In the process of evaluating,the weights of indicators are firstly determined by AHP and Delphi methods;and the values of indicators are normalized by grey correlative coefficient method.A suit of means were put forwa...In the process of evaluating,the weights of indicators are firstly determined by AHP and Delphi methods;and the values of indicators are normalized by grey correlative coefficient method.A suit of means were put forward,by which a qualitative and quantitative evaluation indicator system suitable for the situation of China and uncertainties can be established.Both idiographic and operable methods and process were presented.Following the principle of elasticity,hiberarchy and maneuverability,a three-layer evaluation indicator system was established by AHP in Jiuyi ecological residential community,which includes 5 subsystems and 24 indicatiors.The weights of indicators are measured by AHP and expert estimate and their best indicators values up to par were determined by fuzzy mathematics and optimization.The whole evaluation indicator system not only has an active and practical effect on estimating ecological residential community,but also guides ecological residential community planning.展开更多
The new urbanization is an important carrier of ecological civilization construction, and ecological old-age care is the concrete manifestation of the perfect combination of the two, the proper meaning of the new urba...The new urbanization is an important carrier of ecological civilization construction, and ecological old-age care is the concrete manifestation of the perfect combination of the two, the proper meaning of the new urbanization connotation and an inevitable trend of its development. Based on the analysis of the connotation and relationship between the new urbanization and ecological old-age care, together with the current situation and existing problems of the current nursing institutions and ecological old-age care in Xi'an area, this paper discusses the major issues that should be noticed when constructing the ecological old-age care community in Xi'an and three main construction modes.展开更多
European beech(Fagus sylvatica L.)forests can have a high variability in plant species richness and abundance,from monospecific stands to highly species-rich communities.To understand what causes the low plant diversi...European beech(Fagus sylvatica L.)forests can have a high variability in plant species richness and abundance,from monospecific stands to highly species-rich communities.To understand what causes the low plant diversity observed in some beech forests,we analyzed the drivers of plant community completeness in 155 vegetation plots.Data were collected in mature,closed-canopy beech forests in Tuscany,central Italy.Site-specific species pools were estimated based on species co-occurrences.We used Generalized Least Squares linear modeling to assess the effects of anthropogenic and environmental drivers on the community completeness of whole communities and on the set of specialist species of beech forests.We also tested the response of the total cover of the herb layer to the selected predictors and related both the predictive and response variables to species composition in a Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling ordination.The community completeness of whole communities and that of beech forest specialists were negatively affected by total beech cover and positively influenced by slope.Moreover,the community completeness of whole communities was negatively impacted by elevation and positively influenced by disturbance frequency.The cover of the herb layer decreased with increasing beech cover,elevation,and precipitation.High community completeness and high cover of the herb layer were associated with the presence of thermophilic species of mixed deciduous woods in low-elevation beech forests.Our results suggest that a low plant community completeness and a low cover of the herb layer are mainly due to the competition by beech itself when it forms pure forests in its ecological optimum.Such competition is better exerted at upper elevations and in sites with low slopes,where beech litter accumulation is a limiting factor for understory species.Such evidence suggests that species absence in mature beech forests is mainly due to natural drivers and should therefore not be considered an indicator of ecological degradation of the forest.展开更多
This paper reports the investigation of artificial vegetation communities on excavated slopes in a construction perturbed area of the Xiangjiaba hydroelectric power station in the Jinsha River Basin, P. R. China. Belt...This paper reports the investigation of artificial vegetation communities on excavated slopes in a construction perturbed area of the Xiangjiaba hydroelectric power station in the Jinsha River Basin, P. R. China. Belt transect and random quadrats were used in sampling and recording the vegetation of the four selected plots on the slopes. The community of each plot was characterized based on the coverage, relative importance value, richness, diversity, evenness of species derived from the survey data. Problems of these communities were identified and corresponding regulation measures were proposed to accelerate the positive succession process of the ecosystem. It is demonstrated that the artificial vegetation restoration on the excavated slope has improved the ecological environment.展开更多
The concept of plant community and community classification were expatiated, the study history and actuality were summarized, and the developmental trends of phytocoenology were prospected.
The 5.12 Earthquake in 2008 and 8.14 Debris Flow in 2010 resulted in large-scale landslides that disturbed vast areas of vegetation in the Hongchun Gully, Wenchuan County, China. To define the specific characteristics...The 5.12 Earthquake in 2008 and 8.14 Debris Flow in 2010 resulted in large-scale landslides that disturbed vast areas of vegetation in the Hongchun Gully, Wenchuan County, China. To define the specific characteristics of vegetation restoration during natural recovery after catastrophic events,vegetation species composition and interspecific associations were investigated on this typical landslide. Field survey data selected from a total of 51 sample plots belonged to seven belt transects and were analysed by Schluter's variance ratio, pearson's chi-squared test, Spearman's correlation coefficients and ecological species groups. Plant communities on the landslide consisted of 78 species, 65 genera and52 families. Of the total of 78 species, 25 are identified as dominant species, among which Camptotheca acuminate, Toxicodendron vernicifluum, Coriaria nepalensis, Robinia pseudoacacia, Buddleja alternifolia, Anemone vitifolia and Nephrolepis auriculata play a constructive role during the natural afforestation. Moreover, according to environmental and ecological factors, these 25 dominant species could be divided into four ecological species groups.This study found that even though the landslide had frequently suffered from interference due to heavy rain, the vegetation succession processes are ongoing,and it is now at a shrub–herb community succession stage, which indicates that vegetation can naturally recover in the denuded sites. This study provides a useful insight into the ecological interactions and interdependence between plant species during the natural recovery of vegetation and provides valuable information on vegetation recovery modelling in the landslide area.展开更多
The community characteristics of macrobenthos in the Huanghe（Yellow River） Estuary is influenced by a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors. Here, we investigated short-term changes（1-month） in macroben...The community characteristics of macrobenthos in the Huanghe（Yellow River） Estuary is influenced by a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors. Here, we investigated short-term changes（1-month） in macrobenthic community structure in response to water and sediment discharge regulation（WSDR） in 2011.Specifically, we sampled the macrobenthos at 18 sampling stations situated at four distances（5, 10, 20, and 40 km）from the mouth of the Huanghe Estuary before（mid-June）, during（early-July）, and after（mid-July） WSDR. The results showed that a total of 73, 72, and 85 species were collected before, during, and after WSDR, respectively.Then, 13, 1, and 16 dominant species were detected at this three periods. Four phyla were primarily detected at all three periods（Annelida, Mollusca, Arthropoda, and Echinodermata）. However, while Mollusca and Annelida were the most important phyla in our study, Echinodermata and Annelida were the most important phyla in 1982,demonstrating major changes to community structure over a 3-decadal period. All stations were of high quality BOPA index before WSDR, whereas two and three stations were of reduced quality BOPA index during and after WSDR, respectively. The results of ABC curves showed that had incurred disturbed conditions after human activities WSDR. Most important of all, multivariate analyses and RDA analysis indicated that the structure of the macrobenthic community was closely linked to environment factors, including that organic content factor caused the distribution of macrobenthic community mostly during WSDR, while water depth after WSDR affected the macro benthos community structure seriously, and during WSDR, the environment factor influencing it was not single, including organic content, sulfide content, Hg and As. These differences may have been due to changes in water transparency negatively impacting the growth and development of macrobenthos, due to specific lifehistory requirements. Our results demonstrate that anthropogenic activity is having both long-term（3 decadal）and short term（1-month） impacts on the structure of the macrobenthic community of the Huanghe Estuary. In conclusion, human activities WSDR influence the habitat environment of macro benthos, including the water temperature, nutrients, bioturbation, and so on. Therefore, we suggest the necessity to strengthen regulations of land-derived organic pollutant input to maintain the ecological balance of the Huanghe Estuary.展开更多
Mountains exhibit a high degree of endemism and diversity,however,quantifying their biodiversity can be challenging.Similar to islands,species isolation in mountainous regions results in comparable patterns of evoluti...Mountains exhibit a high degree of endemism and diversity,however,quantifying their biodiversity can be challenging.Similar to islands,species isolation in mountainous regions results in comparable patterns of evolution and extinction,rendering their biodiversity unique and highly susceptible to anthropogenic threats.The topographic relief in mountains plays a crucial role in creating habitat complexity,which in turn contribute to high plant diversity.Here,we investigated plant diversity in the volcano mountaintop vegetation on the Poços de Caldas Plateau,a region situated in the ecotone between the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado,characterized by natural radiation and significant anthropogenic intervention.We employed an automated approach through the filtering of georeferenced and non-georeferenced data to obtain a list of plant species in the region.Additionally,we statistically investigated the similarity among different high-altitude vegetations belonging to the campos de altitude from the Atlantic Forest and campos rupestres from the Cerrado.The plateau exhibits high plant diversity,including 1,659 specific and infraspecific taxa,especially belonging to Asteraceae and Poaceae.Our analyses suggest that geographical distance is a strong predictor of dissimilarity and that the Poços de Caldas Plateau is more floristically related to the campos rupestres,despite being associated with campos de altitude.The region possesses a unique set of biodiversity,indicating that it may be a distinct formation.Additionally,we hypothesize that Pleistocene events likely influenced the conformation of the current floristic composition in the region through species interchange between the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest.Our study also highlights the few taxa assessed for conservation status and anthropogenic threats that this habitat is facing.展开更多
Dear Editor,Life-history studies including dietary preferences and trophic interactions are essential for understanding community ecology in lizards(Pianka,1986).The family Agamidae is one of the largest in terms of s...Dear Editor,Life-history studies including dietary preferences and trophic interactions are essential for understanding community ecology in lizards(Pianka,1986).The family Agamidae is one of the largest in terms of species diversity and occurs in a variety of habitats(Uetz et al.,2024).展开更多
An investigation of sucking lice on the body surface of small mammals was carried out in the surrounding areas of Erhai Lake in Dali, Yunnan from 2003 to 2004. From investigation sites, 3 303 small mammal hosts were c...An investigation of sucking lice on the body surface of small mammals was carried out in the surrounding areas of Erhai Lake in Dali, Yunnan from 2003 to 2004. From investigation sites, 3 303 small mammal hosts were captured and identified into 7 families, 15 genera and 21 species in 4 orders （Rodentia, Insectivora, Scandentia and Carnivora）, while t4 635 individuals of sucking lice collected from the body surface of the small mammal hosts are identified into 5 families, 6 genera and 21 species in the Order Anoplura, The sites stand alongside three cordilleras surrounding the Erhai Lake, namely Eastern Wuliang Mountain, Southern Ailao Mountain and Western Cangshan Mountain. The three confined oriented areas are different landscapes within the same zone where the longitude, latitude, altitude and fauna are homologous but isolated by Erhai Lake as inartificial barrier. The aim of this study was to recognize features of the species diversity, abundance, community structure, similarity and distribution of sucking lice in different landscapes within the same zone. The results showed the species diversity of sucking lice was very low with a very simple community structure. The distribution of sucking lice and their corresponding hosts are quite uneven among different oriented areas and this may imply that ecological environment influences the species composition and distribution of sucking lice and their corresponding hosts. A certain species of hosts usually have their fixed louse species. The similarity of sucking louse communities is highly consistent with the affinity of small mammal hosts in taxonomy. Species of sucking lice on the same small mammal host in different oriented areas of Erhai Lake are homologous. The results strongly suggest a close relationship of co-evolution between sucking lice and their hosts.展开更多
The authors designed an ecological storm water system in a residential area to replace the conventional underground channels for the collection of storm water so as to reduce the nutrients and sediments discharged. Th...The authors designed an ecological storm water system in a residential area to replace the conventional underground channels for the collection of storm water so as to reduce the nutrients and sediments discharged. This system contains natural sub-creeks as drainage channels discharging overflow to nearby creeks, an open green trench, a storage pond, and natural sub-creeks. The sub -creeks were designed to be integrated into community landscape, which not only increases the efficiency of water usage, but also improves the aesthetic qualities of the community residence area as required by Agenda 21. This research proved the feasibility of an open storm water collection and utilization system for the design of a community water system.展开更多
The global decline of freshwater biodiversity caused by climate change and human activities are supposed to disrupt ecosystem services related to water quality and alter the structure and function of aquatic communiti...The global decline of freshwater biodiversity caused by climate change and human activities are supposed to disrupt ecosystem services related to water quality and alter the structure and function of aquatic communities across space and time,yet the effects of the combination of these factors on plankton community ecosystem has received relatively little attention.This study aimed to explore the impacts of disturbances(e.g.human activity,temperature,precipitation,and water level)on phytoplankton community structure(i.e.community evenness and community composition)and function(i.e.resource use efficiency)in four subtropical reservoirs over 7 years from 2010 to 2016.Our results showed that community turnover(measured as community dissimilarity)was positively related to disturbance frequency,but no significant correlation was found between phytoplankton biodiversity(i.e.evenness)and disturbance frequency.Phytoplankton resource use efficiency(RUE=phytoplankton biomass/total phosphorus)was increased with a higher frequency of disturbance with an exception of cyanobacteria.The RUE of Cyanobacteria and diatoms showed significantly negative correlations with their community evenness,while the RUE of Chlorophyta exhibited a positive correlation with their community turnover.We suggest that multiple environmental disturbances may play crucial roles in shaping the structure and functioning of plankton communities in subtropical reservoirs,and mechanism of this process can provide key information for freshwater uses,management and conservation.展开更多
Implementing conservation actions on-the-ground is not a straightforward process,especially when faced with high scientific uncertainty due to limited available information. This is especially acute in regions of the ...Implementing conservation actions on-the-ground is not a straightforward process,especially when faced with high scientific uncertainty due to limited available information. This is especially acute in regions of the world that harbor many unique species that have not been well studied,such as the alpine zone of the Hengduan Mountains of Northwest Yunnan (NWY),a global biodiversity hotspot and site of The Nature Conservancy’s Yunnan Great Rivers Project. We conducted a quantitative,but rapid regional-level assessment of the alpine flora across NWY to provide a broad-based understanding of local and regional patterns of the alpine flora,the first large-scale analysis of alpine biodiversity patterns in this region. Multivariate analyses were used to classify the major plant community types and link community patterns to habitat variables. Our analysis indicated that most species had small distributions and/or small population sizes. Strong patterns emerged with higher diversity in the more northern mountains,but beta diversity was high,averaging only 10% among sites. The ordinations indicated that elevation and geographic location were the dominant environ-mental gradients underlying the differences in the species composition among communities. The high beta diversity across the alpine of these mountains implies that conservation strategies ultimately will require the protection of large numbers of species over a large geographical area. However,prioritiza-tion should be given to areas where potential payoffs are greatest. Sites with high species richness also have a greater number of endemic species,and,by focusing efforts on these sites,conservation investments would be maximized by protecting the greatest number of unique species.展开更多
A total of 862 benthic species were identified in the island intertidal zone in Fujian, of which 734 species are animals and 128 species algae. Determination of Jaccard's similarity index of species was made on th...A total of 862 benthic species were identified in the island intertidal zone in Fujian, of which 734 species are animals and 128 species algae. Determination of Jaccard's similarity index of species was made on the intertidal communities around 11 major islands. Based on hierarchical clustering (WPGMA) and polar ordination, the benthic communities may be classified into three types; the estu-arine type, the bay and harbour type and open sea type. The distribution of the benthic community is related to the location of the island and its habitats of which, salinity and hydrodynamics are the major factors controlling the distribution of the communities.展开更多
Foraminifera is one of the most important fossil faunas of the marine Cretaceous and Paleocene in the Western Tarim Basin, which can be divided into 9 communities. This paper deals mainly with the changes of environme...Foraminifera is one of the most important fossil faunas of the marine Cretaceous and Paleocene in the Western Tarim Basin, which can be divided into 9 communities. This paper deals mainly with the changes of environments in which the foraminiferal communities existed,especially with the changes of temperature and salinity revealed by analyses of test composition and trace elements in the tests , and by statistic studies of species density, richness , diversity ,equitability and dominance .展开更多
Environmental conditions can change markedly over geographical distances along elevation gradients,making them natural laboratories to study the processes that structure communities.This work aimed to assess the influ...Environmental conditions can change markedly over geographical distances along elevation gradients,making them natural laboratories to study the processes that structure communities.This work aimed to assess the influences of elevation on Tropical Montane Cloud Forest plant communities in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest,a historically neglected ecoregion.We evaluated the phylogenetic structure,forest structure(tree basal area and tree density)and species richness along an elevation gradient,as well as the evolutionary fingerprints of elevation-success on phylogenetic lineages from the tree communities.To do so,we assessed nine communities along an elevation gradient from 1210 to 2310 m a.s.l.without large elevation gaps.The relationships between elevation and phylogenetic structure,forest structure and species richness were investigated through Linear Models.The occurrence of evolutionary fingerprint on phylogenetic lineages was investigated by quantifying the extent of phylogenetic signal of elevation-success using a genus-level molecular phylogeny.Our results showed decreased species richness at higher elevations and independence between forest structure,phylogenetic structure and elevation.We also verified that there is a phylogenetic signal associated with elevation-success by lineages.We concluded that the elevation is associated with species richness and the occurrence of phylogenetic lineages in the tree communities evaluated in Mantiqueira Range.On the other hand,elevation is not associated with forest structure or phylogenetic structure.Furthermore,closely related taxa tend to have their higher ecological success in similar elevations.Finally,we highlight the fragility of the tropical montane cloud forests in the Mantiqueira Range in face of environmental changes(i.e.global warming)due to the occurrence of exclusive phylogenetic lineages evolutionarily adapted to environmental conditions(i.e.minimum temperature)associated with each elevation range.展开更多
Natural scientists have long recognized that regions with similar climate tend to have similar vegetation.Preliminary observations suggest that shrub steppe communities of the western US and western China may be two s...Natural scientists have long recognized that regions with similar climate tend to have similar vegetation.Preliminary observations suggest that shrub steppe communities of the western US and western China may be two such regions with similar annual precipitation,temperature,land use,and vegetation.These cold dry shrub steppes have traditionally been grazed.Despite these similarities,patterns of species dominance are different.Annual species that are rare in China become dominant when introduced to the United States.The objective of this study was to investigate how climate,land use and community structure may explain these patterns of species dominance.Community structure and grazing intensity were measured at 5 sites in each region.This information was combined with a broader review of the literature describing the history of grazing in both basins.Climate was analyzed based on a spatially-gridded,interpolated weather time series （monthly records） and climatological summary （1961-1990 mean conditions） data set from the Climate Research Unit.We found that differences in summer precipitation and winter minimum temperature,land use intensity,and shrub size may all contribute to the dominance of annual species in the Great Basin,particularly Bromus tectorum.In particular,previous work indicates that summer precipitation and winter temperature drive the distribution of Bromus tectorum in the Great Basin.As a result,sites with wet summers and cold springs,similar to the Chinese sites,would not be expected to be dominated by Bromus tectorum.A history of more intense grazing of the Chinese sites,as described in the literature,also is likely to decrease fire frequency,and decreases litter and shrub dominance,all of which have been demonstrated to be important in Bromus tectorum establishment and ultimate dominance.Further research is necessary to determine if other annuals that follow the same pattern of scarcity in the Junggar Basin and dominance in the Great Basin are responding to the same influences.展开更多
Niche partitioning is a widespread ecological strategy within trophic guilds,ensuring the coexistence of sympatric species by reducing interspecific competition.Stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen and isoto...Niche partitioning is a widespread ecological strategy within trophic guilds,ensuring the coexistence of sympatric species by reducing interspecific competition.Stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen and isotopic niche metrics(width and overlap)are used as a proxy to investigate niche partitioning among species of a guild.In our study,we investigated if niche partitioning was an ecological mechanism contributing to the coexistence of granivorous birds from the same geographic region along time,employing an isotopic approach.We sampled and isotopically analyzed(δ^(13)C andδ^(15)N values)wing feathers from 58 specimens of granivorous birds collected between 1900 and 1966 in southeastern Brazil.We grouped birds according to the main habitat type used by them(forest:Cyanoloxia brissonii,Leptotila and Leptotila verreauxi;and grassland:Columbina squammata and Sicalis flaveola).We used the Isotopic Richness(IRic)metric to measure the isotopic niche width and the Isotopic Similarity(ISim)and Isotopic Nestedness(INes)metrics to measure the niche overlap between groups and species.The results of low isotopic niche overlap suggest that common granivorous birds had a clear niche partitioning in southeastern Brazil in the late past,especially through foraging in distinct habitat types(forest and grassland;ISim=0.1,INes=0.2).Niche overlaps in almost all species-by-species comparisons were low(ISim≤0.3,INes≤0.4),except between C.brissonii and L.verreauxi(ISim=0.6,INes=1.0).These results suggest that these birds,belonging to the same trophic guild,coexisted through niche and resource partitioning.Despite being considered a plastic trophic guild,the isotopic niche partitioning among granivorous birds indicates that each of these species uses a set of specific resources and habitats.This raises an ecological concern about the homogenization of landscapes across the Neotropics,oversimplifying food resources and habitats to granivorous birds.展开更多
基金Supported by Hunan Provincial Science and Technology Program(05SK3082,2007SK4012)Natural Science Foundation-funded Project(06JJ5147)
文摘In the process of evaluating,the weights of indicators are firstly determined by AHP and Delphi methods;and the values of indicators are normalized by grey correlative coefficient method.A suit of means were put forward,by which a qualitative and quantitative evaluation indicator system suitable for the situation of China and uncertainties can be established.Both idiographic and operable methods and process were presented.Following the principle of elasticity,hiberarchy and maneuverability,a three-layer evaluation indicator system was established by AHP in Jiuyi ecological residential community,which includes 5 subsystems and 24 indicatiors.The weights of indicators are measured by AHP and expert estimate and their best indicators values up to par were determined by fuzzy mathematics and optimization.The whole evaluation indicator system not only has an active and practical effect on estimating ecological residential community,but also guides ecological residential community planning.
基金supported by the 2016 Special Scientific Research Project of Shaanxi Education Department(Grant No.16JK2129)
文摘The new urbanization is an important carrier of ecological civilization construction, and ecological old-age care is the concrete manifestation of the perfect combination of the two, the proper meaning of the new urbanization connotation and an inevitable trend of its development. Based on the analysis of the connotation and relationship between the new urbanization and ecological old-age care, together with the current situation and existing problems of the current nursing institutions and ecological old-age care in Xi'an area, this paper discusses the major issues that should be noticed when constructing the ecological old-age care community in Xi'an and three main construction modes.
基金funded by the Tuscany region(project Nat-NET)Project funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan(NRRP),Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.4-Call for tender No.3138 of 16 December 2021,rectified by Decree n.3175 of 18 December 2021 of Italian Ministry of University and Research funded by the European Union-NextGenerationEUProject code CN_00000033,Concession Decree No.1034 of 17 June 2022 adopted by the Italian Ministry of University and Research,CUP B63C22000650007,Project title“National Biodiversity Future Center-NBFC”.
文摘European beech(Fagus sylvatica L.)forests can have a high variability in plant species richness and abundance,from monospecific stands to highly species-rich communities.To understand what causes the low plant diversity observed in some beech forests,we analyzed the drivers of plant community completeness in 155 vegetation plots.Data were collected in mature,closed-canopy beech forests in Tuscany,central Italy.Site-specific species pools were estimated based on species co-occurrences.We used Generalized Least Squares linear modeling to assess the effects of anthropogenic and environmental drivers on the community completeness of whole communities and on the set of specialist species of beech forests.We also tested the response of the total cover of the herb layer to the selected predictors and related both the predictive and response variables to species composition in a Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling ordination.The community completeness of whole communities and that of beech forest specialists were negatively affected by total beech cover and positively influenced by slope.Moreover,the community completeness of whole communities was negatively impacted by elevation and positively influenced by disturbance frequency.The cover of the herb layer decreased with increasing beech cover,elevation,and precipitation.High community completeness and high cover of the herb layer were associated with the presence of thermophilic species of mixed deciduous woods in low-elevation beech forests.Our results suggest that a low plant community completeness and a low cover of the herb layer are mainly due to the competition by beech itself when it forms pure forests in its ecological optimum.Such competition is better exerted at upper elevations and in sites with low slopes,where beech litter accumulation is a limiting factor for understory species.Such evidence suggests that species absence in mature beech forests is mainly due to natural drivers and should therefore not be considered an indicator of ecological degradation of the forest.
基金Funded by the Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 50879043)the National S & T Support Program of China during the 11th Five-Year Plan Period (No. 2006BAC10B04)
文摘This paper reports the investigation of artificial vegetation communities on excavated slopes in a construction perturbed area of the Xiangjiaba hydroelectric power station in the Jinsha River Basin, P. R. China. Belt transect and random quadrats were used in sampling and recording the vegetation of the four selected plots on the slopes. The community of each plot was characterized based on the coverage, relative importance value, richness, diversity, evenness of species derived from the survey data. Problems of these communities were identified and corresponding regulation measures were proposed to accelerate the positive succession process of the ecosystem. It is demonstrated that the artificial vegetation restoration on the excavated slope has improved the ecological environment.
文摘The concept of plant community and community classification were expatiated, the study history and actuality were summarized, and the developmental trends of phytocoenology were prospected.
基金Funds of China West Normal University (17YC332 17YC114)+2 种基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31572293)the Natural Science project of the Sichuan Department of Education (16ZB0177)the Fundamental Research Funds of China West Normal University (14D010)
文摘The 5.12 Earthquake in 2008 and 8.14 Debris Flow in 2010 resulted in large-scale landslides that disturbed vast areas of vegetation in the Hongchun Gully, Wenchuan County, China. To define the specific characteristics of vegetation restoration during natural recovery after catastrophic events,vegetation species composition and interspecific associations were investigated on this typical landslide. Field survey data selected from a total of 51 sample plots belonged to seven belt transects and were analysed by Schluter's variance ratio, pearson's chi-squared test, Spearman's correlation coefficients and ecological species groups. Plant communities on the landslide consisted of 78 species, 65 genera and52 families. Of the total of 78 species, 25 are identified as dominant species, among which Camptotheca acuminate, Toxicodendron vernicifluum, Coriaria nepalensis, Robinia pseudoacacia, Buddleja alternifolia, Anemone vitifolia and Nephrolepis auriculata play a constructive role during the natural afforestation. Moreover, according to environmental and ecological factors, these 25 dominant species could be divided into four ecological species groups.This study found that even though the landslide had frequently suffered from interference due to heavy rain, the vegetation succession processes are ongoing,and it is now at a shrub–herb community succession stage, which indicates that vegetation can naturally recover in the denuded sites. This study provides a useful insight into the ecological interactions and interdependence between plant species during the natural recovery of vegetation and provides valuable information on vegetation recovery modelling in the landslide area.
基金The Public Science and Technology Research Funds Projects of Ocean under contract No.200905019the Taishan Scholars Station of Aquatic Animal Nutrition and Feed under contract No.HYK201004
文摘The community characteristics of macrobenthos in the Huanghe（Yellow River） Estuary is influenced by a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors. Here, we investigated short-term changes（1-month） in macrobenthic community structure in response to water and sediment discharge regulation（WSDR） in 2011.Specifically, we sampled the macrobenthos at 18 sampling stations situated at four distances（5, 10, 20, and 40 km）from the mouth of the Huanghe Estuary before（mid-June）, during（early-July）, and after（mid-July） WSDR. The results showed that a total of 73, 72, and 85 species were collected before, during, and after WSDR, respectively.Then, 13, 1, and 16 dominant species were detected at this three periods. Four phyla were primarily detected at all three periods（Annelida, Mollusca, Arthropoda, and Echinodermata）. However, while Mollusca and Annelida were the most important phyla in our study, Echinodermata and Annelida were the most important phyla in 1982,demonstrating major changes to community structure over a 3-decadal period. All stations were of high quality BOPA index before WSDR, whereas two and three stations were of reduced quality BOPA index during and after WSDR, respectively. The results of ABC curves showed that had incurred disturbed conditions after human activities WSDR. Most important of all, multivariate analyses and RDA analysis indicated that the structure of the macrobenthic community was closely linked to environment factors, including that organic content factor caused the distribution of macrobenthic community mostly during WSDR, while water depth after WSDR affected the macro benthos community structure seriously, and during WSDR, the environment factor influencing it was not single, including organic content, sulfide content, Hg and As. These differences may have been due to changes in water transparency negatively impacting the growth and development of macrobenthos, due to specific lifehistory requirements. Our results demonstrate that anthropogenic activity is having both long-term（3 decadal）and short term（1-month） impacts on the structure of the macrobenthic community of the Huanghe Estuary. In conclusion, human activities WSDR influence the habitat environment of macro benthos, including the water temperature, nutrients, bioturbation, and so on. Therefore, we suggest the necessity to strengthen regulations of land-derived organic pollutant input to maintain the ecological balance of the Huanghe Estuary.
基金IFSULDEMINAS-Campus Poços de Caldas for supporting the research.
文摘Mountains exhibit a high degree of endemism and diversity,however,quantifying their biodiversity can be challenging.Similar to islands,species isolation in mountainous regions results in comparable patterns of evolution and extinction,rendering their biodiversity unique and highly susceptible to anthropogenic threats.The topographic relief in mountains plays a crucial role in creating habitat complexity,which in turn contribute to high plant diversity.Here,we investigated plant diversity in the volcano mountaintop vegetation on the Poços de Caldas Plateau,a region situated in the ecotone between the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado,characterized by natural radiation and significant anthropogenic intervention.We employed an automated approach through the filtering of georeferenced and non-georeferenced data to obtain a list of plant species in the region.Additionally,we statistically investigated the similarity among different high-altitude vegetations belonging to the campos de altitude from the Atlantic Forest and campos rupestres from the Cerrado.The plateau exhibits high plant diversity,including 1,659 specific and infraspecific taxa,especially belonging to Asteraceae and Poaceae.Our analyses suggest that geographical distance is a strong predictor of dissimilarity and that the Poços de Caldas Plateau is more floristically related to the campos rupestres,despite being associated with campos de altitude.The region possesses a unique set of biodiversity,indicating that it may be a distinct formation.Additionally,we hypothesize that Pleistocene events likely influenced the conformation of the current floristic composition in the region through species interchange between the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest.Our study also highlights the few taxa assessed for conservation status and anthropogenic threats that this habitat is facing.
文摘Dear Editor,Life-history studies including dietary preferences and trophic interactions are essential for understanding community ecology in lizards(Pianka,1986).The family Agamidae is one of the largest in terms of species diversity and occurs in a variety of habitats(Uetz et al.,2024).
基金This project was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China(30460125)
文摘An investigation of sucking lice on the body surface of small mammals was carried out in the surrounding areas of Erhai Lake in Dali, Yunnan from 2003 to 2004. From investigation sites, 3 303 small mammal hosts were captured and identified into 7 families, 15 genera and 21 species in 4 orders （Rodentia, Insectivora, Scandentia and Carnivora）, while t4 635 individuals of sucking lice collected from the body surface of the small mammal hosts are identified into 5 families, 6 genera and 21 species in the Order Anoplura, The sites stand alongside three cordilleras surrounding the Erhai Lake, namely Eastern Wuliang Mountain, Southern Ailao Mountain and Western Cangshan Mountain. The three confined oriented areas are different landscapes within the same zone where the longitude, latitude, altitude and fauna are homologous but isolated by Erhai Lake as inartificial barrier. The aim of this study was to recognize features of the species diversity, abundance, community structure, similarity and distribution of sucking lice in different landscapes within the same zone. The results showed the species diversity of sucking lice was very low with a very simple community structure. The distribution of sucking lice and their corresponding hosts are quite uneven among different oriented areas and this may imply that ecological environment influences the species composition and distribution of sucking lice and their corresponding hosts. A certain species of hosts usually have their fixed louse species. The similarity of sucking louse communities is highly consistent with the affinity of small mammal hosts in taxonomy. Species of sucking lice on the same small mammal host in different oriented areas of Erhai Lake are homologous. The results strongly suggest a close relationship of co-evolution between sucking lice and their hosts.
文摘The authors designed an ecological storm water system in a residential area to replace the conventional underground channels for the collection of storm water so as to reduce the nutrients and sediments discharged. This system contains natural sub-creeks as drainage channels discharging overflow to nearby creeks, an open green trench, a storage pond, and natural sub-creeks. The sub -creeks were designed to be integrated into community landscape, which not only increases the efficiency of water usage, but also improves the aesthetic qualities of the community residence area as required by Agenda 21. This research proved the feasibility of an open storm water collection and utilization system for the design of a community water system.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.91851104,41703074 and 41901135)the National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2017YFA0605203)the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province of China(No.2019J02016)。
文摘The global decline of freshwater biodiversity caused by climate change and human activities are supposed to disrupt ecosystem services related to water quality and alter the structure and function of aquatic communities across space and time,yet the effects of the combination of these factors on plankton community ecosystem has received relatively little attention.This study aimed to explore the impacts of disturbances(e.g.human activity,temperature,precipitation,and water level)on phytoplankton community structure(i.e.community evenness and community composition)and function(i.e.resource use efficiency)in four subtropical reservoirs over 7 years from 2010 to 2016.Our results showed that community turnover(measured as community dissimilarity)was positively related to disturbance frequency,but no significant correlation was found between phytoplankton biodiversity(i.e.evenness)and disturbance frequency.Phytoplankton resource use efficiency(RUE=phytoplankton biomass/total phosphorus)was increased with a higher frequency of disturbance with an exception of cyanobacteria.The RUE of Cyanobacteria and diatoms showed significantly negative correlations with their community evenness,while the RUE of Chlorophyta exhibited a positive correlation with their community turnover.We suggest that multiple environmental disturbances may play crucial roles in shaping the structure and functioning of plankton communities in subtropical reservoirs,and mechanism of this process can provide key information for freshwater uses,management and conservation.
文摘Implementing conservation actions on-the-ground is not a straightforward process,especially when faced with high scientific uncertainty due to limited available information. This is especially acute in regions of the world that harbor many unique species that have not been well studied,such as the alpine zone of the Hengduan Mountains of Northwest Yunnan (NWY),a global biodiversity hotspot and site of The Nature Conservancy’s Yunnan Great Rivers Project. We conducted a quantitative,but rapid regional-level assessment of the alpine flora across NWY to provide a broad-based understanding of local and regional patterns of the alpine flora,the first large-scale analysis of alpine biodiversity patterns in this region. Multivariate analyses were used to classify the major plant community types and link community patterns to habitat variables. Our analysis indicated that most species had small distributions and/or small population sizes. Strong patterns emerged with higher diversity in the more northern mountains,but beta diversity was high,averaging only 10% among sites. The ordinations indicated that elevation and geographic location were the dominant environ-mental gradients underlying the differences in the species composition among communities. The high beta diversity across the alpine of these mountains implies that conservation strategies ultimately will require the protection of large numbers of species over a large geographical area. However,prioritiza-tion should be given to areas where potential payoffs are greatest. Sites with high species richness also have a greater number of endemic species,and,by focusing efforts on these sites,conservation investments would be maximized by protecting the greatest number of unique species.
文摘A total of 862 benthic species were identified in the island intertidal zone in Fujian, of which 734 species are animals and 128 species algae. Determination of Jaccard's similarity index of species was made on the intertidal communities around 11 major islands. Based on hierarchical clustering (WPGMA) and polar ordination, the benthic communities may be classified into three types; the estu-arine type, the bay and harbour type and open sea type. The distribution of the benthic community is related to the location of the island and its habitats of which, salinity and hydrodynamics are the major factors controlling the distribution of the communities.
文摘Foraminifera is one of the most important fossil faunas of the marine Cretaceous and Paleocene in the Western Tarim Basin, which can be divided into 9 communities. This paper deals mainly with the changes of environments in which the foraminiferal communities existed,especially with the changes of temperature and salinity revealed by analyses of test composition and trace elements in the tests , and by statistic studies of species density, richness , diversity ,equitability and dominance .
基金supported this work by granting the doctoral scholarship to Ravi Fernandes Mariano,Carolina Njaime Mendes and Cléber Rodrigo de Souza,and through the master’s scholarship to Aloysio Souza de Mourathe postdoctoral scholarship to Vanessa Leite Rezende+2 种基金The authors also thank the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico(CNPQ)by project funding(Edital Universal 2014,Process 459739/2014-0)the Instituto Alto-Montana da Serra Fina,the Fundação de AmparoàPesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais(FAPEMIG)the Fundação Grupo Boticário de ProteçãoàNatureza,and finally the Fundo de Recuperação,Proteção e Desenvolvimento Sustentável das Bacias Hidrográficas do Estado de Minas Gerais(Fhidro).
文摘Environmental conditions can change markedly over geographical distances along elevation gradients,making them natural laboratories to study the processes that structure communities.This work aimed to assess the influences of elevation on Tropical Montane Cloud Forest plant communities in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest,a historically neglected ecoregion.We evaluated the phylogenetic structure,forest structure(tree basal area and tree density)and species richness along an elevation gradient,as well as the evolutionary fingerprints of elevation-success on phylogenetic lineages from the tree communities.To do so,we assessed nine communities along an elevation gradient from 1210 to 2310 m a.s.l.without large elevation gaps.The relationships between elevation and phylogenetic structure,forest structure and species richness were investigated through Linear Models.The occurrence of evolutionary fingerprint on phylogenetic lineages was investigated by quantifying the extent of phylogenetic signal of elevation-success using a genus-level molecular phylogeny.Our results showed decreased species richness at higher elevations and independence between forest structure,phylogenetic structure and elevation.We also verified that there is a phylogenetic signal associated with elevation-success by lineages.We concluded that the elevation is associated with species richness and the occurrence of phylogenetic lineages in the tree communities evaluated in Mantiqueira Range.On the other hand,elevation is not associated with forest structure or phylogenetic structure.Furthermore,closely related taxa tend to have their higher ecological success in similar elevations.Finally,we highlight the fragility of the tropical montane cloud forests in the Mantiqueira Range in face of environmental changes(i.e.global warming)due to the occurrence of exclusive phylogenetic lineages evolutionarily adapted to environmental conditions(i.e.minimum temperature)associated with each elevation range.
基金funded by the US National Science Foundation(1047575)with additional support from the Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station and National Science Foundation Cooperative Agreement(EPS-0814372)
文摘Natural scientists have long recognized that regions with similar climate tend to have similar vegetation.Preliminary observations suggest that shrub steppe communities of the western US and western China may be two such regions with similar annual precipitation,temperature,land use,and vegetation.These cold dry shrub steppes have traditionally been grazed.Despite these similarities,patterns of species dominance are different.Annual species that are rare in China become dominant when introduced to the United States.The objective of this study was to investigate how climate,land use and community structure may explain these patterns of species dominance.Community structure and grazing intensity were measured at 5 sites in each region.This information was combined with a broader review of the literature describing the history of grazing in both basins.Climate was analyzed based on a spatially-gridded,interpolated weather time series （monthly records） and climatological summary （1961-1990 mean conditions） data set from the Climate Research Unit.We found that differences in summer precipitation and winter minimum temperature,land use intensity,and shrub size may all contribute to the dominance of annual species in the Great Basin,particularly Bromus tectorum.In particular,previous work indicates that summer precipitation and winter temperature drive the distribution of Bromus tectorum in the Great Basin.As a result,sites with wet summers and cold springs,similar to the Chinese sites,would not be expected to be dominated by Bromus tectorum.A history of more intense grazing of the Chinese sites,as described in the literature,also is likely to decrease fire frequency,and decreases litter and shrub dominance,all of which have been demonstrated to be important in Bromus tectorum establishment and ultimate dominance.Further research is necessary to determine if other annuals that follow the same pattern of scarcity in the Junggar Basin and dominance in the Great Basin are responding to the same influences.
基金supported by the Sāo Paulo Research Foundation(FAPESP)postdoctoral fellowship grants 2018-05970-1 and 2019-11901-5。
文摘Niche partitioning is a widespread ecological strategy within trophic guilds,ensuring the coexistence of sympatric species by reducing interspecific competition.Stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen and isotopic niche metrics(width and overlap)are used as a proxy to investigate niche partitioning among species of a guild.In our study,we investigated if niche partitioning was an ecological mechanism contributing to the coexistence of granivorous birds from the same geographic region along time,employing an isotopic approach.We sampled and isotopically analyzed(δ^(13)C andδ^(15)N values)wing feathers from 58 specimens of granivorous birds collected between 1900 and 1966 in southeastern Brazil.We grouped birds according to the main habitat type used by them(forest:Cyanoloxia brissonii,Leptotila and Leptotila verreauxi;and grassland:Columbina squammata and Sicalis flaveola).We used the Isotopic Richness(IRic)metric to measure the isotopic niche width and the Isotopic Similarity(ISim)and Isotopic Nestedness(INes)metrics to measure the niche overlap between groups and species.The results of low isotopic niche overlap suggest that common granivorous birds had a clear niche partitioning in southeastern Brazil in the late past,especially through foraging in distinct habitat types(forest and grassland;ISim=0.1,INes=0.2).Niche overlaps in almost all species-by-species comparisons were low(ISim≤0.3,INes≤0.4),except between C.brissonii and L.verreauxi(ISim=0.6,INes=1.0).These results suggest that these birds,belonging to the same trophic guild,coexisted through niche and resource partitioning.Despite being considered a plastic trophic guild,the isotopic niche partitioning among granivorous birds indicates that each of these species uses a set of specific resources and habitats.This raises an ecological concern about the homogenization of landscapes across the Neotropics,oversimplifying food resources and habitats to granivorous birds.
