Pattern of dry-matter accumulation,and nitrogen concentration and uptake as influenced by levels and methods of nitrogen application in rainfed-upland rice

Summary Dry-matter accumulation, and concentration and uptake of nitrogen increased with increasing level of nitrogen at all the stages of crop growth. The differences in nitrogen concentration due to nitrogen levels were greatest at panicle initiation stage and started becoming narrower with the advancement in crop age. Split application of nitrogen with its heavier fractions at tillering and panicle initiation stages either through soil alone or soil+foliage (1/3+1/3+1/3) resulted in higher dry-matter accumulation, and higher nitrogen concentration and uptake than other methods. The crop, on an average, removed 61 kg N/ha. Plants accumulated nearly 15% of the total absorbed nitrogen, up to tillering, 50% up to panicle initiation and 85–90% up to heading. Proportionately lesser nitrogen uptake and dry-matter accumulation at post-heading stage is an indicative of a major constraint for production efficiency of rainfed-upland rice culture.     

Scale‐dependent biases in species counts in a grassland

Abstract. Numbers of plant species were recorded in species‐rich meadows in the Bílé Karpaty Mts., SE Czech Republic, with the aim to evaluate the sampling error made by well‐trained observers. Five observers recorded vascular plants in seven plots ranging from 9.8 cm² to 4 m² independently and were not time‐limited. In larger plots a discrepancy of 10–20% was found between individual estimates, in smaller plots discrepancy increased to 33%, on average. The gain in observed species richness by combining records of individual observers (in comparison with the mean numbers estimated by single observers) decreased from the smallest plot (27–82% for two to five observers) to the largest one (13–25%). However, after misidentified and suspicious records were eliminated, the gain was much lower and became scale‐independent; two observers added 12% species, on average, and the increase by combining species lists made by three or more observers was negligible (3% more on average). It is concluded that most discrepancies between individual observers were caused by misidentification of rare seedlings and young plants. We suggest that in species‐rich meadows plants should be recorded by at least three observers together and that they should consult all problematic plant specimens together in the field, to minimize errors.     

Intersexual variation in the foraging ecology of sexually monochromatic Western Wood‐Pewees

ABSTRACT Investigators generally pool observations of males and females in studies of the foraging behavior of sexually monochromatic songbirds. However, such pooling can obscure possible intersexual differences. We compared the foraging behavior of male and female Western Wood‐Pewees (Contopus sordidulus), a sexually monochromatic species, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California during the breeding seasons of 2007 and 2008. We recorded 143 foraging observations (male N= 74, female N= 69). Overall, mean foraging rates of females (2.8 attacks/min) were higher (P < 0.001) than those of males (1.1 attacks/min). In addition, female foraging rates were significantly higher during incubation than during the nest building, nestling, and fledgling periods. When foraging, males perched higher above ground than females (means = 17.1 and 6.7 m, respectively). Differences between male and female Western Wood‐Pewees in foraging rates and perch heights suggest that males may spend more time on vigilance while females focus on foraging quickly during incubation and when feeding nestlings. Because metrics such as foraging attack rates are sometimes used as indicators of habitat quality and we found that rates can differ between the sexes and among nesting stages, investigators should consider the possibility of such differences when assessing habitat quality, especially for sexually monochromatic species of birds.     

Flowering requirements of Scandinavian Festuca pratensis

Flowering requirements of three Scandinavian cultivars of Festuca pratensis Huds, have been studied in controlled environments. At 3 and 6°C, primary induction was independent of photoperiod, while short days (8 h) were more effective than long days (24 h) at higher temperatures. The critical temperature for induction was about 15°C in short days and about 12°C in long days. Saturation of induction required 18–20 weeks of exposure to optimal conditions. At temperatures below 12°C both induction and initiation of inflorescence primordia took place in long days, while a transition to long days was required for inflorescence initiation after primary induction in short days. A minimum of 8 long-day cycles were required for flowering of plants primary induced in short days and saturation of flowering required more than 16 cycles. The critical photoperiod for secondary induction was about 13 h. High temperature (21°C) had some devernalization effect in primary induced plants, suppressing flowering compared with 15°C.     

长期氮添加对草甸草原生态系统氮库的影响

大气氮沉降增加深刻影响生态系统物种多样性、生产力及其稳定性,研究草原生态系统N库如何响应不断增加的大气氮沉降至关重要。本研究在内蒙古额尔古纳草甸草原开展刈割和不同水平外源氮添加试验,设置6个氮添加水平: 0、2、5、10、20和50 g·m^-2·a^-1,同时设置刈割处理,分为刈割和不刈割2个水平。在连续处理的第7年,采集群落中优势植物地上部分、群落根、地表凋落物和0～100 cm分层土壤样品,测定N含量并计算N库储量。结果表明: 氮添加显著增加植物地上部分和凋落物N含量,以及羊草、植物群落和凋落物的N库及生态系统N库总量。刈割处理显著增加羊草叶片和凋落物N含量,降低羊草、植物群落和凋落物N库,但并不改变它们对氮添加的响应格局。此外,刈割和氮添加对植物群落N库存在显著的交互作用。在不刈割处理下,高水平氮添加使更多的氮储存在凋落物中等待分解,植物群落N库的饱和阈值出现在10 g·m^-2·a^-1;在刈割处理下,植物群落N库表现为随氮添加量增加而不断增加,并且在相同水平氮添加条件下刈割后进入到植物群落N库中的氮更多。刈割可以缓解氮沉降不断增加对生物多样性和生态系统稳定性造成的不利影响,并可以在一定程度上推迟氮沉降增加引起的生态系统氮饱和的发生。     

Experimental warming shifts coupling of carbon and nitrogen cycles in an alpine meadow

增温对高寒草甸生态系统碳氮循环耦合关系的影响 陆地生态系统碳吸收受土壤氮素可用性的调节。然而,全球变化背景下的不同生态系统组分的碳氮比及其所反映的碳氮循环耦合关系尚不十分清楚。本文运用数据同化的方法,将一个高寒草甸增温试验的14组数据同化到草地生态系统模型中,从而评估了增温如何影响陆地生态系统的碳氮循环耦合关系。研究结果表明,增温提高了土壤氮素的有效性,降低了土壤活性碳库的碳氮比,导致植物对土壤氮的吸收增加。但是由于植物叶片吸收的碳比吸收的氮增加更多,使得叶片中碳氮比增加,而根部的碳输入增加则低于氮的增加,导致根部的碳氮比减少。同时,增温降低了凋落物碳氮比,可能是在土壤高氮有效性的条件下,凋落物氮的固定得到增强;而且增温加速了凋落物的分解。同时增温还增加了慢速土壤有机质的碳氮比,使得该土壤碳库的碳固存潜力增大。由于大多数模型在不同的环境中通常使用相对固定的碳氮比,本研究所发现的气候变暖条件下碳氮比的差异变化可为模型参数化提供一个有效的参考,有利于模型对未来气候变化背景下生态系统碳氮耦合关系响应的预测。     

青藏高原不同高寒草地类型土壤酶活性及其影响因子

土壤酶活性作为生态系统养分循环的关键因素, 是反映土壤质量和生态系统功能的重要指标, 但是关于高寒草地生态系统中不同草地类型间酶活性的差异研究还很少。因此, 该研究在藏北高寒草地选择高寒草甸、高寒草原、高寒草甸草原、高寒荒漠草原和高寒荒漠5种草地类型进行野外原位调查和采样, 测定了涉及碳(C)、氮(N)和磷(P)循环的14种酶的活性, 并建立了高寒草地酶活性与土壤微生物和土壤理化性质等环境因子的关系。结果表明: C循环酶(蔗糖酶、纤维素酶、β-葡萄糖苷酶、多酚氧化酶和过氧化物酶)和P循环酶(碱性磷酸酶)在不同高寒草地类型间活性差异明显, N循环酶中仅芳香氨基酶和亚硝酸盐还原酶两种酶在不同高寒草地类型间活性差异明显。同时, C、N和P循环酶之间存在一定的相关关系, 其中, 蔗糖酶和碱性磷酸酶、纤维素酶和α-乙酰氨基葡萄糖苷酶活性显著正相关, 多酚氧化酶与亚硝酸还原酶和β-乙酰氨基葡萄糖苷酶活性显著负相关。在测定的19个环境指标中, 土壤有机质(SOM)含量、革兰氏阴性菌数量、土壤N和P含量计量比、革兰氏阳性菌数量、细菌数量、放线菌数量、全氮含量、真菌数量是影响土壤酶活性的关键因子, 且SOM含量的影响最大(解释量为11.9%)。综上所述, 不同高寒草地类型间C循环酶、P循环酶和两种N循环酶(芳香氨基酶和亚硝酸还原酶)活性差异显著, SOM含量、微生物数量和N含量等是影响高寒草地生态系统土壤酶活性的关键因子。     

The acceptability of meadow plants to the slug Deroceras reticulatum and implications for grassland restoration

Background and Aims

Despite the selective pressure slugs may exert on seedling recruitment there is a lack of information in this context within grassland restoration studies. Selective grazing is influenced by interspecific differences in acceptability. As part of a larger study of how slug–seedling interactions may influence upland hay meadow restoration, an assessment of relative acceptability is made for seedlings of meadow plants to the slug, Deroceras reticulatum.

Methods

Slug feeding damage to seedling monocultures of 23 meadow species and Brassica napus was assessed in microcosms over 14 d. The severity and rate of damage incurred by each plant species was analysed with a generalized additive mixed model. Plant species were then ranked for their relative acceptability.

Key Results

Interspecific variation in relative acceptability suggested seedlings of meadow species form a hierarchy of acceptability to D. reticulatum. The four most acceptable species were Achillea millefolium and the grasses Holcus lanatus, Poa trivialis and Festuca rubra. Trifolium pratense was acceptable to D. reticulatum and was the second highest ranking forb species. The most unacceptable species were mainly forbs associated with the target grassland, and included Geranium sylvaticum, Rumex acetosa, Leontodon hispidus and the grass Anthoxanthum odoratum. A strong positive correlation was found for mean cumulative feeding damage and cumulative seedling mortality at day 14.

Conclusions

Highly unacceptable species to D. reticulatum are unlikely to be selectively grazed by slugs during the seedling recruitment phase, and were predominantly target restoration species. Seedlings of highly acceptable species may be less likely to survive slug herbivory and contribute to seedling recruitment at restoration sites. Selective slug herbivory, influenced by acceptability, may influence community-level processes if seedling recruitment and establishment of key functional species, such as T. pratense is reduced.     

Grazer exclusion alters plant spatial organization at multiple scales,increasing diversity

Grazing is one of the most important factors influencing community structure and productivity in natural grasslands. Understanding why and how grazing pressure changes species diversity is essential for the preservation and restoration of biodiversity in grasslands. We use heavily grazed subalpine meadows in the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau to test the hypothesis that grazer exclusion alters plant diversity by changing inter‐ and intraspecific species distributions. Using recently developed spatial analyses combined with detailed ramet mapping of entire plant communities (91 species), we show striking differences between grazed and fenced areas that emerged at scales of just one meter. Species richness was similar at very small scales (0.0625 m²), but at larger scales diversity in grazed areas fell below 75% of corresponding fenced areas. These differences were explained by differences in spatial distributions; intra‐ and interspecific associations changed from aggregated at small scales to overdispersed in the fenced plots, but were consistently aggregated in the grazed ones. We conclude that grazing enhanced inter‐ and intraspecific aggregations and maintained high diversity at small scales, but caused decreased turnover in species at larger scales, resulting in lower species richness. Our study provides strong support to the theoretical prediction that inter‐ and intraspecific aggregation produces local spatial patterns that scale‐up to affect species diversity in a community. It also demonstrates that the impacts of grazing can manifest through this mechanism, lowering diversity by reducing spatial turnover in species. Finally, it highlights the ecological and physiological plant processes that are likely responding to grazing and thereby altering aggregation patterns, providing new insights for monitoring, and mediating the impacts of grazing.