Soil CO2 efflux of two silver birch clones exposed to elevated CO2 and O3 levels during three growing seasons

In the present open‐top chamber experiment, two silver birch clones (Betula pendula Roth, clone 4 and clone 80) were exposed to elevated levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and ozone (O₃), singly and in combination, and soil CO₂ efflux was measured 14 times during three consecutive growing seasons (1999–2001). In the beginning of the experiment, all experimental trees were 7 years old and during the experiment the trees were growing in sandy field soil and fertilized regularly. In general, elevated O₃ caused soil CO₂ efflux stimulation during most measurement days and this stimulation enhanced towards the end of the experiment. The overall soil respiration response to CO₂ was dependent on the genotype, as the soil CO₂ efflux below clone 80 trees was enhanced and below clone 4 trees was decreased under elevated CO₂ treatments. Like the O₃ impact, this clonal difference in soil respiration response to CO₂ increased as the experiment progressed. Although the O₃ impact did not differ significantly between clones, a significant time × clone × CO₂× O₃ interaction revealed that the O₃‐induced stimulation of soil respiration was counteracted by elevated CO₂ in clone 4 on most measurement days, whereas in clone 80, the effect of elevated CO₂ and O₃ in combination was almost constantly additive during the 3‐year experiment. Altogether, the root or above‐ground biomass results were only partly parallel with the observed soil CO₂ efflux responses. In conclusion, our data show that O₃ impacts may appear first in the below‐ground processes and that relatively long‐term O₃ exposure had a cumulative effect on soil CO₂ efflux. Although the soil respiration response to elevated CO₂ depended on the tree genotype as a result of which the O₃ stress response might vary considerably within a single tree species under elevated CO₂, the present experiment nonetheless indicates that O₃ stress is a significant factor affecting the carbon cycling in northern forest ecosystems.     

Carbon transfer associated with assimilation of organic nitrogen sources by silver birch (Betula pendula Roth.)

Summary Qualitative and quantitative aspects of heterotrophic carbon assimilation by mycorrhizal plants of birch (Betula pendula) were examined. Plants were grown aseptically from seed in the mycorrhizal condition with the fungus Hebeloma crustuliniforme and in the non-mycorrhizal condition, with protein as their sole exogenous nitrogen source. Yields and nitrogen contents were determined in some of the plants, while the roots of others were supplied with ¹⁴C-labelled protein and their shoots exposed for up to 72 h to different irradiance regimes. Only mycorrhizal plants utilised the organic nitrogen. Uptake of carbon associated with this utilisation and its translocation to the leaves was demonstrated directly by means of autoradiography. Amounts of activity transferred to shoots were greatest in low irradiance regimes. Calculation of net carbon gain from the heterotrophic source, based upon the assumption that breakdown products of protein are assimilated as amino-acids, indicates that over a 55-day growth period up to 9% of plant C may be derived from protein. The physiological and ecological significance of these findings are discussed.     

Induced resistance in mountain birch: defence against leaf-chewing insect guild and herbivore competition

Summary The effect of leaf damage simulating the feeding of early season insect herbivore species, e.g. Epirrita autumnata, to mountain birch, Betula pubescens ssp. tortuosa, on the performance of insect larvae was studied with eleven leaf-chewing sawfly species. I found variation in the results that was due to short- and long-term inducible responses and to the phenology of herbivore species. In general, early and mid-season species were more strongly affected by induced reactions than late-season species. This finding is in accordance with earlier results but I could show that the persistance of induced reactions rather than the influence of timing of damage is responsible for the result. The growth of the larvae of mid-season sawfly species was affected by both short- and long-term induced reactions. This result shows that early season species may escape short-term induced reactions of mountain birch in current year but may not avoid long-term effects. It is supposed that seasonal deterioration of leaf quality either masks the effects of induced defences or late-season species are better adapted to low-quality leaves. Some species show variation in their response to induced defence in different years. This may be due to yearly differences in induced reactions as well as to species-specific responses. Induced defence reactions may play a role in competitive interactions between herbivore species in leaf-chewing guild of mountain birch.     

Growth responses of selected clones of birch (Betula pendula roth.,B. pubescens Ehrh.) and willow (Salix caprea L.,S. cinerea L.) to nitrogen in solution culture

Summary Growth of selected clones of birch and willow obtained from nitrogen deficient soils was compared with that of unselected controls in pot experiments using three levels of nitrogen. Unselected controls of both genera continued shoot growth, albeit very slowly, with a very low level of nitrogen (5 ppm), while selected clones of birch grew significantly more than the controls. Selected clones of willow, on the other hand, ceased shoot growth after 10 weeks with this low nitrogen treatment. Nevertheless, they remained healthy, their leaves containing similar concentrations of nitrogen to those of the plants which continued stem growth throughout the experiment. Furthermore, they had very high root: shoot ratios compared with those of control willows and both selected and unselected birch. The two genera may have developed different mechanisms for tolerating low nitrogen, birch producing a small, relatively efficient root system; willow a larger but less efficient one. Both appear equally effective in ensuring survival on low-nitrogen sites in the field since all the selected clones were obtained from such sites and have survived well in field trials on similar sites. Both birch and willow responded toincreased nitrogen availability with increasing shoot growth and a relative decline in root growth. However, whereas in willow the unselected plants responded significantly more than selected clones, a similar but less markeddifference was found in birch. It appears that in both genera, as in herbaceous plants originating from nitrogen deficient sites, selected clones are less able to respond to increasing nitrogen supply than control plants from more fertile habitats. Attempts to correlate the response of the selected clones to nitrogen in this experiment with that to added nitrogen fertilizer in field trials has been unsuccessful. Further work is required to determine the importance of the many interacting factors which influence the response of young trees to nitrogen under the unusual field conditions associated with restored mineral workings.     

木兰围场典型落叶松-杨桦混交林生物量及固碳能力

以木兰林管局北沟林场内典型落叶松-杨桦混交林、落叶松人工林、白桦天然次生林、山杨天然次生林为研究对象,利用分层切割法和分层挖掘法对华北落叶松、白桦、山杨的生物量进行测定,并通过解析木进行了生长量的测定,从而建立生物量、生长量模型对林分的碳储量和固碳能力进行了估算。其研究结果表明:落叶松-杨桦混交林较落叶松人工林、白桦天然次生林、山杨天然次生林具有一定幅度的增产效益。落叶松-杨桦混交林中落叶松、白桦、山杨表现均优于各自的人工林或天然林,平均胸径分别高出6.7%、12.8%、4.1%,平均树高分别高出12.1%、1.4%、11.1%。落叶松-杨桦混交林中落叶松、白桦、山杨的固碳量增幅分别为29.74%、28.36%、34.52%;落叶松人工林固碳量增幅27.09%;白桦天然次生林固碳量增幅26.34%;山杨天然次生林固碳量增幅26.24%。落叶松-杨桦混交林中落叶松、白桦、山杨固碳量的增幅分别高于所对应树种的2.65%、2.02%、8.28%。     

开都河流域天山桦树轮宽度年表的建立及其气候响应

利用开都河流域中段采集的天山桦树芯样本,建立了这一采样点的树轮宽度年表。该年表的特征参数与其他地区已有的桦木树轮宽度年表相近,且能较好地反映研究区内天山桦树轮宽度变化的基本特征。该年表与研究区内雪岭云杉树轮宽度年表间的相关分析表明,两者在全频域、高频域及低频域上均存在显著正相关。树木生长气候响应分析结果显示,天山桦树轮宽度与降水量的相关则不显著;而与上年12月呈显著正相关(r= 0.346,P < 0.01,n=59),与当年6月的平均气温呈显著负相关(r=-0.312,P < 0.01,n=60)。该年表存在2.1、4.0a和~50a变化准周期,并且其与3月多元El Nio-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)指数存在相似的变化趋势。     

热带山桂花、西南桦人工幼林植物区系成分分析

通过调查统计,在11年生和8年生山桂花和西南桦纯林、11年生山桂花与西南桦混交林、山地雨林和季风常绿阔叶林内,分别发现种子植物113、106、75、74种和58种,分别隶属于52、52、43、40和28科。这些科中,有15科为5种林分的共有科,分别占各林分类型总科的28.8%、28.8%、34.9%、37.5%和53.6%,其中热带成分共10科,占共有科的66.7%。属的分布区类型和变型共19类,除中国特有在山桂花纯林中缺失外,天然林中的所有分布区类型在3种人工林内均有发现;热带成分分别占山桂花、西南桦纯林、山桂花与西南桦混交林、山地雨林和季风常绿阔叶林的总分布区类型(世界广布型不参与计算)的85.72%、83.11%、80.01%、86.90%和84.77%。说明山桂花、西南桦人工林具有良好的物种和区系多样性恢复的功能。可初步推断乡土树种山桂花、西南桦人工林在热带可实现可持续经营。     

白桦APETALA2基因启动子的克隆及其表达分析

APETALA2（AP2）转录因子亚家族普遍存在于植物中,参与植株的生长发育、胁迫应答和多种生理生化反应的信号传导。本研究从白桦（Betula platyphylla Suk.）基因组中克隆了AP2基因2 308 bp的启动子序列,生物信息学分析发现,该序列除具有TATA-box和CAAT box等高等植物普遍具有的保守元件外,还具有大量光响应元件和激素响应元件,如响应赤霉素、脱落酸、茉莉酸甲酯等的元件。将白桦AP2基因启动子克隆至pBI121-35S：：GUS植物表达载体中,命名为pBI121-proAP2：：GUS,用农杆菌介导法侵染白桦和拟南芥,并进行GUS染色分析,结果表明AP2基因启动子驱动下的GUS报告基因在整个拟南芥中都表达,在白桦的营养器官和雌花种翅及花柄中也有表达,说明其具有启动活性,可能参与该器官的发育。     

新疆艾比湖小叶桦湿地3900年以来的植被及环境演变

在新疆艾比湖小叶桦湿地取得深度190 cm的地层剖面,结合具有较高时间分辨率的孢粉数据和AMS 14C测年揭示出该研究区3900年以来植被和环境演变的动态.在3420-3940 cal.aBP期间,该区为以藜科和蒿属植物为主的荒漠景观;2830-3420 cal.aBP时段,局域的优势种变为沼泽蕨,周围仍是以藜科和蒿属...