Squamosa promoter binding protein-like (SPL) family is a class of plant-specific transcription factors, which contain a highly conserved SBP domain consisting of two zinc finger structures and a short nuclear localization sequence. The expression of most SPL genes is regulated by microRNAs at transcription level. Based on the current research progress of SPL transcription factors, this paper summarizes the biological functions of SPLs in plant growth, development, and environmental adaptation, and discusses the future research directions of SPLs.

Background & Aim: Marine biogeography is a subject investigating the spatiotemporal distributions of marine organisms and the processes and drivers of changes in species distributions. Research in marine biogeography is promising for the conservation of marine biodiversity and the stability of ecosystem functioning and crucial for the sustainability of utilizing marine resources. Species distribution models (SDMs) are an important tool for assessing and predicting the biogeographical changes in marine species distributions.

Progresses: This review consists of three main parts: (1) the development process and current status of marine biogeography studies in China; (2) the commonly used approaches to answer the questions related to marine biogeography with a special focus on SDMs; (3) the research trends and hotspots of marine biogeography studies in China, mainly concerning the shifts in species distribution under global changes, phylogeography of marine species, biological invasion, population connectivity, marine conservation planning, marine ecological restoration and recovery, adaptation of marine species to extreme environments, as well as management of marine fisheries and mariculture planning.

Prospects: In this review, we further outlined the prospects for the future development of marine biogeography and emphasized the importance of optimizing SDMs. We also called for developing comprehensive databases of marine environments and organisms to strengthen the integration of marine biogeography with other disciplines. We hope this review will provide useful insights for the studies of marine biogeography in China.

Plant-soil feedback experiment is an important way for studying plant-soil biota interactions. Plant growth can change soil physical, chemical, and biotic properties in ways that then alter subsequent plant performance, population fluctuation, and community dynamics. This process, referred to as “plant-soil feedback” (PSF), might play a key role in biodiversity maintenance, sustainable agriculture development, and ecological restoration. In this review, we first provide an overview of the concept and research methods of PSF. Second, we review the research progress of the role of PSF in the maintenance of plant species diversity, plant community succession, plant invasions and range shifts, ecological response to climate change, above- and below-ground multitrophic interactions, ecosystem restoration, and crop performance in different cropping systems. We suggest three directions for future PSF studies, including: (1) the transition from single-species to community-level interactions between plants and soil biota; (2) the test of PSF experiments in field conditions; (3) the expansion of theoretical knowledge into ecological practice.

Background: Botanical gardens have deep historical roots, drawing inspiration from the ancient “Shennong Herbal Garden” that has played a pivotal role in China’s herbal civilization. While the origins of modern botanical gardens can be traced back to the medicinal gardens of early European universities, their predecessors lie in medieval herb gardens, representing the rich heritage and evolutionary path of traditional botany and ancient gardens.

Review findings: Over the course of 500 years since the European Renaissance, modern botanical gardens have evolved into vital centers of science and art. They have transcended their roles as mere repositories of flora and fauna to become institutions that seamlessly blend nature, culture, art and science. These gardens have consistently embraced new challenges, adapted to changing circumstances, and taken on new missions, propelling them into an era of sustainable development, in which multiple models coexist harmoniously and at the heart of this transformation lies the core mission of ex situ conservation.

Recommendations: Looking ahead, the construction of China’s national botanical gardens should focus on creating efficient ex situ conservation networks while adhering to rigorous scientific standards. This entails implementing exemplary professional curation practices that bridge the historical legacy of botanical gardens with contemporary conservation imperatives. Prioritizing ex situ conservation efforts, China’s botanical garden community should curate national living collections and conduct high-level scientific research. This approach should be rooted in a renewed emphasis on the value of ex situ flora, ultimately contributing to the establishment of a world-class national botanical garden system. This system will advance plant conservation research, facilitate resource exploration and application, and foster sustainable economic and social development.

Aims: The List of State Key Protected Wild Animals is a crucial legal foundation that guides the implementation of species conservation efforts, especially rescue plans for endangered species. The recently published and implement 2021 version of the List of State Key Protected Wild Animals, represents the first major revision in 32 years and is of immense importance for biodiversity conservation in China. Our study aims to assess the efficacy of its species conservation measures dictated by the List, offer insights, and aid future revisions.

Methods: Our study has summarized and organized a total of 1,520 species (with subspecies) based on the new version of the List of State Key Protected Wild Animals. We then selected four wildlife lists that are representative and relevant to conservation and conducted a statistical analysis of the conservation status and level of threat for the same species across different lists.

Results: The results indicate that the new version of the List of State Key Protected Wild Animals has broadened the scope of wildlife protection by adding 1,038 species to the previous list of 482 species (with subspecies) which was compiled in 1989, as we previously summarized. Of the new additions, 43 species have been categorized as national category I and 995 as national category II. Moreover, the protection category of some species has also been revised (3 species downgraded to national category I, 66 species upgraded to national category II, and 413 species in total maintaining the same category). However, despite these positive changes, according to China’s Red List of Biodiversity: Vertebrates (2021 Edition) more than half of the endangered species in China are still not covered in the new version of the List of State Key Protected Wild Animals.

Conclusion: To promote the comprehensive and effective protection of endangered species in China, it is recommended that future adjustments to the List of State Key Protected Wild Animals give comprehensive attention to the endangered species on the list. If species in the Critically Endangered and Endangered categories are listed as national category I key protected wildlife, the existing 164 national category II key protected wildlife should be upgraded to national category I key protected wildlife, and 162 new wildlife species should be added to national category I key protected wildlife. Additionally, if species in the Vulnerable category are listed as national category II key protected wildlife, 340 new national category II key protected wildlife should be added. A comprehensive database of the List of State Key Protected Wild Animals can be established to achieve standardized and dynamic management of the list.

The secondary metabolites produced by plants provide human beings with a wealth of pharmaceutical, perfume and industrial raw materials. With the rapid development of molecular biology and genomics research, the biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) of secondary metabolites of various plants have been analyzed, which opens a new path for us to quickly obtain the biosynthetic pathways of target products and discover novel natural products. This paper focuses on the definition and characteristics of plant secondary metabolite biosynthesis gene clusters, and its basic structural models, evolution and regulatory mechanisms, in order to provide theoretical basis and reference for related research.

Hordeum brevisubulatum is a perennial grass belonging to the genus Hordeum in the Poaceae with strong cold and salt-alkali tolerance, which is an excellent germplasm resource for mining stress resistance genes. However, there are few reports on the genetic transformation system in H. brevisubulatum. In this study, the mature embryos in wild barley (Mengnong 1 hybrid) seeds were employed as explants to induce high quality embryogenic calli. A highly efficient tissue culture system was established for Mengnong 1 hybrid wild barley with approximate 70% of differentiation rate and the propagation coefficient was 35. Furthermore, Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain EHA105 was used to infect the wild barley callus line YZ101, and the infection efficiency was approximate 30% with optimized infection conditions. This study will facilitate gene function deciphering and developing novel germplasm in H. brevisubulatum through molecular design breeding.

Background & Aims: The Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) has been listed as the Grade 1 National Key Protected Animal in China. As the top predator of the inshore marine food chain, S. chinensis is an indicator species of the health status of the inshore ecosystem. Due to the important ecological, scientific and cultural values, it is also used as the flagship species for marine biodiversity conservation. Since the 1990s, the studies on S. chinensis have gradually risen, and developed to a new period in recent years along with the application of 3S (RS, GPS, GIS), ecological models, and molecular biological techniques. We summarized the studies of S. chinensis from the aspects of population ecology, behavioral ecology, molecular ecology and the threats that the species faced so far, aiming to clarify the advances in the ecological studies and the contributions to conservation of S. chinensis.
Progress: Ecological information such as distribution and abundance of S. chinensis population known globally in the world has been investigated by domestic and foreign scholars using line-transect sampling and capture-mark-recapture methods. In the context of species conservation, studies on habitat selection preference, habitat quality evaluation and potential habitat prediction of S. chinensis were performed. The rules of foraging behavior and reproduction behavior of S. chinensis were preliminarily understood, and the ecological significance of other behaviors were also explored. With the application of molecular biotechnology, the genetic differentiation of S. chinensis and its vulnerability to climate change have been preliminarily revealed. Human activities such as marine construction projects, underwater noise, marine pollution, and fishery activities are still the main threats to S. chinensis.
Perspectives: Based on the summary of existing studies, we propose the following prospects for the future ecological research and conservation of S. chinensis: (1) Establish a dynamic baseline database at the national level to better track the population dynamics and habitat environment changes of S. chinensis. (2) Establish a habitat identification and conservation evaluation system, and carry out identification and hierarchical management of critical and potential habitats of S. chinensis. (3) Study the habitat selection mechanism from the ecosystem level, combined with the ecological model to explore the carrying capacity of the current habitat to the S. chinensis, and further explore the impact of habitat hydrological factors, biological resources and human activities on the habitat selection of S. chinensis. (4) Construct a genetic resource database for S. chinensis, and explore the links among natural selection, ecological impact and genetic evolution, so as to reveal the molecular mechanisms of species evolution, adaptation and endangerment. (5) In order to effectively deal with the impact of global marine environmental changes on the S. chinensis, it is recommended to establish a scientific research cooperation platform and protection management network among the S. chinensis distribution countries.

Due to their nanoscale effects and excellent physicochemical properties, engineering nanomaterials (ENMs) have been increasingly applied in various fields during the last decade. The biological effects of these ENMs on higher plants and the risk assessment of their ecological effects have become research hotspots. To comprehensively understand the effects of ENMs on higher plants in ecosystems, this paper reviews the effects of several ENMs (metal nanomaterials, metal oxide nanomaterials, carbon-based nanomaterials) on the growth of higher plants and their mechanisms. These ENMs could inhibit plant growth by reducing the seed germination rate, inducing relative reactive oxygen production, enhancing cell membrane permeability and directly damaging roots and can also promote plant growth by enhancing photosynthesis, increasing root activity, strengthening water absorption and enhancing plant metabolic enzyme activity. The influencing factors of ENMs on plant biological effects were further analyzed, including plant species, nanomaterial size and shape, nanomaterial surface characteristics, nanomaterial concentration and treatment time, and plant growth medium. Finally, based on the real soil environment, long-term and low-dose effects, and plant absorption and transportation, we propose the future research associated with the interaction between ENMs and higher plants, aiming to provide a reference for the efficient use of ENMs in agricultural production.

Lutein can effectively reduce incidence of atherosclerosis, diabetes, cancer and multiple eye diseases. The lutein biofortification through food crop has gained more attention with improvement of daily diet. In this paper, 194 Shanxi wheat cultivars planted in three environments were used to extract lutein by organic solvent extraction, and the content of lutein in different germplasms was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The broad-sense heritability of lutein content in wheat and its relationship with grain color, winter/spring types, geographical origin, accession types, and main agronomic traits were analyzed, and the genetic loci associated with lutein content were identified through genome-wide association analysis. Results showed that significant variation in lutein contents occurred among Shanxi wheat accessions, the coefficient of variation was 33.12%-48.57%. Genotype was the main factor affecting lutein content. The average lutein content in three environments was 0.67-4.03 μg·g^-1, 0.16-5.05 μg·g^-1 and 0.16-3.63 μg·g^-1, respectively. The average lutein content of winter types and irrigated-wheat accessions were higher than those of spring types and dryland-wheat, respectively. There was no significant effect of grain color and released years on lutein content. Heading date, plant height and 1 000 kernel weight were significantly negative correlated with lutein content. The other agronomic traits had no significant effect on lutein. Genome-wide association analysis found four major loci related to lutein content on chromosomes 1B, 3A and 7A, among them, QLuc.3A and QLuc.7A.1 are new loci affecting the lutein content. These results provide valuable information for breeding and cultivation of wheat lutein bioaugmentation varieties.

Aim & Background Unlike biodiversity offsets, which are based on the premise of biodiversity loss, biodiversity credits are an economic instrument that is measurable, traceable, tradable, and generates net biodiversity gains. To address the funding gap for biodiversity and to halt and reverse global biodiversity loss, biodiversity credits have emerged with carbon credits as a blueprint.

Results This paper introduced the conceptual framework of biodiversity credits, providing a detailed explanation of their similarities and differences with biodiversity offsets and carbon credits. Drawing on the foundation of high-quality carbon credits, the paper summarized the principles of biodiversity credits, including their accounting approaches and governance systems. Furthermore, it presented the current global market for biodiversity credits, offering specific practical examples of various trading projects.

Prospects The paper also examined four aspects of problems and challenges related to biodiversity credits: (1) pricing in voluntary markets lacks clear standards; (2) the risk of being a potential greenwashing tool used by enterprises; (3) regulatory and governance systems need safeguards for transparency and community rights; (4) the compatibility with carbon credits is controversial. Looking forward, challenges and opportunities of biodiversity credits co-exist as a critical tool for businesses to achieve their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals.

Aims: To comprehensively understand the current status of vascular plants and provide background materials for the conservation of plant diversity in Fujian Province, the list of vascular plants in the region needs to be updated. This study revises and updates the species list of vascular plants in Fujian Province in the post-flora era.

Methods: Based on Flora of Fujian, we refered to related literature, examined herbarium specimens, consulted relevant lists and databases, and incorporated the results of field investigations conducted by the authors and other front-line peers. The checklist of vascular plants in Fujian Province was sorted according to the latest classification systems of vascular plants (APG IV system, Yang system, and PPG I system). The list included the family and genus information, Chinese name and Latin name, and the county and city distribution information data sources for each species.

Results: In total, there were 5,587 species belonging to 256 families and 1,807 genera of wild, naturalized, and cultivated vascular plants in Fujian Province (wild: 231 families, 1,402 genera, and 4,550 species). This included 414 species of lycophytes and ferns belonging to 102 genera and 32 families, 76 species of gymnosperms belonging to 38 genera and 10 families, and 5,097 species of angiosperms belonging to 1,667 genera and 214 families, respectively. Compared with Flora of Fujian, 8 families, 216 genera, and 1,107 species were newly added. The five largest families of lycophytes and ferns species were Dryopteridaceae (67), Polypodiaceae (51), Pteridaceae (51), Thelypteridaceae (42), and Athyriaceae (38). Among the gymnosperms, the families and the genera with the largest number of species were Cupressaceae (15 genera, 25 species) and Pinus (14 species), respectively. The top 10 largest families of angiosperms are Poaceae (452), Leguminosae (305), Compositae (279), Orchidaceae (244), Cyperaceae (225), Rosaceae (198), Labiata (188), Rubiaceae (126), Malvaceae (85), and Lauraceae (80), with a total of 2,180 species, accounting for 39.0% of the total number of vascular plant species in Fujian Province. The top five largest genera were Carex (94), Rubus (58), Ilex (54), Phyllostachys (38) and Persicaria (36).

Conclusions: This work improves the species distribution profile and specimen information, thus providing basic information for the survey, assessment, and conservation of plant diversity in Fujian Province. Additionally, this study can be used to further develop botany-related disciplines, and the revision of Flora of Fujian.

Chitin, a major component of the fungal cell wall, is a kind of typical microbe associated molecular pattern (MAMP) that is recognized by two plasma membrane located LysM receptors, CERK1 and LYK5, and trigger immune response in plants. In this study, the intracellular kinase domain of CERK1 was cloned and used to screen the yeast cDNA library, and identify its interaction with HSP1. Using CRISPR-Cas-mediated gene editing technology, we knocked out the HSP1 gene in wild-type Arabidopsis thaliana Col-0 and obtained hsp1 v63 deletion mutant. We showed that the expression of downstream defense-related genes and the phosphorylation pathway of mitogen-activated protein kinase were inhibited in the hsp1 v63 deletion mutant compared to the wild type Col-0. We also showed that the protein level of CERK1 in hsp1 v63 mutants was lower than that in the Col-0, and that reduced CERK1 levels in this mutant were associated with the endoplasmic reticulum degradation system. These results indicate that HSP1 is a key gene in the chitin-induced defense response pathway, thus revealing the important roles of molecular chaperone in regulating receptor protein level and improvement in crop resistance.

Aim: Brachyuran crabs are one of the important representatives of large benthic invertebrates in intertidal habitats and also an important component of mangrove wetland ecosystem. Dongzhaigang National Nature Reserve (DZGNNR) in Hainan preserves the most typical mangrove wetland ecosystem in China. It is also one of the key areas in the marine biogeographic division of East Asia. However, limited knowledge on intertidal crab species richness and unclear fauna characteristics in this area. Based on a comprehensive field survey combined with previous studies, we have cataloged an updated checklist of intertidal crabs of DZGNNR.

Method: The field survey was conducted in the intertidal zone of DZGNNR between September and November of 2022. During this time, 16 sampling sites were investigated and a total of 207 specimens were collected and identified. The species recorded in previous documents were reassessed and each taxon was revised according to the recent researches.

Results: During the field survey, we collected a total of 64 species of brachyuran crabs from 17 families and 39 genera. Out of these, 22 species were previously undocumented in DZGNNR, and two species were newly discovered in Hainan Province (Elamena rostrata and Parasesarma ungulatum). The updated checklist of brachyuran fauna of DZGNNR now includes 115 species belonging to 22 families and 63 genera.

Conclusions The intertidal brachyuran fauna of DZGNNR is mainly composed of East Asian warm water species, with Indo-West Pacific warm water elements being the most prevalent. This indicates that the DZGNNR is part of the northern South China Sea Subtropical Provinces in terms of its zoobenthic fauna, similar to the intertidal brachyuran fauna found in Guangxi, Guangdong and Fujian. Our study provides new insights on the brachyuran fauna of DZGNNR and north Hainan Island, which improve our understanding of zoobenthic biogeographical patterns in northern South China Sea.

Flavonoids are polyphenols compounds produced during the secondary metabolism of plants, which are widely present in plants and have various functions. Flavonoids biosynthesis takes place at the cytosolic side of the en- doplasmic reticulum (ER), but accumulation of various flavonoids is observed in the vacuole. Efficient transport and ac- cumulation systems are therefore required to transfer flavonoids from the ER into the vacuole. Certain researches for the transport of flavonoids has been done for decades. Current research results showed that: there are three transport mechanisms in plants, including glutathione S-transferase (GST), membrane transporters, and vesicle trafficking. Here, we reviewed the three transport mechanisms and advances of plant flavonoids transport in recent years. The functional cooperation of three distinct but nonexclusive mechanisms were summarized. While the biosynthesis of the flavonoids is well characterized across species, the research on flavonoids transport and accumulation is still relatively insufficient. For better understand the flavonoids transport and accumulation mechanism in plant, the relationship between flavonoids modification and transport, flavonoids transport substrate specificity and preference, and transcriptional regulation of flavonoids transport remain deeply unexplored.

Promoter is an indispensable regulatory sequence for driving gene expression in higher plants. Different promoter elements cause diverse driving efficiency and space-time specificity. Identifying the structures and functions of promoter elements contributes to a better understanding of the growth and development, multi-stress tolerance, and evolution of plants. With the development of high-throughput sequencing technologies, artificial intelligence and synthetic biology, the techniques for identifying cis-acting elements and constructing artificial biological components that meet the design requirements has gradually emerged, providing a foundation for efficient, precise, and diverse gene regulation in molecular breeding. This article targets on the application of promoter reconstruction in molecular design, introducing the detailed structure and function of higher plant promoters and the methods of cis-acting element identification. We summarized a total of 174 inducible, tissue-specific promoter elements in 27 categories and their applications on artificial modification and synthesis. At the end, we proposed the future directions and methods of the promoter designs. This review will be helpful for the further functional analyses of promoters in higher plants and their applications on molecular design breeding.

Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) is one of the oldest symbionts between plants and soil microorganisms, and about 80% terrestrial plant species can associate with AM fungi on earth. Because of the stable climate and poor soil phosphorus content in tropical and subtropical forests, this mutualistic symbiosis is much more common there. Previous studies have extensively investigated the diversity of AM fungi in tropical and subtropical forests, and have shown that AM fungi can promote plant recruitment and growth. However, this positive effect of AM fungi on plants (i.e., the positive plant-soil feedback) can weaken the contribution of the negative plant-soil feedback (caused by soil-borne pathogens) to maintaining tree species diversity, which appears to contradict with the surprisingly high tree diversity and high proportion of rare tree species in tropical and subtropical forests. Recently, a mounting number of empirical studies have found that the diversity of AM fungi varies significantly in different habitats and AM colonization depends on the identity of host species, thereby affecting the fitness of plants and further shaping the plant community structure. Through synthesizing the current research about the diversity of AM fungi in promoting plant coexistence and maintaining community diversity, we expect to put forward a promising study direction for testing the “rare species advantage” hypothesis, therefore improving the conservation of rare plant species.

Photosynthesis of plants depends on the green leaves, and the most intuitive feature of leaf growth and development is its color. At present, more than 200 genes related to rice leaf color have been cloned. The regulatory mechanisms of rice leaf color are complex and diverse, which involve multiple regulatory pathways, including biosynthesis and degradation of photosynthetic pigments, pathway of nucleus-plastid signaling, and heme synthesis. In addition, external environment such as temperature and light intensity can also affect the color changes of rice leaves. Here we reviewed the molecular pathways of rice leaf color, environmental factors and leaf color related genes, as well as the genetic regulatory mechanisms of rice leaf color was revealed, which will provide theoretical basis for rice high photosynthetic breeding and application, and future research in addressing some scientific problems in this field.

Background & Aims: In the face of a series of challenges such as climate change, population growth and agricultural intensification, how to promote sustainable agricultural development and ensure food security, agroecosystem diversity with its unique genetic, ecological and traditional socio-cultural values become an important way to solve this challenge. A comprehensive understanding of the characteristics of agroecosystem diversity, the main influencing factors, conservation and utilization measures and research tools will be an important reference for the developing of agrobiodiversity conservation strategies.

Method: This paper only focused on agrobiodiversity on farming system not broad agriculture. We systematically analyzed the impact of various influencing factors and management measures on agroecosystem diversity, introduced the current situation and changing dynamics of typical ecological regions of agrobiodiversity in China, systematically described the assessment methods of agroecosystem diversity, analyzed the conservation and management of agroecosystem diversity, and accordingly pointed out the main problems of current agrobiodiversity research in China and future prospects.

Results: The analysis shows that agroecosystem diversity plays an important role in maintaining agroecological services, improving the resilience of agroecosystems, reducing chemical fertilizer and pesticide and developing green agriculture.

Prospect: There is a need to improve agroecosystem diversity assessment indicators, strengthen agroecosystem diversity management policies and coordination mechanisms, and intensify agroecosystem diversity conservation and use, so that agrobiodiversity conservation and utilization can be mainstreamed in sustainable agriculture development.

Root exudates play an important role in soil carbon balance, acting as an important medium for material and energy exchange and information transfer between plant roots and soil, and also the crucial forms for plant response to environmental changes. Frequent extreme drought events accompanied with global climate change have imposed a profound impact on both above- and below-ground plant growth processes. However, significant limitation exists in understanding the responses of root exudates and their mediated rhizosphere priming effect to drought due to the complexity of root-soil interface interactions and the limitation in devices and methods for collecting root exudates. This paper reviews the effects of drought on the quantity and quality of plant root exudates, with emphasis on the rhizosphere priming effect mediated by root exudates under drought stress. The future research focuses on root exudates was also discussed. This study will provide suggestion for soil carbon sink assessment under the future climate change.

Background & Aims: At the landscape scale, multiple local communities are distributed along environmental gradients, and these local communities are interconnected through species dispersal, together forming metacommunity. When considering both the species composition and interspecific interactions of metacommunity, the concept of metanetwork emerges. With methods in network analysis, metanetwork illustrate the distribution of species interactions across multiple communities. The research scale and numerous network metrics corresponding to different data types often confuse researchers.
Progress: We begin by categorizing and organizing network metrics, and then proceed to differentiate between global and local network metrics. This provides explanations for their application scenarios, computation processes, and ecological significance, while also discussing the impact of sampling intensity on these metrics and exploring their relationships. We introduce the network β-diversity metrics that are computed based on interaction diversity. Subsequently, we outline the statistical inference approaches used in network analysis, incorporating both individual network metrics and network β-diversity metrics. Finally, we provide a summary of the recent research trends, which has shifted from metacommunity to metanetwork.
Prospects: We stress the significance of taking into account the influence of phylogenetic relationships on network composition and interactions in research papers. Multilayer networks offer the capability to represent community structures at a wider scale of species interactions, thus revealing more comprehensive community dynamics. Consistency in the analytical approach of metanetworks is vital for facilitating comparisons across diverse studies.

Background & Aims: Biodiversity conservation stands as a critical imperative for China’s ecological security and the advancement of an ecological civilization. It also represents a vital public welfare endeavor crucial for fostering sustainable development. Despite significant efforts, China’s biodiversity conservation efforts continue to confront substantial challenges, including habitat fragmentation, declining habitat quality, and the proliferation of invasive species. Existing biodiversity conservation policies have thus far fallen short of effectively reversing the overarching trend of biodiversity loss. In light of these challenges, this paper seeks to explore the visionary objectives of biodiversity conservation in China. It analyzes the evolutionary trajectory of China’s biodiversity conservation policies, highlights key measures implemented, and outlines the development trend of biodiversity conservation development in the country.

Policy evolution: To reconcile the delicate balance between conservation and development imperatives, the state has implemented a diverse array of plans, strategies, notifications, and measures. Beginning with the protection of individual species, China has progressively expanded and refined the scope, objectives, and strategies of biodiversity conservation, gradually crafting a comprehensive policy framework for biodiversity conservation. Reflecting the evolving focus on conservation targets, China’s biodiversity protection has transitioned from single-species protection and classification-based approaches to a more holistic and integrated conservation paradigm. Furthermore, biodiversity conservation efforts have been systematically integrated into various national plans, facilitating comprehensive protection across diverse ecosystems and species. Consequently, China’s biodiversity conservation journey can be delineated into three distinct stages: the nascent phase (pre-1994), the rapid development stage (1994‒2010), and the ongoing in-depth improvement stage (2010‒present).

Main measures: In general, China has implemented a variety of conservation and restoration measures, resulting in notable successes across multiple fronts. These measures can be broadly characterized as direct protection, prevention and control, and sustainable use. Initially, biodiversity conservation efforts primarily focused on direct protection measures. However, over time, there has been a discernable shift towards a more comprehensive approach, encompassing a combination of direct conservation strategies, prevention, control measures, and sustainable utilization practices.

Development trends: To advance the establishment of a robust biodiversity conservation policy framework and elevate the effectiveness of biodiversity conservation efforts, it is imperative to achieve alignment, or the “three fits”, between biodiversity conservation and territorial spatial planning, the advancement of information technology, and the formulation of national strategies. By ensuring coherence and synergy, it is envisaged that this approach will facilitate the attainment of biodiversity conservation objectives and realize the vision of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature by 2050.

Background & Aim: Plants harbor large and highly diverse microbial communities in every compartment niche, including the surfaces and interiors of all plant organs. These microorganisms, namely plant microbiomes, have co-evolved with host plant for over hundreds of millions of years and play important roles in plant nutrient uptake, growth promotion, disease resistance and adaptation to environmental stresses as “holobionts” of the host plant. The rapid development of multi-omics approaches in recent decades has greatly promoted the research on diversity, composition, functions and driver factors of plant microbiomes and plant-microbiome interaction mechanisms. However, the current understanding and utilization of the plant microbiome remain inadequate in comparison to soil microbiome.

Progresses: This review summarized the recent progresses on the diversity, composition, functions and mechanisms of plant microbiomes in regulating plant growth and development, promoting nutrient uptake, improving disease resistance and adaption to environmental stresses. We further reviewed the driving factors of plant microbiome community assembly, from the respective of host selection, environmental factors and microbial interactions. The complex plant-microbe interactions that shape plant microbiome community and regulate their beneficial functions for plants were highlighted.

Perspectives: We prospect that more research efforts will be put towards core microbiome mining, synthetic community construction and application, precise screening of plant genetic loci affecting beneficial microbe colonization, and unraveling plant-microbiome interaction mechanisms at the plant-microbial community level. Overall, a comprehensive understanding of plant microbial community assembly and ecological functions and the mechanisms is vital for future management and manipulation of plant microbiomes for ecosystem health and agricultural sustainability.

Aims The southwestern China is a region with complex topography and diverse ecosystem and vegetation types. However, its role as an ecological barrier is being weakened by the effects of climate change and increasing pressure of human activities. This study examines the temporal dynamics of vegetation carbon use efficiency (CUE) in this region using the CMIP6 models, aiming to effectively reducing the uncertainties in prognostic results of future predictions.
Methods We used MODIS remote sensing data for the period 2001-2014 and simulations from 15 models in the Phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6), to determine the capability of the new generation models in simulating the seasonal and annual vegetation CUE in the southwestern China. The performance of the models was ranked based on the composite rating index (MR).
Important findings Most of the models used in this study underestimated the annual vegetation CUE, and their ability to simulate the spatial patterns in the trends of vegetation CUE is generally poor. However, some models performed relatively well in simulating the spatial distribution of multi-year average vegetation CUE; the top 1/3 tier included BCC-CSM2-MR, CMCC-ESM2, TaiESM, EC-Earth3-Veg and CAS-ESM2-0 in the order of performance. Among the seasons, the models best simulated the spatial distribution of vegetation CUE in summer, with better results from BCC-CSM2-MR, EC-Earth3-Veg, TaiESM, CMCC-ESM2 and CAS-ESM2-0. The simulation capability of the models for winter is second only to that for summer, and relatively poor for spring and autumn. Compared to the simulations by individual models, the multi-model ensemble mean (MME-S) reduced the uncertainties and exhibited a strong simulation capability, especially in the spatial distribution of vegetation CUE in local areas such as the Sichuan Basin. There was a lack of good simulation capability for the spatial distribution of vegetation CUE in Qingzang Plateau, Hengduan Mountains and other topographically complex areas. In general, before applying the CMIP6 models for regional vegetation CUE simulation, it is necessary to comprehensively evaluate the specific models from multiple perspectives to select the models with better simulation performance.

Aims: Henan Province is located in the central part of China. Its complex and diverse geographical environment play an important role in the region’s rich plant diversity. A large number of plant specimens collected by predecessors have provided strong support for the publication of Flora of Henan. However, the Flora of Henan (Supplement and Revision) lacked a great deal of field investigation and omitted some previously published new records. We have updated the catalog to clarify the wild woody plant resources in Henan Province.

Methods: Based on a review of published literature, including all specimens from Henan Province preserved in all the herbariums in China, and continuous field survey of all mountains in Henan Province during the past 5 years, this paper updates the checklist of wild woody plants in Henan Province, China. In this new checklist, the delimitation and arrangement of plant families followed new systems primarily based on molecular phylogenetics.

Results: According to the revision of Flora of China, we recorded a total of 984 species with 32 subspecies, 148 varieties and 11 forms of wild woody plants in this checklist. This included synonyms of 5 genera, 102 species, 21 subspecies and 24 varieties from Flora of China, together with 6 genera, 194 species, 20 subspecies, 35 varieties and 1 form from Flora of Henan. 168 new records and 50 problematical taxa of wild woody plants from Flora of Henan were also listed in this checklist.

Conclusion: Our results show that continuous field survey of plant diversity is still important in the Shangcheng, Xinxian, Tongbai, Xichuan, Lushi, and Lingbao in provincial boundary counties in Henan Province.

Aims: Urban areas can provide important habitats for birds. Residential green spaces can play an important role in urban green spaces and may provide valuable resources for urban birds. Food diversity and quantity can be one of the factors that could be limiting bird survival. Therefore, by considering the food preferences of birds, this study aims to determine the relationship between birds and their food sources in Beijing residential areas. Furthermore, this study seeks to determine what factors may influence bird feeding behavior in residential areas.
Methods: Forty residential areas were selected as survey plots and surveyed monthly from June 2020 to May 2021. Shannon-Wiener diversity index was used for evaluating bird diversity, and the distribution was defined as the numbers of residential areas where birds fed. A generalized linear model was used to evaluate the influencing factors of bird feeding in residential areas, and linear regression was performed on the diversity index, abundance and the distribution of bird feeding sources.
Results: (1) The feeding behavior of 2,242 birds (35 species, 14 families) were recorded. We observed that bird richness was at its highest in spring, followed by autumn, winter and summer, then abundance was at its highest in spring, followed by winter, autumn and summer, and the Shannon-Wiener diversity index was at its highest in autumn, followed by spring, winter, summer. (2) A decrease in food sources was observed in the following: insects (33.87%), samara (18.33%), berries (9.77%), cones (8.16%) and grass seeds (5.17%). (3) The direct utilization of plants by birds was 60.4%, while the indirect utilization was 39.6%. The Shannon-Wiener diversity index of food source plants decreased in autumn (3.1612), winter (2.9651), spring (2.9203) and summer (2.1763). (4) The species of food source was the most critical environmental factor that determined birds feeding behavior in residential areas. Birds with more abundant food sources had larger populations and wider distribution ranges.
Conclusion: Plant species in residential areas can be highly diverse and can offer a wide range of food sources for multiple species of birds throughout their entire phenology between the early spring and autumn. It is necessary to plant more native tree species and fruiting plants, reduce hedgerows, and advocate near-natural management measures with low disturbance.

Brassinosteroid and auxin play important roles in plant growth and development. There is a complex crosstalk between the two plant hormones. In order to study whether GH3.17 is involved in the crosstalk between auxin and brassinosteroid (BR), we created overexpression and CRISPR gene loss mutants of Arabidopsis GH3.17. The root length of GH3.17 CRISPR mutants was slightly longer than that of wild-type plants. However, the GH3.17 overexpression seedlings had typical auxin deficiency phenotypes with decreased height, curly leaves and shorten roots and petioles. The root length of GH3.17 overexpression seedlings was substantially increased by the application of low concentrations of indole acetic acid (IAA) or brassinolide (BL), and the overexpression plants were more sensitive to IAA and BR than the wild type plants. We also found that the expression of auxin signaling, and BR synthesis pathway-related genes IAA12 and IAA16 was inhibited in the overexpression plants, while the expression abundance of brassinosteroid biosynthetic genes DWF4 and CPD was increased, suggesting that the inhibition of auxin signal transduction caused by the deficiency of active auxin may be compensated by BR compounds accumulation.