This study shows that the recovery of the critically endangered Pinus dabeshanensis depends heavily on a few highly productive mother trees. After monitoring 88 adult trees over three years, researchers found that most trees produced no seeds, while just six trees produced more than 70% of all mature seeds. Seed dispersal success was mainly linked to how many mature seeds each tree produced. The findings suggest that conservation efforts should focus on protecting and supporting these key mother trees.

This study examines how dryland vegetation in northern China responds to interannual droughts using satellite data from 2001 to 2022. The researchers found that severe drought changes the balance between drought resistance and post-drought recovery. Under moderate drought, plants that resisted drought well also tended to recover well, but under severe drought this became a tradeoff. Arid ecosystems appeared more fragile as drought intensified, while semi-arid areas relied more on recovery. The findings highlight the need to consider both resistance and recovery in dryland restoration and management.

Cities trying to cool sweltering streets often set broad tree canopy targets. But those targets can overlook the reality that not all shade is equally useful, and not every neighbourhood has room for more trees. 

Now, two new studies from University of British Columbia researchers offer a more targeted approach. Tested in Kelowna, B.C., the complementary tools can identify urban hot spots down to individual blocks and determine where new trees could deliver the greatest benefits. 

Thousands of rapidly evolving aphid proteins initially resisted both conventional sequence comparisons and AlphaFold2. By sequencing closely related aphid species and supplying the missing evolutionary context, researchers uncovered a shared structural blueprint across approximately 2,400 proteins and established a method that may help scientists study other fast-evolving proteins involved in immunity, host-parasite interactions, and agriculture.

China’s agriculture has long faced three major problems: excessive chemical fertilizer application, residual mulch film pollution, and low utilization rates of livestock and poultry manure. Excessive fertilizer input leads to soil acidification and compaction, and nutrient use efficiency continues to decline. Traditional polyethylene (PE) mulch film is difficult to degrade, and its year-by-year accumulation forms microplastic pollution, damaging soil microbial communities and arable land health. At the same time, livestock waste such as cow manure is large in volume and widely distributed, but its resource utilization pathways are limited, and crop-livestock cycling is not smooth. The green transformation of agriculture urgently needs integrated technologies that simultaneously ensure stable yields, reduce fertilizer use, reduce plastic pollution, and improve soil fertility.

A new review traces more than 70 years of microecology research in China, from early ideas about microbial balance to today’s work in precision medicine, sustainable agriculture and environmental restoration. The authors argue that combining artificial intelligence, synthetic biology and international collaboration could help turn microbiome science into practical solutions for human, animal and environmental health.