Assessing the conservation status of soil‐dwelling vertebrates: Insights from the rediscovery of Typhlops uluguruensis (Reptilia: Serpentes: Typhlopidae)

Soil‐dwelling amphibians and reptiles are relatively poorly studied and understood. Difficulties in sampling these taxa in their subterranean habitats might impede assessments of their conservation status. We explore this issue with a case study of the burrowing scolecophidian snake Typhlops uluguruensis, endemic to the Uluguru Mountains in the Eastern Arc of Tanzania. Despite recent standard faunistic surveys, there have been no reported sightings or collections of T. uluguruensis since the type series of four specimens was collected in 1926. Intensive replacement of forest by agriculture in the vicinity of the type locality had led to concern about the conservation status of this and other species. We report the rediscovery of T. uluguruensis in low intensity agriculture adjacent to human habitation, and close to the type locality. We compare the new material with the type series, and discuss the implications of this rediscovery for conservation assessments of small, soil‐dwelling lower vertebrates. We advise caution in determining conservation status when, as is usually the case, no special sampling of the soil has been carried out. Additionally, relatively neglected disturbed habitats should also be given more attention. Standard sampling methods for soil‐dwelling vertebrates need to be further developed and established.     

The Effects of Adjacent Land Use on Nitrogen Dynamics at Forest Edges in Northern Idaho

The effects of immediately adjacent agricultural fertilization on nitrogen (N) at upland forest edges have not been previously studied. Our objective was to determine whether N from fertilized agriculture enters northern Idaho forest edges and significantly impacts their N status. We stratified 27 forest edge sampling sites by the N fertilization history of the adjacent land: current, historical, and never. We measured N stable isotopes (δ¹⁵N), N concentration (%N), and carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratios of conifer tree and deciduous shrub foliage, shrub roots, and bulk soil, as well as soil available N. Conifer foliage δ¹⁵N and %N, shrub root δ¹⁵N, and bulk soil N were greater and soil C/N ratios lower (P < 0.05) at forest edges than interiors, regardless of adjacent fertilization history. For shrub foliage and bulk soil δ¹⁵N, shrub root %N and C/N ratios, and soil nitrate, significant edge–interior differences were limited to forests bordering lands that had been fertilized currently or historically. Foliage and soil δ¹⁵N were most enriched at forest edges bordering currently fertilized agriculture, suggesting that these forests are receiving N fertilizer inputs. Shrub root %N was greater at forest edges bordering currently fertilized agriculture than at those bordering grasslands that had never been fertilized (P = 0.01). Elevated N at forest edges may increase vegetation growth, as well as susceptibility to disease and insects. The higher N we found at forest edges bordering agriculture may also be found elsewhere, given similar agricultural practices in other regions and the prevalence of forest fragmentation.     

Livestock exclusion reduces the spillover effects of pastoral agriculture on soil bacterial communities in adjacent forest fragments

Forest-to-pasture conversion is known to cause global losses in plant and animal diversity, yet impacts of livestock management after such conversion on vital microbial communities in adjoining natural ecosystems remain poorly understood. We examined how pastoral land management practices impact soil microorganisms in adjacent native forest fragments, by comparing bacterial communities sampled along 21 transects bisecting pasture–forest boundaries. Our results revealed greater bacterial taxon richness in grazed pasture soils and the reduced dispersal of pasture-associated taxa into adjacent forest soils when land uses were separated by a boundary fence. Relative abundance distributions of forest-associated taxa (i.e., Proteobacteria and Nitrospirae) and a pasture-associated taxon (i.e., Firmicutes) also suggest a greater impact of pastoral land uses on forest fragment soil bacterial communities when no fence is present. Bacterial community richness and composition were most related to changes in soil physicochemical variables commonly associated with agricultural fertilization, including concentrations of Olsen P, total P, total Cd, delta ¹⁵N and the ratio of C:P and N:P. Overall, our findings demonstrate clear, and potentially detrimental effects of agricultural disturbance on bacterial communities in forest soils adjacent to pastoral land. We provide evidence that simple land management decisions, such as livestock exclusion, can mitigate the effects of agriculture on adjacent soil microbial communities.     

Can forest fragments reset physical and water quality conditions in agricultural catchments and act as refugia for forest stream invertebrates?

Forest fragments embedded within agricultural landscapes have the potential to provide a “forest reset effect” by mitigating agricultural effects on water quality, and acting as refugia and conservation reserves for aquatic species. We investigated the ability of forest fragments to reset agricultural effects using four catchments in the South Island, New Zealand. Two catchments were dominated by agricultural activities, but each had an isolated forest fragment in the lower valley, and two catchments had continuous riparian forest along the valley floor. Riffles sampled in continuous forest were generally deeper than those in agricultural and forest fragments, and not surprisingly streams in forest fragments and continuous forest received less light than those in agricultural land. All sites had circum-neutral pH, but both conductivity and temperature were significantly lower at continuous forest sites than agricultural and forest fragment sites. Taxonomic richness, Margalef’s index and numbers of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera (EPT) taxa were significantly higher in continuous forest than at forest fragment sites, but overall invertebrate densities did not differ between fragments and continuous forest. Several taxa were abundant at agricultural and forest fragment sites, but absent or at low densities in continuous forest. They included the blackfly Austrosimulium spp. and two caddisflies Pycnocentrodes sp. and Hydrobiosis parumbripennis. Conversely, the mayflies Austroclima sp. and Coloburiscus humeralis and the blepharicerid Neocurupira chiltoni were either restricted to continuous forest, or abundant in continuous forest but rare in agricultural and forest fragments. An ordination of communities separated those in agricultural and continuous forest sites, but communities at forest fragment sites were clustered among the agricultural sites. In this study forest fragments of 5–7 ha, located in the lower reaches of the catchment did not mitigate the negative upstream effects of agriculture on stream functioning. Fragment size (or riparian forest length), riparian forest width and vegetation type, and fragment location in the catchment may have critical roles in enabling forest fragments to reset the negative impacts of agriculture. Determining these characteristics of fragments has important consequences for stream remediation.     

Elevated Concentrations of Pesticides and PCBs in Soils at the Southern Caspian Sea (Iran) are Related to Land Use

Soil contamination by organochlorine pesticides or PCBs is almost undocumented for Iran. Here we report a soil survey in Mazandaran and Guilan provinces that hold >30% of the agricultural areas of Iran where pesticide use is widespread. Concentration of DDTs, HCHs, cyclodienes, and PCBs were measured in 45 soil samples from different agricultural land uses and forest land. The average concentrations of ∑DDT (37 μg kg^?1) and ∑HCH (21 μg kg^?1) in agricultural soils are among the largest ever reported and exceed international soil screening standards. All residues were larger in agricultural than in forest soil. Within agricultural land, ∑DDT were largest for tea gardens, lindane was largest in rice fields, and cyclodiens largest in citrus orchards. The ratio of (DDD + DDE)/DDT is an index of the extent of DDT degradation in soil and was lower in tea gardens than in other soils (0.7 versus 2–5), indicating either ongoing DDT input or lower degradation rate in the tea gardens that are more acid than the other soils (pH 4.5 versus 6.5–7.0). The o,p′–DDT/p,p′–DDT ratio was about 3 in forest soils, suggesting that DDT is derived from dicofol application and not from technical DDT as in agricultural soils. The PCB 28, 180, and 138 showed the highest mean concentration compared with other PCB congeners in all land uses. This survey is the first of this kind for Iran and illustrates that concentrations of organochlorine pesticide in soil are relatively large.     

Soil transfers from valley oak (Quercus lobata Nee) stands increase ectomycorrhizal diversity and alter root and shoot growth on valley oak seedlings

 Soils from valley oak (Quercus lobata Nee) riparian areas of the Cosumnes River Nature Conservancy Preserve near Sacramento, California were added to growth medium of valley oak seedlings grown in a greenhouse or in agricultural fields at Cosumnes which probably once supported valley oak trees and are now replanted with native riparian vegetation or allowed to revegetate naturally. Agricultural field soil from the Cosumnes River Preserve was presumed to be low or lacking in ectomycorrhizal inoculum. The study was designed to (1) determine whether valley oak stand soil transfer could cause mycorrhizal infection on valley oak seedlings in an agricultural field and in a greenhouse, (2) describe ectomycorrhizal morphological types formed on valley oak seedlings, and (3) determine whether seedling growth is enhanced more by transfer of natural valley oak stand soil than agricultural field soil. In the field study, transfer of forest soil increased average ectomycorrhizal diversity (2.4 types) more than transfer of agricultural field soil (1.2 types). Valley oak seedlings were responsive to ectomycorrhizal infection in the field study. With increase in mycorrhizal infection there was an increase in shoot growth at the expense of root growth. In the greenhouse study, both percent mycorrhizal infection and mycorrhizal diversity were increased more by transfer of oak forest and woodland soils than agricultural field soil. Eight morphotypes occurred on seedlings in forest and woodland soils but only three morphotypes in agricultural soil. This result strongly suggests that the agricultural field also harbors ectomycorrhizal propagules but forest and woodland soils support a more abundant and diverse ectomycorrhizal flora. Accepted: 17 August 1997     

缙云山4种林分土壤无机磷与活性铝的含量及分布

为探索不同林分对土壤中无机磷与活性铝的含量及分布的影响,以及无机磷与活性铝之间的相互关系,以在我国西南地区酸性土壤上的农林经营管理提供理论和实践依据。研究以缙云山广泛分布的4种林分类型：山莓、马尾松、楠竹和柑橘林土壤为对象,采用酸性土壤无机磷分级方法和铝试剂比色法测定了土壤剖面A、B和C层中各形态的无机磷与活性铝的含量,分析了不同林分土壤中无机磷和活性铝的含量和分布特征。结果表明,林分类型显著影响土壤中无机磷与活性铝的含量与分布,且铁磷(Fe-P)、交换态铝(Ex-Al)和羟基铝(Hy-Al)的含量和比例还受到土壤层次的影响。4种林分相比,山莓林能促进闭蓄态磷(O-P)的形成,而马尾松、楠竹和柑橘林则有利于Al-P、Fe-P和Ca-P的形成;柑橘林有利于低活性的腐殖酸铝(Al-AH)形成,而山莓、马尾松和楠竹林促进高活性的Ex-Al或Hy-Al溶出;Ex-Al、Al-P和Fe-P在土层的分布上有表层富集现象,而Hy-Al集中分布于B层。此外,土壤Ex-Al和Al-P与Fe-P之间,Hy-Al和Ca-P之间均呈显著(P<0.05)正相关。因此,林分类型显著影响土壤无机磷与活性铝的含...     

Changes in soil organic carbon,nitrogen, pH and bulk density with the development of larch (Larix gmelinii) plantations in China

Under the government of China's environmental program known as Returning Farmland To Forests (RFTF), about 28 million hectares of farmland have been converted to tree plantation. This has led to a large accumulation of biomass carbon, but less is known about underground carbon‐related processes. One permanent plot (25 years of observation) and four chronosequence plot series comprising 159 plots of larch (Larix gmelinii) plantations in northeastern China were studied. Both methods found significant soil organic carbon (SOC) accumulation (96.4 g C m^?2 yr^?1) and bulk density decrease (5.7 mg cm^?3 yr^?1) in the surface soil layer (0–20 cm), but no consistent changes in deeper layers, indicating that larch planting under the RFTF program can increase SOC storage and improve the physical properties of surface soil. Nitrogen depletion (4.1–4.3 g m^?2 yr^?1), soil acidification (0.007–0.022 pH units yr^?1) and carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio increase (0.16–0.46 per year) were observed in lessive soil, whereas no significant changes were found in typical dark‐brown forest soil. This SOC accumulation rate (96.4 g m^?2 yr^?1) can take 39% of the total carbon sink capacity [net ecosystem exchange (NEE)] of larch forests in this region and the total soil carbon sequestration could be 87 Tg carbon within 20 years of plantation by approximating all larch plantations in northeastern China (4.5 Mha), showing the importance of soil carbon accumulation in the ecosystem carbon balance. By comparison with the rates of these processes in agricultural use, the RFTF program of reversing land use for agriculture will rehabilitate SOC, soil fertility and bulk density slowly (< 69% of the depletion rate in agricultural use), so that a much longer duration is needed to rehabilitate the underground function of soil via the RFTF program. Global forest plantations on abandoned farmland or function to protecting farmland are of steady growth and our findings may be important for understanding their underground carbon processes.     

Impact of Agricultural Land-use Change on Carbon Storage in Boreal Alaska

Climate warming is most pronounced at high latitudes, which could result in the intensification of the extensively cultivated areas in the boreal zone and could further enhance rates of forest clearing in the coming decades. Using paired forest‐field sampling and a chronosequence approach, we investigated the effect of conversion of boreal forest to agriculture on carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) dynamics in interior Alaska. Chronosequences showed large soil C losses during the first two decades following deforestation, with mean C stocks in agricultural soils being 44% or 8.3 kg m^?2 lower than C stocks in original forest soils. This suggests that soil C losses from land‐use change in the boreal region may be greater than those in other biomes. Analyses of changes in stable C isotopes and in quality of soil organic matter showed that organic C was lost from soils by combustion of cleared forest material, decomposition of organic matter and possibly erosion. Chronosequences indicated an increase in C storage during later decades after forest clearing, with 60‐year‐old grassland showing net ecosystem C gain of 2.1 kg m^?2 over the original forest. This increase in C stock resulted probably from a combination of large C inputs from belowground biomass and low C losses due to a small original forest soil C stock and low tillage frequency. Reductions in soil N stocks caused by land‐use change were smaller than reductions in C stocks (34% or 0.31 kg m^?2), resulting in lower C/N ratios in field compared with forest mineral soils, despite the occasional incorporation of high‐C forest‐floor material into field soils. Carbon mineralization per unit of mineralized N was considerably higher in forests than in fields, which could indicate that decomposition rates are more sensitive in forest soils than in field soils to inorganic N addition (e.g. by increased N deposition from the atmosphere). If forest conversion to agriculture becomes more widespread in the boreal region, the resulting C losses (51% or 11.2 kg m^?2 at the ecosystem level in this study) will induce a positive feedback to climatic warming and additional land‐use change. However, by selecting relatively C‐poor soils and by implementing management practices that preserve C, losses of C from soils can be reduced.     

The effect of the presence of a forage legume on nitrogen and carbon levels in soils under Brachiaria pastures in the Atlantic forest region of the South of Bahia,Brazil

The impact of forest clearance, and its replacement by Brachiaria pastures, on soil carbon reserves has been studied at many sites in the Brazilian Amazonia, but to date there appear to be no reports of similar studies undertaken in the Atlantic forest region of Brazil. In this study performed in the extreme south of Bahia, the changes in C and N content of the soil were evaluated from the time of establishment of grass-only B. humidicola and mixed B. humidicola/Desmodium ovalifolium pastures through 9 years of grazing in comparison with the C and N contents of the adjacent secondary forest. The decline in the content of soil C derived from the forest (C3) vegetation and the accumulation of that derived from the Brachiaria (C4) were followed by determining the ¹³C natural abundance of the soil organic matter (SOM). The pastures were established in 1987, 10 years after deforestation, and it was estimated that until 1994 there was a loss in forest-derived C in the top 30 cm of soil of approximately 20% (9.1 Mg C ha^–1). After the establishment of the pastures, C derived from Brachiaria accumulated steadily such that at the final sampling (1997) it was estimated 13.9 Mg ha^–1 was derived from this source under the grass-only pasture (0–30 cm). Samples taken from all pastures and the forest in 1997 to a depth of 100 cm showed that below 40 cm depth there was no significant contribution of the Brachiaria-derived C and that total C reserves under the grass/legume and the grass-only pastures were slightly higher than under the forest (not significant at P=0.05). The more detailed sampling under the pastures showed that to a depth of 30 cm there was significantly (P<0.05) more C under the mixed pasture than the grass-only pasture. It was estimated that from the time of establishment the apparent rate of C accumulation (0–100 cm depth) under the grass/legume pastures (1.17 Mg ha^–1 yr^–1) was almost double that under the grass-only pastures (0.66 Mg ha^–1 yr^–1). The data indicated that newly incorporated SOM derived from the Brachiaria had a considerably higher C:N ratio than that present under the forest.     

锐齿栎林年龄序列土壤呼吸组分特征研究

林龄作为影响土壤呼吸的因素已是碳循环关注的热点问题之一,且林龄在模拟演替及长期碳动态的监测过程中发挥重要作用。该研究采用Li-Co-r8100土壤呼吸仪,研究林龄对土壤呼吸通量及其组分的影响。结果表明：锐齿栎林年龄序列(40 a,80 a,>160 a)及不同组分的土壤呼吸速率都表现出明显的单峰型季节动态,且与5 cm土壤温度呈显著指数相关。这可能是由于温度变化影响土壤生物活性引起的,土壤温度与土壤呼吸关系的指数方程可以解释80％以上的土壤呼吸变化。土壤呼吸及其不同组分在林龄间均无明显差异,土壤呼吸对温度的敏感性在锐齿栎林年龄序列及各组分间也无显著差异,这可能与林龄间土壤特性、森林生产力、微环境条件等相差不大有关。加倍凋落物的累计土壤呼吸通量显著( P<0.05)高于对照、断根和去除凋落物处理的累积呼吸量,说明增加凋落物输入为土壤提供了更丰富的养分,改善了样地微环境,有利于激发土壤微生物活性。锐齿栎林累计土壤呼吸通量与土壤有机碳( SOC)、细根生物量( FR)和微生物呼吸( MR)也显著相关,表明该地区土壤特性以及地下新陈代谢能很好地解释锐齿栎林土壤呼吸格局。     

Soil Carbon Accumulation During Temperate Forest Succession on Abandoned Low Productivity Agricultural Lands

Carbon sequestration in soils that have previously been depleted of organic matter due to agriculture is an important component of global strategies to mitigate rising atmospheric CO₂ concentrations. Extensive areas of low productivity farmland have been abandoned from agriculture in eastern North America and elsewhere over the past century, and are naturally regenerating to temperate forests. We investigated the soil carbon sequestration potential of such lands by sampling adjacent mature forest and agricultural field sites, and replicated chronosequences of forest succession on Podzol, Brunisol, and Luvisol soil types that are considered ‘marginal’ for agriculture and have been abandoned extensively across southeastern Ontario, Canada. Total soil organic carbon and nitrogen stocks to 10 cm depth were approximately 32% and 18% lower, respectively, in agricultural fields compared to mature forests. Furthermore, carbon stocks across our 100-year chronosequences increased most within the 0–5 cm soil depth interval, tended to increase within the 5–10 cm interval, and were unaltered within the 10–20 cm interval. Soil type had little effect on the potential magnitude or rates of soil carbon sequestration (~10 g C m^?2 y^?1 in the top 10 cm), perhaps because all sites shared a common vegetation successional pattern. Finally, our investigations of the ‘labile’ free-light carbon and nitrogen fractions in the Brunisol soil type indicated no increases across the chronosequence, implying that soil carbon accumulation was primarily in more recalcitrant pools. Our results indicate that each of these low productivity soil types can be moderate carbon sinks for a century following agricultural abandonment, and strongly suggest that time since abandonment is more important than soil type in determining the potential magnitude of carbon sequestration within this climatic region.     

The ecological basis of hunter-gatherer subsistence in African Rain Forests: The Mbuti of Eastern Zaire

The Mbuti pygmies, hunter-gatherers of the Ituri Forest of Zaire, trade forest products and labor for agricultural foods. It has been assumed that the Mbuti lived independently in the equatorial forest prior to its penetration by shifting cultivators. We assessed forest food resources (plant and animal) to determine their adequacy to support a hunting and gathering economy. For five months of the year, essentially none of the calorically important forest fruits and seeds are available. Honey is not abundant during this season of scarcity. Wild game meat is available year round, but the main animals caught have low fat content. This makes them a poor substitute for starch-dense agricultural foods, now staples in Mbuti diet. In general, in the closed evergreen forest zone, edible wild plant species are more abundant in agriculturally derived secondary forest than in primary forest. Similarly, they are more common at the savanna ecotone and in gallery forests. We suggest that it is unlikely that hunter-gatherers would have lived independently in the forest interior with its precarious resource base, when many of the food species they exploit are more abundant toward the savanna border.     

Temporal changes in species diversity and composition in abandoned fields in a <Emphasis Type="Italic">trans</Emphasis>-Himalayan landscape,Nepal

Secondary succession is an increasing phenomenon due to global changes in agriculture policies and practices. The empirical findings are biased towards the temperate zone. Abandonment of agriculture fields is less frequent in the subtropical and tropical zones where agriculture areas are, in general, expanding. But there are exceptions; a rapid rate of abandonment of agricultural fields have taken place in the arid trans-Himalayan region, due to today’s globalization of economy. We analysed agriculture fields that were abandoned between 1950 and 2003 in a large u-valley in central Nepal (3400 m a.s.l.). The potential forest vegetation is dominated by Pinus wallichina and shrubs of junipers and cotoneaster species. We tested the intermediate richness hypothesis in relation to vegetation cover, soil development and whether old-field succession is convergent or divergent with species data from 242 1 m² plots in 5 age-classes. The main species compositional turnover expressed by Detrended Correspondence Analyses (DCA) correlated, as expected, with time after abandonment. Fields that were abandoned a long time ago are closer to forest at the periphery of the agricultural landscape. Moisture of the soil significantly increased with age of abandonment, but total vegetation cover and pH were negatively related to age. Beta diversity expressed in DCA SD-units showed an increasing trend with age of abandonment, supporting the divergence pattern in old-field succession. The reason why the succession is not converging may be due to browsing by domestic animals that prevent a closed canopy of pines and juniper to develop. There was a significant hump-shaped pattern in species richness along the temporal gradient, which agrees with the intermediate species-richness hypothesis. There was a rapid increase in species richness in plots close to the villages that were used for haymaking which increased the seed input significantly.     

模拟N沉降对太岳山油松人工林和天然林草本群落的影响

由于人类活动氮沉降呈逐年增加的趋势,进而增加了陆地生态系统氮的输入,从而影响陆地生态系统多样性、物种组成和功能。为揭示氮沉降增加对油松林草本群落的影响,于2009年7月在太岳山油松人工林和天然林,设计4个施氮水平:对照(CK,0 kg N hm-2a-1),低氮(LN,50 kg N hm-2a-1),中氮(MN,100 kg N hm-2a-1)和高氮(HN,150 kg N hm-2a-1),研究草本群落的生物多样性、生物量以及草本元素含量对模拟N沉降的响应。研究结果表明:模拟N沉降未能显著影响人工林草本群落的生物多样性(P0.05),而中氮、高氮显著降低了天然林草本群落的生物多样性(P0.05);从Jaccard指数和Sorensen指数分析得出人工林不同氮水平之间草本群落差异性较小,而天然林不同氮水平之间草本群落差异性较大。模拟N沉降没有显著改变人工林草本群落生物量(P0.05),而高氮明显促进天然林草本群落生物量的增加(P0.05)。与对照相比,模拟N沉降提高了人工林和天然林羊胡子苔草叶根中的全N含量(P0.05),而降低了全Mg的含量(P0.05),并且根部元素含量变化与土壤养分含量变化较为一致。施氮提高了N/K、N/Ca、N/Mg(P0.05)的比值。说明油松林下草本群落对氮沉降的响应因林分土壤N饱和程度以及林地利用历史的不同而产生差异,其中天然林响应最为敏感。     

Community dynamics of evergreen broadleaf forests in southwestern Japan. II. Species composition and density of seeds buried in the soil of a climax evergreen oak forest

The species composition and density of seeds in the soil of a climax evergeen oak forest in the Kasugayama Forest Reserve, Nara, Japan were studied by directly extracting seeds from soil samples and using soil samples in planting boxes as the basis of germination tests. A total of 33 species were identified from all seeds collected in 6 stands: 11 evergreen broadleaf, 15 deciduous broadleaf, 2 coniferous, 2 liana, 1 herb, and 2 grass species. Species producing sap fruits and dry fruits accounted for 60% and 40% of the total number of species, respectively. The species composition of all the seeds was independent of the species composition of the forest vegetation. The mean density of the seeds was 22,134 seeds/m²·5 cm.Eurya japonica, of which seeds were found in all soil samples, was the most abundant species, followed byCryptomeria japonica, Ilex micrococca, andBoehmeria longispica. Pioneer species such asMallotus japonicus, Zanthoxylum ailanthoides, andAralia elata were found in all soil samples in spite of the paucity of adult trees in the forest. Seeds of evergreen oaks were relatively aboundant but no viable seeds were found. ViableE. japonica, I. micrococca, Symplocos prunifolia, andB. longispica seeds were abundant.     

Supply-side controls on soil respiration among Oregon forests

To test the hypothesis that variation in soil respiration is related to plant production across a diverse forested landscape, we compared annual soil respiration rates with net primary production and the subsequent allocation of carbon to various ecosystem pools, including leaves, fine roots, forests floor, and mineral soil for 36 independent plots arranged as three replicates of four age classes in three climatically distinct forest types. Across all plots, annual soil respiration was not correlated with aboveground net primary production (R²=0.06, P>0.1) but it was moderately correlated with belowground net primary production (R²=0.46, P<0.001). Despite the wide range in temperature and precipitation regimes experienced by these forests, all exhibited similar soil respiration per unit live fine root biomass, with about 5 g of carbon respired each year per 1 g of fine root carbon (R²=0.45, P<0.001). Annual soil respiration was only weakly correlated with dead carbon pools such as forest floor and mineral soil carbon (R²=0.14 and 0.12, respectively). Trends between soil respiration, production, and root mass among age classes within forest type were inconsistent and do not always reflect cross‐site trends. These results are consistent with a growing appreciation that soil respiration is strongly influenced by the supply of carbohydrates to roots and the rhizosphere, and that some regional patterns of soil respiration may depend more on belowground carbon allocation than the abiotic constraints imposed on subsequent metabolism.     

中国根层与表层土壤水分关系分析

根层与表层土壤水分的关系, 是由较易获取的表层土壤水分信息去探讨较难获取的深层土壤水分信息的重要桥梁。已有的根层与表层土壤水分关系(简称根表关系)大都基于一种作物或一种生态系统。该文根据我国生态系统研究网络, 包括森林、草地、农田、荒漠和沼泽生态系统的31个站点109个观测场2006年全年3437对根层和表层土壤水分数据, 研究了根表关系以及生态系统、土壤质地、湿润度、植被、土壤厚度和土壤水分量级对根表关系的影响。研究发现, 表层和根层土壤水分存在着线性关系。森林和沼泽的根层与表层土壤水分相关程度较高, 无论是率定段还是校核段, 其决定系数(R²)均大于0.79。农田和草地生态系统的率定段相关性较好, R ²均大于0.80, 校核段相关性稍弱, R ²分别为0.70和0.50。荒漠生态系统的相关关系最弱, 率定段的R²为0.62, 校核段的R²为0.49。土壤质地和生态系统因素对根表关系的影响较为一致。半湿润带、半干旱带和干旱带的根表关系空间分异性最强; 十分湿润带的根表关系与壤土和森林生态系统的根表关系相对应。湿润带内部的根表关系较为一致。将植被对根表关系的影响分为4类, 前两类为根表关系微弱的植被, 由植被本身或者植被以外的地域因素导致, 不适合用根表关系去由表层推算根层土壤水分; 后两类为根表关系良好植被, 区别为服从和不服从关系总线, 可分别用各自的根表关系或者关系总线从表层土壤水分获取根层土壤水分。表层土壤水分与0-20、0-30、……、0-100 cm土层的土壤水分均分别具有较好的相关关系, 但二者的相关性随土层厚度的增加而降低。不过, 即使是土层厚度抵及100 cm, R ²仍能维持在0.79。通过将土壤水分分别除以所有观测数据的最大值(“标甲”法)和各个生态系统数据的最大值(“标乙”法), 发现根表关系不受土壤水分量级本身的影响。     

The availability and use of wood resources at the multi-period settlement site of Pyeonggeo-dong, Jinju, South Korea

Analysis of wood charcoal that was conducted as a part of an interdisciplinary project at Pyeonggeo-dong, a multi-period agricultural complex located in Jinju, South Korea, reveals oak (Quercus sp.) to be the most commonly encountered wood over the period of 4000–1500 cal. b.p. The charcoal data indicate that Quercus was one of the most abundant woody plants in the surrounding vegetation, although its dominance in the charcoal assemblage may partly represent preferential human selection in the past. The data suggest that Quercus-dominant forest declined with the growth of a secondary forest of Platycarya strobilacea around the site from about a.d. 300. This change postdates by more than a thousand years the earliest evidence of large-scale agriculture, which is visible in the form of carbonized crops and large tracts of prehistoric agricultural fields. A relatively large number of pit dwellings for the Three-Kingdoms period (ca. a.d. 300–500) at Pyeonggeo-dong suggests that this late sign of human impact on vegetation is related to the extension of agricultural fields to previously uncultivated hilly areas and/or increased needs for fuel and timber caused by high population density of the site.     

Parallel evolutionary paths to mycoheterotrophy in understorey Ericaceae and Orchidaceae: ecological evidence for mixotrophy in Pyroleae

Several forest understorey achlorophyllous plants, termed mycoheterotrophs (MHs), obtain C from their mycorrhizal fungi. The latter in turn form ectomycorrhizas with trees, the ultimate C source of the entire system. A similar nutritional strategy occurs in some green forest orchids, phylogenetically close to MH species, that gain their C via a combination of MH and photosynthesis (mixotrophy). In orchid evolution, mixotrophy evolved in shaded habitats and preceded MH nutrition. By generalizing and applying this to Ericaceae, we hypothesized that green forest species phylogenetically close to MHs are mixotrophic. Using stable C isotope analysis with fungi, autotrophic, mixotrophic and MH plants as comparisons, we found the first quantitative evidence for substantial fungi-mediated mixotrophy in the Pyroleae, common ericaceous shrubs from boreal forests close to the MH Monotropoideae. Orthilia secunda, Pyrola chlorantha, Pyrola rotundifolia and Chimaphila umbellata acquired between 10.3 and 67.5% of their C from fungi. High N and ¹⁵N contents also suggest that Pyroleae nutrition partly rely on fungi. Examination of root fungal internal transcribed spacer sequences at one site revealed that 39 species of mostly endophytic or ectomycorrhizal fungi, including abundant Tricholoma spp., were associated with O. secunda, P. chlorantha and C. umbellata. These fungi, particularly ectomycorrhizal associates, could thus link mixotrophic Pyroleae spp. to surrounding trees, allowing the C flows deduced from isotopic evidence. These data suggest that we need to reconsider ecological roles of understorey plants, which could influence the dynamics and composition of forest communities.