内蒙古典型草原马粪分解特征

2008年6月-2009年9月,采用人工堆置于地表和埋入地下2种处理方法,研究了内蒙古典型草原马粪的分解特征.结果表明:在一块面积约47 hm2草场中,自由放牧100匹纯血马的情况下,马粪月输入量约为48.8 kg·hm-2,年输入量为277.1 kg·hm-2;人为控制的野外分解实验表明,马粪分解中质量损失主要发生在0～60d,损失率为45.0％,之后损失率变化较小;鲜马粪中有机物总量为77.0％,分解60d和330 d减少到48.7％和28.3％;鲜马粪中氮素以有机态为主,矿化和释放速度较慢;而磷素以无机态为主,释放速度较快.马粪埋入地下处理,可以消除风蚀和放牧牲畜践踏对粪块的破碎作用,同时改变了水蚀作用对粪中养分浓度的影响,但对有机质矿化无明显作用.     

Stochastic trajectories of succession initiated by extreme climatic events

Deterministic or rule-based succession is expected under homogeneous biotic and abiotic starting conditions. Effects of extreme climatic events such as drought, however, may alter these assembly rules by adding stochastic elements. We monitored the succession of species composition of 30 twin grassland communities with identical biotic and abiotic starting conditions in an initially sown diversity gradient between 1 and 16 species over 13 years. The stochasticity of succession, measured as the synchrony in the development of the species compositions of the twin plots, was strongly altered by the extreme warm and dry summer of 2003. Moreover, it was independent from past and present plant diversity and neighbourhood species compositions. Extreme climatic events can induce stochastic effects in community development and therefore impair predictability even under homogeneous abiotic conditions. Stochastic events may result in lasting shifts of community composition, as well as adverse and unforeseeable effects on the stability of ecological services.     

Changes in species composition of European acid grasslands observed along a gradient of nitrogen deposition

Question: Which environmental variables affect floristic species composition of acid grasslands in the Atlantic biogeographic region of Europe along a gradient of atmospheric N deposition? Location: Transect across the Atlantic biogeographic region of Europe including Ireland, Great Britain, Isle of Man, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Denmark and Sweden. Materials and Methods: In 153 acid grasslands we assessed plant and bryophyte species composition, soil chemistry (pH, base cations, metals, nitrate and ammonium concentrations, total C and N, and Olsen plant available phosphorus), climatic variables, N deposition and S deposition. Ordination and variation partitioning were used to determine the relative importance of different drivers on the species composition of the studied grasslands. Results: Climate, soil and deposition variables explained 24% of the total variation in species composition. Variance partitioning showed that soil variables explained the most variation in the data set and that climate and geographic variables accounted for slightly less variation. Deposition variables (N and S deposition) explained 9.8% of the variation in the ordination. Species positively associated with N deposition included Holcus mollis and Leontodon hispidus. Species negatively associated with N deposition included Agrostis curtisii, Leontodon autumnalis, Campanula rotundifolia and Hylocomium splendens. Conclusion: Although secondary to climate gradients and soil biogeochemistry, and not as strong as for species richness, the impact of N and S deposition on species composition can be detected in acid grasslands, influencing community composition both directly and indirectly, presumably through soil‐mediated effects.     

Community structure and composition in response to climate change in a temperate steppe

Climate change would have profound influences on community structure and composition, and subsequently has impacts on ecosystem functioning and feedback to climate change. A field experiment with increased temperature and precipitation was conducted to examine effects of experimental warming, increased precipitation and their interactions on community structure and composition in a temperate steppe in northern China since April 2005. Increased precipitation significantly stimulated species richness and coverage of plant community. In contrast, experimental warming markedly reduced species richness of grasses and community coverage. Species richness was positively dependent upon soil moisture (SM) across all treatments and years. Redundancy analysis (RDA) illustrated that SM dominated the response of community composition to climate change at the individual level, suggesting indirect effects of climate change on plant community composition via altering water availability. In addition, species interaction also mediated the responses of functional group coverage to increased precipitation and temperature. Our observations revealed that both abiotic (soil water availability) and biotic (interspecific interactions) factors play important roles in regulating plant community structure and composition in response to climate change in the semiarid steppe. Therefore these factors should be incorporated in model predicting terrestrial vegetation dynamics under climate change.     

Methane emissions from sheep pasture,measured with an open‐path eddy covariance system

Methane (CH₄) is an important greenhouse gas, contributing 0.4–0.5 W m^?2 to global warming. Methane emissions originate from several sources, including wetlands, rice paddies, termites and ruminating animals. Previous measurements of methane flux from farm animals have been carried out on animals in unnatural conditions, in laboratory chambers or fitted with cumbersome masks. This study introduces eddy covariance measurements of CH₄, using the newly developed LI‐COR LI‐7700 open‐path methane analyser, to measure field‐scale fluxes from sheep grazing freely on pasture. Under summer conditions, fluxes of methane in the morning averaged 30 nmol m^?2 s^?1, whereas those in the afternoon were above 100 nmol m^?2 s^?1, and were roughly two orders of magnitude larger than the small methane emissions from the soil. Methane emissions showed no clear relationship with air temperature or photosynthetically active radiation, but some diurnal pattern was apparent, probably linked to sheep grazing behaviour and metabolism. Over the measurement period (days 60–277, year 2010), cumulative methane fluxes were 0.34 mol CH₄ m^?2, equating to 134.3 g CO₂ equivalents m^?2. By comparison, a carbon dioxide (CO₂) sink of 819 g CO₂ equivalents m^?2 was measured over the same period, but it is likely that much of this would be released back to the atmosphere during the winter or as off‐site losses (through microbial and animal respiration). By dividing methane fluxes by the number of sheep in the field each day, we calculated CH₄ emissions per head of livestock as 7.4 kg CH₄ sheep^?1 yr^?1, close to the published IPCC emission factor of 8 kg CH₄ sheep^?1 yr^?1.     

Identification and siting of native vegetation types on disturbed land: demonstration of statistical methods

Question: How does one best choose native vegetation types and site them in reclamation of disturbed sites ranging from cropland and strip mines? Application: World‐wide, demonstrated in SE Montana. Methods: We assumed that pre‐disturbance native communities are the best targets for revegetation, and that the environmental facet each occupies naturally provides its optimal habitat. Given this assumption, we used pre‐strip‐mine data (800 points from a 88 km² site) to demonstrate statistical methods for identifying native communities, describing them, and determining their environments. Results and conclusions: Classification and pruning analysis provided an objective method for choosing the number of target community types to be used in reclamation. The composition of eight target types, identified with these analyses, was described with a relevé table to provide a species list, target cover levels and support the choice of species to be seeded. As a basis for siting communities, we modeled community presence as a function of topography, slope/aspect, and substrate. Logistic GLMs identified the optimal environment for each community. Classification and Regression Tree (CART) analysis identified the most probable community in each environmental facet. Topography and slope were generally the best predictors in these models. Because our analyses relate native vegetation to undisturbed environments, our results may apply best to sites with minimal substrate disturbance (i.e. better to abandoned cropland than to strip‐mined sites).     

A proposed framework for determining the environmental impact of replacing agricultural grassland with Miscanthus in Ireland

Energy crops offer an opportunity to substantially increase bioenergy resources which can replace rapidly depleting fossil fuel reserves and mitigate the effect of climate change. Energy crops are typically established within traditional agricultural systems such as tillage land or grassland. Associated land use conversion has environmental implications. The aim of this paper is to propose a framework to examine how such environmental implications can be assessed, based on (a) a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) approach which considers potential impacts at different stages of a plan across a wide range of environmental receptors and (b) a literature review. The example we used was that of Miscanthus replacing grassland farming. This scenario is particularly relevant to Ireland, where over 90% of the agricultural land is permanent pasture, but is also applicable to grassland conversion throughout Europe and the United States. Two consecutive phases of land‐use change were identified for assessment, each with a distinct set of environmental impacts. The first was a transition phase, lasting from initial livestock clearance and grassland ploughing until the Miscanthus crop became established (2–3 years). The second phase was the mature crop phase, lasting up to 25 years. Miscanthus cultivation was more likely to impact negatively on the environment during the transition phase than the mature phase, primarily due to abrupt disturbance and the time required for a new equilibrium to establish. However, a literature review of the impact on the environmental receptors revealed that replacing Irish agricultural grassland with Miscanthus had the potential to improve biodiversity, water, air and soil quality, and climatic factors once the crop became established and reached maturity. In order to confirm these findings an appropriate monitoring programme involving objectives and indicators associated with each environmental receptor would need to be developed.     

Interactions between granivorous and omnivorous ants in a desert grassland: results from a long-term experiment

Abstract.  1. There is growing evidence that granivorous ants compete for seeds in desert ecosystems. But ants that diverge in diet may still interact strongly if existing colonies deter foundress queens. Granivores (seed eaters) and omnivores (ants that scavenge and feed on plant exudates) are common components of desert ecosystems.
2. The results of a 15-year granivore reduction experiment to explore the responses of two common omnivorous ants, Forelius cf pruinosus and Dorymyrmex insana , in a desert grassland were analysed. The food competition hypothesis predicts that granivore removal will have no net effect on omnivores. The spatial competition hypothesis predicts compensatory increases in omnivores on granivore removal plots.
3. A grain-based gut poison significantly reduced the densities of three of the four common granivorous ants. Densities of the large-colony (10⁵-worker) omnivore Forelius did not increase with granivore removal. In contrast, and consistent with the hypothesis of competition for space, densities of the small-colony omnivore (10²−10³ worker) Dorymyrmex increased on granivore removal plots; however, this effect was only observed in years of high Dorymyrmex abundance.     

Disturbances in semi-arid shrubland and arid grassland in the Karoo, South Africa: mammal diggings as germination sites

Mammals (mainly aardvark Orycteropus ufer , porcupine Hystrix austro-africanae , bat-eared fox Otocyon megalotis and Cape fox Vulpes chama ) which excavate holes in hard-capped soils in Karoo shrubland and inter-dune pans create microsites where seeds, detritus and water accumulate, and seeds germinate. Holes with seedlings were significantly deeper (6.7 ± 0.4 cm) than holes without seedlings (4.5 ± 0.3 cm). In open, inter-shrub sites, significantly more seedlings germinated in diggings than on the flat soil surface, but there was no difference in the proportion of seedlings germinating under shrubs and in diggings. In inter-dune pans, 96% of all seedlings found were growing in diggings.

Résumé

Les mammifères (surtout l'oryctérope Orycreropus afer , le porcépic Hystrix austro-ajricanae , l'otocyon Otocyion megalotis , et le renard du Cap Vulpes chama ) qui creusent des trous dans les régions buissonneuses du Karoo et dans les creux entre les dunes créent des microsites où les semences, les déchets et l'eau se rassemblent, et les semences germent. Les trous où elles germent sont significativement plus profonds (6,7 ± 0,4 cm) que ceux où elles ne germent pas (4,5± 0,3 cm). Aux endroits buissonneux ouverts, il pousse plus de jeunes plantes dans des creux qu'à la surface du sol, mais il n'y a pas de différence entre les proportions de celles qui poussent sous les buissons et dans les creux. Dans les creux entre les dunes, 96% des jeunes pousses croissent dans les excavations.     

A trade-off between nitrogen uptake and use increases responsiveness to elevated CO2 in infrequently cut mixed C3 grasses

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the responsiveness of mixed C3 grass species to elevated CO2 is related more to nitrogen uptake or to N-use efficiency. Nitrogen uptake and whole-plant N-use efficiency were investigated with two binary mixtures: Lolium perenne was mixed either with Festuca arundinacea or with Holcus lanatus. The swards were grown on sand with or without CO2 doubling, and subjected to two cutting frequencies. A C20 alcohol was used as a marker to determine species proportion in the total root mass of the mixtures. The mean residence time of N was calculated from that of 15N-labelled fertilizer. Lolium perenne took up significantly more N per unit root mass than its grass competitors, but its N-use efficiency was lower. Elevated CO2 significantly reduced the N uptake of the three grass species. A trade-off between N capture and use was found, as N-use efficiency and N-uptake rate were negatively correlated. A high N-use efficiency, and conversely low N uptake appeared to favour the responsiveness to elevated CO2 of the infrequently cut grasses.