Dynamic early Holocene vegetation development on the Faroe Islands inferred from high-resolution plant macrofossil and pollen data

Vegetation dynamics during the earliest part of the Holocene (11,250-10,250 cal yr BP) have been reconstructed from a lacustrine sequence on Sandoy, the Faroe Islands, using detailed plant macrofossil and pollen evidence. The plant macrofossils suggest the initial vegetation was sparse herb and shrub tundra, with Salix herbacea and open-ground species, followed by the development of a denser and more species-rich arctic heathland after 11,150 cal yr BP. Despite high pollen values for Betula nana, macrofossils are rare. The bulk of the macrofossils recorded are S. herbacea and Empetrum leaves with numerous herb taxa and an abundance of Racomitrium moss. Conditions start to change around 10,800 cal yr BP, with increased catchment erosion and sediment delivery to the lake from ca. 10,600 cal yr BP, and a transition to alternating Cyperaceae and Poaceae communities between ca. 10,450 and 10,250 cal yr BP. This vegetation change, which has been recorded throughout the Faroes, has previously been interpreted as a retrogressive shift from woody shrubs to a herbaceous community. The detailed plant macrofossil data show the shift is the replacement of an Empetrum arctic heathland by grassland and moist sedge communities. These taxa dominate the modern landscape.     

Hydrologic,geomorphic and climatic processes controlling willow establishment in a montane ecosystem

Willow communities dominate mid‐elevation riparian areas throughout the Rocky Mountains of North America. However, many willow stands are rapidly declining in aerial cover and individual plants in stature. A poor understanding of the processes that control willow establishment hinders identifying the causes of this decline. We analysed the processes that have facilitated or limited willow establishment over the last half of the 20th century on two large floodplains in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado by addressing two questions: (1) How does hydrologic regime control willow establishment on different fluvial landforms? (2) How might climate‐driven variations in hydrologic regime affect future willow establishment? We precisely aged willows on the three most common fluvial landforms, stream point bars, drained beaver ponds, and abandoned channels, and statistically related establishment dates to patterns of annual stream peak flow. The role of peak flow on willow establishment varied significantly by landform. Willow recruitment had occurred nearly every year on point bars. In former beaver complexes, most willows had established following dam breaches, whereas willows had established on abandoned channels for several years following channel avulsion. Establishment on point bars and abandoned channels was driven by peak flows of 2‐ to 5‐year return intervals, whereas in abandoned beaver ponds most establishment was associated with flow events of >5‐year return interval. Models of climate change suggest that temperatures will increase and precipitation seasonality will shift over the coming decades in the Rocky Mountains, leading to earlier spring runoff, lower summer and fall flows, decreased snowpack and decreased soil moisture. Such changes are likely to diminish opportunities for willow establishment. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rainfall interception by trees of Pinus radiata,and Eucalyptus viminalis,in a 1300 mm rainfall area of southeastern New South Wales: I. Gross losses and their variability

Interception loss, I, was determined by continuous concurrent measurements of the canopy precipitation balances of a mature seed orchard tree of Pinus radiata, and a dominant tree of Eucalyptus viminalis at a mountainous high rainfall site (900 m a.s.l.) in Tallaganda State Forest of the Upper Shoalhaven Catchment. Approximate canopy storage capacity (Sc) of the pine was 54 l, and that of the eucalypt was 11·3 l. Gross pine I was 26·5 per cent and eucalypt I was 8·3 per cent of total incident rainfall over a period of 18 months, from June 1975 to December 1976. The exponential model that provided the best fit to overall data relating I to gross rainfall (P_g) was of good precision for the pine (r² = 0·73) but rather poor precision for the eucalypt (r² = 0·27). A consistent pattern in interception data of the two canopy types suggested that variation in I was related to change in pervasive conditions influencing rates of evaporation from wet canopies during rainfall. Multiple regression analyses confirmed that factors such as rainfall intensity and windspeed explained some of the variation in eucalypt I but little in pine I. Negative eucalypt I and corresponding low values of pine I over a wide range of P_g (up to 20 mm) suggest that capture of wind-borne precipitation (cloud, mist, or fog) had also complicated the canopy precipitation balances.     

Study on characteristics and regeneration rules of Salix gordejevii in Hunshandak Sandland, China

Salix gordejevii, a species of dune-fixing pioneer shrub in the Hunshandak Sandland in China, plays a vital role in maintenance and improvement of the local ecological environment. Salix gordejevii has an r-type reproductive countermeasure, which means it produces large quantities of seeds that have a high germination rate but relatively low seedling viability. Our research on the seed regeneration and sprouting regeneration characteristics of Salix gordejevii shows that its sprouting regeneration process is more productive and efficient than its seed regeneration process. At the same time, growth of Salix gordejevii would decline when the drifting sand dune was fixed. To assess its sprouting regeneration process, we analyzed the number, length, and diameter of new shoots under different cutting treatments, and found significant differences based on various cutting heights and different cutting times (April vs. October). We conclude that cutting measures which take advantage of this species’ robust sprout tillering can increase the biomass of this shrub and also can improve its canopy density and its forage properties for livestock grazing, with the added benefits of improved sand-fixing and prevention of wind erosion.     

《中国沙漠植物志》柳属（SalixL．）增订

通过对中国沙漠地区植物标本鉴定和文献考证，认为中国沙漠地区柳属植物有２５个种、２个变种和３个变型。乌柳（ＳａｌｉｘｃｈｅｉｌｏｐｈｉｌａＳｃｈｎｅｉｄ．）、黄线柳（Ｓ．ｌｉｎｅａｒｉｆｏｌｉａＥ．Ｗｏｌｆ）和二色柳（Ｓ．ａｌｂｅｒｔｉＲｇｌ．）沙区有分布。锯齿柳（Ｓ．ｓｅｒｒｕｌａｔｉｆｏｌｉａＥ．Ｗｏｌｆ）和细穗柳（Ｓ．ｔｅｎｕｉｊｕｌｉｓＬｅｄｅｂ．）为不同的２个种。对小穗柳（Ｓ．ｍｉｃｒｏｓｔａｃｈｙａＴｕｒｃｚ．ａｐｕｄＴｒａｕｔｖ．）、布尔津柳（Ｓ．ｂｕｒｑｉｎｅｎｓｉｓＣｈ．Ｙ．Ｙａｎｇ）、疏齿柳（Ｓ．ｓｅｒｒｕｌａｔｉｆｏｌｉａＥ．Ｗｏｌｆｖａｒ．ｓｕｂｉｎｔｅｇｒｉｆｏｌｉａＣｈ．Ｙ．Ｙａｎｇ）和龙爪柳（Ｓ．ｍａｔｓｕｄａｎａＫｏｉｄｚ．ｆ．ｔｏｒｔｕｏｓａ（ｖｉｌｍ．）Ｒｅｈｄ．）的名称做了订正。     

浑善达克沙地黄柳活沙障防风固沙效益的研究

通过研究浑善达克沙地流动沙地上黄柳活沙障的防风固沙效益,对设置3 a后的不同类型的活沙障进行测定和分析,得出如下结论:沙障设置3 a后,沙地趋于固定,障内植物种类明显增多;设置黄柳活沙障的区域内下垫面粗糙度显著增大,风速明显减弱,而且黄柳网格沙障降低风速的能力较带状沙障强,其顺序为:4 m×4 m黄柳网格沙障>6 m×6 m黄柳网格沙障>间距4 m的黄柳带状沙障>间距6 m的黄柳带状沙障﹥流沙;当旷野平均风速为7.86 m·s-1时,只有流沙和间距6 m的黄柳带状沙障起沙,其他几类活沙障内均不起沙。     

影响库布齐沙漠合作杨、沙柳造林成活率的因素分析

对库布齐沙漠的主要造林树种合作杨和沙柳的造林密度与气象因素对造林效果的影响进行的分析结果表明,造林密度对合作杨和沙柳的造林效果有明显的影响。对于合作杨而言,最佳的造林密度为2 m×6 m,这一栽植密度多年的成活率可达到90%以上,保存率达到89%以上,栽后第五年,树木净高生长量为2.03 m。对于沙柳而言,最佳的造林密度应该选择1 m×4 m或2 m×2m。分析显示,气象因子对造林效果的影响是通过综合作用体现出来的,第一综合因子主要包括年降水量、年均相对湿度、3-5月大风日数和年大风日数。其中,年降水量和相对湿度对合作杨和沙柳的造林成活率和保存率的影响为正向作用,3-5月大风日数和年大风日数作用相反。第二综合因子主要包括年均温、年降水量和6-8月降水量。其中,年降水量和6-8月降水量对合作杨和沙柳的造林效果的影响为正向作用,年均温的作用反之。     

高寒沙地人工植被恢复区地表沉积物粒度特征

共和盆地位于青藏高原东北部,是典型的高寒干旱、半干旱荒漠区.青海省治沙试验站经过近50年的发展,形成以封沙育草区、固沙造林区和农田林网区为一体的绿洲防护体系,成为中国高寒沙地土地沙漠化综合整治的典型示范.本文选择典型固沙植物柠条(Caragana korshinskii)和乌柳(Salix microstachya),针对不同治理年限的沙丘和丘间地,探讨治理50年后人工植被恢复区地表60 cm深度土壤粒度的时空变化.结果表明:直播柠条能促进沙丘地表60 cm土层沉积物的细化,尤以地表5 cm更甚.土壤颗粒的变化与植被生长状况及物质来源有关.     

Rapid late-glacial atmospheric CO2 changes reconstructed from the stomatal density record of fossil leaves

The Younger Dryas stadial (11 000-10 000 yr BP) was an abrupt return to a glacial climate during the termination of the last glaciation. We have reconstructed atmospheric CO₂ concentrations from a high-resolution sequence of fossil Salix herbacea leaves through this climatic oscillation from Kråkenes, western Norway, using the relationship between leaf stomatal density and atmospheric CO₂ concentration. High Allerød CO₂ values (median 273 ppmv) decreased rapidly during 130–200 ¹⁴C-years of the late Allerød to ca. 210 ppmv at the start of the Younger Dryas. They then increased steadily through the Younger Dryas, reaching typical interglacial values once more (ca. 275 ppmv) in the Holocene. The rapid late Allerød decrease in CO₂ concentration preceded the Younger Dryas temperature drop, possibly by several decades. This striking pattern of changes has not so far been recorded unambiguously in temporally coarse measurements of atmospheric CO₂ from ice cores. Our observed late-glacial CO₂ changes have implications for global modelling of the ocean-atmosphere-biosphere over the last glacial-interglacial transition.     

Rainfall interception by trees of Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus viminalis in a 1300 mm rainfall area of southeastern New South Wales: II. Influence of wind-borne precipitation

Analyses were made of the concurrent canopy precipitation balances of a seed orchard pine and a mature forest eucalypt during protracted rainfalls selected for their representativeness of the range of variation encountered in the two canopy types at Tallanganda State Forest (ca. 990 m a.s.l.) in the Upper Shoalhaven Valley of southeastern New South Wales. Although their canopy storage capacities were widely different there was consistent interception behaviour in the pine and the eucalypt in all events. Detailed weather data and the time courses of interception loss provided circumstantial evidence for a varying and, at times, substantial influence of cloud or mist deposition on the canopy precipitation balances during rainfall that made a significant contribution to the variation in rainfall interception data. Mean evaporation rates from the saturated canopies during rainfall varied from ?0·02 mm hr^?1 up to 0·68 mm hr^?1 in the pine; and from ?0·04 mm hr^?1 up to 0·13 mm hr^?1 in the eucalypt. The implications of cloud-capture during rainfall for studies of rainfall interception in forests of southeastern Australia are discussed.