荒漠草原生态恢复与重建：人工植被推动下水分介导的系统响应、生态阈值与互馈作用

荒漠草原(生态区)横贯我国西北地区东部,生态地位十分重要。近二十年来,通过封育禁牧、退耕还林(草),植被覆盖显著改善,但是生态系统质量和稳定性依然不高。由于长期将荒漠草原单纯视作草原的一部分,对其生态系统过渡性、脆弱性和复杂性本质特征认识不足,造成了荒漠草原生态学研究与区域生态建设实践之间不同程度的脱节。在分析荒漠草原生态区未来在我国生态安全格局中突出的但是被一定程度上忽视的地位的基础上,进一步归纳了荒漠草原生态系统的一般特征,指出了生态恢复与重建研究中存在的主要问题。进而以人工植被引入荒漠草原生态工程为案例,分析了人工植被驱动荒漠草原生态恢复与重建的过程与机制,归纳了“植被-水文-土壤”互馈作用驱动生态系统层级响应模式,并展望了今后的发展趋势与研究方向。     

The role of non-natural foods in the nutritional strategies of monkeys in a human-modified mosaic landscape

Many tropical animals inhabit mosaic landscapes including human-modified habitat. In such landscapes, animals commonly adjust feeding behavior, and may incorporate non-natural foods. These behavioral shifts can influence consumers' nutritional states, with implications for population persistence. However, few studies have addressed the nutritional role of non-natural food. We examined nutritional ecology of wild blue monkeys to understand how dietary habits related to non-natural foods might support population persistence in a mosaic landscape. We documented prevalence and nutritional composition of non-natural foods in monkey diets to assess how habitat use influenced their consumption, and their contribution to nutritional strategies. While most energy and macronutrients came from natural foods, subjects focused non-natural feeding activity on five exotic plants, and averaged about a third of daily calories from non-natural foods. Most non-natural food calories came from non-structural carbohydrates and least from protein. Consumption of non-natural foods related to time in human-modified habitats, which two groups used non-randomly. Non-natural and natural foods were similar in nutrients, and the amount of non-natural food consumed drove variation in nutritional strategy. When more daily calories came from non-natural foods, females consumed a higher ratio of non-protein energy to protein (NPE:P). Females also prioritized protein while allowing NPE:P to vary, increasing NPE while capitalizing on non-natural foods. Overall, these tropical mammals achieved a similar nutrient balance regardless of their intake of non-natural foods. Forest and forest-adjacent areas with non-natural vegetation may provide adequate nutrient access for consumers, and thus contribute to wildlife conservation in mosaic tropical landscapes.     

Mapping and monitoring tick (Acari,Ixodida) distribution,seasonality, and host associations in the United Kingdom between 2017 and 2020

Tick-borne disease risk is intrinsically linked to the distribution of tick vector species. To assess risk and anticipate disease emergence, an understanding of tick distribution, host associations, and seasonality is needed. This can be achieved, to some extent, using passive surveillance supported by engagement with the public, animal health, and public health experts. The Tick Surveillance Scheme (TSS) collects data and maps tick distribution across the United Kingdom (UK). Between 2017 and 2020, 3720 tick records were received and 39 tick species were detected. Most records were acquired in the UK, with a subset associated with recent overseas travel. The dominant UK acquired species was Ixodes ricinus (Ixodida: Ixodidae, Linnaeus), the main vector of Lyme borreliosis. Records peaked during May and June, highlighting a key risk period for tick bites. Other key UK species were detected, including Dermacentor reticulatus (Ixodida: Ixodidae, Fabricius) and Haemaphysalis punctata (Ixodida: Ixodidae, Canestrini & Fanzago) as well as several rarer species that may present novel tick-borne disease risk to humans and other animals. Updated tick distribution maps highlight areas in the UK where tick exposure has occurred. There is evidence of increasing human tick exposure over time, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, but seasonal patterns remain unchanged.     

仿脑组织体模研究进展

仿脑组织体模是指可以有效模拟人脑组织形状、性质的等效材料组织或数字模型,可以在实验中代表人脑组织的某些生理特性从而达到特定的研究目标,根据其物理形态,通常可分为固体、液体、数字体模3类。仿脑组织体模具有安全经济,配置简单并且可重复使用的优势,被广泛应用于脑部疾病诊断、系统安全性评估等研究。本文就仿脑组织体模的分类、物理特性和脑科学研究应用3方面进行论述,在阐述当前仿脑组织体模与真实脑组织存在一定性质差异的同时也说明其在替代真实脑组织实验上有良好的应用前景。     

Where to invest in road mitigation? A comparison of multiscale wildlife data to inform roadway prioritization

Roads and associated traffic have significant impacts on wildlife, from direct mortality caused by vehicle collisions to indirect effects when wildlife avoid roads, restricting access to important resources. Road mitigation measures such as constructing wildlife passages over or under the road with directional fencing have proven effective at reducing wildlife vehicle collisions while also enabling wildlife to safely cross the road. Highway mitigation projects are led by transportation agencies with a primary purpose of improving motorist safety. More recently, through the discipline of road ecology, considerations have included safe wildlife passage through transportation corridors. To prioritize road sections for mitigation, data sources include animal vehicle collision data collected by transportation agencies and connectivity models generated by wildlife professionals. We used a third data source, pronghorn observations collected by citizen scientists, and demonstrated its value to prioritize potential wildlife mitigation sites. Our results clearly demonstrate a misalignment of road mitigation sites using animal-vehicle collision data and those of rarer species of interest.     

A Comparison of Remote Sensing and Ground-Based Methods for Monitoring Wetland Restoration Success

Abstract Efficient and accurate vegetation sampling techniques are essential for the assessment of wetland restoration success. Remotely acquired data, used extensively in many locations, have not been widely used to monitor restored wetlands. We compared three different vegetation sampling techniques to determine the accuracy associated with each method when used to determine species composition and cover in restored Pacific coast wetlands dominated by Salicornia virginica (perennial pickleweed). Two ground‐based techniques, using quadrat and line intercept sampling, and a remote sensing technique, using low altitude, high resolution, color and color infrared photographs, were applied to estimate cover in three small restoration sites. The remote technique provided an accurate and efficient means of sampling vegetation cover, but individual species could not be identified, precluding estimates of species density and distribution. Aerial photography was determined to be an effective tool for vegetation monitoring of simple (i.e., single‐species) habitat types or when species identities are not important (e.g., when vegetation is developing on a new restoration site). The efficiency associated with these vegetation sampling techniques was dependent on the scale of the assessment, with aerial photography more efficient than ground‐based sampling methods for assessing large areas. However, the inability of aerial photography to identify individual species, especially mixed‐species stands common in southern California salt marshes, limits its usefulness for monitoring restoration success. A combination of aerial photography and ground‐based methods may be the most effective means of monitoring the success of large wetland restoration projects.     

A dynamic global vegetation model for use with climate models: concepts and description of simulated vegetation dynamics

Changes in vegetation structure and biogeography due to climate change feedback to alter climate by changing fluxes of energy, moisture, and momentum between land and atmosphere. While the current class of land process models used with climate models parameterizes these fluxes in detail, these models prescribe surface vegetation and leaf area from data sets. In this paper, we describe an approach in which ecological concepts from a global vegetation dynamics model are added to the land component of a climate model to grow plants interactively. The vegetation dynamics model is the Lund–Potsdam–Jena (LPJ) dynamic global vegetation model. The land model is the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Land Surface Model (LSM). Vegetation is defined in terms of plant functional types. Each plant functional type is represented by an individual plant with the average biomass, crown area, height, and stem diameter (trees only) of its population, by the number of individuals in the population, and by the fractional cover in the grid cell. Three time‐scales (minutes, days, and years) govern the processes. Energy fluxes, the hydrologic cycle, and carbon assimilation, core processes in LSM, occur at a 20 min time step. Instantaneous net assimilated carbon is accumulated annually to update vegetation once a year. This is carried out with the addition of establishment, resource competition, growth, mortality, and fire parameterizations from LPJ. The leaf area index is updated daily based on prevailing environmental conditions, but the maximum value depends on the annual vegetation dynamics. The coupling approach is successful. The model simulates global biogeography, net primary production, and dynamics of tundra, boreal forest, northern hardwood forest, tropical rainforest, and savanna ecosystems, which are consistent with observations. This suggests that the model can be used with a climate model to study biogeophysical feedbacks in the climate system related to vegetation dynamics.     

Evidence for plant exploitation and vegetation history from three Early Neolithic pre-pottery sites on the Euphrates (Syria)

Archaeobotanical results based on a limited number of samples from three aceramic sites dating from 9800 to 7800 B.P., which are under excavation in the valley of the Middle Euphrates, are discussed. The finds are presented simply by presence, and are compared to the contemporary vegetation and finds from similar sites. Carbonised plant remains recovered by flotation from levels dated to between 9800 and 9200 B.P. (Dja'de and Jerf al Ahmar) indicate that wild cereals (einkorn wheat, rye and barley) and pulses (lentils, pea and bitter vetch) were exploited. Other plants such as wild grasses, Pistacia, wild almond and oak, suggest that the local vegetation provided a rich diversity of resources. A study of possible weed taxa is being carried out in order to see whether this assemblage could be used to identify the cultivation of morphologically wild cereals for this period. Ninth millennium B.P. levels at Halula see the appearance of domestic crops such as emmer, naked wheat and barley, but wild-type cereals persist. The cultivars appear to have been introduced from elsewhere and later ninth millennium B.P. species include olive and flax. Ash, vine, maple, plane, alder and elm from the gallery forest, wild rye, wild einkorn, deciduous oak, wild almond, Pistacia, and Pyrus, from the hinterland, indicate cooler conditions.     

浙江海岛盐生植被研究Ⅱ──天然植被类型及开发利用

天然盐生植被是海岛盐生植被的主体,类型丰富,分布广泛,在海岛植被的研究及开发利用中占据重要地位。目前,天然盐生植被的分类尚无统一标准与系统。本文根据作者1990～1993年在浙江海岛用样方法(Ｈ.ＶｏｎＰｏｓｔ,1851;陈彦卓,1965)测定的样地数据,参照《中国植被》的分类方法,根据群落的外貌与结构、生态地理、动态和种类组成等特征进行分类,其中对群系级单位侧重于种类组成,并采用建群植物的重要值(Ｊ.Ｔ.ＣｕｒｔｉｓａｎｄＲ.Ｐ.ＭｃＩｎｔｏｓｈ,1951)作为分类的定量指标。据此,浙江海岛天然盐生植被可划分为3个植被型、8个群系组、18…