片断化常绿阔叶林的植物多样性

由于人类活动的严重干扰,使得我国的常绿阔叶林基本上已片断化.对位于浙、闽、赣、皖交界山区的6个以甜槠和木荷为建群种的片断化常绿阔叶林的植物多样性进行了研究,结果表明:(1)6个片断化样点共有物种69～142种.其中乔木层共有24～39种,Simpson 指数(λ)为0.793 2～0.931 9,Shannon-Weiner指数(H')为2.410 8～3.201 8,Pielou均匀度指数(J)为0.667 6～0.813 2,Gleason指数(IG)为4.5816～8.209 8;灌木层共有45～120种,λ为0.830 9～0.955 8,H'为2.6257～3.7902,J为0.608 2～0.7903,IG为10.0216～17.2782;草本层共有6～23种,λ为0.5073～0.7639,H'为0.8783～1.8802,J为0.3822～0.5771,IG为0.9646～4.2871.(2)乔木层和灌木层分别在物种均匀度和丰富度上占有优势,此外,各片断化样点之间建群种比较类似,而林下灌木和草本种类则有明显差异.(3)人类干扰和片断化面积大小分别影响了乔木层和草本层的物种丰富度和多样性.(4)边缘效应明显,并且主要发生在林缘50m的范围内.从林缘到林内单位面积物种数根据片断化面积的大小分别呈现出上升和下降的格局,并且不同耐阴性的物种其分布密度表现出完全相反的特征.林缘0～50m的范围内,木本植物死亡率呈逐渐上升趋势,50m以后开始下降,林缘100m附近达到稳定.此外,林缘比林内具有更为丰富的藤本植物.     

Consequences of forest fragmentation in an understory plant community: extensive range expansion of native dwarf bamboo

Understory bamboo species are important and influential components of temperate forests in at least several parts of the world. Here we report a study testing the effect of forest fragmentation on the dynamics of the dwarf bamboo Sasa chartacea and on forest herb communities in the Tokachi plain of Hokkaido, Japan. We studied 16 forest fragments of different sizes and small plots established in these fragments to examine the relationship between the abundance of S. chartacea, landscape and environmental conditions, and forest herb communities. Sasa chartacea was more abundant near forest edges and in smaller fragments, suggesting that the species has expanded its local range and increased its abundance in response to forest fragmentation. Edge‐related changes in light and soil moisture might have facilitated this range expansion. The species richness of forest herbs was strongly negatively related to the density of S. chartacea. Because much larger variation in species richness was explained by S. chartacea density than distance to the nearest forest edge, the expansion of S. chartacea has likely excluded other understory species by competition. In addition, the density of S. chartacea significantly explained variation in the species composition of forest herbs across plots. Taken together, our results emphasize the key roles of dwarf bamboos in changing plant communities following forest fragmentation.     

Atlantic forest bird communities provide different but not fewer functions after habitat loss

Habitat loss often reduces the number of species as well as functional diversity. Dramatic effects to species composition have also been shown, but changes to functional composition have so far been poorly documented, partly owing to a lack of appropriate indices. We here develop three new community indices (i.e. functional integrity, community integrity of ecological groups and community specialization) to investigate how habitat loss affects the diversity and composition of functional traits and species. We used data from more than 5000 individuals of 137 bird species captured in 57 sites in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, a highly endangered biodiversity hotspot. Results indicate that habitat loss leads to a decrease in functional integrity while measures of functional diversity remain unchanged or are even positively affected. Changes to functional integrity were caused by (i) a decrease in the provisioning of some functions, and an increase in others; (ii) strong within-guild species turnover; and (iii) a replacement of specialists by generalists. Hence, communities from more deforested sites seem to provide different but not fewer functions. We show the importance of investigating changes to both diversity and composition of functional traits and species, as the effects of habitat loss on ecosystem functioning may be more complex than previously thought. Crucially, when only functional diversity is assessed, important changes to ecological functions may remain undetected and negative effects of habitat loss underestimated, thereby imperiling the application of effective conservation actions.     

Microtopography and distribution of canopy trees in a subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest in the northern part of Okinawa Island,Japan

The spatial distribution of trees in relation to topography was investigated using two topographic indices, slope steepness and slope configuration, in a 4-ha plot in a subtropical evergreen forest in the northern part of Okinawa Island, Japan. Most species showed an aggregated distribution and patch size was related to various microtopographical features, including small ridges and valleys. In a cluster analysis based on the dissimilarity of each species distribution, the species were divided into three major clusters. A significant correlation between the dissimilarity and the distance between each species on the axis of the two topographic indices indicated that species association was, in part, explained by the topographic indices. I suggest that species distributed on steep and concave slopes regenerate depending on disturbances such as landslides on unstable topography, whereas species distributed on ridges and upper slopes regenerate depending on the canopy gap. A number of species that were less abundant in the 4-ha plot occurred in the riparian area near a stream, where the density of more abundant species was low. The results of this study support the existence of habitat niche divergence related to topography in a subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest.     

鹅掌楸贵州烂木山居群的微卫星遗传多样性及空间遗传结构

濒危植物鹅掌楸(Liriodendron chinense)目前仅零散分布于我国亚热带及越南北部地区, 残存居群生境片断化较为严重。研究濒危植物片断化居群的遗传多样性及小尺度空间遗传结构(spatial genetic structure)有助于了解物种的生态进化过程以及制定相关的保育策略。本研究采用13对微卫星引物, 对鹅掌楸的1个片断化居群进行了遗传多样性及空间遗传结构的研究, 旨在揭示生境片断化条件下鹅掌楸的遗传多样性及基因流状况。研究结果表明: 鹅掌楸烂木山居群内不同生境斑块及不同年龄阶段植株的遗传多样性水平差异不显著(P>0.05), 居群内存在寨内和山林2个遗传分化明显的亚居群。烂木山居群个体在200 m以内呈现显著的空间遗传结构, 而2个亚居群内的个体仅在20 m的距离范围内存在微弱或不显著的空间遗传结构。鹅掌楸的空间遗传结构强度较低(Sp = 0.0090), 且寨内亚居群的空间遗传结构强度(Sp = 0.0067)要高于山林亚居群(Sp = 0.0053)。鹅掌楸以异交为主, 种子较轻且具翅, 借助风力传播, 在一定程度上降低了空间遗传结构的强度。此外, 居群内个体密度及生境特征也对鹅掌楸的空间遗传结构产生了一定影响。该居群出现显著的杂合子缺失, 近交系数(F_IS)为0.099 (P < 0.01), 表明生境片断化的遗传效应正逐渐显现。因此, 对鹅掌楸的就地保护应注意维护与强化生境的连续性, 促进基因交流。迁地保护时, 取样距离应不小于20 m, 以涵盖足够多的遗传变异。     

Spatial genetic structure in continuous and fragmented populations of Pinus pinaster Aiton

Habitat fragmentation, i.e., the reduction of populations into small isolated remnants, is expected to increase spatial genetic structure (SGS) in plant populations through nonrandom mating, lower population densities and potential aggregation of reproductive individuals. We investigated the effects of population size reduction and genetic isolation on SGS in maritime pine ( Pinus pinaster Aiton) using a combined experimental and simulation approach. Maritime pine is a wind-pollinated conifer which has a scattered distribution in the Iberian Peninsula as a result of forest fires and habitat fragmentation. Five highly polymorphic nuclear microsatellites were genotyped in a total of 394 individuals from two population pairs from the Iberian Peninsula, formed by one continuous and one fragmented population each. In agreement with predictions, SGS was significant and stronger in fragments ( Sp  = 0.020 and Sp  = 0.026) than in continuous populations, where significant SGS was detected for one population only ( Sp  = 0.010). Simulations suggested that under fat-tailed dispersal, small population size is a stronger determinant of SGS than genetic isolation, while under normal dispersal, genetic isolation has a stronger effect. SGS was always stronger in real populations than in simulations, except if unrealistically narrow dispersal and/or high variance of reproductive success were modelled (even when accounting for potential overestimation of SGS in real populations as a result of short-distance sampling). This suggests that factors such as nonrandom mating or selection not considered in the simulations were additionally operating on SGS in Iberian maritime pine populations.     

长江师范学院校园夏季鸟类群落与多样性分析

2008年3～7月采用样线法对长江师范学院李渡校园鸟类组成和种群数量进行了调查,共记录鸟类6目21科28种,数量1633只,物种多样性指数为3．9204,均匀性指数为1．1765,其中国家“三有”名录鸟类25种,CITES名录鸟类1种。鸟类区系以东洋界成分为主。对不同生境鸟类多样性的分析结果表明：（1）乔灌林鸟类多样性指数和均匀性指数最高,水域鸟类多样性指数最低,建筑区均匀性指数最低;（2）乔灌林与竹林的相似性指数最高,竹林与水域的相似性最低。