The effect of frugivory on postdispersal seed removal and germination in the pantropical forest tree Antiaris toxicaria Leschenault

The quality of seed treatment by frugivores has an effect on seed removal after dispersal, seed germination and tree recruitment. We provide information on postdispersal seed removal, germination and subsequent recruitment in tropical forest tree species Antiaris toxicaria in Ghana. We tested whether postdispersal seed removal and germination rates were differentially affected by the following seed treatments: seeds that were spat out by monkeys with all fruit pulp removed and spitting seeds with fruit pulp partially removed as observed in some birds and bats. We used seeds of intact ripened fruits as control. Frugivore seed treatment and distance from bole affected seed removal patterns, whereas intact seeds were significantly removed from all seed stations. The germination success was greater for seeds that were spat out by monkeys and poor for seeds with fruit pulp partially removed and intact fruits. More recruits were recorded at the edge of the adult A. toxicaria canopy radius. There was weak relationship (r² = 0.042) between the number of recruits and distance away from the adult tree. Results suggest that the subsequent recruitment in tropical forest tree species may be enhanced by some frugivore fruit‐handling behaviour where fruit pulp is removed from the seeds without destroying the seeds.     

珠穆朗玛峰国家自然保护区蕨类植物区系研究

在野外实地调查和室内标本整理以及查阅文献的基础上,对珠穆朗玛峰自然保护区蕨类植物区系进行研究,为探讨喜马拉雅植物区系的起源以及该区生物多样性的保护提供资料。结果表明:(1)珠穆朗玛峰自然保护区共有蕨类植物193种,隶属于31科59属,其中优势科为鳞毛蕨科(51种)、水龙骨科(41种)、蹄盖蕨科(22种)、铁角蕨科(10种),优势属为耳蕨属(27种)、鳞毛蕨属(20种)、瓦韦属(17种)。(2)科的分布区类型有8种,以泛热带分布型(55.56%)为主;属的分布区类型有14种,以泛热带分布型(23.81%)、中国-喜马拉雅分布型(19.05%)为主;蕨类植物以土生(55.88%)为主,石生(24.35%)和附生(21.76%)也占有一定比例,缺乏水生蕨类。(3)珠穆朗玛峰自然保护区蕨类植物区系成分与南迦巴瓦峰地区联系最为密切,其次为横断山地区和尼泊尔,与九塞沟自然保护区、秦岭地区有一定的联系,与西双版纳地区的关系较为疏远。     

云南药山自然保护区蕨类区系研究

基于馆藏标本,对云南药山自然保护区蕨类进行区系分析.结果表明:该保护区共有蕨类30科、67属、177种及10变种;属的区系地理成分可划分为10个类型11个亚型;种的区系地理成分可划分为9个类型、20个亚型及7个变型;该保护区温带区系成分占优势;与相邻地区区系成分比较发现,蕨类区系与云南药山联系的紧密程度为:轿子雪山>梅里雪山及附近地区>玉龙雪山>黄山.     

扎龙自然保护区不同空间尺度景观格局时空变化及其生态风险

景观格局变化下的区域生态风险研究可以为保护区域景观生态系统健康,实现区域资源的合理和可持续利用提供重要科学依据。以扎龙自然保护区为研究区,利用遥感手段提取景观类型信息,定量分析不同空间尺度下研究区景观格局时空变化特征和演变规律。根据研究区景观格局变化特点构建景观生态风险指数,对研究区不同时期空间尺度变化过程中景观生态风险时空变化特征进行分析。研究表明:1995—2010年研究区不同空间尺度下景观总体格局和各景观类型格局变化显著,呈现不同变化特征;景观生态风险随空间粒度的增大而减小。对比分析两期数据,研究区景观生态风险加剧,其空间分布均呈环形扩散特征。根据本研究区区域面积大小和景观格局复杂程度,确定了景观格局和景观生态风险研究的适宜尺度域。     

汶川地震对四川龙溪—虹口和唐家河自然保护区大熊猫栖息地利用格局的影响

2008年的汶川地震发生在大熊猫集中分布的区域,对大熊猫的栖息地造成了严重破坏.利用龙溪—虹口和唐家河两个国家级自然保护区地震前(2003～ 2007)和地震后(2008～ 2010)共计7年的大熊猫监测数据,就汶川地震对大熊猫栖息地利用格局的影响进行了分析.研究结果表明:(1)地震前5年,大熊猫对栖息地的利用格局在年间没有显著变化;(2)地震后的2年间,大熊猫对栖息地的利用格局在年间没有显著变化;(3)地震前后连续7年调查的样线中,大熊猫对栖息地的利用格局在年间没有显著变化;(4)在龙溪一虹口保护区,大熊猫对样线的利用与滑坡体的面积没有显著关系,即大熊猫对栖息地的空间利用没有受到滑坡体面积大小的显著影响;(5)虽然从现有资料发现地震对大熊猫栖息地的利用格局没有显著的影响,但仍然需要在震后加强对大熊猫及其栖息地的保护.     

江西井冈山国家级自然保护区蜘蛛资源调查

江西井冈山国家级自然保护区地处114° 04′～114°16′E,26° 28′～26°40′N,位于江西省西南部,东边江西泰和、遂川两县,南邻湖南炎陵县,西靠湖南茶陵县,北接江西永新县.蜘蛛是农林生态系统害虫天敌的主要类群,也常作为生态系统稳定的指示生物.作者等人通过对井冈山白然保护区蜘蛛资源及区系分布进行野外调查、标本采集和分类鉴定等,发现该保护区有蜘蛛18科48属73种,其中6种为江西新记录种,18种为未确定种.     

鹞落坪自然保护区大型真菌的生态分布

为了解及合理开发大型真菌资源,调查了安徽省鹞落坪国家级自然保护区大型真菌的种类组成及生态分布。结果表明:该区大型真菌资源丰富,在食用、药用和营林等方面具有很好的开发前景。     

五鹿山国家级自然保护区油松群落优势种生态位研究

根据五鹿山国家级自然保护区油松群落57个样地调查资料,通过TWINSPIN聚类分析对该群落类型进行了划分,将划分群丛类型作为资源轴,计算了乔木和灌木树种Shannon-Wiener和Hurbert生态位宽度及Morisita重叠指数。结果表明：油松群落共划分为7个群丛。乔木层油松、辽东栎、茶条槭的生态位宽度（Shannon-Wiener和Hurbert生态位宽度）较大,LB和HB分别是1.656、1.404、1.047和0.948、0.735、0.386。灌木层水栒子、土庄绣线菊、陕西荚蒾的生态位宽度较大,LB和HB分别是1.562、1.401、1.300和0.512、0.447、0.389。乔木层生态位高度重叠的占6%(>0.8),中度重叠的占10%(0.6~0.8),小于0.6的低度重叠的占84%,灌木层高度重叠者占7%(>0.8),中度重叠者占10.39%(0.6~0.8),小于0.6的低度重叠者占82.25%。说明油松群落组成植物对当地环境具有较高的适应性和资源环境利用能力,种间竞争较小,有些物种的生态位明显趋于特化,群落处于共摊阶段。     

EFFECTS OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES ON STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION OF WOODY SPECIES OF THE NOKREK BIOSPHERE RESERVE OF MEGHALAYA,NORTHEAST INDIA

Aims Our study was conducted in the Nokrek Biosphere Reserve (NBR) in the Garo hills districts of Meghalaya, Northeast India. Our aim was to assess the effects of human activities on plant diversity,population structure and regeneration.Methods We selected a representative 1.2 hm2 stand in both the core and buffer zones of NBR. Structure and composition were determined by randomly sampling square quadrats, population structure was assessed by determining age structure, and regeneration was assessed by measuring densities of seedling, sapling and adult trees.Important findings More woody species were recorded from the core zone than the buffer zone (87 vs. 81 species), and there were a large number of tropical, temperate, and Sino-Himalayan, Burma-Malaysian and Malayan elements, primitive families and primitive genera. The trees were distributed in three distinct strata,canopy, subcanopy and sapling. Subcanopy and sapling layers had the highest species richness (81％ -88％ ). Lauraceae and Euphorbiaceae were the dominant families in terms of the number of species, and a large number of families were represented by single species. Most woody species (57 ％ - 79 ％ ) were contagiously distributed and had low frequency ( ＜ 20％ ). Although stand density was high in the buffer zone, its basal area was low compared to the stand in the core zone. Low similarity and high β-diversity indicate marked differences in species composition of the stands. Shannon diversity index was high in both the stands, while Simpson dominance index was low. The diameter-class distribution for dominant species revealed that the most had a large number of young individuals in their populations. Preponderance of tree seedlings, followed by a steep decline in population density of saplings and adult trees, indicated that the seedling to sapling stage was the most critical in the life cycle of the tree populations. Most species (42 ％ - 48 ％ ) had no regeneration,25 ％ - 35 ％ had good/fair regeneration, and the rest had poor regeneration or reoccurred as immigrants.     

Response of clonal plasticity of Fargesia nitida to different canopy conditions of subalpine coniferous forest

The aim of this study is to explore the effects of canopy conditions on clump and culm numbers, and the morphological plasticity and biomass distribution patterns of the dwarf bamboo species Fargesia nitida. Specifically, we investigated the effects of canopy conditions on the growth and morphological characteristics of F. nitida, and the adaptive responses of F. nitida to different canopy conditions and its ecological senses. The results indicate that forest canopy had a significant effect on the genet density and culm number per clump, while it did not affect the ramet density. Clumps tended to be few and large in gaps and forest edge plots, and small under forest understory plots. The ramets showed an even distribution under the closed canopy, and cluster distribution under gaps and forest edge plots. The forest canopy had a significant effect on both the ramets’ biomass and biomass allocation. Favourable light conditions promoted ramet growth and biomass accumulation. Greater amounts of biomass in gaps and forest edge plots were shown by the higher number of culms per clump and the diameter of these culms. Under closed canopy, the bamboos increased their branching angle, leaf biomass allocation, specific leaf area and leaf area ratio to exploit more favourable light conditions in these locations. The spacer length, specific spacer length and spacer branching angles all showed significant differences between gaps and closed canopy conditions. The larger specific spacer length and spacer branching angle were beneficial for bamboo growth, scattering the ramets and exploiting more favourable light conditions. In summary, this study shows that to varying degrees, F. nitida exhibits both a wide ecological amplitude and high degree of morphological plasticity in response to differing forest canopy conditions. Moreover, the changes in plasticity enable the plants to optimize their light usage efficiency to promote growth and increase access to resources available in heterogeneous light environments. __________ Translated from Acta Ecologica Sinica, 2006, 26(12): 4019–4026 [译自: 生态学报]