巴丹吉林-腾格里沙漠间沙丘活化带发展过程及其驱动力分析

基于1989,1999年和2007年TM/ETM＋影像,从土地利用变化的视角分析巴丹吉林-腾格里沙漠间沙丘活化带的发展过程,并探讨沙丘活化带发展的驱动因素。分析表明：①1989-2007年,研究区沙地和耕地面积增加,草地、盐碱地和沼泽地面积减少,景观破碎化程度加剧,沙地斑块质心向西北偏移,即腾格里沙漠西北缘向巴丹吉林沙...     

腾格里沙漠南缘3种优势植物种子出苗对土壤类型和沙埋的响应

沙米（Agriophyllum squarrosum）、沙蒿（Artemisia sphaerocephala）和油蒿（Artemisia ordosica）分别是腾格里沙漠南缘不同植被演替阶段的3个优势物种,2009年5～6月在大田盆栽条件下,设计了2种土壤类型和0 cm,1 cm,2 cm,3 cm,4 cm,6 ...     

柴达木盆地荒漠地区生态位研究初报

采用定量分析的方法,对柴达木盆地南缘巴隆地区的11种主要植物进行生态位研究,通过测定各主要植物种的生态位宽度、生态位相似比例、生态位重叠,对各植物种生态位的生态学意义进行分析,目的是为此地区植被恢复工作提供理论参考.     

巴音温都尔沙漠典型植物群落土壤物理性质研究

巴音温都尔沙漠是我国北方干旱气候带典型的环境敏感区和生态脆弱区,生态建设和植被恢复对巴音温都尔沙漠生态系统服务功能极为重要。本研究以巴音温都尔沙漠梭梭、唐古特白刺、球果白刺、盐爪爪、膜果麻黄群落土壤为试验对象,对不同植物群落类型土壤物理性状和持水能力进行了研究。结果表明:5种群落中土壤孔隙度、土壤毛管孔隙度与土壤非毛管孔隙度最大值均出现在盐爪爪群落,其土壤通透性最好,具备良好的通气透水能力;膜果麻黄群落土壤最为紧实,通气透水能力最差。5种群落中,盐爪爪群落土壤自然含水率最高,膜果麻黄群落最低。盐爪爪群落土壤持水量最高,麻黄群落土壤持水量最低。盐爪爪群落土壤具有良好的保水能力,膜果麻黄群落土壤保水能力处于偏低水平。     

车辆越野行驶有关的沙漠沙土特性分析

运用试验分析方法对与越野行驶有关的沙漠沙土的物理特征、承载特性和剪切特性进行研究,分析载荷作用方式各含水量等对沙土承载特性和剪切特性的影响,为发展沙地高通过性车辆提供依据。     

Bird communities, roads and development: prospects and constraints of applying empirical models

Our objectives were to explain the prospects and constraints of applying empirical models that relate bird community metrics to broad-scale characteristics of roads and development. We explored the practical value of regression models that were derived for a large protected area in the Chihuahuan Desert. These models related bird species richness, relative abundance, or probability of occurrence to total length of roads within each of two spatial extents (1- and 2-km radii), distance to the nearest road, distance to the nearest development, or the two-way interactions of these variables. Empirical models can be used to inform conservation decisions, to parameterise simulation models for conservation planning, to identify threshold levels of road and development variables, and to determine the focus of management experiments for confirmatory hypothesis testing and improvement of model realism.     

Reptile diversity and rodent community structure across a political border

The peace treaty between Israel and Jordan found the Arava desert ecosystem, shared by the two countries, in a state of developmental dichotomy. On the Israeli side, vast lands have been settled and transformed into agricultural fields, while the Jordanian side has remained relatively intact and inhabited by only a few traditional and pastoral societies. This study examined the effect of different landscape units and proximity to agriculture on reptile diversity and rodent community structure on both sides of the border. It appears that in addition to the effect of proximity to agricultural fields and landscape habitat, the border between the two countries may play a role in determining diversity on the respective sides. While reptile abundance was generally higher on the Israeli side of the border, diversity was found to be significantly higher on the Jordanian side. Rodent community structure also revealed significant differences between the two sides of the border, mainly due to the more favorable conditions for psammophilic gerbils in Jordan. When comparing Western society with pastoral traditional society, it appears that development activities of the former have altered diversity and community structure of the taxa studied in the Arava. We suggest that in addition to the effects of habitats and human disturbances, such as modern agricultural practices, cultural differences between societies should be considered when conservation plans are developed for cross-border ecosystems.     

Translocation of urban Gila Monsters: a problematic conservation tool

The Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum) is a large, venomous lizard protected throughout its distribution in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Rapid urban growth in key areas of its range and increased encounters with humans prompted us to investigate translocation as a conservation tool with “nuisance” Gila Monsters. Twenty-five Gila Monsters reported as nuisances by residents in the northeastern Phoenix Metropolitan Area were translocated from 0 to 25,000 m from their point of capture. Subjects (N=18) translocated less than 1000 m returned to their original site of capture within 2-30 days; none of those (N=7) translocated more than 1000 m successfully returned, they exhibited high daily rates of speed, and were deprived the use of familiar refuges. We conclude that small distance translocations within suitable habitats are ineffective in removing Gila Monsters from areas deemed unsuitable. Moreover, individuals moved significantly greater distances are unlikely to remain at a translocation site, and may experience a variety of costs (e.g., predation risk) associated with high rates of movement.     

Soil microbial community characteristics along an elevation gradient in the Laguna Mountains of Southern California

We sampled soil at four sites in the Laguna Mountains in the western Sonoran Desert to test the effects of site and sample location (between or beneath plants) on fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) and carbon substrate ulilization (Biolog) profiles. The four sites differed in elevation, soil type, plant community composition, and plant percent cover. Soil pH decreased and plant density increased with elevation. Fertile islands, defined as areas beneath plants with greater soil resources than bare areas, are present at all sites, but are most pronounced at lower elevations. Consistent with this pattern, fertile islands had the greatest influence on FAME and Biolog profiles at lower elevations. Based on the use of FAME biomarker and principal components analyses, we found that soil microbial communities between plants at the lowest elevation had proportionally more Gram-negative bacteria than all other soils. At the higher elevation sites there were few differences in FAME profiles of soils sampled between vs. beneath plants. Differences in FAME profiles under plants among the four sites were small, suggesting that the plant influence per se is more important than plant type in controlling FAME profiles. Since microbial biomass carbon was correlated with FAME number (r=0.85,P<0.0001) and with FAME named (r=0.88,P<0.0001) and total areas (r=0.84,P<0.0001), we standardized the FAME data to ensure that differences in FAME profiles among samples were not the result of differences in microbial biomass. Differences in microbial substrate utilization profiles among sampling locations were greatest between samples taken under vs. between plants at the two lower elevation sites. Microbial substrate utilization profiles, therefore, also seem to be influenced more by the presence of plants than by specific plant type.     

Variability in soils and vegetation associated with harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex rugosus) nests on a Chihuahuan Desert watershed

The effects of harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex rugosus) nests on the density and cover of spring annual plants and on soil characteristics were measured at three locations characterized by different soils and dominant vegetation on a desert watershed. There were few differences in vegetation and soils associated with harvester ant nests at locations at the base of the watershed where brief periods of flooding and sediment deposition occur at periodic intervals. At mid-slope locations, there were significant increases in total nitrogen, inorganic phosphorus, and cover (biomass) of four species of spring annuals at the edges of nest disks when compared with reference sites. The spring annuals that exhibited increased cover were species that increase biomass as a function of available nitrogen. At a clay-loam, Scleropogon-Hilaria, grassland site, there were significant reductions in the concentrations of Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺, significant increases in nitrate and total nitrogen, but a significant increase in cover in only one species of annual plant. The data demonstrate that the effects of ants on soil properties and vegetation vary with site location and soil type.