DOCSLIB.ORG

Late Holocene Vegetation Dynamic and Human Activities Reconstructed from Lake Records in Western Loess Plateau, China

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Late Holocene Vegetation Dynamic and Human Activities Reconstructed from Lake Records in Western Loess Plateau, China Quaternary International 227 (2010) 38e45 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Quaternary International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quaint Late Holocene vegetation dynamic and human activities reconstructed from lake records in western Loess Plateau, China Ke Zhang, Yan Zhao*, Aifeng Zhou, Huiling Sun MOE Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental System, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui Road South, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China article info abstract Article history: A high-resolution pollen record from a mountain lake (2400 m a.s.l.) in the western Loess Plateau reveals Available online 11 June 2010 variations of vegetation and human activities during the last 3200 years. The pollen record indicates the vegetation changes from mixed deciduouseconiferous forest dominated by Betula, Quercus, and Abies at 3200e2200 cal BP, to forest steppe co-dominated by trees (Betula, Quercus) and herbs (mostly Artemisia) at 2200e1100 cal BP and then to steppe-like vegetation since 1100 cal BP. A distinct vegetation type shift occurred at ca.1100 cal BP, accompanied by the increase of anthropogenic indicators (cereal-type pollen, Humulus-type pollen and Pediastrum). Human deforestation might have contributed to this abrupt shift. Micro-charcoal abundance also shows a generally increasing trend during the last 1000 years, suggesting enhanced human activities. After 1100 cal BP, two deforestation phases (1100e750 cal BP and 350 cal BP-present) and one forest expansion phase (750e350 cal BP) are identified. These phases have good correlation with historical events, suggesting that increased population pressures, flourished agriculture, and warfare are the main reason for these forest clearances. Anthropogenic activities appear to be the main controlling factor of the vegetation dynamics during the late Holocene, especially for the last 1100 years. Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Quaternary environmental and climate shift based on pollen anal- ysis have been carried out on the Loess Plateau (e.g., Sun et al., 1995, There has been a long-standing interest in the study of late- 2007; Li et al., 2003a; Feng et al., 2004, 2007; Tang and An, 2007; Quaternary landscape dynamics on the Chinese Loess Plateau (“the Wu et al., 2009). Most of these researches focused on the late- cradle of ancient Chinese civilization”), as this region is very Pleistocene and the early to mid-Holocene. Several of these studies sensitive to climate change (Li et al.,1988) and has witnessed strong show that the vegetation deteriorated since ca. 4000 cal BP (Zou human influence during the late Holocene (Liu, 1985). The Loess et al., 2009; Feng et al., 2006); however, these palynological Plateau is presently subject to desertification, soil erosion, and records do not have ideal age controls for understanding vegetation socio-economic stresses under the increased climate variability dynamics, as they are from loess profiles. Thus the vegetation (Wang et al., 2006). Understanding the interactions of past climate patterns on the Loess Plateau during the late Holocene, when change, human activity and environment response are of particular vegetation was probably greatly affected by human activities, importance to understand regional climate and response to global remain poorly understood. change (Dearing, 2006, 2008). This paper presents a high-resolution pollen record together As a core element of the environmental system, vegetation is the with charcoal, conifer stomata and Pediastrum data from a moun- key to the evaluation of past environmental evolution (Li et al., tain lake in the western Loess Plateau. The objectives were to 2003b). Palynological studies provide a useful tool for the recon- reconstruct the paleovegetation change during the late Holocene in struction of past vegetation in response to climatic variations and the study area and to investigate the human impacts on forest human activities. A number of investigations concerning the late- change by comparing with other regional paleoclimatic records from speleothems, archaeological records of human habitation and historical documents. This is the first high-resolution pollen record * Corresponding author. Fax: þ86 (0) 931 8912330. from lacustrine sediments to reveal the vegetation dynamics and E-mail address: [email protected] (Y. Zhao). human activities during late Holocene in the western Loess Plateau. 1040-6182/$ e see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2010.04.019 K. Zhang et al. / Quaternary International 227 (2010) 38e45 39 2. Regional setting Berberis circumserrata, and Salix cathayana. The steppe and grass- land is dominated by Pteridium aquilinum, Stipa baicalensis, Festuca Tianchi Lake (351505100e351505500N, 1061802800e1061802800E, ovina, and Artemisia. Between 2100 and 2800 m, the vegetation 2430 m a.s.l.) is a small (2 km2) freshwater lake (maximum depth of is characterized by sub-alpine trees and shrubs. The deciduous 8.2 m) on the Liupan Mountains, situated at 30 km east of Zhuanglang trees are dominated by Betula utilis and P. davidiana, with few County, Gansu Province, northwestern China (Fig. 1). The lake is conifer trees (Pinus armandii and Juniperus formosana). Shrubs are mainly fed by rainfall and underground water. Climate in this region is the dominant vegetation, mainly consisting of Cotoneaster acutifo- mainly controlled by the Asian monsoon with a warm, wet summer lius, Hippophae rhamnoides, Rosa acicularis, Rosa sertata and Salix and cold, dry winter. Mean annual precipitation is 677 mmwith peaks caprea. The herbaceous taxa mainly include Carex rochebruni, occurring during JuneeSeptember, mean annual temperature is Beckmannia syzigachne and Poa pratensis. At present, dwarf-shrub 8.2 C, and the minimum temperature of the coldest months of the and steppe are the dominant vegetation on the mountain slopes year is À26 C (January) while the maximum temperature of the surrounding Tianchi Lake, mainly consisting of R. omeiensis, warmest months of the year is 30 C (July), based on the nearest Berberis amurensis, H. rhamnoides, Lonicera spp., Betula spp., Rubus meteorological Liupan Mountain station (at 2845 m a.s.l.). spp., Poa annua, Artemisia argyi, Ageratum spp., Inula japonica, Natural vegetation of this region is temperate forest steppe. The Taraxacum officinale, and Leontopodium nanum. Vegetation is modern vegetation displays stronger secondary features, but it still different on the north and south slopes: the northern slope is shows a clear zonal distribution along the altitudinal gradient characterized by dwarf-shrub, and the southern slope is charac- (Wang, 1988). Between 800 and 1400 m, the vegetation is domi- terized by steppe and some human-planted Pinus trees. Fig. 1 nated by human-planted trees, as well as natural shrubs and some clearly shows this disturbed landscape, with combination of scattered trees. The grass mainly includes Artemisia, Cyperaceae, grassy steppe and shrubs near the lake. and some cultivated crops. Between 1400 and 2100 m the vegeta- tion is characterized by forest steppe. Betula platyphylla, Betula 3. Materials and methods albo-sinensis and Quercus liaotungersis are the common dominant deciduous species, together with Tilia paucicostata, Populus Ten surface pollen samples were collected from the sites rep- davidiana and Fraxinus chinensis. Shrubs mainly consist of Salix resenting different vegetation types near the lake and 3 surface lake cheilophia, Ostyopsis davidiana, Corylus heterophylla, Rosa omeiensis, samples from the Tianchi lake, in order to investigate the Fig. 1. Location and settings. A. Location of the Loess Plateau (yellow area). Black dots show other palaeoclimate sites discussed in the text and the rectangle represents our study region. B. Tianchi Lake (black dot) on the Liupan Mountains. White dots show other sites mentioned in the text. C. Photo of Tianchi Lake. Black dot shows the coring location of the core GSA07-1. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article). 40 K. Zhang et al. / Quaternary International 227 (2010) 38e45 relationships between pollen assemblages and modern vegetation Table 1 in the study area. Samples S1eS3 were from surface lake sediments AMS radiocarbon dates from Tianchi Lake (the upper 6 m of core GSA07-1), southwest Loess Plateau, China. along a transect from the west to the east. Samples S4eS9 were collected from the meadow and steppe at the mountain (along the Lab Depth Material d13C 14C date Error Calibrated age & Æ s transect from west to east) near the lake at different elevations. number (cm) dated ( VPDB) (yr BP) ( yr) (cal yr BP-2 range) Sample S10 and S11 were from dwarf-shrubs the southern side of A01e163 162 Tree leaves À29.0 680 30 634e680 the lake. Sample S12 and S13 were from forest patches dominated e À e e A01 184 183 Tree leaves 26.9 855 35 688 801 by Larix and Butula, respectively. The surface samples (S4 S13) A01e223 221 Tree leaves À21.0 1080 35 932e1056 were taken from moss cushions and surface soils. A01e262 260 Tree leaves À11.6 1255 30 1122e1277 The 11-m-long sediment core (GSA07-1) was taken from the A02e021 302 Tree leaves À18.7 1440 45 1288e1406 deepest part of Tianchi lake (8.2 m) using a UWITEC piston corer in A02e097 382 Tree leaves À21.0 1775 30 1610e1745 A02e148 436 Tree leaves À24.3 2060 30 1948e2118 September 2007. This study focuses on the upper 6 m of the core A02e198 489 Tree leaves À23.1 2355 30 2333e2464 GSA07-1 in order to make a high-resolution reconstruction of the A02e225 517 Tree leaves À12.7 2585 40 2695e2774 vegetation change over the late Holocene, which went through A03e043 600 Tree leaves À16.6 2895 45 2912e3165 large changes in vegetation based on the coarse resolution pollen analysis results from the entire core (Zhao et al., 2010). The chronology was based on 10 AMS 14C dates on terrestrial occurred in samples S2 and S3.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Poplars and Willows: Trees for Society and the Environment / Edited by J.G
    Poplars and Willows Trees for Society and the Environment This volume is respectfully dedicated to the memory of Victor Steenackers. Vic, as he was known to his friends, was born in Weelde, Belgium, in 1928. His life was devoted to his family – his wife, Joanna, his 9 children and his 23 grandchildren. His career was devoted to the study and improve- ment of poplars, particularly through poplar breeding. As Director of the Poplar Research Institute at Geraardsbergen, Belgium, he pursued a lifelong scientific interest in poplars and encouraged others to share his passion. As a member of the Executive Committee of the International Poplar Commission for many years, and as its Chair from 1988 to 2000, he was a much-loved mentor and powerful advocate, spreading scientific knowledge of poplars and willows worldwide throughout the many member countries of the IPC. This book is in many ways part of the legacy of Vic Steenackers, many of its contributing authors having learned from his guidance and dedication. Vic Steenackers passed away at Aalst, Belgium, in August 2010, but his work is carried on by others, including mem- bers of his family. Poplars and Willows Trees for Society and the Environment Edited by J.G. Isebrands Environmental Forestry Consultants LLC, New London, Wisconsin, USA and J. Richardson Poplar Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Published by The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and CABI CABI is a trading name of CAB International CABI CABI Nosworthy Way 38 Chauncey Street Wallingford Suite 1002 Oxfordshire OX10 8DE Boston, MA 02111 UK USA Tel: +44 (0)1491 832111 Tel: +1 800 552 3083 (toll free) Fax: +44 (0)1491 833508 Tel: +1 (0)617 395 4051 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.cabi.org © FAO, 2014 FAO encourages the use, reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product.
    [Show full text]
  • Number 3, Spring 1998 Director’S Letter
    Planning and planting for a better world Friends of the JC Raulston Arboretum Newsletter Number 3, Spring 1998 Director’s Letter Spring greetings from the JC Raulston Arboretum! This garden- ing season is in full swing, and the Arboretum is the place to be. Emergence is the word! Flowers and foliage are emerging every- where. We had a magnificent late winter and early spring. The Cornus mas ‘Spring Glow’ located in the paradise garden was exquisite this year. The bright yellow flowers are bright and persistent, and the Students from a Wake Tech Community College Photography Class find exfoliating bark and attractive habit plenty to photograph on a February day in the Arboretum. make it a winner. It’s no wonder that JC was so excited about this done soon. Make sure you check of themselves than is expected to seedling selection from the field out many of the special gardens in keep things moving forward. I, for nursery. We are looking to propa- the Arboretum. Our volunteer one, am thankful for each and every gate numerous plants this spring in curators are busy planting and one of them. hopes of getting it into the trade. preparing those gardens for The magnolias were looking another season. Many thanks to all Lastly, when you visit the garden I fantastic until we had three days in our volunteers who work so very would challenge you to find the a row of temperatures in the low hard in the garden. It shows! Euscaphis japonicus. We had a twenties. There was plenty of Another reminder — from April to beautiful seven-foot specimen tree damage to open flowers, but the October, on Sunday’s at 2:00 p.m.
    [Show full text]
  • Wa Shan – Emei Shan, a Further Comparison
    photograph © Zhang Lin A rare view of Wa Shan almost minus its shroud of mist, viewed from the Abies fabri forested slopes of Emei Shan. At its far left the mist-filled Dadu River gorge drops to 500-600m. To its right the 3048m high peak of Mao Kou Shan climbed by Ernest Wilson on 3 July 1903. “As seen from the top of Mount Omei, it resembles a huge Noah’s Ark, broadside on, perched high up amongst the clouds” (Wilson 1913, describing Wa Shan floating in the proverbial ‘sea of clouds’). Wa Shan – Emei Shan, a further comparison CHRIS CALLAGHAN of the Australian Bicentennial Arboretum 72 updates his woody plants comparison of Wa Shan and its sister mountain, World Heritage-listed Emei Shan, finding Wa Shan to be deserving of recognition as one of the planet’s top hotspots for biological diversity. The founding fathers of modern day botany in China all trained at western institutions in Europe and America during the early decades of last century. In particular, a number of these eminent Chinese botanists, Qian Songshu (Prof. S. S. Chien), Hu Xiansu (Dr H. H. Hu of Metasequoia fame), Chen Huanyong (Prof. W. Y. Chun, lead author of Cathaya argyrophylla), Zhong Xinxuan (Prof. H. H. Chung) and Prof. Yung Chen, undertook their training at various institutions at Harvard University between 1916 and 1926 before returning home to estab- lish the initial Chinese botanical research institutions, initiate botanical exploration and create the earliest botanical gardens of China (Li 1944). It is not too much to expect that at least some of them would have had personal encounters with Ernest ‘Chinese’ Wilson who was stationed at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard between 1910 and 1930 for the final 20 years of his life.
    [Show full text]
  • Fit O Rremediación De Metales Pesados Presentes En El Suelo De La Ladera Del Río Bogotá
    IAMB 200420 07 FIT O RREMEDIACIÓN DE METALES PESADOS PRESENTES EN EL SUELO DE LA LADERA DEL RÍO BOGOTÁ CAROLINA HOYOS DAZA UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES FACULTAD DE INGENIERIA DEPARTAMENTO DE INGENIERIA CIVIL Y AMBIENTAL BOGOTA D.C. 2005 ii IAMB 200420 07 FIT O RREMEDIACIÓN DE METALES PESADOS PRESENTES EN EL SUELO DE LA LADERA DEL RÍO BOGOTÁ CAROLINA HOYOS DAZA Proyecto de Grado para optar al título de Ingeniera A mbiental Director JOHANA HUSSERL Ingeniera A mbiental UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES FACULTAD DE INGENIERIA DEPARTAMENTO DE INGENIERIA CIVIL Y AMBIENTAL BOGOTA D.C. 2005 iii IAMB 200420 07 AGRADECIMIENTOS A J o ha na H us s e rl , I nge ni e ra A mbi e nta l , y A s e s o ra de l P royecto, por su constante orientación y amable colaboración durante el desarrollo del mismo. A la s ala virtual de la bibliotec a general de la U nivers idad de los Andes, especialmente a Liliana Rubiano por su desinteresada, oportuna y eficiente colaboración en la búsqueda bibliográfica, sobre la cual se sustenta este proyecto. A l Laboratorio A mbiental del C entro de Investigación en Ingeniería A mbiental (CIIA) de la Universidad de los Andes por su colaboración en el análisis cuantitativo de las muestras. A mis padres y hermana por su compañía y apoyo incondicional, a mi madre especialmente por su colaboración en la toma de muestras. A todos aquellos que en diferentes momentos me ayudaron y me dieron ánimo para finalizar este proyecto. iv IAMB 200420 07 CONTENIDO RESUMEN ..............................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Wilson's Controversial Magnolia and the Mysterious Wa Shan
    photograph © President and Fellows of Harvard College. Arnold Arboretum Archives. Wilson’s photo of Wa Shan. “The fog prevented my view of the wild and savage scenery for which this stretch is famed. I was very disappointed as I was keen on getting some photos” (Wilson’s diary 18 September, 1908); “the Mt. covered in dense cloud all day” (19 September); “Mt. Wa was clear, 52 and I took 3 photos from different positions” (20 September). Wilson’s controversial magnolia and the mysterious Wa Shan As is so often the case, what was expected to be a leisurely pursuit of magnolia study in the tranquil atmosphere of the Australian Bicentennial Arboretum, turned out to be an exciting adventure into the wilderness of China’s remote and elusive Wa Shan, a mountain shrouded in mist and mystery. This is such a tale when CHRIS CALLAGHAN and SK PNG went searching for Wilson’s controversial Magnolia sargentiana var. robusta in a quest to shed further light on its botanical status and ended up rediscovering a mountain potentially richer in flora than Emei Shan! While researching the identity of what was found to be probably the first recorded hybrid of Magnolia sargentiana var. sargentiana (see ‘Bicentennial’ – a new hybrid magnolia cultivar, in the 2008 IDS Yearbook, pp. 53 - 61), I became aware of a controversy surrounding the botanical status of Magnolia sargentiana var. robusta, the few plants of which were discovered by Ernest Wilson in woodlands and open country on Wa Shan in Sichuan province, INTERNATIONAL DENDROLOGY SOCIETY TREES photograph © Australian Bicentennial Arboretum Da-tien Chi at base of Wa Shan in October 2009.
    [Show full text]
  • SALICACEAE 1. POPULUS Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 1034. 1753
    Flora of China 4: 139–274. 1999. 1 SALICACEAE 杨柳科 yang liu ke Fang Zhenfu (方振富 Fang Cheng-fu)1, Zhao Shidong (赵士洞)1; Alexei K. Skvortsov2 Trees or shrubs, deciduous or rarely evergreen, dioecious, rarely polygamous. Leaves alternate, rarely subopposite, usually petiolate, simple; stipules persistent or caducous. Catkins erect or pendulous; each flower usually with a cupular disc or 1 or 2(or 3) nectariferous glands. Male flowers with 2–many stamens; filaments filiform, free or united; to connate; anthers 2(or 4)-loculed, dehiscing longitudinally. Female flowers with 1 pistil, sessile or stipitate; ovary superior, 1- or 2-loculed; ovules several to many, anatropous, with a 1 integument; style 1, 2 in Chosenia; stigmas 2–4. Capsule dehiscing by 2–4(or 5) valves; placenta and inside wall of ovary with long hairs. Seeds 4– numerous, glabrous; hairs and seeds simultaneously deciduous when capsule matures. Three genera and about 620 species: mainly N hemisphere, a few in S hemisphere; three genera and 347 species (236 endemic) in China, including at least nine hybrids and at least one introduced species. Wang Chan & Fang Cheng-fu, eds. 1984. Salicaceae. Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 20(2): 1–403. 1a. Growth monopodial, buds with several outer scales, terminal bud present (except in Populus sect. Turanga); both male and female catkins pendulous; disc cupular; leaf blade usually 1–2 × as long as wide ......................................................................................................................................................... 1. Populus 1b. Growth sympodial, buds with 1 scale, terminal bud absent; female catkin erect or spreading, very rarely pendulous; flowers without disc but glands sometimes connate and discoid; leaf blade often at least several × as long as wide.
    [Show full text]
  • Forestry Department Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
    Forestry Department Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations International Poplar Commission Thematic Papers POPLARS AND WILLOWS IN THE WORLD CHAPTER 2 POPLARS AND WILLOWS OF THE WORLD, WITH EMPHASIS ON SILVICULTURALLY IMPORTANT SPECIES Donald I. Dickmann, Julia Kuzovkina October 2008 Forest Resources Development Service Working Paper IPC/9-2 Forest Management Division FAO, Rome, Italy Forestry Department FAO/IPC Poplars and Willows in the World Chapter 2 Poplars and Willows of the World, with Emphasis on Silviculturally Important Species by Donald I. Dickmann Department of Forestry Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48824-1222 USA Julia Kuzovkina Department of Plant Science The University of Connecticut Storrs, CT 06269-4067 USA Contact information for D. I. Dickmann: Email [email protected] Phone 517 353 5199 Fax 517 432 1143 “…while this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed laws of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.” Charles Darwin The Origin of Species, 1859 If any family of woody plants affirms Darwin’s musing, it is the Salicaceae. This family—division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida (dicots), subclass Dilleniidae, order Salicales—includes the familiar genera Populus (poplars, cottonwoods, and aspens) and Salix (willows, sallows, and osiers)1. Together Populus and Salix comprise 400 to 500 species (Table 2-1), although there is no agreement among taxonomists as to the exact number. Added to those numbers are countless subspecies, varieties, hybrids, and cultivars that together encompass a diversity of morphological forms that, although bordering on the incomprehensible, is beautiful and wonderful nonetheless.
    [Show full text]
  • Latin for Gardeners: Over 3,000 Plant Names Explained and Explored
    L ATIN for GARDENERS ACANTHUS bear’s breeches Lorraine Harrison is the author of several books, including Inspiring Sussex Gardeners, The Shaker Book of the Garden, How to Read Gardens, and A Potted History of Vegetables: A Kitchen Cornucopia. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637 © 2012 Quid Publishing Conceived, designed and produced by Quid Publishing Level 4, Sheridan House 114 Western Road Hove BN3 1DD England Designed by Lindsey Johns All rights reserved. Published 2012. Printed in China 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 1 2 3 4 5 ISBN-13: 978-0-226-00919-3 (cloth) ISBN-13: 978-0-226-00922-3 (e-book) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Harrison, Lorraine. Latin for gardeners : over 3,000 plant names explained and explored / Lorraine Harrison. pages ; cm ISBN 978-0-226-00919-3 (cloth : alkaline paper) — ISBN (invalid) 978-0-226-00922-3 (e-book) 1. Latin language—Etymology—Names—Dictionaries. 2. Latin language—Technical Latin—Dictionaries. 3. Plants—Nomenclature—Dictionaries—Latin. 4. Plants—History. I. Title. PA2387.H37 2012 580.1’4—dc23 2012020837 ∞ This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper). L ATIN for GARDENERS Over 3,000 Plant Names Explained and Explored LORRAINE HARRISON The University of Chicago Press Contents Preface 6 How to Use This Book 8 A Short History of Botanical Latin 9 Jasminum, Botanical Latin for Beginners 10 jasmine (p. 116) An Introduction to the A–Z Listings 13 THE A-Z LISTINGS OF LatIN PlaNT NAMES A from a- to azureus 14 B from babylonicus to byzantinus 37 C from cacaliifolius to cytisoides 45 D from dactyliferus to dyerianum 69 E from e- to eyriesii 79 F from fabaceus to futilis 85 G from gaditanus to gymnocarpus 94 H from haastii to hystrix 102 I from ibericus to ixocarpus 109 J from jacobaeus to juvenilis 115 K from kamtschaticus to kurdicus 117 L from labiatus to lysimachioides 118 Tropaeolum majus, M from macedonicus to myrtifolius 129 nasturtium (p.
    [Show full text]
  • Vermiremediation and Phytoremediation: Eco Approaches for Soil Stabilization
    Open Access Austin Environmental Sciences Review Article Vermiremediation and Phytoremediation: Eco Approaches for Soil Stabilization Bhat SA1, Bhatti SS1, Singh J2, Sambyal V3, Nagpal A1 and Vig AP1* Abstract 1Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences, The contamination of soil by anthropogenic activities has raised many Guru Nanak Dev University, India concerns in scientific community. There is an urgent need of reliable and 2PG Department of Zoology, Khalsa College Amritsar, nature friendly techniques for addressing these concerns. Vermiremediation India and phytoremediation are two such dependable techniques. Vermiremediation 3PG Department of Human Genetics, Guru Nanak Dev involves earthworms to convert solid organic materials and wastes into University, India vermicompost which acts as a soil conditioner and nutrient-rich manure. The *Corresponding author: Adarsh Pal Vig, Department contaminants in organic wastes which could pollute the soil can be significantly of Botanical and Environmental Sciences, Guru Nanak reduced using earthworms. The vermicompost generated from earthworms Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab, India increases soil fertility (physical, chemical, biological). In vermicompost nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, sodium, magnesium and calcium Received: June 10, 2016; Accepted: August 12, 2016; are in plant available forms. Vermicompost is increasingly considered in Published: August 16, 2016 agriculture and horticulture as a promising alternative to chemical fertilizers. Phytoremediation involves plants and soil microbes to minimize the amount of contaminants (such as heavy metals) in the environment. Plants have capacity to uptake contaminants from the soil and execute their detoxification by various mechanisms (phytoaccumulation, phytostabilization, phytofiltration, phytodegradation, phytovolatilization). Plants store these contaminants in there tissues from where these can be harvested or dumped in safe sites.
    [Show full text]
  • MORACEAE 桑科 Sang Ke
    Flora of China 5: 21-73. 2003. MORACEAE 桑科 sang ke Zhou Zhekun (周浙昆)1; Michael G. Gilbert2 Trees, shrubs, vines, or rarely herbs, frequently with milky or watery latex, sometimes spiny. Stipules present, frequently caducous. Leaves alternate, rarely opposite; petiole often present and well-defined; leaf blade simple, sometimes with cystoliths, margin entire or palmately lobed, venation pinnate or palmate. Inflorescences axillary, frequently paired, racemose, spicate, capitate, or rarely cymose, sometimes a fig or syconium with flowers completely enclosed within a hollow receptacle. Flowers unisexual (plants monoecious or dioecious), small to very small. Calyx lobes (1 or)2–4(–8), free or connate, imbricate or valvate. Corolla absent. Male flowers: stamens as many as and opposite to calyx lobes (except in Artocarpus), straight or inflexed in bud; anthers 1- or 2-loculed, crescent-shaped to top-shaped; pistillode (rudimentary sterile pistil) often present. Female flowers: calyx lobes usually 4; ovary superior, semi-inferior, or inferior, 1(or 2)-loculed; ovules 1 per locule, anatropous or campylotropous; style branches 1 or 2; stigmas usually filiform. Fruit usually a drupe, rarely an achene, enveloped by an enlarged calyx and/or immersed in a fleshy receptacle, often joined into a syncarp. Seed solitary; endosperm present or absent. Between 37 and 43 genera and 1100–1400 species: widespread in tropical and subtropical areas, less common in temperate areas; nine genera and 144 species (26 endemic, five introduced) in China. Economically, the most important species are those of Morus and Maclura associated with the production of silk. Some species in Broussonetia, Maclura, and Morus are important for paper making; some species in Artocarpus, Ficus, and Morus have edible fruit; and some species of Artocarpus and Broussonetia are used for furniture or timber.
    [Show full text]
  • Phylogenetic Position of the Enigmatic Termite Family Stylotermitidae (Insecta : Blattodea)
    Invertebrate Systematics 2018, 32, 1111–1117 © CSIRO 2018 doi:10.1071/IS17093_AC Supplementary material Phylogenetic position of the enigmatic termite family Stylotermitidae (Insecta : Blattodea) A B,C C D E Li-Wei Wu , Thomas Bourguignon , Jan Šobotník , Ping Wen , Wei-Ren Liang and Hou-Feng Li E,F ATheExperimental Forest, College of Bio-Resources andAgriculture, National Taiwan University, Nantou, Taiwan. BOkinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Onna, Okinawa, Japan. CFaculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic. DKey Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Science, Kunming, Yunnan, China. EDepartment of Entomology, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan. FCorresponding author. Email: [email protected] Fig. S1. Map of Asia showing the localities where specimens used in the present study were collected (red star). Type localities of the 45 described species of Stylotermes are indicated by open circles. Additional details are listed in Table S1 (modified from Liang et al. (2017)). Fig. S2. Trace plot of ln L in Tracer 1.6. Fig. S3. Read coverage for each sample sequenced in this study. Fig. S4. Phylogenetic tree of 101 termites reconstructed using full mitochondrial genome complements. Node labels are BP: Bayesian posterior probabilities, and BS: Maximum Likelihood bootstrap supports. Fig. S5. Neighbor-joining of dictyopteran insects based on RGC1 sequences. Bootstrap values are showed at each node. Table S1. Collection sites and host trees of Stylotermes spp. Code Termite species Host tree family and species Locality Latitude Longitude Altitude (m) Reference TW5238 S. halumicus Ulmaceae: Zelkova serrata (Thunb.) Makino Luanshan, Taiwan 22.9139 121.1839 605 Liang et al.
    [Show full text]
  • 3. SALIX Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 1015. 1753. 柳属 Liu Shu Pleiarina N
    Flora of China 4: 162–274. 1999. 3. SALIX Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 1015. 1753. 柳属 liu shu Pleiarina N. Chao & G. T. Gong. Trees or shrubs deciduous, rarely evergreen (if shrubs, then erect, ascending procumbent, creeping, or cushion- shaped); pith terete. Branches terete. Terminal bud usually absent; buds with single scale. Leaves alternate, rarely subopposite or opposite; stipules small, free, deciduous or persistent, developed mainly on vigorous branchlets; petiole short; leaf blade variously shaped, often long and narrow. Flowering precocious, coetaneous, or serotinous; catkins upright or spreading, rarely pendulous; bracts entire, persistent or caducous. Flowers entomophilous or anemophilous, each with 1 or 2 glands: 1 abaxial (dorsal) or absent and 1 adaxial (ventral), i.e., abaxial gland between bract and stipe, adaxial gland between stipe and rachis. Male flower: stamens 2–many; filaments free or partly to completely connate, usually exceeding bracts; anthers 2-loculed (rarely 4-loculed if filaments connate), opening lengthwise. Female flower: ovary 2-loculed, sessile or stipitate; style 1, short, slender, or absent, entire or 2- cleft; stigmas 1 or 2, lobed or entire. Capsule 2-valved. Seeds mostly green or gray-green, small, surrounded by fine hairs. About 520 species: cold and temperate regions of N hemisphere, a few in S hemisphere; 275 species (189 endemic, at least one introduced) in China. A. K. Skvortsov indicates that sections Caesiae, Flavidae, Haoanae, and Helix are in many ways interrelated and might, therefore, be united. Salix hainanicaA. K. Skvortsov (Harvard Papers in Botany 3: 107. 1998), was published just after this account was finalized, and it should be referred to sect.
    [Show full text]