Abstract Climate change poses a threat to the global solar energy potential, but the regional impacts remain poorly understood. Using an ensemble of 32 climate models across four emission scenarios, we project changes in solar photovoltaic potential for 2066–2100 relative to 1980–2014 across 46 global regions. Our analysis employs novel methodologies, including atmospheric forcing decomposition and extreme event attribution, to identify the physical drivers of changes in solar resources. Under high‐emission scenarios, tropical regions face severe solar potential losses of 10%–15%, particularly in sub‐Saharan Africa and South Asia, driven by increased cloud cover and temperature‐induced efficiency declines of 0.4%–0.5% per °C. Conversely, mid‐ and high‐latitude regions could see 5%–10% increases under low‐emission scenarios, primarily during summer. Aerosol effects consistently reduce solar potential (up to 10.24 W/m2), while cloud changes show mixed regional impacts. Extremely high‐productivity solar days decline drastically (16%–99%) across most seasons and scenarios, posing a threat to grid stability. These findings reveal a fundamental restructuring of global solar resources that could exacerbate energy inequalities. Tropical regions—critical for sustainable development—face the most significant losses, while high‐latitude areas may benefit. Substantial climate mitigation preserves solar potential in most regions, while high‐emission pathways pose significant risks. Our results suggest the need to integrate climate projections into solar energy planning and develop climate‐resilient photovoltaic technologies to ensure equitable energy access in a changing climate.

Volatile organic compounds produced by plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria promote lateral root development by modulating the auxin signaling pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana, thereby remodeling root architecture. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) have been shown to promote both shoot and root growth in plants. While VOCs are known to modulate root architecture, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrate that VOCs released by Bacillus velezensis FZB42 significantly promote primary root elongation and increase lateral root (LR) development in Arabidopsis thaliana, thereby altering root architecture. This study indicates that VOC-mediated modulation of root architecture is closely associated with auxin signaling, particularly its polar transport. Notably, the promotive effects of VOCs on lateral root formation were nearly abolished in auxin signaling mutants, including pin2 and axr1-12. Our results further demonstrate that treatment with FZB42-VOCs does not rescue the lateral root deficiency phenotype in the auxin core components arf7 arf19 double mutants. VOCs were found to stimulate the emergence of lateral root primordia (LRP) and to induce the expression of the auxin-responsive marker DR5:GFP in pre-existing LRPs. Additionally, VOCs were found to modulate the expression of auxin efflux carriers, such as PIN1 and PIN2, and to induce DR5:GFP expression in both primary and lateral roots. Treatment with NPA, an auxin transport inhibitor, further confirmed that VOC-mediated remodeling of root architecture is dependent on auxin polar transport. In conclusion, these findings suggest that VOCs enhance auxin response during early lateral root development by modulating auxin distribution and downstream signaling, thereby stimulating lateral root formation. These findings provide valuable insights into microbe-mediated root development and could inform sustainable agricultural practices involving PGPR.

Trait plasticity is critical to maintaining grassland productivity under climate change, such as drought. However, few studies have focused on the effects of multiyear extreme drought on community-level fine root traits and their corresponding links to productivity. We experimentally removed 66% of growing season precipitation for four years in meadow, typical, and desert grasslands in northern China and evaluated the effects of multiyear drought on community-weighted means (CWMs) and functional diversity of fine root traits (first-order roots), and their relationships with aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP). We found that, in general, root functional composition (CWMs and functional diversity) showed no significant responses to prolonged, extreme drought across all sites. Additionally, ANPP was positively correlated with CWMs of fine root carbon: nitrogen ratio within and across both control and drought plots, indicating that a high abundance of dominant species with high nitrogen-use efficiency promotes ANPP under droughts. In contrast, we found no significant relationship between functional diversity of fine root traits and ANPP. Our results demonstrate that fine root traits at the community level in semiarid grasslands remain relatively stable in response to long-term extreme drought. These findings provide important insights into the responses of fine root traits to extreme drought and highlight their critical roles in predicting the responses of ecosystem functions in these grasslands.

Abstract Eurasian summer precipitation variability plays a critical role in regional climate systems, profoundly impacting ecosystems and socioeconomic development. While existing research has demonstrated the simultaneous link between the North Atlantic tripole (NAT) and precipitation anomalies in Eurasia, the underlying mechanisms connecting boreal winter NAT to subsequent summer precipitation anomalies remain unclear. This study reveals that the boreal winter NAT, persisting into summer, significantly affects Eurasian summer precipitation. It demonstrates that diabatic heating anomalies contribute ∼29% to the teleconnection wave train, while transient eddy vorticity forcing accounts for ∼25%. The wave train propagates downstream, causing circulation and precipitation anomalies over Eurasia. Model simulations confirm this physical mechanism and the potential of winter NAT as a valuable predictor for Eurasian summer precipitation. These findings enhance our understanding of cross‐seasonal climate linkages and have significant implications for enhancing seasonal forecasting capabilities.

ABSTRACT Cuticular anatomical features reveal the taxonomy and ecology of plants at different times in history. In this study, fossil cuticles of the well-preserved Cisuralian sterile leaves from the eastern part of the Hexi Corridor, northwest China, demonstrated the taxonomic characteristics of two true-ferns and three seed-ferns, and the significance of their characteristics in palaeoenvironment. The results showed that two species of true-ferns: Cladophlebis and Neuropteridium, and three species of seed-ferns: Alethopteris, Neuropteris and Compsopteris, which could be identified by combining morphological and anatomical features of the fossils. Furthermore, there was commonality in fossil cuticle features, i.e. the sterile leaves’ margins were entire, and the adaxial epidermis was thicker than the abaxial epidermis. Additionally, the stomatal apparatus was not obviously sunken, which indicates that these plants grew in a humid climate.

Tigers (Panthera tigris) are apex predators and vital indicators of a healthy terrestrial ecosystem. Their effective conservation demands long-term data on their populations, prey abundance, and anthropogenic disturbances from humans and domestic animals across different forest management regimes. In this study, we analyzed camera trap datasets (2009, 2013, 2018, and 2022) from Parsa National Park, its buffer zone, and adjoining national forests. Using the Relative Abundance Index (RAI), we quantified the abundance of tigers, prey, humans, and domestic animals. Our findings revealed a significant increase (χ2 = 9.6; df = 3; p < 0.05) in the RAI of tigers (from 2.65 in 2009 to 7.11 in 2022) and their prey, coupled with a decrease in anthropogenic disturbances in the national park. Meanwhile, no significant differences in the RAI of tigers and their prey were observed in the buffer zone and national forests. We also found an increasing trend of human disturbances (RAI from 351.44 in 2009 to 389.7 in 2022) in the national forests. However, the abundance of domestic animals showed a decreasing trend across all three forest management regimes. Our results suggest that a reduction in anthropogenic disturbances has a more notable positive impact on tigers' abundance than on their prey. This study emphasizes the need for directed conservation policies to reduce anthropogenic disturbances in buffer zones and national forests, while also addressing local needs and securing their goodwill for sustainable tiger conservation.

Makou disease is a grave disease in the production of Angelica sinensis, seriously affecting this plant's yield and quality. Its typical symptoms include yellowing and necrotic spots on leaves of infected plants and the belowground are longitudinal brown cracks (depth is about 1-2 mm) in the root epidermis. The symptoms of Makou disease are completely different from root rot disease, and the pathogen responsible has yet to be officially reported and is highly controversial surrounding the existing research. Symptomatic roots and infested soils were collected from eighteen fields, from which 161 fungal isolates were isolated. Through morphological observation, 105 isolates were taxonomically identified by comparing the sequences of their internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region to those of known species in the NCBI database. Ceratobasidium sp. AG-K was the most abundant species (61.0%), followed by Fusarium spp. (31.4%) and Plectosphaerella cucumerina (5.7%). Phylogenetic analyses based on sequences of ITS of those isolates showed that those belonging to the same species were clearly separated in the derived dendrogram. Two representative isolates R2 and P3 were selected for pathogenicity test. Pathogenicity testing revealed Ceratobasidium sp. AG-K was the pathogenic fungus causing Makou disease in A. sinensis seedlings. Additionally, a strain of Bacillus sp. with inhibitory activity against Ceratobasidium sp. AG-K was identified in vitro. The RT-qPCR results showed that the abundance of Ceratobasidium sp. AG-K in the rhizosphere soil of seedlings inoculated with this pathogen reached 10 times that of the control group. Understanding the influence of Ceratobasidium sp. AG-K upon the occurrence and severity of Angelica Makou disease outbreaks will provide key information for devising prevention and control strategies. Furthermore, the detection method we developed can provide future guidance and a sound basis for studying the pathogen's dynamics in the rhizosphere of A. sinensis.

Under conditions of constant total nutrient input, the regulatory mechanisms of soil organic carbon components under gradient replacement ratios of organic materials for chemical fertilizers have not yet been systematically elucidated. This study took “Longjiao No. 2” as the research object, setting up CK (no fertilization), T0 (100% chemical fertilizer application), T20 (80% chemical fertilizer + 20% vegetable waste organic fertilizer), T40 (60% chemical fertilizer + 40% vegetable waste organic fertilizer), T60 (40% chemical fertilizer + 60% vegetable waste organic fertilizer), and T80 (20% chemical fertilizer + 80% vegetable waste organic fertilizer) as treatment groups. This study investigated the changes in soil organic carbon and organic carbon component content at different crop growth stages (seedling stage, budding stage, flowering and fruit-setting stage, and fruiting stage) under different organic matter replacement methods of chemical fertilizer treatments. It analyzed the response of greenhouse gas emissions to different fertilization conditions and assessed the changes in soil carbon pool management indices, as well as the interaction mechanisms between soil nutrients, carbon components, and greenhouse gases. The results showed that the combined application of chemical fertilizer and vegetable residue organic fertilizer significantly affected soil carbon pool dynamics and greenhouse gas emissions: the T60 treatment was the most effective, increasing soil organic carbon components at all growth stages. The soil carbon pool management index (CPMI) during the seedling stage was 21.3% higher than that of the T0 treatment, and the stable carbon pool components (MOC and POC) during the fruiting stage were 18.7–22.4% higher. This application mode reduced the global warming potential (GWP) by 25.6% compared to the T0 treatment throughout the entire growth stage. The CO2 emissions peaked 19.3% lower during the flowering and fruit-setting stage. Applying organic fertilizer and chemical fertilizer in a 6:4 ratio balanced carbon turnover and sequestration while achieving the highest yield, providing a basis for low-carbon fertilization and increased production in semi-arid regions’ protected agriculture.

ABSTRACT Despite increasing availability of satellite‐derived products, in situ glacier observations are pivotal to accurately monitor glacier change and to calibrate and validate glacier models. However, comprehensive multi‐variable field observations are especially rare on large glaciers and on debris‐covered glaciers. Here we present extensive field observations from Kennicott Glacier, a heavily debris‐covered glacier in central Alaska covering more than 400 km 2 . The multi‐year data set includes point glacier mass balances, meteorological data from several weather stations on and off the glacier, debris thickness and temperature, ice cliff back wasting derived from time‐lapse photography of horizontal stakes drilled into several cliffs, and bathymetry, water temperature, and water level of proglacial and supraglacial lakes. Cumulated summer melt of more than 8 m was observed at the lowest clean‐ice sites. Melt rates over clean ice correlate well with elevation, while the rates over debris‐covered ice lack any strong elevation dependence. Melt rates drop exponentially with increasing debris thickness and tend to be much lower than for clean ice at similar elevations. Melt rates determined for ice cliffs in areas of otherwise continuous debris cover were up to 10× those for debris‐covered ice, and even exceeded standard clean ice melt rates. Debris‐cover thickness measurements at 150 sites vary from &lt; 1 to 69 cm with an average of 17 ± 11 cm (±standard deviation). Debris thickens down‐glacier, but with high spatial variability–thickness was observed to vary by tens of cm within a ~15 m radius. Depth‐averaged thermal heat conductivity derived from supraglacial debris temperature profiles at 12 sites ranges from 0.53 to 1.86 W m −1 K −1 . Interconnected proglacial lakes covered 1.61 km 2 in 2018 with observed water depths of more than 60 m in the two largest lakes. The dataset can be downloaded at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14625691 (Petersen, Hock, Loso, Guo, et al., 2024) and will be useful for glaciological and glacier meteorological studies.

Climate change is causing a significant increase in the number of compound extreme events that pose significantly greater threats to public safety. Chongqing is a megacity in southwestern China that took the brunt of temporally compounding events (TCEs) in the summer of 2022. We developed an approach based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) risk framework to assess the public health risks posed by TCEs. This approach was then applied to reveal temporal and spatial discrepancies in risks, which depend on natural endowments, socioeconomic conditions, and population demographics. High public health risks posed by heatwaves are caused by high exposure and vulnerability, which are primarily influenced by poor living conditions and living alone, together with underlying medical conditions such as mental disorders. The risks can be further magnified when TCEs emerge along with heatwaves, resulting from accumulated effects associated with noncommunicable diseases and vulnerable populations, including children and elderly individuals. Although a reduction in exposure to heatwaves can directly moderate these risks, prioritizing a reduction in exposure while simultaneously mitigating climate hazards and actively protecting people from TCEs, including alleviating vulnerability, is unequivocally necessary to minimize the risks to TCEs. Our findings indicate that highly vulnerable population groups are mostly exposed to TCEs and susceptible to impacts. These impacts exacerbate inequalities, engender environmental injustice, and hinder sustainable development. Efforts to reduce these risks by strengthening the health system and improving dwelling conditions are essential.