From aquatic science to ecosystem health: a philosophical perspective

The development of an ecosystem (social, economic, environmental) approach to water management is traced from its origins in the Great Lakes of North America. The focus on health and integrity of ecosystems is an outgrowth of the Lamarckian concept of The Biosphere as a global system of matter, life, and mind. The driving forces behind the development of an ecosystem approach have been negative feedback from excessive demotechnic growth and faith that we can maintain a healthy relationship with Mother Earth.     

Assessing avian diversity and community composition along a successional gradient in traditional Lacandon Maya agroforests

Evidence regarding the ability of agroforests to conserve biological diversity has been mixed; they tend to maintain avian communities with species richness similar to that of undisturbed forest ecosystems but generally do not completely preserve community composition. Using a combination of occupancy modeling and non-metric multidimensional scaling on point-count data, we assessed changes in avian community diversity and composition along a successional gradient in traditional Lacandon Maya agroforests and compared them to protected areas in the region. Bird species richness and diversity in Lacandon agroforests peaked in early secondary forest stages. These agroforests' mean Shannon–Weiner diversity was 5% higher than that of nearby protected areas, but their species richness was similar. Community composition in Lacandon agroforests changed throughout succession, with earlier stages supporting communities distinctly characterized by generalist species, while subsequent, less-intensively managed stages tended to support more forest-dwellers. The bird community observed in even the most mature secondary forest stages in Lacandon agroforests differed from that of undisturbed rain forest ecosystems. These results demonstrate the potential of traditional Lacandon agroforestry management to conserve avian biodiversity while ensuring food sovereignty for farmers. However, because the community composition of early-successional stages was different than later stages, shortening fallow cycles and reducing forest cover to increase agricultural production will limit the species this system can support. This study illustrates the value of incorporating traditional agroecosystems into conservation planning as well as maintaining protected areas, because the latter serve as refugia for species that require undisturbed forest habitat in an agroecological matrix.     

Evidence supporting a biological role for aluminum in chromatin compaction and epigenetics

Averaging 8.1% (w/w) of the earth's crust, aluminum is the most highly abundant metal in our biosphere, yet has long been thought to serve no essential biological function. In aqueous solutions, aluminum salts and hydroxides are exceptionally potent aggregators of biological molecules, often coalescing molecular species to the point that they precipitate out of solution. A biological function for aluminum is proposed in which this abundant, high charge density metal cation has a significant role in biomolecular compaction. Sometimes, molecules ectopically aggregated by aluminum are associated with pathological conditions. The data further suggests that a specific consequence of ‘aluminum biocompaction’ may be particularly important in the condensation of A + T-rich chromatin domains, and in silencing the expression of specific kinds of genetic information.     

广东鼎湖山自然保护区森林景观的动态模拟研究

在遥感和GIS系统支持下,以1991年和1999年两个时期的Landsat-TM合成影像为基础,利用马尔科夫模型,模拟鼎湖山自然保护区森林景观的动态演变。结果表明:常绿阔叶林面积增加,除水域外,其它面积相应减少,到达稳定期,区域内大多为常绿阔叶林,少量的混交林,其它类型几乎消失。这个趋势是和该地区森林的演替规律相符的,但是这种结果对维持保护区内的景观多样性是不利的。     

Do vine species in neotropical forests see the forest or the trees?

Questions: Is the occurrence of vine species in neotropical rain forests primarily determined by properties of the forest (environmental factors), by properties of the trees (tree species or tree size) or are vines randomly distributed? Location: Maya Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala. Methods: In five 1‐ha plots that span variation from unlogged forest to forest impacted by recurrent human disturbance we recorded the presence of all climbing vine species on every tree. The presence of all free standing vine species and 11 environmental variables were recorded in 100‐m² subplots. The relationship of host tree diameter and host tree identity on single tree vine species richness was investigated by GLM modelling. Partial redundancy analyses were used to partition the variation in vine species composition on two sources: environmental factors and tree species identity. Results: Single tree vine richness increased with increasing host tree DBH and differed significantly among host species. For climbing vines, the ratio of variation in subplot presence explained by tree species and by environmental variables was ca. 4:1 (in the most disturbed logged plots slightly lower), for free standing vines this ratio varied from 1:2 in the most disturbed logged plots to 9:1 in reserve plots, while a ratio of ca. 1:1 was found for all plots analysed together. Conclusion: Different tree species have different probabilities of being infested by vines. Vines see both the forest and the trees; the environment is more important in earlier developmental stages, properties of individual trees become more important from the time vines start to climb.     

Spatial and size-frequency distribution of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Acropora</Emphasis> (Cnidaria: Scleractinia) species in Chinchorro Bank,Mexican Caribbean: implications for management

The Mexican Government decreed Chinchorro Bank reef as a Biosphere Reserve in 1996. The aim of this study was to evaluate the spatial and size-frequency distribution of Acropora spp. in order to provide further knowledge and tools to enhance management. A field survey was conducted, within six regions, to locate and measure Acropora patches in the reef lagoon. Density, colony size and living tissue cover of Acropora colonies were evaluated using the line-intercept transect technique, combining direct observations and video transects. The results showed that Acropora spp. was preferentially distributed in the southern regions; where cover and density were high. Based on these results and considering that Acropora spp. produces landscape heterogeneity, which in turn generates shelter for other species, including some of considerable economic importance, then at least the South East region should be considered as a key area for Acropora species conservation, and should be included in the Chinchorro Bank management plan.     

The effect of frugivory on postdispersal seed removal and germination in the pantropical forest tree Antiaris toxicaria Leschenault

The quality of seed treatment by frugivores has an effect on seed removal after dispersal, seed germination and tree recruitment. We provide information on postdispersal seed removal, germination and subsequent recruitment in tropical forest tree species Antiaris toxicaria in Ghana. We tested whether postdispersal seed removal and germination rates were differentially affected by the following seed treatments: seeds that were spat out by monkeys with all fruit pulp removed and spitting seeds with fruit pulp partially removed as observed in some birds and bats. We used seeds of intact ripened fruits as control. Frugivore seed treatment and distance from bole affected seed removal patterns, whereas intact seeds were significantly removed from all seed stations. The germination success was greater for seeds that were spat out by monkeys and poor for seeds with fruit pulp partially removed and intact fruits. More recruits were recorded at the edge of the adult A. toxicaria canopy radius. There was weak relationship (r² = 0.042) between the number of recruits and distance away from the adult tree. Results suggest that the subsequent recruitment in tropical forest tree species may be enhanced by some frugivore fruit‐handling behaviour where fruit pulp is removed from the seeds without destroying the seeds.     

EFFECTS OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES ON STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION OF WOODY SPECIES OF THE NOKREK BIOSPHERE RESERVE OF MEGHALAYA,NORTHEAST INDIA

Aims Our study was conducted in the Nokrek Biosphere Reserve (NBR) in the Garo hills districts of Meghalaya, Northeast India. Our aim was to assess the effects of human activities on plant diversity,population structure and regeneration.Methods We selected a representative 1.2 hm2 stand in both the core and buffer zones of NBR. Structure and composition were determined by randomly sampling square quadrats, population structure was assessed by determining age structure, and regeneration was assessed by measuring densities of seedling, sapling and adult trees.Important findings More woody species were recorded from the core zone than the buffer zone (87 vs. 81 species), and there were a large number of tropical, temperate, and Sino-Himalayan, Burma-Malaysian and Malayan elements, primitive families and primitive genera. The trees were distributed in three distinct strata,canopy, subcanopy and sapling. Subcanopy and sapling layers had the highest species richness (81％ -88％ ). Lauraceae and Euphorbiaceae were the dominant families in terms of the number of species, and a large number of families were represented by single species. Most woody species (57 ％ - 79 ％ ) were contagiously distributed and had low frequency ( ＜ 20％ ). Although stand density was high in the buffer zone, its basal area was low compared to the stand in the core zone. Low similarity and high β-diversity indicate marked differences in species composition of the stands. Shannon diversity index was high in both the stands, while Simpson dominance index was low. The diameter-class distribution for dominant species revealed that the most had a large number of young individuals in their populations. Preponderance of tree seedlings, followed by a steep decline in population density of saplings and adult trees, indicated that the seedling to sapling stage was the most critical in the life cycle of the tree populations. Most species (42 ％ - 48 ％ ) had no regeneration,25 ％ - 35 ％ had good/fair regeneration, and the rest had poor regeneration or reoccurred as immigrants.     

鼎湖山土壤有机质δ13C时空分异机制

根据鼎湖山若干海拔部位土壤剖面薄层取样样品有机质含量、¹⁴C测年及δ¹³C结果,研究土壤有机质δ¹³C时空分异机制.结果表明,不同海拔土壤剖面有机质δ¹³C深度特征受控于剖面发育进程,与有机质组成及其分解过程密切相关.植被枯落物成为表土层有机质以及表土层被埋藏后的有机质更新过程,均存在碳同位素分馏效应,有机质δ¹³C显著增大.相对于地表植被枯落物δ¹³C,表土层有机质δ¹³C增幅取决于表土有机质更新速率.表土有机质δ¹³C与植被枯落物δ¹³C均随海拔升高而增大,说明植被构成随海拔升高呈规律性变化.这与鼎湖山植被的垂直分布一致.不同海拔土壤剖面有机质δ¹³C深度特征类似,有机质含量深度特征一致,有机质¹⁴C表观年龄自上向下增加.这是剖面发育过程中有机质不断更新的结果.土壤剖面有机质δ¹³C最大值深度与¹⁴C弹穿透深度的成因和大小不同,均反映地貌与地表植被对有机碳同位素深度分布的控制.