Comparative ecophysiology ofLarix kaempferi (Lamb.) Carr. andAbies veitchii Lindl. II. Mechanisms of higher drought resistance of seedlings ofL. kaempferi as compared withA. veitchii

The underlying mechanisms of drought resistance in seedlings ofLarix kaempferi as compared with those inAbies veitchii were investigated. First, seedlings of the two species were desiccated in air of differing water potential, and their survival rates were compared to detect any difference in desiccation tolerance between them. Contrary to differences in their drought resistance,A. veitchii showed higher survival. Next, the shoot heights and root depths of the two species were compared to detect any difference in desiccation avoidance. Although the shoot height differed little between the two species, the roots ofL. kaempferi seedlings were much deeper than those ofA. veitchii seedlings, and the death rate under progressing drought was well correlated with the root extensibility of each species. It was thus concluded thatL. kaempferi seedlings are able to avoid desiccation by extending their roots in deep soil faster thanA. veitchii seedlings, thereby resisting to drought. This paper is dedicated to Prof. Toshiro Saeki to mark his fruitful career in plant ecology.     

Microbial mats and physicochemistry in a saltern in the Bretagne (France) and in a laboratory scale saltern model

Abstract A saltern near La Baule (Bretagne, France) was remodeled in a programmable temperature and humidity controlled walk-in environmental chamber resembling the characteristics of the original saltern. The saltern showed different types of microbial mats predominantly composed of algae, oxy- and anoxyphotobacteria, and associated chemoorganotrophic bacteria, fungi and animals. Well-developed microbial mats were found up to a salinity of 10% during the three or four months in summer when salinity gradients and NaCl precipitation were established. The main phototrophic organisms were diatoms, the cyanobacteria Aphanothece, Microcoleus, Spirulina , and Oscillatoria , and Chromatiaceae. At higher salinity, Halobacterium sp., diatoms, and Dunaliella were dominant. Typical microbial mats and saltern-typical invertebrate, algal and bacterial species also developed in the saltern model, building up a stable community. The ionic composition of the brines and physicochemical parameters were similar to those determined for the original saltern. Different photosynthetic organisms, e.g. a filamentous purple bacterium and a hypersaline Chloroflexus -like organism, could be enriched within the microbial mats by changing the light regime.     

Establishment of anaerobic,reducing conditions in lake sediment after deposition of acidic,aerobic sediment by a major storm

Hurricane Danny resulted in the rapid deposition of 10cm of oxidized, acidic sediment in the Contrary Creek arm of Lake Anna, Virginia. Several biological and geochemical parameters were monitored with time to ascertain how long it took the newly-deposited lake sediments to attain the anaerobic, circumneutral, actively sulfate-reducing state normally observed in this portion of the lake. The sediment platinum-electrode potential dropped from 350 mV to 100 mV within the first week after the storm. The pH of the pore water increased from 4.5 to 5.8 within three weeks, and titratable alkalinity was detected within two weeks and three weeks at 3 cm and 1 cm depths, respectively. Accumulation of reduced products of sulfate reduction (acid volatile sulfide) began by three to four weeks after the storm event. Both methanogens and sulfate reducers were present in high and approximately equal numbers in the freshly deposited material. The rapid neutralization of the acidity in the fresh sediment prior to the onset of sulfate reduction suggests that reactions other than sulfate reduction caused the initial increase in pH and alkalinity in this system.     

Depth profiling in membranes by fluorescence quenching

Membrane penetration depth is an important parameter in relation to membrane structure and organization. A methodology has been developed to analyze the membrane penetration depths of fluorescent molecules or groups utilizing differential fluorescence quenching caused by membrane embedded spin-label probes located at different depths. The method involves determination of the parallax in the apparent location of fluorophores, detected when quenching by phospholipids spin-labelled at two different depths is compared. By use of relatively simple algebraic expressions, the method allows calculation of depth in å. This method has been used to determine the location of fluorophores in NBD-labelled lipids and anthroyloxy-labelled fatty acids in model membranes and of the membrane embedded tryptophan residues in the reconstituted nicotinic acetylcholine receptor.     

Fate of elemental sulfur in an intertidal sediment

Abstract: Sediment from a tidal flat at Wedderwarden, near the mouth of the Weser estuary, northern Germany, was amended with elemental sulfur, and concentrations of metabolic end products were monitored. The production of both sulfate and sulfide was consistent with disproportionation as the most important fate of the added elemental sulfur. A population of bacteria conducting active elemental sulfur disproportionation was also enriched from the sediment. In the enrichments, containing both elemental sulfur and Fe oxides as a sulfide 'scrub', sulfide and sulfate were produced in a ratio of     , somewhat lower than the predicted ratio of     . The mismatch between predicted and observed production ratios is explained by the channelling of electrons into autotrophic or mixotrophic CO₂ fixation rather than sulfide formation. The production of organic carbon, in the correct amount to explain the observed sulfide to sulfate production ratio, was verified by organic carbon analysis. Finally, rates of sulfate reduction were identical in the elemental sulfur amended sediment, and in control sediment with no added sulfur. Hence, the heterotrophic bacterial community was completely unaffected by an active metabolism conducting elemental sulfur disproportionation.     

A quantitative method of palaeolake-level reconstruction using ostracod assemblages: an example from the Bolivian Altiplano

This paper provides quantitative information concerning the response of ostracods to environmental variability in order to reconstruct past environments. Ostracod faunas from modern sediments of Bolivian lakes and swamps were studied. Ostracod distribution is controlled by several ecological characteristics such as lake-level and water chemistry. Statistical results indicate that three transfer functions (on water depth, Total dissolved Salts and water in Mg/Ca ratio) can be developed, from ostracod species frequencies in lacustrine sediments, with some restrictions for the two last ones.     

Gravitropic response growth angle and vertical distribution of roots of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Recent work on root distribution, growth angles and gravitropic responses in Japanese cultivars of winter wheat are reviewed. Vertical distribution of roots, which influences the environmental stress tolerance of plants, was observed in the 12 Japanese cultivars in the field. The root depth index (RDI: the depth at which 50% of the root length has been reached) differed among the cultivars at the stem elongation stage. Since the RDI was closely related to the growth angle of seminal roots obtained in a pot experiment, it was assumed that growth angle is useful for predicting vertical root distribution among wheat genotypes. Gravitropic responses of the primary seminal root of 133 Japanese wheat cultivars assessed by measuring the growth angle in agar medium, were larger in the northern Japanese cultivars and smaller in the southern ones. It was also found that the geographical variation resulted from the wheat breeding process, i.e. genotypes with limited gravitropic responses of roots had been selected in the southern part of Japan where excessive soil moisture is one of the most serious problems.     

不同气候区绿色屋顶蒸散发模拟研究

蒸散发过程决定绿色屋顶雨水滞留能力的恢复,进而影响绿色屋顶径流调控功能。基于水量平衡原理和Penman-Monteith公式,利用北京市实验绿色屋顶气象和蒸散发连续监测数据,构建并验证绿色屋顶水文过程模型,模拟分析不同气候区城市绿色屋顶蒸散发变化规律。结果表明：(1)该模型能较准确模拟绿色屋顶蒸散发量,率定和检验期的Nash-Sutcliffe效率系数分别为0.6385和0.6014,决定系数(R²)分别为0.7191和0.6168;(2)基质厚度相同的情况下,从半干旱区(兰州)、半湿润区(北京)到湿润区(武汉和广州),绿色屋顶日平均实际蒸散发量呈增加趋势;(3)增加基质厚度可提升绿色屋顶最大雨水滞留能力,进而增加绿色屋顶实际蒸散发量,但基质厚度对绿色屋顶蒸散发量的影响存在阈值,在兰州、北京、武汉和广州,当基质厚度分别超过10 cm、17 cm、24 cm和25 cm时,绿色屋顶的日平均实际蒸散发量变化不再明显。此外,不同气候区城市绿色屋顶的日平均实际蒸散发量也存在阈值,广州绿色屋顶日平均实际蒸散发量的阈值依次高于武汉、北京和兰州。本研究有望为我国不同气候区绿色屋...