In this review we summarized recent historical records and molecular studies on evolutionary history and phylogeography of Scots pine with focus on the European highly fragmented distribution area of the species. Fossilized pollen, plant micro- and macrofossil records provided evidences on the large-scale species’ range shifts and demographic changes during the Quaternary. Populations of Scots pine were documented both in the glacial (incl. full glaciation) and interglacial periods. Recolonization of Europe after the glaciation originated from the (Sub) Mediterranean areas like the Balkan Peninsula but also from around the Eastern Alps and the surroundings of the Danube plain. Fennoscandia and northern European Baltic regions were most probably colonized from two main directions, from Western Europe and from the Russian Plain. Modern history of Scots pine was hardly affected by anthropogenic activities that started to strengthen in the Bronze and Iron Age. Along with the fossil records, molecular genetic tools were used to infer the origin and putative history including migration, differentiation and demography of the species. In this paper we compiled the major publications (30) of molecular genetic studies of the past 20 years derived from distinctly inherited organelle genomes (mitochondrial, chloroplast, nuclear) revealed by different marker systems (mtDNA-cox1, -nad1, -nad3, -nad7, ISSR, cpSSR, nSSR, B-SAP, SNP). It is important to consider that different phylogeographic patterns can be drawn by the analysis of different DNA marker types. Accordingly the use of more than one marker simultaneously outlines the most sophisticated phylogeographical pattern on the genetic lineages and can reveal high differentiation of the European distribution. Combined marker systems and markers derived from coding sequences have also been used to detect species’ phylogeographic patterns, but these were rarely applied to Scots pine. Although new molecular techniques can provide higher resolution data for populations, the reviewed results can shape the direction of further studies.

DNA methylation, an epigenetic mechanism used by cells to control gene expression, has an important biological role in plant development and environmental fitness. Since plant DNA methylation is closely related to environmental conditions, variation during the day is expected. Here, in genetically identical plants of Populus nigra clone N46, DNA methylation changes in leaves over a 24 h period were detected using the methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism method. The results showed different DNA methylation patterns in mature poplar leaves: not only in individuals at the same time, but also in samples at each of the six time during the day. In addition, night samples had a higher percentage of methylation than in morning samples. However, no statistically significant differences were found among the samples gathered at different times. Similar results were obtained for three other P. nigra clones with different genetic backgrounds. Real time qPCR showed that the DNA methyltransferase genes Pt-MET1 and Pt-SOM1 involved in CG DNA methylation in poplar were stable over a 24 h period in leaves of P. nigra N46 compared with circadian-controlled genes. That could be part of the reason that methylation of CCGG sites is stable in those leaves. That DNA methylation differed even in genetically identical plants indicates the specificity of DNA methylation changes in their genomes. No statistically significant differences in methylation changes were found between day and night, suggesting that DNA methylation is more stable than expected and is unlikely to be involved in circadian regulation in plants.

Castanea sativa is a valuable tree species in Hyrcanian forests, an evolutionary relict ecosystem whose communities suffer from overexploitation and fungal diseases. In the current study, three species delimitation methods were utilized with ITS regions sequencing to determine the taxonomic status of Septoria causing leaf blotch of C. sativa in Hyrcanian forests. The results indicated that the length of ITS region in the genus Septoria (extracted from GenBank) varied from 650 to 680 bp. There were almost three times more variable sites in ITS1 than in ITS2. The ITS2 secondary structure of Hyrcanian Septoria community had the highest similarity with Septoria castaneicola, except for some differences in helix II and III. Also, Hyrcanian samples had minimum genetic distances with S. castaneicola and maximum with Septoria quercicola. The maximum parsimony method divided the studied Septoria genus into three distinct clades, mostly located in clade I. Clade II consisted entirely of Septoria aciculosa, while clade III contained S. castaneicola as well as Hyrcanian samples.

Magnoliae officinalis is the plant source of houpo, a widely used traditional Chinese medicine to treat symptoms of gastrointestinal diseases. Its main active components, magnolol (MG) and honokiol (HK), have excellent pharmacological actions, but little research has focused on the functional genes involved in the MG and HK metabolic pathways. In this study, using RNA-seq and gene expression profile, we present the first transcriptome characterization of M. officinalis leaves, twigs and stems. Based on similarity search against nonredundant protein databases, 30,660 contigs had at least a significant alignment to existing public database. Pathway analysis showed that 8707 contigs were assigned to 317 KEGG pathways. A second skeleton pathway with 14 putative homologous genes was also identified as involved in lignan biosynthesis. Expression profiles of these 14 genes showed that leaves and twigs seem to have higher transcript levels for lignan components than in stem tissue; this result was then verified by qRT-PCR. Our work will immensely facilitate metabolic research on lignan biosynthesis in M. officinalis.

Fertility variation and effective number of parents were estimated in the 100 individuals from each of three plantation populations (P1, P2 and P3) of the endangered Pinus nigra. subsp. pallasiana var. pyramidata established in the Isparta–Golcuk district in southern Turkey in 1990. Potential relations between cone yield and growth characters (height, diameter at breast height, diameter at base and crown diameter) were also investigated. Large differences were found among populations and within populations for cone production and growth characters. Mean cone production was eight (ranging from 6.5 in P2 to 9.1 in P1) for the three populations. The 10 most productive individuals for cones produced 32% of the total cones in P1, 39% in P2 and 34% in P3; 21, 16 and 6 individuals, respectively did not produce any cones in the populations. According to the correlation analyses, the relation between cone yield and growth characters changed for the populations, while height, diameter at breast height and crown diameter were positively significantly correlated (r = 0.182, 0.135 and 0.209; p ≤ 0.05) with cone production for the three populations. Fertility variation was 1.81 in total of three populations, ranging from 1.72 in P3 to 3.45 in P1). Effective number of parents was 142 (55.2 of number of parents censused; 29%, P1; 49.8%, P2; 58.3%, P3).

The growth traits (tree height, diameter at breast height, and stem straightness degree) and wood properties [wood density (WD), fiber length, fiber width, ash content (AC), lignin content, cellulose content, hemicellulose content (HEC), and holocellulose content] of 208 26-year-old Larix olgensis clones were analyzed. Except for WD and AC, there were significant differences (p < 0.01) for all traits among clones. The phenotypic coefficient of variation and repeatability of all traits were 9.34–35.33% and 0.218–0.930, respectively. Tree height and diameter at breast height showed significant positive correlation; however, the correlation coefficients among growth characteristics and wood properties were mostly not significant. Ten clones (L70, L56, L82, L90, L59, L91, L61, L92, L86, and L64) were selected as excellent clones under a selection rate of 5%, using tree height, diameter at breast height, and stem straightness degree as evaluation indexes, providing genetic gains of 28.69, 17.96, and 0.67%, respectively. Ten clones (L88, L305, L59, L66, L253, L304, L277, L298, L248, and L293) were selected as excellent clones using wood properties as an evaluation index, with a selection rate of 5%, providing genetic gains in WD, fiber length, fiber width, cellulose content, and HEC of 4.14, 3.64, 9.28, 6.77, and 9.61%, respectively. This study provides a theoretical basis for selecting excellent L. olgensis clones.

Acer mono Maxim. is one of the major components of cool temperate forests in Japan. Some of its many varieties are distributed sympatrically. Because of its great variability, the intraspecific taxonomy and nomenclature of the species are controversial. To understand the genetic relationships among these varieties and whether hybridization or introgression occurred among the sympatric varieties, we studied the genetic relationships among sympatric varieties of A. mono in the Chichibu Mountains (A. mono var. ambiguum, A. mono var. connivens, A. mono var. marmoratum) and Central Hokkaido (A. mono var. mayrii and A. mono var. glabrum) in Japan. Our results showed that varieties in Chichibu are genetically close, suggesting that hybridization or introgression might occur between these varieties, which could explain the higher genetic diversity of varieties in Chichibu than in Hokkaido. In contrast to the close relationships between the varieties in Chichibu, varieties in Hokkaido seemed relatively separated from each other; indeed, there may be reproductive isolation between the two varieties. The results provide new insight for the taxonomy of the varieties of A. mono, especially the sympatric varieties, in Japan.

The effects of exogenous gibberellic acid (GA₃) and abscisic acid (ABA) on the total respiratory rate, percentages of total respiratory rate contributed by respiratory pathways [Embden-Meyerhof- Parnas Pathway (EMP), Pentose Phosphate Pathway (PPP), and Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle (TCA)], and conversion of starch to soluble sugars in the buds of black currants during secondary bud burst were investigated to determine the relationship between respiratory rates and secondary bud burst. ‘Adelinia’, a black currant cultivar that is prone to secondary bud burst after the first harvest, was used in this study. Mature bushes of Adelinia were sprayed with 30 mg/L GA₃ and 50 mg/L ABA to manipulate bud burst. The results showed that exogenous applications of GA₃ and ABA had opposite effects on bud respiratory rate. Generally, GA₃ treatment increased the total respiratory rate and respiratory rate of the TCA and PPP, and the respiratory rates after GA₃ treatment were higher than those of control. While ABA treatment mostly decreased the total respiratory rate and the respiratory rate of TCA and PPP in buds in comparison to control. In terms of the percentage of the three respiratory rates in comparison to the total respiratory rate, GA₃ treatment significantly increased the percentage of TCA and PPP respiratory rate in comparison to the control (P < 0.01), whereas ABA decreased the rates. GA₃ significantly increased the content of soluble sugars and decreased the starch content, while the starch content in buds after ABA treatment was significantly higher than that of the control. All results showed that PPP is a critical process for the second bud burst in black currants. While the EMP–TCA pathway is still dominant in bud respiration, provides a series of basic materials and energy (ATP). The conversion of starch to soluble sugars is essential for bud burst. Thus, we conclude that an energy shortage is a main contributor in ABA inhibition of the secondary bud burst of black currants.

In this study, we subjected the root systems of eight Eucalyptus hybrids currently cultivated in southern China to heterogeneous phosphorus stress to provide a scientific basis for the selection of a highly phosphorus-efficient Eucalyptus variety. When the ability of these hybrids to locate phosphorus under different experimental conditions (phosphorus supply in a homogeneous or heterogeneous manner vs. no phosphorus supply) was compared, the main growth characteristics of Eucalyptus, such as plant height, diameter, dry mass, and phosphorus content, significantly improved when the phosphorus supply was increased from no phosphorus or heterogeneous phosphorus (half of the phosphorus amount) to homogeneous phosphorus. Across these three conditions, the growth traits of different Eucalyptus hybrids differed significantly, indicating different adaptabilities of the hybrids to various phosphorus conditions. The growth traits of the aboveground tissues of Eucalyptus under different phosphorus conditions were largely influenced by the morphology of the underground root system. In addition, the root morphology of Eucalyptus under heterogeneous phosphorus treatment suggested that there were two mechanisms for locating nutrients. Eucalyptus hybrids such as Urophylla 3229, Grandis 9, Guanglin 3, 201-2, and Dunn produced more roots proximal to the phosphorus supply; the other hybrids, Urophylla 3216, Grandis 5, and Guanglin 9, relied mainly on the growth of roots opposite the phosphorus supply to obtain adequate nutrients for growth. With these two strategies, a wide range of nutrients was obtained, root distribution was greater, more soil volume was covered, the contact area of the roots with soil phosphorus was increased, and the uptake of phosphorus by the root system was increased. These results demonstrate that Eucalyptus relies on changes to morphological characteristics of the root system to increase accessibility to phosphorus resources.

Germination tests are currently the most widely used method to evaluate seed quality of Ginkgo biloba L., but they are time-consuming and labor intensive. Oxygen-sensing technology, based on the principle of fluorescence quenching to detect oxygen and assess seed quality was used to rapidly evaluate seed quality of two varieties (Shandong Tancheng 202 and Zhejiang Dafoshou) of G. biloba from five mother plants. Fifteen samples of three vigor levels were produced by accelerated aging treatments. This process was applied in duplicate. A portable oxygen-sensing detector was employed to measure oxygen content during seed germination in a closed system at 25 °C each day until day 14. Four oxygen metabolism indices were calculated: oxygen consumption index, oxygen consumption rate, critical oxygen concentration, and theoretical germination time (T _GT). Additionally, we tested laboratory germination and field emergence. The results of a one-way analysis of variance and correlation analysis showed that T _GT was the candidate index to evaluate seed quality of G. biloba. Therefore, the T _GT value was used to validate the reliability of oxygen-sensing evaluation for Zhejiang Dafoshou seeds kept under four storage conditions. The trend in the change in oxygen metabolism agreed completely agreement with that of seed germination under all storage conditions. The oxygen-sensing test reliably and rapidly assessed seed quality of G. biloba. The germination rate of Zhejiang Dafoshou was accurately predicted by T _GT.

Testing techniques to reduce weed infestation is a crucial step in developing direct tree seeding systems. The use of pre-emergence herbicides may be an alternative to manual weeding techniques, but so far, information on how they affect the seeds of native tree species is scarce. We established a greenhouse experiment to evaluate the effects of four pre-emergence herbicides (atrazine, diuron, isoxaflutole and oxyfluorfen) on weed suppression and seedling emergence and early growth of seven tropical forest tree species (Annona coriacea Mart., Citharexylum myrianthum Cham., Cordia ecalyculata Vell., Peltophorum dubium (Spreng.) Taub., Psidium guajava L., Pterogyne nitens Tul. and Schinus terebinthifolia Raddi). The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with five treatments and five replicates. The treatments consisted of a single dose of each pre-emergence herbicide and a control. Throughout the 60 days after sowing we evaluated weed cover and seedling emergence and early growth of tree species. Overall, our results suggest that all tested herbicides reduced weed cover; however, they also negatively affected tree species seedling emergence. Of the four herbicides tested, atrazine and diuron showed the greatest effects on tree seedling emergence, oxyfluorfen was least aggressive towards native species and isoxaflutole was most effective in weed control. Native tree species varied in their responses to herbicides, indicating that future experiments should increase the number of species tested as well as investigate how seed traits can affect the species responses to different herbicides.

Within the semi-desert landscape of northern Libya, two sub-humid escarpments occur: Al-Akhdar in the east and Nafusa (Jabal Al-Gharbi) in the west. This study compares plant communities in the two regions, which are along an elevation gradient, in terms of species composition and diversity, frequency of different Raunkiaer life forms, and reproductive phenology. The two regions differed in species composition and life-form frequency between regions and between elevation zones within each region. Patterns were associated with the lower rainfall and lower moisture-holding capacity of soils at Nafusa, resulting in more xeric conditions. Only 13% of species were shared between the two regional landscapes. Species diversity, life-form frequency, and duration of the flowering–fruiting phenophase were all affected by elevation above sea level. The duration of flowering and fruiting in spring and fall was associated with environmental conditions, although there were different thresholds in the two regions. There was both a spring and fall episode of flowering at Nafusa, but only spring flowering at Al-Akhdar. It is anticipated that there will be a gradual shift of plant communities to higher elevations and loss of certain sensitive species in response to ongoing climate change.

Active organic carbon in soil has high biological activity and plays an important role in forest soil ecosystem structure and function. Fire is an important disturbance factor in many forest ecosystems and occurs frequently over forested soils. However, little is known about its impact on soil active organic carbon (SAOC), which is important to the global carbon cycle. To investigate this issue, we studied the active organic carbon in soils in the Larix gmelinii forests of the Da Xing’an Mountains (Greater Xing’an Mountains) in Northeastern China, which had been burned by high-intensity wildfire in two different years (2002 and 2008). Soil samples were collected monthly during the 2011 growing season from over 12 sample plots in burned and unburned soils and then analyzed to examine the dynamics of SAOC. Our results showed that active organic carbon content changed greatly after fire disturbance in relation to the amount of time elapsed since the fire. There were significant differences in microbial biomass carbon, dissolved organic carbon, light fraction organic carbon, particulate organic carbon between burned and unburned sample plots in 2002 and 2008 (p < 0.05). The correlations between active organic carbon and environmental factors such as water content, pH value and temperature of soils, and correlations between each carbon component changed after fire disturbance, also in relation to time since the fire. The seasonal dynamics of SAOC in all of the sample plots changed after fire disturbance; peak values appeared during the growing season. In plots burned in 2002 and 2008, the magnitude and occurrence time of peak values differed. Our findings provide basic data regarding the impact of fire disturbance on boreal forest soil-carbon cycling, carbon-balance mechanisms, and carbon contributions of forest ecosystem after wildfire disturbance.

Despite the ecological and economic importance of Acacia senegal, little is known about the effects of anthropogenic disturbances on its natural regeneration patterns and population structure. We investigated the effects of these factors within the Lake Baringo woodland ecosystem. Data was collected from 60 plots of 20 m × 20 m systematically distributed in four A. senegal-dominated populations within the Lake Baringo woodland. Sample populations spanned a degradation gradient measured by a population disturbance index (PDI). Trees were measured for diameter at breast height (DBH) and categorized by growth stages: seedling, sapling and adult tree. Higher seedling and sapling densities were recorded in lightly than heavily disturbed populations, but only sapling density was significantly different between the two disturbance levels (P = 0.02). Lightly disturbed populations revealed a reversed J-shape size-class distribution (SCD) indicative of stable structure unlike the heavily disturbed populations. The quotient and permutation indices indicated unstable populations with episodic recruitment and mortality. Our study reveals that natural regeneration and population structure of A. senegal were affected majorly by selective harvesting and heavy browsing. Suitable management strategies to control livestock grazing and illegal tree harvesting within the woodland is required to promote conservation of the species genetic resources

Plant species distributions show patterns along elevation gradients. Regardless of the diverse Afromontane vegetation in Ethiopia (AFE), studies of elevation patterns of woody plants are limited and they are restricted to small areas or single/few Mountains. Moreover, there is no general consensus on the patterns of woody taxa distribution by elevation. The objectives of this study were to examine the elevation patterns of woody taxa richness and their relationship with elevation in the AFE. Data were collected and compiled from the Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea (Vols. 1–7). About 5918 plant species of 243 families were examined and their elevational distributions were recorded. The distributional ranges of woody taxa were aggregated at 19 points (sites) at 100 m intervals starting from 1500 to 3400 m a.s.l. Single-factor analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA) was used to test the hypothesis that mean species richness of woody taxa decreases from the lower to the upper limit of AFE. Simple linear correlation and regression were used to show the relationships of woody taxa richness with elevation. We documented the presence of 505 woody taxa (441 species, 31 subspecies and 33 varieties) representing 267 genera and 90 families in the AFE. In terms of habit, 279 taxa are shrubs, 178 are trees and 48 are lianas. The distribution of woody taxa (trees, shrubs and lianas) showed a slight increase at the lower portion and a monotonic decline with increasing elevation. Species richness of trees, shrubs and lianas was negatively and significantly correlated with elevation (r = −0.985, −0.984, −0.981, respectively; all p < 0.001). Our hypothesis was accepted because mean richness significantly decreased from the lower to the upper limit of AFE (p < 0.001). Generally, monotonic patterns of decline in richness were observed for trees, shrubs and lianas. The contribution of shrubs to total richness increased with increasing elevation whereas that of trees and lianas decreased.

We analyzed the influence of climate change over the past 50 years on the radial growth of two tree species: Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) and Yezo spruce (Picea jezoensis), located on Changbai Mountain, Northeast China, using a dendrochronology approach to understand factors that limit the altitude for tree species. Elevated temperatures increased the radial growth of Korean pine and decreased that of Yezo spruce. The positive response of tree growth to hydrothermal conditions was the key reason that the upper limit of elevation of Korean pine followed the temperature fluctuation pattern. Increased temperatures and precipitation and longer growing seasons accelerated Korean pine growth. As the temperature increased, correlations between Korean pine ring-width chronology and precipitation changed from negative to positive. In Yezo spruce, increasing monthly temperatures and inadequate precipitation during the middle and late parts of the growing season led to narrow growth rings, whereas decreasing monthly temperatures and sufficient precipitation during the late growing season promoted growth. Rising temperatures and adequate precipitation increases Korean pine growth, possibly elevating the upper range limit in altitude for this species. In contrast, Yezo spruce growth is negatively affected by warming temperatures and limited precipitation. Under future temperature increases and precipitation fluctuations, the upper limit altitude of Korean pine can reasonably be expected to shift upward and Yezo spruce downward.

The structural diversity in urban forests is highly important to protect biodiversity. In particular, fruit trees and bush species, cavity-bearing trees and coarse, woody debris provide habitats for animals to feed, nest and hide. Improper silvicultural practices, intensive recreational use and illegal harvesting lead to a decline in the structural diversity in forests within larger metropolitan cities. It is important to monitor the structural diversity at definite time intervals using effective technologies with a view to instituting the necessary conservation measures. The use of satellite images seems to be appropriate to this end. Here we aimed to identify the associations between the textural features derived from the satellite images with different spatial resolutions and the structural diversity indices in urban forest stands (Shannon–Wiener index, complexity index, dominance index and density of wildlife trees). RapidEye images with a spatial resolution of 5 m × 5 m, ASTER images with a spatial resolution of 15 m × 15 m and Landsat-8 ETM satellite images with a spatial resolution of 30 m × 30 m were used in this study. The first-order (standard deviation of gray levels) and second order (GLCM entropy, GLCM contrast and GLCM correlation) textural features were calculated from the satellite images. When associations between textural features in the images and the structural diversity indices were assessed using the Pearson correlation coefficient, very high associations were found between the image textural features and the diversity indices. The highest association was found between the standard deviation of gray levels (SDGL_RAP) derived from RVI_RAP of RapidEye image and the Shannon–Wiener index (H _h) calculated on the basis of tree height (R ² = 0.64). The findings revealed that RapidEye satellite images with a spatial resolution of 5 m × 5 m are most suitable for estimating the structural diversity in urban forests.

Incentive design is among the decisive factors behind active community participation and long-term sustainability of participatory forest management. Especially in case of mangroves, where multiple interests apply, it requires a careful integration of several ecological, economic and institutional factors. The primary objective of this paper is to understand the basis of incentive design and make a comprehensive inquiry into the existing incentive mechanism of participatory mangrove management in Indian Sundarbans. The qualitative and in-depth assessment was derived against a conceptual framework that contains three main determinants: (1) resources availability, (2) control mechanism, and (3) perception of end-users. The study deploys the results of various participatory exercises such as structured interviews with forest officials, focus group discussions with 10 Joint Forest Management Committees and semi-structured interviews with 119 mangrove users. In general, we observed an over-cautious, hierarchical and safety-margin-based incentive design with distinct bifurcation of communities over the adequacy and effectiveness of derived benefits. Although, the incentives are diverse and align well with the overall conservation of mangroves, they are considered to be insufficient by nearly half of the mangrove users. The main issues that were observed to hinder effective community participation can be summarized as (1) serious restrictions on access to economically exploitable mangrove products, (2) passive involvement of vulnerable occupational groups, and (3) lack of trust and conflicting interests between the officials and the communities. Although the existing preventive management of mangroves can be justified considering the magnanimity of the Indian Sundarbans, it can severely impair community participation and emerge as a clear threat to future sustainability. To secure greater participation of the communities, we propose small scale, innovative developmental incentives to supplement traditional forest-resource-based incentives.

Elevational changes in patterns of diversity are important to understanding of the influence of global changes, yet few studies have addressed the distribution of microorganisms, e.g. soil micro-fungi. We studied the diversity of the forest soil micro-fungi in four vegetation belts along an elevation gradient on the north slope of Changbai Mountain in Changbai National Nature Reserve. The four belts were characterized as coniferous–deciduous mixed forest, coniferous forest, Erman’s birch forest, and alpine tundra. We estimated the quantity and distribution of the fungal species in each belt and calculated three indices, viz. Shannon–Wiener diversity (H′), Pielou’s evenness (J′), and Margalef’s abundance (E), to depict fungal species diversity. A total of 932 strains were recorded and identified, representing 53 genera, and 108 species. Among these, Penicillium, Aspergillus, Trichoderma, Mucor, Rhizopus and Fusarium were the dominant genera. With increasing elevation, the quantity of fungi and values of H′, E, and J′ gradually declined.

Extreme droughts can adversely affect the dynamics of soil respiration in tree plantations. We used a severe drought in southwestern China as a case study to estimate the effects of drought on temporal variations in soil respiration in a plantation of Eucalyptus globulus. We documented a clear seasonal pattern in soil respiration with the highest values (100.9 mg C–CO₂ m⁻² h⁻¹) recorded in June and the lowest values (28.7 mg C–CO₂ m⁻² h⁻¹) in January. The variation in soil respiration was closely associated with the dynamics of soil water driven by the drought. Soil respiration was nearly twice as great in the wet seasons as in the dry seasons. Soil water content accounted for 83–91% of variation in soil respiration, while a combined soil water and soil temperature model explained 90–99% of the variation in soil respiration. Soil water had pronounced effects on soil respiration at the moisture threshold of 6–10%. Soil water was strongly related to changes in soil parameters (i.e., bulk density, pH, soil organic carbon, and available nitrogen). These strongly influenced seasonal variation in soil respiration. We found that soil respiration was strongly suppressed by severe drought. Drought resulted in a shortage of soil water which reduced formation of soil organic carbon, impacted soil acid–base properties and soil texture, and affected soil nutrient availability.

Two species of Acerophagus from Yunnan Province, China, are reported. One species, A. ovaliclavus sp. nov., is described as new to science, and one species, A. solidus Hayat is reported as new to China. A key to all described species from China based on females is given. All the type materials are deposited in the insect collections of Northeast Forestry University, China.

The vibrational performance of wood materials critical affects the acoustic quality of a lute. The purpose of this research was to apply a multiple choice model to predict the quality of musical instruments based on data on lute soundboard vibrational properties of Paulownia wood. In the lute production, lute material selection mainly depends on the subjective evaluation of technicians, which is not only inefficient, but inaccurate. In this study, nine lutes were fabricated. Using the multiple selection model, the lute tone quality was predicted by the soundboard wood vibration data. Compared with the actual value, the dependent value predicted by the count of observations with the maximum probability had 22 erroneous judgments. The model precision is 87.78%. The results confirmed that the prediction model can be used as a guideline for the selection of the soundboard wood in musical instrument plants.