Confidence intervals for the difference in the success rates of two treatments in the analysis of correlated binary responses

In clinical studies, we often compare the success rates of two treatment groups where post‐treatment responses of subjects within clusters are usually correlated. To estimate the difference between the success rates, interval estimation procedures that do not account for this intraclass correlation are likely inappropriate. To address this issue, we propose three interval procedures by direct extensions of recently proposed methods for independent binary data based on the concepts of design effect and effective sample size used in sample surveys. Each of them is then evaluated with four competing variance estimates. We also extend three existing methods recommended for complex survey data using different weighting schemes required for those three existing methods. An extensive simulation study is conducted for the purposes of evaluating and comparing the performance of the proposed methods in terms of coverage and expected width. The interval estimation procedures are illustrated using three examples in clinical and social science studies. Our analytic arguments and numerical studies suggest that the methods proposed in this work may be useful in clustered data analyses.     

Post-Fire Resource Redistribution in Desert Grasslands: A Possible Negative Feedback on Land Degradation

Desert grasslands, which are very sensitive to external drivers like climate change, are areas affected by rapid land degradation processes. In many regions of the world the common form of land degradation involves the rapid encroachment of woody plants into desert grasslands. This process, thought to be irreversible and sustained by biophysical feedbacks of global desertification, results in the heterogeneous distribution of vegetation and soil resources. Most of these shrub-grass transition systems at the desert margins are prone to disturbances such as fires, which affect the interactions between ecological, hydrological, and land surface processes. Here we investigate the effect of prescribed fires on the landscape heterogeneity associated with shrub encroachment. Replicated field manipulation experiments were conducted at a shrub-grass transition zone in the northern Chihuahuan desert (New Mexico, USA) using a combination of erosion monitoring techniques, microtopography measurements, infiltration experiments, and isotopic studies. The results indicate that soil erosion is more intense in burned shrub patches compared to burned grass patches and bare interspaces. This enhancement of erosion processes, mainly aeolian, is attributed to the soil–water repellency induced by the burning shrubs, which alters the physical and chemical properties of the soil surface. Further, we show that by enhancing soil erodibility fires allow erosion processes to redistribute resources accumulated by the shrub clumps, thereby leading to a more homogeneous distribution of soil resources. Thus fires counteract or diminish the heterogeneity-forming dynamics of land degradation associated with shrub encroachment by enhancing local-scale soil erodibility. Author Contributions  SR—Conceived of or designed study, performed research, analyzed data, wrote the paper; PD—Conceived of or designed study, performed research, wrote the paper; LW—Performed research, analyzed data; GO—Contributed new methods, analyzed data; SC—Conceived of or designed study; CW—Performed research, contributed new methods or models; and SM—Contributed new methods or models.     

乌兰布和沙漠灌木种群空间格局研究

应用地统计学中半方差函数,研究了内蒙古乌兰布和沙漠主要4种灌木种群的空间格局。在巴彦高勒镇西南设置一个1 000 m×1 000 m的样方,将样方划分为1 600个25 m×25 m的格子,记录各格子内出现的物种及其平均冠幅。运用地统计软件GS+for Windows计算样地各灌木种群的各向同性半方差函数的参数,并绘制其克立格(Kriging)图。从各向同性的半方差模型的参数来看,柽柳（Tamarix chinensis）属于聚集性分布的球型模型,其空间结构比率高,这表明在这一地区柽柳的冠幅分布变化较小,25 m的抽样步长合适;而白刺（Nitraria tangtorum）属于聚集性分布的指数模型,其空间结构比率比较低。本研究成果为沙漠地区植被的抽样调查提供了基础。     

树种组成对北亚热带11年生常绿阔叶人工林碳储量的影响

以中国北亚热带退化灌木林改造而来的木荷-青冈栎混交林和杜英纯林为对象,研究树种组成对常绿阔叶人工林生态系统碳储量的影响。结果表明:(1)退化灌木林改造成两种人工林生长11年后,生态系统植被、土壤碳储量均显著增加;植被碳储量的增加主要来自乔木层。(2)两种人工林碳积累能力有差异。杜英林植被碳储量比木荷-青冈栎林高99.4%,其中杜英林的乔木层碳储量比木荷-青冈栎林高27.75t·hm-2,是后者的2倍;杜英林土壤有机碳储量(0~50cm)显著高于木荷-青冈栎林10.17t·hm-2,其中在0~10、20~30cm土层杜英林均显著高于木荷-青冈栎林。研究表明,退化灌木林人工改造成常绿阔叶林后生态系统碳储量显著增加,杜英纯林碳蓄积能力明显高于木荷-青冈栎混交林,说明在以增加碳储量为目的的退化生态系统改造过程中,树种选择非常重要。     

Shrub encroachment effect on the evapotranspiration and its component—A numerical simulation study of a shrub encroachment grassland in Nei Mongol,China

Aims Shrub encroachment is a common global change phenomenon occurring in arid and semi-arid regions. Due to the difficulty of partitioning evapotranspiration into shrub plants, grass plants and soil in the field, there are few studies focusing on shrub encroachment effect on the evapotranspiration and its component in China. This study aims to illustrate shrub encroachment effect on evapotranspiration by the numerical modeling method. Methods A two-source model was applied and calibrated with the measured evapotranspiration (ET) by the Bowen ratio system to simulate evapotranspiration and its component in a shrub encroachment grassland in Nei Mongol, China. Based on the calibrated model and previous shrub encroachment investigation, we set three scenarios of shrub encroachment characterized by relative shrub coverage of 5%, 15% and 30%, respectively, and quantified their effects caused by shrub encroachment through localized and calibrated two-source model.Important findings The two-source model can well reconstruct the evapotranspiration characteristics of a shrub encroachment grassland. Sensitivity analysis of the model shows that errors for the input variables and parameters have small influence on the result of partitioning evapotranspiration. The result shows that shrub encroachment has relatively small influence on the total amount of ET, but it has clear influence on the proportion of the components of evapotranspiration (E/ET). With shrub coverage increasing from 5% to 15% and then 30%, the evapotranspiration decreased from 182.97 to 180.38 and 176.72 W·m^-2, decreasing amplitude values of 0.34% and 0.44%, respectively. On average, E/ET rises from 52.9% to 53.9% and 55.5%, increasing amplitude values to 2.04% and 3.25%. Data analysis indicates that shrub encroachment results in smaller soil moisture changes, but clear changes of ecosystem structure (decreasing ecosystem leaf area index while increasing vegetation height) which lead to the decrease of transpiration fraction through decreasing canopy conductance. The research highlights that, with the shrub encroachment, more water will be consumed as soil evaporation which is often regarded as invalid part of evapotranspiration and thus resulting in the decrease of water use efficiency.     

宁夏东部荒漠草原灌丛引入对土壤水分动态及亏缺的影响

全球气候变化背景下,荒漠草原人工灌丛引入加速其灌丛化进程,对草原土壤水分产生重要影响。为了解宁夏东部荒漠草原灌丛引入过程中土壤水分动态及亏缺现状,选取了封育草地、放牧草地、不同年限(3a、12a、22a)和间距(40 m、6 m、2 m)灌丛柠条(Caragana korshinskii)地进行土壤水分测定,并利用土壤水分相对亏缺指数(compared soil water deficit index,CSWDI)、样地土壤水分相对亏缺指数(plot compared soil water deficit index,PCSWDI)对土壤水分亏缺进行定量分析。结果表明:灌丛引入过程中不同年限、间距灌丛地0—200 cm土层土壤含水量均显著低于封育草地与放牧地(P<0.05);各样地季节动态均表现为春季返潮、夏季消耗、秋季蓄积的季节规律,但不同年限、间距灌丛地表现为春季返潮微弱,土壤含水量仅为7.80%—10.90%,显著低于封育草地和放牧地(11.90%—16.09%);灌丛引入过程中各灌丛地0—100 cm有效储水量(-16.98—18.69 mm)均低于封育草地(34.67 ...     

不同栽培模式黄山药新根茎生长量的比较研究

本文研究了3种栽培模式(农业栽培模式、苹果园栽培模式和灌丛林带栽培模式)对黄山药新根茎生长量的影响,分析了3种模式的利弊和规模化发展黄山药的可能性,为多途径规模化发展黄山药提供了理论依据和技术范例。     

Competition by herbs as a limiting factor in shrub invasion in grassland: a test with different growth forms

Abstract. We tested the hypothesis that seedling establishment, the critical stage in the invasion of grassland by shrubs, is limited by competition with perennial grasses in seasonally wet/dry savannas. We placed seeds of two invasive exotic shrubs – Cryptostegia grandiflora, a woody vine, and Acacia nilotica, an arborescent legume – into pots with a wide range of existing above- and below-ground herbaceous biomass provided by either a tussock or a stoloniferous perennial grass. We also imposed different levels of watering frequency (5, 10 and 21 d), nutrient addition (+ and -) and grass clipping intensity (no clipping, clipped to 5 cm and clipped to 25 cm). There was no effect of any treatment on shrub seedling emergence or survival and all of the seedlings that emerged survived the 90-d growing period. Herbaceous competition also failed to have an effect on biomass accumulation in shrub seedlings. More frequent watering significantly increased above- and below-ground biomass accumulation for both shrub species and nutrient addition significantly increased Cryptostegia biomass accumulation. Based on these results, we question the proposition that reduction in competition by herbs via livestock grazing has been a significant factor in determining the rate or pattern of exotic shrub increase in the seasonally wet/dry tropics. We also question the suitability of the two-layer soil moisture hypothesis as a basis for management practices to control the ingress of woody species into grasslands and open savannas.     

松嫩平原农业区土壤理化性质与真菌代谢产物——球囊霉素相关土壤蛋白的关系

对不同土壤深度的真菌特征代谢产物球囊霉素相关土壤蛋白(glomalin-related soil protein,GRSP)与土壤理化性质相关关系的研究,有助于揭示土壤真菌在不同土壤深度对养分的调节作用。本研究在松嫩平原农田5个土层(0~100 cm)采集360个土样,分析了易提取球囊霉素相关土壤蛋白(EE-GRSP)、总提取球囊霉素相关土壤蛋白(T-GRSP)含量和11个土壤理化性质指标及其相关关系。结果表明:表层EE-GRSP和T-GRSP平均含量为0.74和6.0 mg·g-1,随土层加深均呈显著下降趋势;深层土壤养分储量较大,有机碳、全氮、全磷、全钾、碱解氮、速效磷和速效钾储量在深层(40~100 cm)占总储量的41.2%~62.8%;土壤p H、容重、含水量和电导率也表现了明显的垂直变化规律;各理化性质在不同土层与GRSP的相关关系不同,有机碳在全部深度与GRSP均有显著的相关关系,而p H与GRSP均在20~100 cm深度有极显著的相关性(P0.01),且与EE-GRSP、T-GRSP显著相关的理化性质指标分别在60~80、20~60 cm最多,在表层最少;GRSP在深层土壤与各指标的相关性与表层不同,可能会影响GRSP对不同土壤深度养分的调节功能;鉴于深层土壤中GRSP与养分显著相关,本研究提出,种植与土壤真菌具有共生关系的深根性植物是对富集养分的深层土壤进行生物修复的有效方法。