The effect of fire interval on post‐fire understorey communities in Yellowstone National Park

Questions: How does the time interval between subsequent stand‐replacing fire events affect post‐fire understorey cover and composition following the recent event? How important is fire interval relative to broad‐ or local‐scale environmental variability in structuring post‐fire understorey communities? Location: Subalpine plateaus of Yellowstone National Park (USA) that burned in 1988. Methods: In 2000, we sampled understorey cover and Pinus contorta density in pairs of 12–yr old stands at 25 locations. In each pair, the previous fire interval was either short (7–100 yr) or long (100–395 yr). We analysed variation in understorey species richness, total cover, and cover of functional groups both between site pairs (using paired t‐tests) and across sites that experienced the short fire intervals (using regression and ordination). We regressed three principal components to assess the relative importance of disturbance and broad or local environmental variability on post‐fire understorey cover and richness. Results: Between paired plots, annuals were less abundant and fire‐intolerant species (mostly slow‐growing shrubs) were more abundant following long intervals between prior fires. However, mean total cover and richness did not vary between paired interval classes. Across a gradient of fire intervals ranging from 7–100 yr, total cover, species richness, and the cover of annuals and nitrogen‐fixing species all declined while the abundance of shrubs and fire‐intolerant species increased. The few exotics showed no response to fire interval. Across all sites, broad‐scale variability related to elevation influenced total cover and richness more than fire interval. Conclusions: Significant variation in fire intervals had only minor effects on post‐fire understorey communities following the 1988 fires in Yellowstone National Park.     

Holocene land uplift and its influence on fire history and ecosystem development in boreal Sweden

Lake Uddjaur in northern Sweden was formed as a consequence of non‐uniform glacio‐isostatic uplift in which a forested valley was gradually flooded and high elevation areas became islands. We hypothesized that small islands in Lake Uddjaur burnt through lightning strike more frequently when they were part of a large forested area compared to when they became true islands, and that this reduction in fire impact has enhanced the domination of late successional species and humus accumulation. Fire history and vegetation dynamics were studied by analysis of macroscopic charcoal (> 0.5 mm) and pollen in humus profiles from two islands. According to a model of isostatic uplift, the islands became gradually isolated from the mainland between ca. 2000 to 1000 BP, i.e. during the same time that fire impact declined. Prior to that, both islands were part of a Pinus‐Betula forest landscape affected by fires from ca. 5800 to ca. 1500 BP. Thereafter fire influence ceased and the islands became more strongly characterized by late successional species, e.g. Picea. This change was associated with substantial humus accumulation. The decreased fire influence on these islands contrasts with the regional increase in fire influence during the last 1000 yr. Long‐term influence of wildfire is important in vegetation dynamics and humus accumulation and, thus, post‐glacial isostatic land uplift can indirectly have a substantial influence on ecosystem development. Consequently, this effect should be further considered in long‐time ecosystem studies of areas with large, non‐uniform land uplift such as those found in northern Fennoscandia and eastern Canada.     

遥感探测土地植被覆盖指数的准确度评估

GIS数据的准确度一直是GIS应用的考虑事项。用虚例和实例揭示了土地植被覆盖指数的准确度与图像分类的准确度之间的复杂关系,并进一步用数学方式进行了解释。土地植被覆盖指数的准确度取决于图像分类准确度,但与分类总准确度没有直接关系。用户和产家准确度比总准确度对土地植被覆盖指数的准确度具有更直接的控制,所以在图像分类报告中不应被忽略为了保证土地植被覆盖指数的准确度,某土地类型的用户和产家准确度应该尽可能一致,同时要使得这两个准确度数值越高越好。     

岷江上游典型时期景观格局变化及驱动力初步分析

岷江上游地区是我国一个重要的大尺度、复合型生态过渡带,也是一个生态系统脆弱区,研究其景观格局的变化,对于构筑我国的生态格局安全具有十分重要的意义．本研究利用岷江上游地区1986、1995、2000年3个时期的TM影像,分析了3个时期的景观特征以及变化．结果表明,岷江上游整体景观水平以草地景观为基质、森林景观以及其他景观类型作为斑块镶嵌其中．森林景观面积经历了从1986～1995年的上升,而后到2000年的下降过程;草地景观高盖度草面积不断减少;同时,森林景观和草地景观斑块总数一直增加,破碎化趋势明显．岷江上游景观格局变化的驱动因子主要是日益增加的人口数量而导致的人为干扰,包括对土地利用方式与利用强度的改变、森林资源的掠夺性开采、草地资源的过度放牧以及气候、土壤等自然因素的变化．     

River forcing at work: ecological modeling of prograding and regressive deltas

Two explicit landscape simulation models were used to investigate habitat shifts in coastal Louisiana due to varying river forcing and sea level rise scenarios. Wetland conversion to open water and yearly shifts of marsh habitats in two contrasting estuarine regions were examined; the Atchafalaya delta which is a prograding delta area with strong riverine input, and the Barataria Basin is a regressive delta with high wetland loss which is isolated from riverine input. The models linked several modules dynamically across spatial and temporal scales. Both models consisted of a vertically integrated hydrodynamic model coupled with process-based biological modules of above and below ground primary productivity and soil dynamics. The models explored future effects of possible sea level rise and river diversion plans for 30 and 70-year projections starting in 1988. Results showed that increased river forcing had large land preservation impacts, and indicated that healthy functioning of the Mississippi Delta depends largely on inputs of freshwater, nutrients, and sediments in river water. These types of models are useful for research and as management tools for predicting the effects of regional impacts on structural landscape level changes.     

甘肃临泽绿洲景观的空间结构与生产特性

绿洲景观生态系统包括居民点,耕地,林地,草地,水域,岩漠,砾漠,沙漠,道路,水系10种景观组分;基质为耕地,成因类型为引入型;斑块包括居民点,林地,草地,水域,岩漠,砾漠,沙漠7种类型,成因类型可以分为3类;居民点,林地,耕地为引入型,岩漠,砾漠,沙漠为残留型,草地为环境淘汰型及残留型;廓道包括水系和道路2种类型,道路的廓道密度为水系的1.03倍,耕地以植物生产为主,在利用上应增加生产层次,发展动物生产,避免扩大面积,以维持景观生态系统的景观异质性和景观多样性,对于具有环境资源型和残留型成因特征的景观要素,适当减少生产层次,开发前植物生产,发挥水土涵养,旅游休闲,防风固沙的生态功能,有利于景观异质性与多样性的维持与稳定,对于以残留型为主的成因类型,利用上应发掘前植物生产的潜力,适当发展植物生产,可以避免景观结构的恶化。     

Macro-botanical evidence for plant use at Neolithic Çatalhöyük south-central Anatolia, Turkey

Analysis of charred plant macro-remains, including wood charcoals, cereals, seeds, tubers and fruits from the Neolithic site of ?atalh?yük has indicated complex patterns of plant resource use and exploitation in the Konya plain during the early Holocene. Evidence presented in this paper shows that settlement location was not dictated by proximity to high quality arable land and direct access to arboreal resources (firewood, timber, fruit producing species). A summary of the patterns observed in sample composition and species representation is outlined here together with preliminary interpretations of these results within their broader regional context. Received September 4, 2001 / Accepted April 9, 2002     

Effects of age and distance on the composition of mixed deciduous forest fragments in an agricultural landscape

Abstract. Forest patches in central Belgium were inventoried twice for the presence or absence of forest plant species to study the effects of age and distance on species composition. All forests in the study area were subdivided based on their land use history. To avoid effects of autocorrelated environmental characteristics on species composition, habitat homogeneity was indirectly investigated using a TWINSPAN classification of the vegetation data. Two major habitats (alluvial and non‐alluvial forests) were distinguished and analysed separately. Patterns of species composition were investigated at the landscape level using Mantel tests. Species composition similarity measures were calculated between all pairs of fragments based on the floristic data. A highly significant correlation was found between species composition similarity and inter‐patch distance. Difference in age, which we used as a measure for habitat quality, was less important in explaining species composition patterns. The effects of spatial configuration became significant when difference in age was accounted for, and a partial correlation was calculated between inter‐patch distance and species composition similarity. Different results were found for alluvial and non‐alluvial forest types. Alluvial forests were more influenced by the spatial configuration than the non‐alluvial. For the non‐alluvial forest type effects measured with the difference in age between forest fragments obscured the effects of inter‐patch distance. Based on our findings we suggest that species composition is not only internally generated, but external processes such as differential colonization caused by varying degrees of isolation may be of overriding importance.     

Introducing the vectorial Kappa: An index to quantify congruence between vectorial mosaics

This paper introduces the vectorial Kappa (κ_v) that one can utilize to assess congruence between two vectorial mosaics. The vectorial Kappa extends for vectorial mosaics the approach of the so-called Cohen's Kappa index, commonly used to compare raster mosaics. By comparing both approaches, we aim to demonstrate how efficient and convenient a vector-based congruence may be when working on vectorial mosaics.     

Selecting agri-environmental indicators for monitoring and assessment of environmental management in the example of landscape parks in Poland

The objective of this article is to assess the condition of and hazards to the natural environment in selected landscape parks in Poland with respect to the impact of agricultural management using the DPSIR method. Our proposed set of indicators, based on generally available and applicable data, shows at the local scale, in a simple way, the condition of functioning of the balance between the natural environment and agricultural management and it assesses the level of repair works in the context of the records of the environmental protection program. The highest negative impact of agricultural management in the areas studied is noticed in the soil environment as well as the contexts of biodiversity and landscape. On the other hand, the lowest influence of agricultural economy was noted in the cases of the atmosphere and hydrosphere. The results of the aggregated indicators also showed lower or higher dependencies between the coverage and the use of the area in landscape parks and the condition of particular elements of the environment and the landscape.