Soil organic carbon dynamics in the agricultural soils of Bangladesh following more than 20 years of land use intensification

Study on stabilization of mercury in wastewater and soil by modified coal-based humic acid residue

Coal-based humic acid residue (HAS), as a waste generated during humic acid production, has been gaining attention in recent years due to its adsorption capacity and containing nutrients. In this study, to improve the adsorption capacity of HAS for and Hg, phosphate-modified materials (N-HAS) were prepared by a hydrothermal method and HAS and N-HAS were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray fluorescence (XRF); batch adsorption experiments investigated the adsorption capacity of N-HAS on Hg2+ under different pH, and isothermal adsorption model and kinetic model fitted the adsorption process to explore the adsorption mechanism; the effects of various amounts of N-HAS on the Hg content in maize and the effective Hg in the soil under Hg-contaminated soil were investigated by field trial. The results showed that the pseudo-second-order kinetic model (R2 = 0.9641) and Langmuir isothermal (R2 = 0.95) adsorption model could better describe the adsorption behavior of N-HAR on Hg2+, the maximum adsorption amount was 124.20 mg/g, and the time to reach adsorption equilibrium was shorter for N-HAS compared to HAS; after 5 times of adsorption-desorption, the removal rate of Hg2+ by N-HAS was still higher than 80%, with stable cyclic adsorption performance; the adsorption mechanism of Hg2+ by N-HAS included physical adsorption, precipitation, and surface complexation, and compared with HAS, the percentage of complexation for Hg2+ adsorption by N-HAS increased by 77.81%, and the percentage of precipitation increased by 7.68%; compared to the control group, it was shown that the addition of N-HAS significantly decreased (p < 0.05) the Hg content of maize kernels by 27.44%-72.09%, increased biomass by 4.34%-11.26%, and decreased the available Hg content in soil by 50.00%-82.80%. In addition, the addition of N-HAS at 0.4 kg/m2 was optimal for the field trial. The study showed that N-HAS not only achieved resource utilization but also demonstrated great potential for treating Hg2+ in water and soil.

Agricultural carbon reduction in China: The synergy effect of trade and technology on sustainable development

The control of carbon emissions from agriculture is imperative in addressing the challenges posed by the greenhouse effect. China must develop a specific pathway for reducing its agricultural carbon emissions, accounting for its unique circumstances and considering the impacts of trade liberalization. (1) The study revealing that agricultural trade liberalization (ATL) has a marked effect on lowering China's agricultural carbon emission intensity (ACEI), with robustness and endogeneity tests supporting these findings. (2) In the pursuit of emissions reduction, the crucial role of technology spillovers (TS) and the optimization of industrial structure (OIS) are essential. (3) The reduction in ACEI is particularly notable in coastal regions, areas with low environmental regulations and during periods characterized by more stable agricultural tariffs. This study shows a synergistic association between ATL and ACEI, indicates the potential for a mutually beneficial situation with advantages in both economic and environmental aspects.

Promotion of phosphate release from humic acid-iron hydroxide coprecipitates in the presence of citric acid

Phosphate (P) resources are expected to be depleted within a century. Therefore, promoting balanced phosphorus fertilizer use and understanding phosphorus dynamics in soils containing iron (III), organic acids, and iron (III)-organic molecule particulates is crucial. This study investigated the sorption of citric acid onto humic acid-iron hydr(o)xide coprecipitate (HAFHCP) and the reciprocal effects of citric acid and P sorption on HAFHCP with different C/Fe ratios. The results showed that the maximum sorption capacity (MSC) of citric acid on HAFHCP decreased with increasing C/Fe ratios in the HAFHCP. The P sorption on HAFHCP pre-sorbed with citric acids (denoted as C-P) decreased by 50% compared with that of the MSC on FH. However, citric acids could only reduce P sorption by 20% when P was pre-sorbed on HAFHCP (denoted as P-C). The results suggested that upon the formation of HAFHCP, citric acids might increase P availability, especially in the C-P system. Although citric acids initially inhibited P sorption on HAFHCP in the P-C system, P sorption increased with prolonged reaction time. The exposures of new sorption sites upon dissolution of Fe from HAFHCP by citric acids or/and the formations of Fe bridge between P and organic domains of HAFHCP might contribute to these results. Additionally, a number of large HAFHCP aggregates became smaller while sorbing P due to the increasing electric repulsion on the surfaces of FH, enabling the subsequent dissolutions of more Fe by citric acids from HAFHCP in the P-C system. By integrating these innovative and sustainable strategies, the recycling and reuse of P can be optimized, thereby minimizing the reliance on synthetic fertilizers and mitigating environmental impacts. This approach fosters the efficient utilization of phosphorus resources, improves soil fertility, and enhances the overall resilience of agricultural systems and ecosystems.

Sediment organic carbon dynamics response to land use change in diverse watershed anthropogenic activities

Sediment organic carbon (SOC) is a precious archive that synthesizes anthropogenic processes that remove geochemical fluxes from watersheds. However, the scarcity of inspection about the dynamic mechanisms of anthropogenic activities on SOC limits understanding into how key human factors drive carbon dynamics. Here, four typical basins with similar natural but significantly diverse human contexts (high-moderate-low disturbance: XJ-ZS and YJ-LS) were selected to reconstruct sedimentation rates (SR) and SOC dynamics nearly a century based on 200-cm corers. A partial least squares path model (PLS-PM) was used to establish successive (70 years) and multiple anthropogenic data (population, agriculture, land use, etc.) quantification methods for SOC. Intensified anthropogenic disturbances shifted all SR from pre-stable to post-1960s fluctuating increases (total coefficient: high: 0.63 < low: 0.47 < medium: 0.45). Although land use change was co-critical driver of SOC variations, their trend and extent differed under the dams and other disturbances (SOC mutated in high-moderate but stable in low). For high basin, land use changes increased (0.12) but dams reduced (-0.10) the downstream SOC. Furthermore, SOC mutation corresponded to soil erosion due to urbanization in both periods A and B. For moderate, SOC was reversed with the increase in afforestation and cropland (-0.19) due to the forest excitation effect and deep ploughing, which corresponded to the drought in phase B and the anthropogenic ecological project in A. For low, the increase in SOC corresponded to the Great Leap Forward deforestation in period B and the reed sweep in A, which suggested the minor land change substantially affected (0.16) SOC in fragile environments. Overall, SOC dynamics revealed that anthropogenic activities affected terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems for near the centenary, especially land use. This is constructive for agroforestry management and reservoir construction, consistent with expectations like upstream carbon sequestration and downstream carbon stabilization.