Assessing the Potential Impacts to Riparian Ecosystems Resulting from Hemlock Mortality in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Adelges tsugae) is spreading across forests in eastern North America, causing mortality of eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis [L.] Carr.) and Carolina hemlock (Tsuga caroliniana Engelm.). The loss of hemlock from riparian forests in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) may result in significant physical, chemical, and biological alterations to stream environments. To assess the influence of riparian hemlock stands on stream conditions and estimate possible impacts from hemlock loss in GSMNP, we paired hardwood- and hemlock-dominated streams to examine differences in water temperature, nitrate concentrations, pH, discharge, and available photosynthetic light. We used a Geographic Information System (GIS) to identify stream pairs that were similar in topography, geology, land use, and disturbance history in order to isolate forest type as a variable. Differences between hemlock- and hardwood-dominated streams could not be explained by dominant forest type alone as forest type yields no consistent signal on measured conditions of headwater streams in GSMNP. The variability in the results indicate that other landscape variables, such as the influence of understory Rhododendron species, may exert more control on stream conditions than canopy composition. The results of this study suggest that the replacement of hemlock overstory with hardwood species will have minimal impact on long-term stream conditions, however disturbance during the transition is likely to have significant impacts. Management of riparian forests undergoing hemlock decline should, therefore, focus on facilitating a faster transition to hardwood-dominated stands to minimize long-term effects on water quality.     

乌蒙山山脉药用植物资源调查研究

通过野外考察、标本采集、资料查阅整理及标本鉴定,对乌蒙山山脉药用植物资源进行了调查。结果表明,乌蒙山山脉共有药用植物272科1189属3184种（含变种和亚种）,其中地衣植物8科9属13种、苔藓植物40科74属116种、蕨类植物45科108属358种、裸子植物10科22属37种、被子植物169科976属2660种。对其物种组成、生态类型、分布、优势科属、药用部位、功效等进行了统计分析,对常用中药、国家重点保护野生药材、民间习用药物进行了简要介绍,并对其开发利用提出了建议。     

Is tourism damaging ecosystems in the Andes? Current knowledge and an agenda for future research

Despite the popularity of tourism and recreation in the Andes in South America and the regions conservation value, there is limited research on the ecological impacts of these types of anthropogenic use. Using a systematic quantitative literature review method, we found 47 recreation ecology studies from the Andes, 25 of which used an experimental design. Most of these were from the Southern Andes in Argentina (13 studies) or Chile (eight studies) with only four studies from the Northern Andes. These studies documented a range of impacts on vegetation, birds and mammals; including changes in plant species richness, composition and vegetation cover and the tolerance of wildlife of visitor use. There was little research on the impacts of visitors on soils and aquatic systems and for some ecoregions in the Andes. We identify research priorities across the region that will enhance management strategies to minimise visitor impacts in Andean ecosystems.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-014-0550-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

The effect of nitrogen additions on oak foliage and herbivore communities at sites with high and low atmospheric pollution

To evaluate plant and herbivore responses to nitrogen we conducted a fertilization study at a low and high pollution site in the mixed conifer forests surrounding Los Angeles, California. Contrary to expectations, discriminant function analysis of oak herbivore communities showed significant response to N fertilization when atmospheric deposition was high, but not when atmospheric deposition was low. We hypothesize that longer-term fertilization treatments are needed at the low pollution site before foliar N nutrition increases sufficiently to affect herbivore communities. At the high pollution site, fertilization was also associated with increased catkin production and higher densities of a byturid beetle that feeds on the catkins of oak. Leaf nitrogen and nitrate were significantly higher at the high pollution site compared to the low pollution site. Foliar nitrate concentrations were positively correlated with abundance of sucking insects, leafrollers and plutellids in all three years of the study.     

Sustainability Assessment of Future Scenarios: Methodology and Application to Mountain Areas of Europe

BioScene (scenarios for reconciling biodiversity conservation with declining agriculture use in mountain areas in Europe) was a three-year project (2002–2005) funded by the European Union’s Fifth Framework Programme, and aimed to investigate the implications of agricultural restructuring and decline for biodiversity conservation in the mountain areas of Europe. The research took a case study approach to the analysis of the biodiversity processes and outcomes of different scenarios of agri-environmental change in six countries (France, Greece, Norway, Slovakia, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom) covering the major biogeographical regions of Europe. The project was coordinated by Imperial College London, and each study area had a multidisciplinary team including ecologists and social and economic experts, which sought a comprehensive understanding of the drivers for change and their implications for sustainability. A key component was the sustainability assessment (SA) of the alternative scenarios. This article discusses the development and application of the SA methodology developed for BioScene. While the methodology was objectives-led, it was also strongly grounded in baseline ecological and socio-economic data. This article also describes the engagement of stakeholder panels in each study area and the use of causal chain analysis for understanding the likely implications for land use and biodiversity of strategic drivers of change under alternative scenarios for agriculture and rural policy and for biodiversity management. Finally, this article draws conclusions for the application of SA more widely, its use with scenarios, and the benefits of stakeholder engagement in the SA process.     

四川白河自然保护区大熊猫对生境的利用

利用路线法在野外调查了四川九寨沟县白河自然保护区：109个样点的大熊猫粪便等痕迹及其所处生境的特征，共发现有29个大熊猫活动样点，其中，大熊猫粪便样点27个、食迹样点2个．把各样点的各种生境特征作为因素，把每一因素的不同情况设置为水平，进行独立性检验．检验的结果表明白河的大熊猫：1)主要在halt2600～3120m取食；2)偏好在有水源的生境活动；3)对坡向有明显的选择性；4)对华西箭竹有明显的偏好，且在生长良好、盖度较高的生境活动频繁；5)明显回避有挖药活动的生境，偏好在没有人类干扰的生境活动。     

祁连山老虎沟冰芯草酸根和氟离子的记录及环境意义

2006年6月,在祁连山老虎沟12号冰川海拔5040 m的粒雪盆钻取的20.12 m冰芯,该冰芯定年至1960年.本文分析了冰芯样品中草酸根和氟离子含量,冰芯所记录的过去46年草酸根的平均含量为（18.52±2.4）ng.g-1,其含量变化与气温变化具有很好的一致性,表明气温可能是影响草酸根浓度变化的因素之一.20世纪...     

全球气候变化背景下祁连山生态问题的地质学探析

祁连山生态问题产生的根源主要在于全球气候变化背景下冰川、冻土、植被、径流等及其水文循环的变化.该文以地球系统科学为指导,在宏观尺度上从系统演化的角度去探讨在全球气候变化条件下祁连山生态问题,认为这些问题的产生与地质过程密不可分,应以生态地质学的理论来研究这些变化的生态地质过程,并指出未来进行祁连山生态问题研究的科学路径,为祁连山的生态保护、河西走廊社会经济的持续健康发展提供科学依据.     

哀牢山西坡主要植被类型的特征与物种组成

研究了云南哀牢山西坡主要植被类型的物种组成和群落生态特征,结果如下: 1)物种多样性在低山季风常阔叶林中最高; 2)乔木径级在中山湿性常绿阔叶林中最大,而乔木密度则在山顶苔藓矮林最大; 3)当取样面积达1 500m2后,各植被类型物种增加速度变得缓和. 图 4表 3参 32     

Effect of temperature and moisture on soil organic carbon mineralization of predominantly permafrost peatland in the Great Hing’an Mountains, Northeastern China

Boreal peatlands represent a large global carbon pool.The relationships between carbon mineralization,soil temperature and moisture in the permafrost peatlands of the Great Hing'an Mountains,China,were examined.The CO2 emissions were measured during laboratory incubations of samples from four sites under different temperatures(5,10,15,and 20°C) and moisture contents(0%,30%,60%,100% water holding capacity(WHC) and completely water saturated).Total carbon mineralization ranged from 15.51 to 112.92 mg C under the treatments for all sites.Carbon mineralization rates decreased with soil depth,increased with temperature,and reached the highest at 60% WHC at the same temperature.The calculated temperature coefficient(Q10) values ranged from 1.84 to 2.51 with the soil depths and moisture.However,the values were not significantly affected by soil moisture and depth for all sites due to the different peat properties(P 0.05).We found that the carbon mineralization could be successfully predicted as a two-compartment function with temperature and moisture(R2 0.96) and total carbon mineralization was significantly affected by temperature and moisture(P 0.05).Thus,temperature and moisture would play important roles in carbon mineralization of permafrost peatlands in the Great Hing'an Mountains,indicating that the permafrost peatlands would be sensitive to the environment change,and the permafrost peatlands would be potentially mineralized under future climate change.