Tree regeneration and future stand development after bark beetle infestation and harvesting in Colorado lodgepole pine stands   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Byron J. CollinsCharles C. Rhoades  Robert M. HubbardMichael A. Battaglia 《Forest Ecology and Management》2011,261(11):2168-2175

In the southern Rocky Mountains, current mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) outbreaks and associated harvesting have set millions of hectares of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia Engelm. ex Wats.) forest onto new stand development trajectories. Information about immediate, post-disturbance tree regeneration will provide insight on dynamics of future stand composition and structure. We compared tree regeneration in eight paired harvested and untreated lodgepole pine stands in the Fraser Experimental Forest that experienced more than 70% overstory mortality due to beetles. New seedlings colonized both harvested and untreated stands in the first years after the beetle outbreak. In harvested areas the density of new seedlings, predominantly lodgepole pine and aspen, was four times higher than in untreated stands. Annual height growth of pine and fir advance regeneration (e.g., trees established prior to the onset of the outbreak) has doubled following overstory mortality in untreated stands. Growth simulations based on our regeneration data suggest that stand basal area and stem density will return to pre-beetle levels in untreated and harvested stands within 80-105 years. Furthermore, lodgepole pine will remain the dominant species in harvested stands over the next century, but subalpine fir will become the most abundant species in untreated areas. Owing to terrain, economic and administrative limitations, active management will treat a small fraction (<15%) of the forests killed by pine beetle. Our findings suggest that the long-term consequences of the outbreak will be most dramatic in untreated forests where the shift in tree species composition will influence timber and water production, wildfire behavior, wildlife habitat and other forest attributes.  相似文献   

Reed cutting affects arthropod communities, potentially reducing food for passerine birds     

Martin H. Schmidt  Gaëtan Lefebvre  Teja Tscharntke 《Biological conservation》2005,121(2):157-166

Winter cutting of Common Reed Phragmites australis (Poaceae) is increasing in Camargue, southern France, potentially affecting wetlands of high conservation value. We studied its impact on arthropods by comparing four cut and uncut sites with special respect to avian prey availability in the breeding season. The two most important prey groups for breeding passerines, spiders (Araneida) and beetles (Coleoptera), were identified to species in trap catches and diet samples. The arthropod assemblages differed significantly between cut and uncut sites. Phytophagous and saprophagous species showed contrasting responses. Numbers of homopterans increased in cut reed beds, where green Phragmites stem density was higher. Saprophagous woodlice decreased, presumably due to the reduced amount of litter. Densities of some vegetation-dwelling spider and beetle species were lower at cut sites, including two of the most preferred prey species for passerine birds. Consequently, large-scale mechanically harvested reed beds host altered arthropod communities, missing major food components used by vulnerable passerines. However, reed cutting on a small scale may increase habitat heterogeneity and species richness on a landscape level. To contribute to reed bed conservation, EU schemes should reward management that leaves uncut reed patches in the proximity of cut areas to permit their recolonization by arthropods.  相似文献   

Balanites wilsoniana: Regeneration with and without elephants     

Fred Babweteera  Peter Savill 《Biological conservation》2007,134(1):40-47

Tropical forest trees that produce large fruits and/or large seeds are believed to be dependant on a few and often rare large vertebrates for dispersal. However, little is known about the population dynamics of such trees when they lose their specialised dispersers. This study examines the juvenile spatial distribution of Balanites wilsoniana, Dawe & Spraque, which is believed to be dependant solely on elephants for dispersal, in forests with and without elephants. Using camera traps, elephants were confirmed to be the only frugivores feeding and thus dispersing Balanites wilsoniana fruits. There was a high density of seedlings beneath adult trees in one forest without elephants, which was attributed to low seed and seedling predation in this forest. Nevertheless, it was only in the forest with elephants that juveniles were established away from adult trees. Analysis of the spatial distribution of these juveniles by size revealed that saplings and poles are more likely to be found away from adult trees thus providing evidence that dispersal enhances juvenile survival. This study underlines the importance of seed dispersal for trees that cannot maintain their populations through seedlings germinating and surviving beneath adult conspecifics. The study also demonstrates that loss of vertebrates has ramifications for tree species dynamics above and beyond loss of seed dispersers.  相似文献   

Management regimes for a plant invader differentially impact resident communities     

T.J. Mason  K. French 《Biological conservation》2007,136(2):246-259

Management of plant invaders causes disturbance and the compounding effects of both invasion and management on biodiversity merit rigorous assessment. We explored the impacts of both plant invasion and management disturbance in coastal dune communities of Australia invaded by the introduced shrub bitou bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera ssp. rotundata). We compared the effects of intensive, manually based invader control with those of extensive control (mainly herbicide spraying from aircraft) across fore dune communities. We examined one management regime, which was typically intensive, in hind dune communities. Our main aim was to test the prediction that intensive methods would achieve better biodiversity outcomes than extensive approaches in fore dune communities. We found that extensive management created native species complements that diverged from non-invaded sites while intensive management approached non-invaded site conditions. However, intensively managed sites were also richer in other exotic species than extensively managed sites. Thus, while biodiversity outcomes were better under intensive management, the risk profile of such sites was increased by the greater array of exotics that could potentially replace the original invader. The positive effects of management evident on some fore dunes were not found in hind dunes, where managed sites had the highest exotic species richness and similar bitou bush seedling abundance as both non-invaded and bitou-invaded sites. Hind dune managed sites were also compositionally distinct from non-invaded sites. Thus fore and hind dune communities exhibited different responses to bitou management regimes.  相似文献   

Organic matter dynamics in a temperate forest soil following enhanced drying     

Andrea Schmitt 《Soil biology & biochemistry》2011,43(3):478-489

Climate models predict an increase in global surface temperature and a change in precipitation intensity during this century. For Europe, extended drought periods followed by heavy rainfall are expected. The consequences for soil organic matter (SOM) dynamics are poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the effect of changing soil moisture regime on SOM quality under field conditions. For this purpose, a throughfall exclusion (TE) experiment was conducted in the summers 2006 and 2007 on a Haplic Podzol under a 140 years old Norway spruce stand using a roof installation followed by re-wetting compared to non-manipulated control plots. Total organic carbon, lignin (stable carbon pool), plant and microbial sugars (labile carbon pool) and microbial biomass (phospholipid fatty acids) were determined before, during and after the experiment in the L, O, A and B horizons. No significant treatment effects could be observed for SOM quantity. Amounts of lignin and soil microbial biomass were also not affected by the moisture regime but structure of soil microbial community. In the L and organic layers, gram + bacteria and actinomycetes were reduced during water stress, while gram- bacteria, fungi and protozoa increased during drought. Warmer and drier weather led to a dominance of fungi while a cooler and moister regime favoured bacteria, at least in the L horizon. An increasing PLFA (cy17:0 + cy19:0)/(16:1ω7c + 18:1ω7c) ratio in the O layer and A horizon suggests that the microbes suffered from water stress in these horizons. This agrees with a decreasing contribution of microbial sugars to SOM with decreasing water content in the O and A horizons. Although the original plant material exhibited increasing plant sugar content with increasing dryness, the contribution of the plant sugars to total soil organic carbon (SOC) generally decreased with decreasing water content. Physical-chemical changes of soil structure can theoretically change the sugar extractability from soils and/or chemical changes of sugars structure can probably affect the analysis. Therefore, chemical alteration and stabilization could be responsible for sugar decrease in soil with increasing dryness explaining the contrast compared to the original plant material.  相似文献   

Plant community functional shifts in response to livestock grazing in intermountain depressional wetlands in British Columbia, Canada     

W. Marc Jones  Lauchlan H. Fraser  P. Jefferson Curtis 《Biological conservation》2011,(1):511-517

Wetlands are ecologically and economically important ecosystems with high conservation value. Although wetland vegetation is strongly determined by abiotic factors, grazing disturbance may also be an important influence on this community. We evaluated the effects of livestock grazing on wetland vegetation in marsh and wet meadow zones in intermountain depressional wetlands in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. We sampled marshes and wet meadows in 36 wetlands along a grazing intensity gradient ranging from fully fenced and ungrazed wetlands to unfenced wetlands heavily grazed by livestock. The amount of bare ground was used as a surrogate measure of the intensity of livestock grazing. Vegetation community structure and composition was strongly associated with grazing intensity. Increased livestock grazing favored shorter-lived and smaller plants; conversely, the frequency of tall and rhizomatous species, which constitute the dominant plant species in these systems, declined with higher livestock use. The effects of grazing were more pronounced in the marsh than in the wet meadow. Associations between species richness and grazing differed between zones: native and exotic species richness showed a unimodal response in the marsh while in the wet meadow exotic richness increased and native richness showed no response. The relationship between exotic frequency and grazing was also inconsistent between zones, with a negative association in the marsh and a positive but weak association in the wet meadow. Grazing-related changes in vegetation along the grazing intensity gradient were substantial and may affect the habitat value of these wetlands for dependent wildlife such as breeding waterfowl.  相似文献   

食蚜瘿蚊对3种蚜虫捕食作用的研究     

张洁  杨茂发 《安徽农业科学》2007,35(36):11897-11898

[目的]为评价和充分利用食蚜瘿蚊的控蚜作用。[方法]将甘蓝蚜、桃蚜、蔷薇长管蚜分别设置5个密度,并用甘蓝蚜作种内干扰竞争试验,研究食蚜瘿蚊对3种蚜虫的捕食作用。[结果]食蚜瘿蚊对甘蓝蚜、桃蚜、蔷薇长管蚜的捕食功能反应均符合HollingⅡ型方程。食蚜瘿蚊对甘蓝蚜、桃蚜、蔷薇长管蚜一昼夜的捕食上限分别为13、11、12头,猎物密度相同时对甘蓝蚜的寻找效应始终高于桃蚜和蔷薇长管蚜。食蚜瘿蚊幼虫有较强的种内干扰反应,平均捕食量随自身密度的增大逐渐减少。[结论]食蚜瘿蚊的捕食数量随蚜虫密度的增加而增加,寻找效应随蚜虫密度的增大而降低。食蚜瘿蚊对甘蓝蚜的捕食量最高,捕食率随自身密度的增大而降低。  相似文献   

Outcomes of longterm deciduous forest restoration in southwestern Ontario, Canada     

S.M McLachlan  D.R Bazely 《Biological conservation》2003,113(2):159-169

At present, forest cover in southwestern Ontario, Canada, remains at less than 5% due to intensive agricultural and urban land use. Although much of the extant forest is increasingly protected by legislation, remnants continue to be degraded by the spread of non-native plant species, overgrazing, and recreational use. Some parks in the region have adopted management programs aimed at mitigating this degradation. Over the last 35 years, cottages and roads at Point Pelée National Park have been removed and sites either passively restored (i.e. road or cottage eliminated and vegetation allowed to regenerate) or actively restored (i.e. road or cottage eliminated, exotic vegetation removed, and native species planted). In 1994 and 1995, we assessed the effectiveness of restoration by comparing the understorey plant communities in 28 restored sites with those in less disturbed reference sites. There was a significant increase (P<0.0001) in the similarity of understorey plant communities between restored and reference sites as time-since-restoration increased. Soil moisture, canopy cover, distance to continuous forest, and site-shape all significantly affected plant species composition. Former road sites recovered significantly (P<0.05) more rapidly than former cottage sites, and the former lawns of passively restored cottage sites were the slowest to recover. Five years following active restoration, non-native ruderal species continued to dominate restored sites. The observed recovery of understorey plant communities in restored sites is attributed to their proximity to natural vegetation, and its function as a seed source. In some sites, recovery is substantial and, assuming present trajectories of change are maintained, we predict that recovery could occur in many mesic sites within the next 20 years. Restoration activity facilitates forest recovery and would appear to have a valuable function in mitigating ongoing conflicts between conservation and human use in this region.  相似文献   

Impact of fire on plant-species persistence in post-mine restored and natural shrubland communities in southwestern Australia     

Dulana N. Herath  Byron B. Lamont  Neal J. Enright  Ben P. Miller   《Biological conservation》2009,142(10):2175-2180

In many parts of the world, it is inevitable that fire will return as a natural disturbance factor to vegetation restored on anthropogenically-disturbed lands. Therefore, assessment of the ultimate success of restoration programs should include the ways in which these ecosystems respond to such natural disturbances. We compared the response of vegetation to experimental fires on mature (8 y) post-mine restored and nearby natural shrubland communities in a Mediterranean-climate region of Australia. Pre- and post-fire perennial plant species composition was assessed in 40 × 40 m plots at three shrubland sites restored after mineral sand-mining, and at five natural shrubland sites. Additional quadrats were monitored for seedling survival over the first summer after fire.Species richness fell by 22–41% after fire in restored sites, but increased by 4–29% in natural sites. Of the species present before fire, 44–60% persisted after fire is restored sites, and 88–96% in natural sites. Only 42–66% of resprouting species recovered in restored sites, whereas 96–100% recovered in natural sites. Nonsprouting species recruitment was also lower in restored (18–57%) than natural (67–85%) sites. Seedling mortality over the first summer after fire was higher in restored sites (59–86% death of individuals) than in natural sites (14–60%). PCoA ordination showed that fire altered the floristic composition of restored sites much more than that of natural sites, and their vegetation diverged further from the targeted properties of natural communities. Our study highlights the importance of including the ability of post-anthropogenically-altered lands to recover from natural disturbances in determining the success of restoration programs.  相似文献   

Woody plant regeneration after blowdown, salvage logging, and prescribed fire in a northern Minnesota forest     

Brian Palik  Doug Kastendick 《Forest Ecology and Management》2009,258(7):1323-1330

Salvage logging after natural disturbance has received increased scrutiny in recent years because of concerns over detrimental effects on tree regeneration and increased fine fuel levels. Most research on tree regeneration after salvage logging comes from fire-prone systems and is short-term in scope. Limited information is available on longer term responses to salvage logging after windstorms or from forests outside of fire-prone regions. We examined tree and shrub regeneration after a stand-replacing windstorm, with and without salvage logging and prescribed fire. Our study takes place in northern Minnesota, USA, a region where salvage logging impacts have received little attention. We asked the following questions: (i) does composition and abundance of woody species differ among post-disturbance treatments, including no salvage, salvage alone, and salvage with prescribed burning, 12 years after the windstorm?; (ii) is regeneration of Populus, the dominant pre-blowdown species, inhibited in unsalvaged treatments?; and (iii) how do early successional trajectories differ among post-blowdown treatments? Twelve years after the wind disturbance, the unsalvaged forest had distinctly different composition and abundance of trees and woody shrubs compared to the two salvage treatments, despite experiencing similar wind disturbance severities and having similar composition immediately after the blowdown. Unsalvaged forest had greater abundance of shade tolerant hardwoods and lower abundance of Populus, woody shrubs, and Betulapapyrifera, compared to salvage treatments. There was some evidence that adding prescribed fire after the blowdown and salvage logging further increased disturbance severity, since the highest abundances of shrubs and early successional tree species occurred in the burning treatment. These results suggest that salvage treatments (or a lack thereof) can be used to direct compositional development of a post-blowdown forest along different trajectories, specifically, towards initial dominance by early successional Populus and B.papyrifera with salvage logging or towards early dominance by shade tolerant hardwoods, with some Populus, if left unsalvaged.  相似文献