Vegetation recovery after fire in mountain grasslands of Argentina

Fire is a natural disturbance occurring every few years in many grasslands ecosystems. However, since European colonization, fire has been highly reduced or even suppressed in Argentinean grasslands, fostering ignitable material accumulation. This has led to occasional catastrophic controldemanding fire events, extended for larger areas. The aims of this work are to study vegetation recovery and change after a non-natural fire event in mountain grasslands. The study area is located in the Ventania mountain system, mid-eastern Argentina. We studied vegetation recovery after fire(January 2014) in two different communities: grass-steppes(grasslands) and shrub-steppes(open low shrublands). We measured vegetation cover, species richness and bare ground percentage in burned and unburned areas 1, 4, 8, 11 and 23 months after fire. Vegetation surveys were also performed at the end of the growing season(December) 11 and 23 months after fire. Data were analyzed using regression analysis, ANOVA and multivariate analysis(NMS, PERMANOVA). Both communities increased their vegetation cover at the same rate, without differences between burned and unburned areas after two years. Species richness was higher in shrublands and their recovery was alsofaster than in grasslands. Considering functional composition, besides transient changes during the first year after fire, there were no differences in abundance of different functional vegetation groups two years after fire. At the same time, shrublands showed no differences in species composition, while grasslands had a different species composition in burned and unburned plots. Also, burned grassland showed a higher species richness than unburned grassland. Data shown mountain vegetation in Pampas grassland is adapted to fire, recovering cover and richness rapidly after fire and thus reducing soil erosion risks. Vegetation in mountain Pampas seems to be well adapted to fire, but in grasslands species composition has changed due to fire. Nonetheless, these changes seem to be not permanent since prefire species are still present in the area.     

Effects of grazing exclusion on plant productivity and soil carbon,nitrogen storage in alpine meadows in northern Tibet,China

Grazing exclusion is widely adopted in restoring degraded alpine grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. However, its effectiveness remains poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the effects of grazing exclusion on plant productivity, species diversity and soil organic carbon （SOC） and soil total nitrogen （STN） storage along a transect spanning from east to west of alpine meadows in northern Tibet, China. After six years of grazing exclusion, plant cover, aboveground biomass （AGB）, belowground biomass （BGB）, SOC and STN were increased, but species diversity indices declined. The enhancement of AGB and SOC caused by grazing exclusion was correlated positively with mean annual precipitation （MAP）. Grazing exclusion led to remarkable biomass increase of sedge species, especially Kobresia pygmaea, whereas decrease of biomass in forbs and no obvious change in grass, leguminous and noxious species. Root biomass was concentrated in the near surface layer （10 cm） after grazing exclusion. The effects of grazing exclusion on SOC storage were confined to shallow soil layer in sites with lower MAP. It is indicated that grazing exclusion is an effective measure to increase forage production and enhance soil carbon sequestration in the studied region. The effect is more efficient in sites with higher precipitation. However, the results revealed a tradeoff between vegetation restoration and ecological biodiversity. Therefore, carbon pools recover more quickly than plant biodiversity in the alpine meadows. We suggest that grazing exclusion should be combined with other measures to reconcile grassland restoration and biodiversitv conservation.     

Do mowing regimes affect plant and soil biological activity in the mountain meadows of Southern Poland?

The soil biological activity of mountain meadows is a significant factor that determines the health and utility of these regions. The climax stage of this area is forest, but to maintain semi-natural grassland, which is characterised by high biodiversity,low-intensity land use(mowing or grazing) is necessarily required. To understand the effect of various mowing regimes on the soil biological activity and plants, the soil microbial activity(microbial biomass carbon, dehydrogenase activity and number of the cultivable fraction of soil microbial community),annelids community(density and species composition earthworms and enchytraeids) and plant species composition were investigated. The study area was located in the Pieniny National Park in the Carpathian Mountains, in a meadow belonging to the association Dactylis glomerata-Poa trivialis. The investigated variants were divided according to mowing regime:traditional scything – hand mowing(HM), mechanical mowing(MM), or the abandonment of mowing – nonmowing(NM). The microbial activities(expressed by,e.g. microbial biomass carbon and the number of phosphorus bacteria) were affected by the mowing regime. The density of earthworms was higher in the HM and MM than in the NM variants. The largest changes in plant species composition were caused by the abandonment of mowing(NM). The mean number of plant species was positively correlated with soil moisture, earthworm density, and microbial activity(expressed indirectly by dehydrogenases activity). The soil microbial community, such as vegetative bacteria forms and ammonifying bacteria,were positively associated with pH value, and the microbial and total organic carbon content. The results presented here indicate that there is no single form of optimal management for all living organisms.Decisions about mowing regimes, or abandonment of use, should be preceded by multi-aspect studies,including plants and soil biota.     

Herbage Production and Species Richness in Sub-alpine Grasslands of Different Soil Parent Material in Northern Greece

Several abiotic and biotic factors were investigated as possible predictors of local species richness in two sub-alpine grasslands of Jenna and Belles Mountains in Northern Greece.For species richness modelling a hierarchical modelling framework based on generalized additive models was adopted.The two sub-alpine grasslands differed in aspect,altitude and soil parent material（volcanic origin,mostly trachyte,and andesite（TA） for Jenna and metamorphic rocks,mostly gneiss（G） for Belles）.12 fenced squared plots,16 m2 each,were used per grassland,where soil properties,herbage production,species presence and cover of grasses,legumes and forbs were estimated.Mean herbage production was significantly affected by slope and altitude,soil K content and floristic composition as expressed by an ordination axis.Soil p H,floristic composition and average herbage production were significant predictors of forbs and total species richness.For the former,soil N content and for the latter the occurrence of Agrostis capillaris,were also included as significant terms in the predictive model.Thepredictors for grasses species richness were N content,having a positive effect,and average herbage production.In all cases higher species richness was predicted for intermediate values of average herbage production.Differential responses were found between forbs and grasses.The predictors of their species richness were different while for the case of the common predictor（N） the responses of the two groups were also different（grasses species numbers increase and forbs species numbers decreased with increasing N）.Maximum species richness of grasses was observed at relatively low production levels while forbs species richness maximized at relatively high production levels.     

Restoration prospects for Heitutan degraded grassland in the Sanjiangyuan

In many ecosystems ungulates have coexisted with grasslands over long periods of time. However, high densities of grazing animals may change the floristic and structural characteristics of vegetation, reduce biodiversity, and increase soil erosion, potentially triggering abrupt and rapid changes in ecosystem condition. Alternate stable state theory provides a framework for understanding this type of dynamic. In the Sanjiangyuan atop the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau (QTP), grassland degradation has been accompanied by irruptions of native burrowing animals, which has accentuated the loss of ground cover. Severely degraded areas of alpine meadows are referred to as ’Heitutan’. Here, using the framework of alternate stable state theory, we describe the proximate and ultimate drivers of the formation of Heitutan on the QTP, and we assess prospects for recovery, in relation to the degree of biophysical alteration, of these alpine meadows. Effective rehabilitation measures must address the underlying causes of degradation rather than their symptoms. Heitutan degradation is not uni-causal. Rather it reflects different mechanisms operating at different spatio-temporal scales across this vast region. Underlying causes include overly aggressive exploitation of the grasslands (e.g. overgrazing), amplification of grazing and erosion damage by small mammals when outbreaks occur, and/or climate change. Given marked variability in environmental conditions and stressors, restorative efforts must vary across the region. Restoration efforts are likely toyield greatest success if moderately and severely degraded areas are targeted as the first priority in management programmes, before these areas are transformed into extreme Heitutan.     

The Alpine Seed Conservation and Research Network–a new initiative to conserve valuable plant species in the European Alps

Safeguarding plants as seeds in ex situ collections is a cost effective element in an integrated plant conservation approach. The European Alps are a regional centre of plant diversity. Six institutions have established a regional network covering the European Alps which will conserve at least 500 priority plant species and which will improve the conservation status of plant species in grassland communities in the subalpine, alpine and nival altitudinal belts. Targeted research will expand the knowledge of the ecology of target species. Public engagement activities will raise the awareness for the importance of specific conservation actions in the European Alps.     

Plant communities and factors responsible for vegetation pattern in an alpine area of the northwestern Himalaya

The study intended to describe the alpine vegetation of a protected area of the northwestern Himalaya and identify the important environmental variables responsible for species distribution. We placed random plots covering different habitats and altitude to record species composition and environmental variables. Vegetation was classified using hierarchical cluster analysis and vegetation-environment relationships were evaluated with Canonical Correspondence Analysis. Four communities, each in alpine shrub and meadows were delineated and well justified in the ordination plots. Indicator species for the different communities were identified. Maximum species richness and diversity were found in community IV among shrub communities and community II among the meadows. Studied environmental variables explained 61.5% variation in shrub vegetation and 59.8% variation in meadows. Soil variables explained higher variability (∼35%) than spatial variables (∼21%) in both shrubs and meadows. Altitude, among the spatial variables and carbon/nitrogen ratio and nitrogen among the soil variables explained maximum variation. About 40% variations left unexplained. Latitude and species diversity among the other variables had significant correlation with ordination axes. Study showed that altitude and C/N ratio played a significant role in species composition. Extensive sampling efforts and inclusion of other non-studied variables are also suggested for better understanding.     

Ecological consequences of land use change: Forest structure and regeneration across the forest-grassland ecotone in mountain pastures in Nepal

The ecotone, the spatial transition zone between two vegetation communities, is claimed to have more species than the adjoining communities. However, empirical studies do not always confirm higher richness at the ecotone. The ecotone position and structure are dynamic over time and space and it is driven by the changes in climate, land use or their interaction. In this context, we assessed the forest- grassland ecotone of temperate mountains in central Nepal by i） comparing species composition and richness across the ecotone, ii） analyzing if the forestgrassland ecotone is shifting towards the grassland center by colonizing them with trees, and iii） discussing the consequence of changed disturbance regime in the dynamics of this ecotone and the surrounding grasslands. We analyzed vegetation data sampled from belt transects laid across the forest- grassland ecotone in semi-natural grassland patches. Vegetation data consisting of species richness and composition, and size structure and regeneration of the two most dominant tree species, namely Rhododendron arboreum and Abies spectabilis, from the transects, were used to analyze the trend of the forest-grassland ecotone. Forest and grasslands were different in terms of floristic composition and diversity. Vascular plant speciesrichness linearly increased while moving from forest interior to grassland center. Spatial pattern of tree size structure and regeneration infers that forest boundary is advancing towards the grasslands at the expense of the grassland area, and tree establishment in the grasslands is part of a suceessional process. Temporally, tree establishment in grasslands started following the gradual decline in disturbance. We argue that local processes in terms of changed land use may best explain the phenomenon of ecotone shift and consequent forest expansion in these grasslands. We underpin the need for further research on the mechanism, rate and spatial extent of ecotone shift by using advaneed tools to understand the process indepth.     

Effects of stand characteristics on tree species richness in and around a conservation area of northeast Bangladesh

We investigated the effect of tree cover, forest patch and disturbances on tree species richness in a highly diverse conservation area of northeast Bangladesh. A systematic sampling protocol was adopted and 80 sub-plots from twenty five 1 ha plots were used for the vegetation survey. Linear regression analysis was performed to understand the effect of patch area, disturbances and tree cover on tree species richness. Ordination using Redundancy analysis (RDA) and Non-metric Multi Dimensional Scaling (NMDS) were also performed to explore the tree species compositional similarities along the stand characteristics gradient and locations of the sample plots. Our study revealed that, forest patch size has greater influence on species richness. Areas with medium level of disturbances have shown greater species richness. In constrained ordination the selected explanatory variables regulated the richness of common species. Our findings can be useful for better forest management and restoration of landscapes of conservation needs using ecologically important species.     

The influence of seasonal snow on soil thermal and water dynamics under different vegetation covers in a permafrost region

Seasonal snow is one of the most important influences on the development and distribution of permafrost and the hydrothermal regime in surface soil. Alpine meadow, which constitutes the main land type in permafrost regions of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, was selected to study the influence of seasonal snow on the temperature and moisture in active soil layers under different vegetation coverage. Monitoring sites for soil moisture and temperature were constructed to observe the hydrothermal processes in active soil layers under different vegetation cover with seasonal snow cover variation for three years from 2010 to 2012. Differences in soil temperature and moisture in areas of diverse vegetation coverage with varying levels of snow cover were analyzed using active soil layer water and temperature indices. The results indicated that snow cover greatly influenced the hydrothermal dynamics of the active soil layer in alpine meadows. In the snow manipulation experiment with a snow depth greater than 15 cm, the snow cover postponed both the freeze-fall and thawrise onset times of soil temperature and moisture in alpine LC （lower vegetation coverage） meadows and of soil moisture in alpine HC （higher vegetation coverage） meadows; however, the opposite response occurred for soil temperatures of alpine HC meadows,where the entire melting period was extended by advancing the thaw-rise and delaying the freeze-fall onset time of the soil temperature. Snow cover resulted in a decreased amplitude and rate of variation in soil temperature, for both alpine HC meadows and alpine LC meadows, whereas the distinct influence of snow cover on the amplitude and rate of soil moisture variation occurred at different soil layers with different vegetation coverages. Snow cover increased the soil moisture of alpine grasslands during thawing periods. The results confirmed that the annual hydrothermal dynamics of active layers in permafrost were subject to the synergistic actions of both snow cover and vegetation coverage.     

Influences of pika and simulated grazing disturbances on bare patches of alpine meadow in the Yellow River Source Zone

Bare patches in alpine meadow are the main manifestation of its degradation. The change of bare patches in an alpine meadow in the Yellow River Source Zone during 2018-2019 was studied in relation to the disturbances caused by plateau pika(Ochotona curzoniae) population and simulated grazing via artificial mowing both independently and interactively. The disturbance was set at three levels of high, medium and no disturbance(control group). Bare patches were mapped by from unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV) images with fine resolution of 1 cm obtained in August 2018 and August 2019 in ArcGIS. The results showed that the total area of bare patches decreased by 112.05 m~2 in sub-plots devoid of pika disturbance but increased by 126.37 m~2 in other subplots. The highest rate of increase is 89.02%. The individual effect of pika exceeds the joint effect of pika and mowing disturbances. The sole effect of mowing is lower than the joint effect of pika disturbance and intensive mowing, but higher than the joint influence of pika disturbance and moderate mowing. Strong pika disturbance(14 per sub-plot) caused the influence of mowing from moderate to intensive to increase by five-fold. The area of bare patches treated with moderate mowing and no pika disturbance decreased at the highest pace(-37.22%). Intensive mowing and medium density pikas(100 pikas/ha) are considered the thresholds at which the bare patches start to expand. Even if the meadow is mowed at the medium and high intensity, the area of bare patches can be significantly reduced if plateau pika population is controlled to a low level. ANOVA analysis and longterm macro-scale satellite-derived results reveal that pika disturbance is more important in causing the bare patches to change than simulated grazing. Therefore, it is more important to control the number of pikas than to reduce grazing intensity to prevent the expansion of bare patches in the degraded alpine meadow in the study area.     

Vegetation traits and soil properties in response to utilization patterns of grassland in Hulun Buir City,Inner Mongolia,China

Numerous studies have focused on vegetation traits and soil properties in grassland, few of which concerned about effects of human utilization patterns on grassland yet. Thus, this study hypothesized that human disturbance （e.g., grazing, mowing and fencing） triggered significant variation of biomass partitioning and carbon reallocation. Besides, there existed some differences of species diversity and soil fertility. To address these hypotheses of grassland with diverse utilization patterns in Hulun Buir City, Inner Mongolia, China, we sampled in situ about aboveground biomass （AGB） and belowground biomass （BGB） to evaluate their biomass allocation. Species diversity and soil properties were also investigated. Subsequently, we discussed the relationship of species diversity with environmental conditions, using data collected from 23 sites during the ecological project period of Returning Grazing Lands to Grasslands （RGLG） program. The results were as follows： 1） both AGB and BGB were lower on grazing regime than those on fencing and mowing, but the ratio of root-to-shoot （R/S） was higher on grazing regime than the other two utilization patterns; 2） neither of evenness and Simpson Index was different significantly among all grassland utilization patterns in desert, typical, and meadow grassland at 0.05. In meadow grassland, species richness of fencing pattern was significantly higher than that of grazing pattern （p 〈 0.05）; 3） both of soil organic carbon content and soil available phosphorous content were increased significantly on fencing pattern than grazing pattern （p 〈 0.05） in desert grassland, and mowing patterns increased the soil nutrients （soil organic carbon, soil total phosphorous, soil available phosphorous, and soil total nitrogen） significantly compared with grazing patterns （p 〈 0.05） in typical grassland. However, there were no significant differences among utilization patterns in meadow grassland. In conclusion, both of AGB and BGB were increased s     

近20年来济南泉水补给区景观格局及其功能变化分析

本文以济南市泉水补给区为研究对象,利用GIS空间分析方法,在其景观变化分析的基础上,参照中国陆地生态系统的生态服务价值系数,估算了泉水补给区生态服务功能价值变化,重点分析景观变化对研究区生态服务功能的影响,进而为区域可持续发展和城市建设提供理论支持。结果表明:(1)20世纪90年代以来,泉水补给区耕地和草地景观面积呈减少趋势,林地、园地和建设用地景观面积大幅增加,其中,以林地面积增加最大;从景观类型转化看,耕地与其他景观类型相互转化较为密切,特别是与建设用地和园地之间的转化;林地面积的增加主要来源于草地和耕地;(2)泉水补给区生态服务功能价值主要由林地和耕地景观生态服务价值构成,其变化对该研究区生态服务价值变化起决定作用;从生态服务价值构成类型来看,该地区土壤形成与保护服务功能单项价值所占比重最大,约占总服务功能价值的20%;(3)90年代以来,该地区总生态服务价值呈增加趋势;从单项服务价值变化来看,水源涵养、废物处理和食物生产服务功能价值则呈现出减小趋势,其中,以水源涵养减幅最大,为4.01%,主要是由该区建设用地增加,地面硬化面积增多而引起的。研究认为,济南市南部山区作为重要的泉水补给区,其生态服务功能尤为重要,特别是水源涵养功能,因此,研究区水源涵养服务功能价值的降低应在今后南部山区开发过程中得到足够的重视与保护,逐步增加泉水补给区的整体生态效益。     

Unpalatable weed Stellera chamaejasme L. provides biotic refuge for neighboring species and conserves plant diversity in overgrazing alpine meadows on the Tibetan Plateau in China

Steller chamaejasme L. (S. chamaejasme for short) is one of the most noxious unpalatable weeds in China, which has been frequently reported its negative interaction (i.e. competition and allelopathy) with other herbaceous species in grasslands. This study compared species diversity, biomass and sexual reproduction of herbaceous plants in meadows with S. chamaejasme and in open meadows without S. chamaejasme in overgrazing meadows on the Tibetan Plateau in China to determine whether positive facilitation exist between S. chamaejasme and other herbaceous species under livestock’s overgrazing. The results showed that there are more herbaceous species in meadows with S. chamaejasme than those in open meadows (35s and 30s, respectively). Diversity index and above-ground biomass were also significantly higher in meadows with S. chamaejasme. There were 39% (11/28) of all species with sexual reproduction found in meadows with S. chamaejasme, which was 7 times more than those in open meadows. Our study showed that S. chamaejasme could provide biotic refuge for neighboring plants and preserve plant diversity from livestock’s overgrazing in alpine meadows on the Tibetan Plateau. It also suggested that inter-specific facilitation between S. chamaejasme and other herbaceous species may play a key role in overgrazing alpine meadows.     

Higher species diversity occurs in more fertile habitats without fertilizer disturbance in an alpine natural grassland community

Are there some relationships among species diversity and soil chemical properties of high altitude natural grasslands？ Plant community composition and chemical properties of soil samples were compared to investigate the relationship between soil and species diversity, and the richness in Tibetan alpine grasslands. Results showed that species diversity was significantly positively related to soil organic matter （SOM）, total nitrogen （TN）, available nitrogen （AN）, total phosphorus （TP）, available phosphorus （AP）, and available potassium （AK） in the high alpine grasslands. Margalefs species richness index was also significantly positively related to SOM, TN, AN, and TP. Most soil chemical properties showed significantly positive correlation with species diversity and Margalef＇s richness index. Our results suggested that higher plant species richness index and diversity occurred in more fertile soil habitats in high altitude natural grassland community. In practice, fertilization management for the restoration of degraded grassland should be conducted with reference to the nutrient levels ofnatural grassland without the additional artificial fertilizer and with higher species-diversity and richness index.     

山西省不同地貌形态类型区土地覆被变化的GIS分析

基于全国1:100万数字地貌数据库,全国2000、2005、2010年土地覆被数据和山西省行政区边界数据,采用土地覆被动态度、转移概率矩阵和地貌面积频度方法,分析了2000-2010年山西省基本地貌形态类型下的土地覆被变化。结果表明：（1）山西省的土地覆被类型以耕地、林地和草地为主,面积总和占省域面积的95%以上。面积变化的总体趋势是耕地和草地缩减,林地和建设用地持续增加。通过分析转移概率矩阵,表明2000-2005年和2005-2010年2个时段内,土地利用的主要转化趋势相似,即林地与草地之间大面积的相互转化,耕地、草地分别与建设用地之间的相互转化。（2）耕地和建设用地的分布,随着起伏度的增大而逐渐减小。林地分布随着起伏度的增加而逐步增大。从面积变化来看,耕地、林地和草地变化主要位于中起伏山地;水域变化主要集中在大起伏山地;建设用地变化主要分布于平原和台地;未利用地变化主要在小起伏山地。从动态度来看,耕地、草地和水域动态度,在大起伏山地地区最大;林地动态度在平原区最大;建设用地的动态度最大位于丘陵;未利用地在小起伏山地地区最大。（3）土地覆被类型之间的主要转化在地貌上也存着差异。平原地区林地的增加主要来自草地转化。台地和丘陵地区3个主要转化类型相似,2000-2005年主要是林地向草地退化,2005-2010年主要是林地和草地的相互转化。在小起伏山地地区,主要是草地和林地之间的相互转化,但草地转化为林地的面积较林地向草地的转化多。中起伏和大起伏山地地区主要以草地和耕地向林地的转化为主,也有较高比例的建设用地转化为林地。封山育林和退耕还林主要是在起伏较大的山地地区,毁林主要发生在地形平缓地区。     

京津唐地区城市扩张对地表蒸散发的影响

以京津唐地区为例,基于SEBS模型,利用MODIS遥感数据和气象数据,计算了2000、2005和2010年四季代表月份的平均日蒸散发量,并结合3期土地利用图,定量评估了由城市扩张引起的日蒸散发量的变化。结果表明,不同土地利用类型的日蒸散发量在不同季节表现出不同的分布规律,春、夏和秋季的日蒸散发量分布规律为水域>林地>草地>耕地>城市用地,冬季的日蒸散发量在三年的分布不一致:2000年为林地>草地>水域>城市用地>耕地,2005年为水域>林地>草地>耕地>城市用地,2010年为林地>水域>草地>城市用地>耕地。以研究区土地利用变化不明显的区域为背景区域,评估了除土地利用/覆被变化外的其他因素对京津唐地区夏季日蒸散发的影响。除去该影响后得出土地利用/覆被变化,对日蒸散发的影响,结果表明,各土地利用类型转化为城市用地会使日蒸散发降低,且水域转化成城市用地后,其日蒸散发量降低最多,2000-2005年降低了0.977mm,2000-2010年其降低值为0.983mm。     

Biomass allocation patterns of alpine grassland species and functional groups along a precipitation gradient on the Northern Tibetan Plateau

Variations in the fractions of biomass allocated to functional components are widely considered as plant responses to resource availability for grassland plants. Observations indicated shoots isometrically relates to roots at the community level but allometrically at the species level in Tibetan alpine grasslands. These differences may result from the specific complementarity of functional groups between functional components, such as leaf, root, stem and reproductive organ. To test the component complementary responses to regional moisture variation, we conducted a multi-site transect survey to measure plant individual size and component biomass fractions of common species belonging to the functional groups： forbs, grasses, legumes and sedges on the Northern Tibetan Plateau in peak growing season in 2010. Along the mean annual precipitation （MAP） gradient, we sampled 7o species, in which 2o are in alpine meadows, 20 in alpine steppes, 15 in alpine desert-steppes and 15 in alpine deserts, respectively. Our results showed that the size of alpine plants is small with individual biomass mostly lower than 1.0 g. Plants keep relative conservative component individual responses moisture functional fractions across alpine grasslands at the level. However, the complementary between functional components to variations specifically differ among groups. These results indicate that functional group diversity may be an effective tool for scaling biomass allocation patterns from individual up to community level. Therefore, it is necessary andvaluable to perform intensive and systematic studies on identification and differentiation the influences of compositional changes in functional groups on ecosystem primary services and processes.     

Age structure and static life tables of the endangered Juniperus phoenicea L. in North Sinai Mountains,Egypt:implication for conservation

Studying the population ecology of endangered plants provides important baseline information for its monitoring and conservation.Juniperus phoenicea L. is an endangered species in arid ecosystems in Africa and the Middle East. The static life tables, survival curve and age structure of J.phoenicea populations from two mountains in North Sinai, Egypt(Gabal(G.) El-Halal and G. El-Maghara)were investigated. In each mountain, fifteen plots were selected, and field measurements such as stand density, tree height, and crown diameter were conducted. Moreover, 44 trees were cored and crossdated according to standard dendrochronological procedures. The results showed that the tree ages ranged from 50 to 262 years at G. El-Halal and 96 to431 years at G. El-Maghara. Mature J. phoenicea individuals dominated the study area, with only a few individuals being younger than 100 years. Moreover,seedling recruitment was extremely limited. Since the studied J. phoenicea populations showed high mortality rates among both old and young individuals,there is an imminent need for establishing a conservation program to prevent its extinction in the future. Therefore, management and conservation efforts should be made to minimize human disturbance and protect the relic habitats of this endangered species at its southern distribution limits in Africa.     

不同数据源归一化植被指数在中国北方草原区的应用比较

中国北方草原区生产力在区域碳水循环、农牧业发展中举足轻重。归一化植被指数（Normalized Difference Vegetation Index,NDVI）广泛应用于生产力的计算,然而目前来源众多的NDVI数据反映中国北方草原植被时空动态的一致性仍未可知。本研究利用2000—2015年3个来源NDVI数据集（MODIS NDVI、GIMMS NDVI和SPOT NDVI）并以国际上公认的数据准确性较高的MODIS NDVI为基准对比分析了中国北方草原区NDVI时空动态的一致性,并选取适宜的NDVI产品揭示研究区NDVI长期的时空格局。结果表明：整个中国北方草原区以及部分草原类型（高寒草甸、高寒草原、高寒荒漠、温带荒漠草原）GIMMS NDVI和MODIS NDVI 2套数据集无论是数值范围,还是年际波动和变化趋势具有较高一致性（二者在高寒草甸、高寒草原、高寒荒漠、温带荒漠草原的相关系数分别为0.60、0.47、0.51、0.74）,而SPOT NDVI数值远高于其他2个数据集,尤其是在青藏高原草原区,SPOT NDVI数值每年较另外两套数据集约偏高0.15,表明该区域使用SPOT数据应慎重。部分温带草原类型（典型草原和草甸草原）GIMMS NDVI和SPOT NDVI数据集在年际波动以及变化趋势上具有较高的一致性（相关系数分别为0.85和0.60）,但温带草原区3种数据集NDVI数值范围整体相差不大,小于0.06。基于上述结果,本研究进一步采用时间序列最长且与MODIS NDVI一致性最好的GIMMS NDVI分析了研究区NDVI的时空动态,发现1982—2015年中国北方草原区NDVI整体呈增加趋势,25%的区域达显著水平（p<0.05）,主要集中在温带草原区;高寒草原区NDVI大部分区域变化不显著且有一定比例的区域NDVI呈显著下降趋势。本研究可以为模型数据集选择和预测中国北方草原区植被对未来气候变化的响应提供科学依据。