Enclosure experiment on the control mechanism of planktonic bacterial standing stock

In order to understand the control mechanisms of a large, stable bacterial standing stock, enclosure experiments were conducted in a eutrophic lake, where both bacterial productivity and grazing pressure were very high. Total bacterial number in the different enclosures ranged from 1.2 to 2.7×10⁷ cells mL⁻¹ throughout the experiment. The average bacterial cell production rate estimated from a grazer eliminating experiment was 6.3×10⁵ cells mL⁻¹ h⁻¹. Difference in the bacterial cell production rate between shaded and unshaded enclosures was not apparent. Bacteria showed a reduction in standing stock of only about 25–30% even after the supply of light was cut to 1%. Bacteria in the shaded enclosures then recovered their production rate in the first 12 days of perturbation. Grazing pressure in the shaded enclosures was not less than that for the control. Thus, it was considered a control mechanism of bacterial stable standing stock that the bacteria shifted their organic substrate from extracellular dissolved organic carbon freshly released from phytoplankton to that already stocked in the water column, though it is not known whether the dominant bacteria were the same.     

Supersaturation of soil solutions with respect to gypsum

The products of activities of calcium and sulphate were calculated for solutions of 75 glasshouse soils. The majority of these products was found to be higher than the solubility product of gypsum, thus indicating that these soil solutions were possibly supersaturated. In another investigation, soil solutions were examined to determine whether such high activity products could be really attributed to supersaturation. By means of ultracentrifuging of solutions of glasshouse soils, it could be established that the solutions were practically free of sulphate-bearing colloidal particles. Some solutions contained calcium-bearing colloidal particles, but the quantities of calcium contained in these particles were too small to substantially influence the calcium activity. Addition of gypsum crystals to soil solutions led to crystallization of so much calcium and sulphate that the products of the activities of calcium and sulphate dropped from values that can be listed as high to values approaching the solubility product of gypsum. The results obtained demonstrate the occurrence of supersaturation of soil solutions with respect to gypsum. It is further postulated that the presence of humic substances in the soil solution is responsible for this supersaturation. The possible occurrence of supersaturation with respect to gypsum in soils other than glasshouse soils is discussed.     

木薯良种——“南植188”引种试验研究

本文报道木薯良种——“南植188”引种试验结果。在桂林地区种植“南植188”品种表现长势好,结薯早且多,薯肥大等丰产性能。产量明显高于本地品种,淀粉含量高,纤维素和氢氰酸含量低,是一个有发展前途的高产优质品种。     

The effect of cropping and fertiliser nitrogen rates on nitrogen balance in soil

Summary Fertilizer/soil N balance of cropped and fallow soil has been studied in a pot experiment carried out with grey forest soil (southern part of Moscow region) at increasing rates of¹⁵N labelled ammonium sulfate (0; 8; 16; 32 mg N/100 g of soil). The fertilizer¹⁵N balance has been shown to depend upon its application rate and the presence of growing plants. Fertilizer N uptake efficiency was maximum (72.5%) and gaseous losses-minimum (12.5%) at the application rate of 16 mg N/100 g of soil. Fertilizer N losses from the fallow soil were 130–220% versus those from the cropped soil. At the application of fertilizer N the plant uptake of soil N was 170–240% and the amount of soil N as N–NH₄ exchangeable + N–NO₃ in fallow was 350–440% as compared to the control treatment without nitrogen (PK).After cropping without or with N fertilizer application at the rates of 8 and 32 mg N/100 g of soil, a positive nitrogen balance has been found which is likely due to nonsymbiotic (associative) N-fixation. It has been shown that biologically fixed nitrogen contributes to plant nutrition.     

Parthenogenesis in Tubificidae

The ability of tubificids to reproduce parthenogenetically following or in place of bisexual reproduction has been proved. During parthenogenesis the spermatogenesis ceases at an early stage of sexual cell development, which, together with some peculiarities of the structure of the sexual system, rules out the possibility of self-fertilization in the worms. For two years of cultivation the life cycles of 3 parthenogenetic generations in Tubifex tubifex and 2 in Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri were traced.     

大棚黄瓜霜霉病生态防治方法研究——温度控制试验研究初报

黄瓜霜霉病是对黄瓜生长发育危害最大的世界性病害。通过两年共10个处理的田间对比试验发现,大棚黄瓜霜霉病的发生发展与环境温度条件存在着十分密切的关系,在一定温度范围内(15℃—48℃),棚内日最高气温越高,发病期越晚,病越轻,产量越高。控制方法是:在大棚内日最低气温稳定大于10℃后,每隔一天对大棚进行一次40—47℃、并维持2小时左右的高温处理(其中大于42℃持续1.5小时左右,大于45℃持续1小时左右),然后大面积通风换气。方法简便易行、效果很好。     

Oligochaetes and eutrophication; an experiment over four years in outdoor mesocosms

Eight experimental ditch mesocosms were used to study the effect of eutrophication over four years. The experimental ditches had a sand or clay bottom. The ditches were treated with additions of phosphorus, phosphorus and nitrogen, or without additions (controls). Oligochaetes were sampled by deploying trays with substratum for colonization over twenty weeks. Both the important variables phosphorus, nitrogen and oxygen as well as the oligochaete species and numbers are presented. The effects of nutrient additions on phosphorus, nitrogen and oxygen concentrations were described together with changes in oligochaete species composition and numbers. The results were further analyzed by redundancy analysis (RDA). In the clay-lined ditches nutrient addition coincided with fluctuation in oxygen concentration. The higher the nutrient addition levels the longer the period of oxygen depletion became. During oxygen depletion the number of oligochaetes was strongly reduced or even became zero. The low nutrient status of the sandy bed in the sand-lined ditches slowed down the rate of colonization. Only a few tubificids were collected. Eutrophication effects were only observed at the highest nutrient addition level. Considerable variation is attributed to stochastic factors in the sand-lined ditches. Whether oligochaete species were present was related to the length of the colonization period. The substratum composition and food together with oxygen regime decided whether they become more or less abundant in ditches. Large-scale mesocosm experiments require time to develop. Only after the first colonization period variables of species presences and abundances can be employed to detect changes associated with eutrophication. Oligochaetes can be used to measure colonization as well as eutrophication processes.     

Effects of nutrient availability and neighbours on shoot growth,resprouting and flowering of Erica multiflora

Abstract. To test if low soil fertility and competition limit the performance of Mediterranean shrubs, and if the effects of competition on plant performance were modified by soil fertility, we subjected shrubs of Erica multiflora to a factorial field experiment of fertilization and removal of neighbours around target plants. After 18 months of treatment, fertilization had stimulated the growth of pre-existent sprouts and biomass allocation to stems into new sprouts, but decreased the frequency of sprout flowering. Removal of neighbours increased the number and biomass of new sprouts, the probability of sprout flowering and the biomass of flowers. Fertilization slightly enhanced sprout recruitment and the probability of sprout flowering when neighbours were removed, but did not modify the other parameters of plant performance. According to our results, both low soil fertility and competition limited plant performance. Competition was slightly more intense in fertilized plants, but only in determining sprout and flowering bud stimulation.     

A morphological study and hybridization analysis of Caloglossa leprieurii (Ceramiales, Rhodophyta) from Japan, Singapore and Australia

Morphological and hybridization experiments were performed on Caloglossa leprieurii (Montagne) J. Agardh collected from Japan, Singapore and Australia in order to evaluate taxonomic characters of this species. Within C. leprieurii at least four mating groups were recognized from the Indo-Pacific region. These mating groups could be characterized by the blade width at the inter-node and the cell-row numbers on the opposite side derived from the first axial cell at the main axis, though these properties showed a certain variability even in the same plant under both field and culture conditions. The phylogenetic relationship and geographic distribution of the four mating groups are discussed.