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Article analysis:

The article “Identifying multivariate controls of water and nitrate in deep loess deposits under different land use types” provides a comprehensive overview of the environmental factors controlling deep soil water and nitrate levels in seven >13m deep boreholes located on China’s Loess Plateau. The authors explore the combined effects of climatic factors (precipitation, temperature, potential evapotranspiration) and soil properties (soil texture, magnetic susceptibility, pH, EC, soil organic carbon) to identify the multivariate controls of water and nitrate in these boreholes.

The article appears to be reliable overall as it provides a detailed analysis of the data collected from the seven boreholes located on China’s Loess Plateau. The authors provide evidence for their claims through wavelet analysis which allows them to identify the synergistic or antagonistic relationships between water and nitrate under shallow- or deep-rooted vegetation respectively. Furthermore, they also provide evidence for their claim that land use is a key factor regulating deep soil water and nitrate reservoirs through their findings that there is high water deficit and low nitrate accumulation within 0-10m under non-fertilized forestlands and shrublands.

However, there are some potential biases present in this article which could affect its trustworthiness. For example, the authors do not discuss any possible risks associated with their findings such as how increased nitrogen fertilizer inputs could potentially lead to groundwater contamination or how changes in land use could lead to decreased biodiversity levels due to habitat destruction or fragmentation. Additionally, they do not present both sides equally when discussing their findings as they focus mainly on how land use affects soil water and nitrate levels without exploring any other possible factors that could be influencing these levels such as climate change or human activities like deforestation or urbanization.

In conclusion, this article appears to be reliable overall but there are some potential biases present which could affect its trustworthiness such as lack of discussion about possible risks associated with their findings or lack of exploration into other possible influencing factors such as climate change or human activities like deforestation or urbanization.