In 2020, anthropogenic methane (CH4) emissions decreased due to COVID-19 containment policies, but there was a substantial increase in the concentration of atmospheric CH4. Previous research suggested that this abnormal increase was linked to higher wetland CH4 emissions and a decrease in the atmospheric CH4 sink. However, the impact of changes in the soil CH4 sink remained unknown. To address this, we utilized a process-based model to quantify alterations in the soil CH4 sink of terrestrial ecosystems between 2019 and 2020. By implementing the model with various datasets, we consistently observed an increase in the global soil CH4 sink, reaching up to 0.35 ± 0.06 Tg in 2020 compared to 2019. This increase was primarily attributed to warmer soil temperatures in northern high latitudes. Our results emphasize the importance of considering the CH4 sink in terrestrial ecosystems, as neglecting this component can lead to an underestimation of both emission increases and reductions in atmospheric CH4 sink capacity. Furthermore, these findings highlight the potential role of increased soil warmth in terrestrial ecosystems in slowing the growth of CH4 concentrations in the atmosphere.

Protected areas conserve biodiversity and ecosystem functions but might impede local economic growth. Understanding the global patterns and predictors of different relationships between protected area effectiveness and neighboring community economic growth can inform better implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. We assessed 10,143 protected areas globally with matched samples to address the non-random location of protected areas. Our results show that protected areas resist human-induced land cover changes and do not limit nightlight increases in neighboring settlements. This result is robust, using different matching techniques, parameter settings, and selection of covariates. We identify four types of relationships between land cover changes and nightlight changes for each protected area: \"synergy,\" \"retreat,\" and two tradeoff relationships. About half of the protected areas (47.5%) retain their natural land cover and do so despite an increase of nightlights in the neighboring communities. This synergy relationship is the most common globally but varies between biomes and continents. Synergy is less frequent in the Amazon, Southeast Asia, and some developing areas, where most biodiversity resides and which suffer more from poverty. Smaller protected areas and those with better access to cities, moderate road density, and better baseline economic conditions have a higher probability of reaching synergy. Our results are promising, as the expansion of protected areas and increased species protection will rely more on conserving the human-modified landscape with smaller protected areas. Future interventions should address local development and biodiversity conservation together to achieve more co-benefits.

This study explored the levels, distribution, potential sources, ecological risks and estrogenic activities of 14 bisphenol analogues (BPs) in soil under eight land-use types in the megacity of Chengdu, China. Eleven BPs were detected in the soil samples and the total concentrations ranged from 32.3 to 570 ng/g d.w. Levels of bisphenol BP (BPBP) in the soil (up to 208 ng/g d.w.) only second to the most dominant compound bisphenol A (BPA) were found. Relatively higher Σ14BP accumulation in the soil was observed in the commercial and residential areas (median: 136 ng/g d.w. and 131 ng/g d.w.) compared with agricultural area (median: 67.5 ng/g d.w.). Source identification indicated the role of atmospheric particulate deposition and consecutive anthropogenic activities in BP emission. The ecotoxicity assessment implied that BPA, bisphenol S (BPS), bisphenol F (BPF) and bisphenol PH (BPPH) might pose low to medium risk to the ecosystem due to their extensive use and biological effects. The calculated 17β-estradiol equivalents of BPs were in the range of 0.501-7.74 pg E2/g d.w, and the estrogenic activities were inferior to those contributed by natural estrogens in the soil.

Investigations into the carbon cycle and how it responds to climate change at the national scale are important for a comprehensive understanding of terrestrial carbon cycle and global change issues. Contributions of carbon fluxes to the terrestrial sink and the effects on climate change are still not fully understood. In this study, we aimed to explore the relationship between ecosystem production (GPP/SIF/NDVI) and net ecosystem carbon exchange (NEE) and to investigate the sensitivity of carbon fluxes to climate change at different spatio-temporal scales. Furthermore, we sought to delve into the carbon cycle processes driven by climate stress in China since the beginning of the 21st century. To achieve these objectives, we employed correlation and sensitivity analysis techniques, utilizing a wide range of data sources including ground-based observations, remote sensing observations, atmospheric inversions, machine learning, and model simulations. Our findings indicate that NEE in most arid regions of China is primarily driven by ecosystem production. Climate variations have a greater influence on ecosystem production than respiration. Warming has negatively impacted ecosystem production in Northeast China, as well as in subtropical and tropical regions. Conversely, increased precipitation has strengthened the terrestrial carbon sink, particularly in the northern cool and dry areas. We also found that ecosystem respiration exhibits heightened sensitivity to warming in southern China. Moreover, our analysis revealed that the control of terrestrial carbon cycle by ecosystem production gradually weakens from cold/arid areas to warm/humid areas. We identified distinct temperature thresholds (ranging from 10.5 to 13.7 °C) and precipitation thresholds (approximately 1400 mm yr-1) for the transition from production-dominated to respiration-dominated processes. Our study provides valuable insights into the complex relationship between climate change and carbon cycle in China.

Soil is the source and sink of microplastics (MPs), which is more polluted than water and air. In this paper, the pollution levels of MPs in the agriculture, roadside, urban and landfill soils were reviewed, and the influence of MPs on soil ecosystem, including soil properties, microorganisms, animals and plants, was discussed. According to the results of in vivo and in vitro experiments, the possible risks of MPs to soil ecosystem and human health were predicted. Finally, in light of the current status of MPs research, several prospects are provided for future research directions to better evaluate the ecological risk and human health risk of MPs. MPs concentrations in global agricultural soils, roadside soils, urban soils and landfill soils had a great variance in different studies and locations. The participation of MPs has an impact on all aspects of terrestrial ecosystems. For soil properties, pH value, bulk density, pore space and evapotranspiration can be changed by MPs. For microorganisms, MPs can alter the diversity and abundance of microbiome, and different MPs have different effects on bacteria and fungi differently. For plants, MPs may interfere with their biochemical and physiological conditions and produce a wide range of toxic effects, such as inhibiting plant growth, delaying or reducing seed germination, reducing biological and fruit yield, and interfering with photosynthesis. For soil animals, MPs can affect their mobility, growth rate and reproductive capacity. At present epidemiological evidences regarding MPs exposure and negative human health effects are unavailable, but in vitro and in vivo data suggest that they pose various threats to human health, including respiratory system, digestive system, urinary system, endocrine system, nervous system, and circulation system. In conclusion, the existence and danger of MPs cannot be ignored and requires a global effort.

The ecosystem gross primary productivity (GPP) is crucial to land-atmosphere carbon exchanges, and changes in global GPP as well as its influencing factors have been well studied in recent years. However, identifying the spatio-temporal variations of global GPP under future climate changes is still a challenging issue. This study aims to develop data-driven approach for predicting the global GPP as well as its monthly and annual variations up to the year 2100 under changing climate. Specifically, Catboost was employed to examine the potential relationship between the GPP and environmental factors, with climate variables, CO2 concentration and terrain attributes being selected as environmental factors. The predicted monthly and annual GPP from Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (CMIP6) under future SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0 and SSP5-8.5 scenarios were analyzed. The results indicate that the global GPP is predicted to increase under the future climate change in the 21st century. The annual GPP is expected to be 115.122 Pg C, 116.537 Pg C, 117.626 Pg C, and 120.097 Pg C in 2100 under four future scenarios, and the predicted monthly GPP shows seasonal difference. Meanwhile, GPP tends to increase in the northern mid-high latitude regions and decrease in the equatorial regions. For the climate zones form Köppen-Geiger classification, the arid, cold, and polar zones present increased GPP, while GPP in the tropical zone will decrease in the future. Moreover, the high importance of climate variables in GPP prediction illustrates that the future climate change is the main driver of the global GPP dynamics. This study provides a basis for predicting how global GPP responds to future climate change in the coming decades, which contribute to understanding the interactions between vegetation and climate.

Plants, soils and microorganisms play important roles in maintaining stable terrestrial stoichiometry. Studying how nutrient balances of these biotic and abiotic players vary across temperature gradients is important when predicting ecosystem changes on a warming planet. The respective responses of plant, soil and microbial stoichiometric ratios to warming have been observed, however, whether and how the stoichiometric correlations among the three components shift under warming has not been clearly understood and identified. In the present study, we have performed a meta-analysis based on 600 case studies from 74 sites or locations to clarify whether and how warming affects plant, soil and microbial stoichiometry, respectively, and their correlations. Our results indicated that: (1) globally, plants had higher C:N and C:P values compared to soil and microbial pools, but their N:P distributions were similar; (2) warming did not significantly alter plant, soil and microbial C:N and C:P values, but had a noticeable effect on plant N:P ratios. When ecosystem types, duration and magnitude of warming were taken into account, there was an inconsistent and even inverse warming response in terms of the direction and magnitude of changes in the C:N:P ratios occurring among plants, soils and microorganisms; (3) despite various warming responses of the stoichiometric ratios detected separately for plants, soils and microorganisms, the stoichiometric correlations among all three parts remained constant even under different warming scenarios. Our study highlighted the complexity of the effect of warming on the C:N:P stoichiometry, as well as the absence and importance of simultaneous measurements of stoichiometric ratios across different components of terrestrial ecosystems, which should be urgently strengthened in future studies.

Sulfur (S) is an important macronutrient that is widely distributed in nature. Understanding the patterns and mechanisms of S dynamics is of great significance for accurately predicting the geophysical and chemical cycles of S and formulating policies for S emission and management. We systematically investigated and integrated 17,618 natural plots in China\'s terrestrial ecosystems and built a S density database of vegetation (including leaves, branches, stems, and roots) and surface soil (0-30 cm depth). The biogeographic patterns and environmental drivers of the S content, density, and storage in the vegetation and soil of terrestrial ecosystems were explored. Vegetation and soil were the major components of terrestrial ecosystems, storing a total of 2228.77 ± 121.72 Tg S, with mean S densities of 4.32 ± 0.04 × 10-2, and 267.93 ± 14.94 × 10-2 t hm-2, respectively. The forest was the most important vegetation S pool and their S storage accounted for about 55.28 % of the total vegetation S storage, whereas soil S pools of croplands and other vegetation types (e.g., deserts and wetlands) accounted for about 63.18 % of the total soil S storage. The mean S density (2.18 ± 0.02 × 10-2 t hm-2) and S storage (12.45 ± 0.31 Tg) of plant roots were significantly higher than those of other organs. The spatial variation in the S density was mainly regulated by climate and soil properties, reflecting the physiological adaptation mechanisms of plants by adjusting the S uptake and distribution to cope with climate change. In this study, the spatial patterns of S density and storage in vegetation and soil in terrestrial ecosystems of China and their response to environmental factors on a national scale were systematically studied. The results provide insights into the biological functions of S and its role in plant-environment interactions.

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC), the labile fraction of organic carbon, is a predominant substrate for microbes. Therefore, the turnover of DOC dominates microbial respiration in soils. We compiled a global dataset (1096 data points) of the turnover rates of DOC in 0-30 cm soil profiles and integrated the data with a machine learning algorithm to develop a global map of DOC turnover rate in global topsoil. The global DOC turnover rate in 0-30 cm soil was averaged as 0.0087 day-1, with a considerable variation among biomes. The fastest DOC turnover rate was found in tropical forests (0.0175 day-1) and the lowest in tundra (0.0036 day-1), exhibiting a declining trend from low to high latitudes. The DOC turnover rate is primarily controlled by edaphic and climate factors, as confirmed by the analyses with the structural equation model and the Mental\'s test. With a machine learning algorithm, we produced global maps of DOC turnover rate at a monthly scale, which were further combined with a global dataset of DOC density to produce monthly maps of carbon mineralization from DOC turnover in topsoil. The annual carbon release from DOC was estimated as 27.98 Pg C year-1 from topsoil across the globe, with the largest contribution from forest biomes, followed by pasture and grassland. Tundra released the least carbon from DOC due to its low turnover rate suppressed by low temperatures. The biome- and global-scale information of DOC turnover rate and carbon release from DOC provide a benchmark for ecosystem models to better project soil carbon dynamics and their contributions to global carbon cycling in the changing environment.

Land use/cover change (LUCC) is the main factor leading to the change in carbon stock of terrestrial ecosystems. Studying the process of land use and carbon storage change under different scenarios in the future will help to formulate scientific land use policies and increase regional terrestrial ecosystem carbon storage. The GMMOP-PLUS-InVEST model was constructed to analyze the change characteristics of land use and carbon storage in northwest China from 2000 to 2020 through multi-source data and to predict the land use and carbon storage in northwest China in 2030 under the scenarios of natural development (ND), economic development (ED), ecological protection (EP), and comprehensive development (CD). The results showed that:①from 2000 to 2020, the area of grassland decreased by 1680.99×104 hm2, and the area of cultivated land, forest land, water area, wetland, construction land, and unused land increased by 201.19×104, 208.47×104, 91.54×104, 51.30×104, 157.40×104, and 971.09×104 hm2, respectively. ②From 2000 to 2020, soil and underground carbon storage decreased, dead organic matter and aboveground carbon storage increased, and total carbon storage decreased by 677.97×106 t. Grassland degradation was the main reason for the decrease in carbon storage. ③Compared to that in 2020, the total carbon storage in the ND scenario was reduced by 63.12×106 t, and the total carbon storage in the ED, EP, and CD scenarios increased by 759.19×106, 804.57×106, and 817.89×106 t, respectively; the CD scenario was the optimal development model. These results can provide a reference for regional land use planning and the increase of terrestrial ecosystem carbon storage.