Militarised natural history: tales of the avocet's return to postwar Britain

Absent as a breeding bird from Britain for at least a century, avocets (Recurvirostra avosetta) began nesting on the east coast of Britain, in Suffolk, shortly after the end of the Second World War, having honed in on two spots on Britain's coast that had been flooded for war-related reasons. The avocets' presence was surrounded in secrecy, while a dedicated few kept up a protective watch over them. As the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) took over responsibility for the flourishing colony, they claimed the episode as a symbol of success for British protection, later making the bird their logo. Counter to the RSPB's story of protecting a British bird, I read the narratives of events in terms of making a bird British. I show how, as postwar Britain slumped economically and spiritually and tried to rebuild itself, the birds became a vehicle for formulating national identity: of Britain as a home to which to return and belong. Exploring the themes of returning servicemen and closed territories, the paper also examines the episode in terms of the naturalisation of the military and the militarisation of nature.     

Nature reserve group planning for conservation of giant pandas in North Minshan, China

Formation of nature reserve groups (NRGs) is an important approach for optimising spatial patterns in nature reserves and for improving the efficiency of nature reserve networks. In this study, based on habitat evaluation and connectivity analysis, the approach and method for optimising spatial patterns and functional zoning of reserves were analysed using the case study of giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) reserves in North Minshan. Results indicated that five panda nature reserves had been established, which formed a reserve group and covered 48.4% of panda habitat and three of five population components. Although the nature reserves were connected to each other, core zones were divided into seven isolated areas. These divisions can reduce the efficiency of protecting giant pandas in reserve systems. To optimise spatial patterns in nature reserves, one new reserve is proposed and it is recommended that core zones be expanded and merged into two areas, in accordance with the spatial distribution of the panda population. Three linkage areas are also proposed—for facilitating panda exchange and movement among different populations. The study is expected to provide a scientific basis for planning the development of nature reserves in this mountain range, to promote the establishment of nature reserve groups in other areas, and to optimise entire nature reserve systems in China.     

From research to implementation: Nature conservation in the Eastern Rhodopes mountains (Greece and Bulgaria), European Green Belt

Nature conservation should ideally build on the scientific recommendations that are concluded from applied conservation research, as well as on monitoring schemes that evaluate the effectiveness of recommendations. We considered as a case study a system of six protected areas located in the Eastern Rhodopes mountains in the southern part of the European Green Belt (EGB). To investigate nature conservation effectiveness, we reviewed 196 articles from scientific journals and books, eight doctoral and master theses, and 39 scientific reports regarding the Greek (one protected area, 428 km²) and the Bulgarian (five protected areas, 904 km²) part of the study area. We extracted 743 conservation recommendations, and through questionnaires completed by 10 local experts, we found that 74% of the recommendations were familiar for the experts. In the Greek (GR) and the Bulgarian part (BG) only 52% and 16%, respectively, of the recommendations were implemented, and only 15% (GR) and 3.1% (BG) were implemented and evaluated regarding their effectiveness. According to the experts, the main reasons for non-implementation and non-evaluation were absence or incompetence of the responsible authorities. Some recommendations obtained a remarkable low rate of implementation, such as those regarding agriculture and livestock rearing practices (GR: 29%, BG: 16%) or mammal conservation (GR: 0%, BG: 16%). Some other recommendations obtained rather high rates at least for Greece, such as tourism and environmental education (GR: 57%, BG: 42%) and bird conservation (GR: 57%, BG: 11%). We found that researchers and conservation managers at both sides of the Greek-Bulgarian border face similar implementation problems, related often to the lack of political will for nature conservation and establishment of competent authorities. The role of the EGB is crucial in enhancing the established cross-border collaborations between stakeholders involved in nature conservation.     

广东象头山国家级自然保护区珍稀野生花卉资源

对广东象头山国家级自然保护区珍稀野生花卉资源调查结果表明,本区内有52科68属88种,其中蕨类植物11科11属13种;被子植物41科57属75种,并对其基本组成、多样性等进行分析。根据本区珍稀野生花卉的现状与特点,划分出生活类型,提出园林配置方式,对资源保护和开发利用提出建议。     

Isolation and Phylogenetic Analysis of Halophilic Archaeon AJ6

Halophilic archaeon A J6 was isolated and purified from the Altun Mountain National Nature Reserve of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.Strain AJ6 is a Gram-negative rod whose size is 0.2-0.6 by 1.6-4.2 μm,wherein a few cells are globular.The optimum salt concentration for its growth is 20% NaC1 and 0.6% Mg2+,and the optimum pH is 6.0-7.0.Morphological,physiological,and biochemical characteristics of strain AJ6 were observed.The 16S rRNA encoding gene (16S rDNA)sequence of strain A J6 was amplified by PCR,and its nucteotide sequence was determined subsequently."Clustalw"and"PHYLIP"software bags were used to analyze the 16S rDNA sequence;the homology was compared,and then the phylogenetic tree was established.The results indicate that strain AJ6 is a novel species of the genus Natrinema.The GenBank accession number of the 16S rDNA sequences of strain AJ6 is AY277584.     

思茅菜阳河自然保护区植物区系研究——兼论热带亚洲植物区系向东亚植物区系的过渡

云南省思茅地区菜阳河自然保护区地处联系滇南热带与滇中亚热带的中间位置,在植被地理和生物地理上十分重要,其植物区系计有野生种子植物1 920种, 隶属于836属及178科。该植物区系以兰科( 69属/223种)、茜草科(37/100)、菊科(47/86)、蝶形花科(33/82)、唇形科（28/62）、大戟科(25/59)、荨麻科(13/52)、禾本科(34/47)、樟科(12/44)、桑科(6/44)、爵床科(26/36)等为优势科。属的分布区类型组成以热带亚洲分布型最多, 约占总属数的31%;其次是泛热带分布,占23.4%;热带分布合计占总属数的83.3%。种的分布区类型组成仍以热带亚洲分布最多, 占总种数的60.6%;其次是中国特有分布, 占21.6%;热带分布种合计占70.0%以上。这些特征均表明该植物区系热带性质显著,并具有印度—马来西亚植物区系特点,在植物区系分区上属于印度—马来西亚植物区系的一部分。由于菜阳河自然保护区在地理上位于热带亚洲植物区与东亚植物区的交汇地带,该植物区系中的许多热带植物均是在其分布的北界,植物区系又有明显的热带北缘性质。通过与滇南西双版纳和滇中无量山植物区系的比较,菜阳河自然保护区植物区系与西双版纳植物区系在区系组成及属的地理成分构成上很接近, 它们同为热带亚洲植物区系的北缘类型。在云南南部,从热带亚洲植物区系到东亚植物区系的过渡与转变,显然发生在思茅菜阳河地区以北。从热带亚洲植物区系过渡到东亚植物区系,在诸属的分布区类型中,热带亚洲分布型显著减少,北温带分布型和东亚分布型显著增加。     

松山自然保护区森林群落的数量分类和排序

根据68个森林群落样方数据,采用双向指示种分析(TW INSPAN)方法,对松山自然保护区的森林群落进行分类和采用除趋势对应分析(DCA)、典范对应分析(CCA)方法进行排序。结果表明:(1)TW INSPAN将该区的森林群落分为13类型;(2)样方的DCA排序及样方和优势种的CCA排序较好地揭示了该区森林群落的分布格局与环境梯度的关系;CCA第一轴明显地反映出森林群落的海拔梯度、枯枝落叶层厚度和土壤深度变化,沿CCA第一轴从左到右,海拔逐渐升高,枯枝落叶层越厚和土壤越深;第二轴与海拔高度和坡度成正相关,而与土壤紧实度成负相关。其中海拔梯度是环境因子中对森林群落起决定性作用的因子。(3)与DCA相比,CCA的排序轴更有利于生态意义的解释,后者能同时反映样方间在种类组成上及环境因子组成上的相似性,表现在排序图中样方较集中,群落间的界线变得较模糊,因此如果排序同分类结合使用,DCA的效果要好于CCA。(4)TW INSPAN分类与DCA和CCA排序的结果,同时表明了该地区森林群落的垂直分布格局。     

车八岭山地常绿阔叶林群落结构特征与微地形条件的关系

以车八岭国家级自然保护区南亚热带常绿阔叶林2hm2样地调查数据为基础,根据样方排列、海拔梯度变化及水分梯度理论潜在值从低到高的趋势将样地划分为5条样带,在由山脊至山谷的微地形变化范围内对群落结构进行全面分析,探讨群落内部结构变化规律及其影响因子。研究结果表明,海拔、坡位、坡向、坡度等山地微地形条件对群落结构及物种分布影响显著。从山脊至谷底变化过程中,各样带平均树高、平均胸径以及较大高度级和胸径级的物种个体比例减少,物种多样性呈现增加趋势。多响应置换过程(MRPP)分析表明各样带之间物种组成存在极显著差异(P0.0001),且样带主要物种及密度发生明显变化。通过物种与地形因子的典范对应分析(CCA)知,在同一区域内,物种随地形因子表现出不同的分布趋势,米锥(Castanopsiscarlesii)、甜锥(Castanopsis eyrei)、石栎(Lithocarpus glaber)等喜光的阳性树种在上坡位分布较多,枫香(Liquidambar formosana)、樟叶槭(Acer cinnamomifolium)等喜温暖湿润气候的物种则在下坡位样带为优势物种。揭示了山地常绿阔叶林群落特征对微地形变化的响应,对于区域生物多样性保护和植被恢复具有重要的理论和实践意义。