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The biomass of a secondary evergreen and deciduous broad-leaved mixed forest was comprehensively inventoried in a permanent 2 ha plot in southwestern China. Biomass models, sub-sampling, soil pit method, and published data were utilized to determine the biomass of all components. Results showed that the total biomass of the forest was 158.1 Mg ha; the total biomass included the major aboveground (137.7 Mg ha) and belowground (20.3 Mg ha) biomass components of vascular plants as well as the minor biomass components of bryophytes (0.078 Mg ha) and lichens (0.043 Mg ha). The necromass was 17.6 Mg ha and included woody debris (9.0 Mg ha) and litter (8.6 Mg ha). The spatial pattern of the aboveground biomass was determined by the spatial distribution of dominant trees with large diameter, tall height, and dense wood. The belowground biomass differed in terms of root diameter and decreased with increasing soil depth. The belowground biomass in each soil pit in local habitats was not related to the spatial distribution of woody plants and soil pit depth. The karst forest presented lower biomass compared than the nonkarst forests in the subtropical zone. Biomass carbon in the karst terrains would increase substantially if degraded karst vegetation could be successfully restored to the forest. Comprehensive site-based biomass inventory of karst vegetation will contribute not only to provide data for benchmarking global and regional vegetation and carbon models but also for regional carbon inventory and vegetation restoration.â1â1â1â1â1â1â1â1

This study explores the impact of teachers' perception of trust in colleagues on their sense of empowerment in Mainland China, with a particular focus on the mediating role of teacher efficacy. The results of a survey of 1646 teachers indicate that although teachers scored positively on trust in colleagues, efficacy and empowerment, they had relatively lower scores on general teaching efficacy (GTE) and participation in decision-making. Trust in colleagues was a significant predictor of teacher empowerment. In addition, personal teaching efficacy had a significant mediation effect on the relationship between trust in colleagues and teacher empowerment, while GTE had not. These findings lead to some implications for understanding the nature of GTE and the relationship between trust and teacher empowerment. (Contains 2 figures and 4 tables.)

This study explores the relationships between teacher empowerment, teacher receptivity toward, and perceived outcomes of, a system-wide curriculum change, particularly national curriculum reform in basic education in China. The results of a survey of 1,646 teachers from six provinces indicate that teachers were positive in their receptivity and perception of reform outcomes in general. Female teachers reported that they were more empowered and more receptive to the curriculum reform. Teachers' professional growth was found to enhance the perceived outcomes of curriculum reform, whereas their participation in decision making reflected a negative influence. These findings lead to some suggestions for improved understanding and management of curriculum reform in schools in China. (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)

This study investigated curriculum influences on student mathematics achievement by following two groups of students from fifth to sixth grade that were taught either the reformed curriculum or the conventional curriculum. Analyses with three-level modeling were conducted to examine learning outcomes of the students who were assessed three times over a period of 18 months. Achievement was measured with regard to computation, routine problem solving, and complex problem solving. Affective aspects included self-reported interest in learning mathematics, classroom participation, views of the nature of mathematics, and views of learning mathematics. The results showed overall improved performance among all the students over the time on computation, routine problem solving, and complex problem solving but not on the affective measures. There were differentiated patterns of performance between the groups. On the initial assessment, the reform group performed better than the non-reform group on calculation, complex problem solving, and indicated higher interest in learning mathematics. The two groups did not differ on the other achievement and affective measures at the first time of assessment. There was no significant difference in growth rate between the groups on the cognitive and affective measures except that the non-reform group progressed at a faster pace on calculation. Therefore, the non-reform group outperformed the reform group on computation at the third (last) assessment. These results are discussed with respect to the possible influence of the curriculum on student learning. (Contains 4 tables and 4 figures.)

In view of problem that current switched reluctance drive systems are lack of friendly human machine interface to display running state of the system and set given parameters, the paper proposed a design scheme of human machine interface of switched reluctance drive system based on simplified ModBus communication protocol. It gave general structure of the switched reluctance drive system, and introduced design of serial communication circuit and communication program in the human machine interface. Debugging result shows that the human machine interface runs stably and realizes functions of friendly display and online parameters modification for the switched reluctance drive system.