Table of Content

18 April 2013, Volume 24 Issue 4

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Effects of stand density on Oligostachyum lubricum leaf carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus stoichiometry and nutrient resorption.

GUO Zi-wu, CHEN Shuang-lin, YANG Qing-ping, LI Ying-chun

2013, 24(4):  893-899. 

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Taking pure Oligostachyum lubricum forest as test object, this paper studied the matured and withered leaves carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) stoichiometry and N and P resorption patterns of 1-3 years old stands at the densities of 24600-29800 stem·hm^-2(D₁), 37500-42600 stem·hm^-2(D₂), 46500-52800 stem·hm^-2(D₃), and 76500-85500 stem·hm^-2(D₄). With increasing stand density, the matured leaves C, N, and P contents and withered leaves C and P contents had an overall decrease, the withered leaves N content decreased after an initial increase, and the matured leaves C content at density D₄ decreased dramatically. The leaf C/N and C/P ratio increased with increasing stand density, whereas the leaf N/P ratio increased first but decreased then. At stand densities D₃ and D₄, the leaf N and P utilization efficiencies were significantly higher than those at D₁ and D₂. With increasing stand density, the leaf N resorption capacity increased after an initial decrease, while the leaf P resorption capacity increased steadily. At stand densities D₁-D₃, the matured leaves N/P ratio was 16.24-19.37, suggesting that the P limitation occurred, leaf establishment increased, and population increase and expansion enhanced. At density D₄, the matured leaves N/P ratio was 13.42-15.74, implying that the N limitation strengthened, leaf withering and defoliation increased, and population increase inhibited. All the results indicated that O. lubricum could regulate its leaf C, N and P contents and stoichiometry and enhance the leaf N and P utilization efficiency and resorption capacity to adapt to the severe competition of environment resources at high stand density. In our experimental condition, 46500-52800 stem·hm^-2 could be the appropriate stand density for O. lubricum management.

Characteristics of particle size structure of plankton community in turbidity zone of nearshore waters, Liaoning Province of Northeast China.

SONG Lun, WANG Nian-bin, SONG Yong-gang, LI Nan

2013, 24(4):  900-908. 

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Estuary and nearshore waters have complicated environment, where plankton community has a frequent feedback regulation and a very unstable particle size structure. In this paper, an investigation was made on the particle size structure of plankton in the turbidity zone of nearshore and port area waters in Liaoning Province of Northeast China. In the waters with high concentration inorganic nitrogen, phytoplankton biomass was mainly of small particle sizes, with the equivalent sphere diameter (ESD) being primarily 20-100 μm, while in low nutrient waters, the phytoplankton biomass was mainly of larger size particles, with the ESD>100 μm, indicating that the phytoplankton feedback regulation caused the phytoplankton community to be comprised of small sized organisms as part of the biological responses to high concentration suspended solids, which reduced the individual number of larger organisms such as Coscinodiscus sp. and other species, and in turn, directly affected the fisheries resources, including a variety of fish and shrimp larvae fed on phytoplankton. A normalized biomass size spectrum with the characteristics of nearshore shallow aquatic oceanic ecosystems exhibiting eutrophication was constructed. The spectrum slope indicated that the plankton community biomass would gradually increase in size. The feasibility of using dinoflagellates and cladocerans as the bio-indicators for eutrophication was discussed.

Effects of applying different kind fertilizers on enzyme activities related to carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles in reddish paddy soil.

XU Li-li1,2, WANG Qiu-bing1, ZHANG Xin-yu2, SUN Xiao-min2, DAI Xiao-qin2, YANG Feng-ting2, BU Jin-feng2, WANG Hui-min2

2013, 24(4):  909-914. 

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Based on the long-term fixed position experimental data from Qianyanzhou Ecological Experiment Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1998, this paper analyzed the effects of applying different kind fertilizers (straw, ST; pig manure, OM; and chemical fertilizer, NPK) on the nutrients (C, N, and P) status and the activities of related enzymes (β-1,4-glucosidase, βG; β-1,4-N-acetylglucosaminidase, NAG; L-leucine aminopeptidase, LAP; and acid phosphatase, AP) in reddish paddy soil. With the application of OM, the activities of soil βG, NAG, and LAP increased significantly, as compared with other treatments, and were 1.4, 2.6, and 1.9 times higher than the control (CK), respectively. Applying OM also improved the ratio of soil organic carbon to total nitrogen (C/N), but decreased the soil βG/(NAG+LAP) ratio, suggesting that pig manure could benefit the degradation of soil cellulose and the accumulation of soil organic carbon. Applying NPK increased the activities of soil βG, NAG, and LAP, but decreased the AP activity, with a decrement of 34% as compared with CK. Under the application of NPK, the soil βG/AP and (NAG+LAP)/AP ratios increased, but the ratios of soil organic carbon to total phosphorus (C/P) and of soil total nitrogen to total phosphorus (N/P) decreased, indicating that chemical fertilizers could induce the accumulation of soil inorganic phosphorus, and inhibit the microbial functions of degrading polysaccharides and phosphate phospholipids.

Shoot type morphology and growth characteristics of winter wheat sown at different dates.

ZHANG Xiao-ping1, YANG Shen-jiao2, ZHANG Xiao-pei2, BAI Fang-fang2, WANG He-zhou2

2013, 24(4):  915-920. 

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Aiming at the delayed sowing of winter wheat induced by the drought and water logging often occurred in Huanghuai Plains of China, six sowing dates (15 October, normal sowing; 30 October, moderate delay; 15 November, delay; 30 November, seriously delay; 15 February, early spring sowing; and 1 March, spring sowing) were designed to investigate the effects of different sowing dates on the shoot type morphology and growth characteristics of winter wheat. With the delay of sowing date, the winter wheat grew and developed faster, and the growing period of the wheat sown in early spring and spring was 115-130 days shorter than that with normal sowing. As compared with those of the wheat with normal sowing, the shoot height, spike number per unit area, and productive spikelets per unit ear of the wheat sown delayed had a decrease, leaf position and canopy moved down, and leaf area reduced. When the sowing was delayed from the date 15 October (normal sowing) to 1 March (spring sowing), the harvest index increased from 0.46 to 0.53. Delaying sowing date also resulted in the significant reduction of grain yield, with the maximum decrement as high as 43.6%. The springsown winter wheat not going through vernalization could still form yield.

Effects of land use change on soil readily oxidizable carbon in a coastal area of northern Jiangsu Province, East China.

WANG Guo-bing1, ZHAO Xiao-long2, WANG Ming-hui1, RUAN Hong-hua1, XU Chang-bai2, XU Ya-ming2

2013, 24(4):  921-926. 

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Soil readily oxidizable carbon (ROC) is a sensitive index to indicate the early changes of soil organic carbon (SOC), and has important value to research the stability and dynamics of SOC pool under the backgrounds of human disturbance and global climate change. To further understand the effects of land use change on soil ROC, an investigation was conducted on the soil ROC content and related factors in four different land use types (grassland, farmland, poplar-agriculture system and pure poplar plantation) in a coastal area of northern Jiangsu Province, East China. The soil ROC content was in the order of grassland < farmland < poplar-agriculture system < pure poplar plantation, and the difference was most significant in 0-10 cm soil layer. The ROC and ROC/SOC ratio decreased with increasing soil depth, and had significant differences between different soil layers in any one of the land use types. The soil ROC in the four different land use types had the same seasonal variation trend, with the maximum in summer, followed by in winter and autumn, and the minimum in spring. The soil ROC was significantly negatively correlated with soil pH and soil bulk density, positively correlated with SOC, soil water soluble organic carbon (WSOC), total nitrogen (TN), C/N ratio, and Mg, but less correlated with soil moisture and soil total phosphorus (TP). The results indicated that land use change had significant effects on the spatial distribution characteristics of soil ROC, and  soil bulk density, pH value, TN, and SOC were the main factors inducing the differences of soil ROC content between different land use types.

Temporal stability of river ecological restoration based on the assessment of Contingent Valuation Method: A case study of Shanghai urban river.

ZHANG Yi-fei1, WANG Dan2

2013, 24(4):  927-934. 

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Whether the assessment results of Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) have temporal stability is an important issue in examining the reliability of CVM findings, and also, is critical to decide whether CVM can be applied to evaluate the ecosystem services value in China. Taking the ecological restoration along the Caohejing River in Shanghai as a case, three CVM survey schemes with one month apart and two years apart were designed. Then, 426, 498, and 200 questionnaires in these surveys were comparatively analyzed, respectively. The mean values of the willingness to pay (WTP) from the three surveys were 14.2, 14.1, and 18.0 RMB, and the median values were 5, 5, and 10 RMB, respectively. With the comparison of the WTP distribution and the main statistics, the analysis of the factors affecting the WTP, and the test of the significances of temporal variables, it was found that the CVM results from the surveys with one month apart had temporal stability, while those from the surveys with two years apart presented definite difference.

Hormesis effect of cadmium on Lonicera japonica. 

JIA Lian1,2, LIU Zhou-li1, CHEN Wei1, HE Xing-yuan1, QI Dan3

2013, 24(4):  935-940. 

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A hydroponic experiment was conducted to study the growth characteristics of Lonicera japonica under the stress of different concentrations (0, 0.5, 2.5, 5, 10, and 25 mg·L^-1) cadmium (Cd), aimed to explore the hormesis effect of low concentrations Cd on L. japonica. At ≤5 mg·L^-1 of Cd, the maximum root length, plant dry biomass, and the contents of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and carotenoid of L. japonica increased significantly, with the increment being 13.6%, 11.7%, 14.0%，10.8%, and 54.5%, respectively, as compared with the control. ≤5 mg·L^-1 of Cd also had a definite positive effect on the leaf water content. At ≥10 mg·L^-1 of Cd, the growth of L. japonica was inhibited significantly. When exposed to 25 mg·L^-1 of Cd, the shoot Cd concentration of L. japonica reached 622.93 mg·kg^-1, suggesting that L. japonica had a strong capacity of Cdhyperaccumulation. The dose range of the hormesis effect of Cd on L. japonica was 0.5-5 mg·L^-1 of Cd.

Wetland landscape pattern change based on GIS and RS: A review.

KONG Fan-ting, XI Min, LI Yue, KONG Fan-long, CHEN Wan

2013, 24(4):  941-946. 

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Wetland is an ecological landscape with most biodiversity in nature, which has unique ecological structure and function, and contains abundant natural resources to provide material guarantee for human’s living and development. Wetland landscape pattern is the comprehensive result of various ecological processes, and has become a hot issue in wetland ecological study. At present, the combination of geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) technologies is an important way to study the wetland landscape pattern change. This paper reviewed the research progress in the wetland landscape change based on GIS and RS from the aspects of the research methods of wetland landscape pattern, index of wetland landscape pattern, and driving forces of wetland landscape pattern evolution, and discussed the applications of the combination of GIS and RS in monitoring the wetland landscape pattern change, the index selection of wetland landscape pattern, and the driving mechanisms of the combined action of human and nature. Some deficiencies in the current studies were put forward, and the directions of the future studies were prospected.

Applications of camera trap in wildlife population ecology.

LI Qin1, WU Jian-guo1,2, KOU Xiao-jun1, FENG Li-min1

2013, 24(4):  947-955. 

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Population parameter estimation and spatial distribution pattern are the main issues in animal ecology and conservation biology. In recent decades, camera trap as a noninvasive technique in field survey has been widely used in wildlife ecology and conservation research, and showed its great superiority under the conditions of traditional survey methods difficult to achieve. The animal presence data collected by camera trap can provide extremely valuable quantitative information on wildlife populations. In this review, the operational principles of camera trap were introduced to provide an intuitive understanding of this technique, and then, the applications of this technique in two main fields of population ecology, i.e., population density and abundance estimation and spatial occupancy estimation for the species with or without natural unique individual markings, were discussed, with special attention to the logic of development, assumptions, limits in application, challenges, and future directions of model development. Finally, the important aspects which should be kept in mind when using camera trap in estimating wildlife population parameters as well as the potential capacities of camera trap in the researches of population dynamics and biodiversity, were comprehensively analyzed.

Changes of plant leaf N, P, and K concentrations and species dominance in an arid-hot valley after ecosystem restoration.

YAN Bang-guo, HE Guang-xiong, LI Ji-chao, QIAN Kun-jian, KUI Jian-rui, PAN Zhi-xian, SHI Liangtao, JI Zhong-hua

2013, 24(4):  956-960. 

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Taking the arid-hot valley of Jinsha River, Southwest China as the object, a comparative study was made on the plant leaf N, P, and K concentrations and ratios as well as their relationships with species dominance in the restoration area and disturbed area, aimed to understand the effects of ecosystem restoration on the plant leaf stoichoimetric characteristics. Ecosystem restoration decreased the plant leaf N and P concentrations and P/K ratio significantly, but had lesser effects on the plant leaf K concentration. In restoration area, the plant leaf N, P, and K concentrations were averagely 10.405, 0.604, and 9.619 g·kg^-1, being 16.9%, 34.9%, and 4.7% lower than those in disturbed area, respectively. In restoration area, species dominance was significantly negatively correlated with plant leaf P concentration; while the species dominance in disturbed area had a significant negative correlation with plant leaf K concentration. Ecosystem restoration altered the slope and intercept of the scaling relationships among the plant leaf N, P, and K. No significant differences were observed in the leaf N, P, and K concentrations of the same plant species between restoration area and disturbed area, suggesting that the changes of plant leaf stoichiometric characteristics were mainly driven by the shift of species composition in the plant community.

Vertical distribution patterns of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in Chinese pine forest soils developed from different parent materials in Songshan Mountain Nature Reserve, Beijing of China.

GOU Li-hui1, SUN Zhao-di3, NIE Li-shui1, LUO Pan-pan1, WU Ji-gui2, XU Wu-de3

2013, 24(4):  961-966. 

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Taking the soils developed from two kinds of parent materials (granite and limestone) under Pinus tabulaeformis forest at the same altitude in Songshan Mountain Nature Reserve of Beijing as test objects, this paper studied the vertical distribution patterns of soil total nitrogen, available phosphorus, and available potassium. The soil developed from granite had the total nitrogen, available phosphorus, and available potassium contents being 1.61-2.35 g·kg^-1, 5.84-1074 mg·kg^-1, and 39.33-93.66 mg·kg^-1, while that developed from limestone had the total nitrogen, available phosphorus, and available potassium contents being 1.69-2.36 g·kg^-1, 4.45-8.57 mg·kg^-1, and 60.66-124.00 mg·kg^-1, respectively. The total nitrogen, available phosphorus, and available potassium contents in the two soils were the highest in 0-10 cm layer, decreased with increasing depth, and had significant differences between different layers, showing that the soil total nitrogen, available phosphorus, and available potassium had a strong tendency to accumulate in surface layer. Such a tendency was more obvious for the soil developed from limestone. The paired ttest for the two soils indicated that the total nitrogen content in different layers had no significant difference, whereas the available phosphorus content in 0-10 cm layer and the available potassium content in 10-20 cm layer differed significantly.

Fire severity of burnt area in Huzhong forest region of Great Xing’an Mountains, Northeast China based on normalized burn ratio analysis.

WANG Xiao-li1,2, WANG Wen-juan1, CHANG Yu1, FENG Yu-ting1,3, CHEN Hong-wei1, HU Yuan-man1， CHI Jian-guo4

2013, 24(4):  967-974. 

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Based on the TM images and 3S technology, and by using normalized burn ratio (NBR), this paper quantitatively evaluated the fire severity of burnt area in Huzhong forest region of the Great Xing’an Mountains from 1986 to 2010, and analyzed the relationships of the fire severity with environmental factors such as vegetation type, elevation, slope, and aspect. In Huzhong forest region, the fire occurrence frequency and total burnt area had an obvious interannual change. High incidence of forest fire was from June to August, and heavily burnt area occupied 842% of the total burnt area. In the burnt area, larch forest accounted for 89.9%. 68.8% of burnt area located at the elevations from 1000 m to 1500 m, and 62.5% located in eastern, southern, western, and northern slopes. There was no obvious difference in the burnt area between sunny and shady slopes. The burnt area at the slope degrees 15°-25° occupied 38.4% of the total. High severity burnt area was the largest (70% of the total), followed by moderate severity burnt area (about 10%), and low severity burnt area and un-burnt area
(<5%). The majority of the forest fires in Huzhong forest region were of high severity fire, which caused great damages to the forest resources. It was suggested that in the forest fire management in Great Xing’an Mountains forest region, it would be urgent to implement forest fuel treatments to reduce fire severity to guarantee the forest ecosystem security.

Error analysis of CO₂ storage flux in a temperate deciduous broadleaved forest based on different scalar  variables.

WANG Jing, WANG Xing-chang, WANG Chuan-kuan

2013, 24(4):  975-982. 

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Using the measurement data from an 8-level vertical profile of CO₂/H₂O in a temperate deciduous broadleaved forest at the Maoershan Forest Ecosystem Research Station, Northeast China, this paper quantified the errors of CO₂ storage flux (F_s) calculated with three scalar  variables, i.e., CO₂ density (ρ_c), molar fraction (c_c), and molar mixing ratio relative to dry air (χ_c). The dry air storage in the control volume of flux measurement was not a constant, and thus, the fluctuation of the dry air storage could cause the CO₂molecules transporting out of or into the control volume, i.e., the variation of the dry air storage adjustment term (F_sd). During nighttime and day-night transition periods, the relative magnitude of F_sd to eddy flux  was larger, and ignoring the F_sd could introduce errors in calculating the net CO₂ exchange between the forest ecosystem and the atmosphere. Three error sources in the F_s calculation could be introduced from the atmospheric hydrothermal processes, i.e., 1) air temperature fluctuation, which could cause the largest error, with one order of magnitude larger than that caused by atmospheric pressure (P), 2) water vapor, its effect being larger than that of P in warm and moist summer but smaller in cold and dry winter, and 3) P, whose effect was generally smaller throughout the year. In estimating the effective CO₂ storage (F_{s_E}), the F_s value calculated with ρ_c, c_c, and χ_c was overestimated averagely by 8.5%, 0.6%, and 0.1%, respectively. It was suggested that in the calculation of F_s, adopting the χ_c conservative to atmospheric hydrothermal processes could be more appropriate to minimize the potential errors.

Concentrations of different carbon and nitrogen fractions in rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils of typical plant species in mountainous area of southern Ningxia, Northwest China.

ZHU Qiu-lian1,2,3, XING Xiao-yi1,3, CHENG Man1,3, XUE Zhi-jing1,3, AN Shao-shan1,3

2013, 24(4):  983-988. 

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Taking the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils of five typical plants Agropyron cristatum, Artemisia frigida, Pseudoraphis bungeana, Thymus mongolicus, and Artemisia sacrorum in a mountainous area of southern Ningxia as test objects, this paper studied their C and N forms contents. The C and N forms contents in the rhizosphere and nonrhizosphere soils differed with plant species. In the rhizosphere soil of A. sacrorum, the C content was the highest, with the total soil organic C (TOC), light fraction organic C (LFOC), and heavy fraction organic C contents being 22.94, 1.95, and 20.88 g·kg^-1, respectively. In the rhizosphere soil of P. bungeana, the N content was the highest, with the total N (TN), mineralizable N (MN), and available N contents being 2.05 g·kg^-1, 23.73 mg·kg^-1, and 11.99 mg·kg^-1, respectively. In the rhizosphere soil of A. frigida, the LFOC/TOC and MN/TN ratios were the highest, which benefited the C and N transformed into more active forms. Light fraction organic C and mineralizable N could be used as the sensitive indicators of plant habitat change. For the five plant species, the contents of different C and N forms in the rhizosphere soil were generally higher than those in the non-rhizosphere soil.

Effects of combined application of biochar and inorganic fertilizers on the available phosphorus content of upland red soil.

JING Yan1, CHEN Xiao-min1, LIU Zu-xiang1, HUANG Qian-ru2, LI Qiu-xia1, CHEN Chen1, LU Shao-shan1

2013, 24(4):  989-994. 

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Aiming at the low content of available phosphorus in upland red soil of Southern China, this paper studied the effects of combined application of biochar and inorganic fertilizers on the available phosphorus and organic carbon contents and the pH of this soil. With the combined application of biochar and inorganic fertilizers, the soil physical and chemical properties improved to different degrees. As compared with the control, the soil pH and the soil organic carbon and available phosphorus contents at different growth stages of oil rape after the combined application of biochar and inorganic fertilizers all had an improvement, with the increments at bolting stage, flowering stage, and ripening stage being 16%, 24% and 26%, 23%, 34% and 38%, and 100%, 191% and 317%, respectively. The soil pH and the soil organic carbon and available phosphorus contents were increased with the increasing amount of applied biochar. Under the application of biochar, the soil available phosphorus had a significant correlation with the soil pH and soil organic carbon content. This study could provide scientific basis to improve the phosphorus deficiency and the physical and chemical properties of upland red soil.

Effects of tillage mode and nitrogen application rate on nitrogen use efficiency of wheat in a farming-pasture zone of North China.

CHANG Xu-hong1, ZHAO Guang-cai1, YANG Yu-shuang1, FENG Ming1, MA Shao-kang1, WANG De-mei1, BI Yu-qiang2, YANG Su-rong2

2013, 24(4):  995-1000. 

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A field experiment was conducted in a farming-pasture zone in Chifeng City of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, North China to investigate the effects of different tillage modes and nitrogen (N) application rates on the grain yield and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of winter wheat. The results showed that long term conservation tillage increased the wheat NUE by 3%-4%, and decreased the environmental pollution by fertilizer N. Conservation tillage promoted the N absorption by wheat, and increased the grain yield. When the N application rate increased from 120 kg·hm^-2 to 360 kg·hm^-2, the NUE decreased from 36.5% to 26%, fertilizer N loss increased by about 5%, i.e., the corresponding N loss was increased from 60 kg·hm^-2 to 200 kg·hm^-2, and the environmental N pollution increased markedly. The wheat NUE of the residual N in last season was less affected by tillage mode, but more affected by the N application rate in last season, with an overall tendency of the higher the N application rate in last season, the lower the NUE and the more the fertilizer N loss. After two seasons’ wheat planting, the proportion of the total nitrogen recovery by the wheatsoil system was about 44%-50%, among which, the residual N in soil occupied about 13%-18% of applied N.

Effects of different tillage and fertilization modes on the soil physical and chemical properties and crop yield under winter wheat/spring corn rotation on dryland of east Gansu, Northwest China.

ZHANG Jian-jun1,3,4, WANG Yong1,3,4, FAN Ting-lu2,3,4, GUO Tian-wen1,3,4, ZHAO Gang1, DANG Yi1, WANG Lei1, LI Shang-zhong1

2013, 24(4):  1001-1008. 

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Based on the 7-year field experiment on the dryland of east Gansu of Northwest China in 2005-2011, this paper analyzed the variations of soil moisture content, bulk density, and nutrients content at harvest time of winter wheat and of the grain yield under no-tillage and conventional tillage and five fertilization modes, and approached the effects of different tillage and fertilization modes on the soil water storage and conservation, soil fertility, and grain yield under winter wheat/spring corn rotation. In 2011, the soil moisture content in 0-200 cm layer and the soil bulk density and soil organic matter and available nitrogen and phosphorus contents in 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm layers under different fertilization modes were higher under no-tillage than under conventional tillage. Under the same tillage modes, the contents of soil organic matter and available nitrogen and available phosphorus were higher under the combined application of organic and inorganic fertilizers, as compared with other fertilization modes. The soil available potassium content under different tillage and fertilization modes decreased with years. The grain yield under conventional tillage was higher than that under no-tillage. Under the same tillage modes, the grain yield was the highest under the combined application of organic and inorganic fertilizers, and the lowest under no fertilization. In sum, no-tillage had the superiority than conventional tillage in improving the soil water storage and conservation and soil fertility, and the combined application of organic and inorganic fertilizers under conventional tillage could obtain the best grain yield.

 

Effects of drought and re-watering on endogenous hormone contents of cotton roots and leaves under drip irrigation with mulch.

LUO Hong-hai1, HAN Huan-yong2, ZHANG Ya-li1, ZHANG Wang-feng1

2013, 24(4):  1009-1016. 

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Under the climatic and ecological conditions of Xingjiang, Northwest China, different degrees of drought stress were installed during the growth stages of cotton, and the drip irrigation with mulch was adopted, aimed to study the effects of drought stress and rewatering on the endogenous hormones (abscisic acid, ABA; and zeatins, ZRs) contents of cotton roots and leaves and the stomatal conductance (g_s) of cotton leaves. With the increase of drought stress at different growth stages,  the ABA contents of cotton roots and leaves increased, while the ZRs contents of cotton roots and leaves and the g_s and photosynthetic rate (P_n) of cotton leaves decreased, with greater decrements in the treatment of soil moisture content being 40%-45% of field capacity at early floweringfull flowering stage. After re-watering, the ABA contents of cotton roots and leaves did not have a decrease with the improvement of soil moisture regime, while the ZRs contents of cotton roots recovered rapidly or exceeded the control after 1-3 days of re-watering. There was a positive correlation between the ZRs contents of cotton roots and the g_s of cotton leaves. In the treatment of soil moisture content being 50%-55% of field capacity at full buddingearly flowering stage, the ZRs contents and g_s of cotton leaves recovered more quickly and with greater increments. It was suggested that the higher ZRs contents of cotton roots after re-watering could be the main cause for the higher stomatal conductance and photosynthetic rate of cotton leaves.

Responses of tomato leaf photosynthesis to rapid water stress.

HAN Guo-jun1,2, CHEN Nian-lai1,2, HUANG Hai-xia1, ZHANG Ping1, ZHANG Kai2, GUO Yan-hong2

2013, 24(4):  1017-1022. 

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By using polyethylene glycol (PEG-6000) solution to regulate the water potential of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) rhizosphere to simulate water stress, this paper studied the dynamic changes of  net photosynthetic rate, dark respiratory rate and CO₂ compensatory concentration of detached tomato leaves in the process of photosynthetic induction. Under 1000 μmol·m^-2·s^-1 of light induction, the time required to reach the maximum net photosynthetic rate of waterstressed tomato leaves was shortened by 1/3, while the stomatal conductance was increased by 1.5 times, as compared to the non-stress control. Also, the light saturation point (LSP) of water-stressed tomato leaves was lowered by 65% to 85%, and the light compensation point (LCP) was increased by 75% to 100%, suggesting that the effective range of light utilized by tomato leaves was reduced. Furthermore, water stress decreased the maximum photosynthetic capacity of tomato leaves by 40%, but increased the dark respiration rate by about 45%. It was suggested that rapid water stress made the stomata of tomato leaves quickly opened, without initial photosynthetic induction stage. In conclusion, water stress could induce the decrease of plant light-energy use efficiency and potential, being the main reason for the decrease of plant productivity, and stomatal regulation could be the main physiological mechanism of tomato plants to adapt to rapid water stress.

Effects of exogenous nitric oxide on ascorbate-glutathione cycle in tomato seedlings roots under copper stress.

LI Xiao-yun1, WANG Xiu-feng2, LU Le-fu1, YIN Bo1, ZHANG Min1, CUI Xiu-min1

2013, 24(4):  1023-1030. 

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By using solution culture method, this paper studied the effects of exogenous nitric oxide (NO) on the antioxidants and antioxidases in the ascorbateglutathione (AsA-GSH) cycle in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) seedling roots under copper stress. Exogenous NO could affect the metabolic cycle of AsA-GSH in tomato  roots under copper stress. Applying appropriate amount of exogenous NO increased the AsA and GSH contents, AsA/DHA and GSH/GSSG ratios, and decreased the DHA and GSSG contents in tomato  roots under copper stress. With the addition of 100 μmol·L^-1 of BSO, exogenous NO increased the AsA content, AsA/DHA ratio, and the AAO, MDHAR, and DHAR activities, and decreased the DHA, GSH, and GSSG contents and the APX and GR activities. When 250 μmol·L^-1 of BSO was added, exogenous NO increased the contents of AsA, GSH, and GSSG, AsA/DHA ratio, and the activities of APX and GR, and decreased the DHA content and the AAO, DHAR and MDHAR activities. It was suggested that exogenous NO could affect the metabolic cycle of AsA-GSH in tomato  roots under copper stress, and mitigate the damage of copper stress to tomato  roots via regulating the AsA/DHA and GSH/GSSG ratios to alleviate oxidative stress.

Drought-resistance of local wheat varieties in Shanxi Province of China: A comprehensive evaluation by using GGE biplot and subordinate function.

YANG Jin-wen1, ZHU Jun-gang1, WANG Shu-guang1, SUN Dai-zhen1, SHI Yu-gang1, CHEN Wei-guo2

2013, 24(4):  1031-1038. 

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Taking 7 local wheat varieties in Shanxi Province of China and two other control varieties as test materials, this paper studied their morphological and physiological traits under normal and water stress field conditions. The drought-resistance coefficient of each index of the traits was calculated. On the basis of principal component analysis, the correlations between the drought-resistance indices and their relationships with the drought-resistance of different varieties were analyzed by GGE biplot, and the drought resistance of the wheat varieties was comprehensively evaluated with the combination of subordinate function and drought resistance index analysis. The main morphological and physiological factors affecting the drought-resistance of the wheat varieties were uppermost internode length, plant height, internode length, leaf area, leaf POD and SOD activities, and leaf relative water content and relative electric conductivity. There existed different degrees of correlation between these indices, and each index had different effects on the drought resistance of the varieties, being the main cause for the different drought resistance of the wheat varieties. Based on the drought-resistance, the test varieties could be classified into three groups, i.e., droughtresistance group, intermediate group, and sensitive group. Two highly drought-resistance cultivars, Baiheshangtou and Zhuganqing, whose drought-resistance was similar to that of drought-resistant Jinmai 47, could be used as the parent materials for breeding drought-resistance wheat.

Characteristics of evaporation  over  broadleaved Korean pine forest in Changbai Mountains, Northeast China during snow cover period in winter.

LI Hui-dong1,2, GUAN De-xin1, WANG An-zhi1, WU Jia-bing1, JIN Chang-jie1, SHI Ting-ting3

2013, 24(4):  1039-1046. 

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Based on the measurement data of water vapor flux by open-path eddy covariance system and of the micrometeorological factors in broad-leaved Korean pine forest in Changbai Mountains during the snow cover period from 2002 to 2005, this paper analyzed the dynamics of snow cover evaporation and the relationships between the evaporation and meteorological factors. The energy balanced ratio during the snow cover period was 79.9%, and the latent heat flux accounted for 21.4% of net radiation. The diurnal variation of the evaporation presented a single-peak curve, and the evaporation rate during snow-melting period was higher than that during stable snow cover period. The half-hour evaporation presented  liner relationship with net radiation and  quadratic relationship with air temperature. The daily  evaporation presented  quadratic relationship with net radiation and  exponential relationship with air temperature. The daily evaporation presented a dynamic trend of decreasingstableincreasing, with the maximum at increasing stage and the minimum at stable stage. The maximum value of the daily evaporation was 0.73 mm·d^-1, and the minimum value was 0.004 mm·d^-1. During the snow cover periods of 2002-2003, 2003-2004 and 2004-2005, the annual evaporation was 27.6, 25.5, and 22.9 mm, accounting for 37.9%, 19.5%, and 30.0% of the precipitation in the same periods, respectively. The mean value of the daily evaporation in the three periods was 0.17, 0.19, and 0.17 mm·d^-1, respectively.

 

Establishment of a complete daily time series of precipitation  and its change characteristics in  forest region of Eastern China during 1961-2010. 

CHI Ya-fei1,2, ZHANG Cheng-yi2, LIANG Cun-zhu1, WU Hong2,3

2013, 24(4):  1047-1054. 

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To accurately interpolate the missing precipitation data from meteorological observation stations within a region to obtain a complete precipitation series is of significance in improving the spatial and temporal resolution in analyzing the effects of climate change. By using spatial correlation and stepwise regression techniques, this paper interpolated the missing precipitation data for an individual day or less than 7 days in a month from  the 853 meteorological stations in the  forest region of Eastern China in 1961-2010, as a consequent establishment of  the complete time series precipitation datasets of the observation stations in 1961-2010 established. Based on these, trend analysis approach was applied to analyze the variation characteristics of the annual precipitation, annual precipitation days, and extreme precipitation events in the  region in 1961-2010. During the study period, the annual precipitation in the region presented an insignificant increasing trend, with a tendency of 5.58 mm·(10 a)^-1, but the decadal variation was obvious. The annual precipitation days reduced significantly, while the annual extreme precipitation days and extreme precipitation volumes increased significantly, with a tendency of 0.12 d·(10 a)^-1 and 10.22 mm·(10 a)^-1, respectively. Since the 1990s, the extreme precipitation events became frequently and intensively, and the proportion of the volumes of extreme precipitation to total precipitation increased significantly. Both the extreme precipitation days and the volumes of extreme precipitation had an abrupt change in 1993.

Measurement and estimation of grassland evapotranspiration in a mountainous region at the upper reach of Heihe River basin, China.

YANG Yong1,2, CHEN Ren-sheng1,2, SONG Yao-xuan1,2, LIU Jun-feng1,2, HAN Chun-tan1,2, LIU Zhang-wen1,2

2013, 24(4):  1055-1062. 

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Evapotranspiration (ET) is an important component of water cycle, but its measurement in high altitude mountainous region is quite difficult, inducing the insufficient understanding on the actual ET in high altitude mountainous region and the effects of ET on this region’s water cycle. In this paper, two small type weighing minilysimeters were applied to measure the daily ET in a piece of grassland in a high altitude mountainous region of the Heihe River basin from July 1st, 2009 to June 30th, 2010. Based on the measured data, the methods of FAO-56 Penman-Monteith (F-P-M), Priestley-Taylor (P-T), and HargreavesSamani (H-S) were employed to estimate the ET to analyze the applicability of the three methods for the mountainous region, and the pan coefficient at the measurement spots was discussed. During the measurement period, the total annual ET at the measurement spots was 439.9 mm, accounting for 96.5% of the precipitation in the same period, and the ET showed an obvious seasonal distribution, being 389.3 mm in May-October, accounting for 88.5% of the annual value. All the three methods could be well applied to estimate the summer ET but not the winter ET, and their applicability followed the sequence of P-T > F-P-M > H-S. At the measurement spots, the daily pan coefficient in summer was 0.7-0.8, while that in winter was quite variable.

Energy flux and energy balance closure of intensively managed Lei bamboo forest ecosystem.

CHEN Yun-fei1, JIANG Hong1,2, ZHOU Guo-mo1, SUN Cheng1, CHEN Jian1

2013, 24(4):  1063-1069. 

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By using open-path eddy covariance system and meteorological instruments, an observation was conducted on the sensitive heat flux, latent heat flux, net radiation, soil heat flux, air temperature, ground temperature, and precipitation in a intensively managed Lei bamboo forest ecosystem in 2011, with the diurnal and monthly variations of energy flux as well as the distribution pattern of each energy component analyzed, and the Bowen ratio and energy balance closure calculated. The yearly net radiation of the forest ecosystem was 2928.92 MJ·m^-2, and the latent heat flux, sensitive heat flux, and soil heat flux were 1384.90, 927.54, and -28.27 MJ·m^-2, respectively. Both the daily and the monthly variations of the energy components showed a single peak curve. The sensible and latent heat fluxes were 31.7% and 47.3% of the net radiation, respectively, indicating that latent heat flux was the main form of energy loss. The Bowen ratio followed the “U”shaped pattern, and fluctuated from 0.285 to 2.062, suggesting that soil was a heat source. The yearly energy balance closure of the forest ecosystem was 0.782, and the monthly average was 0.808.

Forest resources in Qingyuan County of Liaoning, Northeast China: Their structure and optimal spatial allocation.

BU Chang-qian1,2,3, HU Zhi-bin1,2, YU Li-zhong1,2, YAN Qiao-ling1,2, ZHENG Xiao1,2

2013, 24(4):  1070-1076. 

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By using RS/GIS techniques and the method of multiple objective grey situation decision, and in considering the forest economic benefits (biomass and stand productivity) and ecological benefits (water and soil conservation), an optimal spatial allocation of the present forest types in Qingyuan County of Liaoning, Northeast China was approached in this study. After the optimization of spatial allocation, the structural proportions of different forest types in Qingyuan County changed obviously, with the area of coniferous forests reduced from 43% to 23%, the area of broadleaved forests reduced from 51% to 31%, the area of mixed coniferousbroadleaf forests increased from 3% to 43%, and the area of shrubs remained unchanged. As compared with the results before optimization, the biomass, stand productivity, and water conservation function of the forest ecosystem in Qingyuan County after optimization increased by 0.6%, 2.1%, and 31.7%, respectively, and the soil conservation function remained unchanged. It could be concluded that after the optimization of spatial allocation, the forest ecosystem of Qingyuan County could maintain its soil conservation function, and, at the time of keeping higher timber production, fully exert water conservation function, realizing the maximization of the economic and ecological benefits of the forest ecosystem.

 

Spatiotemporal variation patterns of water quality of Taoranting Lake, Beijing of China.

QU Jiang-qi, ZHANG Qing-jing, LIU Pan, JIA Cheng-xia, ZHU Hua, LI Wen-tong

2013, 24(4):  1077-1084. 

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By the methods of cluster analysis, discriminant analysis, and factor analysis, this paper studied the spatiotemporal variations of water quality of Taoranting Lake, a typical eutrophic urban landscape lake in Beijing, from March to November 2011. At temporal scale, the water quality of the Lake could be grouped into three periods which corresponded to the rainy season, normal season, and dry season in Beijing, respectively, reflecting an obvious temporal variation. At spatial scale, the water quality of the Lake at five sampling sites could be grouped into two groups, implying the different pollution degree. Water temperature, pH, transparency (SD), COD_Mn, total suspended solid (TSS), and Chl-a content were the main factors affecting the temporal variation of the water quality, and the eutrophication of the water body was mainly controlled by the water temperature and Chl-a, total nitrogen, and total phosphorous contents. The effects of TSS and organic pollution should be also paid more attention.

Land cover and landscape pattern changes in Poyang Lake region of China in 1980-2010.

WANG Juan-le1, RAN Ying-ying2, ZHANG Yong-jie2, CAO Xiao-ming1, YANG Fei1

2013, 24(4):  1085-1093. 

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Based on the land cover datasets of Poyang Lake region in 1980, 2005, and 2010, and by using GIS, RS, and landscape ecology approaches, this paper studied the land cover and landscape pattern changes in this region from 1980 to 2010, and quantitatively analyzed the land cover types change degree, patch area index, patch shape index, margin density index, and landscape diversity index. In 1980-2010, the main land cover types in this region were paddy field, inland water, evergreen broadleaf forest, and urban builtup area, and their areas and spatial patterns varied dramatically. Overall, the areas of inland water and urban builtup area had a significant increase, while those of paddy field and dry farmland decreased somewhat. Due to the effects of population growth and economic development, the landscape fragmentation degree and landscape diversity index presented a decreasing trend, but the decrement was small, which implied that the previous environmental management of this region had exerted important roles, but a long term challenge was still faced with between the regional environmental protection and sustainable development.

Effects of reforestation on soil chemical properties and microbial communities in a severely degraded sub-tropical red soil region.

GONG Xia1, NIU De-kui2, ZHAO Xiao-rui1, LU Sun-bao3, LIU Yuan-qiu2, WEI Xiao-hua4, GUO Xiao-min2

2013, 24(4):  1094-1100. 

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Taking the long-term reforestation experimental base established in a severely degraded sub-tropical hilly red soil region in Taihe County of Jiangxi Province in 1991 as the object, this paper studied the changes of soil nutrients and microbial communities after 19 years reforestation of Pinus elliottii forest, Liquidambar formosana forest, and P. elliotti-L. formosana forest, with the naturally restored  grassland as the control. The soil organic carbon content in the L. formosana and P. elliottii-L. formosana forests (15.16±3.53 and 16.42±0.49 g·kg^-1, respectively) was significantly higher than that in the control (9.30±1.13 g·kg^-1), the soil total phosphorus content was in the order of the control (0.30±0.02 g·kg^-1) > P. elliottii-L. formosana forest (0.22±0.04 g·kg^-1) > L. formosana forest (0.14±0.01 g·kg^-1), while the soil available phosphorus content was 1.66±0.02 mg·kg^-1 in L. formosana forest, 2.47±0.27 mg·kg^-1 in P. elliottii-L. formosana forest, and 1.15±0.71 mg·kg^-1 in P. elliottii forest, being significantly higher than that in the control (0.01±0.00 mg·kg^-1). The total amounts of soil microbes, the amount and percentage of soil bacteria, and the amount of inorganic and organic phosphatesolubilizing microbes in L. formosana forest and P. elliottii-L. formosana forest were all significantly higher than those in P. elliottii forest and the control, while the amount and percentage of soil fungi and the percentage of soil actinomycetes in L. formosana forest and P. elliottii-L. formosana forest were significantly lower than those in the control. The soil organic carbon content was significantly positively correlated with the percentage of soil bactera, but negatively correlated with the percentage of soil fungi and actinomycetes, while the soil available phosphorus content was significantly positively correlated with the amount of organic phosphatesolubilizing microes, but not with the amount of inorganic phosphate-solubilizing microbes. It was suggested that L. formosana forest and P. elliottii-L. formosana forest could be the recommended reforestation models in sub-tropical degraded red soil region.

Effects of nitrogen application rate on faba bean fusarium wilt and rhizospheric microbial metabolic functional diversity.

DONG Yan1, YANG Zhi-xian1, DONG Kun2, TANG Li1, ZHENG Yi1，3, HU Guo-bin1

2013, 24(4):  1101-1108. 

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A field plot experiment was conducted to study the effects of different nitrogen (N) application rates on the microbial functional diversity in faba bean rhizosphere and the relationships between the microbial functional diversity and the occurrence of faba bean fusarium wilt. Four nitrogen application rates were installed, i.e., N0 (0 kg·hm^-2), N₁ (56.25 kg·hm^-2), N₂ (112.5 kg·hm^-2), and N₃ (168.75 kg·hm^-2), and Biolog microbial analysis system was applied to study the damage of faba bean fusarium wilt and the rhizospheric microbial metabolic functional diversity. Applying N (N₁, N₂, and N₃) decreased the disease index of faba bean fusarium wilt and the quantity of Fusarium oxysporum significantly, and increased the quantities of bacteria and actinomyces and the ratios of bacteria/fungi and actinomyces/fungi significantly, with the peak values of bacteria and actinomyces, bacteria/fungi, and actinomyces/fungi, and the lowest disease index and F. oxysporum density in N₂. As compared with N₀, applying N increased the AWCD value significantly, but the effects of different N application rates on the ability of rhizospheric microbes in utilizing six types of carbon sources had definite differences. Under the application of N, the utilization rates of carbohydrates, carboxylic acids, and amino acids by the rhizospheric microbes were higher. Principal component analysis demonstrated that applying N changed the rhizospheric microbial community composition obviously, and the carbohydrates, carboxylic acids, and amino acids were the sensitive carbon sources differentiating the changes of the microbial community induced by N application. Applying N inhibited the utilization of carbohydrates and carboxylic acids but improved the utilization of amino acids and phenolic acids by the rhizospheric microbes, which could be one of the main reasons of applying N being able to reduce the harm of faba bean fusarium wilt. It was suggested that rationally applying N could increase the quantities of rhizospheric bacteria and actinomyces, alter the microbial metabolic function, and decrease F. oxysporum density, being an effective measure to control the occurrence of faba bean fusarium wilt.

Effects of Chinese onion’s root exudates on cucumber seedlings growth and rhizosphere soil microorganisms.

YANG Yang1,2, LIU Shou-wei1, PAN Kai1, WU Feng-zhi1

2013, 24(4):  1109-1117. 

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Taking the Chinese onion cultivars with different allelopathy potentials as the donor and cucumber as the accepter, this paper studied the effects of Chinese onion’s root exudates on the seedlings growth of cucumber and the culturable microbial number and bacterial community structure in the seedlings rhizosphere soil. The root exudates of the Chinese onion cultivars could promote the growth of cucumber seedlings, and the stimulatory effect increased with the increasing concentration of the root exudates. However, at the same concentrations of root exudates, the stimulatory effect had no significant differences between the Chinese onion cultivars with strong and weak allelopathy potential. The root exudates of the Chinese onion cultivars increased the individual numbers of bacteria and actinomyces but decreased those of fungi and Fusarium in rhizosphere soil, being more significant for the Chinese onion cultivar with high allelopathy potential (L-06). The root exudates of the Chinese onion cultivars also increased the bacterial community diversity in rhizosphere soil. The cloning and sequencing results indicated that the differential bacteria bands were affiliated with Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Anaerolineaceae, and Anaerolineaceae only occurred in the rhizosphere soil in the treatment of high allelopathy potential Chinese onion (L-06). It was suggested that high concentration (10 mL per plant) of root exudates from high allelopathy potential Chinese onion (L-06) could benefit the increase of bacterial community diversity in cucumber seedlings rhizosphere soil.

Population structure of soil arthropod in different  age Pinus massoniana plantations.

TAN Bo, WU Fu-zhong, YANG Wan-qin, ZHANG Jian, XU Zhen-feng, LIU Yang, GOU Xiao-lin

2013, 24(4):  1118-1124. 

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An investigation was conducted on the population structure of soil arthropod community in the 3-, 8-, 14-, 31-, and 40-years old Pinus massoniana plantations in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in spring (May) and autumn (October), 2011, aimed to search for the scientific management of the plantation. A total of 4045 soil arthropods were collected, belonging to 57 families. Both the individual density and the taxonomic group number of the soil arthropod community decreased obviously with increasing soil depth, and this trend increased with increasing stand age. The dominant groups and ordinary groups of the soil arthropod community varied greatly with the stand age of P. massoniana plantation, and a significant difference (P<0.05) was observed in the individual density and taxonomic group number among different  age P. massoniana plantations. In comparison with other stand age P. massoniana plantations, 3-years old P. massoniana plantation had a significant difference in the structure and diversity of soil arthropod community, and the similarity index of the soil arthropod community was lower. The individual density, taxonomic group number, and diversity of soil arthropod community were the highest in 8-years old P. massoniana plantation, and then, decreased obviously with increasing stand age. It was suggested that the land fertility of the P. massoniana plantations could be degraded with increasing stand age, and it would be appropriate to make artificial regulation and restoration in 8-years old P. massoniana plantation.

 

Effects of delayed first feeding  on  growth and survival of Hucho taimen larvae.

ZHANG Yong-quan, YIN Jia-sheng, DU Jia, ZHANG Ying, TONG Guang-xiang

2013, 24(4):  1125-1130. 

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This paper studied the effects of delaying first breeding Hucho taimen larvae for different days on the larvae growth, survival, and body size. Five treatments were installed, i.e., feeding begins on the first eating day (control, S₀) and on the 9th, 12th, 15th, and 18th days after the first eating day (S₁-S₄) at 10.4-14.9 ℃, respectively. By the end of the experiment (36-day), the growth rate and initial feeding rate in S₁ was higher than that in S₀, and the overall mortality rate in S₁ was lower, but the body size and mass in S₁ and S₀ had no significant difference. Compared with S₀, S₂ had higher growth rate, initial feeding rate, total mortality, and selfmutilation mortality, the body mass was significantly lower, but the body size had less difference. S₃ had higher first feeding rate, body size, total mortality, and selfmutilation mortality, but significantly lower body mass than S₀, whereas the growth rate had less difference. In S₄, the growth rate and body mass were lower, and the total mortality and selfmutilation mortality were higher than those in S₀. It was suggested that under the same conditions, delaying first feeding for 9 days would induce H. taimen larvae presenting “completely compensatory growth”, and this feeding way could be applied for the culture of H. taimen larvae in their initial feeding period.

Ecological carrying capacity of Chinese shrimp stock enhancement in Laizhou Bay of East China based on Ecopath model.

LIN Qun1, 2, LI Xian-sen1, LI Zhong-yi1, JIN Xian-shi1

2013, 24(4):  1131-1140. 

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Stock enhancement is an important way of fishery resources conservation, which can increase the high quality fishery resources and improve the fish population structure. The study of ecological carrying capacity is the premise for the scientific implementation of stock enhancement. Based on the survey data of the fishery resources and ecological environment in Laizhou Bay from 2009 to 2010, an Ecopath massbalance model of the Laizhou Bay ecosystem consisted of 26 functional groups was constructed, and applied to analyze the overall characteristics of the ecosystem, the trophic interrelationships, and the keystone species, and to calculate the ecological carrying capacity of Chinese shrimp enhancement. As for the overall characteristics of the ecosystem, the total primary production/total respiration (TPP/TR) was 1.53, total primary production/total biomass (TPP/B) was 24.54, Finn’s cycling index was lower (0.07), surplus production was higher (434.41 t·km^-2·a^-1), and system connectance index was lower (0.29), indicating that this ecosystem was at an early development stage. The analysis on the keystone species showed that Chinese shrimp was not a keystone species of this ecosystem. At present, the biomass of Chinese shrimp in the ecosystem was 0.1143 t·km^-2, with a greater potential of continued enhancement. It did not exceed the ecological carrying capacity of 2.9489 t·km^-2 when the biomass of the Chinese shrimp was increased by 25.8 times.

Dynamic model of seasonal breeding rodent pest population controlled with short-acting sterilant.

LIU Han-wu1,2,3, JIN Zhen2, ZHANG Feng-qin3, LI Qiu-ying3

2013, 24(4):  1141-1145. 

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Rodent pests bring great damage to human beings, while rodenticide and sterilant can be used to control the pests. After ingesting sterilant, rodent pests lose their fertility, but in some cases, the sterile individuals may gain their fertility again, produce offspring, and enlarge population size. In this paper, the dynamic models of rodent pest population under lethal control and short-acting contraception control were formulated, and, with the prerequisite of the seasonal breeding of rodent pest population, the models were used to regularly analyze their behaviors and the effects of the contraception rate, lethal rate, control interval, and sterilant valid period on the dynamics of the pest population. The results showed that larger contraception rate and lethal rate and shorter control interval could have better control effect, making the controlled population become smaller and even died out. Short-acting sterilant limited the control effect. At the later period of breeding season, the rodent pest population controlled with shortacting sterilant would have a weak recovery.

Research advances in identifying nitrate pollution sources of water environment by using nitrogen and oxygen stable isotopes.

MAO Wei, LIANG Zhi-wei, LI Wei, ZHU Yao, YANNG Mu-yi, JIA Chao-jie

2013, 24(4):  1146-1152. 

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Water body’s nitrate pollution has become a common and severe environmental problem. In order to ensure human health and water environment benign evolution, it is of great importance to effectively identify the nitrate pollution sources of water body. Because of the discrepant composition of nitrogen and oxygen stable isotopes in different sources of nitrate in water body, nitrogen and oxygen stable isotopes can be used to identify the nitrate pollution sources of water environment. This paper introduced the fractionation factors of nitrogen and oxygen stable isotopes in the main processes of nitrogen cycling and the composition of these stable isotopes in main nitrate sources, compared the advantages and disadvantages of five pretreatment methods for analyzing the nitrogen and oxygen isotopes in nitrate, and summarized the research advances in this aspect into three stages, i.e., using nitrogen stable isotope alone, using nitrogen and oxygen stable isotopes simultaneously, and combining with mathematical models. The future research directions regarding the nitrate pollution sources identification of water environment were also discussed.

Carbon storage and carbon sink of mangrove wetland: Research progress.

ZHANG Li1, 2, GUO Zhi-hua2, LI Zhi-yong1

2013, 24(4):  1153-1159. 

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Mangrove forest is a special wetland forest growing in the inter-tidal zone of tropical and subtropical regions, playing important roles in windbreak, promoting silt sedimentation, resisting extreme events such as cyclones and tsunamis, and protecting coastline, etc. The total area of global mangrove forests is about 152000 km², only accounting for 0.4% of all forest area. There are about 230 km² mangrove forests in China. The mangrove forests in the tropics have an average carbon storage as high as 1023 Mg·hm^-2, and the global mangrove forests can sequestrate about 0.18-0.228 Pg C·a^-1. In addition to plant species composition, a variety of factors such as air temperature, seawater temperature and salinity, soil physical and chemical properties, atmospheric CO₂ concentration, and human activities have significant effects on the carbon storage and sink ability of mangrove forests. Many approaches based on field measurements, including allometric equations, remote sensing, and model simulation,  are applied to quantify the carbon storage and sink ability of mangrove forest wetland. To study the carbon storage and sink ability of mangrove wetland can promote the further understanding of the carbon cycle of mangrove wetland and related controlling mechanisms, being of significance for the protection and rational utilization of mangrove wetland.

Effects of transmitter’s surgical implantation on fish: Research progress.

LUO Hong-wei1,2, DUAN Xin-bin2, LIU Shao-ping2, CHEN Da-qing2

2013, 24(4):  1160-1168. 

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Surgical implantation is generally accepted as the preferred attachment method for long-term fish telemetry study, but the negative effects of this surgical implantation on fish should not be ignored. The key for the successful fish telemetry study is that the existence and attachment of the transmitters in the experimental fish would not have negative effects on the normal fish physiology or behavior. Therefore, it is necessary to assess the potential negative effects of surgical implantation of  transmitter on experimental fish prior to telemetry monitoring. This paper reviewed the overseas research progress in the effects of  surgical implantation of transmitter on fish, and discussed the possible negative effects and affecting degrees of transmitters, surgical procedure, environmental factors, and anthropogenic factors in the process of transmitter’s surgical implantation in fish. Some suggestions were put forward to reduce the potential negative effects, and the research directions of  surgically implanted transmitters in fish in China were prospected.

Offshore ecosystem health status assessment: A review.

DAI Ben-lin1,2, HUA Zu-lin3, MU Fei-hu1,2, XU Ning1,2, HE Yu-long4

2013, 24(4):  1169-1176. 

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With the promotion of the concept of sustainable development, the issues of aquatic ecosystem health attract substantial attention, and considerable work has been carried out on the health assessment of waters, e.g., rivers and lakes. However, the health assessment of offshore ecosystem is still at its exploratory stage. Based on the investigations on the related references at home and abroad, this paper analyzed the concepts of offshore ecosystem health assessment, summarized the main methods for the assessment, the principles for screening related indicators, and the research philosophy,  and systematically listed the quantitative indices for the assessment. Aiming at the main existing issues in the researches of offshore ecosystem health, the future research directions about the offshore ecosystem health were suggested. It was considered that the concept and connotation analyses, the screening of assessment indicators, the choice of assessment scale, and the integration of assessment methods should be further strengthened to improve the assessment of offshore ecosystem health.

 

Ecological demonstration activity and eco-civilization construction mode: Review and prospects.

MAO Hui-ping1, HE Xuan1, HE Jia1, NIU Dong-jie1, BAO Cun-kuan2

2013, 24(4):  1177-1182. 

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Ecological civilization is to normalize human development behaviors to harmonize the relationships between social and ecological development and eco-environment protection. In this paper, a comparative analysis was made on the ecological demonstration activities of ecological demonstration areas led by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, exemplar cities of national environmental protection, and ecological provinces, cities, and counties. It was considered that all the ecological demonstration activities had the problems of lacking pertinence of construction goals, disordered construction subjects, inefficient construction processes, and lacking continuous incentive mechanisms of assessment. In the meantime, through the analysis of the connotations of eco-civilization, the relationships between eco-civilization and ecodemonstration constructions were approached, and the eco-civilization construction mode was put forward in terms of construction goal, construction subject, and construction processes and assessment. The construction mode included the construction goal based on regional characteristics, the synergistic cooperation of construction subjects, the expanding ways of public participation, and the establishment of evaluation system for comprehensively measuring the ‘actions and results’.