小流域林草植被控制土壤侵蚀机理研究

从坡面水动力学角度研究了坡面乔木林、草本植物和林地枯落物对坡面径流流速和动能的影响机理.结果表明,坡面径流水头损失与坡面坡度、林木密度、净雨强、坡长等有关,水头损失与林木间距(b)和树木地径(D)间的关系为:E^∝(D/b)^4/3;坡面草本植物在水流作用下易弯曲,增大水流底层的阻力,减小床面的切应力;枯枝落叶使径流速度减小,从而大大降低径流挟沙能力.对甘肃省天水市桥子东沟和桥子西沟两个对比小流域的实测单次降雨、径流、泥沙资料分析可见,在相同降水条件下,已治理小流域内的径流量、产沙量、洪峰流量、最大输沙率等指标均小于未治理小流域,说明林草植被在小流域中的涵养水源、保持水土的作用明显.     

耐热真菌的分类鉴定及rDNA-ITS系统发育分析

分别从山东、山西、河北、陕西、河南、云南、江西、海南、新疆、内蒙古、甘肃、广州等地实地采集堆肥、培养料、草堆等标本600多份,分离鉴定出耐热真菌28种,其中包括2个中国新记录种,沙生梭孢壳Thielavia arenaria和丰孢木霉Trichoderma saturnisporum,其余26个为中国已知种。在形态分类的基础上,对所分离鉴定的28株耐热真菌及购买的3株耐热真菌,进行rDNA-ITS序列测定,所测序列片段长度为554－895bp。将所测的31个和从GenBank下载的15个耐热真菌的rDNA-ITS序列构建NJ系统发育树,该树较好地显示了耐热真菌的系统进化关系,有力地支持了形态学的观点。     

Fungi,feather damage,and risk of predation

Predation is a powerful selective force with important effects on behavior, morphology, life history, and evolution of prey. Parasites may change body condition, health status, and ability to escape from or defend prey against predators. Once a prey individual has been detected, it can rely on a diversity of means of escape from the pursuit by the predator. Here we tested whether prey of a common raptor differed in terms of fungi from nonprey recorded at the same sites using the goshawk Accipiter gentilis and its avian prey as a model system. We found a positive association between the probability of falling prey to the raptor and the presence and the abundance of fungi. Birds with a specific composition of the community of fungi had higher probability of falling prey to a goshawk than individual hosts with fewer fungi. These findings imply that fungi may play a significant role in predator–prey interactions. The probability of having damaged feathers increased with the number of fungal colonies, and in particular the abundance of Myceliophthora verrucos and Schizophyllum sp. was positively related to the probability of having damaged feathers. In addition, we found a significant correlation between the rate of feather growth of goshawk prey with birds with more fungi being more likely to be depredated. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that survival and feather quality of birds are related to abundance and diversity of fungi.     

Selection from parasites favours immunogenetic diversity but not divergence among locally adapted host populations

The unprecedented polymorphism in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes is thought to be maintained by balancing selection from parasites. However, do parasites also drive divergence at MHC loci between host populations, or do the effects of balancing selection maintain similarities among populations? We examined MHC variation in populations of the livebearing fish Poecilia mexicana and characterized their parasite communities. Poecilia mexicana populations in the Cueva del Azufre system are locally adapted to darkness and the presence of toxic hydrogen sulphide, representing highly divergent ecotypes or incipient species. Parasite communities differed significantly across populations, and populations with higher parasite loads had higher levels of diversity at class II MHC genes. However, despite different parasite communities, marked divergence in adaptive traits and in neutral genetic markers, we found MHC alleles to be remarkably similar among host populations. Our findings indicate that balancing selection from parasites maintains immunogenetic diversity of hosts, but this process does not promote MHC divergence in this system. On the contrary, we suggest that balancing selection on immunogenetic loci may outweigh divergent selection causing divergence, thereby hindering host divergence and speciation. Our findings support the hypothesis that balancing selection maintains MHC similarities among lineages during and after speciation (trans‐species evolution).     

An edge-centric perspective on the human connectome: link communities in the brain

Brain function depends on efficient processing and integration of information within a complex network of neural interactions, known as the connectome. An important aspect of connectome architecture is the existence of community structure, providing an anatomical basis for the occurrence of functional specialization. Typically, communities are defined as groups of densely connected network nodes, representing clusters of brain regions. Looking at the connectome from a different perspective, instead focusing on the interconnecting links or edges, we find that the white matter pathways between brain regions also exhibit community structure. Eleven link communities were identified: five spanning through the midline fissure, three through the left hemisphere and three through the right hemisphere. We show that these link communities are consistently identifiable and investigate the network characteristics of their underlying white matter pathways. Furthermore, examination of the relationship between link communities and brain regions revealed that the majority of brain regions participate in multiple link communities. In particular, the highly connected and central hub regions showed a rich level of community participation, supporting the notion that these hubs play a pivotal role as confluence zones in which neural information from different domains merges.     

Interpreting,measuring, and modeling soil respiration

This paper reviews the role of soil respiration in determining ecosystem carbon balance, and the conceptual basis for measuring and modeling soil respiration. We developed it to provide background and context for this special issue on soil respiration and to synthesize the presentations and discussions at the workshop. Soil respiration is the largest component of ecosystem respiration. Because autotrophic and heterotrophic activity belowground is controlled by substrate availability, soil respiration is strongly linked to plant metabolism, photosynthesis and litterfall. This link dominates both base rates and short-term fluctuations in soil respiration and suggests many roles for soil respiration as an indicator of ecosystem metabolism. However, the strong links between above and belowground processes complicate using soil respiration to understand changes in ecosystem carbon storage. Root and associated mycorrhizal respiration produce roughly half of soil respiration, with much of the remainder derived from decomposition of recently produced root and leaf litter. Changes in the carbon stored in the soil generally contribute little to soil respiration, but these changes, together with shifts in plant carbon allocation, determine ecosystem carbon storage belowground and its exchange with the atmosphere. Identifying the small signal from changes in large, slow carbon pools in flux dominated by decomposition of recent material and autotrophic and mycorrhizal respiration is a significant challenge. A mechanistic understanding of the belowground carbon cycle and of the response of different components to the environment will aid in identifying this signal. Our workshop identified information needs to help build that understanding: (1) the mechanisms that control the coupling of canopy and belowground processes; (2) the responses of root and heterotrophic respiration to environment; (3) plant carbon allocation patterns, particularly in different forest developmental stages, and in response to treatments (warming, CO₂, nitrogen additions); and (4) coupling measurements of soil respiration with aboveground processes and changes in soil carbon. Multi-factor experiments need to be sufficiently long to allow the systems to adjust to the treatments. New technologies will be necessary to reduce uncertainty in estimates of carbon allocation, soil carbon pool sizes, and different responses of roots and microbes to environmental conditions.     

土壤氮素循环模型及其模拟研究进展

N既是植物必需的营养元素,又是造成环境污染的重要元素.正确模拟土壤中N循环已经成为科学家共同关注的热点问题.简述了土壤N循环的基本过程,重点介绍了13种土壤N循环模型和6个土壤N循环过程的模拟,并讨论了模拟中存在的参数化问题.     

Bayesian Statistics-Based Procedure for Sampling of Contaminated Sites

A variable density sampling pattern based on Bayesian statistics is presented and compared to a uniform density statistical pattern and a judgmental approach in a real case study. The Bayesian statistics, supported by a software tool, supplied a soil sampling plan similar to the judgmental one, especially for the number of sampling points and their location. It allowed statistical goals to be set and expert judgment to be included in the sampling strategy in a transparent and systematic procedure. For these reasons, it appears quite suitable for inclusion into Quality Assurance Quality Control plans.