Protected areas(PAs) have experienced explosive growth in Northwest China over the last three decades, but their effectiveness in representing regional ecological system diversity has not attracted considerable attent...Protected areas(PAs) have experienced explosive growth in Northwest China over the last three decades, but their effectiveness in representing regional ecological system diversity has not attracted considerable attention. Low effectiveness would exacerbate the conservation-development conflicts, particularly those that arise as a result of the Great Western Development Strategy(GWDS). Thus, an assessment of the effectiveness of the PA network has become quite important. We proposed natural vegetation communities to represent regional ecological system diversities, and proposed Global 200 Priority Ecoregions, Important Bird Areas, and ecosystem function regions to represent important conservation areas. To determine their effectiveness, we studied the extent to which ecological system diversities and important conservation areas are represented by the existing 96 PAs. Our results indicated that the total coverage of vegetation communities in PAs in Northwest China is not sufficiently comprehensive. As the PA system has expanded, the growth in the total area of the PAs has been greater than that of their vegetation community richness. While most of the important conservation areas are covered by PAs, some regions have not yet reached the 10% threshold; further, PAs are distributed unevenly and conservation gaps remain in the region. Therefore, these regions should receive more attention when planning new PAs. It is vital that more biodiversity datasets and assessment of ecosystem function regions are integrated in order to provide a basis for the government to formulate appropriate protection and development strategies.展开更多
The dioecious plant,Hippophae rhamnoides,is a pioneer species in community succession on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP),plays great roles in various ecosystem services.However,the males and females of the species diff...The dioecious plant,Hippophae rhamnoides,is a pioneer species in community succession on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP),plays great roles in various ecosystem services.However,the males and females of the species differ both in their morphology and physiology,resulting in a change in the ratio of male to female plants depending on the environment.To further explore the functional traits critical to this sex-based distinctive response in the alpine grassland,we have surveyed the sex ratios,measured their photosynthetic parameters,height,leaf area and biomass allocation.The results showed that(i)The males had higher Pn,light saturation point,apparent quantum efficiency,A_(max) and lower water-use efficiency(WUE),which exhibited higher utilization efficiency or tolerance to strong light,while the females indicated higher utilization efficiency for low light and water.And it showed sex-specific biomass allocation patterns.(ii)H.rhamnoides populations across the successional stages all showed a male-biased sexual allocation,which was closely related to sex-specific WUE,Pn,root biomass/total biomass and root-crown ratio.(iii)The leaf traits of H.rhamnoides changed from higher N_(area),P_(area) and leaf mass per area in the early and late to lower in the middle,which meant they moved their growth strategy from resource rapid acquisition to conservation as the succession progressed.(iv)The increasing soil total phosphorus mostly contributed to regulating the sex bias of populations and variations of traits during the succession.The results are vital for the management of grassland degradation and restoration due to shrub encroachment on the QTP.展开更多
Aims Understanding variation and coordination of leaf traits at multiscales along elevational gradients can help predict the likely responses of dominant species to climate change.We seek to determine the extent to wh...Aims Understanding variation and coordination of leaf traits at multiscales along elevational gradients can help predict the likely responses of dominant species to climate change.We seek to determine the extent to which variation in leaf stomatal,anatomical and morphological traits is associated with environmental factors,and whether ecological strategies of Cyclobalanopsis species shift with elevations.Methods In a tropical forest landscape in Jianfengling,South China,we determined leaf traits related to stomata,anatomy and morphology of six evergreen oak species(Cyclobalanopsis bambusaefolia,C.hui,C.patelliformis,C.fleuryi,C.tiaoloshanica and C.phanera)along a long elevational gradient(400–1400 m above sea level).Important Findings We found that stomatal density and stomatal pore index increased,whereas spongy mesophyll thickness to leaf thickness ratios decreased,significantly with elevation.The leaf area and leaf dry matter content increased and decreased,respectively,with elevation.Variations in stomatal,anatomical and morphological traits were mainly correlated to the mean annual temperature,mean annual sum precipitation and soil pH.At low and high elevations,the oak species exhibited strong stress tolerance combined with competition strategy,while they shifted toward more clearly the competitive strategy at intermediate elevations.And the changes in soil phosphorus concentration and soil pH along the elevation may drive the shift of ecological strategy.The results showed that the dominant oak species in tropical forests respond to environmental change by modulating traits at multiple levels,from that of the individual cell,through tissue and up to the whole leaf scale.展开更多
基金Under the auspices of National Science&Technology Pillar Program During the Twelfth Five-year Plan Period(No.2011BAC09B08)
文摘Protected areas(PAs) have experienced explosive growth in Northwest China over the last three decades, but their effectiveness in representing regional ecological system diversity has not attracted considerable attention. Low effectiveness would exacerbate the conservation-development conflicts, particularly those that arise as a result of the Great Western Development Strategy(GWDS). Thus, an assessment of the effectiveness of the PA network has become quite important. We proposed natural vegetation communities to represent regional ecological system diversities, and proposed Global 200 Priority Ecoregions, Important Bird Areas, and ecosystem function regions to represent important conservation areas. To determine their effectiveness, we studied the extent to which ecological system diversities and important conservation areas are represented by the existing 96 PAs. Our results indicated that the total coverage of vegetation communities in PAs in Northwest China is not sufficiently comprehensive. As the PA system has expanded, the growth in the total area of the PAs has been greater than that of their vegetation community richness. While most of the important conservation areas are covered by PAs, some regions have not yet reached the 10% threshold; further, PAs are distributed unevenly and conservation gaps remain in the region. Therefore, these regions should receive more attention when planning new PAs. It is vital that more biodiversity datasets and assessment of ecosystem function regions are integrated in order to provide a basis for the government to formulate appropriate protection and development strategies.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(32201525)the Gansu province’s Key Research and Development Plan(21YF5NA069)+2 种基金the Longyuan Talent Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Team projectthe Key Laboratory of Eco-functional Polymer Materials of the Ministry of Education(YDZX20216200001007)the Foreign Expert Introduction Special Project of Gansu Province(22JR10KA010).
文摘The dioecious plant,Hippophae rhamnoides,is a pioneer species in community succession on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP),plays great roles in various ecosystem services.However,the males and females of the species differ both in their morphology and physiology,resulting in a change in the ratio of male to female plants depending on the environment.To further explore the functional traits critical to this sex-based distinctive response in the alpine grassland,we have surveyed the sex ratios,measured their photosynthetic parameters,height,leaf area and biomass allocation.The results showed that(i)The males had higher Pn,light saturation point,apparent quantum efficiency,A_(max) and lower water-use efficiency(WUE),which exhibited higher utilization efficiency or tolerance to strong light,while the females indicated higher utilization efficiency for low light and water.And it showed sex-specific biomass allocation patterns.(ii)H.rhamnoides populations across the successional stages all showed a male-biased sexual allocation,which was closely related to sex-specific WUE,Pn,root biomass/total biomass and root-crown ratio.(iii)The leaf traits of H.rhamnoides changed from higher N_(area),P_(area) and leaf mass per area in the early and late to lower in the middle,which meant they moved their growth strategy from resource rapid acquisition to conservation as the succession progressed.(iv)The increasing soil total phosphorus mostly contributed to regulating the sex bias of populations and variations of traits during the succession.The results are vital for the management of grassland degradation and restoration due to shrub encroachment on the QTP.
基金This work was jointly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(41771522 and 41773071)the Key Special Project for Introduced Talents Team of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory(GML2019ZD0408)+1 种基金the Biological Resources Service Network Initiative of Chinese Academy of Sciences(ZSSD-007)the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of CAS.
文摘Aims Understanding variation and coordination of leaf traits at multiscales along elevational gradients can help predict the likely responses of dominant species to climate change.We seek to determine the extent to which variation in leaf stomatal,anatomical and morphological traits is associated with environmental factors,and whether ecological strategies of Cyclobalanopsis species shift with elevations.Methods In a tropical forest landscape in Jianfengling,South China,we determined leaf traits related to stomata,anatomy and morphology of six evergreen oak species(Cyclobalanopsis bambusaefolia,C.hui,C.patelliformis,C.fleuryi,C.tiaoloshanica and C.phanera)along a long elevational gradient(400–1400 m above sea level).Important Findings We found that stomatal density and stomatal pore index increased,whereas spongy mesophyll thickness to leaf thickness ratios decreased,significantly with elevation.The leaf area and leaf dry matter content increased and decreased,respectively,with elevation.Variations in stomatal,anatomical and morphological traits were mainly correlated to the mean annual temperature,mean annual sum precipitation and soil pH.At low and high elevations,the oak species exhibited strong stress tolerance combined with competition strategy,while they shifted toward more clearly the competitive strategy at intermediate elevations.And the changes in soil phosphorus concentration and soil pH along the elevation may drive the shift of ecological strategy.The results showed that the dominant oak species in tropical forests respond to environmental change by modulating traits at multiple levels,from that of the individual cell,through tissue and up to the whole leaf scale.