Impacts of land-use change on carbon dynamics in China's coastal wetlands.

The impact of land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) on ecosystem carbon (C) dynamics has been previously documented at local and global scales, but uncertainty persists for coastal wetlands due to geographical variability and field data limitations. Field-based assessments of plant and soil C contents and stocks of various LULCC types were conducted in nine regions along the coastline of China (21°-40°N). These regions cover natural coastal wetlands (NWs, including salt marshes and mangroves) and former wetlands converted to different LULCC types, including reclaimed wetlands (RWs), dry farmlands (DFs), paddy fields (PFs) and aquaculture ponds (APs). The results showed that LULCC generally decreased the C contents and stocks of the plant-soil system by 29.6 % ± 2.5 % and 40.4 % ± 9.2 %, respectively, while it slightly increased the soil inorganic C contents and stocks. Wetlands converted to APs and RWs lost greater ecosystem organic C stocks (EOC, sum of plants and top 30 cm of soil organic C stocks) than other LULCC types. The annual potential CO2 emissions estimated from EOC loss depended on the LULCC type, with an average emission of 7.92 ± 2.94 Mg CO2-eq ha-1 yr-1. The change rate of EOC in all LULCC types showed a significantly deceasing trend with increasing latitude (p < 0.05). The loss of EOC due to LULCC was larger in mangroves than in salt marshes. The results showed that the response of plant and soil C variables to LULCC was mainly related to differences in plant biomass, median grain size, soil water content and soil NH4+-N content. This study emphasized the importance of LULCC in triggering C loss in natural coastal wetlands, which strengthens the greenhouse effect. We suggest that the current land-based climate models and climate mitigation policies must account for specific land-use types and their associated land management practices to achieve more effective emission reduction.

Reclamation-induced tidal restriction increases dissolved carbon and greenhouse gases diffusive fluxes in salt marsh creeks.

Intertidal creeks play an important role in transporting nutrients between coastal ecosystems and ocean. Reclamation is a predominant anthropogenic disturbance in coastal regions; however, the influence of reclamation on carbon and nitrogen species and greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes in creek remains unclear. In a subtropical salt marsh of eastern China, the seasonal patterns of dissolved carbon (DOC, DIC, CO2, and CH4) and inorganic nitrogen (NH4+-N, NO2--N, and NO3--N and N2O) species, and the diffusive fluxes of CO2, CH4, and N2O, were compared between the natural tidal creeks and the reclaimed creeks. Due to notably changed hydrological and biological conditions in the reclaimed creeks, concentrations of all dissolved carbon species, NH4+-N and NO2--N increased significantly by 60.2-288.2%, while NO3--N and N2O decreased slightly, compared to the natural tidal creeks. DIC and NO3--N were the primary components of the total dissolved carbon and inorganic nitrogen in both creek types; however, their proportions decreased as a result of elevated DOC, CO2, CH4, NH4+-N, and NO2--N following reclamation. Significantly higher global warming potential (0.58 ± 0.15 g CO2-eq m-2 d-1) was found in the reclaimed creeks, making them hotspot of greenhouse effects, compared to the natural tidal creeks. Our results indicated that changes in flow velocity, salinity, Chlorophyll a, and pH were the main factors controlling the dissolved carbon and nitrogen and consequent GHG emissions, due to reclamation. This study is helpful in understanding of carbon and nitrogen sink-source shifts resulting from land use changes in coastal wetlands.

Association of acute kidney injury and clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19 in Shenzhen, China: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Acute kidney injury (AKI) was found in some patients with COVID-19 pneumonia and accompanied with poor outcomes. The objective of this study was to investigate the association of AKI with clinical outcomes in COVID-19 patients. METHODS: In this cohort study, we reviewed electronic medical data from patients with COVID-19 in Shenzhen from January 11 to February 19, 2020. Clinical features and clinical outcomes in COVID-19 patients with and without AKI were analyzed. Further, we evaluated the association between AKI development and clinical outcomes. RESULTS: In this study, 9.6% patients developed AKI during hospitalization. Those with AKI presented older age, severer pneumonia, more comorbidity and lower lymphocyte count. Totally, more patients (77.5%) had primary composite outcomes (intensive care unit (ICU) admission, use of high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) and mechanical ventilation) in AKI group compared to non-AKI group (2.9%) during the observation period. The median length of stay (LOS) and ICU stay were longer among those with AKI. After adjusted for related covariates, AKI development was independently correlated with LOS (ß (95% CI): 9.16 (3.87-14.46)), rather than primary outcomes (HR (95% CI): 1.34 (0.56-3.21)) in COVID-19 patients. CONCLUSIONS: The development of AKI was not one of the reasons for ICU admission, use of HFNC and mechanical ventilation, but a kind of manifestation of severe illness in COVID-19 hospitalized patients.

Sea-level rise will reduce net CO2 uptake in subtropical coastal marshes.

Coastal marshes have a significant capacity to sequester carbon; however, sea-level rise (SLR) is expected to result in prolonged flooding and saltwater intrusion in coastal regions. To explore the effects of SLR projections on net CO2 uptake in coastal marshes, we conducted a "double-check" investigation, including the eddy covariance (EC) measurements of the CO2 fluxes in subtropical coastal marshes along inundation and salinity gradients, in combination with a mesocosm experiment for analyzing CO2 flux components under waterlogging and increased salinity conditions. During the same measurement periods, the net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEEEC based on the EC dataset) in an oligohaline marsh was higher than that in a low-elevation mesohaline marsh, whereas the NEEEC was lower than that in a high-elevation freshwater marsh. The declines in NEEEC between the marshes could be attributed to a greater decrease in gross primary production relative to ecosystem respiration. Waterlogging slightly increased the NEEms (NEE based on the mesocosms) because of inhibited soil respiration and slight changes in plant photosynthesis and shoot respiration. However, the NEEms measured during the drainage period decreased significantly due to the stimulated soil respiration. The NEEms decreased with increasing salinity (except under mild salinity), and waterlogging exacerbated the adverse impacts of salinity. The amplificatory effect of decreases in both leaf photosynthesis and growth under hydrological stresses contributed more to reduce the NEEms than to respiratory effluxes. Both waterlogging and increased salinity reduced the root biomass, soil microbial biomass, and activities of assayed soil enzymes (except for cellulase under waterlogging conditions), leading to limited soil respiration. The declines in plant growth, photosynthesis, and soil respiration could also be attributed to the decrease in soil nutrients under waterlogging and increased salinity conditions. We propose that the coupling of SLR-driven hydrological effects lowers the capacity of CO2 uptake in subtropical coastal marshes.

The importance of the propagule-sediment-tide "power balance" for revegetation at the coastal frontier.

Revegetation of pioneer plants is a critical phase in community establishment for mudflats in seriously degraded coastal wetlands. We tested a hypothesis of the importance of a "power balance" among propagule resilience and sedimentary and tidal disturbances for vegetation reestablishment. Our experiment used three types of propagules (seeds, seedlings, and corms) of native Scirpus species in the fringing flats with similar tidal flows and varying sedimentary intensities in the Yangtze Estuary. Regardless of the initial planting densities, the seed germination rate was extremely low in the field situation. Although the incubated seedlings were planted directly on the bare flat, the wave movement easily flushed the seedlings, even at the site with moderate sedimentary accretion. Failure of the revegetation practice using the seed and seedling materials indicated that the combined "growing and anchoring power" of young seedlings and "stabilizing power" of the sediment were insufficient to withstand the "dislodging power" of the tidal energy. In contrast, the planting approach with underground propagules (corms) proved to be feasible for vegetation establishment at the sites with moderate and low-level sedimentary intensities. The successful practice improved the tipping point of plant survival and tussock formation could be surpassed when the combined growing and anchoring power of seedlings that developed from corms with the stabilizing power of the sediment was greater than the dislodging power of the wave energy. However, at the site with high-level sedimentary intensity, the excessive sediment converted to the burying stress power as seedlings developed from the corms, revealing a burial threshold for seedling survival. The risk of seedling establishment was high when the burying stress power of the sediment far outweighed the combination of the growing power of the seedlings and the sediment removal power of the tidal current and surpassed the tipping point of vegetation die-off. Additionally, we checked the practice cost of the different approaches to ensure a highly cost-effective revegetation planning based on site suitability. This study highlights that understanding of the propagule-sediment-tide power balance offers a tool for improvement of the revegetation and management of site-specific sedimentary and hydrological environments for many degraded coastal ecosystems.

[Nutrient Distribution of Overlying Water in Tidal Marshes in Five Estuaries and Bays of the Fuzhou Region in Autumn].

Overlying water from the tidal marshes in five estuaries and bays, namely, Xinghua Bay (Fuzhou Part), Fuqing Bay, Luoyuan Bay, Minjiang River Estuary, and Aojiang River Estuary of the Fuzhou region were collected in autumn of 2015, and the nitrogen and phosphorus nutrient concentration and other physical and chemical indicators of the overlying water were measured to discuss the reasons for the differences in the nutrient concentration of the overlying water in tidal marsh wetlands in different bays and estuaries. There were significant differences in the nitrogen and phosphorus nutrient concentrations of the overlying waters of the tidal marshes in the different bays and estuaries (P<0.05). The concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus in Fuqing Bay were relatively high, while Xinghua Bay had the lowest nitrogen nutrient concentration and Aojiang River Estuary had the lowest phosphorus nutrient concentration. The nutrient concentration of the overlying water in Fuqing Bay is mainly affected by regional aquaculture, land-source pollution, and topography, while that in Xinghua Bay is mainly affected by tides. The vegetation type had an effect on the nutrient concentration of the overlying water in the wetlands. The concentration of nitrogenous nutrients in the overlying water of the marsh wetland in the Suaeda australis community was relatively high, while the nitrogen and phosphorus nutrient concentrations in the overlying water of the Spartina alterniflora community wetland was relatively low; the concentrations of nutrients in the overlying water of different plant communities in the same bay or estuary marsh wetland were different, and the relationships were complex. Tides, surface runoff, plant communities, topography, and human activities all had an important impact on the nutrient concentrations in the overlying waters of the bay and estuary wetlands.

[Diffusive CO2 Flux Across the Water-air Interface of Reclaimed Shrimp Ponds in the Minjiang River Estuary Based on the TBL Model].

Freshwater aquatic ecosystems are important sources of greenhouse gases, such as CO2. However, few studies have presented data on the greenhouse gas flux from coastal aquaculture ponds. Diffusion models are important tools for estimating the CO2 exchange flux across the water-air interface of aquatic ecosystems. Several different parameterized means were selected to estimate the CO2 gas exchange rate (kx) and CO2 diffusive flux across the water-air interface of shrimp ponds in the Minjiang River Estuary. The results indicated that:① the CO2 gas exchange rate and diffusive flux over the culture period all presented significant temporal variation. This variation showed a dynamic trend:October > September > November > July > August and November > July > August > September > October. ② Wind speed, kx, CO2 concentration, pH, DOC concentration, and Chl-a concentration were important factors affecting the temporal variation of CO2 diffusive flux. ③ There were differences in the estimated value of CO2 diffusive flux across the water-air interface of the culture ponds in the Minjiang River Estuary among different parameterized approaches (P<0.01). This indicates that the model method has some uncertainties in estimating the CO2 diffusive flux in culture ponds. Our results suggest that the models RC01 and CW03 are more suitable methods for estimating the CO2 diffusive flux at the water-air interface of estuarine reclaimed aquaculture ponds in the Minjiang River Estuary, after comprehensive analysis of the water environment and the different estimation results.

[Diurnal Variations of CH4 and N2O Fluxes from the Drained Aquaculture Pond in the Minjiang River Estuary During Early Winter].

Annual drainage is a typical management activity practiced by operators as a way to export aquaculture effluent, accelerate aerobic decomposition of bottom soils, and avoid eutrophication during the non-culture period after harvest. Drainage activities can cause large changes in hydrology, nutrient cycling, sediment physicochemical properties, and even broad ecosystem functions. In order to understand the effects of drainage on the diurnal variation characteristics and magnitude of greenhouse gas (CH4 and N2O) fluxes from the aquaculture ponds of the estuaries, a 24-hour continuous monitoring was conducted from one undrained pond (UDP) and one drained pond (DP) during early winter in the Minjiang River estuary on the southeast coast of China. Over the entire study period, the fluxes of CH4 from the UDP and DP ranged from 0.04 to 0.10 mg·(m2·h)-1 and 14.04 to 33.72 mg·(m2·h)-1, respectively, with means of (0.07±0.01) mg·(m2·h)-1 and (24.74±2.33) mg·(m2·h)-1. The CH4 flux was lower during the day and higher at night with a net flux as the sources of the CH4. The fluxes of N2O from the UDP ranged from -0.027 to 0.011 mg·(m2·h)-1, and the average fluxes of (0.002±0.004) mg·(m2·h)-1 showed "weak absorption by day and emission at night." The N2O fluxes from the DP were emitted all day (ranging from 0.59 to 1.76 mg·(m2·h)-1) with the average fluxes of N2O (1.07±0.15) mg·(m2·h)-1 indicating higher fluxes at night and lower fluxes during the day. Our research demonstrated that drainage would significantly enhance CH4 and N2O release from the aquaculture ponds. The study also preliminarily confirms that the undrained pond converted to a drained pond considerably alter the diurnal variation characteristics of the CH4 and N2O emissions during early winter. Clearly, future measurements in situ at high frequency over a long time and at different spatial scales would be worth researching from drained aquaculture ponds.

[Diurnal Variations of Concentration of Porewater Dissolved CH4 and CO2 in a Brackish Marsh Dominated by Cyperus malaccensis and Phragmites australis During Neap and Spring Tidal Days in the Minjiang River Estuary].

Understanding of diurnal variation of soil porewater dissolved CO2 and CH4 concentration plays an important role in revealing carbon cycling in estuarine wetlands.During neap and spring tidal days in April and September 2010,the diurnal variations of soil porewater dissolved CO2 and CH4 concentrations and main impacting factors in a brackish marsh ecosystem dominated by two species of Cyperus malaccensis(brevifolius) and Phragmites australis(common reed) were determined in the ShanYutan in the Min River estuary,southeast China.The results showed that:① the soil porewater dissolved CH4 concentration during the spring and neap tidal days in April and September ranged from 88.20 to 190.74,53.42 to 141.24,16.27 to 81.89 and 44.90 to 88.53 µmol·L-1,respectively.The mean of dissolved CH4 concentration was higher at nighttime than at daytime during the spring and neap tidal days in April,but the mean of dissolved CH4 concentration was higher at daytime than at nighttime during the spring and neap tidal tidal days in September.② the soil porewater dissolved CO2 concentration during the spring and neap tidal days in September ranged from 19.33 to 40.1 µmol·L-1 and 9.69 to 29.96 µmol·L-1,respectively,and the dissolved CO2 concentration during daytime was lower than that at night;③ the mean of dissolved CO2 concentration was lower during the inundation period than in the exposed soil surface period,but the mean of dissolved CH4 concentration was higher during the inundation period than in the exposed soil surface period.

[Short-term Effects of Nitrogen Deposition on CO2 and CH4 Fluxes from Wetlands in the Minjiang River Estuary].

In order to evaluate the effects of nitrogen deposition on CO2 and CH4 fluxes from a Cyperus malaccensis marsh in the Min River estuary at Daoqingzhou, Fujian, static chamber-gas chromatography (GC) techniques were used. CO2 and CH4 fluxes at a control (CK)[0 g·(m2·a)-1], N1[24 g·(m2·a)-1], N2[48 g·(m2·a)-1], and N3[96 g·(m2·a)-1] were measured and analyzed and the related environmental factors were recorded. The results show that,① compared to the control treatment, the effects of nitrogen deposition on the CO2 fluxes for N1 and N3 increased by 20.30% and 4.06%, respectively, whereas the CO2 fluxes for N2 reduced by 10.05%, furthermore, the CO2 fluxes under different treatments were not significantly different (P>0.05), except for the N2 and N3 treatments in December (P<0.05). ② Compared to the control treatment, the effects of nitrogen deposition on CH4 fluxes at N1, N2, and N3 were increased by 64.51%, 30.23%, and 80.57%, respectively, whereas the CH4 fluxes under different treatments were not significantly different (P>0.05). ③ There was significant positive correlation between CO2 and CH4 fluxes and soil temperature (P<0.05), however, the CO2 and CH4 fluxes were not significant with regards to soil pH and soil EC (P>0.05).