林冠附生植物生态学研究进展

林冠附生植物及其枯死存留物是构成山地湿性森林生态系统中生物区系、结构和功能的重要组分。由于在林冠攀爬技术上的限制,过去对林冠附生植物在生态系统结构和功能过程中的作用未能引起足够的重视。近20年来,随着对林冠生物多样性及其在生态系统功能过程影响的认识和研究技术上的提高,对林冠附生生物的研究已逐步从个体水平转移到系统水平上。有关林冠附生植物多样性、生物量及其生态学效应已成为近年来国际上新兴研究领域——“林冠学”的研究热点之一。许多研究表明,林冠附生植物在生态系统水平上的交互作用比它们的解剖、形态和生理特征更为重要。国外大量的研究结果表明,林冠是一个适合于许多生物种类生存的场所,其数量比想象的更为丰富。在全球范围内估计有29 500余种附生植物,其中维管束附生植物的种类高达24 000种,约占总维管束植物种类的10%。林冠附生物的生物量在世界各地森林中存在较大的差异,其范围在105~44 000 kg·hm^-2之间,其中在一些热带和温带天然老龄林中林冠附生物的生物量超过了宿主林木的叶生物量。林冠附生植物还具有较大的叶面积指数(LAI)。林冠附生物丰富的物种组成、较高的生物量、独特的生理形态特征以及它们分布于森林与大气相互作用的关键界面,使得它们在生态系统物种多样性形成及其维持机制、养分和水分循环、指示环境质量等方面具有重要的作用。林冠附生植物及其枯死残留物具有较强的能力吸收雨水和空气中的营养物质,在林冠层中形成一个潮湿的环境促进氮固定,林冠附生植物群落还能为生存于林冠的其它生物(如鸟类、哺乳动物、两栖动物、爬行动物和昆虫等)提供食物和栖息场所。林冠附生植物的生长发育与分布格局除与宿主有关外,还受到环境因素(气候、地形、微生境条件等)和人为干扰的影响。由于世界各地森林类型多样和环境条件各异,目前国际上有关附生物的研究仍十分活跃,建立了林冠研究网络,研究不同类型森林中附生植物及其枯死残留物的动态及其与群落特征、环境因子的数量关系,探讨、交流和发展有效的标准测量方法和技术是该领域研究的主要内容。国内对林冠附生植物生态学的研究刚刚起步,有待于今后加强该领域的研究。     

西双版纳地区附生与非附生植物叶片角质层对水分的透性研究

为了探讨雾水对西双版纳地区不同类型植物的生态学效应,干季于20℃及30℃下用自制的设备测定了西双版纳地区4种附生和4种非附生植物叶片上表皮水分进出角质层的透性,比较研究了不同类型植物叶片通过角质层蒸腾失水速率(P_T)、叶片通过角质层吸水速率(P_A)以及吸水与失水速率的比值(R=P_A/P_T)高低,及其与生活方式的关系。结果表明,附生植物的R值都高于非附生植物且大于1,说明附生植物通过叶片吸收的水分大于蒸腾失水,雾水对于附生植物具有更重要的生态学意义;P_T和P_A在不同植物间有显著差异,这可能与不同植物的角质层化学成分和物理结构不同有关,对其适应各自生活方式及多雾环境有重要意义。除附生植物贝母兰(Coelogyne occultata)和掌唇兰(Staurochilus dawsonianus)以及非附生植物大叶藤黄(Garcinia xanthochymus)外,30℃下其余植物的P_T和P_A都显著高于20℃的,说明温...     

树附生苔藓植物多样性及其影响因素

树附生苔藓植物是一类附生在树木上的苔藓植物,是森林生态系统的重要组成部分,在维持生物多样性和生态系统功能等方面发挥着重要的作用。由于树附生苔藓植物结构简单,对环境变化尤为敏感,常在大气污染、气候变化、森林干扰等方面作为指示生物。随着全球变化的加剧,其多样性势必会受到影响。因此,研究树附生苔藓植物多样性分布及其对不同环境因子的响应,对于全球变化背景下树附生苔藓植物的保护和利用具有重要的指导性意义。首先对树附生苔藓植物多样性和空间分布现状进行阐述,然后从附主树木特征、森林群落特征和全球变化等3个方面探讨树附生苔藓植物多样性与影响因素之间的关系,以期从"个体-群落-全球"不同尺度进行分析,为树附生苔藓植物的保护和利用等研究提供借鉴和参考。     

治疗性克隆研究进展

核移植来源的胚胎干细胞 (ES) 细胞在动物疾病模型上的成功治疗作用以及核移植来源的患者特异的ES细胞研究进展有望将这一技术即治疗性克隆应用于人类疾病治疗.本文对治疗性克隆的研究进展、治疗性克隆研究中存在的问题以及治疗性克隆的应用前景作一综述和讨论.     

蕨类植物配子体发育与生理生态研究进展

蕨类植物配子体为单倍体,结构简单,独立于孢子体生活,在研究其对环境的响应以及揭示其机理上都具有独特的优势。该研究从我国和国际两个分支出发,梳理了近年来全球范围内相关的文献资料,透视了蕨类配子体的发育和生理生态前沿科学和研究动态。在发育部分以研究进展为主要内容,国内研究以传统植物蕨类植物的配子体形态和发育的观察为主,而国外学者更关注于新技术和新方法在传统学科中的运用,如X光透射技术和流式细胞术。生理生态部分分为光合与呼吸作用、土壤逆境的响应、气候变化的响应以及对化感物质的响应4个板块。在光合作用的研究中,发现蕨类配子体会在光强的变化下产生自我保护机制,碳水化合物和脂质是配子体能量代谢中的重要指标。在土壤逆境的响应研究中,对砷有超富集作用的蜈蚣草配子体和耐高盐的铁角蕨配子体是配子体研究中较为突出的材料。荷兰地区广泛存在的耳蕨属蕨类,哥斯达黎加热带雨林的20种蕨类植物及水生蕨类槐叶萍,成为了证明配子体成活率和温度之间重要关系的实验例证。在化感作用研究中,主要通过紫茎泽兰根、茎和叶水提液对扇蕨等4种蕨类配子体的作用,证明了入侵植物对于蕨类植物配子体生长发育具有危害作用。在美国佛罗里达的一类爬树蕨也发现了同样的入侵植物现象。此外,还对几个新兴技术在配子体研究的前景进行了展望,并对已有技术进行了描述。该研究以多个角度介绍了国内外配子体的研究进展,希望有助于促进我国学者对该领域的深入研究。     

城市森林研究进展与发展战略

城市是一个以人类活动为中心的社会．经济．自然复合生态系统,城市森林是城市生态系统重要的组成部分,是城市生态系统健康和城市可持续发展的基础和保障,具有重要的生态服务功能。本文阐述了城市森林产生的背景、概念、范围和国内外的研究现状,以及当前城市森林研究的热点问题,最后提出了城市森林的发展战略。     

蕨类植物管状分子的研究进展

介绍了蕨类植物管状分子的研究现状和进展,包括管状分子的形态、分类和生理学意义等;对管状分子的区别和定义做出了阐述;将蕨类植物、裸子植物和被子植物管状分子进行了比较;并对蕨类植物管状分子今后的研究做了展望.     

光照对蕨类植物配子体假根向重力性的影响

对８种蕨类植物配子体假根向重力性反应的研究结果表明,除卷柏Ｓｅｌａｇｉｎｅｌｌａ ｔａｍａｒｉｓｃｉｎａ Ｓｐｒｉｎｇ配子体假根无向重力性反应并且其生长方向与光照方向无关外,其它７种的配子体假根均有向重力性反应,并且假根的向重力性反应在配子体发育初期,因光照的方向不同而异,表现为负向光性。随着配子体发育至片状体阶段,光对其向重力性反应的影响逐渐减弱,而重力的影响增强。在蕨类植物配子体发育初期,光对     

基于林冠塔吊的附生植物生态学研究进展

林冠是生物圈中物种最丰富却最鲜为人知的生境之一。它在森林与大气的物质、能量交换过程中发挥着至关重要的作用。但因林冠调查技术的限制, 林冠及生存在其中的附生植物在生态系统中的功能尚未得到足够的重视。塔吊在三维空间中作业具有“全方位、高精度、非破坏、可重复”的特征。林冠塔吊已成为当前林冠学研究的标志, 并为林冠附生植物研究提供了契机。国际上, 欧美国家利用塔吊技术对林冠层附生植物多样性与空间分布等进行了大量的研究, 取得了丰硕的成果。该文介绍了塔吊的构造、林冠塔吊建设历史和站点分布及国际林冠研究组织等概况, 并对依托塔吊开展的附生植物研究进展进行了评述。此外, 还简要介绍了我国塔吊建设与林冠生态学发展情况。在系统分析国内外附生植物研究现状基础上, 从附生植物多样性、附生植物空间格局与维持机制、生态适应性、与林冠动物的关系以及附生植物对气候变化的响应等5个方面对今后基于林冠塔吊开展附生植物研究进行了展望。     

Bird's nest ferns promote resource sharing by centipedes

Bird's nest ferns (Asplenium spp.) support large numbers of invertebrates, including centipedes. As top invertebrate predators, centipedes drive ecosystem function, for example, by regulating decomposer populations, but we know little of their ecology in forest canopies. We provide the first detailed observations of the diversity and structure of the centipede communities of bird's nest ferns, revealing the importance of these epiphytes as nurseries for centipedes. We collected 305 centipedes equating to ˜11,300 mg of centipede biomass from 44 bird's nest ferns (22 of which were from the high canopy and 22 from the low canopy) in primary tropical rainforest in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Most abundant were the Scolopendromorpha (n = 227 individuals), followed by the Geophilomorpha (n = 59), Lithobiomorpha (n = 14), and Scutigeromorpha (n = 5). Although we observed very little overlap in species between the forest strata, scolopendromorph centipedes dominated throughout the canopy. Null model analysis revealed no significant competitive interactions; on the contrary, we observed centipedes sharing nest sites within the ferns on three of the ten occasions that we found nests. All nests belonged to centipedes of the family Scolopendridae, which are typically aggressive, and usually show negative spatial association. This study reveals a diverse community of canopy centipedes, providing further evidence of the importance of bird's nest ferns to a wide range of animals, many of which use the ferns at critical life stages. Future conservation strategies should regard these ubiquitous epiphytes as umbrella species and protect them accordingly in landscape management decisions.     

Niche assembly of epiphytic bryophyte communities in the Guianas: a regional approach

Aim Epiphytic bryophyte communities of tropical forests show a gradient in species composition from the base to the top of the host trees, indicating a strong role of niche assembly. This pattern, however, has never been tested at a regional scale. The aim of this study was to test whether niche assembly, rather than dispersal limitation, predominantly drives species composition of bryophyte communities across large spatial scales. Location Three lowland forests in the Guianas: one near Saul, French Guiana; and two near Mabura Hill, Guyana. Methods Communities of epiphytic bryophytes were sampled from six different height zones of several trees in three lowland forests. We analysed the composition of these communities using detrended correspondence analysis in order to find the best explanatory variable for the variation in community composition. A multi‐response permutation procedure was used to test the significance of grouping communities by height zone. We conducted an indicator species analysis to classify species as specialists or generalists and then tested, through weighted averaging, if specialists would indeed maintain their preferred height zone across the Guianas. Results Community composition was explained mainly by height zone. The similarity among communities inhabiting the same height zone of trees, across a distance of up to 640 km, was higher than the similarity among communities established along the vertical gradient of a single standing tree (30–50 m). More than half (57%) of the species had a preferred height zone, and the preference was consistent: species occupied roughly the same height zone on host trees in the different localities. The three local communities investigated were found to belong to the same regional species pool. Main conclusions Throughout the Guianas, epiphytic bryophyte communities are drawn from the same regional species pool, and their composition is shaped by micro‐environmental conditions. The predominance of niche assembly over dispersal assembly rules is consistently found at both local and regional scales.     

A current perspective on apomixis in ferns

This review provides a synopsis of apogamous reproduction in ferns and highlights important progress made in recent studies of fern apomixis. First, a summary of the apomictic fern life cycle is provided, distinguishing between two pathways to diploid spore production that have been documented in apomictic ferns (premeiotic endomitosis and meiotic first division restitution) and briefly discussing the evolutionary implications of each. Next, recent trends in fern apomixis research are discussed, exposing a shift in focus from the observation and characterization of apomixis in ferns to more integrated studies of the evolutionary and ecological implications of this reproductive mode. Peer-reviewed contributions from the past decade are then summarized, spanning the identification of new apomictic lineages through to the developmental, phylogenetic, and population genetic insights that have been made in studies of fern apomixis during that time. Gaps in our understanding are also discussed, including the extent and implications of recombinant apomixis in ferns, the possible reversibility of reproductive mode (from apomictic to sexual) in ferns, and the genomic causes and consequences of apomixis in seed free vascular plants. To conclude, future directions for fern apomixis research are proposed in the context of modern technological advances and recent insights from studies of apomixis in other groups.     

Germination and Establishment of Tillandsia eizii (Bromeliaceae) in the Canopy of an Oak Forest in Chiapas, Mexico

We assessed the effectiveness of repopulating the inner canopy and middle canopy of oak trees with seeds and seedlings of the epiphytic bromeliad Tillandsia eizii. Canopy germination was 4.7 percent, considerably lower than in vitro (92%). Of the tree-germinated seedlings, only 1.5 percent survived 6 mo. In contrast, 9.3 percent of transplanted laboratory seedlings survived 15 mo. To repopulate trees, we recommend transplanting laboratory-grown seedlings, as large as practically possible, to branches in the middle canopy.     

Population dynamics of the epiphytic bromeliad Tillandsia butzii in cloud forest

Epiphytes are a major component of tropical montane cloud forests. Over-exploitation and forest loss and degradation affect remnant populations. In this study, we analysed the population dynamics of the epiphytic bromeliad Tillandsia butzii over a 2-y period in a tropical montane cloud forest fragment in southern Mexico. Matrix analysis revealed that the T. butzii population is likely to be stable at the study site. On average the λ value did not differ significantly from unity: λ (95% confidence interval) = 0.978 (0.936–1.001). λ was highly influenced by stasis, to a lesser extent by growth and only slightly by fecundity. Overall, adult plant stasis and phalanx growth habit played a fundamental role in population maintenance. T. butzii tolerance to xeric conditions may contribute to population stability in the studied region.     

Correlation between water relations and within-canopy distribution of epiphytic ferns in a Mexican cloud forest

The physiological traits associated with water relations of eight common epiphytic ferns in a Mexican cloud forest were investigated in relation to the distribution of these species within the canopy. Fern distribution was significantly correlated with the relative water content at which stomata close, leaf thickness, stomatal density and size. Trichomanes bucinatum desiccated completely within hours in moderately dry air and was confined to the stem bases, and Asplenium cuspidatum, with no evident adaptations to cope with drought, grew in the second most shaded zone within the tree crowns. Despite growing in a humid cloud forest, all other species had xeric adaptations including coriaceous leaves (Pleopeltis mexicana, Elaphoglossum glaucum), succulent rhizomes (Polypodium puberulum, Phlebodium areolatum), low rates of uncontrolled water loss (all species except P. puberulum), leaf scales (Elaphoglossum petiolatum, Polypodium plebeium), and high cell wall elasticity (all species). P. plebeium and Pl. mexicanum, which grow in the most exposed locations, tolerated water loss beyond the turgor loss point before the stomata closed and appear to be poikilohydric or at least to tolerate high water deficits. Received: 8 June 1997 / Accepted: 30 November 1997     

温带针阔混交林叶片性状随树冠垂直高度的变化规律

自然界中,森林植物叶片的生长随树冠高度呈现明显的垂直分布现象;然而,有关叶片性状随着树冠垂直高度增加的变化规律仍不清楚。为了更好地揭示植物叶片对光环境变化的适应策略以及对资源的利用能力,有必要深入探讨叶片性状与冠层高度的定量关系及其内在调控机制。以中国广泛分布的温带针阔混交林为对象,选取8种主要树种为研究对象(白桦、蒙古栎、水曲柳、大青杨、色木槭、千金榆、核桃楸和红松),通过测定这些物种9个冠层高度的叶片比叶面积(SLA)、叶片干物质含量(LDMC)、叶片氮含量(N)、叶片磷含量(P)、氮磷比(N∶P)和叶绿素含量(Chl)等属性,探讨了针阔混交林叶片性状的差异以及各性状之间的相关关系,进而揭示叶片性状随树冠垂直高度的变化规律。实验结果表明:1)温带针阔混交林内优势树种的部分叶片性状在不同冠层高度之间差异显著。2)随着树冠垂直高度的增加,SLA、LDMC、N、P、N∶P和Chl呈现不同的变化趋势。其中,阔叶树种SLA随着树冠垂直高度的增加而减小;所有树种的LDMC随着树冠垂直高度的增加而增加;不同树种的N、P、N∶P和Chl随着树冠垂直高度的变化规律存在差异。3)对于温带针阔混交林冠层中,SLA与N、P、N∶P均存在显著的正相关关系,高SLA伴随着高的N、P、N∶P,表明植物通过SLA与N、P等性状的协同来提高叶片的光合作用(或对光热资源的利用效率)。本研究通过定量分析探讨温带针阔混交林叶片性状随冠层高度的变化规律,一定程度地揭示了树木对光、热和水资源竞争的适应机制,以及植物叶片的资源利用和分配策略,不仅拓展了传统性状研究的范畴,其相关研究结论也有助于树木生长模型的构建和优化。