大围山国家级自然保护区自然因素对生物多样性影响的评估

大围山国家级自然保护区是云南省最重要的保护区之一,生物多样性的管理十分重要。研究对生物多样性和影响生物多样性的因子进行评估。研究所采用的第一手自然和生物多样性的第一手数据,如海拔、土壤类型、坡度、森林覆盖率、植物物种、鸟类物种等从大围山保护区的28个样点中获得。用CurveExpert统计软件对这些数据进行数理统计分析,分析的结果显示鸟类物种的多样性与植物物种的多样性呈明显的正相关,说明生境对动物区系多样性保护的关键作用。该研究还分析了关键景观特征与生物多样性的相关性,并对如何测度生物多样性和增强保护和管理该区域的生物多样性提出了建议。本研究的结果不仅对大围山自然保护区的生物多样性保护和管理策略的制定有重要的意义,而且对中国其他自然保护区的保护和管理也有积极地作用。     

A seasonal survey of surface water habitats within the River Spey basin,Scotland: major nutrient properties

• 1. Current monitoring strategies of governmental organizations tend to be focused on relatively large flowing and standing waters, and until recently those polluted by point sources. Consequently areas of high conservation interest tend to be understudied, and defining reference conditions, as required by current legislation, is difficult to achieve.
• 2. In order to address this imbalance, water samples have been collected and analysed once in each of four seasons during 2003 from 72 locations within a 100 km² area of the oligotrophic River Spey catchment in NE Scotland. The sampling design included examples of running water (headwater streams and the main rivers) and standing water (lochs, lochans, pools, ditches, backwaters, bogs). Altitude ranged from 220 to 980 m and incorporated a climatic regime from cool temperate to sub‐alpine. Each sampling campaign targeted low‐flow conditions to evaluate steady‐state nutrient concentrations.
• 3. Concentrations of the major soluble nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus demonstrated high spatial and temporal variability, with soluble organic and molybdate unreactive forms generally being dominant. Concentrations of ammonium‐N, nitrate‐N and soluble reactive phosphorus were extremely small, with 50% of samples falling below 8, 5 and 1 µg L^?1, respectively, during spring and summer.
• 4. Sampling sites were grouped either by water‐body type or by the properties of their immediate biophysical zone. Together these two groupings explained 33–38% of the variance in water chemistry. Certain changes were detectable across most habitats and biophysical zones.
• 5. A decline in the concentration of nitrate that occurred in reaches downstream from certain headwater streams draining the mountain areas indicated the potential for its within‐stream utilization. Inorganic N dynamics differed between small streams and large rivers.
• 6. Landscape‐scale patterns were recorded in spring and summer nutrient availability with inorganic N and P thresholds (arbitrarily defined) of 10 and 1 µg L^?1, respectively.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Connectivity of lobster (Homarus americanus) populations in the coastal Gulf of Maine: part II. Coupled biophysical dynamics

We used a coupled biophysical model to investigate larval transport and connectivity patterns in the Gulf of Maine lobster ( Homarus americanus ) population. Biological 'particles' were released at over 21 000 locations every 10 days over a 4-month hatching period, and were followed from hatching through late postlarval stage. In addition to circulation and dispersion, model calculations included spatial patterns of egg production, temporal patterns of hatching, temperature-dependent development, vertical distribution and mortality. We ran the model for three larval production seasons using the same hatching patterns and individual-based modeling parameters but different flow patterns in the coastal current system. Model results gave distribution and abundance patterns of competent postlarvae that closely resembled observed, alongshore patterns of lobster settlement density. We evaluated the relative contribution of all source regions to the total number of competent postlarvae in a series of medium-size zones along the coastal shelf, many of which are used in lobster management. Connectivity depended on many factors, including patterns of egg production and transport, and the location and size of the receiving zones. Self recruitment ranged from a few percent to >90% of competent postlarvae. Although it was common for postlarvae to come from many, often distant, sources, most of the competent postlarvae in a zone originated within one to two zones in the prevailing 'up-stream' direction, forming shorter connections along the coast than the energetic currents might otherwise suggest. Inshore migrations during summer hatching may contribute to these shorter patterns of connectivity. Transport in the prevailing 'upstream' direction was also indicated.     

Influence of larval transport and temperature on recruitment dynamics of North Sea cod (Gadus morhua) across spatial scales of observation

The survival of fish eggs and larvae, and therefore recruitment success, can be critically affected by transport in ocean currents. Combining a model of early‐life stage dispersal with statistical stock–recruitment models, we investigated the role of larval transport for recruitment variability across spatial scales for the population complex of North Sea cod (Gadus morhua). By using a coupled physical–biological model, we estimated the egg and larval transport over a 44‐year period. The oceanographic component of the model, capable of capturing the interannual variability of temperature and ocean current patterns, was coupled to the biological component, an individual‐based model (IBM) that simulated the cod eggs and larvae development and mortality. This study proposes a novel method to account for larval transport and success in stock–recruitment models: weighting the spawning stock biomass by retention rate and, in the case of multiple populations, their connectivity. Our method provides an estimate of the stock biomass contributing to recruitment and the effect of larval transport on recruitment variability. Our results indicate an effect, albeit small, in some populations at the local level. Including transport anomaly as an environmental covariate in traditional stock–recruitment models in turn captures recruitment variability at larger scales. Our study aims to quantify the role of larval transport for recruitment across spatial scales, and disentangle the roles of temperature and larval transport on effective connectivity between populations, thus informing about the potential impacts of climate change on the cod population structure in the North Sea.     

Increasing forest biomass supply in northern Europe – countrywide estimates and economic perspectives

Woody biomass is the largest source of renewable energy in Europe, and the expected increase in demand for wood for energy purposes was the stimulus for writing this paper. Opportunities to increase the supply of forest biomass in the short and long term are discussed, as well as environmental side effects of intensive forest management. Focusing on northern Europe, national estimates of potential annual fellings and the corresponding potential amounts, simulated by the European Forest Information Scenario model, are then presented, as well as reported fellings. For the region as a whole, there seems to be substantial unused biophysical potential, although recent data from some countries indicate underestimated annual felling rates. We argue that an economic perspective is lacking in the debate about wood production for energy purposes in Europe and harvest potentials, and we discuss the effects of biophysical capacity limits in forest yield from a partial equilibrium perspective. Using a larger proportion of the biophysical potential in northern Europe than at present will entail trade-offs with environmental and social values, which means that strategies are needed to protect and account for the benefits and costs of all forms of ecosystem services.     

Ecosystem services in Swedish forests

We identify, describe qualitatively, quantify biophysically and, if possible, monetarily valuate the most important ecosystem services in Swedish forests. Existing Swedish and Nordic research and statistics within this area are reviewed and used to develop a first framework for the valuation of ecosystem services in Swedish forests. We base our analysis on the CICES framework and the Cascade-model. Despite the rather long occurrence and use of the concept of ecosystem services, we do not yet have enough information on the status and economic value of services in Swedish forests. The value of the forest ecosystem services is at best an indication of the different multifunctional objectives that should be met in the management of the Swedish forests. The five most central ecosystem services in Swedish forests according to annual flow are timber and pulpwood, bioenergy, game, climate regulation and recreation and training, each estimated to have a monetary value of several billion SEK. The different ecosystem services in multipurpose forests interact with each other and may lead to conflicts between use and conservation. We identified a number of trade-offs and synergies between services focusing on the five above ecosystem services.     

Relationship of phenotypic structures and allelochemical compounds of okra (Abelmoschus spp.) to resistance against Aphis gossypii Glover

The cotton aphid (Aphis gossypii) is one of the major pests of okra. Eleven okra varieties collected from farmers' fields in Cameroon and four aphid-resistant accessions from The World Vegetable Center (AVRDC, Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center) were evaluated from October 2012 to March 2013, and another seven aphid-resistant accessions from AVRDC were evaluated from March to July 2013 at AVRDC's Nkolbisson station, Yaoundé, Cameroon. Accessions selected from these trials were screened in an advanced confirmatory screening in autumn (October–December) 2013 in Shanhua, Taiwan. Results showed that none of the farmers' landraces were resistant to aphids. Two accessions (VI041210 and VI033824) with the lowest aphid populations had the highest trichome density. Analysis of various phytochemicals in selected okra accessions revealed that higher nitrogen and potassium levels made the okra accessions susceptible to aphids during the reproductive stage of the plants. Similarly, the total phenol content was lower in moderately resistant accessions during their reproductive stage. Aphid feeding induced an increase in phenols, and to a lesser extent, tannins. Accessions VI041210 and VI033824 could be incorporated into an integrated pest management strategy to enhance productivity of okra.     

Modeling the effects of temperature on the survival and growth of North Sea cod (Gadus morhua) through the first year of life

Temperature and body size are widely agreed to be the primary factors influencing vital rates (e.g., growth, mortality) in marine fishes. We created a biophysical individual‐based model which included the effects of body size and temperature on development, growth and mortality rates of eggs, larvae and juveniles of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.) in the North Sea. Temperature‐dependent mortality rates in our model were based on the consumption rate of predators of cod early‐life stages. The model predicted 35%, 53% and 12% of the total mortality to occur during the egg, larval and juvenile stages, respectively. A comparison of modeled and observed body size suggested that the growth of survivors through their first year of life is high and close to the growth rates in ad libitum feeding laboratory experiments. Furthermore, our model indicates that experiencing warmer temperatures during early life only benefits young cod (or theoretically any organism) if a high ratio exists between the temperature coefficients for the rate of growth and the rate of mortality. During the egg stage of cod, any benefit of developing more rapidly at warmer temperatures is largely counteracted by temperature‐dependent increases in predation pressure. In contrast, juvenile (age‐0) cod experiences a higher cumulative mortality at warmer temperatures in the North Sea. Thus, our study adds a new aspect to the ‘growth–survival’ hypothesis: faster growth is not always profitable for early‐life stages particularly if it is caused by warmer temperatures.     

Integrating socio‐economic and biophysical assessments using a land use allocation model

This work is devoted to bridging the gap between large‐area, economically driven macromodels such as the Canadian Regional Agriculture Model (CRAM) and small‐area biophysically based process models used in environmental assessments through the development of a Land Use Allocation Model (LUAM). LUAM is designed to enable environmental assessments of economic scenarios to be conducted by allocating crop area changes predicted for large areas by CRAM to much smaller Soil Landscapes of Canada (SLC) polygons through an optimization method based on land capability, relative crop productivity and current land use. To develop the procedures, we used linear programming to optimize crop production for large areas under current commodity prices and land productivity ratings and then allocated the results to much smaller soil‐landscape polygons based on land capability. To assess the validity of our prototype LUAM, we compared the predicted crop areas with actual crop data from the Census of Agriculture using the method of cumulative residuals (MCR). We concluded that this version of the LUAM model can predict the location of land use to some extent, but requires further refinement. The potential for further development of LUAM using the Land Suitability Rating System (LSRS) is discussed.