Spring phenology in boreal Eurasia over a nearly century time scale

It has been widely reported that tree leaves have tended to appear earlier in many regions of the northern hemisphere in the last few decades, reflecting climate warming. Satellite observations revealed an 8-day advance in leaf appearance date between 1982 and 1991 in northern latitudes. In situ observations show that leaf appearance dates in Europe have advanced by an average of 6.3 days from 1959 to 1996. Modelling of leaf appearance on the basis of temperature also shows a marked advance in temperate and boreal regions from 1955 to 2002. However, before 1955, reported studies of phenological variations are restricted to local scale. Modelling, ground observations and satellite observations are here combined to analyse phenological variations in Eurasian taiga over nearly a century. The trend observed by remote sensing consists mainly in a shift at the end of the 1980s, reflecting a shift in winter and spring temperature. In western boreal Eurasia, a trend to earlier leaf appearance is evident since the mid-1930s, although it is discontinuous. In contrast, the strong advance in leaf appearance detected over Central Siberia using satellite data in 1982–1991 is strengthened by late springs in 1983–1984; moreover, in this region the green-up timing has displayed successive trends with opposite signs since 1920. Thus, such strong trend is not unusual if considered locally. However, the recent advance is unique in simultaneously affecting most of the Eurasian taiga, the leaf appearance dates after 1990 being the earliest in nearly a century in most of the area.     

金花茶花瓣转录组分析及花瓣发育调控基因挖掘

花瓣大小是影响金花茶(Camellia nitidissima)观赏价值的主要因素之一,但金花茶花瓣发育形成机制尚不清楚。将金花茶花瓣发育过程划分为幼蕾期(S1)、初蕾期(S2)、显色期(S3)、半开期(S4)、盛开期(S5)五个阶段,利用RNA-seq技术分析花发育过程中转录组的动态变化,以期对金花茶花瓣发育形成的转录机理进行初步探究。通过对金花茶花瓣发育过程中的差异表达基因进行富集分析和趋势分析,发现生长素转导途径所含差异表达基因数量最多,部分AUX1/LAX共转运体、AUX/IAA基因、SAUR等生长素应答基因在开花过程中明显上调,表明生长素是调控花瓣生长重要的调控因子。MYB、bHLH、锌指蛋白等转录因子、木葡聚糖内糖基转移酶/水解酶(XTH)、果胶酯酶(PE)、果胶裂解酶(PL)等部分下游功能基因,其中XTH显著富集于GO分类中的水解酶活性,表明它们可能对金花茶花瓣的生长起重要调控作用。此外,对FT、SOC1、AP3、PI、SEP3等开花调控关键基因在金花茶花瓣发育过程中的表达情况进行了分析,结果表明这些基因主要以中低表达为主。高表达基因进行KEGG富集分析结果表明,次生代谢物质合成伴随着金花茶花瓣的整个发育过程。这些结果为进一步揭示金花茶花瓣发育的转录调控机制奠定了理论基础。     

Trends in the frequency of different pollen types in Vienna from 1976 to 1989

Summary For allergological purposes it is of interest whether the number of allergenic pollen will change in a significant order. Linear regression and correlation of different pollen types show that the annual totals of most of the allergenic pollen remain constant. None of the pollen grains show distinct and significant disappearance, but four types show significant increase of annual totals: Varia, Sambucus, Cupressaceae and Rubicaea. Pollen of Cupressaceae and Castanea fairly will become of more allergological interest within the next years, if the upward-trend should prove to be continous. No significant change was found in the number of the investigated spores.     

Climatic changes and 13-year trends in stream macroinvertebrate assemblages in New South Wales, Australia

Over the period from 1994 to 2007, air and water temperatures in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) increased while rainfall and river flows declined. Data on the occurrence of stream macroinvertebrate families in bioassessment samples collected in NSW during this period were examined to see whether a biological response to these climatic and hydrological trends could be discerned. Multiple logistic regression was used to test for long-term trends in the probability of detection of individual macroinvertebrate families within the samples, taking account of the latitude, longitude, altitude, hydraulic habitat, time of year and subsampling method associated with each sample. Of the 124 families and family groups tested, 33 had statistically significant increasing trends, 37 had significantly declining trends and 54 had no significant trend; however, many of the last group were seldom collected and their trend estimates had wide confidence limits. Significant relationships were found between the thermophily and rheophily of the families and the estimated strength and direction of their long-term trends, with families that favour colder waters and faster-flowing habitats more likely to have declined. Although many families showed trends of increasing detection within samples, such trends do not necessarily equate to increasing prevalence in the environment because the extent of wetted habitat has probably declined, especially flowing habitat. In addition, because of likely intrafamilial trait diversity, increasing or apparently increasing families may include species in decline. Many freshwater macroinvertebrate species in NSW may be threatened by anthropogenic climate change, exacerbated by water withdrawals. The thermal tolerances, rheophily and other pertinent traits of individual species need to be determined to identify those most at risk.     

Variations in the tree-ring structure of Norway spruce (Picea abies) under contrasting climates

Variations in tree-ring structure from pith to bark of mature Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst. (L)) grown under contrasting climate conditions (warm-dry vs. cool-humid) in south-western Germany were investigated. Sample trees were from even-aged stands where no intensive silvicultural treatments had taken place. The cell number (CN), diameter (CD), lumen diameter (CL) and wall thickness (CW) were measured from stem cross-sections taken at breast height. A raw data chronology of each cell parameter was established for the whole annual ring (AR), earlywood (EW), latewood (LW), and transition wood (TW). The long-term trends of the cell parameters were generally non-linear, parameter-specific in AR and EW and similar over sites. Those in LW were site-specific and similar over cell parameters. The variation of the same parameter, expressed by the coefficient of variance (CV), tended to increase from EW towards LW and was clearly higher for CN than for other cell parameters of all tree-ring zones. Trees from the warm-dry site had more LW cells and substantially thicker CW, whereas those from the cool-humid site had larger EW cells. These observed differences are likely due to the hydraulic adaptation mechanisms of trees to different site conditions.