Dendroclimatological study of Sabina saltuaria and Abies faxoniana in the mixed forests of the Qionglai Mountains,eastern Tibetan Plateau

Tree-ring chronologies were developed for Sabina saltuaria and Abies faxoniana in mixed forests in the Qionglai Mountains of the eastern Tibetan Plateau.Climate-growth relationship analysis indicated that the two co-exist-ing species reponded similarly to climate factors,although S.saltuaria was more sensitive than A.faxoniana.The strong-est correlation was between S.saltuaria chronology and regional mean temperatures from June to November.Based on this relationship,a regional mean temperature from June to November for the period 1605-2016 was constructed.Reconstruction explained 37.3%of the temperature variance during th period 1961-2016.Six major warm periods and five major cold periods were identified.Spectral analysis detected significant interannual and multi-decadal cycles.Reconstruction also revealed the influence of the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation,confirming its importance on climate change on the eastern Tibetan Plateau.

An agent-based model of agricultural land expansion in the mountain forest of Timor Island,Indonesia

The Mutis-Timau Forest Complex,located on Timor Island,Indonesia,is a mountainous tropical forest area that gradually decreases due to deforestation and forest degradation.Previous modelling studies based on patterns indicate that deforestation primarily occurs at lower elevations and near the boundaries of forests and settlements,often associated with shifting cultivation by local farmers.This study adopts a process-based modelling approach,specifically the agent-based model,to simulate land changes,particularly farmers'expansion of agricultural land around the Mutis mountain forest.The underlying concept of this agent-based approach is the interaction between the human and environmental systems.Farmers,representing the human system,interact with the land,which represents the environmental system,through land use decision-making mechanisms.The research was conducted in the Community Forest of the Timor Tengah Utara District,one of the sites within the Mutis-Timau Forest Complex with the highest deforestation rate.Land use change simulations were performed using agent-based modelling from 1999 to 2030,considering the socio-economic conditions of farmers,spatial preferences,land use decisions,and natural transitions.The results revealed that the agricultural area increased by 14%under the Business as Usual scenario and 5%under the Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation scenario,compared to the initial agricultural area of 245 hectares.The probability of farmers deciding to extend agricultural activities was positively associated with the number of livestock maintained by farmers and the size of the village area.Conversely,the likelihood of farmers opting for agricultural extensification decreased with an increase in the area of private land and the farmer's age.These findings are crucial for the managers of the Mutis-Timau Forest Complex and other relevant stakeholders,as they aid in arranging actions to combat deforestation,designing proper forest-related policies,and providing support for initiatives such as reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation programs or further incentive schemes.

Climate and fire drivers of forest composition and openness in the Changbai Mountains since the Late Glacial

Ongoing climate changes have a direct impact on forest growth;they also affect natural fire regimes,with further implications for forest composition.Understanding of how these will affect forests on decadal-to-centennial timescales is limited.Here we use reconstructions of past vegetation,fire regimes and climate during the Holocene to examine the relative importance of changes in climate and fire regimes for the abundance of key tree species in northeastern China.We reconstructed vegetation changes and fire regimes based on pollen and charcoal records from Gushantun peatland.We then used generalized linear modelling to investigate the impact of reconstructed changes in summer temperature,annual precipitation,background levels of fire,fire frequency and fire magnitude to identify the drivers of decadal-to-centennial changes in forest openness and composition.Changes in climate and fire regimes have independent impacts on the abundance of the key tree taxa.Climate variables are generally more important than fire variables in determining the abundance of individual taxa.Precipitation is the only determinant of forest openness,but summer temperature is more important than precipitation for individual tree taxa with warmer summers causing a decrease in cold-tolerant conifers and an increase in warmth-demanding broadleaved trees.Both background level and fire frequency have negative relationships with the abundance of most tree taxa;only Pinus increases as fire frequency increases.The magnitude of individual fires does not have a significant impact on species abundance on this timescale.Both climate and fire regime characteristics must be considered to understand changes in forest composition on the decadal-to-centennial timescale.There are differences,both in sign and magnitude,in the response of individual tree species to individual drivers.

Sustaining forest biodiversity:Exploring the effect of long-term natural disturbance dynamics on contemporary lichen communities in primary forest ecosystems

In this era of biodiversity loss and climate change,quantifying the impacts of natural disturbance on forest communities is imperative to improve biodiversity conservation efforts.Epiphytic and epixylic lichens are effective forest quality bioindicators,as they are generally long-lived organisms supported by continuity of specific forest structures and their associated microclimatic features.However,how lichen communities respond to the effects of fluctuating historical disturbances remains unclear.Using a dendrochronological approach,this study investigates how natural disturbance dynamics indirectly influence various lichen community metrics in some of Europe's best-preserved primary mixed-beech forests.Mixed modelling revealed that natural historical disturbance processes have decades-long effects on forest structural attributes,which had both congruent and divergent impacts on lichen community richness and composition.Total species richness indirectly benefited from both historical and recent higher-severity disturbances via increased standing dead tree basal area and canopy openness respectively-likely through the presence of both pioneer and late-successional species associated with these conditions.Red-listed species richness showed a dependence on habitat continuity(old trees),and increased with disturbance-related structures(standing dead trees)whilst simultaneously benefiting from periods without severe disturbance events(old trees and reduced deadwood volume).However,if the disturbance occurred over a century in the past,no substantial effect on forest structure was detected.Therefore,while disturbance-mediated forest structures can promote overall richness,threatened species appear vulnerable to more severe disturbance events-a concern,as disturbances are predicted to intensify with climate change.Additionally,the high number of threatened species found reinforce the critical role of primary forest structural attributes for biodiversity maintenance.Hence,we recommend a landscape-scale conservation approach encompassing forest patches in different successional stages to support diverse lichen communities,and the consideration of long-term disturbance dynamics in forest conservation efforts,as they provide critical insights for safeguarding biodiversity in our changing world.

Chan Buddhism in Wilderness and the Buddhist Tourism

The culture of landscape constitutes one of the vital characteristics of Chinese culture,in which,Chan Buddhism is a typical kind of Buddhist culture expressed by the natural objects.Chinese Buddhism,represented by Chan School,is interpreted by the beautiful natural scenery,therefore it is closely related to the tourism from the ancient time.However,this link is to defend Buddhist tourism,which is inevitably criticized,since the secularization of sacred Buddhism,though Buddhist tourism is beneficial for life,society,economy,and Buddhism itself.But this sort of criticism is a misunderstanding of Chinese Buddhism since that Chinese Buddhism absorbs Zhuang Zi’s thought that“the ultimate truth(道)is in shit(屎尿)”1,so that it purports to the sacred dimension which is overlapped by the secular aspect.For example,the short poems composed by masters in Chan School“The Buddhist dharma is in this world,so that the enlightenment could not be realized outside of the human world”,“where there is bamboo and flower,there is dharma and prajna”,are the best way to express this kind of divine concept,moreover,Buddhist tourism is an effective practice to allocate this divine connotation.

Importance of Comprehensive Ecological Restoration of Mountains,Rivers,Forests,Farmland,Lakes and Grass:A Case Study of the Shichuan River

With China's economic development and population growth,China's ecological environment continues to deteriorate.The comprehensive ecosystem restoration of the Shichuan River aims to build an ecosystem containing"mountains,rivers,forests,farmland,lakes and grass"by determining scientific and reasonable thickness of foreign soil,pollution restoration,ecological reconstruction,safeguard measures,etc.It brings new vitality to local ecological environment remodeling and economic development.

Remote Sensing Monitoring of the Subalpine Coniferous Forests and Quantitative Analysis of the Characteristics of Succession in East Mountain Area of Tibetan Plateau——A Case Study With Zamtang County

The study area lies in the Dadu River drainage area in upstream Yangtze River.The spatial distribution of subalpine coniferous forests in 1989 and 2009 was extracted by means of a combined method of object orientation and visual interpretation,and then the overlaying analysis of these data was conducted.The type and spatial location of succession were discovered and served as the sample of dependant variable.Meanwhile,supported by GIS technology and based on DEM and thematic data,the eight variables including altitude,slope,sin and cosin of aspect,curvity of land surface,and distance to residential area,cultivated land and road were extracted served as the sample of spatial succession of subalpine coniferous forests to fit Logistic Regression,and then the contribution of each independent variable as well as the spatial property of the occurrence probability of succession was calculated.The results suggested that,during the succession of subalpine coniferous forests to meadow,the closer to the residential area and cultivated land,the greater the contribution to succession is.In particular,when the distance to the residential area decreases by one unit,the probability for its conversion to meadow will be increased by 1.15 times.During the succession of subalpine coniferous forests to deciduous-broadleaved shrubs,the sin of aspect and distance to residential area contribute more,and the probability of succession increases with increasing degree of northwardness,i.e.when the degree of northwardness increases by one unit,the probability will be increased by 1.2 times.The quantitative analysis of spatial succession property of subalpine coniferous forests will supply scientific basis to the protection and restoration of subalpine coniferous forests.

The features of soil aggregation and its eco-environmental effects under different subalpine forests on the east slope of Gongga Mountain, China

Structural properties of forest soils have important hydro-ecological function and can influence the soil water-physical characters and soil erosion. The experimental soil samples were obtained in surface horizon (0-10 cm) from different subalpine forest types on east slope of Gongga Mountain in the upriver area of Yangtze River China in May 2002. The soil bulk density, porosity, stable infiltration rate, aggregate distribution and particle-size distribution were analyzed by the routine methods in room, and the features and effects on eco-environment of soil aggregation were studied. The results showed that the structure of soil under mixed mature forest is in the best condition and can clearly enhance the eco-environmental function of soil, and the soil structure under the clear-cutting forest is the worst, the others are ranked between them. The study results can offer a basic guidance for the eco-environmental construction in the upper reaches of Yangtze River.

Tree species diversity, richness, and similarity between exotic and indigenous forests in the cloud forests of Eastern Arc Mountains, Taita Hills, Kenya

Biodiversity assessment for tree species was conducted in three forest fragments ofthe Taita Hills, southeastern Kenya to compare species diversity between and within three exotic forest plantations of pine, eucalyptus, cypress and the indigenous forests. The study sites were： Ngangao （120 ha）, Chawia （86 ha）, and Mbololo （185 ha）. A Y-plot design was used to sample 32 plots comprising of 65 subplots. At each subplot, all juvenile trees of 5 cm and above in diameter at breast height （DBH） were enumerated and recorded by species. Tree regeneration （seedlings and saplings） was tallied by species. The Shannon-Weiner Index was used to calculate species diversity and evenness. The derived Shannon’s indices were further converted into effective numbers to show the magnitude of differences in species biodiversities. To evaluate dif-ferences in species diversities, a one way ANOVA was conducted and to separate the means, Tukey＇s HSD and Duncan’s tests were used for even and uneven number of samples respectively. Jaccard’s similarity index was used to assess species similarities. There were more than 58 species whose stem densities varied between 10 and 2 000 trees per hectare.There were significant differences in species diversities between forest types and sites; the indigenous forests showed higher diversities than the exotic forests. Similarly, Chawia sites had higher species diversity than both Ngangao and Mbololo. Chawia also had a higher number of regen-erated species than the two other sites, including species such as Xymalos monospora, Rapanea melanophloeos, and Syzygium guineense, which are associated with low levels of disturbance. These findings indicate that the indigenous forest is more diverse in species as would be expected in the tropics. The high species diversity in Chawia could be accounted for by the higher levels of disturbance it underwent, unlike the two other sites. The regeneration of species associated with low levels of disturbance found in the exotic plots of Chawia show the likelihood of presence of long-term soil seed banks. The low regeneration in the exotics plots observed in Ngangao and Mbololo are likely due to the absence of seed banks since some of the plantations were established on bare land （in Ngango）, or the inherent physiology （allelopathy） of some of species repelling the regeneration of others.

Larch growth across thermal and moisture gradients in the Siberian Mountains

Climate-driven changes in the thermal and moisture regimes may variously influence different tree species growth and ranges.We hypothesize that drought resistant Siberian larch(Larix sibirica Ledeb.)and precipitation-sensitive Siberian pine(Pinus sibirica Du Tour)responded differently to climate change along the elevational thermal and precipitation gradients.We studied the influence of air temperature,precipitation,soil moisture,and atmospheric drought(indicated by the drought index SPEI)on larch and pine growth along the southward megaslope of the West Sayan Ridge.We found that since 2000 climate change resulted in increasing larch and pine radial growth index(GI)(c.1.5–3times)within treeline(2000–2300 m)and timberline(1900–2000 m)ecotones,i.e.within high precipitation zones.Within the forest-steppe ecotone(1100–1200 m)in which L.sibirica is the only species,larch GI stagnated or even decreased.The total forested area increased since 2000 up to+50%in the high elevations,whereas in the low elevations(<1400 m)area changes were negligible.Within treeline and timberline,trees’GI was stimulated by summer temperature.Meanwhile,temperature increase in early spring reduces GI due to living tissue activation followed by tissue damage by desiccation.Within forest-steppe,larch radial growth was mostly dependent on soil moisture.Warming shifted dependence on moisture to the early dates of the growing period.Acute droughts decreased GI within forest-steppe as well as within treeline,whereas the drought influence on both species within highlands was insignificant.Within forest-steppe seedlings establishment was poor,whereas it was successful within treeline and timberline.Current climate change leads to stagnation or even decrease in Larix sibirica growth in the southern lowland habitat.In combination with poor seedlings establishment,reduced growth threatens the transformation of open lowland forests into forest-steppe and steppe communities.Meanwhile,in the highlands warming facilitated the growth of Siberian larch and pine and the increase of forested area.

Preliminary Study on Forest Fire Prevention and Extinguishing in Townships in the Southern Mountainous Areas of Zhejiang Province:A Case Study of Lishui

Forest fires seriously threaten forestry resources and the life and property safety of people in mountainous areas of Lishui City. In this paper, a fire prevention concept with refined forecast and early warning of forest fire danger weather ratings in townships as the starting point, satellite real-time observation of fire spots, monitoring of the Internet of Things and other high-tech products as an implementation means, and strengthening forest fire prevention equipment and personnel in townships as a guarantee was established. The command system for rapid emergency response by cities, counties and townships should be improved. During the forest fire prevention period, fire sources should be strictly controlled, and the basic principles of forest fire fighting in townships should be implemented into the actual fire prevention and fire fighting work to eliminate forest fires in time at the initial stage and before the disaster.

Effect of human disturbance on the structure and regeneration of forests in the Nevado de Toluca National Park, Mexico

Sample plots were established in the principal forest types in the the Nevado de Toluca National Park, Mexico including those domi- nated by Pinus hartwegii, Abies religiosa, Quercus laurina and Alnus jorullensis. The vertical structure was defined by three strata in the coniferous forests and two strata in the broadleaved forests. Timber harvesting in Abies religiosa and Quercus laurina forests and fires generated by humans in Pinus hartwegii forests impeded the recruitment of saplings. Mature trees were also heavily impacted by logging in Pinus hartwegii forests. On the contrary, Alnusjorullensis forests were increas- ing due to the disturbance of Pinus and Quercus forests, as well aban- doned crop lands within the park. A combination of logging, uncon- trolled fire, and grazing appears to be compromising the recruitment of important tree species in this national park. These factors, together with human settlements, have also increased the proportion of early succes- sional species. Changes in forest structure from human disturbance indicate a need to control these activities if conservation goals are not to be compromised.

Altitudinal changes of surface pollen and vegetation on the north slope of the Middle Tianshan Mountains,China

To provide information on vegetation patterns and altitudinal distributions of pollen assemblage in surface soil layers,their complicated relationships in a dryland mountain-basin system in northwestern China and a realistic basis for paleovegetational reconstruction,we investigated 86 vegetation quadrats and analyzed 80 soil samples from the surface soil layers along an altitudinal transect on the north slope of the Middle Tianshan Mountains from alpine cushion vegetation at 3,510 m near glacier to desert vegetation at 460 m in the Gurbantunggut Desert.According to surface pollen assemblages and the results of the detrended correspondence analysis,the transect can be divided into six major altitudinal pollen zones as alpine cushion vegetation,alpine and subalpine meadows,montane Picea forest,forest-steppe ecotone,Artemisia desert and typical desert,which basically reflect the characteristics of the mountainous vegetation patterns on the north slope of the Middle Tianshan Mountains.However,Picea pollen also exists outside the spruce forest,Chenopodiaceae and Artemisia pollen appeared above the elevation of 1,300 m,indicating that most of them might be introduced from lower elevations by upslope winds.Airborne pollen researches from three regions at different elevations further suggest that a high-frequency northwest anabatic wind has a remarkable influence on the transportation and dispersion of surface pollen in the area.

Effects of Logging Intensity on Structure and Composition of a Broadleaf-Korean Pine Mixed Forest on Changbai Mountains,Northeast China

In order to identify a harvesting model which is beneficial for broadleaf-Korean pine mixed forest （BKF） sustainability, we investigated four types of harvested stands which have been logged with intensities of 0 （T0, control）, 15% （T1, low intensity）, 35% （T2, moderate intensity）, and 100% （T3, clear-cutting）, and examined the impacts of logging intensity on composition and structure of these stands. Results showed that there were no significant differences between To and T1 for all structural characteristics, except for density of seeding and large trees. The mean diameter at breast height （DBH, 1.3 m above the ground）, stem density and basal area of large trees in T2 were significantly lower than in To, while the density of seedlings and saplings were significantly higher in T2 than in To. Structural characteristics in T3 were entirely different from To. Dominant tree species in primary BKF comprised 93%, 85%, 45% and 10% of the total basal area in T0, T1, T2 and T3, respectively. Three community similarity indices, the Jaccard＇s similarity coefficient （Cj）; the Morisita-Hom index （CMH）; and the Bray-Curtis index （CN）, were the highest for T0 and T1, followed by T0 and T2, and T0 and T3, in generally. These results suggest that effects of harvesting on forest composition and structure are related to logging intensities. Low intensity harvesting is conductive to preserving forest structure and composition, allowing it to recover in a short time period. The regime characterized by low logging intensity and short rotations appears to be a sustainable harvesting method for BKF on the Changbai Mountains.

Ectomycorrhizal diversity at five different tree species in forests of the Taunus Mountains in Central Germany

Ectomycorrhizal fungi were investigated on five different forest tree species growing in pure stands on the south slope of the Taunus Mountains, which are situated at the northern end of the Rhine rift valley in Central Germany. Mycorrhizal fungi accompanying the genus Xerocomus were identified and their frequencies counted. Using ITS markers, 22 different fungal species were identified down to species level and 6 down to genus level. On European beech (Fagus sylvatica) 16 fungal species and 4 genera were identified and on Sessile oak (Quercus petraea) 16 ectomycorrhizal species and 2 genera were determined. On both deciduous trees we observed exclusively: Cortinarius subsertipes, Genea hispidula, Lactarius quietus, Tylopilus felleus and a Melanogaster genus. On Norway spruce (Picea abies) we identified 13 different mycorrhizal species and 3 different genera, on Silver fir (Abies alba) 12 species and 3 genera, and in association with European larch (Larix decidua) 11 species and 3 genera. On these conifers Cortinarius anomalus, Lactarius necator and a Piloderma genus occurred exclusively. Comparisons with published data of ectomycorrhizal diversity on the same five tree species, growing in different areas of Germany and Europe, led to the conclusion that there is relative site specificity for ectomycorrhizal communities. Upper soil compartments of the stands investigated in the Taunus Mountainssuffer from soil acidification (pH-H20 ~3.7 to ~4.8). However, a clear correlation between upper soil pH-values and fungal diversity was not observed. On the other hand, nitrate concentrations in upper soil compartments (~26 to ~91 kgNO3-/ha) were higher in older stands as compared to younger ones. Higher nitrate concentrations in upper soils correlated with lower numbers of mycorrhizal individuals.

Relationships between native tree species and soil properties in the indigenous forest fragments of the Eastern Arc Mountains of the Taita Hills, Kenya

The relationship between soil properties and spatial distribution of native woody species was studied in three Taita Hills forest fragments which, although degraded, are ranked among 34 biodiversity hotspots of the world due to their high biodiversity of both plant and animal species. This relationship was assessed by using Spearman correlation and principal component analyses （PCA）. The results of these analyses should be useful in instituting forest restoration programs that are crucial for the forests. Both the soil and vegetation studied were sampled from 17 subplots in the natural forest fragments of Ngangao （120 ha）, Chawia （86 ha） and Mbololo （185 ha）. The soil variables measured were： pH, texture, soil nutrients of C, N, Ca, P, K, Mg and Na. In total 36 native tree species from 13 families were identified from the three forest fragments. Ordination results show that axis 1 accounted for 35% and axis 2 for 25% of the total variation in species composition, indicating that the structure of vegetation is related to two major environmental gradients. The correlation analyses of species and soil properties showed that Na and clay particles were the most important determinants of species distribution; pH and soil variables such as C, N, Ca and P also played minor roles. Unexpectedly, some species （e.g. Psychotria petitii） showed positive relationships with Na attributed to possible substitution for K. Relationships with P were both positive （e.g. Craibia zimmermannii） and negative （e.g. Albizia gummifera） with some species, attributable to pH levels. An ANOVA for soil variables showed that there were differences in the Ca content in Mbololo （due to the parent material） and P in Ngangao where a special relationship was observed between some of the species. The presence of gaps accounted for the distribution of seedlings but not for the saplings, whose distribution responded more to factors similar to those to which mature trees respond. Soil-species relationships that were established may be utilized along with soil analyses when choosing native species for restoration.

Forest structure of a maple old-growth stand: a case study on the Apennines mountains(Southern Italy)

In Europe, very small forest areas can be considered to be old-growth, and they are mainly located in Eastern Europe. The typical structures of old growth forests infrequently occur in Mediterranean mountainous environments, since they have been affected by human activities for centuries. This study focused on a remote and almost pure Italian maple stand located in southern Italy, which has not been managed for long time due to its inaccessibility. The effects of natural evolution on the forest stand were evaluated through the analysis of the spatial and chronological structure and the regeneration patterns, then estimating the amounts and quality of deadwood occurrence. Across the whole stand, all the trees with DBH （diameter at breast height） larger than 50 cm （LLT, large living trees） were measured （DBH and height） and age was also determined through a dendrochronological approach. The diameters observed ranged between 50 and 145 cm with ages of 12o to ~5o years. The Latham index calculated for trees within the sample plot highlighted a multilayered canopy with a dominant layer of largeliving trees （age 〉 120 years）. The size-class distribution of stems had a reverse-J shape, and basal area was 52 m2 ha-1. Deadwood was exclusively constituted by standing dead trees and CWD and its volume was on average 31 m3 ha-1. Pure Italian maple forests are generally rare in Europe, and it was unexpected to find a forest stand characterized by a so complex structure with old growth attributes. The study of complex forest stand, even if small, could give precious information on the forest evolution, clarifying also diverse auto-ecological traits of tree species that usually are not common in our forests.

Community Characteristics of Wild Fruit Forests Along Elevation Gradients and the Relationships Between the Wild Fruit Forests and Environments in the Keguqin Mountain Region ofⅠii

In this paper,the quantitative relationship between the wild fruit communities and direct environmental factors is discussed on the basis of detailed data on landscape scale habitats obtained through field vegetation investigation.The results from TWINSPAN and DCCA showed that:1) In the distribution sections of the wild fruit forest in the Keguqin Mountain region,the basic patterns characteristic of the different habitats are due to topographic factors,nutrients and moisture conditions;2) The elevation affected the most basic differentiation of plant communities in the study area,indicating that the elevation condition was the most important factor restricting the distribution of the wild fruit communities in the study area;3) The close relationship between the moisture content in the upper soil layer and the elevation reflected the influence of moisture conditions on both wild fruit and herb-layer communities;4) Nutrient differences not only indicated that the habitat conditions were different in themselves but also showed that the present nutrient conditions of the habitats were seriously affected by human activities.In summary,under complicated mountainous topographic conditions,the habitat conditions for the communities differed very significantly,and the combination of elevation,soil moisture content,total nitrogen,slope aspect,and pH value influenced and controlled the formation of community distribution patterns in the study area.

Fine-scale activity patterns of large-and medium-sized mammals in a deciduous broadleaf forest in the Qinling Mountains,China

The composition of animal species and interactions among them are widely known to shape ecological communities and fine-scale(e.g.,<1 km)monitoring of animal communities is essential for understanding the relationships among animals and plants.Although the co-existence of large-and medium-sized species has been studied across different scales,research on fine-scale interactions of herbivores in deciduous broadleaf forests is limited.Camera trapping of large-and medium-sized mammals was carried out over a 1 year period within a 25 ha deciduous broadleaf forest dynamics plot in the Qinling Mountains,China.Fourteen species of large-and medium-sized mammals,including six carnivores,six ungulates,one primate and one rodent species were found.Kernel density estimations were used to analyse the diel or 24 h activity patterns of all species with more than 40 independent detections and general linear models were developed to explore the spatial relationships among the species.The combination of overlapping diel activity patterns and spatial associations showed obvious niche separation among six species:giant panda(Ailuropoda melanoleuca David),takin(Budorcas taxicolor Hodgson),Reeves’s muntjac(Muntiacus reevesi Ogilby),tufted deer(Elaphodus cephalophus Milne-Edwards),Chinese serow(Capricornis milneedwardsii David)and wild boar(Sus scrofa Linnaeus).Long-term fine-scale monitoring is useful for providing information about the co-existence of species and their interactions.The results demonstrate the importance for fine-scale monitoring of animals and plants for improving understanding of species interactions and community dynamics.

Vegetation Regrowth Following Wildfires in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Northern California Monitored Using Landsat Satellite Image Analysis

The Santa Cruz Mountain range in northern California is a coastal landscape with a history of extensive forest logging and frequent large wildfires that have recently destroyed numerous residential structures at the wildland interface. Results from Landsat satellite image time-series analysis since 1984 of the study area within the Los Gatos Creek and Corralitos Creek watersheds showed that none of the severe drought periods since the 1980s have notably inhibited rapid tree and shrub regrowth rates on steep hill slopes burned recently by the 1985 Lexington Fire and the 2008 Summit Fire. In high burn severity areas of both fires, post-fire vegetation types showed a marked increase in shrub cover, mainly at the expense of evergreen tree cover. Most of these low (<3 m), dense stands of evergreen woody species have regenerated in as little as five years from bare charred ground. A combination of Landsat and Laser Altimeter (GLAS) satellite sensor data revealed that exposed south-facing slopes are presently supporting 200 to 240 Mg·ha-1 of standing woody biomass on the burned areas. This study is the first of its kind to utilize a full 30-year record of Landsat vegetation index data to monitor tree and shrub regrowth after stand-replacing wildfires in California.