Defoliation and below-ground herbivory in the grass Muhlenbergiaquadridentata : Effects on plant performance and on the root-feeder Phyllophaga sp. (Coleoptera, Melolonthidae)

In this study we evaluated (1) the combined effects of simulated defoliation and below-ground herbivory (BGH) on the biomass and nitrogen content of tillers and roots of the bunchgrass Muhlenbergia quadridentata and (2) the effect of defoliation on the survival of third-instar root-feeder larvae of Phyllophaga sp. The experiment was performed in a pine forest area at an altitude of 3200 m above sea level. The grass and the root-feeder species were native and dominant in the understory and in the macroarthropod root-feeder communities, respectively. Plants were established in pots in the field and were subjected to the following treatments in a factorial design: simulated defoliation (three levels) and BGH (with or without root-feeder larvae) with ten replicates per treatment. Plants were defoliated three times at 2-month intervals. The interaction between defoliation and root herbivory was significant for all components of plant biomass. In every case, light defoliation with BGH decreased live above-ground, root and total plant biomass, and the number of live tillers by more than 50% with respect to the same defoliation level without root-feeders. Plants apparently did not compensate for the carbon drain by root-feeders when a high proportion of older leaves were not removed by defoliation. Plants under heavy defoliation were not affected by the presence of root-feeders and showed a greater live/dead above-ground biomass ratio than lightly defoliated and control plants. Defoliation and BGH did not change tiller and root N concentrations but root herbivores did decrease live-tiller N content in lightly defoliated plants. Root-feeders but not defoliation decreased the root/shoot ratio by 40% and the live/dead above-ground biomass ratio by 45% through increased tiller mortality. Survivorship and final biomass of Phyllophaga sp. larvae were not affected by defoliation treatments during the 6-month study period. Received: 17 May 1996 / Accepted: 1 November 1996     

Net aerial primary production (NAPP) of the marsh macrophyteScirpus maritimus estimated by a combination of destructive and non-destructive sampling methods

Net aerial primary production (NAPP) of marsh macrophytes is usually estimated either by destructive sampling techniques or by phenometric techniques. Destructive methods, however, are thought to be inaccurate while phenometric techniques are very labour intensive. In this study a new method is presented which allows an accurate and more efficient estimation of NAPP. The method combines destructive sampling to determine end-of-season biomass and phenometric techniques to estimate the mortality of biomass before the end of the season. NAPP is derived through summation of these two estimates. Techniques needed to calculate the precision of the NAPP estimate are provided. The so called hybrid technique was used to estimate NAPP ofScirpus maritimus L. in a brackish marsh along the Westerschelde estuary, the Netherlands. Estimated NAPP was 1372 g m^-2. End-of-season biomass accounted for 1106 g m^-2, while mortality contributed 266 g m^-2. Precision of the end-of-season biomass and the mortality estimates, expressed as coefficient of variation, was 18.2 and 26.0% respectively. The precision of the resultant, NAPP, was higher: 17.2%. These results indicate that NAPP could be estimated with a higher precision than end-of-season biomass. This contradicts the view that the accuracy of NAPP estimates can only be improved at the expense of its precision.     

Comparison of early development of three grasses: Lolium perenne, Agrostis stolonifera and Poa pratensis

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: To improve the management of grass communities, early plant development was compared in three species with contrasting growth forms, a caespitose (Lolium perenne), a rhizomatous (Poa pratensis) and a caespitose-stoloniferous species (Agrostis stolonifera). METHODS: Isolated seedlings were grown in a glasshouse without trophic constraints for 37 d (761 degrees Cd). The appearance of leaves and their location on tillers were recorded. Leaf appearance rate (LAR) on the tillers and site-filling were calculated. Tillering was modelled based on the assumption that tiller number increases with the number of leaves produced on the seedling main stem. Above- and below-ground parts were harvested to compare biomass. KEY RESULTS: Lolium perenne and A. stolonifera expressed similar bunch-type developments. However, root biomass was approx. 30 % lower in A. stolonifera than in L. perenne. Poa pratensis was rhizomatous. Nevertheless, the ratio of above-ground : below-ground biomass of P. pratensis was similar to that of L. perenne. LAR was approximately equal to 0.30 leaf d(-1) in L. perenne, and on the main stem and first primary tillers of A. stolonifera. LAR on the other tillers of A. stolonifera was 30 % higher than on L. perenne. For P. pratensis, LAR was 30 % lower than on L. perenne, but the interval between the appearance of two successive shoots from rhizomes was 30 % higher than the interval between two successive leaf stages on the main stem. Above-ground parts of P. pratensis first grew slower than in the other species to the benefit of the rhizomes, whose development enhanced tiller production. CONCLUSIONS: Lolium perenne had the fastest tiller production at the earliest stages of seedling development. Agrostis stolonifera and P. pratensis compensated almost completely for the delay due to higher LAR on tillers or ramets compared with L. perenne. This study provides a basis for modelling plant development.     

Flowering Phenology and Gender Variation in Pennisetum typhoides

Because of the modular structure of pearl millet (an annual grass crop, Poaceae), different tillers of a plant share the same genotype but are subjected to different environmental conditions during their maturation. This allows investigation of the effects of tiller flowering phenology on allocation to resource-producing photosynthetic biomass, sexual functions, and thus tiller gender. All tillers of plants of two families collected from individual maternal plants (represented by 33 and 31 plants each) were analyzed. In both families, allocation to aboveground vegetative biomass decreased as flowering was delayed. On average, late-flowering tillers were 65% smaller than the first ones to flower. The proportion of biomass allocated to reproduction significantly increased with the flowering rank of the tillers, suggesting that translocations of assimilates occurred between early- and late-flowering tillers. In both families, late-flowering tillers produced significantly fewer pollen grains per stamen than early-flowering ones, and female reproductive allocation (expressed as seed mass per tiller) was also affected by flowering phenology. Tillers became increasingly female as flowering phenology progressed. This gender variation is possibly adaptive because pollination efficiency is maximized by plant height. Natural selection may favor a shift toward femaleness to maximize reproductive fitness in small, late-developing tillers.     

Plasticity of rice tiller production is related to genotypic variation in the biomass response to elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration and low temperatures during vegetative growth

Appropriate resource partitioning to either production of new tillers or growth of individual tillers is a critical factor for increasing rice biomass production and facilitating adaptation to climate change. We examined the contributions of genotypic variation to the tiller number and individual tiller growth of 24 rice cultivars in response to an elevated atmospheric CO₂ concentration [CO₂] (control + 191 μmol mol⁻¹) and a low air temperature (control minus 4.7 °C) during 56 days of vegetative growth after transplanting. For all genotypes combined, biomass increased by 27% under elevated [CO₂] and decreased by 34% at low temperature, with a significant genotype × temperature interaction. The increase caused by elevated [CO₂] resulted from increased tiller number, and the decrease caused by low temperature resulted from decreased growth of individual tillers. Despite the different overall responses to elevated [CO₂] and low temperature, most of the genotypic variation in biomass at elevated [CO₂] and low temperature was explained by the responses of tiller number rather than by individual tiller growth. The genotypes with the highest biomass response to elevated [CO₂] had a smaller reduction of biomass under low temperature. These results highlight the greater importance of genotypic variation in tiller number than in individual tiller growth in the response of biomass to environmental change.     

Measuring Fine Root Turnover in Forest Ecosystems

Development of direct and indirect methods for measuring root turnover and the status of knowledge on fine root turnover in forest ecosystems are discussed. While soil and ingrowth cores give estimates of standing root biomass and relative growth, respectively, minirhizotrons provide estimates of median root longevity (turnover time) i.e., the time by which 50% of the roots are dead. Advanced minirhizotron and carbon tracer studies combined with demographic statistical methods and new models hold the promise of improving our fundamental understanding of the factors controlling root turnover. Using minirhizotron data, fine root turnover (y⁻¹) can be estimated in two ways: as the ratio of annual root length production to average live root length observed and as the inverse of median root longevity. Fine root production and mortality can be estimated by combining data from minirhizotrons and soil cores, provided that these data are based on roots of the same diameter class (e.g., < 1 mm in diameter) and changes in the same time steps. Fluxes of carbon and nutrients via fine root mortality can then be estimated by multiplying the amount of carbon and nutrients in fine root biomass by fine root turnover. It is suggested that the minirhizotron method is suitable for estimating median fine root longevity. In comparison to the minirhizotron method, the radio carbon technique favor larger fine roots that are less dynamics. We need to reconcile and improve both methods to develop a more complete understanding of root turnover.     

松嫩平原贝加尔针茅无性系构件的结构及生长规律

采用整个分蘖丛挖掘的取样方法,对松嫩平原栽培条件下贝加尔针茅无性系构件的结构,以及生长与生产规律进行了定量分析.结果表明,在9月末停止生长期,经过2个生长季的营养繁殖,贝加尔针茅无性系的丛径为9.4±3.24 cm.无性系的全体构件数为161.±8.2个.其中,生殖分蘖株为14.6±11.48个,占9.2%;营养分蘖株为146.9±78.70个,占90.7%.全体构件总生物量为3.8±34.22 g,其中生殖分蘖株生物量为2.0±20.34 g,占43.7%;营养分蘖株为28.8±19.43 g,占6.2%.随着丛径的增加,不同构件的数量均具有线性同速生长规律,而不同构件的生物量均具有幂函数异速增长规律.不同构件生物量与无性系全体构件的数量和生物量之间均呈显著(P<0.0)或极显著(P<0.01)的幂函数正相关关系.平均单个生殖分蘖株的生产力约为营养分蘖株的10倍.生殖分蘖株的数量和生物量的表型可塑性普遍大于营养分蘖株.     

Performance of two Picea abies (L.) Karst. stands at different stages of decline

Summary The annual replacement of tillers of Agropyron desertorum (Fisch. ex Link) Schult., a grazing-tolerant, Eurasian tussock grass, was examined in the field following cattle grazing. Heavy grazing before internode (culm) elongation seldom affected tiller replacement. Heavy grazing during or after internode elongation, which elevates apical meristems, increased overwinter mortality of fall-produced tillers and reduced the number and heights of these replacement tillers. Unexpectedly, tussocks grazed twice within the spring growing season tended to have lower overwinter tiller mortality, greater tiller replacement, and larger replacement tillers than tussocks grazed only once in late spring. These responses of twice-grazed tussocks, however, were still less than those of ungrazed tussocks or tussocks grazed moderately in early spring. The presence of ungrazed tillers on partially grazed tussoks did not increase the replacement of associated grazed tillers relative to tillers on uniformly grazed plants. This result indicates that resource sharing among tillers, if present, is short-lived or ecologically unimportant in this species. Although A. desertorum is considered grazing-tolerant, tiller replacement on heavily grazed tussocks, particularly those grazed during or after internode elongation when apical meristems were removed, was usually inadequate for tussock maintenance. These observations at the tiller (ramet) level of organization in individual tussocks (genet) may explain the often noted reduction in stand (population) longevity with consistent heavy grazing.     

松嫩平原碱化草甸星星草种群分蘖株延长生殖生长的表型可塑性调节

在松嫩平原碱化草甸,采用大样本随机取样的方法,研究了不同时间到达抽穗初期、抽穗期、开花期和乳熟期的星星草种群生殖分蘖株数量性状的可塑性及其调节规律.结果表明：除在开花期存在一定的波动外,在每5 d的时间里,随着生殖生长时间的延长, 星星草种群在抽穗初期、抽穗期和乳熟期的生殖分蘖株高、分蘖株生物量、花序长和花序生物量均依次显著增加.各生育期的星星草种群生殖分蘖株高与花序生物量呈显著正相关,而与生殖分配呈显著负相关.随着生殖生长时间的延长,抽穗初期、开花期和乳熟期的星星草花序生物量随着分蘖株高增加,其幂函数的增长速率均呈增大趋势.生殖生长时间延长10 d,其抽穗初期和抽穗期的生殖分配直线下降速率分别降低了43.2%和44.31%;延长5 d,乳熟期的下降速率降低了130%.表明星星草种群分蘖株生殖生长的表型可塑性调节遵循着一定的规律.     

Infestation Rates and Tiller Morphology Effects by the Switchgrass Moth on Six Cultivars of Switchgrass

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a potential biomass crop for native species-based biofuel systems in North America. A recently identified pest of switchgrass, the switchgrass moth, Blastobasis repartella (Dietz) (Lepidoptera: Coleophoridae), feeds in the basal above-ground internodes and below-ground in the proaxis and rhizomes, causing premature tiller and rhizome loss. Our goal was to determine genetic and temporal variation among six upland cultivars for frequency of tiller infestation by larvae of the switchgrass moth in mature stands in the northern Great Plains and if variation in biomass production was associated with variation in frequency of infestation. Data were collected in 2011 and 2012 for tiller density, biomass, frequency of infestation, number of leaves per healthy and infested tiller, and weights of healthy and infested tillers. Differences were found among cultivars for tiller density, biomass yield, and numbers of leaves per healthy and infested tillers. ‘Summer’, ‘Sunburst’, ‘Pathfinder’, and ‘Cave-In-Rock’ were the highest yielding cultivars. Mean frequency of infestation was different between 2011 (6.7 %) and 2012 (9.6 %). Infested tillers had one less collared leaf than healthy tillers. The weights of healthy tillers were ca. 3× those of infested tillers in both years, suggesting an impact on biomass accumulation and economic value. Levels of infestation were similar for all six cultivars, indicating no feeding preference by the switchgrass moth larva among genetically diverse cultivars of switchgrass. Regression of biomass yield on frequency of infestation showed negative linear relationships for ‘Carthage’ and ‘Kentucky 1625’.     

A comparative analysis of the temperature response of leaf elongation in Bromus stamineus and Lolium perenne plants in the field: intrinsic and size-mediated effects

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Growth of grass species in temperate-humid regions is restricted by low temperatures. This study analyses the origin (intrinsic or size-mediated) and mechanisms (activity of individual meristems vs. number of active meristems) of differences between Bromus stamineus and Lolium perenne in the response of leaf elongation to moderately low temperatures. METHODS: Field experiments were conducted at Balcarce, Argentina over 2 years (2003 and 2004) using four cultivars, two of B. stamineus and two of L. perenne. Leaf elongation rate (LER) per tiller and of each growing leaf, number of growing leaves and total leaf length per tiller were measured on 15-20 tillers per cultivar, for 12 (2003) or 10 weeks (2004) during autumn and winter. KEY RESULTS: LER was faster in B. stamineus than in L. perenne. In part, this was related to size-mediated effects, as total leaf length per tiller correlated with LER and B. stamineus tillers were 71% larger than L. perenne tillers. However, accounting for size effects revealed intrinsic differences between species in their temperature response. These were based on the number of leaf meristems simultaneously active and not on the (maximum) rate at which individual leaves elongated. Species differences were greater at higher temperatures, being barely notable below 5 degrees C (air temperature). CONCLUSIONS: Bromus stamineus can sustain a higher LER per tiller than L. perenne at air temperatures > 6 degrees C. In the field, this effect would be compounded with time as higher elongation rates lead to greater tiller sizes.     

亚热带中山立地鸭茅分蘖丛生长与再生的定量分析

对亚热带中山立地鸭茅分蘖丛的生长与再生特征的定量分析表明,在５月份开花期和８月份再生草的取样中,鸭茅分蘖丛的蘖数均随着丛径的增加里直线增加;丛生物量、丛枯死量分别与丛径、丛蘖数之间均有极显著的正相关;平均单蘖重随着丛径的增加均呈变形双曲线函数减少,随着丛蘖数的增加均呈幂函数减少;抽穗率随着丛径和丛菜数的增加均呈直线下降．在生长季前期,鸭茅分蘖丛的生长策略是将大部分能量投入生殖生长．     

Morphological Constraints of Shoot Demography of a Clonal Plant: Extra- and Intravaginal Tillers of Festuca rubra

Abstract Festuca rubra forms tillers in two different ways: extravaginally and intravaginally. Demography of these two tiller types was observed in seventeen selected tussocks of Festuca rubra s.s. over four growing seasons. Extravaginal tillers were bigger at birth and on the average produced twice as many daughter tillers per tiller. In general, the natality and mortality of extravaginal tillers were less regular than that of intravaginal tillers. Overall tillering rate per tiller was correlated with the density of the surrounding vegetation; mortality, natality and tiller life span were not. High density of the surrounding vegetation did not result in increased formation of extravaginal tillers. The proportion of the extravaginal tillers was not correlated with the density of the F. rubra tussocks. There is no evidence for foraging by extravaginal tillers, but they do act as founders of small clusters of tillers.     

松嫩平原碱化草甸朝鲜碱茅(Puccinellia chinampoensis)种群生殖分蘖株的生长规律

朝鲜碱茅(Puccinellia chinampoensis)是一种耐盐碱丛生型禾草,广泛分布于松嫩平原碱化草甸.采用每隔3d对朝鲜碱茅种群中处于抽穗初期的生殖分蘖株随机挂一次标签,于籽实蜡熟期同时进行大样本取样与测定的方法,定量分析了5次所标记的生殖分蘖株的数量性状的变化规律及生殖分蘖株的生长规律.结果表明,在朝鲜碱茅种群中,虽然抽穗时间只相隔3d,但生殖分蘖株的各数量性状均具有较大的表型可塑性,总的变化趋势是抽穗时间相隔越长,差异越大.其中,5次样本中的相邻平均花序生物量之间的差异均达到了显著水平.延长生殖生长16d,平均分蘖株高增加了23.16%,花序长增加了25.70%,分蘖株生物量增加了74.99%,花序生物量增加到2.63倍,生殖分配增加了93.25%.随着生殖生长时间的延长,朝鲜碱茅种群生殖分蘖株高、分蘖株生物量和花序生物量均呈指数增加,花序长和生殖分配呈直线增加,生殖生长比率呈先增加后降低的抛物线变化.不同时间进入生殖生长阶段的生殖分蘖株均具有相同的生长规律.其中,花序长均随分蘖株高的增加呈指数异速增长,花序生物量均随分蘖株生物量的增加呈直线同速增长.分蘖株的生殖生长越延长,对现实种群的贡献就越大,对未来种群的贡献更大.     

羊尿对典型草原不同生活型草地植物生长特性的影响

连续2a研究了施尿量(4,2,1L/m2和0 L/m2)和施尿期(营养期和生殖期)对典型草原多年生密丛型禾本科植物长芒草(Stipa bungeana)、多年生轴根型菊科植物茵陈蒿(Artemisia capillaries)和多年生半灌木豆科植物胡枝子(Lespedeza davurica)生长特性的影响.结果表明,不同植物对畜尿沉积的响应不同,并受施尿量和施尿时期的作用.畜尿对草地植物具短期(4周内)灼烧作用,灼烧主要发生于尿斑中心;畜尿对长芒草生长具长期正效应(4周后),对茵陈蒿和胡枝子生长具持续负效应,此效应持续至少2a且随施尿量降低而降低.一般尿斑中心(4 L/m2)所有植物伤害,尿斑中心至边缘圈植物局部器官(嫩枝叶)伤害(2～4 L/m2),尿斑外渗区域(1～2 L/m2)所有植物无显著伤害.高施尿量(2～4 L/m2)下,长芒草具较高的年均分蘖数和地上生物量,而胡枝子和茵陈蒿与之相反.尿斑处3种植物具较高的分蘖(枝)死亡率和死物质率.茵陈蒿对各时期施尿均反应敏感,胡枝子和长芒草对生殖期施尿更敏感.尿斑处禾草枯黄期延迟,返青期提前.     

松嫩平原野大麦无性系分蘖株的年龄结构

野大麦无性系分蘖株由３个龄级组成,为明显的增长型年龄结构、１龄级蘖在无性系生殖生长中占绝对优势。分蘖株龄级越高,其数量增长速率越小,对无性系物质积累的贡献越小,１、２龄级分蘖株数量和生物量均随着无性系丛径和总蘖数的增加而增长,３龄级蘖与总蘖数间呈直线相关。平均单蘖生产力随着龄级增加而下降。生殖蘖平均单蘖重具有相对稳定性。无性系中１龄级蘖平均单蘖重体现出一定的密度调节作用,无性系潜在种群也为明显的增     

The effect of shading on photosynthesis,growth, and regrowth following defoliation for Bromus tectorum

Summary The effect of full sunlight, 60%, or 90% attenuated light on photosynthetic rate, growth, leaf morphology, dry weight allocation patterns, phenology, and tolerance to clipping was examined in the glasshouse for steppe populations of the introduced grass, Bromus tectorum. The net photosynthetic response to light for plants grown in shade was comparable to responses for plants grown in full sunlight. Plants grown in full sunlight produced more biomass, tillers and leaves, and allocated a larger proportion of their total production to roots than plants grown in shade. The accumulation of root and shoot biomass over the first two months of seedling growth was primarily responsible for the larger size at harvest of plants grown in full sunlight. Plants grown under 60% and 90% shade flowered an average of 2 and 6 weeks later, respectively, than plants grown in full sunlight. Regrowth after clipping was greater for plants grown in full sunlight compared to those grown in shade. Even a one-time clipping delayed flowering and seed maturation; the older the individual when leaf area was removed, the greater the delay in its phenology. Repeated removal of leaf area was more frequently fatal for plants in shade than in full sunlight. For plants originally grown in full sunlight, regrowth in the dark was greater than for shaded plants and was more closely correlated to non-flowering tiller number than to plant size. This correlation suggests that etiolated regrowth is more likely regulated by the number of functional meristems than by differences in the size of carbohydrate pools. Thus, shading reduces the rate of growth, number of tillers, and ability to replace leaf area lost to herbivory for B. tectorum. These responses, in turn, intensify the effect of competition and defoliation for this grass in forests. B. tectorum is largely restricted to forest gaps at least in part because of its inability to acclimate photosynthetically, the influence of shade on resource allocation, and the role of herbivory in exacerbating these effects.     

Axillary bud banks of two semiarid perennial grasses: occurrence, longevity, and contribution to population persistence

The occurrence, longevity, and contribution of axillary bud banks to population maintenance were investigated in a late-seral perennial grass, Bouteloua curtipendula, and a mid-seral perennial grass, Hilaria belangeri, in a semiarid oak-juniper savanna. Axillary buds of both species were evaluated over a 2-year period in communities with contrasting histories of grazing by domestic herbivores. A double staining procedure utilizing triphenyl tetrazolium chloride and Evan's blue indicated that both viable and dormant axillary buds remained attached to the base of reproductive parental tillers for 18–24 months which exceeded parental tiller longevity by approximately 12 months. Bud longevity of the late-seral species, B. curtipendula, exceeded bud longevity of the mid-seral species, H. belangeri, by approximately 6 months. Younger buds located on the distal portion of the tiller base were 3.2 and 1.4 times more likely to grow out than older proximal buds of B. curtipendula and H. belangeri, respectively. The percentage of older proximal buds, which included comparable portions of viable and dormant buds, that grew out to produce tillers following mortality of parental tillers was 6.0% for B. curtipendula and 8.4% for H. belangeri. In spite of the occurrence of relative large axillary bud banks for both species, the magnitude of proximal bud growth did not appear sufficient to maintain viable tiller populations. We found no evidence to support the hypothesis of compensatory bud growth on an individual tiller basis for either species. Grazing history of the communities from which the buds were collected did not substantially affect the number, status, longevity, or outgrowth of axillary buds on an individual tiller basis for either species. However, long-term grazing by domestic herbivores influenced axillary bud availability by modifying population structure of these two species. Bud number per square meter for B. curtipendula was 25% lower in the long-term grazed compared to the long-term ungrazed community based on a reduction in both tiller number per plant and plant number per square meter. In contrast, bud number per square meter for H. belangeri was 190% greater in the long-term grazed than in the long-term ungrazed community based on a large increase in plant density per square meter. Minimal contributions of axillary bud banks to annual maintenance of tiller populations in this mid- and late-seral species underscores the ecological importance of consistent tiller recruitment from recently developed axillary buds. Consistent tiller recruitment in grasslands and savannas characterized by intensive grazing and periodic drought implies that (1) bud differentiation and maturation must be remarkably tolerant of adverse environmental conditions and/or (2) tiller recruitment may resume from buds that mature following the cessation of severe drought and/or grazing, rather than from mature buds that survive these disturbances. These scenarios warrant additional research emphasis given the critical importance of this demographic process to tiller replacement in species populations and the maintenance of relative species abundance in grasslands and savannas. Received: 12 August 1996 / Accepted: 30 December 1996     

Fixing a snag in carbon emissions estimates from wildfires

Wildfire is an essential earth‐system process, impacting ecosystem processes and the carbon cycle. Forest fires are becoming more frequent and severe, yet gaps exist in the modeling of fire on vegetation and carbon dynamics. Strategies for reducing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from wildfires include increasing tree harvest, largely based on the public assumption that fires burn live forests to the ground, despite observations indicating that less than 5% of mature tree biomass is actually consumed. This misconception is also reflected though excessive combustion of live trees in models. Here, we show that regional emissions estimates using widely implemented combustion coefficients are 59%–83% higher than emissions based on field observations. Using unique field datasets from before and after wildfires and an improved ecosystem model, we provide strong evidence that these large overestimates can be reduced by using realistic biomass combustion factors and by accurately quantifying biomass in standing dead trees that decompose over decades to centuries after fire (“snags”). Most model development focuses on area burned; our results reveal that accurately representing combustion is also essential for quantifying fire impacts on ecosystems. Using our improvements, we find that western US forest fires have emitted 851 ± 228 Tg CO₂ (~half of alternative estimates) over the last 17 years, which is minor compared to 16,200 Tg CO₂ from fossil fuels across the region.     

内蒙古草原3种针茅属植物不同组织水平的生物量生殖分配

植物资源的生殖分配是链接进化生态学和功能生态学的纽带。该文从4个组织水平上研究了针茅属(Stipa) 3种植物克氏针茅(S. krylovii)、大针茅(S. grandis)和贝加尔针茅(S. baicalensis)的生物量生殖分配以及株丛和种群水平上可育散布体的数量和生物量。结果表明: 1) 3种针茅属植物在不同组织水平上的生物量生殖分配呈现明显分异。在株丛水平上, 克氏针茅和大针茅的株丛生物量分配到生殖枝的比例分别为44.3%和47.9%, 均显著高于贝加尔针茅的35.7%。在生殖枝水平, 克氏针茅的生殖枝生物量分配到穗器官的比例为30.3%, 显著低于大针茅的42.9%和贝加尔针茅的48.4%。在穗器官水平, 大针茅穗生物量分配到散布体的比例(63.9%)最高, 克氏针茅(49.9%)次之, 贝加尔针茅(39.1%)最低。在散布体水平, 贝加尔针茅的可育散布体生物量占散布体总生物量的比例为92.3%, 显著高于克氏针茅的67.2%和大针茅的71.3%。2) 尽管3种针茅属植物在不同组织水平上的生物量生殖分配存在显著差异, 但从最终可育散布体占株丛生物量的比例看, 克氏针茅为6.1%, 贝加尔针茅为6.3%, 大针茅为9.5%; 三者在生物量生殖分配上表现出明显的趋同效应。3) 3种针茅属植物生物量生殖分配的限制性环节存在显著差异。生殖枝向穗的生物量分配是克氏针茅和大针茅生殖分配的限制性环节, 株丛向生殖枝的生物量分配或穗器官向散布体的分配是贝加尔针茅生物量生殖分配的限制性环节。从可育散布体的数量和个体生物量看, 克氏针茅采取了倾向于拓展空间的增加散布体数量的策略, 而大针茅和贝加尔针茅逐步进化出了趋向于提高个体竞争能力的增加散布体个体生物量的策略。