The climate sensitivity of carbon (δ13C), oxygen (δ18O) and hydrogen (δ2H) isotope signatures in tree-ring cellulose of Abies alba Mill. from a marginally industrialized area of Franconia (Germany) was analysed for the last 130 years. All isotopes preserve climatic signals up to c. 1950 AD. After 1950 we observe a clear reduction in climate sensitivity of δ13C and δ2H while δ18O – climate relations remain well pronounced. Nevertheless statistical tests implied that SO2 background emissions of West Germany had influenced isotope signatures long before 1950. The relationships between isotope values and concentrations of SO2, dust, O3 and NO2 at the regional level during the period 1979–2006 indicate that δ13C and δ18O were influenced primarily by SO2. The impact of SO2 on δ2H was negligible, but the observed reduction of climate sensitivity may be caused by synergic influences. The results have significant implications if isotope signatures from tree-rings from anthropogenic influenced regions are used to reconstruct past climate.

Effects of invasive plants on soil properties and microbial communities have been observed, but the mechanisms driving change are less obvious. The objective of this study was to determine the short-term impacts of litter from the invasive shrub Frangula alnus on soil properties and soil microorganims. In situ soil rings (6-cm diameter by 7-cm deep) received the following aqueous treatments: deionized water, dextrose, cellulose, Quercus alba leaf extract, and F. alnus leaf extract (n = 7) and were sampled 1, 2, and 4 weeks after additions were made. Microbial biomass carbon did not respond differently to treatments containing carbon (C) sources at any sampling period, suggesting that C quality had little impact on microbial abundance at this site. However, in weeks 1 and 2, soil treated with F. alnus had significantly higher total extractable nitrogen (N) than the control, dextrose, cellulose, and Q. alba extract (all comparisons for both weeks p < 0.001). We suspect that the increase in extractable N in the F. alnus-treated soil was due to enhanced N mineralization. In addition, changes to the microbial biomass C-to-N ratio in the F. alnus-treated soil indicated that microbial function had been altered. Overall, results from this study suggest that F. alnus leaf litter has the capacity to alter soil properties and microbial function by stimulating N mineralization.

Treated and untreated rice straw extensively exists in the soil. In order to elucidate its possible effect on the fate of organic pollutants, sorption of pyrene by rice straw and its main constituents (lignin, cellulose, and hemi-cellulose) were studied, as single solute and in the presence of other co-existing organic pollutants, phenanthrene (Phen), benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), phenol, and pentachlorophenol (PCP). Pyrene showed the greatest sorption on lignin with greater aromaticity and smaller polarity, and the sorption coefficient was almost two orders of magnitude greater than those on cellulose and hemi-cellulose. Bi-solute sorption results showed that Phen, BaP and PCP exhibited apparent competitive sorption with pyrene on the four sorbents; while the existence of phenol promoted the sorption of pyrene on rice straw and lignin but inhibited the sorption on cellulose and hemi-cellulose. For the two polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) co-solutes and PCP, hydrophobicity and molecular size played important roles in competition, suggesting the direct competition for hydrophobic sorption sites and pore blockage mechanisms. In contrast, the polar co-solute, phenol showed different effects on pyrene sorption onto the four sorbents, suggesting that multiple interactions between polar organic compounds and sorbents are involved in the sorption.

In this study, the magnetic cellulose nanomaterials, containing magnetic nanoscale zerovalent iron (nZVI) and cellulose, were prepared by a novel reduction method and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). The XRD and XPS results demonstrated the formation of zerovalent iron nanoparticles in the nanocomposite materials. With a saturation magnetization of 57.2 emu g⁻¹, the cellulose@nZVI composites could be easily separated from solutions in 30 s through the external magnetic field. We investigated the adsorption performance of the magnetic cellulose nanomaterials for As(III) removal from aqueous solutions. The experimental results showed that arsenite adsorption followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm model. A maximum removal of 99.27 % was observed for an initial concentration 10 mg L⁻¹, at pH 8.0, and an adsorbent dose of 1.0 g L⁻¹. Considering the high adsorption capacity, fast adsorption rate, and quick magnetic separation from treated water, the cellulose@nZVI composites were expected to be an efficient magnetic adsorbent for arsenic removal from aqueous solutions.

To enhance the removal efficiency of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by natural biosorbent, sorption of phenanthrene and pyrene onto raw and modified tea leaves as a model biomass were investigated. Tea leaves were treated using Soxhlet extraction, saponification, and acid hydrolysis to yield six fractions. The structures of tea leaf fractions were characterized by elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The amorphous cellulose components regulated the sorption kinetics, capacity, and mechanism of biomass fractions. The adsorption kinetics fit well to pseudo-second-order model and isotherms followed the Freundlich equation. By the consumption of the amorphous cellulose under acid hydrolysis, both the aliphatic moieties and aromatic domains contributed to total sorption, thus sorption capacities of the de-sugared fractions were dramatically increased (5–20-fold for phenanthrene and 8–36-fold for pyrene). All de-sugared fractions exhibited non-linear sorption due to strong specific interaction between PAHs and exposed aromatic domains of biosorbent, while presenting a relative slow rate because of the condensed domain in de-sugared samples. The availability of strong sorption phases (aromatic domains) in the biomass fractions were controlled by polar polysaccharide components, which were supported by the FTIR, CHN, and SEM data.

To characterize coprophilous fungi for converting lignocellulose into lipids, four fungal strains utilizing cellulose microcrystalline and xylan were screened. The fungi were identified as Cladosporium sp. F1, Circinella sp. F6, Mycocladus sp. F49, and Byssochlamys sp. F52 based on the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 sequence similarity. The strain F52 accumulated 336.0 mg/L reducing sugars on cottonseed shells treated with ethanol. The combination of F1 + F52 increased the reducing sugar accumulating rates. However, the activities of avicelase and xylanase were not correlated with the reducing sugars accumulated by the test strains. Strains F6 and F52 produced higher cellular lipids (above 530.7 mg/L) than other strains. However, the strain F52 could produce more cellular lipids with xylose and mannose as the sole carbon sources. The results indicated that the reducing sugar contents accumulated by the different strains were influenced by the fungal taxa and ligocellulosic types. With fibrolytic and lipid accumulating activities, diverse fungi harboring in herbivore feces need to be further characterized.

Bioaccumulation, subcellular distribution, and acute toxicity of yttrium (Y) were evaluated in Nymphoides peltata. The effects of Y concentrations of 1–5 mg L⁻¹applied for 4 days were assessed by measuring changes in photosynthetic pigments, nutrient contents, enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants, and ultrastructure. The accumulation of Y in subcellular fractions decreased in the order of cell wall > organelle > soluble fraction. Much more Y was located in cellulose and pectin than in other biomacromolecules. The content of some mineral elements (Mg, Ca, Fe, Mn, and Mo) increased in N. peltata, but there was an opposite effect for P and K. Meanwhile, ascorbate, and catalase activity decreased significantly for all Y concentrations. In contrast, peroxidase activity was induced, while initial rises in superoxide dismutase activity and glutathione content were followed by subsequent declines. Morphological symptoms of senescence, such as chlorosis and damage to chloroplasts and mitochondria, were observed even at the lowest Y concentration. Pigment content decreased as the Y concentration rose and the calculated EC₅₀and MPC of Y for N. peltata were 2 and 0.2 mg L⁻¹after 4 days of exposure, respectively. The results showed that exogenous Y was highly available in water and that its high concentration in water bodies might produce harmful effects on aquatic organisms. N. peltata is proposed as a biomonitor for the assessment of metal pollution in aquatic ecosystems.

Bagasse fly ash (BFA, a sugar industrial waste) was used as low-cost adsorbent for the uptake of arsenate and arsenite species from water. The optimum conditions for the removal of both species of arsenic were as follows: pH 7.0, concentration 50.0 μg/L, contact time 50.0 min, adsorbent dose 3.0 g/L, and temperature 20.0 °C, with 95.0 and 89.5 % removal of arsenate and arsenite, respectively. The Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, and Dubinin–Radushkevich adsorption isotherms were used to analyze the results. The results of these models indicated single-layer uniform adsorption on heterogeneous surface. Thermodynamic parameters, i.e., ΔG°, ΔH°, and ΔS°, were also calculated. At 20.0 to 30.0 °C, the values of ΔG° lie in the range of −4,722.75 to −4,878.82 and −4,308.80 to −4,451.73 while the values of ΔH° and ΔS° were −149.90 and −121.07, and 15.61 and 14.29 for arsenate and arsenite, respectively, indicating that adsorption is spontaneous and exothermic. Pseudo-first-order kinetics was followed. In column experiments, the adsorption decreased as the flow rate increased with the maximum removal of 98.9 and 95.6 % for arsenate and arsenite, respectively. The bed depth service time and Yoon and Nelson models were used to analyze the experimental data. The adsorption capacity (Nₒ) of BFA on column was 3.65 and 2.98 mg/cm³for arsenate and arsenite, respectively. The developed system for the removal of arsenate and arsenite species is economic, rapid, and capable of working under natural conditions. It may be used for the removal of arsenic species from any contaminated water resources.