Ecology: diversity and stability in plant communities

The relationship between species diversity and ecosystem stability is controversial. Tilman et al. analyse biomass patterns over a decade in a grassland experiment with artificial plant communities, and provide evidence for a positive relationship between the number of plant species and the temporal stability of the ecosystem. Here we use data from a long-term biodiversity experiment with plant communities that were not controlled by weeding in order to show that diverse systems can be both stable and unstable.     

植物根系的加筋作用对浅埋公路隧道施工稳定的影响

考虑不同类型植物根系的加筋效果,分别采用浅根加筋和深根锚固及其联合加筋模型,通过三维数值模拟分析,对比研究发现:植物根系的浅层加筋作用以及存在主根、侧根和须根的木本植物根系联合加筋作用对于软弱岩体浅埋公路隧道的施工稳定能够产生积极有利影响,而单纯主根型木本植物根系加筋对浅埋隧道施工稳定的影响不明显.对于浅层加筋来说,当隧道的埋深在植物根系影响深度范围之内时,植物根系的加筋作用对浅埋隧道施工稳定的影响效果最好.