Environmental Pollution最新文献

{"title":"Comprehensive screening and environmental fate of chlorinated paraffins and their structural analogs in a freshwater lake ecosystem.","authors":"Zehua Liu, Huibin Bai, Hong Chang, Enrui Li, Yi Wan","doi":"10.1016/j.envpol.2026.129333","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envpol.2026.129333","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) are emerging persistent organic pollutants whose large-scale production and application have led to their widespread environmental occurrence. However, the occurrence and environmental fate of CPs and their structural analogs (CPSAs) remain largely unknown in lake systems. In this study, paired water and sediment samples from Lake Taihu were comprehensively screened for CPs and CPSAs using Ph₄PCl-enhanced ionization coupled with UPLC-Orbitrap-MS. A total of 139 CP congeners (28 SCCPs, 22 MCCPs, 89 LCCPs) and 217 CPSAs (14 very short-chain CPs (vSCCPs), 51 unsaturated CPs (un-CPs), and 152 oxygenated CPs (CPs-O)) were identified. CPs dominated the contamination in water (92%), while in sediments, CPs-O (48%) slightly exceeded CPs (47%), revealing a substantial and previously overlooked contribution of oxygenated derivatives. Spatial distributions were governed primarily by emission sources from surrounding industrial cities and hydrological conditions. Sediment-water partitioning was mainly determined by carbon chain length for CPs, and oxygen-containing functional groups (CP(O₂)s) introduce nonlinear partitioning behavior. Although individual CP risks were low at most sites, the combined exposure (PEC/PNEC)_m ratios exceeded 1 in 33.3% of water samples and one sediment sample, and the exclusion of CPSAs from current risk assessments may lead to underestimation of total risks.</p>","PeriodicalId":311,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Pollution","volume":" ","pages":"129333"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149214876","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":"Assessing Melamine Mobility in European Soils: Experimental Log K_oc Determination and Relative Mobility Mapping.","authors":"Michel Hubert, Lars Eschlbeck, Stephan Wagner, Ivo Schliebner, Hans Peter H Arp","doi":"10.1016/j.envpol.2026.129350","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2026.129350","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Persistent, mobile and toxic (PMT) and very persistent, very mobile (vPvM) substances pose increasing risks to the quality of groundwater and drinking-water resources. Melamine, a high-production-volume chemical has recently been listed as a Substance of Very High Concern under EU REACH. Mobility assessments under the EU CLP regulation rely on log K_oc, with experimentally derived values preferably obtained in accordance with OECD Test Guideline 106. However, for melamine such data remain scarce and highly variable. In this study melamine sorption coefficients following OECD TG 106 using five European soils were determined. Experimentally derived log K_d values ranged from -0.25 to 1.84, corresponding to log K_oc values of 1.52 to 3.21. Sorption was influenced by soil properties, particularly pH and organic carbon, consistent with melamine's pH-dependent speciation. The lowest log K_oc value (1.52) meets the CLP criterion for \"very mobile\" substances (vM). By integrating these results with the 2018 LUCAS European soil dataset, regions exhibiting comparatively higher relative melamine mobility, were identified. These were predominantly in southern Europe, where alkaline soils with low organic carbon contents are more common. These findings highlight the need for monitoring and regulatory attention in areas characterized by melamine emissions alongside soil conditions that may enhance melamine mobility.</p>","PeriodicalId":311,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Pollution","volume":" ","pages":"129350"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149214911","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":"Polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) in surface soils, indoor and outdoor dusts in Lahore, Pakistan.","authors":"Areej Tahir, Sung-Hee Seo, Naeem Akhtar Abbasi, Stuart Batterman","doi":"10.1016/j.envpol.2026.129362","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2026.129362","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) are thermally stable and inert chemicals that have been widely used as Halowax mixtures and are also unintentionally produced during combustion processes. Lahore, Pakistan, was recently ranked by the World Health Organization as one of the cities with the worst air quality in the world, highlighting the importance of investigating combustion-related pollutants such as PCNs for effective air quality management and improvement. This study investigated the levels, composition, sources and health risks of PCNs in soil and dust in Lahore, Pakistan. Soil, indoor and outdoor dust samples were collected from residential, commercial, industrial areas, and vehicle cabins, and analyzed for 32 congeners using triple quadrupole gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The median concentrations of Ʃ₃₂PCNs in indoor dust, outdoor dust and soil were 7.9, 7.1 and 0.30 ng/g, respectively, and higher levels (12 ng/g) were found in house and industrial dusts. Mono- to tetra-CNs dominated all sample types. Compositional similarity to Halowax mixtures, combustion indicators, and spatial patterns suggest legacy sources of PCNs, while their ongoing and widespread presence likely results from continuous emissions related to combustion processes. Health risk assessment indicated that PCN exposure posed negligible cancer and non-cancer risks in most areas except for few sites reflecting high cancer risks for toddlers. Nevertheless, considering the short half-lives and international production regulations of PCNs, the present findings suggest ongoing emissions and potential human exposure. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine PCNs in vehicle cabin dust, providing a solid reference for future studies and national management policies for PCNs.</p>","PeriodicalId":311,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Pollution","volume":" ","pages":"129362"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149214953","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":"Species-specific PM retention by urban tree bark is associated with functional traits under controlled exposure.","authors":"Dan Chen, Xingbao Wang, Ruiyu Liu, Jialin Zhang, Xintian Xu, Bo Yang, Shen Ye, Jingyi Hu, Hanxing Zhou, Dong Liu, Jian Chen, Yuan Ren","doi":"10.1016/j.envpol.2026.129262","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2026.129262","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Urban tree bark plays a critical yet underappreciated role in mitigating atmospheric particulate matter (PM) pollution, particularly during leaf-off periods when foliage is absent. However, the relative contribution of bark versus other plant organs and the functional traits governing interspecific variation in bark PM retention remain poorly understood. In this study, we implemented a trait-based modeling framework utilizing modified open-top chambers to minimize external meteorological disturbances and reduce environmental variability. Results showed that: (1) at the unit-area scale, bark retained significantly more PM than leaves or branches across 11 of the 12 core calibration species (p < 0.05), with Cinnamomum camphora exhibiting the highest capture efficiency (364.5 ± 9.3 μg cm^-2), whereas Juniperus formosana exhibited the lowest (112.1 ± 13.6 μg cm^-2); (2) upscaling to the whole-plant scale revealed that aggregated bark PM_2.5-10 retention was 1.40 times that of leaves, while PM_2.5 retention between bark and foliage was comparable, indicating a distinct size-selective filtration advantage of bark; (3) Spearman correlation analysis and mathematical modeling indicated that interspecific bark PM variation was associated with specific micro-topographic traits (p < 0.05), with lenticel density, surface roughness, and groove prominence showing consistent positive associations with bark PM retention, and the resulting predictive models showed acceptable consistency with the limited independent validation data; and (4) an exploratory application to twenty-six dominant urban greening species in Hangzhou suggested a 4.83-fold interspecific variation in potential bark PM retention under controlled exposure. These findings suggest that neglecting bark retention may lead to underestimation of tree air purification capacity, providing a basis for incorporating bark-specific parameters into dynamic vegetation models.</p>","PeriodicalId":311,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Pollution","volume":" ","pages":"129262"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149206310","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":"Particle-size-associated differences in follicular accessibility, granulosa cell oxidative injury, and oocyte developmental competence following polystyrene exposure.","authors":"Xinyu Wang, Kang Ding, Ziyue Wang, Yating Chen, Jiaqi Zhou, Yuxin Chen, Chengguang Liang, Wenpei Xiang, Jing Li","doi":"10.1016/j.envpol.2026.129342","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envpol.2026.129342","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Polystyrene particles are emerging environmental contaminants with potential reproductive hazards, but whether particle size influences access to the follicular microenvironment and subsequent oocyte dysfunction remains unclear. Here, fluorescent and non-fluorescent PS particles with nominal diameters of 0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 μm were compared using mouse cumulus-oocyte complexes, ovarian tissue, and KGN granulosa-like cells under equal-mass and theoretically matched particle-number exposure conditions. Smaller PS particles showed greater follicular-associated fluorescence, with particle-associated signals predominantly detected in cumulus/granulosa-cell regions rather than the oocyte compartment. This size-dependent localization pattern was independently reproduced using same-green-fluorophore particles. Trypan blue quenching, phalloidin-guided confocal imaging, and dye-leaching assays further supported particle-associated fluorescence signals that were resistant to extracellular quenching and consistent with intracellular retention. Functionally, PS particle exposure impaired COC expansion, altered mitochondrial spatial organization in metaphase II oocytes, and reduced subsequent embryonic developmental competence. Time-course analysis revealed an early increase in ROS in cumulus cells followed by a later increase in oocytes within intact COCs, indicating a temporally ordered oxidative response during particle exposure. hUCMSC-derived extracellular vesicles partially attenuated PS particle-associated oxidative and apoptosis-related alterations in KGN granulosa-like cells. Because extracellular vesicles exert broad biological effects, antioxidant validation was further performed in intact COCs. N-acetylcysteine reduced ROS-sensitive fluorescence and partially restored first-polar-body extrusion and mitochondrial membrane potential in mature oocytes. Collectively, these findings support a particle-size-associated follicular accessibility-toxicity framework, in which smaller PS particles exhibit greater follicular-associated signals and are accompanied by enhanced oxidative disturbances in follicular somatic cells and impaired oocyte developmental competence. This study highlights oxidative stress as a functionally relevant process underlying PS particle-associated reproductive dysfunction.</p>","PeriodicalId":311,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Pollution","volume":" ","pages":"129342"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149206301","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":"Heavy metal (Cu(II)) stress alters lysogeny-lysis balance and drives phage-mediated transfer of co-resistance in the activated sludge process.","authors":"Qianwei Ji, Siqi Liu, Chenpeng Wang, Guoqiang Liang, Gaolin Hou, Xinchun Liu, Zhisheng Yu, Zhibin Wang, Ruyin Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.envpol.2026.128858","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envpol.2026.128858","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The co-selection of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and metal resistance genes (MRGs) by heavy metals poses significant ecological risks. However, the contribution of bacteriophages (phages), particularly temperate phages, to this process via horizontal gene transfer (HGT) remains poorly understood. Here, we integrated metagenomics, metaviromics, and metatranscriptomics to investigate the impact of escalating Cu(II) concentrations (0.05-20.00 mg/L) on phage lifestyle dynamics and the dissemination of resistance genes in an activated sludge reactor. Our results revealed that phage-mediated HGT events of resistance genes were strongly threshold-dependent, predominantly occurring at high Cu(II) levels (10.00-20.00 mg/L). While the general temperate phage community shifted toward lysogeny to cope with stress, specific phages that mediated HGT of resistance genes exhibited higher lytic activity. Metatranscriptomic analysis further indicated upregulated transcriptional activity of HGT-associated MRGs under high Cu(II) stress, potentially conferring an adaptive advantage to hosts against metal toxicity. Notably, nearly all HGT events were associated with temperate phages, among which approximately 40% of the identified viral clusters (VCs) simultaneously harbored multiple resistance types, even in the absence of antibiotic selective pressure. Collectively, our findings highlight the important role of temperate phages in mediating resistance gene dissemination under Cu(II) stress and underscore the need to incorporate viral dynamics into resistance risk assessment in activated sludge systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":311,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Pollution","volume":" ","pages":"128858"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148617677","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":"Assessment of potentially toxic elements contamination in children's toys in the USA-Mexico border region by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy.","authors":"Jesus Antonio Rodríguez-Loya, Maricarmen Lerma, Juan Pedro Flores Margez, Abraham Dagda-Torres, Jorge L Gardea-Torresdey","doi":"10.1016/j.envpol.2026.128834","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envpol.2026.128834","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The presence of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in toys represents a significant public concern due to the potential adverse effects on children's health, particularly in economically integrated border regions. The El Paso, Texas (USA)- Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua (Mexico) border is an important binational area in North America; to our knowledge, no systematic assessment of PTEs in toys has been conducted in this region. We collected 333 toys from retail stores across El Paso (n = 109) and Ciudad Juárez (n = 224), using stratified random sampling proportional to the child population in each location. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy quantified elements of concern, including lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn), and titanium (Ti). Overall, 78% of toys contained at least one element of concern. Zinc was the most frequently detected element (47.7%), followed by Ni (34.2%) and Ti (28.5%). Lead was detected in 2.7% of samples, Cd in 4.5%, Cr in 6.6%, and As in 5.4%. Arsenic and Cd were detected solely in samples from Ciudad Juárez. Three or more elements of concern were detected in 12% of the samples. These findings demonstrate the presence of elements of concern in children's toys in the USA-Mexico border region, where economic integration and regulatory divergence create unique challenges for product safety. Enhanced international cooperation, harmonized regulatory standards, and systematic monitoring of potential health hazards are essential to protect children in integrated border markets.</p>","PeriodicalId":311,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Pollution","volume":" ","pages":"128834"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148597307","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":"Mechanistic insights into electrolyte-PFAS interfacial interactions through molecular simulations and experimental observations.","authors":"Xuejia Zhang, Jiamin Mai, Alireza Arhami Dolatabad, Jiefei Cao, Feng Xiao, Baolin Deng","doi":"10.1016/j.envpol.2026.128830","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envpol.2026.128830","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Understanding how electrolytes modulate the interfacial behavior of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is critical for predicting their environmental fate and guiding remediation strategies. In this study, we systematically investigated the surface activity and interfacial partitioning of four PFAS regulated in U.S. and European drinking water standards, along with a C4 PFAS, in the presence of eight inorganic salts representing diverse cationic and anionic identities. Surface tension results were modeled using the Szyszkowski equation, extended with mean ionic activity (a*) to unify electrolyte effects. This framework was found to effectively capture short-chain PFAS behavior, but parameter fitting for long-chain species produced highly variable values, reflecting ion-specific effects and model limitations. Multivariate analysis, including principal component analysis and clustering, revealed distinct patterns governed by PFAS chain length and ion type. Density functional theory simulations provided molecular-level insight, showing that cations modulate interfacial adsorption through electrostatic binding, orbital polarization, or co-localization effects depending on hydration properties and electronic structure. These findings highlight the limitations of conventional activity-based models for long-chain PFAS and underscore the need to incorporate specific ion effects into interfacial transport models. Our integrated experimental-computational framework advances mechanistic understanding of PFAS-electrolyte interactions and offers new perspectives on their air-water interfacial behavior. These findings have important environmental implications, as electrolyte composition in natural and engineered waters may significantly alter PFAS interfacial accumulation, transport, and aerosolization potential. Incorporating specific ion effects into predictive models may improve the assessment of PFAS fate in water treatment systems and contaminated aquatic environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":311,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Pollution","volume":" ","pages":"128830"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148589878","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":"Evaluating the effects of breathing zone and anatomical completeness on respiratory particle inhalation and deposition in human respiratory tract.","authors":"Jie Li, Xueren Li, Jiaqi Fan, Ziqi Chen, Yidan Shang, Xiaochuan Li, Xiang Fang, Liang Yuan, Bingyou Jiang, Xinjian He, Jiyuan Tu","doi":"10.1016/j.envpol.2026.128807","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envpol.2026.128807","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>As the interface between environmental exposure and respiratory intake, the breathing zone is often simplified in respiratory CFD models, while the broader influence of model completeness on airflow and particle deposition remains insufficiently quantified. In this study, a comprehensive human respiratory model (hereinafter referred to as the \"all-in-one model\") encompassing the upper and lower respiratory tracts and the throat region was initially constructed and integrated with a spherical breathing zone. The effect of the breathing zone was evaluated by developing six computational models with varying anatomical completeness. Three particle release approaches were implemented, including nostril inlet release, volumetric release within the breathing zone, and surface-based release on the breathing zone boundary. The Eulerian-Lagrangian approach was adopted, and total and regional particle deposition patterns were carefully analyzed. The results revealed that the breathing zone, together with varying anatomical completeness, significantly alters airflow development in the nasal vestibule, valve region, and posterior turbinate zones, with sectional peak velocities reduced by up to 12%. While total nasal deposition for 10μm particles varies moderately (14.55%-45.55%), substantial regional discrepancies are observed, with nasal vestibule deposition differing by up to 14-fold between models with and without the breathing zone. Particle release strategy further influences deposition predictions, as nostril inlet release produces 956%-1345% higher vestibule deposition compared with breathing-zone-based release. These findings demonstrate that neglecting the breathing zone and adopting simplified particle release strategies can substantially degrade assessment accuracy. Incorporating physically consistent breathing zone representations is essential for improving the accuracy and reliability of CFD-based respiratory exposure assessments.</p>","PeriodicalId":311,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Pollution","volume":" ","pages":"128807"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148589883","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":"Coupled and decoupled antimony-arsenic mobility along environmental gradients in a mining soil: Links to geochemical contexts and microbial functional potential.","authors":"Xue Li, Rui Xue, Ligang Hu, Yifan Jiang, Feng Zhu, Chao Xiang, Jun Jiang, Chuan Wu, Guibin Jiang, Shengguo Xue","doi":"10.1016/j.envpol.2026.129334","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envpol.2026.129334","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Distinct redox behavior, surface-binding affinities, and microbial transformation pathways of antimony (Sb) and arsenic (As) complicate sustainable remediation of mining soils. Understanding how these differences shape field mobility is essential for nature-based remediation that avoids unnecessary inputs. Yet whether natural gradients produce generalizable Sb-As mobility patterns and mechanisms remains unclear. Here, we integrated physicochemical, metagenomic, and statistical analyses to determine how field gradients shaped microbial functional potential and Sb-As mobility at a single Sb smelting site. We identified two Sb-As mobility modes, further supported by external validation across 60 published studies. In the decoupled mode, along resource-driven gradients including moisture, soil organic carbon, and slope-associated light exposure, water-extractable Sb increased whereas As decreased. In the coupled mode, along pH-redox gradients, especially in alkaline and oxic soils, water-extractable Sb and As increased together. The decoupled mode was generally characterized by Sb(V) and As(V) species with Sb redistribution into more labile pools but As retention in stable fractions. Metagenomic profiles linked this decoupling to heterogeneous C-N-S-Fe geochemical contexts that reshaped microbial functional potential related to electron transfer and mineral-associated reactions. By comparison, the coupled mode was characterized by redistribution of Sb and As into reactive fractions under direct pH/Eh control. Hierarchical partitioning identified environmental factors as the dominant explanatory domain for Sb and As (62.5% and 53.1% of adjusted-R²-based relative importance), with metagenomic functional variables contributing 18.5% and 9.3%, respectively. These contrasting mobility modes help distinguish when Sb and As may require joint or separate management, thereby supporting targeted nature-based remediation.</p>","PeriodicalId":311,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Pollution","volume":" ","pages":"129334"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149190557","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}