北方半干旱集雨补灌旱作区节水农业发展模式

内蒙古准格尔旗集雨补灌旱作节水农业示范区地处黄土高原北部砒砂岩区,是我国水土流失最严重地区之一,集雨补灌是缓解当地干旱缺水的唯一途径.目前该区很多地方雨水收集利用缺乏整体研究,工程规划和生产布局有一定盲目性.在分析准格尔旗示范区生态、经济、社会等条件的基础上,总结出以集雨补灌为中心的旱作增产技术体系,确定了集雨高效种植型、集雨生态畜牧型和庭院集雨经济型3种模式,提出了示范区雨水综合利用需水量标准,并对3种模式在示范区运行3年来的经济、社会和生态效果进行了评价.     

陕西省退耕还林植被覆盖度与湿润指数的变化关系

使用MODIS-NDVI数据和气象站点资料,通过GIS遥感技术和数理统计等方法,分析了陕西省退耕还林后(2000—2012年)植被覆盖度与湿润指数的时空变化规律及两者变化的关系。结果表明,陕西省植被覆盖度和湿润指数都呈现由南向北递减的分布规律并且有明显的季节变化特征。2000—2012年,陕西省植被覆盖度在波动中呈现大幅增加的趋势,陕北地区增加最为显著,生态环境得到明显改善,然而部分城市周边地区植被有退化的迹象。2000—2012年湿润指数年际变化波动较大,有上升的趋势,陕南地区增加显著。空间分布上随着植被覆盖度的增加湿润指数呈指数变化趋势,相关性与植被覆盖度面积取值范围有关,范围取值越大相关系数越高。植被覆盖度的年际变化受到气候和人为因素影响,陕南地区植被覆盖度与湿润指数的相关性较显著,而受到人为影响比较明显的陕北、关中地区相关性不显著。     

Persistence of Water within Perched Basins of the Peace-Athabasca Delta, Northern Canada

The Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD) is one of the world’s largest freshwater deltas. Many of its shallow (<1.5 m) lakes and wetlands are perched above surrounding waterways. The delta has experienced a number of wetting and drying intervals. The latest drying trend ended in 1996 when high waters, generated under ice-jam and open-water conditions, recharged a number of the perched basins. The objective of this study was to determine the relative importance of hydroclimatic components on the persistence of water. A water-balance model was developed to simulate water-level responses following a flood event. Basin response was tested against a range of historical hydroclimatic conditions that have occurred in the delta during the 20th century. Ponded water duration in a 0.8 m deep perched basin was 5 years for the cool-dry period of the 1920s, slightly longer for the post-1974 flood era, and up to 9 years for the wet conditions of the 1940s and 1950s. Water drawdown occurred in almost every year and was almost exclusively due to evaporation exceeding precipitation. Net groundwater flux was minimal. Given the overlying importance of the floodwater component in the water balance of perched basins, the next step is to investigate the causes, spatial sources and frequency of flooding. This water balance model presented in this paper offers a useful tool for the management of the duration of water in perched wetlands of the PAD, which can help preserve essential habitat for wildlife.     

Agricultural sustainability does not imply biocenotic sustainability

Abstract. Sustainability is an important quality of the types of agriculture nowadays promoted in central Europe, notably ‘biological agriculture’ and ‘integrated production’. Agronomists, decision-makers and the public generally assume that this agricultural sustainability implies the maintenance of species diversity. However, this assumption often does not hold true. This is shown in a case study of moderately ferti-lized Arrhenatheretum meadows in northern Switzerland. Earlier and more frequent mowing, simultaneous harvesting of all the grasslands in a region, and ecological changes in surrounding arable fields, hedges and other ecosystems often cause a decline in plant and animal species richness, while agricultural yield does not noticeably change. To emphasize the distinction the concept of biocenotic sustainability is proposed for describing the capability of a community to maintain its species composition and structure. For maintaining or attaining biocenotic sustainability. results of modern ecology have to be taken into account, e.g. the theories of island biogeography, minimum viable populations, dispersal, and metapopulations. There is evidence that biocenotic sustainability always implies sustainability of agricultural yield.     

Zinc-induced sodium-dependent vitamin C transporter 2 expression: potent roles in osteoblast differentiation

Zinc is an essential trace element that increases osteoblast numbers and bone formation. However, the mechanisms involved in the Zn-induced differentiation of osteoblasts are poorly understood. We examined the roles of L-ascorbic acid (AA) and its transporter, sodium-dependent vitamin C transporter (SVCT) 2, in the Zn-induced expression of osteoblastic differentiation markers. Zinc time- and dose-dependently induced SVCT2 mRNA expression in the absence or presence of AA. Western blotting and kinetic assays showed that Zn increased functional SVCT2 protein levels and AA transport. In the presence of AA, 50 microM Zn enhanced mRNA expression of the osteoblastic differentiation markers alkaline phosphatase, alpha(1)(I) procollagen, osteopontin (OPN), and osteocalcin (OCN) by 3.9-, 3.8-, 3.3-, and 3.5-fold, respectively; in the absence of AA, the Zn-induced increase was 2.8-, 2.5-, 1.3-, and 1.1-fold, respectively. These findings suggest that AA and SVCT2 mediate Zn-induced OPN and OCN expression and partly regulate Zn-induced osteoblastic differentiation.     

陕西黄龙山林区褐马鸡繁殖季节中午卧息地选择

2006年5—6月,在陕西黄龙山腹地北寺山林区采取样线法对褐马鸡(Crossoptilon mantchuricum)中午卧息地的选择进行了研究,共观察到28个褐马鸡的卧息地。褐马鸡对林型、坡向和地理特征有明显的选择性,多偏向针叶林、山脊和半阴半阳坡,回避阔叶林、山坡、阴坡和阳坡。对中午卧息地坡位没有明显的选择性。褐马鸡中午卧息地具有坡度小、与林间道路与居民点的距离远、灌丛平均高度较低、灌木密度较小、草本均高较小、乔木层植物盖度以及草本层植物盖度较大等特征。对各种生境因子的主成分分析表明,前6个特征值的累积贡献率达到74.05%,可较好地反映褐马鸡中午卧息地生境特征。根据载荷系数绝对值大小将褐马鸡中午休息地生境选择影响因子分别命名为地理因子、隐蔽度因子、人类活动干扰因子和灌丛密度因子。     

Genes up-regulated during red coloration in UV-B irradiated lettuce leaves

Molecular analysis of gene expression differences between green and red lettuce leaves was performed using the SSH method. BlastX comparisons of subtractive expressed sequence tags (ESTs) indicated that 7.6% of clones encoded enzymes involved in secondary metabolism. Such clones had a particularly high abundance of flavonoid-metabolism proteins (6.5%). Following SSH, 566 clones were rescreened for differential gene expression using dot-blot hybridization. Of these, 53 were found to overexpressed during red coloration. The up-regulated expression of six genes was confirmed by Northern blot analyses. The expression of chalcone synthase (CHS), flavanone 3-hydroxylase (F3H), and dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR) genes showed a positive correlation with anthocyanin accumulation in UV-B-irradiated lettuce leaves; flavonoid 3′,5′-hydroxylase (F3′,5′H) and anthocyanidin synthase (ANS) were expressed continuously in both samples. These results indicated that the genes CHS, F3H, and DFR coincided with increases in anthocyanin accumulation during the red coloration of lettuce leaves. This study show a relationship between red coloration and the expression of up-regulated genes in lettuce. The subtractive cDNA library and EST database described in this study represent a valuable resource for further research for secondary metabolism in the vegetable crops.     

Isolation and Sequencing of a Genomic Clone for Mouse Brain Specific Small RNA

We isolated a mouse genomic clone that hybridized with small RNA present in the cytoplasm of the brain. The RNA was about 150 nucleotides long. This RNA seemed to be specific to the brain, since it was not found in the liver or kidney. The clone DNA contained a sequence homologous to 82-nucleotide "identifier" core sequence of cDNA clones of rat. The sequence contained a split promoter for RNA polymerase III and was flanked by a 12-nucleotide direct repeat (ATAAATAATTTA).