Succession in a New Zealand alpine cushion community: a Markovian model

A permanent plot in a low-alpine cushion/tussock/shrub community was mapped at ca. decade intervals from 1953 to 1984. Transition probabilities between vegetation types were calculated, and a Markovian model was fitted.In spite of non-stationarity a Markov model was consistent with the observations, and produced reasonable predictions, especially for the major components of the vegetation. The model predictions were conservative in terms of future changes, in that future changes would be smaller than those observed, but such predictions could be supported by independent evidence, such as the nature of the non-stationarity, plant counts and seedling numbers.The general pattern was of a decrease in the cover of both Chionochloa rigida tussocks and mixed turf, and an increase in the cover of cushion bog species, especially Donatia novae-zelandiae. Shrubs, the suggested climax, showed no tendency to increase. Known climatic changes cannot explain the trend, which therefore seems to be a local retrogressive succession. There may be a cycle of alternating cushion and turf.     

Global response of terrestrial ecosystem structure and function to CO2 and climate change: results from six dynamic global vegetation models

The possible responses of ecosystem processes to rising atmospheric CO₂ concentration and climate change are illustrated using six dynamic global vegetation models that explicitly represent the interactions of ecosystem carbon and water exchanges with vegetation dynamics. The models are driven by the IPCC IS92a scenario of rising CO₂ ( Wigley et al. 1991 ), and by climate changes resulting from effective CO₂ concentrations corresponding to IS92a, simulated by the coupled ocean atmosphere model HadCM2‐SUL. Simulations with changing CO₂ alone show a widely distributed terrestrial carbon sink of 1.4–3.8 Pg C y^?1 during the 1990s, rising to 3.7–8.6 Pg C y^?1 a century later. Simulations including climate change show a reduced sink both today (0.6–3.0 Pg C y^?1) and a century later (0.3–6.6 Pg C y^?1) as a result of the impacts of climate change on NEP of tropical and southern hemisphere ecosystems. In all models, the rate of increase of NEP begins to level off around 2030 as a consequence of the ‘diminishing return’ of physiological CO₂ effects at high CO₂ concentrations. Four out of the six models show a further, climate‐induced decline in NEP resulting from increased heterotrophic respiration and declining tropical NPP after 2050. Changes in vegetation structure influence the magnitude and spatial pattern of the carbon sink and, in combination with changing climate, also freshwater availability (runoff). It is shown that these changes, once set in motion, would continue to evolve for at least a century even if atmospheric CO₂ concentration and climate could be instantaneously stabilized. The results should be considered illustrative in the sense that the choice of CO₂ concentration scenario was arbitrary and only one climate model scenario was used. However, the results serve to indicate a range of possible biospheric responses to CO₂ and climate change. They reveal major uncertainties about the response of NEP to climate change resulting, primarily, from differences in the way that modelled global NPP responds to a changing climate. The simulations illustrate, however, that the magnitude of possible biospheric influences on the carbon balance requires that this factor is taken into account for future scenarios of atmospheric CO₂ and climate change.     

不同植被配置下土壤碳矿化潜力

通过实验室培养的方法,研究了沙坡头地区不同植被配置区(纯柠条、纯油蒿、柠条油蒿混交林)土壤碳矿化潜力及不同凋落物在土壤中的分解.结果表明,通过103 d的室内培养,相同配置不同处理的土壤碳矿化差异不显著,灌丛密度高的植被配置碳矿化量高.不同生境土壤CO2-C的释放在灌丛下不加凋落物处理的情况下,单行油蒿与双行柠条样地间碳矿化存在显著性差异(P=0.047),其他各样地及各处理差异均不显著.总的来说,柠条样地土壤碳矿化潜力高于其他2种样地.凋落物分解速率在不同生境土壤最初的分解速率均为1年生草本混合样＞油蒿＞柠条,在培养40 d之后,3种凋落物的分解速率趋于一致,这与草本较高的C、N、C/N比有关.另外,柠条样地的土壤加油蒿凋落物比在柠条样地的土壤中加柠条凋落物有较高的初始碳矿化潜力,这除与油蒿凋落物较易分解有关外还与不同生境土壤养分的可利用性有关,但在培养过程中出现拐点,这与柠条较高的C、N、C/N有关.在不同生境的土壤中,碳矿化潜力均为灌丛下＞灌丛外,灌木的存在使更多的有机质和养分积聚在灌丛下,形成灌丛肥岛,对碳的固存具有显著贡献.     

湿地枯落物分解及其对全球变化的响应

综述了当前湿地枯落物分解及其对全球变化响应的研究动态。湿地枯落物分解研究已随研究方法的改进而不断深化;当前湿地枯落物分解过程研究主要集中在有机质组分和元素含量变化特征的探讨上;湿地枯落物分解同时受生物因素（即枯落物性质以及参与分解的异养微生物和土壤动物的种类、数量和活性等）和非生物因素（即枯落物分解过程的外部环境条件,包括气候条件、水分条件、酸碱度与盐分条件以及湿地沉积的行为与特征等）的制约;模型已成为湿地枯落物分解研究的重要手段,对其研究也在不断深化。还讨论了湿地枯落物分解对于全球变化的响应,指出全球变暖、大气CO2浓度上升、干湿沉降及其化学组成改变可能对枯落物分解产生的直接、间接和综合影响。最后,指出了当前该领域研究尚存在的问题以及今后亟需加强的几个研究方面。     

环境因子对挪威云杉林土壤有机质分解过程中重量和碳的气态损失影响及模型

用严重酸化的挪威云杉林的枯落物和矿质土壤,研究了温度和含水量对有机质分解过程中重量和气态的影响。在为期１ａ的室内试验期间,没有元素的输入,淋失和植物根系吸收。实验分３个温度处理的４个水分处理,在有利条件下,枯落物未分解层ＯＬ的重量损失速率是半分解层ＯＦ的２倍和已分解是ＯＨ的５－６倍,矿质土壤的损失速率小于枯落物层。     

尕海湿地植被退化过程中植被——土壤系统有机碳储量变化特征

青藏高原湿地作为陆地生态系统的重要组成部分,在全球碳循环中发挥着重要作用.以青藏高原东缘尕海湿地植被不同退化程度样地(未退化CK、轻度退化SD、中度退化MD及重度退化HD)为研究对象,通过分析地上植物、凋落物、根系和土壤有机碳,研究湿地植被退化过程中植被-土壤系统有机碳储量变化特征.结果表明:除HD外,不同退化程度湿地地上植被碳储量为99.58～205.64 g·m^-2,根系(0～40 cm)碳储量为56.96～754.37 g·m^-2,地上、根系碳储量随退化程度的加剧显著下降,土壤容重随退化程度加剧呈先增加后减少趋势,植被退化湿地各层土壤容重均大于对照样地,而凋落物碳储量为17.29～35.69 g·m^-2,CK和MD均显著高于SD;不同退化程度湿地土壤0～40 cm碳储量为7265.06～9604.30 g·m^-2,且MD>CK>SD>HD,土壤有机碳储量CK和MD显著高于SD、HD;植被-土壤系统的碳储量为7265.06～10389.94 g·m^-2,各样地大小顺序为CK>MD>SD>HD,有机碳主要储存于土壤中,占湿地总碳贮量的90%以上,说明适度干扰有利于发挥高寒湿地生态系统的碳汇功能.     

森林凋落物分解及其对全球气候变化的响应

凋落物分解是重要的森林生态系统过程之一,受到气候、凋落物质量、土壤生物群落等生物和非生物因素的综合调控．迄今,有关不同森林生态系统和不同树种地上部分的凋落物动态、凋落物分解过程中的养分释放动态、生物和非生物因素对凋落物分解的影响等研究报道较多,但对地下凋落物的分解研究相对较少．近年来,森林凋落物分解对以大气CO2浓度增加和温度升高为主要特征的全球变化的响应逐步受到重视,但其研究结果仍具有很多不确定性．因此,未来凋落物生态研究的重点应是凋落物分解对土壤有机碳固定的贡献、地上／地下凋落物的物理、化学和生物学过程及其对各种生态因子（例如冻融、干湿交替）及交互作用的响应、凋落物特别是地下凋落物分解对全球气候变化的响应机制等方面．     

尕海湿地植被退化过程中植被-土壤系统有机碳储量变化特征

青藏高原湿地作为陆地生态系统的重要组成部分,在全球碳循环中发挥着重要作用.以青藏高原东缘尕海湿地植被不同退化程度样地(未退化CK、轻度退化SD、中度退化MD及重度退化HD)为研究对象,通过分析地上植物、凋落物、根系和土壤有机碳,研究湿地植被退化过程中植被-土壤系统有机碳储量变化特征.结果表明: 除HD外,不同退化程度湿地地上植被碳储量为99.58～205.64 g·m^-2,根系(0～40 cm)碳储量为56.96～754.37 g·m^-2,地上、根系碳储量随退化程度的加剧显著下降,土壤容重随退化程度加剧呈先增加后减少趋势,植被退化湿地各层土壤容重均大于对照样地,而凋落物碳储量为17.29～35.69 g·m^-2,CK和MD均显著高于SD;不同退化程度湿地土壤0～40 cm碳储量为7265.06～9604.30 g·m^-2,且MD＞CK＞SD＞HD,土壤有机碳储量CK和MD显著高于SD、 HD;植被-土壤系统的碳储量为7265.06～10389.94 g·m^-2,各样地大小顺序为CK＞MD＞SD＞HD,有机碳主要储存于土壤中,占湿地总碳贮量的90%以上,说明适度干扰有利于发挥高寒湿地生态系统的碳汇功能.     

全球气候变暖对凋落物分解的影响

凋落物分解作为生态系统核心过程,参与生态系统碳的周转与循环,影响生态系统碳的收支平衡,调控生态系统对全球气候变暖的反馈结果。全球气候变暖通过环境因素、凋落物数量和质量以及分解者3个方面,直接或间接地作用于凋落物分解过程,并进一步影响土壤养分周转和碳库动态。气候变暖可通过升高温度和改变实际蒸散量等环境因素直接作用于凋落物分解。气候变暖可引起植物物种短期内碳、氮和木质素等化学性质的改变以及群落中物种组成的长期变化从而改变凋落物质量。在凋落物分解过程中,土壤分解者亚系统作为主要生命组分(土壤动物和微生物)彼此相互作用、相互协调共同参与调节凋落物的分解过程。凋落物分解可以通过改变土壤微生物量、微生物活动和群落结构来加快微生物养分的固定或矿化,以形成新的养分利用模式来改变土壤有机质从而对气候变化做出响应。未来凋落物分解的研究方向应基于大尺度跨区域分解实验和长期实验,关注多个因子交互影响下,分解过程中碳、氮养分释放、地上/地下凋落物分解生物学过程与联系、分解者亚系统营养级联效应等方面。     

Chemistry and toughness predict leaf litter decomposition rates over a wide spectrum of functional types and taxa in central Argentina

Litter decomposition, a major determinant of ecosystem functioning, is strongly influenced by the litter quality of different species. We aimed at (1) relating interspecific variation in leaf litter decomposition rate to the functional types different species belong to; and (2) understanding the chemical and/or physical basis for such variation and its robustness to environmental factors. We selected 52 Angiosperms from a climatic gradient in central-western Argentina, representing the widest range of functional types and habitats published so far. Ten litter samples of each species were simultaneously buried for 9 weeks during the 1996 summer in an experimental decomposition bed. Decomposition rate was defined as the percentage of dry mass loss after incubation. Chemical litter quality was measured as carbon (C) content, nitrogen (N) content, and C-to-N ratio. Since tensile strength of litter and living leaves were strongly correlated, the latter was chosen as an indicator of physical litter quality. A subset of 15 species representing different functional types was also incubated in England for 15 weeks, following a similar experimental procedure. Litter C-to-N and leaf tensile strength of the leaves showed the strongest negative associations with decomposition rate, both at the species and at the functional-type level. Decomposition rates of the same species in Argentina and in England were strongly correlated. This reinforces previous evidence that species rankings in terms of litter decomposition rates are robust to methodological and environmental factors. This paper has shown new evidence of plant control over the turnover of organic matter through litter quality, and confirms, over a broad spectrum of functional types, general models of resource allocation. The strong correlations between leaf tensile strength – a trait that is easy and quick to measure in a large number of species – decomposition rate, and C-to-N ratio indicate that leaf tensile strength can be useful in linking plant quality to decomposition patterns at the ecosystem level. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Soil carbon stocks and bulk density: spatial or cumulative mass coordinates as a basis of expression?

Accounting for CO₂ fluxes by determining changes in stocks of soil carbon (C) as a result of land use change is an option for complying nations under the Kyoto Protocol. The 1996 IPCC guidelines for C accounting recommend that soil C stocks to a depth of 30 cm be used in such accounting. However, the soil bulk density often changes with land use and the soil C per unit ground area to a fixed depth will also change even without any change in the mass fraction of C in dry soil. This problem will generally arise when soil C accounting is taken to a fixed depth (i.e. uses ‘spatial coordinates’). For accuracy in determining the land use change effects on soil C, soil sampling should be referred to a fixed dry soil mass per unit ground area (i.e. use ‘cumulative mass coordinates’). There has been intermittent literature‐discussion about this issue over several decades. Methods to accomplish C accounting on a mass coordinate basis, none of them accurate or efficient, have been suggested. Here, we propose a simple, accurate methodology for determining soil C stocks using cumulative mass coordinates, which does not involve repeat sampling trips, nominal specification of the location of boundaries between soil horizons, or independent sampling for determining soil bulk densities. Each core is taken a little (say 10 cm) below the nominal mass/depth required and the retrieved core is sliced into two at a point a little above the nominal mass/depth (say 10 cm above). An accurate determination of the depth of the core or slice is not needed, but an accurate determination of the dry mass of soil above and below the slice‐point is required. Linear interpolation between these two measurements is then used to estimate the cumulative soil C per unit ground area to the target dry soil mass per unit ground area. Even though this method eliminates the need for reporting soil bulk densities for C accounting, it is urged that the bulk densities and density changes still be routinely reported. This is because such information is of fundamental importance for understanding and predicting the movement of fluids and substances carried in them within the soil and between the soil and the environment. Hence, these data are likely to be of fundamental importance in developing our future understanding and predictive capacity of soil C changes with land use change.     

Simulated chronic nitrogen deposition increases carbon storage in Northern Temperate forests

High levels of atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition in Europe and North America were maintained throughout the 1990s, and global N deposition is expected to increase by a factor of 2.5 over the next century. Available soil N limits primary production in many terrestrial ecosystems, and some computer simulation models have predicted that increasing atmospheric N deposition may result in greater terrestrial carbon (C) storage in woody biomass. However, empirical evidence demonstrating widespread increases in woody biomass C storage due to atmospheric N deposition is uncommon. Increased C storage in soil organic matter due to chronic N inputs has rarely been reported and is often not considered in computer simulation models of N deposition effects. Since 1994, we have experimentally simulated chronic N deposition by adding 3 g N m⁻² yr⁻¹ to four different northern hardwood forests, which span a 500 km geographic gradient in Michigan. Each year we measured tree growth. In 2004, we also examined soil C content to a depth of 70 cm. When we compared the control treatment with the NO₃⁻ deposition treatment after a decade of experimentation, ecosystem C storage had significantly increased in both woody biomass (500 g C m⁻²) and surface soil (0–10 cm) organic matter (690 g C m⁻²). The increase in surface soil C storage was apparently driven by altered rates of organic matter decomposition, rather than an increase in detrital inputs to soil. Our results, for study locations stretching across hundreds of kilometers, support the hypothesis that chronic N deposition may increase C storage in northern forests, potentially contributing to a sink for anthropogenic CO₂ in the northern Hemisphere.     

氮沉降对森林凋落物分解的影响

氮沉降增加作为全球变化的重要现象之一,已经并将继续对森林凋落物分解产生影响.综述了国内外氮沉降对森林凋落物分解影响及其机理的研究现状.氮沉降对凋落物分解的影响可分为直接影响和间接影响.氮沉降通过影响森林地被物组成和凋落物化学成分,间接影响凋落物分解.氮沉降对凋落物分解的直接影响表现为促进、无影响和抑制3种效果.分析了产生以上影响效果的作用机理,介绍了氮沉降对森林凋落物分解影响的研究方法,探讨了目前研究存在的问题,讨论了未来该方面研究的重点和方向.