Discriminating growth stages of an endangered Mediterranean relict plant (Ammopiptanthus mongolicus) in the arid Northwest China using hyperspectral measurements.

Ammopiptanthus mongolicus, the only drought-resistant, leguminous, evergreen shrub in the desert region of China, is endangered due to climate change and its growth stages urgently need to be non-destructively detected. Although many spectral indexes have been proposed for characterizing vegetation, the relationships are often inconsistent, making it challenging to characterize the status of vegetation across all growth stages. This study investigated the Spectral Features of the endangered desert plant A.

Assessing the effect of extra nitrogen on Kandelia obovata growth under cadmium stress using high-resolution thermal infrared remote sensing and the three-temperature model.

Mangrove forests provide many ecological services and are among the most productive intertidal ecosystems on earth. Currently, these forests frequently face significant heavy metal pollution as well as eutrophication. The present study assessed the response of Kandelia obovata Sheue, H.

Interactive effects of single, binary and trinary trace metals (lead, zinc and copper) on the physiological responses of Kandelia obovata seedlings.

Heavy metals are considered important environmental contaminants, and their mixture toxicity on plants has complex mutual interactions. The interactive effects of heavy metals on growth, photosynthetic parameters, lipid peroxidation and compatible osmolytes were studied in Kandelia obovata grown for 5 months in sediment treated with combinations of lead (Pb), zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu). The results showed no significant reduction of biomass under heavy metal stresses, except for decreased root biomass under higher Pb + Cu treatment, indicating high tolerance of K.

[Characteristics of Iron Plaque and Its Heavy Metal Enrichment in Typical Mangrove Plants in Shenzhen Bay, China].

Based on the five typical mangrove species in the mangrove wetland of Shenzhen Bay, the contents and distributional characteristics of iron plaques (Fe) and the Mn, Pb, Zn, Cu, As, Cr, Cd, Ni, Co, and Sb enrichment of the iron plaques on mangrove plant roots were investigated. The results show that:① There is a significant difference in the contents of iron plaques among the five mangrove species, and the contents in the species follow the order: > > > > ; the content ranged from 0.37 g·kg to 10.

Effects of conversion of mangroves into gei wai ponds on accumulation, speciation and risk of heavy metals in intertidal sediments.

Mangroves are often converted into gei wai ponds for aquaculture, but how such conversion affects the accumulation and behavior of heavy metals in sediments is not clear. The present study aims to quantify the concentration and speciation of heavy metals in sediments in different habitats, including gei wai pond, mangrove marsh dominated by Avicennia marina and bare mudflat, in a mangrove nature reserve in South China. The results showed that gei wai pond acidified the sediment and reduced its electronic conductivity and total organic carbon (TOC) when compared to A.

Temporal variations in physiological responses of Kandelia obovata seedlings exposed to multiple heavy metals.

A study was conducted to quantify temporal variations in physiological responses of Kandelia obovata under multiple heavy metal stress. The results showed that plant growth was not significantly affected by multiple heavy metal stress during the 120-days experiment. At the start, levels of net photosynthetic rate (P), stomatal conductance (G) and transpiration rate (T) showed effects of "low-promotion, high-inhibition", but P and G reduced with increasing heavy metal stress at the end.

Influence of introduced Sonneratia apetala on nutrients and heavy metals in intertidal sediments, South China.

To investigate the influence of Sonneratia apetala on nutrients and heavy metals in intertidal sediments, sediment cores of S. apetala marsh and mudflat in Shenzhen Bay, China were analyzed. The results showed that S.

[Comparing Cell Toxicity of Schizosaccharomyces pombe Exposure to Airborne PM2.5 from Beijing and Inert Particle SiO2].

To figure out the main factor of PM2.5 toxicity to cell, this study compared the cell toxicity of Schizosaccharomyces pombe (S. pombe), a model organism, exposed to inert ultrafine SiO2 particles, a model particle, and airborne PM2.

Distribution, Fraction, and Ecological Assessment of Heavy Metals in Sediment-Plant System in Mangrove Forest, South China Sea.

Overlying water, sediment, rhizosphere sediment and mangrove seedlings in the Futian mangrove forest were analyzed for heavy metals. The results showed that mangrove plant acidified sediment and increased organic matter contents. Except for chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni) and copper (Cu) in Aegiceras corniculatum sediment, heavy metals in all sediments were higher than in overlying water, rhizosphere sediment and mangrove root.

Distribution and accumulation of mercury and copper in mangrove sediments in Shenzhen, the world's most rapid urbanized city.

To investigate the influence of mangrove forest on heavy metal accumulation and storage in intertidal sediments, core sediments from natural mangrove, restored mangrove, and adjacent mud flat spanning the intertidal zone along the south coastline of the most heavily urbanized Deep bay, Guangdong province, China were analyzed. The average concentrations of mercury (Hg) in surface sediments of natural mangrove and restored mangrove were 172 and 151 ng g(-1), whereas those of copper (Cu) were 75 and 50 μg g(-1), respectively. Compared to those from other typical mangrove wetlands of the world, the metal levels in Shenzhen were at median to high levels, which is consistent with the fact that Shenzhen is in high exploitation and its mangrove suffer intensive impact from human activities.

[Profile nutrient distribution and sedimentary characteristics in typical marshes of Sanjiang Plain].

Profile distribution characteristics of organic carbon (C), total nitrogen (N), total phosphorus (P) and total sulfur (S) were studied in two typical marshes including Carex lasiocarpa marsh and Phragmites australis marsh in the Sanjiang Plain. Sedimentary characteristics of typical mashes were analyzed. The results showed that vertically these soil chemical elements also varied, showing obvious stratification and enrichment.

[Mercury and copper accumulation during last fifty years and their potential ecological risk assessment in sediment of mangrove wetland of Shenzhen, China].

The processes of sediment transport and deposition can record some relative anthropogenic information in gulf region. Chronological analysis of the sediment core collected from mangrove wetland in Shenzhen Bay showed that the sedimentation rate was about 1.38 cm x a(-1).

Effects of the "Conversion of Cropland to Forest and Grassland Program" on the water budget of the Jinghe River catchment in China.

In 1999 China adopted the "Conversion of Cropland to Forest and Grassland Program" (CCFGP), a nationwide ecological recovery program, to minimize wide-scale soil erosion and vegetation degradation in China, as well as to improve water budgeting results. In the 10 yr since implementation, the CCFGP has resulted in the recovery and reforestation of >100,000 km of cropland and bare land, though the quantitative effect of this program on catchment water budget is not entirely clear. Therefore, we used the Soil and Water Assessment Tool to evaluate and quantify the effects of the CCFGP on the water budget of the Jinghe River catchment, a tributary of the Yellow River covering the central region of the Loess Plateau.

Remotely monitoring evaporation rate and soil water status using thermal imaging and "three-temperatures model (3T Model)" under field-scale conditions.

Remote monitoring of soil evaporation and soil water status is necessary for water resource and environment management. Ground based remote sensing can be the bridge between satellite remote sensing and ground-based point measurement. The primary object of this study is to provide an algorithm to estimate evaporation and soil water status by remote sensing and to verify its accuracy.

An infrared-based coefficient to screen plant environmental stress: concept, test and applications.

By introducing a reference dry leaf (a leaf without transpiration), a formerly proposed plant transpiration transfer coefficient (h) was applied to detect environmental stress caused by water shortage and high temperature on melon, tomato and lettuce plants under various conditions. Results showed that there were obvious differences between leaf temperature, dry reference leaf temperature and air temperature. The proposed coefficient h could integrate the three temperatures and quantitatively evaluate the environmental stress of plants.

[Measuring fatty acid concentration in maize grain by near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy].

The fatty acid concentrations in maize grain were analyzed with a set of 294 samples including normal inbred lines, high-oil inbred lines and high-oil recombinant inbred lines (RIL). The method of partial least squares (PLS) regression with internal cross validation was employed to develop the measuring models of near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) for concentrations of four major fatty acids, palmitic, stearic, oleic and linoleic acids, as well as oil concentration in maize grain. The NIRS models were accurate for oleic acid, linoleic acid and oil concentrations.

Accurate estimation of forest carbon stocks by 3-D remote sensing of individual trees.

Forests are one of the most important carbon sinks on Earth. However, owing to the complex structure, variable geography, and large area of forests, accurate estimation of forest carbon stocks is still a challenge for both site surveying and remote sensing. For these reasons, the Kyoto Protocol requires the establishment of methodologies for estimating the carbon stocks of forests (Kyoto Protocol, Article 5).