Search

Many plants have been widely used in monitoring and assessing heavy metal pollution in soil, air and water. However, few studies have considered the unique value of bryophyte communities in monitoring manganese ore pollution and the diversity characteristics of bryophytes in different natural succession stages. Tongluojing Manganese Mine in Guizhou Province, China, was chosen for identifying bryophytes and statistical analyses. In total 61 species of mosses in 21 genera of 7 families were identified, including 8 dominant species, primarily representing the turf life-form. Following the successive stages from bare rock to woodland, single-species moss communities decreased while multi-species communities increased, with increment of the α diversity index. However, the β diversity index showed the opposite trend. The moss similarity index was the highest (0.43) and Cody index lowest (7.5) on bare rock, while the indices were the lowest (0.17) and the highest (18), respectively, in woodland. The Nemerow pollution index decreased gradually with the successive stages, with the bare rock area being the most polluted. The soil was polluted by Pb, Cr, Zn, Cd and Mn to varying degrees, among which Mn was the biggest pollutant with a concentration 129 times higher than the background value of the soil in Guizhou Province. There was a positive correlation between the contents of Cd, Cr, Zn and Mn in Weissia planifolia Dix and those in the substrate, suggesting that W. planifolia can be used as an indicator plant. This study highlighted multiple effects of mosses on heavy metal absorption, which could be used as pioneer plants for vegetation restoration in the manganese ore waste rock accumulation area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The morphology and ontogeny of the trilobite Changaspis elongata based on 216 specimens collected from the Lazizhai section of the Balang Formation (Stage 4, Series 2 of the Cambrian) in Guizhou Province, South China are described. The relatively continuous ontogenetic series reveals morphological changes, and shows that the species has seventeen thoracic segments in the holaspid period, instead of the sixteen as previously suggested. The development of the pygidial segments shows that their number gradually decreases during ontogeny. A new dataset of well-preserved specimens offers a unique opportunity to investigate developmental traits after segment addition is completed. The ontogenetic size progressions for the lengths of cephalon and trunk show overall compliance with Dyar's rule. As a result of different average growth rates for the lengths of cephalon, trunk and pygidium, the length of the thorax relative to the body shows a gradually increasing trend; however, the cephalon and pygidium follow the opposite trend. Morphometric analysis across fourteen post-embryonic stages reveals growth gradients with increasing values for each thoracic segment from anterior to posterior. The reconstruction of the development traits shows visualization of the changes in relative growth and segmentation for the different body parts. The new dataset and growth gradient of the trunk suggest that the thoracic segment growth dynamics of early Cambrian to Silurian trilobites follow the same general continuous, steady-state growth gradient decreasing from posterior to anterior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The morphology and ontogeny of the trilobite Changaspis elongata based on 216 specimens collected from the Lazizhai section of the Balang Formation (Stage 4, Series 2 of the Cambrian) in Guizhou Province, South China are described. The relatively continuous ontogenetic series reveals morphological changes, and shows that the species has seventeen thoracic segments in the holaspid period, instead of the sixteen as previously suggested. The development of the pygidial segments shows that their number gradually decreases during ontogeny. A new dataset of well-preserved specimens offers a unique opportunity to investigate developmental traits after segment addition is completed. The ontogenetic size progressions for the lengths of cephalon and trunk show overall compliance with Dyar's rule. As a result of different average growth rates for the lengths of cephalon, trunk and pygidium, the length of the thorax relative to the body shows a gradually increasing trend; however, the cephalon and pygidium follow the opposite trend. Morphometric analysis across fourteen post-embryonic stages reveals growth gradients with increasing values for each thoracic segment from anterior to posterior. The reconstruction of the development traits shows visualization of the changes in relative growth and segmentation for the different body parts. The new dataset and growth gradient of the trunk suggest that the thoracic segment growth dynamics of early Cambrian to Silurian trilobites follow the same general continuous, steady-state growth gradient decreasing from posterior to anterior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The loss of surface soil and water in the karst rocky desertification area of carbonate rock in Chenqi village, Puding County, Guizhou Province was monitored in this study. The results show that the major form of surface soil loss in the area is the loss of soil through underground channels. A creep test of red clay formed by loss through underground channels was conducted. The results of the test show that the creep curve of the red clay samples includes two stages: attenuation creep stage and stable creep stage. The creep law for the red clay samples in the karst cave can be described by Buger's model. The parameters of Buger's equation were deduced by fitting the creep curve, which provides the reference for analyzing the surface soil loss leaking through the underground channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]