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    20 May 2010, Volume 21 Issue 05
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    Articles
    Dynamic characteristics of forest landscape in Chengdu City in last 20 years.
    2010, 21(05):  1081-1089. 
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    Based on the remote sensing data of Landsat TM (1985, 1995, and 2000) and CBERS (2006), and by using landscape pattern method and index model of regional land use change in combining with eco-function regionalization, this paper analyzed the dynamic characteristics of forest landscape in Chengdu City in 1985-2006. In the study period, over 17000 hm2 of forest land lost, and the number and area of small- and medium-size patches changed significantly, indicating the apparent conversion and fragmentation of forest land. Forest land was mainly distributed in mountainous area, accounting for 70% of the total. In contrast, more number of patches was found in plain region, amounting to 70% of the total. The most rapid change of forest land area  occurred in 1985-1995, especially in mountainous region. The relative change rate of forest land area in different eco-function regions also varied in different periods. Forest land, converted to or converted from, was mainly related to cropland and grassland. In 2000-2006, forest land was quite stable. Survival-oriented economic welfare, environmental security, and fast urbanization process were the main driving forces of the temporal dynamic change of forest landscape, whereas geographical division and socio-economic layout were the main constraints to the spatial dynamic change of forest landscape.
    Long-term effects of Dendrolimus superans Bulter disturbance on forest landscape in Huzhong Forest Bureau of Great Xing’an Mountains: A simulation study.
    2010, 21(05):  1090-1096. 
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    A spatially explicit landscape model LANDIS was applied to simulate the long-term effects of Dendrolimus superans Bulter disturbance on the forest landscape in Huzhong Forest Bureau of Great Xing’an Mountains. The statistical software pakage APACK was used to calculate the distribution area of D. superans and representative tree species, the aggregation index reflecting the spatial pattern, and the average area of forest patchs. The dynamics of forest landscape in the study region was simulated under two scenarios, i.e., with and without D. superans disturbance for 300 years (from 1990 to 2290). In the region, the distribution area of D. superans showed a trend of increased first and decreased then. Under D. superans disturbance scenario, the distribution area and the average patch size of Larix gmelinii in 0-150 years and the aggregation index of L. gmelinii in 0-190 years, the distribution area and the average patch size of Betula platyphylla and its aggregation index in 80-190 years, as well as the distribution area, average patch size, and aggregation index of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica were lower or slightly lower than those under no disturbance scenario. D. superans disturbance led to the fragmentation of forest landscape to some extent.
    Soil respiration of degraded Korean pine forest ecosystem in Changbai Mountains.
    2010, 21(05):  1097-1104. 
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    Taking the broad-leaved Korean pine forest area in Changbai Mountains, a typical eastern forest belt of Northeast China for global change as test object, and by using the approaches of trenching-plot and infrared gas exchange analyzer, this paper analyzed the soil respiration in a selected series of degraded Korean pine forest ecosystem, i.e., broad-leaved Korean pine forest (CK), poplarbirch forest (Y), hardwood forest (S), Mongolian oak forest (M), and bare land (L). In the growth season of the forests, soil respiration showed a clear single peak curve, with the maximum in July or August. The soil respiration decreased in the sequence of Y>M>CK>S>L. The amount of CO2 release in Y and M was about 0.4 and 0.3 times higher than that in CK; and that in S and L accounted for 88% and 78% of CK, respectively.
    Spatiotemporal dynamics of vegetation cover based on trajectory change detection: A case study in Dapeng Peninsula of Shenzhen.
    2010, 21(05):  1105-1111. 
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    By using the second-time developed ArcEngine component at pixel level, this paper studied the spatiotemporal dynamics of vegetation cover in the Dapeng Peninsula of Shenzhen, China in 1986-2007, and analyzed the characters and causes of the dynamics. To quantify this dynamics, the NDVI changes in 1986-2007 were extracted from 10 time-series TM /ETM+ remote sensing images, and the results showed that from 1986 to 2007, there were four trajectories of vegetation cover change in the Peninsula, including stable (a), stable-rising-stable (aba), stable-descending-stable (aca), and stable-descending-stable-rising-stable (acaba). The area with these four types occupied 71.54% of the total. Among the four types, type “a” was most common, occupying 1/3 of the study area, mainly in the mountains; and type “acaba” was the typical one, which was closely related to the deforestation and reforestation after the human disturbances of original vegetation. The areas at higher elevation or steeper slopes exhibited smaller vegetation change, mainly because of the constrained human disturbances. Timing of the vegetation cover change showed a relative stability in the mid-90s of 20th century, but a dramatic change after 2003, coinciding with the growth of Shenzhen City.
    Effect zone of forest road on plant species diversity in Great Hing'an Mountians.
    2010, 21(05):  1112-1119. 
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    Forest road has far-reaching effects on plant species diversity across varying scales, and the estimation of its effect distance and effect zone is a key issue to integrate the road effect and ecological processes in forest area. In this paper, ten transects，2 m wide and extending 50 m from varying grade roads including main road, main line for wood transportation, and secondary line for wood transportation in Huzhong forest area of Great Hing’an Mountains were set. The plant composition was investigated in twentyfive 2 m×2 m plots of each transect. The road-effect distance on plant species diversity identified by moving window analysis in terms of the important value of each plot. The results showed that in study area, the effect distance reached up to 20-34 m, regardeless of  the roads grade. The plant species diversity of shrub stratum and herb stratum within the effect zone was greater than that in adjacent habitat, with the Shannon-Weiner index increased by 21% and 60%, respectively. The response of shrub stratum to the road effect was more stable than herb stratum, but no significant change was observed in tree stratum. Chamaenerion angustifolium was the indicative species of road-effect zone communities. Based on the estimation of road-effect distance, the road area in Huzhong Forestry Bureau and Great Hing’an Mountains occupied about 0.10%, and its effect zone on vegetation occupied 1.79% and 1.53%, respectively.
    Dynamic changes of landscape pattern and eco-disturbance degree in Shuangtai estuary wetland of Liaoning Province, China.
    2010, 21(05):  1120-1128. 
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    The main objective of establishing natural reserve is to protect its natural resources from human disturbances and maintain its critical ecological service values. This paper introduced the concept of hemeroby, and by using remote sensing technology, systematically assessed the dynamic changes of landscape pattern and eco-disturbance degree in Shuangtai estuary wetland of Liaoning Province, China. Firstly, a knowledge-based expert system was used to classify the landscape into three first-level types based on eco-disturbance degree, i.e., undisturbed, partially disturbed, or completely disturbed, which were further classified into 30 second-level categories. Secondly, questionnaire and experts knowledge were adopted to determine the hemeroby index for each landscape type and to formulate a landscape classification system. Finally, the landscape classification maps and hemeroby indices were derived by using the Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM)/Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) data acquired on 30 April 1987, 7 June 1995, 12 June 2000, and 11 October 2006. The results indicated that from 1987 to 2006, the landscape patches in the study area became more fragmented, being most obvious for reed marsh. Undisturbed landscape type decreased in area, while partially and completely disturbed types were in adverse. The overall characteristics of the spatial distribution of hemeroby index were of most variable in the areas along the river and surrounding the estuary and being the highest in the areas surrounding the city, largely due to the rapid urbanization and the blooming fishery in the study area.
    Markov process of vegetation cover change in arid area of Northwest China based on FVC index.
    2010, 21(05):  1129-1136. 
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    Based on the fractional vegetation cover (FVC) data of 1982-2000 NOAA/AVHRR (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) images, the whole arid area of Northwest China was divided into three sub-areas, and then, the vegetation cover in each sub-area was classified by altitude. Furthermore, the Markov process of vegetation cover change was analyzed and tested through calculating the limit probability of any two years and the continuous and interval mean transition matrixes of vegetation cover change with 8 km× 8 km spatial resolution. By this method, the Markov process of vegetation cover change and its indicative significance were approached. The results showed that the vegetation cover change in the study area was controlled by some random processes and affected by long-term stable driving factors, and the transitional change of vegetation cover was a multiple Markov process. Therefore, only using two term image data, no matter they were successive or intervallic, Markov process could not accurately estimate the trend of vegetation cover change. As for the arid area of Northwest China, more than 10 years successive data could basically reflect all the factors affecting regional vegetation cover change, and using long term average transition matrix data could reliably simulate and predict the vegetation cover change. Vegetation cover change was a long term dynamic balance. Once the balance was broken down, it should be a long time process to establish a new balance.
    Disturbance assessment of urban wetland ecosystem services: A case study in Pingshan watershed of Shenzhen City.
    2010, 21(05):  1137-1145. 
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    To understand the wetland ecosystem services in urbanizing area is much needed in wetland assessment. Currently, the dominant approach in assessing wetland value is the assessment model using environmental economic analysis. However, this approach can not reflect the impact of human disturbance. This paper introduced the connotation of wetland ecosystem services and the patterns of human disturbance, established an evaluation index system which could characterize the disturbance impact, and determined the weight of each index by using analytic hierarchy process. Moreover, a dual-grade fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model was applied to analyze the spatial heterogeneity of human disturbance. Our case study in Pingshan River Basin, a typical urbanizing area of Shenzhen, showed that geographic condition was the primary factor in determining the intensity of human disturbance on wetland ecosystem services. The main disturbance pattern in the south hilly area was vegetation degeneration, but the disturbance intensity was low. Even so, the vegetation protection and management in this area shouldn’t be ignored though. The disturbance pattern in north valley area was diverse, and the disturbance intensity was much higher than that south hilly area. From the upper reach to the lower reach of the main stream, the impact of human disturbance increased first and decreased then, being accorded with the characteristics of land use pattern, but the disturbance pattern didn’t have a continuous distribution. Our study showed that fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model had good performance in the disturbance assessment of wetland ecosystem services.
    Assessment of freshwater ecosystem services in Beijing based on demand and supply.
    2010, 21(05):  1146-1152. 
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    Freshwater ecosystem provides a variety of services to humanity, and in return, human activities give strong stress on the services, particularly in urban area. It is of significance to study the impact of human occupation and stress on freshwater ecosystem. In this paper, a water equivalent method was used to calculate the human occupation on the freshwater ecosystem services in Beijing from 1998 to 2007, and assessed the human stress effect on the freshwater ecosystem, based on the total amount of water resources. In the past 10 years, the water equivalent of human activities in Beijing was about 5 to 17 times larger than the supply of the freshwater ecosystem. The water equivalent of the ecosystem services was decreased in the order of water environment purification > water resources supply > water habitat maintenance > water safety regulation. The gap between the consumption and the supply of freshwater ecosystem services had a trend of increasing to decreasing from 1998 to 2007, with the largest gap occurred in 1999. This study revealed that there was a huge gap between the consumption and the supply of freshwater ecosystem services in Beijing, which would inevitably result in the overloading occupation of the water resources in the City and give stress to the other regions.
    Application of regression tree in analyzing the effects of climate factors on NDVI in loess hilly area of Shaanxi Province.
    2010, 21(05):  1153-1158. 
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    Based on the 10-day SPOT VEGETATION NDVI data and the daily meteorological data from 1998 to 2007 in Yan’an City, the main meteorological variables affecting the annual and interannual variations of NDVI were determined by using regression tree. It was found that the effects of test meteorological variables on the variability of NDVI differed with seasons and time lags. Temperature and precipitation were the most important meteorological variables affecting the annual variation of NDVI, and the average highest temperature was the most important meteorological variable affecting the inter-annual variation of NDVI. Regression tree was very powerful in determining the key meteorological variables affecting NDVI variation, but could not build quantitative relations between NDVI and meteorological variables, which limited its further and wider application.
    Grain effect of landscape pattern indices in a gully catchment of Loess Plateau, China.
    2010, 21(05):  1159-1166. 
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    By using landscape pattern analysis based on GIS, this paper studied the grain effect of landscape pattern indices with a scale 1-50 m in a gully catchment of the Loess Plateau, China from 1975 to 2007. In the catchment, the grain effect was obvious, and differed significantly with year. The grain effect had five types, i.e., stable, stable decreasing, undulatory decreasing, amplitude-accreting, and anomalistic changing. With increasing grain, the stable grain effect showed a stable patch richness density, the stable decreasing grain effect showed a decreasing trend of total edge, edge density, landscape shape index, aggregation index, and contagion index, the undulatory decreasing grain effect showed an undulatory decreasing trend of perimeter-area fractal dimension, the amplitude-accreting grain effect showed an amplitude increasing trend of total area, Shannon’s diversity index, and evenness index, and the anomalistic changing grain effect showed an anomalistic change of patch number, patch density, mean patch area, largest patch index, splitting index, and landscape division index. In 1975, the grain effect of all the indices differed significantly from that in other years, and even, was in opposite.
    Effects of grain size change on landscape pattern indices of Hefei City.
    2010, 21(05):  1167-1173. 
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    Based on the land use map of Hefei in 2002, and by using ArcView software and Fragstats 3.3 spatial analysis program, this paper studied the change characteristics of selected 22 landscape pattern indices of Hefei under effects of different grain size, and analyzed the fitting functions and variation coefficients of partial landscape indices. The results showed that with the grain size increased from 10 to 100 m, the selected indices displayed different change trend, illustrating that the change of grain size had obvious effects on landscape indices. The effects of the grain size could be classified as 4 kinds of situation, i.e., overall rise, overall drop, less change, and no regulation change. The response curves of landscape pattern indices to grain size were fitted by quadratic function, cubic function, power function, and linear function, respectively. For the 1:50000 land use map of Hefei, the suitable range of grain size for computing and analyzing landscape indices was 15-35 m.
    Responses of ecosystem service values to landscape pattern change in typical Karst area of northwest Guangxi, China.
    2010, 21(05):  1174-1179. 
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    Based on 3S technique, this paper examined the responses of ecosystem service values (ESVs) to the landscape pattern change in the typical Karst area of northwest Guangxi, China in 1985, 1990, 2000 and 2005. The ESVs in the study area had close relations to landscape area, fragmentation degree, complexity of patch shape, areas of critical type, patch connectivity, and patch richness. It was linearly positively correlated with landscape area and had curvilinear positive correlations with patch index (LPI), contagion index (CONTAG), aggregative index (AI), effective mesh (MESH), proportion of like adjacencies (PLADJ), and tended to be increased with increasing patch area and patch connectivity of critical landscape type. The ESVs had curvilinear negative correlations with division index (DIVISION), split index (SPLIT), and patch richness (PRD), and decreased with increasing patch fragmentation and shrinking patch size. Therefore, it would be important to protect the critical landscape types such as woodland, shrub, and grassland, and to increase the patch size and connectivity to avoid further fragmentation. Moreover, it would be necessary to reduce the frequency and severity of disturbances to ensure the ESVs growth and the sustainable development of the study area.
    Dynamic changes of forest landscape pattern in Lushuihe Forest Bureau of Changbai Mountains, Northeast China.
    2010, 21(05):  1180-1184. 
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    Based on the forest management inventories in Lushihe Forest Bureau of Changbai Mountains in 1987, 1995 and 2003, and by using ArcGIS and Fragstats spatial analysis software, this paper analyzed the relationships between landscape pattern change and forest management mechanism in the study area at landscape and patch scales. During the study period, the landscape fragmentation degree and heterogeneity in the study area increased. From 1987 to 2003, the patch number increased by 979, while the proportion of the largest patch area decreased from 28.7% to 12.7%. With the change of management strategy, the landscape matrix changed from mixed broadleaved forest matrix in 1987 to compound matrix in 1995. The extent of landscape fragmentation in 1995-2003 was somewhat reduced, compared with that in 1987-1995. During the study period, the mean patch area and edge density of broadleaved mixed forest decreased most, suggesting that natural secondary forest suffered most from human disturbances.
    Estimation of topographical factors in revised universal soil loss model based on maximum upstream flow path.
    2010, 21(05):  1185-1189. 
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    By using maximum upstream flow path, a selfdeveloped new method for calculating slope length value based on Arc Macro Language (AML), five groups of DEM data for different regions in Bijie Prefecture of Guizhou Province were extracted to compute the slope length and topographical factors in the Prefecture. The time cost for calculating the slope length and the values of the topographical factors were analyzed, and compared with those by iterative slope length method based on AML (ISLA) and on C++ (ISLC). The results showed that the new method was feasible to calculate the slope length and topographical factors in revised universal soil loss model, and had the same effect as iterative slope length method. Comparing with ISLA, the new method had a high computing efficiency and greatly decreased the time consumption, and could be applied to a large area to estimate the slope length and topographical factors based on AML. Comparing with ISLC, the new method had the similar computing efficiency, but its coding was easily to be written, modified, and debugged by using AML. Therefore, the new method could be more broadly used by GIS users.
    Extraction of buildings three-dimensional information from high-resolution satellite imagery based on Barista software.
    2010, 21(05):  1190-1195. 
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    The demand for accurate and up-to-date spatial information of urban buildings is becoming more and more important for urban planning, environmental protection, and other vocations. Today’s commercial high-resolution satellite imagery offers the potential to extract the three-dimensional information of urban buildings. This paper extracted the three-dimensional information of urban buildings from QuickBird imagery, and validated the precision of the extraction based on Barista software. It was shown that the extraction of three-dimensional information of the buildings from high-resolution satellite imagery based on Barista software had the advantages of low professional level demand, powerful universality, simple operation, and high precision. One pixel level of point positioning and height determination accuracy could be achieved if the digital elevation model (DEM) and sensor orientation model had higher precision and the off-Nadir View Angle was relatively perfect.
    Reform of collective forest property in Liaoning Province: A discussion.
    2010, 21(05):  1196-1200. 
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    The reform of collective forest property has increased the farmers’ income, and brought new development to forestry. On the basis of expatiating the conception of collective forest property and related management system, this paper introduced in detail the course, main ways, and effects of the reform in Liaoning Province, analyzed the research progress of the reform and existing problems, and made appraisement and exceptions to the reform of collective forest property in Liaoning Province, aimed to give comments to the development and orientation of forward reform. In this province, the reform of collective forest property had the characteristics of classified reform, different reform types in different areas, and the main and affiliated reform being carried out at the same time. By the end of 2009, the main task had turned into affiliated reform. In the future, the reform should be focused on the optimal forestry management model to improve the forest economic, ecological, and social benefits, and using multi-disciplinary methods to strengthen the researches on the relationships between forestry management and forest ecological functions to provide scientific bases for the reform of collective forest property in Liaoning Province.
    Effects of CO2 storage flux on carbon budget of forest ecosystem.
    2010, 21(05):  1201-1209. 
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    Carbon dioxide (CO2) storage flux in the air space below measurement height of eddy covariance is very important to  correctly evaluate net ecosystem exchange of CO2 (NEE) between forest ecosystem and atmosphere. This study analyzed the dynamic variation of CO2 storage flux and its effects on the carbon budget of a temperate broad-leaved Korean pine mixed forest at Changbai Mountains, based on the eddy covariance flux data and the vertical profile of CO2 concentration data. The CO2 storage flux in this forest ecosystem had typical diurnal variation, with the maximum variation appeared during the transition from stable atmospheric layer to unstable atmospheric layer. The CO2 storage flux calculated by the change in CO2 concentration throughout a vertical profile was not significantly different from that calculated by the change in CO2 concentration at the measurement height of eddy covariance. The NEE of this forest ecosystem was underestimated by 25% and 19% at night and at daytime, respectively, without calculating the CO2 storage flux at halfhour scale, and was underestimated by 10% and 25% at daily scale and annual scale, respectively. Without calculating the CO2 storage flux in this forest ecosystem, the parameters of Michaelis-Menten equation and Lloyd-Taylor equation were underestimated, and the ecosystem apparent quantum yield (α) and the ecosystem respiration rate (Rref) at the reference temperature were mostly affected. The gross primary productivity (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (Re) of this forest ecosystem were underestimated about 20% without calculating the CO2 storage flux at half-hour, daily scale, and annual scale.
    Effects of precipitation intensity on soil organic carbon fractions and their distribution under subtropical forests of South China.
    2010, 21(05):  1210-1216. 
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    From December 2006 to June 2008, a field experiment was conducted to study the effects of natural precipitation, doubled precipitation, and no precipitation on the soil organic carbon fractions and their distribution under a successional series of monsoon evergreen broad-leaf forest, pine and broad-leaf mixed forest, and pine forest in Dinghushan Mountain of Southern China. Different precipitation treatments had no significant effects on the total organic carbon (TOC) concentration in the same soil layer under the same forest type (P>0.05). In treatment no precipitation, particulate organic carbon (POC) and light fraction organic carbon (LFOC) were mainly accumulated in surface soil layer (0-10 cm); but in treatments natural precipitation and doubled precipitation, the two fractions were infiltrated to deeper soil layers. Under pine forest, soil readily oxidizable organic carbon (ROC) was significantly higher in treatment no precipitation than in treatments natural precipitation and doubled precipitation (P<0.05). The percentage of soil POC, ROC, and LFOC to soil TOC was much greater under the forests at early successional stage than at climax stage, suggesting that the forest at early successional stage might not be an ideal place for soil organic carbon storage. Precipitation intensity less affected TOC, but had greater effects on the labile components POC, ROC, and LFOC.
    Macropore characteristics and its relationships with the preferential flow in broadleaved forest soils of Simian Mountains.
    2010, 21(05):  1217-1223. 
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    Brilliant blue dyeing and water breakthrough curve were applied to study the number and distribution of macropores and their relations to the preferential flow in typical sub-tropic broadleaved forest soils of Simian Mountains. The radii of the macropores were mainly between 0.3  and 3.0 mm, with the macroporosities in the range of 6.3% to 10.5%, and the macropores were always distributed in aggregation with increasing soil depth. The number of the macropores in each radius interval of dye-stained areas was tenfold increase than that of blank areas. The number of the macropores with radius larger than 0.3 mm, especially larger than 1.5 mm, was the most important factor affecting the occurrence of preferential flow. Significant correlations were found between the number of macropores and the water steady effluent volume, with the highest correlation coefficients of 0.842 and 0.879 for the radii intervals of 0.7-1.5 mm and 1.5-3.0 mm, respectively. Macropore continuity in dye-stained areas was better than that in blank areas, especially in the radius interval of 1.5-3.0 mm, with the biggest difference of 78.31%. In dye-stained areas, the number of macropores decreased gradually with soil depth. The filler-like distribution of macropores formed an effective water pressure gradient, which resulted in the preferential transport of water.
    Effects of different pruning modes on the light distribution characters and fruit yield and quality in densely planted ‘Red Fuji' apple orchard.  
    2010, 21(05):  1224-1230. 
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    This paper studied the effects of different pruning modes on the light distribution at different positions of canopy and the fruit yield and quality in different layers in a densely planted ‘Red Fuji’ apple orchard. Comparing with no pruning, both light and heavy pruning improved the light distribution in the canopy. Under light pruning, the canopy volume with a relative light intensity less than 30% occupied 14.6% of the total, and that with a relative light intensity more than 80% accounted for 11.2%. Under heavy pruning, the two values were 12.8% and 28.8%, respectively. The fruit yield under light pruning increased in the first year, but that under heavy pruning decreased, with the fruit quality being both improved. The mean fruit mass, firmness, and soluble solid matter content decreased in the order of light pruning > heavy pruning > no pruning, the titratable acid content was in adverse, and the anthocyanin content was in the order of heavy pruning > light pruning > no pruning. From the viewpoint of fruit yield and quality, light pruning was the best modification mode for densely planted orchards.
    Impact of atmospheric total suspended particulate pollution on photosynthetic parameters of street mango trees in Xiamen City.
    2010, 21(05):  1231-1237. 
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    With the development of urbanization, total suspended particulate (TSP) pollution is getting serious, and the normal physiological processes of urban vegetation are profoundly affected while adsorbing and purifying the particulates. In this study, four areas were selected, i.e., Tingxi reservoir (clean control area), Xiamen University (cultural and educational area), Xianyue (business area), and Haicang (industrial area), with their atmospheric TSP concentrations and the photosynthetic parameters of street Mango (Mangifera indica) trees monitored in April and May, 2009. The daily average concentration of TSP in Tingxi, Xiamen University, Xianyue, and Haicang was 0.061, 0.113, 0.120 and 0.205 mg·m-3, respectively, and the impact of TSP stress on M. indica was in the sequence of Haicang > Xianyue > Xiamen University > Tingxi. TSP pollution negatively affected the net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and transpiration rate of M. indica, and induced intercellular CO2 concentration changed significantly. High TSP concentration could cause the decline of net photosynthetic rate via stomatal limitation.
    Seasonal variations of wild apricot seed dispersal and hoarding by rodents in rehabilitated land.
    2010, 21(05):  1238-1243. 
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    Rodents feed with and disperse plant seeds, which may thereby affect the seed spatiotemporal distribution, germination, and seedling establishment, and eventually play an important role in the restoration of deforested area. Taking the State-owned Yugong Forest Farm in Jiyuan of Henan, China as study site, the tagged seeds of wild apricot (Prunus armeniaca) were artificially released in rehabilitated land in the spring, summer, and autumn 2008, aimed to investigate their dispersal and hoarding by rodents in different seasons. It was found that  Apodemus peninsulae, Niviventer confucianus, and Apodemus agrarius were the main rodent species acting on the seed dispersal and hoarding. The dispersal rate of the seeds was significantly lower in spring than in summer, and also, lower in summer than in autumn. The amount of removed seeds was affected by the interaction of season and seed status, being significantly lesser in spring than in summer, and lesser in summer than in autumn. The mean transportation distance differed with seasons, which was longer in autumn than in spring and summer. The cache size in majority caches was 1 seed, but in a few caches, each cache contained 2 or 3 seeds. The cache number was affected by the interaction of season and seed status, i.e., one seed cache was lesser in spring than in summer and autumn, while the caches containing 2 or 3 seeds were more in summer and autumn. Among the 1800 seeds released, there were five seeds hoarded in summer and autumn respectively established seedlings in the next year of the experiment.
    Climatic risk zoning for banana and litchi’s chilling injury in South China.
    2010, 21(05):  1244-1251. 
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    Based on the 1951-2006 climatic observation data from 224 meteorological stations in South China (Guangdong Province, Guangxi Autonomous Region, and Fujian Province) and the historical information about the chilling injury losses of banana and litchi, the accumulated harmful chilling for the processes with minimum daily temperature ≤5.0 ℃ and more than 3 days was used to indicate the climatic risk of chilling injury during the whole growth season, and an integrated climatic index with the background of climate change was constructed. The maps of geographical distribution of climatic risk probability for each grade chilling injury, and of integrated climatic risk zoning for banana and litchi’s chilling injury were drawn, and the spatial variation of climatic risk for banana and litchi’s chilling injury was commented. The results indicated that in the study area, climate warming might lead to the decrease of cold resistance of banana and litchi, which could increase the disaster risk of chilling injury. The geographical distribution of climatic risk probability for banana and litchi’s chilling injury showed a zonal pattern. According to the integrated climatic risk index, the banana and litchi’s chilling injury region was divided into three risk types, i.e., high risk, moderate risk, and low risk, which provided an important basis for the adjustment of agricultural production structure.
    Critical tidal level for Kandelia candel forestation in strong tidal range area.
    2010, 21(05):  1252-1257. 
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    Taking Ximen island of Yueqing bay, the biggest tidal range area among the coasts of China, as study site, an investigation was made on the survival rate, growth characteristics, and attached barnacles of 1- and 3-year old Kandelia candel seedlings at the elevations 1.96, 1.66, 1.35, and 1.03 m above the zero tidal level of Yellow Sea. Significant differences were observed in the survival rate and growth situation of the seedlings among the elevations. There were two barnacle species, Balanus albicostatus and Balanus amphitrite amphitrite, and B. albicostatus was the major species which attached K. candel most seriously at elevation 1.35 m. The critical tidal level for K. candel in the site was 1.66 m above the zero tidal level, i.e., at least 1.29 m higher than the local mean sea level, and the flooding time per tide cycle being less than 3.65 h. Barnacle, strong tide, and extreme weather event were the main reasons for the higher critical tidal level.
    Influence of soil factors on species diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in Stipa steppe of Tibet Plateau.
    2010, 21(05):  1258-1263. 
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    This study was based on the isolation and identification of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi collected from the alpine Stipa steppe of north Tibet, and focused on the influence of soil texture, pH, organic matter, and available P on the spore density, isolation frequency, relative abundance, importance value, species diversity, and species evenness of the AM fungi. In the rhizosphere soil of the steppe, a total of 15 species AM fungi were isolated and identified, including 9 species of Glomus, 6 species of Acaulospora, and 1 species of Scutellospora. Among them, Glomus and Acaulospora were the dominant genera, and Glomus claroideum and Acaulospora laevis were the dominant species. In the soils with different texture, the spore density, isolation frequency, relative abundance, and importance value of the AM fungi all showed a trend of Glomus > Acaulospora > Scutellospora. Soil pH value had no significant effects on the species composition of AM fungi. However, the isolation frequency, relative abundance, and importance value of Glomus and Acaulospora showed an increasing trend with increasing soil pH, while Scutellospora showed the contrary trend. In the soils with different organic matter content, the spore density of AM fungi all showed a trend of Glomus > Acaulospora > Scutellospora, while the distribution of AM fungi had no definite pattern. The species richness and spore density of AM fungi were less affected by the soil available P content, but the species diversity and evenness showed an increasing trend with the increasing content of soil available P.
    Sustainability of crop yields in China under long-term fertilization and different ecological conditions.
    2010, 21(05):  1264-1269. 
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    By using sustainable yield index (SYI), this paper analyzed the sustainability of maize, rice, and wheat yields at  20 long-term fertilization experiment sites in China under different fertilization system and ecological conditions. The SYI value of test crops varied significantly with fertilization system, crop kind, effective accumulated temperature, and sunshine hour. Irrespective of fertilization, the SYI value of rice was generally higher than that of maize and wheat. Under long-term no fertilization, the SYI values of rice, wheat, and maize were lower, being 0.55, 0.44, and 0.43, respectively. Fertilization, especially a combined application of NPK and manure, promoted the sustainability of crop yields, with the SYI values of rice, wheat, and maize being 0.66, 0.58, and 0.57, respectively. Under the application of N and NK, the SYI values ranged in 0.36-0.47. SYI value >0.55 represented the better sustainability of crop yields, while SYI<0.45 represented a worse one. Longitude, altitude, and weather factors also affected the SYI values, especially that of maize. Under no fertilization, maize had the largest variation of SYI value, followed by wheat, and rice. Our results indicated that a combined application of chemical fertilizers with manure benefited high and stable yielding, being the optimal fertilization mode for maintaining the sustainability of grain yield.
    Influence of light and temperature factors on biomass accumulation of winter wheat in field.
    2010, 21(05):  1270-1276. 
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    To explore the influence of light and temperature factors on the biomass accumulation of winter wheat at its development stages and in different organs, this paper analyzed the variation patterns of the biomass accumulation and the influence of TEP (thermal effectiveness photosynthetically active radiation) on the accumulation at each development stage, based on the observation data from the Xifen Agrometeorological Experiment Station in Gansu Province, including winter wheat phenophase and yield factors in 1981-2008, biomass at three-leaf, over-wintering, jointing, heading, milky maturity, and maturity stages in 1995-2008, and meteorological data in 1995-2008. The biomass accumulation of winter wheat in its whole growth period presented “S” curve, with the maximum value at heading-milky maturity stage. Since 1981, the TEP at heading-milky maturity stage increased with a rate of 3.314 MJ·m-2·a-1, and the TEP at other stages varied as parable curves. The TEP at turning green-jointing and milky maturity-maturity stages had a higher value in the 1990s and a lower value in  the  1980s and early 21st century, while that at jointingheading stage had a lower value in the 1990s but a higher value in the 1980s and early 21st century. There was a significant correlation between the TEP at each development stage and the actual yield. The LAI (leaf area index) at each development stage also had a significant correlation with the utilization rate of TEP at corresponding stage. When the LAI at jointing and heading stages was increased by 1, the utilization rate of TEP was correspondingly increased by 0.049 and 0.259 g·MJ-1, respectively.
    Effects of low nitrogen stress on source-sink characters and grain- filling traits of different genotypes summer maize.
    2010, 21(05):  1277-1282. 
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    This paper studied the source-sink characters and grain-filling traits of six genotype summer maize varieties under 2 years (from 2007 to 2008) application of low dosage (105 kg·hm-2) and normal dosage (337.5 kg·hm-2) fertilizer nitrogen. Under low nitrogen stress, the population yield, leaf area index (LAI), sourcesink characters, and grain-filling traits of test varieties differed significantly. The varieties tolerant to low nitrogen, e.g., Xianyu 335 and Zhengdan 958, had longer active grain-filling stage, higher maximum filling rate, longer duration of maximum LAI, and more harmonious sink-source relation; while less tolerant species,e.g., Shaandan 902 and Yuyu 22, had shorter active grain-filling hours, lower maximum filling rate, lower mass increment and LAI under maximum grain-filling rate after silking, and significantly decreased source supply capacity. Low nitrogen stress increased the yield difference among the test varieties significantly.
    Plant transpiration in a maize/soybean intercropping system measured with heat balance method.
    2010, 21(05):  1283-1288. 
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    In an experimental field with maize/soybean strip intercropping, the transpiration of maize and soybean plants was measured with sap flow gauge based on heat balance method. In the intercropping system, the diurnal change of the sap flow rates of the plants fitted single-peak curve in sunny day and multi-peak curve in cloudy day. The plant sap flow rates were affected by many environmental factors, among which, solar radiation was the most important meteorological factor. The daily sap flow per maize or soybean plant showed significant correlations with solar radiation, air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and soil heat flux. During the observation period (June 1-30, 2008), the mean daily transpiration of maize plant (1.44 mm·d-1) was about 1.8 times of that of soybean plant (0.79 mm·d-1). Maize transpiration and soybean transpiration contributed 64% and 36% to the total transpiration of the intercropping system, respectively. Due to the spatial variation of stem diameter and leaf area, it would be necessary to install more sap flow gauges to accurately measure the sap flow of maize and soybean plants.
    Effects of graft on lipid peroxidation and antioxidative enzyme activities of Capsicum annum seedlings under low temperature and weak light intensity.
    2010, 21(05):  1289-1294. 
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    Taking ‘Chifengtexuan’ as scion and ‘Weishi’ as rootstock, this paper studied the changes in the electrolyte leakage (EL), malondialdehyde (MDA) content, antioxidative enzyme activities, and root activity of own-rooted and grafted Capsicum annuum seedlings under 1-7 d ays low temperature (8 ℃/ 5 ℃) and weak light intensity (100 μmol·m-2·s-1) stress and after 1-3 d recovery. During the early stress days, the EL, MDA content, and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and glutathione reductase (GR) in both own-rooted and grafted seedlings leaves and roots increased, but the root activity decreased significantly. 1-3 days later, grafted seedlings showed a stable state in EL and MDA content, a decrease in SOD, POD, APX, and GR activities, and an increasing trend in root activity. After 3 days recovery, the EL, MDA content, antioxidative enzyme activities, and root activity of grafted seedlings reached or exceeded their original levels, except for the MDA content in roots, while the EL and MDA content of own-rooted seedlings were still significantly higher than those before the stress. Comparing with own-rooted seedlings, grafted seedlings showed lower EL and MDA content, higher activities of SOD, POD, APX and GR, and higher root activity during stress and recovery days. These data suggested that graft could effectively decrease the lipid peroxidation, and alleviate the damage of low temperature and weak light intensity to Capsicum annuum seedlings.
    Effects of exogenous melatonin on active oxygen metabolism of cucumber seedlings under high temperature stress.
    2010, 21(05):  1295-1300. 
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    Taking the seedlings of cucumber cultivar ‘Jinchun 4’ as test material, this paper studied the effects of foliar application of exogenous melatonin (MT) on the active oxygen metabolism of the seedlings under high temperature stress. Under the stress, the exogenous MT could significantly decrease the leaf superoxide radical (O2-.) production rate, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content, cell membrane permeability (electrolyte leakage), and malonaldehyde (MDA) content, but increase the activities of superoxide radical (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT), and the contents of ascorbic acid (AsA), glutathione (GSH), and soluble proteins, illustrating that pretreatment with MT could inhibit the reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, raise the anti-oxidative enzyme activities and antioxidant contents, and decrease the membrane lipid peroxidation and electrolyte leakage to protect the integrity of lipid membranes, being able to alleviate the damage of high temperature stress to the seedlings.
    Interactive effects of P deficiency and Al toxicity on soybean growth: A pot experiment with acid soil.
    2010, 21(05):  1301-1307. 
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    Taking seven soybean genotypes differing in P efficiency as test materials, a pot experiment with acid soil was conducted to study the interactive effects of P deficiency and Al toxicity on the growth of the genotypes under liming and P fertilization. The results showed that P deficiency and Al toxicity were the limiting factors for the soybean growth on acid soil, and the impact of Al toxicity was more severe. There existed interactive effects between P deficiency and Al toxicity. Comparing with liming or P fertilization alone, their combination could greatly promote soybean growth. The impact of P deficiency and Al toxicity on the P uptake by soybean was far greater than that on N and K uptake. A reasonable planting system for soybean would be helpful for the amelioration of acid soil. The combined application of 1.103 g Ca(OH)2·kg-1soil and 2.018 g KH2PO4·kg-1 soil) could increase the acid soil pH by 38.4% and the available P content by 3223.8%, and decreased the soil exchangeable Al content by 96.3%. Planting P-efficient soybean genotypes rather than P in-efficient soybean genotypes had better effect in acid soil amelioration.
    Responses of soil properties to ecosystem degradation in Karst region of northwest Guangxi, China.
    2010, 21(05):  1308-1314. 
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    Four typical ecosystems, i.e., maize-sweet potato rotational cultivated land (KMS), grazing grassland burned annually in winter (KGB), natural restoration land (KNR), and primary forest land (KPF), in Karst region of northwest Guangxi were selected to investigate the responses of soil nutrients (C, N and P), soil microbial biomass, and soil structure to the degradation of ecosystem. The contents of soil organic C, total N and P, and soil microbial biomass C, N, and P were significantly higher in KPF than in KMS, KGB, and KNR (P<0.01). In the latter three degraded ecosystems, the contents of soil organic C and total N were in the sequence of KNR>KGB>KMS but the difference was not significant, soil total P content in KMS (0.87 g·kg-1) was 2.07 and 9.67 times of that in KNR and KGB, respectively (P<0.01), and soil microbial biomass C, N and P contents were significantly higher in KGB and KNR than in KMS (P<0.05). The soil microbial biomass C was significantly higher in KGB than in KNR (P<0.05), but there were no significant differences in soil microbial biomass N and P between the two ecosystems. These results illustrated that the reduction of human activity could induce a slight increase of soil organic C in Karst degraded ecosystems, and proper grazing and natural restoration could be the feasible modes for the restoration of degraded ecosystem. Soil microbial biomass was more sensitive in response to the change of ecosystem, being able to be used as a sensitive indicator to reflect the change of degraded ecosystem in Karst region. In KPF, KNR, and KGB, soil water-stable macro-aggregates (>0.25 mm) accounted for more than 70%, and dominated by >2 mm aggregates; while in KMS, soil water-stable macro-aggregates only occupied 40.34%, and dominated by 2-0.25 mm aggregates. The destruction rate of soil structure in KMS, KGB, KNR, and KPF was 51.62%, 23.48%, 9.09%, and 9.46%, respectively (P<0.05), indicating that human disturbance or farming practice destroyed soil macro-aggregates, and made the destruction rate of soil structure increased. To reduce human disturbance and implement natural rehabilitation would be the suitable ecological restoration strategy in Karst region.
    Application of niche theory in evaluation of main tourism scenic areas in Zhangjiajie City.
    2010, 21(05):  1315-1320. 
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    Five tourism scenic areas in Zhangjiajie City were selected as research objects, and fifty kinds of resource conditions affecting the development of tourism scenic area were taken as evaluation indices. Through disposing and consolidating the indices level by level, an analysis was made on the niche breadth and niche overlap of the five tourism scenic areas at three levels (I, Ⅱ, and Ⅲ). In the five scenic areas, index level had significant effects on the niche breadth (F=10.278, P=0.006), but less effects on the relative niche breadth, suggesting that in the evaluation of the development potential of tourism scenic area, relative niche breadth was more reasonable than absolute niche breadth. From level Ⅲ to level I, the niche overlap of the five scenic areas was increasing, indicating that level choice would affect the evaluation of the actual niche overlap of the scenic areas. With the progressive refinement of the indices to certain level, and when the difference between observed and Monte Carlo-simulated Pianka indices achieved to significant level, this index level could be used as the minimum standard of the refinement, and the simulated niche overlap could be taken as an important reference in the competition evaluation of tourism scenic area.
    Effects of several ecological factors on the hatching of Sepiella maindroni wild and cultured eggs.
    2010, 21(05):  1321-1326. 
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    This paper compared the differences between Sepiella maindroni wild and cultured eggs, and studied the effects of temperature, salinity, hatching density, and egg type on the hatching rate and hatching time of the eggs. Wild eggs had better quality than cultured eggs. Among cultured eggs, small and black eggs had the best quality. For wild eggs, the optimum hatching temperature was 27 ℃-29 ℃, and the optimum hatching salinity was 24.5-32.0. Hatching density had no significant effects on the hatching rate of wild eggs. For cultured eggs, their hatching rate was 6.7%-30.0% when the temperature was 19 ℃-29 ℃. No cultured eggs were hatched when the temperature was higher than 33 ℃ or lower than 17 ℃. When the salinity was 19.5-32.0, the hatching rate of cultured eggs was 18.3%-25.0%. No hatching was observed when the salinity was below 17.0. Hatching density had no significant effects on the hatching rate of cultured eggs when air was provided, but the hatching rate was significantly affected when no air was provided.
    Comparison of the methods for extracting and purifying microbial total DNA from an aeolian sandy soil.
    2010, 21(05):  1327-1333. 
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    In order to select and establish an appropriate method for extracting and purifying the microbial total DNA from an aeolian sandy soil, six extraction methods (five direct methods and one indirect method) and two purification methods were examined, with the quantity and quality of extracted and purified total DNA compared. All the six extraction methods could extract the total DNA with a length of approximately 23 kb, among which, the improved SDS high salt extraction method (using 40% PEG8000 and 4 mol·L-1 NaCl to precipitate DNA) was the best. This method could have a yield slightly less than that obtained by using kits, and the extracted DNA had the highest purity after purification, being available in 16S rDNA PCR amplification. Among the purification methods, the effect of agarose gel electrophoresis plus minicolumn was satisfactory, with most of the purified total DNA being able to be PCR-amplified and meet the requirements of the purity of DNA in the follow-up molecular operations.
    Isolation, identification, and degrading characteristics of a high-efficient pyrene-degrading bacterial strain.
    2010, 21(05):  1334-1338. 
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    By using selective enrichment culture with pyrene as the sole carbon source, a pyrene-degrading bacterial strain ZQ5 was isolated from the oil-contaminated soil in Shenfu Irrigation Area. The strain was identified as Stenotrophomonas sp., based on its morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics, and similarity identification of 16S rDNA sequence. The pyrene-degrading characteristics and the effects of culture condition on the degrading efficiency of the strain were investigated by shaking flask culture. After shaking culture with the initial concentration of pyrene being 100 mg·L-1 at 30 ℃ for 10 days, the degradation rate of pyrene was 91.2%. Adding 100 mg·L-1 of alicylic acid into culture medium could enhance the degrading efficiency of the strain. For the degradation of pyrene by ZQ5, the optimal medium pH was 7-8, and the optimal salt concentration was lower than 2%.
    Effects of transgenic Bt crops on non-target soil animals.
    2010, 21(05):  1339-1345. 
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    Transgenic Bt crops are widely planted around the world. With the quick development and extension of genetically modified crops, it is needed to make a deep study on the effects of Bt crops on soil ecosystem. This paper reviewed the research progress on the effects of transgenic Bt crops on the population dynamics and community structure of soil animals, e.g., earthworm, nematode, springtail, mite, and beetle, etc. The development history of Bt crops was introduced, the passway the Bt protein comes into soil as well as the residual and degradation of Bt protein in soil were analyzed, and the critical research fields about the ecological risk analysis of transgenic Bt crops on non-target soil animals in the future were approached, which would provide a reference for the research of the effects of transgenic Bt crops on non-target soil animals.
    Effects of sewage sludge vermicompost on the growth of marigold.
    2010, 21(05):  1346-1350. 
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    The 1：1, 2：1, 3：1, 4：1, 5：1, and 1：0 mixtures of sewage sludge and cattle dung were treated with earthworm Eisenia foetida, and then, mixed with black soil in the proportions of 10%, 20%, and 30% (dry mass) to investigate the effects of the vermicompost on the marigold plant height, stem diameter, leaf number, branch number, aboveground biomass, underground biomass, ratio of root to shoot, flower bud number, flower yield, flower diameter, and flower biomass. An obvious promotion effect of the vermicompost was observed on the growth of marigold. The smaller the ratio of sewage sludge to cattle dung, the better the growth of marigold; while a higher proportion of the vermicompost to soil would inhibit the marigold growth. In this study, a proportion of 20% vermicompost to soil was the best for the growth of marigold.