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[Display omitted] • CMIP6 models capture the dynamics of surface air temperature over the Tibetan Plateau. • Warming predicted to occur over the Tibetan Plateau. • The future warming rate is highly dependent on emission pathways. • The mean annual air temperature expected to break the 2 °C threshold in the next decade. With its amplification simultaneously emerging in cryospheric regions, especially in the Tibetan Plateau, global warming is undoubtedly occurring. In this study, we utilized 28 global climate models to assess model performance regarding surface air temperature over the Tibetan Plateau from 1961 to 2014, reported spatiotemporal variability in surface air temperature in the future under four scenarios (SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0, and SSP5-8.5), and further quantified the timing of warming levels (1.5, 2, and 3 °C) in the region. The results show that the multimodel ensemble means depicted the spatiotemporal patterns of surface air temperature for the past decades well, although with differences across individual models. The projected surface air temperature, by 2099, would warm by 1.9, 3.2, 5.2, and 6.3 °C relative to the reference period (1981–2010), with increasing rates of 0.11, 0.31, 0.53, and 0.70 °C/decade under the SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0, and SSP5-8.5 scenarios for the period 2015–2099, respectively. Compared with the preindustrial periods (1850–1900), the mean annual surface air temperature over the Tibetan Plateau has hit the 1.5 °C threshold and will break 2 °C in the next decade, but there is still a chance to limit the temperature below 3 °C in this century. Our study provides a new understanding of climate warming in high mountain areas and implies the urgent need to achieve carbon neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is of great significance to explore the remediation pattern in actual heavy metal (HM) contaminated sites. The field trial was carried out to research the remediation effect of biochar near a lead-zinc smelter in Feng County, China, under the rotation condition of different crops. This kind of cultivation mode is very representative in northern of China. And the pattern of production and restoration is suitable for scarce land resources and large food demand in China. The changes of soil physiochemical properties with the biochar addition, crop growth and the accumulated HMs by crops were focused on. The results showed the biochar application was excellent in improving soil nutrient elements and crop growth. The contents of TK were more obvious than those of TN and TP, with an increase of 2.6%–28.2% compared with the controls (without the addition of biochar). The yield of first season crops, i.e., soybean and corn, increased by 30%–42% and 34%–61%, respectively, and the second season crops, i.e., rape and wheat, with the increment of 25%–41% and 9%–29%, respectively. The availability forms of Cd and Pb decreased by 1.07–10.0% and 2.92–8.35%, respectively. While the improvement on the status of the HMs accumulated by crops was disappointing. The contents of HMs accumulated by crops increased to varying degrees (e.g., Pb and Zn in root, Cu and Pb in grain, and Cd in stems and leaves). Moreover, the concentrations of HMs in seeds of crops were higher than the limited levels given by the Chinese directive. Considering the results of the study and food safety, it is suggested to change the nature of the land around the smelter into woodland or construction land to prohibit the cultivation of food crops in this area. [Display omitted] • The effect of biochar on the HM availability under rotation pattern was explored. • The contents of THC had a significant relationship with the dose of biochar. • Biochar has more obvious effects on immobilizing Cu, Pb and Cd than Zn. • The factors controlling the changes of samples in the same season were similar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind extremes cause many environmental and natural hazard related problems globally, particularly in heavily populated metropolitan areas. However, the underlying causes of maximum wind speed variability in urbanized regions remain largely unknown. Here, we investigated how rapid urbanization in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), China, impacted daily maximum wind speed (DMWS) between 1990 and 2015, based on near-surface (10 m height) DMWS observations, reanalysis datasets, and night-time lighting data (a proxy for urbanization). The station observation shows that annual DMWS in the YRD significantly (p < 0.05) declined during 1990–2015, by −0.209 m s−1 decade−1, while slightly (p > 0.1) positive trends were found in NCEP-NCAR1 (+0.048 m s−1 decade−1) and ERA5 (+0.027 m s−1 decade−1). An increasing divergence between the reanalysis output and the station observation since 2005 was found, and those stations located in areas with high rates of urbanization show the strongest negative annual DMWS trend, implying the key role of urbanization in weakening DMWS. This finding is supported by sensitivity experiments conducted using a regional climate model (RegCM4) forced with both 1990 and 2015 land-use and land-cover (LULC) data, where the simulated DMWS using the 2015 LULC data was lower than that simulated using the 1990 LULC data. • Observed annual DMWS in the YRD significantly declined from 1990 to 2015. • Slightly positive trends of DMWS were found in reanalysis outputs. • Rapid urbanization plays a key role in weakening observed DMWS. • Regional climate model can simulate urbanization induced decline of observed DMWS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brassica juncea L. is an attractive species in PTMs contaminated soil remediation ascribing to its high tolerance under stress and great accumulation capacity of metals. To identify the potential Cd/Zn accumulators from numerous different Chinese mustard cultivars for practical phytoremediation is a promising strategy in China. In present work, a pot experiment involving elevated Cd/Zn concentrations was performed among 21 cultivars. Regarding physiological and biochemical indicators under Cd/Zn stress, principal component analysis and cluster analysis were used for cultivar tolerance evaluation and classification. Results showed that BJ (Bao Jie, var. involutus) cultivar was distinguished as a potential phytoremediation candidate comparing with other cultivars. Moreover, BJ accumulated the maximum Cd content of 63.85 and 77.29 mg kg−1 DW in shoots and roots, respectively, and the maximum Zn uptake by BJ were 6693 and 4777 mg kg−1 DW in shoots and roots, respectively. Accordingly, BJ had the highest Cd/Zn tolerance, remarkable accumulation and translocation capacity (accumulation factor (AF) > 1 for Cd and Zn; translocation factor (TF) > 0.8 for Cd and TF > 1 for Zn). In addition, the superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) activities of the mustard increased initially under low Cd/Zn stress as compared to the control and then declined dramatically with the increasing metals exposure concentration. Therefore, the antioxidant enzymes may play a protective role against reactive oxygen species (ROS) under low Cd/Zn stress, whereas the defense system might be collapsed under relatively high Cd/Zn stress. Furthermore, the enhanced Cd/Zn exposure led to an increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) content in the mustard cultivars, indicating that Cd/Zn had induced more severe oxidative stress and higher degree of lipid peroxidation had occurred. The present investigation results indicated that BJ (Bao Jie, var. involutus), as a native cultivar, can be further applied in the field trials of phytoremediation practices in contaminated soil. Image 1 • Chinese mustard cultivars for Cd/Zn phytoremediation were screened. • BJ (Bao Jie, var. involutus) has the highest tolerance under Cd/Zn stress. • BJ was identified as the most promising candidate for phytoremediation. • The antioxidant system protected the plants from the injury of Cd/Zn stress. BJ (Bao Jie, var. involutus) was identified as a potential candidate for phytoremediation from various Chinese mustard (Brassica juncea L.) cultivars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]