After subjecting the seeds to GA3 and H2O2 treatments for 24 h and chilling at 2-3℃ for a period of 15 days, we conducted the seed germination tests for 21 different seed sources ofPinns roxburghii from western-centr...After subjecting the seeds to GA3 and H2O2 treatments for 24 h and chilling at 2-3℃ for a period of 15 days, we conducted the seed germination tests for 21 different seed sources ofPinns roxburghii from western-central Himalaya under laboratory conditions at various temperatures viz., 20℃, 25℃ and 30℃ inside a seed germinator. The results reveal that the soaking of seeds in H2O2 （1% v/v） and GA3 （ 10 mg.L^-1） solutions manifested 82.39% and 78.19% germination, respectively whereas untreated seeds exhibited 70.79% average germination. Both GA3 and H2O2 treatments caused an appreciable shortening of the germination period by 8 days and 10 days, respectively. Moist-chilling did improve the rate and percentage of germination when germinated at 20℃ over 21 days; however total germination was not affected at temperatures 25℃ and 30℃, Although the seeds of P. roxburghii germinate well due to lack of dor- mancy, the increasing demand for large quantities of seeds of P. roxburghii for reforestation programmes make pre-sowing treatments useful in improving the rate and percentage of gemaination.展开更多
Regulation of streamflow by a reservoir creates a flow regime much different from the preimpoundment period flow regime. Hydro-Electric Projects(HEPs) commissioned in the Western Ghat regions of the Kerala State, Indi...Regulation of streamflow by a reservoir creates a flow regime much different from the preimpoundment period flow regime. Hydro-Electric Projects(HEPs) commissioned in the Western Ghat regions of the Kerala State, India during the last four decades caused considerable changes in the flow regimes of the rivers of the Kerala State in southwest India. In this paper, the Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration(IHA) approach proposed by Richter et al.(1996) is used to analyze flow regime changes in the Periyar and Muvattupuzha Rivers, due to the construction of the Idukki(1976), Idamalayar(1987) and Lower Periyar(1997) HEPs in the high ranges of the Western Ghats. Normal rainfall years(annual rainfall values within mean ± 0.75 standard deviation limits) are only considered in the analysis to focus on hydrologic alterations due to human activities. The mean hydrologic alteration in the Periyar River(deviation from the pre-development hydrologic indicator values) after commissioning of three HEPs is 35%. Inter-basin water transfer after power generation from the Idukki HEP resulted in a higher discharge in the adjacent Muvattupuzha River, leading to considerable changes in the hydroenvironment(mean hydrologic alterations varying between 57 to 63%). IHA parameters showing hydrologic alterations above the 67 th Percentile werefurther analyzed. For each of the pre-construction hydrologic parameters ± 1 standard deviation from the mean is set as the upper and lower management target limits. The values of each IHA parameter beyond these targets are considered as nonattainment. Considerable hydrologic alterations are observed, especially for low flows in both basins. Inter-basin transfer induced larger changes in flow parameters compared to intra-basin regulations. The study shows that under a proper water release and diversion scheme, the non-attainment of IHA parameters(values fall beyond the target limits) can be reduced. The findings of the study will be greatly beneficial to regional water management and restoration of an eco-environmental system in the humid tropical region.展开更多
Four intensive uplift periods, i.e., 60–35, 25–17 and 12–8 Ma (but 18–13 Ma in the Himalayas of the southern Tibet), and since about 5 Ma, can be determined on the Tibetan Plateau by synthetical analysis of low-te...Four intensive uplift periods, i.e., 60–35, 25–17 and 12–8 Ma (but 18–13 Ma in the Himalayas of the southern Tibet), and since about 5 Ma, can be determined on the Tibetan Plateau by synthetical analysis of low-temperature thermo-chronology data, sedimentary deposit records, and structural deformation records of different areas. The strong tectonic uplift periods in different areas on the Tibetan Plateau are penecontemporaneous, except for the Himalayan area of the southern Tibet, where a rapid uplift and exhumation period, controlled by the activity of the South Tibetan Detachment System faults, occurred during 18–13 Ma. These strong uplift and exhumation periods correspond well to intensive deformation activity periods, suggesting tectonically-controlled uplift and exhumation. The deposit records, such as the distribution of coarse clastic sediments, the distribution of tectonically-controlled basins, stratigraphic discontinuousness or unconformity, and fault-controlled geomorphologic evolution, also match well with the strong uplift and exhumation periods. Expanding processes of the plateau are also discussed.展开更多
The Southwest Mountainous region of the eastern Himalayas is a hotspot with extraordinarily high biodiversity and endemism, but the processes that have driven this unique diversity are largely unknown. We evaluated pr...The Southwest Mountainous region of the eastern Himalayas is a hotspot with extraordinarily high biodiversity and endemism, but the processes that have driven this unique diversity are largely unknown. We evaluated processes that have con- tributed to the current observed high genetic diversity in this region by integrating comparative phylogeography with ecological niche modeling in a study of two representative birds of the Southwest Mountains： the black-throated bushtit Aegithalos concinnus and the Elliot＇s laughing thrush Garrulax elliotii. Mitochondrial DNA analyses revealed multiple divergent genetic lineages, which are roughly congruent with the north, south and east eco-subregion division of the Southwest Mountains. This strong geo- graphical structure in these two species suggests that lineage diversification has proceeded in situ between the eco-subregions of the Southwest Mountains. During Pleistocene glaciations, the two species responded differently to climatic fluctuations. A. con- cinnus maintained rather stable habitats, mostly evergreen forests, during glacial cycles and thus kept a stable population size and further accumulated genetic diversity. In contrast, G. elliotii, which is mostly active in shrublands, has shifted its suitable habitats with glacial cycles. This species dispersed to low elevation areas during glacial periods, which provided multiple opportunities for gene admixture. The admixture causes the mixing of previously isolated genetic lineages and thus obscures the pattern of genetic variation [Current Zoology 61 （5）： 935-942, 2015].展开更多
基金suportted by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) Dehradun
文摘After subjecting the seeds to GA3 and H2O2 treatments for 24 h and chilling at 2-3℃ for a period of 15 days, we conducted the seed germination tests for 21 different seed sources ofPinns roxburghii from western-central Himalaya under laboratory conditions at various temperatures viz., 20℃, 25℃ and 30℃ inside a seed germinator. The results reveal that the soaking of seeds in H2O2 （1% v/v） and GA3 （ 10 mg.L^-1） solutions manifested 82.39% and 78.19% germination, respectively whereas untreated seeds exhibited 70.79% average germination. Both GA3 and H2O2 treatments caused an appreciable shortening of the germination period by 8 days and 10 days, respectively. Moist-chilling did improve the rate and percentage of germination when germinated at 20℃ over 21 days; however total germination was not affected at temperatures 25℃ and 30℃, Although the seeds of P. roxburghii germinate well due to lack of dor- mancy, the increasing demand for large quantities of seeds of P. roxburghii for reforestation programmes make pre-sowing treatments useful in improving the rate and percentage of gemaination.
基金financial support by Kerala State Council for Science Technology and Environment, Government of Kerala
文摘Regulation of streamflow by a reservoir creates a flow regime much different from the preimpoundment period flow regime. Hydro-Electric Projects(HEPs) commissioned in the Western Ghat regions of the Kerala State, India during the last four decades caused considerable changes in the flow regimes of the rivers of the Kerala State in southwest India. In this paper, the Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration(IHA) approach proposed by Richter et al.(1996) is used to analyze flow regime changes in the Periyar and Muvattupuzha Rivers, due to the construction of the Idukki(1976), Idamalayar(1987) and Lower Periyar(1997) HEPs in the high ranges of the Western Ghats. Normal rainfall years(annual rainfall values within mean ± 0.75 standard deviation limits) are only considered in the analysis to focus on hydrologic alterations due to human activities. The mean hydrologic alteration in the Periyar River(deviation from the pre-development hydrologic indicator values) after commissioning of three HEPs is 35%. Inter-basin water transfer after power generation from the Idukki HEP resulted in a higher discharge in the adjacent Muvattupuzha River, leading to considerable changes in the hydroenvironment(mean hydrologic alterations varying between 57 to 63%). IHA parameters showing hydrologic alterations above the 67 th Percentile werefurther analyzed. For each of the pre-construction hydrologic parameters ± 1 standard deviation from the mean is set as the upper and lower management target limits. The values of each IHA parameter beyond these targets are considered as nonattainment. Considerable hydrologic alterations are observed, especially for low flows in both basins. Inter-basin transfer induced larger changes in flow parameters compared to intra-basin regulations. The study shows that under a proper water release and diversion scheme, the non-attainment of IHA parameters(values fall beyond the target limits) can be reduced. The findings of the study will be greatly beneficial to regional water management and restoration of an eco-environmental system in the humid tropical region.
基金supported by China Geological Survey (Grant No. 1212010610103)National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40902060, 40672137)
文摘Four intensive uplift periods, i.e., 60–35, 25–17 and 12–8 Ma (but 18–13 Ma in the Himalayas of the southern Tibet), and since about 5 Ma, can be determined on the Tibetan Plateau by synthetical analysis of low-temperature thermo-chronology data, sedimentary deposit records, and structural deformation records of different areas. The strong tectonic uplift periods in different areas on the Tibetan Plateau are penecontemporaneous, except for the Himalayan area of the southern Tibet, where a rapid uplift and exhumation period, controlled by the activity of the South Tibetan Detachment System faults, occurred during 18–13 Ma. These strong uplift and exhumation periods correspond well to intensive deformation activity periods, suggesting tectonically-controlled uplift and exhumation. The deposit records, such as the distribution of coarse clastic sediments, the distribution of tectonically-controlled basins, stratigraphic discontinuousness or unconformity, and fault-controlled geomorphologic evolution, also match well with the strong uplift and exhumation periods. Expanding processes of the plateau are also discussed.
基金We sincerely thank Chuanying Dai for providing mtDNA sequences of the Aegithalos coneinnus. We also thanks Town Peterson for providing the analysis protocol for the ecological niche model, and Robert G. Moyle for the protocol of genetic analyses. This research was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation of China （Nos 31471990, 31172064 to Y.Q. and 31330073, 30925008 to F.L.） and the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People＇s Republic of China （MOST Grant No. 2011FY120200-3）.
文摘The Southwest Mountainous region of the eastern Himalayas is a hotspot with extraordinarily high biodiversity and endemism, but the processes that have driven this unique diversity are largely unknown. We evaluated processes that have con- tributed to the current observed high genetic diversity in this region by integrating comparative phylogeography with ecological niche modeling in a study of two representative birds of the Southwest Mountains： the black-throated bushtit Aegithalos concinnus and the Elliot＇s laughing thrush Garrulax elliotii. Mitochondrial DNA analyses revealed multiple divergent genetic lineages, which are roughly congruent with the north, south and east eco-subregion division of the Southwest Mountains. This strong geo- graphical structure in these two species suggests that lineage diversification has proceeded in situ between the eco-subregions of the Southwest Mountains. During Pleistocene glaciations, the two species responded differently to climatic fluctuations. A. con- cinnus maintained rather stable habitats, mostly evergreen forests, during glacial cycles and thus kept a stable population size and further accumulated genetic diversity. In contrast, G. elliotii, which is mostly active in shrublands, has shifted its suitable habitats with glacial cycles. This species dispersed to low elevation areas during glacial periods, which provided multiple opportunities for gene admixture. The admixture causes the mixing of previously isolated genetic lineages and thus obscures the pattern of genetic variation [Current Zoology 61 （5）： 935-942, 2015].
