西南桦人工林与山地雨林的群落学特征比较

人类活动对生态系统的影响是当今生态学的研究热点之一,但对在退化生态系统上进行人工造林对地带性植被群落学特征的影响研究尚较欠缺。本文根据组成群落的植物生态学特征能对其生态环境做出准确的反应这一规则,通过样地调查法分析了林龄为12年的西南桦（Betula alnoides）人工群落的区系组成和基本的群落学特征,并与当地的地带性植被——山地雨林的区系组成和群落学特征进行了比较,从而探讨人工造林对当地天然生态系统的影响。结果发现,与天然群落相比,人类活动（人工种植西南桦林）对生态系统的植物物种的生活型谱、物种叶型谱、区系成分、物种多样性等方面的群落学特征影响不大;即使在这些方面有或多或少的差异,可能也是小环境的异质性造成的。但是人工种植西南桦林对群落的季相外貌、群落的结构、物种组成、物种丰富度以及生物量等方面有较大的影响。进行综合分析后得出结论：虽然人工造林可以缩短植被自然恢复的时间以及具有显著的经济价值,但与地带性植被相比,还是有较大的生态学差异。建议为了当地经济的发展,有必要适当发展一定面积的人工林,但规模应适度。     

濒危植物盐桦离体组织培养特性的研究

目的:探讨新疆濒危植物盐桦离体组织培养的特性。方法:从盐桦原生地阿尔泰阿拉哈克盐湖边采摘盐桦休眠实生苗上的落叶枝条,待其萌发后分别取带芽嫩茎、嫩茎茎段及嫩叶芽尖三种不同材料接种于启动培养基,比较三种盐桦离体组织的诱导分化,继而设计不同激素、不同水平的单因子试验和正交试验,筛选适宜盐桦外植体芽增殖和生根的分化培养基。结果:诱导盐桦芽增殖的最佳外植体是带芽嫩茎,盐桦外植体增殖、壮苗最适培养基为:MS 6-BA 1.0mg/L IBA 0.5mg/L;盐桦外植体生根最适培养基为:1/2MS IBA 0.5mg/L 蔗糖30g/L 琼脂7% 暗光处理3d。结论:本研究筛选获得适宜盐桦芽增殖和生根的最佳培养条件,为高效扩繁和保存盐桦种质资源奠定了基础。     

光皮桦6个南方天然群体的遗传多样性

为揭示中国特有珍贵用材树种光皮桦(Betula luminifera)天然群体的遗传多样性和遗传结构, 采用AFLP分子标记, 分析了采自浙江、福建、江西、广西和贵州5个省区6个天然群体的120份样品。9对引物获得了355个位点, 其中多态性位点323个。分析结果表明光皮桦天然群体具有较高的遗传多样性, 多态位点百分率(PPL)达90.99%, 各群体的PPL和Nei’s基因多样性(h_j)分别为93.20-98.60%和0.3143-0.3645; 总群体遗传多样性指数(H_t)为0.3616, 群体间遗传分化系数(F_st)为0.0650, 群体间总的基因流较高(N_m= 3.5962)。AMOVA分析表明群体间的遗传变异占总变异的11.49%, 浙江临安群体和贵州修文群体间的遗传距离最大(0.0665), 江西龙南群体和广西龙胜群体间的遗传距离最小(0.0173), 且遗传结构分析显示这两个群体的部分个体可能来自同一近祖。Mantel检测发现, 群体间的遗传距离与地理距离没有显著相关性(r = 0.423, P = 0.113), 而与两两群体所在地的均温差呈显著相关(r = 0.449, P = 0.017)。结合群体实地调查, 可以得出光皮桦天然群体的遗传多样性和遗传结构的形成不仅与其广域分布、自然杂交、种子特性以及生活史有关, 而且与群体被人为砍伐、生境片断化等因素有重要关系。基于上述结果我们提出了光皮桦天然种群的保护策略。     

青藏高原东缘林线交错带糙皮桦幼苗光合特性对模拟增温的短期响应

采用开顶式生长室(OTC)模拟增温对植被影响的研究方法, 研究了青藏高原东缘林线交错带糙皮桦(Betula utilis)光合特性对模拟增温的响应。结果表明: 与对照样地相比, OTC内日平均气温(1.2 m)在植物生长季中增加2.9 ℃, 5 cm土壤温度增加0.4 ℃。增温使糙皮桦幼苗叶片的净光合速率(P_n)、蒸腾速率(T_r)和气孔导度(G_s)分别增加17.4%、21.4%和33.9%, 但对糙皮桦幼苗叶片的水分利用率(WUE)却没有明显影响, 而对糙皮桦的叶氮浓度却表现为显著的负效应。同时, 增温能显著增加糙皮桦幼苗的最大同化速率(P_nmax) (+19.6%)、暗呼吸速率(R_d) (+14.3%)、表观量子效率(AQY) (+7.9%), 但对其光补偿点(LCP)和光饱和点(LSP)却没有明显的影响。此外, 增温使糙皮桦幼苗叶片的最大羧化速率(V_cmax)和电子传递速率(J)分别增加了12.3%和11.7%, 而磷酸丙糖利用率(TPU)和CO₂补偿点(CCP)对增温却并不敏感。该研究表明, 模拟增温对林线糙皮桦光合生理总体上表现为正效应, 这有可能帮助该物种对未来气候变化更快更好地适应。     

Leaf-traits and growth allometry explain competition and differences in response to climatic change in a temperate forest landscape: a simulation study

Background and Aims

The ability to simulate plant competition accurately is essential for plant functional type (PFT)-based models used in climate-change studies, yet gaps and uncertainties remain in our understanding of the details of the competition mechanisms and in ecosystem responses at a landscape level. This study examines secondary succession in a temperate deciduous forest in eastern China with the aim of determining if competition between tree types can be explained by differences in leaf ecophysiological traits and growth allometry, and whether ecophysiological traits and habitat spatial configurations among PFTs differentiate their responses to climate change.

Methods

A temperate deciduous broadleaved forest in eastern China was studied, containing two major vegetation types dominated by Quercus liaotungensis (OAK) and by birch/poplar (Betula platyphylla and Populus davidiana; BIP), respectively. The Terrestrial Ecosystem Simulator (TESim) suite of models was used to examine carbon and water dynamics using parameters measured at the site, and the model was evaluated against long-term data collected at the site.

Key Results

Simulations indicated that a higher assimilation rate for the BIP vegetation than OAK led to the former''s dominance during early successional stages with relatively low competition. In middle/late succession with intensive competition for below-ground resources, BIP, with its lower drought tolerance/resistance and smaller allocation to leaves/roots, gave way to OAK. At landscape scale, predictions with increased temperature extrapolated from existing weather records resulted in increased average net primary productivity (NPP; +19 %), heterotrophic respiration (+23 %) and net ecosystem carbon balance (+17 %). The BIP vegetation in higher and cooler habitats showed 14 % greater sensitivity to increased temperature than the OAK at lower and warmer locations.

Conclusions

Drought tolerance/resistance and morphology-related allocation strategy (i.e. more allocation to leaves/roots) played key roles in the competition between the vegetation types. The overall site-average impacts of increased temperature on NPP and carbon stored in plants were found to be positive, despite negative effects of increased respiration and soil water stress, with such impacts being more significant for BIP located in higher and cooler habitats.     

Predicted changes in vegetation structure affect the susceptibility to invasion of bryophyte-dominated subarctic heath

Background and Aims

A meta-analysis of global change experiments in arctic tundra sites suggests that plant productivity and the cover of shrubs, grasses and dead plant material (i.e. litter) will increase and the cover of bryophytes will decrease in response to higher air temperatures. However, little is known about which effects these changes in vegetation structure will have on seedling recruitment of species and invasibility of arctic ecosystems.

Methods

A field experiment was done in a bryophyte-dominated, species-rich subarctic heath by manipulating the cover of bryophytes and litter in a factorial design. Three phases of seedling recruitment (seedling emergence, summer seedling survival, first-year recruitment) of the grass Anthoxanthum alpinum and the shrub Betula nana were analysed after they were sown into the experimental plots.

Key Results

Bryophyte and litter removal significantly increased seedling emergence of both species but the effects of manipulations of vegetation structure varied strongly for the later phases of recruitment. Summer survival and first-year recruitment were significantly higher in Anthoxanthum. Although bryophyte removal generally increased summer survival and recruitment, seedlings of Betula showed high mortality in early August on plots where bryophytes had been removed.

Conclusions

Large species-specific variation and significant effects of experimental manipulations on seedling recruitment suggest that changes in vegetation structure as a consequence of global warming will affect the abundance of grasses and shrubs, the species composition and the susceptibility to invasion of subarctic heath vegetation.     

Wood properties of Populus and Betula in long‐term exposure to elevated CO2 and O3

We studied the interactive effects of elevated concentrations of CO₂ and O₃ on radial growth and wood properties of four trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) clones and paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.) saplings. The material for the study was collected from the Aspen FACE (free‐air CO₂ enrichment) experiment in Rhinelander (WI, USA). Trees had been exposed to four treatments [control, elevated CO₂ (560 ppm), elevated O₃ (1.5 times ambient) and combined CO₂ + O₃] during growing seasons 1998–2008. Most treatment responses were observed in the early phase of experiment. Our results show that the CO₂‐ and O₃‐exposed aspen trees displayed a differential balance between efficiency and safety of water transport. Under elevated CO₂, radial growth was enhanced and the trees had fewer but hydraulically more efficient larger diameter vessels. In contrast, elevated O₃ decreased radial growth and the diameters of vessels and fibres. Clone‐specific decrease in wood density and cell wall thickness was observed under elevated CO₂. In birch, the treatments had no major impacts on wood anatomy or wood density. Our study indicates that short‐term impact studies conducted with young seedlings may not give a realistic view of long‐term ecosystem responses.     

小叶桦花序生长物候及其生态适应意义

小叶桦(Betula microphylla)是一种典型的荒漠和山地乔木植物,在中国仅分布于新疆。为了明确小叶桦花序生长物候规律及发育特征,该研究对小叶桦进行了花序物候观测,分析其生长规律及果实结籽情况。结果显示:小叶桦雄花序为越年生殖器官,物候周期为345d,其中营养生长期154d、休眠期158d、开花生长期33d;雌花序与果序为当年生殖器官,物候期为105d,其中雌花序生长期24d、果序生长期90d。虽然雄花序比雌花序的生长周期明显较长,但开花授粉均在4月中下旬,雄花序散粉期和雌花序可授粉期之间具有较高的同步性和协调性,表现出集中开花授粉模式,同时这种开花模式在自然条件下,果序的结籽数和结籽率分别为220和76.7%,种子库中具有活力的种子约每平米4万粒,表明小叶桦在荒漠极端环境中能顺利完成有性生殖过程。     

Process‐based models not always better than empirical models for simulating budburst of Norway spruce and birch in Europe

Budburst models have mainly been developed to capture the processes of individual trees, and vary in their complexity and plant physiological realism. We evaluated how well eleven models capture the variation in budburst of birch and Norway spruce in Germany, Austria, the United Kingdom and Finland. The comparison was based on the models performance in relation to their underlying physiological assumptions with four different calibration schemes. The models were not able to accurately simulate the timing of budburst. In general the models overestimated the temperature effect, thereby the timing of budburst was simulated too early in the United Kingdom and too late in Finland. Among the better performing models were three models based on the growing degree day concept, with or without day length or chilling, and an empirical model based on spring temperatures. These models were also the models least influenced by the calibration data. For birch the best calibration scheme was based on multiple sites in either Germany or Europe, and for Norway spruce the best scheme included multiple sites in Germany or cold years of all sites. Most model and calibration combinations indicated greater bias with higher spring temperatures, mostly simulating earlier than observed budburst.