Projecting the global potential distribution of nine Rhododendron Subgenus Hymenanthes species under different climate change scenarios.

As one of China's most treasured traditional flowers, Rhododendron Subgen. Hymenanthes is renowned worldwide for its evergreen foliage, vibrant flowers, and significant ornamental, landscaping, and economic value. However, climate change poses a serious threat to its future, leading to population declines and endangerment of some species.

Life History Strategies of the Winter Annual Plant (Asteraceae) in a Cold Desert Population.

Turcz. is a winter annual species of the Asteraceae family, distributed in sandy areas of northern China, and is crucial for wind avoidance and sand fixation. To understand the inter- and intra-annual population dynamics of in its cold desert habitats, we conducted long- and short-term demographic studies to investigate the timing of germination, seedling survival, soil seed bank and seed longevity of natural populations on the fringe of the Tengger Desert.

Correlation Analysis of Twig and Leaf Characteristics and Leaf Thermal Dissipation of in the Riparian Zone of the Taohe River in Gansu Province, China.

: The functional traits of twigs and leaves are closely related to the ability of plants to cope with heterogeneous environments. The analysis of the characteristics of twigs and leaves and leaf thermal dissipation in riparian plants is of great significance for exploring the light energy allocation and ecological adaptation strategies of plant leaves in heterogeneous habitats. However, there are few studies on the correlation between the twig-leaf characteristics of riparian plants and their heat dissipation in light heterogeneous environments.

Enhancement of Fertilizer Efficiency Through Chinese Milk Vetch and Rice Straw Incorporation.

The incorporation of rice straw (RS) and Chinese milk vetch (CMV) with reduced chemical fertilizers (CFs) is a viable solution to reduce the dependency on CF. However, limited research has been conducted to investigate the impact of CMV and RS with reduced CF on rice production. A field trial was conducted from 2018 to 2021 with six treatments: CK (no fertilizer), F100 (100% NPK fertilizer (CF)), MSF100 (100% CF+CMV and RS incorporation), MSF80 (80% CF+CMV+RS), MSF60 (60% CF+CMV+RS), and MSF40 (40% CF+CMV+RS).

Patterns and Drivers of Surface Energy Flux in the Alpine Meadow Ecosystem in the Qilian Mountains, Northwest China.

Alpine meadows are vital ecosystems on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, significantly contributing to water conservation and climate regulation. This study examines the energy flux patterns and their driving factors in the alpine meadows of the Qilian Mountains, focusing on how the meteorological variables of net radiation (), air temperature, vapor pressure deficit (), wind speed (), and soil water content () influence sensible heat flux () and latent heat flux (). Using the Bowen ratio energy balance method, we monitored energy changes during the growing and non-growing seasons from 2022 to 2023.

Extract Can Be Used as a Raw Material Source for a Sterility Agent for .

Plant sterilants are used to control rodent populations due to their minimal environmental risk and other ethical considerations. However, their practical utilization is unsatisfactory due to high costs and processing difficulties. is a plant material that has shown the potential to inhibit the reproduction of , a species that causes serious damage to crops in the Dongting Lake region in China.

Legumes reduce the effects of salt stress on co-existing grass.

Nitrogen (N) fixing legumes typically enhance the ability of coexisting non-N-fixing species to resist disease and drought, but whether legumes enhance their ability to resist salt stress remains unknown, restricting our ability to explore the potential of legumes to rehabilitate salt-affected ecosystems. We conducted a simulation experiment to examine whether and how legumes influence the response of coexisting grass to salt stress. We compared the effects of salt stress on the plant biomass, root cell viability, antioxidant enzyme activities, soil extracellular enzyme activities and microbial functional gene abundances associated with N and phosphorus (P) cycling between pure grass communities and legume-grass mixtures.

Exploring Students Online Learning Behavioral Engagement in University: Factors, Academic Performance and Their Relationship.

As online learning platforms become prevalent, online learning has been an important way for college students. Online learning engagement, as an evaluation of online learning quality, is crucial for enhancing learning quality and promoting higher education by investigating college students' engagement and its influencing factors in the online learning environment. This paper aims to identify key factors affecting college students' online learning behavioral engagement.

Microscale Spatiotemporal Variation of Reactive Oxygen Species in the Charosphere: Underlying Formation Mechanism and Their Role in CO Emission.

Charosphere, a highly active zone between biochar and surrounding soil, is widely present in agricultural and wildfire-affected soils, yet whether reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced within the charosphere remains unclear. Herein, the production and spatiotemporal evolution of charosphere ROS were explored. In situ ROS capture visualized a gradual decrease in ROS production with increasing distance from the biochar/soil interface.

Distribution changes of Ormosia microphylla under different climatic scenarios.

Ormosia microphylla is a nationally prioritized wild plant in China but effects of likely future climate change have been poorly studied. Here distribution data of O. microphylla and environmental data with an optimized MaxEnt maximum entropy model were used to predict potentially suitable areas under current and future climate scenarios.

Resource Segmentation: A New Dimension of the Segmentation Hypothesis in Drought Adaptive Strategies and Its Links to Tree Growth Performance.

The segmentation hypothesis, a framework for understanding plant drought adaptive strategy, has long been based on hydraulic resistance and vulnerability. Storage of water and carbohydrate resources is another critical function and shapes plant drought adaption and fitness together with hydraulic efficiency and vulnerability. However, patterns and implications of the interdependency of stored water and carbohydrate resources in the context of the segmentation hypothesis are poorly understood.

Unlocking Mechanisms for Soil Organic Matter Accumulation: Carbon Use Efficiency and Microbial Necromass as the Keys.

Soil microorganisms transform plant-derived C (carbon) into particulate organic C (POC) and mineral-associated C (MAOC) pools. While microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) is widely recognized in current biogeochemical models as a key predictor of soil organic carbon (SOC) storage, large-scale empirical evidence is limited. In this study, we proposed and experimentally tested two predictors of POC and MAOC pool formation: microbial necromass (using amino sugars as a proxy) and CUE (by O-HO approach).

A Global Relationship Between Genome Size and Encoded Carbon Metabolic Strategies of Soil Bacteria.

Microbial traits are critical for carbon sequestration and degradation in terrestrial ecosystems. Yet, our understanding of the relationship between carbon metabolic strategies and genomic traits like genome size remains limited. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a global-scale meta-analysis of 2650 genomes, integrated whole-genome sequencing data, and performed a continental-scale metagenomic field study.

Microtopography-induced hydrological heterogeneity promotes the co-assembly of vascular plant and biocrust communities, providing synergistic protective functions for the Great Wall.

The Great Wall in China, constructed from rammed earth, faces threats from natural erosion. Vascular plants and biocrusts have enhanced the stability of the Great Wall through various mechanisms; however, understanding of the colonization processes of vascular plants and biocrusts on the wall, as well as their protective mechanisms, remains limited. This study investigated the vascular plant communities, biocrusts, soil moisture content, soil properties, aggregate mechanical stability, aggregate water stability, and soil erodibility factors across seven fine-scale microtopographies of the Great Wall (lower, middle, and upper zones on the east and west faces, as well as the wall crest).

Molecular-level insights of microplastic-derived soluble organic matter and heavy metal interactions in different environmental occurrences through EEM-PARAFAC and FT-ICR MS.

The interactions between microplastic-derived dissolved organic matter (MPs-DOM) and heavy metals (Cu, Pb, and Cd) regulate the complex environmental transport behavior of pollutants in terrestrial and aquatic environments. In this study, fluorescence excited emission matrix spectroscopy combined with parallel factor analysis (EEM-PARAFAC) and electrospray ionization coupled Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI FT-ICR MS) were employed to investigate the complexation mechanism of MPs-DOM with heavy metals, as well as the effects of different environmental occurrences of MPs-DOM on the transport behaviors of heavy metals in saturated porous medium. The findings demonstrated that MPs-DOM, particularly humic-like substances containing aromatic structures and various oxygen functional groups, could form stable complexes with heavy metals.

Assembly of soil multitrophic community regulates multifunctionality via multifaceted biotic factors in subtropical ecosystems.

Soil biodiversity underpins multiple ecosystem functions and services essential for human well-being. Understanding the determinants of biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships (BEFr) is critical for the conservation and management of soil ecosystems. Community assembly processes determine community diversity and structure.

Carbon sink potential and the cost of afforestation in northwest China when accounting for ecosystem service value.

The cost effectiveness of mitigating climate change through afforestation needs to be evaluated for regions with a fragile environment and vulnerable ecosystems. This study develops an integrated geographic-economic-ecological framework to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of afforestation for carbon sequestration in Northwest China. It employs a spatial model of natural factors and a bioeconomic optimization model to identify marginal lands suitable for afforestation.

CTHNet: A CNN-Transformer Hybrid Network for Landslide Identification in Loess Plateau Regions Using High-Resolution Remote Sensing Images.

The Loess Plateau in northwest China features fragmented terrain and is prone to landslides. However, the complex environment of the Loess Plateau, combined with the inherent limitations of convolutional neural networks (CNNs), often results in false positives and missed detection for deep learning models based on CNNs when identifying landslides from high-resolution remote sensing images. To deal with this challenge, our research introduced a CNN-transformer hybrid network.

The Identification and Characterization of the Gene Family in Oliv. Heteromorphic Leaves Provide a Theoretical Basis for the Functional Study of .

Oliv. typically has four kinds of heteromorphic leaves: linear (Li), lanceolate (La), ovate (Ov) and broad ovate (Bo). Heteromorphic leaves help adapt to extreme desert environments and further contribute to protection against land desertification in Northwest China.

Predicting the Global Distribution of L. Under Climate Change Based on Optimized MaxEnt Modeling.

The genus of L. are Tertiary-relict desert sand-fixing plants, which are an important forage and agricultural product, as well as an important source of medicinal and woody vegetable oil. In order to provide a theoretical basis for better protection and utilization of species in the L.

Elevated CO Shifts Photosynthetic Constraint from Stomatal to Biochemical Limitations During Induction in and .

The relative impacts of biochemical and stomatal limitations on photosynthesis during photosynthetic induction have been well studied for diverse plants under ambient CO concentration (). However, a knowledge gap remains regarding how the various photosynthetic components limit duction efficiency under elevated CO. In this study, we experimentally investigated the influence of elevated CO (from 400 to 800 μmol mol) on photosynthetic induction dynamics and its associated limitation components in two broadleaved tree species, and .

Characterizing Droughts During the Rice Growth Period in Northeast China Based on Daily SPEI Under Climate Change.

In agricultural production, droughts occurring during the crucial growth periods of crops hinder crop development, while the daily-scale standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index () can be applied to accurately identify the drought characteristics. In this study, we used the statistical downscaling method to obtain the daily precipitation (), maximum air temperature () and minimum air temperature () during the rice growing season in Heilongjiang Province from 2015 to 2100 under the SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.

Spatial distribution, sediment‒water partitioning, risk assessment and source apportionment of heavy metals in the Golmud River-Dabson Salt Lake ecosystem.

The occurrence of heavy metals is important for understanding their behavior in the sediments of river-salt lake ecosystems due to dramatically changes in salinity and flow velocity at the confluence area. Sediments and surface water samples were collected from the Golmud River-Dabson Salt Lake ecosystem, northwest China, to investigate the spatial distribution, sediment-water partitioning, risk assessment and source apportionment of heavy metals. Higher concentrations of heavy metals were observed in surface water from Dabson Salt Lake than in other regions.

Biochemical characterization and molecular docking of a novel alkaline-stable keratinase from Amycolatopsis sp. BJA-103.

Amycolatopsis sp. BJA-103 was isolated for its exceptional feather-degradation capability, leading to the purification, cloning, and heterologous expression of the keratinase enzyme, KER0199. Sequence analysis places KER0199 within the S8 protease family, revealing <60 % sequence similarity to known proteases.

Dynamic changes and influential factors of blowouts in a desert artificial ecosystem at the southeastern margin of Tengger Desert in China.

The wind-blown sand protection system in the Shapotou section of the Baotou-Lanzhou Railway is a representative artificial ecosystem in a desert region. Over the past 70 years, this system has transformed mobile dunes into fixed dunes through vegetation succession, relying solely on natural rainfall without additional irrigation. However, ecosystem sustainability has been endangered by the emergence of numerous blowouts.