Spatial openness affects the subjective evaluation of soundscape, landscape, and thermal perceptions, leading to various restoration effects and recreational behaviors. However, the literature lacks studies investigating the effects of multisensory interactions under different levels of spatial openness in plazas on users’ behaviors in urban greenways. Thus, this study contributes to the enhancement of recreational experiences and the environmental design of urban greenways by examining the interaction between multisensory evaluations and recreational behaviors in greenway plazas with different levels of spatial openness. Three types of plazas (enclosed, semi-enclosed, open) were selected along an urban greenway to analyze interactions through in situ measurements, questionnaires, and behavior observation. The results showed that people rated the environment as the quietest and coolest in enclosed plazas, although the sound pressure level of these plazas was the highest. Furthermore, the visual evaluation (VE) was mostly correlated with acoustic evaluation (AE) in plazas with high openness, while the correlation effect between AE and thermal evaluation (TE) was only significant in enclosed plazas. In other words, AE was the key factor targeting the improvement in comfort in greenway plazas. Secondly, improving AE was more effective for stimulating the frequency of interactive activities in enclosed plazas, compared to improving TE. However, AE had a negative effect on the time that people were willing to spend on interactive activities in semi-enclosed plazas. Finally, these findings provide corresponding strategies for creating comfortable audio, visual, and thermal environments in greenway plazas with different levels of openness, as well as strategies for enhancing the recreational experiences of visitors.

The quantitative analysis of key factors influencing the erosion resistance characteristics of colluvial zone soil is a prerequisite for accurately assessing the erosion resistance ability of the soil. Therefore, this study focuses on the reservoir erosion zone of the Guanyinyan Reservoir area in the Jinsha River Basin, which is a large hydropower station. The physicochemical characteristics of the colluvial zone soil (bulk density, moisture content, total porosity, soil texture, pH, organic matter content, and aggregate stability) as well as erosion resistance capabilities (soil erodibility factor K and shear strength) with variations in water level elevation (low, middle, and high elevations) were analyzed. This study quantitatively evaluated the relative importance of soil physicochemical characteristics to soil erosion resistance, identified key influencing factors, and subsequently constructed a comprehensive evaluation model for soil erosion resistance. The research results indicate that: 1) Redundancy analysis (RDA) and correlation analysis reveal that the soil erodibility factor K is significantly negatively correlated (P < 0.01) with total porosity, sand content, organic matter, mean weight diameter (MWD), geometric mean diameter (GMD), water-stable aggregates larger than 0.25 mm (WSA0.25), and dry-sieved aggregates larger than 0.25 mm (DSA0.25). It is also significantly positively correlated (P < 0.01) with percentage of aggregate destruction for aggregates larger than 0.25 mm (PAD), the silt content, and the clay content. However, it was not significantly correlated with the bulk density, moisture content, or pH. The soil shear strength is significantly negatively correlated (P < 0.05) with the moisture content, clay content, and soil erodibility factor K. The shear soil strength is significantly positively correlated (P < 0.05) with the MWD and DSA0.25. 2) Fourteen erosion resistance indicators of the colluvial zone soil in the Guanyinyan Reservoir area were selected, and a comprehensive evaluation model for soil erosion resistance was established on the basis of Principal Component Analysis (PCA). 3) The Comprehensive Soil Erosion Index (CSEI) in the Jinping Gaunyinyan Reservoir erosion zone varies between 0.082 and 0.942 with changes in water level elevation. For different elevations, the comprehensive soil erosion indices are as follows: high (root zone soil)

Rootstock plays an important role in production of grafted watermelon plant. However, the sugars, organic acids, and internal bacterial communities associated with the grafted watermelon fruit are currently unknown. In this study, the effect of grafting with pumpkin and bottle gourd rootstocks on the quality and bacterial community structure shift in watermelon fruit were analyzed by using Illumina MiSeq sequencing. Results showed that grafting with pumpkin and bottle gourd rootstocks increased the nutrient uptake and positively affected the contents of soluble sugars and organic acids of the grafted watermelon fruit. Pumpkin and bottle gourd rootstocks have different effects on the transformation of sugarsand acids. Grafting with pumpkin and gourd rootstocks significantly (P < 0.05) increased the succinic, citric, shikimic, and tartaric acids in the fruit. Grafting with rootstocks was correlated with the shift of the bacterial community structures in the fruit. Further, nitrogen and phosphorus have greater effects on the bacterial community than potassium. The most predominant bacterial groups were Proteobacteria and Cyanobacteria. In addition sugar accumulation in the grafted watermelon fruit was correlated with its bacterial compositions. This study provides a new understanding of the fruit quality of grafted watermelon plant, and the findings are helpful in the breeding and application of suitable rootstocks.

Replacing conventional chemical binders with natural polymers in geotechnically treated soil allows for the creation of more sustainable materials with both valuable ecological and mechanical properties. Xanthan gum and sodium alginate are natural polymers with excellent binding properties and water retention, which can help reduce carbon emissions. However, there is a lack of research on how to achieve optimal performance through the rational formulation of different biopolymers. This study investigates the use of these two natural biopolymers as binders (xanthan gum and sodium alginate) in slope-protection habitats treated with soil optimised using response surface methodology (RSM) within Design-Expert analysis software. The effects of xanthan gum concentration, sodium alginate concentration, and time, as well as their interactions on the properties of treated soil, ryegrass growth, and soil greenhouse gas emissions were evaluated, resulting in an optimized substrate formulation that balances good geotechnical properties with low environmental impact. Pot cultivation trials indicated that cohesion (c) and internal friction angle (phi) increased linearly with rising xanthan gum and sodium alginate concentrations, while the number of ryegrass plants (Np) and root area ratio (RAR) decreased linearly with increasing binder concentration. Both CO2 and CH4 fluxes increased with rising binder concentrations. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that xanthan gum concentration had a stronger promoting effect on c and phi and a stronger inhibiting effect on Np and RAR than sodium alginate. In contrast, sodium alginate concentration exhibited a stronger inhibitory effect on CO2 and CH4 fluxes. Through comprehensive optimization of geotechnical properties, vegetation growth, and greenhouse gas emissions, the optimal formulation was determined to be 0.885% for xanthan gum and 0.791% for alginate. The optimized composition resulted in increases of 38.6% and 19.1% for c and phi, respectively, while Np and RAR increased by 7.7% and 15.0%, respectively. CO2 and CH4 fluxes decreased by 61.6% and 65.2%, respectively. This study contributes to advancing the sustainability of geotechnical treatments to favour vegetation regrowth. However, these materials will need to be further tested under field conditions to verify their effectiveness and duration.

Benthic macroinvertebrates are widely used as bioindicators for assessing freshwater eco-system health. This study investigated the diversity patterns and community structure of benthic macroinvertebrates across 21 sampling sites along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. A total of 74 species belonging to 3 phyla, 7 classes, 17 orders, 37 families, and 58 genera were identified, with aquatic insects dominating the assemblages. Alpha diversity indices showed no significant differences among river sections, whereas multivariate analyses (NMDS and PERMANOVA) revealed significant spatial variation in community composition, indicating that beta diversity plays a key role in structuring as-semblages at the basin scale. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) identified nutrient variables (TN and NH₄⁺-N), as well as pH and conductivity, as the main environmental drivers influencing community distribution. The results suggest that benthic macroinver-tebrate diversity patterns in large river systems are jointly shaped by regional environ-mental gradients and local habitat conditions. These findings provide insights into biodi-versity conservation and ecological management of large river ecosystems.

This study aimed to reveal the rhizosphere microbial community structure, carbon-nitrogen-phosphorus (C-N-P) nutrient cycling processes, and functional gene characteristics of Pinus massoniana and Schima superba in mixed forests. Furthermore, we sought to elucidate the microbial mechanisms by which mixed-species afforestation enhances soil quality improvement, providing a theoretical basis in soil microbiology for the cultivation of these mixed forests. The research subjects included pure P. massoniana plantations (CLPs), pure S. superba plantations (CLSs), and individual P. massoniana (HJP) and S. superba (HJS) trees within mixed plantations (HJLs). We collected rhizosphere and bulk soil samples to analyze their physicochemical properties and enzyme activities. Metagenomic sequencing was employed to profile the rhizosphere microbial communities and functional genes involved in C-N-P cycling. Furthermore, by integrating a functional gene co-occurrence network analysis with structural equation modeling (SEM), we systematically elucidated the coupling relationships among the stand types, soil properties, microbial communities, and nutrient cycling. Mixed planting significantly improved soil quality; compared to the CLP and CLS forests, the nitrate nitrogen (NO3--N) content in the mixed forest soils increased by 121.01% and 120.10% (p < 0.05), and the activity of urease (URE) also significantly increased by 123.99% and 49.56%, respectively. Mixing significantly altered the microbial community structure. In the bacterial community of the mixed forests, the abundance of nitrogen-fixing and potentially phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria from the genera Paraburkholderia and Burkholderia increased. In the fungal community, the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Rhizophagus, which possesses a nutrient absorption advantage, exhibited absolute dominance, with its relative abundance ranging from 14.84% to 88.81%. The abundances of genes associated with denitrification and phosphorus starvation regulation were significantly upregulated in the mixed forests; notably, the abundance of phosphorus starvation regulation genes in the HJSs was 18.84% higher than that in the CLSs. A co-occurrence network analysis demonstrated that the proportion of positive correlation edges in the HJP nitrogen cycling network reached as high as 75.0%, and the average degree of the HJS phosphorus cycling network (2.691) surpassed that of the CLSs. The structural equation modeling further revealed that the association strength between the fungi and phosphorus cycling genes in the mixed forests increased to R-2 = 0.915 (p < 0.01) from R-2 = 0.213 in the pure forests. This mixed planting practice transforms nutrient cycling from a resource-competitive mode to a microbially synergized mode, thereby forming an efficient endogenous nutrient cycling system. This synergistic rhizosphere microbial effect is a key internal mechanism for overcoming nutrient bottlenecks and should serve as a diagnostic indicator of soil recovery in the ecological restoration of degraded pine forests.

The persistent mismatch between the supply of ecosystem services (ES) and stakeholder demand remains a critical obstacle to effective ecosystem management. Previous studies have often failed to integrate the objective supply of ES with subjective stakeholder preferences within a unified spatial framework. In this study, we addressed this gap using the Shennongjia Forest Region (SNJFR) in China as a case study. We quantified the spatial supply of five key ESs (carbon sequestration, water yield, soil conservation, habitat quality, and leisure tourism) and evaluated the preferences for 23 ES types among four principal stakeholder groups (community residents, individual operators, government officials, and tourists; n = 120) using Q-methodology. A composite index based on multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) was then constructed to assess the spatial alignment between supply and demand. Our results revealed a distinct spatial gradient in the SNJFR, where the supply of the five key ESs was concentrated in the central region, diminishing toward the periphery. Conversely, stakeholder preferences clustered around four thematic perspectives: tourism culture, liveability, production-living, and ecological conservation. Notably, the tourism culture perspective received the strongest support (45.92%), indicating that cultural services are highly prioritized by stakeholders compared to regulating and supporting services. Crucially, the spatial matching analysis highlighted discrepancies between high-preference areas and actual service provision. Based on the MCDA, we delineated the region into three functional zones: comprehensive urban development, ecotourism-dominated, and ecological barrier protection. Our findings reveal divergent stakeholder feedback on zoning and development priorities. Decision-makers must reconcile these disparities during the zoning process to foster sustainable management, particularly in resource-rich and spatially heterogeneous regions.

Addressing global climate change and achieving China's "Dual Carbon" strategic goals require enhancing the soil carbon sink function of terrestrial ecosystems. Agroforestry, as a sustainable land management practice, promotes soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration and soil carbon storage potential by strengthening plant-microbe interactions. However, the specific mechanisms through which plant-microbe interactions regulate the input, transformation, and stabilization of SOC remain poorly understood. Focusing on the "input-transformation-protection" pathway of soil carbon, we systematically elucidated recent advances in understanding how plant-microbe interactions regulate SOC in agroforestry systems. At the input stage, diverse plant species combinations in agroforestry systems optimize the supply of plant-derived carbon. At the transformation stage, rhizosphere microenvironment drives the changes in microbial community structure, metabolic function, and ecological strategy, and thereby enhancies carbon transformation and stabilization efficiency via the microbial carbon pump (MCP). At the protection stage, roots and fungi synergistically promote the formation of soil aggregate structures that protect newly formed carbon. Microbes play a vital role in mediating plant-soil carbon sequestration. Future efforts should strengthen long-term monitoring on deep soil carbon dynamics, deepen the understanding of complex feedback mechanisms among plants, microbes, and soil, and integrate ecological models with multi-omics technologies, which together would provide a theoretical foundation for optimizing carbon management strategies in agroforestry systems under global climate change.

Understanding the synergistic mechanism between root mechanical effects and soil ecological effects is essential for revealing the dynamic evolution of root reinforcement. However, how this synergy evolves with plant growth stages remains unclear. To address this, a 360-day outdoor experiment was conducted using three herbaceous species: Cynodon dactylon, Trifolium repens, and Lolium perenne. Root-soil composites, unrooted soils, and intact roots were sampled at seven intervals for the measurement of disintegration rate, shear strength, soil physicochemical properties, root morphology, and root mechanical properties. Principal component analysis (PCA) identified organic matter, tensile force, and root length density as key loading factors. The results revealed a clear stage-dependent synergy: during the early stage (30–90 days), root mechanical effects (root winding and tensile force) dominated reinforcement; during the mid-to-late stage (90–360 days), soil ecological effects (organic matter accumulation and aggregate stability) progressively strengthened and co-drove reinforcement together with root traits. This dynamic synergy explained the overall reinforcement order (L. perenne >T. repens > C. dactylon) and the distinct decline observed on day 270 due to growth cycles. Notably, L. perenne exhibited earlier establishment advantages, whereas T. repens showed greater reinforcement potential than C. dactylon during the later stages. The PCA-based Y-values (0.92–5.83) integrated both effects. It is concluded that root reinforcement evolves from a mechanically dominated phase to a mechanically-ecological synergistic phase. This stage-dependent synergy pattern provides a mechanistic basis for the dynamic evaluation of root reinforcement and for vegetation selection according to soil stabilization requirements at different growth stages.

As the construction of national parks progresses, core stakeholders evaluate the gap between their actual outcomes and their psychological expectations across economic, social, cultural, and ecological dimensions. Drawing on expectation disconfirmation theory, this study conceptualizes this cognitive gap as expectation disconfirmation, defined from a subjective perspective as the extent to which stakeholders' psychological expectations remain unmet, reflected in the degree of negative disconfirmation. This study, based on the pilot area of Shennongjia National Park in Hubei Province, China, employs structural equation modeling to systematically examine the direct and indirect pathways among three categories of core stakeholders (N = 605). The analysis focuses on economic expectation disconfirmation (EED), social expectation disconfirmation (SED), cultural expectation disconfirmation (CED), and ecological expectation disconfirmation (EcED), and their relationships with stakeholder satisfaction and participation intention. The results indicate that (1) During the construction of the national park, different types of stakeholders exhibit both shared and distinct patterns of expectation disconfirmation. Among these, EED and SED consistently merged as the primary dimensions prioritized across groups. (2) CED varied significantly among stakeholder groups, with notable differences in its influence on satisfaction and participation intention. Specifically, for land users, the pathway linking CED to satisfaction and participation intention was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). In contrast, for individual operators and government officials, CED showed a significant indirect pathway association with participation intention through satisfaction (p < 0.05). (3) For land users, ED, SED, and EcED all exhibited significant negative associations with lower levels of satisfaction and weaker participation intention. Among individual operators and government officials, the relationship between expectation disconfirmation and participation intention is primarily mediated by satisfaction, underscoring its crucial role in shaping stakeholder engagement. (4) Furthermore, there was a significant positive pathway association between satisfaction and participation intention (p < 0.01). Within the cross-sectional research framework, the findings indicate a systematic relationship among the levels of expectation disconfirmation of different stakeholders, satisfaction, and participation intention, providing empirical insights into exploring stakeholder participation mechanisms in national park community governance.

Green spaces in subtropical cities are important for providing ecological services that support human well-being and serve as reservoirs for diverse microbial communities, which in turn support ecosystem functions. However, studies on the characteristics of the phyllosphere microbial community and public health risks associated with putative pathogens in various urban green spaces exposed to anthropogenic stress remain limited. To address this gap, we collected leaf samples from forests, greenbelts, parklands, and wetlands across Wuhan, China, and analyzed the bacterial and fungal communities via next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques. For bacterial and fungal communities, alpha diversity was significantly greater in low-traffic zones than in high-traffic zones. Beta diversity analysis revealed distinct clustering of bacterial and fungal communities according to the urban green space type. Anthropogenic factors (foot traffic) influence green space type to shape microbial community structure, function, and stability, with shifts significantly associated with soil physicochemical properties via Mantel tests and redundancy analysis. The relative abundance of Enterobacter and Enterococcus was significantly greater in high-intensity parklands (HIPS) and high-intensity greenbelts (HIGS) (41.84, 38.32%), respectively. Our findings provide important information for the sustainable management of urban green spaces by regulating microbial communities, offering new insights into ecosystem health and human well-being.

Soil structural instability in reservoir riparian zones, induced by water level fluctuations, threatens sustainable land use by accelerating land degradation. This study examined the impact of water-level variations on soil aggregate composition and stability based on key indicators, including water-stable aggregate content (WSAC), mean weight diameter (MWD), and geometric mean diameter (GMD). The Savinov dry sieving, Yoder wet sieving, and Le Bissonnais (LB) methods were employed for analysis. Results indicated that, with decreasing water levels and increasing soil layer, aggregates larger than 5 mm decreased, while aggregates smaller than 0.25 mm increased. Rising water levels and increasing soil layer corresponded to reductions in soil stability indicators (MWD, GMD, and WSAC), highlighting a trend toward soil structural instability. The LB method revealed the lowest aggregate stability under rapid wetting and the highest under slow wetting conditions. Correlation analysis showed that soil organic matter positively correlated with the relative mechanical breakdown index (RMI) (p < 0.05) and negatively correlated with the relative slaking index (RSI), whereas soil pH was negatively correlated with both RMI and RSI (p < 0.05). Comparative analysis of aggregate stability methods demonstrated that results from the dry sieving method closely resembled those from the SW treatment of the LB method, whereas the wet sieving method closely aligned with the FW (Fast Wetting) treatment of the LB method. The Le Bissonnais method not only reflected the outcomes of dry and wet sieving methods but also effectively distinguished the mechanisms of aggregate breakdown. The study concluded that prolonged flooding intensified aggregate dispersion, with mechanical breakdown influenced by water levels and soil layer. Dispersion and mechanical breakdown represent primary mechanisms of soil aggregate instability, further exacerbated by fluctuating water levels. By elucidating degradation mechanisms, this research provides actionable insights for preserving soil health, safeguarding water resources, and promoting sustainable agricultural in ecologically vulnerable reservoir regions of the Yangtze River Basin.

TSU (territorial space use) constitutes the foundational behavior of human economic and social activities upon the land. Investigating the threshold effect of multi-scale TSU on LES (land ecological security) is essential for scientifically constructing a border ecological barrier management system within the framework of integrated development and security planning. Currently, spatial governance of territorial space in China's border areas utilizes the ''three districts and three lines'' as its core framework, implementing rigid spatial controls through the ecological protection red line, cultivated land and permanent basic farmland boundaries, and the urban development boundary. Concurrently, the main functional area strategy is employed to promote differentiated development. However, these border areas face dual pressures stemming from ecological fragility and intensive human activity: the northern border is threatened by ecological degradation in arid regions; soil erosion affects more than half of the northwest border area; and rocky desertification in the southwest border region contributes to the desertification of cultivated land and the loss of soil fertility. Consequently, a significant spatial mismatch and structural imbalance exist between land use patterns and ecological security requirements.By employing a BRT (Boosted Regression Trees) model and SEM (Structural Equation Model), this study identified and categorized the influence of major TSU types on LES. Subsequently, hierarchical governance of LES thresholds was implemented through SLR (Segmented Linear Regression). Concurrently, we employ the SOM-K-means clustering method to execute zonal control of the predominant types of TSU. The results show that (1) from 2008 to 2023, the proportion of OE (Other ecological space) in the types of TSU is the highest at 32.764 ​%, which is concentrated in the Northern border and the Northwestern border; OE→ WE (Water ecological space) reflects the systematic tendency of transformation; and the spatial transfer of the three regions is mainly dominated by Agriculture→Urban and Ecology→Urban. (2) From 2008 to 2023, LES at different scales is characterized by ‘high in the North and low in the West,’ and SP (Social protection), EM (Economic drive), and SS (Ecological support) in each border region show strong effects on LES, with AP (Agricultural production space), GE (Grassland ecological space), OE, and FE (Forest ecological space) thresholds for LES of 0.457, 0.425, 0.330 and 0.345, respectively, 0.330, 0.348. (3) In 2023, the grid scale is mainly dominated by WE, FE, AP et al., and the distribution of its KCA (key conservation areas) is as high as 38.713 ​%; the county and city scales are mainly composed of FEL (Forest ecological space dominant type), APL(Agricultural production space dominant type), GEL (Grassland ecological space dominant type), and OEL (Other ecological space dominant type) to form the spatial pattern of the territorial space, and the RRA (remediation and restoration areas) of the county have the highest percentage (42.244 ​%), and the KCA of the city area account for 37.686 ​%. In light of the integrated governance zoning characterized by 'Zonal control ​+ ​hierarchical governance,' we propose a nuanced governance approach termed 'grid-county-city.' This approach seeks to offer a foundational theoretical framework and decision-making benchmark for the sustainable utilization of territorial space, as well as for harmonizing security and development in border regions.

Urban green spaces provide extensive ecosystem services and societal benefits. However, the soil microbiota that underpins these functions remains poorly understood in the context of anthropogenic pressures. Although microbial communities drive nutrient cycling, plant health, and pollutant degradation, their distribution and assembly mechanisms in heterogeneous urban landscapes remain unresolved. Using Illumina sequencing, we characterized bacterial and fungal communities in soils from forests, greenbelts, parklands, and wetlands in highand low-intensity human traffic zones. Alpha diversity was significantly higher in the low-traffic zones. Beta diversity analysis revealed distinct clustering of bacterial and fungal communities by green space type. Human traffic intensity interacted with green space type to shape microbial community structure, functional potential, and diversity stability relationships, with shifts strongly correlated with soil physicochemical properties. Community assembly analysis demonstrated that stochastic processes dominated bacterial assembly, whereas the fungal community exhibited more substantial dispersal limitation. Our findings suggest that fungi are more sensitive to the fragmentation of anthropogenic habitats. Our study established a critical link between urban zones, human activity, and soil microbial communities. As global urbanization accelerates and demand for green spaces rises, understanding how urban planning and anthropogenic pressures shape these communities is essential for sustainable ecosystem management.

Tomato root soil quality and microbial community composition are important for improving fruit quality. However, the effect of biochar and soil amendment on tomato fruit quality and root soil characteristics under greenhouse production has been insufficiently explored. In this study, the fruit quality and bacterial communities in tomato root soil and fruit subjected to biochar and soil amendment were analyzed using Illumina sequencing. The results showed that the application of biochar and soil amendment increased the available phosphorous in tomato greenhouse soils, ranging from 49.37 to 52.02 mg kg −1 . Biochar greatly affected the fruit quality, such as the lutein content (1.55 μg g −1 ). The potassium content in the fruits was higher than that of nitrogen and phosphorous, reaching 1.59 g kg −1 . The addition of biochar and soil amendment promoted the abundance of Bacteroidota, Actinobacteriota, and Firmicutes at the phylum level in the tomato fruits. However, biochar and soil amendment slightly reduced the number of Proteobacteria in the fruits. This study provides new insights into practical strategies for promoting tomato fruit quality and soil condition.

Understanding the spatial distribution characteristics and underling mechanisms of taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity is crucial for advancing global biodiversity conservation. Here, we investigated the latitudinal and longitudinal patterns of multifaceted biodiversity of montane forest in a biodiversity hotspot, South-Central China. Multiple linear regression and hierarchical analysis were used to identify the critical factors affecting biodiversity. The results concluded that the latitudinal patterns of taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity were congruent with the latitudinal diversity gradient from the equator to the poles. Climatic and edaphic factors, particularly precipitation, played a crucial role in spatial patterns of biodiversity. Climatic and edaphic variables simultaneously explained 48%-66% of the spatial variation of multidimensional diversity, except Rao’s phylogenetic quadratic entropy. There were significant associations among multiple measures of diversity in subtropical montane forests. High water availability and low seasonal variation underlie the greater coexistence of tree species at low latitudes. These results present robust evidence for congruent latitudinal patterns of taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity, and provide a striking explanation that the same filtering effects of precipitation result in positive relationships among multifaceted diversity. Species richness might be a reliable indicator of taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity, and may be reasonably applied for conservation planning and forest management in subtropical montane regions.

Intracellular and cell wall metabolites of cotton fiber cells are believed to influence processes of cell elongation and cell wall synthesis, which have a profound effect on mature fiber length. However, the role of metabolites on fiber length remains unclear. Here, a metabolite-based genome-wide association study was applied for association analysis between intracellular or cell wall metabolites and fiber quality traits using a population of 251 cotton accessions. Based on the 857 metabolites detected in 15 days post anthesis (DPA) fiber, 1470 mQTLs were identified in association with 193 metabolites. An mQTL hotspot, qA06:85-96.2 Mb, had a strong association with most metabolites characterized as oligopeptides, amino acids (AA), and AA derivatives, which were positively correlated with mature fiber length but were negatively correlated with secondary cell wall deposition. Among the 11 cell wall polysaccharides from 20 DPA fiber samples, 8 polysaccharides shared a co-localized fiber length controlling QTL qFL9/qCel2. Knockout of the candidate gene KIP-RELATED PROTEIN 6 (KRP6) generated short fibers with more cellulose deposition in the fiber cell wall. However, KRP6G-overexpressing plants showed the opposite change. This study revealed the characteristics and genetic basis of intracellular and cell wall metabolites in developing cotton fiber. It provided insights into mature fiber quality improvement through metabolic manipulation.

This study aimed to investigate the relationships between the mechanical properties of plant roots and the soil reinforcement characteristics of the dominant species in the dominant riparian plants under various flooding durations. The objective was to comprehensively evaluate the optimal flooding duration for each plant under various flooding durations. This research was conducted to provide a scientific basis for plant restoration efforts. The primary focus of the study was on common species found in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including Carex, Cynodon, and Eleusine. These species were cultivated in a local field setting and subsequently subjected to flooding tests of varying durations. The diameter of the root system gradually increases with prolonged flooding duration, while other root morphologies exhibit a trend of initially increasing and then decreasing. The flooding environment significantly influences the relationship between root diameter and the mechanical properties of the roots. This condition adversely affects Carex, whereas it has a beneficial impact on Cynodon and Eleusine. During the early stages of flooding, the shear strength of the plant root–soil complex increases; Carex is optimally applied in the restoration and protection of areas subjected to three to four months of flooding, with its ornamental value being particularly pronounced. Cynodon performs best in areas with up to six months of flooding, Eleusine is especially effective in regions with less than two months of flooding.

Clarifying the ecosystem service supply-demand relationship (ESSD) in response to environmental change forms the scientific foundation for ecological restoration strategies. Although ecological restoration effectively enhances ecosystem stability and promotes the sustainable provision, its impacts on ESSD remain unclear under coupled complex topography and diverse human activities. Focusing on the Jiuwanxi small watershed (JSW) in China's Three Gorges Reservoir Area, we quantified the spatiotemporal dynamics of five key ESSDs: grain production (GP), water yield (WY), soil retention (SR), water purification (WP), and carbon sequestration (CS), from 2001 to 2021. We integrated resident surveys with multi-source remote sensing data (Landsat 7 and Sentinel-2), and applied XGBoost-SHAP models to characterize the impacts of forest restoration and other variables on ESSD in a mountainous watershed. The results indicate that the forest area in the JSW increased by 24.82 % during 2001-2021. The supply of most ecosystem services improved across the watershed, with SR and WY exhibiting the most significant enhancement. In contrast, both GP supply and the demand for all ecosystem services declined substantially. The ESSD trends exhibited variations between watershed and village scales: at the watershed scale, all ecosystem service supply-demand ratios (ESDR) increased, with SR increasing by up to 591.69 %; whereas at the village scale, ESDR declines occurred for GP and CS in 28 % and 16 % of villages, respectively. Precipitation and forest area proportion were primary ESDR drivers, but cross-sectional analysis overestimated meteorological factors and ignored forest restoration's time-lag effects. Dynamic analysis showed forest area proportion changes most strongly correlated with ESDR variations, demonstrating restoration's efficacy in ESSD regulation. Consequently, the time-lag effects and spatial heterogeneity of forest restoration on ESSD in mountain watersheds must be comprehensively considered. Differentiated restoration strategies should be implemented based on topographic and socioeconomic factors to optimize the"high-altitude conservation, mid-altitude restoration, and low-altitude development" vertical spatial pattern. These findings provide a reference for sustainable ecological restoration in similar mountainous regions.

Cotton fiber is one of the main raw materials for the textile industry. In recent years, many cotton fiber quality QTL have been identified, but few were applied in breeding. In this study, a genome wide association study (GWAS) of fiber-quality traits in 265 upland cotton breeding intermediate lines (GhBreeding), combined with genome-wide selective sweep analysis (GSSA) and genomic selection (GS), revealed 25 QTL. Most of these QTL were ignored by only using GWAS. The CRISPR/Cas9 mutants of GhMYB_D13 had shorter fiber, which indicates the credibility of QTL to a certain extent. Then these QTL were verified in other cotton natural populations, 5 stable QTL were found having broad potential for application in breeding. Additionally, among these 5 stable QTL, superior genotypes of 4 showed an enrichment in most improved new varieties widely cultivated currently. These findings provide insights for how to identify more QTL through combined multiple genomic analysis to apply in breeding.