Sacred sites as habitats of culturally important plant species in an Indian megacity

Cultural ecosystem services related to urban green spaces contribute significantly to liveable cities. While previous studies highlight the intersection of cultural ecosystem services with societal values, spiritual or religious values associated with urban nature have received less attention. In India, as in other parts of the world, sacred sites are known for their biological richness, but analyses from urban sacred sites are largely missing. Based on a stratified random sampling approach, we analysed the cultivated and wild plant species assemblages of 69 sacred sites in the megacity of Bengaluru, India, in relation to biological and cultural features, and parameters related to the urban matrix and type of sacred sites (temple vs. katte). Unlike other urban studies, we found a dominance of native species in the cultivated and spontaneous species pools (121 species in total), with Ficus religiosa and Azadirachta indica as most frequently planted species. Culturally relevant species prevailed in the species pool (89%), with overlaps between religious (36%), medicinal (50%) and ornamental (62%) plants; only 11% of species were weeds. Urban matrix parameters (age of development, housing density) and size and type of sacred sites were related to differences in species assemblages. We identified key species for different classes of age and housing density, and for types of sacred sites. Our study demonstrates that urban sacred sites have an important potential in harbouring both native and culturally significant species that can support urban livelihoods in developing countries by a range of cultural and provisioning ecosystem services, including medicinal uses. As such sites are conserved by communities for spiritual or cultural beliefs, local biodiversity can be enhanced, e.g. by adapting management practices through community participation. This would strengthen the important contribution of sacred sites within the green infrastructure of rapidly growing megacities.     

国际30年来土壤食物网的研究历程与热点分析

利用文献计量学方法,研究1989—2018年来土壤食物网研究领域的热点内容,概括土壤食物网的研究脉络及国际土壤食物网未来的研究方向。结果显示:土壤生物多样性、食物网的碳氮循环功能及管理方式对土壤食物网结构的干扰是现在研究热点,而土壤食物网功能多样性、系统稳定性、及土壤食物网对全球变化的响应则是新兴的研究方向。     

植物群落的内禀冗余

植物落处于各种扰动之中，扰动导致群落的总体功能降低，为适应各种形式的扰动，群落的功能补偿作用就发生了，并由此产生了生长冗余，组分冗余及内颤冗余，内禀冗余是植物群落中组分冗余的一种特殊形式，是对波动的环境及人为或动物扰动适应的结果，是落功能最大化的产物，内禀冗余的作用是使群落多样性，物种多样性得以保持，使群落对各种扰动的抵抗能力增强，在一定条件下，内禀冗余阻碍了群落中当前有益物种产量最大限度地实现，但从生态学观点看，它对植物群落中目标物种的持续较高水平的输出具有重要作用，因此，保留以内禀冗余形式存在的非目标植物种对群落的稳定是有益的。     

Effects of weed control practices on surface-dwelling arthropod predators in tomato agroecosystems

Weed control, an important practice in agroecosystems to protect crop production, is usually achieved with herbicides. However, these pesticides are expensive, pose potential risks to the environment, may affect some beneficial organisms indirectly, and decrease overall arthropod biodiversity, including pests and their natural enemies, by removing weeds that might act as hosts or shelters for many organisms. The activity density response of important surface-dwelling arthropod predators (ground beetles [Coleoptera: Carabidae], ants [Hymenoptera: Formicidae] and spiders [Arachnida: Araneae]) to herbicides (trifluralin and paraquat), and to two alternative weed management practices (rye straw mulch and mechanical treatment to maintain weeds below threshold levels, in comparison with an untreated check), was assessed using pitfall traps. The mulch treatment had the greatest effect on activity density, reducing the number of predators trapped significantly (P<0.05). Herbicide use resulted in significant (P<0.05) reductions in the activity density of ground beetles. Most predators were trapped in the check plots — which had the highest weed biomass, followed in turn by numbers trapped in the threshold weed control treatment, the full herbicide application and the mulch treatment plots. http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting July 10, 2002.     

景观生态学原理与方法在荒漠化研究中应用的理论分析

荒漠化发生发展的过程实际上是指在自然和人为因素的作用下，生态系统结构遭受破坏、功能过程受阻和演变发生异化的过程，其防治的根本措施是恢复和重建健康的生态系统。所以，景观生态学理念在荒漠化的研究和防治中有着重要的意义。本文从荒漠化与生态系统结构、功能变化、荒漠化与生物多样性、荒漠化生态系统的物质循环和能量流动以及荒漠化生态系统的稳定性等方面论述了景观生态学理念在荒漠化研究中应用的可行性，并重点分析了景观生态学关于景观格局变化的评价指标与荒漠化土地动态变化之间的关系。     

The re-emergence of indigenous forest in an urban environment, Christchurch, New Zealand

Christchurch, the second largest city in New Zealand is a planned city on a coastal plain on the east coast of the South Island. The birth of the city and the subsequent century of development was characterised by colonial values and tree and garden planting with familiar European species along with those from Australia, North America, and eventually all other continents. The image of an “English garden city” with classical parks of oaks and willow-lined rivers became the accepted norm and the way in which the city has been promoted to potential tourists. Gardening is one of the top two recreational activities and exotic species greatly outnumber native species in the flora and in gardens. This has had serious consequences for the highly fragmented and degraded indigenous vegetation and its co-adapted wildlife. A few hardy indigenous species continued to regenerate through this period, but since the 1970s, there has been a progressive change of attitude and interest in reclaiming the natural heritage of the city, manifest in widespread private and public planting of indigenous species and active habitat restoration. In this article we examine the indigenous and exotic shrub and tree components of the Christchurch flora as planted street trees, in domestic gardens, and in parks. We also present data on shrub and tree regeneration in parks and domestic gardens in the city. Indications are that the more sensitive, less intrusive management of urban environments, combined with the greater density of indigenous seed sources, has allowed regeneration of a wide range of indigenous species across a broad spectrum of habitats – from neglected gardens to pavement cracks to exotic plantations. This is despite the competition from the prodigious seed banks and density of exotic trees, shrubs, and ground covers and albeit minimal impacts of introduced browsing and seed eating mammals. If the present trends continue through appropriate management and facilitation, these tentative signs of native forest regeneration should eventually proliferate into a sustainable mixed origin urban forest that resurrects and preserves the natural character of the region.     

丹江口水源涵养区绿色高效农业技术创新集成与示范——模式设计、技术集成与机制创新

2017年5月，中国农业科学院科技创新工程协同创新任务“丹江口水源涵养区绿色高效农业技术创新集成与示范”正式启动。项目在农业绿色高效生产、种养耦合、生态循环、面源污染控制、多功能田园生态系统构建等方面开展协同创新。按照单一技术规范化、复合技术集成化、体系技术系统化的思路，任务创新集成水源涵养区生物多样性利用与农业种植结构调整、主要农产品全产业链绿色高效生产、种养循环新模式、生态型高效设施农业、农村生活污染物控制等环节的十大关键技术，总结形成一套水源涵养区绿色高效农业全域综合性的技术解决方案，可为其他同类地区提供可复制、可推广的经验、模式和示范样板，为保障南水北调水质安全，推动水源涵养区农业绿色发展、农民增收及区域脱贫攻坚提供有效的科技支撑。     

基于文献计量的国际有机农业生物多样性研究现状与热点分析

为探究有机农业生物多样性这一领域的研究现状、热点与态势,基于Web of Science数据库,利用文献计量分析方法,对1986—2019年有机农业生物多样性领域研究文献的发文量、研究力量的分布及合作、期刊分布、研究热点和主题等方面进行数据挖掘和可视化分析。研究表明:检索到的文献最早发表于1996年,2005年之前此领域处于初步发展期,2005年进入稳步增长期,文献数量总体呈逐年增多的趋势。研究主要集中在欧洲和北美发达国家,如德国、美国、英国和瑞典等;发文量最多的机构是法国国家农业研究所和瑞典农业科学大学;学者Tscharntke T发文量最多,近5年Batáry P发文量较多;刊文量最多的期刊是《Agriculture EcosystemsEnvironment》《Journal of Applied Ecology》和《Sustainability》,刊文量前16的期刊中《Journal of Applied Ecology》影响因子最高(6.533)。德国和英国与其他国家合作交流频繁,瑞典农业科学大学和慕尼黑工业大学是机构合作网络的两个中心,Tscharntke T和Bommarco R等较多学者表现出紧密合作的学术形式。通过关键词共现分析发现,国际研究热点从仅关注种植模式对生物多样性影响的基础性研究,逐步拓展到不同尺度或景观复杂性对有机农业生物多样性和生态系统服务影响的应用型研究。我国研究起步较晚,发文量和篇均被引频次等与欧美国家还存在差距,但近5年发文量增长较快,具有良好的发展趋势。今后此领域仍将是全球有机农业研究和实践的热点方向,涉及多尺度、多学科交叉融合的基础性研究和地域性应用研究仍是未来研究的重点。     

从可持续发展浅谈森林保护与利用对策——以森林生物多样性保护与病虫害控制为例

通过分析森林生物多样性与森林病虫害的现状及其对森林可持续发展的意义,提出了提高意识、加强管理,依靠科技手段保护生物多样性和防治病虫害等措施建议,以期可持续发展森林保护与利用。     

川西林盘植物群落结构历史变化特征分析——以成都市郫都区为例

林盘是川西平原地区一种极具特色的传统农村聚落形态,具有突出的农业文化遗产价值。植被是构成林盘的核心要素,了解植物群落的历史变化过程可以为传统林盘的保护工作提供科学依据。本研究首先通过查阅历史资料掌握传统林盘植物群落的结构特征,然后选取成都市郫都区4个林盘样地和3个灌渠边林地进行植物群落调查,从而比较不同时期林盘植物群落结构。调查结果显示,目前林盘植物群落结构发生的主要变化包括乔木层中的传统优势种杉木、楠木及柏树被黑壳楠取代,林盘植被趋向单一化;竹类的物种丰富度下降明显,竹林退化严重;灌渠林地中桤木及柏树被枫杨和构树取代,竹类基本消失。川西平原地区社会和经济的变迁破坏了传统农业系统中人口、耕地和林盘之间的平衡,从而导致了林盘植被群落结构的改变。