海南霸王岭陆均松空间分布格局及其与微生境异质性的关系

应用地统计学及限制性排序分析方法,对海南霸王岭陆均松(Dacrydium pectinatum)幼苗、幼树、成树及其微生境因子的空间分布特征进行分析。结果表明:1)陆均松不同生活史阶段空间分布格局存在明显差异,幼苗阶段表现为聚集性分布,具有显著的空间自相关结构,聚集强度随年龄增长呈逐渐减弱趋势;2)RDA分析表明,陆均松空间分布格局与微生境因子的关系在不同生活史阶段存在差异,生境过滤的影响会随着生活史阶段的不同而有所差别;3)微生境变量对陆均松幼苗、幼树、成树空间变异的总解释量分别为78.4%、41.2%、33.6%,微生境因素对陆均松分布的限制作用主要集中在幼苗阶段;4)在大尺度条件下,PCNM变量与微生境变量具有较大的共同解释量(22.2%),存在典型的"诱导空间变差"现象,微生境变量空间变化引起响应变量即陆均松幼苗、幼树、成树的分布产生类似的空间结构。研究结果证实了微生境因子与不同生活史阶段陆均松分布的关联性,为深入理解陆均松种群维持机制、空间分布格局、更新动态与生境的关系提供科学依据。     

吉林蛟河针阔混交林树木生长与生境的关联性

以吉林蛟河21.12 hm2(660 m×320 m)针阔混交林样地为对象,在以海拔、坡度、坡向以及凸凹度为地形变量划分样地生境类型的基础上,利用2009—2014年植被生长数据,研究生境差异对树木生长的影响机制。研究采用生境空间随机(生境CSR)、物种空间随机(物种CSR)以及物种Thomas3种生态学过程零模型,检验树木径向生长与4种生境类型之间的关联性;采用Pearson相关系数计算树木生长与地形变量之间的相关关系,量化地形变量对树木生长的影响。研究结果显示:(1)样地内绝大多数物种(生境CSR过程:86.1%;物种CSR过程:94.4%;物种Thomas过程:61.1%)的径向生长表现出明显的生境关联性。(2)不同生活型物种的生境利用方式不同:灌木和亚乔木具有类似的生境偏好,与海拔相对较低、地势相对平缓的生境型1正关联,与海拔相对较高、坡度相对较大的生境型2和生境型4负关联;乔木在不同生境类型中会同时存在正、负关联性,但更倾向于和生境1发生负关联,而和生境4发生正关联,并且乔木树种的径向生长对地形之间的差异更加敏感;(3)高达86.1%的物种生长与至少一种地形变量显著相关,其中海拔对树木生长影响最大,其次是坡度和凸凹度,坡向的影响则相对最小。上述结果表明,样地内不同物种之间出现了明显的生境利用性分化,生境利用性分化是影响温带针阔混交林树木径向生长的重要因素。     

濒危乔木红豆杉不同更新阶段的生境特征比较

以福建梅花山自然保护区濒危乔木红豆杉(Taxus chinensis(Pilger)Rehd.)为对象,对红豆杉的种子排放、幼苗更新、幼树更新3个更新阶段的生境特征进行研究,并比较生态位的变化,以此评价红豆杉不同更新阶段的生境需求。结果显示:随着个体发育生长,红豆杉更新生境发生了明显转变,种子排放地与幼苗生境空间一致性较高,而它们与幼树生境存在明显的空间不一致性。从生态位角度来看,种子排放地和幼苗生境重叠指数≤0.5的仅有海拔和坡度2个因子,这说明幼苗的空间格局受到鸟类传播的强烈影响,鸟类传播所排放的种子能萌发并生长成幼苗。幼苗和幼树生境重叠指数≤0.5的因子有海拔、坡向、植被类型,说明在大尺度景观因子和庇护植被层面上,植物的更新需求出现了明显的不一致。研究结果表明红豆杉的更新生境存在明显的阶段变化,可能造成植物更新出现建成限制,使幼树阶段成为更新的瓶颈阶段。     

木林子保护区优势种翅柃种群结构与空间分布格局

该研究以湖北木林子保护区优势种翅柃(Eurya alata)为研究对象,编制静态生命表,绘制存活曲线、死亡率和消失率曲线;采用成对相关函数分析各龄级的空间分布特征,双变量成对相关函数分析不同生活史阶段间的空间关系,为阐明木林子保护区常绿落叶阔叶混交林不同构建规律在物种多样性维持机制中的作用提供理论参考。结果显示:(1)翅柃属增长型种群,存活曲线趋于Deevey-Ⅱ型,死亡率和消失率曲线呈单峰型。(2)翅柃Ⅰ～Ⅴ龄级呈现聚集分布且随径级增加而减弱,Ⅵ、Ⅶ龄级在较大尺度上随机分布。(3)在完全随机零模型下,各生活史阶段均呈空间正关联;在先决条件零模型下,成年树与幼树、小树小尺度上呈无关联和负关联,其余生活史阶段间呈正关联,较大尺度上无关联。研究表明,翅柃种群幼树个体丰富,更新状态良好,在自然演替过程中,生境过滤、扩散限制和密度制约均可能驱动种群的构建过程。     

百山祖常绿阔叶林木本植物的生境相关性分析

中性理论和生态位理论在解释热带雨林中物种共存机制上发挥了重要作用.本文通过Torus-translation榆测方法对百山祖常绿阔叶林5 ha样地中DBH≥1 cm、个体数大于5的89种木本植物与4个根据地形和物种组成划分的小生境进行了关联性分析.同时按植物的胸径径级大小将其分为幼树期、生长期、成熟期3个生长阶段,并分别分析了植物在这3个生长阶段与生境的关联性.结果表明:89个木本植物中,没有表现出显著的生境相关件的物种多是稀有种或是个体数较少的物种,而大部分的常见种表现出与生境的显著相关性;通过对每个物种不同生长阶段的生境相关性比较,发现多数物种的生境相关性会发生改变,其中只有麂角杜鹃(Rhododendron latoucheae)、褐叶青冈(Cyclobalanopsis stewardiana)和厚叶红淡比(Cleyera pachyphylla)在生长的3个生长阶段没有发生改变.这表明,生境异质性对亚热带常绿阔叶林中木本植物的生物多样性的维持起着重要作用,同时对不同生长时期的物种与生境相关性的分析结果表明,大部分物种与生境的相关性会随着生长阶段的变化而发生变化.     

暖温带-北亚热带生态过渡区物种生境相关性分析

物种生境相关性分析有利于更好的理解群落构建机制。以暖温带-北亚热带过渡区的宝天曼自然保护区1 ha固定监测样地调查数据为依托,选择胸径（DBH）≥1 cm、个体数≥5的43种木本植物作为分析对象,选择4个地形因子和15个土壤因子作为两类环境因子,用典范对应分析（CCA）研究了地形因子和土壤因子对物种分布的影响,用Torus-translation检验来分析物种与不同生境的关联。结果如下：（1）CCA分析表明地形因子对物种分布的解释量为7.3%,土壤因子对物种分布的解释量为16.2%。（2）Torus-translation检验结果表明,被检验的43个物种中,23.3%的物种与地形4个生境关联,其中正相关物种数最多的是山脊,占正相关数的57%;46.5%的物种与土壤6个生境关联,正相关物种数最多的是两个主分量中的高浓度区,占正相关数的52.6%,明显高于中浓度区和低浓度区正相关的物种数,负相关物种数最多的仍是高浓度区,占负相关数的42.8%,其次为低浓度区,占26.3%。结果表明,土壤生境分化对暖温带-北亚热带过渡区物种的空间分布有着重要作用;样地内大部分物种存在生境分化,这不仅是对地形生境分化的利用,而且更多的是对土壤生境分化的利用;研究结果支持物种共存机制中的生态位理论,地形和土壤生境分化是宝天曼暖温带-北亚热带过渡区物种共存的重要机制之一,在一定程度上解释了该区物种多样性的维持机制。     

贵州闽楠天然种群特征、空间分布格局及空间关联分析

为更好地保护闽楠天然种群，探究闽楠天然种群特征、空间分布格局及其空间关联性，对针对性地提出保护措施具有重要意义。以贵州台江县登鲁村闽楠天然种群为研究对象，通过野外设置60 m×60 m固定样地，采用种群径级结构代替年龄结构、点格局分析方法分析闽楠种群年龄结构、不同生长阶段空间分布格局及其关联性。结果表明：（1）闽楠种群年龄结构呈倒"J"型分布，幼龄个体数量多，随着年龄增加，能够成功进入后期的个体数量急剧下降，死亡率高。存活曲线趋于Deevey-Ⅱ型，属于稳定型种群。种群在第5龄级（7.5 cm≤DBH<12.5 cm）的生命期望（e_x）最高。（2）闽楠种群分布格局由随机分布转向随机分布。在幼苗、幼树、中树阶段空间分布格局趋于集群分布，大树阶段趋于集群分布。（3）不同生长阶段之间空间关联性表现有所差异。小尺度上，大树与幼树呈负关联，大尺度上，两者呈正关联；小尺度上，幼树与幼苗、大树与幼树都呈正关联，大树和中树无关联，在大尺度上，大树和中树、幼树与幼苗、中树与幼苗以及中树和幼树都呈负关联且随着空间尺度的增加负关联性逐渐增强。总体而言，该闽楠天然种群较稳定，但对环境干扰敏感，幼龄个体因呈聚集分布受密度制约而竞争剧烈，成年个体则因对环境的竞争而呈随机分布。为维持种群的长期稳定，需要分阶段适时进行人工调控。     

亚热带中山常绿阔叶林木本植物幼苗数量动态及其与生境的相关性

以百山祖自然保护区5 hm2永久样地150个幼苗监测站木本植物幼苗为研究对象,2008—2011年定期调查样方中幼苗的种类、数量、萌发、死亡等,探究亚热带中山常绿阔叶林幼苗种类组成、数量动态及其与生境的相关性。结果表明:1)百山祖样地在2008年至2011年出现的幼苗属于26科,40属,共53个物种,不同物种萌发时段有异;2)2009年样地幼苗存活比率为7.7%,2010年为-20.8%,2011年则是-0.3%,幼苗存活比率不高,种类和数量呈减少趋势;3)存活幼苗中有明显的优势物种,分别为光亮山矾(Symplocos lucida)、尖连蕊茶(Camellia cuspidata)、浙闽新木姜子(Neolitsea aurata var.undulatula)、尖叶菝葜(Smilax arisanensis)和短尾柯(Lithocarpus brevicaudatus),5个物种之和占幼苗总数比例50%;4)种子的萌发与生境有极显著的相关性,且与生境因子中水分关联最大;5)存活幼苗数与样站坡位、水分、落叶层厚度呈现显著相关性,水和光照是影响幼苗存活的主要因素。     

老龄阔叶红松林下层木空间分布的生境关联分析

基于老龄阔叶红松林30 hm2(500 m×600 m)固定监测样地,分析了老龄阔叶红松林下层(1 cm≤DBH≤5 cm)14个主要树种(个体数>300)的空间分布与空间距离、地形因子及郁闭度之间关联性。结果显示:(1)14个种都显示出了聚集分布,绝大多数种呈现出了在小距离级上呈显著正空间自相关大距离级上呈现显著负空间自相关的趋势。(2)6个种显示与空间距离显著相关即存在本身的聚集效应,占被检验种的42.86%;7个种显示出与环境(地形、郁闭度)有显著相关性即存在显著的生境偏好,占50%。个体数大于1000的7优势种中有5个种空间分布与生境显著相关,5个种与空间距离显著相关。(3)色木槭、千金榆显示出了对低海拔、向阳坡生境类型的偏好,簇毛槭、花楷槭、毛榛显示出对高海拔、坡度陡、向阴坡生境类型的偏好。这表明,老龄阔叶红松林下层木多数树种为聚集分布,其聚集性的空间分布受生境及自身聚集效应的重要影响。多个树种对同种生境的偏好体现了植物利用资源的相似性和生态位的重叠,对不同生境的偏好体现了物种间的排斥性,这是长期适应不同微环境,利用不同空间资源的结果,也是生态位分离的反映。     

湖北木林子保护区山矾属植物空间分布格局及其关联性

物种共存机制是生态学研究的重要问题。以同属物种山矾、光叶山矾为研究对象，分析其空间分布格局和种内、种间关联性特征。将山矾、光叶山矾分为4个径级，分别归属幼树、小树、中树和成年树4个生长阶段。采用单变量成对相关函数分析空间分布格局特征；双变量成对相关函数分析种内、种间关联性。结果显示：山矾和光叶山矾径级结构基本一致，均属增长型种群。在完全空间随机模型下，山矾和光叶山矾主要呈聚集分布，逐渐过渡为均匀分布；在异质泊松模型下，只在小尺度上聚集，较大尺度范围呈随机分布。种内关联上，山矾各生长阶段主要呈正关联，逐渐向无关联过渡，光叶山矾除小树与成年树外，其余均呈正关联；排除生境异质性影响后，小尺度呈正关联，其余尺度无关联。种间关联上，在幼树、小树物种对中主要呈负关联，中树、成年树物种对中多为无关联。研究表明，同属物种山矾和光叶山矾呈种内聚集、种间分离的空间构型，在竞争排除作用下实现同属共存，有利于亚热带常绿落叶阔叶混交林群落结构稳定和物种多样性维持。     

Species‐habitat associations change in a subtropical forest of China

Question: Do tree and shrub species in an evergreen broadleaf forest show similar habitat associations across different life stages? Location: A 24‐ha evergreen broadleaf forest plot in a heterogeneous landscape in Gutianshan National Nature Reserve, Zhejiang Province, Eastern China. Methods: Species having positive associations with four habitat types (low valley, low ridge, upper valley, and upper ridge) at three life stages (sapling, juvenile, and mature stages) were compared for 60 tree and shrub species using torus‐translation tests. Results: A total of 117 significant positive associations with the four habitats were observed at the three life stages (43, 41, and 33 at the sapling, juvenile, and mature stages, respectively). For the 52 species significantly associated with habitats, only 16 were associated with the same habitat across all three stages. The majority of associated species at the juvenile stage (34 out of 40) were associated with the same habitat at their sapling stage, whereas half of species at the mature stage had consistent associations with the same habitat at their sapling stage. More species were associated with the upper ridge at the sapling and juvenile stages compared to the mature stage. Conversely, more species were associated with the low valley at the mature stage compared to the sapling and juvenile stages. Conclusions: Our results indicate that species ecological habitat associations can differ between developmental stages beyond 1 cm DBH, as most species habitat preferences were consistent from the sapling stage to the juvenile stage but changed at the mature stage.     

Pervasive Local-Scale Tree-Soil Habitat Association in a Tropical Forest Community

We examined tree-soil habitat associations in lowland forest communities at Paracou, French Guiana. We analyzed a large dataset assembling six permanent plots totaling 37.5 ha, in which extensive LIDAR-derived topographical data and soil chemical and physical data have been integrated with precise botanical determinations. Map of relative elevation from the nearest stream summarized both soil fertility and hydromorphic characteristics, with seasonally inundated bottomlands having higher soil phosphate content and base saturation, and plateaus having higher soil carbon, nitrogen and aluminum contents. We employed a statistical test of correlations between tree species density and environmental maps, by generating Monte Carlo simulations of random raster images that preserve autocorrelation of the original maps. Nearly three fourths of the 94 taxa with at least one stem per ha showed a significant correlation between tree density and relative elevation, revealing contrasted species-habitat associations in term of abundance, with seasonally inundated bottomlands (24.5% of species) and well-drained plateaus (48.9% of species). We also observed species preferences for environments with or without steep slopes (13.8% and 10.6%, respectively). We observed that closely-related species were frequently associated with different soil habitats in this region (70% of the 14 genera with congeneric species that have a significant association test) suggesting species-habitat associations have arisen multiple times in this tree community. We also tested if species with similar habitat preferences shared functional strategies. We found that seasonally inundated forest specialists tended to have smaller stature (maximum diameter) than species found on plateaus. Our results underline the importance of tree-soil habitat associations in structuring diverse communities at fine spatial scales and suggest that additional studies are needed to disentangle community assembly mechanisms related to dispersal limitation, biotic interactions and environmental filtering from species-habitat associations. Moreover, they provide a framework to generalize across tropical forest sites.     

There's no place like home: seedling mortality contributes to the habitat specialisation of tree species across Amazonia

Understanding the mechanisms generating species distributions remains a challenge, especially in hyperdiverse tropical forests. We evaluated the role of rainfall variation, soil gradients and herbivory on seedling mortality, and how variation in seedling performance along these gradients contributes to habitat specialisation. In a 4‐year experiment, replicated at the two extremes of the Amazon basin, we reciprocally transplanted 4638 tree seedlings of 41 habitat‐specialist species from seven phylogenetic lineages among the three most important forest habitats of lowland Amazonia. Rainfall variation, flooding and soil gradients strongly influenced seedling mortality, whereas herbivory had negligible impact. Seedling mortality varied strongly among habitats, consistent with predictions for habitat specialists in most lineages. This suggests that seedling performance is a primary determinant of the habitat associations of adult trees across Amazonia. It further suggests that tree diversity, currently mostly harboured in terra firme forests, may be strongly impacted by the predicted climate changes in Amazonia.     

Effects of alternate reef states on coral reef fish habitat associations

The present study describes ontogenetic shifts in habitat use for 15 species of coral reef fish at Rangiroa Atoll, French Polynesia. The distribution of fish in different habitats at three ontogenetic stages (new settler, juvenile, and adult) was investigated in coral-dominated and algal-dominated sites at two reefs (fringing reef and inner reef of motu). Three main ontogenetic patterns in habitat use were identified: (1) species that did not change habitats between new settler and juvenile life stages (60% of species) or between juvenile and adult stages (55% of species—no ontogenetic shift); (2) species that changed habitats at different ontogenetic stages (for the transition “new settler to juvenile stage”: 15% of species; for the transition “juvenile to adult stage”: 20% of species); and (3) species that increased the number of habitats they used over ontogeny (for the transition “new settler to juvenile stage”: 25% of species; for the transition “juvenile to adult stage”: 25% of species). Moreover, the majority of studied species (53%) showed a spatial variability in their ontogenetic pattern of habitat use according to alternate reef states (coral reef vs algal reef), suggesting that reef state can influence the dynamics of habitat associations in coral reef fish.     

Life stage,not climate change,explains observed tree range shifts

Ongoing climate change is expected to shift tree species distribution and therefore affect forest biodiversity and ecosystem services. To assess and project tree distributional shifts, researchers may compare the distribution of juvenile and adult trees under the assumption that differences between tree life stages reflect distributional shifts triggered by climate change. However, the distribution of tree life stages could differ within the lifespan of trees, therefore, we hypothesize that currently observed distributional differences could represent shifts over ontogeny as opposed to climatically driven changes. Here, we test this hypothesis with data from 1435 plots resurveyed after more than three decades across the Western Carpathians. We compared seedling, sapling and adult distribution of 12 tree species along elevation, temperature and precipitation gradients. We analyzed (i) temporal shifts between the surveys and (ii) distributional differences between tree life stages within both surveys. Despite climate warming, tree species distribution of any life stage did not shift directionally upward along elevation between the surveys. Temporal elevational shifts were species specific and an order of magnitude lower than differences among tree life stages within the surveys. Our results show that the observed range shifts among tree life stages are more consistent with ontogenetic differences in the species' environmental requirements than with responses to recent climate change. The distribution of seedlings substantially differed from saplings and adults, while the distribution of saplings did not differ from adults, indicating a critical transition between seedling and sapling tree life stages. Future research has to take ontogenetic differences among life stages into account as we found that distributional differences recently observed worldwide may not reflect climate change but rather the different environmental requirements of tree life stages.     

Density dependence across multiple life stages in a temperate old-growth forest of northeast China

Recent studies on species coexistence suggest that density dependence is an important mechanism regulating plant populations. However, there have been few studies of density dependence conducted for more than one life-history stage or that control for habitat heterogeneity, which may influence spatial patterns of survival and mask density dependence. We explored the prevalence of density dependence across multiple life stages, and the effects of controlling for habitat heterogeneity, in a temperate forest in northeast China. We used generalized linear mixed-effects models to test for density-dependent mortality of seedlings and spatial point pattern analysis to detect density dependence for sapling-to-juvenile transitions. Conspecific neighbors had a negative effect on survival of plants in both life stages. At the seedling stage, we found a negative effect of conspecific seedling neighbors on survival when analyzing all species combined. However, in species-level analyses, only 2 of 11 focal species were negatively impacted by conspecific neighbors, indicating wide variation among species in the strength of density dependence. Controlling for habitat heterogeneity did not alter our findings of density dependence at the seedling stage. For the sapling-to-juvenile transition stage, 11 of 15 focal species showed patterns of local scale (<10 m) conspecific thinning, consistent with negative density dependence. The results varied depending on whether we controlled for habitat heterogeneity, indicating that a failure to account for habitat heterogeneity can obscure patterns of density dependence. We conclude that density dependence may promote tree species coexistence by acting across multiple life-history stages in this temperate forest.     

Slow, fast and in between: habitat distribution and behaviour of larvae in nine species of libellulid dragonfly

1. Activity and microhabitat use are important factors determining species performance in habitats that differ in permanence and species composition of top predators. This study examined the relationship between the distribution across a gradient of habitat permanence and an associated transition in the composition of top predators and the behaviour of species of larval dragonflies. It also assessed the relationship between larval behaviour, body size and the duration of the larval stage. In laboratory mesocosms the mobility of the different species was measured, as was the extent to which they associated with artificial vegetation. 2. Species mobility was positively related to their natural occurrence in habitats in which invertebrates or small‐bodied fish were the top predators, and negatively related with the frequency with which species co‐existed with large‐bodied fish, the permanence of the habitat and the length of the larval stage. 3. Rather than falling into strict low and high mobility categories, habitat generalists that occurred across the habitat gradient, co‐existing with different top predators, had variable mobility levels. In these generalists, mobility was positively related to how frequently they were found in natural habitats in which invertebrates were the top predators. 4. The extent to which species utilized the artificial vegetation in mesocosms was associated with the length of the larval period but was not associated with mobility or species habitat distribution in the field.     

Density‐dependent survival varies with species life‐history strategy in a tropical forest

Species coexistence in diverse communities likely results from multiple interacting factors. Mechanisms such as conspecific negative density dependence (CNDD) and varying life‐history strategies related to resource partitioning are known to influence plant fitness, and thereby community composition and diversity. However, we have little understanding of how these mechanisms interact and how they vary across life stages. Here, we document the interaction between CNDD and life‐history strategy, based on growth‐mortality trade‐offs, from seedling to adult tree for 47 species in a tropical forest. Species’ life‐history strategies remained consistent across stages: fast‐growing species had higher mortality than slow‐growing species at all stages. In contrast, mean CNDD was strongest at early life stages (i.e. seedling, sapling). Fast‐growing species tended to suffer greater CNDD than slow‐growing species at several, but not all life stages. Overall, our results demonstrate that coexistence mechanisms interact across multiple life stages to shape diverse tree communities.     

Plant coexistence in coastal heaths: Habitat segregation in the post-fire environment

Abstract Previous studies of heaths on Pleistocene coastal sands showed consistent variation in patterns of floristic composition between areas on ridges and slopes but not within them. A large wild-fire that swept this system provided an opportunity to observe temporal processes in habitat segregation of species. Ridges and slopes were found to differ in species richness of seedlings in 0.0625 m2 quadrats and there was no evidence that the species richness in the two habitats was converging over 3 years. This suggests that initially these processes differ in space between the two habitats with more species in the wet heath being packed into a smaller area than in the dry heath. Seed-banks of species did not saturate available space for recruitment in either habitat, but seedling densities differed asymmetrically between habitats across two pairs of species studied. Experimental manipulation of seeds among habitats also showed distinct differences in establishment and survival among representative species from different habitats. The presence of seed-banks of wet-heath species in dry heath suggested that recruitment of their seedlings may occur there, but experiments showed that seedlings that arise from them do not survive there. Conversely, although no seed-bank of either dry-heath species studied was found in wet heath, our manipulations showed that their seedlings could grow there. Thus, superficially, physiological tolerance appeared to limit regeneration of wet-heath species in dry heath. However, there appeared to be no physiological limit for dry-heath plants to survive in wet heath. This paper shows that segregation of species may operate at either of two stages of the life cycle: at dispersal when safe sites for establishment are required, and at recruitment after seedlings have established. These findings highlight the importance of the regeneration niche in structuring community composition in coastal heaths, and contrast with traditional explanations of species segregation invoking physiological tolerance and competition at later life-history stages.