The effect of lichen‐dominated biological soil crusts on growth and physiological characteristics of three plant species in a temperate desert of northwest China

Biocrusts (biological soil crusts) cover open spaces between vascular plants in most arid and semi‐arid areas. Information on effects of biocrusts on seedling growth is controversial, and there is little information on their effects on plant growth and physiology. We examined impacts of biocrusts on growth and physiological characteristics of three habitat‐typical plants, Erodium oxyrhynchum, Alyssum linifolium and Hyalea pulchella, growing in the Gurbantunggut Desert, northwest China. The influence of biocrusts on plant biomass, leaf area, leaf relative water content, photosynthesis, maximum quantum efficiency of PSII (F_v/F_m), chlorophyll, osmotic solutes (soluble sugars, protein, proline) and antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase) was investigated on sites with or without biocrust cover. Biomass, leaf area, leaf water content, photosynthesis, F_v/F_m and chlorophyll content in crusted soils were higher than in uncrusted soils during early growth and lower later in the growth period. Soluble sugars, proline and antioxidant enzyme activity were always higher in crusted than in uncrusted soils, while soluble protein content was always lower. These findings indicate that biocrusts have different effects on these three ephemeral species during growth in this desert, primarily via effects on soil moisture, and possibly on soil nutrients. The influence of biocrusts changes during plant development: in early plant growth, biocrusts had either positive or no effect on growth and physiological parameters. However, biocrusts tended to negatively influence plants during later growth. Our results provide insights to explain why previous studies have found different effects of biocrusts on vascular plant growth.     

Assessing the latitudinal gradient in herbivory

Plant–herbivore interactions occur in all ecosystems and provide a major avenue for energy flow to higher trophic levels. A long‐standing hypothesis to explain the latitudinal gradient in species diversity proposes that the relatively stable and frost‐free climate of the tropics should lead to more intense biotic interactions in tropical compared with temperate environments, giving rise to a greater diversity of plants and herbivores. Herbivory rates have been compared across latitudes to test this biotic interactions hypothesis, with herbivory typically being measured from observable leaf damage. However, we argue that a measure of percentage leaf damage alone does not straightforwardly reflect the cost of herbivory to the plant, and on its own does not constitute an appropriate test of the biotic interactions hypothesis. For a given amount of herbivory, the impact of herbivory is dependent upon many factors, such as the construction cost of the leaf, the growth and replacement rates and leaf life span. We investigate the latitudinal gradient in herbivory by analysing a large dataset of herbivory rates for 452 tree species and separating the species into those with short and long leaf life spans. We show that annual herbivory rates tend to be greater at lower latitudes for evergreen species (which have long‐lived leaves), but no trend in herbivory rate with latitude was found for species with short leaf life spans. Phylogenetic least squares regression assuming Ornstein‐Uhlenbeck processes also showed a negative effect of latitude on herbivory rate for evergreen trees, but we caution that viewing herbivory as a species trait is problematic. An integrative approach that incorporates leaf life span, as well as the costs of investment in growth and potential costs of losing leaf tissue, is needed to further our understanding of the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of herbivory.     

Carbon stock and its responses to climate change in Central Asia

Central Asia has a land area of 5.6 × 10⁶ km² and contains 80–90% of the world's temperate deserts. Yet it is one of the least characterized areas in the estimation of the global carbon (C) stock/balance. This study assessed the sizes and spatiotemporal patterns of C pools in Central Asia using both inventory (based on 353 biomass and 284 soil samples) and process‐based modeling approaches. The results showed that the C stock in Central Asia was 31.34–34.16 Pg in the top 1‐m soil with another 10.42–11.43 Pg stored in deep soil (1–3 m) of the temperate deserts. They amounted to 18–24% of the global C stock in deserts and dry shrublands. The C stock was comparable to that of the neighboring regions in Eurasia or major drylands around the world (e.g. Australia). However, 90% of Central Asia C pool was stored in soil, and the fraction was much higher than in other regions. Compared to hot deserts of the world, the temperate deserts in Central Asia had relatively high soil organic carbon density. The C stock in Central Asia is under threat from dramatic climate change. During a decadal drought between 1998 and 2008, which was possibly related to protracted La Niña episodes, the dryland lost approximately 0.46 Pg C from 1979 to 2011. The largest C losses were found in northern Kazakhstan, where annual precipitation declined at a rate of 90 mm decade^?1. The regional C dynamics were mainly determined by changes in the vegetation C pool, and the SOC pool was stable due to the balance between reduced plant‐derived C influx and inhibited respiration.     

5个温带树种冠层枝叶非结构性碳水化合物浓度的空间变异

非结构性碳水化合物(NSC)是树木存活和生长的重要能源物质。冠层NSC不但是全树NSC的来源,也是全树NSC的重要储存库。然而,冠层NSC空间变异的研究较少,因而影响了树木NSC分配的估算精度。以红松(Pinus koraiensis)、兴安落叶松(Larix gmelinii)、水曲柳(Fraxinus mandshurica)、蒙古栎(Quercus mongolica)和白桦(Betula platyphylla)5个温带树种为研究对象,测定了不同高度冠层叶和细枝(直径≤3 cm)NSC浓度,分析了粗枝(一级侧枝)枝皮、边材和心材NSC浓度轴向变化及其与枝径的关系。结果表明:(1)除了5月末兴安落叶松树冠中层叶淀粉浓度显著高于树冠下层,以及8月中旬树冠上层叶可溶性糖浓度显著高于树冠中层之外,其他树种冠层叶NSC浓度的垂直变化不显著。常绿树种红松叶龄对NSC浓度的影响在生长季中期显著,但在生长季末期和休眠季节的影响不显著。(2)除了5月末红松树冠上层细枝可溶性糖浓度显著高于树冠中层之外,其他树种不同高度冠层间细枝NSC浓度差异不显著。(3)在纵向上,阔叶树种蒙古栎、水曲柳和白桦粗枝的枝皮、边材和心材NSC浓度多随着距树枝基部距离的增加而升高;在径向上,NSC浓度(除了水曲柳边材淀粉和白桦枝皮淀粉之外)多随着枝径增加而降低,表明树枝中的NSC浓度随着远离碳源而降低。总体上,5个温带树种冠层叶、细枝NSC浓度的空间变异不显著,但枝径和叶龄对NSC浓度的影响因树种、组织和季节而异,这在未来研究中应予考虑。     

Higher genetic diversity in recolonized areas than in refugia of Alnus glutinosa triggered by continent‐wide lineage admixture

Genetic admixture is supposed to be an important trigger of species expansions because it can create the potential for selection of genotypes suitable for new climatic conditions. Up until now, however, no continent‐wide population genetic study has performed a detailed reconstruction of admixture events during natural species expansions. To fill this gap, we analysed the postglacial history of Alnus glutinosa, a keystone species of European swamp habitats, across its entire distribution range using two molecular markers, cpDNA and nuclear microsatellites. CpDNA revealed multiple southern refugia located in the Iberian, Apennine, Balkan and Anatolian Peninsulas, Corsica and North Africa. Analysis of microsatellites variation revealed three main directions of postglacial expansion: (i) from the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula to Western and Central Europe and subsequently to the British Isles, (ii) from the Apennine Peninsula to the Alps and (iii) from the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula to the Carpathians followed by expansion towards the Northern European plains. This challenges the classical paradigm that most European populations originated from refugial areas in the Carpathians. It has been shown that colonizing lineages have met several times and formed secondary contact zones with unexpectedly high population genetic diversity in Central Europe and Scandinavia. On the contrary, limited genetic admixture in southern refugial areas of A. glutinosa renders rear‐edge populations in the Mediterranean region more vulnerable to extinction due to climate change.     

Relating life‐history traits,environmental constraints and local extinctions in river fish

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