秦岭南坡松栎林群落演替过程中种间联结性和相关性研究

为了揭示秦岭南坡松栎林群落动态变化过程中物种间关系与群落演替的相互作用,基于2×2列联表,采用方差比率法、χ2检验、Jaccard指数和Spearman秩相关性系数探讨了油松林→松栎混交林→锐齿栎林演替序列过程中3个演替阶段群落优势种群的种间联结性和相关性。结果表明:(1)油松林、松栎混交林和锐齿栎林群落总体联结性均为显著正联结,各自具有相对的稳定性。(2)油松和松栎混交林群落正负联结性和相关性比例较小,群落稳定性均低于锐齿栎林群落。(3)先锋种间及其与前期过渡种间、顶级种间及其与后期过渡种间竞争较为激烈,过渡种间(包括前期过渡种间、前期过渡种与后期过渡种间、后期过渡种间)正联结占优势,较为稳定。(4)不同演替阶段群落可分别划分为4个、5个、4个生态种组。研究认为,秦岭南坡松栎混交林演替过程中种间关系逐渐趋于稳定共存,实践中及时调整种间关系可促使秦岭南坡松栎林群落趋于健康稳定,有效缩短演替的进程。     

亚热带-暖温带过渡区天然栎林的能量平衡特征

利用开路涡度相关系统和常规气象观测仪器观测了我国北亚热带-暖温带气候过渡带(河南南阳)的一片锐齿栎天然林的能量通量及常规气象。以一个完整年(2016年10月—2017年9月)的观测数据为依据,定量分析了此锐齿栎林的能量通量的日变化、季节变化以及各能量分量的分配特征,并计算了能量闭合度以及波文比。结果表明:锐齿栎林观测期间一整年净辐射为2626.17 MJ/m~2,感热通量为867.1 MJ/m~2,潜热通量为1417.25 MJ/m~2,土壤热通量为-2.60 MJ/m~2,土壤为热源;各能量分量日变化基本呈单峰型曲线,季节变化特征明显。非生长季,锐齿栎林的能量主要分配给感热通量,占净辐射的54.18%;生长季,能量主要分配给潜热通量,占净辐射的67.48%。观测期间研究区年降雨量较平均值稍大(1231.8 mm),森林蒸散量为579 mm,仅为降雨量的47%。波文比受森林物候变化影响较大,在非生长季平均值约为2.1,生长季约为0.2。土壤热通量在生长季2017年4—9月份为正值,土壤表现为热汇,其余月份皆为热源。土壤热通量的变化过程主要受净辐射调控,森林物候也起了一定的作用。河南宝天曼锐齿栎森林通量观测站全年能量闭合度为67%,在国际同类观测站的范围之内(55%—99%)。不能完全闭合的原因可能与通量源区面积不匹配、计算能量平衡时忽略冠层热存储等有关。     

Pure species in a continuum of genetic and morphological variation: sympatric oaks at the edge of their range

Background and Aims Studies on oaks (Quercus spp.) have often been hampered by taxonomic confusion, a situation further compounded by the occurrence of extensive interspecific hybridization. In the present study, a combination of genetic and morphological analyses was used to examine sympatric populations of Q. petraea and Q. robur at the north-western edge of their ranges in Northern Ireland, since it had previously been suggested that hybridization could facilitate the apparent rapid, long-distance dispersal of oaks following the glaciations.Methods Samples were collected from 24 sites across Northern Ireland that had been previously designated as ancient or semi-natural woodland. Genotypes were obtained from a total of 950 trees using 12 nuclear microsatellite loci, and admixture coefficients were calculated based on a Bayesian clustering approach. Individuals were also classified as Q. petraea, Q. robur or hybrids based on two objective morphometric characters shown previously to delineate pure individuals effectively. Genetically ‘pure’ individuals of both species, as defined by the Bayesian clustering, were also genotyped for five chloroplast microsatellites.Key Results Genetic and morphological analyses both indicated the presence of pure individuals of both species, as well as a continuum of intermediates. There was a good agreement between the molecular and morphological classification, with a generally clear separation between pure individuals.Conclusions Despite millennia of hybridization and introgression, genetically and morphologically pure individuals of both Q. petraea and Q. robur can be found at the edge of their range, where both species occur sympatrically. The high proportion of individuals exhibiting introgression compared with previous studies may reflect the historical role of hybridization in facilitating dispersal following the glaciations. This is further supported by the significantly higher chloroplast diversity in Q. robur compared with Q. petraea.     

The spatial distribution of beetles within the canopies of oak trees in Richmond Park, U.K.

1. 5054 adult beetles of 144 species were collected in a total of 696 1‐m² collecting trays by knockdown insecticide fogging of 36 different oak trees in closed canopy woodland at Richmond Park, U.K., with three of the trees sampled on each of 12 dates, at 2‐ to 3‐week intervals, between April and October 1984. 2. In late spring (April/May), more individuals and species of beetles were collected in trays close to the trunks of trees than in trays more distant from the trunk. The reverse was the case in late September/October. Neither pattern prevailed in the intervening months. 3. Individual species exhibited a variety of patterns, with some species more abundant near the trunk, e.g. Leiopus nebulosus (L.), Strophosoma melanogrammum (Forster), Cylindronotus laevioctostriatus (Goeze), and Dromius agilis (Fabricius), and some less abundant near the trunk, e.g. Curculio pyrrhoceras (Marsham) and Rhynchaenus signifer (Creutzer). For Adalia decempunctata (L.), this preference changed with season. The observed species preferences for parts of a tree crown near or distant from the main trunk are discussed with reference to their known biologies. 4. No pronounced pattern of preference for north‐ or south‐facing aspects of trees in closed canopy woodland was observed, however populations of some species exhibited patterns of within‐tree distribution that correlate with compass angle; for one species, the ladybird Adalia decempunctata, this distribution changed with season and between colour morphs.     

Concordant phylogeography and cryptic speciation in two Western Palaearctic oak gall parasitoid species complexes

Little is known about the evolutionary history of most complex multi‐trophic insect communities. Widespread species from different trophic levels might evolve in parallel, showing similar spatial patterns and either congruent temporal patterns (Contemporary Host‐tracking) or later divergence in higher trophic levels (Delayed Host‐tracking). Alternatively, host shifts by natural enemies among communities centred on different host resources could disrupt any common community phylogeographic pattern. We examined these alternative models using two Megastigmus parasitoid morphospecies associated with oak cynipid galls sampled throughout their Western Palaearctic distributions. Based on existing host cynipid data, a parallel evolution model predicts that eastern regions of the Western Palaearctic should contain ancestral populations with range expansions across Europe about 1.6 million years ago and deeper species‐level divergence at both 8–9 and 4–5 million years ago. Sequence data from mitochondrial cytochrome b and multiple nuclear genes showed similar phylogenetic patterns and revealed cryptic genetic species within both morphospecies, indicating greater diversity in these communities than previously thought. Phylogeographic divergence was apparent in most cryptic species between relatively stable, diverse, putatively ancestral populations in Asia Minor and the Middle East, and genetically depauperate, rapidly expanding populations in Europe, paralleling patterns in host gallwasp species. Mitochondrial and nuclear data also suggested that Europe may have been colonized multiple times from eastern source populations since the late Miocene. Temporal patterns of lineage divergence were congruent within and across trophic levels, supporting the Contemporary Host‐tracking Hypothesis for community evolution.     

Changes in Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana Dougl. ex Hook.) following release from overtopping conifers

Oregon white oak or Garry oak (Quercus garryana Dougl. ex Hook.) is a shade-intolerant, deciduous species that has been overtopped by conifers during the past century in parts of its range due to an altered disturbance regime. We examined the response of suppressed Oregon white oak trees in western Washington, USA, to three levels of release from overtopping Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii [Mirb.] Franco). We treated individual oak trees with either full release from competition, partial (“half”) release from competition, or a stand-level thinning of Douglas-fir not directed toward release (control). Five years after treatment, oak trees had suffered no mortality or windthrow. Stem diameter growth was 194% greater in the full-release treatment relative to the control. Acorn production varied widely by year, but in years of higher production, acorn production was significantly greater in both release treatments than in the control. Frequency of epicormic branch formation was significantly increased for years 1 and 2 by the full release; the greatest response occurred between 2 and 6 m above ground level. The greatest number of epicormic branches formed on trees on which the majority of original limbs had died back prior to treatment. Trees with relatively less crown dieback at the time of treatment generally had greater stem growth and acorn production responses to release treatments. Our findings indicate that these released Oregon white oak trees are beginning to recover after an extended period of suppression.     

Testing the effect of restoration‐focused silviculture on oak regeneration and groundlayer plant communities in urban–exurban oak woodlands

Throughout their global range, oak‐dominated ecosystems have undergone state changes in stand structure and composition. Land managers face an especially acute challenge in restoring oak ecosystems and promoting oak regeneration in urban–exurban areas, where high‐intensity silvicultural treatments are often not feasible. To investigate low‐intensity management alternatives which could be widely applied in urban–exurban forests, a large‐scale adaptive management experiment was implemented in Lake County, IL, in 2012. Five canopy manipulation treatments of varying intensity, timing, and spatial aggregation were replicated across three study areas and oak seedlings were under‐planted into treatment units following management. Responses of understory light environment, shrub and groundlayer plant communities, and survival and growth of underplanted oak seedlings were evaluated. Understory light availability, canopy openness, total groundlayer plant cover, and groundlayer species diversity all differed among treatments. However, although understory light availability was significantly increased by canopy manipulation, groundlayer communities and oak seedling survival and growth did not differ among treatments. High overall seedling survival rates suggest current conditions are amenable to oak regeneration, but long‐term monitoring will be needed to assess the potential for seedlings to transition to the sapling and canopy layers. Early results demonstrate that canopy‐focused silvicultural treatments can affect the understory light environment and, to some degree, groundlayer plant communities. However, underplanting of oak seedlings paired with subcanopy thinning may be sufficient to restore an oak seedling layer, and (when necessary or preferred) canopy manipulation could potentially be deferred until later in the restoration timeline to promote oak recruitment.     

In situ estimation of net CO2 assimilation, photosynthetic electron flow and photorespiration in Turkey oak (Q. cerris L.) leaves: diurnal cycles under different levels of water supply

Diurnal time courses of net CO₂ assimilation rates, stomatal conductance and light-driven electron fluxes were measured in situ on attached leaves of 30-year-old Turkey oak trees (Quercus cerris L.) under natural summer conditions in central Italy. Combined measurements of gas exchange and chlorophyll a fluorescence under low O₂ concentrations allowed the demonstration of a linear relationship between the photochemical efficiency of PSII (fluorescence measurements) and the apparent quantum yield of gross photosynthesis (gas exchange). This relationship was used under normal O₂ to compute total light-driven electron fluxes, and to partition them into fractions used for RuBP carboxylation or RuBP oxygenation. This procedure also yielded an indirect estimate of the rate of photorespiration in vivo. The time courses of light-driven electron flow, net CO₂ assimilation and photorespiration paralleled that of photosynthetic photon flux density, with important afternoon deviations as soon as a severe drought stress occurred, whereas photochemical efficiency and maximal fluorescence underwent large but reversible diurnal decreases. The latter observation indicated the occurrence of a large non-photochemical energy dissipation at PSII. We estimated that less than 60% of the total photosynthetic electron flow was used for carbon assimilation at midday, while about 40% was devoted to photorespiration. The rate of carbon loss by photorespiration (R₁) reached mean levels of 56% of net assimilation rates. The potential application of this technique to analysis of the relative contributions of thermal de-excitation at PSII and photorespiratory carbon recycling in the protection of photosynthesis against stress effects is discussed.