Nature Reviews Earth & Environment最新文献

{"title":"Fingerprinting microbe–mineral electron transfer with differential pulse voltammetry","authors":"Wei Chen \u0000 (, )","doi":"10.1038/s43017-026-00812-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43017-026-00812-z","url":null,"abstract":"Wei Chen explains how differential pulse voltammetry is used to resolve the electron transfer processes underlying microbe–mineral element cycles in soils, sediments and aquifers.","PeriodicalId":18921,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Earth & Environment","volume":"7 10","pages":"655-655"},"PeriodicalIF":74.1,"publicationDate":"2026-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149100763","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Electrical signature of trans-lithospheric shear zones","authors":"Kui Han, Zhongxuan Li","doi":"10.1038/s43017-026-00809-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43017-026-00809-8","url":null,"abstract":"Nature Reviews Earth & Environment interviewed Kui Han about their project investigating the electrical signature of trans-lithospheric shear zones.","PeriodicalId":18921,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Earth & Environment","volume":"7 8","pages":"491-491"},"PeriodicalIF":74.1,"publicationDate":"2026-07-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148696680","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Heterotrophic respiration by soil microbes in a changing climate","authors":"Janet K. Jansson, Avi I. Flamholz, Raquel Peixoto, Joana Falcao Salles, Jay T. Lennon, Alexandre Soares Rosado, Ian R. Sanders, Carsten S. Jacobsen, Thulani Makhalanyane, Christopher W. Schadt, Jack A. Gilbert","doi":"10.1038/s43017-026-00806-x","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43017-026-00806-x","url":null,"abstract":"Soil microbes strongly influence the soil organic carbon (SOC) pool, which globally stores ~2,000 PgC. Specifically, the balance between microbial heterotrophic respiration (RH), which degrades SOC, and plant–microbe interactions that stabilize SOC determines whether terrestrial ecosystems are a net source or sink of CO2 to the atmosphere. In this Review, we evaluate how climate change alters these competing processes. RH is approximately half of total soil respiration, at ~50 PgC yr−1, with 70% occurring in topsoils. Warming accelerates microbial metabolism, with a 10 °C temperature increase estimated to raise RH by ~50%, an effect that is particularly strong in Arctic soils. Warming also reduces soil moisture, further modulating RH, which responds nonlinearly to soil moisture, being limited by saturation and desiccation and meeting a maximum at intermediate levels. Consequently, RH is highly sensitive to future precipitation changes and drought. However, soil management strategies could enhance SOC stocks and persistence under climate change. Bacterial and fungal inoculants can promote SOC production and stabilization, while deep-rooting plants increase SOC inputs to deeper layers that experience lower RH. Agricultural practices and biochar amendments can also enhance SOC and reduce RH. Expanding field trials across regions, climates and soil types would improve empirical understanding of these responses and support better representation of RH in predictive models, enabling more accurate assessments of climate impacts on SOC storage. Microbial metabolism affects the magnitude and stability of soil organic carbon. This Review examines how microbial heterotrophic respiration and soil carbon stocks will be affected by climate change and describes potential strategies to mitigate soil carbon loss.","PeriodicalId":18921,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Earth & Environment","volume":"7 8","pages":"494-510"},"PeriodicalIF":74.1,"publicationDate":"2026-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148696682","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Tracing labile species in environmental systems with diffusive gradients in thin films","authors":"Antonia Siebenbrunner","doi":"10.1038/s43017-026-00810-1","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43017-026-00810-1","url":null,"abstract":"Antonia Siebenbrunner explains how diffusive gradients in thin films can be used to trace labile species in environmental systems.","PeriodicalId":18921,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Earth & Environment","volume":"7 10","pages":"654-654"},"PeriodicalIF":74.1,"publicationDate":"2026-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149100756","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The next era of remote spectral imaging of the Earth’s surface","authors":"David R. Thompson, Wendy M. Calvin, Bethany L. Ehlmann, Christopher B. Field, Peter Pilewskie, Susan L. Ustin, Philip G. Brodrick, K. Dana Chadwick, Robert O. Green","doi":"10.1038/s43017-026-00805-y","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43017-026-00805-y","url":null,"abstract":"Imaging spectroscopy technology is transforming the way Earth is viewed from space, with applications across diverse science communities. A global imaging spectrometer mission with Landsat-like spatial and temporal coverage could fully realize this potential.","PeriodicalId":18921,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Earth & Environment","volume":"7 7","pages":"407-408"},"PeriodicalIF":74.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148434156","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Infrared imaging of atmospheric boundary layer flows","authors":"Patricia Asemann","doi":"10.1038/s43017-026-00807-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43017-026-00807-w","url":null,"abstract":"Patricia Asemann explains how infrared imaging can be used to capture atmospheric boundary layer dynamics at high resolution close to the Earth’s surface.","PeriodicalId":18921,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Earth & Environment","volume":"7 8","pages":"493-493"},"PeriodicalIF":74.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148696679","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Managing metal(loid) contamination for safe rice production","authors":"Liping Fang \u0000 (, ), Jialin Chi \u0000 (, ), Kai Liu \u0000 (, ), Andreas Kappler, Yong-guan Zhu \u0000 (, ), Jan E. Leach, Sean Fettrow, Qiwang Ran \u0000 (, ), Kai Chen \u0000 (, ), Thomas Borch, Fangbai Li \u0000 (, )","doi":"10.1038/s43017-026-00804-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43017-026-00804-z","url":null,"abstract":"Increasing contamination of rice paddies by toxic metal(loid)s from anthropogenic sources threatens food security and public health. In this Perspective, we outline the problem of metal(loid) contamination in paddy soils and propose an activity-centric framework for safeguarding rice production. Approximately 14–17% of croplands exceed safe thresholds for at least one toxic metal(loid), exposing 0.9–1.4 billion people to elevated ecological and health risks. Management strategies that reduce the total mass of toxic metal(loid)s in soils are useful for restoring sites with high metal(loid) concentrations. However, these approaches are expensive and interrupt crop production, making them poorly suited to most in-production rice paddies with low-to-moderate contamination. Activity-centric strategies aim to reduce metal(loid) bioavailability and plant uptake at the soil–water–root–grain continuum, offering a production-compatible alternative. An integrated risk management framework that bridges risk-informed implementation of technologies with localized policy governance to guide regional-scale metal(loid) management is proposed. Further research is needed to develop soil amendment materials and functional synthetic microbial communities that synergistically address metal(loid) contamination and actively contribute to overall soil health and resilience. Toxic metal(loid)s in paddy soils accumulate in rice grains, leading to human health risks from dietary metal exposure. This Perspective describes metal(loid) sources and biogeochemical strategies to reduce metal(loid) bioavailability and uptake, and it proposes a framework for coordinating science, policy and practice in contaminated paddy fields.","PeriodicalId":18921,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Earth & Environment","volume":"7 8","pages":"546-561"},"PeriodicalIF":74.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148696684","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Past, present and future Greenland Ice Sheet surface melt, 1500–2200 CE","authors":"Edward Hanna, Jason E. Box, Xavier Fettweis, Michiel R. van den Broeke, Leanne Wake, Linh Luu, Jacob Maddison, Thomas Mote, Ruth Mottram, Brice Noël, Jonathon Preece, Dániel Topál, Luke Trusel, Larissa Nora van der Laan","doi":"10.1038/s43017-026-00800-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43017-026-00800-3","url":null,"abstract":"The Greenland Ice Sheet is a major contributor to global sea-level rise, having lost ~4,900 Gt of ice since 1992 and already added ~13 mm to global mean sea-level. Even without further warming, it is committed to at least ~274 mm of additional sea-level rise, and complete melting would ultimately raise sea level by ~7 m. In this Review, we synthesise changes in Greenland Ice Sheet surface melt from 1500 to 2200 CE. Surface melt has increased rapidly by ~1% per year since the 1990s, driven by regional warming and changes in atmospheric circulation, particularly enhanced blocking. Several unprecedented extreme melt events lasting several days have occurred since 2007, with record cases such as in July 2012 affecting nearly the entire ice sheet surface. Absorbed shortwave radiation is the dominant driver of seasonal melt, but turbulent heat fluxes, cloud processes and albedo feedbacks strongly modulate melt variability across space and time. Climate models diverge in their representation of these processes, with projected melt and surface mass loss differing by up to a factor of two between three different state-of-the-art regional climate models even under identical forcing. Despite advances in regional climate and Greenland melt modelling, key uncertainties remain in quantifying extreme melt events and their drivers, meltwater retention, firn processes and the coupling between atmospheric forcing and surface energy balance, limiting confidence in projections. Addressing these gaps requires expanded observations, improved process representation in models and integrated use of emerging data-driven approaches to better constrain future melt and its contribution to sea-level rise. Greenland Ice Sheet melt has intensified since the 1990s with implications for sea-level rise. This Review synthesises paleoclimate records, observations and regional climate melt model simulations to explore the patterns and drivers of melt variability and extremes, and assess uncertainties in future projections.","PeriodicalId":18921,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Earth & Environment","volume":"7 8","pages":"511-527"},"PeriodicalIF":74.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148696686","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Arctic subglacial carbon reactivity","authors":"Junjie Wu, Zhongxuan Li","doi":"10.1038/s43017-026-00801-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43017-026-00801-2","url":null,"abstract":"Nature Reviews Earth & Environment interviewed Junjie Wu about her project investigating Arctic subglacial carbon reactivity.","PeriodicalId":18921,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Earth & Environment","volume":"7 7","pages":"409-409"},"PeriodicalIF":74.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148434158","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Formation and redox evolution of Earth’s early atmosphere and hydrosphere","authors":"Sara Vulpius, Eric Runge, Daniel Herwartz, Andreas Pack, Caroline Brachmann, Lena Noack","doi":"10.1038/s43017-026-00803-0","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43017-026-00803-0","url":null,"abstract":"The redox state of the atmosphere and hydrosphere was essential to the origin of life on Earth and its long-term habitability. In this Review, we explore the formation and redox evolution of the Earth’s early atmosphere and hydrosphere, combining evidence from meteorites, the ancient rock record and numerical models. The initial atmosphere was formed by primordial volatile accretion, primary magma-ocean outgassing and secondary volatile outgassing after magma-ocean crystallization during the Hadean aeon (4.567–4.0 Ga). An initial hydrosphere could have developed as early as 4.4 Ga, but probably underwent episodic vaporization during late accretion. The earliest robust evidence of subaqueous environments is dated at about 3.7 Ga. The mantle reached its modern-day redox state between 4.4 Ga and 2.7 Ga. Free O2 in the hydrosphere appears at 3.0 Ga, whereas the initial rise of atmospheric O2 (the ‘Great Oxidation Event’) occurred later, at 2.5–2.3 Ga. This delay in the surface oxidation was probably caused by a synergy of geodynamic, magmatic and (bio)geochemical mechanisms modulating oxygen sources and sinks. These processes in turn shifted the dynamics of other volatile element cycles important to the evolution of life, such as nitrogen, carbon and hydrogen. Future work should prioritize determining further quantitative constraints on Earth’s oxygen sources and sinks through time to understand the habitability of early Earth. Understanding how Earth’s atmosphere and hydrosphere formed and evolved could help to explain how Earth became, and remains, habitable. This Review discusses the initial formation and redox evolution of Earth’s surface environments, with implications for other planetary bodies.","PeriodicalId":18921,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Earth & Environment","volume":"7 7","pages":"412-426"},"PeriodicalIF":74.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148434157","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}