To investigate the relationship between soil water-holding capacity and chemical characteristics， as well as the influencing factors， this study took the high-altitude cold meadows of Gannan as the research object， and analyzed the soil water-holding capacity， soil organic carbon （SOC）， nitrogen （N）， phosphorus （P）， soil organic carbon storage （SOCS）， total nitrogen storage （TNS）， total phosphorus storage （TPS）， and stoichiometric ratios. The results indicated that soil water-holding capacity decreased with increasing degradation severity， with the most significant changes in the surface layer； SOC， N， P， SOCS， TNS， carbon-phosphorus ratio （C∶P）， and nitrogen-phosphorus ratio （N∶P） decreased with increasing degradation severity； Soil water-holding capacity was extremely significantly positively correlated with vegetation cover， biomass， height， capillary porosity， total porosity， SOC， N， P， C∶P， N∶P， SOCS， and TNS， and extremely significantly negatively correlated with soil bulk density. Monte Carlo tests indicated that soil bulk density had the highest explanatory power for water-holding capacity （81.8%）， and vegetation cover， soil porosity， SOC， C∶P， TN， and TP were significant influencing factors. Therefore， in the ecological restoration and management of alpine meadows， vegetation and soil improvement measures should be optimised in a coordinated manner to simultaneously enhance water retention capacity and ecological functions.

Rainfall， temperature， and habitat resources are essential for the survival of animals in arid ecosystems， but the responses of the same species to these factors on a larger spatial scale are not clear. Orientallactaga sibirica is a widely distributed rodent in arid areas， and its living conditions can sensitively reflect climate change and habitat resource changes. It is of great significance to reveal the environmental adaptability of small mammals by studying the effects of environmental changes on the body size of O. sibirica. In this study， from June to August 2019， samples were collected by net capture method in the main distribution area of the O. sibirica. The body weight was weighed， and the δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values of muscle tissue were measured. The effects of annual average temperature， annual precipitation and normalized difference vegetation index （NDVI） on these indicators were explored. The results showed that the body weight of O. sibirica decreased significantly with the increase of annual average temperature （P0.01）. The annual precipitation was significantly negatively correlated with the δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N of muscle tissue （P0.01）. The segmented structural equation model analysis showed that the annual precipitation had a significant negative effect on the body weight of O. sibirica through NDVI and δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N （P0.05）. Thus， the body weight and feeding habits of O. sibirica adaptively adjusted with habitat changes.

To investigate the responses of distribution patterns of the endemic species Artemisia dalai-lamae in China to future climate change， this study utilized a parameter-optimized MaxEnt model with specimen data and environmental variables. The distribution patterns and centroid shifts of A. dalai-lamae under current and future （2021—2060） climate scenarios across three representative pathways were predicted. The results indicate that when the Regularization Multiplier （RM） was set to 3 and the Feature Combination （FC） configured as linear， quadratic and hinge （LQH）， the model achieved the lowest complexity and overfitting while maintaining high predictive accuracy. The primary environmental factors influencing the distribution of A. dalai-lamae were elevation， annual precipitation， precipitation of warmest quarter， and annual mean temperature. Under current climate conditions， the suitable habitat area for A. dalai-lamae spans 122.93×10⁴ km²， with optimal distribution concentrated between the eastern sections of the Qilian and Kunlun Mountains. Under future climate scenarios， the suitable habitat area is projected to significantly decrease （with a maximum reduction of 43.2%）， and the distribution centroid shows a northwestward shift toward higher latitudes and elevations. These findings suggest that future climate warming poses a severe threat to the survival of A. dalai-lamae.

The MYB （V-myb Avian myeloblastosis viral Oncogene Homolog） gene family represents one of the most extensive groups of transcription factors in plants， playing a crucial role in various processes including plant growth， development， and stress responses. This study utilized Medicago sativa‘Pianguan’ to investigate the characteristics of the MsMYB44 gene through methodologies such as gene cloning， bioinformatics analysis， subcellular localization， and expression pattern analysis. The findings revealed that the MsMYB44 gene of Medicago sativa‘Pianguan’ comprised 966 base pairs and encoded a total of 321 amino acids. The MsMYB44 protein exhibited a high degree of homology to the MtMYB44 protein in Medicago truncatula and was localized within the nucleus. The expression of the MsMYB44 gene was observed in various tissues of Medicago sativa‘Pianguan’ across different developmental stages， indicating tissue-specific expression patterns. The MsMYB44 gene was responsive to drought， salt stress， and abscisic acid （ABA） treatment. Under drought conditions， the relative expression level of MsMYB44 initially increased， subsequently decreased， and then increased again， peaking at 12 hours. In response to salt stress， the relative expression level of MsMYB44 gradually increased after 48 hours， reaching its maximum at 72 hours. Following ABA treatment， the relative expression level of MsMYB44 peaked at 12 hours and then progressively declined. These findings would provide a theoretical framework for elucidating the role of the MsMYB44 gene of Medicago sativa in mediating the abiotic stress response.

This paper researched the effects of disturbances of plateau pika （Ochotona curzoniae， OC）， plateau zokor （Eospalax fontanierii， EF）， and the symbiotic interference of plateau pika and plateau zokor （OC+EF） on plant and soil properties in three ecologically restored areas of formerly degraded alpine meadow in Henan County. It investigated how alpine meadow plant community characteristics， as measured by the changes in plant community species diversity and soil physical and chemical properties in the ecologically restored areas， responded to the disturbances of OC， EF and OC+EF. It also evaluated the effectiveness of ecological restoration in different disturbance patterns of rodents， and provided theoretical guidance to avoid secondary degradation. The results show that species richness and species diversity in the OC+EF disturbed area are significantly higher than those in the OC disturbed area. Total vegetation coverage and average plant height in the EF disturbed area are relatively high. Total vegetation coverage in the three externally disturbed areas of OC， EF， and OC+EF is 84.33%， 97.33% and 88.56%， respectively. The height of plant communities averages 47.70 cm， 168.23 cm and 139.47 cm， respectively， in the three treatments. The aboveground biomass of Gramineae， Leguminosae， Cyperaceae， and other miscellaneous herbs in EF is higher than that in OC and OC+EF. After ecological restoration， the forage yield of EF is the highest. Its soil organic carbon content is significantly higher than that of the other two disturbed areas （P0.05）. The soil available phosphorus contents of OC， EF， and OC+EF are 0.053 mg·g⁻¹， 0.055 mg·g⁻¹ and 0.035 mg·g⁻¹， respectively. Judging by the comprehensive indicators of plant community characteristics and soil physical and chemical properties studied， the ecological restoration effects in the EF disturbance is the most pronounced， followed by the OC+EF disturbance， while the effects under OC disturbance is the least tangible and likely attributable to secondary degradation. Therefore， if disturbed by OC only， it is necessary to adopt non-traditional ecological restoration measures， such as increasing soil compactness during no-tillage reseeding and covering the sowed soil with non-woven fabrics， both of which will be conducive to improving the effectiveness of ecological restoration.