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Abstract The quest for alternatives to Pt as an oxygen reduction electrocatalyst, possessing high activity, stability, and abundant reserves, holds great significance for H2/O2 fuel cells. Recently, metal‐nitrogen‐carbon (M‐N‐C) electrocatalysts have garnered substantial attention as promising substitutes. These electrocatalysts not only exhibit well‐defined structures but also offer the flexibility to adjust the central metal atoms and coordination atoms. It is beneficial in elucidating the active sites during the catalytic process and in the design of highly active electrocatalysts. In this review, the real active site of M‐N‐C electrocatalyst‐driven ORR is investigated in depth by in situ characterization techniques such as X‐ray absorption spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy. It′s worth noting that the catalytic activity of M‐N‐C electrocatalysts originates from the dynamic evolution of electrocatalyst structure. Subsequently, we review various synthetic strategies, including the wet chemistry method, spatial confinement, and template‐assisted method, aimed at the rational design of M‐N‐C electrocatalysts. Moreover, recent progresses of M‐N‐C electrocatalysts with varying configurations, encompassing single‐atom, and double‐atom electrocatalysts are discussed, Finally, summary and perspectives on the development of M‐N‐C are provided.

In the process of CO2-ECBM, the tectonic fractures developed in the coal may become the preferential channels of gas-water seepage under the impact of injection pressure, and then influence the recovery of coalbed methane (CBM) and CO2 storage. Based on the theoretical analysis, the displacing profile of CO2-ECBM is established. A numerical model is constructed referring to the TS-634 field trial, and the influence of the tectonic fractures on CH4 recovery and CO2 storage is investigated. The CBM recovery and CO2 storage in the TS-634 trial are evaluated, the mechanism of the rapid breakthrough of CO2 is revealed, the enlightenment of the rapid breakthrough on the optimization of the injection-drainage process is dissected, and the proposals for the injection-drainage process in reservoirs with tectonic fractures are put forward. The results show that CO2 enriched zone, CH4-CO2 mixed zone, CH4 enriched zone, and water enriched zone can be formed among injection-production wells successively. With an injection, the zones affect the producers after their formation and evolution. The difficulty of water seepage determines the level of CH4 output inhibition and then controls the CBM recovery and CO2 storage. The producer along tectonic fracture can achieve an efficient recovery of CH4, but a high permeability often leads to apparent CO2 channeling which causes the loss of cumulative CH4 production and CO2 storage. During the trial period, the strong-breakthrough producer attains a remarkable increase in gas output, with the actual cumulative gas production increasing by 10.4% and bottomhole-pressure-equivalent cumulative gas output increasing by 92.3%. Tectonic fractures provide potential preferential channels for the CO2 rapid breakthrough and become real preferential channels mainly induced by injection pressure. The existence of fracturing affected areas and liquid CO2 phase transformation-induced expansion and energization accelerate the CO2 breakthrough, but the coal matrix expansion-induced permeability decrease is expected to delay the breakthrough. To achieve a better displacement, enhancement, and sequestration, it is necessary to boost the bottomhole pressure in the early injection stage, fine-tune the pressure of the injector or increase the bottomhole pressure drop of producers in the inhibition stage, and maintain the pressure lower than the minimum principal stress of the reservoir in the whole stage. After the breakthrough, the exposure time between CO2 and coal matrix can be increased by irregularly shutting down/restarting the producers or reducing the pressure of the injector, which is expected to further improve the CH4 recovery.

Large-scale cluster deployment is the development direction of the CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage) technology and the national major demand of fossil energy low-carbon utilization. The synergistic relationship and mechanism between CO2 geological storage potential and energy resources are the theoretical basis of the CCUS large-scale cluster deployment. In this study, the major progress in the fields of CO2 geological storage potential and its evaluation methods, the CCUS source-sink matching and pipe network design model, the synergistic relationship between CO2 geological storage potential and energy resources, and the technical basis and mode of the CCUS cluster deployment are systematically reviewed. The research ideas on the theoretical methodology of synergy between CO2 geological storage potential and energy resources in China are discussed and envisioned. The main conclusions of the research are as follows. The CO2 geological storage potential restricts the development potential and application scale of the CCUS technology. The evaluation method system of CO2 geological storage potential is preliminarily established, which is composed of suitability evaluation method, storage capacity evaluation method, and storage site selection method. However, the evaluation method system of CO2 geological storage potential urgently needs to be improved and developed in future research. Source-sink matching is the important direct basis for the CO2 transportation pipeline network design and the CCUS large-scale cluster deployment. The improvement and establishment of the optimization model between the CCUS source-sink matching and the CCUS cluster pipe network model is the key technology for the CCUS source-sink matching, and the transformation from single-stage static planning model to multi-stage dynamic planning model is the development direction. The synergy between CO2 geological storage potential and energy resources constitutes the constraint condition of the CCUS technology. The synergy between the CCUS technology and new energy technology, e.g., renewable energy, hydrogen energy, energy storage, etc. will be expected to form a new path, new mode, and new direction to achieve energy system decarbonization. The synergistic relationships between CO2 geological storage potential and biomass and water resources restrict the large-scale deployment area of the CCUS technology and the application potential of the BECCS (Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage) technology. Therefore, the research on the optimization model of energy and resources system based on the CCUS source-sink matching model will be a new technical requirement. The CO2 geological storage potential, energy-system constrained CCUS source-sink matching optimization scheme, and full flowsheet CCUS technology constitute the key technical basis for the CCUS cluster deployment. The CCUS cluster deployment mode of onshore storage with near-source transportation should be the priority development direction in China. The CCUS cluster deployment mode of onshore storage and offshore storage with remote-source transmission also have development prospects in Yangtze River Delta and Great Bay Area.

CO2 geological sequestration-enhanced coalbed methane (CO2-ECBM) strengthens the development of coalbed methane (CBM) and realizes the stimulation of coalbed methane wells. At the same time, CO2 is stored in deep coal seams. This technology has some great development prospects. Relying on the demonstration project, numerical simulation based on geological modeling is still an important path for its technological development. Based on the analysis of the characteristics for the corner grid geological model and the geological modeling ability of COMSOL Multiphysics, a geological model that can clearly display the three-dimensional spatial morphology and heterogeneity distribution of gas content, adsorption time, porosity, permeability, elastic modulus and Poisson’s ratio of the No. 3 coal in the Shizhuang South Block of Qinshui Basin was established in COMSOL Multiphysics using the split-reconstruction method. On this basis, the numerical simulation of CO2-ECBM for controlling gas injection pressure was carried out in combination with the adsorption-hydraulic-thermal-mechanical-chemical (AHTMC) multi-field coupling mathematical model, and the impact of CO2 injection pressure on CH4 stimulation, CO2 storage and the geochemical environment of coal reservoir were analyzed. Moreover, two kinds of shut-in modes, namely, simultaneous shut-in and sequential shut-in, and four CO2-ECBM engineering objectives, namely, time saving, CH4 stimulation, CO2 storage and comprehensive consideration of the three, were proposed. In addition, the CO2 injection pressures were optimized according to the two shut-in modes with the four objectives. The results show that: ① Under the limit of 15-year and the injection pressure of 5.50−9.50 MPa for the CO2-ECBM project, with the increase of CO2 injection pressure, the CH4 production rate of CBM wells and the CO2 storage capacity of coal reservoir increase, with the maximum of 14.39% and 8.31×107 m3 respectively, the area of coal reservoir containing acid fissure water expands. The CO2 storage rate decreases due to the large output of CO2 from CBM wells with the increase of gas injection pressure, but remains above 95%. ② The heterogeneity of coal reservoirs has a great impact on the production of CBM wells. The higher the CH4 content and the greater the porosity and permeability of the coal reservoirs around the CBM wells, the more significant the CH4 stimulation effect. The stronger the CO2 adsorption capacity of the coal reservoirs surrounding CBM wells, the lower their CO2 production rate. ③ Under the simultaneous and sequential shut-in, CO2 injection pressure has a significant impact on the CO2 concentration and CH4 production rate of gas produced by well group, and the CH4 recovery of coal reservoir decreases with the increase of injection pressure at the end of CO2-ECBM project with 33.28% and 41.63% for 3.50 MPa, 18.90% and 28.03% for 6.50 MPa and 12.81% and 23.01% for 9.50 MPa, respectively. ④ The optimal injection pressure of CO2 for the engineering objectives of time saving, CH4 stimulation, CO2 storage and comprehensive consideration of above three are 8.05, 3.50, 6.35 and 6.25 MPa for the simultaneous shut-in, respectively, and 9.50, 9.50, 3.50 and 9.50 MPa for the sequential shut-in, respectively. ⑤ Compared with simultaneous shut-in, the sequential shut-in can achieve better CH4 stimulation and CO2 storage effects by extending the engineering time when using the optimal CO2 injection pressure.

Epitaxial heterostructures, in particular those 2D vertical heterostructures with close face-to-face contact, are appealing candidates for photocatalytic CO2 reduction. Usually, precise control of the growth rate and a seed nanosheet having a small lattice mismatch with the overlayer is essential for the realization of epitaxial growth. Here we present a CO2-initiated solution-phase epitaxial growth strategy to directly fabricate 2D facet-coupled vertical heterostructures without a seed-layer assistant, in which supercritical CO2 liquid can not only manipulate the nucleation and growth of BiOIO3 to match with the epitaxial growth of the Bi2O2CO3 layer, but also provide better wetting conditions to minimize the interfacial energy, thus facilitating the 2D layer-by-layer growth. The obtained heterostructures exhibit the highest CO2-to-CO conversion rate of 224.71 µmol g−1 h−1 in pure water. These findings open up a new platform for highly controlled epitaxial growth of heterostructures.

The lack of highly efficient, inexpensive catalysts severely hinders the large‐scale application of electrochemical energy conversion technologies (e.g., electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) for hydrogen production, metal–air batteries (Cathode: oxygen reduction reaction (ORR))). As a new class of nanomaterials with a high ratio of surface atoms and tunable composition and electronic structure, metal nanocluster (NCs) are promising candidates as catalysts. Herein, a novel catalyst using S,N‐doped carbon matrix (NSCSs) is synthesized to efficiently stabilize high density and ultra‐uniform ruthenium (Ru) nanoclusters (Ru@NSCSs) by small‐molecule self‐assembly pyrolysis approach. The obtained Ru@NSCSs catalyst exhibits outstanding HER activity in all pH conditions (especially with a low overpotential of 5 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm−2 in 1 m KOH) and excellent ORR performance (half‐wave potential (E 1/2) of 0.854 V in 0.1 m KOH). Based on the experimental investigations and theoretical calculations, it is discovered that the S‐atom can modulate the electronic structure and optimization of redox states on the surficial sites of Ru NCs during the ORR process. This work provides a feasible strategy for understanding and regulating the metal–support interface of ultra‐uniform nanoclusters catalysts.

Abstract Interfacial engineering is a powerful method to improve the bifunctional electrocatalytic performance of pure phase catalysts. While it is expected to further optimize the electronic configuration of heterojunctions to boost the reaction kinetics in hydrogen/oxygen evolution reaction (HER/OER), but remains a challenge. Herein, a novel in situ hybrid heterojunction strategy is developed to construct 2D porous Co‐doped Ni/Ni3N heterostructure nanosheets (Co–Ni/Ni3N) by pyrolysis of partially cobalt substituted nickel‐zeolitic imidazolate framework (CoNi‐ZIF) nanosheets under NH3 atmosphere. A combined experimental and theoretical studies manifest that the hybrid heterostructures can display regulative electronic states and downshift d‐band center from the Fermi level, as well as optimize the adsorption energy of reaction intermediates, thus reducing the thermodynamic energy barriers and accelerating the catalytic kinetics. Consequently, benefitting from the optimized electronic configuration, hierarchical hollow nanosheets architecture, and abundant doped heterojunctions, the hybrid Co–Ni/Ni3N heterostructure catalyst exhibits efficient catalytic activity for both HER (60 mV) and OER (322 mV) at 10 mA cm−2 in alkaline media, which is 105 and 47 mV lower than that of pure Ni3N, respectively. The electrochemically active surface area of Co–Ni/Ni3N is two times higher than that of Ni3N. Furthermore, the coupled practical water electrolyzer requires a low voltage of 1.575 V to reach 10 mA cm−2, and it can be driven by a 1.5 V battery. This work highlights the interface engineering guidance for the rational establishment of hybrid interfaces by electronic modulation of interfacial effect for alkaline water splitting.

Abstract Defect engineering is a desired manner to promote the performance of electrodes. Herein, by employing the boron atom substitution and carbon–boron vacancy–vacancy pairs in graphene, a defect‐induced two‐dimensional new phase, popC5B, is formed. The evidences indicate that it has dynamic, thermal, and mechanical stabilities. When used as anodes in Li/Na‐ion batteries, it possesses high theoretical specific capacities of 1891/1135 mAh/g. The high capacity is attributed to the synergy effect of various defect engineering and defect‐induced phase transition that lead to the charge delocalization in popC5B and promote the electron transfer between metal ions and popC5B. This study demonstrates that the synergy effect of various kinds of defects could be an effective approach to acquire high performance electrodes in batteries.

Amyloid-β protein (Aβ) is an important biomarker and plays a key role in the early stage of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Here, an ultrasensitive photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensor based on ZnO@polydopamine/Au nanocomposites was constructed for quantitative detection of Aβ. In this sensing system, the ZnO nanorod array decorated with PDA films and gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) have excellent visible-light activity. The PDA film was used as a sensitizer for charge separation, and it also was used for antibody binding. Moreover, Au NPs were loaded on the surface of PDA film by in situ deposition, which further improved the charge transfer efficiency and the PEC activity in visible light due to the localized surface plasmon resonance effect of Au NPs. Therefore, in ZnO@polydopamine/Au nanocomposites, a significantly enhanced photocurrent response was obtained on this photoelectrode, which provides a good and reliable signal for early detection of AD. Under the optimized conditions, the PEC immunosensor displayed a wide linear range from 1 pg/mL to 100 ng/mL and a low detection limit of 0.26 pg/mL. In addition, this PEC immunosensor also presented good selectivity, stability, and reproducibility. This work may provide a promising point-of-care testing method toward advanced PEC immunoassays for AD biomarkers.

Abstract Background Plants have been hypothesized to maintain strong control over xylem tension by closing stomata and to operate at a water potential above or near the critical potential at which cavitation commences. An alternative hypothesis holds that cavitation temporarily relieves water stress and stomatal closure is insufficient to prevent short term “run-away” cavitation. Methods The objectives of this study were to investigate the leaf conductivity loss at noon (Loss) of 13 woody species differing in leaf phenology at two sites on karst topography in the wet season in southwestern China; the hydraulic architecture of woody species has rarely been reported previously. Loss was predicted from minimum field leaf water potentials (Ψ min) and laboratory-generated vulnerability curves. We also measured the maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem II using chlorophyll a fluorescence (F v /F m) and other associated leaf traits. Results Loss in the field varied substantially, from 1.39% in evergreen Itea chinensis to 90.07% in deciduous Sapium sebiferum. However, the Loss did not significantly decrease the efficiency of photosystem II. The water potential at which a 50% loss in leaf conductivity occurred (Ψ 50) was not correlated to Ψ min. The co-occurring evergreen and deciduous species differed significantly in some stem hydraulic and associated leaf traits. Deciduous species had higher hydraulic conductance, photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, lower cavitation-resistance and minimum water potential than co-occurring evergreen species. Conclusions There was no sign that karst woody species in southwestern China could control xylem tension above the threshold to avoid substantial xylem cavitation in the wet season. There was no association between Loss and F v /F m among the studied species. This “isohydric” regulation behaviour, as well as abundant rainfall in the wet season, may explain why large variations of Loss existed across karst woody species in southwestern China.

Tight sandstone gas is on the first position of unconventional natural gas sources, which can be developed under today’s technical conditions. In recent years, tight sandstone gas reservoirs have been found in several wells in the Linxing area, eastern margin of Ordos Basin, China. In this article, a variety of methods, including cast thin sections, X-ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscope, and drill core data were used to study the petrological characteristics and their influences on tight sandstone reservoir in coal-bearing strata of the Linxing area. Based on the analysis of thin section, it can be concluded that the sandstone reservoir is essentially constituted of lithic sandstone as well as lithic arkose and feldspathic litharenite. Cement types are complicated, including carbonate minerals, clay minerals, and quartz overgrowth. Illite, kaolinite, chlorite, illite–smectite mixed layer, and chlorite–smectite mixed layer are found in clay minerals. Compared with other clay minerals, illite is in the dominant position. Pores can be divided into residual intergranular pore, intragranular dissolution pore, intergranular dissolution pore, cement dissolution pore, intercrystalline pore, and microcrack in sandstone reservoir of the Linxing area. Quartz has an average content of 68% with the feature of low compositional maturity and plays a major role in increasing porosity due to dissolution and protecting of quartz. Feldspar dissolution plays a role in decreasing porosity because the by-product materials of feldspar dissolution remain in original place, instead of being transported to other areas. Dissolution pores are 2–20 µm and may be filled with kaolinite, illite, or halite. It is worth mentioning that grain-coating chlorite may be of sufficient thickness to protect reservoirs along with the increasing content of chlorite, which is testified by the crossplot between the chlorite and porosity when the absolute content of chlorite is less than 1.5%.

While the fundamental trade-off in leaf traits related to carbon capture as described by the leaf economics spectrum is well-established among plant species, the relationship of the leaf economics spectrum to stem hydraulics is much less known. Since carbon capture and transpiration are coupled, a close connection between leaf traits and stem hydraulics should be expected. We thus asked whether xylem traits that describe drought tolerance and vulnerability to cavitation are linked to particular leaf traits. We assessed xylem vulnerability, using the pressure sleeve technique, and anatomical xylem characteristics in 39 subtropical tree species grown under common garden conditions in the BEF-China experiment and tested for correlations with traits related to the leaf economics spectrum as well as to stomatal control, including maximum stomatal conductance, vapor pressure deficit at maximum stomatal conductance and vapor pressure deficit at which stomatal conductance is down-regulated. Our results revealed that specific xylem hydraulic conductivity and cavitation resistance were closely linked to traits represented in the leaf economic spectrum, in particular to leaf nitrogen concentration, as well as to log leaf area and leaf carbon to nitrogen ratio but not to any parameter of stomatal conductance. The study highlights the potential use of well-known leaf traits from the leaf economics spectrum to predict plant species' drought resistance.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the eco-physiological adaptation of indigenous woody species to their habitats in karst areas of southwestern China. Two contrasting forest habitats were studied: a degraded habitat in Daxiagu and a well-developed habitat in Tianlongshan, and the eco-physiological characteristics of the trees were measured for three growth seasons. Photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (gs), and transpiration rate (Tr) of the tree species in Daxiagu were 2-3 times higher than those in Tianlongshan under ambient conditions. However, this habitat effect was not significant when measurements were taken under controlled conditions. Under controlled conditions, Pn, gs, and Tr of the deciduous species were markedly higher than those for the evergreen species. Habitat had no significant effect on water use efficiency (WUE) or photochemical characteristics of PSII. The stomatal sensitivity of woody species in the degraded habitat was much higher than that in the well-developed habitat. Similarly, the leaf total nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) contents expressed on the basis of either dry mass or leaf area were also much higher in Daxiagu than they were in Tianlongshan. The mass-based leaf total N content of deciduous species was much higher than that of evergreen species, while leaf area-based total N and P contents of evergreens were significantly higher than those of deciduous species. The photosynthetic nitrogen- and phosphorus-use efficiencies (PNUE and PPUE) of deciduous species were much higher than those of evergreens. Further, the PPUE of the woody species in Tianlongshan was much higher than that of the woody species in Daxiagu. The results from three growth seasons imply that the tree species were able to adapt well to their growth habitats. Furthermore, it seems that so-called “temporary drought stress” may not occur, or may not be severe for most woody plants in karst areas of southwestern China.

White birch (Betula paperifera Mash) seedlings were exposed to progressively warming in greenhouses under ambient and elevated CO2 concentrations for 5 months to explore boreal tree species’ potential capacity to acclimate to global climate warming and CO2 elevation. In situ foliar gas exchange, in vivo carboxylation characteristics and chlorophyll fluorescence were measured at temperatures of 26oC and 37oC. Elevated CO2 significantly increased net photosynthetic rate (Pn) at both measurement temperatures, and Pn at 37oC was higher than that at 26oC under elevated CO2. Stomatal conductance (gs) was lower at 37oC than at 26oC, while transpiration rate (E) was higher at 37oC than that at 26oC. Elevated CO2 significantly increased instantaneous water-use efficiency (WUE) at both 26oC and 37oC, but WUE was markedly enhanced at 37oC under elevated CO2. The effect of temperature on maximal carboxylation rate (Vcmax), PAR-saturated electron transport rate (Jmax) and triose phosphate utilization (TPU) varied with CO2, and the Vcmax and Jmax were significantly higher at 37oC than at 26oC under elevated CO2. However, there were no significant interactive effects of CO2 and temperature on TPU. The actual photochemical efficiency of PSII (DF/ Fm’), total photosynthetic linear electron transport rate through PSII (JT) and the partitioning of JT to carboxylation (Jc) were higher at 37oC than at 26oC under elevated CO2. Elevated CO2 significantly suppressed the partitioning of JT to oxygenation (Jo/JT). The data suggest that the CO2 elevation and progressive warming greatly enhanced photosynthesis in white birch seedlings in an interactive fashion.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the eco-physiological adaptation of indigenous woody species to their habitats in karst areas of southwestern China. Two contrasting forest habitats were studied: a degraded habitat in Daxiagu and a well-developed habitat in Tianlongshan, and the eco-physiological characteristics of the trees were measured for three growth seasons. Photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (gs), and transpiration rate (Tr) of the tree species in Daxiagu were 2-3 times higher than those in Tianlongshan under ambient conditions. However, this habitat effect was not significant when measurements were taken under controlled conditions. Under controlled conditions, Pn, gs, and Tr of the deciduous species were markedly higher than those for the evergreen species. Habitat had no significant effect on water use efficiency (WUE) or photochemical characteristics of PSII. The stomatal sensitivity of woody species in the degraded habitat was much higher than that in the well-developed habitat. Similarly, the leaf total nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) contents expressed on the basis of either dry mass or leaf area were also much higher in Daxiagu than they were in Tianlongshan. The mass-based leaf total N content of deciduous species was much higher than that of evergreen species, while leaf area-based total N and P contents of evergreens were significantly higher than those of deciduous species. The photosynthetic nitrogen- and phosphorus-use efficiencies (PNUE and PPUE) of deciduous species were much higher than those of evergreens. Further, the PPUE of the woody species in Tianlongshan was much higher than that of the woody species in Daxiagu. The results from three growth seasons imply that the tree species were able to adapt well to their growth habitats. Furthermore, it seems that so-called “temporary drought stress” may not occur, or may not be severe for most woody plants in karst areas of southwestern China.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the eco-physiological adaptation of indigenous woody species to their habitats in karst areas of southwestern China. Two contrasting forest habitats were studied: a degraded habitat in Daxiagu and a well-developed habitat in Tianlongshan, and the eco-physiological characteristics of the trees were measured for three growth seasons. Photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (gs), and transpiration rate (Tr) of the tree species in Daxiagu were 2-3 times higher than those in Tianlongshan under ambient conditions. However, this habitat effect was not significant when measurements were taken under controlled conditions. Under controlled conditions, Pn, gs, and Tr of the deciduous species were markedly higher than those for the evergreen species. Habitat had no significant effect on water use efficiency (WUE) or photochemical characteristics of PSII. The stomatal sensitivity of woody species in the degraded habitat was much higher than that in the well-developed habitat. Similarly, the leaf total nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) contents expressed on the basis of either dry mass or leaf area were also much higher in Daxiagu than they were in Tianlongshan. The mass-based leaf total N content of deciduous species was much higher than that of evergreen species, while leaf area-based total N and P contents of evergreens were significantly higher than those of deciduous species. The photosynthetic nitrogen- and phosphorus-use efficiencies (PNUE and PPUE) of deciduous species were much higher than those of evergreens. Further, the PPUE of the woody species in Tianlongshan was much higher than that of the woody species in Daxiagu. The results from three growth seasons imply that the tree species were able to adapt well to their growth habitats. Furthermore, it seems that so-called “temporary drought stress” may not occur, or may not be severe for most woody plants in karst areas of southwestern China.

White birch (Betula paperifera Mash) seedlings were exposed to progressively warming in greenhouses under ambient and elevated CO 2 concentrations for 5 months to explore boreal tree species’ potential capacity to acclimate to global climate warming and CO 2 elevation. In situ foliar gas exchange, in vivo carboxylation characteristics and chlorophyll fluorescence were measured at temperatures of 26 oC and 37 oC. Elevated CO 2 significantly increased net photosynthetic rate (Pn) at both measurement temperatures, and Pn at 37 oC was higher than that at 26 oC under elevated CO 2. Stomatal conductance (gs) was lower at 37 oC than at 26 oC, while transpiration rate (E) was higher at 37 oC than that at 26 oC. Elevated CO 2 significantly increased instantaneous water-use efficiency (WUE) at both 26 oC and 37 oC, but WUE was markedly enhanced at 37 oC under elevated CO 2. The effect of temperature on maximal carboxylation rate (Vcmax), PAR-saturated electron transport rate (Jmax) and triose phosphate utilization (TPU) varied with CO 2, and the Vcmax and Jmax were significantly higher at 37 oC than at 26 oC under elevated CO 2. However, there were no significant interactive effects of CO 2 and temperature on TPU. The actual photochemical efficiency of PSII (DF/ Fm’), total photosynthetic linear electron transport rate through PSII (JT) and the partitioning of JT to carboxylation (Jc) were higher at 37 oC than at 26 oC under elevated CO 2. Elevated CO 2 significantly suppressed the partitioning of JT to oxygenation (Jo/JT). The data suggest that the CO 2 elevation and progressive warming greatly enhanced photosynthesis in white birch seedlings in an interactive fashion.