毛乌素沙地群落动态中克隆和非克隆植物作用的比较

 毛乌素沙地的克隆植物适应当地的沙化环境,并对沙化景观具有积极的改造作用。对克隆植物群落和非克隆植物群落内裸地斑块植物入侵的野外对比观测实验表明,克隆植物群落内裸地斑块入侵植物所占的格子数显著地大于非克隆植物群落,克隆植物可以提高沙化景观的自我恢复能力,在沙化景观的恢复重建中是一种值得利用的生物资源。     

沙地葡萄需水规律研究

利用土壤水动力学原理和水量平衡计算方法,在5年生沙地葡萄园,通过建立观测场,在群体条件下研究葡萄需水规律。观测场埋设中子管和负压计,监测水分动态和水势变化,求出地下水位值。得出了群体条件葡萄需水量为644.5mm。春季（3－5月)需水量为126.5mm,夏季（6－8月）为343.8mm,秋季（9－11月）为142.7mm,冬季（12月、1月、2月）为31.5mm。埋土防寒期需水量最小为0.5mm/d,6月需水量最大为4.2mm/d。生长期平均需水量为2.6mm/d。     

Migration of Naphthalene through Low Organic Content Sandy Soil Columns: Comparison of Unsaturated and Saturated Conditions

The transient transport of naphthalene through low organic matter content soil columns was investigated in different water-saturation and flow conditions. Some parameters were tested as flow rate, column height, and water saturation conditions. The soil was a clayed sandy soil from the Algerian coast near Boumerdes. The organic carbon content was 0.13% and the main mineral components were quartz (88%), clays minerals (7%) and calcite (3%). The height of the packing of the soil column (5.1 cm in diameter) varied from 15 to 40 cm. Simultaneous step injections of inert tracer (calcium chloride) and naphthalene at 10 mg L^?1 were performed. Tracer and naphthalene breakthrough curves (BTCs) were measured continuously by conductimetry and UV – 220 nm, respectively. The BTCs were simulated using the classical mixing cells in series with exchange model (MCE). In unsaturated conditions the comparison of the mean residence time of tracer BTCs with the geometrical pore volume gave us access to average water saturation along the column as a function of height. The higher the soil bed was, the higher the mean water saturation. The comparison of naphthalene distribution coefficients (K_d) in different flow conditions with the theoretical value from the Karickhoff law showed that in saturated conditions the obtained value was close to the theoretical one. In unsaturated conditions, the measured naphthalene K_d's were much lower than the theoretical value and correlated to the water saturation.     

Effects of exogenously applied salicylic acid and putrescine alone and in combination with rhizobacteria on the phytoremediation of heavy metals and chickpea growth in sandy soil

The present attempt was made to study the role of exogenously applied salicylic acid (SA) and putrescine (Put) on the phytoremediation of heavy metals and on the growth parameters of chickpea grown in sandy soil. The SA and Put were applied alone as well as in combination with plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). The PGPRs, isolated from the rhizosphere of chickpea, were characterized on the basis of colony morphology and biochemical traits through gram staining, catalase and oxidase tests, and identified by 16S-rRNA gene sequencing as Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus thuringiensis and Bacillus megaterium. The chickpea seeds were soaked in 24 h old fresh cultures of isolates for 2–3 h prior to sowing. The growth regulators (PGRs), SA and Put (150 mg/L), were applied to the seedlings as foliar spray at three-leaf stage. The result revealed that plants treated with SA and Put alone or in combination with PGPRs, significantly enhanced the accumulation of heavy metals in plant shoot. PGPR induces Ni accumulation in sensitive variety and Pb in both the varieties, the PGR in combination augment the bioremediation effects of PGPR and both sensitive and tolerant variety showed significant accumulation of Ni, Cd, and Pb. SA was more effective in accumulating Ni and Cd whereas, significant accumulation of Pb was recorded in Put. PGPRs further augmented the PGRs induced accumulation of heavy metals and macronutrients in chickpea shoot and in rhizosphere. SA increased the proline content of tolerant variety while decreasing the lipid peroxidation and proline content of the sensitive variety but decreased the stimulating effect of PGPR in proline production. Interactive effects of PGPR and PGRs are recommended for inducing phytoremediation in chickpea plants under drought stress.     

Different ecological strategies during the seed germination phase of nine grasses inhabiting the hyper‐arid Arabian desert

The effect of photoperiod, thermoperiod and their interaction on seed germination and its rate was studied for nine grasses growing in the Arabian desert. Germination tests were conducted under two photoperiods and three thermoperiods. Germination of light‐incubated seeds of Hyparrhenia hirta, Pennisetum divisum, Stipacapensis, Centropodia forsskaolii, Stipagrostis plumosa, Cymbopogon parkeri and Panicum turgidum was significantly higher than that detected in the darkness. Photoperiod did not influence the seed germination of Aristida adscensionis and Imperata cylindrica. Seeds of all species, except P. divisum, C. parkeri and I. cylindrica, germinated indepen dently of the tested temperature. Our results indicate that species belonging to the same family and growing in the same hyper‐arid desert habitat may influence and act in different ways during the seed germination phase, causing species‐specific effects, and therefore might affect the ecology of each taxon in this harsh environment.     

Single point mutation on the gene encoding dysbindin results in recognition deficits

The dystrobrevin‐binding protein 1 (DTNBP1) gene is a candidate risk factor for schizophrenia and has been associated with cognitive ability in both patient populations and healthy controls. DTNBP1 encodes dysbindin protein, which is localized to synaptic sites and is reduced in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of patients with schizophrenia, indicating a potential role in schizophrenia etiology. Most studies of dysbindin function have focused on the sandy (sdy) mice that lack dysbindin protein and have a wide range of abnormalities. In this study, we examined dysbindin salt and pepper (spp) mice that possess a single point mutation on the Dtnbp1 gene predicted to reduce, but not eliminate, dysbindin expression. By western blot analysis, we found that spp homozygous (spp ?/?) mutants had reduced dysbindin and synaptosomal‐associated protein 25 (SNAP‐25) in the prefrontal cortex, but unaltered levels in hippocampus. Behaviorally, spp mutants performed comparably to controls on a wide range of tasks assessing locomotion, anxiety, spatial recognition and working memory. However, spp ?/? mice had selective deficits in tasks measuring novel object recognition and social novelty recognition. Our results indicate that reduced dysbindin and SNAP‐25 protein in the prefrontal cortex of spp ?/? is associated with selective impairments in recognition processing. These spp mice may prove useful as a novel mouse model to study cognitive deficits linked to dysbindin alterations. Our findings also suggest that aspects of recognition memory may be specifically influenced by DTNBP1 single nucleotide polymorphisms or risk haplotypes in humans and this connection should be further investigated.     

Locomotor activity rhythm of Talitrus saltator (Crustacea,Amphipoda) on a progradating sandy beach

In the Maremma Natural Park (Grosseto, Italy), the Collelungo beach exhibits a clear morphodynamics gradient, resulting in a severe erosion to a gradual accretion along the shoreline. Here, three sub-populations of the sandhopper Talitrus saltator (Montagu) (Crustacea, Amphipoda) were studied to highlight eventual intra- and inter-population variation of the endogenous locomotor rhythm. Individual activity recordings were carried out for 21 days in constant darkness and controlled temperature and humidity conditions. The variation of the free-running period was analysed at individual and sub-population levels, and the dependence on intrinsic (individual features) and extrinsic (habitat of origin and season) factors was analysed. A seasonal variation was highlighted, related to the seasonal spontaneous activity of the species. In summer and autumn, a significant correlation between the behavioural variation in the sub-populations (period and definition of the period) and beach physical parameters (slope and width) defined the dependence of the behavioural gradient on the environmental gradient. The observed relationship may represent an adaptation to the local coastline dynamics, suggesting the importance of a plastic behaviour as adaptive response to a variable environment.     

氮添加对沙质草地微生物呼吸与根系呼吸的影响

土壤呼吸可以细化为根系呼吸和微生物呼吸,二者对氮添加的响应有所不同.本文以科尔沁沙质草地为研究对象,探讨氮添加对土壤CO₂排放的影响,并细化为微生物呼吸和根系呼吸的响应特征.结果表明: 在观测期(5—10月),土壤呼吸、微生物呼吸月动态均呈先升高后降低的趋势;微生物呼吸是土壤呼吸的主要贡献者,占82.6%;观测期内根系呼吸贡献率随月份而变化,根系呼吸贡献率两个峰值分别出现在5月(占49.4%)和8月(占41.9%),6个月的平均贡献率为17.4%;在10 ℃条件下,根系呼吸较微生物呼吸对氮添加的响应更为敏感,微生物呼吸速率在氮添加后降低了3.9%,而根系呼吸降低了17.7%;氮添加提高了土壤呼吸、微生物呼吸温度敏感性Q₁₀值,也提高了二者对土壤水分变化的敏感程度.