PeerJ – Environmental Science section

25 May 2020

Herbicide applications increase greenhouse gas emissions of alfalfa pasture in the inland arid region of northwest China

Lina Shi, Yarong Guo, Jiao Ning, Shanning Lou, Fujiang Hou

Xinfeng Wang –– This article presents the the fact that the use of herbicide will potentially increase the emissions of greenhouse gases and declares the complex effects, and thus contributes to the relevant community.

18 May 2020

Adaptive divergence for rapid adversarial optimization

Maxim Borisyak, Tatiana Gaintseva, Andrey Ustyuzhanin

Charles Elkan –– Generative adversarial networks (GANs) are an exciting development in machine learning, but it is hard to make them work in practice, and they can require a lot of training data. This research is a significant step towards making GANs more usable.

11 May 2020

Higher carbon sequestration potential and stability for deep soil compared to surface soil regardless of nitrogen addition in a subtropical forest

Chang Liao, Dong Li, Lin Huang, Pengyun Yue, Feng Liu, Qiuxiang Tian

Biao Zhu –– This study improves our understanding of top vs. deep soil carbon dynamics under carbon substrate addition (i.e. priming effect).

7 May 2020

Understanding PM_2.5 concentration and removal efficiency variation in urban forest park—Observation at human breathing height

Guoxin Yan, Zibo Yu, Yanan Wu, Jiakai Liu, Yu Wang, Jiexiu Zhai, Ling Cong, Zhenming Zhang

Kalliat Valsaraj –– The data on particulate matter in an urban forest park site in China may find relevance in many other parts of the developing world

6 May 2020

Anthropocene geochemistry of metals in sediment cores from the Laurentian Great Lakes

Meagan N. Aliff, Euan D. Reavie, Sara P. Post, Lawrence M. Zanko

James Latimer –– Because of the spatial scope (i.e., all great lakes) of the analysis for heavy metals, it advances the science significantly.

5 May 2020

Linking diffuse radiation and ecosystem productivity of a desert steppe ecosystem

Cheng Li, Xin Jia, Jingyong Ma, Peng Liu, Ruizhi Yang, Yujie Bai, Muhammad Hayat, Jinglan Liu, Tianshan Zha

Leonardo Montagnani –– Studies on diffuse radiation effects on photosynthsis are relevant in all vegetation types, and of particular relevance in the studied arid ecosystem.

24 March 2020

Potential of the economic valuation of soil-based ecosystem services to inform sustainable soil management and policy

Bartosz Bartkowski, Stephan Bartke, Katharina Helming, Carsten Paul, Anja-Kristina Techen, Bernd Hansjürgens

Xavier Le Roux –– The concept of ecosystem services, especially in combination with economic valuation, can illuminate trade-offs involved in soil management, policy and governance, and thus support decision making. The authors investigated the potential and limitations of the economic valuation of soil-based ecosystem services to inform sustainable soil management and policy. Based on a clear typology soil-based ecosystem services, they conducted a review of existing soil valuation studies including different ecosystem services. They show that so far, economic valuation of soil-based ecosystem services has covered only a small number of services and most studies have employed cost-based methods rather than preference-based valuation methods, even though the latter would better acknowledge the public good character of soil-related services. Therefore, the authors conclude that the relevance of existing valuation studies for political processes is low. Broadening the spectrum of analyzed ecosystem services and using preference-based methods would increase the informational quality and policy relevance of valuation results.

19 March 2020

The impact of pesticides used at the agricultural land of the Puck commune on the environment of the Puck Bay

Grażyna Pazikowska-Sapota, Katarzyna Galer-Tatarowicz, Grażyna Dembska, Marta Wojtkiewicz, Ewelina Duljas, Stefan Pietrzak, Lidia Anita Dzierzbicka-Glowacka

Marcia Marques –– The paper includes valuable data about a large number of pesticides and other active substances in different environmental compartments of a bay impacted by agriculture.

12 March 2020

Differences of soil enzyme activities and its influencing factors under different flooding conditions in Ili Valley, Xinjiang

Yulu Zhang, Dong Cui, Haijun Yang, Nijat Kasim

Gabriela Nardoto –– It brings a good contribution to the association between abiotic and biotic factors affecting the interface between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems

21 February 2020

Restored freshwater flow and estuarine benthic communities in the northern Gulf of Mexico: research trends and future needs

Jillian C. Tupitza, Cassandra N. Glaspie

Craig Moyer –– There appears to be an effort to divert river flow that will deliver sediment downstream to rebuild wetland habitats, and this study provides a review of the potential effects on benthic communities. This is well justified and mentions many previous studies including those that describe wetland loss rates. The authors have done a good job of thinking through all the potential confounding factors (such as salinity change, food-web alterations, and habitat alterations) and demonstrating how each might cause unanticipated consequences. This manuscript is unique and tackles a problem that is not often studied. There will be a lot of focus on restoring Gulf of Mexico habitats over the next 30 years because of the restore funding made available by the Deepwater Horizon settlement, so the review is also timely.

Environmental Science

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