.

Agricultural soils contaminated with heavy metals (HMs) impose a threat to the environmental and to human health. Amendment with biochar could be an eco-friendly and cost-effective option to decrease HMs in contaminated soil. This paper reviews the application of biochar as a soil amendment to immobilise HMs in contaminated soil.

A novel index for vegetation drought assessment based on plant water metabolism and balance under vegetation restoration on the Loess Plateau.

Vegetation is vital to the ecosystem, contributing to the global carbon balance, but susceptible to the impacts of climate change. Monitoring vegetation drought remains challenging due to the lack of widely accepted drought indices. This study focused on vegetation, and simulated the vegetation suitable water demand and soil available water supply (calculated by Remote-sensing-based Water Balance Assessment Tool model).