Floodplain–river ecosystems: lateral connections and the implications of human interference

Floodplains are ecotones that form a transition between aquatic and terrestrial environments. These important ecosystems can be described as dynamic spatial mosaics in which water plays an important role in connecting various patches on the floodplain surface. Hydrological connections facilitate the exchange of carbon and nutrients between the river channel and the floodplain and therefore influence the productivity of the entire river system. This paper examines the influence of hydrological connections on the potential exchange of dissolved organic carbon between a large Australian floodplain to a river channel, and the effects of land and water developments on these exchanges. The paper proposes that an understanding of floodplain ecosystems requires an interdisciplinary approach—a recognition of the importance of the three disciplines hydrology, geomorphology and ecology. Large-scale water-resources and floodplain development has significantly altered the spatial and temporal patterns of hydrological characteristics in the Lower Balonne floodplain, Australia. The magnitude, frequency and duration of flooding events have all been reduced. The construction of levees and water storages has also reduced the reactive floodplain surface area. The presented data show the impacts of these changes on the potential supply of dissolved organic carbon from the floodplain surface during periods of inundation. Annual reductions of up to 1293 tonnes of dissolved organic carbon supply were noted and reductions were especially significant for floods with an average recurrence interval of 2 years or less. Some small flood events no longer facilitate the potential supply of dissolved organic carbon from the floodplain to the river channel because of water-resources and floodplain developments.     

Habitat, occurrence and conservation of Saharo-Arabian-Turanian element Forsskaolea tenacissima L. in the Iberian Peninsula

The aim of this study is to assess the Iberian populations of Forsskaolea tenacissima L. according to its biogeographical interest, habitat, geographical range and conservation status. Results point out that they are restricted to gravel wadis of Tabernas Desert (SE Spain), are scarcely included in protected areas and represent historically isolated populations with relict behaviour. We also describe a new association, Senecioni-Forsskaoleetum tenacissimae. Conservation status of species is cause for concern and two conservation actions must be carried out. Firstly, protected areas should house Forsskaolea populations and secondly, phytosociological characterization of a community allows inventorying its habitat and directing conservation efforts to community level.     

The Influence of Advection on the Short Term CO 2 -Budget in and Above a Forest Canopy

An experimental micrometeorological set-up was established at the CARBOEURO-FLUX site in Tharandt, Germany, to measure all relevant variables for the calculation of the vertical and horizontal advective fluxes of carbon dioxide. The set-up includes two auxiliary towers to measure horizontal and vertical CO₂ and H₂O gradients through the canopy, and to make ultrasonic wind measurements in the trunk space. In combination with the long-term flux tower an approximately even-sided prism with a typical side-length of 50 m was established. It is shown that under stable (nighttime) conditions the mean advective fluxes have magnitudes on the same order as the daily eddy covariance (EC) flux, which implies that they play a significant, but not yet fully understood, role in the carbon budget equation. The two advective fluxes are opposite and seem to cancel each other at night (at least for these measurements). During the day, vertical advection tends to zero, while horizontal advection is still present implying a flow of CO₂ out of the control volume. From our measurements, a mean daily gain of 2.2 gC m^–2 d^–1 for the horizontal advection and a mean daily loss of 2.5 gC m^–2d^–1 for the vertical advection is calculated for a period of 20 days. However the large scatter of the advective fluxes has to be further investigated. It is not clear yet whether the large variability is natural or due to measurement errors and conceptual deficiencies of the experiment. Similar results are found in the few comparable studies.     

Salinity and periodic inundation controls on the soil‐plant‐atmosphere continuum of gray mangroves

Salinity and periodic inundation are both known to have a major role in shaping the ecohydrology of mangroves through their controls on water uptake, photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, gas exchanges, and nutrient availability. Salinity, in particular, can be considered one of the main abiotic regulating factors for halophytes and salt‐tolerant species, due to its influence on water use patterns and growth rate. Ecohydrological literature has rarely focused on the effects of salinity on plant transpiration, based on the fact that the terrestrial plants mostly thrive in low‐saline, unsaturated soils where the role of osmotic potential can be considered negligible. However, the effect of salinity cannot be neglected in the case of tidal species like mangroves, which have to cope with hyperosmotic conditions and waterlogging. We introduce here a first‐order ecohydrological model of the soil/plant‐atmosphere continuum of Avicennia marina—also known as gray mangrove—a highly salt‐tolerant pioneer species able to adapt to hyperarid intertidal zones and characterized by unique morphological and ecophysiological traits. The A. marina's soil‐plant‐atmosphere continuum takes explicitly into account the role of water head, osmotic water potential, and water salinity in governing plant water fluxes. A. marina's transpiration is thus modeled as a function of salinity based on a simple parameterization of salt exclusion mechanisms at the root level and a modified Jarvis' expression accounting for the effects of salinity on stomatal conductance. Consistently with previous studies investigating the physiology of mangroves in response to different environmental drivers, our results highlight the major influence of salinity on mangrove transpiration when contrasted with other potential stressors such as waterlogging and water stress.     

Characteristic and Geological Significance of Microbially Induced Sedimentary Structures(MISS) in Terrestrial P-T Boundary in Xingyang,Western He’nan Province

Microbially Induced Sedimentary Structures (MISS) are primary sedimentary structures that arise syndepositionally from microbial community activity. Especially valuable are MISS for the analysis of early Archean (and extraterrestrial) deposits. However, most reports of MISS have focused on the Precambrian and Phanerozoic mass extinction marine sediments, and only a few and terrestrial MISS have been studied. The MISS presented in this paper, which mainly consists of mat growth feature, mat destruction feature and mat decay feature, are well preserved in terrestrial clastic rocks around the P-T boundary in Xiyang area, western Henan. Large U ridges, oriented sand quartz, mica grains and thin clayey laminae arranged parallel to bedding plane are the main features visible under the microscope. Several lines of evidence indicate that the Xingyang MISS are of biogenic origin. Abundant MISS in Xingyang may indicate the degradation of terrestrial ecosystems and proliferation of microbial mats immediately after the severe Permian-Triassic mass extinction. Study aiming at MISS helps to analyze their space distribution in the globe and to probe into links between microbial proliferation and environmental stresses following the end-Permian mass extinction in terrestrial ecosystems.     

Method‐dependent influence of environmental variables on reef fish assemblages when comparing trap and video surveys

Despite substantial survey effort and a large body of literature on abiotic and biotic factors in temperate reef ecosystems, knowledge of the complex and interactive effects of environmental variables on those communities is limited. Various survey methods have been developed to study environmental predictors of biodiversity, but there remains a gap in our understanding of how survey results are influenced by environmental factors. Here, we surveyed the fish assemblage associated with southeastern U.S. temperate marine reefs with simultaneous, paired trap, and camera gears throughout a ~50,000 km² area during 2011–2013 and assessed the influence of environmental variables on the trap‐ and video‐surveyed assemblages. Predictor variables in the multivariate general linear models included depth, temperature, month, year, location, substrate relief, percent sessile biota, biota type, and turbidity. Depth and latitude had the greatest influence on the fish assemblage for both gears. The influence of habitat variables differed between methods and percent biota explained more variation in the fish assemblage when assessed by traps, while substrate relief and biota type explained more variation in the fish assemblage when assessed by video. In general, habitat complexity was positively related to the abundance of fishes in the video survey, but there was a negative relationship in the trap survey. Differences between gears were species‐specific and the influences of environmental variables were similar for some species such as Haemulon plumierii and Hyporthodus niveatus. The methods presented here can be used to assess method‐dependent differences in fish assemblages, which is a necessary precursor to assess the effect of environmental variables on the accuracy of surveys.     

Carbon cycling in a high-arctic marine ecosystem – Young Sound, NE Greenland

Young Sound is a deep-sill fjord in NE Greenland (74°N). Sea ice usually begins to form in late September and gains a thickness of 1.5 m topped with 0–40 cm of snow before breaking up in mid-July the following year. Primary production starts in spring when sea ice algae begin to flourish at the ice–water interface. Most biomass accumulation occurs in the lower parts of the sea ice, but sea ice algae are observed throughout the sea ice matrix. However, sea ice algal primary production in the fjord is low and often contributes only a few percent of the annual phytoplankton production. Following the break-up of ice, the immediate increase in light penetration to the water column causes a steep increase in pelagic primary production. Usually, the bloom lasts until August–September when nutrients begin to limit production in surface waters and sea ice starts to form. The grazer community, dominated by copepods, soon takes advantage of the increased phytoplankton production, and on an annual basis their carbon demand (7–11 g C m⁻²) is similar to phytoplankton production (6–10 g C m⁻²). Furthermore, the carbon demand of pelagic bacteria amounts to 7–12 g C m⁻² yr⁻¹. Thus, the carbon demand of the heterotrophic plankton is approximately twice the estimated pelagic primary production, illustrating the importance of advected carbon from the Greenland Sea and from land in fuelling the ecosystem.In the shallow parts of the fjord (<40 m) benthic primary producers dominate primary production. As a minimum estimate, a total of 41 g C m⁻² yr⁻¹ is fixed by primary production, of which phytoplankton contributes 15%, sea ice algae <1%, benthic macrophytes 62% and benthic microphytes 22%. A high and diverse benthic infauna dominated by polychaetes and bivalves exists in these shallow-water sediments (<40 m), which are colonized by benthic primary producers and in direct contact with the pelagic phytoplankton bloom. The annual benthic mineralization is 32 g C m⁻² yr⁻¹ of which megafauna accounts for 17%. In deeper waters benthic mineralization is 40% lower than in shallow waters and megafauna, primarily brittle stars, accounts for 27% of the benthic mineralization. The carbon that escapes degradation is permanently accumulated in the sediment, and for the locality investigated a rate of 7 g C m⁻² yr⁻¹ was determined.A group of walruses (up to 50 adult males) feed in the area in shallow waters (<40 m) during the short, productive, ice-free period, and they have been shown to be able to consume <3% of the standing stock of bivalves (Hiatella arctica, Mya truncata and Serripes Groenlandicus), or half of the annual bivalve somatic production. Feeding at greater depths is negligible in comparison with their feeding in the bivalve-rich shallow waters.     

三角洲前缘岸滩对河流来沙减少响应的敏感性探讨——以长江口门区崇明岛向海侧岸滩为例

利用ArcGIS对1977—2004年不同时段的长江口崇明岛向海侧水下地形测量资料进行处理,并结合该区的潮滩历史遥感图片、现场高程测量以及同期大通站输沙率资料,探讨三角洲前缘岸滩冲淤演变对河流来沙减少响应的敏感性。结果表明:研究区岸滩的淤涨速率总体上在年代以上时间尺度随着长江来沙减少而下降,但由于局部滩—槽演变和海洋动力条件的影响,某些年代内和某些部位可能出现相反的趋势,使岸滩演变对河流来沙减少的响应变得复杂化。在此基础上预测今后几十年研究区的冲淤趋势。     

论海水养殖的养殖容量

养殖容量应是一个包含环境、生态和经济等诸多因素的综合概念。养殖容量可定义为：单位水体内在保护环境、节约资源和保证应有效益等各个方面都符合可持续发展要求的最大养殖量。合理地利用养殖容量就是要形成一个结构优化和功能高效的养殖生态系统,使所投入的物质得到反复循环、初级生产力得到多途径利用,从而提高生产效益和养殖效益,避免物质的浪费及自身和环境的污染。从养殖生态系统运转的驱动因素来分析,主要靠太阳辐射直接提供能源的系统,如海带养殖系统、扇贝筏式养殖系统等,可称为自养型或自然营养型养殖系统;主要靠人工投饲来提供能源的系统,如对虾池塘养殖系统、吃食性鱼类网箱养殖系统等,可称为异养型或人工营养型养殖系统。这两类养殖系统在生态学上有很多互补性,它们的复合可提高养殖水体的养殖容量。     

黄河干流营养盐分布与变化趋势

河流是海洋获取陆源物质的主要途径,河流营养盐含量和结构的变化会对海洋生态环境产生重要影响。为了解黄河干流营养盐的基本情况及影响因素,于2012年7月(汛期)对黄河流域水体和土壤进行了综合调查,并结合历史资料分析了悬浮颗粒物和营养盐等的变化特征及对黄河物质输送的影响。结果表明:各参数受地势和人类活动的影响明显,表现出不同的分布特征。营养盐和悬浮颗粒物在上游浓度较低,在中游相对稳定,下游浓度有一定程度升高;相比于贵德而言,黄河利津段悬浮颗粒物、溶解硅和硝酸盐分别增加了近66%、60%和800%。磷限制是黄河营养盐限制的主要特征,且氮磷比呈升高趋势;与资料对比发现,黄河氮增加约1倍,硅下降60%后相对稳定,而磷略有下降。从目前分析看,支流与干流的氮营养盐构成有显著差异。在沿岸表层土壤营养盐含量较高的区域,河段内营养盐含量也较高。流域人类活动是黄河氮营养盐含量增加的重要因素;流域降水减少、水土保持等导致的物理侵蚀作用减弱是黄河硅和磷减少的重要因素;自1986年后,流域泥沙减少导致河流溶解硅降低了约34%,这值得进一步关注。