云木香化学成分研究 II

从丽江产云木香（ＳａｕｓｓｒｅａｌａｐｐａＣ．Ｂ．Ｃｌａｒｋｅ）根中分离得到的另外７化合物,它们分别是孕甾炮醇酮（ｐｒｅｇｎｅｎｏｌｏｎｅ）（１）,β－谷甾醇（β－ｓｉｔｏｓｔｅｒｏｌ）（２）葫萝卜甙（ｄａｕｃｏｓｔｅｒｏｌ）（３）,苯丙素甙（ｓｙｒｉｎｇｉｎ）（４）,木质素甙（１－ｈｙｄｒｏｘｙｐｉｎｏｒｅｓｉｎｏｌ－１－β－Ｄ－ｇｌｕｃｏｐｙｒａｎｏｓｉｄｅ）（５）油酸（ｚ,ｚ）－９,１２－ｏ     

部分裸子植物叶片总蛋白分析

采用ＳＤＳ－ ＰＡＧＥ 技术, 分析了红豆杉科（Ｔａｘａｃｅａｅ） 植物南方红豆杉（ Ｔａｘｕｓ ｃｈｉｎｅｎｓｉｓｖａｒ－ ｍａｉｒｅｉ （Ｌｅｍｅｅ ｅｔ Ｌｅｖｌ－） Ｃｈｅｎｇ ｅｔ Ｌ－Ｋ－Ｆｕ） 、穗花杉（ Ａｍｅｎｔｏｔａｘｕｓ ａｒｇｏｔａｅｎｉａ （Ｈａｎｃｅ） Ｐｉｌ ｇｅｒ） 、云南穗花杉（ Ａ－ ｙｕｎｎａｎｅｎｓｉｓ Ｌｉ） 、白豆杉（ Ｐｓｅｕｄｏｔａｘｕｓｃｈｉｅｎｉｉ（Ｃｈｅｎｇ） Ｃｈｅｎｇ） 以及三尖杉科（Ｃｅｐｈａｌｏｔａｘａｃｅａｅ） 、植物三尖杉（ Ｃｅｐｈａｌｏｔａｘｕｓ ｆｏｒｔｕｎｅｉ Ｈｏｏｋ－ｆ－） 、粗榧（ Ｃ－ｓｉｎｅｎｓｉｓ （Ｒｅｈｄ－ｅｔＷｉｌｓ－） Ｌｉ） 、海南粗榧（ Ｃ－ｈａｉｎａｎｅｎｓｉｓ Ｌｉ） 、篦子三尖杉（ Ｃ－ｏｌｉｖｅｒｉ Ｍａｓｔ－） 和罗汉松科（Ｐｏｄｏｃａｒｐａｃｅａｅ） 、植 物罗汉松 （ Ｐｏｄｏｃａｒｐｕｓ ｍａｃｒｏｐｈｙｌｌｕｓ （ Ｔｈｕｎｂ－ ） Ｄ－Ｄｏｎ） 、鸡毛 松（ Ｐ－ｉｍｂｒｉｃａｔｕｓ Ｂｌ－） 、竹柏（ Ｐ－ ｎａｇｉ（Ｔｈｕｎｂ－） Ｚｏｌｌ） 、陆均松（ Ｄａｃｒｙｄｉｕｍ ｐｉｅｒｒｅｉ Ｈｉｃｋｅｌ） 共１２ 种植物的叶片蛋白, 在蛋白质水平上采用     

樟科(Lauraceae)部分属种雌蕊群维管分布格局及其系统学意义

运用石蜡切片技术,对樟科的紫楠（Ｐｈｏｅｂｅ ｓｈｅａｒｅｒｉ（Ｈｅｍｓｌ．）Ｇａｍｂｌｅ）,浙江楠（Ｐｈ．ｃｈｅｋｉａｎｇｅｎｓｉｓ Ｓ．Ｂ．Ｓｈａｎｇ）香樟（Ｃｉｎｎａｍｏｍｕｍ ｃａｍｐｈｏｒａ （Ｌｉｎｎ．）Ｐｒｅｓｌ．）浙江桂（Ｃ．ｃｈｅｋｉａｎｇｅｎｓｉｓ Ｎａｋａｉ）,细叶香桂（Ｃ．ｓｕｂａｖｅｎｉｕｍＭｉｑ．）、江浙山胡椒（Ｌｉｎｄｅｒａ ｃｈｉｅｎｉｉ Ｃｈｅｎｇ）、钓樟（Ｌ．ｒ     

红豆杉科植物RAPD分析及其系统学意义

利用随机扩增多态性ＤＮＡ（ＲＡＰＤ）技术分析了红豆杉科（Ｔａｘａｃｅａｅ）红豆杉属（Ｔａｘｕｓ）、白豆杉属（Ｐｓｅｕｄｏｔａｘｕｓ）、穗花杉属（Ａｍｅｎｔｏｔａｘｕｓ）和榧树属（Ｔｏｒｒｅｙａ）的６种植物：红豆杉（Ｔａｘｕｓ ｃｈｉｎｅｎｓｉｓ （Ｐｉｌｇｅｒ）Ｒｅｈｄ）、南方红豆杉（Ｔａｘｕｓ ｃｈｉｎｅｎｓｉｓ ｖａｒ．ｍａｉｒｅｉ（Ｌｅｍｅｅ ｅｔＬｅｖｌ．）Ｃｈｅｎｇ ｅｔＭａｉｒｅＹｅｗ     

洞庭湖滩血吸虫易感地带保水生态灭螺的试验研究

洞庭湖滩血吸虫易感地带保水生态灭螺的试验研究张元培,朱南屏（湖南省水产科学研究所沅江４１３１００）（湖南省华容县血防站４１４２００）ＥｃｏｌｏｇｉｃａｌＥＩｉｍｉｎａｔｉｏｎｏｆＳｎａｉｌ（Ｏｎｃｏｍｅｌａｎｉａ）ｂｙＲｃｔａｉｎｉｎｇＷａｔｅｒｉｎＢｌｏｏｄＦｌｕｋｅ（Ｓｃｈｉｓｔｏｓｏｍａ）Ｓｕｓｃｅｐｔｉ－ｂｌｅＲｅｇｉｏｎｓＡｒｏｕｎｄＤｏｎｇｔｉｎｇＬａｋｅ￥．ＺｈａｎｇＹｕａｎｐｅｉ（ＩｎｓｔｉｔｕｔｅｏｆＦｉｓｈｅｒｉｅｓＲｅｓｅａｒｃｈｏｆＨｕｎａｎＰｒｏｖｉｎｃｅ,Ｙｕａｎｊｉａｎｇ４１３１００）,ＺｈｕＮａｎｂｉｎｇ（ＳｔａｔｉｏｎｏｆＳｎａｉｌＦｅｖｅｒＣｏｎｔｒｏｌｏｆＨｕａｒｏｎｇＣｏｕｎｔｙ,ＨｕｎａｎＰｒｏｖｉｎｃｅ,４１４２００）．ＣｈｉｎｅｓｅＪｏｕｒｎａｌｏｆＥｃｏｌｏｇｙ,１９９３,１２（３）：２３－２５．Ｉｎｂｌｏｏｄｆｌｕｋｅ（Ｓｃｈｉｓｔｏｓｏｍａ）ｓｕｓｃｅｐｔｉｂｌｅｒｅｇｉｏｎｓｏｆｔｈｅｌａｋｅｂｅａｃｈ,ｅｘｐｅｒｉｍｅｎｔｓｏｆｗａｔｅｒｉｎｕｎｄａｔｅｄｅｌｉｍｉ－ｎａｔｉｎｇｓｎａｉｌ（Ｏｎｃｏｍｅｌａｎｉａ）ａｒｅｃａｒｒｉｅｄｏｕｔｂｙｂｕｉｌ     

Brine Shrimp致死率生物鉴定法对八种民间药活性成分的研究

采用ＴｈｅＢｒｉｎｅＳｈｒｉｍｐＬｃｔａｌｉｔｙＢｉｏａｓｓａｙ法对民间药翼蓼ＰｔｅｒｏｘｙｇｏｎｕｍｇｉｒａｌｄｉｉＤｕｍｍｅｒｅｔＤｉｅｌｓ）,金荞麦（Ｆａｇｏｐｙｒｕｍｄｉｂｏｔｒｙｓ（Ｄ．Ｄｏｎ）Ｈａｒａ）,齿果酸模（ＲｕｍｅｘｄｅｎｔａｔｕｓＬ．）巴天酸模（ＲｕｍｅｘｐａｔｉｅｎｔｉａＬ．）网果酸模（ＲｕｍｅｘｄｉｃｔｙｏｃａｒｐｕｓＢｏｉｓｓｅｔＢｕｈｓｅ）、掌叶大黄（Ｒｈｅｕｍｐａｌ     

光对4种木本植物叶片清除有机自由基能力的影响

生长在没光强下的４种木本植物荷对（Ｓｃｈｉｍａ ｓｕｐｅｒｂａ Ｇａｒｄｎ．ｅｔ Ｃｈａｍｐ．）、黧蒴（Ｃａｓｔａｎｏｐｓｉｓ ｆｉｓｓａ （Ｃｈａｍｐ．ｅｘ Ｂｅｎｔｈ．）Ｒｅｈｄ．ｅｔ Ｗｉｌｓ．）（乔木）和九节（Ｐｓｙｃｈｏｔｒｉａｒｕｂｒａ （Ｌｏｕｒ。．）Ｐｏｉｒ）,罗伞（Ａｒｄｉｓｉａ ｑｕｉｎｑｕｅｇｏｎａ Ｂ１．）（林下灌木）幼苗（盆栽）或幼树（自然林下）叶片的５０％乙醇提取液具     

利用植物他感作用灭螺效果的研究

通过调查有螺滩地林下植被的演变和乌柏（Ｓａｐｉｕｍｓｅｂｉｐｅｒｕｍ）、枫杨（Ｐｔｅｒｏｃａｒｙａｓｔｅｎｏｐｔｅｒａ）等滩地造林树种的灭螺效果发现,鸡矢藤（Ｐａｅｄｅｒｉａｓｃａｎｄｅｎｓ）、水芹（Ｏｅｎａｎｔｈｅｊａｖａｎｉｃａ）的个体数量与钉螺的数量呈正相关关系,Ｘ２分别为１２．８和１１．２（ａ＜０．０２）,而益母草（Ｌｅｏｎｕｒｕｓａｒｔｅｍｉｓｉａ）、问荆（Ｅｑｕｉｓｅｔｕｍａｒｖｅｎｓｅ）、酸模叶蓼（Ｒｕｍｅｘａｃｅｔｏｓａ）、打碗花（Ｃａｌｙｓｔｅｇｉａｈｅｄｅｒａｃｅａ）、紫云英（Ａｓｔｒａｇａｌｕｓｓｉｎｉｃｕｓ）等与钉螺的数量呈负相关关系（ａ＜０．０２）经过一个汛期,枫杨、乌柏叶片使钉螺死亡率从草滩对照的２％升至４３．３％和４４．１％     

我国新担子菌类补遗

在研究甘肃、四川、云南的担子菌类时发现如下４新种：云南地红菇（ＭａｃｏｗａｎｉｔｅｓｙｕｎｎａｎｅｎｓｉｓＺａｎｇ）,属红菇科（Ｒｕｓｕｌａｃｅａｅ）,地红菇属（ＭａｃｏｗａｎｉｔｅｓＫａｌｃｈｂｒ．）系我国新记录;松针锈耳（ＣｒｅｐｉｄｏｔｕｓｐｉｎｉｃｏｌａＺａｎｇ）绣耳科（Ｃｒｅｐｉｄｏｔａｃｅａｅ）;蛇盖条孢牛肝菌（ＢｏｌｅｔｅｌｕｓｓｅｒｐｅｎｔｉｐｉｌｅｕｓＺａｎｇｅｔＹｕａｎ）,属松塔牛肝菌［疣孢牛肝菌科］（Ｓｔｒｏｂｉｌｏｍｙｃｏｔａｃｅａｅ）;喜杉绒盖牛肝菌（ＸｅｒｏｃｏｍｕｓｐｉｃｅｉｃｏｌａＺａｎｇｅｔＹｕａｎ）,属牛肝菌科（Ｂｏｌｅｔａｃｅａｅ）;长柄灰包（ＬｙｃｏｐｅｒｄｏｎｌｏｎｇｉｓｔｉｐｕｍＺａｎｇｅｔＹｕａｎ）,属灰包科（Ｌｙｃｏｐｅｒｄａｃｅａｅ）。     

大鳞副泥鳅雄核发育单倍体胚胎发育的研究

雄核发育（ａｎｄｒｏｇｅｎｅｓｉｓ）系指卵子只依靠雄性原核进行发育的生殖方式。尽管已有川鲽（Ｐｌａｔｉｃｈｔｈｙｓｆｌｅｓｕｓ）（Ｐｕｒｄｏｍ,１９６９）、马苏大麻哈鱼（Ｏｎｃｏｈｙｃｈｕｓｍａｓｏｕ）（Ａｒａｉ等,１９７９）、虹鳟（Ｓａｌｍｏｇａ...     

Molecular genetic survey and forensic characterization of Chinese Mongolians via the 47 autosomal insertion/deletion marker

The Mongolians are mainly distributed in the modern state of Mongolia, China, Russia, and other countries. While the historic and archaeological records of the rise and fall of the Mongol Empire are well documented, little has been known about the genetic legacy of modern Mongolian populations. Here, 611 Mongolian individuals from Hohhot, Hulunbuir, and Ordos of China were genotyped via the 47 Insertion/Deletion markers. Forensically statistical parameters indicated that this InDel system could be applied to forensic investigation in Mongolian populations. The comprehensive population comparisons indicated that targeted Mongolian populations are a homogeneous population, which kept close genetic proximity with geographically northern East Asians. The findings of the model-based clustering analysis revealed a southern East Asian-specific ancestral component, which was maximized in Hainan Li, and Mongolian populations harbored relatively less Hainan Li-related ancestry and more northern East Asian-related ancestry compared with reference Tai-Kadai, Austroasiatic and Sinitic people.     

内蒙古锡林河流域植被退化的格局及驱动力分析

草地退化是中国北方草原面临的主要生态问题。该文以1984和2004年草原植被群落调查数据为主要依据, 以优势种、建群种和群落类型及其比例的变化作为主要指标, 并与20世纪80年代的植被类型图比较, 分析了内蒙古锡林河流域草地的退化趋势及其空间分布。根据流域内草地退化的实际情况, 将其分为未退化、轻度退化、中度退化、重度退化和极度退化5种退化类型。另外, 根据近20年前后草地植被变化的实际情况, 又划分了恢复和盐化两个类型。结果表明: 草地退化呈现明显的空间分布, 以锡林河为标志, 总体上从上游到下游退化程度逐渐加剧, 表现为浑善达克沙地进入锡林河的部分及沿河地区为重度退化, 锡林浩特市以北的区域, 尤其是流域的西北部, 已经达到了极度退化; 流域中部的白音锡勒牧场主要是中度退化; 轻度退化则均匀地分布于整个流域; 未退化类型多分布于锡林河的西部, 锡林河中下游地区由于农田退耕、草地围封出现了一定程度的恢复; 锡林浩特市以北沿锡林河植被的盐化程度较重。不同的植被类型退化程度也不同, 沙地灌丛植被轻度退化比例较高, 占植被的43%; 羊茅(Festuca ovina)草原和榆树(Ulmus pumila)疏林沙地中度退化草地的比重较高, 超过50%; 贝加尔针茅(Stipa baicalensis)草原和无芒雀麦(Bromus inermis)杂类草草甸的重度退化面积达50%以上; 极度退化比例较大的有克氏针茅(S. krylovii)草原和小叶锦鸡儿(Caragana microphylla)灌丛化草原。对于羊草(Leymus chinensis)草原, 以轻度和中度退化为主。导致不同区域和不同植被类型草地退化的原因也不尽相同, 从近20年的时间尺度来看, 过度放牧、不合理的居民点布局, 以及道路等是草地退化的主要人为驱动因子。研究结果还显示, 仅以生物量的变化来划分草地退化存在一定的局限性, 因此, 该文以群落优势种和建群种来表征草地的退化类型更具有客观性和实际的应用价值。     

蒙古高原草原火行为的时空格局与影响因子

采用GIS空间分析方法和L3JRC遥感卫星数据,研究了2000-2007年间蒙古高原草原火行为的时空分布规律,比较了中国内蒙古自治区和蒙古人民共和国草原火行为的差异,分析了植被、气候与人文因素等对草原火行为的影响.结果表明：不同植被类型间的过火率存在极显著差异（P<0.001）,为草甸草原>典型草原>荒漠草原,蒙古人民共和国草原过火率显著高于中国内蒙古自治区(P<0.001),过火频次的分布格局与过火迹地相一致.草原火行为存在明显的年际变化特征,草甸草原(r²=-0.54,P<0.05)和典型草原（r²=-0.61,P<0.05）的年过火率与年降雨量呈负相关关系;草原火集中在降水较少、风速较大的春、秋两季.中国内蒙古自治区的人口密度和载畜密度远高于蒙古人民共和国,而过火率则相反,表明人文因素,尤其是过度放牧是导致中国内蒙古自治区和蒙古人民共和国火行为差异的主要原因.     

EP-1 不育剂对长爪沙鼠野生种群增长的控制作用

长爪沙鼠在内蒙古地区的分布非常广泛,长期以来由其造成的“鼠害” 不仅给农牧业生产带来危害,而且还传播疾病。2009 年3 ～ 10 月,在内蒙古鄂尔多斯荒漠草原,利用复合不育剂左炔诺孕酮- 炔雌醚(EP-1)
对长爪沙鼠野生种群进行了不育控制试验研究。结果表明,复合不育剂EP-1 对长爪沙鼠种群结构和种群密度均有显著影响,在5 月和6 月两个繁殖高峰期,不育剂EP-1 显著降低了幼体出生的数量,实验区与对照区幼体组
成差异和成体组成差异均达到极显著(P < 0.01)。在8 ～ 10 月,实验区和对照区种群结构组成中,幼体之间、成体之间差异均达到显著和极显著(P < 0.05, P < 0.01)。在整个发育生长期,实验区长爪沙鼠幼体种群从6 月
份开始出现,9 月达到数量最高值,幼体种群全年呈现下降趋势。而对照区幼体种群从5 月份开始出现,且数量在5 月份达到全年的最高值,幼体种群与实验区相反呈增长趋势。实验区种群总体数量全年呈下降趋势,而对
照区相反,呈增长趋势。因此,复合不育剂EP-1 显著降低了长爪沙鼠种群的繁殖率、幼体出生比例和种群密度,可以对长爪沙鼠野生种群起到有效的繁殖控制作用,进而降低该鼠对农牧业生产的危害和对人类疾病传播
的风险。     

Remote sensing monitoring upon the grass production in China

Using MODIS remote sensing data and ground truth data, a thorough investigation was conducted to monitor the productivity of grasslands in China for the year 2005. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was first computed from the MODIS data. Then the data from the NDVI images were used to correlate with the grass yield data from the ground sampling campaigns. Six regional models were accordingly established from the correlation for estimation of grass production in the six main types of steppe in China. The main results from the estimation could be summarized as follows: (1) High grass productivity in 2005 was obtained in the following 3 regions: the grassland covering Hulunbuir, Xilinhaote, and the western Daxing'anling, the region including the eastern Qinghai, the northwestern Sichuan and the mid-southern Gansu, and the northwestern Xinjiang region. (2) Total hay output from the grasslands in China amounted to 294213.86 thousand tons in 2005 with an average yield of 829.67 kg/hm2. (3) The following 7 provinces were the largest grass producers in China: Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Sichuan, Tibet, Heilongjiang and Gansu. For example, Inner Mongolia produced 60370.82 thousand tons of hay in 2005, and hence became the No. 1 grass producer of China. (4) Among the steppe types, the following 5 had the largest grass production: Alpine meadow, Temperate steppe, Low-land meadow, Temperate meadow steppe and Montane meadow with total production accounting for 62.2% in China. (5) Grass production of the entire China in August 2005 remained at the same level as that in August 2004. However, the situations of major grassland provinces were different: grass production in both Qinghai and Gansu in 2005 increased to 9.02% and 3.63%, respectively, when compared with that in 2004. The grass production in Inner Mongolia decreased by 3%, while the production in Tibet, Xinjiang and Sichuan remains unchanged when compared with that in 2004. These results were very important for grassland administration, pasture grazing and grassland ecosystem studies in China.     

中国草原产草量遥感监测

根据MODIS遥感数据和同期地面调查数据,对我国2005年草原产草量进行了系统估算。用MODIS数据计算全国草原的归一化植被指数NDVI,针对6个不同类型草原区建立了NDVI和地面样方的产草量之间的关系模型,用这些模型推算全国草原产草量分布。结论如下：（1）2005年我国草原有3个牧草高产中心,分别位于东北呼伦贝尔草原、锡林浩特草原和大兴安岭西麓;青海东部、四川西北部和甘肃中南部以及新疆西北部;（2）2005年全国草原干草总产量达到29421．39万t,平均单产达到829．67kg／hm^2干草;（3）2005年干草产量位列前7位的省区依次是内蒙古、青海、新疆、四川、西藏、黑龙江和甘肃;例如,内蒙古因草原面积大而成为我国第一大草原牧草生产省,2005年有6037．08万t干草;（4）总产草量位于前5位的草地类型依次为高寒草甸类、温性草原类、低地草甸类、温性草甸草原类与山地草甸类;（5）2005年8月份全国草原产草量与2004年同期相比总体持平;各草原大省的变化情况分别为：青海、甘肃2省区的草产量略有增加,青海增加了9．02％、甘肃增加了3．63％;内蒙古减少约3％;西藏、新疆和四川3省区基本与2004年同期持平。研究结果对我国草原监理、草原畜牧业发展和草地生态系统研究具有较大的参考价值。     

Remote sensing monitoring upon the grass production in China

Using MODIS remote sensing data and ground truth data, a thorough investigation was conducted to monitor the productivity of grasslands in China for the year 2005. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was first computed from the MODIS data. Then the data from the NDVI images were used to correlate with the grass yield data from the ground sampling campaigns. Six regional models were accordingly established from the correlation for estimation of grass production in the six main types of steppe in China. The main results from the estimation could be summarized as follows: (1) High grass productivity in 2005 was obtained in the following 3 regions: the grassland covering Hulunbuir, Xilinhaote, and the western Daxing'anling, the region including the eastern Qinghai, the northwestern Sichuan and the mid-southern Gansu, and the northwestern Xinjiang region. (2) Total hay output from the grasslands in China amounted to 294213.86 thousand tons in 2005 with an average yield of 829.67 kg/hm2. (3) The following 7 provinces were the largest grass producers in China: Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Sichuan, Tibet, Heilongjiang and Gansu. For example, Inner Mongolia produced 60370.82 thousand tons of hay in 2005, and hence became the No. 1 grass producer of China. (4) Among the steppe types, the following 5 had the largest grass production: Alpine meadow, Temperate steppe, Low-land meadow, Temperate meadow steppe and Montane meadow with total production accounting for 62.2% in China. (5) Grass production of the entire China in August 2005 remained at the same level as that in August 2004. However, the situations of major grassland provinces were different: grass production in both Qinghai and Gansu in 2005 increased to 9.02% and 3.63%, respectively, when compared with that in 2004. The grass production in Inner Mongolia decreased by 3%, while the production in Tibet, Xinjiang and Sichuan remains unchanged when compared with that in 2004. These results were very important for grassland administration, pasture grazing and grassland ecosystem studies in China.     

Growth-climate response and drought reconstruction from tree-ring of Mongolian pine in Hulunbuir,Northeast China

Aims Drought affected by atmosphere–ocean cycle is a dominant factor influencing tree radial growth of sandy Mongolian pine (Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica) and regional vegetation dynamics in Hulunbuir, China. However, historical droughts and its correlations with tree radial growth and atmosphere–ocean cycle in this area have been little tested. Methods We developed tree-ring chronologies of Mongolian pine from Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia, China and analyzed the correlations between tree-ring width index, the normalized difference vegetation index and Palmer drought severity index (PDSI), then developed a linear model to reconstruct the drought variability from 1829 to 2009. Long-term trends and its linkages with atmosphere–ocean cycle were performed by the power spectral, wavelet and teleconnection analysis.Important findings The local moisture variations affected largely the regional vegetation dynamics and tree-ring growth of Mongolia pine in the forest–grassland transition. Using tree-ring width chronology of Mongolian pine, the reconstruction explains 49.2% of PDSI variance during their common data period (1951–2005). The reconstruction gives a broad-scale regional representation of PDSI in the Hulunbuir area, with drought occurrences in the 1850s, 1900s, 1920s, mid-1930s and at the turn of the 21st century. Comparisons with other tree-ring drought reconstructions and historical records reveal some common drought periods and drying trends in recent decades at the northern margin zones of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM). The drying trends in these zones occurred earlier than weakening of the EASM. A REDFIT spectral analysis shows significant peaks at 7.2, 3.9, 2.7–2.8, 2.4 and 2.2 years with a 0.05 significance level, and 36.9, 18.1 and 5.0 years with 0.1 significance level. Wavelet analysis also shows similar cycles. Drought variations in the study area significantly correlated with sea surface temperatures in the western tropical Pacific Ocean and middle and northern Indian Ocean, and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and North Atlantic Oscillation. This suggests a possible linkage with the El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation, the EASM and the Westerlies.     

Grassland restoration after afforestation: No direction home?

The coastal grasslands in north‐eastern South Africa are a severely threatened vegetation type rich in plant species, particularly forbs. Many of the forbs have underground storage organs which allow them to resprout rapidly after fires. A significant portion of this land was placed under commercial pine afforestation in the 1950s. The pine plantations have since been removed starting 17 years ago and restored to grasslands within a conservation area. We assessed the effects of plantations on grassland plant diversity and functional trait composition by sampling 64 circular quadrats of 5 m radius distributed equally in restored versus natural grasslands. The difference in plant diversity was dramatic with the natural grassland supporting 221 species of which 163 were forbs compared with 144 and only 73 forb species in restored grasslands. Major differences in species composition were recorded, especially for forb species. Natural grasslands were dominated by resprouters (130 species) but these were rare in the restored grasslands (36 species). Differences in plant species response to fire were also evident for the two grassland states. In contrast to coastal forest restoration studies in the same area which have shown near linear increases in woody species with time, restored grasslands showed no increase in forb species richness with increasing time since clear‐felling of pines. Our results indicate that current methods for restoring these grasslands are inadequate and that restoring grasslands may be a lot harder than previously thought. Considerable effort should be made in conserving what is left of natural grasslands.     

Distribution and status of bustards in China

This article presents the distribution and status of bustards, which are listed as first-category protected animals according to the survey results during 1990-2002 in China. The Chinese populations of Otis tarda dybowskii are breeding in south-west of Heilongjiang Province, west-ern Jilin Province, east and middle Inner Mongolia, north Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and Gansu Province. A few can winter in the south breeding-range. Its winter-range lies from the south to the Yellow River, as far as to Guizhou Province and Jiangxi Province. Its population number is about 200-300 or 500-800. The Chinese popula-tions of O. t. tarda are breeding in the north and west of Xinjiang. It is unclear about its winter-range, which is pre-sumed to be in south Asia. Recently we found individuals wintering in Chabuchaer and west Xinjiang. The popu-lation number is about 2000-3000. The habitat in breeding range includes steppe, grassland, desert grassland, and farmland. The habitat in winter range is the beach of rivers and lakes, meadows, meadow-grassland, and wheatland. The Chinese populations of Chlamydotis undulata mac-queeni are breeding in the fringe of the Jungar Basin, the banks of the Ulungur River, Balikun and south Turpan Basin in Xinjiang, west Inner Mongolia, and west Gansu. Northeast Mulei in eastern Jungar Basin of Xinjiang is the main breeding-range in the world. The bird uses desert and desert grassland as its habitat. Its winter-range is west Asia and south Asia. Its population number is about 2000. The Chinese populations of Tetrax tetrax are breeding in north Xinjiang, and China is located on the east border of its breeding-range. Its habitat is grassland and semi-desert, and its winter-range lies in south Asia. Its population in China is very scarce. In addition, we analyzed the causes of their endangerment and put forward protection tactics of Chinese Bustards.