Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are important factors controlling biogeochemical cycling in terrestrial ecosystems and significantly affect the decomposition process of litter. However, N and P addition effects on litter decomposition, especially biological pathways in alpine grassland in northwest Sichuan, remain unclear. Therefore, this study explored the response mechanism of Salix cupularis litter decomposition and soil enzyme activity to different exogenous nitrogen and phosphorus additions and the inner relationship, combined with field in situ experiments and laboratory analysis methods. The results showed that: (1) In general, N, P and NP treatments significantly promoted the decomposition of litter, lignin and cellulose, and the addition of NP had a stronger effect in the same concentration level. P addition could alleviate the inhibitory effect of litter decomposition by high N concentration. (2) Litter C, N and P basically showed a sustained release pattern, and NP treatment had the strongest promoting effect. (3) Each treatment significantly increased the activities of soil invertase, cellulase, polyphenol oxidase, urease and phosphatase, and the NP treatment had the best effect. The rate of litter decomposition was significantly influenced by nutrient content as well as soil enzyme activity, where cellulose content and invertase activity may be a key factor controlling the rate of litter decomposition.

High-quality urbanization and a healthy ecosystem are both the material basis for sustainable social development. However, the tie between terrestrial ecosystem health and urbanization is still unclear. Therefore, we assessed the spatial and temporal dynamics of urbanization and TEH at 368 cities in China from 2000 to 2020, then explored their spatial interaction and driving mechanisms by spatial autocorrelation analysis and structural equation modeling. The results showed: (1) China’s comprehensive urbanization index (UI) improved from 0.08 in 2000 to 0.10 in 2020, contributing by some national urban agglomerations such as Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, and Pearl River Delta. (2) China’s terrestrial ecosystem health index (EHI) also increased from 0.6718 to 0.6788. Ecosystem vigor improved significantly, while ecosystem organization and resilience both decreased. (3) EHI and UI appeared to be locally spatially dependent, and path dependence was presented at municipal scales. (4) At the national scale, urbanization is positive related to EHI, which were enhanced by social, economic and topography factors. The dominant drivers on EHI varied among regions, and urbanization improved EHI in all regions except for the southwest. Our study demonstrated that urbanization would promote terrestrial ecosystem health by implementing high-quality development and ecological management simultaneously, providing theoretical support for urban sustainable development and ecological management.

Forest degradation is increasingly recognized as a major threat to global biodiversity and ecosystems’ capacity to provide ecosystem services. This study examined the impacts of forest degradation on soil quality and function in a seasonally dry tropical forest (SDTF) of Ecuador. We compared soil physical-chemical properties, enzymatic activity, particulate organic carbon (POC) and mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC) along a gradient of SDTF degradation in the dry and rainy season. Our findings showed a consistent and steady reduction in soil quality (total C and N) and function (dehydrogenase and β-glucosidase activity) that paralleled the loss of vegetative structure and diversity along the degradation gradient. Soil physical-chemical properties were less variable and enzymatic activity was generally higher in the dry season compared to the rainy season. We also showed for the first time a significant and uniform decrease in POC and MAOC with ecosystem degradation in a SDTF. The relative proportion of these two components was constant along the gradient except for the most degraded state (arid land), where POC was higher in proportion to MAOC, suggesting that a functional tipping point may be crossed with extreme forest degradation. These findings address an important knowledge gap for SDTFs by showing a consistent loss of soil quality and functionality with degradation and suggest that extreme degradation can result in an alternate state with compromised resilience.

Reforestation after forest clearcutting is an effective measure to increase soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration. However, the soil C balance and functions of microbial communities under reforestation remain to be determined. Samples of organic (0-2 cm) and mineral (2-10 cm) horizons were collected from the 7-, 15-, 20-, 29-, and 36-year-old forest stands of Chinese fir developed after plantation clearcutting in subtropical climate zone under the condition of phosphorus limitation. Particulate organic carbon (POC), mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC), microbial phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs), and enzymatic activities for C, nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) acquisition were analyzed. The lowest contents of POC (10 %) and MAOC (13 %) in the organic horizon were found in 7-year-old stands due to the slow tree regrowth and extensive decomposition of SOC in the first years of forest regrowth. POC (2.0x) and MAOC (0.8x) increases in the organic horizon with forest age were attributed to the stand development and accumulation of above and belowground litter. The organic horizon had a higher POC: MAOC ratio than the mineral (0.7-1.1 vs. 0.2-0.5), indicating lower SOC stability in the first one. A positive correlation of the Gram-positive to Gram-negative bacteria (G+:G-) ratio with the POC: MAOC ratio may point to developing specific substrate utilization strategies for microbial communities. Microorganisms were limited by C and P; however, the C limitation was alleviated in the 36-year-old plots in the organic horizon due to increased litter input. Microbial C and P limitations increased with total PLFAs and the G+:G- ratio, indicating the strong influence of community structure on nutrient acquisition from SOC. Thus, soil C sequestration under reforestation of Chinese fir can be controlled by microbial community structure and metabolic limitation, which both shifted with the stand age.

Soil gravel content strongly affects ecological restoration; however, the response and mechanism of plant traits to soil gravel content under the sensitive and fragile natural environment of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau remains unclear. Herein, soils with three gravel content (10%, 30%, 50%) in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau were selected, and three plant species ( one indigenous specie of Elymus dahuricus (Ed), and two introduced ones of Festuca elata ( Fe) and Medicago sativa ( Ms)) were used in seven planting patterns with different proportions ( Fe, Ed, Ms, Fe + Ed (1:1), Fe+ Ms (2:1), Ed + Ms (2:1), Fe+ Ed+ Ms (2:2:1)). Plant traits, phytochemical properties and soil stoichiometric characteristics were measured to explore the interactive effects of soil gravels and plant species on vegetation restoration. Average plant height, coverage, shoot biomass and total biomass were most affected by plant species (F=277~611, p<0.01), followed by gravel content (F=90~195, p<0.01) and their interaction (F=5~51, p<0.05); root biomass was most affected by gravel content (F=130, p<0.01). Among plant species, shoot and root biomass, total biomass overall decreased in the order of Fe+Ed+Ms˃Fe˃Fe+Ms˃Fe+Ed˃Ms˃Ms+Ed˃Ed. Plant total biomass, shoot biomass, root biomass and shoot/root ratio among different soils overall decreased in the order of low˃ high˃ medium gravel contents. All plant species were restricted by soil nitrogen except for Ed and Ed+ Ms (N:P>14). In addition, average plant height, coverage, shoot biomass and total biomass were separately negatively and positively correlated with bulk density and total porosity (r=-0.88~-0.96 and 0.78~0.91, p<0.05), so did for total nitrogen, total phosphorus, organic carbon, C:N and N:P of shoot fraction and rhizosphere soils (|r|=0.69~0.97, p<0.05), indicating that gravel content affects plant growth through bulk density and nutrients. Therefore, optimizing the configuration of soil properties (mainly nitrogen and compactness) and plant species (isecologic niche plants) is an effective strategy for ecological restoration in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

[Conventional tillage](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/conventional-tillage) is still widely used in mollisols sloping farmland, which leads to serious [soil erosion](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/soil-erosion) . Effective farming methods have positive significance for alleviating soil erosion .To prevent and control soil and water loss in mollisols sloping farmland,field experiments were carried out in 2022 with three tillage methods and their combination modes(Subsoiling tillage (SF),Ridge tillage and pitting field (RF),Ridge tillage and pitting field + subsoiling tillage (RF-S),Contour tillage (TP),Contour tillage + ridge tillage and pitting field (TP-R),Contour tillage + subsoiling tillage (TP-S)) to evaluate the effects of soil and water conservation under different tillage methods. The results showed that the contour tillage + ridge field treatment significantly reduced surface runoff and soil loss ( P < 0.05), and there was no nutrient loss. Compared with other treatments, this method significantly reduced runoff, erosion, and nutrient loss. The contour tillage + subsoiling tillage treatment significantly reduced the soil three-phase R value and improved the soil texture, and its yield, harvest index, and water use efficiency were higher than those of other treatments. Considered comprehensively, the results show that contour tillage + subsoiling tillage can reduce soil erosion and improve soil quality and water use efficiency while ensuring high production capacity. Furthermore, the results of this study provide a theoretical basis for conserving soil and water resources, improving soil fertility, and increasing farmland yield in the mollisols area of northeast China.

Di(2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate (DEHTP) is a substitutive plasticizer with various industrial applications. However, its wide occurrence in environmental matrices and human tissues is urging concerns on its toxicities. Presently, the effects of DEHTP on the fitness of Caenorhabditis elegans were explored with a consecutive exposure from F1 to F4 generations. The fitness was represented by reproduction, lifespan and behavior. Effects of DEHTP on reproduction showed an oscillation pattern with alteration from stimulation to inhibition and backwards. Influences of DEHTP on reproduction and lifespan showed trade-off relationships. Regarding behavior, DEHTP inhibited satiety quiescence duration, body bending and head swing, while stimulated reverse and Omega turns. At the biochemical level, DEHTP disturbed the lipid metabolites and lipid metabolism enzymes. Moreover, positive correlations were found between the effects on reproduction and with those on fatty acid synthase (FAS) and acyl-CoA (FA-CoA). DEHTP also disturbed the neural regulations including neural transmitters and the expressions of related genes. Out of expectation, the effects on neural regulations were positively correlated with those on lipid metabolism, but not with locomotion behavior. Hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) results also indicated oscillatory changes underlying multi-generational effects of DEHTP, e.g., serotonin was more connected with other neural regulations than other indicators in F1 and F3, while it was more connected with behavior than others in F2 and F4.

The effective and efficient monitoring of revegetation outcomes is a key component of ecosystem restoration. Monitoring often involves labour intensive manual methods which can be difficult to deploy when sites are inaccessible or involve large areas of revegetation. This study aimed to identify plant species and quantify α-diversity index on a sub-meter scale at Manlailiang Mine Site in Northwestern China using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as a means to semi-automate large-scale vegetation monitoring. UAVs equipped with multispectral sensors were combined with three industry-standard supervised classification algorithms (support vector machine (SVM), maximum likelihood, and artificial neural network) to classify plant species. Spectral vegetation indices (NDVI, DVI, VDVI, SAVI, MSAVI, EXG - EXR) were used to assess vegetation diversity obtained from on-ground survey plot data (Margalef, Pielou, Simpson, Shannon indices). Our results showed that SVM outperformed other algorithms in species identification accuracy (overall accuracy 84%). Significant relationships were observed between vegetation indices and diversity indices, with DVI performing significantly better than many more commonly used indices such as NDVI. The findings highlight the potential of combining UAV multispectral data, spectral vegetation indices and ground surveys for effective and efficient fine-scale monitoring of vegetation diversity in the ecological restoration of mining areas. This has significant practical benefits for improving adaptive management of restoration through improved monitoring tools.

Semi-arid agroecosystems have a crucial function in supplying food and ecosystem services. However, these ecosystems are under severe threat due to land degradation. To enhance our understanding of environmental trends and their causes and to identify more sustainable land management techniques, it is important to track land degradation in space and time. This study uses land cover, soil organic carbon, and land productivity dynamics maps to evaluate land degradation neutrality (as per Sustainable Development Goal 15, indicator 15.3.1). In this regard, we employed the trends.earth tool in QGIS 3.3, utilising the European Space Agency Climate Change Initiative (ESA CCI) classified LULC maps for 1992, 2000, 2010, and 2020 to assess land degradation. Additionally, we predicted 2050 LULC maps using the MOLUSCE plugin in QGIS, which integrates an artificial neural network (ANN) in cellular automata (CA) modeling (CA-ANN) based on the 2015 LULC map and independent variables such as digital elevation model (DEM) and slope. Our results indicated a significant decrease in bare areas (71%) and an increase in settlements (built-up areas) (163%) between 1992 and 2020. Furthermore, the predicted land cover map shows a significant increase in bare land (238%) and settlements (72%), accompanied by a decrease in water bodies (23%) and forested areas (3.5%). In terms of land degradation, approximately 26.46% of the province exhibited degraded land, accounting for approximately 20,146.35 km 2, while approximately 59.55% (45,337.84 km 2) of the land remained stable. Land cover conversions, particularly from forests to grasslands and settlements, are among the potential drivers of land degradation. Identifying land cover transitions and assessing land degradation is paramount for effective monitoring and planning. By understanding these dynamics, targeted interventions can be developed to mitigate land degradation and promote sustainable land use practices in semi-arid agroecosystems.

(Micro)plastics are ubiquitous in our daily lives and are becoming a global emerging pollutant with significant threat to ecosystem sustainability. Within the field of soil erosion control engineering (ECE) in China, a wide range of plastic products, such as plastic mesh, planting bags, and plastic geocells, are extensively employed to stable the topsoil and facilitate the restoration of disturbed land. In this paper, we demonstrate the wide distribution of (micro)plastics in ECE across varied landscapes in China, highlighting their relatively high degradation rate induced by ultraviolet irradiation and mechanical disturbance. Furthermore, (micro)plastics in ECE exhibit a propensity for transport through soil erosion processes, thereby heightening the pollution risk to aquatic ecosystems. While the presence of (micro)plastics in ECE raises significant environmental concerns, there could be straightforward and easily implementable preventive strategies. These strategies include meticulous managing plastic usage during the design and completion phases of ECE, replacing plastic materials with biodegradable alternatives, and cleaning and retrieving temporary work materials.

Ravines represent an extreme form of land degradation. Soil and moisture saving techniques (SMSTs) have been identified as effective strategies for improving the fertility of degraded lands. Three SMSTs viz., intercrop of cow pea and castor on bench terrace (SCCBT) ii) bench terrace (SBT) iii) staggered trenches on natural slope (SSTS) and iv) sapota on natural slope (Control) were imposed to observe their impact on Sapota yield and quality, runoff, soil loss, and soil properties under rain-fed conditions during 2018-20. SMSTs have significantly affected plant growth, yield and quality and soil loss-runoff in degraded ravines. The highest tree height was observed in SBT on par with SCCBT and SSTS, and lowest in SS. Similar trend was observed in case canopy spread, canopy volume and collar diameter. Among the treatments, SCCBT recorded highest yield (38.3 kg tree -1) followed by SBT, SST and lowest in SS (16.8 kg tree -1). Pulp weight (55.55 g) and vitamin C (14.69 mg) was recorded higher in SCCBT and lowest in SS. SCCBT treatment reduced runoff by 44% and it was highest in SS. Despite this SCCBT exhibited significant higher soil loss. Terracing and trenches exhibited remarkable effect on EC, SOC, available major nutrients (NPK) compared to control. SCCBT and SBT treatments significantly had higher soil moisture (%) compare to control. Hence, the cultivation of sapota after implementing terracing and staggered trenches on natural slopes proves to be a viable approach for effectively utilizing degraded ravines while promoting productivity.

For the purpose of heavy metals’ spatial-temporal trends and source allocation in arable soil with the rapid urbanization in Western China, samples were collected in two stages (2008 and 2017) in Chengdu city which was chosen for the case study. Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) receptor models and Multivariate statistical analysis were used to understand the heavy metals’ spatial-temporal variability. The results showed that Cd, Cr, and As in arable soil were presented with an increasing trend during the 10-year period. Semi-variation analysis showed that the block basis ratios of the five heavy metals (Pb, As, Cr, Hg, and Cd) showed an increasing trend, which suggests that the spatial distribution of heavy metals in arable soil is more influenced by human disturbances. The source analysis shows that the enrichment of As is closely related to agricultural activities in both phases (2008 and 2017). Further source analysis showed that source of As did not change, but the contribution increased significantly. The main sources of Hg pollution changed from agricultural activities to medical equipment manufacturing, Cd changed from soil parent material sources to chemical industry waste emissions, and the sources of Pb and Cr expanded from single transportation sources to multiple sources such as road traffic and human construction. In this study, the examining of the temporal and spatial patterns of heavy metal contamination in farmland of typical rapidly developing cities in China can also provide a basis for the conservation and management of arable soil in similar areas in the context of rapid urbanization in China.

Runoff erosion response associated with sediment transport as influenced by erosive energy variability is a highly scale-dependent process. It is of great significance to effectively identify the spatial scale effect on erosive runoff energy for understanding the spatial pattern of sediment flow behavior across various sites. To address this issue, thresholds for erosive runoff were established based on frequency analysis and four selected threshold parameters including runoff duration ( T), stream power ( ω), stream energy factor ( SE) and area-specific sediment yield ( SSY). Based on these thresholds, 77 erosive events were identified and separated from non-erosive events for further analysis. The threshold for T was roughly constant at hillslope but rapidly increased at entire slope. Thresholds for ω and SE was linearly and positively related to the plot area. A general increasing trend was observed in the threshold for SSY from the upper hillslope to the entire slope. The sediment delivery capacity of erosive runoff varied from 0.075 to 0.115 kg·m·J -1, while the sediment increments capacity of erosive runoff ranged from 0.43 to 4.47 kg·m -2·W -1. The sediment reduction benefit by regulation unit stream energy factor varied from 5% to 65%. Overall, erosive runoff events were characterized by longer runoff duration and larger erosive energy, as well as greater sediment delivery capacity compared to non-erosive events. Therefore, the runoff regulation on slopes should be mainly orientated at the erosive energy control and the conversion of slope runoff from erosivity to non-erosivity.

Afforestation is the primary ecosystem measure to address the issue of ecosystem degradation in in the Horqin sandy region of northern China. However , It is yet unclear how afforestation may affect the recovery of sandy grassland. This study took the ecological stoichiometry as indicators, and conducted a field investigation and indoor analysis to assess the afforestation strategies of three indigenous tree species for the restoration of sandy grassland , three restoration strategies were: (1) grasslands were enclosed via a Populus × beijingensis shelterbelt (FG); (2) Pinussylvestris var. mongolica was used for the afforestation of small, well-distributed grassland patches (MG); (3) Ulmus pumila was used for the afforestation of small, well-distributed patches (UG). Our result showed that the C, N, and P contents as well as the C: N: P ratio in plants, litters, and soils varied significantly between FG, MG, and UG. All three treatments were found to significantly impact the soil ratios of C:N, N:P, and C:P relative to CK treatment after more than 20 years of recovery. The results of N : P in different tissues showed that FG , MG and UG vegetation restorations were N-limited. N and P homeostasis was present in trees, especially Ulmus pumila, while the degree of homeostasis was significantly impacted by afforestation species and plant tissues. The N:P results suggested that lower N deficiency stress may have been experienced by three experimental plants. We concluded that UG was better suited to the dry climate in Horqin Sandy Land.

This paper tried to define the role of vegetation diversity as an environmental factor, which determines functions and services served by water reservoirs ecosystems originated as an effect of land subsidence in post-mining areas. The aim of this study was to conceptualise: i) whether the mining subsidence reservoirs, despite their similar origin, differ in the level of species diversity; ii) whether water and substrate quality and metric characteristics of subsidence pools affect the diversity of vegetation; iii) which functional groups of species contribute to ecosystem services provided by these objects. The study was conducted in Central Europe in the Czech-Polish coal basin. The species composition of vegetation, diversity (species richness ( S), Shannon-Wiener ( H’) and Simpson index ( λ)), participation of dominant species and belonging to functional groups ( FG) was assessed in 10 reservoirs formed in subsidence. The values of services provided by the ecosystems in mining subsidence reservoirs by the indicator method were used. The results showed that despite similar origins subsidence pools differ when it comes to the level of diversity S, H’ and λ. In contrast, there is no difference in terms of the average share of various FG. Vegetation diversity was substantially affected by the size and depth of reservoirs, humidity, C/N ratio, the concentration of P total in the soil, and water clarity. The importance and value of ecosystem services provided by the studied mining subsidence reservoirs and their vicinity were estimated at 647,486.90 [$⋅ ⋅rok -1].

Spatial Modeling of land suitability helps in right deployment of a crop to its suitable locations. The present study was aimed at developing a GIS and MCDA (multi criteria decision analysis) integrated spatial model to assess land suitability for oil palm cultivation under rainfed conditions of India. The most critical parameters (factors) influencing oil palm cultivation under rainfed conditions were identifiedand weights were assigned through rank sum method. Spatial data for these parameters has been collected at district level from standard sources. Thematic rasters developed in GIS with defined sub-classes. Through MCDA, digital suitability map developed and suitable areas (three classes) were delineated, in ArcGIS 10.3.Accordingly, 10.478 million ha (Mha) area was identified as suitable for rainfed cultivation of oil palm in the country.Further, to facilitate expansion of oil palm cultivation to sustainable locations alone, the identified suitable area was restricted to existing eight land use land cover (LULC) classes only. After restricting this suitable area to only selected LULC classes, 4.237 Mha area was identified as suitable in total (0.95 Mha- highly suitable, 1.08 Mha- moderately suitable and 2.21 Mha- marginally suitable). Most of the highly suitable areas were found in Kerala and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. This information acts as a decision tool for policy makers in planning oil palm expansion in the country and presently it is being followed by Indian government to allocate oil palm crop to most suitable areas for achieving sustainable production of the crop in the country.

Mini-patches are considered indicators of an ecosystem’s response to interference, particularly those in alpine meadow ecosystems. Thus, monitoring the characteristics of mini-patches can elucidate the organization of an ecosystem’s components, the strategies it employs to survive interference, and the mechanisms whereby it maintains stability. In this research, we used multivariate statistical analysis methods to investigate the characteristics of the plant community and the micro-topography of mini-patches in alpine meadows on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau from August 2012 to August 2013. Our findings show that (1) mini-patches were distributed in alpine meadows with different levels of degradation and the effects of meteorological characteristics (accumulated temperature above 0°C and accumulation of precipitation) and geographical characteristics (altitude, longitude, and latitude) contributed less than 20% to their distribution and characteristics; (2) alpine meadows maintained aboveground biomass within a certain range under a relative larger range of grazing intensity, illustrating their ability to regulate community structure and components under various intensities of disturbance and showing that alpine degradation could itself counteract grazing disturbance; and (3) overgrazing is the main driver of multi-steady stage coexistence in alpine meadows, as the mini-patches that remain involved in plant community succession function, and as a source of germplasm in the plant community regime shift under different grazing intensities damaged alpine meadows.

Ecosystem vulnerability in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) is a prominent concern. An in-depth exploration of net primary productivity (NPP) serves as an important aspect of assessing and protecting ecosystem health. We explored spatiotemporal changes and influencing factors of NPP in the YRB from 2000–2015, using a range of spatial analysis techniques, and cutting-edge computing-intensive variable importance decomposition methods. We found that NPP showed a fluctuating growth trend over time, ranging from 181.0–259.1 gC∙m -2∙a -1, as well as a clear negative south-north spatial gradient. Significant spatial clustering patterns were observed, with Low-Low and High-High clusters being the dominant area classifications at grid cell, county, and city scales in the study area. We also found that NPP was statistically significantly affected by both natural factors (including climate and topography), and human activities, whilst meteorological factors were the most important factor and explained, on average, roughly 66% of the variability in NPP. Although the impact of human activities on NPP was relatively low when compared to natural factors, the former tended to increase with time and accounted for roughly 30% of the total variability explained by the model in 2015. Overall, this study provides an improved technical framework for undertaking a comprehensive analysis of the spatiotemporal pattern of NPP and its influencing factors at multiple-spatial scales.