塔河上游地区阿拉尔段天然退化生态系统植物群落物种多样性特征分析及恢复途径

通过对塔河上游阿拉尔地区天然植被的物种多样性的特征分析,并结合实际情况,得出了该地区天然植被生态系统在人类干扰下普遍存在退化现象,尤其在绿洲—荒漠过渡带,这种现象更为严重。应采取有效措施对天然植被特别是过渡带的植被进行生态恢复。另外还讨论了本地区植被恢复与重建的对策。     

Testing the Stochastic Dynamic Methodology (StDM) as a management tool in a shallow temperate estuary of south Europe (Mondego, Portugal)

A long-term monitoring program has been carried out since the early 1990s in the Mondego estuary, on Portugal's west coast, which is presently under heavy human pressure. In this shallow warm-temperate estuary, a significant macroalgal proliferation has been observed, which is a clear sign of nutrient enrichment. As a result of competition with algae, the extension of the seagrass meadows (mainly Zostera noltii) has been reduced. The present paper examined the applicability of a holistic Stochastic Dynamic Methodology (StDM) in predicting the tendencies of trophic key-components (macrophytes, macroalgae, benthic macroinvertebrate and wading birds) as a response to the changes in estuarine environmental conditions. The StDM is a sequential modelling process developed in order to predict the ecological status of changed ecosystems, from which management strategies can be designed. The data used in the dynamic model construction included true gradients of environmental changes and was sampled from January 1993 to September 1995 and from December 1998 to December 2005. The dynamic model developed was preceded by a conventional multivariate statistical procedure performed to discriminate the significant relationships between the selected ecological components. The model validation was based on independent data collected from January 1996 to January 1997 and from February 1999 to April 2000 for all the state variables considered. Overall, the simulation results are encouraging since they seem to demonstrate the StDM reliability in capturing the trophic dynamics of the studied estuary, by predicting the behavioural pattern for the most part of the components selected, with a focus on the Zostera noltii meadows recovery after the implementation of important management measures.     

The Future of Scattered Trees in Agricultural Landscapes

Abstract: Mature trees scattered throughout agricultural landscapes are critical habitat for some biota and provide a range of ecosystem services. These trees are declining in intensively managed agricultural landscapes globally. We developed a simulation model to predict the rates at which these trees are declining, identified the key variables that can be manipulated to mitigate this decline, and compared alternative management proposals. We used the initial numbers of trees in the stand, the predicted ages of these trees, their rate of growth, the number of recruits established, the frequency of recruitment, and the rate of tree mortality to simulate the dynamics of scattered trees in agricultural landscapes. We applied this simulation model to case studies from Spain, United States, Australia, and Costa Rica. We predicted that mature trees would be lost from these landscapes in 90–180 years under current management. Existing management recommendations for these landscapes—which focus on increasing recruitment—would not reverse this trend. The loss of scattered mature trees was most sensitive to tree mortality, stand age, number of recruits, and frequency of recruitment. We predicted that perpetuating mature trees in agricultural landscapes at or above existing densities requires a strategy that keeps mortality among established trees below around 0.5% per year, recruits new trees at a rate that is higher than the number of existing trees, and recruits new trees at a frequency in years equivalent to around 15% of the maximum life expectancy of trees. Numbers of mature trees in landscapes represented by the case studies will decline before they increase, even if strategies of this type are implemented immediately. This decline will be greater if a management response is delayed.     

Trophic state, ecosystem efficiency and biodiversity of transitional aquatic ecosystems: analysis of environmental quality based on different benthic indicators

Estuaries and coastal lagoons are characterized by a strong spatial and temporal variability of physicochemical characteristics and productivity patterns. In these environments, the magnitude and direction of the ecological responses to inorganic nutrient increase (i.e. eutrophication) are difficult to predict. In the framework of the project, New Indicators of Trophic state and environmental quality of marine coastal ecosystems and transitional environments (NITIDA), we analysed benthic indicators of trophic state, ecosystem efficiency, and environmental quality in four different transitional environments. The trophic state of the sediments was assessed in terms of quantity and bioavailability of sediment organic C pools; ecosystem efficiency was determined in terms of the prokaryote efficiency in exploiting enzymatycally degraded organic C; environmental quality was determined in terms of meiofaunal diversity. Here, we provide a synopsis of the results obtained and a meta-analysis of the scores assessments obtained using the different ecological indicators of environmental quality and demonstrate that trophic state, ecosystem efficiency, and biodiversity in transitional ecosystems are closely linked. We conclude that the assessment of the environmental quality of transitional ecosystems should be based upon a battery of trophic state indicators and 'sensors' of ecosystem functioning, efficiency, and quality.     

Overview of case studies on recovery of aquatic systems from disturbance

An extensive review of the published literature identified more than 150 case studies in which some aspect of resilience in freshwater systems was reported. Approximately 79% of systems studied were lotic and the remainder lentic. Most of the stressor types were chemical with DDT (N=29) and rotenone (N=15) the most common. The most common nonchemical stressors were logging activity (N=16), flooding (N=8), dredging (N=3), and drought (N=7). The variety of endpoints to which recovery could be measured ranged from sparse data for phytoplankton (N=13), periphyton (N=6), and macrophytes (N=8) to relatively more data for fish (N=412) and macroinvertebrates (N=698). Unfortunately the same characteristics were rarely measured consistently among sites. For example, with respect to fish, more than 30 different species were studied and recovery was measured in many ways, most commonly on the basis of: (1) first reappearance of the species, (2) return time of predisturbance densities, and (3) return time of predisturbance average individual size. Based on these criteria, all systems in these studies seem to be resilient to most disturbances with most recovery times being less than three years. Exceptions included when (1) the disturbance resulted in physical alteration of the existing habitat, (2) residual pollutants remained in the system, or (3) the system was isolated and recolonization was suppressed.     

全球气候变化对森林生态系统的影响

人类活动所引起的温室效应及由此造成的全球气候变化和对全球生态环境的影响正越来越引起人们的关注。作为全球陆地生态系统一个重要组分的森林对未来气候变化的响应更是人们关注的重点。文中系统地论述了未来气候变化对森林生态系统树种组成、林分结构、分布和生产力的潜在响应,提出了今后需要加强的一些研究领域。     

我国食用海洋生物资源的开发及其对策

在概述我国海域主要的资源生物及其开发现状的基础上,指出在70年代中期以前,随捕捞力量的增加,我国海洋总渔获量增长较快;但此后,尽管捕捞力量仍继续增加,总渔获量增长缓慢。作者认为,过度捕捞、污染以及其他不利的环境因素变化是导致总渔获量缓慢增长的主要原因。为合理利用资源,提高渔获量,应在加强海洋生态系研究的基础上,积极开发外海(包括远洋)资源,并着重发展海洋农牧化。     

我国东部七省生态系统对酸沉降的相对敏感性

讨论了影响亚热带生态系统对酸沉降敏感性的生态因子，提出了敏感性等级划分的指标体系，根据大量资料编制了我国东部７省１市生态系统对酸沉降相对敏感性分区图。结果表明，在研究区域内生态系统的敏感性有相当大的差别，极敏感区和敏感区面积占全区总面积的１／３以上，主要分布在福建、浙江、江西３省。     

Long series relationships between global interannual CO2 increment and climate: evidence for stability and change in role of the tropical and boreal-temperate zones

Interannual variability in global CO₂ increment (averaged from the Mauna Loa and South Pole Stations) shows certain strong spatial relationships to both tropical and temperate temperatures. There is a fairly strong positive year-round correlation between tropical mean annual temperatures (leading by 4 months) and annual CO₂ throughout the time series since 1960, agreeing with the generally held view that the tropics play a major role in determining inter-annual variability in CO₂ increment, with a major CO₂ pulse following a warm year in the tropics. This ‘almost no lag’ climatic response is very strong during winter and relatively stable in time. However, the correlation with tropical temperature appears to have weakened in the first years of the 1990s in correspondence of the Pinatubo eruption and the positive phase of the AO/NAO. A secondary concurrent temperature signal is linked to summer variations of north temperate belt. Northern summer temperatures in the region 30–60 °N—and especially in the land area corresponding to the central east USA—have become relatively more closely correlated with CO₂ increment. This trend has become increasingly stronger in recent years, suggesting an increasing role for growing season processes in the northern midlatitudes in affecting global CO₂ increment. Once non-lagged annual tropical temperature variations are accounted for, terrestrial ecosystems, especially the temperate-boreal biomes, also show a coherent large scale lagged response. This involves an inverse response to annual temperature of preceding years centered at around 2 years before. This lagged response is most likely linked to internal biogeochemical cycles, in particular N cycling. During the study period north boreal ecosystems show a strengthening of the lagged correlation with temperature in recent years, while the lagged correlation with areas of tropical ecosystems has weakened. Residuals from a multiple correlations based on these climatic signals are directly correlated with SO, confirming an additional important role of upwelling in interannual variability of CO₂ increment. Cooler summers following the Pinatubo eruption and the possible influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO/AO) are discussed as factors responsible for the shift in the relative importance of different regions over time during the series of data.