Effects on Sucrose Metabolism,Dry Matter Distribution and Fruit Quality of Tomato Under Water Deficit

Four irrigation treatments were designed with 2,4,6 and 8 d intervals to irrigate, respectively. Watering was stopped when the reading of the moisture tension sensor reached zero. The results indicated that glucose and fructose content of tomato's fruit were increased but sucrose content was decreased with fruit growth and development. In different stages, carbohydrate content of tomato fruit in the treatment 3 was the highest, in the treatment 2 was higher, and in the other treatments was the lowest. SS(sucrose synthase)activity was decreased but SPS(sucrose phosphate synthase)activity was increased with development of tomato. SS and SPS activity were increased but acid invertase and neutral invertase activity of ripe stage were decreased under deficit irrigation. Glucose and fructose content were increased in leaves of tomato under water deficit. Soluble sugars, organic acid and the ratio of sugar/acid in tomato fruits were increased and dry matter accumulation of plant was enhanced under water deficit. But the growth of fruits upside the plant and its dry matter accumulation were badly affected under water stress.

New Insight into Factors Controlling Organic Matter Distribution in Lower Cambrian Source Rocks: A Study from the Qiongzhusi Formation in South China

Sedimentary organic matter(OM) is a major reservoir of organic carbon in the global carbon cycle. Despite many studies, there still exist many debates on the mechanism of OM accumulation and preservation in marine sediments. We present a new field study of a Lower Cambrian shallow marine shelf sequence in the northern edge of the Yangtze Plate, China. Our results show that palynological OM and biogenic silica(Bio-Si) could be used alongside more conventional redox and paleo-productivity proxies to study the distribution of OM in marine sediments. The qualitative and quantitative study of palynological OM provides more detailed information on the nature of sedimentary organic carbon, which can be helpful in the assessment of primary productivity and OM preservation. In addition, the presence of Bio-Si stimulates the physical preservation of OM. Further analysis indicates that an increase in Bio-Si can promote OM preservation. This case-study provides insight into the intertwined factors controlling OM accumulation in the Early Cambrian.

Characteristics and distributions of humic acids in two soil profiles of the southwest China Karst area

Characteristics and distributions of humic acid(HA) and soil organic matter(SOM) in a yellow soil profile and a limestone soil profile of the southwest China Karst area were systematically investigated to reveal their evolutions in different soils of the study area. The results showed that characteristics and distribution of SOM along the two soil profiles were notably different. Total organic carbon(TOC) contents of soil samples decreased just slightly along the limestone soil profile but sharply along the yellow soil profile. TOCs of the limestone soils were significantly higher than those of the corresponding yellow soils, and C/N ratios of SOMs showed a similar variation trend to that of TOCs, indicating that SOM can be better conserved in the limestone soil than in the yellow soil. The soil humic acids were exhaustively extracted and further fractionated according to their apparent molecular weights using ultrafiltration techniques to explore underlying conservation mechanisms. The result showed that C/N ratios of HAs from different limestone soil layers were relatively stable and that large molecular HA fractions predominated the bulk HA of the top soil, indicating that HA in the limestone profile was protected while bio and chemical degradations were retarded. Combined with organic elements contents and mineral contents of two soils, weconcluded that high calcium contents in limestone soils may play a key role in SOM conservation by forming complexation compounds with HAs or/and enclosing SOMs with hypergene CaCO_3 precipitation.

Combined effects of high temperature and waterlogging on yield and stem development of summer maize

The purpose of this study was to identify the physiological mechanism underlying the effects of high temperature and waterlogging on summer maize.The stem development and yield of the maize hybrid Denghai 605 in response to high-temperature stress,waterlogging stress,and their combination applied for six days at the third-leaf,sixth-leaf,and tasseling stages were recorded.The combined stresses reduced lignin biosynthetic enzyme activity and lignin accumulation,leading to abnormal stem development.Reduction of the area and number of vascular bundles in stems led to reduced dry matter accumulation and allocation.Decreased grain dry weight at all three stages reduced grain yield relative to a control.In summary,high temperature,waterlogging,and their combined stress impaired stem development and grain yield of summer maize.The combined stresses were more damaging than either stress alone.

Effects of ozonation and coagulation on effluent organic matter characteristics and ultrafiltration membrane fouling

Effluent organic matter （EfOM） is the major cause of fouling in the low pressure membranes process for wastewater reuse. Coagulation and oxidation of biological wastewater treatment effluent have been applied for the fouling control of microfiltration membranes. However, the change in EfOM structure by pre-treatments has not been clearly identified. The changes of EfOM characteristics induced by coagulation and ozonation were investigated through size exclusion chromatography, UV/Vis spectrophotometry, fluorescence spectrophotometry and titrimetric analysis to identify the mechanisms in the reduction of ultrafiltration （UF） membrane fouling. The results indicated that reduction of flux decline by coagulation was due to modified characteristics of dissolved organic carbon （DOC） content. Total concentration of DOC was not reduced by ozonation. However, the mass fraction of the molecules with molecular weight larger than 5 kDa, fluorescence intensity, aromaticity, highly condensed chromophores, average molecular weight and soluble microbial byproducts decreased greatly after ozonation. These results indicated that EfOM was partially oxidized by ozonation to low molecular weight, highly charged compounds with abundant electron- withdrawing functional groups, which are favourable for alleviating UF membrane flux decline.

Distribution of fatty acids in the alpine grassland soils of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

As an important biomarker, fatty acids(FAs) have been extensively used to trace the origin of organic matter in sediments and soils. However, studies of the distribution and abundance of FAs in alpine grassland soils are still rare, especially on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau(QTP), the highest plateau in the world, which contributes sediments to many large rivers in Asia. This study investigates the composition, distribution and source of FAs with increasing soil depths from 17 typical alpine grassland sites in the QTP. The most abundant FAs included the ubiquitous C16 FA and even-numbered long-chain FAs(C20–C30), indicating mixed inputs from microbial and higher plant sources. Source apportionment showed that higher plants were the dominant contributor of FAs(approximately 40%) in QTP soils. The abundance of FAs decreased with soil depth, with the highest value(1.08±0.09 mg/g C) at a 0–10 cm depth and the lowest value(0.46±0.12 mg/g C) at a 50–70 cm depth, due to much lower plant inputs into the deeper horizons. The total concentration of FAs was negatively correlated to the mean annual temperature(MAT; P<0.05) and soil p H(P<0.01), suggesting that the preservation of FAs was favored in low-MAT and low-p H soils on the QTP. The abundance of fresh C source FAs increased significantly with the mean annual precipitation(MAP; P<0.05), indicating that high MAP facilitates the accumulation of fresh FAs in QTP soils. Other environmental parameters, such as the soil mineral content(aluminum and iron oxide), microbial community composition as well as litter quality and quantity, may also exert a strong control on the preservation of FAs in QTP soils and warrant further research to better understand the mechanisms responsible for the preservation of FAs in QTP soils.

Air pollution and inhalation exposure to particulate matter of different sizes in rural households using improved stoves in central China

Household air pollution is considered to be among the top environmental risks in China.To examine the performance of improved stoves for reduction of indoor particulate matter（PM） emission and exposure in rural households, individual inhalation exposure to size-resolved PM was investigated using personal portable samplers carried by residents using wood gasifier stoves or improved coal stoves in a rural county in Central China.Concentrations of PM with different sizes in stationary indoor and outdoor air were also monitored at paired sites. The stationary concentrations of size-resolved PM in indoor air were greater than those in outdoor air, especially finer particles PM0.25. The daily averaged exposure concentrations of PM0.25, PM1.0, PM2.5 and total suspended particle for all the surveyed residents were 74.4 ± 41.1, 159.3 ± 74.3, 176.7 ± 78.1 and 217.9 ± 78.1 μg/m3,respectively. Even using the improved stoves, the individual exposure to indoor PM far exceeded the air quality guideline by WHO at 25 μg/m3. Submicron particles PM1.0 were the dominant PM fraction for personal exposure and indoor and outdoor air. Personal exposure exhibited a closer correlation with indoor PM concentrations than that for outdoor concentrations. Both inhalation exposure and indoor air PM concentrations in the rural households with gasifier firewood stoves were evidently lower than the reported results using traditional firewood stoves. However, local governments in the studied rural areas should exercise caution when widely and hastily promoting gasifier firewood stoves in place of improved coal stoves, due to the higher PM levels in indoor and outdoor air and personal inhaled exposure.

Sorption and phase distribution of ethanol and butanol blended gasoline vapours in the vadose zone after release

The sorption and phase distribution of 20% ethanol and butanol blended gasoline （E20 and B20） vapours have been examined in soils with varying soil organic matter （SOM） and water contents via laboratory microcosm experiments. The presence of 20% alcohol reduced the sorption of gasoline compounds by soil as well as the mass distribution of the compounds to soil solids. This effect was greater for ethanol than butanol. Compared with the sorption coefficient （Kd） of unblended gasoline compounds, the Kd of E20 gasoline compounds decreased by 54% for pentane, 54% for methylcyclopentane （MCP） and 63% for benzene, while the Kd of B20 gasoline compounds decreased by 39% for pentane, 38% for MCP and 49% for benzene, The retardation factor （R） of E20 gasoline compounds decreased by 53% for pentane, 53% for MCP and 48% for benzene, while the R of B20 gasoline compounds decreased by 39% for pentane, 37% for MCP and 38% for benzene. For all SOM and water contents tested, the Kd and R of all gasoline compounds were in the order of unblended gasoline 〉 B20 〉 E20, indicating that the use of high ethanol volume in gasoline to combat climate change could put the groundwater at greater risk of contamination,