基于静态箱式法和生物量评估海北金露梅灌丛草甸碳收支

高寒灌丛是青藏高原重要植被类型,因特殊生物学性质致使其系统碳功能较难评估。采用静态箱式法测定高寒金露梅(Potentilla fruticosa)灌丛草甸的生态系统呼吸,结合生物量收获法估测生态系统净初级碳量。结果表明,高寒金露梅灌丛草甸生态系统呼吸、土壤呼吸和植物呼吸具有明显的季节动态变化,其年总量分别为886.28、444.93 gC/m2和441.36 gC/m2;灌丛区、草本区以及土壤区的呼吸均与5 cm地温具有极显著的指数关系(R2分别为0.95、0.94和0.83),各区温度敏感系数Q10分别为4.40、4.13和3.16;8a(2003—2010)植被净初级生产力平均为468.55 gC/m2。结合系统土壤呼吸,生态系统年均净固碳量为27.19 gC/m2,即高寒金露梅灌丛草甸生态系统为碳汇。对比涡度相关标准方法连续观测数据表明该方法评估生态系统碳功能具有较大可信度。     

多效唑对紫穗槐生长及生理特性的影响

采用盆栽试验的方法研究了土施不同浓度多效唑(1、5、10、15、20 mg/L)对紫穗槐(Amorpha fruticosa Linn.)生长及生理特性的影响,以探明多效唑对紫穗槐的作用机制和最佳处理方式。结果显示:随着多效唑处理浓度(1~20 mg/L)的增加,紫穗槐幼苗株高、单叶面积和主根长呈下降趋势,基径、叶片长宽比、根鲜重和根冠比呈上升趋势;多效唑各处理均使紫穗槐幼苗叶片的相对含水量、叶绿素、可溶性糖和可溶性蛋白含量显著升高,POD活性显著增加,MDA含量和相对电导率显著下降。采用隶属函数法对各项生长、生理指标进行综合评价,结果发现20 mg/L多效唑处理下紫穗槐幼苗的抗性最强。说明多效唑可通过调节紫穗槐幼苗的生物量分配、水分状况、细胞渗透性和抗氧化性等,有效改善其生长、生理特性及提高抗逆性。本研究结果为多效唑在边坡植被建成和恢复中的应用提供了理论依据。     

紫穗槐根瘤菌的分离与回接鉴定

采用YMA培养基对新鲜的紫穗槐(Amorpha fruticosa L.)根瘤提取物进行根瘤菌的分离培养,获得的菌落为圆形乳白色,表面凸起,直径0.4~0.5 cm,革兰反应阴性,显微观察显示为短杆状,分离菌株回接原宿主植物,同时接种于经60℃15 min水浴加热处理的紫穗槐种子,蛭石盆栽实验显示,接种此菌的紫穗槐植株都有结瘤,并与对照在结瘤数、瘤重、植株鲜重与干重间都有显著差异,实验证明所分离的菌株均为紫穗槐根瘤菌。     

Variation of Salvia fruticosa Essential Oils on the Island of Crete (Greece)

The essential oil content and composition of Salvia fruticosa (Greek sage) plants growing wild in 20 localities scattered on the island of Crete are studied. The results of our analyses have shown a noticeable variation in the essential oil content (ranging from 1.1 up to 5.1 %) and the amount of the four main oil components: 1,8-cineole (22.7 ? 64.2% of total oil), α-thujone (1.0 ? 19.2%) β-thujone (0.9 ? 25.6%) and camphor (0.8 ? 30.3%). Discriminant analysis revealed that the variation pattern of the essential oil content and the amount of the four main oil components is geographically related, following a W → E direction. Plants grown in Western Crete show a lower essential oil content and their oils are characterised by the predominance of 1,8-cineole. On the other hand, those collected from Eastern Crete exhibit higher values in essential oil content and their oils, besides 1,8-cineole, are rich in α- and β-thujone or camphor. Our findings are further discussed in relation to literature data.     

Phylogeography of Potentilla fruticosa (Rosaceae) in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau revisited: a reappraisal and new insights

Background: Most empirical studies to date have suggested that alpine plants in the central Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) originated from the south-eastern QTP. However, previous phylogeographcial analysis of Potentilla fruticosa suggested that it diversified in the central QTP, which has also been assumed to have been a glacial refugium, and expanded to the north-eastern regions during the mid-Holocene period.

Aim: We reappraise this claim in the light of information acquired from sampling, haplotyping and analysing additional populations.

Methods: We sequenced the chloroplast trnT-L intergenic spacer of 346 individuals collected from 52 populations. We reconstructed phylogenetic relationships among haplotypes through Bayesian and Network analysis, and used several methods for demographic analysis.

Results: Some common and highly divergent haplotypes were distributed in the central, western and south-eastern QTP. Mismatch and other population genetic analyses applied to our data suggested that a distinct range expansion had occurred between approximately 30,000 and 325,000 years ago (kya).

Conclusions: Besides the possible postglacial expansion in the north-eastern QTP, our results further suggested that the range of the species radically expanded across the whole Plateau before the last glacial maximum (around 18 kya) and the south-eastern, western and central QTP regions had together provided important refugia during recent glacial stages. These findings, in contrast to the previous conclusions, highlight the importance of adequate sampling strategies in phylogeographical studies.     

Direct and indirect facilitation affect community productivity through changes in functional diversity in an alpine system

Background and AimsFacilitation is an important ecological process for plant community structure and functional composition. Although direct facilitation has accrued most of the evidence so far, indirect facilitation is ubiquitous in nature and it has an enormous potential to explain community structuring. In this study, we assess the effect of direct and indirect facilitation on community productivity via taxonomic and functional diversity.MethodsIn an alpine community on the Tibetan Plateau, we manipulated the presence of the shrub Dasiphora fruticosa and graminoids in a fenced meadow and a grazed meadow to quantify the effects of direct and indirect facilitation. We measured four plant traits: height, lateral spread, specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf dry matter content (LDMC) of forbs; calculated two metrics of functional diversity [range of trait and community-weighted mean (CWM) of trait]; and assessed the responses of functional diversity to shrub facilitation. We used structural equation modelling to explore how shrubs directly and indirectly drove community productivity via taxonomic diversity and functional diversity.Key ResultsWe found stronger effects from herbivore-mediated indirect facilitation than direct facilitation on productivity and taxonomic diversity, regardless of the presence of graminoids. For functional diversity, the range and CWM of height and SLA, rather than lateral spread and LDMC, generally increased due to direct and indirect facilitation. Moreover, we found that the range of traits played a primary role over taxonomic diversity and CWM of traits in terms of shrub effects on community productivity.ConclusionsOur study reveals that the mechanism of shrub direct and indirect facilitation of community productivity in this alpine community is expanding the realized niche (i.e. expanding range of traits). Our findings indicate that facilitators might increase trait dispersion in the local community, which could alleviate the effect of environmental filters on trait values in harsh environments, thereby contributing to ecosystem functioning.