The spatial patterns of carbon pool in landscape vary greatly with variation of forest structures and climate conditions. In this field study, the carbon storage in overstory, understory, litter layer of plants and soil carbon in forests was investigated in 26-28 year-old Masson pine (Pinus massoniana) pure and mixed forests along a latitudinal gradient (20–30 °N) crossing Hunan and Guangxi provinces of China, during the period of May 2015–August 2017. We found that the total carbon storage in Masson pine forests ranged 88.92–149.41 Mg/ha, of which 54.03% occurred in aboveground compound and 45.97% occurred belowground. The overall total carbon storage distribution was 34.62–68.72 Mg/ha, 3.82–10.19 Mg/ha, 2.37–3.96 Mg/ha, and 6.06–12.08 Mg/ha in stems, branches, leaves, and roots, respectively. The carbon storage in the overstory of forest stands and forest soils significantly decreased with increasing latitude, while the carbon storage in the understory and litter of the forest stands significantly increased as the latitude increased. The overall carbon storage significantly decreases by 8.26 Mg/ha in Masson pine forests as the latitude increased by one degree. The carbon storage increased by 8.43% in Masson pine mixed forests compared to the pure forest stands after the transformation from the pure forest stands into the mixed forest stands ∼ 15 years later. The results of changes in carbon storage in the studied forests with the latitudinal gradient could be attributed to variations in hydrothermal conditions with changing latitudes. The forest structure with different tree species composition was another important factor regulating carbon storage in forest ecosystems at the same latitude. The results provided a scientific basis for better understanding of latitudinal variation and spatial distribution of carbon storage in Masson pine forest stands with optimal forest stand structures in subtropical region of China.

Fire has major impact on species diversity in natural ecosystems around the world. The consequences of fires for invertebrates can be immediate, and recovery of species assemblages may be a long-term process. We recorded moth communities from May to November 2019 in a pine forest in Western Bohemia, Czech Republic, where a local fire occurred in April of that year. We used UV light traps at one burned site and two neighboring unburned sites with a similar character as the burned site before the fire event. We analyzed moth assemblages using several species diversity indices – index of dominance, Shannon-Wiener index and Shannon-Wiener evenness, Simpson index, and Chao1 nonparametric estimation. We detected 67 species at the burned site, and 97 and 106 at the unburned sites. The three most frequently trapped species at all sites were Macaria liturata, Buphalus piniaria and Thera obeliscata, representing common forest geometrid moths. We observed a decline in species number and abundance at the burned site compared to the unburned sites, probably due to the direct mortality of larvae. On the contrary, the burned site was more diverse according to the diversity indices. The fire disrupted the original character of the coniferous forest, which was proved by a decline of species feeding on conifers and Vaccinium spp. The burned site attracted species associated with dry habitats such as Eublemma purpurina, Charissa obscurata and Scopula rubiginata. Even though wildfires are viewed negatively in general, they might temporarily enhance diversity in a homogeneous landscape.

Fire-induced effects on biota activity and diversity, and soil attributes, could have implications for biodiversity conservation and recovery of semiarid grassland ecosystems. Here, we examined the abundance and diversity of ground-dwelling arthropods, and soil attributes in burned and unburned grasslands in the semiarid Nanhuashan Natural Reserve in western Loess Plateau of China. Arthropods and soil were sampled in springtime one year after fire disturbance. We found no significant differences in total abundance of ground-dwelling arthropods between burned and unburned grasslands. However, the taxonomic richness and the Shannon index of ground-dwelling arthropods were found to be significantly greater in burned than unburned grasslands. Postfire effects also indicated significant differences in dominance hierarchy among taxa within functional groups as a consequence of increasing predatory abundance but decreasing phytophagous one from unburned to burned grasslands. Likewise, soil bulk density declined, whereas soil C/N increased significantly from unburned to burned grasslands. In conclusion, fire could promote the taxonomic richness and the diversity of ground-dwelling arthropods, thus being indicators of positive effect of fire disturbance on biodiversity conservation of semiarid grassland ecosystems of northwestern China. However, soil bulk density and soil C/N could be susceptible to fire-driven changes of soil attributes.

Lizards, especially skinks (Scincidae) occurring in arid environments constitute good study objects to test niche differentiation and other related issues of interspecific competition. Diet of five Trachylepis skink (T. punctulata, T. binotata, T. capensis, T. wahlbergii, T. damarana) was studied through stomach content analysis. Skinks were collected in savanna habitats in Namibia. In all these species, active foraging strategy predominates. All skink species preyed almost exclusively on insects. Four insect taxa comprised the bulk of diet in all five species investigated: Coleoptera, Orthoptera, Isoptera, Hymenoptera (Formicidae) and larvae. Their overall contribution ranged from 72.2% to 100.0% of all prey items in the diet of particular skink species. Most prey items were below 10 mm long, some were 11-20 mm in length. Both males and females fed on the same prey groups, but there were marked differences in the proportions of these groups. In general, males preyed more on beetles and grasshoppers, while females – more on ants. All main prey groups were recorded both in dry and in wet season in all five skink species. Food niche overlap was the highest between T. damarana and T. wahlbergii (0.84), and between T. binotata and T. punctulata (0.77). No overlap in food niche was recorded between T. capensis and T. punctulata, and low overlap (0.26) between T. capensis and T. binotata.

Atmospheric conditions play an important role in structuring avian communities in space and time. Here we assess the role of weather conditions on the distribution and abundance of the enigmatic glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) in Northeast Algeria in both wintering grounds and in breeding areas in a survey spanning from 2011 to 2019. During the study period, cooler years were wetter and warmer years were drier. The wintering population size in the region could be estimated to 200-300 individuals. The number of individuals in wintering grounds increased in recent years in one site (Berrihane), but it did not show a strong association with weather conditions prior to wintering. Four breeding colonies were detected in highly-vegetated ponds with in-water trees where the number of breeding pairs was the highest. Extinction was recorded for two colonies (50% of colonies) where one permanently disappeared and one exhibited a series of extinctions and recolonizations across years. The estimated colony size was larger at El Dakhla (60–105 pairs) than El Chatt (0–42 pairs), Fezara Lake (25–41 pairs), and Tonga Lake (0–2 pairs). Climate conditions seemed to correlate with the number of pairs in one site (El Chatt) such that warm and dry years were associated with lower number of individuals. We discuss that disturbance and pollution might play a role in colony establishment but the number of pairs is positively related to the extinction of a nearby colony, suggesting that those refuge colonies are crucial for the persistence of the species in the area. This study presents historical data on the occurrence and abundance of a relatively unstudied species and gives new information on its climatic sensitivity which might be helpful for predicting future climate change impacts.