Planting shrubs on sand land and degraded pasture are two main measures for desertification control particularly in northwest China. However, their effects on soil organic carbon (SOC) and its fractions remain uncertain. We assessed the changes in stocks of SOC, light fraction of SOC (LF—SOC) and heavy fraction of SOC (HF—SOC) after planting Artemisia ordosica (AO, 17 years), Astragalus mongolicum (AM, 5 years) and Salix psammophila (SP, 16 years) in sand land and planting Caragana microphylla (CM, 24 years) on degraded pasture. Results show that: 1) after planting AO, AM and SP on sand land, SOC stocks increased by 162.5%, 45.2% and 70.8%, respectively, and LF—SOC accounted for a large proportion in the increased SOC. Dry weights of LF—SOC, rather than carbon concentrations, were higher in shrublands than that in sand land; 2) after planting CM on degraded pasture, SOC stock decreased by 9.3% and all the loss was HF—SOC in 60–100 cm soil layer where both herbaceous fine root biomass (HFRB) and soil water content (SWC) also decreased. The results indicate that planting shrubs can result in an increase of SOC in sand land, whereas that can lead to a decrease of SOC in degraded pasture. The increase of SOC in sand land mainly bases on the accumulation of dry weight of LF—SOC. The loss of SOC in degraded pasture is caused by the decrease of carbon concentrations of HF—SOC, which can be related to the reduction of HFRB and SWC in deep soil layer. Therefore, shrub-planting for desertification control not always improve the quantity and stability of SOC in northwest China.

Recent studies suggested a general warming trend in the Alps, resulting in a significant migration of forests to altitudes higher than the usual, regional tree line. As a consequence, some headwater streams will likely receive more allochthonous organic matter. For this reason, the dynamics of decomposition of terrestrial leaf detritus in stream reaches that naturally lacked this resource represents a subject of considerable interest, on which no information is currently available. The aim of this study was to analyse breakdown and macroinvertebrate colonisation of leaf bags in an Alpine headwater stream above the tree line. Results of this study indicate that decomposition of terrestrial leaves in a lotic alpine environment above the tree line takes place through a process similar to what happens at lower altitudes, but with some differences. The reduced rate of decomposition observed may be due to lower temperatures. At lower altitudes, tree cover provides a supply of organic material sufficient to support a rich guild of shredders. This study demonstrates that also above tree line, where communities are dominated by scrapers, an important part of the benthic community take part in the decomposition process of leaves. We can conclude that streams above the tree line, while hosting invertebrate communities dominated by rhithrophilous organisms that feed mostly on biofilm, also harbour a rich population of opportunist invertebrates. It seems that, in the case of expected temperature increase at higher altitudes , terrestrial organic detritus may be actively degraded by lotic benthic communities.

Highway network construction is one of common factors contributing to alpine grassland degradation in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau as well as other regions, resulting in big area land used for highway construction by abruptly removing the vegetation and topsoil on both sides of roadbed. Taking the Land Used for Qinghai-Tibet Highway Construction (LUQHC) produced in 1994 as an example, a field survey was conducted to investigate the leaf N, P stoichiometry of plants from natural communities and restorable communities by using all plants and same pairwise of species, because the natural vegetation restoration at LUQHC is driven by element availability to some extent. This study showed that plants were probably P-limited in study region and the variation of N:P ratio was closely related to leaf P concentration. Results of same pairwise of species showed that the leaf N, P and N:P ratio of plants from restorable communities were higher than those of adjacent natural communities, indicating that leaf N and P were simultaneously affected by the environment circumstance of LUQHC. However, results of all species showed that the environment factors only impacted on leaf N concentration. These showed that the plant in restorable communities suffered from more intense P-limited conditions than those in natural communities, and that the same pairwise of species sampling was better to acquire the N- or P-limitation status for plant in restorable communities than all species. This study also showed that phylogenetic variation (family and genus identity) was key factor affecting the variations of N, P stoichiometry.

Plant functional traits are linked with environmental factors, individuals and ecosystem structure and functions as plants respond and adapt to the environment. Here, the whole-plant traits (plant height and plant biomass), leaf morphological (leaf area, leaf dry mass and specific leaf area) and chemical traits (leaf carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus contents, C/N and N/P ratio) of six dominant species (Cynanchum komarovii Al, Euphorbia esula Linn, Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch, Lespedeza potaninii Vass, Agropyron mongolicum Keng and Stipa breviflora Griseb) were studied in the desert grassland of China, with a grazing experiment including four grazing intensity (0.00, 0.45, 1.00, 1.50 sheep ha^-1). The effect of grazing on leaf morphological traits were significant for the six dominant species, while the effects on whole-plant traits were highly significant for S. breviflora, A. mongolicum, G. uralensis, L. potaninii and C. komarovii. Three of the six species (S. breviflora, A. mongolicum and L. potaninii) decreased in plant height (PH) with increasing grazing intensity, while specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf N (N_mass) showed the opposite trend. The whole-plant traits were significantly positively correlated with leaf dry mass (LM), but significantly negatively correlated with leaf nitrogen and phosphorus contents. The first principal component analysis (PCA) axis corresponding to plant size (PH and PB) and leaf size (LA and LM), while the second axis of PCA to leaf chemical traits (N_mass, P, C and N/P). Variations of plant traits in response to grazing were mainly explained by size trait and chemical traits. The functional traits cannot be the only basis for predicting plant species in response to grazing, and a functional analysis of the trade-off between plant traits is also needed.

Zwackhia viridis is a crustose lichen being found in forests throughout Poland. It belongs to rare species being labelled primeval forest lichens which are associated with large forest complexes. The eastern populations of Z. viridis were examined using RAPD technique in order to check whether geographic distance affects genetic diversity of the populations under study. The analysis of seven populations of that species showed large intraspecific diversity. The greatest genetic similarity occurred between populations from the north-eastern area of the country, about 300 km away from each other. In dendrograms, only these populations have simple matching distance greater than 50%.

Solidago canadensis, which is native to North America, is considered to be the most widespread invasive alien plant. The invasion of Solidago canadensis in China has resulted in serious environmental problems. Therefore, understanding the relationship between the geographical distribution of S. canadensis and bioclimatic variables, and then predicting the potential distribution of this species is essential for management actions and practices. Although several studies have delineated the potential distribution of S. canadensis in China, how this species would respond to variations in future climatic conditions remains unclear. In the present study, we predicted the potential distribution of S. canadensis under current and future climatic conditions using species distribution models. We also analyzed range shifting of this species under current and future climatic conditions. We arrived at several conclusions. First, the potential distribution of S. canadensis may expand 40% under future climatic condition compare with that of under current condition. Second, mean diurnal range, isothermality, mean temperature of the wettest quarter, mean temperature of the warmest quarter, precipitation of the driest month, and precipitation seasonality (coefficient of variation) are key bioclimatic variables in determine the potential distribution of S. canadensis. Third, expansion of S. canadensis can be partly attributed to the relatively warmer and wetter future bioclimatic condition than current one.

Hardwood floodplain forests of lowland rivers in the temperate zone of Europe represent important refugia for biota in the cultural landscape. Most of these habitats that are in near natural state are included in the system of protected areas and ecological networks. This paper presents the results of an innovative method for the assessment of hardwood floodplain forest management strategy. This method is based on combining the analysis of historical development of the forest ecosystem with the growth simulation model of the forest. The method allows us to understand (explain) the current state of the hardwood floodplain forest ecosystem and to predict its future development taking into account the applied forest management strategy. Application of this method is promising especially in protected areas because it allows us to assess the suitability of the chosen strategy that is included in the protected area management plan. The research was conducted in the area of ‘Bahna’ in Litovelské Pomoraví protected landscape area (Czech Republic).

The current management strategy applied on the hardwood floodplain forest ecosystem in the study site is based on a strict non-intervention protection regime. Historical research of the forest ecosystem showed that the studied floodplain forest habitat is a relic of coppice with standards system and thus is the result of intensive forest management in the past. Growth simulation model showed that in the future 40 years the assessed management strategy will not lead to significant changes in the structure or diversity of the tree layer. Considering the conservation objectives of the reserve (maintenance of biodiversity and the present character of the forest ecosystem dominated by ash and oak), the current management plan does not require any significant corrections. The presented results can be applied in discussions about optimal management strategies in protected areas containing hardwood floodplain forest ecosystems, which belong to priority natural habitat types in the Natura 2000 network.

The seed size is considered as a key feature, which effects both: colonizing and competitive abilities of species. The disturbance dependent small-seeded taxa are regarded as superior colonists, whereas the large-seeded taxa are considered as best competitors able to survive the competition from adjacent plants and negative effect of litter. The impact of character of standing vegetation, disturbance level and size of gaps on spontaneous recruitment of seedlings of selected light-seeded species (Gentiana pneumonanthe L., Dianthus superbus L.) and heavy-seeded taxa (Serratula tinctoria L., Gladiolus imbricatus L.) were conducted. The investigations were carried out in two areas (A and B). Both of them were consisted of three adjacent patches of Molinietum caeruleae: dominated by small meadow species (labeled MC), prevailed by large-tussocks grasses (labeled GR), and overgrown by willows (labeled SA). In the year 2007, in all patches, ten permanent experimental plots were randomly arranged. In Area A, plots were divided in four square-shaped, neighboring subplots subjected to: no treatment; the removal of litter and moss layers; the removal of litter, bryophytes, and above-ground parts of plants; the removal of litter, moss and the plants, as well as top soil stripping. In the Area B, plots were divided into four subplots measuring from 0.16 m² to 0.01 m². In each of them the litter and above-ground part of plant biomass were clipped and removed. The recruitment of seedlings was monitored from 2007 through 2010. In both studied areas, regardless of seed mass, the greatest abundance of seedlings were found in patches MC, and decreased gradually in sites GR and SA. Irrespective of seed size, in subplots where plant cover and litter stayed intact no new genets was noted, moderate appearance of seedlings was observed in subplots without plant necromass, whereas the greatest number of generative progeny was found in subplots without necromass and aboveground parts of plants. The lower abundance of seedlings in subplots without litter, plants and topsoil might have been caused by depletion of seed bank reserves. Moreover, in all patches the number of seedlings of small- and large-seeded taxa increased significantly with augmentation of gap size.

In light of performed studies it might be concluded, that the disturbances might play very important role in active protection of studied taxa. The positive impact of disruption diminishes with increasing of plant canopy height. The removal of plant cover and litter contributes to the greatest seedling recruitment but its beneficial effect diminishes with decreasing of opening size.

Molinietum caeruleae meadows belong to the most endangered plant communities in Central Europe, nowadays suffering due to the lack of management. The land abandonment promotes strong secondary expansion of macroforbs, sedges or willows, contributing to decrease of the species diversity. In light of these findings very interesting seems to be the evaluation of the variability of features of populations of rare meadow species. In Poland one of strictly protected plant is Gladiolus imbricatus L. It is a tuberous, clonal plant with sword-like leaves and tall stalks bearing purple flowers collected in one-sided inflorescence.

The studies of spatio-temporal variability of selected features of subpopoulations of Gladiolus imbricatus were carried out in the years 2009– 2011 in Kraków-Kostrze (Southern Poland) in patches of Molinietum caeruleae with different species composition. In Patch I chiefly occurred small meadow species, Patch II was prevailed by shrub willow, Patch III was dominated by tall-growing macroforbs, Patch IV was characterized by substantial share of large-tussock grasses, while Patch V was overgrown by tall rhizomatous grass Phragmites communis. The plant canopy height and ground moisture raised from Patch I, via Patches II, III and IV, to Patch V. Moreover, in all sites the above mentioned parameters increased moderately in consecutive seasons.

The decline of abundance of subpopulations observed in the consecutive years and in the successive patches might be caused by a mortality of individuals, a physical damage of tubers, as well as a prolonged dormancy of genets. The structure of developmental stages were similar in consecutive years but differed significantly among Patches. The increasing trend toward senility noted in successive sites could be an effect of lack of microsites suitable for seedling recruitment or absence of vegetative regeneration. The dimensions of leaf blades, flowering stalks and inflorescences remained similar in the subsequent seasons, but they augmented significantly in the successive patches. The length and the width of capsules did not change significantly between seasons and sites.

Concluding, it might be assumed, that the perspectives for survivability of subpopulations diminish gradually from Patch I, via Patches II, III and IV to Patch V. Simultaneously, it should be pointed out that prospects for persistence in each place steadily decrease in effect of continuous deterioration of site conditions.

The interactions between bacteria and heterotrophic protists are essential for the ecosystem ecology of freshwater. The basic objective of the study was to analyse the seasonal dynamics of changes in particular elements of the microbial loop (bacteria, flagellates and ciliates) in various types of small water bodies. The classification into particular trophic groups of ciliates and the role of the organisms in the functioning of the microbial loop was also analysed. The abundance and biomass of microbial communities has been assessed in eight reservoirs of varied origin (peat pits, clay pits and post-mining reservoirs), in order to test a hypothesis that the microbial communities differed among reservoirs and that differences could be related to fertility of habitats. Fieldwork was done from April to November 2010–2012. From each reservoirs once a month, three samples were collected with a 5-litre planktonic sampler. Samples were taken on two stations: pelagic — located in the deepest part of each reservoirs and littoral. The density and biomass of bacteria and protists significantly differed between the studied reservoirs, with the lowest numbers in the peat pits and clay pits and the highest in the post-mining reservoirs. All of the studied reservoirs were generally dominated by ciliates belonging to the orders Oligotrichida and Scuticociliatida constituted > 30% of the total numbers. In all reservoirs bacterivorous ciliates occurred in the highest numbers, while predators ones in the lowest. Generally, concentrations of nutrients (especially total phosphorus) is not a factor having the strongest effect on the abundance of bacteria and heterotrophic flagellates and the number and strength of correlations between microbial loop components. The relations demonstrated between bacteria and protists point to an important process of matter and energy flow from bacteria to higher trophic levels. In peat pits, relations between bacteria and ciliates were stronger. Only in clay pits and postmining reservoirs the correlation between bacteria and heterotrophic flagellates were found. Consuming much of bacterial productions, protozoa become an important link between bacteria and micrometazoans.

Longitudinal organisation of macroinvertebrate fauna along river is one of the most important problem commonly used to explain the functioning of flowing water ecosystems. The river system can be treated as a mosaic of landscapes patches and riverine macroinvertebrates' community structure is a function of longitudinal changes in its key abiotic patterns. The aims of the study was to analyse the taxonomic structure of molluscs in the river-lake system, to compare river and lake malacofauna and to determine the factors responsible for its diversity in lakes and river stretches. The study based on comprehensive analysis of malakofauna sampled at 10 sites in the Krutynia River and in all 19 lakes it flows through were performed in the years 2008–1011. River Krutynia is one of the most important rivers in Masurian Lakeland (north-eastern Poland) with length of 100 km and mean annual discharge of 10.6 m³ h^-1. It forms a characteristic river-lake system typical for the lakeland landscape in Central Europe. The density and taxonomic composition of molluscs were found as strongly dissimilar in a local scale — between closely located lakes and between particular parts of flowing waters, divided by the lakes. Multivariate methods were used to demonstrate a clear dissimilarity of lake and river malakofauna and to show that the mean content of phosphorus, nitrogen and organic matter in bottom sediments were correlated with each other in lakes but not in the river. The most important species differentiating river sites into larger groups with respect to the similarity was Theodoxus fluviatilis while Stagnicola corvus and Anisus vortex were such species differentiating lakes. The numbers and percentages of Dreissena polymorpha and Unionidae were negatively correlated with nutrients in river sediments. There was a strong positive relationship between nutrients' concentrations in sediments and the percentages of Viviparus, Obtained results of multiple regression indicate a strong effect of nutrient and organic matter concentrations in the sediments and the distance from the site to the lake on the domination structure of molluscs.

Great Spotted Woodpecker is the most abundant and widespread European woodpecker species, and it thus contributes the most to the number of excavated tree holes — an important habitat resource for secondary hole users. However, majority of nest site characteristics data comes from boreal and temperate forests, with lack of information from Southern Europe. In this article, nest sites of the Great Spotted Woodpecker have been investigated in the continental forests of Croatia — a previously understudied area of this species' range. A total of 41 active nest-holes found in the breeding seasons 2003 and 2004 are described. Nest-holes were mainly positioned below the crowns, in injuries of branch abscission. Nesting tree species were not used randomly: wild cherry Prunus avium in hill and pedunculate oak Quercus robur in riverine forests were preferred while hornbeam Carpinus betulus and maples Acer sp. were avoided. While tree species used for nesting vary across the Great Spotted Woodpecker range, and thus cannot be used as a uniform nest site predictor, defected wood spots on a tree, like scars of branch abscission, are identified as an important nest site clue and a habitat feature that is spatially more consistent. Nestholes' dimensions acquired in this research could not be clearly differentiated from those given for the other parts of the continent.

Buntings species are mainly associated to agricultural landscapes and constitute a high conservation concern because farmlands are ecosystems subject to rapid changes and may cause the loss of animal species in just a few years.

We studied the occurrence of Ortolan Bunting, Cirl Bunting and Corn Bunting (Emberiza hortulana, Emberiza cirlus, Miliaria calandra) on farmlands of Central Italy, considering the landuse composition, crop typologies and several structural parameters of environment occupied by these species, as presence of power lines, road type and Shannon biodiversity index of landscape. Furthermore the geographical overlap among the three bunting species was studied, in order to find witch species show an habitat overlap.

The study was carried out in central-eastern Italy, between the end of April and mid-July 2010, through 159 sampled sites, uniformly distributed on in the study area.

Cirl Bunting is the most widespread species of Bunting in the farmlands that were studied. Ortolan Bunting and Corn Bunting are the two species with greater spatial habitat overlap, even though land-use composition in their territories was different. However, Ortolan Bunting can be found at a lower altitude range than Corn Bunting (less 550 m a.s.l.) and it is associated to territories with minor landscape heterogeneity. Preferences by crop types seem to be a possible cause of the spatial habitat overlap between Ortolan and Corn Bunting (both species had selected sugar beet, and coriander, avoiding mainly vegetables, vineyards and orchards). On the other hand, Cirl Bunting was less related to crop types.

Scats are important for chemical communication in many canids, however, little is known about the faecal marking behaviour in coyotes. In this study we tested if faeces have a function as visual and scent marks during the non-breeding period, analyzing the spatial characteristics of defecation places. We predicted that if faeces are used as chemical signals, these should be deposited in substrates and/or zones that enhance their detection by conspecifics as it happens in other canid species. The study was conducted in native grasslands at the NW limit of the Chihuahuan Desert. Results showed that the proportion of faeces in conspicuous zones (91.3%) was significantly higher than those on inconspicuous zones (8.7%). However, the number of faeces deposited on inconspicuous substrates (92.1%) was significantly higher than on conspicuous substrates (7.9%). Most faeces were on the ground (99.2%) and only 0.8% where raised. 35% of faeces were deposited in crossroads, being these strategic zones repeatedly marked by the coyotes. We observed a significant negative correlation between the number of faeces in crossroads and the distance of faeces to the centre of the crossroad. A high number of scats were found in the proximity of livestock carcasses (21%). In addition, a selection of certain road sections (track and lateral) was observed. Our results suggest that the scats have an important function as scent-marks in coyotes, using specific defecation patterns that appear to correspond to the habitat characteristics in the study area.

The dry Puna is the widest pastoral ecosystem of the tropical alpine Andes, characterized by harsh environmental conditions (long and intense drought stress periods and unfertile soils) and grazed by wild and domestic camelids. In these conditions, facilitation is of key importance in plant diversity conservation. Indeed, facilitation is a positive plant-plant interaction by which the so called nurse species provide environmental amelioration of harsh conditions and/or refuge to other plants (beneficiary species), which otherwise might fail to establish. The research aims were to understand which ecological variables affect the distribution of the potential nurse cushion species Pycnophyllum molle J. Rémy and P. weberbaueri Muschl., and if these species are affected by grazing disturbance. The study area (4000–4900 m a.s.l.) is located in the southern Peruvian Andes. Data of species cover, topographic and soil features, besides type of disturbance were collected along transects. We used canonical redundancy analysis to understand the relations between the cover of the two Pycnophyllum species and the above mentioned constraining variables. Results indicate that both the Pycnophyllum species grow on sandy loam, moderately acid soils, with low organic matter and very poor nitrogen content, and avoid high disturbance intensities. P. molle is more sensitive than P. weberbaueri to disturbance, and grows on relatively more fertile soils, also at higher altitudes and on steeper slopes characterized by greater rockiness.