How does litter quality and site heterogeneity interact on decomposer food webs of a semi-natural forest?

The relative importance of litter quality and site heterogeneity on population dynamics of decomposer food webs was investigated in a semi-natural mixed deciduous forest in Denmark. Litterbags containing beech or ash leaves were placed in four plots. Plots were located within gaps and under closed canopies at two topographically different sites, above and below a slope, respectively, to cover variable environmental conditions. Litter was collected after 2, 4 and 9 months of decomposition. Extensive decay prevented analysis of ash after 9 months. Density of bacteria (CFU), active fungal mycelium (FDA), protozoa (MPN) and nematodes were 4-15-fold higher in ash leaves than in beech leaves in accordance with the higher resource quality of ash. Similar effects of site on density of decomposers were evident in both litter types: with some exceptions, decomposers were higher at the low site and stimulated in gaps. Taxonomic diversity of nematodes increased during decomposition and functional diversity of nematodes followed a pattern often encountered, i.e. opportunistic bacterial-feeders were gradually replaced by fungal-feeders and slower growing bacterial-feeders while predators and omnivors peaked at the end of the study period. At the first sampling, where bacterial activity prevailed, the relative abundance of the two dominant bacterial-feeders, Rhabditidae (fast growing) and Plectus spp. (slower growing), depended more on site than litter type. At the second sampling where fungal activity became more important, the proportions of bacterial and fungal-feeding nematodes also depended more on site than on litter type. At the third sampling individual nematode taxa responded differently to site. In summary, we conclude that although litter quality had a major influence on the density of organisms in the decomposer food web, site effects were also detected and nematode functional groups responded more to site than to litter quality early on in the decomposition process.     

Cotton lint yield variability in a heterogeneous soil at a landscape scale

Landscape variability associated with topographic features affects the spatial pattern of soil water and N redistribution, and thus N uptake and crop yield. A landscape-scale study was conducted in a center pivot irrigated field on the southern High Plains of Texas in 1999 to assess soil water, soil NO₃-N, cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) lint yield, and N uptake variability in the landscape, and to determine the spatial correlation between these landscape variables using a state-space approach. The treatments were irrigation at 50 and 75% cotton potential evapotranspiration (ET). Neutron access tubes were placed at a 15-m interval along a 710 m (50% ET) and 820 m (75% ET) transect across the field. Soil NO₃-N in early spring was autocorrelated at a distance varying between 60 and 80 m. Measured soil volumetric water content (WC), total N uptake, and lint yield were generally higher on lower landscape positions. Cotton lint yield was significantly correlated to soil WC (r=0.76), soil NO₃-N (r=0.35), and site elevation (r=−0.54). Differences of site elevation between local neighboring points explained the soil water, NO₃-N and lint yield variability at the micro-scale level in the landscape. Soil WC, cotton lint yield, N uptake, and clay content were crosscorrelated with site elevation across a lag distance of ±30–40 m. The state-space analysis showed that cotton lint yield was positively weighted on soil WC availability and negatively weighted on site elevation. Cotton lint yield state-space models give insights on the association of soil physical and chemical properties, lint yield, and landscape processes, and have the potential to improve water and N management at the landscape-scale.     

黄灌沙区农田耕层土壤性状空间异质性分析

用地统计学的方法,研究了黄灌沙区农田耕作层(030 cm)土壤的有机质、全氮、碱解氮、速效磷、速效钾、pH和电导率的空间变异规律。结果表明,农田耕作层土壤养分的空间异质性主要由随机性因子如土壤耕作措施,包括施肥、灌溉和作物轮作等造成,这与该区农田耕作层土壤是引黄灌溉改良的结果有关。土壤养分含量的变异函数均可很好地拟合成线性模型,块金值和基台值之比(C0/C0 C)均为1,说明随机性因子是导致该区土壤性状空间变异的主要因素,在整个尺度上具有恒定的变异,造成了土壤性状的相对均一。pH的变异函数为指数模型,其空间异质性组成中随机性和结构性因子各占50%。电导率的变异函数为球状模型,空间变异主要由结构性因子导致,结构性因子引起的空间异质性占总空间异质性的67%。分维数也表明耕层土壤性状空间依赖性较小,随机因子如农业活动是引起黄灌沙区土壤性状空间异质性的关键原因。Moran s I系数表现为除了pH和电导率受结构性和随机性因子共同作用外,其余土壤性状均呈较弱的相关关系。因此,干旱沙区通过人为措施改良的土壤性状空间上的变异主要受人为活动如灌溉、施肥和耕作等影响,在农业活动中更应该注重施肥和灌溉方式、灌溉水源等问题,以避免因土壤性状的变异导致的肥料利用效率降低。     

Movement rules for herbivores in spatially heterogeneous environments: responses to small scale pattern

Foraging herbivores respond to the spatial pattern of resources at a variety of scales. At small scales of space and time, existing models capture the essence of the feeding process and successfully predict intake rates. Models that operate over larger scales have not exhibited a similar success, in part because we have a limited understanding of the rules used by animals to make decisions in spatially complex environments, or of the consequences of departing from these rules. To evaluate the rules that large herbivores use when navigating between forages, we examined movements of bighorn sheep foraging on apparent prey (alfalfa plants) in hand-constructed patches of plants. Observations of movements and path lengths were compared to simulations that used a variety of different rules-of-thumb to determine a search path. Rules used in simulations ranged from a random walk with various detection distances, to more complicated rules that solved a variant of the travelling salesman problem. Simulations of a random walk yielded movement lengths that exceeded observations by a factor of 3 for long detection distances, and by 30-fold for short detection distances. Observed move distances were most closely approximated by simulations based on a nearest-neighbor ruleover 75 % of all moves by bighorn sheep were to the closest available plant. Movement rules based on random walks are clearly inappropriate for many herbivores that typically consume visually apparent plants, and we suggest the use of a nearest-neighbor rule for modelling foraging by large herbivores.     

The effect of fire spatial scale on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bison</Emphasis> grazing intensity

To determine whether fire spatial and temporal scales affect foraging behavior and grazing intensity by Bison (Bison bison), we burned three different patch sizes (225, 900, and 3600 m²) across an otherwise homogeneous grassland landscape. We then monitored grazing intensity for the succeeding 14 months. During the first 5 months after the burn (August–January), the Bison grazing intensity pattern was affected by whether a plot was burned and only marginally affected by plot size. During the next 5 months (January–June), grazing intensity was unaffected by plot size, but was greatest in the unburned 225 and 3600-m² plots. The final 4 months (June–October), grazing intensity was unaffected by treatments other than being higher in the unburned 3600-m² plots. By the final sampling date, biomass was significantly greater in the burned plots and grazing intensity appeared to be responding to the amount of biomass present and the total amount of N present. The pattern displayed within the first 5 months after the burn is congruent with the expectations of optimal foraging theory with overmatching in the smallest plot size of 225 m² (BioScience 37 (1987) 789–799). The next two sampling periods displayed a matching aggregate response relative to biomass availability (Oecologia 100 (1999) 107–117) and total nitrogen mass (g m⁻²). The temporal shift that we found in Bison response to burn patch size is, to our knowledge, the first such examination of both spatial and temporal responses by Bison to landscape heterogeneity. We now have quantitative evidence of how native herbivores can alter their foraging responses to changes in landscape structure over time.     

Spatial association between forest heterogeneity and breeding territory boundaries of two forest songbirds

Human activities and natural disturbances create spatial heterogeneity within forested landscapes, leading to both sharp and gradual boundaries in vegetation and abiotic attributes, such as rocks. Those boundaries may affect the detailed delineation of avian territories (independently of their general location), but their role is largely unknown. We tested, using a spatial analysis approach, whether spatial heterogeneity of vegetation and abiotic attributes were associated with territory boundaries of ten black-throated blue warblers (Dendroica caerulescens) and 14 ovenbirds (Seiurus aurocapillus). The study was conducted during summer 1999 in a mature deciduous forest near Québec City, Canada. Singing males were mapped from repeated surveys at 756 points, 25 m apart, on a 49 ha grid. Spatial heterogeneity was obtained from 27 attributes measured at each point. Boundaries of bird territories, vegetation, and abiotic attributes were delineated using the lattice-wombling boundary detection algorithm. The spatial association between territory and microhabitat boundaries was computed using the spatial overlap statistics. There was significant spatial overlap between territory boundaries and those of 15 and 17 attributes for black-throated blue warbler and ovenbird, respectively. The attributes most strongly associated with territory boundaries were conifer seedling cover, grass and total vegetation cover between 0-2 m high for black-throated blue warbler and fern cover, vegetation-covered rocks and shrub diversity for ovenbird. Complementary to this, a redundancy analysis (RDA) was used to compare attributes associated with the general occurrence of males to those whose boundaries were associated specifically with territory boundaries. Most attributes whose boundaries were associated with territory boundaries did not correspond to resource attributes, i.e., those where birds were detected most frequently. We conclude that soft boundaries associated with spatial heterogeneity may help shape forest bird territories by providing landmarks not necessarily related to resources used within territories.     

毛竹荧光特性研究

[目的]为研究毛竹光能转化过程中荧光特性。[方法]利用IMAGING-PAM对生长良好的毛竹叶片进行荧光成像反应试验,分别进行荧光成像、诱导以及快速光曲线的研究。[结果]毛竹各荧光参数存在着大小不一的异质性,除PSII最大量子产量(Fv/Fm)、叶片吸光系数(Abs)外其他参数均存在较大的异质性。异质性以相对电子传递速率(rETR)最大,其次是PSII实际量子产量(Y)、光化学淬灭(qP)、非光化学淬灭(NPQ)、Abs、Fv/Fm。毛竹叶片叶脉NPQ明显高于叶肉部分,而叶脉qP则明显低于叶肉部分。从荧光诱导曲线可以看出,Y、qP、NPQ和rETR均很低,此后均逐渐达到稳态。其中,Y、rETR、qP均为一直升高并达到稳态,NPQ则有一个先升高再降低逐步达到稳态的过程。Fv/Fm处于0.8以下,这说明该植株可能处于亚健康状态,受到某种因子的胁迫。从快速光曲线的测定可以看出,毛竹半饱和光强(Ik)为148,初始斜率(α)为0.215 541,最大潜在相对电子传递速率(rETRmax)为31.9。[结论]该研究能够为毛竹高产栽培、高效利用提供基础支撑。     

Research on Development of Agricultural Geographic Information Ontology

This paper first analyzes the reason that agricultural geographic information gives rise to semantic heterogeneity and solution thereof.Although OWL (web ontology language) is the standard of ontology ...