Genetic relationships among sympatric varieties of Acer mono in the Chichibu Mountains and Central Hokkaido, Japan

Acer mono Maxim. is one of the major components of cool temperate forests in Japan. Some of its many varieties are distributed sympatrically. Because of its great variability, the intraspecific taxonomy and nomenclature of the species are controversial. To understand the genetic relationships among these varieties and whether hybridization or introgression occurred among the sympatric varieties, we studied the genetic relationships among sympatric varieties of A. mono in the Chichibu Mountains (A. mono var. ambiguum, A. mono var. connivens, A. mono var. marmoratum) and Central Hokkaido (A. mono var. mayrii and A. mono var. glabrum) in Japan. Our results showed that varieties in Chichibu are genetically close, suggesting that hybridization or introgression might occur between these varieties, which could explain the higher genetic diversity of varieties in Chichibu than in Hokkaido. In contrast to the close relationships between the varieties in Chichibu, varieties in Hokkaido seemed relatively separated from each other; indeed, there may be reproductive isolation between the two varieties. The results provide new insight for the taxonomy of the varieties of A. mono, especially the sympatric varieties, in Japan.

ANALYSIS OF CLIMATE VARIABILITY IN THE JINSHA RIVER VALLEY

Monthly mean surface air temperatures and precipitation at 20 meteorological stations in the Jinsha River Valley(JRV) of southwest China were analyzed for temporal-spatial variation patterns during the period 1961-2010.The magnitude of a trend was estimated using Sen's Nonparametric Estimator of Slope approach.The statistical significance of a trend was assessed by the MK test.The results showed that mean annual air temperature has been increasing by 0.08℃/decade during the past 50 years as a whole.The climate change trend in air temperature was more significant in the winter(0.13℃/decade) than in the summer(0.03℃/decade).Annual precipitation tended to increase slightly thereafter and the increasing was mainly during the crop-growing season.Both the greatest variation of the annual mean temperature and annual precipitation were observed at the dry-hot valley area of middle reaches.Significant warming rates were found in the upper reaches whereas the dry-hot basins of middle reaches experienced a cooling trend during the past decades.Despite of the overall increasing in precipitation,more obvious upward-trends were found in the dry-hot basins of middle reaches whereas the upper reaches had a drought trend during the past decades.

The 2/3 scaling of twig nitrogen to phosphorus in woody plants

Background:Nitrogen(N)and phosphorus(P)are important elements for plant metabolism and growth.Therefore,the quantification of the scaling relationship of N to P in plant organs can help us understand many fundamental ecological processes.The general scaling relationships between N and P in leaves and in fine roots have been reported.As compared to leaves and fine roots,however,little information is available on the N versus P scaling relationship in the stems of woody plants,especially for twigs.In this study,a comprehensive dataset comprising 2,038 N=P paired observations for a total of 536 woody species was compiled and analyzed to determine whether a general scaling relationship exists.Results:The global mean values of twig N and P concentrations and N:P ratios were 9.33 mg⋅g^(-1),1.12 mg⋅g^(-1) and 10.16,respectively.Twig N and P concentrations and N:P ratios differed significantly within and across functional groups and biomes.Across all of the species,a uniform 0.67 scaling exponent of twig N to P was observed across different functional groups and biomes,i.e.,a 2/3-power scaling relationship was observed.However,this numerical value differed across different sites,albeit converging onto 0.67 with increasing sample sizes.Soil total phosphorus was the largest contributor to the variation in the numerical value of the scaling exponent.Conclusion:These results provide useful parameters for stoichiometric growth models,and advance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying plant nutrient dynamics.This study has potential implications in predicting responses of nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystem responses to changes in the environment.

Gully internal erosion triggered by a prolonged heavy rainfall event in the tableland region of China's Loess Plateau

Gully erosion is a severe form of soil erosion,but gully internal erosion processes are poorly understood,especially at the event scale.To investigate gully internal erosion intensity and understand the related gully development mechanism in an agricultural environment with gully head stabilization and vege-tation restoration efforts,two successive field investigations were carried out just before and after a prolonged rainfall event in 2021 in the tableland region of China's Loess Plateau.Thirteen gullies were investigated and all experienced gully internal erosion,while most gully boundaries were stable during the heavy rainfall event based on the comparison of the UAV digital orthograph maps(DOMs acquired with Unmanned Aerial Vehicle)before and after the rainfall event.The proportion of gully internal erosion area to gully internal area of the 13 investigated gullies ranged from 3 to 55%,with average areal erosion proportion of the gully sidewall and gully bed of 21%and 36%,respectively.The erosion area of subdrainage units(SDUs)on the gully sidewall was positively correlated to the SDU area,average SDU slope gradient and vegetation type,while the erosion area on the gully bed was positively correlated to the gully area,gully depth and gully bed slope gradient.Gully internal erosion was not significantly correlated with gully drainage area because the connectivity between the upslope and gully areas was interrupted and the effective drainage area of the gully was obviously reduced by soil erosion conser-vation measures,including terraces on the upslope drainage area,shrub belts,and water barriers.Thus,gully internal erosion is still active under the heavy rainfall storm against the background of the'Grain for Green'and'Gully Stabilization and Tableland Protection'programs,and integrated measures for preventing both gully expansion and gully internal erosion must be further enhanced in the context of climate change.

Seed size affects rodent–seed interaction consistently across plant species but not within species:evidence from a seed tracking experiment of 41 tree species

Scatter-hoarding rodents play a crucial role in seed survival and seed dispersal.As one of the most important seed traits,seed size and its effect on rodent–seed interaction attract lots of attention.Current studies usually target one or a few species and show inconsistent patterns;however,few experiments include a large number of species although many plant species usually coexist in natural forest and overlap in fruiting time.Here,we tracked the dispersal and predation of 26100 seeds belonging to 41 tree species in a subtropical forest for 2 years.Most species showed no relationships between seed size and rodent foraging preference,while the remaining species displayed diverse of patterns:monotonic decrease and increase trends,and hump-shaped and U-shaped patterns,indicating that a one-off study with a few species might give misleading information.However,the seed size effect across species was consistent in both years,indicating that including a large number of species that hold a sufficient range of seed size may avoid the aforementioned bias.Interestingly,seed size effect differed among rodent foraging processes:a negative effect on seed harvest,a hump-shaped effect on seed removal and removal distance,while a positive effect on overwinter survival of cached seeds,indicating that rodents may make trade-offs between large and small seeds both among foraging processes and within a single process,thus lead to a parabolic relationship between seed size and seed dispersal success,that is medium-sized seeds were more likely to be removed and cached,and transported with a further distance.

Nitrogen source and fate of typical orchard with gentle slope in semi-arid areas

Excessive nitrogen (N) exports caused by human activities are one of the main reasons for the numerous environmental problems in agricultural production. Orchards, as an essential part of agricultural production, play a crucial role in rural economic development and ecological environment construction. Understanding the migration pathways of N in orchards is significant for the scientific management of orchards and the reduction of environmental pollution. In this research, the source and fate of N in a typical orchard in Beijing were quantitatively analyzed. N management strategies were proposed in combination with agricultural production habits. The total N input into the orchard was 487.19 kg/hm^(2)·a, of which 85.44%, 10.99%, 3.30% and 0.27% of N input were from fertilizer application, atmospheric deposition, biological N fixation and pesticide, respectively. A large amount of N fertilizer application was the primary source of N input in the orchard. For the N fate, the N surplus in the soil could reach up to 68.40% of total N inputs, and only 20.16% were absorbed and utilized by plants. The amount of N losses through ammonia volatilization, runoff and sediment, nitrification and denitrification accounted for 10.68%, 0.39% and 0.37%, respectively. N input in the orchard mainly remained in soil, while N loss was mainly through ammonia volatilization. There were 176.72, 99.00, and 57.52 kg/hm^(2)·a N surplus in 0-40 cm, 40-80 cm, and over 80 cm soil layers, respectively. To deal with the N accumulation on the soil surface and the migration of N from the soil surface to the deep layer of orchards, reducing N fertilizer application, substituting circular furrow for the whole orchard fertilization, adjusting irrigation schedule by reducing the amount of single irrigation, increasing the frequency of irrigation to three times in the normal year, and adopting efficient water-saving irrigation technology are realizable methods.

Establishment of soil moisture model based on hyperspectral data and growth parameters of winter wheat

Large area of soil moisture status diagnosis based on plant canopy spectral data remains one of the hot spots of agricultural irrigation.However,the existing soil water prediction model constructed by the spectral parameters without considering the plant growth process will inevitably increase the prediction errors.This study carried out research on the correlations among spectral parameters of the canopy of winter wheat,crop growth process,and soil water content,and finally constructed the soil water content prediction model with the growth days parameter.The results showed that the plant water content of winter wheat tended to decrease during the whole growth period.The plant water content had the best correlations with the soil water content of the 0-50 cm soil layer.At different growth stages,even if the soil water content was the same,the plant water content and characteristic spectral reflectance were also different.Therefore,the crop growing days parameter was added to the model established by the relationships between characteristic spectral parameters and soil water content to increase the prediction accuracy.It is found that the determination coefficient(R^(2))of the models built during the whole growth period was greatly increased,ranging from 0.54 to 0.60.Then,the model built by OSAVI(Optimized Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index)and Rg/Rr,two of the highest precision characteristic spectral parameters,were selected for model validation.The correlation between OSAVI and soil water content,Rg/Rr,and soil water content were still significant(p<0.05).The R^(2),MAE,and RMSE validation models were 0.53 and 0.58,3.19 and 2.97,4.76 and 4.41,respectively,which was accurate enough to be applied in a large-area field.Furthermore,the upper and lower irrigation limit of OSAVI and Rg/Rr were put forward.The research results could guide the agricultural production of winter wheat in northern China.

Impact of land use and land cover changes on carbon storage in rubber dominated tropical Xishuangbanna,South West China

Land use and land cover(LULC)play a significant role in carbon regulation.South-China accounts for~65%of China’s carbon sink.In Xishuangbanna(South-China),rubber is expanding rapidly creating an urgent need to understand and monitor LULC change and how spatial variation affects carbon storage(CS).This is vital for the formation and implementation of better land use management practices.We studied LULC changes of 22-year period;addressing how these changes have affected the CS.We quantified LULC changes between1988 and 2010 using remote sensing methods and calculated CS changes using InvEST.Results showed that between 1988 and 2010,the rate of deforestation accelerated to 203.2 km^(2)y^(−1)and~23%of forest were lost.Conversion of natural forest to rubber was responsible for 78%of this deforestation.Rubber expansion rate was 153.4 km^(2)y^(−1).Changes to LULC drove a temporal CS reduction 0.223 Tg C/km^(2).Local stakeholders have strong economic interest in converting land to more profitable plantations.Government efforts is required to control land conversion through new policies and incentives to retain natural forest.Assessment of specific potential land use change will be required to avoid promoting the conversion of high carbon storage land uses to low carbon storage land uses.