In order to identify the potential of sulfur (S) content in the rings of Masson pine (Pinus massoniana) in the Pearl River Delta as a bio-indicator of regional history of atmospheric pollution, dendrochemistry was used to determine the temporal distribution of S content in the xylem of Masson pines from Zhaoqing Dinghushan and Nanhai Xiqiaoshan, Guangdong Province, southern China. The results indicated that contents of xylem S increased temporally and peaked in the rings formed in the most recent years at both sites. In the rings formed during the same period before the 1980s, S contents were not significantly different between the two sites, while in the rings formed at the same period after the 1980s, S content at Xiqiaoshan were significantly higher than those at Dinghushan. The chronosequences of the S indices at both sites could be easily marked as three periods: before 1970, during 1971–1985, and during 1986–2002. Based on the temporal changes of the xylem S contents and certain social-economic indices after the 1980s in the Delta, the history of atmospheric pollution at the study sites could be reconstructed as follows: 1) before 1970, a period in which the air was relatively clear, 2) 1971–1985, a period in which the air was gradually polluted, and 3) 1986–2002, a period in which the air was most severely polluted in the Delta.

From August 2004 to August 2005, three replicate experimental platforms were constructed in a section of the tidal flats in Yingluo Bay, Guangxi Province to study the growth and physiological responses of Rhizophora stylosa Griff seedlings to tidal waterlogging stress in a diurnal tidal zone. A total of eight tidal flat elevation (TFE) treatments, i.e., 320, 330, 340, 350, 360, 370, 380 and 390 cm above Yellow Sea Datum (YSD), were created on each platform. The results showed that lower TFEs (320-330 cm YSD) slightly increased the seedling stem height of 1-year old seedlings, while higher TFEs (>340 cm YSD) increased the seedling growth significantly. Moderate TFEs (350-370 cm YSD) favored the development of knots. Number of leaves, leaf conservation rate and leaf area per seedling all decreased dramatically with decreasing TFE. Lower TFEs caused large damage to Chl a, but Chl b was less affected. The Chl a/b ratio decreased with decreasing TFE. Prolonged waterlogging induced higher SOD activity in roots, while moderate TFE inhibited the SOD activity in leaves. The POD activity in roots and leaves increased with decreasing TFE. Waterlogging stress decreased the biomass of individual organs and entire seedlings. With increasing waterlogging, the biomass partitioning in 1-year old seedlings increased from leaf to stem. The survival rate decreased sharply from 88.9% to 40.0% as TFE decreased, while more than 80% of the seedlings were able to survive at the TFE level of 370 cm YSD and above. We propose that the local mean sea level should be adopted as the critical tidal level for forestation with hypocotyls of R. stylosa along the Guangxi coast.

Euryodendron excelsum H. T. Chang is an endangered species of the family Theaceae endemic to China. It is listed as a second-class endangered plant for state protection in the Red Data Book of Plants in the People’s Republic of China. The species is restricted to one remnant population with less than 200 individuals in the Bajia region of Yangchun County, Guangdong Province. This study was conducted to determine the status of the population, analyze the past population structure and forecast the future population dynamics of E. excelsum. The size structure and height structure of the population of E. excelsum were tabulated and analyzed. Based on these data, we estimated the values of the parameters such as survival curve, mortality curve and life expectancy. Population dynamics was predicted by a time-sequence model. The size distribution of the whole population generally fit a reverse “J” type curve, suggesting a stable population. The number of young individuals was larger than that of middle-aged and old individuals. The analysis of life table and survival curves show that under environmental screening and human disturbance, the population had one peak of mortality in size class II and only 11.43% individuals could survive from size class II to size class III. The life expectancy of E. excelsum was the highest in size class IV. The survival curve of the population belongs to the Deevey-III type. Time-sequence models for E. excelsum population predict that the number of different size classes will increase after two and five years. As a result, the crucial factors for the natural regeneration and restoration of E. excelsum are the protection of living individuals and their habitat.

The effects of elevated nitrogen deposition on soil microbial biomass carbon (C) and extractable dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in three types of forest of southern China were studied in November, 2004 and June, 2006. Plots were established in a pine forest (PF), a mixed pine and broad-leaved forest (MF) and monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forest (MEBF) in the Dinghushan Nature Reserve. Nitrogen treatments included a control (no N addition), low N (50 kg N/(hm²a)), medium N (100 kg N/(hm²·a)) and high N (150 kg N/(hm²·a)). Microbial biomass C and extractable DOC were determined using a chloroform fumigation-extraction method. Results indicate that microbial biomass C and extractable DOC were higher in June, 2006 than in November, 2004 and higher in the MEBF than in the PF or the MF. The response of soil microbial biomass C and extractable DOC to nitrogen deposition varied depending on the forest type and the level of nitrogen treatment. In the PF or MF forests, no significantly different effects of nitrogen addition were found on soil microbial biomass C and extractable DOC. In the MEBF, however, the soil microbial biomass C generally decreased with increased nitrogen levels and high nitrogen addition significantly reduced soil microbial biomass C. The response of soil extractable DOC to added nitrogen in the MEBF shows the opposite trend to soil microbial biomass C. These results suggest that nitrogen deposition may increase the accumulation of soil organic carbon in the MEBF in the study region.

We tested the dynamics of nine enzymes during leaf litter decomposition in Xishuangbanna tropical rainforest both in the field and laboratory to explore the response of enzyme dynamics to decomposition under different food-web structures. We used coarse and fine (1 mm and 100 μm mesh size, respectively) litterbags in the field to create different food-web structures during litter decomposition. Most soil macrofauna such as nematodes could access only the coarse mesh litterbags, leaving only microbiota, such as mites, in the fine mesh litterbags. In the laboratory, sterilization and inoculation were adopted to investigate different enzyme dynamics with nematodes or only microbiota participating in litter decomposition. Invertase and amylase increased more for shorter food webs at the early stages of decomposition, while activities of endocellulase, β-glucosidase, xylanase and polyphenoloxydase increased to their maximum at the later stages, but greater increase occurred with extended food webs. Invertase and amylase had negative relationships and endocellulase, β-glucosidase, xylanase and polyphenoloxydase had positive relationships with litter decomposition (mass loss). The activities of enzymes responded to the process of litter decomposition. Invertase and amylase played key roles for microbiota utilizing the substrates at early stages of decomposition, while endocellulase, β-glucosidase, xylanase and polyphenoloxydase worked on the further decay of recalcitrant compounds at later stages. All enzymes related to carbon decay acted as effective indicators of litter decomposition. The decomposition of plant organic matter was essentially an enzymatic process.

Microenvironmental heterogeneity of soil physical properties in 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm soil layers in a broad-leaved Pinus koraiensis forest gap in Xiao Xing’anling Mountains were analyzed by geostatistical method. The results show that the amount of soil water, saturation water capacity, capillary water capacity and porosity in the top layer were greater than those in the lower layer, except for bulk density, where the opposite applied. Soil physical properties in the top soil layer had relatively higher ranges and coefficients of variation. The total and auto correlation spatial heterogeneity of soil physical properties in the top layer were larger than those in the lower layer. The soil water had a strong anisotropic structure in an easterly and northerly direction, but porosity shows isotropy in the same directions. With increasing spatial distance, the other three physical factors exhibited anisotropic structures. The mutual effect between semi-variograms of soil physical properties in the top layer within the spatial autocorrelation range was not significant. For spatial distribution of physical properties within different layers, the patches at the middle and lower ranks in the forest gap dominated. Patches at higher rank were only distributed in the 0-20 cm soil layer and were located north of the forest gap center.

We studied the nutrient cycle of a planted forest of Pinus tabulaeformis in the Miyun Reservoir Watershed, Beijing. Results show that the total biomass of P. tabulaeformis stands at age 29 in the experimental area is 92627 kg/hm², and the total nutrient store is 695.17 kg/hm² including nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), kalium (K), calium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg). The sequence of their contents in different organs was given as follows: needle>branch>trunk>root. The annual amount of 85.37 kg/hm² of five nutrient elements were assimilated by P. tabulaeformis, about 0.34% of the total store in soil, and 3.30% of available nutrient store in soil depth from 0 to 30 cm. The nutrient annual retention is 35.92 kg/hm², annual returning 49.46 kg/hm², the rain input 26.04 kg/hm² to the five nutrient elements. The parameter absorption coefficient, utilization coefficient, cycle coefficient and turnover period were cited to describe the nutrient elements cycle characteristic of the planted forest ecosystem of P. tabulaeformis. The absorption coefficient is the ratio of plant nutrient element content to soil nutrient element content, and its sequence of five nutrient elements was given as follows: N>P>K>Ca>Mg. Utilization coefficient is the ratio of the nutrient element annual uptake amount to the nutrient element storage in standing crops, and its sequence of five nutrient elements was: Mg>K>P>N>Ca. The big utilization coefficient means more nutrients stored in the plant. The cycle coefficient is the ratio of the nutrient element annual return amount to the nutrient element annual uptake amount, its sequence: Ca>N>P>K>Mg. Turnover period is the ratio of the nutrient storage in the crops to the annual returning, its sequence: Mg>K>P>N>Ca.

The effect of vegetation on the water recycling of a land ecological system is considerably significant. Understanding the relationship between vegetation and runoff changes will benefit regional eco-environmental and water resources management. Based on paired catchments and time trend studies, a number of studies had been undertaken to establish the relationship between vegetation cover and water yield. We obtained some results from paired watersheds by focusing on changes at various time scales. At the mean annual scale the runoff changes resulting from vegetation alteration can be predicted using Zhang’s curves. The absolute change of runoff due to vegetation alteration in a humid area is larger than that in the dry region, while the relative change is reverse. At the annual scale, it takes 15–20 years or longer in the arid region for catchments to reach a new equilibrium after afforestation, and under natural restoration, it takes about a hundred years. The vegetation changes have a proportionally larger impact on low flow at the seasonal scale. For catchments in arid regions, relative changes in low flow sections of the flow duration curve will be much more significant compared with that in the high flow section, leading to increased number of zero-flow days. However, in humid regions, changes in runoff tend to be much more uniform.

We excavated soil to study root distribution in Haloxylon ammodendron seedlings grown with different amounts of irrigation (35, 24.5 and 14 kg water for each plant each time) in the hinterland of the Taklimakan Desert. The results indicated that: 1) With decreasing irrigation amounts, the root biomass tended to be distributed in deeper soil layers. Underground biomass had a significantly negative logarithmic relationship with soil depth under different irrigation amounts. 2) Maximum horizontal spread of roots was twice that of vertical root spread, and horizontal distribution of root biomass was similar under all irrigation amounts. 3) Vertical distribution of fine roots was nearly consistent with vertical changes in soil moisture, and all had a unimodal curve; but peak values of fine root biomass in different soil layers varied with different irrigation amounts. The smaller the amount of irrigation, the deeper were the fine roots concentrated in soil layers. 4) Root length, root surface area and root volume all exhibited a unimodal curve under different irrigation amounts; the less the irrigation amount, the deeper the peak values appeared in soil layers. 5) Root-shoot ratio and ratio of vertical root depth to plant height both increased as irrigation amounts decreased.

Dynamic changes of soil erosion affected by conversion of farmland to forest or grassland in the Yanhe River Basin were analyzed based on the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE). The RUSLE variables were selected and calculated reasonably using the GIS technique. Results show that: 1) After the conversion of farmland to forest or grassland, soil erosion decreased greatly. Compared with soil erosion in period of 1986 to 1997, the soil erosion amount had been reduced on the average by 30.6% by 2000; 2) Of the different land uses, slope farmland, especially the steep slope land had the greatest impact on soil erosion. The conversion of forest or grassland was the main driving force for the reduction of soil erosion; 3) In the short term, soil erosion was mainly controlled by C-factor, implying that the adjustment of land use structure might be an effective approach to reduce soil erosion.

In order to make clear the relationships between photosynthesis and leaf N, leaf P and SLA of tropical trees, and test the differences in the relationships among life-form groups (trees, shrub-like trees and shrubs), seedlings and saplings of 101 species from a tropical montane rain forest, located in the Diaoluo Mountain of Hainan Island, were selected. The net photosynthesis based on area and mass (A_area and A_mass), leaf nitrogen content based on area and mass (N_area and N_mass), leaf phosphorus content based on area and mass (P_area and P_mass) and specific leaf area (SLA) were measured and/or calculated. The results showed that A_area and A_mass tended to follow the order of shrubs>trees>shrub-like trees. One-way ANOVA showed that the difference in A_area between shrubs and shrub-like trees was significant (p<0.05), and for A_mass there were significant differences between shrubs and shrub-like trees and between shrubs and tree species (p<0.05). The relationships between A_area and N_mass were highly significant in all three life-form groups and for all species (p<0.0001). The correlation between A_area and P_mass was highly significant in shrubs (p=0.0038), shrub-like trees (p=0.0002) and for all species (p<0.0001), but not significant in trees (p>0.05). The relationship between A_area and SLA was highly significant in shrubs (p=0.0006), trees (p<0.0001) and for all species (p<0.0001), however this relation was not significant in shrub-like trees (p>0.05). The relationships between A_mass and leaf N and SLA were highly significant in all three life-form groups and for all species (p<0.0001). For A_mass and leaf P, there were significant correlations in tree groups (p=0.0377) and highly significant correlations in shrub groups (p=0.0004), shrub-like tree groups (p=0.0018) and for all species (p<0.0001). Stepwise regression showed that predicted A_mass values were closer to the observed values than those for predicted A_area values. Thus, it can be concluded that the relationships obtained from seedling and sapling measurements are close to those from mature individuals; correlations between photosynthesis and N_mass, P_mass and SLA traits are significant and the relationships are stronger and more stable for A_mass than for A_area.

In order to find out the best foliar diagnostic index of phosphorus (P) nutrition in Mongolian pine (Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica) in the southeastern Keerqin Sandy Lands, the concentrations of total nitrogen (N), inorganic P, organic P and total P in needles of different ages and soil available P were examined. The results show that in the study area, soil available P was rather low (0.12-0.63 mg/kg) and was significantly correlated with inorganic P (cPi) and total P (cPt) concentrations in current year needles of Mongolian pine. The significant correlation between soil available P and needle cPt derived from the significant correlation between cPi and cPt. Compared with cPt, cPi did reflect the level of soil P supply more accurately and more directly.

The random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique was used to evaluate the genetic diversity and population structure of 91 genets from four wild populations of Betula luminifera at different elevations in the National Nature Reserve of the Wuyi Mountain, Fujian Province, China. Eighteen random primers (from 139 primers) produced a total of 199 scorable amplified fragments, of which 174 (87.44%) were polymorphic across all individuals. The genetic diversities of B. luminifera at the population level and species level were PPL=60.05%, h=0.2242, I=0.3181 and PPL=87.44%, h=0.3442, I=0.4899, respectively. The value of differentiation (G_st=0.3486) and analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated that there was a relatively high genetic differentiation among populations, and about one-third of the genetic variation occurred among populations. Pearson correlation analysis further revealed that the genetic diversity within populations had significant or very significant correlation with the elevation, climatic factors (annual average temperature and annual precipitation) and soil nutrient factors (total nitrogen, C/N ratio and organic matter). Mantel tests show that there was a significant correlation between the genetic distances among populations and the distance of elevation, and the divergence of soil nutrient factors. The results of the present study suggested that the relatively high genetic differentiation among populations of B. luminifera at different elevations might be caused by ecological factors and gene flow.

In order to understand the relationship between population succession and its genetic behavior, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique was used to analyze the genetic diversity of Quercu glandulifera var. brevipetiolata populations in three forest communities with different succession stages (coniferous forest, coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest, evergreen broad-leaved forest). The results showed that 145 repetitive loci were produced in 60 individuals of Q. glandulifera using 11 primers, among which 125 loci were polymorphic, and the total percentage of polymorphic loci was 82.76% with an average of 64.14%. Estimated by the Shannon information index, the total genetic diversity of the three populations was 0.4747, with an average of 0.3642, while it was 0.3587, with an average of 0.3265, judged from the Nei index. Judged from percentage of polymorphic loci, Shannon inform at ion index and Nei index, the genetic diversity followed a decreasing order: coniferous forest>broad-leaved mixed forest>evergreen broad-leaved forest. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed that 69.73% of the genetic variance existed within populations and 20.27% of the genetic variance existed among populations. The coefficient of gene differentiation (G_ST) was 0.2319 and the gene flow (N_m) was 1.6539. The mean of genetic identity among populations of Q. glandulifera was 0.8501 and the mean of genetic distance was 0.1626. The genetic identity between the Q. glandulifera population in the coniferous forest and that in the coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest was the highest. UPGMA cluster analysis based on Nei’s genetic distance showed that the population in the coniferous forest gathered with that in the coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest firstly, then with that in the evergreen broad-leaved forest. The genetic structure of Q. glandulifera was not only characteristic of the biological characteristics of this species, but was also influenced by the microenvironment in different communities.

Two groups of filial generations derived from two different Pinus massoniana complete-diallel crosses were analyzed. Results show that the general combining ability (GCA), specific combining ability (SCA) and reciprocal effects were significant for some growth traits, including height, DBH and volume index. The heredity of these growth traits was controlled by additive and non-additive genes, of which the additive genes played a dominant role. The epistatic effect was greater for group I (cross in 1992) than group II (cross in 1993). The SCA of P. massoniana growth traits was significantly greater than GCA, which may be related to different geographical provenance for parents and the indirect selection by GCA. Inbreeding depression was commonly observed for P. massoniana growth traits. The extent of inbreeding depression was -17.8%--18.4%, -23.3%--27.7% and -44.3%--50.6% for height, DBH and volume index, respectively. It was observed that parents with small GCA values exhibited a greater extent of inbreeding depression. Large differences in hybrid vigor of different crosses were observed and the difference between original cross and reciprocal cross was not significant. Based on the volume index, 10 fine crosses were selected for two groups respectively, and the average increment of volume index was 59.41% and 41.76%, respectively, in comparison with the average of the testing groups, and was 100.58% and 74.61% in comparison with the local commercial variety.

We studied the effects of ethylene, (Z)-hexen-3-al, combinations of ethylene and (Z)-hexen-3-al, methyl jasmonate on the release of terpenoids and green leaf volatiles (GLVs) of Populus simonii × P. pyramidalis ‘Opera 8277’ by fumigation. The results show that exposure to ethylene alone did not induce volatiles. However, it was induced by exposure to combinations of (Z)-hexen-3-al and ethylene, a large amount of hexenal and hexen-3-ol as compared to sole (Z)-hexen-3-al exposure, which indicated that the release of wounding signals of P. simonii × P. pyramidalis‘Opera 8277’ could be synergized by ethylene and (Z)-hexen-3-al.

The activity of cell wall-degrading enzymes, produced in poplar cultivars infected Melampsora larici-populina Kleb., was studied. The results show that PMG, PMTE, C_X and β-glucosidase played roles during the infection. After inoculation, the activity of PMG in both susceptible and resistant cultivars had two peak values in 2 dpi and 5 dpi. The activities of PMTE and β-glucosidase had a peak value in 3 dpi, and C_X in 2 dpi. Among these cell wall-degrading enzymes, the activities of PMG and PMTE were higher and the activities of C_X and β-glucosidase were relatively lower. The activities of these cell wall-degrading enzymes were significantly higher in susceptible cultivars than those in resistant cultivars. All these demonstrated that these cell wall-degrading enzymes played certain roles in the infection of M. larici-populina.

Pine wood nematode (PWN Bursaphelenchus xylophilus), originating from North America, causes destructive pine wilt disease. Different pine forest ecosystems have different resistances to B. xylophilus, and after its invasion, the resilience and restoration direction of different ecosystems also varies. In this study, an interpretative structural model was applied for analyzing the response of pine forest ecosystem to PWN disturbance. The result showed that a five-degree multistage hierarchical system affected the response of the pine forest ecosystem to PWN disturbance, in which direct affecting factors are resistance and resilience. Furthermore, the analysis to the 2nd, 3rd and 4th degree factors showed that not only does distribution pattern of plant species and pine’s ecological features affect the resistance of pine forests’ ecosystem, but removal of attacked trees and other measures also influence the resistance through indirectly affecting the damage degree of Monochamus alternatus and distribution pattern of plant species. As for resilience, it is influenced directly by soil factors, hydrology, surrounding species provenance and biological characteristics of the second and jointly dominant species, and the climate factors can also have a direct or indirect effect on it by affecting the above factors. Among the fifth elements, the elevation, gradient and slope direction, topographical factors, diversity of geographical location and improvement of prevention technology all influence the response of pine forest ecosystem to PWN disturbance.