How do hedgerows influence soil organic carbon stock in livestock‐grazed pasture?

Hedgerows have the potential to influence ecosystem function in livestock‐grazed pasture. Despite this, they are often ignored when quantifying farmland ecosystem service delivery. In this study, we assess the contribution of hedgerows to the ecosystem function of carbon (C) storage, with a particular emphasis on soil organic carbon (SOC). We measured SOC stock (kg C m^?2), on an equivalent soil mass basis, at 0–0.15 m depth in pasture adjacent to 38 hedgerows (biotic) and 16 stone walls or fences (abiotic controls) across ten farms in the county of Conwy, Wales, UK. Pasture SOC stock (~7 kg C m^?2) was similar adjacent to biotic and abiotic field boundaries, positively associated with soil moisture and negatively with soil bulk density (BD). For biotic boundaries, two further variables were significantly associated with SOC stock, distance from hedgerow (decrease in SOC stock) and slope orientation (upslope SOC stock greater than downslope). For pasture adjacent to hedgerows, a model combining the aforementioned variables (BD, soil moisture, distance from hedgerow, slope orientation) explained 78% of variation in SOC stock. This study demonstrates that whilst hedgerows do have subtle positive effects on SOC stock in adjacent pasture, SOC storage adjacent to field boundaries is influenced more by soil moisture content and BD than field boundary type.     

凤庆茶叶种植与混林茶园生态系统研究

中国云南是世界茶树的原产地,而云南省凤庆县又是滇红的诞生地,具有悠久的茶树栽培种植历史,其混林茶园生态系统也具有较高的研究价值。本文通过对其茶叶种植史和混林茶园生态系统进行梳理和研究,厘清凤庆县茶叶种植的历史发展脉络,挖掘凤庆混林茶园生态系统的优势及其应用价值。     

香格里拉普达措国家公园扩建研究

为提升香格里拉普达措国家公园的整体性和有效保护,对迪庆州范围内具有重要生态价值的区域,从国家代表性、生态系统重要性和管理可行性3个方面进行系统评估。适宜性分析结果认为,拟扩建区域山地植被垂直带谱典型完整,足以支撑地带性生物区系,区内多样的地貌构造以及珍贵、罕见的地质地貌景观和遗迹,具有十分重要的世界意义和保护价值,动植物区系较完整,能维持种群生存繁衍、生态功能稳定和生态系统健康,生态原真性十分突出。扩建后国家公园面积1030919.93 hm²,涉及香格里拉市的11个乡镇。综合评价认为,拟扩建区域资源具有国家代表性,生态系统突出,并具备管理可行性,全面符合建设国家公园的条件。提出将白马雪山、哈巴雪山、千湖山、红山、梅里雪山和碧罗雪山等6片区纳入普拉措国家公园扩建范围,并对扩建后国家公园更名、建立管理体制、运行机制等方面提出建议。     

禁牧对退化草地恢复的作用

草地是我国重要的农业自然资源之一,但目前草地退化的现象十分严重,超载过牧是主要原因之一。本文就针对草地退化提出的围封禁牧措施对草地植被、土壤及草地生态系统恢复过程中的作用进行综述,发现适度放牧对草地恢复是必需的,但采取长期围封禁牧恢复与重建草地的做法不可取,围栏封育并非恢复退化草地的万全之计。建议在我国要因地制宜,根据草地的退化程度,采取合理的划区轮牧强度和放牧时间,与退化草地生态恢复的围封措施结合,以达到既能恢复退化草地,又可收获畜产品的双赢目的,实现草地生态系统持续平衡发展的目标。     

传统村落整体人文生态系统浅析

指出了整体人文生态系统是人与自然环境协同演化发展形成的有机整体 ,传统村落的整体人文生态系统更是人与自然和谐发展的典型范例.从认知、理解、运用三个层面浅析了传统村落整体人文生态系统 ,并以永定县客家土楼传统村落、元阳县哈尼族传统村落为例评价了传统村落的整体人文生态系统 ,以定位该村落的现状 ,分析了其特征来剖析该村落的遗产价值 ,最后提出了对其保护与开发的简要规划.     

滩涂互花米草除治技术研究

针对福建沿海滩涂外来物种互花米草疯长成灾问题,通过使用滩涂米草除控剂、种植秋茄等方法对互花米草进行除治技术研究,结果表明:在4-7月退潮后,用滩涂米草除控剂300-400 g稀水10 kg液均匀喷湿互花米草茎叶,2个月后叶枯根烂,次年4月下旬在除草迹地插植秋茄胚轴,幼树长势良好,为建设海峡西岸滩涂绿色屏障提供技术支撑.     

Diets of endangered silver chub (Macrhybopsis storeriana,Kirtland, 1844) in Lake Erie and implications for recovery

Silver chub (Macrhybopsis storeriana, Kirtland, 1844) is a native Cyprinid in Lake Erie, one of the Laurentian Great Lakes of North America. It is listed as endangered by the US state of New York and Canada, which has a recovery plan, and as special concern by the state of Michigan. Silver chub faces a potential threat to recovery from control efforts for invasive Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella, Valenciennes 1844). Among the knowledge gaps for protection and restoration is current diet data. I describe the diet of silver chub from western Lake Erie in 2014, and I compare it to past studies to assess changes in diet through time. Silver chub captured in bottom trawls May–September 2014 were frozen in the field, and stomach contents were preserved in ethanol. Diet taxa were identified to the lowest practical taxonomic unit, then dried and weighed. Frequency of occurrence in silver chub diets was highest for Hexagenia spp. mayflies (79%). Dreissena spp. and Hexagenia spp. were both 41% of the diet by dry weight. Analysis of δ¹³C isotopes identified Hexagenia spp. as the primary source of carbon in silver chub. Compared to past studies, Dreissena spp. have mostly replaced Sphaeriidae and Gastropoda in silver chub diets. There also have been seasonal shifts in relative amounts of shelled organisms and Hexagenia spp. This study and past research suggest a functional link between silver chub and Hexagenia spp. abundance. Maintenance and recovery of silver chub may be dependent on maintaining Hexagenia spp. populations.     

Getting cosy in freshwater: Assumed to be brackish pike are not so brackish after all

Pike (Esox lucius) occupy coastal streams and rivers of the Baltic Sea, where they attain large sizes (>5 kg). These large sizes are perhaps due to the fact that they can tolerate relatively high salinities and can thus forage in the nearby more productive brackish environments. In an attempt to quantify the extent to which pike utilise brackish environments, and to provide some insight into the underlying causes for brackish water migrations, we tagged 30 pike from a western Baltic river with acoustic transmitters and were able to track 21 individuals for 1 year. Based on experienced from local anglers, this population was assumed to be brackish in nature, where individuals underwent freshwater migrations to spawn. Our findings however suggest that the smallest and most active individuals make short exits into brackish waters and do so on rare occasions. Our results further indicate that neither sex nor size is related to activity level. We suggest that these patterns reflect two distinct behaviours—active and passive—and that large pike can be supported by the food availability in the river, without the need to venture into coastal zones, thus defying the conventional view that Baltic pike are all brackish in nature.     

Habitat configuration for an obligate shallow‐water delphinid: The Indo‐Pacific humpback dolphin,Sousa chinensis,in the Beibu Gulf (Gulf of Tonkin)

1. Habitat configuration is an important baseline to delineate protected area design, refine impact mitigation measures and define habitat protection plans for threatened species. For coastal delphinids, outlining their habitat configuration becomes a real challenge when faced with large distribution ranges that straddle international borders, leaving broad information gaps in uninvestigated areas.
2. This study projected likely habitats of Indo‐Pacific humpback dolphins, Sousa chinensis, in the Beibu Gulf (Gulf of Tonkin) based on occurrence data and remotely sensed oceanographic characteristics. Net primary productivity was derived to measure the ecosystem service of humpback dolphin habitats.
3. Bathymetry and chlorophyll‐a concentration are major variables contributing to humpback dolphin habitat configuration, which is characterized by shallow water depth and high primary productivity. Three major, likely habitats were identified in the northern Beibu Gulf from western Leizhou Peninsula to the China–Vietnam border, western Gulf of Tonkin from the Red River estuary to the central coast of Vietnam, and south‐western Hainan Island. Less than 9% of likely habitats are currently protected by marine protected areas.
4. Affinity to high primary productivity and shallow depths implies that prey abundance and foraging efficiency influence habitat selection by Indo‐Pacific humpback dolphins. Anthropogenic activities potentially altering oceanographic characteristics may impact regional marine ecosystem functions, and hence habitat configuration.
5. Habitat protection actions for Indo‐Pacific humpback dolphins include implementing coordinated and systematic surveys in major habitats, associating core habitat protection with protected area networks and maritime function zoning, ensuring ecosystem function integrity within major habitats, and reducing both explicit lethal impacts and implicit anthropogenic impacts from activities that change oceanographic features. The habitat protection plan should not only consider marine habitats, but also adjacent coastal landscapes and river catchments. This requires coordination, collaboration and information sharing between scientific research teams, government policy representatives, non‐governmental organizations, local communities and other interested stakeholders.

     

Fishing for conservation of freshwater tropical fishes in the Anthropocene

1. The ecosystem services provided by freshwater biodiversity are threatened by development and environmental and climate change in the Anthropocene.
2. Here, case studies are described to show that a focus on the shared dependence on freshwater ecosystem functioning can mutually benefit fisheries and conservation agendas in the Anthropocene.
3. Meeting the threat to fish biodiversity and fisher livelihood is pertinent in developing regions where there is often a convergence between high biodiversity, high dependency on aquatic biota and rapid economic development (see Kafue River, Logone floodplain, Tonle Sap, and Rio Negro case studies).
4. These case studies serve as evidence that biodiversity conservation goals can be achieved by emphasizing a sustainable fisheries agenda with partnerships, shared knowledge and innovation in fisheries management (see Kafue River and Kenai River case studies).
5. In all case studies, aquatic biodiversity conservation and fisheries agendas are better served if efforts focused on creating synergies between fishing activities with ecosystem functioning yield long‐term livelihood and food security narratives.
6. A unified voice from conservation and fisheries communities has more socio‐economic and political capital to advocate for biodiversity and social interests in freshwater governance decisions.