Changzhen Li

Inflorescence degeneration in Areca catechu L. is characterized by growth arrest, tissue shrinkage and browning, ultimately compromising functional inflorescence formation and yield stability. To investigate its developmental window and regulatory basis, inflorescences from different leaf positions at the full-bloom stage were analyzed using anatomical observation, morphological measurements, carbohydrate and hormone assays, and RNA-seq-based transcriptomic analysis with qRT-PCR validation. Inflorescence degeneration was mainly concentrated in axillary inflorescences at the third and fourth leaf positions (BY3 and BY4). Compared with adjacent normal inflorescences, degenerated inflorescences showed reduced sucrose, starch and trehalose contents, increased ABA, JA and MeJA levels, and decreased cZR levels. Transcriptomic analysis revealed clear separation between degenerated and normal inflorescences, and differentially expressed genes were enriched in starch and sucrose metabolism, plant hormone signal transduction and transcriptional regulation. Co-expression network analysis identified modules associated with the degeneration window and key physiological traits, highlighting six candidate hub genes: AcAHP2, AcTIFY4B, AcTPS9-2, AcHXK2, AcWRKY3 and AcMPK1. These findings suggest that inflorescence degeneration is closely associated with carbon metabolic imbalance, hormone network remodeling and co-expression network reprogramming within a specific developmental window, providing a basis for future mechanistic studies and control strategies.

To date, most studies have shown that biochar has great potential in carbon sequestration and reduction, as well as soil quality improvement. However, there is limited knowledge of its effect on soil organic carbon (SOC) fractions in tropical farmland. This study aimed to determine the impact of different types and rates of biochar applied in tropical farmlands on so SOC and its active fractions. The SOC, microbial biomass carbon (MBC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and soil mineralizable carbon (SMC) in the 0–30 cm soil layers under rice hull (R) and peanut shell (P) biochar treatments were measured. The results showed that the application of R and P biochar increased the contents, stocks, and cumulative stocks of SOC, MBC, and DOC in the 0–10 cm, 10–20 cm, and 20–30 cm soil layers. The contents, stocks, and cumulative stocks increased with increasing biochar application rates. Compared with CK, the ranges of the increased SOC, MBC, and DOC cumulative stocks were 10.76–46.36%, 30.04–195.65%, and 0.02–17.03%, respectively. However, the R60 and P60 had the lowest cumulative stocks of SMC, decreasing by 14.69% and 8.05%, respectively. The biochar treatment of more than 20 t ha⁻¹ reduced the ratio of SMC:SOC and active fractions:SOC. Therefore, it can be inferred that the application of biochar improved the levels of SOC, MBC, and DOC, and the application of more than 20 t ha⁻¹ biochar could decrease soil carbon mineralization, thus improving the stability of SOC in tropical farmlands.

The stoichiometric characteristics of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) in soil can directly reflect the level of soil fertility. In this study, a secondary forest, two kinds of plantation forests (Dacrycarpus imbricatus and Pinus caribaea Morelet), and a primary forest in tropical areas were selected for soil sample collection and analysis. We found that the soil [leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) + β-N-acetylglucosidase (NAG)]/acid phosphatase (APho) value was less than 1, indicating that there was P limitation. In addition, we also found that compared with primary forest, the β-glucosidase (BG) activity and (LAP + NAG) activity of the secondary forest were lower, and the microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) contents were higher. The contents of total nitrogen (TN) and MBN in the Dacrycarpus imbricatus forest soil were significantly higher than those in the primary forest, but the activity of (LAP + NAG) was lower. The structural equation model showed that the factors that significantly affected the total nutrients were the available nutrients (0.396**) and the enzyme activities (0.600**). For the long-term requirements of sustainable development, ecological adjustment and soil nutrient optimization of plantations should be carried out scientifically.