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.     

规模化畜牧养殖对生态环境的破坏及防治

近年,畜牧养殖业蓬勃发展,过去的区域化散养已经基本不存在,养殖结构逐渐向集约化、一体化、规模化过渡,养殖规模也逐渐增大。养殖副产品肉、蛋、奶等极大满足了人们的生产生活,养殖中产生的尿液、粪污对生态环境造成极大影响。为促进规模化养殖实现绿色健康发展,该文分析规模化畜牧养殖对生态环境的破坏及防治措施。     

中国竹类多样性及其重要价值

竹类属于禾本科Gramineae（Poaceae）、竹亚科Bambusoideae植物，全世界约1 500多种。中国竹类的自然分布广阔，横跨热带、亚热带和温带地区，涵盖包括台湾、香港在内的21个有竹子分布的省、自治区、直辖市和特区。中国是世界上竹类多样性最丰富的国家，也是世界上栽培竹类最丰富的国家，共有竹类植物753种（含22种引进种），约占世界总数的50%以上。同时，中国竹类在起源、遗传进化、内部构造、生态及林型等方面均具有十分丰富的多样性。中国竹类从宏观到微观所展现出的多样性特质，是大自然留给人类的宝贵遗产，对于人类认识自然、保护自然、从而更好的利用竹类资源服务于人类的长远利益，具有重要价值。文章从起源、生态、林型、物种、形态、遗传等方面概述了中国竹类的多样性，为进一步探讨竹类多样性提供基础信息。     

番荔枝品种选育和栽培生理研究进展

概述了热带果树番荔枝（Ａｎｎｏｎａ ｓｐｐ．）在选种育种和栽培生理方面的研究进展，包括种质资源，实生树和砧木选种，杂交育种，人工授粉，产期调节以及温度、水分、矿质元素等生态因子对番荔枝生长发育的影响，并就国内番荔枝研究的发展方向进行了探讨。     

麻类纤维在非织造领域的应用

本文阐述了麻类纤维在我国非织造行业新用途的开发和拓展，对麻类纤维在非织造领域的利用符合国家农业可持续性发展的方向。     

An evaluation of the pesera soil erosion model and its application to a case study in Zakynthos, Greece

Abstract. The Pan‐European Soil Erosion Risk Assessment (pesera ) model was evaluated using existing soil erosion data collected under various types of climate, vegetation, landscape and soil conditions. The data used represent a variety of typical Mediterranean land uses such as winter wheat, vines, olives and bare, stony land prevailing in hilly areas. Using this data, the model was calibrated for sediment transport by overland flow and results compared to measured soil erosion values from runoff plots and a watershed on a monthly basis. The performance of the model was assessed statistically, showing that it can be satisfactorily used for predicting soil erosion rates under the conditions included in the study. The overall model estimate including all the available experimental data was 0.69 t ha^?1 yr^?1 with a maximum error of 1.49 t ha^?1 yr^?1. After validation, the model was applied to a small watershed (60 ha) of great ecological importance for the sea turtle Caretta caretta. For this purpose, soil and vegetation maps were compiled from all the necessary data for applying the model. The model was run for three years using daily data from an existing nearby meteorological station. The predicted and measured soil erosion rates for a 7‐month period were 0.31 t and 0.18 t, respectively. Application of the model to each mapping unit showed the over‐riding importance of land use for sediment generation under the given climatic conditions. Bare land, occupying 5.5% of the watershed area, generated up to 69% of the total sediments estimated for the watershed. It is concluded that the pesera model can be used as a regional diagnostic tool under a range of soil, topographic and climatic conditions for identifying the best land use type and vegetation cover to protect hilly areas from soil erosion. The calculated overall root mean square error for the model is 0.06 t ha^?1 yr^?1, compared to a soil erosion rate of 0.04 t ha^?1 yr^?1, which can be tolerated for protecting the area for the sea turtle.     

超高产水稻产量形成的气候生态特点研究

在云南和湖南异地异季种植，研究了水稻超高产形成的相应气候生态条件，结果表明：超高产水稻具有大穗、多穗、高结实率的特点．云南试区具有日较差大、日照时数多、相对湿度低，平均温度较低的气候特点，故水稻生育期较长，同化物积累多，成穗率高，灌浆强度大．湖南试区阴雨寡照是影响产量的重要因素．     

Relating Kirtland's warbler population to changing landscape composition and structure

The population of male Kirtland's warbler (Dendroica kirtlandii) in the breeding season has averaged 206 from 1971 to 1987. The Kirtland's warbler occupies dense jack pine (Pinus banksiana) barrens from 5 to 23 years old and from 1.4 to 5.0 m high, formerly of wildfire origin. In 1984, 73% of the males censused were found in habitat naturally regenerated from wildfire or prescribed burning. The rest were in plantations (11%) or in harvested, unburned jack pine stands stocked by natural regeneration (16%). Twenty-two percent (630 of 2,886) of the Kirtland's warbler males counted in the annual censuses from 1971 through 1984 were found in 26 stands that were unburned and naturally regenerated following harvest. From 1982 to 1987, suitable regenerating areas were barely sufficient to replace currently occupied maturing stands, so population growth was impeded. Ecosystems of suitable size and regeneration characteristics (wildfire and plantation) doubled in area by 1989. In response, the population of Kirtland's warblers increased from 167 to 398 males between 1987 and 1992, but they withdrew almost entirely from the unburned, unplanted barrens by 1989 when the area of more suitable regeneration types increased. Minimum (368 males) and maximum (542 males) population estimates for 1996 were calculated based on 1984 average density (1.9 males per 40 ha) and peak population in burns (2.8 males per 40 ha).     

Landscape change under indirect effects of human use: the Savanna of Central Chile

The Chilean Intermediate Depression to the north of Santiago has experienced a physiognomical transformation from a Prosopis chilensis woodland to an Acacia caven savanna. Today P. chilensis trees are scarce and belong mostly to the larger size classes. By contrast A. caven seems to reproduce frequently and its populations consist of individuals of all size classes. In this paper we document these changes and report the results of tests aimed at determining the causes of these physiognomical changes. We found that livestock, leporids, introduced Mediterranean forbs and agriculture account for differences in seed dispersal and survival of A. caven and P. chilensis, which can explain the documented changes in the Chilean landscape.     

引起笼养蛋鸡疲劳症的主要因素研究

本试验以营养因子、产蛋率、钙源、笼养生态等角度对笼养蛋鸡疲劳症进行综合研究,寻找引起笼养蛋鸡疲劳症的主要因素及减少笼养蛋鸡疲劳症的途径。