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Despite important progress in understanding the influence of deforestation on the bacterial α diversity and community structure at local scales, little is known about deforestation impacts in terms of spatial turnover and soil bacterial community network interactions, especially at regional or global scales. To address this research gap, we examined the bacterial spatial turnover rate and the species networks in paired primary and secondary forest soils along a 3700-km north-south transect in eastern China using high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The spatial turnover rate of bacterial communities was higher in primary forests than in secondary, suggesting deforestation increased biotic homogenization at a large geographic scale. Multiple regression on matrices analysis revealed that both geographic distance and soil properties (especially soil pH and organic matter availability) strongly affected bacterial spatial turnover. Through the phylogenetic molecular ecological network approach, we demonstrate that the bacterial network of primary forests was more intricate than in secondary forests. This suggests that microbial species have greater niche-sharing and more interactions in primary forests as compared to secondary forests. On the other hand, the bacterial network in secondary forests was more modular, and the taxa tended to co-occur, with positive correlations accounting for 82% of all potential interactions. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate that anthropogenic deforestation has clear effects on bacterial spatial turnover and network interactions, with potential for serious consequences such as microbial diversity loss in primary forests.

Specific yield affects how much the water table rises and falls in response to rainfall, to evaporation and to seepage gains and losses. It also affects the aeration of the soil above the water table. Although widely measured in peat soils, the effect of wetting history on its value has not been investigated. Specific yield has been estimated in many studies by cutting peat cores into layers, and measuring how much water drains from the individual layers after they have been wetted. Specific yield, however, is a phenomenon of the soil profile and not subsections, so this method may not provide a reliable estimate of its value. Few studies have reported on the effect of botanical composition on specific yield, or at least have not controlled for the effect by keeping other peat properties like degree of humification constant. We addressed these questions by measuring specific yield in intact cores of peat in a series of laboratory experiments. Two common but contrasting types of Sphagnum peat were investigated that had similar degrees of humification: Sphagnum medium peat and Sphagnum pulchrum peat. We found that specific yield was highly variable, ranging between 0.16 and 0.62. Specific yield was not affected by wetting history, but was significantly different between the peat types, being on average 0.21 higher in the S. pulchrum cores. Specific yield did not vary with depth in the S. medium cores but declined linearly with depth at a rate of 0.018 per cm in the Sphagnum pulchrum cores. Finally, we found that drainage from the peat profile above the zone through which the water table falls is an important component of specific yield, contributing more than 66%–91% of its value in the S. pulchrum peat. Our results show that wetting history probably does not need to be accounted for when estimating specific yield, although further work on this potential effect is recommended. Our work highlights the importance of measuring specific yield using intact cores (field methods may also be appropriate) and suggests that many previous peatland studies may have underestimated its value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Non‐adherence to adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET) in women with breast cancer is common and associated with medication side‐effects and distress. We co‐designed an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy intervention (ACTION) to enhance medication decision‐making and quality of life (QoL). We undertook a pilot trial of ACTION to inform the feasibility of a phase III trial, and to examine intervention acceptability. Methods: This was a multi‐site, exploratory, two‐arm, individually randomised external pilot trial. Women with early breast cancer prescribed AET were randomised (1:1) to receive usual care (UC) or UC + ACTION. The ACTION intervention comprised a remotely delivered one‐to‐one ACT session followed by three group sessions delivered by clinical psychologists, alongside a website containing ideas for the self‐management of side effects. Results: Of the 480 women screened for eligibility, 260 (54.2%) were approached and 79 (30.4%) randomised. 71 (89.9%) women provided data at 3‐month and 70 (88.6%) at 6‐month 40 women were randomised to receive UC + ACTION and 32 (80.0%) completed the intervention. Most (75.0%) accessed the website at least once. ACTION was acceptable to participants (Borkovec & Nau Scale: mean = 7.8 [SD = 2.7] out of 10). Signals of effectiveness in favour of the UC + ACTION arm were observed for medication adherence (Adherence Starts with Knowledge questionnaire‐12), QoL (work and social adjustment scale), health‐related QoL (functional assessment of cancer therapy[FACT] general and FACT‐ES‐19/23), distress (generalised anxiety disorder ‐7, patient health questionnaire‐9) and psychological flexibility (valuing questionnaire). Conclusions: The ACTION intervention was acceptable to patients. There were promising signals for effectiveness on primary and secondary outcomes. A phase III randomised controlled trial is feasible. Trial Registration: ISRCTN12027752. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]