Alternative management on fens: Response of vegetation to grazing and mowing

Abstract. The impact of cattle grazing on the vegetation of calcareous fens was compared to the effects of traditional autumn mowing in southern Germany. Vegetation composition was studied in adjacent pairs of fen meadows and pastures with similar environmental conditions and biomass production. Vegetation data were analysed with respect to species richness, species composition and response of species traits to disturbance, including morphology, defence mechanisms, clonal growth form and generative reproduction. Species richness was significantly reduced by grazing, but the percentage of typical fen species or Red Data Book species was not affected by land use type. Detrended Corrspondence Analysis indicated that species composition could best be explained in terms of a land use gradient. Species traits showed a clear trend in their response to land use type. Grazing favoured grasses and small forbs. Only a few species with defence mechanisms against foraging were more frequent or abundant on pastures. Many other species with defence mechanisms, however, did not have an advantage on pastures. Flowering and seed dispersal traits did not respond significantly to grazing or mowing. Species with fast spreading stem derived clonal organs were favoured on pastures, whereas all other clonal growth forms and, particularly, non‐clonal species were more abundant on meadows. More indicator species of wet soil conditions and species adapted to flooding were found on pastures. Grazing can be recommended as an alternative land use to mowing in contrast to abandonment, but a reduction in species richness and changes in species composition and species traits may occur.     

沼肥与化肥在大白菜、花椰菜上的应用效果比较研究

以大白菜、花椰菜为试材 ,研究了沼肥、化肥两种肥料在高量、中量、低量 3个施用水平下的施用效果。结果表明 ,从株高指标上看 ,大白菜施沼肥以低量为佳 ,花椰菜以高量为好 ;从开展度指标上看 ,大白菜、花椰菜施沼肥均以低量为好 ;从单球净重上看 ,两种蔬菜均以施沼肥中量利于提高单球净重 ;从提高净菜率来看 ,大白菜以沼肥中量处理为好 ,花椰菜以沼肥高量处理为佳 ;从两种蔬菜的产量来看 ,施沼肥处理均显著高于施化肥处理 ,其中沼肥高量与沼肥中量处理之间无显著差异 ,而它们与沼肥低量处理之间存在显著差异 ;大白菜中的总糖含量以沼肥低量处理为最高 ,而花椰菜则以沼肥中量处理最高 ;两种蔬菜中的Vc含量均以化肥高量处理为最高 ;从两种蔬菜收获时霜霉病的发病情况来看 ,均以沼肥中量处理发病最轻。施用沼肥利于改善土壤理化性状 ,利于大白菜、花椰菜对土壤中营养元素的吸收 ,从而致使土壤中营养元素的积累量减少。     

Ten polymorphic microsatellite DNA loci for paternity and population genetics analysis in the fen raft spider (Dolomedes plantarius)

Ten polymorphic di‐ and trinucleotide microsatellite loci were developed in the fen raft spider Dolomedes plantarius from a partial phagemid genomic library enriched for microsatellite inserts. The expected heterozygosity at these loci ranges from 0.62 to 0.9, with the observed allele numbers varying from four to 15 in the 22 individuals tested. Average paternity exclusion probabilities ranged between 0.290 and 0.686. In combination, the 10 polymorphic loci elicit an exclusion probability of 0.999. The high level of polymorphism of these microsatellite loci makes them ideal genetic markers for paternity and population genetics analysis in this endangered species.     

Whither the ‘socially isolated’ city?

This article analyses William J. Wilson’s use of the concept of social isolation in studying the urban poor. It traces the origins of Wilson’s use of the concept in human ecology, focusing upon critical aspects of the ‘socially isolated’ city and its influence upon ethnographies of the urban poor. His particular focus is upon the interaction of the poor with the mainstream. While Wilson places considerable emphasis upon the role of the state, those appropriating his concept have not adequately incorporated government institutions and discourse into their analyses of culture and practice.     

Hydroperoxy fatty acid formation in selenium deficient rat platelets: coupling of glutathione peroxidase to the lipoxygenase pathway

After incubation with [1-14C]-arachidonic acid, washed platelets from selenium deficient rats produced a sevenfold greater amount of 12-hydroperoxytetraenoic acid than platelets from control animals. When stimulated with either arachidonic acid or t-butyl-hydroperoxide, antimycin-A1 treated platelets from the deficient rats also converted markedly lower amounts of [1-14C]-glucose to [14C]-CO2 than platelets from control rats. These results indicate a significant role for platelet selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase in the enzymatic reduction of platelet-produced hydroperoxides.     

Spatial and temporal patterns in the hydrogeochemistry of a poor fen in northern Wisconsin

We studied the factors causing spatial and temporal patterning of interstitial water chemistry in Crystal Bog, a 7 ha northern Wisconsin kettle-hole peatland. Over the course of the snow-free season Crystal Bog exhibited spatial and temporal patterns in chemistry, especially hydrogen-ion, dissolved organic carbon, and specific conductance. The peatland contains a 0.5 ha pond that has water more dilute than the interstitial water of the surrounding peatland. The direction of groundwater flow between the lake and the peatland was seasonally dependent. In the spring and early summer, flow was from the lake into the peatland, especially on the eastern side of the lake. This flow resulted in a plume of relatively dilute surface interstitial water in the peatland. In mid and late summer direction of groundwater flow was from the peatland into the lake and the dilute plume was reduced in areal extent. By fall the direction of water flow was again from the lake to the peatland.The spatial and temporal heterogeneity in water chemistry produced by the seasonal variation in the direction of horizontal water flow was substantial. Minimum and maximum observed concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the interstitial water of the peatland, for example, differed by more than a factor of three, and pH ranged between 3.8 and 5.0. Correlations of DOC with anion deficit and hydrogen ion concentration and experiments of photo-oxidation of water samples showed that organic acids were the primary cause of acidity in the peatland. Specific conductance was highly correlated with DOC, probably because of DOC's correlation with the very conductive hydrogen ion. In Crystal Bog it was possible to use the relatively simple measure of specific conductance to estimate the temporal and spatial distribution of the more difficult to determine DOC.     

Methane emissions from fen,bog and swamp peatlands in Quebec

A static chamber technique was used weekly from spring thaw to winter freezing to measure methane emissions from 10 sites representing subarctic fens and temperate swamps and bogs. Rates of < 200 mg CH₄ m^–2 d^–1 were recorded in subarctic fens: within-site emissions were primarily controlled by the evolution of the peat thermal regime, though significant releases during spring thaw were recorded at some sites. Between subarctic fens, topography and water table elevation were important controls on methane emissions, with the general sequence: pool = horizontal fen> string. Emission rates from the 2 swamp sites were lower (< 20 mg CH₄ m^–2 d^–1 ), except during the spring thaw and when the sites were saturated. The low water table ( < 80 cm depth) in abnormally dry years reduced emission rates; rates were also low from a swamp site which had been drained and cleared of vegetation for horticulture. Methane emission rates were also low (< 5 mg CH₄ m^–2 d^–1) from 2 ombrotrophic bog sites. Laboratory measurements of rates of methane production under anaerobic conditions and methane consumption under aerobic conditions revealed that production rates were generally highest in the surface layers (0 to 2.5 cm depth); production was high in the fens and very low in the bogs. The swamp samples were able to produce methane under anaerobic conditions, but were also able to consume methane under aerobic conditions. Annual methane emission rates are estimated to be 1 to 10 g CH₄ m^–2 from the fens, 1 to 4 g CH4 m^–2 from the swamps and <0.2 g CH₄ m^–2 from the bogs and drained swamp.     

Corresponding Caricion bicolori-atrofuscae communities in western Greenland,northern Europe and the central European mountains

The alliance Caricion bicolori-atrofuscae comprises plant communities of more or less wet calcareous fens on shallow peat with a high base saturation, occurring in arctic as well as alpine, more seldom subalpine areas. The characteristic species are presented and compared with those from communities of the Caricion lavallianae growing in lowland and mountain sites of temperate and boreal calcareous fens.An abbreviated ecological characteristic is given and the contact communities of the different community complexes are pointed out. The regional floristic differences within the communities are shown, and the geographical distribution and regional frequency of the differentiated associations are given. The synsystematic ranks of three central European mountain to alpine associations are discussed in detail (Caricetum frigidae, Juncetum alpini, Equiseto-Typhetum minimi). They should be excluded from this alliance.Generally, the alpine phytocoenoses are more often invaded by species from neighbouring communities, presumably as an effect of competition in sites less favouring fen development in comparison to the oro-arctic and arctic sites, especially those with an oceanic to suboceanic climate.We conclude, that the observed floristic differences are mainly caused by historical processes and not by the different ecology of the sites in question. This must be taken into consideration when discussing the synsystematic delimitation and rank of the corresponding communities.Nomenclature follows: Lid (1974), Nyholm (1954–68). Acknowledgement. The authors are grateful to the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft for travel grants since 1973 for their investigations in Scandinavia and Greenland.     

Partitioning of the net CO2 exchange using an automated chamber system reveals plant phenology as key control of production and respiration fluxes in a boreal peatland

The net ecosystem CO₂ exchange (NEE) drives the carbon (C) sink–source strength of northern peatlands. Since NEE represents a balance between various production and respiration fluxes, accurate predictions of its response to global changes require an in depth understanding of these underlying processes. Currently, however, detailed information of the temporal dynamics as well as the separate biotic and abiotic controls of the NEE component fluxes is lacking in peatland ecosystems. In this study, we address this knowledge gap by using an automated chamber system established across natural and trenching/vegetation removal plots to partition NEE into its production (i.e., gross and net primary production; GPP and NPP) and respiration (i.e., ecosystem, heterotrophic and autotrophic respiration; ER, Rh and Ra) fluxes in a boreal peatland in northern Sweden. Our results showed that daily NEE patterns were driven by GPP while variations in ER were governed by Ra rather than Rh. Moreover, we observed pronounced seasonal shifts in the Ra/Rh and above/belowground NPP ratios throughout the main phenological phases. Generalized linear model analysis revealed that the greenness index derived from digital images (as a proxy for plant phenology) was the strongest control of NEE, GPP and NPP while explaining considerable fractions also in the variations of ER and Ra. In addition, our data exposed greater temperature sensitivity of NPP compared to Rh resulting in enhanced C sequestration with increasing temperature. Overall, our study suggests that the temporal patterns in NEE and its component fluxes are tightly coupled to vegetation dynamics in boreal peatlands and thus challenges previous studies that commonly identify abiotic factors as key drivers. These findings further emphasize the need for integrating detailed information on plant phenology into process‐based models to improve predictions of global change impacts on the peatland C cycle.     

Nightjars may adjust breeding phenology to compensate for mismatches between moths and moonlight

Phenology match–mismatch usually refers to the extent of an organism's ability to match reproduction with peaks in food availability, but when mismatch occurs, it may indicate a response to another selective pressure. We assess the value of matching reproductive timing to multiple selective pressures for a migratory lunarphilic aerial insectivore bird, the whip‐poor‐will (Antrostomus vociferus). We hypothesize that a whip‐poor‐will's response to shifts in local phenology may be constrained by long annual migrations and a foraging mode that is dependent on both benign weather and the availability of moonlight. To test this, we monitored daily nest survival and overall reproductive success relative to food availability and moon phase in the northern part of whip‐poor‐will's breeding range. We found that moth abundance, and potentially temperature and moonlight, may all have a positive influence on daily chick survival rates and that the lowest chick survival rates for the period between hatching and fledging occurred when hatch was mismatched with both moths and moonlight. However, rather than breeding too late for peak moth abundance, the average first brood hatch date actually preceded the peak moth abundance and occurred during a period with slightly higher available moonlight than the period of peak food abundance. As a result, a low individual survival rate was partially compensated for by initiating more nesting attempts. This suggests that nightjars were able to adjust their breeding phenology in such a way that the costs of mismatch with food supply were at least partially balanced by a longer breeding season.