Late Miocene Woods of Taxodiaceae from Yunnan, China

Late Miocene woods were investigated from the Luhe Basin in Chuxiong Borough, central Yunnan, China. The calcified woods preserved in the Shigucun member of the Shihuiba Formation, are represented by fallen logs and stumps. Two species of fossil wood, Taxodioxylon cryptomeripsoides Schonfeld 1953 and T. cunninghamioides Watari 1948, are described. Their anatomical structure shows striking similarities to the woods of Cryptomeria and Cunninghamia respectively. That the two fossil woods are classed in the Taxodiaceae suggest a subtropical, humid, and warm environment in Lithe during Late Miocene. They compare favorably to other fossil specimens and species reported from localities ranging from Cretaceous to Pliocene. This is the first record of the presence of the species T. cryptomeripsoides and T. cunninghamioides in late Miocene of Yunnan.

Molecular Ecology of Lower Subtropical Species, Schima superba and Castanopsis chinensis in Three Succession Series Communities

Amplified fragment length polymorphism(AFLP)was used to analyze 2 populations: Schima superba Gardn. et Champ. and Castanopsis chinensis Hance. across three different communities representing three succession stages, in Dinghu Mountain, China. These two were middle succession species in the lower subtropical broad_leaved forest. Four AFLP primer combinations using total 48 individuals of S. superba provided 24, 40, 27 and 27 reliable bands, of which 15, 23, 23 and 16 were polymorphic, respectively. Similarly, total 48 individuals of C. chinensis provided 27, 20, 33 and 39 reliable bands, of which 12, 5, 15 and 13 were polymorphic respectively. These bands were used as presence/absence data to assess the levels of genetic variation and population structure of those species. From average heterozygosity, S. superba possessed higher molecular variation than C. chinensis . Analysis of molecular variance(AMOVA)indicated that most of the genetic variation of S. superba was due to the differences within population(95.99%, P <0.001), with 4.01% ( P <0.001)genetic variation among population. Similarly, AMOVA indicated the most of the genetic variation of C. chinensis was due to the differences within population(75.36%, P <0.001), with 24.64%( P <0.001)genetic variation among communities(24.64%). DCA(Detrended Correspondence Analysis) analysis showed that the individuals of S. superba from the same community did not cluster together, while the individuals of C. chinensis from the same community roughly cluster together. The above results reflected the biological characteristics of the two different species suggesting the significant effect of microenvironment of different community on population differentiation and its relationship of which to forest succession resulted in genetic divergence.

Biomass, litterfall and the nutrient fluxes in Chinese fir stands of different age in subtropical China

Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook.), a fast-growing, ever-green conifer tree with high yield and excellent quality, is the most important tree species of timber plantations in subtropical China. We investigated the characteristics of biomass, litterfall and nutrient fluxes in the 8, 14 and 24 year-old stands, representing the young, middle-aged and mature stands. The results showed that Chinese fir plantations in central Fujian province had high productivity, and the proportion of stem mass in total biomass was between 50%-70%. Chinese fir was low nutrient-return tree species with litterfall. Nutrient withdrawal from senescing needles was a strong age-dependence for nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium in Chinese fir. With a management system of such short-rotation and continuously pure-crop planting, harvesting timber can lead to great nutrient loss, which may be one of the causes for site degradation.

Impact of ice-snow damage on nutrient distribution of a Cunninghamia lanceolata woodland

During January to February in 2008,severe ice-snows occurred on 2.09×10^6 km^2 of south China and caused tremendous damage to the forests.Stem damage and crown debris input from the ice-snow in a Cunninghamia lanceolata stand in northern Guangdong Province,China,were investigated to determine the extent of ice-snow damage to trees and the nutrient distribution characteristics on woodland.Icicles were produced on branches and leaves of the C.lanceolata trees by sleets,resulting in all live trees were damaged by stem breakage.A strong positive correlation was found between the broken position of trees and diameter at breast height（DBH）.Nutrient concentrations varied according to components of crown debris.Total nutrient concentration graded in the following order：leaves 〉stembark 〉branches 〉stemwood.Crown debris input from ice-snows was 19.11 t·ha^-2,and branches,stemwood,leaves and stembark accounted for 37%,28%,27% and 8%,respectively.Nutrient distributions between components of crown debris differed drastically in 2008.The contribution of leaves to total nutrient accumulation of crown debris was 70%,whereas branches,stemwood and stembark contributed 13%,7% and 10%,respectively.Accumulations of N,P and K by the woodland were 105 067.9 t·ha^-2 in 2008,and the nutrients of crown debris,litter and the stand soil accounted for 0.18%,0.03% and 99.79%,respectively.The order of nutrient accumulation in leaves,branches,stembark,stemwood of crown debris and litter was N〉K〉P,but the nutrients stored in the soil were in the order of K 〉N 〉P.The N and P concentrations of litter in 2009 were greater than those in 2008,whereas its K concentration was smaller than that of the latter.N and P concentrations of stemwood and stembark in 2009 were slightly greater than those in 2009,whereas their K concentration was smaller than the latter.The N and P accumulations of stemwood and stembark of crown debris in 2009 were close to those in 2008,whereas their K accumulation was slightly smaller than the latter.The N,P and K accumulations of litter in 2009 was greater than those in 2008.

Impact of habitat heterogeneity on plant community pattern in Gurbantunggut Desert

This paper reports a geomorphologic landscape investigation, vegetationsurvey and soil sampling at 14 sites across the Gurbantunggut Desert between87°37′09″-88°24′04″E and 44°14′04″-45°41′52″N. The study encountered 8 species of lowtrees and shrubs, 5 of perennial herbs, 8 of annual plants and 48 of ephemeral and ephemeroidplants. These species of plants represent one-third of the species found in the GurbantunggutDesert, and their communities make up a large proportion of desert vegetation with great landscapesignificance. In the investigation we found that the plant communities are accordingly succeededwith the spatial variation of macro-ecoenvironment. Using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) andCorrelation Analysis (CA) we found that the micro-ecoenvironment heterogeneity of aeolian sandysoil's physical and chemical properties such as soil nutrient, soil moisture, soil salt, pH etc.only impacted the diversity of herb synusia (PIEherb) of the desert, with a negative correlation.Meanwhile, the impact of microhabitat on the plant community pattern with an antagonisticinteraction made vegetation's eco-distribution in a temporary equilibrium.

Modification of larch wood by intensive microwave irradiation

The larch wood was treated by microwave irradiation under different radiant intensity and treating duration. The microwave-treated wood specimens together with the un-treated for comparison were impregnated by water in pressure vessel and then tested for permeability, mechanical properties and microstructure change by SEM to study the modification performance of microwave treatment on larch wood. The results showed that under suitable conditions of microwave treatment the permeability of larch wood was improved without noticeable decreasing of the modulus of rupture （MOR） and the modulus of elasticity （MOE）. The radial parenchyma and some pit membrane were ruptured, and tiny cracks were formed in the cell walls. The formation of tiny cracks in the cell walls serves as man-made channels of gas and liquid and this contribute to improve the permeability of the wood.

Composting Efficiency of Urban Forest Litter and River Sediment at Different Proportions

In order to explore a technology for producing organic fertilizer by composting urban forest litter and river sediment passivated by fly ash, an experiment was conducted to study dynamic changes of several parameters including temperature, pH, organic matter, C/N and germination index （GI） during high-temperature composting of urban forest litter and river sediment at five different proportions （1：1 （Ⅰ）, 1：2 （Ⅱ）, 1：3 （Ⅲ）, 2：1 （Ⅳ） and 3：1 （Ⅴ））. Results showed that the temperature and pH increased first and then decreased; at the proportion of 3：1, the temperature increased rapidly and the high-temperature duration was longest （5 d）; at the end of the composting, all the treatments reached the decomposed status, the pH ranged from 7.47 to 8.87, and the organic matter content was reduced by 36%, 38%, 42%, 33% and 29%, respectively, indicating that increasing the proportion of urban forest litter was conducive to reducing the loss of organic matter. Due to low C/N ratio of river sediment, increasing the proportion of urban forest litter was helpful to improve the efficiency of composting. The GI of treatments I, IV and V reached 80% on day 26, 18 and 19 respectively, but the GI of treatments II and III did not reach this level until the end of composting. Considering the quality of fertilizer and efficiency of composting for large-scale production, the proportion between urban forest litter and river sediment is suitable to be set as 3：1 for production of organic fertilizer.

Influence of climate and litter quality on litter decomposition and nutrient release in sub-tropical forest of Northeast India

Leaf litterfall,litter decomposition and nutrient return through litterfall of three dominant species,i.e.Quercus serrata,Schima wallichi and Lithocarpus dealbata were studied in different months throughout the year to assess the input and release of nutrient in the forest soil of a sub-tropical mixed oak forest of Manipur,northeastern India.Oaks in northeastern region of India are economically important species for the production of Tasar silk.The monthly litterfall ranged from 25.6 g·m^-2（July） to 198.0 g·m^-2（February） and annual litterfall was 1093.8g·m^-2 in the forest site.At initial month（on November 3）,the concentrations of N and C were the highest in L.dealbata,followed by Q.serrata and lowest in S.wallichi,whereas lignin and cellulose concentrations at initial month were the highest in S.wallichi,followed by Q.serrata and L.dealbata.L.dealbata（k=0.54） exhibited a high rate of litter decomposition,coinciding with high concentrations of N and C and low cellulose in the litter at initial month.However,low rate of litter decomposition in S.wallichi（k=0.33） coincided with low value of N and C and highest value of lignin and cellulose at initial month.The remaining biomass in different months was positively correlated with the lignin,C,C/N ratio and cellulose,but it negatively correlated with nitrogen concentrations at initial month.The rate of litter decomposition was the highest in rainy summer months,owing to congenial environmental conditions and lowest rate of litter decomposition in cool and dry winter months.

The influence of environmental variables on distribution patterns of Irano-Turanian forests in Alborz Mountains, Iran

Topographic and edaphic variables are the main ecological factor determining species spatial variability on mountainous forests. A field study was performed in central Alborz to investigate how the edaphic and topographic parameters can affect the tree and shrub communities. Initially, 27 forest stands were identified and the homogeneous units were separated regarding physiognomy. In each single homogeneous unit, one random sample plot （1000 m^2） and totally 43 plots were established. In each plot, the presence and abundance of all trees and shrubs were recorded and four soil samples were taken from depths of 0-5 and 5-20 cm. Concerning classification results, eight different forest communities were identified. The lowest and highest soil pH values were observed in Malus orientalis and pistacia-Amygdalus communities, respectively. The water saturation percent of pure- and mixed Juniperus excelsa and Rhus coriaria was the highest amongst communities. The clay content was the highest in pure J.excelsa. The 0-5 organic matter and Nitrogen content in mixed J. excelsa were significantly higher than pure J. excelsa and other communities. The CCA （Canonical Correspondence Analysis） altitude, precipitation, pH, results indicated that the EC, SP, clay and CaCO3 are the most important factors determine the distribution of trees and shrub in central Alborz.

Study of drying of small diameter Larch lumbers with intermittent heating

Intermittent heating for drying of small diameter Larch lumbers is investigated experimentally. The lumbers were dried using an experimental drying schedule. Moisture content (MC) of the lumber was continuously recorded and final drying defects were examined. The drying curves showed that the drying rate was a constant in the early stage of intermittent heating drying and decreased evidently when the MC was about 18% (intermittent 2h) and 20% (intermittent 6h). The drying quality reached the second (intermittent 2h) and first grade (intermittent 6h) of the Chinese National Standard. The visual drying defects, especially the check extent along grains were reduced with intermittent heating. When the intermittent time increased, the effect was more obvious.

Impacts of reforestation on woody species composition,species diversity and community structure in dry-hot valley of the Jinsha River,southwestern China

To understand the impacts of reforestation on woody species composition,species diversity and community structure,seven plantation forests in dryhot valley of the Jinsha River in Southwest China were investigated,with adjacent wastelands,natural shrub grassland and a natural forest as references.Species importance value,species richness,species heterogeneity and Sorenson similarity index between plantations and the natural forest were analyzed.Results indicated that compared to wastelands and natural shrub grassland,reforestation improved species diversity and community structure,and more forest woody species found suitable habitats in plantations.Species diversity in understory of plantations and Sorenson similarity index were significantly negatively correlated with stem density in mature plantations(26-31 years old).Higher species diversity and Sorenson similarity index existed in mature sparse plantations due to lower stem density and more tree species planted initially.In contrast,reference natural forest,with species heterogeneity of 2.28 for shrub layer,showed the highest species diversity.It would take a long time for species composition and diversity to recover through reforestation in a dry-hot valley.Therefore,it was essential to protect remnant natural forests strictly and reforest with suitable management such as lower stem density and increasing genetic diversity of trees planted.

Oldest Peach Fossil Found in Yunnan

Prunus persica（peach）is an economically important deciduous tree in the Rosaceae family that produces20 million tons of fruit per year.China has a long history of peach cultivation known from both historical and archaeological evidences.So far.

Assessment and Analysis of Rockfall-Caused Tree Injuries in a Turkish Fir Stand:A Case Study from Kastamonu-Turkey

Rockfalls can cause serious damage to people,property,facilities and transportation corridors.Furthermore,rockfalls are major hazards in mountain areas with negative impacts on individual trees and forested ecosystems.We conducted a study of rockfall events on 117 mapped(91% of total trees in the stand with>1.3 m in height and>5 cm diameter at breast height)Turkish fir trees(Abies bornmuelleriana Mattf.)in a stand within the Kayaarkasi-Topular Village,Inebolu district, Kastamonu province of Turkey.The study site of 0.35 Ha is located on the transition zone of frequently passing rockfall fragments(～40 cm in diameter) generally causing healable injuries.Parameters of trees and injuries were recorded and analysed as to injury number,height and size.Bivariate correlation analysis were used to investigate the relationships between:a)diameter at breast height and number of injuries per tree,b)diameter at breast height and total injury size,c)the number of injuries and total injury size and d)the number of injuries per tree and distance from the source of the rockfall area.Results indicate that the average height of injury,average number of injuries and average injury area to be 81.3 cm(STDEV:49.8),7.46(STDEV:4.4)and 628.6 cm2 (STDEV:678.2),respectively.In total 84% of all injuries were recorded within 160°sector at the upslope side of trees and callus tissue that had closed wounds was observed in 79.1% of all injuries. Furthermore 14.5% of injured trees had callus tissue in the process of closing wounds while 6.4% of injuries had not formed any callus tissue.The most common injury types were bark and wood injuries. Bivariate correlation analysis indicated strong relationships between diameter at breast height and the number of injuries(rs=0.524),injury number and total injury area(rs=0.653)and distance from rockfall area and injury numbers relations(rs=-0.518).A weaker relationship was found between diameter at breast height and total injury area(rs=0.363).These results indicate that bigger trees are more prone to rockfall injuries.As expected,trees further from the rockfall area seem to be less prone to rockfall injuries.From our results,it can be inferred that the protection of people and property can be increased through the maintanance of forest in areas immediately below areas prone to rockfall.This stand is still managed in selective forest management system.In order to protect the settlement at the deposition zone it has to manage for protective goals with uneven-aged and multilayered stand structure.

Implications of Anthropogenic Disturbances for Species Diversity, Recruitment and Carbon Density in the Mid-hills Forests of Nepal

Almost three-fourths of forests are experiencing anthropogenic disturbances globally, and more than two-thirds of the forests in Nepal receive different types of disturbances. In community forests(CFs), local communities are dependent on the ecosystem services provided by the forests for various aspects of their livelihoods, which disturb the forests’ natural conditions and ecosystem functioning in a variety of ways. This study tested the major disturbance factors that had influential roles on plant species diversity, recruitment(seedlings and saplings), biomass, soil organic carbon(SOC) and total carbon density in two community-managed forests in the Mid-hills of Nepal. The stump number, cut-off seedlings and saplings, lopping, dropping, and grazing/trampling were used as measures of the major anthropogenic disturbances. The necessary data were collected from 89 randomly selected sample plots, each with an area of 250 m2. The responses to anthropogenic disturbances were analyzed using Generalized Linear Models(GLM). The results showed that forest lopping was the most significant anthropogenic disturbance for biomass and total carbon density balance. A higher degree of lopping in the forests resulted in a lowering of the forests’ carbon stock in the study area. SOC showed no significant response to any of the tested anthropogenic disturbances. Woody species richness and number of saplings increased with an increasing number of stumps, which signifies that intermediate disturbance was beneficial. However, a higher intensity of lopping reduced the sapling density. Grazing/trampling was the most significant disturbance for inhibiting seedling growth. Areas in the forests with a higher intensity of trampling showed lower numbers of seedlings and saplings. These results will be a guide for managing anthropogenic disturbances in multiple-use forests in Nepal, as well as those in similar socio-economic environments worldwide.

Exotic Plant Alnus trabeculosa Alters the Composition and Diversity of Native Rhizosphere Bacterial Communities of Phragmites australis

Alnus trabeeulosa, a rhizobia-nodulating tree, was introduced into the Chongxi tidal wetland in the Yangtze River estuary of China to increase the biodiversity of plants and restore tidal wetland functions. However, the effect of the introduced plant on soil bacterial communities and restoration outcomes remains unknown. In this study, the rhizosphere bacterial community structure and diversity were compared between Phragrnites australis monospecific community and A. trabeculosa-P, australis mixed communities, aiming to assess whether A. trabeculosa influenced the rhizosphere bacterial communities of P. australis and to investigate whether different taxonomic groups within a soil community may respond similarly to the presence of an introduced exotic plant. Among the 14 phylogenetic phyla detected, Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria were the dominant bacterial taxa in the rhizosphere. Phylogenetic analysis of the predominant Proteobacteria showed that the clones from the rhizosphere soils of A. trabeculosa and P. australis in A. trabeculosa-P, australis mixed communities were more diverse than those in the rhizosphere soil of P. australis in P. australis monospecific community. The rhizosphere community in the wetland potentially included active microbial community related to carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycling in the Yangtze River estuary. The rhizosphere soil of P. australis in A. trabeculosa-P, australis mixed communities exhibited the highest Shannon diversity index （Hr） and Simpson diversity index （l/D） （H = 4.52, 1/D = 253）. Correspondence analyses revealed that the bacterial community structures were altered after A. trabeculosa was introduced.