Establishment of Restoration Trajectories for Upland Tundra Communities on Diamond Mine Wastes in the Canadian Arctic

Mining in the arctic amplifies restoration challenges due to inherent environmental conditions by removing soil, vegetation, and the propagule bank, adding coarse textured wastes with low water holding capacity and nutrients, and introducing salt and metal contamination. Short‐term reclamation focuses on rebuilding soil and providing rapid native plant cover for erosion control, supporting longer term reestablishment of ecological processes for sustainable tundra communities that provide essential wildlife habitat. This study evaluated methods to restore soil and plant communities 5 years after implementation of treatments at a diamond mine in the Canadian arctic. Five substrates including mine waste materials (processed kimberlite, glacial till, gravel, and mixes), four amendments (inorganic fertilizer, salvaged soil, sewage sludge, and water treatment sludge), five native species seed mixes and natural recovery were investigated. Soil and plant response were assessed annually. Soil chemistry was ameliorated with time. Chromium, cobalt, and nickel concentrations in processed kimberlite remained high and potentially toxic to plants. Adding fine textured materials such as glacial till to mine wastes improved nutrient and water retention, which in turn enhanced revegetation. Sewage and inorganic fertilizer increased available nitrogen and phosphorus, plant density and cover. Soil amendment increased species richness. Seeding was essential to establish a vegetation cover. After 5 years, seed mix composition and diversity had no effect on plant community development; soil and plant community properties among treatments changed considerably, providing evidence that restoration in the arctic is dynamic yet slow and success cannot be determined in the short term.     

A method for inducing xylem emboli in situ: experiments with a field-grown tree

A pressure collar, assembled around 25cm sections of 4-year-old willow twigs, was used to examine cavitation events under field conditions. When the air pressure inside the collar was raised to between 1–8 and 2–8MPa, ultrasound acoustic emission signals were triggered which indicated the breaking of water columns in the xylem. The hydraulic conductivity of the twig portion inside the chamber decreased markedly. As a result, water potentials and conductances in leaves at the end of the twig decreased. Similar changes were induced at comparable pressures in detached twigs. The equipment used is described in detail, and evidence is presented that the mechanism of this artificial production of emboli follows the air-seeding principle hypothesized for natural cavitation events.     

Initiation of Antiviral B Cell Immunity Relies on Innate Signals from Spatially Positioned NKT Cells

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Seed‐induced Aβ deposition is modulated by microglia under environmental enrichment in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by severe neuronal loss as well as the accumulation of amyloid‐β (Aβ), which ultimately leads to plaque formation. Although there is now a general agreement that the aggregation of Aβ can be initiated by prion‐like seeding, the impact and functional consequences of induced Aβ deposits (Aβ seeding) on neurons still remain open questions. Here, we find that Aβ seeding, representing early stages of plaque formation, leads to a dramatic decrease in proliferation and neurogenesis in two APP transgenic mouse models. We further demonstrate that neuronal cell death occurs primarily in the vicinity of induced Aβ deposits culminating in electrophysiological abnormalities. Notably, environmental enrichment and voluntary exercise not only revives adult neurogenesis and reverses memory deficits but, most importantly, prevents Aβ seeding by activated, phagocytic microglia cells. Our work expands the current knowledge regarding Aβ seeding and the consequences thereof and attributes microglia an important role in diminishing Aβ seeding by environmental enrichment.     

不同耕种方式对沿黄稻茬麦田土壤因子及小麦生育的影响

对沿黄稻茬麦田不同耕种方式的生态效应进行了系统研究．结果表明,旋耕条播是沿黄稻茬小麦高产的最佳播种方式,与免耕播种相比,其耕层温度高,土壤容重小,耕层含水量适宜,肥效高而持久,麦田群体和个体发育好,分蘖成穗率高,千粒重及产量最高．     

棉花短季直播栽培模式对其农艺性状及干物质积累分配的影响

为探索棉花短季直播高产栽培模式,采用多因子最优混合设计(311设计)研究了播期、栽培密度和施氮量对早熟品种JX0010的农艺性状、干物质积累分配的影响。结果表明,不同处理对棉花生育进程有一定影响,播种期是影响棉花生育期的主要因子,各处理生育进程随播种期的推迟而缩短。不同处理株高、果枝层数、果枝始节、果节数差异都达到了显著水平,栽培因子对株高、果枝始节高度、果节数的影响大小顺序为密度施氮量播期,对果枝层数影响的顺序为播期密度施氮量,适量的施氮、合理密植以及适当推迟播期能增大植株高度,增加棉株果节数。不同处理棉花地上部分单株干物质积累、群体干物质积累、单株营养器官干物质积累、生殖器官干物质积累变化趋势基本呈"S"型,不同处理干物质分配系数表现出随着生育进程的推进,营养器官所占比重降低,生殖器官所占比重逐渐升高的趋势。     

Determining woodpecker diversity in the sub‐Himalayan forests of northern India using call playbacks

ABSTRACT Tropical forests have exceptional woodpecker diversity, but little is known about the abundance and diversity of woodpeckers in the Indian subcontinent, particularly for the Shorea robusta‐dominated moist deciduous forests of northern India. Our objective was to compare the number of woodpecker species and number of individuals detected using playback surveys and visual/aural transect surveys at five sites. Each site was surveyed 5–6 times along a 2000‐m transect, with woodpeckers detected using two methods: (1) visual and aural cues, and (2) playing back calls of 13 species at 400‐m intervals. Both methods involved similar effort per survey (100–110 min). During surveys, we detected 11 species of woodpeckers. More species and more than twice as many individuals were detected during playback surveys than during visual/aural surveys. In addition, species accumulation curves showed that we detected the species known to be present based on previous work faster with playback surveys than with visual/aural surveys at four of the five sites. During field trials, 97% of targeted individuals (N= 269) of 12 species responded to playback, and 83% of the responses occurred within 1 min of broadcast. The number of species of woodpeckers in our study area (11 species) was typical for a structurally diverse, tropical/subtropical moist broad‐leaved forest. Our results demonstrate that playback surveys are more efficient and accurate than visual/aural surveys, and that playback surveys can be useful for assessing and monitoring woodpecker diversity in tropical forests.