Floral ecology and insect visitation in riparian Tamarix sp. (saltcedar)

Climate change projections for semiarid and arid North America include reductions in stream discharge that could adversely affect riparian plant species dependent on stream-derived ground water. In order to better understand this potential impact, we used a space-for-time substitution to test the hypotheses that increasing depth-to-groundwater (DGW) is inversely related to Tamarix sp. (saltcedar) flower abundance (F) and nectar production per flower (N). We also assessed whether DGW affected the richness or abundance of insects visiting flowers. We examined Tamarix floral attributes and insect visitation patterns during 2010 and 2011 at three locations along a deep DWG gradient (3.2–4.1 m) on a floodplain terrace adjacent to Las Vegas Wash, an effluent-dominated Mojave Desert stream. Flower abundance and insect visitation patterns differed between years, but no effect from DGW on either F or N was detected. An eruption of a novel non-native herbivore, the splendid tamarisk weevil (Coniatus splendidulus), likely reduced flower production in 2011.     

Timing of breeding in free-ranging Ethiopian hedgehogs,Paraechinus aethiopicus,from Qatar

There is little information pertaining to the breeding behaviour and reproductive biology of free-ranging hedgehog populations outside of Europe. We monitored the seasonal changes in courtship behaviour and the presence of new young animals from a free-ranging Ethiopian hedgehog population in Qatar between 2010 and 2012. Based on frequencies of courtship behaviour and deduced frequencies of successful mating, the mating season of the Ethiopian hedgehog is believed to start in January and continue through until July with a clear peak during the February/March period. We propose the existence of two mating peaks, one in February/March and the second in June, suggesting that free-ranging Ethiopian hedgehogs breed more than twice a year in Qatar. Successful mating in late winter/early spring may be more important for the increasing the inclusive fitness of the parents based on the number of young individuals that survive beyond one month of age.     

Variability in reproductive effort of a keystone species: age and height of branch establishment

Carnegiea gigantea (saguaro, Cactaceae) is a protected and keystone species in the Sonoran Desert upon which nearly all of the ecosystem’s fauna rely. Little is known about its branching habits, which are particularly important as branching is directly related to seed production. This study assessed the ages and heights of plants when branching commenced under four different environmental regimes. Significant variations were observed in the onset of branching across the populations by both age (78–139?years) and height (4.4–5.5?m), likely related to the interplay between summer precipitation (and thus growth rate) and winter precipitation, which increases branching in any given individual. In all four populations, branches developed from areoles that are themselves reproductive (past or present); i.e., the lower areoles that pre-date the start of reproduction do not appear to contribute to branch production. Further, unlike the wide range of ages at the start of branching, the delay between the start of fruiting and the production of branches appears to be relatively consistent across populations, hovering around a 30-year time lag. Of greatest concern is the advanced age (around 140?years) at which branching begins at the most marginal, arid site, which is around the same time that old-age mortality may set in for the species (generally), dramatically diminishing reproductive output in an already marginal population. If this keystone species declines in this already arid to hyper-arid environment, it would have dramatic and irreversible consequences for the fauna and the ecosystem in this region.     

再议绿洲－沙漠过渡带——以策勒绿洲－沙漠过渡带为例

 被长期质疑的绿洲－荒漠过渡带在不断观测和丰富积累的基础上让我们有了一个完整的认识。以策勒绿洲为例对其进行剖析,作为绿洲－荒漠过渡带的一种典型类型,绿洲－沙漠过渡带可以界定为自绿洲边缘（人工防护体系或天然稀疏灌木林边界）到植被盖度为20%～25%的固定－半固定沙地为外缘边界（绿洲与流动沙漠之间）的荒漠地带。过渡带的内缘边界为绿洲外缘的人工防护体系,包括防风阻沙林带或天然稀疏灌木林。过渡带形成是因为从绿洲到外部荒漠存在水热环境因子的梯度变化,导致植被、土壤、地貌等综合景观展现出过渡特征,其组成与结构模式为：由绿洲向沙漠方向,稀疏灌木林（或边缘防护林体系）地－缓起伏灌草沉沙地－起伏灌丛沙堆和高起伏灌丛沙堆地。过渡带是乡土动植物重要的保留与保护地,是绿洲与沙漠间能流物流输送交换的缓冲带、绿洲的天然生态屏障,对地貌、土壤以及植被具有保护功能,且具有重要的固碳作用。     

Climatic Change and Desert Vegetation Distribution: Assessing Thirty Years of Change in Southern Nevada's Mojave Desert

A major theme in physical geography and biogeography is understanding how vegetation changes across geographic gradients during climate change. We assess shifts in distributions of fifteen Mojave Desert plant species based on a 2008 resurvey of 103 vegetation transects that were established in 1979. We model changes in species distributions using Maximum Entropy (Maxent) with environmental and climate variables to predict probability of species’ occurrences. Climate during the ten-year period preceding the 2008 vegetation survey was 1.5°C warmer and 3 cm per year of precipitation drier than the ten years preceding 1979. Species inhabiting the highest elevations and strongly correlated with precipitation displayed areal reductions from 1979 through 2008.     

古尔班通古特沙漠树枝状沙丘土壤水分时空变异特征

认识沙漠土壤水分的时空变异性,是揭示沙漠生态系统生态-水文格局的基础。利用中子土壤水分仪的实测数据,对古尔班通古特沙漠树枝状沙丘土壤水分时空变异进行了系统分析。研究表明:① 沙丘不同部位土壤水分随时间具有一致性变化规律,上层土壤和下层土壤的变化趋势有所不同。0~1 m土层坡顶>坡中>坡脚,1~2 m土层坡脚>坡中>坡顶。② 土壤水分具有明显的季节变化和分层变化特征。春季是古尔班通古特沙漠土壤水分最丰富、变化最迅速的时期;0~40 cm、40~140 cm、140~200 cm土层土壤水分变异系数分别为13.56%、5.35%和0.80%,与不同土层水分来源和消耗以及植物根系分布相对应;不同土层土壤水分的变异强度要大于不同部位土壤水分的变异强度。③ 植被和地形对土壤水分的空间分异作用明显,沙丘坡脚处以及荒漠灌木梭梭根区始终存在土壤水分相对富集区。     

古尔班通古特沙漠与绿洲交错带土地利用变化对土壤特性的影响

对比研究了古尔班通古特沙漠与绿洲交错带8种土地利用类型的土壤特性变化. 结果表明: 不同土地利用类型的土壤粉砂含量差异性显著(P<0.05). 人类活动干扰的时间越长、 强度越大, 粉砂和极细砂含量越高, 而细砂反之. 在人类活动干扰前期(≤5 a), 土壤养分与干扰时间成反比, 而后(＞5 a)与时间成正比. 不同土地利用类型的土壤养分分为4个等级: 1级为盐碱地, 为最高等级; 2级为生态防护林地、 荒草地和天然灌木林地; 3级为10 a农田地、 5 a菜园地和3 a农田地; 4级为5 a农田地, 为最低等级. 人类活动使得土壤盐分由原来的(盐碱土)上层高、 下层低转为上层低、 下层高. 而且盐分与干扰时间成反比. 土地利用变化的过程中, 土壤盐分与Cl^-、 SO₄^2-、 Ca²⁺、 Mg²⁺、 K⁺和Na⁺离子均成正比, 而与HCO₃^-离子成反比. 5 a农田地土壤退化指数(-30.58%)最高, 是其他土地利用类型的1.5~3.9倍.     

近50年黄河乌兰布和沙漠段辫状河道演变

依据水沙资料和断面资料,对黄河乌兰布和沙漠段辫状河道形态近50年演变特征及趋势进行探讨分析。结果表明：在大流量条件下（1966-1993年）,河流横向侵蚀、搬运堆积过程强烈,风沙入黄（河）量大,河道横向摆动频繁,辫状河道发育强烈。当黄河流量减小时（1993-2013年）,河流横向摆动能力减弱,黄河主河槽远离左岸乌兰布和沙漠沙丘,河流输沙能力减弱,汊道泥沙淤积导致心滩边滩相连,河流分汊数量明显减少,辫状河道萎缩,黄河乌兰布和沙漠段辫状河型有向弯曲型河道转变的趋势。     

极端干旱条件下策勒绿洲引种植物水分生理特征研究

在塔克拉玛干沙漠南缘的中国科学院策勒沙漠研究站植物引种筛选实验区内,以3 a生文冠果、花棒和紫叶小檗为实验材料,研究三种植物经历持续干旱到短期复水过程中的生理生态响应。结果表明：（1）干旱复水后花棒和紫叶小檗的chla、chlb、叶绿素总量以及chla/b值均随土壤含水量的增加而显著增加,文冠果的叶绿素及其组分含量减少。水分变化对chla含量影响较大。（2）三种植物的MDA含量、SS含量在复水后并没有减少,而是显著的增加,文冠果的增加量最大;各物种的脯氨酸的含量降低,紫叶小糪减少的最多。（3）三种植物的清晨水势和正午水势随土壤水分含量的增加而降低,花棒和紫叶小檗的水势变化较小,水分亏缺迹象不显著。文冠果和花棒的抗逆性较强,而紫叶小檗对水分变化比较敏感。本研究结果可为研究区引种植物的适应性及防护林建设中的植物种选择提供理论参考。     

古尔班通古特沙漠南缘非灌溉条件下梭梭[（Haloxylon ammodendron）]蒸腾耗水特征

利用热平衡包裹式茎流计连续测定了古尔班通古特沙漠南缘原生梭梭2010年5月6日～10月12日的茎干液流及气象因子数据,探究了非灌溉条件下不同直径梭梭在其蒸腾耗水特性及与气象因子相关性之间的差异。结果表明：（1）茎干液流昼夜变化规律明显,蒸腾日变化呈双峰或多峰趋势,夜间保持较小液流;午休现象多出现于14∶00～16∶00。相同环境因子影响下,直径越大,茎干液流速率越大,午休现象也越明显;（2）在生长季,不同直径梭梭液流的启动和停止时间存在差异,6～8月,直径越大,液流启动时间越早,停止时间越晚。同一植株液流在不同月份的启动和停止时间差异较大,生长初期,液流启动早,停止迟;生长季末期,液流启动迟,停止早;（3）5～8月,液流日累积过程呈明显的“S”型趋势;9～10月,呈斜率一致的一条直线。直径越大,日累积量和累积速率越大,第一拐点到达时刻越早,第二拐点到达时刻越晚;（4）液流速率与太阳辐射的相关性最好,其次为气温和相对湿度,风速最小;相关性在7月份最大,6月和8月次之,10月最小。相同环境条件下,直径越大,其液流速率对气象因子的响应越明显;（5）观测时段内,7月耗水最多,6月、8月、9月次之,5月和10月最少。直径越大耗水量越多,直径9.9、13.4、22.9 cm日均耗水量为0.570、0.595、0.694 mm,总耗水量为92.904、96.923、113.052 mm,液流通量为0.263、0.284、0.346 L·cm^-2·d^-1。与干旱区不同生境的梭梭相比,古尔班通古特沙漠原生梭梭的液流通量相对较小。不同地点和生境的梭梭在耗水数量、耗水日过程特性等方面差异明显,这为天然荒漠植被防护林的管理及沙漠区人工灌溉植物的水资源合理配置提供了一定的决策支持。