基于CT图像的土壤孔隙结构三维重建及水力学性质预测

为了更好地了解土壤孔隙结构对水分运动过程的影响机制,该文利用黄淮海平原原状潮土CT扫描图像,通过数字图像分析和计算机重建技术对孔隙结构进行三维重建,根据图像分析获得的孔隙大小分布和连通性等形态学参数建立了用于描述孔隙尺度结构特征对水分运动影响机制的网络模型,据此预测了样本尺度(样本体积为385.84cm3)的土壤水力学性质。结果表明,模型预测的水力学性质和实测值基本吻合,变化趋势基本一致,二者的决定系数达0.94以上。结果表明相关网络模型可以较好地模拟孔隙尺度的水分运动过程,可用于预测土壤的非饱和水力学性质。     

基于全卷积网络的土壤断层扫描图像中孔隙分割

针对土壤断层扫描图像中存在部分容积效应及因孔隙成分复杂、结构不规则等引起的分割精度低的问题,该文提出一种全卷积网络(fully convolutional network,FCN)土壤孔隙分割方法,为土壤科学研究提供技术支持。该文以黑土土壤断层扫描图像为研究对象,通过卷积和池化运算输出不同尺度的孔隙特征图;将孔隙的深层特征和浅层特征相融合,采用上采样算子对融合特征进行插值操作,从而输出孔隙的二值图。与大津法、分水岭法、区域生长法和模糊C均值聚类法(Fuzzy C-means,FCM)4种常用孔隙分割方法的对比结果表明,FCN法在低,中,高3种孔隙密度的土壤图像中优于其他4种方法。FCN法的平均分割正确率为98.1%,比4种常用方法分别高25.6%,48.3%,55.7%和9.5%;FCN法的平均过分割率和欠分割率分别为2.2%和1.3%,仅为次优方法(FCM法)的33.8%和23.6%。通过融合土壤孔隙结构的多重特征,FCN法能够实现土壤孔隙整体和局部信息的精准判断,为土壤学的研究提供了一种更加智能化的技术手段。     

生物炭添加对盐渍土CT孔隙序列分形特征来源的影响

为了揭示生物炭改良土壤孔隙的复杂结构及其影响因素，以江苏滨海盐渍土为研究对象，采用添加生物炭改良盐渍土，设置0,2%,5%(占表层0—20 cm土重比)3个生物炭添加水平。每年10月在水稻收割后，采用塑料环刀取表层(0—20 cm)原状土，进行Micro-CT扫描获取土壤CT孔隙序列。基于多重分形去趋势波动分析理论，并结合数据重排，分析施加生物炭对CT孔隙序列多重分形特征及其来源的影响。结果表明，所有处理的CT孔隙序列的复杂度均随着年份增长；2%生物炭处理的CT孔隙序列的复杂程度较0和5%生物炭处理分别提高7.54%和5.28%;概率密度函数与长程相关性均影响CT孔隙序列的多重分形特征；孔隙和空间的长程相关性是主要影响因素；生物炭的添加促使孔隙分形特征更易受到土壤中生物微生物活动的影响。研究结果为定量化分析生物炭改良盐渍土孔隙结构提供了理论支持。     

利用CT数字图像和网络模型预测近饱和土壤水力学性质

在近饱和状态下,土壤的有效水力学性质主要取决于较大孔隙的结构特征,而这又决定了土壤中的优势流通道以及溶质的运移.基于孔隙形态学特征的网络模型可以很好的表现出较大孔隙的几何形态与拓扑特征对有效水力学性质的影响.本文通过对连续土壤切片CT图像的分析,定量获取了土壤孔隙的大小分布以及连通性参数.在此基础上建立了相关网络模型,在孔隙尺度上模拟了土壤中的水分运动过程并预测了近饱和土壤水力学性质.实验结果表明,虽然随机网络模型对室内填装土样本水力学性质的预测结果要优于相关网络模型,但是结合了实测孔隙形态特征的相关网络模型能够表现出田间原状土样本的双重孔隙度结构,其预测结果更符合实际的土壤结构特征.     

倒置残差网络结合注意力机制的掺假羊肉分类检测系统构建

针对羊肉精和染色剂作用下的猪肉掺假羊肉分类检测问题,该研究提出并建立了一种检测速度较快、精度较高的注意力机制结合倒置残差网络模型,同时基于智能手机开发了对应的快速、准确检测应用软件。首先,对羊肉、不同部位猪肉、不同掺假比例下的猪肉掺假羊肉的原始手机图像,使用数据增强方式进行数据扩充;其次,用倒置残差结构替换残差网络框架中的原有残差结构,以减少网络参数量并加快模型收敛速度,同时,引入注意力机制（Convolutional Block Attention Module,CBAM）,利用空间和通道特征对特征权重再分配,以强化掺假羊肉和羊肉之间的特征差异;然后,利用提出的注意力机制结合倒置残差网络（CBAM-Invert-ResNet）对样本进行训练并确定模型参数;最后,将训练好的网络模型移植到智能手机,以实现掺假羊肉的移动端检测。研究结果表明：与ResNet50和CBAM-ResNet50相比,Invert-ResNet50、CBAM-Invert-ResNet50模型的参数量分别减少了58.25%和61.64%,模型大小分别减小了58.43%和61.59%;针对背脊、前腿、后腿和混合部位数据集,CBAM-Invert-ResNet50模型验证集的分类准确率分别为95.19%、94.29%、95.81%、92.96%;把建立的网络模型部署到移动端后,每张图片的检测时间约为 0.3 s。该研究可实现对羊肉精和染色剂作用下的不同部位猪肉掺假羊肉的移动端快速、准确分类检测,可为维护市场秩序和保护食品安全提供技术支持。     

基于CT数字图像的土壤孔隙分形特征研究

通过CT扫描获得了河南封丘地区3种不同质地潮土样本的高精度图像,利用数字图像分析方法识别出土壤孔隙及其轮廓线,然后用计盒法确定了表征土壤孔隙形态不规则性的分形维数.在此基础上,通过不同形式的分形模型预测了土壤水分特征曲线.结果表明,河南封丘地区不同质地潮土的孔隙分形维数(包括面积和轮廓线分维)差异不明显;预测水分特征曲线时,针对不同质地的土壤选择适宜的分形模型才能得到较好的模拟结果.     

预测土壤水力性质的形态学网络模型应用研究

土壤水力性质是研究非饱和带中水分和溶质运移的重要参数 ,可以用孔隙网络模型进行预测。通常采用的网络模型中的参数是任意指定的 ,无法真实反映土壤孔隙空间的形态特征。本文采用了一种基于孔隙形态学的网络模型来预测土壤的水力性质 ,即通过图像分析来直接测定孔隙的大小分布及其连通性 ,并将其结合到网络模型中 ,最大程度地再现了三维的土壤孔隙结构。本文根据河南封丘地区采集的砂壤土样本图像分析结果 ,采用形态学网络模型预测了其水力性质 ,同时也进一步评价了这种模型的优缺点及其应用前景。     

改进CGAN网络的光学遥感图像云去除方法

农业生产中使用的光学遥感图像在采集过程中时常受到云层的影响,导致获取到的图像清晰度低,影响地物信息的判读和后续的使用。针对这一问题,提出一种基于改进条件生成对抗网络(ConditionalGenerativeAdversarial Net-work,CGAN)的光学遥感图像去云方法。首先,在原始CGAN的生成器中引入空间池化层,通过增加网络的多尺度特征学习能力以提高生成图像的细节信息;其次,在改进CGAN网络中加入回归损失使生成图像与真实图像更加接近,进一步提高生成效果。在光学遥感图像数据集上的试验结果表明:相比原始CGAN,改进CGAN生成的无云光学遥感图像更接近真实无云光学遥感图像,与原始CGAN相比,改进CGAN在薄云和厚云光学遥感图像上的峰值信噪比(Peak Signal-to-NoiseRatio,PSNR)分别提升了1.64和1.05dB,结构相似性(StructuralSIMilarity,SSIM)分别提升了0.03和0.04。同时,相较于传统的去云方法和深度学习的Pix2Pix方法,该方法在光学遥感图像去云和保真上均取得了更好的效果。研究结果证明了改进的CGAN方法实现光学遥感图像去云的可行性,可为农用光学遥感图像的处理提供方法借鉴。     

基于轻量型残差网络的自然场景水稻害虫识别

准确识别水稻害虫对水稻及时采取防护和治理措施具有重要意义,该研究以自然场景中水稻害虫图像为研究对象,针对水稻害虫图像的颜色纹理与背景相近以及同类害虫形态差异较大等特点,设计了一个由特征提取、全局优化以及局部优化模块构成的轻量型残差网络（Light Weight Residual Network,LW-ResNet）用于水稻害虫识别。在特征提取模块通过增加卷积层数以及分支数对残差块进行改进,有效提取自然场景中水稻害虫图像的深层全局特征并使用全局优化模块进行优化;局部优化模块通过设计轻量型注意力子模块关注害虫的局部判别性特征。LW-ResNet网络在特征提取模块减少了残差块的数量,在注意力子模块中采用深度可分离卷积减少了浮点运算量,从而实现了模型的轻量化。试验结果表明,所设计的LW-ResNet网络在13类水稻害虫图像的测试数据集上达到了92.5%的识别准确率,高于VGG16、ResNet、AlexNet等经典卷积神经网络模型,并且LW-ResNet网络的参数量仅为1.62×106个,浮点运算量仅为0.34×109次,低于MobileNetV3轻量级卷积神经网络模型。该研究成果可用于移动端水稻害虫的自动识别。     

基于改进残差网络的橡胶林卫星影像语义分割方法

为进一步提升现有基于残差的分割模型在测试集上的信息提取能力和验证改进残差优化策略普适性及实现橡胶卫星影像的更优分割,该研究提出了一种通用改进残差策略,以哨兵-2多光谱卫星影像为数据源构建数据集,并使用改进后残差网络ResNet50_ve作为OCRNet模型的骨干网络,实现基于变种残差网络的OCRNet模型（ResNet-ve-OCRNet）,使用在ImageNet1k分类数据集上蒸馏好的学生模型作为预训练模型参与ResNet-ve-OCRNet模型的训练。研究结果表明使用层数中等的基于50层残差网络在小尺度卫星影像训练集上各指标收敛效果优于较深层数的101层残差网络,与DeeplabV3、DeeplabV3+、PSPNet模型相比,以ResNet50_ve为骨干网络的OCRNet在验证集上的平均交并比达到0.85,像素准确率达到97.87%,卡帕系数达到0.90。该研究提出的改进残差策略具有一定的普适性可应用到众多主流分割模型上且有评价指标性能增益,从预测图来看,基于改进残差网络（ResNet-ve）的模型抑制了在测试集预测图上的上下文信息缺失问题,能够实现橡胶林卫星影像的更优精确分割。     

低氮和干旱胁迫对富士和秦冠生长及氮素利用的影响

【目的】以富士（Fuji）、 秦冠（Qinguan）嫁接在平邑甜茶（Malus hupehensis Rehd.）上的当年生盆栽苗为试验材料,采用砂培方法,研究了缺氮胁迫和干旱对富士和秦冠生长情况、 光合参数、 植株各部位氮磷钾含量及氮素利用效率的影响,分析比较了低氮干旱条件下富士和秦冠生长及氮素利用的差异,以期为果树生产高效肥水利用提供理论指导。【方法】试验共设四个处理: 正常氮正常水（ZZ）、 低氮正常水（DZ）、 正常氮干旱（ZG）、 低氮干旱（DG）。氮素和水分均设置两个水平,分别为正常氮（6 mmol/L NO-3-N）、 低氮（0.3 mmol/LNO-3-N）、 正常供水（保持盆中砂子相对含水量为饱和含水量的80%~85%）、 干旱处理（保持盆中砂子相对含水量为饱和含水量的60%~65%）。【结果】富士和秦冠的生物量（茎和叶）、 株高茎粗等生长指标以及光合速率、 气孔导度、 蒸腾速率均为正常氮正常水（ZZ）＞低氮正常水（DZ）＞正常氮干旱（ZG）＞低氮干旱（DG）,并且相对应处理下秦冠的以上指标均高于富士;正常供水下,缺氮处理使富士、 秦冠的根冠比比正常氮处理均有所增加,富士提高了2.05%,秦冠提高了22.40%。富士和秦冠的氮、 磷、 钾含量均表现出正常氮正常水（ZZ）＞低氮正常水（DZ）＞正常氮干旱（ZG）＞低氮干旱（DG）; 氮、 钾元素含量在植株各部位的分布顺序依次是叶＞根＞茎,磷元素则是根＞叶＞茎;光合氮素利用效率（PNUE）和氮素利用效率表现为秦冠处理之间差异极显著,富士处理之间差异不显著;秦冠的PNUE和NUE明显高于富士,在低氮正常水（DZ）处理下,秦冠氮肥利用率比富士高42.07%,在低氮干旱（DG）处理下高64.14%;低氮胁迫下富士和秦冠的NUE显著提高,并且秦冠提高的幅度高于富士。【结论】施用氮肥能够显著提高富士与秦冠的干物质量,同等水肥条件下,秦冠生长优于富士;水分亏缺会减少叶片对氮的吸收,干旱条件下适度增施氮肥,可提高果树的抗旱能力;低氮干旱胁迫下秦冠的生长指标、 光合指标及氮素利用效率指标均优于富士,表现出较强的抗低氮干旱胁迫的能力。     

Pasture Vegetation Elemental Analysis by Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a new technique for the analysis of plant material. This study investigates the application of LIBS to pasture-based plant samples. The LIBS measurements were obtained from pelletized pasture samples (100 samples) that had been also analyzed by inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) following microwave digestion for calibration and comparison purposes. Comparisons for elements sodium (Na), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), boron (B), phosphorus (P), and sulfur (S) showed that LIBS could be used for almost all the standard profile total elements with concentrations down to low mg/kg levels (observed error of Na: 0.024 percent, K: 0.18 percent, Mg: 0.016 percent, Ca: 0.073 percent, P: 0.017 percent, Mn: 31 mg/kg, Fe: 150 mg/kg, Zn: 6.6 mg/kg, and B: 1.1 mg/kg). Elemental analysis at less than mg/kg levels was not possible using LIBS. The elements S and Cu were particularly difficult to analyze with reliability using LIBS at the concentration levels found in the plant samples. Replacing microwave digestion and subsequent ICP analysis with a direct analysis of dried plant samples using LIBS has the potential to improve the productivity and reduce the cost of testing.     

Faculty positions:Center for Agricultural Resources Research,Chinese Academy of Sciences

正The Center for Agricultural Resources Research(CARR),the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology(IGDB),Chinese Academy of Sciences,invites applicants for several research group leader positions.CARR is one of the research organizations in Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS).We seek nominations and applications from individuals who have expertise and a record of accomplishment in research areas related to ecology,agro-hydrology,     

Macroinvertebrates in North American tallgrass prairie soils: effects of fire, mowing, and fertilization on density and biomass

The responses of tallgrass prairie plant communities and ecosystem processes to fire and grazing are well characterized. However, responses of invertebrate consumer groups, and particularly soil-dwelling organisms, to these disturbances are not well known. At Konza Prairie Biological Station, we sampled soil macroinvertebrates in 1994 and 1999 as part of a long-term experiment designed to examine the effects and interactions of annual fire, mowing, and fertilization (N and P) on prairie soil communities and processes. For nearly all taxa, in both years, responses were characterized by significant treatment interactions, but some general patterns were evident. Introduced European earthworms (Aporrectodea spp. and Octolasion spp.) were most abundant in plots where fire was excluded, and the proportion of the total earthworm community consisting of introduced earthworms was greater in unburned, unmowed, and fertilized plots. Nymphs of two Cicada genera were collected (Cicadetta spp. and Tibicen spp.). Cicadetta nymphs were more abundant in burned plots, but mowing reduced their abundance. Tibicen nymphs were collected almost exclusively from unburned plots. Treatment effects on herbivorous beetle larvae (Scarabaeidae, Elateridae, and Curculionidae) were variable, but nutrient additions (N or P) usually resulted in greater densities, whereas mowing usually resulted in lower densities. Our results suggest that departures from historical disturbance regimes (i.e. frequent fire and grazing) may render soils more susceptible to increased numbers of European earthworms, and that interactions between fire, aboveground biomass removal, and vegetation responses affect the structure and composition of invertebrate communities in tallgrass prairie soils.     

Assessing the effectiveness of conservation measures: Resolving the “wicked” problem of the Steller sea lion

“Wicked” problems are those that are complex and that change when solutions are applied. Many conflicts in conservation fall into this category. The study approached the problem of how to constrain the apparent wickedness of a problem in the conservation management of a species by using simple empirical indicators to carry out iterative assessment of the risk to a population and to document how this risk evolves in relation to the addition of new data and the implementation of management actions. Effects of high levels of uncertainty within data and also concerning population structure were examined through stochastic simulation and by exploration of scenarios. Historical trends in the example used, the Steller sea lion, showed rapid declines in abundance in some regions during the 1980s. The current total population is 130,000-150,000 Steller sea lions through Alaska and British Columbia and this number has been stable since about 1990 in spite of regional differences in population dynamics. Regional differences in the sequence of changes in the number of pups and non-pups, suggested that an internal re-distribution of juveniles could have happened between 1980 and 1990. Current productivity also appears close to the long-term mean. Stochastic population projection using various scenarios showed that, based upon this history, the risk of extinction for the population has declined and is below reasonable thresholds for considering the population to be endangered. The trends in risk suggest that management actions taken since 1990 have probably been effective. Consequently, the conservation management objectives for the Steller sea lion are probably being met. The approach provides a mechanism, based upon experience and scenario analysis, for exploring future policy options and may help to constrain the debate amongst stakeholders about the cost-benefit trade-offs associated with different options.     

Soil-profile distribution of primary and secondary plant-available nutrients under conventional and no tillage

Nutrient distributions under no tillage (NT) compared with conventional disk-and-bed tillage (CT) management in the warm, humid region of the southeastern USA need to be assessed so that future placement, quantity, and type of fertilizers can be altered, if necessary, to efficiently match crop demands. We determined soil-profile distributions of pH, N, P, S, K, Ca, Mg, Na, Zn, Fe, Mn, and Cu to a depth of 0.9 m at the end of 8.5 years of continuous CT and NT management on a Weswood silty clay loam (fine, mixed, thermic Fluventic Ustochrept) in southcentral Texas. Most dramatic changes occurred within the 0–0.05 m depth, where soil under NT had lower pH, Fe, and Cu than under CT, but greater P, K, Zn, and Mn. Greater P and K under NT than under CT also occurred below the till-zone (0.15–0.3 m). At a depth of 0–0.3 m, soil under NT contained greater amounts of extractable P, K, Zn, Fe, Mn, and Cu than under CT. Nitrogen fertilization had little effect on nutrient distributions, except resulting in greater extractable K at 0–0.05 m and greater nitrate at 0–0.15 m. Few changes in soil-profile distributions were observed for extractable S, Ca, Mg, and Na. Long-term continuous use of NT on this fine-textured, high-fertility (except for N) soil had no apparent adverse effects on nutrient distributions relative to CT, but enhanced conservation and availability of P, K, Zn, Fe, Mn, and Cu near the soil surface where crop roots proliferate.     

Variation in quality parameters between and within 14 Nordic tree fruit and berry species

Abstract

A 3-year study was carried out to investigate quality parameters in 14 tree fruit and berry species grown in southern Norway. The species were blueberry, apple, aronia, sour cherry, sweet cherry, red raspberry, strawberry, blackcurrant, gooseberry, red currant and elderberry, harvested along with wild bilberry, cloudberry and lingonberry. Significant differences between species were identified for all quality parameters. The coefficient of variation between species was lowest for pH (12.5%), dry matter (18.9%) and soluble solids (25.3%), followed by titratable acids (59.3%), total phenolics (83.8%), antioxidant capacity FRAP (85.7%) and antiradical power by the DPPH-assay (97.8%), total monomeric anthocyanins (132%) and ascorbic acid (137%). Average coefficient of variation within species were lower and ranged from 4 (pH) to 62% (ascorbic acid). Only the FRAP values were significantly affected by harvesting year with lower levels in 2004 than in 2005 and 2006. There were significant interactions between species and harvesting year for dry matter, soluble solids, pH, ascorbic acid and FRAP. The results indicate generic ranges in composition within species independent upon growing location and climate, and the composition of the tree fruits and berries is not likely to deviate from these ranges. It is concluded that desirable composition of tree fruits and berries and their products should primarily be achieved by selection among species rather than searching fors broadened variation within individual species.     

Potassium Fixation and Release Characteristics in Rhizosphere and Nonrhizosphere Soils for a Rapeseed–Rice Cropping Sequence

Potassium (K) fixation and release in soil are important factors in the long-term sustainability of a cropping system. Changes in K concentration and characteristics of K fixation and release in rhizosphere and nonrhizosphere soils in the rapeseed (Brassica napus L.)–rice (Oryza sativa L.) rotation were investigated using a rhizobox system. The concentrations of different forms of K in both rhizosphere and nonrhizosphere soils decreased with plants compared to without plants, regardless of K fertilizer application. Potassium uptake by crops mainly came from the rhizosphere soil. In the treatment without K fertilizer (–K), the main form of K supplied by the soil to the crops was 1.0 mol L^?1 nitric acid (HNO₃) nonextractable K, followed by nonexchangeable K, and then exchangeable K. In the treatment with K fertilizer (+K), the main K forms supplied by the soil to the crops were exchangeable K and nonexchangeable K. The amount and rate of K fixation after one cycle of the rapeseed–rice rotation was greater in rhizosphere soil than in nonrhizosphere soil. The amount and rate of K fixation of soil in the +K treatment were significantly less than in the –K treatment. The cumulative amounts of K released with 1.0 mol L^?1 ammonium acetate (NH₄OAc) and 1.0 mol L^?1 HNO₃ extraction increased with the increasing numbers of extractions, but the K-releasing power of soil by successive extraction decreased gradually and finally became almost constant. The release of K was less in rhizosphere soil than in nonrhizosphere soil. The release of K in the +K treatment was similar to that in the –K treatment in rhizosphere soil, but the K release in nonrhizosphere soil was greater with the +K than the –K treatment. Overall, the information obtained in this study will be helpful in formulating more precise K fertilizer recommendations for certain soils.     

Electron donor and pH relationships for biologically enhanced dissolution of chlorinated solvent DNAPL in groundwater

Biologically enhanced dissolution offers a method to speed removal of chlorinated solvent dense non-aqueous-phase liquid (DNAPL) sources such as tetrachloroethene (PCE) and trichoroethene (TCE) from aquifers. Bioremediation is accomplished by adding an electron donor to the source zone where fermentation to intermediates leading to acetic acid and hydrogen results. The hydrogen and possibly acetic acid are used by dehalogenating bacteria to convert PCE and TCE to ethene and hydrochloric acid. Reductive dehalogenation is thus an acid forming process, and sufficient alkalinity must be present to maintain a near neutral pH. The bicarbonate alkalinity required to maintain pH above 6.5 is a function of the electron donor: 800 mg/L of bicarbonate alkalinity is sufficient to achieve about 1.2 mM TCE dechlorination with glucose, 1.7 mM with lactate, and a much higher 3.3 mM with formate. Laboratory studies indicate that in mixed culture, formate can be used as an electron donor for complete conversion to ethene, contrary to pure cultures studies indicating it cannot. Various strategies can be used to add electron donor to an aquifer for DNAPL dehalogenation while minimizing pH problems and excessive electron donor usage, including use of injection-extraction wells, dual recirculation wells, and nested injection-extraction wells.     

Enhanced establishment and growth of giant cardon cactus in an eroded field in the Sonoran Desert using native legume trees as nurse plants aided by plant growth-promoting microorganisms and compost

To evaluate the feasibility of long-term desert reforestation technology of mixed vegetation, cardon cactus (Pachycereus pringlei) seedlings from indoor and outdoor nurseries were planted in the field adjacent to one seedling of potential legume nurse trees: mesquite amargo (Prosopis articulata), yellow palo verde (Parkinsonia microphylla), and blue palo verde (Parkinsonia florida). Some of the planting holes were also supplemented with common dairy compost. Additionally, the combinations of legume tree–cactus were inoculated with either a consortium of desert arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB; the diazotroph Azospirillum brasilense Cd, and the phosphate solubilizer Paenibacillus sp.), or a mixture of all. The field experiments were evaluated periodically during 30 months for survival and growth. Cardons reared in an outdoor screen house survived better in the field than those reared in a controlled growth chamber and hardened later outdoors. Association with any legume nurse tree increased survival and enhanced growth of untreated cardons. For cardons growing alone, application of either compost, AM fungi, and all the treatments combined increased survival. For these plants, no treatment affected plant growth during the first 3 months after transplanting. Later, all treatments, except for AM fungi, enhanced plant growth. However, only 2 years after transplanting the enhanced growth effect of AM fungi was also significant. In the presence of the legume nurse trees, transient positive effects on cardon growth were recorded. General evaluation after 30 months of cultivation showed that the treatments positively affected cardon growth when growing alone or in combination only with mesquite amargo but not with the other two legume trees. This study proposes that young legume trees have the capacity to enhance survival and growth of cardon cactus, depending on the legume cactus combination. Additional treatments such as compost or PGPB can either amplify the effect or else attenuate it.