Terrestrial Part Research Articles

Flavonoid glycosides fromThalictrum squarrosum St. ex Willd. andThalictrum minus L.

Two flavonoid allose diglycosides were found in the terrestrial part ofThalictrum squarrosum St. ex Willd. andT. minus L. (Ranunculaceae). 7,4′-Di-O-β-allopyranosylapigenin was isolated fromT. minus. InT. squarrosum, its monoacetate was also found and characterized as 7-O-(6-O-acetyl-β-allopyranosyl)-4′-O-(β-allopyranosyl)apigenin. The sites of attachment of the carbohydrate residues were determined by HMBC; the location of the acetate group was identified by ROESY. Both substances were isolated from these plants for the first time.

Influence of basin scale on structure of natural aquatic communities

The aim of the study was to analyze the influence of aquatic ecosystem size on community structure. Analysis is based on quantitative indices, describing integral communities and comparison of their biomass size spectra with standard patterns. Comparative analysis of widely differing aquatic communities shows that certain characteristics of the community structure withstand considerable changes of many important parameters of the abiotic environment and taxonomic composition of the community. At the same time, there are some changes in fine structure of the community size spectra, which can now be documented and measured with relatively high precision due to development of modern automated means of data acquisition. In this study, application of spectral descriptions is discussed as applied to communities of River Jordan-Lake Kinneret aquatic system. It follows from the theoretical scheme developed that, for analysis, the most important part of the community size spectrum is its right extreme, i.e. body size of the largest species of the ecosystem. In the case of Lake Kinneret, that is fish. The fish biomass size spectra were obtained using dual-beam hydro-acoustics techniques. The parameter comparison shows that for riverine systems (i.e. ecological systems with a high role of allochtonous organic matter in the total energy influx of the community), both the water area and the watershed basin (including its terrestrial part) deserve attention as the appropriate scaling parameter.

Biospheric Aspects of the Hydrological Cycle

The Core Project Biospheric Aspects of the Hydrological Cycle (BAHC) of the International Geosphere Biosphere Programme (IGBP) addresses the biospheric aspects of the hydrological cycle through experiments and modelling of energy, water, carbon dioxide and sediment fluxes in the soil– vegetation–atmosphere system at a variety of spatial and temporal scales. Active regulation of water, energy and carbon dioxide fluxes by the vegetation make it an important factor in regulating the Earth’s hydrological cycle and in the formation of the climate. Consequently, human induced conversion of vegetation cover is an important driver for climate change. A number of recent studies, discussed in this paper, emphasise the importance of the terrestrial biosphere for the climate system. Initially, these studies demonstrate the influence of the land surface on tropical weather and climate, revealing the mechanisms, acting at various scales, that connect increasing temperatures and decreasing rainfall to large-scale deforestation and other forms of land degradation. More recently, the significance of the land surface processes for water cycle and for weather and climate in temperate and boreal zones was demonstrated. In addition the terrestrial biosphere plays a significant role in the carbon dioxide fluxes and in global carbon balance. Recent work suggests that many ecosystems both in the tropics and in temperate zones may act as a substantial sink for carbon dioxide, though the temporal variability of this sink strength is yet unclear. Further, carbon dioxide uptake and evaporation by vegetation are intrinsically coupled, leading to links and feedbacks between land surface and climate that are hardly explored yet. Earth’s vegetation cover and its changes owing to human impact have a profound influence on a lateral redistribution of water and transported constituents, such as nutrients and sediments, and acts therefore as an important moderator of Earth’s biogeochemical cycles. In the BAHC science programme, the importance of studying the influence of climate and human activities on mobilisation and river-borne transport of constituents is explicitly articulated. The terrestrial water and associated material cycles are studied as highly dynamic in space and time, and reflect a complex interplay among climatic forcing, topography, land cover and vegetation dynamics. Despite a large progress in our understanding of how the terrestrial biosphere interacts with Earth’s and climate system and with the terrestrial part of its hydrological cycle, a number of basic issues still remain unresolved. Limited to the scope of BAHC, the paper briefly assesses the present status and identifies the most important outstanding issues, which require further research. Two, arguably most important outstanding issues are identified: a limited understanding of natural variability, especially with respect to seasonal to inter-annual cycles, and of a complex ecosystem behaviour resulting from multiple feedbacks and multiple coupled biogeochemical cycles within the overall climate system. This leads to two major challenges for the future science agenda related to global change research. First, there is a need for a strong multidisciplinary integration of research efforts in both modelling and experiments, the latter extending to inter-annual timescales. Second, the ever increasing complexity in characterisation and modelling of the climate system, which is mainly owing to incorporation of the biosphere’s and human feedbacks, may call for a new approach in global change impact studies. Methodologies need to be developed to identify risks to, and vulnerability of environmental systems, taking into account all important interactions between atmospheric, ecological and hydrological processes at relevant scales. With respect to the influence of climate and human activities on mobilisation and river-borne transport of constituents, the main issues for the future are related to declining availability and quality of ground data for quantity and quality of water discharge. Such assessments as presented in this paper, in combination with community wide science evaluation, have lead to an update of the science agenda for BAHC, a summary of which is provided in the appendix.

New triterpenoid glycosides fromThalictrum minus L.

Two triterpenoid diglycosides of the cycloartane series were isolated from the terrestrial part ofThalictrum minus L. (Ranunculaceae). Genins of these glycosides are side-chain structural isomers—3-O-β-d-galactopyranosyl-29-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-9β, 19-cyclo-20(S)-lanost-24(Z)-ene-3β, 16β, 22(S), 26, 29-pentaol and 3-O-β-d-galactopyranosyl-29-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-9β, 19-cyclo-20(S)-lanost-25-ene-3β, 16β,22(S), 24ζ, 29-pentaol. The structures of these glycosides were established using 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy and FAB mass spectrometry.

PERFORMANCE STUDY OF AN INTEGRATED SATELLITE/TERRESTRIAL MOBILE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

Terrestrial cellular networks and mobile satellite systems are expected to converge towards a future integrated satellite/terrestrial mobile communication network. Besides a system globalization, the integration of terrestrial and satellite mobile systems will lead to the unloading of the fixed part of the mobile network. This paper proposes an integrated satellite/terrestrial mobile communication system and evaluates its performance in terms of the blocking probability for new call attempts, the call dropping probability and the probability of unsuccessful call. This communication system was simulated and its performence compared with that of a stand-alone terrestrial mobile system. In the terrestrial part of the system we have considered fixed channel allocation (FCA) and dynamic channel allocation (DCA) techniques. Satellite channels can have equal or lower priority compared to terrestrial channels. The improvement of the system performance by means of satellite-to-terrestrial handovers was also estimated.

Investigations of radiocaesium in the natural terrestrial environment in Norway following the Chernobyl accident.

Radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl accident affected parts of central Norway to a considerable extent, in particular the 134Cs+137Cs deposition had a significant impact on the natural environment. When this became apparent, a comprehensive radioecological research programme was initiated in order to study the behaviour of radiocaesium in boreal and alpine ecosystems, with emphasis on food-chains leading to exposure of species used for human consumption, i.e., reindeer and freshwater fish. In this paper results from the terrestrial part of this research programme during the period 1986-1990 are presented. The work was mainly confined to the mountain areas of Dovre and Rondane. Parallel studies were performed in eutrophic and strongly oligotrophic communities. The influence of local variations in topography and microclimate on the observed radiocaesium levels in topsoils, lichens and vascular plants was studied in detail. Currently a significant re-distribution of radiocaesium from the originally strongly exposed surfaces to those that were less exposed is observed. In the soil, radiocaesium is strongly retained in the litter and raw humus layers. Current levels in lichens are 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than in vascular plants. This strongly affects the seasonal variation of radiocaesium in reindeer, showing winter maxima of about 5 times higher than the August levels. The radiocaesium levels in reindeer showed a decline of approximately a factor of 3 during the period 1987-1990. Other animal species studied in the programme exhibited substantially lower radiocaesium levels than reindeer, but a considerable interspecies variation was observed.

Nutritional characteristics of cattle forage plants in the eutrophic nature reserve Oostvaardersplassen, Netherlands.

During 1982-88 the nutritional value of the main cattle forage plants in the terrestrial part of the eutrophic wetland, the Oostvaardersplassen (dominated by Phragmites australis and Cirsium arvense, with small amounts of Urtica dioica, Poa trivialis and Salix spp.) was studied. Cattle diets were dominated by grass in early summer and autumn, P. australis in July and Aug., and browse in winter. DOM content and the chemical composition of the forage classes grasses, reed, forbs and browse varied seasonally. The DOM content of all forage classes decreased from spring to winter. However, the assumed minimum energy content for cattle maintenance (about 450 g DOM/kg DM) was reached at different moments in the different forage classes. Reed reached it in autumn, grasses in winter, forbs (living parts) remained the entire year above this level and browse remained the entire year below this level. Grazing delayed the maturation of P. trivialis, P. australis and U. dioica. The protein, K, Ca, P, Cu content of the 4 forage classes exceeded the cattle maintenance levels for these nutrients the whole year. The Na and Mg content of grasses, reed and browse were marginal in some periods of the year. Due to their high mineral contents, the forbs were an important mineral source in cattle diets. When compared with data from oligotrophic and mesotrophic habitats, the Poa-Phragmites eutrophic habitat offered comparable feed quality in spring, summer and autumn, but was inferior in winter. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)

Nouvelle découverte de Miocène supérieur à Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire

The discovery of Upper Miocene marine layers in a water-borehole in Abidjan, to the north of the great tectonical fault zone dividing lengthwise the terrestrial part of the Ivory Coast sedimentary basin, incited us to study their microfauna, palynoflora and nannoflora in detail. To our knowledge it is for the first time that fossils of the two last named groups of such age have been studied in Ivory Coast and none of the characteristic species of the three groups illustrated up to now. The study has been carried out within the geological and sedimentological framework of the borehole.

The reefal margin of the South Caspian Basin and its petroleum prospects (Southwestern Turkmenia)

By analogy with the extremely rich Mexican petroliferous barrier-reef La Reforma trend, and on the basis of a paleogeomorphic analysis of geologic-geophysical data, the reefal edge of the South Caspian Basin of Neocomian age has been recognized in Southwestern Turkmenia; this is promising with respect to oil and gas exploration in combined (structural-reefal) traps. The extent of the reefal scarp is about 400 km in the terrestrial part, with an amplitude of up to 1500-2000 m, the width of the crest is about 5 km, and the depth of occurrence is 3000-4500 m. In its sublatitudinal part, the reef coincides with the Near-Balkhan zone of structures, productive in the Pliocene sequence. In its submeridional part, it corresponds to the so-called Shordzha-Gekcha fault and has been built over by a Cretaceous diapiric clay swell. The paleogeomorphic plan in the South Caspian petroliferous basin, apart from Southwestern Turkmenia, suggests the distribution of the marginal barrier-reef scarp beyond the water area of the Caspian Sea and the Kura Basin.

Dynamic ecology of Aldabran seabird communities

The characteristics of the present seabird community of Aldabra are described, and compared briefly with others in the tropics. By comparison with Pacific Ocean communities, Aldabra is deficient especially in petrels and shearwaters, which are poorly represented in the western Indian Ocean generally and are absent probably for zoogeographic reasons. Ground-nesting species are also scarce, especially pelagic feeders that form large colonies, and this is attributed partly to their extermination by rats and partly to the proximity of Assumption, and perhaps Cosmoledo, that offer better nesting sites to these species. Inshore-feeding terns are also scarce on Aldabra, probably owing to insufficient areas of shallow water nearby. Relative population sizes are roughly in agreement with those that would be predicted, except for the fairy tern whose population may have been reduced in the past by barn owls. Almost all Aldabran seabirds nest either in mangroves or on small lagoon islets, the habitats in which birds are least vulnerable to introduced rats, which appear to have had a major effect on nesting distribution. The seabird community is made up of two different trophic guilds, the pelagic feeders which bring in nutrients entirely from outside the ecosystem, and the inshore feeders which cycle nutrients between the intertidal and inshore parts of the system and the terrestrial part. Both result in a net input of nutrients, in the form of bird droppings, to the terrestrial ecosystem. It is estimated that about 1680 t of food are removed from the sea per year, most of the 105 t of guano resulting being channelled into the intertidal, rather than the terrestrial, parts of the ecosystem. The seabird communities likely to have occupied Aldabra in the past are reconstructed on the basis of the known changes in the atoll’s size and structure during the Pleistocene. At most times there would have been more species of seabird using Aldabra than now, and more of their guano would have passed into the terrestrial ecosystem. Probably the most significant event in the recent history of the atoll was the arrival of rats, which exterminated probably quite considerable colonies of ground-nesting seabirds and drove the survivors into the only places where the rats could not survive - the tall mangroves and the tiny lagoon islets. In so doing, the rats destroyed a significant source of nutrient input to the terrestrial ecosystem, with major consequences for the ecology of the atoll as a whole.

THE BIOSYNTHESIS OF PROTOANEMONIN IN RANUNCULUS GLABER MAKINO

Abstract Sodium [2-14C]malonate and d-[U-14C]glucose were incorporated into protoanemonin (I) in Ranunculus glaber Makino in 0.60 and 0.09% yield respectively at the highest value. Its labeling pattern suggests that the lactone I is biosynthesized by the condensation of glycerate and malonate in a terrestrial part of the plant.

Labile Quartz-poor Sediments from Young Mountain Ranges in Northeast Papua

ABSTRACT The young mountain ranges of northeast Papua have sharp crests and very steep side slopes mantled by shallow weakly weathered soils. Rock debris from slope denudation and stream corrasion is rapidly transported by streams and is deposited as alluvial fans and plains and littoral deltas and beaches. The sediments range from coarse conglomerate in some fans to clay in freshwater and some tidal swamps. The present study has concentrated on the fine sand fractions which have about 4 percent of quartz and 1 percent opaque minerals. Of the remainder one-half is rock fragments in various stages of weathering, one-quarter is unstable light minerals (mostly plagioclase), and one-quarter is unstable heavy minerals (mostly ferromagnesian minerals). These sediments have a dioritic and gabbroic chemical composition and are classed as plagioclass-rich litharenites. It is concluded that the terrestrial part of the sedimentary cycle is extremely rapid in the active orogenic portions of the humid tropics. Only the beach sands have reached a mature stage (with under 0.5), but the grains are mostly angular.

Studies on the influence of pruning on the vegetative growth of japanese peppermint. (Mentha arnensis L., var. piperascens. MAL.)

The author investigated the influence of pruning on the vegetative growth of Japanese peppermint (Mentha arvensis, L., var. piperascens, MAE.) by pot-culture, and obtained the following results ; 1) The growth of plant-height is temporarily delayed. 2) The third leaf is promoted to develop and as a result the total number of leaves are increased. 3) The time of flowering trends to become more uniform, while is delayed slightly. 4) The irregularity of correlations is seen between the height of plant at the time of treatment and the respective height measured several times there after. 5) The irregularity of correlation is seen between the weight of the subterranean part and weight of the terrestrial part. 6) The dry-weight of leaves and stems are increased. 7) The content of essential oil is increased. 8) The content of menthol in the essential oil is increased.

On Soundings at Tosabae

Tosabae is a marine bank situated at the entrance of Kii Strait 50km off the coast of Cape Muroto, Tosa Province. Its shallowest part is 154m in the western corner of the bank. The bank, which is outlined by a 400m bathymetric line, is oval, 31km long and 15km broad. In 1927 the surveying ship, “Sôyô-maru” of the Imperial Fisheries Experimental Station dredged many bottom samples from the bank, the predominant materials being rock fragments, followed by gravels, sands, and organic remains. 1. Rock fragments. These are calcareous and marly shale, fine black sandstone, and gabbro. The calcareous shale under the microscope shows tests of fossil foraminifera, such as Rotalia sp., Globigerina sp., and Lenticulina rotulata Lamark. Only one, piece of gabbro was found among the rock fragments. It is greenish gray and shows fine schistose structure. Under the microscope, most of the crystals of monoclinic pyroxene are crushed and in parts have the parallel structure of mylonite. 2. Gravels. Two gravels of marly shale were found in the bottom samples; of angular shape but very smooth surface. 3. Sands. The sand grains consist of organic remains, quartz, feldspar, hornblende, etc. The abrade percentage of the quartz grains in the sand is far greater than that of the quartz grains in the rock. 5. Organisms. The organic remains are foraminifera, coral, bryozoa, and mollusca. The Tosabae bank, which rises from the deep sea floor outside the continental shelf around Cape Muroto, is separated from the cape by a trench more than 700m deep, across which it is most natural to conclude that transportation of rock from the terrestrial region of Sikoku is impossible for which reason the dredgings are of geological importance, being probably the components forming the main part of the bank. The lithological characters of the sedimentary rocks just mentioned are found in the geological elements making up the Neogene Tertiary developed in Aki Province near Cape Muroto. Gabbro is also found in the Akigawa series, the Mesozoic formation developed at Cape Muroto. The bank of Tosabae therefore is closely related both geologically and topographically to the terrestrial part of the Muroto region.

A theorem on Fourier series, and its application in geophysics

If we put the interval 2 π, in which a Fourier series assumes every possible value, equal to the natural period2 of a geophysical element, we obtain the most natural and appropriate of all the common representations of the periodic process, since in this case the representing function and the function represented have the same periodicity. In addition to this, the individual waves attain a real significance in certain circumstances; for example, when the periodic process is to be attributed to stationary vibrations, as in the case of the diurnal variation of the atmospheric pressure. But even in the case in which the waves of higher order are to all appearances merely computation quantities, the physical analysis of the process represented, according to its causes, can still be effected by the series, though of course only with the assistance of modes of procedure lying quite outside the method (of Fourier); namely, by the comparison of the coefficients for different times and places in which the different causes act in opposite senses.It was with such aid that the author succeeded in showing that that field to which, according to Schuster‐Bezold,3 the diurnal variations of the Earth's magnetism are to be attributed, is composed of two parts, one corresponding to the “solar” part of the weather, the other to the “terrestrial” part. Both parts have the period 24 hours, so that in the Fourier representation the solar part is given by the first term, and the terrestrial part by the sum of all the rest. The solar part is thus represented by a stationary vibration, and the terrestrial part, in a purely mathematical way, by the terms of the second order; while the individual waves have, beyond this, no independent existence.