Regeneration of planted conifers across climatic moisture gradients on the Canadian prairies: implications for distribution and climate change

The influence of dry climates on white spruce ( Picea glauca (Moench) Voss)) regeneration was examined by conducting surveys of seedlings and small trees that had regenerated naturally at 100 farm shelterbelts and plantations in southern Saskatchewan, Canada. The sites surveyed were located along a climate moisture gradient extending from the relatively moist boreal forest, across the aspen parkland, to the semi-arid prairie grasslands. Natural regeneration was greatest at sites in the boreal forest and northern aspen parkland, decreased in the southern aspen parkland, and was negligible in the grassland zone. Furthermore, the few seedlings found in the drier zones were usually in poor condition. Similar results were obtained for the introduced Colorado spruce ( Picea pungens Engelm.) and Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris L.). It is concluded that the present climate of the southern parkland and grassland is too dry to permit natural regeneration of white spruce and other conifers. If increases in atmospheric CO₂ levels lead to a drier future climate in the southern boreal forest of western Canada, the ability of conifers to regenerate naturally may be significantly reduced.     

藏北高原牧区人工草地建设布局的适宜性分析

人工草地是缓解天然草地退化和提升草地生产力的一种有效途径,但人工草地建设发展需注重区域布局、种植区划、经营管理等战略问题,尤其是在高寒牧区建立人工草地,目前还存在诸多值得探讨的科学问题。为此,选取藏北高原高寒牧区为研究区,基于遥感数据,土壤数据,气象数据,地形和土地利用数据,结合野外实地调查,从可利用土地资源角度考虑,通过分析藏北现有人工草地建设的立地条件,识别出区域适宜人工草地建设的潜在分布区,并与现有人工草地分布位置及其面积进行对比分析和验证,以期为区域未来人工草地建设布局提供科学指导。研究结果表明:在各种约束因子的限制下,藏北满足人工草地建设条件的适宜区域极其有限,难以发展大面积的人工草地建设工程。水热条件和海拔是限制区域人工草地建设的主要地理因素,尤其是那曲地区,绝大部分区域无法满足人工牧草生长活动的积温需求。因此,区域牧草种植规划中需重点考虑牧草品种的生物学特性。另一方面,在藏北高寒牧区建立人工草地必须慎重,今后人工草地种植规划还需要加强牧草的抗寒性和抗旱性研究,在人工草地的管理方面要特别关注已建人工草地的可持续性和稳定性,防止出现草地退化和沙化等问题。     

基于牧户感知和野外调查相结合的内蒙古东部草甸草原健康评价

治理草原退化是我国草原管理的重点和难点。我国目前关于草原退化判断、退化程度、原因及治理等系列问题的确定几乎皆以科学研究结果为依据,而忽视了牧户作为草原直接使用者和管理者的重要性。牧户对草原有自己的判断和认知,其与科学方法研究之间的矛盾已经影响到草原生态保护政策的有效实施。以内蒙古东部草甸草原牧户尺度草原为研究对象,借助牧户调研和野外调查相结合的方法,将牧户划分为高、中、低3个经济水平,并运用Condition-Vigor-Organization-Resilience (CVOR)指数评价法,分析评价草原生态系统健康状况。研究结果显示,牧户对草原健康状况的感知主要从植被、土壤、牲畜等方面,与科学方法评价指标选取具有相似性;牧户感知和CVOR指数法评价结果具有一致性,均判定草原生态系统呈现不同程度退化;统计检验显示牧户对植被、土壤、牲畜影响等指标变化感知方面均不存在显著差异(P0.05),CVOR指数法下不同经济水平牧户草场健康指数之间亦无显著差异(P0.05),两种方法均显示不同经济水平牧户草场退化程度无显著差异(P0.05)。研究证实了牧户感知在指标选取、评价结果方面具备用于准确评价草原健康状况的可行性和可信度。两种方法相互补充,将有利于更加准确、实时动态监测和评价牧户尺度草原生态健康状况,为调整优化畜牧业生产实践提供指导和草原生态保护和建设政策的有效实施提供保障。     

Life and Times of Five Saskatchewan Saline Meromictic Lakes

Five closed saline lakes near Humboldt, Saskatchewan, were found to be meromictic. Two of these lakes (Waldsea, Deadmoose) were first discovered to be meromictic in the early 1970s and three (Arthur, Marie, Sayer) in 1985. The origin of their meromixis is ectogenic. One of the lakes, Waldsea, had surface salinities far higher in 1960–1961 than those of 1970 or later and as high as that of the monimolimnion occasionally was from 1970 to the present. During the late 1960s to 1980 the lake level of Waldsea rose four metres as a result of higher than normal snowpacks and subsequent high snowmelt runoff. Endogenic processes of freezing out of salts from the upper metre during ice formation and precipitation of sodium sulphate during autumn cooling also promote meromixis. The lakes which are located in depressions in a relatively flat topography are very exposed to periodic high velocity westerly winds. Although Deadmoose and Waldsea lakes are relatively deep, Arthur, Marie and Sayer lakes have maximum depths of only three to five metres. Meromixis has persisted until the present in three lakes but Marie and Arthur lakes became holomictic during the autumn of 1988, a severe drought year. Bacterial plates were prominent in Waldsea, Deadmoose and Sayer lakes. BChl-a and BChl-d were present in 1988 with maxima of 2652 mg · m⁻³ BChl-a and 4290 mg · m⁻³ BChl-d in Sayer Lake. BChl-a virtually disappeared in subsequent years.     

The Use of Two‐Way Linear Mixed Models in Multitreatment Meta‐Analysis

Summary Meta‐analysis summarizes the results of a series of trials. When more than two treatments are included in the trials and when the set of treatments tested differs between trials, the combination of results across trials requires some care. Several methods have been proposed for this purpose, which feature under different labels, such as network meta‐analysis or mixed treatment comparisons. Two types of linear mixed model can be used for meta‐analysis. The one expresses the expected outcome of treatments as a contrast to a baseline treatment. The other uses a classical two‐way linear predictor with main effects for treatment and trial. In this article, we compare both types of model and explore under which conditions they give equivalent results. We illustrate practical advantages of the two‐way model using two published datasets. In particular, it is shown that between‐trial heterogeneity as well as inconsistency between different types of trial is straightforward to account for.