Effect of CO2 enrichment on the glucosinolate contents under different nitrogen levels in bolting stem of Chinese kale (Brassica alboglabra L.)

The effects of CO₂ enrichment on the growth and glucosinolate (GS) concentrations in the bolting stem of Chinese kale (Brassica alboglabra L.) treated with three nitrogen (N) concentrations (5, 10, and 20 mmol/L) were investigated. Height, stem thickness, and dry weights of the total aerial parts, bolting stems, and roots, as well as the root to shoot ratio, significantly increased as CO₂ concentration was elevated from 350 to 800 μl/L at each N concentration. In the edible part of the bolting stem, 11 individual GSs were identified, including 7 aliphatic and 4 indolyl GSs. GS concentration was affected by the elevated CO₂ concentration, N concentration, and CO₂×N interaction. At 5 and 10 mmol N/L, the concentrations of aliphatic GSs and total GSs significantly increased, whereas those of indolyl GSs were not affected, by elevated atmospheric CO₂. However, at 20 mmol N/L, elevated CO₂ had no significant effects on the concentrations of total GSs and total indolyl GSs, but the concentrations of total aliphatic GSs significantly increased. Moreover, the bolting stem carbon (C) content increased, whereas the N and sulfur (S) contents decreased under elevated CO₂ concentration in the three N treatments, resulting in changes in the C/N and N/S ratios. Also the C/N ratio is not a reliable predictor of change of GS concentration, while the changes in N and S contents and the N/S ratio at the elevated CO₂ concentration may influence the GS concentration in Chinese kale bolting stems. The results demonstrate that high nitrogen supply is beneficial for the growth of Chinese kale, but not for the GS concentration in bolting stems, under elevated CO₂ condition. Project (No. 2007CB109305) supported by the National Basic Research Program (973) of China     

Effects of elevated CO(2) levels on root morphological traits and Cd uptakes of two Lolium species under Cd stress

This study was conducted to investigate the combined effects of elevated CO₂ levels and cadmium (Cd) on the root morphological traits and Cd accumulation in Lolium multiflorum Lam. and Lolium perenne L. exposed to two CO₂ levels (360 and 1 000 μl/L) and three Cd levels (0, 4, and 16 mg/L) under hydroponic conditions. The results show that elevated levels of CO₂ increased shoot biomass more, compared to root biomass, but decreased Cd concentrations in all plant tissues. Cd exposure caused toxicity to both Lolium species, as shown by the restrictions of the root morphological parameters including root length, surface area, volume, and tip numbers. These parameters were significantly higher under elevated levels of CO₂ than under ambient CO₂, especially for the number of fine roots. The increases in magnitudes of those parameters triggered by elevated levels of CO₂ under Cd stress were more than those under non-Cd stress, suggesting an ameliorated Cd stress under elevated levels of CO₂. The total Cd uptake per pot, calculated on the basis of biomass, was significantly greater under elevated levels of CO₂ than under ambient CO₂. Ameliorated Cd toxicity, decreased Cd concentration, and altered root morphological traits in both Lolium species under elevated levels of CO₂ may have implications in food safety and phytoremediation.     

Integrated direct air capture and CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> utilization of gas fertilizer based on moisture swing adsorption

A new concept of low-cost direct air capture technology integrated with a fertilization system is proposed, as an alternative to the application of air derived CO₂. A moisture swing sorbent can elevate the CO₂ concentration from 400 parts per million (ppm) to several thousand ppm, and this can be used to cultivate plants. Desorption isotherms were determined and are described well by a Langmuir model. The adsorption rate constant and the desorption rate constant were gained at 25 °C, 35 °C, and 45 °C under 1000 ppm concentration of CO₂. In accelerated cultivation experiments, the effects of CO₂ concentration, light intensity, and spectrum on the CO₂ uptake rate of the plants were investigated. A multi-bed desorption system which is capable of providing a continuous and stable CO₂ supply for a greenhouse is demonstrated based on the desorption characteristic and CO₂ uptake feature of plants. An energy and cost assessment for the integrated system was performed and the results indicated that minimum energy requirements and cost estimate of CO₂ are 35.67 kJ/mol and 34.68 USD/t, respectively. This makes direct air capture a competitive and sustainable carbon source for agriculture.     

Species-diversified plant cover enhances orchard ecosystem resistance to climatic stress and soil erosion in subtropical hillside

Naturally occurring plants in agroecosystem evidently play an important role in ecosystem stability. Field studies on the ecological effects of native plants conserved in orchard and their resistance to adverse climatic stress, and soil erosion were conducted from 1998 to 2001 in a newly developed Changshan-huyou (Citrus changshan-huyou Y.B. Chang)orchard. The experimental area covered 150 ha in typical red soil hilly region in southeastern China. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with six combinations of twelve plant species with four replications. All species used were native in the orchard. Plots were 15×8m2 and separated by 2 m buffer strips. Precipitation, soil erosion in rainstorm days and aboveground biomass of plant community when rainstorm days ended, soil temperature and moisture under various plant covers during seasonal megathermal drought period, antiscourability of soil with different root density under various simulated rainfalls were measured. Plant cover significantly decreased the daily highest and mean soil temperature and its daily variation in hot-drought season, but there was no significant difference of the alleviation among various plant covers. Plant covers significantly increased the soil moisture in seasonal megathermal drought period. Better moisture maintenance and soil erosion reduction was found when the plant species numbers in cover plant communities increased from one to eight. Higher root density in plant communities with higher species richness increased significantly the antiscourability of the soil. It was suggested that conserving plant communities with diversified native species could produce the best positiveecological effects on citrus orchard ecosystem stability.     

Experimental evaluation of the effect of an internal heat exchanger on a transcritical CO2 ejector system

This study presents experimental results focused on a performance comparison of a transcritical CO₂ ejector system without an internal heat exchanger (IHX) (EJE-S) to a transcritical CO₂ ejector system with an IHX (EJE-IHX-S). The comparison includes the effects of changes in operating conditions such as cooling water flow rate and inlet temperature. Experiments are conducted to assess the influence of the IHX on the heating coefficient of performance (COP_r), heating capacity, entrainment ratio, pressure lift, and other parameters. The primary flow rate of the EJE-IHX-S is higher than that of the EJE-S. The pressure lift and actual ejector work recovery are reduced when the IHX is added to the transcritical CO₂ ejector system. Using a more practical performance calculation, the compression ratio in the EJE-S is reduced by 10.0%–12.1%, while that of EJE-IHX-S is reduced only by 5.6%–6.7% compared to that of a conventional transcritical CO₂ system. Experimental results are used to validate the findings that the IHX weakens the contribution of the ejector to the system performance.     

Interaction between seed size and NaCl on germination and early seedling growth of some Turkish cultivars of chickpea （Cicer arietinum L.）

Chickpea is an important food legume crop of Turkey and is largely grown for human consumption on low moisture or salt-affected soils.The objective of the study was to find the effects of NaCl stress at electrical conductivities of 4.5,8.6,12.7 and 16.3 dS/m and seed sizes (7,8 and 9 mm) on germination and early seedling growth of three popular chickpea cultivars (AKN-97,Gokce and Uzunlu-99).Mean frequency of germination,germination time,germination index,root length,shoot length and seedling fresh weight showed seed size-dependent responses of cultivars to salt stress.In general,small seeds germinated and grew more rapidly compared to medium and large seeds of the same cultivars against all levels of salt stress,with the best results in cultivar Uzunlu-99.No effect of NaCl treatments was observed on frequency of germination; however,a drastic decrease in early seedling growth was recorded at increased NaCl concentrations.Regression analysis results showed a significantly positive rela-tionship (P<0.01) between seed size and mean germination time,whereas a significantly negative relationship was recorded between seed size and germination index,root length,shoot length.Moreover,linear regression values apparently confirmed that increased seed size in each cultivar affected decreased germination index,root and shoot lengths with enhanced mean germination time.Thus,it was concluded that the use of small seeds could considerably reduce the production costs of chickpea in salt-affected soils.     

镉锌交互作用对玉米幼苗生理生化特性的影响

以不同浓度的镉(Cd2 )、锌(Zn2 )处理玉米，研究CA、Zn单一及复合污染对幼苗生长及生理生化特性的影响．结果表明，随着Cd2 、Zn2 浓度的增加，CA、Zn单一及复合处理的根长，株高、根和地上部干重减少；根内丙二醛(MDA)积累增加，根系活力和叶片硝酸还原酶活性下降，叶绿素含量降低，Cd、Zn交互作用显示出协同作用的趋势。     

Conversion of CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> to useful substances with composite iron,nickel, and copper catalysts

Composite materials of Fe/Al₂O₃, which consist of small particles of iron supported by thermally stable alumina even at 500–700 °C, have been widely used in the water-gas shift reaction for natural gas reforming. Therefore, Fe/Al₂O₃ is one of the promising candidates for re-transformation of exhausted CO₂ into fuels such as alcohols and hydrocarbons. The development of a CO₂ reforming system using the composite materials of Fe/Al₂O₃ through CO₂ reduction to CO, dissociation of water into hydrogen, and methanol synthesis has been investigated. It was found that dry and steam (i.e. wet) reforming of CO₂ produced almost the same amount of CO. At a temperature above 500 °C, maximal and saturated yields of CO and H₂ from CO₂ and water were obtained. However, this CO₂ reforming system requires higher-pressure conditions from several tens to hundreds standard atmospheric pressure in order to achieve high yield and selectivity for methanol production. In this study we developed the modified CO₂ reforming system by the utilization of Ni and/or Cu instead of Fe in order to obtain other types of useful products such as CO, CH₄, and carbon, more efficiently and selectively under atmospheric pressure. When Ni or Cu was used, conversion of CO₂ was reduced to 76%, while 9% of methane was detected in the case of Ni. On the other hand, though the CO₂ conversion reduced half of the Fe, the selectivity of CO from CO₂ increased to 95% in the case of Cu.     

Organic nitrogen components in soils from southeast China

Objective:To investigate the amounts of extractable organic nitrogen(EON),and the relationships between EON and total extractable nitrogen(TEN),especially the amino acids(AAs) adsorbed by soils,and a series of other hydrolyzed soil nitrogen indices in typical land use soil types from southeast China.Under traditional agricultural planting conditions,the functions of EON,especially AAs in the rhizosphere and in bulk soil zones were also investigated.Methods:Pot experiments were conducted using plants of pakchoi(Brassica chinensis L.) and rice(Oryza sativa L.).In the rhizosphere and bulk soil zone studies,organic nitrogen components were extracted with either distilled water,0.5 mol/L K2SO4or acid hydrolysis.Results:K2SO4-EON constituted more than 30% of TEN pools.K2SO4-extractable AAs accounted for 25% of EON pools and nearly 10% of TEN pools in rhizosphere soils.Overall,both K2SO4-EON and extractable AAs contents had positive correlations with TEN pools.Conclusions:EON represented a major component of TEN pools in garden and paddy soils under traditional planting conditions.Although only a small proportion of the EON was present in the form of water-extractable and K2SO4-extractable AAs,the release of AAs from soil exchangeable sites might be an important source of organic nitrogen(N) for plant growth.Our findings suggest that the content of most organic forms of N was significantly greater in rhizosphere than in bulk soil zone samples.However,it was also apparent that the TEN pool content was lower in rhizosphere than in bulk soil samples without added N.     

Water effect on amine-modification of adsorbents for separation of CO2/N2

The adsorption of CO2 can be enhanced through loading amines on adsorbents, therefore, the separation of CO2 from other gases is promoted. Water plays an important role in this process. Water increases both the adsorption amount of CO2 and the separation coefficient with N2 for all amines loaded. However, the effect of loading trialkylamines is not remarkable in the absence of water. The effect of loading dialkylamine does not depend on water, but the adsorbent cannot be regenerated at ambient temperature. In comparison, an adsorbent loading trialkylamine can be regenerated at ambient temperature even in the presence of water with fairly good stability.     

Applications of water sensitivity in situ remediation at saltwater-freshwater interface

Based on the laboratory experiments with the saltwater and freshwater replacing each other in the level sand column, taking the kaolin, illite, smectite, bivalent hydrargyrum ion (Hg²⁺) and phenol (C₆H₅OH) as examples, this paper studies the applications of water sensitivity in situ remediation in saltwater-freshwater transition zone. In the water sensitivity process, the release and migration of clay minerals can make the hydraulic conductivity (HC) decrease and pollutants remove. A new type of low penetrable or impenetrable purdah can be built by adding clay minerals into the sand media to replace the underground concrete impenetrable wall to prevent seawater intrusion, and a number of the heavy metals and organic pollutants in the sand media can be removed by in situ remediation. The results show that the content of kaolin and illite influences the water sensitivity process slightly, and HC of the sand columns descends from 0.011 cm/s to 0.001 4 cm/s and 0.001 2 cm/s respectively even if the content reaches 12% (weight ratio, sic passim). However, for smectite, HC descends sharply to about 1×10⁻⁸ cm/s when its content reaches 4%, and no water can flow through the sand columns beyond 5%. The particle release and migration processes can remove the Hg²⁺ and C₆H₅OH out of the sand columns efficiently, the removing rate of Hg²⁺ is 31.68% when the freshwater and saltwater are filtered through the sand columns polluted by Hg²⁺, while it is 67.55% when the water sensitivity occurs. With the same method, the removing rates of C₆H₅OH under the fluid flow and water sensitivity are 55.71% and 43.43% respectively. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 40572142). HAN Zhiyong, born in 1976, male, Dr, associate Prof.     

Silicon＇s organic pool and biological cycle in moso bamboo community of Wuyishan Biosphere Reserve

Biomineralization of Si by plants into phytolith formation and precipitation of Si into clays during weathering are two important processes of silicon’s biogeochemical cycle. As a silicon-accumulating plant, the widely distributed and woody Phyllostachys heterocycla var. pubescens (moso bamboo) contributes to storing silicon by biomineralization and, thus, prevents eutrophication of nearby waterbodies through silicon’s erosion of soil particles. A study on the organic pool and biological cycle of silicon (Si) of the moso bamboo community was conducted in Wuyishan Biosphere Reserve, China. The results showed that: (1) the standing crop of the moso bamboo community was 13355.4 g/m², of which 53.61%, 45.82% and 0.56% are represented by the aboveground and belowground parts of moso bamboos, and the understory plants, respectively; (2) the annual net primary production of the community was 2887.1 g/(m²·a), among which the aboveground part, belowground part, litterfalls, and other fractions, accounted for 55.86%, 35.30%, 4.50% and 4.34%, respectively; (3) silicon concentration in stem, branch, leaf, base of stem, root, whip of bamboos, and other plants was 0.15%, 0.79%, 3.10%, 4.40%, 7.32%, 1.52% and 1.01%, respectively; (4) the total Si accumulated in the standing crop of moso bamboo community was 448.91 g/m², with 99.83% of Si of the total community stored in moso bamboo populations; (5) within moso bamboo community, the annual uptake, retention, and return of Si were 95.75, 68.43, 27.32 g/(m²·a), respectively; (6) the turnover time of Si, which is the time an average atom of Si remains in the soil before it is recycled into the trees or shrubs, was 16.4 years; (7) the enrichment ratio of Si in the moso bamboo community, which is the ratio of the mean concentration of nutrients in the net primary production to the mean concentration of nutrients in the biomass of a community, was 0.64; and lastly, (8) moso bamboo plants stored about 1.26×10¹⁰ kg of silicon in the organic pool made up by the moso bamboo forests in the subtropical area of China. Project (No. 30370275) supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China     

Effect of CO2 enrichment on the glucosinolate contents under different nitrogen levels in bolting stem of Chinese kale (Brassica alboglabra L.)

The effects of CO2 enrichment on the growth and glucosinolate (GS) concentrations in the bolting stem of Chinese kale (Brassioa alboglabra L.) treated with three nitrogen (N) concentrations (5, 10, and 20 mmol/L) were investigated. Height,stem thickness, and dry weights of the total aerial parts, bolting stems, and roots, as well as the root to shoot ratio, significantly increased as CO2 concentration was elevated from 350 to 800 μl/L at each N concentration. In the edible part of the bolting stem,11 individual GSs were identified, including 7 aliphatic and 4 indolyl GSs. GS concentration was affected by the elevated CO2 concentration, N concentration, and CO2×N interaction. At 5 and 10 mmol N/L, the concentrations of aliphatic GSs and total GSs significantly increased, whereas those of indolyl GSs were not affected, by elevated atmospheric CO2. However, at 20 mmol N/L,elevated CO2 had no significant effects on the concentrations of total GSs and total indolyl GSs, but the concentrations of total aliphatic GSs significantly increased. Moreover, the bolting stem carbon (C) content increased, whereas the N and sulfur (S) contents decreased under elevated CO2 concentration in the three N treatments, resulting in changes in the C/N and N/S ratios.Also the C/N ratio is not a reliable predictor of change of GS concentration, while the changes in N and S contents and the N/S ratio at the elevated CO2 concentration may influence the GS concentration in Chinese kale bolting stems. The results demonstrate that high nitrogen supply is beneficial for the growth of Chinese kale, but not for the GS concentration in bolting stems, under elevated CO2 condition.     

Cadmium accumulation in different pakchoi cultivars and screening for pollution-safe cultivars

The selection and breeding of pollution-safe cultivars (PSCs) is a practicable and cost-effective approach to minimize the influx of heavy metal to the human food chain. In this study, both pot-culture and field experiments were conducted to identify and screen out cadmium pollution-safe cultivars (Cd-PSCs) from 50 pakchoi (Brassica rapa L. ssp. chinensis) cultivars for food safety. When treated with 1.0 or 2.5 mg/kg Cd, most of the pakchoi cultivars (>70%) showed greater or similar shoot biomass when compared with the control. This result indicates that pakchoi has a considerable tolerance to soil Cd stress. Cd concentrations in the shoot varied significantly (P<0.05) between cultivars: in two Cd treatments (1.0 and 2.5 mg/kg), the average values were 0.074 and 0.175 mg/kg fresh weight (FW), respectively. Cd concentrations in the shoots of 14 pakchoi cultivars were lower than 0.05 mg/kg FW. In pot-culture experiments, both enrichment factors (EFs) and translocation factors (TFs) of six pakchoi cultivars were lower than 1.0. The field studies further confirmed that the Hangzhouyoudonger, Aijiaoheiye 333, and Zaoshenghuajing cultivars are Cd-PSCs, and are therefore suitable for growth in low Cd-contaminated soils (≤1.2 mg/kg) without any risk to food safety.     

豚草水浸液对小麦种子萌发及幼苗生长的影响

研究不同浓度的豚草水浸液对小麦种子萌发及幼苗生长的影响.结果表明：小麦种子发芽率总体随着豚草水浸液浓度的升高而显著下降;对小麦幼苗初生根的伸长具有显著的抑制作用,但对小麦苗高的抑制作用程度稍弱;显著增强小麦幼苗茎叶的超氧化物歧化酶、过氧化物酶的活性.浓度效应明显.     

Calculation of the Phase Equilibrium of CO_2–Hydrocarbon Binary Mixtures by PR-BM EOS and PR EOS

The phase equilibrium data of CO_2 –hydrocarbon binary mixtures are important for the design and operation of CO_2 flooding, coal liquefaction, and supercritical extraction processes. Numerous pieces of binary phase equilibrium data have been obtained. Thus, models for the accurate calculation of binary and multicomponent mixtures must be developed on the basis of existing data. In this work, 3578 vapor–liquid phase equilibrium data points for 10 CO_2 –hydrocarbon binary mixtures, including CO_2 –butane, CO_2 –pentane, CO_2 –isopentane, CO_2 –hexane, CO_2 –benzene, CO_2 –heptane, CO_2 –octane, CO_2 –nonane, CO_2 –decane, and CO_2 –undecane, were collected. The PR and PR-BM equations of state(EOS) in combination with relevant mixing rules were used to calculate the phase equilibrium data of the CO_2 –hydrocarbon binary mixtures. The binary interaction parameter k ij in the PR EOS was temperature independent, whereas parameters in the PR-BM EOS were functions of temperature. Thus, the phase equilibrium data and other thermodynamic properties of the binary and multicomponent mixtures at different temperatures and pressures can be calculated by using the parameters obtained in this work. The PR-BM EOS performed better than the PR EOS, and the average absolute deviations over the temperature range of 255.98–408.15 K calculated by the PR EOS and PR-BM EOS were less than 5.74% and 3.36%, respectively. The results calculated by the two EOS were compared with those calculated by other models, such as PPR78, PR + LCVM + UNIFAC, KIE + PR EOS + HV, and PSRK. The phase equilibrium data of CO_2 –butane–decane, CO_2 –hexane–decane, and CO_2 –octane–decane ternary mixtures were calculated by the two EOS. The average overall deviations for the CO_2 mole fractions calculated by the two EOS were less than 7.66%.     

Preparation of ultrafine γ-Al2O3 particles in non-ionic water in oil microemulsions

Ultrafine γ-Al₂O₃ particles are synthesized in Triton X-100/n-hexanol/cyclohexane/water water in oil(w/o) microemulsion by mixing two separately prepared microemulsions containing Al(NO)₃ and (NH₄)₂CO₃ respectively. The ultrafine Al₂O₃ particles are characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) and their size and distribution are measured. The effects of water, surfactant and reactant concentrations on the particle size and distribution are studied. The results show that the particle size and distribution can be changed by varying the preparation conditions, and the size of the microemulsion droplets has a controlling effect on the size of the particles. A possible mechanism of ultrafine particles (UFPs) prepared by microemulsions is proposed.     

淡水培养对桐花树幼苗根生长的影响

在全光照条件下用恒定淹水位淡水培养红树植物桐花树(Aegiceras corniculatum)幼苗1年,以人工海水(8g.Kg-1)培养为对照,研究了淡水驯化对桐花树幼苗根的生长指标和根系活力的影响。结果表明:桐花树幼苗根的生物量呈持续增长的趋势,后180d的增长量显著大于前180d,淡水组与人工海水组并未表现出显著差异;两组幼苗的根数、根长和根粗在同一时期没有明显差异,而在不同时期有显著差异;两种处理幼苗的根系活力均出现两个高峰值,分别在6月和9月份,幼苗的根系活力在5～7月份表现为人工海水组大于淡水组,而8～12月份则淡水组高于人工海水组;两种处理的冠根比在同一时期无显著差异。以上结果表明:淡水培养对桐花树幼苗根的生长没有显著不利的影响,表明桐花树对淡水环境具有较强的适应性。     

Accumulation of chromium by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Commelina communis</Emphasis> L. grown in solution with different concentrations of Cr and L-histidine

Hydroponic experiments conducted to examine the chromiun uptake by C. communis in the presence of different Cr concentrations (Cr⁶⁺ 100 and 200 mg/L, respectively) and free histidine supplementation (0.5 and 1.0 mol/L) showed that shoot and root growth of C. communis decreased greatly with increasing Cr concentrations in the medium; and that the species was a typical excluder since it accumulated high concentrations of Cr in roots but comparatively low concentrations in shoots. Chromium in shoots and roots of Cr₄^2?-supplied plants ranged from 329–1880 and 3788–4240 mg/kg DW, respectively, while those of Cr₄^2?-histidine-supplied plants ranged from 478 to 629 mg/kg and 4157–4303 mg/kg DW, respectively. With Cr present in the hydroponic solution, C. communis accumulated more Cr in its tissues. Increasing histidine application to the solution significantly increased chromium accumulation in the plant tissues but could not alter the accumulation pattern of plants although it induced a higher concentration of Cr in its shoots and roots. These features suggested that C. communis may serve as an alternative species in a constructed wetland for phytoextraction treatment of Cr-containing wastewater and for phytostabilization of Cr mining spoils.     

油菜素内酯提高小麦萌发期间抗盐性机理初探

通过实验确定0.1mg/L BR为盐胁迫下提高小麦抗盐性的最适浸种浓度；在不同浓度NaCl处理下，0.1mg/L BR浸种的小麦胚芽鞘长度、地上部分高度、根长、根数、地上部分干重、根干重均明显高于同等浓度NaCl处理的清水浸种的小麦；地上部分膜透性也明显降低。