Compressive strength of Super Soft wheat endosperm

Wheat endosperm texture (hardness) largely determines end-product suitability. Since its development 25 years ago, the single kernel classification system (SKCS, a mechanical instrument that measures, among other properties, the force imparted on a kernel during crushing) has been used in breeding programs to differentiate soft wheats from hard wheats. Nominally, these have a soft to hard SKCS hardness index (HI) range of 25–75 (dimensionless units). However, in recent years, breeders have developed extremely soft (‘Super Soft’) lines having SKCS HI < 0. Until now, these very low SKCS HIs have not been corroborated with traditional methodologies that characterize mechanical strength. Herein, we report on the relationships between SKCS HI and three compressive strength properties (maximum stress, Young's modulus, and work) in Super Soft wheat. With respective correlation coefficients of 0.76, 0.66, and 0.75, we have found that the relationships between SKCS HI and compressive strength agree with prior research involving ordinary soft and hard wheats.     

我国部分省份秸秆利用情况调查

为了解我国秸秆资源利用情况,通过实地考察、问卷、走访等形式,对我国部分省份的秸秆品种、产量及其利用情况进行了调查。结果表明:在调查的省份内,农民因为受到时间、经济等因素的影响,焚烧和废弃是处理秸秆的首选方法。农民愿意接受新能源,促进秸秆再利用。我国秸秆利用途径不多,方法陈旧。受调查人员中有96.6%对秸秆新能源利用持支持态度,80%受调查人员希望能综合利用秸秆,减少环境污染。最后综合调查结果提出合理利用秸秆的建议。     

Energy Productivity Potential Assessment of Saccharum spontaneum L.Germplasm Resources

[Objective]The energy productivity potential of Saccharum spontaneum L.germplasm resources as energy plants was discussed in this paper.[Method]The energy productivity potential of Saccharum spontaneum L.germplasm resources collected from the wild was assessed from the aspects of cellulose,semicellulose,lignin and crude ash contents and caloric value.[Result]The total content of cellulose and semicellulose ranged from 41.75%to 69.13%,the lignin content ranged from 2.16%to 11.75%,the crude ash content ranged from 4.79%to 9.34%and the caloric value ranged from 16.00 to 17.69 MJ/kg among the 30 Saccharum spontaneum L.germplasms.Compared to other plants,Saccharum spontaneum L.had higher contents of cellulose and semicellulose,a higher caloric value but lower contents of lignin and crude ash.[Conclusion]From the perspective of producing fuel ethanol with lignocellulose,Saccharum spontaneum L.has a great potential for development as an energy plant.     

Optimisation of fertiliser rates in crop production against energy use indicators

Optimising mineral nitrogen (N) use in crop production is inevitable target as mineral fertilisers reflect one of the highest inputs both in terms of economy and energy. The aim of the study was to compare the relationship between the rate of N fertiliser application and different measures of energy parameters exemplary data for spring-wheat in boreal climate condition in Estonia in 2006–2010. The effect of mineral N with rates 0, 40, 80, 120 and 160 kg N ha⁻¹ was studied on the background of composted cow manure and without organic fertilisers. Univalent parameters, energy gain (EG) (energy output − energy input) and energy ratio (ER) (energy output/energy input) were calculated. To aggregate parameters with different units (ER and EG) we proposed two standardisation approaches for combined indices. ER maximisation gave both organic fertilisation background optimum N norms significantly lower than EG (p < 0.05) optimisation. Both the new combined indices gave optimum N norms in between the rate of ER an EG. Composted cow manure background did not affect mineral N optimisation significantly. We suggest optimisation of mineral N according to bi-dimensional parameters as they capture important features of production efficiency and are more objective using as advisory tool for sustainable production systems.     

Do tillage and conversion of grassland to cropland always deplete soil organic carbon?

ABSTRACT

Conversion of grassland to cropland is widely reported to deplete soil organic carbon (SOC) largely due to tillage effects on the decomposition of SOC. However, most studies report on long-term changes in SOC following the conversion and little is known about the changes in the short term. Net ecosystem carbon budget (NECB) measures the difference between total C input (i.e., manure, above- and below-ground plant residues) and C loss through heterotrophic respiration (RH). However, most studies that report temporal SOC do not report other components of the NECB like RH, total C inputs and often do not include the cumulative annualized change of these components. This review evaluated the change in C input, RH, NECB and SOC after conversion of permanent/continuous grassland to cropland within 5 years after the conversion. We also reviewed and compared no-tillage and conventional tillage on SOC storage and accumulation. Total C input was higher in grassland than cropland largely due to high root biomass, as opposed to aboveground residue, and therefore grassland tended to have higher NECB. Despite higher NECB in grassland, the SOC stocks in cropland (cornfield) converted from grassland were greater than that in continuous grassland within first 2–3 years of conversion. The combination of manure C addition and tillage in cropland showed potential to maintain NECB and increase SOC. Within the continuous grassland C addition alone increased NECB but did not result in a corresponding increase in SOC. Residue retention and manure addition are recognized as good practices for increasing SOC, this study however, shows that combining them with occasional tillage, especially in managed grasslands, could increase the rate of SOC storage in soils.     

基于DEB理论的皱纹盘鲍个体生长模型参数的测定

为获取皱纹盘鲍(Haliotis discus hannai)个体生长模型所需的6个关键参数，设计了饥饿耗能、温度对耗氧的影响等相关生理实验，计算得到各项参数值。单位体积维持耗能率的值 、形成单位体积结构物质所需的能量值 、单位体积最大储存能量 和储备能量值 4个参数，通过连续测定皱纹盘鲍饥饿过程中呼吸耗氧率和软组织干重不断下降直至保持稳定时的能量值计算；温度函数中Arrhenius温度 的数值根据皱纹盘鲍在不同温度梯度下的单位干重耗氧率测定、计算；形状系数δm值通过统计测量的壳长、软组织湿重等生物学参数拟合回归得到。结果显示，皱纹盘鲍在饥饿后，呼吸耗氧率和软组织干重分别降低了26.3%和70.0%，呼吸耗氧率由2.69 mg/(ind.?h)逐渐降低并稳定在0.8 mg/(ind.?h)，软组织干重由(5.21±0.89) g降低至(3.84±0.22) g；根据公式计算得 和 的值分别为20.18 J/(cm3?d)和8120 J/cm；皱纹盘鲍饥饿前后有机物含量分别为80%和58%，经过换算， 和 的值分别为2726 J/cm3和32583 J/g。不同规格的皱纹盘鲍在水温为5℃~20℃范围内，温度与单位干重耗氧率呈正比；当水温超过20℃之后，温度与单位干重耗氧率呈反比。在转折点20℃之前，单位干重耗氧率的ln值与温度(热力学温度，K)的倒数呈线性关系，线性回归方程斜率的绝对值为Arrhenius温度 值( =7196 K)。生物学统计分析鲍壳长(L)与体积(V)呈三次函数关系：V=0.0639 L3.1621(R²=0.9852)，根据公式对软组织湿重的立方根与壳长进行线性回归，所得的斜率即为形状系数δm值(δm=0.43)。本研究对建立以DEB理论为指导的皱纹盘鲍个体生长模型提供了数据支撑。     

Carbon stock and rate of carbon sequestration in Dipterocarpus forests of Manipur,Northeast India

We examined the carbon stock and rate of carbon sequestration in a tropical deciduous forest dominated by Dipterocarpus tuberculatus in Manipur,North East India.Estimation of aboveground biomass was determined by harvest method and multiplied with density of tree species.The aboveground biomass was between18.27–21.922 t ha-1and the carbon stock ranged from9.13 to 10.96 t C ha-1across forest stands.Aboveground biomass and carbon stock increased with the increase in tree girth.The rate of carbon sequestration varied from1.4722 to 4.64136 t ha-1year-1among the dominant tree species in forest stands in tropical deciduous forest area.The rate of carbon sequestration depends on species composition,the density of large trees in different girth classes,and anthropogenic disturbances in the present forest ecosystem.Further work is required to identify tree species having the highest potential to sequester CO2 from the atmosphere,which could lead to recommendations for tree plantations in a degraded ecosystem.     

Mass balanced based LCA of a common carp-lettuce aquaponics system

An aquaponics system (AS) is an integrated system that combines a recirculating aquaculture system and a hydroponics system (HS). It is designed to recover nutrients released from fish and transfer them to plants to provide a system more environmentally-friendly than the two systems working separately. As a result, several AS are under development, but little information is available about their overall performances. The aim of this study was to assess nutrient-use efficiency and environmental impacts of an AS, specifically a common carp-lettuce AS located in a greenhouse. Nutrient budgets of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) were calculated and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed for the AS and for a lettuce Individual Hydroponics System (IHS), similar to the HS of the AS, operating in the greenhouse at the same time. The experiment was performed over a 52-day cycle, which corresponds to the growing time required to harvest marketable lettuce. The nutrient budgets were well balanced, with 24.6% of the N unaccounted-for, most likely due to N2 gas emission, and 6.6% of the P unaccounted-for, most likely due to having underestimated the quantity of sediment. At the beginning of the experiment, N represented 55.9%, 37.1% and 0.1% of the total N input in the formulated feed, stocked fish and lettuce seedlings, respectively. At the end of the experiment, N represented 47.6% and 0.4% of the total N input in the harvested fish and lettuce, respectively. At the beginning of the experiment, P represented 56.94%, 40.20% and 0.03% of the total P input in the formulated feed, stocked fish and lettuce seedlings, respectively. At the end of the experiment, P represented 51.52% and 0.42% of the total P input in the harvested fish and lettuce, respectively. LCA clearly indicated two environmental impact hotspots: the origin of nutrients and energy use. One kg of lettuce growth in the AS clearly had lower environmental impacts than that in the IHS for climate change, acidification, eutrophication, land competition and cumulative energy demand; however, a decrease in water dependence was not observed. The indicator for net primary production use highlighted the dependence of the AS on natural resources, especially fish meal and fish oil. Compared to the use of chemical nutrients in the IHS, the use of nutrients from formulated feed in the AS decreased climate change impact but increased the use of natural resources.     

Ecological consequences of variation in standard metabolism and dominance among salmon parr

Abstract – Standard metabolic rate (SMR, closely related to basal and resting metabolism) varies by up to threefold among juvenile Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., of similar size at common temperature. Here, consequences of this variation are predicted by combining empirically derived relationships between SMR, specific dynamic action, energy budgets, water velocity, food level in the environment and food availability to fish. The range of velocities across which growth is predicted to occur is inversely related to a fish’s SMR. Growth is positively related to SMR at high but negatively related to it at low‐food levels. The relationship between food level and the range of velocities over which lower SMR fish can grow but higher SMR fish cannot is asymmetrically bi‐phasic and peaked. It is predicted that maternal manipulation of offspring SMR would generate fitness benefits through bet‐hedging against unpredictability in food level and increases in the overall range of velocities that the family of offspring can occupy and thrive in.