Effects of Feces on Spatial Distribution Patterns of Grazed Grassland Communities

Animals excrete feces during grazing. The uneven distribution of feces causes a spatial heterogeneity in grassland communities. In this study, we attempted to clarify the effects of feces on spatial distribution patterns of plant species. A field study was conducted on four grasslands each grazed by a single cow. These four grasslands were defined as Poa pratensis （Kentucky bluegrass） dominated grassland without feces （PoF-）, Poa pratensis dominated grassland with feces （PoF＋）, Zoysia japonica Steud. （Japanese lawngrass） dominated grassland without feces （ZyF-）, and Zoysia japonica Steud. dominated grassland with feces （ZyF＋）. A 50 m line that transects 100 equally spaced quadrats （L-quadrats） was drawn on each of the four grasslands. Each quadrat was 0.50 m × 0.50 m in size and consisted of four equal-area cells of 0.25 m ×0.25 m （S-quadrats）. The occurrences of all plant species were recorded in each S-quadrat. The binomial distribution （BD） and beta-binomial distribution （BBD） were used to represent the variation in spatial patterns. The BBD provided a significant description of the frequency distribution of plants per quadrat. A power law was used to calculate the spatial heterogeneity of each species together with the community heterogeneity. The results revealed that the plants on each of the four grasslands were aggregatively distributed. The ZyF＋ exhibited greater spatial heterogeneity than the ZyF-due to the uneven deposition of feces by cows grazing on the grasslands. Additionally we also found that the feces had effect on the heterogeneity inZyF＋ and did not have effect in PoF＋.

Taphonomy and Sedimentological Significance of Oyster Shell Beds within Cretaceous Transgressive Sediments in Japan

Through taphonomical analyses of Crassostrea shell beds included in several Japanese Cretaceous strata, paleoecological and sedimentological significance of intertidal muddy and sandy bottom dwelling oysters are examined. The Upper Cretaceous Crassostrea shell beds show a variety of modes of occurrence, lithological changes and sedimentary structure, suggesting composite formative, paleoecological and sedimentary processes. Crassostrea seems to have adapted from muddy substratum during early Cretaceous to coarser sandier substratum often influenced by physical turbulence such as tidal currents and waves during the mid-Cretaceous time, associated with increasing in shell size and thickness, and colony dimension.

Opaque Minerals in LL3.0-6 Chondrites I: Mineralogy of Ti-oxides and ^(53)Mn-^(53)Cr Systematics of Ilmenite

We conducted a systematic study of oxide minerals in LL3.0-6 chondrites, and found ilmenite, rutile, perovskite and an unknown Al-Ti-Zr-oxide. Ilmenite is low in abundance, but is present in the chondrules and matrix of all the samples that we studied. The MnO content of ilmenite in LL3.0-3.3 is lower than that in LL3.5-6. The low concentration of MnO in the former is due to crystallization from chondrules melts at high temperatures. On the other hand, ilmenite composition in LL3.5-6 reflects thermal metamorphism. Therefore, ilmenite is indicative of petrologic type. We also made the first measurements of the 53Mn-53Cr systematics of ilmenite in ordinary chondrites. The age for ilmenite in Y790256 (LL6) is determined to be about 2 Ma older than angrites. This may represent the metamorphic age of the LL chondrites.

Spatial Heterogeneity and Variability of a Large-Scale Vegetation Community Using a Power-Law Model

Spatial heterogeneity and stability are fundamental indices for describing vegetation communities. The spatial distribution characteristics of the vegetation in Nenjiang region of northeastern China were evaluated using a variance power-law model. The data fits the model well with estimates given for the levels of heterogeneity for not only single species but also the community as a whole. The linear regression indicates that the species in the community exhibit a consistently organized spatial pattern, as is often discovered in field surveys but rarely seen in artificial systems. The species deviations from the regression line, which exhibit a leptokurtic distribution, may reflect the variability of the community. Thus, the model provides a general tool for management and regulation of ecosystems, especially where there is human disturbances.

Fractals in Spatial Patterns of Vegetation Formations

The spatial distribution patterns of species are always scale-dependent and spatially self-similar in ecological systems. In this work, vegetation distribution data collected from the vegetation map of the Xigaze region was analyzed using a box-counting method. The power law of the box-counting dimension （DB） across a range of scales （5-160 km） confirms the fractal patterns for most vegetation formations, while the fluctuations of the scale-specific DB among the different abundance groups indicate limitations of fractal coherence. The fractal method is shown to be a useful tool for measuring the distribution patterns of vegetation formations across scales, which provides important information for both species and habitat conservation, especially in landscape management.

Spatial Heterogeneity of Vegetation in China

The spatial heterogeneity and ecological characteristics of 74 vegetation types and the lack of vegetation type within the 9.6 million km2 of Chinese territory were studied using data from the China vegetation map. The analysis used 877 large quadrats 10 mm×10 mm （actual size 100 km×100 km）, which covered about 8.77 million km^2. Each large-quadrat was divided into four small 5 mm×5mm quadrats （actual size 50 km×50 km）. The frequency of occurrence of all vegetation types was recorded in each small quadrat. The survey using the Shiyomi method of vegetation analysis based on the beta-binomial distribution was adopted to describe the frequency of occurrence and spatial heterogeneity for each kind of vegetation. The weighted average heterogeneity of all the vegetation types in the landscape provides a measure of the landscape level heterogeneity which describes the spatial intricacy of the existing vegetation composition. The maximum spatial vegetation heterogeneity was 0.8620 in the frigid-temperate coniferous forest of Larix （V1）, which dominates cold moist northeast China. The minimum spatial heterogeneity with a low occurrence was the Caragana tibetica in the gravel desert in the western Yellow River Hetao area. The minimum occurrence with a low spatial heterogeneity was the Monsoon rainforest on rock in Guangxi and Yunnan Provinces. The vegetation types on the Qing-Zang Plateau were found to be representative of Chinese vegetation because of the very high occurrence and spatial heterogeneity of these vegetation types. The weighted average of the heterogeneity was 0.677, while the vegetation diversity index was 3.29.

Vegetation Spatial Heterogeneity of Different Soil Regions in Inner Mongolia, China

The vegetation spatial heterogeneity and ecological characteristics in different soil regions were analyzed by surveying the vegetation in 12 different soil regions of Inner Mongolia, China, including coniferous-broadleaf deciduous forests, shrub, grassland, and desert regions with 1122 large 2 cm × 2 cm quadrats （actual size 30 km × 30 km, referred to as L-quadrat hereafter） in about 1.18 million km2. Each L-quadrat was divided into four small 1 cm × 1 cm quadrats （actual size 15 km × 15 km, S-quadrat）. The vegetation was analyzed based on the beta-binomial distribution to describe the frequency of occurrence and spatial heterogeneity for each kind of vegetation. The weighted average of the heterogeneity of all vegetation in the same soil region provides a measure of the soil regional landscape level heterogeneity which describes the spatial complexity of the regional landscape composition of the existing vegetation. Comparison of the vegetation characteristics in the 12 soil regions shows that, the calcic gray soil has the highest average vegetation type per quadrat. The largest soil region is calcic chestnut soil and has the most vegetation types. Every soil region has its own dominant vegetation sequence which dominates in occurrence and dominant vegetation types which dominates in spatial heterogeneity. For the Inner Mongolian vegetation, the weighted average of the heterogeneity is 0.60 and the vegetation diversity index is 4.47.

Highly Efficient Asymmetric Synthesis Usomg Organocatalyst Derived From(S)-proline

1 Results Much effort has been focused on organocatalytic asymmetric synthesis in these several years. We have already documented highly efficient organocatalytic asymmetric acylation of a wide variety of racemic alcohols and meso-diols catalyzed bya chiral 1,2-diamine derived from (S)-proline[1]. (S)-Homoproline seems to be a potentially interesting organocatalyst, but no examples using (S)-homoproline itself in asymmetric synthesis has been reported. We have accomplished an efficient and practical syn...