A bayesian model for the analysis of lactation curves of dairy goats

This article aims to determine the effect of certain covariates, such as season of kidding, parity, and time of kidding on the characteristics of the lactation curve of Saanen dairy goats. Characteristics investigated are peak milk yield, time of peak milk yield, total milk production, persistency, and the relationship between fat and protein in milk composition, as well as between lactation curves of the same animal in successive years. The analysis is carried out using a hierarchical Bayesian approach, together with Wood’s model, to model lactation. Posterior distributions of quantities of interest are obtained by means of the Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods. These clearly illustrate the significant effect of especially parity, but also season and time of kidding on the characteristics of the lactation curve. Total and peak milk yield increase with increasing parity up to about the third or fourth parity, while peak yield is later for first than for later parities. The analysis also enables estimation of lactation characteristics of untested animals, prediction of future characteristics and identification of exceptional animals.     

Effect of bensulfuron-methyl (a sulfonylurea herbicide) on the soil bacterial community of a paddy soil microcosm

The effect of bensulfuron-methyl (BSM) on a soil microbial community in a model paddy microcosm was studied. Total bacterial numbers in the overlying water and surface soil were monitored for 2 months after the application of BSM at the field rate and a ten-fold field rate. Pentachlorophenol (PCP) was used for comparison. Neither chemical affected the total bacterial numbers remarkably, either in the overlying water or in the surface soil. In contrast, the nitrification potential was significantly suppressed by the BSM application. The bacterial community structure, as evaluated by the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of PCR amplification products from bacterial 16S rDNA, was unaffected by the BSM treatments over 8 weeks in the surface soil, compared with the control (no pesticide). In contrast, the surface soil exposed to PCP at a ten-fold field rate showed different patterns from the controls at 4 weeks and 8 weeks after application. The DGGE patterns of the overlying water were much more variable than those of the surface soil in any treatments. Cluster analysis showed that the BSM plots were classified within the same group as the control at 1 week after application and that the BSM and PCP plots from 2 weeks onward after application were grouped differently from the control. Of 22 clones excised from the DGGE gels, 20 clones belonged to the Proteobacteria and two belonged to the Verrucomicrobia. It was considered that the impact of BSM on the overall microbial community (total numbers, community structure of soil) was negligible, although BSM had an impact on some specific functions of the soil microbial community (nitrification) and a part of the community (overlying water).     

Recovery of cover-crop-N in the soil-plant system in the Guinea savannah zone of Ghana

In order to understand the efficiency of residue-N use and to estimate the minimum input required to obtain a reasonable level of crop response, it is important to quantify the fate of the applied organic-N. The recovery of N from ¹⁵N-labelled Crotalaria juncea was followed in the soil and the succeeding maize crop. Apparent N recovery (ANR) by maize from unlabelled Crotalaria juncea, Crotalaria retusa, Calopogonium mucunoides, Mucuna pruriens and mineral fertilizer at three locations were also evaluated. The maize crop recovered 4.7% and 7.3% of the ¹⁵N-labelled C. juncea-N at 42 days after sowing (DAS) and at final harvest, respectively. The corresponding ¹⁵N recovery from the soil was 92.4% and 58.5%. The highest mean ANR of 57.4% was with mineral fertilizer, whereas the mean ANR of 14.3% from C. retusa was the lowest. A large pool substitution and added-N interaction effect was observed when comparing N recovery from the labelled and unlabelled C. juncea. The amount of residue-N accounted for by the isotope dilution method at 42 DAS was 97.1% and at final harvest 65.8%. The large residue-N recovery in the soil organic-N pool explains the residual effect usually observed with organic residue application.     

Nitrogen and carbon mineralisation of leather meal in soil as affected by particle size of fertiliser and microbiological activity of soil

Carbon and nitrogen mineralisation of leather meal fertilisers were studied in two soils characterised by different respiration activity. Both C and N mineralisation were highest in the most active soil, and when leather meal was added as a powder rather than as 2- to 4- and 4- to 6-mm particles. Fast and slow soluble N pools were determined after extraction with cold water and with hot buffer, respectively. The N remaining after the second extraction with hot buffer was named slow-release N. The percentage of slow-release N rose as the size of the applied leather meal particles increased, whereas fast soluble N was highest in the coarsest (4-6 mm) fertiliser.     

Accumulation of Nutrients in Above and Below Ground Biomass in Response to Ammonium Sulphate Addition in a Norway Spruce Stand in Southwest Sweden

The effects of ammonium sulphate (NS) on the accumulation of nutrients in above and below ground biomass and soil were studied in a Norway spruce stand in south-west Sweden during 1988–1993. Ammonium sulphate addition resulted in nitrogen accumulation with 326 and 16 kg ha^?1 in above and below ground biomass, respectively. Corresponding figures for the control plots (C) were 34 and 3 kg ha^?1. Nitrogen accumulation in forest floor of NS was 266 kg ha^?1 and 47 kg ha^?1 in mineral soil. About 70% of added sulphate by fertiliser was retained in NS plots (482 kg S ha^?1) of which 274 kg ha^?1 was adsorbed in the mineral soil. The sulphate addition resulted in increased leaching of nitrogen, magnesium, calcium and sulphur. It is suggested that the spruce stand at the study site has a high capacity to accumulate nitrogen with a high above ground production. The high input of ammonium sulphate may in the long run result in increased losses of cations to ground water.     

Transitioning from standard to minimum tillage: Trade-offs between soil organic matter stabilization, nitrous oxide emissions, and N availability in irrigated cropping systems

Few studies address nutrient cycling during the transition period (e.g., 1–4 years following conversion) from standard to some form of conservation tillage. This study compares the influence of minimum versus standard tillage on changes in soil nitrogen (N) stabilization, nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions, short-term N cycling, and crop N use efficiency 1 year after tillage conversion in conventional (i.e., synthetic fertilizer-N only), low-input (i.e., alternating annual synthetic fertilizer- and cover crop-N), and organic (i.e., manure- and cover crop-N) irrigated, maize–tomato systems in California. To understand the mechanisms governing N cycling in these systems, we traced ¹⁵N-labeled fertilizer/cover crop into the maize grain, whole soil, and three soil fractions: macroaggregates (>250 μm), microaggregates (53–250 μm) and silt-and-clay (<53 μm). We found a cropping system effect on soil N_new (i.e., N derived from ¹⁵N-fertilizer or -¹⁵N-cover crop), with 173 kg N_new ha⁻¹ in the conventional system compared to 71.6 and 69.2 kg N_new ha⁻¹ in the low-input and organic systems, respectively. In the conventional system, more N_new was found in the microaggregate and silt-and-clay fractions, whereas, the N_new of the organic and low-input systems resided mainly in the macroaggregates. Even though no effect of tillage was found on soil aggregation, the minimum tillage systems showed greater soil fraction-N_new than the standard tillage systems, suggesting greater potential for N stabilization under minimum tillage. Grain-N_new was also higher in the minimum versus standard tillage systems. Nevertheless, minimum tillage led to the greatest N₂O emissions (39.5 g N₂O–N ha⁻¹ day⁻¹) from the conventional cropping system, where N turnover was already the fastest among the cropping systems. In contrast, minimum tillage combined with the low-input system (which received the least N ha⁻¹) produced intermediate N₂O emissions, soil N stabilization, and crop N use efficiency. Although total soil N did not change after 1 year of conversion from standard to minimum tillage, our use of stable isotopes permitted the early detection of interactive effects between tillage regimes and cropping systems that determine the trade-offs among N stabilization, N₂O emissions, and N availability.     

Soil texture affects soil microbial and structural recovery during grassland restoration

Many biotic and abiotic factors influence recovery of soil communities following prolonged disturbance. We investigated the role of soil texture in the recovery of soil microbial community structure and changes in microbial stress, as indexed by phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profiles, using two chronosequences of grasslands restored from 0 to 19 years on silty clay loam and loamy fine sand soils in Nebraska, USA. All restorations were formerly cultivated fields seeded to native warm-season grasses through the USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program. Increases in many PLFA concentrations occurred across the silty clay loam chronosequence including total PLFA biomass, richness, fungi, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria, and actinomycetes. Ratios of saturated:monounsaturated and iso:anteiso PLFAs decreased across the silty clay loam chronosequence indicating reduction in nutrient stress of the microbial community as grassland established. Multivariate analysis of entire PLFA profiles across the silty clay loam chronosequence showed recovery of microbial community structure on the trajectory toward native prairie. Conversely, no microbial groups exhibited a directional change across the loamy fine sand chronosequence. Changes in soil structure were also only observed across the silty clay loam chronosequence. Aggregate mean weighted diameter (MWD) exhibited an exponential rise to maximum resulting from an exponential rise to maximum in the proportion of large macroaggregates (>2000 μm) and exponential decay in microaggregates (<250 μm and >53 μm) and the silt and clay fraction (<53 μm). Across both chronosequences, MWD was highly correlated with total PLFA biomass and the biomass of many microbial groups. Strong correlations between many PLFA groups and the MWD of aggregates underscore the interdependence between the recovery of soil microbial communities and soil structure that may explain more variation than time for some soils (i.e., loamy fine sand). This study demonstrates that soil microbial responses to grassland restoration are modulated by soil texture with implications for estimating the true capacity of restoration efforts to rehabilitate ecosystem functions.     

中国沙塘鳢属鱼类的整理和一新种的叙述

本文应用沙塘鳢属鱼类的外形特征、头部感觉管孔的有无及感觉乳突之排列方式作为分类依据，对采自中国各河川800余尾沙塘鳢属鱼类进行较全面．系统的研究，还对比产于日本和韩国的种类，解决了中国沙塘鳢属长期混淆不清的分类问题．中国沙塘鳢属鱼类有4种(其中有一新种)，即河川沙塘鳢O．optamophila(Gǖnther)，海丰沙塘鳢O．haifengensis Chen.，鸭绿沙塘鳢(新种)O．yaluensis Wu，Wu et Xie sp．nov．和暗色沙塘鳢0．obseura(Temm.et Schl.)     

长白山阔叶红松林CO2廓线和CO2贮存的动态

从1999年8至10月,2000年的4至6月,2002年8月至2003年9月,在平均树高为26米的长白山阔叶红松林内,用红外气体分析仪(2250D,LI-CORInc.和LI-COR,820)测定了不同高度的二氧化碳浓度。根据测定的数据,分析了阔叶红松林二氧化碳廓线的日变化和季节变化动态。结果表明:CO2浓度的垂直分布在白天和夜间是不同的,在接近地面处CO2浓度始终最大。从季节CO2廓线看出,在植物生长季节林冠处CO2浓度有明显的成层现象,不同高度(60~2.5m)的CO2浓度3月份变化较小差值为10mmol穖ol-1,而在7月份变化较大,差值为60mmol穖ol-1。7月份林冠处(22,26,32m)CO2浓度梯度较大,浓度差为8mmol穖ol-1。计算位于涡度相关仪器之下的40米高空气柱中CO2贮存状况表明,年际贮存是负值,但对NEE的贡献很小。图4参11。     

Application of digital photogrammetry to measure distribution of tree postions

The application of digital photogrammetry to measure distribution of tree positions with stereo image couple is introduced in detail, and the procedure of stereo vision applied in forestry environment is explored. Nonlinear error in measure model is adopted in the camera calibration; the interactive correlation matching is used under constraint of epipolar line and edge of tree detected by Canny operator. Results prove that application of digital photogrammetry technology to measure distribution of tree positions can meet demand of precision in experimental conditions.