Shifts in fungal community diversity and potential function under natural forest succession and planted forest restoration in the Kunyu Mountains, East China.

Soil fungi participate in various ecosystem processes and are important factors driving the restoration of degraded forests. However, little is known about the changes in fungal diversity and potential functions under the development of different vegetation types during natural (secondary forest succession) and anthropogenic (reforestation) forest restoration. In this study, we selected typical forest succession sequences (including Siebold & Zucc.

Coordination of water use strategies and leaf economic traits in coexisting exotic and native woody species from evergreen and deciduous broadleaf forests.

The leaf economics spectrum (LES) describes the covariation of traits relevant for carbon and nutrient economy in different plant species. However, much less is known about the correlation of LES with leaf water economy, not only because some woody species do not follow the rules, but also because they are rarely tested on the widespread, non-native, fast-growing trees. We hypothesized that fast-growing exotic species that spread on the fast side of the LES coordinate their water-use strategies (WUS) to maintain rapid growth, and that the pattern of coordination differs between evergreen and deciduous forests.

Changes in nitrogen and phosphorus availability driven by secondary succession in temperate forests shape soil fungal communities and function.

The soil fungal community plays an important role in forest ecosystems and is crucially influenced by forest secondary succession. However, the driving factors of fungal community and function during temperate forest succession and their potential impact on succession processes remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the dynamics of the soil fungal community in three temperate forest secondary successional stages (shrublands, coniferous forests, and deciduous broad-leaved forests) using high-throughput DNA sequencing coupled with functional prediction via the FUNGuild database.

Enhanced mutualism: A promotional effect driven by bacteria during the early invasion of Phytolacca americana.

The enhanced mutualism hypothesis postulates that invasive plants promote self-growth by enriching beneficial microbes to establish a positive soil feedback. However, the roles of soil microorganisms may vary with increasing time for plant growth. Research on changes in soil microbial communities over time has important implications for understanding the mechanisms underlying plant invasion.

The comprehensive changes in soil properties are continuous cropping obstacles associated with American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) cultivation.

This study aims to verify the time-variant feature of American ginseng (AG) continuous cropping obstacles and to explore the factors impeding continuous cropping. We verified the feature with a plant-soil feedback pot experiment and then investigated the factors by comparing the properties of control soils that had not been previously used for growing ginseng (CS) with those of soils with a 10-year-crop-rotation cycle following the growth of AG (RS). It's found that the survival rate of AG in RS was lower than that in CS.

Mixed evidence for plant-soil feedbacks in forest invasions.

Plant-soil feedbacks (PSFs) are plant-mediated changes to soil properties that ultimately influence plant performance, and can, thus, determine plant diversity, succession, and invasion. We hypothesized that PSFs influence invasion processes and that PSF mechanisms are largely driven by changes in soil properties produced by specific plant species. To test these hypotheses, we studied the effects of different soils collected from under common plant species on the growth of the invasive plant Phytolacca americana.

Effects of moderate soil salinity on osmotic adjustment and energy strategy in soybean under drought stress.

Under drought and soil salinity, plants usually respond to accumulate inorganic and organic osmolytes for adaptation, that would induce changes in energy consumption strategy of plants. Moderate soil salinity would enable plants to lower energy consumption for osmotic adjustment by passively absorbing more Na. This action would keep more energies for growth of drought-stressed plants.

[Changes in the growth and photosynthesis of cotton seedlings under progressive drought after saltwater irrigation].

Pot grown cotton plants were watered with saltwater (NaCl solutions of different concentrations), followed by a duration of progressive drought stress. The changes in plantlet growth, photosynthetic rate, chlorophyll fluorescence were measured, and the water status of the plantlets, such as relative water content, water potential, osmotic potential, the Na+ and K+ contents in leaves during drought were measured and analyzed, in order to get an insight into the role of Na+ played in the adaptation of cotton to drought stress. The results showed that the growth of the plantlets was significantly inhibited, the net photosynthetic rates were remarkably lowered by the drought stress, but the plant height, biomass, net photosynthetic rate and Fv/Fm values in the cotton plants watered with 25-100 mmol x L(-1) x NaCl solution under drought stress were significantly higher than those watered with water under the same intensity of drought stress.

[Responses of Atriplex triangularis root permeability and reflection coefficient to salt stress].

Taking hydroponically cultured arrow-leaf saltbush (Atriplex triangularis) seedlings as test materials, and using electrical conductivity detector, atomic spectroscopy, and pressure bomb, this paper studied the effects of salt stress on the seedlings root membrane permeability, ion uptake, and reflection coefficient, and analyzed the salt-resistance characteristics and related mechanisms of A. triangularis. The results showed that with increasing salt stress, the root membrane permeability increased, but the reflection coefficient decreased.

[Self-regulation of xylem pressure in barley roots under salt stress].

Xylem pressure in young barley roots, measured in vivo with a xylem pressure probe, showed constant, irregular fluctuations both under altered or unchanged environmental conditions. When mild salt stress was applied or when the stress was eliminated, xylem pressure in barley roots exhibited intense self-regulation or relaxation, leading to a consequence that the difference of xylem pressure before and after the salt stress was greatly narrowed and the barley plants could maintain a relatively stable xylem pressure. The process of regulation or relaxation of xylem pressure in barley roots lasted about one hour or more before a relatively stable state was achieved.