Passive irrigation and functional morphology of crustacean burrows in a tropical mangrove swamp

Flushing measurements and a resin cast of a burrow inhabited by Sesarma messa and Alpheus cf macklay were taken from a Rhizophoraspp. forest. The burrow had 9 openings and occupied a swamp surface area of 0.64 m². Passive irrigation of the burrow was investigated by recording change in conductivity of burrow water in a chamber 45 cm below the swamp surface during tidal inundation of the swamp. The chamber was completely flushed within approximately one hour, i.e. by a single tidal event. Burrow morphology was determined by means of resin casting. The investigated burrow was of discrete structure, with an overall depth of 1.2 m and a total volume of 68 l, i.e. ca. 9% of the volume of swamp soil. The below ground surface area of chambers and tunnels was 3.8 m². The mean and maximum chamber/tunnel diameter was 7 cm and 11 cm respectively. The soil in the close vicinity of the burrow was extensively penetrated by roots, and any two parts of the burrow were located no further than 20 cm away from each other. By reducing diffusion distances within the soil and by being well flushed, the burrows provide an efficient mechanism for removal of excess salt accumulated in the soil around mangrove roots due to exclusion.     

The intersectional hybrid between Weigela hortensis and W. maximowiczii (Caprifoliaceae)

Morphologically intermediate plants between Weigela hortensis (Siebold & Zucc.) K.Koch and W. maximowiczii (S.Moore) Rehder have been found in Miyagi and Yamagata Pref., northern Japan. Quantitative character analyses of flowers, pollen stainability and molecular analyses indicated that the intermediate plants were hybrids of those two species. This is the first record of an intersectional hybrid with W. maximowiczii (sect. Weigelastrum ) as one of the parent species. The morphological differences among hybrid individuals imply the possibility of backcrosses or formation of second or later generations of hybrids, although those may be quite rare because of a low frequency of viable pollen grains. Causes of hybridization between two distantly-related species in Weigela are discussed. © 2002 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society , 2002, 138 , 369–380.     

Nitrogen fertigation of greenhouse-grown cucumber

Summary This greenhouse study investigated the response of trickle-irrigated cucumber (Cucumis sativa cv. ‘Petita’) to three N levels applied with every irrigation via the irrigation stream. The plants were grown in pots filled with 12 kg of soil. Water containing 5.8, 11.8, or 17.8 mmol N/l, and uniformly supplied with 2.0 and 3.9 mmol/l of P and K, respectively, was applied two to three times daily. In all treatments of 0.3 leaching fraction was allowed. The resulting total N applications were 15.7, 31., and 47.2 g N/plant. The total amount of water applied was 1851/plant. Total N and NO₃-N, in lajinae and petioles, increased with increasing N level whereas P and K in generated decreased. Although different NO₃/NH₄ ratios in the treatments may have influeced the response to N, it could be concluded that the highest yield was obtained with 11.8 mmol N/1 due to increased number of fruit. In the root volume of this treatment the NO₃-N concentration in the soil solution was aroun 7 mmol/1 for most of the growing season. The dry matter concentration of fruits was not affected by the N levels. It was concluded that 11.8 mmol N/1 applied with every irrigation via the irrigation stream is adequate to cover the needs of greenhous-grown cucumber for higher yield (9.42 kg/plant over a harvesting period of 93 days).     

Fishes, their biology and fisheries management in Lake Peipsi

The management of aquatic weeds in an irrigation scheme is constrained by the agro-economic system in relation to scheme layout, the nature and ecology of the aquatic weeds, agricultural practice, irrigation and drainage requirements, and the available resources for maintenance. The way in which the ecology, engineering and economics of irrigation and drainage channels interact to produce a pattern of management is investigated for the Mwea Irrigation Settlement Scheme, Central Province, Kenya. This is used to develop a simple model which enables the economic implications of varying the aquatic weed management practice to be identified. The model brings the selection of a weed control programme within the principles of engineering economy.     

Citrus orchard evapotranspiration: Comparison between eddy covariance measurements and the FAO-56 approach estimates

Abstract

The aim of this study was to use the FAO-56 single and dual crop coefficient approaches to estimate actual evapotranspiration (ET_a) over an irrigated citrus orchard under drip and flood irrigations in Marrakech, Morocco. The results showed that, by using crop coefficients suggested in the FAO-56 paper, the performance of both approaches was poor for two irrigation treatments. The Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) between measured and simulated ET_a values over the citrus orchard under drip irrigation was about 1.43 and 1.27 mm/day for the single and dual approaches, respectively, while the corresponding statistics for the orchard irrigated by the flooding technique was 1.87 and 2.48 mm/day. After determination of the appropriate values of the crop coefficient (K_c) based on eddy covariance measurements of ET_a, the performance of both approaches greatly improved. The obtained K_c values were lower than the FAO-56 values by about 20%. The low K_c values obtained reflect the practice of drip irrigation for one field and the low value of cover fraction for the other field. Additionally, the efficiency of the irrigation practices was investigated by comparing the measured K_c for two fields. The results showed that a considerable amount of water was lost by direct soil evaporation from the citrus orchard irrigated by flooding technique.     

Implications of climate change for potamodromous fishes

There is little understanding of how climate change will impact potamodromous freshwater fishes. Since the mid 1970s, a decline in annual rainfall in south‐western Australia (a globally recognized biodiversity hotspot) has resulted in the rivers of the region undergoing severe reductions in surface flows (ca. 50%). There is universal agreement amongst Global Climate Models that rainfall will continue to decline in this region. Limited data are available on the movement patterns of the endemic freshwater fishes of south‐western Australia or on the relationship between their life histories and hydrology. We used this region as a model to determine how dramatic hydrological change may impact potamodromous freshwater fishes. Migration patterns of fishes in the largest river in south‐western Australia were quantified over a 4 year period and were related to a number of key environmental variables including discharge, temperature, pH, conductivity and dissolved oxygen. Most of the endemic freshwater fishes were potamodromous, displaying lateral seasonal spawning migrations from the main channel into tributaries, and there were significant temporal differences in movement patterns between species. Using a model averaging approach, amount of discharge was clearly the best predictor of upstream and downstream movement for most species. Given past and projected reductions in surface flow and groundwater, the findings have major implications for future recruitment rates and population viabilities of potamodromous fishes. Freshwater ecosystems in drying climatic regions can only be managed effectively if such hydro‐ecological relationships are considered. Proactive management and addressing existing anthropogenic stressors on aquatic ecosystems associated with the development of surface and groundwater resources and land use is required to increase the resistance and resilience of potamodromous fishes to ongoing flow reductions.     

Effect of salinity on quality of various agricultural crops

Summary The effect of salinity on the quality of various agricultural crops has not yet been explored much. This information is very important to Israel due to the increasing use of saline water for irrigation. This paper reports the effect of saline irrigation water on the quality, especially the taste, of several crops. Fruits from a processing tomato cultivar exposed to various degrees of salinity had higher values for total soluble solids (TSS) and acidity than their controls. The yield of fruit after saline water irrigation is lower, but this is offset by the nigher fruit quality and its consequent higher value. Melon fruits from plants subjected to saline water scored higher in taste than their controls when the fruits were analyzed fresh. After 3–4 weeks of storage at room temperature, there was no longer any difference in taste. Even though salinity slightly increased the TSS content, this did not correlate with the taste scores. Iceberg lettuce grown with saline water did not significantly differ in taste from its control, even when the sensitive triangle taste test was used. The same was true for peanuts. Thus, for these two crops no advantage of better quality would compensate for possible lower yields. Salinity had little effect on the yield of two varieties of Chinese cabbage, but increased the frequency of tipburn.     

基于空间优先级的快速城市化地区绿色基础设施网络构建——以南京市浦口区为例

绿色基础设施是一个由自然区域和其他开放空间相互联系的网络。在城市空间极为有限的情况下,如何有效构建城市绿色基础设施网络并识别那些具关键性景观生态功能的网络要素显得极为重要。为了给城市绿色基础设施网络的建设和管理提供新的建模与分析理念,以快速城市化的南京市浦口区为例,采用MSPA方法并结合景观连通性指数,遴选出了对维持景观连通性贡献最大的生境斑块作为绿色基础设施网络的网络中心,进而采用最小路径方法构建了研究区潜在的绿色基础设施网络,并尝试利用空间句法分析,基于结构优化视角对绿色基础设施网络进行优先级的识别,从而使绿色基础设施网络的构建更科学。研究结果可为快速城市化地区绿色基础设施网络的构建提供一种研究思路与方法,对绿色基础设施网络要素的优先级评价也具有一定的借鉴意义。     

灌溉方法与施氮对土壤水分、硝态氮和小麦生长发育的调控效应

为探明玉米秸秆还田下小麦的合理灌溉与施肥方法,于田间研究了漫灌(FI)、微喷灌(SI)、滴灌(DI)和灌水施氮模式(N₁, 基施纯N 157.5 kg·hm^-2+拔节期施纯N 67.5 kg·hm^-2; N₂, 基施纯N 157.5 kg·hm^-2+拔节期施纯N 45.0 kg·hm^-2+灌浆期施N 22.5 kg·hm^-2)对土壤水分、硝态氮(NO₃^--N)含量和小麦生长发育的影响.结果表明: 灌溉方法和灌水施氮模式共同影响土壤含水量和贮水量的变化.其中,灌溉方法对越冬期和返青期0～60 cm、孕穗期和灌浆期0～160 cm、成熟期100～160 cm土层含水量影响相对较小,对越冬期和返青期80～160 cm、成熟期0～80 cm土层含水量影响大;FI对含水量和贮水量影响最大,DI次之,SI最小;SI和DI的灌水施氮模式中灌水量多,则土层含水量高、贮水量多,变化大.NO₃^--N含量受灌溉方法和施氮的影响,施氮对0～20 cm土层影响大,SI生育期NO₃^--N含量变化大,DI越冬期至孕穗期NO₃^--N含量变化小,此后变化大,FI与DI相反;生育前中期灌水量对NO₃^--N含量影响大,后期施氮对NO₃^--N含量影响大;SI和DI的2种灌水施氮模式中冬前灌水量多的NO₃^--N含量变化大.灌溉方法中SI越冬期总茎数和单株分蘖高,成穗率高,成穗数多,产量、水分利用效率(WUE)和氮素利用效率最高,滴灌次之,漫灌最低;SI和DI中N₁生育期总茎数、成穗数多,但穗粒数和千粒重低,产量、WUE和氮素利用效率低于N₂.因此,玉米秸秆还田后播种小麦,微喷灌代替漫灌生育期灌4水,施足基肥,拔节期和灌浆期分次追氮,是山西南部小麦-玉米一年两熟区小麦节水高产高效栽培模式.