Comprehensive assessment of the climatic and vegetation impacts of wind farms on grasslands: A case study in inner Mongolia, China.

Although wind power contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, it also has significant impacts on the local climate and vegetation. Exploring these impacts is important for the sustainable development of wind power. Therefore, based on moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) data and other remote sensing data from 2003 to 2022, this paper investigated the impacts of 101 grassland wind farms (WFs) in Inner Mongolia on land-atmosphere water and heat exchange, vegetation growth, ecosystem primary productivity, and vegetation structural characteristics during the growing season and revealed the spatial distribution patterns of the impacts of WFs as well as differences between different types of grasslands. The results indicated that WFs increased the nighttime land surface temperature (LST), decreased evapotranspiration (ET), inhibited vegetation growth, decreased gross primary productivity (GPP), and reduced the leaf area index (LAI) in growing season grasslands. This effect varied across different types of grasslands and showed significant complexity. In terms of land-atmosphere water and heat exchange, nighttime LST increases and ET decreases were significant in the typical steppe but not in the meadow steppe. In terms of vegetation change, meadow steppe had the most inhibited vegetation growth and the greatest reduction in GPP. In terms of the impact range, WFs on typical steppe and meadow steppe have opposite effects on vegetation growth and ecosystem primary productivity inside and outside of them, i.e., they inhibit vegetation growth and reduce GPP inside the WF areas but promote vegetation growth and increase GPP outside the WF areas. Compared with previous studies, this study analyzed multiple climate and vegetation indicators based on many WF samples, which reduced the uncertainty associated with a single sample and provided more comprehensive and comparable observations of different types of grasslands. These findings can help to balance the relationship between wind power development and ecological protection.

Study on the influencing factors of the evolution of space pattern based on principal component analysis in Duolun County.

In order to explore the influencing factors of spatial and temporal evolution of production-living-ecological space in Beijing Tianjin sandstorm source area, the remote sensing images, natural environment and socio-economic data of Duolun County in Inner Mongolia from 2000 to 2020 were selected, and the spatial auto-correlation model and principal component analysis model were used to analyze the spatial pattern evolution and influencing factors of production-living-ecological space. The results show that: (1) the function of production space decreases slightly, and the degree of spatial agglomeration decreases; (2) The function of living space rose slightly, and its spatial agglomeration degree showed an upward trend; (3) The ecological spatial function showed a slow upward trend, and its spatial agglomeration degree increased; (4) The spatial pattern of production-living-ecological space is characterized by "high in the southwest and low in the northeast"; (5) Precipitation has the greatest impact on the spatial evolution of the production-living-ecological space. The distance from the main residential areas, per capita GDP, the distance from the main roads and the distance from the main waters have strong explanatory power on the spatial evolution of the production-living-ecological space.

[Population characteristics of Caragana microphylla and the influencing soil factors in shrub-encroached grassland of Inner Mongolia, China]. / å† è’™å¤çŒä¸›åŒ–è‰åŽŸå°å¶é”¦é¸¡å„¿çš„ç§ç¾¤ç‰¹å¾åŠå ¶åœŸå£¤å½±å“å› å­.

We studied the population characteristics of Caragana microphylla and related soil factors across diffe-rent stages of shrub encroachment (i.e., light, moderate, and severe) on the Xilingol Grassland of Inner Mongolia. The results showed that the density and height of C. microphylla gradually increased during the process of grassland shrub-encroachment from light to moderate to severe. The density and height were increased by 196.0% and 34.5% from light to moderate stage of shrub encroachment, and were increased by 25.4% and 17.6% from moderate to severe stage. Crown size, basal diameter, tiller number per clump, and aboveground productivity of C. microphylla tented to decrease first and then increase, while the proportion of aboveground biomass allocation to leaves decreased across the stages of shrub encroachment. The competition between C. microphylla and herbaceous species was strongest in the moderate encroachment stage. C. microphylla reduced its lateral growth (such as crown size, basal diameter, and tiller number per clump) and increased density and height to get competitive advantage. Limi-ting soil factors for C. microphylla varied significantly at different stages of shrub encroachment. In the light encroachment stage, soil factors had little effect on the growth of C. microphylla. In the moderate encroachment stage, soil moisture in the deep layer (20-50 cm) and soil pH were the key factors limiting shrub density. In the severe encroachment stage, soil moisture in the deep layer and pH limited the vertical growth of C. microphylla, while soil moisture of shallow layer (0-20 cm) and nutrients were the limiting factors for the lateral expansion of shrubs.

Characterisation of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici in Infected Tomatoes in Inner Mongolia, China.

Fusarium crown and root rot (FCRR), caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici (FORL), is an economically important disease that affects tomatoes worldwide and has become more prevalent in China in recent years. In 2021 and 2022, tomato plants in greenhouses in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, were observed showing symptoms of stunting, premature loss of lower leaves, and root rot. Fungal pathogens were isolated from 20 infected tomato plants and identified based on morphological observation and DNA sequencing. Twelve isolates were consistently identified as Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici (FORL) via an analysis of the ITS, TEF-1α, and pgx4 genes. This is the first report of FORL in Inner Mongolia, China. The isolates were examined for their pathogenicity by inoculating them on tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, and chickpeas. The fungicide sensitivity of the isolates was determined. Effective concentrations for 50% growth inhibition (EC50) were measured using seven fungicides. The EC50 values of tebuconazole and prochloraz were <1.0 µg·mL-1, exhibiting the most effective inhibition among the fungicides tested. Additionally, FORL resistance screening of tomato germplasms was performed. One tomato variety was resistant to FORL, and the remaining 43 germplasm lines showed various levels of resistance. The rates of highly susceptible, moderately susceptible, susceptible, and moderately resistant germplasms accounted for 29.55%, 22.73%, 40.91%, and 4.55% of the 44 germplasms tested, respectively.

Fusion Genes Landscape of Lung Cancer Patients From Inner Mongolia, China.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally. Gene fusion, a key driver of tumorigenesis, has led to the identification of numerous driver gene fusions for lung cancer diagnosis and treatment. However, previous studies focused on Western populations, leaving the possibility of unrecognized lung cancer-associated gene fusions specific to Inner Mongolia due to its unique genetic background and dietary habits. To address this, we conducted DNA sequencing analysis on tumor and adjacent nontumor tissues from 1200 individuals with lung cancer in Inner Mongolia. Our analysis established a comprehensive fusion gene landscape specific to lung cancer in Inner Mongolia, shedding light on potential region-specific molecular mechanisms underlying the disease. Compared to Western cohorts, we observed a higher occurrence of ALK and RET fusions in Inner Mongolian patients. Additionally, we discovered eight novel fusion genes in three patients: SLC34A2-EPHB1, CCT6P3-GSTP1, BARHL2-APC, HRAS-MELK, FAM134B-ERBB2, ABCB1-GIPC1, GPR98-ALK, and FAM134B-SALL1. These previously unreported fusion genes suggest potential regional specificity. Furthermore, we characterized the fusion genes' structures based on breakpoints and described their impact on major functional gene domains. Importantly, the identified novel fusion genes exhibited significant clinical and pathological relevance. Notably, patients with SLC34A2-EPHB1, CCT6P3-GSTP1, and BARHL2-APC fusions showed sensitivity to the combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Patients with HRAS-MELK, FAM134B-ERBB2, and ABCB1-GIPC1 fusions showed sensitivity to chemotherapy. In summary, our study provides novel insights into the frequency, distribution, and characteristics of specific fusion genes, offering valuable guidance for the development of effective clinical treatments, particularly in Inner Mongolia.

[Evolution Trend of Water Quality in the Inner Mongolia Section of the Yellow River from 2003 to 2020].

The aim of this study was to comprehensively understand the water environment quality status and its change trend in the Inner Mongolia section of the Yellow River Basin. To analyze the water quality in recent years,the water quality data in the Yellow River basin from 2003 to 2020 were firstly collected from five typical monitoring stations．Various data analysis methods, including principal component analysis, cluster analysis, and a long short-term memory model, were used along with an improved comprehensive water quality identification index to explore the spatiotemporal characteristics of water quality in the Yellow River Basin. The results showed that the overall water quality in the basin has improved and stabilized over time. In terms of temporal variation, there was a distinction between the wet season and dry season, with a better status observed during the wet season due to increased agricultural irrigation and higher water volume. Spatially, the five monitoring sections could be divided into three categories based on strong natural factors that maintained their temporal characteristics during the wet season； however, significant differences were observed during the dry season due to urban water usage patterns. Analysis using LSTM models revealed that ammonia nitrogen will continue to decline and have a decreasing impact on the comprehensive water quality. These findings provide valuable insights for the comprehensive management of water quality in Inner Mongolia's Yellow River Basin.

Genome-wide association study for cashmere traits in Inner Mongolia cashmere goat population reveals new candidate genes and haplotypes.

BACKGROUND: The cashmere goat industry is one of the main pillars of animal husbandry in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and plays an irreplaceable role in local economic development. With the change in feeding methods and environment, the cashmere produced by Inner Mongolia cashmere goats shows a tendency of coarser, and the cashmere yield can not meet the consumption demand of people. However, the genetic basis behind these changes is not fully understood. We measured cashmere traits, including cashmere yield (CY), cashmere diameter (CD), cashmere thickness (CT), and fleece length (FL) traits for four consecutive years, and utilized Genome-wide association study of four cashmere traits in Inner Mongolia cashmere goats was carried out using new genomics tools to infer genomic regions and functional loci associated with cashmere traits and to construct haplotypes that significantly affect cashmere traits. RESULTS: We estimated the genetic parameters of cashmere traits in Inner Mongolia cashmere goats. The heritability of cashmere yield, cashmere diameter, and fleece length traits of Inner Mongolia cashmere goats were 0.229, 0.359, and 0.250, which belonged to the medium heritability traits (0.2 ~ 0.4). The cashmere thickness trait has a low heritability of 0.053. We detected 151 genome-wide significantly associated SNPs with four cashmere traits on different chromosomes, which were very close to the chromosomes of 392 genes (located within the gene or within ± 500 kb). Notch3, BMPR1B, and CCNA2 have direct functional associations with fibroblasts and follicle stem cells, which play important roles in hair follicle growth and development. Based on GO functional annotation and KEGG enrichment analysis, potential candidate genes were associated with pathways of hair follicle genesis and development (Notch, P13K-Akt, TGF-beta, Cell cycle, Wnt, MAPK). We calculated the effective allele number of the Inner Mongolia cashmere goat population to be 1.109-1.998, the dominant genotypes of most SNPs were wild-type, the polymorphic information content of 57 SNPs were low polymorphism (0 < PIC < 0.25), and the polymorphic information content of 79 SNPs were moderate polymorphism (0.25 < PIC < 0.50). We analyzed the association of SNPs with phenotypes and found that the homozygous mutant type of SNP1 and SNP3 was associated with the highest cashmere yield, the heterozygous mutant type of SNP30 was associated with the lowest cashmere thickness, the wild type of SNP76, SNP77, SNP78, SNP80, and SNP81 was associated with the highest cashmere thickness, and the wild type type of SNP137 was associated with the highest fleece length. 21 haplotype blocks and 68 haplotype combinations were constructed. Haplotypes A2A2, B2B2, C2C2, and D4D4 were associated with increased cashmere yield, haplotypes E2E2, F1F1, G5G5, and G1G5 were associated with decreased cashmere fineness, haplotypes H2H2 was associated with increased cashmere thickness, haplotypes I1I1, I1I2, J1J4, L5L3, N3N2, N3N3, O2O1, P2P2, and Q3Q3 were associated with increased cashmere length. We verified the polymorphism of 8 SNPs by KASP, and found that chr7_g.102631194A > G, chr10_g.82715068 T > C, chr1_g.124483769C > T, chr24_g.12811352C > T, chr6_g.114111249A > G, and chr6_g.115606026 T > C were significantly genotyped in verified populations (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the genetic effect of single SNP on phenotypes is small, and SNPs are more inclined to be inherited as a whole. By constructing haplotypes from SNPs that are significantly associated with cashmere traits, it will help to reveal the complex and potential causal variations in cashmere traits of Inner Mongolia cashmere goats. This will be a valuable resource for genomics and breeding of the cashmere goat.

Genetic diversity analysis of Inner Mongolia cashmere goats (Erlangshan subtype) based on whole genome re-sequencing.

BACKGROUND: Inner Mongolia cashmere goat (IMCG), renowned for its superior cashmere quality, is a Chinese indigenous goat breed that has been developed through natural and artificial selection over a long period. However, recently, the genetic resources of IMCGs have been significantly threatened by the introduction of cosmopolitan goat breeds and the absence of adequate breed protection systems. RESULTS: In order to assess the conservation effectiveness of IMCGs and efficiently preserve and utilize the purebred germplasm resources, this study analyzed the genetic diversity, kinship, family structure, and inbreeding of IMCGs utilizing resequencing data from 225 randomly selected individuals analyzed using the Plink (v.1.90), GCTA (v.1.94.1), and R (v.4.2.1) software. A total of 12,700,178 high-quality SNPs were selected through quality control from 34,248,064 SNP sites obtained from 225 individuals. The average minor allele frequency (MAF), polymorphic information content (PIC), and Shannon information index (SHI) were 0.253, 0.284, and 0.530, respectively. The average observed heterozygosity (Ho) and the average expected heterozygosity (He) were 0.355 and 0.351, respectively. The analysis of the identity by state distance matrix and genomic relationship matrix has shown that most individuals' genetic distance and genetic relationship are far away, and the inbreeding coefficient is low. The family structure analysis identified 10 families among the 23 rams. A total of 14,109 runs of homozygosity (ROH) were identified in the 225 individuals, with an average ROH length of 1014.547 kb. The average inbreeding coefficient, calculated from ROH, was 0.026 for the overall population and 0.027 specifically among the 23 rams, indicating a low level of inbreeding within the conserved population. CONCLUSIONS: The IMCGs exhibited moderate polymorphism and a low level of kinship with inbreeding occurring among a limited number of individuals. Simultaneously, it is necessary to prevent the loss of bloodline to guarantee the perpetuation of the IMCGs' germplasm resources.

Study of the Influence of Non-Genetic Factors on the Growth and Development Traits and Cashmere Production Traits of Inner Mongolia White Cashmere Goats (Erlangshan Type).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of non-genetic factors on the growth and development performance of Inner Mongolia white cashmere goats (Erlanghan type), such as birth weight (BW), weaning weight (WW), 6-month weight (6 WT), 12-month weight (12 WT), body height (BH), and body length (BL), and wool production performance, such as cashmere fineness (CF), cashmere thickness (CT), and cashmere yield (CY). The research objects were 4654 kids produced by 45 buck goats and 2269 doe goats in the Erlang Mountain Ranch of Beiping Textile Co., Ltd., Inner Mongolia, from 2020 to 2023. Based on the generalized linear model, ANOVA was used to analyze the effects of non-genetic factors, such as birth year (Y), birth month (M), sex (S), birth type (T), birth herd (H), assay flock (F), age at measurement (MA), and the age of doe goats at lambing (DLA), on growth and development traits and cashmere traits. The results show that the birth weight (BW), weaning weight (WW), 6-month weight (6 WT), 12-month weight (12 WT), body length (BL), body height (BH), chest depth (CD), chest width (CW), chest circumference (CC), cannon circumference (CNC), wool length (WL), and cashmere yield (CY) of buck goats were significantly higher than those of doe goats (p < 0.01), and the fineness of the cashmere produced by doe goats was significantly finer than that produced by buck goats (p < 0.01). The birth weight, weaning weight, and 6-month weight of single kids were significantly higher than those of multiple kids (p < 0.01), but the effect on the 12-month weight was not significant (p > 0.05). The age of doe goats at lambing had significant effects on birth weight, weaning weight, and 6-month weight (p < 0.01). Assay flock and age at measurement had significant effects on cashmere fineness, cashmere thickness, and cashmere yield (p < 0.01). This study will provide a basis for the scientific breeding and management of cashmere goats and lay a foundation for the setting of fixed effects in the genetic evaluation model of Inner Mongolia white cashmere goats (Erlangshan type).

Effects of water replenishment on lake water quality and trophic status: An 11-year study in cold and arid regions.

Water replenishment is an important measure for maintaining and improving the aquatic environmental quality of lakes. The problems of water quality deterioration and water shortage can be alleviated by introducing water of higher quality. However, the mechanism of water replenishment in the improvement of the water quality and trophic status of lakes remains unclear. This study investigated water replenishment in Wuliangsuhai Lake (WLSHL) from 2011 to 2021 by collecting seasonal water samples and conducting laboratory analyses. Water replenishment was found to be capable of significantly improving lake water quality and alleviating eutrophication. It is worth noting that single long-term water replenishment measures have limitations in improving the water quality and trophic status. The whole process was divided into three stages according to the water quality and trophic status, namely the buffer period, decline period, and stable period. During the buffer period, the water quality and trophic status showed only slight improvement because of the small amount of water replenishment and the low proportion of higher-quality water from the Yellow River. In the decline period, with increasing water replenishment, the proportion of higher-quality water from the Yellow River gradually increased, leading to the most significant and stable degree of improvement. In the stable period, increases in the amount of water replenishment had little effect on improving the water quality and trophic status, which is attributable to the balance between internal pollutants (lake water-sediment), and the balance between internal-external pollutants (lake water-irrigation return flow + Yellow River water). On the premise of stable water quality, with eutrophication control as the management goal, the optimal water replenishment would be approximately 10.58 ×108 m3. Further necessary measures for solving aquatic environmental problems include the combination of sediment dredging, optimization of the water replenishment route, and implementation of quality management in water replenishment.

Anthropogenic and climate impacts on carbon stocks of grassland ecosystems in Inner Mongolia and adjacent region.

Up to date, most studies reported that degradation is worsened in the grassland ecosystems of Inner Mongolia and adjacent regions as a result of intensified grazing. This seems to be scientific when considering the total forage or total above-ground biomass as a degradation indicator, but it does not hold true in terms of soil organic carbon density (SOCD). In this study, we quantified the changes of grassland ecosystem carbon stock in Inner Mongolia and adjacent regions from the 1980s to 2000s and identified the major drivers influencing these variations, using the National Grassland Resource Inventory and Soil Survey Dataset in 1980s and the Inventory data during 2002 to 2009 covering 624 sampling plots concerned vegetal traits and edaphic properties across the study region. The result indicated that the above-, below-ground and total vegetation biomass declined from the 1980s to 2000s by ∼ 10 %. However, total forage production increased by 6.72 % when considering livestock intake. SOCD remained stable despite a 67 % increase in grazing intensity. A generalized linear model (GLIM) analysis suggested that an increase in grazing intensity from the 1980s to 2000s could only explain 1.04 % of the total biomass change, while changes in precipitation and temperature explained 17.7 % (p < 0.05) of total vegetation biomass (TVB) change. Meanwhile, SOCD change during 1980s - 2000s could be explained 10.08 % by the soil texture (p < 0.05) and <1.6 % by changes in climate and livestock. This implies that the impacts of climate change on grassland biomass are more significant than those of grazing utilization, and SOCD was resistant to both climate change and intensified grazing. Overall, intensified grazing did not result in significant negative impacts on the grassland carbon stocks in the study region during the 1980s and 2000s. The grassland ecosystems possess a mechanism to adjust their root-shoot ratio, enabling them to maintain resilience against grazing utilization.

Ancestry analysis using a self-developed 56 AIM-InDel loci and machine learning methods.

Insertion/deletion (InDel) polymorphisms can be used as one of the ancestry-informative markers in ancestry analysis. In this study, a self-developed panel consisting of 56 ancestry-informative InDels was used to investigate the genetic structures and genetic relationships between Chinese Inner Mongolia Manchu group and 26 reference populations. The Inner Mongolia Manchu group was closely related in genetic background to East Asian populations, especially the Han Chinese in Beijing. Moreover, populations from northern and southern East Asia displayed obvious variations in ancestral components, suggesting the potential value of this panel in distinguishing the populations from northern and southern East Asia. Subsequently, four machine learning models were performed based on the 56 AIM-InDel loci to evaluate the performance of this panel in ancestry prediction. The random forest model presented better performance in ancestry prediction, with 91.87% and 99.73% accuracy for the five and three continental populations, respectively. The individuals of the Inner Mongolia Manchu group were assigned to the East Asian populations by the random forest model, and they exhibited closer genetic affinities with northern East Asian populations. Furthermore, the random forest model distinguished 87.18% of the Inner Mongolia Manchus from the East Asian populations, suggesting that the random forest model based on the 56 ancestry-informative InDels could be a potential tool for ancestry analysis.

Comparison of genomic prediction methods for early growth traits of Inner Mongolia cashmere goats based on multi trait models.

Inner Mongolia cashmere goat is an excellent livestock breed formed through long-term natural selection and artificial breeding, and is currently a world-class dual-purpose breed producing cashmere and meat. Multi trait animal model is considered to significantly improve the accuracy of genetic evaluation in livestock and poultry, enabling indirect selection between traits. In this study, the pedigree, genotype, environment, and phenotypic records of early growth traits of Inner Mongolia cashmere goats were used to build multi trait animal model., Then three methods including ABLUP, GBLUP, and ssGBLUP wereused to estimate the genetic parameters and genomic breeding values of early growth traits (birth weight, weaning weight, average daily weight gain before weaning, and yearling weight). The accuracy and reliability of genomic estimated breeding value are further evaluated using the five fold cross validation method. The results showed that the heritability of birth weight estimated by three methods was 0.13-0.15, the heritability of weaning weight was 0.13-0.20, heritability of daily weight gain before weaning was 0.11-0.14, and the heritability of yearling weight was 0.09-0.14, all of which belonged to moderate to low heritability. There is a strong positive genetic correlation between weaning weight and daily weight gain before weaning, daily weight gain before weaning and yearling weight, with correlation coefficients of 0.77-0.79 and 0.56-0.67, respectively. The same pattern was found in phenotype correlation among traits. The accuracy of the estimated breeding values by ABLUP, GBLUP, and ssGBLUP methods for birth weight is 0.5047, 0.6694, and 0.7156, respectively; the weaning weight is 0.6207, 0.6456, and 0.7254, respectively; the daily weight gain before weaning was 0.6110, 0.6855, and 0.7357 respectively; and the yearling weight was 0.6209, 0.7155, and 0.7756, respectively. In summary, the early growth traits of Inner Mongolia cashmere goats belong to moderate to low heritability, and the speed of genetic improvement is relatively slow. The genetic improvement of other growth traits can be achieved through the selection of weaning weight. The ssGBLUP method has the highest accuracy and reliability in estimating genomic breeding value of early growth traits in Inner Mongolia cashmere goats, and is significantly higher than that from ABLUP method, indicating that it is the best method for genomic breeding of early growth weight in Inner Mongolia cashmere goats.

Genotypic and Phenotypic Characteristics of Lactic Acid Bacteria Associated with Forage Plants in the Native Grassland of Western Inner Mongolia and Their Application for Alfalfa Silage Fermentation.

This study was conducted to investigate the genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) associated with forage plants in the native grassland of western Inner Mongolia and to evaluate their effects on alfalfa silage fermentation. Forage plants and their spontaneous fermentation silages were analysed using culture-based techniques for LAB isolation; the phenotypic properties and 16S rDNA and pheS or rpoA gene sequences of the isolates were evaluated; alfalfa was ensiled with four additive combinations: Lactiplantibacillus plantarum subsp. plantarum (GI19), Lact. plantarum subsp. plantarum and Pediococcus pentosaceus (GI19+GI51), GI19 and 20 g/kg fresh matter of sucrose (GI19+S), and GI19+GI51+S, for 60 d. A total of 73 strains belonging to 16 species were isolated. All isolates grew at 5-45 °C and in 3.0% NaCl, and most of them grew in 6.5% NaCl. Enterococcus faecalis and Lact. plantarum were 26.03% and 17.81% of the total isolates, respectively. All additives improved the silage quality, while GI19+S was more effective for alfalfa ensiling with a higher lactic acid content and lower pH, undesirable microorganism counts, and acetic acid and NH3-N contents than remnant additives. In conclusion, the LAB species were diverse, and most of them possessed good cryotolerance and osmotolerance; GI19+S was the optimal inoculant for alfalfa fermentation improvement.

Exploring environment-specific regulation: Characterizing bacterioplankton community dynamics in a typical lake of Inner Mongolia, China.

Lakes serve as heterogeneous ecosystems with rich microbiota. Although previous studies on bacterioplankton have advanced our understanding, there are gaps in our knowledge concerning variations in the taxonomic composition and community assembly processes of bacterioplankton across different environment conditions. This study explored the spatial dynamics, assembly processes, and co-occurrence relationships among bacterioplankton communities in 35 surface water samples collected from Hulun Lake (a grassland-type lake), Wuliangsuhai Lake (an irrigated agricultural recession type lake), and Daihai Lake (an inland lake with mixed farming and grazing) in the Inner Mongolia Plateau, China. The results indicated a significant geographical distance decay pattern, with biomarkers (Proteobacteria and Bacteroidota) exhibiting differences in the contributions of different bacteria branches to the lakes. The relative abundance of Proteobacteria (42.23%) were high in Hulun Lake and Wuliangsuhai Lake. Despite Actinobacteriota was most dominant, Firmicutes accounted for approximately 17.07% in Daihai Lake, suggested the potential detection of anthropogenic impacts on bacteria within the agro-pastoral inland lake. Lake heterogeneity caused bacterioplankton responses to phosphorus, chlorophyll a, and salinity in Hulun Lake, Wuliangsuhai Lake, and Daihai Lake. Although bacterioplankton community assembly processes in irrigated agricultural recession type lake were more affected by dispersal limitation than those in grassland-type lake and inland lake with mixed farming and grazing (approximately 52.7% in Hulun Lake), dispersal limitation and undominated processes were key modes of bacterioplankton community assembly in three lakes. This suggested stochastic processes exerted a greater impact on bacterioplankton community assembly in a typical Inner Mongolia Lake than deterministic processes. Overall, the bacterioplankton communities displayed the potential for collaboration, with lowest connectivity observed in irrigated agricultural recession type lake, which reflected the complex dynamic patterns of aquatic bacteria in typical Inner Mongolia Plateau lakes. These findings enhanced our understanding of the interspecific relationships and assembly processes among microorganisms in lakes with distinct habitats.

The genus Platypalpus Macquart (Diptera, Hybotidae, Tachydromiinae) from Inner Mongolia, China, with the description of four new species.

Platypalpus Macquart is reported in Inner Mongolia, China for the first time. Four new species are found: P.flavipilosussp. nov., P.longussp. nov., P.shengisp. nov. and P.shuimogouanussp. nov. This paper provides a description of the four species and a key to the genus in Inner Mongolia.

Genetic diversity and population structure in five Inner Mongolia cashmere goat populations using whole-genome genotyping.

OBJECTIVE: As a charismatic species, cashmere goats have rich genetic resources. In the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, there are three cashmere goat varieties named and approved by the state. These goats are renowned for their high cashmere production and superior cashmere quality. Therefore, it is vitally important to protect their genetic resources as they will serve as breeding material for developing new varieties in the future. METHODS: Three breeds including Inner Mongolia cashmere goats (IMCG), Hanshan White cashmere goats (HS), and Ujimqin white cashmere goats (WZMQ) were studied. IMCG were of three types: Aerbas (AEBS), Erlangshan (ELS), and Alashan (ALS). Nine DNA samples were collected for each population, and they were genomically re-sequenced to obtain high-depth data. The genetic diversity parameters of each population were estimated to determine selection intensity. Principal component analysis, phylogenetic tree construction and genetic differentiation parameter estimation were performed to determine genetic relationships among populations. RESULTS: Samples from the 45 individuals from the five goat populations were sequenced, and 30,601,671 raw single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) obtained. Then, variant calling was conducted using the reference genome, and 17,214,526 SNPs were retained after quality control. Individual sequencing depth of individuals ranged from 21.13× to 46.18×, with an average of 28.5×. In the AEBS, locus polymorphism (79.28) and expected heterozygosity (0.2554) proportions were the lowest, and the homologous consistency ratio (0.1021) and average inbreeding coefficient (0.1348) were the highest, indicating that this population had strong selection intensity. Conversely, ALS and WZMQ selection intensity was relatively low. Genetic distance between HS and the other four populations was relatively high, and genetic exchange existed among the other four populations. CONCLUSION: The Inner Mongolia cashmere goat (AEBS type) population has a relatively high selection intensity and a low genetic diversity. The IMCG (ALS type) and WZMQ populations had relatively low selection intensity and high genetic diversity. The genetic distance between HS and the other four populations was relatively high, with a moderate degree of differentiation. Overall, these genetic variations provide a solid foundation for resource identification of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region cashmere goats in the future.

Accuracy of Genomic prediction for fleece traits in Inner Mongolia Cashmere goats.

The fleece traits are important economic traits of goats. With the reduction of sequencing and genotyping cost and the improvement of related technologies, genomic selection for goats has become possible. The research collect pedigree, phenotype and genotype information of 2299 Inner Mongolia Cashmere goats (IMCGs) individuals. We estimate fixed effects, and compare the estimates of variance components, heritability and genomic predictive ability of fleece traits in IMCGs when using the pedigree based Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (ABLUP), Genomic BLUP (GBLUP) or single-step GBLUP (ssGBLUP). The fleece traits considered are cashmere production (CP), cashmere diameter (CD), cashmere length (CL) and fiber length (FL). It was found that year of production, sex, herd and individual ages had highly significant effects on the four fleece traits (P < 0.01). All of these factors should be considered when the genetic parameters of fleece traits in IMCGs are evaluated. The heritabilities of FL, CL, CP and CD with ABLUP, GBLUP and ssGBLUP methods were 0.26 ~ 0.31, 0.05 ~ 0.08, 0.15 ~ 0.20 and 0.22 ~ 0.28, respectively. Therefore, it can be inferred that the genetic progress of CL is relatively slow. The predictive ability of fleece traits in IMCGs with GBLUP (56.18% to 69.06%) and ssGBLUP methods (66.82% to 73.70%) was significantly higher than that of ABLUP (36.73% to 41.25%). For the ssGBLUP method is significantly (29% ~ 33%) higher than that with ABLUP, and which is slightly (4% ~ 14%) higher than that of GBLUP. The ssGBLUP will be as an superiors method for using genomic selection of fleece traits in Inner Mongolia Cashmere goats.

Phenological characteristics of net ecosystem carbon exchange of Stipa krylovii steppe in Inner Mongolia, China and its remote sensing monitoring.

To accurately monitor the phenology of net ecosystem carbon exchange (NEE) in grasslands with remote sensing, we analyzed the variations in NEE and its phenology in the Stipa krylovii steppe and discussed the remote sensing vegetation index thresholds for NEE phenology, with the observational data from the Inner Mongolia Xilinhot National Climate Observatory's eddy covariance system and meteorological gradient observation system during 2018-2021, as well as Sentinel-2 satellite data from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2021. Results showed that, from 2018 to 2021, NEE exhibited seasonal variations, with carbon sequestration occurring from April to October and carbon emission in other months, resulting in an overall carbon sink. The average Julian days for the start date (SCUP) and the end date (ECUP) of carbon uptake period were the 95th and 259th days, respectively, with an average carbon uptake period lasting 165 days. Photosynthetically active radiation showed a negative correlation with daily NEE, contributing to carbon absorption of grasslands. The optimal threshold for capturing SCUP was a 10% threshold of the red-edge chlorophyll index, while the normalized difference vegetation index effectively reflected ECUP with a threshold of 75%. These findings would provide a basis for remote sensing monitoring of grassland carbon source-sink dynamics.

Effects of freeze-thaw on bank soil mechanical properties and bank stability.

Riverbank instability in the seasonally frozen zone is primarily caused by freeze-thaw erosion. Using the triaxial freeze-thaw test on the bank of Shisifenzi Bend in the Yellow River section of Inner Mongolia, we investigated the changes in the mechanical properties of the soil at different freezing temperatures and freeze-thaw times, and analyzed the bank's stability before and after freezing based on the finite element strength reduction method. The results showed that the elastic modulus, cohesion, internal friction angle and shear strength of the soil tended to decrease with the increase in the number of freeze-thaw cycles and the decrease in freezing temperature. After 10 freezing cycles at - 5 â„ƒ, - 10 â„ƒ, - 15 â„ƒ and - 20 â„ƒ, the modulus of elasticity of soil decreased by 40.84 ~ 68.70%, the cohesion decreased by 41.96 ~ 56.66%, the shear strength decreased by 41.92 ~ 57.32%, respectively. Moreover, the stability safety coefficient of bank slope decreased by 18.58% after freeze-thaw, indicating that the freeze-thaw effect will significantly reduce the stability of bank slope, and the bank slope is more likely to be destabilized and damaged after freeze-thaw.