Geographic patterns of taxonomic and phylogenetic β-diversity of aquatic angiosperms in China

China covers a vast territory harbouring a large number of aquatic plants.Although there are many studies on the β-diversity of total,herbaceous or woody plants in China and elsewhere,few studies have focused on aquatic plants.Here,we analyse a comprehensive data set of 889 aquatic angiosperm species in China,and explore the geographic patterns and climatic correlates of total taxonomic and phylogeneticβ-diversity as well as their turnover and nestedness components.Our results show that geographic patterns of taxonomic and phylogenetic β-diversity are highly congruent for aquatic angiosperms,and taxonomic β-diversity is consistently higher than phylogenetic β-diversity.The ratio between the nestedness component and total β-diversity is high in northwestern China and low in southeastern China.The geographic patterns of taxonomic and phylogenetic β-diversity of aquatic angiosperms in China are obviously affected by geographic and climatic distances,respectively.In conclusion,the geographic patterns of taxonomic and phylogenetic β-diversity of aquatic angiosperms are consistent across China.Climatic and geographic distances jointly affect the geographic patterns of β-diversity of aquatic angiosperms.Overall,our work provides insight into understanding the large-scale patterns of aquatic angiosperm β-diversity,and is a critical addition to previous studies on the macroecological patterns of terrestrial organisms.

Distribution Orientation and Driving Mechanism of Geographical Pattern Change of China′s Banking Industry

By analyzing the relationship among government, market driving forces, distribution orientation of banking industry, service opportunity equality and spatial patterns, this paper proposes that it is distribution orientation that lead to the formation and evolution of spatial pattern of banking industry. The difference of the distribution orientation leads to the separation of the spatial pattern of banking industry, and the change of the distribution orientation leads to the change of spatial pattern. The degree of spatial pattern change is subject to the degree of change of distribution orientation, and the scale of bank resources in the regions, which supports the distribution orientation variation. Based on these theoretical frameworks, some indicators were designed to analyze the pattern change of China′s banking industry and its effects since 1995 under the change of the distribution orientation. This paper finds that the orientation of economic benefit maximization driven by market causes the banking industry to concentrate in economically developed regions.The government, which does not follow the orientation of economic benefit maximization, plays a role of stabilizer. Since the bank branches in the regions with the greatest change in bank branch distribution are too few, and regions with the greatest change in bank loan allocation are the regions with lots of loans, the pattern change of the banking industry in physical form is not as notable as that in economic form.

Nitrogen use efciency of terrestrial plants in China: geographic patterns, evolution, and determinants

Background:Plant nitrogen use efciency(NUE)is an important ecological indicator that refects the capacity of a plant to transform nitrogen into production,which is essential for further elucidating plant growth and terrestrial ecosystem productivity.Although there are a growing number of studies that address NUE changes at local scales,the variations of NUE over large spatial scales remain unclear.In this study,we analyzed the geographic patterns of NUE and explored its phylogenic and environmental drivers across 1452 species at 1102 sites in China.Results:NUE tended to decrease with latitude(r=−0.56),whereas it increased with longitude(r=0.54),and varied widely in diferent ecosystems and plant life forms.Furthermore,NUE was negatively correlated with plant foliar phosphorus concentration(r=−0.53),soil pH(r=−0.10),soil total phosphorus(r=−0.13)and available phosphorus(r=−0.05),but positively with the mean annual temperature(r=0.32),annual precipitation(r=0.27),and aridity index(r=0.26).NUE was signifcantly altered with phylogeny and evolved toward a lower value(r=−0.28),which may have been due to increasing nitrogen deposition and fxation in biogeochemical evolution.Overall,the combination of foliar phosphorus concentration,phylogeny,climate,and soil properties accounted for 52.7%of the total variations of NUE.In particular,foliar phosphorus concentration was the most important factor,whereas plant evolutionary history was second in contributing to NUE variations.Conclusions:Our study emphasizes the pivotal role of plant stoichiometry and phylogeny in nitrogen cycling and suggests incorporating them into earth system models to better understanding plant growth and nitrogen cycling in the context of environmental changes.

Geographical Patterns and Temporal Variations of Regional Dry and Wet Heatwave Events in China during 1960–2008

Daily maximum/minimum temperatures and relative humidity records from 510 stations in China for the period 1960–2008 were used to investigate geographical patterns and temporal variations of heatwave （HW） events. Dry and wet HW events were compared by different definitions. Regionally, both dry and wet HW events are commonly located in southeastern China in the monsoon area, with neither type occurring in the northeast part of Northeast China and Southwest China, while the north-northwest region of the country experiences dry HW events and a few wet HW events. In the southeast of the country, site dry HW events occurred from April to September and mostly in June, while site wet HW events occurred from April to October and mostly in September. In total, 163 regional wet HW events were identified. The ten longest regional wet HW events lasted for more than 20 days, while the mean duration for 163 events was about 11 days. For the top ten events, six occurred after the 1990s, compared with four before this time. Global surface warming was clear since 1979, but the frequency and severity of regional wet HW events were relatively low in the 1980s, increasing remarkably since the 1990s. Possible reasons for this might be the strong interdecadal and interannual variations in regional atmospheric circulations, as well as water transport related directly to temperature contrasts in different regions, rather than global-mean temperature changes.

Geographical Patterns of Cultural Values, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development

Globalization and information technologies are new realities that have brought profound changes in lifestyles worldwide. This is reshaping the overall pattern of life custom, cultural production, consumption and trade in a world increasingly filled with changes and economic diversity. In an age of globalization, often ask questions and discussions concerning about successes and vitalities of nations. Globalization and technological revolutions race ahead and transform the world, and how to traces the real business to success. There are thousands of good examples where any nations have shown entrepreneurial talents and have succeeded. It is culture that principally explains, in many cases, or geographical pattern where some countries are developing more rapidly and more successfully than others. How to explain economic success of this nation＇s miracles or simple the secret is creative entrepreneurships？ This paper explores the complex interactions between the geographic pattern from one side and cultural, technological and social aspects of entrepreneurship from other side which generates the dynamic processes of the world economy. In this era of transformation, creativity and knowledge entrepreneurship are powerful tools of fostering economic progress and development.

FDI, Geographic Location and Their Impacts on the Pattern of Regional Economic Development in China

This paper states how the reciprocal matching of foreign direct investment （FDI） and geographic location generally determine the pattern of regional economic development in China by analyzing the co-relations among geographic location, FDI and regional economic development. Among various factors that affect FDI inflow into specific regions of China, it is believed that geographic location might be one of the most essential factors in shaping the overall trend of diversification in regional economic development in China. Examinations are followed for identifying the above judgment both with econometric models and data analysis.

Species richness patterns and the determinants of larch forests in China

Larch forests are important for species diversity,as well as soil and water conservation in mountain regions.In this study,we determined large-scale patterns of species richness in larch forests and identified the factors that drive these patterns.We found that larch forest species richness was high in southern China and low in northern China,and that patterns of species richness along an elevational gradient depend on larch forest type.In addition,we found that patterns of species richness in larch forests are best explained by contemporary climatic factors.Specifically,mean annual temperature and annual potential evapotranspiration were the most important factors for species richness of tree and shrub layers,while mean temperature of the coldest quarter and anomaly of annual precipitation from the Last Glacial Maximum to the present were the most important for that of herb layer and the whole community.Community structural factors,especially stand density,are also associated with the species richness of larch forests.Our findings that species richness in China's larch forests is mainly affected by energy availability and cold conditions support the ambient energy hypothesis and the freezing tolerance hypothesis.

Analysis of genetic relationship among Arbutus unedo L. genotypes using RAPD and SSR markers

The strawberry tree （Arbutus unedo L.） is an underutilized, drought tolerant, fire resistant species with a south western distribution in Europe, and with ecological and putative socio-economical impact in Portugal and Mediterranean countries. Our aim was to develop an appropriate set of molecular markers to enable genetic diversity to be assessed and to fingerprint Arbutus unedo genotypes for breeding and conservation purposes in Portugal. Twenty-seven trees from a broad geographic range were screened with 20 random amplified polymorphic DNA （RAPD primers） and 11 microsatellite markers （SSR）. The RAPDs generated 124 bands, 57.3% of which were polymorphic, with an expected heterozygosity of 27%. We cross-amplified 11 SSR primers developed for Vaccinium spp., and 5 were found to be polymorphic in A. unedo, with 75% of expected heterozygosity, a number of alleles of 11.6, a null allele frequency of 7.6% and a polymorphic information content of 71%. Although the SSRs were more polymorphic and informative than the RAPDs, both markers displayed high genetic variability with the gathered data. No geographic pattern was observed in the genetic variation distribution based on both marker systems, and the lack of correlation between genetic and geographical matrices was confirmed by Mantel tests. Likely, no correlation was found between pairwise SSR and RAPD band-sharing matrices. These results and their implications on A. unedo breeding and conservation programs are discussed.

Patterns and determinants of wood physical and mechanical properties across major tree species in China

The physical and mechanical properties of wood affect the growth and development of trees, and also act as the main criteria when determining wood usage. Our understanding on patterns and controls of wood physical and mechanical properties could provide benefits for forestry management and bases for wood application and forest tree breeding. However, current studies on wood properties mainly focus on wood density and ignore other wood physical properties. In this study, we established a comprehensive database of wood physical properties across major tree species in China. Based on this database, we explored spatial patterns and driving factors of wood properties across major tree species in China. Our results showed that(i) compared with wood density, air-dried density, tangential shrinkage coefficient and resilience provide more accuracy and higher explanation power when used as the evaluation index of wood physical properties.(ii) Among life form, climatic and edaphic variables, life form is the dominant factor shaping spatial patterns of wood physical properties, climatic factors the next, and edaphic factors have the least effects, suggesting that the effects of climatic factors on spatial variations of wood properties are indirectly induced by their effects on species distribution.

Classification and detection of dominant factors in geospatial patterns of traditional settlements in China

The geospatial distribution pattern in traditional Chinese settlements(TCSs)reflects the traditional harmony between humans and nature,which has been learned over centuries.However,TCSs have experienced serious disturbances by urbanization and migration.It is crucial to explore the local wisdom of geospatial patterns and dominant factors for TCSs at the national scale in China.This study sought to determine the geospatial wisdom of traditional settlements to enrich our future settlement development with the aim of establishing Chinese settlement values for modern living.Herein,a dataset of 4000 TCSs were analyzed and clustered for environmental factors that affect their geospatial patterns by machine learning algorithms.We concluded that(1)five geospatial patterns of TCSs were clustered on a national scale,and the threshold of environmental factors of TCS groups was detected.(2)Environmental conditions and settlement concepts interacted and determined the similarities and differences among TCS groups.(3)The key boundary for TCSs and the dominant factors for each zone were determined,and topographical conditions and hydrologic resources played significant roles in all five TCS zones.This study provides a better understanding of the adaptability of the environment in relation to the TCSs and aids in planning TCS conservation and rural revitalization.

Population structure and range expansion:the case of the invasive gastropod Cyclope neritea in northwest Iberian Peninsula

Biotic invasions have a reputation for unpredictable behavior.Here,we report how slight changes in human activity responsible for the introduction and range expansion of a non-native mollusk have led to detectable differences in the genetics of the invasion.Cyclope neritea is a non-predatory gastropod introduced to 2 areas of the European Atlantic:the northwest Iberian Peninsula(NWIP)and the French Atlantic coast(FAC).Shellfish seabed farming is intense in both areas but focuses on different commercial species.Using mitochondrial gene sequences,the lower genetic diversity recorded along the NWIP suggests a more homogeneous range of source populations than in the FAC.Unlike FAC,genetic diversity and haplotype composition in the NWIP correlate with the date of first occurrence of C.neritea at each site rather than with geographical location.Although this pattern evokes the genetic signature expected under a serial-founder colonization model from a single initial enclave,a comparison with samples from potential source populations suggests that the NWIP probably experienced several independent reintroductions.The jump dispersal pattern of C.neritea in the NWIP,together with the observation that populations established in the same year are genetically undifferentiated,point to human transport as the most plausible explanation for the current range expansion.Despite evidence for human-mediated dispersal,C.neritea managed to develop a seemingly non-random genetic pattern in the NWIP.It is suggested that caution must be exerted when interpreting genetic patterns in invaders.

Spatiotemporal variation in leaf size and shape in response to climate

Aims Morphological variation of leaves is a key indicator of plant response to climatic change.Leaf size and shape are associated with carbon,water and energy exchange of plants with their environment.However,whether and how leaf size and shape responded to climate change over the past decades remains poorly studied.Moreover,many studies have only explored inter-but not intraspecific variation in leaf size and shape across space and time.Methods We collected>6000 herbarium specimens spanning 98 years(1910–2008)in China for seven representative dicot species and measured their leaf length and width.We explored geographical patterns and temporal trends in leaf size(i.e.leaf length,leaf width and length×width product)and shape(i.e.length/width ratio),and investigated the effects of changes in precipitation and temperature over time and space on the variation in leaf size and shape.Important Findings After accounting for the effects of sampling time,leaf size decreased with latitude for all species combined,but the relationship varied among species.Leaf size and shape were positively correlated with temperature and precipitation across space.After accounting for the effects of sampling locations,leaf size of all species combined increased with time.Leaf size changes over time were mostly positively correlated with precipitation,whereas leaf shape changes were mostly correlated with temperature.Overall,our results indicate significant spatial and temporal intraspecific variation in leaf size and shape in response to climate.Our study also demonstrates that herbarium specimens collected over a considerable period of time provide a good resource to study the impacts of climate change on plant morphological traits.

Big geodata mining:Objective,connotations and research issues

The objective,connotations and research issues of big geodata mining were discussed to address its significance to geographical research in this paper.Big geodata may be categorized into two domains:big earth observation data and big human behavior data.A description of big geodata includes,in addition to the“5Vs”(volume,velocity,value,variety and veracity),a further five features,that is,granularity,scope,density,skewness and precision.Based on this approach,the essence of mining big geodata includes four aspects.First,flow space,where flow replaces points in traditional space,will become the new presentation form for big human behavior data.Second,the objectives for mining big geodata are the spatial patterns and the spatial relationships.Third,the spatiotemporal distributions of big geodata can be viewed as overlays of multiple geographic patterns and the characteristics of the data,namely heterogeneity and homogeneity,may change with scale.Fourth,data mining can be seen as a tool for discovery of geographic patterns and the patterns revealed may be attributed to human-land relationships.The big geodata mining methods may be categorized into two types in view of the mining objective,i.e.,classification mining and relationship mining.Future research will be faced by a number of issues,including the aggregation and connection of big geodata,the effective evaluation of the mining results and the challenge for mining to reveal“non-trivial”knowledge.