准噶尔盆地典型地段植物群落及其与环境因子的关系

沿88°E线,南北纵穿新疆北部准噶尔盆地,选择环境梯度明显的典型地段,设置33个具有代表性的野外样方,应用TWINSPAN与DCCA分析样方的物种数据和环境数据。研究结果表明:(1)样方TWINSPAN分类结果的第一级分类将分布于流动、半流动沙丘(垄)上的白梭梭群落与固定、半固定沙地上的梭梭群落区分开来,进一步的分类,可将33个样方划分为12个组。35种优势植物种TWINSPAN第1级分类把沙漠内部植物种与外缘物种分开。第2级分类把沙漠内部垄上与垄间植物种以及沙漠外缘旱生、中生和盐生植物种分开。(2)在各种环境因子中,土壤水分与相对高度(或地面活动性)是影响植物群落分布的最主要环境因子,DCCA第一排序轴反映生境水分环境条件,第2轴反映土壤结构梯度的变化。(3)除相对高度(或地面活动性)与土壤水分外,在沙漠南部外缘的山前冲积、洪积扇扇缘,土壤盐分状况亦为植物生长的重要胁迫因子;在沙漠北部外缘的砾石戈壁平原,基质的机械组成对群落分布格局有重要影响;在沙漠内部,土壤质地、地面坡度对植物群落的分布有较大影响。(4)以沙漠为中心的准噶尔盆地地势相对高度与地面活动性、土壤有机质与土壤粘粒、土壤水分与土壤总盐、pH值、有机质、相对高度之间存在显著相关关系。     

A vegetation analysis of the pastoral landscapes of upland Wales,UK

Abstract. The upland moorlands of Wales are situated on the oceanic fringe of western Europe, and have experienced a long history of pastoral management. Recent vegetation data are analysed to assess the relative contribution of abiotic and anthropogenic factors to variation in habitat composition among the major upland ranges of this region. From a numerical analysis of plant community cover data, recorded from 65 sites covering 260 000 ha, a six‐cluster site classification emerged with striking biogeographical coherence. Direct gradient analysis and variance partitioning revealed strong correlation between vegetation composition and spatially‐structured climatic gradients, in particular temperature, rainfall and oceanicity; differences in bedrock geology appear to have a lesser role. The analysis also indicates a close correlation between habitat variation and anthropogenic parameters, especially grazing intensity, burning frequency, and sulphur and nitrogen deposition levels. At this regional scale, anthropogenic impacts appear to have accentuated, rather than obscured, vegetation patterns which are primarily determined by climate and other abiotic variables. The findings have considerable relevance for conservation planning and also for predictive studies on the consequences of climatic change for the biota of the uplands of southern Britain.     

Potential replacement vegetation: an approach to vegetation mapping of cultural landscapes

Abstract. The concept of mapping potential replacement vegetation (PRV) is proposed as a parallel to potential natural vegetation (PNV). Potential replacement vegetation (PRV) is an abstract and hypothetical vegetation which is in balance with climatic and soil factors currently affecting a given habitat, with environmental factors influencing the habitat from outside such as air pollution, and with an abstract anthropogenic influence (management) of given type, frequency and intensity. For every habitat, there is a series of possible PRV-types corresponding to the different anthropogenic influences, e.g. grazing, mowing, trampling or growing cereals. The PRV-concept is especially useful in large-scale mapping (scales > 1 : 25 000) of small areas where replacement vegetation is the focus of attention for managers and land-use planners, for example in nature reserves where the aim is conservation of replacement vegetation managed in a traditional way, or in restoration ecology where the concept may be used for defining restoration goals and evaluating the success of restoration efforts. At smaller scales, PRV-mapping may be useful for revealing the biogeographical patterns of larger areas which may be different from the corresponding PNV patterns, because replacement vegetation and natural vegetation may respond to environmental gradients at different scales. An example of medium-scale PRV-mapping through the coincidence of diagnostic species of vegetation types, based on species distribution grid data, is presented. In cultural landscapes, the advantage of using the PRV-concept instead of PNV is its direct relationship to the replacement vegetation. In the habitat mapping with respect to the replacement vegetation, the PRV concept yields more valuable results than the mapping of actual vegetation, as the latter is strongly affected by spatially variable anthropogenic influences which may be largely independent from climatic and soil factors.     

Identifying plant species and communities across environmental gradients in the Western Himalayas: Method development and conservation use

Phytosociological attributes of plant species and associated environmental factors were measured in order to identify the environmental gradients of major plant communities in the Naran Valley, Himalayas. The valley occupies a distinctive geographical setting on the edge of the Western Himalaya near the Hindukush range and supports a high biodiversity; pastoralism is the main land use. There have been no previous quantitative ecological studies in this region. This study was undertaken to (i) analyze and describe vegetation using classification and ordination techniques, (ii) identify environmental gradients responsible for plant community distributions and (iii) assess the anthropogenic pressures on the vegetation and identify priorities for conservation. Phytosociological characteristics of species were measured alongside environmental variables. A total of 198 species from 68 families were quantified at 144 stations along 24 transects across an elevation range of 2450–4100 m. Correspondence Analysis techniques i.e., Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) and Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) were used to determine vegetation–environment relationships. Results show vegetation changes with altitude from moist-cool temperate communities characterized by woody species, to more dry-cold subalpine and alpine herbaceous communities. Plant species diversity is optimal at middle altitudes (2800–3400 m); at lower altitudes (2400–2800 m) it is reduced by anthropogenic impacts and at higher altitudes (3400–4100 m) by shallow soils and high summer grazing pressure. A large number of plant species of conservation concern were identified in the study and an assessment made of the main threats to their survival.     

Richness and structure of plant communities in temporary pools from western Morocco: influence of human activities

Temporary pools are numerous in coastal plains of Atlantic Morocco and have a rich and diverse flora. These habitats are increasingly under pressure by man impact through grazing by domestic livestock and the development of annual crops in their catchments. The objectives of this work were to evaluate the species richness and the species composition of the vegetation of a sample of 30 pools in this region, in order to assess the structure of the vegetation within pools and to evaluate the role of environmental and anthropogenic factors in their richness and species composition. The results highlighted the species richness of the pools with 300 species found among which annual species were heavily dominant. The structure of the vegetation varied within pools according to a topographical/flooding gradient and between pools in relation with the land use in the surrounding areas. Three vegetation belts were recognized from the centre to the periphery of the pool. The total species richness per pool was not found significantly related to environmental or anthropogenic factors. The species characteristics of the pools were found mostly in the centre and their number affected by hydrological factors and land use in the pool and in the surrounding areas. The species characteristics of woodland habitats and of agriculture crops were found mostly in the peripheral zone. Temporary pools maintain specific communities of both aquatic and amphibious species, probably because of the selection induced by water level variations. The peripheral zone, although often dominated by terrestrial species, is clearly interpreted as part of the pool. It contains amphibious species highly characteristic of the pool for which the irregular flooding is a key environmental factor which decreases competition.     

Altitudinal pattern of vegetation variation on Tenerife

Abstract. The variation in structure and floristic composition of the vegetation of Tenerife is related to different environmental factors. 200 sample plots, stratified according to altitude, exposure to wind, kind and age of parent rock, inclination and degree of disturbance were analysed throughout the island. The resulting data were analysed using univariate statistics (altitudinal distribution profiles of the more frequent species) and multivariate methods (Correspondence, Cluster and Pattern Analysis). Altitude, exposure to wind and, to a lesser extent, disturbance were found to be the major determinants of vegetational variation, whereas parent rock and inclination were less important. Ordination results show a continuum in structural and floristic variation of the vegetation with species distributions varying continually along the altitudinal gradient. Nevertheless, altitudinally bound plant community types were recognized with Cluster Analysis. Vegetational discontinuities, which were also detected by pattern analysis, are more evident on the windward slope of the island; they have been attributed to the existence of a major underlying environmental discontinuity the ‘cloud sea’-which is associated with a climatic inversion. On the leeward slope, beyond the influence of the cloud sea, discontinuities are less evident and vegetational variation seems to be closer to a coenocline, i.e. a vegetational continuum.     

Composition of grazed and cleared temperate grassy woodlands in eastern Australia: patterns in space and inferences in time

Abstract. A regional vegetation survey of the temperate grassy woodlands (temperate savanna) in Australia was designed to assess the effects of clearing and grazing on the composition of vegetation remnants and the adjacent pasture matrix. Vegetation was sampled across a range of habitats using 77 0.1024‐ha quadrats; the relative abundance of species was recorded. Classification analysis clustered the sites into three main groups that corresponded to intensity of grazing/clearing followed by groups based on underlying lithology (basalt, metasediment, granites). Using Canonical Correspondence Analysis, exogenous disturbance and environmental variables were related to the relative abundance of species; grazing intensity had the highest eigenvalue (0.27) followed by tree canopy cover (0.25), lithology (0.18), altitude (0.17) and slope (0.10). Based on two‐dimensional ordination scores, six species response groups were defined relating to intensity of pastoralism and nutrient status of the landscape. Abundance and dominance of native shrubs, sub‐shrubs, twiners and geophytes were strongly associated with areas of less‐intense pastoralism on low‐nutrient soils. The strongest effects on species richness were grazing followed by canopy cover. Continuously grazed sites had lower native species richness across all growth forms except native grasses. There was no indication that intermediate grazing intensities enhanced forb richness as a result of competitive release. Species richness for all native plants was lowest where trees were absent especially under grazed conditions. Canopy cover in ungrazed sites appeared to promote the co‐existence of shrubs with the herbaceous layer. Predicted declines in forb richness in treeless, ungrazed, sites were not detected. The lack of a disturbance‐mediated enhancement of the herbaceous layer was attributed to habitat heterogeneity at 0.1 ha sampling scale.     

Species composition and invasion in NW Argentinian secondary forests: Effects of land use history,environment and landscape

Abstract. Successional patches are a large component of forest ecosystems throughout the world and their vegetation composition is conditioned by multiple factors such as land use history, disturbances, environmental conditions and landscape context. We investigated the relative contribution of historical, environmental, biotic and spatial factors in determining vegetation composition and invasion by exotic species in secondary forest patches of Sierra de San Javier, Tucumán, Argentina. We estimated canopy cover for shrub, vine and tree species distributed over 51 patches with known land use history. We also recorded environmental, historical and spatial variables and used multivariate techniques to explore the relationship between forest composition and explanatory variables. Land use, time since abandonment, altitude, slope and cover of different strata were related to the vegetation pattern in the study site, and they were all significantly structured over space. Exotic species appeared to differ from natives in their response to explanatory variables. Overall, exotic species were dominant on the edges of young patches originated from herbaceous crops, but the total number of exotic species was related to the distance to urban areas and small farms identified as potential sources of exotic propagules. Vegetation composition of secondary forests in NW Argentina was related to historical and environmental factors, but spatial variables strongly influenced vegetation composition as well as the variation in explanatory variables.     

Vegetation on hill slopes in southern Wello, Ethiopia: Degradation and regeneration

A study was made of the vegetation in southern Wello (Ethiopia) in relation to human impact and the environment. 65 sample plots were laid out and analysed with respect to the cover value of vascular plant species. Altitude, slope, aspect and estimates of grazing pressure for each plot were also recorded along with physical and chemical soil properties analysed for samples taken from each plot. The following environmental factors, isolated by forward selection, show correlation with the axes of Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA): altitude, grazing, pH, K, Ca, Mg, slope and aspect.
Through hierarchical and non-hierarchical clustering methods the vegetation was divided into eight types, from which one was secondary forest characterised by patch dominance of Juniperus procera and Olea europaea ssp. cuspidata. These forest patches are found at high altitude sites and because of their inaccessibility are usually characterised by low livestock density and consequently low grazing pressure. The presence of large boulders and stones in Podocarpus falcatus forest decreases accessibility and creates natural protection for the trees. The other vegetation types, most of which are found at lower altitude and associated with varying intensities of grazing, include grasslands (grazed and protected), regenerating sites dominated by Eu-clea racemosa and Dodonaea angustifolia, dense and open shrublands and Olea europaea ssp. cuspidata woodlands. Human interference has a major impact on the vegetation of the study area and its recovery will depend on the degree of participation of the local people.     

黄土区露天煤矿排土场土壤与地形因子对植被恢复的影响

在脆弱的生态环境改善和恢复过程中,植被恢复与重建扮演着重要的角色。黄土露天煤矿区生态环境极其脆弱,认识矿区损毁土地植被恢复与地形、土壤因子之间的作用规律对矿区土地复垦与生态恢复改善至关重要。为此,选择山西平朔安太堡露天煤矿南排土场对2条样带27个复垦样地的土壤、地形、植被参数进行了采集与测定,并应用单因素方差分析与CANOCO4.5软件的降趋势对应分析和冗余分析研究了地形与土壤因子对植被恢复的影响。结果表明:植被与土壤变量之间呈显著相关,与地形变量之间相关性不明显;坡度主要影响草本覆盖度,坡向与有机质和速效磷之间具有线性相关性;速效钾对植被的变化起着重要的作用;土壤容重与砾石含量对土壤养分含量具有明显的指示作用;有机质与全氮呈显著正相关,各土壤养分指标之间存在明显的相关关系。为了改善和恢复黄土区露天煤矿排土场脆弱的生态系统,应该考虑植被和土壤的联合演替。在当地的生态环境状况下土地复垦与生态恢复的关键是改善土壤状况和增加人工植被,同时加强对排土场人工和自然植被的保护。     

汶川地震滑坡迹地植物群落与环境的关系

为了加快汶川地震滑坡迹地人工恢复植被的进程,探讨地震诱发的滑坡迹地植物群落与环境的关系。在5·12地震重灾区北川境内选取29个样地进行植被调查,采用10个环境指标刻画植物群落的地形、空间位置和土壤养分特征;利用TWINSPAN、CCA、DCA和DCCA,分析植物种、植物群落和植物生活型与环境的关系。结果显示:1)研究区的植物群落可划分为9个类型。2)研究区环境变量对植物种的解释量为21.96%,第一排序轴与pH值、海拔、土壤质地相关,反映的是植物种从次生植物群落向原生植物群落变化。通过DCCA分析得出,环境变量对植物群落的排序解释了25.7%,第一排序轴与pH值、海拔、土壤质地的相关较强,反映植物群落按照耐旱、耐贫瘠→人工或先锋植物→未受损的植被变化;第二排序轴与土壤有机质、全氮含量、坡向的相关,反映的是植物群落从草本植物→乔灌草或者灌草植物变化。3)滑坡迹地的植物群落与未受损林地的植物群落物种存在较大差异。     

Plant composition and diversity in a semi-natural Mediterranean island landscape: the importance of environmental factors

Abstract

Islands crucially contribute to the Mediterranean Basin’s high floristic diversity, which, however, is at risk facing climate and land-use changes. Besides the identification of highly diverse areas, the knowledge about factors favouring diversity is of great importance. We analysed plant species diversity and composition related to environmental factors over varied vegetation units on a former Italian prison island in the northwest of Sardinia. Due to a long history of land use with grazing and later abandonment the nowadays protected island features a semi-natural landscape and can serve as an example for strongly anthropogenic altered insular ecosystems. Floristic composition, soil properties, microclimate and ungulate abundance were assessed. Relationships of vegetation composition and diversity with abiotic variables were examined by Canonical Correspondence Analysis, which indicated the importance of air temperature, soil moisture, slope gradient and C/N ratio for floristic differentiation. Most important abiotic factors for plant species richness were relative air humidity and soil moisture, while floristic diversity was mainly determined by air temperature and pH. Furthermore, observation data pointed to an adverse influence of ungulate abundance for plant species diversity. Regarding nature conservation, grazing intensity thus must be critically taken into account, especially for sensitive vegetation units like the coastal garrigue.     

锦屏水电站植被数量分类与排序

以锦屏梯级水电站大河湾段植被为研究对象,以河流流向为基础布置样方,将50个样方物种重要值及其环境因子进行TWINSPAN数量分类和DCA排序,结果显示:(1)由TWINSPAN数量分类将植被划分为7种类型,雅致雾水葛(Pouzolzia elegans)灌草群落为该区域的主要群落.(2)以TWINSPAN数量分类为基础的DCA二维排序图将样方分为6个生态类型,DCA 二维排序图横轴从左至右海拔高度逐渐降低;排序纵轴由下至上坡度逐渐升高.(3)以TWINSPAN数量分类在DCA排序图中有明确的分布范围和界限,DCA排序与TWINSPAN数量分类结合使用,能很好反映群落与环境因子间的生态关系.     

Broad‐scale vegetation‐environment relationships in Eurasian high‐latitude areas

Question: How is tundra vegetation related to climatic, soil chemical, geological variables and grazing across a very large section of the Eurasian arctic area? We were particularly interested in broad‐scale vegetation‐environment relationships and how well do the patterns conform to climate‐vegetation schemes. Material and Methods: We sampled vegetation in 1132 plots from 16 sites from different parts of the Eurasian tundra. Clustering and ordination techniques were used for analysing compositional patterns. Vegetation‐environment relationships were analysed by fitting of environmental vectors and smooth surfaces onto non‐metric multidimensional scaling scattergrams. Results: Dominant vegetation differentiation was associated with a complex set of environmental variables. A general trend differentiated cold and continental areas from relatively warm and weakly continental areas, and several soil chemical and physical variables were associated with this broad‐scaled differentiation. Especially soil chemical variables related to soil acidity (pH, Ca) showed linear relationships with the dominant vegetation gradient. This was closely related to increasing cryoperturbation, decreasing precipitation and cooler conditions. Remarkable differences among relatively adjacent sites suggest that local factors such as geological properties and lemming grazing may strongly drive vegetation differentiation. Conclusions: Vegetation differentiation in tundra areas conforms to a major ecocline underlain by a complex set of environmental gradients, where precipitation, thermal conditions and soil chemical and physical processes are coupled. However, local factors such as bedrock conditions and lemming grazing may cause marked deviations from the general climate‐vegetation models. Overall, soil chemical factors (pH, Ca) turned out to have linear relationship with the broad‐scale differentiation of arctic vegetation.     

How environmental and disturbance factors influence species composition in temperate Australian grasslands

Abstract. A distinctive feature of Australian vegetational history is the abruptness of change since European settlement, involving the influx of exotic species and the imposition of exogenous disturbances which are novel in both intensity and character. This can produce two sources of habitat variability: the natural patterns arising from environmental variation, as well as an overlying effect of disturbance. The relative importance of these two types of variables were compared in temperate herbaceous vegetation. Canonical Correspondence Analysis showed that environment and disturbance had similar contributions to floristic variability. Individually, lithology, altitude and soil disturbance were the strongest variables while slope position, grazing and water enrichment were slightly less important. Despite generally low levels of site specificity, groups of species associated with lithology, slope position, altitude and different disturbance regimes were identified. Exotic species were associated with higher levels of disturbance, but showed levels of environmental specialization similar to the native component. Through combination of this analysis with a previous analysis of species richness for the same data set, it became evident that environmental variation mostly resulted in species substitutions while disturbances led to losses of species, with partial replacement by exotics. Synthesizing these results, we identified three broad groups in relation to tolerance of levels of exogenous disturbance: (1) intolerant species - native taxa intolerant of severe disturbances and constituting the species - rich component of the vegetation; (2) tolerant species - exotic and native taxa occurring at both disturbed and undisturbed habitats and (3) disturbance specialists - predominantly exotic species, correlated with high levels of disturbance.     

辽东栎林不同层植物沿海拔梯度分布的DCCA分析

 为研究北京东灵山辽东栎（Quercus liaotungensis）不同层植物的分布与环境因子之间的关系,对东灵山辽东栎林进行了植物群落学调查。沿 海拔梯度在乔木层、灌木层和草本层各调查119个样方,同时调查了每个样方的环境因子如海拔、坡度和坡位。物种数据采用二元属性数据,对 非数值环境因子进行赋值。对东灵山辽东栎林和各环境因子进行去趋势典范对应分析（Detrended canonical correspondence analysis, DCCA）,结果表明：DCCA 第一轴基本上反映了植物群落所处环境的海拔的梯度变化,第二轴基本上反映了坡位的梯度变化。同时发现辽东栎林 大多数植物分布在低海拔区域。乔木层的物种分布比较均匀。草本层的物种分布重叠率是最大的,说明草本植物的生境相似性很高。低海拔区 域的生物多样性要高于高海拔区域的生物多样性。结合环境因子间的相关关系和DCCA排序结果,发现海拔是影响东灵山辽东栎林物种分布的主 要环境因子。     

Vegetation‐environment relationships in Atlantic European calcareous grasslands

Abstract. The relationship between vegetation and environment was investigated for calcareous grasslands in a region in the west of Spain, France, Britain and Ireland defined by climatic criteria. Vegetation was sampled using objective methods and data collected on soils, land cover, location and management. Climate data were obtained from an available database. Examination of the first axis of vegetation variation as defined by Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) showed a gradient from the Irish and British samples to those from France. The Spanish samples formed a separate group on the second axis. The species composition along the gradients is discussed. Correlations between the vegetation gradients and environmental variables were determined. The strongest correlations with the first DCA axis were for temperature, latitude, soil organic matter, grazing and land cover. The second DCA axis was highly correlated with rainfall, altitude and land cover. The third and fourth DCA axes were more difficult to interpret but appeared to be related to land cover. The results indicate that climate factors are important at this scale, but should not be considered in isolation and that factors relating to land cover and management should also be taken into account.     

环境因子和干扰强度对高寒草甸植物多样性空间分异的影响

采用样带与样地结合的方法在三江源自然保护区的核心区沿海拔梯度在阴坡、阳坡分别进行草本植被调查,通过因子分析和偏相关分析研究丰富度指数、多样性指数与环境梯度（包括海拔梯度、裸斑面积、坡度、土壤总碳、总氮含量、土壤pH值、土壤总可溶性盐含量）和干扰强度（鼠类干扰强度、放牧强度）之间的关系。研究结果表明：杂类草丰富度指数（DMa杂）与总物种丰富度指数（DMa总）极显著相关（P<0.01）;阳坡DMa杂和DMa总均呈现“中海拔膨胀”现象,阴坡DMa杂和DMa总与海拔梯度呈正相关,莎草科和禾本科的丰富度指数（DMa莎和DMa禾）随海拔升高并无明显规律;通过主成分分析,及偏相关分析,第一主成分（裸斑面积、鼠类干扰和放牧强度）与除莎草科Margalef丰富度指数、禾本科Simpson指数和禾本科Pielou均匀度指数外的其他草地多样性指数均显著相关,是影响阳坡草地植物多样性的主要因子,土壤总碳、总氮含量对阳坡禾本科类群的多样性指数和均匀度指数有极显著影响,土壤pH值、TDS含量和坡度对阳坡莎草科类群的丰富度有显著影响;海拔梯度、土壤总碳、总氮以及pH值对阴坡草本植物群落的多样性影响较大。研究结论认为,植物群落生物多样性的空间分异特征是地理环境、土壤环境以及干扰强度等因素综合作用的结果。无干扰或干扰较弱时,物种多样性主要受土壤环境状况所影响;而在强干扰存在条件下,干扰强度对物种丰富度和多样性的影响比环境因子更显著;遏制高寒草甸植物多样性降低应首先控制放牧及鼠类等强干扰活动。