浙江凤阳山-百山祖国家级自然保护区植物群落ALPHA多样性特征

采用样方调查法对浙江凤阳山--百山祖国家级自然保护区内的45个样地的物种组成、alpha多样性进行分析。结果表明：各样地乔、灌、草3个层次的Shannon-Wiener指数（H）、Simpson指数（D）和Pielous均匀度指数（Jsw）以五岭坑保护站的米槠（Castanopsis carlesii）、毛锥（Castanopsis fordii）林最高,茶木淤保护站的金钱松（Pseudolarix amabilis）林样地最低;各植物群落类型乔木层的物种丰富度以常绿阔叶林最高;灌木层以针阔叶混交林的物种数最多,草甸样地的灌木物种数最少;草本层则以竹林物种数最为丰富;乔木层各群落的 H和D均以常绿阔叶林最高;灌木层的H以针阔叶混交林最高,草本层中各植物群落类型的H、D、Jsw均以竹林最高;在百山祖自然保护区中,常绿阔叶林可以维持较高的木本植物物种多样性,而竹林出现明显纯林化现象,应加以控制。     

南岭国家级自然保护区典型区域森林景观格局分析

在3S技术和Fragstats 4.0支持下,运用景观生态学原理,通过多种指数,从类型水平和景观水平上对南岭国家级自然保护区乳阳片区的森林景观斑块进行了较为全面的分析。结果表明:常绿阔叶林是乳阳片区的基质景观类型,斑块类型面积为19 759.53hm2,占整个森林景观的64.43%;景观要素斑块类型面积大小排序为常绿阔叶林﹥针叶林﹥落叶阔叶混交林﹥针阔混交林﹥采伐迹地﹥山顶阔叶矮林﹥山地草甸﹥道路﹥建设用地﹥水域﹥耕地;整体景观斑块彼此相邻近,各级景观斑块分布均匀、规模适中、形态自然、破碎程度低。     

荣成市无花果种植的自然条件分析及主要气象灾害防御

从温度、降水、土壤、光照等方面对荣成市无花果种植的自然条件进行了分析,并就无花果生长期可能遇到的气象灾害进行了讨论,提出要充分利用当地的气候资源,趋利避害,提高无花果的产量。为荣成市无花果的生产和管理及进一步推广提供了科学依据。     

我国土地资源利用中存在的问题与对策

土地资源是人类的宝贵财富,也是一切生产部门,首先是农业部门为实现生产过程所不可缺少的生产资料。从界定土地资源的基本概念出发,分析了土地资源存在的主要问题,并针对问题提出有有针对性的对策措施,以期促进我国土地资源利用与环境、经济发展相协调。     

Genetic structure of Orbicella faveolata population reveals high connectivity among a marine protected area and Varadero Reef in the Colombian Caribbean

1. The protection of ecosystems with high diversity, such as coral reefs, is not an approach that guarantees their conservation. Thus, maintaining connectivity among coral populations over the long term is a strategy that should be adopted in order to protect diversity and ecological processes. Although coral reefs in Colombia are highly diverse, the population genetics baseline data of keystone species such as Orbicella faveolata are limited.
2. To provide current information about the connectivity between populations of O. faveolata in the Colombian Caribbean, the genetic diversity and distribution of O. faveolata was evaluated with analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA), principal components, and migration estimations using 113 genets distributed in six populations. Also, a genetic structure analysis that included the available data for the Caribbean population was conducted, seeking to understand how the Colombian populations relate to the broader region.
3. According to the global fixation index (F_ST) for the Colombian Caribbean, there was no genetic structure (F_ST = 0.002). Discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) showed that Corales del Rosario Archipelago (CR), Este de Isla Fuerte (EIF), San Bernardo Archipelago (SB), and Varadero Reef (VR) were grouped with Oeste de Isla Fuerte (OIF), with Bushnell (BS) representing the most divergent cluster. Migration analysis showed relatively high migration from VR to CR and SB, highlighting the importance of VR as a genetic reservoir for the region. Structure analysis showed that the Colombian population presented a specific genetic identity (F_ST = 0.254), suggesting that the Colombian Caribbean population could be a peripheral population that contributes significantly to genetic variation and is connected through a complex connectivity process.
4. In conclusion, the estimated genetic connectivity reflects the influence of sea surface dynamics over the interpopulation exchange dynamics and the role of protected and nonprotected coral reef in the Colombian Caribbean. Thus, the Colombian Caribbean population of O. faveolata could be relevant to the conservation of genetic diversity on a larger scale.

     

Conservation planning with dynamic threats: The role of spatial design and priority setting for species’ persistence

Conservation actions frequently need to be scheduled because both funding and implementation capacity are limited. Two approaches to scheduling are possible. Maximizing gain (MaxGain) which attempts to maximize representation with protected areas, or minimizing loss (MinLoss) which attempts to minimize total loss both inside and outside protected areas. Conservation planners also choose between setting priorities based solely on biodiversity pattern and considering surrogates for biodiversity processes such as connectivity. We address both biodiversity processes and habitat loss in a scheduling framework by comparing four different prioritization strategies defined by MaxGain and MinLoss applied to biodiversity patterns and processes to solve the dynamic area selection problem with variable area cost. We compared each strategy by estimating predicted species’ occurrences within a landscape after 20 years of incremental reservation and loss of habitat. By incorporating species-specific responses to fragmentation, we found that you could improve the performance of conservation strategies. MinLoss was the best approach for conserving both biodiversity pattern and process. However, due to the spatial autocorrelation of habitat loss, reserves selected with this approach tended to become more isolated through time; losing up to 40% of occurrences of edge-sensitive species. Additionally, because of the positive correlation between threats and land cost, reserve networks designed with this approach contained smaller and fewer reserves compared with networks designed with a MaxGain approach. We suggest a possible way to account for the negative effect of fragmentation by considering both local and neighbourhood vulnerability to habitat loss.     

The use of historical collections to estimate population trends: A case study using Swedish longhorn beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)

Long term data to estimate population trends among species are generally lacking. However, Natural History Collections (NHCs) can provide such information, but may suffer from biases due to varying sampling effort. To analyze population trends and range-abundance dynamics of Swedish longhorn beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), we used collections of 108 species stretching over 100 years. We controlled for varying sampling effort by using the total number of database records as a reference for non-red-listed species. Because the general frequency of red-listed species increased over time, a separate estimate of sampling effort was used for that group. We observed large interspecific variation in population changes, from declines of 60% to several hundred percent increases. Most species showed stable or increasing ranges, whereas few seemed to decline in range. Among increasing species, rare species seemed to expand their range more than common species did, but this pattern was not observed in declining species. Historically, rare species did not seem to be at larger risk of local extinction, and population declines were mostly due to lower population density and not loss of sub-populations. We also evaluated the species’ declines under IUCN red-list criterion A, and four currently not red-listed species meet the suggested threshold for Near Threatened (NT). The results also suggested that species’ declines may be overlooked if estimated only from changes in species range.     

Population isolation exacerbates conservation genetic concerns in the endangered Amargosa vole, Microtus californicus scirpensis

The ability of a taxon to maintain adaptive flexibility in a stochastic environment is a function of the genetic diversity within the population. In small, fragmented populations, genetic variation can become depleted more quickly than in larger, more contiguous populations. Characterizing the patterns of genetic variation and differentiation associated with these processes is an important step in establishing conservation priorities. The Amargosa vole, Microtus californicus scirpensis, is an endangered rodent persisting in the small, fragmented marsh complex surrounding the Amargosa River near Death Valley, California. This naturally patchy system has existed since the end of the Pleistocene (approximately 10,000 y.b.p.), however, fragmentation has been exacerbated by recent anthropogenic changes. For this study, I used five nuclear microsatellite loci and the cytochrome-b region of the mitochondrial genome to quantify levels of genetic variation, population substructure, and patterns of gene flow in M.c. scirpensis. These data were compared to a broadly distributed subspecies, Microtus californicus sanctidiegi. Overall levels of nuclear genetic variation were significantly lower in M.c. scirpensis, whether measured in terms of diversity or heterozygosity, compared to more broadly distributed conspecifics. Moreover, only two haplotypes were recovered from the mitochondrial data with over 90% of the observed haplotypes being identical. Despite low genetic diversity, significant genetic subdivision among M.c. scirpensis populations was detected using both pairwise F_ST and Bayesian clustering methods. Furthermore, isolation by distance analyses reveal that an important landscape feature, ephemeral tributaries, is critical for dispersal among population clusters. Recommendations for conservation management are presented.     

Woody species diversity in temperate Andean forests: The need for new conservation strategies

Chile has more than half of the temperate forests in the southern hemisphere. These have been included among the most threatened eco-regions in the world, because of the high degree of endemism and presence of monotypic genera. In this study, we develop empirical models to investigate present and future spatial patterns of woody species richness in temperate forests in south-central Chile. Our aims are both to increase understanding of species richness patterns in such forests and to develop recommendations for forest conservation strategies. Our data were obtained at multiple spatial scales, including field sampling, climate, elevation and topography data, and land-cover and spectrally derived variables from satellite sensor imagery. Climatic and land-cover variables most effectively accounted for tree species richness variability, while only weak relationships were found between explanatory variables and shrub species richness. The best models were used to obtain prediction maps of tree species richness for 2050, using data from the Hadley Centre’s HadCM3 model. Current protected areas are located far from the areas of highest tree conservation value and our models suggest this trend will continue. We therefore suggest that current conservation strategies are insufficient, a trend likely to be repeated across many other areas. We propose the current network of protected areas should be increased, prioritizing sites of both current and future importance to increase the effectiveness of the national protected areas system. In this way, target sites for conservation can also be chosen to bring other benefits, such as improved water supply to populated areas.     

The effects of including marine ecological values in terrestrial reserve planning for a forest-nesting seabird

Theoretical advances in systematic reserve design aim to promote the efficient use of limited conservation resources and to increase the likelihood that reserve networks enhance the persistence of valued species and ecosystems. However, these methods have rarely been applied to species that rely on spatially disjunct habitats. We used the marbled murrelet, a seabird that requires old-growth forest in which to nest and high quality marine habitats in which to forage, as a case study to explore methods of incorporating multiple ecological values into single species spatial reserve design. Specifically, we used the cost function in MARXAN to include the ecological value of marine habitats while identifying spatial solutions for terrestrial nesting habitat reserves. Including marine values influenced terrestrial reserve designs most when terrestrial habitat targets were low and little or none of the target was represented in pre-existing protected areas. Our results suggest that including marine values in the planning process will influence marbled murrelet terrestrial reserve designs most where substantial terrestrial nesting habitat still exists, where new reserves are relatively unconstrained by pre-existing reserves, or when conservation resources only allow the protection of a small fraction of available habitat. This paper presents a novel framework for incorporating multiple measures of ecological value in the spatial reserve design process and should be particularly useful for species that rely on multiple habitats during their life cycle.