Microbial mechanisms regulate soil organic carbon mineralization under carbon with varying levels of nitrogen addition in the above-treeline ecosystem.

Climate change is leading to the upward migration of treelines in mountainous regions, resulting in changes to the carbon and nitrogen inputs in soils. The impact of these alterations on the microbial mineralization of the existing soil organic carbon (SOC) pool remains uncertain, making it challenging to anticipate their effects on the carbon balance. To enhance our prediction and understanding of native SOC mineralization in Himalayan regions resulting from treeline shifts, a study was conducted to quantify soil priming effects (PEs) at high elevations above the treeline ecosystem.

Interaction of microplastics with heavy metals in soil: Mechanisms, influencing factors and biological effects.

Microplastics (MPs) and heavy metals (HMs) in soil contamination are considered an emerging global problem that poses environmental and health risks. However, their interaction and potential biological effects remain unclear. Here, we reviewed the interaction of MPs with HMs in soil, including its mechanisms, influencing factors and biological effects.

Environmental fate of microplastics in alpine and canyon-type river-cascade reservoir systems: Large-scale investigation of the Yalong River in the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Reservoirs are regarded as potential collection sites for microplastics (MPs), and ample water resources in plateau regions provide favorable natural conditions for hydroelectric power generation. However, research on the impact of cascade reservoir construction in the plateau region on the fate of MPs within the watershed is limited. In this study, the Yalong River, an alpine canyon river in the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, was selected as the research area.

A new high-resolution global topographic factor dataset calculated based on SRTM.

Topography is an important factor affecting soil erosion and is measured as a combination of the slope length and slope steepness (LS-factor) in erosion models, like the Chinese Soil Loss Equation. However, global high-resolution LS-factor datasets have rarely been published. Challenges arise when attempting to extract the LS-factor on a global scale.

Adsorption of Pb(II) by UV-aged microplastics and cotransport in homogeneous and heterogeneous porous media.

To investigate the adsorption effects of aged microplastics (MPs) on Pb(II) and their co-transport properties in homogeneous (quartz sand) and heterogeneous (quartz sand with apple branches biochar) porous media, we explored the co-transport of UV-irradiated aged MPs and coexisting Pb(II) along with their interaction mechanisms. The UV aging process increased the binding sites and electronegativity of the aged MPs' surface, enhancing its adsorption capacity for Pb(II). Aged MPs significantly improved Pb(II) transport through homogeneous media, while Pb(II) hindered the transport of aged MPs by reducing electrostatic repulsion between these particles and the quartz sand.

Warming differentially affects above- and belowground ecosystem functioning of the semi-arid alpine grasslands.

Rapid climate warming is altering multiple ecosystem functions of alpine grasslands. However, the responses of the above- and belowground ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) to climate warming might exhibit difference in semi-arid alpine grasslands. Based on manipulative field experiments at an alpine meadow and an alpine steppe, we explored warming effects on the functioning of alpine grassland ecosystems on the Tibetan Plateau.

Modeling soil loss under rainfall events using machine learning algorithms.

Soil loss is an environmental concern of global importance. Accurate simulation of soil loss in small watersheds is crucial for protecting the environment and implementing soil and water conservation measures. However, predicting soil loss while meeting the criteria of high precision, efficiency, and generalizability remains a challenge.

Data-driven assessment of soil total nitrogen on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

The investigation of soil total nitrogen (STN) holds significant importance in the preservation and sustainability of Earth's ecosystems. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), renowned as the world's most expansive plateau and characterized by its exceptionally delicate ecosystem, demands an in-depth exploration of its STN content. In this study, we use a machine learning approach to extrapolate point-scale measured STN stocks to the entire QTP and calculated STN storage from 0 to 2 m.

A framework for assessing the impacts of land-use/cover change and climate change on wheat productivity under 1.5 and 2.0 °C warming at watershed scale.

Background: Irrigation is used extensively to enhance grain production and ensure food security. Many studies have used crop models and global climate models to study the variation of irrigated crop yield in the context of climate change. But most considered the influence of direct climate change but neglected the influence of irrigation water availability, which is affected by land-use/cover change (LUCC) and indirect climate change, on irrigated crop yield.

Effects of stand density on the structure of soil microbial functional groups in Robinia pseudoacacia plantations in the hilly and gully region of the Loess Plateau, China.

Elucidating the responses of soil microbial functional groups to changes in stand density is crucial for understanding the sustainability of forest development. In this study, we obtained soil samples from Robinia pseudoacacia plantations of three different stand densities (low, middle, and high densities of 750, 1125, and 1550 trees ha, respectively) in the hilly and gully region of the Loess Plateau, China. We sought to determine the effects of stand density on the structure of soil microbial functional groups.

Altered fatty acid composition confers improved drought acclimation in maize.

Drought induces alteration in membrane lipid composition in plants; however, still little is known about whether membrane lipid remodeling plays a role in plant drought acclimation, including both drought tolerance and recovery, especially in crops. Here, we imposed natural progressive drought and re-watering in 18 maize genotypes at the seedling stage, and analyzed the physiological responses, drought tolerance and drought acclimation capabilities, contents of lipids, and fatty acid compositions. The results showed that drought caused significant reductions in shoot dry weight, relative water content, Fv/Fm, total lipid content, and double bond index (DBI) in most genotypes, while re-watering partially recovered these reductions.

Nano-Iron Oxide (FeO) Mitigates the Effects of Microplastics on a Ryegrass Soil-Microbe-Plant System.

To understand microplastic-nanomaterial interactions in agricultural systems, a randomized block 90-day pot experiment was set up to cultivate ryegrass seedings in a typical red sandy soil amended with compost (1:9 ratio). Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyethylene (PE) microplastic (MP) contaminants were added into pot soils at 0.1 and 10%, whereas nano-FeO (as nanoenabled agrochemicals) was added at 0.

Changes in vegetation in China's drylands are closely related to afforestation compared with climate change.

The response of vegetation to climate change and human activities has attracted considerable attention. However, quantitative studies on the effects of climate change and human activities on dryland vegetation in different seasons remain unclear. This study investigated the impacts of precipitation, temperature, soil water storage (SWS) (top [0-7 cm], shallow [7-28 cm], and middle [28-100 cm] layers), vapor pressure deficit (VPD), and afforestation on vegetation as well as their relative contribution rates during the rainy season ([RS], June to September), dry season ([DS], November to April), transition season ([TS], May and October), and all year period (AY) in China's drylands from 2001 to 2020 using the first-difference method.

Intermediate irrigation with low fertilization promotes soil nutrient cycling and reduces CO and CH emissions via regulating fungal communities in arid agroecosystems.

The field practices, including irrigation and fertilization, strongly affect greenhouse gas emissions and soil nutrient cycling from agriculture. Understanding the underlying mechanism of greenhouse gas emissions, soil nutrient cycling, and their impact factors (fungal diversity, network characteristics, soil pH, salt, and moisture) is essential for efficiently managing global greenhouse gas mitigation and agricultural production. By considering abundant and rare taxa, we determine the identities and relative importance of ecological processes that modulate the fungal communities and identify whether they are crucial contributors to soil nutrient cycling and greenhouse gas emissions.

Long-term maintenance of high yield and soil fertility with integrated soil-crop system management on the Loess Plateau.

Ridge-furrow with full film mulching has been widely applied to increase crop yield and water productivity on the Loess Plateau, but it may stimulate carbon (C) mineralization. How to integrate other technological benefits based on this technology for long-term maintenance of high yield and soil fertility is a pressing issue. With the local farmers' practice (FP) as a control, three integrated soil-crop system management (ISSM) practices integrating fertilizer rates, fertilizer types and planting densities (ISSM-N1, ISSM-N2 and ISSM-MN) were established to improve maize yield and soil quality.

Warming positively promoted community appearance restoration of the degraded alpine meadow although accompanied by topsoil drying.

On-going climate warming is threatening the ecological function of grassland ecosystems. However, whether warming has positive effects on community microhabitats and appearance, especially in degraded grasslands, remains elusive. To address this issue, we conducted a 2-year field experiment on the severely degraded alpine meadow and undegraded alpine meadow with no warming and warming treatments.

Effect of aridity on the β-diversity of alpine soil potential diazotrophs: insights into community assembly and co-occurrence patterns.

Microbial diversity plays a vital role in the maintenance of ecosystem functions. However, the current understanding of mechanisms that shape microbial diversity along environmental gradients at broad spatial scales is relatively limited, especially for specific functional groups, such as potential diazotrophs. Here, we conducted an aridity-gradient transect survey from 60 sites across the Tibetan Plateau, the largest alpine ecosystem of the planet, to investigate the ecological processes (e.

Chemical fertilizer reduction combined with organic fertilizer affects the soil microbial community and diversity and yield of cotton.

Introduction: The soil microbial community plays an important role in modulating cotton soil fertility. However, the effects of chemical fertilizer combined with organic fertilizer on soil chemical properties, microbial community structure, and crop yield and quality in arid areas are still unclear. This study aimed to explore the effects of different organic fertilizers on soil microbial community structure and diversity and cotton growth and yield.

Biological roles of soil microbial consortium on promoting safe crop production in heavy metal(loid) contaminated soil: A systematic review.

Heavy metal(loid) (HM) pollution of agricultural soils is a growing global environmental concern that affects planetary health. Numerous studies have shown that soil microbial consortia can inhibit the accumulation of HMs in crops. However, our current understanding of the effects and mechanisms of inhibition is fragmented.

Mechanism of polyethylene and biodegradable microplastic aging effects on soil organic carbon fractions in different land-use types.

Microplastics (MPs) are widely present in terrestrial ecosystems, but knowledge about the aging characteristics of MPs in different land-use types and their impact on soil organic carbon fractions is still limited. Polyethylene (PE) and biodegradable MPs (Poly propylene carbonate and Polybutylene adipate terephthalate synthetic material (PPC + PBAT, Bio)), at 0 %, 0.03 %, and 0.

Responses of C:N:P stoichiometric correlations among plants, soils and microorganisms to warming: A meta-analysis.

Plants, soils and microorganisms play important roles in maintaining stable terrestrial stoichiometry. Studying how nutrient balances of these biotic and abiotic players vary across temperature gradients is important when predicting ecosystem changes on a warming planet. The respective responses of plant, soil and microbial stoichiometric ratios to warming have been observed, however, whether and how the stoichiometric correlations among the three components shift under warming has not been clearly understood and identified.