Ecotoxicity evaluation of Cu- and Fe-CNT complexes based on the activity of bacterial bioluminescence and seed germination

The toxic effects of the composites of Fe~0 and Cu~0 with different percentages of CNTs were examined based on the activity of bacterial bioluminescence and seed germination. In terms of the EC_50 values, the toxic effects of Cu~0 on bacterial bioluminescence and seed germination were approximately 2 and 180 times greater than that of Fe~0, respectively. The toxicity increased with increasing CNT content in the Cu-CNT mixtures for both organisms,whereas opposite results were observed with Fe-CNT mixtures. The mean toxic effects of Cu-CNT(6%) were approximately 1.3–1.4 times greater than that of Cu-CNT(0%), whereas the toxic effects of Fe-CNT(6%) were approximately 2.1–2.5 times lower than that of Fe-CNT(0%) for both the bioluminescence activity and seed germination. The causes of this phenomenon are unclear at this point. More research will be needed to elucidate the mechanism of the toxicity of nano-mixture materials and the causes of the different patterns of toxicity with Cu-and Fe-CNT mixtures.     

太旧高速公路中央分隔带绿化树种选择研究

针对太旧高速公路中央分隔带、边坡等绿化的实际绿化建设及管理工作状况。针对太旧高速公路中央分隔带及边坡的立地条件特点，阐述了树种选择的原则、程序和所使用的主要树种及各类花卉、草坪品种，并对高速公路中央分隔带绿化工作提出了建议。     

种子发芽势在环境污染监测中作为生物指标的尝试

本文用测定种子发芽势的方法，对Ｃｄ２＋、Ｈｇ２＋Ａｓ３－的生物毒害效应进行了试验，结果表明，种子发芽指数能很好地反映不同浓度Ｃｄ２＋、Ｈｇ２＋、Ａｓ３－的生物毒害作用．种子发芽势试验也可用于多成分污染物的生物毒性判别，通过相关分析或复回归分析可以大致判别出多成分污染物中何种成分生物毒性大．     

酸雨对种子萌发影响的实验研究

采用ＰＨ值２．５、３．０、３．５、４．５的酸雨处理小麦种子，观察种子的萌发率、平均萌发天数和萌发势。结果表明：酸雨对种子的萌发率和平均萌发无显著影响，但对种子萌发势有显著影响。     

Assessing four methods for establishing native plants on urban vacant land

Urban greening increases vegetation and can restore ecological functions to urban systems. It has ties to restoration ecology, which aims to return degraded land to diverse, functional ecosystems. Both practices can be applied to maximizing ecosystem services and habitat in vacant lots, which are abundant in post-industrial cities, including Chicago, Illinois (USA), where our study took place. We tested four methods for increasing native plant diversity in vacant lots, ranging from low input to resource-intensive: seed bombing, broadcast seeding, planting plugs, and gardening. After three growing seasons, we assessed the growth of eight target native species and all non-target species. We expected that intensive treatments would have more target species stems and flowers and fewer non-target species, but we found that less-intensive options often produce equal or better results. From this, we recommend broadcast seeding as a viable, low-cost method for improving habitat and biodiversity in vacant lots.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01383-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Contrasting responses of seed yield to elevated carbon dioxide under field conditions within Phaseolus vulgaris

The rising concentration of carbon dioxide [CO₂] in the atmosphere represents an increase in a growth-limiting resource for C₃ crop species. Identification of lines or characteristics of lines which have superior yield at elevated [CO₂] could aid in adaptation to this global change. While intraspecific variation in responses to elevated [CO₂] has been found in several species, intraspecific differences in crop yield responses to elevated [CO₂] under field conditions have seldom been documented. In this 4-year study, the responses of photosynthesis, growth, pod number, seed number and size, and seed yield to the elevation of [CO₂] to 180 μmol mol⁻¹ above the current ambient concentration were examined in four varieties of Phaseolus vulgaris in the field, using open-top chambers. There was a significant variety by [CO₂] interaction for seed yield, with seed yield at elevated [CO₂] ranging from 0.89 to 1.39 times that at ambient [CO₂] (mean 1.17×) in the different varieties, when averaged over 4 years. The highest yielding variety at elevated [CO₂] was not the highest yielding variety at ambient [CO₂]. The varieties with the largest and smallest yield responses both had an indeterminate growth habit. Down-regulation of photosynthesis at elevated [CO₂] only occurred in the two indeterminate varieties, and there was no significant correlation between the response of single leaf photosynthetic rate and the response of seed yield to elevated [CO₂] among varieties, nor between the responses of stem mass and seed yield. The change in the number of pods at elevated [CO₂] was the primary determinant of the response of seed yield. These results indicate that significant variation in the response of seed yield to elevated [CO₂] under field conditions does exist among varieties of P. vulgaris, and that variation in the response of pod and seed number may be more important than variation in photosynthetic response.     

Spillover of functionally important organisms between managed and natural habitats

Land-use intensification has led to a landscape mosaic that juxtaposes human-managed and natural areas. In such human-dominated and heterogeneous landscapes, spillover across habitat types, especially in systems that differ in resource availability, may be an important ecological process structuring communities. While there is much evidence for spillover from natural habitats to managed areas, little attention has been given to flow in the opposite direction. This paper synthesizes studies published to date from five functionally important trophic groups, herbivores, pathogens, pollinators, predators, and seed dispersers, and discusses evidence for spillover from managed to natural systems in all five groups. For each of the five focal groups, studies in the natural to managed direction are common, often with multiple review articles on each subject which document dozens of examples. In contrast, the number of studies which examine movement in the managed to natural direction is generally less than five studies per trophic group. These findings suggest that spillover in the managed to natural direction has been largely underestimated. As habitat modification continues, resulting in increasingly fragmented landscapes, the likelihood and size of any spillover effect will only increase.     

杉木种子园母树针叶中营养元素变化规律的研究

本文对湖南省东安县杉木无性系种子园通过分析杉木针叶营养元素年变化规律,确定营养分析的样品采集期,初步对球花产量与针叶中N、P、K含量之间关系进行探讨,制定出营养元素含量的临界值和最适范围。     

The search for indigenous dune stabilizers: Germination requirements of selected South African species

The coastline of South Africa is characterized by extensive dune fields which are threatened by development, and thus the demand of stabilization of drift sand will increase. The non-invasive alien grass speciesAmmophila arenaria is at present the dominant sand stabilizer. Due to its foreign origin and invasiveness in North America its use was criticized and indigenous sand-binding species would be preferred. The germination requirements of the nativeArctotheca populifolia, Ipomoea pes-caprae. Myrica cordifolia andScaevola plumieri were investigated. The results showed that for all four species the total germination time and germination phase could be shortened and germination success (number of germinated seeds) improved. The different scarification and stratification treatments broke the dormancy ofI. pes-caprae, M. cordifolia andS. plumieri, whereas the seeds ofA. populifolia were not dormant. Seeds ofI. pes-caprae andM. cordifolia had induced an innate dormancy, respectively, whereas the type of dormancy in seeds ofS. plumieri dormancy processes remained unknown.     

稀土在湿地松种子园上的应用研究

在广东西江林业局仙菊林场湿地松(Pinus elliotii)种子园对13年生母树分别于每年雌花期和坐果期喷施两次不同浓度的稀土“常乐”,三组处理为(花-果期)0.25—0.25gL~(-2)、0.25—0.50gL~(-1)和0.50—1.00gL~(-1),并以喷清水为对照。结果表明,三组稀土处理都使母树的球果和种子产量提高,单株产果量平均提高3ε.9％,产种量平均提高35.1％;种子的饱满度和生活力改善,千粒重提高3.9—26.4％,发芽率提高6.2—18.5％;各观测项都以喷施0.50—1.00g L~(-1)浓度的效果最显著。这一研究成果为优化松树品质与提高经济收入创造了有利条件。