准噶尔盆地荒漠生物类群与环境的关系

对荒漠生态系统的研究,近期在我国乃至全球均极为活跃。由于开发的需要和全球沙漠化威胁日趋严重,引起有关人士的关注。就新疆而言,解放前虽有一些学者进行过研究,但仅限于某些方面,直到50年代后期展开大规模综合考察以来,对新疆的荒漠自然条件才有较全面认识。作者近年的研究过程,注意到此区生物类群与环境存在较特殊关系,     

发展生态渔业,保护水域环境——朱湖水体生态农业初探

渔业是大农业的一环。在充分合理的利用好水体自然资源,大力发展水产品生产的同时,认真保护好水域生态环境,这不仅是渔业的问题,也完全符合环保这项基本国策。研究渔业生态,发展生态渔业也是当今水产养殖发展的主要方向。“水体生态农业”是依据生态学原理,生态     

南水北调与生态平衡

水是人类赖以生存繁衍的重要资源。我国人口逐年增长,而淡水资源数量有限。多变的自然降水及频繁的旱涝灾害,一直决定着我国农业收成乃至整个国民经济的盛衰。     

杭州湾六市土地生态环境的数量评价及其在国土规划上的意义

在系统调查分析和特尔斐测定的基础上,选取人口密度、耕地人口负荷量、土地工业经济密度、居民点、厂矿用地、>25°土地面积、单位森林蓄积占用土地、耕地非旱涝保收面积7项指标,应用分值权重累加、系统聚类分析和模糊综合评价3种方法对杭州湾6市土地生态环境作综合分析评价,结果可应用于国土规划实践,对探讨土地生态环境评价的理论与方法有参考价值。     

The management of Insular Caribbean mangroves in relation to site location and community type

Mangrove ecosystems occupy different locations on Caribbean island coasts, ranging from open bays (fringe mangals) to totally enclosed salt ponds and salinas. On geomorphologically active coastlines, such as south Jamaica, systems are at varying degrees of maturity and productivity. Furthermore, because of system variability, the interactions between mangroves and associated marine systems, such as coral reefs and seagrass beds, are developed to different degrees.Community structure and productivity of a range of mangals on different islands of the Greater and Lesser Antilles are discussed. Forcing functions and levels of interaction with the marine environment are identified.The rational choice of management options must be based on the range of goods and services provided by the different systems; and a good understanding of their ecology is essential when choosing sites for protection, waste disposal, landfill, marina development and fisheries enhancement. Examples are given from current studies in Jamaica, St. Lucia, the British Virgin Islands and Trinidad, of a flexible management response to mangrove ecosystem diversity.     

Effects of genotype,habitat, and seasonal variation on iridoid glycoside content of Plantago lanceolata (Plantaginaceae) and the implications for insect herbivores

Summary We investigated the effects of genotype, habitat, and seasonal variation on production of the iridoid glycosides, aucubin and catalpol, in leaves of the common weed Plantago lanceolata. Two genotypes, one each from a lawn and an adjacent abandoned hayfield population, were clonally replicated in the greenhouse, and then planted back into the two habitats. One quarter of the plants from each treatment were harvested on each of four dates, at approximately two-week intervals. Over the course of the growing season, and in both habitats, we found a significant increase in the concentration of both aucubin and catalpol in P. lanceolata leaves. The genotypes differed in their response to environmental variation, both in time and between sites, as indicated by significant genotype x date and genotype x site interactions. Early in the season, habitat (lawn or field) had a greater effect on iridoid glycoside concentration than did plant genotype, but later in the season, plant genotype was more influential in determining the iridoid glycoside concentration. Thus, the relative palatability of Plantago genotypes to specialist and generalist herbivores may vary in time and space.     

Effects of legumes on soil physical quality in a maize crop

The effect of intercropped legumes and three N fertilizer rates in a continuous maize (Zea mays L.) cropping system on the physical properties of two soils were investigated for three years. The legumes, being a mixture of alfalfa, clover and hairy vetch, had a significant cumulative effect on some physical properties of both soil. The lowest stability and smallest mean weight diameter of soil aggregates were associated with monoculture maize plots. Aggregate size and stability were not affected by N fertilization at any of the rates of 0, 70, and 140 kg ha^-1 in intercropped plots, except that aggregate stability was actually reduced by N fertilization in one soil, the Ste. Rosalie clay. In maize plots in both soils, stability and size of soil aggregates were significantly increased with increased added N. Intercropped legumes significantly decreased dry bulk density and soil penetration resistance. Added N had no measurable influence on these compaction factors. Soil water properties were not significantly affected by either intercropping or N fertilization. Positive effects noted on soil aggregation and other physical properties in intercropped plots are the result of enhanced root activity, or incorporation of legumes as green manure, or both. Improvement of soil structure in maize plots associated with increasing N application was the result of increased maize-root residues.     

Biological nitrogen fixation for sustainable agriculture: A perspective

The economic and environmental costs of the heavy use of chemical N fertilizers in agriculture are a global concern. Sustainability considerations mandate that alternatives to N fertilizers must be urgently sought. Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF), a microbiological process which converts atmospheric nitrogen into a plant-usable form, offers this alternative. Nitrogen-fixing systems offer an economically attractive and ecologically sound means of reducing external inputs and improving internal resources. Symbiotic systems such as that of legumes and Rhizobium can be a major source of N in most cropping systems and that of Azolla and Anabaena can be of particular value to flooded rice crop. Nitrogen fixation by associative and free-living microorganisms can also be important. However, scientific and socio-cultural constraints limit the utilization of BNF systems in agriculture. While several environmental factors that affect BNF have been studied, uncertainties still remain on how organisms respond to a given situation. In the case of legumes, ecological models that predict the likelihood and the magnitude of response to rhizobial inoculation are now becoming available. Molecular biology has made it possible to introduce choice attributes into nitrogen-fixing organisms but limited knowledge on how they interact with the environment makes it difficult to tailor organisms to order. The difficulty in detecting introduced organisms in the field is still a major obstacle to assessing the success or failure of inoculation. Production-level problems and socio-cultural factors also limit the integration of BNF systems into actual farming situations. Maximum benefit can be realized only through analysis and resolution of major constraints to BNF performance in the field and adoption and use of the technology by farmers.     

Classifying genotypic data from plant breeding trials: a preliminary investigation using repeated checks

Summary Several subjective choices must be made when classifying genotypes based on data from plant breeding trials. One choice involves the method used to weight the contribution each environment makes to the classification. A second involves the use of either genotype-means for each environment or genotypevalues for each block, i.e., considering each block to be a different environment. Another involves whether environments (or blocks) in which genotypes are nonsignificantly different should be included or excluded from such classifications. An alternative to the use of raw or standardized data, is proposed in which each environment is weighted by a discrimination index (DI) that is based on the concept of repeatability. In this study the effect of three weighting methods (raw, standardized and DI), the choice of using environments or blocks, and the choice of including or excluding environments or blocks in which genotypic effects were not significant, were considered in factorial combination to give 12 options. A data set comprised of five check cultivars each repeated six times in each of three blocks at six environments was used. The effect of these options on the ability of a hierarchical clustering technique to correctly classify the repeats into five groups, each consisting of all the six repeats of a particular check cultivar, was investigated. It was found that the DI weighting method generally led to better recovery of the known structure. Using block data rather than environmental data also improved structure recovery for each of the three weighting methods. The exclusive use of environments in which genotypic effects were significant decreased structure recovery while the contrary generally occurred for blocks. The best structure recovery was obtained from the DI weighting applied to blocks (whether genotypes were significant or not).