Application of chemical fertilizers and farmyard manure affects crop productivity and improves nutrient cycling within soil-plant systems, but the magnitude varies with soil-climatic conditions. A long-term (1982-2004) field experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) fertilizers and farmyard swine manure (M) on seed and straw yield, protein concentration, and N uptake in the seed and straw of 19-year winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and four-year oilseed (three-year canola, Brassica napus L. in 1987, 2000 and 2003; one-year flax, Linum usitatisimum L. in 1991), accumulation of nitrate-N (NO3-N) in the soil profile (0-210cm), and N balance sheet on balanced application of N, P, and K fertilizers and manure at proper rates is important for protecting soil and groundwater from potential NO3-N pollution and for maintaining high crop productivity in the rainfed region of Northwestern China.

The recovery of vegetation cover following soil disturbance by the plateau zokor (Myospalax baileyi) was investigated from 2001 to 2004 in a subalpine meadow of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Two adjacent plots were compared: one control community (undisturbed by zokors for over 5 years) and one disturbed community (with new mounds present before enclosure in year 2000). Vegetation on mounds tended to recover over time. Plant diversity, cover, biomass and density reached 88.5%, 87.9%, 73.1%, and 52.7% of the values for the control community, respectively, over the 4-year period when zokors were excluded. The edges around mounds showed a gradual increase in aboveground biomass and vegetation density from 2001 to 2004, which compensated for the lack of plant cover on the center of the mounds. The total number of species in the disturbed community increased from 15 in 2001 to 27 in 2004, and contained three alien species which were not found in the control plot, which contained 30 species. The average species diversity in mound sites (41.8) was generally higher than that of the control plot (1.7). It is probable that plateau zokors are important for maintaining or restoring the disturbance-dependent elements of native plant communities. In addition, zokor disturbance resulted in a significant change in soil particle size, increased soil water content from about 20% to 25% and soil organic carbon content from 108 to 114g/kg (0-20cm soil layer) after 4 years of restoration. The improvement in soil quality might be associated with the rate of vegetation recovery following zokor disturbance. Therefore, through modulation of vegetation recovery, plateau zokors might be said to act as ecosystem engineers in alpine meadows.

We determined a minimum effective dose of gallic acid (3,4,5-trihydroxy benzoic acid; 50mg/kg, i.p.) and piperine (10mg/kg, p.o.) through their therapeutic potential and further evaluated them individually and in combination against beryllium-induced biochemical alterations and oxidative stress consequences in female albino rats. The administration of beryllium altered blood biochemical variables by significantly depleting hemoglobin, albumin and urea, whereas it enhanced bilirubin and creatinine. The release of serum transaminase, lactate dehydrogenase and/-glutamyl transpeptidase was significantly greater, and was concomitant with a decrease in serum alkaline phosphatase. A significant increase in lipid peroxidation and a decrease in glutathione, superoxide dismutase and catalase in the liver and kidney was an indication of oxidative stress due to beryllium exposure. Individual administration of gallic acid and piperine moderately reversed the altered biochemical variables, whereas the combination of these was found to completely reverse the beryllium-induced biochemical alterations and oxidative stress consequences. We concluded that gallic acid exerts a synergistic effect when administered with piperine and provides a more pronounced therapeutic potential in reducing beryllium-induced hepatorenal dysfunction and oxidative stress consequences.

An improved Costanza model was developed to assess the health of the Jin he River Watershed ecosystem. The watershed is located at the center of the Huangtu Plateau in China and has suffered a severe disturbance in the last few decades. Three indicators including vigor, organization, and resilience were calculated respectively by merging ground-based observations with remotely sensed data on a watershed scale. Health indices of 12 topographic sub-watersheds were calculated using a modified Costanza formula. Health evaluated results indicated that sub-watersheds in the Huangtu mountain region were relatively healthy ecosystems with scores over 0.673. The sub-watersheds in the loess mountain and the loess gully regions, e.g., Jinghe, Heihe, and Honghe regions, scored moderately; their evaluated value ranged from 0.505 to 0.606. The two sub-watersheds in the loess gully region and all sub-watersheds in the loess hilly region scored the lowest, less than 0.50 and were considered unhealthy ecosystems. It can be argued that the loess hilly region and the loess gully regions should be in primary consideration for ecological protection and rehabilitation. This study provided a possible quantitative model for ecological planning and landscape management with respect to topographic conditions in this area.