Research on the changes of soil aggregate-relevant organic C (Corg) and nutrients in different aged tea plantations is essential for improving our understanding of soil Corg mitigation and nutrient restitution during tea cultivation. In this study, soil Corg, total nitrogen (Ntot), available phosphorus (Pava), and the exchangeable cations (that is, potassium (K+), sodium (Na+), calcium (Ca2+), and

The dam of Takerkoust, located at the outlet side of N'fis Basin (Western High Atlas of Morocco), is one of the strategic reservoirs in Morocco facing a serious problem of siltation due to soil erosion. A paleo-hydrology approach combining chronological and sedimentological analyses is conducted to understand the evolution of the depositional sediment history of the Takerkoust reservoir between 1988

T-2 toxin is a kind of group A trichothecenes mycotoxins, frequently detected in various foods and feeds, having high toxic effects on both humans and animals. The present study aims to investigate the toxic effects of T-2 toxin exposure to ICR mice during pregnancy and lactation on liver glycolipid metabolism of young mice. The pregnant mice were given 0, 0.005 and 0.05 mg of T-2 toxin/kg bw daily

Anaerobically digested slurry (ADS) has been widely used as a liquid fertilizer in agroecosystems. However, there is scant information on the effects of successive ADS applications on heavy metals (HMs) accumulation and fungal community composition in paddy soils. In this study, we conducted a field experiment over 10 years to assess the changes in soil HMs and fungal community composition under the

Nano-sized Fe2Zr2-xWxO7 system was prepared using the Pacini method where x = 0, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.15. All the samples were characterized using chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV–vis diffuse reflectance measurements (DRS) and surface area measurements. The undoped Fe2Zr2O7 was crystallised in the cubic fluorite phase

Quantitative evaluation of the aquatic ecosystem health is crucial to formulate policies about environmental water management and ecological restoration. However, it is often difficult to quantitatively compare or estimate the health of aquatic ecosystems for different watersheds. In this study, we developed a Freshwater Ecosystem Health Index (FEHI) based on a modified Zooplankton-based Index of Biotic

Bacteria are a key component in lake ecosystems, playing a crucial role in driving biogeochemical and energy fluxes. In lake biomonitoring, false alarms have often been triggered due to the presence of abundant dead or dormant bacterial cells. Thus, quantification of the metabolically active and dormant cells is required for effective biomonitoring. In this study, 120 sites were seasonally sampled

Determining the molecular basis of parasite adaptation to its host is an important component in understanding host‐parasite coevolution and the epidemiology of parasitic infections. Here, we investigate short‐ and long‐term adaptive evolution in the eukaryotic parasite, Gyrodactylus bullatarudis, infecting Caribbean guppies (Poecilia reticulata), by comparing the reference genome of Tobagonian G. bullatarudis

The artificial freezing method is an effective method of shaft construction in water-rich soft rock beds. Engineering frozen walls involves the use of intact rock material, flaws and ice. To better understand the mechanical properties of frozen walls, explore the failure laws of frozen fractured rock, and solve the problem of complex ice-rock coupling, it is necessary to carry out laboratory triaxial

Abstract Context Anthropogenic activities have detrimental impacts on natural habitats and the species inhabiting them. In particular, habitat fragmentation has a profound effect on the dynamics and structure of natural populations and the species’ probability of persistence. Objectives In this study, we examined which factors determine the population structure of Ctenomys species (tuco-tucos) at a

Abstract Context Landscape complexity affects herbivores in agroecosystems, but consequences on pest control services are variable. Carryover effects of landscape composition in previous years on herbivore control may be important, but have been seldom assessed. Understanding landscape complexity effects at different temporal and spatial scales is important to improve sustainable pest control services

Water flow through hydroponic media beds has seldom been characterized, and little is understood about the effects of different substrate media and flow rates as they pertain to mixing within. The hydrodynamics of four hydroponic substrate media were assessed in a small-scale hydroponic media bed bioreactor using tracer tests and mixing tests. Four media commonly used in hydroponic media beds, including

Biotic and abiotic factors may individually or interactively disrupt plant-pollinator interactions, influencing plant fitness. Although variations in temperature and precipitation are expected to modify the overall impact of predators on plant-pollinator interactions, few empirical studies have assessed if these weather conditions influence anti-predator behaviors and how this context-dependent response

Soil microbial communities can have an important role in the adaptation of plants to their local abiotic soil conditions and in mediating plant responses to environmental stress. This has been clearly demonstrated for individual plant species, but it is unknown how locally adapted microbes may affect plant communities. It is possible that the adaptation of microbial communities to local conditions

Avian plumage harbors various pathogens such as feather-degrading bacteria, which have the potential to reduce host fitness. A growing body of evidence suggests that the secretion of the uropygial gland of birds-preen oil-acts as one of the first lines of defence against harmful bacteria. However, previous studies on the antimicrobial impact of preen oil have yielded controversial results. The impact

Biological conservation requires sufficient basic data, like knowledge of the biogeographic characteristics and spatiotemporal dynamics of endangered species. Reconstructing range dynamics through time and detecting their underlying causes can be helpful for present and future conservation actions. Black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix) populations have declined during the late 20th century in Northeast China

Novel combinations of fire regime and forest type are emerging in areas affected by climate change, fire exclusion, and other stressors. Species interactions following wildfire in these areas are not well understood. In Sierra Nevada mixed‐conifer forests, large patches of stand‐replacing fire were once rare but are becoming increasingly prevalent and are quickly revegetated by native shrubs. There

Using the grid‐based sampling method, 2755 soil profiles consisting of 22,057 soil samples were sampled and analyzed to study the spatial distribution and storage of soil organic carbon (SOC) in the Houzhai River Basin in Guizhou Province, a typical karst region in southwestern China. The results suggest that the total levels of SOC stored in the 0–10, 0–20, 0–30, and 0–100 cm soil layers of the Houzhai

Ecological communities are dynamic entities subjected to extinction/colonization events. Because species are connected through complex interaction networks, the arrival of a new species is likely to affect various species across the community, as observed in plant biological invasions. However, plant invasions usually represent extreme scenarios in which the community is strongly dominated by the alien

Function and abundances shape species interactions and thus ecological communities. While communities are often summarized as the mean function of each species, intraspecific variation in traits and thus function is an important driver of community composition. Ontogeny is a common source of intraspecific variation, but while age‐related functional changes can alter species interactions, so too can

Revegetation is an effective means to increase the soil organic carbon (SOC) stock and reverse SOC loss worldwide. Restoration through grasslands has great potential primarily due to the contribution of the root system. However, the impacts of grassland restoration remain uncertain, as current understandings of the direction and magnitude of changes in different SOC fractions and the influence of root

Cryoconite, a sediment found on the surface of glaciers, is known for its ability to accumulate radionuclides. New data on cryoconite from the Morteratsch glacier (Switzerland) are presented to shed light on the mechanisms that control the distribution of radioactivity in cryoconite. Among the radionuclides detected in our samples, we have identified 108mAg, an artificial species which has never been

The land surface dynamic feedback (LSDF) information captured by time-series remote sensing data during the soil-drying process after a rainfall event provides effective covariates for digital soil mapping over low-relief areas. However, current methods used to capture LSDF require a uniform rainfall magnitude in the geographic space; a condition that is not often met for large areas. Here, we propose

Road dust is a key repository for PAHs and transformed PAH products (TPPs) generated from natural and anthropogenic sources in the urban environment. Eventhough PAHs and TPPs are prone to post-emission photochemical processes, very limited studies exist on the subject for road dust. This knowledge gap is of particular concern since some of the resultant TPPs are notably more carcinogenic than their

Atmospheric monitoring data of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) over a three-year period were collected from an urban site in Dalian, northeast China. The status of PAHs in the atmosphere in Dalian were evaluated by assessing concentration levels, congener profiles, seasonal trends, primary source, inhalation exposure and the risk of developing lung cancer risk. Average concentrations were recorded

As Earth’s temperature continues to rise, sudden warming events, designated as marine heatwaves (MHWs), are becoming more frequent and longer. This phenomenon is already shown to significantly impact marine ecosystems and respective fauna. While experimental acclimation to higher temperatures is known to affect predatory behavior, metabolism and overall fitness of sharks, the effects of short-term

The development of biodiversity indicators is an integral component of forming marine strategies under the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). A key stage in the development of biodiversity indicators is the selection of an appropriate temporal scale over which to assess change in indicator state. This presents a particular challenge for the development of plankton indicators for assessing

Chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) is a key indicator of water quality, biogeochemical state and nutrient content in freshwaters. Land use affects the concentration, quality, source, and age of CDOM in rivers. To investigate the characteristics and composition of fluvial CDOM and the effects of land use on carbon components, 37 sites were sampled during May 2017 in the Yiluo River watershed

Organic carbon content of sediments, whether directly or indirectly assessed, has often been used as an indicator of marine benthic community condition both in site-specific and regional scale condition assessment studies. The conceptual framework underlying use of this indicator was developed based primarily on site-specific studies. A quantitative analysis of literature data on sediment organic matter

Lipid‐rich animal tissues have low δ13C values, which can lead to inaccurate ecological inferences. Chemical lipid extraction (LE) or correction models account for this depletion, but the need for LE or correction is tissue‐ and species‐specific. Also, LE can alter δ15N values, increasing labour and costs because bulk samples must be analysed for δ15N values separately. We studied the effects of LE

Little is known about the dietary richness and variation of generalist insectivorous species, including birds, due primarily to difficulties in prey identification. Using faecal metabarcoding we provide the most comprehensive analysis of a passerine's diet to date, identifying the relative magnitudes of biogeographic, habitat and temporal trends in the richness and turnover in diet of Cyanistes caeruleus

The Kinship Theory of Genomic Imprinting (KTGI) posits that, in species where females mate with multiple males, there is selection for a male to enhance the reproductive success of his offspring at the expense of other males and his mating partner. Reciprocal crosses between honey bee subspecies show parent‐of‐origin effects for reproductive traits, suggesting that males modify the expression of genes

The greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum Westwood, is an agricultural pest of global importance. Here we report a 787‐Mb high‐quality draft genome sequence of T. vaporariorum assembled from PacBio long reads and Hi‐C chromatin interaction maps, which has scaffold and contig N50 lengths of 70 Mb and 500 kb, respectively, and contains 18,275 protein‐coding genes. About 98.8% of the assembled

Abstract Ground-based visual assessment of crown condition is a cornerstone of tree condition assessment globally, and numerous condition assessment approaches have evolved to address the needs and perspectives of different users. In Australia’s iconic Murray–Darling Basin (MDB), stands of floodplain eucalypts are increasingly vulnerable to a range of interacting stressors related to climate change

Abstract Remote sensing is increasingly widely used in nature conservation management. The research focuses on developing an optimal set of airborne raster data for the identification of the invasive alien species Spiraea tomentosa L. The plant species selected for the purposes of this study poses a serious threat to peat bog plant communities, moist coniferous forests, and meadows in Central Europe

The constitutive model for frozen soils is one of the hot research topics in the frozen soils mechanics. In this paper, the loading-unloading-reloading tests are carried out with different confining pressures to further investigate the deformation characteristics for frozen soils, and it is found that the elastic and plastic deformation of frozen soils do not occur simultaneously in the shear process

Abstract Context The majority of remaining tropical forests exist as fragments embedded in a matrix of agricultural production. Understanding the effects of these agricultural landscapes on species dispersal is crucial in the development of successful conservation planning. Objective The objective of this study was to examine the influence of five landscape features within a coffee agroecosystem (i

While most studies account for the effect of total annual precipitation on aboveground net primary production (ANPP), few studies have demonstrated how decreased precipitation within specific periods of growing season affects ANPP. Using a precipitation manipulation experiment, we assessed the response patterns and underlying mechanisms of ANPP to decreased precipitation in the early (DEP) and late

Biological conservation and ecological restoration differ in their motivations, objectives, and dominant concepts. These differences translate into a dichotomy between the two disciplines in academia, which we illustrate through a review of the scientific literature. Conversely, in practice, conservation and restoration are part of an environmental management continuum and are often used as complementary

Ecological restoration is practiced worldwide as a direct response to the degradation and destruction of ecosystems. In addition to its ecological impact it has enormous potential to improve population health, socio‐economic wellbeing, and the integrity of diverse national and ethnic cultures. In recognition of the critical role of restoration in ecosystem health, the United Nations declared 2021–2030

Facing public concern over costs related to top‐predator reintroductions and conservation, ecosystem services such as ecotourism are often used to evoke benefits that outweigh or offset those costs. Quantifying these benefits using rigorous scientific methods can provide confidence to policymakers and other stakeholders that predators can in fact deliver positive outcomes to people living alongside

Drought has been one of the most ominous natural hazards for the last century. However, it is a big challenge to identify the progression of drought, because, unlike other natural disasters, its progress is very slow. This study examined the impact of climate change on drought-related hydro-meteorological variables (precipitation, soil moisture, and streamflow) and drought propagation from meteorological

Although biodiversity is generally diminishing, in some areas its conservation is expanding. However; the exact path of this expansion is uncertain. This can lead to problems of path-dependence and lock-in effects. Path dependence describes situations where history strongly influences present decisions and lock-in effects refer to situations where an earlier decision provides strong incentives to follow

Forest belts play an important role in soil wind erosion control and the prevention of aeolian sand movement in arid and semiarid regions. In order to reveal the effect of plant spacing, number of rows, and arrangement on airflow of forest belt, the airflow fields were measured in a wind tunnel for artificial single-row forest belts with different plant spacings, forest belts with different numbers

Long-term ecological research can resolve effects of disturbance on ecosystem dynamics by capturing the scale of disturbance and interactions with environmental changes. To quantify how disturbances interact with long-term directional changes (sea-level rise, freshwater restoration), we studied 17 years of monthly dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total nitrogen (TN) and phosphorus (TP) concentrations

Documenting which species interact within ecological communities is challenging and labour‐intensive. As a result, many interactions remain unrecorded, potentially distorting our understanding of network structure and dynamics. We test the utility of four structural models and a new coverage‐deficit model for predicting missing links in both simulated and empirical bipartite networks. We find they

The planetary boundary (PB) concept can be used as a guide for the absolute environmental sustainability (AES) of humanity. However, the downscaling of PB as a guide remains a challenge at the local scale. This study aims to establish absolute environmentally sustainable indicators (AESIs) and a threshold based on five processes of the Earth system, namely, climate change, ocean acidification, biogeochemical

As a typical organophosphorus flame retardant, tris (2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) has been widely detected in various environmental media. Toxicity of TCEP to vertebrates have been investigated, but potential effects on lower trophic level species were unknown to date. In this study, toxic effects and molecular mechanisms of toxic actions of TCEP on the aquatic protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila

Global warming will likely cause more ecological change by altering how species interact with each other than by directly affecting individual species. Field heating experiments are essential to test how warming will change species interactions. However, such experiments pose many logistical challenges, including heater construction and accuracy and accessing necessary infrastructure. To facilitate

Abstract Context Landscape graphs are widely used to model networks of habitat patches. As they require little input data, they are particularly suitable for supporting conservation decisions (and decisions about other issues as e.g. disease spread) taken by land planners. However, it may be problematic to use these methods in operational contexts without validating them with empirical data on species

Recent research has highlighted that the relationship between species interactions and latitude can differ between native and invasive plant taxa, generating biogeographical heterogeneity in community resistance to plant invasions. In the first study with foliar pathogens, we tested whether co‐occurring native and invasive lineages of common reed (Phragmites australis) exhibit non‐parallel latitudinal