Soil erosion is a major challenge for agroecosystem sustainability, especially when intense rainfall events correspond to limited soil cover. This review examines how herbaceous legumes influence erosion-related processes, focusing on affecting the cover-management factor (C) and K-factor related soil properties within RUSLE framework. Legume effect on soil erosion was affected by soil conditions, climate, species traits, management, phenological stage, and the reference system. Overall, legume-based systems performed better than bare soil and sole-crop systems in mitigating runoff and soil loss. Runoff reduction ranged from 8 to 75%; while soil or sediment loss decreased from 13 to 92% depending on the reference treatment and management context, including bare soil or sole crops, no-tillage with full-surface cover, legume strips, legume-grass mixtures, and crop phenological stages. C factor for legume (dried pulses and protein crops) is 0.32 in standard conditions but ranged from 0.21 to 0.23 for pure legumes covers, down to 0.015 in legume-grass mixes. Legumes also affected K-related properties by improving aggregation, root cohesion, pore structure, and infiltration, although direct K-factor changes were rarely quantified. Infiltration often improved relative to bare soil or fallow, although comparisons between legumes and grasses remained strongly context-dependent. Grasses and cereal cover usually offered faster canopy closure, greater biomass, and more persistent residues, whereas legumes contributed mainly through nitrogen inputs, residue quality, rhizosphere activity, root-channel formation and longer-term soil structure changes. Legumes can support erosion-control strategies; however, their most reliable contribution occurs in diversified systems, legume-grass mixes, and conservation practices maintaining continuous soil cover during erosive periods.
The Chishui River Basin, a core production area for Chinese sauce-aroma Baijiu (exemplified by Moutai), supports sorghum cultivation critical to the liquor's distinctive quality. The soil environment quality within this region, therefore, directly impacts the safety and quality of both raw material and the final distilled spirit. To underpin the safe production and sustainable development of this iconic beverage, it is essential to assess soil heavy metal contamination in the soils and quantify the contributions from various sources. In this study, 172 surface soil samples were collected from typical sorghum planting bases in the Renhuai area. Concentrations of eight heavy metals (loids) (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) were determined. The contamination status was evaluated using the geostatistical inverse distance weighting interpolation, the Nemerow pollution index (PN), and the potential ecological risk index (RI). Source identification and quantification were performed using the positive matrix factorization receptor model (PMF). Results revealed significant enrichment of Cd and Hg in the soil, with mean concentrations 2.07 times and 2.54 times the soil background values for Guizhou Province, respectively. Pollution index results (Pi, PN) indicated that soil Cd contamination is relatively severe, whereas contamination from other elements is minimal. Overall, approximately 86.5% of the study area was classified as clean or only slightly polluted. Cd poses a moderate ecological risk and was the primary contributor to the total ecological hazard. Other elements exhibited lower risk, resulting in a slight overall potential ecological risk. The soil environmental quality in certified organic sorghum bases was generally favorable. PMF analysis identified three principal sources: historic industrial emissions and traffic-related sources (contributing 46%), weathering of carbonate rocks combined with agricultural activities (37%), and natural background coupled with organic fertilizer application (17%). In conclusion, while the overall soil heavy metal pollution level in the sorghum planting areas is low, the notable enrichment and higher ecological risk of Cd necessitate enhanced dynamic monitoring and targeted risk control measures to ensure long-term soil health and product safety.
Soil depth and habitat degradation can reshape fungal communities in salt-affected wetlands, but their effects on fungal ecological processes remain insufficiently understood. This study examined soil fungi in the Halahai Provincial Nature Reserve and adjacent converted farmland in the western Songnen Plain, Northeast China, where salt-affected meadow soils correspond mainly to Solonetz. Four habitat types-reed wetland, meadow steppe, degraded Suaeda saline patch, and converted farmland-were sampled at 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm soil depths. Soil properties, fungal diversity, taxonomic composition, environmental associations, niche breadth, assembly processes, and FUNGuild-based trophic modes were analyzed using ITS sequencing. Degraded Suaeda soils showed the strongest salinity-alkalinity stress, with pH values of 10.34-10.30 and electrical conductivity of 1.70-1.75 dS·m-1. Fungal richness was highest in surface-converted farmland, with a Sobs value of 423.33, and lowest in deeper degraded Suaeda soil, with a Sobs value of 86.00. Ascomycota dominated most groups, especially degraded Suaeda soils, where its relative abundance reached 75.29-76.80%. ANOSIM confirmed significant community dissimilarity among habitat-depth groups (R = 0.56878, p = 0.001). Specialists accounted for 68.07% of fungal taxa, and stochastic processes, especially drift and dispersal limitation, contributed substantially to assembly. These results indicate that soil depth, salinity-alkalinity, and habitat conversion jointly regulate fungal community structure and ecological processes in degraded soda saline-alkali wetlands.
Dryland soils of the Caspian region of western Kazakhstan are exposed to environmental stress, including drought, alkalinity, low soil organic matter content, and anthropogenic pressure. In this preliminary study, bacterial communities were investigated in 18 soil samples collected from six sampling groups across Makat (M1, M2), Isatay (I1, I2), and Beyneu (B1, B2) districts. Soil physicochemical properties were measured, and bacterial diversity was analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing of the V3-V4 region. Community composition analysis indicated spatial heterogeneity among the sampled groups. M1 and I1 showed the highest taxon richness, whereas B2 contained the highest number of unique taxa. Genus-level profiles showed that B1 and M2 were mainly associated with Rubrobacter and related actinobacterial taxa; B2 contained higher proportions of Marinobacter, Tychonema, Qipengyuania, and Halomonas; and I2 was enriched with Antarcticibacterium, Salinimicrobium, Rhodococcus, Gillisia, Marinobacter, Dietzia, and Pontibacter. Correlation analysis showed that several bacterial taxa were associated with soil organic matter content, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, exchangeable cations, and pH, although the overall Mantel relationship between soil properties and community structure was not significant. FAPROTAX-based prediction indicated differences in putative heterotrophic, nitrogen-related, sulfur-related, and hydrocarbon-associated functional categories among sites. Because FAPROTAX predictions are based on taxonomic composition, these results should be interpreted only as putative functional potential and not as evidence of actual microbial metabolic activity. These findings suggest that the sampled Caspian dryland soils contain distinct bacterial assemblages and taxa with potential ecological relevance; however, their role in dryland soil resilience or bioremediation should be verified through future culture-based, metagenomic, and functional validation studies.
Mineral fertilizers have sustained food security for decades, yet the long-term impacts on soil microbial communities underpinning soil health remain virtually unknown. We combine standardized field surveys with a meta-analysis to assemble a global dataset of 501 long-term agricultural experiments (≥5 years, median duration 25 years) to evaluate the impacts of sustained mineral fertilization on soil properties and microbial communities. Long-term mineral fertilization increases soil organic carbon by 14% and decreases soil pH by 0.31 units on average relative to unfertilized controls. Soil organic carbon accumulation largely explains increased microbial biomass carbon and living bacterial biomass. Mineral fertilizer-induced acidification primarily reshapes dominant bacterial taxa, with the relative abundance of Proteobacteria increasing and Firmicutes declining, whereas fungal community composition remains stable. Virulent bacteriophages increase in association with shifts in bacterial hosts. Microbial activities reveal a decoupling of more nitrogen- and phosphorus-acquisition enzymes from the unchanged production of carbon-mineralization enzymes. Microbial communities are taxonomically reorganized without reducing richness or promoting fungal pathogens. These responses are evaluated in the context of agroecosystem type, fertilization regime, and cropping regime. Our findings provide global-scale evidence for the consequences of long-term mineral fertilization on soil health, which is integral to guiding fertilizer management for sustainable agriculture.
Protected areas are widely used as spatial instruments for climate mitigation, yet their contribution to below-ground carbon storage remains insufficiently quantified at national scales. This study assesses how forest soil organic carbon (SOC) and its climate-related value differ between protected and non-protected areas across China under historical and future climate conditions. Using field-based SOC observations and spatial machine-learning models, we estimated SOC density at two soil depths (0-20 cm and 0-100 cm) from 2000 to 2100 under multiple Shared Socioeconomic Pathway scenarios. Spatially explicit SOC projections were generated using Random Forest models driven by climatic, vegetative, soil, and topographic variables, and SOC differences associated with protected-area status were evaluated through comparative analysis of forested regions inside and outside established reserves. The results reveal strong spatial differentiation in SOC trajectories, with stability or accumulation under low-emission pathways and widespread losses under high-emission scenarios, particularly in deeper soil layers. Forests within protected areas consistently exhibit higher SOC densities than unprotected forests, with mean differences of 45.5% in topsoil and 33.4% across the full soil profile. Extrapolation to protected areas established after 2000 indicates potentially substantial additional SOC stocks, corresponding to climate-related values ranging from tens to over one hundred billion USD under alternative carbon price assumptions. Although spatially independent validation indicates reduced predictive performance at fine scales, the model robustly captures broad climatic and edaphic gradients. Overall, this study provides a spatially explicit assessment of forest SOC dynamics to support conservation planning and climate-mitigation strategies.
Soil temperature is a fundamental variable for the Earth system, yet it remains highly sensitive to climate change, particularly in tropical regions such as Brazil. Despite its importance, no bias-corrected soil temperature dataset based on the latest CMIP6 projections is currently available for the country. Climate projections are model-dependent and often exhibit systematic biases, which makes bias correction an essential step for subsequent applications. To address this gap, we present STEM-BR: Soil Temperature Under Climate Change for Brazil, a new gridded dataset of historical (1950-2014) and future (2015-2100) soil temperature derived from 15 CMIP6 General Circulation Models (GCMs) under the SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0, and SSP5-8.5 scenarios. The dataset was generated through systematic regridding, bias correction based on ERA5 dataset, and statistical refinement, and provides a monthly series at 0.25° × 0.25° resolution, including both raw and bias-corrected outputs. We applied the Quantile Delta Mapping (QDM) approach to correct biases in monthly time series of soil temperature at three depths (0.07, 0.28, and 1.00 m). The corrected dataset is available for both historical and future simulations and shows significant improvements in representing observed climatology. Bias correction reduces residual errors in long-term means and distribution tails to within ±10%, while preserving latitudinal, vertical, and climatic gradients. Seasonal cycles are more accurately reproduced, with reduced warm biases and narrower inter-model spread, particularly in dry climate classes where raw ensemble errors are largest. Future projections indicate consistent warming across Brazil, with increases of about +2 °C (mean) to +5 °C (95th percentile) under SSP2-4.5, and up to +5 °C (mean) to +10 °C (95th percentile) under SSP5-8.5 by 2100. Warming is strongest in the Northeast, North, and Central-West regions, while subsurface layers exhibit smoother but still significant changes. By reducing systematic biases and providing multi-model projections across depths and scenarios, SoilFutures-BR fills a critical data gap and offers a valuable resource to support climate impact assessments and adaptation strategies for agriculture, food security, and water resource management in Brazil.
To determine whether Yersinia pestis (Y. pestis) signals were present in the soil, 78 soil samples were collected from 10 counties identified as Rattus tanezumi plague foci and another six counties in non-foci areas in Yunnan, China, from August 2024 to May 2025. Nucleic acids were extracted using the DNeasy PowerSoil Pro Kit (Qiagen) and detected with a Bio-Rad QX200 droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) system targeting two Y. pestis genes (caf1 and ypo0392). Our sampling design also considered two additional dimensions: nine soil types and three habitat types. The raw data obtained from ddPCR were copy numbers. A gene was considered positive when its copy number exceeded the limit of detection (LoD). A sample was considered positive if the copy number of ypo0392 exceeded its LoD (regardless of caf1), or if both genes exceeded their respective LoDs. No correlation was detected between the positivity rate of Y. pestis and the division of sampling sites into plague focus and non-focus regions (p = 0.758). Similarly, the Mann-Whitney U test revealed non-significant differences in pathogen copy number across the two site categories, with p = 0.603 for the caf1 gene and p = 0.372 for the ypo0392 gene. No statistical difference in positivity rate was found for either soil types or habitat types. However, for both the grouping variables, a statistical difference in copy number was observed. Our results indicated that quantifying nucleic acid abundance by copy number provided richer information than a simple positive/negative determination. The detection of Y. pestis signals was associated with soil type, rather than with whether an area was classified as a focus or non-focus region. Accordingly, future research on the preservation mechanism of Y. pestis should not be restricted to the concept of natural foci but should adopt a broader perspective.
Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) is a persistent pollutant in soils due to its exceptional chemical and biological stability. Pyrolysis has been recognized as an effective technology for the remediation of PFOS-contaminated soil. However, its large-scale application faces challenges such as the requirement of high temperatures, long residence time, and corrosive off-gas treatment. The application of additives during pyrolysis is a promising strategy to overcome these challenges. In this study, six additives (Fe2O3, Fe3O4, CaO, Ca(OH)2, kaolinite, and MgO) were employed to improve PFOS removal from soil by pyrolysis. The effects of temperature, residence time, and removal efficiency with additives on the PFOS decomposition mechanism and economic benefits were systematically investigated. The results showed that all additives could allow for effective PFOS removal at a relatively low temperature (350 °C) and with a short residence time (30 min). Fe2O3 and CaO at a 5% dosage exhibited PFOS removal efficiency reaching 95.19% and 95.49%, respectively, which were 21.00% higher than that of the no-additive system. The thermodynamic analysis showed that the additives could reduce the activation energy (Ea) of PFOS pyrolysis, among which Fe2O3 showed the most significant effect (54.24 kJ/mol). Although additives exerted no significant effect on the type of PFOS decomposition products in soil, they effectively reduced the emission of acidic off-gases. Among them, CaO and Ca(OH)2 showed the most significant reduction by forming inorganic fluorides, followed by Fe2O3 and Fe3O4, through providing active sites. Economic analysis indicated that CaO had the lowest cost for PFOS removal (2.86 CNY/mg), followed by Fe2O3 (2.88 CNY/mg). Comprehensively considering PFOS removal efficiency, decomposition mechanism, economic cost, and pH of treated soil, Fe2O3 was identified as the optimal additive. This study provides new insights into the PFOS pyrolysis in soils, and proposes an energy-efficient remediation approach by reducing temperature, residence time, Ea, and off-gas emissions, which offers support for the large-scale application of this technology.
Hydrothermal alteration exerts strong control on shallow permeability and degassing dynamics in geothermal systems. Here, we investigate how soil alteration influences near-surface gas flow by combining in situ petrophysical measurements with horizontal and vertical subsurface gas-concentration profiles at the Rotokawa geothermal field, New Zealand. These data are compared against unoccupied aerial system (UAS) thermal surveys of collapse structures across the field. Soil permeability at Rotokawa ranges from 8.7 × 10-14 to > 6.5 × 10-13 m2, highlighting strong meter- to decimeter-scale heterogeneity in shallow soil properties. Pumice-rich horizons are the main conduits for CO2 and CH4 flow, whereas clay-rich horizons locally act as semiconfining layers that promote CO2 accumulation and lateral diversion (leading to concentrations of > 4 × 104 ppm). Since CO2 does not condense under near-surface conditions, the clay layers promote horizontal flow along permeable beds until gas encounters a high-permeability escape route or collapse-related discontinuity. Collapse structures locally disrupt and reorganize flow by acting as conduits or sinks that focus, capture, or redistribute gases near their margins. The gas profiles reveal patterns consistent with a shallow gas-steam decoupling zone in which steam condensation may contribute to sealing processes, as previously observed in steam-heated geothermal systems worldwide. These coupled effects of soil type and structural and alteration controls explain the spatial heterogeneity of surficial degassing at Rotokawa and provide a framework for interpreting evolving degassing patterns in similar steam-heated geothermal systems. In the context of the reported decrease in diffuse CO2 emissions at Rotokawa, progressive shallow sealing and gas refocusing may have contributed to apparent changes in emission patterns, alongside reservoir processes, recharge variability, environmental effects, and methodological uncertainty. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00445-026-02002-7.
Traditional adsorbents, such as clay minerals, mainly target metal cations, which limits their effectiveness in mining soils where multiple metals and oxyanionic species coexist. To address this limitation, we evaluated amino-functionalized UiO-66-NH2 as a stabilizing amendment capable of immobilizing both anionic and cationic metal species. This study evaluated its stabilization performance for vanadium (V), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), and zinc (Zn) in typical mining soils. Soil samples were amended with 1%, 2%, and 3% dosages and incubated for 50 days to systematically analyze leaching behavior, speciation transformation, and microbial community responses. At 50 days, the 1% UiO-66-NH2 treatment reduced the leaching concentrations of V, Cr, Ni, and Zn by 90.42%, 59.72%, 90.12%, and 90.71%, respectively. Although Cr showed its highest reduction efficiency under the 3% treatment, the 1% dosage provided a practical compromise for multi-metal stabilization rather than a universal optimum. The stabilization process was primarily driven by surface complexation and ion exchange, which facilitated the transformation of metals into stable oxidizable forms. The amendment increased soil organic matter (SOM) and cation exchange capacity (CEC), triggering competitive adsorption and increasing the mobility of Zn and Ni. Microbial profiling revealed a successional shift toward resilient taxa, specifically the proliferation of Actinomycetota and Arthrobacter. These findings established that a 1% UiO-66-NH2 amendment provides a robust and ecologically compatible strategy for the sustainable remediation of complex mining-impacted environments.
Thermokarst development restructures soil profiles and hydrological pathways, but whether contrasting landforms lead to different mercury (Hg) trajectories remains unclear. Here, we compared an open-slope thaw slump (Eboling) and a closed-depression thaw subsidence (Amdo) on the Tibetan Plateau using soil physical fractionation into particulate organic matter (POM) and mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM). At both sites, permafrost degradation drove a common redistribution of Hg from POM to MAOM, as evidenced by increasing MAOM-Hg proportion in total Hg. Despite this shared fraction-level response, net Hg outcomes diverged fundamentally between landforms. At Eboling (control to exposed), total Hg concentration increased from 42.94 ± 13.73-57.35 ± 17.50 ng g⁻¹ (+33.6%), MAOM-Hg concentration increased 93.9%, and Hg stock rose by 234.3%, with the bulk Hg/SOC ratio increasing-indicating progressive Hg enrichment. In contrast, at Amdo (control to subsided), total Hg concentration decreased from 21.76 ± 6.20-10.08 ± 2.72 ng g⁻¹ (-53.7%), with POM-Hg and MAOM-Hg concentrations declining by 72.7% and 45.2%, respectively. Hg stock decreased by 12.2%, with the bulk Hg/SOC ratio remaining constant-indicating coupled Hg-organic matter loss. Principal component analysis further linked degraded Eboling soils with Hg stock and MAOM-Hg, while subsided Amdo soils showed weaker association with mineral-related Hg retention. This divergence is explained by landform-specific controls: at the open-slope thaw slump, strong lateral redistribution and higher iron/aluminum oxide contents favored Hg retention; at the closed-depression thaw subsidence, localized subsidence and reduced Hg retention in the mineral-associated fraction led to coupled Hg-organic matter loss. Our findings demonstrate that permafrost degradation drives a common Hg redistribution from POM to MAOM, but that net source-sink outcomes are landform-dependent-a key insight for regional Hg cycling assessments under climate warming.
Urban soil contamination by potentially toxic elements (PTEs) is a recognized health concern in densely populated urban environments. Through a systematic meta-analysis of 91 peer-reviewed studies (2000-2025) reporting 12,174 sampling sites in capital and core cities, we characterized regional patterns in the spatiotemporal dynamics and health risks of eight PTEs across two well-represented continental subsets (Asia, k = 18-36 per element; Europe, k = 11-23 per element) with comparative reference to the Americas, Africa, and Oceania. Given the uneven geographic distribution of qualifying primary studies, continental comparisons should be interpreted as hypothesis-generating: Asia (k = 18-36 per element) and Europe (k = 11-23 per element) provide the statistically robust core of the synthesis, while results for the Americas (k = 3-7 for several elements), Africa (k = 4-15), and Oceania (k = 2) are presented as illustrative rather than statistically representative. Pooled concentrations followed Zn (138.59) > Pb (56.97) > Cr (54.26) > Cu (47.00) > Ni (31.94) > As (8.56) > Hg (3.13) > Cd (1.23) mg·kg-1. Within the well-represented Asian and European subsets, Asian cities showed the most severe enrichment of As, Cd, Cr, and Hg (Igeo > 4 in hotspots such as Kathmandu Igeo (Cd) = 7.06 and Jinan Igeo (Hg) = 5.27), whereas European centres exhibited substantial legacy Pb accumulation (pooled mean 87.69 mg·kg-1). A reproducible pollution gradient was identified across functional zones: industrial > transportation ≥ residential > commercial > agricultural > urban green areas. The deterministic non-carcinogenic Hazard Index (HI = 1.49) for children in Asia exceeded the safe threshold (HI > 1), driven primarily by As and Cr exposure via incidental soil-and-dust ingestion. Monte Carlo probabilistic assessment (N = 10,000) confirmed elevated cumulative non-carcinogenic risk at the median of the exposure distribution for children in the data-rich Asian (P50 = 1.55; P(HI > 1) = 81.9%) and European (P50 = 1.28; P(HI > 1) = 69.8%) subsets, with adults in both subsets remaining well below the safety threshold (P(HI > 1) = 0.0%). Temporal analysis revealed a decoupling between economic growth and PTE accumulation in long-established cities, together with an inverse Ni-population correlation indicative of strategic resource allocation. For Asian capital and core cities, where the evidence base is strongest (k = 18-36 per element), the present synthesis supports further investigation of risk-based, child-centric soil management as a public-health priority. For European cities (k = 11-23 per element), the same direction of risk is indicated but should be confirmed in regionally focused syntheses. Policy considerations for under-represented regions should await expansion of the primary monitoring base.
Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are becoming a global issue due to the emergence of superbugs. However, the impact of elevated CO2 (eCO2) on the soil antibiotic resistome remains largely unknown. Here, using a free-air CO2 enrichment platform, we employed high-throughput quantitative PCR and 16S rRNA gene sequencing to investigate the effect of eCO2 (ambient + 200 ppm) on soil ARGs and bacterial communities in a paddy ecosystem at harvest. The results showed that eCO2 had no significant effect on rice biomass. A LEfSe analysis identified a clear taxonomic shift, with taxa such as c_Clostridia, g_Dehalobacter and g_Syntrophus being significantly enriched under eCO2. The total relative abundance of ARGs increased 1.5-fold under eCO2, driven by a 2.8-fold increase in multidrug resistance genes. The correlation and network analyses revealed that the proliferation of specific potential host bacteria was the primary driver of the observed ARG enrichment under eCO2. Together, this study offers new insights into the eCO2-driven alterations of soil antibiotic resistomes, highlighting the elevated dissemination potential of multidrug resistance genes within paddy ecosystems and their potential implications for food safety.
Non-food cropping provides a practical strategy for the safe utilization of severely cadmium (Cd)-contaminated farmland. In this study, a field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of layered double hydroxides (LDHs) in reducing Cd transfer from soil to Artemisia argyi, a plant used for non-food applications, and to estimate Cd release potential during moxa burning. Our results demonstrated that the application of LDHs increased soil pH and decreased the extractable Cd concentration based on CaCl2 extraction, suggesting a reduction in Cd bioavailability. Furthermore, BCR fractionation analysis indicated a shift of Cd from more active to more stable forms, further supporting the reduction in Cd bioavailability in the soil. SEM-EDS and FTIR confirmed the lamellar morphology, CaAl composition, and hydroxyl-rich functional groups of the LDH conditioner. Plant growth was not negatively affected by LDH treatment, and Cd concentrations in roots, stems, and leaves were significantly reduced. LDHs also reduced Cd levels in processed moxa and the mass-balance-based estimate of Cd release during combustion. These findings suggest that LDHs application may help reduce Cd transfer in non-food cropping systems on severely contaminated farmland.
African soils face increasing levels of metal pollution due to industrialization, artisanal mining activities, improper waste management, and enhanced agricultural productivity. However, unlike many organic pollutants, heavy metals do not degrade naturally and therefore persist in environmental systems for prolonged periods. Heavy metals accumulate over many decades in the soil and bioaccumulate through the food chain causing severe health complications such as cancer, kidney problems, and neurological impairment. This paper reviews the current literature on the origin, prevalence, and behavior of the main pollutants Pb, Cd, Cr, As, Hg, and Cu. The major phytoremediation methods including phytoextraction, rhizofiltration, phytostabilization, and phytovolatilization are highlighted alongside in planta screening methods for hyperaccumulating plants including Berkheya coddii (Ni) and Haumaniastrum robertii (Co). The paper evaluates various enhancement techniques such as the use of chelators, Rhizobium inoculations, and genetic modifications. The significance of these approaches in tropical and subtropical climates is discussed. The paper suggests a holistic framework involving empirical kinetic modeling, geospatial machine learning (random forest, kriging), and molecular omics in prediction modeling. Major hurdles in such predictions include lack of field-based verification of the models, biotechnology safety of genetically modified (GM) organisms, and inadequate regulations. Future perspectives emphasize community-driven phytomining, biomass recycling, and resilient phytoremediation solutions.
To investigate the influence of probe size on the miniature penetration strength ([Formula: see text]) of fluidized solidified soil, miniature penetration tests were conducted on fluidized solidified soil specimens with varying probe diameters ([Formula: see text]) and stabilizer contents ([Formula: see text]). The micro-mechanism of the size effect was subsequently revealed through DEM simulations, leading to the proposal of a [Formula: see text] prediction formula incorporating the size effect. Experimental results demonstrate that [Formula: see text] decreases rapidly at first and then more gradually as [Formula: see text] increases. This [Formula: see text]-dependency of [Formula: see text] is more significant in lower-strength specimens. For instance, the [Formula: see text] ratio between the 2mm and 5mm probes was 1.43 for specimens with [Formula: see text]=3% but only 1.28 for specimens with [Formula: see text]=18%. DEM simulations suggest that the normal stress acting on the probe tip is the primary component of [Formula: see text] and is nearly independent of [Formula: see text]. Conversely, the frictional force on the probe lateral surface, which is proportional to [Formula: see text], is identified as the source of the size effect. Furthermore, the zones of stress disturbance and cementation breakage induced by probe penetration extend approximately 0.5 [Formula: see text] from the probe shaft. Regardless of the stabilizer contents, the penetration stress can be predicted using an inverse proportional function with respect to [Formula: see text].
Biodegradable mulch film (BDM) is increasingly promoted as a sustainable alternative to conventional polyethylene mulch film because it can degrade in soil after agricultural use. However, current evaluations mainly focus on degradation efficiency and crop productivity, often assuming that biodegradation automatically implies ecological safety. Here, we argue that this assumption is incomplete. Rather than acting as a passive substitute, BDM degradation represents a temporally structured ecological disturbance that actively alters soil microbial metabolism, extracellular enzyme stoichiometry, nutrient cycling, and rhizosphere function. We propose that the ecological consequences of BDM are primarily determined by whether polymer degradation is synchronized with microbial succession and crop nutrient demand. This perspective shifts the evaluation of BDM from degradation efficiency and economic benefit toward ecosystem functionality and provides a new theoretical framework for designing next-generation biodegradable agricultural materials.
Anthropogenic activities, including industrial production, mineral exploitation, metal smelting, agricultural fertilizer and pesticide application, as well as livestock and poultry breeding, have released large amounts of heavy metals into the environment [...].
Soil-transmitted helminths (STH) remain a global health challenge, particularly in areas lacking improved sanitation. We evaluated the effectiveness of an integrated BALatrine (an improved pit-latrine) intervention to prevent STH in Central Java, Indonesia. We conducted a cluster-randomized controlled trial involving 2155 participants in 8 village clusters between October 2016 and October 2017. Intervention villages received mass drug administration (MDA), the BALatrine, and community hygiene education, while the control group received only MDA. Follow-up stool samples were collected 12 months after baseline. We compared outcomes between study arms using a generalized linear mixed-effect model, with p < 0.05 considered statistically significant. At baseline, the prevalence of any STH infection was 13.0% (95% CI: 10.7-15.7) in the control group versus 12.4% (95% CI: 9.9-15.3) in the intervention group. At the follow-up, the BALatrine intervention had a significant overall effect on any STH (adjusted OR: 0.22, 95% CI: 0.15-0.32). Stratifying by species also showed a significant effectiveness of 100% for Ascaris lumbricoides and 95% for hookworm, but the reduction in Trichuris trichiura was not statistically significant. This study highlights the potential interventions that focus on sanitation and hygiene, combined with health education and treatment to control and eliminate STH. Trial registration: ACTRN12613000523707.