Level and Timing of Nitrogen Fertilizer Application to Early and Semi-early Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) Grown with Irrigation on Light Soils in Norway

Trials were performed with early and semi-early potatoes to test the effects of nitrogen (N) fertilizer level (0-160 kg N ha^-1) and timing (all at planting versus half then and half either soon after emergence or 3 weeks later). All seven trials with earlies were irrigated as required, whilst different irrigation regimes (moderate versus intensive) were compared in two trials with semi-earlies. No benefit was derived from splitting the N application. Haulm growth and N uptake increased in all cases almost linearly up to the highest N level, but tuber yield did not respond in the same way. The optimum N level was 80 kg N ha^-1 for a yield of 15 Mg ha^-1, rising to 120 kg N ha^-1 for a yield of 40 Mg ha^-1. Tuber quality was lowered by the use of excess N fertilizer, particularly in the case of earlies. The quantity of mineralised N present in the soil after harvest rose sharply with above optimum fertilizer use, and the amount of N present in crop residues also increased. The likely leaching after early potatoes was estimated to be up to 80 kg N ha^-1. The proportion of fertilizer N which was not accounted for in either tuber yield, crop residues or mineral N in soil was 26% in earlies and 38% in semi-earlies.     

Selenium supplementation improves nutrient intake and digestibility,and mitigates CH4 emissions from sheep grazed on the mixed pasture of alfalfa and tall fescue

Low selenium (Se) in soil and forage can adversely affect on the quality of animal-derived foods, and hence on human health. Lambs grazed on mixed pastures of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) were supplemented with five levels of Se [0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 µg/kg body weight (BW)]. The intake of dry matter (DM) and organic matter (OM) varied with the level of Se supplementation, with a peak at 6 µg Se per kg BW (p ≤ 0.05). Gross energy (GE) intake, digestive energy (DE) intake and metabolic energy (ME) intake were higher at 6 µg Se per kg BW than at other Se levels (p < 0.01); in addition, methane energy (CH₄-E) output was lower at 6 µg Se per kg BW. Supplementation with Se significantly increased nitrogen (N) intake, faecal N and urine N, for which the peak values were 20.2 g N/, 5.62 g N/day and 7.92 g N/day, respectively, at 6 µg Se per kg BW. Se intake, blood Se, faecal Se, urine Se and retained Se were negatively correlated with forage crude protein (CP) content (p < 0.001) but were positively correlated with the content of neutral detergent fibre (NDF) (p < 0.001) and acid detergent fibre (ADF) (p < 0.001). Thus, we recommend the addition of 6 µg Se per kg BW to sheep grazed on pastures in regions with low soil Se.     

甘肃省兴隆山区域丛枝菌根真菌多样性初探

本研究采用Illumina HiSeq分子测序技术,探究了兴隆山东山丛枝菌根(Arbuscular mycorrhizal,AM)真菌多样性及其在不同海拔高度的分布特征。结果表明:1)自兴隆山东山土壤分离获得AM真菌共52种,隶属于4目8科13属,其中球囊霉属(Glomus)和原囊霉属(Archaeospora)为主要物种,分别为20种和9种,共占总物种的55.77%;2)各海拔梯度AM真菌种属分布结果表明,优势属球囊霉属(Glomus)和类球囊霉属(Paraglomus)随海拔变化呈现规律性分布,其余各属均匀分布于不同海拔梯度;球状巨孢囊霉(Gigaspora margarita)、蜜色无梗囊霉(Acaulospora mellea)、白色球囊霉(Glomus albidum)、球囊霉属的Glomus sp.1和Glomus sp.4,还有弯丝硬囊霉(Sclerocystis sinuosa)仅在部分海拔梯度出现,为不同海拔特有种;3)AM真菌丰富度分析表明,从低海拔到高海拔,ACE和Chao1指数总体上表现出“单峰”变化曲线,且部分海拔间差异性显著(P<0.05)。Spearman相关性分析发现,该地区AM真菌种属分布受海拔因子影响较小,两者间不具有显著相关性。综上,兴隆山东山AM真菌资源丰富,物种繁多,具有较大的应用潜力。     

以全产业链思维优化甘肃省“粮改饲”生产力布局

用全产业链思维优化“粮改饲”生产力布局具有重要的现实意义和理论价值。本文以甘肃省为例,总结甘肃省“粮改饲”工作已取得的工作成效和不足,论述了“粮改饲”构建全产业链的必要性,初步探讨了甘肃省“粮改饲”全产业链模式和布局优化,并提出完善相关支持政策、培育壮大龙头企业、高度重视品牌建设和创新科技带动引领4条对策建议。 [关键词]全产业链|粮改饲|生产力布局|甘肃省     

放牧强度对荒漠草原一年生植物刺穗藜种群特征及空间分布的影响

为探讨不同放牧强度下一年生植物种群特征及空间分布的变化特点及差异,本研究以内蒙古四子王旗短花针茅荒漠草原一年生植物刺穗藜（Chenopodium aristatum）为对象,分析了围封对照（CK）、轻度放牧（Light grazing）、中度放牧（Moderate grazing）和重度放牧（Heavy grazing）下刺穗藜种群特征（密度、单株重、株高、比叶面积、叶片/茎/根系干物质含量、叶片全碳、氮含量）,种群变异性及其空间分布。结果表明：放牧显著影响刺穗藜种群密度（P<0.05）,但对其比叶面积、叶片/根系干物质含量及叶片全碳、氮含量无显著影响;总体而言,放牧使刺穗藜种群密度增加,但对其种群性状影响较小;放牧使得刺穗藜种群相对密度增大（P<0.05）,并造成其种群变异性降低（P<0.05）;对刺穗藜种群空间分布模拟发现,放牧使得刺穗藜种群空间分布均匀,空间异质性降低。在草地利用过程中,一年生植物种群特征及其空间分布可能对群落结构造成影响,对其进行相关研究很有必要。     

Diel differences in blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) dive behavior increase nighttime risk of ship strikes in northern Chilean Patagonia

The northern Chilean Patagonia region is a key feeding ground and a nursing habitat in the southern hemisphere for blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus). From 2014 to 2019, during 6 separate research cruises, the dive behavior of 28 individual blue whales was investigated using bio-logging tags (DTAGs), generating ≈190 h of data. Whales dove to significantly greater depths during the day compared to nighttime (day: 32.6 ± 18.7 m; night: 6.2 ± 2.7 m; P < 0.01). During the night, most time was spent close to the surface (86% ± 9.4%; P < 0.01) and at depths of less than 12 m. From 2016 to 2019, active acoustics (scientific echosounders) were used to record prey (euphausiids) density and distribution simultaneously with whale diving data. Tagged whales appeared to perform dives relative to the vertical migration of prey during the day. The association between diurnal prey migration and shallow nighttime dive behavior suggests that blue whales are at increased risk of ship collisions during periods of darkness since the estimated maximum ship draft of vessels operating in the region is also ≈12 m. In recent decades, northern Chilean Patagonia has seen a large increase in marine traffic due to a boom in salmon aquaculture and the passenger ship industry. Vessel strike risks for large whales are likely underestimated in this region. Results reported in this study may be valuable for policy and mitigation decisions regarding conservation of the endangered blue whale.     

高产棉花太阳辐射能利用率及干物质分配规律研究

通过对1988～1989年高产棉花栽培试验结果进行分析发现,棉花的太阳辐射利用率在叶面积系数小于2.0时随叶面积系数的增加而线性增加,大于2.0时增加变缓。从生育时间看,7月中旬前太阳辐射利用率指数上升,7月中旬至8月底相对稳定在1.2～1.4克/兆焦左右,9月以后又不同程度线性下降。生长季内子棉太阳辐射经济效率1988和1989年分别为0.14和0.15克/兆焦。收获指数与最大叶面积系数呈显著负相关;盛花期之前棉株各器官之间的同伸关系或明显,盛花期后器官的生长相互间无明显的确定性关系。如能调节密度与叶面积系数的关系,使得既提高5～6月的辐射能利用率,同时使7～8月叶面积系数维持在3.0～3.5的适宜范围内,9～10月群体又不早衰,则有利于获得高产。     

Soil aggregate formation and stability induced by starch and cellulose

Soil aggregate (SA) can be formed and stabilized when soil organic matter (SOM) is decomposed in the soil. However, the relationships between the SA dynamics and SOM with different decomposition rates have not been clarified. Therefore, this study examined the effects of the addition of polysaccharides to soil on SA formation and stability. A Japanese tropical soil was incubated for 99 d at 30 °C in a dark environment following the addition of 0.5% (w/w) starch or cellulose. The decomposition rates of the amendments, and SA formation and stability were evaluated by measuring soil respiration rates, and distribution fractions of soil aggregate sizes and mean weight diameter (MWD) of SA, respectively. The cumulative soil respirations with all treatments rapidly increased until Day 12 of the incubation. The initial slope of the cumulative soil respiration in the soil with starch was significantly higher than that in the soil with cellulose. In either soil with starch or cellulose, the fractions of macro-aggregates (>1000 μm in diameter) significantly increased, respectively, compared with control soil. However, the fractions of meso-aggregates (250–1000 μm) and nano-aggregate (<20 μm) in the soil with starch significantly decreased, while those fractions in the soil with cellulose fluctuated until Day 6. The MWDs reached the maximum on Day 6, indicating the SA formation in the soils with starch or cellulose. The increasing rate of the SA formation in the starch-amended soil was greatly higher than that in the cellulose-amended soil. After Day 6, the MWDs in the soils with either polysaccharide decreased with similar trends with no significant differences between treatments, indicating similar stability of the SA in both treatments. This study showed that the different decomposability of the organic amendments might influence the SA formation differently, but not the SA stability.     

基于高斯自适应拟合的苹果目标分割方法研究

苹果目标的准确识别是苹果机械化采摘需要解决的关键问题之一。为此,基于YUV颜色空间模型,提出了一种结合色差分量与高斯自适应拟合算法的苹果目标分割方法。该方法采用首先将苹果目标由RGB颜色空间转换至YUV颜色空间,并利用色差分量V建立果实与背景分割的高斯分布拟合模型,根据拟合结果自动获取分割阈值,以实现自然场景下苹果目标的准确分割。为了验证文中算法的有效性,利用多幅图像进行了试验并与Otsu自适应阈值分割算法进行了比较。试验结果表明,采用文中算法得到的苹果果实的平均检出率达87.08%,识别率领先Otsu算法9.91%。因此,对于着色度较为均匀的苹果目标,采用高斯自适应拟合方法可以有效提高其识别率。     

The long-term effects of fire regime on primary production of montane grasslands in South Africa

Natural grasslands deliver essential ecosystem services through plant production, which enhances water supply, nutrient cycling, soil retention and greenhouse gas mitigation. Although the condition of montane grasslands for provision of ecosystem services is maintained by regular annual or biennial burning, controversy exists over the impact of different frequencies and seasons of burning on grassland productivity. The objective of this study was to determine the long-term effects of different burning regimes on primary production and quality of the montane grasslands of the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg. There were no significant differences in the mean standing live mass between 30 years of annual winter and biennial spring burning. However, in unburnt areas productivity was 20% lower (118.2?g m?2) than in regularly burnt grassland (144.7–154.5?g m?2). Crude protein did not vary between the annual winter and biennial spring treatments (95–113?kg ha?1), but was significantly lower in unburned areas (45?kg ha^?1). However, an infrequent fire in a protected area caused a temporary spike in crude protein (16%) compared with regular burning (5–10%), which can benefit wildlife. We conclude that montane grasslands can be burnt annually or biennially in the dormant season to promote long-term productivity.