Effects of mixed substrates of different agricultural and forestry residues on the cutting seedlings of .

To screen environment-friendly seedling cultivation substrates which could replace peat and with less cost, we compared the effects of different agricultural and forestry residue mixed substrates on cutting propagation of , in an experiment following randomized block design. There were five types of mixed substrates, including peat + vermiculite + perlite (T), edible mushroom residue (EMR) + vermiculite + perlite (T), carbo-nized rice husk (CRH) + vermiculite + perlite (T), EMR + slag + sawdust (T) and CRH + EMR + slag (T). The results showed that the bulk density of T was the lowest, followed by T, which significantly differed from other mixed substrates.

Population Structure, Genetic Diversity and Candidate Genes for the Adaptation to Environmental Stress in .

is major silvicultural and timber species in northeast China, and its distribution area is an important transition zone for genus spruce migration. The degree of intraspecific differentiation of is high, but population structure and differentiation mechanisms are not clear. In this study, 523,761 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in 113 individuals from 9 populations of by genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS).

Interspecific Gene Flow and Selective Sweeps in , and .

Genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers were obtained by genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) technology to study the genetic relationships, population structure, gene flow and selective sweeps during species differentiation of , and from a genome-wide perspective. We used and as outgroups, and three evolutionary branches were obtained: was located on one branch, two populations were grouped onto a second branch, and two populations were grouped onto a third branch. The relationship of with was closer than that with .

Allometric equations for estimating above-ground biomass of Nitraria sibirica Pall. in Gobi Desert of Mongolia.

Nitraria sibirica Pall. is a shrub species belonging to the family of Nitrariaceae. It plays pivotal role in arid ecosystems since it is tolerant to high salinity and drought.

Development of microsatellite markers for the Japanese endemic conifer Thuja standishii and transfer to other East Asian species.

Objective: Design polymorphic microsatellite loci that will be useful for studies of the genetic diversity, gene-flow and reproduction in the Japanese endemic conifer Thuja standishii and test the transferability of these loci to the two other East Asian species, T. sutchuenensis and T. koraiensis.

Long-term responses of riparian plants' composition to water level fluctuation in China's Three Gorges Reservoir.

The water level fluctuation zone (WLFZ) has experienced a novel hydrological regime due to the anti-seasonal operation of China's Three Gorges Reservoir. Overall, hydrological change can significantly influence the riparian environment and shift the riparian vegetation. Although numerous studies have investigated the short-term responses of riparian plants to water level fluctuation in this zone, few have addressed long-term effects.

A high frequency of allopolyploid speciation in the gymnospermous genus Ephedra and its possible association with some biological and ecological features.

The origin and evolution of polyploids have been studied extensively in angiosperms and ferns but very rarely in gymnosperms. With the exception of three species of conifers, all natural polyploid species of gymnosperms belong to Ephedra, in which more than half of the species show polyploid cytotypes. Here, we investigated the origin and evolution of polyploids of Ephedra distributed in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) and neighbouring areas.

Phylogeographic evidence for a link of species divergence of Ephedra in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and adjacent regions to the Miocene Asian aridification.

The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) has become one of the hotspots for phylogeographical studies due to its high species diversity. However, most previous studies have focused on the effects of the Quaternary glaciations on phylogeographical structures and the locations of glacial refugia, and little is known about the effects of the aridization of interior Asia on plant population structure and speciation. Here the chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) trnT-trnF and trnS-trnfM sequences were used to investigate the differentiation and phylogeographical history of 14 Ephedra species from the QTP and northern China, based on a sampling of 107 populations.

Great genetic differentiation among populations of Meconopsis integrifolia and its implication for plant speciation in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

The complex tectonic events and climatic oscillations in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP), the largest and highest plateau in the world, are thought to have had great effects on the evolutionary history of the native plants. Of great interest is to investigate plant population genetic divergence in the QTP and its correlation with the geologic and climatic changes. We conducted a range-wide phylogeographical analysis of M.