Vegetation succession on the dunes near Oostvoorne,The Netherlands,since 1934, interpreted from air photographs and vegetation maps

The vegetation succession on the dunes near Oostvoorne, The Netherlands has been followed by means of a novel combination of repeated large-scale vegetation mapping and air photograph interpretation. Vegetation units have been discerned on the formation level because these could be distinguished fairly easily on the photographs and because the rates of change are appropriate to the time interval chosen. Nineteen formations were distinguished. Five 1:6250 maps were constructed, reflecting the formation pattern in 1934, 1943, 1959, 1972 and 1980. An overlay with 2736 grid points at 25 m field distance was used to quantify changes in the formation pattern.The results suggest a pronounced multiple pathway succession with nevertheless three principal trajectories of succession from pioneer to woodland vegetation. The outer dunes, which have originated since 1910, are distinct in successional characteristics from the inner dunes, which already existed but were released from heavy grazing pressure in 1910. The rate of change in the outer dunes was high in the beginning and is slowly decreasing eversince. In the inner dunes it went the other way around. Through visual extrapolation the likely formation patterns in 1910 and in 2000 were estimated.Transition frequencies proved highly variable for most formations. Moreover, strong spatial dependence was found. Limitations in the use of Markov models in cases of long-term succession in heterogeneous environments are discussed.Nomenclature follows the same sources as in van der Maarel et al. (1984).Field work carried out 1980–1981 when the authors were at the Division of Geobotany, University of Nijmegen. We thank Jos Rijntjes, Nijmegen, for his cooperation in the field. Vegetation maps were prepared and calculations performed at Uppsala. We thank the Foundation Het Zuid-Hollands Landschap, Rotterdam, for providing facilities and a grant for fieldwork as well as additional means to reproduce the vegetation maps. Two reviewers gave useful comments.     

Ordination of vegetation change in Guadalupe Mountains,New Mexico,USA

Vegetation change over a nine-year period was studied in Guadalupe Mountains, New Mexico. Permanent transects in desert shrub vegetation were sampled in 1972 and 1980. Emphasis was given to shrubs because of their importance to big game diets. Univariate paired t-tests and reciprocal averaging ordination were used to detect and display coordinated changes in species composition over time. Despite apparently less browsing pressure in desert shrub vegetation in 1980 there were few significant changes in species composition. In addition, preferred forage species showed reduced reproduction while species of intermediate and poor forage value dis-played increased reproduction during this time. These data do not support traditional rangeland succession theory which states that enhanced reproduction of preferred species should follow grazing or browsing pressure reduction.     

皖南、赣北奥陶纪笔石立体标本形成环境的初步研究*

皖南、赣东北和赣西北地区奥陶纪笔石地层发育良好,笔石化石丰富。宁国组和胡乐组均为笔石相地层,但笔石的保存特点并不相同。立体保存的黄铁矿化笔石标本主要见于宁国组,而胡乐组的笔石几乎均为薄膜标本。在比较宁国组和胡乐组在岩性、颜色、化石、矿物和元素等方面的特点后发现,两者有较明显的差异。这表明宁国组和胡乐组形成时的环境是不同的,前者为弱还原环境,后者为较强的还原环境,而在研究区内影响笔石体立体保存的主要因素为还原环境和较高的铁含量。在还原环境下,铁可呈Fe~(2+)存在,笔石体内含有硫,死亡后经降解作用可生成H_2S;H_2S和Fe~(2+)结合可使笔石体黄铁矿化,从而使笔石体硬化而呈立体保存下来。宁国组的铁含量明显高于胡乐组,这似可以解释宁国组产有较多笔石立体标本的原因。     

黑龙江绥滨地区晚侏罗世东荣组的沟鞭藻类

本文对黑龙江绥滨86-11孔的沟鞭藻类进行了初步研究,共描述化石10属16种(包括2新种,6未定种);其中不少是在我国首次描述的。这些化石分成两个组合,其优势分子分别为Gonyaulacysta jurassica和Amphorula delicata。根据组合内各分子的时代分布,两化石组合的时代分别为Late Oxfordian—Early Kimmeridgian和Portlandian期,并对其产出层位东荣组的时代作了讨论,认为属于晚侏罗世。     

Permeability Increase Induced by Escherichia coli Hemolysin A in Human Macrophages is Due to the Formation of Ionic Pores: A Patch Clamp Characterization

Escherichia coli hemolysin is known to cause hemolysis of red blood cells by forming hydrophilic pores in their cell membrane. Hemolysin-induced pores have been directly visualized in model systems such as planar lipid membranes and unilamellar vesicles. However this hemolysin, like all the members of a related family of toxins called Repeat Toxins, is a potent leukotoxin. To investigate whether the formation of channels is involved also in its leukotoxic activity, we used patch-clamped human macrophages as targets. Indeed, when exposed to the hemolysin, these cells developed additional pores into their membrane. Such exogenous pores had properties very different from the endogenous channels already present in the cell membrane (primarily K⁺ channels), but very similar to the pores formed by the toxin in purely lipidic model membranes. Observed properties were: large single channel conductance, cation over anion selectivity but weak discrimination among different cations, quasilinear current-voltage characteristic and the existence of a flickering pre-open state of small conductance. The selectivity properties of the toxin channels appearing in phospholipid vesicles were also investigated, using a specially adapted polarization/depolarization assay, and were found to be completely consistent with that of the current fluctuations observed in excised macrophage patches. Received: 14 August 1995/Revised: 2 October 1995     

Hyolith guts in the Cambrian of northern Australia -turning hyolithomorphs upside down

A single specimen of the early Middle Cambrian (Ordian) orthothecimorph hyolith Gudugu-wan hardmani with preserved gut filling has been discovered in the Montejinni Limestone, Wiso Basin, northern Australia. This represents only the eighth such occurrence worldwide. The specimen is unique among orthothecimorphs in retaining the gut filling in combination with the external mould of the operculum and invites revision of the accepted soft-part recon struction in this group, whereby the opercular lateral processes are now recognized to be ventral. Thus orthothecimorph conchs, if horizontal in life, would have been oriented ventral side down, while hyolithomorphs adopted the reverse orientation: horizontal, ventral side up.     

High-temperature tolerance of Artemisia tridentata and Potentilla gracilis under a climate change manipulation

Leaf tolerance to high temperatures, as determined by electrolyte leakage and chlorophyll a fluorescence, was compared for Artemisia tridentata (Asteraceae), a widespread shrub of the Great Basin, Colorado Plateau, and western slope of the Rocky Mountains, and Potentilla gracilis (Rosaceae), a herbaceous forb common to high-elevation meadows of the western United States. Species-specific and treatment-specific differences in leaf temperature, high-temperature tolerance and chlorophyll a fluorescence from photosystem II were compared, to test the hypothesis that plants at ecosystem borders will exhibit species-specific responses to climate change. Measurements were made for plants exposed to a climate change warming manipulation on a major ecosystem border at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Colorado, United States, in July and August 1995. In July, daily maximal leaf temperatures were significantly higher for P. gracilis than for A. tridentata. Leaf temperatures were slightly lower in August than July for leaves of both species, on control and heated plots, despite the fact that daily maximum air temperatures were not significantly different for the two months. High-temperature tolerance was determined for leaves treated for 1 h at temperatures ranging from 15°C to 65°C. LT₅₀ was approximately 46°C for both species on control plots, but was 43°C for leaves of both species from heated plots, contrary to the predictions of the hypothesis. No shift in LT₅₀ (acclimation) was apparent between July and August. Changes in chlorophyll a fluorescence from photosystem II (F _V /F _M ) were used to characterize the photosynthetic response to high temperatures. For both A. tridentata and P. gracilis in July, F _V /F _M was about 0.7, but decreased for temperatures above 40°C. The results suggest that plant responses to global warming at ecosystem borders may be influenced by factors other than leaf-level physiological tolerance to elevated temperatures.     

Hydraulic sorting of microbiota in calciturbidites— A dinantian case study from the rheinische schiefergebirge,Germany

Summary A calciturbidite bed from the lower part of the Kieselkalk Formation (late cd II) at Wallau, eastern Rheinisches Schiefergebirge, displays ideal grading of reworked calcareous shallow-water microbiota, ranging from plurimillimetric agglutinated foraminifers and fragments of calcareous algae (Koninckopora sp.) to plurimicronic calcispheres, radiolarians and sponge spicules. Microbiota derived from all levels of the platform. Correspondingly, several carbonate microfacies types could be discerned. The early diagenetic micrite base of the turbidite preserved the anoxic basinal facies. The turbidite bed belongs to Foraminiferal Zone 15 (V3bα), theAlbaillella cartalla Zone (radiolarian chronology), and is the Lower and part of the Uppertexanus Zone (standard conodont zonation). From the few published data on foraminifers, the Kieselkalk is thought to range from Mid Viséan V2b to Late Viséan V3b gamma.     

Analysis of nitrogen saturation potential in Rocky Mountain tundra and forest: implications for aquatic systems

We employed grass and forest versions of the CENTURY model under a range of N deposition values (0.02–1.60 g N m^–2 y^–1) to explore the possibility that high observed lake and stream N was due to terrestrial N saturation of alpine tundra and subalpine forest in Loch Vale Watershed, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Model results suggest that N is limiting to subalpine forest productivity, but that excess leachate from alpine tundra is sufficient to account for the current observed stream N. Tundra leachate, combined with N leached from exposed rock surfaces, produce high N loads in aquatic ecosystems above treeline in the Colorado Front Range. A combination of terrestrial leaching, large N inputs from snowmelt, high watershed gradients, rapid hydrologic flushing and lake turnover times, and possibly other nutrient limitations of aquatic organisms constrain high elevation lakes and streams from assimilating even small increases in atmospheric N. CENTURY model simulations further suggest that, while increased N deposition will worsen the situation, nitrogen saturation is an ongoing phenomenon.     

Canopy cover and tree regeneration in old-growth cove forests of the Appalachian Mountains

Relationships between canopy cover and tree regeneration were determined for various species in cove forests of the Great Smoky Mountains. Old-growth stands were sampled with six plots covering a total area of 4.8 ha. Each plot was subdivided into contiguous 10×10 m quadrats. Canopy cover overlying each of the 480 quadrats was characterized with three different indices based on visual estimates of cover. Influences of: (1) overlying cover, (2) proximate openings, and (3) total area of proximate openings on quadrat regeneration densities were determined. Most species reproducing by seed and some species reproducing by vegetative means had higher densities in quadrats with openings, but only the intolerants were highly dependent on gaps. Tsuga canadensis, a very shade-tolerant species, was one of the few species with abundant regeneration beneath dense canopy cover. In general, understory areas near gaps had somewhat higher regeneration densities than other areas with overlying cover. Several shade-tolerant species showed a positive regeneration density response to canopy openings and an ability to regenerate in gaps 0.01–0.03 ha in area. These openings were too small for intolerant species. Many species exhibited a positive response to total size of the proximate opening(s). A sharp increase in regeneration density with area of the opening(s) was evident at approximately 0.04 ha for the shade-intolerant species.