Spatial pattern of tree diversity and evenness across forest types in Majella National Park,Italy

Background： Estimation of tree diversity at broader scale is important for conservation planning. Tree diversity should be measured and understood in terms of diversity and evenness, two integral components to describe the structure of a biological community. Variation of the tree diversity and evenness with elevation, topographic relief, aspect, terrain shape, slope, soil nutrient, solar radiation etc. are well documented. Methods： Present study explores the variation of tree diversity （measured as Shannon diversity and evenness indices） of Majella National Park, italy with five available forest types namely evergreen oak woods, deciduous oak woods, blacWaleppo pine stands, hop-hornbeam forest and beech forest, using satellite, environmental and field data. Results： Hop-hornbeam forest was found to be most diverse and even while evergreen Oak woods was the lowest diverse and even. Diversity and evenness of forest types were concurrent to each other i.e. forest type which was more diverse was also more even. As a broad pattern, majority portion of the study area belonged to medium diversity and high evenness class. Conclusions： Satellite images and other GIS data proved useful tools in monitoring variation of tree diversity and evenness across various forest types. Present study findings may have implications in prioritizing conservation zones of high tree diversity at Majella.

Occurrence of dark septate endophytes in Phragmites australis in the Baiyang Lake and their resistance to Cd stress

Heavy metal pollution poses a serious hazard to human health,and microbial remediation of heavy metals in soil has been widely studied.A group of ascomycetes classified as dark septate endophytes(DSEs)colonize plant roots and benefit host plants under abiotic stress conditions.In this study,Phragmites australis,a common remediation plant in the Baiyang Lake in North China,was investigated.Soils and roots of P.australis were collected in typical heavy metal-contaminated sites,and the species diversity and community structure of DSEs in P.australis roots were studied.In addition,DSE strains were isolated,cultured,and tested for their tolerance to Cd stress.The results showed that DSEs occurred extensively in P.australis roots,forming typical dark septate hyphae,with a total colonization rate of 19.7%–83.1%.Morphological and internal transcribed spacer sequencing analyses were used to identify 10 species within 9 genera of DSE fungi.Among these fungi,6 strains with considerable resistance to Cd stress were identified.The biomasses of Poaceascoma helicoides,Alternaria doliconidium,and Acrocalymma vagum strains increased as the Cd levels increased.These results can not only help to understand plant-DSE interactions in wetland environments,but also provide a theoretical basis for making full use of DSE fungi to alleviate heavy metal contamination in soil.