Plant drought tolerance trait is the key parameter in improving the modeling of terrestrial transpiration in arid and semi-arid regions

陆面过程蒸腾作用的模拟制约着天气,气候降水预测的精确度.近几十年来,为了更好地描述植被蒸腾的水力约束,陆面过程模式发展了基于植物性状的植物水力胁迫方案.然而,我们对于植物性状在蒸腾模拟中的地位仍然缺乏了解,植物性状对蒸腾的重要性仍需进一步量化.本研究利用Morris方法评估植物性状参数在通用陆面模式植物水力胁迫方案(CoLM-P₅₀HS)中的重要性,针对17种植物性状,筛选出最为重要的:耐旱性状(P₅₀),气孔性状,和光合作用性状.在12个FLUXNET站点中,参数的重要性由归一化敏感度来衡量.P₅₀的重要性随着降水的减少而增加,而气孔性状和光合作用性状的重要性则随着降水的减少而减少.在干旱或半干旱地区,P₅₀比气孔性状和光合作用性状更重要,这意味着当植物经常经历干旱时,水力安全策略比植物生长策略更关键.而耐旱性状的巨大变异性进一步暗示了多种植物水力安全策略的共存.忽视P₅₀的变异性可能会对陆面过程模式蒸腾作用的模拟造成严重误差.因此,为了更好地表示植物水力功能的变异性,需要增加对耐旱性状的观测并耦合到陆面模式中.     

扩散-离子色谱法测定植物样中的氟

采用扩散法提取植物样中的氟,用离子色谱法检测氟的含量。经试验,样品加标回收率在94.7%～104.7%之间,样品质量分数为7.10μg/g时,RSD为1.41%。此法操作简单,准确度高,精密度好,是一种测量植物样中氟含量的有效方法。     

原子荧光光度法测定植物样品中的铋

植物样品经硝酸-高氯酸1次湿法消解后,用氢化物发生-原子荧光光谱法测定铋。测定时加入消泡剂磷酸三丁酯,可有效消除泡沫,降低记忆效应,提高精密度。方法精密度(RSD=12)铋1.50%。经加标回收试验和国家一级标准物质验证,测定结果与标准值吻合。     

祁连山南麓退耕地主要植物群落植冠层的截留性能

退耕地人工群落植冠层的截留能力,是群落生态效益的重要组成部分,这一研究不仅可以掌握退耕还林还草工程作用的机理,还可以更好地指导工程实践,促进工程建设步伐。通过“简易吸水法”,可以快速掌握退耕地植冠层的最大截留潜力。青海省大通县退耕较早、平均年龄约10a以上的青海云杉、华北落叶松等几种人工群落,它们的林冠截留量较高,平均达1．93mm,为当地3种截留量最高、林龄50a之上天然群落的61％。青海云杉、华北落叶松、白桦、青杨、中国沙棘等退耕地人工群落的截留量,基本上显示出与林龄之间呈线性或Cubic、Quadratic正相关关系。在植物群落分层截留、消化吸收降雨的这一空间垂直序列中,植冠层截留量虽然较低,平均仅1．29mm(0．25～2．38mm),但植冠层的主要作用还在于减轻、缓冲雨水直接打击地面,改变降水的侵蚀性危害,而这些作用要远远高于截留量自身的区区数量。     

Is the cutting of oil contaminated marshes an efficient clean-up technique in a subtropical estuary?

Cutting and removal of oil-impacted marsh plants are still used worldwide as a clean-up and recovery technique. To experimentally test the efficacy of cutting and removing marsh plants under subtropical conditions, we simulated an oil spill (Bunker MF-180) in Spartina alterniflora marshes and compared the responses of plant height, biomass, density of culms and number of flowering plants in high and low energy areas in Paranaguá Bay (S Brazil) for about 9 months. Cutting and removal were inefficient in promoting or accelerating the recovery of the impacted areas. Cut or uncut impacted marshes fully recovered within 6 months, both in low and high energy areas. Plant cutting should be practiced only when there is an effective risk of contamination of groundwater near urban areas, when obvious aesthetical issues are involved in areas of touristic interest or when there are real short-term conservation risks to threatened species.     

Associated terrestrial and marine fossils in the late-glacial Presumpscot Formation, southern Maine, USA, and the marine reservoir effect on radiocarbon ages

Excavations in the late-glacial Presumpscot Formation at Portland, Maine, uncovered tree remains and other terrestrial organics associated with marine invertebrate shells in a landslide deposit. Buds of Populus balsamifera (balsam poplar) occurred with twigs of Picea glauca (white spruce) in the Presumpscot clay. Tree rings in Picea logs indicate that the trees all died during winter dormancy in the same year. Ring widths show patterns of variation indicating responses to environmental changes. Fossil mosses and insects represent a variety of species and wet to dry microsites. The late-glacial environment at the site was similar to that of today's Maine coast. Radiocarbon ages of 14 tree samples are 11,907 ± 31 to 11,650 ± 50 ¹⁴C yr BP. Wiggle matching of dated tree-ring segments to radiocarbon calibration data sets dates the landslide occurrence at ca. 13,520 + 95/−20 cal yr BP. Ages of shells juxtaposed with the logs are 12,850 ± 65 ¹⁴C yr BP (Mytilus edulis) and 12,800 ± 55 ¹⁴C yr BP (Balanus sp.), indicating a marine reservoir age of about 1000 yr. Using this value to correct previously published radiocarbon ages reduces the discrepancy between the Maine deglaciation chronology and the varve-based chronology elsewhere in New England.     

Influence of livestock on the regeneration of fodder trees along ephemeral rivers of Namibia

Faidherbia albida and Acacia erioloba (Mimosoideae) are important fodder trees for livestock and wildlife along the westward flowing ephemeral rivers of the Namib Desert. Together with other, mainly woody vegetation, F. albida and A. erioloba line these rivers and present a linear oasis in a resource poor environment. For centuries nomadic to semi-nomadic inhabitants seasonally utilised the resources of these ephemeral rivers to survive in the otherwise harsh desert environment. In the past decades, more permanent settlements were established along these rivers, with small stock subsistence farmers making a living from the available resources. Livestock (mainly goats) usually moves freely around, feeding on the available vegetation.This study investigated the influence of free moving animals on the regeneration and recruitment of F. albida and A. erioloba along the Kuiseb ephemeral river. It was found that a large numbers of recently emerged seedlings were removed soon after germination. In addition, tree densities of adult versus juvenile individuals differed in areas with large numbers of livestock. The overall height increase and health of juvenile plants were influenced negatively by browsing livestock. In general, browsing pressure differed spatially and was higher close to the main water channel.     

Herbaceous layer development during spring does not deplete soil nitrogen in the Portuguese montado

Nitrogen (N) content in the soil and in the herbaceous biomass were monitored during spring of 2004-2006 to determine how the herbaceous layer development influences soil N availability in the montado ecosystem of southern Portugal. Highest (246.6 ± 52.7 g m⁻²) and lowest (123.2 ± 89.5 g m⁻²) peak biomass occurred in 2006 and 2005 respectively. Total soil N within the top 20 cm soil profile ranged between 0.2 ± 0.1% in February and 0.41 ± 0.2% in May, while available soil N was lowest (5 ± 2 μg g⁻¹soil) in February but increased three-to-five fold in March and was >17.5 μg g⁻¹soil at senescence in May. Significant (p < 0.001) increase in total N in the aboveground pool occurred between February and May. There was however, no decay in soil N content. Instead, the herbaceous vegetation enhanced soil N input and N retention in the ecosystem. Most of the herbaceous plants were annuals with large reserves of organic N at senescence, which returned to the soil as detritus. The herbaceous vegetation is a critical component of the montado that contributes to N recharge and cycling within the ecosystem.     

Differential utilization of a shallow-water pulse by six shrub species in the Patagonian steppe

A field experiment was performed to improve understanding of the functional diversity of western Patagonian shrubs. Anarthrophyllum rigidum, Adesmia volckmanni, Berberis heterophylla, Mulinum spinosum, Schinus poligamus and Senecio filaginoides were compared in their capacity to absorb water from a 10-mm pulse enriched in deuterium and applied at the beginning of the dry summer. Xylem-water enrichment 14 days after watering was rather subtle, but the upper-soil signal was clear enough to distinguish shallow from deeper absorption. According to a linear mixing model, the proportion of surface-pulse water relative to total water uptake was maximum for Senecio (29-38%) and Mulinum (22-32%), both relatively shallow-rooted species, intermediate for Berberis (16-17%) and Schinus (6-9%), and negligible for the two N-fixing Fabaceae: Adesmia (<1%) and Anarthrophyllum (<3%), despite this last one having a dimorphic (tap + shallow) root system. It is hypothesized that shallow-water pulses may be more profitable in terms of nitrogen than of water, and thus constitute a higher-quality resource for those species only able to use N from soil sources.     

Positive plant interactions in the Iberian Southeast: Mechanisms, environmental gradients, and ecosystem function

Semi-arid ecosystems are privileged sites to address the effects of plant interactions on community structure and dynamics because environmental conditions are demanding and may change quickly, altering in significant ways the balance between positive and negative effects among neighboring plants. Plant interaction processes have been well documented in the semi-arid region of Southeast Spain over the last 15 years. In this article we review the growing body of research on plant–plant interactions available from this area, highlighting its importance in increasing our knowledge on this field of study. This review has been organized in five sections, i) facilitation mechanisms; ii) the nurse effect; iii) the balance of interactions and environmental, ontogenic, temporal, and spatial gradients; iv) the effects of facilitation on biodiversity; and, v) facilitation and ecosystem functioning. Mechanisms of facilitation in these systems are relatively well known, but not completely explored. In these environments competition, mainly for water, is intense between neighbors and switches in intensity from belowground to aboveground as productivity increases. By contrast, facilitation may decrease quickly with increasing productivity, although the balance between facilitation and competition is not fully understood, and is further complicated because shifts can also be driven by factors such as life history or physiology of interacting species. Positive interactions are critical for maintaining biodiversity in some ecosystems in SE Spain, but their role as a driver of ecosystem functioning is less clear. Research on plant–plant interactions in this region has been highly influential and has contributed to our overall understanding of plant community dynamics. Despite the important progress achieved during the last 15 years, there is still substantial scope for exploring the effects of plant interactions at the ecosystem level, and their role as modulators of disturbances such as the current global environmental change.