Response of three lotic assemblages to riparian and catchment‐scale land use: implications for designing catchment monitoring programmes

1. Although many studies have focussed on the effects of catchment land use on lotic systems, the importance of broad (catchment) and fine (segment/reach) scale effects on stream assemblages remain poorly understood. 2. Nine biological metrics for macrophytes (498 sites), benthic macroinvertebrates (491) and fish (478) of lowland and mountain streams in four ecoregions of France and Germany were related to catchment and riparian buffer land use using partial Redundancy Analysis and Boosted Regression Trees (BRTs). 3. Lotic fauna was better correlated (mean max., r = 0.450) than flora (r = 0.277) to both scales of land use: the strongest correlations were noted for mountain streams. BRTs revealed strong non‐linear relationships between mountain assemblage metrics and land use. Correlations increased with increasing buffer lengths, suggesting the importance of near‐stream land use on biotic assemblages. 4. Several metrics changed markedly between 10–20% (mountain ecoregions) and 40–45% (lowland) of arable land use, irrespective of the buffer size. At mountain sites with >10% catchment arable land use, metric values differed between sites with <30% and sites with >30% forest in the near‐stream riparian area. 5. These findings support the role of riparian land use in catchment management; however, differences between mountain and lowland ecoregions support the need for ecoregion‐specific management.     

Diet partitioning in sympatric Atlantic salmon and brown trout in streams with contrasting riparian vegetation

Prey intake by Atlantic salmon Salmo salar and brown trout Salmo trutta was measured across different riparian vegetation types: grassland, open canopy deciduous and closed canopy deciduous, in upland streams in County Mayo, Western Ireland. Fishes were collected by electrofishing while invertebrates were sampled from the benthos using a Surber sampler and drifting invertebrates collected in drift traps. Aquatic invertebrates dominated prey numbers in the diets of 0+ year Atlantic salmon and brown trout and 1+ year Atlantic salmon, whereas terrestrial invertebrates were of greater importance for diets of 1+ and 2+ year brown trout. Terrestrial prey biomass was generally greater than aquatic prey for 1+ and 2+ year brown trout across seasons and riparian types. Prey intake was greatest in spring and summer and least in autumn apart from 2+ year brown trout that sustained feeding into autumn. Total prey numbers captured tended to be greater for all age classes in streams with deciduous riparian canopy. Atlantic salmon consumed more aquatic prey and brown trout more terrestrial prey with an ontogenetic increase in prey species richness and diversity. Atlantic salmon and brown trout diets were most similar in summer. Terrestrial invertebrates provided an important energy subsidy particularly for brown trout. In grassland streams, each fish age class was strongly associated with aquatic, mainly benthic invertebrates. In streams with deciduous riparian canopy cover, diet composition partitioned between conspecifics with older brown trout associated with surface drifting terrestrial invertebrates and older Atlantic salmon associated with aquatic invertebrates with a high drift propensity in the water column and 0+ year fish feeding on benthic aquatic invertebrates. Deciduous riparian canopy cover may therefore facilitate vertical partitioning of feeding position within the water column between sympatric Atlantic salmon and brown trout. Implications for riparian management are discussed.     

Ecology and biogeography of plant communities associated with the post Plio-Pleistocene relict Rhododendron ponticum subsp. baeticum in southern Spain

Aims Rhododendron ponticum L. is reputed to be a post Plio‐Pleistocene relict plant species with a disjunct distribution that comprises the Iberian Peninsula to the west and the Euxinian region plus some restricted Mediterranean areas to the east. We analysed the ecological range (of subsp. baeticum) in the western area (Aljibe Mountains, north of the Strait of Gibraltar) to understand the factors determining the present area limitation. Location Sierra del Aljibe, north of the Strait of Gibraltar (Iberian Peninsula). Methods We selected 20 riparian sites where R. ponticum is common, and compiled data on the ecological diversity of associated woody species and ferns. We established a 500‐m main transect in each site, along the stream or river course, in which we placed five 20‐m‐long plots at regular intervals. We recorded physiographic habitat features, woody plants and fern abundance, and the number of R. ponticum individuals. Results Rhododendron ponticum in southern Spain is restricted to riparian forests in acidic soils (pH 4.0–6.4), and is mainly found on the banks of inclined and enclosed streams. In our inventory we recorded 59 woody taxa and 12 ferns, with R. ponticum being the dominant species of the understorey (mean abundance 78.6%). The communities are characterized by a high incidence of the humid warm temperate element, both in number of species (18.8 ± 3.7 per site) and abundance; meanwhile, the presence of the modern Mediterranean element (mean number of species 3.4 ± 3.8 per site) appears to be favoured by disturbance. These ecological–historical groups of taxa also show distinct patterns of typological habit, frequency of endemism, infrageneric diversity and geographical range. Populations of R. ponticum are characterized by a very variable density of seedlings in many sites, and the virtual lack of juveniles. Main conclusions Riparian forests of the Aljibe Mountains constitute a refuge for R. ponticum where the species persists, but populations appear to be in decline. The narrow ecological range of R. ponticum in the area strongly contrasts with its wide amplitude in the eastern natural area, mainly the Euxinian region, where R. ponticum probably finds better conditions due to the environmental heterogeneity of the region, and the lack of a hot dry season.     

Consumption of leaf detritus by a stream shredder: Influence of tree species and nutrient status

Four species of riparian vegetation (alder, birch, willow and poplar) were fertilized with nitrogen, phosphorus, nitrogen + phosphorus, or no fertilizer (control). The resulting leaf detritus (leached but not microbially colonized) was offered to a stream shredder, Hydatophylax variabilis (Trichoptera: Limnephilidae). In one experiment, shredder consumption of leaf detritus from different nutrient treatments (within tree species) was compared, and in a second experiment, consumption of different tree species (within nutrient treatments) was compared. Larvae preferred leaf detritus from nitrogen + phosphorus treatments (except in poplar where nitrogen treatment was preferred). Alder was preferred over other tree species for all treatments. Chemical and physical analyses of leaf litter showed differences between tree species and nutrient treatments in nutrient content, tannins and leaf toughness. Leaf consumption by larvae was positively associated with nitrogen content and negatively associated with condensed tannin content. Species composition and nutrient status of riparian vegetation may strongly influence detrital food webs in streams.     

Distribution and hydraulic significance of large woody debris in a lowland Australian river

The line-intersect technique was used to measure the loading of large woody debris in a 1.8 km reach of the Thomson River, Victoria (catchment area of 3540 km²). A debris census (measuring every item present) was done over 0.775 km of this reach. The transect technique over-estimated the actual loading revealed by the census. The loading of debris 0.01 m in diameter for the total 1.8 km reach was 0.0172 m³ m^–2, which is higher than that measured in many headwater streams in other parts of the world. The volume loading of debris measured from low level aerial photographs was only 4.8% of the value estimated by the line-intersect technique. The line-intersect estimates were biased due to non-random orientation of debris in the stream (causing estimated errors of +8% for volume loading and +16% for surface area loading). It is recommended that to avoid this problem, when using the line-intersect transect technique in lowland rivers, each line should comprise at least two obliquely-angled transects across the channel. The mean item of debris (0.1 m in diameter) had a trunk basal diameter of 0.45 m, a length of 7.4 m, and volume of 0.7 m³. The riparian trees and the in-channel debris were of similar dimensions. The debris tended to be close to the bed and banks and was oriented downstream by the flow at a median angle of 27°. Because of this orientation, most debris had a small projected cross-sectional area, with the median value being only 1 m². Thus, the blockage ratio (proportion of projected area of debris to channel cross-sectional area) was also low, ranging from 0.0002 to 0.1, with a median value of 0.004. The average item of debris, which occupied only 0.4% of the cross-section, would have minimal influence on banktop flow hydraulics, but the largest items, which occupied around 10%, could be significant. Judicious re-introduction of debris into previously cleared rivers is unlikely to result in a large loss of conveyance, or a detectable increase in flooding frequency.     

Effect of riparian land use on contributions of terrestrial invertebrates to streams

Since terrestrial invertebrates are often consumed by stream fishes, land-use practices that influence the input of terrestrial invertebrates to streams are predicted to have consequences for fish production. We studied the effect of riparian land-use regime on terrestrial invertebrate inputs by estimating the biomass, abundance and taxonomic richness of terrestrial invertebrate drift from 15 streams draining catchments with three different riparian land-use regimes and vegetation types: intensive grazing — exotic pasture grasses (4 streams), extensive grazing — native tussock grasses (6 streams), reserve — native forest (5 streams). Terrestrial invertebrate drift was sampled from replicated stream reaches enclosed by two 1 mm mesh drift nets that spanned the entire channel. The mean biomass of terrestrial invertebrates that entered tussock grassland (12 mg ash-free dry mass m^–2 d^–1) and forest streams (6 mg AFDM m^–2 d^–1) was not significantly different (p > 0.05). However, biomass estimated for tussock grassland and forest streams was significantly higher than biomass that entered pasture streams (1 mg AFDM m^–2 d^–1). Mean abundance and richness of drifting terrestrial invertebrates was not significantly different among land-use types. Winged insects contributed more biomass than wingless invertebrates to both pasture and tussock grassland streams. Winged and wingless invertebrates contributed equally to biomass entering forest streams. Land use was a useful variable explaining landscape-level patterns of terrestrial invertebrate input for New Zealand streams. Evidence from this study suggests that riparian land-use regime will have important influences on the availability of terrestrial invertebrates to stream fishes.     

A qualitative procedure for the assessment of the habitat integrity status of the Luvuvhu River (Limpopo system,South Africa)

The riparian zone and instream habitat integrity of the Luvuvhu River were assessed based on a qualitative rating of the impacts of major disturbance factors such as water abstraction, flow regulation, bed and channel modification, etc. A system was devised to assess the impact of these factors on the relative frequency and variability of habitats on a spatial and temporal scale gauged against habitat characteristics that could have been expected to occur under conditions not anthropogenically influenced. It was found that deterioration of habitat integrity can be ascribed primarily to water abstraction. This has resulted in the cessation of surface flow in a naturally perennial river during the dry season and during droughts with consequent tree deaths and a loss of fast flowing instream habitat types in the main stem of the river. The relatively small high rainfall area in the catchment, the highly variable rainfall pattern and the occurrence of sporadic severe droughts exacerbate the impact of water abstraction on the instream and riparian habitats with expected detrimental consequences for the associated biota. The effect of water abstraction is particularly severe in the lower part of the river which flows through the Kruger National Park as no perennial tributaries join the Luvuvhu River in this section. Other factors which affect the habitat integrity of the river are the removal of indigenous riparian vegetation in some river sections, encroachment by exotic vegetation, bank erosion and stream bed modification.     

洪水漫溢对林窗微环境时空差异的影响——以塔里木河中游荒漠河岸林为例

林窗是森林生态系统中普遍存在的干扰形式。探究洪水漫溢对林窗内部微环境时空异质性的影响,对揭示荒漠河岸林物种多样性变化及其更新特征具有重要意义。在塔里木河中游非洪水和洪水漫溢区各选取一个大小相似的林窗样地,并使用便携式气象监测仪对林窗内不同方位的空气温湿度进行监测,对比分析不同水淹条件下林窗内微环境的时空分布差异,为深入探索荒漠河岸林植被更新机制奠定基础。结果表明：（1）非洪水漫溢区和洪水漫溢区林窗内空气温度均呈现先上升后下降的变化趋势,空气湿度均呈现先下降后上升的变化趋势,且同一个样地中温度与湿度之间存在明显的负相关关系,而洪水漫溢改变了森林微环境,使林窗内湿度升高,温度下降。（2）非洪水漫溢区和洪水漫溢区林窗内不同方位温度分布差异较小,洪水漫溢对温度变化影响不大;两个样地林窗内湿度变化过程较为复杂,差异明显,洪水漫溢区湿度变化梯度更为密集。（3）非洪水漫溢区和洪水漫溢区林窗内温度差界限明显,西南方向温度差较小,中心位置温度差最大,洪水漫溢并未改变不同方位温度变化趋势;湿度差以中心偏北方向较大,其中非洪水漫溢区湿度差在西北方向较小,而洪水漫溢区湿度差最小值出现在西南方向。研究结果表示荒漠河岸林林窗微环境时空差异具有干旱区独特性,同时阐明了林窗微环境对洪水漫溢的响应,为深入研究林窗干扰对荒漠河岸林更新与演替提供了科学依据。     

基于形态学空间格局分析和最小累积阻力模型的城市生态安全格局构建——以厦门市为例

城市化进程的快速发展加剧了生态系统的退化。如何扭转生态系统的退化,同时满足人类日益增长的生态系统服务需求,成为当前的一个研究热点。生态安全格局的构建在一定程度上可平衡城市发展与生态环境保护之间的关系,对于保障区域生态安全、提升生态系统功能具有重大意义。以厦门市为例,基于“生态源地识别—阻力面构建—生态廊道提取”的基本框架构建陆域生态安全格局。结合生态系统服务重要性评价和形态学空间格局分析识别生态源地,该方法兼顾了生态结构和功能,使得所识别的生态源地更具全面性。选取土地利用类型、高程和坡度构建生态综合阻力面,并用人类居住合成指数修正生态综合阻力面,以减少主观赋值的影响,识别各土地利用类型内部的差异,使生态阻力面的构建更加合理。在此基础上通过最小累积阻力模型提取生态廊道,利用重力模型量化潜在生态廊道的相对重要性,并根据重力模型结果划分重要性等级。研究结果表明,厦门市的生态安全格局由14个生态源地、21条生态廊道、15个生态节点及若干个踏脚石所组成。生态源地主要集中在研究区的西部和北部,以林地和草地为主,面积合计为558.64 km²。生态廊道长约159.40 km,其...