Research Highlight

  • Asynchronous Methane and Carbon Dioxide Fluxes Drive Temporal Variability of Mangrove Blue Carbon Sequestration

    AbstractThe climate benefit of blue carbon sequestered by mangrove forests can be partially offset by CH4 emission, but this offset is rarely assessed using multi-year high-frequency measurements. Here, four-year eddy covariance measurements were used to examine temporal patterns of CH4 flux and its blue carbon offset (i.e., reduced climate benefit) in a subtropical estuarine mangrove in China. We ...

    2024-06-19

  • Pacific Ocean–originated anthropogenic carbon and its long-term variations in the South China Sea

    AbstractCoastal oceans, traditionally seen as a conduit for transporting atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2)–derived anthropogenic carbon (CANT) to open oceans, exhibit complex carbon exchanges at their interface. South China Sea (SCS) exemplifies this complexity, where interactions with the Pacific, particularly through Kuroshio intrusion, challenge the understanding of CANT source and variability in ...

    2024-09-14

  • Impacts of intensive smooth cordgrass removal on net ecosystem exchange in a saltmarsh-mangrove ecotone of Southeast China

    AbstractNet ecosystem exchange (NEE) of carbon dioxide (CO2) in disturbed tidal wetlands remain less investigated, albeit the importance of these ‘blue carbon’ ecosystems in mitigating climate change has been increasingly recognized. The invasion of smooth cordgrass into China's unvegetated tidal wetlands promotes the carbon sink, however little is known about the changes in NEE when the cordgrass ...

    2024-09-29

  • ​Estimating phytoplankton primary production by coupling pulse amplitude modulation and incubation methods

    AbstractPulse amplitude modulation (PAM) fluorometry provides high-resolution and high-frequency primary production (PP) estimates, crucial for understanding and managing dynamic ecosystems such as estuaries. However, traditional PAM-derived PP estimations often overlook the variability of the photosynthetic quotient and the dynamics of chlorophyll a, leading to uncertainties. This study introduced ...

    2025-03-03

  • Enhancing short-term algal bloom forecasting through an anti-mimicking hybrid deep learning method

    AbstractAccurately predicting algal blooms remains a critical challenge due to their dynamic and non-stationary nature, compounded by high-frequency fluctuations and noise in monitoring data. Additionally, a common issue in time-series forecasting is data replication, where models tend to replicate historical patterns rather than capturing true future variations, leading to inaccurate forecasts during ...

    2025-03-20

  • Coastal macroalgae aquaculture reduces carbon dioxide emission in a subtropical enclosed bay: Insights from eddy covariance measurements

    AbstractMacroalgae aquaculture has been increasingly recognized as a promising nature-based solution to enhance carbon sinks towards climate change mitigation. However, a limited understanding of the temporal patterns of air-sea carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes and their environmental controls across time scales poses an enormous obstacle to the carbon sink potential assessment of macroalgae aquaculture....

    2025-03-21

  • From Native Habitats to Invasion Frontiers: Understanding Spatial Niches of Invasive Plants Through Functional Traits

    AbstractFunctional traits that affect plant performance and adaptation strategies are critical for shaping the distribution of invasive plants under global change. However, quantitative assessments of functional traits on spatial niche predictions are still lacking. In this study, we aimed to understand how functional traits alter the distribution of invasive plants across native and introduced ranges....

    2025-04-24

  • Phago-mixotrophic activity within nanophytoplankton community in a subtropical marginal sea

    AbstractAn increasing number of studies have documented the ecological importance of phago-mixotrophy within phytoplankton communities, especially in open ocean environments. We know less about the distribution and function of such phytoplankton within marginal seas. This study was an investigation of phago-mixotrophy among nanoeukaryotic phytoplankton along a shelf-to-off-shelf transect in the South ...

    2025-05-14

  • Contrasting Drivers of Bacterial Metabolism in the Euphotic and Mesopelagic Zones of Tropical Oligotrophic Oceans

    AbstractMicrobial metabolism plays a critical role in global carbon cycling; however, our understanding of bacterial metabolic processes across the full depth of tropical oligotrophic oceans remains incomplete. The South China Sea (SCS) and Western Pacific (WP), as contrasting oligotrophic environments, provide an ideal setting to investigate this unresolved issue. This study presented a comprehensive ...

    2025-05-26

  • Salt marsh expansion into estuarine mangrove mudflats reduces nitrogen removal capacity

    Salt marsh (Spartina alterniflora) has been rapidly encroaching into mangrove wetlands worldwide. However, the potential effects of salt marsh expansion on coastal nitrogen cycling and ecosystem function remain unclear. In this study, sediment cores were seasonally collected from mangroves, salt marshes and mudflats from 2020 to 2021 to assess their nitrogen cycling. Nitrogen transformation rat...

    2023-08-25