Temperate Deciduous Broadleaf Forest Research Articles

Modeling gross primary production of temperate deciduous broadleaf forest using satellite images and climate data

Net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO 2 between the atmosphere and forest ecosystems is determined by gross primary production (GPP) of vegetation and ecosystem respiration. CO 2 flux measurements at individual CO 2 eddy flux sites provide valuable information on the seasonal dynamics of GPP. In this paper, we developed and validated the satellite-based Vegetation Photosynthesis Model (VPM), using site-specific CO 2 flux and climate data from a temperate deciduous broadleaf forest at Harvard Forest, Massachusetts, USA. The VPM model is built upon the conceptual partitioning of photosynthetically active vegetation and non-photosynthetic vegetation (NPV) within the leaf and canopy. It estimates GPP, using satellite-derived Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Land Surface Water Index (LSWI), air temperature and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). Multi-year (1998–2001) data analyses have shown that EVI had a stronger linear relationship with GPP than did the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Two simulations of the VPM model were conducted, using vegetation indices from the VEGETATION (VGT) sensor onboard the SPOT-4 satellite and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor onboard the Terra satellite. The predicted GPP values agreed reasonably well with observed GPP of the deciduous broadleaf forest at Harvard Forest, Massachusetts. This study highlighted the biophysical performance of improved vegetation indices in relation to GPP and demonstrated the potential of the VPM model for scaling-up of GPP of deciduous broadleaf forests.

Modeling gross primary production of temperate deciduous broadleaf forest using satellite images and climate data

Net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO 2 between the atmosphere and forest ecosystems is determined by gross primary production (GPP) of vegetation and ecosystem respiration. CO 2 flux measurements at individual CO 2 eddy flux sites provide valuable information on the seasonal dynamics of GPP. In this paper, we developed and validated the satellite-based Vegetation Photosynthesis Model (VPM), using site-specific CO 2 flux and climate data from a temperate deciduous broadleaf forest at Harvard Forest, Massachusetts, USA. The VPM model is built upon the conceptual partitioning of photosynthetically active vegetation and non-photosynthetic vegetation (NPV) within the leaf and canopy. It estimates GPP, using satellite-derived Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Land Surface Water Index (LSWI), air temperature and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). Multi-year (1998–2001) data analyses have shown that EVI had a stronger linear relationship with GPP than did the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Two simulations of the VPM model were conducted, using vegetation indices from the VEGETATION (VGT) sensor onboard the SPOT-4 satellite and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor onboard the Terra satellite. The predicted GPP values agreed reasonably well with observed GPP of the deciduous broadleaf forest at Harvard Forest, Massachusetts. This study highlighted the biophysical performance of improved vegetation indices in relation to GPP and demonstrated the potential of the VPM model for scaling-up of GPP of deciduous broadleaf forests.

Comparative study of AFLP and microsatellite variation in four Dipterocarp species from natural and artificial populations in Sarawak, Malaysia

Degrees of genetic variation accumulated in four dipterocarp species in Lambir Hills National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia were estimated and compared with those in a man-made forest in Bakam Experimental Reserve using microsatellite and AFLP markers. By using 2 to 3 microsatellite loci, 9 to 14 alleles were detected. The average observed heterozygosities for Dryobalanops lanceolata, D. aromatica, Shorea beccariana and S. macrophylla in the natural population were 0.400, 0.400, 0.580 and 0.516, respectively, and expected heterozygosities were 0.603, 0.461, 0.685 and 0.745, respectively. In all of the four species, excess homozygotes were observed. Significant deviation from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was detected in D. lanceolata and S. beccariana. AFLP analysis in the natural population revealed that 94.6 to 99.7% of the fragments were polymorphic. The average heterozygosities for these species were 0.220, 0.232, 0.221 and 0.211, respectively. These values were much larger than those obtained in tree populations such as Japanese beech and Japanese oak populations in temperate deciduous broad leaf forests. Genetic variation in the artificial population was compared with that in the natural population. Both the average expected heterozygosities and the number of alleles in the microsatellite loci were reduced in the artificial population. Some distortions such as linkage disequilibrium and the deviation from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium appeared in the artificial population of S. beccariana. The use of seeds collected from a limited number of mother trees to make the experimental site is thought to be the cause of the loss of genetic variation.

中〜後期更新世における古植物相 東北地方を中心として

Middle-Upper Pleistocene strata yielding abundant macroscopic plant and pollen fossils are distributed here and there in the coastal plain and inland basin areas in Northeast Honshu, Japan. Among them, those in the southern part of Tohoku district are investigated in full detail. On the basis of stratigraphical distribution of the taxa of woody plants obtained from these strata, the local assemblage zones are recognized as shown in Table 1, namely, TODERA 1-2, TODERA 3, TODERA 4, TODERA 5-6, TODERA 7, TODERA 8, LIG, LG III, LG II and LG I fossil assemblage zones, in ascending order. LIG and LG I fossil assemblage zones can be subdivided into two subzones: the former is subdivided into LIGa and LIGb fossil assemblage subzones, and the latter into LG Ia and LG Ib subzones.The LG I fossil assemblage zone is assigned to the later cold time (about 35, 000-10, 000y.B.P. based on radiocarbon dating); the LG II fossil assemblage zone may be from the middle temperate time (about 50, 000-35, 000y.B.P. based partly on radiocarbon dating), and the LG III fossil assemblage zone may be the early cold time of the period corresponding to the Last Glacial Age in the glaciated areas. The LIG fossil assemblage zone is assigned to the Last Interglacial Age. Moreover, the fossil assemblage zones of TODERA 8, TODERA 7, TODERA 5-6, TODERA 4, TODERA 3 and TODERA 1-2 may date from the middle to early ages of the Middle Pleistocene.The fossil assemblages belonging to the LG II, TODERA 7 and TODERA 1-2 zones and LIGb subzone chiefly consist of the taxa commonly found in the temperate deciduous broadleaf forest in the Japanese Islands. On the other hand, the fossil assemblages belonging to the LG Ia subzone and TODERA 8 zone are chiefly composed of the taxa distributed in the subalpine to montane or the subarctic to boreal mixed conifer and deciduous broadleaf forests in the Japanese Islands, Kurile Islands and Sakhalin. The fossil assemblages belonging to the TODERA 5-6, TODERA 4, TODERA 3 and LG III zones and to the LIGa and LG Ib subzones consist of a mixture of the taxa in the temperate deciduous broadleaf forest and the taxa of needleleaf and broadleaf trees which are distributed in the subalpine to montane or the subarctic to boreal mixed conifer and deciduous broadleaf forests in Japan. The fossil assemblages belonging to the TODERA 4 zone and LIGa subzone include more taxa distributed in the temperate deciduous broadleaf forest than those in the subalpine to montane or in the subarctic to boreal mixed conifer and deciduous broadleaf forest. The fossil assemblages belonging to the TODERA 3, TODERA 5-6 and LG III zones and LG Ib subzone are composed of taxa consisting in opposite ratitos to those belonging to the TODERA 4 zone and the LIGa subzone.Although stratigraphcal gaps are often found in the Middle to Upper Pleistocene strata in Northeast Honshu, it is clearly recognized that the plant fossil assemblage composition periodically changed through the Middle to Late Pleistocene. In Northeast Honshu, the periodic oscillation of vegetation, which shifted between two forests represented by the present ones in the Japanese Islands, the temperate deciduous broadleaf forest and the boreal mixed conifer and deciduous broadleaf forest, became more remarkable with time during the Middle to Late Pleistocene.