Grazing intensity alters soil respiration in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan plateau

Grazing intensity may alter the soil respiration rate in grassland ecosystems. The objectives of our study were to (1) determine the influence of grazing intensity on temporal variations in soil respiration of an alpine meadow on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau; and (2) characterise, the temperature response of soil respiration under different grazing intensities. Diurnal and seasonal soil respiration rates were measured for two alpine meadow sites with different grazing intensities. The light grazing (LG) meadow site had a grazing intensity of 2.55 sheep ha(-1), while the grazing intensity of the heavy grazing (HG) meadow site, 5.35 sheep ha(-1), was approximately twice that of the LG site. Soil respiration measurements - showed that CO2 efflux was almost twice as great at the LG site as at the HG site during the growing season, but the diurnal and seasonal patterns of soil respiration rate were similar for the two sites. Both exhibited the highest annual soil respiration rate in mid-August and the lowest in January. Soil respiration rate was highly dependent on soil temperature. The Q(10) value for annual soil respiration was lower for the HG site (2.75) than for the LG site (3.22). Estimates of net ecosystem CO2 exchange from monthly measurements of biomass and soil respiration revealed that during the period from May 1998 to April 1999, the LG site released 2040 g CO2 m(-2) y(-1) to the atmosphere, which was about one third more than the 1530g CO2 m(-2) y(-1) released at the HG site. The results suggest that (1) grazing intensity alters not only soil respiration rate, but also the temperature dependence of soil CO2 efflux; and (2) soil temperature is the major environmental factor controlling the temporal variation of soil respiration rate in the alpine meadow ecosystem. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All fights reserved.

中国北方表沙无机碳储量及次生碳酸盐固碳潜力研究

This paper selected the Taklamakan Desert and the Badain Jaran Desert as the research areas, tested the carbonate content of surface-sand samples of dunes using Eijkelkamp carbonate goniophotometer, and analyzed the spatial-distribution characteristics of carbonate and estimated the carbonate-stock and secondary carbonate-stock in 1m depth of surface sand in the Taklamakan Desert and the Badain Jaran Desert. In addition, the paper test XRD, SEM, TDA, stable carbon isotope and radioactive strontium isotope of lacustrine deposits in the Taklamakan Desert and carbonates, such as kunkar, root canal, lacustrine deposits, sinter and calcrete, in the Badain Jaran Desert. Resting on the achievements by our predecessors, it analyzed the mineral-composition differences of the carbonates, calculated the contents of secondary carbonate and, furthermore, evaluated their potential of sequestration of CO2 in the atmosphere. The overall goal of this study was to increase our understanding of soil carbonate in the context of carbon sequestration in the arid region in China. That is, to advance our understanding about whether or not secondary carbonate in desert is a sink for atmospheric CO2. The following viewpoints were obtained: 1 Carbonate contents of surface-sand samples decend from the south to the north of the Taklamakan Desert. The minimum lies in the south and the maxmum in the mid. Carbonate content of surface-sand of megadunes in the Badain Jaran Desert has low value generally in the dune-crest and the base of slope, and large value in the mid. The average of Carbonate contents of all sorts of collected samples in the same area of the Taklamakan Desert has small diffetences. The average is about 9%. 2 Using carbonate contents as key parameters, calculate the carbon-stock of carbonates in 1m depth of surface sand in the Taklamakan Desert and the Badain Jaran Deser.They are 1.13Pg and 0.19 Pg respectively. There are 0.53Pg and 0.088Pg carbon-stock of secondary-carbonates in 1m depth of surface sand in the Taklamakan Desert and the Badain Jaran Desert. 3 Through testing data from XRD （X-ray diffraction）and TAD ( Thermal Analysis Data), the most significant conclusion derived from is that the main mineral ingredient is calcite in different carbonate substances in arid regions, From the SEM(Scanning electron microscopy ) images, can obtains the information about the micro environment of different carbonate forms in which they can grow. 4 Selected gas by termal cracking and traditional phosphoric acid method, their δ13C show that δ13C is a good parameter to indicate the micro environment in which different secondary carbonate forms. From the δ13C of the same type samples, if the redeposit degree is hard, theδ13C is light, the redeposit degree is weak, the δ13C is heave. and the δ13C of the different type samples, δ13C is mainly controlled by the micro environment in which secondary formed. if the procedure is characterized by redeposit and dissolve of marine facies carbonate, δ13C is heavy, it is characterized by CO2 which produced by plant respiration,δ13C is light. 5 From the δ13C of lacustrine deposit in the different grain size, there exsit certain differences in their micro environment and secondary degree among different grain size in the same grade. 6 The secondary carbonate content of lacustrine deposits in Taklimakan Desert is 47.26%. And those of root canal, sinter, calcrete, kunkar, lacustrine deposit and surface sand in Badain Jaran Desert are 91.74%, 78.46%, 76.26%, 87.87%, 85.37%and 46.49%, respectively. Of different grain size samples, the secondary carbonate contents of coarse fraction (20-63μm), sub-coarse fraction (5-20μm) and fine fraction (<5μm) are 80.10%, 47.2%and 50.07%, respectively. 7 There is no obvious relevance betweenδ13C of secondary carbonate and the content of secondary carbonate,theδ13C of secondary carbonate mainly reflects the parameters of secondary process, the content of secondary carbonate reflects difference of secondary degree.. 8 Silicates potentially supply 3.4 pencent calcium source during forming process of lacustrine deposits in Taklimakan Desert. If calcium source is mainly supplied by goundwater, it can be calculated that about 5.18 %, 6.13%, 5.68%, 5.64 % and 6.82% silicates supply calcium source respectively for root canal, kunkar, lacustrine deposit, calcrete and sinter, during the forming process of different kinds of carbonates in Badain Jaran Desert.

Analysis of the estrogenic components in kudzu root by bioassay and high performance liquid chromatography

The estrogenic activity of the Chinese herb kudzu root was investigated by a recombinant yeast screening assay (YES). Isoflavones are the main components in the plant, of which puerarin is the most abundant one. The kudzu root extract was separated into four fractions according to the polarity. The crude extract and its sub-fractions, except the water fraction, showed clear estrogenic activity and the potencies were in the range of 10(-3) to 10(-1) g/l. The ligand potency was used to compare the estrogenic activity of these fractions. The crude extract and its sub-fractions were further analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to correlate the activity and the active components. Bioassay and chemical analysis showed that theoretical estrogenic activity expressed as equivalent 17 beta-estradiol concentration or the cumulative effects are comparable to that experimentally determined by YES. The results showed that the high content of isoflavones as well as the high estrogenic activity could make kudzu root extract an interesting candidate for hormone replacement therapy. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for identification of isoflavones and description of the biotransformation of kudzu root

High-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry has been used to identify isoflavone aglycones and glycosides in kudzu root. Fourteen isoflavones were detected. Among these, six were identified by comparison with authentic standards. Tentative identifications of the other isoflavones are based on UV spectra, mass spectra of protonated and deprotonated molecules, and MS-MS data. Several are reported for the first time in kudzu root. The bioactivity and bioavailability of isoflavone aglycones are usually greater than those of their glycosides. To improve the bioavailability of kudzu root isoflavones, crude beta-glycosidases prepared from microbes were used to hydrolyze the isoflavone glycosides. Several MS modes are combined not only to identify the isoflavones in kudzu root, but also to describe the biotransformation of kudzu root isoflavone glycosides. It is also proved that crude beta-glycosidases have high selectivity toward the O-glycosides of isoflavones.