Effects of an Exotic Plant Invasion on Native Understory Plants in a Tropical Dry Forest

Abstract: The dry forests of southern India, which are endangered tropical ecosystems and among the world's most important tiger (Panthera tigris) habitats, are extensively invaded by exotic plants. Yet, experimental studies exploring the impacts of these invasions on native plants in these forests are scarce. Consequently, little is known about associated implications for the long‐term conservation of tigers and other biodiversity in these habitats. I studied the impacts of the exotic plant Lantana camara on understory vegetation in a dry‐forest tiger habitat in southern India. I compared the richness, composition, and abundance of tree seedlings, herbs, and shrubs and the abundance of grass among plots in which Lantana was cleared or left standing. These plots were distributed across two blocks—livestock free and livestock grazed. Removal of Lantana had an immediate positive effect on herb–shrub richness in the livestock‐free block, but had no effect on that of tree seedlings in either livestock block. Tree‐seedling and herb–shrub composition differed significantly between Lantana treatment and livestock block, and Lantana removal significantly decreased survival of tree seedlings. Nevertheless, the absence of trees, in any stage between seedling and adult, indicates that Lantana may stall tree regeneration. Lantana removal decreased the abundance of all understory strata, probably because forage plants beneath Lantana are less accessible to herbivores, and plants in Lantana‐free open plots experienced greater herbivory. Reduced access to forage in invaded habitats could negatively affect ungulate populations and ultimately compromise the ability of these forests to sustain prey‐dependent large carnivores. Additional research focused on understanding and mitigating threats posed by exotic plants may be crucial to the long‐term protection of these forests as viable tiger habitats.     

大兴安岭林区地下火形成火环境研究

地下火作为森林中一种难以控制的燃烧现象,其形成机理极为复杂。我国大兴安岭林区是森林地下火的多发地区。对该地区2002年发生的地下火研究表明：丰富的近土壤层和地下可燃物是森林地下火发生的物质条件,气象条件促进了森林地下火的发生,特别是在遇到降水少、长期干旱、地面温度增加、相对湿度降低和可燃物干燥的情况下,就很容易引起地下火灾。地下火有地理和时间分布特征。地表火主要发生在原始森林区域,如针叶林、阔叶林或针阔混交林,都有可能发生地下火。地下火一般燃烧速度慢,持续时间长,燃烧充分,具有隐蔽性强、燃烧不连续、方向易变等特点,地下火在所有火灾中对森林危害最大,特别是对落叶松、樟子松、云杉等的破坏更为严重。     

Estimating Watershed Level Nonagricultural Pesticide Use From Golf Courses Using Geospatial Methods1

Abstract: Limited information exists on pesticide use for nonagricultural purposes, making it difficult to estimate pesticide loadings from nonagricultural sources to surface water and to conduct environmental risk assessments. A method was developed to estimate the amount of pesticide use on recreational turf grasses, specifically golf course turf grasses, for watersheds located throughout the conterminous United States (U.S.). The approach estimates pesticide use: (1) based on the area of recreational turf grasses (used as a surrogate for turf associated with golf courses) within the watershed, which was derived from maps of land cover, and (2) from data on the location and average treatable area of golf courses. The area of golf course turf grasses determined from these two methods was used to calculate the percentage of each watershed planted in golf course turf grass (percent crop area, or PCA). Turf‐grass PCAs derived from the two methods were used with recommended application rates provided on pesticide labels to estimate total pesticide use on recreational turf within 1,606 watersheds associated with surface‐water sources of drinking water. These pesticide use estimates made from label rates and PCAs were compared to use estimates from industry sales data on the amount of each pesticide sold for use within the watershed. The PCAs derived from the land‐cover data had an average value of 0.4% of a watershed with minimum of 0.01% and a maximum of 9.8%, whereas the PCA values that are based on the number of golf courses in a watershed had an average of 0.3% of a watershed with a minimum of <0.01% and a maximum of 14.2%. Both the land‐cover method and the number of golf courses method produced similar PCA distributions, suggesting that either technique may be used to provide a PCA estimate for recreational turf. The average and maximum PCAs generally correlated to watershed size, with the highest PCAs estimated for small watersheds. Using watershed specific PCAs, combined with label rates, resulted in greater than two orders of magnitude over‐estimation of the pesticide use compared to estimates from sales data.     

软质岩边坡挂网植草绿化防护技术研究

挂网植草解决了红砂岩、紫砂岩等软质岩石坡面因没有土层而不能绿化的难题。在经平整的软质岩石边坡上,铺粘10～15cm厚的泥浆层,满植规格为40×40cm狗牙根(Cynodon dactylon)、假俭草(Eremochloa ophiuroides)、结缕草(Zoysia japonica)等具有匍匐枝茎、耐瘠薄土壤、有良好的水土保持力等特性的草皮,草层上盖2.5×30m高强度的专用塑料网,用钢钉和竹签加以固定,造价为28～30元/m~2,是混凝土喷射、窗式护面墙等其它防护方法成本的1/3～1/5。在京珠、潭邵等高速上推广了近400 000 m~2,能在最短的时间内恢复植被,形成优美的景观,又能发挥较好的生态防护作用。该技术材料来源广、工艺操作易、实用性强,可广泛应用于公路、铁路、水库、堤坡等软质岩石地段的景观绿化与生态防护。     

DDT及其主要降解产物污染土壤的植物修复

用植草方法研究了受DDT及其主要降解产物污染土壤的植物修复试验，比较了10种草在不同污染浓度下对5种土壤的修复能力。研究表明，同一品种的草在不同土壤中对污染物的清除能力是不同的，不同品种的草在同一土壤中对污染物的清除能力也是不同的，在植物修复的过程中，通过草对有机污染物吸收的途径而去除土壤中污染物所作的贡献很小，植草3个月后，草对DDT及其主要降解产物的吸收与富集仅占原施药总量的0．13％－3．0％，而7．10％－71．94％的DDT及其主要降解产物从土壤中消失。     

EuroBionet: a pan-European biomonitoring network for urban air quality assessment

EuroBionet, the 'European Network for the Assessment of Air Quality by the Use of Bioindicator Plants', is an EU-funded cooperative project currently consisting of public authorities and scientific institutes from 12 cities in 8 countries. In 2000, the bioindicator plants tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum Bel W3), poplar (Populus nigra 'Brandaris'), spiderwort (Tradescantia sp. clone 4430), Italian rye grass (Lolium multiflorum italicum) and curly kale (Brassica oleracea acephala) were exposed to ambient air at 90 monitoring sites according to standardised methods. Visible injuries and growth parameters were assessed and the accumulation of toxic substances in leaves determined. The exposure of tobacco resulted in a gradient with low levels of ozone-induced foliar injury in N and NW Europe, and medium to high values in the southern and central regions. The results of heavy metal and sulphur analyses in rye grass samples generally showed low to very low sulphur and low to medium heavy metal concentrations in leaves. In some cities, however, local hot spots of heavy metal contamination were detected. Analyses of the PAH contents in curly kale leaves gave low to medium values, with locally elevated levels at traffic-exposed sites.     

广西南丹玉兰汞矿周边土壤-霸王草系统汞含量分布及污染研究

本文通过对玉兰汞矿及其周边地区土壤和植物(霸王草)汞含量分布及污染的调查和研究,旨在了解土壤和霸王草中的汞污染状况以及汞在土壤-霸王草系统中的迁移转化规律,进而为汞污染防治与修复提供科学依据。本次研究共采集土壤样315件和植物样(霸王草)150件。全部土壤和植物样品采用MDS-2003F型压力自控密闭微波溶样系统消解,并用原子荧光测汞仪进行分析测定。结果表明,坑口片区土壤汞含量为1.362 1±1.227 6μg/g,拉莫片区土壤汞含量为0.742 8±0.717μg/g,周边地区土壤汞含量为0.346 4±0.031 3μg/g,分别为我国一些地区土壤汞自然含量(0.071μg/g)的19.18、10.46、4.88倍。土壤汞含量随远离矿区中部向东西两侧依次降低。植物汞含量分布与土壤汞含量分布基本相似。植物根汞、叶汞与土壤汞相关性为r=0.547和r=0.179,均大于临界值r=0.159(取信度α=5%),植物不同部分汞含量表现为根叶茎。上述特点表明土壤汞是植物汞的主要来源。本次采集工作中55%的土壤样汞含量超过了我国《土壤环境质量标准(GB15618-2008)》第二级标准的对应限值(汞≤0.35μg/g),坑口片区以及北部拉莫片区土壤汞污染较严重,污染范围为2km2。植物根汞对土壤汞的富集系数为3%,土壤汞形态分析显示土壤中的可吸收态汞含量低。植物茎/根和叶/根转运系数较高,为36.62%、65.91%,表明植物根部吸收的有效态汞较多地被转运到茎叶上。     

刈割对牧草地下部根区土壤养分及土壤酶活性的影响

对不同刈割强度对牧草地下部根区土壤养分状况及土壤酶活性进行了研究,结果表明,牧草刈割对根区土壤养分、土壤酶活性和土壤微生物数量存在一定影响。不同刈割强度对牧草根区土壤有机质、全磷和全钾含量无明显影响。土壤全氮、碱解氮、速效磷、速效钾含量均因刈割强度的增加而显著下降。土壤蔗糖酶、脲酶活性因刈割处理强度的增加而下降;土壤过氧化氢酶活性则表现为相反的变化趋势。刈割对土壤微生物总数量的影响较大,表现为轻刈割>不刈割>重刈割。     

西藏草地生长季产草量动态变化及可持续发展策略

论文利用西藏地区草地产草量实际调查数据和NDVI数据集,建立西藏草地产草量估算模型,定量分析了1987—2010年间西藏草地生长季的产草量时空变化特征。研究表明：1987—2010年间,那曲地区草地产草量增速最大,增幅为54%,而拉萨地区草地产草量呈现负增长,减幅为4%。在空间分布上,总体呈现由西北向东南递增趋势;产草量增加的地区主要位于西藏中北部,南部多为产草量减少的区域。西藏草地产草量增加的区域面积占草地总面积的76.04%;产草量减少的区域面积仅占全区草地面积的23.96%。在年代际变化上,1996—2006年10 a间西藏产草量增加的区域面积显著大于减少的区域面积。为了改善西藏草地生态系统状况,进一步提高草地产草量,论文从草地开发利用、空间格局、病虫害防治和退耕还草生态补偿等方面提出西藏草地资源可持续发展策略。     

三维植被网预制草毯技术的意义和发展初探

三维植被网预制草毯就其独特的立体网包结构,预植草皮象卷地毯一样整体起运到需要绿化防护的地点,又象铺地毯一样铺贴在需防护的区域,从而达到快速绿化的目的.笔者就其技术的实用效果和发展趋势进行初步的探讨.表1,参3.