Role of the Phytogenic Field of Larch of the Prefire Generation in Forming Edaphic Conditions in Burned-out Forest Areas

It is shown that larch of the prefire generation is the main edificator at the early stages of progressive successions in burned-out areas. Its environment-forming effect manifests itself most strongly in the phytogenic field of living trees, where edaphic conditions similar to those in primary larch forests are formed within ten years after the fire. This is accompanied by an increase in the numbers of microorganisms utilizing organic and mineral nitrogen, as well as in the rate of nitrogen mineralization in plant microgroups of this zone. Hence, living trees remaining in a burned-out area promote restoration of the initial edaphic conditions.     

Congruence among vascular plants and butterflies in the evaluation of grassland restoration success

Using surrogate taxa in the monitoring of restoration success is strongly advocated but currently under debate. Are butterfly and vascular plant communities good surrogates for each other in monitoring the restoration of calcareous grassland grassland? The research was conducted in a small area in Tuscany (central Italy), which was the focus of a restoration project. We sampled vascular plants using 35 plots (1 m²) and butterflies using 20 transects (100 m in length) belonging to four treatment types: control scrubland, restored ex-arable, restored grassland and reference grassland. A mixed model nested ANOVA showed that reference grassland, 3 years after restoration, had the highest number of vascular plant species and the highest number of butterfly species. The different treatments were found to be distinct from a compositional point of view: pRDA showed that the “treatment” factor, independent of spatial variables, accounted for 22.1 and 21.9% of the total variance in the plant community and butterfly community, respectively (p < 0.01). The butterfly community was significantly correlated with the entire plant community data set and with the phanerophyte community (i.e. shrubs); larval host plants were significantly correlated with the composition of non-migratory butterflies. The results indicated that butterfly and vascular plant communities were congruent, suggesting the use of community composition of different taxa as a valuable tool for the evaluation of management success.     

青藏高原多年冻土区不同草地生态系统恢复能力评价

草地生态系统恢复能力是评价人类工程活动对青藏高原多年冻土生态系统影响的重要组分.分析了不同草地生态系统干扰带和非干扰带群落特征、植物多样性、草地初级生产力和经济类群,综合评价了青藏高原多年冻土区地上植被在受工程活动干扰后的综合恢复能力.结果表明:经过近20多年的自然恢复,青藏苔草草原、紫花针茅草原、扇穗茅草原、高山嵩草草甸、矮蒿草草甸和藏蒿草沼泽化草甸6种草地的盖度和物种组成均有一定程度的恢复,且草原群落的恢复程度好于草甸群落,但干扰群落仍低于未干扰群落;紫花针茅草原分布区物种多样性恢复好于其他草地类型分布区;干扰带由最初的地上植物生物量全部为0恢复到148.8～489.6 g·m^-2,其中藏嵩草沼泽化草甸干扰带恢复最好,生物量达489.6 g·m^-2;除藏嵩草恢复群落的饲用植物类群组成相对稳定外,干扰后的其他5种草地类型饲用价值降低.高寒草原生态系统的植被综合恢复能力显著高于草甸生态系统.     

准噶尔盆地梭梭植物群落的聚类分析

梭梭(Haloxylon ammodendron)是准噶尔盆地沙漠植被中最重要的优势植物。根据对准噶尔盆地典型梭梭植物群落样地的物种及群落状况的调查,采用数量分类的方法对该地区梭梭植物群落的相似性进行了聚类分析。聚类分析的结果表明, 37个梭梭群落被划分为11个群丛,根据聚类过程阶梯图的结果, 11个群丛进一步划归为5个群系。研究结果与传统的植物群落分类结果基本相一致,对于更好地保护和恢复梭梭植被具有一定的实践指导意义。     

The role of mosaic phenomena in natural communities

Interrelations among three groups of ideas are considered. (1) The place where a plant is rooted, or a sessile animal is attached, may be termed a microsite. The microsites for a community form a mosaic that is differentiated by physical environment or biological effects or both. Population function and regulation, and community self-maintenance and response to environmental fluctuation, can be approached in terms of the flow of reproducing populations through the mosaic. (2) Most communities are subject to disturbance followed by succession. Communities are diverse in the kinds and frequencies of disturbances and in kinds of successions and climaxes; and the species of a biota diversify in their relationships to successional time and patterns of successional and climax communities. (3) Although mosaic phenomena are general, two broad groupings may be recognized: intracommunity patterns that relate to microsite differentiation and species response to this, and intercommunity successional mosaics and climax complexes for which community disturbance is a major determining force. Relationships between elements of a mosaic can often be formulated in terms of a chain or network of replacement rates, but formulations should allow for the influence of bath terms and occurrence of semipermanent plateau stages in some successions.     

Ecological structure of burnt-wood flora and stages of their overgrowth in plain pine forests of Altai krai

The ecological structure of burnt-wood flora largely depends on natural and climatic conditions and geographical location. Secondary postfire successions in plain pine forests pass rather quickly, and burnt woods are at the stage of the development of communities of patient plants in 10 years. Pyrophyte plants acquire great significance in the development of vegetation of burnt wood. The development of zonal types of vegetation does not occur in 10 years. A decrease in interfire periods results in the fact that plant communities are under the constant influence of the pyrogenic factor in plain pine forests.     

我国西南山地喀斯特植被的根系生物量初探

在贵州茂兰喀斯特森林国家自然保护区内,选取2种立地条件上(岩石和土壤分别占优势)的5个植被恢复阶段(草本群落、灌草群落、灌木群落、次顶极常绿落叶阔叶林和顶极常绿落叶阔叶林)共10个样地,利用平均标准木机械布点法对根系进行采集,分析了其生物量总量、不同根系径级的分配格局和地下空间的分布规律。结果表明:1)喀斯特植物群落的正向植被恢复进程极显著地增加了地下生物量(p0.001),从草本群落的2.63Mg·hm–2增加到顶极森林群落的58.15Mg·hm-2;同一恢复阶段的石生和土壤立地上根系生物量的差异不显著(p0.05),在顶极和次顶极常绿落叶阔叶林阶段,石生立地的根系生物量高于土壤立地,而灌木、灌草和草本群落阶段则相反。2)同一恢复阶段的石生立地的粗根生物量均高于土壤立地,但差异不显著(p0.05),而细根和小根生物量则从石生到土壤立地显著增加(p0.05);随着喀斯特植被的恢复,石生和土壤立地上粗根占总根系生物量的比例均逐渐增加。3)石生立地根系的分布以水平扩散和穿梭为主,无垂直层次分布;而土壤立地各恢复阶段的根系生物量主要集中在地面到地下10cm的垂直空间内;在不同的土层深度,粗根占所有根径级生物量的80%,且随土层加深,其比例降低。该研究不仅填补了喀斯特植被根系生物量观测的空白,为估算我国西南喀斯特地区植被的总生物量和生产力提供了本底数据,也为进一步研究喀斯特森林稳定性维持机制和喀斯特石漠化防治与植被适应性修复奠定了基础。     

Soil Properties and Species Richness of Invertebrates on Afforested Sites after Brown Coal Mining

Variation in soil properties may influence diversity of invertebrate communities, a crucial component of every ecosystem, and their impact should be considered also in restoration management. Although most spoil heaps have been reclaimed after brown coal mining, some post‐mining sites are left to natural succession. Little is known, however, about the effects of these two fundamentally different approaches on diversity of invertebrates inhabiting these stands. While controlling for habitat characteristics, we analyzed the effects of soil properties on species richness of seven invertebrate groups representing various trophic levels and diverse spatial niches at afforested spoil heaps and adjacent pits managed under these two basic restoration approaches in the North Bohemia Brown Coal Basin (Czech Republic, central Europe). Forty‐seven percentage of 140 invertebrate species occurred on both reclamations and successions, but many were found exclusively on successions (37%) or reclamations (16%). The species richness of various groups was affected by different soil properties either independently of other variables or in interaction with microclimatic conditions or management history. These results imply a need for diverse management approaches in post‐mining areas to support the diversity of invertebrate communities. Technical reclamations with artificial plantations and spontaneous forest development on bare substrate (thus creating mosaics of open patches and afforested stands with different soil deposit materials) were found to be reasonable alternatives to support invertebrate richness on post‐mining forested stands. We conclude that these two approaches should properly be combined in practice.     

Phylogenetic and functional structures of succession in plant communities on mounds of Marmota himalayana in alpine regions on the northeast edge of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Few studies have examined the succession of plant communities in the alpine zone. Studying the succession of plant communities is helpful to understand how species diversity is formed and maintained. In this study, we used species inventories, a molecular phylogeny, and trait data to detect patterns of phylogenetic and functional community structure in successional plant communities growing on the mounds of Himalayan marmots (Marmota himalayana) on the southeast edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. We found that phylogenetic and functional diversities of plant communities on marmot mounds tended to cluster during the early to medium stages of succession, then trended toward overdispersion from medium to late stages. Alpine species in early and late stages of succession were phylogenetically and functionally overdispersed, suggesting that such communities were assembled mainly through species interactions, especially competition. At the medium and late stages of succession, alpine communities growing on marmot mounds were phylogenetically and functionally clustered, implying that the communities were primarily structured by environmental filtering. During the medium and late stages of succession the phylogenetic and functional structures of plant communities on marmot mounds differed significantly from those on neighboring sites. Our results indicate that environmental filtering and species interactions can change plant community composition at different successional stages. Assembly of plant communities on marmot mounds was promoted by a combination of traits that may provide advantages for survival and adaptation during periods of environmental change.     

Ecological classification of macroalgae and angiosperm communities of inner coastal waters in the southern Baltic Sea

A classification system of macroalgae and angiosperms for the inner coastal waters of the Baltic coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Germany) was developed according to the guidelines of the European Water Framework Directive. These guidelines ask for a five-step classification scheme (high, good, moderate, poor, bad) of the ecological state based on submerged macrophytes.The approach is based on the comparison of the occurrence and distribution of plant communities in 1999–2003 with historical data of submerged macrophytes and their community structure. Due to the lack of appropriate data, historical depth distribution limits of plant communities were calculated based on modelled historical underwater light climate.Despite the fact of very heterogeneous salinities (0.5–20.0 practical salinity units, psu) and substrate types (silty–sandy) in the study area, two general main criteria were identified as appropriate indicators of eutrophic degradation of the inner coastal waters: (1) the lower distribution depth of plant communities and (2) the loss of charophyte-dominated plant communities. Based on these two criteria, a five-step classification scheme is proposed for the characterisation of the ecological state. The depth limit boundaries between the ecological classes were calculated by 5, 25, 50 and 75% reduction of the water transparency. Based on this calculation, the ecological status is described by the gradual upward shift of the vegetation depth limit. Complementary to the decrease of depth limits the loss of charophyte-dominated plant communities characterises the border between moderate and poor ecological conditions.     

缙云山常绿阔叶林不同演替阶段植物生活型谱比较研究

采用Raunkiner生活型分类系统,对缙云山常绿阔叶林不同演替阶段植物的生活型进行统计,编制了生活型谱,并与其他亚热带地区常绿阔叶林相比较。结果表明,缙云山植被属典型的中亚热带常绿阔叶林植被,高位芽植物占绝对优势,达80％以上,其中小高位芽植物最多,中高位芽与矮高位芽植物次之,藤本植物较丰富。缙云山不同演替阶段的植物的生活型谱不同。随着进展演替阶段的逐渐更替,高位芽植物的比例呈递增趋势,地面芽植物、地下芽植物成分有所减少。高位芽的常绿树种会逐渐代替针叶树种。     

林区火灾后植物群落与冻土环境的多元分析

本文运用国际较为先进的双向指示种分析(TWINSPAN)多元等级分划分类方法和无趋势对应分析(DCA)排序方法对大兴安岭阿木尔林区1987年特大森林火灾后的植物群落进行了研究。通过排序结果和冻土环境的多元分析,得出：DCA排序轴1代表了土壤岩性与地形的梯度而决定植物群落的分布;DCA排序轴2则反映了森林火烧的程度梯度,并通过冻土融化深度和浅层地温值的变化而影响植物群落的分布,运用相关回归分析方法,定量地找出了它们之间相互关系的回归方程。 据此,进而探讨了该地区森林火灾后冻土环境的变化对植物次生演替方向和进程的影响。     

Plant community composition and attributes reveal conservation implications for newly created grassland on capped landfill sites

Biodiversity conservation through restoring degraded habitats or creating new habitats is advocated in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. Restored grasslands on capped landfill sites are semi-natural habitats that could potentially support a wide range of plant communities. However, it is unknown whether these re-created habitats represent a significant resource in terms of biodiversity conservation. The UK National Vegetation Classification (NVC) was used to study these communities on nine restored capped landfill sites together with paired reference sites in the East Midlands region of the UK during 2007. Plant species data were collected by random quadrats along two 100 m transects from each site. The effects of restoration were investigated by examining plant attributes and Ellenberg indicators on restored landfill sites in comparison to paired reference sites. A total of 170 plant species were found from both sets of sites. There were no significant differences for most of the plant attributes between restored landfill sites and reference sites, though reference sites had significantly higher mean frequencies of native plants, nationally decreasing species and perennial species. In total 26 broad NVC community types were identified of which more than 70% fell within mesotrophic grassland (MG). The diversity of NVC communities confirms that underlying environmental factors such as soil fertility are important, dictating the type of plant communities that exist. It is recommended that management of these capped landfill sites should be targeted towards specific NVC community types to meet conservation targets.     

Species and functional trait re-assembly of ground beetle communities in restored grasslands

Ecosystem restoration provides unique opportunities to study community dynamics under succession and can reveal how consumer communities re-assemble and respond to successional changes. Studying community dynamics from both taxonomic and functional trait perspectives also may provide more robust assessments of restoration progress or success and allow cross-system comparisons. We studied ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) communities for three years in a restored grassland chronosequence with sites from 0 to 28 years old. We measured traditional community metrics (abundance, richness, Shannon diversity) and functional trait metrics based on species’ body length, wing morphology, activity time, phenology, and diet. Communities had high species richness and abundance in early successional stages, but these declined in later stages to low levels comparable to an adjacent grassland remnant. Species composition also shifted with time, converging with the remnant. Although functional richness, like species richness, declined as succession progressed, functional divergence quickly increased and was maintained over time, suggesting niche differentiation in established communities. Young sites were typified by small, macropterous, phytophagous species, while older sites contained larger species more likely to be flightless and carnivorous. Prescribed burns also affected traits, decreasing prevalence of larger species. This study demonstrates that functionally diverse consumer communities can self-assemble under restoration practices. In a relatively short amount of time both morphological and trophic level diversity are established. However, prescribed fire intended to control non-desirable plants may also shape beetle community functional composition, and restoration managers should consider if plant community benefits of fire outweigh potential declines in consumer function.     

Structure of plant communities in the early succession stages on anthropogenic sandy outcrops of the forest tundra and northern taiga of Western Siberia

The results of a study of the taxonomic, ecological, and phytocenotic structure of plant communities formed in the early stages of overgrowth of the anthropogenic sandy outcrops within the forest-tundra zone and northern taiga forest subzone of Western Siberia are presented. In the early stages of vegetativecover restoration, there are from 2 to 11 species growing into sparse communities of the classes Loiseleurio-Vaccinietea, Artemisietea vulgaris, and Koelerio-Corynephoretea. The participation of some meso-xerophytic forest-tundra, meadow-margin, and weed herbaceous plant and dwarf shrubs species, mostly with ruderal and stress-tolerant eco-phytocenotic strategies, as well as with secondary strategies—violent-ruderal and ruderal–stress-tolerant—in the secondary succession on the sandy outcrops have been shown. The primary succession begins at the bottom and slopes of the pit ditches, as well on the surface of the sand dunes, and proceeds at an accelerated scenario. Hygro-, meso- and xerophilous species, predominantly oligo-mesotrophic rhizome and densely firm-bunch grasses and shrubs of the native flora, as well as ground lichens, participate in the early stages of succession.     

自然演替过程中铜尾矿土壤酶活性的变化

铜陵矿区堆放了大量不同时期的铜尾矿,形成大量铜尾矿废弃地,其中的大部分铜尾矿废弃地处于自然生态恢复状态。并形成典型的原生演替系列。为探讨废弃地自然生态恢复中不同演替阶段植物群落变化与土壤酶活性变化的关系,对铜陵3处不同时期弃置的尾矿废弃地进行了调查。随着自然生态系统演替的进行,尾矿中土壤酶活性逐步提高,维管植物群落下尾矿中土壤酶活性〉隐花植物结皮下尾矿中土壤酶活性〉裸地处土壤酶活性;位于植物群落下的尾矿废弃地中脲酶、碱性磷酸酶、过氧化氢酶的活性从表层至下层逐渐降低。不同植物群落对尾矿中土壤酶活性影响有很大差异,位于木贼群落下的尾矿中几种土壤酶的活性高于位于白茅群落和中华结缕草群落下的尾矿中酶的活性。相关分析表明,土壤酶活性与有机质、总N表现出显著的正相关。     

An ecological analysis of the riparian vegetation for improving the riverine ecosystem management: the case of Lombardy region (North Italy)

This research aims at finding the potential plant successions in riparian vegetation along gravel-bed streams of Lombardy (Northern Italy), investigating the influence of exotic species and proposing a more sustainable and efficient management planning for habitats conservation. To characterise the riparian vegetation, 65 phytosociological relevés were carried out along four rivers in Lombardy (Pioverna, Staffora, Ogliolo and Grigna). We evaluated a series of ecological indexes to assess the ecology of plant communities. A clustering analysis detected five different plant communities characterised by specific ecological traits. On the basis of such results, we discuss about a model of plant succession describing: (i) the typical native species succession representing the riverine forests of the study areas; (ii) a succession with moderate presence of exotic species; and (iii) a succession dominated by alien species with an unclear development. To preserve the natural heritage and landscape with a small rate of alien species, it is important to plan vegetation management actions, which limit the presence of new empty space. For containing the exotic species, mechanical and chemical measures could lead to good results, but they can be expensive and cause adverse effects. Otherwise, biological control, combined with other actions, has the potential to bring results with low environmental and economic impact. Ecological restoration measures using fast-growing and spreading native species could restrict alien plant colonisation. In this regard, a better comprehension of the invasive alien plants behaviour is necessary, especially in terms of their competition mechanisms. Nevertheless, the application of long-term vegetation management of river ecosystems is crucial for a continuous monitoring and for addressing the goals of the 2030 global agenda concerning biodiversity conservation.

     

基于地学信息图谱的重庆岩溶石漠化植被恢复演替研究

重庆岩溶石漠化区的植被恢复演替动态变化研究对于该地区的石漠化治理和生态恢复具有十分重要的指导意义。而多时相的遥感数据和地学图谱分析法为植被恢复的研究提供了一种动态性和综合性的研究方法。以重庆市中梁山的典型植被恢复区为例,在基于1996、2001、2007和2013年4期遥感影像解译分类的基础上,采用"空间代替时间"的生态学植被演替研究方法,建立重庆市中梁山区退耕还林前后的植被恢复演替图谱,并结合地学图谱的相关分析方法,得到该区的植被恢复演替动态格局演变规律,体现了空间信息科学技术、生态学方法和地学信息图谱分析法在植被恢复演替研究中的有效结合。结果表明:(1)运用BP神经网络和BP算法进行分类,分类精度达到87.42%,比传统监督分类提高了5.57%。(2)自2002年全国范围内的"退耕还林(草)"工程全面启动后,该区域植被恢复演变特征明显,耕地面积明显减少而植被面积明显增加。(3)从2001—2013年,植被演替在该时期内依然存在着进展演替和逆向演替两个方向。虽然逆向演替比例仅占到18.63%,但它却使该区的演替研究变得复杂。(4)质心反映了各植被类型在恢复演替过程中的聚散与迁移,1996—2013年,马尾松群落和落叶阔叶林群落的质心变化较小,其他植被群落的质心都有很明显的变化。     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Crescentiella</Emphasis>-microbial-cement microframeworks in the Upper Jurassic reefs of the Crimean Peninsula

In the Upper Jurassic reef successions of the Crimean Peninsula (Sudak and Jalta areas), the microencruster Crescentiella morronensis (Crescenti), microbialites, and multiple generations of cements, form microframeworks. They were observed in two stages of the carbonate platform evolution, in the Middle–Upper Oxfordian, and in the Upper Kimmeridgian–Tithonian. Generally, in both stages, the features of the microframeworks are similar and consist of densely packed Crescentiella associated with microbialites and branched colonies of the sclerosponge Neuropora lusitanica Termier. The difference between the occurrences of the two stages is the variable amount of nubecularid foraminifera and enigmatic tube-shaped structures forming the central cavities of Crescentiella. The Crescentiella-microbial-cement microframeworks formed under phreatic conditions in the upper slope and seaward marginal depositional settings where intensive synsedimentary cementation took place. They formed in the initial stages of long cycles of restoration and blooming of the reefs. The late Jurassic examples resemble the Permian algae-microbial-cement reefs as well as the Triassic Tubiphytes and cement crust-dominated reefs. Concurrently, all these examples formed a transitional facies zone between typical slope facies to shallow subtidal platform margin facies characterized by high taxonomic diversity of calcified sponges, corals, and microencrusters forming the principal part of the reefs.     

Plant–microbe interactions change along a tallgrass prairie restoration chronosequence

Soil microbial communities are critical in determining the performance and density of species in plant communities. However, their role in regulating the success of restorations is much less clear. This study assessed the ability of soil microbial communities to regulate the growth and performance of two potentially dominant grasses and two common forbs in tallgrass prairie restorations. Specifically, we examined the effects of soil microbial communities along a restoration chronosequence from agricultural fields to remnant prairies using experimentally inoculated soils. The two grass species, Andropogon gerardii and Sorghastrum nutans, grew best with the agricultural inoculates and experienced a decline in performance in later stages of the chronosequence, indicating that the microbial community shifted from being beneficial to grasses in the early stages to inhibiting grasses in the later stages of restoration. Growth of the forb, Silphium terebinthinaceum, varied little with inoculation or position along the restoration chronosequence. Growth of Baptisia leucantha, a legume, appeared limited by nodule formation in agricultural soils, peaked in young restoration soils along with nodule formation, but decreased in older soils as the microbial community became more antagonistic. Overall, negative feedbacks tended to be less important early in restoration, but appeared important in remnant and older restored prairies. Our results provide evidence that it may be advantageous for management practices to take negative soil feedbacks into consideration when trying to recreate the diversity of tallgrass prairies.