Guo-Lei Li

• PhD
• Professor (Full) at Beijing Forestry University

Quercus aliena (Q. aliena) is a native species with important ecological and economic value in China, which primarily propagates through seeds and lacks efficient asexual reproduction methods. Somatic embryogenesis, as a powerful tool for the mass clonal propagation in plants, was preliminary introduced in the species. In this study, the effects of...

Seeds of some tree species are often consumed by vertebrates after germination, resulting in the loss of cotyledons that still contain nutrients, affecting early seedling formation. However, little attention has been given to strategies employed by seeds to address post-emergence predation. Seed nutrient transfer of Quercus variabilis was quantifie...

The most important process before leaf senescence is nutrient resorption, which reduces nutrient loss and maximizes plant fitness during the subsequent growth period. However, plants must retain certain levels of nitrogen (N) in their leaves to maintain carbon assimilation during hardening. The objective of this study was to investigate the tradeof...

Hydrolyzable tannins (HTs) have garnered significant attention due to their proven beneficial effects in the clinical treatment of various diseases. The cupule of Chinese cork oak (Quercus variabilis Blume) has been used as raw material of traditional medicine for centuries for its high content of HTs. Previous studies have identified UGT84A13 as a...

Quercus variabilis is a widely distributed species of cork oak in East Asia, with significant ecological and economic value. However, its slow growth rate limits its overall value and applications, and the ploidy advantage of multiploidy can improve its growth rate. Therefore, it is of great significance to establish a technological system to artif...

A progressive decline in tree growth may be induced by global warming, affecting tree health and eventually resulting in death, particularly for trees growing in rocky mountainous regions where seasonal droughts have become more pronounced. However, tree growth dynamics in areas experiencing pronounced climate change have received little attention....

Chinese cork oak (Quercus variabilis Blume) is a widespread tree species with high economic and ecological values. Chinese cork oak exhibits epicotyl dormancy, causing emergence heterogeneity and affecting the quality of seedling cultivation. Gibberellic acid-stimulated transcript (GAST) is a plant-specific protein family that plays a crucial regul...

Predation of cotyledons can reduce short-term survival and growth in emerging oak seedlings, potentially affecting species recruitment. However, the physiological basis of reduced seedling performance after early cotyledon predation and the mid-term consequences of cotyledon predation on seedling drought tolerance remain poorly understood. We perfo...

Plants cope with drought stress using a range of functional adaptations involving main organs, and subsequent physiological recovery after stress release. However, there is a knowledge gap on the drought tolerance of woody plants from a whole plant perspective and the coordination of drought tolerance among plant organs, especially between shoots a...

Hydrolyzable tannins (HTs), predominant polyphenols in oaks, are widely used in grape wine aging, feed additives, and human healthcare. However, the limited availability of a high‐quality reference genome of oaks greatly hampered the recognition of the mechanism of HT biosynthesis. Here, high‐quality reference genomes of three Asian oak species (Qu...

Previous studies have addressed the role of soil fertility on acorn N remobilization during oak seedling growth but have focused on very early development stages or have assessed remobilization at a coarse grain ontogenetic scale making difficult to precise when seedlings switch from acorn N to soil N use. We cultivated Quercus variabilis seedlings...

It is hypothesized that ‘hydraulic vulnerability segmentation’ (the vulnerability of expendable organs is higher compared to the vulnerability of nonexpendable organs) can enhance the drought‐tolerance of trees. However, prediction of positive segmentation (leaf minus branch) did not gain undisputed support in field observations. Further, the main...

Poplar is an important tree species for ecological protection, wood production, bioenergy and urban greening; it has been widely planted worldwide. However, the catkin fibers produced by female poplars can cause environmental pollution and safety hazards during spring. This study focused on Populus tomentosa, and revealed the sucrose metabolism reg...

Tannins are useful for many industrial applications owing to their strong chelating, antibacterial, and antioxidant properties. Hydrolysable tannins (HTs) are suitable for feed additives to replace antibiotics because of their low anti-nutritional effects. However, regulation of HT biosynthesis in plants remains largely unknown. Here, we found that...

Carbohydrate and nitrogen storage in seedlings can improve field growth and survival. However, carbohydrate and nitrogen reserves may compete. For instance, carbohydrate reserves can be accumulated due to sink limitation on growth triggered by nutrient deficiency. Few studies have addressed the effects of nutrient supply on carbohydrate and nutrien...

Quercus variabilis and Quercus aliena are two native tree species in China, which have similar habitats, and their regeneration mainly depends on acorn dispersal. This study analyzed the contents of water, soluble sugar, starch, soluble protein, and total phenolics in acorns and cupules during the whole development process to explore the difference...

Background and Aims Polyploidization can improve plant mass yield for bioenergy support, yet few studies have investigated ozone (O3) sensitivity linked to internal regulatory mechanism at different ploidy levels. Methods Diploid and triploid Populus tomentosa Carr. plants were exposed to ambient and ambient plus 60 ppb [O3]. We explored their dif...

Shoot dieback is an important survival strategy in juvenile Quercus spp. However, it is unknown how nursery practices can influence the regulatory mechanisms of shoot dieback after planting. Furthermore, there is scarce information about the interactive effects between container depth and nursery fertilization on field seedling performance, and in...

Quercus aliena is an economically important tree species and one of the dominant native oak species in China. Although its leaves typically turn yellow in autumn, we observed natural variants with red leaves. It is important to understand the mechanisms involved in leaf color variation in this species. Therefore, we compared a Q. aliena tree with y...

Oaks (Quercus spp.) are considered model plants for studying plant evolution and natural gene introgression. Beijing area is at the junction between Taihang Mountain and Yanshan Mountain, and it is an overlapping distribution area of several deciduous oaks native to China. Interspecific hybridization often occurs in sympatric sibling species, resul...

Oaks ( Quercus spp.) are considered as model plants for studying plant evolution and natural gene introgression. However, interspecific hybridization often occurred in sympatric sibling specie, resulting in blurred interspecific boundaries and hindering the development of breeding. Beijing area is at the junction between Taihang Mountain and Yansha...

Poplar is an important tree species for ecological protection, wood production, bioenergy and urban greening; it has been widely planted worldwide. However, the catkin fibers produced by female poplars can cause environmental pollution and safety hazards during spring. This study focused on Populus tomentosa , and revealed the sucrose metabolism re...

Soil fertility and resorption of leaf compounds in the fall can influence resource buildup in plants. However, whether intraspecific differences in seedling size can affect nutrient reserve buildup is unknown. This study examined the effects of seedling size and fall fertilization on the uptake and resorption of nitrogen (N), as well as the allocat...

In temperate monsoon climate zones, which feature low precipitation in winter and spring, summer planting of Pinus tabuliformis Carr. seedlings may improve site restoration. The application of moderate water stress to improve seedling drought resistance may be an option to harden summer-plant seedlings. The objective of this study was to assess the...

Nutrient resorption (NuR) is an important nutrient conservative strategy but little information is available about the effect of nursery fertilization on NuR in the field. In this study, diploid and triploid one-year-old plants of Populus tomentosa Carr. were fertilized with 9 g N per plant, and non-fertilized plants as control. Initial functional...

Seedling planting plays a key role in active forest restoration and regeneration of managed stands. Plant attributes at outplanting can determine tree seedling survival and consequently early success of forest plantations. Although many studies show that large seedlings of the same age within a species have higher survival than small ones, others r...

Plants ability to acquire soil N sources is plastic in response to abiotic and biotic factors. However, information about how plants N form preference changes in response to internal plant N demand, as through growth phases or to environmental stress as ozone (O3), is scarce. Diploid and triploid Chinese white poplar were used to investigate N form...

Abstract Plants ability to acquire soil N sources is plastic in response to abiotic and biotic factors. However, information about how plants N form preference changes in response to internal plant N demand, as through growth phases or to environmental stress as ozone (O 3), is scarce. Diploid and triploid Chinese white poplar were used to investig...

Background Tree mortality and regeneration (seedling and sapling recruitment) are essential components of forest dynamics in arid regions, especially where subjected to serious eco-hydrological problems. In recent decades, the mortality of the Euphrates poplar ( Populus euphratica ) along the Tarim River in Northwest China has increased. However, f...

【Objective】In the present study, we investigated optimal fall fertilization regime combining seedling quality with field performance in order to provide a theoretical basis for nursery accurate fertilization management. Furthermore, we examined the inner-mechanism of growth and nutrient resorption at field.【Method】We used triploid Populus tomentosa...

Aims Soil fertility and resorption of leaf compounds in the fall can influence resource buildup in plants. However, whether intraspecific differences in seedling size can affect nutrient reserve buildup is unknown. This study examined the effects of seedling size and fall fertilization on the uptake and resorption of nitrogen (N), as well as the al...

Planting during summer is considered as a suitable option for forest plantations in regions with a temperate monsoon climate. However, seedlings planted early in the summer are not dormant and experience active growth, which makes them vulnerable to planting stress. The artificial reduction of the photoperiod in the nursery is used to harden seedli...

Background Tree mortality and seedling and sapling recruitment are essential components of forest dynamics in arid regions, especially those with serious eco-hydrological problems. In recent decades, the mortality of the Euphrates poplar ( Populus euphratica ) along the Tarim River in Northwest China has increased. However, few studies have quantif...

Nutrient loading in the fall is a practical way to improve seedling quality and has been proven to increase nutrient accumulation, translocation and utilization. Few studies have reported on the variation in free amino acids as a result of fall fertilization, especially for different seasonal needle habits (evergreen, deciduous). Therefore, a balan...

Previous studies have proven that short-day treatment is an effective means to regulate shoot growth and abiotic stress resistance in conifers. However, the effects on Chinese pine (Pinus tabuliformis) seedlings are less well known. In this study, short-day treatments were applied to container-grown Chinese pine seedlings by artificially reducing d...

Remobilization of stored nitrogen (N) plays an important role in the early growth of deciduous trees in spring. Several environmental factors can modulate N remobilization, but whether water stress is one such factors is unknown. This study analyzes how the size of N storage in Quercus variabilis Blume seedlings interacts with water stress to affec...

Key message Small acorns are usually discarded for seedling cultivation because they reduce plant quality. This, however, can potentially reduce genetic diversity of plantations. The use of small acorns will result in the production of a higher proportion of small seedlings containing low nutrient levels and having poor outplanting performance in o...

[Objective] Agro-forestry is an effective way to solve the dispute between forest land and agricultural land. In order to explore the distribution of the new roots of Populus tomentosa in the forest-agricultural compound model after one year of afforestation, the spatial distribution of fine root length density (FRLD) and fine root biomass density...

Fertilization and watering are important nursery cultural practices for seedling production, though few studies have investigated the combined effects of fertilizer and watering rates on nursery attributes and field performance of container-grown pine seedlings. Four subirrigation rates ranging from 55 to 85 per cent gravimetric water content (θ g)...

Fertilization and watering are important nursery cultural practices for seedling production, though few studies have investigated the combined effects of fertilizer and watering rates on nursery attributes and field performance of container-grown pine seedlings. Four subirrigation rates ranging from 55 to 85 per cent gravimetric water content (θ g)...

【Objective】 Cotyledon loss of Quercus variabilis in autumn and the following spring after emergence is a common phenomenon in the nature. This study was designed to simulate the interaction of two loss phenomena, and investigate the additive effects on seed reserves translocation and seedling growth, and reveal the mechanism of animal predation on...

Background and aims. Predators may partially or completely consume Quercus spp. acorns, but effects on nutrient remobilization and seedling performance are poorly understood. We investigated interactions between soil fertility and the removal of Quercus variabilis acorn cotyledons at different early developmental stages on seedling nutrition and de...

Objective: In the present study, we investigated combined effects of cotyledon excision and nursery fertilization on field performance of Quercus variabilis container seedlings in order to provide a theoretical basis in the containerized seedling cultivation. Method: We used a two-factors experiment design.Three cotyledon excision intensities of E1...

Objective: Container type and radicle pruning have been individually proved to effectively regulate seedling quality. In current study, we examined whether the combination of these two approaches could yield a superior effects on seedling performance during nursery and field phases in order to provide reference for the container seedling cultivatio...

Artificial excision of the distal part of acorns in order to promote germination is well researched in oak seedling cultivation studies. However, studies of combined effects of cotyledon excision and nursery fertilization on container seedlings are lacking, especially for seedling root growth and outplanting performance. This study aimed to explore...

Soil conditions of the outplanting site for field research. Five points within the experiment site were sampled for physical traits and nutrients determining. (PDF)

Initial data for the amount of seedling emergence. Thirty acorns with different intensities of excision were sown in each try and a total of 450 acorns were initially employed for each excision treatment. This table corresponds to Fig 2A, but partitioned into replications. (PDF)

The mean absolute emergence rate (first derivative for richards growth function, % new seedlings day-1) of Quercus variabilis seedlings. This figure corresponds to Fig 2, but intuitively showed the rapid emergence period of Q. variabilis. (PDF)

The mean root surface area (cm2) for different root lasses and the mean proportion (%) of taproot to total root surface area. (PDF)

Although controlled release fertilizer (CRF) with single and multiple-layer coatings are extensively used in tree seedlings, studies that compare the impact of CRF type and application rate on seedling growth, nutrient storage, and, most importantly, outplanting performance, are lacking. In the current study, container-grown Pinus tabulaeformis Car...

Although effects of short-day treatment and fall fertilization on seedling development have been studied independently, their combined influences are not well elucidated. We explored growth, nutrient concentration, and spring bud break of Chinese pine (Pinus tabulaeformis Carr.) seedlings exposed to two photoperiod treatments (short-day consisting...

Objective: The agricultural waste-mushroom residue, which remains after the production of edible fungi, is widely available and cheap. And it is now gradually cognized as a potential alternative to the peat for seedling production. This study aimed to explore the mushroom residue compost as peat alternative substrate material for the feasibility of...

Introduction: Plant morphology can drive the survival of outplanted seedlings in forest plantations. Particularly, plant shoot size is widely used to discriminate low quality seedlings. No clear consensus exists, however, whether increasing shoot size enhances outplanting survival potential, and what factors may affect the relationship between fiel...

Root deformation is a common challenge in container seedlings especially for vigorous-rooted tree species. The issue is significant for Chinese cork oak (Quercus variabilis Blume.) which is grown in cost-effective polybags. In this study we examined how copper root pruning and radicle pruning (1/3 or 2/3 of radicle length) individually and together...

Objective: This study aimed at obtaining the most suitable container type and size for growing Chinese pine (Pinus tabulaeformis) under sub-irrigation, and thus, the effects of container types and sizes on water consumption and growth of containerized Chinese pine seedlings with bottom infiltration irrigation was studied. Method: A nest-designed tr...

Abstract: Changes in forest stand structure may alter the activity of invertase, urease, catalase and phenol oxidase after thinning Pinus tabuliformis (Carriére) plantations in Yanqing County of Beijing, China. We examined changes in these soil enzymes as influenced by time since thinning (24 , 32 , and 40 years since thinning) for 3 seasons (sprin...

Objective: Nitrogen(N) supply and container type have each proved to effectively regulate seedling quality. In this study, we tested if the combination of the two approaches could improve seedling quality and produce a superposition effect on seedling growthin order to provide a theoretical basis in the containerized seedling cultivation. Method: Q...

Stored nutrient reserves are closely correlated with survival and growth of transplanted seedlings. Previous studies have proven that combining pre-hardening fertilization (PF) with fall fertiliza-tion (FF) built seedling nutrient reserves more effectively; however, their effect on transplanting performance is poorly documented. We investigated the...

Exponential fertilization during the pre-hardening stage and fall fertilization during the hardening stage have each been used independently to nutrient load seedlings. However, nursery and field responses of seedlings to the combination of exponential fertilization and fall fertilization have received little attention. Chinese pine (Pinus tabulaef...

Optimum fertilization levels are often determined solely from nursery growth responses. However, it is the performance of the seedling on the outplanting site that is the most important. For Pinus species seedlings, little information is known about the field performance of plants cultured with different nutrient rates, especially with exponential...

Maintaining proper seedling nitrogen status is important for outplanting success. Fall fertilization of evergreen conifer seedlings is a well-known technique for averting nitrogen (N) dilution caused by continued seedling growth during hardening. For deciduous seedlings, this technique is much less understood, and regardless of foliage type, the in...

2014). Interaction of initial litter quality and thinning intensity on litter decomposition rate, nitrogen accumulation and release in a pine plantation. Silva Fennica vol. 48 no. 4 article id 1211. 13 p. Highlights • Litter quality and thinning showed an interaction on one year litter decomposition rates, N accumulation, and net N release. • N acc...

Fall nutrient loading of deciduous forest nursery seedlings is of special interest because of foliage abscission and varied translocation patterns. For non-deciduous seedlings in the nursery, fall fertilization typically can reverse nutrient dilution and possibly increase nutrient reserves; however, this technique has received little attention with...

Fall nutrient loading of deciduous forest nursery seedlings is of special interest because of foliage abscission and varied translocation patterns. For non-deciduous seedlings in the nursery, fall fertilization typically can reverse nutrient dilution and possibly increase nutrient reserves; however, this technique has received little attention with...

Nursery nitrogen application has been used to improve seedling quality. The technique has received little attention with bare-root seedlings and their subsequent field performance on weed competition sites. Our research objective was to examine responses of one- and two- year-old bare-root Olga Bay larch (Larix olgensis Henry) seedlings to nursery...

In order to explore the mechanism of delayed and uneven germination in sharp tooth oak (Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata) (STO), mechanical scarification techniques were used to study STO root and shoot germination and growth. The techniques used were: removing cup scar (RS), removing the pericarp (RP), and cutting off 1/2 (HC) and 2/3 (TC) cotyled...

Plantation forestry is one of the most important approaches to restoring forest cover in China. Of the remaining sites suitable for afforestation in China, 52 % are considered harsh and only 13 % considered good, which indicates that successfully establishing a plantation in the future will become more and more difficult. Seedling quality in terms...

Nursery response of evergreen trees to fall fertilization has been studied widely, but little attention has been given to deciduous trees. Bareroot Olga Bay larch (Larix olgensis Henry) seedlings were fertilized in the nursery with urea at four rates (0, 30, 60, 90 kg N ha-1), with half of each rate applied on two dates (September 16 and October 1,...

Quality of seedlings is important for the success of plantations. The field performance of five stock types of Olga Bay larch (Larix olgensis Henry) seedlings three seasons after planting was evaluated. High survival rates were achieved for all five types of planting stock in the first-year growing season when weeds were controlled. In the second a...

In order to explore luxury nutrient uptake of the seedlings prior to field planting under conventional fertilizing regimes, Larix olgensis seedlings(one-year old) were selected as materials. Biomass, concentrations and contents of N and P of two-year old seedlings were tested under different fertilization treatments. The nutrient use efficiency and...

It is important to study the effect of tree density on the substrate quality and decomposition rate of leaf litter in plantations. In 2002, an experiment of the effects of thinning intensities at four different levels (i.e., 0 (I), 35.7% (II), 49.2% (III), and 64.2% (IV)) on undergrowth were carried out in an 18-year-old Pinus tabulaeformis plantat...

Direct seeding is a less expensive practice than planting and has the potential to become a viable alternative to transplanting for afforestation and regeneration purposes. As an effective and a less costly regeneration method, aerial seeding has been applied with several tree species. As early as 1956, Chinese people engaged in aerial seeding and...

Reforestation in China is important for reversing anthropogenic activities that degrade the environment. Pinus tabulaeformis is desired for these activities, but survival and growth of seedlings can be hampered by lack of ectomycorrhizae. When outplanted in association with Ostryopsis davidiana plants on reforestation sites, P. tabulaeformis seedli...

Aerial seeding is one of the most important vegetation restoration patterns in remote hilly areas, and studies concerning soil quality and its management have practical value. In 2000, a study of the effect of thinning intensities at five different treatments levels, 0 (CK), 30% (slight thinning), 48.75% (medium thinning), 53.75% (intense thinning)...

Decomposition characteristics such as decomposition dynamics, decomposition rate and leaf substrate quality affected by forest age were manipulated by mesh bags in 21-, 29- and 36-year-old Pinus tabulaeformis stands in the middle hilly lands of Yingpan, Yanqing Country of Bejing in 2005. The results showed that the minimum discrepancy was in the de...