OCS,H2S,and CS2 fluxes from a salt water marsh

The diurnal-to-monthly behavior of the fluxes of OCS, H₂S, and CS₂ from a mixed-Spartina grass-covered site in a Wallops Island salt water marsh was determined through a series of experiments in August and September, 1982. Absolute flux values were determined for OCS and H₂S, while only relative values were determined for CS₂. The rates of emission of OCS and H₂S were observed to vary diurnally and to be strongly influenced by tides. The time-averaged flux values show that such mixed-Spartina stands are insignificant ( 1%) global sources of H₂S or CS₂ and insignificant contributors to the global OCS cycle (< 1%). These results demonstrate that some marsh regions play a minor role in the global sulfur budget and, consequently, that the inclusion of such areas in extrapolations of measurements of more productive regions could lead to an overestimate of the role of salt water marshes in the global sulfur budget.     

Slope Stabilisation by Perennial “Gramineae” in Southern Italy: Plant Growth and Temporal Performance

In the territory of Altomonte, a village located in Calabria, in the Southern part of Italy, a new thermoelectrical station is under construction. This work involved major earthworks which regarded new excavated slopes. In order to protect soil from erosion due to rainfall and runoff and also in order to prevent superficial soil instability, it was decided to plant four different species of perennial “gramineae” plants (Eragrass, Elygrass, Pangrass and Vetiver) characterised by deep roots. Works began in November 2002 and ended in May 2003, a period marked by very different climate and meteorological conditions, varying from exceptionally rainy and cold winter to warm and dry spring months. The paper describes the different stages of the project and the monitoring programme for the following months. The extension of the work and the use of four different kinds of vegetation made periodic inspections of the entire site appropriate. Two in situ investigations, respectively performed in August 2003 and in November 2003, are outlined. The aim of these surveys was to confirm the success of the work by verifying the growth of the plants and roots. The principal monitored parameters were the percentage of sprouted plants, the height of the foliage and the depth of roots. The investigations showed good results, keeping in mind the very difficult climatic conditions and the extreme poor fertility of the topsoil laid down upon the clay layer: in particular, high survival rate were measured over the entire area of the works and the root systems have developed sufficiently to grow through the upper topsoil layer (0.2–0.3 m) into the underlying clay layer. In March 2004, a sampling programme was undertaken on the same site. Direct shear tests were carried out in the laboratory in order to evaluate the increase in shear strength of the rooted soil mass. The research involved the recovery of three undisturbed samples of soil with roots for each of the four types of “gramineae” plants and three undisturbed samples constituted only of soil, from the surface to a depth of 1.0 m. The tests were performed in a large direct shear apparatus on 200 mm diameter samples. The test results allowed to evaluate the roots’ contribution of the different gramineous species and to underline the direct correlation between the increase in soil shear strength and the root tensile strengths. In particular, an increase in cohesion ranging between 2 kPa and 15 kPa was recorded, according to the different species: the maximum values of increase in shear strength were reached by Vetiver roots, which are also characterised by the highest tensile strength.     

Soil properties related to land-use systems in oases of Sangong river watershed, Xinjiang

Understanding the effect of human activities on the soil environment is fundamental to understanding global change and sustainable development. In the process of transformation of tropical rain forests and semiarid grasslands to farmlands, land degradation usually occurs. But the transformation of arid desert landscape to oasis is found to have quite different consequences. Taking an alluvial plain oasis in the north piedmont of the Tianshan Mountains as a case study, we investigate oasis soil properties related to different land-use systems during the transformation of arid desert to oases. Selected land-use systems consisted of an annual crop field less than 3 years old, annual crop field 3?6 years old, annual crop field more than 6 years old, perennial crop field less than 4 years old, perennial crop field of 4-6 years old, perennial crop field more than 6 years old, abandoned farmland more than 3 years old, woodland field more than 6 years old, ecological forestation field, natural shrubbery field, desert grass land, and saline or alkaline field. Different land-use systems affect significantly the distribution of sand, silt and clay. Sand content in oasis soil tends to decrease with cultivation years but silt and clay contents tend to be increased in the oasis soils. Soil fertility is higher in the land-use systems under strong human disturbance than under weak human disturbance. Oasis soil nutrients also tend to increase with cultivation years. Soils have a significantly lower salinity in the land-use systems under strong human disturbance than under weak human disturbance. Soil organic matter and nutrients of the annual and perennial crop systems in the oasis tend to increase with cultivation time with the oasis soil acting as a carbon sink. These results show that soils are not degraded and the soil quality is gradually improved under rational land use and scientific management patterns, including uniform exploitation of land resources, effective irrigation systems, sound drainage systems, balanced fertilizer application, crushed straw return to soil and transformation of annual crop fields to perennial ones.     

雪热传导系数与穿过海冰的热通量研究

雪热传导系数是海冰质量平衡过程中的重要物理参数,决定了穿透海冰的热传导通量。北冰洋海冰质量平衡浮标观测获得多年冰上冬季温度链剖面可以明显地区分冰雪界面。本文考虑到冰雪界面处温度随时间变化,再根据冰雪界面热传导通量连续假定,提出了新的雪热传导系数计算方法。受不同环境因素影响,多年冰上各个浮标的雪热传导系数在0.23~0.41 W/（m·K）之间,均值为（0.32±0.08） W/（m·K）。北冰洋多年冰上冬季穿过海冰的热传导通量最大发生在11月至翌年3月,约14~16 W/m2。结冰季节,来自海冰自身降温的热量对穿过海冰向大气传输的热量贡献逐月减少,从9月100%减小到12月的35%,翌年的1月至3月稳定在10%左右。夏季,短波辐射通能量通过热传导自上而下加热海冰,海冰上层温度高于下层,热量传播方向与冬季反向,往海冰内部传递。直到9月短波辐射完全消失,气温下降,热量再次转变为自下往上传递。从冰底热传导来看,夏季出现海冰向冰水界面传递热量现象。由于雪较好的绝热性,冰上覆雪极大地削弱了海冰上层热传导通量,从而减缓了秋冬季节的结冰速度。尽管受雪厚影响,多年冰上层热传导通量与气温依旧具有很好的线性关系,气温每降低1℃,热传导通量增加约0.59 W/m2。     

干旱-半干旱区兰州兴隆山现代森林典型植被和土壤中类脂物分子特征及其意义

利用GC－MS对西北干旱区-半干旱区兰州兴隆山森林区典型植被与现代土壤样品中可抽提的类脂物进行了系统分析,检测出包括正构烷烃和α正构脂肪酮等一系列类脂物分子化石。在未进行族分离的情况下,检出兴隆山现代森林木本植物的正构烷烃以C₂₇或C₂₉为主峰,草本植物则以C₃₁为主峰;  土壤样品中均保留有很强的、几乎均势的C₂₇,C₂₉和C₃₁信号; α正构脂肪酮具有明显的奇碳优势,植物中以C₂₃,C₂₅或C₂₉为主峰,土壤样品以C₂₇或C₂₉为主峰;  其反映的信息是植被与微生物共同作用的结果。本研究为理解现代土壤和古土壤中类脂物所指示的植被信息、进一步探讨类脂物分子在植被(有机质)-微生物-土壤-湖泊沉积体系中存在与相互转换关系这一基础理论问题提供了科学资料。同时,为分子化石分析方法的改进和不同处理过程所得数据之间的对比和科学解释提供资料。     

青藏高原多年冻土区天然气水合物的形成及地球化学勘查

高原冻土带是天然气水合物生成和保存的潜在源区.对青藏高原西大滩-安多长达556 km的多年冻土区烃类有机地球化学剖面的测量结果表明,土壤样品的酸解氢、酸解甲烷、酸解乙烷、酸解丙烷和热释汞异常明显,其异常下限远高于背景值,其中酸解甲烷的背景值为395.54 μL/kg,异常下限为883.84 μL/kg,可见该区天然气水合物成藏具有很好的远景.通过统计学分析和综合地球化学对比分析,指出烃类"负异常"是地下赋存天然气水合物的重要标志.据此初步建立了多年冻土区天然气水合物的形成及地球化学勘查模式.     

江汉盆地潜江凹陷古近系潜江组含盐岩系沉积特征与沉积环境

潜江组盐层间的层段（盐间段）由砂岩和非砂岩两部分组成。其中非砂岩分布广泛，主要由单层厚度为毫米-厘米级累积厚度达几十厘米至几米的含盐韵律组成，并多为复成分的蒸发盐矿物、碳酸盐矿物及陆源的粘土和细碎屑矿物组成的混积岩。过去，人们对盐间段非砂岩的研究主要基于对岩性的认识，对于其沉积特征和沉积环境方面的研究较薄弱。本文通过对潜江凹陷西北部王场构造3口井共约151米岩芯的精细研究，对盐间段沉积特征和沉积环境进行了系统分析。认为潜江组盐间段湖盆环境为常年性较深水分层盐湖，大体可分为微咸水湖、半咸水湖、咸水湖和盐湖，水体深度自下而上逐渐变浅。     

Short-term effects of shrub control on two different plant communities in Argentina

The aim of this work was to study the effect of controlling jarilla (Larreaspp.), nonforage shrubs for livestock, on two plant communities with different forage production in the arid mid-west of Argentina. Total vegetation cover, forage species cover and carrying capacity were determined during three growing seasons, for cleared and uncleared plots. At the end of the study, significant differences were found in theLarrea cuneifoliacommunity, where average forage species cover increased by 156% over the control, and greater carrying capacity (129%) was also obtained from the cleared treatment. No significant differences were found in theLarrea divaricatacommunity. Data lead us to recommend shrub control as an improvement practice only in areas with low forage species cover and poor carrying capacity.     

Long-term evapotranspiration rates for rainfed corn versus perennial bioenergy crops in a mesic landscape

Perennial cellulosic crops are promoted for their potential contributions to a sustainable energy future. However, a large-scale perennial bioenergy production requires extensive land use changes through diversion of croplands or conversion of uncultivated lands, with potential implications for local and regional hydrology. To assess the impact of such land use conversions on ecosystem water use, we converted three 22 year-old Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) grasslands and three 50+ year-old conventionally tilled corn-soybean crop fields (AGR) to either no-till continuous maize (corn) or perennial (switchgrass or restored prairie) bioenergy crops. We also maintained one CRP grassland without conversion. We measured evapotranspiration (ET) rates on all fields for 9 years using eddy covariance methods. Results show that: (a) mean growing-season ET rates for perennial crops were similar to the ET rate of the corn they replaced at the previously cultivated (AGR) field but ET rates for perennial crops at CRP fields were 5–9% higher than ET rate for corn on former CRP fields; and (b) mean nongrowing season ET rates for perennial fields were 11–15% lower than those for corn fields, regardless of land use history. On an annual basis, mean ET rates for perennial crops tended to be lower (4–7%) than ET rate of the corn that they replaced at AGR fields but ET rates for perennial crops and corn at CRP fields were similar. Over 9 years, mean ET rates for the same crop across land use histories were remarkably similar for corn, whereas for the perennial crops they were 4–10% higher at former CRP than at former AGR fields, mainly due to differences in growing season ET. Over the 9 years and across all fields, ET returned ~60% of the precipitation back to the atmosphere. These findings suggest that large-scale substitution of perennial bioenergy crops for rainfed corn in mesic landscapes would have little if any (0 to −3%) impact on terrestrial water balances.     

青藏高原多年冻土沉积物中埋藏植物DNA特征的初步分析

多年冻土沉积物长期处于负温及封闭条件下,使得其中埋藏植物材料得到较好的保存,成为获取古DNA分子的理想材料.采用常规的CTAB法提取多年冻土中埋藏植物材料的DNA,并用琼脂糖凝胶凝胶电泳检测.结果表明,从多年冻土埋藏植物材料中可以提出DNA,而且所提出的DNA不仅具有降解的小分子量DNA分子,而且还有大分子量DNA.提取的埋藏植物材料的DNA多呈棕褐色,指示了在埋藏过程可能发生一定的聚合.电泳结果表明,随埋藏时间的增加(深度增加),埋藏植物材料中DNA含量呈下降趋势.由于埋藏植物材料在不同时代的多年冻土中均有发现,其DNA分子的提取为深入研究其特征所带遗传信息,重现植物大分子物质在地质历史中的演化提供了可能。