Vegetation pattern in nature is diverse, spectacular, and ever-changing. It is the macroscopic manifestation of biological diversity and the display of ecological order in space and time. How does this overwhelmingly diverse and wonderfully ordered patter

Genotypic variation and phenotypic plasticity of growth and morphology in a stoloniferous clonal herb Halerpestes ruthenica in response to a series of salinity treatments (i.e., 0, 85.5, 171.0, 256.5 and 342.0 mM NaCl) were investigated. As the degree o

The effects of 5 topographic factors on the spatial patterns of gap characteristics and 3 types of gap makers (GM) were investigated in mixed evergreen and deciduous montane forest at Mt. Dalaoling in the Three Gorges area. The mountain topography plays a significant role in the intensity, frequency, as well as spatial and temporal pattern of gaps and different types of GM. Gap disturbance intensifies with increasing altitude and slope, turning of slope position from ridge to valley bottom, and changing of slope shape from convex to concave. No apparent effect of exposure gradient was detected. Gap characteristics were shown to respond to gradients of a number of topographic factors: extended gap area, gap height, GM frequency and richness and average diameter at breast height (DBH) were all sensitive to the effects of topography. Maximum and average DBH of GM as well as extended gap area were significantly positively correlated with altitude and slope position. The number of GM decreased as the slope exposure turned from N to S, as slope increased, and as slope shape turned from convex to concave. A similar trend was found for species richness of gap makers along the gradient of slope and shape. The height of gaps and the forest in general decrease with increasing elevation and slope as well with decreasing slope position. The contribution of topography-induced variation is largest for the spatial variation of gap height and the average DBH of gap makers (75.9% and 67.0% respectively). The dominant topographic factors associated with the spatial pattern of the trunk snapping are elevation and slope position. Local slope position and shape control the distribution of standing death, while the key topographic factor determining the likelihood of uprooting treefall is slope.

Leymus chinensis is a clonal plant species that reproduces both asexually by below-ground rhizomes and sexually by seed. Its clonal diversity was studied in 11 populations of 2 leaf-colored types (gray green and yellow green) in Songnen Plain of China usi

Neural Networks have been proposed as a means of classifying remotely sensed data. In this paper, we address a land cover classification problem using multi-spectral Landsat Thematic Mapper(TM) data employing ANN. We design a MLP （Multi Layer Perceptron）N

The distance coefficients of sampling plots along on ecotone transect were applied in the moving split-window technique for determining ecotone position and width in the area across the Abies faxoniana timberline ecotone in Balang Mountain, on the southeast edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The result showed that distance coefficients, such as Bray-Curtis percent dissimilarity, relative Euclidean distance, chord distance, squared Euclidean distance, coincide in peaks and width in the transect. Among them, the squared Euclidean distance is the best one to show the variation of ecotone in the moving split window. The peaks and widths of space coefficients are sensitive indicators for those of ecotones. Therefore, moving split-window technique is an effective method for ecotone determination and community classification.

Microclimates within the vegetation of different successional stages of Castanopsis platyacantha-Schima sinensis formation including shrub and 10-year and 40-year C. Platyacantha -S. sinensis forests located on Wawu Mountain in Sichuan province were conti

The soil water content of shrub sand dune of Nitraria tangutorum and takyr among sand dunes between oasis and desert towards various wind directions near Minqin Oasis of Gansu Province was sampled and analyzed in July when the soil water is most deficient

The effect of stem nodule on the nodulation, nitrogen fixation and heavy metals accumulation of Sesbania rostrata were investigated by keeping stem nodule or removing stem nodule and grown on Pb/Zn tailings or soil amended tailings or pure soil. The resul

The tree species diversity of swidden fields at 4 successional ages (4 years, 9 years, 29 years, ≈40 years ) following abandonment was measured by applying Shannon-Wiener index (H′), Pielou evenness index (E), Margalef abundance index (D). A comparison in

This study assesses and compares the response of AM fungi to plant species and its abiotic environment by analysing soil samples collected in a field study at Negev Desert of Israel. Soil samples in the rhizosphere of Zygophyllum dumosum, Hammada scoparia

Tree seedlings of pioneer species and non-pioneers may respond differently to canopy gaps. We used a field experiment to test this in four forest communities in Nan'ao Island, Guangdong, China. We measured the ratio of light penetration (RLP) in gaps and

Based on the investigation and related literature, the reproduction and regeneration of Sabina vulgaris populations were examined. 1) Root primordia were the most fundamental structure for vegetative propagation; advantitious roots deriving from root prim

The ultrastructure of the stomata apparatus of Malus hupehensis Rehd (pingyitiancha) was observed using transmission electronic microscopy. PEG (Polyethylene glycol) was used in order to mimic drought stress, and the method of preparing ultrastructural s

Conversion of terrestrial ecosystems resulting from land-use practice plays an important role in global carbon cycling. The studies on the effects of forest felling and the conversions of forest and grassland into farmland on terrestrial carbon budget are