Comparison of wood,fibre and vessel properties of drought-tolerant eucalypts in South Africa§

Three drought-tolerant eucalypt genotypes have been investigated for a broad spectrum of properties to provide a basis for comparison on their suitability for various end-uses. The genotypes included were a Eucalyptus grandis × E. camaldulensis hybrid, E. gomphocephala and E. cladocalyx, selected based on previous studies that indicated good potential to tolerate arid conditions, reasonably good volume growth and straightness of stems. In this study, information was added on differences between species and parts of stems in growth (volume and biomass) and properties of wood (density and stiffness), fibres (dimensions and microfibril angle) and vessels (size and numbers). We found high wood densities and stiffness values for E. cladocalyx and E. gomphcephala, making them suitable for construction wood. Logs from the mid-part of the stem had the best timber properties, as the butt logs showed the highest microfibril angle and lowest wood stiffness due to longitudinal juvenility. Such juvenility was also to some degree observed for wood density and fibre length. The information gained will be especially helpful for selecting species and processing options for small farm and community plantations for producing higher-value products that may be sold to generate much-needed income as well as for local uses, such as fuelwood and charcoal.     

Orthopaedic health status of horses from 8 riding schools - a pilot study

Background

Orthopaedic injury is the most common reason for lameness and wastage in sport and leisure horses. Studies on racehorses have shown differences in injury risk between trainers and training strategies. The aim was to study between riding school variation in orthopaedic health status by clinical examination and horses age, and control for change of examiner, in schools with previous high (n = 4) and low (n = 4) insurance utilisation.

Methods

Horses (n = 99) at 8 riding schools were examined for conformation, movement in all gaits, standing flexion tests and palpation by two veterinary surgeons (in some schools only one). Indexes of findings were created for total health, movements, limbs, conformation and back palpation.

Results

Logistic regression analyses showed that findings increased with age (walk, trot, canter, conformation left hind limb, palpation fore limbs, hooves and flexion tests) or decreased with age (conformation right fore limb). Significant differences in findings were found between riding schools and examiner for seven and eight criteria each (partly overlapping). Increasing indexes were significantly associated with one examiner (total health, movements, back palpation), increasing age (total health, movements) or more time at the school (limbs). The back palpation index was highest at 5 < 8 years since acquisition.

Conclusion

The age distribution differed markedly between riding schools and age affected several types of findings. This, combined with the two opposite groups of insurance use, shows that schools with low insurance utilisation had previously been able to "avoid" using the insurance, maybe even on similar types of cases if these were more promptly/differently handled indicating differential coverage of disease data in the insurance database. The examiner effect was clearly demonstrated. For some findings, the amount of clinical observations differed by school, even when examiner and age was adjusted for. Most findings were of minor importance, including slight movement irregularities. Orthopaedic status varies between riding schools. We hypothesize that this is associated with management factors that warrant further study.     

Open geospatial technology standards and their potential in plant pest risk management—GPS-enabled mobile phones utilising open geospatial technology standards Web Feature Service Transactions support the fighting of fire blight in Norway

The threat posed by invasive alien species to global crop production and biodiversity is recognized as one of the major drivers of global change today. Here we report on a successful implementation and operational use of new technology to support risk- and crisis management in the case of fighting an invasive plant disease. The open geospatial standards Web Feature Service Transaction (WFS-T) was implemented in software for GPS-enabled mobile phones communicating with a GeoServer backend in order to track down and eradicate disease outbreaks and susceptible host plants. This new technology offering georeferenced events online from field provides new possibilities for real time action in risk and crisis management.     

Concentrations and fluxes of dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen in a Picea abies chronosequence on former arable land in Sweden

Shifting land use from agriculture to forestry induces major changes in the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles, including fluxes of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen (DON). This study investigated the long-term effects of afforestation on ecosystem DOC and DON dynamics using a chronosequence approach comprising four arable fields and nine differently aged (10–92 years) Norway spruce stands growing on similar former arable soils in the same area. Along the chronosequence, concentrations and fluxes of DOC and DON were determined in bulk precipitation, throughfall, O horizon leachate and mineral soil solution during a 2–3-year period. Soil water fluxes were calculated using a soil hydrological model (SWAP). Results showed that DOC concentrations and fluxes with throughfall were strongly positively correlated with tree height (r² = 0.95; P < 0.05 for both conc. and flux) and stand age, while DON showed no such trends, suggesting different origins of DOC and DON in throughfall. The highest concentrations and fluxes of DOC and DON occurred in soil leachate from the O horizon. Here, DOC flux was 250–310 kg C ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ and DON flux 8–9 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ in stands afforested between 65 and 92 years ago. Concentrations and fluxes of DOC and DON in the mineral subsoil were consistently low. Flux calculations suggest that there was a net loss of >90% (230–280 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹) of DOC leached from the O horizon within 0–60 cm of the mineral soil. There was no significant effect of land use or forest age on DOC concentrations in solution from the lower part of the A horizon. The effect of time since afforestation was masked by soil properties that influence DOM retention in the mineral soil. Our data indicate that DOC concentrations in the A horizon of the sites studied were primarily related to the oxalate-extractable Al and Fe amounts in the same horizon. Afforestation of arable land induced a gradual qualitative change in soil organic matter (SOM) and dissolved organic matter (DOM), with significantly increasing C:N ratios in soil and soil solution over time. The development of an O horizon and the subsequent leaching of DOC and DON to the underlying mineral soil are important drivers of a changing soil C and N turnover following afforestation.     

Composition of characteristic soils on the raised atoll Bellona,Solomon Islands

Knowledge is scarce about the composition of soils on Bellona and other Pacific atolls. Such knowledge is important as it is closely related to sustainable land use of these special soils formed on carbonatic/phosphatic materials. Therefore, the micromorphological, chemical and mineralogical composition of samples from genetic horizons in three dominant Bellonese soils (Malanga, Kenge Ungi and Kenge Toaha) and underlying rock (Tanahu) were investigated. Tanahu mainly consists of dolomite, but this mineral is absent in the three soils, which are dominated by phosphate-containing minerals. The Malanga soil is strongly dominated by Ca and P with minor amounts of Al, F and Fe present in fluorapatite, hydroxyapatite and crandallite. In contrast, Al, Fe and P dominate in the Kenge Ungi and Kenge Toaha soils in accordance with a mineralogy consisting of crandallite together with aluminum oxides (gibbsite/boehmite) and iron oxides, mainly goethite with minor contents of hematite. The observed carbonate for phosphate substitution in the apatites and crandallite is important as it indicates an increased phosphate availability in the soils. All three soil samples contain ≤ 1% Si and very little K and Mg. Total contents of essential microelements are considered adequate, but the rather high contents of Sr and U, especially in the Kenge Ungi soil may be problematic. Although the composition of the soils suggests substantial fertility and resilience, the lack of K-containing weatherable minerals (silicate minerals) is in line with a very low K (and low Mg) content and explains why fertilization may be needed to sustain future cultivation of these special soils. Due to a possible low bioavailability of Fe, Mn and maybe other micronutrients at the circumneutral pH of these carbonatic/phosphatic soils as well as the rather high contents of Sr and U, it may be recommended to test element availability using appropriate chemical soil tests supplemented by plant experiments to ensure safe and sustainable (optimal) soil use. However, according to the local farmers, the Malanga, Kenge Toaha and Kenge Ungi soils are considered well suited for production of the preferred crops.     

Efficiency of Bark, Activated Charcoal, Foam and Sand Filters in Reducing Pollutants from Greywater

Greywater is a potential resource of water that can be improved to meet the quality needed for irrigation. This study evaluated the performance of bark, activated charcoal, polyurethane foam and sand filters in removing biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅), surfactants, phosphorus, nitrogen and microbial indicators from greywater during start-up and steady state. In column experiments, 0.6?m high filters (diameter 20?cm) were fed for 113?days with artificial greywater at a hydraulic loading rate of 0.032?m³?m^?2?day^?1 and an organic loading rate of 0.014?kg BOD₅ m^?2?day^?1. Bark and activated charcoal efficiently reduced the concentrations of organics (BOD₅), surfactants (methylene blue active substances??MBAS), total phosphorus (Tot-P) and total thermotolerant coliform numbers, while sand and foam were less efficient. Bark, activated charcoal, foam and sand reduced influent BOD₅ by 98, 97, 37 and 75?%; MBAS by >99, >99, 73 and 96?%; Tot-P by 97, 91, 36 and 78?%; and total nitrogen by 19, 98, 13 and 5?%, respectively. BOD₅ and MBAS were efficiently reduced directly from start-up by bark and activated charcoal, while foam needed 30?days to achieve about 50?% reduction in BOD₅. Bark was the most efficient filter in reducing thermotolerant faecal coliforms (2.4 log₁₀), while foam achieved the lowest reduction (0.5 log₁₀). Overall, bark and activated charcoal filters appeared to be the most suitable filters for improving greywater quality to reach irrigation quality in terms of organic matter reduction. Performance of these filters under higher and fluctuating loadings and the long-term sustainability of the filter materials need further investigation.     

Alternate partial root-zone irrigation improves fertilizer-N use efficiency in tomatoes

The objective of this study was to investigate the comparative effects of alternative partial root-zone irrigation (PRI) and deficit irrigation (DI) on fertilizer-N use efficiency in tomato plants under mineral N and organic N fertilizations. The plants were grown in split-root pots in a climate-controlled glasshouse and were subjected to PRI and DI treatments during early fruiting stage. When analyzed across the N fertilizer treatments, PRI treatment led to significantly higher N yield, agronomic N use efficiency (ANUE), and apparent N recovery efficiency (ANRE) as compared with the DI treatment, indicating significantly higher fertilizer-N use efficiency and soil N availability as well as enhanced plant’s N acquisition ability in the PRI treatment. Analysis across the irrigation treatments showed that the mineral N fertilizer treatment (MinN) significantly increased N yield, ANUE and ANRE relative to the organic N fertilizer treatment (OrgN). Compared with DI, the rhizosphere and bulk soil mineral N content in the soil were significantly lowered in the PRI treatment, indicating the enhanced root N uptake efficiency. It is suggested that PRI-enhanced soil water dynamics may have increased soil nitrate mass/diffusive flow to the root surfaces and root N uptake efficiency in the wetting soil and stimulated soil N mineralization and plant N demand, contributing to the improved fertilizer-N use efficiency in the PRI relative to the DI treatment.     

Black Carbon in Fly-Ash Influenced Soils of the Dübener Heide Region,Central Germany

Due to long-lasting historic fly-ash deposition from lignite-fired power plants, soils of forest ecosystems in Central Germany have been affected by a variety of contaminants. In addition to heavy metals and oxides, another fly-ash compound is Black carbon (BC) which supposedly has been accumulated as well. BC as a generic term describing different forms of pyrogenetic carbon is considered as a very stable fraction of the C cycle. In this study, BC content of organic layers of 38 sites from two adjacent forested areas was determined using a simplified benzenepolycarboxylic acid (BPCA) method. Considerable amounts of BC were detected in both areas. It accounted for up to 11.2 and 15.6% of total organic carbon (TOC) in the Oe and Oa horizons, respectively. On average, slightly higher BC contents were found in the Oe (23.0 g BC kg^?1), whereas BC/TOC ratios were higher in the Oa. The BC/TOC ratio of the Oe horizon tended to decrease with increasing distance from the former main emitters. In contrast to expectations, BC contents of the Oa horizon tended to increase with increasing distance. The deposition gradient, in previous research found for other fly-ash compounds, could not be observed for BC. Higher values in more remote forests might be taken as an indicator for the influence of additional emission sources. Further research is needed to confirm the results and to elucidate the potential impact of (soot-) BC on humus dynamics in the study area.     

Biochemical characteristics of solid fractions from animal slurry separation and their effects on C and N mineralisation in soil

Solid fractions from separated animal slurry can be used as organic fertilisers on agricultural land. Solid fractions contain variable amounts of inorganic and organic N, so it is important to synchronise their application in the field with crop demand to ensure N availability in the growing season. This study quantified C and N mineralisation for a wide range of solid fractions from slurry separation applied to soil and examined potential correlations between chemical and biochemical characteristics of solid fractions and their C and N turnover. The solid fractions were mixed with soil and incubated at 14°C for 120 days, during which CO₂ evolution and inorganic N content of the solid fractions were determined. A two-parameter exponential function fitted to the individual solid fraction C mineralisation patterns explained 98% of the data variation, while a three-parameter Monod-type equation fitted to the net N mineralisation patterns explained 89% of the variation. Between 5% and 45% of initially added C was mineralised within the incubation period, with the largest proportion tending to be mineralised from simple mechanically separated solid fractions (MEC). Nitrogen was initially immobilised by the majority of solid fractions. Solid fractions from decanter centrifuged, anaerobically digested slurry (DEC) and chemically pre-treated and separated slurry (KEM) began to re-mineralise N after 20?C40 days, whereas N was continuously immobilised from MEC solid fractions. The carbon mineralisation rate constant was correlated with the C content in the neutral detergent soluble (NDS), hemicellulose and cellulose fractions and the N content in NDS. Net nitrogen mineralisation was correlated with the C/Norg ratio of solid fractions, the N content of NDS and the C content of hemicellulose and cellulose.