厦门植物园雨林景区的景观营造和植物配置

介绍厦门植物园雨林景区的景观营造和植物配置。原生植被、景观设施和各类具有热带雨林特征的植物有机结合,营造出颇具特色的亚热带雨林植物景观。     

广州高校校园植物调查与景观特色评价

对广州市6所代表性高校校园植物实地调查。结果表明,6所高校共有维管植物356种,隶属87科215属。其中,校园主入口绿地区域共记录98种植物,主要应用观花、观叶植物,采用乔木+灌木+草本的垂直结构多层次配置植物景观;主干道区域共使用植物59种,以乡土树种为主;主建筑绿地区域内共应用植物97种,植物种类丰富,景观特色突出;广场绿地区域共记录植物85种,其中观花、观叶类灌木应用频率较高,观赏效果好。     

福建厦门城市绿地主要落叶植物及其园林应用

在对厦门市区主要道路、公园、街头绿地、住宅小区等绿地落叶植物的种类、配置方式、景观特征等调查分析的基础上,总结了厦门城市园林绿地中落叶植物的基本特色,并提出改进应用建议,为今后城市绿地更好地利用落叶植物提供借鉴与参考。     

运用BIB-LCJ审美评判法评价棕榈科植物景观

棕榈科植物在园林上的应用已形成多种类型的植物景观。本文运用BIB-LCJ审美评判法评价七种类型的棕榈科植物景观,研究公众对各种棕榈科植物景观的审美趋向,从而讨论如何配置棕榈科植物来营造符合公众审美的植物景观。     

苏南乡村生态植物景观营造

乡村生态植物景观营造是乡村景观建设的重要内容。本文以模拟自然、半自然植物群落为基础,对乡村生态植物景观营造进行了研究。根据乡村景观的构成要素,可以将乡村植物景观划分为村落植物景观(农户外环境植物景观)、农田植物景观、道路植物景观和水域河道植物景观;生态植物景观营造可以从自然群落中得到借鉴,以常熟为例,采用植被生态学的调查和分析方法对当地自然、半自然植物群落进行了研究,模拟形成15个可供当地应用的人工配植模式;乡村不同植物景观类型具有各自的特色和功能要求,通过分析常熟典型乡村特点,以模拟自然群落为基础,可进一步改造形成适于不同类型的乡村植物景观配植模式。     

生境·画境·意境——清代袁枚与南京随园植物景观研究

自古“名家必有名园”，清代南京随园因其主是文坛大家袁枚而名声大噪，对当时江南的文人园林甚至后世私家园林产生了一定的影响，后毁于太平天国战火之乱。通过史料搜集，对园文、园诗、园图等资料进行解读，从“三境合一”出发，结合袁枚自身的性格特点，对随园植物景观进行探讨，梳理总结出随园的植物景观特色：1）植物品种丰富，配置方式多样；2）植物功能多样；3）植物经营体现“生态学”思想；4）利用植物自身人格寓意，传达对美好事物的追求与向往；5）造景的同时传达生活情趣。一方面可通过植物景观窥探当时随园的盛况，饱览秀美的风光，另一方面也对江南文人园林的相关研究提供有益补充。     

广东地区公园绿地海绵设施植物应用研究

在对广州、深圳和珠海公园普遍踏查的基础上,选取9个海绵设施应用较多的公园作为调查样地,针对应用的海绵设施类型、结构、规模、植物景观等进行实地调查分析。结果表明,公园绿地应用较多的海绵设施类型以植草沟、雨水花园和旱溪为主;海绵设施应用的植物有87种,隶属49科79属,以禾本科、豆科种类居多;海绵设施不同种植区域选择植物时应根据积水情况综合考虑植物的耐涝性;从海绵设施应用的植物种类及配置景观来看,雨水花园和旱溪最为丰富;最后,针对公园绿地海绵设施应用普遍存在的问题,分别从植物选择、景观配置及后期维护等方面提出建议。     

银川市色叶植物景观的调查与评价

色叶植物因其色彩绚丽,且易于形成大面积的群体景观,已广泛用于园林绿化美化中,丰富了城市的色彩。目前我国色叶植物种类的开发及园林应用还存在着很大的空间,本文以银川地区色叶植物资源为主要对象,对色叶植物在园林中的应用现状及其景观价值进行了调查与分析评价,并就色叶植物在园林绿化中的配置提出几点建议,为银川地区色叶植物的引种、驯化、开发利用提供借鉴。     

福州市闽江公园景观植物多样性研究

目的：摸清闽江公园景观植物家底,为公园景观建设提供科学依据。方法：采用踏查法和样线法,记录植物种名、数量等信息,统计科、属、种组成。采用定性定量法对景观植物的种源、配置、观赏特性及花果期分析。运用色卡比色法对观花植物的花冠或花萼颜色进行对比和统计。结果：调查到景观植物97科246属382种,其中双子叶植物72科169属264种,单子叶植物18科65属102种,裸子植物6科11属15种,蕨类植物1科1属1种。观赏特性上,观叶>观花>观形>观果。植物的花果期和花色与气温相关性强。结论：闽江公园树种组成丰富,观赏价值高,为今后公园管理和建设提供参考。     

别样烂漫——沙漠植物在城市园林绿化中的应用

以多样性的沙漠野生观赏植物为主要材料组成的城市园林绿地系统在合理的结构配置条件下,具有相对较好的稳定性、就近取材、建植和维护成本低、抗干扰能力和自我修复能力强等特点,是干旱区城市园林绿化的优良植物素材和特色景观构建的基本元素之一。中国古典园林所注重的画镜和意境都是建立在植物和生境合一的基础上。由已经适应了当地的自然环境的沙漠植物所构建的城市园林景观或多或少带有自然植被的外貌属性,能表现出自然山林野趣,符合都市人对乡村风景的追求心理,所组成的园林植物景观同样能与生境达到完美和谐的结合。     

Vegetation Components of a Subtropical Rural Landscape in China

To assess the overall vegetation changes and their ecological significance, following landscape evolution, plant composition and physical structures of the homegardens (woodlots and vegetation patches with hedgerow fence) and field boundaries were examined in the rural landscape of subtropical China in order to determine their ecological significance. Field surveys on landscape changes and plant composition were carried out in two typical villages in the Yangtze river plain. Analysis of landscape changes and plant composition showed that the rural landscape is diverse both in terms of types of elements and plant species. The vegetation types in the area have undergone frequent alterations by human beings following major changes of landscape management due to economic and social reforms. The plant diversity of the various vegetation types in the area is related to the duration of colonization of the vegetation type, the extent of disturbance by human beings, and the physical structure diversity of the vegetation type. In the discussion, the plant diversity and heterogeneity of the physical environment in any vegetation type is of importance for the ecological sustainability of the landscape.     

深圳市城区主要园林植物的物候特征及其景观效应分析

本文立足于对深圳市城区几大公园的园林植物调查和统计,对主要园林树种的抽梢展叶期、生长期、落叶期、开花期、结果期、果熟期等物候指标进行观察记录,确定植物物候特征,并分析其对植被景观的影响,对植被景观改造以及树种的选择提供合理建议。     

Determinants of Land Degradation and Fragmentation in Semiarid Vegetation at Landscape Scale

The objective of this paper was to investigate the sensitivity to degradation of semiarid plant communities in terms of plant cover and fragmentation, quantifying relationships between landscape characteristic (physical, socio-economical and historical) and vegetation degradation. The degradation of vegetation was measured as the degree of coverage of the two dominant vegetation types (i.e. tall arid brush and tall grass steppe), while fragmentation was measured as patch size and isolation. Data were obtained using GIS tools, and analyzed by logistic regression and linear multivariate regression. Results showed denser coverage at more elevated, gradual slopes that were not sea-oriented. Historical elements of the landscape had a significant effect on current natural vegetation. According to the fragmentation patterns, the vegetation is in fairly good condition (medium coverage had the largest patches but dense coverage was less isolated) but attention must be given to preserve vegetation, due to the relationships between fragmentation and human activities. Moreover, the protection plan under way in the area appeared to favour denser vegetation cover, while human activities had a measurable effect on vegetation degradation.     

Naturally Saline Boreal Communities as Models for Reclamation of Saline Oil Sand Tailings

Reclaimed landscapes after oil sands mining have saline soils; yet, they are required to have similar biodiversity and productivity as the predisturbance nonsaline landscape. Given that many species in the boreal forest are not tolerant of salinity, we studied the effects of soil salinity on plant communities in natural saline landscapes to understand potential plant responses during the reclamation process. Vegetation–soil relationships were measured along transects from flooded wetlands to upland forest vegetation in strongly saline, slightly saline, nonsaline, and reclaimed boreal landscapes. In strongly saline landscapes, surface soil salinity was high (>10 dS/m) in flooded, wet‐meadow, and dry‐meadow vegetation zones as compared to slightly saline (<5 dS/m) and nonsaline (<2 dS/m) landscapes. Plant communities in these vegetation zones were quite different from nonsaline boreal landscapes and were dominated by halophytes common to saline habitats of the Great Plains. In the shrub and forest vegetation zones, surface soil salinity was similar between saline and nonsaline landscapes, resulting in similar plant communities. In strongly saline landscapes, soils remained saline at depth through the shrub and forest vegetation zones (>10 dS/m), suggesting that forest vegetation can establish over saline soils as long as the salts are below the rooting zone. The reclaimed landscape was intermediate between slightly saline and nonsaline landscapes in terms of soil salinity but more similar to nonsaline habitats with respect to species composition. Results from this study suggest it may be unrealistic to expect that plant communities similar to those found on the predisturbance landscape can be established on all reclaimed landscapes after oil sands mining.     

Patterns of plant species distribution in the Trans‐Himalayan region of Ladakh,India

Abstract. We studied the vegetation distribution in eight landscape types distinguished along an altitudinal gradient in the Trans‐Himalayan region of Ladakh, India. The point‐intercept method was used for vegetation sampling. Six plant communities were distinguished by cluster analysis. Of these 6 communities, three communities were dominated by shrub species. Table lands are the landscape type with the highest species diversity followed by undulating areas and river beds. Most plant species were restricted to one landscape type.     

Remotely sensed vegetation phenology and productivity along a climatic gradient: on the value of incorporating the dimension of woody plant cover

Aim Woody plants affect vegetation–environment interactions by modifying microclimate, soil moisture dynamics and carbon cycling. In examining broad‐scale patterns in terrestrial vegetation dynamics, explicit consideration of variation in the amount of woody plant cover could provide additional explanatory power that might not be available when only considering landscape‐scale climate patterns or specific vegetation assemblages. Here we evaluate the interactive influence of woody plant cover on remotely sensed vegetation dynamics across a climatic gradient along a sky island. Location The Santa Rita Mountains, Arizona, USA. Methods Using a satellite‐measured normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from 2000 to 2008, we conducted time‐series and regression analyses to explain the variation in functional attributes of vegetation (productivity, seasonality and phenology) related to: (1) vegetation community, (2) elevation as a proxy for climate, and (3) woody plant cover, given the effects of the other environmental variables, as an additional ecological dimension that reflects potential vegetation–environment feedbacks at the local scale. Results NDVI metrics were well explained by interactions among elevation, vegetation community and woody plant cover. After accounting for elevation and vegetation community, woody plant cover explained up to 67% of variation in NDVI metrics and, notably, clarified elevation‐ and community‐specific patterns of vegetation dynamics across the gradient. Main conclusions In addition to the environmental factors usually considered – climate, reflecting resources and constraints, and vegetation community, reflecting species composition and relative dominance – woody plant cover, a broad‐scale proxy of many vegetation–environment interactions, represents an ecological dimension that provides additional process‐related understanding of landscape‐scale patterns of vegetation function.     

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.     

Plant community and landscape patterns of a floodplain wetland in Maputaland, Northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

The lower Mkuze River floodplain is located east of the Lebombo Mountains on the Maputaland Coastal Plain in northern KwaZulu‐Natal, South Africa. The vegetation ecology of the floodplain was examined using the hierarchical framework described by landscape ecology theory. The smallest spatial scale to which the vegetation of the floodplain was described was the relatively homogeneous units of plant communities. From a landscape ecology perspective this level of analysis is referred to as the grain. Six plant communities were identified using two‐way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN) classification. The distribution of these plant communities were correlated to an underlying inundation‐sedimentation gradient using the ordination technique, detrended correspondence analysis (DCA). This correlation provided a useful foundation for the examination of ecological processes and phenomena at the next higher, spatially coarser level within the landscape hierarchy, namely the reference level. This reference level was described by three functional types delimited by differing flooding and sedimentation regimes. The use of landscape ecology theory guided the interpretation of results by explicitly recognizing the importance of spatial heterogeneity, hierarchical organization and dynamics, and proved invaluable in developing process‐based understanding of the vegetation ecology of the lower Mkuze River floodplain.     

Landscape issues in plant ecology

In the last decade, we have seen the emergence and consolidation of a conceptual framework that recognizes the landscape as an ecological unit of interest. Plant ecologists have long emphasized landscape-scale issues, but there has been no recent attempt to define how landscape concepts are now integrated in vegetation studies. To help define common research paradigms in both landscape and plant ecology, we discuss issues related to three main landscape concepts in vegetation researches, reviewing theoretical influences and emphasizing recent developments. We first focus on environmental relationships, documenting how vegetation patterns emerge from the influence of local abiotic conditions. The landscape is the physical environment. Disturbances are then considered, with a particular attention to human-driven processes that often overrule natural dynamics. The landscape is a dynamic space. As environmental and historical processes generate heterogeneous patterns, we finally move on to stress current evidence relating spatial structure and vegetation dynamics. This relates to the concept of a landscape as a patch-corridor-matrix mosaic. Future challenges involve: 1) the capacity to evaluate the relative importance of multiple controlling processes at broad spatial scale; 2) better assessment of the real importance of the spatial configuration of landscape elements for plant species and finally; 3) the integration of natural and cultural processes and the recognition of their interdependence in relation to vegetation management issues in human landscapes.     

Effects of spatial heterogeneity on butterfly species richness in Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, USA

We investigated butterfly responses to plot-level characteristics (plant species richness, vegetation height, and range in NDVI [normalized difference vegetation index]) and spatial heterogeneity in topography and landscape patterns (composition and configuration) at multiple spatial scales. Stratified random sampling was used to collect data on butterfly species richness from seventy-six 20 × 50 m plots. The plant species richness and average vegetation height data were collected from 76 modified-Whittaker plots overlaid on 76 butterfly plots. Spatial heterogeneity around sample plots was quantified by measuring topographic variables and landscape metrics at eight spatial extents (radii of 300, 600 to 2,400 m). The number of butterfly species recorded was strongly positively correlated with plant species richness, proportion of shrubland and mean patch size of shrubland. Patterns in butterfly species richness were negatively correlated with other variables including mean patch size, average vegetation height, elevation, and range in NDVI. The best predictive model selected using Akaike’s Information Criterion corrected for small sample size (AIC_c), explained 62% of the variation in butterfly species richness at the 2,100 m spatial extent. Average vegetation height and mean patch size were among the best predictors of butterfly species richness. The models that included plot-level information and topographic variables explained relatively less variation in butterfly species richness, and were improved significantly after including landscape metrics. Our results suggest that spatial heterogeneity greatly influences patterns in butterfly species richness, and that it should be explicitly considered in conservation and management actions.