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Finally, the results indicated that a mixture of biofilters and lime kiln dust is preferable to surface addition of these to reduce the loss of metals in leachates. Increasing nitrogen (N) deposition has seriously harmed the structure and function of ecosystems throughout the world and this problem has been increasing. How N deposition affects soil faunal communities is poorly understood, compared to plant and microbial communities. Canopy and understory N additions of 25 and 50 kg ha-1 year-1 were employed to determine whether the effects of N addition on the soil fauna differ between N released to the canopy or to the understory. Specifically, we examined how the soil fauna survives when N additions produce desynchronized and complex impacts on the soil, microbes and litter quantity under mature subtropical forest ecosystems. Our results showed that no significant differences were observed between the soil faunal communities receiving canopy and understory N additions. This is consistent with our observation that the concentrations of ammonia nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen in the soil did not significantly differ under the two different methods of applying N. There were no observed effects on the litter quantity, soil microbial Phospholipid Fatty Acids or soil physical-chemical properties; therefore, it is not surprising that N treatments for 4 years did not significantly alter the community structure of soil fauna under the mature subtropical forest sites. However, the shifts in seasonal differences in the microbial communities under the N treatments had a positive effect on soil microbial development compared to control, which might also produce a time-delay influence on the relative development of the soil fauna under mature subtropical forest in the future. Further dynamic monitoring is needed to illustrate the possible effects and mechanisms by which increasing N deposition may alter soil faunal development in the future. The plant-based biopesticides have been proposed as insect pest control tools that seem to be safer for the environment and human health when compared to synthetic conventional molecules. However, such assumptions are generally made without considering the absence of detrimental effects on sublethally-exposed non-target organisms or showing the physiological basis of the selective action of such botanical products. Thus, by using in silico-based and in vivo toxicological approaches, the present investigation aimed to disentangle the ecotoxicological selectivity of clove, Syzygium aromaticum, essential oil against the aphid Rhopalosiphum maidis and the non-target ladybeetle, Coleomegilla maculata. We also investigated whether the sublethal exposure to clove essential oil would affect the locomotory and predatory abilities of C. maculata. We found that the clove essential oil concentration estimated to kill 95% (LC95 0.17 μL/cm2) of the aphids was lethal to less then 18% of C. maculata. Indeed, our in silico results reinforced such differential susceptibility, as it predicted that eugenol and β-caryophyllene (i.e., the clove essential oil major components) bound to three potential molecular targets (i.e., transient receptor potential (TRP) channels, octopamine, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors) of the aphids but only to the octopamine receptors of the ladybeetles. Additionally, the ladybeetles that were exposure to the clove essential oil exhibited unaffected abilities to locomote and to prey upon R. maidis aphids when compared to unexposed ladybeetles. Thus, by displaying lower toxicity against the ladybeetles, the clove essential oil represents a safer alternative tool to be integrated into programs aiming to manage aphid infestations. Fire affects and is affected by leaf functional traits indicative of resource allocation trade-offs. Global change drivers constrain both the resource-use strategies and flammability of coexisting species. However, small attention has been given in identifying links among flammability and plant economics. Ambiguity comes from the fact that flammability is a multidimensional trait. Different flammability attributes (i.e. ignitibility, sustainability, combustibility and consumability) have been used to classify species, but no widely-accepted relationships exist between attributes. We hypothesised that flammability is a spectrum (defined by its four attributes) and the alternative flammability syndromes of coexisting species can be captured by their resource-use strategies. Furthermore, we argue that flammability syndromes are adaptive strategies that ensure persistence in the post-fire community. click here We conducted a large-scale study to estimate all flammability attributes on leaves from nine, dominant, thermo-Mediss environmental gradients appeared to drive leaf flammability syndromes as well. Tying the flammability spectrum with resource allocation trade-offs on a global scale can help us predict future ecosystem properties and fire regimes and illustrate evolutionary constraints on flammability. In order to provide flexible and comprehensive results about the relationship between globalization and CO2 emissions for the G7 countries, we introduce the KOF globalization index into traditional Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence and Technology model, and conduct the empirical analysis by applying a semi-parametric panel fixed effects model. The data covering the period of 1970-2015 consists of CO2 emissions, KOF globalization index, renewable energy consumption and GDP. Our results indicate that the relationship between globalization and CO2 emissions are inverted U-sharped, which strongly support the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis. Furthermore, an increase of economic output is associated with statistically significant growth in CO2 emissions. On the contrary, an increment of renewable energy consumption lowers CO2 emissions. Related policy proposals are then offered according to our empirical results. China's rapid economic development has resulted in increasingly serious environmental pollution that is negatively affecting the health of Chinese citizens. Notably, the unfair distribution of resources may cause the uneven distribution of the environmental burden. In this study, panel data of 30 Chinese provinces and 32 industries for the period 2004 to 2017 is used to investigate how the environmental burden is distributed across different regions and industries. To manage potential endogeneity and allow for dynamics, the generalized method of moments and panel vector autoregression models are employed. The estimation results indicate that, on the whole, urban residents endure the most serious environmental pollution. Notably, a big gap is observed between urban and rural residents' share of environmental pressure, and a similar gap is also observed between developed and underdeveloped areas in China. Moreover, the government is responsible for less environmental pressure than companies for urban residents and rural residents.