Spatiotemporal distribution of floral resources in a Brazilian city: Implications for the maintenance of pollinators,especially bees

Cities provide resources for the animals that live in them or their surroundings. There has been an increase in the number of ecological studies in urban areas, including interactions between plants and bees. Bees are pollinators that provide a vital ecosystem service to crops and wild plants. We assessed plant community structure in the campus of Universidade de São Paulo in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, included in the neotropical Atlantic Forest biome, focusing on floristic composition, pollination syndromes, flowering phenology, and spatiotemporal distribution of floral resources for bees. Currently, the city is surrounded by sugar cane plantations. Once a month, from April 2011 to March 2012, we sampled plant species and individuals in bloom in an area with 500 m radius from the bee-rearing facilities of Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP), totaling 78 hectares. We sampled 289 plant species of 73 families; Leguminosae was the richest family. Plants pollinated by bees predominated (67%), followed by plants pollinated by hummingbirds (18%). Melittophilous species flowered throughout the year and, hence, food availability for bees was continuous. The flowering of plant individuals that provided pollen, nectar, and floral oil was seasonal in all vegetation (except for nectar in shrubs), with peaks in resource availability in the transition from the dry to the rainy season, and also in the rainy season. Our results show that the campus is able to maintain bee populations amid a monoculture matrix, acting as a refuge. In addition, it provides a list of several attractive native plants to different pollinator groups, coupled with a phenogram, that can be used in the design and planning of urban areas.     

基于污染足迹的太湖流域稻作农业污染评估--以常州市和宜兴市为例

稻作农业在保障粮食安全方面贡献巨大,但因经济利益驱动,化肥农药被过量施用,造成了氮、磷等营养物质流失,对水环境产生严重影响。本文基于全国第一次污染普查数据,结合各类污染物的产排污系数计算了稻作农业COD、TN和TP入河量,通过污染足迹模型计算了稻作农业COD、TN和TP的污染足迹,通过污染压力模型计算了稻作农业COD、TN和TP的污染压力指数,并对其进行评估。结果表明:(1)常州市、宜兴市稻作农业生产过程中向水环境排放的污染物中以COD和TN为主,其入河量分别为792.96 t·a^-1和605.28 t·a^-1,TP入河量为27.16 t·a^-1;(2)常州市、宜兴市稻作农业TN污染足迹最大(3 944.50 hm²),其次为TP污染足迹(2 578.95 hm²),最小的是COD污染足迹(523.52 hm²);(3)常州市、宜兴市稻作农业对水环境的污染压力指数为2.10,处于中度污染压力状况,表明常州市、宜兴市稻作农业生产活动超出了当地水域的承载能力,对当地水环境产生了压力。     

空心板板缝开裂的原因及预防措施

本文较为详细地论述了预制楼板裂缝产生的原因;预防预制楼板开裂的有效措施以及裂缝出现后的有效补救方法。     

海滨滩涂区抛石挤淤路基处理方案

本文从实例出发,仔细地分析了海滨填海路基的特点,针对具体情况提出相应的处理加固方法,对于其他地质条件下的软土路基处理有一定的参考性。     

Nature and origin of stone stripes on the Columbia Plateau

Beds of size-sorted stones forming stripes perpendicular to the contour are conspicuous on hillsides of the Columbia Plateau. Stripes occur on terrain ranging from 0° to about 30° in steepness, often beginning among Mima-type mounds on mesa tops and extending downward onto steep, unmounded slopes. Four mechanisms of their origin have been hypothesized: 1) water erosion, 2) solifluction and soil creep, 3) weathering of rock outcrops, and 4) tunneling by pocket gophers. We measured characteristics of five stripes on slopes of differing exposure and steepness. These stripes were 58–124 m long, and widths showed a maximum range of 0.55–3.70 m. Data on physical and biotic characteristics of the stripes suggest that pocket gopher tunneling is a basic mechanism of stripe formation on gentle slopes, and that this mechanism is augmented by outcrop weathering and colluvial dynamics on steeper slopes, with erosion playing a secondary role.     

Community‐Based Rehabilitation of Mountain Terraces in Cyprus

Participatory methods and community‐based approaches have an important role to play in combating land degradation. This paper follows a well‐defined participatory framework to identify key stakeholders and to select Sustainable Land Management approaches for reducing soil erosion and land degradation in the Troodos Mountains of Cyprus. Among the options suggested and evaluated by stakeholders, terrace rehabilitation had the best overall performance, followed by crop diversification and afforestation. Stakeholders agreed that the rehabilitation of dry‐stone terraces was the preferred option, as it is a practice with high environmental benefits and fits well in the local socio‐cultural context, despite the higher cost compared to other options. In the first year of implementing the approach, three mountain communities co‐organised hands‐on terrace maintenance events, engaging more than 160 people in rehabilitation activities. The community‐based approach has sparked the interest of people within and beyond the research site, and another series of events is scheduled for the coming season. This outcome indicates that social innovations can benefit from the integration of local and scientific knowledge, while participatory process can enhance the self‐confidence and organisational structures of local communities. Sustaining and enhancing the impact of the approach in the long‐run require developing local terrace maintenance institutions, actively engaging the youth in terrace management and improving the profitability of mountain farming through the differentiation of local products. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

群体遗传结构的理解

一个植物种群体的空间分布大致可划分为两类 :离散分布与连续分布。然而隐藏在这种表观物理分布内部的遗传变异是十分复杂的。这种变异是如何分布的呢 ?这种分布又是如何维持的呢 ?因此 ,认识一个种的群体遗传结构有助于我们理解该种的进化过程 ,并提供为遗传资源保护做出决策的重要信息。本文对三大经典遗传结构模型 (岛屿模型、步石模型及距离隔离模型 )与渐变群理论及它们的异体和发展进行了详细的分析和评述。目前获得的许多不同类型的遗传标记使这些理论的应用得到不同程度的实现 ,但由于这些理论结论涉及到许多假设 ,在实际应用时应十分慎重。作者认为许多已建立的适合于动物群体遗传结构理论不能简单地直接应用于植物群体上 ,今后一个重要的研究内容就是要建立适合于植物群体的遗传结构理论     

太湖地区地表水氮污染源的评论

The nitrogen （N） pollution status of the 12 most important rivers in Changshu, Taihu Lake region was investigated. Water samples were collected from depths of 0.5-1.0 m with the aid of the global positioning system （GPS）. The seasonal variations in the concentrations of different N components in the rivers were measured. Using tension-free monolith lysimeters and ^15N-labeled fertilizer, field experiments were carried out in this region to determine variations of iSN abundance of NO3^- in the leachate during the rice and wheat growing seasons, respectively. Results showed that the main source of N pollution of surface waters in the Taihu Lake region was not the N fertilizer applied in the farmland but the urban domestic sewage and rural human and animal excreta directly discharged into the water bodies without treatment. Atmospheric dry and wet N deposition was another evident source of N pollutant of the surface waters. In conclusion, it would not be correct to attribute the N applied to farmlands as the source of N pollution of the surface waters in this region.     

白河县发展石坎桑生态经济效益显著

白河县是全国重点贫困县之一。该县坚持20年修田造地不间断,累计修石坎水平梯地17.68万亩,农业人均0.93亩,群众温饱问题已基本解决。笔者在调查研究的基础上,根据白河县的自然条件及社经现状,明确指出:该县大力发展以坎边栽桑为主的“石坎经济”是脱贫致富奔小康的重要途径。     

Effectiveness of stone bunds in controlling soil erosion on cropland in the Tigray Highlands, northern Ethiopia

Abstract Use of stone bunds to enhance soil and water conservation was first introduced to Tigray, northern Ethiopia in 1981. This study was designed to examine the factors that control the effectiveness of bunds installed on cropland. Qualitative and quantitative assessments of soil loss and sediment accumulation were conducted on 202 plots at 12 representative sites in Dogu'a Tembien district. Mean annual soil loss from the foot of the bunds due to tillage erosion was estimated at 39kgm⁻¹yr⁻¹ or 20tha⁻¹yr⁻¹, a rate which decreased with increasing age of bund. The assessed mean annual soil loss rate by sheet and rill erosion in the absence of stone bunds is 57tha⁻¹yr⁻¹. The mean measured annual rate of sediment accumulation behind the stone bunds is 119kgm⁻¹yr^−1/sp or 59tha⁻¹yr⁻¹. The measurements show that the introduction of stone bunds to the region has led to a 68% reduction in annual soil loss due to water erosion. This reduction is due to the accumulation of sediment behind the stone bunds, which occurs faster in the early years after construction and decreases as the depression behind the bunds becomes filled with sediment. New stone bunds are particularly effective in trapping sediment in transport, but regular maintenance and increase in height of the bunds is necessary to maintain their effectiveness. The average USLE P factor for stone bunds in the study area is estimated to be 0.32.