Patterns and determinants of plant biodiversity in non-commercial forests of eastern China

Conservation of rare and endangered plant species in China

Rare and endangered plant species (REPs) are facing high danger of extinction, yet a comprehensive and up-to-date review on their conservation in China is still lacking. This paper systematically collected studies and achievements on REPs conservation, including species surveys and monitoring, cause of endangerment, in situ conservation, ex situ conservation, reintroduction, propagation, conservation legislation, public participation, progress in conservation of wild plant with extremely small populations, and progress in China's implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Although enormous advances have been made in conservation policies and legislations, protection systems, and research, as well as public education and international collaborations, the conservation efficiency is still restricted largely by the conflict between economic growth and biodiversity conservation in China. In order to meet its commitments to the new Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, more work on basic investigation and long-term observation, as well as advanced technologies and application-oriented research on REPs should be carried out.

Chance or Necessity-The Fungi Co-Occurring with Formica polyctena Ants

Simple Summary

There are about 13,800 species of ants living around the world, but only some of them have been extensively studied in the context of their non−antagonistic relationships with fungi. The best−known example is the symbiosis between leaf−cutting ants and fungi serving them as food. Others include the relationship between ants living in carton nests in the trees’ canopy with fungi increasing the durability of the nest. Do ants utilize fungi in the northern hemisphere and cooler climatic zone? This question is still open. Our goal was to study the less−obvious interactions between ants and common fungi in temperate climates. In our study, we characterized the mycobiota of the surroundings of Formica polyctena ants. We identified nearly 600 strains and investigated their taxonomic affinity. The most abundant fungi in F. polyctena nests are strains belonging to Penicillium—a genus well−known as an antibiotic producer. Other common and widespread fungi related to Penicillium, such as the toxin−producing Aspergillus species, were isolated very rarely. Additionally, the high diversity and high frequency of Penicillium colonies isolated from ants in this study suggest that certain representatives of this genus may be adapted to survive in ant nests, or that they are preferentially sustained by the insects.

Abstract

Studies on carton nesting ants and domatia−dwelling ants have shown that ant–fungi interactions may be much more common and widespread than previously thought. Until now, studies focused predominantly on parasitic and mutualistic fungi–ant interactions occurring mostly in the tropics, neglecting less−obvious interactions involving the fungi common in ants’ surroundings in temperate climates. In our study, we characterized the mycobiota of the surroundings of Formica polyctena ants by identifying nearly 600 fungal colonies that were isolated externally from the bodies of F. polyctena workers. The ants were collected from mounds found in northern and central Poland. Isolated fungi were assigned to 20 genera via molecular identification (ITS rDNA barcoding). Among these, Penicillium strains were the most frequent, belonging to eight different taxonomic sections. Other common and widespread members of Eurotiales, such as Aspergillus spp., were isolated very rarely. In our study, we managed to characterize the genera of fungi commonly present on F. polyctena workers. Our results suggest that Penicillium, Trichoderma, Mucor, Schwanniomyces and Entomortierella are commonly present in F. polyctena surroundings. Additionally, the high diversity and high frequency of Penicillium colonies isolated from ants in this study suggest that representatives of this genus may be adapted to survive in ant nests environment better than the other fungal groups, or that they are preferentially sustained by the insects in nests.

The Diversity Distribution Pattern of Ruderal Community under the Rapid Urbanization in Hangzhou, East China

The process of rapid urbanization has affected the composition and diversity of urban vegetation species. The process of urbanization from 2000 was analyzed in the area of "one major city with three vice cities and six groups", according to the urban master planning of Hangzhou from 2001 to 2020. The results show that dramatic changes have occurred for land use types during the ten years from 2000 to 2010 in Hangzhou, of which urban land has become the main type of land use and the area of arable land has presented serious loss. This study found that the Gramineae and Compositae species were the main groups of ruderals in 1665 quadrats, which reflected the characteristics of a few large families. The number of Monotypic and Oligotypic family/genera accounted for 67.3% of the total number of families and 97.5% of the total number of genera. The ruderals were dominated by annual life forms with strong adaptability and high plasticity. The ruderal communities in the study areas were divided into 125 community types based on clustering analysis of the dominance of ruderal species. The proportion of summer annual ruderals in the dominant species of ruderal communities gradually decreased along the group-vice city-major city gradient. The percentage of winter annual ruderals was the highest and the percentage of perennials was the lowest in the groups. The number of ruderal community types showed a nonlinear decreasing trend along the urbanization gradient of the group-vice city-major city. The number of ruderal communities in the vice cities and the groups was similar, which was higher than that in the major city. Only species that are highly tolerant to urban habitats can be distributed under frequent and high-intensity human disturbances in the major city. Therefore, the number of ruderal communities in the major city was minimal and it had low diversity.

On the Management of Large-Diameter Trees in China’s Forests

Large-diameter trees have mainly been used for timber production in forestry practices. Recently, their critical roles played in biodiversity conservation and maintenance of ecosystem functions have been recognized. However, current forestry policy on the management of large-diameter trees is weak. As China is the biggest consumer of large-diameter timbers, how to maintain sustainable large-diameter timber resources as well as maximize ecological functions of the forests is a critical question to address. Here we summarize historical uses, distribution patterns, and management strategies of large-diameter trees in China. We found that large-diameter trees are mainly distributed in old-growth forests. Although China’s forest cover has increased rapidly in the past decades, large-diameter trees are rarely found in plantation forests and secondary forests. We suggest that knowledge of large-diameter trees should be widely disseminated in local forestry departments, especially their irreplaceable value in terms of biodiversity conservation and ecosystem functions. Protection of large-diameter trees, especially those in old-growth forests, is critical for sustainable forestry. To meet the increasing demand of large-diameter timbers, plantation forests and secondary forests should apply forest density management with thinning to cultivate more large-diameter trees.