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.g., image gap filling, biodiversity surveys, and improved citizen science). However, there are also risks, threatening to undermine the credibility of our science, mostly related to actions of bad actors, for example in terms of spreading fake information or committing fraud. Risks need to be mitigated at the level of government regulatory measures, but we also highlight what can be done right now, including discussing issues with the next generation of ecologists and transforming towards radically open science workflows.

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. However, we presently do not understand the impacts of the potential interaction of multiple pesticides when applied simultaneously. Using soil collected from a local grassland, we utilize soil microcosms to examine the role of both rate of change and number of a selection of ten currently used pesticides on soil processes, including litter decomposition, water stable aggregates, aggregate size, soil pH, and EC. Additionally, we used null models to enrich our analyses to examine potential patterns caused by interactions between pesticide treatments. We find that both gradual and abrupt pesticide application have negative consequences for soil processes. Notably, pesticide number plays a significant role in affecting soil health. Null models also reveal potential synergistic behavior between pesticides which can further their consequences on soil processes. Our research highlights the complex impacts of pesticides, and the need for environmental policy to address the threats posed by pesticides.

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. Herein, this paper comprehensively summarizes the negative impacts of several commonly used disinfection processes (ozone, chlorine, and UV) on M-NPs. Moreover, the potential leaching of dissolved organics from M-NPs and the production of disinfection byproducts during the disinfection process are discussed in detail. Moreover, due to the diversity and complexity of M-NPs, their adverse effects may exceed those of conventional organics (e.g., antibiotics, pharmaceuticals, and algae) after the disinfection process. Finally, we propose enhanced conventional drinking water treatment processes (e.g., enhanced coagulation, air flotation, advanced adsorbents, and membrane technologies), detection of residual M-NPs, and biotoxicological assessment as promising and ecofriendly candidates to efficiently remove M-NPs and avoid the release of secondary hazards.

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. We utilized sediment flow-through reactors to investigate the impact and mechanism of MPs accumulation on ammonium removal in riverbanks. These results revealed that MPs accumulation decreased ammonium removal in sediment by 8.2 %-12.8 % resulting from the reduction in nitrifier abundance (Nitrososphaera and Nitrososphaeraceae) and genes encoding ammonium and hydroxylamine oxidation (amoA, amoB, amoC, and hao) by MPs accumulation. Furthermore, MPs accumulation decreased the substrate and gene abundance of hydroxylamine oxidation process to reduce N2O emission (16.3 %-34.3 %). Notably, mathematic model verified that sediment physical properties changed by MPs accumulation were direct factors affecting ammonium removal in riverbank. It was suggested that both the biotoxicity of MPs and sediment physical properties should be considered in the ammonium removal process. To summarize, this study for the first time comprehensively clarifies the impact of MPs on the ammonium removal capacity of riverbanks, and provides information for taking measures to protect the ecological function of the riverbank and river ecosystem from MPs and ammonium pollution.

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. Although it is known that MPs can be aged for changing their characteristic after accumulating in riparian sediment, the effect of MP aging behavior on sediment dissolved organic matter (DOM) bioavailability and carbon emission has not been elucidated. In this study, effects of pristine and aged MPs on the DOM characteristics and components were investigated in sediment. The results showed that pristine MPs increased DOM humification and promoted the formation of larger molecular weight components, thereby reducing DOM bioavailability by approximately 16~23% and inducing negative priming effect. However, inhibition of MPs on DOM bioavailability and the priming effect decreased with aging behavior. Mathematical models revealed that the fulvic acid-like substance of sediment DOM was the driven factor in the influence of sediment carbon stability. Further microbial analysis found that higher carbohydrate metabolism promoted DOM humification, thereby reducing CO2 emissions approximately by 19~26% after MPs accumulation. Thus, this study provided an integrated picture to understand the risk of MPs accumulation in sediment for a long term on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

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. As a result, microbial activities, including soil respiration and three enzyme activities (ß-glucosidase, N-acetyl-ß-glucosaminidase, and phosphatase), were shown to depend on soil storage conditions. Soil respiration rates increased with the addition of TWPs, and the differences from the control group (no TWPs added) were more pronounced in the AD TWP treatment than in soils stored under other conditions. In contrast, phosphatase activity followed an opposing trend after the addition of TWPs. The AD soil had higher phosphatase activity after the addition of TWPs, while the LS soil had a lower level than the control group. We suggest that microplastic effects in laboratory experiments can strongly depend on soil storage conditions.

Copper oxide nanoparticles inhibited denitrifying enzymes and electron transport system activities to influence soil denitrification and N2O 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-1) on denitrification. In this study, Cu speciation, activities of denitrifying enzymes, electron transport system activity (ETSA), expression of denitrifying functional genes, composition of bacterial communities and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were determined. In all treatments, Cu ions was the dominant form and responsible for the toxicity of CuO NPs. The results indicated that CuO NPs treatments at 500 mg kg-1 remarkably inhibited denitrification, led to an 11-fold increase in NO3- accumulation and N2O emission rates decrease by 10.2-24.1%. In the denitrification process, the activities of nitrate reductase and nitric oxide reductase reduced by 21.1-42.1% and 10.3-16.3%, respectively, which may be a reason for the negative effect of CuO NPs. In addition, ETSA was significantly inhibited with CuO NPs applications, which reflects the ability of denitrification to accept electrons. Denitrifying functional genes and bacterial communities composition were changed, thus further influencing the denitrification process. ROS analysis showed that there were no significant differences among NPs treatments. This research improves the understanding of CuO NPs impact on soil denitrification. Further attention should be paid to the nitrogen transformation in agricultural soils in the presence of nanopesticides.