Evaluation of Dynamic Structural Disorders in the Upper Airways and Applied Rein Tension in Healthy Dressage Horses During Riding in Different Gaits and Head–Neck Positions

Flexion of the horse’s head and neck during dressage riding reduces the pharyngeal lumen with the risk of increased upper airway resistance and upper airway obstructions. According to the Fédération Equestre Internationale, hyperflexion is achieved through force, whereas the position low–deep–round is nonforced. The objectives of this study were to evaluate (1) applied rein tension and (2) dynamic structural disorders in the upper airways in dressage horses in different gaits and different head–neck positions (HNPs). Overground endoscopy (OGE) and rein tension were evaluated in 13 clinically healthy and high-performance Warmblood dressage horses while being ridden in a standardized program comprised of four different gaits (halt, walk, trot, and canter) and in four HNPs (unrestrained, competition frame, hyperflexion, and low–deep–round). All included horses were able to achieve the desired HNPs. The HNP low–deep–round showed significantly lower rein tension than competition frame (P < .001) and hyperflexion (P < .001). An association was found between dynamic structural disorders in the upper airway tract evaluated by OGE and head–neck flexion, but this association was not linked to the degree of flexion. The HNP hyperflexion was neither associated with greater rein tension nor severe dynamic structural disorders than the HNP competition frame. This study confirms that low–deep–round is a nonforced position, in contrast to hyperflexion. Further studies are needed to evaluate whether dynamic structural disorders are a result of flexion or if the degree of flexion has an impact.     

围栏封育对退化灌丛草地群落土壤特性和植被的影响

以雅鲁藏布江中游半干旱河谷山地灌丛草地群落为研究对象,采用野外调查和室内试验结合的方法,研究了围栏封育对灌丛草地植被及土壤养分含量的影响,以期为有效修复雅鲁藏布江中游河谷山地植被退化提供科学参考。结果表明:围栏封育3年土壤有机质、全磷、速效磷、速效钾含量均高于围栏外,土壤表层(0～10cm)养分含量增加显著(P<0.05),随着土壤深度的增加,土壤养分含量与围栏外逐渐趋于一致,至30～40cm到达相同水平;围栏封育后灌丛草地群落高度和产量显著增加(P<0.05),分别比围栏外增加了74%和101%,高度、产量增加主要是由禾本科和莎草科引起;围栏封育对群落组成和物种重要值产生不同程度的影响,主要表现为生物多样性增加,禾本科、莎草科等适口性好的物种重要值增加,杂草类不可食物种重要值相对下降;Rarefaction曲线法结果显示,围栏内物种多样性大于围栏外,与传统多样性指数方法结果一致。     

西藏“一江两河”中部流域河谷沙化草地及其恢复途径探讨

“一江两河”中部流域是西藏沙漠化最为严重的地区之一，草地的沙化对于生态环境的恶化和畜牧业生产造成很大的不利影响。通过对这一地区草地的现状分析，划分了沙化草地类型，并通过示范试验结果分析，探讨了沙化草地恢复的主要措施。     

陕北黄土高原植被恢复对土壤理化性状的影响

为了解陕北黄土高原不同植被恢复类型对土壤理化性状的影响及其季节变化,采用完全随机设计,以陕北黄土高原恢复19年的杏树林、沙棘林、油松林和刺槐林为研究对象,以耕作相同年限农田为对照,分析不同植被恢复类型、土层和季节对土壤有机质、碱解氮、速效磷、速效钾、pH以及电导率的影响。结果表明,土壤有机质、速效磷和速效钾在不同人工林地间达到显著差异水平,人工林地土壤养分含量均高于玉米农地,杏树林和沙棘林相对较高,刺槐林相对较低。碱解氮、pH和电导率在不同人工林地间没有达到显著差异水平。随着土层加深,土壤有机质、碱解氮、速效磷和速效钾显著降低,pH和电导率土层间变化规律不一致。土壤有机质、碱解氮、速效钾和电导率在夏季和春季较高,土壤速效磷和pH在冬季和秋季较高。0~20 cm土层,有机质与碱解氮和速效钾均达到显著正相关水平;20~40 cm土层,土壤有机质与电导率呈显著正相关关系,速效磷与速效钾呈显著负相关;速效钾和电导率在各土层间均达到显著正相关水平,pH与电导率在各土层间均呈显著负相关关系。植被恢复显著提高了土壤养分,杏树林和沙棘林富集土壤养分能力优于油松林和刺槐林。     

青海湖南部近57年大风日数的变化特征

为了更好地剖析青海湖南部大风日数的演变特征,笔者利用青海湖南部共和县气象局1961—2017 年的大风日数观测资料,采用线性倾向估计、M-K突变分析、滑动平均等方法,对大风日数的年代际、年际和季节变化趋势进行分析。结果表明：（1）自1961 年以来该地大风日数随年份的延长呈显著减少趋势,每10 年减少2.0 天;（2）共和地区春、夏、秋、冬四季大风日数均呈现出减少趋势,大风日数的减少幅度大小依次是：春季＞夏季＞秋季＞冬季,其中春季和夏季大风日数的减少趋势显著;（3）突变分析表明,春、夏、秋、冬四季大风日数未发生突变,年大风日数在1975 年发生了由多到少的突变。对于防灾减灾,合理利用气候资源,改善生态环境很有价值。     

黄土高原水土保持的社会经济效应评价研究

采用灰色关联分析法对黄土高原10条小流域开展水土保持后的社会经济效应做了定量评价,结果表明：水土保持对农村社会经济发展产生了极大的推动作用,农民人均收入水平是反映水土保持的社会经济影响好坏的首要因子,此外,人均粮食占有水平、土地利用率、人均水土保持投资、农业总收入以及基本农田面积也是反映社会经济效应的重要因素。只有当这些单项指标效益均较好时,整体的社会经济效应才会处于良好状态,水土保持要采用系统工程原理,才能保证生态环境与社会经济良性发展。     

Nitrogen use efficiency of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) as influenced by wheat–cotton cropping systems

Wheat–cotton rotations largely increase crop yield and improve resources use efficiency, such as the radiation use efficiency. However, little information is available on the nitrogen (N) utilization and requirement of cotton under wheat–cotton rotations. This study was to determine the N uptake and use efficiency by evaluating the cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) N use and the soil N balances, which will help to improve N resource management in wheat–cotton rotations. Field experiments were conducted during 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 growing seasons in the Yangtze River region in China. Two cotton cultivars (Siza 3, mid-late maturity with 130 days growth duration; CCRI 50, early maturity with 110 days growth duration) were planted under four cropping systems including monoculture cotton (MC), wheat/intercropped cotton (W/IC), wheat/transplanted cotton (W/TC) and wheat/direct-seeded cotton (W/DC). The N uptake and use efficiency of cotton were quantified under different cropping systems. The results showed that wheat–cotton rotations decreased the cotton N uptake through reducing the N accumulation rate and shortening the duration of fast N accumulation phase as compared to the monoculture cotton. Compared with MC, the N uptake of IC, TC and DC were decreased by 12.0%, 20.5% and 23.4% for Siza 3, respectively, and 7.3%, 10.7% and 17.6% for CCRI 50, respectively. Wheat–cotton rotations had a lower N harvest index as a consequence of the weaker sink capacity in the cotton plant caused by the delayed fruiting and boll formation. Wheat–cotton rotations used N inefficiently relative to the monoculture cotton, showing consistently lower level of the N agronomic use efficiency (NAE), N apparent recovery efficiency (NRE), N physiological efficiency (NPE) and N partial factor productivity (NPFP), particularly for DC. Relative to the mid–late maturity cultivar of Siza 3, the early maturity cultivar of CCRI 50 had higher N use efficiency in wheat–cotton rotations. An analysis of the crop N balance suggested that the high N excess in preceding wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in wheat–cotton rotations led to significantly higher N surpluses than the monoculture cotton. The N management for the cotton in wheat–cotton rotations should be improved by means of reducing the base fertilizer input and increasing the bloom application.     

Crop and cattle production responses to tillage and cover crop management in an integrated crop–livestock system in the southeastern USA

Integrated crop–livestock systems can help achieve greater environmental quality from disparate crop and livestock systems by recycling nutrients and taking advantage of synergies between systems. We investigated crop and animal production responses in integrated crop–livestock systems with two types of winter cover cropping (legume-derived N and inorganic fertilizer N), two types of tillage [conventional disk (CT) and no tillage (NT)], and whether cover crops were grazed by cow/calf pairs or not. The 13-ha field study was a modification of a previous factorial experiment with four replications on Ultisols in Georgia, USA. Recurring summer drought severely limited corn and soybean production during all three years. Type of cover crop had little influence and grazing of cover crops had minor influence on crop production characteristics. Cattle gain from grazing of winter cover crops added a stable component to production. No-tillage management had large positive effects on corn grain (95 vs. 252 g m⁻² under CT and NT, respectively) and stover (305 vs. 385 g m⁻²) production, as well as on soybean grain (147 vs. 219 g m⁻²) and stover (253 vs. 375 g m⁻²) production, but little overall effect on winter wheat grain (292 g m⁻²) and stover (401 g m⁻²) production. Our results suggest that robust, diversified crop–livestock systems can be developed for impoverished soils of the southeastern USA, especially when managed under no tillage to control environmental quality and improve resistance of crops to drought.     

Intercropping soybean and palisade grass for enhanced land use efficiency and revenue in a no till system

Integrated no-till crop and livestock production systems may help rejuvenate degraded pastures, increase land use efficiency (LUE), and increase enterprise revenue. Our objectives were to evaluate: (1) planting date effects on seed yield and nutrient concentration of an early-maturing, no-till system (NTS) soybean (Glycine max) when intercropped with palisade grass (Brachiaria brizantha); (2) dry matter production and protein concentration of the grass pasture after soybean harvest; and (3) overall revenue and LUE for the intercrop system. Experiments were performed during two growing seasons in Botucatu, Brazil using a randomized complete block experimental design. When palisade grass and soybean were sown simultaneously, soybean yield averaged 3.28 Mg ha⁻¹. Similar seed yields were observed when palisade grass was planted either 30 d after soybean emergence (DAE) (3.29 Mg ha⁻¹) or at the soybean reproductive stage R6 (full seed) (3.50 Mg ha⁻¹). Monocrop soybean yield averaged 3.50 Mg ha⁻¹. First cut dry matter forage production was greater when palisade grass was sown at the same time as soybean or 30 DAE of soybean. This indicates that interseeding palisade grass with soybean does not significantly affect soybean nutrition or yield. Intercropping did increase LUE and resulted in 1.6 times more revenue than soybean alone. However, sowing palisade grass at the soybean reproductive stage R6 (full seed) significantly reduced the forage yield compared to early planting.     

The Optimization for Crop Planning and Some Advances for Water-Saving Crop Planning in the Semiarid Loess Plateau of China

The establishment of water-saving crop planning is an inevitable choice of the water-saving agriculture for the water-deficiency region in the arid and semiarid Loess Plateau of China and the world. The water-saving crop planning refers to the planting structure that centres the adjustment of the crop's adaptation to water, the optimization of temporal and spatial layout for crops, the local natural resources, marketing resources, human resources and financial input to enable region or basin with limited water resources to achieve the maximum economic, social and ecological benefits of planting industry under certain technology and economy. After the analysis on the research progress of optimization theory, optimization goals, optimization methods of water-saving cultivation structure and macro-control measures, it is pointed out that the main deficiencies of the current research of water-saving cultivation pattern optimization are lacking of a strong theoretical basis, and the immaturity of optimization technologies. The future crucial research direction will focus on five aspects such as the special optimization theory system, the division methods by studying the watershed unit and using 3S technology, optimization model based on multi-objective evolutionary algorithm, evaluation of rationality and macro-control measures on the basis of the public participation.