Mikania micrantha invasion enhances the carbon (C) transfer from plant to soil and mediates the soil C utilization through altering microbial community.

Exotic plant invasion alters the structure and coverage of terrestrial vegetation and affects the carbon (C) stocks in ecosystems. Previous studies have shown the increases in the C stocks with increasing invasive plants, but these results remain contentious. Soil microbial communities are usually altered by plant invasion, which potentially influences the C cycling underground. We hypothesized that the plant invasion-caused dynamic changes in soil microbes would lead to the corresponding change in soil C accumulation. Using greenhouse experiments we simulated different invader intensities through varying the relative abundance of invasive species Mikania micrantha and its co-occurring native species Paederia scandens. By analyzing 13C-phospholipid fatty acid we found the invasive M. micrantha assimilated more 13C and transferred faster the fixed 13C through different tissues to soils, as compared to native P. scandens. Soil microbial components, i.e., i15:0, 16:0, 10Me16:0, 18:1w9c and 18:2w6,9 were mainly using the photo-assimilated 13C. In addition, we found a hump-shaped relationship between soil net 13C accumulate rate and rhizosphere microbial biomass, indicating that the soil C accumulation may be either enhanced or reduced in invaded ecosystems, depending on microbe abundance.

The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Belosynapsis ciliata (Blume) R. S. Rao (Commelinaceae).

Belosynapsis is a small genus of mainly perennial herbs in the family Commenlinaceae, comprising about six species native to Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Papuasia, and southern China. An ideal alternative plant for groundcover or rooftop greenery, the lack of genetic resources have impeded further studies on Belosynapsis ciliata and thus its utilization. In this study, we report the complete chloroplast genome of B. ciliata, assembled from Illumina paired-end genome resequencing data. The assembled chloroplast genome was 170,870 bp in length, comprising a large single-copy (LSC) region of 97,374 bp, a small single-copy (SSC) region of 20,224 bp, separated by two inverted repeat (IR) regions of 26,636 bp each. A total of 132 genes were predicted with an overall GC content of 34.53%. Belosynapsis ciliata, belonging to the order Commelinales, was well separated from species of other orders of Arecales, Poales, and Zingiberales, with high support.

Morphology and molecular genetics reveal two new Leptobrachella species in southern China (Anura, Megophryidae).

Based on morphological and phylogenetic analyses (16S rRNA mtDNA), two new species of the genus Leptobrachella are described from southern China, namely L.yunkaiensis Wang, Li, Lyu & Wang, sp. n. from Dawuling Forest Station of Guangdong Province and L.wuhuangmontis Wang, Yang & Wang, sp. n. from Mt. Wuhuang of Guangxi Province. To date, the genus Leptobrachella contains 68 species, among which 13 species are known from China. The descriptions of the two new species further emphasize that the species diversity of the genus Leptobrachella from China is still highly underestimated and requires further investigations.

Evaluation of ambient air quality in Guangzhou, China.

On the basis of the reported air quality index (API) and air pollutant monitoring data provided by the Guangzhou Environment Monitoring Stations over the last twenty-five years, the characteristics of air quality, prominent pollutants, and variation of the average annual concentrations of SO2, NO2, total suspended particulate (TSP), fine particulates (PM10), CO and dustfall in Guangzhou City were analyzed. Results showed that TSP was the prominent pollutant in the ambient air environment of Guangzhou City. Of the prominent pollutants, TSP accounted for nearly 62%, SO2 12.3%, and NOx 6.4%, respectively. The average API of Guangzhou over 6 years was higher than that of Beijing, Tianjin, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Suzhou and Shanghai, and lower than that of Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Shantou. Concentrations of air pollutants have shown a downward trend in recent years, but they are generally worse than ambient air quality standards for USA, Hong Kong and EU. SO2 and NOx pollution were still serious, impling that waste gas pollution from all kinds of vehicles had become a significant problem for environmental protection in Guangzhou. The possible causes of worsening air quality were also discussed in this paper.