Nitrogen cycle of a typical Suaeda salsa marsh ecosystem in the Yellow River estuary

The nitrogen (N) biological cycle of the Suaeda salsa marsh ecosystem in the Yellow River estuary was studied during 2008 to 2009. Results showed that soil N had significant seasonal fluctuations and vertical distribution. The N/P ratio (15.73±1.77) of S. salsa was less than 16, indicating that plant growth was limited by both N and P. The N absorption coefficient of S. salsa was very low (0.007), while the N utilization and cycle coefficients were high (0.824 and 0.331, respectively). The N turnover among compartments of S. salsa marsh showed that N uptake from aboveground parts and roots were 2.539 and 0.622 g/m2, respectively. The N translocation from aboveground parts to roots and from roots to soil were 2.042 and 0.076 g/m2, respectively. The N translocation from aboveground living bodies to litter was 0.497 g/m2, the annual N return from litter to soil was far less than 0.368 g/m2, and the net N mineralization in topsoil during the growing season was 0.033 g/m2. N was an important limiting factor in S. salsa marsh, and the ecosystem was classified as unstable and vulnerable. S. salsa was seemingly well adapted to the low-nutrient status and vulnerable habitat, and the nutrient enrichment due to N import from the Yellow River estuary would be a potential threat to the S. salsa marsh. Excessive nutrient loading might favor invasive species and induce severe long-term degradation of the ecosystem if human intervention measures were not taken. The N quantitative relationships determined in our study might provide a scientific basis for the establishment of effective measures.     

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi alter the response of growth and nutrient uptake of snap bean（Phaseolus vulgaris L.） to O_3

The effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) Glomus mosseae on the responses to elevated O3 in growth and nutrition of snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv Guangzhouyuan) were investigated. Exposure was conducted in growth chambers by using three O3 concentrations (20 (CF), 80 (CFO1) and 120 nL/L (CFO2); 8 hr/day for 75 days). Results showed that elevated O3 slightly impacted overall mycorrhizal colonization, but significantly decreased the proportional frequency of hypha and increased the proportional frequency of spores and vesicles, suggesting that O3 had significant effects on mycorrhizal structure. Elevated O3 significantly decreased yield, dry mass and nutrient contents (N, P, K, Ca and Mg) in both non-mycorrhizal and mycorrhizal plants. However, significant interactive effects were found in most variables due to that the reduction by O3 in the mycorrhizal plants was less than that in the non-mycorrhizal plants. Additionally, AMF increased the concentrations of N, P, Ca, and Mg in shoot and root. It can be concluded that AMF alleviated detrimental effects of increasing O3 on host plant through improving plant nutrition and growth.     

福禄吉祥与生物安全

再过十来天就是春节了!受几千年传统文化的影响,中国人过年总爱与吉祥、如意和福禄之类的祝福挂钩。文玩市场应该说是许多人在春节前乃至春节期间十分乐意光顾的地方。但最近有媒体报道说,在北京的文玩市场,一直以来很受顾客青睐的手捻儿葫芦(寓意福禄)几乎全是美国品种。     

产表面活性剂根际菌协同龙葵修复镉污染土壤

从某矿区重金属污染的土壤中分离筛选出一株能产生物表面活性剂的根际细菌LKS06,经生理生化特征及16S rDNA序列分析,将其鉴定为假单孢菌属(Pseudomonas sp.LKS06).生物学特性的测定表明,菌株LKS06对多种重金属有很高的耐受性,且具有分泌吲哚乙酸、产铁载体和ACC脱氨酶活性的能力,并对土壤重金属...     

土壤重金属污染的生物修复技术

随着城市化和工业化的加速,土壤的重金属污染问题日趋严重。生物修复技术作为一种环境友好型治理措施越来越受到关注,其主体主要包括植物修复、动物修复以及微生物修复。文章首先综述了生物修复土壤重金属污染的机理及其研究进展,其中植物修复包括降解、提取、挥发、根系钝化以及固定等,而微生物修复机理主要包括生物富集、生物吸着以及生物转化;其次分析了生物修复技术的局限性,如超富集植物积累重金属的单一性,植物的生长速度慢、积累效率低、适应性弱,微生物的种间拮抗作用等;最后对其发展前景提出展望,认为通过加强国际交流,重视多学科的交叉应用,以及合理配置人才与资源等措施,有利于突破技术瓶颈,发展出更具应用价值的复合修复技术。     

植物能感受人的情感

植物能思考判断吗？美国著名的科学家巴克斯特用测谎器作过这样一个试验：先将龙血树的一片叶子浸入一杯烫咖啡中,反应并不强烈。他打算用火烧这片叶子,刚产生这个念头,测谎器记录纸上立刻出现强烈的信号反应。植物遇险,也会“昏厥”。     

石油污染土壤的植物修复的探讨

近年来,油气田开发对土壤的污染越来越严重,采用植物进行修复已经成为一个新的趋势。文章以中原油田(濮阳市采油区)土壤为研究基地,选择了多年生紫花苜蓿和黑麦草开展了初步治理工作,同时也采用本地生植物狗芽根、芦苇培养进行比较。通过一年(18月)植物对石油污染土壤的修复,发现:四种植物与微生物联合修复组合修复能力大小顺序是,苜蓿组合>向日葵组合>狗牙根组合>高丹草组合,其中紫花苜蓿与微生物构建的联合修复组合去除土壤石油污染的能力超过它们单独修复之和,去除率达到62%。     

Removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from aqueous solution by raw and modified plant residue materials as biosorbents

Removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons （PAHs）, e.g., naphthalene, acenaphthene, phenanthrene and pyrene, from aqueous solution by raw and modified plant residues was investigated to develop low cost biosorbents for organic pollutant abatement. Bamboo wood, pine wood, pine needles and pine bark were selected as plant residues, and acid hydrolysis was used as an easily modification method. The raw and modified biosorbents were characterized by elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The sorption isotherms of PAHs to raw biosorbents were apparently linear, and were dominated by a partitioning process. In comparison, the isotherms of the hydrolyzed biosorbents displayed nonlinearity, which was controlled by partitioning and the specific interaction mechanism. The sorpfion kinetic curves of PAHs to the raw and modified plant residues fit well with the pseudo second-order kinetics model. The sorption rates were faster for the raw biosorbents than the corresponding hydrolyzed biosorbents, which was attributed to the latter having more condensed domains （i.e., exposed aromatic core）. By the consumption of the amorphous cellulose component under acid hydrolysis, the sorption capability of the hydrolyzed biosorbents was notably enhanced, i.e., 6-18 fold for phenanthrene, 6-8 fold for naphthalene and pyrene and 5-8 fold for acenaphthene. The sorpfion coefficients （Kd） were negatively correlated with the polarity index [（O＋N）/C], and positively correlated with the aromaticity of the biosorbents. For a given biosorbent, a positive linear correlation between logKoc and logKow for different PAHs was observed. Interestingly, the linear plots of logKoc-logKow were parallel for different biosorbents. These observations suggest that the raw and modified plant residues have great potential as biosorbents to remove PAHs from wastewater.     

Nitrogen mass balance in a constructed wetland treating piggery wastewater effluent

The nitrogen changes and the nitrogen mass balance in a free water surface flow constructed wetland （CW） using the four-year monitoring data from 2008 to 2012 were estimated. The CW was composed of six cells in series that include the first settling basin （Cell 1）, aeration pond （Cell 2）, deep marsh （Cell 3）, shallow marsh （Cell 4）, deep marsh （Cell 5） and final settling basin （Cell 6）. Analysis revealed that the NH4＋-N concentration decreased because of ammonification which was then followed by nitrification. The NO4＋-N and NO4＋-N were also further reduced by means of microbial activities and plant uptake during photosynthesis. The average nitrogen concentration at the influent was 37,819 kg/year and approximately 45% of that amount exited the CW in the effluent. The denitrification amounted to 34% of the net nitrogen input, whereas the accretion of sediment was only 7%. The biomass uptake of plants was able to retain only 1% of total nitrogen load. In order to improve the nutrient removal by plant uptake, plant coverage in four cells （i.e., Cells 1, 3, 4 and 5） could be increased.     

Community structure and elevational diversity patterns of soil Acidobacteria

Acidobacteria is one of the most dominant and abundant phyla in soil,and was believed to have a wide range of metabolic and genetic functions. Relatively little is known about its community structure and elevational diversity patterns. We selected four elevation gradients from 1000 to 2800 m with typical vegetation types of the northern slope of Shennongjia Mountain in central China. The vegetation types were evergreen broadleaved forest,deciduous broadleaved forest,coniferous forest and sub-alpine shrubs. We analyzed the soil acidobacterial community composition,elevational patterns and the relationship between Acidobacteria subdivisions and soil enzyme activities by using the 16 S rRNA meta-sequencing technique and multivariate statistical analysis. The result found that 19 known subdivisions as well as an unclassified phylotype were presented in these forest sites,and Subdivision 6 has the highest number of detectable operational taxonomic units(OTUs). A significant single peak distribution pattern(P 0.05) between the OTU number and the elevation was observed. The Jaccard and Bray–Curtis index analysis showed that the soil Acidobacteria compositional similarity significantly decreased(P 0.01) with the increase in elevation distance. Mantel test analysis showed the most of the soil Acidobacteria subdivisions had the significant relationship(P 0.01) with different soil enzymes. Therefore,soil Acidobacteria may be involved in different ecosystem functions in global elemental cycles. Partial Mantel tests and CCA analysis showed that soil pH,soil temperature and plant diversity may be the key factors in shaping the soil Acidobacterial community structure.