Biodiversity conservation in a fast-growing metropolitan area in China: a case study of plant diversity in Beijing

As the capital of China, Beijing has experienced extensive urbanization in the past two decades. To explore the effect of urbanization on plant diversity, we investigated the vascular plant diversity of the whole Beijing Municipality in three different functional (urban, suburban and exurban) regions. For its geo-diversity, Beijing has a rather abundant vascular plant diversity (2,276 species), including 207 species of conservation concern such as endemic, threatened and protected species. The exurban region had not only the highest species diversity (1,998 species), but also the most species of conservation concern (194 species). Urban region possessed the maximum alien species in terms of both absolute number and proportional representation, while the suburban region had the least species diversity (1,026 species). Some problems, such as wetland shrink and biological invasions, were common in the whole Beijing Municipality. However, primary threats to biodiversity differed in the three functional regions. The urban and suburban regions mainly suffered from habitat loss and fragmentation due to urban sprawl, while the exurban region faced serious ecosystem degradation from increasing disturbance from both local and urban people. Based on our investigation, we put forward conservation strategies for the three regions: improving the structure and ecological function of green spaces in urban region, preserving as much remnant natural habitats in the suburban region, and restricting the rural tourism and establishing a biosphere reserve in the exurban region. In addition, improving public education and orientating that more to social aspects of conservation practice is strongly recommended.     

基于功能分类的城市湿地公园景观格局--以西溪湿地公园为例

以西溪国家湿地公园为研究案例,从景观功能分类入手,揭示城市湿地公园景观格局与功能特征。结果表明:(1)西溪湿地公园是以生态保护为主,兼顾合理利用为基本功能特征,其生态保护功能区面积占整个公园的53.7%,旅游休闲区面积占46.3%;(2)西溪湿地公园生态保护功能斑块在整个公园中所占面积为42.08%,且面积大、形状复杂、多样性较低;旅游休闲斑块面积占25.41%,并且表现为斑块面积小、形状规则、多样性高等特点;(3)西溪湿地公园生态保护廊道面积是旅游休闲廊道面积的一半左右,其网络结构比旅游休闲廊道复杂,有利于生态保护功能的发挥;(4)生态保护廊道缓冲区内主要由生态保护斑块组成,旅游休闲廊道的缓冲区内生态功能斑块和旅游休闲斑块所占面积相差不大。基于功能分类的景观格局研究方法有利于识别景观功能的空间特征,能够有效揭示景观生态保护与利用的空间关系。     

城市公园和郊区公园生物多样性评估的指标

随着城市化进程的加快,城市的生物多样性不可避免地受到城市化的各种影响,城市及其郊区的生物多样性保护越来越受到人们的重视。城市公园与郊区公园中往往具有高度多样化的生境,并保存着某些自然植被片段和动物物种,那里的生物多样性较高。可见,在城市和郊区的生物多样性保护中,公园生物多样性的保护是一个非常关键的环节,而对其生物多样性的评估又是有效保护的基础。目前,我国生物多样性评估方面的研究工作多集中于物种水平,而对生境的研究较少,但实践证明,保护生境比保护物种更为重要。本文介绍了比利时学者Hermy & Cornelis在比利时西佛兰德省的Loppem市立公园的保护实践中构建的一种对城市公园和郊区公园中的生物多样性进行评估的方法。该方法从两个方面展开：生境多样性和物种多样性。在生境水平上,首先对各种生境单元进行分类,这些单元被分为面状、线状和点状要素。针对每种要素,分别计算了Shannon-Wiener多样性指数和饱和度指数。饱和度指数是实际的多样性指数与最大可能的多样性指数之比。在物种水平上,使用了物种数、Shannon-Wiener多样性指数和饱和度指数来评估公园中的高等植物、蝴蝶、两栖动物和饲养的鸟类等物种。这样,就获得了20个生物多样性指标,根据这些指数就可以对Loppem市立公园内的生物多样性进行评估。结合我国生物多样性评估工作的实际要求,文章最后对上述方法进行了讨论,指出该方法对我国公园的生物多样性评估工作具有借鉴意义,但在运用时各地需要结合本地的实际情况。     

Non-native plant invasions of United States National Parks

The United States National Park Service was created to protect and make accessible to the public the nation’s most precious natural resources and cultural features for present and future generations. However, this heritage is threatened by the invasion of non-native plants, animals, and pathogens. To evaluate the scope of invasions, the USNPS has inventoried non-native plant species in the 216 parks that have significant natural resources, documenting the identity of non-native species. We investigated relationships among non-native plant species richness, the number of threatened and endangered plant species, native species richness, latitude, elevation, park area and park corridors and vectors. Parks with many threatened and endangered plants and high native plant species richness also had high non-native plant species richness. Non-native plant species richness was correlated with number of visitors and kilometers of backcountry trails and rivers. In addition, this work reveals patterns that can be further explored empirically to understand the underlying mechanisms.     

Urban riparian systems function as corridors for both native and invasive plant species

Riparian areas are often the only green areas left in urban and suburban landscapes, providing opportunities for conservation and connectivity of both aquatic and terrestrial organisms. While city planners and land managers often tout the importance of riparian networks for these uses, it is not well established if urban riparian plant communities are actually functioning as connected assemblages. Furthermore, urban riparian zones are well known to be highly invaded by non-native plant species and may be functioning to increase the spread of non-native species across the landscape. Here we examine connectivity of plant assemblages in riparian networks within an extensively urbanized landscape. We sampled riparian plant communities at 13 sites along three second-order streams of the Rahway River watershed, New Jersey. We also characterized propagule dispersal at each site by sampling litter packs on the river banks five times between March–October 2011 and identifying germinants from litter packs after cold stratification. Species turnover of both riparian and litter vegetation was more strongly associated with flow distance, particularly for native species, indicating that riverine systems are important for promoting connectivity of native plant assemblages in urban landscapes. However, non-native germinants significantly dominated propagule dispersal along the stream reaches, particularly early in the growing season, suggesting spread utilizing the river system and preemption may be an important mechanism for invasion success in this system. Our data show that management of invasive species should be planned and implemented at the watershed scale to reduce spread via the river system.     

Exploring biodiversity in a metropolitan area in the Mediterranean region: The urban and suburban flora of Rome (Italy)

This work provides an overview of plant diversity in the municipality of Rome (Italy) through an assessment of the flora in urban and suburban sectors of the city. It is aimed at providing the knowledge required to support proactive action for plant conservation. On the basis of a literature-derived catalogue and of an extensive survey campaign, the flora was investigated in terms of conservation interest; habitat types and locations that require protection measures were identified according to the occurrence of valuable native plants. Valuable species exclusive of the urban sector are threatened by the compaction trend affecting the urban fabric. Such species occur mainly in ruderal environments and fallows of archaeological sites and urban parks, near river courses and in remnants of natural forests. Valuable species exclusive of the suburban sector are threatened by urban sprawl. They occur prevalently in wet environments of the subcoastal strip and in coastal sands, Mediterranean maquis, tuffaceous gorges, sulphur springs and archaeological sites. The results highlight the need to preserve the complexity of the land mosaic, especially within the urban matrix, and to strengthen the existing environmental protection tools in the suburban area against foreseeable land cover changes.     

Structural diversity and representativeness of forest vegetation in a protected area of Kumaun Himalaya, India: implications for conservation

Forest vegetation of a Protected Area (Askot Wildlife Sanctuary) in Kumaun (west Himalaya) was analysed for structure, composition and representativeness. A high percentage of non-natives was noticed in herbaceous flora of all representative forest types. Floristic representativeness in all growth forms (tree, shrub and herbs) increased significantly (tree, p<0.05; shrub and herbs, p<0.01) with altitude. The population structures of trees suggest, (i) expansion of riverine and Pinus roxburghii forests; (ii) compositional changes in Quercus leucotrichophora and Quercus lanuginosa forests, largely owing to preferred extraction demand of inhabitants; and (iii) infrequent regeneration and declining population of Quercus semecarpifolia and Abies pindrow forests. The possible pathways of non-native introduction in the study area were examined. Considering the existing status of forest vegetation and future trends, proliferation of non-native species in most forest types was discussed. It is suggested that the compositional changes vis-a`-vis proliferation of non-native species need priority attention while initiating conservation activities in the reserve.     

基于协同发展的北方湿地公园生态修复技术研究——以琉璃河湿地公园为例

以北京房山区琉璃河湿地公园为例, 针对该区水质污染严重、水生态退化及景观单一等问题, 统筹考虑区域生态环境特征及历史文化底蕴, 以水质改善、水生态健康稳定、水景观协调为目标, 基于水环境水生态、水景观“三位一体+”的生态综合治理理念, 采用水系廊道连通、人工湿地及构建水生态系统等一系列适合区域环境特点的关键技术, 逐步实现河流湿地水系连通、河湖水质提升、恢复水生态、打造水景观, 建设成集水文调蓄、生物多样性保护、水质净化及休闲娱乐为一体的城市湿地公园, 协同湿地保护与城市发展战略需求。湿地公园生态修复方案可为北方湿地公园的生态修复提供相应的借鉴。     

Characteristics and habitats of non-native plant species in the city of Chonju,southern Korea

Investigations on non-native organisms have become an important task of modern ecology throughout the world. The major objective of this study was to identify the characteristics and habitats of non-native plant species in Korean cities in order to derive conclusions on the success of biological invaders. The city of Chonju in southwest Korea was selected as a representative investigation area. All wild-growing vascular plants were recorded in the city on a total of 106 sample plots located in representative land-use types and within various distances of the city center. Frequency, origin, life forms, and plant families of non-native species were analyzed. Additionally, the percentage of non-native species along a gradient from the city center to the outskirts was investigated. We found that most common non-native species of the flora of Chonju are: (i) native to the Northern hemisphere; (ii) belong to the annuals; (iii) belong to the plant families of the Compositae or Leguminosae; and (iv) they perform best on sites that are continuously disturbed by human impact. In conclusion, non-native species play a significant role in enhancing biological diversity in urban areas.     

Settlements as a source for the spread of non-native plants into Central European suburban forests

Urbanization is considered as a major driver for biotic homogenization. Urbanization also promotes the dispersal of non-native species. This study examined the roles of suburban settlements and of the surrounding landscape composition for the spread of non-native plant species into adjacent mixed deciduous forests in Southern and Northwestern Switzerland. The number and abundance of native and non-native vascular plant species in both the ground vegetation and shrub layer were recorded in 15 forest sites situated adjacent to settlements and 15 control sites far from settlements. Various site and landscape characteristics were assessed in the surroundings (100 m radius) of the study sites. In both regions we found a higher number and larger abundance of non-native plant species in forest sites adjacent to settlements than in control forest sites. Furthermore, non-native plants were more frequently recorded close to roads and in sites surrounded by a large percentage cover of garden. All these effects were more pronounced in Southern Switzerland, a region with milder winter climate, than in Northwestern Switzerland. Our study showed that settlements are a source for the spread of non-native plant species into Central European suburban forests, and that the composition of the surrounding landscape matrix (e.g. traffic infrastructure, percentage cover of gardens) also affects the establishment of non-native plants.     

城市湿地公园使用者评价的影响因素及其行为偏好——以宜昌运河公园为例

城市湿地公园是城市水环境保护和市民活动的共同载体。如何达到保护城市水环境和满足使用者社会需求的平衡是本研究的关键问题。以景观绩效评价为基础,对宜昌运河公园的社会绩效进行了详细量化,并在调查结果上分析研究了影响城市湿地公园使用者评价的原因,以及在城市湿地公园内使用者的行为偏好和季节变化下使用者满意度和行为模式的变化情况,并提出了设计建议。结果表明,城市湿地公园的水环境治理目标与城市居民的公园服务需求是统一的。但是在公园生态和社会效益之间还是存在着冲突关系,如湿地面积和活动空间面积的权衡,消减河流污染物和维持公园水景质量的权衡以及湿地生境冬季景观效果不佳降低使用者满意度的情况。     

Conservation priorities for elementary school students: Neotropical and European perspectives

Nature conservation can only be an efficient process if involving different society actors, especially those that have long-term and multiplying effects on how society relates with nature, such as children/students. To delineate nature conservation strategies, we need to understand the drivers that shape peoples’ behaviors and attitudes towards nature; for students this is mostly determined by their past experience and influence of their socio-economic and familiar context. To test these assumptions, we develop a study focused on elementary school students from Portugal and Brazil. In each country we selected two student’s groups representing two distinct socio-environmental contexts: rural and urban populations. Based on a written questionnaire, we aimed at understanding the effect of parental and socio-environmental contexts, gender, prior contact with nature and online news-associated environmental information, on how students prioritize taxa to be conserved. Furthermore, we analyzed how health, economic and touristic values constrain pro-conservation attitudes. Students from urban areas and from Portugal showed a lower probability of having a pro-conservation attitude. Brazilian and rural students may have a more frequent contact with nature and live in regions of higher biodiversity, two factors that may act synergistically to produce those patterns. Positive attitudes towards conservation seem to be over-ruled by health (i.e. self-preservation) and economical (i.e. financial subsistence) interests and values. Moreover, students prioritize for conservation species that are commonly mentioned in the online news, particularly mammals, and plants. Acknowledging that students rank higher health and economical values over conservation ones, as well as the perceptible importance of contacting with nature and the apparent relevance of online news as information vehicles, may increase the chances of improving the efficacy of nature conservation strategies. Furthermore, this information can lead to an improvement of environmental awareness and literacy.     

Non‐linearities in bird responses across urbanization gradients: A meta‐analysis

Urbanization is one of the most extreme forms of environmental alteration, posing a major threat to biodiversity. We studied the effects of urbanization on avian communities via a systematic review using hierarchical and categorical meta‐analyses. Altogether, we found 42 observations from 37 case studies for species richness and 23 observations from 20 case studies for abundance. Urbanization had an overall strong negative effect on bird species richness, whereas abundance increased marginally with urbanization. There was no evidence that city size played a role in influencing the relationship between urbanization and either species richness or abundance. Studies that examined long gradients (i.e. from urban to rural) were more likely to detect negative urbanization effects on species richness than studies that considered short gradients (i.e. urban vs. suburban or urban vs. rural areas). In contrast, we found little evidence that the effect of urbanization on abundance was influenced by gradient length. Effects of urbanization on species richness were more negative for studies including public green spaces (parks and other amenity areas) in the sampled landscapes. In contrast, studies performed solely in the urban matrix (i.e. no green spaces) revealed a strong positive effect on bird abundance. When performing subset analyses on urban–suburban, suburban–rural and suburban–natural comparisons, species richness decreased from natural to urban areas, but with a stronger decrease at the urban–suburban interface, whereas bird abundance showed a clear intermediate peak along the urban–rural gradient although abundance in natural areas was comparable to that in suburban areas. This suggests that species loss happens especially at the urban–suburban interface, and that the highest abundances occur in suburban areas compared to urban or rural areas. Thus, our study shows the importance of suburban areas, where the majority of birds occur with fairly high species richness.     

基于物种落差分析的公园鸟类多样性提升设计——以湖南常德螺湾湿地公园为例

随着城市化发展,许多公园鸟类栖息环境遭受破坏,导致当前的鸟类多样性与历史上的和周边的都存在较大差异,为此,我们从项目区域的当前-周边-历史三者间在鸟类物种及其栖息地上的落差分析入手,以此确定目标物种及其栖息地,并加以归类,从而有针对性地进行相关设计。2016年5月至2017年3月在湖南常德柳叶湖螺湾湿地公园开展的鸟类多样性提升设计中,通过实地调查并结合文献查阅,记录到项目区域16种,周边79种,历史上146种鸟类,运用三者间的物种落差分析法确定主要的21种可恢复目标物种和4种栖息地类型,结合项目区域及周边空间特点,将项目区域划分为4个区域,在各区域内设计并营建相应的栖息地,再配套采用多种鸟类招引措施。至2017年3月,项目区鸟类已可实地观察到39种,并于2017年12月吸引到超过2000只的野鸭群来此越冬。以上实际效果表明,设计有效地提升了湿地公园鸟类多样性且增加了景观要素,可充分发挥生物保护功能。     

Plant species composition in relation to green cover configuration and function of urban parks in Beijing, China

Parks, as one specific type of urban open space, play important roles in the conservation of urban biodiversity and provision of recreational services for local residents. As there is a lack of specific insight into park plant species composition in relation to park features, 24 sample parks within the inner city of Beijing, the capital of China, were studied by stratified random plot sampling of their tree, shrub, and herbaceous communities, respectively, in order to investigate how human activities have influenced park green cover configuration and floristic characteristics. The quantitative correlation of species richness and the park green cover indices (patch size, shape, etc.) were studied. The importance value index for plant species (trees, shrubs, and herbaceous species) of each park was calculated. The two-way indicator species analysis approach (TWINSPAN) was applied to classify the 24 parks into different groups based on their species assemblages. Two-hundred and eighty-eight species were recorded within the 24 study parks, belonging to 184 genera and 72 families dominated by Gramineae, Compositae, and Leguminosae. Among all the recorded species, 41% are exotic. The species occurrence, abundance and diversity vary significantly among different parks. Besides the positive correlation (R=0.505, P<0.05) between herbaceous species abundance and the park green cover size, no other significant relations were found between the species abundance and other indices of park green cover configuration. Remarkably, the TWINSPAN classification resulted in a good discrimination between park functional types and the variation in their species assemblage. For the parks of similar age (development history) or landscape design, their species assemblages show more similarity. The methodology adopted and results can be employed to improve baseline information on urban plant ecology and support the setting of priorities for future park management and vegetation protection.     

Invasive Temperate Species are a Threat to Tropical Island Biodiversity

To protect the remaining biodiversity on tropical islands it is important to predict the elevational ranges of non-native species. We evaluated two hypotheses by examining land snail faunas on the eastern (windward) side of the island of Hawaii: (1) the latitude of a species' native region can be used to predict its potential elevational range and (2) non-native temperate species, which experience greater climatic fluctuations in their native range, are more likely to become established at higher elevations and to extend over larger elevational ranges than non-native tropical species. All non-native tropical species were distributed patchily among sites ≤500 m and occupied small elevational ranges, whereas species introduced from temperate regions occupied wide elevational ranges and formed a distinct fauna spanning elevations 500–2000 m. Most native land snail species and ecosystems occur >500 m in areas dominated by temperate non-native snail and slug species. Therefore, knowing the native latitudinal region of a non-native species is important for conservation of tropical island ecosystems because it can be translated into potential elevational range if those species are introduced. Because temperate species will survive in tropical locales particularly at high elevation, on many tropical islands the last refuges of the native species, preventing introduction of temperate species should be a conservation priority.     

基于景感生态学理论的湿地公园规划设计实践——以长垣市王家潭湿地公园为例

结合生态学基本原理，综合分析各类要素与感知，并以可持续发展为目标研究土地利用规划、建设与管理的"景感生态学"是湿地公园规划设计的重要指导理论，综合景感生态学与湿地规划设计两方面的研究构建了基于景感生态学理论的湿地公园规划设计路径框架。以河南省长垣市王家潭湿地公园为例，探索了基于景感生态学理论开展湿地公园规划设计的过程中，结合生态学原理与人类生理感知、心理感受进行协调环境、社会、经济三大效益的规划设计。以"源-汇"理论划定生态功能主分区，采用集聚间有离析模式结合现状设施、景观效果、地脉文脉传承进行空间边界调整，形成整体空间格局；以生态岸线发育系数、地形旷奥度结合观赏体验、空间感知创造动植物优良生境，构建湿地公园生境基底；以生态位宽度为重要指标并结合民风民俗、季相策略配置湿地公园中的优势种、伴生种采用近自然造林方式完成植物规划设计；以适度干扰原理，采用轻干扰和产景融合策略规划人类社会、经济活动的介入；同时以"智慧公园"体系初步构建物联网系统采集各类信息数据，构成信息循环反馈、场地时序更新的渐善式模型，推动场地的持续完善。从理论路径的构建、空间格局的形成、生境基底的打造、植物种群的规划、人类活动的介入、"智慧公园"的构建等角度为景感生态学理论在湿地公园中的运用提供指引。     

北京城市公园湿地的休憩吸引力评价

以北京地区20个城市公园湿地为研究对象,从公园湿地的景观质量、区位条件、可达性3方面构建了城市公园湿地休憩吸引力评价指标体系,并基于层次分析法赋权的综合指数评价方法,对公园湿地的休憩吸引力进行评价,最后通过实地问卷调查数据对休憩吸引力评价结果进行验证,结果表明:具有高休憩吸引力的公园湿地依次为颐和园、奥林匹克公园、青龙湖公园、北海公园、圆明园、玉渊潭公园、十渡、金海湖风景区、陶然亭公园、野鸭湖湿地,稻香湖湿地和珍珠湖风景区的休憩吸引力最低,其余8个公园湿地休憩吸引力一般.休憩吸引力评价结果与实际调查数据相符,说明所建立的评价指标体系与评价方法是可行的.20个公园湿地按照其休憩吸引力可聚为4类,据此可制定不同的管理对策.通过城市公园湿地休憩吸引力评价,分析城市公园湿地景观在休闲游憩方面所发挥的作用,可以为城市湿地公园的优化与配置、提高人居环境质量、改善城市景观布局提供依据.     

广州南沙区4种典型城市林业土壤质量调查研究

为掌握广州南沙区城市林业土壤养分及肥力整体状况,提高广州南沙区城市林业土壤管养水平,以广州南沙区4种典型城市林业土壤(森林公园、湿地公园、生态景观林带、河涌防护林)为研究对象,测定土壤pH值、电导率、容重、渗透率、非毛管孔隙度、有机质、水解氮、有效磷、速效钾等9项理化指标,通过土壤理化性质分析、土壤综合肥力分析,对广州...     

Broad-scale determinants of non-native fish species richness are context-dependent

Identifying the factors determining the non-native species richness (NNSR) in a given area is essential for preventing species invasions. The relative importance of human-related and natural factors considered for explaining NNSR might depend upon both the spatial scale (i.e. the extent of the gradients sampled) and the historical context of the area surveyed. Here, using a worldwide database of freshwater fish occurrences, we tested whether the relative influence of human and ecological determinants of non-native fish species establishment at the scale of the biogeographic realm was consistent (i) with that observed worldwide, and (ii) among the different biogeographical realms. The prominent role of human activity in shaping the global (i.e. worldwide) pattern of NNSR cannot be directly extrapolated to the biogeographic realms. Furthermore, the relationships between human and ecological determinants and NNSR vary strikingly across biogeographic realms, revealing a strong context dependency of the determinants of NNSR. In particular, the human-related factors play a predominant role in explaining the establishment of non-native species in economically developed realms, while in the other realms environmental characteristics of the river basins best explained geographical patterns of NNSR. In the face of future biological invasions, considering both the spatial scale and the historical context of the surveyed area is crucial to adopt effective conservation strategies.