Ecotourist trail-use affects the taxonomic,functional and phylogenetic diversity of mammals in a protected area: lessons for conservation management

Ecotourism, by definition, aims to engage peoples’ interest in wildlife and the environment. The use of tourist roads and trails to access sites within protected areas (PAs) can detrimentally affect the behavior and distribution of species. The way mammals respond to anthropogenic pressures may differ across taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic groups; nevertheless, how ecotourist trail-use affects these different diversity remains under-investigated. Here, we assessed 6 metrics of taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity for a mammal community in a PA in central China, recording how Trail use (using Trail type as a proxy) and habitat variables affected sightings and signs of mammals across 60 replicate 0.5 km transects. We then examined how Trail use affected the taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity indices of species (>1 kg). Using generalized liner mixed modeling, we identified that more used trail types had a greater adverse effect on all diversity richness indices than did less used trail types. Consequently, tourist pressure was associated with a general tendency to homogenize the site's mammal community. In contrast, the effects of Trail Types on all diversity evenness indices were non-significant. Furthermore, more developed and more heavily used trail types had a greater, significant negative effect on taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic richness, whereas these richness indices were unaffected by minor trail types, used less intensively. As a general principle, lower biodiversity indices reduce ecosystem resilience, and so it is vital to better understand these responses to balance public access against biodiversity management in PAs.     

采煤沉陷区苦草的生物学特性及其竞争机制

采煤活动所致的动态沉陷湿地具有动态性、高潜水位和生态脆弱性等特点,探明此类人工重构湿地的水生植物群落的生物学特性及其竞争机制,有助于为采煤沉陷区湿地水生植物群落修复提供科学依据。本研究以淮南潘集区人工构建的苦草群落(Ass. Vallisneria natans)为例,采用样方调查法,研究苦草的生物学特性及其与其他水生植物的竞争机制。结果表明,1)沉陷区苦草的生物学特性与浅水湖泊较一致。主要表现在苦草的繁殖方式、传粉方式、生活史方面,但研究区苦草以有性繁殖为主。2)沉陷区苦草能与以种子萌发形成的水烛群丛(Ass. Typha angustifolia)共生,但生物量低;在与形成两年以上的水烛群丛竞争中处于劣势,在水烛群丛盖度达到90%时苦草逐渐消失。3)沉陷区苦草在与浮叶植物莕菜群丛(Ass. Nymphoides peltatum)、苹群丛(Ass. Marsilea quadrifolia)竞争中处于弱势,其盖度、株高、生物量等指标都明显下降。4)沉陷区苦草在与沉水植物竹叶眼子菜群丛(Ass. Potamogeton malaianus)竞争中处于劣势,苦草与沉水植物黑藻群丛(Ass. Hydrilla verticillata)、狐尾藻群丛(Ass. Myriophyllum verticillatum)、大茨藻群丛(Ass. Najas marina)、金鱼藻群丛(Ass. Ceratophyllum demersum)占据不同水层空间,种间竞争不强烈,能较好地共存。总之,苦草较之于相似生长型的植物具有较明显的竞争优势,对于具有不同生活型,尤其是挺水植物和浮叶植物,处于竞争劣势。     

汾河河漫滩三种草本植物群落的生物量研究

草本群落是汾河河漫滩的主要植被类型。在对汾河河漫滩植被全面调查的基础上选择了 3种广泛分布的典型群落 :北水苦荬群落、水莎草 +狼把草群落和苔草群落 ,用收获法对它们的生物量进行了研究。研究结果表明 ,这 3种群落的总生物量分别为 785.9g/ m2 、4 94 .6g/ m2 和 34 5.5g/ m2 ,与其它草地群落相比 ,大于荒漠草地和典型草原 ,小于草甸草原。各群落的建群种或共建种的生物量占群落总生物量和各群落地上部分和地下部分生物量的比例均大于 70 %。北水苦荬群落和水莎草 +狼把草群落的地上部分生物量 >地下部分生物量 ,苔草群落的地上部分生物量 <地下部分生物量。另外 ,通过对群落特征、干鲜重比率以及群落生物量的综合分析得出 ,水因子是影响湿地植被群落结构、组成和生物量的主导因子 ,这 3种群落的分布呈现显著的水分生态梯度     

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN RETRACTED Exergy as an ecological application used in the recovery process of benthic communities

Exergy, the thermodynamic function that represents the distance of an open system from equilibrium, is proposed as an ecological indicator for summarizing the complex dynamics occurring in a disturbed community during its recovery processes. These complex dynamics can be difficult to capture by using classical indices. In this study, we sampled macrobenthos using the BACI scheme (before versus after; control versus impact) in tidal wetlands of west Chongming Island, China, an area that has been disturbed by ecological engineering measures. Exergy storage is estimated for benthic communities. The control area is proposed as dynamic reference for estimating local exergy storage of the benthic community. Three different methods were used for estimating exergy on the basis of coefficients: (a) taken for taxa groups; (b) estimated from coding genes given for broad taxonomic groups; and (c) estimated from genome size taken as close as possible to the taxonomic level of the species, providing a basis for inferring similarities. We found a decrease of local exergy content in the disturbed area 9 days after the disturbance. Subsequently, the reference exergy of the benthic community increased (i.e. in the surrounding control area) in accordance with the proposed hypothesis regarding the dynamics of exergy storage during a system's development. Estimates of local exergy arrived at using the three methods provided comparable results. Based on this, we then discuss the feasibility of using the more readily available genome size data for estimating exergy. This result may have important implications for broader application of this indicator to biological systems. Moreover, the adjacent control samples seem to represent an appropriate dynamic reference for estimating the local exergy of disturbed communities. We found that exergy was a useful indicator that integrates the processes underlying the recovery of the benthic community after disturbance.     

关中地区几种苜蓿地上生物量初步研究

对5个苜蓿Medicago sativa品种的地上生物量形成规律进行了初步研究.结果表明:苜蓿生物量的增长速率不仅与本身生理特性有关,而且与环境密切相关;株高在分枝末期现蕾初期增长速度快.绝对生长速率与相对生长速率在分枝末期现蕾期都较大,此时的水分管理具有重要意义;不同苜蓿品种的群落结构大多为菱形;同化系统与非同化系统的比值随高度的增加而减少.     

豫西地区酢浆草草坪昆虫种类调查及群落分析

对河南省豫西地区主要城市酢浆草Oxalis corniculate草坪昆虫群落进行了调查,共鉴定出昆虫12目36科75种,其中有害昆虫56种,有益天敌18种,其他昆虫1种.在有害昆虫中,不同季节优势种不一样,春季的优势种为蚜虫,夏季的优势种为酢浆草茹叶螨Tetranychina harti和朱砂叶螨T.cinnabarinus,秋季的优势种是酢浆草茹叶螨T.Hharti和蛴螬Holotrichia diomphalia.它们都是综合治理的主要对象.     

放牧强度对羊草草原的影响

研究放牧强度对羊草草原植物群落组成、数量特征、生物量及土壤特性等的影响.结果表明,随着放牧强度的增加,羊草草原的植被盖度和生物量随之降低,优势羊草群落将逐渐被盐生植物所替代,群落结构趋于简化,物种向旱生化和盐生化演替.同时土壤容重、含水量、有机质和氮、磷、钾、钙、镁等营养元素含量亦随着放牧强度的增加而逐渐降低.春季过度放牧对土壤表层的水分、有机质和钙、镁等元素造成的损失最为严重.因此,制定科学的草原管理措施,特别是春季限制放牧等措施对于维持草原的可持续发展具有重要意义.     

祁连山东段天然草地植物群落稳定性分析

利用法国生态学专家M .Godron提出的方法 ,对祁连山东段天然草地植物群落做了稳定性测定 ,其结果表明 :在测定的 5个草地型中 ,种的百分数与累积相对频度两线相交点分别为 41 5 9、39 61、44 5 6、43 5 7和 43 5 7,与稳定点 2 0 80均不趋于接近。证明祁连山东段天然草地由于放牧过重而导致放牧演替 ,造成植物群落极不稳定。今后应加强保护措施 ,使其逐步向进展演替方向发展     

科尔沁沙地差巴嘎蒿——杂类草群落结构、功能的沙漠化演变特征

研究结果表明：在沙漠化发展过程中，差巴嘎蒿－－杂类草群落（1）首先是植物种组成数量和密度大幅度减少，继而植被盖度和地上生物量急剧下降，四项指标受沙漠化影响的强弱顺序是密度＞植物种数量＞工＞地上生物量；（2）结构趋于简单，功能逐渐消退，优势种或亚优势种发生更替，群落最终变性；（3）沙漠化演变既有连续性又有间断性，随着沙漠化的加剧，其连续性变弱，间断性增强，变幅增大；（4）轻度沙漠化时群落稳定性最高，严重沙漠化可导致其稳定性迅速破坏；（5）对沙漠化的危害，表现出一定的时滞效应和自我适应调节能力，这两个问题有等于进一步研究。     

黄河源区"黑土滩"退化草地群落类型多样性及其群落结构研究

调查了黄河源区高寒草甸极度退化产物“黑土滩”植被群落类型多样性及其群落结构特征。结果表明,分布在黄河源区高寒草甸上的“黑土滩”草地植被可分为7个类型,分别为:黄帚橐吾 铁棒棰群落、白苞筋骨草群落、铁棒棰群落、西伯利亚蓼 鹅绒委陵菜群落、摩苓草群落、甘青微孔草群落和甘肃马先蒿群落。从群落结构和已有的研究结果看,黄河源区所有类型的“黑土滩”草地都完全失去了牧用价值,短期内自然恢复的物质基础也已丧失,该类草地的恢复治理必须通过人工植被的重建来实现。