Sericostaehys seandens is a monocarpic and heliophilous liana, native in tropical African forests. In the montane forests of the Kahuzi-Biega National Park (KBNP) (East of DR Congo), it has been expanding very str...Sericostaehys seandens is a monocarpic and heliophilous liana, native in tropical African forests. In the montane forests of the Kahuzi-Biega National Park (KBNP) (East of DR Congo), it has been expanding very strongly for a decade, and is currently considered as having negative impacts on biodiversity conservation. In this paper, we test if S. scandens differs from three co-occurring, native, non spreading lianas (Gouania longispicata, Tacazzea apiculata and Adenia bequaertii) for functional traits which might influence plant expansion. For leaf traits (SLA, dry matter content, nitrogen concentration), S. scandens did not show extreme values compared to those of the three other lianas. In contrast, S. scandens had much higher biomass allocation to sexual reproduction. It also differs from the three other lianas for its reproductive strategy that combines both vegetative propagation and sexual reproduct/on, and propagule dispersal by wind. Moreover, S. scandens has larger leaves and a greater number of lateral branches per unit stem length. It is argued that the particular combination of functional traits exhibited by S.scandens may in part explain its propensity to behave as an opportunistic weed in the disturbed areas in the montane forests of Kahuzi-Biega.展开更多
We investigate a generalized form of the Boussinesq equation, relevant for nerve pulse propagation in biological membranes. The generalized conditional symmetry (GCS) method is applied in order to obtain the conditi...We investigate a generalized form of the Boussinesq equation, relevant for nerve pulse propagation in biological membranes. The generalized conditional symmetry (GCS) method is applied in order to obtain the conditions that enable the equation to admit a special class of second-order GCSs. For the case of quadratic nonlinearities, we outline a new class of invariant solutions.展开更多
基金the Belgian Development Cooperation for the financial help
文摘Sericostaehys seandens is a monocarpic and heliophilous liana, native in tropical African forests. In the montane forests of the Kahuzi-Biega National Park (KBNP) (East of DR Congo), it has been expanding very strongly for a decade, and is currently considered as having negative impacts on biodiversity conservation. In this paper, we test if S. scandens differs from three co-occurring, native, non spreading lianas (Gouania longispicata, Tacazzea apiculata and Adenia bequaertii) for functional traits which might influence plant expansion. For leaf traits (SLA, dry matter content, nitrogen concentration), S. scandens did not show extreme values compared to those of the three other lianas. In contrast, S. scandens had much higher biomass allocation to sexual reproduction. It also differs from the three other lianas for its reproductive strategy that combines both vegetative propagation and sexual reproduct/on, and propagule dispersal by wind. Moreover, S. scandens has larger leaves and a greater number of lateral branches per unit stem length. It is argued that the particular combination of functional traits exhibited by S.scandens may in part explain its propensity to behave as an opportunistic weed in the disturbed areas in the montane forests of Kahuzi-Biega.
文摘We investigate a generalized form of the Boussinesq equation, relevant for nerve pulse propagation in biological membranes. The generalized conditional symmetry (GCS) method is applied in order to obtain the conditions that enable the equation to admit a special class of second-order GCSs. For the case of quadratic nonlinearities, we outline a new class of invariant solutions.