塔克拉玛干沙漠不同区域柽柳沙包土壤盐分分布特征及其影响因素

柽柳(Tamarix chinensis)沙包是塔克拉玛干沙漠特殊的生物地貌景观, 对维持区域生态环境的稳定具有极其重要的作用。该研究采用野外调查与室内分析相结合的方法, 选取且末、阿拉尔、策勒、塔中4个典型区域的柽柳沙包为研究对象, 对柽柳沙包0-500 cm土壤垂直剖面进行采样, 测定土壤pH值、枯落物含量、电导率及HCO₃ ^-、Cl ^-、SO₄ ^2-、Ca ²⁺、Mg ²⁺、K ⁺、Na ⁺含量, 分析柽柳沙包中土壤盐分的空间变化规律及其影响因素。结果表明: 1)从且末、阿拉尔、策勒到塔中, 土壤pH值总体呈升高趋势, 土壤电导率及Na ⁺、Ca ²⁺、Mg ²⁺、SO₄ ^2-含量总体呈降低趋势, K ⁺、Cl ^-、HCO₃ ^-含量没有明显的变化规律。2)盐分在4个样区的垂直分布主要表现为: 且末和策勒样区柽柳沙包的土壤盐分呈表层聚集现象; 阿拉尔和塔中样区柽柳沙包的土壤盐分呈深层聚集现象。随着土层深度的增加, 土壤pH值总体呈升高的趋势, 土壤枯落物含量总体呈降低趋势; 土壤电导率在且末和策勒样区总体呈降低趋势, 阿拉尔样区呈先降低后升高再降低的变化趋势, 而塔中样区呈先升高后降低再升高的变化趋势。3)根据相关性分析和主成分分析, 且末样区土壤枯落物含量、SO₄ ^2-、Na ⁺、K ⁺为影响土壤盐分含量的主要因子, 且土壤盐分以硫酸盐为主; 阿拉尔样区影响土壤盐分组成的主要因子为Cl ^-、Na ⁺; 策勒样区为Cl ^-、K ⁺、Na ⁺; 塔中样区为Cl ^-、Na ⁺、Ca ²⁺、SO₄ ^2-, 且土壤盐分均以氯化物为主。综合分析表明, 不同区域柽柳沙包中土壤盐分存在空间变异性, 柽柳沙包土壤盐分的变化与干旱沙漠地区强烈的蒸发作用、地表风蚀强度、地下水埋深、土壤中枯落物及柽柳的生物积盐效应等因素密切相关, 是影响不同区域土壤盐分分布的关键因子。     

集球藻对盐胁迫的生理适应及细胞结构变化

盐胁迫是影响荒漠区土壤藻类生存的重要环境因子。集球藻是一种广泛分布于生物土壤结皮中的球状绿藻, 能够积累红色素(如虾青素)和油滴, 显示出其独特的生理特性和潜在的应用价值。目前对集球藻的生理、细胞结构以及色素积累的研究非常匮乏。以从荒漠生物结皮中分离的一种集球藻为材料, 在实验室条件下研究盐胁迫对集球藻生物量、光合活性、膜脂过氧化产物丙二醛含量、细胞可溶性蛋白质含量和可溶性糖含量以及细胞结构的影响。研究结果表明, 与对照处理相比, 盐胁迫导致集球藻生物量和光合活性的显著降低, 细胞可溶性蛋白和可溶性糖呈现一定的积累。同时盐处理导致集球藻膜脂丙二醛含量大量增加, SOD和CAT 活性升高。研究还表明, 对照处理下细胞结构完整, 细胞器形态清晰, 生长后期有大量脂肪体积累。在盐处理下藻体细胞形态结构出现阶段性破坏特征和脂肪体以及淀粉粒的积累, 此外细胞器结构模糊和消失, 细胞出现质壁分离和空泡化等。研究为更好地揭示集球藻在盐胁迫环境中的生理适应特性、微结构特征以及色素积累机制具有重要的科学意义, 并为该藻的基础和应用研究提供实验资料。       

古尔班通古特沙漠生物结皮不同发育阶段中藻类的变化

通过在古尔班通古特沙漠南缘相同的地貌部位,选择裸沙、藻结皮、地衣结皮和苔藓结皮4种不同演替阶段中的生物结皮,研究了藻类的种类组成、优势种和生物量的变化.结果表明:(1)在结皮的不同演替阶段,藻类种类组成不同,其常见物种有一定的差异,如裸沙中藻类常见种是脆杆藻2(Fragilaria sp.2)、威利颤藻(Oscillatoria willei)和奥克席藻(Phormidium okenii),藻结皮的常见种是小聚球藻(Synechococcus parvus)、颗粒常丝藻 (Tychonema granulatum)、韧氏席藻(Phormidium retzli);同时在不同发育阶段亦存在一些特有种.(2)在裸沙发育到成熟生物结皮的过程中,藻类的优势物种也发生相应的变化.裸沙、藻结皮、地衣结皮和苔藓结皮的优势种分别是脆杆藻1(Fragilaria sp.1)、具鞘微鞘藻(Microcoleus vaginatus)、具鞘微鞘藻、眼点伪枝藻(Scytonema ocellatum)或集球藻(Palmellococcus miniatus).(3)藻类生物量在生物结皮不同演替阶段差异极显著(P<0.01),在裸沙中藻类生物量最低,随着生物结皮的逐渐发育,藻类生物量明显升高,地衣结皮最高,约是裸沙的8.3倍,当发育至苔藓结皮时,藻类生物量又有所下降.(4)在裸沙中基本为松散的沙粒,随着生物结皮的演替,丝状种类占明显的优势,尤其是具鞘微鞘藻,另外真菌菌丝和苔藓假根分别在地衣结皮和苔藓结皮中起着重要作用.     

Biogeographic diversification in Nolana （Solanaceae）, a ubiquitous member of the Atacama and Peruvian Deserts along the western coast of South America

The present paper reconstructs the biogeographic diversification for Nolana L.f. （Solanaceae）, a genus of 89 endemic species largely restricted to fog-dependent desert lomas formations of coastal Peru and Chile. Previous efforts have reconstructed a phylogenetic estimate for Nolana using a combination of molecular markers. Herein, we expand on those results to examine hypotheses of biogeographic origins and diversification patterns. Nolana occupies habitats within a continuous coastal desert and forms a terrestrial archipelago of discrete ＂islands＂ unique in size, topography, and species composition. Each locality contains at least one Nolana species and many contain multiple species in sympatry. The genus has a Chilean origin, with the basal clades confined to Chile with wide geographic and ecological distributions. Peru contains two strongly supported clades, suggesting two introductions with subsequent radiation. A Chilean clade of shrubby, small-flowered species appears to have had its origins from the same ancestors of the second line that radiated in Peru and northern Chile. Nolana galapagensis is endemic to the Islas Galapagos, with origins traced to Peruvian taxa with a divergence time of 0.35 mya. Rates of diversification over the past 4.02 mya in Nolana, in one of the driest habitats on Earth, suggest rapid adaptive radiation in several clades. Success in Nolana may be attributed to characters that confer a competitive advantage in unpredictable and water-dependent environments, such as succulent leaf anatomy and ecophysiology, and the reproductive mericarp unique to Nolana. The processes affecting or shaping the biota of western South America are discussed.     

Movements of Juvenile Common Ravens in an Arid Landscape

ABSTRACT Movement patterns of juvenile birds are poorly understood, yet critically important ecological phenomena, especially for species with a prolonged juvenile period. We evaluated postfledging movements of juvenile common ravens (Corvus corax) in a western Mojave Desert landscape composed of a mosaic of natural and anthropogenic elements. Generally, ravens do not begin breeding until after their fourth year. We marked 2 annual cohorts of juvenile ravens and followed them from dispersal from their natal territory for up to 33 months. Movements of juvenile common ravens were similar for males and females. Conspecifics and confined livestock feeding operations represented important resources for juvenile ravens, and juveniles were rarely located in open desert. However, initial movements from the natal territory to the nearest communal point subsidy rather than the closest anthropogenic resource suggested juvenile dispersal was influenced by the combination of conspecifics and anthropogenic resources, rather than the distribution of those resources. Land managers concerned with growing raven populations should reduce access to concentrated anthropogenic resources such as landfills and dairies, which serve as important resources for juveniles. Because juvenile ravens rarely venture into open desert, reducing their numbers by lethal removal or other means is unlikely to lessen raven predation of desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii).     

Habitat Use by Sonoran Desert Tortoises

ABSTRACT The distribution of desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) spans a wide range of biotic and abiotic conditions in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, with physical and behavioral differences distinguishing tortoises inhabiting the Mojave Desert from those inhabiting the Sonoran Desert. Relative to tortoise populations in the Mojave Desert, populations in the Sonoran Desert have not been well-studied. To assess how habitat use of desert tortoises in the Sonoran Desert was influenced by topography, vegetation, geomorphology, and soil, we surveyed 40 randomly located 3-ha sites for presence of adult tortoises within a site-occupancy framework. We modeled both occupancy and detection probability as a function of environmental features, and compared those results with a logistic regression model that assumed detection probability was equal to 1. Results from both approaches agreed, suggesting that habitat selection of tortoises in the Sonoran Desert was influenced primarily by topographic and geomorphologic features rather than by vegetation. Specifically, tortoises were more likely to occupy sites that were steep (we detected tortoises on 29% of sites with mean slope <5° and 92% of sites with mean slope >15°) and predominantly east-facing (53% of sites with <5% of site facing E and 92% of sites with >20% facing E), and less likely to occupy north-facing slopes (100% of sites with <10% of site facing N and 14% of sites with >60% facing N). Our results contrast with patterns of habitat use in the Mojave Desert where tortoises primarily occupy valley bottoms. Habitat use of tortoises in Sonoran and Mojave Desert populations differ considerably, contributing to the mounting body of evidence suggesting that these geographically distinct populations may represent separate species.     

Rock-degrading endophytic bacteria in cacti

A plant–bacterium association of the cardon cactus (Pachycereus pringlei) and endophytic bacteria promotes establishment of seedlings and growth on igneous rocks without soil. These bacteria weather several rock types and minerals, unbind significant amounts of useful minerals for plants from the rocks, fix in vitro N₂, produce volatile and non-volatile organic acids, and reduce rock particle size to form mineral soil. This study revealed the presence of large populations of culturable endophytic bacteria inside the seeds extracted from wild plants, from seeds extracted from the guano of bats feeding on cactus fruit, in seedlings growing from these seeds, in the pulp of fruit, and in small, mature wild plants, and are comparable in size to populations of endophytic populations in some agricultural crops. The dominant culturable endophytes were isolates of the genera Bacillus spp., Klebsiella spp., Staphylococcus spp., and Pseudomonas spp. Based on partial sequencing of the 16s rRNA gene, the isolated strains had low similarity to known strains in these genera. However, these strains have higher molecular similarity among endophytes obtained from seeds, endophytes from roots, and some bacterial strains from the rhizoplane. Seedlings developed from seeds with endophytes contain the similar species of endophytes in their shoots, possibly derived from the seeds. This study shows the involvement of endophytic bacteria in rock weathering by cacti in a hot, subtropical desert and their possible contribution to primary colonization of barren rock. This study proposes that cacti capable of acquiring diverse populations of endophytes may give them an evolutionary advantage to gain a foothold on highly uncompromising terrain.     

Xylem function of arid-land shrubs from California, USA: an ecological and evolutionary analysis

Xylem traits were examined among 22 arid-land shrub species, including measures of vessel dimensions and pit area. These structural measures were compared with the xylem functional traits of transport efficiency and safety from cavitation. The influence of evolution on trait relationships was examined using phylogenetic independent contrasts (PICs). A trade-off between xylem safety and efficiency was supported by a negative correlation between vessel dimensions and cavitation resistance. Pit area was correlated with cavitation resistance when cross species data were examined, but PICs suggest that these traits have evolved independently of one another. Differences in cavitation resistance that are not explained by pit area may be related to differences in pit membrane properties or the prevalence of tracheids, the latter of which may alter pit area through the addition of vessel-to-tracheid pits or through changes in xylem conduit connectivity. Some trait relationships were robust regardless of species ecology or evolutionary history. These trait relationships are likely to be the most valuable in predictive models that seek to examine anatomical and functional trait relationships among extant and fossil woods and include the relationship among hydraulic conductivity and vessel diameter, between vessel diameter and vessel length, and between hydraulic conductivity and wood density.