Effects of copper pollution on the activity of soil invertase and urease in loquat orchards

Dealt with in this paper is the relationship between Cu contents of soil and activity parameters for soil invertase and urease from the Changtai loquat orchards in Fujian Province. The soil invertase activity and maximum reaction velocity (enzyme kinetic parameters: Vmax and Vmax/Km) have no remarkable negative correlation with Cu concentrations, but Cu concentrations have an obvious positive effect on invertase Km, indicating a reversible competitive restraint on the reaction between Cu and invertase. The soil urease activity and maximum reaction velocity (Vmax,Vmax/Km) have a remarkable negative correlation with Cu concentrations, and in this aspect, they can be used as ecological indices of the soil polluted by Cu. A slightly variable Km indicates the non-reversible competitive restraint between Cu and soil urease. Cu concentration= 2.00 mg·L-1 in soil is an indicative of the moderate Cu pollution level.

Effect of Tree Species and Dosage of Rhizomorph Wood on Asexual Propagation of Wild Gastrodia elata. Bl. f. glauca S. Chow in Ganzi

The effects of the tree species and the dosages of Armillariella mellea rhizomoph wood on asexual propagation of wild Gastrodia elata Bl. f. glauca S. Chow were studied in Ganzi prefecture. The results showed that tree species had a very significant effect on asexual reproduction yield of wild Gastrodia elata Bl. f. glauca S. Chow. The drying rate and yield of Gastrodia elata Bl. f. glauca S. Chow cultured by close grained woods such as Quercus spinosa David ex Fr. was extremely significant higher than that cultured by coarse grained wood such as Betula platyphylla Suk. The dosage had a very significant effect on the yield of wild Gastrodia elata Bl. f. glauca S. Chow whereas it had no influence on the drying rate.

Winter habitat use of snow leopards in Tomur National Nature Reserve of Xinjiang,Northwest China

Snow leopards are one of the least known large cats, the population of which has dramatically de- creased. Their habitat loss was considered the main reason for the decline during the last decade, but their habitat preferences are still not well known. In this paper, we studied the winter habitat preferences of snow leopards in the Tomur National Nature Reserve （TNNR） in Northwest China during 2004-2005. We used sign surveys and tran- sects to study the winter habitat selection of snow leopards. The results indicated that snow leopards showed a preference for habitat variabilities in slope aspect, vegetation cover, dominant topographical features, landform ruggedness and grazing status. We found that prey availability and dominant topographical features were the most important factors that determined the winter habitat selection of snow leopards. Our results supported the idea that the habitat preferences of snow leopards are a tradeoff between suitable habitat features and avoidance of potential human interactions.

Influences of Different Habitats on Asexual Propagation of Wild Gastrodia elata f. glauca being Domesticated in Ganzi

[Objective] The influences of different habitats on asexual propagation of wild Geg(abbreviation for Gastrodia elata Bl. f. glauca S. Chow) being domesticated in Ganzi prefecture was studied. [Method] The research trial was carried out in the following three kinds of habitats at the same time: the plastic greenhouses, the birch forest of shady slope and the shrubbery of sunny slope, and the results were analyzed with group data average hypothesis test method. [Result] The overall tuber(the juvenile tuber, the immature tuber and the mature tuber) yield and the mature tuber yield were both very significantly higher in the plastic greenhouses than in the other two types of habitats, and respectively reached 9.52 and 6.70 kg/m2; the mature tuber drying rate was dramatically or very dramatically lower in the plastic greenhouses than in the other two types of habitats, and was 23.84%; the stabilities of the overall tuber yield, the mature tuber yield and the drying rate were all reduced in the order of greenhouses, birch forest and shrubbery; and the dry mature tuber yield of the plastic greenhouses was the highest in the three kinds of habitats, and was 1.60 kg/m2. [Conclusion] A good habitat had to be created or chosen in the domesticating cultivation of the wild Geg in Ganzi prefecture. The preferred choice was the plastic greenhouse, the alternative one was the deciduous broadleaved forest of shady slope. The imitating wild planting of the wild Geg should be done in the warm moist deciduous broad-leaved forest of shady slope.

Discharge Characteristics of Series Surface/Packed-Bed Discharge Reactor Diven by Bipolar Pulsed Power

The discharge characteristics of the series surface/packed-bed discharge （SSPBD） reactor driven by bipolar pulse power were systemically investigated in this study. In order to evaluate the advantages of the SSPBD reactor, it was compared with traditional surface discharge （SD） reactor and packed-bed discharge （PBD） reactor in terms of the discharge voltage, discharge current, and ozone formation. The SSPBD reactor exhibited a faster rising time and lower tail voltage than the SD and PBD reactors. The distribution of the active species generated in differ- ent discharge regions of the SSPBD reactor was analyzed by optical emission spectra and ozone analysis. It was found that the packed-bed discharge region （3.5 mg/L）, rather than the surface discharge region （1.3 mg/L） in the SSPBD reactor played a more important role in ozone gener- ation. The optical emission spectroscopy analysis indicated that more intense peaks of the active species （e.g. N2 and OI） in the optical emission spectra were observed in the packed-bed region.

Altitude Effects of Climatic Variation on Tibetan Plateau and Its Vicinities

High topographies, such as the Tibetan plateau （TP） in China, have been considered as the sensitive areas in response to global climate change. By analyzing the relationship between warming structure and altitude （1 000-5 000 m） in the TP and its vicinities using the 46-year January mean observed temperature data, we found that there was a significant altitude effect of temperature warming onset time （mutation time） on the plateau and the neighboring regions： the higher the altitude, the later the climate warming happens, and vice versa. There also seems a slight altitude effect on warming magnitude： the higher the altitude, the less the warming magnitude. Therefore, the temperature warming in the high altitude area of the TP （below 5 000 m） responds to global warming less sensitively than the low-altitude neighboring areas both in onset time and magnitude, which may be mainly caused by high albedo and large thermal capacity of the ice/snow cover on the higher part of the plateau and possible heat island effect in the lower part of the plateau.