Fauna and standing crop of freshwater mussels in Poyang Lake, China

Freshwater mussels are a major component of the zoobenthos and they therefore play an important role in freshwater ecosystems. The community composition and the standing crop of freshwater mussels in Poyang Lake, the largest freshwater lake in China and one of two lakes connected to the Changjiang (Yangtze) River, were investigated from February 2008 to May 2009. Mussels were sampled in hydrologically and geographically distinct sampling areas. A total of 42 species and 13 genera were identified, of which 32 species were endemic to China. Two species, Unio douglasiae and Lamprotula caveata, dominated all sampling areas. The number of genera and species, and the number of species within each genus, differed significantly among sampling areas. Freshwater mussels were very abundant, with an overall density of 0.28 ± 0.22 ind./m2 and biomass of 4.08 ± 3.96 g/m2. Significant variation observed among sampling areas and among genera was probably due to the variety of habitats among the areas sampled and to the adaptability of different freshwater mussels to environments. This study suggests that Poyang Lake and other freshwater lakes in the region are important sites of freshwater mussel biodiversity and conservation.     

Managing Soil Erosion Potential by Integrating Digital Elevation Models with the Southern China＇s Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation——A Case Study for the West Lake Scenic Spots Area of Hangzhou, China

In China, many scenic and tourism areas are suffering from the urbanization that results from physical development of tourism projects, leading to the removal of the vegetative cover, the creation of areas impermeable to water, in-stream modifications, and other problems. In this paper, the risk of soil erosion and its ecological risks in the West Lake Scenic Spots （WLSS） area were quantitatively evaluated by integrating the revised universal soil loss equation （RUSLE） with a digital elevation model （DEM） and geographical information system （GIS） software. The standard RUSLE factors were modified to account for local climatic and topographic characteristics reflected in the DEM maps, and for the soil types and vegetation cover types. An interface was created between the Areinfo software and RUSLE so that the level of soil erosion and its ecological risk in the WLSS area could be mapped immediately once the model factors were defined for the area. The results from an analysis using the Areinfo-RUSLE interface showed that the risk value in 93 % of the expanding western part of the WLSS area was moderate or more severe and the soil erosion risk in this area was thus large compared with that in the rest of the area. This paper mainly aimed to increase the awareness of the soil erosion risk in urbanizing areas and suggest that the local governments should consider the probable ecological risk resulting from soil erosion when enlarging and developing tourism areas.     

Energy flow in Branchiura sowerbyi (Oligochaeta: tubificidae) in a shallow macrophyte-dominated lake, Biandantang Lake

The energy flow ofBranchiura sowerbyi was studied for the first time in China in a shallow macrophytic lake, Biandantang Lake, Hubei Province. The energy flow was calculated from the measurement of flesh production (12.5241kJ/m²a), egestion (517.7302kJ/m²a), metabolism (38.3273 kJ/m²a), and excretion (4.3798kJ/m²a). The net growth efficiency of the species is about 22.7%, which accords well with the generally reported value for oligochaetes. In addition, the relationship between starvation respiration (R, mgO₂/ind·d), wet weight (Ww, mg) and temperature (T, °C) were also measured, with the regression function beingR=0.008Ww^0.736 e^0.050T. Project supported by NSFC (30270278, 3960019), the foundation of the government of Hubei Province (No. 2000J109), and the foundation of Ecological Station, CAS in the Institute of Hydrobiology.     

Ecosystem health assessment of Honghu Lake Wetland of China using artificial neural network approach

Honghu Lake, located in the southeast of Hubei Province, China, has suffered a severe disturbance during the past few decades. To restore the ecosystem, the Honghu Lake Wetland Protection and Restoration Demonstration Project (HLWPRDP) has been implemented since 2004. A back propagation (BP) artificial neural network (ANN) approach was applied to evaluatinig the ecosystem health of the Honghu Lake wetland. And the effectiveness of the HLWPRDP was also assessed by comparing the ecosystem health before and after the project. Particularly, 12 ecosystem health indices were used as evaluation parameters to establish a set of three-layer BP ANNs. The output is one layer of ecosystem health index. After training and testing the BP ANNs, an optimal model of BP ANNs was selected to assess the ecosystem health of the Honghu Lake wetland. The result indicates that four stages can be identified based on the change of the ecosystem health from 1990 to 2008 and the ecosystem health index ranges from morbidity before the implementation of HLWPRDP (in 2002) to middle health after the implementation of the HLWPRDP (in 2005). It demonstrates that the HLWPRDP is effective and the BP ANN could be used as a tool for the assessment of ecosystem health.     

The applicability of research on flood-drought tendency —an analysis on disastrous flood of Taihu Lake basin in June-July, 1991

In Taihu Lake basin during June–July in 1991, there happened a catastrophic flood, the precipitation reached that of 1954 and the water level was the highest in the history in Taihu Lake. This heavy flood, happening in the relatively humid period and being well accord with flood-drought change tendency, was early precautioned. The occurrence of the flood illustrated that using records of historical climate to predict flood-drough tendency is practically significant for hazard-reduction project.     

THE HYDROLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND WATER BUDGET OF QINGHAI LAKE DRAINAGE BASIN

The rapid shrinkage of the surface area reflects the long-term deficit water budget of Qinghai Lake. Study of the yearly hydrology and meteorology in the lake catchment basin and the hydrologic factors as well as water budget led to the conclusion that evaporation exceeding the water input resulted in the drop of lake level, thai the obvious decrease of runoff to the lake and precipitation on the catchment accelerated the falling of lake level before 1987. and that increase of about 6.7% in rainfall on the whole basin will balance the lake's water budget.     

鄱阳湖流域史前人类遗址时空分布及其环境响应（英文）

The temporal-spatial geographic distribution of archaeological sites and its feature between 10.0–2.8 ka BP(ka BP= thousands of years before 0 BP, where "0 BP" is defined as the year AD 1950) were determined, based on GIS spatial analysis in the Poyang Lake Basin. The relationship between geographic distribution of sites of different periods under subsistence existence of ancient civilizations, climate and environmental change was investigated. The results revealed numerous archaeological sites of the Neolithic Age(10.0–3.6 ka BP). The sites were mainly located in the northern part of the Poyang Lake Basin, a hilly and mountainous area with many river terraces suitable for the development of human civilization. The number of archaeological sites rapidly increased during the Shang and Zhou dynasties(3.6–2.8 ka BP) and spread widely on the floodplains of the middle and lower reaches of Ganjiang River and onto the west, south, and southeast beach areas of the Poyang Lake. Holocene records of climate change suggested that it was possible that climate fluctuations had a great impact on human evolution in the study area. Before 3.6 ka BP, westward and northward expansion of Neolithic cultures in the Poyang Lake watershed occurred under the background of climate amelioration(becoming warmer and wetter). The ancient people lived in the hilly areas with high elevation. The simple mode of a fishing and gathering economy was mostly suited to this area in the early Neolithic Age. The scope of human activities was expanded and cultural diversity developed in the late Neolithic Age. However, with population growth and increasing survival pressure in a dry-cold climatic stage after 3.6 ka BP, this simple living mode had to be abandoned, and various forms of economy, the majority being agriculture, were developed on flood plains of the lower reaches of numerous rivers around Poyang Lake. This promoted flourishing of the Bronze culture of South China.     

沉积物记录的亚高山湖泊环境变化——以鄂东南云中湖为例

根据云中湖27 cm长沉积岩芯进行元素、粒度和硅藻多指标分析以及²¹⁰Pb测年,结合流域气候和人类活动等历史资料,反演1958年以来云中湖在气候变化和人类活动影响下的环境变化。冗余分析结果显示云中湖沉积硅藻组合变化与Al、Fe、Pb和温度四个变量显著相关。硅藻属种聚类分析的结果表明云中湖环境变化经历了两个阶段：1958-1993年间喜碱性水体的Achnanthes minutissima和Fragilaria nanana属种大量出现与较高CIA指数响应于气候调控下的流域侵蚀过程;1993年以来气候变暖与旅游发展引起入湖营养盐增加是Cyclotella pseudostelligera和Aulacoseira alpigena等中—富营养硅藻种增殖的主要诱因。重建亚高山湖泊在气候变化以及人类活动影响下湖泊生态系统的演化,为保护亚高山湖泊生态环境和改善流域水质提供参考。     

后生浮游动物摄食对太湖夏季微囊藻水华形成的作用

为了了解后生浮游动物的摄食作用在太湖夏季微囊藻水华形成中的作用,2009年7月15日至8月14日取太湖梅梁湾湖水开展了后生浮游动物对微囊藻水华形成作用的野外模拟实验.实验期间,未过滤掉后生浮游动物的对照组出现了漂浮在水面、肉眼可见的微囊藻水华,而过滤掉后生浮游动物的实验组没有出现微囊藻水华.结果显示,对照组整个实验期间都有后生浮游动物存在,共发现了9种后生浮游动物;而实验组在实验第6 d发现有后生浮游动物出现,整个实验期间共发现了3种后生浮游动物.浮游动物生物多样性分析显示对照组显著高于实验组.实验后期(21～30 d),对照组微囊藻平均密度显著高于实验组.整个实验期间,惠氏微囊藻(Microcystis wesenbergii)和水华微囊藻(Microcystis flos-aquae)密度均显著高于实验组,且惠氏微囊藻密度占对照组微囊藻总密度的60.79%.研究结果表明,太湖夏季后生浮游动物摄食并不能控制太湖蓝藻水华,相反,后生浮游动物特别是大型浮游动物能促进蓝藻水华的形成.同时表明,后生浮游动物群落结构可能是影响微囊藻水华形成的重要因素.