放牧,草原生态系统存在的基本方式——兼论放牧的转型

放牧是国内外普遍运用的土地管理的基本手段,至今全球陆地大约半数以上处于放牧管理之下。但受传统农耕文化的影响,我国当前对放牧管理系统存在很多误解,尤其是把草原的生态恶化、牧区贫困、文化落后都归罪于草原放牧,导致禁牧盛行。从放牧的基本内涵看,当前我国草原所面临的问题,不在放牧本身,而是对放牧认识的不足和放牧管理的缺陷,割裂了人居-草地-畜群之间的联系。从历史角度看,放牧做出了巨大贡献。而随着社会和科技的进步,放牧历经原始游牧期、放牧转型期与放牧现代化时期三阶段。西方发达国家在20世纪30年代就实现了放牧的现代化转型。畜牧业现代化的核心是以人居-草地-畜群放牧系统单元为内核的划区轮牧。划区轮牧是一种开放的农业技术体系,具有多种方式,适应于不同的农业系统,可兼顾生态与生产的需求,是草地放牧管理的重大进步。为了实现草原生态系统的生态和经济双重效应,我国畜牧业应该尽快实现草原管理和放牧的现代化转型。这是我国草地畜牧业现代化的必经之路,也是现代农业的必要内涵。     

Marine reserves,fisheries ban,and 20 years of positive change in a coral reef ecosystem

By 2004, Belize was exhibiting classic fishing down of the food web. Groupers (Serranidae) and snappers (Lutjanidae) were scarce and fisheries turned to parrotfishes (Scarinae), leading to a 41% decline in their biomass. Several policies were enacted in 2009–2010, including a moratorium on fishing parrotfish and a new marine park with no-take areas. Using a 20-year time series on reef fish and benthos, we evaluated the impact of these policies approximately 10 years after their implementation. Establishment of the Southwater Caye Marine Reserve led to a recovery of snapper at 2 out of 3 sites, but there was no evidence of recovery outside the reserve. Snapper populations in an older reserve continued to increase, implying that at least 9 years is required for their recovery. Despite concerns over the feasibility of banning parrotfish harvest once it has become a dominant fin fishery, parrotfishes returned and exceeded biomass levels prior to the fishery. The majority of these changes involved an increase in parrotfish density; species composition and adult body size generally exhibited little change. Recovery occurred equally well in reserves and areas open to other forms of fishing, implying strong compliance. Temporal trends in parrotfish grazing intensity were strongly negatively associated with the cover of macroalgae, which by 2018 had fallen to the lowest levels observed since measurements began in 1998. Coral populations remained resilient and continued to exhibit periods of net recovery after disturbance. We found that a moratorium on parrotfish harvesting is feasible and appears to help constrain macroalgae, which can otherwise impede coral resilience.     

野化培训大熊猫采食和人为砍伐对拐棍竹无性系种群生物量的影响

采用固定样方法和定位观察法连续测定了2003～2007年间卧龙自然保护区大熊猫野化培训圈内及其附近区域的拐棍竹无性系种群数量和生长发育特性等参数,运用收获法与非破坏性重量估测法建立了不同龄级和残桩的竹子种群和分株生物量估测模型,进而利用最佳模型计算并评估了野化培训大熊猫采食和人为砍伐对拐棍竹无性系种群生物量和植株个体生物量的影响.结果表明:在环境条件、种群密度、生长发育特征和种群生物量等基本相似的基础上,大熊猫采食和人为砍伐不仅降低实验期间的竹子生物生产力,而且影响到后期阶段实验种群的恢复与发展.大熊猫采食样方中的竹子种群生物量虽然较对照样方低,就竹笋生物量而言,约为对照的57.79%,这与野化培训圈的面积较小、竹种单一而使采食比重(67.07%)较大有关,但其各龄级植株个体生物量均能达到大熊猫的取食利用标准(仅2004年生竹除外),具有持续供给大熊猫食物资源的潜力;而人为砍伐措施与大熊猫采食相比,影响效果极为强烈,它严重降低了拐棍竹无性系的种群生物量,尤其是竹笋重量更是如此,仅为对照样方的14.69%,且植株个体鲜重远低于大熊猫的觅食条件.因此,竹笋和无性系植株的生物量是大熊猫采食标准的主要因素.     

不同海拔高寒放牧草甸的生态系统呼吸与环境因子的关系

在全球变化的背景下,为了研究藏北高寒放牧草甸的生态系统呼吸和土壤呼吸特征,沿着3个海拔高度（4 300、4 500和4 700 m）观测了2010年7-9月白天的呼吸通量。同时,观测了同期的土壤温度、土壤水分含量、空气温度和相对湿度,在定性分析土壤水分含量和呼吸通量关系的基础上,将其分成低、中和高3个水平,在此基础上,分析生态系统呼吸、土壤呼吸与土壤温度、土壤水分含量、空气温度以及相对湿度的关系。结果表明,空气温度是决定生态系统呼吸和土壤呼吸变异的主导因子;生态系统呼吸、土壤呼吸以及裸地的土壤呼吸的Q10值分别为1.83～3.07、1.54～4.13和1.29～2.89;总体而言,生态系统呼吸和土壤呼吸Q10值随着海拔的升高和土壤水分含量的增加而增大。     

Exploring potential socio-ecological impacts of changes to the Loliondo Gamed Controlled Area,Northern Tanzania: the case of the pastoral village Ololosokwan

Recent plans to alter the Loliondo Game Controlled Area (GCA), a nature conservation area located in Northern Tanzania, would result in substantial reduction of rangelands in the region. We quantify the current and hypothetical levels of the aboveground Human Appropriation of Net Primary Production (aHANPP) in one of the affected villages, and estimate the maximum exploitability rate of rangelands by livestock in the region. We find that the current aHANPP of the village amounts to 34–38% of the potential productivity, which could increase to 59–67% due to the altered GCA. On rangelands, livestock-induced aHANPP would increase from the current level of 30–34% to 54–61%, which is far above a maximum exploitability rate of 40–41%. Our results reveal that the intended changes to the Loliondo GCA will severely affect the current livelihood strategy of the Maasai, which is based on pastoralism.     

米氏凯伦藻对蒙古裸腹溞的毒性及致毒途径分析

米氏凯伦藻(Karenia mikimotoi Hasen)是一种典型的鱼毒性赤潮藻,近年来在我国频繁爆发,给水产养殖业带了严重的经济损失.在实验室条件下,采用混合培养、隔离培养等手段研究了米氏凯伦藻及不同细胞组分对枝角类蒙古裸腹溞(Moina mongolica)摄食与生存的影响,分析了其致毒途径.结果表明,随着混合...     

Simulating the potential for ecological restoration of dryland forests in Mexico under different disturbance regimes

Examining the potential for ecological restoration is important in areas where anthropogenic disturbance has degraded forest landscapes. However, the conditions under which restoration of degraded tropical dry forests (TDF) might be achieved in practice have not been determined in detail. In this study, we used LANDIS-II, a spatially explicit model of forest dynamics, to assess the potential for passive restoration of TDF through natural regeneration. The model was applied to two Mexican landscapes under six different disturbance regimes, focusing on the impact of fire and cattle grazing on forest cover, structure and composition. Model results identified two main findings. First, tropical dry forests are more resilient to anthropogenic disturbance than expected. Results suggested that under both a scenario of small, infrequent fires and a scenario of large, frequent fires, forest area can increase relatively rapidly. However, forest structure and composition differed markedly between these scenarios. After 400 years, the landscape becomes increasingly occupied by relatively shade-tolerant species under small, infrequent fires, but only species with both relatively high shade tolerance and high fire tolerance can thrive under conditions with large, frequent fires. Second, we demonstrated that different forms of disturbance can interact in unexpected ways. Our projections revealed that when grazing acts in combination with fire, forest cover, structure and composition vary dramatically depending on the frequency and extent of the fires. Results indicated that grazing and fire have a synergistic effect causing a reduction in forest cover greater than the sum of their individual effects. This suggests that passive landscape-scale restoration of TDF is achievable in both Mexican study areas only if grazing is reduced, and fires are carefully managed to reduce their frequency and intensity.     

Effects of Controlled Fire and Livestock Grazing on Bird Communities in East African Savannas

Abstract: In East Africa fire and grazing by wild and domestic ungulates maintain savannas, and pastoralists historically set fires and herded livestock through the use of temporary corrals called bomas. In recent decades traditional pastoral practices have declined, and this may be affecting biodiversity. We investigated the effects of prescribed fires and bomas on savanna bird communities in East Africa during the first and second dry seasons of the year (respectively before and after the rains that mark the onset of breeding for most birds). We compared abundance, richness, and community composition on 9‐ha burned plots, recently abandoned bomas, and control plots in the undisturbed matrix habitat over a 3‐year period. Generally, recently burned areas and abandoned bomas attracted greater densities of birds and had different community assemblages than the surrounding matrix. The effects of disturbances were influenced by interactions between primary productivity, represented by the normalized difference vegetation index, and time. Bird densities were highest and a greater proportion of species was observed on burned plots in the months following the fires. Drought conditions equalized bird densities across treatments within 1 year, and individuals from a greater proportion of species were more commonly observed on abandoned bomas. Yearly fluctuations in abundance were less pronounced on bomas than on burns, which indicate that although fire may benefit birds in the short term, bomas may have a more‐lasting positive effect and provide resources during droughts. Several Palearctic migrants were attracted to burned plots regardless of rainfall, which indicates continued fire suppression may threaten their already‐declining populations. Most notably, the paucity of birds observed on the controls suggests that the current structure of the matrix developed as a result of fire suppression. Traditional pastoralism appears critical to the maintenance of avian diversity in these savannas.     

放牧对呼伦贝尔草甸草原土壤呼吸温度敏感性的影响

放牧是影响草地生态系统碳循环过程的重要人类活动因素,定量研究放牧对土壤呼吸温度敏感性(Q10)的影响,对于准确评估草地碳收支和碳平衡至关重要.本研究依托呼伦贝尔草甸草原放牧梯度试验平台,利用动态密闭气室法(Li 6400-09)测量草地不同放牧梯度下的土壤呼吸作用.结果表明,不同放牧梯度下土壤呼吸具有明显的季节变化,且主要受温度因子主导,7月土壤呼吸速率达最大;2011年生长季5~9月不同放牧强度的平均土壤呼吸速率大小顺序为:G1(0.23Au·hm-2)>G0(未放牧)>G2(0.34 Au·hm-2)>G3(0.46 Au·hm-2)>G4(0.69 Au·hm-2)>G5(0.92 Au·hm-2).与不放牧相比,重度放牧(0.92 Au·hm-2)条件下Q10值减少了约10%,而轻度放牧(0.23 Au·hm-2)条件下Q10值略有升高.总体上,土壤呼吸温度敏感性(Q10)与放牧强度显著负相关(r=0.944,P<0.05),放牧不同程度地降低了土壤呼吸的温度敏感性.不同放牧梯度下Q10值与地上、地下生物量、土壤有机碳和土壤含水量之间存在显著的正相关线性回归关系,可以解释不同放牧梯度下Q10值71.0%~85.2%的变异性.放牧条件下Q10值发生变化本质上是生物因素和环境因子共同作用的结果.     

Global Warming, Human Population Pressure, and Viability of the World's Smallest Butterfly

Abstract:  The effects of climate change and habitat destruction and their interaction are likely to be the greatest challenge to animal and plant conservation in the twenty-first century. We used the world's smallest butterfly, the Sinai baton blue ( Pseudophilotes sinaicus ), as an exemplar of how global warming and human population pressures may act together to cause species extinctions. We mapped the entire global range of this butterfly and obtained extensive data on the intensity of livestock grazing. As with an increasing number of species, it is confined to a network of small habitat patches and is threatened both by indirect human-induced factors (global warming) and by the direct activities of humans (in this case, livestock grazing and collection of medicinal plants). In the absence of global warming, grazing, and plant collection, our model suggested that the butterfly will persist for at least 200 years. Above a threshold intensity of global warming, the chance of extinction accelerated rapidly, implying that there may be an annual average temperature, specific to each endangered species, above which extinction becomes very much more likely. By contrast, there was no such threshold of grazing pressure—the chance of extinction increased steadily with increasing grazing. The impact of grazing, however, decreased with higher levels of year-to-year variation in habitat quality. The effect of global warming did not depend on the future level of grazing, suggesting that the impacts of global warming and grazing are additive. If the areas of habitat patches individually fall below certain prescribed levels, the butterfly is likely to go extinct. Two patches were very important for persistence: if either were lost the species would probably go extinct. Our results have implications for the conservation management of all species whose habitats are at risk because of the direct activities of humans and in the longer term because of climate change.