Response of “Alamo” switchgrass tissue chemistry and biomass to nitrogen fertilization in West Tennessee,USA

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) is a perennial, warm-season grass that has been identified as a potential biofuel feedstock over a large part of North America. We examined above- and belowground responses to nitrogen fertilization in “Alamo” switchgrass grown in West Tennessee, USA. The fertilizer study included a spring and fall sampling of 5-year old switchgrass grown under annual applications of 0, 67, and 202 kg N ha^?1 (as ammonium nitrate). Fertilization changed switchgrass biomass allocation as indicated by root:shoot ratios. End-of-growing season root:shoot ratios (mean ± SE) declined significantly (P ≤ 0.05) at the highest fertilizer nitrogen treatment (2.16 ± 0.08, 2.02 ± 0.18, and 0.88 ± 0.14, respectively, at 0, 67, and 202 kg N ha^?1). Fertilization also significantly increased above- and belowground nitrogen concentrations and decreased plant C:N ratios. Data are presented for coarse live roots, fine live roots, coarse dead roots, fine dead roots, and rhizomes. At the end of the growing season, there was more carbon and nitrogen stored in belowground biomass than aboveground biomass. Fertilization impacted switchgrass tissue chemistry and biomass allocation in ways that potentially impact soil carbon cycle processes and soil carbon storage.     

Performance and water-use efficiency (single-leaf vs. whole-canopy) of well-watered and half-stressed split-root Lambrusco grapevines grown in Po Valley (Italy)

‘Lambrusco a foglia frastagliata’ grapevines (Vitis vinifera L.) were grown outdoors at Piacenza (44°55′N, 9°44′E, Po Valley, Italy) with the root system split between two 30-L pots and subjected from pre-veraison (17 July) to harvest (5 September) to soil drying of half of the root system (HS) induced by withholding water from one of the two pots as compared to well-watered (WW) vines (both pots daily recharged at field capacity). Volumetric soil-water content, pre-dawn and mid-morning leaf water potential, single-leaf gas-exchange as assimilation rate, stomatal conductance and transpiration were monitored throughout the trial. Whole-canopy gas-exchange as net CO₂ exchange rate (NCER) and transpiration were tracked from 31 August to 7 September on three vines per treatment on a 24-h basis using an enclosure method. Primary leaf carbon isotope (δ¹³C) composition, yield components and must composition were determined at harvest.Withdrawing water from one pot triggered a water stress response showing higher stomatal sensitivity to changes in air vapour pressure deficit, relatively low assimilation rates, high intrinsic and extrinsic water-use efficiency (WUE) and earlier cessation of shoot growth. Yet, mid-morning leaf water potential was consistently lower in HS treatment over stress as compared to WW, indicating an anisohydric adjustment. Canopy NCER given on a leaf-area basis showed mean daily rates ranging from 3.9 to 4.9 μmol m² s^?1 in WW canopies against 2.6–3.0 μmol m^?2 s^?1 in HS. Conversely, canopy transpiration rates varied from 0.915 to 1.157 mmol m^?2 s^?1 for WW to 0.630–0.714 mmol m² s^?1 in HS. Increased leaf-based intrinsic and extrinsic WUE in HS did not match the canopy response, which to some extent resulted in an opposite outcome, i.e. higher canopy WUE in well-watered vines especially in the morning hours. Likewise, δ¹³C did not differ between treatments. This suggests caution when point-time determinations of single-leaf-based WUE are extrapolated to the whole-canopy behaviour when assessing the water saving strategies of a given genotype. The stressed vines achieved no variation in yield level and components and had improved grape composition as to soluble solids and total anthocyanins. This optimal behaviour is likely due to earlier shoot growth cessation, enhanced maturity and a buffering leaf-to-fruit ratio (3.61 m² kg^?1) that mitigated the effects of post-veraison stress.     

Chronosequence analysis of two enclosure management strategies in degraded rangeland of semi-arid Kenya

The establishment of enclosures has become an important measure to combat land degradation in many of the world's semi-arid rangelands. In view of the increased pressure exerted by this land reclamation strategy on the neighbouring agricultural lands, knowledge of the time required for restoring vegetation cover and soil health, and of the potential positive impact of an adapted management strategy, is highly required. This paper assesses the vegetation and soil rehabilitation in a 23-year chronosequence of two different enclosure management types. In the severely degraded, semi-arid Njemps Flats plain of the Lake Baringo Basin in Kenya communal enclosures characterised by high quality inputs and strict control, and private enclosures managed by individual farmers, were installed since the 1980s. Six communal enclosures (3–17 years since establishment) and six private enclosures (13–23 years since establishment) were selected. Vegetation cover was estimated along three 50 m transects set within each enclosure and in the adjacent open grazing area using the point-to-line transect method. Five 0.5 m² quadrats systematically placed alongside each transect were sampled for herbaceous standing biomass and topsoil physical, chemical and biological analyses. Grass cover and herbaceous biomass production proved to be the most responsive biotic parameters under both management types, whereas the recovery of the forbs was unsuccessful. Under communal management, the biomass production fully recovered up to its optimal level as recorded in the neighbouring nature reserves. Within private enclosures however, the adopted management strategies seriously restricted biomass production to a significantly lower level. Soil quality generally recovered more slowly with time. Significant improvements compared to the open rangeland were recorded in topsoil bulk density, organic C and total N stocks, and microbial biomass C and N stocks of the communal enclosures. Unlike the communal enclosures, only topsoil bulk density and the microbial biomass C stock showed a significant difference in the private enclosures. With respect to C and total N stocks, and the microbial biomass N a non-significant improving trend was recorded. The level of chemical and biological soil quality obtained under both management types is still low and draws the attention to the importance of careful monitoring of grazing and grass cutting activities under both enclosure management strategies. The chronosequences further highlight the potential of some well-managed private enclosures, whereas intrinsic soil properties such as high alkalinity, as well as changes in management, limit the rehabilitation of some other private as well as communal enclosures.     

藏北草地生态系统可持续发展能力评价

藏北草地是我国重要的畜牧业生产基地和生态安全屏障。然而,草地退化引发了一系列的生态、经济、环境和社会问题,不仅直接威胁到我国的生态屏障安全和当地的畜牧业生产,而且严重影响着藏北草地生态系统的可持续发展。研究以藏北那曲地区为例,利用复合生态系统场方法,构建了以生态功能、生产功能和生活功能为基础的可持续发展评价指标体系和模型,并通过对1985-2008年那曲地区草地生态系统的发展变化分析,定量评价了草地生态系统的可持续发展能力。评价结果表明,藏北那曲草地生态系统的发展位已超过了系统的最大承载能力,发展势缺乏潜能,协调性较差,可持续发展度很低,草地生态系统处于不可持续的发展状态。     

草场管理中的市场机制与习俗制度的关系及其影响:青藏高原案例研究

近年来,政府大力推动在完善承包到户基础上的草场经营权的流转,目的之一是通过市场手段来整合牧户个体的草场资源,促进畜牧业的规模化生产。市场机制与牧区传统管理草场的习俗制度,二者的关系及其对草场管理的影响是怎样的?论文选择位于青海省贵南县的元义村和查乃核村为案例地来研究上述问题。元义村反映市场机制取代习俗制度,查乃核村则反映了市场机制嵌套在习俗制度中。通过比较两个案例地的牧户生计、畜牧业生产以及贫富差距,研究发现:1)查乃核村的牧户年均畜牧业资产高于元义村;2)查乃核村的畜牧业生产量逐年增加、牲畜死亡率明显减少,畜牧业生产收益率高于元义村;3)查乃核村的贫富差距明显低于元义村。基于此,论文认为市场机制嵌套在社区习俗制度的制度安排在草场管理中更有效,因为这样的管理模式在满足牧户个体对于权属明晰和补偿需求的同时,能够维持社区共用草场以适应青藏高原多变的气候特征所导致的资源时空分布的异质性。随着市场化的发展,草场管理需要权属明晰及市场机制,但实现这样的目标不需要弱化甚至取代已有的社区习俗制度。     

公共资源可持续利用的微观影响因素分析

草地被称为世界性的公共资源。以往对于草地退化的关注多侧重在技术研究和推广上。为揭示微观行为对公共资源利用的影响,以寻求有效途径保护具有重要生态战略意义的草地资源,论文利用2005年西部6省区17县231个农户数据以及2006和2007年环青海湖地区的实地调查经验,采用农户模型和计量分析方法,研究现有产权制度下牧民的草地管理行为对草地资源退化的影响。结果表明,牧民参与非农就业、扩大牧户的草场规模以及进行围栏和舍棚建设有利于减轻草场的退化。据此,提出以下政策建议:目前政府提供围栏和舍棚建设方面的相关政策扶持,同时,制定有利于牧民参与非农就业机会的政策,降低牧区的人口压力,可有效促进草地公共资源的可持续利用。     

藏北高寒草地生态系统服务价值评估

藏北高寒草地是我国重要的畜牧业生产基地和生态安全屏障.然而,高寒草地退化使生态系统服务功能减弱,生态服务价值降低,不仅严重影响了藏北高原畜牧业生产和牧民生活,而且直接威胁到区域生态安全及东亚水资源安全.因此,本研究在综合考虑草地生态系统的地域差异性、空间异质性和区域经济发展水平差异性的基础上,选择了贡献率较高的12项指标,对藏北那曲不同类型和不同退化程度高寒草地的生态服务价值进行评估.结果表明,藏北那曲地区高寒草地生态系统的年总生态服务价值为1199.07亿元,其中,高寒草原、高寒荒漠、高寒荒漠草原和高寒草甸提供的生态服务价值分别占总生态服务价值的62.9%、1.5%、8.0%和28.1%.从退化程度上看,未退化、轻度退化、中度退化和严重退化草地提供的生态服务价值分别占总生态服务价值的54.9%、29.3%、11.0%和4.8%.     

Effects of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) root mucilage on microbial community response and capacity for phenanthrene remediation

Biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is normally limited by their low solubility and poor bioavailability. Prior research suggests that biosurfactants are synthesized as intermediates during the production of mucilage at the root tip. To date the effects of mucilage on PAH degradation and microbial community response have not been directly examined. To address this question, our research compared 3 cowpea breeding lines (Vigna unguiculata) that differed in mucilage production for their effects on phenanthrene (PHE) degradation in soil. The High Performance Liquid Chromatography results indicated that the highest PHE degradation rate was achieved in soils planted with mucilage producing cowpea line C1, inoculated with Bradyrhizobium, leading to 91.6% PHE disappearance in 5 weeks. In root printing tests, strings treated with mucilage and bacteria produced larger clearing zones than those produced on mucilage treated strings with no bacteria or bacteria inoculated strings. Experiments with ¹⁴C-PHE and purified mucilage in soil slurry confirmed that the root mucilage significantly enhanced PHE mineralization (82.7%), which is 12% more than the control treatment without mucilage. The profiles of the PHE degraders generated by Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis suggested that cowpea C1, producing a high amount of root mucilage, selectively enriched the PHE degrading bacteria population in rhizosphere. These findings indicate that root mucilage may play a significant role in enhancing PHE degradation and suggests that differences in mucilage production may be an important criterion for selection of the best plant species for use in phytoremediation of PAH contaminated soils.     

Evaluation of two soil carbon models using two Kenyan long term experimental datasets

RothC and Century are two of the most widely used soil organic matter (SOM) models. However there are few examples of specific parameterisation of these models for environmental conditions in East Africa. The aim of this study was therefore, to evaluate the ability of RothC and the Century to estimate changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) resulting from varying land use/management practices for the climate and soil conditions found in Kenya. The study used climate, soils and crop data from a long term experiment (1976–2001) carried out at The Kabete site at The Kenya National Agricultural Research Laboratories (NARL, located in a semi-humid region) and data from a 13 year experiment carried out in Machang’a (Embu District, located in a semi-arid region). The NARL experiment included various fertiliser (0, 60 and 120 kg of N and P₂O₅ ha⁻¹), farmyard manure (FYM—5 and 10 t ha⁻¹) and plant residue treatments, in a variety of combinations. The Machang’a experiment involved a fertiliser (51 kg N ha⁻¹) and a FYM (0, 5 and 10 t ha⁻¹) treatment with both monocropping and intercropping. At Kabete both models showed a fair to good fit to measured data, although Century simulations for treatments with high levels of FYM were better than those without. At the Machang’a site with monocrops, both models showed a fair to good fit to measured data for all treatments. However, the fit of both models (especially RothC) to measured data for intercropping treatments at Machang’a was much poorer. Further model development for intercrop systems is recommended. Both models can be useful tools in soil C predictions, provided time series of measured soil C and crop production data are available for validating model performance against local or regional agricultural crops.     

根表铁膜在人工湿地磷去除中的作用及基质的影响

本研究构建了基质铁含量分别为10.68％、23.52％、44.20％和pH分别为7.0、7.3、7.9的3个水平潜流人工湿地实验系统,在对污水进行5个月处理后,分析了各系统不同区域植物根表铁膜形成量及植物、基质、根表铁膜中磷的分配量,以期阐明植物根表铁膜在人工湿地磷去除中的作用及基质的影响.结果表明,经过5个月的污水处理,3个系统植物根表都出现了明显的铁膜,形成量在15 ～35 g·kg-1(以根干重计)之间,铁膜的形成量受到基质铁含量和pH共同影响,基质铁含量的增加,同时pH不增加或增加幅度较小时,铁膜形成量会相应增加;但若含铁基质材料碱性较强时,基质铁含量增加导致pH大幅增加时,根表铁膜形成量则不随基质铁含量增加而增加3个系统铁膜中磷含量都在20g·kg-1(以根干重计)左右,相差不大,铁膜磷含量受基质对磷的竞争和植物吸收转移影响.各系统中,铁膜单位磷含量远高于植物和基质,并且分配在铁膜中的磷总量既高于植物地上部分也高于地下部分,甚至与植物地上和地下部分总和接近,表明铁膜在人工湿地中是一个重要的磷吸附截留部位,对人工湿地磷的去除具有重要作用.     

作物生产、水分消耗与水分利用效率间的动态联系

在对水分消耗与产量（或同化物生产）关系剖析的基础上，引入边际水分利用效率与水分生产弹性系数概念，探讨具有动态特征的作物生产、水分消耗与水分利用效率间的内在联系。就作物产量层次上的水分利用效率而论，当Ｙ＝ｆ（ＥＴ）表现为线性时，ＷＵＥ随ＥＴ的变化趋势直接受常数项的取值条件的影响；当Ｙ＝ｆ（ＥＴ）表现为二次抛物线时，随着ＥＴ的增加，ＷＵＥ的最大值要先于Ｙ的最大值而提前达到，使ＷＵＥ达到最大值的ＥＴ值等于常数项与二次项系数之比的算术平方根，在其之前，ＷＵＥ渐增，在其之后，ＷＵＥ渐降。     

Cassava, maize and tree root development as affected by various agroforestry and cropping systems in Bénin, West Africa

Soil fertility levels, climate, aboveground interaction for light in plant canopies, and belowground interactions of the root systems for nutrients and water have an important influence on the performance of cropping systems. This study aims at identifying the impact of agroforestry treatments and fertilizer application on the root development of cassava-based cropping systems. At three sites in southern Bénin, the root development of intercropped maize (Zea mays) and cassava (Manihot esculenta) vs. sole-cropped cassava was monitored in an NPK fertilizer treatment and a no-fertilizer and no-mulch treatment. The latter represented local farmers’ practice. In addition, root development of sole-cropped cassava in three agroforestry systems was recorded at the same sites consisting of: (i) annually planted Cajanus cajan, (ii) perennial alleys, and (iii) a tree block of a Gliricidia sepium, Flemingia macrophylla, Parkia biglobosa, Millettia thonningii mixture. Soil monolith sampling was used to extract roots and generate data on the morphological development of root systems and their interactions. In general, intercropping reduced cassava root length density (RLD). Fertilizer applications significantly increased (P≤0.05) the RLD of intercropped maize and intercropped cassava at all sites. Annual alleys of C. cajan developed smaller RLD and root weight densities (RWD) than the perennial tree mixture, leading to less interference with cassava. Block arrangement of the tree mixture had detrimental effects on the cassava growth in the adjacent rows, indicated by high RLD and RWD of the tree mixture. However, the overall effect on cassava yield was positive, when the crop yield is calculated on an entire field basis.     

Changes in soil respiration across a chronosequence of tallgrass prairie reconstructions

Close relationships among climatic factors and soil respiration (R_s) are commonly reported. However, variation in R_s across the landscape is compounded by site-specific differences that impede the development of spatially explicit models. Among factors that influence R_s, the effect of ecosystem age is poorly documented. We hypothesized that R_s increases with grassland age and tested this hypothesis in a chronosequence of tallgrass prairie reconstructions in central Iowa, U.S.A. We also assessed changes in root biomass, root ingrowth, aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP), and the strength of soil temperature and moisture in predicting R_s. We found a significant increase in total growing season R_s with prairie age (R² = 0.79), ranging from 714 g C m^?2 in the youngest reconstruction (age 4) to 939 g C m^?2 in the oldest prairie (age 12). Soil temperature was a strong predictor of intra-seasonal R_s among prairies (R² = 0.78–0.87) but mean growing season soil temperature and moisture did not relate to total R_s. The increase in R_s with age was positively correlated with root biomass (r = 0.80) and ANPP (r = 0.87) but not with root ingrowth. Our findings suggest that growing season R_s increases with tallgrass prairie age, root biomass, and ANPP during young grassland development.     

Soil characteristics under cash crop farming in upland areas of Sarawak,Malaysia

This study discusses soil fertility under perennial cash crop farming (para rubber, Hevea brasiliensis; black pepper, Piper nigrum; oil palm, Elaeis guineensis) conducted by local farmers and an oil palm estate in an upland area of Sarawak, Malaysia, in comparison with the surrounding secondary forests. In the farmlands of the local farmers, rubber farming was conducted without fertilizer application, while 2–5 t ha^?1 of NPK compounds were applied annually on pepper farms. Soils under rubber farming were acidic with poor nutrient contents, resembling soils in secondary forests. In pepper farms, soils were less acidic and showed high nutrient contents, especially with respect to available P and exchangeable Ca. This trend became stronger with increasing farming duration. Fertilizers applied around pepper vines appeared to migrate and spread across the fields. Bulk density and hardness of surface soils were higher in pepper farms than in secondary forests, indicating soil compaction due to field works. In the oil palm estate, annual fertilizer application rates were moderate at 0.4–0.8 t ha^?1 of NPK compound fertilizers. However, the soil properties in the oil palm estate were similar to those of the small-scale pepper farms. Close to the bases of the palms where fertilizers usually are applied, the contents of exchangeable Ca and available P were high. Nutrient uptake by the dense root systems of the palms seemed to prevent excessive loss of nutrients through leaching. Loss of soil organic matter and deterioration of soil physical properties were brought about by terrace bench construction, but the soils seemed to recover to some extent over time. In conclusion, technologies such as intercropping and the appropriate allocation of different crops to specific locations as well as the proper selection and dosage of fertilizers should be developed and adopted to improve fertilizer efficiency and prevent water pollution due to fertilizer wash-off from farmlands.     

Effect of fertilization and irrigation schedule on water and fertilizer solute transport for wheat crop in a sub-humid sub-tropical region

In order to increase the water and fertilizer use efficiency and decrease the losses of water and fertilizer solutes (N and P), it is necessary to assess the influence of level of fertilization and irrigation schedule on movement and balance of water and fertilizers in the root zone. With this goal, the reported study was undertaken to determine the effect of fertilization and irrigation schedule on water movement and fertilizer solute transport in wheat crop field in a sub-tropical sub-humid region. Field experiments were conducted on wheat crop of cultivar Sonalika (Triticum aestivum L.) during the years 2002–2003, 2003–2004 and 2004–2005. Each experiment consisted of four fertilizer treatments and three irrigation treatments during the wheat growth period. During the experiment, the irrigation treatments were: I₁ = 10% maximum allowable depletion (MAD) of available soil water (ASW); I₂ = 40% MAD of ASW; I₃ = 60% MAD of ASW. The fertilizer treatments during the experiment were: F₁ = control treatment with N:P₂O₅:K₂O as 0:0:0 kg ha⁻¹; F₂ = fertilizer application of N:P₂O₅:K₂O as 80:40:40 kg ha⁻¹; F₃ = fertilizer application of N:P₂O₅:K₂O as 120:60:60 kg ha⁻¹ and F₄ = fertilizer application of N:P₂O₅:K₂O as 160:80:80 kg ha⁻¹. The results of the investigation revealed that low volume high frequency irrigation results in higher deep percolation losses than the low frequency high volume irrigation with different levels of fertilization for wheat crop in coarse lateritic soil, whereas different levels of fertilization did not significantly affect soil water balance of the wheat crop root zone during all the irrigation schedules. Level of fertilization and irrigation schedule had significant effect on nitrogen leaching loss whereas irrigation schedules had no significant effect on nitrogen uptake under different levels of fertilization. On the other hand, the leaching loss of phosphorus was not significantly influenced by the irrigation schedule and level of fertilization of wheat crop. This indicated that PO₄–P leaching loss was very low in the soil solution as compared to nitrogen due to fixation of phosphorus in soils. From the observed data of nitrogen and phosphorus use efficiency, it was revealed that irrigation schedule with 40% maximum allowable depletion of available soil water with F₂ fertilizer treatment (N:P₂O₅:K₂O as 80:40:40 kg ha⁻¹) was the threshold limit for wheat crop with respect to nitrogen and phosphorus use, crop yield and environmental pollution.     

利用碳氮共掺杂二氧化钛纳米管阵列实现同时降解甲基橙和产氢

本研究结合阳极氧化和超声辅助沉积的方法合成碳氮共掺杂的二氧化钛纳米管阵列,并采用XRD、FESEM、UV-vis、XPS等技术对材料进行表征.光电化学(PEC)体系中,碳氮共掺杂二氧化钛纳米管阵列作为阳极,甲基橙溶液作为光电催化氧化的对象,对光催化剂的氧化性能进行了考察,与此同时,在阴极实现光解水产氢,最终在PEC体系中实现同时降解甲基橙和产氢.XRD、FESEM、UV-vis、XPS及TEM等表征结果表明,碳氮成功地掺入到了二氧化钛纳米管阵列中,并未破坏其多孔有序的结构,而且比二氧化钛纳米管阵列具有更高的光催化活性.光电催化降解甲基橙的实验当中,在酸性溶液条件下,二氧化钛纳米管阵列的催化氧化效率较高,降解效率达到了100%,其速率常数为2.3×10-3s-1(p H=4),同时也具有较高的产氢速率(0.95 mmol·h-1),因此,该实验体系在光电催化降解污水中的有机污染物同时产氢方面有应用前景.     

F-对弱吸附间苯二酚光催化降解效率的提升:游离·OH的作用

传统的光催化降解机制认为是光激发产生的氧化活性物质优先对吸附在催化剂表面的污染物分子进行降解,因此,弱吸附性有机物难以接触到光催化剂并发生降解.为探究提升弱吸附有机物光催化降解的机理,本文构建了一个高暴露{001}晶面TiO_2({001}-TiO_2)降解弱吸附间苯二酚(RE)的光催化体系.实验结果表明,所制备的{001}-TiO_2具有强亲水性,并能提供大量的F~-吸附位点.RE在{001}-TiO_2表面的吸附能力很弱,并且光催化降解效果很差.F~-的加入可使RE的光催化降解速率提升近3倍.通过自由基猝灭实验发现,RE的降解主要取决于溶液中游离羟基自由基(·OH)的作用,由于F~-能与{001}-TiO_2亲水表面的羟基及·OH形成强烈的竞争吸附,从而使·OH游离到溶液中氧化降解RE.EPR测试进一步证实了F~-不仅可以促使TiO_2产生更多的游离·OH,同时也能激发产生更多超氧自由基(·O~-_2),推测·O~-_2主要由有效分离的光生电子与O_2或·OH反应生成.综上,本研究明确了游离·OH对弱吸附RE的光催化降解效率起决定作用,F~-促使游离自由基产生的机制可为弱吸附有机污染物的降解提供新思路.     

Energy flow modeling and sensitivity analysis of inputs for canola production in Iran

This study examines energy use patterns and the relationship between energy inputs and yield for canola production in Golestan province of Iran. Data used in this study were obtained from 130 randomly selected canola farms using a face to face survey. The results revealed that total energy of 17,786.36 MJ ha⁻¹ was required for canola production and fertilizer, diesel fuel and electricity were the main energy consuming inputs. Energy use efficiency and energy productivity were 3.02 and 0.12 kg MJ⁻¹, respectively. Moreover, in specifying a functional relationship the Cobb-Douglas production function was applied and the results showed that machinery, fertilizer, diesel fuel and water for irrigation energies significantly contributed to yield. Also, the marginal physical productivity (MPP) technique was applied to analyze the sensitivity of energy inputs. It was found that, canola production had more sensitivity on machinery, fertilizer and water for irrigation energies; so that an additional use of 1 MJ from each of the machinery, total fertilizer and water for irrigation would lead to an increase in production by 0.93, 0.61 and 0.24 kg, respectively. However, electricity and seed energies were contributed negatively to yield, which may result in inverse effect on yield and impose risks to the environment.     

Long-term impact of a gliricidia-maize intercropping system on carbon sequestration in southern Malawi

Tree/crop systems under agroforestry practice are capable of sequestering carbon (C) in the standing biomass and soil. Although studies have been conducted to understand soil organic C increases in some agroforestry technologies, little is known about C sequestered in simultaneous tree/crop intercropping systems. The main objective of this study was to determine the effect of agroforestry practice on C sequestration and CO₂-C efflux in a gliricidia-maize intercropping system. The experiment was conducted at an experimental site located at the Makoka Agricultural Research Station, in Malawi. The studies involved two field plots, 7-year (MZ21) and 10-year (MZ12), two production systems (sole-maize and gliricidia-maize simultaneous intercropping systems). A 7-year-old grass fallow (Grass-F) was also included. Gliricidia prunings were incorporated at each time of tree pruning in the gliricidia-maize. The amount of organic C recycled varied from 0.8 to 4.8 Mg C ha⁻¹ in gliricidia-maize and from 0.4 to 1.0 Mg C ha⁻¹ in sole-maize. In sole-maize, net decreases of soil carbon of 6 Mg C ha⁻¹ at MZ12 and 7 Mg C ha⁻¹ at MZ21 in the topsoil (0–20 cm) relative to the initial soil C were observed. After 10 years of continuous application of tree prunings C was sequestered in the topsoil (0–20 cm) in gliricidia-maize was 1.6 times more than in sole-maize. A total of 123–149 Mg C ha⁻¹ were sequestered in the soil (0–200 cm depth), through root turnover and pruning application in the gliricidia-maize system. Carbon dioxide evolution varied from 10 to 28 kg ha⁻¹ day⁻¹ in sole-maize and 23 to 83 kg ha⁻¹ day⁻¹ in gliricidia-maize. We concluded that gliricidia-maize intercropping system could sequester more C in the soil than sole-maize.     

Rheum palaestinum (desert rhubarb), a self-irrigating desert plant

The rare plant Rheum palaestinum (Polygonaceae) is a perennial hemicryptophyte that grows during the rainy winter in desert mountainous areas in Israel and Jordan that receive an average annual rainfall of ca. 75 mm. It produces between one and four large round leaves that are tightly attached to the ground and form large rosettes of up to 1 m². These leaves differ markedly from the typical small leaves of most desert plants. Moreover, they have a unique 3D morphology resembling a scaled-down mountainous area with well-developed steep drainage systems, raising the question which selective agents were involved in their evolution. We propose that the large leaves collect rainwater that then infiltrates the soil surrounding the root. We measured the seasonal course of leaf growth, examined the area of wet soil surrounding the root after actual and simulated rain, and modeled the water harvesting capacity using the plant leaf area and the weekly precipitation. We show that even in the slightest rains, water flows above the veins to the leaf’s base where it irrigates the vertical root. A typical plant harvests more than 4,100 cm³ of water per year, and enjoys a water regime of about 427 mm/year, equivalent to the water supply in a Mediterranean climate. This is the first example of self-irrigation by large leaves in a desert plant, creating a leaf-made mini oasis. All authors contributed equally to this paper.