土地利用碳排放效应及其低碳管理研究进展

土地利用是造成全球温室气体排放量迅猛增长的重要因素,但由于土地利用的碳排放在时间和空间上受社会经济活动与自然过程的共同作用,相对自然生态系统碳排放的过程和机制更加复杂,因此,其研究也越来越多地受到包括学者、政府决策者、企业、非政府组织等利益相关者的关注,并被诸多能源与生态环境领域的国内外重大科学研究计划列为核心内容。通过对土地利用的直接和间接碳排放效应及其低碳管理的国内外研究进展进行综述,较全面地对上述研究中已取得的成果以及尚存在的不足与挑战进行了总结,并对未来研究应如何完善现有研究的不足提出了几点展望,以期为科学编制低碳目标导向的土地利用规划提供理论基础和实践管理经验,从而全面引导城市的低碳发展。     

异质水分环境下野牛草相连分株间光合同化物的生理整合及其调控

异质环境下,克隆植物通过生理整合机制使资源在分株间实现共享,提高了其对异质性环境的适应能力,具有重要的生态进化意义,研究生理整合机制及其调控机理可为进一步发掘克隆植物应用潜力提供理论依据。以野牛草3个相连分株为材料,对其中一个分株用30%聚乙二醇6000(PEG-6000)模拟水分胁迫,通过Hoagland营养液培养试验,研究了异质水分环境下光合同化物在野牛草相连分株间的生理整合及分株叶片与根系内源激素ABA与IAA含量的变化规律。结果表明,14C-光合同化物在克隆片断内存在双向运输,但以向顶运输为主,异质水分环境下,受胁迫分株光合同化物的输出率明显降低,而与其相邻分株合成的光合同化物向受胁迫分株方向运输率明显增加;异质水分环境下,各分株ABA含量均明显增加,但以受胁迫的分株叶片及根系ABA的含量增加幅度最大,各分株IAA含量较对照均显著下降(P0.05),且以受胁迫分株IAA含量下降幅度最大;各分株叶片与根系ABA/IAA均显著提高(P0.05),相邻分株ABA/IAA增加幅度低于受胁迫分株。异质水分环境影响野牛草克隆分株间光合同化物的生理整合,且ABA与IAA在分株间光合同化物运输与分配过程中具有重要的调节作用。     

Water Striders:The Biomechanics of Water Locomotion and Functional Morphology of the Hydrophobic Surface(Insecta:Hemiptera-Heteroptera)

Water striders are insects living on the water surface, over which they can move very quickly and rarely get wetted. We measured the force of free walking in water striders, using a hair attached to their backs and a 3D strain gauge. The error was calculated by comparing force and data derived from geometry and was estimated as 13%. Females on average were stronger (1.32 mN) than males (0.87 mN), however, the ratio of force to weight was not significantly different. Compared with other lighter species, Aquarius paludum seems stronger, but the ratio of force to weight is actually lower. A. paludum applies about 0.3 mN·cm-1 to 0.4 mN·cm-1 with its mid-legs, thus avoiding penetrating the surface tension layer while propelling itself rapidly over the water surface.We also investigated the external morphology with SEM. The body is covered by effectively two layers of macro-and micro-hairs, which renders them hydrophobic. The setae are long (40 um-60 um) and stiff, being responsible for waterproofing, and the microtrichia are much smaller (<10 um), slender, and flexible, holding a bubble over the body when submerged.     

全球降水格局变化下土壤氮循环研究进展

自然和人为因素导致全球降水格局发生改变,降水变化势必影响土壤氮循环,从而影响陆地生态系统生产力和多样性,然而不同降水变化类型对土壤氮循环的影响仍然缺乏足够的认识。因此,本文综合分析了全球和我国降水格局变化特征,简要介绍了6种降水格局变化下土壤氮循环的研究方法（长期降水固定观测、野外降水控制实验、自然降水梯度、室内培养、模型和遥感）,系统综述了3种降水变化类型（降水波动、干旱、干湿交替）,以及降水与温度、氮沉降等交互作用对土壤氮循环影响的研究进展与存在的问题,并展望了未来研究方向,为评估和预测未来降水变化对陆地生态系统功能的影响提供理论依据。     

流域土地利用变化对不同重现期洪水的影响——以奉化江皎口水库流域为例

土地利用变化对流域洪水过程产生显著影响,并导致设计洪水发生变化。为进一步指导流域防洪及水库洪水设计,以浙东沿海奉化江皎口水库流域为例,应用HEC-HMS水文模型模拟分析土地利用/覆被变化(LUCC)对不同重现期暴雨洪水事件的影响。结果表明,流域内1985—2003年土地利用变化引起不同重现期洪水过程与洪水量级发生改变,其中,洪量和洪峰均增加,洪量较洪峰变化明显。LUCC对小洪水过程影响更明显,5年一遇以上洪水的洪峰和洪量分别平均增加3%和7.6%,而小于2年一遇洪水的洪峰和洪量分别平均增加5.41%和11.91%。同时,LUCC使100年、50年和25年一遇洪水重现期分别提前了15、6a和2a,即其对量级最高的特大洪水的重现期影响最大。此外,不同的土地利用转变方式对洪水的影响程度不一,其中,林地向裸地转变对洪水影响最大,林地向灌草地转变次之,林地向耕地变化对洪水影响最小,且这种差异性在低重现期洪水表现更明显。     

Infection of human dendritic cells by a sindbis virus replicon vector is determined by a single amino acid substitution in the E2 glycoprotein

The ability to target antigen-presenting cells with vectors encoding desired antigens holds the promise of potent prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines for infectious diseases and cancer. Toward this goal, we derived variants of the prototype alphavirus, Sindbis virus (SIN), with differential abilities to infect human dendritic cells. Cloning and sequencing of the SIN variant genomes revealed that the genetic determinant for human dendritic cell (DC) tropism mapped to a single amino acid substitution at residue 160 of the envelope glycoprotein E2. Packaging of SIN replicon vectors with the E2 glycoprotein from a DC-tropic variant conferred a similar ability to efficiently infect immature human DC, whereupon those DC were observed to undergo rapid activation and maturation. The SIN replicon particles infected skin-resident mouse DC in vivo, which subsequently migrated to the draining lymph nodes and upregulated cell surface expression of major histocompatibility complex and costimulatory molecules. Furthermore, SIN replicon particles encoding human immunodeficiency virus type 1 p55(Gag) elicited robust Gag-specific T-cell responses in vitro and in vivo, demonstrating that infected DC maintained their ability to process and present replicon-encoded antigen. Interestingly, human and mouse DC were differentially infected by selected SIN variants, suggesting differences in receptor expression between human and murine DC. Taken together, these data illustrate the tremendous potential of using a directed approach in generating alphavirus vaccine vectors that target and activate antigen-presenting cells, resulting in robust antigen-specific immune responses.     

Species specificity and intraspecific variation in the chemical profiles of Heliconius butterflies across a large geographic range

In many animals, mate choice is important for the maintenance of reproductive isolation between species. Traits important for mate choice and behavioral isolation are predicted to be under strong stabilizing selection within species; however, such traits can also exhibit variation at the population level driven by neutral and adaptive evolutionary processes. Here, we describe patterns of divergence among androconial and genital chemical profiles at inter‐ and intraspecific levels in mimetic Heliconius butterflies. Most variation in chemical bouquets was found between species, but there were also quantitative differences at the population level. We found a strong correlation between interspecific chemical and genetic divergence, but this correlation varied in intraspecific comparisons. We identified “indicator” compounds characteristic of particular species that included compounds already known to elicit a behavioral response, suggesting an approach for identification of candidate compounds for future behavioral studies in novel systems. Overall, the strong signal of species identity suggests a role for these compounds in species recognition, but with additional potentially neutral variation at the population level.     

Improving the phenotype predictions of a yeast genome‐scale metabolic model by incorporating enzymatic constraints

Genome‐scale metabolic models (GEMs) are widely used to calculate metabolic phenotypes. They rely on defining a set of constraints, the most common of which is that the production of metabolites and/or growth are limited by the carbon source uptake rate. However, enzyme abundances and kinetics, which act as limitations on metabolic fluxes, are not taken into account. Here, we present GECKO, a method that enhances a GEM to account for enzymes as part of reactions, thereby ensuring that each metabolic flux does not exceed its maximum capacity, equal to the product of the enzyme's abundance and turnover number. We applied GECKO to a Saccharomyces cerevisiae GEM and demonstrated that the new model could correctly describe phenotypes that the previous model could not, particularly under high enzymatic pressure conditions, such as yeast growing on different carbon sources in excess, coping with stress, or overexpressing a specific pathway. GECKO also allows to directly integrate quantitative proteomics data; by doing so, we significantly reduced flux variability of the model, in over 60% of metabolic reactions. Additionally, the model gives insight into the distribution of enzyme usage between and within metabolic pathways. The developed method and model are expected to increase the use of model‐based design in metabolic engineering.     

Responses of two semiarid conifer tree species to reduced precipitation and warming reveal new perspectives for stomatal regulation

Relatively anisohydric species are predicted to be more predisposed to hydraulic failure than relatively isohydric species, as they operate with narrower hydraulic safety margins. We subjected co‐occurring anisohydric Juniperus monosperma and isohydric Pinus edulis trees to warming, reduced precipitation, or both, and measured their gas exchange and hydraulic responses. We found that reductions in stomatal conductance and assimilation by heat and drought were more frequent during relatively moist periods, but these effects were not exacerbated in the combined heat and drought treatment. Counter to expectations, both species exhibited similar g_s temporal dynamics in response to drought. Further, whereas P. edulis exhibited chronic embolism, J. monosperma showed very little embolism due to its conservative stomatal regulation and maintenance of xylem water potential above the embolism entry point. This tight stomatal control and low levels of embolism experienced by juniper refuted the notion that very low water potentials during drought are associated with loose stomatal control and with the hypothesis that anisohydric species are more prone to hydraulic failure than isohydric species. Because direct association of stomatal behaviour with embolism resistance can be misleading, we advocate consideration of stomatal behaviour relative to embolism resistance for classifying species drought response strategies.     

Invasive cane toads are unique in shape but overlap in ecological niche compared to Australian native frogs

Invasive species are an important issue worldwide but predicting invasiveness, and the underlying mechanisms that cause it, is difficult. There are several primary hypotheses to explain invasion success. Two main hypothesis based on niche spaces stand out as alternative, although not exclusive. The empty niche hypothesis states that invaders occupy a vacant niche space in the recipient community, and the niche competition hypothesis states that invaders overlap with native species in niche space. Studies on trait similarity/dissimilarity between the invader and native species can provide information on their niche overlap. Here, we use the highly invasive and well‐studied cane toad (Rhinella marina) to test these two hypotheses in Australia, and assess its degree of overlap with native species in several niche dimensions. We compare extensive morphological and environmental data of this successful invader to 235 species (97%) of native Australian frogs. Our study is the first to document the significant morphological differences between the invasive cane toad and a continent‐wide frog radiation: despite significant environmental overlap, cane toads were distinct in body size and shape from most Australian frog species, suggesting that in addition to their previously documented phenotypic plasticity and wide environmental and trophic niche breadth, their unique shape also may have contributed to their success as an invasive species in Australia. Thus, the invasive success of cane toads in Australia may be explained through them successfully colonizing an empty niche among Australian anurans. Our results support that the cane toad's distinct morphology may have played a unique role in the invasiveness of this species in Australia, which coupled with a broad environmental niche breadth, would have boosted their ability to expand their distribution across Australia. We also propose RLLR (Relative limb length ratio) as a potentially useful measure of identifying morphological niche uniqueness and a potential measure of invasiveness potential in anuran amphibians.