Aims Subalpine coniferous species are distributed over a wide range of elevations in which they must contend with stressful conditions,such as high elevations and extended periods of darkness.Two evergreen coniferous ...Aims Subalpine coniferous species are distributed over a wide range of elevations in which they must contend with stressful conditions,such as high elevations and extended periods of darkness.Two evergreen coniferous species,Abies veitchii and Abies mariesii,dominate at low and high elevations,respectively,in the subalpine zone,central Japan.The aim of this study is to examine the effects of leaf age,elevation and light conditions on photosynthetic rates through changes in morphological and physiological leaf traits in the two species.Methods We here examined effects of leaf age,elevation and light conditions on photosynthesis,and leaf traits in A.veitchii and A.mariesii.Saplings of the two conifers were sampled in the understory and canopy gaps at their lower(1600 m)and upper(2300 m)distribution limits.Important Findings The two species showed similar responses to leaf age and different responses to elevation and light conditions in photosynthesis and leaf traits.The maximum photosynthetic rate of A.veitchii is correlated negatively with leaf mass per area(LMA)and non-structural carbohydrate(NSC)concentration.LMA increased at high elevations in the two species,whereas NSC concentrations increased only in A.veitchii.Therefore,the maximum photosynthetic rate of A.veitchii decreased at high elevations.Furthermore,maximum photosynthetic rates correlate positively with nitrogen concentration in both species.In the understory,leaf nitrogen concentrations decreased and increased in A.veitchii and A.mariesii,respectively.LMA decreased and the chlorophyll-to-nitrogen ratio increased in understory conditions only for A.mariesii,suggesting it has a higher light-capture efficiency in dark conditions than does A.veitchii.This study concluded that A.mariesii has more shade-tolerant photosynthetic and leaf traits and its photosynthetic rate is less affected by elevation compared with A.veitchii,allowing A.mariesii to survive in the understory and to dominate at high elevations.展开更多
The dynamic wetting characteristics of water droplets on silicon wafers with microscale regular pillars structures and fresh lotus leaves are investigated experimentally.We measured the static contact angle,contact an...The dynamic wetting characteristics of water droplets on silicon wafers with microscale regular pillars structures and fresh lotus leaves are investigated experimentally.We measured the static contact angle,contact angle hysteresis,and roll-off angle of water droplets on both of these superhydrophobic surfaces with a high speed contact angle meter.The dynamic contact angles and internal velocity distribution of water droplets on superhydrophobic surfaces were studied with a high-speed camera system and a particle image velocimetry (PIV) system,respectively.We found that the acceleration of water droplets when they slide off lotus leaves is greater than that of water droplets sliding off the silicon wafers with microscale pillar structures although the static contact angles of water droplets on lotus leaves are slightly smaller than those on the silicon wafers.The reason is that water droplets sliding off lotus leaves have smaller contact angle hysteresis and larger slip velocities.These results indicate that the dynamic contact angle hysteresis and sliding acceleration of liquid droplets are more suitable for reflecting the hydrophobicity of material surfaces compared with static contact angles.Our experiments also show that lotus leaves with multiscale micro/nanostructures have stronger hydrophobicity and self-cleaning properties compared with the micro-structured superhydrophobic surfaces.展开更多
The microstructure, wettability and chemical composition of the butterfly wing surfaces were investigated by a scanning electron microscope, a contact angle meter and a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The mic...The microstructure, wettability and chemical composition of the butterfly wing surfaces were investigated by a scanning electron microscope, a contact angle meter and a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The micro/nano structural models for hydrophobicity of the butterfly wing surfaces were established on the basis of the Cassie equation. The hydrophobicity mechanisms were discussed from the perspective of biological coupling. The butterfly wing surfaces are composed of naturally hydrophobic material and possess micro/nano hierarchical structures, including primary structure （micrometric scales）, secondary structure （nano longitudinal ridges and lateral bridges） and tertiary structure （nano stripes）. The wing surfaces exhibit high hydrophobicity （contact angle 138°-157°） and low adhesion （sliding angle 1°-3°）. The micromorphology and self-cleaning performance of the wing surfaces demonstrate remarkable anisotropism. The special complex wettability ascribes to a coupling effect of the material element and the structure element. In microdimension, the smaller the width and the bigger the spacing of the scale, the stronger the hydrophobicity of the wing surfaces. In nano-dimension, the smaller the height and the smaller the width and the bigger the spacing of the longitudinal ridge, the stronger the hydrophobicity of the wing surfaces. This work promotes our understanding of the hydrophobicity mechanism of bio-surfaces and may bring inspiration for biomimetic design and preparation of smart interfacial materials.展开更多
基金supported by grants(20292081)from the Ministry of Education,Culture,Sports,Science and Technology,Japan.
文摘Aims Subalpine coniferous species are distributed over a wide range of elevations in which they must contend with stressful conditions,such as high elevations and extended periods of darkness.Two evergreen coniferous species,Abies veitchii and Abies mariesii,dominate at low and high elevations,respectively,in the subalpine zone,central Japan.The aim of this study is to examine the effects of leaf age,elevation and light conditions on photosynthetic rates through changes in morphological and physiological leaf traits in the two species.Methods We here examined effects of leaf age,elevation and light conditions on photosynthesis,and leaf traits in A.veitchii and A.mariesii.Saplings of the two conifers were sampled in the understory and canopy gaps at their lower(1600 m)and upper(2300 m)distribution limits.Important Findings The two species showed similar responses to leaf age and different responses to elevation and light conditions in photosynthesis and leaf traits.The maximum photosynthetic rate of A.veitchii is correlated negatively with leaf mass per area(LMA)and non-structural carbohydrate(NSC)concentration.LMA increased at high elevations in the two species,whereas NSC concentrations increased only in A.veitchii.Therefore,the maximum photosynthetic rate of A.veitchii decreased at high elevations.Furthermore,maximum photosynthetic rates correlate positively with nitrogen concentration in both species.In the understory,leaf nitrogen concentrations decreased and increased in A.veitchii and A.mariesii,respectively.LMA decreased and the chlorophyll-to-nitrogen ratio increased in understory conditions only for A.mariesii,suggesting it has a higher light-capture efficiency in dark conditions than does A.veitchii.This study concluded that A.mariesii has more shade-tolerant photosynthetic and leaf traits and its photosynthetic rate is less affected by elevation compared with A.veitchii,allowing A.mariesii to survive in the understory and to dominate at high elevations.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos. 11072126 and 10872106)
文摘The dynamic wetting characteristics of water droplets on silicon wafers with microscale regular pillars structures and fresh lotus leaves are investigated experimentally.We measured the static contact angle,contact angle hysteresis,and roll-off angle of water droplets on both of these superhydrophobic surfaces with a high speed contact angle meter.The dynamic contact angles and internal velocity distribution of water droplets on superhydrophobic surfaces were studied with a high-speed camera system and a particle image velocimetry (PIV) system,respectively.We found that the acceleration of water droplets when they slide off lotus leaves is greater than that of water droplets sliding off the silicon wafers with microscale pillar structures although the static contact angles of water droplets on lotus leaves are slightly smaller than those on the silicon wafers.The reason is that water droplets sliding off lotus leaves have smaller contact angle hysteresis and larger slip velocities.These results indicate that the dynamic contact angle hysteresis and sliding acceleration of liquid droplets are more suitable for reflecting the hydrophobicity of material surfaces compared with static contact angles.Our experiments also show that lotus leaves with multiscale micro/nanostructures have stronger hydrophobicity and self-cleaning properties compared with the micro-structured superhydrophobic surfaces.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(50875108)the Natural Science Foundation of Jilin Province,China(201115162)the Open Fundof Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering of Ministry of Education,Jilin University(K201004)
文摘The microstructure, wettability and chemical composition of the butterfly wing surfaces were investigated by a scanning electron microscope, a contact angle meter and a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The micro/nano structural models for hydrophobicity of the butterfly wing surfaces were established on the basis of the Cassie equation. The hydrophobicity mechanisms were discussed from the perspective of biological coupling. The butterfly wing surfaces are composed of naturally hydrophobic material and possess micro/nano hierarchical structures, including primary structure （micrometric scales）, secondary structure （nano longitudinal ridges and lateral bridges） and tertiary structure （nano stripes）. The wing surfaces exhibit high hydrophobicity （contact angle 138°-157°） and low adhesion （sliding angle 1°-3°）. The micromorphology and self-cleaning performance of the wing surfaces demonstrate remarkable anisotropism. The special complex wettability ascribes to a coupling effect of the material element and the structure element. In microdimension, the smaller the width and the bigger the spacing of the scale, the stronger the hydrophobicity of the wing surfaces. In nano-dimension, the smaller the height and the smaller the width and the bigger the spacing of the longitudinal ridge, the stronger the hydrophobicity of the wing surfaces. This work promotes our understanding of the hydrophobicity mechanism of bio-surfaces and may bring inspiration for biomimetic design and preparation of smart interfacial materials.
