The evaluation of ecosystem health has become one of the main research topics of ecosystem science, thus more and more assessment methods and frameworks have been put forward in recent years. However, the attention pe...The evaluation of ecosystem health has become one of the main research topics of ecosystem science, thus more and more assessment methods and frameworks have been put forward in recent years. However, the attention people pay to ecosystem health is actually more about what the social functions the ecosystem affords, which depend on the integrity and maintenance of the ecosystem structure and function, and the intensity of disturbance from outside. Accordingly, this research commenced from three main aspects, selected the evaluation indices, and then established the Evaluation Index System of Beijing Forest Ecosystem Health （EIS-BFEH）. In the EIS-BFEH, each of the three foundations contained an easily-operated and standard sub-index system, which compounded the specific natural and social conditions of Beijing and was concrete enough to measure and evaluate. Then with the method of the Analytical Hierarchy Process （AHP）, the comprehensive index （CI） could be obtained, which represented the health of the forest ecosystem. As a case study, the forest ecosystems in the Badaling area were sampled, evaluated, compared and ranked by use of the EIS-BFEH. The result show that the health of natural forests is much better than that of plantations in the Badaling forest center： the average comprehensive index of the former is 7.9, while the latter is only 6.6. From the results, it could also be found that there are nine units in the healthy state, two units in the subhealthy state, and only one unit of Robiniapseudoacacia in the morbid state.展开更多
Abstract Vertical gradients incorporate multiple resources gradients which vary continuously. Therefore, research on mountain floristic patterns along vertical gradients is important to reveal regular patterns of the ...Abstract Vertical gradients incorporate multiple resources gradients which vary continuously. Therefore, research on mountain floristic patterns along vertical gradients is important to reveal regular patterns of the flora along environmental gradients and to under- stand the changes in biodiversity along these gradients and their biological fitness. This study was designed to explore the character- istics of the floral compositions and ecological significance of floristic patterns along the vertical gradients of the National Nature Reserve of Dawei Mountain, located in the southeast of Yunnan Province. We analyzed the structural characteristics of the flora and the distribution patterns of its floristic components as a function of elevation on the basis of our field investigations along vertical vegetation transects. We carried out a systematic cluster analysis in order to determine the dividing line of floristic changes by eleva- tion along gradients and studied the effects of mountain climate on the vertical variation of floristic composition. The study shows： 1） that the obvious boundary, which differentiates tropical distribution, is located at an elevation of approximately 1,500 m, which separates the tropical rain forests from the evergreen broad-leaved forests; 2） that humid rain forests are found below 700 m elevation, mountain rain forests between 700 and 1,500 m, monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forests between 1,300 and 1,800 m and mountain mossy evergreen broad-leaved forests above 1,800 m. Non-representative mountain mossy dwarf forests （above 2,100 m） in the area are found on the windward sides and barren lands on mountain slopes; 3） that Hopea mollissima is one of the major component species of mountain rain forests, but it should not be considered as the major indicator species in humid rain forests as is generally accepted.展开更多
文摘The evaluation of ecosystem health has become one of the main research topics of ecosystem science, thus more and more assessment methods and frameworks have been put forward in recent years. However, the attention people pay to ecosystem health is actually more about what the social functions the ecosystem affords, which depend on the integrity and maintenance of the ecosystem structure and function, and the intensity of disturbance from outside. Accordingly, this research commenced from three main aspects, selected the evaluation indices, and then established the Evaluation Index System of Beijing Forest Ecosystem Health （EIS-BFEH）. In the EIS-BFEH, each of the three foundations contained an easily-operated and standard sub-index system, which compounded the specific natural and social conditions of Beijing and was concrete enough to measure and evaluate. Then with the method of the Analytical Hierarchy Process （AHP）, the comprehensive index （CI） could be obtained, which represented the health of the forest ecosystem. As a case study, the forest ecosystems in the Badaling area were sampled, evaluated, compared and ranked by use of the EIS-BFEH. The result show that the health of natural forests is much better than that of plantations in the Badaling forest center： the average comprehensive index of the former is 7.9, while the latter is only 6.6. From the results, it could also be found that there are nine units in the healthy state, two units in the subhealthy state, and only one unit of Robiniapseudoacacia in the morbid state.
文摘Abstract Vertical gradients incorporate multiple resources gradients which vary continuously. Therefore, research on mountain floristic patterns along vertical gradients is important to reveal regular patterns of the flora along environmental gradients and to under- stand the changes in biodiversity along these gradients and their biological fitness. This study was designed to explore the character- istics of the floral compositions and ecological significance of floristic patterns along the vertical gradients of the National Nature Reserve of Dawei Mountain, located in the southeast of Yunnan Province. We analyzed the structural characteristics of the flora and the distribution patterns of its floristic components as a function of elevation on the basis of our field investigations along vertical vegetation transects. We carried out a systematic cluster analysis in order to determine the dividing line of floristic changes by eleva- tion along gradients and studied the effects of mountain climate on the vertical variation of floristic composition. The study shows： 1） that the obvious boundary, which differentiates tropical distribution, is located at an elevation of approximately 1,500 m, which separates the tropical rain forests from the evergreen broad-leaved forests; 2） that humid rain forests are found below 700 m elevation, mountain rain forests between 700 and 1,500 m, monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forests between 1,300 and 1,800 m and mountain mossy evergreen broad-leaved forests above 1,800 m. Non-representative mountain mossy dwarf forests （above 2,100 m） in the area are found on the windward sides and barren lands on mountain slopes; 3） that Hopea mollissima is one of the major component species of mountain rain forests, but it should not be considered as the major indicator species in humid rain forests as is generally accepted.
