The depth of shallow groundwater significantly influences crop growth and yield by altering the physicochemical properties of farmland soil profiles. Concurrently, shallow groundwater is subject to various changes, and it remains unclear how alterations in shallow groundwater depth within field soil impact soil physicochemical properties, crop yields, and the overall dynamics of groundwater transformations. To address these uncertainties, this study utilized a sample plot equipped with a volume lysimeter and implemented four distinct groundwater depths as treatment conditions: G0 (no groundwater depth), G1 (a groundwater depth of 40 cm), G2 (a groundwater depth of 70 cm), G3 (a groundwater depth of 110 cm), and G4 (a groundwater depth of 150 cm). This study was carried out on a weekly basis to monitor fluctuations in ion content in shallow groundwater and soil moisture after the summer maize harvest, and special attention was afforded to non-irrigation conditions. This study also scrutinized the distribution of salt and nutrients in soil profiles and assessed changes in summer maize yield. Very interesting findings were obtained by conducting the study. Firstly, the shallower the groundwater depth, the higher the water and salt content of the soil surface. Small, frequent rainfall events (precipitation ≤ 25 mm) facilitated the effective removal of salt from the soil surface. Despite increased rainfall contributing to salt ion dilution in groundwater, the risk of soil surface salinization increased at the surface level. Secondly, a linear relationship existed between groundwater depth and surface soil moisture and salt content. With every 10 cm increase in groundwater depth, the surface soil moisture and salt content decreased by 0.56% and 0.06 g/kg, respectively. Soil nutrients tended to accumulate in the surface layer, with nutrient content increasing with depth. However, C/N was not notably affected by groundwater depth. Thirdly, Na+ and K+ consistently dominated the soil surface. As soil salinity increased, the prevalence of Cl− and SO42− increased, with the rate of SO42− increase surpassing that of chlorine. HCO3− altered by rainfall served as an indicator of soil alkalization characteristics, while Na+ and K+ in soil, along with Cl− and SO42− derived from groundwater, represented soil salt composition and salinization trends. Ultimately, under the conditions of this study, the most favorable groundwater depth for the growth of summer maize was determined to be 1.1 m. Analyzing the impact of different shallow groundwater depths on the physicochemical properties of farmland soil enhances our understanding of the mechanisms of interaction between groundwater and soil in agricultural ecosystems. This knowledge is instrumental in significantly improving the soil environment, thereby ensuring optimal crop yields.
Abstract This study explored the effect of 70-mT magnetic field on wastewater treatment capacity for activated sludge in long-term laboratory-scale experiments. Metagenomic sequencing were conducted based on Illumina HiSeq 2000 platform after DNA extraction of the activated sludge. Then the effect of the magnetic field on the microbial unigene and metabolic pathways in activated sludge was investigated. As a result, higher pollutant removal was observed at 70 mT, with which the elimination of total nitrogen (TN) was the most effective. Functional genes annotated based on eggNOG database showed that unigenes related to information storage and processing were enhanced by the magnetic field. For CAZy classification, category such as glycosyl transferases was more abundant in the reactor with magnetic field, which has been shown to promote the entire energy supply pathway. Additionally, in the KEGG categories, unigenes related to signaling molecules and interaction were significantly inhibited. Through the enrichment analysis of the nitrogen metabolism pathway, the magnetic field inhibited anabolic nitrate reduction by significantly inhibiting enzymes such as [EC:1.7.7.2], [EC:1.7.7.1], [EC:3.5.5.1], [EC:1.4.1.2] and [EC:4.2.1.1], which are related to the improvement of the denitrification ability. This study can provide insight for future research on the response mechanism of activated sludge to magnetic fields.
The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was applied to investigate agricultural non-point source pollution in the Shitun River Basin (54.87 km2), China, where intensive agriculture dominates. This study analyzed spatiotemporal pollutant distribution from January 2021 to September 2023 and identified key pollution sources. The basin was divided into 46 sub-basins and 268 hydrological response units (HRUs). Model calibration and validation using runoff, total phosphorus, and ammonia nitrogen data demonstrated high accuracy (R2 ≥ 0.6, Ens ≥ 0.5), confirming its applicability for area-source pollution assessment in agricultural regions. Agricultural area-source pollution was particularly concentrated from June to October, aligning with the high-flow period. Conversely, pollution levels saw a significant reduction during the medium- and low-flow periods. Severe pollution was mainly observed along the river and in the eastern part of the basin. By means of unit area load index method and Jenks natural fracture point method, it was determined that the key source areas of surface source pollution are mainly distributed in the upper reaches of the basin. The results can provide an adjusting basis and a theoretical basis for the control of agricultural surface source pollution in the watershed.
In order to investigate the effect of environmental factors on the bacterial composition of Lake Dongping sediment.We set six sampling points in Lake Dongping and sampled once in July and once October. Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (T-RFLP) method was used to analyze the bacterial diversity. Ammonium nitrogen (NH4(+)-N) , nitrate nitrogen (NO3(-)-N) , total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), total organic carbon (TOC) and water depth were measured.T-RFLP profiles showed high similarity among samples. However, bacterial diversity indices were significant difference in various samples. The richness, diversity, and evenness in samples which were collected in dry season (October) were generally higher than those in wet season (July), and the bacterial species dominance was higher in wet season than that in dry season. Principal Component Analysis showed that the structure of bacterial communities in sample 2B was marked different from the other samples. The results of Canonical Correspondence Analysis suggested that the abundance of 558 bp T-RF was negatively correlated with NH4(+)-N, NO3(-)-N, TN, TP and TOC, but positively correlated with TOC/TN and the water depth; the abundance of 64.5, 164, 509, and 543 bp T-RFs were positively correlated with NH4(+)-N, NO3(-)-N, TN, TOC, TOC/TN and the water depth. The dominant bacteria in Lake Dongping sediments were Firmicutes and Proteobacteria.Environmental factors affect bacterial diversity of Lake Dongping sediments, although affect less on indigenous bacteria.