Soil loss, both from surface soil loss and subsurface soil leakage, in the karst regions of southwestern China is a serious environmental problem that threatens sustainability in that region. The surface soil loss has been extensively studied, and many studies have been conducted to investigate the causes, impacts and mechanisms involved, but the study of subsurface soil leakage has received little attention due to the difficulties in studying the natural conditions. There is no consensus on the overall proportions between surface soil loss and subsurface soil leakage. To control soil loss, improve ecological restoration, and help locals out of poverty, the Chinese government carried out a series of ecological restoration projects in the karst regions of southwestern China starting in the 1980s. As a result, the intensity and areal extent of soil loss continues to decrease and the ecological situation is steadily improving. However, because of the fragile ecosystem in the karst regions, the soil loss control is a long-term task, and the soil loss in some karst regions continues to be a problem. Subsequently, we put forward some suggestions for the policy makers relative to conservation of soil loss and vegetation restoration. These suggestions include: (1) government, private organizations and individuals are encouraged to raise funds for soil loss control and vegetation restoration; (2) nature reserves should be established to increase biodiversity; (3) engineering projects such as small reservoirs, ponds, and flow diversion channels should be constructed in marginal karst regions.
ABSTRACT Grazing of fluorescent latex beads, bacteria, and various species of phytoplankton by Poterioochromonas malhamensis (Pringsheim) Peterfi (about 8.0 μm in diameter) was surveyed. The alga ingested fluorescent beads and various live or killed and nomnotile or motile organisms including bacteria, blue‐green algae, green algae, diatoms, and chrysomonads. The size range of grazed prey was from 0.1 to 6.0 μm for latex beads and from 1.0 μm (bacteria) to about 21 μm (Carteria inverse) for organisms. As many as 17 latex beads (2.0 μm) or more than 10 Microcystis cells (5–6 μm) were ingested by a single P. malhamensis cell. Following such grazing, the cell increased in volume by up to about 30‐fold. The range of cell volume of ingested prey was from 0.52 μm 3 (bacteria) to about 3178 μm 3 (Carteria inversa). This study demonstrates for the first time that P. malhamensis is capable of grazing algae 2–3 times larger in diameter than its own cell and of grazing intact motile algae. Poterioochromonas malhamensis is an omnivorous grazer. Food vacuole formation and digestion processes were examined. The membrane that was derived from the plasma membrane and surrounded the prey disappeared sometime after ingestion. The food vacuole was then formed by successive fusion of numerous homogeneous vesicles accumulated around the prey. The prey was enclosed in a single membrane‐bound food vacuole and then digested.
Abstract Bactrocera tau (Walker) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is an economically important invasive pest, that is capable of seriously reducing the quality and yield of vegetables and fruits, it was first recorded from Fujian province in 1849 and later introduced to Yunnan province in 1912 as a result in trade fruits and vegetables of China. In recent years, with the onset of global climate change and the accompanying increase in the greenhouse effect, elevated climatic temperatures have become one of the main environmental factors affecting growth and reproduction in insects, and the optimal developmental temperature of B. tau was found to be from 25 °C to 31 °C, the growth, development and reproduction of B. tau are normal under the optimal temperature conditions. In order to determine the repercussions that elevated temperature have on B. tau , we assessed the effects that short-term (12 h) high-temperature exposures (34 °C, 36 °C, 38 °C, 40 °C, 42 °C, 44 °C, 46 °C, and 48 °C) had on the growth, development and reproduction of B. tau at different developmental stages of the fly. The results showed that the survival rate of B. tau gradually decreased in all stages following exposure to short-term high-temperatures. The pupal stage was the least sensitive to increased temperatures. The pupae withstood the highest lethal temperature, having an LT 50 of 42.060 °C, followed by female adults (40.447 °C), male adults (40.013 °C), and larvae (36.740 °C). The egg stage, which was the most susceptible to heat increases, had the lowest LT 50 (38.310 °C). No significant effects were observed in the developmental stages of B. tau at temperatures from 24 °C to 38 °C. The development duration was significantly prolonged at 40 °C ( P < 0.05) in the eggs (2.830d), larvae (7.330d), and pupae (8.170d) ( P < 0.05). B. tau was unable to survive at temperatures above 42 °C. The pre-oviposition of female adults was extended, the average egg number per female showed a downward trend, the longevity of adults gradually shortened, and the ratio of female to male offspring increased as temperature increments were increased. In summary, short-term high-temperatures over 42 °C were not suitable for successful development of B. tau , while short-term high-temperatures over 40 °C were not suitable for successful reproduction in B. tau .
Nitrogen and phosphorus excessive enrichment are major causes of water eutrophication, and variations in nutrients enrichment are strongly influenced by human activities. In this study, annual average water quality from 2001 to 2018 was used to explore the spatiotemporal variations in total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) and their relationships with human activities. Spatially, TN and TP concentrations exhibited significant variations across the five sub-lake zones, and their values were relatively higher in the NW lake zone than the other sub-lake zones. Temporally, TN concentration exhibited weak correlations with years in the NW (R2 = 0.37, p < 0.05) and NE (R2 = 0.43, p < 0.05) lake zones and significant and positive correlations with years in the SW (R2 = 0.62, p < 0.05), SE (R2 = 0.79, p < 0.05), and C (R2 = 0.84, p < 0.05) lake zones. TP concentration exhibited decreasing trends in all lake zones except the NW lake zone (R2 = 0.37, p < 0.05), its value shows a relatively low level and is the restrictive factor to algal growth. The trophic state of the Lake Qiandaohu was determined as mesotrophic. Gross domestic product (GDP) and construction land exhibited strong correlations with TN and TP. Moreover, agriculture nonpoint source pollution was the largest contributor to the excessive enrichment of TN and TP, resulting in water eutrophication. In addition, aquaculture was another major source of nutrients starting in 1999. Although the managers of Lake Qiandaohu implemented a protection-oriented fishery policy, good results cannot be easily achieved with a unilateral policy concerning environmental protection. Thus, comprehensive policies may be more effective than unilateral policies.
Prediction of whole-plant short-term water use efficiency (WUEs,P) is essential to indicate plant performance and facilitate comparison across different temporal and spatial scales. In this study, an isotope model was scaled up from the leaf to the whole-plant level, in order to simulate the variation in WUEs,P in response to different CO2 concentrations (Ca; 400, 600, and 800 μmol·mol−1) and soil water content (SWC; 35–100% of field capacity). For WUEs,P modelling, leaf gas exchange information, plant respiration, and “unproductive” water loss were taken into account. Specifically, in shaping the expression of the WUEs,P, we emphasized the role of both stomatal (gsw) and mesophyll conductance (gm). Simulations were compared with the measured results to check the model’s applicability. The verification showed that estimates of gsw from the coupled photosynthesis (Pn,L)-gsw model accounting for the effect of soil water stress slightly outperformed the model neglecting the soil water status effect. The established coupled Pn,L-gm model also proved more effective in estimating gm than the previously proposed model. Introducing the two diffusion control functions into the whole-plant model, the developed model for WUEs,P effectively captured its response pattern to different Ca and SWC conditions. Overall, this study confirmed that the accurate estimation of WUEs,P requires an improved predictive accuracy of gsw and gm. These results have important implications for predicting how plants respond to climate change.
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