THE FLORISTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TROPICAL RAINFOREST IN XISHUANGBANNA

ＴＨＥ ＦＬＯＲＩＳＴＩＣ ＣＨＡＲＡＣＴＥＲＩＳＴＩＣＳ ＯＦ ＴＨＥ ＴＲＯＰＩＣＡＬ ＲＡＩＮＦＯＲＥＳＴ ＩＮ ＸＩＳＨＵＡＮＧＢＡＮＮＡ ＺｈｕＨｕａ（朱华）（ＸｉｓｈｕａｎｇｂａｎｎａＴｒｏｐｉｃａｌＢｏｔａｎｉｃａｌＧａｒｄｅｎ，ｔｈｅ...     

Forest landecape and bird diversity in mountain region, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan

The degeneration of forest landscapes is mainly caused by human impact on the natural environment, which is posing a great threat to biodiversity. We studied the relationship between forest landscapes and birds in mountain regions of Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province. In Jinuo ethnic region, forest landscape is degenerating, and bird diversity is reducing as a result of human influence. However, in Hani ethnic region of Mengsong area, a comparative study area, there are also traditional practices of agriculture and forestry. The traditional practices are dynamically adaptive to local geographic environment and social economic conditions. A great deal of biodiversity exists in the place where people have lived for many generations and use the resources of environment in a sustainable manner. Considering bird diversity and forest landscape of mountainous area, both economic and ecological benefits should be taken into account, which relate to land use and landscape protection. Biodiversity conservation, resource management and policy making should pay much attention to the best interconnection of land use and landscapes protection.     

Impact of anthropogenic disturbance on species diversity and vegetation structure of a lowland tropical rainforest of eastern Himalaya,India

Impact of anthropogenic disturbance on species diversity and vegetation structure of a lowland tropical rainforest was studied in the foothills of Eastern Himalaya, India. Tree species richness, density, basal area and the diversity indices were found significantly (P<0.05) decreased with the increasing level of disturbances whereas, shrub density, basal area and herb density significantly increased with increasing disturbance level. In case of shrubs, Simpson’s dominance index significantly (P<0.007) increased along the disturbance gradient, whereas Pielou’s evenness index significantly (P<0.005) decreased with an increasing level of disturbance. Shannon-Weiner diversity index for herbs significantly (P<0.016) increased with increasing disturbance whereas, Simpson’s dominance index was significantly (P<0.013) declined along the disturbance gradient. Results revealed that 10–50 cm dbh classes constituted the highest stem density, and highest basal area was recorded in the >100 cm dbh class in all three sites. Density of the matured trees decreased with increasing DBH whereas, tree basal area tended to increase with increasing DBH in all three sites. Tree species richness was highest in the lower DBH classes. 62.07% of the total tree species regenerated in the largely undisturbed site followed by 50% in the mildly disturbed and 26.32% in the highly disturbed site. The overall regeneration condition was found to be good in the largely undisturbed site. Mildly disturbed site exhibited fair regeneration and so was in the highly disturbed site. Discernable variations in species composition, diversity, regeneration and tree population structure revealed the impact of anthropogenic disturbances on rainforest vegetation dynamics. Higher degree of disturbance was furtherly found not only affecting species diversity but also promoting the growth of invasive weed species. Dominance of Hydnocarpus kurzii and Crypteronia paniculata in the highly disturbed site also indicated that these less-valued timber species may benefit from the vegetation mosaic produced by the disturbance; so differences in abundance of these species may be useful for bio-indication. Furthermore, present study suggests the need of adequate biodiversity conservation measures and adaptation of sustainable forest management approaches in disturbed areas of lowland tropical rainforest in the foothills of eastern Himalaya, India.     

基于CRNBR物候算法的西双版纳橡胶成林提取及时空变化研究

基于西双版纳2014年和2018年旱季Landsat-8 OLI遥感影像,利用橡胶林落叶-新叶萌生期内归一化焚烧指数变化率（CR_NBR）算法,运用当年新叶萌生期植被分布（NDVI）与海拔数据（ASTER GDEM）进行掩膜提取,分别获取了2014年和2018年西双版纳橡胶成林种植面积,基于ArcGIS 10.5平台分析了橡胶成林时空格局和种植面积增减变化。结果表明： ① 西双版纳橡胶林主要分布于南部水热条件较好、中低海拔的橡胶种植适宜区。景洪市的橡胶林面积最大,其次是勐腊县,勐海县最小。集中分布于景洪市的勐龙镇、允景洪街道和嘎洒镇;勐腊县的关累镇、勐棒镇和勐满镇;② 西双版纳及其下辖一市两县2014-2018年橡胶林种植面积总体呈现下降趋势,减幅为17.27%。其中,勐腊县的减幅最大为19.10%,勐海县减幅最小,仅2.70%。③ 橡胶林持续种植区主要在景洪市勐龙镇、嘎洒镇和景哈镇等,勐腊县的关累镇、勐棒镇和勐腊镇等;橡胶林种植增加区主要集中在景洪市勐龙镇、嘎洒镇和允景洪街道,勐腊县关累镇、勐腊镇和勐伴镇,勐海县打洛镇;橡胶林种植减少区主要在景洪市勐养镇、嘎洒镇和勐龙镇,勐腊县勐棒镇、勐腊镇和勐伴镇,本研究可为西双版纳橡胶林种植现状特征提供了新的认识。     

Perception and attitudes of local communities towards wild elephant-related problems and conservation in Xishuangbanna,southwestern China

The problem of wild elephants, or human-elephant conflict (HEC), influences the daily life of local communities and hinders the conservation of wild elephants.The perception and attitudes of local communities who inhabited the frontiers between human activities and wild elephant movement are important to the mitigation of the HEC and conservation of wild elephants. To analyze the perception and attitudes of local communities, the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) was used in the investigation of 423 interviewees from 22 villages in Xishuangbanna from July 2009 to February 2010. The results indicated that local communities had their views on the elephant-related problems. In field survey, we found that 66.5% of interviewees were willing to support, participate in, and assist in the conservation of wild elephants;33.5% of interviewees were opposed or indifferent to such conservation, because their livelihoods and even their lives were endangered by wild elephants. These views and attitudes were influenced by local communities′perception of HEC, education level, gender and self-interest. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the diverse views among local communities and balance profits and costs in addressing HEC.     

Variabilities of surface current in the tropical Pacific Ocean

The Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA) package is used to better understand the variabilities of surface current transport in the Tropical Pacific Ocean from 1950 to 1999. Seasonal variation, internnual and decadal variability analyses are conducted on the three major surface currents of the Tropical Pacific Ocean: the North Equatorial Current (NEC), the North Equatorial Countecurrent (NECC), and the South Equatorial Current (SEC). The transport of SEC is quite larger than those of NEC and NECC. The SEC has two maximums in February and August. The NEC has a small annual variation. The NECC has a maximum in October and is very weak in March and April. All currents have remarkable interannual and decadal variabilities. The variabilities of the NEC and the SEC related to the winds over them well, but the relationship between the NECC and the wind over it is not close. Analysis related to El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) suggests that before El Niño (La Niña) the SEC is weaker (stronger) and the NECC is stronger (weaker), after El Niño (La Niña) the SEC is stronger (weaker) and the SEC is weaker (stronger). There is no notable relationship between the NEC and ENSO.     

Retrieving multi-scale climatic variations from high dimensional time-series MODIS green vegetation cover in a tropical/subtropical mountainous island

【Title】
There are knowledge gaps in our understanding of vegetation responses to multi-scale climate-related variables in tropical/subtropical mountainous islands in the Asia-Pacific region. Therefore, this study investigated inter-annual vegetation dynamics and regular/irregular climate patterns in Taiwan. We applied principal component analysis （PCA） on 11 years （2001~2011） of high-dimensional monthly photosynthetically active vegetation cover （PV） derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer （MODIS） and investigated the relationships between spatiotemporal patterns of the eigenvectors and loadings of each component through time and multi-scale climate-related variations. Results showed that the first five components contributed to 96.4% of the total variance. The first component （PC1, explaining 94.5% of variance） loadings, as expected, were significantly correlated with the temporal dynamics of the PV （r = 0.94）, which was mainly governed by regional climate. The temporal loadings of PC2 and PC3 （0.8% and 0.6% of variance, respectively） were significantly correlated with the temporal dynamics of the PV of forests （r = 0.72） and the farmlands （r = 0.80）, respectively. The low-order components （PC4 and PC5, 0.3% and 0.2% of variance, respectively） were closely related to the occurrence of drought （r = 0.49） and to irregular ENSO associated climate anomalies （r = -0.54）, respectively. Pronounced correlations were also observed between PC5 and the Southern Oscillation Index （SOI） with one to three months of time lags （r = -0.35 ~ -0.43, respectively）, revealing biophysical memory effects on the time-series pattern of the vegetation through ENSO-related rainfall patterns. Our findings reveal that the sensitivity of the ecosystems in this tropical/subtropical mountainous island may not only be regulated by regional climate and human activities but also be susceptible to large-scale climate anomalies which are crucial and comparable to previous large scale analyses. This study demonstrates that PCA can be an effective tool for analyzing seasonal and inter-annual variability of vegetation dynamics across this tropical/subtropical mountainous islandin the Pacific Ocean, which provides an opportunity to forecast the responses and feedbacks of terrestrial environments to future climate scenarios.     

The very low-frequency oscillation in tropical Pacific

The very low-frequency oscillation (VLFO) on interannual scale in the tropical Pacific is studied by analyzing the main components of the sea surface temperature, sea level pressure, cloudiness, humidity and the equivalent potential temperature over the tropical ocean surface. The nature of two components of VLFO and its propagation features are discussed from the view of air-sea interaction.     

Comparison of some vegetation indices in seasonal information

With the development of vegetation indices, the reflection capability of vegetation indices to the state of vegetation has been improved in various degrees. Especially, the vegetation index of Terra/MODIS-EVI is believed to have the highest sensitivity to the seasonality of vegetation. This study compares the reflection susceptibility of three vegetation indices （NOAA/AVHRR-NDVI, Terra/MODIS-NDVI and Terra/MODIS-EVI） to the seasonal variations of vegetation in the mid-south of Yunnan Province of China. It has been found that Terra/MODIS-EVI does best in the elimination of external disturbance. Firstly, it obviously improves the linear relationship with vegetation cover degree, especially in the high vegetation coverage area. Secondly, it avoids the emergence of vegetation index saturation. Thirdly, it reduces the environmental influence including both effects of atmosphere and soil. So it is believed that the Terra/MODIS-EVI can offer excellent tool for quantitative research of remote sensing, and has realized to be oriented by data with high quality.     

The upper ocean response to tropical cyclones in the northwestern Pacific analyzed with Argo data

A large number of autonomous profiling floats deployed in global oceans have provided abundant temperature and salinity profiles of the upper ocean. Many floats occasionally profile observations during the passage of tropical cyclones. These in-situ observations are valuable and useful in studying the ocean’s response to tropical cyclones, which are rarely observed due to harsh weather conditions. In this paper, the upper ocean response to the tropical cyclones in the northwestern Pacific during 2000–2005 is analyzed and discussed based on the data from Argo profiling floats. Results suggest that the passage of tropical cyclones caused the deepening of mixed layer depth (MLD), cooling of mixed layer temperature (MLT), and freshening of mixed layer salinity (MLS). The change in MLT is negatively correlated to wind speed. The cooling of the MLT extended for 50–150 km on the right side of the cyclone track. The change of MLS is almost symmetrical in distribution on both sides of the track, and the change of MLD is negatively correlated to pre-cyclone initial MLD.     

The effect of sloping bottom topography on the source-driven deep tropical circulation

ImODUCTIONInasedrinalseriesofPapersduringthelatel95osandl96()s,StonimlandANns(l958;l96()a,b)PresentedatheoreticalpictUreofthesoaree-drivendeepcirculaionintheoceanbasedongeOst-cd~cs.ItconsistsofaPole-wAninteriorflowresultingforavortexshetchingassociatedwithaslowuniformuPwellingthInllghouttheocean,andawestemboUndeqctirrentbalancingthemassbudget.Kawse(1987)formulatedalinear,tWo-layerbaxlinicmodeltostud}thedeeptroPicalcirculationdrivenbydeepwaterproduction.DistinctlydifferentfromtheStomm…     

INFLUENCE OF GLOBAL WARMING ON VEGETATION IN NORTHEAST CHINA

GlObalwa-rmingisoneoftheseriousenvironmentproblemswhichattractattentionsofscientistsandgove~entsofvariouscountries.TheglobalatmOSpherecomponentschangebecauseofhtirnanactivitiesandthedevelopmentofindustry.Theincreaseofgreenhouseeffectleadstoglobalw~ng.Basedonthepredictionofgeneralcirculationmodel(GCM),bythemiddleofnextcentury,theconcentrationofopwillbedoubledandtheglobaltemperaturewillinCreasebyZt(Han,1993;She~,1983).WestudiedthelawofvegetationalterationunderthisconditioninnortheastChinain…     

The Upper Ocean Thermal Structure and the Genesis Locations of Tropical Cyclones in the South China Sea

The relationship between the upper ocean thermal structure and the genesis locations of tropical cyclones （TCs） in the South China Sea （SCS） is investigated by using the Joint Typhoon Warning Center （JTWC） best-track archives and high resolution （1/4 degree） temperature analyses of the world＇s oceans in this paper In the monthly mean genesis positions of TCs from 1945 to 2005 in the SCS, the mean sea surface temperature （SST） was 28.8℃ and the mean depth of 26℃ water was 53.1 m. From the monthly distribution maps of genesis positions of TCs, SST and the depth of 26℃ water in the SCS, we discovered that there existed regions with SST exceeding 26℃ and 26℃ water depth exceeding 50m where no tropical cyclones formed from 1945 to 2005 in the SCS, which suggests that there were other factors unfavorable for TC formation in these regions.     

Carbon sequestration in forest vegetation of Beijing at sublot level

Based on forest inventory data (FID) at sublot level,we estimated the carbon sequestration in forest vegetation of Beijing,China in 2009.In this study,the carbon sequestration in forest vegetation at sublot level was calculated based on net biomass production (ΔB) which was estimated with biomass of each sublot and function relationships between ΔB and biomass.The biomass of forested land was calculated with biomass expansion factors (BEFs) method,while those of shrub land and other forest land types were estimated with biomass,coverage and height of referred shrubs and shrub coverage and height of each sublot.As one of special forested land types,the biomass of economic tree land was calculated with biomass per tree and tree number.The variation of carbon sequestration in forest vegetation with altitude,species and stand age was also investigated in this study.The results indicate that the carbon sequestration in forest vegetation in Beijing is 4.12 × 106 tC/yr,with the average rate of 3.94 tC/(ha·yr).About 56.91% of the total carbon sequestration in forest vegetation is supported by the forest in the plain with an altitude of < 60 m and the low mountainous areas with an altitude from 400 m to 800 m.The carbon sequestration rate in forest vegetation is the highest in the plain area with an altitude of < 60 m and decreased significantly in the transitional area from the low plain to the low mountainous area with an altitude ranging from 200 m to 400 m due to intensive human disturbance.The carbon sequestration of Populus spp.forest and Quercus spp.forest are relatively higher than those of other plant species,accounting for 25.33% of the total.The carbon sequestration in vegetation by the forest of < 40 years amounts to 45.38% of the total.The carbon sequestration rate in forest vegetation peaks at the stand age of 30–40 years.Therefore,it would be crucial for enhancing the capability of carbon sequestration in forest vegetation to protect the forest in Beijing,to limit human disturbance in the transitional area from the plain to the low mountain area,and to foster the newly established open forest.     

Response of Vegetation in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to Global Warming

Using satellite-observed Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) dada and station-observed surface air temperature anomalies for the Northern Hemisphere (NH), we analyze the spatio-temporal characteristics of vege- tation variations in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and their correlations with global warming from 1982 to 2002. It is found that the late spring and early summer (May-June) are the months with the strongest responses of vegetation to global warming. Based on the Rotated Empirical Orthogonal Function (REOF) method, the study shows that the first REOF spatial pattern of average NDVI for May-June reveals the northern and southern zones with great inter-annual variations of vegetation, the northern zone from the eastern Kunlun Mountains to the southwestern Qilian Mountain and southern zone from the northern edge of the Himalayas eastward to the Hengduan Mountains. The vegetation, especially grassland, in the two zones increases significantly with global warming, with a correlation coefficient of 0.71 between the first REOF of May-June vegetation and the April-May surface air temperature anomaly in the NH during 1982-2002. A long-term increasing trend in May-June vegetation for the plateau region as a whole is also attributed mainly to global warming although there are considerable regional differences. The areas with low NDVI (grassland and shrubland) usually respond more evidently to global warming, especially since the 1990s, than those with moderate or high NDVI values.     

Multilevel assessment of spatiotemporal variability of vegetation in subtropical mountain-hill region

The complex spatiotemporal vegetation variability in the subtropical mountain-hill region was investigated through a multi-level modeling framework. Three levels - parcel, landscape, and river basin levels- were selected to discover the complex spatiotemporal vegetation variability induced by climatic, geomorphic and anthropogenic processes at different levels. The wavelet transform method was adopted to construct the annual maximum Enhanced Vegetation Index and the amplitude of the annual phenological cycle based on the 16-day time series of a5om Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Enhanced Vegetation Index datasets during 2OOl-2OlO. Results revealed that land use strongly influenced the overall vegetation greenness and magnitude of phenological cycles. Topographic variables also contributed considerably to the models, reflecting the positive influence from altitude and slope. Additionally, climate factors played an important role： precipitation had a considerable positive association with the vegetation greenness, whereas the temperature difference had strong positive influence on the magnitude of vegetation phenology. The multilevel approach leads to a better understanding of the complex interaction of the hierarchical ecosystem, human activities and climate change.     

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.     

Soil and vegetation seasonal changes in the grazing Andean Mountain grasslands

Andean grasslands ecosystems are fragile environments with rigorous climatologic conditions and low and variable food for the grazing. The Apolobamba area is located in the Bolivian Andean Mountains. Its high grasslands provide a natural habitat for wild and domestic camelids such as vicuna（Vicugna vicugna） and alpaca（Lama pacos）. The botanical diversity plays an essential role in maintaining vital ecosystem functions. The objectives of this research were to determine the seasonal changes in soil properties, to study the vegetation changes during the wet and dry seasons and the influence of soil properties and camelid densities on the vegetation in the Apolobamba grasslands. Four zones with different vicuna populations were selected to be studied. The following soil parameters were determined： total organic carbon, total nitrogen, available phosphorous, cation exchange capacity, exchangeable cations, pH and texture. The vegetation season changes were studied through botanical identification, above-ground biomass, plant cover and species richness. Results showed that some soil properties such as C/N ratio, CEC, silt and clay percentages kept stable against the seasonal changes. Generally, soil nutrients were relatively higher during the dry season in the surface and subsurface. The results did not point out the predominant vegetation growth during the wet season. The seasonal vegetation growth depended on each species. Thegood soil fertility corresponded to the highest plant cover. Soil fertility presented no influence on the above-ground biomass of the collected species. The negative influence of camelid grazing on soil properties could not be assessed. However, overgrazing could affect some plant species. Therefore, protection is needed in order to preserve the biodiversity in the Andean mountain grasslands.     

Geostrophic meridional transport in tropical Northwest Pacific based on Argo profiles

Absolute geostrophic currents in the North Pacific Ocean were calculated using P-vector method from newly gridded Argo profiling float data collected during 2004–2009. The meridional volume transport of geostrophic currents differed significantly from the classical Sverdrup balance, with differences of 10×10⁶–20×10⁶m³/s in the interior tropical Northwest Pacific Ocean. Analyses showed that errors of wind stress estimation could not explain all of the differences. The largest differences were found in the areas immediately north and south of the bifurcation latitude of the North Equatorial Current west of the dateline, and in the recirculation area of the Kuroshio and its extension, where nonlinear eddy activities were robust. Comparison of the geostrophic meridional transport and the wind-driven Sverdrup meridional transport in a high-resolution OFES simulation showed that nonlinear effects of the ocean circulation were the most likely reason for the differences. It is therefore suggested that the linear, steady wind-driven dynamics of the Sverdrup theory cannot completely explain the meridional transport of the interior circulation of the tropical Northwest Pacific Ocean.     

Extracting vegetation phenology metrics in Changbai Mountains using an improved logistic model

Remotely sensing images are now available for monitoring vegetation dynamics over large areas.In this paper,an improved logistic model that combines double logistic model and global function was developed.Using this model with SPOT/NDVI data,three key vegetation phenology metrics,the start of growing season (SOS),the end of growing season (EOS) and the length of growing season (LOS),were extracted and mapped in the Changbai Mountains,and the relationship between the key phenology metrics and elevation were ...