Mechanism of the plant community succession process in the Zhenjiang Waterfront Wetland

In this study, replacement of dominant populations (Phragmites australis and Phalaris arundinacea) in the plant community succession process in the Zhenjiang Waterfront Wetland was approached from three aspects: growth, photosynthesis, and specific competitive characteristics. The productivity of Phragmites, based on intrinsic rate of increase and environmental carrying capacity of the several chosen growth indices (plant length, sheath height, and biomass), was significantly higher than that of Phalaris. Phragmites had a higher photosynthetic rate than Phalaris. However, Phalaris had a markedly lower light compensation point, which suggested that it was capable of better utilization of weak light. This possibly might account for its survival beneath Phragmites. At three different coverage gradients, the relative yield total was greater than 1, indicating a certain degree of complementary resource utilization via niche separation between both species. Significant differences in the competition ratio of both species indicated a superiority of Phragmites over Phalaris in terms of competitive capability. Thus, the Phragmites population tended to exclude the Phalaris population and became the mono-dominant population in the community succession process. For Phalaris, traits such as its better utilization of weak light, its complementary resource utilization, and a partial separation of growth period compared to Phragmites prevented complete replacement of its population to some degree. In this particular study area in the Zhenjiang Waterfront Wetland, the hydrological conditions of the river beach determined by its elevation possibly acted as the dominant regulator of the plant succession process.     

Cortical Plasticity Induced by Spike-Triggered Microstimulation in Primate Somatosensory Cortex

Electrical stimulation of the nervous system for therapeutic purposes, such as deep brain stimulation in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, has been used for decades. Recently, increased attention has focused on using microstimulation to restore functions as diverse as somatosensation and memory. However, how microstimulation changes the neural substrate is still not fully understood. Microstimulation may cause cortical changes that could either compete with or complement natural neural processes, and could result in neuroplastic changes rendering the region dysfunctional or even epileptic. As part of our efforts to produce neuroprosthetic devices and to further study the effects of microstimulation on the cortex, we stimulated and recorded from microelectrode arrays in the hand area of the primary somatosensory cortex (area 1) in two awake macaque monkeys. We applied a simple neuroprosthetic microstimulation protocol to a pair of electrodes in the area 1 array, using either random pulses or pulses time-locked to the recorded spiking activity of a reference neuron. This setup was replicated using a computer model of the thalamocortical system, which consisted of 1980 spiking neurons distributed among six cortical layers and two thalamic nuclei. Experimentally, we found that spike-triggered microstimulation induced cortical plasticity, as shown by increased unit-pair mutual information, while random microstimulation did not. In addition, there was an increased response to touch following spike-triggered microstimulation, along with decreased neural variability. The computer model successfully reproduced both qualitative and quantitative aspects of the experimental findings. The physiological findings of this study suggest that even simple microstimulation protocols can be used to increase somatosensory information flow.     

山岳型乡村旅游地“三生”空间演变及优化——德庆金林水乡的案例实证

以德庆县金林水乡为例,采用参与式观察和空间统计法,选取2000、2008年和2018年3个时段分析旅游发展对山岳型乡村旅游地"三生"空间的影响,并探讨了金林水乡"三生"空间的发展瓶颈及优化路径。研究发现:(1)旅游开发前,金林水乡土地结构与用地功能单一且呈片状分布;村落呈现传统乡村风貌,基础设施不健全;空间形态变化稳定,扩张缓慢。(2)旅游开发后,土地利用类型多样化,出现新型复合用地;土地功能利用复杂化,以服务旅游业为主;村庄景观风貌现代化,生活空间更加宜居。(3)旅游开发前后对比可得,土地平面占地规模化,空间用地以居民点为核心,呈圈层状向外围扩张;生产-生活-生态空间相互转化,乡村聚落重构特征较为显著;村落景观风貌的变化较大,呈现城镇化趋势。(4)金林水乡"三生"空间演化与旅游发展存在的问题表现在生产用地效率不高,生活用地质量较低,生态空间不断萎缩,在旅游产业发展上表现为旅游产品单一且缺乏创新,旅游服务功能不完善等。为此从生活空间的提质、生产空间增效、生态空间保护、旅游产业创新以及土地利用五方面提出优化建议。     

森林固碳释氧服务价值与异养呼吸损失量评估

固碳释氧是森林最重要的生态系统服务之一,将森林碳收支与固碳释氧服务价值评估相结合对于准确评估生态系统服务价值具有重要意义。应用森林碳收支模型(CBM-CFS3),分别基于净初级生产力(NPP)和净生态系统生产力(NEP)评估了2009—2030年湖北省兴山县森林生态系统总、净固碳释氧服务价值的时空动态,量化了异养呼吸造成的固碳释氧服务价值损失。模拟期间兴山县森林生态系统NPP逐渐增加(0.46—0.70 Tg/a),NEP由0.12 Tg/a先增加至0.21 Tg/a,然后逐渐下降至0.18 Tg/a;所对应的森林总、净固碳释氧服务价值范围分别为7.59—11.53亿元/a和2.21—3.70亿元/a。异养呼吸逐年增加,导致固碳释氧价值每年损失平均值为7.29亿元/a或4509元hm~(-2) a~(-1),约占总价值的68.6%。兴山县东南部异养呼吸造成的森林固碳释氧服务价值损失较高,而中部及西南部森林净固碳释氧价值较高。模拟期间兴山县森林为碳汇,稳定地提供固碳释氧服务。与NPP相比,使用NEP评估固碳释氧服务价值更为合理。忽视异养呼吸将严重高估森林生态系统固碳释氧服务价值;因而必须将物质循环过程与生态系统服务评估相结合,以降低评估结果的不确定性、提高生态系统服务的评估能力。     

陕西省新型城镇化与生态环境协调度研究

城镇化与生态环境之间相互影响、相互促进，两系统间耦合协调状态对于区域绿色可持续发展意义重大。以陕西省2005—2019年数据为例，在构建新型城镇化与生态环境系统评价指标体系的基础上结合耦合协调度模型、相对发展模型及面板向量自回归(PVAR)模型分析新型城镇化系统与生态环境系统间的耦合协调时空规律及互动关系。结果表明：(1)陕西省耦合协调度总体呈现“基本不协调—基本协调—中度协调”的演变规律。(2)各市耦合协调发展状态空间差异明显，2005年、2013年、2019年陕西省10个城市新型城镇化与生态环境耦合协调发展状态存在较大差异性，相对发展状态整体上由新型城镇化滞后状态发展为生态环境滞后状态。(3)脉冲响应图反映出新型城镇化与生态环境两系统间存在明显互动关系，前期生态环境受新型城镇化冲击的负向抑制作用，后期影响逐渐减小，受自身冲击较大，而新型城镇化发展前后期均主要受自身影响。本研究认为新型城镇化发展必须以生态为优先，在提高生态承载力的基础上，加速提升陕西省各区域空间人口等不同维度城镇化发展水平，从而实现高质量可持续的绿色发展目标。