Effect of Invasive Plant Species on Temperate Wetland Plant Diversity

Abstract:  Invasive species are a major threat to global biodiversity and an important cause of biotic homogenization of ecosystems. Exotic plants have been identified as a particular concern because of the widely held belief that they competitively exclude native plant species. We examined the correlation between native and invasive species richness in 58 Ontario inland wetlands. The relationship between exotic and native species richness was positive even when we controlled for important covarying factors. In addition, we examined the relationship between the abundance of four native species (  Typha latifolia, T. angustifolia, Salix petiolaris, Nuphar variegatum ) and four invasive species (  Lythrum salicaria, Hydrocharis morsus-ranae, Phalaris arundinacea, Rhamnus frangula ) that often dominate temperate wetlands and native and rare native species richness. Exotic species were no more likely to dominate a wetland than native species, and the proportion of dominant exotic species that had a significant negative effect on the native plant community was the same as the proportion of native species with a significant negative effect. We conclude that the key to conservation of inland wetland biodiversity is to discourage the spread of community dominants, regardless of geographical origin.     

喜旱莲子草在中国的入侵机理及其生物防治

喜旱莲子草为全球性恶性杂草,也是中国生物多样性国家报告中首批9种重要外来入侵植物之一.本文综述了喜旱莲子草的起源、分布以及在我国的传播扩散和危害,并分析了入侵机制.鉴于这是我国生物防治外来杂草最成功的项目,还介绍了利用昆虫天敌生物防治的过程、实践和经验,讨论了存在的问题及应对策略. 参60     

历山山地草甸的物种多样性及其与土壤理化性质的关系

运用12种多样性指数综合分析了历山舜王坪草甸的物种多样性．随着放牧强度渐弱，物种多样性升高，土壤环境因子影响多样性指数，且有机质、N和K对各多样性指数的影响都较大．各群落多样性指数有大体一致的变化趋势，且其随Cu,K含量的增加而增加，说明土壤养分的增加有利于物种多样性的升高；而有机质和N增加群落多样性反而减少，这是因为人为干扰的影响超过了土壤环境因子的影响．综合以上分析得出，该研究地物种多样性指数的影响因子有放牧强度和土壤环境因子等，其中放牧的影响是最主要的．图3表3参15     

九寨沟主要植物群落生物量的空间分布

研究了九寨沟自然保护区主要植物群落的生物量以及生物量在九寨沟的空间分布格局 ,并用群落的总生物量量度不同群落在九寨沟陆生生态系统中的相对重要性 .在野外实地调查中 ,采取皆伐法测定了乔木群落林下层以及灌丛和草甸群落的地上部分生物量 ;对样方中乔木的胸径、树高进行了测量 ,利用经验公式估算乔木层的生物量 .研究结果表明 ,所有群落中生物量最大的为亚高山暗针叶林 ,平均为 380thm-2 左右 ,总生物量亦占了整个九寨沟生物量总量的 90 %以上 ,为九寨沟陆地生态系统中最重要的植物群落 ;高山草甸和流石滩植被生物量最小 ,平均为 1thm-2以下 .整个九寨沟的总生物量约为 8.3× 10 6t,平均生产力大于 5 .89thm-2 a-1.垂直分布上 ,生物量一般随海拔的升高而增加 ,在halt=30 0 0m以上达到最大值 ,之后则随海拔的升高而急剧下降 ,这种分布格局与土壤、气候、人类干扰等各种环境因素密切相关 .与全国平均水平相比 ,九寨沟几乎所有类型的群落的平均生物量都要高于全国同类群落的平均水平 .图 3表 4参 18     

网围养殖对滆湖底栖动物群落组成及物种多样性的影响

2002年4月、7月、11月和2003年1月对滆湖底栖动物群落组成、分布及多样性现状进行了研究.结果表明,滆湖现有底栖动物31种,其中软体动物14种,淡水寡毛类6种,水生昆虫7种和水蛭4种.主要优势种为梨形环棱螺和羽摇蚊.相似性分析表明,滆湖网围养鱼区和网围养蟹区底栖动物群落组成相似程度较高,而都与非养殖区差异较大,说明网围养殖对底栖动物组成存在影响;而且网围养鱼对底栖动物的影响更甚于网围养蟹的影响.多样性分析表明,滆湖底栖动物多样性呈现自北向南递增以及夏秋低、冬春高的时空变化格局.图3表2参17     

Mass balance modeling of arsenic processes in cropland soils

This study delineated the mathematical forms for the reactions involved in the mass balance of As in cropland soils. Even mathematically simplified, many model parameters are required to define the reactive processes involved. Example simulations were conducted based on the range of parameter values and initial conditions derived from published literature. The outcomes showed that the As inputs due to fertilizers and irrigation water caused total As content of the root zone to gradually increase over time. The plant uptake and leaching were equally important as pathways for removal of the added As. In turn, the dissolution kinetics of the mineral phase and the distribution coefficient of the adsorbed phase affected the availability of the As for plant uptake and leaching. Parameters based on laboratory-derived data on the dissolution of As mineral phase, mineralization and oxidation of As(III), and the As plant uptake however appeared to overestimate the As transformations in soils. While the development of mathematical model was a straightforward process, its application to realistic situations was hindered by difficulties of defining model parameter values with confidence. Current knowledge on the processes and reactions of As transformation in the soil–plant system is inadequate to calibrate or validate the model. Studies are needed to understand the kinetics of soil As mineral dissolution and precipitation and the dynamics of root growth and As uptake by plant in soils.     

Biotoxicity evaluation of zinc oxide nanoparticles on bacterial performance of activated sludge at COD,nitrogen, and phosphorus reduction

• ZnO-NP disrupted metabolic/catabolic balance of bacteria by affecting DHA activity. • ZnO-NPs toxicity was related to Zn²⁺ ion, interaction with cell and ROS generation. • Exposure to ZnO-NPs resulted in changed bacterial community structure at sludge. • The change in the EPS content was observed during exposure to ZnO-NPs. The unique properties and growing usage of zinc oxide nanoparticles increase their release in municipal wastewater treatment plants. Therefore, these nanoparticles, by interacting with microorganisms, can fail the suitable functioning of biological systems in treatment plants. For this reason, research into the toxicity of ZnO is urgent. In the present study, the toxicity mechanism of ZnO-NPs towards microbial communities central to granular activated sludge (GAS) performance was assessed over 120-day exposure. The results demonstrate that the biotoxicity of ZnO-NPs is dependent upon its dosage, exposure time, and the extent of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Furthermore, GAS performance and the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) content were significantly reduced at 50 mg/L ZnO-NPs. This exposure led to decreases in the activity of ammonia monooxygenase (25.2%) and nitrate reductase (11.9%) activity. The Field emission scanning electron microscopy images confirmed that ZnO-NPs were able to disrupt the cell membrane integrity and lead to cell/bacterial death via intracellular ROS generation which was confirmed by the Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy analysis. After exposure to the NPs, the bacterial community composition shifted to one dominated by Gram-positive bacteria. The results of this study could help to develop environmental standards and regulations for NPs applications and emissions.     

基于数据库的植物功能性状研究现状文献计量学分析

植物功能性状数据库是功能生态学研究的重要工具.了解基于植物功能性状数据库的植物功能性状研究现状,对探讨功能多样性和生物多样性具有重要的指导意义.介绍植物功能性状数据库的类型、影响力的评价方法和使用方法,并整理了17个植物功能性状库(附表).同时,通过Web of Science检索了2008-2018年间基于植物功能性...     

A framework for allocating conservation resources among multiple threats and actions

Land managers decide how to allocate resources among multiple threats that can be addressed through multiple possible actions. Additionally, these actions vary in feasibility, effectiveness, and cost. We sought to provide a way to optimize resource allocation to address multiple threats when multiple management options are available, including mutually exclusive options. Formulating the decision as a combinatorial optimization problem, our framework takes as inputs the expected impact and cost of each threat for each action (including do nothing) and for each overall budget identifies the optimal action to take for each threat. We compared the optimal solution to an easy to calculate greedy algorithm approximation and a variety of plausible ranking schemes. We applied the framework to management of multiple introduced plant species in Australian alpine areas. We developed a model of invasion to predict the expected impact in 50 years for each species-action combination that accounted for each species’ current invasion state (absent, localized, widespread); arrival probability; spread rate; impact, if present, of each species; and management effectiveness of each species-action combination. We found that the recommended action for a threat changed with budget; there was no single optimal management action for each species; and considering more than one candidate action can substantially increase the management plan's overall efficiency. The approximate solution (solution ranked by marginal cost-effectiveness) performed well when the budget matched the cost of the prioritized actions, indicating that this approach would be effective if the budget was set as part of the prioritization process. The ranking schemes varied in performance, and achieving a close to optimal solution was not guaranteed. Global sensitivity analysis revealed a threat's expected impact and, to a lesser extent, management effectiveness were the most influential parameters, emphasizing the need to focus research and monitoring efforts on their quantification.     

Alarming decline of freshwater trigger species in western Mediterranean key biodiversity areas

Theidentification of key biodiversity areas (KBA) was initiated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2004 to overcome taxonomic biases in the selection of important areas for conservation, including freshwater ecosystems. Since then, several KBAs have been identified mainly based on the presence of trigger species (i.e., species that trigger either the vulnerability and or the irreplaceability criterion and thus identify a site as a KBA). However, to our knowledge, many of these KBAs have not been validated. Therefore, classical surveys of the taxa used to identify freshwater KBAs (fishes, molluscs, odonates, and aquatic plants) were conducted in Douro (Iberian Peninsula) and Sebou (Morocco) River basins in the Mediterranean Biodiversity Hotspot. Environmental DNA analyses were undertaken in the Moroccan KBAs. There was a mismatch between the supposed and actual presence of trigger species. None of the trigger species were found in 43% and 50% of all KBAs surveyed in the Douro and Sebou basins, respectively. Shortcomings of freshwater KBA identification relate to flawed or lack of distribution data for trigger species. This situation results from a misleading initial identification of KBAs based on poor (or even inaccurate) ecological information or due to increased human disturbance between initial KBA identification and the present. To improve identification of future freshwater KBAs, we suggest selecting trigger species with a more conservative approach; use of local expert knowledge and digital data (to assess habitat quality, species distribution, and potential threats); consideration of the subcatchment when delineating KBAs boundaries; thoughtful consideration of terrestrial special areas for conservation limits; and periodic field validation.