Relict subtropical coniferous forests in China face severe fragmentation, resulting in declining populations, and some are under significant threat from invasive alien species. Despite the crucial importance of understanding forest dynamics, knowledge gaps persist, particularly regarding the impact of invasive plants on vulnerable natives like . In this study, we investigated the impact of invasive plants on the regeneration of forests dominated by .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClimate change affects the geographical distribution of plant species. Rare with a narrow distribution range, high medicinal value and extremely small population is facing increasing extinction risks under global climate change. In this study, 96 recorded occurrences and 23 environmental factors are used to predict the potential suitable area of based on the optimized MaxEnt (3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIncreased nitrogen deposition has important effects on below-ground ecological processes. Fine roots are the most active part of the root system in terms of physiological activity and the main organs for nutrient and water uptake by plants. However, there is still a limited understanding of how nitrogen deposition affects the fine root dynamics in subtropical Abies georgei (Orr) forests.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFis a relict evergreen coniferous tree species in Pinaceae endemic to China. tree numbers have greatly decreased due to deforestation, over-utilization and habitat degradation. Here we clarify community types, structure, species diversity, seedling recruitments and growth trends.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Chinese water pine is the sole surviving species of the genus . It is endemic to southern China, central Vietnam, and eastern Laos, and today it is nearly extinct in the wild. Forest community characteristics and population structure of in China have remained unknown up to now.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the original version of this Article, an incorrect sample size was provided for the number of relict species (443 instead of 442) and the number of relict forests (423 instead of 422). These errors have been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFToday East Asia harbors many "relict" plant species whose ranges were much larger during the Paleogene-Neogene and earlier. The ecological and climatic conditions suitable for these relict species have not been identified. Here, we map the abundance and distribution patterns of relict species, showing high abundance in the humid subtropical/warm-temperate forest regions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDisseminated visceral coccidiosis (DVC) is a widely distributed intestinal and extraintestinal disease of cranes caused by eimeriid coccidia and has lethal pathogenicity to several crane species. Here, feces of 164 black-necked cranes collected in Dashanbao Black-necked Crane National Nature Reserve, China, were examined to determine the prevalence of coccidial oocysts. Of the 164 fecal samples, 76 (46.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn investigation was conducted on the phytoplankton, zooplankton, and fish at 8 sampling sections in the Manwan Reservoir before and after the construction of Xiaowan Hydropower Dam. The modified ESHIPPO model was applied to study the changes of the featured aquatic species, including endangered species, endemic specie, peis resource species, and native fish, aimed to make an ecological risk assessment of the dam construction on the aquatic species. The dam construction had definite ecological risk on the aquatic species, especially the endemic fish, in Langcang River, due to the changes of hydrological conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe persistence of the Tertiary relict tree Tetracentron sinense Oliv. on the eastern slope of the Ailao Mountains, Yunnan, SW China, was here studied in terms of population structure (size, age) and regeneration patterns. T.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTaking the surrounding areas of Xiaowan Reservoir in the middle reach of Lancangjiang River as study area, and based on the vegetation investigation at three sites including electricity transmission area (site 1), electricity-transfer substation and roadsides to the substation (site 2), and emigration area (site 3) in 1997 (before dam construction), another investigation was conducted on the vegetation composition, plant coverage, and dominant species at the same sites in 2010 (after dam construction), aimed to evaluate the ecological risk of the dam construction for the terrestrial plant species in middle reach of Lancangjiang River. There was an obvious difference in the summed dominance ratio of dominant species at the three sites before and after the dam construction. According the types of species (dominant and non-dominant species) and the changes of plant dominance, the ecological risk (ER) for the plant species was categorized into 0 to IV, i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPremise Of The Study: The possible persistence of wild Ginkgo biloba populations in China has long been debated but never scientifically confirmed. We test our hypothesis that the extant Ginkgo populations in the Dalou Mountains (SW China) represent fragments of the original natural Ginkgo range and offer a range of pertinent perspectives on the living fossil Ginkgo's history, prehistory, ecology, and place in human culture-all important aspects of this highly valued species.
Methods: We analyzed the vegetation of the study area, determined the population age structure of Ginkgo, and compared it to existing fossil records.
In the Langcang (Upper-Mekong) watershed, degraded watershed ecosystems in upland areas threaten cultivation practices, water resources, and dam development downstream. Assessment of ecosystem services and the factors that threaten them is an important first step to support watershed management. This, however, requires detailed information that is often missing in mountainous regions.
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