四川盆地低山丘陵区柏木低效林改造效应研究

柏木低效林是四川盆地丘陵区一种典型的低效林类型。对四川省阆中市哑口乡低效柏木人工林设计了4种间伐强度(对照、21.6%的弱度间伐、49.4%的强度间伐和71.3%的极强度间伐)的低改试验。于5年后对试验地进行了林分生长量调查,并采用Shannon-Wiener多样性指数P、ielou群落均匀度指数和Simpson生态优势度指数对低改后林下植被的多样性进行了对比研究。结果表明:抚育间伐对树高生长无显著影响(P>0.05);不同间伐强度对林分平均胸径生长影响显著(P<0.01),其生长量随着间伐强度的增强而增加,但保留密度2 490和1 560株/hm2的2个处理间的差异不显著(P>0.05);林分低改后,增加了林下植被的Shannon-Wiener多样性指数和Pielou群落均匀度指数,减低了Simpson生态优势度指数。因此,作为水土保持林,可对柏林低效林进行50%的抚育间伐,即保留密度在2 500株/hm2左右。     

Temporary conservation for urban biodiversity

Urban habitats, particularly wastelands and brownfields, maintain rich biodiversity and offer habitat for many species, even rare and endangered taxa. However, such habitats are also under socio-economic pressures due to redevelopment for housing and industrial uses. In order to maintain urban biodiversity, it is currently unknown how much open area must be preserved and whether conservation is possible without complete exclusion from economic development. In this study, we applied a simulation model based on species distribution models for plants, grasshoppers, and leafhoppers to investigate planning options for urban conservation with special focus on business areas. Altogether, we modelled the occurrence of 81 species of the urban species pool and analysed settings of different proportions of open sites, different habitat turnover times, and different lot sizes. Our simulations demonstrated that dynamic land use supports urban biodiversity in terms of species richness and rarity. Setting aside brownfields before redevelopment for a period of on average 15 years supported the highest conservation value. Consequently, we recommend integrating the concept of ‘temporary conservation’ into urban planning for industrial and business areas. This concept requires habitat to be destroyed by redeveloping brownfield sites to built-up sites, but simultaneously creating new open spaces due to abandonment of urban land uses at other locations. This maintains a spatio-temporal mosaic of different successional stages ranging from pioneer to pre-forest communities.     

How good are managed forests at conserving native woodpecker communities? A study in sub-Himalayan dipterocarp forests of northwest India

We assessed the impact of forest management on woodpecker community structure sub-Himalayan dipterocarp sal (Shorea robusta) forests. We selected eight sites representing four management-based ‘forest types’ (natural unworked sal, old- and young managed sal, and teak plantations). At each site, bird surveys were conducted along 2-km-long transects, 20 times during breeding and non-breeding seasons. Habitat characteristics were enumerated using circular and belt plots. Species composition across forest types was compared using multi-response permutation procedures. Indicator analysis identified woodpecker species preferring particular forest types. Biomass, abundance, and mean species richness of woodpeckers were highest in natural sal, intermediate in managed sal, and lowest in teak. There were apparent differences in woodpecker densities between seasons. Densities were higher in breeding season than non-breeding season for natural sal, while the opposite was true for managed sal. Woodpecker species composition significantly differed across forest types. The four largest species, including grey-headed (Picus canus) and greater yellownape (Picus flavinucha) that were identified as indicators, predominated natural sal but were scarce in other types. At a broader level, mean species richness of woodpeckers strongly indicated mean richness of other avifauna during breeding season. Our study suggests that forest management has significantly altered the sub-Himalayan woodpecker community structure. Managed sal forests, particularly teak plantations, are largely unable to support the original woodpecker assemblage during breeding season, although they provide foraging grounds during non-breeding season.     

Management effects on the vegetation and soil seed bank of calcareous grasslands: An 11-year experiment

Calcareous grasslands, most of which are man made and therefore depend on some kind of human interference for their maintenance, are among the most species-rich communities on Earth at a small scale. For many centuries, most of these grasslands have been used as extensive pasture. However, after 1900, and particularly from 1940 onwards, livestock grazing has declined throughout Europe leading to the abandonment of low intensity grasslands over large areas. To conserve the remaining grasslands or to restore recently abandoned grasslands, better insights about the effects of grassland management on above and belowground species diversity are needed. Here, we describe the results of an 11-year experiment to investigate the role of grassland management (grazing, mowing and abandonment) in determining species composition and diversity both in the aboveground vegetation and the seed bank of a calcareous grassland in Belgium. Species diversity declined by about 60% 11 years after abandonment, from 29 species m⁻² to as few as 12 species m⁻². Plots that were grazed remained constant in species richness, whereas mown sites lost about 20% of their original species. Abandoned plots were largely dominated by a few grass species, in particular Festuca rubra. Concomitant with changes in the aboveground vegetation, both the number of species found in the seed bank and seed density (number of seeds m⁻²) had changed significantly 11 years after abandonment. Species diversity and seed density were significantly lower in abandoned plots than in grazed or mown plots. We conclude that abandonment of calcareous grasslands may lead to rapid decline of plant species diversity both in the aboveground vegetation and in the seed bank. As a result, seed banks probably have a limited role to play in the restoration of recently abandoned grasslands.     

Impacts of climate change on Swiss biodiversity: An indicator taxa approach

We present a new indicator taxa approach to the prediction of climate change effects on biodiversity at the national level in Switzerland. As indicators, we select a set of the most widely distributed species that account for 95% of geographical variation in sampled species richness of birds, butterflies, and vascular plants. Species data come from a national program designed to monitor spatial and temporal trends in species richness. We examine some opportunities and limitations in using these data. We develop ecological niche models for the species as functions of both climate and land cover variables. We project these models to the future using climate predictions that correspond to two IPCC 3rd assessment scenarios for the development of ‘greenhouse’ gas emissions. We find that models that are calibrated with Swiss national monitoring data perform well in 10-fold cross-validation, but can fail to capture the hot-dry end of environmental gradients that constrain some species distributions. Models for indicator species in all three higher taxa predict that climate change will result in turnover in species composition even where there is little net change in predicted species richness. Indicator species from high elevations lose most areas of suitable climate even under the relatively mild B2 scenario. We project some areas to increase in the number of species for which climate conditions are suitable early in the current century, but these areas become less suitable for a majority of species by the end of the century. Selection of indicator species based on rank prevalence results in a set of models that predict observed species richness better than a similar set of species selected based on high rank of model AUC values. An indicator species approach based on selected species that are relatively common may facilitate the use of national monitoring data for predicting climate change effects on the distribution of biodiversity.     

The fate of Amazonian forest fragments: A 32-year investigation

We synthesize findings to date from the world’s largest and longest-running experimental study of habitat fragmentation, located in central Amazonia. Over the past 32 years, Amazonian forest fragments ranging from 1 to 100 ha have experienced a wide array of ecological changes. Edge effects have been a dominant driver of fragment dynamics, strongly affecting forest microclimate, tree mortality, carbon storage, fauna, and other aspects of fragment ecology. However, edge-effect intensity varies markedly in space and time, and is influenced by factors such as edge age, the number of nearby edges, and the adjoining matrix of modified vegetation surrounding fragments. In our study area, the matrix has changed markedly over the course of the study (evolving from large cattle pastures to mosaics of abandoned pasture and regrowth forest) and this in turn has strongly influenced fragment dynamics and faunal persistence. Rare weather events, especially windstorms and droughts, have further altered fragment ecology. In general, populations and communities of species in fragments are hyperdynamic relative to nearby intact forest. Some edge and fragment-isolation effects have declined with a partial recovery of secondary forests around fragments, but other changes, such as altered patterns of tree recruitment, are ongoing. Fragments are highly sensitive to external vicissitudes, and even small changes in local land-management practices may drive fragmented ecosystems in markedly different directions. The effects of fragmentation are likely to interact synergistically with other anthropogenic threats such as logging, hunting, and especially fire, creating an even greater peril for the Amazonian biota.     

金寨县森林害虫的种类、结构分布与危害

金寨县通过2003～2005年林业有害生物普查,基本摸清了全县主要森林害虫种类、结构分布与危害。全县主栽的13个树种中,普查到害虫402种,其中危害程度轻微、中等、严重的害虫分别为353、35和14种,分别占害虫种类总数的87.81%、8.71%和3.48%。害虫的分布结构为:食叶害虫(286种)>枝梢害虫(77种)>蛀干害虫(24种)>果实害虫(9种)>根部害虫(6种)。总体发生率51.4%,其中危害轻微、中等和严重的发生率分别为32.87%、12.85%和3.67%。     

中山五桂山生态保护区昆虫调查名录(Ⅲ)

对中山五桂山市级生态保护区进行昆虫多样性调查,不仅可对保护区内昆虫资源状况有更清楚的认识,为城市绿化、物种利用和保护提供基础数据;而且也对实现中山市持续发展战略、维护生态平衡具有重要意义.该研究自2007年7月至2011年5月,对广东中山市五桂山生态保护区的昆虫多样性进行专项调查,采用线路调查和标准调查相结合的方法进行...     

武夷山黄山松群落物种多样性与种群空问格局的研究

对武夷山黄山松群落物种多样性和种群空间格局的研究结果表明 ,低海拔地区由于受人为干扰影响较大而物种多样性与种群空间分布格局未表现出明显规律性 ,高海拔地区群落物种多样性指数、丰富度和均匀度均有不同程度下降 ,黄山松种群空间格局均呈集群分布 ,且随海拔高度升高而黄山松种群生长受到一定抑制     

Karyotypic Studies on Some Cultivated and Wild Species of Chenopodium (Chenopodiaceae)

Detailed karyotypic studies have been done in 20 wild and cultivated taxa of Chenopodium, which belong to three ploidy levels 2x, 4x and 6x. C. quinoa (4x) shows minor but consistent differences in the arm ratio of various chromosomes within the complements of different accessions. The chromosomes can be arranged in 18 pairs that suggest allotetraploid nature. The karyotype of C. berlandieri subsp. nuttalliae (4x) is basically similar to that of C. quinoa. C. bushianum (6x) is distinctly different from the above two species in showing highest ratio between longest and shortest chromosomes. C. album complex is characterized by consisting of 2x, 4x and 6x cytotypes. Marked karyotypic differentiation is seen even among various 2x accessions. The 4x cytotype has a more asymmetrical karyotype as compared with 2x and 6x cytotypes. The karyotypic differences are also apparent between two 6x cytotypes studied. C. strictum (6x) and C. giganteum (6x) show close similarity to 6x types of C. album.