Soil enzyme activities during the 2011 Texas record drought/heat wave and implications to biogeochemical cycling and organic matter dynamics

Extreme droughts and heat waves due to climate change may have permanent consequences on soil quality and functioning in agroecosystems. During November 2010 to August 2011, the Southern High Plains (SHP) region of Texas, U.S., a large cotton producing area, received only 39.6 mm of precipitation (vs. the historical avg. of 373 mm) and experienced the hottest summer since record keeping began in 1911. Several enzyme activities (EAs) important in biogeochemical cycling were evaluated in two soils (a loam and a sandy loam at 0–10 cm) with a management history of monoculture (continuous cotton) or rotation (cotton and sorghum or millet). Samplings occurred under the most extreme drought and heat conditions (July 2011), after precipitation resulted in a reduction in a drought severity index (March 2012), and 12 months after the initial sampling (July 2012; loam only). Eight out of ten EAs, were significantly higher in July 2011 compared to March 2012 for some combinations of soil type and management history. Among these eight EAs, enzymes key to C (β-glucosidase, β-glucosaminidase) and P cycling (phosphodiesterase, acid and alkaline phosphatases) were significantly higher (19–79%) in July 2011 than in March 2012 for both management histories regardless of the soil type (P > 0.05). When comparing all sampling times, the activities of alkaline phosphatase, aspartase and urease (rotation only) showed this trend: July 2011 > March 2012 > July 2012. Activities of phosphodiesterase, acid phosphatase, α-galactosidase, β-glucosidase and β-glucosaminidase were higher in July 2011 than July 2012 in at least one of the two management histories. Total C was reduced significantly from July 2011 to March 2012 in the rotation for both soils. Only the activities of arylsulfatase (avg. 36%) and asparaginase showed an increase from July 2011 to March 2012 for both soil types, which may indicate they have a different origin/location than the other enzymes. EAs continued to be a fingerprint of the soil management history (i.e., higher EAs in the rotation than in monoculture) during the drought/heat wave. This study provided some of the first evidence of the adverse effects of a natural, extreme drought and heat wave on soil quality in agroecosystems as indicated by EAs involved in biogeochemical cycling.     

基于相对熵排序的建筑工程项目投标决策

投标决策是施工企业面对的重要问题．在建筑工程项目投标问题上，先建立风险指标体系，再结合层次分析法和信息熵法求得风险指标的综合权重，然后借助相对熵排序法，对各个方案进行综合评价，得到有效反映各方案差异的评价模型，通过对比可知此法可行有效，且灵敏度高．     

开封市公共气象服务发展探讨

公共气象服务是为政府决策、民生发展提供的一项基础性公共事业。该文通过阐述开封市公共气象服务发展的现状,对比国内气象服务工作,分析其中存在的问题,以充分发挥气象服务的社会效益、经济效益。     

Distances Walked by Long Established and Newcomer Horses in an Open Stable System in Northern Germany

Group housing is claimed to possibly provide horses with a species-appropriate movement possibility, and hence, better welfare. Thus, this study analyzed the daily walked distances of 51 horses held in one group in a “HIT Active Stable” (Hinrichs Innovation + Technik) in Northern Germany by using global positioning system (GPS) technology during a 7 ½-month time span. The daily walking distances of the whole group, as well as newcomers, were investigated. The horses traveled an average of 8.43 km/day. Linear mixed models were applied. The observation day had a significant effect on the daily walking distances (P < .01) due to season and the available area per horse. The age as covariate also had a significant effect (P < .01). The breed had no significant effect (P = .96). No significant differences were found in sex (P = .69), which can be explained by the fact that only mares and geldings were investigated, which do not show increasing locomotion caused by sexual behavior as stallions do. On six of the first nine days, new horses moved significantly more compared to the remaining 24 of the 30 observation days directly after individuals’ inclusion. This is probably due to more exploration and rank-fighting behavior. Similar walking distances were seen among the horses on the single observation days because all horses had to travel the same distance to reach resources. Further, it is suspected that not all horses can sufficiently live out their urges to move, especially in winter, when pasture is inaccessible.     

Impact of different crop rotations and tillage systems on weed infestation and productivity of bread wheat

Crop rotation and tillage systems have important implications for weed infestation and crop productivity. In this study, five tillage systems viz. zero tillage (ZT), conventional tillage (CT), deep tillage (DT), bed sowing (60/30 cm with four rows; BS₁) and bed sowing (90/45 cm with six rows; BS₂) were evaluated in five different crop rotations viz. fallow-wheat (FW), rice-wheat (RW), cotton-wheat (CW), mungbean-wheat (MW) and sorghum-wheat (SW) for their effect on weed infestation and productivity of bread wheat. Interaction between different tillage practices and cropping systems had significant effect on density and dry biomass of total, broadleaved and grass weeds, agronomic and yield-related traits, and grain yield of bread wheat. The un-disturbed soils (ZT) under fallow-wheat or mungbean-wheat rotations favoured the weed prevalence (a total weed dry biomass of 72.4–109.6 and 105.6–112.1 g m⁻² in first and second year, respectively). Contrary to this, the disturbed soils (CT, DT, BS₁ and BS₂) had less weed infestation with either of the rotations (a total weed biomass of 0.4–7.1 and 1.1–5.4 g m⁻² in first and second year, respectively). Sorghum-wheat rotation had strong suppressive effect on weed infestation in all tillage systems. The impact of crop rotation was more visible during second year of experimentation. Bed sown wheat (BS₁ and BS₂) in mungbean-wheat rotation had the highest wheat grain yield (6.30–6.47 t ha⁻¹) compared to other tillage systems in different crop rotation combinations.     

Strawberry Production in Central Europe

Abstract

This paper focuses on the cropping systems in central European countries such as Belgium, The Netherlands, UK, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland and the northern part of France and Italy. During the last decade there has been a consistent increase in programmed “out-of-season” strawberry production in several central European countries. This is being achieved in part, by using cultivars with different cropping seasons, but mainly by sequential planting of cold-stored plants and by growing strawberries in greenhouses and plastic tunnels. These methods have made it possible to extend the strawberry production for 11 months, from the end of February until mid January in central European countries with moderate climates.     

基于机器视觉的饲料生产智能包装系统设计与应用研究

为提高饲料生产订单的包装效率、智能化程度、降低包装成本,文章基于机器视觉,从硬件选择与软件设计两个层面设计饲料生产智能包装系统。采用AutoMod软件对饲料生产智能包装系统进行仿真试验,检验整个包装系统效果。结果表明,该智能包装系统包装效率高、关键设备利用率高、系统可靠性、可行性良好。     

湖南洋泉水库调度的最优气候决策方法探讨

充分利用气候资源作好水库水位（量）调度、提高水库在抗旱和发电中的经济效益,是当今水库调度决策亟待解决的一个重要课题.本文根据气象经济学原理,运用连续函数求极值方法,利用洋泉水库有关经济参数,建立水库气候最优调度决策,在水库的实际调度中应用,可取得明显的社会经济效益.     

基于ZigBee的寒地水稻温室大棚智能控制系统设计

针对我国北方寒地水稻育秧大棚的结构特点,设计并开发了一套基于ZigBee的智能控制系统,并构建了该系统的星型网络,用以实现将传感器采集到的数据进行无线传输的功能。系统进行数据采集的模块分别采用AT89S52单片机、数字式空气温湿度传感器DB420、数字式土壤温度传感器DS18B20和数字式土壤水分传感器SM2802M,用这些模块来监测空气中的温湿度、土壤温度以及土壤水分等,将监测到的数据通过JM12864F显示出来。这些采集模块还可以监测到大棚内的空气温湿度、土壤温度、土壤水分含量等实时信息,并对这些信息进行分析处理,将分析处理的结果发送到用户手中,达到远程监控的目的。     

农田信息管理决策支持系统的设计与实现——基于Silverlight

随着我国农业的发展,农田分布范围不断扩大,产生的农田信息繁多而复杂。基于WebGIS的农业决策支持系统已在一些地区的现代化农业生产中得到了示范应用,但由于其客户端采用Ajax或Flex技术实现,存在多媒体功能不足及平台可移植性较差等问题。为此,借助WebGIS开放性平台,采用微软Silverlight技术,设计开发了基于Silverlight的农田信息管理决策支持系统,实现了地图基本操作、地块信息管理决策及环境信息管理决策等功能。该系统可以辅助用户管理农田信息,并为施肥及生产计划提供决策支持。在黑龙江红星农场的试用结果表明:系统自投入使用后运行正常,并能提供信息管理及适宜辅助决策支持。