新疆天山森林公园土壤螨类群落多样性与环境因子的相关性

为探讨西北干旱区森林土壤螨类群落和环境因子的相互关系,于2014年对新疆天山森林公园七种不同生境进行土壤螨类群落调查与环境因子测定,并采用除趋势对应分析法(DCA)和冗余分析法(RDA)对土壤螨类群落结构和多样性特征及其与环境因子之间的关系进行相关分析。结果表明,共捕获土壤螨类成体标本24399只,隶属4目56科108属(包括9个中国新记录属),其中小甲螨属Oribatella为优势类群。方差分析表明,在7种不同生境之间土壤螨类群落多样性指标均存在显著差异(P<0.05),Shannon-Wiener多样性指数(H)依次为针叶林>苗圃林>阔叶林>灌木林>针阔混交林>草甸草原>林中草地。RDA分析结果表明,第一主轴和第二主轴分别解释了土壤螨类主要群落总变量的34.8%和27.3%,所有环境因子共解释了土壤螨类群落物种组成变异的82.1%。蒙特卡罗置换检验显示,十种环境因子与全部排序轴(F=7.355,P=0.002)均存在极显著的相关性。研究表明,海拔、土壤含水量和有机质含量对螨类群落结构和多样性的影响显著。     

Cryptogams on decaying wood in old-growth forests of southern coastal British Columbia

Abstract. We studied the floristic composition of lignicolous cryptogams (i.e. bryophytes and lichens inhabiting decaying wood) in the old-growth coniferous forests of southern coastal British Columbia. The composition of the cryptogams was related to forest communities (described by vegetation units using forest floor cryptogams and vascular plants) and regional climates (described by biogeoclimatic zones). The study is based on a total of 247 sample plots, each of 0.04 ha in size. The plots were located in three different biogeoclimatic zones and were classified into 12 alliances and four orders in a previous study. We used indicator species analysis to determine cryptogam indicator species for each vegetation unit and biogeoclimatic zone, and used similarity analysis and multi-variate analyses (discriminant analysis and detrended correspondence analysis) to detect differences in the floristic composition of the cryptogams among sample plots, vegetation units, and biogeoclimatic zones. Most of the cryptogams in this study had a narrow distribution, and only < 5% of the species were present across all the vegetation units and biogeoclimatic zones. The overall means of Jaccard coefficients between two sample plots from the same vegetation unit (alliance or order) or biogeoclimatic zone were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than those from different vegetation units or biogeoclimatic zones. The difference in the mean Jaccard coefficients within- and between-units was highest for zones. The results of detrended correspondence analysis and discriminant analysis suggest that the composition of lignicolous cryptogams changes with the change in the floristic composition of forest floor vegetation. When the first axes of detrended correspondence analysis were compared, the Pearson's correlation coefficients between the first axes of lignicolous cryptogams and forest floor vascular plants and between the first axes of lignicolous cryptogams and forest floor cryptogams were 0.78 and 0.87, respectively. The degree of correspondence in the composition of lignicolous cryptogams and forest floor vegetation increased from alliance to order to biogeoclimatic zone. This trend suggests that the floristic composition of lignicolous cryptogams is influenced at the community level mainly by edaphic conditions and at the regional level by climatic conditions.     

木论喀斯特峰丛洼地森林群落空间格局及环境解释

基于广西壮族自治区木论国家级自然保护区典型峰丛洼地景观尺度内不同微生境条件和植物群落类型50个样地 (20 m × 20 m)的系统取样调查, 用二元物种指示方法(TWINSPAN)对样地内胸径(DBH) ≥ 1 cm的木本植物进行分类, 选择10个土壤环境因子和5个空间因子, 利用除趋势典范对应分析(DCCA)研究了森林群落分布的土壤环境与空间格局, 并给予定量化的合理解释。结果如下: 1) TWINSPAN将森林群落划分为11组, 在三级水平上分为4类生态群落类型。2) DCCA第一排序轴集中了排序的大部分信息, 突出反映了各森林群落所在的坡向和土壤主要养分梯度, 沿第一轴从左到右, 坡向由阴转阳, 岩石裸露率越来越高, 土壤主要养分逐渐降低, 森林群落分别出现了由原生性和耐阴性强逐步向阳性先锋树种为主的次生林和人工林变化的格局。3)因子分离分析结果表明, 土壤环境因子对森林群落分布格局的解释能力为39.16%, 其中21.02%单纯由土壤环境因子所引起, 空间因子的解释能力为31.34%, 其中13.16%独立于土壤环境的变化, 18.15%是土壤环境和空间因子相互耦合作用的结果, 不可解释部分达47.66%, 表明喀斯特峰丛洼地森林群落的物种共存受生态位分化理论和中性理论双重控制。     

小陇山国家级自然保护区次生林分类、排序及演替

在野外调查基础上,采用TWINSPAN和DCA对小陇山林区次生林群落进行了数量分类和排序,从植物群系组成、植物群落与环境的生态关系方面,研究小陇山植被群落的分布格局,用以确定该区次生林演替,并给予合理的环境解释。结果表明:采用TWINSPAN数量分类方法,将植被划分为12个群落类型;DCA排序图明显反映出排序轴的生态意义,第一轴基本上突出反映了湿度变化,沿第一轴从左到右,湿度逐渐增大;第二轴主要表现了温度梯度,沿第二轴从下到上,温度逐渐降低;次生林的演替序列为山杨林→山杨+白桦林→锐齿栎混交林及锐齿栎纯林,其自然恢复演替以锐齿栎林为顶极群落。     

Coastal plant and soil relationships along the southwestern coast of South Korea

We studied how plant species distribution was regulated by the relationships between vegetation and soil factors on the southwestern coast of South Korea. Vegetation was classified using two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN), thereby producing four vegetation groups that were linked to three habitat types. Two ordination techniques —; detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) —; were applied to examine the relationships between vegetation and 12 edaphic factors, including soil pH, water and osmotic potentials, moisture content, electrical conductivity, Cl and Na⁺ contents, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, and contents of organic matter, sand, silt, and clay. Results were similar for both types of evaluations. According to DCA and CCA, the 23 communities tended to cluster into three types: salt swamp, salt marsh, and sand dune. The first two canonical axes accounted for 14.9% of the community-soil factor relationship among communities. As identified via CCA, the main gradients were soil-water relations and soil texture.     

中卫山羊核心产地植物群落的数量分类与排序

应用数量分类(TWINSPAN)和DCA排序方法,对我国特有裘皮用山羊(中卫山羊)核心产地——宁夏香山地区植物群落进行多元分析,根据TWINSPAN分类结果,并结合生态特征将所调查的28个样地植被分为6组,代表了该山地在海拔、地形、土壤、山坡坡度等环境作用下植被空间的分布格局。TWINSPAN分类结果与DCA排序结果较一致,DCA排序第一轴结果主要体现出海拔和山坡坡度对植被分布的作用,第二轴结果主要体现了地形(坡向)和土壤基质(沙地、石质山坡、土质山坡)对植被分布的作用。影响该干旱山地植被分布的主要环境因子有海拔和山坡的坡度,另外长期过度放牧对植被的空间分布影响较大,导致了该山地系统植被空间结构紊乱,并干扰了群落数量分析结果的准确性。     

Relations between understorey vegetation,site productivity,and environmental factors in Pinus sylvestris L. stands in southern Finland

Relations between understorey vegetation, site productivity, and environmental factors in mature stands of Pinus sylvestris L. in southern Finland were studied using data from 234 sample plots. The (weighted) Pearson product-moment correlation between site index and the first ordination axis of detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) was 0.83. The correlation was clearly better where site index was above 21 m (r=0.83) than where it was less (r=0.33). Partial canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) indicated that the residual compositional variation, not related to site fertility as expressed by site index, can be partly ascribed to high moisture regime with poor drainage (paludification), soil deposit type, soil stoniness, and macroclimate, and in part to unexplained sources. The unique influence of canopy cover on the vegetation composition was non-significant (p<0.05) and that of stand age too small to be detected in the vegetation data. The results support Cajander's forest site type theory according to which there exists a dominant relationship between understorey vegetation and site productivity in boreal forest ecosystems. Cladonia sectio Cladonia lichens, exluding Cladonia uncialis, were treated collectively, and abbreviated as Cladonia spp. The most frequent of these species were C. gracilis, C. cornuta, C. fimbriata, C. deformis, C. cenotea, C. botrytes, C. crispata, C. pyxidata, C. cornuta, and C. furcata.     

喀斯特土壤固氮微生物群落与植被、土壤的关系

固氮微生物作为土壤中重要的功能微生物群之一,其与地上植物群落、土壤环境之间的关系尚不清楚。在桂西北的环江县、都安县和大化县选取喀斯特典型植被类型(草丛、灌丛、次生林)建立样方,通过植被调查、测定土壤理化性质和构建克隆文库的方法,研究了土壤固氮微生物群落的结构与组成,分析了固氮微生物群落与植物群落、土壤理化性质之间的关系。结果表明:研究区典型植被类型土壤中的优势固氮微生物为慢生根瘤菌。Mantel相关性分析表明植物群落与固氮微生物群落显著相关(r=0.6116,P=0.011);结合PCo A分析和Venn图可看出,植物群落组成与结构越相似,土壤固氮微生物群落结构与组成也越相似。CCA分析前两轴的解释率之和仅为22.72%,其中总氮、有效态钾、有效态钙对固氮微生物群落的影响显著,这表明本研究涵盖的土壤理化性质指标并不能完全解释固氮微生物群落的变异,需要补充更多的土壤数据进行更深入的研究。由此可见,在喀斯特生态恢复过程中,不仅要关注地上植被群落的恢复与重建,同时也应重视地下功能微生物群落的恢复与重建。     

A coenocline of the high-ranked syntaxa of ruderal vegetation

Two sets comprising 1419 and 1350 phytosociological relevés of ruderal vegetation classified into 9 and 7 orders, respectively, from an area in the Podunajská ní zina Lowland, western Slovakia were ordinated using correspondence and detrended correspondence analyses. The paper describes a coenocline of the high-ranked syntaxa contained in the data sets, and discusses some issues of the classification of the syntaxa involved.The Bidentetalia and Potentillo-Polygonetalia should be considered a special category of synanthropic vegetation as habitat moisture (flooding and waterlogging) play the controlling role in the formation of structural and dynamical patterns within these communities. The latter factor complex is responsible for the clear separation of these orders from the other syntaxa included in the ordinations. The coenocline of terrestrial ruderal vegetation units has the following sequence along the CA axis 1: Poo-Polygonetalia, Sisymbrietalia, Eragostrietalia, Onopordetalia, Agropyretalia repentis, Artemisietalia vulgaris and Glechometalia hederaceae.Various complexes of soil factors and anthropogenic disturbance are operational along the concatenation (a series of portions composing the coenocline). The factor complex includes soil compaction, trampling disturbance, nutrient status, soil texture and moisture, and solar irradiation. Step-by-step ordination and interpretation of concatenated portions of the coenocline proved to be useful in the analysis of complex data sets.Abbreviations CA = correspondence analysis - DCA = detrended correspondence analysis - PCA = principal components analysis     

Spontaneous and assisted restoration of vegetation on the bottom of a former water reservoir,the Elwha River,Olympic National Park,WA, U.S.A.

Early seral vegetation was studied on a former lake bottom after the removal of the 64‐m‐tall Glines Canyon Dam on the Elwha River. In 2015, vegetation cover of all vascular plant species was determined in 63 plots located on sites that emerged in 2011–2012. The sites had been planted and/or seeded, or were permitted to revegetate spontaneously. The plots were further classified by substrate texture: coarse sediments on the valley bottom and fine ones on the valley slopes. Plots were located randomly along random transects perpendicular to the former lake shore that extended into coarse sediment terraces perched above the floodplain. Additionally, 32 plots were sampled in surrounding native forests near these transects. Data were analyzed by detrended correspondence analysis and by canonical correspondence analysis. Substrate texture, that is whether fine or coarse, appeared to explain most of the variability in vegetation. The distance to forest and successional age, that is time since the site had been drained, were also significant explanatory variables, while assisted restoration by planting and seeding appeared to be insignificant to date. Spontaneous succession on fine sediments led to a species composition approaching that of adjacent natural forests. Invasive species were much less abundant than expected. Spontaneous restoration of vegetation on fine sediments in drained lake bottoms can rapidly produce a desirable vegetation composition and structure. On coarse sediments, active restoration may be useful to accelerate the development of native vegetation communities.     

Grassland responses to multiple disturbances on the New England Tablelands in NSW,Australia

Disturbances have played a significant role in shaping vegetation patterns following European settlement and agricultural development in Australia, particularly over the last 100 years. However, little is known about the temporal dynamics of plant communities in relation to disturbances and their interactions. In this study we examined the response and recovery of temperate grassland communities to disturbance, using a multi-factorial experiment involving grazing exclusion (absent and present), fire (absent and present), soil cultivation (none, 5 and 20 cm) and soil amendment (none, fertiliser and fertiliser plus clover seeds) on the New England Tablelands in NSW, Australia. Temporal patterns of plant communities were analysed using detrended correspondence analysis for eight surveys over 24 months. Vegetation patterns at each survey were analysed using principal components analysis. The effects of treatments on malleability (Bray–Curtis dissimilarity) of plant communities were analysed using a linear mixed model, and the relationships between malleability and plant species groups were depicted using a generalised additive model and further analysed using a linear model. Perennial native grasses and a non-native forb (Hypochaeris radicata) initially dominated the vegetation, but after the disturbances H. radicata and other non-native species dominated. Compositional changes from the initial states were greatest in the first spring (7 months after treatment application), and then the vegetation tended to recover towards its original state. Soil cultivation resulted in the greatest deviation in community composition, followed by soil amendment, fire, with grazing exclusion the least. The recovery process and rate of recovery varied with treatment reflecting the dominance of soil cultivation and its interactions with other forms of disturbances. Soil amendment and grazing exclusion tended to reduce the effects of soil cultivation. Malleability was negatively related to perennial native grasses; positively to other non-native species, annual native grasses and perennial native sedges/rushes; and negatively to H. radicata when its cover was below 18%, but positively when above 18%. The degree of malleability reflected the high resilience of the vegetation to disturbance, and was mainly due to the recovery of perennial native grasses and H. radicata. This resilience demonstrated that the small-scale disturbances did not cause vegetation to cross an ecological threshold and that the present vegetation is resilient to common disturbances occurring at small scales. The results also suggest (1) that the present vegetation has developed mechanisms to adapt to these disturbances, (2) the importance of disturbance scale or (3) that the ecological threshold had already been crossed and the present vegetation is in a degraded state compared with its original state before the end of the 19th century.     

Development of plant communities after restoration of the Antaibao mining site, China

To investigate the dynamic changes in the artificial vegetation in an abandoned mining site, we analyzed the relationships among community types, environmental variables and community structure in the process of vegetation restoration in the Antaibao mining site, China by survey of the communities and use of biological dating methods. By means of the quantitative classification method (two-way indicator-species analysis, TWINSPAN) and the ordination technique (de-trended correspondence analysis, DCA; and de-trended canonical correspondence analysis, DCCA), the plant communities were classified into seven groups: community I, Robinia pseudoacacia + Pinus tabulaeformis-Caragana korshinskii-Agropyron cristatum; community II, Robinia pseudoacacia-Hippophae rhamnoides-Artemisia capillaries; community III, Ulmus pumila-Elaeagnus angustifolia-Artemisia capillaries;community IV, Caragana korshinskii-Agropyron cristatum + Artemisia capillaries; community V, Hippophae rhamnoides-Elymus dahuricus; community VI, Elaeagnus angustifolia + Hippophae rhamnoides-Brassica jucea;community VII, Hippophae rhamnoides + Elaeagnus angustifolia-Salsola collina. We conclude that the community types and diversity are mainly influenced by the succession time and the soil organic matter content. The forest community is more adaptable to the special inhabitation than the shrub community.     

Diversity of forest vegetation across a strong gradient of climatic continentality: Western Sayan Mountains, southern Siberia

Southern Siberian mountain ranges encompass strong climatic contrasts from the relatively oceanic northern foothills to strongly continental intermountain basins in the south. Landscape-scale climatic differences create vegetation patterns, which are analogous to the broad-scale vegetation zonation over large areas of northern Eurasia. In their southern, continental areas, these mountains harbour forest types which potentially resemble the full-glacial forests recently reconstructed for Central Europe. To identify forest vegetation–environment relationships in the southern Siberian mountain ranges, forest vegetation of the Western Sayan Mountains was sampled on a 280 km transect running from the northern foothills with oceanic climatic features to the continental Central Tuvinian Basin in the south. Based on the species composition, vegetation was classified into hemiboreal forests, occurring at drier and summer-warm sites with high-pH soil, and taiga, occurring at wetter, summer-cool sites with acidic soil. Hemiboreal forests included Betula pendula-Pinus sylvestris mesic forest, Larix sibirica dry forest and Pinus sylvestris dry forest. Taiga included Abies sibirica-Betula pendula wet forest, Abies sibirica-Pinus sibirica mesic forest and Pinus sibirica-Picea obovata continental forest. Hemiboreal forests were richer in vascular plant species, while taiga was richer in ground-dwelling cryptogams. Vegetation–environment relationships were analysed by indirect and direct ordination. Winter and summer temperatures and precipitation exerted a dominant influence on species composition. Soil pH was also an important correlate of species composition, but this factor itself was probably controlled by precipitation. At a more local scale, the main source of variation in species composition was topography, producing landscape patterns of contrasting plant communities on slopes of different aspects and valley bottoms. The response of tree species to major environmental factors was expressed with Huisman–Olff–Fresco models. Larix sibirica appeared to be most resistant to drought and winter frosts, Pinus sibirica was adapted to low temperatures both in winter and summer, and Picea obovata had an intermediate response to climate. Betula pendula, Pinus sylvestris and Populus tremula were associated with the warmest sites with intermediate precipitation, while Abies sibirica was the most moisture-demanding species, sensitive to deep winter frosts.     

Effects of Canopy Gaps,Topography, and Soils on the Distribution of Woody Species in a Central Brazilian Deciduous Dry Forest1

The interrelationships between the distribution of woody species and environmental variables were investigated in an area of deciduous dry forest in Santa Vitöria, central Brazil. This is the first study of a vanishing type of dry forest which grows on base-rich soils originating from the basalt bedrocks of southern Goiás and western Minas Gerais. A survey of topography, soil properties, canopy gaps and woody plants (≥5 cm diameter at the base of the stem) was conducted in 50–15 × 15 m quadrats. The soils were classified into the following soil series: Hapludolls → Haplustolls → Haplustolls → Ustropepts → Rhodustalfs. This series corresponded to a gradient of increasing elevation and effective soil depth and decreasing slope gradient, soil organic matter and total exchangeable bases. A canonical correspondence analysis and a detrended correspondence analysis indicated that plant species’abundance distribution was significantly correlated with both the relative area of canopy gaps in the quadrats and the soil-topography gradient. Presumably, the critical factors involved in these two gradients are, respectively, light and ground water regimes. The influence of canopy gaps (i.e., light) was surprising and has not been documented previously for tropical deciduous dry forests.     

漓江流域海拔、土壤及植被对土壤养分和酶化学计量比的影响

漓江流域海拔、土壤类型和植被类型多样。为研究其土壤养分和土壤酶活性特征,该研究以漓江流域石灰性土壤及酸性土壤的典型植被类型(自然林、毛竹林、马尾松林、果园、水稻田)的表层土壤(0～20 cm)为研究对象,测定土壤养分含量及碳氮转化相关胞外酶(淀粉酶、蔗糖酶、脲酶、蛋白酶、过氧化氢酶)活性及化学计量比特征。结果表明:(1)高海拔土壤的全氮(TN)、全磷(TP)、有效磷(AP)含量和淀粉酶、蔗糖酶、脲酶、蛋白酶活性相对较高,而过氧化氢酶活性则正好呈现相反的趋势。(2)相对于酸性土壤,石灰性土壤有较高的TP和AP含量。在酸性土壤中,植被类型对氮磷养分影响较大,总体上人工植被使得土壤氮素降低而使磷素增加; 而石灰性土壤养分在不同植被类型间差异相对较小。(3)相比自然林,人工植被的土壤氮转化酶活性极大降低,而土壤碳转化酶活性受人为影响程度相对较小,土壤氮磷酶活性化学计量比显示自然林呈现氮限制而人工林呈现碳限制。(4)典范对应分析(CCA)显示土壤理化性质在第Ⅰ轴和第Ⅱ轴解释了86.56%的土壤酶活性变异,土壤理化性质解释贡献率排序为TN>pH>铵态氮(NH₄⁺)>AP>TP>硝态氮(NO₃^-),其中前3个因子是造成土壤酶活性差异的主要因子。综上结果表明,漓江流域的酸性土壤对人为干扰的生态敏感性较高,植被变化易导致养分失衡,应注重土壤养分管理,防止土壤有机质的损失,提高漓江流域景观资源可持续利用的价值。该研究为当地生态系统的科学保育和开发提供了理论依据。     

Vegetation differentiation and secondary succession on a limestone hill in southern Poland

Abstract. The vegetation of the SkoHzanka Reserve, situated on a limestone hill near Krakow, was examined over a 30 year period, using the Braun-Blanquet method. With the help of a numerical classification eight types of grassland communities were distinguished, belonging to the classes Sedo-Scleranthetea, Nardo-Callunetea and Festuco-Brometea, and 11 types of woodland communities, both remnants of ancient woodlands from the classes Querco-Fagetea and Vaccinio-Piceetea and more recent woods. In the case of grasslands the results of detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) indicated that the largest variation was associated with the soil type. Woods on sandy soils are very different from those on calcareous soils, and the younger recent woods are very different from the ancient woodlands. An analysis of historical cartographic material and aerial photographs shows that in the last few decades the area of recent woods has increased considerably at the expense of grasslands. Changes in species diversity in the woods during secondary succession and their successional convergence were examined and discussed. It was found that young and mature woods on sandy soils are more similar to each other than young and mature woods on calcareous soils. These differences are mainly related to the fact that many woodland herb species growing in rich, broadleaved ancient woods are unable to colonize recent woods since they have a limited colonization capacity.     

秦岭山地天然次生林群落MRT数量分类、CCA排序及多样性垂直格局

采用多元回归树(MRT)对秦岭山地天然次生林群落进行数量分类,采用典范对应分析(CCA)进行排序,分析了秦岭山地天然次生林群落物种多样性沿海拔梯度的变化规律。结果表明:(1) 275个样方共有种子植物195种,隶属61科128属。乔、灌、草3个层次物种多样性变化沿海拔梯度的变化趋势基本一致,呈单峰模型;(2)经交叉验证认为秦岭山地天然次生林群落可分为2类,Ⅰ冬瓜杨(Populus purdomii)+陇东海棠(Malus kansuensis)+蛇莓(Duchesnea indica)群落,Ⅱ锐齿槲栎(Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata)+黄栌(Cotinus coggygria)+茜草(Rubia cordifolia)群落;(3) CCA排序结果揭示了群落生境的分布范围,反映出生态轴的排序意义,较好地反映秦岭山地天然次生林群落与环境因子的关系,其结果表明,海拔、坡向、凋落层厚度和干扰情况4个变量对该地区次生林群落的分布有较大的影响。     

Recovery of sandy beach and maritime forest vegetation on Phuket Island (Thailand) after the major Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004

Question: How rapidly has the sandy beach and maritime forest vegetation on Phuket recovered and regenerated after the impact of the major Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004? What are the characteristics of sandy beach species for regenerating their populations and the invasion patterns of originally non-sandy beach species or other newcomers after the tsunami? Location: Phuket Island, southern Thailand. Methods: Species composition of beaches was studied on the same research plots 6 months before and 9 months after the tsunami. The changes in individual species cover before and after the tsunami were determined by χ² tests. Change in community composition was analysed by detrended correspondence analysis. The relationship between species and environmental factors was analysed by canonical correspondence analysis. Results: The sites disturbed by the tsunami were often invaded by annuals, especially grasses and asteraceous plants, rather than by perennials. In contrast, species with clonal growth by stolons decreased significantly. Factors determining the species habitat differences were soil hardness (penetration resistance of sandy soil), per cent silt content, soil water content and beach management. Habitat differences among originally non-sandy beach herbaceous species that expanded their population or moved to the coast after the disaster were defined by sand accretion or erosion caused by the tsunami. Many sandy beach herbaceous communities changed into Dactyloctenium aegyptium communities because of the tsunami were originally constituted by non-sandy beach D. aegyptium with Cenchrus echinatus. Although the forest floors of most maritime forests were invaded by originally non-sandy beach Tridax procumbens, Eleusine indica or D. aegyptium because of the tsunami, this did not result in a change in the vegetation unit, because species' loss was restricted to the understorey. In time, these forests will recover their previous community composition. Conclusions: Our results suggest that originally non-sandy beach native species invaded the disturbed beaches rapidly after the tsunami but their habitats differ. Sites where sand accumulated on a beach because of the tsunami were invaded by D. aegyptium and E. indica, whereas soil erosion permitted invasion by Digitania adscendens. Tridax procumbens establishes rapidly on wet sites with hard soil, high per cent silt content and low beach management pressure. Sandy beach species with subterranean long rhizomes are strongly tolerant of such disasters. We concluded that the species composition of the beaches disturbed by a temporary large disaster is determined by dormancy and growth forms, with radicoid form being influential.     

Naturally Saline Boreal Communities as Models for Reclamation of Saline Oil Sand Tailings

Reclaimed landscapes after oil sands mining have saline soils; yet, they are required to have similar biodiversity and productivity as the predisturbance nonsaline landscape. Given that many species in the boreal forest are not tolerant of salinity, we studied the effects of soil salinity on plant communities in natural saline landscapes to understand potential plant responses during the reclamation process. Vegetation–soil relationships were measured along transects from flooded wetlands to upland forest vegetation in strongly saline, slightly saline, nonsaline, and reclaimed boreal landscapes. In strongly saline landscapes, surface soil salinity was high (>10 dS/m) in flooded, wet‐meadow, and dry‐meadow vegetation zones as compared to slightly saline (<5 dS/m) and nonsaline (<2 dS/m) landscapes. Plant communities in these vegetation zones were quite different from nonsaline boreal landscapes and were dominated by halophytes common to saline habitats of the Great Plains. In the shrub and forest vegetation zones, surface soil salinity was similar between saline and nonsaline landscapes, resulting in similar plant communities. In strongly saline landscapes, soils remained saline at depth through the shrub and forest vegetation zones (>10 dS/m), suggesting that forest vegetation can establish over saline soils as long as the salts are below the rooting zone. The reclaimed landscape was intermediate between slightly saline and nonsaline landscapes in terms of soil salinity but more similar to nonsaline habitats with respect to species composition. Results from this study suggest it may be unrealistic to expect that plant communities similar to those found on the predisturbance landscape can be established on all reclaimed landscapes after oil sands mining.     

Relations of soil properties to topography and vegetation in a subtropical rain forest in southern Taiwan

Soil chemical properties for a subtropical rain forest in the Nanjenshan Reserve, southern Taiwan, were examined to determine soil-landscape and soil-vegetation relationships. Soil sampling sites were separated into four groups based on landscape features and exposure to the prevailing northeasterly monsoon winds. Corresponding vegetation types were delimited along the first DCA axis. The forest showed a drastic change both in structure and floristic composition along the wind-stress gradient. Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that both topographic variables and vegetation types were needed to explain the variation in soil data. Soil properties that differed significantly among landforms were pH, available N, CEC, exchangeable Al, K, Ca and Mg. Levels of pH, exchangeable Ca and Mg increased in a downslope direction, and exchangeable Al tended to be higher in the upper slope soils. These trends pointed to the importance of slope processes in redistribution of soil minerals. The main differences in soil properties attributed to the influence of the occupying vegetation were apparently aspect dependent. The contents of available N, exchangeable K, and CEC in the 0–40 cm depth of soils under windward low-stature (mostly sclerophyllous) forest were consistently lower compared to those under the leeward forest. For a given catena, however, soil variability associated with vegetation differences seemed to be confounded by the slope processes.