Loss of preferred habitat and pollen limitation threatens reproduction in a rare mountain <Emphasis Type="Italic">Paeonia delavayi</Emphasis>

Paeonia delavayi is a wild tree peony species endemic to high-altitude regions in southwestern China. Recent agricultural land expansion, however, not only causes its dwindling population size, but also poses a severe threat to its long-term persistence. Since our knowledge of the reproductive biology of P. delavayi is very limited, and some management misconceptions have further exacerbated the already worrisome situation, the aim of the present study is to provide some scientific evidence regarding habitat preference and breeding system of P. delavayi, and to help correct some management misconceptions. Specifically, morphological traits of P. delavayi populations growing in two different habitats (i.e., the open area versus forest understory), including basal stem diameter, plant height and flower numbers per plant, were measured and compared with each other. A range of floral manipulation experiments was further conducted to study the extent of self-compatibility and pollen limitation. The results showed that P. delavayi preferred the open habitat over forest understory as it generally grew bigger with thicker stems, and produced a higher number of flowers in the former habitat. Therefore, the open habitat should receive immediate priority for conservation action instead of being converted to agricultural land; also, P. delavayi is pollen limited, as evidenced by the fact that experimental flowers receiving supplemental non-self pollen generally displayed elevated seed production than flowers subjected to other treatments (e.g., non-supplemental self pollen, non-supplemental non-self pollen and supplemental self pollen), which is consistent with reported observations that alpine plants are more likely to be pollen-limited than lowland plants. We suggest that human intervention might be necessary to guarantee the long-term persistence of P. delavayi as harsh alpine environment, intense competition for pollinators and different anthropogenic perturbations co-limit its reproductive success.     

Glaciomarine sedimentation and bottom current activity on the north-western and northern continental margins of Svalbard during the late Quaternary

Palaeo-bottom current strength of the West Spitsbergen Current (WSC) and the influence of the Svalbard-Barents Sea Ice Sheet (SBIS) on the depositional environment along the northern Svalbard margins are poorly known. Two gravity cores from the southern Yermak Plateau and the upper slope north of Nordaustlandet, covering marine isotope stage (MIS) 1 to MIS 5, are investigated. Five lithofacies, based on grain size distribution, silt/clay ratio, content and mean of sortable silt (SS), are distinguished to characterise the contourite-dominated sedimentary environments. In addition, depositional environments are described using total organic carbon (TOC), total sulphur (TS) and calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) contents of sediments. Facies A, containing coarse SS, suggests strong bottom current activity and good bottom water ventilation conditions as inferred from low TOC content. This facies was deposited during the glacial periods MIS 4, MIS 2 and during the late Holocene. Facies B is dominated by fine SS indicating weak bottom current and poor ventilation (cf. high TOC content of 1.2–1.6%), and correlates with the MIS 4/3 and MIS 2/1 transition periods. With an equal amount of clay and sand, fine SS and high content of TOC, facies C indicates reduced bottom current strength for intervals with sediment supply from proximal sources such as icebergs, sea ice or meltwater discharge. This facies was deposited during the last glacial maximum. Facies D represents mass-flow deposits on the northern Svalbard margin attributed to the SBIS advance at or near the shelf edge. Facies E sediments indicating moderate bottom current strength were deposited during MIS 5 and MIS 3, and during parts of MIS 2. This first late Quaternary proxy record of the WSC flow and sedimentation history from the northern Svalbard margin suggests that the oceanographic conditions and ice sheet processes have exerted first-order control on sediment properties.     

ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND ITS IMPACTS ON HUMAN SETTLF, MENT IN THE CHANGJIANG RIVER DELTA IN NEOLITHIC AGE

Dating data, altitude of Neolithic sites, climatic changes from sedimentary records and previous research results were collected and analyzed to detect possible connections between climatic changes and human activities in the Changjiang River Delta in the Neolithic Age. The results indicated that hydrological changes greatly impacted the human activities in the study region. Low-lying geomorphology made the floods and sea level changes become the important factors affecting human activities, especially the altitude change of human settlements. People usually moved to higher places during the periods characterized by high sea level and frequent floods to escape the negative influences from water body expansion, which resulted in cultural hiatus in certain profiles. However, some higher-altitude settlements were not the results of climatic changes but the results of social factors, such as religious ceremony and social status. Therefore, further research will be necessary for the degree and types of impacts of climatic changes on human activities in the study area at that time.     

Identification of the “source” and “sink” patterns influencing non-point source pollution in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area

Non-point source pollution is one of the primarily ecological issues affecting the Three Gorges Reservoir Area. In this paper, landscape resistance and motivation coefficient, which integrated various landscape elements, such as land use, soil, hydrology, topography, and vegetation, was established based on the effects of large-scale resistance and motivation on the formation of non-point source pollution. In addition, cost models of the landscape resistance and motivation coefficients were constructed based on the distances from the landscape units to the sub-basin outlets in order to identify the “source” and “sink” patterns affecting the formation of non-point source pollution. The results indicated that the changes in the landscape resistance and motivation coefficients of the 16 sub-basins exhibited inverse relationships to their spatial distributions. The landscape resistance and motivation cost curves were more volatile than the landscape resistance and motivation coefficient curves. The landscape resistance and motivation cost trends of the 16 sub-basins became increasingly apparent along the flow of the Yangtze River. The landscape resistance and motivation cost models proposed in this paper could be used to identify large-scale non-point source pollution “source” and “sink” patterns. Moreover, the proposed model could be used to describe the large-scale spatial characteristics of non-point source pollution formation based on “source” and “sink” landscape pattern indices, spatial localization, and landscape resistance and motivation coefficients.     

Relationship between North Pacific SST anomalies and the atmospheric circulation anomalies in January 2008

Based on the NCEP (National Centers for Environmental Prediction) data, the relationship between the Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies (SSTAs) in the North Pacific and the atmospheric circulation anomalies in January 2008 is analyzed in this study. The SSTA mode most correlated with the Geopotential Height anomalies (GHAs) in January 2008 in the North Pacific exhibited a basin-wide horseshoe pattern with a warm center in November 2007. This persistent SSTA pattern would induce positive GHAs in the Aleutian Low area and East Asia and the northward extension of the West Pacific Subtropical High in January 2008 by maximum diabatic heating in the atmosphere over the Kuroshio Oyashio Extension (KOE) area, leading to the occurence of the circumpolar trough-ridge wave train anomaly in January 2008.     

Automated Segmentation of Resistivity Image Logs Using Wavelet Transform

We describe a wavelet-transform-based method for automated segmentation of resistivity image logs that takes into account the apparent dip in the data and addresses the problem of discriminating lithofacies boundaries from noise and intrafacies variations. Our method can be applied to borehole measurements in general, but might have an advantage when applied to resistivity image logs as it addresses explicitly the large variability in facies segments recorded with a high-resolution multiple-sensor tool. We have developed an algorithm based on this method that might outperform other existing segmentation methods in the cases of low to moderate dip. We made a detailed comparison of the segmentation from our method with the one done by a geologist to delineate different lithofacies blocks in a well drilled in a deepwater depositional environment. Our results show considerable success rates in reproducing the geologically defined lithofacies boundaries, and the generality of our procedure suggests it could also be applied to other depositional environments.     

Histological and Histochemical Analyses of the Cuttlebone Sac of the Golden Cuttlefish Sepia esculenta

The secretion function of mantle is closely related to shell formation in some bivalves and gastropods. Up to now, few researches have been reported for cuttlebone formation in the class Cephalopoda. In this study, the structure and secretion function of cuttlebone sac of the golden cuttlefish Sepia esculenta was analyzed using the histological and histochemical methods. The results showed that high and columnar cells located in sac epithelium, and flat cells existed near the base membrane. A lot of fibroblasts were found in the lateral mantle collective tissue. Some mucus, mucopolysaccharide and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were found in the sac. The ultrastructural characteristics of Quasi-connective-tissue-calcium cells (QCTCC) were observed using a transmission electron microscope (TEM). The relationship between cuttlebone sac secretion function and shell formation was discussed.     

快速城市化过程中的深圳东部海岸地貌环境与可持续发展

The geomorphological environment is one of the most fundamental variables af-fecting the development of human society.The mission of geomorphological environment research is to explore the most basic environment and features of our Earth’s surface mor-phology.The results can be applied to resource evaluation,environmental protection and reducing and preventing geological disasters.Thus,it can serve to help achieve sustainable development.This paper examines the Shenzhen east coastal zone as a case strongly in-fluenced by urban expansion.We use modern geomorphological theory and methods,along with GIS and RS techniques,to reveal key characteristics of the geomorphological environ-ment and landform classification.Furthermore,coastal ecosystem evaluation and regional resources sustainable utilization should be considered relative to the corresponding geo-morphological environment.Based on this study,we conclude that modern geomorphological theory and methods,supported by "3S" techniques including GIS,RS and GPS,can play an important role in resolving the environment,resources and population problems as well as sustainable development challenges facing humankind at present.     

Relationship Between Land Cover Ratio and Urban Heat Island from Remote Sensing and Automatic Weather Stations Data

Urban heat island (UHI) effect has a close relation to land covers type. This paper investigates the relationship between land cover ratio and UHI in Guangzhou, south of China using remote sensing and automatic weather stations data. The temperature data were obtained by Automatic weather stations (AWS) of Guangzhou in October, 2004, at the same time with the CBERS remote sensing image acquired. Firstly, the hourly mean temperature was computed from hourly AWS data. Secondly, the CBERS remote sensing image was classified using support vector machine (SVM) and land covers classification were output. Thirdly, the classification result was overlapped with a round buffer with 1.5 KM radius centered on the AWS, and then the land cover ratio, Edge Density (ED) and Mean Fractal Dimension (MFRACT) of buffers were computed out. Finally, the correlation coefficient between hourly mean temperature and land cover ratio, ED and MFRACT was calculated. It concluded that UHI intensity was heavier during nighttime than daytime. Stations with higher vegetation ratio and higher ED had lower heat island effect. On the contrary, stations with higher impervious ratio and lower ED had more serious heat island effect. The positive–negative of correlation coefficient between hourly mean temperature and vegetation ratio during 11:00–17:00 h (local time) was opposite to that during other time. ED was negatively correlated with hourly mean temperature except during 11:00–17:00 h. On the contrary, MFRACT was positively correlated with hourly mean temperature. It implied that fragmentations of patches were favorable to UHI alleviation, and complexities of patch were unfavorable factors.     

Temporal and spatial dynamical simulation of groundwater characteristics in Minqin Oasis

Application scope of geostatistics has been gradually extended from original geologic field to soil science and ecological field, etc. and its successful application results have been widely demonstrated. But little information is reported as to the direct use of geostatistical method to work out the distribu- tion map of groundwater characteristics. In this paper the semivariogram of geostatistics, in combina- tion with GIS, was used to quantitatively study the spatial variation characteristics of groundwater table depth and mineralization degree and their relation to the landuse changes. F test of the used spherical model reached a very significant level, and the theoretical model can well reflect the spatial structural characteristics of groundwater table depth and mineralization degree and achieve an ideal result. This shows that the application of the method in the dynamical simulation of groundwater is feasible. And this paper also provides useful reference for the application of geostatistics in the study of the dy- namical variations of groundwater resources in the oasis.