News
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2026-03-12Decodes the Genetic Architecture of Jade Vine’s Rare Turquoise BloomsBlue-green (turquoise) flowers are rare in nature. A haplotype-resolved telomere-to-telomere genome reveals that the bird-shaped turquoise flowers of Strongylodon macrobotrys (jade vine) arise from co-pigmentation between malvin (an anthocyanin) and saponarin (a flavonoid), shaped by genome dynamics and geological event–associated LTR expansions. Flowers represent one of the most remarkable evolutionary innovations in angiosperms. Among the vast diversity of floral colors, turquoise stands out as one of the rarest hues in nature. The diversification of floral pigmentation not only mediates the co-evolutionary interactions between plants and their pollinators but also plays a key role in ...Read More -
2026-03-10The Trade-off between Microbial Functionality and Evolutionary Flexibility under UrbanizationUrban parks promoted microbial functionality while concurrently reducing genomic size and evolutionary flexibility, suggesting that urbanization drives microbial communities toward functional specialization at the expense of their adaptive capacity. By contrast, forest soils maintained greater genomic diversity, which likely underpins enhanced r... Urban parks are a vital component of urban ecosystems and provide distinctive habitats for soil microorganisms. Yet under rapid urbanization, it remains unclear whether—and how—the functional diversity and evolutionary potential of microbial communities are being reshaped.By systematically comparing soil microbiomes in urban parks and natural ...Read More -
2026-03-09Contrasting responses of soil silicon forms to different nitrogen−addition approachesInvestigating the impacts of chronic atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition on soil silicon (Si) forms is critical for predicting terrestrial Si biogeochemistry, but the influence of N deposition on soil Si forms in subtropical forests is vague.Here, Yu et al. (2026) evaluated the impacts of 12 year’s canopy and understory N−addition on soil Si f... Atmospheric N deposition caused by human activities has dramatically affected terrestrial ecosystem Si cycling, especially in tropical and subtropical forests. Soil Si dynamics play important roles in plant growth and defense and are tightly linked to silicates weathering processes, with direct consequences on carbon dioxide (CO2) consumption. M...Read More -
2026-03-09Global change reshapes glomalin-mediated soil carbon sequestration by influencing plant inputsThrough a meta-analysis of 529 observations from 122 studies worldwide, we found that nitrogen and phosphorus additions, their co-application, and forest restoration significantly increased both easily extractable and total glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP) by alleviating nutrient limitations and stimulating plant inputs and arbuscular mycorr... Glomalin-related soil proteins (GRSP), key metabolites secreted by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), are renowned as the "super glue" maintaining soil organic carbon (SOC) stability. However, under the backdrop of global climate change, the dynamic responses of this critical protein have not yet been quantified on a global scale.Based on a met...Read More -
2026-02-14Elevation Aggravates Phosphorus Limitation of Soil Microorganisms in Tropical ForestsAcross tropical forest elevational gradients, soil microorganisms exhibit pervasive phosphorus limitation that intensifies with increasing elevation. Lower temperatures at higher elevations constrain phosphorus release while enhancing microbial investment in P-acquiring enzymes, with important implications for soil carbon cycling under climate c... Researchers from the Ecology and Environmental Science Center of the South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with international partners, have demonstrated that soil microorganisms in tropical forests are widely constrained by phosphorus (P) availability, and that this limitation becomes significantly stronger...Read More -
2026-02-08Significant Progress in Nitrogen Form Regulation for Soil Nutrients and Vegetation Restoration on Tropical Coral IslandsThe form of nitrogen fertilizer significantly impacts its efficacy, yet the optimal form for tropical coral islands remains unclear. This study found that nitrate-nitrogen provides greater benefits to both the soil properties and plant growth on these islands. Tropical coral island soils suffer from high alkalinity and poor nutrient holding capacity, making nitrogen a critically limiting factor for plant life. While traditional restoration efforts often involve heavy fertilizer use, this approach risks severe nitrogen loss and environmental damage. Recently, a team from the Xiaoliang Research Station ...Read More -
2026-02-08The Microbial Mechanisms by Which Spartina alterniflora Invasion Weakens Carbon Sequestration in Coastal WetlandsSpartina alterniflora has rapidly expanded in China’s coastal wetlands, but its effects on methane emissions remain unclear. Using one-year in situ monitoring and integrated biogeochemical and microbial analyses, this study shows that Spartina invasion increases soil methane emissions by enhancing labile organic matter and altering methane-cycl... Spartina alterniflora is one of the most rapidly expanding invasive plant species in China’s coastal wetlands over recent decades. Owing to its fast growth rate and substantial organic matter inputs, this species has the potential to profoundly alter soil carbon cycling processes. However, whether and how S. alterniflora invasion modifies metha...Read More -
2026-01-29Scientific Breakthrough in Blue Carbon: Mangrove Restoration Enhances Soil Carbon Sequestration via Microbial PathwaysMangrove restoration significantly enhances microbial carbon use efficiency and promotes microbial necromass carbon accumulation by improving organic carbon quality and driving a shift in microbial community from r-strategists to K-strategists. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating microbial processes into restoration strategi... A recent study led by researchers (Prof. WANG Faming, Dr. HUANG Xingyun, and so on) at the Xiaoliang Experimental Station has shed new light on the crucial role of soil microbes in carbon sequestration during mangrove restoration, providing a novel microbial-driven perspective for enhancing "Blue Carbon" sinks.Published in the Journal of Plant E...Read More