Tianpeng Gao

Petroleum hydrocarbon contamination poses a persistent threat to soil quality and ecosystem functioning, while conventional remediation approaches are often costly and difficult to sustain over the long term. This study evaluated garden waste biochar as a sustainable amendment for the remediation of petroleum-contaminated soil and investigated its effects on TPH removal, soil physicochemical properties, and bacterial community changes. Biochar produced from garden waste at 600 °C was applied at 1% and 2% (w/w) to soil containing approximately 20,000 mg·kg⁻¹ TPH, and changes were monitored over 360 days. High-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing and redundancy analysis were combined with measurements of soil properties and TPH concentrations. Compared with the petroleum-contaminated control, biochar amendment substantially enhanced TPH removal, with removal efficiencies increasing from 24.44% to 44.26% and 52.93% under 1% and 2% biochar treatments, respectively. After 360 days, TPH concentrations decreased to 10,831.68 and 9102.07 mg·kg⁻¹ in the 1% and 2% biochar treatments, respectively. Biochar also significantly altered bacterial richness and community composition, with significant changes in the Ace, Chao1, and Sobs indices and shifts in dominant bacterial phyla. Soil nutrient availability and bacterial community structure were closely associated with environmental changes during remediation. Overall, garden waste biochar shows potential as a sustainable strategy that simultaneously promotes biomass waste valorization and petroleum-contaminated soil remediation.

Strengthening the carbon sequestration function of agriculture and reducing carbon emissions during production are critical for enhancing the carbon neutrality capacity of agricultural systems. This study focuses on Lanzhou City in the arid northwest region of China, and uses the emission factor method to analyze carbon emissions and crop carbon sequestration within the local agricultural production system (2000–2023). The results indicate that plastic film and fertilizers, as agricultural production inputs, contribute substantially to the total carbon emissions of the planting industry, while the annual average carbon emissions from sheep account for approximately half of the total annual carbon emissions from animal husbandry. The annual average carbon sequestration of crops is 366,057 tons, with an average annual growth rate of 1.1%. The ratio of crop carbon sequestration to the total carbon emissions from planting and animal husbandry is approximately 2.1:1. Although the carbon sequestration of crops has increased over time, its average annual growth rate remains lower than that of carbon emissions from planting and animal husbandry, resulting in an Agricultural Sustainable Development Index of 54%. Therefore, further efforts are needed to control carbon emissions and increase the carbon sequestration capacity of crops to improve the sustainability of agriculture development in the region. Finally, the Monte Carlo algorithm is used to simulate and predict future carbon emissions from animal husbandry within the agricultural production system, thereby obtaining the relative trends in total carbon emissions from pigs, cows, and sheep over a given period. Limiting the scale and growth rate of major livestock populations can help limit the increase in carbon emissions from animal husbandry.

Based on data from the literature in the Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus databases, this study collected 325 articles published between 2020 and 2025. Using Citespace software (version 6.4) to analyze publication volume, countries, institutions, disciplinary categories, and keywords, we examined research characteristics, hotspots, and bottlenecks in the field of ecological remediation for heavy metal pollution in mining area soils. Results indicate: (1) Publication volume in this field showed an upward trend from 2020 to 2024, accounting for 70.2% of this dataset being from the environmental sciences. Chinese scholars demonstrated significant dominance and high engagement, though interdisciplinary depth remained insufficient; (2) from 2020 to 2025, the research focus shifted from risk identification to precise remediation, forming a complete logical chain of ‘identification–remediation–optimization’. Green technologies (biological/combined remediation) emerged as mainstream approaches in integrated remediation. (3) A significant gap exists between research and practice. Many innovative technologies are costly and difficult for enterprises to bear, while low-cost techniques like ‘waste-to-waste treatment’ lack sufficient research and application, hindering large-scale implementation. This study reveals the current situation of ‘intense research but difficult application’ in the ecological remediation of heavy metal-contaminated soils in mining areas. The findings provide a scientific basis for technological innovation, practical implementation, and policy making.

The diversity of floral traits in angiosperms has evolved over time as an adaptive response to reproductive demands. Investigating floral characteristics and pollination systems helps elucidate the evolutionary drivers behind morphological variation in flowers. In this study, we examined A. erythrocarpa to systematically document its floral morphology, stigma receptivity, pollen–ovule ratio, breeding system, and pollinator behavior. Results showed that the sepals abscised completely at the early flowering stage, while stigmas became receptive even during the bud phase. The pollen–ovule ratio was 1773.58 ± 689.75, indicating a facultatively xenogamous breeding system. Bagging experiments further confirmed that the species is self-compatible but does not exhibit apomixis or wind pollination. Field observations identified Agromyzidae sp. and E. balteatus as the primary pollinators, which visited flowers at high frequency after sepal abscission but before anther dehiscence. Compared with its congener A. asiatica, which exhibits delayed sepal abscission and relies mainly on selfing, A. erythrocarpa demonstrates distinct floral morphological adaptations linked to its specialized pollination strategy. These two species thus represent divergent reproductive adaptation patterns within the genus. Therefore, the visiting behavior of fly insects and the early shedding of sepals promotes cross-pollination of A. erythrocarpa.

Perilla (Perilla frutescens) is an important oilseed crop valued for its rich content of nutraceutical compounds and polyunsaturated fatty acids. While triacylglycerol biosynthesis has been studied, the role of polar lipids during seed development remains poorly characterized. Here, we performed a comprehensive lipidomic analysis of polar lipids in developing perilla seeds across three key stages. A total of 147 molecular species from 10 polar lipid classes were identified. Phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine were the predominant phospholipids, and both decreased markedly during development, with phosphatidylcholine showing the most significant reduction. In contrast, lysophosphatidic acid increased substantially by 62.4%. Conversely, the galactolipids monolactodiacylglycerol and digalactosyldiacylglycerol showed a decline in perilla during cotyledon development. Additionally, the unsaturation index of most polar lipids decreased during development. These variation characteristics of polar lipids during growth and development may suggest an adaptive strategy for oil accumulation in perilla.

Spring ephemerals have different pollination strategies to avoid the rareness and/or low activity of insect pollinators caused by low temperature in early spring. However, limited research has been conducted on the effects of elaborate petals and the pseudonectaries on petals on pollinator attraction. We examined the role of the elaborate petals and the pseudonectaries in pollinator attractions of the spring ephemeral Eranthis stellata (Ranunculaceae) using a combination of observational and experimental approaches. The results indicated that the color contrast created by the yellow pseudonectaries that did not secrete nectar on the white petals, was more attractive to both bees and flies as nectar guides, but only bees with relatively longer tongues could access nectar at the base of the petal tubes. Also, the pseudonectaries were food deception for fly visitors. Food deception as a mechanism to increase the efficiency of pollination has not been reported for Ranunculaceae or other basal eudicots.

Research was conducted in Gannan Prefecture, China, to better understand the characteristics of carbon emissions and sequestration in areas dominated by animal husbandry. The emission factor method was used to calculate and analyze changes in carbon emissions from 2009 to 2024. The region’s average annual carbon emissions from animal husbandry are 774,286 t C-eq (2,839,049 t CO₂eq), with enteric emissions from cattle being the biggest contributor. However, as the number of locally raised cattle and sheep has decreased, carbon emissions have gradually fallen at an average annual rate of −1.0%. The annual average total carbon sequestration of vegetation in the region is 6,861,535 t C-eq, and the carbon content in underground biomass is higher than that in aboveground biomass, making it the main contributor to grassland carbon sequestration. Carbon sequestration from grassland vegetation is greater than the carbon emissions from animal husbandry, which means that the entire production system is currently a carbon sink. Meanwhile, the analysis of land-use carbon sequestration found that the annual average total sequestration by forests and grasslands over the same time period was 752,327 t C-eq, and sequestration is increasing at an annual rate of 1.4%, primarily driven by the progressive expansion of forested areas. Although the regional carbon emissions from animal husbandry are lower than the carbon sequestration, developing a science-based animal husbandry plan aligned with regional ecological thresholds, continuing to implement grass–livestock balance management measures, and preventing livestock numbers from exceeding their ecological carrying capacity remain critical to promoting sustainable coordination between livestock economies and ecological conservation.