Biodiversity in montane Britain: habitat variation,vegetation diversity and some objectives for conservation

The montane (low- to mid-alpine) zone in Great Britain (GB) lies above the potential tree-line (700–800 m, but descending to 200 m in the north). It is composed of moss and lichen heaths, snowbeds, blanket bog and dwarf-shrub (Ericaceae) health-covered solifluction/gelifluction terraces (38 communities/sub-communities). Approximately 3.0% of the land surface is covered by this- the most extensive predominantly near-natural terrestrial habitat in GB. Internationally distinctive features include oceanic and southern biotic outliers of arctic-alpine fellfield and mountain tundra, and plant communities that are either globally rare/localised or especially well represented in GB. The absence of extensive sub-alpineBetula spp. andSalix spp. scrub is striking.The main sources of habitat diversity are climate, regional variation in topography and geology, and regional modifications due to land-use impact. Over 50 examples are given. Five important gradients in Scottish Highland vegetation are described. Only some 15% of the sampled montane vegetation is anthropogenic; the rest is semi- or near-natural. The vegetation is divided into 5 functional groups: chionophobous (avoids snow), chionophilous (prefers snow), species-rich, mires (including springs and flushes), and anthropogenic. Chionophobous and then chionophilous communities contribute most to montane vegetation diversity (calculated here as the ShannonH diversity index).H diversity increases asymptotically with montane site area but linearly with the number of communities present. A more varied topography, geology and topo-climate gives the highestH diversity.Two examples of montane biodiversity reductions south of the Highlands are the loss of prostrateCalluna vulgaris heaths and modification ofRacomitrium lanuginosum healths. Five objectives for nature conservation are proposed, covering restoration of montaneR. lanuginosum healths, prostrate dwarf-shrub dominated heaths, sub-alpine scrub and upper treelines, and the extension of the breeding ranges of both ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus) and dotterel (Charadrius morinellus) south of the Scottish Highlands. International support for monitoring is sought.     

Monitoring vegetation in the future: radar

HOLMES, M. G., 1992. Monitoring vegetation in the future: radar. The use of radar for remote sensing of the biosphere has several advantages over conventional methods using the visible and infra-red wavebands. These advantages include independence from solar energy, an all-weather capability, and the ability to select an appropriate wavelength to study either the surface layers of vegetation or to penetrate deeper into the canopy to study the properties of undergrowth or the soil substrate. Despite these advantages, radar remote sensing is still in the developmental stage. The mode of operation of the radar instrument, and the physical laws governing the propagation of microwaves in scattering media, introduce some unique aspects for remote sensing of the biosphere.
Increased interest in radar has arisen primarily from the need to make multi-temporal studies of vegetation in areas which are susceptible to cloud cover, such as temperate and equatorial regions. Radar penetrates all but the densest cloud, and therefore overcomes this problem. At the same time, however, many of these wavelengths also penetrate deeply into the crop. As a result, analysis of the principles controlling the interaction of radar wavelengths with vegetation and soil are complex. These principles are discussed in terms of current microwave backscatter models.
Vegetation and soil factors influencing radar backscatter are discussed, and the significance of instrument characteristics such as frequency, polarization and incidence angle are considered. The advantages and disadvantages of radar are reviewed, and particular reference is made to the potential of combining optical and radar studies.     

Fifty years of vegetation change in oceanic-montane liverwort-rich heath in Scotland

Background: Liverwort heath is considered in Scotland to be one of the vegetation types most vulnerable to environmental change, yet detailed insights into its dynamics are lacking.

Aims: To assess the nature and extent of plant compositional changes in liverwort heath over 50 years and relate this to environmental change drivers.

Methods: Vegetation plots previously recorded 20 and 50 years ago were re-surveyed to assess changes in species composition, plot-level species richness and between-plot variability, using several β-diversity indices and partitioning. The environmental indicator values of the species that showed most change were used to identify the environmental drivers of change.

Results: Liverwort heath in north-west Scotland has undergone compositional changes over 50 years, becoming more heterogeneous, and losing some of its distinct character. Dwarf shrubs and specialist liverworts have decreased, while graminoids have increased. Partitioning of change in β diversity indicated that mainly changes in species richness, rather than species turnover, have driven the taxonomic differentiation over time. Grazing, eutrophication and warmer and drier conditions were found to be potentially important drivers of the observed vegetation change.

Conclusions: Our results highlight the vulnerability of liverwort heath to environmental change.     

Annual variation in the distribution of summer snowdrifts in the Kosciuszko alpine area,Australia, and its effect on the composition and structure of alpine vegetation

Abstract Australian alpine ecosystems are expected to diminish in extent as global warming intensifies. Alpine vegetation patterns are influenced by the duration of snow cover including the presence of snowdrifts in summer, but there is little quantitative information on landscape‐scale relationships between vegetation patterns and the frequency of occurrence of persistent summer snowdrifts in the Australian alps. We mapped annual changes in summer snowdrifts in the Kosciuszko alpine region, Australia, from Landsat TM images and modelled the frequency of occurrence of persistent summer snowdrifts from long‐term records (1954–2003) of winter snow depth. We then compared vegetation composition and structure among four classes that differed in the frequency of occurrence of persistent summer snowdrifts. We found a curvilinear relationship between annual winter snow depth and the area occupied by persistent snowdrifts in the following summer (r² = 0.9756). Only 21 ha (0.42% of study area) was predicted to have supported summer snowdrifts in 80% of the past 50 years, while 440 ha supported persistent summer snow in 10% of years. Mean cover and species richness of vascular plants declined significantly, and species composition varied significantly, as the frequency of summer snow persistence increased. Cushion plants and rushes were most abundant where summer snowdrifts occurred most frequently, and shrubs, grasses and sedges were most abundant in areas that did not support snowdrifts in summer. The results demonstrate strong regional relationships between vegetation composition and structure and the frequency of occurrence of persistent summer snowdrifts. Reductions in winter snow depth due to global warming are expected to lead to substantial reductions in the extent of persistent summer snowdrifts. As a consequence, shrubs, grasses and sedges are predicted to expand at the expense of cushion plants and rushes, reducing landscape vegetation diversity. Fortunately, few vascular plant species (e.g. Ranunculus niphophilus) appear to be totally restricted to areas where summer snow occurs most frequently. The results from this study highlight potential indicator species that could be monitored to assess the effects of global warming on Australian alpine environments.     

Reconstructing pre-impact vegetation cover in modified landscapes using environmental modelling, historical surveys and remnant vegetation data: a case study in the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia

Aim To investigate the application of environmental modelling to reconstructive mapping of pre‐impact vegetation using historical survey records and remnant vegetation data. Location The higher elevation regions of the Fleurieu Peninsula region in South Australia were selected as a case study. The Fleurieu Peninsula is an area typical of many agricultural regions in temperate Australia that have undergone massive environmental transformation since European settlement. Around 9% of the present land cover is remnant vegetation and historical survey records from the ad 1880s exist. It is a region with strong gradients in climate and topography. Methods Records of pre‐impact vegetation distribution made in surveyors’ field notebooks were transcribed into a geographical information system and the spatial and classificatory accuracy of these records was assessed. Maps of remnant vegetation distribution were obtained. Analysis was undertaken to quantify the environmental domains of historical survey record and remnant vegetation data to selected meso‐scaled climatic parameters and topo‐scaled terrain‐related indices at a 20 m resolution. An exploratory analytical procedure was used to quantify the probability of occurrence of vegetation types in environmental domains. Probability models spatially extended to geographical space produce maps of the probability of occurrence of vegetation types. Individual probability maps were combined to produce a pre‐impact vegetation map of the region. Results Surveyors’ field notebook records provide reliable information that is accurately locatable to levels of resolution such that the vegetation data can be spatially correlated with environmental variables generated on 20 m resolution environmental data sets. Historical survey records of vegetation were weakly correlated with the topo‐scaled environmental variables but were correlated with meso‐scaled climate. Remnant vegetation records similarly not only correlated to climate but also displayed stronger relationships with the topo‐scaled environmental variables, particularly slope. Main conclusions A major conclusion of this study is that multiple sources of evidence are required to reconstruct past vegetation patterns in heavily transformed region. Neither the remnant vegetation data nor historical survey records provided adequate data sets on their own to reconstruct the pre‐impact vegetation of the Fleurieu Peninsula. Multiple sources of evidence provide the only means of assessing the environmental and historical representativeness of data sets. The spatial distribution of historical survey records was more environmentally representative than remnant vegetation data, which reflect biases due to land clearance. Historical survey records were also shown to be classificatory and spatially accurate, thus are suitable for quantitative spatial analyses. Analysis of different spatial vegetation data sets in an environmental modelling framework provided a rigorous means of assessing and comparing respective data sets as well as mapping their predicted distributions based on quantitative correlations. The method could be usefully applied to other regions where predictions of pre‐impact vegetation cover are required.     

Species composition of coastal dune vegetation in Scotland has proved resistant to climate change over a third of a century

Climate change is expected to have an impact on plant communities as increased temperatures are expected to drive individual species' distributions polewards. The results of a revisitation study after c. 34 years of 89 coastal sites in Scotland, UK, were examined to assess the degree of shifts in species composition that could be accounted for by climate change. There was little evidence for either species retreat northwards or for plots to become more dominated by species with a more southern distribution. At a few sites where significant change occurred, the changes were accounted for by the invasion, or in one instance the removal, of woody species. Also, the vegetation types that showed the most sensitivity to change were all early successional types and changes were primarily the result of succession rather than climate‐driven changes. Dune vegetation appears resistant to climate change impacts on the vegetation, either as the vegetation is inherently resistant to change, management prevents increased dominance of more southerly species or because of dispersal limitation to geographically isolated sites.     

西藏珠峰－卓奥友峰普士拉地区高山稀疏植被的群落特征及小地形的影响

在西藏定日县珠穆朗玛峰-卓奥友峰附近的普士拉地区的-山坡上(海拔5176—5390m),设置13个样方。进行群落调查、小地形测定和土壤剖面调查,分析该地区高寒植被的群落特征及其与小地形的关系。13个样方(面积25—200m^2不等)中,共记载物种80个(含变种和亚种),分别隶属于47个属。出现频度较高的种有高山嵩草(Kobresia pygmaea)、矮兔耳草(Lagottes humilis)、楔叶委陵菜(Potentilla funeata)、华马先蒿(Pedicularis oederi var.sinensis)、高山委陵菜(Potentilla polyjchista)、密生雪灵芝(Arenaria densissima)等;含物种数较多的属有：虎耳草属(Saxifraga)、风毛菊属(Saussurea)、嵩草属(Kobresia)、委陵菜属(Potentilla)、龙胆属(Gentiana)、葶苈属(Draba)等。随着海拔降低,物种和属的丰富度呈现出上升的趋势在该地区,植被盖度能较好地指示生境条件。等级聚类的结果也支持了这一观点：随着植被盖度的增加,转换物种丰富度(TSR)和转换属丰富度(TGR)增加,而物种多样性指数(Shannon-Wiener指数)减小。利用物种矩阵以及海拔、坡度、坡向、土壤深度、植被盖度等环境变量进行CCA排序,结果分出4类生境类型,它们较好地反映了群落特征与地形的关系。     

水淹频率变化对鄱阳湖增强型植被指数的影响

水淹状况是湿地植被动态的重要影响因素。该研究基于谷歌地球引擎(GEE)平台, 利用2000-03-01至2020-02-29所有覆盖研究区域的MODIS遥感影像数据, 分析20年间水淹频率(IF)、增强型植被指数(EVI)的时空变化以及湿地植被对IF变化的响应, 得出以下结论: (1) 20年来鄱阳湖水文节律发生了明显改变, 高IF (IF > 75%)水域面积呈现下降趋势, 从2000年1 435.3 km²下降至2019年的510.25 km², 降幅为64.45%; (2)区域平均EVI呈显著上升趋势, 植被扩张主要集中在中部IF下降区域; (3)分析不同总水淹频率区域中平均EVI年际变化, 发现EVI与水淹状况的变化趋势相似, 2009年之后鄱阳湖水域面积萎缩趋势缓解, EVI增长速度出现下降; (4)鄱阳湖湿地植被主要沿水域面积萎缩方向扩张, 基于像元统计20年间IF与EVI的变化趋势, 发现它们在空间分布上高度吻合, 这种空间异质性进一步证实水淹状况起到调节植被动态变化的作用。     

基于林业清查资料的桂西北植被碳空间分布及其变化特征

基于2005-2010年林业资源清查数据,采用材积源生物量法,运用地理信息系统技术,估算和分析了桂西北植被碳密度及其储量的空间分布及其变化。结果显示:(1) 研究区域从2005年到2010年呈现碳汇变化趋势,植被碳储量由4.19×10⁴t增加到4.27×10⁴t(增幅为1.84%),植被碳密度从29.04t/hm²增加到29.57 t/hm²。(2) 从治理措施、林种起源方式及林种类型来看,自然保护区的植被碳密度最大,超过40 t/hm²。2005-2010年,人工植苗、直播、飞播和萌生方式植被碳密度增加,退耕还林工程的植被碳密度均呈明显增长(增加3.00 t/hm²),所有林种碳密度都呈不同程度的增长。 (3)植被碳密度空间分布上,大致表现为西部高、中东部低,北部高、南部低。西部区植被碳密度均值超过40 t/hm²,中东部区植被碳密度均值低于25 t/hm²。植被碳密度变化在空间分布上表现为无论是非喀斯特区还是喀斯特区的植被碳密度都有增长趋势,其中有7个县市植被碳密度升级为更高等级。研究表明,随着退耕还林、生态移民等治理措施的实施,区域植被碳密度显著增加,生态环境好转。     

基于植被信息季节变换的植被覆盖度变化——以福建省连江县为例

基于植被覆盖度的植被信息遥感变化检测已成为研究植被及其相关生态系统变化的主要途径,但由于云覆盖等天气条件的影响,很难获得不同年份同一季节覆盖整个研究区的光学遥感影像来进行植被变化检测,而采用季节差异的影像必然会影响植被变化检测的结果.为此,本研究利用中高分辨率遥感数据的空间分辨率优势和MODIS遥感数据的时间分辨率优势,基于二者关系的拟合,提出一种植被信息季节变换的方法,将不同季节影像的植被覆盖度变换到研究所需的季节上.结果表明: 将该方法应用到福建敖江流域连江片区发现,植被信息变换的效果较好,经过将覆盖研究区的2007年冬季和2013年春季的中高分辨率影像的植被信息统一变换到夏季后,2007年的植被覆盖度由66.5%上升到79.7%,2013年由58.6%上升到77.9%,有效消除了因季节差异而对植被覆盖度估算产生的误差,提高了结果的准确性.     

Impacts of climate change on the vegetation of Africa: an adaptive dynamic vegetation modelling approach

Recent IPCC projections suggest that Africa will be subject to particularly severe changes in atmospheric conditions. How the vegetation of Africa and particularly the grassland–savanna–forest complex will respond to these changes has rarely been investigated. Most studies on global carbon cycles use vegetation models that do not adequately account for the complexity of the interactions that shape the distribution of tropical grasslands, savannas and forests. This casts doubt on their ability to reliably simulate the future vegetation of Africa. We present a new vegetation model, the adaptive dynamic global vegetation model (aDGVM) that was specifically developed for tropical vegetation. The aDGVM combines established components from existing DGVMs with novel process‐based and adaptive modules for phenology, carbon allocation and fire within an individual‐based framework. Thus, the model allows vegetation to adapt phenology, allocation and physiology to changing environmental conditions and disturbances in a way not possible in models based on fixed functional types. We used the model to simulate the current vegetation patterns of Africa and found good agreement between model projections and vegetation maps. We simulated vegetation in absence of fire and found that fire suppression strongly influences tree dominance at the regional scale while at a continental scale fire suppression increases biomass in vegetation by a more modest 13%. Simulations under elevated temperature and atmospheric CO₂ concentrations predicted longer growing periods, higher allocation to roots, higher fecundity, more biomass and a dramatic shift toward tree dominated biomes. Our analyses suggest that the CO₂ fertilization effect is not saturated at ambient CO₂ levels and will strongly increase in response to further increases in CO₂ levels. The model provides a general and flexible framework for describing vegetation response to the interactive effects of climate and disturbances.     

天祝高寒草地植被、土壤及土壤微生物时间动态的比较

对天祝高寒草地21a前（1982年）、后（2003年）植被状况、土壤理化性质、土壤三大类微生物（细菌、放线菌和真菌）和各生理群微生物（硝化细菌、好气性固氮菌和好气性纤维素分解菌）及不同退化程度（围栏内、围栏外和鼠丘地）草地土壤微生物数量变化特点进行了对比研究。结果表明：（1）与1982年相比,目前该区天然草地植被总盖度、主要优良牧草种类、产草量等显著下降,草地植被退化明显;（2）草地土壤pH升高,土壤含水量、有机质、氮、磷含量均下降,草地土壤理化性质劣于1982年;（3）目前该区天然草地土壤三大类微生物数量及各生理群微生物数量变化十分明显,1982年土壤细菌、放线菌和真菌及微生物总数分别是2003年的153．6、5．5、4．1倍和151．2倍;土壤硝化细菌、好气性固氮菌和好气性纤维素分解菌数量分别是2003年的5．7、43．3倍和94．4倍;（4）轻度退化草地（围栏内）土壤各类微生物数量明显高于严重退化草地（围栏外、鼠丘地）,其数量前者一般为后者的1．5—4．5倍。     

Recent changes in mountain grasslands: a vegetation resampling study

Understanding how land‐use changes affect different facets of plant biodiversity in seminatural European grasslands is of particular importance for biodiversity conservation. As conclusions of previous experimental or synchronic observational studies did not converge toward a general agreement, assessing the recent trends in vegetation change in various grassland systems using a diachronic approach is needed. In this resurvey study, we investigated the recent changes in grassland vegetation of the French Jura Mountains, a region with a long tradition of pastoralism. We compared the floristic composition of 150 grassland plots recorded between 1990 and 2000 with new relevés made in 2012 on the same plots. We considered taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity as well as ecological characteristics of the plant communities derived from ecological indicator values and life strategies of the species. PCA of the floristic composition revealed a significant general trend linked to the sampling year. Wilcoxon paired tests showed that contemporary communities were generally more dominated by grass species and presented a higher tolerance to defoliation, a higher pastoral value, and a higher nutrient indicator value. Comparisons revealed a decrease in phylogenetic and functional diversity. By contrast, local species richness has slightly increased. The intensity of change in species composition, measured by Hellinger distance between pairs of relevés, was dependent on neither the time lag between the two surveys, the author of the first relevé nor its location or elevation. The most important changes were observed in grasslands that previously presented low pastoral value, low grass cover, low tolerance to defoliation, and high proportion of stress‐tolerant species. This trend was likely linked to the intensification of grassland management reported in the region, with a parallel increase in mowing frequency, grazing pressure, and fertilization level. More restrictive specifications should be applied to agricultural practices to avoid overexploitation of mountain species‐rich grasslands and its negative consequences on their biodiversity and resilience.     

Monitoring shifts in plant diversity in response to climate change: a method for landscapes

Improved sampling designs are needed to detect, monitor, and predict plant migrations and plant diversity changes caused by climate change and other human activities. We propose a methodology based on multi-scale vegetation plots established across forest ecotones which provide baseline data on patterns of plant diversity, invasions of exotic plant species, and plant migrations at landscape scales in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA. We established forty two 1000-m² plots in relatively homogeneous forest types and the ecotones between them on 14 vegetation transects. We found that 64% of the variance in understory species distributions at landscape scales were described generally by gradients of elevation and under-canopy solar radiation. Superimposed on broad-scale climatic gradients are small-scale gradients characterized by patches of light, pockets of fertile soil, and zones of high soil moisture. Eighteen of the 42 plots contained at least one exotic species; monitoring exotic plant invasions provides a means to assess changes in native plant diversity and plant migrations. Plant species showed weak affinities to overstory vegetation types, with 43% of the plant species found in three or more vegetation types. Replicate transects along several environmental gradients may provide the means to monitor plant diversity and species migrations at landscape scales because: (1) ecotones may play crucial roles in expanding the geophysiological ranges of many plant species; (2) low affinities of understory species to overstory forest types may predispose vegetation types to be resilient to rapid environmental change; and (3) ecotones may help buffer plant species from extirpation and extinction.     

江苏省海滩植被演替的研究

江苏省海滩植被可分为滨海盐土植被、盐沼植被及海滩沙生植被三个基本类型。本文论述了这些植被类型的演替规律。滨海盐土植被与盐沼植被的演替,外因于土壤盐分含量递减与有机质含量的递增;海滩沙生植被的演替,外因于土壤沙颗粒大小及其相应的土壤含水量的变化,所以海滩植被演替为外因动态演替。