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Increasing atmospheric nitrogen deposition can influence food production, environmental quality and climate change from the regional to global scales. As the largest developing country, China is expected to experience a rapid increase in N deposition. However, the lack of information on dry N deposition limits our understanding of the historical trend of the total N deposition, as well as the main drivers of this trend. Here, we use extensive datasets that include both wet and dry N deposition to evaluate the spatiotemporal variation of N deposition and the changes of its components in China during 1980–2015. Three significant transitions in N deposition in China were observed. First, the total N deposition began to stabilize in 2001–2005, mostly due to a decline in wet NH4+ deposition. Subsequently, a shift to approximately equal wet and dry N deposition occurred in 2011–2015, accompanied by increasing dry deposition. Finally, the contribution of reduced N components in the deposition decreased due to increasing NO3− deposition. These transitions were jointly driven by changes in the socioeconomic structure in China and vigorous controls in N pollution. The three observed important transitions challenge the traditional views about the continuous increase in N deposition in China.Nitrogen deposition in China has been almost constant over the past decade, as decreasing wet deposition has balanced increasing dry deposition, according to analyses of extensive datasets on wet and dry nitrogen depositions in China.

Advances in manufacturing and trade have reshaped global nitrogen deposition patterns, yet their dynamics and drivers remain unclear. Here, we compile a comprehensive global nitrogen deposition database spanning 1977–2021, aggregating 52,671 site-years of data from observation networks and published articles. This database show that global nitrogen deposition to land is 92.7 Tg N in 2020. Total nitrogen deposition increases initially, stabilizing after peaking in 2015. Developing countries at low and middle latitudes emerge as new hotspots. The gross domestic product per capita is found to be highly and non-linearly correlated with global nitrogen deposition dynamic evolution, and reduced nitrogen deposition peaks higher and earlier than oxidized nitrogen deposition. Our findings underscore the need for policies that align agricultural and industrial progress to facilitate the peak shift or reduction of nitrogen deposition in developing countries and to strengthen measures to address NH 3 emission hotspots in developed countries. Zhu et al. compile a global N deposition database and find a shift in N deposition, with developing countries emerging as new hotspots. A strong link between economic development and N dynamics is identified, with important policy implications.

Forests’ dynamics have become increasingly complex under climate change and human activities. Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA), with extensive forest cover and a mosaic of protected and non-protected areas, is an ideal region for examining forest responses to climate and anthropogenic activities. To ensure robust long-term monitoring, we retrieved EVI2 from daily AVHRR and MODIS surface reflectance data and performed pixel-wise assimilation of the two datasets, substantially reducing systematic bias and constructing a consistent 1982–2024 annual EVI2 dataset. Using this harmonized dataset, along with land use, climate, and protected area data, we analyzed over four decades of forest greenness trends, variability, and drivers in protected and non-protected zones. Results show that forests in MSEA maintained high coverage (mean EVI2 = 0.6253) and exhibited a clear greening trend (+0.014 per decade). Temperature was the dominant driver, contributing over 50% of the variation, followed by human activities (>30%), while precipitation played a smaller and mixed role. Forests in protected areas were 1.3 times more stable than those outside (CV = 4.1% vs. 5.2%), highlighting the buffering role of protection. These findings provide a reliable long-term benchmark for forest monitoring and inform targeted conservation and sustainable management strategies in MSEA. The constructed assimilated long-term EVI2 dataset is available to support future research on vegetation dynamics, climate impacts, and ecosystem sustainability.

Atmospheric sulfur (S) deposition, a key component of acid deposition, poses risks to ecosystems, human health, and sustainable development. In China, decades of coal-dominated energy use caused severe S pollution, but recent emission-control policies and energy restructuring have sought to reverse this trend. However, the effectiveness and regional differences in these measures remain insufficiently quantified. Here, we combined continuous observations from 43 monitoring sites (2013–2023), satellite-derived SO2 vertical column density, and multi-source environmental datasets to construct a high-resolution record of wet S deposition. A random forest model, validated with R2 = 0.52 and RMSE = 1.2 kg ha−1 yr−1, was used to estimate fluxes and spatial patterns, while ridge regression and SHAP analysis quantified the relative contributions of emissions, precipitation, and socioeconomic factors. This framework allows us to assess both the environmental and health-related sustainability implications of sulfur deposition. Results show a nationwide decline of more than 50% in wet S deposition during 2013–2023, with two-thirds of sites and 95% of grids showing significant decreases. Historical hotspots such as the North China Plain and Sichuan Basin improved markedly, while some southern provinces (e.g., Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangxi) still exhibited high deposition (>20 kg ha−1 yr−1). Over 90% of the reduction was attributable to emission declines, confirming the dominant effect of sustained policy-driven measures. This study extends sulfur deposition records to 2023, demonstrates the value of integrating ground monitoring with remote sensing and machine learning, and provides robust evidence that China’s emission reduction policies have delivered significant environmental and sustainability benefits. The findings offer insights for region-specific governance and for developing countries balancing economic growth with ecological protection.

Trait‐based community analysis provides a new approach to integrate functional ecology with community ecology. However, our understanding of the linkages between root chemical traits and community chemical diversity and assembly is still in its infancy. Environmental filtering and niche differentiation are two opposite driving forces of community assembly based on deterministic niche processes. We hypothesize that environmental filtering is a strong driver of root chemical assembly at a large spatial scale, whereas biogeochemical niche differentiation drives root chemical traits divergence among co‐occurring species at site scale. We analysed the concentrations of 15 elements in the fine roots of 281 species across five forest types of China. Discriminant analysis was used to measure the degree of similarity of root chemical traits at the community level and biogeochemical niche differentiation at the species level. Root chemical traits at the community level showed a systematic shift along environmental gradients. The growth rate‐related dimension represented by root P and Ca was the most important niche dimension associated with community root chemical assembly, driven by large‐scale environmental filters, particularly soils and climate. Biogeochemical niche differentiation of co‐occurring species could be a consequence of reducing nutrient competition, especially the competition for nitrogen. Root chemical traits provide a new dimension for assessing the functional niche and may help improve our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of root chemical assembly from the local to the biome scale. A plain language summary is available for this article. Plain Language Summary

Soil inorganic carbon (SIC) comprises nearly half of terrestrial carbon storage and is vital for climate regulation. While previous studies focused on SIC’s size, composition, and distribution, its temporal dynamics and drivers remain understudied. Here, we analyzed SIC spatiotemporal changes (1980–2020) across China using 2526 soil samples and a digital soil mapping framework. In 2020, China’s top 30 cm SIC stock was 15.15 Pg C, with the highest density in desert. Spatial patterns followed a northwest-to-southeast gradient shaped mainly by climate and soil properties. Temporal trends were primarily driven by anthropogenic factors. Increased nitrogen deposition, fertilizer-induced acidification, and reduced calcium supply from declining base-cation deposition contributed to an annual SIC loss of 0.03 Pg C. These changes alter carbon fluxes among soil-atmosphere-hydrosphere system, with implications for climate. Our findings highlight the need for sustainable nitrogen management and base cation supplementation to mitigate SIC loss and support long-term carbon retention. Spatial variability of topsoil inorganic carbon is influenced by climate and soil properties, whereas nitrogen deposition, fertilizer-induced acidification, and reduced calcium supply contribute to the temporal trends, according to an analysis of 2526 soil samples across China from 1980 to 2020.

Background Human milk fortifier (HMF) composition has been optimized recently. But clinical evidence of its safety and efficacy is limited in Chinese population. The aim of this study was to evaluate effects of a new HMF in growth, nutritional status, feeding intolerance, and major morbidities among very preterm (VPT) or very low birth weight (VLBW) infants in China. Methods VPT/VLBW infants admitted from March 2020 to April 2021 were prospectively included in the experimental (new HMF, nHMF) group, who received a new powdered HMF as a breast milk feeding supplement during hospitalization. Infants in the control group (cHMF) admitted from January 2018 to December 2019, were retrospective included, and matched with nHMF group infants for gestational age and birth weight. They received other kinds of commercially available HMFs. Weight gain velocity, concentrations of nutritional biomarkers, incidence of major morbidities, and measures of feeding intolerance were compared between the two groups. Results Demographic and clinical characteristics of infants in nHMF and cHMF groups were comparable. Weight gain velocity had no significant difference between the nHMF (14.0 ± 3.5 g/kg/d) and the cHMF group (14.2 ± 3.8 g/kg/d; P  = 0.46). Incidence of morbidities, including necrotizing enterocolitis, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, retinopathy of prematurity, culture-confirmed sepsis, and feeding intolerance during hospitalization between nHMF and cHMF, were similar (all P -values > 0.05). The time to achieve full enteral feeding [13.5 (10, 21) days] in the nHMF group was significantly shorter than that in the cHMF group [17 (12, 23) days, HR = 0.67, 95%CI: 0.49, 0.92; P  = 0.01]. Compared with cHMF group, the decrease of blood urea nitrogen level over time in nHMF group was smaller (β = 0.6, 95%CI:0.1, 1.0; P  = 0.01). Conclusions The new HMF can promote growth of preterm infants effectively without increasing the incidence of major morbidity and feeding intolerance. It can be used feasible in Chinese VPT/VLBW infants. Trial registration This study was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04283799).

The worldwide development of industry and agriculture has generated noticeable increases in atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition, significantly altering the global N cycle. These changes might affect the global carbon (C) cycle by enhancing forest C sequestration. Here, we used a series of datasets from eight typical forests along the north-south transect of eastern China (NSTEC). These datasets contained information on community structure, C and N concentrations in the soil and the organs (leaf, branch, stem, and fine-root) of 877 plant species, and atmospheric wet N deposition. Using the biomass weighting method, we scaled up the C:N ratios from the organ level to the ecosystem level, and evaluated the C sequestration rate (CSRN) in response to wet N deposition and N use efficiency (NUE) in China's forests based on the principles of ecological stoichiometry. Our results showed that atmospheric wet N deposition had a modest impact on forest C storage. Specifically, mean CSRN was estimated as 231 kg C ha−1 yr−1 (range: 32.7-507.1 kg C ha−1 yr−1), accounting for 2.1% of NPP and 4.6% of NEP at the ecosystem level. The NUEeco of atmospheric N deposition ranged from 9.6−27.7 kg C kg−1 N, and increased with increasing latitude from subtropical to cold-temperate forests in China (P < 0.05). This study provides a new approach for estimating the effect of atmospheric deposition on forest C sequestration based on the principles of ecological stoichiometry.

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is characterized by alveolar simplification with decreased alveolar number and increased airspace. Previous studies suggested that transforming growth factor-α (TGF-α) may contribute to arrested alveolar development in BPD. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) control cellular signaling and gene expression. HDAC2 is crucial for suppression of inflammatory gene expression. Here we investigated whether HDAC2 was involved in the arrest of alveolarization, as well as the ability of HDAC2 to regulate TGF-α expression in a rat model of BPD induced by intra-amniotic injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Results showed that LPS exposure led to a suppression of both HDAC1 and HDAC2 expression and activity, induced TGF-α expression, and disrupted alveolar morphology. Mechanistic studies showed that overexpression of HDAC2, but not HDAC1, suppressed LPS-induced TGF-α expression. Moreover, the HDAC inhibitor TSA or downregulation of HDAC2 by siRNA both significantly increased TGF-α expression in cultured myofibroblasts. Finally, preservation of HDAC activity by theophylline treatment improved alveolar development and attenuated TGF-α release. Together, these findings indicate that attenuation of TGF-α-mediated effects in the lung by enhancing HDAC2 may have a therapeutic effect on treating BPD.

Rewetting after precipitation events plays an important role in regulating soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) turnover processes in arid and semiarid ecosystems. Here, we conducted a 48-h rewetting simulation experiment with measurements of soil C and N mineralization rates ( R C and R N , respectively) and microbial biomass N (MBN) at high temporal resolution to explore the pulse responses of R C and R N . R C and R N responded strongly and rapidly to rewetting over the short term. The maximum R C value (because of pulse effects) ranged from 16.53 to 19.33 µg C g soil −1 h −1 , observed 10 min after rewetting. The maximum R N varied from 22.86 to 40.87 µg N g soil −1 h −1 , appearing 5–6 h after rewetting. The responses of soil microbial growth to rewetting were rapid, and the maximum MBN was observed 2–3 h after rewetting. Unexpectedly, there was no correlation between R C , R N , and MBN during the process of rewetting, and R C and R N were uncoupled. In sum, the pulse responses of R C , R N , and microbial growth to simulated rewetting were rapid, strong, and asynchronous, which offers insights into the different responses of microbes to rewetting and mechanisms behind microbes.