EFFECTS OF IONIZING RADIATION AND FIRE ON GAYLUSSACIA BACCATA AND VACCINIUM VACILLANS

Fire and ionizing radiation have parallel effects on survival of natural populations of Gaylussacia baccata and Vaccinium vacillans. Vaccinium is substantially more resistant to both. The differences in survival are due to differences in regenerative capacity; buds of Vaccinium are more resistant to damage, occur at greater depths in the soil, and are better protected from both radiation and heat. This pattern of radiation and fire resistance lends further support to the general observation that in plants radiation resistance is related to ecological hardiness.     

EFFECTS OF FIRE ON CLONAL GROWTH AND DYNAMICS OF PITYOPSIS GRAMINIFOLIA (ASTERACEAE)

The rhizomatous perennial Pityopsis graminifolia was studied in a Florida sandhill community in an annually burned site, a periodically burned site, and a site that has been protected from fire since 1965. These different fire regimes significantly affected the demography and life histories of both plants and plant parts in this clonal species. Fires resulted in reductions in ramet biomass and height, and an increase in the (root + rhizome)/shoot biomass ratio. Burning also decreased the total number of flower heads and new rhizomes produced per ramet. However, the survivorship of initiated rhizomes was greater in burned sites and resulted in a larger number of established daughter ramets per clone. As a result, in burned sites there was a shift in clone structure toward larger numbers of smaller ramets, but there were no significant reductions in seed or rhizome production on a per genet basis. The results showed that the responses to fire in P. graminifolia are different when measured at the genet vs. ramet level and that the effects of fire on clones can be explained by demographic responses of plant parts. Population regeneration in the study sites was dependent on successful clonal ramet production because no seedling recruitment was observed. This suggests that disturbances other than fire are important for new genet recruitment in these clonal populations.     

EFFECTS OF A FIRE RESPONSE TRAIT ON DIVERSIFICATION IN REPLICATED RADIATIONS

Fire has been proposed as a factor explaining the exceptional plant species richness found in Mediterranean regions. A fire response trait that allows plants to cope with frequent fire by either reseeding or resprouting could differentially affect rates of species diversification. However, little is known about the generality of the effects of differing fire response on species evolution. We study this question in the Restionaceae, a family that radiated in Southern Africa and Australia. These radiations occurred independently and represent evolutionary replicates. We apply Bayesian approaches to estimate trait‐specific diversification rates and patterns of climatic niche evolution. We also compare the climatic heterogeneity of South Africa and Australia. Reseeders diversify faster than resprouters in South Africa, but not in Australia. We show that climatic preferences evolve more rapidly in reseeder lineages than in resprouters and that the optima of these climatic preferences differ between the two strategies. We find that South Africa is more climatically heterogeneous than Australia, independent of the spatial scale we consider. We propose that rapid shifts between states of the fire response trait promote speciation by separating species ecologically, but this only happens when the landscape is sufficiently heterogeneous.     

MOISTURE AND SALT EFFECTS ON FIRE RETARDANCE IN PLANTS

The burning characteristics of several fire-retardant plants and Southern California chaparral shrubs of recognized high flammability were compared in muffle-furnace tests at 650 C. Fresh terminal growth of Atriplex lentiformis did not burn as readily as comparable material of Salvia mellifera, Quercus dumosa and Rhus laurina. When samples from these species were heat-dried before testing, no differences in flammability were demonstrated. The relatively high field moisture content of Atriplex appears to be primarily responsible for its reduced flammability. The high ash content of this species had no apparent effect on flammability at 650 C. In burning tests of fresh as well as heat-dried samples, Cistus ladaniferus and, to a lesser extent, Eriodictyon trichocalyx required longer to burn than the other species tested. These differences were not related to moisture content.     

稀土元素对小麦幼苗氮素吸收及其同化的影响

稀土元素浸种能够促进小麦(Triticum aestivum L.)幼苗对NO_3~-的吸收,提高硝酸还原酶活力。这些效应与稀土浓度有关,低浓度有促进作用,高浓度则有抑制作用。稀土元素处理还能促进小麦幼苗体内NO_3~-的同化还原,使硝态氮含量降低,氨基氮含量增加,促进了氮素代谢过程。     

环境、基因型及其互作对小麦主要品质性状的影响

  为了解环境(E)、基因型(G)及其互作(G×E)对小麦(Triticum aestivum)主要品质性状的影响效应, 连续两年进行了2组不同试验: 试验1在河南省5个不同纬度点分别种植强筋、中筋和弱筋6个小麦品种, 其品质性状的基因型差异相对较大; 试验2采用9个品种(多为中筋类型), 分别种植于我国主产麦区的8个省份, 其环境差异相对较大。研究结果表明, 2组试验中所有品质性状的基因型差异均达5%或1%的显著水平。试验2中所有品质性状的地点变异均达1%的极显著水平, 而试验1中仅蛋白质含量、湿面筋含量、沉降值、吸水率和延伸性的地点变异显著, 其多数加工品质性状的地点变异不显著。试验1中所以品质性状的地点×基因型互作均不显著; 而试验2中籽粒硬度、灰分、吸水率、形成时间、稳定时间和最大抗延伸阻力存在显著的地点×基因型互作。2组试验结果给我们的启示是: 1)基因型对多数品质性状的影响是第一位的, 因此生产中品种选择对获得理想的加工品质至关重要。2)地点对多数品质性状影响明显, 但其效应大小与试验的环境差异性有关。3)基因型与环境的互作效应明显小于基因型或环境主效应, 且受试验材料(基因型)与环境差异的影响。4)年际间多数品质性状有显著差异, 主要与灌浆期降雨、光照及温度条件有关; 过多降雨、较少日照时数及较低日均温对强筋小麦品质形成不利。     

Te(Ⅳ)胁迫对两种螺旋藻生长及抗氧化酶系统的影响

在钝顶螺旋藻(Spirulina platensis)和极大螺旋藻(Spirulina maximum)接种的第5天至第10天添加不同浓度的亚碲酸钠,研究Te(Ⅳ)胁迫对两种螺旋藻的生长、抗氧化活性系统和脂质过氧化作用的影响。结果表明,通过调节添加碲的时间,可以有效地调节碲胁迫强度,随着加碲时间依次后移,碲胁迫强度逐渐减小,螺旋藻的最终生物量递增。碲对螺旋藻的生物效应与碲胁迫强度有关,也与添加碲时藻所处的生长期有关。实验组Ⅲ(分别在第7、8、第9天三天添加碲)的碲胁迫强度并不是最低的,两种螺旋藻的最终生物量也不是最大,但MDA的含量却是最低的,表明该实验组的生长状态是最佳的。各种抗氧化酶(SOD、GPX、CAT、APX和POD)的活性变化情况较复杂。其中,在碲胁迫下,GPX的活性显著提高。       

冷冻温度对冬小麦叶绿素a荧光诱导动力学和光化学活性的影响

研究了人工冷冻温度(-13℃,暗中,2.5小时或16小时)预处理对冬小麦叶片和叶绿体的叶绿素a荧光诱导动力学和光化学活性的影响.结果表明在小麦叶片的光合作用中,Q以后的光合电子传递对冷冻温度处理最敏感,短时间(2.5小时)处理即可使其阻断;在此条件下几乎不影响水裂解过程和光系统Ⅱ活性;光系统Ⅰ活性也仅稍受抑制.当16小时低温处理时,水裂解过程及光系统Ⅱ活性均受到严重影响.冷冻温度与DCMU对小麦叶片Chl a荧光诱导动力学曲线影响的对比研究表明,二者对光合电子传递链抑制的部位不同,冷冻温度阻断的部位是在DCMU抑制的部位—Q_B的还原侧.     

POPULATION BIOLOGY OF BONAMIA GRANDIFLORA (CONVOLVULACEAE): EFFECTS OF FIRE ON PLANT AND SEED BANK DYNAMICS

The effects of disturbance on reproduction and plant and seed bank dynamics in the perennial herb Bonamia grandiflora were studied by comparing populations in recently burned, mechanically disturbed, and undisturbed habitats in central Florida over a 3-year period. Plant densities, seed production, and the occurrence of herbivory and predispersal seed predation varied considerably between sites and between years, with recently disturbed sites supporting the densest and most dynamic populations. Death of established plants was rare in all sites. In each site, the soil seed bank was several-fold larger than single season seed rains suggesting that B. grandiflora seeds are long-lived and accumulate in the soil. There was no evidence that postdispersal predation or pathogens have any significant influence on the seed bank dynamics. Fire resulted in large increases in stem densities due to both increased clonal stem production and new genet recruitment from seed. Burning also caused significant increases in the percentage of flowers producing seed and the numbers of capsules and seeds per plant. The seed rain was ten to thirty times greater in the burned site relative to adjacent unburned site during the 3 years after burning. However, additions to the seed bank from the postfire seed rain were balanced by equivalent losses due primarily to seed mortality during fire, and to a much lesser extent due to germination and new genet establishment. As a result, the subsequent densities of seeds stored in the soil in these two sites were similar, indicating that fire results in a significant turnover in the seed bank population but no immediate change in its size. These effects on seed bank dynamics, in addition to new genet recruitment, suggest that periodic fires may play an important role in the maintenance of genetic variability as well as the size of these populations.     

行距配置对‘兰考矮早八’小麦后期群体冠层结构及其微环境的影响

 在大田试验条件下,研究了在同一密度（375×104株&;#8226;hm^－2）下,行距配置对大穗型冬小麦(Triticum aestivum)品种‘兰考矮早八’后期群体 冠层结构、冠层微环境及产量构成的影响。结果表明,冠层叶面积指数随着行距的增大而减小;而冠层开度随着行距的增大而增加。行距配置 还可改变小麦冠层微环境,冠层不同层次的光截获及消光系数均随着行距的增大而减小;随着行距增加,冠层不同层次的温度升高,而湿度下 降; 随着行距缩小,冠层不同层次的CO₂分布更趋均匀,有利于群体光合作用。通过缩小行距,能够使植株分布均匀,竞争减弱,使产量构成 因素实现最佳配置,从而获得较高的产量。从该研究看,15 cm行距的产量最高,可作为该类品种的较佳行距配置。     

A TEN-YEAR RECORD OF ABOVEGROUND BIOMASS IN A KANSAS TALLGRASS PRAIRIE: EFFECTS OF FIRE AND TOPOGRAPHIC POSITION

Measurements of mid-season live and dead aboveground biomass are reported for a 10-yr period (1975–84) in a northeast Kansas tallgrass prairie. Study sites included shallow, rocky upland and deep, non-rocky lowland soils in annually burned (April) and unburned watersheds. Lowland sites had significantly greater live biomass than upland sites for both burned and unburned prairie for the 10-yr period. Moreover, live biomass was greater on burned than unburned lowland sites, but was not significantly increased by fire on the upland sites. Averaged across upland and lowland sites, mid-season live biomass was 422 g m^–2 on annually burned and 364 g m^–2 on unburned sites for the 10-yr period. Each site had its lowest live biomass value during the severe drought year of 1980 (range = 185–299 g m^–2). During the study period, live biomass was most strongly correlated with seasonal pan water evaporation (r = –0.45 to –0.82), whereas dead biomass was correlated with the previous yr's precipitation (r = 0.61 and 0.90 for upland and lowland sites, respectively). When aboveground biomass was sampled throughout the 1984 season and separated into several components, biomass of the graminoids was 40% lower, whereas that of forbs and woody plants was 200–300% greater in the unburned than in the annually burned site.     

EFFECTS OF FIRE IN TALLGRASS PRAIRIE ON GROWTH AND REPRODUCTION OF PRAIRIE CONEFLOWER (RATIBIDA COLUMNIFERA: ASTERACEAE)

Effects of fire on growth and reproduction of the perennial forb Ratibida columnifera were studied on the Konza Prairie Research Natural Area in northeastern Kansas, USA. Populations were sampled in seven different tallgrass prairie watersheds that varied in fire frequency and in the number of years elapsed since the last fire. Plants from sites not burned for many years were 2.6 times larger and produced 50% more stems than plants from recently burned sites. Number of seeds per plant was also higher in long-unburned sites due to greater numbers of flower heads per plant and greater numbers of achenes produced per head. Reproductive effort (ratio of inflorescence biomass to total vegetative biomass) was 33% lower in annually burned prairie than in any of the other sites. Significant differences in the relationships of inflorescence biomass to vegetative plant biomass in burned vs. unburned sites indicated that burning causes direct changes in plant reproductive effort independent from its effects on plant size. There was no clear relationship between patterns of seed production among sites and patterns of R. columnifera abundance. Ratibida columnifera responses to fire are most likely a result of changes in the relative competitive abilities of forbs and the dominant perennial grasses due to post-fire changes in abiotic conditions rather than a result of direct effects of fire on the fate of buds and subsequent vegetative and floral development.     

THE EFFECTS OF WINTER LENGTH ON THE GENETICS OF APPLE AND HAWTHORN RACES OF RHAGOLETIS POMONELLA (DIPTERA: TEPHRITIDAE)

Host plant-associated fitness trade-offs are central to models of sympatric speciation proposed for certain phytophagous insects. But empirical evidence for such trade-offs is scant, which has called into question the likelihood of nonallopatric speciation. Here, we report on the second in a series of studies testing for host-related selection on pupal life-history characteristics of apple- (Malus pumila L.) and hawthorn- (Crataegus mollis L. spp.) infesting races of the Tephritid fruit fly, Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh). In particular, we examine the effects of winter length on the genetics of these flies. We have previously found that the earlier fruiting phenology of apple trees exposes apple-fly pupae to longer periods of warm weather preceding winter than hawthorn-fly pupae. Because R. pomonella has a facultative diapause, we hypothesized that this selects for pupae with more recalcitrant pupal diapauses (or slower metabolic/development rates) in the apple-fly race. A study in which we experimentally manipulated the length of the prewintering period for hawthorn-origin pupae supported this prediction. If the period preceding winter is important for apple- and hawthorn-fly pupae, then so too should be the length (duration) of winter; the rationale for this prediction is that “fast developing” pupae that break diapause too early will deplete their energy reserves and disproportionately die during long winters. To test this possibility, we chilled apple- and hawthorn-origin pupae collected from a field site near Grant, Michigan, in a refrigerator at 4°C for time periods ranging from one week to two years. Our a priori expectation was that longer periods of cold storage would select against allozyme markers that were associated with faster rates of development in our earlier study. Since these electromorphs are typically found at higher frequencies in hawthorn flies, extending the overwintering period should favor “apple-fly alleles” in both races. The results from this “overwinter” experiment supported the diapause hypothesis. The anticipated genetic response was observed in both apple and hawthorn races, as allele frequencies became significantly more “apple-fly-like” in eclosing adults surviving longer chilling periods. This indicates that it is the combination of environmental conditions before and during winter that selects on the host races. Many tests for trade-offs fail to adequately consider the interplay between insect development, host plant phenology, and local climatic conditions. Our findings suggest that such oversight may help to explain the paucity of reported fitness trade-offs.     

抗寒锻炼对冬小麦幼苗质膜Ca^2＋—ATPase的稳定作用

通过氯化铈（ＣｅＣｌ３）沉淀的电镜细胞化学方法,观察了抗寒锻炼对冬小麦（ＴｒｉｔｉｃｕｍａｅｓｔｉｖｕｍＬ．）幼苗质膜Ｃａ２＋ＡＴＰａｓｅ的稳定作用,主要结果是：（１）正常温度（２０℃）下生长的冬小麦幼苗（未经抗寒锻炼）,其质膜上有很强的Ｃａ２＋ＡＴＰａｓｅ活性反应;当经过－９℃３ｈ的低温处理后,质膜的Ｃａ２＋ＡＴＰａｓｅ活性明显降低;在处理１２ｈ后,质膜的Ｃａ２＋ＡＴＰａｓｅ活性进一步降低;当处理时间延长到２４ｈ,质膜的Ｃａ２＋ＡＴＰａｓｅ完全失活,同时细胞的超微结构受到破坏。（２）冬小麦幼苗在２℃低温下锻炼１５ｄ后,其质膜的Ｃａ２＋ＡＴＰａｓｅ活性高于未经抗寒锻炼的小麦幼苗。抗寒锻炼后的小麦幼苗在－９℃处理３ｈ后,质膜的Ｃａ２＋ＡＴＰａｓｅ活性与低温处理前相比无明显降低;经低温处理１２ｈ,质膜仍保持较高的Ｃａ２＋ＡＴＰａｓｅ活性,较同样低温处理（－９℃,１２ｈ）但未经抗寒锻炼的幼苗高;当－９℃低温处理２４ｈ后,质膜上仍可观察到Ｃａ２＋ＡＴＰａｓｅ的活性反应,而且细胞的超微结构也未受到破坏。结果表明,抗寒锻炼可提高冬小麦幼苗质膜Ｃａ２＋ＡＴＰａｓｅ在低温下的稳定性     

不同施肥水平对旱地冬小麦水分利用效率的影响

1987—1988年,研究了旱地施肥对冬小麦(Triticum aestivum cv．Shanhe No．6)水分利用效率的影响,初步探讨了“以肥调水”的生理机制。施肥不仅提高了旱地土壤含水量,更重要的是提高了土壤水势和土壤水的有效性,从而增加了有效水分利用。施肥增大旱地冬小麦绿叶面积,延缓叶片衰老,从而降低土壤蒸发,增加蒸腾用水潜势和光合潜势,但净同化率不一定提高。施肥增加旱地冬小麦总的水分利用(ET,即蒸散量)和蒸腾(T)用水,增加地上部生物产量,提高了经济产量和水分利用效率。施肥使冬小麦同时具有耗水和节水以抵御干旱的能力,对植株具有调节作用,使之更好地适应干旱环境。     

EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE AND IRRADIANCE ON THE SEASONAL VARIATION OF A SPIROGYRA (CHLOROPHYTA) POPULATION IN A MIDWESTERN LAKE (U.S.A.)

Although Spirogyra Link (1820) is a common mat‐forming filamentous alga in fresh waters, little is known of its ecology. A 2‐year field study in Surrey Lake, Indiana, showed that it grew primarily in the spring of each year. The population consisted of four morphologically distinct filamentous forms, each exhibiting its own seasonal distribution. A 45‐μm‐wide filament was present from February to late April or early May, a 70‐μm‐wide form was present from late April to mid‐June, a 100‐μm‐wide form was present from February to mid‐June, and a 130‐μm‐wide form appeared only in February of 1 of 2 study years. The 70‐ and 100‐μm‐wide forms contributed to the peak amount of biomass observed in late May and early June. Multiple regression analysis indicated that the presence of the 45‐, 70‐, and 100‐μm‐wide forms was negatively correlated with temperature. Presence of the 130‐μm‐wide form was negatively correlated with irradiance. Isolates of these filament forms were exposed to temperature (15, 25, and 35° C)/irradiance (0, 60, 200, 400, 900, and 1500 μmol·m^?2·s^?1) combinations in the laboratory. Growth rates of the 45‐μm‐wide form were negative at all irradiances at 35° C, suggesting that this form is susceptible to high water temperatures. However, growth rates of the other forms did not vary at the different temperatures or at irradiances of 60 μmol·m^?2·s^?1 or above. Net photosynthesis was negative at 35° C and 1500 μmol·m^?2·s^?1 for the 100‐ and 130‐μm‐wide forms but positive for the 70‐μm‐wide form. All forms lost mat cohesiveness in the dark, and the 100‐ and 130‐μm‐wide forms lost mat cohesiveness under high irradiances and temperature. Thus, the morphological forms differed in their responses to irradiance and temperature. We hypothesize that the rapid disappearance of Spirogyra populations in the field is due to loss of mat cohesiveness under conditions of reduced net photosynthesis, for example, at no to low light for all forms or at high light and high temperatures for the 100‐ and 130‐μm‐wide forms. Low light conditions can occur in the interior of mats as they grow and thicken or under shade produced by other algae.