RESEARCH NEWS

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  The Discovery, Identification, and Naming of New Species of Organohalide-respiring Bacteria

  The research team at the Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, focusing on "Microbial Ecology of Contaminated Environments," collaborated with the University of Tennessee, USA. Their joint efforts led to the discovery and enrichment of a novel Dehalogenimonas strain capable of utilizing various chlorinated alkenes, including vinyl chloride, for growth. This strain was isolated from grape pomace compost samples. Through advanced techniques such as metagenomics and metaproteomics, the gene responsible for vinyl chloride reductive dehalogenase was identified, leading to the naming of the strain as 'Candidatus Dehalogenimonas etheniformans' strain GP. Previous studies had only identified certain strains of Dehalococcoides capable of respiratory metabolism for dechlorination of vinyl chloride, a known human carcinogen. The discovery of the GP strain expands the microbial resources available for remediating environments contaminated with organochlorine compounds.

  May 23, 2023
• Regenerated Woody Plant Community Matters to Soil Microbial Diversity and Litter Decomposition in Chinese Fir Plantations

  The Plantation Ecology Research Team of the Institute of Applied Ecology (IAE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, led by Prof. WANG Silong, recently explored the relationship between plant community attributes (biomass and diversity) and the α- and β-diversity of soil microbial community, as well as the relationship between plant community attributes and the decomposition of leaf litter and fine roots in a large-scale, permanent plot of Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata) plantation in Hunan Province.

  May 22, 2023
• Nitrogen Addition and Experimental Drought Simplified Arthropod Network in Temperate Grassland

  Biodiversity is threatened by global changes. The efforts to unravel the mechanisms underlying the influence of global changes are mainly focused on species diversity, but neglect the network of their interactions, which is essential for maintenance of biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Moreover, multiple global change factors are typically examined separately, rather than in concert which is more realistic in nature.

  May 12, 2023
• Soil Organisms Serve as Both Drivers of Soil Carbon Cycling and Sources of Soil Organic Carbon

  Two research teams of the Institute of Applied Ecology (IAE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the Soil Ecology Research Team and the Ecosystem Microbiology Research Team, recently conducted an indoor microcosm experiment. The leading researchers Dr. KOU Xinchang, Dr. ZHANG Xiaoke and Dr. LI Qi, together with their colleagues, used carbon-stable isotope tracing technique to study the biological transformation pathways of exogenous organic carbon and the energy flow process within the soil food web to elucidate the roles of soil food webs on soil carbon capture, or carbon sequestration.

  May 11, 2023
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  Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Potential for Multi-Source and Multi- Approach Biomass Energy Conversion

  A joint research team consisting by Professor XI Fengming group from Institute of Applied Ecology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Professor FU Jingying group from Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research of CAS, and Professor WANG Feng group from Dalian Institute of Chemistry and Physics of CAS constructed a comprehensive bioenergy accounting model with a multi-dimensional analysis that combines spatial analysis, life-cycle analysis, and multi-path analysis. Adopting the accounting model, they assessed the China’s bioenergy production and carbon emission reduction potentials.

  Apr 28, 2023
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  The Build-up of Soil Organic Carbon Pool in Conservation Agriculture is Determined by the Complementation between Microbial- and Plant-derived Components

  LI Yi, a doctoral candidate of the Soil and Environmental Biochemistry Team of the Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, recently completed a research quantifying the dynamic changes of amino sugars and lignin phenols in soil over 12 years of no-tillage and straw mulching at the National Farmland Ecosystem Observation Research Station in Shenyang, Liaoning Province. The contribution mechanism of microbial-derived and plant-derived components to SOC sequestration and stabilization under conservation tillage was investigated, laying the foundation for enhancing soil organic matter and comprehensive management of Northeast farmland.

  Apr 18, 2023
• Quantitative Analysis of the Link between Forest Structure and Albedo in the Temperate Secondary Forest Ecosystem

  Li Shuangtian, a doctoral candidate of the Qingyuan Ker Towers Research Team of the Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, recently completed a study. They continuously observed forest albedos and FAPAR, as well as seasonal changes in canopy and understory in the temperate forests using Qingyuan Ker Towers (three flux towers in a watershed; natural mixed broadleaved forest, T1-MBF; natural Mongolian oak forest, T2-MOF; larch plantation forest, T3-LPF), and demonstrated a comprehensive analysis.

  Apr 07, 2023
• Climate Extremes and Forest Age Mediate Drought-induced Forest Mortality in Northeast China

  MA Tianxiao, Associate Researcher of the Landscape Process Research Team of the Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, recently completed a research quantifying drought-induced mortality rates of Northeast China's forests at tree species and regional scales through statistical fitting the relationship between Rainfall Use Efficiency (RUE) and precipitation, the relationship between drought-induced forest mortality and forest age, and the relationship between RUE and drought index (more specifically, the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index, SPEI) in Northeast China.

  Apr 06, 2023
• Bud Banks Confer the Rapid Grassland Recover Following Extreme Drought

  To address this knowledge gap, a research team from the Institute of Applied Ecology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences conducted a four years extreme drought followed by three years recovery and explored the impact of the effects of drought and recovery on aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) in a grassland of northern China. Surprisingly, the researchers found that ANPP in the drought-plots recovered to the level of control-plots within a year after extreme drought.

  Mar 29, 2023
• Changes in Dominance of Plant Species with High Stoichiometric Plasticity Exacerbate Community Nitrogen–Phosphorus Imbalance

  The researchers found that nitrogen addition led to a significant increase in N:P ratio of the plant community as a whole, and the community nitrogen and phosphorus imbalance could be attributed to the variation in plant species composition.

  Mar 28, 2023