Spatial pattern analysis of pre- and post-hurricane forest canopy structure in North Carolina,USA

Existing spatial patterns of a forest are in part a product of its disturbance history. Using laser altimetry and field measures of canopy top height to represent pre- and post-hurricane canopy topography, respectively, we measured changes in spatial patterns of stand structure of a United States southern mixed coniferous-deciduous for est. Autocorrelative and fractal properties were measured in this opportunistic study to quantify changes in canopy architecture along twelve, 190-250 m transects that were subjected to moderate to high levels of wind disturbance. Prior to the hurricane, canopy heights were autocorrelated at scales <40 m with an average fractal dimension of 1.71. After the disturbance, autocorrelation disappeared; the average fractal dimension rose to 1.94. This shift towards spatial randomness illustrates part of the cyclical nature of ecosystem development. It shows how a catastrophic collapse of biomass accumulation corresponds to a decrease in ecosystem organization across a landscape. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Potato diseases caused by soft rot erwinias: an overview of pathogenesis

Three soft rot erwinias, Erwinia carotovora ssp. carotovora , E. carotovora ssp. atroseptica and E. chrysanthemi are associated with potatoes causing tuber soft rot and blackleg (stem rot). Latent infection of tubers and stems is widespread. As opportunistic pathogens, the bacteria tend to cause disease when potato resistance is impaired. Pathogenesis or disease development in potato tubers and stems is discussed in terms of the interaction between pathogen, host and environment, microbial competition and recent findings on the molecular basis of pathogenicity. Emphasis is placed on the role of free water and anaerobiosis in weakening tuber resistance and in providing nutrient for erwinias to multiply. Blackleg symptoms are expressed when erwinias predominate in rotting mother tubers, invade the stems and multiply in xylem vessels under favourable weather conditions. Soft rot erwinias tend to out-compete other bacteria in tuber rots because of their ability to produce larger quantities of a wider range of cell wall-degrading enzymes. However, despite extensive studies on their induction, regulation and secretion, little is known about the precise role of the different enzymes in pathogenesis. The putative role of quorum-sensing regulation of these enzymes in disease development is evaluated. The role certain pathogenicity-related characters, including motility, adhesion, siderophores, detoxifying systems and the hrp gene complex, common to most bacteria including symbionts and saprophytes, could play in latent and active infections is also discussed.     

Detection of Colletotrichum coccodes from soil and potato tubers by conventional and quantitative real-time PCR

Colletotrichum coccodes is the causal agent of the potato blemish disease black dot. Two PCR primer sets were designed to sequences of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS1 and ITS2) regions for use in a nested PCR. The genus-specific outer primers (Cc1F1/Cc2R1) were designed to regions common to Colletotrichum spp., and the species-specific nested primers (Cc1NF1/Cc2NR1) were designed to sequences unique to C . coccodes . The primer sets amplified single products of 447 bp (Cc1F1/Cc2R1) and 349 bp (Cc1NF1/Cc2NR1) with DNA extracted from 33 European and North American isolates of C. coccodes. The specificity of primers Cc1NF1/Cc2NR1 was confirmed by the absence of amplified product with DNA of other species representing the six phylogenetic groups of the genus Colletotrichum and 46 other eukaryotic and prokaryotic plant pathogenic species. A rapid procedure for the direct extraction of DNA from soil and potato tubers was used to verify the PCR assay for detecting C. coccodes in environmental samples. The limit of sensitivity of PCR for the specific detection of C. coccodes when inoculum was added to soils was 3·0 spores per g, or the equivalent of 0·06 microsclerotia per g soil, the lowest level of inoculum tested. Colletotrichum coccodes was also detected by PCR in naturally infested soil and from both potato peel and peel extract from infected and apparently healthy tubers. Specific primers and a TaqMan fluorogenic probe were designed to perform quantitative real-time (TaqMan) PCR to obtain the same levels of sensitivity for detection of C. coccodes in soil and tubers during a first-round PCR as with conventional nested PCR and gel electrophoresis. This rapid and quantitative PCR diagnostic assay allows an accurate estimation of tuber and soil contamination by C. coccodes .     

陕甘宁老区脆弱生态环境定量评价——以榆林、延安两市为例

位于黄土高原中部的陕甘宁老区生态环境极为脆弱 ,近年来由于气候、人类开发资源等自然和人为原因 ,使生态环境的脆弱程度升高。选定年降水量、年均温、蒸发量等 8个指标 ,定量评价各县 1 970 - 2 0 0 0年的脆弱度状况 ,结果表明榆林、延安两市生态环境整体脆弱 ,脆弱度存在空间差异但差异不明显 ,时间段上的波动幅度不大。陕甘宁老区脆弱生态环境具有不稳定性 ,对外界干扰较敏感。     

Further Contributions to the Development of a Differential Set of Pea Cultivars (Pisum sativum) to Investigate the Virulence of Isolates of Aphanomyces euteiches

Common root rot (Aphanomyces euteiches Drechs.) has become a very destructive disease in the French pea crops since 1993. For an accurate investigation of the virulence variability among French A. euteiches populations and between French and foreign populations, a new set of differential pea genotypes was developed. Thirty-three American and European pea lines, displaying different levels of resistance, were screened in a growth chamber against two French isolates. Symptoms (disease severity from 0 to 5, evaluating symptom surface on roots and epicotyl) and percentage of top fresh weight (inoculated/uninoculated top fresh weight ratio) were measured. From this screening 12 relatively resistant lines, from various genetic backgrounds, were identified along with a highly susceptible control. This set of 13 genotypes was inoculated under controlled conditions with 14 isolates from France, Sweden, USA, Canada and New Zealand, to investigate genotype–isolate interactions. Root symptoms were rated (disease severity), and a susceptibility/resistance threshold was established at disease severity = 1. Significant quantitative interactions were observed, and five 'resistance patterns' were identified, leading to a set of six pea genotypes: Baccara (susceptible), Capella, MN313, 902131, 552 and PI180693. Fields trials of this set in 1999 and 2000 gave the same resistance rankings than in growth chamber conditions. This set will allow more accurate assessments of the variability in virulence/aggressiveness of A. euteiches isolates from France and foreign countries, and further investigations of the epidemiological and genetic basis of pea–A. euteiches interactions.     

“三北”防护林甘青宁类型区土地沙漠化遥感调查研究

本文是“七五”期间“三北”防护林甘青宁类型区土地沙漠化遥感调查成果总结。该区沙漠化土地面积为２５８７８．３７ｋｍ２，其中轻度、中度、重度和极度沙漠化土地分别为３０２０．３０ｋｍ２，７２７７．４４ｋｍ２、７０８５．５９ｋｍ２ｔ和８４９５．０４ｋｍ２．文中对沙漠化土地的分布及影响因素进行了分析，最后筛出合理的农林牧用地结构。     

高效液相色谱法测定氟甲喹可溶性粉含量

采用高效液相色谱法测定氟甲喹可溶性粉的含量,采用C 18 色谱柱(150 mm×4.6 mm,5μm),以乙腈-水-磷酸(35∶65∶0.5,V/V)为流动相,柱温25 ℃,流速1.0 mL/min,检测波长248 nm.方法的线性范围 100～400 μg/mL,线性方程A=2.455×104C 28 111,r=0.999 9,平均回收率100.3%,RSD= 0.74%.本法具有专属性,可将氟甲喹与已知的杂质进行有效分离.     

通辽市湿地资源遥感调查

通辽市主要有五大水系,湿地面积广阔。近年来由于人口的增加和社会经济的发 展,对湿地破坏严重,使得湿地面积锐减,湿地功能下降,湿地生态环境恶化。文章运用了遥 感、GIS技术对通辽市湿地进行分析研究,简略提出其保护措施。     

应用遥感技术对内蒙古镶黄旗草原分类的研究

研究了遥感技术在内蒙古镶黄旗草原资源调查中的应用,探讨了利用TM影像进行草原资源专题信息提取的整个过程,包括几何校正、镶嵌、特征提取和训练区的选择,采用常规的监督分类和非监督分类方法,对图像进行了分类,同时对分类结果进行了校验。