Species diversity and interspecific association in development sequence of Hippophae rhamnoides plantations in the Loess Hilly Region, China

Based on our field investigation, we analyzed the characteristics of species diversity and interspecific association at different development stages of Hippohae rhamnoides plantations. The results show that the species diversities of the shrub layer, grass layer and the whole community of the H. rhamnoides plantations all fluctu-ated in an "S" shape pattern. At different development stages, the species richness and diversity were higher in the grass layer than in the shrub layer. The shrub species diversity was lower on bare land, but increased gradually with development of the community. The shrub evenness index was higher in 13-year forest stand, while the grass diversity index was higher in the 3-year and 25-year plan-tations and lower in the 8-year plantation. The positive and negative absolute values of interspecific association between H. rhamonides and other principal species chan-ged in a parabolic pattern. The significance level and intensity of interspecific association were lower or weaker in thel3-year plantation, indicating that the species sub-stitution rate slowed down, competition became less intense and community composition and its structure reached a relatively stable state. Therefore, to improve the ecological environment, priority should be given to the protection of the H. rhamnoides plantations younger than 13 years, while for those of 25 year plantations, mod-erate thinning should be made to promote their regenera-tion.     

Evaluation of ecosystem services of Chinese pine forests in China

Evaluation of forest ecosystem services is a hot topic,both in China and at abroad,but it has not yet obtained a consistency of evaluation indicator systems and evaluation methods.Under the framework of evaluation criteria to be implemented for forest ecosystem services,years of consecutive observation data from Long Term Ecological Research Stations affiliated to Chinese Forest Ecosystem Research Network(CFERN),forest resource inventory and public data were applied to carry out a detailed and dynamic evaluation on the physical quantity and value of ecosystem services of Chinese pine forests in China.The results showed that the above services had the total value and unit value of 1144.9640 billion(1.1449640×10 12 )RMB and 52.074 thousand RMB per hectare per year,respectively during the 9th Five-year Plan(1996―2000),and of 1190.5461 billion RMB and 52.101 thousand RMB per hectare per year,respectively,during the 10th Five-year Plan(2001―2005).For Chinese pine forests,water conservation was 40.40 hundred million cubic meters annually,soil conservation was 67 million tons and C fixation 9 million tons annually,production of healthful negative ions was 1.96×10 20 , absorption of SO2 was 5.02 hundred million kilograms and dust-catching was 759.10 hundred million kilograms. Among the 15 provinces of China with Chinese pine forests,the biggest beneficiary from ecosystem services was Liaoning Province;while Hunan Province was the smallest beneficiary between the 9th Five-year Plan.     

In vitro trypanocidal activity of the anti-helminthic drug niclosamide

Only a few drugs are available for chemotherapy of African trypanosomiasis and there is an urgent need for the development of new anti-trypanosomal agents. In this study, the anti-helminthic drug niclosamide was tested for its trypanocidal activity in vitro using culture-adapted bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma brucei brucei and Trypanosoma congolense. The concentrations of niclosamide to reduce the growth rate by 50% and to kill all cells were in the low- and mid micromolar ranges for T. b. brucei and T. congolense, respectively. The very low toxicity of niclosamide for mammals makes the compound interesting for drug development for African trypanosomiasis.     

Estimates of economic values for traits of Arabic sheep in village system

A deterministic bio-economic model was used to estimate the economic values of different traits in Arabic sheep native to the Khuzestan province of Iran. In the studied system, variable costs accounted for about 98.5% of the total costs and among variable costs, feed costs had the highest proportion with 70.7%. Revenue sources included meat, wool, and manure, where meat was the most important one and formed 95.5% of total revenues. Economic value for a trait was estimated as the amount of change in the profit of system as its mean increased by one unit, while the means of other traits were constant. The most important trait in this system was litter size, followed by ewe survival, dressing percentage, and wool weight, respectively. Birth weight had a negative economic value but weight at older ages especially weaning weight and 12-month weight had positive economic values. The sensitivity of economic values of traits was investigated by changing feed and non-feed costs, meat and wool prices by ±10%. Results showed that economic values for dressing percentage and wool weight are not sensitive to change in costs. In addition, changes in marketing and management costs had no effect on the economic value for traits related to body weight in different ages. In general, the economic value for traits which showed sensitivity to the changes of costs, except ewe survival, decreased due to an increase in costs. The economic value for all traits, except birth and wool weight, changed because of a change in meat price. Increasing meat price meant a higher economic importance. Among different factors, meat price fluctuations had the most effect on the economic value of traits.     

Pollen productivity estimates and relevant source area of pollen for selected plant taxa in a pasture woodland landscape of the Jura Mountains (Switzerland)

Relevant source area of pollen (RSAP) and pollen productivity for 11 key taxa characteristic of the pasture woodland landscape of the Jura Mountains, Switzerland, were estimated using pollen assemblages from moss polsters at 20 sites. To obtain robust pollen productivity estimates (PPEs), we used vegetation survey data at a fine spatial-resolution (1 × 1 m²) and randomized locations for sampling sites, techniques rarely used in palynology. Three Extended R value (ERV) submodels and three distance-weighting methods for plant abundance calculation were applied. Different combinations of the submodels and distance-weighting methods provide slightly different estimates of RSAP and PPEs. Although ERV submodel 1 using 1/d (d = distance in meters) best fits the dataset, PPE values for heavy pollen types (e.g. Abies) were sensitive to the method used for distance-weighting. Taxon-specific distance-weighting methods, such as Prentice’s model, emphasize the intertaxonomic differences in pollen dispersal and deposition, and are thus theoretically sound. For the dataset obtained in this project, Prentice’s model was more appropriate than other distance-weighting methods to estimate PPEs. Most of the taxa have PPEs equal to (Fagus, Plantago media and Potentilla-type), or higher (Abies, Picea, Rubiaceae and Trollius europaeus) than Poaceae (PPE = 1). Acer, Cyperaceae, and Plantago montana-type are low pollen producers. This set of PPEs will be useful for reconstructing heterogeneous, mountainous pasture woodland landscapes from fossil pollen records. The RSAP for moss polsters in this semi-open landscape region is ca. 300 m.     

The Shapley value of phylogenetic trees

Every weighted tree corresponds naturally to a cooperative game that we call a tree game; it assigns to each subset of leaves the sum of the weights of the minimal subtree spanned by those leaves. In the context of phylogenetic trees, the leaves are species and this assignment captures the diversity present in the coalition of species considered. We consider the Shapley value of tree games and suggest a biological interpretation. We determine the linear transformation M that shows the dependence of the Shapley value on the edge weights of the tree, and we also compute a null space basis of M. Both depend on the split counts of the tree. Finally, we characterize the Shapley value on tree games by four axioms, a counterpart to Shapley’s original theorem on the larger class of cooperative games. We also include a brief discussion of the core of tree games. Research of Francis Edward Su was partially supported by NSF Grants DMS-0301129 and DMS-0701308.     

BioBanking: an environmental scientist’s view of the role of biodiversity banking offsets in conservation

Offsets, first formalised in the United States of America in the 1970s for wetland mitigation, are now widely used globally with the aim to mitigate loss of biodiversity due to development. Embracing biodiversity offsets is one method of governments to meet their commitments under the Millennium Development Goals and the Convention on Biological Diversity. Resource extraction companies see them as a method of gaining access to land, while the community may perceive them as a way of enhancing environmental outcomes. In New South Wales, Australia, BioBanking legislation was introduced in late 2006 with the aim of ‘no net loss’ of biodiversity associated with development, particularly expanding urban and coastal development. The strengths of the legislation are that it aims to enhance threatened species conservation, and raise the profile of conservation of threatened species and habitats. Weaknesses include (1) the narrowness of the definition of biodiversity; (2) the concepts are based on a flawed logic and immature, imprecise and complex science which results in difficulties in determining biodiversity values; (3) likely problems with management and compliance; and (4) an overall lack of resources for implementation and long-term monitoring. It is concluded that the legislation is a concerted effort to deal with biodiversity loss, however, stakeholders have concerns with the process, and it is unworkable with the complexity of such ecosystems (compared for example to carbon credit trading), and underdeveloped disciplines such as restoration biology and ecology. Despite these criticisms, there is a need for all stakeholders to work to improve the outcomes.     

Fertilizing value of broiler litter: effects of drying and pelletizing

The effects of drying and pelletizing on the properties of broiler chicken litter, obtained from a farm in northwest Spain, were investigated. The drying and pelletizing process reduced among-batch variability in dry matter content, electrical conductivity, urea N, and K, S, Na, Fe, Cu and Cd contents, but increased among-batch variability in total N, ammonium N, nitrate N, total P and pH. N form contents in the pelletized product could be estimated with reasonable accuracy on the basis of dry matter content. Cr, Cu and Cd contents were all significantly lower in the dried pelletized product than in fresh litter, whereas Pb content was significantly higher. The dried pelletized product is of course clearly preferable to the fresh product as regards storage and handling, however, our results suggest a need to optimize the production process with the aim of reducing possible contamination during manufacture, and of minimizing variability in N form contents, P content and pH.     

二月兰形态性状的变异分析

二月兰(Orychophragmus violaceus)是集食用、保健、饲用和观赏于一身的优良地被植物。其遗传背景单一、生长周期短,是发展模式植物的优良材料。为了开发其育种价值,我们对二月兰的形态变异式样进行了初步分析。共选取了北京和南京地区的7个居群的34个表型性状进行观测。通过计算分析发现:株高、茎和花序分枝等性状受环境影响较大,因而其分类价值不大;叶形、毛被、叶缘锯齿等性状的变异在居群内是连续的,所以也不是可靠的分类性状;而花部性状的一些变异,包括花瓣的颜色、大小、形态,基本不受环境影响,且这些变异在居群内是不连续的,所以其分类价值相对较高。对17个数值性状的方差分析和多重比较结果表明,在同一年度内,大部分性状在不同地区间差异不显著,在居群间差异极显著;而在不同年度内,居群间差异不显著。最后,对7个居群和30个表型性状进行了数量分类:Q分析表明北京颐和园、南京紫金山山顶公园和南京中山植物园居群比较相似,而北京圆明园、北京海淀区后八家苗圃、南京情侣园和北京天坛公园居群较相似。R分析揭示了二月兰花部、叶部、反映植株毛被和颜色以及表现植株生长量的性状间均具有一定的相关性。这些研究可为种下等级的划分和进一步的遗传研究以及品种培育提供一定的参数资料。     

三江源地区生态系统服务功能与价值评估

采用谢高地分类系统和评估方法分析了三江源地区生态系统结构和服务功能,并对其价值进行了评估.结果表明:三江源地区生态系统服务功能总价值为3 377.1×108yuan·a-1.从生态系统类型来看,湿地、草地、森林、水体、荒漠和农田占其总价值的比例分别为52.91%、21.97%、15.23%、9.17%、0.67%和0.06%.从服务功能类型来看,主要是废物处理、水源涵养、气候调节、土壤形成与保护、生物多样性、娱乐文化、气体调节、原材料和食物生产.,分别占其总价值的23.9%、21.9%、19.1%、10.1%、8.7%、6.6%、6.4%、2.0%和1.3%.说明三江源地区生态系统具有多种服务功能,保护其生态系统结构和功能对中国江河中下游地区生态环境安全和区域可持续发展都具有重要意义.