Limnologists and governments have long had an interest in whether nitrogen (N) and/or phosphorous (P) limit algal productivity in lakes. However, the types and importance of anthropogenic and biogeochemical processes of N and P differ with lake trophic status. Here, a global lake dataset (annual average data from 831 lakes) demonstrates that total nitrogen (TN): total phosphorous (TP) ratios declined significantly as lakes become more eutrophic. From oligotrophic to hypereutrophic lakes, the probability of N and P co-limitation significantly increases from 15.0 to 67.0%, while P-only limitation decreases from 77.0 to 22.3%. Furthermore, TN:TP ratios are mainly affected by concentrations of TP (r = −0.699) rather than TN (r = −0.147). These results reveal that lake eutrophication mainly occurs with increasing P rather than N, which shifts lake ecosystems from stoichiometric P limitation toward a higher probability of N and P co-limitation. This study suggests that low N:P stoichiometry and a high probability of N and P co-limitation tend to occur in eutrophic systems.

We provide a comprehensive and updated systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between air pollution exposure and depression, searching PubMed, Embase, and Web of Sciences for relevant articles published up to May 2021, and eventually including 39 studies. Meta-analyses were performed separately according to pollutant type [particulate matter with diameter ≤10 μm (PM₁₀) and ≤2.5 μm (PM₂.₅), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), ozone (O₃), and carbon monoxide (CO)] and exposure duration [short- (<30 days) and long-term (≥30 days)]. Test for homogeneity based on Cochran's Q and I² statistics were calculated and the restricted maximum likelihood (REML) random effect model was applied. We assessed overall quality of pooled estimates, influence of single studies on the meta-analytic estimates, sources of between-study heterogeneity, and publication bias. We observed an increased risk of depression associated with long-term exposure to PM₂.₅ (relative risk: 1.074, 95% confidence interval: 1.021–1.129) and NO₂ (1.037, 1.011–1.064), and with short-term exposure to PM₁₀ (1.009, 1.006–1.012), PM₂.₅ (1.009, 1.007–1.011), NO₂ (1.022, 1.012–1.033), SO₂ (1.024, 1.010–1.037), O₃ (1.011, 0.997–1.026), and CO (1.062, 1.020–1.105). The publication bias affecting half of the investigated associations and the high heterogeneity characterizing most of the meta-analytic estimates partly prevent to draw very firm conclusions. On the other hand, the coherence of all the estimates after excluding single studies in the sensitivity analysis supports the soundness of our results. This especially applies to the association between PM₂.₅ and depression, strengthened by the absence of heterogeneity and of relevant publication bias in both long- and short-term exposure studies. Should further investigations be designed, they should involve large sample sizes, well-defined diagnostic criteria for depression, and thorough control of potential confounding factors. Finally, studies dedicated to the comprehension of the mechanisms underlying the association between air pollution and depression remain necessary.

Many studies revealed the rapid decline of atmospheric PM₂.₅ in Beijing due to the emission control measures. The variation of particle number concentration (PN) which has important influences on regional climate and human health, however, was rarely reported. This study measured the particle number size distributions (PNSD) in 3–700 nm in winter of Beijing during 2013–2019. It was found that PN decreased by 58% from 2013 to 2017, but increased by 29% from 2017 to 2019. By Positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis, five source factors of PNSD were identified as Nucleation, Fresh traffic, Aged traffic + Diesel, Coal + biomass burning and Secondary. Overall, factors associated with primary emissions were found to decrease continuously. Coal + biomass burning dominated the reduction (65%) among the three primary sources during 2013–2017, which resulted from the great efforts on emission control of coal combustion and biomass burning. Fresh traffic and Aged traffic + Diesel decreased by 43% and 66%, respectively, from 2013 to 2019, as a result of the upgrade of the vehicle emission standards in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area. On the other hand, the contribution from Nucleation and Secondary decreased with the reduction of gaseous precursors in 2013–2017, but due to the increased intensity of new particle formation (NPF) and secondary oxidation, they increased by 56% and 70%, respectively, from 2017 to 2019, which led to the simultaneously increase of PN and particle volume concentration. This study indicated that NPF may play an important role in urban atmosphere under continuous air quality improvement.

Black carbon (BC), as one of the short-lived climate pollutants, is becoming more prominent contribution from non-road mobile source, especially for agricultural machinery (AM) in China. However, the understanding of BC emissions from AM is still not clear, and the BC emission factors (EFs) are also limited. In this study, we conducted real-world measurements on twenty AM to investigate the instantaneous BC emission characteristics and quantify BC EFs under the whole tillage processes. We find the instantaneous BC emissions and fuel consumptions are obvious differences and present good synchronization under different tillage processes. Multi-type (CO₂-, fuel-, distance-, time-, and area-based) EFs of BC are developed, which are significantly affected by different tillage processes and emission standards of the used AM. While AM conducting rotary tillage, ploughing, harvest corn and harvest wheat on the same area of land, total BC emissions by using the China III emission standard AM will be reduced by 56%, 36%, 88%, and 87% than those by using China II emission standard AM, respectively. Furthermore, for corn and wheat production under the whole tillage processes, BC EFs are 16.90 (6.03–39.12) g/hm² and 18.18 (5.91–38.69) g/hm², CO₂ EFs are 112.64 (72.07–195.98) g/hm² and 103.72 (71.47–167.02) g/hm², respectively. We estimate the BC and CO₂ emissions from wheat and corn productions based on the average area-based EFs. The large fluctuation ranges of BC and CO₂ emissions in different tillage processes and the whole processes can reflect that the use of AM in China is uneven. It also indicates that there is a large space for BC and CO₂ emission reduction and optimization. Therefore, more attention should be paid to the control of BC and CO₂ emissions from AM. We believe that the recommended multi-type EFs are applicable for the quantification of BC emissions from AM in China and other countries.

Little is known about the effect of biochar on the degradation of paracetamol in soil, considering the ubiquity of this pollutant in the environment. Given the importance of the electrochemical properties of biochar for contaminant remediation, we investigated the influence of raw and designer redox-active biochars on paracetamol degradation in soil. Metabolite quantification indicated that a minimum of 53% of the spiked paracetamol was transformed in biochar-amended soil, resulting in the accumulation of different degradation products. The identification of these products allowed us to chart paracetamol degradation pathways in soil with and without biochar amendment. Some of the major degradation routes were observed to proceed via catechol and phenol, despite being previously described as having only a minor role in paracetamol metabolism. Additionally, a new transformation route from paracetamol to NAPQI was discovered in anaerobic soil originating from direct redox reactions on the surface of the designer biochars. These results may contribute to change our understanding of the environmental fate of paracetamol in soil and the role of biochar in its biodegradation.

The inherent oxidation potential (OP) of atmospheric particulate matter has been shown to be an important metric in assessing the biological activity of inhaled particulate matter and is associated with the composition of PM₂.₅. The current study examined the chemical composition of 388 personal PM₂.₅ samples collected from students and guards living in urban and suburban areas of Beijing, and assessed the ability to predict OP from the calculated metrics of carcinogenic risk, represented by ELCR (excess lifetime cancer risk), non-carcinogenic risk represented by HI (hazard index), and the composition and sources of the particulate matter using multiple linear regression methods. The correlations between calculated ELCR and HI and the measured OP were 0.37 and 0.7, respectively. HI was a better predictor of OP than ELCR. The prediction models based on pollutants (Model_1) and pollution sources (Model_2) were constructed by multiple linear regression method, and Pearson correlation coefficients between the predicted results of Model_1 and Model_2 with the measured volume normalized OP are 0.81 and 0.80, showing good prediction ability. Previous investigations in Europe and North America have developed location-specific relationships between the chemical composition of particulate matter and OP using regression methods. We also examined the ability of relationships between OP and composition, sources, developed in Europe and North America, to predict the OP of particulate matter in Beijing from the composition and sources determined in Beijing. The relationships developed in Europe and North America provided good predictive ability in Beijing and it suggests that these relationships can be used to predict OP from the chemical composition measured in other regions of the world.

Multiple sources of microplastics (MPs) in farmland could result in the changing of microbial community and the plant growth. Most studies of MPs in agricultural system have focused on the effects of single types of MPs on growth of plants, while neglect interactions between multiple types of MPs. In this study a pot-experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of multiple types of MPs, including polystyrene beads: M1, 5 μm, M2, 70 nm and degradable mulching film (DMF) fragments on growth of wheat seedlings and associated rhizosphere microbial community. CKD (adding DMF) significantly reduced plant height and base diameter of wheat seedlings. DMF in combination with M2, significantly increased plant height and aboveground biomass, but decreased the base diameter. Actinobacteria was the dominant taxa in the rhizosphere bacterial community in various treatments. PCoA analysis showed that the bacterial composition in M2HD (100 mg kg⁻¹ M² with DMF) was significantly different from that of CKD and M2LD (10 mg kg⁻¹ M² with DMF). At the level of genera, the dominant fungi in CKD and M2LD were in the genus Fusarium, which is the cause of wheat fusarium blight and Alternaria, which results in decreased base diameter. In CK (control group) and M2HD, Blastobotrys exhibited the greatest abundance, which assisted wheat seedlings in resisting Verticillium disease. Cluster and PCoA analysis showed the fungal composition in CKD was significantly different from CK, M2LD and M2HD. These findings suggest MPs potentially have selective effects on pathogens that affect growth of plants and potentially safety of the food.

Freshwater mussels are among the most endangered groups of fauna anywhere in world. The indiscriminate use of antibiotics has led to the emergence of resistant strains. These antibiotic-resistant bacteria play a key role in increasing the risk allied with the use of surface water and in spread of resistance genes. Two endangered freshwater mussel species, Margaritifera margaritifera and Potomida littoralis, were sampled at 4 sampling sites along a 50 km stretch of River Tua. Water samples were taken at same sites. Of the total of 135 isolates, 64.44% (39.26% from water and 25.19% from mussels) were coliform bacteria. Site T1, with the lowest concentration of coliform bacteria, and site T2 were the only ones where M. margaritifera was found. No E. coli isolates were found in this species and the pattern between water and mussels was similar. P. littoralis, which was present at T3/T4 sites, is the one that faces the highest concentration of bacterial toxins, which are found in treated wastewater effluents and around population centers. Sites T3/T4 have the isolates (water and mussels) with the highest resistance pattern, mainly to β-lactams. Water and P. littoralis isolates (T3/T4) showed resistance to penicillins and their combination with clavulanic acid, and to cephalosporins, precisely to a fourth generation of cephalosporin antibiotics. The analysis provides important information on the risk to water systems, as well as the need to investigate possible management measures. It is suggested that future studies on the health status of freshwater bivalves should incorporate measures to indicate bacteriological water quality.

Nowadays, the ubiquitous distribution and increasing abundance of P⁺ᴵᴵᴵ in waterbodies have caused serious concerns regarding its bioavailability and potential toxicity. However, our knowledge on these issues is relatively limited. We addressed previously unknown effects of P⁺ᴵᴵᴵ on three dominate algae species i.e. Microcystic aeruginosa (M. aeruginosa), Chlorella pyrenoidesa (C. pyrenoidesa) and Cyclotella. sp in eutrophic waterbodies in China. Remarkable declines in biomass, specific growth rate and Chl-a of algae cells treated with 0.01–0.7 mg/L P⁺ᴵᴵᴵ as sole or an alternative P source were observed, indicating P⁺ᴵᴵᴵ had an inhibitory effect on the algal growth. Besides, the intracellular enzyme activities e.g superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were significantly increased with P⁺ᴵᴵᴵ stress. M. aeruginosa and Cyclotella. sp cells seemed to be more sensitive to P⁺ᴵᴵᴵ toxicity than C. pyrenoidesa since cell membrane suffered more serious stress and destruction. These findings combined, it confirmed P⁺ᴵᴵᴵ could not be utilized as bioavailable P, but had certain toxicity to the tested algae. It indicated that the increased P⁺ᴵᴵᴵ abundance in eutrophic waterbodies would accelerate the algal cell death, which could have a positive effect against algal blooms. Our results provide new insights into assessing the ecological risks of P⁺ᴵᴵᴵ in aquatic environments.