Effects of different tillage and straw retention practices on soil aggregates and carbon and nitrogen sequestration in soils of the northwestern China

Soil tillage and straw retention in dryland areas may affect the soil aggregates and the distribution of total organic carbon. The aims of this study were to establish how different tillage and straw retention practices affect the soil aggregates and soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents in the aggregate fractions based on a long-term (approximately 15 years) field experimentin the semi-arid western Loess Plateau, northwestern China. The experiment included four soil treatments, i.e., conventional tillage with straw removed (T), conventional tillage with straw incorporated (TS), no tillage with straw removed (NT) and no tillage with straw retention (NTS), which were arranged in a complete randomized block design. The wet-sieving method was used to separate four size fractions of aggregates, namely, large macroaggregates (LA, >2000 μm), small macroaggregates (SA, 250-2000 μm), microaggregates (MA, 53-250 μm), and silt and clay (SC, <53 μm). Compared to the conventional tillage practices (including T and TS treatments), the percentages of the macroaggregate fractions (LA and SA) under the conservation tillage practices (including NT and NTS treatments) were increased by 41.2%-56.6%, with the NTS treatment having the greatest effect. For soil layers of 0-5, 5-10 and 10-30 cm, values of the mean weight diameter (MWD) under the TS and NTS treatments were 10.68%, 13.83% and 17.65%, respectively. They were 18.45%, 19.15% and 14.12% higher than those under the T treatment, respectively. The maximum contents of the aggregate-associated SOC and TN were detected in the SA fraction, with the greatest effect being observed for the NTS treatment. The SOC and TN contents were significantly higher under the NTS and TS treatments than under the T treatment. Also, the increases in SOC and TN levels were much higher in the straw-retention plots than in the straw-removed plots. The macroaggregates (including LA and SA fractions) were the major pools for SOC and TN, regardless of tillage practices, storing 3.25-6.81 g C/kg soil and 0.34-0.62 g N/kg soil. Based on the above results, we recommend the NTS treatment as the best option to boost soil aggregates and to reinforce carbon and nitrogen sequestration in soils in the semi-arid western Loess Plateau of northwestern China.     

Farm-level factors associated with above-average production on pig farms in Evia, Greece

The aim of this study was to identify farm-level factors associated with above-average production of pig farms in Evia, Greece. Cross-sectional data on pig farm characteristics and management, farmer characteristics, worming practices, anthelmintics used, and the parasite loads of 10 randomly selected boars, sows, weaners, and fatteners were collected from 28 pig enterprises in the Evian region of Greece (74% of the total number of pig enterprises in this region). Above-average productivity was defined as weaning 18 or more piglets per sow per year. A multivariate logistic regression model found that employing immigrant workers reduced the odds of a farm being an above-average producer (OR 0.016, 95% CI 0.001–0.27), while having a veterinarian select the anthelmintic strategy significantly increased the odds of a farm being an above-average producer (OR 10.24, 95% CI 0.78–135.13). None of the gastrointestinal parasites under investigation were significantly associated with above-average productivity. It is concluded that despite the fact that endoparasite load was not significantly associated with above-average production, a quantification of the impact of intestinal worms on pig productivity is needed to know how much control can be envisaged for gastrointestinal worms before reaching the threshold at which it is no longer physically or financially reasonable to continue pursuing control.     

河流故道区梨树-药材立体种植技术研究及分析

河流故道区梨园内间作不同药材,研究立体模式种植技术及环境效益。结果表明：梨树-半夏复合系统中,间作半夏不会造成梨减产,半夏株行距3 cm&#215;15 cm时,产量最高563.2kg/hm^2、收获指数最高4.6、商品指数最高57%。梨树-防风复合系统中,行距为40 cm时,防风产量最高21 610.8 kg/hm^2,收获指数最高9.3、商品指数最高100%。梨树-紫菀复合系统中,提出了氮、磷、钾肥料合理配比的施用量为1 hm^2中N∶P2O5∶K2O为115.8∶292.5∶303.5,紫菀产量为16 049.69 kg/hm^2,紫菀铜含量各处理间无显著差异。对3种复合系统进行土地利用价值分析。结果表明：梨树-半夏的LER为1.8最大,梨树-紫菀的LER为1.4最低。     

黄土丘陵区垄沟改良措施对玉米水分利用效率的影响

选择延安地区作为黄土丘陵区的代表,在延安地区应用地膜、液态地膜、保水剂、PAM(土壤改良剂)和间作套种措施优化大垄沟种植方式种植玉米,分析了不同优化措施种植玉米的水分利用效率。结果表明,地膜、保水剂、PAM和间作方式有利于大垄沟较好地保持土壤水分,其保水能力分别比平种高出17.4%、8.5%、11.6%、5.3%;液态地膜、地膜、间作和PAM表现出很好的增产效果,其产量分别比平种高出77.7%、72.0%、64.1%、30.8%。     

沙漠地区农业种植技术初探

沙漠地区在没有造林或造林初期防护效益不显著情况下，农业种植受风沙危害比较严重，提高农业种植产量是我们面临的一道难题。本文对中国林科院沙漠林业实验中心井灌区第四实验场风沙环境和三年来的种植情况进行分析，得出农业防风害的措施有以下几个方面：农作物品种的选择；种植时间的调整；以增加起动风速为目的的各项抗风害措施的采用；以减小风沙流强度和目的的阻沙林和固沙工程的建造。这些措施能有效地减小和防止风沙灾害的发     

麻竹山地栽培丰产技术总结

本文是多年来，通过对我省东南沿海几个县（市）山地栽培麻竹进行调查研究，分析其生长情况，并与沙滩等地类的麻竹生长情况进行对比，提出山地麻竹丰产栽培技术的配套措施、其包括：麻竹造林技术、幼林管理、成林抚育管理和病虫害防治等。     

日本羽衣甘蓝引种载培试验研究

据在延边、长春引种载培试验结果，日本羽衣甘蓝具有色彩艳丽、球叶紧抱、株形低矮、观赏价值高、耐塞性强等优点，可供１０月～１１月花坛绿化使用，恰好能弥补东北地区１０月～１１月花坛花卉缺乏的不足，不愧为冬季花坛的好材料．     

海南香荚兰产业化发展种植模式探讨

通过介绍香荚兰生长的环境条件、开花结荚习性和国外香荚兰发展的成功经验,分析海南发展香荚兰的利弊因子和现有种植模式的投资概算,探讨一种投资少发展快、效益高的种植模式,以促进海南香荚兰生产的产业化高效发展。     

草坪品种及草坪种植技术

介绍了从国外引进适宜在山西省种植的８类２５个草坪品种，及其在省内适宜引种的区域、种植技术和管理方法。     

海南居住区植物的种植设计

居住区植物的种植设计是园林造景的重要景观元素设计途径之一。本文阐述了植物景观种植设计原理，探讨了海南居住区植物景观种植设计特点、种植模式的设计方法和思路。