Biotic indicators have been widely used to monitor wetland health. However, few studies have explicitly evaluated if plant diversity could serve as a useful community-level indicator of wetland stability,especially wh...Biotic indicators have been widely used to monitor wetland health. However, few studies have explicitly evaluated if plant diversity could serve as a useful community-level indicator of wetland stability,especially when wetlands are confronted with anthropogenic perturbations. Based on three-year record of wetland plant species abundance in Napahai plateau wetland, Shangri-la under the influence of varying anthropogenic perturbation types, our study tests the impact of such perturbations on plant richness and the relationship between ecosystem temporal stability and plant richness, and further assesses the effectiveness of using plant diversity indicator to probe ecosystem temporal stability of Napahai plateau wetland and the potential mechanisms. The results showed that anthropogenic perturbations could have contributed significantly to realistic variation in plant diversity, and further demonstrated that ecosystem temporal stability was positively related to realistic variation in plant diversity. In particular, communities with high levels of diversity might have better capacity to dampen perturbation impacts than communities with low levels of diversity, and statistical averaging could have played an important role in causing greater stability in more diverse communities. Also, asynchrony might have a stabilizing effect on community stability, and diversity could have stabilized communities through both species asynchrony and population stability propagation. Therefore, our results suggest that plant diversity could be used as a useful indicator of the stability conditions of plateau wetland ecosystems confronted with anthropogenic perturbations, and the preservation of plant communities at sufficient abundance and diversity is necessary for maintaining healthy plateau wetlands and for sustaining their essential ecosystem functions and services.展开更多
This paper is to establish a nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients cycle-based numerical model of ecological dynamics for Xiamen Bay on the basis of the existing three-dimensional barocline hydrodynamic model. The calcula...This paper is to establish a nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients cycle-based numerical model of ecological dynamics for Xiamen Bay on the basis of the existing three-dimensional barocline hydrodynamic model. The calculation results show that the estuarine district of Jiulongjiang estuary has the highest inorganic nitrogen concentration followed by the West Harbor, which demonstrates that Jiulongjiang River is the main input source of inorganic nitrogen in Xiamen Bay. The West Harbor has relatively high concentration of nutrients caused by the huge land pollution emission and its own poor water exchange capacity; while the distribution rules of phytoplankton biomass correspond with those of phosphates, demonstrating Xiamen Bay's phytoplankton controlled by phosphorus; the haloplankton biomass differs slightly, presenting the gradual reduction from the interior part to the exterior part of the bay.展开更多
Decades of commercial planting and other anthropogenic processes are posing a threat to the riparian landscapes of the Cauvery river basin, which supports a high floral diversity. Despite this, the habitats in the ups...Decades of commercial planting and other anthropogenic processes are posing a threat to the riparian landscapes of the Cauvery river basin, which supports a high floral diversity. Despite this, the habitats in the upstream sections of the River Cauvery are still intact, as they are located in sacred groves. To understand the dynamism of riparian forests exposed to anthropogenic pressures, the upstream stretch of Cauvery extending from Kushalanagara to Talacauvery (~102 km) was categorized into two landscapes: agro ecosystem and sacred (i.e. preserved). The tree species were sampled using belt transects at 5 km intervals and the regeneration status of endemic species assessed using quadrats. A total of 128 species belonging to 47 families, and representing 1,590 individuals, was observed. Amongst them, 65% of unique species were exclusive to sacred landscapes. A rarefaction plot confirmed higher species richness for the sacred compared to the agro ecosystem landscapes, and diversity indices with more evenness in distribution were evident in sacred landscapes. A significant loss of endemic tree species in the agro ecosystem landscapes was found. Overall, this study demonstrates that an intense biotic pressure in terms of plantations and other anthropogenic activities have altered the species composition of the riparian zone in non-sacred areas. A permanent policy implication is required for the conservation of riparian buffers to avoid further ecosystem degradation and loss of biodiversity.展开更多
An exploratory survey was conducted on the uses and role of invasive alien species(IAS) to local livelihoods in the Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary in the northeastern hilly region of Bangladesh.Vegetation was sampled...An exploratory survey was conducted on the uses and role of invasive alien species(IAS) to local livelihoods in the Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary in the northeastern hilly region of Bangladesh.Vegetation was sampled in 50 quadrates,each 10 m×10 m,and 25 line transects,each 50 m×20 m,through a combination of random and systematic sampling.Group discussions were also arranged with fifty local inhabitants(17 % of the total inhabitants) to learn the various uses of IAS.A total of 17 alien plant species belonging to 10 different families,of which Leguminosae constitutes the highest number(5 species),include tree(53%) followed by herb(12%),shrub(12%) and others(weed,climber and palm).The majority of the identified species were found to be used for fuel,followed by timber production,medicinal or curative uses,fodder,and many others.In addition to providing various forest products,alien tree species planted in forest plantation help provide many vital ecosystem services such as soil amelioration through nitrogen fixation.It is true that the alien species have some negative impacts on local ecosystems,and not all of them are harmful.Therefore,a national programme must be initiated to distinguish the harmful from the harmless species and to identify the uses and impacts of the former and latter.展开更多
In the interaction between plants and herbivores that live in the same ecosystem, understanding the conditions in which co-existence equilibrium occurs answers a major question in Ecology. In this interaction, plants ...In the interaction between plants and herbivores that live in the same ecosystem, understanding the conditions in which co-existence equilibrium occurs answers a major question in Ecology. In this interaction, plants serve as food for herbivores on the food chain. Then the livelihood of herbivores highly depends on the availability of food, in this case the availability of plants. Moreover, the abundance of the plant density alone does not guarantee the non-extinction of the herbivore population as they are assumed to reproduce sexually. With this motivation, in this paper a predator-prey mathematical model is reformulated such that the death rate of the herbivore population is dependent on the plant density and their emergence is also governed by the Allee effect. Using the mathematical theory of dynamical system, threshold conditions are obtained for the non-extinction of the herbivore population and a trapping region is obtained to ensure co-existence of the population. Moreover, it has been shown that the dynamics of the population is significantly sensitive to the feeding rate and the harvest rate of the herbivore population.展开更多
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China and Yunnan province (Grant No.U0933601)Natural Science Foundation of Yunnan (Grant No.2009CC024)+1 种基金National Basic Research Program of China/973 Program (Grant No.2010CB434807)he Middle Aged Academic and Technical Leader Project of Yunnan Province (Grant No.2010CI016)
文摘Biotic indicators have been widely used to monitor wetland health. However, few studies have explicitly evaluated if plant diversity could serve as a useful community-level indicator of wetland stability,especially when wetlands are confronted with anthropogenic perturbations. Based on three-year record of wetland plant species abundance in Napahai plateau wetland, Shangri-la under the influence of varying anthropogenic perturbation types, our study tests the impact of such perturbations on plant richness and the relationship between ecosystem temporal stability and plant richness, and further assesses the effectiveness of using plant diversity indicator to probe ecosystem temporal stability of Napahai plateau wetland and the potential mechanisms. The results showed that anthropogenic perturbations could have contributed significantly to realistic variation in plant diversity, and further demonstrated that ecosystem temporal stability was positively related to realistic variation in plant diversity. In particular, communities with high levels of diversity might have better capacity to dampen perturbation impacts than communities with low levels of diversity, and statistical averaging could have played an important role in causing greater stability in more diverse communities. Also, asynchrony might have a stabilizing effect on community stability, and diversity could have stabilized communities through both species asynchrony and population stability propagation. Therefore, our results suggest that plant diversity could be used as a useful indicator of the stability conditions of plateau wetland ecosystems confronted with anthropogenic perturbations, and the preservation of plant communities at sufficient abundance and diversity is necessary for maintaining healthy plateau wetlands and for sustaining their essential ecosystem functions and services.
文摘This paper is to establish a nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients cycle-based numerical model of ecological dynamics for Xiamen Bay on the basis of the existing three-dimensional barocline hydrodynamic model. The calculation results show that the estuarine district of Jiulongjiang estuary has the highest inorganic nitrogen concentration followed by the West Harbor, which demonstrates that Jiulongjiang River is the main input source of inorganic nitrogen in Xiamen Bay. The West Harbor has relatively high concentration of nutrients caused by the huge land pollution emission and its own poor water exchange capacity; while the distribution rules of phytoplankton biomass correspond with those of phosphates, demonstrating Xiamen Bay's phytoplankton controlled by phosphorus; the haloplankton biomass differs slightly, presenting the gradual reduction from the interior part to the exterior part of the bay.
文摘Decades of commercial planting and other anthropogenic processes are posing a threat to the riparian landscapes of the Cauvery river basin, which supports a high floral diversity. Despite this, the habitats in the upstream sections of the River Cauvery are still intact, as they are located in sacred groves. To understand the dynamism of riparian forests exposed to anthropogenic pressures, the upstream stretch of Cauvery extending from Kushalanagara to Talacauvery (~102 km) was categorized into two landscapes: agro ecosystem and sacred (i.e. preserved). The tree species were sampled using belt transects at 5 km intervals and the regeneration status of endemic species assessed using quadrats. A total of 128 species belonging to 47 families, and representing 1,590 individuals, was observed. Amongst them, 65% of unique species were exclusive to sacred landscapes. A rarefaction plot confirmed higher species richness for the sacred compared to the agro ecosystem landscapes, and diversity indices with more evenness in distribution were evident in sacred landscapes. A significant loss of endemic tree species in the agro ecosystem landscapes was found. Overall, this study demonstrates that an intense biotic pressure in terms of plantations and other anthropogenic activities have altered the species composition of the riparian zone in non-sacred areas. A permanent policy implication is required for the conservation of riparian buffers to avoid further ecosystem degradation and loss of biodiversity.
文摘An exploratory survey was conducted on the uses and role of invasive alien species(IAS) to local livelihoods in the Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary in the northeastern hilly region of Bangladesh.Vegetation was sampled in 50 quadrates,each 10 m×10 m,and 25 line transects,each 50 m×20 m,through a combination of random and systematic sampling.Group discussions were also arranged with fifty local inhabitants(17 % of the total inhabitants) to learn the various uses of IAS.A total of 17 alien plant species belonging to 10 different families,of which Leguminosae constitutes the highest number(5 species),include tree(53%) followed by herb(12%),shrub(12%) and others(weed,climber and palm).The majority of the identified species were found to be used for fuel,followed by timber production,medicinal or curative uses,fodder,and many others.In addition to providing various forest products,alien tree species planted in forest plantation help provide many vital ecosystem services such as soil amelioration through nitrogen fixation.It is true that the alien species have some negative impacts on local ecosystems,and not all of them are harmful.Therefore,a national programme must be initiated to distinguish the harmful from the harmless species and to identify the uses and impacts of the former and latter.
文摘In the interaction between plants and herbivores that live in the same ecosystem, understanding the conditions in which co-existence equilibrium occurs answers a major question in Ecology. In this interaction, plants serve as food for herbivores on the food chain. Then the livelihood of herbivores highly depends on the availability of food, in this case the availability of plants. Moreover, the abundance of the plant density alone does not guarantee the non-extinction of the herbivore population as they are assumed to reproduce sexually. With this motivation, in this paper a predator-prey mathematical model is reformulated such that the death rate of the herbivore population is dependent on the plant density and their emergence is also governed by the Allee effect. Using the mathematical theory of dynamical system, threshold conditions are obtained for the non-extinction of the herbivore population and a trapping region is obtained to ensure co-existence of the population. Moreover, it has been shown that the dynamics of the population is significantly sensitive to the feeding rate and the harvest rate of the herbivore population.