On the Formal and Informal Estimates of Floristic Diversity: An Example of Pine Forests of the Southern Urals

Advantages of the informal assessment of biodiversity based on the phytosociological spectrum (the ratio of species associated with different higher units of ecological-floristic classification in the cenoflora) are demonstrated in a study of pine forests of the Southern Urals (classes Vaccinio-Piceetea, Brachypodio-Betuletea, and Querco-Fagetea). The phytosociological spectrum reflects environmental conditions better than formal estimations of , , and -diversity.     

Ground Fires as a Factor of Maintenance of Pine–Larch Forests in the Southern Urals

Russian Journal of Ecology -     

Structure and differentiation of spruce populations in the Komi Republic

Groups of spruce populations growing in western and southwestern, central, and northern regions of the Komi Republic significantly differ from each other. Trees with a phenotype intermediate between Norway (Picea abies) and Siberian (P. obovata) spruce prevail in the first group, their proportion in the second group does not exceed 20%, and almost all trees in the third group have the Siberian spruce phenotype.     

The use of ecological scales for indication of the current state of forest communities

A method for estimating the current state of plant communities based on the ecological amplitudes of constituent species is proposed. An original program, Fitoindikatsiya, has been developed to compute the indices of disturbance and homogeneity of plant communities from species ecological scale values. The current state of pine forests in the part of Novosibirsk oblast east of the Ob River has been analyzed; slightly, moderately, and severely disturbed zones have been distinguished.     

The Dynamics of Species Composition and Abundance of Wasps from the Families Pompilidae, Sphecidae, and Vespidae (Hymenoptera: Aculeata) in Successional Pine Biogeocenoses of the Berezinskii Biosphere Reserve

The data on the dynamics of population size and species composition of wasps from the families Pompilidae, Sphecidae, and Vespidae were obtained in the course of long-term studies carried out in successional pine forests of the Berezinskii Biosphere Reserve. The abundance and species diversity of wasps were significantly higher in a polewood forest (40 years) than in a young forest (20 years) and mature moss forest (70 years). In an overgrown ride in the moss pine forest, the composition of dominant wasp species remained relatively stable during the seven-year period of observations, although the number of species and their abundance varied significantly from year to year, depending on the weather.     

Influence of spruce and pine on the acidity and composition of atmospheric fallout in north taiga forests of an industrially developed region

The ideas concerning the spatial and temporal variation of acidity and composition of atmospheric fallout in forests of the boreal zone are discussed. The role played by the atmospheric component in the functioning of these forests depends on the acidity and composition of fallout and the extent of their transformation by the biocenosis. The most profound transformation of fallout occurs during the growing season. In spaces between crowns, the corresponding changes are atmogenic; in undercrown areas, they are obviously biogenic (autogenic). Spruce transforms the fallout more intensively than pine. Under conditions of industrial pollution, the atmobiogenic character of fallout is supplemented with a technogenic component, as its acidity and concentration of pollutants and other elements sharply increase. Concentrations of principal cations reach high values because of their leaching from the crown by acid precipitation. The traditional concept of atmospheric load on boreal forests should be reconsidered taking into account their spatial structure.     

Ecological Variation in the Morphological Structure of the Crown in Siberian Stone Pine at the Timberline

The structure of the crown and branching; the growth, development, and ontogeny of branches; and organogenesis and growth of female shoots in the model Siberian stone pine trees were studied in four types of habitats at the timberline in the central Altai Mountains (1700–2170 m a.s.l.). The results provided evidence that the ecological forms of trees appear due to changes in the pattern of branching as well as to the decreased rate of vegetative (primarily apical) growth. The diameter of the shoot pith is one of the most variable characters reflecting the deterioration of environmental conditions at higher elevations.     

Retrospective Assessment of the Parameters of Needle Retention in Scotch Pine

Russian Journal of Ecology -     

Ecological Zoning of Forests in Areas Exposed to Industrial Air Pollution

Morphometric characteristics of the growth of forest stands located at different distances from a large copper-smelting plant were estimated. The set of diagnostic parameters obtained was used for calculating summary parameters of the state (SPSs) of the forest stands and to grade their values for zoning the forests. The results of using semivariance analysis demonstrated the appropriateness of kriging, a method of spatial interpolation, for mapping the surfaces of the state of forests. The map-scheme of the zones differing in the state of forest stands (made on the basis of summary parameters) was compared with the topographic map of the area, which made it possible to estimate the effect of large forms of relief on the location and configuration of the zones.     

Syntaxonomy of Southern Ural Forests as a basis for the system of their protection

Using the example of Southern Ural forests, it is shown that the Braun-Blanquet method is promising for estimating the efficiency of the system of specially protected natural areas (SPNAs) and drawing up guidelines for its further development. In particular, evidence is provided that forests of the unions Aconito-Piceion and Lathyro-Quercion are protected quite insufficiently. Proposals concerning organization of new SPNAs are formulated.     

Variation in the Anatomical Characters of Needles and Their Resistance to Technogenic and Climatic Stress in Scotch Pine

Russian Journal of Ecology -     

Cytogenetic Variation in Populations of Scotch Pine

Cytogenetic variation was analyzed in daughter populations of Scotch pine from the Voronezh Forestry. The dependence of the variation on the method of seed collection (the commercial method; the population method, when seeds from a group of phenotypically normal trees in the center of the forest are collected; or the individual method, when seeds from plus trees are collected) and on the ecological situation at the sampling site (ecologically safe conditions or chemical or physical pollution) was studied. The parameters of the mitotic rate and mitotic pathology were estimated at 7–9% and up to 5%, respectively. These parameters may be considered as normal when estimating the quality of seed progeny in pine and when pine is used as a test object in cytogenetic monitoring. The limits of variation and the spectra of cytogenetic characteristics allowing the pine populations to maintain their homeostasis were also determined.     

Specific features of the oribatid fauna in high-mountain pine forests of the Eastern Caucasus in relation to altitudinal zonality

The abundance, structure, and distribution of oribatid communities in high-mountain pine forest biotopes of the Eastern Caucasus are described in dependence on elevation above sea level. The oribatid fauna of high-mountain pine forests proved to be characterized by high abundance, an assortment of dominants, and species richness. It was shown that, as the elevation increases, specific dominants typical of particular altitudinal zones appear in communities, and changes in the mass species occur. These species are stable in terms of their long-term dynamics, and zonal groups (communities) demonstrate a high species diversity.     

Changes in Species Diversity of Rove Beetles (Coleoptera,Staphylinidae) Depending on the Age of Pine Plantations in Central Belarus

Trends of changes in species richness and dominance in staphylinid communities depending on the age of pine plantations have been analyzed. The species richness of these communities is high in the plantations of age classes 1 and 2 (11 and 28 years, respectively) but decreases in the plantations of age class 3 (60 years). The highest and lowest indices of species diversity are observed in the plantations of age classes 2 and 3, respectively. Four groups of rove beetles have been distinguished by the criterion of their dominance in pine plantations of different ages.__________Translated from Ekologiya, No. 4, 2005, pp. 306–313.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Derunkov.     

全球气候变化对中国森林影响的研究进展

通过梳理现有文献表明,全球气候变化对社会经济和自然生态系统造成了重大影响,气候变化将显著地改变森林生态服务的供给水平和质量,对森林和以林为生的人口都会造成重要的生态、经济和社会影响,甚至威胁到人类的生存.我国是受气候变化影响较大而适应能力较弱的发展中国家,森林适应气候变化的科学、社会经济及对策研究相对滞后,因此,笔者从气候变化对历史上森林生态系统的影响着手,阐述了气候变化对森林分布、森林演替、森林生产力、生物多样性、森林火灾、森林水文调节和水质、森林生态系统的未来、森林生态服务的水平和质量等方面产生的影响,分析了现有气候变化对森林影响的研究存在的不足:忽略了其它环境因子的作用;忽略了不同物种之间的竞争机制;缺乏对极端气候事件的考虑;缺乏森林自身变化对气候变化的反馈;缺乏森林生态系统对全球气候变化相应机制更深入的认识;研究模型及数据的不完善性.文章最后提出了可将气候变化对森林造成的危害降到最低限度的政策建议.     

Sensitivity of the Structural Characteristics of Tree Rings to Climatic Changes in Different Climatypes of Scotch Pine

Radial increment and tree-ring structure were studied in the progenies of 16 climatypes growing in the southern taiga subzone. The coefficients of correlation between tree-ring parameters of the local and other climatypes were as high as 0.7–0.9, and the synchronism coefficients were higher than 0.7. Climatypes of northern origin were an exception. The sensitivity of the parameters of the tree-ring late wood decreased with an increase in the latitude at which the seeds for establishing the cultures were collected. Estimation of Euclidean distances in the space of tree-ring parameters showed that the northern climatypes differed from the southern taiga types by no more than 15%. The climatypes from the middle taiga and the forest–steppe exhibited smaller differences (10–11%).     

The Spatiotemporal Pattern of Fires in Northern Taiga Larch Forests of Central Siberia

The periodicity of fires in larch forests of Evenkia and their relationship with landscape elements have been studied. Cross-sections with “burns” in them caused by past fires have been analyzed in 72 test plots; the fire chronology encompassed the period from the 15th to the 20th century. The between-fire intervals (BFIs) have been calculated by two methods: (I) on the basis of burns alone and (II) on the basis of burns and the start of growth of the new generation of larch after the earliest fire. The BFI depends on local orographic features; it is 86 ± 11 (105 ± 12), 61 ± 8 (73 ± 8), 139 ± 17 (138 ± 18), and 68 ± 14 (70 ± 13) years for northeastern slopes, southwestern slopes, bogs, and flatlands, respectively. The mean BFIs calculated by methods I and II are 82 ± 7 and 95 ± 7 years, respectively. The permafrost horizon rises at a mean rate of 0.3 cm per year after a forest fire. It has been shown that the number of fires regularly peaks at periods of 36 and 82 years. There is also a temporal trend in fire frequency: the mean BFI was approximately 100 years in the 19th century and 65 years in the 20th century.     

Carbon Emission from the Surface of Coarse Woody Debris in Korean Pine Forests of Southern Primorye

Carbon dioxide fluxes from the surface of coarse woody debris (CWD) have been measured in Korean pine forests of the southern Sikhote-Alin mountain range. The seasonal dynamics of oxidative conversion of CWD carbon have been evaluated, and average values of the CO₂ emission rate have been determined for CWD fragments of three tree species at different stages of decomposition. The degree of decomposition is an important factor of spatial variation in CO₂ emission rate, and temporal variation in this parameter is adequately described by an exponential function of both CWD temperature and air temperature (R² = 0.65–0.75).