Classification of vegetation sequences in Toohey Forest,Queensland

In this paper we consider one method of mapping larger units identified from the spatial pattern of sequences of vegetation types. The basic data were presence/absence data for 6450 stands arranged in 90 transects. A second set of data was derived by averaging the species occurrences in non-overlapping groups of 5 stands. A divisive numerical classification was used to determine the primary vegetation units. In all, 5 different sets of primary types were derived, using different species suites, different sample sizes and different numerical methods. We briefly discuss the types identified and their spatial patterns in the area.Each of these types was then used to define a string of type-codes for every transect so that each transect represents a sample from the landscape containing information on the frequency and spatial distribution of the primary vegetation types. The transects may be classified using a Levenshtein dissimilarity measure and agglomerative hierarchical classification, giving 5 analyses of transects, one for each of the primary types discussed above. We then examine these transect classifications to investigate the stability of the vegetation landspace patterns under changes in species used for the primary classification, in size of sample unit and in method of primary classifications. There is a considerable degree of stability in the results. However it seems with this vegetation that the tree species and non-tree species have considerable independence. We also indicate some problems with this approach and some possible extensions.     

中国植物群落生产力由东向西分布格局及其驱动因素

植物群落生产力是表征植物群落光合生产能力的重要参数,是维护生态系统稳定性与可持续发展的基础。研究沿中国东西样带(WETC)的水热梯度对植物群落展开野外调查,并基于调查数据计算植物群落地上生物量(AGB)及地上净初级生产力(ANPP),结合环境因子对我国植物群落生产力的东西分布格局及其驱动因素进行了探讨。中国东西样带(WETC)沿30°N设置,水热梯度明显,具有良好的植被、气候等环境因素的过渡特征。在该样带上,ANPP和AGB均具有明显的经度地带性和垂直地带性分布特征,并且其空间分布特征能够较好地被环境因子所解释;具体关系为：ANPP、AGB和年降水(MAP)、生长季温度(T_gs)、CO₂分压(Pco₂)呈显著正相关关系,与太阳辐射(SRAD)、风速(WS)、pH为显著负相关关系。由于青藏高原特殊环境的影响,在该样带上除了MAP和T_gs外,Pco₂也成为影响ANPP和AGB空间分布格局的重要因子,该结论为未来研究高海拔地区群落生产力的响应机制提供了新的启示。综上所述,中国东西样带...     

Numerical analysis of vegetation complexes and community diversity of major coastal dinaric mountains

Abstract. This study includes 24 transects on slopes of the Velebit, Biokovo and Orjen mountains, the tallest coastal mountains along the Adriatic Sea, with a very high species richness according to European standards and having the largest regional concentrations of endemics. Within each transect the presence or absence of phytosociological alliances, according to the Zürich-Montpellier School, was interpreted from local studies. The alliance composition of the transects was compared with methods used in numerical syntaxonomy. Three types of vegetation complexes (N. Dinaric inland, transitional and S. Dinaric coastal) were derived from a numerical classification of the transects; they were defined on the basis of their characteristic alliances. The maritime impact affecting the mountains through the river canyons reduces the contrast in vegetation between inland and coastal slopes. The existence of a climatic macrogradient is indicated by seriation of the basic alliance/transect data matrix leading to a diagonal structure, by a gradual shift of the alliance composition within the same vegetational type, and by the distribution of the transects and alliances along the first axis of a Correspondence Analysis ordination. Transect scores on the second ordination axis are negatively correlated with transect vegetational diversity (number of alliances per transect); this axis may reflect a decrease in humidity and temperature range. This interpretation is supported by the result of a comparison of the total mountain vegetational diversity (Mann-Whitney test), which showed that Orjen is the most diverse mountain ridge. The expected correlation between plant community diversity and altitude of the transects is blurred, probably due to the impact of the cold Bora wind and subsequent compression of vegetational zones.     

Pattern analysis in Belgian limestone grasslands

Pattern analyses were made in several limestone grasslands of Belgium. Vegetation has been sampled in continuous transects. Monospecific patterns are defined by means of two non-parametric indices; multivariate analysis (reciprocal averaging) completed the analysis. The following kinds of pattern are described and explained: random, aggregate, clump, gap, stationary density variation, non-stationary density variation, gradient and many complex patterns. The multivariate analysis leads to a careful phytosociological study of the transects and to the definition of floristically homogeneous regions. Some particular points of pattern analysis, the problem of vegetation sampling and some perspectives are discussed.     

中国东北样带生物群区及其对全球气候变化响应的初步探讨

 本文应用室内模拟与野外实地调查相结合的方法,对中国东北森林草原样带上生物群区及其过渡带的位置与面积进行了判定,并预测了未来全球变化条件下生物群区及过渡带可能的变化趋势。结果表明：中国东北样带内的生物群区和过渡带可由基于气候数据和Ho1dridge方法的数量模型较确切地判定出,与实际调查的结果吻合较好。在未来气候变化下,过渡带面积呈扩大化趋势;森林区对降水量的变化反应敏感;草原区地理分布位置变动很大,但其相对面积变化较小;荒漠灌丛对全球变化的反应最为剧烈。     

Environmental controls over carbon exchange of three forest ecosystems in eastern China

Net ecosystem productivity (NEP) was continuously measured using the eddy covariance (EC) technique from 2003 to 2005 at three forest sites of ChinaFLUX. The forests include Changbaishan temperate mixed forest (CBS), Qianyanzhou subtropical coniferous plantation (QYZ), and Dinghushan subtropical evergreen broad‐leaved forest (DHS). They span wide ranges of temperature and precipitation and are influenced by the eastern Asian monsoon climate to varying extent. In this study, we estimated ecosystem respiration (RE) and gross ecosystem productivity (GEP). Comparison of ecosystem carbon exchange among the three forests shows that RE was mainly determined by temperature, with the forest at CBS exhibiting the highest temperature sensitivity among the three ecosystems. The RE was highly dependent on GEP across the three forests, and the ratio of RE to GEP decreased along the North–South Transect of Eastern China (NSTEC) (i.e. from the CBS to the DHS), with an average of 0.77 ± 0.06. Daily GEP was mainly influenced by temperature at CBS, whereas photosynthetic photon flux density was the dominant factor affecting the daily GEP at both QYZ and DHS. Temperature mainly determined the pattern of the interannual variations of ecosystem carbon exchange at CBS. However, water availability primarily controlled the interannual variations of ecosystem carbon exchange at QYZ. At DHS, NEP attained the highest values at the beginning of the dry seasons (autumn) rather than the rainy seasons (summer), probably because insufficient radiation and frequent fog during the rainy seasons hindered canopy photosynthesis. All the three forest ecosystems acted as a carbon sink from 2003 to 2005. The annual average values of NEP at CBS, QYZ, and DHS were 259 ± 19, 354 ± 34, and 434 ± 66 g C m⁻² yr⁻¹, respectively. The slope of NEP that decreased with increasing latitude along the NSTEC was markedly different from that observed on the forest transect in the European continent. Long‐term flux measurements over more forest ecosystems along the NSTEC will further help verify such a difference between the European forest transect and the NSTEC and provide insights into the responses of ecosystem carbon exchange to climate change in China.     

Soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics along a latitudinal transect in Western Siberia, Russia

An 1800-km South to North transect (N 53°43′ to 69°43′) through Western Siberia was established to study the interaction of nitrogen and carbon cycles. The transect comprised all major vegetation zones from steppe, through taiga to tundra and corresponded to a natural temperature gradient of 9.5°C mean annual temperature (MAT). In order to elucidate changes in the control of C and N cycling along this transect, we analyzed physical and chemical properties of soils and microbial structure and activity in the organic and in the mineral horizons, respectively. The impact of vegetation and climate exerted major controls on soil C and N pools (e.g., soil organic matter, total C and dissolved inorganic nitrogen) and process rates (gross N mineralization and heterotrophic respiration) in the organic horizons. In the mineral horizons, however, the impact of climate and vegetation was less pronounced. Gross N mineralization rates decreased in the organic horizons from south to north, while remaining nearly constant in the mineral horizons. Especially, in the northern taiga and southern tundra gross nitrogen mineralization rates were higher in the mineral compared to organic horizons, pointing to strong N limitation in these biomes. Heterotrophic respiration rates did not exhibit a clear trend along the transect, but were generally higher in the organic horizon compared to mineral horizons. Therefore, C and N mineralization were spatially decoupled at the northern taiga and tundra. The climate change implications of these findings (specifically for the Arctic) are discussed.     

How emergence and death assumptions affect count-based estimates of butterfly abundance and lifespan

Transect count data form the basis of many butterfly and other insect monitoring programs worldwide. A clear understanding of the limitations of such datasets, including the potential for biases in the statistical methods used to analyze them, is therefore crucial. The classical Zonneveld model (CZ) can extract estimates of a suite of demographic parameters from transect count datasets, and has also been used in theoretical analyses of protandry and reproductive asynchrony. The CZ relies on strong assumptions about the emergence and death processes underlying observed transect count datasets. Though reasonable as a starting place, a growing body of empirical evidence suggests these assumptions will, in many cases, not hold. Here, I explore how violations of these assumptions bias CZ-based estimates of two key population parameters: total population size and mean individual lifespan. To do this, I generalize the Zonneveld model by relaxing the symmetrical emergence distribution and constant death rate assumptions such that the generalized models contain the CZ as a special case. Using the generalized models as data generating processes, I then show that the CZ is able to closely mimic the shape of the abundance time course produced by either variant of the generalized model under a wide range of conditions, but produces highly biased estimates of population size and mean lifespan in doing so. My analysis therefore demonstrates both that the CZ is not robust to violations of its emergence and death assumptions, and that a good observed fit to transect count data does not mean these assumptions are satisfied.     

南北样带温带区栎属树种种子化学组成与气候因子的关系

选取南北样带温带区8个核心分布区的7种优势栎属树种作为对象,通过检测种子的化学组成,包括淀粉、蛋白质、油脂、可溶性总糖、单宁和脯氨酸,分析其化学组成与气候因子之间的关系,结果发现:在气候因子中,温度是影响种子化学组成的主要因素,日照时数次之,而降水没有明显影响.在南北样带温带区,随纬度的增加,温度降低,年日照时数增加,生长积温减少,生长季缩短,淀粉含量积累下降,并趋向于水解为可溶性糖类;同时,从南到北,为适应低温的环境条件,栎属树种通过增加种子蛋白质、可溶性总糖和脯氨酸的含量,以提高种子的抗寒性.栎属树种种子的化学组成之间存在一定的相互关系,可溶性总糖、蛋白质和脯氨酸之间呈正相关关系,它们三者与淀粉均为负相关,种子化学组成之间的这种相互关系是植物对环境适应的生态策略.