Partial and clearcut harvesting of dry Douglas-fir forests: Implications for small mammal communities

Dry Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forests offer a wide range of timber and non-timber values, which may benefit from a balanced timber harvest by variable retention systems with conservation of biodiversity. A major component of biodiversity are forest floor small mammal communities whose abundance and diversity serve as ecological indicators of significant change in forest structure and function from harvesting activities. This study was designed to test the hypotheses that abundance, reproduction, and survival of (i) the southern red-backed vole (Myodes gapperi, formerly Clethrionomys gapperi), will decline; (ii) the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), will be similar; and (iii) the meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus) and northwestern chipmunk (Tamias amoenus), will increase, with decreasing levels of tree retention. Small mammal populations were live-trapped from 1994 to 1997 in replicated sites of uncut forest, 20% and 50% volume removal by single tree selection, 20%, 35%, and 50% patch cuts based on openings of 0.1–1.6 ha, and small 1.6 ha clearcuts in Douglas-fir forest near Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. M. gapperi dominated the small mammal community, starting with an abundance of 74–98 animals/ha with mean values ranging from 33 to 51 animals/ha. In the two post-harvest years, abundance, reproduction, and survival of M. gapperi populations were consistently similar among uncut forest and the various levels of tree retention. Thereafter, M. gapperi was seldom found on the small clearcuts. M. pennsylvanicus, T. amoenus, and P. maniculatus occurred predominantly in clearcut sites. As with other types of forest disturbance, responses to our treatments were species-specific. The most striking result was the high abundance and productivity of M. gapperi populations in a dry forest ecosystem, a novel result for this bio-indicator species of closed-canopy forest conditions. At least with respect to small mammals, the retention systems studied seem to enable timber extraction and maintenance of mature forest habitat in these dry fir ecosystems.     

Liana species richness,abundance and relationship with trees in the Bobiri forest reserve,Ghana: Impact of management systems

Forest management practices which may represent various forms of disturbance regimes could influence liana species richness, abundance and relationship with their hosts. The study sought to determine the impacts of three management systems, namely, the Selection, Tropical Shelterwood and Post Exploitation Systems (SS, TSS and PES respectively) on liana species richness, abundance and relationship with trees in the Bobiri forest reserve, Ghana. Lianas with dbh ≥ 2 cm found on trees with dbh ≥ 10 cm were enumerated in 1 ha plot each in the SS, TSS and PES. All trees (dbh ≥ 10 cm) within the plots that did not carry lianas were also enumerated. A total of 640 liana individuals belonging to 27 species, 22 genera and 13 families were identified in the management systems. Griffonia simplicifolia (Vahl ex DC.) Baill., Motandra guineensis (Thonn.) A.DC. and Calycobolus africanus (G.Don) Heine were the abundant species in all the management systems. Unlike in SS, lianas in the TSS and PES were dominated by a few species. Larger diameter lianas were more abundant in the PES (32%) compared with the SS (18.3%) and the PES (13.1%). Liana diversity (H′) (species richness and abundance) was quantitatively higher in the SS (2.8) than the TSS (2.2) and the PES (2.0). The numbers of lianas carried by tree species differed significantly in the management systems (p < 0.001 each). Liana infestation in the forest was high. The level of liana infestation did not reflect the extent of liana load per tree in the management systems. Larger trees carried significantly more liana individuals than smaller trees in the PES (p = 0.019, r² = 0.15). There was a positive significant relationship between host dbh and liana dbh in the PES (p < 0.001, r² = 0.23) and TSS (p = 0.024, r² = 0.11). Tree diversity appeared to have influenced liana species richness and abundance.     

基于ASI法的滨海滩涂地水稻土壤有效氮、磷、钾丰缺指标

 【目的】为滨海滩涂地精准施肥提供理论依据。【方法】2005和2006年运用ASI法对位于黄海之滨的海丰农场进行土壤养分含量测定及水稻氮、磷、钾肥施用的推荐。选取60块肥力从高到低田块,利用不施肥、不施氮肥、不施磷肥、不施钾肥和施肥5个处理、3次重复的设计方案进行田间小区试验,按照相对产量＜50%时的土壤养分含量为“极低”、50%～75%为“低”、75%～95%为“中”、＞95%为“高”、再降为95%时为“过高”的标准建立土壤有效氮、磷、钾的丰缺指标体系。【结果】滨海滩涂水稻田土壤铵态氮的“极低”指标为＜2.5 mg N•L-1,“低”为2.5～11.0 mg N•L-1,“中”为11.0～19.5 mg N•L-1,“高”为19.5～34.0 mg N•L-1,“极高”为＞34.0 mg N•L-1;土壤有效磷的“极低”指标在海丰农场供试田块没有表现出来,“低”为＜13.0 mg P•L-1,“中”为13.0～28.5 mg P•L-1,“高”为28.5～60.0 mg P•L-1,“极高”为＞60.0 mg P•L-1;土壤有效钾的“极低”指标为＜35.0 mg K•L-1,“低”为35.0～95.0 mg K•L-1,“中”为95.0～175.0 mg K•L-1,“高”为175.0～335.0 mg K•L-1,“极高”为＞335.0 mg K•L-1。【结论】运用土壤养分状况系统分析法（ASI）和田间试验设计相结合是建立水稻土壤氮、磷、钾丰缺指标行之有效的方法。     

Designing fecal pellet surveys for snowshoe hares

Index methods can be valuable for monitoring forest-dwelling vertebrates over broad spatial or temporal scales. Fecal pellet counts are often used as an index of density or habitat use of snowshoe hares, Lepus americanus, but previous surveys have used different plot types and sample sizes, leading to problems comparing results from different studies and questions about the inferential power of each study. In this paper, we use field data and simulations to examine how the precision, bias, and efficiency of four commonly used plot types vary with plot type, pellet density, and sample size. Although no one plot type was consistently superior, we recommend thin rectangles (5.08 cm × 305 cm (2 in. × 10 ft), 0.155 m²) or 1 m² circles over 0.155 m² circles or 10 cm × 10 m (1 m²) rectangles. We recommend that researchers explicitly address the power of their survey design to detect different pellet densities, because much larger sample sizes are needed at low pellet densities than at high pellet densities to obtain similar precision. Small sample sizes are also much more likely to be biased, which could lead to incorrect inferences about management of snowshoe hare populations. Both uncleared and cleared plots performed well and will have value in different research contexts.     

云南省小兽体表印鼠客蚤的丰富度及分布(摘要)(英文)

[目的]调查云南省印鼠客蚤的地域分布,并研究其是否与鼠疫分布一致。[方法]在云南省的22个县(市)进行现场抽样调查,采集小兽体表的印鼠客蚤并现场鉴定所获宿主,分析印鼠客蚤的地域分布、蚤指数、染蚤率。[结果]所捕获的60种小兽中,黄胸鼠的总染蚤率最高(13.04%),体表所采集的印鼠客蚤(1268)最多;褐家鼠有最高的蚤指数(0.83)。4个动物地理小区中,滇东高原小区的蚤指数(0.9)和染蚤率(21.73%)最高。[结论]印鼠客蚤主要分布在滇东高原小区,蚤指数、染蚤率和鼠疫发病率三者在云南省分布趋势相同。     

A comparative study of three different methods for assessing fish communities in a small eutrophic lake

Sound decisions on the management of fish stocks depend on knowledge about the species composition, number, biomass and size structure of existing populations. Accordingly, the ability to make solid population estimates is essential. In this study, a 2.15 ha lake was completely drained and the total number of fish was recorded and amounted to 180,915 individuals divided into seven species having a total weight of 1,395 kg. Before the draining, three commonly used methods in fish surveys were applied: multi‐mesh gillnets, point abundance sampling by electrofishing (PASE) and mark–recapture. Following the determination of the actual number and size distribution of each species, we evaluated the efficiency of the methods and found that gillnets caught a relatively high number of species (five out of seven) and thus proved to be the best tool for mapping species richness. However, gillnets were size selective towards larger individuals of perch (Perca fluviatilis) and did not catch roach (Rutilus rutilus) <5 cm. In contrast to gillnets, PASE was very effective at catching YOY fish in the shore zone but selected for larger‐sized roach. In sum, gillnetting proved to be the most accurate method for estimating species composition, PASE also being useful. Overall, mark–recapture provided relatively good estimates of population size but small‐sized (<11 cm) roach proved not to be well suited for mark–recapture surveys. We conclude that the best method(s) surveying fish stocks depends on various factors such as target species, size distribution and the purpose of the survey.     

Patterns of species dominance,diversity and dispersion in ＇Khasi hill sal＇ forest ecosystem in northeast India

Background： The ＇Khasi hill sal＇ forest ecosystem in Meghalaya, India represents the easternmost limit of sal distribution. We tested if tree diversity and compositional heterogeneity of this ecosystem was higher than other sal-dominated forests due to moister environment. Methods： Vegetation was sampled in 11 transects of 10 m width and up to 500 m length covering 5.2 ha area. All stems ≥10 cm girth at breast height were enumerated. Results： We found a pattern of mixed dominance of Shored robusta （sal） and Schima wollichii and co-dominance of Pinus kesiyo and Careya arborea. The Shannon＇s diversity index （H＇） was 3.395 nats. This value is remarkably high and competitive to that of moist sal forests of eastern Himalayan foothills and sal-dominated forests of Tripura. A high value of H＇ was manifested by： a） high species richness （S = 123）, b） good equitability （70.6%）, c） ＇fair＇ resource apportionment, and d） abundance of rare species （84% species with less than one per cent of total individuals, 67% species with two or less individuals ha-1 and 59% species with one or less individuals ha-1）. The compositional heterogeneity was ＇fair＇ （Whittaker＇sβw = 3.15）. The presence of Fagaceae with six species commanding 4.3% of importance value （IVl） and of a pine （P. kesiya） in sal forest was remarkable. As many as 58 species showed ＇low density （〈 10 individuals ha-1）, uniform dispersion＇, five species achieved ＇higher density （〉 10 individuals ha-l）, uniform dispersion＇ and six of the top 10 species were ＇clumped＇. The forest showed an exponential demographic curve illustrating ＇good＇ regeneration of an expanding community. Vertical stratification was simple with a poor canopy and fair subcanopy, which together with low basal area （15.65 m2 . ha-1 for individuals ≥ 10 cm gbh） indicated logging of mature sal trees in the past. Conclusions： The ＇Khasi hill sal＇ forest ecosystem is richer in alpha and beta diversi     

Spatial patterns of whiting abundance in Scottish waters and relationships with environmental variables

This paper uses objective classification methods, a combination of principal components analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis, applied to long-term average data, to define areas of similar seasonal patterns of whiting abundance in Scottish waters, based on fishery data on landings and effort (by month and by ICES rectangle). A geographic information system (GIS) is used to qualitatively describe the relationships of these spatial patterns of whiting abundance with (a) trawl survey catch rates by age-class, and (b) environmental factors. The results show that the spatial patterns of whiting abundance are related to age, as well as to depth and to spatial patterns of sea surface temperature (SST) in winter. The area (within the North Sea) of highest whiting abundance, and the largest seasonal change in whiting abundance, corresponds to the area of highest survey catch rates for older (>2 years old) whiting in winter, a particular spatial pattern of SST in winter and water depths of 100–200 m. This spatial pattern of SST may indicate an effect of the inflow of the North Atlantic water. This study provides a guide for selecting study areas for future quantitative analysis and the methods proposed may also provide a useful management tool.     

施肥对菜地土壤、蔬菜、径流中δ15N组成的影响

为了解施肥对蔬菜地土壤、蔬菜和地表水体中δ¹⁵N丰度的影响,选择2012至2018内施用不同肥料的28块蔬菜地（包括13块施用化肥蔬菜地、8块施用畜禽粪蔬菜地和7块施用商品有机肥加化肥蔬菜地）,采样分析表层土壤、蔬菜地上部分和地下部分及地表径流样的δ¹⁵N丰度。结果表明：施肥种类对土壤、蔬菜和地表径流中δ¹⁵N丰度均可产生显著影响,其丰度值由高至低依次为：畜禽肥>商品有机肥加化肥>化肥。蔬菜和地表水与土壤之间的δ¹⁵N丰度存在正相关。分析认为,蔬菜产品中氮同位素组成可以作为鉴定有机蔬菜的辅助依据,地表水体中δ¹⁵N丰度可作为水体中氮素污染源的指标。