Characterisation of the type and extent of nutrient limitation in grassland vegetation using a bioassay with intact sods

An important methodological problem in plant ecology concerns the way in which the type and extent of nutrient limitation in terrestrial communities should be assessed. Conclusions on nutrient limitation have been founded mainly on soil extractions, fertiliser trials and tissue nutrient concentrations. In order to avoid some of the problems associated with these methods, we employed a special technique using intact sods which rooted both in the intact soil and in a nutrient solution, from which N, P and K were omitted stepwise. The method was applied to hay-field communities which differed in their history of fertiliser application. Four fields were compared which were not fertilised for 2, 6, 19 or 45 years, while hay making continued. This was done to restore former species-rich grassland communities. We tested the hypothesis that the increase in species diversity in these grasslands was attended by an increase in the number of limiting nutrients.We observed clear shifts in the type and extent of nutrient limitation. Fields which were recently fertilised were characterised by nitrogen and potassium limitation, while phosphorus limitation increased in importance towards the later stages of succession. In the last field (45 years unfertilised) N, P and K equally limited production at the community level. These conclusions differed from those drawn from a fertiliser trial in these same four fields, which failed to detect phosphorus limitation.It is concluded that the use of this method provides a valuable extra source of information while studying relationships between nutrient limitation and species diversity in grassland communities.     

Characterization of highly conserved microsatellite loci in Araucaria cunninghamii and related species

 Ten microsatellite loci are described in Araucaria cunninghamii, the first reported in the Araucariaceae. Eight were tested in sections Eutacta and Bunya, which diverged more than 200 MYA, and to the sister genus Agathis. Specific amplification products within the expected size range were obtained for six to eight loci in section Eutacta (depending on species), five loci in section Bunya and three loci in Agathis. Two of the loci (CRCAc1 and CRCAc2, both GA repeats) produced specific amplification products in all taxa, with orthology confirmed by sequence analysis. The repeats were perfect in all taxa. The flanking sequences were extremely conserved, with sequence divergence of 0% to 2.0% within Araucaria species and 2.9% to 7.5% between Araucaria and Agathis. These microsatellites represent some of the most conserved microsatellite loci reported in plants. This may be due to a low evolutionary rate in Araucariaceae genome or the loci may be closely associated with highly conserved, unreported genes. Received January 14, 2002; accepted June 14, 2002 Published online: February 4, 2003 Current address: The Centre for Identification and Diagnostics, School of Life Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia.     

Neutral diterpenes from Araucaria bidwilli

Five ent-labdane diterpenes were isolated from the neutral fraction of the resin of Araucaria bidwilli. Three of them, previously unknown, were     

青藏高原东部高寒灌丛土壤养分有效性对增温的响应及其影响因素

高寒生态系统植物生长和土壤微生物生态过程受土壤氮、磷养分有效性的严重限制。全球气候变暖可显著改变青藏高原高寒生态系统植物群落生长与土壤微生物群落结构与活性,深刻改变土壤养分矿化与循环过程,进而影响土壤氮、磷养分有效性。然而,我们对气候变暖如何影响青藏高原高寒灌丛土壤氮、磷养分有效性的认识还不够深入。为了揭示气候变暖对高寒灌丛土壤养分有效性的影响,以青藏高原东部典型的窄叶鲜卑花高寒灌丛生态系统为研究对象,探讨高寒灌丛生长季不同时期可溶性有机碳(DOC)、无机氮(DIN)和有效磷(AvP)含量与化学计量比的动态变化及其对增温的响应,并分析影响土壤养分有效性的主要环境因子。研究结果表明:高寒灌丛生长季土壤有效养分含量季节动态明显。土壤DOC含量表现出先降低后增加的趋势,在生长季中期达到最低值;土壤DIN含量、土壤铵态氮、硝态氮含量及土壤AvP含量在整个生长季均表现出增加的趋势,均在生长季末期达到最大值。增温没有显著改变高寒灌丛整个生长季空气温度,增温使整个生长季土壤温度显著提高1.3℃,同时使土壤水分显著降低2.2%。增温使高寒灌丛整个生长季土壤DOC和AvP含量分别显著增加3.5%-9.9%和4.8%-33.7%。然而,增温仅在生长季中期使土壤DIN含量显著增加17.5%,在生长季末期使土壤DIN含量显著降低21.8%;生长季末期土壤DIN含量降低主要源于土壤硝态氮含量降低;但增温对整个生长季土壤铵态氮含量没有显著影响。同时,增温使生长季末期土壤DOC:DIN比显著增加37.3%,使生长季中期土壤DOC:AvP比显著降低17.9%,使生长季中期和末期土壤DIN:AvP比显著降低12.2%-25.7%。冗余分析和Pearson相关分析表明,土壤温度、土壤水分、土壤微生物生物量碳含量和脲酶活性是影响高寒灌丛土壤养分有效性的主要因子,它们能解释土壤有效养分含量大部分变异。这些结果表明,未来全球气候变暖可通过提高土壤温度、促进土壤养分矿化过程,加速土壤有效养分转化与循环速率,从而显著影响土壤有效养分含量。以上结果可为深入认识气候变暖情景下青藏高原高寒灌丛土壤养分转化与循环过程提供基础数据,同时也可为青藏高原高寒灌丛生态系统可持续经营与管理提供科学参考。     

An anatomical assessment of branch abscission and branch-base hydraulic architecture in the endangered Wollemia nobilis

Background and Aims: The branch-base xylem structure of the endangered Wollemia nobiliswas anatomically investigated. Wollemia nobilis is probablythe only extant tree species that produces only first-orderbranches and where all branches are cleanly abscised. An investigationwas carried out to see if these unusual features might influencebranch-base xylem structure and water supply to the foliage. Methods: The xylem was sectioned at various distances along the branchbases of 6-year-old saplings. Huber values and relative theoreticalhydraulic conductivities were calculated for various regionsof the branch base. Key Results: The most proximal branch base featured a pronounced xylem constriction.The constriction had only 14–31 % (average 21 %)of the cross-sectional area and 20–42 % (average28 %) of the theoretical hydraulic conductivity of themore distal branch xylem. Wollemia nobilis had extremely lowHuber values for a conifer. Conclusions: The branch-base xylem constriction would appear to facilitatebranch abscission, while the associated Huber values show thatW. nobilis supplies a relatively large leaf area through a relativelysmall diameter ‘pipe’. It is tempting to suggestthat the pronounced decline of W. nobilis in the Tertiary isrelated to its unusual branch-base structure but physiologicalstudies of whole plant conductance are still needed.     

The invasive red swamp crayfish as a predictor of Eurasian bittern density in the Camargue, France

Few data exist on the relationships between food levels and breeding density of the Eurasian bittern Botaurus stellaris , a vulnerable species of high-priority concern in Europe. Concurrent data were obtained on male bittern density and relative food abundance over a 3-year period in two wetlands totalling 2500 ha of Mediterranean reed marsh enclosing 25% of the French bittern population. Food abundance was estimated by sampling up to 25 hydrological units using a beach seine in early June of 2002, 2003 and 2004. The density of booming males in each hydrological unit was obtained by point counts and acoustic triangulation in May of the same years. The impact of food abundance on male bittern density was assessed by general regression models using a forward stepwise procedure with mosquitofish Gambusia affinis , carp Cyprinus carpio , other fish species, amphibians, red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii and other invertebrates as prey groups. Of these, only to crayfish abundance was bittern density related, contributing to 45% of the variance observed. When the impact of water level was taken into account, the relative abundance of crayfish explained 56% of the inter-annual differences in bittern density. Because crayfish are rich in calcium and well adapted to fluctuating hydroperiods alternating with drought intervals, they provide a good food source for the bitterns throughout the breeding season at the study sites. The loss of diversity and degradation reported from macrophyte-dominated marshes following crayfish invasion does not seem to apply to reed-dominated wetlands. It is further suggested that the recent increase in bittern numbers in the Camargue, while other French populations were decreasing, could in part be related to red swamp crayfish abundance.     

不同林龄刺槐叶片养分重吸收特征及其对土壤养分有效性的响应

为揭示丘陵沟壑区刺槐的养分重吸收特征及其驱动因素,研究该区不同林龄刺槐叶片全氮和全磷的浓度,以及土壤有机碳、全氮、全磷、铵态氮、硝态氮和速效磷浓度及其化学计量,分析了叶片氮磷重吸收效率与土壤养分特性之间的关系.结果 表明:植物和土壤的养分随林龄增长发生显著变化,而土壤总磷和速效磷浓度较低.氮重吸收效率随林分生长先增加后...     

Spatial heterogeneity in soil nutrient supply modulates nutrient and biomass responses to multiple global change drivers in model grassland communities

Changes in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide ([CO₂]), nutrient availability and biotic diversity are three major drivers of the ongoing global change impacting terrestrial ecosystems worldwide. While it is well established that soil nutrient heterogeneity exerts a strong influence on the development of plant individuals and communities, it is virtually unknown how nutrient heterogeneity and global change drivers interact to affect plant performance and ecosystem functioning. We conducted a microcosm experiment to evaluate the effect of simultaneous changes in [CO₂], nutrient heterogeneity (NH), nutrient availability (NA) and species evenness on the biomass and nutrient uptake patterns of assemblages formed by Lolium perenne, Plantago lanceolata and Holcus lanatus. When the nutrients were heterogeneously supplied, assemblages exhibited precise root foraging patterns, and had higher above‐ and belowground biomass (average increases of 32% and 29% for above‐ and belowground biomass, respectively). Nutrient heterogeneity also modulated the effects of NA on biomass production, complementarity in nitrogen uptake and below: aboveground ratio, as well as those of [CO₂] on the nutrient use efficiency at the assemblage level. Our results show that nutrient heterogeneity has the potential to influence the response of plant assemblages to simultaneous changes in [CO₂], nutrient availability and biotic diversity, and suggest that it is an important environmental factor to interpret and assess plant assemblage responses to global change.     

九段沙芦苇湿地生态系统N、P、K的循环特征

对九段沙(上沙、中沙、下沙)芦苇湿地土壤、植物中N、P、K含量进行了测定,研究其分布规律.结果表明:水平分布上,湿地土壤全量养分与速效性养分含量均是中沙最低,并以中沙为中心向两端递增,速效性养分的这种变化尤为显著.垂直分布上,土壤全N和全K含量的分布规律一致,为上层＞下层＞中层;全P含量分布为中层＞上层＞下层.速效N含量分布为上层＞中层＞下层;速效P含量上层土壤最高,中、下层土壤含量因湿地类型而异;速效K含量多以中层土壤最低,上、下层土壤含量变化不稳定,以不同湿地而异.不同芦苇湿地的土壤速效性养分含量差异显著大于全量养分的差异,0～60 cm深度土壤的全量养分和速效性养分含量排序均为K＞N＞P.中沙湿地植物中养分含量最低,与土壤中营养元素总体水平分布一致;多数芦苇湿地植物中营养元素含量排序为N＞K＞P,与土壤养分含量排序不一致.不同芦苇湿地的吸收系数排序均为N＞P＞K;芦苇湿地利用系数排序为P＞K＞N;循环系数排序为N＞K＞P.     

Why do Tree Species Affect Soils? The Warp and Woof of Tree-soil Interactions

Many ideas have been advanced regarding how trees affect soils. Enough evidence is now available to evaluate the strength of these ideas and to consider interactions between tree species and soils in an evolutionary context. Forest floor mass commonly differs by about 20% for different species growing on the same site; differences of up to 5-fold have been reported. Litterfall mass and N content commonly differ by 20 to 30%, but larger differences are also common (especially with N-fixing species). The net mineralization of soil N typically differs by 50% or more among species, indicating very strong feedback possibilities. We evaluate the evolutionary context of tree effects on soils by considering 3 degrees of coupling of trees to soils: tightly woven connections where the fitness of the tree is enhanced by its effect on soils; loosely woven interactions where selection for tree fitness unrelated to soil properties leads to indirect effects on soils (either enhancing or impairing fitness); and frayed interactions where the effects of trees on soil derive from features of the ecosystem that do not involve direct selection for tree fitness. Evidence supports each of these degrees of interaction for at least some cases, and no single context explains all the interactions between trees and soils. Important areas for further work include: next-generation assessments of the effects of trees on soil suitability for the same (and different) species, and the role of soil organisms in developing and modifying the effects of trees on soils.     

Aboveground nutrient cycling and forest development on poor sandy soil

The aboveground nutrient turnover of three ecosystems representing the main stages of heathland forest succession in NW Germany was investigated in a comparative study with regard to nutrient availability of the soil and light availability below the canopy. It was expected that nutrient availability would play a decisive role in forest development on nutrient poor acidic soil. The results show that the input of nutrients into the Calluna heathland is higher than the annual aboveground turnover of N, P, Ca, Mg, and K via litterfall. Compared to the pioneering birch-pine forest, the annual aboveground turnover of nutrients within the Calluna heathland, and therefore the nutrient availability is very low, while the light availability below the canopy is high. The increasing productivity of the growing successional forest is combined with an increasing nutrient turnover, mainly via litter fall. As a result, the increasing nutrient availability favours shade tolerant species with a higher nutrient demand at the late stages of succession. Consequently, the presumed terminal stage of succession, the oak-beech forest, is characterized by low light availability below the canopy and higher nutrient supply according to the resource-ratio hypothesis of Tilman (1985, 1986, 1988).