Forest conversion and provision of ecosystem services in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

The importance of quantifying existing ecosystem services, assessing the impacts of various land use decisions and ultimately evaluating the overall costs and benefits of different land use patterns having internalized ecosystem services, is now widely recognized and such work is at the forefront of current landscape management planning. We aim to quantify ecosystem services derived from different land uses within the Atibainha Reservoir catchment in Brazil, determine the spatial distribution of ecosystem services and quantify the impacts of land use changes on the provision of ecosystem services. Four ecosystem services were considered: carbon sequestration, mitigation of sediment delivery into the reservoir, purification of water and maintenance of soil fertility. Results indicate strong increase in the provision of ecosystem services among the main land uses in the following order: urban area/bare soil; pastures; plantation of eucalyptus and native forests. The most important services provided by native forests, when compared with bare soil, were carbon sequestration and prevention of sedimentation, with an additional 864 569 tons of carbon stored in forest biomass in 30 years, and prevention of 244 511 tons of sediment delivery into the reservoir per year, respectively, from 7624 ha of lands around the reservoir. Spatial variation in the provision of ecosystem services were mapped to develop a tool to support decision making at the landscape scale. Results and maps from the decision support tool can support policies that ensure effective land‐use planning and can serve as the basis for the development of payment for ecosystem service schemes in the region. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

GISQ, a multifunctional indicator of soil quality

We present here an indicator of soil quality that evaluates soil ecosystem services through a set of 5 subindicators, and further combines them into a single general Indicator of Soil Quality (GISQ). We used information derived from 54 properties commonly used to describe the multifaceted aspects of soil quality. The design and calculation of the indicators were based on sequences of multivariate analyses. Subindicators evaluated the physical quality, chemical fertility, organic matter stocks, aggregation and morphology of the upper 5 cm of soil and the biodiversity of soil macrofauna. A GISQ combined the different subindicators providing a global assessment of soil quality.Research was conducted in two hillside regions of Colombia and Nicaragua, with similar types of land use and socio-economic context. However, soil and climatic conditions differed significantly. In Nicaragua, soil quality was assessed at 61 points regularly distributed 200 m apart on a regular grid across the landscape. In Colombia, 8 plots representing different types of land use were arbitrarily chosen in the landscape and intensively sampled. Indicators that were designed in the Nicaragua site were further applied to the Colombian site to test for their applicability.In Nicaragua, coffee plantations, fallows, pastures and forest had the highest values of GISQ (1.00; 0.80; 0.78 and 0.77, respectively) while maize crops and eroded soils (0.19 and 0.10) had the lowest values. Examination of subindicator values allowed the separate evaluation of different aspects of soil quality: subindicators of organic matter, aggregation and morphology and biodiversity of macrofauna had the maximum values in coffee plantations (0.89; 0.72 and 0.56, respectively on average) while eroded soils had the lowest values for these indicators (0.10; 0.31 and 0.33, respectively).Indicator formulae derived from information gained at the Nicaraguan sites were not applicable to the Colombian situation and site-specific constants were calculated.This indicator allows the evaluation of soil quality and facilitates the identification of problem areas through the individual values of each subindicator. It allows monitoring of change through time and can guide the implementation of soil restoration technologies. Although GISQ formulae computed on a set of data were only valid at a regional scale, the methodology used to create these indices can be applied everywhere.     

Comparison of soil properties of native forests,Pinus patula plantations and adjacent pastures in the Andean highlands of southern Ecuador: land use history or recent vegetation effects?

In the high Andes of Ecuador scarcity of farmland has led to accelerated deforestation, in particular over the last 40 years. Soil mis‐management has caused the rapid decline of soil fertility and most farmland has been irreversibly transformed into grassland or tree plantations. The present study assessed whether pastures and particularly pine plantations were associated with less soil nutrients. The soils from six sites each of native forests and Pinus patula plantations, and their adjacent pastures were sampled in a geographically large area in the Paute watershed, south Ecuador. Soil analyses showed statistically significant differences for soil cations and effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC) only. ECEC was highest in soils from native forests and their adjacent pastures (6.4 cmol/kg) compared to pine plantations and their pastures (4.2 cmol/kg). Mean soil organic matter and pH were similar in native forests/pastures (39% SOM; pH 5.4) and in plantations/pastures (40% SOM; pH 5). As pasture soils had ECEC concentrations statistically similar to those of their adjacent forest or plantation, they do not form a single homogeneous land use type based on soil nutrients. Therefore, this study cannot conclude that the presence of pines alone has caused soil degradation, but instead that the soil at the site was already degraded before pines were planted. This study proposes the scenario that pine plantations are established in pastures as a last resort, when the soils are already strongly degraded, and more profitable land uses are not available. Farmers are reluctant to use fertile land for tree plantations, and only the planting of well‐known species, such as pines, is officially encouraged.     

A review of earthworm impact on soil function and ecosystem services

Biodiversity is responsible for the provision of many ecosystem services; human well‐being is based on these services, and consequently on biodiversity. In soil, earthworms represent the largest component of the animal biomass and are commonly termed ‘ecosystem engineers’. This review considers the contribution of earthworms to ecosystem services through pedogenesis, development of soil structure, water regulation, nutrient cycling, primary production, climate regulation, pollution remediation and cultural services. Although there has been much research into the role of earthworms in soil ecology, this review demonstrates substantial gaps in our knowledge related in particular to difficulties in identifying the effects of species, land use and climate. The review aims to assist people involved in all aspects of land management, including conservation, agriculture, mining or other industries, to obtain a broad knowledge of earthworms and ecosystem services.     

The role of ants in conservation monitoring: If, when, and how

Ants are increasingly being recognized as useful tools for land managers to monitor ecosystem conditions. However, despite an abundance of studies on ant responses to both environmental disturbance and land management techniques, an analysis of the practice and value of including ants in monitoring is lacking. Consequently, conservation managers are left with little guidance as to if, when, and how ants can be used to assess conservation activities. Based on our review of approximately 60 published studies, we outline five areas where ants provide valuable information for management-based monitoring: (1) to detect the presence of invasive species, (2) to detect trends among threatened or endangered species, (3) to detect trends among keystone species, (4) to evaluate land management actions, and (5) to assess long-term ecosystem changes. We also discuss practical considerations when designing a monitoring framework for ants, including appropriate methods, taxonomic resolution for sampling, and spatial and temporal scale. We find that when integrated with management goals, monitoring ants can provide information over the short-term on topics such as the status of invasive or keystone species, as well as over longer time frames, for instance the impact of climate change. Overall, we conclude that ants merit monitoring based on their inherent ecological qualities, independent of any “indicator” attributes they might have.     

不同生境对蚂蚁功能群的影响* ——以云南省绿春县为例

为探究土地利用变化主导的生境变化对蚂蚁功能群的影响,采用陷阱法和Winkler袋法调查了云南省绿春县天然次生林(N)、桉树林(E)、紫胶林(L)、橡胶林(R)、紫胶-玉米混农林(M)、旱地(D)和农田(F)7种生境类型的蚂蚁群落。共采集蚂蚁37 891头,隶属于8亚科52属137种;依据竞争关系、生境要求、行为优势以及对环境压力和干扰的响应等4个生态学特性,将52属划分为7个功能群:优势臭蚁亚科(DD)、从属弓背蚁族(SC)、广义切叶蚁亚科(GM)、机会主义者(O)、隐蔽物种(C)、气候特化种(CS)和专业捕食者(SP)。不同功能群的物种丰富度排序为机会主义者(10属32种)气候特化种(15属29种)广义切叶蚁亚科(3属24种)隐蔽物种(14属21种)从属弓背蚁族(2属16种)专业捕食者(6属14种)优势臭蚁亚科(2属2种)。从属弓背蚁族、气候特化种、隐蔽物种3个功能群的蚂蚁多度在天然次生林、桉树林和紫胶林中所占比例较高,而优势臭蚁亚科功能群则在干扰多的农田中比例较高;除优势臭蚁亚科仅2属2种外,在天然次生林、桉树林、紫胶林和紫胶-玉米混农林中大多数功能群的蚂蚁物种丰富度明显高于农田,而专业捕食者功能群蚂蚁物种丰富度在不同生境中差异不大。桉树林和紫胶林蚂蚁功能群的群落结构与天然次生林较为接近,橡胶林、紫胶-玉米混农林和旱地蚂蚁功能群的群落结构相似。气候特化种、广义切叶蚁亚科、机会主义者和从属弓背蚁族在不同类型样地中的物种组成变化程度大于同一类型生境重复样地间的变化程度。广义切叶蚁亚科、机会主义者和从属弓背蚁族3个功能群的蚂蚁群落在不同生境中变化明显,整体上表现为桉树林、紫胶林和天然次生林的蚂蚁群落与旱地和农田不相似;隐蔽物种和气候特化种仅在桉树林和紫胶林蚂蚁群落较为相似;专业捕食者功能群蚂蚁群落在不同生境中的变化不明显。蚂蚁功能群能够指示生境变化,广义切叶蚁亚科、从属弓背蚁族和机会主义者的指示效果较好,实质上是不同功能群中不同物种的多度及功能群内的群落组成变化对生境变化导致的干扰及资源可利用程度的响应有差异。     

桉树取代马尾松对土壤养分和酶活性的影响

桉树取代马尾松造林是我国南方典型土地利用变化类型之一,为了探讨该土地利用变化对土壤质量的影响,采用成对设计方法,研究了我国广西桉树取代马尾松造林对土壤养分、微生物生物量和酶活性的影响。结果表明:桉树取代马尾松造林后,土壤全碳、易分解碳库、中等易分解碳库、难分解碳库、全氮和碱解氮含量显著降低,但速效磷显著增加,这可能是由于桉树林施肥和磷素在土壤中移动性弱导致;土壤微生物生物量碳、氮、酚氧化酶、过氧化物酶、蛋白酶、脲酶和酸性磷酸酶活性显著降低。树种变化、桉树林轮伐期短、林下植被差、炼山、翻耕等可能是土壤养分、微生物和酶活性降低的驱动因子;施肥有助于缓解土壤养分降低。在林地转变和经营时,适当保持林下植被和凋落物、减少土壤扰动和合理施肥将有助于改善土壤质量,实现桉树林的可持续经营。     

Spatial congruence between biodiversity and ecosystem services in South Africa

Ecosystems services sustain humans all over the world. The unsustainable use of ecosystem services around the world has led to widespread degradation which now threatens human health and livelihoods. Although the maintenance of ecosystem services is often used to justify biodiversity conservation actions, it is still unclear how ecosystem services relate to different aspects of biodiversity and to what extent the conservation of biodiversity will ensure the provision of services. The aim of this study was to find out whether biodiversity priorities, biomes, species richness and vegetation diversity hotspots co-occur in space with ecosystem services. The distribution of the ranges and hotspots of five ecosystem services (surface water supply, water flow regulation, carbon storage, soil accumulation, and soil retention) was assessed in South African biomes. Coincidence, overlap, and correlation analyses were used to assess spatial congruence between ecosystem services and species richness (plants and animals) and vegetation diversity hotspots. The grassland and savanna biomes contained significant amounts of all five ecosystem services. There was moderate overlap and a generally positive but low correlation between ecosystem services hotspots and species richness and vegetation diversity hotspots. Species richness was mostly higher in the hotspots of water flow regulation and soil accumulation than would be expected by chance. The water services showed varying levels of congruence with species richness hotspots and vegetation diversity hotspot. These results indicate that actions taken to conserve biodiversity in South Africa will also protect certain ecosystem services and ecosystem services can be used to strengthen biodiversity conservation in some instances.     

On inclusion of ecosystem services in the assessment of damage from land degradation

In the assessment of damage arising from land degradation at the Training and Experimental Soil–Ecological Center of Moscow State University, the cost of unfulfilled and underfulfilled ecosystem surfaces of soils should be taken into account. The following soil services were considered for the territory studied: direct provision with resources, protection, maintenance of ecosystem life and cultural services. A relationship between the concepts of ecosystem services and ecological functions of soils is shown. The concept of function is wider in some respect than the concept associated with it. In the definition of ecosystem service, only the manifestation of the soil function, which can have an economic interpretation, is selected. A simulation of ecosystem services proposed in the ecological and economic evaluation of damage arising from land degradation can be a real mechanism of nature conservation and development of systems of sustainable management at various levels of the administrative structure of the country.     

Indicators and trade-offs of ecosystem services in agricultural soils along a landscape heterogeneity gradient

Soil functions can be classified as supporting (nutrient cycling) and provisioning (crop production) ecosystem services (ES). These services consist of multiple and dynamic functions and are typically assessed using indicators, e.g. microbial biomass as an indicator of supporting services. Agricultural intensification negatively affects indicators of soil functions and is therefore considered to deplete soil ES. It has been suggested that incorporating leys into crop rotations can enhance soil ES. We examined this by comparing indicators of supporting soil services – organic carbon, nitrogen, water holding capacity and available phosphorous (carbon storage and nutrient retention); net nitrogen mineralisation rate and microbial biomass (nutrient cycling and retention) – in barley fields, leys and permanent pastures along a landscape heterogeneity gradient (100, 500 and 1000 m radii). In addition, barley yields (provisioning service) were analysed against these indicators to identify trade-offs among soil services. Levels of most indicators did not differ between barley and ley fields and were consistently lower than in permanent pastures. Leys supported greater microbial biomass than barley fields. Landscape heterogeneity had no effect on the indicators or microbial community composition. However, landscape heterogeneity correlated negatively with yield and soil pH, suggesting that soils in heterogeneous landscapes are less fertile and therefore have lower yields. No trade-offs were found between increasing barley yield and the soil indicators. The results suggest that soil ES are determined at the field level, with little influence from the surrounding landscape, and that greater crop yields do not necessarily come at the expense of supporting soil services.     

Effect of spatial scale of soil data on estimates of soil ecosystem services: Case study in 100 km2 area in France

Over the last decade, the ecosystem services (ESs) framework has been increasingly used to support mapping and assessment studies for sustainable land management purposes. Previous analysis of practical applications has revealed the significance of the spatial scale at which input data are obtained. This issue is particularly problematic with soil data that are often unavailable or available only at coarse scales or resolutions in various part of the world. In this context, four soil-based ecosystem services, namely biomass provision, water provision, global climate regulation, and water quality regulation, are assessed using three conventional soil maps at the 1:1,000,000, 1:250,000 and 1:50,000 scales. The resulting individual and joint ES maps are then compared to examine the effects of changing the spatial scale of soil data on the ES levels and spatial patterns. ES levels are finally aggregated to landforms, land use, or administrative levels in order to try to identify the determinants of the sensitivity of ES levels to change in the scale of input soil data. Whereas the three soil maps turn out to be equally useful whenever ESs levels averaged over the whole 100 km² territory are needed, the maps at the 1:1,000,000 and 1:250,000 induced biases in the assessment of ESs levels over spatial units smaller than 100 and 10 km², respectively. The simplification of the diversity and spatial distribution of soils at the two coarsest scales indeed resulted in local differences in ES levels ranging from several 10 to several 100%. Identification of the optimal representation of soil diversity and distribution to obtain a reliable representation of ESs spatial distribution is not straightforward. The ESs sensitivity to scale effect is indeed context-specific, variable among individual ESs, and not directly or simply linked with the soil typological diversity represented in soil maps. Forested and natural lands in the study area appear particularly sensitive to soil data scales as they occupy marginal soils showing very specific ESs signatures.     

Understory plant species and functional diversity in the degraded wet tropical forests of Kolombangara Island,Solomon Islands

Anthropogenic activities have resulted in extensive deforestation and forest degradation on many tropical oceanic islands. For instance, some islands in the Solomon archipelago have as little as 10% of primary forests remaining with few of these remnants protected from future land use change. We examine the plant species and functional diversity (excluding adult canopy trees) of 48 sites from four forest land use types (two types of primary forest, secondary forest and abandoned tree plantations) and two common human-maintained land use types (coconut plantations and grazed pastures) across three elevation bands on Kolombangara Island, Solomon Islands. In total, we surveyed 384 species from 86 families of which only 6.5% were non-native. Species richness was lowest in coconut plantations and grazed pastures and declined with increasing elevation across all land use types. Functional diversity was similar between primary and secondary forest (high richness, high evenness and unaltered dispersion) and lowest in coconut plantations and grazed pastures. Our results suggest that species and functional richness have had divergent responses to land use change in forest land uses indicative of a loss of functional redundancy. Despite structural and compositional similarities among primary forests and degraded forest land uses, full recovery of secondary and commercial plantations has not been achieved. We suggest that conservation of Kolombangara’s forest understory flora will require reserves across the island’s elevation gradient and may require active restoration in the future, particularly if degrading activities continue at the current rate.     

Effects of Ant Mounds on the Plant and Soil Microbial Community in an Alpine Meadow of Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Ants are important soil engineers, affecting the structure and function of ecosystems. To address the impacts of ants (Camponotus herculeanus ) on the properties of an alpine meadow ecosystem of Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, we investigated the effects of ant mounds on plant biomass, soil physicochemical properties, microbial diversity, and functions. We found that the total biomass of plant community was significantly greater in ant mound periphery. Plant species richness in ant mounds was reduced compared with that of control plots without ant mounds. Significant changes in physicochemical properties of soil were also observed. Soil organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorous, total potassium, and available potassium increased in ant mound soil due to the excavation activities by ants as well as the accumulation of organic matter and other nutrients during mound construction. For example, roots/soil contents (g/g) and soil moisture in ant mound soils were lower than those in controls. Microbial community composition and microbial biomass were clearly changed in ant mound soils. BIOLOG analysis further indicated that the functional diversity of the microbial community of ant mound soil increased and differed from that of controls. This study indicates that ant‐induced modification of soil properties indirectly influences plant biomass and species composition, and ant mounds have different microbial communities from those of control soil. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

紫胶玉米混农林模式对地表蚂蚁多样性及功能群的影响

为了揭示紫胶玉米混农林对地表蚂蚁群落多样性及功能群的影响,采用陷阱法调查了云南省绿春县紫胶林、紫胶玉米混农林和玉米旱地3种类型样地的地表蚂蚁物种组成、物种多样性、群落结构相似性、指示物种和功能群等。结果显示,紫胶玉米混农林模式具有较高的地表蚂蚁物种数和稀有物种数,与玉米旱地相比,紫胶玉米混农林的蚂蚁物种数增加41%,稀有物种数增加85%。紫胶玉米混农林与紫胶林具有更高的蚂蚁多样性,其物种丰富度和ACE估值均显著高于玉米旱地,而紫胶玉米混农林的多度显著高于紫胶林和玉米旱地。地表蚂蚁物种组合在3种类型样地中有差异,与紫胶林和紫胶玉米混农林相关联的物种与玉米旱地不同。3种样地的指示物种不同,玉米旱地的指示种为扁平虹臭蚁和伊大头蚁,紫胶玉米混农林为凹头臭蚁、西昌刺结蚁和中华小家蚁,紫胶林为费氏盘腹蚁、立毛举腹蚁、阿普特铺道蚁、贝卡盘腹蚁和西氏拟毛蚁。紫胶玉米混农林蚂蚁功能群组成比例介于玉米旱地和紫胶林之间,其中机会主义者(OPP)、从属弓背蚁族(SC)、隐蔽物种(C)及气候特化种(CS)的蚂蚁物种数、多度及比例明显高于玉米旱地。紫胶玉米混农林生境较为复杂,对地表蚂蚁多样性保护具有积极作用,是平衡环境保护和经济可持续发展的较好模式。     

Land‐Use Type Effects on Soil Organic Carbon and Microbial Properties in a Semi‐arid Region of Northeast Brazil

Land‐use change is one of the most important anthropogenic environmental change drivers affecting the biodiversity and functioning of ecosystems. However, there is limited knowledge of the consequences for soil processes in many regions around the globe. The Brazilian semi‐arid ecosystem known as Caatinga has experienced the transformation from native forest into agricultural land, with heretofore unknown effects on soil processes and microbial properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of five land‐use changes (to maize and cowpea cropland, grape orchard, and cut and grazed pasture) on total organic C (TOC) and total N (TN) stocks and soil microbial properties of Ultisol from Caatinga. Soil samples (0–10 and 10–20 cm depth) were collected during the wet and dry periods. Split–split plot analysis of variance was used to test the effects of land use, soil depth, season and the interaction between land‐use and soil depth on soil microbial properties, TOC and TN stocks. Land‐use effects were more pronounced in the top soil layer than in the lower layer, while the pattern was less consistent in soil microbial properties. Land conversion from native forest to cropland may cause C losses from the soil, but conversion to pastures may even increase the potential of soils to function as C sinks. Grazed pastures showed not only high C and N stocks but also the highest soil microbial biomass and lowest respiratory quotients, all indications for elevated soil C sequestration. Thus, grazed pastures may represent a land‐use form with high ecosystem multifunctionality in Caatinga. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Digital mapping of soil ecosystem services in Scotland using neural networks and relationship modelling. Part 2: Mapping of soil ecosystem services

A framework for estimating the distribution of soil ecosystem service (ES) supply is described that is based on the concept of matrix multiplication. This approach enables relationships between fundamental soil variables and associated environmental characteristics to be linked to soil processes, and hence to ecosystem functions and ecosystem services. The parameterization of these relationships was achieved using a combination of data from the Scottish Soils Database and expert knowledge. Baseline data to allow mapping of processes, functions and services across Scotland is given by digital maps of soil classes. The matrix multiplication approach constrains the relationship linkages to linear relationships and ignores potential synergies between factors at each stage, but does provide a mechanism for relating fundamental soil characteristics to ecosystem services. The approach has been tested by developing maps of selected ecosystem services in Scotland and comparing these with existing maps of the same or similar ESs. While the values and their ranges differ in each case, the spatial distribution of services is similar. The proposed mechanism is extensible at every level and can also be used to explore the impacts of land management options on environmental characteristics. This is demonstrated by using the model to estimate impacts of liming on three ecosystem services: Agricultural Capability, Carbon Sequestration and Drinking Water Provision. The model is shown to produce reasonable estimation of the impacts of this management option. Further discussion of improvements to the system and its potential applications is given.     

Quality indicators in subtropical soils of Formosa,Argentina: Changes for agriculturization process

The agriculturization process has been defined as the advance of annual crops in different environments, in competition with traditional land uses such as agriculture rotations with pastures. In Argentina and other countries agriculturization has different degrees of impact on natural resources. In the northeast region of the province of Formosa, Argentina, agriculturization includes deforestation (clear cutting, slash burning and plowing), technological improvements and changes in land use. Because of these alterations, it is necessary to define the state of the soil to evaluate its sustainability. This can be done by means of indicators, which are not universal; they differ according to the use, management and type of soils, weather conditions and ecosystems.The objectives of this paper are: (1) To identify quality indicators for subtropical Argiudolls and Hapludolls; (2) To determine which indicators related to organic matter are most affected during agriculturization.The changes produced in the Typic Hapludolls and Typic Argiudolls after 25 years of continuously using native forests, agriculture, fruit plantations and pastures were analyzed. These changes were in pH, electrical conductivity, total organic carbon, particulate organic carbon, total nitrogen, structural stability, hydraulic conductivity, respiration and dehydrogenase and urease and enzyme activity. Variables with significant differences between diverse uses were evaluated by multivariate methods, Principal Component Analysis, and Correlation Analysis. The results of this study showed that total organic carbon, particulate organic carbon, structural stability and dehydrogenase activity are the quality indicators most affected by agriculturization. All are related to organic matter.     

北京湾过渡带生态系统服务梯度效应分析及生态分区

北京湾过渡带兼具山地-平原和乡村-城市的双重过渡性,生态系统服务的供给存在显著的梯度效应。该研究在对9种典型生态系统服务评估的基础上,研究了北京湾过渡带生态系统服务随植被覆盖度和土地开发程度变化的梯度效应,进而对研究区进行了生态分区并识别各分区主导的生态系统服务类型。结果表明:生态系统服务的形成过程和影响因素各不相同,导致各生态系统服务的分布存在较大的空间差异性。除休闲游憩外,大多生态系统服务随植被覆盖度和土地开发程度呈现出明显的梯度效应。总体来说,食物供给和水质调节随植被覆盖度的提高而降低,随土地开发程度的提高而增加;其他生态系统服务则相反。各生态系统服务随植被覆盖度变化的突变点的范围为0.45～0.56,随土地开发程度的突变点的范围为15%～31%。基于植被覆盖度和土地开发程度的突变点将北京湾过渡带划为4个生态分区:自然或半自然区域、半自然区域、半人工-半自然区域和人工区域。自然区域以调节服务为主,人工区域以供给服务为主,半自然区域和半人工-半自然区域二者兼具,但各有侧重,且体现出一定过渡性。结合现有规划内容,提出不同生态分区生态系统服务的优化管理策略,以促进当地生态系统的可持续发展。     

Molecular and morphological analyses of faeces to investigate the diet of earthworm predators: Example of a carnivorous land snail endemic to New Zealand

Ecosystem services provided by earthworms include increasing soil fertility, recycling organic material and provision of food for numerous predatory species. Estimating the role of earthworms in food webs is essential for a thorough evaluation of the ecosystem services they provide. Although their soft bodies are rapidly digested, earthworm remains can be detected via their chaetae in the faeces of predators.This study proposes a method for the identification of predated earthworm species using only predator faeces. We conducted morphological and molecular analyses of earthworm remains in the faeces of a highly endangered carnivorous land snail (Powelliphanta augusta) endemic to a restricted area of New Zealand.Microscopic examination of faecal strings from P. augusta showed the presence of earthworm chaetae in 47 of the 49 strings examined, suggesting an important role for earthworms in snail diets. Although earthworm tissue was not detectable in snail faeces, earthworm DNA was still present in sufficient quantity for molecular identification. Results showed that this land snail feeds on at least five species of New Zealand endemic earthworms.The method developed here is particularly appropriate for investigating the diet of potential invertebrate and vertebrate predators for which feeding behaviour is difficult to observe and gut content analysis is not possible. Such studies can help to develop a more complete understanding of the ecosystem services provided by earthworm communities. In this case it also helps the conservation of a rare and endangered predatory snail species.     

The remarkable resilience of ant assemblages following major vegetation change in an arid ecosystem

In northwestern Mexico, large tracts of native desert scrub and thorn scrub vegetation are being converted to non-native grass pastures at an increasing rate in an effort to increase cattle production. Pasture development has large impacts on vegetation structure and perennial plant diversity, but little is known of the potential ecological consequences of this landscape transformation for other taxa. I compared the abundance, diversity, species composition and structure of ant assemblages in native habitats and non-native grass pastures across a longitudinal rainfall gradient in central Sonora, Mexico. Land conversion resulted in minor reductions of alpha and gamma diversity and had no effect on beta diversity or species turnover. The influence of land conversion on species composition was small in comparison to the influence of other factors. In addition, ant assemblages in native habitats and non-native grass pastures were similar to each other in regards to both species relative abundance distributions and functional group composition. These results suggest that ants are remarkably resilient to the conversion of native desert scrub and thorn scrub habitats to non-native grass pastures, which is consistent with the growing body of research reporting weak and inconsistent responses of ant assemblages to grazing in arid rangelands.