Patterns and relationships of plant traits, community structural attributes, and eco-hydrological functions during a subtropical secondary succession in central Yunnan, Southwest China

Human-induced changes in land use lead to major changes in plant community composition and structure which have strong effects on eco-hydrological processes and functions. We here tested the hypothesis that changes in traits of living plants have resulted in changes in structural attributes of the community that influenced eco-hydrological functions by altering eco-hydrological processes. This was done in the context of a subtropical secondary forest suc­cession following land abandonment in Central Yunnan (Southwest China). During the succession, species with high specific leaf area (SLA), high leaf nitrogen concentration (LNC), high specific root length (SRL), and low leaf dry matter content (LDMC) were progressively replaced by species with the opposite characteristics. The obtained results of correlation analyses were as follows: (1) Correlations were significant between community-aggregated SLA, LNC, and the leaf area index (LAI). Significant correlations were detected between LAI, canopy interception and stemflow, and surface runoff and soil erosion. (2) Significant correlations were also found between community-aggregated SLA, LNC, LDMC, and accumulated litter biomass. High accumulated litter biomass strongly increases the maximum water-retaining capac­ity of litter. However, significant correlations were not found between the maximum water-retaining capacity of litter and surface runoff and soil erosion. (3) Correlations were significant between community-aggregated SLA, LNC, and fine root biomass. Fine root biomass was not significantly related to the maximum water-retaining capacity of the soil, but was significantly related to surface runoff and soil erosion. These results suggest that canopy characteristics play a more important role in control of runoff and soil erosion at the studied site. It follows that plant functional traits are closely linked with canopy characteristics, which should be used as a standard for selecting species in restoration and revegetation for water and soil conservation

Effect of MTHFR C677T gene polymorphism on folic acid intervention in Chinese hypertensive patients：a multicentered, randomized, double-blind, clinical trial

Abstract Objectives To describe the changes in serum folate concentration and assess the influence of individual methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T on the changes of serum folate concentration that resulted from 8 weeks of supplementation with folic acid in Chinese hypertensive patients.Methods We conducted a multicenter, randomized, double-blind controlled clinical trial of different dosages folate supplementation in Chinese hypertensive patients.A total of 1657 patients with mild or moderate essential hypertension were randomly assigned to one of eight treatment groups corresponding to eight different doses of folic acid, ranging from 0 mg to 2.4 mg,once daily for 8 weeks. Individual serum folate levels were measured at baseline, and at 4 and 8 weeks posttreatment.Results compared with patients with 677CC genotype, those with TT genotype had significantly lower folate concentrations at baseline.After 4 or 8 weeks of treatment, increases in serum folate were seen across all genotypes and FA dosage groups. At 8 weeks posttreatment ,there was no statistically significant difference in folate levels between groups according genotypes,and patients with CC genotype showed an attenuated response compared with those with TT genotype.( CC,0.45 vs. TT,0.56 ,P&lt; 0.05).Conclusion We demonstrated that MTHFR C677T polymorphisms affected folate levels at the baseline and the therapeutic response of folic acid intervention. Patients with TT genotype benefited more after folic acid supplementation in Chinese hypertensive population.</jats:p