Species identification and tree-ring dating of wood boxes excavated from the Shinan shipwreck,Korea

The Shinan shipwreck, which was excavated in the southwestern sea of Korea in the 1970s, was a Chinese trade ship from the Yuan Dynasty, traveling from China to Japan in the early 14th century (A.D. 1323). Anatomical examination indicated that the wood boxes carrying thousands of Chinese porcelain pieces on the Shinan shipwreck were made of either Cryptomeria japonica or Cunninghamia spp. The former grows in South China and Japan, and the latter in China and Taiwan. Therefore, we could not confine the origin of the wood to a single country by wood identification. However, we could date 21 wood boxes using tree-ring chronologies of C. japonica from western Japan. The outermost ring with sapwood was dated to A.D. 1316. The results from the tree-ring dating indicated that the wood boxes on the Shinan shipwreck were of Japanese rather than Chinese origin.     

The Early Stone Age lithic assemblages of Gadeb (Ethiopia) and the Developed Oldowan/early Acheulean in East Africa

The Early Stone Age sites of Gadeb (Ethiopian South-East Plateau) were excavated under the direction of Desmond Clark in the 1970s. Dated to between 1.45 and 0.7 Ma, Gadeb proved that humans had already occupied high altitude areas in the Lower Pleistocene. Despite the importance of the Gadeb sites, their lithic assemblages were never published in detail, and no review of the stone tools has ever been reported since the original 1970s study. This paper updates the information available on Gadeb by presenting a systematic review of the lithic technology of several assemblages. The objectives are to evaluate the technological skills of Gadeb knappers and to contextualize them into the current discussion of the origins of the Acheulean and its possible coexistence with the so-called Developed Oldowan in East Africa.     

The biodiversity cost of reducing management intensity in species-rich grasslands: Mowing annually vs. every third year

Mowing is an important management method for species-rich semi-natural grasslands in Europe. Since mowing is costly, it is important to find a balance between mowing frequency and conservation benefits. We compared vegetation data from eleven field trials situated in southern Sweden that involved two mowing regimes, annually and every third year, as well as a no-management control. After approximately 14 years, mowing every third year showed (i) a drop in species richness and Shannon and Gini–Simpson diversity indices, (ii) an increase in woody species, and (iii) increases in tall-grown species. However, there were no apparent changes in (iv) species that were indicative of poor management, nor (v) those indicating good management. For one of the trials, data after 38 years were also evaluated. Compared with annual mowing, there were strong negative changes in the number of species in the untreated control, while the results were conflicting for mowing every third year. In conclusion, the expected loss of conservation values from reduced mowing intensity was 50–60% of the loss after abandonment. The outcomes, however, varied among the eleven sites.     

Intake, digestibility, rumen fermentation and performance of beef cattle fed diets based on whole-crop wheat or barley harvested at two cutting heights relative to maize silage or ad libitum concentrates

This experiment aimed to quantify the relative intake, digestibility, rumen fermentation, performance and carcass characteristics of beef cattle fed diets based on good quality whole-crop wheat and barley silages, each harvested at two cutting heights, and to rank these relative to good quality maize silage and an ad libitum concentrates-based diet. Ninety beef steers, initial live-weight 438 ± 31.0 kg, were allocated to one of the following dietary treatments in a randomised complete block design: maize silage (MS), whole-crop wheat harvested at a normal cutting height (WCW) (stubble height 0.12 m) or an elevated cutting height (HCW) (stubble height 0.29 m), whole-crop barley harvested at a normal cutting height (WCB) (stubble height 0.13 m) or an elevated cutting height (HCB) (stubble height 0.30 m), each being supplemented with 3 kg concentrates/head/day, and ad libitum concentrates (ALC) supplemented with 5 kg grass silage/head/day for the duration of the 160-day study. Mean dry matter (DM) of the maize silage, whole-crop wheat, head-cut wheat, whole-crop barley and head-cut barley was 301, 488, 520, 491 and 499 g/kg, respectively. There were no differences in total DM intake among treatments, or in rumen fermentation characteristics (except ammonia), or in DM digestibility among the forage-based treatments. Neutral detergent fibre digestibility was lower (P<0.05) for whole-crop wheat than head-cut barley, and starch digestibility was lower (P<0.05) for whole-crop barley and head-cut barley than maize silage. Steers fed ALC had a higher carcass gain (P<0.001) and carcass weight (P<0.05) than all other treatments, but there were no differences between any of the forage-based treatments. Steers fed MS had a better feed conversion efficiency (FCE) than those on WCW or WCB (P<0.05) but were similar to HCW and HCB. The FCE was better for ALC versus any of the other treatments, particularly compared to WCW or WCB (P<0.001). Subcutaneous fat from steers fed ALC was more yellow (P<0.01) than that from steers fed the other treatments. Neither intake nor performance were altered by raising the cutting height of cereals or by replacing whole-crop wheat by barley. However, head-cut cereals numerically favoured DM intake, carcass gain and feed conversion efficiency values nearer to that of maize than whole-crop cereal silages. Ad libitum concentrates supported superior levels of growth by steers compared to all other treatments.     

Effects of cutting Phragmites australis along an inundation gradient, with implications for managing reed encroachment in a South African estuarine lake system

Substantive encroachment of Phragmites australis (common reed) occurred since the 1970s in the Wilderness estuarine lakes, a National Park and Ramsar site. Cutting of reeds in late summer as a means of controlling reed encroachment was investigated under three different inundation regimes, termed ‘wet zone’ (permanently inundated), ‘moist zone’ (infrequently inundated) and ‘dry zone’ (rarely inundated). The effects of a single annual cut were furthermore compared to those of two successive annual cuts. Without cutting, wet zones had thinner and shorter, but more abundant reeds than drier zones. Cutting in dry and moist zones resulted after one year in more, but shorter and thinner reeds, whereas in wet zones reeds were almost eliminated. After two years, reeds in wet zones had not recovered from the first annual cut. In moist and dry zones, a second annual cut did not result in amplified detrimental effects on reeds. Throughout the experiment, moisture zone was the factor with the largest effect, cutting had the second largest impact, and inter-annual variation was relatively unimportant. We have demonstrated that cutting alone has minimal long-term effect on above-ground reed biomass, whereas reed growth and survivorship can be strongly suppressed through cutting in late-summer in conjunction with inundation with moderately saline water (5.0–7.5 g kg⁻¹). Cut reeds must remain completely inundated for at least a four-week period, or else emerging shoots should be re-cut below the water level. Cut material should be removed from the treatment site. Whenever possible, cutting and inundation should be undertaken to coincide with periods when salinity levels of surface waters are higher. It is foreseen that reed management in the Wilderness Lakes would have positive effects on other biota by countering progression towards single species domination of wetland plant communities and reinstating exposed sandbanks which are extensively utilised by resident and migratory waterbirds.     

A multi-site assessment of the effectiveness of Pteridium aquilinum control in Great Britain

Questions: The objectives of this study were to assess the effect of Pteridium aquilinum (bracken) control treatments, at the national scale, and the impact of restoration practices, at the local scale, on P. aquilinum performance. Hypotheses: 1. Geographical location (locally between and within sites) affects the control of P. aquilinum through time. 2. Are the P. aquilinum control treatments successful at all sites, and if so which ones? 3. The treatments applied at the individual site level to restore vegetation influences the performance of P. aquilinum through time. Location: Four geographically distinct acid grassland and heathland sites infested with P. aquilinum across Great Britain. Methods: Six main-plot, bracken control treatments were applied to all sites with site-specific vegetation restoration treatments. Response variables (P. aquilinum cover, frond length and density) were monitored twice yearly, in June and August between 1993 and 2003. Results: Between- and within-site spatial variation was found, although impact is perhaps less than suggested from shorter-term data. Despite local variation all sites responded similarly to bracken control treatments; asulam treatment resulted in a rapid reduction in frond performance followed by a continued recovery taking approximately ten years to return to untreated values. Cutting treatments tended to have a slower impact at the start but an increasing one over time, especially cutting twice per year. Restoration treatments had a limited impact; the only significant effect in August was grass seeding on frond length at Sourhope. In June only, the plots where sheep were fenced out showed a significant reduction in P. aquilinum cover at Peak. Conclusions: Long-term control of Pteridium aquilinum at all sites and on all measures was best achieved using a continuous cutting treatment, preferably twice per year.     

刈割对人工湿地风车草生长及污水净化效果的影响

刈割对人工湿地植物的生长和净化作用的影响,国内外学者的意见存在分歧。实验于2010年7月至2011年1月在华南师范大学生物园进行。利用水池(2m×2m×0.6m)构建风车草人工湿地生活污水处理系统,研究了刈割对人工湿地风车草生长和污水净化效果的影响。结果表明,刈割组风车草在整个实验过程中均保持着良好的生长态势,而对照组在11月以后生长减缓。刈割组风车草2010年7月至2011年1月的累积地上生物量、累积地上氮磷含量以及新增分蘖数均大于对照组,表现为超补偿生长。刈割组风车草的叶绿素含量、净光合速率、蒸腾速率和气孔传导率均显著高于对照组。刈割组和对照组的TN、TP、NH4-N和NO3-N的平均去除率分别为77%、84%、64%、72%和65%、67%、55%、63%,前者显著大于后者。刈割组和对照组的CODcr和BOD5平均去除率分别为58%、79%和54%、76%,两者差异不显著。总之,刈割对人工湿地风车草的生长和污水净化效果有明显的促进作用,这可为风车草人工湿地的科学管理提供参考。     

IBA对野生蔬菜少花龙葵插条生根的影响

在室内水培条件下, 研究了吲哚丁酸(IBA)、插条类型及插条留叶方式对野生蔬菜少花龙葵(Solanum photeinocarpum)插条生根的影响。结果表明, 5～35 mg L-1 IBA处理的少花龙葵半叶嫩枝插条生根率均为100%, 以20 mg L-1 IBA处理的平均生根数最多。促进少花龙葵半叶硬枝插条生根的IBA浓度为15～35 mg L-1,其中以25 mg L-1 IBA的效果最好。少花龙葵嫩枝和硬枝插条分别在20与25 mg L-1 IBA处理下,均以半叶插条的生根效果最好、缺叶插条的生根效果最差,全叶插条的生根效果居中。     

Factors affecting the establishment and growth of annual legumes in semi-arid mediterranean grasslands

Legumes are an important component of mediterranean grasslands with a significant ecological and economic role. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors that affect their establishment and growth and how they survive in a highly variable and unpredictable environment. The research was carried out in a grassland characterised by a semi-arid mediterranean climate and located on a calcareous substrate at about 150 m a.s.l., in Macedonia, northern Greece. It was dominated by annual legumes such as Hippocrepis multisiliquosa, Medicago disciformis, Medicago minima, Onobrychis aequindentata, Trifolium angustifolium, Trifolium campestre and Trifolium scabrum. It was subjected to the following treatments for four consecutive years: prescribed burning, irrigation, digging, cutting, P fertilization and control. Total legume density was measured in late autumn and in the following spring each year, while total legume biomass was measured only in spring. Dominant legume species densities and biomasses were measured only in spring in the last 3 years. Also, monthly precipitation and air temperature were recorded in a nearby weather station. A great reduction of both legume density and biomass occurred at the third growing season due to adverse weather conditions. Among treatments, P fertilization affected the positively annual legume density and biomass. The other treatments such as burning, irrigation, digging and cutting influenced positively or negatively annual legume density and biomass depending on the climatic characteristics of the particular growing season involved. It is concluded that in semi-arid mediterranean grasslands with cold winters, weather conditions strongly interact with human disturbances in affecting establishment and growth of annual legumes.     

不同轮割制度对典型草原主要种群的影响

选择12个具有代表性的种群,研究不同轮割制度对其地上现存生物量的影响.结果表明,12个种群可以分为3种类型:1)生物量下降型,羊草、米氏冰草、小叶锦鸡儿和黄囊苔草,尤以羊草和小叶锦鸡儿具有代表性.羊草地上生物量的平均值以一年割两次、一年割一次、割一年休一年和割两年休一年依次较对照下降了3.37%、4.9%、45.4%和34.18%;小叶锦鸡儿地上生物量分别较对照下降了81.79%、3.33%、40.29%和2.30%.2)生物量增加型,(艹)/(洽)草、黄蒿、冷蒿和猪毛菜,尤以(艹)/(洽)草和冷蒿具有代表性.(艹)/(洽)草生物量依次较对照增加了94.84%、287.79%、132.8%和211.74%,其中以一年割一次和割一年休一年的增加幅度较大;冷蒿生物量分别较对照增加了193.02%、210.47%、154.5%和10.47%.究其原因,(艹)/(洽)草和冷蒿地上生物量增加是通过种群自身的变化;而黄蒿和猪毛菜则是通过群落密度的下降和适宜的种子萌发条件.3)生物量波动型,大针茅、西伯利亚羽茅、变蒿和麻花头,介于前两种类型之间.