Cypripedium japonicum is an endangered terrestrial orchid species with high ornamental and medicinal value. As global warming continues to intensify, the survival of C. japonicum will be further challenged. Understanding the impact of climate change on its potential distribution is of great significance to conserve this species. In this study, we established an ensemble species distribution model based on occurrence records of C. japonicum and 13 environmental variables to predict its potential distribution under current and future climatic conditions. The results show that the true skill statistic (TSS), Cohen’s kappa statistic (Kappa), and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) values of the ensemble model were 0.968, 0.906, and 0.995, respectively, providing more robust predictions. The key environmental variables affecting the distribution of C. japonicum were the precipitation in the warmest quarter (Bio18) and the mean temperature in the driest quarter (Bio9). Under future climatic conditions, the total suitable habitat of C. japonicum will increase slightly and tend to migrate northwestward, but the highly suitable areas will be severely lost. By 2070, the loss of its highly suitable habitat area will reach 57.69–72.24% under representative concentration pathway (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5 respectively, and the highly suitable habitats in Zhejiang and Anhui will almost disappear. It is noteworthy that the highly suitable habitat of C. japonicum has never crossed the Qinba mountainous area during the migration process of the suitable habitat to the northwest. Meanwhile, as the best-preserved area of highly suitable habitat for C. japonicum in the future, the Qinba mountainous area is of great significance to protect the wild germplasm resources of C. japonicum. In addition, we found that most of the changes predicted for 2070 will already be seen in 2050; the problem of climate change may be more urgent than it is believed.

A diverse, abundant, and well-preserved radiolarian fauna in Jiazhu, Zhongba County of Tibet, in the western sector of Yarlung Zangbo Suture Zone, is assigned to a late Paleocene radiolarian zone, the Buryella pentadica interval zone, spanning 59–56.5 Ma. Regionally, a late Paleocene basalt block in the bathyal–abyssal siliceous mudstone and graywacke yielded an age of 59.1 Ma (zircon SHRIMP U–Pb). The late Paleocene radiolarian fauna, the tectonic attribution of the radiolarian cherts and the basalt block indicate that oceanic crust persisted in the Zhongba area until the late Paleocene and the initial collision between the Indian and Eurasian plates post-dates the late Paleocene. It is inferred that the Neo-Tethys transformed into a remnant oceanic basin in the late Paleocene, at the terminal stage of the oceanic crust subduction, and the closure of the remnant oceanic basin in the studied region took place after the late Paleocene. In contrast to the previous investigations, we suggest that there was a remnant oceanic basin to the west of the Saga area and a foreland basin to the east of Saga in southern Tibet during the late Paleocene. We argue that the closure of the Neo-Tethys progressed from east to west.

Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi), a non-native tree species, has been widely planted in the Qinling Mountains since the last century, but it does not meet the habitat needs of giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), mainly because of food, further causing habitat degradation and fragmentation. However, how soil microorganisms, considered as predictors of the soil environment, respond to Japanese larch remains poorly explored, especially compared with native forests. Here, we collected 40 soil samples from plantation, bamboo, and natural (excluding bamboo) forests in the Changqing Nature Reserve and Foping Nature Reserve in Qinling to compare soil bacterial community composition and diversity using high-throughput sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes. The soil chemical properties and bacterial communities differed noticeably under forest-type classification patterns. The soil of the Japanese larch planted forests underwent substantial degradation, with higher acidity, lower alpha diversity, and more significant enrichment in the oligotrophic bacteria Acidobacteria and Verrucomicrobia, in contrast to the other two primary forests with elevated soil nutrient levels. The application of PICRUSt2 indicated the down-regulation of amino acid-related metabolism in planted forests. Moreover, pH was the primary factor determining the whole bacterial community structures. To avoid the uncertainty of a single sampling region, we chose different sampling sites that could be considered as geographical factors, possibly due to environmental heterogeneity or dispersal limitations, which also explained the specific community patterns of microorganisms. Overall, this paper may help provide a scientific basis for future revegetation in giant panda habitats, highlighting the urgent need for ecological restoration and sustainable forestry management.

Understanding the response of species to past climate change provides great opportunities to know their adaptive capacity for resilience under future climate change. Since the Late Pleistocene, dramatic climate fluctuations have significantly impacted the distribution of giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). However, how the spatial distribution and climatic niche of giant pandas shifted in response to past climate change remain poorly understood. Based on the known distribution records (fossil and present day) and the most updated climate projections for the Last Interglacial (LIG; ~120 ka), Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; ~22 ka), Mid-Holocene (MH; ~6 ka), and the present day, we predicted and compared the distribution and climatic niche of giant pandas. The results show that giant pandas have undergone a considerable range contraction (a 28.27% reduction) followed by a marked range expansion (a 75.8% increase) during the LIG–LGM–MH period, while its climatic niche remained relatively stable. However, from the MH to the current, both the distribution area and climatic niche of giant pandas have undergone significant changes. Our findings suggest that the giant panda may adjust its distribution to track stable climatic niches in response to future climate change. Future conservation planning should designate accessible areas for giant pandas and adjust priority conservation areas as needed.