MINERALOGY AND RADIOISOTOPE RETENTION PROPERTIES OF A CHRONOSEQUENCE OF SOILS DEVELOPED IN BASALTS OF VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA

The mineralogical composition and retention properties for radioisotopes (²⁰Sr and ¹³⁷Cs) of soils developed in five basalt flows of age varying from 6000 years to about four million years occurring in western Victoria were investigated. The trend of mineral weathering has been almost exclusively to amorphous material, kaolinite-plus-halloysite, and chlorite, the more soluble products of weathering having been removed. The most significant changes in clay mineralogical composition with time are the progressive decrease in the Si0₂/Al₂O₃ molar ratio of the amorphous material in the clay fraction of the surface horizons, from an initial value of approximately 4 to values of approximately 2, and the progressive increase in the amount of kaolinite-plus-halloysite, both in the topsoil and at depth, with age of the basalt flow. The amount of kaolinite plus halloysite increases from approximately 20 per cent of the clay of soil developed in the basalt flow 6000 years old to approximately 50 per cent of that of soil in basalt about four million years old. Evidence for the presence of halloysite was obtained by electron microscopy studies. The amorphous material and chlorite contents, each of which constitutes between 20 and 50 per cent of the clay fractions, decrease concurrently with the increase in kaolinite-plushalloysite content. Fixation of Sr by whole soil samples was controlled by the organic matter and free iron oxide contents rather than by the mineralogy of the samples. A high proportion of the added Cs was sorbed by whole soil samples. Much of the sorbed Cs was not readily replaced by CaCl, washings but was replaced in part by subsequent washing with NaCl of pH 5.3 and almost entirely by subsequent NH₄Cl washings. Much of the Sr and Cs deposited on these soils by rainfall and dry fall-out would be sorbed; the ease of replacement suggests that these elements would be available for further movement through the food chain.     

Storage effects on the community level physiological profiles of Mediterranean forest soils

Community level physiological profiles (CLPPs) have been implemented in many European soil monitoring programmes as a rapid tool for the assessment of the functional properties of soil microbial communities. However, this technique has not been harmonized among different laboratories. In this experiment, the changes of the CLPPs after storage of three Mediterranean forest soils were characterised for two sampling depths. The methods to store the samples were cooling, freezing and room temperature storage. Data presented in this study provide evidence that substantial changes can occur to the soil microbial community functions, regardless of the kind of storage. Changes in functional diversity and substrate evenness depended on the profile and sampling depth. The rate of consumption of the groups of substrates, however, shifted towards an enhanced utilisation of carboxylic acids, phenols and/or amines after 1 month storage at 4 °C, regardless of the profile or sampling depth. This was attributed to the physical disruption of soil aggregates and exposure of relatively recalcitrant occluded organic matter. These effects levelled out during 1-year storage. The great sensitivity of CLPPs to storage treatment suggests to take care for immediate analysis after sampling. In case fresh samples are not available, freezing is recommended as a convenient alternative; in that case, however, the kinetic approach is required for data analysis.     

Declining plant species richness of grassland ditch banks—a problem of colonisation or extinction?

Small-scale landscape elements, such as ditch banks are an important remaining source of biodiversity in many agricultural landscapes, including the Western Peat District in the Netherlands. Unfortunately, plant species richness is declining even in these habitats. To understand the factors threatening biodiversity, we studied demographic traits (occupancy, trend, colonisation and extinction) for a large number of plant species, in a 25-year long data set. We developed a method to investigate the relative importance of colonisation and extinction for species increase and decrease in multi-species assemblages. We show that colonisation has been more important for determining species trends than extinction. Decreasing species were small and characterised by low nutrient tolerance and high light requirements, indicating that competitive ability influences species trends. The mechanism by which high nutrient levels reduce plant diversity appears to be closely related to colonisation (germination and seedling establishment). Local management should therefore continue to focus on nutrient reduction and the creation of regeneration sites. Yet, these measures will be insufficient for restoring species richness since isolation also hampers species increase. Therefore, to maximise the effects of local management, additional regional management solutions are required to improve seed dispersal for example, from nature reserves.     

Synthesis and Properties of Fumaropimaric Acid Modified RTV Silicone Rubber北大核心CSCD

Fumaropimaric acid modified aminopropyltriethoxysilane(FA) was prepared by derivative reaction with rosin as raw material and the structure of the product was confirmed by FT-IR, 1H NMR and 13C NMR. Fumaropimaric acid modified room temperature vulcanized(RTV)silicone rubber was prepared by the dealcoholization condensation reaction of crosslinking agent(FA) and hydroxyl end-blocked dimethylsiloxane(PDMS). And the effects of hydrogenated phenanthrene ring of rosin on the morphology, mechanical and thermal properties of fumaropimaric acid modified RTV silicone rubber were studied, it was found that fumaropimaric acid modified RTV silicone rubber had better the mechanical and thermal properties compared to the unmodified silicone rubber. The tensile strength and elongation at break were 1.22 MPa and 315%; and The 10% mass loss temperature increased to 472 ℃ (SRFA-1), the greatest rate of mass loss temperature increased to 569 ℃, and the residual rate was 3.88%, respectively. © 2018, Editorial Board of «Chemistry and Industry of Forest Products». All right reserved.     

Evaluating the performance of xanthophyll,chlorophyll and structure-sensitive spectral indices to detect water stress in five fruit tree species

This study assessed the capability of several xanthophyll, chlorophyll and structure-sensitive spectral indices to detect water stress in a commercial farm consisting of five fruit tree crop species with contrasting phenology and canopy architecture. Plots irrigated and non-irrigated for eight days of each species were used to promote a range of plant water status. Multi-spectral and thermal images were acquired from an unmanned aerial system while concomitant measurements of stomatal conductance (g_s), stem water potential (Ψ_s) and photosynthesis were taken. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), red-edge ratio (R₇₀₀/R₆₇₀), Transformed Chlorophyll Absorption in Reflectance Index normalized by the Optimized Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (TCARI/OSAVI), the Photochemical Reflectance Index using reflectance at 530 (PRI) and 515 nm [PRI_(570–515)] and the normalized PRI (PRI_norm) were obtained from the narrow-band multi-spectral images and the relationship with the in-field measurements explored. Results showed that within the Prunus species, Ψ_s yielded the best correlations with PRI and PRI_(570–515) (r² = 0.53) in almond trees, with TCARI/OSAVI (r² = 0.88) in apricot trees and with PRI_norm, R₇₀₀/R₆₇₀ and NDVI (r² from 0.72 to 0.88) in peach trees. Weak or no correlations were found for the Citrus species due to the low level of water stress reached by the trees. Results from the sensitivity analysis pointed out the canopy temperature (T_c) and PRI_(570–515) as the first and second most sensitive indicators to the imposed water conditions in all the crops with the exception of apricot trees, in which Ψ_s was the most sensitive indicator at midday. PRI_norm was the least sensitive index among all the water stress indicators studied. When all the crops were analyzed together, PRI_(570–515) and NDVI were the indices that better correlations yielded with Crop Water Stress Index, g_s and, particularly, Ψ_s (r² = 0.61 and 0.65, respectively). This work demonstrated the feasibility of using narrow-band multispectral-derived indices to retrieve water status for a variety of crop species with contrasting phenology and canopy architecture.     

Spectrometric identification of solvent extractable organic additives in polyester-based textile fibers

In this study, polyester-based textile fibers were treated with several liquid-solvents and the extracts were spectrometrically characterized. The solvents used were ethanol-ether (1:1), ethanol-HCl (1:1), and carbon tetrachloride. Spectrometric characterization of the extracts included a first study by UV-visible spectrophotometry, fluorescence spectroscopy, and Fourier transform-infrared spectrometry after a liquid chromatographic fractionation. However, final elucidation was carried out by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, which provides enough sensitivity, and fast and reproducible results. The organic compounds identified in the extracts were usual additives largely employed in the manufacture of textile fibers. Some of these organic compounds can constitute potential hazards for human health.     

Study of force distribution in the citrus tree canopy during harvest using a continuous canopy shaker

Mechanical harvesting is increasingly being employed in the citrus industry of Florida because of the faster and efficient harvesting it provides with comparatively lower cost when compared to manual harvesting. Continuous canopy shakers are the only mechanical harvesters commercially used in Florida. The main concerns regarding the use of these machines are damage to tree and detrimental effect on next year yield. Because of these concerns, only a very low percentage (6-7%) of the acreage is being harvested mechanically. To improve these machines and address the growers’ concerns, experiments were conducted to study the force and acceleration distribution on the tree branches and fruits. The acceleration was measured at different locations in the canopy using tri-axis accelerometers attached to the branch and data was recorded using ZigBee^® transceivers. The distribution of force and acceleration along an individual branch in trees of two different sizes were studied at three different tine angles and frequencies of the shaker. Both distributions were modeled using the Curve Fitting Toolbox™ of Matlab^®. The results suggested that the force was higher for the fruits inside the canopy than the ones at the edges. It was also observed that the maximum force required to remove the fruit mechanically was only 18% of the traditionally measured fruit detachment force. The force along the branch was found to be Gaussian in nature and the acceleration along the branch was found to be exponential.     

Advice in spite of great uncertainty: assessing and addressing bycatch of small fishes with limited data using Stellifer illecebrosus as a case study

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