Soil moisture was an important factor affecting litter decomposition. However, less attention has been given to the complete succession ecosystem after farmland abandonment. To better understand the effect of moisture on leaf litter decomposition after farmland abandonment, in this study, we used three water gradients (10%, 25% and 50%) of field moisture capacity for succession vegetation. Furthermore, we used the typical species leaf litter decomposition of four succession stages—grassland (GL), shrubland (SL), pioneer forest (PF), and climax forest (CF) from the Loess Plateau of China. The results showed that leaves decomposition rate exhibited an increasing pattern with increasing moisture contents. The decomposition trend was shown as GL > SL > PF > CF. During the decomposition process, the leaf carbon concentration (LC) and leaf nitrogen concentration (LN) changed, but non-significantly. The effects of LC, LN, and LC: LN on leaf decomposition varied with vegetation type. Soil properties such as NH₄⁺, NO₃⁻, dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), and leaf quality parameters such as leaf cellulose, lignin, lignin: LN, and lignin: LC played an important role in driving leaf litter decomposition. Overall, the results provide evidence that litter decomposition in secondary forest succession system was linked to leaf and soil nutrient dynamics, and was limited by soil moisture.

The initial variations in soil bacteria at the very beginning of reclamation still remains unclear. This study investigates the impact on bacterial communities of eight different treatments, including uncultivated land, unfertilized cultivation, chemical fertilizer, chemical fertilizer + bacterial fertilizer, manure, manure + bacterial fertilizer, manure + chemical fertilizer, and manure + chemical fertilizer + bacterial fertilizer, during the short-term reclamation of coal-mining soils. The results showed that total nitrogen, available phosphorus, soil organic carbon, microbial biomass carbon, and alkaline phosphatase activity were significantly increased in all fertilization treatments compared to uncultivated land (p < 0.05). All fertilization treatments other than chemical fertilizer harbored significantly higher activities of urease, catalase, and invertase than unfertilized cultivation (p < 0.05). The bacterial communities structures in manure-amended treatments significantly differed in uncultivated land and unfertilized cultivation and were phylotypically shifted from oligotrophic to Actinobacteria-dominant copiotrophic traits, accompanied with phenotypic succession of the enriching characteristics of Gram-positive, biofilms formation, and stress tolerance. The co-occurrence network in manure-amended treatments harbored a simple co-occurrence network, indicating more productive soils than in no-manure treatments. Manure amendment, total nitrogen, microbial biomass carbon, invertase, catalase, and soil moisture were the key driving factors. Our study underscores the bacterial initialization characteristics promoted by manure at the very beginning of coal-mining reclamation.

The nitrogen (N) enrichment induced by atmospheric N deposition affects both soil physicochemical properties and bacterial communities. However, how N enrichment affects soil aggregate-associated bacterial communities remains largely unclear. In this study, we conducted a two-year N addition experiment (four N levels: 0, 5, 10, and 20 g N m⁻² year⁻¹, corresponding to normal N, low N, medium N, and high N, respectively) in a Quercus liaotungensis Koidz–dominated forest. The distribution, nutrient content, and bacterial community composition of the soil aggregates were measured under various N enrichment conditions. N enrichment changed the aggregate distribution, increased the content of nutrients in aggregates, and altered the aggregate-associated bacterial community composition. N enrichment reduced the complexity of the bacterial co-occurrence network and degraded the interactions between bacteria compared with those observed under the normal N level. Aggregate-associated bacterial community was determined to be primarily affected by N enrichment level but not by aggregate size. The litter properties are the key factors affecting the composition of bacteria in aggregates. These findings improve our understanding of aggregate-associated bacterial responses to N enrichment and the related influencing factors.

Postharvest pepper fruits undergo quality deterioration including water loss, shrinkage and nutritional decline, which limits their commercial value. Notab

Light spectral composition critically influences seedling physiology in protected horticulture systems. This study investigates the impact of light-quality regulation on the growth and physiological traits of pepper seedlings, using the pepper cultivar ‘GS4’. Plants were exposed to four light treatments: white light (W), blue light (B), green light (G), and combined blue–green light (BG). The results showed that BG significantly promoted the growth of pepper seedlings compared with B and G, and the seedlings treated with BG developed visibly healthier darker green leaves by day 4. Moreover, BG treatment mitigated the green-light-induced cell membrane damage, as indicated by reduced relative electrolyte conductivity, and improved the balance between CO₂ assimilation and water loss through the regulation of stomatal function. The BG treatment resulted in a significantly higher net photosynthetic rate than the B and G treatments, while showing no significant difference from the W treatment. Additionally, BG treatment mitigated the inhibitory effects of single light treatments on chlorophyll accumulation and maintained stable chlorophyll a/b ratios. It also enhanced antioxidant enzyme activities, thereby reducing oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation. Furthermore, BG treatment stabilized soluble sugar and protein levels while preventing the excessive proline accumulation observed under the G treatment. Overall, under the tested short-term seedling conditions, BG light treatment improved photosynthetic performance, antioxidant activity, and metabolic stability, alleviated physiological stress associated with monochromatic light exposure, and achieved performance comparable to that of white light.