Effects and underlying mechanisms of damming on carbon and nitrogen cycles and transport in rivers of Southwest China:project introduction

Southwest China is the primary area for damming rivers to produce hydroelectric energy and store water.River damming has changed hydrodynamic,chemical,and biological processes,which are related to sinks and sources of greenhouse gases and carbon and nitrogen fluxes of different interfaces.Here,I provide an introduction to a river damming-related foundation,the National Key R&D Program of China(2016YTA0601000).Supported by the foundation,we carried out research on multiprocesses/multi-interfaces of carbon and nitrogen biogeochemical cycles in a dammed river system and have produced important results,as presented in this issue of the journal.

Experimental warming shifts coupling of carbon and nitrogen cycles in an alpine meadow

Aims Terrestrial ecosystem carbon(C)uptake is remarkably regulated by nitrogen(N)availability in the soil.However,the coupling of C and N cycles,as reflected by C:N ratios in different components,has not been well explored in response to climate change.Methods Here,we applied a data assimilation approach to assimilate 14 datasets collected from a warming experiment in an alpine meadow in China into a grassland ecosystem model.We attempted to evaluate how experimental warming affects C and N coupling as indicated by constrained parameters under ambient and warming treatments separately.Important Findings The results showed that warming increased soil N availability with decreased C:N ratio in soil labile C pool,leading to an increase in N uptake by plants.Nonetheless,C input to leaf increased more than N,leading to an increase and a decrease in the C:N ratio in leaf and root,respectively.Litter C:N ratio was decreased due to the increased N immobilization under high soil N availability or warming-accelerated decomposition of litter mass.Warming also increased C:N ratio of slow soil organic matter pool,suggesting a greater soil C sequestration potential.As most models usually use a fixed C:N ratio across different environments,the divergent shifts of C:N ratios under climate warming detected in this study could provide a useful benchmark for model parameterization and benefit models to predict C-N coupled responses to future climate change.

Soil functional indicators in mixed beech forests are clearly species-specifi c

Beech stands are considered part of the ancient forest ecosystems in the northern hemisphere.In mixed stands in beach forest ecosystems,the type of associated tree species can signifi cantly aff ect soil functions,but their infl uence on microbial activity,nutrient cycling and belowground properties is unknown.Here,we considered forest patches in northern Iran that are dominated by diff erent tree species:Fagus orientalis Lipsky,Quercus castaneifolia C.A.Mey.,Pterocarya fraxinifolia(Lam.),Tilia begonifolia Stev.,Zelkova carpinifolia Dippe,Acer cappadocicum Gled,Acer velutinum Boiss.,Fraxinus excelsior L.,Carpinus betulus L.,and Alnus subcordata C.A.Mey.For each forest patch–tree species,litter and soil samples(25×25×10 cm,100 of each)were analyzed for determine soil and litter properties and their relationship with tree species.The litter decomposition rate during a 1-year experiment was also determined.A PCA showed a clear diff erence between selected litter and soil characteristics among tree species.F.orientalis,Q.castaneifolia,P.fraxinifolia,T.begonifolia,Z.carpinifolia,A.cappadocicum,and A.velutinum enhanced soil microbial biomass of carbon,whereas patches with F.excelsior,C.betulus and A.subcordata had faster litter decomposition and enhanced biotic activities and C and N dynamics.Thus,soil function indicators were species-specifi c in the mixed beech forest.A.subcordata(a N-fi xing species),C.betulus and F.excelsior were main drivers of microbial activities related to nutrient cycling in the old-growth beech forest.

Physiochemical and biological characteristics of fouling on landfill leachate treatment systems surface

Fouling of landfill leachate,a biofilm formation process on the surface of the collection system,migration pipeline and treatment system causes low efficiency of leachate transportation and treatment and increases cost for maintenance of those facilities.In addition,landfill leachate fouling might accumulate pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes(ARGs),posing threats to the environment.Characterization of the landfill leachate fouling and its associated environmental behavior is essential for the management of fouling.In this study,physicochemical and biological properties of landfill leachate fouling and the possible accumulation capacity of pathogens and ARGs were investigated in nitrification(aerobic condition)and denitrification(anaerobic condition)process during landfill leachate biological treatment,respectively.Results show that microbial(bacterial,archaeal,eukaryotic,and viral)community structure and function(carbon fixation,methanogenesis,nitrification and denitrification)differed in fouling under aerobic and anaerobic conditions,driven by the supplemental leachate water quality.Aerobic fouling had a higher abundance of nitrification and denitrification functional genes,while anaerobic fouling harbored a higher abundance of carbon fixation and methanogenesis genes.Both forms of leachate fouling had a higher abundance of pathogens and ARGs than the associated leachate,suggesting the accumulation capacity of fouling on biotic pollutants.Specifically,aerobic fouling harbored three orders of magnitude higher multidrug resistance genes mex D than its associated leachate.This finding provides fundamental knowledge on the biological properties of leachate fouling and suggests that leachate fouling might harbor significant pathogens and ARGs.