Publications by authors named "Hua-Kun Zhou"

The energy resources are rich, and the ecological environment is fragile in Gansu-Qinghai regions, which are facing problems in the coordinated development of green as well as low carbon transformation and high-quality economy. Based on the reality of Gansu-Qinghai regions, this study deeply analyzed the characteristics of regional carbon emissions; constructed the system dynamics model between carbon emissions and population, economy, energy, and policy; clarified the relationship between them; and probed into the future green development path. The results showed that: ① In recent years, the total and per capita carbon emissions in Gansu-Qinghai regions have been on the rise.

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  • Climate change is impacting plant growth and timing in the Tibetan Plateau’s alpine grasslands, with temperature and precipitation levels rising from 1997 to 2020.
  • The study found that the dominant plant species' biomass decreased while subdominant species increased, indicating a shift in plant community dynamics.
  • Overall, warmer and wetter conditions alter biomass accumulation by changing growth periods, suggesting a transition from alpine grassland to alpine meadow may occur, warranting further research.
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Soil nutrient cycling can be best studied by supplementing the soil with N and P fertilizers. Soil enzyme kinetic parameters (Vmax and Km) can be used to reflect the maximum reaction rates and affinities of soil enzymes. However, how N and P fertilizers affect the temperature sensitivity of soil enzyme kinetics is poorly understood.

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Psammochloa villosa is a desert plant growing in Northwest China with considerable resistance to abiotic stress, including drought, cold, and salt. To facilitate future studies of stress resistance in Psammochloa villosa, we sought to establish a suite of reference (or housekeeping) genes for utilization within future gene expression studies. Specifically, we selected nine candidate genes based on prior studies and new transcriptomic data for P.

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Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopic technique has been widely used in research of glassland ecosystems. Here, we summarized studies using carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in the alpine meadow ecosystem on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Firstly, we reviewed the environmental factors which influenced carbon and nitrogen isotope composition (δC and δN) of plants and soils in alpine meadow, such as altitude, moisture, fertilization, grassland degradation, and temperature.

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Article Synopsis
  • Scientists studied how adding nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus affects plant types and stability in a grassland in Tibet.
  • They found that adding nitrogen made plants grow more alike, which caused the whole plant community to behave more similarly.
  • This increase in similarity and changes in dominant plants made the ecosystem less stable, showing how important different plant types are for keeping the environment balanced.
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