Human responses to flower fragrance of Lilium ‘Siberia’ and Rosa ‘Escimo’

The objective of our study was to lay a foundation for the effect of flower fragrance on human emotions and to provide a theory for the choice of indoor plants and the improvement of the olfactory environment. Specifically, our purpose was to study human physiological responses to flower fragrance of Lilium ‘Siberia’ and Rosa ‘Escimo’. The participants were 31 college students. Blood pressure, pulse rate, finger temperature (FT) and galvanic skin response (GSR) were measured. The results show that the fragr...     

A study on JA-and BTH-induced resistance of Rosa rugosa ‘Plena’ to powdery mildew(Sphaerotheca pannosa)

Different concentrations of jasmonic acid(JA)and benzothiadiazole(BTH) were sprayed on 2-year-old Rosa rugosa‘Plena’ seedlings. The induced resistance of JA and BTH to Sphaerotheca pannosa(Wallr.) and the changes of their related physiological indices were investigated. Results showed that JA and BTH treatments had inhibitory impacts on S. pannosa infection. The optimal concentration of JA and BTH was 0.5 mmol/L for the disease-resistance induction of the leaves, its inductive effect was up to 66.36% for BTH and 54.49% for JA. Our results confirmed that exogenous JA and BTH significantly improved R. rugose ‘Plena’ resistance to S. pannosa. When treated with JA and BTH, activities of the three defense enzymes(POD, PPO, and PAL) increased significantly.Contents of total phenolics, flavonoids, and lignin also increased significantly. It is inferred from these results that exogenous JA and BTH could improve the resistance of R.rugose ‘Plena’ to S. pannosa through enhancing activities of the defensive enzymes and accumulation of secondary metabolites in the leaves.     

Effects of Pulsed Magnetic Field on Biochemical and Physiological Characters and Ultrastructure of Pine Wood Nematode

In this paper,we employed the pulsed magnetic field(PMF) processing to investigate the effect of different pulse rise time and treatment time on the survival,reproduction,cellulase activity and surface characteristics of the pine wood nematode (PWN).The results showed that the wider pulse and the longer treatment time were able to reduce the survival,and inhibit the cellulase activity and reproduction of PWN.The 4th instar and females had a strong resistance to the pulsed magnetic field. With pulse rise time of 10 ms and the treatment of 60 min,the adjusted mortality of PWN was 100%. After the PMF treatment,the cellulase activity of PWN increased within a short time,and then declined with the treatment time.The observation with a scanning electron micrograph(SEM) revealed that there was no significant change in morphology of PWN,but the quantity of rod-shaped bacteria carried by PWN was reduced.     

Protective enzyme activity and physiological properties of four mulberry varieties affected by drought stress in the Panxi Region of Sichuan Province, China

In order to identify the effects of drought stress on protective enzyme activity and physiological properties, four mulberry varieties, i.e.,‘Nanye-1’, ‘Yunsang-1’, ‘Xinyizhilai’ and ‘Husang-32’ in the Panxi Region of Sichuan Province, China, were selected. The activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) in four mulberry varieties was determined. Soluble protein, soluble sugar, proline, net photosynthetic rate and transpiration rate of mulberry leaves were analyzed. The resul...     

Establishment of Efficient Regeneration System of Populus×euramericana cl.‘Bofeng’

Compared with the species of Leuce section,the difficulty in plant regeneration during tissue culture for the species of Aigeiros section is a key limiting factor for their application in genetic engineering of forest trees.In this study,the plant growth regulators combination,copper concentration,light intensity,and the selection pressures of kanamycin were investigated using leaves of Populus×euramericana cl.’Bofeng’ as explants,and a stable and high efficient regeneration system was established.Using this system,both the shoot regeneration rate and rooting rate were up to 100%,and the average number of differentiated shoots in each leaf explant was up to 20,and the survival rate of seedlings reached 98%.The optimal selection pressure of kanamycin in shoot inducement for leaf-explant was 40 mg·L^-1,and the optimal selection pressure of kanamycin in root inducement of adventitious bud was 20 mg·L^-1.The authors also found that differentiation rate of adventitious buds of P.×euramericana cl.’Bofeng’ could be significantly promoted by increased copper concentration,and this is the first report about the key role of copper（Cu） in explant regeneration of Poplars.This regeneration system with high frequency which was established by the authors was as good as that of species of Leuce section,and it provides a good technological platform for genetic engineering of forest tree which uses the species of Aigeiros section as model materials.     

Mating system and progeny genetic diversity of Camellia oleifera ‘Ruan Zhi’

Camellia oleifera Abel.is an important economic tree species of southern China.In this study,we evaluated the mating system and genetic diversity of a series of cultivars of C.oleifera‘Ruan Zhi’.A total of 159 individuals from the progenies of four cultivars were tested by simple sequence repeat molecular markers.Results reveal that 11 pairs of primers showed polymorphism and their polymorphism information content value was greater than 0.73,suggesting that these primers could be used to identify the genetic diversity of open-pollinated populations.The average number of effective alleles(Ne=4.88)was significantly different from the average number of alleles(Na=12.18),and their distribution in the sample population was not uniform.The average observed heterozygosity(Ho=0.96)was greater than the average expected heterozygosity(He=0.79),and the population heterozygote was excessive.Shannon index was 1.84 and populations showed high genetic diversity.As regards to the mating system,the multilocus outcrossing rate was 0.996,and the single locus 0.866.These results indicate a high degree of outcrossing by C.oleifera‘Ruan Zhi’.We recommend selecting individuals for high genetic gain from the progenies of cultivars because of outcrossing characteristics and genetic diversity for application to germplasm conservation and promotion.     

牡丹‘乌龙捧盛’组培苗生根及生根解剖学研究

The tissue-cultured seedlings of tree peony ‘Wulong Pengsheng’ were used to study the effects of different plant growth regulators, culture methods, and holdfast on rooting. The morphological structure change during rooting was also observed using the method of paraffin section. The result showed that the best combination of plant growth regulators for rooting was IBA 3.0 mg·L^-1 + NAA 0.6 mg·L^-1. The treatment under the temperature of 4℃ for ten days was benefit to rooting, and the rate could reach 75.67%. It was identified that the adventitious root primordia of shoot in vitro originated from the vascular cambium cells, especially, the cross areas of cambium and pith ray and they started to differentiate at the 5th day and lasted to the 12th day. If the shoots were cultured in the root inducing medium for 12 days, it would lead to not only descend of rooting rate, but also showing callus of stem base, and leaf senescent. However, if they were transferred into the medium without hormone in time, the root primordial protruded the epidermis and developed normally after 5 days’ culture.     

Assessing vulnerability of a forest ecosystem to climate change and variability in the western Mediterranean sub-region of Turkey

Climate change is a real, pressing and significant global problem. The concept of ‘climate change vulnerability’ helps us to better comprehend the cause/effect relationships behind climate change and its impact on human societies, socioeconomic sectors, and physiographical and ecological systems. In this study, multifactorial spatial modelling evaluated the vulnerability of a Mediterranean forest ecosystem to climate change and variability with regard to land degradation. This produced data and developed tools to support better decision-making and management. As a result, the geographical distribution of Environmental Vulnerability Areas(EVAs) of the forest ecosystem is the estimated Environmental Vulnerability Index(EVI) values. These revealed that, at current levels of environmental degradation, physical, geographical, policy enforcement, and socioeconomic conditions, the area with a ‘‘very low’’ degree of vulnerability covered mainly the town, its surrounding settlements and agricultural lands found principally over the low, flat travertine plateau and the plains to the east and southeast of the district. The spatial magnitude of the EVAs of the forest ecosystem under current environmental degradation was also determined. This revealed that the EVAs classed as ‘‘very low’’accounted for 21% of the area of the forest ecosystem,those classed as ‘‘low’’ for 36%, those classed as ‘‘medium’’ for 20%, and those classed as ‘‘high’’ for 24%.     

Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated GUS gene transformation of Robinia pseudoacacia ‘Idaho’

Based on the plant regeneration system, a GUS gene transformation system to Idaho locust (Robinia pseudoacacia ‘Idaho’) mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens was established. The successful transformation was confirmed by regenerating the shoots from the infected leaves in the presence of hygromysin; by histochemical X-gluc assays of β-glucuronidase (GUS) and by PCR and PCR-Southern blotting analysis. The ratio of positive transgenic plants is 5.8% (5 out of 86 plants). With this system, the target gene DREB was introduced into the leaves of Idaho locust. The transgenic plants regenerated, which was verified by PCR-Southern blot-ting. It is suggested that the transformation system could be a new, simple, reliable and practical route to gene transformation of R. pseudoacacia ‘Idaho’ mediated with A. tumefaciens.     

‘Relationships between relationships’ in forest stands: intercepts and exponents analyses

Relationships between diameter at breast height(dbh) versus stand density, and tree height versus dbh(height curve) were explored with the aim to find if there were functional links between correspondent parameters of the relationships, exponents and intercepts of their power functions. A geometric model of a forest stand using a conic approximation suggested that there should be interrelations between correspondent exponents and intercepts of the relationships. It is equivalent to a type of ‘relationship between relationships’ that might exist in a forest stand undergoing self-thinning, and means that parameters of one relationship may be predicted from parameters of another. The predictions of the model were tested with data on forest stand structure from published databases that involved a number of trees species and site quality levels. It was found that the correspondent exponents and intercepts may be directly recalculated from one another for the simplest case when the total stem surface area was independent of stand density. For cases where total stem surface area changes with the drop of density, it is possible to develop a generalization of the model in which the interrelationships between correspondent parameters(exponents and intercepts) may be still established.     

不同栽培树形对油橄榄品种果实产量的效应

Longnan City in Gansu Province is the largest base of olive production in China. In the olive orchard locating in Wudu District of Longnan City, thirty trees were sampled each of three cultivars, ‘Leccino’, ‘Chenggu32’, ‘Ezhi8’, with monoconical and vase training system. After planted with density of 5×6 m in 1992, each sample tree was investigated to determine the yield fresh fruit in five different years. The results of survey and analysis showed that there were significant differences of fruit yield among 5 years and 3 cultivars. Different canopy shapes yielded some effect on fruit setting rate and yield of different cultivars in different years. During first fruiting period in the fourth/sixth year after planting, fruit setting rate and yield of ‘Leccino’ with monocone were more 6.7% and 0.15 kg than those with vase and those of ‘Ezhi8’ and ‘Chenggu32’ with vase were more 20%, 10% and 0.18 kg, 0.09 kg than those with monocone. With the increase of tree age, fruit set and yield of ‘Leccino’ and ‘Ezhi8’ with vase was more than those of monocone. In 2011, average yields per tree of ‘Leccino’ and ‘Ezhi8’ with vase were more 13.35 kg and 6.85 kg than those with monocone. And the highest yield per tree of ‘Leccino’ with vase was 75 kg, more 16 kg than that of monocone. Fruit trees with yield over 35 kg of ‘Leccino’ and 25 kg of ‘Ezhi8’ with vase accounted for 80% and 46.7%, more 40% and 30.01% than those of monocone. It was concluded that vase training system would produce higher yield of ‘Leccino’ and ‘Ezhi8’ and its effect and advantages were gradually prominent with increase age. As for ‘Chenggu32’, monocone got a slightly higher yield than that of vase and in 2011 fruit trees with yield over 15 kg accounted for 25%, more 8.34% than vase. The difference between two training system of this cultivar was not obvious.     

The effects of phenolic acid on nitrogen metabolism in Populus 3 euramericana ‘Neva’

The declines in soil fertility and productivity in continuously cropped poplar plantations are related to phenolic acid accumulation in the soil.Nitrogen is a vital life element for poplar and whether the accumulation of phenolic acid could influence nitrogen metabolism in poplar and thereby hinder continuous cropping is not clear.In this study, poplar cuttings of Populus × euramericana‘Neva’ were potted in vermiculite, and phenolic acids at three concentrations(0 X, 0.5 X and 1.0 X) were added according to the actual content(1.0 X) in the soil of a second-generation poplar plantation.Each treatment had eight replicates.We measured gas exchange parameters and the activities of key enzymes related to nitrogen metabolism in the leaves.Leaf photosynthetic parameters varied with the concentration of phenolic acids.The net photosynthetic rate(P_N) significantly decreased with increasing phenolic acid concentration, and non-stomatal factors might have been the primary limitation for P_N.The activities of nitrate reductase(NR), glutamine synthetase(GS) and glutamate synthase(GOGAT), as well as the contents of nitrate nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen, and total nitrogen in the leaves decreased with increasing phenolic acid concentration.This was significantly and positively related to P_N(P0.05).The low concentration of phenolic acids mainly affected the transformation process of NO_3~- to NO_2~-, while the high concentration of phenolic acids affected both processes, where NO_3~- was transferred to NO_2~- and NH_4~+ was transferred to glutamine(Gln).Overall, phenolic acid had significant inhibitory effects on the photosynthetic productivity of Populus × euramericana‘Neva’.This was probably due to its influence on the activities of nitrogen assimilation enzymes, which reduced the amount of amino acids that were translated into protein and enzymes.Improving the absorption and utilization of nitrogen by plants could help to overcome the problems caused by continuous cropping.     

Effects of osmoconditioning on mitochondrial respiration and phosphorylation in soybean seeds

Cotyledon mitochondrion respiration and oxidative phosphorylation activity were studied in two groups of soybean seeds. One group was primed with polyethylene glycol (PEG) for different periods of time, and the other was unprimed (control), and both were then exposed to imbibition at low temperatures before their germination. The results indicated that when L-Malate (L-Mal)and α-Ketoglutarate (α-Kg) were used as substrates, the ADP-stimulated mitochondria respiration rates of control seeds were markedly higher than state Ill respiration rates of primed seeds. However, the osmoconditioning pretreatment significantly enhanced the oxidative phosphorylation activity of cotyledon mitochondrion in 12 h. The oxidative phosphorylation activity of the mitochondrion of primed seeds was normal and the ADP/O value was consistent with the theoretical one. When reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) was used as the substrate, the mitochondria of control seeds still had oxidative phosphorylation activity, while ADP/O value was obviously lower than that of mitochondria of primed seeds. When Succinate (Succ) was used as the substrate, the oxidative phosphorylation activity of the primed seeds was normal after priming for 24 h. When different substrates were used, the emerging order of the oxidative phosphorylation activity of the primed seeds was NADH, α-Kg, Succ and in the last place L-Mal.The mechanism of soybean imbibitionl chilling injury and protective effect of PEG priming were discussed.     

杉檫混交根系效应的研究

In this paper,the root system and their associated effect of mixed forest of Cunninghamia lanceolata and Sassafras tsumu at eight-year-old were investigated and analyzed.The results showed that Sassafras tsumu might play a important role in improving the root system of Cunninghamia lanceolata growth due to the single root weight of Cunninghamia lanceolata in mixed forest of Cunninghamia lanceolata and Sassafras tsumu was evidently more than that of Cunninghamia lanceolata in pure forest,and that there were different mixed effects in mixed forest of Cunninghamia lanceolata and Sassafra tsumu in different slope situation,which meant that the associated effect was better in higher slope situation than in lower slope situation,and which reflected in the effect of Sassafra tsumu to the height and D.B.H.growth of Cunninghamia lanceolata.This Study indicated that the associated effect was positively related to the effect of roots system.     

Effects of drought stress on the photosynthetic physiological parameters of Populus 3 euramericana ‘‘Neva'

Populus 9 euramericana ‘‘Neva' is the main poplar species in China, where drought stress is becoming extremely urgent. We carried out this research to study the effects of drought stress on the photosynthesis of Populus 9 euramericana ‘‘Neva'. Drought stress was induced by 58–62%(light), 48–52%(moderate), and 38–42%(severe) relative soil moisture content(RSMC). The effects of drought stress on photosynthetic rate, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, and other related physiological parameters were investigated during treatment. Net photosynthetic rate(PN), and stomatal conductance decreased significantly and intercellular CO_2 concentration initially increased and then declined, whereas the stomatal limitation factors showed opposite trends in the light under moderate drought stress. Photosystem II(PSII) maximum photochemical efficiency, actual photochemical efficiency,and photochemical quenching decreased gradually under drought stress, whereas nonphotochemical quenching initially increased and then declined. Superoxide dismutase,peroxidase, and catalase activities initially increased and then decreased as RSMC was reduced, whereas malondialdehyde(MDA) content and relative electric conductivity(REC) increased gradually. These results suggest that stomatal factors accounted for the decline in PNunder light and moderate drought stress, whereas leaf PNdecreased mainly due to non-stomatal factors under severe drought stress. PSII was damaged; thus, photosynthetic electron transfer was restricted, indicating that heat dissipation is important for the light protection mechanism of plants.Antioxidant enzymes increased at the beginning of treatment, and the increased MDA and REC led to cell membrane damage. These results suggest that poplar seedlings stabilized their photosynthetic apparatus by reducing the light trapping ability under light and moderate drought stress conditions. This helped dissipate heat and enhance antioxidant enzyme activity. Stomatal factors accounted for the decline in P_N, whereas damage to PSII and antioxidant enzymes under severe drought stress suggested that the decline in P_N was caused by non-stomatal restrictive factors.     

Physiological responses of needles of Pinus massoniana elite families to phosphorus stress in acid soil

Pinus massoniana Lamb. is a major timber species widely planted in the South China, where the soil is acidic and deficient in phosphorus (P) due to fixation by aluminum and iron. Understanding the physiological responses to rhizospheric insoluble P is essential for enhancing plantation productivity. Thus, a sand culture experiment was conducted with four levels of P treatment (0, 5, 20 g insoluble P and 10 g soluble P), and 11 P. massoniana elite families. Physiological responses were measured after two months of stress. Compared to the normal soluble P treatment, the insoluble P treatment significantly reduced the proline content and the APase activity in the needles, while it significantly increased the catalase activity by 1.3-fold and malondialdehyde content by 1.2-fold. Soluble protein content was unaffected by the treatments, but chlorophyll content was significantly lower in P-deprived treatment compared with soluble and insoluble P treatments. These physiological responses also exhibited highly significant variation among families (p < 0.01). The findings suggest that increased catalase activities in the presence of insoluble P might be involved in the activation of an anti-oxidation defense mechanism that scavenges the reactive oxygen species elicited by the stress. And this response has a strong genetic control that can be exploited to identify desirable genotypes.     

Study on Bamboo Treatment Technology with CuAz Preservative

In order to research the effect of preservative penetrability, CuAz (copper azole) was used for the preservative, and pieces of Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens) were used for the experimental materials in this study. The vacuum pressure process was used to treat bamboo pieces. The results showed as follows: 1) Main treatment factors were preservative concentration and applied pressure; 2) In the same technology, both the retention and the weight proportion gain of the samples without node were less tha...     

Additive mixed models to study the effect of tree age and climatic factors on stem radial growth of Eucalyptus trees

The effect of tree age and climatic variables on stem radial growth of two hybrid clones of Eucalyptus was determined using longitudinal data from eastern South Africa.The stem radius of was measured weekly as the response variable.In addition to tree age,average weekly temperature,solar radiation,relative humidity and wind speed were simultaneously recorded with total rainfall at the site.An additive mixed effects model that incorporates a non-parametric smooth function was used.The results of the analysis indicate that the relationship between stem radius and each of the covariates can be explained by nonlinear functions.Models that account for the effect of clone and season together with their interaction in the parametric part of the additive mixed model were also fitted.The interaction between clone and season was not significant in all cases.For analyzing the joint effect all the covariates,additive mixed models that included two or more covariates were fitted.A significant effect of tree age was found in all cases.Although tree age was the key determinant of stem radial growth,weather variables also had a significant effect that was dependent on season.     

Characterization and Role of Glucose-6-phosphate Dehydrogenase of Populus suaveolens in Induction of Freezing Resistance

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH, EC 1.1.1.49) was purified from the leaves of 8-week-old Populus suaveolens cuttings. The enzyme activity in the absence and presence of reduced dithiothreitol (DTTred) was determined. The results show that the G6PDH activity is not inactivated by pre-incubation with DTTred, indicating that the purified enzyme probably presented in cytosol of P suaveolens. The catalytic characteristics and kinetic parameters of cytosolic G6PDH purified from P.suaveolens cuttings were also studied. The results show that G6PDH is characterized by Km value of 360/amol.L^-1 for G6P and 16μmol.L^-1 for NADP, a pH range of 7.3-8.9, and the maximum activity around pH 8.2. The enzyme activity is inhibited by various metabolites such as NADPH, NADH, GTP, UTP, ATP, AMP, ADP, CoA, acetyl CoA, fructose-6-phosphate (F6P), erythrose-4-phosphate (E4P), ribose-5-phosphate (R5P) and 3-phosphoglycerate (3-PG) (all at 1 mmol‘L i except for NADPH and NADH)to different extents. NADPH is the most effective inhibitor of enzyme activity, with an inhibition of 72.0%. The addition of metal ions such as MgC12, CaC12 and KC1 (all 1.0 mmol.L^-1) to the standard reaction mixture has no remarkable influence on the cytosolic G6PDH activity. However, CdCl2 (1.0 mmol.L-1) causes high inhibitory effect on the enzyme activity. To explore the role of G6PDH on the enhancement of freezing resistance induced by freezing acclimation, the changes in the cytosolic G6PDH activity and freezing resistance (expressed as LTs0) of P. suaveolens cuttings during freezing acclimation at -20℃ were investigated. The results reveal that freezing acclimation decreases LTs0 of cuttings, and increases the activity of cytosolic G6PDH compared with control ones,while 2 d of de-acclimation at 25 ~C result in a decrease in cytosolic G6PDH activity, and caused an increase in LT50. Furthermore,the change in cytosolic G6PDH activity is found to be closely correlated to the degree of freezing resistance of cuttings during freezing acclimation. It is suggested that cytosolic G6PDH may be involved in the induction of freezing resistance of cuttings.     

Nighttime transpiration of Populus euphratica during different phenophases

Evidence exists of nighttime transpiration and its potential impact on plant/water relations for species in a diversity of ecosystems. However, relevant data related to typical desert riparian forest species remains limited Accordingly, we measured sap flow velocity of Populus euphratica using the heat ratio method between 2012 and2014. Nocturnal stem sap flow was separated into nighttime and stem refilling using the ‘‘forecasted refilling'method. Nighttime transpiration was observed for each phenophase. The highest value was during the full foliation period but lowest during leaf expansion and defoliation periods. The contribution of nighttime transpiration to daytime transpiration was an average of 15% but this was comparatively higher during the defoliation period. Relationships between nighttime transpiration, vapor pressure deficits, and air temperatures were more closely associated than with wind speed in all phenophases. Moreover, we found that nighttime transpiration linearly correlated to vapour pressure deficit during the first and the full foliation periods, but nighttime transpiration showed exponential correlations to air temperatures during the same phenophases. Additionally, environmental drivers of transpiration were significantly different between nighttime and daytime(P \ 0.05). Driving forces behind nighttime transpiration were characterized by many factors, and integrated impacts between these multiple environmental factors were complex. Future studies should focus on these integrated impacts on nighttime transpiration, and the physiological mechanisms of nighttime transpiration should be investigated, given that this could also influence its occurrence and magnitude during different phenophases.