Post-flooding disaster crop diversity recovery: a case study of Cowpea in Mozambique

To restore food security to a traditional African cropping system following a sudden loss of seed, genetic diversity must be re-established. This study examines the extent to which Cowpea diversity was reinstated two years after a flood disaster in Gaza Province, Mozambique. The contribution that seed from various sources made to the recovery was assessed using semi-structured interviews and morphological and molecular data. Data suggest that diversity had recovered to some extent yet there was evidence of a narrowing of the genetic base, with fewer rare alleles and differences in the distribution of allele frequencies. Although the main channels for accessing seed after the flood were seed relief and markets, these sources contributed to minimal and different diversity. It appears that diversity was regained primarily through social networking in the form of loans or gifts of seed from friends and relatives. The results of the study are discussed in relation to seed relief approaches.     

Protected Area Safeguard Tree and Shrub Communities from Degradation and Invasion: A Case Study in Eastern Madagascar

Despite their prevalence in both developed and developing countries, there have been surprisingly few field assessments of the ecological effectiveness of protected areas. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a key protected area in eastern Madagascar, Ranomafana National Park (RNP). We established paired 100 × 4-m vegetation transects (400 m²) within RNP and in remnant forests in the park’s peripheral zone. In each 400-m² plot, all woody stems >1.5 cm in diameter at breast height were measured and identified to species. All species were also identified as native or non-native. We identified utilitarian species within all transects and they were sorted into use category. We calculated plot-level taxonomic biodiversity and functional diversity of utilitarian species; the latter was calculated by clustering the multivariate distances between species based on their utilitarian traits, and all metrics were tested using paired t-tests. Our results showed that there was significantly higher biodiversity inside RNP than in remnant forests and this pattern was consistent across all diversity metrics examined. Forests not located within the park’s boundary had significantly higher non-native species than within RNP. There was no statistically significant difference in functional diversity of utilitarian species inside RNP vs. remnant forests; however, the overall trend was toward higher diversity inside park boundaries. These findings suggested that RNP has been effective at maintaining taxonomic diversity relative to surrounding unprotected areas and restricting the spread of non-native plants. The results also suggested that low functional redundancy of forests outside of RNP might be of concern, because residents in surrounding villages may have few other substitutes for the services provided by species that are of critical importance to their livelihoods. This study highlights the challenges of trying to reconcile biodiversity conservation with human use of natural resources in economically poor, remote areas.     

中国FDI环境效应的再检验

改革开放以来,外商直接投资(FDI)的涌入为中国经济发展注入了新活力,并成为中国经济高速增长的重要引擎之一。然而,随着康菲石油渤海漏油事故、江苏启东王子造纸排污和阿玛尼污染投诉等涉外污染事件报道频出,学术界对于FDI涌入可能带来的负面环境效应表现出一定担忧。现有文献多聚焦于整体层面的FDI环境效应检验,而对其区域差异及原因产生机制的系统探究并不多见。为此,本文从理论判断和命题推演出发,利用2003—2014年中国省际面板数据,以改进熵值法拟合环境污染综合指数,并构建普通面板模型,实证检验了FDI流入对中国环境污染的影响及其区域差异。结果表明,总体而言,"污染光环"假说在中国基本成立,即FDI流入在一定程度上改善了中国环境质量,但不同地区FDI的环境效应有所不同,其主要表现为沿海和内陆地区FDI具有显著的"污染光环"效应,且前者强于后者,而沿边地区FDI具有不明显的"污染天堂"效应。在此基础上,构造面板门槛模型,进一步系统考察了FDI对中国环境污染影响的4种主要吸收能力因素的门槛效应。门槛回归结果表明,FDI对中国环境污染的影响显著存在基于经济发展、环境规制、人力资本和金融发展水平的双门槛效应。经济发展、人力资本和金融发展水平越高,FDI的"污染光环"效应越明显,而适度的环境规制才更有利于FDI环境技术溢出的发挥。基于此,本文建议应进一步全方位地提高对外开放水平,一如既往地积极引进并监督FDI;同时地方政府也需认清地区发展的不平衡性,进而采取差异化的引资政策。     

Bacterial diversity in paclobutrazol applied agricultural soils

The aim of this study was to investigate the bacterial communities on paclobutrazol [(2RS, 3RS)-1-(4-Chlorophenyl)-4, 4-dimethyl-2-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl) pentan-3-ol]–applied agricultural soils by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplified 16S rDNA gene fragments. Three different agricultural soil samples were collected from paclobutrazol applied mango and waxapple orchards, peanut fields and untreated rice fields as a control for DGGE analysis. The DGGE pattern of PCR- generated 16S rDNA gene fragments indicated that the bacterial populations from four paclobutrazol–applied soils of peanut fields were closely related to each other and two paclobutrazol–applied soils of mango and waxapple orchards harbored closely related bacterial communities. But, paclobutrazol–free agricultural soils comprised relatively a different bacterial group. However, the bacterial populations of mango and waxapple orchard are completely different from the bacterial communities of peanut field. Further purification and sequence analysis of 40 DGGE bands followed by phylogenetic tree assay showed similar results that soil bacteria from paclobutrazol applied mango and waxapple orchard are phylogenetically related. Based on the phylogenetic analysis, the clone M-4 was clad 100 % (bootstrap value) with Mycobacterium sp. The Mycobacterium sp. has been proved to degrade the phenolic compounds such as phenol, 4-chlorphenol, 2,4-dichlorophenol and paclobutrazol molecule containing chlorobenzene ring.     

湛江市寸金公园鸟类多样性与管理建议

2006年12月、2007年1—4月对湛江市寸金公园的鸟类资源状况进行了初步的研究,共记录到鸟类16种,隶属4目10科。其中,雀形目鸟类最多,共7科11种,约占总数的69%;其次为佛法僧目1科2种,约占总数的12.5%;鸡形目和鹃形目各1科1种,约占总数的6.25%。其中有国家Ⅱ级保护鸟类1种,占总数的6.25%。此外,属国家林业局发布的"国家重点保护的有益、有经济价值或有科学研究价值的动物"的鸟类7种,占总数的43.75%;被纳入省级重点保护鸟类的有2种,占总数12.6%;被纳入中澳候鸟协定鸟类的有1种,占总数的6.25%。     

Anuran Development, Density and Diversity in Relation to Agricultural Activity in the Holland River Watershed, Ontario, Canada (1990–1992)

Significantly lower anuran species diversity and density was recorded in a vegetable growing area relative to upstream and downstream sites in the Holland River watershed, Ontario, Canada. Egg hatching success and tadpole deformity rates of American toads (Bufo americanus americanus), green frogs (Rana clamitans melanota) and northern leopard frogs (Rana pipiens) eggs in water from field sites and control water were assessed. Compared to the control and the upstream site, the total abnormality rate (unhatched eggs plus deformed tadpoles) was higher for American toads in water from the agricultural and downstream sites. Total abnormality was higher in green frog eggs in water from the agricultural site and a downstream site. Trace concentrations of organophosphorus pesticides were detected most often in agricultural zone water and sediments than in upstream and downstream sites. Organochlorine pesticide residues, especially in agricultural zone samples, exceeded the no effect level guidelines for the protection of aquatic life. Ammonia, phosphorus, particulates, BOD and TKN were highest in the agricultural zone. Significant correlations between these parameters and anuran development suggest nutrient run-off as a causal or contributing factor in lower anuran diversity, density and reproductive success of American toads and green frogs in the site dominated by agriculture.     

慢生花生根瘤菌的遗传多样性研究

用ＲＥＰ１Ｒ１和ＲＥＰ２１ＤＮＡ为引物,对２２株四川土著慢生花生根瘤菌染色体ＤＮＡ的基因外回文重复序列（ＲｅｐｅｔｉｔｉｖｅＥｘｔｒｏｇｅｎｉｃｐａｌｉｎｄｒｏｍｉｃｓｅｑｕｅｎｃｅＲＥＰ）进行了ＰＣＲ扩增和凝胶电泳,并对电泳结果的指纹图型进行了相似性聚类分析．结果表明了四川土著慢生花生根瘤菌的遗传多样性．指纹图形是根瘤菌多样性研究中一种简便而有效的方法     

杉木地理种源遗传变异的RAPD分析

应用随机扩增多态性DNA技术对我国12个有代表性的杉木地理种源遗传多样性进行分析,从80个随要引物中筛选出20个进行扩增,共扩增出149个DNA片段,其中具多态性的片段有115个,占77．18％％,表明极木地理种源间具有丰富的DNA序列多态性、平均每个引物提供7．45个RAPD标记的信息量,扩增出的DNA片段大小一般为150到2000bp范围之间,12个杉木地理种源间遗传距离变幅为0．193－0．4467,聚类结果表明,在0．2664处,广东信宜,广西梧州,湖南会同,湖南江华,贵州锦屏,江西全南聚为一类,福建沙县,浙江开化,湖北咸宁,安徽休宁聚为一类,四川雅安,陕西南郑各为一类,图2表2参15     

A New Approach to Plant Diversity Assessment Combining HPLC Data, Simplex Mixture Design and Discriminant Analysis

The quantitative assessment of plant diversity and its monitoring with time represent a key environmental issue for management and conservation of natural resources. Assessment of plant diversity could be based on chemical analyses of secondary metabolites (e.g. flavonoids, terpenoids), because of the substantial quantitative and qualitative between-individual variability in such compounds. At a geographical scale, the plant populations become widely dispersed, and their monitoring from numerous routine individual analyses could become restricting. To overcome such constraint, this study develops a multivariate calibration model giving the relative frequency of a particular taxon from a simple high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of a plant mixture. The model was built from a complete set of mixtures combining different taxons, according to an experimental design (Scheffé’s matrix). For each mixture, a reference HPLC pattern was simulated by averaging the individual HPLC profiles of the constitutive taxons. The calibration models, based on Bayesian discriminant analysis (BDA), gave statistical relationships between the contributions of each taxon in mixtures and reference HPLC patterns of these mixtures. Finally, these models were validated on new mixtures by using outside plants. This new biodiversity survey approach is illustrated on four chemical taxons (four chemotypes) of Astragalus caprinus (Fabaceae). The more differentiated the taxon, the better predicted its contributions (in mixtures) were by BDA calibration model. This new approach could be very useful for a global routine survey of plant diversity.     

Hunting Effects on Favourable Conservation Status of Highly Inbred Swedish Wolves

The wolf (Canis lupus) is classified as endangered in Sweden by the Swedish Species Information Centre, which is the official authority for threat classification. The present population, which was founded in the early 1980s, descends from 5 individuals. It is isolated and highly inbred, and on average individuals are more related than siblings. Hunts have been used by Swedish authorities during 2010 and 2011 to reduce the population size to its upper tolerable level of 210 wolves. European Union (EU) biodiversity legislation requires all member states to promote a concept called “favourable conservation status” (FCS) for a series of species including the wolf. Swedish national policy stipulates maintenance of viable populations with sufficient levels of genetic variation of all naturally occurring species. Hunting to reduce wolf numbers in Sweden is currently not in line with national and EU policy agreements and will make genetically based FCS criteria less achievable for this species. We suggest that to reach FCS for the wolf in Sweden the following criteria need to be met: (1) a well‐connected, large, subdivided wolf population over Scandinavia, Finland, and the Russian Karelia‐Kola region should be reestablished, (2) genetically effective size (N_e) of this population is in the minimum range of N_e = 500–1000, (3) Sweden harbors a part of this total population that substantially contributes to the total N_e and that is large enough to not be classified as threatened genetically or according to IUCN criteria, and (4) average inbreeding levels in the Swedish population are <0.1. Efectos de la Cacería sobre el Estatus de Conservación Favorable de Lobos Suecos con Endogamia Alta