Organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in surface soils from Ruoergai high altitude prairie, east edge of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

2014 ◽  
Vol 478 ◽  
pp. 90-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nan Gai ◽  
Jing Pan ◽  
Hua Tang ◽  
Shu Chen ◽  
Dazhou Chen ◽  
...  
2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhijia Ci ◽  
Fei Peng ◽  
Xian Xue ◽  
Xiaoshan Zhang

Abstract. The pattern of air–surface gaseous mercury (mainly Hg(0)) exchange in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) may be unique because this region is characterized by low temperature, great temperature variation, intensive solar radiation, and pronounced freeze-thaw process of permafrost soils. However, air–surface Hg(0) flux in the QTP is poorly investigated. In this study, we performed filed measurements and controlled field experiments with dynamic flux chambers technique to examine the flux, temporal variation and influencing factors of air–surface Hg(0) exchange at a high-altitude (4700 m a.s.l.) and remote site in the central QTP. The results of field measurements showed that surface soils were net emission source of Hg(0) in the entire study. Hg(0) flux showed remarkable seasonality with net high emission in the warm campaigns and net low deposition in winter campaign, and also showed the diurnal pattern with emission in daytime and deposition in nighttime, especially on days without precipitation. Rainfall events on the dry soils induced large and immediate increase in Hg(0) emission. Snowfall events did not induce the pulse of Hg(0) emission, but snow melt resulted in the immediate increase in Hg(0) emission. Daily Hg(0) fluxes on rainy or snowy days were higher than those of days without precipitation. Controlled field experiments suggested that water addition to dry soils significantly increased Hg(0) emission both in short and relatively long timescales, and also showed that UV radiation was primarily attributed to Hg(0) emission in the daytime. Our findings imply that a warm climate and environmental change could facilitate Hg release from the permafrost terrestrial ecosystem in the QTP.


2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 321-331
Author(s):  
Yang yang Zhao ◽  
Yue Qi ◽  
Xiao ning Wang ◽  
Wei Zhao

Abstract Hypothermic and hypoxic environments create strong selective pressure on native species by affecting, among other things, the relationship between energy intake and allocation. In order to detect the adaptation of Phrynocephalus vlangalii to such energy limitation, the morphological structure and argyrophil cells of the digestive tract of 80 individuals from two different altitudes in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau were compared using overall anatomy as well as paraffin sectioning of specific organs. Compared with the low-altitude population, the high-altitude individuals were found to have a significantly longer stomach and duodenum, longer and wider villus in the small intestine, larger surface area in duodenum and jejunum, and more argyrophilic cells in stomach and duodenum. Our results indicate that the morphological and histological change of the digestive tract may be conductive to the plateau adaptability of P. vlangalii by enhancing the efficiency of digestion and absorption. For a more general conclusion to be drawn, comparison of more populations at both altitudes is required in addition to verifying how phenotypically flexible these traits are.


2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 426-430
Author(s):  
Yuexin Dong ◽  
Ba Dun ◽  
Pu Bu Wang Dui ◽  
Luo Bu Zhuo Ma ◽  
Jie Fang ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 367 (16) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yijie Wang ◽  
Rui Zhou ◽  
Qiaoling Yu ◽  
Tianshu Feng ◽  
Huan Li

ABSTRACT The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is a harsh environment characterized by low temperature, high altitude and hypoxia, although some native mammals may adapt well to the extreme climate. However, how animal gut microbial community structure and function adapt to extreme cold climates is not well understood. Plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) is an ideal animal model with which to study the effects of climate change on host adaptation by studing intestinal microorganisms. Here, we used 16S rRNA sequencing technology combined with physiological methods to investigate plateau pika gut microbiota in summer and winter. Due to limited diet resources, the pikas in winter have a lower ability of degradation and fermentation for plant-based food (reduced cellulase activity and total short-chain fatty acids) by decreasing gut microbial diversity and some functional microbes, such as fiber-degrading bacteria Oscillospira and Treponema. Metagenomic prediction showed that most of those gene functions associated with metabolism (e.g. energy metabolism and lipid metabolism) were less abundant in winter, implying that the plateau pika slows diet fermentation and weakens energy requirements in the cold season. Our results have significance for explaining the mechanism of wild plateau mammals adapting to a high-altitude cold environment from the perspective of gut microbiome.


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