Shift in ectomycorrhizal community composition in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seedling roots as a response to nickel deposition and removal of lichen cover

Scots pine seedlings were exposed to wet-deposited nickel (Ni) and removal of lichen cover in a dry heath Scots pine forest. Ni deposition affected the colonization of roots by indigenous ectomycorrhizal fungi in contrasting ways in intact and skimmed quadrats. Highest frequencies of tubercle morphotypes of ectomycorrhiza were found in quadrats exposed to 100 mg m⁻² year⁻¹ Ni in lichen covered treatment, while in skimmed quadrats these peaked after the treatment with 10 mg Ni m⁻² year⁻¹. Removal of the lichen layer increased the value of diversity index (H′) of ectomycorrhizal fungal community, probably due to the increase in the evenness of the morphotype distribution. Lichen removal seemed also to improve the condition of the short roots, as the frequencies of poor and senescent short roots were decreased by the removal.     

改性松针对水体中铅(II)的吸附

探讨了改性松针(GXLsp)作为吸附剂对水体中铅离子的吸附性能,考察了吸附时间、溶液pH值、吸附剂用量、盐离子浓度、Pb(II)初始浓度及温度对改性松针吸附Pb(II)的影响。利用Langmuir和Freundlich等温线模型对实验数据进行非线性拟合分析,结果表明,Freundlich等温线模型能很好地描述松针对Pb(II)的吸附过程。热力学参数表明吸附是一个自发的吸热过程。改性松针对铅的吸附行为符合拟二级动力学方程,表明吸附过程是以化学吸附为主。在293K时松针对Pb(II)的饱和吸附量为318.3 mg/g,因此,GXLsp可作为一种高效低值生物质吸附剂以去除水体中重金属Pb(II)的污染。     

Plants with phytotoxic potential: Wollemi pine (Wollemia nobilis)

Herbicide resistance in annual ryegrass (ARG, Lolium rigidum) threatens the quality and yield of winter wheat crops in Australia, prompting research to discover novel natural plant compounds with herbicidal properties. Due to its novel nature and potentially interesting chemistry, the Australian native, Wollemi pine (Wollemia nobilis), was tested for its ability to suppress ARG growth and its feasibility for use in weed control strategies. The leaf extract of Wollemi pine significantly inhibited the growth of ARG and wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum) in laboratory bioassays at concentrations above 1% extract. In soil trials, the 100% extract (100 g dried plant material/L) inhibited the dry weight of ARG by 25%. The addition of a wetting agent to the extract increased the suppression of ARG to 80% which was as phytotoxic as a 4-fold increase in the extract concentration (“400%” extract). Using bioassay-guided fractionation, the most phytotoxic fraction was identified and further analysed via GC/MS. Several compounds not previously identified in Wollemi pine leaf extracts have been identified, namely, 2-propylphenol, 3,4-dimethoxyphenol, 2-methoxybenzoic acid, vanillyl alcohol and isovanillic acid. These results suggest that Wollemi pine is an important potential source of compounds for the control of ARG and wild radish in winter crops.     

Long-Term Monitoring of Scots Pine Litter Decomposition Rates Throughout Sweden Indicates Formation of a More Recalcitrant Litter in the South

Decomposition studies were carried out at sites throughout Sweden, including the four Integrated Monitoring sites. Scots pine needle litterbag weight loss measurements over 3 or 5 years were determined at 26 sites and repeated up to 27 times, depending on the site. Humus layer respiration rates were determined for 20 sites in 1987–1989 and repeated in 2007–2008. Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression was used to elucidate the relative importance of climatic and soil factors. Annual needle weight losses decreased only slowly (20–10%) over 3–5 years for all northern (>60°N) sites but decreased sharply from 30 to 10% in the third year in southern (<60°N) sites. Respiration rates of southern sites were less (40% on average) than those of northern sites. Humus layer N was positively correlated to needle weight loss during the first and the second years, but negatively correlated in the third year and to respiration rates. The results indicated that litter formed in southern Sweden became more recalcitrant in later stages of decomposition compared to litter produced in northern Sweden.     

东北地区落叶松毛虫灾害气象风险区划初步研究

利用黑龙江省牡丹江市海林市松毛虫发生情况与气象因子进行相关性分析,筛选出≥10℃积温正距平、夏季气温正距平和日最高气温≥30℃天数正距平、冬季气温正距平以及3-10月降水量负距平与松毛虫大发生有较好的相关性。其次,基于东北地区76个气象站,利用上述关键气象因子作为利于东北地区松毛虫大发生的气象条件进行分析。结果表明,1971-2010年40年东北地区年≥10℃积温、夏季和冬季气温均呈明显增加趋势,3-10月降水呈微弱的降低趋势,也就是说40年来东北地区气候变化趋向于利于松毛虫灾害发生。另外,对东北地区1971-2010年上述关键气象因子单因子利于松毛虫灾害发生的历史风险以及综合气象因子利于松毛虫灾害发生的历史风险进行分析,得出东北地区松毛虫灾害气象风险区划分布,结果表明吉林省中部、黑龙江大小兴安岭、牡丹江半山区的南部和西部松毛虫灾害气象风险约为10年二、三遇;辽宁大部,吉林省东南部、黑龙江松嫩平原和三江平原松毛虫灾害气象风险约为10年三至四遇。     

Studies on biological features of band pine forests in the intermontane Minusinsk Depression by methods of gradient analysis

The results of gradient analysis of band pine forests in the Minusinsk Depression are presented. Methods of DCA ordination and correlation analysis have been used to reveal specific features of phytocenotic diversity formation in forest communities growing in azonal habitats of this steppe depression and to test zonal and typological forest units for ecological integrity. The role of directly acting zonal and compensatory ecological factors and specific relationships between types of forest communities and ecological-topographic conditions in the main forms of relief are considered.     

Assessment of growth and stemwood quality of Scots pine on territory influenced by alkaline industrial dust

Long-term influence of alkaline dust (pH 12.3–12.7) pollution emitted over 40 years from a cement plant in Estonia was the reason of alkalisation (pH 6.7–7.9) and high concentrations of K, Ca and Mg in the soil of affected territories. Although dust emission has diminished during the last 10 years, the disbalances in nutrition substrate and their influence on the growth of trees are notable up to now. The study of morphological and physical properties of 70–80-year-old Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) crown, stems and stemwood from three different air pollution zones showed serious deviations in comparison with a relatively healthy forest in an unpolluted area. The specimens from polluted trees, if compared to reference site, showed significantly smaller height growth, radial increment and width of annual rings of sapwood. In heartwood wider annual rings were found in polluted areas. In the period of heartwood formation the dust pollution level emitted from the plant was relatively modest and cement dust, which contains elements necessary for mineral nutrition of trees, may have acted as fertiliser. The moisture content in sapwood and heartwood, especially in the upper layers of stems, was lower in the polluted area than in reference site trees. Regression analysis revealed a strong dependence between latewood percentage and sapwood or heartwood in stems of Scots pine in all sample plots.     

青岛市松针中多环芳烃污染状况研究

松针、苔藓类等植物可有效的监测环境空气中多环芳烃等有机污染物。为了解青岛市松针中多环芳烃的污染状况，本文使用索氏提取、氧化铝-硅胶净化柱净化、气相色谱-质谱（GC-MS）分析的方法，研究了青岛市6个不同区域的松针中多环芳烃的含量。该方法的提取净化效率在70．8％以上。在6个采样点中，1号采样点松针中的多环芳烃含量最低，平均为7．54ng/g（湿重含量），5号和6号采样点最高，分别为41．0ng/g和39．6ng/g。多环芳烃浓度季节变化规律为春季〉冬季〉夏季；松针中三、四环多环芳烃占总量的82％～90％，苯并（a）芘与多环芳烃总量具有较好的相关性。     

Modelling soil carbon development in Swedish coniferous forest soils—An uncertainty analysis of parameters and model estimates using the GLUE method

Boreal forest soils such as those in Sweden contain a large active carbon stock. Hence, a relatively small change in this stock can have a major impact on the Swedish national CO₂ balance. Understanding of the uncertainties in the estimations of soil carbon pools is critical for accurately assessing changes in carbon stocks in the national reports to UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol. Our objective was to analyse the parameter uncertainties of simulated estimates of the soil organic carbon (SOC) development between 1994 and 2002 in Swedish coniferous forests with the Q model. Both the sensitivity of model parameters and the uncertainties in simulations were assessed. Data of forests with Norway spruce, Scots pine and Lodgepole pine, from the Swedish Forest Soil Inventory (SFSI) were used. Data of 12 Swedish counties were used to calibrate parameter settings; and data from another 11 counties to validate. The “limits of acceptability” within GLUE were set at the 95% confidence interval for the annual, mean measured SOC at county scale. The calibration procedure reduced the parameter uncertainties and reshaped the distributions of the parameters county-specific. The average measured and simulated SOC amounts varied from 60 t C ha⁻¹ in northern to 140 t C ha⁻¹ in the southern Sweden. The calibrated model simulated the soil carbon pool within the limits of acceptability for all calibration counties except for one county during one year. The efficiency of the calibrated model varied strongly; for five out of 12 counties the model estimates agreed well with measurements, for two counties agreement was moderate and for five counties the agreement was poor. The lack of agreement can be explained with the high inter-annual variability of the down-scaled measured SOC estimates and changes in forest areas over time. We conclude that, although we succeed in reducing the uncertainty in the model estimates, calibrating of a regional scale process-oriented model using a national scale dataset is a sensitive balance between introducing and reducing uncertainties. Parameter distributions showed to be scale sensitive and county specific. Further analysis of uncertainties in the methods used for reporting SOC changes to the UNFCCC and Kyoto protocol is recommended.