Search

Virulent infectious fungal diseases, in natural and managed landscapes, are increasing. Fungal diseases in humans, animals and plants have caused die-off and extinction events and have become a threat to food security. A caving expedition in Yunnan Province, China, revealed two bat carcasses covered in fungal mycelia. Eleven fungal isolates were obtained from these bat carcasses, and morphological observations and multigene phylogenetic analyses revealed they were Fusarium incarnatum, Mucor hiemalis and Trichoderma harzianum and four new species, Mortierella rhinolophicola, M. multispora, M. yunnanensis and Neocosmospora pallidimors. One of the more alarming findings is that a number of infections related to Neocosmospora, previously associated with human and animal mycotoxicoses, are reported to be increasing, and here we present a new species from this genus, isolated from dead bats. Due to the ecosystem services provided by bats, and the close relationship between bats and humans, future research should focus on the impacts and significance of N. pallidimors to human and animal health, examining its pathogenicity and secondary metabolites. Taxonomic descriptions, color images of the habitat, in situ samples, microstructures and cultures are presented. SEM photographs of microstructures and phylogenetic trees showing the placement of new and known species are also provided.

Fungal pathogens have become an increasingly important topic in recent decades. Yet whilst various cankers and blights have gained attention in temperate woodlands and crops, the scope for fungal pathogens of animals and their potential threat has received far less attention. With a shifting climate, the threat from fungal pathogens is predicted to increase in the future, thus understanding the spread of fungi over landscapes as well as taxa that may be at risk is of particular importance. Cave ecosystems provide potential refugia for various fungi, and roosts for bats. With their well vascularized wings and wide-ranging distributions, bats present potential fungal vectors. Furthermore, whilst bat immune systems are generally robust to bacterial and viral pathogens, they can be susceptible to fungal pathogens, particularly during periods of stress such as hibernation. Here we explore why bats are important and interesting vectors for fungi across landscapes and discuss knowledge gaps that require further research.

Human activities have both positive and negative impacts on forests, altering the extent and composition of various forest vegetation types, and increasing uncertainty in ecological management. A detailed understanding of the historical distribution of forest vegetation is crucial for local conservation efforts. In this study, we integrated phenological features with climatic and terrain variables to enhance the mapping accuracy of forest vegetation in Yunnan. We mapped the historical distributions of five forest vegetation type groups and nine specific forest vegetation types for 2001, 2010, and 2020. Our findings revealed that: (1) rubber plantations can be effectively distinguished from other forest vegetation using phenological features, coniferous forests and broad-leaved forests can be differentiated using visible spectral bands, and environmental variables (temperature, precipitation, and elevation) are effective in differentiating forest vegetation types under varying climate conditions; (2) the overall accuracy and kappa coefficient increased by 14.845% and 20.432%, respectively, when climatic variables were combined with phenological features, and by 13.613% and 18.902%, respectively, when elevation was combined with phenological features, compared to using phenological features alone; (3) forest cover in Yunnan increased by 2.069 × 104 km2 (10.369%) between 2001 and 2020. This study highlights the critical role of environmental variables in improving the mapping accuracy of forest vegetation in mountainous regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road construction and strip mining in mountainous regions inevitably causes the destruction of vegetation and soil, leading to large ranges of exposed slopes. Although soil spray-sowing has become a promising method to accelerate community assembly in humid regions, the application of microbial fertilizers and shading in slope recovery during soil spray-sowing are rarely reported in dry-hot valleys. This study compared the effectiveness among artificial seeding, arch column + planting bags, and soil spray-sowing by slope restoration trials in the Yuanjiang dry-hot valley, southwest China. Additionally, we explored the effect of slope degrees, shade, and microbial fertilizers on seedling survival and growth after soil spray-sowing. Results indicated that soil spray-sowing displayed better species survival and growth performance than artificial seeding and arch column + planting bags. The richness, density, and height of seedlings dropped dramatically with the increasing of slope degrees after soil spray-sowing, especially when the slope degree was greater than 1. Although shading observably improved the species density, it inhibited the growth of Albizia julibrissin and Crotalaria pallida. Moreover, microbial fertilizers Penicillium chrysogenum and Bacillus aryabhattai markedly enhanced the density and growth of species Azadirachta Indica, Cajanus cajan, Indigofera cassioides, and Sophora xanthanth. Soil spray-sowing, combined with shading and microbial fertilizers, contributes to species survival and growth when the slope degree is less than 1.73 and the soil spray-sowing process coincides with the rainy season, which provides the theoretical basis and technical support for ecological restoration in the dry-hot river valley. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]