Article
Environmental Sciences
Shu-Yi-Dan Zhou, Qi Zhang, Roy Neilson, Madeline Giles, Hu Li, Xiao-Ru Yang, Jian-Qiang Su, Yong-Guan Zhu
Summary: The phyllosphere is a critical site for the transmission of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) and human pathogens to humans, and green building systems may provide a previously unexplored pathway for this transmission. Research found that the abundance of ARGs on leaves decreased with height above ground level, and shared bacterial species from culture-dependent and culture-independent methods suggest potential movement from soil to plants through an endophytic mechanism.
ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Giulia Squillacioti, Samuele De Petris, Valeria Bellisario, Enrico Corrado Borgogno Mondino, Roberto Bono
Summary: The urban environment has an influence on sedentary behavior in school-aged children, with children living in less urbanized and more vegetated areas spending less time sedentary and being less likely to exceed recommended screen time. Maternal education level may act as an effect modifier. These findings emphasize the importance of considering environmental characteristics in public health strategies to prevent sedentary behavior and promote sustainable and healthier cities.
URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Zdravko Baruch, Craig Liddicoat, Christian Cando-Dumancela, Mark Laws, Hamish Morelli, Philip Weinstein, Jennifer M. Young, Martin F. Breed
Summary: The management of urban green spaces has a significant impact on soil bacterial communities, with plant species richness positively associated with soil bacterial diversity. These trends are not influenced by geographical proximity of sample sites, highlighting the importance of understanding the effects of urban green space management on the soil microbiome for informing policy development.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Daria Sikorska, Magdalena Wojnowska-Heciak, Jakub Heciak, Joanna Bukowska, Edyta Laszkiewicz, Richard J. Hopkins, Piotr Sikorski
Summary: Based on a social preference survey in Warsaw, this study assesses people's preferences for changes in urban green spaces (UGS) to ensure safe recreation, examining how personal characteristics correlate with preferred changes. The findings suggest that vegetation density and overall share of vegetation are highly important factors in assessing images, while crowding has little effect. Respondents expressed a need for more wild and cultivated vegetation, as well as more places for spending time in UGS. Two major behavioral patterns were identified: those driven by fear of COVID-19 who preferred green spaces closer to their homes and required fewer alterations, and those frequent visitors of UGS who showed no fear of COVID-19 and preferred more wilderness. These findings highlight the importance of increasing UGS diversity.
URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Florian Reinwald, Daniela Haluza, Ulrike Pitha, Rosemarie Stangl
Summary: During the COVID-19 pandemic, city dwellers faced challenges in adhering to behavioral measures, highlighting the importance of green open spaces in urban areas. Green spaces and greened buildings have a positive impact on cities and human health and well-being.
Article
Environmental Studies
Danny Casprini, Alessandra Oppio, Giulia Rossi, Irene Bengo
Summary: Urbanisation has had an impact on people's livelihoods, social infrastructures, and resource consumption. The trend of greening cities in Europe has partially reverted the commodification of public and green areas, but it does not always bring positive societal outcomes and may lead to unequal access to green areas. This study explores the governance model adopted for urban green areas, and its influence on the perception of benefits associated with ecosystem services and their redistribution at the community level. By analyzing a newly developed urban park in Milan, the study identifies innovative practices for maximizing ecosystem services' benefits and recommends effective tools for collaborative management models of urban green areas.
Article
Plant Sciences
Gonzalo de la Fuente de Val
Summary: Based on an online questionnaire survey in Latin America, the study found that citizens prefer formal green spaces over those dominated by spontaneous wild vegetation (SWV). However, once informed of the benefits of SWV, preferences change and wild vegetation spaces were appreciated more. But after 30 days, preferences return to their initial point with formal green spaces being appreciated again over wild spaces.
URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Agnieszka Olszewska-Guizzo, Angelia Sia, Anna Fogel, Roger Ho
Summary: There is a consensus among researchers that contact with nature improves mental health and wellbeing in urban environments. The Contemplative Landscape Model (CLM) can be used to measure the therapeutic value of urban landscapes. This study found that features such as peace and silence, layers of the landscape, and archetypal elements were strongly associated with positive emotions and brain activity related to mindfulness, relaxation, and attention restoration.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Bianca Lopez, Christopher Kennedy, Christopher Field, Timon McPhearson
Summary: The study found that most respondents were concerned about lack of social distancing and crowded urban green spaces, which made them less likely to visit these spaces and visit them less frequently than before the pandemic. Additionally, differences in concerns and important features of urban green spaces across gender, race, and ethnicity highlight the importance of considering specific community needs in design and management of these spaces.
URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Liqin Zhang, Huhua Cao, Ruibo Han
Summary: The study found that residents' perceptions of green open spaces are significantly related to social factors, and responses to improving green spaces reflect residents' pursuit of natural affinity and practicality. Therefore, providing practical information to facilitate residents' needs will provide important insights for urban planning.
Article
Microbiology
Babette Muyshondt, Karen Wuyts, Anskje Van Mensel, Wenke Smets, Sarah Lebeer, Cristiana Aleixo, Marta Alos Orti, Joan Casanelles-Abella, Francois Chiron, Puglielli Giacomo, Lauri Laanisto, Marco Moretti, Ulo Niinemets, Pedro Pinho, Piotr Tryjanowski, Patrycja Woszczylo, Roeland Samson
Summary: This study found that phyllosphere bacterial communities in European cities are associated with urban intensity, and this association is influenced by several combined stress factors.
FEMS MICROBIOLOGY ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Liqing Zhang, Puay Yok Tan, Daniel Rong Yao Gan, Rosita Samsudin
Summary: This study examined the pathways linking urban green spaces (UGS) provision, UGS exposure, three mediators (emotional regulation, social interaction, and physical activities conducted in UGS), and self-reported mental and general health. The results showed that emotional regulation mediated the associations between perceived UGS provision and UGS exposure with mental health, while social interaction mediated the association between UGS and general health. However, green physical activities did not have a significant mediating effect. UGS exposure mediated only a small portion of the pathways linking perceived UGS provision to the other three mediators. Overall, this study contributes to the understanding of the mechanisms underlying the associations between UGS and health outcomes.
LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Liqing Zhang, Puay Yok Tan, Daniel Richards
Summary: This study examined the relationships between different indicators of urban green space (UGS) provision and self-reported mental and general health in Singapore. Canopy cover and perceived usage quality were significantly associated with positive mental health, while visual greenness at a 100 m scale had a significant relationship with mental health. The findings suggest the importance of measuring both objective and subjective attributes of UGS provision for urban greening initiatives.
LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING
(2021)
Review
Plant Sciences
Rosa Reyes-Riveros, Adison Altamirano, Francisco De la Barrera, Daniel Rozas-Vasquez, Lorena Vieli, Paula Meli
Summary: Public urban green spaces play a vital role in improving human well-being, especially in terms of health. The characteristics of structure and biodiversity are highly rated in the literature as they contribute to positive impacts on mental health and social relations. Using methods to assess the relationship between green spaces and human well-being should prioritize the perception of the green space?s users.
URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Nina Danilina, Ksenia Tsurenkova, Vladislav Berkovich
Summary: The article focuses on the importance of green infrastructure in addressing urban sustainability challenges, particularly in highly urbanized countries like Russia. It proposes a multiple criteria method for evaluating and improving existing green infrastructure networks in cities, with a focus on sustainability, climate change adaptation, and the preservation of ecosystem functions and cultural heritage. The flexibility of the proposed method makes it replicable for creating sustainable, climate-change-adapted cities.
Article
Ecology
Yongxin Lin, Guiping Ye, Hang-Wei Hu, Ping Yang, Song Wan, Mengmeng Feng, Zi-Yang He, Ji-Zheng He
Summary: This study investigated the impact of plant species on the abundance, diversity, and community structure of comammox Nitrospira. The findings revealed that plant species play a critical role in driving the distribution of comammox Nitrospira, with different plant species influencing different clades of comammox Nitrospira. Additionally, plant invasion can alter the community structure of comammox Nitrospira. Soil depth also has some influence on the community structure of comammox Nitrospira, although weaker than the effect of plant species.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Jing Ding, Min Lv, Dong Zhu, Eva F. Leifheit, Qing-Lin Chen, Yun-Qing Wang, Ling-Xin Chen, Matthias C. Rillig, Yong-Guan Zhu
Summary: Tire wear particles (TWP) have caused widespread contamination in the environment. This study aims to understand the behavior and potential impacts of TWP in soil ecosystems. By synthesizing existing knowledge and comparing with the effects of microplastics (MP), the study outlines the composition, distribution, and behavior of TWP in soils, and highlights the potential impacts on soil biota and the underlying mechanisms. The study suggests that more research is needed to clarify the behavior and impacts of TWP at different levels, from individual organisms to the Earth system, as TWP may pose as an emerging threat to soil health.
CRITICAL REVIEWS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Shuai Du, Jiao Feng, Li Bi, Hang-Wei Hu, Xiuli Hao, Qiaoyun Huang, Yu-Rong Liu
Summary: Rice-crayfish co-culture system has the potential to spread and cause pathogenicity of resistance and virulence genes, posing a potential threat to human health. The system selectively enriched certain subtypes of these genes and showed a higher horizontal transfer potential.
ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Review
Microbiology
Bao-Anh Thi Nguyen, Kenneth Dumack, Pankaj Trivedi, Zahra Islam, Hang-Wei Hu
Summary: The importance of host-associated microorganisms and their biotic interactions for plant health and performance has been increasingly recognized. However, the community structure and functions of plant-associated protists remain underexplored. Harnessing plant-associated protists and other microbes can potentially enhance plant health and productivity and sustain healthy food and agriculture systems.
ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Guiyao Zhou, Manuel Esteban Lucas-Borja, Shengen Liu, Hang-Wei Hu, Ji-Zheng He, Xinxin Wang, Zheng Jiang, Xuhui Zhou, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo
Summary: This study provides new insights into the patterns and functional trade-offs in the multidimensional rewilding of Mediterranean forests, highlighting the importance of biodiversity for long-term restoration efforts.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Kunkun Fan, Haiyan Chu, David J. J. Eldridge, Juan J. J. Gaitan, Yu-Rong Liu, Blessing Sokoya, Jun-Tao Wang, Hang-Wei Hu, Ji-Zheng He, Wei Sun, Haiying Cui, Fernando D. D. Alfaro, Sebastian Abades, Felipe Bastida, Marta Diaz-Lopez, Adebola R. R. Bamigboye, Miguel Berdugo, Jose L. Blanco-Pastor, Tine Grebenc, Jorge Duran, Javier G. G. Illan, Thulani P. P. Makhalanyane, Arpan Mukherjee, Tina U. U. Nahberger, Gabriel F. F. Penaloza-Bojaca, Cesar Plaza, Jay Prakash Verma, Ana Rey, Alexandra Rodriguez, Christina Siebe, Alberto L. L. Teixido, Pankaj Trivedi, Ling Wang, Jianyong Wang, Tianxue Yang, Xin-Quan Zhou, Xiaobing Zhou, Eli Zaady, Leho Tedersoo, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo
Summary: In urban greenspaces, soil biodiversity is positively correlated with multiple ecosystem functions, while plant diversity indirectly influences multifunctionality. Conserving soil biodiversity is crucial for supporting multiple dimensions of ecosystem functioning in urban ecosystems.
NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2023)
Review
Microbiology
Minxiao Ma, Paul W. J. Taylor, Deli Chen, Niloofar Vaghefi, Ji-Zheng He
Summary: Tomato is the second most cultivated vegetable crop globally and is grown in temperate climates. Soilborne pathogens, including bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and oomycetes, have serious impacts on tomato yield and quality. Biological control, with its high efficiency, target-specificity, sustainability, and public acceptance, has become a popular method for managing these diseases.
Article
Ecology
Ren Bai, Hang-Wei Hu, Meng Zhou, Jun Sheng, Chao Xiong, Yumeng Guo, Yujia Yuan, Longyu Hou, Wen-Hao Zhang, Wenming Bai
Summary: Long-term mowing can lead to stunted plant growth and reduced grassland productivity. The responses of leaf/root-associated bacterial communities to mowing were examined in a temperate grassland. The diversity of bacterial communities varied depending on plant traits and mowing treatment. The study sheds light on the complex relationships between leaf/root microbiomes and plant traits.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Jinsong Liang, Huan Lin, Brajesh Singh, Aijie Wang, Zhenzhen Yan
Summary: This study investigates antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in biofilters of drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) and finds that the source water types significantly influence the ARGs abundance. Although the ARGs abundance is higher in surface water biofilters compared to groundwater biofilters, the risk pattern of ARGs is similar in both. Additionally, two antibiotics biosynthesis pathways are found to be positively correlated with several ARG types, indicating their potential roles in the ecological genesis of ARGs.
Article
Forestry
Yuting Yan, Danting Yu, Lili Han, Chengyu Yuan, Jizheng He
Summary: As the most abundant organisms on earth, viruses play a crucial role in shaping bacterial communities, mediating gene transfer, and promoting biogeochemical cycles. However, soil viruses are still understudied, and there is a lack of information about community construction, virus-host interactions, and ecological functions. In this study, we investigated viral and bacterial communities in different land use types in China and found that viral communities differed significantly between land use types. We also identified abundant auxiliary metabolic genes in the viral genomes, suggesting that viruses could regulate bacterial carbon cycling processes.
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Bing Zhao, Guangjin Wang, Kui Zhao, Menglai Wang, Bisheng Wu, Shujian Li, Qinglin Chen, Jiabo Geng
Summary: Incorporating a proper amount of phosphogypsum (PG) can significantly improve the mechanical properties and water impermeability of steam-cured fly ash (FA) mortar. The 1-d and 28-d compressive strengths of samples increase by 11% and 5.37%, respectively, when 10% of PG is added. Moreover, using an appropriate amount of PG also brings obvious economic and environmental benefits.
CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING MATERIALS
(2023)
Editorial Material
Biodiversity Conservation
Yongliang Chen, Hang-Wei Hu
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Zewen Hei, Yiting Peng, Shenglei Hao, Yiming Li, Xue Yang, Tongbin Zhu, Christoph Mueller, Hongyan Zhang, Hangwei Hu, Yongliang Chen
Summary: This study found that replacing chemical fertilizer with organic manure can significantly reduce N2O emissions in croplands. Organic manure decreased the abundance and diversity of ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB), but increased the abundance and diversity of ammonia oxidizing archaea and comammox Nitrospira. Moreover, organic manure also decreased organic N mineralization and autotrophic nitrification rate. This study highlights the importance of ammonia oxidizers and N transformation rates in predicting cropland N2O emissions.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Thi Bao-Anh Nguyen, Michael Bonkowski, Kenneth Dumack, Qing-Lin Chen, Ji-Zheng He, Hang-Wei Hu
Summary: This study investigated the response of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in soil to predation pressure from protists. The results showed that an increase in protistan predation pressure was associated with higher abundance and diversity of ARGs in the soil. High concentrations of protists significantly increased the abundance of genes encoding multidrug and tetracycline resistance, as well as the abundance of certain bacterial genera.
Article
Plant Sciences
Xue Yang, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, Yuxuan Niu, Peter Christie, Ji Chen, Hangwei Hu, Yongliang Chen
Summary: The design of cropping systems plays a critical role in bridging the gap between ecosystem sustainability and commercial profitability. Rotational systems with three harvests within 2 yr have shown great potential in enhancing ecosystem services and minimizing trade-offs among multiple agricultural ecosystem services, resulting in a 'win-win' situation for economics and multiple services.