Forest structure, composition, and tree diversity response to a gradient of regeneration harvests in the mid-Cumberland Plateau escarpment region, USA

Upland hardwood stands on mesic, escarpment-oriented sites on the Cumberland Plateau region of northeastern Alabama provide a myriad management opportunities. Stands are primarily managed for Quercus, but the high species diversity allows for management that targets multiple species. Stand composition is unique in that dominant species include shade tolerant species such as Acer saccharum, intermediate tolerant Quercus spp. and Carya spp., and intolerant Liriodendron tulipifera. Three replications of five levels of disturbance were created to assess species compositional changes; disturbances included three levels of harvest intensity, a mid-story herbicide treatment, and a control. After eight growing seasons, there were no discernable differences in species richness, diversity or evenness. Importance values based on relative basal area and relative density also changed little, except for clearcuts where L. tulipifera greatly increased. An initial gradient in basal area, canopy cover, and light created by harvesting or thinning dissipated following five growing seasons. Options exist for future stand management, including promoting two-aged or uneven-aged systems. Maintenance of Quercus will require additional tending.     

Canopy cover and groundlayer vegetation dynamics in a fire managed eastern sand savanna

Savanna vegetation is characterized by high and variable ground layer species richness regulated by functional group interactions with fire regimes and canopy cover. Frequent fire selects for C4 grasses and prairie forbs in canopy openings and C3 graminoid species and shade-adapted forbs and shrubs in canopy shade. Frequent fire also maximizes heterogeneity in partial canopy cover and species richness across the full canopy gradient. However, few studies have linked fire induced change in tree canopy cover with groundlayer vegetation dynamics in relation to this model. In 1986 and in 2007, we measured canopy cover and sampled groundlayer vegetation in 1 m² plots along 53 transects at the Tefft Savanna, a fire managed 197 ha eastern sand savanna with strong canopy cover and elevation gradients. We analyzed temporal change in canopy cover and groundlayer vegetation, correlating percent change in canopy cover with change in ground layer functional groups. After 20 years of burning at 3 fires/decade, elevation accounted for 62% of the variation in an NMS ordination of groundlayer vegetation. However, canopy cover, which averaged 24-86% in 2007, had a significant secondary effect on the ordination. Five vegetation types classified by TWINSPAN varied significantly in elevation and canopy cover. Woody vegetation comprised 8 of the 12 species with greatest niche breadths, and tended to predominant in woodland or forest, where tree cover averaged 50% or more. Forbs had greater richness in savanna, which averaged less than 30% canopy cover. The C3 sedge Carex pensylvanica was the dominant graminoid species under woodland canopy cover, and was co-dominant with the C4 grasses Andropogon scoparius and Sorghastrum nutans under savanna canopy cover. As in other savannas, N-fixing species sorted across shade and canopy openings, and heterogeneity among transects was maximized at mid-canopy cover. Over time, canopy cover decreased up to 50%, creating more open savanna conditions at mid to high elevations. This decrease was associated with a 20-100 % increase in species richness and was significantly correlated with increasing richness and cover of C4 grasses and summer flowering prairie and woodland forbs. These results support a canopy cover model of fire-maintained savanna vegetation, with greater abundance of C4 grasses and prairie forb species associated with lower canopy cover, greater heterogeneity at mid-canopy cover, and species richness maximized across the light gradient. They also indicate that decreasing canopy cover caused by repeated burning increases species richness and abundance of C4 and prairie forb species.     

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%。     

Floristic and ecological differences between recent and ancient forests growing on non-acidic soils

The aim of this work was to investigate differences in soil chemistry and understory composition between recent forests (sites afforested in the last 170 years) and ancient forests growing on non-acidic soils. The study was carried out on hardwood forests at moderate elevation (400–600 m asl) in the Jura Mountains (N.E. France) on four main pedological substrates with different characteristics. The floristic composition of 127 stands from recent forests (n = 65) or ancient forests (n = 62) was surveyed. Some functional traits and the Ellenberg indicator values of the surveyed species were recorded. In addition, the topsoil from 30 stands was analysed. The composition of the flora was analysed by Detrended Correspondence Analysis and the species which were typical of one class of forest age were identified using a chi-square (χ²) test. The difference between forest classes for plant traits, their indicator values, or soil chemistry was tested using the generalized linear model and Bonferroni t-tests (or Kruskall–Wallis tests). The floristic composition of the ancient forests was significantly different from that of the recent forests and was characterized by a high occurrence of shrub species in recent forests. These differences were associated with higher specific leaf area, low-range seeds dispersal, and some life forms like geophytes. There was no clear difference in soil chemistry between the two classes of forests, except for δ¹⁵N values. The weakness of the difference in the soil between ancient and recent forests suggested that changes in soil chemistry caused by a former agricultural land use were not responsible for the differences in understory composition recorded. The differences in functional traits between the two forest classes supported this conclusion. We finally concluded that (i) past land use modifies the vegetation composition of current forests, even on neutral soils and that (ii) in our context, biological filters were probably responsible for these changes.     

宝天曼植物群落物种多样性研究

对宝天曼保护区植物群落物种多样性进行了研究。结果表明 ,物种丰富度指数、多样性指数和均匀度指数在群落梯度上的分布趋势基本一致 ,较好地反映了不同植物群落类型在物种组成方面的差异。草本层物种丰富度指数明显高于乔木层和灌木层 ,草本层物种丰富度指数在群落梯度上的变异最大 ,灌木层次之 ,乔木层最小。乔木层物种多样性指数小于灌木层和草本层 ,草本层和乔木层物种多样性指数在群落梯度上的变异程度明显大于灌木层。灌木层物种均匀度指数大于乔木层和草本层 ,草本层和乔木层均匀度指数在群落梯度上的变异程度大于灌木层。物种丰富度指数和多样性指数的较大值出现在高海拔和低海拔群落 ,较小值多出现在中等海拔群落。物种均匀度指数的较小值多出现在中等海拔群落 ,但其较大值在各海拔群落都有分布。草本层物种丰富度指数和多样性指数的较高值多分布在低海拔群落 ,较小值多分布在中等海拔群落 ;乔木层和灌木层的各种指数以及草本层的物种均匀度指数在海拔梯度上的分布规律不明显     

华中神农架箭竹(Fargesia spathacea)群落之海拔多样性(英文)

通过对华中神农架海拔1500米至2600米之间11个箭竹样方的研究,阐述了箭竹群落物种丰富度,物种多样性,物种均匀性,生活型谱及群落类型的海拔变化。从最低样方(1680米)到最高样地(2570米),微管束植物从30种降为7种,服从线性模型:Y=55.991.83X(R2=0.84,P<0.001);物种多样性从3.18降为1.78,服从线性模型:Y=4.670.10X (R2=0.72,P=0.001;物种均匀度在0.83至0.99之间变化,但与海拔并不相关。在生活型谱中,一年生植物,地下芽植物和大高位芽树木的百分比随海拔升高而升高;灌木和中高位芽树木随海拔升高而降低;多年生草本和半灌木与海拔关系不大。箭竹群落可分为5种类型:常绿阔叶林下,落叶阔叶林下,温性针叶林下,寒温性针叶林与混交林下,纯箭竹林。图4表2参19。     

Local and regional environmental variation influences the growth of tropical trees in selection trials in the Republic of Panama

Native Neotropical trees are being increasingly planted for restoration purposes and timber production, but we lack species-specific data on growth responses to different regional climates and local environmental variation. We used regression trees and variance components to quantify the effects of within- and among-site environmental variation on the basal area (BA) of 21 Neotropical and two exotic tree species at three selection trials in the Republic of Panama. Sites represented distinct regional climates in which annual rainfall varied from 1100 to 2226 mm, with dry seasons of 4.1–6.7 months. Local environmental variables included measures of slope steepness and position, soil texture, soil color, and indicators of soil condition, such as subsoil rockiness.     

Comparison between old-growth stands and secondary stands regenerating after clear-felling in warm-temperate forests of Yakushima, southern Japan

In order to infer successional changes in structure, species composition and diversity of warm-temperate forest, we compared secondary stands regenerating after clear-felling (41–64-years old) with old-growth stands at altitudes between 300 and 800 m on Yakushima Island, southern Japan. Stem density and maximum stem diameter differed between secondary and old-growth stands, but basal area and aboveground biomass did not. At lower altitudes, the dominant species in old-growth stands with a strong sprouting capacity (Castanopsis cuspidata) also dominated secondary stands, and species composition of secondary and old-growth stands was similar. At higher altitudes, by contrast, the dominant species in old-growth stands (Distylium racemosum) had little sprouting capacity and was poorly represented in diverse secondary stands, which were dominated by Castanopsis or other less abundant species. Secondary stands had greater species diversity (Shannon–Wiener index) than old-growth stands, particularly at higher altitudes. This was due to greater species richness resulting from higher stem density per area, but not to greater evenness. We grouped the component species that share ecologically similar traits into four guilds (fagaceous, primary evergreen, secondary evergreen and deciduous species). Secondary stands were characterized by greater numbers of deciduous and secondary evergreen species. We concluded that different sprouting capacities of dominant species and different regeneration traits among guilds are responsible for the change in species composition and diversity during succession.     

Colonisation of native and exotic conifers by indigenous bark beetles (Coleoptera: Scolytinae) in France

Planting exotic conifers offers indigenous forest insects an opportunity to extend their host range and eventually to become significant pests. Knowing the ecological and evolutionary modalities driving the colonisation of exotic tree species by indigenous insects is thus of primary importance. We compared the bark beetle communities (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae) associated with both native and introduced conifers in France. The aim of our study was to estimate the influence of both host- and insect-related factors on the beetles’ likelihood to shift onto new hosts. We considered the influence of host origin (i.e. native vs. exotic), host tree species identity, tree bark thickness and tree taxonomic proximity, as well as insects’ host specificity. A field inventory using trap trees was carried out in two regions in France (Limousin and Jura) during two consecutive years (2006 and 2007) on three European native conifer species [Norway spruce (Picea abies); Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and European Silver-fir (Abies alba)] and five North American [Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis); Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus); Grand fir (Abies grandis); Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and Western red cedar (Thuja plicata)]. A total of 18 indigenous and 2 exotic bark beetle species were collected. All exotic conifer species were colonised by indigenous bark beetle species and no significant difference was observed of the cumulated species richness of the latter between native and exotic tree species (13 vs. 14, P < 0.05). The ability of indigenous bark beetles to shift onto exotic conifers appeared to strongly depend on host species (significantly structuring bark beetle assemblages), the presence of phylogenetically related native conifer species and that of similar resources, in combination with insect host specificity. Host tree species status (native or exotic) also seemed to be involved, but its effect did not seem as essential as that of the previous factors. These findings are discussed in terms of adaptation, plasticity and practical aspects of forest management.     

7种(品种)冬青属植物对苯气体胁迫的反应

用移液枪在密封仓中分别注入10μL、20μL、40μL和80μL的苯溶液对7种(品种)冬青属植物进行胁迫处理.结果表明:7种(品种)冬青树种净化苯污染的能力存在显著差异.7种(品种)冬青净化苯污染能力依次是:钝齿冬青、'金宝石'冬青、'蓝少女'冬青、全缘冬青、大别山冬青、刺叶冬青、冬青.生理指标测定表明,7种(品种)冬青树种耐苯胁迫的能力也存在显著差异,其中大别山冬青和刺叶冬青耐苯胁迫能力较强;'蓝少女'冬青、钝齿冬青和全缘冬青耐苯胁迫能力一般;冬青和'金宝石'冬青耐苯胁迫能力相对较差.