Foliar δ^13C Values and Water Use Efficiency ofSemi-arid Plants in Horqin Sandy Land, China

Water was a key factor restricting the plantation in sandy areas. Foliar δ^(13)C value regarded as an indicator of longterm water use efficiency(WUE) of plants was generally used to evaluate the adaptability of plants to arid and semi-arid environment. In Horqin sandy land of China, the foliar δ^(13)C values of 114 species in 35 families naturally growing in the area, and 15 species of sand-fixing trees and shrubs were measured and analyzed in 2012. The results showed that 97 species in all 114 species were C_3 plants and only 17 species were C_4 plants. Most C_4 plants belonged to Gramineae family. The foliar δ^(13)C value of C_3 plants was between -25.000 and -31.075‰ with an average of-28.226‰, while those of C_4 plants between -12.578 and -16.334‰, with an average of -13.678‰. The δ^(13)C values of mature leaves collected in August were averagely 0.85‰ less than that of juvenile leaves collected in June. The foliar δ^(13)C values and WUE of 15 sand-fixing tree species in Horqin sandy land ranked in the order as: S.vulgaris >H.rhamnoides >C.ovata >P.mongolica >T.chinensis >R.typhina >S.matsudana >E.angustifolia >U.pumila >S.gordejevii >X.sorbifolia >C.microphylla >H.fruticosum >C.korshinskii >E.bungeanus.

δ^(13)C values and hydrogen index records in sediment organic matter of RH core of Zoige Basin,eastern Qing-Zang(Tibet)Plateau and their environmental significance

Total organic carbon (TOC) content correlates very well with hydrogen index (HI) in the sedi- ments of RH core in the Zoig Basin.And the δ^(13)C values of TOC become more positive while both TOC content and HI decline,indicating the subaerial exposure or the lake sedimonts approaching to the water lev- el.On the basis of the above,RH core sediments are divided into 23 climatic fluctuation stages, including 12 warm-humid stages and 11 dry-cold stages,which can he compared with oceanic oxygen isotope stages,loess profile and polar ice-core records.

SYNTHESIS AND NMR CHARACTERIZATION OF PRECURSORS OF EPOXY NETWORK AS POLYMER HOST FOR SOLID ELECTROLYTE

To raise the room temperature ionic conductivity and improve the mechanical strength of a PEO-based polymer electrolyte, a noncrystalline two-component epoxy electrolyte system has been prepared. The diglycidyl ether of polyethylene glycols as precursors of the system were synthesized by a two-step process. The presumed structure of the product was characterized, by ^(13)C, ~1H NMR and IR spectroscopy. It was found that a side-reaction occurred between the secondary hydroxyl group of PEG-chlorohydrin and epichlorohydrin in some degree, resulting in a by- product containing—CH_2Cl side group. By selecting a characteristic signal, which is undistorted by the increase in the length of CH_2 CH_2—O segment, a ~1H NMR approach of determining the equivalent epoxy weight (EEW) was proposed. The method is valid to specimens even though the EEW is as high as 2,000. The examination of the specimens by DSC showed that epoxidation greatly depressed the crystallinity of the PEG's, whereas the T_g was raised.

Catchment environmental change over the 20th Century recorded by sedimentary leaf wax n-alkane δ^(13)C off the Pearl River estuary

The compound-specific stable carbon isotope compositions(δ^(13)C) of leaf wax n-alkanes from two short sediment cores recovered off the Pearl River estuary(PRE) were analyzed to check for their capability of indicating decadal scale catchment environmental change. Sedimentary long-chain n-alkanes exhibited an odd-over-even predominance, with a maximum at n-C_(29) or n-C_(31), indicating their leaf wax origin was from vascular plants. The δ^(13)C values of C_(29) and C_(31) n-alkane in all the sediment samples were in the range of -28.8‰ to -31.2‰, consistent with the C_3 plant-dominated vegetation in the Pearl River catchments. The time series of δ^(13)C records from the two cores were comparable and displayed a decreasing trend from the early 20 th century to the end of the 1970s, followed by a reversal in that change leading to continued increase for ca. 15 years. After being corrected for the effect of atmospheric CO_2 rise and δ^(13)C_(atm) decline, the δ^(13)C_(29) records largely retained their raw changing pattern; the post-1980 increase being more conspicuous. The slightly decreasing trend in corrected δ^(13)C records before around 1980 may have been caused by an increase in precipitation, whereas the subsequent increase of δ^(13)C is likely associated with the observed dry climate and/or intensive anthropogenic deforestation. Our results thus demonstrate that leaf wax n-alkanes buried in the sediments off the PRE may well reflect change in the regional climate and/or human activity in the river catchments over the past century.