北京大学生物地理学与生态学的发展与成就

北京大学的生物地理学研究始于1953年成立的植物地理小组,1991年拓展为景观生态学教研室,21世纪初发展为生态学系。半个多世纪以来,依托地理学系（现城市与环境学院）,北京大学生物地理学与生态学研究团队极大地推动了植被结构、功能和动态研究,在干旱半干旱区、高山林线等关键地区的植物地理学研究方面取得了开创性的成果,在此基础上有力地推动了以景观生态学和城市生态学为代表的宏观生态学研究。近年来,围绕全球变化和生物多样性等全球关注的热点问题,北京大学生物地理学与生态学研究团队在气候变化及生态响应、碳循环、生物多样性、植物化学计量学等前沿方向开展了开创性的工作,并服务于气候变化的适应对策、生物多样性保护等国家战略。目前,北京大学生物地理学与生态学研究在软硬件建设方面都取得了长足的进步,建设了塞罕坝生态站等观测设施和全国树木生长、森林施肥实验、高山林线监测等平台,形成并延续了国家自然科学基金委“中国陆地植被的格局与功能”创新研究团队。未来将加强不同尺度生态学研究方法的整合,同时围绕区域生态退化开展生态修复的支撑研究。     

植物属性地理的研究进展与展望

植物属性地理学是植物地理学的一个新兴研究方向,研究植物属性的地理分布规律。目前与植物属性地理相关的研究热点主要集中在植物属性的多尺度表达、植物属性的权衡关系和属性多样性与生态系统功能三个方面。比叶面积、叶干物质含量、叶氮含量、种子质量、植物高度、茎密度是最受关注的植物属性。植物属性需要在植物个体水平上进行测量,然后基于群落内物种相对优势度的加权平均上推到群落水平。植物属性权衡关系主要包括叶片经济型谱及属性与环境因子之间的权衡关系研究。全球植物属性数据库的丰富与共享,推动着植物属性地理学的蓬勃发展。当前的植物属性空间连续分布主要利用全球属性数据库和空间统计建模方法实现,但借助激光扫描和成像光谱技术直接对区域植物功能属性进行空间制图正成为植物属性地理学空间计算的新方法。植物属性的空间格局分析是植物属性地理学的重要内容之一,不仅有助于解释植物物种的适应性与分布、群落构建等问题,而且为预测全球气候变化对植物的影响提供了依据。用植物属性代替物种可以更好地解释植物分布和植物对环境适应的生理机制,所以在全球植被模型研究中开始尝试将基于物种的植被动态模型发展为基于属性的植被动态模型,这将会给全球变化下碳循环过程的模拟和陆面模式带来新的机遇和挑战。展望未来,植物属性地理学仍然需要发展新的研究手段,深化全球植物属性的空间分异规律及其与环境因子之间的关系研究,以及完善全球和区域植物属性数据库建设。     

African aloe ecology: A review

Aloe L., is the largest genus in the Asphodelaceae, a family of succulent-leaved, petaloid monocots, geographically restricted to the Old World. Aloes exhibit remarkable morphological variability and range in size from dwarf species only a few centimetres tall, to tree aloes reaching heights of up to 20 m. Aloes form a striking and important component of many arid and semi-arid African landscapes. Most Aloe species occur in arid savanna, which is widespread over subtropical southern and eastern Africa. In southern Africa, aloes receive considerable interest from both scientists and succulent plant enthusiasts. World-renowned for their medicinal properties, aloes are used in numerous natural products traded in the health and cosmetic industries. There is a wealth of popular literature on the genus, as well as various scientific publications, although these have tended to focus on aloe pollination biology and medicinal use. Knowledge on aloe ecology is vital for the management and conservation of wild populations as well as the arid and semi-arid lands in which they occur. Sound ecological understanding of the genus is also important for making decisions regarding sustainable utilization, as well as predictions relating to possible threats posed by climate change. Furthermore, by better understanding the genus, its utility in practical applications such as ecosystem restoration can be explored further. Hence, this review provides a synthesis of a wide range of available information on several aspects of aloe ecology, and highlights important opportunities for future research. The key aspects covered include aloe distribution, ecophysiology, functional role in the ecosystem, population dynamics, fire tolerance, resprouting, pollination ecology, seed biology, economic botany and conservation.     

Ibex diggings in the Negev Desert highlands of Israel as microhabitats for annual plants. Soil salinity, location and digging depth affecting variety and density of plant species

About 400 Nubian ibex (Capra ibex nubiana) dig many hundreds of temporary night beds, approximately 80 cm × 110 cm and 15 cm deep, on slopes near the edges of the cliffs bordering the Zin valley. The beds are used according to the wind direction and the size of the ibex group, which depends on the ibex social behaviour during the year.The diggings are gradually abandoned and become important microhabitats for seed accumulation and germination, seedling development and annual plant establishment. These are influenced by soil salinity, slope direction and angle, digging depth, and the time since the diggings were abandoned. A greater variety of plant species and plant density were found in these diggings than upslope from the diggings.     

Functional ecology of a narrow endemic plant and a widespread congener from semiarid Spain

We compared physiological and morphological traits of Thymus loscosii, a rare endemic of semiarid Spain, and Thymus vulgaris, a widespread Mediterranean species, over a precipitation gradient, and measured the spatial patterns of both species. Our results do not provide evidence for a congruent suite of traits associated with rarity in T. loscosii, since this species showed some traits reported in rare species (lower height and biomass), but exhibited better performance under severe climatic conditions (higher photochemical efficiency and quantum yield during winter) and higher values of traits conferring competitive abilities (SLA and LAR). T. loscosii did not show either lower phenotypic variability or better performance than its congener along the precipitation gradient. The two thymes were spatially dissociated when they co-occurred and the spatial pattern of T. loscosii changed from clumped in the presence of its congener to random when it was the only thyme, suggesting competition between the two species. These results suggest that T. loscosii is not a habitat-specialist and may behave as a refuge endemic. Its reduced distribution may be linked to a limited competitive ability that is not associated with the vegetative traits explored, although other causes like habitat degradation and genetic or reproductive constraints might also be important to explain its limited distribution.     

中国昆虫生物地理学进展与展望

昆虫是地球上多样性最高的生物类群,其物种数量超过所有生物物种数量的一半,在生态系统中具有重要功能,且与人类生活密切相关。理解昆虫多样性及地理分布格局对于科学研究和人类社会发展有重要意义。基于详细的文章资料梳理,本文总结了1950—2020年中国昆虫生物地理学领域文章发表趋势,并从昆虫物种多样性调查、昆虫区系研究、昆虫群落多样性、昆虫遗传多样性格局、昆虫地理分布格局等几个方面论述了中国昆虫生物地理研究的代表性研究进展。中国昆虫生物地理学研究几十年来取得了可喜的发展,但仍需重点加强几方面的思考和工作,包括整合性思维、时空尺度、科学问题的凝练、昆虫性状生物地理学、昆虫多样性和地理分布数据共享。     

乌兰布和沙漠典型植物群落土壤风蚀可蚀性研究

为探明植被恢复对乌兰布和沙漠土壤风蚀可蚀性的影响,以乌兰布和沙漠内不同沙地固定阶段的8种典型植物群落及群落内表土作为研究对象,对土壤物理因子(可蚀性颗粒含量、土壤含水量、有机质含量)、土壤结皮因子、植被因子3类土壤风蚀可蚀性因子指标进行监测,分析土壤风蚀可蚀性因子在不同植物群落类型间、沙地固定阶段间的差异。结果表明:(1)在乌兰布和沙漠典型植物群落中,沙蓬、沙生针茅、盐爪爪等草本植物群落的土壤风蚀可蚀性最强,白刺、梭梭、沙冬青等灌木植物群落土壤风蚀可蚀性弱于草本植物群落,说明灌木林能显著降低土壤风蚀作用。(2)随着沙地的不断固定,土壤结构不断发育,土壤可蚀性不断降低,土壤风蚀可蚀性强弱表现为固定沙地<半固定沙地<流动沙地。(3)土壤可蚀性颗粒含量、土壤有机质含量、土壤含水量、土壤结皮、植被因子与植被类型及沙地固定阶段具有显著相关关系。因此,在沙区生态建设工程中,为了减少土壤风蚀量,不仅要考虑物种的选择,还要促进人工生态系统的演替和恢复,从而有效降低土壤风蚀可蚀性。研究结果可为乌兰布和沙区植被生态系统服务功能的科学评价、防沙治沙工程的建设与管理提供一定参考。     

Emerging trends in urbanizing Palestine: neglected city-builders beyond the occupation

In this article, we draw attention to trends in land transformation in the West Bank since the Second Intifada, after which a surge of investment from Gulf countries entered Palestine, almost exclusively in the West Bank. The occupied Palestinian territories have attracted a great deal of attention from media and academics, yet the vast majority of scholarship focuses on the conflict and the variety of social, economic, and political repercussions of the on-going Israeli occupation. While the occupation has undeniably serious impacts on every aspect of life for Palestinians, the near-exclusive focus on the conflict means that significant new trends, such as urban mega-developments and emerging market-based urbanisation processes, have been largely overlooked. We outline three directions for future research: the assemblage of “neglected city-builders” shaping current urbanization processes in Palestine; the ideas, policies, and norms circulating in the West Bank; and the social, spatial, economic, and other impacts of these new urban developments.     

Space, place and pollbooks: incorporating a neglected electoral geography

Summary This paper calls for the incorporation of pre-1872 (and especially early Victorian) elections into the electoral geography research agenda. It argues that early Victorian elections provide a rare opportunity to examine actual voting behaviour at the individual level and also constitute a valid focus of enquiry in their own right. The paper concludes by discussing some of the principal methodological implications of an historical electoral geography.     

Soil morphology and organic matter dynamics under cheatgrass and sagebrush-steppe plant communities

Widespread cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) invasion represents a major shift in species dominance that may alter ecosystem processes across much of the western US. To investigate differences following such conversion, soil morphology and organic matter under cheatgrass-dominated and native shrub-steppe vegetation were compared by standard soil analysis procedures at seven paired sites in Idaho and Utah. Results suggest that, following conversion to cheatgrass dominance, increased porosity and labile organic inputs enhance microbial decomposition in near-surface horizons beneath cheatgrass compared to adjacent soils under native vegetation. Enhanced decomposition could result in depletion of long-term SOM, leading to impoverished sites difficult to restore to native perennial vegetation.     

The salinity of hypersaline brines: Concepts and misconceptions

Some widespread misconceptions about salinity are pointed out, explained and commented on. Definitions, units, and methods of salinity determination recommended for brines of moderate salinities may become unsuitable for highly saline brines. Various salinity units are examined and commented on, and density at a precisely monitored temperature is chosen as the preferable “substitute parameter” for salinity determination of hypersaline brines. It is shown that ambient air density during pycnometric measurements must be known as accurately as required of the brine's density, and that its value must be added to the direct pycnometric measurement. Variations of atmospheric pressure at the time of pycnometry must be taken into account if greater than 15 mB. For a salinity accuracy of ±0.02 per mille, as required for some physical and chemical studies, the temperature of the sample during salinity measurement must be monitored with an accuracy of at least 0.04°C. A definite curve in the ρ-S plane, corresponding to the conversion of salinity to density at a fixed temperature, andvice-versa, does not exist if the brine is saturated in one of its salts. Non-linearity in the equation of state is shown to affect the surface level drop due to evaporation; the effect is negligible at low salinities, but a 10 per cent correction is already required at the salinity found in the northern Red Sea (41 per mille). Reliable reference points for the conversion of absolute salinity to density of highly saline brines are not known, at present, as accurately as desirable; pending the accurate determination of such reference points, a substantial dilution of hypersaline brines (for the purpose of adapting them to conductivity measurements) would multiply the error range by more than a hundred fold. On the other hand, a minute dilution of hypersaline brine samples to prevent salt crystal formation is possible and would not bring about any major increase of the error range in their density (salinity) determination.     

Geomorphology and ecology: Unifying themes for complex systems in biogeomorphology

The interaction of geomorphic and ecologic landscape components has been largely conceptualized as independent. In one direction, geomorphic processes and landforms shape the distribution of biota. Conversely, in the other direction, biota modify geomorphic processes and landforms. Increasingly, the interactions between geomorphic and ecological components are more circular and developmentally intertwined. In this paper, I integrate these two independent perspectives within the framework of complexity theory. I outline four themes that characterize complex systems in biogeomorphology: multiple causality and the concept of recursivity, the influence of organisms that function as ecosystem engineers, the expression of an ecological topology, and ecological memory. Implicit in all of these themes is the recognition that biogeomorphic systems are open and path dependent. They may exhibit a range of assembly states, from self-reinforcing stability domains to more transient configurations of organisms and environment.     

西方城市政治生态学研究进展与理论探讨

政治生态学是西方人文政治地理研究人与自然/环境互动的辩证关系的核心领域。城市政治生态学作为政治生态学的衍生分支同样经历了二十年快速的发展,这一领域尚未获得中国人文地理学界的系统关注。本文对西方文献中城市政治生态学的理论发展、研究议题以及近期前沿的学术争论和理论拓展进行了系统梳理与探讨。政治生态学分析方法批判和克服了技术专家治国论、新马尔萨斯主义、增长的极限等非政治视角的环境生态解释。理论溯源于新马克思主义城市地理学的城市政治生态学,继承了政治生态学的政治视角,但同时对政治生态学和城市研究两个领域中的自然/社会的二元对立提出了批判,以社会-生态混合体为理论出发点,打破并超越了城市-自然的对立和二元划分,通过研究自然的生产、循环与新陈代谢,将城市概念化为动态变化的社会-生态混合体,并揭露了城市环境的生产和社会-生态演化过程本质上是一个政治过程,突出强调了社会-生态混合体演化变迁过程的政治经济学、政治过程、权力关系的分析对于理解不平等的城市环境的核心作用。近5年来,城市政治生态学研究在后结构主义理论启发下扩展了经典马克思主义城市政治生态学,拓展了理论溯源,丰富了对城市环境和生态的解释,并产生了一系列围绕方法论上的城市主义、星球城市化、多地点方法论等的前沿学术批判与争论。     

Runoff and Soil Erosion on Slope Cropland: A Review

Soil erosion has become a serious environmental problem worldwide, and slope land is the main source of soil erosion. As a primary cover of slope land, crops have an important influence on the occurrence and development of runoff and soil erosion on slope land. This paper reviews the current understanding of runoff and soil erosion on slope cropland. Crops mainly impact splash detachment, slope runoff, and sediment yield. In this review paper, the effects of crop growth and rainfall on the splash detachment rate and the spatial distribution of splash detachment are summarized. Crop growth has a significant impact on runoff and sediment yield. Rainfall intensity and slope gradient can influence the level of erosive energy that causes soil erosion. Furthermore, other factors such as antecedent soil water content, soil properties, soil surface physical crust, and soil surface roughness can affect soil anti-erodibility. The varying effects of different crops and with different influence mechanisms on runoff and soil erosion, as well as changes in their ability to influence erosion under different external conditions should all remain focal points of future research. The effect of crop vegetation on runoff and soil erosion on slope land is a very important factor in understanding large-scale soil erosion systems, and in-depth study of this topic is highly significant for both theory and practice.     

Soil and plant responses to degradation of alpine grassland in source region of the Yellow River

Land degradation has been rapidly taking place in source region of the Yellow River in China. This study was conducted during 2008 in Maduo County to investigate soil and plant changes in relation to land degradation. Several results were derived from this work. First, the soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) decreased significantly on the extremely degraded land comparing with the natural grassland. Second, soil bulk density increased as land degradation worsened. Soil bulk density of the extremely degraded land was significantly greater than that of the grassland. Third, pH showed no obvious variation pattern. Finally, aboveground biomass decreased from grassland to the moderately degraded land. But aboveground biomass increased on the extremely degraded land and very extremely degraded land with most aboveground biomass inedible for livestock.     

Tactics and strategies in political ecology research

Geographers working within political-cultural ecology and biogeography have often used a framework, or the general concept, of adaptation. The use of this blanket term, however, was and remains especially problematic for cultural-political ecology research, which tends to focus on a different scale of time–space analysis, while placing greater emphasis on the fine and coarse influences of political economy. To refine our understanding of daily activities that may lead towards adaptation, the concepts of 'tactics' and 'strategy' can bridge shorter-term phenomena that do not require the leap of scale implied by the loose use and implementation of the term adaptation.