Seasonal closures as a measure of trawling effort control in two Mediterranean trawling grounds: effects on epibenthic communities

Within the framework of ecosystem-based management, we focused on the use of seasonal closures as effective measures to minimise the degradation of benthic communities by trawling. These closures imply the complete cessation of trawling fleet activity and are commonly used in the Mediterranean to reduce the annual fishing effort, with the ultimate goal of effective resource management. In this study, we aimed to investigate how epibenthic communities respond to seasonal closures. The potential benefits of short-term annual closures in two Mediterranean fishing grounds were evaluated by analysing changes in community structure and composition that were linked to the closure. A decrease of faunal abundance was observed with the resumption of fishing activity after the closure at both fishing grounds. Remarkably, results indicated that some large and mobile fauna were able to respond to these closures. We concluded that the currently planned closures are too short to benefit benthic communities.     

中国北方森林群落现代花粉与植被和气候的关系

53 pollen traps and surface samples were collected in order to detect the characteristics of pollen assemblages and their relationships with vegetation and climate in 16 forest communities located in 10 mountains in northern China. The results show that 72% of the pollen taxa (80 taxa) are the same between the traps and the surface samples. The dominant taxa in the plant communities are consistent with the main pollen taxa in the pollen assemblages at the same sites. In Pinus plant communities, both Pinus pollen influx and concentration are higher, indicating the high pollen productivity and good pollen preservation ability of Pinus. In Picea and Abies plant communities, Picea and Abies have lower pollen influxes but higher concentrations, suggesting their low pollen productivities but better pollen preservation abilities. In Betula and Quercus plant communities, Betula and Quercus have higher pollen influxes but lower concentrations, revealing their high pollen productivities but poor pollen preservation abilities. The study of relationships between pollen and vegetation with discriminant analysis shows that pollen assemblages from both trap and surface samples can reflect the characteristics of different communities and distinguish different ecological areas, but surface samples can reflect the dominant components of communities much better than the traps. The study on correlations between pollen assemblages and climate with DCCA reveals that significant correlations exist between pollen assemblages and mean temperature of the coldest month (r = 0.84 for trap samples, r = 0.72 for surface samples), and then annual mean precipitation (r = 0.73 for trap samples, r = 0.71 for surface samples).     

拉萨河谷灌丛草原与农田水热平衡及植被水分利用特征

以青藏高原的拉萨河谷下游的灌丛草原和农田为研究对象,在中国科学院拉萨高原生态试验站的农田与附近的灌丛草原开展实验.利用SHAW模型模拟了2004年10月-2005年9月灌丛草原与农田水热平衡以及根系吸水过程.模拟结果经分析得出,(1)农田所接收的净辐射比灌丛草原要多,农田接收的能量大部分以潜热形式支出,全年的波文比为0.29;而灌丛草原的波文比为0.89.灌丛草原全年的潜热通量是农田的53%,具有一定的抑制蒸散发的功能.(2)农田耗水量是灌丛草原的1.8倍.农田由于大量的灌溉造成较大的渗漏损失,同时也增加了土壤蒸发这一无益损耗.(3)深层土壤水向上的补给与根系吸水两方面的模拟都表明,灌丛草原的植被比农田能更大程度地利用深层土壤水.     

河西走廊西段戈壁灌木群落多样性及其分布格局研究

通过野外样方调查河西走廊西段荒漠戈壁典型灌木群落多样性状况,研究探讨了 8 种典型 灌木群落物种多样性的空间分布格局及其与地理因子的关系,对荒漠戈壁植物群落的多样性的保 护和可持续发展具有重要意义。结果表明：(1) 8 个典型灌木群落 Shannon-Wiener 指数、Simpson 指 数、Margalef 指数和 Pielou 指数从高到低为：盐爪爪群落>麻黄群落>合头草群落>红砂群落>梭梭群 落>泡泡刺群落>多枝柽柳群落>沙拐枣群落;波动范围分别为 0.314 ~ 1.355、0.179 ~ 0.666、0.334 ~ 1.222 和 0.051 ~ 0.218,说明荒漠戈壁灌木群落物种多样性指数偏低,群落结构简单,物种组成稀 少。(2) 不同灌木群落内物种数越多,群落间 Jaccard 相似性系数越大。大部分灌木群落类型间 Jac? card 相似性在 0.20 ~ 0.60 之间,群落间相似水平较低,群落相对稳定。(3) 随着海拔的升高,Margalef 指数、Pielou 指数和 Shannon-Wiener 指数均呈先增加后降低的单峰型分布格局,最大值出现在海拔 2 000 m,且与海拔显著相关（P<0.05）;在经度梯度上,从东到西,Margalef 指数、Pielou 指数和 Shan? non-Wiener 指数呈递增格局,但与经度无显著相关性（P>0.05）;在纬度梯度上,从南到北,Margalef 指数、Pielou 指数和 Shannon-Wiener 指数呈显著递增趋势（P<0.05）。总体上,荒漠戈壁灌木群落物 种多样性呈现出明显的垂直（海拔）和纬度地带性分布格局。     

甘肃酒泉荒漠戈壁灌木群落优势物种生态位特征

了解物种利用资源和占据生态空间的能力,对维持完善和科学保育荒漠戈壁植物群落的多样性具有重要意义。在综合反映各生态因子作用的群落类型和海拔梯度组合而成的两条资源轴上,测度分析了甘肃酒泉荒漠戈壁灌木群落主要优势种的生态位特征。结果表明：(1)在群落类型和海拔梯度两条资源轴上,红砂（Reaumuria songarica）、泡泡刺（Nitraria sphaerocarpa）和合头草（Sympegma regelii）的重要值和生态位宽度均较大,说明这些物种适应能力强,能够较好地利用环境资源,分布范围大,作为荒漠戈壁灌木群落中的广域种具有重要的生态地位和作用。(2)荒漠戈壁优势物种间的生态位重叠值多数较小,在群落类型和海拔梯度资源轴上生态位重叠值小于0.5的分别占总种对的62.63%和77.89%。生态位宽度大的物种之间一般生态位重叠值较高,物种利用资源能力强且存在竞争关系;然而,生态位宽度较小的物种与其他物种之间的生态位重叠程度较低,不同物种在环境资源的需求上产生互补,可以和谐共存;生态位宽度小的物种之间生态位重叠值仍较高,物种分布呈斑块现象;因此,生态位重叠与生态位宽度之间无显著相关性。(3)荒漠戈壁优势物种间总体表现为不显著的正关联,表明该植被群落结构及其物种之间处于稳定共存的状态。     

Locality Attributes and Networks Serving to Reveal Amazonian Urbanization beyond the Cities

Beyond the Amazonian cities, distinct spatial units arranged in networks compose an extended urban space, usually invisible to government agencies and public polities. This article empirically reveals this space by studying the localities’ characteristics and connections. In southwestern Pará, Brazil, 236 communities were sampled using field expeditions. Variables related to the locality organization, history, health and education services, urban infrastructure, and land use were explored in a fuzzy cluster analysis. Local production and consumption flows were considered in the locality network analysis. The fuzzy analysis allowed identifying a hierarchy of localities for which the geographical location influences the spatial distribution patterns of five groups. On the other hand, consumption and production networks identified different locality's articulations, with persistent dependence on cities. These results characterize extensive urbanization at the local level and highlights the participation of the local populations configuring the Amazonian territory.     

Studying Resource-Dependent Communities Through a Social-Ecological Lens? Examining Complementarity with Existing Research Traditions in Canada

This article explores the suitability of Ostrom and colleagues' social-ecological systems framework (SESF) for the study of resource-dependent communities in Canada. Through a broad literature about resource-dependent communities in Canada, three main approaches are identified, named staples research, rural development, and sustainability studies. Each of these research traditions is analyzed with regards to a common set of criteria – focus, scale, methods, treatment of institutions, and treatment of environmental dimensions. Research in each category is compared and contrasted with the SESF approach, to identify areas of overlap and divergence. Results indicate that the SESF is unlikely to provide additional benefit in terms of in-depth of social analysis, however, it does provide a unique contribution in terms of its coupled approach to conceiving social and ecological systems and its ability to operationalize these relationships through structured variables.     

Reef status in the Rasfari region (North Malé Atoll,Maldives) five years before the mass mortality event of 1998

The Maldives was severely hit by massive coral bleaching and subsequent mortality in 1998. The results of reef monitoring in the following years have supported contrasting views about their recovery potential, partly because of the scarcity of information on the situation before 1998. Quantitative data on coral assemblages collected in 1993 in the Rasfari region (North Malé Atoll) may provide a base-line for the evaluation of the present status of the Maldivian reefs. Five years before the 1998 mortality, most coral communities appeared to be similar, in terms of both coral cover and growth-form composition, to those described in 1958 and 1964, notwithstanding increased human pressure and local events such as minor bleaching episodes in 1987 and crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) attacks in 1989. Three lessons can be learnt from these results to help to understand the present situation, some ten years after the 1998 mass mortality. First, Maldivian reefs proved in the past to be capable of maintaining flourishing coral life despite various disturbances. Second, four years had been sufficient for complete reef recovery after a (minor) bleaching event. Third, recovery after both COTS attack and bleaching follows a predictable path suggesting that the presence of a three-dimensional community structure, which should reduce post settlement mortality of coral recruits, is essential for rapid coral recovery. As coral recruitment remains high and large tabular Acropora colonies are now reappearing, it is expected that Maldivian reefs should return to their original condition within the next few years.     

Community involvement in fisheries management: Experiences in the Gulf of Thailand countries

This paper examines the involvement of coastal communities in fisheries management among the countries of the Gulf of Thailand—Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. Initiatives to decentralize management to local governing bodies, to utilize traditional management methods and to engage in community agreements to protect local resources are explored. An examination of recent experiences indicates some movement toward more local involvement in management. However, the study also leads to several suggestions for the future: in Vietnam and Cambodia, there is a need for significant legislation to control fisheries operations and greater clarity of the role of communities in management; in Malaysia, there is an overall need for more support to local fisheries management; and in Thailand, the need is for greater support of local-level enforcement and monitoring activities.     

干旱半干旱地区草原灌丛荒漠化及其生物地球化学循环

干旱和半干旱地区草地生态系统木本植物入侵及其导致的草原灌丛化已经成为全球范 围普遍发生的现象, 是草地沙化和荒漠化的一个重要标志。干旱生态系统中, 此种类型的植被变 化将对区域和全球生物地球化学循环产生显著影响。过度放牧、区域气候干旱化和自然火过程是 导致灌丛入侵和发展的主要控制因子。草原灌丛化过程中, 草地生态系统分布较为均匀的土壤养 分及相关元素在水平和垂直方向发生分异, 关键生命元素C、N、P 、S 生物地球化学循环的变化 将对全球气候变化产生显著作用。全球气候变化与草原灌丛荒漠化之间存在潜在的反馈机制, 人 类扰动的影响将使这种反馈作用变得更加迅速和灵敏。