东北红豆杉—无花果复合种植对两种植物生长和土壤酶活性影响

设计了室内控制条件下的东北红豆杉和无花果的复合种植实验，并与单一种植东北红豆杉和单一种植无花果的模式进行了比较。分别考察了上述3种模式下，东北红豆杉和无花果的生长指标、光合作用以及土壤酶活性差异。结果表明：①在生长量方面，复合种植3个月的东北红豆杉的株高增长率为152.6%，是单一种植的东北红豆杉株高增长率的1.56倍；复合种植3个月的无花果，其当年生枝的生长量为68.4 cm³，比单一种植的无花果高36.3%。②在光合作用指标方面，在800 μmol·m^-2·s^-1光照强度下，复合种植3个月的东北红豆杉和无花果净光合速率与相应的单一种植相比，分别提高了19.0%和5.3%。③在土壤酶活性方面，在7月份，复合种植模式下的土壤蔗糖酶、脲酶和酸性磷酸酶活性比单一种植东北红豆杉土壤相应酶活性分别提高51.6%、58.5%和50.8%，比单一种植物无花果土壤相应酶活性分别提高85.5%、47.5%和71.9%；土壤多酚氧化酶活性在不同种植模式之间无显著差异（P>0.01）。综上，东北红豆杉-无花果复合种植可以提高土壤蔗糖酶、脲酶和酸性磷酸酶活性，对两种植物生长均具有促进作用。上述结果可为在生产实践上进行东北红豆杉-无花果复合经营提供参考。     

Relative importance of perch and facilitative effects on nucleation in tropical woodland in Malawi

Individual trees in open vegetation such as woodlands can act as “nuclei” for the colonization of forest tree species, which consequently lead to the formation of forest patches. This phenomenon is known as nucleation. The mechanism of nucleation is generally attributed to two factors: trees provide perches for frugivores that increase seed deposition (perch effect), and tree crowns ameliorate environmental conditions, which improves seedling establishment (facilitative effect). Few studies have attempted to distinguish the relative importance of these two factors. In this study, I separated these two effects in a woodland in northern Malawi. I chose Ficus natalensis as a potential nuclei tree because large individuals of this species are commonly located at the center of forest patches within open woodland at the study site. I monitored several environmental variables, seedling survival, seedling composition, and seed rain at three microsites: under F. natalensis, under Brachystegia floribunda (a dominant woodland species), and in open sites. Both tree species provided similar favorable conditions for the establishment of forest species compared to open sites. Thus, the survival of forest tree seedlings under F. natalensis and B. floribunda was similar, and substantially higher than seedling survival in open sites. However, communities of naturally occurring seedlings differed significantly between F. natalensis and B. floribunda. These results indicate that the facilitative effect alone cannot explain the nucleation pattern. I attribute this result to the perch effect of F. natalensis because the forest seedling species recorded under F. natalensis reportedly have small, brightly colored diaspores, which are indicative of dispersal by birds. Seed deposition of forest species under F. natalensis was significantly higher than that under B. floribunda or in open sites. My findings reinforce the idea that trees will lead to nucleation when they enhance seed deposition and have a positive effect on the post-dispersal stage.     

Ficus religiosa L.–the tree-splitter

In ground trees, which are devoid of adventive aerial roots, supplementary conductive elements develop in trunk corrugations, forming distinct units with the large side branches above and their roots below. Unlike most epiphytic jungle figs, which ring the stems of dicotyledonous support trees from the outside, the epiphytic bushes of F. religiosa are not true stranglers. Their roots penetrate inside the stem of the support, eventually splitting it from within. The various factors indispensable for the penetration of the roots are discussed. In Nepal and Thailand, because the survival of F. religiosa trees for hundreds of years, there is an accumulation of very old trees, whose supports have by now disappeared or still persist in the form of broken and dead blocks of wood between the stout fig roots. The characteristics of the tree at the various stages of its development support the hypothesis that F. religiosa must have originated under the specific climatic conditions prevailing in he monsoon tropophilous forests (i_x. seasonal forests, hygrophilous in summer and xerophilous in winter) at the foot of the Himalayas.     

Effects of within-tree flowering asynchrony on the dynamics of seed and wasp production in an Australian fig species

Abstract. Within-tree flowering asynchrony in figs, which may allow pollinating wasps to avoid the risks of dispersal in inclement conditions, has been predicted as a trait to be favoured in highly seasonal environments. Comparisons of such asynchronous figs with better-known species that exhibit within-tree synchrony might also be expected to reveal differences in the outcome of the conflict between pollinator wasp and fig seed production, and the dynamics of non-pollinating wasps. This paper presents data on wasp and seed production in Ficus rubiginosa Desf. ex Vent., an asynchronous species that occurs in the highly seasonal environment of south-eastern Australia. In contrast to recent studies of figs showing within-tree flowering synchrony, syconium size was the main determinant of wasp and seed production in F. rubiginosa . Non-pollinating wasps were highly prevalent but occurred in low numbers and appeared to have relatively little impact on pollinator wasp or fig seed production. Data on flower positions revealed that non-pollinating wasps occurred almost exclusively in the outer layer of flowers, while pollinators were more abundant in the inner flower layer, which may represent an area of enemy-free space. The ratio of seeds to female pollinator wasps, an index of fig sex allocation, was more seed-biased than in several New World fig species that exhibit within-tree synchrony. This last result supports the idea that within-tree fruiting asynchrony permits a degree of self-pollination in F. rubiginosa .     

Fruit digestion time,integrity and germination of seeds defecated by Artibeus lituratus (Olfers, 1818) (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae)

We evaluated the effects on the integrity, germinability and mean germination time of three Ficus species eaten by Artibeus lituratus in captivity. The passage of seeds through the digestive tract of the animal did not interfere in the germinability and the mean germination time of F. organensis; however, it increased the germination of F. guaranitica and reduced the mean germination time of F. glabra. The mean time of digestion of A. lituratus presented no significant difference for Ficus species. The results showed that A. lituratus has a good potential for dispersal and can modify the germination of some Ficus species.     

Site variation in reproductive synchrony in three neotropical figs

Abstract. To investigate the persistence of figs and their short-lived pollinators in highly seasonal environments and in small populations, three native figs were studied near the edge of their range in Sonora, Mexico. The reproductive phenologies of Ficus insipida (Willd.) and F. petiolaris (H.B.K.) were contrasted between a drier site with small populations and a wetter site with large populations. In addition, F. pertusa (L.) phenology was censused in the wetter site and compared with findings from Central America. Trees from smaller populations in the drier site produced less synchronous crops. Individuals within populations became reproductively synchronized at the population level but rapidly attained asynchrony in the drier site because of a breakdown in within-tree crop synchrony. Sexual-phase overlap occurred in all species and sites. Intraspecific variation in reproductive phenology may explain the persistence of figs and fig wasps in highly seasonal environments and small populations.     

Development and characterization of microsatellite markers for Liporrhopalum tentacularis Grandi,the pollinator fig wasp of Ficus montana Blume

Microsatellite markers for the pollinator fig wasp Liporrhopalum tentacularis were developed using genomic libraries enriched for di‐, tri‐ and tetranucleotide repeats. A subset of 31 positive clones was sequenced and primers were designed. Eleven primer pairs produced polymorphic amplification products in L. tentacularis. Eight markers gave unambiguously scorable patterns and were further characterized on 29 individuals collected from different fruits of the dioecious host fig Ficus montana in Indonesia. Three to 19 alleles per locus were detected in this set of samples. The observed heterozygosity ranged between 0.10 and 0.55.