Change of Several Plant Nutrient Elements by Plant Species and Organ

Nutrient elements, one of the major factors shaping plant development, are the major components of plants, and, after being taken from the soil, they are present in different organs of plant at different concentrations. The speciation of nutrient elements within plant body is vital importance for determining the contribution to plant development, knowing the transfer between organs within the body of organs, clearly understanding the factors influencing plant development, and shaping the plant development. In the present study, the change of the concentrations of K and Mg (macronutrient elements) and Cu (micronutrient elements) by species and organ in woody species Prunus cerasifera, Platanus orientalis, Acer negundo, Fraxinus excelsior, Catalpa bignonioides, Aesculus hippocastanum, and Tilia platypyllos. As a result, it was found that the changes of elements by species were statistically significant in all the organs, and, in general, the highest concentrations were observed in leaves. The study results revealed that the concentrations of these elements might significantly vary between the organs in the same species, which varies significantly by the species.

Relationships Between Some Physical-Chemical Properties and Nutrient Content of Wheat Cultivating Soils of Büyük Menderes Basin

This study was conducted to examine the soil fertility of the Büyük Menderes Basin, where wheat is widely cultivated. Soil samples were taken from 50 different points at a depth of 0-30 cm and various physical and chemical properties and amounts of nutrient elements were determined. With regard to the results of the study, the soils were generally sandy-clay-loam in texture, with slightly alkaline reaction, limy, rich in organic matter and showed no risk of salinity. The examined soils were found to be insufficient as 34% for total N, 14% for available K, 26% Mg, 10% Fe, 94% Zn and 98% Mn contents while all of the soils were determined as sufficient in terms of available P, Cu and Ca contents. When relationships between nutrient elements and soil physical-chemical properties were examined, negative correlations were found between soil pH and EC, organic matter, total N, available K, Zn; lime contents and available Mg, Fe, Cu; clay and available K and Mn contents. The positive correlations were found between EC and available K, Ca and Zn; organic matter % and total N, available K, Cu, Zn and Mn; sand % and available Mn; clay % and available Fe contents. Investigation of relationships between plant nutrients demonstrated that, there were positive correlations between total N and available K, Cu, Zn, Mn; available P and Zn; available K and Cu, Zn, Mn; available Ca and Fe; available Mg and Fe, Cu; available Fe and Cu, Mn; available Cu and Mn contents. The results of the study showed that attention should be paid to fertilization programs to fertilization with Zn and Mn, which were found to be insufficient in the greater part of the basin’s soils, and also to nitrogen deficiency is observed, as this directly affects the protein content of wheat.

Spatial Distribution Characteristics and Risk Assessment of Nutrient Elements and Heavy Metals in the Ganjiang River Basin

The pollution of water bodies by nutrients and heavy metals can lead to a loss of biodiversity, environmental degradation, and harm to human health. During the two-month monitoring period (e.g., December 2019 to January 2020), variables such as trace metals (e.g., Cu, Zn, As, and Cr), nutrients (e.g., NH4+-N, TN, and TP), water temperature, pH value, dissolved oxygen (DO), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) were measured at 102 monitoring points in the main stream and tributaries of the Ganjiang River in the Poyang Lake Basin. A variety of multivariate statistical techniques, including cluster analysis (CA), principal component analysis (PCA), and correlation analysis, were used to conduct risk assessments and source analyses of the nutrient elements and heavy metals in the Ganjiang River system. The results show that although the Ganjiang River Basin is polluted by human activities, its water chemistry characteristics and trace metal and nutrient elements concentrations were better than the national standards. Through principal component analysis, the water pollution sources could be divided into urban sewage, agricultural activities, industrial activities, and the sources of industrial activities and transportation activities. The comprehensive risks of noncarcinogens (Hc) and comprehensive risks of carcinogens (Rc) for adults and children due to drinking water indicated that the risk from drinking water for the children in the basin was greater than that for adults, and that the Hc for adults and children was acceptable. However, the Rc for adults and children was slightly higher than the acceptable values. This study provides a reference for the fine control of the environmental water pollution sources in the Ganjiang river basin and health risk assessments in the basin, which are of great significance for improving the environmental water quality standards in the river basin and for reducing the risk of carcinogenesis.

Insight into the Adaptability of Dominant Plant Indigofera amblyantha Craib for Ecological Restoration of Rock Slopes in Stone Coal Mine

The eco-restoration was a very effective measure to solve the problem of environmental pollution caused by the exposed mine surface in the stone coal mine site. In this study, the dominant plant, Indigofera amblyantha Craib, was well adapted to the eco-restoration in stone coal mining area. The changes of nutrient elements, pH, heavy metals in substrate material, the biological concentration/transfer factor, and the distribution and diversity of bacteria and fungi in rhizosphere soil were investigated. The results show that the plant communities help slow down the loss of nutrient elements and the increase of the concentrations of heavy metals in the eco-restoration process. The Indigofera amblyantha Craib had the advantaged ability to enrich and transfer Cd, Cu, Mn, and its diversity index of microbial communities in rhizosphere soils was higher than that of other quadrats. These excellent properties found in this work help reveal the insight into the adaptability of Indigofera amblyantha Craib in the eco-restoration of stone coal mines. It is valuable to evaluate Indigofera amblyantha Craib for eco-restoration engineering of stone coal mine and extend the application in heavy metal contaminated sites.

Development of transcriptomics-based eukaryotes growth rate indices

Growth rate estimation is important to understand the flow of energy and nutrient elements in an ecosystem, but it has remained challenging, especially on microscopic organisms. In this study, we propose four growth rate indices that use mRNA abundance ratios between nuclear and mitochondrial genes: (1) total nuclear and mitochondrial mRNA ratio (Nuc:Mito-TmRNA), (2) nuclear and mitochondrial ribosomal protein mRNA ratio (Nuc:Mito-RPmRNA), (3) gene ontology (GO) terms and total mitochondrial mRNA ratios and (4) nuclear and mitochondrial specific gene mRNA ratio. We examine these proposed ratios using RNA-Seq datasets of Daphnia magna and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The results showed that both Nuc:Mito-TmRNA and Nuc:Mito-RPmRNA ratio indices showed significant correlations with the growth rate for both species. A large number of GO terms mRNA ratios showed significant correlations with the growth rate of S. cerevisiae. Lastly, we identified mRNA ratios of several specific nuclear and mitochondrial gene pairs that showed significant correlations. We foresee future implications for the proposed mRNA ratios used in metatranscriptome analyses to estimate the growth rate of communities and species.