Effect of Nutrient Addition on the Productivity and Species Richness of Grassland Along With an Elevational Gradient in Tajikistan.

Grasslands provide key resource for the millions of people who are dependent on livestock in Tajikistan. Productivity and species richness (SR) are important characteristics of grassland ecosystems and are greatly affected by nutrient inputs. The effect that climate change might have on these characteristics remains unclear.

[Nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry of aquatic macrophytes in Kaidu River of Xinjiang and the potential influencing factors].

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are two common mineral elements constraining plant growth. Nutrients in aquatic macrophytes are mainly absorbed from water and sediments, and thus elemental composition in plant tissues can reflect the nutritional status in freshwater ecosystems. Kaidu River is an important river flowing through the alpine meadows, deserts, and desert oases in Xinjiang.

[Leaf C:N:P stoichiometry of 67 plant species and its relations with climate factors across the deserts in Xinjiang, China.].

Desert ecosystem has unique drought-enduring plants and stoichiometric characteristics. We collected leaf samples of 67 plant species from 63 desert sites in Xinjiang, and explored foliar carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) stoichiometry and the relationship between leaf nutrient stoichiometry and climatic factors. The results showed that the average content of leaf C, N and P in these plants were 394, 18.

Environmental and spatial variables determine the taxonomic but not functional structure patterns of microbial communities in alpine grasslands.

There is considerable debate regarding how the taxonomic diversity of microbial communities relates to the functional diversity across space while similar questions have been explored in macro-organism communities. Here, we investigated the taxonomic and functional diversity patterns of soil microbial communities by coupling the data obtained from marker genes sequencing and functional gene surveys. Meanwhile, we evaluated the relative effects of environment and geographic distance on shaping these patterns in alpine grasslands of northern China.

Novel Xanthomonas campestris Long-Chain-Specific 3-Oxoacyl-Acyl Carrier Protein Reductase Involved in Diffusible Signal Factor Synthesis.

The precursors of the diffusible signal factor (DSF) family signals of pv. are 3-hydroxyacyl-acyl carrier protein (3-hydroxyacyl-ACP) thioesters having acyl chains of 12 to 13 carbon atoms produced by the fatty acid biosynthetic pathway. We report a novel 3-oxoacyl-ACP reductase encoded by the pv.

[Inorganic N deposition in the Bayinbuluk alpine grassland of the central Tianshan mountains].

N deposition has increased significantly with economic development and intensive human activities in China and has affected natural ecosystems in remote areas. To evaluate the atmospheric N deposition of the Bayinbuluk alpine grassland of the central Tianshan Mountains, the dry and wet N depositions were monitored from May 2010 to December 2011. Fluxes of HNO3, NH3, NO2, particulate ammonium and nitrate (pNH4+ and pNO3-) averaged at 1.

Poly[aqua-[μ-1,2-bis-(pyridin-4-yl)ethene-κ(2)N:N'][μ-5-(diphenyl-phosphino-yl)iso-phthalato-κ(3)O(1),O(1'):O(3)]nickel(II)].

In the title compound, [Ni(C(20)H(13)O(5)P)(C(12)H(10)N(2))(H(2)O)](n), the Ni(II) cation is coordinated by three O atoms from two 5-(diphenyl-phosphino-yl)isophthalate anions, two N atoms from two 1,2-bis-(pyridin-4-yl)ethene ligands and one water mol-ecule in a distorted octa-hedral geometry. Both 1,2-bis-(pyridin-4-yl)ethene and 5-(diphenyl-phosphino-yl)iso-phthal-ate bridge the Ni(II) cations to form polymeric layers parallel to (001). In the crystal, O-H⋯O hydrogen bonding links layers into a three-dimensional supra-molecular structure.

Poly[bis-[μ-1,4-bis-(imidazol-1-ylmeth-yl)benzene]-dichloridomanganese(II)].

In the crystal structure of the title compound, [MnCl(2)(C(14)H(14)N(4))(2)](n), the Mn(II) atom, lying on an inversion center, is coordinated by four N atoms from four 1,4-bis-(imidazol-1-ylmeth-yl)benzene (bimb) ligands and two Cl(-) anions in a distorted octa-hedral geometry. The bimb ligands bridge the Mn(II) atoms, forming a two-dimensional polymeric complex, which is composed of a 52-membered [Mn(4)(bimb)(4)] ring with distances of 7.7812 (2) and 27.

Diaqua-(5-carb-oxy-benzene-1,3-di-carboxyl-ato-κO)(4,4'-dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine-κN,N')zinc.

In the title compound, [Zn(C(9)H(4)O(6))(C(12)H(12)N(2))(H(2)O)(2)], the Zn(II) atom is five-coordinated by two N atoms from a 4,4'-dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine ligand, one O atom from a 5-carb-oxy-benzene-1,3-dicarboxyl-ate ligand and two water mol-ecules in a distorted trigonal-bipyramidal geometry. The complex mol-ecules are linked by inter-molecular O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds and partly overlapping π-π inter-actions [centroid-centroid distance = 4.017 (2) Å] into a three-dimensional supra-molecular network.

4-Cyano-1-(4-nitro-benz-yl)pyridinium bis-(2-thioxo-1,3-dithiole-4,5-dithiol-ato-κS,S)nickelate(III).

In the title salt, (C(13)H(10)N(3)O(2))[Ni(C(3)S(5))(2)], the Ni(III) cation is S,S'-chelated by two 2-thioxo-1,3-dithiole-4,5-dithiol-ate anions in a distorted square-planar geometry. The complex anion is approximately planar with a maximum deviation of 0.097 (1) Å.

[Relationships between belowground biomass of alpine grassland and environmental factors along an altitude gradient].

Taking Bayanbulak alpine grassland on the southern slope of Tianshan Mountain, Xin-jiang as test object, the relationships between belowground biomass and environmental factors along an altitude gradient were analyzed. The results showed that with increasing altitude, the below-ground biomass of alpine steppe dominated by Stipa purpurea and Festuca ovina, alpine steppe meadow dominated by Kobresia capillifolia and S. purpurea, and alpine meadow dominated by Carex stenocarpa, Alchemilla tianschanica, and K.

[Effects of soil salt on the niche of main plant species in alpine meadow].

By using Levins niche breadth index and Cowell similarity index, the niche breadth and niche similarity of main plant species in Bayanbulak alpine meadow were calculated, based on 3 resources dimensions (soil moisture, organic matter, and available K) along four gradients of soil salt content. The results showed that with the increase of soil salt content, the average niche breadth of main constructive species Carex stenocarpa based on the 3 resources dimensions decreased from 0.4433 to 0.

[Relationships between aboveground biomass and environmental factors along an altitude gradient of alpine grassland].

In order to analyze the relationships between aboveground biomass and environmental factors along an altitude gradient of Bayanbulak alpine grassland on the southern slope of Tianshan Mountain, nine plots were selected, with each at 100 m interval of altitude. The results showed that Stipa purpurea and Festuca ovina communities distributed at the altitude from 2460 to 2760 m, and the aboveground biomass were 52.2-75.