Intergenerational toxic effects of parental exposure to [Cn mim]NO3 (n = 2,4,6) on nervous and skeletal development in zebrafish offspring.

Ionic liquids (ILs) are thought to have negative effects on human health. Researchers have explored the effects of ILs on zebrafish development during the early stages, but the intergenerational toxicity of ILs on zebrafish development has rarely been reported. Herein, parental zebrafish were exposed to different concentrations (0, 12.5, 25, and 50 mg/L) of [Cn mim]NO3 (n = 2, 4, 6) for 1 week. Subsequently, the F1 offspring were cultured in clean water for 96 h. [Cn mim]NO3 (n = 2, 4, 6) exposure inhibited spermatogenesis and oogenesis in F0 adults, even causing obvious lacunae in the testis and atretic follicle oocytes in ovary. After parental exposure to [Cn mim]NO3 (n = 2, 4, 6), the body length and locomotor behavior were measured in F1 larvae at 96 hours post-fertilization (hpf). The results showed that the higher the concentration of [Cn mim]NO3 (n = 2, 4, 6), the shorter the body length and swimming distance, and the longer the immobility time. Besides, a longer alkyl chain length of [Cn mim]NO3 had a more negative effect on body length and locomotor behavior. RNA-seq analysis revealed several downregulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs)-grin1b, prss1, gria3a, and gria4a-enriched in neurodevelopment-related pathways, particularly the pathway for neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction. Moreover, several upregulated DEGs, namely col1a1a, col1a1b, and acta2, were mainly associated with skeletal development. Expression of DEGs was tested by RT-qPCR, and the outcomes were consistent with those obtained from RNA-Seq. We provide evidence showing the effects of parental exposure to ILs on the regulation of nervous and skeletal development in F1 offspring, demonstrating intergenerational effects.

Effect of modified basic oxygen furnace slag on the controlled release of nitrate nitrogen and the functional microbial community in soil.

The specific surface area and active adsorption sites of basic oxygen furnace (BOF) slag increase after BOF modification. The addition of modified BOF slag to the soil may enable the control of nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N) leaching and also affect the functional microflora in the soil. In this study, soil column leaching experiments were conducted to explore the effects of adding modified slag to the soil on the controlled release of NO3-N and the main functional microbial communities involved in nitrification and denitrification processes. The experimental design included seven column groups: a soil control group (CT); soil groups with 2.5%, 5%, and 10% raw slag (S1, S2, S3); and soil groups with 2.5%, 5%, and 10% modified slag (MS1, MS2, MS3) that were subjected to three cycles of leaching, each of which were comprised of five leaching treatments. After the three cycles of leaching, significantly less NO3-N had leached from the modified slag group compared to the CT and the raw slag groups (P < 0.05). Although both slag treatments increased soil pH and decreased the oxidation reduction potential of the soil leaching solution, the addition of modified slag had less effect on soil pH than the addition of raw slag. During column leaching, the group with modified slag had a higher gene abundance of functional microflora compared with the group with raw slag. Similarly, the modified slag group had a higher diversity and richness of denitrifying bacteria, ammonia-oxidizing archaea, and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria than the raw slag group. In conclusion, the addition of modified slag to soil effectively decreased the NO3-N leaching and had relatively little effect on the functional microbial community in the soil.

Effects of external recirculation on a two-stage mainstream anaerobic-anammox treatment system.

Nitritation-anammox treatment can be a potentially energy- and resource-efficient technology for treating mainstream wastewater. However, the issue of nitrate residue from anammox treatment remains to be addressed. Herein, external recirculation of the anammox effluent to a hybrid anaerobic reactor (HAR), which was also to provide a continuous flow with low COD/N for the nitritation-anammox reactor, was employed to decrease the residue compounds. The recirculation ratio of 50% was observed to be the optimal to achieve the best overall performance with potential savings in energy demand. Specifically, in the operation scenario of R = 50%, the highest COD removal of ~90% by the HAR was achieved. Meanwhile, the lowest COD/NH4 + -N ratio of ~2.0 in the HAR effluent ensured the lowest observed NO3 - -N/NH4 + -N ratio of ~14% in the nitritation-anammox reactor. These results have demonstrated the feasibility of applying external recirculation for nitrate residue removal via denitrification in the anaerobic pretreatment stage. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Nitritation-anammox treatment is an attractive method for mainstream wastewater treatment. Nitrate residue from anammox processes contributes to total nitrogen in the final effluent. Recirculation of anammox effluent to an anaerobic reactor can decrease nitrate residue. A recirculation ratio of 50% results in a low COD/NH4 + ratio of 2 that benefits the subsequent anammox.

Index for nitrate dosage calculation on sediment odor control using nitrate-dependent ferrous and sulfide oxidation interactions.

Nitrate-driven sulfide and ferrous oxidation have received great concern in researches on sediments odor control with calcium nitrate addition. However, interrelations among sulfide oxidation, ferrous oxidation and their associated microbes during the nitrate reduction process are rarely reported. In this work, a nNO3/n(S+Fe) ratio (mole ratio of NO3- concentration to S2- and Fe2+ concentration) was first introduced as an index for calcium nitrate dosage calculation. Then certain amount of calcium nitrate was added to four sediment systems with various sulfide and ferrous initial concentration to create four gradients of nNO3/n(S+Fe) ratio (0.6, 0.9, 1.5 and 2.0) for treatment. Furthermore, the significant variations of sulfide and ferrous oxidation, microbial diversity and community structure were observed. The results revealed that at low nNO3/n(S+Fe) ratio (0.6 and 0.9) systems, sulfide seemed prior to ferrous to be oxidized and no obvious ferrous oxidation occurred. Meanwhile, sulfide oxidizing associated genus Sulfurimonas sp. became dominant in these systems. In contrast, sulfide and ferrous oxidation rate increased when nNO3/n(S+Fe) ratio reached 1.5 and 2.0 (two and three times of theoretically required amount for sulfide and ferrous oxidation), which made Thiobacillus sp. more dominant than Sulfurimonas sp. Hence, when nNO3/n(S+Fe) ratio of 1.5 and 2.0 were used, sulfide and ferrous could be simultaneously oxidized and no sulfide regeneration appeared in two months. These results demonstrated that for sulfide- and ferrous-rich sediment treatment, the nitrate consumed by ferrous oxidation should be taken into account when calculating the nitrate injecting dosage. Moreover, nNO3/n(S+Fe) ratio was feasible as a key parameter to control the oxidation process and as an index for calcium nitrate dosage calculation.

Isotopic evidence for the occurrence of biological nitrification and nitrogen deposition processing in forest canopies.

This study examines the role of tree canopies in processing atmospheric nitrogen (Ndep ) for four forests in the United Kingdom subjected to different Ndep : Scots pine and beech stands under high Ndep (HN, 13-19 kg N ha(-1)  yr(-1) ), compared to Scots pine and beech stands under low Ndep (LN, 9 kg N ha(-1)  yr(-1) ). Changes of NO3 -N and NH4 -N concentrations in rainfall (RF) and throughfall (TF) together with a quadruple isotope approach, which combines δ(18) O, Δ(17) O and δ(15) N in NO3 (-) and δ(15) N in NH4 (+) , were used to assess N transformations by the canopies. Generally, HN sites showed higher NH4 -N and NO3 -N concentrations in RF compared to the LN sites. Similar values of δ(15) N-NO3 (-) and δ(18) O in RF suggested similar source of atmospheric NO3 (-) (i.e. local traffic), while more positive values for δ(15) N-NH4 (+) at HN compared to LN likely reflected the contribution of dry NHx deposition from intensive local farming. The isotopic signatures of the N-forms changed after interacting with tree canopies. Indeed, (15) N-enriched NH4 (+) in TF compared to RF at all sites suggested that canopies played an important role in buffering dry Ndep also at the low Ndep site. Using two independent methods, based on δ(18) O and Δ(17) O, we quantified for the first time the proportion of NO3 (-) in TF, which derived from nitrification occurring in tree canopies at the HN site. Specifically, for Scots pine, all the considered isotope approaches detected biological nitrification. By contrast for the beech, only using the mixing model with Δ(17) O, we were able to depict the occurrence of nitrification within canopies. Our study suggests that tree canopies play an active role in the N cycling within forest ecosystems. Processing of Ndep within canopies should not be neglected and needs further exploration, with the combination of multiple isotope tracers, with particular reference to Δ(17) O.

Revealing the drivers and genesis of NO3-N pollution classification in shallow groundwater of the Shaying River Basin by explainable machine learning and pathway analysis method.

Nitrate (NO3-N), as one of the ubiquitous contaminants in groundwater worldwide, has posed a serious threat to public health and the ecological environment. Despite extensive research on its genesis, little is known about the differences in the genesis of NO3-N pollution across different concentrations. Herein, a study of NO3-N pollution concentration classification was conducted using the Shaying River Basin as a typical area, followed by examining the genesis differences across different pollution classifications. Results demonstrated that three classifications (0-9.98 mg/L, 10.14-27.44 mg/L, and 28.34-136.30 mg/L) were effectively identified for NO3-N pollution using Jenks natural breaks method. Random forest exhibited superior performance in describing NO3-N pollution and was thereby affirmed as the optimal explanatory method. With this method coupling SEMs, the genesis of different NO3-N pollution classifications was proven to be significantly different. Specifically, strongly reducing conditions represented by Mn2+, Eh, and NO2-N played a dominant role in causing residual NO3-N at low levels. Manure and sewage (represented by Cl-) leaching into groundwater through precipitation is mainly responsible for NO3-N in the 10-30 mg/L classification, with a cumulative contribution rate exceeding 80 %. NO3-N concentrations >30 mg/L are primarily caused by the anthropogenic loads stemming from manure, sewage, and agricultural fertilization (represented by Cl- and K+) infiltrating under precipitation in vulnerable hydrogeological conditions. Pathway analysis based on standardized effect and significance further confirmed the rationality and reliability of the above results. The findings will provide more accurate information for policymakers in groundwater resource management to implement effective strategies to mitigate NO3-N pollution.

Spatial difference on nitrogen removal in the water based on different resolutions for Sanhuanpao wetland, Northeast China.

The research on the deviations caused by different resolutions is relevant to the study of spatial scale effects. In 2018, spatial interpolations were performed using the removal ratios of the TN, NH4-N, and NO3-N of the layers of different resolutions, respectively. Based on the mean and the standard deviation, the area, shape, and position were obtained for four levels related to the removal ratios of the three nitrogen forms. The linear and 6th function fitting methods were used to reveal the differences in nitrogen removal in wetland water at different spatial resolutions. The results showed that a resolution of 25 times the original was the key scale of the spatial effects. Due to the fact that 52 of the 72 functions did not reach a significant level (P < 0.05), the spatial scale effect of the nitrogen removal was mainly characterized by disorderly fluctuations. The results have a certain extrapolation value for the analysis of spatial scale effects. PRACTITIONER POINTS: The resolution difference was not sufficient to change the spatial pattern of the geographic phenomena. The resolution of 25 times the original was the important scale for determining spatial effects. When studying the spatial scale effects caused by differences in resolution, it was necessary to comprehensively consider various resolutions.

Sulfur-carbon loop enhanced efficient nitrogen removal mechanism from iron sulfide-mediated mixotrophic partial denitrification/anammox systems.

This study successfully established Iron Sulfide-Mediated mixotrophic Partial Denitrification/Anammox system, achieving nitrogen and phosphorus removal efficiency of 97.26% and 78.12%, respectively, with COD/NO3--N of 1.00. Isotopic experiments and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy analysis confirmed that iron sulfide enhanced autotrophic Partial Denitrification performance. Meanwhile, various sulfur valence states functioned as electron buffers, reinforcing nitrogen and sulfur cycles. Microbial community analysis indicated reduced heterotrophic denitrifiers (OLB8, OLB13) under lower COD/NO3--N, creating more niche space for autotrophic bacteria and other heterotrophic denitrifiers. The prediction of functional genes illustrated that iron Sulfide upregulated genes related to carbon metabolism, denitrification, anammox and sulfur oxidation-reduction, facilitating the establishment of carbon-nitrogen-sulfur cycle. Furthermore, this cycle primarily produced electrons via nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and sulfur oxidation-reduction processes, subsequently utilized within the electron transfer chain. In summary, the Partial Denitrification/Anammox system under the influence of iron sulfide achieved effient nitrogen removal by expediting electron transfer through the carbon-nitrogen-sulfur cycle.

Impact of co-digestion on existing salt and nutrient mass balances for a full-scale dairy energy project.

Anaerobic digestion of manure and other agricultural waste streams with subsequent energy production can result in more sustainable dairy operations; however, importation of digester feedstocks onto dairy farms alters previously established carbon, nutrient, and salinity mass balances. Salt and nutrient mass balance must be maintained to avoid groundwater contamination and salination. To better understand salt and nutrient contributions of imported methane-producing substrates, a mass balance for a full-scale dairy biomass energy project was developed for solids, carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, chloride, and potassium. Digester feedstocks, consisting of thickened manure flush-water slurry, screened manure solids, sudan grass silage, and feed-waste, were tracked separately in the mass balance. The error in mass balance closure for most elements was less than 5%. Manure contributed 69.2% of influent dry matter while contributing 77.7% of nitrogen, 90.9% of sulfur, and 73.4% of phosphorus. Sudan grass silage contributed high quantities of chloride and potassium, 33.3% and 43.4%, respectively, relative to the dry matter contribution of 22.3%. Five potential off-site co-digestates (egg waste, grape pomace, milk waste, pasta waste, whey wastewater) were evaluated for anaerobic digestion based on salt and nutrient content in addition to bio-methane potential. Egg waste and wine grape pomace appeared the most promising co-digestates due to their high methane potentials relative to bulk volume. Increasing power production from the current rate of 369 kW to the design value of 710 kW would require co-digestion with either 26800 L d(-1) egg waste or 60900 kg d(-1) grape pomace. However, importation of egg waste would more than double nitrogen loading, resulting in an increase of 172% above the baseline while co-digestion with grape pomace would increase potassium by 279%. Careful selection of imported co-digestates and management of digester effluent is required to manage salt and nutrient mass loadings and reduce groundwater impacts.

Nitrate Nitrogen and pH Correlate with Changes in Rhizosphere Microbial Community Assemblages during Invasion of Ambrosia artemisiifolia and Bidens pilosa.

The rhizosphere of invasive plants presumably develops different soil microbial assemblages compared with native plants, which may hinder or promote their invasion. However, to date, no studies have clearly explored rhizosphere microbial community assemblages during invasion. The invasive species Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. and Bidens pilosa L. are widely distributed in China and are known to reduce local biodiversity and cause agricultural losses. Monoculture of A. artemisiifolia or B. pilosa, a mixture of each invasive and native species, and monoculture of native species were established to simulate different degrees of invasion. Metagenomic sequencing techniques were used to test microbial community structure and function. The aim was to explore the drivers of the assembly of peculiar functional microbes in the rhizosphere soil of invasive species during the long-term invasive-native species interaction. Compared with the native species, the relative abundance of 34 microbial genera was higher in the rhizosphere soil of the invasive species. The NO3-N concentration in the rhizosphere soil from the A. artemisiifolia and B. pilosa monocultures was lower than that from monocultures of the three native plants, whereas pH followed the opposite trend. The NO3-N concentration was significantly and negatively correlated with Sporichthya, Afipia, Actinokineospora, and Pseudolabrys. pH was positively correlated with Bradyrhizobium, Actinoplanes, Micromonospora, Steroidobacter, Burkholderia, and Labilithrix. The differences in soil microbes, NO3-N concentrations, and pH between native and invasive species suggest that the rhizosphere soil microbial assemblages may vary. The reduced NO3-N concentration and increased pH corelated with changes in rhizosphere microbial community during A. artemisiifolia and B. pilosa invasion. IMPORTANCE Soil microbial communities play a vital role in the growth of invasive plants. Invasive species may shape peculiar functional microbes in the rhizosphere soil of an invasive species to benefit its growth. However, the drivers of the assembly of soil microbial communities in the rhizosphere soil of invasive species remain unclear. Our study established the relationship between soil microbial communities and soil chemical properties during invasion by A. artemisiifolia and B. pilosa. Additionally, it showed that the presence of the invasive plants correlated with changes in NO3-N and pH, as well as in rhizosphere microbial community assemblage. Furthermore, the study provided important insights into the difference in the microbial community assembly between native and invasive plant species.

Exposure to nitrate induced growth, intestinal histology and microbiota alterations of Bufo raddei Strauch tadpoles.

Nitrate (NO3-) is one of the ubiquitous environmental chemicals which multiplies negative impacts on aquatic life such as amphibian larvae. However, the data involving the dynamics of amphibians in response to NO3-N are scarce. This study investigated the effects of NO3-N on locomotor ability, growth performance, oxidative stress parameters, intestinal histology, and intestinal microbiota of Bufo raddei Strauch tadpoles. The tadpoles were chronically exposed to different concentrations of NO3-N (10, 50, 100, and 200 mg/L) from Gosner stage 26 to 38. Our results revealed that NO3-N exposure caused significantly reduced body weight and length, impaired locomotor activity, and severe oxidative damage to liver tissue. Moreover, the high NO3-N (50, 100, and 200 mg/L) exposure caused irregular arrangement and indistinct cell borders of mucosal epithelial cells in the tadpoles intestine. The NO3-N exposure significantly changed the structure of the intestinal microbiota. The phylum Cyanobacteria occupy the main niche of intestinal microbes and have a certain negative correlation with the growth and motility of tadpoles. In addition, the functional prediction revealed that NO3-N exposure obviously downregulated the metabolism of enzyme families in tadpoles. Our comprehensive research shows the toxicity of NO3-N exposure in B. raddei Strauch, explores the potential links between development and intestinal microbiota of tadpole, and provides a new framework for the potential health risk of nitrate in amphibians.

Reducing nitrate and tobacco-specific nitrosamine level in burley tobacco leaves through grafting on flue-cured tobacco rootstock.

Nitrosation of pyridine alkaloids in tobacco generates tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs), which are notable toxicants in tobacco products and smoke. Burley tobacco, a chloroplast- and nitrogen (N)-deficient phenotype that accumulates high levels of nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) in its leaves, is particularly susceptible to TSNAs formation. In this study, reciprocal pot and field grafting experiments were conducted using burley tobacco Eyan No.1 and flue-cured tobacco K326 to investigate whether grafting burley tobacco scions on flue-cured tobacco rootstocks could enhance pigment biosynthesis and photosynthesis, while reducing the NO3-N level in burley tobacco leaves. Grafting burley tobacco scions on flue-cured tobacco rootstocks significantly increased the total pigment content, photosynthetic rate, biomass, nitrate reductase and glutamine synthetase activities, as well as ammonium-nitrogen (NH4-N), total soluble and reducing sugar, and soluble protein levels in burley tobacco leaves compared with burley tobacco self-rooting, while decreasing the NO3-N level and nitrate-N to total N ratio. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that grafting resulted in upregulated expression of genes involved in starch, sucrose, porphyrin, chlorophyll, and N metabolism, as well as carbon fixation and carotenoid biosynthesis. The findings suggest that grafting on high N use efficiency rootstock is an exceptionally promising means of decreasing NO3-N accumulation by improving photosynthesis and N metabolism in the scion, thereby reducing the levels of harmful TSNAs.

The introduction of nitrogen from coal into the surface watershed nitrogen cycle due to coal mining activity.

Human activity has doubled the turnover rate of the terrestrial nitrogen cycle, leading to a series of environmental problems. A little-studied nitrogen source in terrestrial and aquatic environments is the nitrogen release associated with rock strata. Southwest China features the largest continuous karsts in the world, featuring a fragile ecological environment but abundant coal resources. The current study selected a typical coal mining area to evaluate the migration and transformation of nitrogen related to coal mining in surface watershed. The findings reveal that the total nitrogen in coal seams was as high as 10,162.3 mg/kg, mainly in the form of organic nitrogen, followed by NH4+-N, while the content of NO3--N was negligible. Based on the isotope fractionation and the co-evolution between Δ15NNO3-NH4 and δ15N-NO3-/δ15N-NH4+, coal mining changed the coal seams' oxidation-reduction state, resulting in the mineralization of organic nitrogen to NH4+-N. Next, NH4+-N gradually oxidized to NO3--N. Various forms of coal-origin nitrogen may be leached out by acid mine drainage (AMD), potentially contributing >10 % of NO3--N and 90 % of NH4+-N to the surface river. Another nitrogen source that requires serious consideration is the wide use of ammonium nitrate explosives in coal mining, as blasting residues may contribute about another 10 % to NO3--N in surface water. Since organic nitrogen accounts for >90 % of extractable nitrogen, the release of coal-origin nitrogen may contribute much more to the total nitrogen in surface water than to NO3--N. Based on the fractionation of nitrogen and oxygen isotopes of nitrate, low-pH AMD promotes the volatilization of nitrate in the form of nitric acid. The conversion of different forms of nitrogen in AMD will be the focus of future attention.

The spatial distribution and characterization of phosphorus and nitrogen in a water-carrying lake: a case study of Lake Jiaogang, China.

The sources of P and N in water-carrying lakes include exogenous input and endogenous release. However, the influence of pollution from different sources on the dynamic distribution of N and P at the sediment-water interface in water-carrying lakes remains unclear. The objectives of this study were to investigate the differences in dynamic distribution characteristics of P compounds and N elements in Lake Jiaogang, a major water-carrying lake in eastern China. Four functional regions with different types of pollutant sources and different kinds of aquatic plants were selected to study the distribution of total P (TP), inorganic P, organic P, ammonium (NH4+-N), and nitrate (NO3--N). The results revealed that regions with internal-source pollutants contained the highest concentration of TP, Ca-P, and Fe-P with high concentrations. L-P, Al-P, mostly organic P, and soluble reactive phosphorous (SRP), the region with internal-source pollutants were lower than that with the imported-source pollutant. The concentration of dissolved NH4+-N showed high in regions with imported-source pollutants, however, in regions with internal-source pollutants, the dissolved NO3--N was with the highest concentration. Overall, P from upstream was still dominant in the sediments despite uptake by the aquatic plants. SRP showed high concentration in regions with imported-source pollutants due to the imported pollution and the improved bioavailability by plant root exudates. Feces and feed residues from aquatic livestock breeding resulted in the highest concentration of TN, NH4+-N, and dissolved NO3--N in the sediments of the region with internal-source pollutants. High concentrations of dissolved NH4+-N were due to the input of N from imported source pollutants. This study provides insights into the contributions of P and N to the eutrophication of the water-carrying lake.

Response of nitrite accumulation to elevated C/NO- 3-N ratio during partial denitrification process: Insights of extracellular polymeric substance, microbial community and metabolic function.

This study investigated the response of nitrite accumulation to elevated COD/NO3--N ratio (C/N) during partial denitrification (PD). Results indicated nitrite was gradually accumulated and remained stable (C/N = 1.5 âˆ¼ 3.0), while that rapidly declined after reaching the peak (C/N = 4.0 âˆ¼ 5.0). The polysaccharide (PS) and protein (PN) content of tightly-bound extracellular polymeric substances (TB-EPS) reached the maximum at C/N of 2.5 âˆ¼ 3.0, which might be stimulated by high level of nitrite. Illumina MiSeq sequencing showed Thauera and OLB8 were dominated denitrifying genera at C/N of 1.5 âˆ¼ 3.0, while Thauera was further enriched with fading OLB8 at C/N of 4.0 âˆ¼ 5.0. Meanwhile, the highly-enriched Thauera might enhance the activity of nitrite reductase (nirK) promoting further nitrite reduction. Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed positive correlations between nitrite production and PN content of TB-EPS, denitrifying bacteria (Thauera and OLB8) and nitrate reductases (narG/H/I) in low C/N. Finally, their synergistic effects for driving nitrite accumulation were comprehensively elucidated.

Ammonium-nitrate mixtures dominated by NH4+-N promote the growth of pecan (Carya illinoinensis) through enhanced N uptake and assimilation.

Nitrogen (N) limits plant productivity, and its uptake and assimilation may be regulated by N sources, N assimilating enzymes, and N assimilation genes. Mastering the regulatory mechanisms of N uptake and assimilation is a key way to improve plant nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). However, it is poorly known how these factors interact to influence the growth process of pecans. In this study, the growth, nutrient uptake and N assimilation characteristics of pecan were analyzed by aeroponic cultivation at varying NH4 +/NO3 - ratios (0/0, 0/100,25/75, 50/50, 75/25,100/0 as CK, T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5). The results showed that T4 and T5 treatments optimally promoted the growth, nutrient uptake and N assimilating enzyme activities of pecan, which significantly increased aboveground biomass, average relative growth rate (RGR), root area, root activity, free amino acid (FAA) and total organic carbon (TOC) concentrations, nitrate reductase (NR), nitrite reductase (NiR), glutamine synthetase (GS), glutamate synthase (Fd-GOGAT and NADH-GOGAT), and glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) activities. According to the qRT-PCR results, most of the N assimilation genes were expressed at higher levels in leaves and were mainly significantly up-regulated under T1 and T4 treatments. Correlation analysis showed that a correlation between N assimilating enzymes and N assimilating genes did not necessarily exist. The results of partial least squares path model (PLS-PM) analysis indicated that N assimilation genes could affect the growth of pecan by regulating N assimilation enzymes and nutrients. In summary, we suggested that the NH4 +/NO3 - ratio of 75:25 was more beneficial to improve the growth and NUE of pecan. Meanwhile, we believe that the determination of plant N assimilation capacity should be the result of a comprehensive analysis of N concentration, N assimilation enzymes and related genes.

Irrigation Regimes and Nitrogen Rates as the Contributing Factors in Quinoa Yield to Increase Water and Nitrogen Efficiencies.

Sustainable field crop management has been considered to reach the food security issue due to global warming and water scarcity. The effect of deficit irrigation and nitrogen rates on quinoa yield is a challenging issue in those areas. In this regard, the interaction effects of different N rates (0, 125, 250, and 375 kg N ha-1) and irrigation regimes [full irrigation (FI) and deficit irrigation at 0.75 FI and 0.5 FI] on quinoa yield and water and nitrogen efficiencies were evaluated with a two-year field experiment. Increasing nitrogen fertilizer application levels from 250 to 375 kg N ha-1 under FI and deficit irrigation did not cause a significant difference in seed yield and the total dry matter of quinoa. Furthermore, 20% and 34% reductions were observed for nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and nitrogen yield efficiency with the application of 375 kg N ha-1 compared with that obtained in 250 kg N ha-1 nitrogen fertilizer, respectively. Therefore, a Nitrogen application rate of 250 kg ha-1 and applying 0.75 FI is suggested as the optimum rate to reach the highest seed water use efficiency (0.7 kg m-3) and NUE (0.28 kg m-3) to gain 4.12 Mg ha-1 quinoa seed yield. Under non-limited water resource conditions, an FI and N application rate of 375 kg ha-1 could be used for higher seed yield; however, under water-deficit regimes, an N application rate of 250 kg ha-1 could be adequate. However, questions about which environmental factors impressively restricted the quinoa growth for optimizing the potential yield need further investigation.

Coupling anammox with denitrification in a full-scale combined biological nitrogen removal process for swine wastewater treatment.

In order to enhance nitrogen removal through anammox process in the full-scale swine wastewater treatment plant, an innovative regulation strategy of nitrate-based carbon dosage and intermittent aeration was developed to apply the combined biological nitrogen removal process in a full scale anaerobic-anoxic-oxic (A2/O) system. TN removal efficiency reached at 65.5 ± 6.0% in Phase 1 with decreasing external carbon dosage in influent due to the reduction of return nitrate concentration, and it increased to 83.5 ± 6.7% when intermittent aeration was adopted in oxic zone and external carbon source was stopped adding into influent in Phase 2. As a result, the energy consumption for the swine wastewater treatment decreased from 1.93 to 0.9 kW h/m3 and 4.18 to 2.57 kW h/kg N, respectively. Microbial community analysis revealed that the average abundances of Candidatus Brocadia increased from 0.76% to 2.43% and removal of TN through anammox increased from 39% to 77%.

Effectiveness of Nutrient Management on Water Quality Improvement: A Synthesis on Nitrate-Nitrogen Loss from Subsurface Drainage.

Nutrient management, as described in NRCS Code 590, has been intensively investigated, with research largely focused on crop yields and water quality. Yet, due to complex processes and mechanisms in nutrient cycling (especially the nitrogen (N) cycle), there are many challenges in evaluating the effectiveness of nutrient management practices across site conditions. We therefore synthesized data from peer-reviewed publications on subsurface-drained agricultural fields in the Midwest U.S. with corn yield and drainage nitrate-N (NO3-N) export data published from 1980 to 2019. Through literature screening and data extraction from 43 publications, we obtained 577 site-years of data with detailed information on fertilization, corn yields, precipitation, drainage volume, and drainage NO3-N load/concentration or both. In addition, we estimated flow-weighted NO3-N concentrations ([NO3-N]) in drainage for those site-years where only load and volume were reported. Furthermore, we conducted a cost analysis using synthesized and surveyed corn yield data to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of different nutrient management plans. Results from the synthesis showed that N fertilizer rate was strongly positively correlated with corn yields, NO3-N loads, and flow-weighted [NO3-N]. Reducing N fertilizer rates can effectively mitigate NO3-N losses from agricultural fields; however, our cost analysis showed negative economic returns for continuous corn production at lower N rates. In addition, organic fertilizers significantly boosted corn yields and NO3-N losses compared to inorganic fertilizers at comparable rates; however, accurate quantification of plant-available N in organic fertilizers is necessary to guide appropriate nutrient management plans because the nutrient content may be highly variable. In terms of fertilizer application methods, we did not find significant differences in NO3-N export in drainage discharge. Lastly, impact of fertilization timing on NO3-N export varied depending on other factors such as fertilizer rate, source, and weather. According to these results, we suggest that further efforts are still required to produce effective local nutrient management plans. Furthermore, government agencies such as USDA-NRCS need to work with other agencies such as USEPA to address the potential economic losses due to implementation of lower fertilizer rates for water quality improvement.

[Identifying the Sources of Groudwater NO3--N in Agricultural Region of Qingdao].

To increase crops yields, applying large amounts of fertilizers has become increasingly common in agricultural regions, resulting in NO3--N groundwater pollution. Agricultural non-point pollution is the main source of groundwater NO3--N pollution. To ensure drinking water safety and quality, it is crucial to clarify the sources of NO3--N pollution in agricultural regions. In this study, 35 sampling sites were randomly selected in the Qingdao agricultural area in 2009 and 2019. The spatial distribution of NO3--N concentration was analyzed by the inverse distance weighting method (IDW). The nitrogen and oxygen isotopes were used as a tool to trace sources of NO3--N and the SIAR model was used to quantify contribution proportion of pollution sources. The results showed that the concentration of NO3--N (average) in groundwater in Qingdao has been reduced from 38.49 mg·L-1 in 2009 to 22.37 mg·L-1 in 2019, but it is still higher than the maximum allowable concentration of NO3--N in drinking water set by the World Health Organization (WHO). The NO3--N concentration gradually increased from south to north both in 2009 and 2019. The cross diagram of δ15N-NO3- and δ18O-NO3- show that the main sources of NO3--N in groundwater in Qingdao are chemical fertilizers, soil nitrogen, and manure and sewage. Water isotopes indicate that precipitation was the main source of groundwater in Qingdao. The SIAR model results indicated that the contribution of each source ranked as follows:manure and sewage (47.42%) > soil nitrogen (27.80%) > chemical fertilizer (14.32%) > atmospheric nitrogen depositions (10.43%). From 2009 to 2019, the quality of groundwater in Qingdao has been improved, but NO3--N pollution still cannot be ignored. According to the results, prevention and control should be made to ensure the safety of drinking water and the sustainable development of agriculture.