Periodicity and gradients in dispersal ofAlternaria linicola in linseed crops

Conidia ofAlternaria linicola produced on infected linseed crops were mainly dispersed by wind. The numbers of conidia in the air above linseed crops collected by a Burkard spore sampler were greatest between 1200 h and 1300 h, when the relative humidity was lowest. Although numbers of conidia collected decreased with increasing height within and above the crop canopy, air-borneA. linicola conidia were present up to 80 cm above the crop canopy. Conidia ofA. linicola were transported by wind up to at least 40 m downwind from an artificial line inoculum source, but their numbers decreased with increasing distance from the source. In 1991, 1992, and 1993, the dispersal ofA. linicola conidia above linseed crops followed a seasonal periodicity which was influenced by weather conditions and cultural practices. The greatest numbers of conidia were collected during July, August and early September and coincided with periods favourable for sporulation and with an increase in the incidence of the disease in the senescent crop. Air-borneA. linicola conidia produced on point or line inoculum sources (naturally infected linseed stem debris) were responsible for the spread of the disease in linseed crops. In 1992 and 1993, the disease was first detected downwind from the sources, but by the end of the growing seasons, it had spread in all directions and up to 20 m and 60 m from the sources, respectively. Disease gradients were initially steep near the inoculum sources but they became flatter with time due to the secondary spread of the disease.     

Mechanisms of nitrogen retention in forest ecosystems: a field experiment

Intensive forest management led to elevated losses of nitrogen from a recently harvested loblolly pine plantation in North Carolina. Measurements of nitrogen-15 retention in the field demonstrated that microbial uptake of nitrogen during the decomposition of residual organic material was the most important process retaining nitrogen. Management practices that remove this material cause increased losses of nitrogen to aquatic ecosystems and the atmosphere.     

Inherently safe reactors and a second nuclear era

The Swedish PIUS reactor and the German-American small modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor are inherently safe-that is, their safety relies not upon intervention of humans or of electromechanical devices but on immutable principles of physics and chemistry. A second nuclear era may require commercialization and deployment of such inherently safe reactors, even though existing light-water reactors appear to be as safe as other well-accepted sources of central electricity, particularly hydroelectric dams.     

Polychlorinated Dibenzo-p-dioxins and Dibenzofurans in Sediments from Siskiwit Lake, Isle Royale

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans were found in sediment from Siskiwit Lake on Isle Royale, Lake Superior, a location which can receive only atmospheric inputs. The source of these compounds is the atmospheric transport of dioxins and furans formed by combustion of domestic and chemical waste.