Asynchronous changes in precipitation and soil water content decelerate vegetation greening on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

Climate warming and precipitation generally enhance greening on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). However, recent studies suggested that the greening trend is decelerating, while its underlying driving mechanisms remain unclear. We speculate that this may be related to an asynchrony between precipitation and soil water content in certain regions, but this is poorly understood.

Morphological and physiological responses to aridity in narrowly- and widely-distributed plant species in drylands.

Leaf functional traits play a pivotal role in understanding the adaptive strategy of plants in extreme environments, as well as in assessing their potential distribution range sizes and extinction risks under global climate change. However, the response of leaf functional traits to aridity in drylands remains unclear for plants with different range sizes. To fill this gap, we measured 10 leaf functional traits of 152 plant species across 172 dryland sites in China, and classified these species as either narrow- (NRS) or wide-ranging species (WRS) based on worldwide occurrence data.

Distribution Range and Richness of Plant Species Are Predicted to Increase by 2100 due to a Warmer and Wetter Climate in Northern China.

The warming global climate is threatening terrestrial ecosystem stability, including plant community structure and diversity. However, it remains unclear how distribution, richness, and turnover of plant species are impacted by warming and wetting in northern China. In the present study, species distribution models were applied to predict the spatial distribution of 5111 plant species based on 111,071 occurrence records in northern China.

Testosterone concentration coincides with distance travelled in the free-ranging male Saharan sand-viper, Cerastes vipera.

Testosterone levels have been linked to reproduction and locomotor activities in vertebrates and even to some invertebrates. However, the relationship between testosterone concentration and daily distance travelled (DDT) in a free-ranging reptile has not been tested. The aim of this study was to fill this gap.

Effects of corn variety in whole-plant corn silage on dry matter intake, average daily gain and gastrointestinal tract bacteria and metabolites in Hu lambs.

Introduction: Whole-plant corn silage (WPCS) is an important roughage source in ruminant nutrition, and its nutritional value can vary significantly with corn variety. Understanding how different WPCS varieties influence gastrointestinal microbiota and metabolic profiles is essential for optimizing feed efficiency and animal health.

Methods: This study examined the effects of three corn varieties (2 introduced - Tunyu 168: TY; Yu silage 23: YQZ, and 1 local Longsheng 1: LS) in WPCS on gastrointestinal bacteria and metabolites in lambs.