高光谱技术——生态学领域研究的新方法

高光谱技术是一种新的地物探测技术,该技术以其敏锐的地物光谱特征探测能力为精准识别地物属性提供了强有力的手段,在生态系统过程与属性研究中具有广阔的应用前景。该文以可见光-近红外光谱分析技术为例概述了高光谱技术的原理、特点与优势,以及高光谱技术分析的流程;总结并归纳了其在土壤、植物生理、农产品品质检测、凋落物分解方面的研究应用,指出高光谱技术与遥感成像技术结合在生态监测研究中的优势;归纳了高光谱技术应用中面临的问题,并希望高光谱技术在生态学领域研究中得到更广泛的应用。     

Evolutionary dynamics of ecological niche in three Rhinogobio fishes from the upper Yangtze River inferred from morphological traits

In the past decades, it has been debated whether ecological niche should be conserved among closely related species (phylogenetic niche conservatism, PNC) or largely divergent (traditional ecological niche theory and ecological speciation) and whether niche specialist and generalist might remain in equilibrium or niche generalist could not appear. In this study, we employed morphological traits to describe ecological niche and test whether different niche dimensions exhibit disparate evolutionary patterns. We conducted our analysis on three Rhinogobio fish species (R. typus, R. cylindricus, and R. ventralis) from the upper Yangtze River, China. Among the 32 measured morphological traits except body length, PCA extracted the first four principal components with their loading scores >1.000. To find the PNC among species, Mantel tests were conducted with the Euclidean distances calculated from the four principal components (representing different niche dimensions) against the pairwise distances calculated from mitochondrial cytochrome b sequence variations. The results showed that the second and the third niche dimension, both related to swimming ability and behavior, exhibited phylogenetic conservatism. Further comparison on niche breadth among these three species revealed that the fourth dimension of R. typus showed the greatest width, indicating that this dimension exhibited niche generalism. In conclusion, our results suggested that different niche dimensions could show different evolutionary dynamic patterns: they may exhibit PNC or not, and some dimensions may evolve generalism.     

The neglected tool in the Bayesian ecologist's shed: a case study testing informative priors' effect on model accuracy

Despite benefits for precision, ecologists rarely use informative priors. One reason that ecologists may prefer vague priors is the perception that informative priors reduce accuracy. To date, no ecological study has empirically evaluated data‐derived informative priors' effects on precision and accuracy. To determine the impacts of priors, we evaluated mortality models for tree species using data from a forest dynamics plot in Thailand. Half the models used vague priors, and the remaining half had informative priors. We found precision was greater when using informative priors, but effects on accuracy were more variable. In some cases, prior information improved accuracy, while in others, it was reduced. On average, models with informative priors were no more or less accurate than models without. Our analyses provide a detailed case study on the simultaneous effect of prior information on precision and accuracy and demonstrate that when priors are specified appropriately, they lead to greater precision without systematically reducing model accuracy.     

Analysis of over-consumption of natural resources and the ecological trade deficit in China based on ecological footprints

China has experienced unprecedented economic development in recent years and is now facing severe challenges caused by the over-consumption of resources and by ecological and environmental degradation. To assess the influence of resource exploitation and ecological trade, we have developed an index of excessive resource consumption based on the concepts of ecological deficit and ecological over-shoot, and we have used the ecological trade deficit to assess the pressure created by the export and import of resources and products. Our analysis indicated that China's consumption footprint surpassed its biocapacity in 1983, leading to an ecological deficit, and the production footprint surpassed its biocapacity in 1986, leading to an ecological over-shoot, as the over-consumption of natural resources grew. By 2010, 3.6 times the current area of bioproductive land was needed to provide sufficient resources to meet the consumption. China has been encouraging the development of exporting enterprises by implementing a series of financial and tax incentives, which have stimulated the economy in the short-term but have gradually increased the ecological trade deficit since 2000.     

Assessing ecological risk through automated drainage extraction and watershed delineation

Decision makers are frequently involved in projects requiring ecological risk definition, which are inherent to biological conservation process. It is important to recognize these risks in order to invest wisely in the management and protection of biological resources. In this matter, Geographic Information System tools and remote sensing data have been used frequently as important components in planning and management of conservation units, Rabus et al. (2003), Valeriano et al. (2009) and Valeriano et al. (2010) stressed the advantages of using data that were gathered during the Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) for biological and geomorphologic purposes. For Brazil's national territory, the SRTM data were refined (Valeriano, 2008) and offered as free access on the TOPODATA Project website (http://www.dsr.inpe.br/topodata) where geomorphometric information (including elevation data) at a resolution of 30 m are provided. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate an example of how TOPODATA products have been applied in order to determine the ecological risk of the border of a Conservation Unit, located in the State of São Paulo—Brazil, in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, using automated drainage network and watershed extraction. A comparison between SRTM, TOPODATA, and ASTER DEM was carried out, showing an advantage of TOPODATA drainage network product. The vectors generated using this data are more similar to the official drainage network vectors than the drainage network extracted using ASTER-DEM or SRTM. The network product generated using ASTER-DEM produced many commission errors and the one generated using SRTM produced a poor network, with generalized vectors, less detailed than the others. The results showed that using the TOPODATA Project‘s Digital Elevation Model (DEM) can provide important data for ecological analysis and significant additional information for decision making, regarding drainage networks and watershed features. The produced map for border ecological risk showed to fit perfectly to the field work analyses, produced in other works. Furthermore, the extracted watershed polygons might furnish important information unrevealing best conservation unit boundaries, which means more efficient management and best biological conservation results.     

中国油橄榄适生区研究

油橄榄在中国引种已50多年,引种初期对其特殊的生态习性了解不够深入,出现了许多问题。作者从近40年的栽培实践中,认真分析了我国亚热带地区与地中海亚热带地区气候的差异,认为中国发展油橄榄生产的最佳适生区是西部干旱河谷地区,其中以甘南自龙江河谷和滇西北及川西南金沙江河谷发展的潜力最大。     

海拔对高山栎光合气体交换和叶性状的影响

理解影响植物分布的式样及过程是生态学研究的中心内容之一,但对许多物种而言,限制其分布的原因还不清楚。为了认识高山栎分布与生理生态特性的关系,我们在不同海拔的4个观测点研究了帽斗栎的光合气体交换、叶氮含量、叶绿素含量和比叶重。由于高的水气压亏缺和气温,帽斗栎的光合作用和蒸腾作用在午间表现出明显的降低现象。帽斗栎的饱和光合速率、水分利用效率、最大羧化速率、最大电子传递速率和氮利用效率在海拔中部比低海拔或高海拔处的为高。不同海拔的叶氮含量在5月份有差异,8月份则没有明显不同。叶片厚度随海拔增加,但叶绿素含量及光合最适温度随海拔升高而降低。帽斗栎光合作用的海拔变化与叶片的生化效率和氮含量有关,而与比叶重无关。研究结果说明,温度的海拔变化对高山栎的光合作用和叶性状有明显影响,最适宜帽斗栎光合碳获取及生长的海拔范围是3180～3610m。     

Restoration of isolated and small coastal sand dunes on the rocky coast of northern Spain

The coastal dunes of the Basque Country have suffered a significant anthropic process of regional-scale destruction and fragmentation. This has led to the loss of seven, and endangerment of 14, of the 37 species of plants recognized as exclusive to these dunes. In response to this situation, the restoration of one of the lost dune systems, the Laida Dune, began in 2002 with the installation of sand trapping devices and the plantation of two dune-building species of plants. This study shows the results of a program that monitored the process of natural colonization of plant species in the restored dune over a period of seven years, until the loss of the dune by the action of storms in 2008. The results show that the vegetation dynamics in the restored dune followed a process of primary succession, with a progressive increase in species number, coverage and heterogeneity. The establishment of species was driven by the strong environmental gradient present perpendicular to the coastline. The results indicate that natural colonization in this coastal sector is now possible due to the large number of dune species present, and in spite of the isolation of the restored dune system and the loss and fragmentation of the dune habitats in the region. Over the seven years, 42 plant species became established on the dune, of which 18 were dune-exclusive species, representing 62.1% of the total number of species of the same type in the region. Five of these species are considered to be rare or threatened. Comparison with reference data allowed the evaluation of the trajectory of the plant community assembly. The results indicate that the highest similarity to a reference dune system was to the one located closest to the restored dune.     

Study on ecological restoration in near-shore zone of a eutrophic lake, Wuli Bay, Taihu Lake

A two-year restoration period, large-scale ecological restoration demonstration engineering project was carried out in the near-shore zones of Wuli Bay, Taihu Lake. Various methods to restore the aquatic biodiversity and prevent ecological degradation were employed and their effects on water quality and aquatic plants were investigated. The results showed that water quality had been significantly improved in the demonstration zones. The concentrations of TN and TP were about half of those of the reference site in Wuli Bay. The water transparency was 30 cm higher than that in the reference site. The species, cover and biomass of aquatic plants were also significantly increased in the demonstration zones.     

不同比例尺DEM数据对森林生态类型划分精度的影响

针对以辽东山区森林生态类型划分的需求,探讨了所需DEM数据的最低精度要求,通过对比试验和Kappa检验,得到1：10000比例尺DEM是划分辽东山区森林生态类型的较佳数据源。通过实践工作和对比试验研究,本文总结了针对ELT划分的需求,进行地形图扫描矢量化生成DEM数据过程中需要解决的关键技术问题,提出了等高线矢量化中纠错的有效方法,采用TOPOGRID命令生成了更符合客观地形状况的DEM数据,解决了生态分类系统中的关键性技术问题,该技术方法具有普遍性。