Agarwood is a highly sought-after resinous wood for use in medicine, incense, and perfume production. However, the process of agarwood formation is slow. In this study, the induction of agarwood formation in three-year-old Aquilaria sinensis “Qinan” trees through treatment with ethephon, hydrogen peroxide, sodium chloride, distilled water, and wounding was investigated. The results showed that the starch content significantly decreased and that the soluble sugar content significantly increased during the process of agarwood formation, with no significant difference between the different treatment groups. The net photosynthetic rate significantly decreased. Except for the sodium chloride treatment, the total antioxidant capacity and the contents of flavonoids and phenols significantly increased during the process of agarwood formation. The essential oil yield of the ethephon and hydrogen peroxide treatment groups was significantly higher than that of the other treatment groups, with the highest essential oil yield in the ethephon treatment group. Compared to the control group, salt treatment produced the lowest essential oil yield of agarwood. The results indicate that appropriate concentrations of ethephon and hydrogen peroxide can promote the formation of agarwood in A. sinensis “Qinan”.

The mechanisms of chemoreception in fig wasps (Hymenoptera, Agaonidae) are of primary importance in their co-evolutionary relationship with the fig trees they pollinate. As the supplementary receptors to odorant receptors (ORs) and gustatory receptors (GRs) in insects, we compare the evolutionary characters of ionotropic receptors (IRs) among 25 fig wasp taxa in six genera. In total, we identified 205 IRs in 25 fig wasps, with each taxon recording from 5 to 12 IR genes. We found 189 IR genes clustered into 18 orthologous groups that can be divided into three types: IRco, antennal IRs, and divergent IRs. More IRs belong to antennal IRs in fig wasps, which can be sensitive to acids, aldehydes, polyamines, salt, amino acids, and temperature/humidity according to homology comparison. Additionally, some IR genes in fig wasps do not cluster with those of outgroup species (e.g., Drosophila melanogaster, Apis mellifera), suggesting they may represent a unique group and may have special functions in fig wasps. Divergent IRs are very few, with large sequence variation between species. Compared to ORs and GRs in fig wasps, gene sequences in most IR orthologous groups are more conserved between genera, with the lowest sequence similarity in 10 orthologous groups (including three IRco) exhibiting above 58.5%. Gene sequences are consistent with the phylogenetic relationships among fig wasps, which is the same as ORs and GRs. Strong purifying selection of IR genes was detected, as shown by the low ω values. Signatures of positive selection were detected in loci from three orthologous groups. Our results provide important molecular information for further studies on chemosensory mechanisms in fig wasps.

Greenways offer sustainable benefits at ecological, cultural and economic levels, enhancing human well-being. Landscape performance assessment is a crucial task for evaluating these benefits and guiding the sustainable development of greenways. To clarify the characteristics and roles of landscape performance in the development of the US greenway system, text analysis was conducted using KH Coder, and a meta-analysis was performed on three databases to select research cases on greenway performance evaluation in the US. The results show that the evaluation of social performance is higher than that of ecological and economic performances, and the data related to economic performance is more difficult to obtain. The efficacy of greenway projects varies with the construction stage and is influenced by social background and target benefits. The sustainability characteristics of high co-occurrence relationships are key to guiding greenway performance assessment, which helps in selecting indicators for evaluating greenways and providing references for improving planning directions. In the future, innovative technical means tailored to the goals of greenway landscapes should be used for performance evaluation.

Cultural ecosystem services (CES) are widely measured but rarely attributed to the specific landscape elements that generate them. We coupled element-level image recognition with service-level text analysis across 20,447 reviews and 18,997 photographs from three social media platforms covering 15 national-, provincial-, and municipal-level forest parks in Guangzhou, China (2020–2024). A 2660-term dictionary quantified nine CES; a fine-tuned deep learning classifier identified 28 landscape elements; multiple correspondence analysis described the element-service structure and ridge regression tested associations within four case parks. Natural elements aligned with ecological, aesthetic, and inspirational services and built elements with cultural, social, and wellness services, but two results qualify that division. First, individual elements were associated with different services in opposite directions: seasonal forest with higher aesthetic appreciation but lower recreation, water features with higher aesthetic value but lower inspiration. Second, the mapping differed across the four case parks rather than holding constant; in the municipal case park, only built facilities positively predicted social interaction. These four parks are illustrative exemplars rather than representative samples of their tiers. Dynamic biological elements (birds 0.43%, insects 0.12%, fish 0.08%) ranked lowest of all 28 elements. These are descriptive associations awaiting mechanistic explanation; on that reading, planning for CES would be better organized around intended services than element inventories, calibrated to the individual park.