Diversity and distribution of landscape trees in the compact Asian city of Taipei

The promotion and preservation of biodiversity in urban areas remains scant, especially in Asian cities. This study focuses on spatial pattern and diversity of landscape trees in compact Taipei. Aggregate species diversity of three urban habitats (streets, urban parks and riverside parks) exceeded the countryside's secondary forests. Urban parks with site heterogeneity and multiple functions accommodate the highest richness, and streets with acute site limitations the poorest represented by popular native species. More affinities exist between urban and riverside parks. Low diversity in riverside parks echoes natural site constraints and primary use for river discharge and flood control. The compact urban form has not stifled species diversity and spatial variability of urban forests. Development history and park area have no significant relationship with species diversity. Understanding species composition in urban ecosystems could frame conservation strategies to augment species richness, appropriate site selection, habit preservation and wildlife recruitment.     

山地森林群落物种多样性垂直格局研究进展

山地森林群落物种多样性垂直格局研究是揭示植被地带性分布式样的重要手段,其研究内容主要包括山地森林群落物种多样性的垂直变化模式、山地森林群落物种多样性垂直带谱和山地森林群落物种多样性及其环境解释等。目前对于山地森林群落物种多样性沿海拔梯度的格局变化模式尚无统一认识,但大致可概括为5类变化模式。垂直带谱研究从最初的单因子单目标已逐步过渡到单因子多目标,最后到多因子多目标。研究深度也从根据样地资料的简单描述和分析,发展为山地森林群落物种多样性机理假说的提出与证实,尚未见有关山地森林群落物种多样性垂直格局机理的报道。山地森林群落物种多样性垂直格局研究方法可分为取样方法和测度方法两大类。常用的取样方法有梯度格局法（或连续样带取样法）和典型群落随机取样法,其中最小取样面积的确定尤为关键。就山地森林群落物种多样性垂直格局测度和分析而言,物种多样性指数的测度和单元统计分析（回归、假设检验、方差分析、相关分析等）较为常见,随着分析手段的不断创新,植被数量分类和排序等多元统计学分析方法得到了日益广泛的应用。     

A Baseline Study on Benthic Species Distribution in Two Neighbouring Gulfs, With and Without Access to Bottom Trawling

Abstract. An extensive survey of the benthic fauna was carried out at two neighbouring regions of the Aegean Sea, one normally trawled and the other closed to trawlers. Benthic samples were collected from seven areas located away from land-based sources. The faunistic analysis showed that species diversity and abundance was higher in the trawled area compared with the untrawled area, a fact which was attributed to the difference in sediment characteristics between the two areas. A degree of disturbance detected in the trawled area was evidenced by an increase in the number of polychaetes at the expense of other benthic groups and an abundance of some opportunistic species. This could possibly be related to trawling activities. as no other causes of disturbance were found in either area.     

荒漠河岸植被的受损过程与受损机理分析

以塔里木河多年平均地下水位数据为依据,将地下水位划分为6个环境梯度,各梯度上6次重复采集植被样地数据。从物种多样性、植被盖度与群落类型等几方面分析了植被的受损过程,以及导致此过程的受损机理。结果表明：(1) 草本植物丰富度受损发生在地下水埋深大于4 m,而木本植物丰富度受损发生在地下水埋深大于8 m。(2) 植被盖度减少始于草本植物盖度受损,与群落多样性受损的临界地下水位相同,发生在地下水埋深大于4 m;在地下水埋深大于6 m之后,植被盖度不断减少则是由木本植物盖度的减少所引起。(3) 群落类型受损体现在芦苇群落和胡杨林群落的结构与类型变化上,芦苇群落的衰退演变出现了优势种的更替,而胡杨林群落中优势种的优势地位没有变化。(4) 此受损过程是由荒漠河岸生态系统脆弱的生态基质和外界干扰共同作用的结果,起因于人口的增加、需求的增长。植被退化是人类干扰作用于植被赖以生存的环境主导因子所致。在生态受损过程中,植物功能型差异与所承受的干扰强度差异对植被退化的程度有一定影响。     

Storm-dominated sedimentation along a rocky transgressive shoreline in the Silurian (Llandovery) of Western Ireland

Sedimentation patterns are described from the Kilbride Formation west of the Maam Fault zone, north Galway, Ireland. Seven distinct facies are described using faunal and lithological parameters. Environments of deposition range from marginal marine to deep shelf conditions. Lateral facies distributions were largely controlled by a rocky topographic high which influenced sedimentation until being buried by outer shelf sediments in middle-upper Kilbride Formation times. Four distinct sequences are described: in the lower Kilbride Formation, sequences I and IV are dominated by proximal storm deposits; sequence II was deposited in the lee of the topographic high and is interpreted as barred estuarine deposits; and in sequence III, at the topographic high, no deposition took place. In the upper Kilbride Formation the barrier was buried and uniform outer shelf conditions prevailed throughout the area. Faunal assemblages were strongly controlled by local environmental conditions and do not conform directly with the expected pattern of depth-related brachiopod communities. The Lingula and Eocoelia communities are amalgamated and alloch-thonous, the Pentameroides and Costistricklandia communities are absent, and only the Clorinda community is well represented, though parautochthonous.     

Reflections on use of participatory research for disaster risk reduction

Participatory research approaches are increasingly popular with academic researchers and development organisations working to facilitate change in collaboration with local communities. This paper contributes to recent debates over the use of participatory approaches by examining the use of participatory research within disaster risk reduction. Drawing on research in Papua New Guinea in which participatory techniques were used with indigenous communities to determine strategies for dealing with environmental hazards, the value of such techniques is critiqued. Finally the significance of participatory research as a research methodology is discussed as is its possible contribution to disaster risk reduction policy.     

Interactive effects of hypoxia and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) on microbial community assembly in surface marine sediments

Hypoxia alters the oxidation–reduction balance and the biogeochemical processes in sediments, but little is known about its impacts on the microbial community that is responsible for such processes. In this study, we investigated the effects of hypoxia and the ubiquitously dispersed flame-retardant BDE47 on the bacterial communities in marine surface sediments during a 28-days microcosm experiment. Both hypoxia and BDE47 alone significantly altered the bacterial community and reduced the species and genetic diversity. UniFrac analysis revealed that BDE47 selected certain bacterial species and resulted in major community shifts, whereas hypoxia changed the relative abundances of taxa, suggesting slower but nonetheless significant community shifts. These two stressors targeted mostly different taxa, but they both favored Bacteroidetes and suppressed Gammaproteobacteria. Importantly, the impacts of BDE47 on bacterial communities were different under hypoxic and normoxic conditions, highlighting the need to consider risk assessments for BDE47 in a broader context of interaction with hypoxia.     

Conserving agricultural heritage systems through tourism: Exploration of two mountainous communities in China

Community plays an important role in the preservation of agricultural heritage system （AHS）. Recently, many AHS have been valorized as interesting resources for rural tourism. The expectations are that tourism development （TD） can be supportive for the conservation of AHS while creating benefits for local communities. In this study, two mountainous pilot villages （Longxian and Xiaohuang） in a global conservation project for traditional agricutural systems - Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems （GIAHS） were selected to identify the relationship between AHS conservation and TD. The study undertook in-depth interviews, and questionnaires of village residents and informal discussions with local villagers. A t-test and a linear regression model were implemented to explore the comparative dimensions of the two communities with different geographical location, economic situation, and stage of TD. The research found some similarities and differences in the two mountainous communities during AHS conservation and TD. Firstly, AHS are preservaed well in both villages unconsiously, while the residents in Xiaohuang value more highly the heritage elements than the respondents in Longxian, and the villagers in Xiaohuang are more worried about their heritage system; Secondly, both villages expect lots of benefits from TD and they clearly perceive more positive than negative impact from tourism and thus approve TD, while the hugedifferent perception on transportation and accessibility in the two villages reflects the bottleneck of TD in Xiaohuang village. At the same time, the respondents from Xiaohuang perceive more positive and fewer negative impact from tourism than the respondents from Longxian. Thirdly, the respondents in the two villages all show positive attitudes towards participation in tourism mostly motivated by the high income expectation. The main factors to determine the community perception in two villages were also analyzed based on the data process. A location-based coneeputal framework of AHS conservation in partnership with TD at community scale is proposed at the end of the paper. The dynamics of tourism development, that could enhance a better understanding of the complex relationship between conservation objectives and tourism development are discussed.     

Alteration of physico-chemical and microbial properties in freshwater substrates by burrowing invertebrates

The hyporheic interstitial provides habitat for many different organisms – from bacteria to burrowing invertebrates. Due to their burrowing and sediment reworking behaviour, these ecosystem engineers have the potential to affect hyporheic processes such as respiration and nutrient cycling. However, there is a lack of studies that characterize the interactions between bioturbators, physico-chemical habitat properties and microbial communities in freshwater substrates. In a standardized laboratory experiment, we investigated the effects of three functionally different bioturbators, duck mussels (Anodonta anatina, Linnaeus 1758), mayfly nymphs (Ephemera danica, Müller 1764) and tubificid worms (Tubifex tubifex, Müller 1774), on the physico-chemical conditions and bacterial communities in hyporheic substrates. We hypothesized that different invertebrates distinctly alter habitat conditions and thus microbial community composition, depending on the depth and the manner of burrowing. A. anatina and E. danica caused an increase in interstitial oxygen concentration, whereas strong declines in oxygen concentration and redox potential were detected in the T. tubifex treatment. These effects on physico-chemical habitat properties were even detectable in open water. Mussels and tubificid worms also significantly influenced the composition of bacterial communities in the hyporheic zone. A loss or replacement of bioturbators in stream ecosystems due to anthropogenic habitat alterations is expected to result in shifts in microbial community compositions, with effects on nutrient fluxes, pollutant degradation and benthic food webs. An understanding of the effects of functionally different native and invasive bioturbators is crucial to predict changes in stream ecosystem functioning.     

Assessing marine debris in deep seafloor habitats off California

Marine debris is a global concern that pollutes the world’s oceans, including deep benthic habitats where little is known about the extent of the problem. We provide the first quantitative assessment of debris on the seafloor (20-365 m depth) in submarine canyons and the continental shelf off California, using the Delta submersible. Fishing activities were the most common contributors of debris. Highest densities occurred close to ports off central California and increased significantly over the 15-year study period. Recreational monofilament fishing line dominated this debris. Debris was less dense and more diverse off southern than central California. Plastic was the most abundant material and will likely persist for centuries. Disturbance to habitat and organisms was low, and debris was used as habitat by some fishes and macroinvertebrates. Future trends in human activities on land and at sea will determine the type and magnitude of debris that accumulates in deep water.