RESEARCH NEWS

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  Researchers Reveal the Effects of Gap Size and Within-gap Position on Animal-mediated Seed Dispersal

  Seed dispersal is a vital link in the processes of seed regeneration , and plays a decisive role in the vegetation restoration of forest ecosystem .Furthermore , gap size and within-gap positions are two key features of forest gap structure , and can affect the regeneration of tree species by changing the micro-environment in the forest gap .Most of previous researches have been focused on the effects of forest gaps on animal-mediated seed dispersal by comparing with understory , which have ignored the effects of gaps size and within-gap position .

  Sep 28, 2017
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  The Facilitation of Leguminous Shrub to its Neighbors Enhanced by Increase in Precipitation

  1.Combining nutrient dynamics (plant nutrient uptake and soil fertility) can help uncover mechanisms of shrub–grass interactions and assess the validity of the stress-gradient hypothesis, which predicts that facilitation between plants increases in stressful environments. However, how facilitation via shrub-mediated nutrient increases varies with precipitation is poorly resolved.

  Sep 18, 2017
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  The outsized role of soil microbes

  Many complexities of the carbon sequestration process remain poorly understood , despite years of research and the significant impact of this process on global climate ." we hope to inspire new research aimed at the role of microorganisms in the creation of soil organic matter and its resilience to disturbance or changing environmental conditions . ".

  Aug 30, 2017
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  Photooxidation of Pyrogenic Organic Matter Reduces Its reactive, Labile C Pool and the Apparent Soil Oxidative Microbial Enzyme Response

  The surface chemistry of pyrogenic organic carbon ( PyOM ) can be changed by a variety of abiotic and biotic oxidative and adsorption / desorption processes in the environment .Exposure of PyOM to high energy light prior to addition to soil or sediment , or while entrained in the atmosphere , may induce significant surface photooxidation , i . e . , photochemical weathering , altering its environmental reactivity .Fig . 1 The effect of PyOM additon on soil C pools ( Image by WANG Ruzhen ).

  Aug 22, 2017