The biodiversity cost of reducing management intensity in species-rich grasslands: Mowing annually vs. every third year

Mowing is an important management method for species-rich semi-natural grasslands in Europe. Since mowing is costly, it is important to find a balance between mowing frequency and conservation benefits. We compared vegetation data from eleven field trials situated in southern Sweden that involved two mowing regimes, annually and every third year, as well as a no-management control. After approximately 14 years, mowing every third year showed (i) a drop in species richness and Shannon and Gini–Simpson diversity indices, (ii) an increase in woody species, and (iii) increases in tall-grown species. However, there were no apparent changes in (iv) species that were indicative of poor management, nor (v) those indicating good management. For one of the trials, data after 38 years were also evaluated. Compared with annual mowing, there were strong negative changes in the number of species in the untreated control, while the results were conflicting for mowing every third year. In conclusion, the expected loss of conservation values from reduced mowing intensity was 50–60% of the loss after abandonment. The outcomes, however, varied among the eleven sites.     

Factors affecting the establishment and growth of annual legumes in semi-arid mediterranean grasslands

Legumes are an important component of mediterranean grasslands with a significant ecological and economic role. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors that affect their establishment and growth and how they survive in a highly variable and unpredictable environment. The research was carried out in a grassland characterised by a semi-arid mediterranean climate and located on a calcareous substrate at about 150 m a.s.l., in Macedonia, northern Greece. It was dominated by annual legumes such as Hippocrepis multisiliquosa, Medicago disciformis, Medicago minima, Onobrychis aequindentata, Trifolium angustifolium, Trifolium campestre and Trifolium scabrum. It was subjected to the following treatments for four consecutive years: prescribed burning, irrigation, digging, cutting, P fertilization and control. Total legume density was measured in late autumn and in the following spring each year, while total legume biomass was measured only in spring. Dominant legume species densities and biomasses were measured only in spring in the last 3 years. Also, monthly precipitation and air temperature were recorded in a nearby weather station. A great reduction of both legume density and biomass occurred at the third growing season due to adverse weather conditions. Among treatments, P fertilization affected the positively annual legume density and biomass. The other treatments such as burning, irrigation, digging and cutting influenced positively or negatively annual legume density and biomass depending on the climatic characteristics of the particular growing season involved. It is concluded that in semi-arid mediterranean grasslands with cold winters, weather conditions strongly interact with human disturbances in affecting establishment and growth of annual legumes.     

不同轮割制度对典型草原主要种群的影响

选择12个具有代表性的种群,研究不同轮割制度对其地上现存生物量的影响.结果表明,12个种群可以分为3种类型:1)生物量下降型,羊草、米氏冰草、小叶锦鸡儿和黄囊苔草,尤以羊草和小叶锦鸡儿具有代表性.羊草地上生物量的平均值以一年割两次、一年割一次、割一年休一年和割两年休一年依次较对照下降了3.37%、4.9%、45.4%和34.18%;小叶锦鸡儿地上生物量分别较对照下降了81.79%、3.33%、40.29%和2.30%.2)生物量增加型,(艹)/(洽)草、黄蒿、冷蒿和猪毛菜,尤以(艹)/(洽)草和冷蒿具有代表性.(艹)/(洽)草生物量依次较对照增加了94.84%、287.79%、132.8%和211.74%,其中以一年割一次和割一年休一年的增加幅度较大;冷蒿生物量分别较对照增加了193.02%、210.47%、154.5%和10.47%.究其原因,(艹)/(洽)草和冷蒿地上生物量增加是通过种群自身的变化;而黄蒿和猪毛菜则是通过群落密度的下降和适宜的种子萌发条件.3)生物量波动型,大针茅、西伯利亚羽茅、变蒿和麻花头,介于前两种类型之间.     

长江三峡地区典型灌丛的生物量及其再生能力

 灌丛是三峡地区典型的退化生态系统类型。本文采用收获法和模拟砍伐实验研究了三峡地区铁仔灌丛、椎木灌丛、荆条灌丛和黄栌灌丛的生物量及黄栌灌丛、椎木灌丛地上部分砍伐后的再生能力。研究结果表明,这4种类型的灌丛总生物量分别为22.5±5.1、21.0±3.7、16.9±7.5和13.6±2.4t·hm-2,相当于同纬度地带性生态系统常绿阔叶林(30年林龄)的10％一25％ 4种灌丛灌木层占总生物量、地上部分生物量和地下部分生物量的90％以上。在生物量—物种序列中,前5种植物占总生物量的84％ 以上。不同地点灌丛生物量的比较表明,同一种类型灌丛,亚热带和暖温带地区总生物量没有明显差异。通过模拟砍伐实验,黄栌灌丛、被木灌丛地上部分全部砍伐后1年地上部分生物量就可以恢复到对照的42.7％和62.0％,说明这些灌丛类型具较高的生长速度和很大的恢复潜力。     

Penetration of cutting tool into cortical bone: Experimental and numerical investigation of anisotropic mechanical behaviour

An anisotropic mechanical behaviour of cortical bone and its intrinsic hierarchical microstructure act as protective mechanisms to prevent catastrophic failure due to natural loading conditions; however, they increase the extent of complexity of a penetration process in the case of orthopaedic surgery. Experimental results available in literature provide only limited information about processes in the vicinity of a tool–bone interaction zone. Also, available numerical models the bone-cutting process do not account for material anisotropy or the effect of damage mechanisms. In this study, both experimental and numerical studies were conducted to address these issues and to elucidate the effect of anisotropic mechanical behaviour of cortical bone tissue on penetration of a sharp cutting tool. First, a set of tool-penetration experiments was performed in directions parallel and perpendicular to bone axis. Also, these experiments included bone samples cut from four different cortices to evaluate the effect of spatial variability and material anisotropy on the penetration processes. Distinct deformation and damage mechanisms linked to different microstructure orientations were captured using a micro-lens high-speed camera. Then, a novel hybrid FE model employing a smoothed-particle-hydrodynamic domain embedded into a continuum FE one was developed based on the experimental configuration to characterise the anisotropic deformation and damage behaviour of cortical bone under a penetration process. The results of our study revealed a clear anisotropic material behaviour of the studied cortical bone tissue and the influence of the underlying microstructure. The proposed FE model reflected adequately the experimental results and demonstrated the need for the use of the anisotropic and damage material model to analyse cutting of the cortical-bone tissue.     

Species richness and species turnover in a successional heathland

Abstract. Changes in species richness and species turnover during secondary succession following experimental disturbance were studied in eight permanent plots in a species‐rich dry heathland in the southern part of the Czech Republic. The treatments applied were sod‐cutting, burning, cutting of above‐ground biomass, and control. The plots were sampled annually between 1992 and 2000; species richness was analysed at three scales, 25 cm × 25 cm, 1 m × 1 m, and 3 m × 3 m. Disturbances resulted in increased species richness. The highest vascular plant richness was attained during the secondary succession after sod‐cutting, where species established on exposed bare ground. Less severe disturbances by burning and cutting also caused a slight increase in the number of vascular plant species. For bryophytes and lichens, the highest increase in the number of species was also found in the sod‐cut plots, where all cryptogams were removed by the disturbance. At the scale of 3 m × 3 m, species richness of both vascular plants and cryptogams peaked in 1995–1996, i.e. 3–4 yrs after the disturbance, and slowly decreased or slightly fluctuated without any trend thereafter. At smaller scales it either peaked later or constantly increased over the entire observation period of 9 yrs. Species mobility, expressed as species accumulation over time, was lower than reported from grasslands. Rates of species turnover, calculated as Jaccard dissimilarity between pairs of consecutive years, corresponded across different scales. This implies that successional dry heathlands have a higher small‐scale mobility than heathlands which are apparently stable at larger scale.     

木兰科植物的无性繁殖

通过木兰科植物嫁接和扦插繁殖试验,得出以下结论:不同属间、不同的嫁接方法均有较高的成活率,可以根据接穗的种类、砧木的状况、所在地的气候条件选择不同的嫁接方法和嫁接时间,以提高嫁接成活率;利用华南地区的雨季进行木兰科植物嫩枝扦插获得成功,成活率从10%～60%不等.激素对扦插生根作用很小.     

Effects of grassland extensification on the population dynamics of the invasive species Chaerophyllum aureum

Abstract. The consequences of extensification on grassland invasion by weeds was studied in French Pyrenean hay-meadows through a survey of the population dynamics of one very successful colonizer: Chaerophyllum aureum. Experiments established in natural permanent grasslands allow us to test the effect of different intensities of cutting on the demography of adult and seedling populations and on the production of seeds and their survival in soil. Although an early cut can control population density by drastically reducing invasion by new genotypes, the results reveal a positive effect of early cutting on adult and seedling survival probably by decreasing intra-specific competition. Allocation of resources to sexual reproduction in response to cutting is limited, affecting especially the seed viability in soil. Nevertheless, the invasive ability of this species is due largely to a strategy whereby those adults showing a high survival rate tend to be perennial.     

An algorithm to approximate the likelihood for pedigree data with loops by cutting

This paper presents a recursive algorithm to approximate the likelihood in arbitrary pedigrees with loops. The algorithm handles any number and nesting levels of loops in pedigrees. The loops are cut as described in a previous publication and the approximate likelihood is simultaneously computed using the cut pedigree. No identification of a loop in the pedigree is necessary before the algorithm is applied.     

Recovery of grassland after clear-cutting of invasive Robinia pseudoacacia – Long-term study in Prague (Czech Republic)

Invasive species belong to the main threats to dry grassland biodiversity. That́s why nature conservation managers seek the best ways to remove them and to support the restoration process of original natural habitats. We studied the effect of clear-cutting of invasive black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) on the recovery of former species rich dry grassland vegetation. Ten permanent plots where R. pseudoacacia was cut down were long-term monitored in nature reserves protecting dry grasslands. The representation of dry grassland plants has been increased four times and the representation of synanthropic plants has been decreased two times during 40 years of succession even though R. pseudoacacia still relatively successfully resisted eradication efforts. During the succession after R. pseudoacacia cutting down, the Ellenberg indicator values for nutrients have decreased significantly, but no decrease in the nitrate content of the soil was observed. The long-term monitoring revealed that the restoration of dry grasslands invaded by R. pseudoacacia is possible but very time consuming.