采石场废弃地的早期植被与土壤种子库

调查了广州市白云山地区一个弃置 2 a的大型采石场的排土场、采石坑以及原用作破碎加工石料和成品贮运的平台等的土壤种子库和自然植被。这些废弃地的基质毫无结构 ,质地亦极端 ,排土场 60 %的颗粒直径小于 1 mm,碎石平台则主要由散落的碎石、石粉组成 ,粒径大于 5 mm占 5 0 %以上。3种类型废弃地的养分元素含量都很低 ,水溶性氮和磷含量分别为 0 .74～ 1 .43mg· kg- 1和 0 .0 32～ 0 .0 5 3mg· kg- 1。 3种废弃地在植被自然发生的程度及土壤种子库种子含量上也差异很大。排土场表面极不稳定 ,大大小小水蚀沟分布其上 ,水蚀和水土流失严重 ,基本上没有植物定居 ,土壤种子库接近零 (所有样品只检测到两种植物各 1株幼苗 ,换算成种子库的大小约当 33粒· m- 2 ) ;采石坑废弃地的自然植被较好 ,发展成以湿生植物为主的郁闭草地 ,边坡较为干旱而以禾草类为主 ,盖度亦达 1 0 0 % ,水环境的多样性促进了植物种类的多样性 ,计有 1 3科 30属 31种植物 ,土壤种子库的种子含量为 1 93± 46粒·m- 2 ,有 6个种 ;碎石贮运平台废弃地由于经车辆的反复辗压 ,表面异常坚实 ,废弃后早期只有在周边较疏松处及偶然出现的裂缝中有植物生长 ,总植被盖度小于 1 0 % ,种类也较少 ,只有 4科 9属 9种 ,然而其土壤种子库却是最     

金佛山方竹自然扩散生态效应初步分析

为探索金佛山方竹在自然扩散过程中对其他物种造成的影响,选择了草地、灌木林和乔木林三种不同的植被布设样方,连续五年观测和统计了金佛山方竹自然扩散过程中各试验点物种种类、各类群物种的平均高度和平均盖度的变化。调查发现,各试验点共有乔木14种、灌木23种、草本41种;随着金佛山方竹的扩散,乔木层植物的种类基本保持不变,其平均高度变化十分微弱,兰花试验点乔木层平均盖度下降约4.6%,上茨盖坝试验点的平均盖度上升12.5%;灌木层植物种类逐渐减少,平均盖度逐渐降低,平均高度呈现出先降低后上升的趋势;草本层植物的物种种类、平均高度和平均盖度均明显降低。     

采石场废弃地的生态重建研究进展

采石场的开采严重破坏了植被和土壤,形成了大量的裸露岩石斜坡,造成宏观景观支离破碎和极端的环境条件,限制了植物的生长。由于自然恢复所需时间长久,人工恢复被广泛应用于采石场废弃地的生态重建。自然演替过程是采石场生态重建的理论基础,自然演替理论可以为人工恢复措施提供指导。植物群落演替的早期阶段,非生物因素起主要作用,随着演替的推移,生物因素的重要性增强。邻近自然植被的土壤和繁殖体通过外力的扩散,对恢复起重要作用。除了非生物和其他的限制,先到达恢复地的物种竞争能力的变化能决定了演替过程。演替过程中的干扰因素往往成为演替重要的驱动力。裸露岩石斜坡的物理稳定性对植被恢复有重要影响,有机废物的使用和施肥可以影响恢复演替的方向和生物多样性。播种一定的植物能够改变恢复演替方向,加速演替过程。乡土物种适应了当地气候,能够促进演替。随着修复时间的延长,土壤有机质含量,植被覆盖度和物种丰富度不断增加,土壤微生物生物量随之增加。开展不同地区采石场植物种类的选育、研究乡土物种的功能特性、土壤微生物群落和酶的变化、植被演替过程的定位研究、植物种间的竞争关系、自然演替和人工恢复的比较研究、探索经济高效的采石场生态重建方法是未来的研究方向。     

茂名北排油页岩废渣场的土壤与植被特性研究

茂名北排油页岩废渣堆放场是一块面积达670hm²的工业生产废弃地,废渣场土壤干旱,养分贫瘠,重金属含量略为偏高,不利植物入侵与定居。这片因人为因素形成的次生裸地经过20多年的自然恢复,入侵定居植物只有24科59属66种,且大多数均为禾本科、莎草科、菊科等科的草本植物种类;草本植物有13科38属44种,占总种数的67%,占总覆盖度的80%以上。群落结构及组成种类简单,处于群落次生演替的前期阶段,表明废渣场次生裸地的植被恢复是非常缓慢的。为尽早达到控制污染、改善环境等目的,必须辅以人工措施,加速植被的恢复进程。最后提出了实现这一目的的生态恢复对策。     

荒漠草原土壤种子库对草地管理方式的响应

以宁夏中部不同封育年限(封育1a、3a、5a和7a)、不同放牧方式(中等强度自由放牧、中等强度4区轮牧)、补播改良(2006年补播沙打旺Astragalus adsurgens和紫花苜蓿Alfalfa stiva)及未封育等管理方式下的荒漠草原为研究对象,采用空间梯度代替时间梯度法,于2012年3月下旬用样线法采集土壤样品,采用温室萌发法,统计土壤种子库物种组成和种子数,研究了不同草地管理方式下的种子库与地上植被相似性、多样性等特征。结果表明:1)宁夏荒漠草原土壤种子库中共出现14种植物,分属6科14属,除牛枝子(Lespedeza potanimii)为半灌木外其余均为草本植物。多年生植物占土壤种子库植物总数的65.3%,一年生植物占土壤种子库植物总数的35.7%;多年生植物种子数量随封育年限增加而表现为下降趋势,封育1a和未封育草地最多;2)不同管理方式下土壤种子库和地上植被的共有物种数为2—6种,封育时间延长导致土壤种子库物种与地上植被相似性下降,土壤种子库和地上植被共有物种数有减少趋势,自由放牧降低了土壤种子库和地上植被的共有物种数,补播恢复的草地土壤种子库中未出现补播物种;3)种子库物种多样性与管理方式无明显的相关性;种子库物种多样性指数4区轮牧草地最高,封育7a草地最低,物种丰富度指数封育1a草地最高,均匀度指数自由放牧草地最高,补播草地最低。若荒漠草原仅依靠土壤种子库恢复自然植被,则不建议封育时间过久,需间以适当的干扰(放牧);补播外来种未对荒漠草原土壤种子库产生贡献,反而对乡土种产生了一定限制。     

子午岭植被自然恢复过程中植物多样性的变化

黄土高原地区由于强烈的水土流失生态系统处于极度退化的状态,探讨该地区植被自然恢复演替过程中植物多样性的变化规律,对于指导该地区的人工植被建设具有重要的理论价值与实际意义.以时空互代的方法初步研究了黄土高原子午岭弃耕地植被自然恢复演替过程中植物多样性的变化.结果表明,在近150a的植被恢复演替过程中调查样方内共出现高等植物128种,分属于47科113属,累计出现的科、属、种数(y)随着演替时间(t)的延长呈对数函数变化y=aLn(t)+b,而且在植被恢复的前期增加速度较快,有60%的科属种在前30a出现.杠柳(Periploca sepium)与茶条槭(Acer ginnala)是植被恢复演替过程中出现最早而且持续时间最长的木本植物,具有较宽的生态位,建议作为该地区人工造林树种考虑.在植被恢复演替过程中草本层与灌木层物种丰富度指数(Gleason指数与Margalef指数)、多样性指数(Shannon-Wiener指数)以及Pielou均匀度指数的变化均表现为抛物线函数变化规律y=at2+bt+c.在不同的群落层次植物多样性的变化是不同步的,草本层、灌木层与乔木层植物多样性达到最大的时间依次为70～80a、90～100a与100a以上.森林群落植物多样性在空间上的变化顺序为草本层>灌木层>乔木层.     

广西岩溶植被植物区系

通过对数十年来广西植物研究所对广西岩溶植被全面调查积累的资料进行分析研究 ,结果表明 :( 1 )广西岩溶植被的植物区系成分有 1 75科 662属 1 5 0 0种 ,其中 6科 1 71属 83 4种为岩溶植被专有 ;( 2 )广西岩溶植被的区系成分以番荔枝科、椴树科、大戟科、苏木科、榆科、鼠李科、楝科、无患子科、漆树科等为主 ,与岩溶植被区系关系密切的科或乔木层优势科一般是落叶种类多或藤本种类多的科 ,如果优势科多数种类或优势种类是常绿的 ,这些种类不是热带植物区系成分 ,就是一类硬叶阔叶或针叶的亚热带种类 ;( 3 )岩溶植被植物区系组成为地域性但带有明显的地带性烙印 ;( 4 )广西岩溶植被区系成分以热带成分为主 ,温带成分为辅 ,62 2属种子植物 ,热带分布占 76.2 1 % ,温带分布占 2 1 .1 3 % ,中国特有占 2 .66% ;( 5 )组成山顶矮林的区系成分比较固定 ,乔木种类主要有 :乌冈栎、铁屎米、山胶木 (假水石梓 )、圆叶乌桕、铜钱树、化香树、广东松、翠柏等 ;( 6)与广西酸性土植被比较 ,岩溶植被植物区系中蕨类植物、裸子植物、双子叶植物以及单子叶植物 ,无论是科属组成 ,还是种的组成 ,均没有酸性土植被植物区系占的比例高 ,另外 ,与组成酸性土植被乔木层优势科的关系也很疏远     

北京野鸭湖湿地地表甲虫群落组成与空间分布格局

2007年4–10月在北京野鸭湖湿地两种保存较好的湿地植被类型和3种主要的退化植被类型中设立了32个样地, 采用陷阱法调查地表甲虫群落的组成, 并在科级水平上探讨了湿地退化及植被类型变化对地表甲虫群落组成的影响。整个采样周期共采集甲虫标本42科, 其中步甲科和隐翅虫科为优势科, 蚁形甲科、肖叶甲科和薪甲科为亚优势科。在所研究的5种植被类型中, 湿地景观保存较好的芦苇(Phragmites communis)带与球穗莎草(Cyperus glomeratus)带的甲虫群落活动密度、科丰富度和Shannon-Wiener多样性指数(H’)均无显著差异, 而上述两种植被类型的甲虫活动密度以及球穗莎草带的甲虫科丰富度均显著高于3种退化的植被类型。对地表甲虫群落组成与9个环境因子进行的典范对应分析(CCA)表明, 32个样地在CCA排序图中的分布与植被类型之间存在明显的对应关系, 土壤含水量、植物盖度、植物生物量和枯落物盖度是影响地表甲虫群落组成及空间分布的主要环境因子。相关和回归分析结果也显示, 甲虫群落的活动密度与土壤含水量、植物生物量和植物盖度均极显著或显著正相关, 科丰富度与植物生物量显著正相关, 多样性指数(H’)与植物盖度极显著负相关; 其中土壤含水量的变化能够解释甲虫群落活动密度总方差的57%。此外, 通过主成分分析获得了反映土壤含水量、植物生物量和植物盖度综合作用的环境变量WBC (Water-Biomass-Coverage)。依据地表甲虫活动密度与WBC的关系, 可将5种植被类型分为彼此差异极显著的3组。研究结果表明保持良好的湿地景观对于保护湿地甲虫具有重要意义。     

紫金山蕨类植物区系及其分布特点的研究

根据紫金山的自然条件和植被特点 ,对该区蕨类植物的区系和分布特点作重点分析 ,结果表明 :1)本区有蕨类植物 95种 (含亚、变种隶属 34科、6 0属 ,其中水龙骨科、鳞毛蕨科等 6科的种类占优 ;2 )本区蕨类植物中热带、亚热带属占总属数 88 33% ,具有典型的热带、亚热带性质 ;3)古老植物成分丰富 ,单种分布的种类较多 ;4 )本区系成分与海南最为密切 ,与江西、浙江密切 ,与河北、东北较为疏远 ;5)分布特点表现为具有 5种生态类型 ,种类集中在海拔 340～ 6 50m区域 .     

绵阳市湿地植物资源调查研究

通过实地调查对绵阳市湿地植物的种类、生活型、植被类型进行了初步研究。初步确定绵阳市湿地植物有80 科295 种, 大部分为草本植物, 其中含较多属和种的科是禾本科(Gramineae)和菊科(Compositae), 含较多种的属是蓼属(Polygonum)。绵阳市湿地资源植物较丰富, 国家重点保护植物有3 种; 入侵植物或外来植物较多, 有17 种, 以喜旱莲子草(Alternanthera philoxeroides)、鬼针草(Bidens pilosa)危害最为严重。全市湿地植物可划分为6 个生活型、3 个生态型; 湿地植被类型大致分为5 个植被型组、11 个植被型和59 个群系。     

A new era in forest restoration monitoring

Monitoring ecological restoration has been historically dependent on traditional inventory methods based on detailed information obtained from field plots. New paradigms are now needed to successfully achieve restoration as a large‐scale, long‐lasting transformative process. Fortunately, advances in technology now allow for unprecedented shifts in the way restoration has been planned, implemented, and monitored. Here, we describe our vision on how the use of new technologies by a new generation of restoration ecologists may revolutionize restoration monitoring in the coming years. The success of the many ambitious restoration programs planned for the coming decade will rely on effective monitoring, which is an essential component of adaptive management and accountability. The development of new remote sensing approaches and their application to a restoration context open new avenues for expanding our capacity to assess restoration performance over unprecedented spatial and temporal scales. A new generation of scientists, which have a background in remote sensing but are getting more and more involved with restoration, will certainly play a key role for making large‐scale restoration monitoring a viable human endeavor in the coming decade—the United Nations' decade on ecosystem restoration.     

Improving sampling designs for measuring restoration in aquatic habitats

Restoration of degraded habitat is an increasingly important toll for management. Unfortunately, much of the emphasis has been on restoring large structural elements of habitat (e.g. planting vegetation,removing weeds), with little consideration about how well these activities restore ecologically functioning habitat. There has been considerable research in recent years into improving sampling designs and analytical techniques to measure the effects of environmental impacts taking into account the large spatial and temporal variability that occurs naturally in undisturbed habitats. In a similar manner to detection of impacts, restoration needs to be measured as an interaction between spatial and temporal components of variation against a variable background. Very few studies of restoration have explicitly addressed how best to do this. Neither have they attempted to assess the usefulness of some of these new techniques for measuring restoration. This review discusses some of the problems that need to be considered when measuring restoration and the potential value of some of these new methodologies. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Stretch Goals and Backcasting: Approaches for Overcoming Barriers to Large-Scale Ecological Restoration

The destruction and transformation of ecosystems by humans threatens biodiversity, ecosystem function, and vital ecosystem services. Ecological repair of ecosystems will be a major challenge over the next century and beyond. Restoration efforts to date have frequently been ad hoc, and site or situation specific. Although such small‐scale efforts are vitally important, without large‐scale visions and coordination, it is unlikely that large functioning ecosystems will ever be constructed by chance through the cumulative effects of small‐scale projects. Although the problems of human‐induced environmental degradation and the need for a solution are widely recognized, these issues have rarely been addressed on a sufficiently large‐scale basis. There are numerous barriers that prevent large‐scale ecological restoration projects from being proposed, initiated, or carried through. Common barriers include the “shifting baseline syndrome,” the scale and complexity of restoration, the long‐term and open‐ended nature of restoration, funding challenges, and preemptive constraint of vision. Two potentially useful approaches that could help overcome these barriers are stretch goals and backcasting. Stretch goals are ambitious long‐term goals used to inspire creativity and innovation to achieve outcomes that currently seem impossible. Backcasting is a technique where a desired end point is visualized, and then a pathway to that end point is worked out retrospectively. A case study from the Scottish Highlands is used to illustrate how stretch goals and backcasting could facilitate large‐scale restoration. The combination of these approaches offers ways to evaluate and shape options for the future of ecosystems, rather than accepting that future ecosystems are victims of past and present political realities.     

Wading through the swamp: what does tropical peatland restoration mean to national‐level stakeholders in Indonesia?

Ecological restoration is considered to play an important role in mitigating climate change, protecting biodiversity, and preventing environmental degradation. Yet, there are often multiple perspectives on what outcomes restoration should be aiming to achieve, and how we should get to that point. In this study we interview a range of policymakers, academics, and non‐governmental organization (NGO) representatives to explore the range of perspectives on the restoration of Indonesia's tropical peatlands—key global ecosystems that have undergone large‐scale degradation. Thematic analysis suggests that participants agreed about the importance of restoration, but had differing opinions on how effective restoration activities to date have been and what a restored peatland landscape should look like. These results exemplify how ecological restoration can mean different things to different people, but also highlight important areas of consensus for moving forward with peatland restoration strategies.     

Phytoplankton biomass in Lake Xolotlán (Managua): Its seasonal and horizontal distribution

Some well-documented studies on restoring eutrophic lake systems in The Netherlands by fish stock management have been evaluated with the emphasis on the role of macrophytes. Furthermore, the factors determining the light climate for submerged macrophytes in a large shallow eutrophic lake (Lake Veluwe) have been assessed and the potential success of biomanipulation in large scale projects is discussed. Today relatively little attention has been paid to macrophyte management although the importance of macrophytes in lake restoration has been recognized regularly. The biomanipulation strategy was successful in small scale projects. In a large scale project, however, wind-induced resuspension may largely determine the underwater light climate through attenuation by the water column and periphytic layer. Therefore, restoration of relatively large waterbodies by fish stock management only is expected not to lead to any noteworthy improvement of the light climate for submerged macrophytes. Additional measures aimed at reducing wind-induced resuspension of sediment particles and reestablishing of the macrophyte stands are required for successful biomanipulation strategies. Water quality managers should pay more attention to macrophyte stands in biomanipulation projects because macrophytes enhance a more stable and diverse ecosystem. Restoration objectives and the methods of their achievement must be carefully planned since an abundant submerged macrophyte vegetation may have undesirable effects as well.     

Current and Potential Roles of Soil Macroinvertebrates (Earthworms,Millipedes, and Isopods) in Ecological Restoration

Soil macroinvertebrates have a considerable impact on soil functions important to the restoration process, such as decomposition; yet, soil organisms have received relatively little attention in restoration ecology in terms of their applicability as agents of restoration. Here, we review how large obligate detritivores (earthworms, millipedes, and isopods) have been used to accomplish restoration goals, assess restoration progress, and function as bioindicators. Patterns of detritivore community succession and how these communities are themselves restored during restoration of perturbed ecosystems are also discussed. We conclude with a discussion of increased utilization of these taxa in future and ongoing restoration projects as well as the outreach activities that should be associated with use of these organisms.     

Using performance standards to guide vernal pool restoration and adaptive management

Although many restoration projects now include monitoring and evaluation in an adaptive management approach, a failure to employ distinct performance standards can lead to inconsistent and unclear results that may hinder learning from project outcomes and complicate large‐scale assessments of restoration success. Such is the case with vernal pool restoration projects in California, where performance standard guidelines are vague and inconsistently applied across agencies implementing restoration projects. However, positive steps have been made in recent years to develop wetland functional assessments and monitoring protocols in California to reduce inconsistencies and promote ecologically meaningful restoration. Additional work is needed to develop specific guidelines for vernal pool restoration performance standards and define their role within an adaptive management framework. We provide a case study of a vernal pool restoration project in central California to illustrate some of the challenges in using currently available vernal pool performance standard guidelines and propose suggestions for increasing their ecological relevance and clarity.     

An Ecosystem Model for Exploring Lake Restoration Effects on Fish Communities and Fisheries in Florida

Developing quantitative ecosystem–scale expectations of habitat restoration projects and examining trade‐offs associated with alternative approaches has been a challenge for restoration ecology. Many of the largest freshwater lake restoration projects have occurred in Florida to remediate degradation to vegetated littoral habitats resulting from stabilized water levels, but effects across lake food‐webs have not been assessed. We developed an ecosystem model using Ecopath with Ecosim and Ecospace for a generalized large, eutrophic Florida Lake to explore how simulated restoration activities could influence fish communities with emphasis on sport fish abundance. We modeled three habitat restoration scenarios: (1) “no control,” (2) a “10‐year control” that restored littoral habitat every 10 years, and (3) a “combined control” scenario that restored littoral habitat every 10 years with maintenance controls between 10‐year periods. Our “combined control” scenario provided the largest long‐term habitat restoration benefits for sport fish abundance and the fisheries they support. In Ecospace, we simulated a littoral habitat restoration project that reduced lake‐wide tussock coverage from 30 to 15%. Ecospace predicted positive benefits to sport fish and fisheries following the restoration simulation and highlighted the importance of habitat edge effects, spatial design of habitat restoration projects, and sampling designs for evaluating restoration projects.     

Restoration strategies for river floodplains along large lowland rivers in Europe

1. Most temperate rivers are heavily regulated and characterised by incised channels, aggradated floodplains and modified hydroperiods. As a consequence, former extensive aquatic/terrestrial transition zones lack most of their basic ecological functions.
2. Along large rivers in Europe and North America, various floodplain restoration or rehabilitation projects have been planned or realised in recent years. However, restoration ecology is still in its infancy and the literature pertinent to river restoration is rather fragmented. (Semi-) aquatic components of floodplains, including secondary channels, disconnected and temporary waters as well as marshes, have received little attention, despite their significant contribution to biological diversity.
3. Many rehabilitation projects were planned or realised without prior knowledge of their potential for success or failure, although, these projects greatly contributed to our present understanding of river–floodplain systems.
4. River rehabilitation benefits from a consideration of river ecosystem concepts in quantitative terms, comparison with reference conditions, historical or others, and the establishment of interdisciplinary partnerships.
5. We present examples from two large European rivers, the Danube and the Rhine, in which the role of aquatic connectivity has been extensively studied. The Danube delta with its diversity of floodplain lakes across an immense transversal gradient (up to 10 km) serves as a reference system for restoration projects along lowland sections of large rivers such as the Rhine in the Netherlands.     

Ecological restoration as precaution and not as restitutional compensation

Ecological restoration has become a major issue in environmental management. To overcome the backward orientation of the restoration concept (focusing on reference states and natural ecosystems) the introduction of a precautionary principle is proposed. The principle has been developed for decision-making under high uncertainty about the probability and severity of an environmental damage. Meanwhile, it has been accepted in many countries of the world as a guiding principle for environmental legislation. Likewise it is the basis for international conventions aiming at the conservation of biodiversity. Nevertheless, biodiversity is still neglected in large reclamation projects. Several links between precaution and restoration are described. Restoration can be used to prevent future damage. Otherwise restoration is plagued by uncertainty about the outcome of the measures and may have negative effects or even fail. An analysis of common evaluation methods of restoration projects shows that most approaches focus on comparison of restoration results with a reference state, and are thus useless in a precautionary context. Other methods (e.g. comparing restored with unrestored sites) require data gathered by long-term observation (monitoring) of socio-economically defined desired states (Leitbild). Two large-scale restoration projects are analyzed, coastal land reclamation in Korea and open cast mining reclamation in Germany. Both projects had or have honorific aims and are legally admissible. However, they violate both international law based on precaution and simple rules of prudence or wise use. Costly post hoc ‘restoration’ measures are the usual consequence.