Impact of land use changes on mountain vegetation

Abstract. In this study the impact of land use changes on vegetation in the sub‐alpine‐alpine belt is analysed. The study sites (4.7 km²) are located in the Passeier Valley (South Tyrol, Italy), at an elevation of 1500–2300 m a.s.l. The whole study area was used for hay‐making ca. 60 yr ago. Today, part of the meadows are more intensively used, while other parts have been converted to pasture or have been abandoned. We analysed the reasons for these land use changes and the effects on vegetation with a Geographical Information System and geostatistical analysis. The result of these analyses are: (1) Current land use is mainly controlled by the degree of accessibility for vehicles. Accessible areas are being used more and more intensively, while poorly accessible areas are being abandoned or used as pasture. (2) Current vegetation is highly determined by current land use. Particular vegetation units can be assigned to each form of land use. (3) Succession starts immediately after abandonment. Depending on altitude, succession proceeds at different speeds and with different numbers of stages. Hence the type of vegetation indicates the time passed since abandonment. (4) Land use changes lead to characteristic changes in vegetation; they are considered to be the most important driving force for vegetation change. (5) Measures of intensification and abandonment of extensively used areas both lead to a decrease in the number of species.     

Tiller dynamics of Spartina maritima in successional and non-successional mediterranean salt marsh

Tiller demography was compared in two populations of Spartina maritima present at similar elevations in the coastal saltmarshes of Odiel (Huelva, S.W. Spain). The successional population consisted of colonizing tussocks in a littoral lagoon, and the non-successional population comprised a stable sward that had fringed a major channel for 40 years. At both sites S. maritima was replaced by Arthrocnemum perenne at higher elevation, where sediments were less reducing. Rapid, consistent sediment accretion confirmed the successional nature of the lagoon site but there was little net accretion in the stable sward.Census of permanent quadrats at the successional site chronicled moving concentric waves of high tiller density as tussocks expanded. Initially high densities declined after one year to low values at the end of the second year but they had almost recovered after 3 years. The decline represented a combination of reduced numbers of births and increased numbers of deaths. Tiller densities were substantially higher in the stable sward and showed relatively small fluctuations with time. The underlying risk of tiller mortality was similar in the two populations for much of the time but after two years there was increased mortality, mainly associated with flowering, at the successional site; very few tillers flowered in the sward. This mortality contributed to a shift to a younger age structure in the successional population.Data aggregated over consecutive 3-monthly periods were examined for density dependence. None was found in the successional population. In the sward population there was evidence of density-dependent adult and juvenile mortality of tillers, particularly over the first 18 months of the study, when there were compensatory responses to subtle variations in density. The lack of density dependence and relatively low peak density of about 2000 m^-2 near to the leading edges of the expanding tussocks at the successional site suggest that tiller placement there was regulated mainly by physiological mechanisms affecting rhizome growth and bud development in well integrated clones.     

沙质草原植物群落退化与沙化演替

应用TWINSPAN(two-way indicator species analysis)、DCA(detrended correspondence analysis)和CCA(canonical correspondence analysis)技术,对多伦县1984和2001年的28个样地草原植物群落调查数据及相对应的2001年的24个样地土壤调查数据进行分析。结果表明,研究区域的植物群落按照其退化、沙化或恢复演替序列可以分为5个阶段,不同时间的草原植物群落演替序列在空间格局上具有相似性,对比17年的动态变化,也呈现同一演替序列特征;与1984年相比,2001年研究区草原植物群落总体上有明显的退化迹象;草原植物群落退化、沙化或恢复演替与土壤变化具有一定相关性,土壤质地、养分和有机质变化在时间上较植物群落变化明显滞后。     

Effects of growing conditions on the growth of and interactions between salt marsh plants: implications for invasibility of habitats

A common but often less tested explanation for the successful invasion of alien species is that invasive alien species outcompete their co-occurring natives, which may not always be the case. In this study, we established artificial environmental gradients in a series of pot experiments with controlled environments to investigate the effects of salinity, sediment type and waterlogging on the performance of and interactions between Phragmites australis (native) and Spartina alterniflora (alien), which generally co-exist in the saline intertidal zones of Chinese and American coasts. Significant effects of salinity and waterlogging were detected on biomass production and morphological characteristics of S. alterniflora and P. australis, and the competitive interactions between the two species were found to vary with all three environmental factors in our experiments. Relative Neighbor Effect (RNE) analyses indicate that competitive dominance of S. alterniflora occurred under the conditions of high salinity, sandy sediment and full immersion, whereas P. australis showed competitive dominance under the conditions of low salinity and non-immersion. Our results suggest that S. alterniflora might outcompete P. australis under conditions present in early salt marsh succession, which support the viewpoint that the outcomes of competition between co-occurring native and invasive alien plants depend on the growing conditions. The implication of this study is that in response to the environmental changes expected from seawater intrusion and sea-level rise, the range of S. alterniflora is expected to expand further in the Yangtze River estuary in the future.     

甘肃兴隆山森林演替过程中的土壤理化性质

在森林群落恢复演替过程中,由于森林类型及其所处立地环境不同,森林与土壤相互作用过程具有复杂性。以甘肃兴隆山6种森林类型(青杄林、青杄-白桦林、山杨-白桦林、灌丛林、落叶松林和油松林)0—60 cm土壤层为研究对象,探讨森林恢复演替过程中土壤理化性质的变化规律,旨在为该区域退化森林生态系统恢复与重建提供依据。结果表明:1)在土壤剖面上,兴隆山森林土壤容重随深度的增加而逐渐增大,总孔隙度、毛管孔隙度、自然含水量、最大持水量、毛管持水量、田间持水量均随深度的增加而减小;pH值差异不显著,无明显变化规律;土壤有机质、全N、水解N、有效P、速效K均随深度的增加而变小,表聚效应明显;全P差异不显著,呈"圆柱体"分布模式;2)在森林恢复演替过程中,天然林容重、孔隙度、持水能力、渗透性明显好于人工林,随森林正向演替的进行,天然林容重不断减少,孔隙度明显改善,通透性能不断增强,而人工林土壤物理性质出现明显退化现象;天然林pH值在演替方向上并未表现出酸化现象;天然林土壤有机质、全N、水解N、有效P和速效K变化规律不明显,但总的变化趋势为先增加后减小;3)有机质与全N、水解N、最大持水量、毛管持水量、田间持水量呈显著正相关,而与容重呈显著负相关;全N与水解N呈显著正相关;土壤有机质在改善土壤理化性质和促进养分循环方面具有重要作用,已成为植被恢复过程中土壤变化的一个重要标志。     

植物种子际微生态学研究进展

种子际(Spermosphere)是植物微生态系统的重要组成部分,在种子萌发的短暂时间内富于微生物群落的形成和功能的瞬时演替特性.萌发种子分泌物的瞬时演替释放对种子际固有和接佑种微生物的群落多样性、增殖和活性具有调控作用;种子际微生物的趋化性对于微生物的定殖和对病原菌的拮抗能力以及生物防治效果有重要影响;在种子际微生态学研究中,应注意把握种子际分泌物释放的短暂时间框架和测试条件的统一性;将微生物传统培养方法和非培养方法相结合,该领域的深入研究将为根际微生物的起源以及有益微生物接种剂的合理应用提出新的见解和科学依据.