哀牢山湿性常绿阔叶林及不同类型次生植被的幼苗更新特征

采用"空间代替时间"的方法,对云南哀牢山徐家坝地区湿性常绿阔叶林及不同类型次生植被中木本植物幼苗的种类组成、数量及更新方式等进行了调查.结果表明:在所有调查样地中,共记录到木本植物幼苗46种,其中乔木31种、灌木15种.荒草地、滇山杨林、栎类萌生林、原生林4种不同植被类型的幼苗密度分别是(421.9±59.5)、(34.4±8.1)、(31.6±7.2)、(18.5±6.6)株·25 m-2.随着演替的进行,灌木的比例逐渐减小,乔木的比例则逐渐增加.在森林恢复演替过程中,处于演替初期的荒草地灌木萌生更新占优势,到了演替后期则以乔木萌生幼苗更新为主.随着群落演替进程的增加,幼苗密度逐渐减少,幼苗生活型和木本植物的幼苗更新方式均发生变化.     

）种群结构与动态

为了阐明秦岭巴山冷杉（Abies fargesii）种群的结构特征和动态规律,对位于秦岭中段南坡佛坪保护区内不同海拔分布的巴山冷杉种群的年龄结构、生命表以及存活曲线等进行了研究。结果表明: 在海拔2350、2500和2700 m,巴山冷杉种群都表现为衰退型,种群个体主要聚集在中龄级,幼龄级的个体都极度缺乏。在各海拔巴山冷杉种群生命表中,死亡量（d_x）、死亡率（q_x）和消失率（K_x）都为负值,反映了种群幼龄个体的缺乏程度。随着海拔的升高,幼龄级个体数量增加而大龄级个体数量减少。巴山冷杉种群生命表和存活曲线的分析表明,巴山冷杉种群个体存活量最多的年龄级和出现最大死亡率的年龄级都随着海拔的降低而依次后推。随着海拔的升高,巴山冷杉种群的分布格局由随机分布类型过渡为聚集分布类型。     

长三角新建居住区景观绿化植物组成的相似性

自然植被受城市化影响出现了不同程度的均质化,受人为影响更大的人工植物是否存在同样的问题值得关注.本研究以长三角10城市的45个居住区的景观绿化为对象,运用Jaccard指数,从居住区、城市、省份3个尺度水平上探讨了物种组成的相似性.结果表明:随着尺度水平增加,物种相似性显著增加,在城市和省份水平上Jaccard指数达0.45和0.50;随着城市间距离的增加,物种相似性逐渐减小;因数量少,乡土物种并未有效地降低城市间相似性,反而增加了省份间的相似性.表明目前长三角的居住区景观绿化物种单一,乡土物种尤为突出,呈现均质化倾向.     

Long-term performance and microbial community analysis of a full-scale synthesis gas fed reactor treating sulfate- and zinc-rich wastewater

The performance of a full-scale (500 m³) sulfidogenic synthesis gas fed gas-lift reactor treating metal- and sulfate-rich wastewater was investigated over a period of 128 weeks. After startup, the reactor had a high methanogenic activity of 46 Nm³·h⁻¹. Lowering the carbon dioxide feed rate during the first 6 weeks gradually lowered the methane production rate. Between weeks 8 and 93, less than 1% of the hydrogen supplied was used for methanogenesis. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis of polymerase chain reaction-amplified 16S rRNA gene fragments showed that the archaeal community decreased in diversity but did not disappear completely. After the carbon dioxide feed rate increased in week 88, the methane production rate also increased, confirming that methane production was carbon dioxide limited. Even though lowering the carbon dioxide feed appeared to affect part of the sulfate-reducing community, it did not prevent achieving the desired rates of sulfate reduction. The average sulfate conversion rate was 181 kg∙h⁻¹ for the first 92 weeks. After 92 weeks, the sulfate input rate was increased and from week 94 to 128, the average weekly sulfate conversion rate was 295 kg·h⁻¹ (SD ± 87). Even higher sulfate conversion rates of up to 400 kg·h⁻¹ could be sustained for weeks 120–128. The long-term performance and stability together with the ability to control methanogenesis demonstrates that synthesis gas fed reactor can be used successfully at full scale to treat metal and sulfate-rich wastewater.     

Community–habitat relationships in coastal streams in Big Sur, California, USA: travertine influences macroinvertebrate abundance and community structure

Travertine deposition occurs in streams worldwide but its effects on stream communities are poorly understood. I sampled benthic macroinvertebrates, periphyton, and reach-scale environmental variables in coastal streams in Big Sur, central California, USA, to determine the specific effects of travertine that occurred at some sites as well as to provide a broader assessment of community–habitat relationships. Total density and biomass of macroinvertebrates varied 6- and 9-fold across sites, respectively, and chlorophyll a concentrations varied 10-fold, but invertebrate and periphyton abundances were not correlated. Baetis tricaudatus (Ephemeroptera), Simuliidae (Diptera), and Chironomidae (Diptera) dominated macroinvertebrate communities across all sites, although differences in the relative abundances of these and other taxa produced moderate variation in community structure among sites (Bray-Curtis similarity coefficients of 47–84). Variation in community structure was related to a number of habitat features, notably travertine but also including variables reflecting channel morphology, flow, substrate size, and riparian tree type. Median density and biomass of macroinvertebrates were more than twice as high at sites without travertine than sites with travertine. Taxa richness also was higher at sites without travertine, and community structure differed moderately between sites with and without travertine, although there were no particular assemblages associated with either group. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (MDS) and cluster analysis of similarities in community structure appeared to separate sites with either travertine or high fines from sites without those conditions. These results demonstrate that travertine can have strong effects on stream communities, and additional studies are needed to identify the full range of effects on ecosystems and to evaluate the potential consequences of travertine for conservation efforts such as biomonitoring programs and threatened species management. Handling editor: R. Bailey     

Community collocation of four submerged macrophytes on two kinds of sediments in Lake Taihu, China

To explore a method for rapid restoration and artificial regulation of submerged macrophytes in large-scale restoration of eutrophic lakes, the succession and the biodiversity changes of four communities composed of four native, common submerged macrophytes, Hydrilla verticillata, Potamogeton malaianus, Vallisneria spiralis and Najas marina, on two kinds of sediments were investigated. Under low light intensity (reduced by 99%), the plant biomass changed with seasonal changes, plant competition, and environmental stress. The competitive capability for light differed in the four species due to different shoot height and tiller number. After 405 days of transplantation, H. verticillata became dominant in all communities. The biomass of H. verticillata, with strong ability to endure low water light environment, accounted for more than 90% of the total community biomass, and P. malaianus had only weak growth, while V. spiralis and N. marina almost disappeared. Based on livability and biomass of submerged macrophytes on two sediment types, brown clay sediment appeared to be more favorable for the settlement of the plants, while fertile sludge sediment was suitable for vegetative growth. In conclusion, the improvement of habitats and the selection of appropriate plant species are of the greatest importance for ecological restoration of the aquatic ecosystem.     

Investigation of the microbial community structure and activity as indicators of compost stability and composting process evolution

In a bid to identify suitable microbial indicators of compost stability, the process evolution during windrow composting of poultry manure (PM), green waste (GW) and biowaste was studied. Treatments were monitored with regard to abiotic factors, respiration activity (determined using the SOUR test) and functional microflora. The composting process went through typical changes in temperature, moisture content and microbial properties, despite the inherent feedstock differences. Nitrobacter and pathogen indicators varied as a monotonous function of processing time. Some microbial groups have shown a potential to serve as fingerprints of the different process stages, but still they should be examined in context with respirometric tests and abiotic parameters. Respiration activity reflected well the process stage, verifying the value of respirometric tests to access compost stability. SOUR values below 1 mg O₂/g VS/h were achieved for the PM and the GW compost.     

Rapid Recovery of Biomass, Species Richness, and Species Composition in a Forest Chronosequence in Northeastern Costa Rica

Secondary forests are a vital part of the tropical landscape, and their worldwide extent and importance continues to increase. Here, we present the largest chronosequence data set on forest succession in the wet tropics that includes both secondary and old-growth sites. We performed 0.1 ha vegetation inventories in 30 sites in northeastern Costa Rica, including seven old-growth forests and 23 secondary forests on former pastures, ranging from 10 to 42 yr. The secondary forest sites were formerly pasture for intervals of <1–25 yr. Aboveground biomass in secondary forests recovered rapidly, with sites already exhibiting values comparable to old growth after 21–30 yr, and biomass accumulation was not impacted by the length of time that a site was in pasture. Species richness reached old-growth levels in as little as 30 yr, although sites that were in pasture for > 10 yr had significantly lower species richness. Forest cover near the sites at the time of forest establishment did not significantly impact biomass or species richness, and the species composition of older secondary forest sites (>30 yr) converged with that of old growth. These results emphasize the resilience of tropical ecosystems in this region and the high conservation value of secondary forests.
     

Restoration of riverine inland sand dune complexes: implications for the conservation of wild bees

1.  The evaluation of restoration measures is an important task of conservation biology. Inland sand dunes and dry, oligotrophic grasslands have become rare habitat types in large parts of Central Europe and their restoration and management is of major importance for the preservation of many endangered plant and insect species. Within such habitats, it is important to restore key ecosystem services, such as pollination networks. As wild bees are the most important pollinators in many ecosystems, they represent a suitable key group to evaluate restoration measures. Furthermore, the recent decline of many bee species and the potential ecological and economic consequences are currently topics of strong scientific interest.
2.  We studied the succession of bee communities in response to restoration measures of sand dunes and sand grasslands and compared these communities with those of old sand dune complexes.
3.  Our results show that wild bees respond rapidly to restoration measures indicated by a high species richness and abundance. The community structure of bees at restoration sites converged only slightly to those of the target sites. A higher similarity was found between bee communities at the restoration sites (sand dunes and grasslands), indicating that their close proximity was an important determinant of species overlap. Environmental factors such as the number of entomophilous plant species and moisture had a strong influence on wild bee species composition.
4.   Synthesis and applications . The restoration of inland sand dune complexes provides opportunities for colonization by a diverse wild bee community. Although it is difficult to establish a given target community, restoration measures gave rise to a high pollinator diversity and abundance, suggesting that community function can be re-established.     

Physical disturbance and community organization on a subtidal cobble bed

This study examines the role of physical disturbance in regulating the development and maintenance of macroalgal community structure in a subtidal cobble bed on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, after a mass mortality of sea urchins. Displacement by hydrodynamic forces of cobbles with and without attached macroalgae was measured in mark-recovery experiments. Cobbles without macroalgae experienced low levels of overturning or displacement by waves. In contrast, cobbles with large fleshy algae (such as kelps and fucoids) were displaced by drag forces along the seabed during periods of moderately strong wave action. Displacement of these “drifters” occurred once the attached alga reached a critical mass (relative to the weight of the anchoring cobble), which varied among species of differing morphology. The rate of displacement of drifters was an exponential function of the ratio of attached algal biomass to rock weight. The loss of larger erect forms from the cobble bed results in a patchwork of low-lying turfs. Clusters of small boulders, experimentally transplanted to the cobble bed, accumulated a greater biomass of large fleshy algae than surrounding cobbles after one year, likely because of the greater stability of boulders. Algal-mediated hydrodynamic displacement of cobbles appears to be an important form of physical disturbance in the cobble habitat, restricting the types and sizes of algae that can grow on cobbles following an urchin die-off.