基于可加性生物量模型的大兴安岭东部主要林型森林植被碳储量及其分配

基于大兴安岭东部地区主要林型的生物量调查数据,建立了3个主要树种的一元可加性生物量模型,探讨了不同林型森林群落和乔木层、灌木层、草本层、凋落物层的碳储量及其分配规律.结果表明: 杜鹃-兴安落叶松林乔、灌、草、凋落物层碳储量分别为71.00、0.34、0.05和11.97 t·hm^-2,杜香-兴安落叶松林各层碳储量分别为47.82、0.88、0和5.04 t·hm^-2,杜鹃-兴安落叶松-白桦混交林分别为56.56、0.44、0.04、8.72 t·hm^-2,杜香-兴安落叶松-白桦混交林分别为46.21、0.66、0.07、6.16 t·hm^-2,杜鹃-白桦林分别为40.90、1.37、0.04、3.67 t·hm^-2,杜香-白桦林分别为36.28、1.12、0.18、4.35 t·hm^-2.林下植被为杜鹃的林分群落碳储量大于林下植被为杜香的林分;林下植被相似的情况下,森林群落碳储量大小顺序为:兴安落叶松林>兴安落叶松-白桦混交林>白桦林;不同林型群落碳储量不同,大小顺序为:杜鹃-兴安落叶松林(83.36 t·hm^-2)>杜鹃-兴安落叶松-白桦混交林(65.76 t·hm^-2)>杜香-兴安落叶松林(53.74 t·hm^-2)>杜香-兴安落叶松-白桦混交林(53.10 t·hm^-2)>杜鹃-白桦林(45.98 t·hm^-2)>杜香-白桦林(41.93 t·hm^-2),且不同林型森林群落碳储量垂直分配规律为:乔木层(85.2%～89.0%)>凋落物层(8.0%～14.4%)>灌木层(0.4%～2.7%)>草本层(0～0.4%).     

Tropical grassy biomes: linking ecology,human use and conservation

Tropical grassy biomes (TGBs) are changing rapidly the world over through a coalescence of high rates of land-use change, global change and altered disturbance regimes that maintain the ecosystem structure and function of these biomes. Our theme issue brings together the latest research examining the characterization, complex ecology, drivers of change, and human use and ecosystem services of TGBs. Recent advances in ecology and evolution have facilitated a new perspective on these biomes. However, there continues to be controversies over their classification and state dynamics that demonstrate critical data and knowledge gaps in our quantitative understanding of these geographically dispersed regions. We highlight an urgent need to improve ecological understanding in order to effectively predict the sensitivity and resilience of TGBs under future scenarios of global change. With human reliance on TGBs increasing and their propensity for change, ecological and evolutionary understanding of these biomes is central to the dual goals of sustaining their ecological integrity and the diverse services these landscapes provide to millions of people.This article is part of the themed issue ‘Tropical grassy biomes: linking ecology, human use and conservation’.     

Soaring energetics and glide performance in a moving atmosphere

Here, we analyse the energetics, performance and optimization of flight in a moving atmosphere. We begin by deriving a succinct expression describing all of the mechanical energy flows associated with gliding, dynamic soaring and thermal soaring, which we use to explore the optimization of gliding in an arbitrary wind. We use this optimization to revisit the classical theory of the glide polar, which we expand upon in two significant ways. First, we compare the predictions of the glide polar for different species under the various published models. Second, we derive a glide optimization chart that maps every combination of headwind and updraft speed to the unique combination of airspeed and inertial sink rate at which the aerodynamic cost of transport is expected to be minimized. With these theoretical tools in hand, we test their predictions using empirical data collected from a captive steppe eagle (Aquila nipalensis) carrying an inertial measurement unit, global positioning system, barometer and pitot tube. We show that the bird adjusts airspeed in relation to headwind speed as expected if it were seeking to minimize its aerodynamic cost of transport, but find only weak evidence to suggest that it adjusts airspeed similarly in response to updrafts during straight and interthermal glides.This article is part of the themed issue ‘Moving in a moving medium: new perspectives on flight’.     

Insights into Coupled Folding and Binding Mechanisms from Kinetic Studies

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are characterized by a lack of persistent structure. Since their identification more than a decade ago, many questions regarding their functional relevance and interaction mechanisms remain unanswered. Although most experiments have taken equilibrium and structural perspectives, fewer studies have investigated the kinetics of their interactions. Here we review and highlight the type of information that can be gained from kinetic studies. In particular, we show how kinetic studies of coupled folding and binding reactions, an important class of signaling event, are needed to determine mechanisms.     

Continental‐scale syntheses of Australian pyromes – misclassification of south‐western eucalypt woodlands misinforms management

Global and continental‐scale analysis of ecological phenomena can offer important insights through the identification of patterns and associations not detectable at smaller scales. However, using proxies for ecological phenomena, such as vegetation mapping for spatially projecting fire regime niches and post‐fire plant responses, require critical examination of predictions to determine utility. Using local studies in south‐western Australia, we demonstrate that while this approach has been largely successful in mallee woodland and shrubland, it has failed in eucalypt woodland, with the consequence that values for a range of fire‐related parameters from the continent‐wide approaches, if adopted in informing management, would result in undesirable conservation outcomes for the world's largest extant temperate woodland.     

Distribution and community structure of Ostracoda (Crustacea) in shallow waterbodies of southern Kenya

The current study presents the ostracod communities recovered from 26 shallow waterbodies in southern Kenya, combined with an ecological assessment of habitat characteristics. A total of 37 waterbodies were sampled in 2001 and 2003, ranging from small ephemeral pools to large permanent lakes along broad gradients in altitude (700–2 800 m) and salinity (37–67 200 µS cm^?1). Between 0 and 12 species were recorded per site. Lack of ostracods was associated with either hypersaline waters, or the presence of fish in fresh waters. Three of the 32 recovered ostracod taxa, Physocypria sp., Sarscypridopsis cf. elizabethae and Oncocypris mulleri, combined a wide distribution with frequent local dominance. Canonical correspondence analysis on species–environment relationships indicated that littoral vegetation, altitude, surface water temperature and pH best explain the variation in ostracod communities. Presence of fish and water depth also influence species occurrence, with the larger species being more common in shallow waterbodies lacking fish. Based on Chao’s estimator of total regional species richness, this survey recovered about two-thirds (60–68%) of the regional ostracod species pool. Scanning electron micrographs (SEM) of the valve morphology of 14 ostracod taxa are provided, in order to facilitate their application in biodiversity and water-quality assessments and in palaeoenvironmental reconstruction.     

Current forest carbon stocks and carbon sequestration potential in Anhui Province,China

Aims
This study was conducted to investigate carbon stocks in forest ecosystems of different stand ages in Anhui Province, and to identify the carbon sequestration potential of climax forests controlled by the natural environment conditions.
Methods
Data were collected based on field investigations and simulations were made with the BIOME4 carbon cycle model.
Important findings
Currently, the total forest carbon stocks in Anhui Province amounts to 714.5 Tg C: 402.1 Tg C in vegetation and 312.4 Tg C in soil. Generally, both the total and vegetation carbon density exhibit an increasing trend with the natural growth of forest stands. Soil carbon density increases from young to near mature forests, and then gradually decreases thereafter. Young and middle-aged forests account for 75% of the total forest area in Anhui Province, with potentially an additional 125.4 Tg C to be gained after the young and middle-aged forests reach near mature stage. Results of BIOME4 simulations show that potentially an additional 245.7 Tg C, including 153.7 Tg C in vegetation and 92 Tg C in soil, could be gained if the current forests are transformed into climax forest ecosystems in Anhui Province.     

Spatial patterns of species diversity in the herb layer of early post-fire regeneration in mixed Pinus yunnanensis forests

Herb layer plays an important role in maintaining ecosystem functioning of forests. The aims of this study were to determine the pattern of species diversity in early post-fire regeneration of the herb layer in mixed Yunnan pine forests and to identify the effects of topography, fire severity, pre-fire vegetation and herb species life-history feature on post-fire regeneration.