Effects of Widespread Drought‐Induced Aspen Mortality on Understory Plants

Forest die‐off around the world is expected to increase in coming decades as temperature increases due to climate change. Forest die‐off will likely affect understory plant communities, which have substantial influence on regional biological diversity, ecosystem function, and land–atmosphere interactions, but how die‐off alters these plant communities is largely unknown. We examined changes in understory plant communities following a widespread, drought‐induced die‐off of trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) in the western United States. We assessed shrub and herbaceous cover and volume in quadrats in 55 plots located across a wide range of levels of aspen mortality. We measured species richness and composition of herbaceous plant communities by recording species presence and absence in 12 sets of paired (1 healthy, 1 dying) aspen plots. Although understory composition in healthy and dying stands was heterogeneous across the landscape, shrub abundance, cover, and volume were higher and abundance of herbaceous species, cover, and volume were lower in dying aspen stands. Shrub cover and volume increased from 2009 to 2011 in dying stands, which suggests that shrub growth and expansion is ongoing. Species richness of herbs declined by 23% in dying stands. Composition of herbs differed significantly between dying and healthy stands. Richness of non‐native species did not differ between stand types. The understory community in dying aspen stands was not similar to other shrub‐dominated plant communities in the region and may constitute a novel community. Our results suggest that changes in understory plant communities as forests die off could be a significant indirect effect of climate change on biological diversity and forest communities. Efectos de la Mortalidad Extensiva de Álamos Inducida por Sequía sobre Plantas del Sotobosque     

Toxicity and Repellency of Hot Pepper Extracts to Spider Mite,Tetranychus urticae Koch

Increasing concern about persistence and environmental impact of synthetic pesticide residues require development of biodegradable and environmentally safe alternatives. The potential of using fruit extracts of hot pepper as alternatives to synthetic acaricides for controlling the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch, is explored in this study. Twenty-four Capsicum accessions (Solanaceae) were screened for their toxicity and repellency to the spider mites. Crude extracts from fruits of C. chinense, C. frutescens, C. baccatum, C. annuum, and C. pubescens were prepared in methanol and tested for their acaricidal properties. Spider mite mortality was greatest (45%) when fruit extract of accession Grif-9169 (C. annuum) was used. Results from diving board bioassays indicated that mites avoided filter paper strips treated with hot pepper extracts from accessions PI-596057 (C. baccatum), PI-195299 (C. annuum), and Grif- 9270 (C. annuum). This investigation suggests that methanolic extracts of these three accessions may have a great potential for repelling spider mites and should be field-tested on a large-scale to assess their value in managing populations of spider mites, which could reduce reliance on synthetic acaricides. An attempt was made to correlate repellency with chemical constituents of fruit extracts of the most repellent accessions to identify chemical sources of repellency. Capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin, the pungent components of pepper fruit, were not correlated with toxicity or repellency, indicating that these are not likely related to the toxicity or repellency of the pepper fruit extracts. Other, unidentified chemicals are likely responsible for toxicity and repellency to the two-spotted spider mite     

Thermal radiation from vapour cloud explosions

The current study estimates the radiation flux emitted from hot extended gas clouds characteristic of vapour cloud explosions along with the corresponding level of irradiance posed on particles suspended in the unburnt part of the cloud ahead of an advancing flame front. The data presented permits an assessment of the plausibility of combustion initiation by such particles due to forward thermal radiation. The thermal radiation will depend on the emissivity of the burned volume, which relates to the concentration of gaseous and particulate combustion products. A sensitivity analysis has been carried out to account for variations in the equivalence ratio, mixture pressure and radiative heat losses. The spatial distribution of irradiance ahead of the flame front has been computed by introducing appropriate geometrical factors to explore the impact of cloud size. Using fuel rich ethylene-air mixtures it has been shown that high flame emissivities can be achieved at path lengths of order 1 m even in the presence of very low soot volume fractions. The emissivity of gas-soot mixtures will hence be mainly determined by the soot concentration and to a lesser extent by the mixture temperature. Our analysis suggests that the role of forward thermal radiation as a contributing factor to flame propagation in large scale vapour cloud explosions can not currently be ruled out.     

Characteristics of soil fauna community in the decomposition of Deyeuxia arundinacea litters北大核心CSCD

This study aimed to understand the soil fauna characteristics during the litter decomposition process of perennial herb Deyeuxia arundinacea. The litters were put in 6-, 30-, and 260-mesh litterbags to investigate their mass loss and the dynamics of soil faunal community during Aug. 2013 to Jul. 2014. Faster decomposition rate of Deyeuxia arundinacea in different meshes was found in the early period than in mid- and end-periods. Among different mesh sizes, 6-mesh had the fastest decomposition rate, followed by 30-mesh and 260-mesh. A total of 2218 individuals of soil fauna were obtained in different meshes, with 958, 737 and 523 individuals in 30-, 260- and 6-mesh respectively. Oribatida and Poduridae were the dominant groups, accounting for 73.22% of total individuals. The soil animal individual and group densities shared a very similar trend among the decomposition bags of three aperture sizes, all with obvious characteristics of seasonal dynamic distribution. During the 12 months of decomposition, the density of soil animal groups did not show significant difference between the 6 mesh and 260 mesh decomposition bags except for May. Correlation analysis showed that the group density was highly significantly correlated with average monthly temperature and rainfall, and the individual density significantly correlated with the average monthly temperature. The results indicated that the structure and diversity of soil fauna community of Deyeuxia arundinacea are influenced by hydrothermal conditions. The findings help in understanding the effect of soil fauna to perennial herb litter decomposition.     

Molecular diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi at a large-scale antimony mining area in southern China

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi(AMF) have great potential for assisting heavy metal hyperaccumulators in the remediation of contaminated soils. However, little information is available about the community composition of AMF under natural conditions in soils contaminated by antimony(Sb). The objective of this study was to investigate the characteristics of AMF molecular diversity, and to explore the effects of Sb content and soil properties on the AMF community structure in an Sb mining area. Four Sb mine spoils and one adjacent reference area were selected from around the Xikuangshan mine in southern China. The association of AMF molecular diversity and community composition with the rhizosphere soils of the dominant plant species was studied by Polymerase Chain Reaction-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis(PCR-DGGE). Results from all five studied sites showed that the diversity of AMF decreased with increasing Sb concentration. Principal component analysis(PCA) indicated that the AMF community structure was markedly different among these groups. Further redundancy analysis(RDA) showed that Sb contamination was the dominating factor influencing the AMF community structure in the Sb mine area. However, the multivariate analysis showed that, apart from the soil Sb content, extractable nitrogen content and organic matter content also attributed to AMF sequence distribution type. Some AMF sequences were only found in the highly contaminated area and these might be ideal candidates for improving phytoremediation efficiency in Sb mining regions. Gene sequencing analysis revealed that most species were affiliated with Glomus, suggesting that Glomus was the dominant AMF genus in the studied Sb mining area.     

2011年春季沙尘天气影响下上海大气颗粒物及其化学组分的变化特征

于2011年4月28日~5月18日对上海大气中颗粒物的质量浓度及细粒子中的化学组分进行了连续观测,获得了上海受春季沙尘天气影响下大气颗粒物质量浓度和主要化学组分特征.结果表明,沙尘天气中PM10和PM2.5的质量浓度显著高于非沙尘天,最高日均浓度分别达到787.2μg·m-3和139.5μg·m-3,PM2.5/PM10的均值为(32.9±14.6)%(15.6%~85.1%);总水溶性无机离子(TWSⅡ)占PM2.5的质量分数为(27.2±19.2)%(4.8%~80.8%),二次组分SNA(SO2-4、NO-3、NH+4)占TWSⅡ的(76.9±13.9)%(41.9%~94.2%),TWSⅡ和SNA对PM2.5的贡献均小于非沙尘天,而Ca2+的含量比却有明显上升.非沙尘天测得的OC/EC值高于强沙尘天,但低于弱沙尘天.此外分析还得到,沙尘中的高矿尘粒子具有酸性缓冲作用,使得沙尘天颗粒的碱性强于沙尘发生前.非沙尘天SO2-4、NO-3主要以NH4HSO4、(NH4)2SO4和NH4NO3的形式存在,沙尘天还会与其他矿物离子结合.     

油田区土壤石油烃组分残留特性研究

为了揭示石油开采区土壤石油烃组成及残留特性,探讨石油污染物的来源与风化程度,采集了胜利油田孤岛和河口采油区共5口油井周边土壤样品及原油样品,利用气相色谱-质谱联用仪(GC-MS)分析原油及土壤样品中的链烷烃(正烷烃+姥鲛烷+植烷)及多环芳烃(polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,PAHs)共51种石油烃单体的含量.结果表明,与原油相比,油田区土壤总提取物中链烷烃与PAHs所占的比例明显偏低;土壤石油烃的组分构成与原油相比,链烷烃中碳数小于12的正烷烃比例明显降低,而高碳数正烷烃比例增加.选择正十八烷/植烷作为指示土壤风化程度的标志,利用主成分分析(principal component analysis,PCA)法分析其与土壤中各石油烃组分的关系,结果显示碳数大于33的正烷烃与中环芳香烃具有高残留性.利用主成分分析综合分析用于土壤石油烃来源识别的4个指标,结果表明,土壤中的石油烃具有明显的原油"指纹".研究结果为油田土壤污染特性的认识提供了依据与基础.     

河蚬（Corbicula fluminea）扰动对表层沉积物中氨氧化菌群落结构和丰度的影响

为研究不同生物量河蚬(Corbicula fluminea)的生物扰动对表层沉积物中氨氧化菌群落结构和丰度的影响,本研究设计了沉积物-水微宇宙的模拟体系,通过构建克隆文库、实时荧光定量PCR(real-time qPCR)等分子生物学方法比较不同密度河蚬扰动的沉积物中氨氧化古菌(ammonia-oxidizing archaea,AOA)和氨氧化细菌(ammonia-oxidizing bacteria,AOB)群落结构和丰度差异.结果表明,河蚬的生物扰动作用对表层沉积物氮素释放有明显的促进作用.氨氧化菌(AOA和AOB)amoA基因克隆文库中,AOA的amoA基因序列包含了已知的海洋和土壤环境中的两个分支,AOB的amoA基因绝大部分序列都属于变形菌门β亚纲(β-Proteobacteria)中的亚硝化单细胞菌属(Nitrosomonas).3个处理组表层沉积物中细菌amoA基因丰度均高于古菌amoA基因丰度,且河蚬密度越高则细菌amoA的丰度越低.同时,河蚬的添加使得微宇宙体系中氨氧化菌(AOA和AOB)的多样性降低.综上,河蚬的生物扰动对表层沉积物中氨氧化菌群落结构和丰度产生了一定的影响.     

夏季珠江三角洲地区PM2.5化学组分特征及其对大气能见度的影响

于2010年夏季在珠三角主要城市广州、佛山、东莞、深圳、珠海以及广州郊区从化同步采集PM2.5样品,利用热光反射碳分析仪和离子色谱分别分析样品中有机碳/元素碳和水溶性离子浓度,并同步收集能见度和气象数据.在此基础上对珠三角主要城市大气PM2.5中主要化学成分的浓度水平和空间分布特征进行分析,并利用IMPROVE方程重建大气消光系数,探讨PM2.5的主要化学组分对大气能见度的影响.结果发现,观测期间珠三角地区PM2.5中的主要化学成分空间分布特征明显,广州、佛山和东莞浓度较高,珠海和深圳浓度较低.(NH4)2SO4、有机物(OM)、EC和NH4NO3对夏季珠三角大气消光系数贡献率分别为39%、31%、12%和13%.     

Community Capacity for Implementing Clean Development Mechanism Projects Within Community Forests in Cameroon

There is a growing assumption that payments for environmental services including carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emission reduction provide an opportunity for poverty reduction and the enhancement of sustainable development within integrated natural resource management approaches. Yet in experiential terms, community-based natural resource management implementation falls short of expectations in many cases. In this paper, we investigate the asymmetry between community capacity and the Land Use Land Use Change Forestry (LULUCF) provisions of the Clean Development Mechanism within community forests in Cameroon. We use relevant aspects of the Clean Development Mechanism criteria and notions of “community capacity” to elucidate determinants of community capacity needed for CDM implementation within community forests. The main requirements are for community capacity to handle issues of additionality, acceptability, externalities, certification, and community organisation. These community capacity requirements are further used to interpret empirically derived insights on two community forestry cases in Cameroon. While local variations were observed for capacity requirements in each case, community capacity was generally found to be insufficient for meaningful uptake and implementation of Clean Development Mechanism projects. Implications for understanding factors that could inhibit or enhance community capacity for project development are discussed. We also include recommendations for the wider Clean Development Mechanism/Kyoto capacity building framework.