Indoor airborne fungi as risk factors in IgE-mediated respiratory allergy

The purpose of this epidemiological study was to assess respiratory allergy in relation to the presence of indoor airborne fungi. The relationship between IgE-mediated respiratory allergy (skin test positivity) and the presence of fungi (CFU/m³) in the indoor environments of 104 subjects was assessed in a cross-sectional study by controlling for extraneous variables (age, gender, predisposition, asthma, rhinitis, skin positivity to ragweed and mite, and smoking). The qualitative and quantitative measurements of airborne seasonal fungi (Alternaria spp. andCladosporium spp.) and non-seasonal airborne fungi (Penicillium spp. andAspergillus spp.) were taken in the subjects’ indoor environments twice in a 2-year period by volumetric methods (Burkard Personal Sampler). There was a significant association between skin test positivity to seasonal fungi and to ragweed (Adj. OR=3.42, CI=1.76–6.66). There was no association between skin test positivity to seasonal fungi and asthma (Adj. OR=0.52, CI=0.28–0.98), but a significant association was found between skin test positivity to seasonal fungi and rhinitis (Adj. OR=5, CI=2.03–12.32). In a logistic regression analysis (maximum likelihood estimates—model A), no statistical association was found indoors between skin prick test positivity to seasonal fungi (Alternaria and/orCladosporium) and airborneAlternaria and/orCladosporium concentrations (Adj. OR=1.18, CI=0.66–2.07). There was a significant association between skin prick test positivity to seasonal fungi and to non-seasonal fungi (Adj. OR=12.81, CI=1.67–98.34). There was no association between asthma and airbornePenicillium concentrations (Adj. OR=1.86, CI=0.47–7.33) nor between rhinitis and airbornePenicillium concentrations (Adj. OR=0.18, CI=0.03–1.19). In another logistic regression analysis (maximum likelihood estimates — model B) using non-seasonal fungi (Aspergillus andPenicillium), no statistical association was found indoors between skin prick test positivity to non-seasonal fungi and airbornePenicillium concentrations (Adj. OR=0.33, CI=0.07–1.69). These findings suggest an association between rhinitis and seasonal fungi. In the rhinitis stratum, subjects who had skin test positivity to ragweed had a higher risk of being sensitive to seasonal airborne fungal allergens. Subjects with non-seasonal fungal allergy had a high relative risk if they were also allergic to seasonal fungi. There was no association between asthma and airborne fungi, as the epidemiological study (cross-sectional design), by definition, does not allow an etiological evaluation of chronic disease. This would require a longitudinal study, i.e. the measurement of repeated exposure as an independent variable (allergen) and repeated measurement as a function of the disease as outcome in humans as a dependent variable.     

小流域土壤水分空间异质性及其与环境因子的关系

以丹江口库区五龙池小流域为研究区域,利用双向指示种法将观测期(2008年4-10月)划分为不同干湿时段;运用前向选择法和Monte Carlo检验法对显著影响不同时段土壤水分空间格局的环境因子进行筛选;利用冗余分析排序法分析不同时段土壤水分格局与环境因子的关系;运用偏冗余分析定量分离环境、空间及其交互作用对土壤水分变异的影响.结果表明:观测期土壤水分被划分为7个子类,分别属于干旱、半干旱、半湿润和湿润4个时段;在干旱期,土地利用类型是影响土壤水分空间格局的主控因子,土层厚度、相对高程、剖面曲率、土壤容重和土壤有机质的影响也达到显著水平;在半干旱期,土层厚度起主导作用,土地利用类型、地形湿度指数、土壤容重和剖面曲率显著影响土壤水分;在半湿润期,地形湿度指数的影响最大,土地利用、坡向正弦值的作用显著;在湿润期,地形湿度指数和坡向正弦值是主要影响因子,相对高程、汇水面积的影响显著.不同干湿期土壤水分的空间分布与环境空间的生态梯度格局吻合较好.从干旱期到湿润期,环境因子独立作用不断减小,但始终处于主导地位,空间位置独立作用总体变化不大且一直维持在较低水平,环境-空间位置交互作用的贡献逐渐增大.     

A comparative study of hourly and daily relationships between selected meteorological parameters and airborne fungal spore composition

Air sampling was conducted in Szczecin (Poland) throughout April–September 2013. The final data set included 177 daily and 4248 hourly samples. The total of 21 types of spores, which occurred in a number >10 in the season, were taken into account. The following meteorological parameters were analyzed: air temperature, relative humidity, precipitation and wind speed. Effects of individual weather parameters on hourly and daily concentrations of different fungal spore types were examined using Spearman’s rank association test, whereas effects of complex of meteorological factors on hourly and daily compositions of spore were assessed using detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) and redundancy analysis (RDA). Airborne fungal spore distribution patterns in relation to meteorological variables were determined by RDA, after DCA results detected a linear structure of the spore data. The RDA results obtained indicated that all the applied variables accounted for 20 and 22% of the total variance in the hourly and daily spore data, respectively. The results of stepwise forward selection of variables revealed all included hourly and daily meteorological variables were statistically significant. The largest amount of the total variance in the spore composition was explained by the air temperature in both cases (16%). Multivariate ordination did not show large differences between the hourly and daily relationships (with exception of wind speed impact), while the differences between simple hourly and daily correlations were more clear. Correlations between daily values of variables were in most cases higher than between hourly values of variables.     

树木外生菌根菌与环境因子关系研究进展

土壤、气候和立地因子等环境因子影响树木外生菌根菌的种类及数量。本文通过查阅大量国内外文献 ,综述了外生菌根菌与土壤、季节气候及立地因子等环境因子的相互关系 ,探讨了环境因子对外生菌根菌的影响 ,揭示了外生菌根菌研究中所关注的环境因子问题。同时 ,提出了外生菌根菌与环境因子关系今后研究的主要内容与方向 ,旨在为森林生态系统的可持续经营和退化森林生态系统的恢复、改造等提供科学依据。     

Partitioning the Relative Contributions of Inorganic Plant Composition and Soil Characteristics to the Quality of Helichrysum italicum subsp. italicum (Roth) G. Don fil. Essential Oil

Composition of Helichrysum italicum subsp. italicum essential oil showed chemical variability according to vegetation cycle, environment, and geographic origins. In the present work, 48 individuals of this plant at different development stages and the corresponding root soils were sampled: i) 28 volatile components were identified and measured in essential oil by using GC and GC/MS; ii) ten elements from plants and soils have been estimated using colorimetry in continuous flux, flame atomic absorption spectrometry, or emission spectrometry (FAAS/FAES); iii) texture and acidity (real and potential) of soil samples were also reported. Relationships between the essential‐oil composition, the inorganic plant composition, and the soil characteristics (inorganic composition, texture, and acidity) have been established using multivariate analysis such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and partial Redundancy Analysis (RDA). This study demonstrates a high level of intraspecific differences in oil composition due to environmental factors and, more particularly, soil characteristics.     

珠江口南沙河涌浮游植物群落结构时空变化及其与环境因子的关系

随着城市生态健康理念的提出,城市河涌生态健康也受到了前所未有的关注。为更好的了解河涌的水环境和浮游植物现状,于2015年3月至2016年2月对珠江口南沙河涌8个站位水环境和浮游植物群落结构进行调查。结果显示:共发现浮游植物164种(属),隶属7门73属,其中以绿藻种类最多,达33属79种,占48.17%;硅藻次之,17属41种,占25%。优势种为梅尼小环藻(Cyclotella meneghiniana)、假鱼腥藻属(Pseudanabaena sp.)和小球藻(Chlorella vulgaris)。浮游植物细胞密度在0.19×10~6—101.34×10~6个/L内变动,呈现单峰型,在4月发生拟菱形弓形藻(Schroederia nitzschioides)水华,14涌密度高达87.38×10~6个/L,随后因强降雨细胞密度骤降。浮游植物群落的季节演替基本符合PEG(Plankton Ecology Group)模型,从冬季的硅藻,到春夏季的绿藻,再到秋季的蓝藻。One-way ANOVA分析显示,各月份浮游植物细胞密度差异显著(P0.01)。Pearson相关性分析表明绿藻细胞丰度变化主导着浮游植物总丰度的变化(r=0.454,P0.01)。运用Margalef物种丰富度指数、Shannon物种多样性指数、Pielou均匀度指数对水体进行评价表明,调查水体呈中度污染。相关加权营养状态指数表明,河涌全年处于富营养化状态。浮游植物聚类分析表明,时间异质性较高,总体相似性较低;空间上相似性较高,人为活动可能是导致空间差异的关键因子。冗余分析显示,叶绿素a、溶解氧、盐度、水温、总氮和p H与浮游植物群落结构关系最为密切。p H对硅藻门浮游植物影响较大,碱性条件适宜直链藻生长,春季水华形成的驱动因子是盐度、温度和总氮。     

太行山南段连翘群落结构及其影响因子研究

连翘（Forsythia suspensa）不仅是一种常用大宗木本药用植物类型,而且也是重要的绿化植物类型。以太行山南段陵川境内广泛生长的连翘为研究对象,通过样方调查方法,解析连翘群落结构及影响因子,探讨海拔、坡向主要地形因子和土壤因子对群落格局的影响,以期有助于连翘的规模化种植。结果表明：（1）该区连翘群落可分为5类群丛：Ⅰ连翘（Forsythia suspensa）＋三裂绣线菊（Spiraea trilobata）-披针叶苔草（Carex lanceolata）群丛;Ⅱ连翘（Forsythia suspensa）＋白刺花（Sophora davidii）-披针叶苔草（Carex lanceolata）＋铁杆蒿（Tripolium vulgare）群丛;Ⅲ辽东栎（Quercus wutaishanica）-连翘（Forsythia suspensa）＋三裂绣线菊（Spiraea trilobata）-披针叶苔草（Carex lanceolata）+白头翁（Pulsatilla chinensis）群丛;Ⅳ油松（Pinus tabuliformis）-连翘（Forsythia suspensa）-披针叶苔草（Carex lanceolata）群丛;Ⅴ连翘（Forsythia suspensa）＋黄刺玫（Rosa xanthina）-披针叶苔草（Carex lanceolata）群丛。（2）海拔高度（H）、全钾（TK）和坡向（TRP）是影响该区连翘分布状况的3个主要环境因子。3个因子在4个层级水平上构成群落分型的主导因子。第一级主导因子是海拔高度（H=1330 m）;第二级是土壤总钾量（TK=19.07 mg/kg）和海拔（H>1330 m）;第三级是坡向（TRP=0.2775）、海拔（H>1330 m）和总钾量（TK<19.07 mg/kg）;第四级是总钾（TK=18.47 mg/kg）、海拔（H>1330 m）、和坡向（TRP>0.2775）。海拔高度和土壤肥力是影响太行山南段生境内连翘群落结构和规模化种植的要重环境因子。     

The effect of meteorological factors on the daily variation of airborne fungal spores in Granada (southern Spain)

A study was made of the link between climatic factors and the daily content of certain fungal spores in the atmosphere of the city of Granada in 1994. Sampling was carried out with a Burkard 7-day-recording spore trap. The spores analysed corresponded to the taxa Alternaria, Ustilago and Cladosporium, with two morphologically different spore types in the latter genus, cladosporioides and herbarum. These spores were selected both for their allergenic capacity and for the high level of their presence in the atmosphere, particularly during the spring and autumn. The spores of Cladosporium were the most abundant (93.82% of the total spores identified). The Spearman correlation coefficients between the spore concentrations studied and the meteorological parameters show different indices depending on the taxon being analysed. Alternaria and Cladosporium are significantly correlated with temperature and hours of sunlight, while Ustilago shows positive correlation indices with relative humidity and negative indices with wind speed. Received: 16 April 1998 / Revised: 27 September 1999 / Accepted: 27 October 1999     

The first record and occurrence of Stagnicola turricula (Held, 1836) (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Lymnaeidae) in Upper Silesia (Southern Poland) in relation to different environmental factors

The degradation of freshwater environments, e.g.: eutrophication, drainage, water pollution, has led to the decline of lymnaeid species distribution. Some of them are recorded in the Red Book and Red List of species as rare, vulnerable or legally protected. The survey was carried out in Upper Silesia (Southern Poland), which is one of the biggest coal basins in the world. This region is devoid of natural water bodies; only reservoirs of an anthropogenic origin are common. Anthropogenic reservoirs, which are not very degraded, constitute important lentic habitats in Upper Silesia and they provide refuges for wildlife including rare and vulnerable molluscan species. This survey uncovered the first occurrence of Stagnicola turricula in the anthropogenic reservoirs in this area. S. turricula has been subdominant in molluscan communities. Sixteen molluscan species, including 11 gastropod and 5 bivalve species, were recorded at the sampling sites. Based on a redundancy analysis (RDA), the organic matter content in the bottom sediments and pH were the parameters most associated (statistically significant) with the distribution of molluscan species including S. turricula.     

贵州烟草根围AM真菌多样性的初步研究

从贵州省内烟区不同土壤生态环境下采集烟草根际土样,湿筛离心法分离丛枝菌根（AM）真菌孢子,鉴定出烟草AM真菌4属20种,其中球囊霉属9种,无梗囊霉属7种,巨孢囊霉属3种,盾巨孢囊霉属1种。从土壤样品DNA中扩增AM真菌特异性片段并采用DGGE技术对AM真菌多样性进行分析。测序结果显示烟草根际土壤中菌根真菌主要菌群为球囊霉属,与湿筛离心法的鉴定结果一致。为进一步研究贵州地区AM真菌多样性以及开发应用提供了依据。     

Old‐field grassland successional dynamics following cessation of chronic disturbance

Question: Does increasing Festuca canopy cover reduce plant species richness and, therefore, alter plant community composition and the relationship of litter to species richness in old‐field grassland? Location: Southeastern Oklahoma, USA. Methods: Canopy cover by species, species richness, and litter mass were collected within an old‐field grassland site on 16, 40 m × 40 m plots. Our study was conducted during the first three years of a long‐term study that investigated the effects of low‐level nitrogen enrichment and small mammal herbivory manipulations. Results: Succession was altered by an increase in abundance of Festuca over the 3‐yr study period. Species richness did not decline with litter accumulation. Instead, Festuca increased most on species‐poor plots, and Festuca abundance remained low on species‐rich plots. Conclusions: Festuca may act as an invasive transformer‐species in warm‐season dominated old‐field grasslands, a phenomenon associated more with invasions of cool‐season grasses at higher latitudes in North America.     

合肥市不同生态功能区空气负离子浓度分布特征及其与气象因子的关系

空气负离子浓度与空气环境质量密切相关.以合肥市为研究对象,按照4个生态功能区(公园游览区、生活居住区、商业交通繁华区和工业区),同步进行了空气负离子浓度、主要气象要素(光照强度、气温、空气相对湿度等)观测.不同功能区空气负离子浓度的日变化特点是: 公园游览区和生活居住区日变化呈单峰形式,工业区呈双峰形式,而商业交通繁华区则比较复杂;极值出现的时间也有差异;4个功能区空气负离子浓度日变化的波动性从大到小依次为商业交通繁华区＞工业区＞生活居住区＞公园游览区.4个功能区空气负离子浓度年变化趋势基本一致,夏季最高,冬季最低.公园游览区、生活居住区、商业交通繁华区和工业区空气负离子浓度年平均值分别是819、340、149和126 个·cm^-3.影响合肥市空气负离子浓度的最主要气象因子是空气相对湿度,其次是光照强度,最小为气温.空气负离子浓度与空气相对湿度呈指数递增关系.     

Plant species and communities assessment in interaction with edaphic and topographic factors; an ecological study of the mount Eelum District Swat,Pakistan

The current analyses of vegetation were aimed to study the different effects of environmental variables and plant species and communities interaction to these variables, identified threats to local vegetation and suggestion for remedial measures in the Mount Eelum, Swat, Pakistan. For assessment of environmental variability quantitative ecological techniques were used through quadrats having sizes of 2 × 2, 5 × 5 and 10 × 10 m² for herbs, shrubs and trees respectively. Result of the present study revealed 124 plant species in the study area. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) was used to analyze the ecological gradient of vegetation. The environmental data and species abundance were used in CANOCO software version 4.5. The presence absence data of plant species were elaborated with Cluster and Two Way Cluster Analysis techniques using PC-ORD version 5 to show different species composition that resulted in five plant communities. Findings indicate that elevation, aspect and soil texture are the strongest variables that have significant effect on species composition and distribution of various communities shown with P value 0.0500. It is recommended to protect and use sensibly whole of the Flora normally and rare species particularly in the region.     

Effects of grazing exclusion on species composition in high-altitude grasslands of the Central Alps

Our study examines the effects of grazing exclusion on low-productive subalpine and alpine grasslands of the Central Alps (UNESCO Biosphere Park Gurgler Kamm, Obergurgl, Austria). A long-term exclusion experiment was established in 2000 in the subalpine, the lower, and the upper alpine zone. With exception of the subalpine zone, domestic herbivores have been grazing during the whole growing season. In grazed and exclosure plots species frequencies were recorded for 7 years. We analysed exclosure effects on species number, community composition, life forms, and functional groups.Species richness did not decrease significantly within the exclosures, but changes in species composition occurred in each zone, although some were transitory in nature. The dynamic trends of the plots were significantly explained by the ‘treatment×year’ effect along the whole altitudinal gradient, but the effects decreased considerably with altitude. In the subalpine and upper alpine exclosures, stress-tolerators, species of low or no nutritive value, and mosses showed a decreasing trend, whereas tall grasses (subalpine exclosures), competitors, and species with high or medium nutritive values (lower alpine exclosures) tended to increase.Overall, our 7-year study revealed that several functional groups reacted to grazing, according to our main expectations. We suggest that these effects will intensify in the long term.     

Relative importance of within-habitat environment,land use and spatial autocorrelations for determining odonate assemblages in rural reservoir ponds in Japan

To clarify the major factors affecting odonate assemblages in rural reservoir ponds among within-habitat environments, land use around ponds and spatial autocorrelation, we surveyed odonate adults (Zygoptera and Anisoptera) in 70 study ponds in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, during three sampling periods in 2005. Redundancy analyses (RDA) for these three factor groups were executed to determine their strength in explaining the odonate species composition. Their relative contributions were also evaluated by the method of variation partitioning. A total of 41 odonate species were recorded in the study ponds, and 24 of them, excluding rare species, were used for our analysis. Summed effects including all three factor groups explained approximately 39% of the variation in odonate species composition. We found that spatial autocorrelation was the most important, though the within-habitat environment and land use had comparable effects. We conclude that spatial autocorrelation should be considered in this type of analysis, though we could not clearly explain what caused such a spatial structure. Pond area and debris that had accumulated at the bottom of ponds were selected as the within-habitat environment, and the forests and paddy fields around ponds were selected for land use after the procedure of forward stepwise selection. These results suggest that the recent decrease of forests around the ponds has had a negative effect on the odonate assemblages.     

棉花纤维品质与气象因子的定量分析

2002～2003年在南京、安阳、保定和石河子4地用"异地分期种植比较法"研究了气温及日照条件与棉花纤维品质的关系.结果表明,随纬度升高,由中熟棉区向北疆早熟棉区推移过程中,纤维加长,比强度下降,麦克隆值降低,可溶性糖含量增加.在建立棉花纤维比强度、麦克隆值和可溶性糖含量与温度和日照时数的生态模型的基础上,确定了棉铃发育期适宜温度范围或临界值.若以获得长度≥27 mm的优质纤维为先决条件,则分别以铃期日均温21.3～29.7℃、最低气温10.7～21.3℃、最大日温差不超过15.2℃为宜,日均温为25.4℃时,纤维最长;若以获得具有国际竞争优势的最低纤维长度(≥25 mm)为先决条件,则分别以铃期日均温不低于15.5℃、最低气温不低于10.7℃、最大日温差不超过17.9℃为宜.     

基于气象因子的森林火灾面积预测模型

通过统计分析理论研究了黑龙江省林火发生规律,并建立了基于气象因子的森林火灾面积预测模型．结果表明：兴安落叶松林区林火主要发生在4-6月和10月,阔叶红松林区林火主要发生在3-6月和10月;利用林火发生当日的平均风速、相对湿度和平均温度的取值范围可知,兴安落叶松林区发生高等级林火概率较大的月份依次为4月、5月和6月,阔叶红松林区则依次为5月、4月和3月．所建模型的平均精度达到63．3％,能够较精确地预测林火发生后林地可能的过火面积．     

滴水湖浮游动物群落结构及其与环境因子的关系

为研究上海市滴水湖浮游动物群落结构及其与环境因子的关系,于2012年1—12月对滴水湖进行了一年调查采样。共检出浮游动物33属61种,其中轮虫22属45种,枝角类4属7种,桡足类7属9种。优势种包括10种轮虫,桡足类为中华窄腹剑水蚤(Limnoithona sinensis)和无节幼体,枝角类不形成优势种。浮游动物年均密度为1200个/L,年均生物量为1.67mg/L,种类数、密度和生物量均为春夏两季相对较高。Shannon-Wiener多样性指数H'和Margalef丰富度指数D年均值分别为1.61和1.01,多样性季节差异显著而各样点间差异不显著。相关性分析和多元回归分析显示,水温是影响滴水湖浮游动物群落结构变化的决定性因子,冗余分析(RDA)显示TN、TP、叶绿素a和p H也是影响浮游动物群落变化的重要因素,表明滴水湖浮游动物群落结构的季节变化与水体营养状况密切相关。综合运用水质理化因子、综合营养状态指数、多样性指数及浮游动物优势种对滴水湖进行水质污染水平和富营养化评价,得出2012年滴水湖水质状况属于α-中污型,营养程度为中富营养水平。     

亚热带稻田弃耕湿地土壤因子对植物群落结构的影响

采用冗余分析法对弃耕一年稻田湿地生态系统的植物群落与土壤因子进行了分析.结果表明：在亚热带湿地生态系统中,土壤水分条件、有效钾、有效磷和pH是影响物种分布的最主要土壤因子.试验区的主要植物物种可以划分为3个物种组:丁香蓼-水竹叶物种组(组1)、牛鞭草-圆叶节节菜-稻槎菜物种组(组2)和小白酒草-辣蓼-双穗雀稗物种组(组3).其中,组1主要分布于土壤有效钾含量较高的区域;组2主要分布于阶段性淹水区域;组3主要分布于排水区域,且与土壤有效磷和pH呈正相关.物种多样性与土壤pH、植被地上生物量与土壤全钾含量呈显著正相关,均匀度与土壤有效氮含量呈显著负相关,与其他指标的相关性均不显著.