Three types of landscape boundary (forest/pepper field, forest/cabbage field,and forest/grassland) were selected in the arid valley of upper reaches of Minjiang River,southwestern China. On the basis of vegetation div...Three types of landscape boundary (forest/pepper field, forest/cabbage field,and forest/grassland) were selected in the arid valley of upper reaches of Minjiang River,southwestern China. On the basis of vegetation diversity, the depth of edge influence (DEI) ondifferent types of landscape boundaries was estimated using principal components analysis (PCA)method and moving split-window techniques (MSWT). The results showed that in the 5 transects, PCAmethod was able to detect the edge influence depth with 3 transects, while MSWT could explain 4transects. It is concluded that PCA and MSWT both can be used to detect the depth of edge influencewithin 50 m from the edge to the interior. Similar conclusions were drawn in the forest of eachtransect with the two methods, but no similar conclusions were drawn in the pepper field of eachtransect. Although the two methods have advantages and disadvantages respectively, they are usefultools for characterizing edge dynamics. Comparing the two methods, MSWT is more successful.展开更多
Forest edges have been well studied in temperate and tropical forests,but less so in open canopy forests.We investigated edge influence on plant species diversity and soil properties in sparse oak forest fragments.Dat...Forest edges have been well studied in temperate and tropical forests,but less so in open canopy forests.We investigated edge influence on plant species diversity and soil properties in sparse oak forest fragments.Data were collected along three transects from the edge to the interior of three small(under 10 ha)and three large(over 10 ha)oak forest fragments in Kermanshah Province,Iran.We measured herbaceous plants(<0.5 m in height)and soil attributes at 0(forest edge),25,50,100 and 150 m.We quantified species diversity using the Shannon index,used rarefaction to compare species richness between two different sizes of fragments and applied non-metric multidimensional scaling ordination to investigate the variation in species composition.We estimated the distance of edge influence using randomization tests.Generalized linear mixed models with post-hoc Tukey’s HSD tests were used to assess the effects of distance from edge and fragment size on diversity and soil properties.We found greater species richness,diversity and evenness at the edge of both small and large fragments and lower nitrogen and organic carbon at the edge compared to the interior of large fragments,with most changes within 50 m of the edge.Species composition,organic carbon and total nitrogen were significantly different between small and large fragments.Our findings of significant edge influence on herbaceous plants and soil properties in these sparse forests provide a significant contribution to the literature on edges,especially in relation to herbaceous plants.展开更多
Agroforestry is a ubiquitous landscape on the slopes in Loess Plateau, where soil moisture is a limiting factor for plant growth and development. The spatial and temporal characteristics of soil moisture were studied ...Agroforestry is a ubiquitous landscape on the slopes in Loess Plateau, where soil moisture is a limiting factor for plant growth and development. The spatial and temporal characteristics of soil moisture were studied in three types of agroforestry boundaries： forest-grassland, forest-cropland and shelterbelt-cropland. The result shows that soil moisture content decreased with soil depth increasing from the surface to 110 cm. Soil moisture content differed significantly among the three boundaries all in the rainy season （July-September）, dry season （May-June） and spring （March-April）. The horizontal distribution of soil moisture in different soil layers in the three types of boundaries showed different patterns with line form, wave form, scoop form or ＂W＂ form. The distance of edge influence （DEI） of soil moisture in different types of landscape boundaries was estimated by variance analysis and multiple comparisons. In dry season the DEI in 0-10 cm soil layer was 0.4 H （H, average height of trees）, which ranged from 0.2 H in grassland or in cropland to 0.2 H in forest field for both forest-grassland and forest-cropland boundaries, and 0.7 H （ranged from 0.2 H in cropland to 0.5 H in forest field） for shelterbelt-cropland boundary. In rainy season the DEI at soil depth of 0-110 cm was 0.7 H for the three boundaries. The results indicated that agroforestry type should be carefully selected to maintain soil moisture in land management, especially in restoring degraded land in Loess Plateau.展开更多
Although the importance of forest margins in ecology is recognized, no study has been carried out in the Slătioara Secular Forest Reserve with reference to the variability of abiotic parameters along forest margins. W...Although the importance of forest margins in ecology is recognized, no study has been carried out in the Slătioara Secular Forest Reserve with reference to the variability of abiotic parameters along forest margins. With this study, we investigate to what extent microclimatic variables (air temperature—T_air, air humidity—H_air, soil temperature—T_soil, soil humidity—H_soil wind intensity (WIND) and photosynthetically active radiation intensity (PAR)) are correlated with the distance from the edge to the forest interior and the habitat type (forest interior, inner and outer edge and meadow) in the Slătioara Secular Forest Reserve. In order to measure these microenvironment variables we used the strip transect method, positioned perpendicular to the forest edge. Differences in the microenvironment variables considered in the analysis between the four habitat types were assessed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey-test post-hoc. To assess differences along transects, each of the six measurements went through a one-way ANOVA against distance to edge, followed by a Levene’s test for variances and finally a Tukey-test post-hoc. The results indicate that the values of microclimatic variables were significantly different in relation to the gradient of distance from the edge and to the habitat type (interior-exterior forest) and that edge habitats are significantly more susceptible to lower humidity, high winds, lower light and higher air temperatures than forest interior habitats. The ecological study of the edge areas in this reserve provides the basis for future research on forest dynamics and can guide conservation efforts to maintain the diversity and endemism of species in the Slătioara Secular Forest.展开更多
基金This work was financially supported by the Major State Basic Research Program of China (973 Program: 2002CB111506).
文摘Three types of landscape boundary (forest/pepper field, forest/cabbage field,and forest/grassland) were selected in the arid valley of upper reaches of Minjiang River,southwestern China. On the basis of vegetation diversity, the depth of edge influence (DEI) ondifferent types of landscape boundaries was estimated using principal components analysis (PCA)method and moving split-window techniques (MSWT). The results showed that in the 5 transects, PCAmethod was able to detect the edge influence depth with 3 transects, while MSWT could explain 4transects. It is concluded that PCA and MSWT both can be used to detect the depth of edge influencewithin 50 m from the edge to the interior. Similar conclusions were drawn in the forest of eachtransect with the two methods, but no similar conclusions were drawn in the pepper field of eachtransect. Although the two methods have advantages and disadvantages respectively, they are usefultools for characterizing edge dynamics. Comparing the two methods, MSWT is more successful.
基金financially supported by the vice chancellor for research and technology of Urmia University and received no external funding.
文摘Forest edges have been well studied in temperate and tropical forests,but less so in open canopy forests.We investigated edge influence on plant species diversity and soil properties in sparse oak forest fragments.Data were collected along three transects from the edge to the interior of three small(under 10 ha)and three large(over 10 ha)oak forest fragments in Kermanshah Province,Iran.We measured herbaceous plants(<0.5 m in height)and soil attributes at 0(forest edge),25,50,100 and 150 m.We quantified species diversity using the Shannon index,used rarefaction to compare species richness between two different sizes of fragments and applied non-metric multidimensional scaling ordination to investigate the variation in species composition.We estimated the distance of edge influence using randomization tests.Generalized linear mixed models with post-hoc Tukey’s HSD tests were used to assess the effects of distance from edge and fragment size on diversity and soil properties.We found greater species richness,diversity and evenness at the edge of both small and large fragments and lower nitrogen and organic carbon at the edge compared to the interior of large fragments,with most changes within 50 m of the edge.Species composition,organic carbon and total nitrogen were significantly different between small and large fragments.Our findings of significant edge influence on herbaceous plants and soil properties in these sparse forests provide a significant contribution to the literature on edges,especially in relation to herbaceous plants.
基金supported by the National Key Tech-nologies R&D Program of China (No. 2006BAD03A0502)the Major State Basic Research Development Program of China (No. 2002CB111506)
文摘Agroforestry is a ubiquitous landscape on the slopes in Loess Plateau, where soil moisture is a limiting factor for plant growth and development. The spatial and temporal characteristics of soil moisture were studied in three types of agroforestry boundaries： forest-grassland, forest-cropland and shelterbelt-cropland. The result shows that soil moisture content decreased with soil depth increasing from the surface to 110 cm. Soil moisture content differed significantly among the three boundaries all in the rainy season （July-September）, dry season （May-June） and spring （March-April）. The horizontal distribution of soil moisture in different soil layers in the three types of boundaries showed different patterns with line form, wave form, scoop form or ＂W＂ form. The distance of edge influence （DEI） of soil moisture in different types of landscape boundaries was estimated by variance analysis and multiple comparisons. In dry season the DEI in 0-10 cm soil layer was 0.4 H （H, average height of trees）, which ranged from 0.2 H in grassland or in cropland to 0.2 H in forest field for both forest-grassland and forest-cropland boundaries, and 0.7 H （ranged from 0.2 H in cropland to 0.5 H in forest field） for shelterbelt-cropland boundary. In rainy season the DEI at soil depth of 0-110 cm was 0.7 H for the three boundaries. The results indicated that agroforestry type should be carefully selected to maintain soil moisture in land management, especially in restoring degraded land in Loess Plateau.
文摘Although the importance of forest margins in ecology is recognized, no study has been carried out in the Slătioara Secular Forest Reserve with reference to the variability of abiotic parameters along forest margins. With this study, we investigate to what extent microclimatic variables (air temperature—T_air, air humidity—H_air, soil temperature—T_soil, soil humidity—H_soil wind intensity (WIND) and photosynthetically active radiation intensity (PAR)) are correlated with the distance from the edge to the forest interior and the habitat type (forest interior, inner and outer edge and meadow) in the Slătioara Secular Forest Reserve. In order to measure these microenvironment variables we used the strip transect method, positioned perpendicular to the forest edge. Differences in the microenvironment variables considered in the analysis between the four habitat types were assessed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey-test post-hoc. To assess differences along transects, each of the six measurements went through a one-way ANOVA against distance to edge, followed by a Levene’s test for variances and finally a Tukey-test post-hoc. The results indicate that the values of microclimatic variables were significantly different in relation to the gradient of distance from the edge and to the habitat type (interior-exterior forest) and that edge habitats are significantly more susceptible to lower humidity, high winds, lower light and higher air temperatures than forest interior habitats. The ecological study of the edge areas in this reserve provides the basis for future research on forest dynamics and can guide conservation efforts to maintain the diversity and endemism of species in the Slătioara Secular Forest.
