Spartina alterniflora，originating in North America, has been introduced to China and has now invaded many inter-tidal zones of gulfs and estuaries in China. With its spread, Scirpus mariqueter,a native grass species, has experienced a concurrent decrease in area. Based on field investigation at Chongming Dongtan Wetland and potted plant competition experiments at Fudan University, we compared growth characteristics and relative competitive ability between the two species. The results indicated that in terms of height, coverage, above-ground biomass, below-ground biomass, and mean seed number per spike, values for Spartina alterniflora were all significantly higher than those of Scirpus mariqueter.However, the density and number of flowering tillers per square meter for Spartina alterniflora were significantly lower than those of Scirpus mariqueter.In terms of seed output per square meter and seed germination rate, there were no significant differences between the mature populations of the two species. Both interspecific and intraspecific competition between Spartina alterniflora and Scirpus mariqueter remarkably reduced the number of ramets, the proportion of fruiting ramets, the above-ground biomass and the number of corms (only Scirpus mariqueter has corms). The interspecific relative competitive ability (measured as relative neighbour effect index, RNE) of Spartina alterniflora was significantly greater than that of Scirpus mariqueter. The obvious growing advantage of Spartina alterniflora compared with Scirpus mariqueter might explain its greater interspecific competitive ability, which might explain its successful invasiveness into the native Scirpus mariqueter community in the Yangtze River estuary.

An ecological regionalization system was developed for the arid lands of northwestern China based on ecological and environmental factors, including climate, large-scale terrain features, landform, geology, vegetation, and soils, in combination with characteristics of social and economic development. The region was stratified into discrete geographical units of uniformity at three levels: Level I, the ecodomain, was based on climate and large-scale terrain features with consideration of the role of higher levels of regionalization and industrial development; Level II, the ecoregion, was based primarily on secondary landform, topography and large-scale vegetation types; and, Level III, the ecodistrict, was based on differences in local vegetation due to differences in geology and soils, as well as its eco-productive paradigm and potential future development. Based on this three-class system, we defined three ecodomains, 23 ecoregions and 80 ecodistricts. An ecoregional map of northwestern arid lands of China was drawn at 1∶1 million scale using GIS. The goals of the ecological regionalization classification were not only to develop a unique system of arid land ecological classification, but also to supervise local development and land use management to promote sustainable development of arid lands in northwestern China.

Understanding species coexistence and the maintenance of biodiversity has long been the central interest of ecologists. The niche-based theory of community assembly has dominated community ecology for nearly a century, yet understanding of the mechanisms of species coexistence has remained elusive. The newly developed neutral theory of biodiversity has offered a promising alternative to the niche paradigm. The analytical elegance and simplicity of the neutral theory and its predictive power have made the theory widely popular. However, it is the very same simplicity of the theory (e.g. the symmetric assumption) that makes the theory vulnerable to stark criticisms. Widespread empirical evidence has shown that species in communities are not functionally symmetric; ecological equivalence is more a conceptual simplicity than a biological realism. Recognizing that niche and neutral processes do not have to diametrically oppose each other and a community is likely determined by the interplay of the two processes, ecologists currently are searching to reconcile the two theories by either incorporating drift into niche theory or niche into the neutral framework. However, this reconciliation process is still at its very early stage, we expect this direction will lead to a more complete understanding of community assembly mechanisms. In this paper, we provide a review on the brief histories of the niche and neutral theories, with the focus on comparing the distinct importance of the two theories in explaining community assembly. We discuss in details several integrated models that attempt to unify the niche and neutral theories. We argue that it is an essential step for any successful theory to withstand substantial experimental and field tests. The experimental tests of neutral theories are an important direction that has currently not received due attention.

Angiosperms constitute the most diverse lineage of higher plants and are represented by ca. 300,000 living species that dominate the vegetation of terrestrial ecosystems. Number and composition of families, genera, and species are important to understanding global and regional biodiversity. Due to the rapid development of molecular systematics, circumscriptions of many traditional angiosperm families and genera have been revised. This study investigates circumscriptions of families and genera of native and introduced angiosperms in China according to the APG III classification system and recent phylogenetic studies. Results showed that there are 258 native and 55 introduced families (including 6 naturalized families), and 2,872 native and 1,605 introduced genera (including 152 naturalized genera) in China. A brief introduction to the historical and recent changes of circumscriptions of families and genera occurring in China was also provided. Our list included 115 newly recorded families and 1,729 newly recorded genera when compared to Flora Reipublicae Popularis Sinicae, and 85 newly recorded families and 1,531newly recorded genera when compared to Flora of China.

A plant community is an assemblage of plant populations that live in certain area, and interact with and adapt to one another in the context of long-term environmental changes. Plant communities maintain global ecosystem functions, and provide food and habitats for animals and other organisms. Plant communities also provide primary resources for human survival and development, and are therefore indispensable to human societies. China is among the countries with the most diverse plant communities in the world. However, no systematic national inventory has been conducted for Chinese plant communities. This fact obstructs exploitation and protection of China’s plant resources, and also hampers the development of the fields of Chinese ecology and geography. There is an urgent need to survey Chinese plant communities using consistent methods and protocols. In this paper, we review major concepts in plant community ecology, and propose a framework for developing plant community inventories based on recent progress in community ecology and our own experience with long-term field surveys. Our framework provides protocols for site selection and plot design, items to be measured in a plot, and measurements of functional traits of dominant species. We also review protocols for field surveys of large, long-term plots. The protocols proposed in this paper are expected to be a base for standardizing methodology for inventory of Chinese plant communities.

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Root exudates have specialized roles in nutrient cycling and signal transduction between a root system and soil, as well as in plant response to environmental stresses. They are the key regulators in rhizosphere communication, and can modify the biological and physical interactions between roots and soil organisms. Root exudates play important roles in biogeochemical cycle, regulation of rhizospheric ecological processes, and plant growth and development, and so on. Root exudates also serve roles in the plant-plant, plant-microbe, and microbe-microbe interactions. Plant allelopathy, intercropping system, bioremediation, and biological invasion are all the focal subjects in the field of contemporary agricultural ecology. They all involve the complex biological processes in rhizosphere. There are increasing evidences that various positive and negative plant-plant interactions within or among plant populations, such as allelopathy, consecutive monoculture problem, and interspecific facilitation in intercropping system, are all the results of the integrative effect of plant-microbe interactions mediated by root exudates. Recently, with the development of biotechnology, the methods and technologies relating to soil ecological research have achieved a remarkable progress. In particular, the breakthroughs of meta-omics technologies, including environmental metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, metaproteomics, and metabonomics, have largely enriched our knowledge of the soil biological world and the biodiversity and function diversity belowground. Research on plant-soil-microbe interactions mediated by root exudates has important implications for elucidating the functions of rhizosphere microecology and for providing practical guidelines. The concept and components of root exudates as well as the functions are reviewed in this paper. An overview on the root-bacteria, root-fungi, and root-fauna interactions is presented in detail. Methods to study root exudates and microbial communities are reviewed and the aspects needed to be further studied are also suggested.

The impacts and invasion method of alien invasive species (AIS), and prevention and management of biological invasion are discussed. Biological invasion is becoming one of the most important factors threatening biodiversity and stability of various ecological systems in China. The impacts of these biological invasions are becoming a more serious problems with development and increase of global trade, transportation, international travel and ecological tourism. Harmful AIS often leads to irreversible species extinction, and results in substantial economic losses within managed and natural ecosystems, including agriculture, forestry, fishery and animal production. Newly invading weeds, insect pests and plant diseases frequently result in large scale outbreaks and persistent use of chemical pesticides. Successful invasion and spread of some major insect pests and weeds in China were caused by man made factors. These include decision mistakes and unintentional introduction of some plants, such as water hyacinth and alligator weed as pig food, irresponsible introduction actions taken by individual/group without any ecological concerns, and lack of rapid response mechanism for eradicating potentially AIS as soon as they appear. China is an agricultural country. Any biological invasion will be a "big bomb" for our agriculture and inevitably result in ecological and economic losses in specific ecosystem and specific geographic regions. Prevention of biological invasion is an important aspect for safeguarding the state′s ecological safety. Development and researches should focus on building the state capacity, research capacity, and management capacity for addressing AIS problem. Based on the urgent situation of AIS in China, priority for research and action plans concentrate on: developing methods to identify the origin and pathways of invasive population; understanding the biological and ecological bases of AIS; developing environmentally friendly methods for control of AIS; developing environmental impact assessment and risk analysis methods for AIS; and developing methods for the recovery of habitats after control of AIS.

Vernalization, one of the genetically controled process induced by low temperature which involves expression of related genes, plays an important role for transition to flowering in some higher plants. In this paper, the research progresses on plant vernalization were summarized, including types of vernalization , physiological and biological characteristics of vernalization and molecular mechanism of vernalization. The existed problems in researches were discussed, and the prospect was put forward.

China’s mammalian fauna is unique: it possesses the endemic species and genera of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau; it has the relic families, Ailuropodidae and Lipotidae, of the Tertiary Period; more than half of the species of the Ochotonidae in the country are endemic; furthermore China is also the country with world most abundant ungulate diversity. In the new millennia, changes to the taxonomy of mammals of world were proposed. New mammalian species and new mammals were reported in China. Thus it is necessary to renew the inventory of China’s mammal diversity. During the compiling of The Red List of Endangered Species in China: Mammals, we collected the available data on China’s mammals (including those of Taiwan) and formed The Checklist of China’s Mammal Species 2015. For taxonomy of orders, we followed the existing theory using molecular phylogeny whereas for the classification of families and the taxa below family level, we followed the A Complete Checklist of Mammal Species and Subspecies in China: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference by Wang (2003) and Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference by Wilson & Reeder (2005). We also adopted Ungulate Taxonomy by Groves & Grubb (2011) to classify the ungulates in China. The initial list included species recorded in taxonomic books and field guides, new species and new records in literature before March 31, 2015. After five evaluation meetings and two rounds of evaluation by correspondence, we finalized The Checklist of China’s Mammal Species 2015, which includes 12 orders, 55 families, 245 genera and 673 species. Among those species, 18 new species (including 11 discovered with molecular biology methods, the validity of the species are still in dispute among zoologists), 18 new species records in country, and 60 subspecies were elevated to the status of species were added to the checklist. According to literature and expertise, we deleted 52 species which are not found in China. Of them, specimens of some species were collected only once, and then never been found again during following surveys. Taxonomists hold different opinions on 20 Glires, and those species need further investigation. Compared with the data of IUCN Red List (2014), the number of mammal species in China recorded in the study is surpassed that of Indonisia (670), China became the country with the most abundant mammal species in the world. The mammals in China accounted for 12.3% of the world total numbers of mammalian species. There are 150 endemic mammals in China, which accounted for 22.3% of the national total. 43% of the species in Lagomorpha are endemics to the country. The endemic ratio of Ochotonidae is even higher, 52% of the total. Endemic ratio of Eulipotyphla is 35%. About one fifth of Primates, Chiroptera and Rodentia in China are also endemics, including 12 new bat species discovered in the country during recent decade. The Checklist of China’s Mammal Species 2015 provides the most updated baseline information for biodiversity research and conservation.

The chromosome numbers and karyotypes of five species of the genus Leontopodium (Asteraceae) from Southeastern QinghaiTibet Plateau, Southwest China were investigated. Three species were studied karyomorphologically and reported for the first time: L.franchetii 2n=2x=26=6M+18m+2sm, 2A; L.calocephalum 2n=4x=48=3M+43m+2sm, 1B; L.stracheyi 2n=4x=48=13M+35m, 1A. Two species L.souliei and L.sinense presented different chromosome numbers and karyotypes from the previous reports, that is, L.souliei 2n=2x=24=13M+8m+3sm, 1B; L.sinense, the population collected at altitude 2406m a.s.l. Muli County, Sichuan Province: 2n=2x=26=4M+22m, 1B, the population collected at altitude 3074m a.s.l. Muli County, Sichuan Province: 2n=4x=52=16M+36m, 1B. The comparison of existent chromosomal data indicates that Leontopodium is a genus with symmetry karyotype, but diversified obviously among different species. Polyploidization might have played an important role in the speciation and evolution of Leontopodium on the QinghaiTibet Plateau and its southeastern peripheral regions.

Soil health is important for the sustainable development of terrestrial ecosystem. In this review, we summarizes the relationship between soil quality and soil microbial characteristics such as soil microbial community structure, soil microbial biomass and soil enzymatic activity in order to illustrate the function of soil microbial characteristics as bio-indicators of soil health. Many studies have showed that the soil nutrient is correlated with the quantity or the composition of bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes in soils. In general, higher ratio of soil bacteria indicates better soil quality and higher soil nutrient content. Soil microbial bio-mass is closely correlated with soil organic carbon, and the ratios of soil microbial biomass carbon to soil or-ganic carbon(C_mic : C_org) and microbial metabolic quotient (qCO2) reflect the use efficiency of soil organic C. The activity of soil enzymes are positively correlated with soil microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen. Therefore, soil microbial characteristics reflect the changes of soil quality and thus can be used as bio-indicators of soil health.

The selection of a suitable reference gene is an important prerequisite for successful gene expression analysis by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (qPCR). We investigated the expression stability of 4 endogenous candidate genes (18S rRNA, GAPDH, β-actin and α-tubulin) in qPCR experiments in different organs and tissues, including buds, leaves, young roots, stem, petals, seeds, and callus, of the tea plant Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze. The analysis with GeNorm and NormFinder algorithms revealed that β-actin could be used as a reference gene for organs and tissues and GAPDH for mature leaves and callus.

It is very important but usually difficult to extract high quality DNA from plants for molecular work since there exist a great deal of polysaccharides, hydroxybenzenes, esters and other secondary metabolities. In this paper we provide a simple modified CTAB (mCTAB) protocol for extracting plant DNA. The mCTAB method protocol includes 18 steps. (1) Weigh ca. 20 mg of dry plant tissue and ground into powder with sand using a mortar or a pestle. Remove the powder into a 2.0 mL microcentrifuge tube. (2) Add 1.0 mL pre-cooled buffer A (Table 2) to the tube, mix well and incubate the tube on ice for 15 min. Mix sample 2–3 times during incubation by inverting the tube. (3) Centrifuge the tube at 7 000 ×g for 10 min. Discard the supernatant liquid by pouring it out of the tube. (4) Repeat step 2 and 3 until the supernatant is not viscous. (5) Add 0.7 mL buffer B (Table 3), mix well and incubate at 65°C for 90–120 min. Mix the sample several times during incubation by inverting the tube. (6) Centrifuge at 10 000 ×g for 10 min, remove the supernatant to a new microcentrifuge tube. The precipitate is reusable from step 5 if necessary. (7) Add 0.7 mL CI (chloroform: isoamyl alcohol=24:1, v/v), mix it well for 10 min by inverting tube gently. (8) Centrifuge at 10 000 ×g, for 10 min, carefully remove the supernatant to a new 1.5 mL microcentrifuge tube. (9) Repeat step 7 and 8 until no precipitate appearing between the two layers of liquid after centrifuging. (10) Add 0.5 mL pre-cooled isopropanol, carefully mix well . Incubate at –20°C for 20 min. (11) Centrifuge at 10 000 ×g for 10 min, discard the supernatant, centrifuge the tube briefly to collect the remaining liquid and remove it by pipetting. (12) Add 0.1 mL RNase (100 mg·L^–1) and incubate at 37°C for 30–60 min. (13) Add 0.1 mL ddH₂O, 0.1 mL 5 mol·L^–1NaCl and 0.8 mL pre-cooled ethanol (95%), carefully mix well. (14) Centrifuge at 10 000 ×g for 10 min, discard the supernatant. (15) Add 0.5 mL 75% ethanol, re-suspend the pellet, centrifuge at 10 000 ×g for 2 min, discard the supernatant. (16) Repeat step 15. (17) Add 0.1 mL TE to dissolve DNA after ethanol has evaporated. (18) Estimate the concentration and the purity of the DNA solution. Store it at 4°C for immediate use, at –20°C for short time storage and –80°C for long time storage. We compared our protocol with four frequently used and commercially available kits. The result showed that our mCTAB method yielded much more DNA of high quality that is suitable for PCR amplification but with much lower cost.

Plant traits link environmental factors, individuals and ecosystem structure and functions as plants respond and adapt to the environment. This review introduces worldwide classification schemes of plant functional traits and summarizes research on the relationships between plant functional traits and environmental factors such as climate (e.g., temperature, precipitation and light), geographical variation (e.g., topography, ecological gradients and altitude), nutrients and disturbance (including fire, grazing, invasion and land use), as well as between plant functional traits and ecosystem functions. We synthesize impacts of global change (e.g., climate change) on plant functional traits of individuals and plant communities. Research on plant functional traits is very fruitful, being applicable to research on global change, paleovegetation and paleoclimate reconstruction, environmental monitoring and assessment and vegetation conservation and restoration. However, further studies at large scale and including multi-environmental factors are needed and methods of measuring traits need to be improved. In the future, study of plant functional traits in China should be accelerated in a clear and systematic way.

Beta diversity describes the variation in species composition among communities within a region and it is determined by two antithetic processes: species turnover (or species replacement), and nestedness (or difference in richness). Beta-diversity partitioning aims to separate these two processes when examining species composition among communities, and to reveal their underlying mechanisms. Since 2010, the partitioning methods were proposed following two dominant frameworks: the BAS method proposed by Andrés Baselga in 2010 (partitioning overall beta diversity into turnover and nestedness components) and the POD method proposed by János Podani and Dénes Schmera in 2011 and José C. Carvalho et al. in 2012 (partitioning overall beta diversity into species replacement and richness difference components). With the continuous debate on the nature of the BAS and POD methods, studies on beta-diversity partitioning have developed rapidly worldwide. We reviewed journal articles in the field of beta-diversity partitioning since 2010. Results showed that the number of publications and citations using the BAS method were greater than those using the POD method (75% vs. 20%). In those publications, most of study sites were located in Europe (45%) and research taxa were dominated by animals (64%). Here, we introduce the history and development of beta-diversity partitioning, potential applications in studying biodiversity distributions across spatial-temporal scales (latitudinal/altitudinal gradients, habitat fragmentation, seasonal and annual dynamics), multiple-faceted diversity (taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity), and comparisons among various biological taxa. We point out the following directions in the field of beta-diversity partitioning in the future: (1) the synthesis and comparative analysis of the methods of beta-diversity partitioning; (2) examining patterns of overall beta diversity and its components by incorporating species abundance; and (3) testing the generality of results yielded from beta-diversity partitioning across large scales.

Soil microorganisms are important components of soil ecosystem and play central roles in biogeochemical cycling such as organic matter decomposition, mineral nutrient release, and energy transformation. Along with the intensive comprehension of the importance of biodiversity and the rapid development of methodology, more and more studies have focused on soil microbial diversity. This review introduces the current development of methodology and affecting factors of soil microbial diversity. We also discussed the directions of future research on soil microbial diversity.

Protein-protein interactions play a key role in cellular signaling, involved in various biological processes. Studies on these interactions are therefore crucial toward understanding the regulatory networks of cellular signaling. It is a standard practice that the protein-protein interactions identified by the yeast two-hybrid system should be independently confirmed by in vitro and in vivo approaches. Pull-down and co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) are routine approaches to detect protein-protein interactions. Pull-down assay is used to detect direct or physical interactions between proteins in vitro. In plant biology studies, one of the most convenient methods to detect protein-protein interactions is the transient expression of the target proteins in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves followed by the Co-IP assay. In this paper, we describe the principles and protocols for the GST tag-based pull-down assay and the Co-IP assay of proteins transiently expressed in N. benthamiana leaves, providing a reference for detecting plant protein-protein interactions.

As one of the five major global environmental problems, invasive species have posed serious threats to native ecosystems, public health, and regional economies. Although much progress has been made in the field of biological invasions research in China over the last decade, there are still large knowledge gaps. This paper reviews progress in the field of biological invasions research since 2000 as it relates to China, covering the diversity, colonization and immigration patterns of invasive species, mechanisms and ecological effects of biological invasions, and management and control of invasive species. In China, 529 invasive alien species have been identified, which originated primarily from South and North America, and the major taxa included terrestrial plants, terrestrial invertebrates, and microorganisms. We found a higher prevalence of invasive species in the eastern and southern provinces, compared to the western and northern provinces in China. This pattern is likely due to the differences in the level of economic development and environmental suitability between the two regions. Moreover, with further economic development, China may face more serious biological invasions in the future. These invasions of alien species are largely the combined results of the interactions between the intrinsic traits of these species along with resource opportunities and disturbances by human beings. Many mechanisms are responsible for successful invasions of alien species, but phenotypic plasticity, adaptive evolution, enemy release, interspecific mutualism or commensalism, and new allelochemicals may be primary causative factors. Biological invasions in China have caused serious impacts on native ecosystems, including biodiversity and ecosystem services, alteration of biogeochemical cycles, threats to agricultural and forestry production, traffic and shipping, environmental safety, and public facilities. China has also made progress in the detection and monitoring of invasive species, risk analysis, biological control, radical elimination, and ecological restoration of degraded ecosystems. We suggest several issues that need to be addressed in invasive species research in the future, including territory-wide inventories, evolutionary ecology and genomics, direct and indirect ecosystem-level consequences, interactions between major components of global change and biological invasions, and management and control technologies.

The Arnon method is the most classical and common method for extracting and determining chlorophyll. De- spite many improvements to this method, severe problems remain, such as inaccurate test wavelength, wrong content formula, low extraction speed, large errors in results, and tedious operation process. We present a fast two-step extraction and determination method for chlorophyll. The first step is extracting chlorophyll with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) at high temperature, then diluting the chlorophyll solution with 80% acetone. Chlorophyll content determined by this method can be completed within 3 h. The optimal experimental conditions for extraction and the accurate formula for chlorophyll content were obtained by analyzing extraction temperature, extraction time, dilution ratio and absorption spectroscopy. The merits and reliability of this method were tested with some typical plant materials. The method is described as follows: Cut the plant material into a 1 mm wide filament or small pieces and place 50-100 mg plant material into a 10 mL gradu- ated test tube with a stopper. Then add 2 mL DMSO into the test tube and dip the plant material into DMSO. Place the tubes into a 65°C incubator away from the light until all plant material turns white or transparent. As the liquid cools, add 8 mL 80% (v/v) acetone to dilute DMSO, mix well, then determine absorbance at 663.6 and 646.6 nm by spectrophoto- metry. Chlorophyll concentration can be calculated with the following formulas: C_a (mg∙L^-1)=12.27A_663.6-2.52A_646.6; C_b (mg∙L^-1)=20.10A_646.6-4.92A_663.6; C_T=C_a+C_b=7.35A_663.6+17.58A_646.6.

The springtails are widespread small to tiny arthropods in soil ecosystem. They play important roles in the circulation of soil materials, development of soil, formation of soil micro-structure, improvement of soil physical and chemical properties, and the maintenance of soil living community. The diversity, community structure, and species composition of springtails in the soil reflect the status of soil quality and con-tamination. The important roles of springtails in the soil ecosystem, their potential values in the ecological practices and the recent advances and prospects are introduced in the present paper.

The leaf epidermis of 19 species representing all four subseries of Cyrtomium， and 15 allied groups was investigated under light microscopy, of which twelve species including types of three subseries of Cyrtomium were observed under scanning electron microscopy. The form of epidermal cells of the Cyrtomium was usually polygonal or irregular, with the anticlinal walls nearly straight, arched, sinuolate, sinuous to sinuate. The stomatal apparatus in all species only existed on the abaxial epidermis. The major stomatal apparatus was anomocytic, while diacytic and polocytic types also occurred in Cyrtomium. The stomata on a single leaf belonged to two or more types in most species. Under SEM, the inner margin of the outer stomatal rim ranged from nearlysmooth to sinuolate or erose, and the cuticular membrane of the leaf epidermis was striated, but sometimes with granula. The present study implied that there are no distinct characters of the leaf epidermis to distinguish and diagnose two series and four subseries of Cyrtomium in Shing′s classification.

Three photosynthetic pathways are used by plants: C₃, which most plants use, C₄ and crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM). C₃ is the ancestral pathway, with C₄ and CAM representing recently diverged forms. We conclude that the variation and evolution of photosynthetic pathway of C₃ and C₄ are adaptations to environmental stresses. First, we discuss the evolutional future of photosynthetic pathways. It has been suggested that low atmosphere CO₂, enhanced temperatures, drought and salinity are external drivers of C₄ photosynthetic evolution. Second, we analyze the possibility of evolution from C₃ to C₄. The polyphyletic evolution of the C₄ pathway suggests that the transition from C₃ to C₄ was relatively simple. This suggestion is supported by the observation that both C₃ and C₄ plants possess inherent plasticity in their photosynthetic characteristics. The stress causing the shift from C₃ to C₄ was involved in the environmental regulation of plants, and the C₄ pathway in C₃ plants evolved as an adaptation. The environmental stresses may have involved plant capacities for survivorship and competition in arid areas. Third, we present a simplistic model of the main phases of C₄ photosynthetic evolution and discuss the variation and evolution of C₃ and C₄ photosynthetic carbon assimilating pathways. Evolution was not directly to C₄ photosynthesis, so each step had to be stable, beginning with numerous preconditions needed for an evolutionary lineage to begin evolving C₄ characteristics. A current complication of C₄ photosynthetic evolution is global climate change and human manipulation of the biosphere. It is possible that C₄ photosynthesis can be used to resist adversity and increase the yield of C₃ crops. In conclusion, study of the evolution of photosynthetic pathway in plants provided insight into the photosynthetic physiology of plants under stress and provided new theory to reconstruct vegetation, enhance crop yield, and explain adaptation of C₃ species in arid areas.

Forest trees have rich germplasm resources and a wide array of genetic differences among germplasms. Cloning and transforming genes that control important traits in tree species can be valuable in cultivating new clones with excellent quality. However, many of the genes with potential application have not been discovered or isolated. In recent years, a large number of genes related to important traits in forest trees have been identified and isolated with the establishment of forest cDNA libraries, the use of large-scale random expressed sequence tag sequencing, improvements in cloning technology, and more specifically, the complete genome sequencing of Populus trichocarpa Torr. & Gray. This information has laid a solid foundation for using transgenic technology to cultivate new varieties of forest trees for high yield, fine quality, high stress tolerance and pest resistance. In this review, we summarize the progress in gene cloning of forest trees over the last 20 years. We discuss some problems in gene cloning and application, as well as future applications and prospects for gene cloning and transgenic technology of forest trees.

Microbiome is the combination of all microorganisms and their genetic information in a specific environment or ecosystem, which contains abundant microbial resources. A comprehensive and systematic analysis of the structure and function of microbiome will provide new ideas in solving the core issues in the fields of energy, ecological environment, industrial and agricultural production and human health. However, the study of microbiome largely depends on the development of relevant technologies and methods. Before to the advent of high-throughput sequencing technology, microbial research was mainly based on techniques such as isolation, pure-culture and fingerprint. However, due to the technical restrictions, scientists could only get limited knowledge of microorganisms. Since the beginning of 21st century, the revolutionary advances in the technology of high-throughput sequencing and mass spectrometry have greatly improved our understanding on the structure and ecological functions of environmental microbiome. However, the application of microbiomics technology in microbial research still faces many challenges. In addition, the descriptive studies focusing on the structure and diversity of microbiome have already matured, and the study of microbiomics is facing a critical transition period from quantity to quality and from structure to function. Hence, this paper will firstly introduce the basic concepts of microbiomics and a brief development history. Secondly, this paper introduces the related technologies and methods of microbiomics with their development process, and further expounds the applications and main problems of microbiomics technologies and methods in ecological study. Finally, this paper expounds the frontier direction of the development of microbiomics technology and methods from the technical, theoretical and application levels, and proposes the priority development areas of microbiome research in the future.

The manner in which species richness increases with increasing sampling area is among the important laws of ecology. However, forms and parameters of the species-area relationships vary depending on sampling methods, climate, and spatial scales. Because the species-area relationships connect biodiversity at different scales, they are used for estimating species richness at local or regional scales, and for assessing regional biodiversity losses. Here, we review recent developments in the forms, spatial variation in parameters, applications, and scale-dependence of species-area relationships. As a case study, we used species-area relationships to estimate number of plant species in different regions of the Qinling Mountains, and found that the well-consistent estimated and recorded numbers of species were achieved for different nature reserves in the Qinling Mountains.

Leaf epidermis of 16 species from Chelonopsis and its related taxa, Bostrychanthera deflexa, were examined under both light microscope and scanning electronic microscope. As a result, all species are characterized with irregular leaf epidermis cells, except those of sect. Aequidens (C.souliei, C.forrestii and C.albiflora), which are nearly rectangular. Two kinds of anticlinal walls of adaxial epidermis cells can be distinguished: sinuous and straightarched. Stomatal apparatuses, whose density varies in different species, can only be found in abaxial epidermis. Highly consistent in all examined species are the type of guard cells and the smooth inner margin of outer stomatal rim. What’s more, three cuticular patterns are recognized: ridged, long striped, and with snow flaked or granulate appendages. Consequently, Characters of leaf epidermis in Chelonopsis, such as pattern of epidermal cell and cuticular ornamentation, are of great significance in understanding the relationships at both infrageneric and interspecific levels. In addition, density of stomatal apparatuses may be correlated with the habitat of some species in Chelonopsis.

We updated the checklists of extant, native amphibians and reptiles of China based on the previously published checklist of reptiles in 2015, the online checklist of amphibians on the database AmphibiaChina, newly published data as of December 2019, and previously uncollected literature prior to 2015. In total, the amphibian fauna of China consists of 515 species in 62 genera, 13 families, and three orders (Anura: 431 species in 47 genera and nine families; Caudata: 82 species in 14 genera and four families; Gymnophiona: one species in one genus and one family), while the reptilian fauna of China consists of 511 species in 135 genera, 35 families, and three orders (Crocodylia: one species in one genus and one family; Testudines: 34 species in 18 genera and six families; Squamata 466 species in 116 genera and 28 families [Serpentes: 256 species in 73 genera, 18 families; Lacertilia: 211 species in 43 genera and 10 families]). Specifically, for amphibians between 2015 and 2019, one family was recorded from China for the first time, two new genera were described, a genus was resurrected, a genus was recorded from China for the first time, 74 new, valid species were either described or resurrected, 18 recognized species were recorded from China for the first time, and six genera and eight species were considered as junior synonyms. For reptiles between 2015 and 2019, five subfamilies were elevated to the full family status, one new subfamily and a new genus were described, three genera were resurrected, three recognized genera were recorded from China for the first time, 35 new species were described, two species were resurrected from synonyms, six subspecies were elevated to the full species status, 10 recognized species were recorded from China for the first time, four genera and four species were considered as junior synonyms, and distribution records of one genus and four recognized species were removed from China. Furthermore, by reviewing literature before 2015, we make additional changes on the previous reptile checklist, including adding new records of three genera, elevating three subspecies to full species status, adding new records of three recognized species, synonymizing three genera and two species as junior synonyms, and removing the distribution record of a single recognized species from China. Lastly, we revise the Chinese common names of some reptilian groups with recomandations to maintain the stability of the Chinese common names. The number of new species and new national records for amphibians and reptiles between 2015 and 2019 in China accounts for 17.1% and 10.2% of the total number of species in each group, respectively. Because new species are described at considerable speed and given the constant changes in the taxonomy of China’s herpetofuna, it is crucial to update the checklists regularly and discuss the existing taxonomic problems, so that such information reflects the most current state of knowledge and are available for taxonomic researchers and conservation biologists alike.

The research into the areal-types of genera of Chinese seed plants started since 1952.At that time,the joint efforts of Chinese botanists succeeded in preparing the key to genera of seed plants from China.Although this key was very preliminary,it became the very basic yet clear outline of this research about the areal-types of genera of seed plants.Subsequently,a preliminary analysis was made based on all connection with the consideration on the problems about regionalization of Chinese flora during a visit of a Chinese scientific delegation to Soviet Russia.

This paper summarizes all the reef fishes collected in Tungsha (Pratas) Island and Taiping Island (Nansha or Spratly) in the South China Sea, along with records of these two islands from literatures and databases since 1975. A total number of 73 families and 652 species in Tungsha Island as well as 56 families and 466 species in Taiping Island were obtained, with 76 families and 759 species found in both Islands. The reason why the species number in Taiping is less than that of Tungsha is because the reef area of Taiping is much smaller and fewer surveys were conducted. Based on the analysis of zoogeographical distribution range of each species, we found that almost all the species recorded in the two islands are widely distributed species in Indo-Pacific, Indo-western Pacific and western Pacific. Only one species, Chrysiptera chrysocephala, was found only in the South China Sea. This result infers that the fish fauna in the South China Sea can fully exchange with that in the surrounding waters or the Coral Triangle region, and any geographical isolation or speciation phenomenon is not discernible. In addition, although the Sørensen similarity index between Taiping and Tungsha reached 85.69%, a total of 240 species is absent from either Taiping or Tungsha, i.e. 165 species were recorded in both Tungsha and Taiwan but absent at Taiping, and 75 species were recorded in both Taiping and Taiwan but absent at Tungsha. Furthermore, most of the 21 and 20 species which were recorded only in Taiping and Tungsha, respectively, are hard-to-survey rare species. We speculate that our surveys in both islands are rather insufficient. If the investigation could be more intensive and longer-term, the similarity of fish faunas between these two islands will be even higher.

Angiosperm phylogenetics investigates the evolutionary history and relationships of angiosperms based on the construction of phylogenetic trees. Since the 1990s, nucleotide or amino acid sequences have been widely used for this and angiosperm phylogenetic analysis has advanced from using single or a combination of a few organellar genes to whole plastid genome sequences, resulting in the widely accepted modern molecular systematics of angiosperms. The current framework of the angiosperm phylogeny includes highly supported basal angiosperm relationships, five major clades (eudicots, monocots, magnoliids, Chloranthales, and Ceratophyllales), orders grouped within these clades, and core groups in the monocots or eudicots. However, organellar genes have some limitations; these involve uniparental inheritance in most instances and a relatively low percentage of phylogenetic informative sites. Thus, they are unable to resolve some relationships even when whole plastid genome sequences are used. Therefore, the utility of biparentally inherited nuclear genes with more information about evolutionary history, has gradually received more attention. Nevertheless, there are still some plant groups that are difficult to place in the angiosperm phylogeny, such as those involving the relative positions of the five major groups as well as those of several orders of eudicots. In this review, we discuss the applications, advantages and disadvantages of marker genes, the deep relationships that have been resolved in angiosperm phylogeny, groups with uncertain positions, and the challenges that remain in resolving an accurate phylogeny for angiosperms.

Beta diversity is an important component of biological diversity, measuring compositional change in species assemblages across temporal and spatial scales. Beta diversity concerns not only a number of ecological and evolutionary issues, but can also guide the selection of protected areas and help to optimize conservation networks. It has thus become a hot topic in biodiversity research in recent years. Researchers have used various measures and analytical methods to investigate patterns of beta diversity and its underlying mechanisms for various taxa and in different regions. Here, we reviewed literature from the past decade pertaining to the following aspects of beta diversity: metrics, temporal and spatial patterns, determinants and applications in biodiversity conservation. Whittaker introduced the term beta diversity in 1960, but defined it vaguely. As the concept of beta diversity evolved, a high variety of measures were developed to quantify the concept. The comparison of results from different studies may be hindered by the variety of measures used to quantify beta diversity. Presently, the most popular methods for measuring beta diversity are similarity/dissimilarity coefficients such as Jaccard index and Sørensen index. In the last few years, several methods to quantify beta diversity have emerged, some of which are worth noting. Beta diversity depends on temporal scale, spatial scale and taxonomic scale, and decreases with increasing analytical grain size. There is no consensus among scientists that beta diversity decreases with latitude, i.e. that it is higher in tropics and lower near the poles. Beta diversity is high within mountain ranges and at the interface of biogeographic realms; thus, larger/more reserves are needed in these regions to cover the entire gradient of species turnover. Studies on beta diversity across temporal scales have shown that climatic change has resulted in shifts in species composition through time, and that the migration of species between different continents/regions has led to biotic homogenization. Based on a thorough review of beta diversity literature, we think the following questions might be the focus of future research: (1) the influence of evolutionary history and biological characteristics of different taxonomic groups on their beta diversity; (2) the influence of temporal/spatial scales on beta diversity and its determinants; and (3) the effect of anthropogenic activities on beta diversity.

The six meetings of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity held in 2002 adopted the goal of “significantly reducing the rate of biodiversity loss worldwide by 2010”, and requested Parties to develop biodiversity assessment indicators and to conduct biodiversity assessment. This paper puts forward five indicators for comprehensive biodiversity assessment, i.e. species richness, diversity of ecosystem types, completeness of vertical stratification of vegetation, endemism, and extent of biological invasions, based on the principles of scientific approach, representativeness, and practicality. Methods for comprehensive biodiversity assessment were established, and a national biodiversity assessment was con-ducted by taking 31 provinces (including municipalities and autonomous regions) as the basic assessment units. Biodiversity of provinces was classified into four grades. Yunnan, Sichuan and Guangxi boast highly rich biodiversity. Guizhou, Hubei, Guangdong, Hunan, Chongqing, Fujian, Tibet, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Hainan, Gansu, Xinjiang, and Shaanxi boast quite high biodiversity. Henan, Anhui, Shandong, Shanxi, Hebei, and Beijing have moderate biodiversity. Jilin, Inner Mongolia, Shanghai, Liaoning, Ningxia, Qinghai, Jiangsu, Heilongjiang, and Tianjin have poor biodiversity.

Large-scale patterns of species diversity are one of the most important and attractive issues for ecology and biogeography. Many hypotheses have been proposed to understand the mechanisms that shape and maintain the diversity patterns. Among them, the energy hypothesis, which focuses on the influence of energy on species diversity, has generated the most attention. Based on the forms of energy and the mechanisms of energy effects on diversity patterns, five versions of the energy hypothesis have been recognized, i.e. productivity hypothesis, water-energy dynamic hypothesis, ambient energy hypothesis, freezing tolerance hypothesis, and metabolic theory of ecology. The current paper reviews the development of the energy hypothesis, and then presents the context, energy forms, variables, predictions, and underlying mechanisms for the five versions of the energy hypothesis. Furthermore, we discuss the advantages, shortcomings, and challenges of each version of the energy hypothesis.