Growth,phenology and N-utilization by invasive populations of Gunnera tinctoria

智利大叶草(Gunnera tinctoria)是一种不同寻常的固氮植物,已入侵到了世界各地,通常入侵到低蒸发需求和/或高降雨的环境。 在许多可以解释其作为一个成功的引入物种的机制中,差异性的物候特征可能起重要作用,但这可能取决于在次优化条件下生长和利用 营养物质的能力。我们研究了智利大叶草在物候和固氮能力方面是否具有优势,并将其与受智利大叶草入侵影响最大的本地物种灯芯草 (Juncus effusus)进行了比较。2016–2017年,我们每周或每两周对爱尔兰阿奇尔岛的长期种群进行物候学评估。在测量土壤温度,湿度和氧化还原电位的同时,收集了叶和花序数,叶总面积,光截获和地上生物量的数据。利用δ ¹⁵N 同位素并结合原位乙炔还原测量的方法评估了用于支持季节生长的固氮能力的重要性。研究结果表明,2016–2017年,智利大叶草和灯芯草开始生长的时间不同,智利大叶草叶片出现和展叶的时间较早,水分利用率较高时地上生物量最大。智利大叶草的早期生长依赖于预先形成的结构,5月下旬冠层发育达到最大,并且早于灯芯草。虽然在3月份观察到固氮作用,但这对冠层发育后期的生长有更显著的贡献。基于δ ¹⁵N 同位素分析结果表明,早期生长主要与根状茎的氮转移有关,而幼苗主要依赖于固氮作用。这一发现强调了养分调动对早期生长的重要性,并表明固氮能力的重要性可能在不同的发育过程中有所不同,并且其在入侵过程的不同阶段也是如此。     

悬铃木方翅网蝽: 一种正在迅速扩张的城市外来入侵害虫

悬铃木方翅网蝽(Corythucha ciliata)是新近入侵我国城市生态系统的外来害虫, 严重危害城市行道树悬铃木(Platanus spp.), 自2002年该虫在湖南长沙首度报道以来, 已在我国11个省(直辖市)的25个城市发生, 尤其在长江流域呈现爆发态势。本文系统介绍了悬铃木方翅网蝽的生活史、生活习性、繁殖潜力等生物学特性, 以及扩散速度与方式、影响发生的主要环境因素、种群的耐寒耐热能力等生态学特性。最后, 在分析该虫的寄主及危害特点的基础上, 对其控制与管理对策进行了综述, 以为其管理提供参考。     

Dittrichia graveolens (L.) Greuter Essential Oil: Chemical Composition,Multivariate Analysis,and Antimicrobial Activity

The chemical composition and in vitro antimicrobial activities of Dittrichia graveolens (L.) Greuter essential oil was studied. Moreover, using agglomerative hierarchical cluster (AHC) and principal component analyses (PCA), the interrelationships of the D. graveolens essential‐oil profiles characterized so far (including the sample from this study) were investigated. To evaluate the chemical composition of the essential oil, GC‐FID and GC/MS analyses were performed. Altogether, 54 compounds were identified, accounting for 92.9% of the total oil composition. The D. graveolens oil belongs to the monoterpenoid chemotype, with monoterpenoids comprising 87.4% of the totally identified compounds. The major components were borneol (43.6%) and bornyl acetate (38.3%). Multivariate analysis showed that the compounds borneol and bornyl acetate exerted the greatest influence on the spatial differences in the composition of the reported oils. The antimicrobial activity against five bacterial and one fungal strain was determined using a disk‐diffusion assay. The studied essential oil was active only against Gram‐positive bacteria.     

Interannual variability of plant phenology in tussock tundra: modelling interactions of plant productivity, plant phenology, snowmelt and soil thaw

We present a linked model of plant productivity, plant phenology, snowmelt and soil thaw in order to estimate interannual variability of arctic plant phenology and its effects on plant productivity. The model is tested using 8 years of soil temperature data, and three years of bud break data of Betula nana. Because the factors that trigger the end of the growing season of arctic vegetation are less well known than those of the start of the growing season, three hypotheses were formulated and tested for their effects on productivity and its sensitivity to climate change; the hypothesised factors determining the end of the growing season were frost, photoperiod and periodic constraints. The performance of the soil thermal model was good; both the onset of soil thaw in spring and the initiation of freezing in autumn were predicted correctly in most cases. The phenology model predicted the bud break date of Betula nana closely for the three different years. The soil thaw model predicted similar growing season start dates under current climate as the models based on sum of temperatures, but it made significantly different predictions under climate change scenarios, probably because of the non‐linear interactions between snowmelt and soil thaw. The uncertainty about the driving factors for the end of the growing season, in turn, resulted in uncertainty in the interannual variability of the simulated annual gross primary productivity (GPP). The interannual variability ranged from ? 25 to + 26% of the mean annual GPP for the frost hypothesis, from ? 20 to + 20% for the photoperiod hypothesis and only from ? 7 to + 7% for the periodic hypothesis. The different hypotheses also resulted in different sensitivity to climate change, with the frost hypothesis resulting in 30% higher annual GPP values than the periodic hypothesis when air temperatures were increased by 3 °C.     

加拿大一枝黄花--一种正在迅速扩张的外来入侵植物

加拿大一枝黄花Solidago canadensis原产于北美,现已入侵到欧洲、亚洲和大洋洲等地,成为一种世界性的入侵性外来杂草,威胁着生态系统的生物多样性和农业生产,并造成显著的环境与经济损失。1935年,该物种作为庭院植物被引入上海,后逸生成为杂草,目前正在我国境内尤其是东部地区迅速扩散。本文较系统地介绍了加拿大一枝黄花在形态学、生物系统学、遗传多样性和生活史等方面的特征,并试图从其入侵力（繁殖力、化感作用、菌根营养）、被入侵生态系统的可入侵性（适宜的气候、生境破坏、天敌释放和土壤氮水平的影响）以及人类活动的直接影响等三方面分析其入侵成功的原因。最后,提出加拿大一枝黄花的防治关键在于控制其有性繁殖,现有的人工铲除和化学防治等措施都应在其有性繁殖之前实施。     

Flowering plant phenology and weather in Alberta,Canada

Plant phenology can be used for biomonitoring climate change. The flowering of certain temperate zone plant species occurs in response to accumulated heat. Networks of observers presently provide data on the timing of the growth of native and crop plants to Agro-meteorological Departments in Europe and the United States. In Alberta, a phenological survey which began in 1987 records flowering times for 15 native plants, with about 200 volunteers contributing observations annually. Six years of data have been summarized and correlated with temperature measurements. The Alberta phenological data can provide a key to sound decision-making in two ways: by providing proxy data on key variables to which vegetation responds, and by providing a model for transforming simple weather data into biologically meaningful zones.     

Herbarium specimens show patterns of fruiting phenology in native and invasive plant species across New England

Premise of the Study

Patterns of fruiting phenology in temperate ecosystems are poorly understood, despite the ecological importance of fruiting for animal nutrition and seed dispersal. Herbarium specimens represent an under‐utilized resource for investigating geographical and climatic factors affecting fruiting times within species, patterns in fruiting times among species, and differences between native and non‐native invasive species.

Methods

We examined over 15,000 herbarium specimens, collected and housed across New England, and found 3159 specimens with ripe fruits, collected from 1849–2013. We examined patterns in fruiting phenology among 37 native and 18 invasive woody plant species common to New England. We compared fruiting dates between native and invasive species, and analyzed how fruiting phenology varies with temperature, space, and time.

Key Results

Spring temperature and year explained a small but significant amount of the variation in fruiting dates. Accounting for the moderate phylogenetic signal in fruiting phenology, invasive species fruited 26 days later on average than native species, with significantly greater standard deviations.

Conclusions

Herbarium specimens can be used to detect patterns in fruiting times among species. However, the amount of intraspecific variation in fruiting times explained by temporal, geographic, and climatic predictors is small, due to a combination of low temporal resolution of fruiting specimens and the protracted nature of fruiting. Later fruiting times in invasive species, combined with delays in autumn bird migrations in New England, may increase the likelihood that migratory birds will consume and disperse invasive seeds in New England later into the year.     

Flowering phenology of invasive alien plant species compared with native species in three Mediterranean-type ecosystems

Background and Aims

Flowering phenology is a potentially important component of success of alien species, since elevated fecundity may enhance invasiveness. The flowering patterns of invasive alien plant species and related natives were studied in three regions with Mediterranean-type climate: California, Spain and South Africa''s Cape region.

Methods

A total of 227 invasive–native pairs were compared for seven character types across the regions, with each pair selected on the basis that they shared the same habitat type within a region, had a common growth form and pollination type, and belonged to the same family or genus.

Key Results

Invasive alien plant species have different patterns of flowering phenology from native species in the three regions. Whether the alien species flower earlier, later or at the same time as natives depends on the climatic regime in the native range of the aliens and the proportion of species in the invasive floras originating from different regions. Species invading at least two of the regions displayed the same flowering pattern, showing that flowering phenology is a conservative trait. Invasive species with native ranges in temperate climates flower earlier than natives, those from Mediterranean-type climates at the same time, and species from tropical climates flower later. In California, where the proportion of invaders from the Mediterranean Basin is high, the flowering pattern did not differ between invasive and native species, whereas in Spain the high proportion of tropical species results in a later flowering than natives, and in the Cape region early flowering than natives was the result of a high proportion of temperate invaders.

Conclusions

Observed patterns are due to the human-induced sympatry of species with different evolutionary histories whose flowering phenology evolved under different climatic regimes. The severity of the main abiotic filters imposed by the invaded regions (e.g. summer drought) has not been strong enough (yet) to shift the flowering pattern of invasive species to correspond with that of native relatives. It does, however, determine the length of the flowering season and the type of habitat invaded by summer-flowering aliens. Results suggest different implications for impacts at evolutionary time scales among the three regions.Key words: Biological invasions, flowering phenology, genetic inertia, Cape Floristic Region, California, Spain, Mediterranean-type ecosystems, water availability, climatic origin     

Host plant phenology affects performance of an invasive weevil, Phyllobius oblongus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), in a northern hardwood forest

We investigated how host plant phenology and plant species affected longevity, reproduction, and feeding behavior of an invasive weevil. Phyllobius oblongus L. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is common in northern hardwood forests of the Great Lakes Region. Adults emerge in spring, feed on foliage of woody understory plants, and oviposit in the soil. Preliminary data indicate that adults often feed on sugar maple, Acer saccharum Marshall, foliage early in the season, then feed on other species such as raspberry, Rubus spp. Whether this behavior reflects temporal changes in the quality of A. saccharum tissue or merely subsequent availability of later-season plants is unknown. We tested adult P. oblongus in laboratory assays using young (newly flushed) sugar maple foliage, old (2-3 wk postflush) sugar maple foliage, and raspberry foliage. Raspberry has indeterminate growth, thus always has young foliage available for herbivores. Survival, oviposition, and leaf consumption were recorded. In performance assays under no-choice conditions, mated pairs were provided one type of host foliage for the duration of their lives. In behavioral choice tests, all three host plants were provided simultaneously and leaf area consumption was compared. Adults survived longer on and consumed greater amounts of young maple and raspberry foliage than old maple foliage. P. oblongus preferred young maple foliage to old maple foliage early in the season, however, later in the growing season weevils showed less pronounced feeding preferences. These results suggest how leaf phenology, plant species composition, and feeding plasticity in host utilization may interact to affect P. oblongus population dynamics.     

植物物候与气候研究进展

植物物候及其变化是多个环境因子综合影响的结果,其中气候是最重要、最活跃的环境因子。主要从气候环境角度分析了植物物候与气候以及气候变化间的相互关系,概述了国内外有关植物物候及物候模拟等方面的研究进展。表明,温度是影响物候变化最重要的因子;同时,水分成为胁迫因子时对物候的影响也十分重要。近50a左右,世界范围内的植物物候呈现出了春季物候提前,秋季物候推迟或略有推迟的特征,从而导致了多数植物生长季节的延长,并成为全球物候变化的趋势。全球气候变暖改变了植物开始和结束生长的日期,其中冬季、春季气温的升高使植物的春季物候提前是植物生长季延长的主要原因。目前对物候学的研究方向主要集中在探讨物候与气候变化之间的关系,而模型模拟是定量研究气候变化与植物物候之间关系的重要方式,国内外已经开发出多种物候模型来分析气候驱动与物候响应之间的因果关系。另外遥感资料的应用也为物候模型研究提供了新的方向。物候机理研究、物候与气候关系以及物候模型研究将是研究的重点。     

European breeding phenology of the invasive common waxbill,a sub-Saharan opportunistic breeder

acta ethologica - Biological invasions may involve species colonising different climatic regions than those in their native ranges, and it is not straightforward to predict how breeding phenology...     

Flowering phenology, floral traits and pollinator composition in a herbaceous Mediterranean plant community

The relationships between flowering plants and their insect visitors were studied in a Mediterranean grassland in north-east Spain. Floral traits (size, shape, symmetry, and colour), floral rewards (pollen and nectar), flowering period, and floral visitors were recorded for the 17 most abundant plants in the community. Flowering was year-round, but most species flowered in spring. The three species that flowered after spring had small flowers, but the distribution of floral features (including rewards offered) did not show a strong seasonality. Ants contributed 58.5% to the flower visits recorded. Other frequent visitors were beetles (12%), flies (9.5%), honey bees (6.4%), wild bees (6.4%), and wasps (5.2%). Honey bees were most abundant in April, wild bees from April to July, beetles from May to July, and ants from May to September. The lack of tight plant-insect associations was the rule, with most plant species visited by a rather diverse array of insects representing two or more orders. The plant species having narrower spectra of visitors either had flower rewards exposed or attracted mostly illegitimate visitors. By means of correspondence analysis four categories of plants were defined according to their main groups of visitors: (1) honey bees and large wild bees; (2) large wild bees; (3) ants and beetles; and (4) beetles and small-sized bees. The Mantel test was used to calculate correlations among four matrices representing similarities in visitors attracted, floral morphological traits, pollen-nectar rewards, and blooming time, respectively. In spite of seasonality shown by the different insect groups, results indicate that the observed patterns of visitor distribution among plants were most affected by pollen-nectar rewards. Received: 28 May 1996 / Accepted: 19 October 1996     

Sublethal effects of a rapidly spreading native alga on a key herbivore

1. Multiple anthropogenic stressors are causing a global decline in foundation species, including macrophytes, often resulting in the expansion of functionally different, more stressor‐tolerant macrophytes. Previously subdominant species may experience further positive demographic feedback if they are exposed to weaker plant–herbivore interactions, possibly via decreased palatability or being structurally different from the species they are replacing. However, the consequences of the spread of opportunistic macrophytes for the local distribution and life history of herbivores are unknown.
2. The green alga, Caulerpa filiformis, previously a subdominant macrophyte on low intertidal‐shallow subtidal rock shores, is becoming locally more abundant and has spread into warmer waters across the coast of New South Wales, Australia.
3. In this study, we measured (a) the distribution and abundance of a key consumer, the sea urchin Heliocidaris erythrogramma, across a seascape at sites where C. filiformis has become dominant, (b) performed behavioral field experiments to test the role of habitat selection in determining the local distribution of H. erythrogramma, and (c) consumer experiments to test differential palatability between previously dominant higher quality species like Ecklonia radiata and Sargassum sp. and C. filiformis and the physiological consequences of consuming it.
4. At all sites, urchin densities were positively correlated with distance away from C. filiformis beds, and they actively moved away from beds. Feeding experiments showed that, while urchins consumed C. filiformis, sometimes in equal amounts to higher quality algae, there were strong sublethal consequences associated with C. filiformis consumption, mainly on reproductive potential (gonad size). Specifically, the gonad size of urchins that fed on C. filiformis was equivalent to that in starved urchins. There was also a tendency for urchin mortality to be greater when fed C. filiformis.
5. Overall, strong negative effects on herbivore life‐history traits and potentially their survivorship may establish further positive feedback on C. filiformis abundance that contributes to its spread and may mediate shifts from top‐down to bottom‐up control at locations where C. filiformis has become dominant.

The spread of the previously subdominant Caulerpa filiformis along the coast of NSW, Australia has strong lethal and sublethal effects on a key herbivore population. We performed sea urchin surveys, behavioral experiments, and consumer experiments and found that C aulerpa has strong negative effects on their populations. These results may establish reinforcing feedbacks on the spreading algae and mediate shifts from top‐down to bottom‐up control.     

Growth,reproductive phenology and yield responses of a potential biofuel plant,Jatropha curcas grown under projected 2050 levels of elevated CO2

Jatropha (Jatropha curcas) is a non‐edible oil producing plant which is being advocated as an alternative biofuel energy resource. Its ability to grow in diverse soil conditions and minimal requirements of essential agronomical inputs compared with other oilseed crops makes it viable for cost‐effective advanced biofuel production. We designed a study to investigate the effects of elevated carbon dioxide concentration ([CO₂]) (550 ppm) on the growth, reproductive development, source‐sink relationships, fruit and seed yield of J. curcas. We report, for the first time that elevated CO₂ significantly influences reproductive characteristics of Jatropha and improve its fruit and seed yields. Net photosynthetic rate of Jatropha was 50% higher in plants grown in elevated CO₂ compared with field and ambient CO₂‐grown plants. The study also revealed that elevated CO₂ atmosphere significantly increased female to male flower ratio, above ground biomass and carbon sequestration potential in Jatropha (24 kg carbon per tree) after 1 year. Our data demonstrate that J. curcas was able to sustain enhanced rate of photosynthesis in elevated CO₂ conditions as it had sufficient sink strength to balance the increased biomass yields. Our study also elucidates that the economically important traits including fruit and seed yield in elevated CO₂ conditions were significantly high in J. curcas that holds great promise as a potential biofuel tree species for the future high CO₂ world.     

Preference and performance of a gall-inducing sawfly: plant vigor, sex, gall traits and phenology

Four hypotheses regarding the role of predation in the population dynamics of eruptive small mammal communities were tested using the small mammal assemblage found in mixed forests in New Zealand. Large-scale (750 ha) predator removal was conducted, targeting stoats ( Mustela erminea ). House mouse ( Mus musculus ) and ship rat ( Rattus rattus ) population dynamics during an eruption were compared in areas with and without predator reduction. The success of predator reduction was measured by comparing live-capture rates of predators on treatment and non-treatment areas, and by recruitment rates of the threatened northern brown kiwi ( Apteryx australis mantelli ). Overall, predator reduction was successful, although there was a continual low rate of reinvasion. The predictions and results were that 1) Predators can slow but not prevent a population eruption. Supported: Populations of mice and rats erupted to high densities in areas with and without predator reduction, following synchronous southern beech ( Nothofagus spp.) seeding. 2) Predators cannot truncate peak prey population size. Supported: Peak densities of mice and rats were not significantly different between treatment and non-treatment areas. 3) Predators can hasten the rate of decline in prey populations during the crash phase. Not supported: There was evidence of populations of mice and rats declining slower in areas with predators removed, but none of the trends were significant. 4) Predators can limit low-phase prey populations. Equivocal: Populations of rats in beech forest, and population of mice and rats in coastline habitats were significantly higher in areas with predators removed, but were not significantly different in tawa-podocarp forest. Therefore, the role of food in driving the early stages of the mouse and rat eruption was demonstrated, but the role of predation in the decline and low phases is unclear.     

Physiological responses to short-term water and light stress in native and invasive plant species in southern California

As climate variability increases in low-resource environments, the ability of native and invasive species to tolerate stress and respond to large, ephemeral resource pulses will strongly influence plant fitness and, consequently, competitive outcomes. We examined how native and invasive species occurring in arid coastal sage scrub communities in southern California responded to water and high-light stress. We also examined how plants responded to irrigation following short-term water stress. While species responded differently to water and light treatments, no general pattern emerged between native and invasive species. Photosynthetic function of Ricinus communis (invasive) and Salvia mellifera (native) was most robust to water stress and most responsive to irrigation following water stress. Leaf transpiration data suggested that Ricinus and Salvia maintained photosynthetic function by high water use efficiency rather than higher water status via large root biomass. Brassica nigra (invasive) and Encelia californica (native) were more resistant to photoinhibition in response to high-light stress than Ricinus, Salvia, Artemesia californica (native) or Nicotiana glauca (invasive). Our data suggest that native and invasive species in these arid systems display a range of physiological responses to stress and that strategies for invasive species control or native ecosystem restoration based on plant responses to stress may require species-specific approaches.     

Nutrient addition does not increase the benefits of clonal integration in an invasive plant spreading from open patches into plant communities

• One benefit of clonal integration is that resource translocation between connected ramets enhances the growth of the ramets grown under stressful conditions, but whether such resource translocation reduces the performance of the ramets grown under favourable conditions has not produced consistent results. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that resource translocation to recipient ramets may reduce the performance of donor ramets when resources are limiting but not when resources are abundant.
• We grew Mikania micrantha stolon fragments (each consisting of two ramets, either connected or not connected) under spatially heterogeneous competition conditions such that the developmentally younger, distal ramets were grown in competition with a plant community and the developmentally older, proximal ramets were grown without competition. For half of the stolon fragments, slow‐release fertiliser pellets were applied to both the distal and proximal ramets.
• Under both the low and increased soil nutrient conditions, the biomass, leaf number and stolon length of the distal ramets were higher, and those of the proximal ramets were lower when the stolon internode was intact than when it was severed. For the whole clone, the biomass, leaf number and stolon length did not differ between the two connection treatments. Connection did not change the biomass of the plant communities competing with distal ramets of M. micrantha.
• Although clonal integration may promote the invasion of M. micrantha into plant communities, resource translocation to recipient ramets of M. micrantha will induce a cost to the donor ramets, even when resources are relatively abundant.

     

Growth,phenology, and biomass allocation of alien Solidago species in central Europe

Plant invasion is a major threat to the integrity of an ecosystem. Exceptionally successful invaders in Europe are the American species of Solidago genus. In this study we examined growth, reproduction, and phenology of Solidago species, of American origin, growing in central Europe (S. altissima, S. canadensis, S. gigantea, S. graminifolia). These taxa were compared with two native species: Solidago virgaurea and Tanacetum vulgare. We observed high differentiation in height, number of shoots, and biomass production between individuals within taxa. Generally, the invasive species produced substantially (two to five times) more biomass than the native ones, being statistically significant in the comparison of alien Solidago graminifolia and S. gigantea versus native S. virgaurea and T. vulgare. The ratio of biomass of reproductive parts to overall biomass varied considerably among years, but generally the lowest one was for Solidago altissima, and the highest for S. graminifolia. It shows a lack of a clear pattern of differentiation between alien and native species in terms of biomass investment in reproduction. We observed a general tendency of allocation of a major part of biomass in rhizomes by phalanx species (S. graminifolia and S. gigantea), while species with guerrilla strategy (S. altissima and S. canadensis) invested more biomass in stems and leaves. However, because of the high variability there was no clear, stable pattern of statistically significant differences between these two groups. The results suggest that S. graminifolia reveals a strong potential of invasion, in spite of its, so far limited, distribution in Europe.