Bottom‐up Conservation

Conservation initiatives that have worked well in temperate and developed regions have often been applied in the tropics but with only limited success. Part of this failure is due to top–down conservation planning that has been conducted without taking local socio‐economic considerations into adequate account. Here, we argue that conservation approaches would benefit from a deeper understanding of human–nature interactions.     

Modus Darwin

Modus Darwin is a principle of inference that licenses the conclusion that two species have a common ancestor, based on the observation that they are similar. The present paper investigates the principle's probabilistic foundations.     

Variability and structure of natural populations of Elymus caninus (L.) L. and their possible relationship with Hordelymus europaeus (L.) Jess. ex Harz as revealed by AFLP analysis

The AFLP method was used to study the inter-population variability of eight populations of Elymus caninus (L.) L. as well as three populations of Hordelymus europaeus (L.) Jess. ex Harz. In these studies a clear distinction was found between two phenotypes of E. caninus collected in the same locality. It also appeared that two populations of E. caninus representing the “pauciflorum” morphotype were clustered together, similarly as two populations of E. caninus exhibiting morphotype “caninus”. Additionally, the populations of the “pauciflorum” type were clustered together with all samples of H. europaeus. Furthermore, the same approach was applied to analyze the intra-population variability of E. caninus. The populations ranged from nearly uniform to as diverse as the samples collected from different localities. In some populations of this species the presence of off-type plants was revealed. Our data indicate the predominantly self-pollinating character of E. caninus and the possible genetic relationship between of E. caninus and H. europaeus. It is the second paper from the series: Biodiversity of wild Triticeae (Poaceae) in Poland, the first is: Mizianty M. 2005. Variability and structure of natural populations of Elymus caninus (l.) L. based on morphology. Pl. Syst. Evol. 251: 199–216.     

恶性席瓢蜡蝉的生物学特性

恶性席瓢蜡蝉Sivaloka damnosusChouetLu是山东省最近发现的新害虫。首次记述了其幼期形态特征、生物学特性及其天敌种类,首次报道其寄生性天敌宽额螯蜂Dryinus latusOlmi。该虫在山东商河1年发生2代,以卵在寄主枝条内越冬。用吡虫啉和阿维菌素类制剂4 000~5 000倍液喷雾防治若虫,具有较好的防治效果。     

Benefits of Classical Biological Control for Managing Invasive Plants

As a result of the rapid expansion in international travel and trade over the past few decades, invasive plants have become a problem of global proportions. Plant invasions threaten the existence of endangered species and the integrity of ecosystems, and their ravages cost national economies tens of billions of dollars every year. Strategies for managing the threats posed by plant invasions involve three main tactics: prevention, eradication, and control. The effectiveness of prevention, involving enactment of legislation to prohibit the entry and spread of noxious alien plants, has been questioned. Eradication of all but the smallest, most localized weed infestations generally is not regarded as economically feasible. Conventional weed control techniques, such as mechanical and chemical controls, because they are expensive, energy and labor intensive, and require repeated application, are impractical for managing widespread plant invasions in ecologically fragile conservation areas or low-value habitat, such as rangelands and many aquatic systems. In addition, mechanical means of control disturb the soil and may cause erosion; chemical herbicides have spurred the evolution of resistance in scores of weed species and, further, may pose risks to wildlife and human health. Because of drawbacks associated with conventional weed control methods, classical biological control, the introduction of selective exotic natural enemies to control exotic pests, increasingly is being considered and implemented as a safe, cost-effective alternative to address the invasive plant problem. Worldwide, biological weed control programs have had an overall success rate of 33 percent; success rates have been considerably higher for programs in individual countries. Benefits are several-fold. Biological control is permanent, energy-efficient, nonpolluting, and inexpensive relative to other methods. Economic returns on investment in biological weed control have been spectacular in some cases, and range from an estimated benefit/cost ratio of 2.3 to 4000 or more. Although the risks involved in biological control in general are considered unacceptable by some, biological weed control in particular has had an enviable safety record. Since establishment of the stringent standards and regulatory apparatus currently in place in the United States and elsewhere, there have been no reported cases of biological weed control causing significant harm to nontarget populations or to the environment at large.     

环青海湖地区天然草地时序光谱特征参量分析

获取了环青海湖地区4类主要天然草地2003年5~10月共16个时相的地面高分辨率光谱数据,并利用植被指数技术、导数光谱技术、植被光谱维特征提取模型及包络线归一化技术提取了多个光谱特征参量,通过对各参量在生育期内分布规律的分析,给出了能较好地表征草地生长发育规律时序特征参量的具体分布;最后计算了4类天然草地各时序特征参量的平均散度,结果表明黄边位置λY、红边位置λV、红边斜率SV、绿峰半高宽wλG、红谷半高宽wλR、去包络红谷净面积AR'和归一化植被指数NDV I对于天然草地分类更有效。     

亚热带人工湿地中配置植物与迁入植物与迁移动物多样性的季节变化

人工湿地是为了净化污水而建造的一类系统,其环境特征既不同于自然湿地,也不同于一般陆地生境。人工湿地的生物多样性是一个新问题。作者以杭州植物园作为案例研究了亚热带地区人工湿地植物多样性的季节变化。结果表明:秋末人工湿地的物种数为72种,其中自然迁入植物54种;冬春季的物种数为46种,其中自然迁入物种33种。在人工湿地中,人工配置的植物种类仍然是群落结构的主体,迁入植物大部分处于伴生地位。应该在人工配置植物的基础上保留一些有价值的自然迁入植物,使人工湿地具有较高的生物多样性,这样既能充分吸收水中的多种营养成分,又能美化环境。亚热带地区可以有冬春和夏秋两个植物功能群在人工湿地中连续生长,这可以充分利用时间生态位,提高人工湿地在冬季的净化效果,增强人工湿地净化能力的季节间稳定性。