Search Results (2,838)

Partial substitution of chemical fertilizer with organic fertilizer is an important strategy for optimizing fertilization and mitigating soil degradation caused by excessive chemical fertilizer application. However, systematic studies comparing the effects of different substitution ratios on soil properties, enzyme activities, and microbial communities remain scarce. A two-year field experiment was conducted with five treatments: no fertilization (Control), chemical fertilizer alone (CF), 20% organic fertilizer substitution (M20), 40% substitution (M40), and 60% substitution (M60). High-throughput sequencing was used to analyze soil bacterial and fungal communities. The M40 treatment significantly increased soil organic matter (17.96% and 30.18%, respectively), available nitrogen (6.85% and 20.30%, respectively), and available phosphorus (30.74% and 52.65%, respectively) compared with CF in both years, with more pronounced improvements observed in 2025. Furthermore, the M40 treatment also enhanced urease and sucrase activities in both years but reduced alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity in 2025. Microbial community analysis revealed that the M40 treatment enriched beneficial microorganisms, including Proteobacteria, Acidobacteriota, Basidiomycota, Vicinamibacteraceae, Botryotrichum, and Tausonia, while inhibiting the pathogenic fungus Fusarium. Compared with CF, the M40 treatment increased maize yield by 7.04% and 8.10% in 2024 and 2025, respectively, which was the highest among all treatments. Mantel tests indicated that yield was positively correlated with available phosphorus, available potassium, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and urease activity, but negatively correlated with ALP activity in 2025. Our findings demonstrate that 40% organic fertilizer substitution synergistically improves soil fertility, optimizes microbial community structure, and promotes crop yield, providing empirical evidence for optimizing fertilization regimes in maize production. Full article

Continuous cropping obstacles (CCOs) severely disrupt the soil physical structure, nutrient cycling, and microbial community balance, leading to decreased crop productivity. However, the effects of soil amendment interventions on bacterial, fungal, and archaeal communities in foxtail millet (Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauvois.) systems are not well comprehended. Selected physical, chemical, biological soil amendment and crop rotations were evaluated for their effects on rhizosphere soil microbial diversity, composition, network characteristics, community assembly processes, niche breadth, and multi-functionality. High-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA and ITS regions demonstrated that earthworm castings significantly enhanced archaeal Chao1, Shannon diversity, and multi-functionality. Meanwhile, Bacillus mucilaginosus enhanced fungal diversity, and B. subtilis promoted bacterial network complexity. In continuous cropping soil alone, microbial communities exhibited low diversity and were predominantly governed by ecological drift. In contrast, soil amendment treatments shifted assembly toward deterministic processes, including homogeneous and heterogeneous selection. However, the analysis demonstrated greater complexity and niche width in bacterial communities than in fungal or archaeal communities, with keystone modules driven by Actinomycetota, Ascomycota, and Halobacteriota. Structural equation modeling indicated that soil physicochemical properties directly mediated rhizosphere soil microbial alpha diversity, which in turn positively influenced multi-functionality. Overall, organic amendments and microbial inoculants were associated with increases in microbial diversity, network stability, and functionality in this pot experiment, suggesting that such practices may help mitigate CCOs and sustainably improve foxtail millet productivity in dryland agricultural systems. Full article

Insufficient information is available regarding how land management categories influence soil properties in the Hetao Plain (HPYR) and the floodplain of the Yellow River (FPYR), two major agricultural regions of the Yellow River Basin located in arid to semi-arid and warm-temperate monsoon climatic zones, respectively. This study aimed to elucidate the chemical properties of cultivated land soils across the Yellow River agricultural zones. Soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (TN), pH, and selected physical properties were quantified together with their associations with soil type, crop rotation, irrigation, and tillage. Marked differences in chemical properties were observed between the two regions. FPYR soils showed higher SOM and TN levels and lower pH than HPYR soils. The coefficient of variation in SOM was substantially greater in the HPYR than that in the FPYR, indicating stronger heterogeneity in the arid region. Semivariogram analysis revealed that TN exhibited significant positive spatial autocorrelation (Moran’s I = 0.511, p < 0.05) in the HPYR. Thus, soil properties in the Yellow River Basin reflect the combined influence of regional environmental context and local management practices. This observational study may inform region-specific management strategies that can improve soil quality and nutrient balance. Full article

Heavy metal contamination of soils represents a persistent environmental challenge, for which in situ immobilization has emerged as a cost-effective and technically viable alternative to conventional invasive remediation technologies. This review comparatively evaluates three distinct categories of soil amendments—biochar, zeolite and attapulgite—within a unified analytical framework integrating extractable fractions (TCLP, DTPA, and CaCl₂) and geochemical fractionation approaches (BCR and Tessier). The novelty of this study lies in the systematic assessment of the dominant immobilization mechanisms associated with each amendment in relation to soil properties and the chemical speciation of the target metal, as well as in distinguishing between an apparent reduction in metal extractability and a genuine shift toward more stable geochemical fractions. The findings identify ion exchange as the primary immobilization mechanism in zeolites (NaA zeolite, 1–5% w/w, 96% reduction in TCLP-extractable Pb and 91% reduction in TCLP-extractable Cd), the synergistic action of adsorption, complexation, and precipitation in biochar systems (manure-derived biochar, 0–5% w/w, 97.4% reduction in the exchangeable Pb fraction according to the Tessier scheme), and the critical role of surface modification in attapulgite-based amendments (C-ATP, 4% w/w, 95.1% and 74.3% reductions in TCLP-extractable Pb and Cd, respectively). Because these efficiencies were obtained using different extraction protocols, they are not directly comparable. At the same time, cases of adverse responses were identified, including increased As extractability following the application of phosphate-modified biochar and the redistribution of Pb and Cd after amendment with natural zeolite in industrially contaminated soil. These observations highlight that amendment performance is not an intrinsic property of the material itself, but rather the outcome of specific geochemical interactions occurring within the soil system. Increased soil pH emerged as the principal common factor promoting metal stabilization across all amendment categories, whereas substantial variability in amendment dosage, incubation period, and analytical methodology limited direct quantitative comparisons among studies. Consequently, the selection of an appropriate soil amendment should be based on the integrated evaluation of soil physicochemical properties, contaminant speciation, and the intended scale of application, supported by long-term monitoring under field conditions. Full article

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are ultra-persistent contaminants characterized by exceptional chemical stability, high mobility, and widespread environmental occurrence, posing significant challenges for remediation. Phytotechnology has emerged as a promising nature-based approach, yet its effectiveness is strongly governed by PFAS physicochemical properties and plant–soil interactions. This review provides a mechanistic synthesis linking PFAS environmental behavior with phytotechnology performance by examining PFAS sources, transport pathways, and structure-dependent properties that control persistence, partitioning, and mobility, with an emphasis on differences between short- and long-chain compounds. These characteristics determine bioavailability and influence treatment outcomes. Plant uptake mechanisms, including root absorption, xylem translocation, and tissue accumulation, are discussed alongside rhizosphere processes such as sorption, microbial interactions, and hydrological dynamics that regulate PFAS retention and redistribution. Current evidence indicates that phytotechnology functions primarily as a form of phytomanagement rather than a destructive solution, as mineralization is limited and field-scale treatment remains low. Instead, plant–soil–microbe systems reduce PFAS mobility and exposure through stabilization and sequestration. Future research should prioritize strategies for short-chain PFAS, integration with sorptive amendments, and data-driven approaches to optimize phytomanagement performance. Full article

The Tarim Basin, as the core strategic replacement area for oil and gas resources in western China, holds immense deep oil and gas development potential. However, this region features extensive deserts, fragile saline–alkali ecosystems, and extreme geological conditions—160°C high temperatures, high-salt/high-alkali formation fluids, and well-developed microfractures—that impose stringent dual requirements on drilling fluids for both engineering performance and environmental compatibility. Traditional drilling fluids suffer severe performance deterioration under high-temperature/high-salt coupling, and their poorly biodegradable, toxic additives exacerbate ecological pollution upon disposal, failing to meet green development demands. To address these issues, this study prepared four eco-friendly, temperature- and salt-resistant drilling fluid additives via chemical modification of natural degradable materials, and constructed a 160°C-resistant eco-friendly water-based drilling fluid system using orthogonal experiments. Furthermore, an innovative “waste-to-resource” strategy was proposed to repurpose spent drilling fluid for saline–alkali land restoration, investigating its improvement effects and environmental safety. The results show that the system withstands 160 °C and 15% NaCl, with excellent engineering performance (HTHP filtration loss ≤ 9.0 mL at 160 °C, friction coefficient ≤ 0.18) and compliance with national environmental standards (EC₅₀ = 36,000 mg/L, BOD₅/COD = 6.8%). Applied at an optimal 10–15% dosage, the spent fluid significantly improves saline–alkali soil properties, promotes Haloxylon ammodendron growth, and achieves >90% pollutant degradation within 3 months without secondary pollution. This integrated technology synergizes drilling engineering and ecological protection, providing technical support for green oil and gas development and saline–alkali land restoration in the Tarim Basin. Full article

The combined compost tea and biochar treatment (BC) showed more distinct responses than compost tea alone, particularly in selected growth-related traits. Plant height, leaf width, and SPAD value increased under the BC treatment at specific growth stages, whereas final fresh weight did not differ significantly among treatments. Antioxidant-related traits also showed no significant differences among treatments. Compared with the control treatment and, where applicable, the compost tea alone treatment, the BC treatment was associated with selective changes in plant ion composition, including increased K⁺ concentration and decreased Ca²⁺, Cl⁻, and NO₃⁻ concentrations in basil tissue extracts. In soil, the BC treatment was associated with increased pH, organic matter, NO₃⁻-N, and exchangeable Mg, and decreased NH₄⁺-N and exchangeable Na. Soil bacterial community analysis revealed treatment-related shifts in community structure, and these changes were associated with soil chemical properties, including pH, organic matter, inorganic nitrogen forms, and exchangeable cations. Genus-level analysis within Chloroflexi further indicated that the BC treatment was associated with changes in bacterial taxonomic composition. Overall, the combined compost tea and biochar treatment selectively affected basil growth-related traits, plant ion composition, soil nutrient status, and bacterial community structure. However, because a biochar-only treatment was not included, these responses should be interpreted as effects associated with the combined compost tea and biochar treatment rather than as effects attributable to biochar alone. Full article

Wheat production demands simplified fertilization strategies to achieve sustainable high yields. This study evaluated the effects of the one-time high-rate application of an organic–inorganic compound fertilizer on soil properties, photosynthetic characteristics, and grain yields. A multi-year field experiment was conducted with a single basal application of an organic–inorganic compound fertilizer at 3600 kg·ha⁻¹, using conventional split chemical fertilization as the control. Compared with the control, this treatment significantly increased soil organic matter and available nutrient content, enhanced the bacteria/fungi ratio, elevated soil enzyme activity, and promoted the conversion of humus into more stable forms. These improvements sustained a higher flag leaf photosynthetic capacity during the grain-filling stage and delayed leaf senescence. The multi-year average grain yield was 5.28% higher than that of conventional split fertilization. The one-time high-rate application of an organic–inorganic compound fertilizer can improve soil biological properties, maintain late-season photosynthetic function, and increase yields, serving as an effective technical measure for simplified, sustainable, and high-yield wheat cultivation in the region. Full article

Despite the economic and medicinal value of the tree species Litsea mollis in southern China’s mountain forests, its wild populations remain understudied in terms of their adaptation to altitudinal gradients. This study examined L. mollis populations spanning altitudes of 760–1550 m in Nanshan Park, Hunan Province, to evaluate variation in leaf traits and fruit quality with elevation changes as well as associations with soil chemical properties. Results revealed that increasing altitude corresponded with higher leaf mass, chlorophyll content, soluble compound levels, enzyme activity, and various fruit quality traits (e.g., longitudinal and transverse diameters, weight, and fat, protein, carbohydrate, vitamin A, essential oil, and citral levels). Conversely, leaf area, specific leaf area, petiole length, fruit shape index, fruit stalk length, and ash content declined as altitude rose. Redundancy analysis indicated that specific leaf area, peroxidase activity, and Malondialdehyde content are the primary leaf characteristics influencing fruit quality, and soil pH and total nitrogen, alkaline nitrogen, and available potassium levels were key chemical factors shaping ecological adaptation and fruit quality of L. mollis along the altitudinal gradient. Overall, L. mollis augments light capture and nutrient acquisition by modifying morphological traits, such as leaf area (26.17%) and specific leaf area (44.32%), facilitating adaptation to low-light and nutrient-poor conditions at lower elevations. At higher elevations, plants preferentially allocate resources to increase leaf mass (33.33%) and chlorophyll content (19.02%), improving photosynthetic efficiency, osmotic regulation, and metabolic enzyme activity. This resource allocation promotes nutrient and secondary metabolite accumulation in fruit, enhancing plant stress resistance and fruit quality. This synergistic relationship represents an adaptive adjustment by L. mollis in allocating growth and reproductive resources across different altitude environments. These findings provide a theoretical framework for understanding altitudinal adaptation in L. mollis and offer practical guidance for its introduction, cultivation, and fruit quality improvement in high-elevation regions. Full article

Soil quality is central to agricultural sustainability and food security, yet coastal agroecosystems are increasingly threatened by degradation from intensive practices and seawater intrusion. This study aimed to integrate soil quality index (SQI), statistical modeling, machine learning (ML), and decision analysis to assess and manage soil health in the Skhirat coastal plain of Morocco. A total of 30 topsoil samples were collected and analyzed for chemical and nutrient properties. Spatial interpolation revealed strong coast–inland gradients where EC ranged from 0.47 to 6.3 dS/m with the highest salinity in the south-western fringe, while CEC (8.4–39.7 cmol/kg) and OM (0.54–2.81%) peaked inland. Principal component analysis (PCA) explained 65.9% of total variance, with salinity drivers loading negatively against fertility indicators. Redundancy analysis (RDA) biplots highlighted antagonism between salinity and fertility axes. The PCA-minimum data set (MDS)-SQI integrated key indicators and ranged from 0.084 to 0.897 (mean 0.614), classifying 33% of sites as low quality. The ML model linear regression achieved the best performance (R² = 0.907). Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) using TOPSIS and PROMETHEE II prioritized coastal sites with indices up to 0.882, and robust underweight sensitivity (Spearman ρ = 0.992). This integrated framework demonstrates that soil chemical monitoring, AI prediction, and MCDA can jointly deliver robust, site-specific management strategies for vulnerable coastal agroecosystems. Full article

Degraded grey desert soils are characterized by severe nutrient deficiencies and structural compaction. This study elucidated how biogas slurry drip irrigation regulates the micro-pore architecture, fertility, and macroscopic hydraulic properties. A one-year field experiment was conducted using a completely randomized design with three replications. The experimentation included three irrigation levels (W1: 70% W, W2: 85% W, and W3: 100% W, where W is full irrigation) and three slurry ratios (S1: 60% S, S2: 80% S, and S3: 100% S, where S is the annual nitrogen application rate of 93 kg ha⁻¹), with undisturbed (CK) and chemical fertilizer (CF) controls. Surface soil samples (0–20 cm) were analyzed based on treatment averages using scanning electron microscopy and the van Genuchten (vG) model. The results indicated that W3S2 increased the total porosity to a peak of 42.39% compared with the CK baseline of 25.25%, while expanding the mean pore diameter to 9.24 μm. Concurrently, the application minimized the morphological pore fragmentation, reducing the fractal dimension from 1.82 under CK to 1.61 under W3S3. Although the macroscopic porosity expanded, the effective saturated water content decreased. We hypothesize that this reduction is driven by partial micropore clogging by organic coatings. This mitigated the excessive near-saturation water retention and accelerated drainage, while significantly increasing the specific water capacity at 100–1000 kPa suctions to delay moisture depletion. W2S3 (85% W, 100% S) performed favorably with regard to soil fertility and water retention stability. The W2S3 treatment optimized soil fertility and water retention stability by achieving peak concentrations of 17.69 g kg⁻¹ for SOM and 1.31 g kg⁻¹ for TN. Path analysis suggested that physical microstructural traits dominate macroscopic hydraulic regulation. In conclusion, biogas slurry drip irrigation provides a sustainable framework to optimize structural and hydraulic resilience in dryland agriculture. Full article

Water scarcity in semi-arid regions threatens seed germination and early crop establishment, driving the development of biodegradable Nature-based Solutions to replace synthetic plastic mulches. Porous cellulose membranes were fabricated from rice husk (RH), banana pseudostem (BP), and sugarcane bagasse (SB) by thermo-chemical extraction and high-shear homogenization (n = 5 replicates per membrane type). Membranes were characterized by ATR-FTIR and scanning electron microscopy, confirming removal of non-cellulosic components and biogenic silica preservation in RH, and revealing biomass-dependent porous architectures linked to mechanical and transport behavior. RH produced the most compact fibrillar matrix (compressive strength: 8.16 ± 0.24 MPa; WVT: 170 ± 60 g m⁻² day⁻¹), BP an open interconnected network with superior deformability (9.83 ± 0.25% elongation) and moisture transport (WVT: 400 ± 100 g m⁻² day⁻¹), and SB the highest moisture-retention capacity (215.7 ± 15.8%). Germination assays with Brassica oleracea var. botrytis under water stress showed SB achieved the highest germination rate (90.5 ± 0.99%), confirming that sustained moisture availability governs germination more decisively than transport rate alone. Soil burial tests confirmed biodegradable behavior across all membranes (R² ≥ 0.995; k = 0.043–0.046 day⁻¹). These findings establish a hydrogen-bond-mediated structure–property–function framework for designing biomass-specific cellulose membranes as biodegradable solutions for water-limited agricultural systems. Full article

An emerging environmental pollutant, microplastics have garnered global attention due to their widespread presence in soil and aquatic ecosystems. Early research primarily treated microplastics as single pollutants, focusing on their individual toxic effects. However, microplastics in the environment exist as a complex mixture, comprising various polymer types, sizes, shapes, and aging states. This diversity influences how microplastics regulate ecosystem carbon and nitrogen cycles and intervene through pathways such as direct carbon input, physical disturbance, microbial community restructuring, and coupled effects. This paper systematically reviews the characteristics of microplastic diversity and its mechanisms influencing carbon and nitrogen cycles: the chemical structure of polymers determines bioavailability and degradation rate, with biodegradable plastics altering carbon and nitrogen transformations more significantly than conventional plastics; microplastics of different sizes affect nitrogen transformation dynamics by modulating specific surface area and microbial colonization, with small-sized biodegradable microplastics particularly inhibiting plant nitrogen uptake; aging modifies surface properties and dissolved organic carbon release, thereby enhancing their role in promoting greenhouse gas emissions. Existing studies are largely confined to short-term laboratory simulations, leaving a gap in understanding the comprehensive effects of microplastic diversity under long-term, field conditions. Future research should focus on standardized methods and long-term experiments with multi-factor coupling to provide a scientific basis for ecological risk assessment of microplastic pollution. Full article

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of anthropogenically manufactured chemicals widely detected in the environment. Characterizing their transport and fate in soil is important for assessing the potential of their human exposure and health impact. However, to date, few studies have been conducted to investigate the influence of PFAS on soil physical properties. This study investigates the impact of PFAS exposure on the surface wettability of soil via contact angle (θ) measurements. Contact angle was measured based on the fluid uptake rate in the Washburn capillary rise (WCR) method. Contact angles were measurably affected by the presence of 0.5 µg/g PFAS, with an increase of 4.5–6.8% for the exposed Accusand 40/50 and a decrease of 3.6–16% for the exposed Eustis soil, after 7 days of contact. The changes were attributed to the modification of the surface properties caused by the adsorbed PFAS. These results demonstrate that PFAS can potentially alter the surface properties of soils, which could subsequently impact soil hydraulic properties as well as affect geochemical interactions. Full article

Continuous cropping obstacles (CCOs) severely restrict the sustainable development of the ginger industry, yet the response mechanisms of rhizosphere microbiome and metabolome to microbial fertilizer under different continuous cropping durations remain unclear. Here, a field experiment was conducted in ginger fields with 5-year (short-term) and 20-year (long-term) continuous cropping history under conventional chemical fertilization, with or without additional microbial fertilizer application. Rhizosphere soil samples were analyzed via metagenomic sequencing and UPLC–MS/MS. Long-term continuous cropping caused severe soil acidification (pH 5.18–5.26 vs. 6.82–6.98 in short-term) and pathogen enrichment. Microbial fertilizer reduced the disease index by 43.47% under long-term cropping and by 31.48% under short-term cropping. It also improved soil properties and enzyme activities (e.g., urease activity increased nearly 12-fold), enriched beneficial genera (Pedobacter, Flavobacterium, Pseudomonas), activated arginine and proline metabolism, and promoted 4-guanidinobutanoic acid accumulation, forming a positive feedback loop with beneficial microbes. In conclusion, microbial fertilizer alleviates ginger CCOs by reshaping the rhizosphere microbiome and metabolome in a continuous cropping duration-dependent manner. Full article