Vertical distribution and characteristics of soil microplastics under different land use patterns: A case study of Shouguang City, China.

Soil microplastic pollution is ubiquitous, but the vertical distribution characteristics of microplastics in different land use types are unclear. In this study, the microplastic abundance, particle size, shape, color, and polymer type in 0-20 cm, 20-40 cm, and 40-60 cm soil layers of seven land use types (woodland, grassland, maize, wheat, cotton, polytunnel, and greenhouse) were systematically investigated in Shouguang City, a typical agricultural city in China. The results showed that the average microplastic abundance from top to deep for the three soil layers of Shouguang City were 1948.1 ± 992.5, 1349.4 ± 654, and 670.1 ± 341.6 items kg-1. In the top soil layer (0-20 cm), the abundance of microplastics in facility soils was significantly higher than in other land use types. In agricultural soils, microplastics were predominantly small size (<0.5 mm), films and fragments, PE and PP. The average microplastic abundance in deep soils (40-60 cm) of the seven land use types was 349.1 ± 62.8 (woodland), 284.9 ± 113.9 (grassland), 657.1 ± 127.1 (maize), 537.8 ± 137.4 (wheat), 851.4 ± 204.2 (cotton), 878.5 ± 295.7 (polytunnel), 1132.2 ± 304.5 (greenhouse) items kg-1, respectively, accounting for 11 % to 19 % in all three soil layers. The percentage of small size and pellet microplastics increased in deep soils (40-60 cm). Correlation analysis showed that soil environmental factors (pH, EC, total phosphorus, total nitrogen, and organic carbon) influenced to different extents the distribution, fragmentation, and transport of microplastics. The results of this study contribute to a better understanding of contamination and vertical distribution of soil microplastics in agricultural and non-agricultural soils, as well as provide important data for the development of preventive and management policies.

Phosphorus dynamics in litter-soil systems during litter decomposition in larch plantations across the chronosequence.

The dynamics of phosphorus (P) in litter-soil systems during litter decomposition across a plantation chronosequence remain to be underinvestigated, especially in terms of the nutrient cycle in plantations. In this study, the P dynamics in a litter-soil system of larch (Larix kaempferi) plantations at three stand ages (10, 25, and 50 years old) were examined through a 4-year in situ decomposition experiment (experiment 1) and a 360-day indoor incubation experiment (experiment 2). The aim of experiment 1 and experiment 2 is to determine the P dynamics in litter and soil, respectively. The results in experiment 1 suggested that litter mass retained 34.1%-42.5% of the initial mass after a 4-year decomposition period, and the turnover time (t0.95) of the decomposition was 11.3, 13.9, and 11.8 years for 10-, 25- and 50-year-old stand larch plantations, respectively. Litter exhibited a net P decrease during the first 180 days, followed by a phase of a net P increase. The lowest P accumulation rate was found in the 25-year-old stand during the P immobilization stage. This immobilization phase was followed by a slow litter P decrease. Highly correlated relations were found between the litter decomposition rate and the initial litter N concentration and C/N, whereas the P accumulation rate was noticeably correlated with the initial litter P and C/P. The results in experiment 2 showed that litter addition promoted the accumulation of the highly labile P (resin P, NaHCO3-Pi, and NaHCO3-Po), as well as moderately labile Pi (NaOH-Pi) in the soil. The findings obtained suggest that soil microbial biomass P and acid phosphatase activity were the primary factors driving the activation of soil P during litter decomposition. These findings would be beneficial to the systematic understanding of the nutrient cycle in plant-soil systems and litter management during the development of larch plantations.

Effects of multiple antibiotics residues in broiler manure on composting process.

At present, the effect of multiple antibiotics on aerobic composting process and its mechanism are not clear. So in this study, broiler manure containing different doses of Doxycycline (DOX) and Gatifloxacin (GAT) were used as raw materials and mixed with rice hull for aerobic composting, and the effects of the combination of multiple antibiotics on the process parameters of broiler manure composting and the succession of bacterial and fungal community structures were systematically analyzed. Our results showed that at the initial period of composting, the combination of multiple antibiotics led to a delayed temperature and pH increase (T1: 57.0 °C, T2: 48.3 °C, T3: 45.5 °C on Day 3 for temperature and T1: 7.44, T2: 7.1, T3: 6.88 on Day 5 for pH), and a slow total nitrogen decrease (T1: 1.56%, T2: 1.82%, T3: 1.74% on Day 5). Although these effects decreased gradually with the degradation of antibiotics, the relative abundance of Actinobacteriota (T1: 13.29%, T2: 10.57%, T3: 8.99%) and Bacteroidota (T1:27.52%, T2:40.03%, T3:39.81%)) were still influenced by multiple antibiotic residuals until the end of composting period. Higher levels of antibiotics had more lasting effects on the bacterial community (T3 > T2). However, the combination of these two antibiotics did not significantly promote or inhibit the succession of the fungal community structure. The heatmaps showed that composting stage had a greater effect on the microbial community structures than antibiotics. The results provided a theoretical reference for composting broiler manure containing DOX and GAT.

Mild electrokinetic treatment of cadmium-polluted manure for improved applicability in greenhouse soil.

Applications of cadmium (Cd) and salinity-containing manures contribute to Cd pollution and salinization in greenhouse soils. In this study, chicken manure polluted with Cd (5.6 mg/kg) was mildly electrokinetically treated (0.25 V/cm) for 48 h with intermittent replacement of catholyte with 20 mM acetic acid solution to remove Cd and salinity for application without need of post-treatment in greenhouse soil. The electrokinetic treatment created pH conditions mainly ranging from 5.0 to 8.0 within the manure for minimizing re-precipitation of desorbed Cd and evaporative loss of ammonium. However, without manure pre-acidification, electrokinetic treatment resulted in negligible removal of total Cd but 61.7% of increase in the small fraction of exchangeable Cd, due to poor desorption but enhanced formation of exchangeable Cd. In contrast, manure pre-acidification with 20 mM acetic acid favored Cd desorption, leading to electrokinetic removal of exchangeable, carbonate-bound, and total Cd by 32.2%, 34.5%, and 14.5%, respectively. Mild electrokinetic treatment of manure with and without pre-acidification resulted in similar removal of salinity (72.3% and 68.0%), similar pH condition (7.2 and 7.4), and basically same evaporative loss of ammonium (14.6% and 14.2%). Overall, the mild electrokinetic treatment considerably lowered the risk of Cd and the salinity from the pre-acidified manure for improved applicability in greenhouse soil, and more studies are needed to enhance the performance of electrokinetic Cd removal from manure.

Utilizing water characteristics and sediment nitrogen isotopic features to identify non-point nitrogen pollution sources at watershed scale in Liaoning Province, China.

Identifying nitrogen (N) pollution sources is the fundamental work of non-point source pollution load reduction from watersheds, but is hard due to complex N transport and transformation within spatially heterogenized huge areas. During September 2011, we measured water characteristics and sediment N stable isotope in four tributaries of the upper reach of the Hun River, an important water source of the Dahuofang Reservoir, a large drinking water source in Northeast China. Results showed that spatial changes in SO4 (2-) and Cl(-) contents in the tributaries were consisted with the changes in density of the population living along the tributaries. Sediment δ(15)N from all tributaries showed a downstream increasing trend in line with the land use change, which is characterized as more farmlands and more people around the outlet area of each tributary. Principal component analysis indicated the population density had a strong impact on N in these tributaries in the low-flow period. Tributaries and villages close to the Dahuofang Reservoir should be the major N load control objects in reduction of non-point source nitrogen load from the upper reach of the Hun River.

Phytoremediation of cadmium-contaminated farmland soil by the hyperaccumulator Beta vulgaris L. var. cicla.

A field study was conducted to evaluate the phytoremediation efficiency of cadmium (Cd) contaminated soil utilizing the Cd hyperaccumulator Beta vulgaris L. var. cicla during one growing season (about 2 months) on farmland in Zhangshi Irrigation Area, the representative wastewater irrigation area in China. Results showed that B. vulgaris L. var. cicla is a promising plant in the phytoremediation of Cd contaminated farmland soil. The maximum of Cd phytoremediation efficiency by B. vulgaris L. var. cicla reached 144.6 mg/ha during one growing season. Planting density had a significant effect on the plant biomass and the overall Cd phytoremediation efficiency (p < 0.05). The amendment of organic manure promoted the biomass increase of B. vulgaris L. var. cicla (p < 0.05) but inhibited the Cd phytoremediation efficiency.

Removal of highly elevated nitrate from drinking water by pH-heterogenized heterotrophic denitrification facilitated with ferrous sulfide-based autotrophic denitrification.

The performance of acetic acid-supported pH-heterogenized heterotrophic denitrification (HD) facilitated with ferrous sulfide-based autotrophic denitrification (AD) was investigated in upflow activated carbon-packed column reactors for reliable removal of highly elevated nitrate (42 mg NO(3)-Nl(-1)) in drinking water. The use of acetic acid as substrate provided sufficient internal carbon dioxide to completely eliminate the need of external pH adjustment for HD, but simultaneously created vertically heterogenized pH varying from 4.8 to 7.8 in the HD reactor. After 5-week acclimation, the HD reactor developed a moderate nitrate removal capacity with about one third of nitrate removal occurring in the acidic zone (pH 4.8-6.2). To increase the treatment reliability, acetic acid-supported HD was operated under 10% carbon limitation to remove >85% of nitrate, and ferrous sulfide-based AD was supplementally operated to remove residual nitrate and formed nitrite without excess of soluble organic carbon, nitrite or sulfate in the final effluent.

Spectral response of rice (Oryza sativa L.) leaves to Fe(2+) stress.

In the management of lake eutrophication, the regulation effect of Fe is considered, in addition to the controlling nitrogen- and phosphorus input. Based on the "Fe hypothesis", this paper tentatively applied plant spectral response to the remote sensing early-warning mechanism of lake eutrophication. A laboratory water culture experiment with rice (Oryza sativa L.) was conducted to study Fe uptake by plants and the chlorophyll concentration and visible-near infrared spectrum of vegetable leaves as well as their interrelations under Fe(2+) stress. Three spectral indices, i.e., A (1) (integral value of the changes of spectral reflectivity in the range 460-670 nm under Fe(2+) stress), A (2) (integral value of the changes of spectral reflectivity in the range of 760-1000 nm under Fe(2+) stress) and S (blue-shift range of red edge curve under Fe(2+) stress), were used to establish quantitative models about the relationships between the rice leaf spectrum and Fe(2+) stress. With the increase of Fe(2+) in a culture solution, the Fe content in rice plants increased, while the chlorophyll concentration in vegetative leaves decreased. The spectral reflectivity of vegetable leaves increased in the visible light band but decreased in the near infrared band, and the blue-shift range of the red edge curve increased. The indices A (1), A (2) and S all had significant correlations with the Fe content in rice leaves, the correlation coefficient being respectively 0.951 (P < 0.01), -0.988 (P < 0.01) and 0.851 (P < 0.01), and simulated (multiple correlation coefficients R (2) > 0.96) and predict the Fe level in rice leaves.

[Advance in study on the effects of iron on algal growth and spectral recognition].

Iron is an essential micronutrient of phytoplankton. Iron plays an important role in many biological processes such as nitrogen assimilation, N2 fixation, photosynthetic and respiratory electron transport, and porphyrin biosynthesis. Therefore, the regulation effects of iron should be considered besides nitrogen and phosphorus during the treatment of eutrophication lakes process. Remote sensing technology has been recognized as an effective measure in monitoring eutrophicated water bodies which could be used to timely monitor the distribution and growth status of algal on a large scale. The iron concentration fluctuation may have an important influence on the metabolic activity of the algal cells, and the spectral reflectivity could reflect the physiological characteristics of algal. The relationship between land features and their spectral characteristics is important for the interpretation of remote sensing images. Studies of algal spectral propertises under different iron-supply would be meaningful for determining the bloom and developing the remote sensing warning system of lake eutrophication. In the present paper, the effects of iron on the growth of algal and the advances in studies of algal spectrum are summarized based on the iron hypothesis. Furthermore, the application of spectral properties of algal under different iron-supply in early-warning mechanism of lake eutrophication is prospected.

[Determination of amorphous iron oxides in soil by hydroxylamine extraction-spectrophotometry].

Amorphous iron oxides in soil were determined by hydroxylamine extraction-spectrophotometry. The results showed that hydroxylamrnine extraction eliminates interference of magnetite and the defect of results being on the high side was overcome to a certain degree compared with oxalic acid-oxalic acid ammonium extraction. The hydroxylamine extraction-spectrophotometry for the detection of amorphous iron oxides in soil was highly precise (relative standard deviation was less than 2.0%) and highly reliable (recovery rates ranged from 97.5% to 101.5%). Other advantages of the method were rapidness,simplicity and a shorter chromogenic time. In addition, soil incubated anaerobically at constant temperature under laboratory condition was investigated. The results suggested that iron reduction rates during initiation, rapid reaction and steady phases in the soil samples anaerobic incubation were 0.030-0.053, 0.186-0.333 and 0.015-0.030 g x d(-1) x kg(-1), respectively. Significant relationship between the concentrations of hydroxylamine extraction iron and iron reduction rates during rapid reaction phase in soil incubation (r= 0.9907, p<0.01) indicated that hydroxylamine had a higher degree of selectivity in amorphous iron oxides extraction than oxalic acid-oxalic acid ammonium extraction.

[Study on the spectrum response of Brassica Campestris L leaf to the zinc pollution].

In the present paper, the spectrum response of Brassica Campestris L leaf to the stress of heavy metal zinc pollution was studied in three spectral rangess of the red edge position (680-740 nm), the visible spectrum (460-680 nm) and the near infrared spectrum (750-1000 nm). The results indicate that the Zn content in cabbage leaves increases and the chlorophyll level reduces with the increase in Zn concentration in soil. With the Zn content of Brassica Campestris L leaves increasing, the leaf spectral reflectivity in visible light (A1) and the range of red edge shift (S) ascends, the the leaf spectral reflectivity in the near infrared light (A2) decreases. The three indices of A1, A2 and S are fitted much linearly with the logarithm of zinc content in Brassica Campestris L leaves with the high squared regression coefficients of 0.942, 0.981 and 0.969 respectively. The regression models are reliable to estimate the zinc content in Brassica Campestris L leaves.

[Studies of relationships between Cu pollution and spectral characteristics of TritiZnm aestivum L].

The effect of Cu pollution on the Cu uptake by wheat, the characteristics of chlorophyll concentration, and the visible-near infrared spectra were studied under the condition of solution culture, and the relationships among the three indices were discussed. The results indicate that the content of Cu in TritiZnm aestivum L. increases and the concentration of chlorophyll reduces with the increase of Cu in solution. The spectral characteristics also take on the disciplinary diversification (the spectral reflectivity ascended in the visible light band and decreased in the near infrared band; the range of red edge shift decreased) with the increase of Cu in solution.