Soil microbial community structure and function responses to successive planting of Eucalyptus

Many studies have shown soil degradation after the conversion of native forests to exotic Eucalyptus plantations. However, few studies have investigated the long-term impacts of short-rotation forestry practices on soil microorganisms. The impacts of Eucalyptus successive rotations on soil microbial communities were evaluated by comparing phospholipid fatty acid （PLFA） abundances, compositions, and enzyme activities of native Pinus massoniana plantations and adjacent 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th generation Eucalyptus plantations. The conversion from P. massoniana to Eucalyptus plantations significantly decreased soil microbial community size and enzyme activities, and increased microbial physiological stress. However, the PLFA abundances formed ＂U＂ shaped quadratic functions with Eucalyptus plantation age. Alternatively, physiological stress biomarkers, the ratios of monounsaturated to saturated fatty acid and Gram＋ to Gram- bacteria, formed ＂∩＂ shaped quadratic functions, and the ratio of cy17：0 to 16： 1ω7c decreased with plantation age. The activities of phenol oxidase, peroxidase, and acid phosphatase increased with Eucalyptus plantation age, while the cellobiobydrolase activity formed ＂U＂ shaped quadratic functions. Soil N：P, alkaline hydrolytic nitrogen, soil organic carbon, and understory cover largely explained the variation in PLFA profiles while soil N：P, alkaline hydrolytic nitrogen, and understory cover explained most of the variability in enzyme activity. In conclusion, soil microbial structure and function under Eucalyptus plantations were strongly impacted by plantation age. Most of the changes could be explained by altered soil resource availability and understory cover associated with successive planting of Eucalyptus. Our results highlight the importance of plantation age for assessing the impacts of plantation conversion as well as the importance of reducing disturbance for plantation management.     

黄菖蒲有机酸组分对铜绿微囊藻的化感作用

采用液液萃取的方法得到黄菖蒲(Iris pseudacorus L.)水浸提液的有机酸组分,抑藻实验表明高浓度有机酸组分对铜绿微囊藻(Microcystis aeruginosa)的生长具有明显的抑制作用,表现为添加1和2 mL有机酸组分时,第6天铜绿微囊藻生物量显著降低,培养过程中,铜绿微囊藻的叶绿素a含量逐渐减少,而超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)活性及丙二醛(MDA)含量呈现先增加后逐渐降低的趋势,表明有机酸组分能够明显抑制铜绿微囊藻SOD的活性,引起细胞的氧化损伤,促进叶绿素的分解,从而导致藻类死亡。通过气相色谱-质谱(GC-MS)联用技术对有机酸组分进行分析,鉴定出24种有机酸类物质,其中包括15种脂肪酸类物质和9种酚酸类物质。根据总离子流图中各物质的峰面积得到脂肪酸类物质的相对含量为19.01%,其中相对含量超过1%的有琥珀酸、辛酸、软脂酸、丁酸和戊酸;酚酸类物质的相对含量为16.98%,其中相对含量超过1%的有苯甲酸、苯乙酸、苯丙酸、氢化肉桂酸和苯乙酸甲酯。     

北大港水库底泥盐分释放规律研究

底泥的盐分释放是滨海地区淡水库水质咸化的主要原因之一,而包括上覆水条件在内的多种因素可能影响到底泥的盐分释放。为了研究底泥盐分释放的规律和主要影响因素,采集了天津滨海地区典型淡水库——北大港水库底泥样品,测定了盐分含量,并通过室内模拟实验,研究了底泥盐分含量、上覆水水深、上覆水盐浓度以及扰动对底泥盐分释放的影响。调查结果表明,库区底泥全盐量为0.095%~0.818%,总体属轻盐化土和中盐化土,库心底泥盐分含量明显高于库周底泥。室内模拟实验表明,底泥含盐量越高,盐分释放通量越大;实验条件下上覆水越深,上覆水盐分含量越低,底泥盐分释放通量越大;上覆水扰动会促进底泥盐分释放。该研究认为,底泥盐分释放受底泥盐分含量和上覆水理化因素的多重影响,对其释放规律的研究有助于更好地解释滨海地区水体的咸化机制。     

Power matters in closing the phenotyping gap

Much of our understanding of physiology and metabolism is derived from investigating mouse mutants and transgenic mice, and open-access platforms for standardized mouse phenotyping such as the German Mouse Clinic (GMC) are currently viewed as one powerful tool for identifying novel gene-function relationships. Phenotyping or phenotypic screening involves the comparison of wild-type control mice with their mutant or transgenic littermates. In our study, we explored the extent to which standardized phenotyping will succeed in detecting biologically relevant phenotypic differences in mice generated and provided by different collaborators. We analyzed quantitative metabolic data (body mass, energy intake, and energy metabolized) collected at the GMC under the current workflow, and used them for statistical power considerations. Our results demonstrate that there is substantial variability in these parameters among lines of wild-type C57BL/6 (B6) mice from different sources. Given this variable background noise in mice that serve as controls, subtle phenotypes in mutant or transgenic littermates may be overlooked. Furthermore, a phenotype observed in one cohort of a mutant line may not be reproducible (to the same extent) in mice coming from a different environment or supplier. In the light of these constraints, we encourage researchers to incorporate information on intrastrain variability into future study planning, or to perform advanced hierarchical analyses. Both will ultimately improve the detectability of novel phenotypes by phenotypic screening. Carola W. Meyer and Ralf Elvert contributed equally to this work.     

Adaptive-filtering of trisomy 21: risk of Down syndrome depends on family size and age of previous child

The neonatal incidence rate of Down syndrome (DS) is well-known to accelerate strongly with maternal age. This non-linearity renders mere accumulation of defects at recombination during prolonged first meiotic prophase implausible as an explanation for DS rate increase with maternal age, but might be anticipated from chromosomal drive (CD) for trisomy 21. Alternatively, as there is selection against genetically disadvantaged embryos, the screening system that eliminates embryos with trisomy 21 might decay with maternal age. In this paper, we provide the first evidence for relaxed filtering stringency (RFS) to represent an adaptive maternal response that could explain accelerating DS rates with maternal age. Using historical data, we show that the proportion of aberrant live births decrease with increased family size in older mothers, that inter-birth intervals are longer before affected neonates than before normal ones, and that primiparae exhibit elevated levels of DS incidence at higher age. These findings are predicted by adaptive RFS but cannot be explained by the currently available alternative non-adaptive hypotheses, including CD. The identification of the relaxation control mechanism and therapeutic restoration of a stringent screen may have considerable medical implications.     

泰州市能源发展"十一五"规划环评研究

通过对泰州市能源发展"十一五"规划环评进行研究,着重分析了规划实施中对环境资源的消耗.根据当地环境资源的支撑能力,明确提出了调整能源结构等切实可行的应对措施及环境影响的减缓措施,通过采取一系列环境影响减缓措施,力求把区域经济建设等发展规模,控制在生态环境容量许可范围内.     

The impact of agroforestry combined with water harvesting on soil carbon and nitrogen stocks in central Chile evaluated using the ICBM/N model

Soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (N) stocks in an agroforestry system with water harvesting were analysed in a field experiment and the results compared with those of other crop management systems in the Mediterranean zone of central Chile. Agroforestry with water harvesting showed higher positive effects on N stocks, mainly in the upper soil layer, than the other crop management systems. However, soil analysis revealed a lack of differences between treatments, a fact that might be related mainly to the short study time (12 years) and the high spatial variability in these soil properties at the experimental site. In addition, the Introductory Carbon Balance Model that simulates N processes (ICBM/N) was evaluated for simulating trends in SOC and N stocks in the field experiment. Soil data collected between 1996 and 2008 in the field experiment and primarily literature data sets were used to test ICBM/N and its performance was evaluated by considering uncertainty in model inputs using Generalised Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE) methodology. The GLUE estimates (5% and 95%) and measured SOC and N stocks were in satisfactory agreement. The observed SOC and N stocks were bracketed by the uncertainty bands in 70% and 80% of the simulations, respectively. Sensitivity analysis showed the model to be most sensitive to C parameters, such as the humification coefficient (h). The results of this study show that ICBM/N can be an effective tool for estimating SOC and N stocks from agroforestry combined with water harvesting systems in the Mediterranean zone of central Chile over the medium term. However, they also indicate that additional data sets are needed to redefine the parameter distributions in the model and thus to predict trends in SOC and N stocks in the future.     

Effects of irrigation,fertilization and crop straw management on nitrous oxide and nitric oxide emissions from a wheat–maize rotation field in northern China

One-year winter wheat–summer maize rotation is the most popular double cropping system in north-central China, and this highly productive system is an important source of nitrous oxide (N₂O) and nitric oxide (NO) emissions due to the high fertilizer N and irrigation water inputs. To sustain the high crop production and mitigate the detrimental impacts of N₂O and NO emissions, improved management practices are extensively applied. The aim of this study is therefore to evaluate the effects of an improved management practice of irrigation, fertilization and crop straw on grain yield and N₂O and NO emissions for a wheat–maize rotation field in northern China. Using automated and manual chamber measuring systems, we monitored N₂O and NO fluxes for the conventional (CT, 2007–2008), improved (IT, 2007–2008), straw-amended (WS, 2008–2009), straw-not-amended (NS, 2008–2009), and no N-fertilizer treatments (WS–NN, 2008–2009), respectively, for one rotation-year. The grain yields were determined for CT and IT for three rotation-years (2005–2008) and for WS, NS and WS–NN for one rotation-year (2008–2009). The improved management of irrigation and fertilization reduced the annual N fertilization rate and irrigation amount by 17% and 30%, respectively; increased the maize yield by 7–14%; and significantly decreased the N₂O and NO emissions by 7% (p < 0.05) and 29% (p < 0.01), respectively. The incorporation of wheat straw increased the cumulative N₂O and NO emissions in the following maize season by 58% (p < 0.01) and 13%, respectively, whereas the effects of maize straw application were not remarkable. The N₂O and NO emission factors of applied N were 2.32 ± 2.32% and 0.42 ± 1.69% for wheat straw and 0.67 ± 0.23% and 0.54 ± 0.15% for chemical N-fertilizers, respectively. Compared to conventional management practices using high application rates of irrigation water and chemical N-fertilizer as well as the field burning of crop straw, the improved management strategy presented here has obvious environmentally positive effects on grain yield and mitigation of N₂O and NO emissions.     

An environmental impact assessment of quantum dot photovoltaics (QDPV) from raw material acquisition through use

Some emerging technologies are expected to be pivotal for solving many of the environmental challenges faced today, especially those related to energy. However, many of these technologies may incur significant environmental impacts over their life cycle, while having environmental benefits during their use. This paper presents results of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of a proposed type of nanophotovoltaic, quantum dot photovoltaic (QDPV) module. The LCA is confined to the stages of raw materials acquisition, manufacturing, and use. The impacts of QDPV are compared with other types of PV modules and energy sources - both renewable and nonrenewable. To provide a comprehensive comparative assessment, QDPV modules were compared with mature as well as emerging PV types for which data are available. Comparative assessment with other types of energy sources includes coal, oil, lignite, natural gas, diesel, nuclear, wind, and hydropower.QDPV modules may have the potential to overcome two current barriers of solar technology: low efficiencies and high manufacturing costs. If higher efficiencies are realized, QDPV modules could pave the way to large scale implementation of solar energy, helping nations move toward greater energy independence. On the other hand, candidate materials as quantum dots for solar cell applications are mostly compound semiconductors such as cadmium selenide, cadmium telluride, and lead sulfide which may be toxic and for which renewable options are limited. Toxic effects of these materials may be exacerbated by their nanoscale features.The LCA was carried out using the software SimaPro, and the Ecoinvent Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) database supplemented with available literature and patent information. Our results indicate that while QDPV modules have shorter Energy PayBack Time (EPBT), lower Global Warming Potential (GWP), SO_x and NO_x emissions than other types of PV modules, they have higher heavy metal emissions, underscoring the need for investigation of emerging technologies, especially nano-based ones, from a life cycle perspective. QDPV modules are better in all impact categories assessed than carbon-based energy sources but they have longer EPBT than wind and hydropower and higher GWP.     

华北地区1951-2009年气温、降水变化特征

基于华北五省(市)64个基本气象站的1961-2009年逐年逐月气温、降水资料, 利用泰森权重计算了华北地区面平均降水及面平均气温,并建立了7个长序列气象站的气温、降水与面平均值的回归方程,展延了研究区1951-1960年面平均降水和气温资料。对展延后的1951-2009年序列数据,应用Mann-Kendall检验、Mann-Whitney检验、9 a滑动平均等方法进行趋势分析,分析结果显示: 该区59 a间年气温上升了1.5 ℃,年气温序列存在显著上升趋势,年气温序列在1993年前后有一个突变点,年气温距平以1989年为低温期与高温期的分界线,年气温平均每10 a增长2.2%;年降水序列无显著趋势,亦无显著跳跃趋势,年降水距平大致以1976年为多雨期与少雨期的分界线,年降水平均每10 a增长-1.3%。研究成果为深入分析华北地区气候变化规律、未来气候变化影响,以及水资源对气候变化的响应提供了基础。