Soil phosphorus status and turnover in central-European beech forest ecosystems with differing tree species diversity

Problems in phosphorus (P) nutrition of forest trees raise questions concerning the soil P concentrations, pools and turnover in forests. In addition, it is not clear if, and to what extent, tree species diversity has an influence on the soil P status and turnover. The aim of this study was to investigate the P status and turnover in beech ( Fagus sylvatica L.) -dominated forest ecosystems on loess over limestone and to elucidate what role heterogeneities in tree species diversity would play. The soils of mixed species stands contained more organically bound P (710–772 kg ha⁻¹) than those of pure beech stands (378 kg ha⁻¹), whereas the inorganic P content differed little between the stand types. A large proportion (44–55%) of the total soil P was organically bound. This fraction was mainly dependent on the clay content of the soils and not on the tree diversity. The P input with leaf litter (1.4–2.1 kg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹) showed a tendency to increase with increasing diversity. The apparent P turnover times in the organic surface layers differed, with shorter turnover times in mixed species stands (2–3 years) than in pure beech stands (10 years). Possible explanations for the different turnover times were differences in the litter quality, interactions in mixed species litters and the soil pH and base saturation. Hence, the tree species mainly influence the apparent P turnover time in the organic surface layer, whereas the P concentrations and pools in the mineral soil are determined by the soil properties, particularly the clay content.     

半干旱地区地膜覆盖、底墒和氮肥对春小麦根系生长的集成效应

在年降水量 4 1 5 m m的黄土高原中部黄绵土上 ,以春小麦 (Triticum aestivum)为供试作物进行大田试验 ,研究地膜覆盖 (设不覆膜、播种后覆膜 30 d、覆膜 6 0 d和全程覆膜 )、底墒 (设低、高 2种底墒 )和施氮 (设不施氮和施氮 75 kg/hm2 )对春小麦根系生长的影响。结果表明 ,覆膜后作物根系生长加快 ,中下层根系比例增加 ,有利于吸收土壤深层水分。相对发达的根系保证了作物吸收器官 (根 )和失水器官 (叶 )间的平衡 ,协调根冠间的干物质分配关系 ,能在不影响根系吸收能力的前提下 ,提高光合产物的繁殖分配比例。适时揭膜能够改善光合产物分配 ,促进根系生长下扎 ,维持生长后期活性。全程覆膜处理的表层和中层 (30～ 6 0 cm)土壤中 ,根系生物量显著低于其他处理 ,原因在于后期覆膜使土壤温度急剧升高 ,造成根系大量死亡和活性下降。因此及时揭膜 ,有利于作物生长后期的根冠比保持在较高水平 ,而全程覆膜对维持作物生长后期较高的根冠比不利     

浅谈三亚酒店景观高差处理的设计方法

酒店景观与其他景观相比有许多自身的特性,如私密性、舒适性、半开放式等。景观中用于处理高差的形式有许多,三亚酒店根据其建筑特色、周边环境、酒店风格等采用了独具特色的形式。良好的景观更容易让旅客获得优质的审美享受,增加旅游体验的愉悦感和深刻性。     

Marker‐assisted introgression of rare allele of β‐carotene hydroxylase (crtRB1) gene into elite quality protein maize inbred for combining high lysine,tryptophan and provitamin A in maize

Vitamin A deficiency in humans is a widespread health problem. Quality protein maize (QPM) is a popular food rich in lysine and tryptophan, but poor in provitamin A (proA). Here, we report the improvement of an elite QPM inbred, HKI1128Q for proA using marker‐assisted introgression of crtRB1‐favourable allele. HKI1128 was one of the parental lines of three popular hybrids in India and was converted to QPM in our earlier programme. Severe segregation distortion for crtRB1 was observed in BC₁F₁, BC₂F₁ and BC₂F₂. Background selection by 100 SSRs revealed mean recovery of 91.07% recurrent parent genome varying from 88.78% to 93.88%. Across years, introgressed progenies possessed higher mean β‐carotene (BC: 9.22 µg/g), β‐cryptoxanthin (BCX: 3.05 µg/g) and provitamin A (proA: 10.75 µg/g) compared to HKI1128Q (BC: 2.26 µg/g, BCX: 2.26 µg/g and proA: 3.38 µg/g). High concentration of essential amino acids, viz. lysine (mean: 0.303%) and tryptophan (0.080%) in endosperm, was also retained. Multi‐year evaluation showed that introgressed progenies possessed similar grain yield (1,759–1,879 kg/ha) with HKI1128Q (1,778 kg/ha). Introgressed progenies with higher lysine, tryptophan and proA hold immense potential as donors and parents in developing biofortified hybrids.     

Preparation and characterizations of polypyrrole on liquid ammonia pre-treated wool fabric

Wool fabric was treated with liquid ammonia at -40 °C for 30 and 60 s prior to the application of polypyrrole (PPy). The polymer was deposited on wool fiber using the chemical oxidation method with 0.02 and 0.05 mol/l (Py) monomer concentration and FeCl₃ as a catalyst. Functional groups of wool samples were analyzed using FT-IR, and surface morphology was investigated using SEM micrographs. Properties such as water absorbency, surface resistivity, abrasion resistance, weight add-on, and air permeability of coated specimens were explored. The FT-IR outcomes revealed the liquid ammonia pre-treatment changed the amount of amide I (NH), cystic acid, cystic monoxide, and dioxide content of the fiber. SEM micrographs revealed the descaling of wool surface after pre-treatment and smooth coating of polymer. Pre-treatment of wool in liquid ammonia improved absorbency of wool fabric with respect to the treatment duration. The surface resistivity of wool fabric decreased with the increase of monomer concentration and pre-treatment duration. The results of abrasion resistance confirmed that the pre-treated fabric exhibited lower loss of polymer after 200 cycles of abrasion. The weight of the fabric was increased and air permeability decreased when the monomer concentration and liquid ammonia pre-treatment duration was increased.     

Thermal,swelling and stability kinetics of chitosan based semi-interpenetrating network hydrogels

The present study is focused on studying the swelling kinetics, thermal and aqueous stabilities, and determination of various forms of water in the chitosan (CS) and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) blend and semi-interpenetrating polymer network (sIPN). CS/PAN blend hydrogel films were prepared by solution casting technique. The blend film with optimum swelling properties was selected for the synthesis of sIPN. CS in the blend was crosslinked with the vapors of Glutaraldehyde (GTA) to prepare sIPN. The fabricated CS/PAN blend and sIPN hydrogels films were characterized with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The kinetics of swelling, bound and unbound waters and aqueous stability were determined experimentally. FESEM showed good miscibility between CS and PAN, FTIR showed no chemical interaction between CS and PAN; however, it did show a doublet for the sIPN, TGA showed improved thermal stability and swelling kinetic followed second order kinetics. The degree of swelling of the sIPN hydrogels samples at room temperature varied from ~2200 % (with a fair degree of stability (~30 %)) to ~1000 % (with high degree of aqueous stability (43 %)) with increase in the crosslinking time. The calculated unbound water (W_UB) max., for the blend was 52.3 % whereas for the bound (W_B) the max., was 41.9 %. However, for sIPN hydrogel films, the W_UB water decreased (max. 21.0 %) where as the W_B increased (max. 52.0 %). The decrease in W_UB and increase in the W_B is attributed to the formation of a compact structure and increase in the contact area between the water and polymers in sIPN hydrogels due to the induction of new water contacting point in these hydrogel films, respectively.     

Influence of crop establishment methods on yield,economics and water productivity of rice cultivars under upland and lowland production ecologies of Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains

A field study on assessment of crop establishment methods on yield, economics and water productivity of rice cultivars under upland and lowland production ecologies was conducted during wet seasons (June–November) of 2012 and 2013 in Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains of India. The experiment was laid-out in a split-plot design (SPD) and replicated four times. The main-plot treatments included three crop establishment methods, viz. dry direct-seeded rice (DSR), system of rice intensification (SRI) and puddled transplanted rice (PTR). In sub-plots, five rice cultivars of different groups like aromatic (Improved Pusa Basmati 1 and Pusa Sugandh 5), inbreds (PNR 381 and Pusa 834) and hybrid (Arize 6444) were taken for their evaluations. These two sets of treatments were laid-out simultaneously in two production ecologies, upland and lowland during both years. In general, lowland ecology was found favourable for rice growth and yield and resulted in 13.2% higher grain yield as compared to upland ecology. Rice grown with SRI method produced 19.4 and 7.0% higher grain yield in 2012 and 20.6 and 7.1% higher in 2013, over DSR and PTR. However, PTR yielded 13.1 and 14.5% higher grain over DSR during 2012 and 2013, respectively. On an average, Arize 6444 produced 26.4, 26.9, 28.9 and 54.7% higher grain yield as compared to PS 5, P 834, PNR 381 and IPB1, respectively. Further, the interaction of production ecologies × crop establishment methods revealed that, in upland ecology, SRI recorded significantly higher grain yield as compared to PTR and DSR, but in lowland, grain yield resulting from SRI was similar to the yield obtained with PTR and significantly higher than DSR. The latter two methods (PTR and DSR) yielded alike in lowland ecology in both study years. The production ecologies × crop establishment methods × cultivars interaction on grain yield showed that the growing of Arize 6444 cultivar using SRI method in upland ecology resulted in the higher grain yield (8.87 t/ha). But the cost of production was also highest in SRI followed by PTR and DSR across production ecologies and cultivars. Cultivation of hybrid (Arize 6444) involved higher cost of production than all other cultivars. Irrespective of crop establishment methods and cultivars, gross returns, net returns and B:C ratio were significantly higher in lowland compared to upland ecology. Owing to higher grain yield, SRI method fetched significantly higher gross returns and net returns over PTR and DSR. Average increase in net return with Arize 6444 was 68.8, 41.0, 37.7 and 33.1% over IPB 1, PNR 381, P 834 and PS 5, respectively. There was a saving of 30.7% water in SRI and 19.9% in DSR over PTR under upland ecology. Similarly in lowland ecology, water saving of 30.2% was observed in SRI and 21.2% in DSR over PTR. Due to higher yield and saving on water, SRI returned significantly higher total water productivity (TWP) (5.9 kg/ha-mm) as compared to DSR (3.5 kg/ha-mm) and PTR (3.6 kg/ha-mm) under upland ecology. In lowland ecology, also SRI (6.2 kg/ha-mm) resulted in higher TWP as compared to other two methods. However, DSR gave significantly higher TWP as compared to PTR. Among cultivars, hybrid Arize 6444 recorded the highest TWP in both upland and lowland production ecologies across crop establishment methods. Hence, growing of hybrid Arize 6444 with SRI method can enhance rice productivity and water-use efficiency in lowland and upland production ecologies of Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains and in other similar regions.     

Die Wiederbewaldung der Gebirge in Fransreich

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

QSA的mRNA在人和小鼠各组织中表达规律

从基因水平上检测精子中新基因QSA的表达规律及时空分布,并推测其可能的生物学作用.采用RT-PCR和原位杂交法检测QSA在人和小鼠多种组织中的表达.RT-PCR结果显示QSA在小鼠的睾丸、精子和受精卵中特异性表达,而在小鼠卵细胞、囊胚等组织中未检测到该基因的mRNA.原位杂交结果表明QSA在人的部分腺体组织(如:睾丸、...     

土壤保持耕作——全球农业可持续发展优先领域

 从农业活动对全球变化以及对农业可持续发展的影响进而导致全球性土壤保持需求的迫切性增加出发，追踪了国外土壤保持耕作领域的研究和发展动态；对中国该领域研究发展现状和研究水平，从时间、深度、方法、生产应用等方面与国外进行了比较分析。中国是一个水土流失和耕地退化严重的农业大国，而从全球统计数字来看，中国土壤保持耕作面积目前仅占全球保持耕作面积的0.2%，仅占全国耕地面积的0.1%， 其现状与中国耕地资源和环境的继续退化以及对土壤保持耕作需求的增加极不相符。加强中国土壤保持耕作系统研究和土壤保持耕作"节能固碳"长期建设不仅对中国而且对全球变化及农业可持续发展具有重大意义。鉴于中国土壤保持耕作领域研究和发展所存在的不足和所面临的更大挑战，以及该领域研究涉及到复杂的农业系统"耕作管理-生物过程-环境变化"相互作用及其系统能流-碳流循环过程，尤其农业生态系统碳汇/源估量尚存在诸多不确定性因素等科学问题，有必要运用综合的系统性研究分析方法，借助国外长期试验和理论研究经验，以及系统模型模拟研究手段等多学科和交叉学科知识，加速提升中国土壤保持耕作领域的科研实力和水平，为实现碳汇/源科学调控管理、减缓农业对温室效应贡献、促进农业可持续发展提供科学依据。