The role of nurse plants in the establishment of shrub seedlings in the semi-arid subtropical Andes

In the nurse plant syndrome, or nurse association, seedlings (beneficiaries) are associated with adult shrubs/trees (benefactors). This phenomenon has been documented in several regions of the planet. Abiotic stress amelioration (one mechanism of facilitation) is one of the causes of this association. Most of the studies addressing the nurse syndrome have been conducted on spatial scales of a few hectares and have focused on only one or a few species. Moreover, there is an almost complete lack of studies addressing the incidence and characteristics of the nurse phenomenon in the arid Andes of South America. We undertook a first approximation to the study of facilitation in these ecosystems. The study was conducted at local and regional scales and involved the assessment of the spatial distribution of juveniles (seedlings and saplings) of 51 populations of 16 shrub and 12 cactus species in relation to shrub cover at 20 localities of the Prepuna (subtropical Andes of Bolivia and Argentina, 20–26°S). In terms of spatial distribution, the juveniles of most of the populations of shrubs studied were distributed both under the shrubs and in open spaces, thereby showing an apparent indifference to microhabitat. Globose and opuntioid cacti were preferentially distributed below the canopies of shrubs and were usually more associated with the dominant shrub species, which stood out as better potential nurses. The pattern was consistent throughout the region, including the more mesic and arid localities. The fact that Prepuna woody species are capable of establishing in open spaces would confer this region a greater resilience. Our findings further suggest that community dynamics in arid and semi-arid environments are more variable than previously thought.     

冻融作用对土壤温室气体产生与排放的影响

土壤冻融交替是中、高纬度和高海拔地区常见的自然现象,土壤在冻融期间会经历一系列物理、化学和生物变化过程。有研究表明,冻融区土壤是温室气体的重要排放源,冻融期土壤温室气体的排放量在全年总排放量中占有重要的份额,尤其是N2O。随着全球气候变暖,部分地区的土壤环境将经受更广泛和频繁的冻融交替作用,这会导致土壤温室气体排放量增加,从而又进一步促进了气候变暖。本文重点概述了冻融作用对土壤温室气体产生与排放的影响及其主要影响机制,并简要提出了目前土壤冻融研究中的一些不足以及今后值得关注和深入研究的科学问题。     

Effects of grazing on patch structure in a semi‐arid two‐phase vegetation mosaic

Abstract. Question: What are the grazing effects in the spatial organization and the internal structure of high and low cover patches from a two‐phase vegetation mosaic? Location: Patagonian steppe, Argentina. Methods: We mapped vegetation under three different grazing conditions: ungrazed, lightly grazed and heavily grazed. We analysed the spatial patterns of the dominant life forms. Also, in each patch type, we determined density, species composition, richness, diversity, size structure and dead biomass of grasses under different grazing conditions. Results: The vegetation was spatially organized in a two‐phase mosaic. High cover patches resulted from the association of grasses and shrubs and low cover patches were represented by scattered tussock grasses on bare ground. This spatial organization was not affected by grazing, but heavy grazing changed the grass species involved in high cover patches and reduced the density and cover of grasses in both patch types. Species richness and diversity in high cover patches decreased under grazing conditions, whereas in low cover patches it remained unchanged. Also, the decrease of palatable grasses was steeper in high cover patches than in low cover patches under grazing conditions. Conclusions: We suggest that although grazing promotes or inhibits particular species, it does not modify the mosaic structure of Patagonian steppe. The fact that the mosaic remained unchanged after 100 years of grazing suggests that grazing does not compromize population processes involved in maintaining patch structure, including seed dispersal, establishment or biotic interactions among life forms.     

The fate of sheep-dispersed seeds: Plant species emergence and spatial patterns

Sheep epizoochory has often been proposed as an important vector which can help to overcome the dispersal limitation of plants in fragmented landscapes. In order to evaluate the contribution of herbivores to recruitment especially of target species, the dispersal and post-dispersal fate of such seeds must be known. In a field experiment sheep with seeds of mainly target species (experimentally attached to their coats) were present at three sand plots for 24 h. Natural epizoochorous dispersal was already shown for most of the species in our study area. Seed detachment, trampling intensity and seed shadow were measured; seedling emergence and survival were recorded over an 8-month period. In addition, the effect of sheep trampling on seedling emergence and survival of two threatened species, Jurinea cyanoides and Koeleria glauca, were studied.     

Improved abundance prediction from presence–absence data

Aim   Many ecological surveys record only the presence or absence of species in the cells of a rectangular grid. Ecologists have investigated methods for using these data to predict the total abundance of a species from the number of grid cells in which the species is present. Our aim is to improve such predictions by taking account of the spatial pattern of occupied cells, in addition to the number of occupied cells.
Innovation   We extend existing prediction models to include a spatial clustering variable. The extended models can be viewed as combining two macroecological regularities, the abundance–occupancy regularity and a spatial clustering regularity. The models are estimated using data from five tropical forest censuses, including three Panamanian censuses (4, 6 and 50 ha), one Costa Rican census (16 ha) and one Puerto Rican census (16 ha). A serpentine grassland census (8 × 8 m) from northern California is also studied.
Main conclusions   Taking account of the spatial clustering of occupied cells improves abundance prediction from presence–absence data, reducing the mean square error of log-predictions by roughly 54% relative to a benchmark Poisson predictor and by roughly 34% relative to current prediction methods. The results have high statistical significance.     

Competition between near and far dispersers in spatially structured habitats

Competitive interactions and invasibility between short- and long-distance dispersal was investigated in a population on a heterogeneous landscape with spatial correlations in habitat types, and where the driving interaction between individuals is competition for space. Stochastic spatially explicit simulations were used, along with differential equation models based on pair approximations. Conditions under which either dispersal strategy can successfully invade the other were determined, as a function of the amount and clustering of suitable habitat and the relative costs involved in the two dispersal strategies. Long-distance dispersal, which reduces intraspecific competition, is sometimes advantageous even where aggregation of suitable habitat would otherwise favor short-distance dispersal, although certain habitat distributions can lead to either strategy being dominant. Coexistence is also possible on some landscapes, where the spatial structure of the populations partitions suitable sites according to the number of suitable neighboring sites. Mutual competitive exclusion, where whichever strategy is established first cannot be invaded, is also possible. All of these results are observed even when there is no intrinsic difference in the two strategies' costs, such as mortality or competitive abilities.     

极端暴雨下山地丘陵区小流域洪水淹没强度对景观特征的响应——以河南“7·20”暴雨为例

通过分析郑州7·20暴雨事件中贾峪河山地丘陵区小流域的洪水过程,探究景观特征对洪水淹没强度影响的时空分布规律,并提出增强流域洪水韧性的规划建议,以缓解河南省山区所面临的社会经济发展、生态环境改善等问题。基于高分6号遥感数据、先进陆地观测卫星(ALOS,Advance Land Observing Satellite)相控阵L频段合成孔径雷达(PALSAR)的地表高程数据和小时降雨量数据,利用MIKE 21水动力模型构建贾峪河流域二维水文模型,分析其2021年7月20日0-24时期上、中、下游的洪水淹没深度和面积,并结合双变量空间自相关模型方法,探究洪水淹没强度与各景观组成和地形因素在时间和空间上的相关性的差异以及其空间聚类类型。研究表明:(1)贾峪河流域淹没面积在0-6时快速增长,于18时达到最大9.59km²,此时各区域淹没面积占比从大到小依次为下游18.88%、上游8.25%、中游12.03%,淹没深度在3m以上的面积占36.11%。(2)地形因素(平均Moran''s I=0.159)对洪水强度的影响大于土地类型(平均Moran''s I=0.096),主要影响因子相对高程、地形湿度指数、矿坑面积百分比、水体面积百分比、建设用地面积百分比、耕地面积百分比以及林地和草地面积百分比与洪水淹没强度之间的相关性随时间变化呈增大趋势,均在暴雨中后期18-24时达到最强。(3)交互探测结果表明,多因子叠加会增强各景观特征对洪水淹没强度的影响。上游影响洪水淹没强度的主要驱动力为矿坑和相对高程,中游和下游的主要影响为水体和地形湿度指数。(4)洪水淹没强度24时的平均值与景观特征指数之间的"高-高"和"高-低"地区的面积占比约0.47%-9.85%,主要分布在上游的中部山区和北部河道周围、中游的河道两侧和下游的河道以及常庄水库周边地区。研究结论建议在上游露天矿坑就地改造为蓄水池并恢复植被,中游和下游应提升河岸带绿地质量,增加下游城区绿色基础设施,减轻城市洪水风险。     

Spatial memory deficits in maternal iron deficiency paradigms are associated with altered glucocorticoid levels

"The goal of this study was to examine the effect of maternal iron deficiency on the developing hippocampus in order to define a developmental window for this effect, and to see whether iron deficiency causes changes in glucocorticoid levels. The study was carried out using pre-natal, post-natal, and pre + post-natal iron deficiency paradigm. Iron deficient pregnant dams and their pups displayed elevated corticosterone which, in turn, differentially affected glucocorticoid receptor (GR) expression in the CA1 and the dentate gyrus. Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) was reduced in the hippocampi of pups following elevated corticosterone levels. Reduced neurogenesis at P7 was seen in pups born to iron deficient mothers, and these pups had reduced numbers of hippocampal pyramidal and granule cells as adults. Hippocampal subdivision volumes also were altered. The structural and molecular defects in the pups were correlated with radial arm maze performance; reference memory function was especially affected. Pups from dams that were iron deficient throughout pregnancy and lactation displayed the complete spectrum of defects, while pups from dams that were iron deficient only during pregnancy or during lactation displayed subsets of defects. These findings show that maternal iron deficiency is associated with altered levels of corticosterone and GR expression, and with spatial memory deficits in their pups."     

Sensitivity analyses for ecological regression

In many ecological regression studies investigating associations between environmental exposures and health outcomes, the observed relative risks are in the range 1.0-2.0. The interpretation of such small relative risks is difficult due to a variety of biases--some of which are unique to ecological data, since they arise from within-area variability in exposures/confounders. The potential for residual spatial dependence, due to unmeasured confounders and/or data anomalies with spatial structure, must also be considered, though it often will be of secondary importance when compared to the likely effects of unmeasured confounding and within-area variability in exposures/confounders. Methods for addressing sensitivity to these issues are described, along with an approach for assessing the implications of spatial dependence. An ecological study of the association between myocardial infarction and magnesium is critically reevaluated to determine potential sources of bias. It is argued that the sophistication of the statistical analysis should not outweigh the quality of the data, and that finessing models for spatial dependence will often not be merited in the context of ecological regression.