Spatial pattern analysis of pre- and post-hurricane forest canopy structure in North Carolina,USA

Existing spatial patterns of a forest are in part a product of its disturbance history. Using laser altimetry and field measures of canopy top height to represent pre- and post-hurricane canopy topography, respectively, we measured changes in spatial patterns of stand structure of a United States southern mixed coniferous-deciduous for est. Autocorrelative and fractal properties were measured in this opportunistic study to quantify changes in canopy architecture along twelve, 190-250 m transects that were subjected to moderate to high levels of wind disturbance. Prior to the hurricane, canopy heights were autocorrelated at scales <40 m with an average fractal dimension of 1.71. After the disturbance, autocorrelation disappeared; the average fractal dimension rose to 1.94. This shift towards spatial randomness illustrates part of the cyclical nature of ecosystem development. It shows how a catastrophic collapse of biomass accumulation corresponds to a decrease in ecosystem organization across a landscape. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Response of snails and slugs to fragmentation of lowland forests in NW Germany

Habitat fragmentation is a major cause for species loss, but its effect on invertebrates with low active dispersal power, like terrestrial gastropods, has rarely been studied. Such species can not cross a hostile habitat matrix, for which the predictions of island theory, such as positive relations between species richness and patch size, should apply. In order to test this prediction, we studied gastropod species diversity by assessing gastropod assemblage characteristics from 35 sites in 19 fragments of deciduous old-growth forests in the Lower Rhine Embayment, Germany. Assemblages differed between larger (≥700 ha) and smaller forests (<400 ha), those of large forests held a higher percentage of forest species. Although α-diversity was similar between the two forest size classes, small forests often comprised matrix species, resulting in a higher β-diversity. Edge effects on the species richness of matrix species were noticeable up to 250 m into the forest. Hierarchical partitioning revealed that distance to disturbances (external edge, internal edges like roads) explained most assemblage variables, whereas forest size and woodland cover within a 1 km radius from the sites explained only a few assemblage variables. Densities of two forest-associated species, Discus rotundatus and Arion fuscus, decreased with forest size. Yet, forest size was positively correlated with richness of typical forest species and densities of Limax cinereoniger. The latter species seems to need forests of >1,000 ha, i.e., well above the size of most fragments. In conclusion, the prediction is valid only for forest species. The response to fragmentation is species specific and seems to depend on habitat specialization and macroclimatic conditions. Jean-Pierre Maelfait: Deceased.     

在放牧干扰下冷蒿种群脯氨酸含量的变化

对放牧干扰下土壤含水量、冷蒿体内含水量、脯氨酸含量变化进行的研究结果表明随着放牧强度的增加土壤含水量降低,冷蒿叶片、根中含水量呈下降趋势。在生长初期,随着放牧强度的增加冷蒿叶片内脯氨酸含量迅速积累;生长盛期脯氨酸含量虽随牧压有所增加,但增加的幅度较小;生长末期脯氨酸含量较高,而且随着牧压的增加略有下降。地下部分,脯氨酸含量在牧压梯度间变化较小。相关分析表明,在生长初期和盛期,冷蒿叶片、根的含水量与土壤含水量呈正相关,生长末期不相关。冷蒿脯氨酸含量与植物的含水量呈负相关,在生长初期和末期呈显著负相关,而生长盛期相关不显著;与此不同,在生长初期冷蒿体内脯氨酸含量与土壤含水量呈负相关,在生长末期二者负相关性不显著,这说明随着放牧干扰强度的增加土壤含水量降低,导致冷蒿体内水分胁迫增加,致使脯氨酸开始逐渐积累。而生长末期的降温和群落中植物种间竞争减少,使脯氨酸的积累速度也相应放慢。在放牧干扰下,脯氨酸大量积累,对冷蒿的生存和生长起到了重要的作用,是冷蒿种群耐啃食、耐践踏、逐渐取代禾本科植物而成为退化草原的优势植物的生理基础之一。     

昭通南方草山退化及人工改造对土壤种子库的影响

土壤种子库在退化生态系统的恢复中发挥着重要作用。本研究选取了昭通南方草山的4类草地,采集土样后通过萌发实验揭示其土壤种子库特征。结果表明：4类样地的土壤样品中共萌发出45种植物,隶属于20科39属,种子库储量为3 087～18 553粒·m^-2,种子库密度随土层加深均在逐渐降低。与轻度放牧草地相比,过度放牧草地的土壤种子库密度下降,但物种数量和多样性增加;严重退化的稀草裸斑土地种子库密度则显著降低(P<0.05),物种数量和多样性减少;而人工改造后的草地种子库密度显著增高(P<0.05)、物种数量和多样性也达到最高。昭通南方草山种子库与地上植被的总相似性系数为0.22～0.45,过度放牧草地、稀草裸斑土地和人工改造草地种子库与地上植被的相似系数均高于轻度放牧草地。总之,昭通南方草山退化和人工改造对土壤种子库产生巨大影响,上述结果可为后期退化草地治理提供理论依据。     

Effects of burning on soil macrofauna in a savanna-woodland under different experimental fuel load treatments

In West African savanna-woodland, the use of prescribed burning as a management tool has ecological implications for the soil biota. Yet, the effects of fire on soil inhabiting organisms are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to examine the responses of soil macro-invertebrates to early fires in a Sudanian savanna-woodland on a set of experimental plots subject to different fuel load treatments. The abundance of major macro-invertebrate taxa and functional groups, and taxon richness were quantified in soil cores collected from three different soil layers before and immediately after burning. The results indicated that, overall, there was substantial spatial and temporal variation in the composition of macro-invertebrate assemblages. The immediate effects of fire were to reduce total invertebrate numbers and numbers of many invertebrate groups dramatically. This is probably due to the fact that many of the surface-dwelling macrofauna perished as a result of less favorable microclimate due to fire, diminished resources, or migrate to safer environments. Fuel load treatment did not affect the community taxonomic richness or abundance of the soil-dwelling fauna. Furthermore, annual changes in community composition were more pronounced at the burnt site than in the control. This could be related to the inter-annual difference in precipitation pattern recorded during the two-year study period at our site. Since soil macrofauna population declines in fire-disturbed areas, increasing fire prevalence may jeopardize the long-term conservation of fire sensitive macrofauna groups. Special fire management attention is therefore recommended with due consideration to the type of burning and fuel properties to avoid the detrimental effects of intense fire affecting the resilience of savanna soil macrofauna species.     

Application of body size spectra to nematode trait-index analyses

Current trait-based indices of soil fauna for assessing soil quality rely on extensive knowledge of life history traits for hyper-diverse groups. We look at the effects of clear-cut forest harvesting and subsequent wood ash application on the free-living nematode community using trait-based indices and body size spectra. We test the hypothesis that body size is a unifying trait and that the body size spectra can be used to demonstrate changes in soil quality while overcoming taxonomic impediments. Undisturbed boreal forest floor soils were compared with clear-cut sites amended with zero, one-half calcium equivalent wood ash, equivalent calcium reintroduction, and twice calcium reintroduction. Total abundance, trait-based metrics for the Maturity Index, and two metrics of body size spectra were calculated. Nematode abundance was not a good indicator of soil disturbance, while traditional trait-based approaches (the summed Maturity Index) demonstrated predicted changes in community structure. Analysis of two types of body size spectra elucidated how the community had changed under disturbance, and revealed that smaller bodied organisms were lost under ash amended treatments compared to both clear-cut and undisturbed forest. Using the body size spectra for nematodes is a simple addition to current trait-based approaches that can supplement soil assessments for disturbance and quality without requiring taxonomic expertise.     

Disturbance to a foraging seabird by sea-based tourism: Implications for reserve management in marine protected areas

The provision of recreational opportunities is one of the important human goals of marine protected areas. However, as levels of recreational use increase, human disturbance is likely to cause significant detrimental effects upon wildlife. Here we evaluate the best managing options to mitigate the impact of sea-based tourism on the foraging activity of an endangered population of European shags, Phalacrocorax aristotelis, in a coastal marine protected area (Cíes islands, north-western Iberia). Boat disturbance elicited a characteristic avoidance behavior that resulted in a substantial reduction in foraging activity as levels of boat use increased. Moreover, boats excluded shags from the best feeding areas, resulting in higher densities of foragers in areas of little boat traffic. We used a behavioral model to explore the effects of managing strategies aimed at reducing the impact of boats on the foraging activity of shags. Our model suggested that in low boat disturbance scenarios limiting the number of boats using the reserve would be a better management option than habitat protection (i.e. the establishment of set-aside areas free of boat traffic). On the contrary, when boat disturbance levels are high the protection of habitat is recommendable, even if spatial variation in habitat quality is unknown or poorly assessed. Our study stresses the point that management strategies to minimize disturbance to foraging seabirds may depend on the spatial overlap between sea-based recreational activities and foraging seabirds and the spatial variation in marine habitat quality for seabirds.     

The future of tropical species in secondary forests: A quantitative review

Deforestation and degradation of tropical old-growth forests has the potential to cause catastrophic species extinctions. In this review, we assess whether regenerating secondary forests (SF) can support species typically found in old-growth forest (OG) and so prevent extinctions. We review 65 studies that compare faunal diversity in SF and corresponding OG, and compare the similarity of species composition both within and between these two forest types using the Sorensen, Morisita-Horn and Sorensen-Chao indices. Comparisons between traditional similarity indices and Sorensen-Chao, which minimizes sampling biases, indicated that limited sampling effort consistently reduced apparent similarity between SF and OG and that similarity between SF and OG is actually higher than previously appreciated. Similarity, which ranges from 0 to 1, varied from 0.49 to 0.92 between replicate OG sites and was correlated with similarity between SF and OG. This correlation might be an artefact of variation among studies in sampling effort, especially for vertebrates where small samples reduce apparent similarity across all comparisons, as well as a real effect of variation among studies in landscape heterogeneity and the presence of species with patchy distributions. Therefore, similarity between SF and OG cannot be interpreted without an understanding of background variation in OG. Similarity between different SF sites provided no evidence that disturbance specialists dominate SF. Similarity to OG increased rapidly with SF age; when SF was contiguous with OG; when SF was growing in small clearings; and after low intensity land uses including clearing only, shifting agriculture and tree plantations. This describes the most frequently observed tropical SF; isolated from roads and on hilly terrain unsuitable for mechanized agriculture. Thus, our analyses indicate that tropical SF can play an important role in biodiversity conservation particularly when OG forests are nearby. An important caveat remains, however. Abundance, geographic range and levels of habitat specialization are often related. Widespread, abundant, habitat generalists might dominate similarity analyses even when relatively rare OG specialists are present. Additional species-level analyses of habitat specialization will be needed before the conservation value of tropical SF is fully understood.     

林隙(GAP)干扰研究进展

本文系统地介绍了森林循环的理论、自然干扰的概念、林隙的一般特征和林隙干扰的时空格局。干扰是森林循环的驱动力,干扰形成的林隙是森林循环的起点。林隙的大小、形成年龄、形成方式以及形成木的特征是研究林隙特征的重要参数,虽然不同森林群落中,林隙干扰的频率和程度及其时空变化规律不同,但大多数森林的年平均干扰率是在１％左右。不同的森林类型中,大、小型干扰的比例不同。小型林隙干扰与大型灾难性干扰在不同时空条件下的组合,就形成了不同森林景观的时空变化格局。     

风对林木的影响

风除对森林造成了危害外,还对树木的生长、形态以及森林生态等产生影响。随着全球气候变化的发展,更多和更强的暴风出现的危险性日益增加。为了更好地理解风害对树木、林分和森林生态系统的影响,为森林经营管理提供依据,本文对近10年来国际上有关风对林木影响内容进行归纳总结。结果表明,风对林木影响的研究主要在以下几个方面取得了重要的进展：1)风与林木的空气动力学关系;2)树木在风力荷载下其适应性的生长机理;3)树木对风的生理响应：4)森林风害的危险评估。所有这些研究大都在人工用材林中进行的。此外,本文还介绍了该研究领域需要开展的其它研究,如1)天然林或天然次生林的风害研究;2)风害形成的林窗和森林动态研究;3)风害对森林生态主要过程的影响研究;4)．风害与森林管理研究。图3参61。