Interactive effects of nocturnal transpiration and climate change on the root hydraulic redistribution and carbon and water budgets of southern United States pine plantations

Deep root water uptake and hydraulic redistribution (HR) have been shown to play a major role in forest ecosystems during drought, but little is known about the impact of climate change, fertilization and soil characteristics on HR and its consequences on water and carbon fluxes. Using data from three mid-rotation loblolly pine plantations, and simulations with the process-based model MuSICA, this study indicated that HR can mitigate the effects of soil drying and had important implications for carbon uptake potential and net ecosystem exchange (NEE), especially when N fertilization is considered. At the coastal site (C), characterized by deep organic soil, HR increased dry season tree transpiration (T) by up to 40%, and such an increase affected NEE through major changes in gross primary productivity (GPP). Deep-rooted trees did not necessarily translate into a large volume of HR unless soil texture allowed large water potential gradients to occur, as was the case at the sandy site (S). At the Piedmont site (P) characterized by a shallow clay-loam soil, HR was low but not negligible, representing up to 10% of T. In the absence of HR, it was predicted that at the C, S and P sites, annual GPP would have been diminished by 19, 7 and 9%, respectively. Under future climate conditions HR was predicted to be reduced by up to 25% at the C site, reducing the resilience of trees to precipitation deficits. The effect of HR on T and GPP was predicted to diminish under future conditions by 12 and 6% at the C and P sites, respectively. Under future conditions, T was predicted to stay the same at the P site, but to be marginally reduced at the C site and slightly increased at the S site. Future conditions and N fertilization would decrease T by 25% at the C site, by 15% at the P site and by 8% at the S site. At the C and S sites, GPP was estimated to increase by 18% and by >70% under future conditions, respectively, with little effect of N fertilization. At the P site, future conditions would stimulate GPP by only 12%, but future conditions plus N fertilization would increase GPP by 24%. As a consequence, in all sites, water use efficiency was predicted to improve dramatically with future conditions. Modeling the effect of reduced annual precipitation indicated that limited water availability would decrease all carbon fluxes, including NEE and respiration. Our simulations highlight the interactive effects of nutrients and elevated CO(2), and showed that the effect of N fertilization would be greater under future climate conditions.     

龙游县碳化篾生产现状及其存在的问题

通过对龙游县碳化篾生产企业(业主)的调查,全县自2008年以来,发展碳化篾生产企业(业主)32家,碳化炉65只,集中分布在龙游县庙下乡、溪口镇,占全县生产企业的97％.年消耗竹材2 202万支,实现销售利润l 357.2万元,产品附加值低.在碳化篾生产过程中,产生大量的废水,年产生废水27 300 t;由于废水处理成本高,得不到及时处理,大部分生产企业乱排,给当地的水质造成严重污染.该文通过对全县碳化篾生产企业的调查分析,指出当前碳化篾生产过程中存在的主要问题,希望引起政府重视,并根据碳化篾生产的实际情况,制定有效措施,及时解决碳化篾生产过程中的一系列问题.     

转基因植物的生物安全性

植物遗传改良的主要目的之一就是通过提高植物抵抗病虫害的能力,来增加作物的产量。然而,即使是转基因植物获得了成功,依然要对其生物安全性进行评估,以确保有意识的生物学修饰被介入,来平息公众的恐惧。甚至在植物中只有一个或两个基因可能被修改,都不能假定认为它们的蛋白质结构不会被改变。任何改变都可能导致不必要的植物代谢产物的产生,包括潜在的有毒化合物。     

Genetic analysis of flowering and maturity time in high latitude spring wheat

Due to the short growing season in the high northern latitudes, the development of early maturing spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars is important to avoid frost damage which can lower production and quality. We investigated earliness of flowering and maturity, and some associated agronomic traits, using a set of randomly selected high northern latitude adapted spring wheat cultivars (differing in maturity) and their F₁ and F₂ crosses made in a one-way diallel mating design. The parents, and their F₁ and F₂ crosses were evaluated under field conditions over 2 years. Anthesis and maturity times were controlled by both vernalization response and earliness per se genes, mainly acting additively. Non-additive genetic effects were more important in controlling grain fill duration, grain yield and plant height. Additive × additive epistatic effects were detected for all traits studied except time to anthesis. Segregation analyses of the F₂ populations for time to anthesis indicated the presence of different vernalization response genes. Molecular genetic analyses revealed the presence of Vrn-A1 and Vrn-B1 genes in the parental cultivars. Narrow-sense heritability was medium to high (60–86%) for anthesis and maturity times but low to medium (13–55%) for grain fill duration, plant height and grain yield. Selection for early flowering/maturity in early segregating generations would be expected to result in genetic improvement towards earliness in high latitude spring wheats. Incorporation of the vernalization responsive gene Vrn-B1 in combination with vernalization non-responsive gene Vrn-A1 into spring wheats would aid in the development of early maturing cultivars with high grain yield potential for the high latitude wheat growing regions of the northern hemisphere.     

水稻(银坊)×高梁(亨加利)受精过程及胚胎发育的细胞学观察

本研究以石蜡制片方法观察高粱花粉管伸入水稻胚囊后,释放精子,两亲性细胞融合过程及胚胎发育情况。观察表明:高粱精子能够与水稻卵子融合形成合子。少数合子(占0.44%)进一步分裂,发育成幼胚组织。本文对远缘杂交性细胞融合的潜在价值,促进杂种胚胎继续发育的方法及某些远缘杂种形成的机制进行了探讨。     

Study of wavelet denoising in apple's charge-coupled device near-infrared spectroscopy

Discrete wavelet transform was used to eliminate the noise in the charge-coupled device near-infrared (CCD-NIR) spectra of apple. The influence of three parameters (wavelet function, decomposition level, and threshold) on the predictive ability of the calibration model was investigated. The result showed that the db, sym, and bior wavelet families performed well, while the coif, dmey, and haar wavelets were not able to denoise effectively. The best decomposition level was 2. The threshold selection rules of the default, Birge-Massart, and Penalty had good denoising results, while SURE, Sqtwolog, Heuristic SURE, and Minimax set all detailed coefficients to zero due to their high threshold values. The best denoising result was obtained with the combination of the bior3.3 wavelet function, two levels of decomposition, default threshold selection rule, and the soft thresholding method. The optimal model of soluble solids content was constructed. The relative standard deviation of prediction decreased from 7.79 to 5.82% after wavelet denoising.     

Trends in Dissolved Gaseous Mercury in the Tahquamenon River Watershed and Nearshore Waters of Whitefish Bay in the Michigan Upper Peninsula

A field study was conducted in June of 1998 to characterize the dynamics of dissolved gaseous mercury (DGM) in the TahquamenonRiver watershed and nearshore waters of Whitefish Bay in the Upper Michigan Peninsula. We found that over a transect acrossthe watershed, DGM levels increased generally from a creek (mean = ～12 pg L^-1), passing through the watershed, to the nearshore surface waters of the bay (mean = ～29 pg L^-1). DGM levels in nearshore surface waters of the bayranged from ～15 to ～50 pg L^-1 and peaked generally around noontime, exhibiting diurnal trends. A significant DGM decline from ～32 pg L^-1 in the early morning to ～15 pg L^-1 during the day was observed in these surface waters following passage of a coldfront, probably caused by wind-induced mixing and decrease insolar radiation associated with the frontal passage.     

Extraction and characterization of Foeniculum vulgare pectins and their use for preparing biopolymer films in the presence of phaseolin protein

Pectins from Foeniculum vulgare were extracted under acidic conditions. The obtained pectins were mainly composed of uronic acid but also contained traces of rhamnose, galactose, and arabinose. Extracted pectins were used as a carbohydrate source to prepare biopolymer films in the absence and in the presence of phaseolin protein. The swelling characteristics of the films were examined as a function of ionic strength, pH, and the applied osmotic stress. The swelling behavior was dominated by a Donnan-type effect, which decreases with increasing ionic strength and counterion valency. In all cases the swelling of films containing phaseolin was reduced, suggesting a network formation between protein and pectins. Mechanical property studies have also estimated the validity of the obtained novel biopolymer films in terms of mechanical resistance.     

Re-evaluating Asia

Harland, Bryce Collision Course: America and East Asia in the Past and Future. da Cunha, Derek (ed.) The Evolving Pacific Power Structure. King, Peter and Kibata, Yoichi (eds) Peace Building in the Asia Pacific Region: Perspectives from Japan and Australia. Bell, Roger; McDonald, Tim and Tidwell, Alan (eds) Negotiating the Pacific Century: The ‘New’ Asia, the United States and Australia. Robison, Richard (ed.) Pathways to Asia: The Politics of Engagement.