川西亚高山-高山森林土壤养分动态及其对季节性冻融的响应

为深入了解川西亚高山-高山森林冬季生态学过程,于2008年11月—2009年10月,在土壤冻结初期、冻结期和融化期及植被生长季节,研究了不同海拔(3582 m、3298 m和3023 m)岷江冷杉林土壤养分动态及其对季节性冻融的响应。3个海拔森林土壤冬季具有较高养分含量,且随土壤冻融过程不断变化。土壤有机层可溶性碳和氮、铵态氮、硝态氮含量在冻结初期显著增加后快速降低,并随融化过程迅速增加后再次降低,而土壤可溶性碳和氮、硝态氮含量在冻结期变化不明显,铵态氮显著增加。矿质土壤层可溶性碳和氮、铵态氮含量也在冻结初期显著增加后降低,而土壤可溶性氮、铵态氮和硝态氮在冻结期显著增加,并在融化期经历一个明显的含量高峰。海拔和土层的交互作用显著影响土壤可溶性碳和硝态氮含量,土壤养分含量与土壤温度的相关性随海拔差异而不同。这表明季节性冻融期是土壤生态过程的重要时期,土壤冻融格局显著影响川西亚高山-高山森林土壤养分动态。     

尾巨桉树干木质部液流密度径向变化特征

目前尾巨桉(Eucalyptus urophylla×Eucalyptus grandis)在中国南部大面积种植,尤其是在广西。其水分利用效率对森林的可持续发展以及水资源管理越来越受到关注。在不了解树干液流径向变化的前提下,将最外层边材液流测定值推广到整树或者林分尺度会产生很大的误差。为了准确测定整树耗水,采用热消散探针法(TDP)研究了南宁七坡林场4年生尾巨桉树干液流的径向变化特征。结果表明:各个深度有相似的日变化规律,0~20 mm深液流占有很大比例,随季节有所变化,20~40 mm深液流保持相对稳定;通过对0~20 mm和20~40 mm两个边材深度的日平均液流密度进行曲线回归分析,两者存在显著的幂指数相关关系(R20.90,P=0.00);同时分析了不同深度的径向分布格局,发现尾巨桉属于4大液流径向分布格局之一的递减型,且递减程度比较陡峭;白天和夜间的径向变化规律不一样,白天液流密度径向变化较明显,夜间则表现稳定。本文的发现有助于通过更精确地计算季节性液流密度来准确估算混种桉树的水分利用效率,对土地管理有重要的意义。     

青海祁连瑞香狼毒的光谱差异特征提取

瑞香狼毒是分布在青海省高寒草甸的主要毒害草之一,近年来其迅速蔓延对当地畜牧业危害严重并使草地生态系统日趋退化.在海北州祁连县选取狼毒分布的典型退化草甸,采用2012—2014年狼毒盛花期获取的实测光谱数据,分析狼毒与牧草的光谱差异性.结果表明： 在350~900 nm的可见光 近红外波段,狼毒顶花的光谱反射特征明显异于狼毒叶片和同期牧草等绿色背景,顶花与绿色背景的光谱反射率差异主要体现在红谷和蓝谷.随着盖度的增加,狼毒群落光谱反射率整体升高,在近红外反射峰处狼毒群落与牧草群落光谱反射率具有最大差值,且不同盖度狼毒群落之间的差异性最明显.顶花与绿色背景以及狼毒群落与牧草群落的一阶导数光谱差异均体现在黄边幅值和蓝边幅值.狼毒群落盖度与光谱特征参量的线性回归分析表明,红谷与狼毒群落盖度的相关性最好(R²=0.94),反演狼毒群落盖度的精度最高.盛花期区分狼毒与牧草的主要光谱特征参量为红谷、蓝谷与近红外反射峰,其对应的红、蓝及近红外波段的组合可用于构建狼毒提取的敏感指数.     

高原鼢鼠扰动及恢复年限对高寒草甸土壤养分和微生物功能多样性的影响

为了研究高原鼢鼠扰动后退化高寒草甸恢复演替的动态过程,利用常规实验室分析方法和Biolog-ECO生态板法对青藏高原东缘高寒草甸土壤养分和微生物功能多样性进行分析.结果表明: 高原鼢鼠扰动显著降低了土壤有机质、全氮、速效氮和速效磷含量,对土壤全磷和全钾含量无显著影响;在一定植被恢复年限内,土壤微生物的碳源利用率、Shannon、Pielou和McIntosh指数随着植被恢复年限的增加而升高;主成分分析表明,碳水化合物和氨基酸是土壤微生物利用的主要碳源类型;冗余分析表明,土壤pH、有机质、全氮、速效氮和全钾是影响土壤微生物代谢活性和功能多样性的主要因子.不同植被恢复年限土壤微生物功能多样性的变化可能是对地上植被、土壤微生物群落组成和土壤养分变化的响应.     

Climate‐driven speedup of alpine treeline forest growth in the Tianshan Mountains,Northwestern China

Forest growth is sensitive to interannual climatic change in the alpine treeline ecotone (ATE). Whether the alpine treeline ecotone shares a similar pattern of forest growth with lower elevational closed forest belt (CFB) under changing climate remains unclear. Here, we reported an unprecedented acceleration of Picea schrenkiana forest growth since 1960s in the ATE of Tianshan Mountains, northwestern China by a stand‐total sampling along six altitudinal transects with three plots in each transect: one from the ATE between the treeline and the forest line, and the other two from the CFB. All the sampled P. schrenkiana forest patches show a higher growth speed after 1960 and, comparatively, forest growth in the CFB has sped up much slower than that in the ATE. The speedup of forest growth at the ATE is mainly accounted for by climate factors, with increasing temperature suggested to be the primary driver. Stronger water deficit as well as more competition within the CFB might have restricted forest growth there more than that within the ATE, implying biotic factors were also significant for the accelerated forest growth in the ATE, which should be excluded from simulations and predictions of warming‐induced treeline dynamics.     

Extreme weather conditions correspond with localised vegetation death at Cradle Mountain,Tasmania

A chance observation of a drought‐related plant mortality event in early 2014 in a normally wet and cool alpine area was matched with local weather data providing a unique insight into this event. The observed plant death was largely indiscriminate in areas that were topographically predisposed to being susceptible to drought. The weather conditions surrounding this event included 5 weeks with very little rain, an extreme heatwave and subsequent brief periods where warm temperatures and dry air combined to produce highly evaporative conditions. Extreme weather conditions such as this are expected to occur with increasing frequency as a result of climate change. Observing and reporting on real‐world examples of how extreme weather events affect native vegetation is integral to improved climate change risk assessment and to inform future management actions.     

Contrasting long-term alpine and subalpine precipitation trends in a mid-latitude North American mountain system,Colorado Front Range,USA

Background: Long-term climate trends in mountain systems often vary strongly with elevation.

Aims: To evaluate elevation dependence in long-term precipitation trends in subalpine forest and alpine tundra zones of a mid-continental, mid-latitude North American mountain system and to relate such dependence to atmospheric circulation patterns.

Methods: We contrasted 59-year (1952–2010) precipitation records of two high-elevation climate stations on Niwot Ridge, Colorado Front Range, Rocky Mountains, USA. The sites, one in forest (3022 m a.s.l.) and the other in alpine tundra (3739 m), are closely located (within 7 km horizontally, ca. 700 m vertically), but differ with respect to proximity to the mountain-system crest (the Continental Divide).

Results: The sites exhibited significant differences in annual and seasonal precipitation trends, which depended strongly on their elevation and distance from the Continental Divide. Annual precipitation increased by 60 mm (+6%) per decade at the alpine site, with no significant change at the subalpine site. Seasonally, trends at the alpine site were dominated by increases in winter, which we suggest resulted from an increase in orographically generated precipitation over the Divide, driven by upper-air (700 hPa) north-westerly flow. Such a change was not evident at the subalpine site, which is less affected by orographic precipitation on north-westerly flow.

Conclusions: Elevation dependence in precipitation trends appears to have arisen from a change in upper-air flow from predominantly south-westerly to north-westerly. Dependence of precipitation trends on topographic position and season has complex implications for the ecology and hydrology of Niwot Ridge and adjacent watersheds, involving interactions among physical processes (e.g. snowpack dynamics) and biotic responses (e.g. in phenologies and ecosystem productivity).     

A slide down a slippery slope – alpine ecosystem responses to nitrogen deposition

Background: Nitrogen (N) deposition in the Front Range of the southern Rocky Mountains has been increasing for several decades, and has exceeded the critical load for several ecological metrics.

Aims: Our objective was to predict potential future ecological changes in alpine zones in response to anthropogenic N deposition based on a review of research from Niwot Ridge, Colorado.

Results: Empirical observations and experimental studies indicate that plant, algal and soil microbe species compositions are changing in response to N deposition, with nitrophilic species increasing in abundance. Biotic sequestration of N deposition is insufficient to compensate for greater nitrate production, leading to the potential for acidification and base cation loss.

Conclusions: Changes in biotic composition in both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems have important impacts on ecosystem functioning, including a lower capacity to take up and neutralise the acidifying effect of anthropogenic N, increasing phosphorus limitation of production in terrestrial and aquatic systems, and shifts in rates of N and carbon cycling. Continued elevated N deposition rates coupled with ongoing climate change, including warmer summer temperatures and lower snow cover of shorter duration, will influence the ecological thresholds for biotic and functional changes. We suggest that these thresholds will occur at lower inputs of N deposition under future climate change, meriting reconsideration of current N critical loads to protect sensitive alpine ecosystems.