植被覆盖、放牧和季节对牧草种类组成和生物量的影响:以埃塞俄比亚南部Yabello牧场为例

Yabello牧场是埃塞俄比亚博拉纳的一个半干旱地区的牧场,目前面临着草场退化的严重挑战。植被覆盖的变化、过度放牧和季节性变化极大地影响了Yabello牧场的牧草组成和生物量。本文评估了植被覆盖、放牧和季节对Yabello牧场的牧草组成和生物量的影响。首先采用1 m×1 m的随机样方进行实验,根据植被覆盖类型和放牧变化选择样点,并对季节影响进行评估。使用SAS统计软件和MicrosoftExcel分析牧草组成、牧草高度和质量数据。本研究总共记录了26种草种,其中Chloris roxburghiana, Chrysopogon aucheri和Chrysopogon aucheri草种均表现出最高的平均单种覆盖高度和生物量产量。因此,建议将这些草种用于研究区域退化草地的恢复。研究结果还表明,植被覆盖类型、放牧和季节变化是决定牧草种类组成、牧草高度和生物量产量的关键因素。最后,研究结论还认为控制灌木丛植被并平衡放牧水平的可持续管理对于该地区的可持续牧草生产和生物多样性保护至关重要。     

微生境尺度上放牧退化草原群落特征与土壤有机质的空间分异性

 格局和过程与异质性有关。以呼伦贝尔克氏针茅草原不同放牧强度下的演替群落为对象,开展群落植被空间分布格局及土壤有机质空间异质性研究。结果显示,不同放牧强度样地群落结构和群落种类组成存在明显差异。轻度放牧样地样方内有8种植物,群落优势种为克氏针茅（Stipa krylovii）;中度放牧样地样方内有12种植物,群落优势种为糙隐子草（Cleistogenes squyarrosa）;而重度放牧样地样方内只有7种植物,群落优势种为多根葱（Allium polyrhizum）。随放牧强度的增强,植被地上生物量及其变异系数逐渐降低;土壤有机质含量表现为轻度放牧>中度放牧>重度放牧,而其变异系数表现为中度放牧>轻度放牧>重度放牧。从植被地上生物量和土壤有机质含量变异函数分析来看,随放牧压力的增大,植被地上生物量空间自相关性增强,空间异质性变大;土壤有机质含量空间分布自相关性先增强,然后减弱,空间变异性先变大,然后变小。在10 cm×10 cm的微尺度上,重牧群落植被地上生物量和土壤有机质含量之间表现出明显的相关性（P<0.05）。     

Assessing the ecosystem effects of the abalone Haliotis midae from its diet and foraging behaviour

The South African abalone Haliotis midae is commercially exploited and seriously threatened by overfishing. This not only affects the species itself but potentially the functioning of the ecosystem because of associated changes in community structure. The nature of effects that can follow the loss or reduction of a species depends in part on its position in the foodweb and its feeding behaviour. To assess the ecosystem effects of the adults and subadults of this previously abundant herbivore on the south-west coast of South Africa, we studied their diet and mode of food procurement by (a) in-field observations of adult and subadult abalone, (b) analysis of the gut contents of adults, (c) comparison of diet with the availability of algae, and (d) a mesocosm experiment on subadult feeding behaviour. Both field and dietary studies showed that adults subsist mainly by trapping drift kelp, but also occasionally graze on attached algae such as Plocamium spp., and feed in a manner that is highly selective, with drift kelp constituting 95–98% of the diet, and several species of common algae being avoided. In the mesocosm experiment, subadults preferentially fed on drift kelp, but emerged at night to a greater extent to graze on microflora if no drift material was available. Their propensity to emerge was, however, reduced if the rock lobster Jasus lalandii was present. Collectively, this evidence indicates that any ecosystem effects that subadults and adults of H. midae have as grazers will be weak because they feed mainly by trapping drift material, and the frequency of grazing and the incidence of consumption of attached algae are low.     

Nitrogen and phosphorus in New Zealand streams and rivers: Control and impact of eutrophication and the influence of land management

Abstract

Given sufficient light and heat, the growth of aquatic macrophytes and algae associated with eutrophication is generally controlled by the concentration, form and ratio between nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Data from 1100 freshwater sites monitored for the last 10 years by New Zealand's regional councils and unitary authorities were assessed for streams and rivers with mean nitrate/ nitrite‐N (NNN), dissolved reactive P (DRP), total N (TN) and total P (TP) concentrations in excess of New Zealand guidelines, and to generate a data set of N:P ratios to predict potential periphyton response according to the concentration of the limiting nutrient. The frequency of sites exceeding the guidelines varied from 0 to 100% depending on the parameter and region, but South Island regions were generally more compliant. The dissolved inorganic N (DIN) to dissolved reactive P (DRP) ratio was used to group data into three nutrient limitation classes: <7:1 (N‐limited), between 7:1 and 15:1 (co‐limited), and>15:l (P‐limited), by mass. P‐limitation was the most frequent scenario in New Zealand streams (overall, 76% of sites were P‐limited, 12% N‐limited, and 12% co‐limited). The mean concentration of the limiting nutrient for each site was combined with empirical relationships to predict periphyton densities (the average of N‐and P‐limited growth was used for sites with co‐limitation). This assessment predicted that 22 sites were likely to exceed the periphyton guideline for protecting benthic biodiversity (50 mg chlorophyll a m^?2), but this assessment is likely to be highly changeable in response to climatic conditions and present and future land use. As an example, we modelled N and P losses from an average sheep and a dairy farm in Southland (South Island, New Zealand) in 1958, 1988, 2008 and 2028. We predicted that with time, as farm systems have and continue to intensify, N losses increase at a greater rate than P losses. Since the pathway for N to reach fresh waters may be more tortuous and take longer than P to reach a stream or river, focusing mitigation on P losses may have a quicker effect on potential algal growth. In addition, with time, it is expected that P‐limitation in New Zealand's rivers and streams will be more widespread as N‐losses are unabated. Hence, although strategies to decrease N losses should be practised, mitigating P losses is also central to preventing eutrophication.     

基于幂函数法则对放牧梯度上种群空间异质性的定量分析

 在呼伦贝尔草原的克氏针茅群落选择轻牧、中牧、重牧3个不同的放牧梯度,沿着50 m样线设置100个50 cm×50 cm的L型样方,每个L型样方内划分4个25 cm×25 cm的S型样方,以物种出现的频度（p）作为植被空间分布的观测指标,采用幂函数法则对放牧梯度上草原植物群落物种的空间异质性进行了定量研究。结果表明,在不同放牧强度下,种类结构发生明显改变,轻度放牧区羊草和星状刺骨藜、中度放牧区藜和糙隐子草、重度放牧区猪毛菜和多根葱具有高的出现频度,群落物种数随着放牧压力的增大而减小。整体来看,放牧梯度上物种的空间分布呈现明显的聚集分布,物种空间异质性（δi）随着放牧强度的增大而增加,拟合于幂函数规律曲线;群落的空间异质性（δc）随着轻牧-中牧-重牧放牧演替的进展呈现降低趋势,种群个体分布呈现片断化特征。在群落内部各个种群具有不同的异质化分布特点,物种结构主要表现出密集型种群和疏散型种群两大类型。这些趋势与种群的繁殖策略、生活史对策、群落的再生产策略等生理与生态特性密切相关。     

不同密度团头鲂(Megalobrama amblycephala)对轮叶黑藻(Hydrilla verticillata)和密刺苦草(Vallisneria denseserrulata)群落结构的影响

冠层型水草轮叶黑藻在富营养情况下,生长迅速,覆盖水面,对于草甸型水草密刺苦草具有明显的竞争优势.为控制轮叶黑藻的竞争优势,于湖北省鄂州市团头鲂原种场的一个池塘进行了原位围隔（10 m×10 m）实验,研究不同密度（0、0.5和1尾/m²）团头鲂牧食作用对轮叶黑藻和密刺苦草群落结构的影响,并通过无人机数字图像处理获取水草覆盖度信息.实验过程中,沉水植物总覆盖度未发生变化.研究发现,团头鲂选择性牧食使得密刺苦草生物量和覆盖度显著增加.随着牧食强度的加大,团头鲂对轮叶黑藻的控制效果显著,放养密度为1尾/m²的围隔中轮叶黑藻比例降幅最明显.群落中轮叶黑藻与密刺苦草的生物量之比迅速下降,由6.14减少至0.002,覆盖度之比由4.88左右减少至约1.44.图像处理结果与实际采样情况相吻合,且通过误差矩阵得到图像分类平均精度达到90%以上,表明无人机数字图像处理在一定条件下可以作为获取沉水植物覆盖度的一种有效辅助手段.实验结束后,1尾/m²组的围隔中密刺苦草成为优势种,其植株密度、株高、株重和单株叶片数均显著增加,草甸更加密实.实验结果表明,放养1尾/m²密度的团头鲂可以有效控制轮叶黑藻并维持密刺苦草种群优势,结果为团头鲂对湖泊沉水植物群落的控制提供了参考.     

Effects of grazing by Daphnia on algal carotenoids: Implications for paleolimnology

Reverse-phase thin layer chromatography was used to quantify algal carotenoid degradation resulting from grazing by Daphnia magna in suspensions of lyophilized Oscillatoria utermöhlii, O. limnetica, Anabaena flos-aquae and Synechococcus sp. Three samples were removed every 24 h from 0 h to 144 h and the carotenoid, carbon and nitrogen content of the remaining algal-fecal mixture was determined. Grazing by Daphnia reduced carotenoid concentrations by 30%–80% after 144 h, with myxoxanthophyll being the most labile pigment in experiments with filamentous cyanophytes. However, as a group, the carotenoids were more resistant to the combined effects of grazing by Daphnia and bacterial action than were particulate algal carbon (78% to 82% lost by 144 h) or nitrogen (86%–90%) during the period in which easily digestible material remained. The maximal extent of carotenoid enrichment relative to particulate carbon ranged from 150% to 300% of initial pigment concentrations but declined with repeated coprophagy. On the basis of these results and published pigment budgets, we conclude both that fecal transportation of pigments may be an important determinant of carotenoid accumulation rates and that carotenoid stratigraphies should record predator-mediated changes in zooplankton community structure, especially in oligotrophic conditions.     

景电灌区移民对祁连山植被恢复的相对生态价值

近些年来,生态系统的服务价值研究已成为生态学以及生态经济学领域中的一个热点问题。祁连山被称为伸进西北干旱区的一座湿岛,在我国"一带一路"建设中占有重要地位。景电灌区兴建以来从祁连山移出了大量农牧民。那么,景电灌区移民对祁连山植被恢复的生态价值如何呢?以景电灌区移民涉及到的祁连山东端景泰、古浪、天祝3县山区为研究区,用价值工程方法对从祁连山区向景电灌区移民退耕退牧还林还草的生态价值做了分析,并与模型因子当量法的计算结果进行了比较。结果表明:祁连山向景电灌区移民退耕退牧还林还草总的生态价值为37.458 1×10⁸元。其中,退耕还林还草的生态价值为37.438 6×10⁸元,退牧后草场植被盖度增加的生态价值为194.79×10⁴元。计算结果为用COSTANZA和谢高地模型因子当量法计算得的祁连山向景电灌区移民退耕退牧还林还草总的生态服务价值40.054 0×10⁸元的93.52%。两种方法计算结果祁连山向景电灌区移民退耕退牧还林还草总的生态价值为景电工程年总成本1.45×10⁸元的...     

Tiller recruitment and mortality in the dryland bunchgrass Eragrostis curvula as affected by defoliation intensity

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of moderate (14 cm) vs. severe (7 cm) defoliation on tiller recruitment and mortality within the interior and on the perimeter of weeping lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula) tussocks. Tiller number per marked shoot within the interior was significantly greater in plants defoliated at 14-cm stubble height than at 7-cm stubble height (2·37 vs. 0·43, p<0·05) 28 weeks after defoliation; likewise, tiller number per marked shoot was also greater on the perimeter of tussocks in the higher stubble than the lower stubble defoliation treatment (5·10 vs. 2·03, p<0·05). Tiller natality increased significantly 4 weeks after defoliation except for tillers cut to 7-cm stubble height within the interior of tussocks where tiller natality reached a peak at 4·5 weeks after defoliation. During the later stages of canopy development, tiller numbers per marked shoot gradually declined as tiller mortality increased. Tillers began senescing 13 weeks after defoliation, and the senescence rate was 52% greater in the 7-cm stubble height treatment than in the 14-cm stubble height treatment (2·33 vs. 1·53, p<0·0001). Within the interior of tussocks, number of the marked tillers more than doubled under the 14-cm stubble height treatment, whereas the plants lost 57% of the monitored tillers under the 7-cm stubble height treatment. We concluded that the central dieback process in weeping lovegrass is accelerated by severe defoliation.     

Probing molecular-level transformations of dissolved organic matter: insights on photochemical degradation and protozoan modification of DOM from electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry

Molecular-level characterization of natural organic matter (NOM) has been elusive due to the inherent complexity of natural organic mixtures and to the fact that individual components are often polar and macromolecular. Electrospray ionization (ESI) is a “soft” ionization technique that ionizes polar compounds from aqueous solution prior to injection into a mass spectrometer. The highest resolution and mass accuracy of compounds within NOM have been achieved when ESI is combined with an ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometer such as the Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (FT-ICR MS). With this technique, individual molecules within a variety of natural organic mixtures can be detected and their elemental composition can be determined. At low mass-to-charge (m/z) ratio, the resolution is high enough to assign exact molecular formulas allowing specific components of these mixtures to be identified. In addition to molecular identification, we can now use ESI FT-ICR MS to examine molecular-level changes in different organic mixtures as a function of relevant geo-processes, such as microbial alterations and photochemistry. Here we present the results from the application of ESI FT-ICR MS to two geochemical questions: (1) the effect of photoirradiation on the molecular composition of fulvic acids and (2) the role of protozoan grazers in the modification of DOM in aquatic systems.