Strong quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence in the desiccated state in three poikilohydric and homoiochlorophyllous moss species indicates photo-oxidative protection on highly light-exposed rocks of a tropical inselberg

The three poikilohydric and homoiochlorophyllous moss species Campylopus savannarum (C. Muell.) Mitt., Racocarpus fontinaloides (C. Muell.) Par. and Ptychomitrium vaginatum Besch. grow on sun-exposed rocks of a tropical inselberg in Brazil subject to regular drying and wetting cycles. Effective photo-oxidative protection in the light-adapted desiccated state in all three species is achieved by a reduction of ground chlorophyll fluorescence, F', to almost zero. Upon rewatering, the kinetics of the recovery of F' in air dry cushions to higher values is very fast in the first 5 min, but more than 80 min are needed until an equilibrium is reached gradually. The kinetics were not different between the three species. The three moss species, have a distinct niche occupation and form a characteristic zonation around soil vegetation islands on the rock outcrops, where C. savannarum and R. fontinaloides form an inner and outer belt, respectively, around vegetation islands and P. vaginatum occurs as small isolated cushions on bare rock. However, they were not distinguished by the reduction of F' in the dry state and the rewetting recovery kinetics and only slightly different in their photosynthetic capacity. Stable isotope ratios (delta(13)C, delta(15)N) indicate that liquid films of water limiting diffusion of CO(2) are important in determining carbon acquisition and suggest that limitation of CO(2) fixation by water films must be more pronounced over time in P. vaginatum than in the latter species. This is determined by both the micro site occupied and the form of the moss cushions.     

Mosses and the struggle for light in a nitrogen-polluted world

The impact of reduced light conditions as an indirect effect of nitrogen (N) deposition was determined on three mosses in a montane ecosystem, where sedge and grass cover increase due to N enrichment. Additionally, in the greenhouse we established the importance of low light to moss growth as an indirect N deposition effect relative to the direct toxic effects of N. The amount of light reaching the moss layer was strongly and negatively related to graminoid abundance. Mosses showed differing sensitivities to reduced light in the field. Racomitrium lanuginosum biomass was found to be highest under high-light conditions, Polytrichum alpinum at intermediate light levels, whilst that of Dicranum fuscescens was unrelated to light availability. Moreover, Racomitrium biomass decreased with increasing amounts of graminoid litter, whereas the other species were little affected. All three mosses responded differently to the combination of elevated N (20 vs 10 kg N ha^–1 year^–1) and reduced light (60 and 80% reduction) in the greenhouse. Racomitrium growth was strongly influenced by both light reduction and elevated N, in combination reducing shoot biomass up to 76%. There was a tendency for Dicranum growth to be modestly reduced by elevated N when shaded, causing up to 19% growth reduction. Polytrichum growth was not influenced by elevated N but was reduced up to 40% by shading. We conclude that competition for light, induced by vascular plants, can strongly influence moss performance even in unproductive low biomass ecosystems. The effects of reduced light arising from N pollution can be as important to mosses as direct toxicity from N deposition. Yet, different sensitivities of mosses to both toxic and shading effects of elevated N prevent generalisation and can lead to competitive species replacement within moss communities. This study demonstrates the importance of understanding moss-vascular plant interactions to allow interpretation and prediction of ecosystem responses to anthropogenic drivers such as atmospheric N deposition or climate change.     

基于125个地区的中国藓类植物区系的定量分析

系统收集了我国125个地区的藓类植物区系资料,统计了种和属在这些地区的分布频度。以藓类种数超过100的73个地区为研究对象,以科所含的种数为指标,应用除趋势对应分析和模糊均值聚类基础上的主坐标排序,对我国藓类植物区系的区域分化特点进行了定量分析。结果显示,随着分布频度增加,种和属数均呈指数式下降,绝大部分的种和属仅在极少数地区有记录。根据藓类植物的区系组成,73个地区可分成5组：第1组涉及华东、华中和西南的12个地区;第2组包括西北、华北为主的16个地区;第3组为人为干扰强烈的长三角等15个地区;第4组包括以华南为主的热带、南亚热带区域的19个山地;第5组包括西北、东北和西南的11个温带或高海拔山地。研究结果表明我国藓类区系报道在种类鉴定中可能存在比较普遍的误定现象,从而造成绝大部分种类局限于狭窄地理区域的假象。     

湖北铜山口铜矿五种藓类植物及其基质元素含量分析

利用原子吸收光谱仪对湖北铜山口铜矿5种藓类植物(北地对齿藓Didymodon fallax、尖叶对齿藓D.con-strictus、阔叶丛本藓Anoectongium clarum、双色真藓Bryum dichotomum和舌叶毛口藓Trichostomum sinochenii)及其生长基质中的Cu、Zn、Ca、Mg、Cd、Pb、Hg等7种元素进行测定及分析,并计算出富集系数。结果表明,铜山口铜矿这5种藓类植物体内及其生长基质中,Cu、Zn、Ca、Mg等4种元素含量较高;北地对齿藓对Cd有较强的富集能力,可以作为寻找Cd矿的特征植物;相对于其它4种藓类植物,双色真藓对Cu、Zn、Pb有较强的富集能力,可以作为寻找Cu矿、Zn矿、Pb矿的参考植物;舌叶毛口藓对Hg有一定的富集能力,可以作为寻找Hg矿的参考植物。在这5种藓类植物中,Cu-Zn、Zn-Pb、Mg-Pb在0.05水平上达到显著正相关,Cu-Mg、Zn-Mg在0.01水平上达到极显著正相关。     

The inventory of bryophytes at sites: completeness and survey effort

Abstract

Knowledge of the species present within a site is often used to inform decisions that have significant implications for biodiversity conservation. This study surveyed eight woodland sites in north-west England for bryophytes. Searches for species within each site continued until all areas had been approached to within a minimum of 50 m and at least 60 minutes had elapsed since the discovery of a new species. Survey data were used to build predictive models that provided an estimate of the total number of species present at each site and the time required to compile a complete inventory. The ‘50 m 60 minutes stopping rule’ consistently produced comprehensive inventories for sites, judging by the numbers of species found and model predictions of the total number of species present. The study suggests that a minor alteration to conventional survey practice and a small amount of data analysis can provide useful assessments of the completeness of bryophyte inventories for sites.     

河南省藓类植物新报

报道了最近在河南省宝天曼自然保护区所采１４号藓类植物标本中,经研究,其中包括１个新变种,即：苏氏牛舌藓河南变种Ａｎｏｍｏｄｏｎ ｓｏｌｏｖｊｏｖｉｉ Ｌａｚａｒｅｎｋｏ ｖａｒ．ｈｅｎａｎｅｎｓｉｓ Ｔａｎ,Ｂｏｕｆｆｏｒｄ ｅｆ Ｙｉｎｇ,ｖａｒ．ｎｏｖ．另外有８种为河南省新纪录。     

The role of mosses in the phosphorus cycling of an Alaskan black spruce forest

Summary Mosses account for 75% of the annual phosphorus accumulation in aboveground parts of an Alaskan black spruce forest, although they comprise only 17% of the phosphorus pool in aboveground vegetation. Sphagnum subsecundum and feathermosses (Hylocomium splendens and Pleurozium schreberi) have a higher capacity to absorb phosphate than do the fine roots of black spruce (Picea mariana) that are situated beneath the moss layer. In three of the four moss species studied, phosphate absorption capacity increases with increasing age of green tissue and decreases with increasing age of brown tissue. In the two feathermosses, which acquire moisture primarily from the air, and in Sphagnum, phosphate absorption is more rapid in green than in brown tissue. In contrast, the endohydric moss Polytrichum commune, which transports water through stem tissue from soil, absorbs phosphate most rapidly from stems in mineral soil. Two treatments designed to reduce activity of mycorrhizae (cutting of roots extending beneath the moss carpet or application to the moss surface of a fungicide that kills mycorrhizal hyphae) tended to increase phosphate retention by mosses and reduce phosphate transfer out of the experimental plots. This suggests that mycorrhizae are an important avenue of phosphorus movement out of the moss carpet and a means by which the black spruce competes with the overlying mosses for nutrients.     

Mosses in Ohio wetlands respond to indices of disturbance and vascular plant integrity

We examined the relationships between an index of wetland habitat quality and disturbance (ORAM score) and an index of vascular plant integrity (VIBI-FQ score) with moss species richness and a moss quality assessment index (MQAI) in 45 wetlands in three vegetation types in Ohio, USA. Species richness of mosses and MQAI were positively associated with ORAM and VIBI-FQ scores. VIBI-FQ score was a better predictor of both moss species richness and MQAI than was either ORAM score or vegetation type. This result was consistent with the strict microhabitat requirements for many moss species, which may be better assessed by VIBI-FQ than ORAM. Probability curves as a function of VIBI-FQ score were then generated for presence of groups of moss species having the same degree of fidelity to substrate and plant communities relative to other species in the moss flora (coefficients of conservatism, CCs). Species having an intermediate- or high degree of fidelity to substrate and plant communities (i.e., species with CC ≥ 5) had a 50% probability of presence (P₅₀) and 90% probability of presence (P₉₀) in wetlands with intermediate- and high VIBI-FQ scores, respectively. Although moss species richness, probability of presence of species based on CC, and MQAI may reflect wetland habitat quality, the 95% confidence intervals around P₅₀ and P₉₀ values may be too wide for regulatory use. Moss species richness, MQAI, and presence of groups of mosses may be more useful for evaluating moss habitat quality in wetlands than a set of “indicator species.”     

Moss and vascular plant indices in Ohio wetlands have similar environmental predictors

Mosses and vascular plants have been shown to be reliable indicators of wetland habitat delineation and environmental quality. Knowledge of the best ecological predictors of the quality of wetland moss and vascular plant communities may determine if similar management practices would simultaneously enhance both populations. We used Akaike's Information Criterion to identify models predicting a moss quality assessment index (MQAI) and a vascular plant index of biological integrity based on floristic quality (VIBI-FQ) from 27 emergent and 13 forested wetlands in Ohio, USA. The set of predictors included the six metrics from a wetlands disturbance index (ORAM) and two landscape development intensity indices (LDIs). The best single predictor of MQAI and one of the predictors of VIBI-FQ was an ORAM metric that assesses habitat alteration and disturbance within the wetland, such as mowing, grazing, and agricultural practices. However, the best single predictor of VIBI-FQ was an ORAM metric that assessed wetland vascular plant communities, interspersion, and microtopography. LDIs better predicted MQAI than VIBI-FQ, suggesting that mosses may either respond more rapidly to, or recover more slowly from, anthropogenic disturbance in the surrounding landscape than vascular plants. These results supported previous predictive studies on amphibian indices and metrics and a separate vegetation index, indicating that similar wetland management practices may result in qualitatively the same ecological response for three vastly different wetland biological communities (amphibians, vascular plants, and mosses).