[History and present status of butterfly monitoring in Europe and related development strategies for China].

Butterfly is an important bio-indicator for biodiversity monitoring and ecological environment assessment. In Europe, the species composition, population dynamics, and distribution pattern of butterfly have been monitored for decades, and many long-term monitoring schemes with international effects have been implemented. These schemes are aimed to assess the regional and national variation trends of butterfly species abundance, and to analyze the relationships of this species abundance with habitat, climate change, and other environmental factors, providing basic data for researching, protecting, and utilizing butterfly resources and predicting environmental changes, and playing important roles in the division of butterfly' s threatened level, the formulation of related protection measures, and the protection and management of ecological environment. This paper reviewed the history and present status of butterfly monitoring in Europe, with the focus on the well-known long-term monitoring programs, e. g. , the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme and the Germany and European Union Butterfly Monitoring Scheme. Some specific proposals for conducting butterflies monitoring in China were suggested.

[Photosynthetic capacity and water use efficiency of tropical montane rainforest seedlings or saplings in Hainan Island].

By using a Li-6400 portable photosynthesis system, this paper measured the maximal photosynthetic capacity (P(max)) and water use efficiency (WUE) of the seedlings or saplings of 150 species of tropical montane rainforest in Hainan Island. The results showed that among the test 150 species, Quercus bambusifolia (Fagaceae) had the highest P(max) (13.27 micromol x m(-2) x s(-1)) and Macaranga denticulate (Euphorbiaceae) had the highest WUE (5.99 mmol x mol(-1)), while Decaspermum cambodianum (Myrtaceae) had the lowest P(max) (1.35 micromol x m(-2) x s(-1)) and Sapium discolor (Euphorbiaceae) had the lowest WUE (2.4 mmol x mol(-1)). The average P(max) was the highest in Moraceae but the lowest in Myrtaceae, and the average WUE was the highest in Symplocaceae but the lowest in Moraceae. However, there were no significant differences (P > 0.05) among the families. No significant differences (P > 0.05) in P(max) and WUE were also observed among arbors and shrubs. The P(max) value increased significantly (P < 0.05) with the widening of families' geographical distribution range, in the order of narrow distribution families < medium distribution families < wide distribution families, while no significant differences were existed among their WUE (P > 0.05). The P(max) value also increased with the widening of species' geographical distribution range, in the order of endemic species in Hainan Island < tropical species < tropical-subtropical species < tropical-subtropical-temperate species, but WUE was opposite to P(max), namely, in the order of endemic species in Hainan Island > tropical-subtropical species > tropical species > tropical-subtropical-temperate species.