Empirical modelling of submersed macrophytes in Yangtze lakes

Submersed macrophytes in Yangtze lakes have experienced large-scale declines due to the increasing human activities during past decades. To seek the key factor that affects their growth, monthly investigations of submersed macrophytes were conducted in 20 regions of four Yangtze lakes during December, 2001-March, 2003. Analyses based on annual values show that the ratio of Secchi depth to mean depth is the key factor (50% of macrophyte biomass variability among these lakes is statistically explained). Further analyses also demonstrate that the months from March to June are not only the actively growing season for most macrophytes, but the key time the factor acts. Five key-time models yielding higher predictive power (r(2) reaches 0.75,0.76,0.77,0.69 and 0.81) are generated. A comparison between key-time models and traditional synchronic ones indicates that key-time models have higher predictive power. Analyses of transparency thresholds during macrophyte growing season and the limitations of the models are presented. The models and other results may benefit the work concerning submersed macrophyte recovery in Yangtze lakes. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Considerable effects of diversity indices and spatial scales on conclusions relating to ecological diversity

The relationships between ecological diversity and ecosystem functions such as stability and productivity have long been debated and have no final conclusion until now. It is ignored that the debate should be firstly based on the same diversity index, which should be theoretically complete, and on same observation scale. For the issue on the scale of ecotope observation, ecosystems should be distinguished according to intensity of human disturbance. For the issue on the scale of species observation, either number diversity or biomass diversity should be identified. This paper takes grassland ecosystems located within the Bayin Xile grassland of Xilin Gol League of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region as an example to analyze effects of different diversity indices and spatial scales on the conclusions of ecological diversity and its relationships with ecosystem functions. The analysis results both on the scale of ecotope observation and on the scale of species observation show that different diversity indices might give different conclusions and spatial resolution has a great effect on the relative conclusions. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.