Comparison of Karanjin with other nitrification inhibitors for retardation of nitrification of urea N in soil

Summary Comparative evaluation of Kranjin and three patented nitrification inhibitors for retardation of nitrification of urea in a sandy clay loam showed that the effectiveness of the compounds tested decreased in the order: Nitrapyrin>Karanjin>A.M.>dicyandiamide.     

Temporal and spatial relationships between an herbivorous lady beetleEpilachna niponica and its predator,the earwigAnechura harmandi

The relationships between egg predation of an herbivorous lady beetle Epilachna niponica (Lewis ) and its predator, the earwig Anechura harmandi (Burr ), were examined in both time and space. In spite of little annual, changes in egg densities, egg mortality due to predation varied considerably. There was no, clear relationship between the earwig density and the proportionate predation over the five years. The seasonal occurrence of earwig nymphs on thistle plants, however, was closely synchronized with that of egg predation. Predator attacks on the beetle occurred in a time-restricted manner. Thus, later cohorts mostly escape from heavy predatory pressure. No spatially density-depent egg predation was detected at the level of either thistle plants or thistle patches. Furthermore, there was no indication of aggregative behaviour of the earwig in response to local egg density. The earwig density was more likely to be associated with particular localities with sandy deposits available for its nest site.     

Crop uptake and leaching losses of15N labelled fertilizer nitrogen in relation to waterlogging of clay and sandy loam soils

Summary Ammonium nitrate fertilizer, labelled with¹⁵N, was applied in spring to winter wheat growing in undisturbed monoliths of clay and sandy loam soil in lysimeters; the rates of application were respectively 95 and 102 kg N ha⁻¹ in the spring of 1976 and 1975. Crops of winter wheat, oilseed rape, peas and barley grown in the following 5 or 6 years were treated with unlabelled nitrogen fertilizer at rates recommended for maximum yields. During each year of the experiments the lysimeters were divided into treatments which were either freelydrained or subjected to periods of waterlogging. Another labelled nitrogen application was made in 1980 to a separate group of lysimeters with a clay soil and a winter wheat crop to study further the uptake of nitrogen fertilizer in relation to waterlogging. In the first growing season, shoots of the winter wheat at harvest contained 46 and 58% of the fertilizer nitrogen applied to the clay and sandy loam soils respectively. In the following year the crops contained a further 1–2% of the labelled fertilizer, and after 5 and 6 years the total recoveries of labelled fertilizer in the crops were 49 and 62% on the clay and sandy loam soils respectively. In the first winter after the labelled fertilizer was applied, less than 1% of the fertilizer was lost in the drainage water, and only about 2% of the total nitrogen (mainly nitrate) in the drainage water from both soils was derived from the fertilizer. Maximum annual loss occurred the following year but the proportion of tracer nitrogen in drainage was nevertheless smaller. Leaching losses over the 5 and 6 years from the clay and sandy loam soil were respectively 1.3 and 3.9% of the original application. On both soils the percentage of labelled nitrogen to the total crop nitrogen content was greater after a period of winter waterlogging than for freely-drained treatments. This was most marked on the clay soil; evidence points to winter waterlogging promoting denitrification and the consequent loss of soil nitrogen making the crop more dependent on spring fertilizer applications.     

The role of sediment type in growth and fecundity of mud snails (Hydrobiidae)

Summary We test the hypothesis that body size and population density of the deposit-feeding gastropod, Hydrobia truncata, are greater in muddy than in sandy habitats as a result of faster growth on fine- compared to coarse-grained sediments. We refute this hypothesis using a combination of field measurements and laboratory experiments. Three out of three populations tested had higher maximal growth rates and two of three populations approached their asymptotic size more quickly on sand than on silt-clay fractions of natural sediment. Growth decreased with increasing snail density and was as high or higher on sand as on silt-clay at all densities. Two populations were more fecund on sand than on silt-clay, and fecundity of the third population was not affected by sediment type. We show that the smaller body sizes observed in snails from the sandiest habitat result from late recruitment of these snails, relative to the other populations.     

Piping plover chick ecology following landscape-level disturbance

Population declines of disturbance-dependent species due to suppression of natural disturbances are realized across ecosystems. The piping plover (Charadrius melodus; plover), a disturbance-dependent and conservation-reliant shorebird that nests on sandy beaches and barrier islands on the Atlantic Coast, was listed under the United States Endangered Species Act in 1986. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy landed on Fire and Westhampton islands, barrier island nesting sites for plovers in New York, USA. Hurricane Sandy was a natural disturbance in this system, creating abundant nesting habitat. The number of chicks produced by a pair, or a population, is a direct measure of reproductive output, and gaining a better understanding of productivity and chick behavior following large-scale habitat creation may improve plover habitat management and potentially species persistence. We evaluated the effects of landscape features on habitat selection, behavior, and survival of plover broods using logistic regression, generalized linear mixed effects models, and survival models. Plover broods selected flatter sites with less dense vegetation than available at random. Chick foraging rates were highest in moist substrates and were lower in areas of higher nesting plover density. Chick survival was greater for broods that hatched earlier in the breeding season and increased as chicks aged. Generally, providing access to sites with flatter, moist substrates will likely result in higher quality brood rearing habitat on the landscape. Ultimately, vegetation removal and habitat management may be needed to reduce plover nesting density and ensure sufficient habitat, which may in turn improve plover chick survival. Moreover, sustaining natural landscape disturbances such as those resulting from storms, and not taking actions to prevent hurricane-created overwash, will allow these landscape features to persist.     

毛乌素沙地草地种植管理咨询系统的开发

 本研究初步开发了一个用于毛乌素沙地草地种植管理咨询的专家系统ASSG。这个系统将当地生态系统管理专家们的经验知识和对土壤水分动态的理论研究成果结合起来以产生对于土地利用和种植的作物种类及品种的最优管理策略和最适的植被覆盖率。本系统利用3个层次的推理过程和结构化的知识库,通过咨询过程—步步地引导用户得到最优种植管理策略。在每—层次的推理中,本系统提供给用户多重选择,根据用户的意愿进行下一步的推理。这一推理的交互作用机制为用户获得适宜的咨询结果提供了最大的便利性。本系统的主体部分山Turbo Prolog语言完成,该语言是一种用于开发专家系统的描述性语言。基于土壤水分平衡原理的最优植被覆盖率模型由C语言实现,并应用多语言编程技术将之嵌入程序主体中。系统的样本运行结果表明本系统运行便利,并能产生合理的种植管理策略。     

Découverte de microfaunes de l'Albienmoyen et supérieur dans la vallée de Joux (Jura Vaudois,Suisse)

The discovery of Foraminifera and Ostracodesin the dark green, sandy-glauconitic marl clay in the Joux Valley (in the Vaudois Jura) suggests to date these sediments Middle and Upper Albian. The Ostracode associations are similar to those found in the Paris Basin, but different from those which characterize the subalpine region.     

The occrrence of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhiza in barley and wheat grown in some Danish soils with different fertilizer treatments

Summary Soil samples, roots and shoots were collected from barley crops at three locations which had received different combinations of N and P for 10 years, and from long-term fertilizer experiments on barley in a sandy soil and on barley and wheat in a loamy soil.Soils were analysed for available P by an anion exchange resin procedure, roots were examined for intensity of VAM infection, and shoots wee analysed for N and P.Vesicualr-arbuscular mycorrhizal infection was found at all locations. It was most abundant at the three locations with least soil-P and lightest at the two locations high in soil-P. Within loocations an inverse relation was found between soil-P level and intensity of infection. Infection was also intensity. by increasing N-fertilizer. Spore counts from selected samples correlated well with infection intensity. Shoot-P did not differ significantly between treatments in spite of significant differences in soil-P. This points to the significance of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhiza: a lower soil-P level accompanied by a higher infection intensity seem to counterbalance each other to a certain extent.     

沙丘微地形生境蚁丘分布特征及其对恢复过程的响应

为了阐明沙丘微地形生境蚁丘特征及分布规律对沙丘固定过程的响应规律,以科尔沁沙地为研究区,选择不同固沙阶段沙丘的4个方位（西北、东南、西南、东北）布设调查样地,测定了不同样地的蚁丘密度、直径和高度,分析了不同样地蚁丘特征及空间分布规律。结果表明：（1）流动沙丘背风向（即东南方位）蚁丘密度显著高于其他方位,但从流动沙丘到半流动沙丘,背风向（即东南方位）蚁丘密度显著低于其他方位;从半固定沙丘开始,半固定和固定沙丘微地形对蚁丘密度分布的影响较小。（2）在流动沙丘、半流动沙丘、半固定沙丘,不同微地形生境中蚁丘直径和高度均呈现出相似的分布规律,即东南方位均小于其他方位。在固定沙丘,蚁丘高度表现为东南方位亦较低,但蚁丘直径表现为西南和东北方位显著小于西北方位。（3）在流动沙丘,西北、西南和东南方位上蚁丘空间分布均表现为均匀分布型,而在半流动、半固定和固定沙丘,4个方位上蚁丘空间分布均表现为聚集分布型。（4）相关性分析表明,不同固沙阶段不同微生境下蚁丘密度、高度、直径与植物密度、多样性间的相关性不同。随着固沙阶段演替,不同微生境下蚁丘特征与植物密度、多样性的相关性增强。研究表明,在科尔沁沙地,随着流动沙丘固定和生境逐渐恢复,沙丘不同空间方位上蚁丘密度分布差异缩小,而蚁丘直径和高度仍存在沙丘微地形间显著差异性,并且蚁丘空间方位上均呈现聚集分布状态。     

樟子松人工林营建对土壤颗粒组成变化的影响

植被恢复是退化生态系统的主要恢复措施,也是人类改善区域生态环境较为重要和直接的活动。目前,针对不同植被恢复方式对干旱半干旱地区土壤理化性质及生物特征开展了大量研究。然而,关于科尔沁沙地樟子松人工林营建对土壤颗粒组成变化的影响却鲜有报道。因此,以辽宁省章古台地区不同生长阶段(包括幼龄林、中龄林、成熟林和过熟林)的20块樟子松人工林样地为研究对象(以临近的7块天然草地为对照),研究了沙地樟子松人工林营建对0—100 cm土层土壤颗粒组成变化的影响。结果表明:沙质草地营建樟子松人工林后,不同土层土壤细颗粒(<0.05 mm)含量均呈增加趋势,并且在0—10 cm层增加趋势明显,随土层深度增加土壤细颗粒增加量逐渐降低(除幼龄林外),但樟子松林地土壤颗粒组成仍以砂粒为主,土壤粘粒和粉粒含量极低(仅占5%左右)。随着樟子松人工林林龄的增加,土壤细颗粒变化量在0—10 cm层逐渐升高,而在10—100 cm层并无显著变化趋势。土壤细颗粒含量的变化在10—100 cm层与土壤含水量呈显著正相关,在0—10、20—40 cm和80—100 cm层与土壤全钾极显著负相关,在20—60 cm层与土壤有...