森林生态系统中的粗死木质残体及其功能

粗死木质残体（Coarse Woody Debris,CWD)是指所有地上和地下小头直径＞2．5cm的死木质物,林分中CWD主要来源于个体的死亡和干扰所造成的死亡,在森林群落的生长发育过程中,CWD的数量变化呈“U”型,CWD的分解是动物和微生物吸收吸收养分,淋溶和自然破碎综合作用的结果,CWD的分解过程就是其发挥功能的过程,在此过程中各阶段都会有不同类型的生物群体利用其提供生境食物;CD具有吸收和释放养分的能力,是植物生长的营养库,是森林树木更新的良好介质;CWD是许多陆生生物和水生生物的食物来源,栖息地,避难所,哺育地,迁移通道等,在生物多样性保持方面发挥着不同替代的,在CWD的形成过程产生了林窗斑块,推动了森林生态系统的小循环,因此,CWD是森林生态系统中重要的结构性和功能性组成要素,在保持森林生态系统和水生生态系统的生物多样性及其生态过程完整性等方面起着不可替代的作用,应当给予了充分的重视。     

长白山二道白河森林流域溪流倒木调查研究

溪流倒木是森林生态系统对水生态系统最重要、最直观的输入和干扰之一,也是两系统之间的主要联结,对于溪流生态系统的稳定、水生生物多样性、河槽形态及其变化过程有着重要的作用。重点对长白山北坡溪流倒木现存量进行了调查和研究,在调查的红松阔叶林植被带内４５００ｍ长河道内,共发现溪流倒木４２５株．分属于１７个树种;其中ｌ、ｗ级腐烂占相当大的比重,与林地倒木Ｉ、ｌ级腐烂占忧有所不同,其原因可能与分解环境的不同有关。所有溪流倒木的总材积为７７．９８ｍ＾２,故溪流倒木的现存量为１．７３３ｍ＾３／１００ｍ和１０．８３ｍ＾３／ｈｍ＾２。溪流倒木的树种组成和不同树种的材积与河岸带植被密切相关,但存在差异。研究表明林分形成倒木并进入河流在时间上可能是均匀或随机的,但不同树种间,其形成倒木并进入河流时的树木材积或生长年龄存在较大差异。溪流倒木和林地活立木的个体数量的径级分布基本上为反Ｊ型,而它们材积的径级分布均为典型的Ｊ型。     

西双版纳热带季节雨林粗木质物残体储量及其空间分布

粗木质物残体(CWD)在森林生态系统的物质循环和碳动态中发挥着重要作用,但目前国内对热带地区CWD储量与其空间分布关系上的研究还处于起步阶段。对西双版纳1hm2热带季节雨林样地调查发现,≥10cm的粗木质物残体占森林总凋落物量的68.02%,其中45.72%的CWD处于腐解中后期。由于多数大径级的CWD分布于15°～25°的坡地上,且其饱和持水力随腐解等级的增加而上升,因此,CWD将有助于改善坡地生境下的水肥条件。CWD的分布受风向和本地湿热环境的影响,但掉落指向则更倾向于随机过程。CWD产生和分布上的普遍性有可能对森林生境异质性和生物多样性产生重大影响。     

白蚁生物多样性及其对生态环境变化的指示作用

白蚁是热带和亚热带生态系统最主要的无脊椎动物分解者,具有十分重要的生态作用,但因长期缺乏标准化取样方法,白蚁生物多样性研究及其在生态管理中的应用受到限制。本文回顾了白蚁生物多样性及其对环境变化响应的研究进展,概述了白蚁功能分类的现状,介绍了白蚁多样性取样方法的发展,分析了白蚁多样性对生态环境的差异、人为干扰的响应及其生态指示作用,以期为白蚁生物多样性的深入研究及其在生态管理中的应用提供思路与方向。     

溪流生态系统潜流带生态学研究概述

最近一、二十年,对潜流带研究的逐渐开展已使人们充分认识到潜流带在溪流生态系统结构、功能和生态过程中的重要意义。潜流带是溪流地表水和地下水相互作用的界面,占据着在地表水、河道之下的可渗透的沉积缓冲带、侧向的河岸带和地下水之间的中心位置。有关潜流带重要性的近期研究进展增进了我们对溪流生态学的理解,大大扩展了水生生物生境的物理空间以及生物相互作用和生产力存在的区域。潜流带生境包含多样化的、丰度很高的动物区系,其常常控制着溪流生物生产力和生态过程。潜流带对溪流生态系统的潜在重要性来自于生物学和生物地化活动。潜流带在溪流有机物的分解和水质净化等生态过程中发挥着重要的作用。潜流带是溪流集水区内各种环境特征的综合表征体,它能够反映周围景观的环境条件及其变化,集水区内的自然或人为干扰,都会影响到潜流带的水文循环、理化特征、生境分布、营养结构和基本生态过程。因此,对溪流生态系统的综合管理必须包括潜流带。最后对潜流带生态学研究现存的主要问题及未来研究展望提出了几点看法。     

富营养化水体生物净化效应的研究进展

水体富营养化治理已成为当今世界性难题,解决水体富营养化问题的关键是调控水生生态系统结构,使其恢复自然、健康和稳定的水生生态系统功能,提高水生生态系统的生物净化能力,水生高等植物及水生植被是水生生态系统中最重要的初级生产者,它们个体大、生长周期长、吸取和储存营养物质的能力强,保持和恢复一定数量的水生植物种群可抑制浮游植物的生长,提高系统的生物多样性,使水生生态系统结构更加稳定,水生动物在水生生态系统物质和能量循环中处于十分重要的地位,浮游动物和底栖动物可直接捕食浮游植物,控制浮游植物的数量;而改变鱼类种群结构可提高浮游动物的生物量,从而间接控制浮游植物的大量繁殖,达到治理水体富营养化的目的,我国的生物净化研究还处于起步阶段,今后在水生高等植物及水生植被生物净化的关键技术及优化水产养殖新模式技术研究方面有待提高,这将对我国水体富营养化治理及水体可持续利用有着重要的意义。     

凉水、帽儿山低级溪流中水生昆虫的群落特征及水质生物评价

在东北林业大学凉水国家级自然保护区和帽儿山实验林场,对3种类型低级溪流中水生昆虫进行采集、鉴定,分析水生昆虫群落组成、季节优势集中性和取食功能群,并应用指示生物法、Shannon-Weiner多样性指数、群落相似性系数和BI指数对溪流水质进行生物评价。共采集到水生昆虫4907个,分别隶属于8目38科,其中,毛翅目、蜉蝣目、横翅目和双翅目为四大优势类群,个体数量占水生昆虫总数量的91．13％。原始林溪流中水生昆虫个体数量最多,占总数的58．98％,次生林溪流次之,农田溪流最少。次生林溪流水生昆虫物种多样性要高于原始林和农田溪流,且其各种取食功能群比例较均衡。齿角石蛾科、鳞石蛾科、新蜉科和黑横科昆虫可以作为溪流清洁水质的指示生物。水生昆虫季节优势集中性与Shannon-Weiner多样性指数水质评价结果之间具有相关性,即随溪流水质污染程度的加重,水生昆虫的物种多样性逐渐减少。群落相似性系数的分析表明,原始林溪流和次生林溪流水质对水生昆虫的群落组成没有影响,农田溪流则产生中等影响。生物指数（BI）评价结果显示除了农田溪流10月的水质为轻污染外,其余时间3种溪流的水质都能达到清洁标准以上。     

高山森林林窗和粗木质残体对木生苔藓生物量和多样性的影响

木生苔藓植物是原始森林的基本组成部分,其生长和分布对林窗和粗木质残体(CWD)等环境因子的响应可能非常敏感,但林窗和CWD对木生苔藓植物群落的影响研究未见报道。因此,我们研究了高山森林不同林窗位置(林窗、林缘和林下)和不同粗木质残体类型(倒木、大枯枝、枯立木和根桩)木生苔藓生物量(储量、单位面积生物量和生物积累量)和多样性(Shannon多样性指数、Simpson优势度指数和Pielou均匀度指数)特征。结果表明:川西高山粗木质残体木生苔藓植物生物量储量为141.14 kg/hm~2,倒木生苔藓生物量储量最大为78.80 kg/hm~2,枯立木生苔藓生物量储量最小为3.11 kg/hm~2。其中,第III、IV腐解等级粗木质残体木生苔藓生物量储量较高,在I腐解等级时为最低。整体来看不同粗木质残体类型木生苔藓单位面积生物量均在林缘最高,但不同粗木质残体类型单位面积木生苔藓生物量积累量差异显著。木生苔藓生物多样性受林窗位置和粗木质残体类型显著影响。倒木、大枯枝和根桩的苔藓Simpson优势度指数从林窗至林下均为下降趋势。倒木的苔藓Shannon多样性指数和Pielou均匀度指数在林下最高,在林缘最低。林窗大枯枝木生苔藓三种多样性指标均大于倒木。枯立木和根桩木生苔藓多样性指标随林窗变化表现各异。研究也发现,曲尾藓(Dicranum)和平藓(Neckera)在川西高山苔藓生物量中比重较大。我们的研究结果表明在高山森林生态系统中,林缘效应对木生苔藓生物量具有促进作用,但对木生苔藓生物多样性的影响作用不明显。这也意味着,森林更新导致林窗形成和CWD产生对木生苔藓生长具有显著影响。     

我国外来水生生物入侵现状及其影响

生物入侵已经被公认是造成生物多样性丧失的重要因素之一，它对生态系统的结构和功能的严重影响已经引起全世界的高度重视。外来水生生物是生物入侵的重要组成部分：因此，从生物入侵的基本概念及入侵物种的传播途径着手，分析我国水生外来物种及其对水生生态系统和渔业可持续发展的影响。     

生物多样性与生态系统服务——关系、权衡与管理

生物多样性和生态系统服务是人类生存和社会经济可持续发展的物质基础,应对生物多样性丧失和生态系统服务退化问题已经成为继气候变化之后的又一个全球性环境热点问题。生物多样性是生态系统生产力、稳定性、抵抗生物入侵以及养分动态的主要决定因素,生物多样性越高,生态系统功能性状的范围越广,生态系统服务质量就越高越稳定。目的是探讨生物多样性和生态系统服务之间的关系:(1)明确了生物多样性与生态系统过程、功能、服务之间的关系;(2)生物多样性在生态系统服务中的角色:生物多样性在不同的空间尺度通过各种形式的运行机制与生态系统服务产生联系,生物多样性是生态系统过程的调节者,是巩固生态系统服务的一个重要因素,生物多样性也是一种终极的生态系统服务,并在遗传和物种水平上直接贡献了其利益和价值;(3)生物多样性与生态系统服务权衡和协同关系的研究可以更好的帮助管理人员做出有利的决策和保护工作,也是制定规划和适应策略以减少生物多样性危机带来的不利影响的基础;(4)生物多样性与生态系统服务的关系在不同的时间和空间尺度上是不恒定的,有必要共同确定生态系统服务和生物多样性的空间格局,以有效和可持续的进行生态系统管理;(5)虽然生物多样性保护和生态系统管理还存在许多不确定性,但相关理论应该在管理、保护和恢复生态系统中发挥重要作用。研究提出了进一步研究的领域,以促进生物多样性保护和生态系统服务提供之间的协同作用。希望对相关领域的研究有所帮助。     

Effect of Native Vegetation Loss on Stream Ecosystem Processes: Dissolved Organic Matter Composition and Export in Agricultural Landscapes

Stream and river ecosystems are dependent on energetic inputs from their watersheds and thus shifts in land use from forest cover to agriculture will affect stream community composition and function. The disruption of forest-aquatic linkages alters the organic matter resources in agricultural streams. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is the dominant form of organic matter in aquatic ecosystems, and a microbial energy source that is important for stream respiration. The concentrations and characteristics of DOM are regulated by both terrestrial (for example, terrestrial organic matter supply) and in-stream processes (for example, microbial respiration and periphyton production) that are influenced by land management. The effects of watershed land use and topographic, soil and climatic variables on DOM quantity (dissolved organic carbon concentration and load), source (terrestrial or in-stream) and quality (composition and lability) were measured in 14 streams across an agricultural land-use gradient. DOC concentration was positively correlated with watershed pasture cover and negatively correlated with watershed relief. No watershed variables were important correlates of DOC load. Stream DOM was primarily of terrestrial origin, but DOM in agricultural streams had a greater proportion of sources from in-stream sources. This may be due to reduced connection with riparian vegetation and increased in-stream primary production. We suggest that maintaining watershed tree cover greater than 52% and ensuring less than 10% of the length of riparian corridor is cleared for pasture could minimize changes to DOM composition. This is important to avoid flow-on effects for stream ecosystem processes that are mediated by DOM. Long-term DOM monitoring will be valuable for assessing the functional impacts of land-use change.     

Shifts in allochthonous input and autochthonous production in streams along an agricultural land-use gradient

Relative contributions of allochthonous inputs and autochthonous production vary depending on terrestrial land use and biome. Terrestrially derived organic matter and in-stream primary production were measured in 12 headwater streams along an agricultural land-use gradient. Streams were examined to see how carbon (C) supply shifts from forested streams receiving primarily terrestrially derived C to agricultural streams, which may rely primarily on C derived from algal productivity. We measured allochthonous input, chlorophyll a concentration, and periphyton biomass in each stream, and whole-stream metabolism in six streams. Our results suggest a threshold between moderate- and heavy-agriculture land uses in which terrestrially derived C is replaced by in-stream algal productivity as the primary C source for aquatic consumers. A shift from allochthonous to autochthonous production was not evident in all heavy-agriculture streams, and only occurred in heavy-agriculture streams not impacted by livestock grazing. We then compared our findings to rates of allochthonous input and GPP in streams with minimal human influences in multiple biomes to assess how land-use practices influence C sources to stream ecosystems. The proportion of C derived from allochthonous versus autochthonous sources to heavy-agriculture streams was most similar to grassland and desert streams, while C sources to forested, light-, and moderate-agriculture streams were more similar to deciduous and montane coniferous forest streams. We show that C source to streams is dependent on land use, terrestrial biome, and degradation of in-stream conditions. Further, we suggest that within a biome there seems to be a compensation such that total C input is nearly equal whether it is from allochthonous or autochthonous sources.     

Effects of pasture development on the ecological functions of riparian forests in Hokkaido in northern Japan

In the summer, the forest canopy lowers the water temperature, which is very important for anadromous fish, and its population density is significantly lower in grassland streams. Leaf litter and terrestrial invertebrates are the critical food resources for stream organisms. In a basin where the riparian forest is preserved, but other areas have been cut, the amount of leaf litter is almost equivalent to that in an intact natural basin. The annual input of terrestrial invertebrates falling into the forested reaches was 1.7 times greater than that in the grassland reaches, and fish biomass was significantly less in the grassland reaches. In-stream large woody debris creates storage sites for organic and inorganic matter and enhances habitat diversity for aquatic biota. However, the volume and number of large wood pieces decreased significantly with pasture development, because it clears the riparian forests and covers the riverbanks with grass. Fine sediment is a prominent by-product of agricultural development and adversely impacts periphyton productivity, the density and diversity of aquatic invertebrates, fish feeding, fish spawning and egg survival. We also examine the adequate width of a riparian buffer if it is to be able to satisfy its ecological functions.     

Woody debris and terrestrial invertebrates – effects on prey resources for brown trout (Salmo trutta) in a boreal stream

Intensive forestry and other activities that alter riparian vegetation may disrupt the connectivity and the flux of energy between terrestrial and aquatic habitats and have large effects on biota, especially in small streams. We manipulated the amount of in-stream wood and the flux of terrestrial invertebrate subsidies to determine how these factors affected potential food resources for drift-feeding brown trout (Salmo trutta ) in a boreal Swedish forest stream. Specifically, we followed the effects on the abundance of aquatic and terrestrial invertebrate fauna from June to August 2007. The treatments were 1) addition of wood, unmanipulated terrestrial invertebrate inputs, 2) reduction of terrestrial invertebrate inputs (using canopy covers), no addition of wood, 3) unmanipulated ambient conditions, 4) simultaneous addition of wood and reduction of terrestrial invertebrate inputs. Added wood resulted in greater biomass of aquatic invertebrate biomass, and both input and drift of terrestrial invertebrates were reduced by canopy covers. In terms of total potential prey biomass, the addition of wood with ambient levels of terrestrial invertebrate inputs had the highest standing crop of benthic, wood-living and terrestrial invertebrates combined, whereas the treatment with reduced terrestrial input and no wood added had the lowest standing crop. Our study indicates that forest practices that both reduce the recruitment of wood and the input of terrestrial invertebrates to small streams have negative effects on prey availability for drift-feeding brown trout. The positive effects of wood addition on biomass of aquatic macroinvertebrates may partly compensate for the negative effects of reduced terrestrial invertebrate subsidies.     

Effect of emergent aquatic insects on bat foraging in a riparian forest

1. Riparian zones serve several ecological functions for bats. They provide a source of prey and likely provide favourable structural habitats and shelter from predators. Many studies have shown that bats use the space above streams, ponds or riparian vegetation as feeding habitat. These studies, however, have never distinguished between the effects of habitat structure and prey availability on the foraging activities of bats. Such effects can only be distinguished by an experimental approach. We predicted that bat activity along a stream is influenced by the number of emerged aquatic insects. 2. We evaluated the response of terrestrial consumers, insectivorous bats, to changes in the abundance of emergent aquatic insects by conducting a manipulative field experiment. In a deciduous riparian forest in Japan, aquatic insect flux from the stream to the riparian zone was controlled with an insect-proof cover over a 1.2 km stream reach. 3. We estimated the abundance of emergent aquatic and flying terrestrial arthropods near the treatment and control reaches using Malaise traps. The foraging activity of bats was evaluated in both treatment and control reaches using ultrasonic detectors. 4. The insect-proof cover effectively reduced the flux of emergent aquatic insects to the riparian zone adjacent to the treatment reach. Adjacent to the control reach, adult aquatic insect biomass was highest in spring, and then decreased gradually. Terrestrial insect biomass increased gradually during the summer at both treatment and control reaches. 5. Foraging activity of bats was correlated with insect abundance. In spring, foraging activity of bats at the control reach was significantly greater than at the treatment reach, and increased at both sites with increasing terrestrial insect abundance. 6. Our result suggests that the flux of aquatic insects emerging from streams is one of the most important factors affecting the distribution of riparian-foraging bats. As is the case with other riparian consumers, resource subsidies from streams can directly enhance the performance or population density of riparian-dependent bats. To conserve and manage bat populations, it is important to protect not only forest ecosystems, but also adjacent aquatic systems such as streams.     

Importance of Terrestrial Arthropods as Subsidies in Lowland Neotropical Rain Forest Stream Ecosystems

The importance of terrestrial arthropods has been documented in temperate stream ecosystems, but little is known about the magnitude of these inputs in tropical streams. Terrestrial arthropods falling from the canopy of tropical forests may be an important subsidy to tropical stream food webs and could also represent an important flux of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in nutrient‐poor headwater streams. We quantified input rates of terrestrial insects in eight streams draining lowland tropical wet forest in Costa Rica. In two focal headwater streams, we also measured capture efficiency by the fish assemblage and quantified terrestrially derived N‐ and P‐excretion relative to stream nutrient uptake rates. Average input rates of terrestrial insects ranged from 5 to 41 mg dry mass/m²/d, exceeding previous measurements of aquatic invertebrate secondary production in these study streams, and were relatively consistent year‐round, in contrast to values reported in temperate streams. Terrestrial insects accounted for half of the diet of the dominant fish species, Priapicthys annectens. Although terrestrially derived fish excretion was found to be a small flux relative to measured nutrient uptake rates in the focal streams, the efficient capture and processing of terrestrial arthropods by fish made these nutrients available to the local stream ecosystem. This aquatic‐terrestrial linkage is likely being decoupled by deforestation in many tropical regions, with largely unknown but potentially important ecological consequences.     

Riverine landscapes: taking landscape ecology into the water

1. Landscape ecology deals with the influence of spatial pattern on ecological processes. It considers the ecological consequences of where things are located in space, where they are relative to other things, and how these relationships and their consequences are contingent on the characteristics of the surrounding landscape mosaic at multiple scales in time and space. Traditionally, landscape ecologists have focused their attention on terrestrial ecosystems, and rivers and streams have been considered either as elements of landscape mosaics or as units that are linked to the terrestrial landscape by flows across boundaries or ecotones. Less often, the heterogeneity that exists within a river or stream has been viewed as a `riverscape' in its own right.
2. Landscape ecology can be unified about six central themes: (1) patches differ in quality (2) patch boundaries affect flows, (3) patch context matters, (4) connectivity is critical, (5) organisms are important, and (6) the importance of scale. Although riverine systems differ from terrestrial systems by virtue of the strong physical force of hydrology and the inherent connectivity provided by water flow, all of these themes apply equally to aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and to the linkages between the two.
3. Landscape ecology therefore has important insights to offer to the study of riverine ecosystems, but these systems may also provide excellent opportunities for developing and testing landscape ecological theory. The principles and approaches of landscape ecology should be extended to include freshwater systems; it is time to take the `land' out of landscape ecology.     

Association of macroinvertebrate assemblages with dissolved oxygen concentration and wood surface area in selected subtropical streams of the southeastern USA

Woody debris (CWD) is an important habitat component in northern Gulf of Mexico coastal plain streams, where low gradients and low flows allow accumulation of CWD and promote low dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations. We tested the influences of CWD and DO on stream macroinvertebrates experimentally by placing two surface area CWD treatments each in three concentrations of ambient DO in two streams in Louisiana, USA, with macroinvertebrates collected from ambient woody debris used as a control. We also sampled macroinvertebrates in benthic and woody debris habitats in three streams twice yearly over 2 years to examine the applicability of the experimental results. Total abundance, richness (generic), and Shannon–Wiener diversity were all higher in lower DO conditions during the experiment, and total abundance was higher in the larger CWD treatment. Stream sampling corroborated the relationship between higher diversity and low DO in both benthic and woody debris habitats, but the relationship between richness and low DO only was supported in benthic habitats. Few taxa correlated with DO or CWD in the experiment (5 of 21 taxa) or stream survey (2 of 54 taxa). Whereas most taxa were uncorrelated with experimentally manipulated and in-stream measured variables, we suggest these taxa respond as generalists to stream habitat and physicochemistry. Based on this experiment and stream sampling, we believe the majority of macroinvertebrates in these streams are tolerant of seasonally low DO conditions.     

Increasing donor ecosystem productivity decreases terrestrial consumer reliance on a stream resource subsidy

Because nutrient enrichment can increase ecosystem productivity, it may enhance resource flows to adjacent ecosystems as organisms cross ecosystem boundaries and subsidize predators in recipient ecosystems. Here, we quantified the biomass and abundance of aquatic emergence and terrestrial spiders in a reference and treatment stream that had been continuously enriched with nitrogen and phosphorus for 5 years. Because we previously showed that enrichment increased secondary production of stream consumers, we predicted that aquatic emergence flux would be higher in the treatment stream, subsequently increasing the biomass and abundance of terrestrial spiders. Those increases were predicted to be greatest for spiders specializing on aquatic emergence subsidies (e.g., Tetragnathidae). By adding a ¹⁵N stable isotope tracer to both streams, we also quantified nitrogen flow from the stream into the riparian community. Emergence biomass, but not abundance, was higher in the treatment stream. The average body size of emerging adult insects and the relative dominance of Trichoptera adults were also greater in the treatment stream. However, spider biomass did not differ between streams. Spiders also exhibited substantially lower reliance on aquatic emergence nitrogen in the treatment stream. This reduced reliance likely resulted from shifts in the body size distributions and community composition of insect emergence that may have altered predator consumption efficiency in the treatment stream. Despite nutrient enrichment approximately doubling stream productivity and associated cross-ecosystem resource flows, the response of terrestrial predators depended more on the resource subsidy’s characteristics that affected the predator’s ability to capitalize on such increases.