Spatial heterogeneity of dead fuel moisture content in a Larix gmelinii forest in Inner Mongolia using geostatistics

Spatial heterogeneity of fuel moisture content determines the spread rate and direction of a forest fire.Research on the spatial heterogeneity of the moisture content of dead fuel of Larix gmelinii Rupr.showed that:(1)fuel moisture content in litter layer<semi-humus layer<humus layer,and the coefficient of variation decreased with sampling depth;(2)the sill value of the semi-humus layer was highest,the humus layer moderate,the litter layer the smallest,overall,the spatial heterogeneity of the semi-humus layer was the highest.The humus layer in the slant direction and three layers in a vertical direction showed strong spatial correlation with the lowest nugget coefficient of 0.0968;(3)the fuel moisture content of the humus layer showed strong spatial anisotropy;and,(4)estimating the total moisture content of the sampling site by stimulated sampling reasonable control of the sampling interval,and increasing the sampling intensity can reduce the error.When the sampling intensity is increased to more than 16 and the sampling interval 3 m,the standard error is<15%.The spatial heterogeneity of fuel moisture content is best revealed by increasing sampling density,sampling in different fire seasons,and in different slope directions and positions.The results can provide a scientific basis for forest fire prediction and prevention.

Woody species Rhus chinensis Mill. seedlings tolerance to Pb:Physiological and biochemical response

Screening potential plant species is a crucial consideration in phytoremediation technology.Our previous study demonstrated that Rhus chinensis Mill. seedlings had potentials for phytoremediation of Pb contaminated soil. However, its bioaccumulation and tolerance characteristics remain unclear. Seedling growth, LMWOAs secreted by roots, Pb subcellular distribution and chemical forms, and mineral elements in R. chinensis tissues were evaluated under different Pb concentrations(0, 25, 50, 100, 200 and 400 mg/L) in culture solution at14 days after planting. R. chinensis did not show visual symptoms of Pb toxicity under lower Pb treatments; however, Pb significantly declined the growth of seedlings under higher Pb treatments. Higher Pb stress also decreased the concentrations of nitrogen in leaves, but increased the concentrations of P and K in roots. Pb stress also decreased Mn concentrations in leaves. A great quantity of Pb was uptake and mostly retained in R. chinensis roots.Nonetheless, R. chinensis can still concentrate 459.3 and 1102.7 mg/kg Pb in leaves and stems,respectively. Most of Pb in R. chinensis tissues was stored in the cell wall with HAc-, HCl-, and NaC l-extractable form. LMWOAs secreted by R. chinensis roots showed a strong positive correlation with Pb concentrations in all plant tissues and with P in roots. Our results suggested that Pb deposited in the cell wall and integration with phosphate or oxalate might be responsible for the tolerance of R. chinensis under Pb stress in short period.