基于模拟景观的城市森林景观格局指数选取

基于现实的沈阳城市森林景观,模拟了4个景观格局梯度,并选取了1个与之相应的现实景观格局梯度,分析了28个景观格局指数在各梯度对景观破碎化和景观斑块形状复杂性的反映,从而筛选出描述这两种景观格局特征的适宜景观格局指数.结果表明：斑块密度（PD）和平均斑块面积（AREA_MN）在城市森林景观破碎化方面表现出较规律的变化趋势,斑块密度随破碎化程度的增加而增加,平均斑块面积随破碎化程度的增加而减小;面积加权平均周长面积比（PARA_AM）在描述景观斑块形状复杂性方面与景观格局梯度相吻合,且随斑块形状复杂性的增加而增加,能够较为准确地描述景观斑块形状的复杂性.     

海河流域景观空间梯度格局及其与环境因子的关系

基于GIS技术,以海河流域为对象,首先,分别采用Fragstats3.3的标准法和移动视窗法先后分析了流域整体景观格局及其空间分异特征;然后,针对流域本身自然地理梯度特点,分别沿流域纵向(河流流向)梯度和横向(垂直与河流流向)梯度设置了两条样带,应用移动视窗法计算了景观层次下的斑块面积(AREA_MN)、蔓延度指数(CONTAG)、边界密度(ED)、形状指数(LSI)、斑块密度(PD)、多样性指数(SHDI),获得了景观沿两个样带方向的梯度格局;最后,以高程、降水、气温、人口和GDP为环境因子,以上述6个指数值为目标物种,利用去趋势典范对应分析(DCCA)方法研究了景观梯度格局与环境因子的关系。结果表明:2000年海河流域内景观基质为农田,面积占55.9%,流域内景观结构以块状结构为主,并零散分布有圈层和带状(廊道)结构;景观梯度格局在两条样带上均表现为类似的特征,即随景观类型变化呈现不同幅度的波动,两条样带上均存在较为明显的过渡带;DCCA分析表明:景观梯度格局与环境因子关系密切,区域高程、降水量、温度对流域尺度的景观格局起决定性作用,人口数量、GDP则在局部地区对景观格局有着重要影响。     

Evaluating the effectiveness of landscape configuration metrics from landscape composition metrics

Although landscape configuration and landscape composition metrics are correlated theoretically and empirically, the effectiveness of configuration metrics from composition metrics has not been explicitly investigated. This study explored to what extent substantial information of configuration metrics increases from certain easily calculated and extensively used composition metrics and how strongly the effectiveness is influenced by different factors. The effectiveness of 12 landscape configuration metrics from the percentage of landscape (PLAND) of each land-use class and patch density (PD) was evaluated through the coefficient of determination (R ²) of multivariate stepwise linear regression analysis of 150 town-based landscape samples from three regions. The different landscape configuration metrics from PLAND and PD presented significantly different performances in terms of effectiveness [the contagion index and aggregation index possess minimal information, and the effective mesh size (MESH) and area-weighted mean patch fractal dimension possess abundant information]. Furthermore, the effectiveness of configuration metrics showed different responses to changing cell sizes and different land-use categorization in different regions (interspersion and juxtaposition index, patch cohesion index, and MESH exhibited large variations in R ² among the different regions). No single, uniform, consistent characteristic of effectiveness was determined across different factors. This new approach to understanding the effectiveness of configuration metrics helps clarify landscape metrics and is fundamental to landscape metric assessment.     

Pitfalls and challenges of estimating population growth rate from empirical data: consequences for allometric scaling relations

The intrinsic rate of increase is a fundamental concept in population ecology, and a variety of problems require that estimates of population growth rate be obtained from empirical data. However, depending on the extent and type of data available (e.g. time series, life tables, life history traits), several alternative empirical estimators of population growth rate are possible. Because these estimators make different assumptions about the nature of age‐dependent mortality and density‐dependence of population dynamics, among other factors, these quantities capture fundamentally different aspects of population growth and are not interchangeable. Nevertheless, they have been routinely commingled in recent ecoinformatic analyses relating to allometry and conservation biology. Here we clarify some of the confusion regarding the empirical estimation of population growth rate and present separate analyses of the frequency distributions and allometric scaling of three alternative, non‐interchangeable measures of population growth. Studies of allometric scaling of population growth rate with body size are additionally sensitive to the statistical line fitting approach used, and we find that different approaches yield different allometric scaling slopes. Across the mix of population growth estimators and line fitting techniques, we find scattered and limited support for the key allometric prediction from the metabolic theory of ecology, namely that log₁₀(population growth rate) should scale as ?0.25 power of log₁₀(body mass). More importantly, we conclude that the question of allometric scaling of population growth rate with body size is highly sensitive to previously unexamined assumptions regarding both the appropriate population growth parameter to be compared and the line fitting approach used to examine the data. Finally, we suggest that the ultimate test of allometric scaling of maximum population growth rates with body size has not been done and, moreover, may require data that are not currently available.     

景观指数耦合景观格局与土壤侵蚀的有效性

景观格局分析是景观生态学中揭示景观变化及其生态效应的主要方法,而景观指数是景观格局分析中广泛使用的工具。土壤侵蚀是土壤物质在景观中的迁移和再分配过程,受地形、植被和人类活动及其空间格局的调控。运用景观格局分析揭示景观格局变化特别是土地利用/覆被格局变化对土壤侵蚀的影响是土壤侵蚀研究中应用景观生态学原理和方法的典型。在当前的研究中,斑块-廊道-基质范式下建立的景观指数对侵蚀过程的解释能力不断受到质疑,建立筛选适用的景观指数的原则和方法十分必要。以延河流域碾庄沟小流域为例,利用WATEM/SEDEM模型模拟多个年份流域侵蚀产沙和输沙量;基于土地利用/覆被数据,利用Fragstat4.2软件,计算了相应年份流域斑块、边界密度、形状、集聚与分散和斑块类型多样性4个方面的代表性景观指数。在此基础上,分析了景观指数与流域侵蚀产沙和输沙之间的关系,讨论了景观指数在土壤侵蚀研究中的有效性,在景观和斑块类型水平上分析了景观指数表达"源"、"汇"两大类景观类型的空间格局与侵蚀产沙和输沙之间的关系的一致性。结果表明:斑块-廊道-基底范式下发展的景观指数在指示景观格局的土壤侵蚀效应时存在局限。相对而言,斑块类型尺度的景观指数更能有效表达景观格局与土壤侵蚀的关系。基于景观类型在土壤侵蚀过程中的"源"、"汇"功能,提出了在土壤侵蚀研究中筛选适用的景观指数的原则:(1)对"源"、"汇"两类景观类型,景观指数与土壤侵蚀状况表征变量的相关系数符号相反;(2)对同为"源"或"汇"景观类型的多个景观类型,景观指数与土壤侵蚀表征变量的相关系数应具有符号一致性。尽管景观指数在斑块类型水平上具有一定的有效性,但用其预测景观格局变化的侵蚀效应有很大的不确定性。因此,基于土壤侵蚀过程与景观格局的作用机制发展新型的景观指数是增强景观格局分析预测土壤侵蚀过程的能力的途径。     

景观格局指标对不同景观格局的反应

探讨了在人为控制不同因子变量的条件下各景观格局指标对由中性随机模型产生的不同景观格局系列的反应 ,以评价一些常用指标的实用性和局限性。研究结果表明 ,大部分指标所指示的格局特征往往是不全面的 ,即它们只对格局系列中个别因子的变化敏感 ,而对另一些因子的变化反应迟钝。比较值得推荐的指标有 :总斑块数目 ,平均斑块大小 ,总边界密度 ,分维数 ,蔓延度 ,聚集度。但即使是这些指标 ,也各有其局限性 ,且存在冗余。由此提醒读者在运用景观格局指标时应在了解其实际意义的基础上 ,结合生态学过程慎重选择和解释 ,避免陷于数字游戏。     

Food encounter rate of simulated termite tunnels in heterogeneous landscapes

The aim of this study was to explore how a heterogeneous landscape affects food encounter rate in the Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki. To do this, a lattice model was formulated to simulate the tunneling structure of the termite. The model made use of minimized local rules derived from empirical data. In addition, a landscape structure was generated on a lattice space by using a neutral landscape model. Each lattice cell has a value h, representing spatially distributed property of the landscape (e.g., temperature or moisture). The heterogeneity of the landscape was characterized by a parameter, H controlling aggregation of lattice cells with higher values of h. Higher H values correspond to higher aggregation levels. The effect of the landscape heterogeneity on the encounter rate was clear in the presence of higher food density than in lower density. The effect was also enhanced by the increase of the number of primary tunnels.     

Evaluating the effectiveness of landscape metrics in quantifying spatial patterns

The effectiveness of landscape metrics in quantifying spatial patterns is fundamental to metrics assessment. Setting 36 simulated landscapes as sample space and focusing on 23 widely used landscape metrics, their effectiveness in quantifying the complexity of such spatial pattern components as number of patch types, area ratio of patch types and patch aggregation level, were analyzed with the application of the multivariate linear regression analysis method. The results showed that all the metrics were effective in quantifying a certain component of spatial patterns, and proved that what the metrics quantified were not a single component but the complexity of several components of spatial patterns. The study also showed a distinct inconsistency between the performances of landscape metrics in simulated landscapes and the real urban landscape of Shenzhen, China. It was suggested that the inconsistency resulted from the difference of the correlation among spatial pattern components between simulated and real landscapes. After considering the very difference, the changes of all 23 landscape metrics against changing of number of patch types in simulated landscapes were consistent with those in the real landscape. The phenomenon was deduced as the sign effect of spatial pattern components on landscape metrics, which was of great significance to the proper use of landscape metrics.     

Evaluating the use of pairwise dissimilarity metrics in paleoanthropology

Questions of alpha taxonomy are best addressed by comparing unknown specimens to samples of the taxa to which they might belong. However, analysis of the hominin fossil record is riddled with methods that claim to evaluate whether pairs of individual fossils belong to the same species. Two such methods, log se_m and the related STET method, have been introduced and used in studies of fossil hominins. Both methods attempt to quantify morphological dissimilarity for a pair of fossils and then evaluate a null hypothesis of conspecificity using the assumption that pairs of fossils that fall beneath a predefined dissimilarity threshold are likely to belong to the same species, whereas pairs of fossils above that threshold are likely to belong to different species. In this contribution, we address (1) whether these particular methods do what they claim to do, and (2) whether such approaches can ever reliably address the question of conspecificity. We show that log se_m and STET do not reliably measure deviations from shape similarity, and that values of these measures for any pair of fossils are highly dependent upon the number of variables compared. To address these issues we develop a measure of shape dissimilarity, the Standard Deviation of Logged Ratios (s_LR). We suggest that while pairwise dissimilarity metrics that accurately measure deviations from isometry (e.g., s_LR) may be useful for addressing some questions that relate to morphological variation, no pairwise method can reliably answer the question of whether two fossils are conspecific.     

Density-dependent nest predation – an experiment with simulated Mallard nests in contrasting landscapes

Breeding success is a key element of animal population dynamics. In many taxa including birds, nest success, or the proportion of laid clutches that actually hatch, is mainly determined by predation. Previous research gives an inconsistent picture of the prevalence of density-dependent nest predation and one reason for this is the general lack of well-designed replicated experiments. Using simulated Mallard Anas platyrhynchos nests and a crossover design for 20 lakes in the nemoral and boreal biotic zones, we tested the predictions that nest survival is negatively density-dependent and that nest predation is higher in agricultural than in forested landscapes. Study day and daily abundance of waterfowl, other waterbirds, as well as avian predators were included as covariates in the analysis. Model fitting in program mark revealed a general negative effect of nest density on nest survival. In addition, nest survival rate was higher at forest lakes than at lakes in agricultural landscapes, irrespective of nest density. The only covariate producing model improvement was study day; older nests had higher survival rates than recently initiated ones. This is the first replicated lake-level experimental study showing that nest predation is density-dependent in waterfowl. The pattern was consistent between landscape types, implying that density-dependent nest predation may affect habitat choice and population dynamics over large parts of the Mallard's range.     

Linear relations in biomechanics: the statistics of scaling functions

The problem of fitting a linear relation to a bivariate data cluster obtained from morphometric measurement or from experiment is formulated rigorously, and a family of solutions (the general structural relation , g.s.r.) is derived. The regression, reduced major axis and major axis models are special cases of this model; it permits a more realistic treatment of the errors in the variates, in particular when the errors are correlated, which is particularly important in the many biological situations in which the variates contain uncontrolled real variation in addition to measurement errors. The analysis is particularly directed to the testing of hypotheses about scaling relations derived from biomechanical theory. By making different assumptions about the configuration of the errors, the g.s.r. can also be used to test for transposition allometry and for the significance of an estimated or hypothesized gradient. The model generalizes simply to multivariate problems. Application is demonstrated with examples drawn from the study of bird flight mechanics. Finally, it is demonstrated that since observed quantities correspond to peaks of adaptation or of selective fitness, scaling relations are determined primarily by scale variation of constraints on adaptation and behaviour, and are the result of a variety of interacting factors rather than a response to a single selective force described by one simple hypothesis.     

Hotspots and richness pattern of grasshopper species in cultural landscapes

The success of the hotspot approach for biodiversity conservation depends on the spatial scale and the indicator species used. In this study, we investigated grasshopper species richness in Switzerland at a 1 ha resolution including a total of 111 species. We compared the representativeness of common and of endangered grasshopper species for the overall grasshopper species richness and we assessed the efficiency of the hotspot approach for grasshopper conservation. The pattern of overall grasshopper species richness was well represented by both the number of common and the number of endangered grasshopper species. For evaluating the efficiency of different hotspot approaches for conservation, we compared hotspots of common species, hotspots of endangered species (rarity hotspots), and hotspots of all grasshopper species (richness hotspots). Among these hotspot types, richness hotspots not only featured most common grasshopper species, but they even contained more endangered species than the rarity hotspots. The combination of rarity hotspots and hotspots of common species featured more species than the other combinations of hotspot types. However, the gain of combining two hotspot types compared to the single-hotspot approach was low (max. 3 species). About 24% of the species were not contained in any of the hotspots. These grasshopper species require species-specific action plans. As rarity hotspots were located in areas that are rather strongly affected by landscape change, species richness in rarity hotspots may decrease in the future. We conclude that, for grasshoppers, the hotspot approach on the 1 ha scale can be an effective way to conserve a high proportion of species richness.     

Unraveling landscapes with phytogenic mounds (nebkhas): An exploration of spatial pattern

Phytogenic mounds (nebkhas) often are symptoms of desertification in arid regions. Interactions among nebkhas and between nebkhas and their environment are however poorly examined. To this end, three main hypotheses of nebkha pattern formation were evaluated in this study. These state that nebkha patterns are either shaped by: (i) biologically induced recruitment inhibiting zones, (ii) biologically induced recruitment encouraging zones, or (iii) by the spatial distribution of abiotic factors which are not biologically driven. Contrasting nebkha landscapes were examined: a highly dense New Mexican mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) and snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae and Gutierrezia microcephala) ecosystem, and a low-density mixed Tamarix aphylla and Calligonum comosum field in central Libya. Spatial second-order statistics of strategically chosen nebkha subpatterns were compared with those of null models in which observed patches were spatially randomized without overlap. Null model deviations were assessed with goodness-of-fit tests, and interpreted in terms of hypothesized mechanisms of nebkha pattern formation. Our results suggest that biologically induced recruitment inhibiting zones surround adult mesquite nebkhas. The configuration of Calligonum and Tamarix nebkhas may be driven by spatial dynamics of abiotic microsites which are not caused by nebkha interactions. Hence we conclude that both biotic and abiotic drivers can shape nebkha spatial patterns.     

Spatial pattern of habitat quality modulates population persistence in fragmented landscapes

Habitat quality is one of the important factors determining population dynamics and persistence, yet few studies have examined the effects of spatial heterogeneity in within-patch habitat quality. In this paper, we use a spatially explicit agent-based model to investigate how habitat fragmentation and spatial pattern of within-patch habitat quality affect population dynamics and long-term persistence. We simulate three levels of habitat fragmentation (ranges from continuous to highly fragmented) and three types of spatial patterns in habitat quality within patches (i.e., negatively autocorrelated, randomly distributed, and positively autocorrelated). Hypothetical species differ in their niche specialization. The results demonstrate explicitly that the spatial pattern of within-patch habitat quality plays an important role in modulating the effects of habitat fragmentation on populations. Populations become less variable in size, and experience lower probability of extinction in landscapes with positively autocorrelated within-patch habitat quality. Specifically, specialized species are more vulnerable to habitat fragmentation, but this vulnerability is greatly mitigated by positively autocorrelated habitat quality within patches, in other words, exhibiting higher resistance to habitat fragmentation. The findings of this study suggest that managing habitat quality in existing habitat remnants is important to preserve species in habitats undergoing fragmentation, particularly for those with specialized habitat requirements.     

Effects of topographic variability on the scaling of plant species richness in gradient dominated landscapes

It is commonly assumed that variation in abiotic site conditions influences the number of niches, which in turn affects the potential species richness in an area. Based on theoretical considerations, abiotic variation is often used as an estimator of species richness at broad scales, while at finer landscape scales the diversity of habitat types is used. However, habitat estimators assume the landscape to be composed of discrete, homogeneous patches with sharp boundaries, and such a concept is hard to apply in gradient-dominated landscapes. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the influence of topographic variability (TV) on species richness at the landscape level (gamma (γ) diversity) and on its components (alpha (α) and beta (β) diversity) at microsite and habitat group levels. Using floristic data from 12 "landscapes" of 1 km² we investigated the influence on diversity components of two simple and one complex measures of TV. While the standard deviation (SD) of altitude explained a high proportion of the variation in γ diversity (linear regression model, R²=0.63), the complex measure, SD of solar radiation explained it even better (R²=0.82). There were strong effects of TV on α and β diversity components at the microsite level, but only marginal increases of the diversity components at the habitat level. Further analyses revealed that the missing increase of the habitat level components was caused by differences between habitat groups and that only grassland diversity components increased significantly with TV. We conclude that TV at a landscape scale has strong effects on niche or microsite diversity and is an appropriate estimator of relative species richness in landscapes that are topographically heterogeneous and gradient dominated.     

Landscape heterogeneity metrics as indicators of bird diversity: Determining the optimal spatial scales in different landscapes

Species distribution models are often used to study the biodiversity of ecosystems. The modelling process uses a number of parameters to predict others, such as the occurrence of determinate species, population size, habitat suitability or biodiversity. It is well known that the heterogeneity of landscapes can lead to changes in species’ abundance and biodiversity. However, landscape metrics depend on maps and spatial scales when it comes to undertaking a GIS analysis.We explored the goodness of fit of several models using the metrics of landscape heterogeneity and altitude as predictors of bird diversity in different landscapes and spatial scales. Two variables were used to describe biodiversity: bird richness and trophic level diversity, both of which were obtained from a breeding bird survey by means of point counts. The relationships between biodiversity and landscape metrics were compared using multiple linear regressions. All of the analyses were repeated for 14 different spatial scales and for cultivated, forest and grassland environments to determine the optimal spatial scale for each landscape typology.Our results revealed that the relationships between species’ richness and landscape heterogeneity using 1:10,000 land cover maps were strongest when working on a spatial scale up to a radius of 125–250 m around the sampled point (circa 4.9–19.6 ha). Furthermore, the correlation between measures of landscape heterogeneity and bird diversity was greater in grasslands than in cultivated or forested areas. The multi-spatial scale approach is useful for (a) assessing the accuracy of surrogates of bird diversity in different landscapes and (b) optimizing spatial model procedures for biodiversity mapping, mainly over extensive areas.     

基于3DLP指数的景观格局演变及预测分析

采用1987、1999、2009和2017年四期Landsat TM/OLI数据,结合GIS和RS技术,从类型和景观层面计算安化县四个年度的3DLP指数,分析安化县近30年来景观格局的动态演变并利用CA-Markov模型对2025年景观格局演变进行模拟和预测,为推动该县今后生态环境的进一步恢复和改善提供指导。结果表明:(1)林地是安化县的优势景观,对安化县景观的主控作用强。(2)从不同景观类型来看,1987—2017年期间安化县各景观破碎化情况均有所缓解,其中建设用地、林地面积增加,草地、水域、农地面积减少;林地、水域边界形状趋于简单化,建设用地、草地边界形状趋向复杂化,农地边界形状受人类活动影响较小。(3)从整体景观来看,安化县景观格局的演变主要是受到人为因素的影响,1999年整体边界形状变得更为规则,同时破碎化程度、景观异构性以及多样性有所提高。1999—2017年各类景观类型的面积比例差异增大,破碎化程度以及景观异质程度降低,优势景观类型份额增加。(4)根据预测结果来看,安化县整体趋向均衡化发展,边界形状趋向规则化,景观异质性程度降低,各类景观类型的面积比例差异减小,林地出现被其他景观蚕食分割的趋势,因此需要进一步提高对林地的重视和保护,限制其他景观类型对林地的干扰。     

Water relations pattern of understorey species influenced by sunflecks

Water relations of plant cenopopulations of understorey species (7 herbaceous perennials, 1 shrub, and 1 tree seedling) growing in an oak-hornbeam forest in SW. Slovakia is markedly influenced by natural sunflecks moving on the forest floor, where stomatal conductance and transpiration rate are significantly higher than in shade areas. In the course of a day, the leaf stomatal conductance fluctuates, following irradiance of the leaf, from minimum in full shade to maximum in sunflecks, including intermediate values in transient conditions. Therefore, there is also a large variability in water saturation deficit and transpiration rate within the cenopopulations of the understorey species. These variations should be considered in modelling the physiology of woodland understorey species.