Jian Liu

Shandong University | SDU · Environmental Research Institute

Microplastics have been detected in various environments, yet the differences between microplastics in different environments are still largely unknown. Scientists have proposed the concept of the "microplastic cycle," but the evidence for the movement of microplastics between different environments is still scarce. By screening the literature and...

The factors controlling soil organic carbon (SOC) content in wetlands need to be identified to estimate the global stores of SOC. Although there have been a large number of small-scale studies of the local patterns of SOC content, global studies are still required. We used a random forest algorithm and other statistical approaches to determine the...

As the basis of social sustainable development, eco-environmental quality (EEQ) plays an essential role in the process of high-quality urbanization (HQU). Therefore, evaluating the response mechanism of EEQ in the context of HQU will provide effective guidance for promoting sustainable development. Based on the requirements of high-quality developm...

Global changes such as seawater intrusion and freshwater resource salinization increase environmental stress imposed on the aquatic microbiome. A strong predictive understanding of the responses of the aquatic microbiome to environmental stress will help in coping with the “gray rhino” events in the environment, thereby contributing to an ecologica...

Plants could affect wetland ecosystem functions by influencing the carbon and nitrogen cycles driven by microorganisms. However, the underlying mechanisms associated with CO2-fixation rate (CFR) by autotrophic microbes and denitrification rate (DR) in relation to wetland emergent plants remain unclear. In this study, we conducted a field experiment...

Supplementary Materials, including supplementary figures, supplementary tables, video abstract (English & Chinese), slides (English & Chinese), and a Chinese version of the full text, of a research article "Destabilized microbial networks with distinct performances of abundant and rare biospheres in maintaining networks under increasing salinity st...

The ecological risk assessment of microplastics under global warming receives increasing attention. Yet, such studies mostly focused on increased mean temperatures (MT), ignoring another key component of global warming, namely daily temperature fluctuations (DTF). Moreover, we know next to nothing about the combined effects of multigenerational exp...

Key message Defoliation significantly affected biomass allocation of Robinia pseudoacacia L. and Sophora japonica L., but leaf physiology readjusted to control levels at the end of the experiment. Considering carbon or sink limitation and relative height growth rate, defoliated R. pseudoacacia grew faster than S. japonica under well-watered conditi...

Aromatic disinfection by-products (DBPs), which are generally more toxic than aliphatic DBPs, have attracted increasing attention. The toxicity of 13 typical halophenols on Scenedesmus obliquus was experimentally investigated, and the ozonation mechanism and kinetics of representative halophenols were further studied by quantum chemical calculation...

Vegetation dynamics are often affected by climate variability, but the past state of vegetation has a non-negligible impact on current vegetation growth. However, seasonal differences in the effects of these drivers on vegetation growth remain unclear, particularly in ecologically fragile areas. We used the normalized difference vegetation index (N...

CO2 assimilation by autotrophic microbes in wetland sediments has substantial significance in global warming control. However, among wetland types in the lake basin, the differences in the carbon sequestration processes undertaken by autotrophic microorganisms remain unclear. We aimed to investigate these differences and compared the sediment CO2-f...

Aims Understanding the ecological impacts of biological invasions is a core issue of invasion ecology. Soil microbiomes control the functioning and health of ecosystems. The aim of this study was to uncover the changes in the soil microbiome caused by invasive plant expansion. Methods Taking the typical invasive plant Alternanthera philoxeroides a...

In view of the important role of vegetation in the integrity of structures and functions of coastal wetland ecosystems, the restoration of degraded coastal wetland vegetation has attracted increased attention. In this paper, the newborn coastal wetland in the Yellow River Delta (YRD) of China was selected to research the effect of salinity and oil...

Climate change has remarkably altered growing-season vegetation growth, but the impacts of vegetation variability on the regional hydrological cycle remain poorly understood. Exploring the relationships between climate change, vegetation dynamics, and hydrologic factors would contribute to the sustainable management of ecosystems. Here, we investig...

The trends and mechanisms of organic carbon changes in coastal delta croplands are not yet clear due to the complexity physicochemical processes in soil. In this study, combing powder x-ray diffraction (XRD), microbial analysis, and density functional theory in quantum mechanics, we proposed a novel mechanism underlying OC accumulation. We investig...

The strategy of the Silk Road Economic Belt in China has promoted the urban development of the backward regions in the west, but it might also cause serious eco-environmental concerns. Studying the coupling relationship between urbanization and the eco-environment (UEE) is essential to promote the sustainable development in backward regions. This s...

Pollution of atmospheric particulate matter carrying heavy metals has posed a great threat to various ecosystem compartments. Here, a total of 540 samples from four ecosystem compartments (plant leaves, foliar dust, surface soil, and subsoil) were collected in urban soil-plant systems to characterize the heavy metal concentration and composition of...

Microplastics are sometimes considered not harmful at environmentally relevant concentrations. Yet, such studies were conducted under standard thermal conditions and thereby ignored the impacts of higher mean temperatures (MT), and especially daily temperature fluctuations (DTF) under global warming. Moreover, an evolutionary perspective may furthe...

To understand the mechanisms by which emergent plants influence the microbial communities in wetland sediments, we analyzed the response of microbial composition, abundance, metabolic activity, and metabolic genes to three emergent plant species [Cyperus alternifolius L. (Cyp), Typha angustifolia L. (Typ), and Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex S...

Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES) play an important role in socio-natural ecosystems. Assessment of CES in rural areas is crucial for development planning and decision-making. However, assessment of CES at the local scale and, in particular, rural areas remain under-researched. In order to reveal the importance of different kinds of CES and the rel...

Whether natural wetlands serve as the source or sink of greenhouse gases (GHGs) remains uncertain. Wetlands in China are diverse in type and abundant in quantity and differ greatly in spatial distribution, environmental conditions, and GHG fluxes. However, few studies focused on the differences in GHG emissions from different types of natural wetla...

Microplastics provide a unique habitat for microorganisms, forming the plastisphere. Yet the ecology of the plastisphere, including the microbial composition, functions, assembly processes, and interaction networks, needs to be understood. Here, we collected microplastics and their surrounding water samples in freshwater and seawater ecosystems. Th...

Wetlands are vulnerable to plant invasions and the decomposition of invasive plant litter could make impacts on the ecosystem services of wetlands including nutrient cycle and carbon sequestration. However, few studies have explored the effects of nutrient enrichment and water level change on the decomposition of invasive plant litter. In this stud...

Constructed wetland is a common measure for water purification and biodiversity conservation, but the mechanism of carbon storage is still unclear. Here, we researched the content and composition of soil organic carbon (SOC) and the influencing factors in surface sediment in surface flow constructed wetlands (SFCW) and subsurface flow constructed w...

Global-change-type drought, a combination of drought and warmer temperatures, is projected to have severe effects on vegetation growth and ecosystem functions. Spring phenology is an important biological indicator to understand the response of vegetation growth to climate change. However, the differences in the response of spring phenology to globa...

An understanding of the annual variations in the phytoplankton community in freshwater lakes, and of the drivers responsible for these variations, is essential for lake management. In this study we collected and analyzed seasonal samples of phytoplankton and assessed environmental variables in Nansi Lake from 2011 to 2015, in order to identify the...

Wetlands have been considered as a vital reservoir of global carbon and are vulnerable to plant invasion. However, the influence mechanism of plant invasion on soil organic carbon (SOC) in wetlands remains unclear. In this study, we investigated SOC, soil physicochemical properties, and soil microbes in the invaded and non-invaded sites in Xinxue R...

Thermophilic microorganisms play vital roles in the composting process. To elucidate how raw materials affect thermophilic microbial community composition and their interactions, the succession of thermophilic bacterial and fungal communities were monitored in reed straw co-composting with four common nitrogen-rich substrates. The results of high-t...

As a significant reservoir of organic carbon (OC), natural wetlands play an important role in mitigating greenhouse effects. To determine what factors might influence OC, we analyzed the distributions of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), light fraction organic carbon (LFOC), and heavy fraction organic carbon (HFOC) in sediments taken from the Yanghe...

The influence of Alternanthera philoxeroide (alligator weed) invasion on wetland organic matter (OM) accumulation and bacterial changes is rarely studied, but is possibly an important step for revealing the invasion mechanism. Thus, the distribution characteristics of light fraction organic carbon and nitrogen (LFOC and LFON), and heavy fractions o...

In the context of rapid urbanization, many rural communities are experiencing dramatic increases in the proportion of construction land, leading to the diminishment of ecosystem services. Conflicting development goals are a primary challenge to sustainable rural development. Increasing household income is a primary rural development concern and har...

Microplastics have been of great concern in recent years due to bioaccumulation and their toxic effects on organisms. However, few studies have focused on microplastics in the natural river ecosystem and the relationship between microplastics and microbes. Therefore, to understand the concentration and characteristics of microplastics and explore t...

Biological invasion is a global environmental problem that has profound effects on the natural ecosystem. To gain in-depth understandings on how biological invasion affects the natural recovery potential of native vegetation, this study focused on the soil seed banks of reed (Phragmites australis) communities with different degrees of Alternanthera...

Organic carbon sources apportionment in river sediments is crucial to the output management of organic carbon. We conducted a source apportionment of sediment organic carbon in four rivers in Shaanxi Province, China, with a novel method that combined environmental scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (ESEM-EDAX), pr...

In freshwater ecosystems, wetlands are generally distinguished from deep-water ecosystems by 2-m water level as boundary. However, the difference of sediment microbial communities between wetlands and deep-water ecosystems is still unclear. We combined 16S rRNA gene sequencing and community metabolic prediction to compare sediment microbial communi...

Benthic macroinvertebrates and microorganisms in six habitats in the Yellow River Delta wetlands, including the intertidal zone, Suaeda salsa area, Phragmites australis shoal, P. australis deep beach, Tamarix chinensis area, and inland river beach, were sampled and analyzed in summer and autumn. The results showed that the richness and diversity in...

The relative importance of bottom-up versus top-down effects in aquatic ecosystems remains a longstanding and ongoing controversy. To investigate these effects on phytoplankton communities in freshwater lakes, phytoplankton and zooplankton were sampled, and physical-chemical variables were measured during spring and summer in two important freshwat...

Background: Invasive exotic species have caused significant problems, and the effects of extreme precipitation and drought, which might occur more frequently under the global climate change scenarios, on interspecific relationship between invasive and native species remain unclear. Results: We conducted a greenhouse experiment with three soil wa...

Soil organic carbon (SOC) concentration is closely related to soil quality and climate change. The objectives of this study were to estimate the effects of contemporary land use on SOC concentrations at 0–20 cm depths, and to investigate the dynamics of SOC in paddy-field soil and dry-land soil after their conversion from natural wetlands (20 and 3...

Background: Invasive exotic species have caused significant problems, and the effects of extreme precipitation and drought, which might occur more frequently under the global climate change scenarios, on interspecific relationship between invasive and native species remain unclear. Results: We conducted a greenhouse experiment with three soil water...

Background: Invasive exotic species cause significant problems, and the effects of extreme precipitation and drought, which might occur more frequently under the global climate change scenarios, on interspecific relationship between invasive and native species remain unclear. Results: We conducted a greenhouse experiment with three soil water level...

Understanding the tradeoffs between ecosystem services is important to ensure the success of ecological restoration projects. This study assesses the tradeoffs and time lag between ecosystem services during the degradation and restoration of a freshwater lake. Changes in land cover and ecosystem service value (ESV) were studied from 1984 to 2015 in...

Aims Wetland plants affect ammonia-oxidation rate (AOR) and nitrogen-fixation rate (NFR), resulting in changes in plant-available nitrogen and wetland nitrogen-cycling. This study aims to investigate the underlying mechanisms and influencing factors associated with ammonium oxidation and nitrogen fixation in response to wetland-emergent aquatic pla...

Background: Invasive exotic species cause significant problems, and the effects of extreme precipitation and drought, which might occur more frequently under the global climate change scenarios, on interspecific relationship between invasive and native species remain unclear. Results: We conducted a greenhouse experiment with three soil water level...

To tackle urban water issues, the Chinese government has promoted the construction of sponge cities in recent years. Thirty cities have been designated as experimental sites to serve as models for future sponge city construction, as more than 80% of the built-up urban areas in China must reach the standards of sponge cities by 2030. Greening plants...

Hydrocarbon-degrading and plant-growth-promoting bacterial endophytes have proven useful for facilitating the phytoremediation of petroleum-contaminated soils with high salinity. In this study, we identified Bacillus safensis strain ZY16 as an endophytic bacterium that can degrade hydrocarbons, produce biosurfactants, tolerate salt, and promote pla...

Background: The complex relationship between urbanization and environment in resource-based cities is of increasing concern. Methods: As typical examples of rapid economic growth, obvious urbanization, and successful transformed production models, the cities of Dongying and Binzhou in Yellow River Delta High-tech Economic Zone were chosen for re...

Density and nutrient level are important factors that might affect the growth of invasive plants. To reveal the effects of plant density on the performance of invasive plant Alternanthera philoxeroides under different nutrient conditions, a greenhouse experiment was conducted in which A. philoxeroides was planted at three densities (low, medium and...

The relationship between diversity and productivity of plant community under plant invasion has been not well known up to now. Here, we investigated the relationship between diversity and productivity under plant invasion and studied the response of species level plant mass to species richness in native and invaded communities. A field experiment f...

Evaluation of ecosystem services has become a hotspot in terms of research focus, but uncertainties over appropriate methods remain. Evaluation can be based on the unit price of services (services value method) or the unit price of the area (area value method). The former takes meteorological factors into account, while the latter does not. This st...

Heavy metal discharge has become one of the most serious environmental problems due to extensive industrialization. Sixty eight sediment samples from four wetlands were collected to analyze the regional factors affecting metal deposition. Meanwhile, a national sediment data collection based on relevant publications was developed covering the period...

Wetlands are an important carbon reservoir pool in terrestrial ecosystems. Light fraction organic carbon (LFOC), heavy fraction organic carbon (HFOC), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were fractionated in sediment samples from the four wetlands (ZR: Zhaoniu River; ZRCW: Zhaoniu River Constructed Wetland; XR: Xinxue River; XRCW: Xinxue River Const...

Understanding the factors affecting the species richness of alien and native plant is a key issue for predicting the spread of alien species and protecting rare and endangered native species in nature reserves. To investigate the factors affecting alien and native species richness in temperate nature reserves of China, we used a database of 25 natu...