A comprehensive overview of the spatial and temporal variability of apple bud dormancy release and blooming phenology in Western Europe

In the current context of global warming, an analysis is required of spatially-extensive and long-term blooming data in fruit trees to make up for insufficient information on regional-scale blooming changes and determinisms that are key to the phenological adaptation of these species. We therefore analysed blooming dates over long periods at climate-contrasted sites in Western Europe, focusing mainly on the Golden Delicious apple that is grown worldwide. On average, blooming advances were more pronounced in northern continental (10 days) than in western oceanic (6–7 days) regions, while the shortest advance was found on the Mediterranean coastline. Temporal trends toward blooming phase shortenings were also observed in continental regions. These regional differences in temporal variability across Western Europe resulted in a decrease in spatial variability, i.e. shorter time intervals between blooming dates in contrasted regions (8–10-day decrease for full bloom between Mediterranean and continental regions). Fitted sequential models were used to reproduce phenological changes. Marked trends toward shorter simulated durations of forcing period (bud growth from dormancy release to blooming) and high positive correlations between these durations and observed blooming dates support the notion that blooming advances and shortenings are mainly due to faster satisfaction of the heating requirement. However, trends toward later dormancy releases were also noted in oceanic and Mediterranean regions. This could tend toward blooming delays and explain the shorter advances in these regions despite similar or greater warming. The regional differences in simulated chilling and forcing periods were consistent with the regional differences in temperature increases.     

Effect of thidiazuron on abscisic acid content in apple bud relative to dormancy

The effect of N -phenyl- N '-1,2,3,-thidiazol-5-ylurea (thidiazuron, Dropp, SN 49537) on abscisic acid (ABA) level in apple ( Malus domestica Borkh. cv. York Imperial) buds associated with bud break and bud development was determined. The data showed that increased ABA content in apple buds was associated with thidiazuron-induced bud break and bud development. ABA stimulated growth of apple buds that had emerged from dormancy by thidiazuron treatment. The ABA in apple buds was confirmed by GC-EIMS and GC-CIMS.     

Altered geographic and temporal variability in phenology in response to climate change

Aim In response to recent climate warming, numerous studies have reported an earlier onset of spring and, to a lesser degree, a later onset of autumn, both determined from phenological observations. Here, we examine whether these reported changes have affected the synchronization of events on a regional level by examining temporal and spatial variability in phenology. In particular, we study whether years with earlier springs are associated with an altered spatial variability in phenology. Location Germany and the United Kingdom. Methods Plant phenological observations of 35 different phases (events such as flowering and leafing) collected by the German Weather Service (1951–2002) and butterfly phenological records of 29 species collected by the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (1976–2003) are used. In these long‐term records, we examine the temporal (year‐to‐year) variability and the spatial (geographic or between site) variability with particular emphasis on how they vary with time of the year and with earliness or lateness of the phase. Results Early phenological events (i.e. spring) are more variable than later events, both in time and in space, although the pattern is clearer for plants than for butterflies. Confirming previous results, we find a clear relationship between the mean date of spring and summer phases and the degree to which they have become earlier. The spatial variability of spring events is greater in warmer years that have faster plant development. However, late spring and summer events do not show a consistent relationship. Autumn events are somewhat more spatially variable in years characterized by later seasons. Main conclusions This is the first examination of spatial variability of plant and animal phenological events at a multinational scale. Earlier spring events are likely to be associated with increased spatial variability in plants, although this is unlikely to also be true for summer events. If species experience differential changes in geographic variation this may disrupt interactions among them, e.g. in food webs. On the other hand, these may offer advantages for mobile species. Further research on linked species is recommended.     

Long-term temporal changes of plant phenology in the Western Mediterranean

Plants are altering their life cycles in response to current climatic change around the globe. More than 200 000 records for six phenological events (leaf unfolding, flowering, fruit ripening, fruit harvesting, leaf falling and growing season) of 29 perennial species for the period 1943–2003 recorded throughout Spain provide the longest temporal and the broadest spatial assessment of plant phenology changes in the Mediterranean region. The overwhelming majority of the 118 studied phenophases shifted their dates in recent decades. Such changes differed among phenological events. Leaf unfolding, flowering and fruiting are markedly advancing (?0.48, ?0.59 and ?0.32 days yr^?1, respectively), but only since the mid‐1970s. Anemophilous have advanced more days their flowering than entomophilous. However, some species have delayed and others have advanced their leaf falling dates and as a result only a weak shift was observed in this event for the whole of the studied species (+0.12 days yr^?1). The growing season lengthened by 18 days, which implies an increase of 8% in the life of annual leaves. Such an increase was achieved mainly through the advance of leaf unfolding dates in the spring, one of the most productive times of year for vegetation in the Mediterranean. Shifts in the plant calendar were accompanied as well by long‐term changes in the range of onset dates in 39% of studied phenophases. Leaf unfolding, flowering and growing season tended to reduce spatial variability, reflecting a faster and more synchronized onset (or duration) of phenophases across the study area. Changes in spatial variability may aggravate calendar mismatching with other trophic levels resulting from changes in dates. Because temporal responses differed markedly among species, calendar guilds of plants have changed, which suggests alterations of interspecific relationships in plant communities from Mediterranean ecosystems.     

Detecting phenology change in the mayfly Ephemera danica: responses to spatial and temporal water temperature variations

1. Rising water temperatures under climate change are expected to affect the phenology of aquatic insects, including the mayfly Ephemera danica Müller which is widespread throughout Europe. 2. To assess temporal and spatial variability in mayfly emergence, E. danica were monitored at two thermally contrasting reaches in the River Dove, English Peak District over the period 2007–2013. Inter‐annual variations in growing degree days (GDDs) were modelled for an upstream site with intermittent spring flow supplementing main channel flow (Beresford Dale) and downstream site dominated by near constant discharges of cool groundwater (Dovedale). 3. A strong association exists between the emergence cycle of E. danica and GDDs at each site. Beresford Dale accumulated on average 374 more GDDs than Dovedale. After warm summers E. danica emerged after only 1 year in Beresford Dale but began to revert to a bi‐annual cycle after the particularly wet/cool year of 2012. In Dovedale, E. danica maintained a 2‐year cycle throughout the monitoring period in spite of the phenology changes observed 8 km upstream. 4. Data from the present study suggest that habitats near cool groundwater may provide important refugia for populations of insects, potentially delaying permanent shifts in phenology under climate change. However, an ability to detect changes in the thermal triggers and phenological response may be hindered by conventional spot sampling protocols.     

哺乳动物种群系统时空变异性透视

综述了数学和统计学对哺乳动物种群系统生态学过程与环境随机过程交互作用的研究进展,以及种群波动同步性的Moran原理及效应。自然种群最普遍的现象是其数量在时间和空间上的变异性。在不同种群之间,种群大小的波动方式存在显著的差异。阐明和理解这种差异,探讨其随环境条件而改变的潜在规律,是种群和群落生态学的主要挑战之一。种群变异性存在空间分量,在相对大的距离内,种群的波动常同步发生。对种群内部密度制约过程与诸如环境变异性等外部因子交互作用的检验正在成为哺乳动物种群系统生态学领域关注的论题。     

Integrated crop pollination to buffer spatial and temporal variability in pollinator activity

Insect pollination improves the yield and quality of many crops, yet there is increasing evidence of insufficient insect pollinators limiting crop production. Effective Integrated Crop Pollination (ICP) involves adaptable, targeted and cost-effective management of crop pollination and encourages the use of both wild and managed pollinators where appropriate. In this study we investigate how the addition of honeybee hives affects the community of insects visiting oilseed rape, and if hive number and location affect pollinator foraging and oilseed rape pollination in order to provide evidence for effective ICP. We found that introducing hives increased overall flower visitor numbers and altered the pollinator community, which became dominated by honeybees. Furthermore a greater number of hives did not increase bee numbers significantly but did result in honeybees foraging further into fields. The timing of surveys and proximity to the field edge influenced different pollinators in different ways and represents an example of spatial and temporal complementarity. For example dipteran flower visitor numbers declined away from the field edge whereas honeybees peaked at intermediate distances into the field. Furthermore, no significant effects of survey round on wild bees overall was observed but honeybee numbers were relatively lower during peak flowering and dipteran abundance was greater in later survey rounds. Thus combining diverse wild pollinators and managed species for crop pollination buffers spatial and temporal variation in flower visitation. However we found no effect of insect pollination on seed set or yield of oilseed rape in our trial, highlighting the critical need to understand crop demand for insect pollination before investments are made in managing pollination services.     

Modelling the spatial and temporal variability of diatoms in the River Murray

We have developed a simple mechanistic model, which simulates the temporal and spatial variability of concentrations of the diatom Aulacoseira granulata in the River Murray, NSW Australia, over large distances under different flow conditions. The model incorporates a simple growth function determined by the availabilities of silica and light, and by temperature. It also includes losses due to sinking and downstream advection. The model is tested against weekly measurements for the period 1981-1990, at three sites separated by 1100 km. The seasonal cycle of Aulacoseira concentrations along the river is well represented by the model. During times of high flow, the concentrations of Aulacoseira remain fairly uniform along the river as the diatoms have insufficient time to grow before being advected downstream.      

A brief overview on the status and prospects of sturgeon farming in Western and Central Europe

This paper provides a short overview on the status of sturgeon farming in Europe, covering most of the EU and former East Block countries. Production trends are presented along with a listing of species cultured in various countries. Principle culture systems are described and an opinion is presented on possible constraints and perspectives of sturgeon farming, including market opportunities.     

Net anthropogenic phosphorus inputs: spatial and temporal variability in the Chesapeake Bay region

We estimated net anthropogenic phosphorus inputs (NAPI) in the Chesapeake Bay region. NAPI is an index of phosphorus pollution potential. NAPI was estimated by quantifying all phosphorus inputs and outputs for each county. Inputs include fertilizer applications and non-food phosphorus uses, while trade of food and feed can be an input or an output. The average of 1987, 1992, 1997, and 2002 NAPI for individual counties ranged from 0.02 to 78.46 kg P ha⁻¹ year⁻¹. The overall area-weighted average NAPI for 266 counties in the region was 4.52 kg P ha⁻¹ year⁻¹, indicating a positive net phosphorus input that can accumulate in the landscape or can pollute the water. Large positive NAPI values were associated with agricultural and developed land cover. County area-weighted NAPI increased from 4.43 to 4.94 kg P ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ between 1987 and 1997 but decreased slightly to 4.86 kg P ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ by 2002. Human population density, livestock unit density, and percent row crop land combined to explain 83% of the variability in NAPI among counties. Around 10% of total NAPI entering the Chesapeake Bay watershed is discharged into Chesapeake Bay. The developed land component of NAPI had a strong direct correlation with measured phosphorus discharges from major rivers draining to the Bay (R ² = 0.81), however, the correlation with the simple percentage of developed land was equally strong. Our results help identify the sources of P in the landscape and evaluate the utility of NAPI as a predictor of water quality.     

Black Sigatoka disease of banana: spatial and temporal variability in disease development

Field observations of black Sigatoka disease symptom development were made on banana plants from four sites (30 m apart) within an unsprayed plantation of dimensions 100 m × 200 m in Costa Rica during two field visits: October 1993-February 1994 (wet to dry season) and April-September 1995 (dry to wet season). From these observations, estimates of the symptom-free period and the average rate of symptom development (during the symptomatic phase) were made for each leaf. No significant differences were found between sites in rates of symptom development in either 1993/94 or 1995, or in symptom-free period for 1993/94 (data were not suitable to test for between-site differences in symptom-free period for 1995). This suggests that forecasts would not have to take into account differences in location within this small plantation. Symptom-free time decreased over the 1995 observation period, was less than in 1993/94 and correlated with increases in hours per day at a relative humidity (r.h.) of 100%. Because plantations may be sprayed many times per year, forecasts have to be sensitive to short-term changes in disease severity. Seasonal trends in some more rapidly-and easily-assessed characters (number of disease-free leaves, disease scores of specific leaves and average disease scores of entire plants) accurately reflected trends in the more detailed observations of symptom severity, hours per day at 100% r.h. and numbers of leaves unfurling per unit time. This suggests that these could be used as indicators of changes in disease severity in a forecasting scheme.     

An overview of the progress and challenges of peatland restoration in Western Europe

Peatlands are the most efficient terrestrial carbon store on Earth, and deliver multiple other ecosystem services including climate regulation, water purification, preservation of ecological and archaeological records, etc. Disturbed and degraded peatlands do not provide the same ecological services and thus bear a significant cost to society. Because this cost may be alleviated by appropriate restoration measures, money is being invested in peatland restoration projects around the world. Here, we review over 25 years of restoration in Western Europe. First, we provide an overview of techniques used in different contexts and evaluate the status of the evidence base for restoration outcomes. Between 1993 and 2015, the EU‐LIFE nature programme alone invested 167.6M € in 80 projects, which aim to restore over 913 km² of peatland habitats in Western European countries, mostly in protected sites part of the Natura 2000 EU network. This represents less than 2% of the total remaining area of peatlands in these countries, most of which have been impacted to some degree by anthropogenic disturbances. Potential for restoration should be considered in nondesignated sites. We reviewed a number of case studies covering a range of restoration approaches used in different parts of Western Europe. We found that published evidence of restoration progress was limited to specific sites/areas, and in many cases lacked baseline measurements and clear goals, that is, measurable target or contemporary reference(s). We discuss barriers and opportunities to turn the tide for peatland restoration in Western Europe and promote the establishment of robust, standardized monitoring schemes.     

Studies on the mechanism of retinoid-induced pattern duplications in the early chick limb bud: temporal and spatial aspects

All-trans-retinoic acid causes striking digit pattern changes when it is continuously released from a bead implanted in the anterior margin of an early chick wing bud. In addition to the normal set of digits (234), extra digits form in a mirror-symmetrical arrangement, creating digit patterns such as a 432234. These retinoic acid-induced pattern duplications closely mimic those found after grafts of polarizing region cells to the same positions with regard to dose-response, timing, and positional effects. To elucidate the mechanism by which retinoic acid induces these pattern duplications, we have studied the temporal and spatial distribution of all-trans-retinoic acid and its potent analogue TTNPB in these limb buds. We find that the induction process is biphasic: there is an 8-h lag phase followed by a 6-h duplication phase, during which additional digits are irreversibly specified in the sequence digit 2, digit 3, digit 4. On average, formation of each digit seems to require between 1 and 2 h. The tissue concentrations, metabolic pattern, and spatial distribution of all- trans-retinoic acid and TTNPB in the limb rapidly reach a steady state, in which the continuous release of the retinoid is balanced by loss from metabolism and blood circulation. Pulse-chase experiments reveal that the half-time of clearance from the bud is 20 min for all-trans- retinoic acid and 80 min for TTNPB. Manipulations that change the experimentally induced steep concentration gradient of TTNPB suggest that a graded distribution of retinoid concentrations across the limb is required during the duplication phase to induce changes in the digit pattern. The extensive similarities between results obtained with retinoids and with polarizing region grafts raise the possibility that retinoic acid serves as a natural "morphogen" in the limb.     

青海湖流域草地植被动态变化趋势下的物候时空特征

植被物候不仅直接受气候变化的影响,还反作用于气候变化。因此,明确植被物候变化的驱动机制对于进一步研究气候变化与物候的相互作用具有重要的意义。选取位于青藏高原东北部的青海湖流域,利用MODIS 16d增强植被指数(EVI)合成数据,来分析草地物候时空格局特征以及不同EVImax变化趋势下草地物候期(返青期、枯黄期及生长季)的变化趋势。研究得到以下结果:(1)在气候变化和人类活动等因素的共同作用下,青海湖流域的EVImax变化呈现多元化趋势,EVImax增加、不变、降低趋势并存;(2)1990—2012年期间,流域内温度上升、降水量增加趋势显著,温度上升速率为0.42—0.83℃/10a,降水量增加速率为43.20—44.68 mm/10a。刚察、天峻气象站草地返青期在2001—2012年期间呈现延迟趋势,枯黄期变化趋势不显著,生长季呈现缩短趋势;(3)流域内草地返青从4月下旬持续到6月上旬,枯黄期从8月中旬持续到10月上旬,青海湖东岸、南岸、布哈河入湖口区域以及流域西部山坡和平坦的谷底地区牧草最早进入返青期,返青空间格局呈现由湖岸向四周高海拔地区延伸趋势,草地枯黄空间格局与返青期相反;(4)不同EVImax变化趋势下,草地返青期、枯黄期、生长季变化趋势表现出差异。草地EVImax降低趋势下,牧草返青期呈现提前趋势,枯黄期延迟,生长季延长;EVImax增加趋势下,牧草返青期延迟,枯黄期变化不明显,生长季缩短;EVImax不变区、农田的返青与枯黄期变化趋势并不明显,但是农田生长季缩短趋势较明显。