Table of Content

18 June 2025, Volume 36 Issue 6

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Academician’s Viewpoint

Connotation and innovation directions of applied ecology from the perspective of new quality productive forces

XUE Bing, LI Hongqing, REN Wanxia

2025, 36(6):  1609-1615.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.031

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The acceleration of the formation and development of new quality productive forces in the new era is an inevitable requirement for China’s high-quality development and an important historical mission for achieving socialist modernization and ecological civilization. We interpreted the contemporary connotation of new quality productive forces from the perspective of applied ecology, which refers to an innovative production capacity driven by the optimization and sustainable utilization of ecosystem services, promoting harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. Furthermore, we summarized the developmental trajectory of applied ecology, evolving from biological to social and finally to digital applied ecology, and explored its crucial role in fostering disciplinary and technological innovation as well as the allocation of production resources. Looking ahead, applied ecology should take ecosystems as its core and strengthen the integration of biological cognition and human activities. It should focus on the development of ecological theories for new quality productive forces, the construction of methodological systems that integrate green development and innovation, and the practical application of ecological scenarios for new quality productive forces, which all contribute to achieving the green and healthy development of ecosystems. To promote the development of new quality productive forces through the interdisciplinary integration of applied ecology would provide ecological support for harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.

Special Features of the Ecosystem Services and Regional Sustainability

Trade-offs and synergies of ecosystem services in Anhui Province, China based on functional zone identification

YU Xuanzi, LI Jiulin, CHU Jinlong

2025, 36(6):  1616-1626.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.026

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Clarifying the spatial layout of ecological functional zones and the evolution patterns of trade-offs and synergies among multiple ecosystem services is helpful to formulate region-specific management strategies and is fundamentally important for scientific ecosystem management and sustainable development. We analyzed the spatiotemporal variations of six ecosystem services (ES) in Anhui Province from 1990 to 2020, including biodiversity maintenance, water yield, habitat quality, carbon storage, food supply, and soil retention. The multiple ecosystem service landscape index was used to assess comprehensive ecosystem service capacity. The self-organizing mapping algorithm was used to identify ecosystem service bundles. We conducted ecological functional zoning and investigated the trade-off and synergy among ES at both regional scale and within different service bundles. The results showed that during 1990-2020, construction land and forest exhibited increasing trends, increased by 121.8% and 1.2% respectively, while cropland, grassland, water, and unused land all decreased. Habitat quality and carbon storage showed decreasing trends, while the other four ESs exhibited overall increasing trend. Food supply displayed a pattern of low in the south and high in the north, whereas all other ESs showed a pattern of high in the south and low in the north. Based on the identified ecosystem service bundles, the study area was classified into three functional zones. The grain production area accounted for the largest proportion, while the ecological conservation area and the ecological transition area maintained roughly equal proportions. The ecological transition zone expanded faster than the ecological conservation zone. At the regional scale, there were trade-offs between food supply and other ESs, while there were synergies in the remaining five ESs. Due to the influences from human activities, land use types and climate change, the trade-off and synergy relationships among ESs within different service bundles exhibited varying degrees of heterogeneity compared to those at the regional scale.

Influences of human activities on ecosystem services in south of Jiangxi Province, China during 2000-2020

YANG Keke, CHEN Wenbo, XIONG Qiulin, GAO Beijie

2025, 36(6):  1627-1638.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.023

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With the acceleration of urbanization and industrialization, the impact of human activities on ecosystem services has been increased. Scientifically assessing such impact has become a hot issue in ecological studies. Understanding the influence of human activities on ecosystem services is crucial for ecological management and sustainable development. By applying InVEST model, bivariate spatial autocorrelation, and generalized additive model, we explored the spatiotemporal pattern and spatial aggregation characteristics between human activities and key ecosystem services, such as water yield, soil conservation, carbon sequestration, and habitat quality in south of Jiangxi Province from 2000 to 2020, and analyzed the spatiotemporal relationships between human activities and ecosystem services. The results showed that from 2000 to 2020, the intensity of human activities in south of Jiangxi Province was generally low but showed an increasing trend, with high-intensity activity areas concentrating in the central urban districts of counties and cities. Water yield and soil conservation services initially increased then declined, while carbon sequestration and habitat quality generally decreased, with higher values in the south and lower values in the north. There was significant spatial heterogeneity of human activities and ecosystem services at the township scale. The intensity of human activities showed a significant positive correlation with water yield, while it was significantly negatively correlated with soil conservation, carbon sequestration, and habitat quality. There was a nonlinear spatiotemporal relationship between human activities and ecosystem services, especially for water yield which was particularly complex. Our findings would provide valuable insights for the scientific management and sustainable development of natural resources in south of Jiangxi Province.

Response of trade-offs and synergies in ecosystem services to land use change in Poyang Lake Basin

XIAO Changjiang, LIU Tao, LI Xin, XU Xuelian, LIU Chunying, LU Yawei

2025, 36(6):  1639-1650.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.024

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Poyang Lake Basin is an important agricultural production area in China and a globally important wetland reserve. Ecosystem services of this region play a pivotal role in China’s and even the global sustainable deve-lopment. Studying the responses of trade-offs and synergies of ecosystem services to the regional land-use changes in Poyang Lake Basin is of great significance in guiding the management of national land space, and in enhancing ecosystem services. We used the InVEST model to quantitatively assess carbon storage service (CSS), food provisioning service (GP) and water purification service (SWP) of Poyang Lake Basin in 2000, 2010 and 2020. Two sampling transects, i.e., transect 1 and 2, were delineated for the main terrain of plains and hills in the basin. Based on this, we used wavelet coherence analysis to measure the trade-offs and synergies between several ecosystem services, and applied linear regression to identify their responses to land use changes in Poyang Lake Basin. The results showed that, in the transect 1 and transect 2, the proportion of samples with positive correlation between CSS and SWP in 2000, 2010, 2020 were 82.3% and 92.9%, 79.0% and 94.8%, 91.2% and 94.1%, respectively, showing synergistic relationship, the proportion of samples with negative correlation between CSS and GP were 86.8% and 96.8%, 81.0% and 96.7%, 76.0% and 92.5%, and the sample proportion of negative correlation between SWP and GP were 80.5% and 91.5%, 80.9% and 91.9%, 100% and 99.8%, respectively, which showed a trade-off relationship. In the plains, woodlands had the strongest influence on ecosystem service trade-offs and synergies, with wavelet coherence means of -0.54, -0.77, and 0.62 for CSS and GP, SWP and GP, and CSS and SWP, respectively. In hilly areas, unutilized land had the strongest impact on the synergistic relationship between CSS and SWP with a wavelet coherence mean of 0.84, and built-up land had the greatest impact on the trade-off relationship between CSS and GP, and SWP and GP with wavelet coherence means of -0.79 and -0.72, respectively. The response of ecosystem service trade-off/synergistic relationship to land use conflict was not significant. In the plain area, the synergistic relationship between CSS and SWP was negatively correlated with land use intensity, and the trade-off relationship between CSS and GP, and SWP and GP was positively correlated with land use intensity. The pattern in the hilly area was the opposite to the plain area. The protection of ecosystem services and spatial control of land in Poyang Lake Basin should be managed according to different land types.

Ecological management zoning in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China based on the balance of supply and demand for ecosystem services

LIAN Yuchen, LIU Di, CUI Lihan, XU Min, ZHENG Sheng

2025, 36(6):  1651-1660.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.025

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Ecological management zoning is the key to cope with the imbalance between ecosystem service supply and demand induced by rapid urbanization, and it is of great significance in solving the problems of ecological damage and impaired ecosystem services. Taking Huhhot, a typical city in arid and semi-arid areas, as an example, we measured the supply of four typical ecosystem services, namely, water yield (WY), carbon storage (CS), soil conservation (SC), and habitat quality (HQ), from 2000 to 2020 using InVEST model, and measured the demand based on multi-source data. We used the Z-score standardization method and the coupling coordination degree model to analyze the matching types of ecosystem service supply-demand and the coupling coordination degree at the grid scale, and delineated the ecological management zoning. The results showed that the supply of WY and SC increased and the supply of CS and HQ decreased between 2000 and 2020. The supply of ecosystem services was lower in the central city and higher in the northern mountains and southern hills. There was an overall upward trend in the demand for four ecosystem services. The demand for WY was higher in the central and northern parts. The demand for CS and HQ was higher near the central city. The demand for SC was higher in the northern mountains and southern hills. There was a mismatch between the supply of and demand for ecosystem services, with areas of low supply and high demand for WY, CS and HQ in the vicinity of the central city. The average value of the coupling coordination degree of supply and demand was 0.46, which was on the verge of becoming dysfunctional. Hohhot City was divided into four ecological management zones, i.e. ecological function protection zones focusing on ecological conservation, ecological conservation zones focusing on ecological protection and construction, ecological general protection zones to promote economic development, and important urban zones focusing on high-quality development.

Spatio-temporal variations and trade-offs/synergies of typical ecosystem services in Ordos City

WANG Yuxin, ZHENG Ying, GAO Yong, LIU Yanping, YANG Zhenqi, ZHANG Zixuan

2025, 36(6):  1661-1670.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.022

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Ordos City is located within the Yellow River ‘Ji Zi Bend’. Clarifying the spatio-temporal variations and trade-offs/synergies of ecosystem services is of great significance for ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin. Based on the InVEST model and remote sensing data, we evaluated the ecosystem services of soil conservation, carbon storage, water conservation, and net primary productivity (NPP) in Ordos City from 2000 to 2020, and analyzed their spatio-temporal variations. We used correlation analysis to explore the trade-offs/synergies relationship among the four ecosystem services, and further revealed the trade-off/synergy intensity and its driving factors by combing the trade-off/synergy index and random forest model. The results showed that the typical ecosystem services in Ordos City showed an overall upward trend from 2000 to 2020. Total soil conservation increased by 3.47×10⁸ t. Carbon storage increased by 0.28×10⁸ t. Water conservation increased by 0.76×10⁷ m³. The annual average NPP increased by 349.54 g C·m^-2. Among all the land use types, grassland and cultivated land had the greatest positive effect on the improvement of regional ecosystem services. Except for the uncorrelated relationships between carbon storage and soil conservation and NPP, the relationships among other ecosystem ser-vices were significantly synergistic. There were trade-offs between soil conservation, NPP, and water conservation in some areas. The main factors driving the intensity of trade-offs/synergies among ecosystem services in Ordos City were rainfall, temperature, slope, and population density. In general, the four typical ecosystem services in Ordos City showed favorable development trends. Based on the spatio-temporal heterogeneity of ecosystem services and the driving factors of tradeoff/synergy intensity, more appropriate strategies for continuous improvement of ecosystem services should be formulated in the future.

Green gold funnel: A framework of screening indicators for assessing the ecological value of nationally owned natural resources and its application

LI Ming, ZHAN Ni, ZHANG Yi, HUANG Hongsheng, ZHONG Haiyan

2025, 36(6):  1671-1678.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.021

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Improving the theoretical framework of natural resource evaluation is beneficial to regional natural resource management and holds great significance for the development of new quality productivity. Based on Coase’s theorem, externality theory, ecosystem service theory and assessment requirements, we constructed a conceptual framework, green gold funnel, to screen indicators for the ecological value assessment of nationally owned natural resources. Taking Meiling National Forest Park in Jiangxi Province as an example, we explored the application of this framework in the ecological value assessment scenarios of nationally owned natural forest resources. The results showed that in 2022, the indicators for the ecological value of nationally owned natural resources included timber product supply, water conservation, carbon sequestration, wellness and recreation, and the additive value of landscape. The ecological value of nationally owned natural resources in the experimental area in 2022 was 503.235 million yuan, with wellness and recreation taking the dominant contributors, indicating that the green gold funnel could efficiently select the indicators for assessing the ecological value of nationally owned natural resources. We proposed a green gold funnel conceptual framework for the screening of indicators for ecological value assessment of nationally owned natural resources, and verified its effectiveness with examples, which would provide a scientific basis for the ecological value assessment of nationally owned natural resources.

Structure optimization of landscape functional spaces based on land input-benefit output synergy in the Central Yunnan Urban Agglomeration

ZHENG Yuqi, CHEN Liding, DU Shumeng, LI Chun

2025, 36(6):  1679-1689.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.027

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Landscape functional spaces, as landscape units that fulfill various societal needs, may constrain regional ecological conservation and socio-economic development when internal imbalances occur between resource inputs and benefit outputs. Taking the Central Yunnan Urban Agglomeration as a case, we constructed an evaluation index system for land use inputs and benefit outputs across different landscape functional spaces, analyzed the spatiotemporal patterns of input-output relationships, employed a coupling coordination model to assess input-output coordination across landscape functional spaces. We constructed four different priority coordination scenarios for input and output: production coordination priority, living coordination priority, ecological coordination priority, and planning orientation priority, and further used the BP-ANN model to simulate optimization schemes for landscape functional spaces under the four various coordination scenarios. The results showed that, from 2000 to 2020, ecological aspects consistently accounted for the highest land use inputs in the Central Yunnan Urban Agglomeration, with ecological functions remaining the primary benefit output, while living benefits progressively increased. The overall input-output coordination index improved slightly, rising from 0.43 in 2000 to 0.46 in 2020, predominantly driven by enhanced coordination in production functional spaces. The landscape structure of the Central Yunnan Urban Agglomeration exhibited distinct adjustment requirements under four scenarios. Among them, the production coordination priority scenario should adjust the land layout, the ecological coordination priority scenario should increase the scale of land investment, the living coordination priority scenario and planning orientation priority scenario adjust the land layout while increasing land investment. This study would provide insights into coordinating internal functional spaces in urban agglomerations through land use adjustment.

Original Articles

Response of sap flow of Larix principis-rupprechtii in Liupan Mountain to drought types

LIU Ming, GUO Jianbin, LIN Xuewen, YU Songping, BAI Mingyue, CHEN Shenggang

2025, 36(6):  1690-1698.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.004

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With Larix principis-rupprechtii forest in the Xiangshui River sub-basin of the Liupan Mountain area as test material, we monitored sap flow in L. principis-rupprechtii using the thermal diffusion probe during the growing season (from May 13th to September 30th) of 2022 and measured meteorological conditions and soil moisture to explore the water utilization patterns of L. principis-rupprechtii forest under different drought types. The results showed that the piecewise linear function could accurately reflect the variation of the sap flow rate with soil relative extractable water (REW) and vapor pressure deficit (VPD). Based on the thresholds of the piecewise function, the drought conditions in this area were classified into four types: non-drought (REW≥0.37 m³·m^-3, VPD<0.99 kPa), atmospheric drought (REW≥0.37 m³·m^-3, VPD>0.99 kPa), soil drought (REW<0.37 m³·m^-3, VPD<0.99 kPa), and combined drought (REW<0.37 m³·m^-3, VPD>0.99 kPa). The average sap flow rate of L. principis-rupprechtii was the highest under atmospheric drought (0.042 mL·cm^-2·min^-1) and the lowest under soil drought (0.022 mL·cm^-2·min^-1). The dominant factors influencing the sap flow rate varied across drought types. Under non-drought types, the dominant factors of sap flow were VPD and solar radiation (R_s). Under soil drought, the main influencing factor of sap flow was R_s. Under atmospheric drought and combined drought, the main influencing factors of sap flow were REW and R_s. When facing drought stress, L. principis-rupprechtii would initiate trunk sap flow earlier for trunk water replenishment, with soil moisture as the main limiting factor.

Characteristics of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry in litter-root-soil of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica plantations with different stand ages

WANG Rongxiao, ZHANG Songan, GAO Guanglei, DING Guodong, ZHANG Ying, ZHU Binbin

2025, 36(6):  1699-1707.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.001

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To investigate the carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) stoichiometry of the litter-root-soil system and the driving factors for their variations in the Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica plantations, we analyzed the contents and stoichiometric ratios of organic carbon, total nitrogen and total phosphorus in litter, roots and soil across 27-year-old (middle-aged), 38-year-old (nearly-mature) and 47-year-old (mature) plantations in Hulunbuir sandy land, with natural forests as a control. The results showed that with increases of stand age, N and P contents showed a trend of decreasing and then increasing in the decomposing layer of the litter, and the C:N and C:P in semi-decomposing layer were significantly higher in near-mature than in middle-aged and mature plantations. The N content in the semi-decomposing layer of litter in natural forests was 17.3% lower than that in plantations. The N:P in the decomposing layer of natural forests was 16.2% lower than that in plantations. With the increases of stand age, root C content showed an increasing trend, and the N content exhibited a decreasing and then increasing trend. Root C:N of middle-aged was significantly lower than that in near-mature plantations. The root C:P of middle-aged and near-mature was significantly lower than that in mature plantations. Root P content was 41.0% higher than that in natural forests. The soil C and P content as well as the C:N and C:P were significantly lower in plantations than in natural forests. The rhizosphere and bulk soils of natural forests with N:P of 3.7 and 3.1 were significantly lower than that of plantations. Cellulase was the main driver of stoichiometric characteristics of litter, while acid phosphatase was the main driver for both root and soil.

Radial growth of Larix principis-rupprechtii and responses to drought events under different forest management models

JIA Jianheng, HOU Shuhang, CI Kefan, GUO Mingming, FU Lihua, ZHANG Yan

2025, 36(6):  1708-1714.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.002

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In 2014, we implemented three management models, unmanaged (the control), the structured management and the close-to-nature management, for 20-year-old Larix principis-rupprechtii plantations in Saihanba Mechanical Forest Farm, Hebei Province. We collected tree-ring core samples in 2023 and analyzed the responses of radial growth of L. principis-rupprechtii to four drought events (2001-2002, 2006-2010, 2015 and 2018) before and after the establishment of management models. The results showed that after management, the radial growth (average during 2015-2022) increased by 2.0% (control), 4.1% (structured management) and 3.1% (close-to-nature management) compared to the pre-management levels (average during 1989-2014), with the structured management demonstrating superior growth enhancement over the other two management models. Compared with pre-management, the resistance of the radial growth of L. principis-rupprechtii to drought events improved after management, whereas the recovery and resilience decreased. After management, the radial growth response of L. principis-rupprechtii to drought events differed across management models. The recovery, recovery rate, and resilience of the radial growth of L. principis-rupprechtii were significantly lower in the control and the close-to-nature management, whereas the recovery time was longer than that in the structured management. In conclusion, the structured management promoted the radial growth of L. principis-rupprechtii plantations under frequent droughts, which are suitable for these forests.

Effectiveness of ground penetrating radar for the detection of root features of Larix gmelinii

YANG Junhan, LI Tingting, LONG Fuqiang, LI Mingjuan, WANG Xiuwei, SUN Tao

2025, 36(6):  1715-1721.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.003

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Adopting a portable ground penetrating radar (GPR) with 1000 MHz antenna, we detected the root system of Larix gmelinii in two 10 m ×10 m plots at Mao’ershan Experiment Forest Farm, Heilongjiang Province. The GPR detection results were compared with field empirical data, and analyzed the identification rate of GPR techno-logy on different root diameter sizes (0.2-0.5, 0.5-1.0, 1.0-2.0, 2.0-3.0, 3.0-4.0, 4.0-5.0, and >5.0 cm) of L. gmelinii and soil depths (0-10, 10-20, and 20-30 cm). The results showed that for roots with diameter greater than 2.0 cm, the identification rate of 1000 MHz GPR reached 49.8%, with the maximum time interval, total time interval, maximum amplitude area, and total amplitude area of GPR reflection waves being significantly positively correlated with root diameter. For roots with diameter <2.0 cm, the identification rate of GPR was extremely low (6%). As the soil depth increased, root identification rate showed a trend of increasing and then decreasing. The root identification rate was highest at 31.4% in the 10-20 cm soil layer and lowest at 10.2% in the 0-10 cm soil layer. GPR could effectively identify root systems of L. gmelinii with larger diameters (>2.0 cm), and showed an optimal identification rate for root systems in the 10-20 cm soil layer. However, its detection ability for small dia-meter root and deep root of L. gmelinii should be improved.

Extraction of forest disturbance information from multi-source and long-term series of remote sensing data

HOU Zhuohan, YU Ying, YANG Xiguang

2025, 36(6):  1722-1730.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.005

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We developed a method of comprehensive forest disturbance identification system based on the distur-bance characteristics of forest ecosystem and the integrated multi-source remote sensing data to evaluate the overall forest disturbance intensity of Heilongjiang Province from 2001 to 2023. We further conducted disturbance extraction and types identification. The results showed that forest disturbance intensity peaked in 2003, primarily due to large-scale forest fires. The spatial consistency between disturbance detection using the LandTrendr method and the Global Forest Change dataset exceeded 90%. Forest disturbances could be categorized into three types, including fire disturbance, pest disturbance, and logging disturbance. The overall classification accuracy for disturbance types was 87.8% (Kappa coefficient=0.81). Different spectral indices had different responses to disturbance types. Specifically, the normalized burn ratio was the most sensitive to fire disturbance. The normalized difference vegetation index was more responsive to overall vegetation change. The normalized difference moisture index made a more significant contribution to the identification of pest disease, while the modified greenness difference index could assist in detecting logging activities. In conclusion, the integrative analysis of multi-spectral indices and the fusion of temporal features could effectively improve the accuracy of identifying forest disturbance types, which would provide a scientific basis for forest ecosystem management in cold temperate zone of Northeast Asia.

Spatiotemporal changes of vegetation water use efficiency and its influencing factors in Mu Us Sandy Land, China

WANG Zhipeng, SHI Changchun, MA Yali, ZHANG Yan, Yusupukadier ZIMINI, KOU Wei-liang, WEN Zhongming, LIU Yangyang

2025, 36(6):  1731-1739.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.007

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Based on the gross primary productivity (GPP) and evapotranspiration (ET) of vegetation, we analyzed the spatiotemporal dynamics of vegetation water use efficiency (WUE) in Mu Us Sandy Land by using linear regression analysis, Hurst index prediction, multiple linear regression, and structural equation modeling, aiming to understand the influence of water and heat conditions on vegetation WUE. The results showed that the average annual values of vegetation GPP and ET in Mu Us Sandy Land from 2001 to 2020 were 264.82 g C·m^-2 and 259.12 mm, respectively, showing a gradually increasing trend with a large fluctuation range. The WUE of vegetation ranged from 0.170 to 0.342 g C·mm^-1·m^-2, with an annual average of 0.279 g C·mm^-1·m^-2, showing a stable decreasing trend. The vegetation WUE exhibited obvious spatial heterogeneity, presenting a changing trend of being lower in the north and higher in the south. The WUE of grassland, cropland, and forest was positively correlated with temperature and solar radiation, and negatively correlated with precipitation and soil moisture. The influence of climatic factors varied across regions of the Mu Us Sandy Land, with temperature being the dominant factor in the eastern region and soil moisture being the dominant factor in the central region. Precipitation, temperature, solar radiation, and soil moisture affected vegetation WUE by altering ET.

Age structure and dynamics of Picea wilsonii population in Datong River basin of Qilian Mountains, China

ZHANG Rongxia, GUAN Jinhong, XIE Huichun, MA Yonggui, ZHANG Jinfeng

2025, 36(6):  1740-1748.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.008

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Taking Picea wilsonii population in the Datong River basin of the Qilian Mountains as research object, we analyzed the age structure, population dynamics, and future development trends of the population by constructing static life tables and survival curves, and combining with survival functions, spectral analysis, and time series models. The results showed that based on the inclusive upper limit method with 5 cm diameter at breast height (DBH) intervals, P. wilsonii population was classified into 15 age classes (Ⅰ-ⅩⅤ), corresponding to four growth stages: juvenile (0 cm<DBH≤20 cm, Ⅰ-Ⅳ), middle-aged (20 cm<DBH≤40 cm, Ⅴ-Ⅷ), mature (40 cm<DBH≤60 cm, Ⅸ-Ⅻ), and old-aged (DBH>60 cm, ⅩⅢ-ⅩⅤ). The abundance of P. wilsonii decreased with age, with juveniles accounting for 58.3%, indicating that the population was in the juvenile forest restoration phase. Throughout the life cycle, both the natural-state dynamic index (V_pi) and disturbance-state dynamic index (V_pi′) were greater than 0, but V_pi′ was significantly lower than V_pi, reflecting the dual characteristics of growth potential and ecological vulnerability. The survival curve conformed to the Deevey-Ⅱ B₁ subtype, characterized by survival rates fluctuating around the theoretical diagonal and significant differed in survival numbers between developmental stages. Survival function curves revealed a dynamic pattern of initial growth, mid-phase sharp decline, and late-phase gradual recession in population size. Spectral analysis indicated that population dynamics was dominated by the fundamental wave with minor periodic disturbances, and that the late juvenile and middle-aged stages were critical nodes for population fluctuations. Time series predictions showed that within the next 10 age-class periods, individuals in age classes Ⅲ-Ⅵ would decrease, while those in classes Ⅶ-ⅩⅤ would continue to grow. In conclusion, P. wilsonii population in the Datong River basin of Qilian Mountains is a stable and growing population. If not subjected to severe disturbances, it would develop into a mature forest.

Predicting potential distribution and adaptability of the invasive plant Bidens pilosa in China based on the MaxEnt model

CHEN Mengyan, LIANG Ziyi, SHU Qi, NAO Zengcuo, CHEN Yan, ZENG Zhefei, LA Qiong, WANG Junwei

2025, 36(6):  1749-1758.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.028

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Bidens pilosa, a globally invasive plant species, poses a significant threat to ecosystems and agricultural production in China. To evaluate its potential expansion in China, particularly its habitat suitability under climate change, we predicted its distribution with natural distribution data and 31 environmental variables (climate, soil, topography, and human activity factors) under the MaxEnt model. Future changes in suitable habitats were simulated under the SSP245 and SSP585 climate scenarios. The results showed that the model exhibited high predictive accuracy, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.89. Temperature and precipitation were the primary influencing factors, accounting for 82.6% and 12.6% of the contribution, respectively. Currently, suitable habitats were predominantly located in southern and central-eastern China. The suitable habitats were projected to expand toward eastern and northern Tibet, particularly into ecologically fragile regions such as the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Therefore, climate change would exacerbate invasion risks.

Monitoring of salt marsh vegetation community succession process in Yellow River Delta supported by multidimensional long time-series feature dataset

WU Hongwei, GONG Cheng’ao, GONG Zhao-ning, ZHAO Yuxin, QIU Huachang, CHEN Ankang

2025, 36(6):  1759-1769.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.029

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The spatial distribution of salt marsh vegetation in Yellow River Delta are highly heterogeneous. Accurate information on the historical distribution of salt marsh is of great significance for regional ecological stability and sustainable development. We constructed a long-series temporal-spatial-spectral multidimensional elicitation based on multi-source data, and accurately extracted information on the spatial distribution of typical salt marsh in the Yellow River Delta from 1996 to 2022 using a random forest (RF) model with recursive feature elimination, and further analyzed the succession of the native/invasive salt marsh communities since the diversion of the Yellow River in 1996. Compared to the single temporal spectral feature, the use of a temporal-spatial-spectral multidimensional feature set for extraction improved the overall accuracy of salt marsh vegetation classification by 8.4%. The classification effect of the sparse Suaeda salsa and the mixed area of Phragmites australis and Spartina alterniflora was optimized based on the temporal and spatial features of optical and SAR images. The distribution of salt marsh on the tidal flats after the Yellow River was diverted was obvious. The cover area of S. salsa communities decreased from 91.67 km² in 1996 to 38.11 km² in 2022, with the successional trend being influenced by the invasion of S. alterniflora. S. alterniflora was rapidly expanded and then distributed in large areas on the tidal flats on both sides of the current river channel since 2008. The area of the community reached the maximum (51.25 km²) in 2020. The invasion and expansion of S. alterniflora had a certain impact on the habitat pattern of the tidal flats.

Factors influencing the yield and quality of Medicago sativa in a slight saline-alkali land in northern Ning-xia, China

LI Bing, HUANG Pujiang, MA Xuhan, ZHANG Fengju, HUANG Juying

2025, 36(6):  1770-1780.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.014

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The C:N:P ecological stoichiometry of plant-soil systems is closely related to plant growth and protein synthesis, and would thus be a lens to examine differences in either ecological strategy or environmental adaptability. However, few studies have assessed how forage crops adapt to saline-alkali soils under the C:N:P stoichiometry framework. We evaluated the ecophysiological adaptability of 20 domestic and foreign alfalfa (Medicago sativa) cultivars grown in slightly saline-alkali soils of Hetao Plain, Ningxia, by analyzing plant C:N:P stoichiometry, yield, and quality. We further explored the relationships of plant-microbe-soil C:N:P ecological stoichiometry and other environmental factors with the yield and quality of the alfafa (the difference between cultivars and between adaptations were not considered). The adaptability of the studied cultivars was divided into three categories by cluster analysis: Category I (high adaptability): 4 cultivars, including Gongnong 5#; Category II (moderate adaptability): 7 cultivars, including Zhongmu 1#; Category III (low adaptability): 9 cultivars, including Algonquin. Plant, microbe, and soil C:N:P stoichiometry had lower capacity to explain the variation in yield. However, plant C:N:P stoichiometry could explain the variations in quality. Yield was primarily influenced by soil available P, K⁺, and NH₄⁺-N, whereas quality was mainly determined by plant C:N, C:P, and N:P ratios. In summary, alfalfa yield is primarily affected by the soil nutrient supply, whereas quality is primarily controlled by the balance of C, N and P in plants.

Effect of attapulgite addition on soil water availability of maize on Loess Plateau, China

YANG Ting, WANG Jingru, TIAN Yixin, ZHANG Changjie, FU Wei

2025, 36(6):  1781-1790.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.012

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Water availability is the primary limiting factor for vegetation restoration and agricultural production in the arid and semi-arid regions of the Loess Plateau. The application of soil amendments is an effective approach for enhancing soil water use efficiency (WUE) in this area. The clay mineral of attapulgite (ATP) is a highly promising soil amendment due to its hydrophilic properties and adsorption capacity, which could improve soil water availability. In this study, we selected two soil types (dark loess soil and loess soil) with distinct soil textures from the Loess Plateau, and conducted an experiment with three levels of ATP application (0, 20, and 40 g·kg^-1) and three water management strategies (drought stress group, drought-rewatering cycle group, and normal water condition group), resulting in a total of 18 experimental treatments. We measured photosynthetic parameters and WUE of maize, and investigated the impact of ATP on soil water availability. The results showed that across the entire growing season, both drought stress group and drought-rewatering cycle group significantly enhanced WUE. Additionally, the ATP-amended treatments exhibited significantly higher WUE compared to the non-amended treatments. The photosynthetic parameters of maize under different treatments all exhibited threshold response patterns based on change in soil relative water content (RWC). Both P_n and WUE increased with rising RWC but decreased after exceeding the critical threshold value corresponding to each treatment. At the maximum ATP application rate (40 g·kg^-1), the WUE of dark loess soil and loess soil reached their peaks at RWC of 73.7% and 98.3%, respectively. With P_n and WUE as indicators of “productivity” and “efficiency” of maize production, the application of ATP enabled the achievement of high yield and efficiency even at the lower soil water conditions in loess soil. The application of ATP demonstrated superior efficacy in enhancing soil water availability in loess soil compared to dark loess soil.

Effects of phosphorus fertilizer application rates on the characteristics of flag leaves senescence and grain filling of wheat

LIN Tingting, ZHANG Yongli, SHI Yu, ZHANG Zhen, SI Jisheng

2025, 36(6):  1791-1802.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.017

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Clarifying the effects of different phosphorus (P) application rates on grain weight and yield of wheat under water-saving supplementary irrigation can provide a basis for determining a reasonable amount of phosphate fertilization. Taking ‘Jimai 22’ as the test material in the wheat growing season of 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, we set up five P application rates of 0 (P₀), 45 (P₁), 90 (P₂), 135 (P₃) and 180 kg·hm^-2(P₄), with the soil relative moisture being supplemented to 70% in the 0-40 cm soil layer at the jointing and anthesis stages. We measured the chlorophyll fluorescence and senescence characteristics of flag leaves and grain filling traits in wheat. The results showed that compared with P₀ and P₁ treatments, maximum photochemical efficiency (F_v/F_m), actual photochemical efficiency (Φ_PSⅡ), photochemical quenching coefficient (q_p), superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and soluble protein content of flag leaves were significantly increased in P₂ treatment after anthesis, while the non-photochemical quenching coefficient (NPQ) and malondialdehyde (MDA) content of flag leaves were significantly decreased, and the high duration value of the relative chlorophyll content (SPAD) of flag leaves was prolonged. In the two growing seasons, P₂ treatment significantly increased the active growth period (D) and actual final filling period (T) of grains, soluble sugar content, and starch accumulation compared to P₀ and P₁ treatments. 1000-grain weight in P₂ treatment in the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 growing seasons was increased by 11.5% and 11.9% compared to P₀ treatment, and increased by 9.0% and 9.2% compared to P₁ treatment, respectively. The grain yield was 30.9% and 37.9% higher respectively than that under P₀ treatment, and 17.3% and 21.1% higher respectively than that under P₁ treatment. When P application rate was increased to those in P₃ and P₄ treatments, NPQ and MDA, as well as other indices did not increase. The 1000-grain weight was significantly and positively correlated with F_v/F_m, Φ_PSⅡ, q_p, SOD, soluble protein content, D, T, grain soluble sugar content and starch accumulation, and negatively correlated with NPQ and MDA. In conclusion, under water-saving irrigation supplementary irrigation conditions, 90 kg·hm^-2 was the optimal P application rate, which could ensure the strong photosynthetic capacity of flag leaves, prolong grain filling time, promote grain starch accumulation, increase the grain weight, yield and phosphate fertilizer agronomic efficiency.

Response of organic carbon in black soils with different degradation levels to litter addition

LI Wenjing, XIAO Lulu, ZHANG Yukun, WANG Nanchao, CUI Xiangchi, XIA Xiangyou

2025, 36(6):  1803-1810.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.015

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Litter plays a crucial role in the formation and turnover of soil organic carbon (SOC). However, its impact on SOC in black soils with varying degradation levels remains unclear. With the typical black soils in northeastern China with different simulated degradation levels (slight, moderate, and severe), we comparatively analyzed the changes in total organic carbon (TOC), easily oxidizable organic carbon (EOC), particulate organic carbon (POC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) under silver poplar litter addition (LP) and maize straw addition (MS) versus a treatment without litter addition (CK) at 45 days (early stage), 90 days (mid stage), and 135 days (late stage) after litter addition in a field in-situ experiment. The results showed that: 1) For black soils at different degradation levels, TOC content generally followed the order of LP>MS>CK. The increase in TOC was relatively greater in moderately degraded black soils. Compared with the early stage, TOC content in both LP and MS treatments were significantly increased during the mid and late stages. 2) At the early stage of litter decomposition, in slightly degraded black soils, the LP treatment significantly reduced EOC and DOC contents by 35.8% and 7.7%, respectively. In moderately and severely degraded soils, LP treatment significantly increased both POC and DOC contents. MBC was significantly increased across black soils with different degradation levels. Under MS treatment, EOC increased by 32.7% only in moderately degraded soils, while POC and MBC increased significantly only in severely degraded soils respectively. At the mid stage of litter decomposition, DOC content significantly decreased while MBC significantly increased in slightly degraded black soils, with POC significantly reduced by 36.7% in MS treatment. In moderately degraded soils, LP significantly increased DOC by 41.9%, and MS significantly increased MBC by 29.2%. In severely degraded soils, LP and MS significantly increased MBC by 17.3% and 16.0%, respectively. EOC content increased significantly under both LP and MS only in moderately degraded soils. At the late stage of litter addition, POC content decreased by 13.7%-21.4% in slightly degraded black soils, increased by 25.0%-25.3% in moderately degraded black soils, while EOC in LP treatment significantly increased only in slightly degraded soils. In moderately degraded soils, DOC significantly decreased and MBC increased. In severely degraded soils, LP significantly increased DOC by 6.0%, and MS significantly increased MBC by 28.6%. 3) Total nitrogen was a key factor influencing SOC and its active components in black soils with different degradation levels. In conclusion, the response of soil organic carbon and its active components to litter addition varied across soils with different degradation levels. High-quality litter (LP) was more conducive to the formation of TOC. The transport and accumulation of SOC and its active components were jointly regulated by both litter type and soil quality.

Effects of chicken manure application methods on soil organic carbon content and its fractions

YANG Shuchun, YAN Jun, HAN Xiaozeng, ZOU Wenxiu, LU Xinchun, CHEN Xu

2025, 36(6):  1811-1818.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.019

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Soil organic carbon (SOC) content and its fractions are critical indicators of soil quality and function. The impacts of the addition of exogenous organic fertilizer on SOC and its fractions in black soil with high SOC remains unclear. Based on a experiment with five years treatments in the Hailun Agro-ecological Experimental Station of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, we explored the effects of equal amount of chicken manure (30 t·hm^-2·a^-1) on SOC content and physical fractions (free light fraction carbon fLFC, occluded light fraction carbon oLFC, heavy fraction carbon HFC) and chemical fractions (easily oxidized organic carbon EOC, dissolved organic carbon DOC, humic acid carbon HAC, fulvic acid carbon FAC, humin carbon HMC) in 0-50 cm soil profile. There were three different methods of surface coverage (CM), shallow incorporation 15 cm (ST) and deep incorporation 35 cm (DT). The results showed that the SOC content of CM, ST, and DT was increased by 0 to 19.2%, 1.7% to 15.0% and 2.1% to 22.4%, respectively. The SOC storage was increased by 3.4%, 5.7% and 9.1%, respectively. The SOC content and storage of each treatment decreased with the deepening of soil layer. The organic carbon conversion rate of DT treatment was significantly higher than that of ST and CM. Compared with CK, CM treatment increased fLFC, oLFC and HFC by 39.5%, 30.0% and 17.6% in 0-10 cm soil layer, and the chemical fractions DOC and HAC were increased by 100.0% and 30.7%, respectively. The contents of fLFC, oLFC and HFC in 10-20 cm soil layer in ST treatment were significantly increased by 45.5%, 22.2%, and 10.8%, respectively, compared with CK, while the contents of DOC and HMC in 20-30 cm soil layer were increased by 95.2% and 19.5%, respectively. In the 20-50 cm soil layer, fLFC, oLFC and HFC increased by 16.7%-29.2%, 15.4%-46.2% and 12.0%-20.8%, and EOC, DOC, HAC and FAC increased by 12.0%-18.0%, 119.1%-129.4%, 37.1%-43.8% and 9.7%-13.3%, respectively. In general, chicken manure deep mixed returning (35 cm) was the most effective measure to improve the organic carbon storage and active carbon component content of black soil soil profile, and the influence depth can be below 40 cm soil layer, which would provide a theoretical basis for the improvement of cultivated land fertility and the optimization of carbon sequestration technology in black soil area in Northeast China.

Effects of different amendments on the quality of coal gangue artificial soil

XIE Xingxing, WU Min, XIN Jianbao, XU Chong, JIA Yuhua

2025, 36(6):  1819-1828.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202504.016

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The crushing of coal gangue with amendments enables its transformation into usable artificial soil for solid waste recycling. However, current research on the selection, proportioning, and corresponding improvement effects of amendments remains insufficient. In this study, we comprehensively evaluated the improvement effects of different ratios of three amendments (biochar, super absorbent polymer, cow manure) through complete combination testing and principal component analysis combined with a minimum dataset. The results showed that: 1) Among the amendments tested, cow manure exhibited the most significant improving effect on coal gangue. Compared to coal gangue, cow manure application alone or in combination with other amendments notably increased soil indices (total nitrogen, available nitrogen, total phosphorus, available phosphorus, available potassium, phosphatase, catalase, protease, amylase). Available phosphorus increased by 19.7%-290.4%, available potassium increased by 311.1%-744.4%, phosphatase showed increases of 70.2%-320.8%. The application of biochar and super absorbent polymer could also promote the increase of indicators such as total phosphorus, available potassium, catalase, dehydrogenase, and protease, but the enhancement magnitude was lower than that of the cow manure treatment group; 2) The five indicators sorted by weight in the minimum dataset were available potassium, total phosphorus, total nitrogen, protease and dehydrogenase; 3) The combination of super absorbent polymers and cow manure achieved the highest soil quality index. An optimal scheme incorporating 6% biochar, 0.7% super absorbent polymers, and 10% cow manure was identified for effective improvement. These findings provide a theoretical basis and practical guidance for optimizing coal gangue reuse and promoting ecological restoration in mining areas.

Determination of evaluation indicators for artificial cultivation of moss biological soil crusts aiming at enhancing soil erosion resistance

ZHANG Junyu, ZHAO Yunge, ZHANG Xinyu, QIAO Yu, YU Shunyao

2025, 36(6):  1829-1836.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.011

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The restoration of moss crust (moss-dominated biological soil crust) through artificial cultivation is of great significance for preventing soil wind erosion and desertification in arid and semi-arid regions. However, the tiny size of moss plant and associated observational challenge hindered the establishment of scientifically validated and standardized indicators for assessing the growth and development of artificial moss crusts. We measured moss crust development indicators, including plant density, coverage, and height every five days during a 60-day cultivation experiment, as well as the dry weight and thickness of moss crust after the cultivation. We determined the eva-luation indicators for the artificial cultivation of moss crusts by analyzing the relationship between those indicators and the stability (characterization of erosion resistance) of moss crusts. The results showed that the new gametophytes germinated after five days cultivation. Plant individual density and coverage of moss crust increased rapidly and turned stable after 35 to 40 days of cultivation. The moss height remained within a narrow range of 1.53 to 1.63 mm during the cultivation. Dry weight of moss and thickness of moss crusts reached 0.0074 g·cm^-2 and 6.30 mm at the end of cultivation, respectively. Moss density exhibited the highest sensitivity to cultivation time, followed by coverage, whereas plant height showed relatively low sensitivity. The stability index of moss crusts cultivated for 60 days ranged from 0.12 to 0.69, which were positively related with plant density and coverage. The comprehensive scoring for development indicators, including moss density, coverage, plant height, biomass, and thickness of moss crusts indicated that moss plant density and coverage are key indicators for assessing the growth and development of artificial moss crusts cultivation.

Enhancing construction of ecological security pattern through a wetland waterbird protection approach: A case study of Yellow River Basin in Shandong Province, China

SUN Baodi, CHENG Daoxin, CHEN Zhaohui, YAN Yuxi, JI Hangxi, TANG Jingchao

2025, 36(6):  1837-1848.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.037

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To enhance the ecological security level and protect species diversity in the Yellow River Basin of Shandong Province, we took the nine cities along the Yellow River in Shandong Province as the research area, and selected Aythya baeri, Ciconia boyciana, and Grus japonensis as indicator species of waterbirds. We identified ecological sources using morphological spatial pattern analysis, and utilized the maximum entropy model to analyze the suitability and the contribution degrees of different climate factors for the distribution of waterbirds and to explore the overlap proportions between the high suitable habitats of species and ecological sources. Then, we revised the index system of resistance factors based on the contribution degrees of climate factors. Combined with the circuit theory, we extracted ecological corridors and ecological pinch points to construct the ecological security pattern of the Yellow River Basin in Shandong Province. The results showed that, considering the needs of ecological land for waterbirds, the total area of identified ecological source area was 2922.22 km², including water source area 1362.61 km², forest and grassland source area 1559.61 km². Overall, the ecological sources presented a spatial pattern characterized by “more in the east and less in the west, connecting rivers and the sea”. The areas of the highly suitable habitats predicted for A. baeri, C. boyciana, G. japonensis accounted for 33.4%, 13.0%, 10.9%, and 14.1% of the total area, respectively. Among them, the overlap rates between the comprehensively predicted highly suitable habitats for waterbirds with the areas of water sources and forest and grassland sources were 44.4% and 6.0%, respectively. A total of 390 ecological corridors were constructed, including seven key conservation corridors that connected the key habitats and potential habitats of waterbirds, with 20 ecological pinch-points distributed in coastal areas, forests in central areas, and the main-stream area of the Yellow River. From the perspective of wetland waterbird conservation, we proposed the “two belts, three zones, and two points” planning framework and optimization strategies, aiming to provide theoretical support for coordinated ecological protection and biodiversity governance in the Yellow River Basin of Shandong Province.

The role of ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms in the replacement of Mikania micrantha by Pueraria lobata

ZENG Ziyin, YU Hanxia, ZHOU Qimeng, YOU Junjie, LI Weihua

2025, 36(6):  1849-1858.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.006

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We investigated the role of ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms in the process of Pueraria lobata replacement for controlling the invasive plant, Mikania micrantha. We examined the effects of P. lobata replacement on the regeneration of M. micrantha, plant nitrogen absorption, soil nitrogen transformation, and ammonia-oxidizing microbial communities. The results demonstrated that one year after P. lobata replacement, there were significant increases in soil total nitrogen (109.4%), ammonium (78.1%), and nitrate (20.3%), accompanied by a remarkable 213.0% elevation in the net nitrification rate. The ammonia-oxidizing bacteria AOB-amoA gene copy number was significantly increased, which was positively correlated with soil total nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen. Results of random forest model analysis showed that comammox clade A.2 and AOB jointly dominated the nitrification process. The soil net nitrification rate, AOB-amoA gene copy number, and plant tissue total nitrogen content were identified as the primary factors influencing the relative cover of P. lobata. The enhanced activity of ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms improved soil nitrogen conversion efficiency, giving P. lobata a competitive advantage over M. micrantha in nitrogen uptake and accumulation, thereby effectively inhibiting the regeneration of M. micrantha.

Impacts of nitrogen addition on variations of inorganic sulfur forms in soils of Cyperus malaccensis marsh in the Minjiang estuary during summer

LI Erheng, SUN Zhigao, WU Huihui, FANG Guanrong, YAO Qinyu, LI Yajin, ZHONG Xiaoying

2025, 36(6):  1859-1870.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.035

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We investigated the distribution of inorganic sulfur forms in the typical Cyperus malaccensis marsh in the Minjiang estuary by conducting a field nitrogen (N) addition experiment with four N addition levels (no N treatment, N₀, 0 g N·m^-2·a^-1; low N treatment, N_L, 12.5 g N·m^-2·a^-1; medium N treatment, N_M, 25.0 g N·m^-2·a^-1; and high N treatment, N_H, 75.0 g N·m^-2·a^-1) . Results showed that the contents of water-soluble-sulfur (H₂O-S) and HCl-soluble-sulfur (HCl-soluble-S) in marsh soil increased with N addition levels, and the values in the N_L, N_M and N_H treatments increased by 36.0%, 11.6%, 7.5% (H₂O-S) and 12.8%, 4.8%, 9.0% (HCl-soluble-S), respectively. The contents of adsorbed-sulfur (Adsorbed-S) and HCl-volatile-sulfur (HCl-volatile-S) decreased by 45.8%, 37.0%, 4.0% and 6.1%, 1.7% and 3.3%. N addition generally increased the contents and stocks of total inorganic sulfur (TIS). Compared with the N₀ treatment, the TIS content in the N_L, N_M and N_H treatments increased by 29.1%, 8.2% and 25.6%, while its stock increased by 23.1%, 13.7% and 25.6%, respectively. The elevation of TIS stock mainly rested with the contributions of H₂O-S and HCl-soluble-S. The variations of inorganic sulfur forms were mainly dependent on the alterations of N nutrient (especially NH₄⁺-N/NO₃^--N) and pH, and the relationships of S nutrient between plants and soils. Under N enrichment, the content and stock of TIS showed an increasing trend, indicating that the available S absorbed and utilized by plants was elevated and the increasing trend was particularly evident in the high N addition treatment (N_H).

Substrate screening for cutting propagation of emergent Rotala rotundifolia

PENG Qianqian, XIAO Jibo, CHU Shuyi, LIN Chenbo, LYU Xujian

2025, 36(6):  1871-1879.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.034

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Rotala rotundifolia is an aquatic plant as an emergent and submerged species. By leveraging its unique ability to transition from emergent to submerged growth, it can rapidly establish submerged plant communities and thus holds strong potential for water ecological restoration. We used five different substrates for cutting propagation, namely yellow soil (T₁), paddy soil (T₂), river sand (T₃), river sediment (T₄), and a mixture of nutrient soil and river sand (T₅, in a volume ratio of 1:1), to investigate the growth responses of R. rotundifolia, focusing on variables including plant height, number of branches, biomass, root morphology, and chlorophyll fluorescence characteristics. Then, we identified the most suitable substrate for cultivating emergent R. rotundifolia. The results showed that all cuttings in the T₅ group died within 15 days, which was not suitable for cultivation. Plant height (27.06±3.08 cm) and fresh weight (1870±304 mg) of the T₂ group were increased by 25.5%, 47.1%, 100.9% and 111.3%, 124.8%, 251.3% compared with the T₁, T₃, and T₄ groups, respectively. Total root length, root surface area, root volume, and root activity of the T₂ group were increased by 41.7%-164.7%, 38.8%-164.7%, 31.6%-177.8%, and 16.2%-113.3%, respectively. The number of branches, chlorophyll content, actual photochemical efficiency, and maximum photochemical efficiency of the T₂ group were significantly higher than those of the other groups. Plants in groups T₃ and T₄ exhibited dwarf phenotypes with varying degrees of chlorosis and wilting. Root growth and development of R. rotundifolia were significantly positively correlated with the available phosphorus and available potassium in the substrate. The comprehensive evaluation of the substrates by principal component analysis was ranked as T₂>T₁>T₃>T₄, indicating that paddy soil is more suitable as a substrate for the cutting propagation of R. rotundifolia.

Soil enzyme activity and its stoichiometry characteristics in peatlands with different nutrient types

XU Ling, XUE Dan, SUN Jiayue, ZOU Qing, HUANG Beibei, LIU Lian, WU Lin

2025, 36(6):  1880-1888.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.013

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Peatlands are important terrestrial carbon reservoirs, and their ecological functions are deeply influenced by nutrient sources and hydrological conditions. However, the characteristics of soil enzyme activity and its driving mechanisms between different types of peatlands are still unclear. We compared soil enzyme activity, enzyme chemical stoichiometric characteristics, and soil physicochemical properties between ombrotrophic and minerotrophic peatlands which differed in nutrient sources and moisture conditions, and further analyzed the main factors driving the differences. The results showed that, in comparison with minerotrophic peatland, ombrotrophic peatland exhibited significantly higher soil water content (SWC), total carbon (TC), total nitrogen, C/P, and N/P ratios, by 715.0%, 42.8%, 38.9%, 84.2%, and 83.2%, respectively. Conversely, soil pH, total phosphorus, and microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) in ombrotrophic peatland were significantly lower than those in minerotrophic peatland by 25.9%, 25.0%, and 68.5%, respectively. Furthermore, the activities of acid phosphatase, β-1,4-glucosidase, β-1,4-N-acetylglucosaminidase, leucine aminopeptidase, and peroxidase in ombrotrophic peatland were all more than 1.2 times higher than those in minerotrophic peatland. However, phenol oxidase activity was significantly lower by 50%. Soil enzyme activity and stoichiometric ratios were significantly affected by SWC, pH, TC, C/P, N/P, MBN, and mineral-associated organic carbon. Both peatland types exhibited phosphorus limitation, which was more severe in ombrotrophic peatland. The study has yielded fundamental data on nutrient resource limitations in different nutritional types of peatlands and provided a scientific basis for maintaining the long-term stable deve-lopment of peatlands.

Predicting heavy metal concentration in crop grain using automated machine learning models

ZHANG Yexiang, CHEN Fengxian, ZHANG Yuhong, CHEN Xijuan

2025, 36(6):  1889-1897.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.018

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With the acceleration of industrialization and the intensification of agricultural activities, heavy metals (HMs) pollution in crops has become an issue that can not be ignored in current agricultural production. Based on 791 data sets from 54 publications, we predicted HMs concentrations in crop grains by using automated machine learning (AutoML) models. Ten factors were used as input variables: organic fertilizer application, HMs concentration in organic fertilizer, soil HMs concentration, soil organic matter, pH, cation exchange capacity, clay content, silt content, sand content and plant types. The concentrations of chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), arsenic (As) and mercury (Hg) in crop grains were set as output variables. We evaluated the simulation and prediction performance of six models: deep learning (DL), distributed random forest (DRF), extremely randomized trees (XRT), stacked ensemble (SE), gradient boosting machine (GBM) and generalized linear model (GLM), with which we analyzed the key factors driving heavy metal accumulation in crop grains. The results showed that the optimal prediction model differed for different HMs. The DL model provided the best prediction for Cr, Pb, As and Hg, while the GBM model achieved the highest prediction accuracy for Cd. Feature importance and SHAP analysis revealed that the application of organic fertilizer and plant type were the key factors influencing HMs accumulation in crop grains. Organic fertilizer application, soil HMs concentration, organic fertilizer HMs concentration, and sand content were positively correlated with HMs concentration in crop grains, while cation exchange capacity, pH, organic matter, and clay content were negatively correlated with heavy metal concentration in crop grains. In summary, the DL and GBM models performed better in predicting heavy metal concentrations in crop grains. The input risk of heavy metals during organic fertilizer application must be strictly controlled.

Construction of a benthic integrity index of benthic macroinvertebrates in the Shichuan River Basin, Northwest China and its health evaluation

ZHENG Haowei, HOU Yiming, GUAN Longyao, FENG Zhiyuan, HU En, ZHANG Xin, WANG Siquan, PAN Baozhu

2025, 36(6):  1898-1906.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.036

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The Shichuan River is a primary tributary of the Weihe River and the largest tributary of the Yellow River, which flows through the northern part of the Guanzhong Plain in Shaanxi Province. This region is characterized by a delicate and complex ecological environment. We conducted systematic aquatic ecological investigations on four rivers in the Shichuan River Basin in February 2022 (winter), May 2022 (spring), August 2023 (summer), and November 2023 (autumn). A total of 148 benthic macroinvertebrate species were recorded. The number of species followed the pattern of spring (85)>autumn (71)>winter (56)>summer (47). The average density (ind·m^-2) was in an order of autumn (91.2)>winter (88.9)>spring (53.9)>summer (41.9). The average biomass (g·m^-2) exhibited autumn (2.8)>winter (0.8)>spring (0.5)>summer (0.4). By conducting distribution range tests, discriminant analysis, and correlation analysis on 26 parameters of benthic animals in four seasons, we constructed a benthic integrity index (B-IBI) for the Shichuan River Basin. Subsequently, we evaluated the B-IBI health of 20 sampling points (5 reference points and 15 damaged points) which presented significant spatiotemporal variations in the biological integrity. The number of sampling points in a sub-healthy or healthy state in the Shichuan River Basin was in an order of autumn (13)>summer (11), winter (11)>spring (9), with the health condition being the best in autumn. Spatially, the number of sampling points in a sub-healthy or healthy state in the mountainous section (29) was greater than that in the plain section (15), and the health condition in the mountainous section was the better. Environmental factors affecting benthic community structure in all seasons included water depth, flow velocity, total phosphorus, ammonium nitrogen, conductivity, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, silicon, nitrate nitrogen, total nitrogen, and total dissolved solids. Our results could provide support for the ecological management and restoration of benthic macroinvertebrates in the Shichuan River Basin.

Distribution of Trichiurus japonicus resources in the coastal waters of Qingdao and its relationship with environmental factors

ZHAO Yifeng, ZHAO Tianya, WANG Peng, ZHANG Chongliang, XU Binduo, XUE Ying, JI Yupeng

2025, 36(6):  1907-1914.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.032

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Trichiurus japonicus, with strong reproductive capacity and rapid growth, is an important nearshore fishing target in Qingdao. The distribution characteristics of T. japonicus resources in Qingdao and their influencing factors are largely unknown, which is detrimental to the protection and utilization of these resources. Based on the bottom trawl survey data of fishery resources carried out in the coastal waters of Qingdao during the summer and autumn seasons from 2018 to 2022, in combination with the data of environmental and spatial factors such as bottom seawater temperature, bottom seawater salinity, water depth, longitude and latitude, we analyzed the spatio-temporal variations of T. japonicus resources in this sea area, and the relationship between the distribution of T. japonicus resources and related factors using the random forest model. There were interannual variations in the resource density of T. japonicus in the coastal waters of Qingdao. During the study period, the resource density of T. japonicus presented a trend of decline-rise-decline. The highest densities of both adult and juvenile resources (31.33 and 48.09 kg·km^-2) appeared in 2021, while the lowest densities (7.96 and 8.69 kg·km^-2) occurred in 2022. The average proportion of juvenile resource density generally exhibited an upward trend. The distribution of T. japonicus resources in the coastal waters of Qingdao exhibited certain regional disparities and was concentrated in the southwestern and northeastern area of the surveyed sea. Juveniles were distributed each year within the bay area in the northeastern area of the surveyed sea, and no juveniles were found in Jiaozhou Bay over the years. Adults were mainly distributed in the peripheral waters of the bays in the southwestern and northeastern area of the surveyed sea. Bottom water temperature and bottom salinity were the main factors influencing the distribution of juveniles, while longitude, depth, and latitude were the main influencing factors of adults. The suitable water temperature range for juveniles was 23-25.5 ℃, with 23 ℃ for adults. The optimal salinity for juveniles was 30.5, with 31.5 for adults. Both juvenile and adult were distributed in shallow waters within 30 meters.

Effects of S-methoprene on growth, development, and reproduction of Acyrthosiphon pisum

XIN Jiayu, ZHANG Tingwei, YUAN Yue, CHANG Jingwen, YU Fangwei

2025, 36(6):  1915-1922.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.033

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As an analogue of juvenile hormone, S-methoprene regulates the development, metamorphosis, and reproduction of insects by interfering with the normal metaboilic level of juvenile hormone in insects, and thus has been widely used as a biochemical insecticide. To clarify the effects of S-methoprene on the growth, development, and reproduction of Acyrthosiphon pisum, we measured the survival rate, developmental duration, adult body size, body weight, longevity, fecundity and reproductive system of A. pisum under different concentrations (0, 50, 100, 500, 1000 mg·L^-1) of S-methoprene by plant mediation in vitro. The results showed that S-methoprene treatment did not affect the survival rate and developmental duration of A. pisum, but had significant effects on body size, adult longevity and fecundity of A. pisum adult. With the increases of S-methoprene concentration, the proportion of sterile adult increased significantly, adult body size and weight decreased gradually, and the adult longevity and reproductive period shortened gradually. The average fecundity of per female and the average daily fecundity per female gradually decreased. At the concentration of 1000 mg·L^-1 S-methoprene, adult body weight (2.41 mg) was 1.30 mg lower than that of the control, and body length (3.74 mm), body width (1.34 mm), hind food tibia length (2.68 mm) and surface area (3.95 mm²) were 12.4%, 15.7%, 11.3% and 26.1% lower than those of the control. The number of sterile adult accounted for 50.9%, and the adult longevity (14.3 d) and reproductive period of A. pisum (12.2 d) were the shortest. The average fecundity of per female (83.5 ind) and the average daily fecundity of per female (6.8 ind·d^-1) were the lowest. Under S-methoprene treatments, the number of newly deve-loped embryos in the ovary of A. pisum adults significantly decreased, and the number of mature embryos with eye spots increased gradually and the appendages such as antennae and feet of mature embryos became more obvious, but the size of the first embryo was significantly reduced. The results showed that S-methoprene shortened adult longevity and decreased fecundity, and significantly inhibited the new embryo production and embryo size in the ovarian tubes of A. pisum. This study would provide a theoretical basis for the potential value of juvenile hormone analogues in regulating aphid population.

Reviews

Research advances in the regulatory mechanisms of root apoplast on mineral nutrition of plants

ZHAO Shuwen, HUA Jiamin, PAN Yinuo, HAN Yingxin, ZHENG Yawen, LIN Jixiang, YANG Qingjie, WANG Jinghong

2025, 36(6):  1923-1932.  doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202506.009

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Apoplast, composed of intercellular spaces, cell walls, and xylem vessels, plays a crucial role in nutrient transport, water transport, and cellulose synthesis, which also serves as a defense mechanism under stress. Mineral nutrients regulate the physiological and biochemical processes in plants and play a crucial role in the normal development of plants. Through its unique physical structure and chemical composition, root apoplast facilitates the absorption and translocation of mineral nutrients, including those typically difficult for plants to assimilate. We reviewed the structural characteristics of the apoplast, the influence of plant-microbe interactions on apoplastic regulation, and the mechanisms of mineral element absorption and transport under stress. It elucidates the regulatory role of apoplastic structure in mineral nutrient uptake and utilization of plants. Root apoplast efficiently modulates the absorption and translocation of mineral elements through cell wall adsorption, changes in intercellular pH, ion exchange, and the regulation of related genes. From a morphological perspective, we clarified the mechanism by which plants activate self-protection under abiotic stress.