山地土壤肥力与植物群落次生演替关系研究

从土壤物理、化学和生物性质出发,通过土壤肥力综合指标体系,利用多元统计方法,对重庆缙云山亚热带常绿阔叶林不同演替阶段山地土壤肥力的变化特征进行综合评价。并分析了缙云山亚热带常绿阔叶林群落演替与山地土壤肥力变化的关系。     

The relationships of plant and insect diversities in succession

The basic features of an intensive study on the various stages of a secondary succession, from fallow Held to birch woodland, are described. The α-β diversities of the green plants, and two orders of insects, Hetcroptera and adult Coleoptera, are described. For the vegetation, in addition to taxonotnic diversity, structural diversity, with both spatial and architectural components, was recognized. It was found that up to a successional age of 16 months, the taxonomic diversities of plants and insects rose; thereafter the diversity of the plant species declined far more than the insect species diversity. It was concluded that in the later successional stages the maintenance of a high level of taxonomic diversity of these orders of insects is correlated with the rising structural diversity of the green plants, which virtually compensates for their falling taxonomic diversity. The larger fungi appear to show a similar trend to the insects.     

Soil animal communities at five succession stages in the litter of the evergreen broad-leaved forest in Tiantong, China

Soil animals are abundant in forest litter layer, but little attention has been paid to the vertical distribution of community structure of soil animals in the layers at different plant community succession stages. The forest litter layer can be divided into fresh litter layer (L), fermentation layer (F) and humus layer (H), which may represent different litter decomposition stages. The aim of the study is to ascertain the vertical distribution features of soil animal communities among the three litter layers and the change in the succession process of the Evergreen Broad-Leaved Forest (EBLF) in Tiantong, Zhejiang Province, China. Soil animal communities in the five plant communities at different succession stages were investigated during the 2003 winter. Soil animals, which were collected by using Tullgren funnels, amounted to a total of 13 381 individuals falling into 2 phyla, 8 classes and 20 orders. The dominant groups were Acarina and Collembola, accounting for 94.24% of the total individuals, with the number of Acarina individuals 7.66 times than that of Collembola. The common group was Diptera. The results indicated that there was a distinctive vertical distribution of the soil animal communities in the forest litter layer, but it differed from that in soil below the litter layer. In contrast to those in the soil, the soil animals in the litter layer generally tended to increase in both group abundance and density from the top fresh litter layer to the bottom humus layer. Altogether 19 groups and 59.03% of total individuals were found in the bottom layer, while only 8 groups and 5.35% of the total individuals in the top. Moreover, there were some variations in the distribution of the soil animals at different plant succession stages. 85.19% of Homoptera and 100% of Symphyla were found in the litter layer at the climax succession stage, while 75.61% of Thysanoptera at the intermediate succession stage. Therefore, these groups might be seen as indicative groups. The total numbers of soil animal groups and individuals in the litter layers greatly changed in the succession process of the EBLF. They both were greatest at the climax, moderate at the intermediate and smallest at the primary succession stage. However, the main soil animal groups in the litter at the different succession stages were essentially the same. They were Acarina, Collembola, Diptera and Lepidoptera. Although similarity analysis revealed that the soil animal communities in the litter at the intermediate succession stage were most similar to those at the climax succession stage, they differed greatly from each other in the Shannon-Wiener diversity index. The Shannon-Wiener index was highest at the climax succession stage and lowest at the intermediate succession stage. Finally, the paper discusses the following three questions: the role of soil animals as indicators for plant community succession; the role of different soil animal groups in the litter decomposition at different stages; and the major factors affecting the composition and distribution of soil animals in the litter. This paper provides a new perspective for the research on the succession mechanism of plant communities and the decomposition functions of soil animals. __________ Translated from Acta Ecologica Sinica, 2005, 25 (3) [译自: 生态学报, 2005,25(3)]     

The effect of litter type and macrofauna community on litter decomposition and organic matter accumulation in post-mining sites

Field microcosms consisting of mineral soil (spoil substrate) and two types of litter taken either from an unreclaimed site with spontaneously developed vegetation (mostly Salix caprea) or from an alder plantation (a mixture of Alnus glutinosa and A. incana) were exposed in spontaneously developed or reclaimed sites at a post-mining heap near Sokolov (Czech Republic) for one year. The litter types differed remarkably in C:N ratio which was 29 for spontaneous litter and 14 for alder litter. The two microcosm types were either accessible or not accessible to soil macrofauna. The effect of macrofauna exclusion on soil mixing was complex and depended on litter quality and the site that determined soil fauna composition. In reclaimed sites where macrofauna was dominated by saprophags, mainly earthworms, the macrofauna access increased soil mixing. In sites where predators dominated, the macrofauna exclusion probably suppressed fragmentation and mixing activity of the mesofauna.     

Germination and seedling survival in fens undergoing succession

We studied mechanisms of vegetation change in fens subject to succession from open water to floating mats and finally herbaceous rich-fens. Earlier research showed that these systems are characterized by transient seed banks. Our main question was whether seedlings of later successional fen stages are already present in earlier stages, remaining subordinate in the vegetation until conditions become suitable for them. If, however, conditions during succession change in a way that only a limited set of species can survive as seedlings during each of the successional stages, no seedling bank will exist. The transient character of the seeds would then imply that seeds will not germinate and will subsequently die and that seeds that have germinated in the “wrong” stage will not become established. We hypothesized that: (1) germination and seedling survival of fen species are significantly better in the successional fen stage for which these species are characteristic, (2) as a consequence no seedling banks occur in these fens. In a field experiment, seeds of five characteristic fen species in the standing vegetation of three successional fen stages i.e. raft fen, quaking fen and rich fen were sown in each of these stages in a turf pond in the Tienhoven area, The Netherlands. Germination and seedling survival were measured over two growing seasons together with environmental variables. Germination was higher in the “own” stage for all species groups as was survival for quaking fen species and rich fen species. For both these stages, percentage of germination and survival of four out of five characteristic species were significantly higher in the “own” stage. Germination and survival can be considered stage-dependent and it was concluded that seedling banks do not exist in these fens. Site-specific environmental variables act as a sieve and differentiate on species presence already during early life history stages. We found clues that the environmental sieve acts at the level of nutrient availability, tolerance for high sulphide concentration and light climate. Because of the transient seed bank and absence of a seedling bank in these fen wetlands, successful establishment of species necessitates a continuous dispersal of characteristic species until the environmental conditions permit establishment. This also implies that species of the whole successional sere should be present within dispersal distance.     

Decomposition of cellulose,soil organic matter and plant litter in a temperate grassland soil

The formation of mor humus in an experimental grassland plot, which has been acidified by long-term fertiliser treatment, has been studied by comparing the rates of cellulose, soil organic matter and plant litter decay with those in an adjacent plot with near-neutral pH and mull humus. The decomposition of cellulose filter paper in litter bags of 5 mm, 1-mm and 45-μm mesh size buried at 3 to 4 cm depth the plots was followed by measuring the weight loss and changes in glucose content over a 6 month period. Soil pH was either 5.3 or 4.3. Decomposition of native soil organic matter and plant litter in soil from the same plots were followed using CO₂ evolution in laboratory microcosms. Cellulose weight loss at pH 5.3 was greatest from the 5-mm mesh bags and least from the 45-um mesh bags. At pH 4.3 there was little weight loss from bags and no significant differences in weight loss between bags with different sized mesh. There was, however, a reduction in the glucose content of the hydrolysed and derivatised filter paper with time. The decomposition rate of native soil organic matter in the low pH soil was increased to that observed in the less acid soil when the pH of the former was increased from 4.3 to 5.3. The increase in decomposition rate of added plant litter in the more acid soil as a result of CA(OH)₂ addition was only 60% of that observed in the soil with pH 5.3. These data support the hypothesis that the absence of soil animals and the restricted microbial decomposition in the acidic soil was responsible for mor humus formation.     

Dry weight loss and colonization of plant litter by macroinvertebrates: plant species and lake types compared

Rates of dry weight loss and of colonization of litter samples of different plants by macro-invertebrates were estimated using litter bags submerged in different types of lake. Samples of Carex rostrata litter were submerged for 3 months, in summer, in two lakes, one with an acidic and nutrient-poor water and one with near-neutral and nutrient-rich water. More plant litter remained (75%) in the former lake than in the latter (51–62%, varying with the mesh size of the litter bags used). The biomass of invertebrates in the litter samples from the acid lake was about 10 times less than in those from the near-neutral. Oligochaeta and Chironomidae were the dominant taxa found in the litter bags from the acidic lake, whereas Hirudinea and Isopoda predominated in those from the near-neutral lake.Litter samples from four different plants (Carex rostrata, Typha latifolia, Triticum sp. and Phleum pratense) were immersed in litter bags in another near-neutral lake further south for 12 months. When recovered, about 45% of the Triticum litter remained compared with only 7% of the Phleum. The values for Carex and Typha fell between these two extremes. When expressed as per g dry weight of residual plant litter, the greatest biomass of invertebrates was recorded in the Phleum litter samples and the least in the Typha samples. The faunal composition of the invertebrates in the different types of litter was approximately the same, with Isopoda and Hirudinea predominating.     

Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and soil developmental stages on herbaceous plants growing in the early stage of primary succession on Mount Fuji

A pot culture experiment was conducted to examine the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and soil developmental stages on the growth and nutrient absorption of pioneer plants growing in the early stage of primary succession on Mt. Fuji. Four herbaceous plants, Polygonum cuspidatum (Polygonaceae), Miscanthus oligostachyus (Gramineae), Aster ageratoides var. ovatus (Compositae), and Hedysarum vicioides (Leguminosae), were grown from seed in soils collected from two different successional stages, bare ground and an herbaceous plant community. Spores of indigenous AM fungi collected from the herbaceous plant community were used as inoculum. The initial colonizer P. cuspidatum showed very low levels of AM colonization (<0.4%), whereas the average AM colonization levels of M. oligostachyus, A. ageratoides var. ovatus, and H. vicioides were within the range of 13–49%. AM fungi had positive effects on the growth and N acquisition of the leguminous species (H. vicioides) irrespective of soil developmental stages. In contrast, AM colonization did not increase the plant dry weight and N content of the non-leguminous species (P. cuspidatum, M. oligostachyus, and A. ageratoides var. ovatus) in both soil developmental stages. A positive effect of AM colonization on P content was observed in M. oligostachyus, A. ageratoides var. ovatus, and H. vicioides only in soil collected from the herbaceous plant community. P. cuspidatum showed no or a negative response to AM colonization in all cases. These results suggest that the effect of AM fungi on plant growth depends more on the plant species than soil developmental stages in the early stage of primary succession in this volcanic area.     

Species-specific effects of woody litter on seedling emergence and growth of herbaceous plants

The effect of litter on seedling establishment can influence species richness in plant communities. The effect of litter depends on amount, and also on litter type, but relatively little is known about the species-specific effects of litter. We conducted a factorial greenhouse experiment to examine the effect of litter type, using two woody species that commonly co-occur in boreonemoral forest--evergreen spruce (Picea abies), deciduous hazel (Corylus avellana), and a mixture of the two species--and litter amount--shallow (4 mm), deep (12 mm) and leachate--on seedling emergence and biomass of three understorey species. The effect of litter amount on seedling emergence was highly dependent on litter type; while spruce needle litter had a significant negative effect that increased with depth, seedling emergence in the presence of hazel broadleaf litter did not differ from control pots containing no litter. Mixed litter of both species also had a negative effect on seedling emergence that was intermediate compared to the single-species treatments. Spruce litter had a marginally positive (shallow) or neutral effect (deep) on seedling biomass, while hazel and mixed litter treatments had significant positive effects on biomass that increased with depth. We found non-additive effects of litter mixtures on seedling biomass indicating that high quality hazel litter can reduce the negative effects of spruce. Hazel litter does not inhibit seedling emergence; it increases seedling growth, and creates better conditions for seedling growth in mixtures by reducing the suppressive effect of spruce litter, having a positive effect on understorey species richness.     

Effect of soil temperature on seedling emergence in different crops

Summary Seedling emergence in different crops was studied in the soil temperature range of 5°C to 45°C. In peas and turnips seedling emergence stopped at a soil temperature of 35°C and in other crops at 45°C. The minimum temperature for seedling emergence was above 10°C in case of cotton, sorghum, rice, maize and musk melon and above 15°C in case of squash, bottle gourd and okra. Winter crops like wheat, gram, peas, and turnips emerged at 5°C but the percent emergence was low. The optimum range for seedling emergence was narrower for vegetable crops as compared with cereals.     

川西亚高山森林凋落物分解初期土壤动物对红桦凋落叶质量损失的贡献

2010年10月26日-2011年4月18日在川西亚高山地区季节性冻融期间,选择典型的红桦-岷江冷杉林,采用凋落物分解袋法调查了不同网孔(0.02、0.125、1和3 mm)凋落物分解袋内的凋落物质量损失,分析微型、中型和大型土壤动物对红桦凋落叶分解的贡献.结果表明:在季节性冻融期间,0.02、0.125、1和3 mm分解袋内的红桦凋落叶质量损失率分别为11.8％、13.2％、15.4％和19.5％,不同体径土壤动物对红桦凋落叶质量损失的贡献率为39.5％;不同孔径凋落物袋内土壤动物的类群和个体相对密度与凋落叶的质量损失率的变化趋势相对一致.在季节性冻融的初期、深冻期和融化期,不同土壤动物对红桦凋落叶质量损失的贡献率为大型土壤动物(22.7％)＞中型土壤动物(11.9％)＞微型土壤动物(7.9％).季节性冻融期间土壤动物活动是影响川西亚高山森林凋落物分解的重要因素之一.     

Ecological succession and the rehabilitation of disturbed terrestrial ecosystems

Plant and Soil - Soil and vegetation development on surface-mined coal sites in a mixed grass prairie region were studied as (a) naturally revegetated chronosequences of 1, 7, 17, 30 and 45-year...