This study documents the history ofpollution inputs in the Burlington region of LakeChamplain, Vermont using measurements of anthropogenicmetals (Cu, Zn, Cr, Pb, Cd, and Ag) in four age-datedsediment cores. Sediments record a history ofcontamination in a region and can be used to assessthe changing threat to biota over time and to evaluatethe effectiveness of discharge regulations onanthropogenic inputs.Grain size, magnetic susceptibility, radiometricdating and pollen stratigraphy were combined withtrace metal data to provide an assessment of thehistory of contamination over the last 350 yr inthe Burlington region of Lake Champlain. Magneticsusceptibility was initially used to identify land-usehistory for each site because it is a proxy indicatorof soil erosion. Historical trends in metal inputs inthe Burlington region from the seventeenth through thetwentieth centuries are reflected in downcorevariations in metal concentrations and accumulationrates. Metal concentrations increase above backgroundvalues in the early to mid nineteenth century. Themetal input rate to the sediments increases around1920 and maximum concentrations and accumulation ratesare observed in the late 1960s. Decreases inconcentration and accumulation rate between 1970 andthe present are observed for most metals. Theobserved trends are primarily a function of variationsin anthropogenic inputs and not variations in sedimentgrain size. Grain size data were used to removetexture variations from the metal profiles and resultsshow trends in the anthropogenic metal signals remain. Radiometric dating and pollen stratigraphy providewell-constrained dates for the sediments therebyallowing the metal profiles to be interpreted in termsof land-use history. 相似文献
Soil enzymes are linked to microbial functions and nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems and are considered sensitive to soil
disturbances. We investigated the effects of severe soil compaction and whole-tree harvesting plus forest floor removal (referred
to as FFR below, compared with stem-only harvesting) on available N, microbial biomass C (MBC), microbial biomass N (MBN),
and microbial biomass P (MBP), and dehydrogenase, protease, and phosphatase activities in the forest floor and 0–10 cm mineral
soil in a boreal aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) forest soil near Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada. In the forest floor, no soil compaction effects were observed
for any of the soil microbial or enzyme activity parameters measured. In the mineral soil, compaction reduced available N,
MBP, and acid phosphatase by 53, 47, and 48%, respectively, when forest floor was intact, and protease and alkaline phosphatase
activities by 28 and 27%, respectively, regardless of FFR. Forest floor removal reduced available P, MBC, MBN, and protease
and alkaline phosphatase activities by 38, 46, 49, 25, and 45%, respectively, regardless of soil compaction, and available
N, MBP, and acid phosphatase activity by 52, 50, and 39%, respectively, in the noncompacted soil. Neither soil compaction
nor FFR affected dehydrogenase activities. Reductions in microbial biomass and protease and phosphatase activities after compaction
and FFR likely led to the reduced N and P availabilities in the soil. Our results indicate that microbial biomass and enzyme
activities were sensitive to soil compaction and FFR and that such disturbances had negative consequences for forest soil
N and P cycling and fertility. 相似文献
The C mineralisation pattern during the early stage of decomposition of plant materials is largely determined by their content
of different carbohydrates. This study investigated whether detailed plant analysis could provide a better prediction of C
mineralisation during decomposition than proximate analysis [neutral detergent solution (NDF)/acid detergent solution (ADF)].
The detailed analysis included sugars, fructans, starch, pectin, cellulose, lignin and organic N. To determine whether differences
in decomposition rate were related to differences in hemicellulose composition, the analysis particularly emphasised the concentrations
of arabinose and xylose in hemicelluloses. Carbon dioxide evolution was monitored hourly in soil amended with ten different
plant materials. Principal component and regression analysis showed that C mineralisation during day 1 was closely related
to free sugars, fructans and soluble organic N components (R2 = 0.83). The sum of non-cellulose structural carbohydrates (intermediate NDF/ADF fraction) was not related to C mineralisation
between days 1 and 9. In contrast, a model including starch and protein in addition to the non-cellulose structural carbohydrates,
with the hemicelluloses replaced by arabinose and xylose, showed a strong relationship with evolved CO2 (R2 = 0.87). Carbon mineralisation between days 9 and 34 was better explained by xylan, cellulose and lignin (R2 = 0.72) than by lignocellulose in the ADF fraction. Our results indicated that proximate analyses were not sufficient to
explain differences in decomposition. To predict C mineralisation from the range of plant materials studied, we propose a
minimum set of analyses comprising total N, free sugars, starch, arabinose, xylan, cellulose and lignin. 相似文献
The human-specific bacterial pathogen Neisseria meningitidis is a major cause of sepsis and/or meningitis. The pili of N. meningitidis interact with CD46, a human cell-surface protein involved in regulation of complement activation. Transgenic mice expressing human CD46 were susceptible to meningococcal disease, because bacteria crossed the blood-brain barrier in these mice. Development of disease was more efficient with piliated bacteria after intranasal, but not intraperitoneal, challenge of CD46 transgenic mice, suggesting that human CD46 facilitates pilus-dependent interactions at the epithelial mucosa. Hence, the human CD46 transgenic mice model is a potentially useful tool for studying pathogenesis and for vaccine development against meningococcal disease. 相似文献
In Japan, ammoniacal copper quaternary wood preservatives type-1 (ACQ-1), which contains copper and benzalkonium chloride
as its active ingredients, is among the most widely used wood preservatives in the pressure treatment of wood. Benzalkonium
chloride (BAC) in commercial ACQ-1 products mainly comprises C12 and C14 homologues. In the present study, the leaching characteristics
of these BAC homologues were investigated using the heartwood and sapwood portions of Japanese cedar, Japanese larch, and
Sakhalin fir treated with ACQ-1 and 1% monoethanolamine (MEA) solution containing equimolar amounts of homologues. Distilled
water (DW) and artificial seawater (SW) were used as leaching media. Consequently, it was observed that the leaching rate
of the C12 homologue tended to be higher than that of the C14 homologue in DW. The leaching of C12 homologues was accelerated
by using SW, resulting in a significantly higher leaching rate than the C14 homologue using SW. It was thought that the difference
in the hydrophobicities based on alkyl chain lengths resulted in these phenomena. However, when the heartwood portion of Japanese
larch was treated with the homologues in MEA, the leaching rate of the C14 homologue was significantly higher than that of
the C12 homologue. 相似文献
The long-term nature of forest crop rotations makes it difficult to determine impacts of forestry on soil nutrients that might be depleted by forest growth. We used small scale, highly stocked plots to compress the length of the rotation and rapidly induce nutrient depletion. In the study, two species (Pinus radiata D. Don and Cupressus lusitanica Miller) are compared under two disturbance regimes (soil undisturbed and compacted), and two fertiliser treatments (nil and plus fertiliser), applied in factorial combination at 33 sites, covering the range of climatic and edaphic variation found in plantation forests across New Zealand. To assess our ability to rapidly highlight important soil properties, foliar nutrient concentrations were determined 20 months after planting. It was hypothesised that the densely planted plots, even at a young age, would create sufficient pressure on nutrient resources to allow development of relationships between properties used as indicies of soil nutrient availability and foliar nutrient concentrations. For both species significant relationships between foliar nutrients and 0–10 cm layer soil properties from unfertilised plots were evident for N (total and mineralisable N) and P (total, acid extractable, organic, Bray-2 and Olsen P). With the exception of Ca in C. lusitanica, foliar K, Ca and Mg were correlated with their respective soil exchangeable cation measures. The results thus confirm the utility of the experimental approach and the relevance of the measured soil properties for forest productivity.
In unfertilised plots foliar N and P concentrations in P. radiata exceeded those in C. lusitanica, the differences being eliminated by fertiliser application. Foliar N/P ratios in P. radiata also exceeded those in C. lusitanica. In contrast to N and P, foliar K, Ca and Mg concentrations were all higher in C. lusitanica, the difference being particularly marked for Ca and Mg. P. radiata contained substantially higher concentrations of the metals Zn, Mn and Al than C. lusitanica, whereas the latter contained higher B concentrations. Possible reasons for differences between species in foliar nutrient concentrations are discussed. 相似文献
Heat treatments change the chemical and physical properties of wood and dimensional stability and hygroscopicity are affected
as a result of modifications of wood cell components. This study evaluated the water absorption of wood specimens treated
with boron compounds followed by heat treatment. Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) sapwood specimens treated with either boric acid (BA) or disodium octoborate tetrahydrate (DOT) solutions were heat-modified
at either 180° or 220°C for 2 or 4 h. Carbohydrate composition and water absorption of the specimens were then measured and
compared with those of untreated and unheated specimens. Wood carbohydrates were significantly degraded in the specimens after
heat treatment. The heat treatment evidently decreased the water absorption and the heat-modified specimens absorbed less
water than unheated specimens. The higher the treatment temperature and the longer the treatment time, the lower the amount
of absorbed water. The boron-treated and heat-modified specimens, however, showed increased water absorption due to the hygroscopic
properties of BA and DOT. 相似文献
Landscape Ecology - In the original publication of the article, the third author name has been misspelt. The correct name is given in this Correction. The original version of this article was revised. 相似文献