Application of the Red List Index for conservation assessment of Spanish vascular plants

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Index (RLI) is used to measure trends in extinction risk of species over time. The development of 2 red lists for Spanish vascular flora during the past decade allowed us to apply the IUCN RLI to vascular plants in an area belonging to a global biodiversity hotspot. We used the Spanish Red Lists from 2000 and 2010 to assess changes in level of threat at a national scale and at the subnational scales of Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, and peninsular Spain. We assigned retrospective IUCN categories of threat to 98 species included in the Spanish Red List of 2010 but absent in the Spanish Red List of 2000. In addition, we tested the effect of different random and taxonomic and spatial Spanish samples on the overall RLI value. From 2000 to 2010, the IUCN categories of 768 species changed (10% of Spanish flora), mainly due to improved knowledge (63%), modifications in IUCN criteria (14%), and changes in threat status (12%). All measured national and subnational RLI values decreased during this period, indicating a general decline in the conservation status of the Spanish vascular flora. The Canarian RLI value (0.84) was the lowest, although the fastest deterioration in conservation status occurred on peninsular Spain (from 0.93 in 2000 to 0.92 in 2010). The RLI values based on subsamples of the Spanish Red List were not representative of RLI values for the entire country, which would discourage the use of small areas or small taxonomic samples to assess general trends in the endangerment of national biotas. The role of the RLI in monitoring of changes in biodiversity at the global and regional scales needs further reassessment because additional areas and taxa are necessary to determine whether the index is sufficiently sensitive for use in assessing temporal changes in species’ risk of extinction.     

海南鹦哥岭的外来植物与生态环境影响评价

通过对鹦哥岭外来植物的调查,以及外来植物区系的种类组成、原产地、生长型、生境和危害程度等的分析,阐明鹦哥岭的外来植物现状及其对当地生态环境的影响。分析表明:共有53种外来植物,约占鹦哥岭种子植物总数的2.73%,主要来自新大陆热带地区(35种)。其中草本(36种)和灌木(13种)占优势,藤本(3种)和小乔木(2种)相对不明显。外来种对鹦哥岭自然生态系统的影响较小,对人为干扰严重的生态系统影响较大。最后对外来植物进行评估,并提出防控措施。     

Relationships between Plant and Animal Species Richness at a Regional Scale in China

Abstract:  Important questions in conservation biology and ecology include whether species diversities of different groups of organisms are correlated and, in particular, whether plant diversity influences animal diversity. I used correlation and partial regression analyses to examine the relationships between species richness of vascular plants and four major groups of terrestrial vertebrates (mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and birds) in 28 provinces in China. Species richness data were obtained from the literature. Environmental variables included normalized difference vegetation index, mean January temperature, mean annual temperature, annual precipitation, May through August precipitation, actual evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration, and elevation range. Species richness was strongly and positively correlated among the five groups of organisms. Plant richness was correlated with animal richness more strongly than the richness of different animal groups correlated with each other except for reptile richness, which had a slightly higher correlation with amphibian richness than with plant richness. Plant richness uniquely explained 41 times more variance in the species richness of the four vertebrate groups combined than environmental variables uniquely did, suggesting that plant richness influences terrestrial vertebrate richness at the regional scale examined. Because of strong correlations between the diversity of vascular plants and vertebrates, the diversity of vascular plants may be used as a surrogate for the diversity of terrestrial animals in China. My results have implications for selection of areas to be protected at both regional and local scales.     

The Botanist Effect Revisited: Plant Species Richness, County Area, and Human Population Size in the United States

Abstract:  The "botanist effect" is thought to be the reason for higher plant species richness in areas where botanists are disproportionately present as an artefactual consequence of a more thorough sampling. We examined whether this was the case for U.S. counties. We collated the number of species of vascular plants, human population size, and the area of U.S. counties. Controlling for spatial autocorrelation and county area, plant species richness increased with human population size and density in counties with and without universities and/or botanical gardens, with no significant differences in the relation between the two subsets. This is consistent with previous findings and further evidence of a broad-scale positive correlation between species richness and human population presence, which has important consequences for the experience of nature by inhabitants of densely populated regions. Combined with the many reports of a negative correlation between the two variables at a local scale, the positive relation between plant species richness in U.S. counties and human population presence stresses the need for the conservation of seminatural areas in urbanized ecosystems and for the containment of urban and suburban sprawl.     

大气污染指示植物的研究

自50年代以来.为寻找一种经济、实用和灵敏的方法来监测环境变化,开展了大量大气污染指示植物的研究.这些工作包括用植物叶片典型症状、树皮、草本植物、附生植物指示气体污染(O_3、PANs、NO_x、SO_2、HF、乙烯等)、粉尘以及重金属污染.进入80年代以后,有关研究集中到利用植物富集的污染物含量结合计算机等先进技术指示和监测大气环境变化及进行大气质量评价.本文对国内外开展的大气污染指示植物研究的历史及其主要方法作了简要介绍,并就利用植物指示和监测大气污染的若干问题进行了探讨.     

酸沉降对森林植物影响过程和机理

文章丰要包括如下几方而的内容：（1）概述了酸沉降作用下森林衰退的状况及其相关工作的开展情况；（2）总结了酸沉降对森林植物的影响过程和机理；（3）阐述了酸沉降对森林植物影响研究的模型和临界酸负荷值的确定；（4）探讨了存在的问题和未来值得研究的方向。指山未来的研究方向主要是：酸沉降对森林生态系统的影响机理和森林生态系统对酸沉降的反馈机制；酸沉降对非优势种、稀有种及低等植物的影响；酸沉降与其它环境因子对森林植物的共同影响；酸沉降的监控和预测，建立适合我斟实际情况的研究模型；将常规分析手段和分子生物学技术相结合，加强抗性植物和指示植物的筛选工作；加强受损森林植被的恢复和重建工作；开展酸沉降对森林植被的格局动态及森林演替动态变化研究。     

植物对沼泽湿地生态系统N2O排放的影响

利用静态暗箱/气相色谱法连续3个生长季(2003-2005年)对三江平原小叶章草甸和毛果苔草沼泽N2O排放通量进行野外对比观测试验.结果表明,植物不同生长阶段对湿地生态系统N2O排放通量的影响不尽相同.植物的参与促进了湿地生态系统N2O的排放,2003-2005年生长季小叶章草甸土壤-植物系统N2O排放通量分别是土壤表观N2O排放通量的1.58倍、2.09倍和2.34倍,同期毛果苔草沼泽土壤-植物系统N2O排放通量分别是土壤表观N2O排放通量的1.86倍、1.50倍和1.33倍.3个生长季小叶章草甸N2O排放通量均大于毛果苔草沼泽,这主要是由土壤理化性质的空间变异性以及水文情况的差异造成的.     

天台铅锌矿区香根草(Vetiveria zizanioides)等几种草本植物的重金属耐性

研究了浙江天台铅锌矿区香根草 (Vetiveriazizanioides)及其群落中几种主要植物Cu、Cd、Zn、Pb的累积分布 ,对植物与土壤元素、对重金属的耐受性作了初步探讨 .结果表明 ,香根草植物中元素含量表现为Zn >Pb >Cu >Cd,其中Cu表现为根 >茎 >叶 ,Cd表现为叶 >茎 >根 ,Zn、Pb表现为根 >叶 >茎 .香根草中的Zn、Pb含量均显著地高于其它几种植物 .香根草与土壤元素关系中 ,Zn的相关性最显著 ,其次为Pb .图 1表 5参 19     

Short-term and long-term facilitation of goose grazing by livestock in the Dutch Wadden Sea area

We studied the impact of livestock grazing on the distribution ofBranta bernicla bernicla (Dark-bellied Brent goose) in the Dutch Wadden Sea during spring. It was hypothesized that livestock facilitate short-term (within-season) grazing for geese as well as long-term (over years). Therefore we measured grazing pressure by geese in salt marsh and polder areas that were either grazed (spring-grazed) or ungrazed during spring (summer-grazed). Additionally, we carried out a preference experiment with captive geese to test the preference between spring-grazed and summer-grazed polder swards. We furthermore compared patterns of use by geese between long-term ungrazed and grazed salt marshes. In May, there is a difference in grazing pressure by geese between polder pastures that are grazed or ungrazed during spring. In this month, the ungrazed polder pastures are abandoned and the geese shift to either the grazed polder pastures or to the salt marsh. Vegetation in the polder that had been spring-grazed had a lower canopy height and a higher tiller density than summer-grazed vegetation. The captive geese in the preference experiment showed a clear preference for vegetation that had been spring-grazed by sheep over ungrazed vegetation. Goose grazing pressure was negatively correlated to canopy height, both on the polder and on the salt marsh. Within the plant communities dominated byFestuca rubra andPuccinellia maritima, marshes that were intensively grazed by livestock generally had higher grazing pressure by geese than long-term ungrazed or lightly grazed salt marshes.