Spatial distribution of δ~2H and δ~18O values in the hydrologic cycle of the Nile Basin

Existing δ2H and δ18O values for precipitation and surface water in the Nile Basin were used to analyze precipitation inputs and the influence of evaporation on the isotopic signal of the Nile River and its tributaries. The goal of the data analysis was to better understand basin processes that influence seasonal streamflow for the source waters of the Nile River, because climate and hydrologic models have continued to produce high uncertainty in the prediction of precipitation and streamflow in the Nile Basin. An evaluation of differences in precipitation δ2H and δ18O values through linear regression and distribution analysis indicate variation by region and season in the isotopic signal of precipitation across the Nile Basin. The White Nile Basin receives precipitation with a more depleted isotopic signal compared to the Blue Nile Basin. The hot temperatures of the Sahelian spring produce a greater evaporation signal in the precipitation isotope distribution compared to precipitation in the Sahara/Mediterranean region, which can be influenced by storms moving in from the Mediterranean Sea. The larger evaporative effect is reversed for the two regions in summer because of the cooling of the Sahel from inflow of Indian Ocean monsoon moisture that predominantly influences the climate of the Blue Nile Basin. The regional precipitation isotopic signals convey to each region's streamflow, which is further modified by additional evaporation according to the local climate. Isotope ratios for White Nile streamflow are significantly altered by evaporation in the Sudd, but this isotopic signal is minimized for streamflow in the Nile River during the winter, spring and summer seasons because of the flow dominance of the Blue Nile. During fall, the contribution from the White Nile may exceed that of the Blue Nile, and the heavier isotopic signal of the White Nile becomes apparent. The variation in climatic conditions of the Nile River Basin provides a means of identifying mechanistic processes through changes in isotope ratios of hydrogen and oxygen, which have utility for separating precipitation origin and the effect of evaporation during seasonal periods. The existing isotope record for precipitation and streamflow in the Nile Basin can be used to evaluate predicted streamflow in the Nile River from a changing climate that is expected to induce further changes in precipitation patterns across the Nile Basin.     

Hydrogen isotopic composition of plant leaf wax in response to soil moisture in an arid ecosystem of the northeast Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau,China

The hydrogen isotopic composition of plant leaf wax(δDwax) is used as an important tool for paleohydrologic reconstruction. However, the understanding of the relative importance of environmental and biological factors in determining δDwax values still remains incomplete. To identify the effects of soil moisture and plant physiology on δDwax values in an arid ecosystem, and to explore the implication of these values for paleoclimatic reconstruction, we measured δD values of soil water(δDwater) and δDwax values in surface soils along two distance transects extending from the lakeshore to wetland to dryland around Lake Qinghai and Lake Gahai on the northeast Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The results showed that the δDwater values were negatively correlated with soil water content(SWC)(R2=0.9166), and ranged from –67‰ to –46‰ with changes in SWC from 6.2% to 42.1% in the arid areas of the Gangcha(GCh) and Gahai(GH) transects. This indicated that evaporative D-enrichment in soil water was sensitive to soil moisture in an arid ecosystem. Although the shift from grasses to shrubs with increasing aridity occurred in the arid area of the GH transect, the δDwax values in surface soils from the arid areas of the two transects still showed a negative correlation with SWC(R2=0.6835), which may be due to the controls of primary evaporative D-enrichment in the soil water and additional transpirational D-enrichment in the leaf water on the δDwaxvalues. Our preliminary research suggested that δDwax values can potentially be applied as a paleo-humidity indicator on the northeast Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.     

Role of nitrite and nitric oxide in the processes of nitrification and denitrification in soil: Results from N tracer experiments

Recent research has proven soil nitrite to be a key element in understanding N-gas production (NO, N₂O, N₂) in soils. NO is widely accepted to be an obligatory intermediate of N₂O formation in the denitrification pathway. However, studies with native soils could not confirm NO as a N₂O precursor, and field experiments mainly revealed ammonium nitrification as the source of NO. The hypothesis was constructed, that the limited diffusion of NO in soil is the reason for this contradiction. To test this diffusion limitation hypothesis and to verify nitrite and NO as free intermediates in native soils we conducted through-flow (He/O₂ atmosphere) ¹⁵N tracer experiments using black earth soil in an experimental set up free of diffusion limitation. All of the three relevant inorganic N soil pools (ammonium, nitrite, nitrate) were ¹⁵N labelled in separate incubation experiments lasting 81 h based on the kinetic isotope method. During the experiments the partial pressure of O₂ was decreased in four steps from 20% to about 0%. The net NO emission increased up to 3.7 μg N kg⁻¹ h⁻¹ with decreasing O₂ partial pressure. Due to the special experimental set up with little to no obstructions of gas diffusion, only very low N₂O emission could be observed. As expected the content of the substrates ammonium, nitrate and nitrite remained almost constant over the incubation time. The ¹⁵N abundance of nitrite revealed high turnover rates. The contribution of nitrification of ammonium to the total nitrite production was approx. 88% under strong aerobic soil conditions but quickly decreased to zero with declining O₂ partial pressure. It is remarkable that already under the high partial pressure of 20% O₂ 12 % of nitrite is generated by nitrate denitrification, and under strict anaerobic conditions it increases to 100%. Nitrite is present in two separate endogenous pools at least, each one fed by the nitrification of ammonium or the denitrification of nitrate. The experiments clearly revealed that nitrite is almost 100% the direct precursor of NO formation under anaerobic as well as aerobic conditions. Emitted N₂O only originated to about 100% from NO under strict anaerobic conditions (0-0.2% O₂), providing evidence that NO is a free intermediate of N₂O formation by denitrification. To the best of our knowledge this is the first time that NO has been detected in a native soil as a free intermediate product of N₂O formation at denitrification. These results clearly verify the “diffusion limitation” hypothesis.     

N<Subscript>2</Subscript> fixation by faba bean (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Vicia faba</Emphasis> L.) in a gypsum-amended sodic soil

The response of faba bean to the application of four rates of gypsum (0, 2.5, 5.0, 10.0 t ha⁻¹) to a non-saline, alkaline sodic soil was measured in terms of grain yield, dry matter (DM) production, N accumulation and the proportional dependence of the legume on symbiotic N₂ fixation (P _atm). A yield-independent, time-integrated ¹⁵N-dilution model was used to estimate symbiotic dependence. A significant decrease in the exchangeable sodium percentage and significant increases in exchangeable Ca⁺⁺ and the Ca⁺⁺:Mg⁺⁺ ratio in the 0–10-cm soil layer were measured 30 months after application of 10 t ha⁻¹ gypsum. Despite low and erratic rainfall during crop growth, faba bean DM and N uptake responded positively to gypsum application. The symbiotic dependence of the legume at physiological maturity was little affected by sodicity (P _atm = 0.74 at zero gypsum and 0.81–0.82 at 2.5–10 t ha⁻¹ gypsum). The increase in fixed N due to gypsum application was mainly due to increases in legume DM and total N uptake. At 10 t ha⁻¹ of gypsum, faba bean fixed more than 200 kg N ha⁻¹ in above-ground biomass.     

Effect of nitrogen fertilization on nitrogen dynamics in oilseed rape using 15N‐labeling field experiment

In order to optimize nitrogen (N) fertilization and to reduce the environmental impact of oilseed rape without decreasing yield, a clearer understanding of N dynamics inside the plant is crucial. The present investigation therefore aimed to study the effects of different N‐application rates on the dynamics of N uptake, partitioning, and remobilization. The experiment was conducted on winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L. cv. Capitol) under three levels of N input (0, 100, and 200 kg N ha^–1) from stem elongation to maturity using ¹⁵N‐labeling technique to distinguish between N uptake and N retranslocation in the plant. Nitrogen fertilization affected the time‐course of N uptake and also the allocation of N taken up from flowering to maturity. Most pod N came from N remobilization, and leaves accounted for the largest source of remobilized N regardless the N‐application rate. However, the contribution of leaves to the remobilized N pool increased with the N dose whereas the one of taproot decreased. Stems were the main sink for remobilized N from stem elongation to flowering. Leaves remained longer on N200 than on N0 and N100 plants, and N concentration in fallen leaves increased with the N treatment and in N100 plants along an axial gradient from the basal to the upper leaves. Overall, these results show that the timing of N supply is more crucial than the N amount to attain a high N efficiency.     

Detecting changes in habitat-scale bee foraging in a tropical fragmented landscape using stable isotopes

As the body of research on the ecosystem service of pollination grows, our ability to tackle a range of agricultural, conservation, and land management issues is limited by our understanding of pollinator foraging patterns and requirements. In particular, better knowledge of which habitats bees utilize for foraging over their lifetime would inform a range of applied and theoretical questions. Traditional methods of studying foraging are either impractical for insects (e.g. radio tracking) or else are limited spatially or temporally (e.g. observations by researchers). Here we describe a method for using stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen from bee tissues to gain an integrated signal of which habitats a bee has foraged in over its lifetime, using three species of social stingless bee (Apidae: Meliponini) in a fragmented tropical forest landscape in southern Costa Rica as a test case.     

应用氮稳定同位素技术研究辽东湾海域主要渔业生物的营养级

应用氮稳定同位素技术分析了2010年6月和8月辽东湾海域主要渔业生物的氮稳定同位素比值,研究了28种鱼类和26种无脊椎动物的营养位置。结果表明,辽东湾海域主要渔业生物的营养级处于2.98～4.84,集中在3.70～4.56;相比6月δ15N值的分析结果,8月有50%的鱼类δ15N值增加,孔鳐(Raja porosa)增幅最大,增加了1.06‰;9种鱼类δ15N值减少,鯒(Platycephalus indicus)减幅最大,减少了1.84‰,可见鱼类样品的δ15N值随季节的变化因种类而各异;8月有87.5%的无脊椎动物δ15N值减少,其中,减少幅度大于1‰的有6种,占37.5%,可见无脊椎动物的δ15N值随季节的变化较明显。通过对不同采样点同种生物δ15N值的比较发现,辽东湾近岸海域的10种无脊椎动物的δ15N值均高于远岸海域,差值范围为0.05‰～1.49‰,差异极显著(P<0.01),说明人类活动引起的陆源污水排放使近岸海洋生物的δ15N值升高。     

密集烘烤关键温度点稳温时间对烤烟理化性状的影响

针对密集烘烤存在的干物质降解不充分和香气物质不足的问题,以K326品种为材料,在湖南省浏阳市开展了密集烘烤关键温度点稳温时间对烤后烟叶物理特性和化学成分影响研究.结果表明,在烟叶变黄期和定色期适当增加稳温时间,可增大烟叶收缩形变,降低叶质重,降低单叶重,增加烟叶疏松性,降低烟叶淀粉含量,增加总糖和还原糖含量.但过度延长稳温时间,将导致烟叶内含物消耗过多,降低烟叶品质.对中部和上部烟叶,在变黄期的38℃稳温24h和42℃稳温16 h,在定色期的47℃稳温18h和54℃稳温16 h为适宜;对下部烟叶,在变黄期的38℃稳温15 h和42℃稳温16 h,在定色期的45℃稳温12 h和54℃稳温16 h为适宜.     

河北省大雾形成的气候特征及动力热力条件分析

利用常规气象观测资料及NCEP再分析资料等,对河北省大雾的气候特征及形成机理进行了深入的研究。结果表明,槽脊浅薄,低空风速小,空气湿度大,冷空气活动不明显,是大雾日偏多年的气候背景特征;大雾发生过程中高空、地面的气象环流形势均较弱,地面维持较长时间的低风速、高湿度、温度变化平稳,大气层结稳定;冷锋带来的偏北大风是大雾消散的动力因子;中低空存在的下沉气流与近地层逆温的出现有利于大雾的维持与发展。