Cong Hu

• PhD
• Nanning Normal University

Karst ecosystems, especially tropical karst forests, are crucial to the global carbon cycle. In mountainous and hilly areas, elevation-related changes in environment and vegetation often lead to shifts in the accumulation and decomposition of soil organic carbon (SOC). However, the elevational patterns and influencing variables of SOC and its fract...

Understanding the land use pattern relationships regarding the composition, diversity, and abundance of soil microbial communities in a typical karst depression in southwestern China is crucial for assessing the stability of local karst ecosystems. However, these aspects in typical karst depressions within northern tropical karst seasonal rainfores...

Comprehending the impacts of land-use type on soil nutrition and stoichiometry in watersheds is crucial for effective regional ecosystem management. However, a deeper understanding of the influence of land-use type on soil stoichiometry in karst agricultural watersheds is still lacking. Here, we analyzed the contents, stoichiometries, and drivers o...

Soil metabolites are critical in regulating the dynamics of ecosystem structure and function, particularly in fragile karst ecosystems. Clarification of response of soil metabolism to vegetation succession in karst areas will contribute to the overall understanding and management of karst soils. Here, we investigated the metabolite characteristics...

Karst peak-cluster depressions in tropical China are characterized by high habitat het-erogeneity, supporting complex seasonal rainforest communities, and harboring a rich abundance of endemic and endangered plants. However, for these rainforests, species and phylogenetic beta diversity and their limiting factors are poorly understood. In this stud...

Bradyrhizobium is a genus of nitrogen-fixing bacteria, with some species producing nodules in leguminous plants. Investigations into Bradyrhizobium have recently revealed its substantial genetic resources and agricultural benefits, but a comprehensive survey of its genetic diversity and functional properties is lacking. Using a panel of various str...

The dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) and its fractions are important for evaluating the vegetation restoration effect and carbon cycle of the ecosystem. Here, SOC fractions, including light fraction organic carbon (LFOC), heavy fraction organic carbon (HFOC), and labile organic carbon (LOC) fractions (including water-soluble organic carbon, WS...

The growth rate hypothesis (GRH) states that a negative correlation exists between the growth rate and N:P and C:P ratios, because fast-growing organisms need relatively more phosphorus-rich RNA to support their high rates of protein synthesis. However, it is still uncertain whether the GRH is applicable in freshwater wetlands. Several studies have...

Despite extensive studies on how environmental factors influence plant nutrient distribution and stoichiometry, it remains unclear how elevation affects soil distribution and stoichiometry. Here, patterns of the spatial distribution and stoichiometry of soil carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) were studied (with 123 soil samples) along a sm...

Phosphorus (P) enrichment as a result of anthropogenic activities can potentially alter plant C:N:P stoichiometry. However, the influence of different P enrichment frequencies on plant C:N:P stoichiometry in P-limited ecosystems is still unclear. In this study, we conducted a P-addition experiment to elucidate the effect of various P enrichment fre...

According to the stress gradient hypothesis, competition intensity decreases or changes to facilitation with increasing environmental stress. However, the role of water level and nutrient heterogeneity in influencing plant-plant competition is far from clear. Relative yield total, relative yield, total N (TN) and total P (TP) contents, and N∶P rati...

Plant nutrient stoichiometry is affected by both environmental factors and plant physiological processes. However, we know little about how elevation gradients and seasonality combine with soil physicochemical properties to influence nutrient stoichiometry. In this study, we examined these factors in the wetland plant Carex brevicuspis in Dongting...

We examined foliar nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) stoichiometry of 3 wetland plants (Phalaris arundinacea, Miscanthus sacchariflorus, and Carex brevicuspis) distributed along an elevation gradient in the Dongting Lake, China, and how this stoichiometry is related to soil physico-chemical characteristics, elevation, and flooding days. Plant and soi...

The concentrations and ratios of plant carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) are powerful indicators of various ecological processes. The effect of elevation on the ecological stoichiometric characteristics of plants is presently unclear. Here, we examined the C:N:P ratios of the wetland sedge, Carex brevicuspis, along a small-scale elevatio...

Soil carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) stoichiometry greatly affects plant community succession and structure. However, few studies have examined the soil stoichiometric changes in different vegetation communities of freshwater wetland ecosystems along an elevation gradient distribution. In the present study, soil nutrient concentrations...

p>Clonal plants are prevalent in wetlands and play important roles in maintaining the functions of the ecosystem. In the present study, we determined the effect of clone sizes (R1, R2, and R3 comprising 1, 3, and 5clumping ramets) on the tolerance of Carex brevicuspis growing under 30-cm-deep water to three different periods (one, two, and three mo...

In wetlands, many invasive plants, especially submerged macrophytes, are propagated by vegetative fragments. Fragment colonization and growth, the first step of plant invasion, strongly depend on the species and environment. In this study, the influences of water depth and sediment type on fragment growth performance of Myriophyllum spicatum were e...

Water level, sediment heterogeneity, and plant density are important factors that determine plant growth, distribution, and community structure. In the present study, we investigated the effects of these factors on the growth and root characteristics of Carex brevicuspis. We conducted an outdoor experiment to monitor biomass accumulation and alloca...

Fragment colonization plays an important role in regulating the growth, reproduction, and expansion of submerged macrophytes. However, the influence of the interaction of fragment length and sediment heterogeneity on fragment colonization and growth is far from clear. Here, we investigated the effect of fragment length and sediment heterogeneity on...

Both water depth and litter quality are important factors influencing litter decomposition in wetlands, but the interactive role of these factors in regulating mass loss and nutrient dynamics is far from clear. The responses of mass loss and nutrient dynamics to simulated water depths and litter quality are investigated in leaves of Carex brevicusp...

Total concentrations of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), chrome (Cr), and nickel (Ni) in surface sediment (0–10 cm) from the East Dongting Lake wetlands were determined and the spatial distribution of heavy metals was mapped. The results showed that the single risk indices ( E r i ) of heavy metals were ranked in the order of Cd > Pb > Ni > Cr. The con...