The aim of this paper was to validate factors affecting the in-stand landscape quality and how important each factor was in determining scenic beauty of natural secondary forests. The study was limited to 23 stand-level cases of natural secondary forests in Shen Zhen city in southern China. Typical samples of photographs and public estimations were applied to evaluate scenic beauty inside the natural secondary forests. The major factors were then selected by multiple linear-regression analysis and a model between scenic beauty estimation (SBE) values and in-stand landscape features was established. Rise in crown density, fall in plant litter, glow in color of trunk, fall in arbor richness, and rise in visible distance increased scenic beauty values of in-stand landscape. These five factors significantly explained the differences in scenic beauty, and together accounted for 45% of total variance in SBEs. Personal factors (e.g. gender, age and education) did not significantly affect the ratings of landscape photos, although variations of landscape quality were affected by some personal factors. Results of this study will assist policymakers, silviculturists and planners in landscape design and management of natural secondary forests in Shenzhen city. People can improve the scenic beauty values by pruning branches and clearing plant litter, which subsequently improve the forest health and contribute to forest recreation.

Bauhinia variegata L. var. variegata is a popular ornamental tree in the tropical and subtropical region. We herein report and characterize the complete plastid genome of B. variegata var. variegata in an effort to provide genomic resources for genetic utilization. The complete plastome is 155,415 bp in length and contains the typical quadripartite structure, including two inverted repeat (IR) regions of 25,549 bp, a large single-copy (LSC) region of 86,110 bp and a small single-copy (SSC) region of 18,207 bp. 130 genes are annotated, including 85 protein-coding genes, 37 transfer RNA genes, and four unique ribosomal RNA genes. The phylogenetic analysis based on the plastomes from B. variegata var. variegata and 12 previously reported species of Cercidoideae suggested a sister-relationship between B. variegata var. variegata and B. × blakeana with a strong bootstrap value.

Liquidambar formosana, endemic to China, is a multifunctional tree species valued for its wood production, urban landscaping, and medicinal applications. Here, 111 superior L. formosana accessions were genotyped using 24 novel expressed sequence tag-simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR) markers to assess genetic diversity and structure, establish DNA fingerprints, and construct a core collection. A high degree of genetic diversity was detected in the tested accessions, with mean values for the number of observed alleles (Na), polymorphism information content (PIC), and Shannon’s information index (I) recorded at 8.458, 0.579, and 1.336 per locus, respectively. Cluster analysis, principal coordinate analysis (PCoA), and population structure analysis collectively categorized these accessions into two major groups. Specifically, those from the SangZ provenance formed a distinct group, whereas accessions from other provenances exhibiting extensive gene exchange were assigned to the second group. The combined values of the probability of identity (PI) and the probability of identity among siblings (PIsibs) across 24 SSR loci were 1.475 × 10⁻¹⁹ and 2.561 × 10⁻⁸, respectively, indicating a strong ability for fingerprint identification. Unique fingerprints for the 111 accessions were established using four selected core markers. A final core collection consisting of 34 accessions was constructed using the allele maximization (M) strategy, accounting for 30.63% of the analyzed accessions. No significant differences in genetic diversity indicators, allele frequency distributions, and accession dispersion patterns were observed between the core and original collections, suggesting that the core collection could effectively represent the entire collection. This work will promote the identification, management, and conservation of L. formosana germplasm resources while providing valuable materials for the subsequent selection and breeding of this tree species.