Cadmium (Cd) pollution threatens global ecosystems and human health owing to its high toxicity, long-term persistence, and dual irreversibility of environmental geochemical behavior and biological toxicological effects. The interaction between phosphate-solubilizing fungi (PSF) and clay minerals governs the biogeochemical transformation, chemical speciation, and migration fate of soil Cd. However, the dose-dependent mechanisms underlying Cd²⁺ removal by Aspergillus niger (A. niger) and montmorillonite remain unclear. In this study, three Cd²⁺ stress levels were simulated, and four A. niger-montmorillonite composite systems were established. Key physicochemical and metabolic indicators, including pH, available phosphorus (AP) concentration, oxalic acid concentration, acid phosphatase (ACP) activity, and Cd²⁺ removal rate, were determined. The results showed that the single A. niger treatment achieved the optimal Cd removal performance among all composite treatment groups. Severe Cd²⁺ stress induced abundant oxalic acid and ACP secretion, which simultaneously mobilized phosphorus and facilitated Cd removal via phosphate precipitation and oxalate complexation. Low-to-medium montmorillonite dosage temporarily alleviated Cd²⁺ toxicity, whereas high montmorillonite dosage restricted fungal metabolic exudates and, together with acid-mediated mineral-Cd interactions, triggered antagonistic rather than synergistic Cd removal. This study clarifies how montmorillonite dosage reshapes the metabolic defense of A. niger, providing theoretical references for optimizing microbe–montmorillonite composite remediation formulations.

Wetland restoration has become increasingly important for biodiversity conservation, ecosystem-function recovery, and climate resilience. However, global restoration evidence remains fragmented across geographical regions, wetland systems, restoration approaches, and ecological response domains, limiting the identification of broadly transferable restoration principles. This review conducted a systematic mapping review of global wetland ecological restoration research published between 2000 and 2024 by integrating evidence mapping, bibliometric analysis, and ecological interpretation of representative restoration studies. The global literature expanded substantially during the study period, but the evidence base remained unevenly distributed among regions, institutions, and wetland contexts. Differences among research participation, research leadership, and study locations indicated that patterns of scientific output were shaped not only by wetland distribution and restoration needs but also by research capacity, monitoring infrastructure, and institutional networks. Thematic development revealed a transition from intervention-oriented studies focusing on hydrological modification, habitat reconstruction, and pollution control toward broader consideration of biodiversity recovery, ecosystem functions, carbon dynamics, microbial processes, and nature-based solutions. Across wetland systems, restoration pathways varied according to ecological processes and degradation contexts, but common challenges emerged regarding the translation of structural improvements into durable ecological recovery. Improvements in habitat structure, vegetation, hydrological conditions, or physicochemical indicators did not necessarily indicate equivalent recovery of biodiversity, ecosystem functions, or resilience. These findings highlight the need for long-term, multidimensional restoration assessment, stronger evidence generation in underrepresented regions, and adaptive approaches that integrate ecological processes, monitoring, and local contexts to support durable wetland recovery.

Introduction: National Forest Villages (NFVs) represent a policy-relevant rural greening initiative with potential contributions to soil organic carbon (SOC) maintenance, yet how multi human disturbances are associated with forest SOC remains poorly understood. Methods: We investigated all 99 NFVs in the Henan section of the Yellow River Basin by integrating field surveys, remote sensing data, and statistical approaches. Forest SOC concentration (SOCc), SOC density (SOCs), and forest-to-cropland enrichment ratios (RSOCc and RSOCs) were quantified using paired forest–cropland plots. Human disturbance was characterized by land use human disturbance (LUHD) and multiscale socioeconomic human disturbance (SEHD), while landscape patterns and forest community attributes were quantified independently. After controlling for geoclimatic variation, partial correlations, partial redundancy analysis, variation partitioning, and piecewise structural equation modeling were used to identify their associations with SOC. Results: Weak LUHD NFVs generally maintained 25%–35% higher SOCc and relative SOC enrichment than severely disturbed NFVs, whereas SOCs and landscape diversity were highest under moderate LUHD. Increasing LUHD was also associated with pronounced changes in forest landscape configuration, including reduced forest dominance and greater forest isolation under severe disturbance. Human disturbance and landscape patterns independently explained 13.0% and 7.9% of SOC variation, respectively, whereas the unique contribution of forest community attributes was smaller and non-significant (3.8%). Piecewise SEM further showed that landscape configuration had the largest total association with overall SOC variation. LUHD and urban socioeconomic activity exhibited opposing direct and landscape-mediated associations with SOC. Discussion: These findings highlight landscape configuration as a key linkage between human disturbance and forest SOC and suggest that maintaining forest dominance, limiting excessive impervious surface expansion, and conserving tree diversity are important for coordinating rural development with SOC management in NFVs.