Effect of Habitat Fragmentation and Isolation on the Population of Alpine Musk Deer

The alpine musk deer (Moschus chrysogaster) is a key species of some terrestrial ecosystems, it has an important economic and conservative significance as a kind of medical animal in China. Due to the interaction between natural forces and human disturbance, the habitats of alpine musk deer are fragmented and isolated in different mountains and the populations are confronted with many problems of survival. In this paper, we discuss the impact of habitat fragmentation and isolation on alpine musk deer populations based on the investigation on the population densities and sizes and environmental factors in different reserves, as well as on the analysis of its ecological adaptability. We found that the alpine musk deer has strong ecological adaptability; the population development of alpine musk deer may benefit from the reduction of the forest area and even from the fragmentation and isolation of the habitat to a certain extent. However, deforestion should not be encouraged only for the alpine musk deer population, but should also be based on the overall consideration of biodiversity conservation.     

Carbon isotope ratios in logged and unlogged boreal forests: Examination of the potential for determining wildlife habitat use

Due to assimilation of recycled CO₂ from litter decomposition and photosynthetic changes in carbon fractionation at low light levels, the foliage at the base of a forest is often more depleted in¹³C compared to that exposed to the atmosphere in either the canopy or in open clearings. This is referred to as the canopy effect. African research has indicated that these habitat differences in foliar ¹³C can be substantial enough to affect the carbon isotope ratios of resident fauna. Previous work documenting a 30-year chronology on moose teeth from Isle Royale National Park indicated a progressive depletion in¹³C and suggested that this could be due to forest regrowth following extensive burning. The present study examined the assumption implicit in this hypothesis that foliar ¹³C varies between open and closed boreal forest sites. I found a marginal canopy effect of 2 ¹³C difference between upper canopy and ground flora for a forest in northwestern Ontario and an average difference of 1.2 in under- and mid-story vegetation between closed forests and open clear-cuts. Because of these small differences, the utility of carbon isotope analysis in quantifying temporally integrated exploitation of deforested habitats will be low for northern boreal locations. In denser forests, such as those in the tropics or western North American where the canopy effect can be expected to be much greater, ¹³C analysis may still offer some promise for determining selection by wildlife of disturbed habitats.     

Assessment of semi-natural habitats and landscape features on Irish farmland: New insights to inform EU Common Agricultural Policy implementation

Concerns over the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services in farmland have prompted the development of agri-environment policy measures aimed at reducing farming pressure and maintaining semi-natural habitats in farmed landscapes. However, further knowledge is needed to guarantee successful agri-environment measures implementation. The current study assessed the quantity and the quality of semi-natural habitats in farms across a gradient of farming intensities in two contrasting regions in Ireland. Policy protection seemed fundamental for semi-natural habitats preservation. Habitats not protected by agricultural policy relied on extensive farming and are in danger of disappearing if they are intensified or abandoned. Due to the lack of policy incentives for habitat quality, no correlations were found between farming intensity and share of semi-natural habitats with habitat quality. Therefore, extensive farming and retention of habitats alone may not reverse the decline of farmland quality and biodiverisity and, thus, measures incentivising the environmental quality may be more successful.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01344-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

规划环境影响评价中生境评价的应用

本文即围绕规划环境影响评价工作当中,有关生境评价的几点问题展开详细分析与探讨,望能够促进生境评价在实际工作的应用质量与水平。     

Settlement decisions in blue tits: difference in the use of social information according to age and individual success

Dispersers are expected to assess breeding habitat quality before settlement. Although cues reflecting habitat quality are well studied, social cues have not been as well evaluated. In this paper, we studied breeding habitat selection during 3 years in a natural population of blue tits, Cyanistes caeruleus, breeding in nest-boxes. Our aim was to investigate if this species used conspecific density and/or reproductive success of con- and heterospecifics (i.e., social cues) in settlement decisions. The patterns observed were consistent with the idea that juveniles, when dispersing from their natal patches, did not react to any of the cues that we tested. In contrast, breeders that dispersed seemed to respond to both conspecific mean patch reproductive success (PRS) and breeding density of the settlement patch in the year of dispersal, their response differing according to their own reproductive success. Indeed, failed breeders moved to areas with high PRS and low density relative to source patches, while successful breeders behaved the opposite. The comparison between juveniles and adults might be modulated by the limited time available to juveniles to gather information on PRS and density at the end of the dispersing year. Adults lacking these time constraints, however, seemed to rely on these conspecific cues although limited by their own quality. Additionally, breeders were more likely to be immigrants in patches with relatively low breeding success and density the previous year, suggesting that settlement is influenced by multiple cues, which may reveal information on different aspects of habitat and be available at different moments. Collectively, our results support the importance of social cues for blue tits’ settlement.     

Differences in the growth response of three bryophyte species to nitrogen

The effect of nitrogen on biomass production, shoot elongation and relative density of the mosses Pleurozium schreberi, Hylocomium splendens and Dicranum polysetum was studied in a chamber experiment. Monocultures were exposed to 10 N levels ranging from 0.02 to 7.35 g N m⁻² during a 90-day period. All the growth responses were unimodal, but the species showed differences in the shape parameters of the curves. Hylocomium and Pleurozium achieved optimum biomass production at a lower N level than Dicranum. Pleurozium had the highest biomass production per tissue N concentration. Tolerance to N was the widest in Dicranum, whereas Hylocomium had the narrowest tolerance. Dicranum retained N less efficiently from precipitation than the other two species, which explained its deviating response. All species translocated some N from parent to new shoots. The results emphasize that the individual responses of bryophytes to N should be known when species are used as bioindicators.     

The effects of landscape-level disturbance on the composition of Minnesota caddisfly (Insecta: Trichoptera) trophic functional groups: evidence for ecosystem homogenization

Over 300,000 caddisfly specimens representing 249 species were collected from nearly 250 sites throughout Minnesota during 2000 and 2001 to determine the effects of human disturbance on the composition of caddisfly trophic functional groups at the landscape level. Canonical correspondence analysis determined that stream width was the most important variable influencing functional group composition in regions of the state with relatively low disturbance, and that differences in the caddisfly fauna between sizes of streams generally followed trends predicted by the river continuum concept. In regions of the state with moderate disturbance, both stream width and the percentage of disturbed habitat upstream of a site were important variables influencing functional group composition. In highly disturbed regions, no variables corresponded to changes in the composition of caddisfly functional groups. Instead, ecosystems were homogeneous: fine-particle filtering collectors dominated in all sizes of streams. The observed aquatic ecosystem homogenization is attributed mostly to input of fine-particle organic and inorganic sediment from extensive agriculture.     

Rehabilitation of metropolitan beaches by local administrations in Catalonia: new trends in sustainable coastal management

The planning and management of coastal sites in Catalonia has been mainly concerned with rendering beaches functional for mass frequentation. This has caused serious problems for the beaches, including the alteration of dune formation processes and the destruction of beach vegetation and habitats. Municipal capacity to plan and manage beaches is theoretically very limited and relegated to the design of plans related to the maintenance of facilities for beach users. Nonetheless, a singular experience, led by a local council in the metropolitan area of Barcelona demonstrates the crucial role that a local administration can play in achieving a balance between habitat preservation and social use based on sustainable coastal management objectives, in spite of a restrictive legislation.     

基于安徽省土地利用变化的地形梯度效应分析

为揭示地形因素与土地利用空间格局演变的关系,以安徽省2000年、2005年以及2010年Landsat TM影像和DEM数据为数据源,利用坡向、地形起伏度、坡度变率和地形位指数多种地形因子,并结合地学信息图谱分析理论从综合角度系统研究土地利用结构时空分异格局在地形梯度上的变化特点及其规律。结果表明:1)研究区主要的土地利用类型是耕地和林地,其次是建设用地和未利用土地,且建设用地面积逐期增加趋势显著。2)2000~2010年研究区不同土地利用类型在不同地形梯度区间的分异规律存在明显差异。低地形梯度范围是耕地、水域和建设用地的优势分布区;中地形梯度范围是草地的集中分布区;林地的优势分布区集中在高地形梯度范围。3)2000~2010年研究区土地利用图谱以稳定型和后期变化型为主,低地形梯度和高地形梯度是稳定型图谱的集中分布区,中低、中高和高地形梯度范围是后期变化型图谱的优势分布区。2000~2005年林地的优势分布区有向较低地形位梯度扩张的趋势,其中,耕地是主要的转入来源。2005~2010年耕地的优势分布区有向较高地形位梯度扩张的趋势,变化模式主要为:"林地–耕地"、"未利用地–耕地"和"草地–耕地"。     

三峡库区消落带水淹初期主要优势草本植物生态位变化特征

根据三峡库区初期水位涨落情况,以空间代替时间法,连续两年对典型消落带区域地上植被进行调查,通过计算生态位宽度和生态位重叠来分析不同水淹时间下优势草本植物生态位的变化特征。结果表明,一年水淹区段在未水淹时,植物生态位宽度普遍较窄,此时生态位明显特化,而第二年水淹极大的增加了适应干湿变化的物种的优势度。水淹前生态位重叠值大于0.5的只有12对,小于0.2种对为189对,其中生态位重叠值为零的为103对;水淹后生态位重叠值大于0.5的有24对,小于0.2种对为53对,其中生态位重叠值为零的为6对,说明生境由干燥到湿润的变化,对湿润环境相对适应的物种存活,优势植物生态位重叠明显增加。经两年水淹区段中,第一年以毛马唐的生态位宽度最高,其余17种物种生态位宽度小于0.2的物种占优势物种的61%,第二年以雾水葛和鳢肠的生态位宽度较大,其余15种物种生态位宽度小于0.2的物种占优势物种的50%,共同出现的物种仅有8种。生态位重叠值大于0.5的种对由5对上升到17对,生态位重叠值为零的种对由10对减低到2对,说明连续水淹产生更加均一的生境类型,对资源要求相似的物种是增加的。