Effects of groundwater salinity on the characteristics of leaf photosynthesis and stem sap flow in Tamarix chinensis

AimsThe objective of this study was to investigate the change pattern of leaves photosynthesis and stem sap flow of Tamarix chinensisin under different groundwater salinity, which can be served as a theoretical basis and technical reference for cultivation and management of T. chinensis in shallow groundwater table around Yellow River Delta.MethodsThree-year-old T. chinensis, one of the dominated species in Yellow River Delta, was selected. Plants were treated by four different salinity concentrations of groundwater—fresh water (0 g∙L^-1), brackish water (3.0 g∙L^-1), saline water (8.0 g∙L^-1), and salt water (20.0 g∙L^-1) under 1.2 m groundwater level. Light response of photosynthesis and the diurnal courses of leaf transpiration rate, stem sap flux velocity and environment factors under different groundwater salinity were determined via LI-6400XT portable photosynthesis system and a Dynamax packaged stem sap flow gauge based on stem-heat balance method, respectively.Important findings The result showed that groundwater salinity had a significant impact on photosynthesis efficiency and water consumption capacity of T. chinensis by influencing the soil salt. The net photosynthetic rate (P_n), maximum P_n, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, apparent quantum yield and dark respiration rate increased first and then decreased with increasing groundwater salinity, while the water use efficiency (WUE) continuously decreased. The mean P_n under fresh water, brackish water and salt water decreased by 44.1%, 15.1% and 62.6%, respectively, compared with that under saline water (25.90 µmol∙m^-2∙s^-1). The mean WUE under brackish water, saline water and salt water decreased by 25.0%, 29.2% and 41.7%, respectively, compared with that under fresh water (2.40 µmol∙mmol^-1). With the increase of groundwater salinity from brackish water to salt water, light saturation point of T. chinensisdecreased while the light compensation point increased, which lead to the decrease of light ecological amplitude and light use efficiency. Fresh water and brackish water treatment helped T. chinensis to use low or high level light, which could significantly improve the utilization rate of light energy. The decrease in P_n of T. chinensis was mainly due to non-stomatal limitation under treatment from saline water to fresh water, while the decrease in P_n of T. chinensis was due to stomatal limitation from saline water to salt water. With increasing groundwater salinity, stem sap flux velocity of T. chinensis increased firstly and then decreased, reached the maximum value under saline water. The mean stem sap flux velocity under fresh water, brackish water and salt water decreased by 61.8%, 13.1% and 41.9%, respectively, compared with that under saline water (16.96 g·h^-1). Tamarix chinensis had higher photosynthetic productivity under saline water treatment, and could attained high WUE under severe water deprivation by transpiration, which was suitable for the growth of T. chinensis.     

Evaluation of edible mushroom Oudemansiella canarii cultivation on different lignocellulosic substrates

In this study, the mycelial growth rate, mycelial colonization time, yield, and biological efficiency of the edible mushroom Oudemansiella canarii were determined, and the effects of different substrate combinations on productivity, chemical contents and amino acids were evaluated. Lignocellulosic wastes, such as cottonseed hull, sawdust, corncob, and their combinations supplemented with 18% wheat bran and 2% lime, were used for the cultivation of O. canarii. The biological efficiency (BE) and essential amino acid content of treatment T1, which consisted of 80% cottonseed hull, were the highest among all the tested treatments. Mixtures that included sawdust, such as treatments T2 (80% sawdust), T4 (40% sawdust + 40% cottonseed hull), and T6 (40% sawdust + 40% corncob), exhibited lower yield and BE. Corncob was good for O. canarii production in terms of yield and BE, whereas the mycelial growth rate and colonization time were lower compared to those on other substrates. Comparing the BE, essential amino acids, and other traits of the six treatments, treatment T1 (80% cottonseed hull) was the best formula for O. canarii cultivation and should be extended in the future.     

Drought-induced dynamics of carbon and water use efficiency of global grasslands from 2000 to 2011

Drought is frequently recorded as a result of climate warming and elevated concentration of greenhouse gases, which affect the carbon and water cycles in terrestrial ecosystems, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. To identify the drought in grassland ecosystems and to determine how such drought affects grassland ecosystems in terms of carbon and water cycles across the globe, this study evaluated the drought conditions of global grassland ecosystems from 2000 to 2011 on the basis of the remotely sensed Drought Severity Index (DSI) data. The temporal dynamics of grassland carbon use efficiency (CUE) and water use efficiency (WUE), as well as their correlations with DSI, were also investigated at the global scale. Results showed that 57.04% of grassland ecosystems experienced a dry trend over this period. In general, most grassland ecosystems in the northern hemisphere (N.H.) were in near normal condition, whereas those in the southern hemisphere (S.H.) experienced a clear drying and wetting trend, with the year 2005 regarded as the turning point. Grassland CUE increased continually despite the varied drought conditions over this period. By contrast, WUE increased in the closed shrublands and woody savannas but decreased in all the other grassland types. The drought conditions affected the carbon and water use mainly by influencing the primary production and evapotranspiration of grass through photosynthesis and transpiration process. The CUE and WUE of savannas was most sensitive to droughts among all the grassland types. The areas of grassland DSI that showed significant correlations with CUE and WUE were 52.92% and 22.11% of the total grassland areas, respectively. Overall, droughts sufficiently explained the dynamics of grassland CUE, especially in the S.H. In comparison with grassland CUE, the grassland WUE was less sensitive to drought conditions at the global scale.     

Spring and summer hosts for Pieris rapae in Southern Spain with special attention to Capparis spinosa

The suitability of different host plants for Pieris rapae L. in the South of the Iberian Peninsula, was studied in relation to host plant phenology, female behaviour, and larval development. Capparis spinosa is the only host plant available during the dry season of the year in the area studied. D. virgata, R. raphanistrum, H. incana and S. alba being suitable spring hosts. Comparative studies on mortality, larval development and larval growth between C. spinosa and the spring hosts revealed no significant differences.

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Résumé L'adéquation de différentes plantes comme hôtes de P. rapae a été examinée en fonction de la phénologie des végétaux, du comportement de la femelle et du développement larvaire dans le sud de la péninsule ibérique. Pendant la saison sèche, C. spinosa est la seule plant convenable dans la zone étudiée. Diplotaxis virgata, Raphanus raphanistrum, Hirschfeldia incana et Sinapis alba sont des hôtes printaniers convenables. La mortalité, le développement et la croissance larvaires ne sont pas différentes sur C. spinosa et sur les hôtes de printemps.

     

Strategic procurement of fish by the pumé: A South American “fishing culture”

Information is presented on fishing effort, efficiency, techniques, and catch composition for Pumé men, women, and children along with a conceptual model of fishing as a food procurement strategy. The Pumé are a native lowland South American group living in the topical savanna region of southwestern Venezuela characterized by seasonal flooding. Results are discussed in relation to the Pumé environmental and social situation, and briefly compared with results from other lowland South American groups.     

不同水氮处理对玉米-大豆间作群体内作物光能截获、竞争和利用的影响

通过田间试验研究了不同水氮处理对玉米-大豆间作群体的光能截获、竞争与利用的影响。试验设置充分供水和水分亏缺两种水分处理以及施氮(亩施纯氮7.5 kg)和不施氮两种氮肥处理。结果表明,在生育中后期,同一氮肥处理条件下,充分供水处理间作作物的光能截获率显著高于水分亏缺处理;相同水分条件下,施氮处理间作大豆的光能截获率略高于不施氮处理,但未达到显著水平,而施氮处理间作玉米的光能截获率则显著高于不施氮处理。从播后第64天到成熟,同一氮肥处理条件下,充分供水提高了间作玉米的光能竞争比,但却降低了间作大豆的光能竞争比。从播后第73天到成熟,相同水分条件下,施氮处理间作玉米的光能竞争比显著高于不施氮处理,而大豆的光能竞争比在两个氮肥处理间则没有显著差异。充分供水条件下,施氮处理间作玉米的光能利用效率(LUE)为3.87 g/MJ,略高于不施氮处理(3.81 g/MJ);水分亏缺条件下,施氮处理间作玉米的LUE(3.86 g/MJ)比不施氮处理(3.72 g/MJ)高3.6%。充分供水条件下,施氮处理间作大豆的LUE(1.62 g/MJ)比不施氮处理(1.57 g/MJ)高3.2%;水分亏缺条件下,施氮处理间作大豆的LUE为1.55 g/MJ,与不施氮处理(1.54 g/MJ)基本相同,表明与氮肥处理相比,水分状况对大豆LUE的影响更为明显。     

Effect of soil moisture on leaf ecophysiology of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Parasenecio yatabei</Emphasis>, a summer-green herb in a cool–temperate forest understory in Japan

Leaf physiological and gas-exchange traits of a summer-green herbaceous perennial, Parasenecio yatabei, growing along a stream were examined in relation to leaf age. In its vegetative phase, the aerial part of this plant consists of only one leaf and provides an ideal system for the study of leaf longevity. Volumetric soil water content (SWC) decreased with increasing distance from the stream, whereas relative light intensity was nearly constant. The light-saturated net CO₂ assimilation rate (A _sat) and leaf stomatal conductance (gs) were approximately 1.5-fold and 1.4-fold higher, respectively, in the lower slope near the mountain stream than in the upper slope far from the mountain stream. The lifespan of aerial parts of vegetative plants significantly increased with decreasing SWC. The leaf mass-based nitrogen content of the leaves (N _mass) was almost constant (ca. 2.2%); however, the maximum carboxylation rate by ribulose-1,5-biphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (rubisco) (V _cmax) and photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency (PNUE, A _sat/N _area) decreased more slowly in the upper slope than in the lower slope. The higher leaf photosynthetic activity of P. yatabei plants growing lower on the slope leads to a decrease in V _cmax and PNUE in the early growing season, and to a shorter leaf lifespan.     

Combined analysis of group recorded feed intake and individually recorded body weight and litter size in mink

In the mink industry, feed costs are the largest variable expense and breeding for feed efficient animals is warranted. Implementation of selection for feed efficiency must consider the relationships between feed efficiency and the current selection traits BW and litter size. Often, feed intake (FI) is recorded on a cage with a male and a female and there is sexual dimorphism that needs to be accounted for. Study aims were to (1) model group recorded FI accounting for sexual dimorphism, (2) derive genetic residual feed intake (RFI) as a measure of feed efficiency, (3) examine the relationship between feed efficiency and BW in males (BWM) and females (BWF) and litter size at day 21 after whelping (LS21) in Danish brown mink and (4) investigate direct and correlated response to selection on each trait of interest. Feed intake records from 9574 cages, BW records on 16 782 males and 16 875 females and LS21 records on 6446 yearling females were used for analysis. Genetic parameters for FI, BWM, BWF and LS21 were obtained using a multivariate animal model, yielding sex-specific additive genetic variances for FI and BW to account for sexual dimorphism. The analysis was performed in a Bayesian setting using Gibbs sampling, and genetic RFI was obtained from the conditional distribution of FI given BW using genetic regression coefficients. Responses to single trait selection were defined as the posterior distribution of genetic superiority of the top 10% of animals after conditioning on the genetic trends. The heritabilities ranged from 0.13 for RFI in females and LS21 to 0.59 for BWF. Genetic correlations between BW in both sexes and LS21 and FI in both sexes were unfavorable, and single trait selection on BW in either sex showed increased FI in both sexes and reduced litter size. Due to the definition of RFI and high genetic correlation between BWM and BWF, selection on RFI did not significantly alter BW. In addition, selection on RFI in either sex did not affect LS21. Genetic correlation between sexes for FI and BW was high but significantly lower than unity. The high correlations across sex allowed for selection on standardized averages of animals’ breeding values (BVs) for RFI, FI and BW, which yielded selection responses approximately equal to the responses obtained using the sex-specific BVs. The results illustrate the possibility of selecting against RFI in mink with no negative effects on BW and litter size.     

毛乌素沙地油蒿叶性状对光能利用效率动态的影响

目前对于荒漠灌木光能利用效率（LUE）的季节变异及其调控因素,尤其是其生物调控因素的认识非常有限,导致了荒漠生态系统生产力模型的不确定性。拟验证假设：长期干旱环境下,典型荒漠灌木油蒿光能利用效率日均值（LUE_day）的动态变化与叶片性状的季节性调整有关。试验采用Li-6400便携式光合仪定期测量了油蒿生长季叶片LUE_day的季节动态及相关叶性状指标,探究叶性状对LUE_day的影响。结果表明：LUE_day的季节波动范围为0.003-0.017 mol/mol,整体变异系数（CV）为38.75%。完全展叶期LUE_day均值相比生长季平均值降低17.37%,相比展叶期和落叶期时降低30%;8个叶性状的季节变异幅度差异较大,其中总叶绿素含量（Chl）、类胡萝卜素含量（Car）和叶氮含量（LNC）均表现出较大的季节变异性（CV ≥ 20%）,叶碳含量（LCC）和叶片相对含水量（LRWC）的变异程度最低（CV<7%）。LRWC与所有叶片化学性状（Chl、Chl a/b、Car、LNC和LCC）均存在显著相关,表明其变化与叶片的养分吸收、光合色素合成以及碳同化的运输过程密切相关;油蒿LUE_day的相对变化与LRWC、Chl a/b和LNC显著正相关,而LRWC和LNC的季节动态受空气温度（T_a）和土壤含水量（VWC）的共同调节,Chl a/b的季节波动主要由浅层土壤含水量（10 cm VWC）控制。以上研究结果强调,在未来预计极端的气候事件（如极端干旱和持续热浪事件）发生更频繁的旱地场景中,时间尺度植物叶性状对于土壤干旱和高温的适应性调整应当被充分考虑到旱地生态系统的通量建模方案中。该结果将为构建叶片尺度的光合生理模型与厘清LUE的生物调控机制提供理论依据。