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Wang S, Chen J, Zhao Y, Zhang M, Zhang C, He J, Wei L, Xu Z. Paper mulberry leaves as a potential sterilant: evidence from Microtus fortis-a laboratory study. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1092792. [PMID: 37360716 PMCID: PMC10288988 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1092792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
Introduction The Yangtze vole (Microtus fortis) is a small herbivorous rodent that usually causes damage to crops and forests in China. Various measures were used to control their population including chemical rodenticides. However, rodenticides may cause secondary damage to the environment and the ecosystem. Therefore, the development of new rodent sterilants is urgent. Considering that some compounds of paper mulberry leaves have been verified that can inhibit the biosynthesis of sexual hormone, we aimed to explore the antifertility effect of paper mulberry leaves on M. fortis. Methods In this study, voles were divided into three groups including a male group, a female group, and a breeding group, and paper mulberry leaves were added into basal fodder of voles maintained in laboratory, of which the proportion of leaf weight was 50%. In each group, voles were fed with mixed fodder as treatment (BP) and voles were fed with basal fodder as contrast (CK). Results and discussion After feeding for more than 1 month, the results indicated that paper mulberry leaves attracted voles to feed, but inhibited their growth and reproduction. Since the second week, food intakes of BP have been significantly higher than CK (p< 0.05). However, weights of voles in male and female groups were 72.283 ± 7.394 g and 49.717 ± 2.278 g in the fifth week, and both were significantly reduced compared with their original weight (p< 0.05). Meanwhile, testicular volumes of male voles fed with BP were significantly smaller than CK (former: 318.000 ± 44.654 mm3, latter: 459.339 ± 108.755 mm3); the testosterone level, sperm number, and vitality of BP were obviously weaker than CK. Female uteruses and oophoron of BP grew slower, and the organ coefficients of uterus and oophoron fed BP were both significantly lower than CK (p< 0.05). The first reproduction of BP couple voles spent 45 days, while CK spent only 21 days. These results suggest that paper mulberry leaves could be the potential resource to produce sterilants to control rodent populations by delaying their sexual growth and reproduction. If it was practical, the apparent advantages of paper mulberry are that it is an abundant resource and the inhibitory effect could be effective in both male and female individuals. Our conclusion also supports the transformation of rodent management from lethal management to fertility control, which would be more ecologically friendly to agriculture and the ecosystem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuangye Wang
- College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Junzhi Chen
- Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Management of Western Forest Bio-Disaster, College of Forestry, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
| | - Yunlin Zhao
- College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Meiwen Zhang
- Dongting Lake Station for Wetland Ecosystem Research, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Chen Zhang
- Dongting Lake Station for Wetland Ecosystem Research, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Jianing He
- Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Management of Western Forest Bio-Disaster, College of Forestry, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
- Dongting Lake Station for Wetland Ecosystem Research, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Lichuan Wei
- Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Management of Western Forest Bio-Disaster, College of Forestry, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
| | - Zhenggang Xu
- Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Management of Western Forest Bio-Disaster, College of Forestry, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
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Zhou Z, Zhang L, Liu Y, Zhang K, Wang W, Zhu J, Chai S, Zhang H, Miao Y. Contrasting Effects of Nitrogen Addition on Vegetative Phenology in Dry and Wet Years in a Temperate Steppe on the Mongolian Plateau. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:861794. [PMID: 35548313 PMCID: PMC9083225 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.861794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Changes in spring and autumn phenology and thus growing season length (GSL) pose great challenges in accurately predicting terrestrial primary productivity. However, how spring and autumn phenology in response to land-use change and nitrogen deposition and underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study was conducted to explore the GSL and its components [i.e., the beginning of growing season and ending of growing season (EGS)] in response to mowing and nitrogen addition in a temperate steppe on the Mongolia Plateau during 2 years with hydrologically contrasting condition [dry (2014) vs. wet (2015)]. Our results demonstrated that mowing advanced the BGS only by 3.83 days, while nitrogen addition advanced and delayed the BGS and EGS by 2.85 and 3.31 days, respectively, and thus prolonged the GSL by 6.16 days across the two growing seasons from 2014 to 2015. When analyzed by each year, nitrogen addition lengthened the GSL in the dry year (2014), whereas it shortened the GSL in the wet year (2015). Further analyses revealed that the contrasting impacts of nitrogen on the GSL were attributed to monthly precipitation regimes and plant growth rate indicated by the maximum of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVmax). Moreover, changes in the GSL and its two components had divergent impacts on community productivity. The findings highlight the critical role of precipitation regimes in regulating the responses of spring and autumn phenology to nutrient enrichment and suggest that the relationships of ecosystem productivity with spring and autumn phenology largely depend on interannual precipitation fluctuations under future increased nitrogen deposition scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenxing Zhou
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Global Change Ecology, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, China
- School of Biological and Food Engineering, Anyang Institute of Technology, Anyang, China
- Taihang Mountain Forest Pests Observation and Research Station of Henan Province, Linzhou, China
| | - Liwei Zhang
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Global Change Ecology, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, China
| | - Yinzhan Liu
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Global Change Ecology, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, China
| | - Kunpeng Zhang
- School of Biological and Food Engineering, Anyang Institute of Technology, Anyang, China
| | - Wenrui Wang
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Global Change Ecology, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, China
| | - Junkang Zhu
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Global Change Ecology, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, China
| | - Shijie Chai
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Global Change Ecology, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, China
| | - Huiying Zhang
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Global Change Ecology, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, China
| | - Yuan Miao
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Global Change Ecology, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, China
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Charles LS, Maron JL, Larios L. Species provenance and traits mediate establishment and performance in an invaded grassland. Funct Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lachlan S. Charles
- Department of Botany and Plant Sciences University of California Riverside CA USA
| | - John L. Maron
- Division of Biological Sciences University of Montana Missoula MT USA
| | - Loralee Larios
- Department of Botany and Plant Sciences University of California Riverside CA USA
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Shi Y, Gao J, Li X, Li J, Brierley G. Effects of disturbances on aboveground biomass of alpine meadow in the Yellow River Source Zone, Western China. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8640. [PMID: 35342553 PMCID: PMC8928900 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Revised: 01/30/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
A field experiment quantifies the impacts of two external disturbances (mowing‐simulated grazing and number of pika) on aboveground biomass (AGB) in the Yellow River Source Zone from 2018 to 2020. AGB was estimated from drone images for 27 plots subject to three levels of each disturbance (none, moderate, and severe). The three mowing severities bear a close relationship with AGB and its annual change. The effects of pika disturbance on AGB change were overwhelmed by the significantly different AGB at different mowing severities (−.471 < r < −.368), but can still be identified by inspecting each mowing intensity (−.884 < r < −.626). The impact of severe mowing on AGB loss was more profound than that of severe pika disturbance in heavily disturbed plots, and the joint effects of both severe disturbances had the most impacts on AGB loss. However, pika disturbance made little difference to AGB change in the moderate and non‐mowed plots. Mowing intensity weakens the relationship between pika population and AGB change, but pika disturbance hardly affects the relationship between mowing severity and AGB change. The effects of both disturbances on AGB were further complexified by the change in monthly mean temperature. Results indicate that reducing mowing intensity is more effective than controlling pika population in efforts to achieve sustainable grazing of heavily disturbed grassland.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Shi
- School of Environment The University of Auckland Auckland New Zealand
| | - Jay Gao
- School of Environment The University of Auckland Auckland New Zealand
| | - Xilai Li
- State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture Qinghai University Xining China
| | - Jiexia Li
- State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture Qinghai University Xining China
| | - Gary Brierley
- School of Environment The University of Auckland Auckland New Zealand
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Liu Y, Zhao C, Guo J, Zhang L, Xuan J, Chen A, You C. Short-term phosphorus addition augments the effects of nitrogen addition on soil respiration in a typical steppe. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 761:143211. [PMID: 33172642 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Revised: 10/12/2020] [Accepted: 10/17/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Soil respiration is one of the largest carbon (C) sources in terrestrial ecosystems and is sensitive to soil nutrient variation. Although nitrogen (N) availability affects soil respiration, other nutrients, such as phosphorous (P), which play pivotal roles in plant growth and microbial activity, may also affect soil respiration. In addition, N and P have been widely reported to interactively affect plant growth; however, their interactive effects on soil respiration have rarely been studied. Therefore, we conducted a short-term, two-factor experiment (from 2013 to 2015) to determine whether N and P addition can interactively affect soil respiration in a northern Chinese steppe. Nitrogen addition elevated soil respiration by 9.5%, whereas P addition did not affect soil respiration in the studied steppe across all treatments. However, neither N nor P addition significantly affected soil respiration alone in the experiment. Furthermore, N and P interactively affected soil respiration. Nitrogen addition did not affect soil respiration in the ambient P plots, but significantly elevated soil respiration (by 17.7%) in P addition plots across the three growing seasons. The effects of N addition on soil respiration were primarily correlated with the responses of vegetation cover and litter biomass to N addition in the experiment. Our results demonstrate that P addition augments the effects of N addition on soil respiration. Soil nutrient contents should be incorporated into predictive models for terrestrial C cycle response to N addition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yinzhan Liu
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Global Change Ecology, Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation and Ecological Restoration, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Jinming Road, Kaifeng, Henan 475004, China
| | - Cancan Zhao
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Global Change Ecology, Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation and Ecological Restoration, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Jinming Road, Kaifeng, Henan 475004, China
| | - Jingwei Guo
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Global Change Ecology, Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation and Ecological Restoration, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Jinming Road, Kaifeng, Henan 475004, China
| | - Luna Zhang
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Global Change Ecology, Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation and Ecological Restoration, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Jinming Road, Kaifeng, Henan 475004, China
| | - Juan Xuan
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Global Change Ecology, Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation and Ecological Restoration, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Jinming Road, Kaifeng, Henan 475004, China
| | - Anqun Chen
- International Joint Research Laboratory for Global Change Ecology, Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation and Ecological Restoration, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Jinming Road, Kaifeng, Henan 475004, China.
| | - Chengming You
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River, Sichuan Province Key Laboratory of Ecological Forestry Engineering on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River, Long-term Research Station of Alpine Forest Ecosystems, Institute of Ecology & Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan 611130, China.
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