As the global population continues to increase, global food production needs to double by 2050 to meet the demand. Given the current status of the not expansion of cultivated land area, agronomic seedlings are complete, well-formed and strong, which is the basis of high crop yields. The aim of this experiment was to study the effects of seed germination and seedling growth in response to silicon (from water-soluble Si fertilizer). The effects of Si on the maize germination, seedling growth, chlorophyll contents, osmoprotectant contents, antioxidant enzyme activities, non-enzymatic antioxidant contents and stomatal characteristics were studied by soaking Xianyu 335 in solutions of different concentrations of Si (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 g·L⁻¹). In this study, Si treatments significantly increased the seed germination and per-plant dry weight of seedlings (P < 0.05), and the optimal concentration was 15 g·L⁻¹. As a result of the Si treatment of the seeds, the chlorophyll content, osmotic material accumulation and antioxidant defence system activity increased, reducing membrane system damage, reactive oxygen species contents, and stomatal aperture. The results suggested that 15 g·L⁻¹ Si significantly stimulated seed germination and promoted the growth of maize seedlings, laying a solid foundation for subsequent maize growth.

Mountainous terrains are typical over southeast China, with complex and diverse topography, large terrain undulations, rich geographic features, and meteorological variations. Previous studies show that ERA5 meteorological variables are generally accurate with respect to large plains or urban agglomerations, while their applicability to mountainous areas remains inconclusive. In this paper, using high-precision measurements probed by ground-based remote sensing instruments in May–July 2023 at a typical mountainous Shanghuang site in southeast China, the vertical accuracy of the ERA5 reanalysis datasets were comparatively evaluated. Our findings depict that the horizontal wind speeds of the ERA5 reanalysis data show a good performance compared to the Doppler lidar observations. In quantitative terms, ERA5 horizontal wind speeds are about 8% higher than the observed values below a height of 400 m, while above 400 m, an increasing negative bias is observed along as altitude increases. Differing from the horizontal wind speeds, there is a large discrepancy in the vertical wind speeds between the ERA5 and the observations, with a deviation of −150% to 40%. In terms of the thermal variables, the temperature extracted from ERA5 are consistent with the measurements in the low troposphere. Nevertheless, large systematic errors occur at 2000–3000 m, and the overall presentation shows that the errors gradually increase with the increase in altitude. Concerning the relative humidity, the general trend in ERA5 is similar to that observed by the microwave radiometer, but the relative errors from 500 to 2500 m range from 40% to 100%. This study also reveals that ERA5 is poorly representative and requires further improvements during extreme weather events such as rainstorms and typhoons. In particular, the horizontal wind speeds at the middle and lower levels deviate strongly from the observations. Given the importance of atmospheric thermodynamic stratifications in terms of both environmental and climatic issues, the results expand the application of the ERA5 reanalysis datasets in the mountainous areas of southeast China. More importantly, it provides credible reference data for the meteorological predictions and climate modelings in the southeast China mountainous region.

The use of harvested wood products (HWPs) influences the carbon flux. China is both the major producer and trader of HWP, so estimating the carbon stock change of China’s HWP is important to help curb climate change. Accurate reporting and accounting of carbon flows in the HWP pool is needed to meet greenhouse gas monitoring and climate change mitigation objectives under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement. This study applied production approach (PA) to estimate the carbon stock change of China’s HWP from 1900 to 2016. During the estimating period, the carbon stock of HWP in use and deposed at solid waste disposal sites (SWDS) were 649.2 Teragrams Carbon (TgC) (346.8 TgC in wood-based panels, 216.7 TgC in sawnwood and 85.7 TgC in paper & paperboard) and 72.6 TgC, respectively. The carbon amount of annual domestic harvest HWP varied between 87.6 and 118.7 TgC. However, the imported carbon inflow increased significantly after the 1990s and reached 47.6 TgC in 2016, accounting for 46% of the domestic harvest of that year. China has great mitigation potential from HWP and use of this resource should be considered in future strategies to address climate change.

This study provides a comprehensive evaluation of the vertical accuracy of ERA5 reanalysis data for boundary layer height and key meteorological variables, based on high-precision observational data from Baotou, located on the Mongolian Plateau, during the winter (January–March) and summer (July–August) months of 2021. Results indicate that ERA5 exhibits significant biases in horizontal wind speed, with deviations ranging from −5 to 8 m/s at 50 m, primarily driven by sandstorms in winter and convective weather in summer. The most pronounced errors occur below 500 m. Vertical wind speeds are consistently underestimated in both seasons, with biases reaching up to 1 m/s, particularly during active summer convection. ERA5 also struggles to reproduce low-level wind directions accurately. In winter, correlation coefficients range from 0.43 to 0.64 below 200 m and improve to above 0.7 at 500 m. In summer, correlation coefficients are lower, ranging from 0.3 to 0.5 below 200 m, with reduced accuracy at 500 m compared to winter. Temperature deviations increase above 2000 m, with a relative overestimation of 3% at 3000 m. Relative humidity is generally overestimated by 5–20% between 1000 and 2000 m in winter and by 10–30% in summer. For boundary layer heights, ERA5 overestimates daytime mixed-layer heights by up to 2000 m in summer and 500–800 m in winter. In contrast, ERA5 captures nocturnal stable boundary layer heights well during winter. This comprehensive evaluation of the vertical structure accuracy of ERA5 reanalysis data, conducted in a heavily industrialized city on the Mongolian Plateau, offers essential insights for improving meteorological studies and refining climate models in the region. The findings provide valuable reference data for enhancing weather forecasting and supporting climate change research, particularly in complex terrain areas.