Plant growth and soil microbial community structure of legumes and grasses grown in monoculture or mixture

A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted to investigate the in?uence of soil moisture content on plant growth and the rhizosphere microbial community structure of four plant species (white clover, alfalfa, sudan grass, tall fescue), grown individually or in a mixture. The soil moisture content was adjusted to 55% or 80% water holding capacity (WHC). The results indicated that the total plant biomass of one pot was lower at 55% WHC. At a given soil moisture, the total plant biomass of white clover and tall ...     

Positive long-term effect of mulching on species and functional trait diversity in a nutrient-poor mountain meadow in Central Europe

Oligotrophic mountain meadows are threatened biodiversity hotspots throughout Europe. The traditional summer hay-making followed by autumn grazing is no longer economic and question is whether alternative managements can maintain both plant species and functional diversity typical of these habitats. In the Bohemian Forest Mts., we applied three treatments (mowing once a year - i.e., cutting and removing the biomass, mulching once a year - cutting and leaving the crushed biomass to decompose in situ, fallowing - no cutting) in order to assess temporal changes in meadow vegetation, plant trait composition and biomass production in a 13-year experiment. We recorded for each species twenty-five traits as to be most informative of plant strategies related to growth, resource acquisition and carbon-water economy. We compared different components of trait composition (community averages that mostly reflect traits of dominant species vs. the Rao index of functional diversity that reflects trait dissimilarity among species) and their impact on biomass production. We show that mulching promotes species and functional diversity by facilitating heliophilous forbs and legumes with more acquisitive strategies in resource use and release, e.g., higher foliar N and P content. This occurs at the expense of tall grasses (with resource-retentive strategies, e.g., high leaf dry matter content) which dominate the mown and fallow plots. The divergence in most quantitative traits indicates that niche complementarity is the dominant assembly process in mulched plots, which can prevent competitive exclusion and enable species coexistence. The divergent development was detected only after 5-6 years. This slow floristic and functional response is caused by acidity of soil and severe mountain climate that preclude rapid responses of vegetation to land-use changes. We conclude that mulching represents a good compromise maintaining both plant species and functional diversity as well as a relatively high biomass production. Mowing without grazing leads to gradual nutrient loss and thus reduces the productivity and diversity in these oligotrophic ecosystems. Fallowing causes gradual loss in diversity by increased grass competition and litter accumulation.     

不同替代修复年限对飞机草种群和本土植物群落结构的影响

为研究替代修复对飞机草的治理效果以及对本地植物群落结构的修复效应,选择修复3、5、10 a和未修复(CK)的飞机草入侵生境为研究对象,调查飞机草密度、盖度、生物量、基径和本土植物群落的物种多样性、盖度等指标,采用"空间代替时间"的方法,分析不同修复年限飞机草种群特征和本地植物群落结构的变化.结果表明:(1)随着修复年限的增加,飞机草密度、盖度、基径、生物量等指标均呈显著降低趋势;修复10 a后,飞机草的盖度、密度、生物量、基径相比对照分别降低了97.3%、96.5%、98.6%、85.7%,飞机草入侵得到明显控制.(2)在植被替代修复过程中,飞机草入侵生境的群落结构得到明显改善,草本层物种多样性呈先升后降再升的趋势,草本层盖度在修复3 a后显著升高随后又显著降低,灌木层和乔木层物种多样性和盖度均呈显著增加趋势.研究显示,替代修复能有效治理飞机草入侵,促进植物群落的正向演替,提高本地植物群落结构的稳定性,增强生态系统对外来物种入侵的抵抗力.     

广东海丰湿地生态恢复进程中不同生境的土壤微生物特征分析

土壤微生物能够敏感反应湿地生态系统质量变化及功能演变.为了探索土壤微生物在生态恢复措施下的变化及响应机制,采用高通量测序技术研究了广东海丰湿地在生态恢复进程中4种不同生境(植被恢复区、乡土植被区、潮沟和光滩)的土壤微生物群落结构与多样性特征及其影响因素.结果表明,4种不同生境土壤理化性质差异显著,表现为潮沟土壤TC、TN、TOC和TK含量最高,且植被恢复区土壤的TC、TN和TP含量显著高于光滩.潮沟和光滩上EC值显著高于植被恢复区和乡土植被区.细菌在潮沟中多样性指数和丰度最高,且植被恢复区土壤细菌丰度和多样性显著高于光滩;古菌群落结构在潮沟中比其他3种生境显著复杂,多样性与丰度更高;而真菌在乡土植被区的多样性指数和丰度显著高于其他生境,群落结构也最为复杂.TN和TC是影响细菌群落的主要因素;TN和EC是影响古菌群落的主要因素,而pH、TP和TN是影响真菌群落关键性因素.由此可见,在生态恢复过程中,光滩上植被的定植增加了土壤微生物群落多样性和丰富度,生态恢复初见成效,研究结果可为光滩生态修复策略的选择提供理论依据.     

Changes in wet meadow vegetation after 20 years of different management in a field experiment (North-West Germany)

Conservation and restoration of semi-natural wet grasslands often suffer from poor knowledge on successional pathways of respective habitats under different mowing treatments to derive profound management concepts. In this study, we present the results of a 20-year experiment in six semi-natural wet grassland sites in NW Germany including mowing with and without fertilizer addition and fallow. Succession was recorded by permanent plots. The studied wet grassland communities responded quite similar under equal management. Fallow resulted in the most significant changes in floristic and functional composition facilitating highly competitive rushes and tall forbs. The changes were more pronounced the more the experimental management treatment differed from the former use. For all mowing treatments without fertilizer application, we still observed directed changes in the floristic composition even after 20 years. In particular mowing twice led to a shift in floristic composition towards stress-tolerant plants with low nutrient demands, which was paralleled by decreasing productivity and strongly diminishing Ellenberg nutrient values. Our results documented that restoration of low-yielding target communities by regular mowing is possible – even in an area with high atmospheric nitrogen inputs. However, our results also show that succession did not come to an end even after 20 years, most obviously due to the continuous but very slow immigration and spread of new species.     

A decision tree approach modelling functional group abundance in a pasture ecosystem

Decision tree, one of the data mining approaches, was used to model the relative abundance of five functional groups of plant species, namely high fertility response grasses (HFRG), low fertility tolerance grasses (LFTG), legume, moss and flatweeds in a New Zealand hill-pasture ecosystem using aboveground biomass. The model outputs were integrated with a geographic information system (GIS) to map and validate the predictions on a pasture. The decision tree models clearly revealed the interactions between the functional groups and environmental and management factors, and also indicated the relative importance of these factors in influencing the functional group abundance. Soil Olsen P was the most significant factor influencing the abundance of LFTG and moss, while soil bulk density, slope and annual P fertiliser input were the most significant factors influencing the abundance of legume, HFRG and flatweeds, respectively. Generally, slope and soil Olsen P were the two key factors underlying the patterns of abundance for these five functional groups. For the five functional groups studied, there was an overall predictive accuracy of 75%. Modelling functional group abundance simplified the investigation of the complex interrelationship between species and environment in a pasture ecosystem. The integration of the decision tree with GIS in this study provides a platform to investigate community structure and functional composition for a pasture over space, and thus can be applied as a tool in pasture management.     

Structure and diversity of small mammal communities in agriculture landscape

Small mammal communities were snaptrapped for six years in agricultural landscapes to establish their relationship to various crop habitats in southern Moravia, Czech Republic. The presence of 14 small mammals was documented; 77% of the community found in crops consisted of three rodents, namely Microtus arvalis, Apodemus microps and A. sylvaticus, whereas in woody habitats, 89% of the community was represented by Clethrionomys glareolus, Apodemus flavicollis and A. sylvaticus. In permanent habitats (windbreaks, small woods and fallow land), the community was more abundant and diversified. Among the crop fields, the lowest abundance was found in cereal fields whereas the lowest diversity was observed in alfalfa. Soil-cultivating practices affected abundances especially in sugar beat and maize. Seasonal variation in numbers was lowest in forest and fallow land. Species richness decreased from spring and summer to autumn and winter in annual crops (cereal, maize, sugar beet and other crops), increased in alfalfa and fallow land, and remained relatively stable in windbreaks and forests. Based on similarity indices, two groups of small mammal communities were identified: one for field crops and another for permanent habitats. The fallow land assemblages in spring and summer were more similar to field crop species assemblages and in autumn and winter to permanent habitats one. Trophic requirements of small mammals and the food supply available in the various habitats are discussed.     

民勤绿洲退耕地土壤微生物群落结构与功能多样性特征

为明确退耕阶段对土壤微生物群落结构和功能的影响,选取3个不同退耕阶段的荒漠绿洲区土壤为研究对象,通过宏基因组测序技术来研究不同阶段退耕地中土壤微生物群落的结构和功能多样性特征.结果表明,3个阶段退耕地土壤中放线菌门（Actinobacteria）、变形菌门（Proteobacteria）和芽单胞菌门（Gemmatimonadetes）的相对丰度存在显著差异,为优势菌门.与退耕前期相比,退耕修复后期增加了群体感应、卟啉与叶绿素代谢、泛酸盐和辅酶A生物合成以及苯乙烯降解的功能基因比例,且相对丰度存在显著差异（P<0.05）,表明不同退耕阶段改变了土壤微生物群落营养循环与能量代谢的功能潜力.RDA结果表明电导率（EC）、速效钾（AK）和全氮（TN）对土壤微生物功能组成具有显著影响,其中EC对微生物功能组成的影响最大.不同退耕阶段对土壤微生物群落结构和功能组成多样性具有显著影响,在民勤绿洲退耕地生态修复中,微生物群落结构和功能组成对不同阶段的土壤修复敏感性可综合相关指标进行考虑.     

城市河流沉水植物与大型底栖动物群落的关系

城市河流渠道化造成河流水生态系统普遍退化,重建水生生物栖息地,修复城市河流水生态系统成为近年来的研究热点.针对水生植物修复对大型底栖动物群落演替影响的科学问题,选择北京清河4个沉水植物修复河段为研究区域,于2012~2013年期间开展河流大型水生植物与大型底栖动物的季节动态监测,利用聚类分析、排序分析和方差分析比较水生植物修复区和对照区的大型底栖动物群落差异.研究结果表明采用沉水植物修复对大型底栖动物的密度、生物多样性和群落结构的稳定恢复具有显著效果,但不同叶片形态的沉水植物中底栖动物的密度、物种数、生物多样性和功能摄食类群的组间方差不显著,表明采用不同形态植被修复对大型底栖动物群落的恢复和次生演替的生态效应较为一致.大型底栖动物以直接收集者为绝对优势类群,表明沉水植物通过稳定局部微生境的底质和流速条件,为大型底栖动物提供更为适宜的生境条件,促进河流沉积物中的有机质转化.     

污水厂再生水回用于城市内河的生态修复效果及安全性评价

为降低污水厂再生水回用于城市景观水体时可能出现的生态环境风险,以宁波市某污水厂再生水回用于河道的生态修复段为研究对象,采用生态集成技术对再生水进行净化及自然修复,研究其对再生水常规水质指标、水体综合生物毒性及河道底栖动物群落特征的影响。结果表明:河道生态修复措施对稳定再生水水质的效果明显,主要水质指标保持稳定并达到功能区水质要求,再生水水质毒性降低,河道底栖动物物种丰度及生物密度也均明显增加,有效降低了再生水补水时可能带来的生态风险,对保障城市内河活水流动、生态安全具有重要作用。     

植被演替下植物组成多样性和群落稳定性与土壤团聚体的关系

为揭示植被自然恢复过程中植物组成多样性和群落稳定性与土壤团聚体的关系,防治水土流失,提高土壤质量.通过野外调查采样,确定并分析黄土高原近150年植被演替不同阶段的植被特征与土壤团聚体数据.结果表明:该过程共有种子植物39科99属128种,优势科是菊科、蔷薇科、禾本科和豆科,优势属是蒿属,单种属是该过程植物属的主体,出现频率较高的植物有大披针薹草、胡枝子、白刺花、水栒子、青蒿、虎榛子、辽东栎、茶条枫、油松、绣线菊、狗娃花等.植物地理成分在属级水平上有11个分布区类型8个变型,温带性质明显,热带性质（R值）与温带性质（T值）的比值（R/T）随恢复年限的增加而降低,R值与R/T值显著正相关,热带成分扩散分布受到限制.植物丰富度呈单峰曲线,在恢复年限为40～70年时最高.依照不同恢复年限对群落稳定性进行排序:70>120>135>150>40>10>20>0年.R值与植物种系分化度（SD值）极显著正相关,T值与稳定性极显著正相关.>5mm粒径团聚体与受热带性质物种驱动的植物丰富度有关.>0.25mm粒径团聚体总体上与群落稳定性保持一致,均受...     

矿业废弃地不同生态修复模式下植物多样性及重金属富集迁移特征

为了筛选出适合矿业废弃地复垦生态修复的植物材料,通过在排土场布设生态修复试验,开展不同生态修复模式对植物多样性及重金属富集迁移特征影响的研究.结果 表明,不同生态修复模式下共出现存活植物8科10种,多为草本植物,乔灌草小区修复效果最佳,植物覆盖度达到100％,存活率超过69％,植物群落多样性指数表现为:乔灌草＞灌草＞乔...     

贵州中部煤矸石堆场废弃地自然植被的群落组成及物种多样性

通过对贵阳市花溪区麦坪乡关闭煤矿区矸石堆场及周边自然土壤上的植被进行调查与分析,研究矸石废弃地自然恢复植被的群落组成、演替过程和物种多样性的变化。结果表明：随着堆放年限增加,煤矸石废弃地植物群落组成趋于复杂,植物群落演替等级增高。另确定6种植物为煤矸石废弃地优势物种,可为煤矸石堆场人工植被修复提供选材依据。     

瓷土矿尾矿沙山的生态治理

以江西省星子县大排岭瓷土矿尾矿沙山的初始生态恢复进程为研究对象,在样地调查的基础上,通过分析人工恢复林地、未治理迹地与自然恢复地中定居的植物物种数量、群落组成与结构来研究当地尾矿沙山生态恢复进程.结果显示,自然恢复地的生物多样性及群落组成与结构效果优于未治理迹地与人工恢复林地的生物多样性及群落组成与结构.自然恢复地植物物种中牡荆等3种植物在尾矿沙山的定居和扩散形成了具有一定组成与结构的植物群落类型,且这种群落类型稳定并符合植被演替的自然规律.这3种先锋植物可以在同类矿山尾矿沙山的植被重建与恢复中推广.      

人为干扰条件下白洋淀底栖动物群落变化及其主要环境影响因子分析

底栖动物对维持和稳定湖泊生态系统结构与功能具有重要作用.为了探明长期强人为干扰条件下底栖动物群落结构特征及其主要环境影响因子,本研究分别于2009年和2018年的4月和8月采集和分析了白洋淀8个区水体、沉积物和底栖动物样品.根据人为干扰程度的不同,将白洋淀分为重度干扰区（HD）、中度干扰区（MD）和轻度干扰区（LD）,同时分析了3类生境的理化参数和底栖动物群落结构与多样性指数.研究结果表明：1就水体和沉积物理化参数而言,总磷（TP）、总氮（TN）、氨氮（NH₄⁺）、硝酸盐（NO₃^-）、磷酸盐（PO₄^3-）和沉积物总氮（TNs）、总磷（TPs）等理化参数在重度干扰区呈最高值;2就底栖动物群落组成而言,在重度干扰区底栖动物群落物种丰度、生物量、密度均最低,且优势种大多以水生昆虫为主;3就底栖动物群落多样性指数而言,2009年,白洋淀底栖动物群落Margalef丰富度指数D值（0.84）和Shannon-Wiener多样性指数H''值（1.13）均在中度干扰区最高,而Pielou均匀度指数J值（0.53）在轻度干扰区最高,这些指数均与沉积物总氮（TNs）呈显著负相关;2018年,D值（2.02）和H''值（2.21）在轻度干扰区中最高,而J值（0.84）在重度干扰区中最高,D值和H''值与水深（Water depth,WD）呈正相关关系,而与硝酸盐（NO₃^-）和总磷（TP）等呈负相关关系;4RDA分析结果表明,白洋淀底栖动物群落组成的主要环境影响因子在2009年为WD和pH,而在2018年为沉积物中总磷（TPs）.2009-2018年,白洋淀底栖动物群落（主要影响因子从WD和pH变为沉积物总磷）和多样性指数（主要影响因子从TNs变为WD、TN、TP、NO₃^-、TNs等）的主要环境影响因子发生了显著变化.因此,针对主要环境影响因子的时间变化,在不同时期底栖动物群落的恢复需采取不同措施,本研究结果可为白洋淀生态修复提供理论和数据基础.     

Effects of exotic fish farms on bird communities in lake and marine ecosystems

Salmon farming is a widespread activity around the world, also known to promote diverse environmental effects on aquatic ecosystems. However, information regarding the impact of salmon farming on bird assemblages is notably scarce. We hypothesize that salmon farming, by providing food subsidies and physical structures to birds, will change their local community structure. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a seasonal monitoring of bird richness, abundance, and composition at paired salmon pen and control plots in two marine and two lake sites in southern Chile, from fall 2002 to summer 2004. Overall, salmon farming had no significant effects on species richness, but bird abundance was significantly and noticeably higher in salmon pens than in controls. Such aggregation was mainly accounted for by the trophic guilds of omnivores, diving piscivores, carrion eaters, and perching piscivores, but not by invertebrate feeders, herbivores, and surface feeders. Species composition was also significantly and persistently different between salmon pens and controls within each lake or marine locality. The patterns described above remained consistent across environment types and seasons indicating that salmon farming is changing the community structure of birds in both lake and marine habitats by promoting functional and aggregation responses, particularly by favoring species with broader niches. Such local patterns may thus anticipate potential threats from the ongoing expansion of the salmon industry to neighboring areas in Chile, resulting in regional changes of bird communities, toward a less diverse one and dominated by opportunistic, common, and generalist species such as gulls, vultures, and cormorants.     

上海南汇东滩鸟类栖息地营造工程的生境评价

为应对长江口日益严峻的滨海湿地和鸟类栖息地丧失问题,上海南汇东滩鸟类栖息地营造工程采取地形构建与水位调控技术,营造了适宜鸟类栖息觅食的生态修复示范区。本项研究自2009年8月至2010年6月,跟踪监测了生态修复示范区内的植被生长参数(株高、密度、叶面积指数、地上生物量)、水体质量参数(氮磷营养盐和叶绿素a含量)以及土壤环境参数(电导率、pH值和重金属含量),分析和评价了该工程实施后的生态修复效果。结果表明,生态修复措施有效促进了本地物种芦苇群落的生长,一定程度上明显改善了示范区内的水体质量,维持了土壤重金属的低污染状态,有利于鸟类生物多样性的提高。说明南汇东滩鸟类栖息地营造工程取得了初步成效,呈现出较好的湿地修复效果。同时,应采取刈割与水位调节技术抑制外来物种互花米草,控制生态养殖规模,进一步改善鸟类栖息地生境质量。     

Development of plant communities on set-aside in England

A survey of land taken out of production from the early 1990s onwards under the European Union's set-aside policy in England was carried out in 2008, to record plant communities in set-aside of different ages, effects of distance from the field edge, sowing and soil type. Communities were classified using the Countryside Vegetation System (CVS), Ellenberg indicators and Grime CSR strategy. Species richness declined with distance from the field boundary. Annuals declined with age of set-aside. In older set-aside, perennials dominated, 40-50% of species were grasses, and grasses covered over 70% of the area. Sown areas had a higher proportion of grass species and a lower proportion of wind-dispersed species. Perennial forbs increased over time in naturally regenerated swards but decreased on sown swards. Annuals and grasses were more prevalent on light soils, with more bare ground on heavy soils. Most transects fell into CVS aggregate classes ‘tall grassland/herb’ and ‘fertile grassland’. Ellenberg fertility values decreased initially but then stabilised. Competitor scores increased, and ruderal scores declined, with age. In general, the rate of change declined with age. Although few sites had plant communities of significant conservation interest, the value of set-aside is likely to be primarily to maintain botanical diversity in intensively farmed areas, as well as providing food and habitat for fauna.     

生态恢复模式对若尔盖高寒沙化草地土壤微生物群落功能多样性的影响

若尔盖高原生态战略地位突出,在维持地区生物多样性、生态系统稳定等方面起到重要作用。研究不同生态恢复模式下土壤微生物群落功能多样性,有助于为在高寒草地以及全国其他类似地区实施退牧还草、退耕还林还草等生态环境重建工作提供科学依据。以若尔盖草地不同恢复模式下的土壤微生物群落为研究对象,采用Biolog微平板法对比研究了生态治理措施对沙化草地生态系统及其土壤微生物功能多样性的影响。结果表明：人工生态恢复模式提高了沙化草地土壤微生物的活性,其中灌草间作模式下的恢复样地与自然恢复样地在稳定时二者的平均颜色变化率差值达到0.761;灌草间作模式下草地土壤微生物群落的Shannon指数、Simpson指数及McIntosh指数分别为3.290、0.960和10.408,均比草地建植模式下高,该模式能为土壤微生物群落提供更多的生态位;灌草间作恢复模式下草地土壤微生物群落利用各类碳源能力较其他恢复模式高,碳水化合物和氨基酸类是若尔盖草地土壤微生物群落利用最多的碳源;采用灌草间作模式的人工治理方式,同时结合增加草地土壤中碳水化合物、氨基酸类等碳源含量的生物措施,可以高效地治理若尔盖高寒沙化草地。     

梯级电站作用下牡丹江底栖动物沿程变化规律

水电站运行影响河流的栖息地环境,进而影响底栖动物群落结构,从而对河流生态健康造成影响.基于牡丹江镜泊湖电站至石岩电站江段的底栖动物采样数据,分析该江段的底栖动物沿程变化规律以及梯级水电站群对水生态环境的影响.结果表明,梯级电站的运行对研究江段的多种生境因子造成了影响,改变了江段内底栖动物的群落结构.在电站的上游和下游,底栖动物群落结构差别明显,其中,电站下游环境敏感种的数量多于上游.相比坝式水电站,引水式水电站对底栖动物的影响较小.空间上来看,电站运行影响沿程逐渐减弱,底栖动物的密度和丰度呈现沿程增加的趋势.