Phosphorus (P) is one of the limiting mineral nutrient elements in the typical steppe of Inner Mongolia, China. In order to find out the adaptive strategy of Caragana microphylla to low soil P status, we grew plants in P-deficient soil in April 2009 and gave a gradient of P addition ranging from 0 to 60 mg(P) kg-1(soil) from May 2010. Leaf traits were measured in September 2010. Both leaf growth and light-saturated photosynthetic rate (P max) were similar among different groups. Leaf nitrogen (N):P ratio indicated that the growth of C. microphylla was not P-limited in most of the Inner Mongolia typical steppe, which had an average soil available P content equal to 3.61 mg kg-1. The optimal P addition was 20 mg(P) kg-1(soil) for two-year-old plants of C. microphylla. Leaf mass area (LMA) and leaf dry matter content (LDMC) were enhanced with low P, and significantly negatively correlated with photosynthetic N-use efficiency (PNUE). Photosynthetic P-use efficiency (PPUE) increased with decreasing soil P and increasing leaf inorganic
P (Pi): organic P (Po) ratio, and showed no significant negative correlation with LMA or LDMC. P max of C. microphylla did not decline so sharply as it was anticipated. The reason for this phenomenon might be due to the increased PPUE through regulating the leaf total P allocation. C. microphylla had high P-use efficiency via both high PPUE and long P-retention time at low-P supply. The adaptation of C. microphylla to low-P supply provided a new explanation for the increased distribution of the species in the degraded natural grassland in Inner Mongolia, China., T. T. Zhao, N. X. Zhao, Y. B. Gao., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Caragana korshinskii Kom. is a perennial xerophytic shrub, well known for its ability to resist drought. In order to study ecophysiological responses of C. korshinskii under extreme drought stress and subsequent rehydration, diurnal patterns of gas exchange and chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence parameters of photosystem II as well as Chl content were analyzed. Plant responses to extreme drought included (1) leaf abscission and using stem for photosynthesis, (2) improved instantaneous water-use efficiency, (3) decreased photosynthetic rate and partly closed stomata owing to leaf abscission and low water status, (4) decreased maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (PSII) (variable to maximum fluorescence ratio, Fv/Fm), quantum efficiency of noncyclic electron transport of PSII, and Chl a and Chl b. Four days after rehydration, new leaves budded from stems. In the rewatered plants, the chloroplast function was restored, the gas exchange and Chl fluorescence returned to a similar level as control plant. The above result indicated that maintaining an active stem system after leaf abscission during extreme drought stress may be the foundation which engenders these mechanisms rapid regrowth for C. korshinskii in arid environment., D. H. Xu ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Warming winter and atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition are expected to have effects on net primary production (NPP) of Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata) plantation and implications for plantation carbon sequestration. The effects of nongrowing-season warming on plant morphological and physiological traits were investigated in a greenhouse experiment with two-year-old C. lanceolata seedlings. Elevated temperature (ET) during the nongrowing season significantly increased the net photosynthetic characteristics. The strongest effects occurred during warming period from 1 December 2014 to 1 February 2015 (W1). Moreover, the carbohydrate concentration was elevated due to the warming during W1, but it declined during four months of the warming (from 1 December 2014 to 1 April 2015, W2). The seedlings kept under N deposition (CN) showed a positive effect in all the above-mentioned parameters except δ13C. Significant interactions between ET and N deposition were observed in most parameters tested. At the end of the experiment (W2), the seedlings exposed to a combined ET and N deposition treatment exhibited the highest carbon contents. Our results showed that N deposition might ameliorate the negative effects of the winter warming on the carbon content., L. Yu, T. F. Dong, Y. B. Lu, M. Y. Song, B. L. Duan., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Arsenic is a critical contaminant that is released into the environment through geochemical processes and anthropic actions. Two independent hydroponic experiments were performed to evaluate the ecophysiological responses of water hyacinth [Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms] to As under various stress conditions. In experiment 1, water hyacinth was exposed to As5+ at concentrations of 0, 0.2, 2.0, and 20 mg L-1 for 0, 2, and 4 d; in experiment 2, water hyacinth was exposed at concentrations of 0, 0.025, 0.05, and 0.1 mg L-1 for 0, 10, and 20 d. In both experiments, As accumulation in plant tissue was proportional to its increase in the nutrient solution; As concentrations were higher in roots than in shoots. Detrimental effects of As on gas exchange were observed and were more pronounced in experiment 1. In experiment 1, at the beginning on the second day of exposure, significant decreases of maximum photochemical efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm), variable chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv/F0), and photosynthetic pigment contents were observed in plants exposed to 2.0 and 20 mg(As5+) L-1. It indicated that damage to the photosynthetic apparatus had occurred. No changes in Fv/Fm, Fv/F0, and contents of photosynthetic pigments were observed in the plants grown in the presence of 0.2 mg(As5+) L-1 (in experiment 1) or after any of the treatments in experiment 2, indicating plant tolerance. Elevated nonphotochemical quenching was observed in experiment 2 after 20 d of exposure to As; it was as a part of protection mechanisms of the photosynthetic apparatus in these plants. The results obtained here indicate that the use of water hyacinth for As5+ removal from highly impacted environments is limited but that it is effective in remediating sites with a low contamination., A. C. Meneguelli-Souza, A. P. Vitória, T. O. Vieira, M. S. O. Degli-Esposti, C. M. M. Souza., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Vegetation in grasslands is changing at an unprecedented rate. In the Nebraska Sandhills, this shift is attributed in part to encroachment of the woody species Juniperus virginiana. We investigated changes in resource availability and their feedback on seasonal trends in photosynthetic characteristics of J. virginiana trees scattered in open grasslands vs. a dense 57-year-old stand. Dense stand exhibited lower volumetric soil water content, NH4+, NO3-, and δ13C, as well as foliage δ13C, δ15N, and N content, compared to grasslands. Water potential was higher in trees in grasslands compared to dense stand. J. virginiana in dense stand exhibited similar trends to trees in grasslands for net photosynthetic rate (PN), stomatal conductance, transpiration, maximum photochemical efficiency of PSII, maximum carboxylation velocity, and maximum rate of electron transport. PN peaked early summer and declined in the fall, with trees in open grasslands lagging behind those in dense stand. Plasticity of this species may place it at a competitive advantage in the Sandhills, further altering grasslands vegetation and ecosystem processes., J. Msanne, T. Awada, N. M. Bryan, W. Schacht, R. Drijber, Y. Li, X. Zhou, J. Okalebo, D. Wedin, J. Brandle, J. Hiller., and Obsahuje bibliografii
There is a great uncertainty about the effect of land use change on grassland ecosystem in the Tibetan Plateau. Net ecosystem carbon exchange (NEE) was measured for native alpine meadow with winter grazing (NAM), abandoned cropland/pasture (APL), perennial Elymus nutans (PEN), and annual oat pasture (AO) on the Tibetan plateau, during the growing seasons in 2009 and 2010 using a transparent chamber technique (Licor-6400). AO significantly decreased annual average NEE by 21.6, 23.7, and 15.7% compared to PEN, NAM, and APL during the growing season in 2010. Compared to PEN, NAM, and APL, AO significantly decreased average ecosystem respiration (Re) by 21.1, 52.3, and 39.3%, respectively, during the growing season in 2009. Soil moisture and total aboveground and belowground biomass together explained 39.6% of NEE variation and 71% in gross primary productivity variation. Soil moisture and belowground biomass explained about 83.1% of the Re variation. Our results indicated that it is possible to convert APL to PEN in the region because it could result in a higher NEE together with higher forage production compared to AO., C.-Y. Luo, X.-X. Zhu, S.-P. Wang, S.-J. Cui, Z.-H. Zhang, X.-Y. Bao, L. Zhao, Y. Li, X.-Q. Zhao., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
We conducted a hydroponic experiment in order to study effects of the ammonium/nitrate ratio (0:15, 5:10, 7.5:7.5, and 10:5) on photosynthetic characteristics and biomass accumulation in Brassica chinensis under low light intensity and water stress. Results showed that net photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, intrinsic water-use efficiency, stomatal conductance, intercellular CO2 concentration, effective quantum yield of PSII photochemistry, electron transport rate, and nonphotochemical quenching were lower in the treatment (low light intensity and water deficit) than those in the control, whereas stomatal limitation increased. Minimum fluorescence, maximal quantum yield of PSII photochemistry, and photochemical quenching were largely unchanged. Pigment contents first increased and then decreased as the ammonium/nitrate ratios were altered, with significant differences between treatment and control observed at all ratios except for 10:5. Biomass first increased slightly and then decreased both in treated and control plants. Results suggest that economic losses caused by extreme conditions can be minimized by a proper adjustment of the ammonium/nitrate ratio., H. Q. Shang, G. M. Shen., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Ant-aphid mutualism is considered to be a beneficial association for the individuals concerned. The population and fitness of aphids affected by ant attendance and the outcome of this relationship affects the host plant of the aphid. The main hypothesis of the current study is that ant tending decreases aphid developmental time and/or increases reproduction per capita, which seriously reduces host plant fitness. The effect of attendance by the ant Tapinoma erraticum (Latreille, 1798) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on population growth and duration of different developmental stages of Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae) were determined along with the consequences for the fitness of the host plant of the aphid, Vicia faba L., in greenhouse conditions. The initial aphid density was manipulated in order to study aphid performance due to density-dependent changes in ant attendance. The population growth rate of ant attended aphids was more than that of unattended aphids. However, the ratio of 1st-2nd nymphs to adults in aphid populations attended by ants was lower. The yields of bean plants on which the aphids were attended by ants were significantly greater than those of unattended plants. This study indicates that ants not only increase aphid fitness in terms of their population growth rate, but also benefit the host plant., Afsane Hosseini, Mojtaba Hosseini, Noboru Katayama, Mohsen Mehrparvar., and Obsahuje bibliografii