神农架林区不同类型植物的叶片特征与光合性能研究

以神农架林区木鱼镇茶山上生长的8种不同类型植物为试验材料,于晴天选择其植株上东南朝向的顶部成长叶,采用LI—COR6400便携式光合测定系统、调制叶绿素荧光成像系统（IMAGING-PAMM-Series）及双通道PAM—100测量系统（Dual-PAM-100）和常规方法研究了其叶片特征、光合性能及相互间的关系,将有助于了解神农架植物的光合生产力及其植被管理。结果表明,不同类型植物叶片的叶片特征和光合性能存在明显的物种差异。比叶重（SLW）为乔木〉灌木〉草本;气孔参数以气孔导度（Cond）差异最大;草本植物的光合能力明显高于灌木和乔木,而灌木和乔木间的差异不大;叶绿素含量（Chl）及其组分的差异较小,类胡萝卜素（Car）和花青素含量（Ant）及其与Chl的比值差异极大。不同类型植物叶片特征和光合性能指标的变异系数在7．3％～73．0％间,Chla／Chlb最小,Car／Ant最大;Chla／Chlb、基于叶温的蒸汽压亏缺（VpdL）和胞间C02浓度（Ci）dx于15％,Cond、单位鲜重Car、PSII实际量子产量和PsI非光化学能量耗散的量子产量为40％～50％,单位干重Car、Ant、Chl／Ant和Car／Ant则大于60％,其他指标在20％-40％。相关分析显示,Jpn受Cond、叶片含水量和单位干重Chl的正向调控,Ant和Car对两无决定性作用;PSII和PSI的实际量子产量依赖于ci和Chl,Car过高导致其降低;PSI的光保护受SLW的负调控及单位鲜重Chl和单位干重Car的正调控;光合机构的光损伤受Ci的负调控和Chl／Car的正调控。     

Incorporating species relocation in reserve design models: An example from Ft. Benning GA

Given the increasing expansion of human dominated landscapes it often becomes necessary to relocate endangered and at-risk species from existing habitat areas. Further, there is growing research stating that climatic and atmospheric changes attributed to climate change are already affecting species distributions and geographic ranges, requiring endangered species to be relocated. Existing reserve design models mostly focus on choosing the optimal land area given existing species distributions and have not incorporated species relocation as a criterion. This paper introduces linear integer programming formulations for the relocation of multiple populations of a species at risk to clustered conservation areas. We present a basic clustered relocation model and extend the model to minimize the distances of relocation. We apply the models to a dataset related to Gopher Tortoise (GT), a keystone species currently considered ‘at risk’, at Ft. Benning Georgia where expanding military training needs require the relocation of GTs. We present the results and discuss the trade-off between compactness and relocation considerations using an efficiency frontier.     

湖南省绥宁县黄桑坪自然保护区珍稀濒危植物长苞铁杉自然种群年龄结构及生态对策

通过对湖南省绥宁县黄桑坪自然保护区长苞铁杉的种群结构、特定时间生命表、生殖价分析、分布数量与环境因子的关系进行分析.结果表明:(1)种群结构数量具有"中间大,两头小"的特点,为衰退型种群,虽然种群有一定的幼龄个体,但死亡率高,35 a内长苞铁杉的年龄结构模型为:Age(a)=0.002 765(DBH)3-0.128 756(DBH)2+4.120 978(DBH)+13.439 846(R=0.991 2,F=2 654.48);(2)长苞铁杉种群既有r对策特征,又有K对策特征,该种群处于r对策→K对策的过渡阶段;(3)长苞铁杉的累积剩余生殖价(SRRV)和整个生活史的总生殖价(TRV)呈现出逐渐递减的趋势,而生殖投资策略(OREx)在整个生长过程中具有"n"型变化特征,说明长苞铁杉种群有实现生殖与恢复的可能,但能力有限.     

Estimating the marginal cost of nature conservation: evidence from Israel

Contrary to many studies regarding the efficient use of resources that measure the marginal cost of nature conservation by looking at a specific objective and asks about efficient way to achieve it, this article tries to estimate the (marginal) cost of nature conservation in a more flexible way. Instead of looking at a specific objective and then not being able to compare different objectives, we take an approach that is based on experts’ valuation of increased satisfaction from nature conservation. We trace the marginal cost of conservation from their answers and use official cost statistics. Officials in the Israeli Nature and Parks Authority (NPA) were surveyed to determine the activities required to increase the level of nature conservation in two districts of the NPA as well as nationwide. We determined the costs of these proposed activities, and subsequently were able to calculate the total cost and marginal cost of conservation efforts. When operating on a limited budget, conservation authorities can use these schedules as an additional tool to help determine the efficiency of different proposed activities both on a regional scale and nationwide, and to ensure the sustainability of the resulting conservation. In addition, our results demonstrate the existence of economies of scale in nature conservation, and the benefit of both bottom-up and top-down decision processes in nature conservation.     

Stifled stakeholders and subdued participation: interpreting local responses toward Shimentai Nature Reserve in South China

In recent decades, protected-area management in many developing countries has been molded to win the support and participation of local people. Increasingly, research initiatives are undertaken to enhance understanding of the perceptions and attitudes of rural stakeholders. The effectiveness of the expanding protected-area system in China is critically constrained by similar considerations of community mentality. This paper provides an empirical assessment of local responses towards conservation efforts based on a case study of the recently established Shimentai Nature Reserve (SNR) situated in Yingde, Guangdong Province, China. Questionnaire surveys, face-to-face interviews, and group discussions were employed to gauge local residents' knowledge, perceptions, and expectations towards the SNR. The study covered seven villages situated in and around the reserve, grouped into far-zone (floodplain) and near-zone (upland) categories, accommodating Hakka (Han) and minority Yao peoples. Many respondents had inadequate knowledge, understanding, and perceptions of the reserve. Although most respondents welcomed the expected park-related dividends, the most affected near-zone villagers anticipated losses due to restriction on traditional resource-extraction activities in the forest. The local expectations were influenced by place of residence, emigration of rural young, and household affluence. The lack of local participation in management and inadequate dissemination of information posed obstacles to effective conservation. The high expectation of accruing benefits from development projects, including tourism, might be misplaced and might not be realized. The present honeymoon period of positive attitudes could end soon if the hopes remain unfulfilled for too long. The need to win sustained local support and provide alternative means of livelihood is emphasized.     

Measuring and Incorporating Vulnerability into Conservation Planning

Conservation planning is the process of locating and designing conservation areas to promote the persistence of biodiversity in situ. To do this, conservation areas must be able to mitigate at least some of the proximate threats to biodiversity. Information on threatening processes and the relative vulnerability of areas and natural features to these processes is therefore crucial for effective conservation planning. However, measuring and incorporating vulnerability into conservation planning have been problematic. We develop a conceptual framework of the role of vulnerability assessments in conservation planning and propose a definition of vulnerability that incorporates three dimensions: exposure, intensity, and impact. We review and categorize methods for assessing the vulnerability of areas and the features they contain and identify the relative strengths and weaknesses of each broad approach. Our review highlights the need for further development and evaluation of approaches to assess vulnerability and for comparisons of their relative effectiveness.     

Assessing landscape dynamics in a protected area

This article describes an approach to assessing spatial and temporal land-use and land-cover changes in and adjacent to protected areas and to the measurement of landscape stability within a protected area. Methods employed include aerial photographic interpretation and GIS technology. Odum's four-compartment ecosystem model provides the conceptual framework for assessing landscape stability. The study area is a selected sample of the Upper San Pedro National Riparian Conservation Area in the high desert grassland of southeastern Arizona. Significant changes were observed in the landscape matrix and riparian ecosystem. However, when these changes were assessed in the context of Odum's model, the change was nonsignificant. Implications of the approach and potential applications in protected area management are discussed.     

Landscape Changes in the Mullica River Basin of the Pinelands National Reserve,New Jersey,USA

In 1979, the Pinelands Commission was established as a regional land-use planning and regulatory agency charged with the implementation of a Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) for the Pinelands National Reserve (New Jersey, USA). The CMP was created to balance land preservation and development interests in the Reserve. Because water-quality degradation from developed and agricultural landscapes is associated with changes in the composition of biological communities, monitoring landscape changes provides one of the most direct measures of the impact of land-use policies on the Pinelands ecosystem. In this study, we prepared detailed, land-cover maps within randomly selected aerial-photograph plots for a major watershed in the Reserve. We used these land-cover maps to quantify changes in landscape composition and structure (i.e., patch size, patch area, and number of patches) and characterize land-cover transitions in the basin between 1979 and 1991. Because the study period represented the first 12 years of the regional-planning effort in the Reserve, we evaluated the relationship between land-cover transitions and Commission management-area designations which permit different land-use intensities. Although the landscape composition was similar in 1979 and 1991, we found an increase in the total area and number of developed-land, managed-grassland, and barren-land patches. An increase in the number of patches and a decrease in the total area and median and third-quartile patch sizes for forest land and for all patches regardless of cover type indicated that fragmentation of forest land and the landscape as a whole occurred during the study period. The major land-cover transitions that occurred during the period were the loss of forest land to development and associated cover types and the conversion of one agricultural type to another. Overall, land-cover transitions during the period were found to be consistent with the Commission management-area designations, which indicated that the regional-planning effort has been successful in directing human activities to appropriate areas of the basin.     

Fuzzy assessment of land suitability for scientific research reserves

Evaluating the characteristics of a set of sites as potential scientific research reserves is an example of land suitability assessment. Suitability in this case is based upon multiple criteria, many of which can be linguistically imprecise and often incompatible. Fuzzy logic is a useful method for characterizing imprecise suitability criteria and for combining criteria into an overall suitability rating. The Ecosystem Management Decision Support software combined a fuzzy logic knowledge base we developed to represent the assessment problem with a GIS database providing site-specific data for the assessment. Assessment of sites as a potential natural reserve for the new University of California campus at Merced demonstrates the benefits of fuzzy suitability assessment. The study was conducted in three stages of successively smaller assessment regions with increasingly fine spatial resolution and specificity of criteria. Several sites were identified that best satisfy the suitability criteria for a reserve to represent vernal pool habitat.     

Nodes,networks, and MUMs: Preserving diversity at all scales

The present focus of practical conservation efforts is limited in scope. This narrowness results in an inability to evaluate and manage phenomena that operate at large spatiotemporal scales. Whereas real ecological phenomena function in a space-time mosaic across a full hierarchy of biological entities and processes, current conservation strategies address a limited spectrum of this complexity. Conservation typically is static (time-limited), concentrates on the habitat content rather than the landscape context of protected areas, evaluates relatively homogeneous communities instead of heterogeneous landscapes, and directs attention to particular species populations and/or the aggregate statistic of species diversity. Insufficient attention has been given to broad ecological patterns and processes and to the conservation of species in natural relative abundance patterns (native diversity).The authors present a conceptual scheme that evaluates not only habitat content within protected areas, but also the landscape context in which each preserve exists. Nodes of concentrated ecological value exist in each landscape at all levels in the biological hierarchy. Integration of these high-quality nodes into a functional network is possible through the establishment of a system of interconnected multiple-use modules (MUMs). The MUM network protects and buffers important ecological entities and phenomena, while encouraging movement of individuals, species, nutrients, energy, and even habitat patches across space and time. An example is presented for the southeastern USA (south Georgia-north Florida), that uses riparian and coastal corridors to interconnect existing protected areas. This scheme will facilitate reintroduction and preservation of wide-ranging species such as the Florida panther, and help reconcile species-level and ecosystem-level conservation approaches.