沙埋与供水对毛乌素沙地两种重要植物幼苗生长的影响

近年来，土地荒漠化（ Desertification）及其防治已成为世界各国政府及科学界广泛关注的社会与环境问题。毛乌素沙地是我国荒漠化发展的中心地区之一。荒漠化不仅长期制约着地方经济的发展，同时也不同程度地影响着黄河中下游等地区的生态环境。因此，毛乌素沙地退化生态系统的恢复重建势在必行。沙埋与水分是该地区重要的生态因子和限制因子。柠条（Caragana korshinskii ）和羊柴（Hedysarum laeve ）作为该地区广泛分布的物种，经常用于我国北方干旱、半干旱区的生态恢复。因此，本文以这两个物种为研究对象， 探讨不同的沙埋与供水对两种植物幼苗存活与生长的影响。该研究对深化与丰富植物对沙生环境适应的生态学机理认识， 进而对采用合理的方法进行荒漠化防治及当地生态系统恢复重建具有重要的理论与实际意义。 以柠条（Caragana korshinskii ）和羊柴（Hedysarum laeve ）这两种植物幼苗为研究对象，人工控制6 个沙埋深度、5 个沙埋时间和4 个水分梯度，研究它们对不同沙埋深度和供水量的响应。结果表明：适量的沙埋(0.25~0.50 H 沙埋)与供水(柠条50 mm/月，羊柴75 mm/月)可以促进幼苗生长，过量的沙埋与供水则会抑制生长甚至导致幼苗死亡。柠条幼苗在50 mm/月供水， 0.25、0.50 H 沙埋， 羊柴幼苗在75 mm/月供水，0.25、0.50 H 沙埋下具有较高的生物量、叶面积、相对生长速率和净同化速率；幼苗在1.0 H 和1.25 H 沙埋下全部死亡。供水量较小、沙埋较浅时，两种植物根冠比均较高；当供水量最大时，柠条幼苗根冠比在沙埋最深和没有沙埋时较大，而羊柴幼苗根冠比仍在没有沙埋时最高。

毛乌素沙地两种蜜源植物羊柴和角蒿的传粉生物学研究

本论文从传粉生物学的角度出发，运用野外观察、室内测定和生物统计学方法，对毛乌素沙地的两种蜜源植物羊柴（Hedysarum leave）和角蒿（Incarvillea sinensis var. sinensis）的开花物候、花生物学特性、传粉昆虫行为以及繁育系统进行了研究，得出如下结论： 1．在自然居群中，存在着开白色花和紫红色花的两种羊柴植株，其中白色花植株仅占5.5±1.56%左右。白色花和紫红色花植株的花期存在明显的重叠，白色花植株的花期集中在8月中旬到9月上旬，而紫红色花植株的花期从7月中旬持续到9月中旬。在整个花期内，单个白色花植株的生产的总花数为125±11.33朵，明显少于紫红色花植株的372±30.38朵，两者存在极显著差异。 2． 羊柴白色花和紫红色花的单花花粉量、胚珠数和P/O值都存在显著差异。在单花开放的整个过程中，白色花的花蜜分泌量显著地高于紫红色花，但白色花和紫红色花的花蜜糖分浓度变化趋势相似，即都具有两个花蜜浓度高峰值。 3. 羊柴白色花植株稳定且访花频率较高的传粉者是散熊蜂、白脸条蜂和意大利蜂，而紫红色花植株稳定且访花频率较高的传粉者有散熊蜂、白脸条蜂、意大利蜂和海切叶蜂。传粉昆虫在白色花上的单花停留时间比紫红色花的稍长，两者存在显著差异。 4. 羊柴白色花植株和紫红色花植株自花授粉的结实率（白色花：4.31±0.34%;紫红色花：4.58±0.53%），相对于人工异花授粉的结实率（白色花：19.77±2.31%;紫红色花：21.03±3.02%）较低。自然结实率（白色花：25.93±2.30%;紫红色花：25.24±1.61%）没有显著性差异（F=0.25;P=0.80）。此外，羊柴不存在无融合生殖现象。 5. 角蒿花期从7月中旬持续到9月初，单花开放时间为5-9h;单花花粉量为18816.27±326.70、在花开放后3-4h时，花粉活力达到最大值71.98±1.23%，胚珠数为180.80±5.30，P/O值为104.7。在花开放后3-4h时，花蜜量达到最大值1.41±0.35ul。角蒿的传粉昆虫仅有散熊蜂和四条无垫蜂。在花开放过程中，花粉活力动态和花蜜分泌动态都与传粉昆虫的行为不吻合。 6. 角蒿自花授粉和人工异花授粉的结实率和结籽率均无显著差异。自然结实率为85.93±1.63%，显著地低于自花授粉和人工异花授粉，但是，自花授粉、人工异花授粉及自然对照的结籽率无显著差异。在开放传粉的情况下，被去雄的花结实率仅为48.90±5.37%，说明昆虫传粉仅贡献一部分结实率。角蒿不存在无融合生殖。

沙地中植物的传粉对策——毛乌素案例研究

地环境严酷多变，植物的物种多样性较低且常成斑块状分布，传粉昆虫的种类较少且其数量在时间和空间上变化较大。生长在沙地中的植物常采取一些独特的传粉对策来适应其严酷多变的的环境。然而，前人对沙生植物传粉生物学的研究还非常有限，至今未总结出其与沙生环境相适应的传粉生物学特点。本文以生长于毛乌素沙地的角蒿、披针叶黄华和羊柴三种主要蜜源植物为材料，通过大量的野外观察和人工实验，对其开花习性、花生物学特点、传粉和交配系统及有性繁殖成功进行了研究，得到以下主要结论： 1. 由于传粉昆虫的种类较少，传粉者的拜访频率低且时空分布不均，角蒿发育出一种有效的生殖保障机制——通过风驱动花冠脱落实现延迟自花授粉。在花开放后期，角蒿仍然张开且未萎蔫的花冠被风吹落，拖动冠生雄蕊沿花柱向前滑动，使得花药穿过张开的柱头裂片，从而实现自花传粉。然而在柱头裂片闭合后，由于柱头表面被封闭，使得这一自花传粉过程不能实现。该植物不存在雌雄异熟，并且是完全自交亲和的。与自然状况下相比，在风排除帐中花冠脱落的比例显著减小，说明风对角蒿花冠的脱落至关重要。在排除传粉者的情况下，花开放后期花冠的脱落显著增加了柱头上的花粉数，相应也显著增加了花的结实和结籽率，说明风驱动的花冠脱落可通过促进自交来增加果实和种子生产。仅散熊蜂和四条无垫蜂两种蜂为角蒿提供传粉，但在自然状况下样地中仅仅一半的花被拜访，并且去雄花的结实率显著低于未去雄的花，表明昆虫传粉仅对花的结实有部分贡献，并且延迟自花传粉能为角蒿提供繁殖保障。另外，角蒿的柱头较敏感，它的两个张开的柱头裂片在受到传粉者触碰后很快紧紧闭合，但是如果此时柱头表面未收到或仅收到少量花粉，闭合的柱头裂片又会重新张开，这一特性是一种动态的雌雄异位，能减少自交和异交的干扰，并且也是角蒿生殖保障机制的一部分。由于涉及花器官的运动及风和敏感柱头的积极参与，因此角蒿的延迟自花传粉与以前报道的自花传粉机制均不同。此外，角蒿由蜂类和风拖动花冠共同参与的传粉模式也是一种新的风和动物联合传粉机制。 2. 披针叶黄华在早春开花，植株密集，花量较大，由于在此期间开花的虫媒植物很少，此时出现的蜂类在食源有限的情况下频繁地拜访披针叶黄华的花。在传粉者频繁拜访的压力下，披针叶黄华采取了花药序次成熟和开裂的对策来实现花粉的最佳散布。披针叶黄华是自交亲和的，单花期长3-4天，它的十枚完全分离的雄蕊在2-3天内分五对序次地伸长和开裂，这五对花药序次开裂通常彼此间隔3-4小时，但这一行为在夜间停止。五对序次开裂花药的大小、花粉数量和可育花粉的比例无显著差异。有七种蜂为披针叶黄华提供传粉，其中山本氏切叶蜂是主要传粉者，它对披针叶黄华的拜访频率很高，一朵花平均每天受到25次拜访。山本氏切叶蜂在一次拜访中移出一朵花内可获得花粉的70-90%，且一次拜访和多次拜访对花粉的移取率无显著差异;在具有1-5对开裂花药的花间，昆虫对花粉的移取率也无显著差异，说明传粉者对花粉的移取能力很强。其花蜜的分泌模式与花药序次开裂的模式及传粉者的拜访特点相适应。正是传粉者高的拜访频率和强的花粉移取能力使得披针叶黄华采取了序次呈现花粉的策略来增加花粉被散布的机会。 3. 羊柴是毛乌素沙地的一种优势克隆植物，花期较长，开花量大。该种植物是不完全雄性先熟的，P/O比为55 610，花蜜的分泌模式与雌性功能的出现和昆虫的拜访相适应。有14种蜂为其提供传粉，其中意大利蜂、散熊蜂、白脸条蜂、和海切叶蜂是四种主要传粉者。该种植物具有自交异交混和交配系统，但自体受精结实率很低，种子繁殖需依靠传粉者提供授粉，传粉者的拜访行为能导致频繁的同株异花传粉。 4. 羊柴植株具有短时间大量开花的特点，但相邻不同斑块的开花时间差异很大，早、晚开花的斑块较少，大多数斑块一致在开花季节中期开花。这种斑块水平上开花的不同步能影响传粉者的种类组成和拜访频率，在整个开花季节内，传粉者的种类逐渐减少，并且早开花的斑块比那些中期开花的有更高的传粉者拜访频率,说明大量中期开花的斑块间存在传粉者竞争。在早开花的斑块中，传粉者的拜访频率与花展示的大小成显著正相关，说明大量开花能增加花展示对传粉者的吸引。但在中期开花的斑块中，随着开花量的持续增加，传粉者拜访减少。与中期开花的斑块相比，早、晚开花的斑块有更高的结实率。斑块水平上植株的结实率与羊柴的盖度、植株密度和重要值等种群统计学参数无显著相关，并且植株的大小和花展示的大小对开花时间与结实率的关系没有影响。由此可知，羊柴在斑块水平上大量开花和不同步开花共存的开花模式可能是对吸引传粉者和减少植株间对传粉者竞争的一种折衷。 5. 生长于毛乌素沙地的这三种主要蜜源植物的花期几乎不重叠，均具有泛化传粉系统，在花期内出现的大多数蜂类都可为披针叶黄华和羊柴提供传粉，比较特殊的是角蒿具有昆虫和风联合传粉的泛化传粉系统。三种植物都是自交亲和的，具有混合交配系统。这可能与沙地环境中蜂类的物种多样性较低，且其数量在时间和空间上变化很大有关。

鄂尔多斯植物遥感光谱及植被分布特征

本研究通过对鄂尔多斯（主要为毛乌素地区）植物遥感光谱和土壤结皮光谱的测定，通过专题资料搜集、野外踏查、植被样方调查和室内盆栽试验和实验室分析等工作，利用遥感和地理信息系统技术，测定了研究区主要植物光谱和土壤结皮光谱，建立了研究区生态环境本底数据库，在以上的基础上，进行了3方面的详细研究： （1） 通过野外样方调查，野外和室内培养的生物结皮的地面高光谱测定和野外典型地物（鄂尔多斯地区优势高等植物种和沙地土壤）的高光谱测定。采用人工模拟降雨，从苔藓休眠-正常代谢-休眠过程中，研究苔藓土壤结皮的光谱变化，得出苔藓结皮在夏季的生命活动期（正常代谢）的光谱曲线具有高等植物光谱曲线特征;不同地物的NDVI在降水前后变化：苔藓结皮NDVI的变化为0.3-0.35左右，藻类结皮变化为0.15左右，100%盖度的油蒿变化约为0.03左右，而土壤物理结皮的NDVI变化为0.06-0.08左右，可见降水对结皮的归一化植被指数的影响较土壤和高等植被大的多，对苔藓结皮的影响尤其显著。 通过线性模型研究了生物结皮对区域植被遥感解译的影响：模拟得出调查区域（11km样线）由于干湿结皮的变换， NDVI值平均变化0.03， 苔藓湿时的NDVI较苔藓干时相对提高9.3%。可见在研究区，由于苔藓结皮等土壤结皮的存在和干旱半干旱区降雨的不稳定性，必然造成该区域短时间内NDVI的不稳定性。研究结果可为如何结合苔藓结皮的高光谱特征及其变化规律选择和研究合适的生物结皮（苔藓）遥感解译方法提供借鉴。 （2）通过对1980S,1990s,2000s三个时期遥感图像解译，分析了毛乌素沙地沙漠化过程及其驱动机制，认为毛乌素沙地近20年来沙漠化程度有所减轻，植被覆盖有所增加。气候因素和人为因素是导致植被覆盖增加的决定因素，通过多元回归分析确定降水和温度是影响毛乌素沙地植被变化的关键气候因子，并建立了相应的回归方程;人为因素的影响表现在20年来农田和林地的大面积增加。 （3）在建立研究区生态环境本底数据库的基础上，利用遥感解译结果和地理信息系统的空间分析功能，分析了气候因素、地质水文因素、地形和地貌等对植被分布的影响，得出在不同尺度上，影响植被分布的关键因素不同。在鄂尔多斯研究区，区域年降水量对全区的植被分布有着重要影响，尽管地质水文条件的不同也影响了小区域的植被分布。在毛乌素沙地区，在宏观尺度上（旗县），植被分布与其所处的海拔高度关系不明显，在小尺度上，植被分布表现出趋向于相对低海拔分布;小尺度研究中发现，植被分布受地形和基质岩性的组合的综合影响。

毛乌素沙地油蒿与籽蒿种子萌发对光照的反应

油蒿(Artemisia ordosica)与籽蒿(Artemisia sphaerocephala)为毛乌素沙地的优势物种，广泛用于我国北方干旱、半干旱区的生态恢复。油蒿与籽蒿种子萌发对温度、水分等环境条件的反应已有较为明确的研究结果，但关于这两种蒿属植物种子萌发对光照反应的研究目前存在两种不同的结论，对飞播技术的改善造成一定影响。 影响油蒿与籽蒿种子萌发对光照反应的因素较多。如种源地、结实部位、种子颜色、种子保存方式与时间、实验条件、温度等。考虑种源地、种子保存时间与方式、结实部位及温度，从多方面系统研究油蒿与籽蒿种子萌发对光照的反应。结果表明当温度较低时(10:20C)，萌发率和萌发速率在黑暗条件下显著高于在光照条件下。采自榆林地区的种子萌发状况相对较差，萌发率和萌发速率在大多数情况下显著低于其他两地;各种源地上下部种子萌发率有一定差异，大多数结实部位为上部的种子最终萌发率和萌发速率高于下部的种子;保存几周的种子萌发率变化不大，但在温度较高和较低时，随着种子保存时间的延长，萌发率下降较快，而在适宜温度下种子萌发率变化不明显;种子保存方式的不同造成种子萌发情况的差异，但差异不明显;黑暗条件下比近似黑暗条件下的种子萌发率略低。上述因素对种子萌发均具有一定影响，但总体特征是种子萌发对光照的反应表现为强光抑制种子的萌发，黑暗促进种子萌发。当温度较高时(15:25C)，光照与黑暗条件下种子萌发率差异不大，但黑暗条件下种子的萌发速率显著高于光照条件下;当其它条件相同时，种子萌发率和萌发速率显著高于温度较低时(10:20C)。因而，适宜的温度和黑暗条件有利于油蒿与籽蒿种子的萌发。在飞播实践时应为种子创造一定的沙埋条件，创造有利于种子萌发的黑暗环境，促进种子的萌发，提高飞播工作的成效。

毛乌素沙地四种关键植物幼苗出土及生长对沙埋和水分的响应

飞播是毛乌素沙地植被恢复与重建的重要手段。但此项技术仍存在一些问题，如飞播后成苗率较低等。柠条(Caragana korshinskii)、羊柴(Hedysarum laeve)、籽蒿(Artimisia sphaerocephala)与油蒿(Artimisia ordosica)是毛乌素沙地广泛分布的物种，也是飞播的主要物种。本文以飞播植被恢复技术为突破口，研究沙埋和土壤水分对种子萌发，幼苗出土和生长的影响，探讨幼苗出土和生长对沙生环境的适应对策。对采用合适的物种进行生态工程建设，提高生态工程的稳定性及可持续性具有重要意义。同时，本项研究有助于加深半干旱区植物对沙生环境适应机理的认识。 以上述4种植物为研究对象，设定7个沙埋深度和9个水分梯度，研究种子萌发和幼苗出土对沙埋和单次供水的响应。设定7个沙埋深度，选择3个沙丘部位，研究沙丘不同部位对植物种子萌发的影响。设定6个沙埋深度、4个水分梯度，研究两种蒿属植物幼苗生长对不同沙埋和供水的响应。得出如下主要结论： (1) 对于种子质量相对较大的柠条和羊柴而言，在一次性10-20 mm供水量条件下，幼苗主要在0.5-2 cm埋藏深度之间出土，但在埋藏深度为5 cm时这两个物种仍有少部分幼苗能够出土;对于种子质量相对较轻的油蒿和籽蒿而言，在一次性10-20 mm供水量时，幼苗主要在0.5 cm埋藏深度出土，油蒿和籽蒿幼苗在埋藏深度为1.5和2 cm时不能出苗。沙埋深度为0.5 cm时，4个物种出苗率较高、出苗时间较短、出苗速率较快。 (2) 实验期内(30天)在一次性供水量分别为5、7.5和7.5mm时，柠条、羊柴和油蒿出土幼苗全部死亡;在一次性供水量高于15-20 mm时，出土幼苗死亡率低于50%;籽蒿在供水量高于10 mm时出土幼苗死亡率低于50%;随供水量的增加4个物种出土幼苗的死亡率降低。 (3) 结合毛乌素沙地降雨特点与本文实验结果，0.5 cm的沙埋及7.5 mm以上的单次降雨量是上述4种植物自然条件下出苗较高的重要条件。 (4) 在沙丘顶部，2-7 cm沙埋深度之内各个物种不同沙埋深度的种子萌发率差异不显著。沙丘背风坡中部和底部，4个物种在沙埋深度为1 cm时的种子萌发率均显著高于5、7 cm时的萌发率。当沙埋深度为1-5 cm时，柠条和羊柴种子在坡面不同位置的萌发率均高于20%，且显著高于7 cm沙埋深度时的萌发率。在背风坡底部时，柠条、羊柴、油蒿和籽蒿的种子萌发率达到最大值，分别为45.2±3.27%、48.4±5.21%、20.8±4.63%和22.4±4.83%。4个物种的种子萌发率从沙丘顶部到背风坡中部到底部呈递增趋势，表明背风坡中部和底部的环境条件要比顶部更适合种子萌 发。 (5) 部分沙埋促进幼苗生长。2种蒿属植物幼苗在沙埋深度为0.25、0.5 H时比在0、0.75 H时具有更高的生物量、叶面积、相对生长速率（RGR）和净同化速率（NAR）。在75 mm/月供水量时，油蒿幼苗具有较高的生物量和叶面积，但当供水量达到100 mm/月时其幼苗生长受到抑制。油蒿幼苗在遭遇较深（0.5、0.75 H）沙埋时的根冠比要显著高于未沙埋幼苗的根冠比;籽蒿幼苗根冠比在不同沙埋条件下没有显著变化。籽蒿幼苗在50 mm供水量时具有较高的RGR。油蒿幼苗在75 mm供水量时具有较高的RGR和NAR。

毛乌素沙区土壤养分对湿地退化的响应

采用湿地生态理论中空间替代时间的研究方法,以毛乌素沙区退化湿地为研究对象,选择距退化湿地水面不同距离,具有不同地下水位埋深的研究区域代表湿地不同退化阶段,通过分析5个不同阶段退化湿地土壤的有机质、全氮、全磷随水平距离的变化特征,研究了土壤养分对湿地退化不同退化程度的响应特征。结果表明,不同退化阶段土壤有机质与全氮剖面均具有一个明显的富集层,既湿地退化前的泥炭沉积层。该沉积层在剖面中所处深度随退化程度的加剧而逐渐增加,且沉积层以上深度的有机质和全氮含量趋于一致。土壤中全磷含量在剖面波动较大,分布特征无明显规律,不同水平距离全磷平均含量无明显变化规律说明湿地退化对全磷含量无明显影响。以上研究结果表明,由于流动沙丘入侵是导致毛乌素沙地湿地退化的首要原因,湿地退化导致土壤有机质和全氮富集层深度逐渐下移,平均含量逐渐下降,而对全磷影响不大。

晚中新世以来中国北方风成沉积的磁性地层学和沉积学研究

The past two decades have witnessed an unprecedented growth of interest in the palaeoenvironmental significance of the Pleistocene loess deposits in northern China. However, it is only several years ago that the Tertiary red clay sequence underlying Pleistocene loess attracted much attention. One of the major advances in recent studies of eolian deposits on the Loess Plateau is the verification of the eolian origin for the Tertiary red clay sediments. The evidence of the eolian origin for the red clay is mainly from geochemical and sedimentological studies. However, sedimentological studies of the red clay deposits are still few compared with those of the overlying loess sediments. To date, the red clay sections located near Xifeng, Baoji, Lantian, Jiaxian, and Lingtai have been studied, with an emphasis on magnetostratigraphy. These sections have a basal age ranging from ～4.3 Ma to ～7.0 Ma. The thickness of the sections varies significantly, depending perhaps on the development of local geomorphological conditions and the drainage system. Although the stratigraphy of the red clay sections has been recorded in some detail, correlation of the red clay sequences has not yet been undertaken. Geological records (Sun J. et al., 1998) have shown that during glacial periods of the Quaternary the deserts in northem China were greatly expanded compared with modern desert distribution. During interglacial periods, desert areas contracted and retreated mostly to northwestern China because of the increase in inland penetration of monsoonal precipitation. According to pedogenic characteristics of the red clay deposits, the climatic conditions of the Loess Plateau is warmer and wetter generally in the Neogene than in the late Pleistocene. Panicle analyses show that grain size distribution of the red clay sequence is similar to that of the paleosols in the Pleistocene loess record, thus implying a relatively remote provenance of the red clay materials. However, the quantitative or semiquantitative estimates of the distance from the source region to the Loess Plateau during the red clay development remains to be investigated. In this study, magnetostratigraphic and sedimentological studies are conducted at two thick red clay sequences-Jingchuan and Lingtai section. The objectives of these studies are focused on further sedimentological evidence for the eolian origin of the red clay, correlation of red clay sequences, provenance of the red clay, and the palaeoclimate reconstruction in the Neogene. Paleomagnetic studies show that the Jingchuan red clay has a basal age of 8.0 Ma, which is 1 million years older than the previously studied Lingtai section. The Lingtai red clay sequence was divided into five units on the basis of pedogenica characteristics (Ding et al., 1999a). The Jingchuan red clay sequence, however, can be lithologically divided into six units according to field observations. The upper five units of the Jingchuan red clay can generally correlate well with the five units of the Lingtai red clay. Comparison of magnetic susceptibility and color reflectance records of four red clay sections suggests that the Lingtai red clay sequence can be the type-section of the Neogene red clay deposits in northern China. Pleistocene loess and modem dust deposits have a unimodal grain-size distribution. The red clay sediments at Jingchuan and Lingtai also have a unimodal grain-size distribution especially similar to the paleosols in the Pleistocene loess record. Sedimentological studies of a north-south transect of loess deposits above S2 on the Loess Plateau show that loess deposits had distinct temporal and spatial sedimentary differentiation. The characteristics of such sedimentary differentiation can be well presented in a triangular diagram of normalized median grain size, normalized skewness, and normalized kurtosis. The triangular diagrams of the red clay-loess sequence at Lingtai and Jingchuan indicate that loess-paleosol-red clay may be transported and sorted by the same agent wind, thus extending the eolian record in the Loess Plateau from 2.6 Ma back to about 8.0 Ma. It has been recognized that during the last glacial maximum (LGM) the deserts in northern China had a distribution similar to the present, whereas during the Holocene Optimum the deserts retreated to the area west of the Helan Mountains. Advance-retreat cycles of the deserts will lead to changes in the distance of the Loess Plateau to the dust source regions, thereby controlling changes in grain size of the loess deposited in a specific site. To observe spatial changes in sedimentological characteristics of loess during the last glacial-interglacial cycle, the texture of loess was measured along the north-south transect of the Loess Plateau. Since the southern margin of the Mu Us desert during the LGM is already known, several models of grain size parameters versus the minimum distance from the source region to depositional areas were developed. According to these semiquantitative models, the minimum distance from the source region to Lingtai and Jingchuan areas is about 600 km during the Neogene. Therefore the estimated provenance of the Tertiary red clay deposits is the areas now occupied by the Badain Jaran desert and arid regions west of it. The ratio of the free iron to total iron concentration attests to being a good proxy indicator for the summer monsoon evolution. The Lingtai Fe_20_3 ratio record shows high values over three time intervals: 4.8-4.1 Ma, 3.4-2.6 Ma, and during the interglacial periods of the past 0.5 Ma. The increase in summer monsoon intensity over the three intervals also coincides with the well-developed soil characteristics. It is therefore concluded that the East-Asia summer monsoon has experienced a non-linear evolution since the late Miocene. In general, the East Asia summer monsoon was stronger in Neogene than in Quaternary and the strongest East Asia summer monsoon may occur between 4.1 and 4.8 Ma. The relatively small ice volume and high global temperature may be responsible for the strong summer monsoon during the early Pliocene.

Organic nitrogen in PM2.5 aerosol at a forest site in the Southeast US

There is growing evidence that organo-nitrogen compounds may constitute a significant fraction of the aerosol nitrogen (N) budget. However, very little is known about the abundance and origin of this aerosol fraction. In this study, the concentration of organic nitrogen (ON) and major inorganic ions in PM2.5 aerosol were measured at the Duke Forest Research Facility near Chapel Hill, NC, during January and June of 2007. A novel on-line instrument was used, which is based on the Steam Jet Aerosol Collector (SJAC) coupled to an on-line total carbon/total nitrogen analyzer and two on-line ion chromatographs. The concentration of ON was determined by tracking the difference in concentrations of total nitrogen and of inorganic nitrogen (determined as the sum of N-ammonium and N-nitrate). The time resolution of the instrument was 30 min with a detection limit for major aerosol components of ∼0.1 mu;gm-3. Nitrogen in organic compounds contributed ∼33% on average to the total nitrogen concentration in PM2.5, illustrating the importance of this aerosol component. Absolute concentrations of ON, however, were relatively low (lt;1.0 mu;gm-3) with an average of 0.16 mu;gm-3. The absolute and relative contribution of ON to the total aerosol nitrogen budget was practically the same in January and June. In January, the concentration of ON tended to be higher during the night and early morning, while in June it tended to be higher during the late afternoon and evening. Back-trajectories and correlation with wind direction indicate that higher concentrations of ON occur in air masses originating over the continental US, while marine air masses are characterized by lower ON concentrations. The data presented in this study suggests that ON has a variety of sources, which are very difficult to quantify without information on chemical composition of this important aerosol fraction.

Barreras que imponen los Estados Unidos a las exportaciones procedentes de América Latina y el Caribe 1994 = US barriers to Latin American and Caribbean exports 1994

Incluye Bibliografía

Susceptibility of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus to ivermectin (200, 500 and 630 mu g/kg) in field studies in Brazil

The present study aimed to determine the susceptibility of 17 Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus populations, originating in the Southeast and Southern regions of Brazil, to different ivermectin concentrations (200, 500 and 630 mu g/kg), administered through subcutaneous or topical (pour-on) routes. R. (B.) microplus populations from the states of Minas Gerais (seven populations), Sao Paulo (seven populations) and Parana (three populations) were chosen for the tests. The selected cattle were allocated to treatment groups on day 0, and block formation was based on the arithmetic mean of female ticks (4.5-8.0 mm long) counted on three consecutive days (-3, -2 and -1). To evaluate the therapeutic and residual efficacies of these formulations, tick counts (females ranging from 4.5 to 8.0 mm long) were performed on days 3,7 and 14 post-treatment, and continued on a weekly basis thereafter until the end of each experiment. The results obtained throughout this study, utilizing field efficacy studies, allowed us to conclude that the resistance of R. (B.) microplus against 200 and 500 mu g/kg ivermectin is widely disseminated because all tick populations that had contact with these specific concentrations were diagnosed as resistant. However, it is possible to infer that R. (B.) microplus resistance against 630 mu g/kg ivermectin was also widespread, diagnosed at six of ten analyzed properties. Resistance of these ectoparasites to 630 mu g/kg ivermectin is most likely emerging in three other populations of R. (B.) microplus. Strategies of resistance management need to be quickly determined to keep the selection pressure at a minimum level in Brazil. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sall al-ḥusām al-Hindī li-nuṣrat Mawlānā Khālid al-Naqshabandī

Muḥammad Amīn ibn ʻĀbidīn.

Kitāb Maṭālib ahl al-qurbah fī sharḥ duʻāʼ Abī Ḥarbah / taʼlīf al-Shaykh al-ʻĀlim al-ʻĀmil al-ʻAllāmah al-Muḥaqqiq al-Mudaqqiq al-Fahhāmah al-Sayyid Badr al-Dīn Ḥusayn ibn al-Sharīf ʻAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad ibn ʻAlī al-Ahdal : manuscript, 1714

Foliated 1-442. Missing f. 441.

Ḥusāmkātī fī al-manṭiq : manuscript, undated

Commentary on the Īsāghūjī [Isagoge], "Introduction to logic", by al-Abharī.