Post-fire habitat restoration of sables during winter season in northern slope of the Great Xing＇an Mountains

Habitat loss and fragmentation have been associated with the decline of endangered species. In 1987, a catastrophic fire in the northern Great Hing＇an Mountains of China, where the main habitat of sables （Martes zibellina） is located, aggravated the loss and fragmentation of the forest landscape. Due to restricted distribution and low population density, sables were listed in the national first-grade protected species in China. The objective of this paper was to identify to what extent the habitat of sables had been restored 13 years after the fire. Based on the behavioral data, which came from field survey information by radio-tracking, GPS （Global Positioning System） and forest inventory data, suitability habitat maps were derived using the Ecological Niche Suitability Model （ENSM）. In addition, the habitat structure was analyzed with selected landscape indices. Although forest cover mostly had been restored by 2000, the results indicated that, compared to the pre-fire situation, the areas of suitable habitat had been reduced significantly, especially those of less suitable, marginally suitable and moderately suitable designation. Fragmentation was aggravated, and suitable patches were found to be further isolated with the exception of those in most suitable areas. The ratio of the patch perimeter to area in unsuitable, moderately suitable and suitable areas decreased, while the ratios within other suitability types increased. Moreover, the percentage of soft boundaries decreased slightly, which can influence the redistribution of sables. The results above indicated that the suitable habitat had deteriorated, and the restoration of the sables＇ habitat remained to be done.     

如何在超大城市的中心绿地营造特色生态微栖息地景观?——以深圳中心公园为例

为探索如何在现有公园基础上构建特色生态微栖息地,以深圳中心公园特色动植物调查为基础,明确中心公园趣味生态资源,进一步梳理周边生态系统和整体植被基底、筛选特色动物服务对象、融合公园整体规划与景观,力求构建12个具有本地特色的,超大城市中心绿地的动植物生态微栖息地,形成更多动物的觅食地、夜栖地乃至繁殖地,力求整体提升该区域的生物多样性,也利于形成城区内的生态“跳岛”和自然教育“网红”节点。     

不同产地加工方法对何首乌中二苯乙烯苷含量的影响

分别采用晒干、烘干法加工处理不同片型、规格的何首乌药材,采用HPLC法测定其中二苯乙烯苷的含量。以考察不同产地加工方法对何首乌中二苯乙烯苷的影响,为优选何首乌的产地加工方法及优化工艺提供依据。结果表明不同片型、规格何首乌二苯乙烯苷的平均含量依次为100℃烘干≈晒干﹥80℃烘干﹥60℃烘干,随着切片厚度的增加,其含量逐渐减少。可见不同产地加工对何首乌中二苯乙烯苷的含量有影响,其中片型、规格对其影响不显著,干燥方法对何首乌中二苯乙烯苷的影响显著。     

哈尔滨市不同生境区域鞘翅目昆虫多样性

[目的]探讨鞘翅目昆虫多样性变化对不同生境类型的生态反应。[方法]选取哈尔滨市不同生境区域中的样地,分析鞘翅目昆虫的群落结构及其多样性。[结果]共获得鞘翅目昆虫标本3 215个,隶属鞘翅目55科120属233种,其中以小蠹科（Scolytidae）等为优势类群。东北林业大学林场多样性指数最高,其次是哈尔滨植物园,帽儿山实验林场老山实验站最低。帽儿山实验林场老山实验站物种丰富度和优势度指数最高,其次是东北林业大学林场,哈尔滨植物园最低。不同生境类型的鞘翅目昆虫群落多样性的时间动态不同,哈尔滨植物园的鞘翅目昆虫群落多样性指数随时间的波动最小,帽儿山实验林场老山实验站的物种数和优势度指数波动较大。不同生境区域鞘翅目昆虫相似性系数为中等不相似或极不相似水平,说明各生境类型的鞘翅目昆虫栖息地空间异质性较大,导致鞘翅目昆虫群落间相似性程度较低。[结论]该研究可为城市生态可持续发展、森林生态系统的多样性保护提供科学依据和理论基础。     

Multi-scale factors affecting bird use of isolated remnant oak trees in agro-ecosystems

With recent emphasis on sustainable agriculture, conservation of native biota within agricultural systems has become a priority. Remnant trees have been hypothesized to increase biological diversity in agro-ecosystems. We investigated how remnant Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana) trees contribute to conserving bird diversity in the agro-ecosystem of the Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA. We compared bird use of isolated oak trees in three landscape contexts - croplands, pastures, and oak savanna reserves - and ranked the relative importance of four factors thought to influence bird use of individual trees: (i) tree architecture; (ii) tree isolation; (iii) tree cover in the surrounding landscape; and (iv) landscape context, defined as the surrounding land use. We evaluated species-specific responses and four community-level responses: (i) total species richness; (ii) richness of oak savanna-associates; (iii) tree forager richness; and (iv) aerial and ground forager richness. We documented 47 species using remnant oaks, including 16 species typically occurring in oak savanna. Surprisingly, landscape context was unimportant in predicting frequency of use of individual trees. Tree architecture, in particular tree size, and tree cover in the surrounding landscape were the best predictors of bird use of remnant trees. Our findings demonstrate that individual remnant trees contribute to landscape-level conservation of bird diversity, acting as keystone habitat structures by providing critical resources for species that could not persist in otherwise treeless agricultural fields. Because remnant trees are rarely retained in contemporary agricultural landscapes in the United States, retention of existing trees and recruitment of replacement trees will contribute to regional conservation goals.     

Disentangling effects of habitat diversity and area on orthopteran species with contrasting mobility

Loss of semi-natural grasslands and reduction of habitat diversity are considered major potential threats to arthropod diversity in agricultural landscapes. The main aim of this study was to investigate how area and habitat diversity, mediated by shrub encroachment after grassland abandonment, affect species richness of orthopterans in island-like grasslands, and how contrasting mobility might alter species richness response to both factors. We selected 35 isolated patches in landscapes dominated by arable land (durum wheat) in order to obtain two statistically uncorrelated gradients: (i) one in habitat area ranging from 0.2 to 55 ha and (ii) one in habitat diversity ranging from patches dominated by one habitat (either open grasslands or shrublands) to patches with a mosaic of different habitats. Habitat loss due to land-use conversion into arable fields was associated with a substantial loss of species with a positive species-area relationship (SAR), with sedentary species having a steeper and stronger SAR than mobile species. Halting habitat loss is, therefore, needed to avoid further species extinctions. Shrub encroachment, triggered by abandonment, presented a hump-shaped relationship with habitat diversity. An increase in habitat diversity enhanced species richness irrespective of patch area and mobility. Maintaining or enhancing habitat diversity, by cutting or burning small sectors and by reintroducing extensive sheep grazing into abandoned grassland, are suggested as complementary strategies to mitigate further decline of orthopteran diversity in the remnant patches. This would be equally important in both small and large patches.     

Saiga antelope calving site selection is increasingly driven by human disturbance

Many terrestrial mammalian species aggregate to give birth. Such aggregations are likely to be a response to changing resource and water availability, for predator swamping and avoidance of disturbance. The critically endangered saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) is one such species. We analysed spatio-temporal locations of saiga calving aggregations in Kazakhstan over the last four decades obtained from aerial and ground surveys, to identify the factors determining the selection of calving sites within the species’ range as well as any changes in these locations over time. Generalized mixed models were employed in a use - availability framework to assess the factors distinguishing calving from random sites and predict suitable areas for calving. Saigas selected sites, with lower than average productivity and low year to year variability in productivity, at an intermediate distance from water sources, and away from human settlements. A significant change in calving locations was observed during the last decade, with calving areas occurring further north and further away from settlements than previously. The results demonstrate that the choice of calving areas is largely driven by environmental factors. However, disturbance also has a significant impact on calving site selection and in recent decades, its influence overrides that of environmental factors. This increase in the influence of disturbance coincides with a precipitous decline in saiga numbers due to poaching, as well as substantial reductions in the intensity of land use for livestock grazing following the breakup of the Soviet Union. Predictive models based on such studies can improve species conservation by guiding the stratification of sampling for effective monitoring and deployment of rangers to protect the females at this critical time.     

The importance of fine-scale savanna heterogeneity for reptiles and small mammals

Tropical savannas are an important reservoir of global biodiversity. Australia’s extensive savannas, although still largely intact, are experiencing substantial declines in terrestrial biodiversity due to a variety of interrelated effects of altered fire regimes, grazing and increases in invasive species. These disturbance processes are spatially variable, combine to increase landscape to local-scale landscape heterogeneity, but rarely result in well-defined patch boundaries. We quantified the importance of this heterogeneity for native reptile and small mammal species in a tropical savanna landscape of Queensland, Australia. We used high resolution remote sensing imagery (IKONOS) to map habitat pattern at a 4 m spatial resolution and at variable extents. We found that landscapes dominated by grass or bare ground had low reptile and small mammal diversity, while landscapes with a heterogeneous mix of grass, bare ground and trees had high species diversity and relative abundance of most species. Landscape heterogeneity may increase reptile and small mammal species richness by: (i) increasing the variety and abundance of foraging resources such as seeds and invertebrates; (ii) providing cover from predators and high summer temperatures; and (iii) increasing functional connectivity and dispersal success. The importance of these resources and processes varies among individual species and at different spatial scales, reiterating the need to consider habitat requirements of multiple species in landscape management and conservation planning.     

Biodiversity functions of urban cemeteries: Evidence from one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in Europe

As the world becomes more urbanized, urban cemeteries may become increasingly valuable for biodiversity conservation as cemeteries are ubiquitous elements of the green infrastructure in cities worldwide. By implementing a multi-taxon approach at different spatial extents, we analyzed habitat functions of a large urban cemetery in Berlin (Weiÿensee Jewish Cemetery) and explored related environmental variables. This cemetery is an outstanding cultural heritage site but it also stands for old urban cemeteries that have progressed to urban woodland, an ecosystem type that exists in many regional and religious contexts. The cemetery provided a habitat for 604 species; species of conservation concern comprised 1.6⿿100% of total species among different groups of taxa (in decreasing order: bats, birds, lichens, bryophytes, carabids, vascular plants, spiders). Species richness and species composition at the plot level were significantly related to differences in management intensity and resulting vegetation structures but differed among taxonomic groups. In vascular plants, carabids and spiders, the species composition varied significantly with habitat age, and there was a set of characteristic species for different age classes in each species group. Our results thus support the use of differentiated management approaches to maintain habitat heterogeneity by allowing wilderness development in some parts of a cemetery while keeping others more open. Since these aims can be combined with efforts to preserve outstanding grave architectures and allow access to visitors, our study indicates ways of reconciling conflicting aims of heritage preservation and biodiversity conservation, a promising perspective for biodiversity conservation in culturally shaped urban landscapes. We conclude that cemeteries provide important cultural ecosystem services within the urban green infrastructure.     

2008年持续低温降雪冻雨对梁子湖流域鸟类的影响调查

2008年1月,梁子湖流域遭遇历时罕见的持续低温降雪冻雨极端天气,304km~2梁子湖冰冻封湖15 d。地面持续冰雪覆盖,导致鸟类生境结构破坏,生境资源不可利用,最终因长时间食物匮乏和冷害的双重影响出现严重灾害性死亡。涉及鸟类22科42种,流域内数量损失30万～40万只。