Salt stress is a major factor limiting plant growth and productivity. Salicylic acid (SA) has been shown to ameliorate the adverse effects of environmental stress on plants. To investigate the protective role of SA in ameliorating salt stress on Torreya grandis (T. grandis) trees, a pot experiment was conducted to analyze the biomass, relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll content, net photosynthesis (Pn), gas exchange parameters, relative leakage conductivity (REC), malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) of T. grandis under 0.2% and 0.4% NaCl conditions with and without SA. The exposure of T. grandis seedlings to salt conditions resulted in reduced growth rates, which were associated with decreases in RWC and Pn and increases in REC and MDA content. The foliar application of SA effectively increased the chlorophyll (chl (a+b)) content, RWC, net CO₂ assimilation rates (Pn), and proline content, enhanced the activities of SOD, CAT and POD, and minimized the increases in the REC and MDA content. These changes increased the capacity of T. grandis in acclimating to salt stress and thus increased the shoot and root dry matter. However, when the plants were under 0% and 0.2% NaCl stress, the dry mass of the shoots and roots did not differ significantly between SA-treated plants and control plants. SA induced the salt tolerance and increased the biomass of T. grandis cv. by enhancing the chlorophyll content and activity of antioxidative enzymes, activating the photosynthetic process, and alleviating membrane injury. A better understanding about the effect of salt stress in T. grandis is vital, in order gain knowledge over expanding the plantations to various regions and also for the recovery of T. grandis species in the future.

The aim of this study was to explore whether nutrition supply can improve the drought tolerance of Moso bamboo under dry conditions. One-year-old seedlings were exposed to two soil water content levels [wellwatered, 70 ± 5% soil-relative-water-content (SRWC) and drought stress, 30 ± 5% SRWC] and four combinations of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) supply (low-N, low-P, LNLP; low-N, high-P, LNHP; high-N, high-P, HNHP; and high-N, low-P, HNLP) for four months. Plant growth, photosynthesis, chlorophyll fluorescence, water use efficiency and cell membrane stability were determined. The results showed that drought stress significantly decreased total biomass, net-photosynthesis (Pn), stomatal-conductance (g_s), leaf-chlorophyll-content (Chl_leaf), PSII-quantum-yield (Φ_PSII), maximum-quantum-yield-of-photosynthesis (Fv/Fm), photochemical-quenching-coefficient (qP), leaf-instantaneous-water-use efficiency (WUE_i), relative-water-content (RWC), photosynthetic-N-use-efficiency (PNUE), and photosynthetic-P-use-efficiency (PPUE). N and P application was found to be effective in enhancing the concentration of leaf N, g_s, and Pn while reducing the production of reactive oxygen species under both water regimes. Under LNHP, HNHP and HNLP treatments, the decreases in total biomass, Pn, Chl_leaf and Fv/Fm of drought-stressed were less evident than the decreases under LNLP. The study suggests that nutrient application has the potential to mitigate the drastic effects of water stress on Moso bamboo by improving photosynthetic rate, water-use efficiency, and increasing of membrane integrity.

Moso bamboo is one of the fastest-growing plants in the world. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of converting secondary broadleaf evergreen forests (CK) to Moso bamboo plantations, and the impact of different management strategies, including no disturbance (M0), extensive management (M1), and intensive management (M2), on the soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration potential, and relevant characteristics of the soil bacterial community. Our results showed that, in comparison with CK, M0 and M1 had significantly higher SOC and recalcitrant organic materials (aliphatic and aromatic compounds), and a lower C mineralization rate, whereas M2 had the opposite effects. The conversion from CK to Moso bamboo plantation significantly decreased the relative abundance of Acidobacteria in both the topsoil and subsoil soil layers. Compared with CK, M0 led to the enrichment of bacteria such as Alphaproteobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Bacteroidetes, which are involved in the decomposition of organic matter and the formation of humus and are, therefore, potentially beneficial for increasing the SOC. Furthermore, the ratio of the microbial biomass C (MBC) to total organic C (TOC), C mineralization rate, and bacterial diversity increased from M0 to M2, i.e., with an increase in the disturbance intensity. These findings indicate that the conversion of secondary broadleaf forest to bamboo forest alter the soil bacterial community structure. Reducing disturbance in bamboo forest management strategies should be actively taken up to improve the SOC, and maintain sustainable development in the forest industry.