Strong Genetic Differentiation of Primula sikkimensis in the East Himalaya–Hengduan Mountains

The East Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains region is the center of diversity of the genus Primula, and P. sikkimensis is one of the most common members of the genus in the region. In this study, the genetic diversity and structure of P. sikkimensis populations in China were assessed using inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) and chloroplast microsatellite markers. The 254 individuals analyzed represented 13 populations. High levels of genetic diversity were revealed by ISSR markers. At the species level, the expected heterozygosity and Shannon’s index were 0.4032 and 0.5576, respectively. AMOVA analysis showed that 50.3% of the total genetic diversity was partitioned among populations. Three pairs of chloroplast microsatellite primers tested yielded a total of 12 size variants and 15 chloroplast haplotypes. Strong cpDNA genetic differentiation (G _ST = 0.697) and evidence for phylogeographic structure were detected (N _ST = 0.788, significantly higher than G _ST). Estimated rates of pollen-mediated gene flow are approximately 27% greater than estimated rates of seed-mediated gene flow in P. sikkimensis. Both seed and pollen dispersal, however, are limited, and gene flow among populations appears to be hindered by the patchiness of the species’ habitats and their geographic isolation. These features may have played important roles in shaping the genetic structure of P. sikkimensis. A minimum-spanning tree of chloroplast DNA haplotypes was constructed, and possible glacial refugia of P. sikkimensis were identified.     

秦岭南坡中段种子植物多样性研究

初步调查统计秦岭南坡中段有种子植物 1 55科 ,81 5属 ,约 2 1 84种 ,分别占秦岭总科数的 96.2 7% ,总属数的 80 .69% ,总种数的 63.32 %。其中有国家保护植物 31种 ,中国种子植物特有属 34属。属的地理分布类型多 ,有 1 5个分布型及 2 1个变型 ,其中温带成分和热带成分分别占该区总属数的 30 .66%和 64.79%。科的组成中含 1 0 0种以上的有 3科 ,50～ 1 0 0种的有 7科 ,5～ 2种的有 4 4科 ,含 1种的有 34科。秦岭南坡中段是生物多样性丰富的区域之一。论述了种子植物物种多样性 ,生活型多样性和属的分布区类型的多样性等。同时对该段生物多样性的保护与持续发展对策进行了探讨。     

新疆天山野生果树研究及保护

根据多年调查和初步统计,新疆天山山区的野生果树种类有81种,由于新疆天山野果林生态系统受到人类经济活动的强烈影响,野果林分布范围缩减、面积下降,物种减少,有的濒临灭绝状态,必须引起重视,本研究提出了新疆野生果树资源保护和可持续利用的建议及对策：（1）加强新疆野生果树种质资源的收集和保存;（2）开展资源调查、评价与利用工作,保育和开发利用并重,实现资源的永续利用;（3）应及早建立新疆新源野苹果林自然保护区和霍城大西沟野生樱桃李自然保护区。     

太行山猕猴的食性

猕猴 (Ｍａｃａｃａｍｕｌａｔｔａ)是世界上地理和生态地位分布最广泛的非人灵长类。我国是唯一的地跨热带、亚热带、暖温带均有猕猴分布的国家。直到1987年 ,亚洲最北部的猴群在河北兴隆绝灭以后[12 ] ,自然分布于河南省与山西省交界处的太行山及中条山南段的猕猴就成为亚洲猕猴分布的最北界 ,位于Ｎ35°11'～ 35°17',Ｅ112°0 3'～ 112°33',地处暖温带。经 1981年以来的调查研究发现 ,太行山猕猴在形态、生理、生态等方面与其它地区的猕猴不同 ,是最具研究意义的种群[5] 。猕猴同其它动物一样 ,通过食物与其它动物 ,周围环境及人类物质…     

A new species of Boechera (Brassicaceae) from Utah and Colorado

A new species,Boechera glareosa, is described and a key is provided to separate it from its apparent closest relative,B. gunnisoniana (Rollins) W. A. Weber. Twelve transfers are made fromArabis toBoechera to bring the nomenclature of Rocky Mountain region taxa in line with current DNA data.     

Cytological study of Tibetia (Fabaceae) in the Hengduan Mountains region, China

The Hengduan Mountains comprise one of the world's most important hot spots of biodiversity. Tibetia (Ali) H.P. Tsui (Fabaceae), which has four or five species in two sections, is one of the genera endemic to the region. This paper describes for the first time the karyotype of three of those species. The chromosome counts of all three are 2n = 16. The karyotypes of the species examined contain chromosomes of variable karyotypic symmetry with centromeres at median and submedian positions that correlate with the morphological characteristics of the species. Karyotypic variation at the diploid level appears to be the predominant feature of chromosome evolution in the genus and may provide a clue to the study of evolutionary patterns of plants in this region. Received: June 12, 2001 / Accepted: September 12, 2001     

Winter in the Ouchitas—A severe winter storm signature in Pinus echinata in the Ouachita Mountains of Oklahoma and Arkansas,USA

Each year severe winter storms (≈ice storms) damage trees throughout the southern USA. Arkansas and Oklahoma have a history of severe winter storms. To extend that history back beyond the reach of written records, a distinctive tree ring pattern or signature is needed. Storm-caused breakage, branch loss and bending stress provide that signature. We found a severe storm signature in shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata). We used three published site chronologies, a set of five new site chronologies from a growth-and-yield study conducted by Oklahoma State University and the unpublished Shortleaf Canyon chronology from a master’s thesis at the University of Arkansas. Our method is based on two ring width values for the first and second growing seasons after the storm standardized to the ring widths of the seven growing seasons after the storm. Concordance between storm years predicted by tree ring patterns and actual storm years was tested using Cohen’s Kappa. Concern about confounding of ice storm signals by droughts led us to test concordance between severe storms and drought in July, August and September; results were inconclusive but stand as a warning that these two phenomena cannot be distinguished with certainty in the tree ring record. Damaging severe storms occurred in about 2.8% of all years. Two out of three storms identified as “severe” produced glaze icing.     

Growth response of Abies georgei to climate increases with elevation in the central Hengduan Mountains,southwestern China

Climatic harshness is expected to increase at higher elevations; however, elevational trends of tree radial growth response of high-elevation forests to climate change need to be investigated at different locations because of existing local variability in site-specific climatic conditions. We developed tree-ring width chronologies of Yunnan fir (Abies georgei) along elevation gradients at two sites in the central Hengduan Mountains (HM). High-elevation forests of A. georgei showed growth synchronicity and common growth signals along elevation gradients, indicating a common climatic forcing, although tree radial growth rates decreased with increasing elevation. Radial growth of Yunnan fir showed positive correlations with summer temperatures and February precipitation and moisture availability, but were negatively correlated with spring temperatures. The strongest positive relationship indicated summer (July) mean and minimum temperatures are the most important growth determining climatic factors for tree radial growth in the cold environment of HM, and this relationship revealed a clear elevational trend with stronger correlations at higher altitudes. In contrast, tree radial growth was negatively correlated with June precipitation and moisture availability. The whole study period 1954–2015 was split in two sub-periods of equal length. Comparing the early sub-period (1954–1984) to the later sub-period (1985–2015), tree growth response to the summer temperatures strongly increased, while it became weaker to June precipitation and moisture availability. High-elevation Yunnan fir forests in the HM currently benefit from elevated growing season temperatures under humid summer conditions. However, increasing temperatures may induce drought stress on tree radial growth if the observed decreasing trend in humidity and precipitation continues.