Environmental ResearchPub Date : 2025-11-15Epub Date: 2025-08-07DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2025.122502
Paula Reichelt, Anne Schumacher, Nicole Meyer, Ana Zenclussen
{"title":"Climate change and child health: The growing burden of climate-related adverse health outcomes.","authors":"Paula Reichelt, Anne Schumacher, Nicole Meyer, Ana Zenclussen","doi":"10.1016/j.envres.2025.122502","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envres.2025.122502","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Climate change is increasingly recognized not only as an environmental issue but also as a major public health threat, becoming more evident through the rising frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Immediate exposure to climate-related hazards-such as extreme heat, wildfires, storms, and floods-results in direct health impacts, while indirect effects emerge through ecosystem disruptions and socioeconomic shifts. Climate change can introduce or intensify health risks in regions that were previously unaffected. Effective monitoring of climate-related health developments enables public health systems to respond rapidly, potentially preventing outbreaks or crises. Furthermore, it allows data-driven public health planning based on forecasts for future health burdens and prioritization of vulnerable populations. This review focuses on children and adolescents as especially vulnerable targets of climate change, as well as the impacts of the climate crisis on pregnancy, a particularly critical period for child development. Both communicable and non-communicable diseases are projected to increase with global warming, with infectious diseases often spreading acutely following climate-related disasters. We report here that in addition to the effects of extreme weather on the physical and mental health of children, the perception and psychological processing of climate change by young people and its significance for mental and emotional integrity are gaining attention within the scientific community. Additionally, synergistic effects of weather extremes with environmental pollution are increasingly well documented, raising concern among environmental researchers. Finally, current research and relevant literature demonstrate the decisive influence of social background on vulnerability to climate-related health impacts, and how climate change is likely to further exacerbate existing inequalities in the future. A continuous and comprehensive analysis of climate-related health hazards facilitates evaluation of adaptation or mitigation efforts and helps to strengthen climate-resilient health systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":312,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research","volume":" ","pages":"122502"},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144793071","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"High-efficiency mix design for molybdenum tailings autoclaved aerated concrete: A statistical and multiscale investigation of proportions and microstructure.","authors":"Xiuyuan Yu, Jian Wei, Wei Gao, Zhushan Yang, Xueting Li, Hao Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.envres.2025.122521","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envres.2025.122521","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) is valued for its lightweight, insulating, and load-bearing capabilities, yet high-efficiency optimizing density and strength remains challenging. Efficient design of tailings-based AAC now requires considering synergistic effects among multiple variables, as single-variable control has become inadequate. To address this gap, this study systematically investigates the synergy among lime-cement ratio (LCr), calcium-silica ratio (CSr), and water-solid ratio (Wr) in AAC produced with molybdenum tailings as the primary siliceous resource. Single- and two-factor ANOVA combined with principal component analysis revealed that adjusting these parameters significantly influences dry density, compressive strength, and gas-release kinetics. Characterization analyses further confirmed that fostering well-crystallized tobermorite while limiting low-crystallinity carbonates is crucial to improving porosity and strength. Results indicate that an appropriate Wr effects slurry fluidity, yielding balanced density and strength. Meanwhile, excessive lime content prolongs foaming time, leading to increased C-S-H and disordered carbonates, which undermine mechanical performance. Overall, this integrated approach provides a data-driven pathway to high-performance AAC from molybdenum tailings, optimizing density-strength trade-offs with minimal resource consumption.</p>","PeriodicalId":312,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research","volume":" ","pages":"122521"},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144797775","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Environmental ResearchPub Date : 2025-11-15Epub Date: 2025-08-07DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2025.122372
Shahab Ali Siddiqui, Sokhna Thiam, Credo Houndodjade, Peninah Murage, Ana Bonell
{"title":"Corrigendum to 'A systematic review and meta-analysis of the impact of environmental heat exposure on cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes mellitus in low- & middle-income countries' [Environ. Res. 282 (2025) 121980].","authors":"Shahab Ali Siddiqui, Sokhna Thiam, Credo Houndodjade, Peninah Murage, Ana Bonell","doi":"10.1016/j.envres.2025.122372","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envres.2025.122372","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":312,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research","volume":"285 Pt 3","pages":"122372"},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144803115","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Metagenomic insights into the changes of runoff water quality in a deep tunnel drainage system.","authors":"Yibing Li, Lu Dai, Lixun Zhang, Xuewu Shen, Xiaomei Zhang, Yuanjing Yang, Yuntao Guan","doi":"10.1016/j.envres.2025.122509","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envres.2025.122509","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Deep tunnel retrofitting of conventional urban drainage systems represents a pivotal strategy for mitigating stormwater pollution and combating flooding. While microbial-driven biogeochemical cycles in stormwater are constrained by taxonomic diversity and environmental variability, the interplay between hydrogeochemical dynamics and microbial functional genes during storage remains poorly characterized. In this study, an in situ stormwater self-purification system was constructed to investigate seasonal water quality evolution, microbial community dynamics, and functional gene regulation in Shenzhen, China. Compared with continuous rainfall events, initial postdrought stormwater events resulted in significantly elevated pollutant loads. Dissolved organic matter analysis revealed that endogenous contaminants accounted for 76 % of the total contaminants, characterized by high microbial bioavailability and low humification after 14 days of storage. The storage of samples favors the enrichment of functional microorganisms such as Plancomycetota, Verrucomicrobiota and Proteobacteria. A quantitative assessment of 62 functional genes linked to carbon (C)/nitrogen (N)/sulfur (S) cycling identified temperature, oxidation‒reduction potential ammonia nitrogen, chemical oxygen demand and total nitrogen as critical drivers of microbial community succession and gene abundance. N cycle genes presented heightened sensitivity to environmental fluctuations, with increased stability and metabolic activity observed in wet season samples. Comparative analysis demonstrated that deep tunnel samples presented more stable functional gene profiles and enriched microbial consortia relative to their surface counterparts. These findings elucidate the mechanistic relationships between hydrogeochemical variables and microbial functional resilience in stormwater storage systems. This work advances the process-level understanding of biochemical cycles mediated by C, N and S transformations, offering actionable insights for optimizing urban drainage infrastructure and microbial-mediated pollution control strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":312,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research","volume":" ","pages":"122509"},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144797778","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Environmental ResearchPub Date : 2025-11-15Epub Date: 2025-07-25DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2025.122436
Libby M Morimoto, Catherine Metayer, Georgia Dolios, Joseph L Wiemels, Xiaomei Ma, Haibin Guan, Amith Maroli, Lauren M Petrick
{"title":"Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance concentrations during pregnancy and at birth and risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.","authors":"Libby M Morimoto, Catherine Metayer, Georgia Dolios, Joseph L Wiemels, Xiaomei Ma, Haibin Guan, Amith Maroli, Lauren M Petrick","doi":"10.1016/j.envres.2025.122436","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envres.2025.122436","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) comprise a class of persistent environmental pollutants with potential carcinogenic effects, but their impact on childhood cancer remains underexplored. A child's exposure to PFAS can occur through various pathways postnatally, including contaminated food, water, and consumer products; and in utero, as PFAS can cross the placenta.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>To investigate the association between early-life PFAS exposure and the risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), we analyzed archived blood samples from children diagnosed with ALL and matched cancer-free controls. Using novel untargeted liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS), we measured PFAS levels in paired maternal pregnancy and child newborn blood samples.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Our study identified an independent association between MeFOSAA levels at birth and increased ALL risk, particularly among children diagnosed at 2 years of age or younger. MeFOSAA measured in maternal second-trimester blood showed a weak association with ALL, although it was not statistically significant.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These results suggest that early-life exposure to MeFOSAA may play a critical role in the development of childhood ALL. Our findings corroborate previous reports linking MeFOSAA exposure during pregnancy to childhood ALL, highlighting its potential carcinogenicity during key developmental windows.</p>","PeriodicalId":312,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research","volume":" ","pages":"122436"},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12410152/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144726299","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Environmental ResearchPub Date : 2025-11-15Epub Date: 2025-07-19DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2025.122381
Shamim Shahi, Andrea Winquist, Alyssa N Troeschel, W Ryan Diver, James M Hodge, Emily Deubler, Alpa V Patel, Christina C Newton, Lauren R Teras
{"title":"A case-cohort study of the association between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and breast cancer among participants in the American Cancer Society's Cancer Prevention Study-II.","authors":"Shamim Shahi, Andrea Winquist, Alyssa N Troeschel, W Ryan Diver, James M Hodge, Emily Deubler, Alpa V Patel, Christina C Newton, Lauren R Teras","doi":"10.1016/j.envres.2025.122381","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envres.2025.122381","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are hypothesized to increase breast cancer risk; findings from prior studies are inconsistent, with many not considering subtypes.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To evaluate associations between serum PFAS concentrations and breast cancer incidence, overall and by selected characteristics.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a case-cohort study among Cancer Prevention Study-II LifeLink Cohort female participants (mean age = 68) who developed breast cancer (n = 781) during follow-up (1998-2015) or were in a randomly selected subcohort (n = 498). PFAS concentrations [perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)] were measured in blood samples collected at baseline (1998-2001). Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models with Prentice weighting were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI) for associations between PFAS concentrations and breast cancer risk.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>PFAS concentrations were not associated with breast cancer overall but demonstrated heterogeneity by participant characteristics. For example, associations for the highest compared to lowest PFNA quartiles were in opposite directions for estrogen receptor positive (ER+) HR (95 % CI) = 0.88 (0.61-1.27) and estrogen receptor negative (ER<sup>-</sup>) tumors (HR (95 % CI) = 2.01, 95 % CI: (0.91-4.42). Associations also varied by family history of breast cancer, age at blood collection, menopausal hormone therapy (HRT) use, and parity status.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>PFAS were not associated with overall breast cancer risk in this population of predominantly older women; however, the findings suggest that certain subgroups may be more susceptible to PFAS-related risk. These preliminary results warrant replication in future prospective studies.</p>","PeriodicalId":312,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research","volume":" ","pages":"122381"},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144681775","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Environmental ResearchPub Date : 2025-11-15Epub Date: 2025-07-21DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2025.122410
Arnab K Dey, Anna Dimitrova, Anita Raj, Tarik Benmarhnia
{"title":"The effect of extreme temperatures on healthcare utilization during pregnancy: Findings from a nationally representative survey in India.","authors":"Arnab K Dey, Anna Dimitrova, Anita Raj, Tarik Benmarhnia","doi":"10.1016/j.envres.2025.122410","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envres.2025.122410","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Extreme temperatures are increasing in frequency and severity, posing growing risks to maternal and child health through adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes. This challenge is especially pronounced in countries like India, that lack adequate protections against climate-related health risks. While socio-economic and accessibility barriers already limit healthcare utilization during pregnancy, climatic factors such as extreme temperatures can create additional obstacles to accessing these essential services, thereby influencing pregnancy and birth outcomes both directly and indirectly.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a cross-sectional analysis using data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), a nationally representative survey for India. We examined recent healthcare utilization reported by women in their fifth month of pregnancy or later (N = 10,606). Temperature exposure was measured using daily Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT), Heat Index, and Dry Bulb Temperature (DBT) matched to respondents' geo-coded residential clusters. We calculated the number of days during the study period when temperature values exceeded or fell below extreme temperature thresholds. Generalized mixed-effects models with Inverse Propensity of Treatment Weighting (IPTW) examined associations between extreme temperature and no healthcare contact, with effect modification tested across socioeconomic variables.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>Extreme heat exposure significantly increased the likelihood of healthcare non-utilization among pregnant women, with the strongest associations observed for WBGT and Heat Index measures. An additional 10-days of exposure above the 90th percentile WBGT threshold increased the risk of no healthcare contact by 11 %, with similar patterns across the 85th and 95th percentiles. Heat Index showed consistent positive associations across all thresholds (8-11 % increases), while DBT trends were positive but not statistically significant. For extreme cold exposure, temperature indicators showed some association with healthcare non-utilization, though results were not consistent across exposure definitions. We did not find evidence of effect measure modification across socioeconomic groups, with only a few isolated exposure definitions showing significant difference between subgroups.</p>","PeriodicalId":312,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research","volume":" ","pages":"122410"},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144697261","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Environmental ResearchPub Date : 2025-11-15Epub Date: 2025-08-06DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2025.122541
Jia-Ming Wen, Xiu-Zhu Su, Yuliang Guo, Xian-Lei Fu
{"title":"Polymer-GGBS-cement amended reused blasting slag: Towards eco-friendly and resilient open-pit road surface.","authors":"Jia-Ming Wen, Xiu-Zhu Su, Yuliang Guo, Xian-Lei Fu","doi":"10.1016/j.envres.2025.122541","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envres.2025.122541","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Growing industrialization and mining operation contributed to the generation of blasting slag and exacerbated demanding of open-pit road construction materials and dust emission. To reuse blasting slag and support eco-friendly open-pit road construction, this study aims to investigate the feasibility of polymer-ground granulated-blast-furnace slag (GGBS)-cement amended blasting slag as open-pit road surface. Specimens included GGBS-cement amended blasting slag powder (BG), GGBS-cement-polyacrylamide (PAM) amended blasting slag powder (BGP), GGBS-cement-carboxymethylcellulose sodium (CMC) amended blasting slag powder (BGC), and GGBS-cement-E+ dust suppressant amended blasting slag powder (BGE). Results indicated that the unconfined compressive strength of BGC with 0.75 % carboxymethylcellulose sodium reached a maximum of 8.50 MPa, whereas the BGP and BGE showed decreasing trends with increasing polymer content. The immersion stability of BGP, BGC, and BGE ranged between 83.22 % and 88.68 %, 81.63 % and 91.06 %, and 77.30 % and 71.44 %, respectively, with polyacrylamide contents of 0.025 %-0.10 %, carboxymethylcellulose sodium contents of 0.25 %-1 %, and E+ dust suppressant contents of 0.75 %-3 %. Furthermore, only appropriate amounts of PAM and CMC facilitated to resistance to wetting-drying cycles. Evaporation test showed that the water loss of BGP, BGC, and BGE was measured at 63.08 %, 71.03 %, and 65.07 %, respectively. The study elucidates the mechanisms improving mechanical performance and dust mitigation of amended reused blasting slag using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD).</p>","PeriodicalId":312,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research","volume":" ","pages":"122541"},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144803112","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Environmental ResearchPub Date : 2025-11-15Epub Date: 2025-08-08DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2025.122554
V Divya, V C Deivayanai, K Anbarasu, A Saravanan, A S Vickram
{"title":"A review on advances in hybrid magnetic nanoparticles for microplastics removal: Mechanistic insights and emerging prospects.","authors":"V Divya, V C Deivayanai, K Anbarasu, A Saravanan, A S Vickram","doi":"10.1016/j.envres.2025.122554","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envres.2025.122554","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Synthetic polymer particles less than 5 mm in size, called microplastics (MPs), have emerged as ubiquitous and unbiodegradable harmful aquatic and terrestrial environment pollutants with a substantial environmental risk potential to human health. They are heterogeneous, increasing their surface-area-to-volume ratios and capacities to adsorb and transport persistent organic pollutants (POPs), heavy metals, and pathogens. Since coagulation, filtration, and biological degradation are traditional remediation techniques, they tend not to remove MPs efficiently, particularly MPs that are less than 10 μm. Recently, hybrid magnetic nanoparticles (HMNPs), which are composed of magnetically active cores that are functionalized using organic, inorganic, or composite materials, have shown potential in overcoming this shortage. This review critically examines recent developments in HMNP-based systems for microplastic remediation, focusing on synthesis, surface engineering, and functionalization. It highlights key material types such as carbon-based hybrids, metal-organic framework (MOF) composites, and silica-supported magnetic nanohybrids. It discusses mechanisms including magnetic separation, physisorption, photocatalytic degradation, and Fenton/photo-Fenton processes. Scalability, environmental safety, regeneration strategies, and pilot-scale applications are also discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":312,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research","volume":" ","pages":"122554"},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144815432","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Environmental ResearchPub Date : 2025-11-15Epub Date: 2025-08-05DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2025.122483
Yuhao Wang, Yanbo Ji, Jing Ma, Moskvicheva Elena, Ansabayeva Assiya, Ruixia Ding, Zhikuan Jia, Kadambot H M Siddique, Enke Liu, Jinshang He, Weijun Zhang, Peng Zhang
{"title":"Evaluate the impacts of different straw returning rates on soil quality and field environmental sustainability of film mulching or non-mulching farmland in semiarid region.","authors":"Yuhao Wang, Yanbo Ji, Jing Ma, Moskvicheva Elena, Ansabayeva Assiya, Ruixia Ding, Zhikuan Jia, Kadambot H M Siddique, Enke Liu, Jinshang He, Weijun Zhang, Peng Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.envres.2025.122483","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envres.2025.122483","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Film mulching (FM) has been widely adopted in dryland agriculture to increase crop yields, but its potential long-term impacts on soil health and degradation remain a subject of debate. In contrast, straw returning (SR) has shown promising results in improving soil quality and enhancing economic returns, making it an effective measure to optimize FM practices. This study assessed the effects of varying straw return rates (0, 6, 12, and 18 t ha<sup>-1</sup>) on soil quality, ecosystem services, and economic benefits in a semiarid region, under both mulched (FM) and non-mulched conditions. Our findings indicate that FM significantly increased maize yields but also led to a depletion of soil nutrients, including organic carbon (-3.7 %) and total nitrogen (-5.8 %), while increasing CO<sub>2</sub> emissions (9.9 %). In contrast, SR increased soil nitrogen (11.9 %), organic carbon (6.6 %), and improved both particulate organic carbon (19.2 %) and dissolved organic carbon (37.4 %). Moreover, both FM and SR improved soil enzyme activity (catalase, cellulase, and urease) and enhanced the stability of soil aggregate structure, particularly through the coupling effects of FM and SR. However, this coupling effect also resulted in increased greenhouse gas emissions (CO<sub>2</sub>: 15.0 %; N<sub>2</sub>O: 8.1 %), although it reduced the carbon footprint (-22.0 %) and improved economic returns (10,074 yuan ha<sup>-1</sup>). From the perspective of both environmental sustainability and stable economic returns, we recommend the return of all straw (12 t ha<sup>-1</sup>) to dryland mulching cropland. To further enhance soil quality, we suggest increasing the amount of straw (18 t ha<sup>-1</sup>).</p>","PeriodicalId":312,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Research","volume":" ","pages":"122483"},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144774429","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}