Understorey vegetation comprises a major portion of plant diversity and contributes greatly to nutrient cycling and energy flow. This review examines the mechanisms involved in the response of understorey vegetation to stand development and the overstorey canopy following disturbances. The overall abundance and diversity of the understorey is enhanced with the availability and heterogeneity of light, soil nutrients, soil moisture, and substrates. Vascular plants are positively impacted by the availability and heterogeneity of light and soil nutrients, whereas non-vascular vegetation is more strongly influenced by colonization time, soil moisture, and substrates, and is decreased with a higher proportion of broadleaf overstorey. The availability of resources is a prominent driver toward the abundance and diversity of understorey vegetation, from the stand initiation to stem exclusion stage under a single-species dominated overstorey. However, resource heterogeneity dominates at the later stages of succession under a mixed overstorey. Climate and site conditions modify resource availability and heterogeneity in the understorey layer, but the extent of their influences requires more investigation. Forest management practices (clearcutting and partial harvesting) tend to increase light availability and heterogeneity, which facilitates the abundance and diversity of understorey vascular plants; however, these factors reduce the occurrence of non-vascular plants. Nevertheless, in the landscape context, anthropogenic disturbances homogenize environmental conditions and reduce beta-diversity, as well, the long-term effects of anthropogenic disturbances on understorey vegetation remain unclear, particularly compared with those in primary forests.

Nitrogen (N) deposition and drought are two major stressors that influence tree growth and propagation. However, few studies have investigated their interactions. In this study, saplings of the two co-occurring species Ormosia pinnata (leguminous) and Schima superba (non-leguminous) were cultivated under two N addition rates (0 and 80 kg N ha^–1 year^–1) with well-watered (WW, 80% of field capacity), moderate drought (MD, 60% of field capacity), and severe drought conditions (SD, 40% of field capacity). We examined their growth, as well as multiple anatomical and non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) responses, after 2 years. Results revealed that N addition significantly promoted the growth of MD-stressed S. superba, whereas no significant effect was detected in O. pinnata. Decreased leaf water potential (both Ψ_md and Ψ_pd) was also observed with N addition for both species under MD, but not under SD. Furthermore, the application of N positively impacted drought adaptive responses in the stem xylem of S. superba, showing decreased stem xylem vessel diameter (D_H), theoretical hydraulic conductivity (K_th), and increased vessel frequency (VF) upon drought under N addition; such impacts were not observed in O. pinnata. Regarding leaf anatomy, N addition also caused drought-stressed S. superba to generate leaves with a lower density of veins (VD) and stomata (SD), which potentially contributed to an enhanced acclimation to drought. However, the same factors led to a decrease in the palisade mesophyll thickness (PMT) of SD-stressed O. pinnata. Moreover, N addition increased the xylem soluble sugar and starch of MD-stressed O. pinnata, and decreased the xylem soluble sugar under SD for both species. The results suggest that N addition does not consistently modify tree growth and anatomical traits under variable water availability. S. superba appeared to have a greater capacity to be more adaptable under the future interactive effects of N addition and drought due to major modifications in its anatomical traits.

To study the role of cerium (Ce) in regulating the vase life of Rosa chinensis Jacq. cut flowers, the effects of cerium nitrate (Ce(NO₃)₃) on the activities of antioxidant enzymes, the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) in the petals, and the contents of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and carotenoids in the calyces were investigated. The results showed that Ce(NO₃)₃ evidently enhanced the activities of peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and evidently decreased the contents of MDA and H₂O₂ in the petals, compared with the control. Moreover, Ce(NO₃)₃ evidently increased the contents of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and carotenoids in the calyces. The results also showed that Ce(NO₃)₃ evidently increased the numbers of open flowers and decreased the numbers of wilted flowers. Our results suggest that Ce(NO₃)₃ extended the vase life of R. chinensis Jacq. cut flower by improving the antioxidant defence system in the petals and the contents of pigments in the calyces.