Composition and environmental interpretation of the weed communities in the main planting base of jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill. cv. 'LingwuChangzao'), Ningxia province of China

Migration and Transformation of Taxane Allelochemicals in Soil

The migration and transformation of allelochemicals are important topics in the exploration of allelopathy. Current research on the migration of allelochemicals mostly uses soil column and thin layer methods and verifies it by sowing plant seeds. However, traditional methods inevitably ignore the flux caused by the movement of allelochemicals carried by water. In fact, the flux determines the amount of allelochemicals that directly affect plants. In this work, a method of microdialysis combined with a soil column and UPLC-MS/MS to detect the flux of allelochemicals was developed for the first time and successfully applied to the detection of five taxane allelochemicals in soil. Meanwhile, by adding taxane allelochemicals to the soil and detecting their transformation products using UPLC-MS/MS, the half-life of taxane in the soil was determined, and the transformation pathway of taxane allelochemicals in the soil was further speculated.

Varying cultivation strategies in eastern Tianshan corresponded to growing pastoral lifeways between 1300 BCE and 300 CE

This study combines plant stable isotope and archaeobotanical analyses to explore how ancient pastoral communities in varying landscapes of eastern Tianshan managed their barley fields. The question is less archaeologically investigated, as recent discussions have focused on pastoral and nomadic activities. Results show that diversified cultivation strategies were employed in barley cultivation at different locations in eastern Tianshan. We also observed a diachronic transition toward less labour-intensive crop management corresponding to a growing pastoral lifeway from the late Bronze Age (1300–800 BCE) to historical periods (400 BCE–300 CE). These results inform us about the mechanism by which southwest Asian originated domesticates were adapted to the Inner Asian environments in the context of the early food globalisation.