fifteen kinds of local wetland plants in taihu lake region of china were investigated on their respective growth conditions, biomass allocations and nutrient uptake capacities. the test plants were cultured in 3 l nutrient solutions for 28 days with nh4 +-n, no3 --n and p concentrations of 38.5, 132.8 and 10 mg/l, respectively. mean species total biomass ranged from 1.2-21.6 g/plant with above/...

As a great potential bio-fuel feedstock, the genus Miscanthus has been widely studied around the world, especially Miscanthus × giganteus owing to its high biomass yield in Europe and North America. However, the narrow genetic basis and sterile characteristics of M. × giganteus have become a limitation for utilization and adaptation to extreme climate conditions. In this study, we focused on on...

Arsenic (As)-contaminated soil and water vary with pH and concentrations of As and P. This study examined the effects and interactions of three factors, pH, As and P, on As hyperaccumulator Pteris vittata L. to optimize plant growth and maximize As removal from contaminated sites, especially water. Two sets of hydroponic experiments were conducted using three-factor, five-level central composit...

Cell walls, which constitute the bulk of plant biomass, vary considerably in their structure, composition, and architecture. Studies on plant cell walls can be conducted on both native and pre-treated plant biomass samples, allowing an enhanced understanding of these structural and compositional variations. Here glycome profiling was employed to determine the relative abundance of matrix polysa...

Cell walls, which constitute the bulk of plant biomass, vary considerably in their structure, composition, and architecture. Studies on plant cell walls can be conducted on both native and pre-treated plant biomass samples, allowing an enhanced understanding of these structural and compositional variations. Here glycome profiling was employed to determine the relative abundance of matrix polysa...

Plant diversity drives changes in the soil microbial community which may result in alterations in ecosystem functions. However, the governing factors between the composition of soil microbial communities and plant diversity are not well understood. We investigated the impact of plant diversity (plant species richness and functional group richness) and plant functional group identity on soil mic...

Overgrazing is a severe problem in several regions in Northwestern China and has caused serious land degradation. Secondary natural succession plays an important role in the accumulation of soil carbon and nitrogen contents. Estimating the effects of grazing exclusion on soil quality and plant diversity will improve our understanding of the succession process after overgrazing and promote judic...

Using water hyacinth [Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms) for wastewater renovation produces biomass that must be disposed of. This biomass may be anaerobically digested to produce CH4 or added to soil directly as an amendment. In this study, fresh and anaerobically digested water hyacinth biomass, with either low or high N tissue content, were added to soil to evaluate C and N mineralization c...

It is unclear how elevated CO2 (eCO2 ) and the corresponding shifts in temperature and precipitation will interact to impact ecosystems over time. During a 7-year experiment in a semi-arid grassland, the response of plant biomass to eCO2 and warming was largely regulated by interannual precipitation, while the response of plant community composition was more sensitive to experiment duration. Th...

Several recent studies have indicated that an enriched atmosphere of carbon dioxide (CO2) could exacerbate the intensity of plant invasions within natural ecosystems, but little is known of how rising CO2 impacts the belowground characteristics of these invaded systems. In this study, we examined the effects of elevated CO2 and nitrogen (N) inputs on plant and soil microbial community character...