The emerging cross-disciplinary studies of landscape ecology and biodiversity in China

Abstract

The spatiotemporal landscape heterogeneity implies multiple biodiversity mechanisms across scales, and the cross-disciplinary studies between landscape ecology and biodiversity are becoming a new research field in China. This paper briefly reviews the development of the field by comparing papers published in international journals and Chinese journals; then it investigates the differences in the trends and focuses between international and Chinese studies. We also introduce several study areas that have emerged over the last 10 years in this field, including metacommunity assembly, landscape genetics, biodiversity and ecosystem service relationship, and landscape planning for biodiversity conservation. The major advances emerging in this field in China over the past 5 years can be classified into six subject areas: 1) effects of urban landscape and urbanization on biodiversity; 2) altitudinal patterns of biodiversity in mountain landscapes; 3) effects of topographic heterogeneity on plant community assembly and species coexistence; 4) impacts of landscape patterns and processes on animal behaviors; 5) forest fires and spatiotemporal patterns of vegetation responses; and 6) landscape ecology applications in natural conservation planning and design. In an attempt to promote cross-field studies between geography and ecology, this special issue collected 10 research articles, involving multiple landscape types and biological assemblages, in order to explore the interaction between landscape features and biodiversity. We anticipate that the future development of this active front will be primarily driven by the application of novel information techniques and the realistic demands of sustainability issues, in addition to answering scientific questions cross scales.

Simulation and Prediction of Fungal Community Evolution Based on RBF Neural Network

“…At the same time, the decomposition rate of fungi determines the biomass and nutrient content of the forest surface and significantly affects the physical and chemical properties of the soil. By exploring the mycelial elongation rate of fungi and the moisture resis-tance of fungus, it is possible to reveal the important role of fungi's decomposition mechanism of plant material and wood fiber, as well as the mutual adaptation of coupling modes between different species combinations in biodiversity [5].…”

Features of architectural landscape fragmentation in traditional villages in Western Hunan, China

“…Landscape ecology views fragmentation as a transformation process wherein landscapes, owing to disturbances from natural or human factors, transition from simple, homogeneous, and coherent wholes to complex, heterogeneous, and discontinuous patchworks or mosaics 29 , 30 . This transition can be classified into four spatial processes, namely perforation, fragmentation, shrinkage, and disappearance.…”