元古宙真核藻类演化及环境控制因素

宜居地球、地外生命探索以及资源勘查等的需求使真核生物的早期溯源和演化趋势研究成为国际热点.根据已发现实体化石、分子化石和分子钟证据,将元古宙真核藻类演化划分为环境准备(2.45～1.70 Ga)、缓慢发展(1.70～0.80 Ga)、剧烈波动(0.80～0.64 Ga)、快速辐射(0.64～0.54 Ga)四个阶段.元古宙真核生物的出现、演化和辐射进程与地球氧化和极端气候事件(如冰期)的发生具耦合性,表现出早期生命与地球表层环境的协同演化.真核藻类在1.70～0.80 Ga期间的缓慢演化可能与长期较低的大气氧含量(约为现今水平的1％～10％PAL)有关.低的大气-海洋氧化程度不仅限制了真核藻类生存空间,也通过对氮、磷等营养元素的供应约束,限制了真核藻类初级生产力水平.因此,地球表层氧化可能是地球宜居演化,并孕育出真核生物等各种复杂生命的主要原因.从地球系统形成与演变的角度探索生物圈演化或能对生命的过去和未来给出更为可靠的答案.     

Confronting the nitrogen challenge: Options for governance and target setting

The release of excessive anthropogenic nitrogen contributes to global climate change, biodiversity loss, and the degradation of ecosystem services. Despite being an urgent global problem, the excess nitrogen is not governed globally. This paper considers possible governance options for dealing with excessive nitrogen through target setting, which is an approach commonly adopted to address global environmental problems. The articulation of the nitrogen problem and the numerous international institutions dealing with it, provide evidence of a nitrogen regime characterised by limited coordination and targets covering sources and impacts only partially. This calls for improving the nitrogen governance in the direction of more integrated approaches at the global scale. In this vein, the paper investigates two opposite governance options – here labelled as ‘holistic’ and ‘origin-based’ – and evaluates them for their capability to define solutions and targets for human-induced nitrogen. From the analysis, it emerges that origin-based solutions can be preferable to holistic solutions as they can be more specific and potentially have greater immediate results. Independent from which governance arrangement is chosen, what matters most is the speed at which an arrangement can deploy solutions to combat (fast-growing) nitrogen pollution.     

A dual-porosity model for nitrogen leaching from a watershed/Un modèle à double porosité pour le lessivage de l’azote d’un bassin versant

Abstract

Abstract The MASONW (MACRO + SOILN + Watershed) model describing nitrogen leaching in watersheds was developed and tested. The model is based on the MACRO and SOILN models. The dual-porosity model MACRO simulates water flow on the field scale. The SOILN model describes turnover and leaching of nitrogen. Two main features of a watershed have been added into these two models: (a) the existence of a river system, and (b) variable thickness of the aeration zone within a watershed. Good agreement between the output of the MASONW model and observed data for water discharge and nitrate concentrations were achieved in the Odense watershed (496 km²) in Denmark.     

Benthic nutrient fluxes along the Laurentian Channel: Impacts on the N budget of the St. Lawrence marine system

Water column concentrations and benthic fluxes of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and oxygen (DO) were measured in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Upper and Lower St. Lawrence Estuary (USLE and LSLE, respectively) to assess the nitrogen (N) budget in the St. Lawrence (SL) system, as well as to elucidate the impact of bottom water hypoxia on fixed-N removal in the LSLE. A severe nitrate deficit, with respect to ambient phosphate concentrations (N*∼−10 μmol L⁻¹), was observed within and in the vicinity of the hypoxic bottom water of the LSLE. Given that DO concentrations in the water column have remained above 50 μmol L⁻¹, nitrate reduction in suboxic sediments, rather than in the water column, is most likely responsible for the removal of fixed N from the SL system. Net nitrate fluxes into the sediments, derived from pore water nitrate concentration gradients, ranged from 190 μmol m⁻² d⁻¹ in the hypoxic western LSLE to 100 μmol m⁻² d⁻¹ in the Gulf. The average total benthic nitrate reduction rate for the Laurentian Channel (LC) is on the order of 690 μmol m⁻² d⁻¹, with coupled nitrification-nitrate reduction accounting for more than 70%. Using average nitrate reduction rates derived from the observed water column nitrate deficit, the annual fixed-N elimination within the three main channels of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and LSLE was estimated at 411 × 10⁶ t N, yielding an almost balanced N budget for the SL marine system.     

Nitrogen inputs to seventy-four southern New England estuaries: Application of a watershed nitrogen loading model

Excess nitrogen inputs to estuaries have been linked to deteriorating water quality and habitat conditions which in turn have direct and indirect impacts on aquatic organisms. This paper describes the application of a previously verified watershed loading model to estimate total nitrogen loading rates and relative source contributions to 74 small-medium sized embayment-type estuaries in southern New England. The study estuaries exhibited a gradient in nitrogen inputs of a factor of over 7000. On an areal basis, the range represented a gradient of approximately a factor of 140. Therefore, all other factors being equal, the study design is sufficient to evaluate ecological effects conceptually tied to excess nitrogen along a nitrogen gradient. In addition to providing total loading inputs rates to the study estuaries, the model provides an estimate of the relative contribution of the nitrogen sources from each watershed to each associated estuary. Cumulative results of this analysis reveal the following source ranking (means): direct atmospheric deposition (37%), ≈wastewater (36%), >indirect atmospheric deposition (16%) > fertilizer (12%). However, for any particular estuary the relative magnitudes of these source types vary dramatically. Together with scientific evidence on symptoms of eutrophication, the results of this paper can be used to develop empirical pressure-state models to determine critical nitrogen loading limits for the protection of estuarine water quality.     

海洋生物固氮作用研究进展

近年来,海洋生物固氮作用研究已成为海洋氮循环研究热点之一,因为它补充了海洋中的结合态氮,影响着海洋氮储库的收支平衡,进而调控海洋的初级生产力,并因此与海洋颗粒有机碳的迁出以及海洋对大气CO2的吸收密切相关.海洋生物固氮作用的研究主要是在近30a开展起来的,现有观点认为全球海洋生物固氮速率为100～200 Tg/a.15↑N2示踪法和乙炔还原法是最重要的生物固氮速率实测方法,而硝酸盐异常指数法、15↑N同位素收支平衡法、卫星遥测法等则是重要的间接估测方法.束毛藻曾被认为是全球海洋最重要的固氮生物,但近年来也发现了固氮生物在微微（pi-co）级和微（nano）级的分布,表明以往基于束毛藻的固氮速率可能是被低估的.海洋生物固氮作用营养盐限制的研究主要集中在铁和磷这2个元素的作用,但目前尚无定论.在中国边缘海生物固氮作用的研究还很匮乏,少数研究表明除黑潮区外,由束毛藻所支持的固氮速率并不高.就海洋固氮作用研究的未来发展,指出今后必须在更大时空尺度上开展海洋生物固氮作用研究,以弥补现有实测数据的不足,并获取固氮微生物种类组成的准确信息,在确定海洋生物固氮作用控制因素的同时,追踪新固定氮的流向,进而为海洋氮循环提供准确信息.     

Stream nitrate uptake and transient storage over a gradient of geomorphic complexity,north‐central Colorado,USA

The understanding of nutrient uptake in streams is impeded by a limited understanding of how geomorphic setting and flow regime interact with biogeochemical processing. This study investigated these interactions as they relate to transient storage and nitrate uptake in small agricultural and urban streams. Sites were selected across a gradient of channel conditions and management modifications and included three 180‐m long geomorphically distinct reaches on each of two streams in north‐central Colorado. The agricultural stream has been subject to historically variable cattle‐grazing practices, and the urban stream exhibits various levels of stabilisation and planform alteration. Reach‐scale geomorphic complexity was characterised using highly detailed surveys of channel morphology, substrate, hydraulics and habitat units. Breakthrough‐curve modelling of conservative bromide (Br^?) and nonconservative nitrate (NO₃^?) tracer injections characterised transient storage and nitrate uptake along each reach. Longitudinal roughness and flow depth were positively associated with transient storage, which was related to nitrate uptake, thus underscoring the importance of geomorphic influences on stream biogeochemical processes. In addition, changes in geomorphic characteristics due to temporal discharge variation led to complex responses in nitrate uptake. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dynamic evolution of nutrient discharge under stormflow and baseflow conditions in a coastal agricultural watershed in Ishigaki Island,Okinawa, Japan

Excessive terrestrial nutrient loadings adversely impact coral reefs by primarily enhancing growth of macroalgae, potentially leading to a phase‐shift phenomenon. Hydrological processes and other spatial and temporal factors affecting nutrient discharge must be examined to be able to formulate effective measures for reducing nutrient export to adjacent reefs. During storm events and baseflow periods, water samples were obtained from the tropical Todoroki River, which drains an intensively agricultural watershed into Shiraho coral reef. In situ nutrient analyzers were deployed for 6 months to hourly measure dissolved nutrient (NO₃⁻‐N and PO₄³⁻‐P) concentrations. Total phosphorus (TP) and suspended solid concentration (TSS) were increased by higher rainfall intensity (r = 0·94, p < 0·01) and river discharge Q (r = 0·88, p < 0·01). In contrast, NO₃⁻‐N concentration tends to decrease drastically (e.g. from 3 to 1 mg l⁻¹) during flood events. When base flow starts to dominate afterwards, NO₃⁻‐N manifested an increasing trend, but decreases when baseflow discharge becomes low. This counter‐clockwise hysteresis for NO₃⁻‐N highlights the significant influence of groundwater discharge. N delivery can therefore be considered a persistent process compared to sediment and P discharge, which are highly episodic in nature. Based on GIS analysis, nutrient concentration along the Todoroki River was largely affected by the percentage of sugarcane/bare areas and bedrock type. The spatial distribution of N concentration in the river reflects the considerable influence of subsurface geology—higher N levels in limestone‐dominated areas. P concentrations were directly related to the total length of artificial drainage, which enhances sediment transport. The use of high‐resolution monitoring data coupled with GIS‐based spatial analysis therefore enabled the clarification of control factors and the difference in the spatio‐temporal discharge characteristics between N and P. Thus, although erosion‐reduction schemes would reduce P discharge, other approaches (e.g. minimize fertilizer) are needed to reduce N discharge. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The role of vibrationally excited nitrogen in the ionosphere

Theoretical and experimental aspects of the production, transformation, diffusion and loss of N₂ in the upper atmosphere are considered. The N₂-CO₂ near-resonant system in theD andE regions is taken into account. We describe our understanding of the methods necessary to find the vibrational populations of N₂ and CO₂ (asymmetric mode of CO₂). The calculations of the vibrational temperatures in theD, E, andF regions for the mid-latitude ionosphere and an aurora are presented. The connection between the excited species and the 4.26-m radiation intensities is considered. The models for the rate coefficient of the reaction of O⁺ with N₂ and the electron density decrease resulting from N₂ in the F region are discussed.     

Phosphorus and nitrogen limitation of algal biomass across trophic gradients

Regression results based on data from 46 northern temperate lakes show that total phosphorus (TP) is the best predictor for phytoplankton (as chl-a) at lower trophic levels, TP < 200 mg · m^–3. A regression including both TP and TN as regressors is the best predictor for lakes with TP > 200 mg · m^–3. However, the good correlation is probably due to a high correlation between lake average chl-a (all years observed) and lake average TP and TN. Within single hypereutrophic lakes, TN alone is the best predictor. It was not possible to identify a medium trophic domain where TN and TP in combination was the best predictor for chl-a. The ratio TN:TP in the water decreases from about 40 to about 5 with increasing trophic level. Optimum TN:TP ratio for algal species with high abundance during late summer and autumn reflects this decreasing ratio, but within a lesser range, i.e., 20 to 5. In contrast, TN:TP ratios for species abundant during the early vernal period showed no, or an inverse, relation to the TN:TP ratio of the water.