Factors of the Ecosystem Service Value in Water Conservation Areas Considering the Natural Environment and Human Activities: A Case Study of Funiu Mountain, China

Water conservation areas play an important role in regional ecological security patterns. The Funiu Mountain water conservation area is located in the densely populated central region of China, where human disturbance to the ecosystem is strong and ecosystem services are facing a very serious situation. Identifying and evaluating the factors leading to changes in the ecosystem service value (ESV) of the Funiu Mountain water conservation area can provide scientific guidance for ecological management and sustainable development. Using multi-source data and machine learning methods, our research reveals the characteristics of the spatio-temporal variation in the ESV, constructs a system of ESV influencing factors from the comprehensive perspectives of the natural environment and human activities, and discusses the comprehensive effects of the influencing factors on the Funiu Mountain area from 2000 to 2015. The results are as follows. (1) From 2000 to 2005, the ESV increased 375 million yuan, and from 2005 to 2015, it decreased 154 million yuan. (2) Hydrological regulation, biodiversity maintenance, soil conservation, gas regulation, and climate regulation were the main types of ecosystem services in the Funiu Mountain area. (3) The ESV was influenced by the comprehensive effects of the natural environment and human activities. Population was the most important influencing factor of the ESV; in addition, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), precipitation, and economic factors had important influences on the ESV. (4) With the intensification of human activities, humanistic factors have surpassed the relatively stable natural factors, becoming the main factors of the ESV. With economic development, the effect of human activities on the ESV may be further intensified in the future.

Effects of tree species and topography on soil and microbial biomass stoichiometry in Funiu Mountain, China

Background Soil and microbial biomass stoichiometry plays an important role in understanding nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. However, studies on soil and microbial biomass stoichiometry in forests are rare. This study investigated the effect of tree species and topographic factors on the ecological stoichiometry of soil and soil microbial biomass. Methods Three types of forest stands (Quercus variabilis, Larix principis-ruprechtii, and Cotinus coggygria Scop.) in the Beiru River basin of Funiu Mountain were analyzed in September 2018. Six slope positions (sunny bottom slope, sunny middle slope, sunny top slope, shady bottom slope, shady middle slope, and shady top slope) were selected, and the total number of sampling plots was 108. The stoichiometric indices of soil and microbial biomass were determined. Results At a depth of 0–10 cm, the soil organic C contents in different stands followed the order of C. coggygria (27.7 ± 5.2 g/kg) > Q. variabilis (24.5 ± 4.9 g/kg) > L. principis-ruprechtii (20.8 ± 4.3 g/kg) (P < 0.05). The soil organic C contents at depths of 0–10 cm with different slope aspects and at different slope positions also showed significant differences (P < 0.05). The highest MBC content was observed at the slope bottom (1002 ± 157 mg/kg), whereas the lowest was observed at the slope top (641 ± 98.3 mg/kg). Redundancy analysis showed that the contribution of tree species to these differences was 57.1%, whereas that of topographical factors was 36.2%. Conclusions Tree species more significantly affected soil nutrients and microbial biomass C, N and P than did topographic factors.

Quantitative Determination of Anthraquinones and Resveratrol in Polygonum Cillinerve (Nakai) Ohwi by HPLC-PAD

A simple, sensitive, and validated high-performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array method has been established for the simultaneous determination of anthraquinones and resveratrol in Polygonum Cillinerve (Nakai) Ohwi (Zhushaqi in Chinese). The evaluation was performed using a Sunfire C18 reversed-phase column with 30°C column temperature. The mobile phase was composed of a gradient elution of 0.5% acetic acid (solvent A) and methanol (solvent B) with flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The detection wavelength was at 254nm. The method developed and validated is simple, shows good linearity, sensitivity, precision, and recovery, and is applied to analyze anthraquinones and resveratrol in 13 batches of Zhushaqi. The results show that the target compounds of Zhushaqi are significantly different among these samples. Based on results of the statistical analysis, the samples collected from Funiu Mountain were clustered together, and the samples obtained fromBozhou Market were close together. The developed method can be a useful tool in quality control and used to evaluate difference and to identify the geographical area of Zhushaqi, and also to provide technical support for the pharmacological and clinical research of related drugs.

Candida funiuensi sp. nov., a cellobiose-fermenting yeast species isolated from rotten wood

Two strains of an asexual cellobiose-fermenting yeast species were isolated from rotten wood samples collected in Funiu Mountain Nature Reserve in Henan Province, central China. Molecular phylogenetic analysis that included the nearly complete small subunit (SSU), the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and the D1/D2 domains of the large subunit (LSU) rDNA showed that these strains belonged to the Candida kruisii clade, with Candida kruisii and Candida cretensis as their closest phylogenetic neighbours. The nucleotide differences between the novel strains and the type strains of C. kruisii and C. cretensis were 30 and 36 substitutions, respectively, in the D1/D2 LSU rDNA, 40 and 44 substitutions, respectively, in the ITS region and 19 and 23 substitutions, respectively, in the SSU rDNA. The novel strains can also be distinguished from their closest described species, C. kruisii and C. cretensis, by a number of physiological characteristics, and represent a novel species of the genus Candida, for which the name Candida funiuensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is NYNU 14625T ( = CICC 33050T = CBS 13911T). The Mycobank number is MB 811503.

Comparative Analysis on Soil Basic Properties Between Southern and Northern Slopes in Funiu Mountain, China

The spatial variation of soil physical and chemical properties in Funiu Mountain was studied to provide references for identifying soil spatial variation mechanism in bordering land of China warm temperate zone and northern subtropical region. Using vertical gradient sampling and traditional statistics method, the soil samples at the altitude from 1640 m to 1870 m were collected to compare physical and chemical properties between south and north slopes of the Funiu Mountain. The results showed that soil pH, soil organic matter and soil total nitrogen were remarkably correlated with altitude change, but soil electrical conductivity, soil available nitrogen, available phosphors, available potassium, and total potassium were not related to altitude. With the increase of altitude, soil pH and total nitrogen increased, but soil organic matter decreased. Compared with the soil properties of northern slope in Funiu Mountain, soil acidity, electrical conductivity, and available nitrogen were higher in southern slope. Especially, the soil available nitrogen was much higher than the mean value observed in northern slope samples. The contents of soil organic matter, available phosphorus, available potassium, total nitrogen, and total potassium showed no striking difference on between southern and northern slopes. In conclusion, both altitude and slope direction significantly influenced spatial variation of soil properties in Funiu Mountain. It added to the boundary effect of Qinling Mountains, and revealled the interaction mechanism of the environmental elements such as land-climate-soil-ecosystem in Funiu Mountain.