Decomposition and Peat Accumulation in Rich Fens of Boreal Alberta, Canada

Fens are important components of Canada’s western boreal forests, occupying about 63% of the total peatland area and storing about 65% of the peatland carbon. Rich fens, dominated by true moss-dominated ground layers, make up more than half of the fens in the region. We studied organic matter accumulation in three rich fens that represent the diversity in structural types. We used in situ decomposition socks, a new method that examines actual decomposition throughout the upper peat profile over an extended period of time. We coupled our carbon loss data with macrofossil analyses and dated peat profiles using ²¹⁰Pb. Across the three rich fens and in the top 39 cm of the peat column, dry mass increases on average 3.1 times. From our dry mass loss measurements, we calculate that annual mass loss from the top 39 cm varies from 0.52 to 1.08 kg m². Vertical accumulation during the past 50 years has varied from 16 to 32 cm and during these 50 years, organic matter accumulation has averaged 174 g m⁻² y⁻¹ compared to 527 g m² y⁻¹ dry mass loss, with additional mass losses of 306 g m² y⁻¹ from peat between 50 and 150 years of age. Organic matter accumulation from our rich fens compares well with literature values from boreal bogs, whereas peat bulk densities increase about three times within the uppermost 40 cm, much more than in bogs. Hence, rich fens accumulate peat not because the plant material is especially hard to decompose, is acidic, or has the catotelm especially close to the surface, but because dense, rapidly produced inputs outweigh the relatively rapid decomposition process of the upper peat column. Author Contributions: DHV conceived study; KS, KW, SF, & DHV performed research; DHV, KW analyzed data; DHV, KW contributed new methods; DHV, KW wrote the paper.     

贵州省茅台镇砂页岩结皮层藓类植物的生态功能

对贵州省茅台镇砂页岩结皮层藓类植物物种进行了调查,并测定了其优势植物的生物量、成土量和饱和吸水量,以了解藓类植物在水土流失防治中的作用.调查发现:藓类植物5科6属6种.优势结皮藓类植物华中毛灰藓、厚壁紫萼藓、小叶藓、真藓的生物量、成土量和饱和吸水量分别为0.5 ～104g·m-2、1.6～481 g·m-2和2.8～1987 g· m-2,其中,华中毛灰藓的生物量、成土量和饱和吸水量均远远高于其他结皮藓类,在砂页岩水土流失区域生物土壤结皮层中起着关键性的作用,对治理砂页岩水土流失具有重要的意义.     

Composition,uniqueness and variability of the epiphytic bacterial community of the green alga Ulva australis

Green Ulvacean marine macroalgae are distributed worldwide in coastal tidal and subtidal ecosystems. As for many living surfaces in the marine environment, little is known concerning the epiphytic bacterial biofilm communities that inhabit algal surfaces. This study reports on the largest published libraries of near full-length 16S rRNA genes from a marine algal surface (5293 sequences from six samples) allowing for an in-depth assessment of the diversity and phylogenetic profile of the bacterial community on a green Ulvacean alga. Large 16S rRNA gene libraries of surrounding seawater were also used to determine the uniqueness of this bacterial community. The surface of Ulva australis is dominated by sequences of Alphaproteobacteria and the Bacteroidetes, especially within the Rhodobacteriaceae, Sphingomonadaceae, Flavobacteriaceae and Sapropiraceae families. Seawater libraries were also dominated by Alphaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes sequences, but were shown to be clearly distinct from U. australis libraries through the clustering of sequences into operational taxonomic units and Bray–Curtis similarity analysis. Almost no similarity was observed between these two environments at the species level, and only minor similarity was observed at levels of sequence clustering representing clades of bacteria within family and genus taxonomic groups. Variability between libraries of U. australis was relatively high, and a consistent sub-population of bacterial species was not detected. The competitive lottery model, originally derived to explain diversity in coral reef fishes, may explain the pattern of colonization of this algal surface.     

中国神农架国家森林公园苔藓中的缓步动物

记述了采自湖北省西部神农架国家森林公园苔藓中的缓步动物12种,包括:日本棘影熊虫Echiniscus japonicus Morikawa,1951;双粒棘影熊虫Echiniscus bigranulatus Richters,1907中国新纪录种;华美假棘影熊虫Pseudechiniscus facettalis Petersen,1951;于猪假棘影熊虫Pseudechiniscus suillus(Ehrenberg,1853);迟缓小斑熊虫Milnesium tardigradum(Doyère,1840);隐匿大生熊虫Macrobiotus adelges Dastych,1977;锦葵大生熊虫Macrobiotus hibiscus Barros,1942中国新纪录种;胡芬大生熊虫Macrobiotus hufelandi Schultze,1833;华丽大生熊虫Macrobiotus richtersi Murray,1911;陆栖大生熊虫Macrobiotus terricola Mihel(c)I(c),1949;水生趾生熊虫Dactylobiotus aquatilis Yang,1999;金猴等高熊虫Isohypsibius jinhouensis sp. Nov..所有的标本均保存于中国科学院水生生物研究所.     

树干附生尖叶拟船叶藓的孢子体分布格局和败育研究

通过野外定位考察和实验室观察分析,结果显示:(1)贵州梵净山树干附生尖叶拟船叶藓的孢子体种群80%分布在树干的基部;(2)尖叶拟船叶藓的孢子体在其主茎和一到四次分枝上皆有分布,但在一次分枝上分布最多,并且一次分枝上的与主茎或其它各次分枝上分布的之间存在显著差异;(3)孢子体败育发生在胚胎发育时期、孢蒴膨大期或者孢子形成期等3个时期,孢子体败育率为7.3%,败育孢子体的平均生物量为正常成熟的43.3%.表明尖叶拟船叶藓孢子体种群偏少且孢子体败育率低是其重要的生物学特征.     

Ubiquitous genetic diversity in ISSR markers between and within populations of the asexually producing moss <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pleurochaete squarrosa</Emphasis>

This paper provides an analysis of genetic variability in local populations of the clonal moss Pleurochaete squarrosa, a Mediterranean moss typical of post-fire recovery, and characterised by asexual reproduction. ISSR (Internal Simple Sequence Repeats) primers and trnL_UAA (intron of plastid gene for Leu tRNA) length polymorphism were employed to evaluate genetic structure in five southern Italy populations of this moss. Both molecular tools highlight high values of genetic diversity with geographic structure of sampled populations and a low gene flow among the investigated sites. Gene diversity is significant at every hierarchical level of sampling, and generally increases from lower to higher hierarchical levels. Among other factors, the ubiquitous genetic variability detected in P. squarrosa can be related to continuous, occasionally massive, short-range recruitment of propagules, and to the high degree of intermingling, both favoured by the modality of vegetative reproduction and growth occurring in the species.     

Epiphytic cyanophytes Xenococcus kerneri and Chamaesiphon minutus on the freshwater red alga Paralemanea catenata (Rhodophyta)

Epiphytes of Paralemanea catenata (Kützing) Vis & Sheath (Rhodophyta) were studied on material from the River Dyje in National Park Podyjí. Longitudinal sections of the thalli were made with help of Cryo Cut Microtome techniques. The epiphytic cyanophytes Xenococcus kerneri Hansgirg and Chamaesiphon minutus (Rostafinski) Lemmermann were recognized on the cortex of the thalli. Our observations of the determined species are discussed.     

Effects of wildfire and permafrost on soil organic matter and soil climate in interior Alaska

The influence of discontinuous permafrost on ground‐fuel storage, combustion losses, and postfire soil climates was examined after a wildfire near Delta Junction, AK in July 1999. At this site, we sampled soils from a four‐way site comparison of burning (burned and unburned) and permafrost (permafrost and nonpermafrost). Soil organic layers (which comprise ground‐fuel storage) were thicker in permafrost than nonpermafrost soils both in burned and unburned sites. While we expected fire severity to be greater in the drier site (without permafrost), combustion losses were not significantly different between the two burned sites. Overall, permafrost and burning had significant effects on physical soil variables. Most notably, unburned permafrost sites with the thickest organic mats consistently had the coldest temperatures and wettest mineral soil, while soils in the burned nonpermafrost sites were warmer and drier than the other soils. For every centimeter of organic mat thickness, temperature at 5 cm depth was about 0.5°C cooler during summer months. We propose that organic soil layers determine to a large extent the physical and thermal setting for variations in vegetation, decomposition, and carbon balance across these landscapes. In particular, the deep organic layers maintain the legacies of thermal and nutrient cycling governed by fire and revegetation. We further propose that the thermal influence of deep organic soil layers may be an underlying mechanism responsible for large regional patterns of burning and regrowth, detected in fractal analyses of burn frequency and area. Thus, fractal geometry can potentially be used to analyze changes in state of these fire prone systems.     

Bryophyte Mats Inhibit Germination of Non-native Species in Burnt Temperate Native Grassland Remnants

Species-rich native grasslands in western Victoria, Australia, are often small, have a high perimeter to area ratio and are surrounded by non-native species. Few non-native species, however, have invaded them. A feature of species-rich grasslands is the presence of a bryophyte mat (composed of mosses and liverworts) that carpets the intertussock spaces. I assessed the role of these mats in plant invasions by sowing three non-native species (Briza maxima, Hypochoeris radicata, Plantago lanceolata) in replicated disturbed (mats removed) and undisturbed (mats intact) microsites at three grassland remnants (two recently burnt, one unburnt for 3 years) and followed seedling emergence, survival and growth for 5 months. Three native species were also sown for comparison. The rate of germination and total percent germination of non-native species were significantly enhanced at both burnt sites when the mat was disturbed. The large-seeded Briza maxima failed to germinate at both burnt sites in the absence of soil disturbance. The native species generally did not show a strong germination or growth response to soil disturbance in burnt areas. At the unburnt site, where monthly percent soil moisture was highest, final percent germination of the non-native and native species was greatest of any site in both microsites, and germination was not significantly affected by soil disturbance. Differences in the seed morphology of native and non-native species may play an important role in their ability to establish on bryophyte mats in moisture-limiting environments. Any activity that disrupts the mats in the frequently burnt, species-rich grassland remnants is likely to significantly enhance the germination and subsequent growth by non-natives. However, where burning is infrequent, germination of some non-native species may be expected, regardless of disturbance, although growth will likely be favoured in disturbed areas.