Hydrologic restoration in a dynamic subtropical mangrove‐to‐marsh ecotone

Extensive hydrologic modifications in coastal regions across the world have occurred to support infrastructure development, altering the function of many coastal wetlands. Wetland restoration success is dependent on the existence of hydrologic regimes that support development of appropriate soils and the growth and persistence of wetland vegetation. In Florida, United States, the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Program (CERP) seeks to restore, protect, and preserve water resources of the greater Everglades region. Herein we describe vegetation dynamics in a mangrove‐to‐marsh ecotone within the impact area of a CERP hydrologic restoration project currently under development. Vegetation communities are also described for a similar area outside the project area. We found that vegetation shifts within the impact area occurred over a 7‐year period; cover of herbaceous species varied by location, and an 88% increase in the total number of mangrove seedlings was documented. We attribute these shifts to the existing modified hydrologic regime, which is characterized by a low volume of freshwater sheet flow compared with historical conditions (i.e. before modification), as well as increased tidal influence. We also identified a significant trend of decreasing soil surface elevation at the impact area. The CERP restoration project is designed to increase freshwater sheet flow to the impact area. Information from our study characterizing existing vegetation dynamics prior to implementation of the restoration project is required to allow documentation of long‐term project effects on plant community composition and structure within a framework of background variation, thereby allowing assessment of the project's success in restoring critical ecosystem functions.     

Tabula rasa in the Patagonian Channels? The phylogeography of Oreobolus obtusangulus (Cyperaceae)

The extent of the Pleistocene glaciations in the Patagonian Channel region (southwesternmost South America) and their impact on the vegetation there are largely unknown. Whether the regional flora was wiped out completely (tabula rasa) or survived in ice‐free pockets (in situ survival) is still an open question. The molecular imprint of either scenario should still be visible in extant populations. Therefore, DNA sequence data of Oreobolus obtusangulus Gaudich. (Cyperaceae) were analysed. This species is an abundant constituent of Patagonian cushion peat bogs, one of the Patagonian Channel region's major vegetation types. Three hundred and eighty‐four individuals from 48 populations were sequenced for two chloroplast (ycf3‐psaA and trnQ^UUG‐psbK intergenic spacers) and 14 nuclear loci containing simple sequence repeats (SSRs; microsatellites). Phylogenetic reconstructions and the geographic distribution of genetic diversity revealed that the species was split into three main lineages whose general distributions comprise three separate major regions, that is, south‐central Chile, Fuego‐Patagonia and the East Patagonian Andes, which probably constitute glacial refugia. Postglacial migration fronts formed a suture zone with high levels of genetic diversity in the Northwest Patagonian Andes, where remnants of a supposedly ancestral lineage were also found to be locally restricted to a single population (Huinay). The heavily glaciated Patagonian Channels were likely recolonized from the northwest, and partly from the south. Although the westernmost Patagonian Channel population (Estero Bachem) harboured private SSR alleles (singletons) and showed slightly elevated genetic diversity, it remained unclear whether this population actually survived in situ. This study helps fill a major gap in reconstructing the Pleistocene vegetation history of West and Andean Patagonia.     

Hybrid zone formation and contrasting outcomes of secondary contact over transects in common toads

Much progress in speciation research stems from documenting patterns of morphological and genetic variation in hybrid zones. Contrasting patterns of marker introgression in different sections of the contact can provide valuable insights on the relative importance of various evolutionary mechanisms maintaining species differences in the face of hybridization and gene flow and on hybrid zone temporal and spatial dynamics. We studied species interactions in the common toads Bufo bufo and B. spinosus in France and northwestern Italy using morphological and molecular data from the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes in an extensive survey, including two independent transects west and east of the Alps. At both, we found sharp, coincident and concordant nuclear genetic transitions. However, morphological clines were wider or absent and mtDNA introgression was asymmetric. We discuss alternative, nonexclusive hypotheses about evolutionary processes generating these patterns, including drift, selection, long‐distance dispersal and spatial shifts in hybrid zone location and structure. The distribution of intraspecific mtDNA lineages supports a scenario in which B. bufo held a local refugium during the last glacial maximum. Present‐day genetic profiles are best explained by an advance of B. spinosus from a nearby Iberian refugium, largely superseding the local B. bufo population, followed by an advance of B. bufo from the Balkans, with prongs north and south of the Alps, driving B. spinosus southwards. A pendulum moving hybrid zone, first northwards and then southwards, explains the wide areas of introgression at either side of the current position of the contact zones.     

种植方式对夏玉米光合生产特征和光温资源利用的影响

为研究套种与直播两种种植方式对夏玉米光合生产特征和光温资源利用的影响,选取郑单958和登海661为研究对象,设置3个播期,密度为67500株·hm^-2,以地上干物质积累量和作物生长速率、叶面积指数、穗位叶的单叶光合速率来评价夏玉米的光合生产特征;以Richards模型拟合籽粒灌浆过程;结合气象数据计算夏玉米光能利用率.结果表明：直播处理比套种处理籽粒产量增加1.17%～3.33%（P<0.05）,但千粒重显著降低;生育期随播期提前而延长;直播条件下叶面积指数和单叶光合速率在灌浆前期显著高于套种,但灌浆后期下降较快;与套种相比,直播开花前和开花后具有较高的干物质积累量和较快的作物生长速率.Richards模型解析表明,直播处理达到最大灌浆速率的时间明显早于套种,起始势较套种高,但灌浆期、活跃灌浆期和灌浆速率最大时的生长量均低于套种;与套种相比,直播处理生育期间总积温和总辐射量分别减少150～350 ℃·d和200～400 MJ·m^-2,但籽粒光能利用率较套种提高10.5%～24.7%.因此,直播较套种有优势,在夏玉米大田生产条件下,重视叶片的光合生产特征,延缓叶片衰老,有利于提高夏玉米的光能利用率,进一步挖掘增产潜力.     

Geomorphic predictors of riparian vegetation in small mountain watersheds

Aims Hydrogeomorphic processes operating at watershed, process zone and site scales influence the distribution of riparian vegetation. However, most studies examining the relationships between hydrogeomorphic processes and riparian vegetation are conducted at site scales. We quantified the relative importance of watershed, process zone and site geomorphic characteristics for predicting riparian plant community types and plant species abundances in four small mountain watersheds in central Nevada, USA.Methods We mapped riparian vegetation types and identified process zones (based on dominant geomorphic process and valley fill material) within the watersheds. We sampled sites in each combination of vegetation type and process zone (n = 184 sites) and collected data on watershed scale factors, valley and stream geomorphic characteristics and on plant cover of each geomorphic surface. Plant community types were defined by cluster and indicator species analyses of plant cover data, and related to geomorphic variables using ordination analysis (nonmetric multidimensional scaling). Linear mixed effects models were used to predict abundances of indicator species.Important findings Variables describing position in the watershed (elevation, contributing area) that are related to gradients of temperature, moisture and stream discharge were of primary importance in predicting plant community types. Variables describing local geomorphic setting (valley width, stream gradient, channel sediments, geomorphic surface height) were of secondary importance, but accurately described the geomorphic setting of indicator species. The process zone classification did not include position in the watershed or channel characteristics and only predicted plant community types with unique geomorphic settings. In small mountain watersheds, predicting riparian vegetation distribution requires explicit consideration of scale and geomorphic context within and among watersheds in addition to site variables.     

Defining TCE Plume Source Areas Using the Membrane Interface Probe (MIP)

A variety of traditional characterization methods, such as soil gas surveys, soil and groundwater sampling, and fixed laboratory analysis, is commonly used to define the magnitude and extent of soil and groundwater contamination in volatile organic compound source areas. One significant limitation of these methods is that they require multi-media sample collection to define the full unsaturated and saturated vertical profile in any given location. In addition, attaining higher resolution by increasing sample frequency increases costs substantially. A relatively new technology, the Membrane Interface Probe (MIP), was used to define trichloroethene plume source areas at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and at a confidential security products manufacturer in Tennessee. The MIP offered significant advantages over traditional drilling and direct-push methods and yielded data critical to a fuller understanding of subsurface conditions. The near-continuous MIP profile minimized the number of soil and groundwater samples required to fully delineate the extent of the plume-head source areas. In addition, the MIP is also able to collect data in the vadose and saturated zones, providing detailed vertical contaminant profiling information and geologic conditions based on soil conductivity that aided in the development of the site conceptual model. The MIP was not without its disadvantages; principal among these the relatively high detection limit (approximately 100 ppb in soil and groundwater), making the method useful for source characterization but limited for delineating lower levels of contamination. The data obtained from the MIP are considered screening-level data and need to be supplemented with analytical soil or groundwater data to fully support risk or remediation decisions. In summary, the vertical profiling obtained using the MIP aided in the interpretation of the complex relationship between the presence of gross contamination in soil and groundwater and the geologic conditions controlling contaminant distribution.     

Structure and floristic composition of community forests and their compatibility with villagers' traditional needs for forest products

A persisting problem in protected area management in Nepal is whether resources from buffer zones can replace villagers' extraction of resources from protected areas. Community forestry is assigned a major role in supplying these substitutes, and natural regeneration and rehabilitation of degraded forests are thought to be means to establish forests with a high compatibility with villagers' demand. This study investigates the structure and floristic composition of six community forests established through natural regeneration of degraded sal (Shorea robusta) forests and of former riverine forest areas which have been cleared and overgrazed. The inventories are compared to an in-depth survey of the extraction of forest products from Royal Chitwan National Park (RCNP) for 12 consecutive months by nine households. The results show that natural regeneration creates a multi-layered forest structure and that early succession stages of mixed forests, which floristically resemble former primary forests, emerged in only a few years when protected from grazing. The presence of timber and fuelwood species in the community forest matched to some extent the species traditionally extracted by people from the Park. With regard to non-timber forest products (NTFP), the natural regenerated community forests were much less compatible with the villagers' traditional dependency on and extraction from the Park, which points to the limitations of community forestry in relieving anthropogenic pressure on the RCNP.     

广东硇洲岛的瓣鳃类

根据1999－2001年在广东硇洲岛海滨的岩石岩,砾石滩,泥沙滩,泥沙滩,沙滩,红树林区潮间带和近海区潮下带等各种生态环境采集到的瓣鳃类动物的整理鉴定,获得瓣鳃炎77种,分隶于24科44属,本文对其区系组成及分布特点进行了详细的论述。     

干旱区水域生态系统的水盐耦合关系——以新疆塔里木河流域为例

塔里木河流域水域生态系统的水污染 ,是在自然及人为因素共同作用下形成的 ,地表径流的时空变化是水盐耦合关系发生变化的主要原因 .2 0世纪 5 0年代末 ,塔里木河河水由上游至进入台特马湖以前 ,矿化度均小于 1 0g·L-1.目前 ,上游阿拉尔河水矿化度除 7、8月和 10月份小于 1 0g·L-1外 ,其余各月矿化度超过了 3 0 g·L-1.下游卡拉除了 3月份河水矿化度小于 1 0 g·L-1外 ,其余各月河水矿化度均超过了 1 0 g·L-1,7月和 12月河水矿化度达到 5 0 g·L-1左右 .水质评价表明 ,阿拉尔、新渠满和英巴扎全年平均为 5级重污染水 ,卡拉全年为 4级中污染水 .塔里木河河水水质的状况及水化学的构成是水盐耦合关系的最明显标志 .     

基于Landsat-TM数据的农牧交错带景观结构研究——以内蒙古自治区兴和县为例

根据1989年2000年的两期Lansat-TM数据,应用景观类型斑块等级结构和景观空间格局指数等景观生态学指标,对地处典型农牧交错带地区的兴和县景观结构进行研究,结果表明,该地区农田和草地是平原和丘陵区的主体景观类型;不同景观类型斑块大小等级结构变化各异,耕地和草地斑块明显增大,乔木林地和水体斑块趋于减小;景观破碎化明显增强。