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Key message: 63 L. bicolor WRKY genes were identified and their informatics was analyzed. The results suggested that the LbWRKY genes involved in the development and salt secretion of salt glands in L. bicolor. Salt stress, as a universal abiotic stress, severely inhibits the growth and development of plants. WRKY transcription factors play a vital role in plant growth and development, as well as in response to various stresses. Nevertheless, little is known of systematic genome-wide analysis of the WRKY genes in Limonium bicolor, a model recretohalophyte. In this study, 63 L. bicolor WRKY genes were identified (LbWRKY1-63), which were unevenly distributed across seven chromosomes and one scaffold. Based on the structural and phylogenetic characteristics, 63 LbWRKYs are divided into three main groups. Cis-elements in the LbWRKY promoters were related to growth and development, phytohormone responses, and stress responses. Colinearity analysis showed strong colinearity between LbWRKYs and GmWRKYs from soybean (Glycine max). Therefore, LbWRKY genes maybe have similar functions to GmWRKY genes. Expression analysis showed that 28 LbWRKY genes are highly expressed in roots, 9 in stems, 26 in leaves, and 12 in flowers and most LbWRKY genes responded to NaCl, ABA, and PEG6000. Silencing LbWRKY10 reduced salt gland density and salt secretion ability of leaves, and the salt tolerance of the species. Consistent with this, genes associated with salt gland development were markedly down-regulated in the LbWRKY10-silenced lines. Our findings suggested that the LbWRKY genes involved in the development and salt secretion of salt glands in L. bicolor. Our research provides new insights into the functions of the WRKY family in halophytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Underground mining activities and rainfall have potential important influence on the initiation and reactivation of the slope deformations, especially on the steep rock slope. In this paper, using the discrete element method (UDEC), numerical simulation was carried out to investigate deformation features and the failure mechanism of the steep rock slope under mining activities and rainfall. A steep rock slope numerical model was created based on a case study at the Wulong area in Chongqing city, China. Mechanical parameters of the rock mass have been determined by situ measurements and laboratory measurements. A preliminary site monitoring system has been realized, aiming at getting structure movements and stresses of unstable rock masses at the most significant discontinuities. According to the numerical model calibrated based on the monitoring data, four types of operation conditions are designed to reveal the effect of mining excavation and extreme rainfall on the deformation of the steep rock slope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many lakes exist in southeastern Badain Jaran Desert and its hinterland, including 110 perennial lakes and some seasonal or extinct lakes. Geomorphological, sedimentological, and bioglyph evidence obtained from field investigations on Badain Jaran Desert lake group, alongside measurements and dating performed on lake relic, prove that these lakes expanded while the climate was relatively wet during early and middle Holocene. The dating results suggest that the pan-lake period of the Badain Jaran Desert began at 10 cal kyr BP, before which the limnic peat period occurred (11-10 cal kyr BP). Many lakes reached their maximal water-level during 8.6-6.3 cal kyr BP and retreated or dried up in the late Holocene (about 3.5-0 cal kyr BP). During that period, the precipitation at Badain Jaran Desert may have reached 200 mm yr?1 for 7.7-5.3 cal kyr BP, inferred from both the age and precipitation rate of calcareous root tubes. The water balance calculation shows that wetter and warmer climate and the increase of underground water recharge were key factors in maintaining and developing the lake group at both centennial and millennial time scales. Furthermore, lake surface expansion and the increasing fresh water availability set the background for the prosperous prehistoric culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In coastal area, salinization is a common and serious problem for crop cultivation and ecological restoration of degraded wetlands. Therefore, the soil salinity has attracted increasing attention from farmers, government and environmental scientists. The factors controlling the soil salinity distribution have become a hot point in saline soil studies. In this study, statistics and geostatistics were used to explore the distribution of soil salinity in the Yellow River Delta (YRD) based on 150 soil samples that were collected in June 2010. Besides the experimental work, a geographical information system technique was adopted in this study. The results showed that the soil salinity ranged from 0.11 to 10.50 dS m and the salinity in topsoil was higher than that in subsoil in the YRD, indicating that the salt in subsoil moved up and accumulated in topsoil as a function of evaporation. There was a significant difference among soil salinity spatial variances from different soil depths in the YRD. Generally, soil salinity of the topsoil was higher than that of the subsoil. Meanwhile, there were significant positive correlations in soil salinity between different soil depths. In addition, landforms, land uses, soil types and soil texture were important factors affecting soil salinity. The current distribution of soil salinity resulted from the comprehensive effects of anthropogenic activities and natural processes. The present study results suggest that the impacts of human activities were critical factors for salt redistribution in the coastal wetlands, which should be valuable for agricultural management and ecological restoration in the YRD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]