内蒙古达赉湖西岸地区大鵟巢穴特征和巢址选择

2010年和2011年3月-6月,对内蒙古达赉湖国家级保护区达赉湖西岸地区大鵟(Buteo hemilasius)的巢穴结构和巢址选择因子进行了调查研究.采用野外观察和样方法定位了13个大鵟巢址,并对巢址样方的20个生态因子进行测量,运用主成分分析法对影响大鵟巢址选择的主要因子进行了分析.测量显示,大鵟巢穴的基本结构特征为:外径(94.7+4.2) cm;巢高度(46.1±2.7) cm;内径(24.8±1.5)cm;巢深(14.0±+0.9)cm.生境因子分析结果表明,达赉湖西岸地区大鵟的巢集中分布在湖岸或水塘附近的悬崖,营巢点坡度为15°-45°之间的阳坡或半阳坡;隐蔽度高于20％;草本密度大于5株/m2;植被均高大于30cm;巢距悬崖上部距离2-5m;距水源l00m以内;距居民点距离大于lkm;距草原道路的距离大于0.5km;而对于物种丰富度没有特殊要求.主成分分析显示,影响大鵟巢址选择的主要因子有3个,依次为:隐蔽性因子(主要包括巢址区域的植物特征和地形特征)、干扰因子和食物因子.各主成分中,相对系数绝对值最高的变量依次是:植被盖度、距居民点距离、巢的高度和距草原道路距离.     

北京松山国家级自然保护区兰科植物多样性及其保护评价

选取北京松山国家级自然保护区开展兰科植物多样性调查和分析,评估其保护现状。松山共有兰科植物12属18种,其中北方盔花兰为北京新记录种。在生活型方面,以地生兰为主,计14种（77．78％）,腐生兰4种（22．22％）;在分布区类型方面,属的区系成分以北温带分布为主（6属,5000％）,兼有旧世界温带分布（3属,25．00％）、世界分布（2属,16．67％）和旧世界热带分布（1属,8．33％）;种的区系成分以东亚分布为主（9种,50．00％）,兼有旧世界温带分布（5种,27．78％）和北温带分布（4种,22．22％）。松山兰科植物集中分布于北沟和小海坨山。通过综合分析松山兰科植物保护现状,提出生境评估、种群动态监测、建立迁地保护资源圃和加大宣传等都是切实加强兰科植物保护工作的可行措施。     

Shrub Cover Influence on Seedling Growth and Survival Following Logging of a Tropical Forest

Logging in tropical forests may create large canopy openings. These gaps provide suitable conditions for some opportunistic shrubs and herbs to take advantage of the surge in resources and rapidly colonize disturbed sites. This dense plant cover may limit forest regeneration by interfering with tree seedling establishment, growth, and survival by altering the light and nutrients available to seedlings, modifying herbivore behavior, or a number of other factors. In Kibale National Park (Uganda), old logging sites are mainly covered by dense stands of Acanthus pubescens Engl., which appear to inhibit tree regeneration. We wanted to identify the ecological processes underlying this regeneration collapse. To do so, we designed a factorial experiment to evaluate the influences of herbivory and vegetation cover on the growth and survival of tree seedlings. We compared the survival and growth of transplanted tree seedlings in A. pubescens stands and logged forests, in the presence or absence of the understory vegetation layer (logged forest) or vegetation cover (A. pubescens), and with or without herbivory. We found no evidence to support the hypothesis that herbivory is significantly higher under dense A. pubescens cover. Seedling survival was not influenced by the environment. Seedling growth, however, was positively influenced by the removal of A. pubescens, suggesting that changes in resource availability associated with the presence of A. pubescens, may be important for regeneration. Our results suggest that sustained cutting of A. pubescens cover could foster the growth of established seedlings and could lead to tree regeneration and habitat restoration.     

Scots pine growing on forested mires in Abernethy Forest,Strathspey, Scotland

Summary

A substantial proportion of the Abernethy Forest Reserve has Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) growing on the surfaces of a variety of mires. The hydrology of the mires has been affected by drainage and peat cutting but this area is unusual in having had a long period of protection from grazing by domestic stock. There are three main types of pine populations found on these mires. Woodland bog comprises predominantly bog vegetation with abundant pine seedlings due to the heavy seed rain from the surrounding woodland. Only a few very small trees survive, which are stunted, heavily diseased and have very low seed production. Wooded bog also comprises predominately bog vegetation but there are scattered mature trees of a moderate height with an open canopy. The trees are fertile and can form uneven aged stands with regeneration. Bog woodland is a predominantly woodland vegetation with tall, dense tree cover on deep peat. The trees are well grown with a dense canopy. A few remnants of bog vegetation remain in the ground flora although most have been replaced by woodland bryophytes and shrubs. Each of these three types is described and their development is discussed.     

Psychological and physiological effect in humans of touching plant foliage - using the semantic differential method and cerebral activity as indicators

Background

Numerous studies have reported on the healing powers of plants and nature, but there have not been so many instances of experimental research. In particular, there are very few psychological and physiological studies using tactile stimuli. This study examines the psychological and physiological effects of touching plant foliage by using an evaluation profile of the subjects’ impressions and investigating cerebral blood flow.

Methods

The subjects were 14 young Japanese men aged from 21 to 27 years (mean ± standard deviation: 23.6 ± 2.4). With their eyes closed, the subjects touched four different tactile samples including a leaf of natural pothos (Epipremnum aureum). The physiological indices were compared before and after each stimulus. Psychological indices were obtained using a ‘semantic differential’ method.

Results

The fabric stimulus gave people ‘soft’ and ‘rough’ impressions, ‘kind’, ‘peaceful’ and ‘pleasant’ feelings psychologically, and a sense of physiological calm. On the other hand, the metal stimulus gave people ‘cold’, ‘smooth’ and ‘hard’ impressions and an image of something ‘artificial’. The metal stimulus caused a stress response in human cerebral blood flow although its evaluation in terms of ‘pleasant or unpleasant’ was neutral. There were no remarkable differences between the stimuli of natural and artificial pothos compared with other types of stimulus psychologically. However, only the natural pothos stimulus showed a sense of physiological calm in the same appearance as the fabric stimulus.

Conclusions

This study shows that people experience an unconscious calming reaction to touching a plant. It is to be concluded that plants are an indispensable element of the human environment.     

山西五鹿山自然保护区暴马丁香群落木本植物种间联结性分析

通过方差分析,χ²检验、Pearson相关系数和Spearman秩相关系数检验,采用2×2列联表对五鹿山暴马丁香林中频度较高的34个木本植物优势种,561个种对间的关联性进行了研究.分析结果表明: 34个优势种种间总体关联性呈现不显著负关联,表明该群落处于不稳定的顶级状态.χ²检验结果中,有216个种对呈正相关,345个种对呈负相关,正负关联比为0.626; Pearson相关系数检验结果为: 149个种对呈正相关,412个种对呈负相关,正负关联比为0.362; Spearman秩相关系数检验结果为: 206个种对呈正相关,365个种对呈负相关,正负关联比为0.564; Spearman秩相关系数比Pearson相关系数的检验方法灵敏度更高.     

The case for environmental flow determination for the Phongolo River,South Africa

The construction of Pongolapoort Dam in 1973 on the Phongolo River in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, has considerably altered the hydrological behaviour and ecological response of the downstream floodplain. Changes in the flooding regime have had implications for the socio-economic importance of the floodplain and for the structure and functioning of its associated wetlands. Previous studies have recommended annual releases of water from the dam to sustain floodplain ecosystem goods and services. The current artificial water releases are limited by the size of the dam's sluices and by the demand for water from the local community. Therefore, water releases do not always follow the original natural flooding regime. To date, the influence of the changed hydrology on the ecology of the Phongolo floodplain system remains poorly known. As a basis for future integrated interdisciplinary research we synthesised the ecological and hydrological work conducted to date on the Phongolo floodplain. We suggest hydro-ecology as an important research direction needed to set environmental flows for the sustainable utilisation and management of the floodplain. Understanding the hydrological behaviour and ecological response of the Phongolo floodplain could help in the implementation of environmental flows by managers at the Department of Water and Sanitation and other stakeholders such as Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife.     

Hominid Footprints in Recent Volcanic Ash: New Interpretations from Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Recent archeological research at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park indicates that the story behind the imprinting of at least 1773 human footprints preserved in the Ka’u Desert ash is more complex than originally thought. Footprint impressions found in desert ash layers were previously believed to have been created by the army of the Hawaiian Chief Keoua on its way back from battle in 1790. When Kilauea is said to have erupted, apparently suffocating one group, the others made it out alive, apparently leaving their footprints in the then-wet ash, which evidently dried and hardened. These features have since been preserved, often under layers of volcanic sand. This simple explanation of an event still remembered in oral tradition, is not supported by the geologic evidence and the recent discovery of hundreds of archaeological features which indicate much more prehistoric activity in the area for at least two centuries prior to 1790. This suggests other people contributed to the footprints preserved in the desert ash.