A combined vaccine against <Emphasis Type="Italic">Brucella abortus</Emphasis> and infectious bovine rhinotracheitis

The present study was undertaken to study the immune response in calves vaccinated with Brucella abortus strain 19, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) vaccines in monovalent form and combined vaccine containing both antigen. The seroconversion of monovalent and combined vaccines was tested in seronegative cattle calves. IBR vaccine alone and combination with live Brucella abortus S19 vaccine elicited an anamnestic response on day 60 post booster but started declining from day 90 onwards against IBR. B. abortus S19 alone and in combination with IBR vaccine gave more than 2 log protection in mice two weeks post challenge. Fluorescence polarization assay analysis with sera samples of calves vaccinated with B. abortus S19 monovalent vaccine alone and in combination with IBR vaccine revealed the presence of B. abortus antibodies. The components of the combined vaccine did not show any evidence of interference in the development of immunity. This combined vaccine may provide economical and affordable biological for the control of brucellosis and IBR.     

Advantage of using PSIRB over PSRB and IRB to improve plant health of tomato

Twenty-one isolates of phosphate solubilizing-indole acetic acid producing rhizobacteria (PSIRB), 20 isolates of phosphate solubilizing rhizobacteria (PSRB) and 42 isolates of indole acetic acid producing rhizobacteria (IRB) were isolated from 49 rhizospheric soil samples of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) collected from tomato growing regions of Karnataka. A method combining Pikovskaya’s and Bric’s technique was developed to isolate PSRIB, PSRB and IRB’s. The selected isolates were further analyzed for their ability to solubilize calcium phytate. Based on the root colonization assays and the abilities of bacterial isolates to increase the seed germination and seedling vigor under laboratory conditions, five isolates were selected from each group for further studies. Under greenhouse conditions, all the selected rhizobacteria isolates significantly increased root length, shoot length, fresh weight, dry weight and total phosphorus content of 30-day-old-seedlings with respect to control. Isolate PSIRB1 and IRB36 significantly reduced the Fusarium wilt incidence over other isolates of same and other group, and the control. On the basis of results from laboratory and greenhouse studies, one bacterial isolate from each group was selected for plant growth and yield analysis studies. Isolate PSIRB2 showed increased plant height, fresh weight, number of fruits per plant and average weight of fruit over PSRB9, IRB36 and untreated controls. Studies on the nature of protection offered by these bacterial isolates following split-root technique revealed that the isolates PSIRB2 and PSRB9 had the ability to induce systemic resistance. One isolate, IRB36 appeared to protect the tomato seedlings through direct antagonism.     

Community stability under different correlation structures of species’ environmental responses

The outcome of species interactions in a variable environment is expected to depend on how similarly different species react to variation in environmental conditions. We study community stability (evenness and species diversity) in competitive communities that are either closed or subjected to random migration, under different regimes of environmental forcing. Community members respond to environmental variation: (i) independently (IR), (ii) in a positively correlated way (CR), or (iii) hierarchically, according to niche differences (HR). Increasing the amplitude of environmental variation and environmental reddening both reduce species evenness in closed communities through a reduction in species richness and increased skew in species abundances, under all three environmental response scenarios, although autocorrelation only has a minor effect with HR. Open communities show important qualitative differences, according to changes in the correlation structure of species’ environmental responses. There is an intermediate minimum in evenness for HR communities with increasing environmental amplitude, explained by the interaction of changes in species richness and changes in the variance of within-species environmental responses across the community. Changes in autocorrelation also lead to qualitative differences between IR, CR and HR communities. Our results highlight the importance of considering mechanistically derived, hierarchical environmental correlations between species when addressing the influence of environmental variation on ecological communities, not only uniform environmental correlation across all species within a community.     

不同耕作方式对内蒙古旱作农田土壤微生物量和作物指标的影响

研究了不同耕作方式下土壤微生物量碳、氮、磷及玉米全生育期叶面积指数、株高和干物质积累量的动态变化,并对土壤指标与作物指标之间的关系进行分析.结果表明:免耕有利于提高土壤微生物量碳、氮、磷含量.不同处理微生物量均表现为:免耕留高茬覆盖>免耕留低茬覆盖>免耕留高茬>免耕留低茬>传统耕翻;土壤微生物量碳、氮、磷含量随土层深度的增加而呈降低趋势.除传统耕翻微生物量碳在10～20 cm土层深度含量提高外,其他处理微生物量碳、氮、磷均表现为0～10 cm>10～20 cm>20～30 cm>30～40cm土层深度;土壤生物量碳、氮、磷随季节的变化趋势基本一致,不同处理土壤生物量含量均为7月份含量最高、6月份次之、10月份最低;叶面积指数全生育期呈单峰曲线变化,株高和干物质积累呈S曲线变化.不同处理之间作物指标均表现为免耕留高茬覆盖>免耕留低茬覆盖>免耕留高茬>免耕留低茬>传统耕翻;土壤微生物量与作物指标之间的相关度较高,特别是微生物量磷,土壤微生物量在一定程度上可以反映作物的生长状况.研究结果能够很好地揭示在黄河流域内蒙古农田旱作区实施免耕的优势.

Abstract：

This paper studied the dynamic changes of soil microbial biomass and crop indices on a degraded rain-fed maize field in the Qingshuihe County of Inner Mongolia under no tillage with low stubble (NL), no tillage with high stubble (NH), no tillage with low stubble and residues (NLS), no tillage with high stubble and residues (NHS), and conventional tillage (CT). No tillage increased the soil microbial biomass C, N, and P, with the sequence of treatments NHS > NLS > NH > NL > CT. Except that the soil microbial biomass C in CT had an increase in 10-20 cm soil layer, the soil microbial biomass C, N, and P in all treatments decreased with soil depth. The soil microbial biomass C, N, and P had the same seasonal pattern, being the highest in July, secondly in June, and the lowest in October. The LAI in whole growth period varied in unimodal form, while the plant height and dry matter accumulation were in "S" form. All the crop indices followed the order of NHS > NLS > NH > NL > CT. Soil microbial biomass, its P in particular, had positive correlations with crop indices. Our results revealed the advantages of no tillage on rain-fed farmlands in Inner Mongolia.     

人工红树林湿地系统净化污水研究进展

咸淡水交接处这种特殊的生境造就了红树植物“抗污”和“降污”的功能,但能否将自然红树林湿地作为污水处理场所目前仍有争议。按照构建的人工红树林湿地的类型,分为三大类：模拟潮汐湿地系统、人工红树林污水处理系统以及红树林种植-养殖生态耦合系统。第一类系统模拟了自然海滩上的潮涨潮落的情形,第二类系统与一般人工湿地相类似,而第三类系统是指在养殖塘种植红树植物以去除有机物和营养盐。不同的类型反映了该领域研究工作的不断深入,展现了红树林湿地净化污水从理论探索向实际应用不断靠近的过程。应用人工红树林湿地净化污水具有较大的可行性,前景可观。     

锦州湾及附近河口沉积物中砷含量、分布及形态

对葫芦岛3条河流和锦州湾水体、沉积物中As的含量、分布和形态进行了研究。结果表明：葫芦岛的连山河和五里河未受到明显的As污染,沉积物总As含量低于10 mg·kg^-1,河水As含量低于10 μg·L^-1,茨山河下游紧邻葫芦岛锌厂,受到了一定程度的As污染,沉积物As含量达75.2 mg·kg^-1;五里河口区As污染非常严重,锌厂在该区排污口处沉积物As含量高达3176.1 mg·kg^-1,超过国家沉积物As标准158倍;受锌厂排污的影响,锦州湾As污染也很严重,沉积物中As最高含量达到569.5 mg·kg^-1,沉积物和孔隙水含量在剖面上具有相似的变化趋势,表明孔隙水As含量主要受沉积物As含量影响;锦州湾沉积物中As主要以可交换态存在,残渣态次之,盐酸提取态最少,表明锦州湾沉积物中As的活性很强,有大量的可交换态As随时会进入上覆水体,是重要的As释放源,而铁对As行为的影响占次要地位;沉积物中大量As的释放可能会对葫芦岛和锦州湾地区生态系统造成严重的威胁。     

Seedling regeneration,environment and management in a semi‐deciduous African tropical rain forest

Questions: How is seedling regeneration of woody species of semi‐deciduous rain forests affected by (a) historical management for combinations of logging, arboricide treatment or no treatment, (b) forest community type and (c) environmental gradients of topography, light and soil nutrients? Location: Budongo Forest Reserve, Uganda. Methods: Seedling regeneration patterns of trees and shrubs in relation to environmental factors and historical management types were studied using 32 0.5‐ha plots laid out in transects along a topographic gradient. We compared seedling species diversity, composition and distribution patterns along topographic gradients and within types of historical management regimes and forest communities to test whether environmental factors contributed to differences in species composition of seedlings. Results: A total of 85 624 woody seedlings representing 237 species and 46 families were recorded in this rain forest. Cynometra alexandri C.H. Wright and Lasiodiscus mildbraedii Engl. had high seedling densities and were widely distributed throughout the plots. The most species‐rich families were Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Rubiaceae, Meliaceae, Moraceae and Rutaceae. Only total seedling density was significantly different between sites with different historical management, with densities highest in logged, intermediate in logged/arboricided and lowest in the nature reserve. Forest communities differed significantly in terms of seedling diversity and density. Seedling composition differed significantly between transects and forest communities, but not between topographic positions or historical management types. Both Chao‐Jaccard and Chao‐Sørensen abundance‐based similarity estimators were relatively high in the plot, forest community and in terms of historical management levels, corroborating the lack of significant differences in species richness within these groups. The measured environmental variables explained 59.4% of variance in seedling species distributions, with the three most important being soil organic matter, total soil titanium and leaf area index (LAI). Total seedling density was positively correlated with LAI. Differences in diversity of >2.0 cm dbh plants (juveniles and adults) also explained variations in seedling species diversity. Conclusions: The seedling bank is the major route for regeneration in this semi‐deciduous tropical rain forest, with the wide distribution of many species suggesting that these species regenerate continuously. Seedling diversity, density and distribution are largely a function of adult diversity, historical management type and environmental gradients in factors such as soil nutrient content and LAI. The species richness of seedlings was higher in soils both rich in titanium and with low exchangeable cations, as well as in logged areas that were more open and had a low LAI.     

Change in CO2 balance under a series of forestry activities in a cool-temperate mixed forest with dense undergrowth

To evaluate the effects on CO₂ exchange of clearcutting a mixed forest and replacing it with a plantation, 4.5 years of continuous eddy covariance measurements of CO₂ fluxes and soil respiration measurements were conducted in a conifer-broadleaf mixed forest in Hokkaido, Japan. The mixed forest was a weak carbon sink (net ecosystem exchange, −44 g C m⁻² yr⁻¹), and it became a large carbon source (569 g C m⁻² yr⁻¹) after clearcutting. However, the large emission in the harvest year rapidly decreased in the following 2 years (495 and 153 g C m⁻² yr⁻¹, respectively) as the gross primary production (GPP) increased, while the total ecosystem respiration (RE) remained relatively stable. The rapid increase in GPP was attributed to an increase in biomass and photosynthetic activity of Sasa dwarf bamboo, an understory species. Soil respiration increased in the 3 years following clearcutting, in the first year mainly owing to the change in the gap ratio of the forest, and in the following years because of increased root respiration by the bamboo. The ratio of soil respiration to RE increased from 44% in the forest to nearly 100% after clearcutting, and aboveground parts of the vegetation contributed little to the RE although the respiration chamber measurements showed heterogeneous soil condition after clearcutting.     

Relevance of using a vegetation-based method to conserve urban carabid diversity

Urban habitats harbour considerable biological diversity. Ecologists have developed methods to select which habitats should be conserved. The Ecological value, a method based on vegetation, has been created for the urban habitats of Montreal (Quebec, Canada). The main objective of our study was to determine if this method was relevant to assess carabid diversity of Mount Royal Park. This index is calculated using five criteria: uniqueness, representativeness, degree of succession, richness and rarity of the flora, each of which can influence communities of insects. Ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) were selected because of their success as biological indicators. Despite sampling difficulties, our results demonstrate clearly that the Ecological value method does not represent the high carabid richness of urban open habitats (tall grasses) and their specialised native carabid species. Within forests we found nonetheless that the ecological value index has a significant positive relationship with native carabid abundance. Moreover, maturity and structure of urban forests were positively correlated with carabid abundance and richness. Some urban vegetation characteristics have been shown to influence entomological diversity, but the relevance of using a global floral index to encompass the carabid community seems limited.     

Can soil seed banks contribute to the restoration of dune slacks under conservation management?

Questions: Does the soil seed bank resemble the former early successional stages of a dune slack system more than the established later successional vegetation? Does it have the potential to contribute to the conservation of a highly endangered habitat? Location: Dune slacks at Newborough Warren, UK. Methods: The composition of the soil seed bank in two depth layers was determined using the seedling emergence method between March 2004 and April 2005. Long-term monitoring data on the floristic composition of the established vegetation were obtained from the national conservation agency, and additional monitoring was undertaken in 2003. Floristic composition, seed weights, seed longevity of component species and Ellenberg indicator values were used to compare the seed bank and established vegetation. Results: The soil seed bank was diverse and contained typical dune slack species, species of early successional stages and species of conservation interest. A comparison between the composition of the seed bank and historical data on the composition of the established vegetation showed that the seed bank reflects earlier successional stages more closely than the current aboveground vegetation. This study increases the scarce information currently available on the seed bank ecology of several species, including two orchid species. Conclusions: The soil seed bank can be expected to contribute to vegetation change after disturbance. Stimulation of germination from the seed bank through management may contribute to the conservation of both characteristic and threatened species typical of dune slacks.