封育措施对半干旱沙地草场植被群落特征及地上生物量的影响

随着干早区草场非平衡态理论的提出和发展，退化草场封育的时间、方式与草场恢复间的关系已成为目前研究的主要课题之一：作者选择完全封育、季节封育和未封育3种措施进行对半干早沙地草场的植被特征及其生物量进行比较研究，结果表明，在封育处理的年份中，不同封育措施（放牧压力）是决定植被差异的主要因子。完全封育区和季节封育区植物以一年生草本为主，在植物种数量、生物多样性上差异并不显著，未封育区植被则以多年生草本为主，且Simpson和Shannon多样性指数与前两者差异均显著；完全封育并未导致一些牲畜喜食植物种的完全消失，但一些饲用价值差的植物如平卧碱蓬等大量出现在完全封育的群落中，同时旱生和强旱生植物的比例明显增加。尽管3种措施地上部分总生物量差异并不显著，但各群落中主要植物种的地上部分生物量则存在这一定的差异，从3种措施植被的饲用价值来看，季节封育区植被的饲用价值较高，表明季节封育可以促进并提高草场的放牧利用价值。     

Assessing aboveground tropical forest biomass using Google Earth canopy images

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) in efforts to combat climate change requires participating countries to periodically assess their forest resources on a national scale. Such a process is particularly challenging in the tropics because of technical difficulties related to large aboveground forest biomass stocks, restricted availability of affordable, appropriate remote-sensing images, and a lack of accurate forest inventory data. In this paper, we apply the Fourier-based FOTO method of canopy texture analysis to Google Earth's very-high-resolution images of the wet evergreen forests in the Western Ghats of India in order to (1) assess the predictive power of the method on aboveground biomass of tropical forests, (2) test the merits of free Google Earth images relative to their native commercial IKONOS counterparts and (3) highlight further research needs for affordable, accurate regional aboveground biomass estimations. We used the FOTO method to ordinate Fourier spectra of 1436 square canopy images (125 x 125 m) with respect to a canopy grain texture gradient (i.e., a combination of size distribution and spatial pattern of tree crowns), benchmarked against virtual canopy scenes simulated from a set of known forest structure parameters and a 3-D light interception model. We then used 15 1-ha ground plots to demonstrate that both texture gradients provided by Google Earth and IKONOS images strongly correlated with field-observed stand structure parameters such as the density of large trees, total basal area, and aboveground biomass estimated from a regional allometric model. Our results highlight the great potential of the FOTO method applied to Google Earth data for biomass retrieval because the texture-biomass relationship is only subject to 15% relative error, on average, and does not show obvious saturation trends at large biomass values. We also provide the first reliable map of tropical forest aboveground biomass predicted from free Google Earth images.     

地形因子对暖温带森林群落物种丰富度-地上生物量关系的影响

地形因子是森林群落物种丰富度与生产力的重要影响因素,可以修正物种丰富度-生产力两者之间的关系。为了厘清地形因子对物种丰富度-生产力关系的修正效应,以东灵山暖温带天然次生林为研究对象,基于20 hm2样地DEM地图,提取海拔、坡度、坡向、凹凸度等地形因子,用GLM模型探讨了地形因子对群落丰富度与地上生物量的影响。结果表明,群落地上生物量与物种丰富度分别受不同地形因子的影响,群落地上生物量受Ea、El2、El3、Co34个因子的显著影响（P〈0.05）,而物种丰富度则受Sl、El、El2、El34个因子的显著作用（P〈0.05）,两者受海拔相关因子的影响最大,分别解释了两者3.99%和11.09%的变异。地形因子修正了物种丰富度-地上生物量之间的单峰曲线关系,使其朝着单调与直线化趋势变化。以后在探讨森林群落物种丰富度-生产力关系时,地形因子的修正作用应该受到重视。     

Long-term patterns in tropical reforestation: plant community composition and aboveground biomass accumulation.

Primary tropical forests are renowned for their high biodiversity and carbon storage, and considerable research has documented both species and carbon losses with deforestation and agricultural land uses. Economic drivers are now leading to the abandonment of agricultural lands, and the area in secondary forests is increasing. We know little about how long it takes for these ecosystems to achieve the structural and compositional characteristics of primary forests. In this study, we examine changes in plant species composition and aboveground biomass during eight decades of tropical secondary succession in Puerto Rico, and compare these patterns with primary forests. Using a well-replicated chronosequence approach, we sampled primary forests and secondary forests established 10, 20, 30, 60, and 80 years ago on abandoned pastures. Tree species composition in all secondary forests was different from that of primary forests and could be divided into early (10-, 20-, and 30-year) vs. late (60- and 80-year) successional phases. The highest rates of aboveground biomass accumulation occurred in the first 20 years, with rates of C sequestration peaking at 6.7 +/- 0.5 Mg C x ha(-1) x yr(-1). Reforestation of pastures resulted in an accumulation of 125 Mg C/ha in aboveground standing live biomass over 80 years. The 80 year-old secondary forests had greater biomass than the primary forests, due to the replacement of woody species by palms in the primary forests. Our results show that these new ecosystems have different species composition, but similar species richness, and significant potential for carbon sequestration, compared to remnant primary forests.     

Long-term aboveground and belowground consequences of red wood ant exclusion in boreal forest

Despite their ubiquity, the role of ants in driving ecosystem processes both aboveground and belowground has been seldom explored, except within the nest. During 1995 we established 16 ant exclusion plots of approximately 1.1 x 1.1 m, together with paired control plots, in the understory layer of a boreal forest ecosystem in northern Sweden that supports high densities of the mound-forming ant Formica aquilonia, a red wood ant species of the Formica rufa group. Aboveground and belowground measurements were then made on destructively sampled subplots in 2001 and 2008, i.e., 6 and 13 years after set-up. While ant exclusion had no effect on total understory plant biomass, it did greatly increase the relative contribution of herbaceous species, most likely through preventing ants from removing their seeds. This in turn led to higher quality resources entering the belowground subsystem, which in turn stimulated soil microbial biomass and activity and the rates of loss of mass and carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) from litter in litterbags placed in the plots. This was accompanied by losses of approximately 15% of N and C stored in the humus on a per area basis. Ant exclusion also had some effects on foliar stable isotope ratios for both C and N, most probably as a consequence of greater soil fertility. Further, exclusion of ants had multitrophic effects on a microbe-nematode soil food web with three consumer trophic levels and after six years promoted the bacterial-based relative to the fungal-based energy channel in this food web. Our results point to a major role of red wood ants in determining forest floor vegetation and thereby exerting wide-ranging effects on belowground properties and processes. Given that the boreal forest occupies 11% of the Earth's terrestrial surface and stores more C than any other forest biome, our results suggest that this role of ants could potentially be of widespread significance for biogeochemical nutrient cycling, soil nutrient capital, and sequestration of belowground carbon.     

Modeling change in forest biomass across the eastern US

Environmental and Ecological Statistics - Predictions of above-ground biomass and the change in above-ground biomass require attachment of uncertainty due the range of reported predictions for...     

三江平原典型小叶章种群地上生物量的空间结构分形特征

2005年5月至10月,应用分形几何学的原理和方法对三江平原典型小叶章种群地上生物量与株高的空间结构分形关系进行了研究。结果表明,典型草甸小叶章和沼泽化草甸小叶章的地上生物量与株高存在良好的静态分形关系,其分形维数(D)是对地上生物量在各器官中积累规律的表征;二者地上生物量与株高的对数值线性相关,相关系数分别介于0.579～0.919和0.655～0.914之间(P<0.01,D值介于1.778～3.414和2.238～3.924之间,各时期地上生物量均以株高的幂函数形式积累;二者地上生物量与株高静态分形关系D值的季节动态基本一致,其变化均符合抛物线模型(P<0.05),而局部波动又与地上生物量的变化有关;生长季内,二者地上生物量与株高动态分形关系的D值分别为2.749和2.738,说明地上生物量的积累具有自相似性,符合幂函数增长的分形生长过程。研究还表明,仅用D值来刻画不同植物地上生物量的空间积累与展布存在一定的局限性,它只能用于测度和描述一种植物体生物量的空间积累及其对空间的占据,而一般不能用于植物间相应指标的类比;导致不同植物D值差异的原因可能与植物生长所处生境、外在因素以及模型参数(C)有关。     

围封6年对温带典型草原坡地物种多样性及其与地上生物量的关系的影响

以内蒙古太仆寺旗地区典型克氏针茅-羊草草原为研究对象,通过调查围封6年后围栏内外典型草原群落特征,分析围封、放牧处理下典型草原植物群落结构及地上生物量的动态变化,揭示围封放牧对植被群落结构、物种丰富度和地上生物量的影响。结果发现,在围封6年后,各功能群物种丰富度与盖度围栏内外的空间变化趋势基本一致。群落物种丰富度和地上生物量均随坡位下降而显著增加,初步显示了物种多样性与生态系统功能的空间变化的一致性。围栏内物种丰富度显著低于围栏外,而地上生物量却显著大于围栏外。围栏内多年生禾草、一年生植物物种丰富度显著低于围栏外,而半灌木盖度、生物量显著高于围栏外。围栏内外在禁牧和放牧不同处理下,表现出不同的草原退化方式：在禁牧条件下,尽管生物量有所恢复,但灌木和半灌木的增加却代表了草原的退化;放牧、刈割等人类活动增加了耐牧物种和不适口植物生长的可能,表现为草原退化指示物种增加,同样是草原退化的表现。围栏外一年生植物盖度和生物量显著高于围栏内,而一年生植物的频数也远远大于围栏内（围栏内外频数比13：71）,且独行菜、猪毛菜等仅出现于围栏外。同时,地上生物量随着物种丰富度的增加而增加,但只有围栏外的关系达到统计显著程度,说明围封调制了生物多样性与生态系统功能的关系。本研究表明,对于干旱半干旱典型草原的恢复,不能简单地采用长期完全禁牧措施,应当根据区域环境、植被以及社会经济情况,制定季节性放牧或者间歇性禁牧的恢复措施,从而保证草场的可持续性恢复利用。     

川西高山森林生态系统林下生物量及其随林窗的变化特征

作为森林生态系统的重要组成部分,林下植被及其残体的分布受到林冠层的影响,但迄今有关林窗对林下植被和残体生物量的影响尚无研究报道.于2013 年8 月2 日至20 日,以海拔3 600 m 的川西岷江冷杉原始林林下植被为研究对象,根据区域内的坡向和林分组成等因素设置3 个100 m×100 m 的典型样地,调查其生物量及其随林窗的变化特征.在每个样地内选择3 个大林窗,在林窗、林缘和林下分别设置3 个20 m×20 m 的样方,调查粗木质残体长度或高度、大小头直径、枯立木记录胸径、腐烂等级等;在林窗、林缘和林下分别设置3 个5 m×5 m 的样方,采用“收获法”收集样方内直径在2.5-10 cm之间的细木质残体和灌木生物量;在林窗、林缘和林下分别设置3 个1 m×1 m 的样方来调查凋落物储量和草本生物量;在1m×1 m 的样方内随机选择1 个20 cm×20 cm 的小样方来调查地被植物生物量.结果表明,（1）川西高山森林生态系统总生物量为72.75 t·hm^-2,其中林下生物量为67.92 t·hm^-2,占生态系统生物量的95.17%.活体植被以灌木为主,其生物量为9.81t·hm^-2;残体部分以粗木质残体为主,其储量为53.00 t·hm^-2;（2）林窗对灌木、草本、地被植物的影响各不相同,且不同物种的灌木生物量表现出不同的分布规律;草本生物量表现出明显的“边缘效应”,在林缘显著高于林下;林窗和林缘的地被植物生物量相对较低;（3）粗木质残体储量从林下到林窗呈现减小的趋势,但总体储量仍然较大,林窗和林缘的细木质残体储量高于林下.这些结果为认识高山森林生态系统林下生物量及其格局,以及林窗在森林生态系统的重要作用提供了基础理论依据.     

Birds and bats reduce insect biomass and leaf damage in tropical forest restoration sites

Both birds and bats are important insect predators in tropical systems. However, the relative influence of birds and bats on insect populations and their indirect effects on leaf damage have not previously been investigated in tropical forest restoration sites. Leaf damage by herbivorous insects can negatively affect the growth and survival of tropical plants and thus can influence the success of tropical forest restoration efforts. We used an exclosure experiment to examine the top-down effects of birds and bats on insects and leaf damage in a large-scale forest restoration experiment. Given the potential influence of tree planting design on bird and bat abundances, we also investigated planting design effects on bird and bat insectivory and leaf damage. The experiment included two planting treatment plots: islands, where trees were planted in patches, and plantations, where trees were planted in rows to create continuous cover. In both types of plots, insect biomass was highest on tree branches where both birds and bats were excluded from foraging and lowest on branches without exclosures where both birds and bats were present. In the island plots, birds and bats had approximately equal impacts on insect populations, while in plantations bats appeared to have a slightly stronger effect on insects than did birds. In plantations, the levels of leaf damage were higher on branches where birds and bats were excluded than on branches where both had access. In island plots, no significant differences in leaf damage were found between exclosure treatments although potential patterns were in the same direction as in the plantations. Our results suggest that both birds and bats play important roles as top predators in restoration systems by reducing herbivorous insects and their damage to planted trees. Tropical restoration projects should include efforts to attract and provide suitable habitat for birds and bats, given their demonstrated ecological importance.     

酸沉降和大气污染对华南典型森林生态系统生物量的影响

调查酸沉降和大气污染对华南典型森林生态系统植物生物量的影响。结果发现,环境污染对树木的生长以及森林生物量影响较大。采用树干解析方法研究发现,不管是尾叶桉还是马尾松其树高、胸径和材积连年生长量基本趋势是污染地区样地比清洁区样地低。尾叶桉和马尾松林分中的生物量也是污染区样地比清洁区样地低。污染区样地中尾叶桉和马尾松林分总生物量分别为66.89t·hm-2和77.56t·hm-2,仅分别为清洁区的78.89%和94.49%。环境污染均促进这两个树种根系的生长,而抑制其干材的生长。尾叶桉和马尾松根系生物量占林木层生物量比例:污染区样地分别为65.16%和15.08%;清洁区分别为40.50%和14.48%。此两个树种干材生物量占林木层生物量比例:污染区样地分别为19.87%和57.71%;清洁区分别为38.15%和70.33%。本研究结果将为华南地区森林生态系统的保护提供科学依据。     

Potential effects of forest policies on terrestrial biodiversity in a multi-ownership province.

We used spatial simulation models to evaluate how current and two alternative policies might affect potential biodiversity over 100 years in the Coast Ranges Physiographic Province of Oregon. This 2.3-million-ha province is characterized by a diversity of public and private forest owners, and a wide range of forest policy and management objectives. We evaluated habitat availability for seven focal species representing different life histories. We also examined how policies affected old-growth stand structure, age distributions relative to the historical range of variability, and landscape patterns of forest types. Under the current policy scenario, the area of habitat for old-growth forest structure and associated species increased over time, the habitat for some early-successional associates remained stable, and the area of hardwood vegetation and diverse early-successional stages declined. The province is projected to move toward but not reach the historical range of variation of forest age classes that may have occurred under the wildfire regimes of the pre-Euroamerican settlement period. Ownership explained much of the pattern of biodiversity in the province, and under the current policy scenario, its effect increased over time as the landscape diverged into highly contrasting forest structures and ages. Patch type diversity declined slightly overall but declined strongly within ownerships. Most of the modeled change in biodiversity over time resulted from policies on public forest lands that were intended to increase the area of late-successional forests and species. One of the alternative policies, increased retention of wildlife trees on private lands, reduced the contrast between ownerships and increased habitat availability over time for both early- and late-successional species. Analysis of another alternative, stopping thinning of plantations on federal lands, indicated that current thinning regimes improve habitat for the Olive-sided Flycatcher, but the no-thinning alternative had no effect on the habitat scores for the late-successional species in the 100-year simulation. A comparison of indicators of biological diversity suggests that using focal species and forest structural measures can provide complementary information on biodiversity. The multi-ownership perspective provided a more complete synthesis of province-wide biodiversity patterns than assessments based on single ownerships.     

Potential shifts in dominant forest cover in interior Alaska driven by variations in fire severity

Large fire years in which >1% of the landscape burns are becoming more frequent in the Alaskan (USA) interior, with four large fire years in the past 10 years, and 79 000 km2 (17% of the region) burned since 2000. We modeled fire severity conditions for the entire area burned in large fires during a large fire year (2004) to determine the factors that are most important in estimating severity and to identify areas affected by deep-burning fires. In addition to standard methods of assessing severity using spectral information, we incorporated information regarding topography, spatial pattern of burning, and instantaneous characteristics such as fire weather and fire radiative power. Ensemble techniques using regression trees as a base learner were able to determine fire severity successfully using spectral data in concert with other relevant geospatial data. This method was successful in estimating average conditions, but it underestimated the range of severity. This new approach was used to identify black spruce stands that experienced intermediate- to high-severity fires in 2004 and are therefore susceptible to a shift in regrowth toward deciduous dominance or mixed dominance. Based on the output of the severity model, we estimate that 39% (approximately 4000 km2) of all burned black spruce stands in 2004 had <10 cm of residual organic layer and may be susceptible a postfire shift in plant functional type dominance, as well as permafrost loss. If the fraction of area susceptible to deciduous regeneration is constant for large fire years, the effect of such years in the most recent decade has been to reduce black spruce stands by 4.2% and to increase areas dominated or co-dominated by deciduous forest stands by 20%. Such disturbance-driven modifications have the potential to affect the carbon cycle and climate system at regional to global scales.     

The influence of land use and climate change on forest biomass and composition in Massachusetts, USA

Land use and climate change have complex and interacting effects on naturally dynamic forest landscapes. To anticipate and adapt to these changes, it is necessary to understand their individual and aggregate impacts on forest growth and composition. We conducted a simulation experiment to evaluate regional forest change in Massachusetts, USA over the next 50 years (2010-2060). Our objective was to estimate, assuming a linear continuation of recent trends, the relative and interactive influence of continued growth and succession, climate change, forest conversion to developed uses, and timber harvest on live aboveground biomass (AGB) and tree species composition. We examined 20 years of land use records in relation to social and biophysical explanatory variables and used regression trees to create "probability-of-conversion" and "probability-of-harvest" zones. We incorporated this information into a spatially interactive forest landscape simulator to examine forest dynamics as they were affected by land use and climate change. We conducted simulations in a full-factorial design and found that continued forest growth and succession had the largest effect on AGB, increasing stores from 181.83 Tg to 309.56 Tg over 50 years. The increase varied from 49% to 112% depending on the ecoregion within the state. Compared to simulations with no climate or land use, forest conversion reduced gains in AGB by 23.18 Tg (or 18%) over 50 years. Timber harvests reduced gains in AGB by 5.23 Tg (4%). Climate change (temperature and precipitation) increased gains in AGB by 17.3 Tg (13.5%). Pinus strobus and Acer rubrum were ranked first and second, respectively, in terms of total AGB throughout all simulations. Climate change reinforced the dominance of those two species. Timber harvest reduced Quercus rubra from 10.8% to 9.4% of total AGB, but otherwise had little effect on composition. Forest conversion was generally indiscriminate in terms of species removal. Under the naive assumption that future land use patterns will resemble the recent past, we conclude that continued forest growth and recovery will be the dominant mechanism driving forest dynamics over the next 50 years, and that while climate change may enhance growth rates, this will be more than offset by land use, primarily forest conversion to developed uses.     

CERES — A model of forest stand biomass dynamics for predicting trace contaminant,nutrient, and water effects. I. Model description

CERES is a forest stand growth model which incorporates sugar transport in order to predict both short-term effects and long-term accumulation of trace contaminants and/or nutrients when coupled with the soil chemistry model (SCHEM), and models of solute uptake (DIFMAS and DRYADS) of the Unified Transport Model, UTM. An important feature of CERES is its ability to interface with the soil-plant-atmosphere water model (PROSPER) as a means of both predicting and studying the effects of plant water status on growth and solute transport.CERES considers the biomass dynamics of plants, standing dead and litter with plants divided into leaves, stems, roots, and fruits. The plant parts are divided further into sugar substrate, storage, and in the case of stems and roots, heartwood components.Each ecosystem component is described by a mass balance equation written as a first-order ordinary differential equation.     

CERES — A model of forest stand biomass dynamics for predicting trace contaminant,nutrient, and water effects. II. Model application

In a previous paper (Dixon et al., 1978) the ecosystem model, CERES, was described. In this paper an application of CERES is presented to show the versatility of the model and its capability to simulate solute transport. Simulation results for 10 days in May illustrate the hourly patterns of photosynthesis, leaf sugar levels and translocation. A 1-year simulation shows seasonal dynamics of biomass fluxes in plants and litter.The third simulation shows the effects of a lead mine-smelter complex on an oak-hickory forest in southeastern Missouri. Results from a 6-year simulation with CERES coupled with other models in the Unified Transport Model illustrate toxic metal effects on litter decomposition and slight reduction of root growth with the parameters chosen. Heavy metal pollutants from the lead mine and smelter complex were introduced to the ecosystem as wetfall and dryfall. The DRYADS and DIFMAS models calculated the heavy metal uptake by the vegetation and accumulation in litter. During the 6-year period, the steady annual input of plant litter and the reduced decomposition rate resulted in an increase in litter mass of nearly 50%.     

岷江上游高山森林溪流非木质残体现存量与碳储量及其分配特征

森林溪流非木质残体的特征直接关系到流域源头水质环境以及森林生态系统碳及养分等物质的输出格局.为了解岷江上游水源源头高山森林生态系统溪流非木质残体的储量特征,于2013 年8 月高山森林溪流水量最大的季节,在研究区域海拔3 600 m 典型高山森林范围内,沿主河道两岸调查每条森林溪流的非木质残体储量,共找到18 条森林溪流汇入主河道,根据实地采样的可操作性和典型性,选择其中12 条溪流详细调查非木质残体储量,每条森林溪流从尽头到源头每隔10 m 设置一个长度为1 m,溪流实际宽度的样方（源头作为最后一个样方）.将样方内所有非木质残体全部采集,低温保存,迅速带回实验室,分别按照树皮、树叶和直径小于1 cm 树枝分离,65 ℃烘干至恒重,测定各组分现存量.然后,将样品粉碎过筛,采用重铬酸钾氧化法测定凋落物有机碳含量,以不同组分现存量与其碳含量计算各组分的碳储量.结果表明：（1）该区域森林溪流非木质残体总现存量和总碳储量分别为657.25 kg 和262.96 kg,单位面积现存量和碳储量为439.70 g·m^-2 和175.92g·m^-2;（2）各溪流中直径小于1 cm 树枝占非木质残体总现存量和总碳储量的69.76%和73.41%,其次为树叶,树皮比例最小且不足10%;（3）尽管溪流长度、面积和流量与非木质残体各组分单位面积现存量和碳储量均无显著相关关系,但显著影响溪流非木质残体总现存量和总碳储量及其在各组分的分配比例;（4）相对于树皮,凋落树叶现存量和碳储量所占比例在流量较小溪流中相对较大.这些结果为深入认识高山森林流域水环境及其在森林生态系统中的重要作用提供新的思路和一定的科学依据.     

Consensus on Criteria for Potential Areas for Wolf Reintroduction in Mexico

Abstract: Given the conflict with human interests that in many cases results in the extirpation of large carnivores, acceptance of their reintroduction is a considerable challenge. By the 1980s Mexican wolves (Canis lupus) were extinct in the wild. In 1998 a population was reintroduced in the Blue Range Mountains of New Mexico (U.S.A.). Efforts to reintroduce the species in Mexico have been ongoing since the late 1980s. Four teams working independently identified 6 areas in northern Mexico in the historic range of Mexican wolves, where reintroductions could potentially be successful. Each team used different methods and criteria to identify the areas, which makes it difficult to prioritize among these areas. Therefore, members of the different teams worked together to devise criteria for use in identifying priority areas. They identified areas with high, intermediate, and low potential levels of conflict between wolves and humans. Areas with low potential conflict had larger buffers (i.e., distance from human settlement to areas suitable for wolves) around human settlements than high‐ and intermediate‐conflict areas and thus were thought most appropriate for the first reintroduction. High‐conflict areas contained habitat associated with wolf presence, but were closer to human activity. The first reintroduction of Mexican wolves to Mexico occurred in October 2011 in one of the identified low‐conflict areas. The identification of suitable areas for reintroduction represents a crucial step in the process toward the restoration of large carnivores. Choice of the first reintroduction area can determine whether the reintroduction is successful or fails. A failure may preclude future reintroduction efforts in a region or country.     

The Potential for Species Conservation in Tropical Secondary Forests

Abstract: In the wake of widespread loss of old‐growth forests throughout the tropics, secondary forests will likely play a growing role in the conservation of forest biodiversity. We considered a complex hierarchy of factors that interact in space and time to determine the conservation potential of tropical secondary forests. Beyond the characteristics of local forest patches, spatial and temporal landscape dynamics influence the establishment, species composition, and persistence of secondary forests. Prospects for conservation of old‐growth species in secondary forests are maximized in regions where the ratio of secondary to old‐growth forest area is relatively low, older secondary forests have persisted, anthropogenic disturbance after abandonment is relatively low, seed‐dispersing fauna are present, and old‐growth forests are close to abandoned sites. The conservation value of a secondary forest is expected to increase over time, as species arriving from remaining old‐growth forest patches accumulate. Many studies are poorly replicated, which limits robust assessments of the number and abundance of old‐growth species present in secondary forests. Older secondary forests are not often studied and few long‐term studies are conducted in secondary forests. Available data indicate that both old‐growth and second‐growth forests are important to the persistence of forest species in tropical, human‐modified landscapes.     

Photoacclimation in phytoplankton: implications for biomass estimates, pigment functionality and chemotaxonomy

Chl a and C-normalized pigment ratios were studied in two dinophytes (Prorocentrum minimum and Karlodinium micrum), three haptophytes (Chrysochromulina leadbeateri, Prymnesium parvum cf. patelliferum, Phaeocystis globosa), two prasinophytes (Pseudoscourfieldia marina, Bathycoccus prasinos) and the raphidophyte Heterosigma akashiwo, in low (LL, 35 μmol photons m⁻² s⁻¹) and high light (HL, 500 μmol photons m⁻² s⁻¹). Pigment ratios in LL and HL were compared against a general rule of photoacclimation: LL versus HL ratios ≥1 are typical for light-harvesting pigments (LHP) and <1 for photoprotective carotenoids. Peridinin, prasinoxanthin, gyroxanthin-diester and 19′-butanoyloxy-fucoxanthin were stable chemotaxonomic markers with less than 25% variation between LL versus HL Chl a–normalized ratios. As expected, Chls exhibited LL/HL to Chl a ratios >1 with some exceptions such as Chl c ₃ in P. globosa and MV Chl c ₃ in C. leadbeateri. LL/HL to Chl a ratios of photosynthetic carotenoids were close to 1, except Hex-fuco in P. globosa (four-fold higher Chl a ratio in HL vs LL). Although pigment ratios in P. globosa clearly responded to the light conditions the diadinoxanthin-diatoxanthin cycle remained almost unaltered at HL. Total averaged pigment and LHP to C ratios were significantly higher in LL versus HL, reflecting the photoacclimation status of the studied species. By contrast, the same Chl a-normalized ratios were weakly affected by the light intensity due to co-variation with Chl a. Based on our data, we suggest that the interpretation of PPC and LHP are highly dependent on biomass normalization (Chl a vs. C).