Impact of groundwater depth and soil salinity on riparian plant diversity and distribution in an arid area of China

Riparian plant diversity in arid regions is sensitive to changes in groundwater. Although it is well known that groundwater has a significant influence on plant diversity, there have been few studies on how groundwater and soil salinity impact plant community in desert riparian ecosystems. Therefore, we surveyed 77 quadrats (100m x 100m) to examine the relationship between groundwater depth, groundwater salinity, soil salinity and plant community in the upper reaches of the Tarim River. Data were analyzed with two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN), detrended canonical correspondence analysis (DCCA) and principal component analysis (PCA). The results indicated that Populus euphratica, Tamarix ramosissima, and Phragmites australis were the dominant plants among trees, shrubs and herbs, respectively. Five plant community types were classified. There were significant differences in species diversity, soil moisture, soil salinity, groundwater depth and groundwater salinity across the community types. The composition and distribution of plant community are significantly influenced by groundwater depth, groundwater salinity, soil moisture, distances from the river to the quadrats, soil pH, electrical conductivity, total salt, CO32-, Cl-, SO42-, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+ and K+. Shallow groundwater depth, low groundwater salinity, and high soil moisture and soil salinity were associated with higher plant diversity

The Effect of Flooding on Evaporation and the Groundwater Table for a Salt-Crusted Soil

Soil salt crusts have been shown to have a strong influence on evaporation and water movement in soils, and this has attracted considerable attention. However, there is little information available on these processes during flooding. The objective of this study was to investigate the evaporation rate, variation in the groundwater table, and soil water content of salt-crusted soil flooded by five floodwater depths: 2 mm (Treatment A), 6 mm (Treatment B), 10 mm (Treatment C) 14 mm (Treatment D), and 18 mm (Treatment E). The experiments were carried out using repacked homogeneous silt loam soil columns in the laboratory. The experimental results showed that salt crust formation led to a low evaporation rate. The salt crust tended to form a dome, and some breakage occurred when the salt crust was dry. The broken crust increased the evaporation rate, indicating that the evaporation occurred below the crust. The soil moisture did not significantly change in the soil profile from 20 to 70 cm during the experimental period, which indicated that the existence of the evaporation front located in a layer very close to the surface. The evaporation rate rapidly increased when floodwater was added to the soils and returned to its previous low value after the salt crust reformed. However, before the salt crust reformed, there was a total water loss of 2.1, 4.3, 6.6, 10.1, and 13.8 mm for treatments A, B, C, D, and E, respectively, indicating that only a portion of the floodwater evaporated; another portion of the floodwater was discharged into the groundwater, causing the groundwater table to rise, although only by a small amount (6 mm). Therefore, the groundwater recharge caused by flooding should be considered. Otherwise, groundwater consumption may be overestimated

Intercropping of wheat changed cucumber rhizosphere bacterial community composition and inhibited cucumber Fusarium wilt disease

Enhancing the plant rhizosphere microbial community function by increasing plant diversity in the field is a promising strategy for enhancing agricultural sustainability. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the intercropping of wheat in controlling cucumber Fusarium wilt disease. Bacterial community diversity and abundance in cucumber rhizosphere were estimated by high-throughput amplicon sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results showed that the intercropping of wheat inhibited the severity of cucumber seedling Fusarium wilt disease, increased the alpha diversity and altered the composition of the bacterial community in cucumber rhizosphere. Compared with monocropped cucumber, intercropped cucumber had higher relative abundances of Anaerolineae, Deltaproteobacteria, Phycisphaerae and Planctomycetacia, and lower Alphaproteobacteria and Cyanobacteria. Moreover, the intercropping of wheat promoted bacterial genera with plant-beneficial potential (e.g. Pseudomonas, Haliangium and Archangium spp.) in cucumber rhizosphere. Quantitative PCR confirmed that Pseudomonas spp. abundance was higher in intercropped cucumber rhizosphere than in monocropped cucumber rhizosphere. Overall, the intercropping of wheat decreased the severity of Fusarium wilt of cucumber and promoted potential plant-beneficial microbes in cucumber rhizosphere

A facile synthesis of hierarchical porous carbon derived from renewable lignin for high-performance supercapacitor

In this work, we proposed a facile one-pot pyrolysis method to conveniently manufacture lignin-derived carbon materials with graded porous construction for use in supercapacitors. The renewable lignin was selected as precursor, while the potassium citrate was used as a pore-forming agent. The properties of the prepared lignin-derived carbon (LAC) and the performance for supercapacitor application were thoroughly evaluated. The LAC at optimal preparation conditions shows a layered porous structure with a large specific surface area of 3174 cm2 g−1 and pore volume of 2.796 cm3 g−1, where the specific capacitance reach to 241 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 scan rate in 6 M KOH electrolyte solution. At the same time, the specific capacitance remains at 220 F g−1 even at an excessive scan velocity of 20 A g−1, while the capacitance retention is still close to 91.3%. The capacitance retention rate is stable above 95% after 10,000 charge/discharge cycles, which shows the desired long-time stability. All these results demonstrate the outstanding properties of the new prepared LAC material and the considerable application potential in the field of electrical energy storage

Streamflow Consumption vs. Climate Change in the Evolution of Discharge in the Tarim River Basin, Northwest China

Quantifying and separating the impacts of hydroclimatic change and human activities on streamflow consumption are crucial issues for the planning, management, and rational allocation of water resources in arid inland river basins. Generalized additive models were used to reveal the interactions between climate, land-use change, and streamflow consumption in the mainstream Tarim River basin in Northwest China. The results showed that streamflow has decreased, while streamflow consumption has had an increasing trend in the upper reaches and a decreasing trend in the middle and lower reaches during the past 45 years. Land-use change was estimated to contribute 50.1–84.30% (mean of 58.1%) of streamflow consumption, and it was followed by climatic change, which contributed 10.5–28.3% (mean of 21.5%), and inflow runoff, which contributed 11.8–23.6% (mean of 17.7%) from 1970–2015. Land-use change played a dominant role in streamflow consumption in the mainstream Tarim River basin. Cropland expansion and urban area growth were the primary factors causing the decreased streamflow and increased streamflow consumption in the upper reaches. The streamflow consumption in the middle and lower reaches decreased, which was attributed to the decreased inflow. The results are useful for informing policy-making accordingly so that the river can be properly restored, which will benefit the ecosystem services

Disinfection Technology for Auricularia auricula in Bag Cultivation: Problems and Countermeasures

This article analyzes the problems existing in disinfection technology for Auricularia auricular in bag cultivation, introduces the concept of disinfection and sterilization technology and the technical status of humidification for disinfection of A. auricular in bag cultivation, analyzes the related problems caused by this type of technology and the reasons for the problems, and puts forward solutions to the technical problems

Disinfection Technology for Auricularia auricula in Bag Cultivation: Problems and Countermeasures

This article analyzes the problems existing in disinfection technology for Auricularia auricular in bag cultivation, introduces the concept of disinfection and sterilization technology and the technical status of humidification for disinfection of A. auricular in bag cultivation, analyzes the related problems caused by this type of technology and the reasons for the problems, and puts forward solutions to the technical problems

Species-Abundance Distribution Patterns of Plant Communities in the Gurbantünggüt Desert, China

It is important to study the species-abundance distribution pattern in a community to reveal the mechanism of community assembly. Six abundance models (log-normal distribution model, Zipf model, Zipf–Mandelbrot model, broken stick model, niche preemption model, and Volkov model) were used to fit the species-abundance distribution pattern of six scales (10 m × 10 m, 20 m × 20 m, 40 m ×40 m, 60 m × 60 m, 80 m × 80 m, 100 m × 100 m) in fixed, semifixed, and mobile sand dunes in the Gurbantünggüt Desert, respectively. The best-fitting model was determined using the K-S test, the Chi-square test, and the Akaike information criterion. The results showed that the values of soil salinity, nutrients, water content, Shannon–Wiener diversity index (H′), Pielou evenness index (E), and Simpson index (D) were ranked in all three habitats as fixed dunes > semifixed dunes > mobile dunes. The rank curves span a narrow range on the horizontal axis at scales of 10 m × 10 m and 20 m × 20 m, and species richness is minimal. As the scale increases, the span range of the curve gradually increases, and species richness becomes higher at scales of 40 m × 40 m, 60 m × 60 m, 80 m × 80 m, and 100 m × 100 m. At the 10 m × 10 m and 20 m × 20 m scales, the broken stick model fits best in the three dune habitats. At the 40 m × 40 m and 60 m × 60 m scales, the niche preemption model fits best in the three dune habitats. At the 80 m × 80 m and 100 m × 100 m scales, the Volkov neutral model fits best in the fixed and semifixed dune habitats, and the niche preemption model fits best in the mobile dune habitats. In fixed, semifixed, and mobile dunes, both niche and neutral processes played important roles in community construction, reflecting the manifestation of the community niche-neutral continuum