Bighorn Sheep Response to Road-Related Disturbances in Rocky Mountain National Park,Colorado

ABSTRACT Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) use of Sheep Lakes mineral site, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA, has decreased since 1996. Officials were concerned that human disturbance may have been contributing to this decline in use. We evaluated effects of vehicular traffic and other road-related disturbance on bighorn use of Sheep Lakes in the summers of 2002 and 2003. We found that the time and number of attempts required by bighorn to reach Sheep Lakes was positively related to the number of vehicles and people present at Sheep Lakes. Further, the number of bighorn individuals and groups attempting to visit Sheep Lakes were negatively affected by disturbance associated with the site. The number of vehicles recorded the hour before bighorn tried to access Sheep Lakes best predicted an animal's failure to cross Fall River Road and reach Sheep Lakes. We conclude that human and road-related disturbance at Sheep Lakes negatively affected bighorn use of the mineral site. Because Sheep Lakes may be important for bighorn sheep, especially for lamb production and survival, the negative influence of disturbance may compromise health and productivity of the Mummy Range bighorn sheep.     

长白山阔叶红松林不同演替阶段土壤团聚体粒径组成及有机碳含量变化

阔叶红松林是我国东北重要的原生群落,其土壤团聚体在森林生态系统碳固定中具有重要作用.本研究采用空间代替时间的方法,选取白桦幼龄林、白桦中龄林、白桦成熟林、阔叶红松成熟林和阔叶红松过熟林5个不同演替序列,通过湿筛法研究长白山天然针阔混交林群落恢复演替中土壤团聚体粒径组成及有机碳含量的变化.结果表明: 土壤团聚体粒径组成受演替过程影响较大,不同演替阶段下土壤团聚体各粒级所占比例差异显著.团聚体平均质量直径随演替的进行表现为先升高再降低的单峰形式,且最高点出现在白桦成熟林阶段.土壤中不同粒级的团聚体内有机碳含量随着演替的进行呈先增加后略有下降的趋势,且团聚体内有机碳含量最大值出现在阔叶红松成熟林阶段.在同一演替阶段下,0～5和5～10 cm土层(除演替末期的阔叶红松过熟林外)中的各粒径团聚体内有机碳含量都随着粒径的减小而增加,而10～20 cm土层中的各粒径团聚体内有机碳含量都随着粒径的减小而减小.从演替初期的白桦幼龄林到演替末期的阔叶红松过熟林,每个样地内的同一粒径团聚体内有机碳含量均具有明显的垂直分布特性,均随着土层深度的增加而显著降低.     

长白山阔叶红松林演替序列植物-凋落物-土壤碳同位素特征

稳定碳同位素组成能精确指示生态系统碳循环过程,可以为深入研究森林演替进程对碳循环过程和固碳潜力的影响提供关键信息.利用稳定碳同位素技术对长白山阔叶红松林演替序列3种林分——中龄杨桦次生林、成熟杨桦次生林、阔叶红松林的叶片、树干、根系、凋落物和土壤δ¹³C值及碳、氮元素含量进行测定.结果表明: 各演替序列优势树种叶片δ¹³C从冠上到冠下均呈降低趋势;树干δ¹³C表现为树皮小于木质部;根系δ¹³C表现为细根小于粗根.阔叶红松林未分解凋落物δ¹³C小于半分解及全分解凋落物,次生林相反;土壤δ¹³C沿深度逐渐增加.总体上,δ¹³C值叶片<凋落物<根系<树干<土壤,说明植物各器官之间有明显的碳同位素分馏效应,且相同器官不同部位之间也存在差异;植物δ¹³C沿演替方向先减小后增加,土壤δ¹³C沿演替方向不断增加,且变化规律可以通过氮元素含量与碳同位素分馏效应的关系解释,说明长白山阔叶红松林演替过程优势树种和碳周转速率的变化影响了碳同位素分馏.     

鼎湖山国家自然保护区林下土壤微生物新结构生物活性代谢产物的研究进展

鼎湖山国家自然保护区特殊的地理位置和气候条件造就了独特的生态环境,孕育了丰富的植物和微生物资源。为了挖掘其中的微生物资源,对近年来鼎湖山林下土壤来源的真菌和放线菌次生代谢物研究进行了综述。     

鼎湖山针阔叶混交林CO2浓度及通量变化特征

该研究采用珠三角典型森林植被生态系统的鼎湖山南亚热带常绿阔叶林通量观测站2012年CO2通量资料和气象资料,分析了CO2通量、净生态系统CO2交换量及CO2浓度的变化特征,及其与气象因子的关系。结果表明:(1) CO2浓度日变化呈“一峰一谷”变化形态,在夜间或日出前后出现最大值,在午后到达最小值; CO2通量日变化呈“单谷”曲线,在白天中午前后到达最小值(负值),夜间和早晨较高(正值)。(2) CO2通量季节平均值的高低依次为春季夏季冬季秋季,CO2浓度季节平均值的高低次序则为冬季春季秋季夏季,即非生长季高于生长季节,这可能与植物物候的季节变化所引起的CO2源汇强度改变有关。(3) 2012年鼎湖山森林生态系统的CO2年均浓度为664.7 mg·m-3,CO2通量年均值为-0.079 mg·m-2·s-1,NEE为-611 g C·m-2·a-1,表明鼎湖山针阔叶混交林近年来处于快速生长过程中,具有较强的碳汇功能。(4) CO2通量及浓度与气温、饱和水气压差均成显著负相关关系,其中CO2浓度与气温的相关性最高,其次为饱和水汽压差,表明气温和饱和水汽压差是影响CO2浓度和通量的关键气象因子。受人类活动及气候变化的影响,近年来鼎湖山森林生态系统的碳汇功能有所增强。     

宁夏兽类新纪录——小麂 (Muntiacus reevesi Ogilby, 1839)

During the camera-trapping survey at Wanghuannan, Erlonghe and Hongxia Forest Farms in the Liupan Mountain National Nature Reserve in Guyuan City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, 49 independent detections of Reeve’s muntjac, Muntiacus reevesi were captured by eight infrared-triggered camera-traps with 274 photographs and 12 video clips from July, 2017 to August, 2018. The Reeve’s muntjac is an endemic species of China and mainly distributed in south China, such as Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou and Taiwan Provinces, and also distributed in Shaanxi and Gansu Provinces adjacent to Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. This species was for the first time recorded in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, so its distribution range has been expanded in China. This discovery has enriched the distribution information of Reeve’s muntjac. This discovery will also play an important role in the study of biodiversity and species integrity in the area of Liupan Mountain.     

Distribution and conservation status of the mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque) in Peru

The mountain tapir Tapirus pinchaque is one of the largest and most threatened mammals of the northern South American Andes. It is distributed in montane forests and paramos mainly above 2000 m, from Colombia to north Peru. The species is categorised as globally Endangered and is mainly threatened by habitat degradation, habitat loss and fragmentation. Although up-to-date information is lacking in Peru on its distribution, population and conservation status, this population could play an important part in the global persistence of the species. We compiled all known recent occurrence records for the species from Peru, as well as data from camera traps with an effort of over 10,000 camera/days between 2016 and 2018. We modelled the tapir’s distribution using remote-sensed vegetation indices, topographic and bioclimatic variables in MaxEnt, followed by post-processing steps to remove unoccupied areas, to produce a current range map for the species in Peru. We overlaid this with spatial information on threats and protected areas. We estimate a range of almost 183,000 ha in Peru, in two main regions, north and south of the Huancabamba river, of which approximately 60% is within protected areas. However, protection gaps still exist, especially in the south of its range. Mining concessions cover 27% of its current range and we estimate 28,000 ha of forest loss within its extent of occurrence between 2001 and 2020. We provide recommendations for its conservation, including priority areas for increased protection, binational initiatives to ensure connectivity with populations in Ecuador and to use the tapir as a flagship species in efforts to protect montane ecosystems for water conservation.     

Ecological role of reindeer summer browsing in the mountain birch (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Betula pubescens</Emphasis> ssp. <Emphasis Type="Italic">czerepanovii</Emphasis>) forests: effects on plant defense,litter decomposition,and soil nutrient cycling

Mammalian herbivores commonly alter the concentrations of secondary compounds in plants and, by this mechanism, have indirect effects on litter decomposition and soil carbon and nutrient cycling. In northernmost Fennoscandia, the subarctic mountain birch (Betula pubescens ssp. czerepanovii) forests are important pasture for the semidomestic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus). In the summer ranges, mountain birches are intensively browsed, whereas in the winter ranges, reindeer feed on ground lichens, and the mountain birches remain intact. We analyzed the effect of summer browsing on the concentrations of secondary substances, litter decomposition, and soil nutrient pools in areas that had been separated as summer or winter ranges for at least 20 years, and we predicted that summer browsing may reduce levels of secondary compounds in the mountain birch and, by this mechanism, have an indirect effect on the decomposition of mountain birch leaf litter and soil nutrient cycling. The effect of browsing on the concentration of secondary substances in the mountain birch leaves varied between different years and management districts, but in some cases, the concentration of condensed tannins was lower in the summer than in the winter ranges. In a reciprocal litter decomposition trial, both litter origin and emplacement significantly affected the litter decomposition rate. Decomposition rates were faster for the litter originating from and placed into the summer range. Soil inorganic nitrogen (N) concentrations were higher in the summer than in the winter ranges, which indicates that reindeer summer browsing may enhance the soil nutrient cycling. There was a tight inverse relationship between soil N and foliar tannin concentrations in the winter range but not in the summer range. This suggests that in these strongly nutrient-limited ecosystems, soil N availability regulates the patterns of resource allocation to condensed tannins in the absence but not in the presence of browsing.     

陕西秦岭平河梁自然保护区小型兽类的组成与分布

2005年9月利用铗日法辅以陷阱法对位于秦岭山脉南坡东段的平河梁自然保护区及牛背梁自然保护区小型兽类进行了调查,共设置采集点10个;2460铗日中共捕获小型兽类689只,隶属于3目6科19属27种(另有两种鼢鼠和一种鼯鼠系其他手段捕获),平均捕获率28.01%。对捕获的27种小型兽类生态和垂直分布进行分析结果表明:平河梁保护区3个群落的Shannon-Weiner多样性指数在2.9288-3.3639之间,Pielou均匀性指数在0.7669-0.8602之间。在上述调查的基础上,结合前人对邻近地区的调查,据一些物种的分布特点,订出平河梁自然保护区小型兽类的名录,计48种,结果显示秦岭南坡东段小型兽类的物种多样性和丰富度要高于秦岭其他地区。另在考察中采集到白尾鼹(Parascaptor leucura)、小纹背鼩鼱(Sorex bedfordiae)、斯氏鼢鼠(Myospalaxsmithii)、川西白腹鼠(Niviventer excelsior),在秦岭山区尚属首次记录。还整理了秦岭南坡小型兽类名录,认为秦岭南坡有小型兽类55种,在动物地理区划上应属于西南区。