QSPR prediction of chromatographic retention times of pesticides: Partition and fractal indices

The high‐performance liquid‐chromatographic retentions of red‐wine pesticide residues are modeled by structure–property relationships. The effect of different types of features is analyzed: geometric, lipophilic, etc. The properties are fractal dimensions, partition coefficient, etc., in linear and nonlinear correlation models. Biological plastic evolution is an evolutionary perspective conjugating the effect of acquired characters and relations that emerge among the principles of evolutionary indeterminacy, morphological determination and natural selection. It is applied to design the co‐ordination index that is used to characterize pesticide retentions. The parameters used to calculate the co‐ordination index are the molar formation enthalpy, molecular weight and surface area. The morphological and co‐ordination indices barely improve the correlations. The fractal dimension averaged for non?buried atoms, partition coefficient, etc. distinguishes the pesticide molecular structures. The structural and constituent classification is based on nonplanarity, and the number of cycles, and O, S, N and Cl atoms. Different behavior depends on the number of cycles.     

Spectral characteristics of plant communities from salt marshes:A case study from Chongming Dongtan,Yangtzeestuary,China

The spectral reflectance of recently formed salt marshes at the mouth of the Yangtze River, which are undergoing invasion by Spartina alterniflora, were assessed to determine the potential utility of remotely sensed data in assessing future invasion and changes in species composition. Following a review of published research on remote sensing of salt marshes, 53 locations along three transects were sampled for paired data on plant species composition and spectral reflectance using a FieldSpec™ Pro JR Field Portable Spectroradiometer. Spectral data were processed concerning reflectance, and the averaged reflectance values for each sample were reanalysed to correspond to a 12-waveband bandset of the Compact Airborne Spectral Imager. The spectral data were summarised using principal components analysis (PCA) and the relationships between the vegetation composition, and the PCA axes of spectral data were examined. The first PCA axis of the reflectance data showed a strong correlation with variability in near infrared reflectance and ‘brightness’, while the second axis was correlated with visible reflectance and ‘greenness’. Total vegetation cover, vegetation height, and mudflat cover were all significantly related to the first axis. The implications of this in terms of the ability of remote sensing to distinguish the various salt marsh species and in particular the invasive species S. alterniflora were discussed. Major differences in species with various physiognomies could be recognised but problems occurred in separating early colonising S. alterniflora from other species at that stage. Further work using multi-seasonal hyperspectral data might assist in solving these problems.     

Vegetation changes in Conservation Reserve Program lands in interior Alaska

Over 14 million hectares of erosion prone cropland in the United States has been converted into grasslands through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) administered by the United States Department of Agriculture, however, studies of the effects of CRP enrollment on plant communities and subsequent plant succession are largely lacking. In Delta Junction, Alaska plant communities in CRP fields are transitioning from grasslands to shrub dominated plant communities, which are resulting in compliance problems with program regulations that state “fields must be maintained in a condition that permits easy conversion to cropland”. To determine plant succession and how previous land management and soils might influence the transition, we measured plant populations in 20 CRP fields throughout Delta Junction using modified-Whittaker plots. These data were combined with data on current management practices, previous farming history, soils, soil properties, diversity indices, and time since land was cleared and analyzed with nonmetric multidimensional scaling ordination to determine factors that influence plant succession. Time in the CRP was the only factor consistently influencing plant succession. As time in the CRP increased, the planted introduced grasses brome grass (Bromus inermis) and red fescue (Festuca rubra) and the native pteridophyte (Equisetum arvense) decreased, whereas a native grass (Calamigrostis canadensis), five native forb, two native shrub, and three native tree species increased. Plant diversity increased at a rate of more than 2 species per 1000 m² per year. Regression analyses of plant species and plant groups using time in the CRP as the dependent variable resulted in the identification of outlier CRP fields with significantly more or less than expected covers of vegetation. All fields with these outliers had reasonable explanations for the differences in cover that were unrelated to the overall rate of plant succession. Current management practices will result in incompliant fields and different management practices that result in woody vegetation control is key to maintaining CRP fields in compliance.     

Ordination of Plant Communities in Forest Biogeocenoses under Conditions of Air Pollution in the Northern Kola Peninsula

The species diversity and structure of the tree, herb–dwarf shrub, and moss–lichen layers in the biogeocenoses (BGCs) of pine forests of the Kola Peninsula were analyzed in the zone affected by the Pechenganikel Combined Works. Relationships of the diversity of phytocenoses with the amount of atmospheric fallout and the concentrations of accessible compounds of polluting elements (nickel and copper) and nutrients (potassium, magnesium, and nitrogen) in forest litters were revealed.     

关帝山八水沟天然植物群落时空梯度的数量分析

在ＤＣＡ排序的基础上，应用排序轴分类法对山西关帝山八水沟景观的天然植物群落进行了数量分类，共划分出７类，效果较好．多元线性回归结果表明ＤＣＡ排序轴与环境因子密切相关．方差分析与多重比较结果表明，结合ＤＣＡ第２与３排序轴的二维排序图反映了群落的时空变异，其中第２排序轴反映了群落在坡向与坡度方面的空间梯度，第３排序轴反映了群落的森林演替、灌丛发育以及各类群落的草本层发育的时间梯度     

采煤塌陷对地表植物群落特征的影响

为了研究采煤塌陷对地表植被组成及其多样性的影响,对陕西省神府-东胜补连塔煤矿采煤塌陷区不同塌陷年限(2、7、12、17 a)区域和未塌陷区域(对照)植被进行抽样调查与分析. 结果表明:该区域共有14科39属46种植物,主要为草本植物;采煤塌陷对植被种类组成、物种分布有很大影响,导致植物种类显著减少31.03%~44.83%. 塌陷区优势种较对照区有较大变化,优势种由多年生草本植物演变为一二年生草本植物;但是不同塌陷年限区域植物优势种基本稳定,主要为看麦娘(Alopecurus aequalis)、烛台虫实(Corispermum candelabrum)、刺叶藜(Chenopodium aristatum)等. 采煤塌陷导致植株密度显著下降58.62%~68.00%、物种丰富度显著下降17.43%~27.00%、Margalef丰富度指数显著降低4.07%~22.76%,但植被盖度差异不显著. 采煤塌陷显著影响植物群落多样性,其中,塌陷12和17 a样地植被Margalef丰富度指数和Shannon-Wiener多样性指数较塌陷2 a样地显著提高. 群落排序结果表明,物种分布与塌陷有明显相关性. 塌陷区植株密度及其植被组成中多年生草本种数很难恢复到对照区水平,植被恢复进程十分缓慢.      

池杉在三峡水库消落带生态修复中的适应性

冬季淹没和夏季干旱的交替作用会导致三峡水库消落带生态系统质量下降. 为了探索有效的生态系统修复方式,选用池杉树种开展了消落带林泽工程试验,并采用统计分析和RDA(冗余分析)排序对水淹胁迫下池杉的生长响应进行了研究. 结果表明:种植在海拔169 m以上的池杉经历两轮冬季淹水后成活率约为84.52%;树高、冠幅和枝叶密度平均变化量较小,分别为0.10 m、0.04 m和-0.11%,而胸径和枝下高变化明显,平均改变量分别为0.78 cm和-0.64 m;树高、胸径、冠幅和枝叶密度等指标变化率在没顶和部分淹水情况下存在显著差异. 部分淹水时,池杉对水淹胁迫的适应能力较强,随着淹水深度的增加,各生长指标变化量均呈下降趋势,部分植株有枯梢,没顶和部分淹水情况下枯梢率分别为43.56%和11.76%. RDA结果表明,水力条件和初始生长特征共同对淹水后池杉生长变化产生影响,二者对池杉生长指标变化的总体解释率为31.20%,独立解释率分别为11.90%、14.40%,共同解释率为4.90%. 池杉作为适应三峡水库消落带水位变动的本土耐淹树种,其经历水淹后的生长变化不仅与水位变动有关,同时也与其淹水前的生长状态有关. 研究结果有助于三峡水库消落带类似生态修复工程的进一步深入开展.      

香港灌丛植被的数量分类与环境关系分析

灌丛是香港植被的主要组成部分,2005年1—3月在香港地区(包括香港岛、九龙、新界和大屿山岛)设置样地,利用组平均法(UPGMA)和除趋势对应分析法(DCA)对香港灌丛群落进行聚类和排序分析. 结果表明,灌丛植被可划分为7个群落类型:桃金娘、米碎花、岗松、苏铁蕨、大头茶、山油柑和细齿柃. DCA排序揭示了灌丛群落的分布格局与环境因子的生态关系,DCA排序第1轴反映了灌丛群落所在环境的湿度梯度,排序图的对角线指示出海拔梯度,也反映了温度的变化. 结合物种多样性分析发现,物种多样性指数随海拔的升高而减少,说明水热条件和海拔是制约灌丛植被分布格局的主要因素.      

淮河流域河南段水生植物多样性评价及其影响因素分析

通过对淮河流域河南段开展野外调查及室内监测,分析河流水生植物类群组成及优势物种,从多样性、丰富度、优势度、均匀度4个方面对水生植物进行健康评价,采用CCA分析法探讨影响水生植物的关键环境因素。结果表明,淮河流域河南段共有水生植物38种,隶属于25科33属,分布广泛的优势种为芦苇、水花生、金鱼藻、轮叶黑藻、水蓼、水鳖、篦齿眼子菜。针对健康评价结果,淮河流域河南段水生植物呈现病态到健康状态。分析表明河流生态系统遭受破坏,生态系统呈现不稳定状况,主要原因为水质污染及人为活动干扰强烈。根据水生植物分布与水环境因子CCA响应关系研究,影响水生植物的主要因子为TP、COD、p H、电导率、氨氮。     

Analysis of the Relationship between Soil and Vegetation in Forest Biogeocenoses by the Principal Component Method

Coordinated soil–geobotanical studies revealed a close correlation between the species diversity of phytocenoses and soil properties in the Russkii Sever National Nature Park (Vologda oblast). Soil acidity, together with the concentrations of exchangeable calcium, potassium, and magnesium, is a factor determining variations of species diversity indices for vascular plants and bryophytes in forest biogeocenoses.