Concentrations of foliar and surface soil in nutrients Pinus spp. plantations in relation to species and stand age in Zhanggutai sandy land, northeast China

The concentrations of the foliar and surface soil nutrients and the variation with species and stand age were studied inPinus spp. plantations in Zhanggutai area, northeast China. The results showed that the total N, total P and C: N ratio of the soil inP. sylvestris var.mongolica stands were significantly higher in comparison with those inP. tabulaeformis andP. densiflora stands. ForP. sylvestris var.mongolica, the foliar P concentration appeared to decrease with age, and the foliar N and K concentrations did not show a consistent change with age. As for the different tree species of the similar age, the foliar N and P concentrations were significantly different (p<0.05), being withP. sylvestris var.mongolica>P. densiflora>P. tabulaeformis. The foliar N: P ratio ofP. densiflora significantly was higher thanP. sylvestris var.mongolica andP. tabulaeformis, while the foliar K was no obvious difference between the three tree species. There were significant correlation (p<0.05) between soil total N and P, soil organic matter and total P, foliar N and P, but it did not show significant correlations between soil and foliar nutrient concentrations, which might attribute to the excessive litter raking, overgrazing and low soil moisture in this area. Based on the foliar N: P ratio, we introduced a combination threshold index of N: P ratio with their absolute foliar nutrient concentrations to determine the possible limiting nutrient. According to the critical N: P ratio and their absolute foliar N, P concentrations, theP. sylvestris var.mongolica stands showed a decreased N limitation degree with age, theP. densiflora stands showed unlimited by N and P in the whole, and theP. tabulaeformis stands showed co-limited by N and P. No significant difference in soil nutrient concentrations of the surface soils was found between 45, 29, 20-yr-oldPinus sylvestris var.mongolica plantation stands. Keywords coniferous trees - foliar nutrient concentration - limiting nutrients - N - P ratio - Zhanggutai sandy land CLC number S718.55 Document code A Article ID 1007-662X(2004)01-0011-08 Foundation item: This research was supported by Key Knowledge Innovation Project (KZCX3-SW-418) of Chinese Academy of Sciences.Biography: CHEN Guang-sheng (1978-), male, master candidate in Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, P. R. ChinaResponsible editor: Song Funan

Application of Wenner Configuration to Estimate Soil Water Content in Pine Plantations on Sandy Land

To estimate the mean value of surface soil water content rapidly,accurately,and nonintrusively,field investigations on soil electrical resistivity(SER)with the Yokogawa 324400 earth resistivity meter and the surface(0-150 cm)soil water content(SWC)with time domain reflectometry(TDR),together with the abiotic factors including soil texture,structure. and salinity concentrations were conducted in the Mongolian pine(Pinus sylvestris var.mongolica)plantations on a sandy land.The measurement of SER was based on the 4-probe Wenner configuration method.Relationships between the values of SWC and SER were obtained based on analysis of the abiotic factors of the research site,which play a key role in affecting the soil electrical resistivity.Results indicate that the SER meter could be used to estimate the mean value of SWC in the Mongolian pine plantations on the sandy land during the growing seasons.The bulky nature of the equipment simplified the cumbersome measurements of soil water content with the general methods.It must be noted that the Wenner configuration method could only provide the mean values of the SWC,and the soil texture,structure, temperature,and solute concentrations influenced the SER and further affected the estimation of the SWC by the SER meter.Therefore,the results of this study could be applied on a sandy land during the growing seasons only.However, the SWC of other soil types also may be obtained according to the individual soil types using the procedures of this study.

Development on the Technique of Total Recovery of Benzoic Acid Residue

Benzoic acid residue is solid waste produced from the production of benzoic acid by oxidizing toluene.Because it contained important chemical raw materials such as benzoic acid,benzyl benzoate and fluorenone,it is necessary to recover them from the residue.In this work the technique featured with high efficiency evaporation and vacuum distillation was developed to obtain total recovery and utilization of the benzoic acid residue.By controlling the operation temperature at 260℃ and the pressure of 16kPa in the rising and falling film evaporators,heavy components separated efficiently from the residue can be polymerized and the light components consisting of 63% of the residue entered into a benzoic acid vacuum distillation column.Keeping the temperature of polymerization at(280±10)℃,coumarone resin was produced after adjusting the softening point according to the market requirements.Vacuum distillation was operated under the following conditions:top temperature at 186℃,top pressure of 16kPa,bottom temperature at 240-250℃,reflux ratio being 3︰1.Benzoic acid of 98% purity was distilled out from the column as a side stream and the bottom product was crude benzyl benzoate.By the developed technique,the benzoic acid residue was splitted into three products,benzoic acid,crude benzyl benzoate and coumarone resin without any surplus waste.

On Eugene O＇Neill Inheritance to Greek Tragedy in Desire Under the Elms

In Desire Under the Elms, Eugene O＇Neill not only adopts some elements from Greek tragedies, but brings more different ideas for readers, such as supernaturalism, and the degeneration of the tragic heroes or the peasant like language and sets more comic elements. Under his powerful pen, a marvelous drama is displayed before the audience, which combines the traditional elements and modem creations perfectly. This paper aims to explore the important elements in the play and compare those with what are used in Desire Under the Elms so as to draw the conclusion that Eugene O＇Neill not only uses the traditional written skills but also improves the development and inheritance of Greek tragedies.

The Ecosystem Service Function of Shandong Xiajin Yellow River Ancient Mulberry Trees System and Its Effect on Regional Ecosystem

The Shandong Xiajin Yellow River Ancient Mulberry Trees System is a model of desertification control in the floor area in the Luxibei Plain,and of sustainable development.The current study about ancient mulberry trees in Xiajin county is mainly qualitative representation,lack of quantitative research.In addition,the relevant important ecological functional assessment should not only confine to quantitative assessment which illustrate the current condition,but also analyze the eco-service changes,derived from ecosystem structure develop,from the time dimension.Based on quantitative eco-service assessment of the ancient mulberry tree group,this paper intend to conduct a comprehensive analysis of ecological functions of ancient mulberry group focuses on the perspective of system structure and function evolution.Quantitative evaluation results show that the system has significant eco-efficiency in water conservation,reducing sediment loss,adjust atmosphere,etc.On timescale,thanks to mulberry cultivation,ecosystem structure and services have also undergone a corresponding change.In ecosystem structure：Planting pioneer trees such as mulberries and other species which can tolerate hostile site conditions,improves the micro-environment.This makes it possible for other crops to grow.The mixed forests and the combination of forestry and agriculture protect biodiversity.What＇s more,they make the structure of the ecosystems more robust,giving full play to their functions.In terms of ecosystem services：ecosystem services of Xiajin Yellow River Ancient Mulberry Trees have shown diversified development.And its main function has transferred from supply products to leisure and entertainment functions.

Comparison of volatile profiles and bioactive components of sun-dried Pu-erh tea leaves from ancient tea plants on Bulang Mountain measured by GC-MS and HPLC

To explore the volatile profiles and the contents of ten bioactive components(polyphenols and caffeine) of sun-dried Pu-erh tea leaves from ancient tea plants on Bulang Mountain,17 samples of three tea varieties were analyzed by headspace-solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(HS-SPME-GC-MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC).A total of 75 volatile components were tentatively identified.Laomaner(LME),Laobanzhang(LBZ),and other teas on Bulang Mountain(BL) contained 70,53,and 71 volatile compounds,respectively.Among the volatile compounds,alcohols(30.2%-45.8%),hydrocarbons(13.7%-17.5%),and ketones(12.4%-23.4%) were qualitatively the most dominant volatile compounds in the different tea varieties.The average content of polyphenol was highest in LME(102.1 mg/g),followed by BL(98.7 mg/g) and LBZ(88.0 mg/g),while caffeine showed the opposite trend,27.3 mg/g in LME,33.5 mg/g in BL,and 38.1 mg/g in LBZ.Principal component analysis applied to both the volatile compounds and ten bioactive components showed a poor separation of samples according to varieties,while partial least squares-discriminant analysis(PLS-DA) showed satisfactory discrimination.Thirty-four volatile components and five bioactive compounds were selected as major discriminators(variable importance in projection(VIP)>1) among the tea varieties.These results suggest that chromatographic data combined with multivariate analysis could provide a useful technique to characterize and distinguish the sun-dried Pu-erh tea leaves from ancient tea varieties on Bulang Mountain.

Recurrence of paleoearthquakes on the southeastern segment of the Ganzi-Yushu Fault,central Tibetan Plateau

Although there are many earthquake relics preserved in the southeast segment of the Ganzi-Yushu Fault in the central Tibetan Plateau,the recurrence regularity of paleoearthquakes is not yet clear.This work studies paleoearthquakes on this fault segment since the Holocene through geomorphic investigation and trench excavation.The results show that sinistral dislocation of the T3/T2 terrace boundary is up to 80 m at the Cuoa Township.A 1.5 m-high fault scarp extends 3 km near the Renguo Township.A number of paleoearthquakes are exposed in trenches at two places,respectively.In combination with historical records,our work has identified 5 or 6 paleoearthquakes on this fault segment since last 5600 years.The occurrence times and recurrence intervals of these paleoearthquakes are estimated by 14C dating on strata in the trenches.Our analysis shows that these paleoearthquakes do not exhibit evident periodicity,but instead show a clustering characteristic.From 5600 a to present,seismicity of the southeastern segment of the Ganzi-Yushu Fault has two active periods and one quiet period,and the present-day time is just in the second active epoch.The recurrence intervals of each active epoch are different:1000-1300 a in the first one,534 a in the second one.