Global distributions of coccolithophores abundance and biomass - Gridded data product (NetCDF) - Contribution to the MAREDAT World Ocean Atlas of Plankton Functional Types

Coccolithophores are calcifying marine phytoplankton of the class Prymnesiophyceae. They are considered to play an import role in the global carbon cycle through the production and export of organic carbon and calcite. We have compiled observations of global coccolithophore abundance from several existing databases as well as individual contributions of published and unpublished datasets. We estimate carbon biomass using standardised conversion methods and provide estimates of uncertainty associated with these values. The database contains 58 384 individual observations at various taxonomic levels. This corresponds to 12 391 observations of total coccolithophore abundance and biomass. The data span a time period of 1929-2008, with observations from all ocean basins and all seasons, and at depths ranging from the surface to 500 m. Highest biomass values are reported in the North Atlantic, with a maximum of 501.7 ?gCl-1. Lower values are reported for the Pacific (maximum of 79.4 ?gCl-1) and Indian Ocean (up to 178.3 ?gCl-1). Coccolithophores are reported across all latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, from the Equator to 89degN, although biomass values fall below 3 ?gCl-1 north of 70degN. In the Southern Hemisphere, biomass values fall rapidly south of 50degS, with only a single non-zero observation south of 60degS. Biomass values show a clear seasonal cycle in the Northern Hemisphere, reaching a maximum in the summer months (June-July). In the Southern Hemisphere the seasonal cycle is less evident, possibly due to a greater proportion of low-latitude data.

Global distributions of Phaeocystis sp. abundance and biomass - Gridded data product (NetCDF) - Contribution to the MAREDAT World Ocean Atlas of Plankton Functional Types

The planktonic haptophyte Phaeocystis has been suggested to play a fundamental role in the global biogeochemical cycling of carbon and sulphur, but little is known about its global biomass distribution. We have collected global microscopy data of the genus Phaeocystis and converted abundance data to carbon biomass using species-specific carbon conversion factors. Microscopic counts of single-celled and colonial Phaeocystis were obtained both through the mining of online databases and by accepting direct submissions (both published and unpublished) from Phaeocystis specialists. We recorded abundance data from a total of 1595 depth-resolved stations sampled between 1955-2009. The quality-controlled dataset includes 5057 counts of individual Phaeocystis cells resolved to species level and information regarding life-stages from 3526 samples. 83% of stations were located in the Northern Hemisphere while 17% were located in the Southern Hemisphere. Most data were located in the latitude range of 50-70° N. While the seasonal distribution of Northern Hemisphere data was well-balanced, Southern Hemisphere data was biased towards summer months. Mean species- and form-specific cell diameters were determined from previously published studies. Cell diameters were used to calculate the cellular biovolume of Phaeocystis cells, assuming spherical geometry. Cell biomass was calculated using a carbon conversion factor for Prymnesiophytes (Menden-Deuer and Lessard, 2000). For colonies, the number of cells per colony was derived from the colony volume. Cell numbers were then converted to carbon concentrations. An estimation of colonial mucus carbon was included a posteriori, assuming a mean colony size for each species. Carbon content per cell ranged from 9 pg (single-celled Phaeocystis antarctica) to 29 pg (colonial Phaeocystis globosa). Non-zero Phaeocystis cell biomasses (without mucus carbon) range from 2.9 - 10?5 µg l-1 to 5.4 - 103 µg l-1, with a mean of 45.7 µg l-1 and a median of 3.0 µg l-1. Highest biomasses occur in the Southern Ocean below 70° S (up to 783.9 µg l-1), and in the North Atlantic around 50° N (up to 5.4 - 103 µg l-1).

Global distributions of modern planktic foraminifera abundance and biomass - Gridded data product (NetCDF) - Contribution to the MAREDAT World Ocean Atlas of Plankton Functional Types

Planktic foraminifera are heterotrophic mesozooplankton of global marine abundance. The position of planktic foraminifers in the marine food web is different compared to other protozoans and ranges above the base of heterotrophic consumers. Being secondary producers with an omnivorous diet, which ranges from algae to small metazoans, planktic foraminifers are not limited to a single food source, and are assumed to occur at a balanced abundance displaying the overall marine biological productivity at a regional scale. We have calculated the assemblage carbon biomass from data on standing stocks between the sea surface and 2500 m water depth, based on 754 protein-biomass data of 21 planktic foraminifer species and morphotypes, produced with a newly developed method to analyze the protein biomass of single planktic foraminifer specimens. Samples include symbiont bearing and symbiont barren species, characteristic of surface and deep-water habitats. Conversion factors between individual protein-biomass and assemblage-biomass are calculated for test sizes between 72 and 845 µm (minimum diameter). The calculated assemblage biomass data presented here include 1057 sites and water depth intervals. Although the regional coverage of database is limited to the North Atlantic, Arabian Sea, Red Sea, and Caribbean, our data include a wide range of oligotrophic to eutrophic waters covering six orders of magnitude of assemblage biomass. A first order estimate of the global planktic foraminifer biomass from average standing stocks (>125 µm) ranges at 8.5-32.7 Tg C yr-1 (i.e. 0.008-0.033 Gt C yr-1), and might be more than three time as high including the entire fauna including neanic and juvenile individuals adding up to 25-100 Tg C yr-1. However, this is a first estimate of regional planktic-foraminifer assemblage-biomass (PFAB) extrapolated to the global scale, and future estimates based on larger data-sets might considerably deviate from the one presented here. This paper is supported by, and a contribution to the Marine Ecosystem Data project (MAREDAT).

Effects of plant functional traits on soil stability: intraspecific variability matters

This data set describes different vegetation, soil and plant functional traits (PFTs) of 15 plant species in 30 sampling plots of an agricultural landscape in the Haean-myun catchment in South Korea. We divided the data set into two main tables, the first one includes the PFTs data of the 15 studied plant species, and the second one includes the soil and vegetation characteristics of the 30 sampling plots. For a total of 150 individuals, we measures the maximum plant height (cm) and leaf size (cm**2), which means the leaf surface area for the aboveground compartment of each individual. For the belowground compartment, we measured root horizontal width, which is the maximum horizontal spread of the root, rooting length, which is the maximum rooting depth, root diameter, which is the average root diameter of a the whole root, specific root length (SRL), which is the root length divided by the root dry mass, and root/shoot ratio, which is the root dry mass divided by the shoot dry mass. At each of the 30 studied plots, we estimated three different variables describing the vegetation characteristics: vegetation cover (i.e. the percentage of ground covered by vegetation), species richness (i.e. the number of observed species) and root density (estimated using a 30 cm x 30 cm metallic frame divided into nine 10 cm x 10 cm grids placed on the soil profile), as we calculated the total number of roots that appear in each of the nine grids and then we converted it into percentage based on the root count, following. Moreover, in each plot we estimated six different soil variables: Bulk density (g/cm**3), clay % (i.e. percentage of clay), silt % (i.e. percentage of silt), soil aggregate stability, using mean weight diameter (MWD), penetration resistance (kg/cm**2), using pocket penetrometer and soil shear vane strength (kPa).

Global distributions of diazotrophs Gamma-A nifH genes abundance - Depth integrated values computed from a collection of source datasets - Contribution to the MAREDAT World Ocean Atlas of Plankton Functional Types

The MAREDAT atlas covers 11 types of plankton, ranging in size from bacteria to jellyfish. Together, these plankton groups determine the health and productivity of the global ocean and play a vital role in the global carbon cycle. Working within a uniform and consistent spatial and depth grid (map) of the global ocean, the researchers compiled thousands and tens of thousands of data points to identify regions of plankton abundance and scarcity as well as areas of data abundance and scarcity. At many of the grid points, the MAREDAT team accomplished the difficult conversion from abundance (numbers of organisms) to biomass (carbon mass of organisms). The MAREDAT atlas provides an unprecedented global data set for ecological and biochemical analysis and modeling as well as a clear mandate for compiling additional existing data and for focusing future data gathering efforts on key groups in key areas of the ocean. The present data set presents depth integrated values of diazotrophs Gamma-A nifH genes abundance, computed from a collection of source data sets.

Global distributions of diazotrophs abundance, biomass and nitrogen fixation rates - Collection of source datasets - Contribution to the MAREDAT World Ocean Atlas of Plankton Functional Types

The MAREDAT atlas covers 11 types of plankton, ranging in size from bacteria to jellyfish. Together, these plankton groups determine the health and productivity of the global ocean and play a vital role in the global carbon cycle. Working within a uniform and consistent spatial and depth grid (map) of the global ocean, the researchers compiled thousands and tens of thousands of data points to identify regions of plankton abundance and scarcity as well as areas of data abundance and scarcity. At many of the grid points, the MAREDAT team accomplished the difficult conversion from abundance (numbers of organisms) to biomass (carbon mass of organisms). The MAREDAT atlas provides an unprecedented global data set for ecological and biochemical analysis and modeling as well as a clear mandate for compiling additional existing data and for focusing future data gathering efforts on key groups in key areas of the ocean. The present collection presents the original data sets used to compile Global distributions of diazotrophs abundance, biomass and nitrogen fixation rates

Global distributions of diazotrophs abundance and biomass - Depth integrated values computed from a collection of source datasets - Contribution to the MAREDAT World Ocean Atlas of Plankton Functional Types

The MAREDAT atlas covers 11 types of plankton, ranging in size from bacteria to jellyfish. Together, these plankton groups determine the health and productivity of the global ocean and play a vital role in the global carbon cycle. Working within a uniform and consistent spatial and depth grid (map) of the global ocean, the researchers compiled thousands and tens of thousands of data points to identify regions of plankton abundance and scarcity as well as areas of data abundance and scarcity. At many of the grid points, the MAREDAT team accomplished the difficult conversion from abundance (numbers of organisms) to biomass (carbon mass of organisms). The MAREDAT atlas provides an unprecedented global data set for ecological and biochemical analysis and modeling as well as a clear mandate for compiling additional existing data and for focusing future data gathering efforts on key groups in key areas of the ocean. The present data set presents depth integrated values of diazotrophs abundance and biomass, computed from a collection of source data sets.

Global distributions of diazotrophs nitrogen fixation rates - Depth integrated values computed from a collection of source datasets - Contribution to the MAREDAT World Ocean Atlas of Plankton Functional Types

The MAREDAT atlas covers 11 types of plankton, ranging in size from bacteria to jellyfish. Together, these plankton groups determine the health and productivity of the global ocean and play a vital role in the global carbon cycle. Working within a uniform and consistent spatial and depth grid (map) of the global ocean, the researchers compiled thousands and tens of thousands of data points to identify regions of plankton abundance and scarcity as well as areas of data abundance and scarcity. At many of the grid points, the MAREDAT team accomplished the difficult conversion from abundance (numbers of organisms) to biomass (carbon mass of organisms). The MAREDAT atlas provides an unprecedented global data set for ecological and biochemical analysis and modeling as well as a clear mandate for compiling additional existing data and for focusing future data gathering efforts on key groups in key areas of the ocean. The present data set presents depth integrated values of diazotrophs nitrogen fixation rates, computed from a collection of source data sets.

Global distributions of diazotrophs abundance, biomass and nitrogen fixation rates - Gridded data product (NetCDF) - Contribution to the MAREDAT World Ocean Atlas of Plankton Functional Types

The MAREDAT atlas covers 11 types of plankton, ranging in size from bacteria to jellyfish. Together, these plankton groups determine the health and productivity of the global ocean and play a vital role in the global carbon cycle. Working within a uniform and consistent spatial and depth grid (map) of the global ocean, the researchers compiled thousands and tens of thousands of data points to identify regions of plankton abundance and scarcity as well as areas of data abundance and scarcity. At many of the grid points, the MAREDAT team accomplished the difficult conversion from abundance (numbers of organisms) to biomass (carbon mass of organisms). The MAREDAT atlas provides an unprecedented global data set for ecological and biochemical analysis and modeling as well as a clear mandate for compiling additional existing data and for focusing future data gathering efforts on key groups in key areas of the ocean. This is a gridded data product about diazotrophic organisms . There are 6 variables. Each variable is gridded on a dimension of 360 (longitude) * 180 (latitude) * 33 (depth) * 12 (month). The first group of 3 variables are: (1) number of biomass observations, (2) biomass, and (3) special nifH-gene-based biomass. The second group of 3 variables is same as the first group except that it only grids non-zero data. We have constructed a database on diazotrophic organisms in the global pelagic upper ocean by compiling more than 11,000 direct field measurements including 3 sub-databases: (1) nitrogen fixation rates, (2) cyanobacterial diazotroph abundances from cell counts and (3) cyanobacterial diazotroph abundances from qPCR assays targeting nifH genes. Biomass conversion factors are estimated based on cell sizes to convert abundance data to diazotrophic biomass. Data are assigned to 3 groups including Trichodesmium, unicellular diazotrophic cyanobacteria (group A, B and C when applicable) and heterocystous cyanobacteria (Richelia and Calothrix). Total nitrogen fixation rates and diazotrophic biomass are calculated by summing the values from all the groups. Some of nitrogen fixation rates are whole seawater measurements and are used as total nitrogen fixation rates. Both volumetric and depth-integrated values were reported. Depth-integrated values are also calculated for those vertical profiles with values at 3 or more depths.

Transcriptome, carbohydrate, and phytohormone analysis of Petunia hybrida reveals a complex disturbance of plant functional integrity under mild chilling stress

Cultivation of chilling-tolerant ornamental crops at lower temperature could reduce the energy demands of heated greenhouses. To provide a better understanding of how sub-optimal temperatures (12 degrees C vs. 16 degrees C) affect growth of the sensitive Petunia hybrida cultivar 'SweetSunshine Williams', the transcriptome, carbohydrate metabolism, and phytohormone homeostasis were monitored in aerial plant parts over 4 weeks by use of a microarray, enzymatic assays and GC-MS/MS. The data revealed three consecutive phases of chilling response. The first days were marked by a strong accumulation of sugars, particularly in source leaves, preferential up-regulation of genes in the same tissue and down-regulation of several genes in the shoot apex, especially those involved in the abiotic stress response. The midterm phase featured a partial normalization of carbohydrate levels and gene expression. After 3 weeks of chilling exposure, a new stabilized balance was established. Reduced hexose levels in the shoot apex, reduced ratios of sugar levels between the apex and source leaves and a higher apical sucrose/hexose ratio, associated with decreased activity and expression of cell wall invertase, indicate that prolonged chilling induced sugar accumulation in source leaves at the expense of reduced sugar transport to and reduced sucrose utilization in the shoot. This was associated with reduced levels of indole-3-acetic acid and abscisic acid in the apex and high numbers of differentially, particularly up-regulated genes, especially in the source leaves, including those regulating histones, ethylene action, transcription factors, and a jasmonate-ZIM-domain protein. Transcripts of one Jumonji C domain containing protein and one expansin accumulated in source leaves throughout the chilling period. The results reveal a dynamic and complex disturbance of plant function in response to mild chilling, opening new perspectives for the comparative analysis of differently tolerant cultivars.

Plant Migrations Impact on Potential Vegetation and Carbon Redistribution in Northern North America from Climate Change

Forests have a prominent role in carbon storage and sequestration. Anthropogenic forcing has the potential to accelerate climate change and alter the distribution of forests. How forests redistribute spatially and temporally in response to climate change can alter their carbon sequestration potential. The driving question for this research was: How does plant migration from climate change impact vegetation distribution and carbon sequestration potential over continental scales? Large-scale simulation of the equilibrium response of vegetation and carbon from future climate change has shown relatively modest net gains in sequestration potential, but studies of the transient response has been limited to the sub-continent or landscape scale. The transient response depends on fine scale processes such as competition, disturbance, landscape characteristics, dispersal, and other factors, which makes it computational prohibitive at large domain sizes. To address this, this research used an advanced mechanistic model (Ecosystem Demography Model, ED) that is individually based, but pseudo-spatial, that reduces computational intensity while maintaining the fine scale processes that drive the transient response. First, the model was validated against remote sensing data for current plant functional type distribution in northern North America with a current climatology, and then a future climatology was used to predict the potential equilibrium redistribution of vegetation and carbon from future climate change. Next, to enable transient calculations, a method was developed to simulate the spatially explicit process of dispersal in pseudo-spatial modeling frameworks. Finally, the new dispersal sub-model was implemented in the mechanistic ecosystem model, and a model experimental design was designed and completed to estimate the transient response of vegetation and carbon to climate change. The potential equilibrium forest response to future climate change was found to be large, with large gross changes in distribution of plant functional types and comparatively smaller changes in net carbon sequestration potential for the region. However, the transient response was found to be on the order of centuries, and to depend strongly on disturbance rates and dispersal distances. Future work should explore the impact of species-specific disturbance and dispersal rates, landscape fragmentation, and other processes that influence migration rates and have been simulated at the sub-continent scale, but now at continental scales, and explore a range of alternative future climate scenarios as they continue to be developed.

Evolution and challenges of dynamic global vegetation models for some aspects of plant physiology and elevated atmospheric CO2.

Dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs) simulate surface processes such as the transfer of energy, water, CO2, and momentum between the terrestrial surface and the atmosphere, biogeochemical cycles, carbon assimilation by vegetation, phenology, and land use change in scenarios of varying atmospheric CO2 concentrations. DGVMs increase the complexity and the Earth system representation when they are coupled with atmospheric global circulation models (AGCMs) or climate models. However, plant physiological processes are still a major source of uncertainty in DGVMs. The maximum velocity of carboxylation (Vcmax), for example, has a direct impact over productivity in the models. This parameter is often underestimated or imprecisely defined for the various plant functional types (PFTs) and ecosystems. Vcmax is directly related to photosynthesis acclimation (loss of response to elevated CO2), a widely known phenomenon that usually occurs when plants are subjected to elevated atmospheric CO2 and might affect productivity estimation in DGVMs. Despite this, current models have improved substantially, compared to earlier models which had a rudimentary and very simple representation of vegetation?atmosphere interactions. In this paper, we describe this evolution through generations of models and the main events that contributed to their improvements until the current state-of-the-art class of models. Also, we describe some main challenges for further improvements to DGVMs.

毛乌素沙地沙生灌木的生理生态学结构与功能

毛乌素沙地处于鄂尔多斯生态过渡带，在生态学研究上具有重要的理论与实践意义。在这样一个典型的半干旱区，水分是影响生态系统功能的最主要的限制因子，在沙基质土壤条件下，灌木得到充分发育，而乔木及草本植物则处于相对次要的地位。由于自然植被的初级生产力主要由灌木形成，故对于灌木在生态系统中的功能的系统研究是十分重要的，但目前又未得到应有重视。在荒漠化防治当中，这一点显得尤其急迫。此外，为了较好地预测该地区生态系统对全球气候变化的响应模式，急需要建立对主要乡土灌木功能型的划分方案。本研究运用植物生理生态学的方法，从植物的结构与功能的统一性出发，探讨了上述若干问题。主要结果与结论如下： 1．讨论了气候及土壤基质作为基本的环境背景，对沙生灌木生态功能的塑造作用，尤其探讨了若干土壤物理特性与植物水分利用的关系问题。 2．光学显微解剖及电子显微镜的观察表明，在自东南至西北横贯毛乌素沙地的水分梯度上生长的灌木当中，存在鲜明的叶片结构与功能特征与水分胁迫程度之间的对应性，在自东南向西北随干旱胁迫强度的增加，灌木的旱生结构也明显增加，甚至于在鄂尔多斯西部可以见到不少超旱生植物。同时，对灌木水分关系的研究支持了以解剖学观察为基础的认识，即：不同的景观条件下，也存在灌木的抗旱性与其生长的土壤的水分可利用性之间的对应性。这显示了水分因素在灌木的生态功能发挥中所起的主导作用。 3．通过分析沙丘的水分平衡，得到如下认识：(1)沙地条件的蒸发散主要来自植物的蒸腾作用，而土壤蒸发只占10%稍多：(2)沙地凝结水对灌木的水分需求而言微乎其微：(3)对多数沙生灌木而言，适宜的种植密度应为30-40%，即相当于半固定沙丘的覆盖度。 4．在上述三点的基础上，探讨了在不同类型的干旱（气候干旱、基质干旱及生理干旱）影响下，灌木在种类组成及干旱适应对策方面的多样性，将毛乌素沙地的灌木概括为两个功能类型：(1)干旱忍耐者;(2)竞争消费者。上述将极其多样的灌木物种在水分生态功能的相似性这个层面上概括成较少的类别的偿试，可望促使该地区的灌木生态学基础研究走向深入。 5．本研究对个别灌木的生态特性的新认识： ● 关于沙地柏(Sabina vulgaris)：(1)现已知道其蒸腾速率极低，本研究进一步认识到，低的蒸腾速率主要来自于气孔在叶表面上局限性分布：(2)该灌木虽十分抗旱，但过大的密度常引起叶片水分亏缺，在其根系不能利用地下潜水时．叶片水分亏缺更严重。 ● 关于油蒿(Artermisia．ordosica)及籽蒿（Asphaerocephala)：现已广泛地观察到，这两种灌木在沙丘演替不同阶段呈不同的优势分布：籽蒿主要生长于流动性沙丘（这里水分条件往往很好），但随沙丘逐渐被固定，就会被油蒿取代。本研究从叶片结构与功能两方面解释了上述现象，主要依据是(l)籽蒿比油蒿往往有更大的蒸腾速率：(2)籽蒿叶片近轴面1/3以下处有极为密集的气孔分布，而在油蒿却未发现;(3)籽蒿具有极其高的零膨压时的渗透势值(ψлp)。 ● 关于蒙古岩黄芪(Hedysarum mongolicum):该灌木具有独特的 干旱适应方式（如，幼茎 可行光合作用，及叶片富含粘液细胞），但本研究提示，该灌木的抗旱性是较弱的（相比与其它同生境下的灌木而言）。主要依据是：(1)很高的零膨压时的渗透势值;(2)海绵与栅栏组织均有较充分的发育。 ● 关于沙柳(Salix psammophila):在沙基质中有广泛的适应性， 但其适应主要体现在形态上（根茎比）的可塑性，而在生理（尤其是蒸腾作用）方面的调整则不十分显著。生长于丘顶的沙柳具有极其发达的根系，这可减缓土壤水分不足对植物的不利影响;生长于丘间低地的沙柳具有好的水分供给，但在特定的微生境下，其叶片温度比生长лллл于丘顶的沙柳叶片高，尤其是在强的光照条件下，其叶片温度会大幅度升高。这有可能对植物形成不利的影响。

中国东北样带孢粉-植被的定量关系及古生物群区的反演

基于中国东北样带（NECT）30个植被样方调查和表土孢粉资料，从个体、群落水平研究了孢粉－植被关系，结果表明，孢粉类型与植被关系密切，在 ＝ 0．05的显著性水平上，相关系数大于0．5;表土孢粉组合与植物群落间有较大的相似性，相似系数大于50％。采用定量描述花粉与植物关系的参数：联合指数（association）A、超代表性指数（over-representation）O、低代表性指数（under-representation）U、相关系数（correlation coefficient）C和代表性系数（representation coefficient）R等值，应用TWINSPAN分类、PCA排序和回归分析，把表土花粉类型划分为4类：具代表性类群组Group1，它们能正确反映植被;超代表性类群组Group2，它们常具有高花粉值与植被不成比例;低代表性类群组Group3，它们的花粉很难分离提取;以及低代表性类群的Group4，其花粉在土壤地层中较常见;指出一些常见花粉类型：松（Pinus）、桦（Betula）、栎（Quercus）、椴（Tilia）、槭（Acer）、榆（Ulmus）、蒿（Artemisia）、藜（Chenopodiaceae）、禾本科（Gramineae）和莎草科（Cyperaceae）的回归参数在东部森林区和西部草原区是有变化的，因此回归参数在应用于古植被恢复中要注意适用范围。 以Biomization模型为基础，根据植物的生理生态特性，定义了NECT孢粉类型的植物功能型（PETs）各种生物群区（Biome）的PFTs组合，构建了经表土孢粉检验的适用于NECT的以孢粉数据为驱动的模型框架，该模型模拟的生物群区与其化指标（气候、植物生理、土壤等）模拟划分的BIOME（Holdrige, BIOME3）是可比的，与植被类型有较好的对应性。 根据29剖面（986个样品）的孢粉数据，重建了NECT 6 kaB.P以来的生物群区。从时空二方面阐述了NECT6kaB.P以来生物群区的分布特点： （1）6ka B. P是一暖湿期，气温比现在高1～4℃，降水比现在多50％。落叶阔叶林分最广，面积最大。森林草原、落叶阔叶林、针阔混交林向西延伸最远。 （2）5ka B. P 是一降温期，气温比现在低2℃，降水多30％。有苔原、寒温带针叶林分布。 （3）4ka B. P是一暖湿期，气温比现在高1～2℃，降水比现在多50％。针阔光林和森林草原有最大分布面积。 （4）3Ka－2kaBP的气温与现代相似，降水比现在多20％左右。与4Ka B. P相比，森林和森林草原过渡带都向东移动。 （5）1Ka B. P的气温与现代相似，降水比现在多10％左右。草原向东大幅度扩张，森林分布面积减小。 （6）东部森林，中部森林草原，西部草原的分布格局的3Ka B. P基本确定，此后随着气候的不断变干冷，草原向东扩张。 （7）森林向扩张最大距离的时期发生在6Ka B. P，此时也是森林草原向西扩张最远时期。落叶阔叶林、针阔混交林、森林草原向西移动最大距离的时间是6Ka B. P，草原向西移动最远距离的时期发生在3Ka B. P。

中国东北样带草原段关键种——羊草茎、叶显微结构的生态可塑性及群落功能群组成和多样性研究

陆地样带是国际地圈——生物圈计划(IGBP)研究中最引入注目的创新之一。目前，国际上已经设立了15条陆地样带，研究内容涉及环境梯度分析、气候变化对植被初级生产力的影响及环境变化、土地利用等与植被变化的对应关系等。沿该陆地样带分布较广的关键种生理适应性等方面对影响其生理功能形态结构的研究较少，特别是茎、叶等组织功能研究较少。 中国东北样带(NECT)是全球陆地样带的重要组成部分，多年来已开展了大量深入系统的研究工作，已成为我国生态学、地学等学科的重要研究平台。本研究以中国东北样带中西段广泛分布的重要关键种——羊草（Leymus chinensis）为研究对象，分析了羊草茎、叶显微结构的生态可塑性及其与水分利用效率的关系，进而阐述了羊草适应不同生境条件，特别是适应水分变化的机制，为揭示羊草及其种群、群落乃至以羊草为优势种或建群种的草地生态系统在全球变化背景下的发展趋势提供理论依据。 基于2001年7～8月第3次中国东北样带考察资料，采用高精度Olympus显微镜及C同位素分析技术（δ13C判别值），结合在野外取样过程中测定的样地土壤含水量和海拔高度，以及近十年各样地年降水量和年均温度气象资料，分析了羊草茎、叶显微结构和水分利用变化与环境因子的关系，以及以羊草为建群种或共建种的无牧和放牧样地群落生物量、物种多样性和植物功能型组成变化与环境因子的关系。 结果表明：羊草叶片表面及内部主要显微结构特征参数各样地间有不同程度的差异，其中气孔密度与降水量呈线性正相关。代表气孔开张程度的气孔长度和宽度变化与土壤含水量呈线性相关。叶表面角质层厚度与海拔高度变化关系较大，并以上表面角质层厚度变化最为明显，主要受海拔高度升高引起的紫外线照射增强的影响。运动细胞带宽度占叶面积比虽然与各环境因子关系不很密切，但温度变化的影响较突出，这一显微结构调整与气孔变化构成干旱——高温调节机制。叶片表面毛茸的变化也是非常显著的，但与各环境因子关系密切程度均不大，可以肯定的是在土壤水分状况较好的生境下羊草叶片表面毛茸密度及长度明显增加，而一些干旱生境中常表现为毛茸较少、较短，个别样地基本没有发育较好的毛茸。总体上看，羊草叶片对干旱化的形态结构调整以气孔密度和开张程度的变化最大，是羊草叶片调节水分利用效率的重要适应性生态可塑性调整。 与叶片相比，羊草茎横切面结构特征的变化与各环境因子关系的显著性不是很强，但各样地间的差异是比较显著的，许多结构调整可能与土壤养分条件的变化有一定关系，如茎秆粗度变化、基本薄壁组织厚度和中央空腔（髓腔）直径的变化等，但本研究未能涉及这方面内容，有待于进一步研究。 羊草水分利用效率与降水量和土壤含水量呈显著的负相关关系，即随降水量和土壤含水量增大羊草水分利用效率明显降低，蒸腾耗水增大，这一生理变化与显微结构的调整关系密切，特别是气孔密度与气孔宽度在水分较差生境中明显减小，从而有利于适应干旱环境，减少耗水量。表现比较突出的是非地带性林西样地，其降水量处于10个样地的中等偏低水平，但其δ13C判别值较低，达-26.063‰，与降水量较大的长岭、双辽样地几乎相当，并比相邻的林东和克旗样地明显低，其气孔密度、开张程度及叶脉后生导管直径均较高（大），但其土壤水分状况是最好的样地之一，尽管取样时不幸遇到雨天，但从其群落类型——羊草杂类草草甸，并伴生许多中、湿生种类上看，其生境的湿润程度是毋庸置疑的。这一非地带性样地中羊草结构的变化从另一侧面反映了羊草显微结构调整对水分环境的适应。δ13C判别值是一个非常敏感的参数，在分析植物水分利用效率及其相关领域的研究中应深入利用。 群落植物功能群组成与环境因子及群落初级生产力关系研究结果表明，丛生禾草生长型功能群、旱生和中旱生植物水分生态类型功能群具有明显的地带性变化规律，并与群落生物量变化关系密切，变异性较低，占群落生物量比例较大，可考虑作为植物功能型组合对无牧样地植被变化进行评估和预测。在放牧影响下，C4植物光合类型功能群呈现明显的地带性变化，并在群落中所起的作用明显增强，亦可考虑作为评估和预测植被变化的植物功能型组合。无牧样地与放牧样地研究结果均表明，按Raunkiaer划分的地面芽、地下芽、地上芽和一年生植物生活型功能群，其地带性变化不明显，或变异率高，或占群落生物量比例小，不宜作植物功能群组合对植被变化进行评估和预测。