川西北高寒草甸土壤呼吸研究：季节动态和放牧效应

除植被冠层的光合作用之外，土壤的呼吸作用是陆地生态系统碳收支中最大的通量。土壤呼吸即使发生较小的变化也能显著地减缓或加剧大气中CO2浓度的增加，从而明显影响到全球气候变化。土壤呼吸速率变化与否以及变化的方向可以反映生态系统对环境变化的敏感程度和响应模式。尽管如此，土壤呼吸仍是一个为人们了解不多的生态系统过程。 草地生态系统是陆地生态系统的一个重要组成部分。针对草地土壤呼吸进行野外实验研究和相应方法论的探讨将对区域乃至全球碳源汇性质的准确估算具有重要的科学意义。然而，近几年来关于草地土壤呼吸的主要研究工作都集中在温带草原和部分热带草原，而针对高寒草甸生态系统土壤呼吸的研究报道还很少。 2008年4月至2009年4月期间，我分别在2008年6、8、10、12月和2009年2月和4月分6次对川西北的典型高寒草甸群落的土壤呼吸进行观测，分析了不同类型高寒草甸群落土壤呼吸的季节变化特征以及环境因子和放牧模式对其影响。主要研究结果如下： 1）该地区高寒草甸生态系统在生长季（6月～8月）土壤呼吸速率较大（6.07～9.30μmolCO2¡m-2¡s-1 ） ， 在非生长季（ 12 月～ 2 月） 较小（ 0.16 ～0.49μmolCO2¡m-2¡s-1 ） 。土壤CO2 年累积最大释放量为3963 ～ 5730gCO2¡m-2¡yr-1，其中，生长季土壤CO2的释放量占年总释放量的85%～90%。非生长季占10%～15%。非生长季所占比例略小于冬季积雪覆盖地区的冬季土壤呼吸占年土壤呼吸量的比例（14%～30%）。温度，尤其地温，是影响该地区高寒草甸生态系统土壤呼吸速率的最主要环境因子。土壤呼吸速率与地上生物量和土壤水分之间没有显著相关性，但是土壤含水量过大会导致土壤呼吸速率下降。 2）在观测期内，草丘区的土壤呼吸显著高于对照区的土壤呼吸，其最大土壤呼吸速率为16.77μmolCO2¡m-2¡s-1，土壤CO2 年累积最大释放量为8145gCO2¡m-2¡yr-1，是对照区的近2 倍。由于草丘在高寒草甸中占有较大的面积比例（近30%），因此，它将对高寒草甸生态系统的碳循环起着重要的作用。 3）放牧模式不仅可以影响高寒草甸群落的土壤CO2 排放，而且还可以改变土壤呼吸的温度敏感性（Q10）。本研究表明，在生长季有长期放牧活动干扰时将会增加土壤向大气中释放二氧化碳的速度，促使土壤碳库中碳的流失。禁牧样地的土壤呼吸速率在刚禁牧时先迅速增大，随着禁牧时间的延长土壤呼吸速率将会下降。此外，与其它放牧模式相比，冬季放牧将高寒草甸群落土壤呼吸速率在生长季达到最大值的时间明显向后推迟。不同放牧模式下高寒草甸群落土壤呼吸的Q10 值大小顺序为：禁牧一年群落>冬季放牧群落>禁牧三年群落>夏季放牧群落>自由放牧群落。 4）基于呼吸室技术的观测方法中，测量前的剪草处理可以明显改变该地区高寒草甸群落的土壤温度和土壤呼吸速率。在生长季，剪草处理将使土壤呼吸速率的瞬时响应增加90%左右。由于剪草处理明显增加了剪草样方白天的土壤温度，而土壤温度与土壤呼吸之间存在着极显著的指数相关关系，因而剪草处理导致土壤呼吸速率迅速增加。因此，在高寒地区基于呼吸室技术观测的土壤呼吸应当进行校正。 综上所述，川西北高寒草甸生态系统土壤呼吸速率在生长季较高，而在非生长季较低。土壤温度是影响该地区土壤呼吸的最主要环境因子。在实验观测期，草丘区土壤呼吸速率显著高于对照区的，是对照区土壤呼吸速率的近2倍。由于测量前的剪草处理可以明显改变待测点的土壤呼吸速率，因此，应对在高寒地区基于呼吸室技术观测的土壤呼吸进行校正。 Soil respiration is the second largest component (less than plant phtotosynthesis) of carbon dioxide flux between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. A minor change in soil respiration rate can significantly slow down or accelerate the increase of atmospheric CO2 concentration that is closely related to global climatic change. In turn, the change in the flux direction and rate of soil respiration may indicate the elasticity and stability of ecosystems to global changes and human disturbance. However, soil respiration is still an ecosystem process that has been poorly understood. Grassland ecosystem is an important component of the terrestrial ecosystem. Accurately estimating the CO2 flux from soil to atmosphere in situ is the key to evaluating the carbon resource and sink regionally or globally. Despite of extensive studies on the temperate and tropic grasslands, the soil respiration of alpine meadows has not substantially been measured. In the current study, soil respiration was measured for an annual cycle from April, 2008 to April, 2009 for the alpine meadow in northwestern Sichuan Province of China to determine the seasonal variation of soil respiration for the typical plant communities. The results are shown as follows: 1) Large seasonal variation of soil respiration was observed in the alpine meadow. The rate of soil respiration was the greatest (6.07～9.30μmolCO2¡m-2¡s-1) in June and the smallest (0.16 ～ 0.49μmolCO2¡m-2¡s-1) occurred from December to February in the non-growing season. The total emission of soil CO2 was estimated as 3963～5730 gCO2¡m-2¡yr-1, 85%~90% of which was released during the growing season, and 10%~15% during the non-growing season which was slightly less than the ratio of winter and annual CO2 flux from soil. Temperature, particularly the soil temperature, was the major environmental factor regulating the soil respiration. Significant and positive relationships were not found between soil respiration and soil moisture and between soil respiration and plant above-ground biomass, but excessive soil water content would decrease in the rate of soil respiration. 2) The rate of soil respiration in grass hummock communities was up to 16.77μmolCO2¡m-2¡s-1, which was about twice as great as in the controls (communities located in low and even sites). Considering the large proportion (about 30% on average) of hummock area in the meadow, it can be concluded that the hummocks played an important role in the carbon cycling of the study ecosystem. 3) Grazing patterns affected the flux of CO2 emission and the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration (Q10) in the alpine meadow. Grazing during growing season increased the rate of soil respiration. The rate of soil respiration increased significantly immediately after the alpine meadow being fenced, but thereafter decreased. In addition, grazing in winter delayed the peak respiration rate relative to the non-grazing mode. The Q10 value was the largest in the non-grazed area for one year, and next came the area with grazing in winter, followed by the non-grazed area for three years, the area with grazing in summer, and the non-limited grazed area. 4) In the chamber-based techniques, clipping manipulation before each measurement increased the transient rate of soil respiration by about 90% in the summer of the alpine meadow. As increase in soil temperature at daytime in the clipped plots by clipping and the exponential relationship between soil respiration and temperature, clipping manipulation led to increase in the rate of soil respiration. This suggested that a correction should be done for the techniques if employed in alpine and cold regions. In summary, the rate of soil respiration in the alpine meadow was the greatest in June and the smallest occurred from ecember to February in the non-growing season. Soil temperature was the major environmental factor regulating the soil respiration. The rate of soil respiration in grass hummock communities was up to 16.77μmolCO2¡m-2¡s-1, which was about twice as great as in the controls. A correction should be done for the techniques if employed in alpine and cold regions, because of the effect of clipping manipulation on soil temperature and respiration.

Phylogénie moléculaire du genre Salix L. (Salicaceae) en Amérique du Nord

La culture de saules (Salix sp.) est une pratique courante en Europe et en Amérique du Nord pour produire de la biomasse végétale. Cependant, le développement d’outils moléculaires est très récent. De plus, la phylogénie des saules est incomplète. Il y a un manque d’information pour les programmes de sélection d'espèces indigènes et pour la compréhension de l’évolution du genre. Le genre Salix inclut 500 espèces réparties principalement dans les régions tempérées et boréo-arctique de l’hémisphère nord. Nous avons obtenu l’ensemble des espèces retrouvées naturellement en Amérique (121 indigènes et introduites). Dans un premier temps, nous avons développé de nouveaux outils moléculaires et méthodes : extraction d’ADN, marqueurs microsatellites et gènes nucléaires. Puis, nous avons séquencé deux gènes chloroplastiques (matK et rbcL) et la région ITS. Les analyses phylogénétiques ont été réalisées selon trois approches : parcimonie, maximum de vraisemblance et Bayésienne. L’arbre d’espèces obtenu a un fort support et divise le genre Salix en deux sous-genres, Salix et Vetrix. Seize espèces ont une position ambiguë. La diversité génétique du sous-genre Vetrix est plus faible. Une phylogénie moléculaire complète a été établie pour les espèces américaines. D’autres analyses et marqueurs sont nécessaires pour déterminer les relations phylogénétiques entre certaines espèces. Nous affirmons que le genre Salix est divisé en deux clades.

Estimating natural-ventilation potential considering both thermal comfort and IAQ issues

Natural-ventilation potential (NVP) value can provide the designers significant information to properly design and arrange natural ventilation strategy at the preliminary or conceptual stage of ventilation and building design. Based on the previous study by Yang et al. [Investigation potential of natural driving forces for ventilation in four major cities in China. Building and Environment 2005;40:739–46], we developed a revised model to estimate the potential for natural ventilation considering both thermal comfort and IAQ issues for buildings in China. It differs from the previous one by Yang et al. in two predominant aspects: (1) indoor air temperature varies synchronously with the outdoor air temperature rather than staying at a constant value as assumed by Yang et al. This would recover the real characteristic of natural ventilation, (2) thermal comfort evaluation index is integrated into the model and thus the NVP can be more reasonably predicted. By adopting the same input parameters, the NVP values are obtained and compared with the early work of Yang et al. for a single building in four representative cities which are located in different climates, i.e., Urumqi in severe cold regions, Beijing in cold regions, Shanghai in hot summer and cold winter regions and Guangzhou in hot summer and warm winter regions of China. Our outcome shows that Guangzhou has the highest and best yearly natural-ventilation potential, followed by Shanghai, Beijing and Urumqi, which is quite distinct from that of Yang et al. From the analysis, it is clear that our model evaluates the NVP values more consistently with the outdoor climate data and thus reveals the true value of NVP.

Critical slip and time dependence in sea ice friction

Recent research into sea ice friction has focussed on ways to provide a model which maintains much of the clarity and simplicity of Amonton's law, yet also accounts for memory effects. One promising avenue of research has been to adapt the rate- and state- dependent models which are prevalent in rock friction. In such models it is assumed that there is some fixed critical slip displacement, which is effectively a measure of the displacement over which memory effects might be considered important. Here we show experimentally that a fixed critical slip displacement is not a valid assumption in ice friction, whereas a constant critical slip time appears to hold across a range of parameters and scales. As a simple rule of thumb, memory effects persist to a significant level for 10 s. We then discuss the implications of this finding for modelling sea ice friction and for our understanding of friction in general.

The consolidation and bond strength of rafted sea ice

The consolidation and bond strength of rafted sea ice were investigated through a series of experiments undertaken in the Ice Physics Laboratory at the UCL. To simulate a section of rafted sea ice, blocks of laboratory grown saline ice were stacked in an insulated tank with spacers between adjacent blocks to allow saline water to flood in. The rate of consolidation was then monitored using a combination of temperature readings recorded in the ice and liquid layer, salinity measurements of the liquid layer, and cores taken at specific times of interest. Two states of consolidation were observed: thermodynamic consolidation where the ice blocks were physically bonded but the bond strength was weak, and mechanical consolidation where the bond had reached full strength. Results showed that the rafted ice had physically bonded in less than a day, however it took many more days (6 to 30 depending on the environmental conditions) for the bond to reach maximum strength. Increasing the thickness of the ice, the salinity of the water and the inter-block gap size all increased the consolidation time. Once consolidated, ice cores were taken and sheared using the asymmetric four-point bending method to measure the strength of the bond between the ice blocks. These were then compared to the shear strength of solid ice blocks simulating level sea ice. Our results show that the shear strength of the bond between the rafted ice blocks is about 30% weaker than that of level ice.

The COMPASS subunit Spp1 links histone methylation to initiation of meiotic recombination

During meiosis, combinatorial associations of genetic traits arise from homologous recombination between parental chromosomes. Histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation marks meiotic recombination hotspots in yeast and mammals, but how this ubiquitous chromatin modification relates to the initiation of double-strand breaks (DSBs) dependent on Spo11 remains unknown. Here, we show that the tethering of a PHD-containing protein, Spp1 (a component of the COMPASS complex), to recombinationally cold regions is sufficient to induce DSB formation. Furthermore, we found that Spp1 physically interacts with Mer2, a key protein of the differentiated chromosomal axis required for DSB formation. Thus, by interacting with H3K4me3 and Mer2, Spp1 promotes recruitment of potential meiotic DSB sites to the chromosomal axis, allowing Spo11 cleavage at nearby nucleosome-depleted regions.

Análise numérica de um coletor solar de tubo evacuado

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Análise proteômica dos alérgenos imunodominantes do veneno da vespa social Polybia paulista

Pós-graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Biologia Celular e Molecular) - IBRC

Ensaios estereológicos e morfologia tridimensional na formação hipocampal de aves migratórias marinhas: análise quantitativa da imunomarcação seletiva de neurônios e micróglia em Calidris pusilla e Actitis macularia

É objetivo do presente trabalho implantar como modelos para estudo da formação hipocampal das aves migratórias as espécies de maçarico Calidris pusilla e Actitis macularia que abandonam as regiões geladas do Canadá, fugindo do inverno, em direção à costa da América do Sul e do Caribe onde permanecem até a primavera quando então retornam ao hemisfério norte. Mais especificamente pretende-se descrever a organização morfológica qualitativa e quantitativa da formação hipocampal, empregando citoarquitetonia com cresil violeta e imunomarcação para neurônios e células da glia, sucedidas por estimativas estereológicas do número total de células identificadas com marcadores seletivos para aquelas células, assim como comparar a morfologia tridimensional da micróglia das aves com a dos mamíferos. As coletas de campo para a caracterização da formação hipocampal do Calidris pusilla e Actitis macularia em seus aspectos morfológicos foram feitas no Brasil na Ilha Canelas (0°47'21.95"S e 46°43'7.34"W) na Costa da Região Nordeste do Pará no município de Bragança, e no Canadá, na Baia de Fundy perto de Johnson's Mills na cidade de New Brunswick (45°50'19.3" N 64°31'5.39" W). A definição dos limites da formação hipocampal foi feita empregando-se as técnicas de Nissl e de imunomarcação para NeuN. Para a definição dos objetos de interesse das estimativas estereológicas e das reconstruções tridimensionais empregou-se imunomarcação com anticorpo anti-NeuN para neurônios e anti-IBA- 1 para micróglia. As estimativas estereológicas revelaram em média número similar de neurônios nas duas espécies enquanto que no hipocampo de Actitis macularia observou-se número de micróglias 37% maior do que no de Calidris pusilla. Além disso, encontrou-se que em média o volume da formação hipocampal do Actitis macularia é 38% maior do que o encontrado em Calidris pusilla. Os estudos comparativos da morfologia microglial das duas espécies de aves com a dos mamíferos Rattus novergicus e Cebus apella revelaram diferenças morfológicas significantes que indicam que as micróglias das aves mostram em média, menor complexidade (dimensão fractal), tem diâmetros e perímetros de soma menores e possuem ramos mais finos do que aquelas do rato e do macaco.

Design-based stereology to quantify structural properties of artificial and natural snow using thin sections

The quantification of the structural properties of snow is traditionally based on model-based stereology. Model-based stereology requires assumptions about the shape of the investigated structure. Here, we show how the density, specific surface area, and grain boundary area can be measured using a design-based method, where no assumptions about structural properties are necessary. The stereological results were also compared to X-ray tomography to control the accuracy of the method. The specific surface area calculated with the stereological method was 19.8 ± 12.3% smaller than with X-ray tomography. For the density, the stereological method gave results that were 11.7 ± 12.1% larger than X-ray tomography. The statistical analysis of the estimates confirmed that the stereological method and the sampling used are accurate. This stereological method was successfully tested on artificially produced ice beads but also on several snow types. Combining stereology and polarisation microscopy provides a good estimate of grain boundary areas in ice beads and in natural snow, with some limitatio