Progress in the ecology and conservation of giant pandas

Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) conservation is a possible success story in the making. If extinction of this iconic endangered species can be avoided, the species will become a showcase program for the Chinese government and its collaborators. We reviewed the major advancements in ecological science for the giant panda, examining how these advancements have contributed to panda conservation. Pandas’ morphological and behavioral adaptations to a diet of bamboo, which bear strong influence on movement ecology, have been well studied, providing knowledge to guide management actions ranging from reserve design to climate change mitigation. Foraging ecology has also provided essential information used in the creation of landscape models of panda habitat. Because habitat loss and fragmentation are major drivers of the panda population decline, efforts have been made to help identify core habitat areas, establish where habitat corridors are needed, and prioritize areas for protection and restoration. Thus, habitat models have provided guidance for the Chinese governments’ creation of 67 protected areas. Behavioral research has revealed a complex and efficient communication system and documented the need for protection of habitat that serves as a communication platform for bringing the sexes together for mating. Further research shows that den sites in old‐growth forests may be a limiting resource, indicating potential value in providing alternative den sites for rearing offspring. Advancements in molecular ecology have been revolutionary and have been applied to population census, determining population structure and genetic diversity, evaluating connectivity following habitat fragmentation, and understanding dispersal patterns. These advancements form a foundation for increasing the application of adaptive management approaches to move panda conservation forward more rapidly. Although the Chinese government has made great progress in setting aside protected areas, future emphasis will be improved management of pandas and their habitat.     

瓦斯压力对卸荷原煤力学特性及能量特征的影响

运用自主研制的含瓦斯煤热流固耦合三轴伺服渗流试验装置,以原煤煤样作为研究对象,进行了含瓦斯煤固定轴向压力、卸围压的渗流试验,研究了卸围压过程中瓦斯压力对煤样力学特性和能量特征的影响。结果表明:在轴压加载阶段,煤样的变形模量基本不变,泊松比逐渐减小;在定轴压卸围压阶段,煤样的变形模量先小幅度增加,然后逐渐减小,泊松比则逐渐增大。瓦斯压力越高,煤样的承载能力越低,煤样发生破坏时相应的轴向应变和围压卸荷量百分比越小,而煤样破坏时的径向变形和扩容量越大。各应变围压柔量Δεi与瓦斯压力呈线性关系且线性相关性良好。随瓦斯压力升高,轴向应变的围压敏感性降低,径向应变和体积应变的围压敏感性显著升高。随瓦斯压力升高,煤样发生破坏时存储的弹性应变能Ue减小,而总能量U、耗散能Ud和耗散能比例Ud/U都增大。     

Kinetic analysis of anaerobic phosphorus release during biological phosphorus removal process

Enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) is a commonly used and sustainable method for phosphorus removal from wastewater. Poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB), polyphosphate, and glycogen are three kinds of intracellular storage polymers in phosphorus accumulation organisms. The variation of these polymers under different conditions has an apparent influence on anaerobic phosphorus release, which is very important for controlling the performance of EBPR. To obtain the mechanism and kinetic character of anaerobic phosphorus release, a series of batch experiments were performed using the excessively aerated sludge from the aerobic unit of the biological phosphorus removal system in this study. The results showed that the volatile suspended solid (VSS) had an increasing trend, while the mixed liquid suspended sludge (MLSS) and ashes were reduced during the anaerobic phosphorus release process. The interruption of anaerobic HAc-uptake and phosphorus-release occurs when the glycogen in the phosphorus-accumulating-organisms is exhausted. Under the condition of lower initial HAc-COD, HAc became the limiting factor after some time for anaerobic HAc uptake. Under the condition of higher initial HAc-COD, HAc uptake was stopped because of the depletion of glycogen in the microorganisms. The mean ratio of Δρ _P/Δρ _PHB, Δρ _GLY/Δρ _PHB, Δρ _P/ΔCOD, was 0.48, 0.50, 0.44, and 0.92, respectively, which was nearly the same as the theoretical value. The calibrated kinetic parameters of the HAc-uptake and phosphorus-release model were evaluated as follows: Q _HAc,max was 164 mg/(g · h), Q _P,max was 69.9 mg/(g · h), K _gly was 0.005, and KCOD was 3 mg/L. An apparently linear correlation was observed between the ratio of Δρ _P/ΔCOD and pH of the solution, and the equation between them was obtained in this study.     

Distribution of quinolone and macrolide resistance genes and their co-occurrence with heavy metal resistance genes in vegetable soils with long-term application of manure

The spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) has become an increasingly serious global public health issue. This study investigated the distribution characteristics and influencing factors of ARB and ARGs in greenhouse vegetable soils with long-term application of manure. Five typical ARGs, four heavy metal resistance genes (MRGs), and two mobile genetic elements (MGEs) were quantified by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The amount of ARB in manure-improved soil greatly exceeded that in control soil, and the bacterial resistance rate decreased significantly with increases in antibiotic concentrations. In addition, the resistance rate of ARB to enrofloxacin (ENR) was lower than that of tylosin (TYL). Real-time qPCR results showed that long-term application of manure enhanced the relative abundance of ARGs in vegetable soils, and the content and proportion of quinolone resistance genes were higher than those of macrolide resistance genes. Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that qepA and qnrS significantly correlated with total and available amounts of Cu and Zn, highlighting that certain heavy metals can influence persistence of ARGs. Integrase gene intI1 correlated significantly with the relative abundance of qepA, qnrS, and ermF, suggesting that intI1 played an important role in the horizontal transfer of ARGs. Furthermore, there was a weakly but not significantly positive correlation between specific detected MRGs and ARGs and MGEs. The results of this study enhance understanding the potential for increasing ARGs in manure-applied soil, assessing ecological risk and reducing the spread of ARGs.

Graphic abstract

     

湖南木兰科植物资源的调查研究

本文分析了湖南木兰科分布的自然条件,结合其形态性状讨论了它们的分类学问题、地理分布特点、资源状况以及自然生长状况。文末提出了湖南省木兰科的保护植物名单。     

Scenarios of major terrestrial ecosystems in China

The spatial pattern and mean-center shift of major terrestrial ecosystems, termed Holdridge Life Zones (HLZ), during the periods from 1961 to 1990 (T1), from 2010 to 2039 (T2), from 2040 to 2069 (T3) and from 2070 to 2099 (T4) were analyzed by combining the zonal patterns of climatic change in China and the climatic change scenarios of HadCM2 and HadCM3. The results showed that nival area would decrease rapidly with temperature increase in the future. HadCM2 and HadCM3 predicted that the nival areas might disappear in 552 years and 204 years, respectively. Using both HadCM2 and HadCM3, the five HLZ types with the largest areal extent are nival zone, cool temperate moist forest, warm temperate moist forest, subtropical moist forest and boreal wet forest, which collectively account for more than 50% of China's land mass. Among these five HLZ types, nival zone, warm temperate moist forest and boreal wet forest would decrease continuously, whereas subtropical moist forest and cool temperate forest would increase continuously during the four periods. HLZ diversity and patch connectivity would increase continuously in the 21st century. The shift distances of mean centers of HLZ types simulated using HadCM3 were markedly greater than those simulated using HadCM2, in general. The results from both HadCM2 and HadCM3 showed that boreal wet forest, subtropical moist forest, tropical dry forest, warm temperate moist forest and subtropical wet forest had bigger shift ranges, indicating that these HLZ types are more sensitive to the climatic change scenarios of HadCM2 and HadCM3.     

三种典型渔药对大型溞(Daphnia magna)的急性毒性及其关键环境影响因子分析

测试了三种典型渔药三氯异氰尿酸(Trichloroisocyanuricacid,TCCA)、叔丁基对羟基茴香醚(Butylatedhydroxyanisole,BHA)、盐酸环丙沙星(Ciprofloxacinhydrochloride,CPFX)对大型(Daphniamagna)的急性毒性。结果表明,对于大型的毒性由大到小的顺序为:三氯异氰尿酸,叔丁基对羟基茴香醚,盐酸环丙沙星,48hLC50分别为0.19mg·L-1,3.15mg·L-1和135.15mg·L-1。通过三因素三水平正交试验分析了主要环境因子pH值、硬度、腐殖酸对三种渔药对大型毒性的影响,发现pH显著影响TCCA的毒性,硬度显著影响CPFX的毒性,而BHA毒性受环境因素影响不显著。     

Experimental Investigation on The Igniting Fire Sources in Wildland Fire

试图通过试验,研究从林火点火源的红外辐射谱特性确定火焰性质的方法。为此,研制了模拟试验台,可以同时测定各特征火焰区的红外辐射谱和平均温度。用普朗克定律和维恩位移定律对试验数据进行了处理。对三种典型的引火源（烟头、树枝和纸）进行研究的结果表明：引火源的辐射特征波长在１．１－２．１ｕｍ,３．８－４．０ｕｍ,７．８－８．２ｕｍ波段内分布,此波长与各火焰区的特征温度存在对应关系。辐射温度随波长变化。在短波长处较低,此结果与将火焰辐射处理成黑体辐射时的普朗克定律大致相符     

微污染水源水生物处理中硝酸盐氮的变化

通过中试系统和大型工程 ,探讨了微污染水源水生物处理工艺中硝酸盐氮的变化规律。研究表明 ,微污染水源水生物处理工艺中硝酸盐氮的增加是氨氮生物硝化的结果 ;处理系统启动中硝酸盐氮变化率的变化反映了两类硝化细菌在生长速率和转化能力上的协调关系以及生物膜的成熟过程 ,启动结束时硝酸盐氮变化率趋于 1.0 0 ;稳定运行阶段各工况下处理系统硝酸盐氮变化率均在 1.0 0附近 ;水源水中少量的有机氮和亚硝酸盐氮对氨氮硝化过程无明显影响。硝酸盐氮变化率是描述微污染水源水生物处理系统氨氮硝化状况的重要参数。     

安徽省宁国市元竹枯死原因与防治对策研究

文章探讨了安徽省宁国市中溪镇元竹大面积枯死的原因.在现场调查、污染监测和综合分析的基础上,排除了污染、病虫害致死和元竹而开花死亡的可能性,得出该区元竹枯死是由于非污染生态工程道路改建、水利水电工程和河道采砂等人为活动所导致元竹区的局部生态系统破坏,致使该区地下水位的不正常变动,从而引起大面积不规则分布的元竹干枯或浸泡死亡.文中最后根据该区生态环境状况,给出了防治元竹枯死的生态对策与建议,为防治其它地区的元竹枯死提供了参考和经验.