Biomass estimation models and allocation patterns of 14 shrub species in Mountain Luya,Shanxi, China

Aims Shrub species have evolved specific strategies to regulate biomass allocation among various organs or between above- and belowground biomass and shrub biomass model is an important approach to estimate biomass allocation among different shrub species. This study was designed to establish the optimal estimation models for each organ (leaf, stem, and root), aboveground and total biomass of 14 common shrub species in Mountain Luya, Shanxi Province, China. Furthermore, we explored biomass allocation characteristics of these shrub species by using the index of leaf biomass fraction (leaf to total biomass), stem biomass fraction (stem to total biomass), root biomass fraction (root to total biomass), and root to shoot mass ratio (R/S) (belowground to aboveground biomass).
Methods We used plant height, basal diameter, canopy diameter and their combination as variables to establish the optimal biomass estimation models for each shrub species. In addition, we used the ratios of leaf, stem, root to total biomass, and belowground to aboveground biomass to explore the difference of biomass allocation patterns of 14 shrub species.
Important findings Most of biomass estimation models could be well expressed by the exponential and linear functions. Biomass for shorter shrub species with more stems could be better estimated by canopy area; biomass for taller shrub species with less stems could be better estimated by the sum of the square of total base diameter multiply stem height; and biomass for the rest shrub species could be better estimated by canopy volume. The averaged value for these shrub species was 0.61, 0.17, 0.48, and 0.35 for R/S, leaf biomass fraction, stem biomass fraction, and root biomass fraction, respectively. Except for leaf biomass fraction, R/S, stem biomass fraction, and root biomass fraction for shrubs with thorn was significantly greater than that for shrubs without thorn.     

Latitudinal comparison of altitudinal changes in forest structure,leaf-type,and species richness in humid monsoon Asia

A new template for mountain vegetation zonation along latitudinal gradients is proposed for examining geographical pattern of various forest attributes in humid monsoon Asia. The contrasting temperature regime in tropical and temperate mountains, i.e., the former is a non-seasonal, temperature-sum controlled environment, and the latter is a seasonal, low temperature limiting environment, leads to different altitudinal patterns of tree height distribution and species richness. In the tropical mountains, both tree height and species richness decrease steeply, and the tree height often stepwise. The decline of tree height and species diversity in the temperate mountains is far less pronounced except near the forest limit. Both trends are explained by their temperature regime.     

基于空间生态集合覆盖模型的自学习禁忌搜索算法在保护区空间选址中的应用——以戴云山为例

自然保护区规划是保护生物多样性的有效方式.传统保护区规划方法只能识别物种保护的重点区域,无法科学确定保护区的适宜面积.地块选择方法基于数学模型,从规划区域中选择部分地块组成自然保护区,保护特定物种或生态系统,是缓解生态保护与开发利用矛盾的重要手段.现有地块选择法未考虑各单元生态差异,且最优化算法存在计算效率的瓶颈.本文首先构建适用于森林生态系统的生态值赋分评价体系,据此计算戴云山生态值并绘制其分布图;然后,结合生态值建立生态集合覆盖模型(ESCP),并基于ESCP嵌入空间紧凑性提出空间生态集合覆盖模型(SSCP);最后,利用寻优性能良好的自学习禁忌搜索算法(STS)搜索各保护目标下的近似最优选址方案,给出福建省戴云山现有建成区优化方案.结果表明: 戴云山生态值计算结果在空间分布上存在明显差异;ESCP比原集合覆盖模型(SCP)能产生生态值更高的选址方案;SSCP在ESCP基础上对生态值较高区域有聚集作用,且周长权重越大,聚集效果越明显;建议现保护区可向外拓展136 km²,并将西北向分布长苞铁杉的地块纳入保护区范围.研究结果为实现戴云山保护区可持续发展及土地资源优化配置提供了优化方案,也可为我国森林生态系统类型的自然保护区设计提供新思路.     

In and out: Effects of shoot- vs. rooted-presence sampling methods on plant diversity measures in mountain grasslands

Plant diversity measures (e.g., alpha- and beta-diversity) provide the basis for a number of ecological indication and monitoring methods. These measures are based on species counts in sampling units (plots or quadrats). However, there are two alternative conventions for defining a vascular plant species as “present” in a plot, i.e. “shoot presence” (a species is recorded if the vertical projection of any above-ground part falls within the plot) and “rooted presence” (a species is recorded only when an individual is rooted inside the plot). Very few studies addressed the effects of the two sampling conventions on species richness and diversity indices. We sampled mountain dry grasslands in Italy across different plot sizes and vegetation types to assess how large is the difference in alpha- and beta-diversity values and in sample-based rarefaction curves between the two methods. We found that the difference is greatly dependent on plot size, being more relevant, both in absolute and percentage values, at smaller grain; it is also dependent on habitat type, being larger in shallow-soil communities, as they have a sparser vegetation structure and host life-form types with a larger lateral spread. At fine spatial scales (<1 m²) the difference is large enough to bias statistical inference, and we conclude that at such scales one should not attempt to compare plant diversity indices if they were not obtained with the same sampling convention.     

五台山南台旅游活动对山地草甸优势种群格局的影响

利用双项轨迹方差法,对五台山南台不同距离带上紫羊茅、珠芽蓼和北方嵩草的格局进行了研究.结果表明:(1)3个种群在第一带上格局强度很弱,在第五带上格局差异最明显.不同种群在第二、第四带上因旅游活动和种间竞争而表现出不同的格局规律.(2)近距离处,旅游干扰大,尽管紫羊茅是优势种,但它和其他种群一样都表现出斑块化的现象.随着距离的增加,旅游干扰减小,种间竞争激烈,紫羊茅的优势减小,北方嵩草的优势上升,珠芽蓼徘徊不前,种群格局各具特色.远距离处,北方嵩草斑块稳定,规模大,紫羊茅的斑块数量少,规模较小.珠芽蓼没有表现出明显的规律性,这可能与其本身的生理生态有关.     

Changes in dissolved organic material determine exposure of stream benthic communities to UV-B radiation and heavy metals: implications for climate change

Changes in regional climate in the Rocky Mountains over the next 100 years are expected to have significant effects on biogeochemical cycles and hydrological processes. In particular, decreased discharge and lower stream depth during summer when ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is the highest combined with greater photo-oxidation of dissolved organic materials (DOM) will significantly increase exposure of benthic communities to UVR. Communities in many Rocky Mountain streams are simultaneously exposed to elevated metals from abandoned mines, the toxicity and bioavailability of which are also determined by DOM. We integrated field surveys of 19 streams (21 sites) along a gradient of metal contamination with microcosm and field experiments conducted in Colorado, USA, and New Zealand to investigate the influence of DOM on bioavailability of heavy metals and exposure of benthic communities to UVR. Spatial and seasonal variation in DOM were closely related to stream discharge and significantly influenced heavy metal uptake in benthic organisms. Qualitative and quantitative changes in DOM resulting from exposure to sunlight increased UV-B (290–320 nm) penetration and toxicity of heavy metals. Results of microcosm experiments showed that benthic communities from a metal-polluted stream were tolerant of metals, but were more sensitive to UV-B than communities from a reference stream. We speculate that the greater sensitivity of these communities to UV-B resulted from costs associated with metal tolerance. Exclusion of UVR from 12 separate Colorado streams and from outdoor stream microcosms in New Zealand increased the abundance of benthic organisms (mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies) by 18% and 54%, respectively. Our findings demonstrate the importance of considering changes in regional climate and UV-B exposure when assessing the effects of local anthropogenic stressors.     

长白山阔叶红松(Pinus koraiensis)林种子雨组成及其季节动态

为了解阔叶红松(Pinus koraiensis)林的种子雨组成及其在时间和空间上的动态变化,在长白山阔叶红松林25 hm2样地内,设置了150个种子收集器,收集掉落于种子收集器中的果实、种子等.所有收集到的样品分别鉴定其种类并分为成熟种实、未成熟种实、花序和果实或种子碎片及其附属物4类,计算各类别的数量,而后分别烘干秤重.从2005年6月到2006年11月,共收集到隶属11科12属20种的种实及其生殖器官残体.累计收集到121291粒种实,其中成熟种实23147粒,仅占所有种实总个体数的19.1%.种实数最多的树种是紫椴(Tilia amurensis)和水曲柳(Fraxinus mandshurica),两个树种种实的个体数占总个体数的90%.对2006年5月～11月种子雨季节动态的分析发现:种实在7月中旬至10月下旬数量极大,但主要由未成熟种实组成;在10月中旬出现成熟种实散落高峰,但未成熟种实仍占一定的比例.按每个收集器收集到的成熟种实数统计,成熟种实数量在100～200之间的收集器数量最多.按每个收集器收集到的树种数统计,收集器中最多收到的树种数为7,树种数为3和4的收集器个数最多.对6个主要树种成熟种实所在收集器的空间分布进行分析发现,紫椴和水曲柳的成熟种实在整个样地都有分布,春榆(Ulmus japonica)、糠椴(T. mandshurica)、色木槭(Acer mono)和假色槭(A. pseudo-sieboldianum)则只在样地的局部区域收集到成熟种实.成熟种实的空间分布与母树的空间分布大都表现出明显的相关性,表明这些树种的成熟种实并没有扩散到离母树较远的距离.     

Diet of the Indochinese silvered langur (Trachypithecus germaini) in Kien Luong Karst area,Kien Giang Province

The Indochinese silvered langur (Trachypithecus germaini) is distributed to the west of Mekong River in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam. During a two‐year study, from May 2014 to May 2016, we collected 320.44 hr of behavior, with 17,040 feeding bouts recorded (142 hr) for T. germaini on Chua Hang Karst Mountain, Kien Luong District, Kien Giang Province, Vietnam. Feeding accounted for 45% of the Indochinese silvered langurs’ activity budget. The plant diet of the Indochinese silvered langurs was principally composed of young leaves (58%), followed by mature leaves (9.5%), fruits (22.7%), flowers (4.7%), buds (3.3%), petioles (1.2%), and other (0.5%). A total of 58 plant species were fed on by the silvered langurs, and leaves of eight species (Phyllathus reticulatus, Ficus rumphii, Ficus tinctoria, Ficus microcarpa, Cayratia trifolia, Streblus ilicifolia, Combretum latifolium, and Streblus asper) were fed on throughout the year. P. reticulatus was most frequently eaten (13.9% feeding time, n = 1,733). Food selection differed significantly between months and seasons. The Indochinese silvered langurs ate 27 plant species in the wet season compared with 23 plant species in the dry season. Leaf chemical composition of two food categories, 16 eaten species (with 10 most frequently consumed species and six least consumed species), and four noneaten species, were analyzed. Feeding samples from eaten species in the Indochinese silvered langurs's diet contained lower amounts of condensed tannin, lignin, protein, ash, and lipids, but a higher amount of total sugar compared with samples from noneaten species. Furthermore, the most frequently consumed species contained lower amounts of lignin compared with the less frequently consumed species. Using a generalized linear model with five variables, including neutral detergent fiber (NDF), total sugar, lignin, lipid, and calcium (Ca) indicated that NDF positively correlated and lignin content negatively correlated with feeding records in the diet of these langur.     

东灵山辽东栎虫损种子调查

2000年8月底至9月底,在北京东灵山地区小龙门林场对2块辽东栎样地中虫损种子下落动态进行了调查.结果表明:2块样地辽东栎种子产量分别高达19.15和91.23颗·m-2,而2块样地虫损种子较多,分别为49.23和33.38个·m-2,所占种子库比例分别为36.93%和25.96%;1999年研究发现(阎文杰,2000),2样地辽东栎种子产量为13.09和7.24颗·m-2,其中虫损种子产量为10.87和5.90颗·m-2,虫损率高达82.22%和75.43%.2年的观察结果均证实虫损种子在种子雨早期迅速下落,且低产年份的虫损种子在种子库中的比例显著高于高产年份.高比例的虫损种子可能是导致辽东栎实生苗更新率低的重要因素.     

High-elevation mountain hemlock growth as a surrogate for cool-season precipitation in Crater Lake National Park,USA

Snow dominates the hydrology and climate of the United States’ central Pacific Coast, but because local measurements of snowpack and winter precipitation often extend back only a few decades, observations by themselves are not adequate to describe potential amplitude of wintertime conditions. Here we present a set of updated and extended mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana [Bong.] Carr.) tree-ring width records from Crater Lake National Park, Oregon, and use these data to make inferences about snowpack prior to the start of instrumental monitoring. In July and August 2013, we collected cores from 228 trees at seven high-elevation hemlock stands that surround the crater’s rim. The oldest tree had an inner ring date of CE 1474, and the longest ring-width chronology maintained a satisfactory common signal back to the middle of the 16th century. The growth of high-elevation mountain hemlock is strongly and inversely related to cool-season precipitation, making these records some of the most southerly examples of a robust inverse cool-season moisture signal in North American tree rings. The growth of these snow-limited forests does not appear to have been affected by the substantial decline in spring snowpack observed in the past two decades across the broader Cascade Range, and we did not find any indication of changing relationships between tree growth and either monthly or seasonal winter precipitation since the early 1990s. The exceptional three-year sequence in Crater Lake tree rings between CE 1809 and 1811, which includes the narrowest ring since CE 1540 and anatomical abnormalities produced by cold weather, leads us to conclude that 1809–1810 was the most snowy and severe winter to affect south-central Oregon during the past four and a half centuries.