Taxonomic and functional macroinvertebrate diversity of high-altitude ponds in the Macun Cirque,Switzerland

1. Global environmental change is threatening freshwater biodiversity with ecological impacts predicted to be particularly severe in high-altitude regions. Despite this, an ecological understanding of high-altitude pond networks remains patchy, with only limited knowledge of the environmental and spatial predictors of taxonomic and functional diversity. Moreover, previous studies of pond ecosystems have focused primarily on taxonomic richness and largely overlooked functional diversity.
2. This study examined the influence of local environmental and spatial factors on taxonomic and functional α and β diversity (including the turnover and nestedness-resultant components) of 17 high-altitude (~2,500 m above sea level) pond macroinvertebrate communities, in the Macun Cirque, Switzerland.
3. Spatial processes (pond connectivity) were important drivers for taxonomic α diversity, while local environmental variables (pond permanence and surface area) were important determinants of functional α diversity. Species turnover was the most important component of β diversity for taxonomic composition, and functional composition demonstrated a nested spatial pattern.
4. Variation in taxonomic and functional composition (and the turnover and nestedness components of β diversity) were determined by local environmental variables despite the limited environmental gradients within the pond network. No significant effects of spatial variables on community composition were recorded for either facet of diversity, indicating that compositional variation was determined at a local scale. Water temperature, depth and pond permanence were consistently the most important measured drivers of diversity.
5. Given the importance of both spatial and environmental variables in structuring taxonomic and functional diversity, landscape-scale conservation and management activities that aim to improve or protect high-altitude freshwater biodiversity should focus on maintaining connectivity among ponds and environmental heterogeneity, particularly pond surface area, water depth, and hydroperiod. Understanding the mechanisms driving taxonomic and functional diversity will be critically important for the management and conservation of macroinvertebrate communities in high-altitude pond networks in the face of climatic warming.

     

城市扩张背景下景观破碎化动态演变及空间自相关分析——以南昌市为例

为探究城市扩张与景观破碎化演变过程及其关联机制,以江西省南昌市为例,基于2000—2015年的土地利用数据,运用城市破碎指数(UFI)刻画建设用地的景观破碎化水平; 然后结合形态学空间格局分析(MSPA)和景观连接度分析量化了自然景观和耕地的景观动态演变过程; 最后采用格网分析探究了三者之间的空间自相关动态特征。结果表明:2000—2015年间南昌市共有273.26 km²的耕地及45.61 km²的自然景观转为建设用地,整体城市破碎度指数在研究期内由2.27上升至4.94; 耕地核心区数量在15 a时间内持续衰减,自然生境在前期变化平稳,随着城市化进程的加快,核心及桥接区不断减少,岛状斑块开始增加; 空间自相关分析显示,景观破碎度与自然生境、耕地平均连通概率三者呈负相关,景观破碎度与耕地、自然生境平均连通概率之间的高低聚集区域集中分布在城市扩张的主要区域。2000—2015年城市快速扩张导致的破碎化致使耕地及自然生境景观结构发生改变,景观连通性逐渐丧失。     

基于水文连通性的流域输沙量评估——以堵河流域为例

水文连通性是指泥沙、营养盐等各种物质以水为载体,在空间异质景观或斑块间进行迁移、传输或扩散的便利程度,对流域产沙具有重要影响。为评估基于水文连通性模拟流域输沙量的可行性,以堵河流域为研究对象,分析了1990—2010年流域土壤侵蚀、水文连通性的时空变化特征,并以此估算了流域输沙量。结果表明:1990—2000年流域土壤侵蚀模数与连通程度不断增加,连通性等级主要由低和中低连通性转变为中高和高连通性。2000—2010年流域连通程度和土壤侵蚀模数均呈现不断减小的趋势。此外,输沙量估算值与实测值具有显著的线性关系(R²=0.92),但由于未考虑水库、湖泊等对泥沙输移的拦截效应,输沙量估算值要高于实测值,后续研究需将其纳入模型以更准确地评估流域输沙量。研究结果对于提高模型的适用性以及理解流域泥沙输移过程具有重要意义。     

基于GIS的区域生态连接度评价方法及应用

快速城市化过程使区域生态用地日益破碎,导致生物多样性不断降低,威胁土地生态安全。对快速城市化地区土地利用及规划进行生态连接度评价,并为土地管理提供决策支持,成为保障区域土地生态安全的必然选择。该文利用第二次全国土地调查数据及土地利用总体规划数据,在生态功能区识别的基础上,采用生态连接度指数对曹妃甸新区土地利用现状和规划情景进行生态连接度评价,评价土地利用对区域土地生态功能联系的影响并提出改善建议。结果表明:曹妃甸新区中等以上生态连接区域仅占曹妃甸新区的56.45%,且呈明显破碎化和孤岛化分布;在7 714.71 hm2规划新增城市用地中有2 027.25 hm2对区域生态连接度影响显著,这些区域应进行生态功能保护和提升。加强对区域重要生态用地的保护、利用现存生态资源对景观进行生态重建、强化建成区内部绿地网络建设是提高曹妃甸新区生态连接度水平的有效途径。研究成果对区域生态保护和建设工作具有重要参考价值。     

Soil erosion and runoff: The need to rethink mitigation strategies for sustainable agricultural landscapes in western Europe

Agricultural landscapes that are intensively farmed, as in western Europe, face the challenge of a transition to more sustainable systems. Although erosion rates are relatively low in western Europe, the agricultural landscape is confronted by the need to mitigate the off-site impacts of erosion. An important challenge is that of disrupting connectivity between runoff and sediment sources, often farmers' fields, and freshwater systems or local communities. Mitigation strategies should include monitoring of erosion rates and off-site impacts and a mix of engineered and alternative measures such as buffer strips and retention ponds. Also needed are supportive government policies and actions including awareness of institutional memory problems and the promotion of farmer education. For the future, the risk of climate change must be appreciated and built into the planning of comprehensive mitigation strategies. Our perspective is that the overall aim should be a ‘sustainable agricultural landscape’ and not simply a reduction of erosion and runoff on farmers' fields.     

The effects of landscape composition and physiognomy on metapopulation size: the role of corridors

We develop and analyze a model that examines the effects of corridor quality, quantity, and arrangement on metapopulation sizes. These ideas were formerly investigated by Lefkovitch and Fahrig (1985) and Henein and Merriam (1990). Our simulations provide results similar to the Henein and Merriam model, indicating that the quality of corridors in a landscape and their arrangement will influence the size of a metapopulation. We then go one step further, describing how corridor arrangement alters the metapopulation, and provide a method for predicting which corridor arrangements should support larger metapopulations. In contrast to the Henein and Merriam model, we find that the number of corridor connections has no influence on the size of a metapopulation in a landscape unless there is an accompanying change in the uniformity of the distribution of corridor connections among patches.     

Animal behavioral adaptation to changing landscapes: spring-staging geese habituate to wind farms

Wind farms are positioned in open landscapes and may cause loss of wildlife habitat due to disturbance, fragmentation, and infrastructure development. Especially flocking geese, swans, ducks and waders are regarded as vulnerable to wind farm development. We compared past and current displacement effects of two onshore wind farms and a line of land-based turbines on spring-staging pink-footed geese (Anser brachyrhynchus) to see if there was evidence of habituation. In one wind farm area, geese previously (1998) (Larsen and Madsen 2000) kept a distance of c. 200 m (the distance at which 50% of peak densities is reached) and they did not go between the turbines; today (2008) they keep a distance of c. 100 m, but do still not enter the wind farm area. In another wind farm, where foraging geese previously (2000) kept a distance of more than 100 m and did not enter the wind farm, they now (2008) forage between the wind turbines and keep a distance of c. 40 m to turbines. In 1998, geese kept a distance of 125 m to a line of turbines, compared to 50 m now. We conclude that geese have behaviorally adapted to changing landscapes created by wind farms. The difference in avoidance between the sites may be due to the sizes of the turbines which in this study were small in both rotor-swept area and in height compared to more recent “industry standard” of 2.5 and 3.0 MW turbines. The study points to the need for longer term studies to properly assess the impact of wind farms on wildlife, including consequent increased risks from inclement weather events of feeding, rafting, and migrating waterfowl.     

Predicting land cover changes and their impact on the sediment influx in the Lake Balaton catchment

The land cover pattern in the Lake Balaton catchment (Hungary) has been changing since decollectivization in the 1990s. These land cover changes significantly impact the landscape connectivity, controlling the influx of sediments into the lake. A comparison of high resolution land cover maps from 1981, 2000 and 2005 showed a significant extensification of the agriculture with land cover conversions from arable land and vineyards to grassland and forest. For each land unit transition probabilities were assessed using logistic regression techniques to evaluate to which extent land cover changes are controlled by physical or socio-economic parameters. A stochastic land cover allocation algorithm was applied to generate future land cover patterns. The landscape connectivity for each of the simulated land cover patterns was assessed by means of a distributed routing algorithm. The simulations suggest that further land abandonment in the upslope parts of the catchment will cause a non-linear reduction of average soil erosion rates. The changes, however, have a relatively low impact on the sediment volume entering the lake because of the land unit’s poor connectivity with permanent river channels. The major contributors to the lakes sediment load are the vineyards near the lakeshore. They are likely to be maintained because of their touristic value. A significant reduction of the total sediment input in the lake can be expected only if soil conservation measures in the vineyards near the shorelines are undertaken.     

Dispersal of woody plants in forest edges and hedgerows in a Southern Swedish agricultural area: the role of site and landscape structure

The distribution of woody vegetation was studied in forest edges and hedgerows in a 28 km² southern Swedish agricultural area, characterised by species-rich edge zones. The occurrence of 21 selected woody species (taxa) was related to differences in both edge structure and landscape structure. All the species studied were represented in both edge types, but a higher frequency of animal-dispersed species was found in hedgerows.Animal dispersed species were more affected by edge width and density than wind dispersed species. A higher number of wind-dispersed species were more frequent in forest edges, in hedgerows near to forest, or with a high proportion of forest within 500 m. A clear relationship was found between the number of physically connected elements in hedgerow networks and increasing frequency of occurrence for Corylus avellana, Crataegus spp., Euonymus europaeus, and Quercus robur; which indicate the ecological significance of connectedness for certain animal dispersed species. The study supports the general principle that woody species distribution and landscape structure are linked in a positive feedback loop. The results match findings from studies in other countries and are interpreted in the context of landscape processes and the ecological characteristics of woody plant species. We emphasise the importance of understanding dispersal mechanisms of woody species for the design and improvement of edge habitats in agricultural landscapes.