Thursday, September 18, 2025

New review unveils breakthroughs in soil nitrogen cycle research from microbial pathways to global sustainability

Biochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University

image:
Uncovering the soil nitrogen cycle from microbial pathways to global sustainability
view more
Credit: Xiaoyuan Yan, Jun Shan, Xiaomin Wang, Baozhan Wang, Shuang-Jiang Liu, Ping Zhang, Yan Zhang, Jinrui Ling, Ouping Deng, Chen Wang & Baojing Gu

A comprehensive review published in Nitrogen Cycling highlights significant advances in understanding the soil nitrogen cycle, emphasizing the critical role of microbial processes and innovative technologies in achieving global nitrogen sustainability.

The study, led by researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, and Zhejiang University, synthesizes a decade of progress in quantifying nitrogen transformation processes, identifying novel microbial pathways, and developing sustainable management strategies.

“Nitrogen is essential for life, but its mismanagement has led to severe environmental issues,” said corresponding author Dr. Xiaoyuan Yan. “Our review bridges the gap between microbial mechanisms and global nitrogen governance, offering science-based solutions for sustainable nitrogen use.”

Key findings include:

Advanced Methodologies: New techniques such as 15N tracing models, robotic incubation systems (Robot and Roflow), and membrane inlet mass spectrometry (MIMS) now allow precise measurement of gross nitrogen transformation rates, denitrification, and biological nitrogen fixation (BNF). These tools have revealed unexpected processes, including aerobic nitrogen gas production and the significant role of heterotrophic nitrification.
Novel Microbial Pathways: The discovery of complete ammonia-oxidizing (comammox) bacteria and direct ammonia oxidation to nitrogen gas (dirammox) has reshaped understanding of nitrification. These microbes operate efficiently under low-nitrogen conditions, offering potential pathways to reduce nitrogen losses and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions.
Integrated Modeling and Management: Coupled Human and Natural Systems (CHANS) models, combined with remote sensing and artificial intelligence, enable high-resolution tracking of nitrogen flows across scales. Field practices like Integrated Soil-Crop System Management (ISSM) and policy instruments such as Nitrogen Credit Systems (NCS) have demonstrated increased nitrogen use efficiency and reduced environmental impacts.
Global Implications: The review calls for stronger international cooperation to integrate nitrogen management into global sustainability frameworks, including the Paris Agreement and UN Sustainable Development Goals.

“We are now equipped to not only understand but also manage the nitrogen cycle with unprecedented precision,” said Dr. Yan. “The next step is to translate these insights into actionable strategies that balance agricultural productivity with environmental health.”

The study underscores the need to incorporate microbial processes into large-scale models and policies, enabling targeted interventions that reduce nitrogen pollution while enhancing food security.

===

Journal Reference: Yan A, Shan J, Wang X, Wang B, Liu SJ, et al. 2025. Uncovering the soil nitrogen cycle from microbial pathways to global sustainability. Nitrogen Cycling 1: e002 https://www.maxapress.com/article/doi/10.48130/nc-0025-0005

===

About Nitrogen Cycling:
Nitrogen Cycling is a multidisciplinary platform for communicating advances in fundamental and applied research on the nitrogen cycle. It is dedicated to serving as an innovative, efficient, and professional platform for researchers in the field of nitrogen cycling worldwide to deliver findings from this rapidly expanding field of science.

DOI

10.48130/nc-0025-0005

Method of Research

Literature review

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Uncovering the soil nitrogen cycle from microbial pathways to global sustainability

Article Publication Date

16-Sep-2025

Biochar boosts black soil health and crop yields, study finds

Optimal application rate enhances microbial stability and organic matter in key agricultural regions

Biochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University

image:
Improving the stability of black soil microbial communities through long-term application of biochar to optimize the characteristics of DOM components

view more
Credit: Yu Hu, Yan Li, Kangmeng Liu, Chuanqi Shi, Wei Wang, Zhenguo Yang, Kuifeng Xu, Shuo Li, Yuxian Wang, Liang Jin, Dan Wei & Lilong Yan

A long-term field study conducted in Northeast China’s fertile black soil region has demonstrated that biochar can significantly improve soil health, stabilize microbial communities, and increase crop yields—but only when applied at the right rate.

The research, published in Biochar, reveals that a one-time application of biochar at 31.5 metric tons per hectare (t ha⁻¹) led to higher soil organic matter stability, enhanced bacterial diversity, and a 7.11% increase in crop yield. In contrast, higher doses reduced microbial stability and negatively affected soil health.

Black soils are among the world’s most productive agricultural lands, but decades of intensive farming have led to severe degradation, including organic matter loss and soil acidification. Biochar, a carbon-rich material produced from biomass pyrolysis, has shown promise in restoring soil quality, but its long-term effects on soil microbial communities and dissolved organic matter (DOM) were poorly understood.

Through a six-year experiment, researchers analyzed how different biochar application rates influenced DOM composition and soil bacteria. Using advanced fluorescence spectroscopy and DNA sequencing, they found that the medium application rate promoted the formation of stable humic substances and supported a more complex and resilient microbial network dominated by beneficial bacteria such as Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria.

“These microbes play key roles in breaking down organic matter and releasing nutrients for crops,” said Dr. Lilong Yan, one of the corresponding authors. “Biochar helps create a favorable environment for these organisms, leading to healthier soil and better yields.”

However, excessive biochar (47.25 t ha⁻¹) disrupted microbial balance and reduced diversity, underscoring the importance of calibrated application.

The study also used structural equation modeling to confirm that biochar indirectly boosts crop yields by altering DOM properties and enriching microbial communities.

“Our findings provide a scientific basis for optimizing biochar use in agriculture,” said Dr. Dan Wei, another senior author. “This is especially relevant for sustaining productivity in degraded soils under climate change.”

The research was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

===

Journal Reference: Hu, Y., Li, Y., Liu, K. et al. Improving the stability of black soil microbial communities through long-term application of biochar to optimize the characteristics of DOM components. Biochar 7, 84 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42773-025-00473-z

===

Media Contact:
Wushuang Li
liwushuang@vip.126.com

About Biochar

Biochar is the first journal dedicated exclusively to biochar research, spanning agronomy, environmental science, and materials science. It publishes original studies on biochar production, processing, and applications—such as bioenergy, environmental remediation, soil enhancement, climate mitigation, water treatment, and sustainability analysis. The journal serves as an innovative and professional platform for global researchers to share advances in this rapidly expanding field.

Journal

Biochar

DOI

10.1007/s42773-025-00473-z

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Improving the stability of black soil microbial communities through long-term application of biochar to optimize the characteristics of DOM components

Social risks accumulate in specialised psychiatric care – complex life situations go easily unnoticed

University of Eastern Finland

Patients in specialised psychiatric care face a variety of social risks that are intertwined, a new study from the University of Eastern Finland shows. Social risks tend to accumulate among the most vulnerable segments of the population. They include for example financial difficulties, housing challenges and violence.

“The study sheds light on the complex life situations that patients in psychiatric care face in their daily lives. The accumulation of social risks is very common, but they may go unnoticed,” Doctoral Researcher Essi Rovamo says.

The study identified social risks across nine different categories, which included capacity to work, social relations, addictions, subsistence, violence and crime, ability to function, intergenerational transmission, housing, and renouncement and death of a loved one.

The study employed a mixed methods approach to analyse patient case records of approximately 200 patients from 2009 to 2019.

Social risks accumulate among the most vulnerable

94% of study participants experienced at least two main risk categories simultaneously. On average, patients experienced five social risk categories during their psychiatric treatment.

“Social risks were experienced by all patient groups, regardless of age, gender or family status. This indicates a high prevalence of social risks among psychiatric patients,” Rovamo says.

The study found that especially psychosis and substance use disorders were associated with social risks, suggesting that risks tend to accumulate among those in the most vulnerable positions.

The findings offer valuable insight for developing psychiatric care. Addressing social risks could help alleviate the burden patients experience in their everyday lives. The results also underscore the importance of health social work in psychiatric care.

“In Finland, the development of psychiatric care seems to be increasingly focused on short-term psychotherapies. However, it is impossible to concentrate on therapy if the basic conditions of life are not provided for. With the recent cutbacks in health social work in Finland, it is concerning that complex social problems may go unnoticed in psychiatric care. I hope this study will, for its part, highlight the need to promote patients’ comprehensive well-being,” Rovamo concludes.

Journal

Nordic Social Work Research

DOI

10.1080/2156857X.2025.2554878

Article Title

Accumulating social risks in psychiatric care

Article Publication Date

8-Sep-2025

Study shows increasing ‘healthy competition’ between menu options nudges patients towards greener, lower-fat hospital food choices

University of Bristol

New research has shown hospital patients could reduce the carbon footprint and saturated fat content of their selected meals by up to almost a third – if the weekly menu featuring the same dishes is cleverly reorganised.

The study, led by the University of Bristol, features in a special issue of the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, which sets out innovative ways to help make the UK’s food healthier, fairer, and more sustainable.

The researchers developed a cunning way to redesign weekly set menus so healthier, greener dishes weren’t competing so much with typically more popular, less healthy options, boosting the likelihood of them being picked more often in hospitals across the UK.

Their cunning theory was already proven to work with students, having been tested in a university canteen, and this study indicates patients and the planet also stand to reap rewards from a reshuffled menu.

Study lead author Dr Annika Flynn, Senior Research Associate at the University of Bristol, said: “Rather than penalising healthy options, like lentil curry, by putting them alongside really popular choices, like meaty lasagne, we simply switched around their place on a weekly menu to give them a better chance of being selected.

“Creating healthier competition between dishes resulted in great benefits both in terms of significantly reducing patients’ carbon footprint and their saturated fat intake.”

The study modelled the strategic dish swap technique using weekly menus from 12 NHS hospitals across the UK. For each hospital menu, 50 people from that hospital catchment area reported their preference for 15 dishes offered on the weekly menu. Using data from their preferences, the researchers reorganised the weekly menu to create an optimised menu.

Dr Flynn explained: “The key thing is that the optimised menu features the same 15 dishes as the original, just reorganised on different days to boost uptake of the more sustainable, healthier options.”

Results indicated that in 11 of the 12 hospitals, the menu reorganisation approach worked. Overall, the optimised menus were predicted to reduce carbon footprint between 9.1% and 29.3% and reduce saturated fat intake among patients between 5.0% and 26.5%.

Dr Flynn said: “The findings are really exciting because they show the menu swapping method could work in different settings and on a large scale. Hospital food often gets criticised and of course, especially when you’re unwell it’s important to have a range of options. If in that process patients can be steered towards making healthier choices, which are also more sustainable from an environmental perspective, without even noticing it’s a huge win-win.”

The researchers developed and tested their hypothesis as part of a project called SNEAK (Sustainable Nutrition, Environment, and Agriculture, without Consumer Knowledge), supported by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Transforming UK Food Systems (TUKFS), which aims to improve people’s health in environmentally-sustainable ways.

Some 42% of UK workers report using a canteen, and millions of children and young people are served meals daily at schools and universities, so there is strong potential for the menu manipulation method to make positive health and environmental inroads in various settings.

Study co-author Jeff Brunstrom, Professor of Experimental Psychology at the University of Bristol and NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre, said: “People don’t like change, so implementing successful behavioural change interventions can be challenging and costly. This modelling study shows our low-cost ‘sneaky’ technique presents an enticing opportunity to make people’s diets greener and healthier without them even realising it.”

The promising findings are among a raft of pioneering measures and related policy recommendations to feature in the journal special issue, called ‘Transforming terrestrial food systems for human and planetary health.’

Professor Guy Poppy, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at the University of Bristol and Director of TUKFS, edited the special issue.

Prof Poppy said: “Food is at the heart of our health, our environment, and our economy.

“It’s great to see Bristol researchers at the forefront of innovative solutions, which could help support healthier, more sustainable food choices for people of all ages in a wide range of public procurement contexts, including schools, hospitals and care homes.

“These different settings form a big proportion of all the food we eat, so effective changes like the dish swap formula could make a tangible, affordable difference at population-level, fuelling better, greener diets for all.”

The research was funded by UKRI TUKFS and is also supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Bristol Biomedical Research Centre (Bristol BRC).

Journal

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London (B )

DOI

10.1098/rstb2024.0512

Article Title

Strategic menu optimisation could reduce carbon emissions and saturated fat consumption: A simulation modelling study of UK hospital inpatient meals’

Article Publication Date

18-Sep-2025

Image of strategic menu optimisation study lead author Dr Annika Flynn, Senior Research Associate at the University of Bristol, and study co-author Jeff Brunstrom, Professor of Experimental Psychology at the University of Bristol.

The European roots of Africa's giant predatory dinosaurs

Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns

Fossilsite Camarillasaurus cirugedae — image:
Site where *Camarillasaurus cirugedae* was found in the central Spanish province of Teruel.
view more
Credit: Oliver Rauhut, SNSB-BSPG

Tyrannosaurus is perhaps the best-known bipedal predatory dinosaur – but not the largest known representative of this group: Spinosaurus occurred in Africa in the early Late Cretaceous period (around 95 million years ago) and was even larger, measuring up to 18 meters in length. In collaboration with Spanish colleagues, SNSB paleontologist Oliver Rauhut has now found new evidence that the gigantic spinosaurs had their roots in Europe. New finds and the re-examination of previously collected remains of the little-known predatory dinosaur Camarillasaurus cirugedae from the Lower Cretaceous period (about 128 million years ago) in Spain show that this species was a close relative of the giant North African spinosaurs.

Camarillasaurus was found in the central Spanish province of Teruel. The fossil was originally classified as a ceratosaur – a group of predatory dinosaurs little known in Europe and whose occurrence in the Lower Cretaceous of Spain would represent a find “outside of space and time,” as stated in the original publication. This interpretation was based on a few fragmentary remains described more than ten years ago. During a new excavation campaign at the original fossil site, Oliver Rauhut and his colleagues from the University of Zaragoza have now found further remains of the dinosaur, including fragments of the jaw, tail vertebra and tooth as well as a thigh bone and a foot claw. The new finds allow for the now published reinterpretation of the Spanish predatory dinosaur's family relationships. For example, the paleontologists found common features between Camarillasaurus and other spinosaurs in the lower jawbone.

Oliver Rauhut, dinosaur expert at the Bavarian State Collection of Paleontology and Geology (SNSB-BSPG), goes one step further: "Our phylogenetic analyses indicate that various other representatives of the spinosaurids of the Iberian Peninsula are also on the evolutionary lineage leading to the North African spinosaurids. We suspect that the giant predatory dinosaurs of Africa originated in Europe."

Remains of various spinosaurs, mostly teeth, are common on the Iberian Peninsula, most of them embedded in continental deposits, including Camarillasaurus cirugedae. Researchers therefore assume that the animals lived and hunted in a terrestrial environment. The North African Spinosaurus, on the other hand, is more recently interpreted as a fish eater that spent most of its time in the water, based on its anatomy. There are no finds from Spain to support this thesis as yet.

Journal

Palaeontologia Electronica

DOI

10.26879/1543

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Revision of the theropod dinosaur Camarillasaurus cirugedae from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) of Teruel province, Spain

Article Publication Date

18-Sep-2025

The 128-million-year-old, complete femur of Camarillasaurus cirugedae before it was recovered from the sediment.

Credit

Oliver Rauhut, SNSB-BSPG

Reconstruction of Camarillasaurus cirugedae

Credit

Palaeoartist: Joschua Knüppe

SNSB paleontologist Oliver Rauhut exposing the femur of Camarillasaurus cirugedae

Spanish paleontologist Manuel Gasca with a foot claw from Camarillasaurus cirugedae

Credit

Oliver Rauhut, SNSB-BSPG

Age limits for social media and restrictions on addictive functions: Leopoldina discussion paper recommends better protection for children and adolescents

Leopoldina

Social media use has long been part of the everyday lives of most children and adolescents. Many of them exhibit risky, and in some cases even addictive, behaviour. While social media use can certainly have positive effects for young people, intensive use can negatively impact mental, emotional, and social well-being, leading to symptoms such as depression and anxiety, impaired attention, and sleep problems. In a discussion paper published by the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the researchers involved therefore recommend applying the precautionary principle. In the paper “Social Media and the Mental Health of Children and Adolescents”, they give policy recommendations to protect children and adolescents from the negative effects of social media, for example by setting a minimum age for access or by restricting certain functions. The paper was published on 13 August 2025 and an English translation is now available.

The discussion paper provides insight into current research on the influence of social media on the mental health of children and adolescents. Most of the available evidence is correlative and of a non-causal nature. Cross-sectional studies show an association between social media use and increased mental health burdens. Some longitudinal studies also suggest that intensive social media use can be the cause of these burdens. The authors therefore advocate using the precautionary principle, according to which preventive measures should be undertaken when there are indications of potentially negative effects, even if the magnitude of the actual risk has not yet been scientifically established.

The authors claim that policies are needed to protect children and adolescents, because intensive social media use poses considerable risks. The researchers involved in the paper set out specific recommendations for action in order to protect children and adolescents from the risks posed by social media use, while simultaneously enabling them to engage with social media in a reflective and competent manner. They recommend that children under 13 should not be permitted to open social media accounts. 13- to 15-year-olds should only be allowed to use social media in accordance with legally required parental permission. In addition, social media for 13- to 17-year-olds should function in an age-appropriate way, for example with respect to algorithmic content suggestions, a ban on personalised advertising, and the prohibition of addictive functions such as push messages or infinite scrolling. The researchers also recommend banning smartphone use in daycare centres and schools up to and including grade 10.

The discussion paper also explains how age limits and age-appropriate restrictions could be implemented on social media, with regulation at the EU level being a key option. They recommend that the German government advocate for such regulation at the EU level. One highly promising approach is the already planned introduction of the “EUDI wallet”, which will enable a digital proof of age in line with data protection regulations. To promote an informed approach to social media, the authors suggest embedding a digital education curriculum in daycare centres and schools to prepare children and adolescents for challenges related to digital life. Teaching and childcare staff should be trained to recognise and address risky or addictive behaviour at an early stage. In addition, low-threshold public health campaigns should inform families about the impact of social media on mental health and possibilities to positively shape social media use. Further research is needed to better understand social media use among this age group and to evaluate the effectiveness of protective measures.

The discussion paper “Social Media and the Mental Health of Children and Adolescents” is published on the Leopoldina website: https://www.leopoldina.org/en/socialmedia-children

Publications in the “Leopoldina Discussion” series are contributions by the authors named. With its discussion papers, the Academy offers researchers the opportunity to provide thought-provoking impulses, stimulate discourse, and formulate recommendations flexibly and without a formal working group process. The theses and recommendations contained in discussion papers thus do not reflect the official positions of the Leopoldina.

As suggested by the Leopoldina Focus Group Digitalisation, the discussion paper was prepared by an interdisciplinary working group. More on the Focus Group Digitalisation: https://www.leopoldina.org/en/policy-advice/focus-groups/digitalisation/

The Leopoldina on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/leopoldina.org

The Leopoldina on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nationale-akademie-der-wissenschaften-leopoldina

The Leopoldina on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nationalakademieleopoldina

The Leopoldina on X: https://www.twitter.com/leopoldina

About the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
As the German National Academy of Sciences, the Leopoldina provides independent science-based policy advice on matters relevant to society. To this end, the Academy develops interdisciplinary statements based on scientific findings. In these publications, options for action are outlined; making decisions, however, is the responsibility of democratically legitimized politicians. The experts who prepare the statements work in a voluntary and unbiased manner. The Leopoldina represents the German scientific community in the international academy dialogue. This includes advising the annual summits of Heads of State and Government of the G7 and G20 countries. With around 1,700 members from more than 30 countries, the Leopoldina combines expertise from almost all research areas. Founded in 1652, it was appointed the National Academy of Sciences of Germany in 2008. The Leopoldina is committed to the common good.

Thursday, September 18, 2025

DOI

Method of Research

Subject of Research

Article Title

Article Publication Date

Journal

DOI

Method of Research

Subject of Research

Article Title

Social risks accumulate among the most vulnerable

Journal

DOI

Article Title

Article Publication Date

Journal

DOI

Article Title

Article Publication Date

Image of strategic menu optimisation study lead author Dr Annika Flynn, Senior Research Associate at the University of Bristol, and study co-author Jeff Brunstrom, Professor of Experimental Psychology at the University of Bristol.

Journal

DOI

Subject of Research

Article Title

Article Publication Date

The 128-million-year-old, complete femur of Camarillasaurus cirugedae before it was recovered from the sediment.

Credit

Reconstruction of Camarillasaurus cirugedae

Credit

SNSB paleontologist Oliver Rauhut exposing the femur of Camarillasaurus cirugedae

Spanish paleontologist Manuel Gasca with a foot claw from Camarillasaurus cirugedae

Credit