Analyzing coastal wetland change in the Yancheng National Nature Reserve,China

Coastal zones provide habitat cores and corridors that maintain the diversity of entire landscapes, and they can form the cornerstone elements of regional conservation strategies. Natural environmental driving factors and excessive anthropogenic activities play important roles in coastal wetland change. Many studies have used remote sensing images to map and assess coastal wetland change on local or regional scales. This paper aims to provide insight into coastal wetland change in the Yancheng National Nature Reserve (YNNR) using remote sensing technology and landscape metrics analysis. The results reveal that grass flat and reed areas have significantly decreased, whereas agriculture fields, aquaculture ponds and built-up areas have continuously increased from 1988 to 2006. The spatial pattern of the coastal landscape has become fragmented and heterogeneous under great pressure from rapid economic development and population growth. The wetland changes have important impacts on natural habitat of the red-crowned cranes. The results of this study provide basic information that is required for developing measures toward a sustainable management and conservation of the YNNR.     

Distribution of health costs of pesticide use by household economy

We observed skewed distribution across household of benefits of pesticide use in vegetable farming in Nepal. However, economic burden or harm of pesticide use and exposure by household economy is poorly studied. It is hypothesized that exaggerated and incompetent pesticide use is likely to affect human health that may lead to decline in human productivity, and economic loss––that may further marginalize farmers. Thus, a study was conducted in the Ansi khola watershed of Kavrepalanchowk District of central Nepal. The primary aim of the study was to value risks of pesticide use and to estimate health costs of exposure by household category. We grouped household into “large-scale” who owns more than 1 ha of agricultural land, “small-scale” having <0.5 ha and “medium-scale” in between >0.5 and <1 ha. Data were collected through (1) an initial household survey conducted from May to June 2008, (2) monthly visit surveys accomplished from June to November 2008 and (3) a final household survey conducted during November to December 2009. The cost of pesticide use and exposure was highest for medium-scale household; however, the economic burden in relation to incomes was the highest for small-scale household. On the basis of area under vegetables, small-scale household incurred 23 % higher economic burdens compared to the large-scale household. Overall, the cost of pesticide use and exposure amounted 15 % of agricultural income and/or 5 % of gross household income. For small-scale households, the cost was equivalent to 18 % of agricultural income and 6 % of gross income. Small-scale households are not only deprived from benefits of agriculture intensification, but also incurred highest burden of pesticide use.     

升金湖自然湿地越冬鹤类生境适宜性变化研究

升金湖湿地位于安徽省长江中下游区域,是鹤类重要的越冬地之一,湿地景观的变化影响越冬鹤类的生境质量。研究湿地内越冬鹤类生境变化地对湿地生态恢复有着重要的研究意义。以升金湖国家级自然保护区为研究对象,利用ERDAS软件将1986年到2015年间8个年份冬季的TM影像数据将景观类型分为8种类型,用FRAGSTATS软件计算出各个年份的景观指标。选取干扰程度、食物丰富度、植被覆盖和水文条件4种因子作为影响越冬鹤类生境的主要因子。建立越冬鹤类生境适宜性评价模型,用ArcGIS生成鹤类生境适宜性评价图。用皮尔逊相关分析研究鹤类数量与生境适宜性的相关性。结果表明：升金湖保护区的景观格局变化明显,湿地斑块数量增加,景观的破碎度程度增加,景观斑块差异在逐渐变小,多样性指数和均匀度指数逐渐变大。越冬鹤类生境适宜性综合指数从0.845下降到0.465,总体的生境明显恶化。越冬鹤类的生境适宜性面积从1986年的 13 577.11 hm2 下降到2015年的 7 424.42 hm2,进而导致越冬鹤类数量在1986年到2015年总体呈下降趋势。鹤类数量与生境适宜性呈正相关。 关键词： 生境影响因子;生境适宜性评价模;越冬鹤类;景观格局     

升金湖湿地景观格局变化对越冬鹤类地理分布的影响

升金湖湿地是安徽省内的唯一以越冬鹤类为保护对象的国家级自然保护区。研究湿地景观格局变化对越冬鹤类地理分布的影响在恢复湿地生态系统、保护鹤类种群等方面具有重要参考价值。该文对升金湖湿地的白头鹤、白鹤、灰鹤及白枕鹤越冬鹤类的地理分布特征进行了分析,结合升金湖湿地1986～2017年间的8期遥感影像分析景观格局变化特征,并探讨了景观格局变化对越冬鹤类地理分布特征的影响。结果表明:1986～2017年间,升金湖湿地景观格局变化显著,斑块数量增加,景观破碎化严重。泥滩地、草滩地、建设用地、水田面积总体呈增加态势,旱地、林地、芦苇滩地及水域面积总体呈减少态势;4种鹤类数量总体呈减少趋势。鹤类主要地理分布区域为水域、水田、芦苇滩地、泥滩地及草滩地;升金湖湿地景观破碎化不断加剧,鹤类地理分布区域面积整体上在逐渐减少,适宜鹤类生境面积减少,直接导致近30年来鹤类数量逐渐减少。     

The ecological implications of land use change in the Source Regions of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, China

The alpine ecosystems in permafrost regions are extremely sensitive to climate change. The headwater regions of Yangtze River and Yellow River of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are on the permafrost area. Aerial photos of the Source Regions of the Yangtze and Yellow River taken in 1968 and three phases of TM images acquired from 1986, 2000, and 2008 were used to analyze the spatial alterations of the land cover and corresponding effects on the environment guided by landscape ecology theory. Firstly, land cover types were divided into three classes and 11 subclasses. Analysis results revealed the trends and magnitude of the eco-environmental changes in the regions over the past four decades and showed a continuous degradation of grasslands and the extension of desertification and salinization. Secondly, five landscape pattern indices (i.e., NP, MPS, PR, SHEI, CONTAG) commonly used in landscape ecological studies were calculated, and results showed that this region had become more centralized and diversified. Finally, the factors causing the degradation of alpine grasslands were analyzed. The regional climate exhibited a tendency toward significant warming and desiccation with the air temperature increased by 0.03 °C per year and relative stable precipitation over the last 40 years. And the temperature of permafrost in 0–20 cm soil layer obviously raised by 0.2–0.3 °C in the last 40 years. The combined effects of climate warming and permafrost variation were the major drivers for the changes of landscape in alpine ecosystems.     

Quantifying fluctuations in winter productive cropped area in the Central Indian Highlands

The Central Indian Highland landscape (CIHL) represents a complex, diverse, and highly human-modified system. Nearly half the landscape is cropland, yet it hosts 21 protected areas surrounded and connected by forests. Changing farming practices with increasing access to irrigation might alter this intensifying landscape in the near future particularly in light of weather variability. We analyzed a decade of remote sensing data for cropping patterns and climatic factors combined with census data for irrigation and demographic factors to understand winter cropping trajectories in the CIHL. We quantified ‘productive cropped area’ (PCA), defined as the area with planted crop that is green at the peak of the winter growing season. We find three primary trajectories in PCA—increasing, fluctuating, and decreasing. The most dominant trend is fluctuating PCA in two-thirds of the districts, ranging from ~2.11 million to ~3.73 million ha between 2001 and 2013, which is associated with village-level access to irrigation and local labor dynamics. In 58 % of all districts, clay soils were associated with winter cropping (p < 0.05). Increasing irrigation is associated with increased winter PCA in most (94 %) districts (p < 0.00001). We find strong negative association between PCA and land surface temperature (LST) in most (66 %) districts (p < 0.01). LST closely corresponds to daytime mean air temperature (p < 0.001) for available meteorological stations. Fine-scale meteorological and socioeconomic data, however, are needed to further disentangle impacts of these factors on PCA in this landscape.     

Effect of human use,season and habitat on ungulate density in Kanha Tiger Reserve,Madhya Pradesh,India

Conservation practitioners require strata specific, seasonal species densities for habitat management. Herein, we use stratified distance sampling in Kanha Tiger Reserve (KTR) with 200 spatial transects and an effort of 1200 km walk in the year 2013. Analysis was done to access (a) impact of human use and (b) effect of habitat and season on ungulate densities in KTR. While a single detection function for each species was used for estimating density within human-restricted core and multiple use buffer of KTR, species-specific seasonal detections were modelled for each habitat. Ungulate biomass was 4.8 times higher in the core area compared with the buffer zone. The core supported a herbivore density and biomass of 50 ± 4.80/km² and 26,806 ± 2573 kg/km², respectively. Chital were found to be most abundant, having a density of 30.1 ± 4.34/km² and contributing 33 % of the biomass with a habitat preference for grasslands (106 ± 39/km²) in summer and winter. Sambar had highest density (15.4 ± 3.34/km²) in bamboo-mixed habitat, in both seasons. Gaur contributed 39 % of the ungulate biomass and showed a seasonal shift in density from sal forests (9.65 ± 3.55/km²) in summer to miscellaneous forests (8.13 ± 1.94/km²) in winter. Barasingha were restricted to grasslands with similar summer and winter densities of 1.56 ± 0.76/km². Chousingha were rare (0.1 ± 0.04/km²), found mostly in miscellaneous forests and plateau grasslands. Grassland and bamboo-mixed forests supported 58 % of the total ungulate biomass. Management for an optimal habitat mosaic that maintains ungulate diversity, addresses the specific needs of endangered species and maximizes ungulate biomass is recommended.     

Quantifying changes to historic fish habitat extent on north coast NSW floodplains,Australia

Global degradation of coastal ecosystems is influencing the provision of ecosystem services, including fisheries maintenance services. Degradation of the Australian coastal zone and its resources following European occupation has been recognised for some time. This includes the loss of ecologically important coastal wetlands, which have strong trophic and habitat links to fisheries. In NSW, structural flood mitigation works are a principle driver of the decline of coastal wetlands; however, little action has been taken to quantify the extent of decline due to limited information of the pre-European settlement extent of coastal wetlands. We use spatial data sets in GIS to quantify prime fish habitat and calculate the loss of fish habitat for the large coastal floodplains of northern NSW, which are significant contributors to the commercial and recreational fisheries of NSW. The technique is validated by comparison with early maps of wetland distribution. We identified pre-European distribution of available fish habitat of approximately 477,000 ha, of which 87,000 ha was identified as prime fish habitat. Approximately 62,000 ha of prime fish habitat was impacted by drainage of the coastal floodplains in association with flood mitigation works which intensified in the mid-1950s and were largely completed by 1971, equating to a loss of approximately 72 % of prime fish habitat. The declining value of the ecosystem services provided by prime fish habitat following drainage is likely to be substantial. Some actions have taken place to restore the functions of this habitat although significant opportunities remain to reverse this decline through management actions that restore natural drainage and reinstate tidal exchange. These actions become even more important as pressures on coastal wetlands increase with climate change and associated sea-level rise.     

Land cover changes in the Lachuá region,Guatemala: patterns,proximate causes,and underlying driving forces over the last 50 years

Identifying the patterns of land cover change (LCC) and their main proximate causes and underlying driving forces in tropical rainforests is an urgent task for designing adequate management and conservation policies. The Lachuá region maintains the largest lowland rainforest remnant in Guatemala, but it has been highly deforested and fragmented during the last decades. This is the first paper to describe the patterns of LCC and the associated political and socioeconomic factors in the region over the last 50 years. We estimated spatial and temporal variations in LCC from a random sample of 24 1-km² landscape plots during three time periods (1962–1987, 1987–2006, and 2006–2011) and evaluated how they were related to some important proximate causes and underlying driving forces. During the study period, 55 % of forest cover disappeared, at an annual rate of 1.6 %. The deforestation rate increased from 0.6 % (during the first study period) to 2.8 % (last period), but there was very high spatial variation. Landscape plots located outside conservation areas and close to roads lost between 80 and 100 % of forest cover, whereas the forest cover in landscapes located within protected areas remained intact during the study period. The establishment of new human settlements, roads, and annual crops was the main proximate cause during the first period, but during the second and third periods, open areas were mainly created to establish cattle pastures. Because ~75 % of forest cover has disappeared outside the protected areas, the conservation of this biodiversity hot spot will depend on the expansion of protected areas, and the promotion of forest regrowth and alternative biodiversity-friendly land uses in the landscape matrix.     

Impact of climate change on vulnerability of forests and ecosystem service supply in Western Rhodopes Mountains

The vulnerability of forest ecosystem services to climate change is expected to depend on landscape characteristic and management history, but may also be influenced by the proximity to the southern range limit of constituent tree species. In the Western Rhodopes in South Bulgaria, Norway spruce is an important commercial species, but is approaching its current southern limit. Using climate sensitive forest models, we projected the impact of climate change on timber production, carbon storage, biodiversity and soil retention in two representative landscapes in the Western Rhodopes; a lower elevation landscape (1000–1450 m a.s.l) dominated by mixed species forests, and a higher elevation landscape (1550–2100 m a.s.l.) currently dominated by spruce. In both landscapes climate change is projected to induce a shift in forest composition, with drought-sensitive species, such as Norway spruce, being replaced by more drought-tolerant species such as Scots pine and black pine at lower elevations. In the higher elevation landscape a reduction in spruce growth is projected, particularly under the more severe climate change scenarios. Under most climate scenarios a reduction in growing stock is projected to occur, but under some scenarios a moderate increase in higher elevation stands (>1500 m a.s.l.) is expected. Climate change is projected to negatively influence carbon storage potential across landscapes with the magnitude depending on the severity of the climate change scenario. The impact of climate change on forest diversity and habitat availability is projected to differ considerably between the two landscapes, with diversity and habitat quality generally increasing at higher elevations, and being reduced at lower elevations. Our results suggest that if currently management practices are maintained the sensitivity of forests and forest ecosystem services in the Western Rhodopes to climate change will differ between low and higher elevation sites and will depend strongly on current forest composition.     

上海城市景观生态格局演变与生态网络结构优化分析

为了优化上海城市生态网络结构,综合应用景观格局、景观格局指数以及景观生态网络分析方法,提出上海城市生态品质提升途径。首先,应用面向对象的遥感图像分类方法获得了2008年和2015年上海市建设用地、农业用地、水域和绿地等景观类型分布,应用Fragstats软件获得景观格局指数,比较了城市景观格局和景观格局指数的演变;其次应用最小成本路径方法构建城市生态网络,与城市道路交通网络叠置,确定了生态网络结构的间断点;最后与《上海市基本生态网络规划》比较,提出了城市生态网络发展建议。本研究获得如下结论:(1)2008～2015年,上海市建设用地、农业用地、绿地和水域的面积比例由38∶51∶5∶6演变为46∶39∶7∶8。(2)上海市景观格局日趋破碎化、复杂化,连通性下降;建设用地的优势景观类型地位强化,郊区建设用地呈现破碎化入侵,农业用地面积减少且破碎化;绿地系统面积增大,但连通性不足,结构待优化。(3)经最小阻力分析获得上海市105条潜在生态廊道线路,在浦东新区、奉贤区、金山区、松江区和青浦区具有较好的环状度;经叠置分析识别出上海市骨干生态廊道的62个间断点,主要分布在青浦区、松江区、浦东新区以及奉贤区。(4)经比较分析发现,城市生态网络规划的生态网络骨架基本保持,但局部的生态网络结构存在问题,上海西北部和北部的生态廊道空间萎缩,东南部生态空间出现碎片化。     

Can current management maintain forest landscape multifunctionality in the Eastern Alps in Austria under climate change?

In Central Europe, management of forests for multiple ecosystem services (ES) has a long tradition and is currently drawing much attention due to increasing interest in non-timber services. In face of a changing climate and diverse ES portfolios, a key issue for forest managers is to assess vulnerability of ES provisioning. In a case study catchment of 250 ha in the Eastern Alps, the currently practiced uneven-aged management regime (BAU; business as usual) which is based on irregularly shaped patch cuts along skyline corridors was analysed under historic climate (represented by the period 1961–1990) and five transient climate change scenarios (period 2010–2110) and compared to an unmanaged scenario (NOM). The study addressed (1) the future provisioning of timber, carbon sequestration, protection against gravitational hazards, and nature conservation values under BAU management, (2) the effect of spatial scale (1, 5, 10 ha grain size) in mapping ES indicators and (3) how the spatial scale of ES assessment affects the simultaneous provision of several ES (i.e. multifunctionality). The analysis employed the PICUS forest simulation model in combination with novel landscape assessment tools. In BAU management, timber harvests were smaller than periodic increments. The resulting increase in standing stock benefitted carbon sequestration. In four out of five climate change scenarios, volume increment was increasing. With the exception of the mildest climate change scenario (+2.6 °C, no change in precipitation), all other analysed climate change scenarios reduced standing tree volume, carbon pools and number of large old trees, and increased standing deadwood volume due to an intensifying bark beetle disturbance regime. However, increases in deadwood and patchy canopy openings benefitted bird habitat quality. Under historic climate, the NOM regime showed better performance in all non-timber ES. Under climate change conditions, the damages from bark beetle disturbances increased more in NOM compared with BAU. Despite favourable temperature conditions in climate change scenarios, the share of admixed broadleaved species was not increasing in BAU management, mainly due to the heavy browsing pressure by ungulates. In NOM, it even decreased and mean tree age increased. Thus, in the long run NOM may enter a phase of lower resilience compared with BAU. Most ES indicators were fairly insensitive to the spatial scale of indicator mapping. ES indicators that were based on sparse tree and stand attributes such as rare admixed tree species, large snags and live trees achieved better results when mapped at larger scales. The share of landscape area with simultaneous provisioning of ES at reasonable performance levels (i.e. multifunctionality) decreased with increasing number of considered ES, while it increased with increasing spatial scale of the assessment. In the case study, landscape between 53 and 100 % was classified as multifunctional, depending on number and combinations of ES.     

山东省建设占用耕地与经济增长的脱耦分析

利用山东省1997-2008年的相关数据,分析了耕地建设占用与经济增长之间脱耦的时间过程和原因。结论认为:1997-2008年间,山东省耕地面积经历了由上升到下降的变化过程,2004年是增减的拐点。2004-2008年间,建设占用成为山东省耕地流失的主要驱动因子。2001-2004年与2005-2008年,山东省耕地建设占用与经济增长均表明发生了明显的脱耦现象,且有加速发展的趋势,山东省经济增长逐渐摆脱了对耕地资源的依赖。相对1997-2000年,2001-2004年间山东省经济增长对耕地资源占用的压力呈减轻趋势,属于相对脱耦;与2001-2004年相比,2005-2008年间山东省建设占用耕地与经济发展成为绝对脱耦型。2005-2008年间,山东省耕地占用与经济增长的脱耦主要得益于第三产业的快速发展。因此,继续实施严格的耕地保护策略,可能并不会对经济发展有较大的影响。     

Connecting the dots: mapping habitat connectivity for tigers in central India

Large connected landscapes are paramount to maintain top predator populations. Across their range, tiger (Panthera tigris) populations occur in small fragmented patches of habitat, often isolated by large distances in human-dominated landscapes. We assessed connectivity between 16 protected areas (PAs) in central India, a global priority landscape for tiger conservation, using data on land use and land cover, human population density, and transportation infrastructure. We identified and prioritized movement routes using a combination of least-cost corridor modeling and circuit theory. Our analyses suggest that there are several opportunities to maintain connectivity in this landscape. We mapped a total of thirty-five linkages in the region and calculated metrics to estimate their quality and importance. The highest quality linkages as measured by the ratio of cost-weighted distance to Euclidean distance are Kanha–Phen/Bandhavgarh–SanjayGhasidas/Melghat–Satpura, and cost-weighted distance to least-cost path length are Nawegaon–Tadoba/Achanakmar–SanjayGhasidas/Kanha–Phen. We used current flow centrality to evaluate the contribution of each PA and linkage toward facilitating animal movement. Values are highest for Kanha and Pench tiger reserves, and the linkages between Kanha–Phen, Kanha–Pench, and Pench–Satpura, suggesting that these PAs and linkages play a critical role in maintaining connectivity in central India. In addition, smaller areas such as Bor, Nawegaon, and Phen have high centrality scores relative to their areas and thus may act as important stepping stones. We mapped pinch points, which are sections of the linkages where tiger movement is restricted due to unfavorable habitat, transportation networks, human habitation, or a combination of factors. Currently, very limited data exist on tiger movement outside of PAs to validate model results. Regional-scale connectivity mapping efforts can assist managers and policy makers to develop strategic plans for balancing wildlife conservation and other land uses in the landscape.     

Land use history of a floodplain area during the last 200 years in the Upper-Tisza region (Hungary)

Research into landscape history makes it possible to follow landscape changes in the past and support landscape management, conservation and restoration programs. Floodplain habitats are lost, isolated and fragmented on account of land use. Nowadays, these habitats are threatened by modifications in the natural water regime, as well as agricultural and forestry practices. Floodplains have great importance because they provide a transition between aquatic habitats and terrestrial biotopes. Our analysis of aerial photographs and topographical maps revealed that the major predicted changes in the study area are related to agricultural abandonment and afforestation. The comparison of land cover maps from 1784 to 2005 showed intensification of agriculture with land cover conversions from arable land and orchards to grasslands, marshes and woodlands. The land use types that are mostly responsible for the fragmentation of the landscape are arable land, economic plantations and orchards. We found that fragmentation was greater after 1956. This was caused by socioeconomic changes and showed that the habitats of floodplains have changed intensively during the last 200 years. Knowledge of this last 200 years of history contributes to a more careful and wiser management of the region through biodiversity protection and environmental development.     

Hydrologic response to climate change and human activities in a subtropical coastal watershed of southeast China

It is essential to investigate hydrologic responses to climate change and human activities across different physiographic regions so as to formulate sound strategies for water resource management. Mann–Kendall, wavelet and geospatial analyses were coupled in this study, associated with ENSO indicators, flashiness index and baseflow index, in order to explore the hydrologic sensitivity to climate change and human activities in the Jiulong River Basin (JRB), a subtropical coastal watershed of southeast China. The results showed that the average annual precipitation presented an increasing trend (Z = 2.263, p = 0.024) and that this tendency has become weaker from estuary to inland in the JRB over the past 50 years. The annual frequency of rainstorm events increased from 3.4 to 5.2 days in the estuary and from 5.1 to 5.6 days in the West River, whereas it decreased from 6.0 to 5.5 days in the North River from 1954 to 2010. The 10-year average streamflow during 2001–2010 in the North River and West River decreased by 9.2 and 6.7 %, respectively, compared to the average annual streamflow during 1967–2000. Annual fluctuations were the most representative signals in streamflow variability for the North River and West River over the period 1967–2010. Human activities including dam construction, land change and socioeconomic development posed increasing influences on hydrologic conditions in the JRB. Seasonal variability of streamflow and sediment discharge changed significantly between the two periods divided by the jumping point (1992), identified when dams were constructed extensively in the North River and West River. This research provided important insights into the hydrologic consequences of climate change and human activities in a subtropical coastal watershed of southeast China.     

Livestock losses and hotspots of attack from tigers and leopards in Kanha Tiger Reserve,Central India

Carnivore attacks on livestock are a primary driver of human–carnivore conflict and carnivore decline globally. Livestock depredation is particularly threatening to carnivore conservation in Central India, a priority landscape and stronghold for the endangered tiger. To strengthen the effectiveness of conflict mitigation strategies, we examined the spatial and temporal patterns and physical characteristics of livestock depredation in Kanha Tiger Reserve. We combined livestock compensation historical records (2001–2009) with ground surveys (2011–2012) and carnivore scat to identify when and where livestock species were most vulnerable. Between 400 and 600 livestock were reported for financial compensation each year, and most (91–95 %) were successfully reimbursed. Tigers and leopards were responsible for nearly all livestock losses and most often killed in the afternoon and early evening. Cattle and buffalo were most at risk in dense forests away from villages and roads, whereas goats were most often killed in open vegetation near villages. A spatial predation risk model for cattle revealed high-risk hotspots around the core zone boundary, confirming the significant risks to livestock grazing illegally in the core. Such ecological insights on carnivore–livestock interactions may help improve species-specific livestock husbandry for minimizing livestock losses and enabling coexistence between people and carnivores.     

The recovery of the lower montane cloud forest in the Mucujún watershed, Mérida, Venezuela

High deforestation rates in tropical countries continue to reduce forest cover and thereby habitat quantity and quality. However, in some places the forest is recovering and expanding thus offsetting the biodiversity and ecosystem service losses. In order to characterize the forest recovery, land use and land cover (LUC) changes were analyzed using aerial photographs, taken between 1952 and 2009, of a peri-urban watershed in the Andes region of Venezuela. The qualities of the changes were assessed using landscape indices and hemeroby indicators. In that period, the forest cover increased about 18 %, mainly due to abandoned pastures on steep slopes. At the same time, the urban area expanded about 4 % on valley bottoms, while pastures and crop fields were reduced about 20 %. The results also showed that forest patches were aggregating, whereas pastures were fragmenting. A reduction in direct human impacts on forests growing on abandoned pastures resulted in a slight recovery of the lower montane cloud forest structure and plant composition. But non-native species were found in all LUC categories. During the study period, we documented not only forest recovery, but also urban area growth, intensified land use and invasions by non-native species all of which could partially counterbalance the positives of forest recovery.     

南洞庭湖湿地鱼类生境景观变化及其人为驱动

通过实地调查和制图分析,研究1983~2013年南洞庭湖区万子湖湿地和鱼类生境景观变化及其人为驱动,结果表明:湿地洲滩面积由1.410×104 hm2增加到2.135×104 hm2,敞水面面积由1.363×104 hm2减少到0.631×104 hm2;芦苇洲减少,但林地由0.056×104 hm2增加到0.728×104 hm2并扩展到保护区核心区;新增泥围21个、网围10个,引淤、沥水排水设施长度增加了201.71km。人为干扰对景观变化有极大影响,其中引种意大利杨及芦苇改变了地形和群落结构,挤占了自然演替条件下应有的草洲景观空间,使鱼类产卵、索饵的适宜生境减少;泥围作为有害渔法,与网围都处于建设发展阶段,占据了草洲、洼地等鱼类产卵、索饵的适宜生境;引淤渠建设使大面积湖泊快速淤积成洲,将水生生态景观转变为大多数时间干露的以陆相生态景观为主的水陆相生态景观,鱼类生境被压缩,并对南洞庭自然保护区核心区继续发挥促淤作用。