YNU research team makes progress in understory plants

Wu Jianping's research team from the School of Ecology and Environment of Yunnan University (YNU) has made new progress in the study of the ecological functions of forest shrubs and grasses. Its research was recently published in Geoderma, a top soil ecology journal, with the title "A meta-analysis of understory plant removal impacts on soil properties in forest ecosystems".

Understory plants play an important role in regulating various functions and processes of forest ecosystems, yet the overall impact of understory plant loss on soil properties remains unclear.

In response to this problem, the research team studied the effects of understory plant removal on soil organic carbon, total nitrogen and microorganisms in the forest ecosystem by collating the data of 543 control experiments across the country.

The research showed that the response of soil moisture, nutrient content and microbial community composition to understory plant removal had been weakened as annual average temperature and precipitation decreased.

Second, environmental factors including experiment duration, ecosystem type and latitude were the main drivers explaining the effects of understory plant removal on soil properties.

The research provided a scientific basis for a comprehensive understanding of the impact of understory plant removal on soil ecological processes, as well as a scientific reference for forest understory plant management.