Current research on the effect of increased UV-B radiation on crop production has been limited to exposing plants to improbable UV-B dose or growth condition. The objective of this study was to test the effects of short-term modulated increased UV-B radiation on maize (Zea mays L.) growth, grain yield, and quality under field conditions for three years. A modulated irradiance system was used to maintain UV-B radiation at 30% above the ambient level and was applied daily between the elongation and silking stages of maize. The result indicated that increased UV-B radiation adversely affected maize growth and yield, especially on plant height when UV-B was enhanced at the elongation stage and on yield when UV-B was enhanced near the silking stage. Yield reduction that induced by enhanced UV-B radiation was associated with reductions in number of kernels per row and kernel mass. Protein content of grains was increased with enhanced UV-B radiation, but oil and starch contents were not affected. This study confirmed the sensitivity of maize to increased UV-B radiation under the field condition, and contributed to understand the full negative and positive effects of increased UV-B radiation on crop production., L. N. Yin, S. W. Wang., and Obsahuje bibliografii
In contrast to the typical Central Bohemian landscape, the Sedlčany region is characterized by quite a high concentration of wet meadows; most of them discovered during the last few years. Though it is only a fragment of their original extent. Suitable management is absent at most localities, but a restoration of farming on selected meadows has recently been started. and J.Malíček.
We investigated the effect of moderate Cu2+ and Cd2+ stress by applying chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence and P700 absorbance measurements to monitor the photosynthetic electron transport activity of 3-week-old Pisum sativum L. cv. Petit Provençal plants grown in a modified Hoagland solution containing 50 μM CuSO4 or 5 μM CdCl2. Both heavy metals caused a slight inhibition in PSII photochemistry as indicated by the decrease in the effective quantum efficiency of PSII (ΦPSII), the maximum electron transport capacity (ETRmax), and the maximum quantum yield for electron transport (α). PSI photochemistry was also affected by these heavy metals. Cu2+ and Cd2+ decreased the quantum efficiency of PSI (ΦPSI) as well as the number of electrons in the intersystem chain, and the Cu2+ treatment significantly reduced the number of electrons from stromal donors available for PSI. These results indicate that PSII and PSI photochemistry of pea plants are both sensitive to moderate Cu2+ and Cd2+ stress, which in turn is easily detected and monitored by Chl fluorescence and P700 absorbance measurements. Therefore, monitoring the photochemistry of pea plants with these noninvasive, yet sensitive techniques offers a promising strategy to study heavy metal toxicity in the environment., B. Wodala ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii
This paper describes the technical information and performance of a new multi-objective chamber system enabling the control of environmental variables (e.g., temperature, CO2, air humidity, wind speed, and UV-B radiation) for understanding plant responses to climate change. Over a whole growing season, four different climate scenarios were evenly programmed into the system’s 16 chambers as ambient environment (AMB), elevated temperature (ET), elevated CO2 concentration (EC) and elevated temperature and CO2 concentration (ETC). Simultaneously, the chamber effects were assessed regarding the physiological responses and growth of a boreal perennial grass (reed canary grass, Phalaris arundinacea L.). During the growing season, the chamber system provided a wide variety of climatic conditions for air temperature (T a), relative humidity (RH) and CO2 concentration (C a) in the AMB chambers following outside conditions. The target temperature (+3.5°C) was achieved to a good degree in the ET and ETC chambers, being on average 3.3°C and 3.7°C higher than ambient conditions, respectively. The target concentration of CO2 (700 ppm) was also well achieved in the EC and ETC chambers, being on average 704 ppm and 703 ppm, respectively. The stable airflow condition inside all of the chambers provided a homogeneous distribution of gases and temperature. The decreases in RH and increases in vapour pressure deficit (VPD) in the elevated temperature chambers were also maintained at a low level. Chamber effects were observed, with some physiological and growth parameters of plants being significantly lower in the AMB chambers, compared to outside conditions. The plant growth was negatively affected by the reduced radiation inside the chambers., X. Zhou ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Recent research in isolated Bulgarian mires has discovered many unknown disjunct populations of boreal vascular plant and bryophyte species. These findings draw attention to these recently endangered mires which represent a source of very important scientific information. and Michal Hájek, Petra Hájková.
Miscanthus is one of the most promising bioenergy crops with high photosynthetic nitrogen-use efficiency (PNUE). It is unclear how nitrogen (N) influences the photosynthesis in Miscanthus. Among three Miscanthus genotypes, the net photosynthetic rate (PN) under the different light intensity and CO2 concentration was measured at three levels of N: 0, 100, and 200 kg ha-1. The concentrations of chlorophyll, soluble protein, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC), ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) large subunit, leaf anatomy and carbon isotope discrimination (Δ) in the leaf were analyzed to probe the response of photosynthesis in Miscanthus genotypes to N levels. PN in all genotypes rose significantly as N application increased. The initial slope of response curves of PN to Ci was promoted by N application in all genotypes. Both stomatal conductance and Ci were increased with increased N supply, indicating that stomatal factors played an important role in increasing PN. At a given Ci, PN in all genotypes was enhanced by N, implying that nonstomatal factors might also play an important role in increasing PN. Miscanthus markedly regulated N investment into PEPC rather than the Rubisco large subunit under higher N conditions. Bundle sheath leakiness of CO2 was constant at about 0.35 for all N levels. Therefore, N enhanced the photosynthesis of Miscanthus mainly by increasing stomatal conductance and PEPC concentration., X.-P. Feng ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Sklenobýl bezlistý (Epipogium aphyllum) patří mezi nejvzácnější druhy naší flóry. Roste v bučinách a jehličnatých lesích s humózní půdou, často na lesních prameništích. Ještě donedávna byl v Čechách hodnocen jako nezvěstný. V r. 2006 se ale podařilo objevit několik malých lokalit na Šumavském Boubíně, poté v r. 2008 i jedna lokalita v Krkonoších. V červnu r. 2013 v náplavech Jizery a hned u cesty nedaleko Kořenova se podařilo objevit další dvě mikrolokality tohoto ohroženého druhu. Bylo by velmi povzbuzující domnívat se, že nárůst počtu lokalit nejen sklenobýlu, ale i jiných ohrožených druhů indikuje zlepšující se stav prostředí., Epipogium aphyllum is one of the rarest plant species of the Czech flora. It grows in humus-rich soil in beech and spruce forests, often in the vicinity of forest springs. The species has been considered missing in Bohemia until recent discoveries of a few sites in Boubín in the Šumava Mts. (Bohemian Forest, 2006) and in the Krkonoše Mts. (Giant Mts., 2008). Two new populations were found in the Giant Mts. in June 2013 - in alluvial deposits of the Jizera river and along the forest road close to the Kořenov village., and Pavla Čížková, Kamila Lencová, Pavel Hubený.
The Wheat (Triticum aestivum) – Intermediate Wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium) – Couch Grass (Elymus repens) species complex is a potential case of gene flow between crop and wild relatives in the Central European area. Understanding the genomic constitutions and evolutionary histories of both polyploid Wheatgrasses and the assessment of frequency of their hybrid formation are basic prerequisities for understanding the gene flow within the whole species complex. and Václav Mahelka.