Exploring the characteristics of successful volunteer-led urban forest tree committees in Massachusetts

Citizen engagement through urban forest tree committee volunteer service may aid in providing essential experience, ideas, and skills that support municipal tree management. Using semi-structured, research interviews with tree committee (TC) representatives from across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, this study addresses current knowledge gaps concerning the general composition, processes, and relationships of volunteer-led urban forest tree committees. Our findings indicate that TC representatives are typically motivated, passionate volunteers who generally desire to work cooperatively with the many associations, organizations, and agencies that comprise the local socio-political landscape. Our findings also indicate it is important that TC representatives make a sustained, concerted effort to work collaboratively with their local tree warden to advance the care of their community’s urban trees. Furthermore, it is also essential that municipal managers and decision-makers attempt to provide TC volunteers with appropriate training opportunities, resources, as well as demonstrate appreciation, to further encourage and solidify volunteer-engagement in urban forestry at the local level.     

Spatial disparities in neighborhood public tree coverage: Do modes of transportation matter?

Urban green space has various environmental and ecological benefits, and uneven access to such amenities has drawn substantial attention from policy makers in developing sustainable community planning. In this study, we illustrate the spatial distribution of publicly owned and maintained trees in Edmonton, Canada and assess neighborhoods’ heterogeneous tree availability by using the container approach. Through spatial regression models, we further investigate the association of neighborhood public tree availability with socio-economic status (SES). We contribute to the existing literature by taking resident modes of transportation into consideration, in addition to many other commonly examined SES such as household income and ethnicity. Another unique contribution of this study is that we distinguish trees planted on different location types (i.e., boulevard, park, and buffer areas) when exploring the unequal coverage across neighborhoods and among different SES groups. Key results include: (1) a general examination without differentiating location types can lead to misleading results and thus provide inappropriate policy recommendations; (2) resident modes of transportation is a critical factor associated with a neighborhood’s public tree coverage; and (3) there exists evident spatial dependence on public tree availability between neighborhoods. The results from this study provide important information to better understand the issue and to allocate public resource (such as tree coverage) more efficiently and effectively to support sustainable community development.     

不同水肥浓度对涌泉根灌枣树叶面积和产量的影响

以陕西榆林山地矮化密植梨枣树为研究对象,分析了不同水肥浓度对涌泉根灌枣树生育期内叶面积指数、果实发育和产量的影响。结果表明,不同水肥处理叶面积指数在枣树果实膨大期达到高峰,且稳定持续至果实成熟期末期,随后叶面积指数开始下降。叶面积指数随着萌芽展叶期灌水量的增加而增加,所有水肥处理下,枣数叶面积指数最大的是高水中肥处理(W1N2)；所有处理中,高水、低水处理与低肥相组合,果实体积最大,中灌水处理为不施肥时果实的体积最大。单位枝长的果实数目最高的是中水中肥处理(W2N2),最低的是低水处理(W3),在一定范围内,适当施肥能促进枣果单位枝长的果实数目的增加,但肥液浓度过大,反而会抑制其增加。在一定条件下,所有处理中产量最高的是中水中肥处理(W2N2),产量超过2000kg/亩,最低的是低水高肥处理(W3N1),产量不到1000kg/亩。因此可以选择中水中肥处理(W2N2),能获得最高的产量。     

根域限制栽培对主干形‘圆梦’桃生长和果实品质的影响

根域限制栽培具有控制树冠、促进果树成花的优点，适宜在主干形整枝的密植果园中应用，但不同品种桃表现不同。‘圆梦’桃是由‘湖景蜜露’和‘白丽’杂交而来的中晚熟新品种，为明确‘圆梦’用作南方密植品种的适用性，以浙江省桃主栽品种‘湖景蜜露’为对照品种，对其营养生长、成花量和果实品质进行了研究，结果表明根域限制栽培的‘圆梦’树体营养生长和枝条成花量与‘湖景蜜露’基本一致，且果型大小、糖度、色泽更优。     

The economic benefits and costs of trees in urban forest stewardship: A systematic review

Understanding the benefits provided by urban trees is important to justify investment and improve stewardship. Many studies have attempted to quantify the benefits of trees in monetary terms, though fewer have quantified the associated costs of planting and maintaining them. This systematic review examines the methods used to jointly analyse the costs and benefits of trees in the urban landscape, assesses the relative balance of benefits and costs, and attempts to understand the wide variation in economic values assigned in different studies. The benefits most frequently studied are those related to environmental regulation and property values, and the available data show that these usually outweigh the costs. Aesthetic, amenity, and shading benefits have also been shown to provide significant economic benefits, while benefits in terms of water regulation, carbon reduction and air quality are usually more modest. Variation in benefits and costs among studies is attributed largely to differences in the species composition and age structure of urban tree populations, though methodological differences also play a role. Comparison between studies is made difficult owing to differences in spatiotemporal scope, and in the way urban forest composition and demographic structure were reported. The overwhelming majority of studies concern deciduous trees in Northern America, and much less is known about urban forests in other regions, especially in the tropics. Future work should thus seek to fill these knowledge gaps, and standardise research protocols across cities. In light of ambitious goals in many cities to increase tree cover, ongoing advances in valuation methods need to provide a more comprehensive accounting of benefits and costs, and to better integrate economic assessment into the decision-making process.     

Calibration and validation of optical chlorophyll‐measuring devices for use in predicting crude protein concentration in tropical grass herbage

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the Fieldscout CM 1000 NDVI and Yara N‐Tester as easy‐to‐use and cost‐effective tools for predicting foliar chlorophylls (a, b and total) and crude protein (CP) concentrations in herbage from three tropical grass species. Optical chlorophyll measurements were taken at three stages (4, 8 and 12 weeks) of regrowth maturity in Guinea grass (Panicum maximum) and Mulato II (Brachiaria hybrid) and at 6 and 12 weeks maturity in Paspalum spp (Paspalum atratum). Grass samples were harvested subsequent to optical measurements for laboratory analysis to determine CP and solvent‐extractable chlorophylls (a, b and total) concentrations. Optical chlorophyll measurements and CP concentrations were highly correlated (Yara N‐Tester: r² = 0·77–0·89; Fieldscout CM 1000 NDVI: r² = 0·52–0·84). Crude protein prediction models from the Yara N‐Tester and Fieldscout CM 1000 NDVI accounted for 70–89% and 44–73% CP variability, respectively, in Mulato II and Guinea grass. The Yara N‐tester produced more accurate and reliable CP estimates based on very high concordance correlation coefficient [CCC (0·73–0·91)] and low rMSPE, mean and regression bias. It is concluded that the Yara N‐Tester produces more accurate and reliable CP estimates of tropical pastures.     

金针菇松杉木屑菌糠栽培猴头菇的技术研究

为降低猴头菇生产成本和解决松杉木屑工厂化栽培金针菇菌糠利用问题,研究了金针菇菌糠营养成分和不同配方对猴头菇产量及经济效益的影响。结果显示:金针菇菌糠含有9.8%粗蛋白、32.3%粗纤维、1.2%粗脂肪、17.9%木质素和7.7%灰分;筛选出配方2是最佳的配方,比例分别为金针菇菌糠38%、棉籽壳20%、玉米芯30%、麸皮10%、碳酸钙2%,其产量和利润分别比对照组、配方1、配方3和配方4提高了9.67%、25.00%、6.12%、8.40%和115.91%、48.44%、46.15%、25.00%。为金针菇菌糠用于猴头菇大面积栽培提供了科学依据。     

病程相关蛋白在采后果蔬诱导抗病性中的研究进展

果蔬受到真菌、细菌或病毒侵染时,自身能诱导产生病程相关蛋白(Pathogenesis-related proteins,PRs)。根据它们的结构亲缘关系和生物活性,PRs被分为17个功能家族。在控制果蔬采后病害的研究中,利用激发子诱导产生果蔬抗性已逐渐成为果蔬采后病害防治中一种安全、高效的保鲜方法,这也成为果蔬采后抗病研究的热点和发展趋势。本文综述了果蔬病程相关蛋白的分类、功能、诱导表达,以及蛋白组学技术在果蔬采后PRs表达水平上的应用,以期为果蔬病程相关蛋白的研究提供借鉴和参考。     

The microbial diversity and structure in peatland forest in Indonesia

The microbial community structure and function under forest in tropical peatlands are poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the microbial community structure and diversity in natural peat swamp forest soil, disturbed peat soil and mineral soil in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, using 454 pyrosequencing. The results showed that the natural peat soil had the greatest fungal species richness (Chao1), which was significantly (p < .05) larger than that in the other two soils. Community structure of both fungi and bacteria in natural peat soil differed significantly from that in the disturbed peat soil (p = .039 and p = .045, respectively). Ascomycota (40.5%) was the most abundant phylum across the three soils followed by Basidiomycota (18.8%), Zygomycota (<0.1%) and Glomeromycota (<0.1%). The linear discriminant analysis with effect size (LEfSe) showed that Ascomycota (p < .05) and genus Gliocephalotrichum (p < .05) dominated in natural peat soil. Functionally, pathotrophs were more abundant in disturbed peat soil (p < .05). Proteobacteria (43.8%) were the most abundant phylum followed by Acidobacteria (32.6%), Actinobacteria (9.8%), Planctomycetes (1.7%). Methylocystis, Telmatospirillum, Syntrophobacter, Sorangium and Opitutus were the more abundant genera in disturbed peat soil, whereas Nevskia and Schlesneria were more abundant in mineral soil and natural peat soil, respectively. The natural peat forest soil supported a more diverse microbiology; however, the land use of such a soil can change its microbial community structure. The results provide evidence that the disturbance of tropical peat land could lead to the introduction and spread of a large number of fungal diseases     

Response of soil respiration to nitrogen addition in two subtropical forest types

Anthropogenic activities have increased nitrogen (N) deposition in terrestrial ecosystems, which directly and indirectly affects soil biogeochemical processes, including soil respiration. However, the effects of the increases in N availability on soil respiration are not fully understood. In this study, soil respiration was measured using an infrared gas analyzer system with soil chambers under four N treatments (0, 5, 15, and 30 g N m^-2 year^-1 as control, low N (LN), moderate N (MN), and high N (HN), respectively) in camphor tree and slash pine forests in subtropical China. Results showed that soil respiration rates decreased by 37% in the camphor tree forest and 27% in the slash pine forest on average on an annual base, respectively, in the N-fertilized treatments when compared with the control. No significant differences were found in the soil respiration rate among the LN, MN, and HN treatments in both forest types as these fertilized plots reached an adequate N content zone. In addition, soil microbial biomass carbon (C) content and fine root biomass declined in N-treated plots compared to the control. Our results indicated that elevated N deposition might alter the tree growth pattern, C partitioning, and microbial activity, which further affect soil C sequestration by reducing soil respiration in subtropical forests of China.