Temporal variability of particulate organic carbon,nitrogen and phosphorus in the Northern Adriatic Sea

The particulate organic carbon (POC), nitrogen (PN) and phosphorus (PP) vertical distribution along the water column and temporal variability in coastal and offshore waters of the Northern Adriatic Sea were related to the hydrodynamic conditions and biological processes. Fresh water inputs from the Po and Adige rivers enhance primary production, resulting in high POC, PN and PP concentrations at the surface. In offshore waters, POC and PN concentrations were about 3–4 times less than in the coastal waters, while PP were up to 10 times lower, highlighting a marked phosphorus depletion. In the bottom layer, the POC content decreases due to the strong density gradients which separate bottom waters with prevailing degradation processes. Short term 48 h-variability of POC, PN and PP in the coastal waters was determined to a great extent by variations in the spreading of river plumes at the surface and by nepheloid layers and resuspension processes in the bottom waters. The particulate matter in the Adriatic offshore waters is extremely depleted as regards particulate phosphorus and is characterised by C_org:P and N:P ratios higher than the Redfield ratio.     

濒危海草贝克喜盐草在海南东寨港的分布及其群落基本特征

贝克喜盐草( Halophila beccarii)是当前全球面临灭绝风险的10种海草之一,被国际自然保护联盟( IUCN)列为易危( VL)种。由于贝克喜盐草生境的特殊性(受涨退潮影响的潮间带)及个体十分纤小且易被沉积物覆盖,加之种群更新速率极快,导致通常难以被发现。据报道,贝克喜盐草仅在我国的广西、广东、台湾、香港、福建和海南6个省(区)有小面积的分布。该研究首次报道了位于海南东寨港的贝克喜盐草海草的分布、群落基本特征以及生境概况。结果表明：与国内其它地区的贝克喜盐草相比,调查期间东寨港的贝克喜盐草面积较大,为15.4 hm2;密度适中,为(10394±576)茎.m-2;覆盖度较低,为~5％;生物量较低,总生物量仅(9.224±1.151) gDW.m-2,地上生物量为(2.339±0.245) gDW.m-2,地下为(6.886±1.055) gDW.m-2,地上与地下生物量之比值较低(0.34);叶片较小,叶长为(4.83±0.87) mm,叶宽为(1.44±0.21) mm,调查时在植物体上未发现有花或果,但在沉积物中发现有一定数量的贝克喜盐草种子(2105±664)粒.m-2。该研究区的海水受到一定程度的水体污染。建议海南东寨港国家级自然保护区在今后的管理工作中,应把海草也作为重点保护对象。     

Deposition and Decomposition of Turtlegrass Leaves

In coastal zones where prevailing winds are onshore, seagrasses are regularly deposited at the shoreline, often forming large accumulations. We have compared the rates of output of dry matter, organic carbon, and nitrogen for turtlegrass (Thalassia testudinum) when it decays at the shoreline or continuously submerged nearby. Output rates were either delayed (by 30 days or more) or were significantly slower for decay under submerged conditions.     

草地土壤有机质不同组分氮库对长期氮添加的响应

土壤氮库对生态系统的养分循环至关重要。目前多数研究主要关注氮沉降对土壤总氮的影响, 而对土壤不同有机质组分的氮库对氮沉降响应的研究较为缺乏。该研究基于内蒙古典型草地的长期多水平施氮(0、8、32、64 g·m^-2·a^-1)实验平台, 利用土壤密度分级方法, 探究氮添加处理13年后典型草地中两种土壤有机质组分(颗粒态有机质(POM), 矿质结合态有机质(MAOM))氮含量的变化及调控机制。结果显示: 土壤总碳含量、POM和MAOM的碳含量在施氮处理间均没有显著差异。土壤总氮含量则随着施氮水平增加呈显著增加的趋势, 同时施氮处理下POM的氮含量显著上升, 而MAOM的氮含量没有变化。进一步分析发现, 施氮促进植物地上生物量积累, 增加了凋落物量及其氮含量, 从而导致POM的氮含量增加。由于MAOM主要通过黏土矿物等吸附土壤中小分子有机质形成, 其氮含量受土壤中黏粒与粉粒含量影响, 而与氮添加水平无显著相关关系。该研究结果表明长期氮添加促进土壤氮库积累, 但增加的氮主要分布在稳定性较低的POM中, 受干扰后容易从生态系统中流失。为了更准确地评估和预测氮沉降对陆地生态系统的氮循环过程的影响, 应考虑土壤中不同有机质组分的差异响应。     

Upper Mississippi River: seasonal and floodplain forest influences on organic matter transport

Seasonal influences and the role of floodplain forest as source or sink of organic matter is relatively unknown for 3arge, temperate rivers. Discharge and fine-particulate (FPOC), dissolved (DOC), and total organic carbon concentrations (TOC) were measured during five sampling periods from November, 1984, to August, 1985, above and below the floodplain-forested area (1054 ha) of Burlington Island in navigation Pool 19, upper Mississippi River. Sampling coincided with autumnal leaf fall of the floodplain forest, peak flood and falling spring flood, and low-flow conditions prior to and during phytoplankton bloom. Greatest TOC transport occurred during peak flood (8.84 × 10⁶ Kg/day) and leaf fall (7.79 × 10⁶ Kg/day). Peak flood transport was dominated by FPOC associated with flushing of material from upland areas. Transport during autumnal leaf fall was predominantly DOC attributed to litter leaching. Seasonal DOC loads generally increased downstream except during the phytoplankton bloom when a decrease was associated with increased microbial metabolic activity. Downstream decline in FPOC and increasing DOC loads during peak flood characterized the mechanism of deposition and processing of FPOC on the floodplain. FPOC concentration was significantly correlated to discharge and DOC concentrations were higher than FPOC except for peak flood. Significant downstream changes in TOC load suggests the importance of riparian vegetation as an influence on organic matter transport in large rivers.     

海草床生态系统固氮微生物研究现状与展望

海草床生态系统是三大典型海洋生态系统之一,具有较高的生产力水平和十分重要的生态意义,其海草附着物中包括许多固氮微生物,通过生物固氮提供该生态系统"新"氮源,在一定程度上缓解了氮对初级生产力的限制.通过对近些年来固氮活性的测定方法、固氮群落组成以及影响因素等的研究进展进行了综合分析,较全面地分析了海草床生态系统的固氮微生物研究现状,并在次基础上对海草床固氮微生物的系统研究进行了展望.     

亚热带杉木林土壤有机碳及其活性组分对氮磷添加的响应

通过野外氮、磷添加,分析N₀(0 kg N·hm^-2·a^-1)、N₁(50 kg N·hm^-2·a^-1)、N₂(100 kg N·hm^-2·a^-1)、P(50 kg P·hm^-2·a^-1)、N₁P和N₂P等6种处理3年后对亚热带杉木人工林土壤有机碳(SOC)、颗粒有机碳(POC)和水溶性有机碳(WSOC)的影响.结果表明:氮、磷添加对0～20 cm土层SOC含量无显著影响.磷添加显著降低0～5 cm土层POC含量,与无磷处理相比,加磷处理POC含量降低26.1%.WSOC含量对氮、磷添加的响应主要表现在0～5 cm土层,低水平氮添加和磷添加显著提高WSOC含量.在0～5 cm土层,氮添加对POC/SOC值无显著影响,而与无磷添加相比,POC/SOC值在磷添加处理下显著降低15.9%.在5～10和10～20 cm土层,氮、磷添加处理对POC/SOC值无显著影响.在亚热带地区,森林土壤碳稳定性主要受磷含量的调控,短期磷添加易导致表层土壤活性有机碳分解,增加土壤碳稳定性.     

Long term 15N studies in a catena of the shortgrass steppe

A set of long term¹⁵N studies was initiated during the summers of 1981 and 1982 on the backslope and footslope, respectively, of a catena in the shortgrass steppe of northeastern Colorado. Microplots labeled with¹⁵N urea were sampled for¹⁵N and total N content in 1981 and 1982 and again in 1992. In November, 1982, 100% of the added N was recovered in the soil-plant system of the finer-textured footslope, compared to 39% in the coarser-textured backslope microplots. Ten years later,¹⁵N recovery of the applied N decreased at both topographic positions to 85% in the footslope and 29% in the backslope. Average losses since the time of application were 3.5 g N m^–2yr^–1 in the backslope and 0.8 g N m^–2yr^–1 in the footslope. In 1992, soil organic matter was physically fractionated into particulate (POM) and mineral associated (MAON) fractions and 21-day mineralization incubations were conducted to assess the relative amounts of¹⁵N that were in the slow, passive and active soil organic matter pools, respectively, of the two soils. Our findings confirm the assumptions that POM represents a large portion of the slow organic compartment and that the MAON represents a large fraction of the passive compartment defined in the Century model. The N located in the MAON had the lowest availability for plant uptake. Isotopic data were consistent with textural effects and with the Century model compartmentalization of soil organic N based on the residence time of the organic N.     

黄土高原不同人工林型微生物残体碳对土壤有机碳组分的积累贡献及影响因素

为探究不同人工林型微生物残体碳(Microbial necromass carbon, MNC)对土壤有机碳组分的积累贡献及影响因素,在黄土高原选取刺槐林、山杏林、油松林为研究对象,分析了三种人工林0-60 cm土层真菌残体碳(Fungal necromass carbon, FNC)、细菌残体碳(Bacterial necromass carbon, BNC)、MNC对颗粒态有机碳(Particulate organic carbon, POC)和矿物结合态有机碳(Mineral-associated organic carbon, MAOC)的积累贡献及其影响因素。结果表明:(1)三种人工林POC、MAOC中FNC、BNC、MNC含量均随土层深度的增加而降低;(2)刺槐林和山杏林MNC对MAOC的积累贡献(60.9%,52.0%)高于POC(33.5%,49.5%),其中FNC对MAOC的积累贡献分别是BNC的4.4和2.5倍,油松林在0-10 cm土层MNC对POC的积累贡献(73.8%)高于MAOC(48.2%),其中FNC对POC的积累贡献是BNC的3.5倍,而在10-60 cm土层MNC对MAOC的积累贡献(30.9%)高于POC(24.4%),其中FNC对MAOC的积累贡献是BNC的3.4倍;(3)总有机碳和全氮含量与MNC/POC、MNC/MAOC呈显著正相关关系(P ＜ 0.05),黏粒含量与MNC/MAOC呈显著正相关关系(P ＜ 0.05),pH值、砂粒含量与MNC/MAOC呈显著负相关关系(P ＜ 0.05)。说明黄土高原三种人工林0-60 cm土层MNC主要贡献MAOC的积累,油松林0-10cm土层除外,且与细菌残体碳相比,真菌残体碳在土壤有机碳组分积累中的贡献更大,土壤总有机碳、全氮、黏粒、砂粒含量、pH值是影响该区不同人工林型微生物残体碳贡献土壤有机碳组分积累的主要因素。     

山西吕梁山南段森林乔木层碳密度

森林在区域和全球碳循环中起着关键作用,不同森林类型生物量和碳密度的精确估算是区域森林碳储量研究的重要基础。以2005和2010年吕梁山南段2期森林资源清查资料为基础,采用加权生物量回归模型法和转换因子连续函数法对森林乔木层的生物量进行估算,发现前者估算结果显著高于后者(P0.01),加权生物量回归模型法更适宜于中小尺度生物量估算。依据回归模型法获得的28×112(物种×样方)碳密度矩阵,对森林群落进行TWINSPAN分类和DCA、CCA排序;采用单因素方差分析和相关分析对不同生境条件下乔木层的碳密度进行研究。结果表明:吕梁山南段森林群落可分为8个群系,不同群系间碳密度差异显著(P0.01),其中辽东栎+色木槭群系和辽东栎+油松群系显著高于其他群系,白皮松+侧柏群系最低。2010年乔木层碳密度显著高于2005年,平均每年以1.54 t·hm-2的速度增加。乔木层碳密度与海拔或坡度呈显著相关,随海拔或坡度的增加碳密度呈先增后降的趋势。阴坡和半阴坡(北坡和东坡)碳密度大于阳坡和半阳坡(南坡与东南坡),山脊碳密度最小。因地制宜进行物种选择和抚育管理,可显著提高森林碳密度。     

Do fish communities function as biotic vectors of organic matter between salt marshes and marine coastal waters?

The contribution of fish communities to organic matter (OM) fluxes, especially between salt marshes and adjacent marine coastal waters are reviewed. For this a data set from the bay of Mont Saint-Michel and literature is examined and discussed. In a range of macro-tidal coasts of Europe, salt marshes are only flooded at spring tides for a short time. Many animals, including fish, then invade the salt marshes through tidal creeks. They forage there for up to a few hours and swim back to sea at ebb. Meanwhile, organic matter is exported as gut content. In the 4000 ha of salt marshes of the bay of Mont Saint-Michel mullets were responsible for the export of about 8 kg of dry weight OM ha^–1 in 1996 and of roughly 12 kg in 1997. Although spatio-temporally variable, the fish communities appear to play a more or less significant role, as biotic vectors in the nutrient fluxes between salt marshes and coastal waters.     

Variability and transport of suspended sediment,particulate and dissolved organic carbon in the tidal freshwater Hudson River

Measurements of suspended matter, particulate organic carbon and dissolved organic carbon were made over a three year period at stations spanning 150 km of the tidal freshwater Hudson River. Suspended matter concentrations varied from year-to-year and were not related to freshwater discharge. The increase in suspended matter with depth in vertical profiles suggests that, during medium to low flow conditions, resuspension of bottom sediments was as important a source of sediment as loadings from tributaries. Particulate organic carbon showed significant variability among stations, and both autochthonous primary production and detrital organic matter are contributing to POC standing stocks. Dissolved organic carbon represented over half of the total organic carbon in the water column and showed little variation among stations.Examining downstream changes in transport showed that there was significant production of both suspended matter and POC within the study reach during the ice-free season. Tributary loadings within the study reach do not appear to be the cause of these increases in downstream transport. Dissolved organic carbon behaved conservatively in that there was no evidence for net production or net consumption within the river.The spatial/temporal patterns and analyses of transport suggest that suspended matter and POC, but not DOC, were controlled to a significant extent by processes occurring within the river and were not simply related to loadings from outside.     

European salt marshes diversity and functioning: The case study of the Mont Saint-Michel bay,France

The macrotidal Mont Saint-Michel bay has beenstudied intensively since 1990. The objectives ofthis study, supported by the European Union, wereto understand various processes underlying thefunctioning of this hydrosystem with a special focuson organic matter and nutrient fluxes betweensaltmarshes and marine waters. This paper presents asynopsis of these studies. The tidalflats are unvegetated and primary production isexclusively due to microphytobenthos communitiesdominated by diatoms. Halophile plant communitiescolonize the top parts of the tidal flats. Theircomposition and production vary according to amaturity gradient and sheep grazing. In ungrazedsaltmashes, production ranged from 1080 gDW m^-2·yr^-1in the lower marsh to 1990 gDW m^-2·yr^-1in the upper marsh whereas it was only 200 to500 gDW m^-2·yr^-1in Salicorniaspp.dominated pioneer zones and sheep grazed areas. Mostof this organic matter (OM) was trapped in situ,processed by fungi and bacteria, and then releasedseaward via tidal fluxes, groundwater and runoff as particulate OMand nutrients: –497 kg N, –1200/–1000 kg P-PO₄and –9900/–4200 kg inorganic carbon). A small amount ofOM was exported to the bay as macrodetritus. Fattyacids and stable isotopes, used as markers, showedthat OM produced by the marsh halophytes contributedto the diet of all the tidal flats invertebrates thatwere studied. Transient fish species were shown tocolonize the saltmarshes to forage or graze, exporting about 50 tons POM (DW)·y^-1. Therefore,it is assumed that the saltmarsh production enhancesthe production of the whole bay. But the functioningis still poorly known because the nutrient sinks havenot all been identified. Part of the nutrients inputwas provided by precipitation (+327 kg y^-1), butthe contribution of the catchments was not quantifieddespite the fact that their influence was shown by thepresence of lindane in all the compartments of thesystem. Dynamics of saltmarshes are mainly influencedby natural sedimentation (1.5 million m³·y^-1in the bay), plant community succession, and management (i.e., reclamation and agricultural activities).     

The shredding activity of gammarids facilitates the processing of organic matter by the subterranean amphipod Niphargus rhenorhodanensis

1. The functional feeding group approach has been widely used to describe the community structure of benthic invertebrates in relation to organic matter resources. Based on this functional framework, positive interactions between feeding groups (especially shredders and collector‐gatherers) were postulated in the River Continuum Concept. However, relationships with organic matter have been poorly documented for invertebrates living in the hyporheic zone. 2. We hypothesised that the common subterranean amphipod Niphargus rhenorhodanensis would feed on fine particulate organic matter (FPOM), which is more abundant than coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM) in hyporheic habitats, and should be favoured by the occurrence of shredders that produce FPOM from CPOM. 3. We used laboratory experiments to quantify leaf litter processing by N. rhenorhodanensis and a common shredder, the surface amphipod Gammarus roeselii. We estimated rates of feeding and assimilation (using nitrogen stable isotopes) of the two species separately and together to reveal any potential shredder–collector facilitation between them. 4. Measured leaf litter mass loss showed that N. rhenorhodanensis did not act as a shredder, unlike G. roeselii. Organic matter dynamics and ¹⁵N/¹⁴N ratios in tissues of niphargids indicated that N. rhenorhodanensis was a collector‐gatherer feeding preferentially on FPOM. We also found a positive influence of the gammarid shredders on the assimilation rate of N. rhenorhodanensis, which fed on FPOM produced by the shredders, supporting the hypothesis of a positive interaction between surface shredders and hyporheic collector‐gatherers.