Ecological impact of land reclamation on Jiangsu coast(China):A novel ecotope assessment for Tongzhou Bay

China’s continuous and rapid economic growth has led to the reclamation of large sections of the intertidal mud coast in combination with port construction,such as that of the proposed Tongzhou Bay port on the Jiangsu coast.These reclamations threaten the local ecosystem services.An ecotope distribution map was created and a hydrodynamic numerical model of Tongzhou Bay was set up to quantify the impacts of reclamation on the ecosystem.Based on the field data and model results,several abiotic features were classified into 11 ecotopes and visualized in an ecotope map of the Tongzhou Bay ecosystem.Validation with spatial distributions of two threatened shorebird species(bar-tailed godwit and great knot) showed confirmation with the mid-range and low-range littoral zones(inundated from 40% to 100% of a tidal cycle),indicating the importance of the areas with these conditions to these populations.Overlaying the ecotope map with recent and proposed land reclamation schemes revealed a loss of ecotopes,composed of the high-range(42%),mid-range(48%),and low-range(38%) littoral habitats,corresponding to a 44%-45% loss of the most important ecotopes for bar-tailed godwit and great knot(mid-range and low-range littoral zones).These results confirm the applicability of the novel ecotope assessment approach in practice.

Biogenetic Linkage among Ecotopes within Matera-Sassi (Italy) Habitat

In the management of UNESCO cultural sites of significant environmental importance, the erroneous assumption that the environment is independent of biological heritage often prevails. The mapping of phylogenetic resources in the ancient city Matera-Sassi (MS) and the multivariable analysis at the level of ecotope and habitat have made it possible to identify the consistency of the plant genetic heritage and the biogenetic associations between the different ecotopes through the species they host. The bioclimatic variables and geomorphology of MS define an ecological niche refuge for rare or absent species in the surrounding landscape (e.g., Campanula versicolor L., Centranthus ruber (L.) Dc., Capparis spinosa L., Cymbalaria muralis Hill, Crepis spp., Lavathera arborea L.) The total floristic capital in MS amounts to 190 species belonging to 59 different botanical families;80% are native species and only 4% are invasive. About half are Mediterranean with a moderate presence (17%) of cosmopolitan and sub-cosmopolitan;5% are endemic species. Autogenic ecotopes (Type I) represented by “Pleistocene limestone” and “House wall” contribute to the variation of total biodiversity through Endemic species mainly Chamephytes;anthropogenic ecotopes (Type III) such as “Garden” and “Town boundary” with Archaeophytes and exotic Neophytes mainly Phanerophytes;while “Humid margins” and mixed ecotopes (Type II) are linked to feral species and mainly to hemi-cryptophytes and therophytes. Minimum spanning tree of the habitat features traced by the floristic biological heritage is consistent with the pedogenetic relationships between primary mother rocks, their derived ecotopes and anthropogenic impacts. Ecotope ranking based on its biodiversity value indicates that appropriate simultaneous conservation of both genetic resources and human works is achievable.

AN ILLUSTRATIVE STUDY ON LOCAL LANDSCAPE AND ITS LONG-TERM CHANGES BASED ON IKONOS AND HISTORICAL AERIAL PHOTO

Nowadays, the research works on landscape at fine scales using high-resolution images are uncommon.This research is based on the analysis of the combination of remote sensing data (IKONOS imagery acquired in 2002and historical aerial photo taken in 1942). In the paper, the ecotopes in Qiujiadou and Xishao villages in Yixing City of Jiangsu Province in 1942 and 2002 were compared and landscape changes as well as the causes of the considerable changes were analyzed. It was found that the ecotope changes were at greater level in some aspects such as water surface and perennial vegetation coverage etc. This study at fine scale is globally significant for the rural areas, especially for the subsistence agricultural land, which occupies larger percentage in the earth. And it analyzes the structure of landscape based on a new landscape classification system-stratifications method.

Nymphaeaceae Salisb. and Trapaceae Dumort. Families in the Collection of O.V. Fomina Botanical Garden

On basis of aquatic and riverside-aquatic plants collection of O.V. fomina botanical garden is conducted research of ontogenesis, ecology, phenology, carpogenesis, biomorphology, life forms, adaptatations, of this group＇s plants, peculiarities of their cultivation and application in conditions of temperate zone of Ukraine. Special values in research have ancient genera and species, which include representatives ofNymphaeaceae salisb, and trapaceae Dumort. families, 22 species, 6 varieties, 1 hybrid, 30 cultivars of which are presented in collection of garden in open and covered soil. For the first time in covered soil of two conservatories ecological modeling was conducted. Placement of plants is done in form of 5 models of artificial ecotopes, in 155 abatises. Four ecobiomorphological groups based on rhizome system were determined for Nymphaeaceae, among which conditionally-rhizome and conditionally-stolone are provided for the first time.