Namaqualand—A brief overview of the physical and floristic environment

This paper provides a brief introduction to the physical environment of Namaqualand as well as an overview of patterns of plant diversity. The diverse array of parent material and geological processes that have shaped the region since the break up of Gondwanaland have created a complex, and sometimes dynamic physical environment, that is partly responsible for the patterns and processes observed in the biota today. The contemporary climate is characterised by relatively reliable, albeit low (50–250 mm pa), winter rainfall (>60% winter precipitation) arriving between May and September. East of the central mountains, tropical thunderstorms penetrate the region in late summer (February–April). The presence of the cold Atlantic Ocean in the west not only moderates temperatures throughout Namaqualand (mean max summer temperature <30 °C), but also provides alternative sources of moisture in the form of coastal fog and heavy dew experienced in winter months. Recent analyses show that the flora of the Succulent Karoo is part of the Cape Floral Kingdom, now termed the Greater Cape Floral Kingdom. It is one of only two desert regions recognised as a global biodiversity hot-spot and contains an estimated 6356 plant species in 168 families and 1002 genera. Namaqualand, which comprises about one quarter of the area of the Succulent Karoo, contains about 3500 species in 135 families and 724 genera, with about 25% of this flora endemic to Namaqualand. This remarkable diversity, however, is not distributed evenly throughout the region, but is concentrated in many local centres of endemism usually associated either with quartzite mountain complexes or lag-gravel plains (quartz-patches). A major exception to the general pattern of centres of diversity is the true Fynbos vegetation of the highest Kamiesberg peaks where rainfall exceeds 400 mm pa. Suggested determinants of the region's exceptional floral diversity include the complex physical environment, a unique past and present climate and the region's diverse fauna, most notably insects. The challenge for the current inhabitants and scientists working in the region is to develop a better understanding of this ecosystem so that they will be equipped to deal with the challenges posed by the demands for land and the prospect of global climate change.     

Effects of climate change and urban development on the distribution and conservation of vegetation in a Mediterranean type ecosystem

Climate and land-use changes are projected to threaten biodiversity over this century. However, few studies have considered the spatial and temporal overlap of these threats to evaluate how ongoing land-use change could affect species ranges projected to shift outside conservation areas. We evaluated climate change and urban development effects on vegetation distribution in the Southwest ecoregion, California Floristic Province, USA. We also evaluated how well a conservation network protects suitable habitat for rare plant species under these change projections and identified primary sources of uncertainty. We used consensus-based maps from three species distribution models (SDMs) to project current and future suitable habitat for 19 species representing different functional types (defined by fire-response – obligate seeders, resprouting shrubs – and life forms – herbs, subshrubs), and range sizes (large/common, small/rare). We used one spatially explicit urban growth projection; two climate models, emission scenarios, and probability thresholds applied to SDMs; and high-resolution (90 m) environmental data. We projected that suitable habitat could disappear for 4 species and decrease for 15 by 2080. Averaged centroids of suitable habitat (all species) were projected to shift tens (up to hundreds) of kilometers. Herbs showed a small-projected response to climate change, while obligate seeders could suffer the greatest losses. Several rare species could lose suitable habitat inside conservation areas while increasing area outside. We concluded that (i) climate change is more important than urban development for vegetation habitat loss in this ecoregion through 2080 due to diminishing amounts of undeveloped private land in this region; (ii) the existing conservation plan, while extensive, may be inadequate to protect plant diversity under projected patterns of climate change and urban development, (iii) regional assessments of the dynamics of the drivers of biodiversity change based on high-resolution environmental data and consensus predictive mapping, such as this study, are necessary to identify the species expected to be the most vulnerable and to meaningfully inform regional-scale conservation.     

Attitudes toward Water Conservation: The Influence of Site-Specific Factors and Beliefs in Climate Change

Areas affected by drought are increasing, and many lakes that provide potable water and recreation opportunities are located in drought-vulnerable areas. Understanding a population's attitudes toward conservation actions can improve communication initiatives, policy development, and education, which are all necessary for effective water resource management. However, little is known about stakeholders’ interactions with drought-influenced resources and the potential factors that form their water conservation attitudes. Using a mixed methods approach, we evaluated lake recreationists’ (n = 229) attitudes toward water conservation at a drought-impacted lake. We identified the relationships between two site-specific factors (place attachment and awareness of drought impacts), beliefs in climate change, concern for drought impacts, and water conservation attitudes. Results indicated concern for local drought impacts fully mediated the relationships between site-specific factors, beliefs in climate change, and attitudes toward water conservation behaviors. Implications for research, outreach, and water resource management are discussed.     

A synthesis of sociological and biological perspectives on sustainable land use in Namaqualand

A transdisciplinary synthesis, grouped into four main themes, of the key papers in this Special Issue on Namaqualand is provided. Perspectives on current environmental, economic and social issues in the region are interpreted in the context of the past and are used to inform future trajectories of change and development needs within the region. Firstly, in terms of the climatic and biophysical environment, Namaqualand's rich biodiversity is not uniformly distributed and is explained in terms of the spatially heterogeneous geological, pedological and topographical gradients that characterize the region. Spatial and temporal variation in rainfall over long time frames would also have promoted speciation within isolated, poorly-dispersed, leaf succulent populations. Future climate models propose a decrease in rainfall across the region with an associated reduction in livestock production. The second theme provides an historical perspective on changing land use practices in Namaqualand over the last 2000 years. It suggests that they have frequently been influenced by events originating far from the region such as colonial expansion, apartheid legislation and globalization. Local people, particularly marginalised communal farmers have had to adapt to these outside influences within an increasingly confined landscape that has progressively eroded their mobility and restricted their ability to utilise the spatial and temporal variability inherent in semi-arid environments. The third theme shows how livelihood diversification has been one of the key ways in which local people from communal areas have adapted to change. While farming makes up a relatively small part of the income of most households it enhances the resilience of livelihoods in the region. The fourth theme is concerned with land reform, conservation and restoration in Namaqualand. While a significant amount of land has been transferred to previously-marginalised groups, equitable access to these resources is lacking. An exclusively commercial orientation within the extension and development programmes of the Department of Agriculture further hampers the effectiveness of land reform as a tool for reducing levels of poverty in the majority of households in the region. Conservation initiatives could enhance livelihood options in Namaqualand but are viewed by some as being in competition with the state's land reform programme and are too recent to reflect significant regional benefits at this stage. While restoration is possible in severely degraded lands, the costs and operational difficulties in these event-driven, semi-arid systems are emphasised. Finally, this synthesis suggests that the important exogenous drivers of change in the 21st century are likely to be climate, biodiversity conservation initiatives, land redistribution and continued processes of de-agrarianisation as a result of macro-economic change. A focus on building institutions, encouraging livestock mobility within a significantly expanded commons and supporting livelihood diversification are some of the approaches necessary to address the development needs of Namaqualand.     

Paleolimnology and the Frontiers of Biogeography

For almost a century biogeographers have used paleoecological methods, including tree-ring, pollen, macrofossil, and charcoal analysis, to reconstruct climate and environmental conditions for the late Quaternary, but paleolimnological proxies and approaches provide new opportunities for biogeographers. In the last two decades, paleolimnology has grown rapidly as a result of several technical advancements: (1) the development of new proxies, (2) improved coring, sampling, and dating techniques that provide finer temporal resolution, and (3) more sophisticated statistical techniques and greater computing power, which allow for enhanced quantitative calibration of climate and environmental signals from paleolimnological proxies. These advances have led to a plethora of research projects, many using novel approaches, on climate change, anthropogenic impacts, conservation and restoration, aquatic/terrestrial links, resource management, succession, biodiversity, and introduced species. Paleolimnologists are working at the frontiers of biogeographical research, particularly contributing to research on climate change, biogeochemical cycles, and anthropogenic impacts on Earth systems.     

The impacts of sustained heavy grazing on plant diversity and composition in lowland and upland habitats across the Kamiesberg mountain range in the Succulent Karoo, South Africa

This study explored the impacts of sustained heavy grazing in six vegetation types across an altitudinal and rainfall gradient in the Kamiesberg mountain range in Namaqualand. The study was carried out across the fence separating the Leliefontein communal area and surrounding privately owned farms. The communal area has been stocked over decades at approximately twice the government recommended stocking rate, while adjacent privately owned farms have generally adhered to recommended rates. Plant community data were collected from 66, 0.1 ha modified Whittaker plots and analysed for diversity and compositional changes. Consideration of community-wide responses through NMDS ordination showed that heavy grazing did not result in the dominance of a few wide-spread, weedy species in communal areas. Species richness at the 0.1 ha scale was also not affected by different land use practices. However, there was a significant compositional shift away from large woody and succulent shrubs, and an associated increase in dwarf shrubs and herbaceous perennial plants on the communal areas. This shift was only evident on the sandy lowland habitats, while a reduction in perennial grass was recorded in the rocky upland habitats on the communal areas. Compositional shifts towards smaller and more ephemeral species in the communal area are indicative of a system more closely dependent on rainfall. This has implications for people's livelihoods in the region, particularly in light of predicted climate change.     

Climatic niche breadth can explain variation in geographical range size of alpine and subalpine plants

Understanding the environmental factors determining the distribution of species with different range sizes can provide valuable insights for evolutionary ecology and conservation biology in the face of expected climate change. However, little is known about what determines the variation in geographical and elevational ranges of alpine and subalpine plant species. Here, we examined the relationship between geographical and elevational range sizes for 80 endemic rhododendron species in China using Spearman’s rank-order correlation. We ran the species distribution model – maximum entropy modelling (MaxEnt) – with 27 environmental variables. The importance of each variable to the model prediction was compared for species groups with different geographical and elevational range sizes. Our results showed that the correlation between geographical and elevational range sizes of rhododendron species was not significant. Climate-related variables were found to be the most important factors in shaping the distributional ranges of alpine and subalpine plant species across China. Species with geographically and elevationally narrow ranges had distinct niche requirements. For geographical ranges, the narrow-ranged species showed less tolerance to niche conditions than the wide-ranged species. For elevational ranges, compared with the wide-ranged species, the narrow-ranged species showed an equivalent niche breadth, but occurred at different niche position along the environmental gradient. Our findings suggest that over large spatial extents the elevational range size can be a complementary trait of alpine and subalpine plant species to geographical range size. Climatic niche breadth, especially the range of seasonal variability, can explain species’ geographical range sizes. Changes in climate may influence the distribution of rhododendrons, with the effects likely being felt most by species with either a narrow geographical or narrow elevational range.     

Adaptational responses ofZygophyllum qatarenseHadidi to stress conditions in a desert environment

The succulent shrubZygophyllum qatarensepossesses a high degree of tolerance to both drought and high temperature, and in its desert environment adapts to stress by seasonal changes in leaf morphology, anatomy and physiology. At the onset of the dry season, the plant responds to water stress by leaf polymorphism in which it develops unifoliate xeromorphic leaves. As the dry season progresses, the plant tends to reduce its transpiring surface area by means of substantial leaf loss. As the desert environment become drier and hotter, the plant responds further to the existing double stress of drought and high temperature by adopting a bimodal stomatal behaviour.     

地球暖化促进植物迁移与入侵

在当今快速的全球气候变化 ,特别是快速而急剧的地球暖化情况下 ,现有植物及其系统被迫 :1)重新适应这种变化了及仍在变化着的环境条件 ;2 )往高海拔及极地方向迁移寻找合适的生存环境 ;或者 3)因其迁移的速度赶不上气候变化的速度而消亡。同时 ,气温升高和降水模式 (包括降水量及其分配 )的变化 ,以及与此相关联的干扰型式 (包括干扰种类、强度及延续时间 )的变化 ,一方面将使现有植物及其生态系统对外来生物的抗性弱化 ,另一方面将激活外来物种的活性 ,导致外来生物的快速扩散与大规模入侵 ,进而排挤和“杀死”当地乡土种 ,减少生物多样性 ,改变原有生态系统的组成、结构和功能 ,最终导致严重的社会经济与生态环境问题。在制定域、国家及全球经济与环境政策时 ,应充分考虑到这些问题 ,以防患于未然     

中国气候变化的植物信号和生态证据

全球平均气温上升、降水格局变化、极端天气事件发生的频率和强度增大等气候变化现象已经对陆地生态系统产生了影响,物种、群落和生态系统响应于气候变化而发生的改变,可以作为气候变化的间接生物学和生态学证据,对未来气候变化的影响评价有重要的价值,尤其是对减缓和适应全球气候变化的"地球系统科学"研究以及可持续生态系统管理与发展对策的制订,具有重要的意义。在国际气候变化的生物学证据研究的大背景下,总结了中国陆地生态系统响应过去气候变化的植物学信号和生态学证据:(1)物种水平:气候变暖导致中国33°N以北大部分地区植物春季物候期包括萌芽、展叶、开花期等显著提前,植被生长季延长;(2)群落水平:群落物种组成和分布发生改变,主要表现在长白山等高山群落交错带物种组成和林线位置的变化以及青藏高原高寒草甸的退化;(3)生态系统水平:全国总体植被盖度增加,植被活动加强,生产力增加;北方和西部地区农业植被的耕作制度、种植结构、耕种面积和产量发生变化,东北地区水稻种植面积和产量增加,但全国大部分地区农作物产量和温度呈负相关,这将威胁到未来的粮食安全。     

Benefits of mycorrhizal inoculation in reintroduction of endangered plant species under drought conditions

Numerous human activities constitute threats to biodiversity. The effects of climate change, including increasing drought in already arid lands, pose an additional layer of uncertainty in the fate of rare species. In the case of plants, reintroduction is becoming an important active management practice in species conservation. We hypothesized that even under extreme drought inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi would increase growth rates of an endangered plant in experimental reintroduction. We selected a plant species, Abronia macrocarpa, and conducted the experiment in Texas while the area was experiencing mild and extreme drought intensities. Treatment plots were planted with seed inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and control plots were planted with seed coated with autoclaved inoculant. We analyzed measurements of growth and development of germinated plants. Mean number of leaves was greater in treatment plants (P = 0.005) and mean aerial diameter was larger in treatment plants (P = 0.02) than in control plants. Significantly improved growth suggests that inoculation is a viable technique to increase reintroduction success in plant species especially during periods of drought.     

Response of permafrost landscapes of Central Yakutia to current changes of climate,and anthropogenic impacts

We discuss the state of permafrost landscapes of Central Yakutia under the influence of current changes of climate and anthropogenic impacts. This study uses the data from the monitoring stations operated by the Permafrost Institute SB RAS, and from the Yakutsk and Pokrovsk meteorological stations. It is found that there is a rather good correlation between the data from the monitoring stations and from the Pokrovsk meteorological station. The last decade saw a considerable rise in temperatures of earth materials. The most sensitive to cliate change are the disturbed landscapes, primarily treeless landscapes such as anthropogenic complexes, and burned-out forests.     

气候变化下基于物种与植物耦联机制的小白额雁(Anser erythropus)潜在生境及适宜性研究--以长江流域中下游为例

气候变化和人类活动通过改变物种生境而影响物种多样性。小白额雁是长江流域中下游的一种具有较高生态价值的食草型濒危候鸟,受气候变化和人类活动威胁。本文以小白额雁为代表性物种,定量分析了气候变化对长江流域中下游候鸟潜在生境及适宜性空间分布格局的影响。采用Maxent模型模拟了当前情景和全球环流模型(GCMs)气候场景下小白额雁潜在生境及其适宜性分布。研究结果表明,小白额雁分布特征与其栖息地周边植物分布呈显著相关关系;运用Maxent模型模拟小白额雁六种主要食源植物的分布特征,并将其结果作为环境变量,将显著改善小白额雁潜在生境及其适宜性模型的模拟性能;在两种典型浓度情景(RCP 2.6和RCP8.5)下,2070年小白额雁潜在生境适宜性面积将下降。为应对气候变化对小白额雁的影响,应采取更加合理的管理措施和保护政策,包括调整保护区的大小、形状和用途。     

气候变化与湿地

概括介绍了湿地的重要性,详细论述气候变化对不同类型湿地的影响,以及湿地作为温室气体的库、汇和源在缓解气候变化方面所起的作用,并从湿地保护和合理利用的角度,提出缓解气候变化影响的对策,包括:开展湿地资源清查,收集全球各种类型湿地的数据和信息,建立更加完善的气候变化模型,以便将气候变化纳入保护和管理活动;保护、维持或恢复湿地生态系统是减缓全球气候变化的重要措施。     

Potential distributional changes of invasive crop pest species associated with global climate change

This study investigated the potential global distributional shifts of poikilothermic invasive crop pest species associated with climate change, aiming to understand if their overall global distributions will expand or contract, and how the species distributions will vary across different regions. An ecological niche modelling analysis was conducted for 76 species. The potential distributional changes of the species in 2050 and 2070 were scrutinized for two climate change scenarios, which were further examined across different temperature and precipitation ranges. Results showed that averages of the mean probabilities of presence of the 76 crop pest species were predicted to increase. Higher species turnovers were predicted mostly to occur in areas with increasing predicted species richness. Lower species turnovers, however, were predicted mostly to occur in areas with decreasing predicted species richness. Species richness increases were predicted to occur more often in currently lower temperature (annual mean temperature approximately < 21 °C) or lower precipitation (annual precipitation approximately < 1100 mm) regions. Areas with the current annual mean temperatures at around 27 °C and 7.5 °C, respectively, were predicted to experience the highest decrease and increase in species richness as the climate warms. In conclusion, climate change is likely to expand the pest species’ overall distribution across the globe. It could have more profound impacts on the species distributions of those regions where species richness increases are expected, by altering the species’ community compositions.     

未来气候情景下我国北方地区干旱时空变化趋势

干旱是我国北方地区最为突出的环境问题。根据WCRP耦合模式输出的未来气候变化逐月资料,基于降水-蒸发力标准化干旱指数（SPEI）,分析了IPCC SRES A1B、A2和B1三种情景下,2011-2050年我国北方地区干旱状况的时空变化趋势。结果表明：中国北方地区未来40 a呈现干旱化倾向,其中轻度和中度季节性干旱发生频率降低,重度和极端季节性干旱发生频率增加,增温引起的地表蒸发增加是极端干旱频发的主要原因。A1B、B1和A2情景下,2040s整个北方地区极端干旱频率增加、强度增强、影响范围明显扩大。极端干旱的增加可能给农业生产带来风险,采取有效应对措施,将有利于区域农业的可持续发展。     

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.     

陆地生态系统模拟研究中IBIS模型开发应用的回顾和展望

全球动态植被模型(DGVM)是研究生态系统复杂过程和全球变化的强有力工具。本文基于过去20多年全球已发表的文献,对得到广泛关注和应用的DGVM之一——集成生物圈模拟器(Integrated Biosphere Simulator,IBIS)的开发、改进、发展及应用进行了总结。IBIS是一个在全球变化等多领域中有着广泛应用的模型。自1996年诞生以来,IBIS在陆地生态系统的碳、氮、水循环,植被动态、陆气耦合、水域系统耦合和气候变化影响等多个方面取得了验证和应用。本文较为系统地阐述了IBIS模型在V2.5版本后的不同发展方向,主要针对IBIS模型在水文过程(蒸散、土壤水分、地下水、径流)、植被动态(植被功能型、土地覆盖变化)、植被生理过程(植被物候、光合作用、植被生长、碳分配)、土壤生物地球化学过程(土壤碳氮循环及反馈、温室气体排放等)以及包括土地利用变化、干扰与管理等人类活动过程等方面的改进与发展进行了全面的综述;在此基础上,对模型在生态系统生产力、碳水收支、水分利用效率、温室气体排放、自然干扰(干旱、火灾、虫害)和人类活动(土地利用变化、农业经营)等方面的应用,以及模型的技术性改进方面进行了回顾;最后对模型的前景和进一步发展提出了一些见解。     

湿地生态系统对气候变化的响应

气候变化常伴随着区域气温及降雨条件等发生变化,对湿地水文、生物地球化学过程、水质与水循环、湿地能量平衡与湿地生态功能等产生较大的影响。湿地水文条件是决定湿地生态过程的关键因子,气候变化引起的地表积水水位变化直接影响湿地植物优势种群结构的演替及氧化-还原环境条件的变化,导致湿地生态过程的变化及温室气体排放强度和时空分布特征等的变化。气候对湿地结构和功能的影响还包括营养物质和矿物质的循环及食物链的动态变化等。     

Patterns of resource use by livestock during and after drought on the commons of Namaqualand, South Africa

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of drought on grazing patterns of livestock in a communal rangeland in Namaqualand. Water points were the foci of almost all grazing routes even after the drought, and the areas away from the water points were less heavily utilized. The mountains could be regarded as key resource areas for livestock since the grazing intensity was higher in the elevated areas of the rangeland than on the surrounding low lying areas during and immediately after drought. Spatial patterns of resource use by livestock on the commons did not differ during the drought and post-drought period. The lengths of the daily grazing routes were similar for both periods. This may be a consequence of the weakness of animals during the drought when forage was scarce which prevented them from walking further. The size of home ranges of the herds did not change during the two monitoring periods. We attribute this to social reasons because herders try to avoid the mixing of herds. In the commons of Namaqualand, herders are also spatially constrained and this restricts their options to adapt to drought, and hence many animals died.