Impact of soil water content on maize responses to the plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium Azospirillum lipoferum CRT1

Members of the bacterial genus Azospirillum are root-associated bacteria that increase yield in cereals by promoting growth and alleviating drought stress. How plants integrate the many bacterium-derived growth-promoting stimuli with other environmental factors to generate a coordinated response remains unresolved. Using a commercial Azospirillum strain, A. lipoferum CRT1 and two host maize cultivars, it was observed that bacterization reduced the drought-induced increase in lateral root growth and enhanced the flood-induced increase in lateral root growth in the more drought- and flood-sensitive cultivar. In the other one, A. lipoferum CRT1 only elicited a moderate root growth response under low soil water potential. The photosynthetic potential and activity were increased in the earlier cultivar and decreased in the later one, irrespective of the soil water content. No impact of the bacterium was seen on the growth of the leaves of both cultivars under both stresses until the third leaf stage, therefore suggesting that it is a consequence of multiple primary adaptations to biotic and abiotic stresses. It is suggested that host–bacteria recognition leads to a stress-specific modulation of the root response and a differential stress-independent effect on photosynthesis. This is the first report of the impact of Azospirillum under flood conditions.     

Fish functional diversity responses following flood pulses in the upper Paraná River floodplain

Flood pulses are the main force driving the dynamics of aquatic communities in floodplains. The responses of communities to environmental changes following flood pulses usually demand a time lag to appear and reach the climax. We assembled a data set of 16 years of fish samplings to assess the relationship between water level and four functional diversity measures, in the upper Paraná River floodplain. Specifically, we approached four aspects of each relationship between water level and functional diversity: nature (positive or negative), sensitivity (response intensity), responsiveness (response delay) and extent (response duration). The nature of the relationship between water level and functional diversity was positive in all cases. Functional richness (FRic) responded right after flood pulses, although with shorter extent. Abundance‐dependent functional measures (evenness—FEve; divergence—FDiv; and Rao's quadratic entropy—Rao's Q) presented delayed responses, reaching peaks more than 1.5 years after flood pulses. Significant effects of floods on fish functional diversity were observed for more than 3 years, although the highest functional diversity was observed with 1.8 years, on average. More importantly, flood pulses had no longer significant effects on functional diversity after 4 years. Regarding conservation strategies in regulated systems, flood events should occur every 2 or 3 years, with adequate timing (October‐November), intensity (up to 450 cm) and duration (at least 50 uninterrupted days). Intervals longer than 3 years or inadequate timing, intensity and duration could dramatically decrease functional diversity and compromise ecosystem services.     

Changes in photosynthesis,growth, and sugar content of commercial sugarcane cultivars and Erianthus under flood conditions

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is an economical crop in the tropical and subtropical countries. However, because of global climate change, flooding has become problematic, particularly during the rainy season, in Thailand. We investigated the effects of floods on three commercial sugarcane cultivars, namely NiF8, U-thong 6 (UT6), and U-thong 9 (UT9), as well as Erianthus spp. Growth was assessed using a pot experiment in a glasshouse with two treatments: (1) control and (2) 60 d of flooding followed by 30 d of normal conditions. In comparison with control, during prolonged flooding, Erianthus showed greatly decreased CO₂ assimilation, whereas NiF8, UT6, and UT9 showed slightly declined CO₂ assimilation. Growth in plants subjected to 60 d of flooding was less influenced by floods while sucrose content was not affected except in UT6. During flooding, some roots died, resulting in plants compensating adventitious roots to offset the negative effects of root death and to assist them in maintaining their growth, which appeared from the submerged nodes, with different characteristics for each cultivar. However, 30 d after draining, roots remained damaged, while adventitious roots died, resulting in lesser growth as compared with the control, but it did not significantly affect sucrose content and sugar yield. This study suggests that sugarcane plants need to produce the adventitious roots to compensate their roots’ death during flooding and require time to recover their root system after flooding for obtaining the optimum yield and quality at harvest.     

论龙泉市生态公疬林建设的重要性

回顾水灾给龙泉人民生命财产带来严重为害的教训后，深入分析了龙泉市水灾频发的根本原因－森林生态系统遭受严重破坏，并阐述了建立生态公益林的重要性。     

半干旱区造林技术初探

在半干旱地区植苗造林成活与否 ,取决于从选择良种壮苗到抗旱栽植管理整个过程中的苗木水分状况     

Dormancy induction in container-grown Abies seedlings: Effects of environmental cues and seedling age

Twelve-week-old container-grown seedlings of noble fir (Abies procera Rehd.) and Shasta red fir (A. magnifica A. Murr. var. shastensis Lemm.), both high-elevation species, were grown under controlled environments in a study of induction of terminal-bud dormancy. Eight treatment combinations of long (15 h) or short (11 h) photoperiods, warm (25°/20°C) or cool (18°/12°C) thermoperiods, and dry (–1.2 MPa) or wet (–0.6 MPa) moisture regimes were imposed upon seedlings for 12 weeks. Treatment factors significantly affecting the induction of dormancy in terminal buds of seedlings were identified over time. The results suggest that seedlings responded dynamically to dormancy cues. The warm/dry and cool/wet combinations induced dormancy in the first 2 weeks in noble fir and in the first week in Shasta red fir. Short-day/warm and long-day/cool combinations enhanced dormancy induction in weeks 3 to 4 in noble fir and in weeks 1 to 7 in Shasta red fir. Short days and cool thermoperiods independently hastened dormancy induction in noble fir in weeks 5 through 12.     

Structure and regeneration dynamics of dominant tree species along altitudinal gradient in a dry valley slopes of the Bhutan Himalaya

The aim of our study was to characterize the structure and regeneration dynamics of dominant tree species along altitudinal gradient in dry valley slopes of the Bhutan Himalaya. In the typical dry valley slopes of west-central Bhutan, we analyzed forest stratification, tree crown projection, and population structure from lower dry valley bottom (1520 m a.s.l.) to upper humid ridge top (3370 m a.s.l.) across five major forest types: i.e. (1) dry pine forest with Pinus roxburghii as a dominant species; (2) mixed broad-leaved forest with Quercus lanata (evergreen), Quercus griffithii, (deciduous), and Rhododendron arboreum (evergreen) as major canopy species; (3) evergreen broad-leaved forest dominated by Quercus semecarpifolia, Quercus glauca and Quercus oxyodon; (4) cool conifer forest dominated by Abies densa and Tsuga dumosa; (5) cold conifer forest with A. densa and Juniperus recurva as dominants. In general, regeneration pattern of major dominant species shifted from inverse-J (lower altitudes), to sporadic (mid-altitudes), and to uni-modal type (upper altitudes) corresponding to three regeneration trends: (1) invasive at the lower, warm, dry forest under relatively strong human disturbances; (2) stable/balanced at the mid-altitude, in a relatively stable, mature moist evergreen broad-leaved forest with gap regeneration; and (3) poor/low regeneration at the upper, cool, humid conifer forest with a continuously cattle-grazed understory. Overall, regeneration patterns were balanced in all forest types, however care should be taken to prevent excessive exploitation of dry pine forest of lower valley bottom, and to control cattle grazing at higher altitudes. Our findings can be incorporated into management plans for sustainable management and conservation of mountain forests.     

甘肃省水旱灾害时空分布特征及其与粮食产量的关系

全球变暖的背景下,气象灾害呈明显上升趋势,极端干旱事件频繁发生,给农业生产造成严重损失.水旱灾害是对农业生产产生影响最直接、最经常性的灾害类型,其与农业产量关系的研究可为农业生产、防灾减灾、粮食安全评估等提供基础的科学依据.文中以我国西北甘肃省为例,根据1985-2007年全省水旱灾害受灾面积、成灾面积、粮食产量数据,...     

Effects of Vegetation Stems on Hydraulics of Overland Flow Under Varying Water Discharges

Vegetation plays an important role in soil erosion control, but few studies have been performed to quantify the effects of vegetation stems on hydraulics of overland flow. Laboratory flume experiments were conducted to investigate the potential effects of vegetation stems on Reynolds number, Froude number, flow velocity and hydraulic resistance of silt‐laden overland flow. Cylinders with diameter D of 2·0, 3·2 and 4·0 × 10⁻² m were glued onto the flume bed to simulate the vegetation stems, and a bare slope was used as control. The flow discharge varied from 0·5 to 1·5 × 10⁻³ m³ s⁻¹ and slope gradient was 9°. Results showed that Reynolds number on vegetated slope was significantly higher than that on bare slope because of the effect of vegetation stems on effective flow width. All the flows were supercritical flow, but Froude number decreased as D increased, implying a decrease in runoff ability to carry sediment. The mean flow velocity also decreased with D, while the velocity profile became steeper, and no significant differences were found in surface flow velocities among longitudinal sections on all slopes. Darcy–Weisbach friction coefficient increased with D, implying that the energy consumption of overland flow on hydraulic resistance increased. Reynolds number was not a unique predictor of hydraulic roughness on vegetated slopes. The total resistance on vegetated slopes was partitioned into grain resistance and vegetation resistance, and vegetation resistance accounted for almost 80% of the total resistance and was the dominant roughness element. Further studies are needed to extend and apply the insights obtained under controlled conditions to actual overland flow conditions. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.