Effects of light and microsite conditions on tree size of 6-year-old Cryptomeria japonica planted in a group selection opening

We examined the extent to which direct and indirect measures of light and microsite conditions could explain variation in tree height and diameter at the base of 6-year-old Cryptomeria japonica trees planted in a group selection opening of about 0.32 ha on a steep slope at Shiiba, Miyazaki Prefecture, southern Japan. We first used the gap light index (GLI) and soil thickness (ST) as directly measured indices. For an indirect measure of light, we used a between-cohort competition index (BCI) estimated from the position and total height of residual trees. For indirect measures of microsite, we examined topographic indices (slope, plan and profile curvature, average slope gradient, and relative elevation) derived from digital elevation models (DEMs) with different resolutions ranging from 2 to 10 m. The multiple linear regression using GLI and ST explained about 45% of variation in tree size, while simple regression using only GLI explained about 35%. The contribution of ST was about half of GLI. The multiple regressions using BCI and the topographic indices did not explain any more variation than using BCI alone (R ² of about 0.26). We conclude that microsite conditions with shallower soil and steeper slope have negative effects on tree growth in group selection openings, although the relative importance is smaller than light conditions. More comprehensive studies considering several openings with more heterogeneous topography including different species are needed to generalize our growth prediction using the indirect measures, which are useful for practical forest management.     

伦敦奥运会男篮比赛评析* ——兼论中国男篮差距

通过对伦敦奥运会男篮比赛分析发现,来源于欧美职业篮球联赛队员数量决定各队竞技实力,体现各国运动员国际流动与交融发展新趋势;欧、美球队呈现“高、快、灵、准、全、悍、变、星”的进攻特征及防守“以球权争夺为核心,球、人、区、时空兼顾”的先进理念;当前世界篮球区域发展不均衡,美洲占据竞技优势,欧洲整体水平高,亚、非洲实力弱,呈欧美全面抗衡格局;中国男篮竞技水平和成绩下滑明显,运动员身体机能指标和得分、失分、投篮次数、命中率、篮板球、助攻、失误、抢断指标与世界强队存在显著性差异（P﹤0.05）,盖帽、犯规无显著性差异（P＞0.05）,表现出个人能力、技战术风格、整体攻防与世界强队全方位差距,并呈逐步拉大趋势。     

Plant pathogen protection by arbuscular mycorrhizas: A role for fungal diversity?

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi can confer protection to host plants against some root pathogens, and several mechanisms for these phenomena have been proposed. If AM fungal taxa vary in the ways that they limit the negative effects of pathogens on host plants, additive and/or synergistic interactions among members of diverse AM fungal assemblages and communities may result in a greater pathogen protection than is currently predicted. However, in a review of the literature on interactions between AM and pathogenic fungi, we found few examples that compared the effectiveness of single- and multi-species AM fungal assemblages. Here, we briefly recount the generally recognized mechanisms of pathogen protection by AM fungi and present evidence, where appropriate, for functional diversity among AM fungal taxa with regard to these mechanisms. We propose that functional complementarity of AM fungal taxa in interactions with pathogens could mimic, or even be the cause of, previously observed relationships between AM fungal diversity and plant productivity.     

Competition of Barnyardgrass with Rice Varieties

A field study was conducted to examine the competition of barnyardgrass with various rice varieties and its effect on propanil effectiveness. Six rice varieties, Ispaniki A', Strymonas and Roxani (Japonica type) and Rea, Skybonnet and Blue belle (Indica type), were grown in a silty loam soil, in 1994 and 1995. The varieties had different 1000 seed weights, which varied from 24 to 40 g. The herbicide propanil was applied at the four-leaf stage of barnyardgrass on half the plot area. Japonica type varieties emerged earlier and had lower numbers of barnyardgrass plants compared to Indica varieties. The time of seedling emergence was significantly and negatively correlated with the seed weight and positively with the number of barnyardgrass plants. The delayed establishment of Indica type varieties favoured rapid barnyardgrass growth at the early stages and resulted in lower effectiveness of propanil, compared to Japonica type varieties. Thus, in controlling barnyardgrass in rice fields it is necessary to take into account the variety grown in order to reduce production costs and the pollution risk to the environment.     

Designing marine reserves for interacting species: Insights from theory

The primary goals of marine reserves include protecting biodiversity and ecosystem structure. Therefore, a multispecies approach to designing and monitoring reserve networks is necessary. To gain insight into how the interactions between species in marine communities may affect reserve design, we synthesize marine reserve community models and community models with habitat destruction and fragmentation, and we develop new extensions of existing models. This synthesis highlights the potential for species interactions to alter reserve design criteria; in particular, accounting for species interactions often leads to an increase in reserve size necessary to protect populations. Accounting for species interactions also indicates the need to base reserve design and monitoring on a variety of species, especially long-distance dispersers, inferior colonizers, and specialists. Finally, the new model extensions highlight how, given dispersal, source populations outside reserves as well as increases in fished populations after reserve establishment may negatively affect reserve populations of competitors or prey. Therefore, multispecies harvest dynamics outside reserves and before reserve establishment are critical to determining the appropriate reserve size, spacing, and expectations after establishment. These models highlight the importance of species interactions to reserve design and provide guidelines for how this complexity can begin to be incorporated into conservation planning.     

The contribution of competition to tree mortality in old-growth coniferous forests

Competition is a well-documented contributor to tree mortality in temperate forests, with numerous studies documenting a relationship between tree death and the competitive environment. Models frequently rely on competition as the only non-random mechanism affecting tree mortality. However, for mature forests, competition may cease to be the primary driver of mortality.We use a large, long-term dataset to study the importance of competition in determining tree mortality in old-growth forests on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada of California, U.S.A. We make use of the comparative spatial configuration of dead and live trees, changes in tree spatial pattern through time, and field assessments of contributors to an individual tree's death to quantify competitive effects.Competition was apparently a significant contributor to tree mortality in these forests. Trees that died tended to be in more competitive environments than trees that survived, and suppression frequently appeared as a factor contributing to mortality. On the other hand, based on spatial pattern analyses, only three of 14 plots demonstrated compelling evidence that competition was dominating mortality. Most of the rest of the plots fell within the expectation for random mortality, and three fit neither the random nor the competition model. These results suggest that while competition is often playing a significant role in tree mortality processes in these forests it only infrequently governs those processes. In addition, the field assessments indicated a substantial presence of biotic mortality agents in trees that died.While competition is almost certainly important, demographics in these forests cannot accurately be characterized without a better grasp of other mortality processes. In particular, we likely need a better understanding of biotic agents and their interactions with one another and with competition.     

A journey in and out of American agriculture. Reflections on Debt and Dispossession by Kathryn Marie Dudley (University of Chicago Press, 2000)

I was optimistic of a new beginning in an open society when I came to America in 1999. Since then, I have indeed benefited from many aspects of American life. I have learned a lot – especially through my experience with small farms and farmers. But now, it's time to move on. And it was reading Debt and Dispossession, a book about American agriculture and human values, that crystallized in me why I wanted to leave. By telling the story of the 1980s farm crisis through the words of the residents of a Minnesota town, the book prizes open many of the contradictions of American society. The 1970s were boom times for mid-western farms; farmers took advantage of easy farm credit to finance expansion. By the 1980s, the boom burst and slump loomed. Lenders wanted their money back and thousands of farmers were dispossessed. Debt and Dispossession probes beneath the surface of a community apparently united in protest against the dispossessions. Underneath, it finds a tangled picture of a society at war with itself, pitting farmer against farmer in a fratricidal struggle. The book let me glimpse the paradox of American individualism, all-American contradictions centering on government and consumerism, frugality and morality. Just like my experience of American agriculture and farmers as a whole, Debt and Dispossession helped me see the best side of America, but also revealed the fragility of life in a one-on-one society.     

中国大豆的竞争因素分析与对策建议

面对中国大豆进口激增、国内大豆业发展滞缓的严峻现象,以及制约中国大豆业发展的几个因素:国产大豆成本高、单产低、规模小、质量差和科技投入不足等,只有依靠科技进步,提高大豆单产和品质;扩大生产规模;加大政府投入;充分利用中国非转基因大豆的优势等才能找到出路.     

Influence of a vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus on the competitive ability of Bradyrhizobium spp. for nodulation of cowpea Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp in non-sterilized soil

Summary We examined the influence of a vesicular-arbuscular (VAM) fungus (Glomus pallidum Hall) on the competitive ability of introduced and native Bradyrhizobium strains to nodulate cowpeas [Vigna unguiculata (L) Walp]. Our experiments in non-sterilized soil revealed that in the presence of VAM fungus, introduced Bradyrhizobium spp. strains become more competitive than native rhizobia. For example, strain JRC29 occupied 59.2% of the total nodules when inoculated alone, but this figure increased to 71.2% when JRC29 was used in dual inoculations with VAM fungus. A similar pattern of enhanced competitiveness for nodule formation was observed with the two other strains in the presence of the VAM fungus. Our results suggest that the competitiveness of rhizobia can be enhanced by co-inoculating with a selected strain of a VAM fungus.     

低丘红壤花生南酸枣间作系统研究 IV.光能竞争与剪枝作用

农林间作导致间作花生区域光合有效辐射和花生产量的下降,而且花生产量与光合有效辐射呈极显著正相关,表明了光能竞争是导致农林间作花生产量下降的主要原因。2001年6月初剪枝后,5龄和9龄南酸枣间作系统花生相对光合有效辐射分别从5月份的79.2%和63.4%增加到88.7%和67.5%; 但随着南酸枣生长,5龄和9龄南酸枣间作系统中7月份的花生相对光合有效辐射又下降到80.8%和65.7%。2001年剪枝以后,5龄南酸枣和9龄南酸枣间作系统花生相对产量分别由2000年的64.1%和55.4%提高到68.2%和58.1%。这表明剪枝在短期内能在一定程度上减轻光能竞争,但仍然不能满足花生生长需要。