Mosses modify effects of warmer and wetter conditions on tree seedlings at the alpine treeline

Climate warming enables tree seedling establishment beyond the current alpine treeline, but to achieve this, seedlings have to establish within existing tundra vegetation. In tundra, mosses are a prominent feature, known to regulate soil temperature and moisture through their physical structure and associated water retention capacity. Moss presence and species identity might therefore modify the impact of increases in temperature and precipitation on tree seedling establishment at the arctic‐alpine treeline. We followed Betula pubescens and Pinus sylvestris seedling survival and growth during three growing seasons in the field. Tree seedlings were transplanted along a natural precipitation gradient at the subarctic‐alpine treeline in northern Sweden, into plots dominated by each of three common moss species and exposed to combinations of moss removal and experimental warming by open‐top chambers (OTCs). Independent of climate, the presence of feather moss, but not Sphagnum, strongly supressed survival of both tree species. Positive effects of warming and precipitation on survival and growth of B. pubescens seedlings occurred in the absence of mosses and as expected, this was partly dependent on moss species. P. sylvestris survival was greatest at high precipitation, and this effect was more pronounced in Sphagnum than in feather moss plots irrespective of whether the mosses had been removed or not. Moss presence did not reduce the effects of OTCs on soil temperature. Mosses therefore modified seedling response to climate through other mechanisms, such as altered competition or nutrient availability. We conclude that both moss presence and species identity pose a strong control on seedling establishment at the alpine treeline, and that in some cases mosses weaken climate‐change effects on seedling establishment. Changes in moss abundance and species composition therefore have the potential to hamper treeline expansion induced by climate warming.     

Between a Rock and a Dry Place： The Water-Stressed Moss

The earliest land plants faced a suite of abiotic stresses largely unknown to their aquatic algal ancestors. The descendants of these plants evolved two general mechanisms for survival in the relatively arid aerial environment. While the vascular plants or ＇tracheophytes＇ developed tissue specializations to transport and retain water, the other main lineages of land plants, the bryophytes, retained a simple, nonvascular morphology. The bryophytes--mosses, hornworts, and liverworts--continually undergo a co-equilibration of their water content with the surrounding environment and rely to a great extent on intrinsic cellular mechanisms to mitigate damage due to water stress. This short review will focus on the cellular and molecular responses to dehydration and rehydration in mosses, and offer insights into general plant responses to water stress.     

安徽石台县与青阳县苔藓植物多样性

生物多样性保护优先区域代表了生物多样性富集区、典型生态系统与关键物种分布区, 对于生物多样性保护具有重要意义, 但优先区域内自然保护地覆盖率通常较低, 存在很大的保护空缺。苔藓植物作为生物多样性的一个重要组成部分, 在生态系统中发挥着重要作用, 但由于个体细小、分类鉴定困难等, 使得其多样性保护成为整个生物多样性保护中较为薄弱的一环。为了了解我国生物多样性保护优先区域苔藓植物多样性及受保护情况, 本文以黄山-怀玉山生物多样性保护优先区域内的石台县和青阳县为例, 通过系统的样线法调查优先区域内自然保护地内、外的苔藓植物多样性, 比较了其物种组成特点及相似性。结果表明, 该区域共有苔藓植物64科140属344种, 包括苔类植物27科40属106种、藓类植物37科100属238种, 其中有5种为濒危物种。自然保护地内有60科120属270种, 保护地外有46科90属185种, 保护地内、外苔藓植物科、属、种的Jaccard相似性系数分别为0.66、0.50和0.32, 表明自然保护地内、外物种组成差异很大。与石台县和青阳县苔藓植物历史数据相比, 本研究新增苔藓植物14科64属273种, 其中包括安徽省新记录2科9属96种, 而且有18种仅分布于自然保护地外。根据对该区域物种累积曲线及外推估计分析, 当采集足够充分时, 基于标本数的物种多样性预测值为485种, 基于样线数的预测值为563种, 说明石台县和青阳县的苔藓植物多样性仍存在被低估的可能。本研究结果一方面表明了自然保护地之外的苔藓植物在保护中有重要价值, 另一方面也反映了苔藓植物的野外就地保护存在空缺。建议在我国其他生物多样性保护优先区域开展类似的调查和研究, 以期为今后对苔藓植物的分布规律及保护研究提供翔实的基础数据。     

舟山群岛苔藓植物地理成分分析——兼论苔藓植物地理成分的划分方法

以舟山群岛284种苔藓植物为对象,根据世界生物多样性网站、Tropicos网站和公开出版的文献资料,获得它们在全球的地理分布记录,然后按经度15°、纬度7°30'间隔,将世界分成576个地理区域,运用ArcGis 10.2,获得它们在576个地理区域分布的0/1数据矩阵,基于这数据对284种苔藓植物的地理分布式样进行聚类分析,结合它们在全球的分布情况,识别出了11个地理成分,分别是世界广布（26,9.15%）、北温带分布（36,12.68%）、全温带（北温带—南温带间断）分布（30,10.56%）、旧世界温带分布（16,5.63%）、东亚—北美间断分布（11,3.87%）、东亚分布（84,29.58%）、泛热带分布（28,9.86%）、旧世界热带分布（6,2.11%）、热带亚洲—巴布亚新几内亚分布（11,3.87%）、东亚—热带亚洲—巴布亚新几内分布（6,2.11%）、东亚—热带亚洲—巴布亚新几内亚—澳洲—大洋洲分布（11,3.87%）,其他（19,6.69%）地理分布特点不明的种类。舟山群岛的11组地理成分中,有8组与吴征镒的种子植物地理分布类型划分标准相吻合,但是舟山群岛苔藓植物的热带亚洲地理成分不明显,范围也比种子植物同类型分布更广,因而作了进一步细分。     

Large-Scale Phylogenomic Analyses Reveal the Monophyly of Bryophytes and Neoproterozoic Origin of Land Plants

The relationships among the four major embryophyte lineages (mosses, liverworts, hornworts, vascular plants) and the timing of the origin of land plants are enigmatic problems in plant evolution. Here, we resolve the monophyly of bryophytes by improving taxon sampling of hornworts and eliminating the effect of synonymous substitutions. We then estimate the divergence time of crown embryophytes based on three fossil calibration strategies, and reveal that maximum calibration constraints have a major effect on estimating the time of origin of land plants. Moreover, comparison of priors and posteriors provides a guide for evaluating the optimal calibration strategy. By considering the reliability of fossil calibrations and the influences of molecular data, we estimate that land plants originated in the Precambrian (980–682 Ma), much older than widely recognized. Our study highlights the important contribution of molecular data when faced with contentious fossil evidence, and that fossil calibrations used in estimating the timescale of plant evolution require critical scrutiny.     

叶附生苔植物物种多样性分布格局及生态成因

叶附生苔植物(以下简称叶附生苔)是一类附生在维管植物叶片表面的、一般只出现在热带雨林和常绿阔叶林中的苔类植物。它们具有重要的生态功能, 如影响碳、氮、水循环, 对气候变化和森林破碎化反应敏感, 可用作环境变化的指示植物。该文对叶附生苔的形态特性、物种多样性的研究历史和进展、地理分布格局, 以及对环境的要求(附主和生境的特性)等进行了综述, 探讨了叶附生苔多样性分布格局形成的可能原因, 即环境(空气湿度高、林冠层发育好、干扰少)和适应特征(无性繁殖、形体微小)的选择。根据全球叶附生苔研究进展状况及所存在的问题提出未来可开展的研究方向, 如叶附生苔的形成原因、与附主间的物质交换和能量流动机制、在森林生态系统中的生态功能、气候变化指示作用研究等, 大尺度上的研究也值得关注。     

苔藓植物的化学元素含量及其特点

苔藓植物是化学元素最有效的积累者,在指示环境质量变化方面有其独到之处。本文阐述了苔藓植物体内地球化学元素的组成、含量、来源及其特点,用以揭示影响苔藓植物地球化学元素的因素,从而为苔藓植物作为指示生物提供更可靠的理论依据。苔藓植物体内所含的元素种类很多,主要来自大气沉降(如降水、降尘、扬尘、树冠淋溶等)和生长基质(如土壤、岩石等),元素含量受到区域空间、生态系统、苔藓种类以及时间季节的影响。苔藓植物体内地球化学元素含量可以指示环境条件(如区域空间、生态系统和时间)的差异。     

土壤水分对不同专用小麦后期光合特性及产量的影响

采用盆栽方法,研究了土壤水分对专用小麦生育后期光合特性及产量的影响.结果表明,强筋小麦豫麦34旗叶叶绿素计读数(SPAD值)、PSⅡ活性(Fv/Fo)和PSⅡ最大光能转换效率(Fv/Fm)在土壤相对含水量60%(FC)的条件下最高,光化学猝灭系数(qP)、非光化学猝灭系数(qN)、有效电子传递速率(ETR)和传递的量子产率(Φ2)在80%FC下最高;高产小麦豫麦49旗叶SPAD值、qP、qN、ETR均以80%FC下最高,Fv/Fo、Fv/Fm和φ2受土壤水分影响不大;弱筋小麦豫麦0,除qN在80%FC下最低外,其余光合特性参数均以80%FC的条件下最高.豫麦34产量和蛋白质含量均以60%FC最高,且产量达极显著差异;豫麦49和豫麦0籽粒蛋白质含量以40%FC最高,籽粒产量以80%FC最高,且豫麦49产质差异均达显著水平,而豫麦0的产量差异达极显著水平.