Poorly crystalline iron and aluminium oxides contribute to the carbon saturation and sorption of dissolved organic carbon in the soil

Soil carbon (C) saturation implies an upper limit to a soil's capacity to store C depending on the contents of silt + clay and poorly crystalline Fe and Al oxides. We hypothesized that the poorly crystalline Fe and Al oxides in silt + clay fraction increased the C saturation and thus reduced the capacity of the soil to sorb additional C input. To test the hypothesis, we studied the sorption of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) on silt + clay fractions (<53 µm) of highly weathered oxic soils, collected from three different land uses (i.e., improved pasture, cropping and forest). Soils with high carbon saturation desorbed 38% more C than soils with low C saturation upon addition of DOC, whereas adsorption of DOC was only observed at higher concentration (>15 g kg^?1). While high Al oxide concentration significantly increased both the saturation and desorption of DOC, the high Fe oxide concentration significantly increased the desorption of DOC, supporting the proposition that both oxides have influence on the DOC sorption in soil. Our findings provide a new insight into the chemical control of stabilization and destabilization of DOC in soil.     

Determination of critical nitrogen dilution curve based on leaf area index for winter wheat in the Guanzhong Plain,Northwest China

Excessive use of nitrogen(N) fertilizers in agricultural systems increases the cost of production and risk of environmental pollution. Therefore, determination of optimum N requirements for plant growth is necessary. Previous studies mostly established critical N dilution curves based on aboveground dry matter(DM) or leaf dry matter(LDM) and stem dry matter(SDM), to diagnose the N nutrition status of the whole plant. As these methods are time consuming, we investigated the more rapidly determined leaf area index(LAI) method to establish the critical nitrogen(N_c) dilution curve, and the curve was used to diagnose plant N status for winter wheat in Guanzhong Plain in Northwest China. Field experiments were conducted using four N fertilization levels(0, 105, 210 and 315 kg ha-1) applied to six wheat cultivars in the 2013–2014 and 2014–2015 growing seasons. LAI, DM, plant N concentration(PNC) and grain yield were determined. Data points from four cultivars were used for establishing the N_c curve and data points from the remaining two cultivars were used for validating the curve. The N_c dilution curve was validated for N-limiting and non-N-limiting growth conditions and there was good agreement between estimated and observed values. The N nutrition index(NNI) ranged from 0.41 to 1.25 and the accumulated plant N deficit(N_(and)) ranged from 60.38 to –17.92 kg ha~(-1) during the growing season. The relative grain yield was significantly affected by NNI and was adequately described with a parabolic function. The N_c curve based on LAI can be adopted as an alternative and more rapid approach to diagnose plant N status to support N fertilization decisions during the vegetative growth of winter wheat in Guanzhong Plain in Northwest China.     

Compatibility of root growth and tuber production of potato cultivars with dynamic and static water‐saving irrigation managements

The important root characteristics of root length density (RLD) and root mass density (RMD) generally differ among irrigation managements and potato cultivars. The objective of this study was to investigate the RLD and RMD variations and their functional relationships with gross potato tuber yield for two commercial potato cultivars, Agria and Sante, under different irrigation strategies. Full irrigation and water‐saving irrigation strategies, deficit and partial root drying irrigations, were applied statically (S) and dynamically (D) based on daily crop evapotranspiration. Results showed that SPRD had significantly greater RLD (3.64 cm/cm³) and RMD (132.7 μg/cm³) than other irrigation treatments. Between the potato cultivars, Agria had significantly larger values of RLD (3.50 cm/cm³) and RMD (138.7 μg/cm³) than Sante. The functional relationship between the root growth characteristics and tuber yield showed that under water‐saving irrigations, Agria increased root mass at the expense of gross tuber yield but Sante increased root mass to maintain larger gross tuber yields. However, Agria produced more roots and gross tuber yield than Sante, and it is concluded that Agria is a more drought‐tolerant potato cultivar, which is recommended for tuber production in regions where water might be scarce. It was shown that larger root production in potatoes was associated with improved tolerance to water stress.     

Atypical thymoma in a horse: Diagnostic approach and application of an alternative histological classification system

Thymoma is a rare condition in horses. This case of a 24-year-old Warmblood gelding that was presented with oedema and signs of vascular congestion of the left forelimb caused by a thoracic mass is described. The diagnostic work-up included blood chemistry, cytology of pleural effusion, ultrasonography, radiography and the visualisation and collection of a tissue sample by thoracoscopy. Finally, post-mortem findings and histopathology revealed thymic epithelial neoplasia with histomorphologic features previously unreported in horses. The unique mixture of spindle-shaped and epithelioid tumour cells in combination with clear features of malignancy suggested the application of the Moran and Suster histological classification system for thymomas in humans (Moran and Suster, 2008, Curr. Treat. Options Oncol., 9, 288), which has not been reported in an equine case before and fits well to the present case.     

超高效液相色谱—串联质谱法检测鸡血液样品中喹诺酮类药物残留

旨在建立鸡血液样品中多种喹诺酮类药物残留的超高效液相色谱—串联质谱方法。样品经乙腈提取,经Waters Acquity UPLC BEH C₁₈色谱柱分离,以甲醇和0.1%甲酸水溶液为流动相进行梯度洗脱,电喷雾正离子（ESI⁺）模式电离,MRM扫描模式检测。经方法学验证,该方法的线性关系、回收率、精密度均符合要求。应用超高效液相色谱—串联质谱法建立了鸡血液样品中多种喹诺酮类药物同时检测的方法,实现了动物血液样品中12种喹诺酮类药物同时定性、定量分析。     

黄土丘陵半干旱区几种牧草蒸腾作用的研究

蒸腾是牧草生理生态特性的主要指标,也是植物体内水分平衡的主要环节。它能调整植株体温、缩小叶肉细胞内水分饱和差与大气水分饱和差之间的梯度,调节水分的损失,保证植物体内水分的有效利用,借以抵抗或降低水胁迫对植物的影响。我们在1983～1985年对五种栽培牧草蒸腾强度在生长期和生长末期的日变化,以及这些变化与环境因子的关系进行了研究,有助于了解不同栽培牧草在半干旱条件下对水分的需求,为黄土丘陵半干旱区牧草品种的选择提供科学依据。自然概况试验设在宁夏固原东部黄土丘陵区的万亩人工改良草地。海拔1600-1850米,年平均气     

天山北坡中山带野生牧草种质资源评价

通过对新疆３８野生种牧草种植试验，证明许多野生牧草不但在产量、质量上高于栽培牧草，在抗逆性能方面也为许多载培牧草所莫及，对建设新疆中山带的优质人工草地具有重要意义。     

羊草草原枯枝落叶积累的研究：枯枝落叶积累对草原生态环境及生产力的作用

枯枝落叶积累可改变原生态环境，地表温度、土壤ＰＨ值积累量呈线性负相关，蒸发量、土壤容重与积累量呈指数负相关，土壤水分、土壤孔隙度与积累量呈线性正相关，枯枝落叶积累可为植物生长创造良好的生境。土壤中主要营养物质随着枯枝落叶积累均有明显提高当积累量达６００ｇ／ｍ＾２时，有机质、Ｎ、Ｐ、Ｋ含量分别比无枯枝落叶层提高１．８倍、８８．２％、２．１５倍和３７％。枯枝落叶积累对草原生产力有促进作用，在一定范围内