Combined effect of light and temperature on triacylglycerol accumulation in Dicranum elongatum

In the subarctic moss Dicranum elongatum Schleich & Schwaegr., the level of total lipids and triacylglycerols (TAG) was high in late winter and spring and low in autumn and winter. Four-week exposure of field material to continuous light (135μmol m⁻²s⁻¹) at 1°C resulted in a considerable increase in the amount of TAG in the autumn material acclimated to low temperatures and rhythmic light in the field. In contrast, the same treatment did not cause any increase in TAG in the spring material, acclimated to low temperatures and continuous light in the field. Results from experiments, in which moss cultivated for 4 months at 9°C on 12-h photoperiods (135μmol m⁻²s⁻¹) was kept for 3 weeks at low temperatures (9°C and −3°C) either in continuous light (135 or 70 μmol m⁻²s⁻¹) or with 12-h photoperiods (135 μmol m⁻²s⁻¹), indicated that the TAG level was higher at higher light intensity. At 9°C it was also higher in continuous light of both intensities than in rhythmic light. These results strongly suggest that decreasing irradiance and decreasing daylength limits the accumulation of TAG in D. elongatum during autumn in the subarctic.     

Experimental analysis of patch dynamics in tallgrass prairie plant communities

Abstract. Previous research has indicated that patch structure at small spatial scales (<100m²) in tallgrass prairies was defined by a diverse array of infrequent species because dominant species occurred in all samples at this scale. Also, patch structure was not significantly different from that derived from random species associations. Based on these results, we hypothesized that remo val of a dominant species would have no effect on patch structure in these prairies. We tested this hypothesis by removing a dominant grass, Schizachyrium scoparium (Poaceae), from half of each of four 10 m × 10 m study blocks, and comparing differences in patch structure between control and removal halves before and after removal. The minimum resolution in our study was 1 m². Patches of similar species composition were defined by cluster analysis of presence/absence data and cover data. Patch sizes ranged from 1 to 34 m². Following the removal of S. scoparium there was an overall increase in the number of species in the removal half of each block compared to pre-treatment levels. However, the number of patch types and number of spatially mapped groups, based on presence/absence or cover data, did not change between control and removal plots after the removal of S. scoparium. This supports the hypothesis that removal of a large, dominant species would have no effect on patch structure at this scale of resolution in these prairies. Thus, patch structure, as defined here, is an emergent property in these grasslands that is not predictable from changes in species composition. This property of stochastic patch structure results from interactions of processes operating at scales both larger and smaller than our scale of resolution. Stochastic models may provide a reasonable approach to modelling small-scale patch dynamics in tallgrass prairie communities.     

Evaluating plant-soil feedback together with competition in a serpentine grassland

Plants can alter biotic and abiotic soil characteristics in ways that feedback to change the performance of that same plant species relative to co-occurring plants. Most evidence for this plant-soil feedback comes from greenhouse studies of potted plants, and consequently, little is known about the importance of feedback in relation to other biological processes known to structure plant communities, such as plant-plant competition. In a field experiment with three C4 grasses, negative feedback was expressed through reduced survival and shoot biomass when seedlings were planted within existing clumps of conspecifics compared with clumps of heterospecifics. However, the combined effects of feedback and competition were species-specific. Only Andropogon gerardii exhibited feedback when competition with the clumps was allowed. For Sorghastrum nutans, strong interspecific competition eliminated the feedback expressed in the absence of competition, and Schizachyrium scoparium showed no feedback at all. That arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi may play a role in the feedback was indicated by higher AM root colonization with conspecific plant neighbours. We suggest that feedback and competition should not be viewed as entirely separate processes and that their importance in structuring plant communities cannot be judged in isolation from each other.     

新疆阿尔泰山曲尾藓科2个中国新记录种

阿尔泰山是欧亚大陆最为宏伟的山脉之一,其中段的西南坡坐落于中国新疆境内,众多具温带性质的藓类植物分布于此。作者在对阿尔泰山进行苔藓植物区系调查过程中,发现了分布于阿尔泰山的喀纳斯自然保护区及布尔津县禾木乡的2个藓类植物中国新记录种——隶属曲尾藓科的短叶曲尾藓[Dicranum brevifolium(Lindb.)Lindb.]和卷叶小曲尾藓[Dicranella crispa(Hedw.)Schimp.]。由地理分布可知,短叶曲尾藓和卷叶小曲尾藓在中国皆为稀有种类。     

长白山地区曲尾藓属植物生态分化的排序研究

曲尾藓属(ＤｉｃｒａｎｕｍＨｅｄｗ.)属于顶蒴藓类植物,在长白山地区主要分布于苔原、森林林下和沼泽地中[1,2]。分析曲尾藓属植物对不同生态环境的适应特点和种间生态关系,对揭示该属植物物种分化的生态学机制,有一定学术价值。排序是分析植物群落分布与环境关系的常用方法,以往人们主要是应用ＤＣＡ、ＰＣＡ等方法,因而不同种类与环境关系的解释带有较大的主观性。典范对应分析能够在同一排序图上展示植物种类与环境因子的关系,是当前最有效的排序方法,其结果的生态学解释比较客观。Ｓｌａｃｋ指出应用排序也能够研究植物种间的生态位分…     

西北荒漠带花棒根际丛枝菌根真菌生态地理分布

2015年7月, 沿荒漠植物花棒(Hedysarum scoparium)天然分布带, 在内蒙古、宁夏、甘肃选取7个典型样地, 采集花棒根际0-30 cm土层样品, 研究丛枝菌根(AM)真菌群落结构变化和土壤因子的生态功能。试验基于形态特征对分离的AM真菌孢子进行分类鉴定, 共分离鉴定AM真菌6属42种。群落结构分析表明不同样地的AM真菌群落结构差异显著, 土壤因子对AM真菌群落有重要影响。由东到西随干旱程度加剧, AM真菌种丰度、孢子密度、Shannon-Wiener指数逐渐降低。共有种孢子密度由东向西逐渐降低, 但在群落中所占比例逐渐增加。同一样地不同AM真菌种属、不同样地同一种属的AM真菌孢子密度不同。相关性分析结果显示土壤有机碳、pH值、氨态氮和有效磷对AM真菌影响显著, 土壤湿度对AM真菌影响极显著。结果表明花棒根际AM真菌群落结构和物种多样性具有明显的空间异质性, 并与土壤因子关系密切, 其中土壤湿度对AM真菌生态分布的影响最明显。     

Dimeric Acylphloroglucinol Derivatives with New Skeletons from Leptospermum scoparium

Leptosparones A–F ( 1 – 6 ), six new dimeric acylphloroglucinol derivatives with unprecedented skeletons, were isolated from Leptospermum scoparium. Compounds 1–3 and 5–6 are phenylpropanoyl-phloroglucinol dimers, while 4 is a phenylpropanoylphloroglucinol-isovalerylphloroglucinol hybrid. Structurally, these compounds represent the first examples of dimeric phloroglucinols with unprecedented C(7′)−C(8) linkage between the phloroglucinol core and the acyl side chain. Their structures were elucidated by comprehensive analyses of spectroscopic data, single crystal X-ray diffraction and chemical calculations. In addition, all compounds showed inhibitory effects against α-glucosidase with IC₅₀ values ranging from 39.5 to 186.8 μM.     

Eco-geographical distribution of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated with Hedysarum scoparium in the desert zone of northwestern China

Aims To understand the ecological significance of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi associated with Hedysarum scoparium in semi-arid and arid lands, species diversity and ecological distribution of AM fungi associated with Hedysarum scoparium were elucidated in a desert ecosystem of northwestern China.