In recent years, the global rise in temperatures has led to drought and heat becoming major environmental stresses that limit plant growth. Previous research has demonstrated the potential of Piriformospora indica in augmenting plant stress resistance. However, specific studies on its effects and underlying mechanisms in cuttings of Rosa chinensis, Jasminum sambac, and Rhododendron simsii Planch are relatively limited. The objective of this study is to explore the effects and mechanisms of P. indica on cuttings and tissue-cultured seedlings of these plants under conditions of drought and high-temperature stress. The experiment involved subjecting P. indica-inoculated and non-inoculated plants to drought (one week without watering) and high-temperature (24-hour exposure to 45°C) stress in a controlled environment chamber. Indicators such as chlorophyll content, chlorophyll fluorescence parameter Fv/Fm, and antioxidant enzyme activity were measured. The results showed that inoculation with P. indica significantly increased the survival rate of the three types of plant cuttings under drought conditions by 13%, 17%, and 16.6% respectively, and resulted in a substantial decrease in malondialdehyde content alongside an increase in chlorophyll content. Under high-temperature stress at 45°C, the chlorophyll fluorescence parameter Fv/Fm values increased by 27.3%, 10.3%, and 51.1% compared to the control group. Furthermore, heat tolerance tests at 42°C showed a 2% higher survival rate in the P. indica inoculated Rhododendron tissue-cultured seedlings than in the control group, with a positive effect observed on the activities of superoxide dismutase and peroxidase. These findings demonstrate that inoculation with P. indica significantly enhances the resistance of Rhododendron, Jasminum sambac, and Rosa to drought and high-temperature stresses, providing insights for sustainable agricultural development and the comprehensive exploitation of the potential value of P. indica.

Qinting Lake Park has effectively imported Rhododendron varieties from Zhejiang Province. The analytic hierarchy process was employed to devise an evaluation framework to evaluate the ornamental and adaptive features of these species. Subsequently, we conducted a standardized evaluation of 24 species for their ornamental and adaptive traits under controlled cultivation conditions. The findings indicated that the percentage of ornamental flowers in the first-level index was significantly greater than the other two factors, indicating that the ornamental value of flowers was the most important in the evaluation of Rhododendron ornamental value. Among the secondary indicators, the proportion of flower color and flower weight was significantly higher than that of other factors, which had the greatest impact on the evaluation results. The 24 Rhododendron species were classified into two grades based on their ornamental value, as determined by index weights and scoring standards. Rhododendron ‘Xueqing’, Rhododendron ‘Big Qinglian’, and Rhododendron ‘Jinyang No. 9’ exhibited superior ornamental value and demonstrated more favorable suitability for garden applications.

In the context of agricultural green transformation, the balance between the environmental footprint and economic return is a key indicator for measuring the synergy of high yields, high efficiency, and environmental friendliness in agricultural systems. However, the pathways and mechanisms for achieving this synergy in orchard systems remain unclear. Based on a three-year field experiment in Pinghe County, Fujian Province, a comprehensive evaluation framework integrating life cycle assessment (LCA) was constructed. This framework was used to systematically analyze the differences in the net ecosystem economic benefit (EEB) and environmental impact of four fertilization regimes: the conventional farming regime with no mulching (A; 1084 kg N ha⁻¹, 914 kg P₂O₅ ha⁻¹, and 906 kg K₂O ha⁻¹), the conventional farming regime with mulching (B), the optimized fertilization regime with water–fertilizer integration (C; 250 kg N ha⁻¹, 200 kg K₂O ha⁻¹, 100 kg MgO ha⁻¹, and 400 kg CaO ha⁻¹), and the optimized fertilization regime with controlled-release fertilizers (D). The results showed that regime D performed best in terms of yield, nutrient-use efficiency, and EEB, which increased by 220.5% and 297.5% compared with regime A, and reduced the input cost by CNY 63,100~69,000 hm⁻². Moreover, compared with regime A, regimes B, C, and D significantly reduced the carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus footprints, respectively, with the carbon footprint reduced by 6.7~21.7%, 72.4~74.8%, and 71.6~76.5%; the nitrogen footprint reduced by 2.6~19.0%, 80.7~82.2%, and 80.1~83.4%; and the phosphorus footprint reduced by 15.3%, 100%, and 100%. Furthermore, the comprehensive evaluation index (CEI) is D > C > B > A. In total, the three optimized regimes balanced high yield with environmental sustainability, with the D regime showing the best performance, offering scientific support for transitioning to low-carbon, high-value orchards in smallholder systems.

Excessive nitrogen fertilizer application in tea plantations is a common problem that leads to soil acidification and reductions in both yield and economic returns. To evaluate the impacts of varying nitrogen input levels (0–600 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹) on yield, as well as environmental and economic outcomes, a two-year field experiment was conducted. Results demonstrated that when nitrogen application exceeded 150 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, key efficiency indicators—agronomic efficiency (NAE), recovery efficiency (NRE), and partial factor productivity (NPFP) declined markedly. Among all treatments, the 150 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ rate achieved the highest NRE at 28.01%. Moreover, environmental burdens including global warming potential, acidification, and eutrophication intensified with increasing nitrogen input. Benefit analysis revealed that yield-based economic returns peaked between 150 and 165 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, whereas the highest ecosystem economic benefit, accounting for both profit and environmental cost, occurred at 120 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. Thus, 120 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ is identified as the optimal application rate for maximizing integrated economic and environmental returns while maintaining yield. These findings provide valuable guidance for promoting sustainable nitrogen management in tea cultivation worldwide.

Introduction: Negative oxygen ions are produced by plants through photosynthesis, utilizing "tip discharge" or the photoelectric effect, which has various functions such as sterilization, dust removal, and delaying aging. With global warming, high temperatures may affect the ability of Phalaenopsis aphrodite Rchb. f. to produce negative oxygen ions. P. aphrodite is commonly used in modern landscape planning and forest greening.Methods: In this study, P. aphrodite was selected as the research object. By artificially simulating the climate, the control group (CK) and the high temperature stress group (HS) were set up in the experiment.Results: The study found that compared with the control group, the ability of P. aphrodite to produce negative oxygen ions significantly decreased when exposed to high temperature stress. Meanwhile, under high temperature stress treatment, peroxidase content increased by 102%, and proline content significantly increased by 35%.Discussion: Redundancy analysis results indicated a significant correlation between the root endophytic microbial community of P. aphrodite and negative oxygen ions, as well as physiological indicators. Under high temperature stress, P. aphrodite may affect the regulation of physiological indicators by modifying the composition of root endophytic microbial communities, thereby influencing the ability to release negative oxygen ions.