世界主要国家耕地动态变化及其影响因素

在世界人口持续攀升、全球耕地面积不断减少的背景下,探讨世界主要国家耕地变化其影响因素,对于分析预测未来世界耕地变化趋势、研究世界粮食安全具有积极意义。选择2050年人口过亿的17个国家和耕地面积排名前10的国家为研究对象,在分析1961—2007年耕地总量变化、人均耕地变化的基础上,探讨了耕地变化影响因素。研究结果表明,从20世纪60年代到2007年间的不同时期内,有越来越多的国家表现出耕地减少趋势,而人均耕地面积减少的国家个数高达90%以上。满足人口消费需求、城市化与经济发展是大多数国家耕地总量变化的主要动力;而人口快速增长、城市化则是导致许多国家人均耕地显著减少的重要原因。     

Life Cycle Impact assessment of land use based on the hemeroby concept

The impact category ‘land use’ describes in the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology the environmental impacts of occupying, reshaping and managing land for human purposes. Land use can either be the long-term use of land (e.g. for arable farming) or changing the type of land use (e.g. from natural to urban area). The impact category ‘land use’ comprises those environmental consequences, which impact the environment due to the land use itself, for instance through the reduction of landscape elements, the planting of monocultures or artificial vegetation, or the sealing of surfaces. Important environmental consequences of land use are the decreasing availability of habitats and the decreasing diversity of wildlife species. The assessment of the environmental impacts of land use within LCA studies is the objective of this paper. Land use leads to a degradation of the naturalness of the area utilised. In this respect the naturalness of any area can be defined as the sum of land actually not influenced by humans and the remaining naturalness of land under use. To determine the remaining naturalness of land under use, this study suggests applying the Hemeroby concept. “Hemeroby is a measure for the human influence on ecosystems” (Kowarik 1999). The Hemeroby level of an area describes the intensity of land use and can therefore be used to characterise different types of land use. Characterization factors are proposed, which allow calculating the degradation of the naturalness of an area due to a specific type of land use. Since the resource ‘nature/naturalness’ is on a larger geographical scale by far not homogeneous, the assessment of land use needs to be regionalised. Therefore, the impact category ‘land use’ has been subdivided into the impact sub-categories ‘land use in European biogeographic regions’. Following the general LCA framework, normalization values for the impact sub-categories are calculated in order to facilitate the evaluation of the characterization results with regard to their share in a reference value. Weighting factors, which enable an aggregation of the results of the different land use sub-categories and make them comparable to other impact categories (e.g. climate change or acidification) are suggested based on the assumption that the current land use pattern in the European biogeographic regions is acceptable.     

Carbon isotopes support the presence of extensive land floras pre-dating the origin of vascular plants

Multiple lines of evidence indicate that Earth's land masses became green some 2.7 Ga ago, about 1 billion years after the advent of life. About 2.2 billion years later, land plants abruptly appear in the fossil record and diversify marking the onset of ecologically complex terrestrial communities that persist to the present day. Given this long history of land colonization, surprisingly few studies report direct fossil evidence of emergent vegetation prior to the continuous record of life on land that starts in the mid-Silurian (ca. 420–425 Ma ago). Here we compare stable carbon isotope signatures of fossils from seven Ordovician–Silurian (450–420 Ma old) Appalachian biotas with signatures of coeval marine organic matter and with stable carbon isotope values predicted for Ordovician and Silurian liverworts (BRYOCARB model). The comparisons support a terrestrial origin for fossils in six of the biotas analyzed, and indicate that some of the fossils represent bryophyte-grade plants. Our results demonstrate that extensive land floras pre-dated the advent of vascular plants by at least 25 Ma. The Appalachian fossils represent the oldest direct evidence of widespread colonization of continents. These findings provide a new search image for macrofossil assemblages that contain the earliest stages of land plant evolution. We anticipate they will fuel renewed efforts to search for direct fossil evidence to track the origin of land plants and eukaryotic life on continents further back in geologic time.     

Degradation and loss of forest land and land-use changes in Sarawak,East Malaysia: a study of native land use by the Iban

Swidden agriculture, commercial logging and plantation development have been considered to be the primary common causes of degradation and loss of tropical rain forests in Southeast Asia. In this paper, I chose a part of northeastern Sarawak, East Malaysia as my case study area to analyze the changes in its land-use characteristics. In the study area, as well as primeval forests, we see that land use began about 100 years ago by a native group called the Iban; commercial logging began in the 1960s, and the development of oil palm plantations began recently. I describe the changes in land use as well as their social and economic causes by referring to aerial photographs, literature surveys, interviews with government officers and the Iban, and observation of land use. My analysis of land use demonstrates that on “state land”, where commercial logging and oil palm plantation development are occurring, large areas of forest have been disturbed in a short period of time. The objective is to benefit economically in response to the social and economic conditions surrounding the study area. On the other hand, in the “Iban territory,” where the Iban practice their land use, land conversion has not occurred on a large scale and in a short period of time, even though the forest has been cut and agricultural fields have been created in response to social and economic conditions as well. They disperse small agricultural fields throughout their forest land. Therefore, the landscape of the “Iban territory” is based on secondary forest, composed of patches of forest in various stages and with several types of agricultural land. Today in Sarawak, monocrop plantations are rapidly expanding and little primeval forest remains. Given these conditions, the land-use practices of natives such as the Iban will be evaluated from the viewpoint of ecosystem and biodiversity conservation. It could play an important role in providing habitats for natural wildlife.     

Spatial characteristics of land uses and ecological compensations based on payment for ecosystem services model from 2000 to 2015 in Sichuan Province,China

The ecosystem services provision is constantly under threat by anthropogenic pressures, especially which is mainly related to land use changes. A solution proposed to address these issues is the implementation of spatial characteristics of land uses and ecological compensation (based on Payment for Ecosystem Services) programs. In this study, we developed a framework for analyzing the spatial characteristics of land uses and calculating ecological compensation from 2000 to 2015 in Sichuan Province, China. We firstly examined the utility of lacunarity analysis for detecting spatial characteristic scales of pattern of land uses. Due to large-scale and regular distribution, the spatial heterogeneity of cropland, woodland and grassland were higher than that of water body, construction land and unused land. We then investigated changes in ecosystem services in response to land use change through assignment of per unit area ecosystem service value method. The total ecosystem service value is about 10,780 billion yuan·year⁻¹, and the woodland and grassland ecosystems contributed more to the total ecosystem service value. The critical areas (with higher ecosystem service value) for management purpose were identified depending on the heterogeneity of use services learned from spatially explicit measures. Considering the changed relationship between social and economic indicators and ecosystem service value based on spatial visualization and analysis, we finally constructed a quantitative estimate model for ecological compensation taking city (state) as study unit, and determined standard value so as to evaluate ecological compensation from 2000 to 2015. Spatial differences of the ecological compensation were significant among all the cities (states). The average payment standards of ecological compensation based on the population, ecological compensation based on city (state) area, and corrected ecological compensation were − 117.10 billion yuan, 4.41E-13 billion yuan, and − 58.55 billion yuan, respectively. The negative values suggested that the stakeholders of Sichuan Province should pay for ecological compensation, and the positive value meant the residents in the Sichuan Province can obtain the amount of ecological compensation. This proposed innovative framework provides a better understanding of spatial characteristic scales of land uses and enables evaluation of the ecological integrity of landscapes. It also fills up the gap in the field of quantitative evaluation of regional ecological compensation and provides a feasible way to reconcile the conflicts among benefits in the economic, social and ecological sectors.     

Structure regulation of land use and landscape pattern changes based on matter element analysis in a small watershed in Sichuan, China

The agricultural land suitability assessment based on the natural characteristics of land blocks is traditionally the basis for agricultural and/or land use planning. The assessment, however, is static and cannot be incorporated with potential land use changes. Recently, a dynamic approach, i.e., matter element analysis, has been effectively applied for land use planning. In the present study, based on matter element analysis, we established a matter element analysis model for land use suitability assessment using the suitability grade of land use, evaluation indicators and their characteristic values as matter elements, and also using sutra field, controlled field, weight value and correlation degree from field survey, as well as an expert system. This model was applied to the structure regulation of the land use in the small Yuejiagou watershed of the Langzhong Municipality in Sichuan Province, China. Results show that the proportion among agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry tended to rationalize land use. The economic and ecological indices of the lands were increased from 1529.8 to 1719.99 and from 1460.94 to 1758.21 after the regulation, respectively. The regulation also caused changes in landscape patterns as follows: The indices of diversity and evenness were increased from 1.3028 to 2.0920 and from 0.6108 to 0.8463, or by 60.58% and 38.56%, respectively. However, the indices of dominance and contagion were decreased from 0.6431 to 0.2106 and from 0.7467 to 0.7125, respectively. This indicated that the land use in the small watershed was rational. The spatial distribution of patches tended to be uniform. The patch congregation was gradually dispersed. This study verified that the matter element analysis approach can not only overcome the factitious influences and improve the precision of land assessment, but also can be used for the structure regulation of specific patches. __________ Translated from Acta Ecologica Sinica, 2006, 26(7): 2093–2100 [译自: 生态学报]     

1980-2010年北京市农用地碳储量对土地利用变化的响应

分析北京市农用地碳储量对土地利用变化的响应,对快速城市化和工业化区域及全国农用地低碳利用调控具有重要意义。利用1980年第二次土壤普查数据与2010年测土配方施肥项目成果土壤数据核算北京市农用地表层土壤碳储量,利用生物量遥感信息（NDVI）模型反演林地、草地植被碳储量,对北京市土地利用变化造成的农用地碳储量变化进行研究,结果表明：1）1980-2010年,北京市农用地碳储量由75.29 Tg-C增至81.13Tg-C,增加5.83 Tg-C,其中,土壤碳储量减少7.51 Tg-C,植被碳储量增加13.34 Tg-C;2）30年间,北京市农用地面积减少14.11×10⁴ hm²,其中,耕地流失最为显著,主要去向为建设用地和林地,林地面积略有增加;3）北京市用地类型保持不变的农用地土壤碳储量减少297.63×10⁴ t,植被碳储量增加1095.21×10⁴ t,共计增加797.58×10⁴ t,其中,用地类型保持不变的耕地、林地碳储量增加,草地碳储量减少;4）30年间,土地利用类型转化使北京市农用地土壤碳储量减少75.71×10⁴ t,植被碳储量增加212.49×10⁴ t,共计增加136.78×10⁴ t,其他用地类型转为林地使碳储量增加,有利于碳汇的形成,林地转出为其他用地类型均会造成一定碳排放;5）平原造林、退耕还林等工程有利于增加北京市农用地固碳量。未来北京市可通过控制农用地面积减少量,优化农用地内部结构,降低用地类型间的转换频率以提高农用地碳储量。研究可为其他区域及全国在快速城市化工业化过程中提升农用地碳储量提供一定参考。     

中国生态用地研究:内涵、分类与时空格局

生态用地具有重要的生态系统服务功能,是衡量一个地区国土生态环境质量好坏的"晴雨表"。在综述生态用地概念内涵基础上,划分生态用地类型、构建生态用地分类体系,基于全国土地利用变更调查数据对我国生态用地开展评估。研究表明:(1)生态用地内涵在区域尺度上主要有"生态要素决定论"、"生态功能决定论"和"主体功能决定论"3种观点,生态功能主体性应作为界定生态用地的基本准则。(2)基于生态系统服务主体功能,生态用地分类体系包括湿地、森林、草地和其他生态土地4个一级类型、19个二级类型。其中,湿地、森林、草地可统称为基础性生态用地,其他生态土地为保全性生态用地。(3)2008年我国生态用地总量7.64×106km2,约占陆域国土面积的80%,其中基础性生态用地约为5.31×106km2;基础性生态用地总量和人均基础性生态用地面积在空间上均呈现出"东南低、西北高"的特点;2002年至2008年间,我国生态用地总量与基础性生态用地面积均呈逐年下降态势,年均分别减少0.55×104km2和0.18×104km2,部分地区生态安全状况不容忽视。     

Degraded ecosystems in China: status, causes, and restoration efforts

The total area of China is about 9.6 million km². Among the terrestrial ecosystems, cropland area is about 1.33 billion ha, 78% of which is degraded land; forestland area is about 1.75 billion ha, 72% of which is forest deterioration; grassland area is 3.99 billion ha, 90% of which has already degraded. Derelict mining land area is about 6 million ha, which is increasing by 12,000 ha/year. So far, only 8% of the total derelict mining land area has been reclaimed. A total lake area of 1.3 million ha has been lost since 1950; 50% of the coastal wetlands has been reclaimed. The mangrove area has declined from 40,000 ha in 1957 to 18,841.7 ha in 1986. With a total of 0.18 billion ha of water area, over 50% of it has been polluted to type III–V in terms of the Chinese Water Quality Standard Classification System. Oceanic area is about 4.73 billion ha, over 1.6% of which is also polluted. Environmental pollution is very severe in China, especially the environmental problems in rural and agricultural areas. Water resource is severely lacking and most river ecosystems are facing deterioration. The oceanic environmental problem is still fearful. Water and soil eroded areas have been increasing year after year and have become the most severe environmental issue in China. In addition, land desertification, prairie deterioration, and land salination have been increasing at an accelerating rate. Forest function has weakened and the current environment in derelict mining land areas are headachy. Biodiversity has been destroyed badly. The reasons for the deterioration of China’s environment are diverse, such as the pressure of a large population, industrialization, and its markets. The deterioration of the ecological index has already affected the current economic index and prospective economic growth directly and obviously.     

Responses of nematode communities to different land uses in an aquic brown soil

An analysis of the seasonal and vertical distribution of soil nematode communities under three contrasting land uses, i.e., cropland, abandoned cropland and woodland was conducted in an aquic brown soil. The results showed that different land-use types affected the spatiotemporal distribution of soil nematodes and their dominant genera, and different dominant genera showed different responses to land use. In the abandoned cropland and woodland, most dominant genera were present in the 0–20 cm layers and Chiloplacus was mainly distributed in the 5–30 cm layers, while in the cropland, Pratylenchus exhibited an even distribution from the 0–5 cm to the 40–50 cm depth. Soil environmental parameters under different land use could influence soil nematodes; soil porosity, total organic C, total N and the C/N ratio could positively influence the abundance of some dominant genera. Faunal profiles revealed that environmental stability and the homeostasis in the abandoned cropland and woodland lead to higher levels of community structure, and the soil food web tends to succeed to maturity. Nematode faunal analyses are a useful indicator for interpreting the stress and/or nutrient conditions under different land uses. __________ Translated from Biodiversity Science, 2007, 15(2): 172–179 [译自:生物多样性]     

1990年来中国城镇建设用地占用耕地的效率和驱动机理时空分析

定量揭示城镇建设用地与耕地的时空变化关系和相互作用机理,是如何实现城镇建设用地需求与耕地资源保护二者间动态平衡的关键问题之一。基于1990—2015年全国城镇建设用地及耕地的空间数据,在对比分析中国31个省份近25年来的城镇建设用地及耕地时空格局变化的基础上,定量求算因城镇建设用地扩张导致耕地减少的速率,并引入数据包络分析法和地理探测器,实现自1990年以来中国城镇建设用地占用耕地的驱动效用机理。结果表明:1)在时间维度上,1990—2015年间,中国城镇建设用地增长2.6×10⁴ km²,增速107%,而扩张速率以2.4%/5 a逐渐降低。1990—2000年耕地呈增加趋势(增加2.96×10⁴ km²),2000年后呈减少趋势,总体减少速率为0.29%/5 a。全国新增城镇建设用地占用2.12×10⁴ km²耕地,占城镇新增总量的72.5%;2)在空间分布上,全国城镇建设用地扩张面积由东向西逐渐减小,但2010后的西部区域扩张速度呈上升趋势。耕地面积在西北和东北地区有所增加,东部和中部呈减少趋势,城镇建设用地占用耕地比例由东部向西部逐渐减弱,但中东部耕地被建设用地占用形式仍然严重;3)在城镇建设用地占用耕地的效用上,1990—2015年,全国城镇建设用地占用耕地的产出效益呈现降低趋势,其中产出效益超过0.8的省份主要分布在沿海地区,西北地区产出效益普遍较低。分析结果显示,经济发展因素是新增城镇建设用地占用耕地的主要驱动因素,其次为空间位置因素和政策措施,自2010年后政策因素的驱动作用强度呈增加趋势。     

Cardiorespiratory responses to underwater treadmill walking in healthy females

This study compared the cardiorespiratory responses of eight healthy women (mean age 30.25 years) to submaximal exercise on land (LTm) and water treadmills (WTm) in chest-deep water (Aquaciser). In addition, the effects of two different water temperatures were examined (28 and 36°C). Each exercise test consisted of three consecutive 5-min bouts at 3.5, 4.5 and 5.5 km · h⁻¹. Oxygen consumption (V˙O₂) and heart rate (HR), measured using open-circuit spirometry and telemetry, respectively, increased linearly with increasing speed both in water and on land. At 3.5 km · h⁻¹ V˙O₂ was similar across procedures [χ = 0.6 (0.05) l · min⁻¹]. At 4.5 and 5.5 km · h⁻¹ V˙O₂ was significantly higher in water than on land, but there was no temperature effect (WTm: 0.9 and 1.4, respectively; LTm: 0.8 and 0.9 l · min⁻¹, respectively). HR was significantly higher in WTm at 36°C compared to WTm at 28°C at all speeds, and compared to LTm at 4.5 and 5.5 km · h⁻¹ (P ≤ 0.003). The HR-V˙O₂ relationship showed that at a V˙O₂ of 0.9 l · min⁻¹, HR was higher in water at 36°C (115 beats · min⁻¹) than either on land (100 beats · min⁻¹) or in water at 28°C (99 beats · min⁻¹). The Borg scale of perceived exertion showed that walking in water at 4.5 and 5.5 km · h⁻¹ was significantly harder than on land (WTm: 11.4 and 14, respectively; LTm: 9.9 and 11, respectively; P ≤ 0.001). These cardiorespiratory changes occurred despite a slower cadence in water (the mean difference at all speeds was 27 steps/min). Thus, walking in chest-deep water yields higher energy costs than walking at similar speeds on land. This data has implications for therapists working in hydrotherapy pools. Accepted: 3 September 1997     

土地退化过程、机制与影响——以土地退化与恢复专题评估报告为基础

土地退化已成为威胁32亿人口福祉的全球性重大环境问题之一,近年来受到UN、IPBES、IPCC等组织的广泛关注。然而,当前的土地退化研究中,还存在概念不清、过程和机理不明、影响认识不彻底等问题,因此,厘清土地退化的概念、过程和机制是防止土地退化和恢复退化土地的关键。以生物多样性和生态系统服务政府间科学-政策平台（IPBES）土地退化与恢复专题评估报告为基础,剖析了土地退化的概念、过程、机制及影响：土地退化过程受自然环境和人类活动两大因素驱动,退化过程包括疑似退化、历史退化、敏感退化、弹性退化、持续退化和永久退化6种状态;土地退化类型可根据土地利用类型分为城市土地退化、农田退化、森林与草地退化、湿地退化等;土地退化具有多重影响,包括威胁食物和水安全,影响生物多样性及生态系统服务,引发地区冲突、大规模人口迁徙和疾病传播,加剧贫困及全球气候变化。土地退化过程、机制及影响的审视将为我国沙漠化、石漠化等土地退化的进一步研究提供理论指导,并为我国"山水林田湖草"土地系统的统筹治理和"美丽中国"、"生态文明"建设提供决策支持。     

岱海流域土地利用动态模拟及生态系统服务价值测算

北方内陆湖泊面积萎缩严重,岱海作为典型的内陆湖之一,其面积变化尤为显著.为研究岱海湖面积变化及岱海流域生态系统服务价值(Esv)的动态趋势,本研究运用CA-Markov模型,基于1989-2018年6期的土地利用数据,预测2026年的土地利用状况,并采用当量因子法,对岱海流域ESV进行评估.结果 表明:岱海湖若不进行生...     

基于GIS的关中-天水经济区土地生态系统固碳释氧价值评价

气体调节服务功能是生态服务功能的重要的一部分,生态系统的固碳释氧功能,对于人类社会和整个动物界以及全球气候平衡,都具有重要意义.采用光合作用方程式,利用遥感估算模型,基于植被NPP(第一性生产力)物质量测算结果,测算关中-天水天经济区绿色植物固碳释氧物质量,以此为基础,分别采用造林成本法和工业制氧法测算其价值量,探讨关天经济区生态系统固碳释氧价值的时间变化、空间分布.结果表明:1)1998-2007年关天水经济区年固定CO2的价值量为226.35亿元/a.10a间2005年固定CO2的价值量最高,为301.73亿元/a,2002年最低,为159.06元/a.释放O2价值量取两种测评方法的平均值,年平均价值量为240.45亿元/a,比固定CO2的年均值多14.1亿元/a.2)从各土地利用类型来看,1998年和2007年平均固碳释氧价值排序为:林地＞草地＞耕地＞其他类型.耕地向林地、草地转变时,平均固碳释氧价值分别增加了1614.29、1960.67元·hm-2·a-1,林地、草地向耕地转变时平均固碳释氧价值分别减少了1081.37、1706.60元·hm-2·a-1.3)从空间分布上来看,南部各县的单位面积固定CO2和释放O2价值普遍高于北部各县,总体上分布沿南部向北部逐渐降低.     

南京市景观时空动态变化及其驱动力

选择南京市1995、2000和2008年的土地利用/土地覆盖数据,对其土地利用斑块动态变化与景观斑块的空间稳定性进行探讨。结果表明,全市总体上以耕地、林地和草地的减少,以及建设用地和水域的大幅度增加为典型特征。1995-2000年间耕地、林地和草地面积净减少了12017.2 hm²,2000-2008年间净减少41029.13 hm²;全市的建设用地面积1995-2000年间仅增加了11981.3 hm², 2000-2008年间面积增加了41027.06 hm²。从斑块类型的面积稳定性来看,各种土地利用斑块的空间稳定性都非常高,除了2000-2008年间未利用土地的自身空间保持率为50.66%外,其他土地景观类型的保持率都在90%以上。从不稳定斑块的空间分布看,1995-2000年间,主要集中在南京市的栖霞区、浦口区和江宁区,呈离散分布特征; 2000-2008年间,不稳定斑块一方面呈现出集中连片的分布态势,这在江宁区和栖霞区最为典型,另一方面这种集中分布趋势也扩大到了六合区与高淳县。从不稳定斑块的转化方向看,均以建设用地所占比例最大,两个时段内转为建设用地的不稳定斑块分别占到了不稳定斑块总面积的87.09%和68.46%,其次的转化方向为水域,两个时间段内分别达到了10.61%和23.86%。从景观斑块变化的原因来看,对当地景观斑块稳定性影响最大的主要是人口与经济发展、城市规划的引导和重大的生态建设工程等人为因素。     

县域土地利用变化下生态系统服务价值损益预测——以重庆市巴南区为例

土地利用/覆被变化是全球变化的研究热点,评估县域土地利用变化对生态系统服务价值损益的影响对促进生态环境保护和推动城乡区域协调发展具有重要意义。基于重庆市巴南区2000年以来连续5期遥感影像及CLUE-S模型,量化土地利用变化对生态系统服务价值的影响并预测2020-2030年服务价值损益的时空动态。结果表明2000-2020年巴南区土地利用变化主要表现为耕地持续转化为其他用地类型和林地面积的大幅增长,该趋势将在未来10年内延续。2000-2030年耕地占巴南区面积的比例下降了39.58%,而林地占比将增长28.86%并在2025年后取代耕地成为最主要的地类;建设用地、水域和未利用地面积占比分别增长8.29%、2.25%和0.18%。土地利用类型变化下巴南区生态系统服务价值在2000-2020年由11.69亿元增长到27.64亿元,并将持续增长至2030年的30.19亿元。耕地和林地转化为建设用地、耕地转化为林地（尤其是转化为针叶林和针阔混交林）分别是服务价值损失及增益的主要方式。2000-2030年巴南区生态系统服务价值总损失0.58亿元、总增益19.09亿元,净增益18.50亿元。土地利用结构变化和生态系统服务当量因子价值升高分别贡献了净增益的70.96%和29.04%。巴南区生态系统服务价值损益与地形密切相关。2000-2030年间巴南区生态系统服务价值由匀质分布逐渐形成北低南高的发展格局;价值损益在全局和局域尺度上均呈现出显著的正向空间自相关特性。巴南区现有的土地利用模式能够兼顾经济发展及生态环境保护两方面的需求。未来需要继续实行生态保护工程、合理规划城市用地边界、严守耕地红线以推动城乡区域协调发展。     

Maintenance nitrogen requirement of an obligate nectarivore, the honey possum, Tarsipes rostratus

A nitrogen balance feeding trial was carried out with the marsupial honey possum, Tarsipes rostratus, using four pollen-honey diets varying in nitrogen content from 9.4 mg · g⁻¹ to 2.3 mg · g⁻¹ dry matter. The dietary maintenance nitrogen requirement (MNR) was determined by regression analysis as 89 ± 21 mg N · kg^−0.75 · day⁻¹ and the truly digestible MNR was 79 mg N · kg^−0.75 · day^−1.. Regressing nitrogen balance on daily nitrogen intake separately for ten males and seven females revealed that the slopes of the fitted lines did not vary significantly, but the difference in the intercepts approached significance. This suggests that the MNR for females may be lower than that of males. The nitrogen digestibility of the diet was 76% and the biological value (BV) was 58%. A comparison of the MNR of the honey possum with that of other marsupials shows that it is indeed much lower than that of herbivorous macropodid marsupials and is close to that of the sap- and gum-feeding sugar glider, Petarurus breviceps. The endogenous urinary nitrogen excretion (EUN) of the honey possum was 42 mg N · kg^−0.75 · day⁻¹ and a regression analysis with other published data showed that the EUN per unit basal heat production is significantly lower than that of eutherian mammals. Measurements of the actual feeding rates of animals in the field, taken together with the low MNR, do not lend support to the hypothesis that the honey possum exhibits a reduced rate of reproduction due to a deficiency in dietary nitrogen. It is possible that the quality of nitrogen provided by pollen, as reflected in its composition of essential amino acids, may be a limiting factor. Accepted: 15 September 2000     

Structure and Function of Oak Forests in Central Himalaya. II. Nutrient Dynamics

This paper elucidates nutrient dynamics in oak forests previouslyinvestigated for dry matter dynamics. The nutrient concentrationsin different life forms were of the order: herb > shrub >tree, whereas the standing state of nutrients were of the order:tree > shrub > herb. Soil, litter and vegetation, respectively,accounted for 32·4–98·0 %; 0·3–3·5%, and 10·2–66·6 % of the total nutrientsin the system. Considerable reductions (8·5–41·7%)in concentrations of nutrients in leaves occurred during senescence.The uptake of nutrients by vegetation, and also by differentcomponents with and without adjustment for internal recycling,has been calculated separately. Annual transfer of litter (above+ below ground) to the soil by vegetation was 115·9–187N, 7·5–15·6 P, 122·7–195·1Ca, 36·1–48·8 K and 2·88–5·16Na kg ha^–1 yr^–1. Turnover rate and turnover timefor different nutrients ranged between 0·66–0·84yr^–1 and 1·19–1·56 yr^–1, respectively.Compartment models for nutrient dynamics have been developedto represent the distribution of nutrient contents and net annualfluxes within the system. Quercus leucotrichophora forest, Q.floribunda forest, Q. lanuginosa forest, Nutrient concentration, standing state, uptake, internal cycling, turnover     

Green land: Multiple perspectives on green algal evolution and the earliest land plants

Green plants, broadly defined as green algae and the land plants (together, Viridiplantae), constitute the primary eukaryotic lineage that successfully colonized Earth's emergent landscape. Members of various clades of green plants have independently made the transition from fully aquatic to subaerial habitats many times throughout Earth's history. The transition, from unicells or simple filaments to complex multicellular plant bodies with functionally differentiated tissues and organs, was accompanied by innovations built upon a genetic and phenotypic toolkit that have served aquatic green phototrophs successfully for at least a billion years. These innovations opened an enormous array of new, drier places to live on the planet and resulted in a huge diversity of land plants that have dominated terrestrial ecosystems over the past 500 million years. This review examines the greening of the land from several perspectives, from paleontology to phylogenomics, to water stress responses and the genetic toolkit shared by green algae and plants, to the genomic evolution of the sporophyte generation. We summarize advances on disparate fronts in elucidating this important event in the evolution of the biosphere and the lacunae in our understanding of it. We present the process not as a step-by-step advancement from primitive green cells to an inevitable success of embryophytes, but rather as a process of adaptations and exaptations that allowed multiple clades of green plants, with various combinations of morphological and physiological terrestrialized traits, to become diverse and successful inhabitants of the land habitats of Earth.