Effects of short-term nitrogen and phosphorus addition on soil bacterial community of different halophytes.

Soil microbial community composition and diversity are often affected by nutrient enrichment, which may influence soil microbes to affect nutrient cycling and plant community structure. However, the response of soil bacteria to nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) addition and whether it is influenced by plants remains unclear. By 16S rRNA sequencing, we investigated the response of the rhizosphere and bulk soil bacterial communities of different halophytes (salt-rejecting, salt-absorbing, and salt-secreting plant) in the Yellow River Delta to short-term N and P addition. The response of rhizosphere bacterial diversity to N and P addition was opposite in Phragmites communis and Suaeda salsa. N addition increased the rhizosphere soil bacterial α-diversity of S. salsa and Aeluropus sinensis, while P addition decreased the rhizosphere bacterial α-diversity bacteria of S. salsa. The N and P addition had a weak effect on the rhizosphere bacterial community composition and a significant effect on the bulk soil bacterial community composition of halophytes. The S. salsa and P. communis bulk soil bacterial community were mainly influenced by P addition, while it was influenced by N addition in A. sinensis. N and P addition reduced the difference in bacterial community composition between the two types of soil. N and P addition increased the eutrophic taxa (Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes) and decreased the oligotrophic taxa (Acidobacteria). Redundancy analysis showed that soil organic matter, salt, and total N content had significant effects on the bacterial community composition. The results clarify that the response of soil bacterial communities to N and P additions is inconsistent across the three halophyte soils, and the effect of plant species on the bacterial community was stronger than short-term N and P addition. IMPORTANCE: The bulk soil bacterial community was more affected by nutrient addition. Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) have different effects on bacterial community. Soil organic matter is a key factor influencing the response of bacterial community to nutrient addition. N and P influence on bacterial community changes with plants.

Two recyclable and complementary adsorbents of coal-based and bio-based humic acids: High efficient adsorption and immobilization remediation for Pb(II) contaminated water and soil.

Humic acid can effectively bind heavy metals and is a promising remediation agent for heavy metals-contaminated water and soil. Many successful applications of humic acid have been reported, but rarely studied the specific process and mechanism of heavy metal removal by humic acids from water and soil, especially the simultaneous application of coal-based and bio-based humic acids. In this work, two kinds of coal-based and bio-based humic acid materials (CHA and BHA) from weathered coal and rice husk were industrially produced and studied their Pb(II) adsorption and immobilization characteristics and mechanisms in water and soil. The batch adsorption experiments obtained the Pb(II) adsorption by CHA and BHA both were spontaneous and endothermic monolayer chemisorption and controlled by three rate-limiting steps (bulk, film, and pore) in the adsorption process. CHA and BHA had highly efficient Pb(II) adsorption capacities, obtained their maximum adsorption capacity was 201 and 188 mg g-1, respectively. In addition to the two main adsorption mechanisms of ion exchange and surface complexation, electrostatic interaction, precipitation reaction, and π-π interaction were also involved. Soil culture experiments showed that CHA and BHA both exhibited a highly efficient immobilization effect on Pb(II)-contaminated soil, and CHA and BHA had a better synergistic promotion effect. Compared with the CK soil, the content of DTPA-Pb(II) decreased by 10.2-13.2% and the content of RES-Pb(II) increased by 14-22% in soils treated with different humic acids. Ion exchange, complexation, precipitation, and electrostatic attraction promote the transformation of unstable Pb(II) to stable Pb(II), which was of great significance for the immobilization of Pb(II) in soil. Overall, CHA and BHA have the potential to be used as green, efficient, and promising adsorbents to remove and immobilize Pb(II) from wastewater and soil.

Halophytes Differ in Their Adaptation to Soil Environment in the Yellow River Delta: Effects of Water Source, Soil Depth, and Nutrient Stoichiometry.

The Yellow River Delta is water, salt, and nutrient limited and hence the growth of plants depend on the surrounding factors. Understanding the water, salt, and stoichiometry of plants and soil systems from the perspective of different halophytes is useful for exploring their survival strategies. Thus, a comprehensive investigation of water, salt, and stoichiometry characteristics in different halophytes and soil systems was carried out in this area. Results showed that the oxygen isotopes (δ18O) of three halophytes were significantly different (P < 0.05). Phragmites communis primarily used rainwater and soil water, while Suaeda salsa and Limonium bicolor mainly used soil water. The contributions of rainwater to three halophytes (P. communis, S. salsa, and L. bicolor) were 50.9, 9.1, and 18.5%, respectively. The carbon isotope (δ13C) analysis showed that P. communis had the highest water use efficiency, followed by S. salsa and L. bicolor. Na+ content in the aboveground and underground parts of different halophytes was all followed an order of S. salsa > L. bicolor > P. communis. C content and N:P in leaves of P. communis and N content of leaves in L. bicolor were significantly positively correlated with Na+. Redundancy analysis (RDA) between plants and each soil layer showed that there were different correlation patterns in the three halophytes. P. communis primarily used rainwater and soil water with low salt content in 60-80 cm, while the significant correlation indexes of C:N:P stoichiometry between plant and soil were mainly in a 20-40 cm soil layer. In S. salsa, the soil layer with the highest contribution of soil water and the closest correlation with the C:N:P stoichiometry of leaves were both in 10-20 cm layers, while L. bicolor were mainly in 40-80 cm soil layers. So, the sources of soil water and nutrient of P. communis were located in different soil layers, while there were spatial consistencies of soils in water and nutrient utilization of S. salsa and L. bicolor. These results are beneficial to a comprehensive understanding of the adaptability of halophytes in the Yellow River Delta.

Spatial pattern of plant diversity in a group of uninhabited islands from the perspectives of island and site scales.

Uninhabited islands are important for providing isolated habitats for unique biological resources, and revealing the spatial pattern of plant diversity is of great significance for the island biodiversity conservation. A total of 15 uninhabited islands in Miaodao Archipelago, a group of typical uninhabited islands in North China, were selected as the study area. The multiple gradients at island and site scales were identified and quantified based on field investigation and remote sensing methods, and seven "from macro to micro" aspects, including morphology, proximity, landscape, terrain, atmosphere, soil, and vegetation, were selected to cover all aspects of factors influencing the plant diversity. Then, the single and comprehensive effects of the multiple gradients on the spatial pattern of plant diversity at the dual scales were analyzed using methods of regression analysis and canonical correspondence analysis ordination. Results indicated that 130 plant species were recorded. The species accumulation curves proved the sufficiency of the numbers of sampling sites and islands to represent the overall characteristics of plant diversity. The species composition on the uninhabited islands possessed common characteristics with the neighboring inhabited islands and mainland, meanwhile, showed unique features on the dominant species. The α diversity showed distinct spatial heterogeneities at the dual scales; the ß diversity indicated the great difference of species composition within an island and among different islands. At island scale, island area, vegetation condition, and terrain complexity contributed the most to the spatial pattern of plant diversity. At site scale, biodiversity indices changed irregularly along the multiple gradient factors, yet all aspects of gradients showed significant effects on the species composition and distribution. The island area played a fundamental role in determining the α diversity at island scale and generating the ß diversity within an island, however, was not significantly correlated with the diversity at site scale.

Fractal features of soil particle size distributions and their potential as an indicator of Robinia pseudoacacia invasion1.

To study the fractal dimensions of the soil particle size distributions (PSDs) within different plantations (of Pinus densiflora, Quercus acutissima, Robinia pseudoacacia, and Larix kaempferi) and evaluate PSDs as an indicator of the likelihood of Robinia pseudoacacia invasion, the soil porosity of 0-20 cm soil layers was measured at different plantations in the Yaoxiang Forest Farm, Shandong Province, China. The results showed that the fractal dimension (Dm) values varied from 2.59 to 2.70 among the different plantations and were significantly negatively correlated to sand content and positively correlated to silt content and clay content. Significant negative correlations were observed between Dm and both soil organic matter (SOM) (P < 0.05) and available phosphorus (P < 0.01). The multifractal entropy dimension (D1) and entropy dimension/capacity dimension (D1/D0) parameters were not significantly correlated with SOM, although significant correlations were found between SOM and each of D0, Δα, and Δf(α). Compared with the other plantations, the Robinia pseudoacacia plantation had higher nutrient contents, higher D0 and D1 values and lower Dm values. Based on principal component analysis (PCA) ordination, we concluded that Robinia pseudoacacia and Pinus densiflora shared a similar habitat and that Robinia pseudoacacia is more likely to invade Pinus densiflora plantations for soil.

Spatial heterogeneity of estuarine wetland ecosystem health influenced by complex natural and anthropogenic factors.

The evaluation of estuarine wetland ecosystem health (EWEH) is vital and difficult due to complex influencing factors and their spatial heterogeneities. An EWEH evaluation model was established in this study on the basis of the typical features of estuarine wetland ecosystems with focus on spatial heterogeneity. The index system comprises external factors, internal factors, and ecological state, and covers all aspects of the natural and anthropogenic factors, with each index possessing its own spatial heterogeneity. The Yellow River Delta, a typical estuarine wetland in China, was selected as the study area to demonstrate the model. Results indicated that the present EWEH in the entire study area was in good status with distinct spatial heterogeneity. Ecosystem productivity, seawater intrusion, human interference, and Yellow River input were the most relevant indexes of EWEH. The temporal variations of EWEH fluctuated from 1987 to 2016. The decrease in the Yellow River input and the increase in human activity intensity deteriorated EWEH, whereas the alongshore embankment and nature reserve construction improved EWEH in certain parts. The influence of natural factors continuously decreased, and human activity became the main driving factor of the EWEH spatial variation. Our model was proven to possess comprehensive reflections of estuarine wetland ecological characteristics, full exhibitions of spatial heterogeneity, and high applicability; therefore, it can be widely used to evaluate EWEH in different areas.