Interspecific association of herbaceous plant communities on different slope orientations and at different altitudes in central Yunnan grasslands.

Aims: Understanding the response of herbaceous plants to habitat changes and the mechanisms of vegetation succession is crucial to the theoretical foundation of the conservation of local vegetation.

Methods: Plots were established at elevations of 1900-2200m, 2200-2500m, and 2500-2800m on both shady and sunny slopes. Four statistical methods 2×2 contingency table χ-test, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, AC joint coefficient, 17 and Ochiai Index, were employed to analyze the species composition and interspecific associations within each elevation band and aspect.

Yield and resource use efficiency of Plukenetia volubilis plants at two distinct growth stages as affected by irrigation and fertilization.

This study is to test how seedlings (vegetative) and large plants (reproductive) of an oilseed crop (Plukenetia volubilis) responded to regulated deficit irrigation techniques (conventional deficit irrigation, DI; alternative partial root-zone irrigation, APRI) in a tropical humid monsoon area. Seedlings were more sensitive to water deficit than large plants. Although APRI did better than DI in saving water for both seedlings and large plants at the same amount of irrigation, full irrigation (FI) is optimal for faster seedling growth at the expense of water-use efficiency (WUE).

Synergistic interactions of CO2 enrichment and nitrogen deposition promote growth and ecophysiological advantages of invading Eupatorium adenophorum in Southwest China.

Global environmental change and ongoing biological invasions are the two prominent ecological issues threatening biodiversity worldwide, and investigations of their interaction will aid to predict plant invasions and inform better management strategies in the future. In this study, invasive Eupatorium adenophorum and native congener E. stoechadosmum were compared at ambient and elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO(2)) concentrations combined with three levels of nitrogen (N; reduced, control and increased) in terms of growth, energy gain, and cost.

Invasive Eupatorium adenophorum has ecophysiological advantages over native congeners but similar responses to CO(2) enrichment.

Both global change and biological invasions threaten biodiversity worldwide. However, their interactions and related mechanisms are still not well elucidated. To elucidate potential traits contributing to invasiveness and whether ongoing increase in CO(2) aggravates invasions, noxious invasive Eupatorium adenophorum and native E.