Subtropical Landscape Research Articles

Physiological responses of typical subtropical landscape shrubs to artificial light at night.

Artificial light at night is rapidly spreading and has become an important component of global change. Although numerous studies have focused on its potential ecological impacts, the physiological response mechanisms of landscape plants to artificial light at night have rarely been quantified. With common landscape shrubs in subtropical regions of China, Hydrangea paniculata, Photinia fraseri and Ligustrum japonicum, as test materials, we exa-mined the responses of antioxidant enzyme system and biomass in the light environment at night under different light quality (yellow light, white light) with different light intensities (20, 40, 60 lx) . The results showed that artificial light at night significantly increased the membrane peroxidation, stimulated plant antioxidant protection systems and raised the antioxidant enzyme activities of the three species. The effects of light quality on plant antioxidant enzymes varied across dspecies. The peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) activities of H. paniculata under white light were 1.5 and 1.3 times as that under yellow light, respectively. Both enzyme activities of P. fraseri were 1.1 times as that under white light than under yellow light. The activities of two enzymes in L. japonicum under white light were 88.6% and 99.5% of those under yellow light, respectively. The antioxidant enzyme activities of the three species increased with increasing light intensity at night, whereas the contents of malondialdehyde increased rapidly and the antioxidant enzyme activities decreased when beyond a certain light intensity threshold (at 120 d, the threshold was about 40 lx). The protective enzymes that played the major role under nighttime light stress were different among the three species. For H. paniculata, POD and CAT complemented each other to resist stress-induced oxidative damage, while the main enzyme of L. japonicum was POD. The biomass of the three species increased significantly under artificial light at night. H. paniculata was the most sensitive to nighttime light stress, while L. japonicum had the strongest resistance to the stress. The deciduous shrub H. paniculata could tolerate the white night light lower than 40 lx, while the evergreen shrubs P. fraseri and L. japonicum could tolerate the yellow night light lower than 40 lx.

Enhanced debris flow activities in the subtropical mountainous catchment of South China during early Marine Isotope Stage 3

Geomorphic processes and their responses to climatic change in subtropical mountainous catchments are not yet well understood. In this study, a unique sequence of alluvial sediments (>33 m thick) from the Nanxu karst valley, Guilin, South China, was investigated to characterize the nature of erosion–deposition processes in humid, subtropical catchments and decipher any climatic constraints on the earth surface dynamics and landscape evolution. Erosional outcrops show that the Nanxu valley fill sequence mainly comprises m-scale sheets of matrix-supported gravel (a debris flow facies), which, in the distal part of the valley, are intercalated with beds of fine-grained sediments (facies of horizontally interbedded sand and mud or massive mud). The fine-grained sediments were likely deposited in a subaqueous environment, which was probably formed when the karst sinkhole was contemporarily blocked by a large volume of debris flows. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) as well as radiocarbon dating constrained a chorology framework of ca. 62–42 ka for the valley fill sequence. Comparisons of the sedimentation phase with local and regional climate proxy records revealed that enhanced debris flow activities and sediment aggradation occurred under generally warm and wet but unstable climatic conditions during early Marine Isotope Stage 3. Under these climatic conditions, there was likely a subtropical landscape with high vegetation cover in the catchment at the time of sedimentation, as supported by our palynological data. Thus, it is suspected that enhanced debris flow activities were triggered by the recurrence of extreme monsoonal rainfall events. Since ∼ 42 ka, the stream-channel process dominated the valley, and the valley fill was deeply dissected, which might be related to changes in the overall intensity and internal variability of monsoonal rainfall over a period. These findings identify the role of high-intensity monsoonal precipitation in controlling geomorphological activities in humid, subtropical landscapes of South China.

How does the subtropical landscape configuration influence the ecomorphological traits and community composition of ground-dwelling beetles in southern Brazil?

Ground-dwelling beetles play an important role in ecosystems, linked to soil formation and structuring, fragmentation and transport of organic material, and biological control. Changes in the landscape resulting from habitat fragmentation and changes in land use systems serve as a filter for surface and soil beetle community composition, as the most tolerant species, are able to remain in the environment while others that are less tolerant may disappear. This study aimed to assess the community composition of ground-dwelling beetles and their relationship with environmental variables in fragments of the subtropical landscape in southern Brazil. Hence, evaluations of morphospecies and ecomorphological traits of ground-dwelling beetles in three municipalities were used. In each landscape, a sampling grid was established within a window with 1 km diameter and two sampling periods (autumn and winter) were performed for ground-dwelling beetles, soil attributes, litter, and spatial variables. There was an increase of individuals in the fragments with forest systems and with greater soil cover. The beetle communities of the native forest differed from those of pasture, crop-livestock integration, and no-tillage. The hemiedaphic and epigeous life-forms were associated with eucalyptus plantation and shrub vegetation, respectively. The native forest favored beetles with larger body sizes, compared to pasture, no-tillage, and eucalyptus plantation systems. The functional diversity (FD) and Simpson's indices were similar throughout the landscape. The environmental variables (Macropores, Soil Nitrogen, Aeration Space, Perimeter of the fragments, Litter Dry Weight) showed a relationship with several morphospecies but despite that they explained only a small part of the community structure. The heterogeneity of land use systems in subtropical landscapes was a driver of changes in the composition of ground-dwelling beetle communities and ecomorphological traits.

Growth characteristics and post trimming regrowth potential of tropical and sub-tropical landscape hedge plants in response to spacing

Spacing of landscape plants is one of the factors determining the outcome of a design in terms of canopy formation which is one of the variables for aesthetic appearance in terms of shapes and forms. This study was conducted between September 2016 and September 2017, to determine the appropriate intra-row spacing for five plant species in hedge formation. The plant species used were Duranta erecta, Hamelia patens, Ficus retusa, Buxus sempervirens and Acalypha wilkesiana. Transplanting was done at intra-row spacing of 30, 40, 50 and 60cm and a constant inter-row spacing of 100cm. The experiment was a Randomized Complete Block Design in split plot arrangement with three replicates. Plant height, number of leaves, number of branches and canopy space, as indices of species suitability for use as hedge, were measured fortnightly. Plant regrowth and aesthetic characteristics were assessed after periodic trimming. H. patens and B. sempervirens species had the tallest plants. B. sempervirens and D. erecta produced the highest number of leaves while D. erecta and H. patens had the highest number of branches. D. erecta had significantly (p<0.05) the fastest post-trimming shoot regrowth rate relative to other species following the 1st and 2nd trimming (25 and 28 WAT respectively). The effect of spacing on shoot regrowth length was significant after the 3rd, 4th and 5th trimmings (31, 34 and 37 WAT respectively). The highest shoot regrowth height was recorded at 40cm spacing followed by 30cm intra row spacing. All species responded best at 50cm intra-row spacing for the number of branches and canopy space as well as early hedge formation. The study concluded that B. sempervirens was suitable for ideal hedging at 40cm intra-row spacing while A. wilkiesiana and H. patens were only suitable as informal hedges. Hence, B. sempervirens species is recommended as the ideal hedge plant choice based on its early regrowth after trimming, high leaf and branch production as well as overall speed in hedge formation at 31WAT.

Impact of Fire on Secondary Forest Succession in a Sub-Tropical Landscape

In Hong Kong, as in many tropical areas, grasslands are maintained by fire on disturbed and abandoned land. However, Hong Kong’s native forests are regenerating in many areas, alongside frequent burning of the hillsides, and are in different stages of structural succession to closed canopy forest patches. Understanding the major determinants of secondary succession is a vital input to forest management policies. Given the importance of forests for biodiversity conservation, watershed protection and carbon cycling. This study examines the relationship between burning regimes and structural forest succession over 42 years from 1973 to 2015, using an archive of satellite images, aerial photographs and field plot data. Overlay of a fire frequency map with maps of forest structural classes at different dates indicates the number of fires undergone by each successional class as well as the time taken to progress from one class to another under different fire regimes. Results indicate that the native sub-tropical evergreen forests, which are naturally fire intolerant, can regenerate alongside moderate burning, and once the shrub stage is reached, succession to closed forest is relatively rapid and can occur within 13 years. More than one burn, however, is more destructive, and twice-burnt areas were seen to have only one-third of the woody biomass of once-burnt plots. The most frequent fires occurred in areas where mono-cultural plantations had been destroyed by disease in the 1960s and were subsequently invaded by grasslands. These former plantation areas remained in early successional stages of grass and open shrubland by 2015. Other plantations from the 1970s and 1980s remain as plantations today and have acted as a barrier to natural forest succession, attesting to the greater effectiveness of fire control over re-afforestation measures.

Ecological drivers of avian diversity in a subtropical landscape: Effects of habitat diversity, primary productivity and anthropogenic disturbance.

Understanding the roles of ecological drivers in shaping biodiversity is fundamental for conservation practice. In this study, we explored the effects of elevation, conservation status, primary productivity, habitat diversity and anthropogenic disturbance (represented by human population density and birding history) on taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional avian diversity in a subtropical landscape in southeastern China. We conducted bird surveys using 1‐km transects across a total of 30 sites, of which 10 sites were located within a natural reserve. Metrics of functional diversity were calculated based on six functional traits (body mass, clutch size, dispersal ratio, sociality, diet and foraging stratum). We built simultaneous autoregression models to assess the association between the ecological factors and diversity of the local avian communities. Local avian diversity generally increased with increasing habitat diversity, human population density and primary productivity. We also detected phylogenetic and functional clustering in these communities, suggesting that the avian assemblages were structured mainly by environmental filtering, rather than interspecific competition. Compared with sites outside the natural reserve, sites within the natural reserve had relatively lower avian diversity but a higher level of phylogenetic heterogeneity.

Interactive effects of land-use intensity, grazing and fire on decomposition of subtropical seasonal wetlands

Understanding how global change drivers and their interactions affect decomposition in wetlands embedded in agricultural landscapes remains challenging, especially in tropical and subtropical biomes, which are disproportionately important for global carbon cycling yet with high uncertainties. In a long-term whole-ecosystem experiment, we used a widely-adopted indicator of decomposition, the Teabag Index (TBI), to investigate individual and interactive effects of surrounding land-use intensity, cattle grazing, and prescribed fire on seasonal wetland decomposition (i.e., decay rate k, and stabilization factor S) in an exemplar subtropical landscape in central-south Florida, USA. We ask: (1) How do land-use intensity and management practices affect the decomposition in seasonal wetlands? (2) How does wetland decomposition vary with hydrological gradient and seasonal climatic condition? (3) What are the dominant direct and indirect pathways through which land-use intensity and management practices affect wetland decomposition? Our results showed that, overall, surrounding land-use intensity exerted much stronger effects on litter decomposition compared to grazing and prescribed fire, and cattle grazing reduced decomposition rate k. There was a complex three-way interaction among land-use intensity, grazing and fire on the stabilization factor S – a proxy related to carbon sequestration potential. Grazing-fire interactive effects on S only existed in wetlands embedded in intensively-managed landscapes, where grazing reduced S in burned wetlands but did not affect S in unburned wetlands. Decay rate k showed profound temporal variation primarily driven by seasonal climatic conditions (especially precipitation), whereas S varied spatially along the hydrological gradient. Our structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses further revealed that effects on k were also indirectly manifested through changes on soil C/N, C/P, and pH, while effects on S were manifested through alterations in soil C/P ratio, pH, soil nutrients and water content. Our TBI results suggest that anthropogenic environmental changes, including land-use intensification, livestock introduction and fire suppression, could compromise carbon sequestration potential in tropical and subtropical seasonal wetlands. Our research highlights the importance of considering landscape context in wetland management and demonstrates the use of TBI as an indicator to quantify and inform combinations of land management and agricultural practices could conserve wetlands and sustain their vital functions and services, especially from the lens of promoting carbon storage and nutrient retention services.

Patterns of Plant Diversity and Composition in Wetlands Across a Subtropical Landscape: Comparisons Among Ponds, Streambanks and Riverbanks

Patterns of Plant Diversity and Composition in Wetlands Across a Subtropical Landscape: Comparisons Among Ponds, Streambanks and Riverbanks

Seedling emergence and environmental filters determine Ficus recruitment in a subtropical landscape

Early regeneration, involving the transition from a seed into a successfully recruited seedling, is a complex process characterized by high mortality rates and the strong association with environmental filters. However, we have limited understanding of the factors and transitional regeneration stages that lead to these broad mortality events, even in species that are key for ecosystem function and comprise the bulk of species in diversity assessments, such as Ficus species. Using eight, 1-ha long term monitoring plots, established along an elevation gradient in tropical to subtropical forests in southern China, and partitioning the early plant regeneration process into four stages (seed germination, seedling emergence, establishment and recruitment), we conducted a seed addition experiment to assess the factors driving the early regeneration process. We used four hemi-epiphytic and four non-hemiepiphytic Ficus species, specifically asking whether elevation, microsite conditions and growth form affect the success of regeneration outcomes. We observed that Ficus early regeneration was highly limited throughout the subtropical landscape with similar seed germination probabilities along all elevations, but greater seedling emergence at higher elevations. Growth form and elevation interacted significantly during seed germination and seedling emergence stages. The strongest filtering effect was observed during seedling emergence, with greater canopy openness facilitating, but drier and cooler soils being less conducive to seedling emergence, especially for hemiepiphytic species. Once emerged, Ficus seedlings were released from the environmental filters assessed here, yet, continued to face successively greater mortality during establishment and recruitment. Greater seed germination and seedling emergence on the ground observed in hemiepiphytes indicate that they may benefit from evolutionary traits associated with canopy regeneration under water and temperature stress, but only at the early regeneration stages, as seedling establishment and recruitment were similar in both groups. In general, our results demonstrate that even when seeds are available, successful recruitment is strongly limited by microsite conditions and growth form, through filtering mechanisms associated with the transition from seedling emergence to seedling establishment. The identification of environmental filters that operate during the complex and vulnerable early regeneration stages provides a baseline to develop management strategies for ex situ conservation, as well as in situ population reestablishment for restoration.

Edaphic beetle (Coleoptera) community response to the presence of gallery forest in a Brazilian subtropical grassland landscape

Edaphic beetle (Coleoptera) community response to the presence of gallery forest in a Brazilian subtropical grassland landscape

Complete chloroplast genome sequence of Liquidambar formosana, an ancient subtropical landscape plant to China

Liquidambar formosana (Hamamelidaceae) is a tertiary relic species widely distributed in subtropical areas, and is a common endemic broad-leaved tree species in south China. Here, we report and describe for the first time the complete chloroplast genome of L. formosana based on Illumina double-ended sequencing data. The complete plastid genome was 160,425 bp, which contained inverted repeats (IR) of 26,266 bp separated by a large single-copy (LSC) and a small single-copy (SSC) of 88,971 bp and 18,922 bp, respectively. The cpDNA contains 132 genes, comprising 86 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. The overall GC content of the plastome is 37.9%. The phylogenetic analysis of 18 selected chloroplast genomes demonstrated that L. formosana was close to the species Sinowilsonia henryi.

“Selling Sunshine”: The Mackle Company's Marketing Campaign to Build Retirement and Vacation Communities in South Florida, 1945–1975

The Mackle Company of Miami rose to national prominence in the mid-1950s when it shifted to the vacation and retirement housing market. Capitalizing on a newly emerging population of retirees with disposable pension income and on a growing number of middle-class Americans seeking fun in the sun, the family firm targeted these groups in an aggressive, nationwide marketing campaign. Central in this promotional scheme were the sundrenched locations of its residential developments on the east and west coasts of south Florida. The Mackles’ marketing strategies belie a complex relationship with the environment, one deeply rooted in American ideas regarding the perfectibility of nature. The company’s houses, typically containing generous indoor-outdoor living spaces and lined with bands of windows opening onto waterfront lots, were presumably designed for a living experience tailored to the Edenic qualities of the Sunshine State. But, paradoxically, they relied on central air conditioning, a modern amenity intended to thwart the tropical climate that lured northerners to Florida in the first place. Moreover, the company depended on significant land modifications through dredging and filling, bulkheading and canal digging, beach improvements, and clearing of foliage and trees to make its communities inhabitable and appealing to its out-of-state clients. The tension between celebrating Florida’s subtropical landscape while simultaneously altering it pervaded the company’s marketing materials, even as the scale of the Mackle Company’s efforts increased, culminating in an ambitious project at Marco Island begun in the mid-1960s. Although the Mackles’ ambitions did not succeed to the extent they envisioned, their sales pitch to “sell sunshine” dramatically reshaped the cultural and natural landscape of south Florida.

Combining allometry and landsat-derived disturbance history to estimate tree biomass in subtropical planted forests

Planted forests are a key component of sustainable forest management, as their fast-growing biomass can provide many important ecosystem goods and services essential to human well-being. Accurate estimation of forest biomass is important for global carbon accounting and afforestation policy making, yet saturated reflectance signals over vegetation and a shortage of cloud-free images during the growing season largely limit the utility of optical remote sensing for biomass estimation of planted forests in subtropical and tropical regions. Stand age is a crucial factor in determining forest growth and stand development but hasn't been widely used in remote sensing-based biomass estimation approaches. The main objective of this study was to investigate the applicability of an allometric analysis approach combined with Landsat-derived forest age structure to estimate stand biomass of fast-growing forest plantations in a subtropical landscape of China. We used the Vegetation Change Tracker (VCT) approach and Landsat time series data from 1986 to 2016 to detect annual stand-replacing disturbance and estimate forest stand age. Allometric equations and relative growth rate functions were combined to establish the linkage between tree biomass and forest stand age. We also modeled the spatial distribution of tree biomass using a conventional remote sensing (CRS) method that only utilizes spectral and textural variables and an extended CRS method that incorporates stand age (CRS_EX). We then compared the CRS and CRS_EX methods with the allometric analysis method to highlight the importance of stand age and post-disturbance forest regrowth for biomass estimation. The Landsat-derived disturbance history was significantly correlated with stand age (R2 = 0.82, RMSE = 3.7 year, p < 0.01). The CRS_EX and allometric analysis methods substantially improved tree biomass estimates (R2CRS_EX = 0.77, RMSECRS_EX = 37.7 t/ha; R2Allometric = 0.70, RMSEAllometric = 43.5 t/ha) compared to the CRS method (R2CRS = 0.53, RMSE CRS = 54.38 t/ha). Tree biomass estimated from the allometric analysis method aligned better with the allometric growth curves, while CRS_EX and CRS methods both exhibited notable overestimation for young and mid-aged forests. This study suggests that allometric models have the potential to be applied in subtropical forest plantations through the use of the existing forest stand development knowledge and increasingly open access remote sensing data.

Subtropical Gothic: New Orleans and Posthuman Supernaturals in The Originals

The rise of supernatural creatures throughout different media in the post-2000 era has resulted in a significant change of audiences’ perceptions of vampires, werewolves and witches (among others). Traditionally used to reflect human fears, lack of morals or instinct-related insufficiencies, these creatures are no longer fear-inducing monsters. Instead, their depiction tends to adopt human qualities to confront the audience with missteps and downfalls of contemporary societies and politics. This paper analyzes the television series The Originals as a supernatural mirror image of American society, where the different communities’ struggles for power and their place in New Orleans becomes a micro-cosmos for the American nation. The setting plays a crucial role in the series, which Gothicizes New Orleans to construct a space in which the characters are shown to operate in a posthuman context. This paper will clarify how the protagonists’ posthuman characteristics and their placement in the subtropical landscape of Louisiana uncovers contemporary societal concerns and brings aspects such as Urban Gothic and tropicality closer to the audiences’ reality. Ultimately, it is in the capital of the subtropical Deep South of America where the hegemonic discourse and practices of discrimination and spatial separation are reflected and challenged.

Does stream flow structure woody riparian vegetation in subtropical catchments?

The primary objective of this study was to test the relevance of hydrological classification and class differences to the characteristics of woody riparian vegetation in a subtropical landscape in Queensland, Australia. We followed classification procedures of the environmental flow framework ELOHA – Ecological Limits of Hydrologic Alteration. Riparian surveys at 44 sites distributed across five flow classes recorded 191 woody riparian species and 15, 500 individuals. There were differences among flow classes for riparian species richness, total abundance, and abundance of regenerating native trees and shrubs. There were also significant class differences in the occurrence of three common tree species, and 21 indicator species (mostly native taxa) further distinguished the vegetation characteristics of each flow class. We investigated the influence of key drivers of riparian vegetation structure (climate, depth to water table, stream‐specific power, substrate type, degree of hydrologic alteration, and land use) on riparian vegetation. Patterns were explained largely by climate, particularly annual rainfall and temperature. Strong covarying drivers (hydrology and climate) prevented us from isolating the independent influences of these drivers on riparian assemblage structure. The prevalence of species considered typically rheophytic in some flow classes implies a more substantial role for flow in these classes but needs further testing. No relationships were found between land use and riparian vegetation composition and structure. This study demonstrates the relevance of flow classification to the structure of riparian vegetation in a subtropical landscape, and the influence of covarying drivers on riparian patterns. Management of environmental flows to influence riparian vegetation assemblages would likely have most potential in sites dominated by rheophytic species where hydrological influences override other controls. In contrast, where vegetation assemblages are dominated by a diverse array of typical rainforest species, and other factors including broad‐scale climatic gradients and topographic variables have greater influence than hydrology, riparian vegetation is likely to be less responsive to environmental flow management.

Effect of type and time of pruning on flowering behaviour of Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica L.) in sub-tropical landscape

An experiment was carried out to study the effect of type and time of pruning on flowering behaviour of Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica L.) in sub-tropical landscape during 2013–15. The experiment was laid out in two-factor randomized block design comprising four different levels of pruning viz., P0 (unpruned), P1 (45 cm height from ground level), P2 (60 cm height from ground level), P3 (75 cm height from ground level) and five different times of pruning viz., T1(15th October 2013), T2(15th November 2013), T3(15th December 2013), T4 (15th January 2014) and T5 (15th February 2014). Among the levels of pruning, pruning at height of 75 cm from ground level was found to be best for increasing flowering period, quantity and quality. It induced early flowering (bud visibility at 151.53 days, bud opening at 165.33 days, full bloom at 177.87 days), greater flower number 699.33/plant and longer flowering duration 109.73 days. Among the months, February (2014) month responded best in terms of flower earliness (bud visibility at 102.25 days, bud opening at 117.58 days, full bloom at 132.50 days), more number of flowers per plant i. e. 676.33/plant and longer flowering duration 105.92 days compared to other pruning levels and time. The treatment combination pruning at 75 cm from ground levels in February month was the best for good quality flower production.

Contrasting taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity responses to forest modifications: comparisons of taxa and successive plant life stages in South African scarp forest.

The degradation of natural forests to modified forests threatens subtropical and tropical biodiversity worldwide. Yet, species responses to forest modification vary considerably. Furthermore, effects of forest modification can differ, whether with respect to diversity components (taxonomic or phylogenetic) or to local (α-diversity) and regional (β-diversity) spatial scales. This real-world complexity has so far hampered our understanding of subtropical and tropical biodiversity patterns in human-modified forest landscapes. In a subtropical South African forest landscape, we studied the responses of three successive plant life stages (adult trees, saplings, seedlings) and of birds to five different types of forest modification distinguished by the degree of within-forest disturbance and forest loss. Responses of the two taxa differed markedly. Thus, the taxonomic α-diversity of birds was negatively correlated with the diversity of all plant life stages and, contrary to plant diversity, increased with forest disturbance. Conversely, forest disturbance reduced the phylogenetic α-diversity of all plant life stages but not that of birds. Forest loss neither affected taxonomic nor phylogenetic diversity of any taxon. On the regional scale, taxonomic but not phylogenetic β-diversity of both taxa was well predicted by variation in forest disturbance and forest loss. In contrast to adult trees, the phylogenetic diversity of saplings and seedlings showed signs of contemporary environmental filtering. In conclusion, forest modification in this subtropical landscape strongly shaped both local and regional biodiversity but with contrasting outcomes. Phylogenetic diversity of plants may be more threatened than that of mobile species such as birds. The reduced phylogenetic diversity of saplings and seedlings suggests losses in biodiversity that are not visible in adult trees, potentially indicating time-lags and contemporary shifts in forest regeneration. The different responses of taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity to forest modifications imply that biodiversity conservation in this subtropical landscape requires the preservation of natural and modified forests.

Inventing the Subtropics: An Environmental History of Sochi, 1929–36

Inventing the SubtropicsAn Environmental History of Sochi, 1929–36 Johanna Conterio (bio) The 1935 Soviet film The Pearl of the Soviet Union (Zhemchuzhina Sovetskogo Soiuza) opens with panoramic views of the Black Sea Coast.1 The film then depicts the draining of wetlands and correction of rivers, the construction of a new water supply system and a broad highway. Following extensive coverage of sanatoriums, sanatorium medicine, and bathhouses, it turns to horticultural themes, to brigades of workers planting palm trees, eucalyptus, and lush flowers along the highway and along a walking path overlooking the sea. The film ends with images of worker brigades. This article is about the transformation of the landscape of the Sochi region depicted in The Pearl of the Soviet Union, which was tied to a major state project of the Second Five-Year Plan: the creation of a “health resort of world significance” (kurort mirovogo znacheniia), launched by the Politburo on 9 October 1933.2 The Black Sea Coast of the Caucasus was a stretch of coastline marked by wetlands, ravines, landslides, and indigenous evergreen [End Page 91] forests and a climate that was deemed hot and unhealthy and that harbored endemic malaria. From 1933 to 1936, the state undertook to transform this environment into the salubrious, subtropical landscape of a model all-union health resort, marked by a smooth and curving palm-tree-lined highway (appropriate for fast cars), the cultivation of citrus and luxuriant “tropical” flowers, and the development of bathing beaches. The natural environment of this backward and undeveloped malarial region underwent a remarkable transformation. At the same time, the Soviet subtropics were invented.3 The construction of a subtropical health resort in Sochi coincided with the international rise of subtropical seaside resorts around the world. In the interwar period, the rivieras replaced the baths for fashionable customers, and sea bathing, still considered by many to be dangerous and risqué, entered its first mass phase.4 Seaside health resorts developed rapidly around the Mediterranean: the French and Italian rivieras flourished,5 as did Korbous, Tunisia;6 Algiers, Algeria;7 Tel Aviv in Mandate Palestine;8 and farther inland, Helwan, Egypt.9 [End Page 92] Seaside resorts were also host to some of the most experimental modernist architecture of the interwar period. In the 1920s, the “latest” word in health resort technology and design was Miami Beach, Florida, a resort built during the boom years with modernist hotels and highways and a subtropical landscape of citrus groves, palm trees, flowers, sandy beaches, and glisteningly white modernist hotels. As the example of Miami Beach suggested, the Soviet choice of a coastal, malarial wetland as a setting for a new subtropical resort was hardly anomalous during this period. Indeed, this was a useful way to develop coastal “wastelands,” set in terrain that was difficult to profitably develop for agriculture or industry. Miami, like Sochi, was built on drained wetland (the Everglades).10 In Miami, flora from all over the world was introduced and brought to bloom. Miami was an American achievement of engineering and culture, and one that Soviet scientists openly emulated on the Black Sea. As the director of the Main Administration of Subtropical Agriculture of the Commissariat of Agriculture, A. M. Lezhava, wrote in a popular article titled “We Will Establish a Soviet Florida,” “Our socialist economy should catch and overtake [dognat´ i peregnat´] California and other high-culture subtropical countries.”11 Leading Soviet journalists, too, were eager to boost the project. As the “Stalinist Westernizer” Mikhail Kol´tsov wrote in Pravda, the “Soviet Riviera” in Sochi, then only under construction, promised one day to rival Miami.12 The socialist Black Sea Coast was to be made to compete with the Mediterranean and the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States for first place among seaside tourist destinations. It was a competition that was to last throughout the 20th century. As the declared aim to build a “health resort of world significance” suggested, the improvement of the Sochi region took place in a self-consciously international context. Soviet officials and experts borrowed heavily from foreign models in molding the landscape of Sochi. They studied the highway infrastructure, landscape aesthetics and advertising, and...

Counterculture, Property, Place, and Time: Nimbin, 1973

Counterculture, Property, Place, and Time: Nimbin, 1973

Natural habitat loss and exotic plants reduce the functional diversity of flower visitors in a heterogeneous subtropical landscape

Summary Functional diversity (FD) of pollinators can increase plant reproductive output and the stability of plant‐pollinator communities. Yet, in times of world‐wide pollinator declines, effects of global change on pollinator FD remain poorly understood. Loss of natural habitat and exotic plant invasions are two major drivers of global change that particularly threaten pollinator diversity. In a subtropical South African landscape, we investigated changes in the FD of flower visitor assemblages on native and exotic plants along gradients of natural habitat loss and relative abundance of exotic plants. We used a data set of 1434 flower visitor individuals sampled on 131 focal plants and calculated the FD in three flower visitor traits that are strongly related to plant–flower visitor interactions and pollination processes: proboscis length, proboscis diameter and body length. Multivariate FD of flower visitors decreased with both increasing natural habitat loss and relative exotic abundance. Importantly, changes in FD went beyond those in flower visitor richness. Furthermore, flower visitor richness was not related to either natural habitat loss or relative exotic abundance. Loss in multivariate FD seemed to be mediated by complementary reductions of FD in proboscis length with natural habitat loss and of FD in body length with both global change drivers. Correspondingly, we recorded lower abundances of long‐tongued flower visitors with natural habitat loss and reduced variance in body size with both drivers. In contrast, FD in proboscis diameter was unaffected by either driver. All effects of the two global change drivers were non‐interactive. Our results show that both natural habitat loss and exotic plants negatively affect flower visitor FD, which may imperil pollination of specialized plant species in degraded habitats. In contrast, flower visitor richness may not cover all facets of flower visitor FD that are relevant to pollination processes. Distinct responses of visitor traits to the two drivers suggest limited options to infer relations of one trait to another. Finally, additive effects of natural habitat loss and exotic plant invasions highlight the need to consider multiple drivers of global change when investigating ecosystem processes at a community scale.