半干旱区生态恢复关键生态系统识别——以内蒙古自治区和林县为例

我国土地退化严重,且大部分发生在干旱半干旱地区.恢复为何种生态系统类型是生态学研究的重要课题.采用生态功能区划,根据各个生态功能区主体生态系统功能,推导发挥此功能的生态系统类型的方法,识别关键生态系统类型.以内蒙古自治区和林县为例,采用文献调研、实地调查、3S技术等方法,在评价该县生态敏感性、生态服务功能重要性的基础上,将该县划分为3个一级生态区,11个二级生态功能区.根据各个生态功能区的主体生态系统服务功能,分析发挥该功能的可能生态系统类型.再根据全国自然植被区划、气候变化趋势模型以及现状植被类型,识别各个生态功能区的关键生态系统类型.     

The role of ecological factors in controlling vegetation dynamics on long temporal scales

Abstract

The pattern of change in the Holocene forests of Europe is outlined and discussed in the light of external and internal forcing factors. Forests are seen as non-linear, dynamic systems, that are, at any point in time, unique and changing. In the absence of human activity, potential forcing factors during the Holocene include (i) climate, (ii) soil development, and (iii) internal forest dynamics. Climate is influential through exerting control on the floristic pool from which forests developed. Current results indicate that the role of soil development is likely to have been minor, but may have slowed rate of invasion and increase of some mid- and late-Holocene forest dominants. Forest change following spread and increase then forces soil change. Internal processes of forest dynamics include competition among existing species, and interactions between existing species and potential invading species. The patterns of interaction may be detectable through rates of change and patterns of increase seen in pollen records. Such processes are seen as being the dominant influence on the pattern of change and the development of forest. Forested systems, such as those in Europe, are strongly influenced by historical events, such as the mid-Holocene decline of elm. Forest composition is likely to be similar, in the broadest terms, from one interglacial to another, but always to vary in detail. The interaction of individuals, populations and environmental variables ensures that, although deterministic, prediction of change will always be difficult.     

鄱阳湖水陆交错带生态韧性时空变化及影响因素

鄱阳湖水陆交错带是一典型水陆相复杂生态系统,其人地关系矛盾和冲突强烈改变了区域生态韧性格局。基于适应性循环理论框架"潜力-连通度-恢复力"三维综合评价体系,以乡镇为研究单元,对鄱阳湖水陆交错带2000年、2010年、2020年的生态韧性进行评估;并运用地理探测器分析各因素在不同时期对生态韧性的影响强度及其相互作用机制,从而为地区生态韧性提升策略的制定提供指导。结果表明：（1）2000-2020年鄱阳湖水陆交错带综合韧性指数先增后减,整体呈上升趋势,韧性低值区经历了"小集聚大分散→大集聚小分散→整体分散"的空间演化特征;（2）鄱阳湖水陆交错带大部分乡镇经历了"释放→重组→开发"的演化交替,其中2020年各乡镇韧性演化处于开发（r）、保护（K）、释放（Ω）、重组（α）阶段的乡镇数量分别占49.4%、28.3%、8.2%、14.1%;（3）2000-2020年内的不同时期,鄱阳湖水陆交错带生态韧性驱动因子的影响强度存在差异,其中植被覆盖、夜间灯光强度、建设用地距离以及夜间灯光强度变化趋势成为研究区韧性变化的主导驱动力,且影响强度出现较为明显的逐年增强趋势。本研究可以在一定程度上剖析研究区域的韧性发展现状和趋势,推动形成具有地域特色且可持续的人地耦合系统。     

论华北农牧交错带生态与经济建设的策略与途径

华北农牧交错带自成型农作至今的百余年内,农牧业长期封闭、耗竭式生产,导致土地资源呈现沙化、碱化与贫瘠化演替,生态退化直接威胁着京、津及华北地区的生态安全,发挥市场经济下区域间互补性合作生产优势,组织农牧产品有效交流,建立开放式农牧生产结构。成为促进华北农牧交错带生态环境与社会经济互依发展的重要策略,基于不同效益主体的建设目标差异性及生态与经济演进态势的矛盾性,提出了华北农牧交错带生态一经济建设的技术途径,通过乔灌围网、草地培育,实现立体与平面相结合的土地生态防护体系;通过集约生产喜凉蔬菜、组织实施南秸北饲,发展区域特色优势产业,实现农业经济的突破。     

Woody vegetation spatial patterns in a semi-arid savanna of Burkina Faso,West Africa

Spatial patterns of woody individuals were studied in a semi-arid savanna of West Africa located in Burkina Faso at and around 14° 12 N and 2° 27 W. The study was based upon a 10.24 ha plot within which individuals were mapped. Spatial pattern analysis was carried out using second order characteristics of point processes as K functions and pair correlations. The overall density amounted to 298 individuals ha^-1. The most abundant species were Combretum micranthum G. Don., Grewia bicolor Juss. and Pterocarpus lucens Lepr. Anogeissus leiocarpus (D.C.) G. et Perr. was also an important constituant of this vegetation type, owing to its taller stature. Clumped spatial distributions were identified for all species except for two, for which complete spatial randomness (CSR) was found (including P. lucens, a dominant woody plant). No regular pattern was found even when tall individuals were considered alone. Aggregation dominates interspecific relationships, resulting in multispecific clumps and patches. The overall aggregation pattern was constituted by two different structures. A coarse-grain pattern of ca. 30–40 m was based on edaphic features, and expresses the contrast between sparse stands on petroferric outcrops and denser patches on less shallow soils. A finer-grain pattern made of clumps ca. 5–10 m wide, with no obvious relation to pre-existing soil heterogeneity. There was no overall pattern for saplings (between 0.5 m and 1.5 m in height) irrespective of species, and thus no obvious common facilitation factor. For species with a high recruitment level there was no significant relationship between mature adult and saplings. The only case of clumped saplings with randomly distributed adults was found in P. lucens. However, this cannot be unequivocally interpreted as density dependent regulation since the existence of such a process was not consistent with the spatial distribution of dead P. lucens individuals (victims of the last drought). The mean density around dead P. lucens was lower than around surviving ones, indicating that the last drought tended to reinforce clumping rather than promote a regular pattern of trees. Spatial pattern analysis yielded no evidence supporting a hypothesis of stand density regulation through competition between individuals. Other processes, as surface sealing of bare soils or insufficient recruitment, may play a more important role in preventing a savanna-like vegetation from turning into denser woodlands or thickets.     

Vegetation patterns at the alpine treeline ecotone: the influence of tree cover on abrupt change in species composition of alpine communities

Aims: The upper elevation limit of forest vegetation in mountain ranges (the alpine treeline ecotone) is expected to be highly sensitive to global change. Treeline shifts and/or ecotone afforestation could cause fragmentation and loss of alpine habitat, and are expected to trigger considerable alterations in alpine vegetation. We performed an analysis of vegetation structure at the treeline ecotone to evaluate whether distribution of the tree population determines the spatial pattern of vegetation (species composition and diversity) across the transition from subalpine forest to alpine vegetation. Location: Iberian eastern range of the Pyrenees. Methods: We studied 12 alpine Pinus uncinata treeline ecotones. Rectangular plots ranging from 940 to 1900 m² were placed along the forest‐alpine vegetation transition, from closed forest to the treeless alpine area. To determine community structure and species distribution in the treeline ecotone, species variation along the forest‐alpine vegetation transition was sampled using relevés of 0.5 m² set every 2 m along the length of each plot. Fuzzy C‐means clustering was performed to assess the transitional status of the relevés in terms of species composition. The relation of P. uncinata canopy cover to spatial pattern of vegetation was evaluated using continuous wavelet transform analysis. Results: Vegetation analyses revealed a large degree of uniformity of the subalpine forest between all treeline ecotone areas studied. In contrast, the vegetation mosaic found upslope displayed great variation between sites and was characterized by abrupt changes in plant community across the treeline ecotone. Plant richness and diversity significantly increased across the ecotone, but tree cover and diversity boundaries were not spatially coincident. Conclusions: Our results revealed that no intermediate communities, in terms of species composition, are present in the treeline ecotone. Ecotone vegetation reflected both bedrock type and fine‐scale heterogeneity at ground level, thereby reinforcing the importance of microenvironmental conditions for alpine community composition. Tree cover did not appear to be the principal driver of alpine community changes across the treeline ecotone. Microenvironmental heterogeneity, together with effects of past climatic and land‐use changes on ecotone vegetation, may weaken the expected correlation between species distribution and vegetation structure.     

山西省生态安全时空演变特征及影响因素

基于压力-状态-响应模型（PSR）,运用综合权重法对山西省2000-2018年的生态安全水平进行综合评价并分析其时空演变特征,采用Dagum基尼系数测度生态安全水平的区域差异与来源,利用空间计量模型进行影响因素探究。研究发现：2000-2018年山西省生态安全综合指数呈逐年增长趋势,生态环境改善明显,总体生态安全水平较低,不同行政单元尺度下增幅表现为省域 > 市域 > 县域。县域生态安全在空间上呈"带状"分布,呈现由中部向南北两侧递减的非均衡化空间格局,空间上集聚程度在增强。县域生态安全水平空间上存在非均衡性特征,非均衡性程度不断下降,空间差异的主要来源是子群间差异,并呈现明显的空间溢出效应,经济规模、人口密度、城镇化率、NDVI、高程是影响县域生态安全空间演变的关键因素。生态安全水平空间特征存在尺度效应,研究尺度越大,尺度效应的作用越大,需要在更大范围内维持生态系统功能的完整与可持续性的平衡。县域生态安全水平演化存在路径依赖现象,需创新发展模式摆脱路径依赖,实现路径突破。在经济发展的基础上维持生态系统相对稳定状态与人类社会经济持续发展之间的平衡,是促进区域生态安全水平提升,维持人与自然和谐相处的关键。     

乡镇遥感生态指数时空变化及影响因子研究——以天津市蓟州区为例

进行乡镇生态环境质量评价和其空间分异性的影响因子分析,探讨其自身发展及对环境影响的机理,有助于相关部门有针对性地进行政策调整,对实现乡村生产生活与生态环境协调发展,实现乡村振兴的生态文明建设目标有重要意义。本文以天津市蓟州区乡镇为评估单元,利用遥感数据、统计数据和社会调查数据相结合的方法,使用遥感生态指数(RSEI)对其2000—2020年的生态环境质量进行评价,并选取四大类型共九个影响因子,通过地理探测器对蓟州区2020年乡镇生态环境质量的空间分异性影响因素进行了分析。结果表明,蓟州区2000年到2020年乡镇生态环境质量整体有所提升,生态环境质量等级为差和极差的区域明显减少,生态环境质量等级为好的区域面积增加;其变化趋势可分为持续上升型、波动上升型和波动下降型,除礼明庄镇外,其他评估单元生态环境质量都在向好的方向发展。在单因子探测中,地形因子的影响力大于社会因子和经济因子,即蓟州区乡镇生态环境质量的空间分布受海拔影响要大于其他社会经济因素的影响;在交互作用探测中,任意两个影响因子交互之后的作用强度都要大于单一影响因子,其中干度指数与绿度指数的交互作用解释力最高;说明土地利用变化和城...     

闽三角地区城镇空间扩张对区域生态安全格局的影响

城镇扩张是地表覆盖形态变化的重要驱动力。城镇用地扩张的影响范围可辐射至区域层面,进而推动城镇周边乃至区域的生态环境演变。以东南沿海地区(含厦门、泉州和漳州,简称闽三角)为例,采用GIS分析和数理统计相结合的方法,刻画了城镇扩张过程对区域内以林水格局为代表的生态安全格局的影响,并分析了其差异。结果表明:①城镇扩张过程与生态安全格局的演变特征紧密相关;②城镇扩张过程对区域生态安全格局演替存在显著影响,城镇扩张的不同阶段对区域生态安全格局的影响存在显著差异,差异主要体现在最大斑块指数和斑块聚合度等指数的变化中;③不同景观指数在该过程中表现各异,其中,斑块占比是城镇扩张过程中区域生态安全格局演变的主要响应指数,景观形状指数是唯一表现出尺度效应的指数。研究结果可为优化区域生态安全格局,合理规划管理城镇扩张提供科学参考。     

近20年防风固沙重点生态功能区植被动态分析

植被是影响防风固沙生态功能的关键指标,也是检验防风固沙区生态保护成效的重要依据。由2010年国务院《全国主体功能区规划》划定的防风固沙类国家重点生态功能区、国家重点生态功能区转移支付县域综合确定研究范围。基于2000-2019年中分辨率成像光谱仪（MODIS）的叶面积指数（LAI）产品,从生态区和像元两个尺度分析近20年防风固沙重点生态功能区植被的时空变化趋势,并进一步探索气候因子对LAI的影响,以期揭示我国北方风沙区生态系统防风固沙功能的现状,为今后生态保护提供支撑。研究结果表明,2000-2019年间,研究区LAI年平均值呈现东高西低的空间格局,随着时间推移有显著增加趋势,平均增幅为0.03 m² m^-2（10a）^-1（P<0.01）。在生态区尺度,LAI在8个生态功能区均表现出不同程度的增长,且2010-2019年间LAI的增长速率高于2000-2009年的,其中,科尔沁草原生态功能区在20年间呈现最为显著的增加趋势,区域平均增幅为0.1154 m² m^-2（10a）^-1（P<0.01）。在像元尺度,近20年LAI显著增长（P<0.05）的区域面积占整个研究区植被面积的41.6%,其中,83.7%的LAI增长区域为草地,11.2%为耕地。增长区域主要集中在研究区东部,呈片状分布,研究区西部的LAI也有一定程度的增长,增长区域呈带状分布。2010-2019年LAI增长的区域面积为7.7%,明显大于2000-2009年LAI增长的区域面积。气候因子对研究区植被的影响为：研究区东部降水的增加对当地植被生长有正向的促进作用,而温度的影响则在整个研究区都较弱。除自然因素外,人为因素（防风固沙政策实施、农业技术进步等）对防风固沙功能区植被状况的改善也至关重要。研究区LAI的显著增加表明我国北方防风固沙屏障的生态功能在近20年有一定程度的提高。     

不同格网尺度下生态系统服务价值空间分异及其影响因素差异——以大南昌都市圈为例

在江西省持续推进生态文明建设的背景下,生态系统服务价值（ESV）空间分异及其影响因素的探析对生态环境保护与改善、促进区域性可持续发展等方面具有重要意义。以大南昌都市圈为例,利用当量因子法、空间自相关分析等方法,分析1 km×1 km、3 km×3 km、5 km×5 km及10 km×10 km各个格网尺度下地均生态系统服务价值的空间分布特征,并利用地理探测器和空间回归模型,研究不同尺度下ESV空间异质性的影响因素及其尺度差异性。研究结果表明：（1） ESV分布总体呈现西北部高,东南部低的特点,且各种格网尺度下均存在显著空间正相关性和空间集聚效应,但随着格网尺度增大其集聚效应减弱。（2） ESV空间异质性受自然、社会的协同作用,其中,人为影响指数的贡献最大,且任意双因子都比单一因子对ESV空间异质性的解释力高,但随着格网尺度增大,各因子及因子间的耦合协调作用对ESV的解释力都呈下降趋势。（3）随着格网尺度的增大,空间回归模型的拟合度下降,且不同格网尺度下影响ESV空间异质性的影响因素的作用强度不同,作用方向也有发生变化。     

泛长三角地区碳生态效率的空间格局及影响因素

碳生态效率反映碳排放产出的经济社会价值高低,是衡量可持续发展水平的重要指标。以泛长三角各市为对象,以揭示碳排放的经济社会效益为目标,构建经济产出效率和人口承载效率评估指标,研究碳生态效率的空间格局和影响因素。结果表明：经济产出效率和人口承载效率呈现不同的变化趋势和空间格局,2000-2014年,经济产出效率增长97%,人口承载效率下降68%,前者空间集聚度高于后者;核心区及部分沿江城市的经济产出效率较高、增长较快,人口承载效率较低、下降较慢,碳生态效率高于其他城市;经济产出和人口承载效率的影响因素类似、作用强度和方向不同,前者主要受产业结构促进,后者的影响因素包括但不限于产业结构,但产业结构优化抑制了人口承载效率提升。研究认为,经济和社会视角的碳生态效率变化趋势及影响因素作用方向存在差异,为通过政策调控实现经济和社会效益同步提升增加了难度,在推动经济增长的同时,进一步加快人口集聚、优化产业结构和能源结构、提高能源利用效率等是政策制定的优选方向。     

江苏省区域农业生态经济的时空变异分析

以江苏省徐连、沿海、宁镇扬、沿江和太湖5个经济区及其9个代表县市区域为研究对象,基于"社会-生态-经济"的系统分析,建立了包括目标层、准则层和指标层3个层次多指标的农业生态经济综合评价指标体系,采用主成分分析方法对评价指标体系进行检验、筛选,并以江苏省为案例,综合分析了农业生态经济系统的时空变异特征。结果表明:江苏省农业生态经济发展水平的时空变异明显,空间上,徐连、沿海、宁镇扬、沿江和太湖5个经济区表现出由北向南逐渐上升的趋势,且随时间的推移逐渐上升;时间上,徐连和太湖经济区农业生态经济发展水平在1999—2008年间呈持续上升,处于良好或优质协调状态。虽然两经济区的农业生态环境-经济发展协调发展水平均较高,但差距较大,徐连和太湖经济区的农业生态环境-经济发展协调度从1999年到2008年呈逐渐下降趋势,但总体上仍处于良好或优质协调状态。     

麦蚜和寄生蜂对农业景观格局的响应及其关键景观因子分析

大量研究表明多样性的农业景观格局能够影响蚜虫及寄生蜂的分布。本文利用并设计了两种尺度的麦田农业景观格局,依据麦蚜种群发生特点,分为迁入期、增长期与高峰期三个时期,论述了不同尺度下农业景观元素对麦蚜及寄生蜂系统的影响,通过逐步回归筛选了不同时期麦蚜及寄生蜂分布的关键景观元素,最后通过CANOCO软件模拟了麦蚜及寄生蜂的分布排序格局。结果表明不同景观因子对麦蚜及寄生蜂种群影响不同,迁入期两种尺度下裸地最有利于两种有翅蚜的迁飞入田,塑料大棚对有翅蚜种群的入田有抑制作用。增长期草地与林地生境对麦蚜种群增长率促进最大,塑料大棚同样抑制了麦蚜的种群增长率;但塑料大棚、草地与林地对蚜茧蜂的种群增长率有促进作用,非麦类作物生境对蚜茧蜂种群增长率抑制作用最大;草地与林地有利于重寄生蜂的种群增长率;高峰期裸地比例大的农业景观下麦蚜的最大种群密度较大,草地与林地对蚜茧蜂与重寄生蜂的最大种群密度均有促进作用。两种尺度下的研究结果一致。不同麦物种的对不同景观元素反应与形态学与生活史特征有关,而且景观结构中特定的植物种类、非作物植物的密度与物候期都可能影响寄生蜂群落的多样性与功能。     

Considerations for ecological reconstruction of historic vegetation: Analysis of the spatial uncertainties in the California Vegetation Type Map dataset

Historical ecological data are valuable for reconstructing early environmental and vegetation community conditions and examining change to vegetation communities and disturbance regimes over decadal and longer temporal scales, but these data are not free from error. We examine the spatial uncertainties associated with 18,000 vegetation plots in the decades-old California Vegetation Type Mapping (VTM) dataset that has been digitized for use in modern ecological analysis. We examine the relationship between plot location error and basemap year, basemap scale, plot elevation, plot slope, and general plot habitat type. Bivariate plots and classification and regression tree analysis (CART) confirm that basemap scale and age are the strongest explanation of total error. Total error in spatial location for all plots ranged from 126.9 m to 462.3 m; plots drawn on 15-min (1:62,500-scale) basemaps had total error ranging from 126 m to 199.7 m, and plots drawn on coarser-scale basemaps (1:125,000-scale) had total errors ranging from 241 m to 461.2 m. Relocation of individual VTM plots is considerably easier for plots originally marked on 1:62,500-scale maps produced after 1904, and more difficult for plots originally marked on 1:125,000-scale maps produced before 1898. Biogeographical analyses that rely less on relocating individual plots, such as environmental niche modeling or multivariate analyses can alleviate some of these concerns, but all researchers using these kinds of data need to consider errors in spatial location of plots. The paper also discusses ways in which the differing spatial error might be reported and visualized by those using the dataset, and how the data might be used in modern environmental niche models.     

Pattern development of the vegetation during colonization of a burnt heathland in Brittany (France)

Plant Ecology - The main part of the heathlands in the Paimpont area (Morbihan, and Ille-et-Vilaine, France) was burnt during spring and summer 1976. The pattern development of the vegetation was...     

Variance and spatial scales in a tropical rain forest: changing the size of sampling units

The size of a sampling unit has a critical effect on our perception of ecological phenomena; it influences the variance and correlation structure estimates of the data. Classical statistical theory works well to predict the changes in variance when there is no autocorrelation structure, but it is not applicable when the data are spatially autocorrelated. Geostatistical theory, on the other hand, uses analytical relationships to predict the variance and autocorrelation structure that would be observed if a survey was conducted using sampling units of a different size. To test the geostatistical predictions, we used information about individual tree locations in the tropical rain forest of the Pasoh Reserve, Malaysia. This allowed us to simulate and compare various sampling designs. The original data were reorganised into three artificial data sets, computing tree densities (number of trees per square meter in each quadrat) corresponding to three quadrat sizes (5×5, 10×10 and 20×20 m⁽²⁾). Based upon the 5×5 m⁽²⁾ data set, the spatial structure was modelled using a random component (nugget effect) plus an exponential model for the spatially structured component. Using the within-quadrat variances inferred from the variogram model, the change of support relationships predicted the spatial autocorrelation structure and new variances corresponding to 10×10 m⁽²⁾ and 20×20 m⁽²⁾ quadrats. The theoretical and empirical results agreed closely, while the classical approach would have largely underestimated the variance. As quadrat size increases, the range of the autocorrelation model increases, while the variance and proportion of noise in the data decrease. Large quadrats filter out the spatial variation occurring at scales smaller than the size of their sampling units, thus increasing the proportion of spatially structured component with range larger than the size of the sampling units.     

A new metric for evaluating the correspondence of spatial patterns in vegetation models

Aim  To present a new metric, the 'opposite and identity' (OI) index, for evaluating the correspondence between two sets of simulated time-series dynamics of an ecological variable.
Innovation  The OI index is introduced and its mathematical expression is defined using vectors to denote simulated variations of an ecological variable on the basis of the vector addition rule. The value of the OI index varies from 0 to 1 with a value 0 (or 1) indicating that compared simulations are opposite (or identical). An OI index with a value near 0.5 suggests that the difference in the amplitudes of variations between compared simulations is large. The OI index can be calculated in a grid cell, for a given biome and for time-series simulations. The OI indices calculated in each grid cell can be used to map the spatial agreement between compared simulations, allowing researchers to pinpoint the extent of agreement or disagreement between two simulations. The OI indices calculated for time-series simulations allow researchers to identify the time at which one simulation differs from another. A case study demonstrates the application and reliability of the OI index for comparing two simulated time-series dynamics of terrestrial net primary productivity in Asia from 1982 to 2000. In the case study, the OI index performs better than the correlation coefficient at accurately quantifying the agreement between two simulated time-series dynamics of terrestrial net primary productivity in Asia.
Main conclusions  The OI index provides researchers with a useful tool and multiple flexible ways to compare two simulation results or to evaluate simulation results against observed spatiotemporal data. The OI index can, in some cases, quantify the agreement between compared spatiotemporal data more accurately than the correlation coefficient because of its insensitivity to influential data and outliers and the autocorrelation of simulated spatiotemporal data.     

Landscape heterogeneity metrics as indicators of bird diversity: Determining the optimal spatial scales in different landscapes

Species distribution models are often used to study the biodiversity of ecosystems. The modelling process uses a number of parameters to predict others, such as the occurrence of determinate species, population size, habitat suitability or biodiversity. It is well known that the heterogeneity of landscapes can lead to changes in species’ abundance and biodiversity. However, landscape metrics depend on maps and spatial scales when it comes to undertaking a GIS analysis.We explored the goodness of fit of several models using the metrics of landscape heterogeneity and altitude as predictors of bird diversity in different landscapes and spatial scales. Two variables were used to describe biodiversity: bird richness and trophic level diversity, both of which were obtained from a breeding bird survey by means of point counts. The relationships between biodiversity and landscape metrics were compared using multiple linear regressions. All of the analyses were repeated for 14 different spatial scales and for cultivated, forest and grassland environments to determine the optimal spatial scale for each landscape typology.Our results revealed that the relationships between species’ richness and landscape heterogeneity using 1:10,000 land cover maps were strongest when working on a spatial scale up to a radius of 125–250 m around the sampled point (circa 4.9–19.6 ha). Furthermore, the correlation between measures of landscape heterogeneity and bird diversity was greater in grasslands than in cultivated or forested areas. The multi-spatial scale approach is useful for (a) assessing the accuracy of surrogates of bird diversity in different landscapes and (b) optimizing spatial model procedures for biodiversity mapping, mainly over extensive areas.     

A study on the vegetation in the east side of Helan Mountain

This paper analyzed the vegetation data obtained from a field survey conducted in the East Side of Helan Mountain, China, to reveal the features of mountainous vegetation growing in a transitional zone between the steppe and desert regions. Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) was applied to the process of analysis, to clarify the spatial variation of floristic composition of the vegetation in the lower mountain range.The preliminary results obtained from the analysis are: (1) There are 53 vegetation formations existing in the area, following the China's criteria of vegetation classification system. (2) Those vegetation types compose a vertical vegetation spectrum in the East Side of Helan Mountain due to the climatic gradient caused by elevation variation. The spectrum consists of 4 zones. They are, from the foot up to the peak in turn, mountain steppe zone, mountain open forest and steppe zone, mountain coniferous forest zone, and alpine bush and meadow zone. The mountain coniferous forest zone can be further divided into two subzones: Pine forest subzone and Spruce forest subzone. (3) Most of the vegetation types show clear xeromorphic features due to the base zone of the vertical vegetation spectrum lying in the arid region of China. (4) The distribution of vegetation types and flora is sensitive and susceptible to the moisture condition that the vertical vegetation spectrum has quite different expressions between northern and southern exposures. (5) Floristic composition of the vegetation shows a northern temperate feature. The families that are rich in species in the area include Gramineae, Compositae, Leguminosae, Chenopodiaceae, Rosaceae and others, most of which are abundant in herbaceous species. (6) The variation of the ecological conditions from the north to the south also leads to the differentiation of vegetation and its floristic composition in the area. (7) The broad-leaved forest can not form a forest zone in the vertical vegetation spectrum. This may be a special characteristic of the spectrum sitting on a transitional zone between the steppe and desert regions.