Contrasting age-dependent leaf acclimation strategies drive vegetation greening across deciduous broadleaf forests in mid- to high latitudes.

Increasing leaf area and extending vegetation growing seasons are two primary drivers of global greening, which has emerged as one of the most significant responses to climate change. However, it remains unclear how these two leaf acclimation strategies would vary across forests at a large spatial scale. Here, using multiple satellite-based datasets and field measurements, we analysed the temporal changes (Δ) in maximal leaf area index (LAI) and length of the growing season (LOS) from 2002 to 2021 across deciduous broadleaf forests (DBFs) in the middle to high latitudes.

The Threshold and Lag Effects of Temperature on Pine Wilt Disease Show Significant Spatial Heterogeneity.

Pine wilt disease (PWD) is an economically important disease. With the increasing temperature caused by climate change, there is a concern that it may expand to regions currently at low risk, cause more serious ecological harm and economic losses in China. The pinewood nematode has an optimal temperature range for development, and historical meteorological conditions, particularly temperature, can influence its current occurrence through time-lagged effects.

Mapping hotspots and identifying drivers of lead bioaccumulation in Oryza sativa L. in tropical agroecosystems.

Tropical rice systems exhibit high annual rates of heavy metal accumulation, requiring accurate identification of accumulation drivers in rice-growing ecosystems to ensure regional food security. Therefore, we collected 229 paired soil and rice samples across Hainan Island, China, revealing distinct spatial patterns of Pb contamination hotspots. By integrating 21 environmental variables, nine machine learning models were systematically compared, with the random forest algorithm emerging superior (R² = 0.

Lagged precipitation effects on plant production across terrestrial biomes.

Precipitation effects on plant carbon uptake extend beyond immediate timeframes, reflecting temporal lags between rainfall and plant growth. Mechanisms and relative importance of such lagged effects are expected to vary across ecosystems. Here we draw on an extensive collections of productivity proxies from long-term ground measurements, satellite observations and model simulations to show that preceding-year precipitation exerts a comparable influence on plant productivity to current-year precipitation.

Rodent Bioturbation Significantly Enhances Annual Methane Uptake by Tibetan Alpine Grasslands.

Tibetan alpine grasslands (AG) serve as critical methane (CH) sinks, yet face degradation from anthropogenic and climatic disturbances that promote subterranean rodents (e.g., Plateau zokor [Myospalax baileyi] and pika [Ochotona curzoniae]) activities.

Pervasive but biome-dependent relationship between fragmentation and resilience in forests.

The relationship between landscape fragmentation and vegetation resilience is uncertain. Here we use multiple satellite-based tree cover data and vegetation indices to quantify the apparent effects of fragmentation on global forest resilience and potential mechanisms thereof. We measure fragmentation as edge density, patch density and mean patch area of tree cover patches, and measure resilience as one-lag temporal autocorrelation of vegetation indices.

Assessing trace element-related health risks in urban centralized drinking water sources in China.

Excessive exposure to trace elements through water absorption has raised growing concerns due to their adverse health effects on humans. While previous studies have shed light on health risks associated with trace elements in surface water and tap water using short-term monitoring data, the risks linked specifically to water sources remain poorly understood. This study addresses this research gap by providing a nationwide assessment of health risks associated with 21 trace elements across 1193 water sources in 321 Chinese cities, based on time-series data from 2016 to 2021.

China's future food demand forecast based on provincial diets and shared socio-economic pathways.

Building on the vast heterogeneity in dietary practices and population size across China, which has contributed to profound regional disparities in food demand, this study incorporated provincial-level dietary preferences and energy needs across different age groups, genders, and residential statuses to project future regional dietary patterns and food demand in China across the five shared socio-economic pathway (SSP) scenarios. The projected diets were proven to be consistent with Chinese dietary practices and fulfilled macronutritrient requirements, compared to dietary guidelines from the EAT-Lancet Commission, the Chinese Nutrition Society, and major peer studies. The dataset covers raw grain demand for 13 major food categories-including rice, wheat, maize, highland barley, tubers, beans, pork, beef, mutton, poultry, aquatic products, eggs, and dairy products-at the provincial level, spanning 2020 to 2100.

Divergent biotic-abiotic mechanisms of soil organic carbon storage between bulk and rhizosphere soils of rice paddies in the Yangtze River Delta.

Rice paddies serve as important reservoirs of soil organic carbon (SOC) and are hotspots for microbial-mediated carbon conversion. Understanding the regulatory mechanisms of SOC in rice paddies is important for carbon sequestration management under global warming. Most previous studies on the influencing factors of paddy SOC have focused on a single habitat, such as bulk soil (BS) or rhizosphere soil (RS).

Deciphering multi-media occurrence and anthropogenic drivers of potentially toxic elements in a rapidly urbanized estuary: A neural network-enhanced source apportionment.

Estuaries and adjacent waters are the most important and vulnerable areas to human activities in coastal seawater, and potentially toxic elements (PTEs) pollution have long received global attention. This study presents a multi-media occurrence to assess the distribution, sources, and ecological risks of PTEs (Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Cr, Hg, and As) in the Modaomen Estuary, a rapidly urbanizing coastal zone in southern China. Results revealed that the most abundant elements in seawater, surface sediment, and marine organisms was Zn, while the element with the lowest concentration was Hg.

Increasing severity of large-scale fires prolongs recovery time of forests globally since 2001.

Ongoing and sharply increased global forest fires, especially extreme large-scale fires (LFs) with their greater destructiveness, have significantly altered forest structures and functions. However, long-term variations in the severity of LFs and corresponding effects on the natural post-LF recovery time of global forests remain unclear. Here, we rigorously identified 3,281 global large-scale (>10 km) single-time fire events (LSFs) from 2001 to 2021, and used multiple indicators to understand the post-LSF recovery dynamics from different perspectives and comprehensively reveal major driving factors across regions and forests types based on multiple models.

Nitrogen deposition favors later leaf senescence in woody species.

China has experienced an unprecedented increase in nitrogen deposition over recent decades, threatening ecosystem structure, functioning, and resilience. However, the impact of elevated nitrogen deposition on the date of foliar senescence remains widely unexplored. Using 22,780 in situ observations and long-term satellite-based date of foliar senescence measures for woody species across China, we find that increased nitrogen deposition generally delays date of foliar senescence, with strong causal evidence observed at site-to-region scales.

Delayed leaf green-up is associated with fine particulate air pollution in China.

Climate warming has led to earlier leaf green-up dates (GUD) with a greening trend of land surfaces in spring, yet the influence of multi-source particle pollution is not well understood. Using ground records and satellite observations of green-up date and fine particulate matter below 2.5 μm (PM) over the last two decades in China, here we show that PM pollution is associated with reduced plant carbon uptake and delayed green-up dates.

Annual 30 m land cover dataset on the Tibetan Plateau from 1990 to 2023.

Accurate land cover data was fundamental for formulating sound land planning and sustainable development strategies. This study focused on the Tibetan Plateau (TP), a globally sensitive ecological area, and developed a locally tailored annual 30 m resolution land cover dataset from 1990 to 2023 (TPLCD). Leveraging the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform for Landsat data processing, LandTrendr was employed to generate robust, high-precision training samples.

Simulating the effects of drip and flood irrigation on the leaching, migration, and redistribution of heavy metals in contaminated soil.

Background: The extensive adoption of drip irrigation globally has adverse effects on the ecological integrity of soil, leading to significant changes in the distribution of heavy metals and other pollutants across various soil layers. However, the mechanisms underlying such changes are still unclear.

Purpose: This study explores the effects of different irrigation methods (drip and flood irrigation) on the heavy metal behaviors in contaminated soils, including leaching, migration, and redistribution within agricultural practices.

Mapping global yields of four major crops at 5-minute resolution from 1982 to 2015 using multi-source data and machine learning.

Accurate, historical, and continuous global crop yield data are essential for assessing risks to the global food system. However, existing datasets often have limited spatial and temporal resolution. Here, we introduce GlobalCropYield5min, a novel gridded dataset providing crop yield data for major crops - including maize, rice, wheat, and soybean - from 1982 to 2015, with a spatial resolution of 5 arc-minutes.

Spatial and ecological health impacts of potentially toxic elements in road dust from long-term mining activities: A case study of the Bayan Obo deposit.

The long-term impacts of mining activities at the Bayan Obo deposit on potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in road dust remain insufficiently understood. This study aims to enrich knowledge in this area by investigating the spatial and eco-health impacts of PTEs in both bulk road dust (BRD) and resuspended road dust (RRD) from mining. An integrated approach combining Monte Carlo simulations with multiple statistical and geostatistical methods was used to quantify mining-related impacts.

Relative contributions of climate and grazing to forage supply in the Yellow River source area.

Grassland ecosystems, critical for ecosystem services like forage supply, face threats from climate change and grazing pressure. This study investigates the spatiotemporal dynamics of forage supply and grazing intensity in the Yellow River Source Area (YRSA) from 2000 to 2020, focusing on the relative contributions of climate factors and grazing. Our result revealed that forage supply exhibited a southeast-to-northwest decline and increased slightly overall, with variability among grassland types.

[Soil Fertility and Influencing Factors of Cultivated Land Based on the Geodetector].

Taihe County in Jiangxi Province was chosen as the study area to analyze the soil fertility condition and affecting elements of cultivation at the county level. Classical statistics, geostatistics, and geodetector were utilized to examine soil fertility quality and investigate its primary affecting aspects based on experimental data from 206 cultivated soil samples. The results showed that： ① Taihe County had an average soil pH of 4.

Asymmetric temperature effect on leaf senescence and its control on ecosystem productivity.

Widespread autumn cooling occurred in the northern hemisphere (NH) during the period 2004-2018, primarily due to the strengthening of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and Siberian High. Yet, while there has been considerable focus on the warming impacts, the effects of natural cooling on autumn leaf senescence and plant productivity have been largely overlooked. This gap in knowledge hinders our understanding of how vegetation adapts and acclimates to complex climate change.

Long-term open-pit mining activities at the world's largest light rare earth mine significantly affect light rare earth elements in road dust over long distances.

The long-term effects of decades of open-pit mining at the Bayan Obo deposit, the world's largest light rare earth mine, on the concentrations of several elements in road dust over long distances are unknown. Here, bulk road dust (BRD) and resuspended road dust (RRD) were collected from different distances from the mine for subsequent analysis of mining impacts. As a result of mining activities, light rare earth elements (LREEs), especially La, Ce, Pr and Nd, show different statistical and spatial variations compared to other elements.