Species-rich Nardus stricta grasslands host a higher vascular plant diversity on calcareous than on siliceous bedrock

Background: Species-rich Nardus stricta grasslands are a priority habitat for conservation in Europe. They typically occur on siliceous substrates and less frequently are found on calcareous bedrock.

Aims: The present paper aimed to identify the environmental factors (i.e. bedrock type, topographic, and climatic factors) that are related with community diversity and to assess if differences in plant diversity between N. stricta communities on calcareous and siliceous bedrock occur. We hypothesised that Nardus grasslands on calcareous bedrock hosted a higher vascular plant diversity than those on siliceous bedrock.

Methods: Based on 579 vegetation surveys carried out in the south-western Alps, we assessed vascular plant diversity (species richness, Shannon diversity, and Pielou’s equitability index) of species-rich Nardus grasslands and compared it between N. stricta communities on calcareous and siliceous bedrock.

Results: Elevation was identified as the main factor related to species composition, while species diversity was mostly related to mean annual precipitation and bedrock type. Species richness, Shannon diversity, and Pielou’s equitability index were higher within the communities on calcareous rather than on siliceous bedrock and a total of 89 and 34 indicator species were detected, respectively.

Conclusions: Based on our results, we suggest to protect primarily, as a habitat of priority interest, N. stricta grasslands on calcareous substrates for the higher vascular plant diversity hosted.     

四川绵阳洞栖蝙蝠多样性及受胁现状

1999～2005年,对四川省绵阳市洞栖性蝙蝠进行了凋杳。共采集到4科,5属,14种,约占四川蝙蝠种类31．8％,中国蝙蝠种类11．7％。其中,大足鼠耳蝠（Myotis ricketti）为中国特有种,中华鼠耳蝠（Myotis chinensis）已被列入《中国物种红色名录》中的易危（VU）种,南蝠（Iu io）等5种被列入近危（NT）种。调查中发现不少洞穴已被开发或正在被开发成旅游景点,人为干扰已严重威胁洞穴内蝙蝠的生存。建议对蝙蝠栖息地采取一定的保护措施,并加强保护蝙蝠的宣传教育。     

A Protocol for Integrated Management, Monitoring, and Enhancement of Degraded Themeda triandra Grasslands based on Plantings of Indicator Species

Abstract Lowland temperate grasslands dominated by Themeda triandra (kangaroo grass) are an endangered ecosystem in southeastern Australia. Grass biomass must be removed frequently to maintain plant diversity, but few studies of the impacts of different biomass removal techniques have been undertaken, and no rapid monitoring schemes have been developed. Low species densities in many reserves (due to past stock grazing) make it difficult to assess the effects of management regimes on plant diversity. Management impacts could be assessed by planting indicator species in replicated enhancement plots and subjecting these plots to adaptive management trials. A protocol for selecting potential indicator species is described, based on a regional quadrat database, using clearly defined criteria. Potential indicator species need to be conspicuous, easy to identify and abundant in high quality diverse grassland remnants, to have relatively broad ecological tolerances, to occur in sites that are relatively species rich and have a comparatively low cover of dominant exotic species, to commonly persist at low densities in long‐grazed reserves, to be responsive to changes in management, and to have been studied ecologically. Only three species from western Victorian grasslands satisfied these criteria: Calocephalus citreus (lemon beauty‐heads), Chrysocephalum apiculatum (common everlasting), and Leptorhynchos squamatus (scaly buttons). All are widespread, herbaceous, hemicryptophytic daisies. Despite a number of caveats, the scheme has the potential to provide a more clearly focused framework for grassland ecosystem management than currently exists.     

Red-listed lichens in Sweden: habitats, threats, protection, and indicator value in boreal coniferous forests

The three major threats to lichens in Sweden; forestry, air pollution, and structural changes in the agricultural landscape, are outlined. Forestry is the most serious. The majority of the red-listed lichens in forests are found in productive forests with a continuity in tree growth, but nearly 70% of the protected area in Sweden consists of alpine landscapes. Examples of important habitats with red-listed lichens are described, e.g. Alnus glutinosa marshes, alvar-vegetation, broad-leaved deciduous forests and different Picea abies forests. The use of selected indicator species of lichens and macrofungi (mainly red-listed species) in boreal coniferous forests provides information on continuity in tree growth of an area, and on earlier influences of forestry. Examples of indicator species for different types of forest are presented and discussed. In spite of the Swedish right of common accesso, collecting of lichens is forbidden without permission from the land-owner. Collecting in protected areas is allowed only with a permit obtained from the authorities.     

海南岛吊罗山蕨类植物的多样性及其保育

对海南岛吊罗山的蕨类植物进行了专题研究。吊罗山有蕨类植物 4 3科 10 0属 2 13种及 4变种 ,其中 5种为海南新记录。蕨类物种密度高达 5 5 .8种 / 10 0km2 ,为海南蕨类多样性中心之一。该地蕨类植物区系以水龙骨科和膜蕨科为优势科 ,表现出明显的热带性质 ,热带分布的科、属、种分别达到 10 0 %、93.2 %和 95 .3%。在垂直分布上 ,蕨类植物的生态特点与植被类型相关 ,随着海拔升高 ,阳生性蕨类减少 ,阴生性蕨类、附生与石生蕨类增多 ,蕨类物种多样性在海拔 6 0 0～ 10 0 0m地段最为丰富。按照 2 0 0 1年IUCN红色名录等级及标准评估 ,在海南岛范围内 ,吊罗山有 36种受威胁蕨类植物 ,其中 6种为极危物种 ,13种为濒危物种 ,17种为渐危物种 ,这 36种受威胁蕨类中有 8种属于国家II级保护植物。导致这 36种蕨类植物受威胁的原因主要有 :人为直接破坏、生境旱化和分布区限制     

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。     

How global extinctions impact regional biodiversity in mammals

Phylogenetic diversity (PD) represents the evolutionary history of a species assemblage and is a valuable measure of biodiversity because it captures not only species richness but potentially also genetic and functional diversity. Preserving PD could be critical for maintaining the functional integrity of the world's ecosystems, and species extinction will have a large impact on ecosystems in areas where the ecosystem cost per species extinction is high. Here, we show that impacts from global extinctions are linked to spatial location. Using a phylogeny of all mammals, we compare regional losses of PD against a model of random extinction. At regional scales, losses differ dramatically: several biodiversity hotspots in southern Asia and Amazonia will lose an unexpectedly large proportion of PD. Global analyses may therefore underestimate the impacts of extinction on ecosystem processes and function because they occur at finer spatial scales within the context of natural biogeography.     

Soil heterogeneity buffers community response to climate change in species‐rich grassland

Climate change impacts on vegetation are mediated by soil processes that regulate rhizosphere water balance, nutrient dynamics, and ground‐level temperatures. For ecosystems characterized by high fine‐scale substrate heterogeneity such as grasslands on poorly developed soils, effects of climate change on plant communities may depend on substrate properties that vary at the scale of individuals (<m²), leading to fine‐scale shifts in community structure that may go undetected at larger scales. Here, we show in a long‐running climate experiment in species‐rich limestone grassland in Buxton, England (UK), that the resistance of the community to 15‐year manipulations of temperature and rainfall at the plot scale (9 m²) belies considerable community reorganization at the microsite (100 cm²) scale. In individual models of the abundance of the 25 most common species with respect to climate treatment and microsite soil depth, 13 species exhibited significant soil depth affinities, and nine of these have shifted their position along the depth gradient in response to one or more climate treatments. Estimates of species turnover across the depth gradient reviewed in relation to measurements of water potential, nitrogen supply, pH, and community biomass suggest that communities of shallow microsites are responding directly to microenvironmental changes induced by climate manipulation, while those of the deepest microsites are shifting in response to changes in competitive interference from more nutrient‐demanding species. Moreover, for several species in summer drought and winter heated treatments, climate response in deep microsites was opposite that of shallow microsites, suggesting microsite variation is contributing to community stability at the whole‐plot level. Our study thus demonstrates a strong link between community dynamics and substrate properties, and suggests ecosystems typified by fine‐scale substrate heterogeneity may possess a natural buffering capacity in the face of climate change.     

短花针茅荒漠草原物种多样性及生产力对长期不同放牧强度的响应

以内蒙古四子王旗短花针茅(Stipa breviflora)荒漠草原为研究对象,从植物个体尺度入手,通过2016年野外群落调查试验,对荒漠草原不同放牧处理[载畜率分别为0(CK)、0.91(LG)、1.82(MG)、2.71(HG)羊/(hm2·a-1)]下的物种组成、植物多样性与生产力的关系进行分析,以揭示荒漠草原群落中的物种组成、物种多样性及其功能群多样性对不同载畜率的响应机制。结果表明:(1)对照区的植物种最多,有13科30种,轻度放牧区只比对照区少野韭(Allium ramosum)1种植物,而中度放牧区和重度放牧区的植物种分别较对照区减少了30%和40%,其中减少的物种大多属于多年生杂类草与多年生根茎禾草两大功能群。(2)多年生丛生禾草在植物群落中占比始终最大(29%~78%),且随着载畜率的增加而增加,而其他功能群均随载畜率增加呈减小的趋势。(3)两种多样性指数中,除了功能群多样性的Margalef丰富度指数,其他多样性指数均在对照区达到最大值,且大小依次为对照轻度中度重度放牧区。(4)物种多样性的3个α多样性指数与草地生产力存在显著正相关关系,功能群多样性指数则与生产力无相关关系。研究认为,长期放牧使得荒漠草原群落结构趋于简单化,使多年生丛生禾草形成优势单种;且载畜率的增加使得短花针茅荒漠草原植物的多样性及生产力均显著下降,高水平的多样性会导致高水平的草地生产力,比较2种多样性指数指标,物种多样性指标对荒漠草原生产力的贡献更大。     

南岭地区鱼类多样性及其地理分布

鱼类是河流生态系统的重要组成部分, 对维系河流生态系统稳定性发挥关键作用。鱼类多样性作为评价河流环境变化的重要指标, 可以直接反映该地区河流生态系统的健康状况。南岭地区河流众多, 淡水鱼类多样性十分丰富, 但目前尚缺乏对此地区鱼类物种多样性及其地理分布的系统研究。本文基于历史文献资料和相关书籍(截至2024年1月10日), 系统整理了南岭地区鱼类物种组成信息。结果表明, 南岭地区共有淡水鱼类261种, 隶属11目29科121属。其中, 土著鱼类248种, 外来鱼类13种。南岭地区鱼类以鲤形目鲤科和爬鳅科鱼类为主, 分别占南岭地区鱼类总物种数的56.7%和7.3%; 受威胁鱼类共19种, 占南岭地区鱼类总物种数的7.3%, 有11种列入《国家重点保护野生动物名录》(2021), 有28种属于“国家重点保护经济水生动物”。南岭地区鱼类多样性正面临严峻挑战, 主要由于河流污染、水利设施开发和过度捕捞等人类活动的影响, 导致该地区受威胁物种和入侵物种比例上升。建议今后加强治理河流污染、保护鱼类栖息地、科学开展增殖放流等。本文整理所得的南岭地区鱼类物种名录可作为今后南岭地区鱼类生物多样性保护的参考依据。     

Does genetic variation and gene flow vary with rarity in obligate seeding Persoonia species (Proteaceae)?

Theory predicts that genetic variation is a determinant of persistence, and that the abundance and distribution of variation is strongly dependent on genetic drift and gene flow. Small, isolated populations are expected to be less diverse and more differentiated than large, inter-connected populations. Thus rare species may be more at risk of extinction. We used 389 putative AFLP loci to compare genetic variation and structuring in two pairs of closely-related common (large populations geographically widespread) and rare (small populations spatially restricted) Persoonia species. We genotyped 15–22 adult plants, from four populations, covering the geographic range of each species. Although genetic diversity was low for all four species (for long-lived outcrossing perennials), we found significantly more diversity within populations of the rare species than within those of the common species. AMOVA revealed significant levels of structure both among species (21%) and populations (15%). The proportion of inter-population variation within species did not vary consistently with rarity (Pair 1 rare 21.1% versus common 16.5%; Pair 2 rare 15.8% versus common 20.6%). However populations of the rare species were more differentiated than common species with similar geographic separation, suggesting greater gene flow between populations of the common species. Therefore, even relatively small genetically isolated populations of rare Persoonia species were more diverse than large populations of common Persoonia species. We hypothesise that common Persoonia species have undergone a rapid range expansion from a narrow gene pool, while genetic diversity is maintained in the soil seed-bank of rare remnants.