基于太赫兹时域光谱技术的烟草组分识别

为了准确识别不同烟草配方组分,利用太赫兹时域光谱技术,针对烟草工业常用的叶丝、梗丝和再造烟叶丝3种烟草配方组分开展太赫兹光谱特性分析和分类识别方法研究。对0.35～1.50 THz范围内3种烟丝的吸收系数谱和折射率谱进行分析,通过低方差滤波结合主成分分析（Principal Component Analysis,PCA）进行光谱特征提取和降维,分别建立针对吸收谱和折射谱的支持向量机（Support Vector Machine,SVM）分类模型、最邻近分类（K-Nearest Neighbor,KNN）模型和袋装树（Bagged trees）分类模型。结果表明,基于吸收系数谱的分类模型准确率最高,低方差滤波结合PCA的特征提取算法能显著提高分类效果,其中KNN模型准确率达到98.3%。对频域光谱使用连续投影算法（Successive Projections Algorithm,SPA）特征提取并结合SVM模型,分类准确率也在90%左右。研究表明太赫兹时域光谱技术可应用于不同烟草组分的分类判别,为太赫兹技术在烟草物料无损检测的应用提供参考。     

基于太赫兹光谱和支持向量机快速鉴别咖啡豆产地

结合太赫兹时域光谱技术和支持向量机对3种典型产地的咖啡豆进行了鉴别。选取埃塞俄比亚(Ethiopia)、哥斯达黎加(Costa Rica)以及印度尼西亚(Indonesia)3个产地咖啡豆样品进行压片处理,采用太赫兹透射模式获取样品的时域和频域光谱信号,并用主成分分析法对太赫兹频域光谱信号进行分析;构造了基于粒子群(partical swarm optimization,PSO)参数寻优的支持向量机(support vector machine,SVM)鉴别模型,模型对不同产地咖啡豆样品的综合识别正确率达到95%。试验结果表明,太赫兹作为新型的检测手段结合模式识别方法可用于咖啡豆的产地鉴别。该文为一类在太赫兹波段下没有明显特征吸收峰的农产品/食品安全检测和产地追溯研究提供了一种快速、准确的方法。     

利用太赫兹光谱技术构建番茄水分胁迫状态检测模型

快速检测番茄水分胁迫状态，对于科学有效地进行番茄的水肥管理，保障和提高番茄的产量和品质具有重要意义。该文利用太赫兹光谱对水分极为敏感的特性，提出了基于太赫兹光谱技术的番茄水分胁迫状态的快速检测方法。试验利用太赫兹光谱系统获取不同水分胁迫番茄叶片的功率谱、吸光度及透射率频谱数据。采用（Savitzky-Golay, SG）算法对数据进行降噪，利用稳定性竞争自适应重加权（Stability Competitive Adaptive Reweighted Sampling, SCARS）算法进行了多维特征频段的提取；在此基础上，建立了叶片含水率功率谱、吸光度及透射率等单一维度下的多元线性回归（Multiple Linear Regression, MLR）模型。结果表明，太赫兹功率谱和吸光度与叶片含水率之间呈负相关；而透射率则随水分胁迫程度的提高逐渐升高，呈正相关。为了进一步提高模型的精度，使用支持向量机（Support Vector Machines, SVM）在融合3种维度太赫兹特征的基础上，建立了番茄含水率的融合预测模型，结果表明，预测集R2达到0.951 4，RMSE为0.366 8，均高于单一维度检测模型，实现了番茄水分的快速检测。     

基于荧光光谱的生菜农药残留检测

为了研究采用荧光光谱技术对生菜农药残留快速无损定性鉴别的可行性,该文通过采集180个生菜样品（3个浓度农药残留生菜,每个浓度农残生菜样本数为60,其中农药与水配比为1：500、1：1000、1：1200,即重度超标、轻微超标、标准农残）的荧光发射光谱,结合Savitzky-Golay（SG）、标准正态变量变换（standard normalized variable,SNV)、标准正态变量变换结合去趋势（standard normalized variable detrending,SNV detrending）、SG与SNV算法组合（SG-SNV）、SG与SNV detrending算法组合（SG-SNV detrending）对提取的荧光光谱进行预处理,基于全光谱、荧光特征峰值、小波特征建立支持向量机（Support Vector Machine, SVM）分类模型。其中,小波特征通过小波变换对原始光谱以及预处理后光谱进行特征选择获取,分别采用 db4、db6、sym5、sym7作为小波基函数。试验结果表明：基于小波特征、荧光特征峰值建立的 SVM 模型预测集识别率要高于基于全光谱建立的 SVM 模型。以 sym5作为小波基函数,基于 SG-SNV detrending预处理光谱选择的小波特征建立的SVM模型取得最优的预测集识别率93.33%,最佳小波分解层数为4。结果表明应用荧光光谱技术对生菜农药残留鉴别是可行的,为生菜农药残留快速、无损检测分析提供了参考。     

基于太赫兹时域光谱的转基因与非转基因棉花种子鉴别

太赫兹光谱是介于红外与微波间的电磁波谱,很多生物大分子在该波段具有指纹特性。为探索棉花种子的转基因机理和性状表达的太赫兹光谱特性,该文利用太赫兹时域光谱技术对3种转基因棉花种子和1种常规育种棉花种子进行了鉴别试验探索研究。试验首先研究了棉花种子压片制备方法,然后借助太赫兹时域光谱设备,采集了4种棉花种子在有效频率范围内的太赫兹光谱信息,进而对太赫兹光谱包含的特征信息进行了定性分析,并初步探讨了4种样品的太赫兹吸收特性。试验结果表明:4种棉花种子在太赫兹波段呈现不同的光谱响应特性,尤其是在其吸光系数光谱图中,3种转基因棉种在1.21、1.23和1.41 THz处,对太赫兹呈现明显的吸收,而非转基因棉种却呈现微弱的吸收或不吸收;这些明显的差异表明太赫兹光谱可以作为鉴别转基因/非转基因棉花种子有效工具,该研究可为进一步揭示太赫兹光谱检测机理,发展转/非转基因物质快速检测方法提供参考。     

基于RGB图像光谱重建的鱼糜掺假定量检测研究

实现基于RGB图像的光谱重建对降低光谱的硬件要求、扩大其实际应用具有重大意义。该研究以鱼糜掺假检测为例,比较多元多项式最小二乘回归算法（polynomial multivariate least-squares regression,PMLR）与深度学习HRNet网络对光谱重建的性能,建立基于重建光谱多种掺假鱼糜检测模型并验证其实际应用的有效性。结果表明,2种方法的重建光谱误差较小,HRNet网络、PMLR算法重建光谱的均方根误差（root mean square error,RMSE）分别为0.010 4和0.012 6,大多数掺假检测模型有较高的预测准确性,其预测相关系数大于0.91,预测均方根误差小于9%。在基于重建光谱建立的掺假检测模型中,效果最佳的是基于PMLR算法重建光谱使用标准正态变量变换（standard normal variate,SNV）预处理的极限学习机回归模型,其预测均方根误差为3.954 4%、预测相关系数为0.983 0。因此,PMLR算法和HRNet网络均能较好的实现基于RGB图像的光谱重建,且重建光谱均能实现对鱼糜掺假样本的较好检测结果,为基于重建光谱的食品和农产品品质与安全检测提供了新思路。     

基于近红外光谱和深度学习数据增强的大米品种检测

近红外光谱和深度学习结合的思路是大米品种检测的重要研究方向，其准确检测模型的建立依赖大规模的样本数据，然而采集和预处理样本耗时巨大，对准确性的提升造成限制。为解决上述不足，便于深入探究近红外光谱结合深度学习方法在大米品种检测领域应用的可行性，该研究提出基于近红外光谱结合改进型深度卷积生成式对抗神经网络（deep convolutional generative adversarial network，DCGAN）数据增强的大米品种检测方法。首先，在相同环境下采集4种大米品种的近红外光谱并对原始光谱数据进行预处理，使用去趋势校正（detrend correction，DC）和无信息变量消除算法（uninformative variable elimination，UVE）消除无用光谱特征点。然后，建立改进型DCGAN模型对预处理后的光谱数据进行数据增强，对比试验结果表明，改进型DCGAN相比与传统数据增强方法，改进型DCGAN生成数据的结构相似度指标更优。最后，研究不同数据增强方法结合不同分类方法建立大米品种分类模型的性能，对比试验结果表明，改进型DCGAN数据增强结合一维卷积神经网络（one-dimensional convolution neural network，1D-CNN）分类算法所建模型面向测试集的准确率最高，为98.21%，为简便准确的大米品种检测方案提供了新思路。     

基于支持向量机和ReliefF算法的玉米品种抗倒伏预测

针对目前玉米品种抗倒伏鉴定方法费时、费力，玉米抗倒伏品种选育周期长的问题，该研究采用高光谱成像技术结合统计学习方法在玉米营养生长期开展品种抗倒伏预测。于2018年和2019年开展田间试验采集不同抗倒伏的8个玉米品种的高光谱成像数据，基于区域识别方法提取感兴趣区域（Region of Interest，ROI）的光谱曲线，分析抗倒样本和不抗倒样本的数据特性；然后分别采用过滤式特征选择算法ReliefF（Relevant Features）和主成分分析（Principal Component Analysis，PCA）结合ReliefF算法的方式，挖掘抗倒品种和不抗倒品种的光谱分类特征；最后使用交叉验证的方式，对ReliefF方法选择的原始光谱数据特征数量和PCAReliefF方法选择的主成分特征数量进行优化，分别建立ReliefF-SVM和PCAReliefF-SVM支持向量机（Support Vector Machines，SVM）分类模型，并对SVM模型的惩罚参数和核参数进行优化，以获得更好的模型预测效果。结果表明：经过特征优化，2018年试验和2019年试验分别选择了40和50个特征参与建模，且使用PCAReliefF方法选择的主成分特征与使用ReliefF方法选择的原始光谱数据特征相比，几乎不含有冗余特征；通过对支持向量机模型的惩罚参数和核参数进行优化，2018年试验ReliefF-SVM和PCAReliefF-SVM模型对预测集样本的抗倒伏分类预测正确率分别为84.17%和85 %，2019年试验模型分类预测正确率分别为84.17%和85.83%。可见，采用高光谱成像数据和统计学习方法可以实现对玉米品种抗倒伏的早期预测，使用PCAReliefF-SVM模型比ReliefF-SVM分类模型综合性能更优，试验为玉米抗倒伏品种的高效筛选提供了方法和借鉴。     

基于近红外光谱的烤烟烟叶自动分组方法

为了探索烤烟烟叶收购质量的无损检测技术,提出了一种基于近红外光谱技术快速鉴别烟叶分组（部位、颜色）的方法。分析了近红外光谱技术应用于完整烤烟烟叶质量评价的可行性,用不同波段范围、不同光谱预处理方法（多元散射校正MSC、标准正态变量变换SNV、微分光谱）和不同主成分因子数分别对烟叶部位和颜色分类结果的影响进行了对比分析,分别建立了烟叶部位和颜色的定性判别模型。结果表明：用判别分析（discrimant analysis,DA）方法在1?101～2?395?nm范围结合原始光谱建立的DA判别模型最优,该方法对烟叶部位、烟叶颜色的校正集分类正确率均达100%,预测集分类正确率分别达到98.57%和97.14%。说明所提出的方法具有很好的分组作用,近红外光谱技术为烤烟烟叶收购质量等级评价提供了一种新方法。     

采用高光谱图像深度特征检测水稻种子活力等级

为实现水稻种子活力的准确检测,该文研究了一种基于高光谱图像技术结合深度学习的高精度检测方法。采用人工加速老化的方式得到老化0,1,2和3 d的1 200个水稻种子样本,使用高光谱成像设备获取不同老化天数样本的高光谱图像,并从单个样本区域提取其光谱信息。随后对1200个样本进行发芽试验,根据发芽试验结果将所有样本划分为高活力、低活力和无活力3个等级。采用小波阈值去噪(Wavelet Threshold Denoising,WTD)结合一阶导数(First/1~(st) Derivative,FD)的方法(WTD-FD)对原始光谱进行预处理,使用主成分分析(Principal Component Analysis,PCA)和堆叠自动编码器(Stacked Auto-Encoder,SAE)分别从预处理光谱中提取特征变量。分别基于PCA和SAE特征变量构建支持向量机(Support Vector Machine,SVM)模型,并根据模型准确率确定较佳模型,最后使用灰狼优化算法(Grey Wolf Optimizer,GWO)对选择的模型进行参数优化。结果显示WTD-FD对原始光谱的预处理是有效的,使用从预处理光谱中提取的SAE非线性深层特征相比于PCA线性特征更具有代表性,基于其建立的SAE-SVM模型的准确率达到96.47%。SAE-SVM模型经过GWO优化之后,模型准确率提高到98.75%。研究结果表明,高光谱图像技术结合深度学习方法对水稻种子活力等级准确检测具有指导意义。     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Karyotypic and genome size variation in Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp. (pigeonpea) and some wild relatives

Detailed karyotypes and 4C DNA amounts have been studied in five cultivars of Cajanus cajan and 20 species belonging to Cajanus, Rhynchosia, Dunbaria, Flemingia and Paracalyx. C. cajan shows intraspecific variability and its karyotype is most similar to that of C. cajanifolius (sect. Cajanus) in the morphology and number of satellite chromosomes and the lack of any correlation between chromosome size within the complement and asymmetry. Karyotypes of C. lineatus and C. sericeus belonging to sect. Atylia are similar with respect to maximum r-index and the ratio of longest and shortest chromosomes in their respective complements. C. acutifolius (sect. Frutocosa) is distinct in having a very low ratio (1.44) between the longest and the shortest chromosomes, while in C. albicans, C. goensis, C. scarabaeoides (sect. Cantharospermum) there is no chromosome pair with r-index >2.0. C. mollis and C. volubilis (sect. Volubilis) show similarity with regard to ratio between the longest and the shortest chromosomes and a distinct chromosome pair with an arm ratio of 2.7 and C. platycarpus is distinct (sect. Rhynchosoides) in having the smallest ratio (1.36) between the longest and the shortest chromosomes. 4C DNA amounts in Cajanus and Rhynchosia vary between 3.28 pg to 11.69 pg and 4.92 pg to 11.13 pg respectively, while in Dunbaria, Flemingia and Paracalyx these vary between 4.70 and 7:06 pg. In the genus Cajanus karyotypic features and 4C DNA amounts agree with the sectional classification and bring out a close relationship between C. cajan and C. cajanifolius. This is supported by studies based on seed protein patterns, isozyme analysis, trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibitor patterns, RFLP and RAPD data and crossability relationships. A clear relation between DNA amount and abnormalities effecting the extent of pairing and recombination in interspecific hybrids shows the importance of this study in developing future breeding programme involving C. cajan and its wild relatives that are of potential value.     

Effect of some fungicide seed treatments on the survival of Bradyrhizobium japonicum and on the nodulation and yield of soybean [Glycine max. (L) Merr.]

Several commercial fungicide seed treatments were evaluated for their possible effect on the survival of Bradyrhizobium japonicum on seeds and on the nodulation and yield of soybeans in a greenhouse and a field experiment. quinolate Pro (carbendazim and oxine copper), Vitavax 200FF (carboxin and thiram), and Monceren (pencycuron) had a small effect or no effect on the survival of B. japonicum and on the nodulation and yield of soybeans. They can thus be considered compatible with soybean seed inoculation. Germipro UFB (carbendazim and iprodione), Apron 35J (metalaxyl), and Tachigaren (hymexazol) decreased B. japonicum survival and the nodulation and yield of soybeans and thus cannot be considered compatible with soybean seed inoculation.     

Einfluss der düngungsmethoden auf die entwicklung von zuckerrübenkrankheiten

Während neunjähriger (1994-2002) Untersuchungen in der Versuchsanstalt Ba?cyny (Fahlerde, Fall-Gleyboden, ausgebildet aus leichtem Lehmboden) wurde der Befall mit Krankheiten an der Zuckerrübe in Abhängigkeit von der Düngungsmethode bewertet. Folgende Methoden wurden angewendet: A - Mineraldünger, B - Stalldung und Mineraldünger, C - Stroh-, Gründung und Mineraldünger, D - Kompostdünger und Biopräparate (ökologische Düngung). Auf den Objekten A, B, C wurden bei konstanter Phosphor-Kalium-Düngung die Stickstoffgaben von 0 bis 180 kg.ha^?1 differenziert. Auf dem ökologischen Objekt D ohne Mineraldünger wurden statt Stickstoff die Biopräparate P₅₀₀ und P₅₀₁ verabreicht. Der geringste Befall von Krankheiten wurde an der Zuckerrübe auf jenem Objekt festgestellt, das mit Kompost und den Biopräparaten gedüngt worden war. Im Rahmen der konventionellen Düngungsmethoden wurde allgemein die höchste Intensität der Krankheiten an der mit Stroh, Gründung und Mineraldünger gedüngten Zuckerrübe beobachtet. Ausnahmen von dieser Regel bildete das Vorkommen von echtem Mehltau und Keimlingsfäule. Auf den Objekten A, B, C nahm die Intensität der Krankheiten mit der Steigerung der Stickstoffgabe zu. Auch die auf Objekt D verabreichten Biopräparate stimulierten die Entwicklung der Krankheiten. The effect of various fertilization methods on the diseases of sugar beet was estimated on the basis of nine-year studies (1994-2002) conducted in the Experimental Production Farm in Ba?cyny on loess-based, sedimentary-gley, light-clay soil. The following fertilization methods were applied: A - mineral fertilization, B - mineral and manure fertilization, C - straw, green manure and mineral fertilization, D - ecological compost and biodynamic preparations fertilization. In the objects A, B and C fertilized with phosphorus and potassium, various doses of nitrogen ranging from 0 to 180 kg/ha^?1 were used. In the ecological object D, where mineral fertilization was not used, biodynamic preparations P₅₀₀ and P₅₀₁ were applied instead of nitrogen. The lowest ratio of the diseases of sugar beet was observed in the object fertilized with the compost and biodynamic preparations. In view of the conventional fertilization methods, generally the highest incidence of diseases was noted in the sugar beet fertilized with straw, green manure and mineral fertilizers. The exception was the occurrence of powdery mildew and the black leg. In objects A, B and C the incidence of the diseases increased with the increase in nitrogen doses. The applied biodynamical preparations in the object D stimulated the development of diseases too.     

Prospects for control of Pythium damping-off of lettuce with Trichoderma,Gliocladium and Enterobacter spp.

Summary Damping-off of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) caused by Pythium ultimum was studied in pots containing a non-sterile potting mix in the glasshouse. Fifty P. ultimum sporangia g^-1 compost reduced the plant stand to 15% and shoot dry weight to 18%, but this reduction was totally prevented by applying Trichoderma harzianum at 2×10⁵ viable propagules g^-1 potting mix. Gliocladium virens and Enterobacter cloacae also alleviated the damping-off. E. cloacae did not adversely affect the action of the fungal antagonists. The co-existence of the bacterial and fungal antagonists was revealed on the root surface and inner surface of the testa by scanning electron microscopy, indicating the compatibility of the biocontrol agents.     

细菌、真菌及植物氮营养信号研究进展

氮素吸收代谢是所有生物生命活动的核心部分,因此,各种生物对氮的吸收与同化过程都有精细的调节。这种调节依赖于生物对体内氮素状况信号及体外（生长介质中）氮素信号的感受。过去几十年中,在细菌、真菌中已经对氮素营养信号有了较好的研究,而植物中则相对缓慢,但也有了一定的认识。本文重点比较细菌、真菌及植物中氮信号系统的组成,以期为进一步认识植物中的氮信号接受与转导系统提供启示。     

Aircraft operations near concentrations of birds in Antarctica: The development of practical guidelines

Aircraft operations have the potential to disturb and to impact negatively on bird life. A gradient of increasing behavioural response is evident in birds when exposed to increasing aircraft stimulus. The most major disturbance is likely to lead to impacts on the health, breeding performance and survival of individual birds, and perhaps bird colonies. A process of revision to policies on aircraft operations contained in management plans for a number of specially protected areas in Antarctica by the United Kingdom, accompanied by consultations made within the scientific community through the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) and with operational interests through the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programmes (COMNAP) resulted in new guidelines being adopted by the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties in June 2004. The principal recommendations of the guidelines are that bird colonies should not be overflown below 2000 ft (∼610 m) above ground level and landings within 1/2 nautical mile (∼930 m) of bird colonies should be avoided wherever possible. These guidelines are less stringent and less specific than those that were recommended by the SCAR specialist group on birds, and represent a compromise to accommodate operational needs. While the adoption of clear and consistent guidelines for the operation of aircraft in Antarctica is welcome in that this provides practical advice that is likely to reduce incidences of close aircraft/bird encounters, there remains insufficient knowledge of the interactions between aircraft and birds in Antarctica, and the consequent impacts on individual birds and on bird populations. It is important, therefore, that the guidelines adopted are considered interim, and should be kept under scrutiny with revisions made as new and improved research results appear.     

The abundance of heterocystous blue-green algae in rice soils and inocula used for application in rice fields

Summary Algal populations were quantified (as colony-forming units [CFU] per square centimetre) in 102 samples of rice soils from the Philippines, India, Malaysia and Portugal, and in 22 samples of soil-based inocula from four countries. Heterocystous blue-green algae (BGA) were present in all samples. Nostoc was the dominant genus in most samples, followed by Anabaena and Calothrix. In soils, heterocystous BGA occurred at densities ranging from 1.0 × 10² to 8.0 × 10⁶ CFU/cm² (median 6.4 × 10⁴) and comprised, on average, 9% of the total CFU of algae. Their abundance was positively correlated with the pH and the available P content of the soils. In soil-based inocula, heterocystous BGA occurred at densities ranging from 4.6 × 10⁴ to 2.8 × 10⁷ CFU/g dw (dry weight), comprising only a moderate fraction (average 13%) of the total algae. In most soils, the density of indigenous N₂-fixing BGA was usually higher than that attained by applying recommended rates of soil-based inoculum. Whereas research on the practical utilization of BGA has been mostly directed towards inoculation with foreign strains, our results suggest that attention should also be given to agricultural practices that enhance the growth of indigenous strains already adapted to local environmental conditions.Maître de Recherches ORSTOM (France), Visiting Scientist at IRRI