Game Vertebrate Densities in Hunted and Nonhunted Forest Sites in Manu National Park, Peru

Manu National Park of southern Peru is one of the most renowned protected areas in the world, yet large-bodied vertebrate surveys conducted to date have been restricted to Cocha Cashu Biological Station, a research station covering <0.06 percent of the 1.7Mha park. Manu Park is occupied by >460 settled Matsigenka Amerindians, 300-400 isolated Matsigenka, and several, little-known groups of isolated hunter-gatherers, yet the impact of these native Amazonians on game vertebrate populations within the park remains poorly understood. On the basis of 1495 km of standardized line-transect censuses, we present density and biomass estimates for 23 mammal, bird, and reptile species for seven lowland and upland forest sites in Manu Park, including Cocha Cashu. We compare these estimates between hunted and nonhunted sites within Manu Park, and with other Neotropical forest sites. Manu Park safeguards some of the most species-rich and highest biomass assemblages of arboreal and terrestrial mammals ever recorded in Neotropical forests, most likely because of its direct Andean influence and high levels of soil fertility. Relative to Barro Colorado Island, seed predators and arboreal folivores in Manu are rare, and generalist frugivores specializing on mature fruit pulp are abundant. The impact of such a qualitative shift in the vertebrate community on the dynamics of plant regeneration, and therefore, on our understanding of tropical plant ecology, must be profound. Despite a number of external threats, Manu Park continues to serve as a baseline against which other Neotropical forests can be gauged.

干旱胁迫与施N条件下白刺花（Sophora davidii）幼苗生长及其适应机制

干旱环境常常由于多变的降水事件和贫瘠土壤的综合作用，表现出较低的生产力和较低的植被覆盖度。全球性的气候变暖和人类干扰必将使得干旱地区缺水现状越来越严竣。贫瘠土壤环境中已经很低的有效养分含量也将会随着干旱的扩大而越来越低。干旱与半干旱系统中不断加剧的水分与养分的缺失将严重限制植物的生长和植被的更新，必然会使得已经恶化的环境恶化速率的加快、恶化范围的加大。如何抑制这种趋势，逐步改善已经恶化的环境是现在和将来干旱系统管理者面临的主要关键问题。了解干旱系统本土植物对未来气候变化的适应机制，不仅是植物生态学研究的重要内容，也对人为调节干旱环境，改善干旱系统植被条件，提高植被覆盖度具有重要的实践意义。 本研究以干旱河谷优势灌木白刺花（Sophora davidii）为研究对象，通过两年大棚水分和施N控制实验和一个生长季野外施N半控制实验，从植物生长－生理－资源利用以及植物生长土壤环境特征入手，系统的研究了白刺花幼苗生长特性对干旱胁迫和施N的响应与适应机制，并试图探讨施N是否可调节干旱系统土壤环境，人工促进干旱条件下幼苗定居，最终贡献于促进植被更新实践。初步研究结论如下： 1）白刺花幼苗生长、生物量积累与分配以及水分利用效率对干旱胁迫和施N处理的适应白刺花幼苗株高、基径、叶片数目、叶面积、根长、生物量生产、相对含水量和水分利用效率随着干旱胁迫程度的增加而明显降低，但地下部分生物量比例和R/S随着干旱胁迫程度的增加而增加。轻度施N处理下幼苗株高、基径、叶片数目、叶片面积和生物量生产有所增加。但重度施N处理下这些生长指标表现出微弱甚至降低的趋势。严重干旱胁迫条件下，幼苗叶面积率、R/S、相对含水量和水分利用效率也以轻度施N处理为最高。 2）白刺花幼苗叶片光合生理特征对干旱胁迫和施N处理的适应叶片光合色素含量和叶片光合效率随着干旱胁迫程度的增加而显著降低，并且PS2系统在干旱胁迫条件下表现出一定程度的光损害。但是比叶面积随着干旱胁迫程度的增加而增加。在相对较好水分条件下幼苗净光合速率的降低可能是因为气孔限制作用，而严重干旱胁迫条件下非气孔限制可能是导致幼苗叶片光合速率下降的主要原因。叶片叶绿素含量、潜在光合能力、羧化效率、光合效率以及RUBP再生能力等在施N处理下得到提高，并因而改善干旱胁迫条件下光合能力和效率。虽然各荧光参数对施N处理并无显著的反应，但是干旱胁迫条件下qN和Fv/Fm在轻度施N处理下维持相对较高的水平，而两年连续处理后在严重干旱胁迫条件下幼苗叶片光合效率受到重度施N处理的抑制，并且Fv/Fm和qN也在重度施N处理下降低。 3）白刺花幼苗C、N和P积累以及N、P利用效率对干旱胁迫和施N处理的适应白刺花幼苗C、N和P的积累，P利用效率以及N和P吸收效率随干旱胁迫程度的增加而显著降低，C、N和P的分配格局也随之改变。在相同水分处理下，C、N和P的积累量、P利用效率以及N和P吸收效率在轻度施N处理下表现为较高的水平。然而，C、N和P的积累量和P利用效率在重度施N处理下不仅没有表现出显著的正效应，而且有降低的趋势。另外，在相同水分条件下白刺花幼苗N利用效率随着施N强度的增加而降低。 4）白刺花幼苗生长土壤化学与微生物特性对干旱胁迫和施N的适应白刺花幼苗生长土壤有机C、有效N和P含量也随干旱胁迫程度的增加而明显降低。干旱胁迫条件下土壤C/N、C/P、转化酶、脲酶和碱性磷酸酶活性的降低可能表明较低的N和P矿化速率。尽管微生物生物量C、N和P对一个生长季干旱胁迫处理无显著反应，但微生物生物量C和N在两年连续干旱胁迫后显著降低。土壤有机C和有效P含量在轻度施N处理下大于重度施N处理，但是有效N含量随着施N强度的增加而增加。微生物生物量C和N、碱性磷酸酶和转化酶活性也在轻度施N处理下有所增加。但是碱性磷酸酶活性在重度施N处理下降低。 5）野外条件下白刺花幼苗生长特征及生长土壤生化特性对施N的适应植物生长、生物生产量、C的固定、N、P等资源的吸收和积累、其它受限资源的利用效率（如P）在轻度施N处理下均有所增加，但N利用效率有所降低。幼苗生物生产量及C、N和P等资源的分配格局在轻度施N处理下也没有明显的改变。白刺花幼苗叶片数目、生物生产量和C、N、P的积累量在重度施N处理下虽然也相对于对照有所增加，但幼苗根系长度显著降低。生物量及资源（生物量、C、N、P）在重度施N处理下较多地分配给地上部分（主要是叶片）。另外，土壤有机C、全N和有效N含量随外源施N的增加而显著增加，土壤pH随之降低，但土壤全P含量并无显著反应。其中有机C含量和有效P含量以轻度施N处理最高。微生物生物量C、N和P在轻度施N处理下也显著增加，而微生物生物量C在重度施N处理下显著降低。同时，转化酶、脲酶、碱性磷酸酶和中性磷酸酶活性在施N处理下也明显的提高，但酸性磷酸酶和过氧化氢酶活性显著降低，其中碱性磷酸酶和中性磷酸酶活性以轻度施N处理最高。 综合分析表明，干旱河谷水分和N严重限制了白刺花幼苗的生长。施N不能完全改变干旱胁迫对白刺花幼苗的抑制的作用，但是由于施N增加土壤N有效性，改善土壤一系列生物与化学过程，幼苗的生长特性也对施N表现出强烈的反应，表现为植物结构与资源分配格局的改善，植物叶片光合能力与效率的提高，植物生长以及利用其他受限资源（如水分和P）的效率的增加，致使植物自身生长及其生长环境在干旱环境下得到改善。但是过度施N不仅不能起到改善干旱胁迫下植物生长环境、促进植物生长的作用，反而在土壤过程以及植物生长过程中加重干旱胁迫对植物的伤害。因此，建议在采用白刺花作为先锋种改善干旱河谷系统环境的实践中，可适当施加N以改善土壤环境，调节植物利用与分配资源的效率，促进植物定居，得到人工促进种群更新的目的。但在实践过程中也要避免过度施N。 Arid regions of the world are generally noted for their low primary productivity which is due to a combination of low, unpredictable water supply and low soil nutrient concentrations. The most serious effects of global climate change and human disturbances may well be those which related to increasing drought since drought stress has already been the principal constraint in plant growth. The decline in total rainfall and/or soil water availability expected for the next decades may turn out to be even more drastic under future warmer conditions. Nevertheless, water deficit is not the only limiting factor in arid and semiarid environments. Soils often suffer from nutrient (especially N and P) deficiencies in these ecosystems, which can also be worsened by climate change. How to improve the poor soil quality and enhance the vegetation coverage is always the problem facing ecosystem managers. The adaptive mechanisms of native plant to future climate change is always the focus in plant ecology, it also plays important roles in improving vegetation coverage by manual controlled programmes. Sophora davidii is a native perennial shrub of arid valleys, which is often predominant on eroded slopes and plays a vital role in retaining ecological stability in this region. It has been found that S. davidii was better adapted to dry environment than other shrubs, prompting its use for re-vegetation of arid lands. A two-years greenhouse experiment and a field experiment were conducted in order to understand the adaptation responses of Sophora davidii seedlings to different water and N conditions, and further explore if additional N supply as a modified role could enhance the adaptation ability of S. davidii seedlings to dry and infertile environment. Two-month old seedlings were subjected to a completely randome design with three water (80%, 40% and 20% water field capacity (FC)) and three N supply (N0: 0, Nl: 92 and Nh: 184 mg N kg-1 soil) regimes. Field experiment was arranged only by three N supplies in the dry valley. 1) The growth, biomass partitioning and water-use efficiency of Sophora davidii seedlings in respond to drought stress and N supply Seedlings height, basal diameter, leaf number, leaf area, root length, biomass production, relative water content (RWC) and WUE were decreased with increase of drought stress. An increase in below-ground biomass was observed indicating a higher root/shoot ratio (R/S) under drought stress conditions. Low N supply increased seedlings height, basal diameter, leaf number, leaf area, and biomass production, but decreased root length. In contrast, these growth characteristics showed little or negative effect to high N supply treatment. Leaf percentages increased with increase of N supply, but fine root percentages decreased. In addition, Low N supply rather than the other two N treatments increased leaf area ratio (LAR), leaf/fine root mass ratio (L/FR), R/S and RWC under severe drought stress (20%FC), even though these parameters could increase with the high N supply treatment under well-watered condition (80%FC). Moreover, Low N supply also increased WUE under three water conditions, but high N supply had little effect on WUE under drought stress conditions (40%FC and 20%FC). 2) Leaf gas exchange and fluorescence parameters of Sophora davidii seedlings in respond to drought stress and N supply Leaf area (LA), photosynthetic pigment contents, and photosynthetic efficiency were decreased with increase of drought stress, but specific leaf area (SLA) increased. Photodamage in photosystem 2 (PS2) was also observed under drought stress condition. The decreased net photosynthetic rate (PN) under relative well-watered water conditions might result from stomatal limitations, but the decreased PN under other hand, photosynthetic capacity by increasing LA, photosynthetic chlorophyll contents, Pnmax, CE, Jmax were increased with increase N supply, and photosynthetic efficiency was improved with N supply treatment under water deficit. Although N supply did a little in alleviating photodamages to PS2 caused by drought stress, low N supply enhanced qN and kept relative high Fv/Fm under drought stress condition. However, high N supply inhibited leaf photosynthetic efficiency, and declined Fv/Fm and qN under severe drought stress condition after two year continues drought stress and N supply. 3) Carbon accumulation, nitrogen and phosphorus use efficiency of Sophora davidii seedlings in respond to drought stress and N supply C, N and P accumulation, NUE , N and P uptake efficiency (NUtE and NUtE ) P N P were decreased with increase of drought stress regardless of N supply. On the other hand, the S. davidii seedlings exhibited strong responses to N supply, but the responses were inconsistent with the various N supply levels. Low N supply rather than the other two N treatments increased C, N and P accumulation, improved NUEP, NUtE and NUtE under corresponding water condition. In contrast, high N supply N P did few even depressed effects on C, N and P accumulation, and NUEP, although NUtEN and NUtEP could increase with high N supply under corresponding water conditions. Even so, a decrease of NUEN was observed with increase of N supply under corresponding water conditions. 4) Soil microbial and chemical characters in respond to drought stress and N supply The content of soil organic C, available N and P were decreased with increase of drought stress. Decreases in C/N and C/P, and invertase, urea and alkaline phosphatase activity were also observed under drought stress conditions, indicating a lower N and P mineralization rate. Although microbial biomass C, N and P showed slight responses to drought stress after one growth period treatment, microbial biomass C and N were also decreased with increase of drought stress after two year continuous treatment. The content of soil organic C and available P showed the stronger positive responses to low N supply than which to high N supply, although than the other two N treatments increased microbial biomass N and invertase activity under severe drought stress condition, even though invertase activity could increase with high N supply treatment under relative well-water conditions. Moreover, low N supply treatment also increased C/P and alkaline phosphatase activity which might result from higher P mineralization, but high N supply did negative effects on alkaline phosphatase activity. 5) The growth characteristics of Sophora davidii seedlings and soil microbial and chemical characters in respond to N supply under field condition Low N supply facilitated seedlings growth by increasing leaf number, basal diameter, root length, biomass production, C, N and P accumulation and absorption, and enhancing the use efficiency of other limited resources as P. Compared to control, however, low N supply did little effect on altering biomass, C, N and P portioning in seedlings components. On the contrary, high N supply treatment also increased leaf number, biomass and C, N and P accumulation relative to control, but significantly decreased root length, and altered more biomass and resources to above-ground, which strongly reduced the ability of absorbing water under drought condition, and thus which might deep the drought stress. In addition, N supply increased soil C, N and available N content, but declined pH and showed little effects on P content. Low N supply showed higher values of soil C and available P content. Low N supply also increased microbial biomass C, N and P, although high N supply decreased microbial biomass C. N supply significantly enhanced soil invertase, urea, alkaline and neutral phosphratase activity, while declined acid phosphratase and catalase activity. Low N supply exhibited higher alkaline and neutral phosphratase activity compared to the others. The results from this study indicated that both drought and N limited the growth of S. davidii seedlings and their biomass production. Regardless of N supply levels, drought stress dramatically reduced the seedlings growth and biomass production. Although plant growth parameters, including basal diameter, height, leaf number, and biomass and their components were observed to be positive responses to low N supply, N supply alone can not alter the diminishing tendency which is caused by drought. available N content increased with increase N supply. In addition, low N supply rather These findings imply that drought played a primary limitation role and N was only the secondary. Even so, appropriate N supply was seemed to enhance the ability that S. davidii seedlings adapted to the xeric and infertile environment by improving soil processes, stimulating plant growth, increasing recourses accumulation, enhancing use efficiency of other limited resources, and balancing biomass and resources partitioning. Appropriate N supply, therefore, would be recommended to improve S. davidii seedling establishment in this region, but excess N supply should be avoided.

An inventory of forest relicts in the pastures of Southern Tibet (Xizang AR, China)

An inventory of isolated tree stands surrounded by desert pastures in Southern Tibet (A.R. Xizang, China) revealed more than 50 sites with vigorous trees of Juniperus convallium Rehder & E.H. Wilson and Juniperus tibetica Kom and additional more than 10 records where juniper trees had been destroyed between 1959-1976. The tree stands are not restricted to any specific habitat, and occur within an area stretching 650 km westwards from the current forest border of Southern Tibet. The trees are religious landmarks of the Tibetan Buddhists. The highest trees were found at an elevation of 4,860 m. Vegetation records, rainfall correlations and temperature data collected by local climate stations and successful reforestation trials since 1999 indicate that forest relicts fragmented through human interference could regenerate if current cattle grazing and deforestation practices are halted. The drought line of Juniperus forests in Southern Tibet is approximately 200-250 mm/a. A first pollen diagram from Lhasa shows forest decline associated with the presence of humans since at least 4,600 yr BP. The currently degraded commons developed in the last 600 yr. To date, no findings of remains of ancient forests in the Central Tibetan Highlands of the Changtang have been reported.

Roteiro para diagnóstico participativo de agroecossistemas: proposta para avaliações com enfoque na agrobiodiversidade e em práticas agroecológicas.

2006

Dinâmica sazonal do carbono em campo úmido do cerrado.

2006

Floristic notes of Sierra del Rincón Biosphere Reserve (Spain, Madrid province)

New records of vascular plants from Sierra del Rincón Biosphere Reserve and surroundings (Spain, Madrid province) are provided. It is noteworthy the presence of atlantic flora in this continental area and the different shrubby communities in different sectors with different litology: in areas with gneiss they are dominated by leguminous genisteae; where it is schistous, shale or quartzite they are heathlands.

Woodland decline in upland Scotland

The recent article by Fenton (Fenton JH. 2008. A postulated natural origin for the open landscape of upland Scotland. Plant Ecology & Diversity 1:115–127) has argued that the landscapes of upland Scotland are treeless because of long-term deterioration of soil conditions. There are reasons for thinking that this might be the case in the absence of human activity. However, there have been considerable anthropogenic pressures on these landscapes for several millenia, documented archaeologically and palaeoecologically. Attempting to exclude these pressures from the discussion can only lead to an incomplete and misleading account of a complex series of changes involving an interaction which includes natural vegetational and environmental processes, climatic changes and human pressures.

The investigation of edge effects within ragmented forest islands in Short Hills Provincial Park

It has been well documented, within the field of landscape ecology, that terrestrial fragmentation contributes to increased heterogeneity at the landscape level. It has also been observed that elevated areas of edge habitat occur within fragmented landscapes. Spatial and temporal edge effects were investigated in four areas designated as Nature Reserve Zones within Short Hills Provincial Park, near St. Catharines, Ontario. Random sampling along exposed edges was performed on trees and saplings, at 5 and 25 ill edge depths, using the point-centred quarter method. Diameter at breast height (dbh) and distance from point measurements were used to establish relative density, dominance, frequency and importance value. One-way analyses of variance were used on dbh measurements of tree species and Chi-Square contingency tables were used on size class distributions of saplings species to determine significant differences between 5 and 25 metres. Qualitative comparisons of importance values were also used to determine differences between 5 and 25 metres as well as between trees and saplings. These statistical and qualitative comparisons suggest that a significant overall spatial edge effect is currently exhibited by fragmented wooded islands within the park. The major species of the park, Acersaccharuln, may be exhibiting a temporal edge effect. The heterogeneous nature of the park may be of importance in understanding this area as a complex, ecological system. It is possible that the remaining forest tracts of the park have been affected, and continue to be affected by previous disturbances. Based on these findings, recommendations are made to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources concerning the management of Short Hills Provincial Park in accordance with their 1990 proposed Management Plan.

Thorold Industry - Postcards

Board of six postcards of Thorold. First postcard, Unloading pulpwood at Ontario Paper Mill on Welland Canal, Thorold, Ontario. Second postcard, Ontario Paper Mill, Thorold, Ont. Third postcard, Birdseye view showing Stone Road, Near Ontario Paper Mill, Thorold, Ontario. Fourth postcard, View on Old Welland Canal, Showing Power House, Thorold Ontario. Fifth postcard, Beaver Board Plant, Thorold Ontario. Sixth postcard, On the Old Welland Canal and Penman's Knitting Mill, Thorold, Ont., Canada.

A GIS-based empirical model for vegetation prediction in Lefka Ori, Crete

The aim of the study was to establish and verify a predictive vegetation model for plant community distribution in the alti-Mediterranean zone of the Lefka Ori massif, western Crete. Based on previous work three variables were identified as significant determinants of plant community distribution, namely altitude, slope angle and geomorphic landform. The response of four community types against these variables was tested using classification trees analysis in order to model community type occurrence. V-fold cross-validation plots were used to determine the length of the best fitting tree. The final 9node tree selected, classified correctly 92.5% of the samples. The results were used to provide decision rules for the construction of a spatial model for each community type. The model was implemented within a Geographical Information System (GIS) to predict the distribution of each community type in the study site. The evaluation of the model in the field using an error matrix gave an overall accuracy of 71%. The user's accuracy was higher for the Crepis-Cirsium (100%) and Telephium-Herniaria community type (66.7%) and relatively lower for the Peucedanum-Alyssum and Dianthus-Lomelosia community types (63.2% and 62.5%, respectively). Misclassification and field validation points to the need for improved geomorphological mapping and suggests the presence of transitional communities between existing community types.

A GIS-based empirical model for vegetation prediction in Lefka Ori, Crete

The aim of the study was to establish and verify a predictive vegetation model for plant community distribution in the alti-Mediterranean zone of the Lefka Ori massif, western Crete. Based on previous work three variables were identified as significant determinants of plant community distribution, namely altitude, slope angle and geomorphic landform. The response of four community types against these variables was tested using classification trees analysis in order to model community type occurrence. V-fold cross-validation plots were used to determine the length of the best fitting tree. The final 9node tree selected, classified correctly 92.5% of the samples. The results were used to provide decision rules for the construction of a spatial model for each community type. The model was implemented within a Geographical Information System (GIS) to predict the distribution of each community type in the study site. The evaluation of the model in the field using an error matrix gave an overall accuracy of 71%. The user's accuracy was higher for the Crepis-Cirsium (100%) and Telephium-Herniaria community type (66.7%) and relatively lower for the Peucedanum-Alyssum and Dianthus-Lomelosia community types (63.2% and 62.5%, respectively). Misclassification and field validation points to the need for improved geomorphological mapping and suggests the presence of transitional communities between existing community types.

Invasive grasses and native Asteraceae in the Brazilian Cerrado

Anthropogenic disturbances frequently modify natural disturbance regimes and foster the invasion and spread of nonindigenous species. However, there is some dispute about whether disturbance events or invasive plants themselves are the major factors promoting the local extinction of native plant species. Here, we used a set of savanna remnants comprising a gradient of invasive grass cover to evaluate whether the species richness of Asteraceae, a major component of the Brazilian Cerrado, is affected by invasive grass cover, or alternatively, whether variation in richness can be directly ascribed to disturbance-related variables. Furthermore, we evaluate whether habitat-specialist Asteraceae differ from habitat generalist species in their responses to grass invasion. Abundance and species richness showed unimodal variation along the invasive grass gradient for both total Asteraceae and habitat-generalists. The cerrado-specialist species, however, showed no clear variation from low-to-intermediate levels of grass cover, but declined monotonically from intermediate-to-higher levels. Through a structural equation model, we found that only invasive grass cover had significant effects on both abundance and species density of Asteraceae. The effect of invasive grass cover was especially high on the cerrado-specialist species, whose proportion declined consistently with increasing invasive dominance. Our results support the prediction that invasive grasses reduce the floristic uniqueness of pristine vegetation physiognomies.

Population biology and regeneration of forbs and shrubs after fire in Brazilian Campos grasslands

Fire is an important factor in several ecosystems, affecting plant population biology. Campos grasslands are under constant influence of disturbance, mostly grazing and fire. However, few studies evaluated the effect of fire on plant population biology of grassland species. Therefore, we aim to analyze the effect of fire on the population biology of four species, from different functional groups and regeneration strategies: Chaptalia runcinata (forb, resprouter, absence of belowground organ), Vernonia flexuosa (forb, resprouter, presence of rhizophore), Eupatorium ligulaefolium (shrub, resprouter, presence of xylopodium) and Heterothalamus psiadioides (shrub, obligate seeder). Seven plots were established in different sites in southern Brazil: frequently burned (FB) and excluded from fire since 6 years (E). All plots were subjected to controlled burns during summer. Before experiments, populations were sampled. Further observations were carried out after 90 and after 360 days of fire experiments. In addition, we counted the number of seedlings and resprouters recruited after fire. Heat shock experiments were conducted with two species (H. psiadioides and V. flexuosa), as well as the study of the bud bank of the following species: E. ligulaefolium and V. flexuosa. The obligate seeder species had all individuals killed by fire and established only after 1 year. Resprouters, however, showed new stems immediately after fire. E. ligulaefolium and V. flexuosa showed only vegetative regeneration from belowground organs and more individuals in excluded sites 1 year after the fire. The bud bank of E. ligulaefolium tended to be larger in excluded sites, whilst V. flexuosa showed an opposite result. High temperatures did not enhance nor kill seeds from both studied species. Vegetative regeneration was the most important strategy for all studied species, except for H. psiadioides, the obligate seeder species. Fire thus, plays an important role on population structure and demography, being also important for plant recruitment.