RESULTS: A distinctive new species of Pittosporum (P. peridoticola J.B.Sugau and Ent, sp. nov.) was discovered on Mount Tambuyukon in the north of Kinabalu Park during ecological fieldwork. The diagnostic morphological characters of this taxon are discussed and information about the habitat in which it grows is provided. The soil chemistry in the rooting zone of P. peridoticola has high magnesium to calcium quotients, high extractable nickel and manganese concentrations, but low potassium and phosphorus concentrations, as is typical for ultramafic soils. Analysis of foliar samples of various Pittosporum-species originating from ultramafic and non-ultramafic soils showed a comparable foliar elemental stoichiometry that is suggestive of 'Excluder-type' ecophysiology.
CONCLUSION: Pittosporum peridoticola is an ultramafic obligate species restricted to Kinabalu Park with only two known populations within the boundaries of the protected area. It is vulnerable to any future stochastic landscape disturbance events, such as forest fires or severe droughts, and therefore its conservation status is 'Near Threatened'.
RESULTS: During 1980-2014, the FIs of NPK chemical fertilizers in China showed a significant growing trend. After reaching the highest value of 339 kg ha-1 in 2014, FIs were reduced to 303 kg ha-1 in 2019, higher than the 225 kg ha-1 maximum safe usage internationally recognized. Meanwhile, the pattern of change of FAE was one of 'decreasing to increasing', with values of 1 in 1980, 0.66 in 2003, and 0.80 in 2019. FIE basically showed an increasing trend, which could be divided into three stages: the first stage of low efficiency during 1980-2009, the second stage of medium efficiency after 2010, and the third stage of high efficiency after 2018.
CONCLUSION: From 1980 until 2019, a reduction of FAE from 1 to 0.80 with an average of 0.75 was observed in China. FIE was found between 0.65 and 0.85 and had the potential of upgrading by 15-35%. Therefore, China needs to improve the fertilizer use efficiency in order to strive for negative growth of chemical fertilizer intensity and ecological agriculture construction. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.