Eff ects of stand condition and root density on fi ne-root dynamics across root functional groups in a subtropical montane forest

Fine roots play key roles in belowground C cycling in terrestrial ecosystems.Based on their distinct functions,fi ne roots are either absorptive fi ne roots(AFRs)or transport fi ne roots(TFRs).However,the function-based fi ne root dynamics of trees and their responses to forest stand properties remain unclear.Here,we studied the dynamics of AFRs and TFRs and their responses to stand conditions and root density in a subtropical montane mixed forest based on a 2-a root window experiment.Mean(±SE)annual production,mortality,and turnover rate of AFRs were 7.87±0.17 m m^(−2)a^(−1),8.13±0.20 m m^(−2)a^(−1)and 2.96±0.24 a^(−1),respectively,compared with 7.09±0.17 m m^(−2)a^(−1),4.59±0.17 m m^(−2)a^(−1),and 2.01±0.22 a^(−1),respectively,for TFRs.The production and mortality of fi ne roots were signifi cantly higher in high root-density sites than in low-root density sites,whereas the turnover of fi ne roots was faster in the low root-density sites.Furthermore,root density had a larger positive eff ect than other environmental factors on TFR production but had no obvious impact on AFR production.Tree species diversity had an apparent positive eff ect on AFR production and was the crucial driver of AFR production,probably due to a complementary eff ect,but had no evident impact on TFR.Both tree density and tree species diversity were positively correlated with the mortality of AFRs and negatively related to the turnover of TFRs,suggesting that higher root density caused stronger competition for rooting space and that plants tend to reduce maintenance costs by decreasing TFR turnover.These fi ndings illustrated the importance of root functional groups in understanding root dynamics and their responses to changes in environmental conditions.

The complete plastome sequences of five Aponogeton species(Aponogetonaceae):Insights into the structural organization and mutational hotspots

Members of the aquatic plant genus Aponogeton are widely used commercially in aquariums because of their variable leaf shape and unique inflorescences.However,due to extensive similarity between species in this genus,morphological characters are generally inadequate for taxonomic classification.Currently,molecular makers available for taxonomic and phylogenetic studies of Aponogeton are limited.One approach to clarifying relationships between species in these complex groups is to use divergence hotspot regions within the genome.Here,we sequenced and analyzed the plastomes of five Aponogeton species collected from China,Zambia,and Kenya,and subsequently screened these plastomes for divergent DNA hotspots.The five plastomes are circular structures with sizes ranging from 154,167 bp to 154,860 bp.The Large and the Small Single Copies are separated by two Inverted Repeats.One hundred and thirteen unique genes were identified including 79 protein-coding,30 tRNA,and four rRNA genes.We found that the most abundant repeats in all but one species were mononucleotide repeats(A/T)and that there were 23 potential RNA ending sites.Interestingly,a^3 kb inversion,which includes the accD gene,was detected within the Asian species of Aponogeton.The inversion may be related to more frequent exchanges between this region and the nuclear genome.Furthermore,we detected mutational hotspot sites among the five Aponogeton species.Three of these hotspots are intergenic spacer regions(accD-psaI,rbcL-accD and trnH-GUG-psbA)that might be suitable for use as barcodes to resolve intra-generic relationships.We also identified four highly variable protein-coding genes(ccsA,rpl22,rps16 and ycf1)may be used as barcodes to resolve the higher-level phylogenies.Our study will provide valuable molecular resources for the taxonomic and phylogenomic study of the complex genus Aponogeton.

Phenotypic plasticity of floral traits and pollination adaption in an alpine plant Pedicularis siphonantha D. Don when transplanted from higher to lower elevation in Eastern Himalaya

Phenotypic plasticity and/or pollinatormediated selection may be responsible for the changes in floral traits of plants when they are forced to live in new conditions. Although the two events could be independent, we hypothesized that phenotypic plasticity in floral traits might help to coordinate plant-pollinator interactions and enhance plant reproductive success in changing habitats. To test this hypothesis, we investigated floral traits and pollination on three natural populations of a lousewort(Pedicularis siphonantha) ranging at different elevations, as well as two downward transplanted populations in Shangeri-La County and Deqin County, northwest Yunnan, China. The results indicated that floral traits, i.e. phenology, longevity,display size, corolla tube length and pollen production differed significantly among populations. Moreover,or the two transplanted populations, floral traits diverged from their original populations, but converged to their host populations. Although the phenotypic plasticity in floral traits might be a rapid response to abiotic factor such as warmer environment, the changes in floral traits were found to be well adapted to pollination environment of the host population. Compared with plants of their original habitats in higher elevation, the transplanted individuals advanced flowering time, shortened flower longevity, reduced floral display size and pollen production, received higher visiting frequency and yielded more seeds. These findings suggested that phenotypic plasticity of floral traits might help plants adjust their resource allocation strategy between preand post-pollination stages in response to harsh or temperate conditions, which might correspondingly meet a pollinator-poor or hyphen rich environment.This would be beneficial for the widely-distributed species to adapt to various environmental changes.

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.

Patterns of species diversity and its determinants in a temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest

Biodiversity conservation has long been a subject of extreme interest to community ecologists,with a particular focus on exploring the underlying causes of species diversity based on niche and neutral theories.This study aims to identify the potential determinants of species diversity in a deciduous broad-leaved forest in the transitional region from subtropical to temperate climate in China.We collected woody plant data and environmental variables in a fully mapped 25-ha permanent forest plot,partitioned the beta-diversity into local contributions(LCBD)and species contributions(SCBD),and then applied multivariate linear regression analysis to test the effects of biotic and abiotic factors on alpha-diversity,LCBD,and SCBD.We used variation partitioning in combination with environmental variables and spatial distance to determine the contribution of environment-related variations versus spatial variations.Our results showed that the indices of alpha-diversity(i.e.,species abundance and richness)were positively correlated with soil available phosphorus(P)and negatively with slope.For the betadiversity,environment and space together explained nearly half of the variations in community composition.Approximately 60%of the variation of LCBD in the understory layer,40%in the substory layer,and 29%in the canopy layer were jointly explained by topographic,soil and biological variables,with biotic factors playing a dominant role in determining the beta-diversity.Species abundance accounted for a large proportion of the variations in SCBD in each vertical stratum,and niche position(NP)was the ecological trait that significantly affected the variations in SCBD in the substory and canopy layers.Our findings help to gain better understanding on how species diversity in forest ecosystem responds to environmental conditions and how it is influenced by biotic factors and ecological traits of species.

Habitat heterogeneity and biotic interactions mediate climate influences on seedling survival in a temperate forest

Seedling stage has long been recognized as the bottleneck of forest regeneration,and the biotic and abiotic processes that dominate at seedling stage largely affect the dynamics of forest.Seedlings might be particularly vulnerable to climate stress,so elucidating the role of interannual climate variation in fostering community dynamics is crucial to understanding the response of forest to climate change.Using seedling survival data of 69 woody species collected for five consecutive years from a 25-ha permanent plot in a temperate deciduous forest,we identified the effects of biotic interactions and habitat factors on seedling survival,and examined how those effects changed over time.We found that interannual climate variations,followed by biotic interactions and habitat conditions,were the most significant predictors of seedling survival.Understory light showed a positive impact on seedling mortality,and seedling survival responded differently to soil and air temperature.Effects of conspecific neighbor density were significantly strengthened with the increase of maximum air temperature and vapor pressure deficits in the growing season,but were weakened by increased maximum soil temperature and precipitation in the non-growing season.Surprisingly,seedling survival was strongly correlated with interannual climate variability at all life stages,and the strength of the correlation increased with seedling age.In addition,the importance of biotic and abiotic factors on seedling survival differed significantly among species-trait groups.Thus,the neighborhood-mediated effects on mortality might be significantly contributing or even inverting the direct effects of varying abiotic conditions on seedling survival,and density-dependent effects could not be the only important factor influencing seedling survival at an early stage.

Evaluation of water management on arsenic methylation and volatilization in arsenic-contaminated soils strengthened by bioaugmentation and biostimulation

Arsenic(As) fate in paddy fields has been one of the most significant current issues due to the strong As accumulation potential of rice plants under fooded conditions. However,no attempt was done to explore As methylation and volatilization under non-fooded conditions. Herein, we investigated the effects of water management on As methylation and volatilization in three arsenic-contaminated soils enhanced by biostimulation with strawderived organic matter and bioaugmentation with genetic engineered Pseudomonas putida KT2440(GE P. putida). Under fooded conditions, the application of biochar(BC), rice straw(RS)and their combination(BC+RS) increased total As in porewater. However, these effects were greatly attenuated under non-fooded conditions. Compared with RS amendment alone, the combination of GE P. putida and RS further promoted the As methylation and volatilization,and the promotion percentage under non-fooded conditions were significantly higher than that under fooded conditions. The combined GE P. putida and RS showed the highest efficiency in As methylation(88 μg/L) and volatilization(415.4 μg/(kg·year)) in the non-fooded soil with moderate As contamination. Finally, stepwise multiple linear regression analysis presented that methylated As, DOC and p H in porewater were the most important factors contributing to As volatilization. Overall, our findings suggest that combination of bioaugmentation with GE P. putida and biostimulation with RS/BC+RS is a potential strategy for bioremediation of arsenic-contaminated soils by enhancing As methylation and volatilization under non-fooded conditions.

Mapping the habitat suitability of Ottelia species in Africa

Understanding the influence of environmental covariates on plant distribution is critical,especially for aquatic plant species.Climate change is likely to alter the distribution of aquatic species.However,knowledge of this change on the burden of aquatic macroorganisms is often fraught with difficulty.Ottelia,a model genus for studying the evolution of the aquatic family Hydrocharitaceae,is mainly distributed in slow-flowing creeks,rivers,or lakes throughout pantropical regions in the world.Due to recent rapid climate changes,natural Ottelia populations have declined significantly.By modeling the effects of climate change on the distribution of Ottelia species and assessing the degree of niche similarity,we sought to identify high suitability regions and help formulate conservation strategies.The models use known background points to determine how environmental covariates vary spatially and produce continental maps of the distribution of the Ottelia species in Africa.Additionally,we estimated the possible influences of the optimistic and extreme pessimistic representative concentration pathways scenarios RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 for the 2050s.Our results show that the distinct distribution patterns of studied Ottelia species were influenced by topography(elevation)and climate(e.g.,mean temperature of driest quarter,annual precipitation,and precipitation of the driest month).While there is a lack of accord in defining the limiting factors for the distribution of Ottelia species,it is clear that water-temperature conditions have promising effects when kept within optimal ranges.We also note that climate change will impact Ottelia by accelerating fragmentation and habitat loss.The assessment of niche overlap revealed that Ottelia cylindrica and O.verdickii had slightly more similar niches than the other Ottelia species.The present findings identify the need to enhance conservation efforts to safeguard natural Ottelia populations and provide a theoretical basis for the distribution of various Ottelia species in Africa.

A Review of REE Tracer Method Used in Soil Erosion Studies

Rare earth elements （REEs） have been proved ideal tracers for soil erosion and aggregation. REE tracer method （REETM） used to study soil erosion, as a new technique, has been developed in recent 20 yr. It is able to quantitatively monitor the temporal and spatial variation of erosion intensity, compared with traditional approaches. The applications of REETM in studying of sediment differentiation law, erosion process evolution, determination of sediment sources and sedimentation investigations, and determination of prediction parameters, were reviewed. Some application limitations were summarized.

Pollinator diversity benefits natural and agricultural ecosystems,environmental health,and human welfare

Biodiversity loss during the Anthropocene is a serious ecological challenge.Pollinators are important vectors that provide multiple essential ecosystem services but are declining rapidly in this changing world.However,several studies have argued that a high abundance of managed bee pollinators,such as honeybees(Apis mellifera),may be sufficient to provide pollination services for crop productivity,and sociological studies indicate that the majority of farmers worldwide do not recognize the contribution of wild pollinator diversity to agricultural yield.Here,we review the importance of pollinator diversity in natural and agricultural ecosystems that may be thwarted by the increase in abundance of managed pollinators such as honeybees.We also emphasize the additional roles diverse pollinator communities play in environmental safety,culture,and aesthetics.Research indicates that in natural ecosystems,pollinator diversity enhances pollination during environmental and climatic perturbations,thus alleviating pollen limitation.In agricultural ecosystems,pollinator diversity increases the quality and quantity of crop yield.Furthermore,studies indicate that many pollinator groups are useful in monitoring environmental pollution,aid in pest and disease control,and provide cultural and aesthetic value.During the uncertainties that may accompany rapid environmental changes in the Anthropocene,the conservation of pollinator diversity must expand beyond bee conservation.Similarly,the value of pollinator diversity maintenance extends beyond the provision of pollination services.Accordingly,conservation of pollinator diversity requires an interdisciplinary approach with contributions from environmentalists,taxonomists,and social scientists,including artists,who can shape opinions and behavior.

Biogeography and diversity patterns of antibiotic resistome in the sediments of global lakes

Lakes act as one of the reservoirs and dispersal routes of antibiotic resistance genes(ARGs)and pathogenic resistant bacteria in aquatic environments.Previous studies reported the occurrence and distribution of ARGs in lakes worldwide;however,few investigated the biogeography and diversity patterns of antibiotic resistome in the environment.To fill this gap,a large-scale data set of sediment metagenomes was collected from globally distributed lakes and characterized comprehensively using metagenomic assembly-based analysis,aiming to shed light on the biogeography and diversity patterns of ARGs in lake ecosystems from a global perspective.Our analyses showed that abundant and diverse ARGs were found in the global lake sediments,including a set of emerging ARGs such as mcr-type and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae related genes.Most of the identified ARGs were generally associated with the commonly used antibiotics,suggesting the role of increasing antibiotic consumptions on the resistome prevalence.Spatially,the composition and diversity of ARGs varied across geographical distances and exhibited a scale-dependent distancedecay relationship.Notably,the composition of ARGs was largely shaped by bacterial community structure,and their diversities were co-governed by stochastic process(∼48%)and deterministic process(∼52%).Findings provide a valuable insight to better understand ecological mechanisms of ARGs in lake ecosystems and have important implication for the prevention and control of resistome risk.

Floral trait variation across individual plants within a population enhances defense capability to nectar robbing

Floral trait variation may help pollinators and nectar robbers identify their target plants and,thus,lead to differential selection pressure for defense capability against floral antagonists.However,the effect of floral trait variation among individuals within a population on multi-dimensional plant-animal interactions has been little explored.We investigated floral trait variation,pollination,and nectar robbing among individual plants in a population of the bumble bee-pollinated plant,Caryopteris divaricata,from which flowers are also robbed by bumble bees with varying intensity across individuals.We measured the variation in corolla tube length,nectar volume and sugar concentration among individual plants,and evaluated whether the variation were recognized by pollinators and robbers.We investigated the in-fluence of nectar robbing on legitimate visitation and seed production per fruit.We found that the primary nectar robber(Bombus nobilis)preferred to forage on plants with long-tubed flowers,which produced less nectar and had lower sugar concentration compared to those with shorter corolla tubes.Individuals with shorter corolla tubes had comparatively lower nectar robbing intensity but higher visitation by legitimate visitors(mainly B.picipes)and higher seed production.Nectar robbing signifi-cantly reduced seed production because it decreased pollinator visits.However,neither pollination nor seed production differed between plants with long and short corolla tubes when nectar robbers were excluded.This finding suggests that floral trait variation might not be driven by pollinators.Such variation among individual plants thus allows legitimate visitors and nectar robbers to segregate niches and enhances population defense against nectar robbing in unpredictable conditions.

Use of Spent Mushroom Substrate as Growing Media for Tomato and Cucumber Seedlings

The aim of this research was to evaluate weathered spent mushroom substrate (SMS),made from spent Flammulina velutipes mushroom substrate,as a growing medium for nursery seedlings.Two vegetable species,cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.cv.Jinchun No.2) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.cv.Mandy),were grown in 8 media of SMS in various ratios with perlite or vermiculite.A mixed substrate of peat with perlite (1:1;v:v) was used as the control (CK).The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized design under greenhouse conditions.Prior to sowing,some physical and chemical properties of the growing media were determined.Results showed that all the mixtures had desirable physical and chemical properties for their use in nursery tomato and cucumber seedlings except for the T4 (SMS:vermiculite=1:1;v:v) and the T8 (SMS:perlite=2:1;v:v) mixtures.Compared with the CK,increased plant height,leaf area,fresh weight,dry weight and index of seedling quality were found in the T3 (SMS:vermiculite=2:1;v:v) and T6 (SMS:perlite=4:1;v:v) growing media.SMS should be considered as an alternative for the widely used but expensive and resource-limited peat in greenhouse cultivation.

Disentangling the effects of topography and space on the distributions of dominant species in a subtropical forest

Topography and space are two important factors determining plant species assemblages in forest communities.Quantification of the contribution of these two factors in determining species distribution helps us to evaluate their relative importance in determining species assemblages.This study aims to disentangle the effect of topography and space on the distributions of 14 dominant species in a subtropical mixed forest.Spearman correlation analysis and the torustranslation test were used to test the species–habitat associations.Variation partitioning was used to quantify the relative contributions of topography and space at three sampling scales and three life stages.Correlation analyses and torus-translation tests showed species abundance was mostly correlated with topographic wetness index,vertical distance from the channel network and convexity.Variation partitioning showed that pure topography,pure space and spatially structured topography explained about 2.1 %,41.2 % and 13.8 %of the variation in species distributions,respectively.For nine species,total topography fractions peaked in 20 m quadrats.For ten species,the pure space fractions peaked in 50 m quadrats.For many species,the total topography fraction andthe pure space fraction were larger for the most abundant life stages,which reflected the importance of sampling effect.However,some cases did not follow this trend suggesting that the effects of ecological processes such as habitat filtering,density dependence or dispersal limitation may exceed the sampling effects.In conclusion,we found that spatially structured topography and pure space primarily shaped the distribution of dominant tree species.Furthermore,their effects were both scale- and life stage-dependent.

Effect of fertilization patterns on the assemblage of weed communities in an upland winter wheat field

Aims Understanding the response of farmland weed community assembly to fertilization is important for designing better nutrient management strategies in integrated farmland ecological systems.Many studies have focused on weed characteristics,mainly crop–weed competition responses to fertilization or weed communities alone.However,weed community assembly in association with crop growth is poorly understood in the agroecosystems,but is important for the determination of integrated weed management.Biodiversity promotes ecosystem productivity in the grassland,but whether it applies to the agroecosystems is unclear.Based on an 11-year field experiment,the cumulative effects of different fertilization patterns on the floristic composition and species diversity of farmland weed communities along with wheat growth in a winter wheat–soybean rotation were investigated.Methods The field trial included five fertilization patterns with different combinations of N,P and K fertilizers.Species composition and diversity of weed communities,aboveground plant biomass and nutrient accumulation of weeds and winter wheat,light penetration to the ground surface and wheat yield were measured at each plot in 2009 and 2010.Multivariate analysis,regression and analysis of variance were used to analyze the responses of these parameters to the different fertilization treatments.Important Findings Four dominant weeds(Galium aparine L.,Veronica persica Poir.,Vicia sativa L.and Geranium carolinianum L.)accounted for~90%of the total weed density in the 2 years of experimental duration.The residual weed community assembly was influenced primarily by topsoil available nutrients in the order P>N>K.Competition for nutrients and solar radiation between crops and weeds was the main indirect effect of fertilization on the changes in weed community composition and species diversity.The indices of species diversity(species richness,Shannon–Wiener,Pielou and Simpson indices)showed significant linear relationships with wheat yield.The balanced fertilization treatment was more efficient at inhibiting the potential growth of weeds because of solar radiation being intercepted by wheat.These results support the conclusion that wheat yield is favored by balanced fertilization,whereas the weed community is favored by PK fertilization in terms of density and diversity.However,the negative effects on wheat yield may be compromised by simultaneous positive effects of weed communities in the fertilization treatments,for instance,the NP and NK treatments,which are intermediate in terms of increasing wheat production and to a level maintaining a diverse community.

Effects of generalist herbivory on resistance and resource allocation by the invasive plant, Phytolacca americana

Successful invasions by exotic plants are often attributed to a loss of co-evolved specialists and a re-allocation of resources from defense to growth and reproduction. However, invasive plants are rarely completely released from insect herbivory because they are frequently attacked by generalists in their introduced ranges. The novel generalist community may also affect the invasive plant＇s defensive strategies and resource allocation. Here, we tested this hypothesis using American pokeweed （Phytolacca americana L.）, a species that has become invasive in China, which is native to North America. We examined resistance, tolerance, growth and reproduction of plant populations from both China and the USA when plants were exposed to natural generalist herbivores in China. We found that leaf damage was greater for invasive populations than for native populations, indicating that plants from invasive ranges had lower resistance to herbivory than those from native ranges. A regression of the percentage of leaf damage against mass showed that there was no significant difference in tolerance between invasive and native populations, even though the shoot, root, fruit and total mass were larger for invasive populations than for native populations. These results suggest that generalist herbivores are important drivers mediating the defensive strategies and resource allocation of the invasive American pokeweed.

Nitrogen availability regulates deep soil priming effect by changing microbial metabolic efficiency in a subtropical forest

In terrestrial ecosystems,deep soils(below 30 cm)are major organic carbon(C)pools.The labile carbon input could alter soil organic carbon(SOC)mineralization,resulting in priming effect(PE),which could be modified by nitrogen(N)availability,however,the underlying mechanism is unclear for deep soils,which complicates the prediction of deep soil C cycling in response to N deposition.A series of N applications with ^(13)C labeled glucose was set to investigate the effect of labile C and N on deep SOC mineralization.Microbial biomass,functional community,metabolic efficiency and enzyme activities were examined for their effects on SOC mineralization and PE.During incubation,glucose addition promoted SOC mineralization,resulting in positive PE.The magnitude of PE decreased significantly with increasing N.The N-regulated PE was not dependent on extracellular enzyme activities but was positively correlated with carbon use efficiency and negatively with metabolic quotient.Higher N levels resulted in higher microbial biomass and SOC-derived microbial biomass than lower N levels.These results suggest that the decline in the PE under high N availability was mainly controlled by higher microbial metabolic efficiency which allocated more C for growth.Structural equation modelling also revealed that microbial metabolic efficiency rather than enzyme activities was the main factor regulating the PE.The negative effect of additional N suggests that future N deposition could promote soil C sequestration.

C:N:P stoichiometry of Ericaceae species in shrubland biomes across Southern China:influences of climate,soil and species identity

Aims Carbon(C),nitrogen(N)and phosphorus(P)stoichiometry strongly affect functions and nutrient cycling within ecosystems.However,the related researches in shrubs were very limited.In this study,we aimed to inves-tigate leaf stoichiometry and its driving factors in shrubs,and whether stoichiometry significantly differs among closely related species.Methods We analyzed leaf C,N and P concentrations and their ratios in 32 species of Ericaceae from 161 sites across southern China.We examined the relationships of leaf stoichiometry with environmen-tal variables using linear regressions,and quantified the interactive and independent effects of climate,soil and species on foliar stoi-chiometry using general linear models(GLM).Important Findings The foliar C,N and P contents of Ericaceae were 484.66,14.44 and 1.06 mg g−1,respectively.Leaf C,N and P concentrations and their ratios in Ericaceae were significantly related with latitude and altitude,except the N:P insignificantly correlated with latitude.Climate(mean annual temperature and precipitation)and soil properties(soil C,N and P and bulk density)were significantly influenced element stoichiom-etry.The GLM analysis showed that soil exerted a greater direct effect on leaf stoichiometry than climate did,and climate affected leaf traits mainly via indirect ways.Further,soil properties had stronger influ-ences on leaf P than on leaf C and N.Among all independent factors examined,we found species accounted for the largest proportion of the variation in foliar stoichiometry.These results suggest that species can largely influence foliar stoichiometry,even at a lower taxonomic level.

Differences in seed properties and germination between native and introduced populations of Triadica sebifera

很多入侵植物的种子比原产地植物的种子萌发的更快,这可能有利于它们成功入侵。为了理解生物入侵过程,对入侵植物的入侵种群和原产地种群的种子特性和萌发特征同时进行评估极为必要。本研究中,我们以乌桕(Triadica sebifera)为研究对象探究种子萌发和种子特征的种内差异。我们利用采于2017年的乌桕种子,来自中国的12个原产地种群和美国的12个引入地种群,测定种子的物理性状(体积、重量、种皮硬度和种皮厚度)和化学特性[种仁的粗脂肪、可溶性蛋白质、糖、赤霉素(GA)和脱落酸(ABA)],并在中国的温室中测定种子的发芽率和萌发时间。此外,我们在美国用采自2016年和2017年的种子开展了研究地点(中国和美国)和种子采集年份(2016年和2017年)对种子萌发影响的比较实验。来自引入地的种子要比来自原产地的种子萌发更快。种子的物理和化学特性测定结果表明:与原产地种子相比,引入地种子更大、种仁内含有的赤霉素浓度以及GA:ABA比更高,但粗脂肪含量较低。种子重量、种皮硬度、种皮厚度、种仁脱落酸、可溶性蛋白质和糖含量在引入地和原产地之间没有显著差异。在中国和美国温室间的种子萌发率具有相关性,但种群的萌发率具有年际变化。我们的研究结果表明,体积较大和赤霉素含量较高的种子可能有助于快速萌发,这可能也有利于乌桕在引入地的入侵。

Phylogeography of Haplocarpha rueppelii(Asteraceae) suggests a potential geographic barrier for plant dispersal and gene flow in East Africa

East Africa is a biodiversity hotspot. Haplocarpha rueppelii(Sch.Bip.) Beauverd is mainly distributed in the alpine grassland of East Africa. Here we sampled 65 individuals of eight populations/locations of H. rueppeli including hairy and glabrous forms from Mts. Elgon Aberdare, Kenya, Kilimanjaro and Bale Mountains. We then sequenced one nuclear and three chloroplast DNA fragments and conducted phylogeographic analyses to tes the taxonomic rank of the two forms and causes for the differentiation(intrinsic reproductive isolation and geographic barrier). The results demonstrate that the species consists of two major groups, one includes the populations from Mts. Elgon, Aberdare and Bale, while the other includes Mts. Kenya and Kilimanjaro. The species has established in Mts. Kenya and Aberdare during the Pleistocene. However, migration rate for individuals between the two mountains was low as showed by gene flow analysis. A barrier for plant dispersal and gene flow would have existed between Mts. Aberdare and Kenya since at leasPleistocene. No change of the taxonomic concept of this species is needed. This study reveals a potential geographic barrier in East Africa. We hope it will arouse more scientists' interests in phylogeography and biodiversity of East Africa.