Community Dynamics of Seed Rain in Mixed Evergreen Broad-leaved and Deciduous Forests in a Subtropical Mountain of Central China

Seed dispersal is a key process within community dynamics. The spatial and temporal variations of seed dispersal and the interspecific differences are crucial for understanding species coexistence and community dynamics. This might also hold for the mixed evergreen broadleaved and deciduous forests in the mountains of subtropical China, but until now little existing knowledge is available for this question. In 2001, we chose to monitor the seed rain process of our mixed evergreen broad-leaved and deciduous forest communities in Mount Dalaoling National Forest Park, Yichang, Hubei Province, China. The preliminary analyses show obvious variations in seed rain density, species compositions and timing of seed rain among four communities. The average seed rain densities of the four communities are 2.43 ± 5.15, 54.13 ±182.75, 10.05 ±19.30 and 24.91 ± 58.86 inds/m^2, respectively; about one tenth the values in other studies in subtropical forests of China. in each community, the seed production is dominated by a limited number of species, and the contributions from the others are generally minor. Fecundity of evergreen broadleaved tree species is weaker than deciduous species. The seed rain of four communities begins earlier than September, and stops before December, peaking from early September to late October. The beginning date, ending date and peak times of seed rain are extensively varied among the species, indicating different types of dispersal strategies. According to the existing data, the timing of seed rain is not determined by the climate conditions in the same period, while the density of seed rain may be affected by the disturbances of weather variations at a finer temporal resolution.

Kinetic study on co-combustion of pulverized anthracite and bituminite for blast furnace injection

Combustion behavior of single pulverized coals(PCs)and co-combustion characteristics of anthracite(AT)and bituminite(BT)blends with 20 wt.%volatile were studied by thermogravimetric experiments.The results indicated that reaction characteristics of PCs were closely related to their functional group structure and consequently,the pyrolysis of PCs with highly active functional groups initiated at lower temperatures.It was also noticed that the discrepancy of functional group structures between AT and BT might impair their interaction during combustion.The early exhaust of BT at low temperatures would possibly lead to an independent combustion of volatile and residual carbon and eventually the inefficient combustion of their blend.However,the mixing of AT and BT with similar functional group structures was more likely to achieve blends with superior combustion property.Simultaneously,non-isothermal kinetic analysis mani-fested that the combustion of blends followed random pore model(RPM),and therefore,the parameters calculated by RPM were more accurate to describe their combustion behavior.The kinetic calculation results showed that the activation energy required for decomposition of blends in early combustion stage was much lower owing to the excellent activity of volatile,while residual carbon with stable aromatic hydrocarbon demanded more energy to initiate its combustion.

打破干旱区土地退化与贫困的联结

Drylands cover approximately 41%of the global land surface and provide homes to more than two billion people. Collectively,drylands constitute the largest terrestrial biome on the planet,and despite their low productivity per land area compared to other ecosystems, they have a major impact on the ecological functioning and climate of our planet through carbon storage, albedo, dust production, and water cycling [1].