Estimating harvest costs and projecting quantities of logging residues for small-scale forestry in Nasushiobara,Tochigi Prefecture,Japan

We used GIS on a regional scale to estimate and compare supply potentials and costs of small-scale logging systems, a mini-forwarder and a 4-ton truck operated by private logging contractors, and manual logging and a light truck operated by individual forest own- ers, with the mechanized operational system of the Forest Owners＇ Asso- ciation. Total potential yields of timber and logging residues were esti- mated as 418,895 m3 and 254,962 m3, respectively. The economic bal- ances were estimated and available amounts were projected as supply potentials from profitable sub-compartments. As a result, available amounts of timber and logging residues were estimated at 375,466 m3 （89.9%） and 203,850 m3 （80.0%）, respectively. Because their transport expenses were lower than for other systems the most profitable sub-compartments were operated by private logging contractors who sold logging residues at a plant. The profitable sub-compartments operated by individual forest owners were few because the extracting distances were usually greater than 20 m. Raising logging residue prices from 3,000 yen·m-3 to 4,080 yen·m-3 or 6,800 yen·m-3, and establishing forest roads, which reduced some extracting distances to less than 20 m, increased the number and area of profitable sub＊compartments, and increased available amounts of logging residues.     

Thinning alters crown dynamics and biomass increment within aboveground tissues in young stands of Chamaecyparis obtusa

The stand density of a forest affects the vertical distribution of foliage. Understanding the dynamics of this response is important for the study of crown structure and function, carbon-budget estimation, and forest management. We investigated the effect of tree density on the vertical distribution of foliage, branch, and stem growth, and ratio of biomass increment in aboveground tissues; by monitoring all first-order branches of five trees each from thinned and unthinned control stands of 10-year-old Chamaecyparis obtusa for four consecutive years. In the control stand, the foliage crown shifted upward with height growth but the foliage quantity of the whole crown did not increase. In addition, the vertical distribution of leaf mass shifted from lower-crown skewed to upper-crown skewed. In the thinned stand in contrast, the foliage quantity of individual crowns increased two-fold within 4 years, while the vertical distribution of leaf mass remained lower-crown skewed. The two stands had similar production rates, numbers of first-order branches per unit of tree height, and total lengths of first-order branches. However, the mortality rate of first-order branches and self-pruning within a first-order branch were significantly higher in the control stand than in the thinned stand, which resulted in a higher ratio of biomass increment in branch. Thinning induced a higher ratio of biomass increment in foliage and lower in branch. The increased foliage quantity and variation in ratio of biomass increment after thinning stimulated stem growth of residual trees. These results provide information that will be useful when considering thinning regimes and stand management.     

Examining the Optimal Method to Extract Logging Residues from Small-Scale Forestry in the Nasunogahara Area,Tochigi Prefecture,Japan

This study examines the optimal method to extract logging residues from small, fragmented and scattered forests separately from the mechanized operational systems used on aggregated forestry operation sites. First, small-scale logging systems operated by a private logging contractor and an individual forest owner were investigated. Regression equations for estimating felling and processing cycle times were established as a function of stem and log volumes, respectively. Equations to estimate the forwarding and transporting cycle times were established as a function of the forwarding and transporting distances using the forwarding and transporting velocities, respectively. Then, equations to estimate productivities and costs were established with the cycle times, volumes and hourly operational expenses consisting of labour and machinery expenses. Finally, costs of the small-scale systems—mini-forwarder and 4 t truck operated by a private logging contractor, and manual logging and light truck operated by an individual forest owner—were estimated and compared with the mechanized operation system operated by the Forest Owners’ Association. The mechanized operation system was found to have the highest cost and could not compete for small forestry operational sites and small stem volumes. The small-scale systems could be effective for harvesting small areas. This was especially true when conducting extracting operations without machines, as done by the individual forest owner, and transporting operations by a private logging contractor, in which the hourly income of the individual forest owner was higher than the hourly labour expenses.     

Relationship between soak time and number of enmeshed animals in experimentally lost gill nets

In order to determine the effects of ghost fishing by lost gill nets, the relationship was examined between soak time and number of enmeshed animals in experimentally lost gill nets by using diving observations. Two experimental gill nets were set at 13 m depth in Tateyama Bay, Chiba Prefecture, Japan for approximately 200 days. One gill net was deployed in a small trough surrounded by artificial reefs, and the other was deployed on an adjacent open sandy bed. Twelve species of crustaceans, six species of gastropods, and five species of bony fish were enmeshed in the experimental gill nets. The number of enmeshed animals in the artificial reef gill net was substantially larger than that in the sandy bed gill net. The number of enmeshed animals in the experimental gill nets increased rapidly within one month after deployment, and then declined gradually showing fluctuations caused by the decrease in newly enmeshed animals, and the drop off from gill nets caused by the decomposition of dead animals. The decrease in the number of enmeshed animals was expressed by logarithmic equations, and based on these equations, the duration of capture function for the lost gill nets was calculated to be 284–561 days in the artificial reef gill net and 200 days in the sandy bed gill net. The duration of capture function for the lost gill nets for non-commercial by-catch species such as small crustaceans and gastropods was longer than for commercial species such as Japanese spiny lobster and bony fish.     

Changes of lymphocyte subpopulations and natural killer cells in mice sensitized with Toxoplasma lysate antigen before and after Babesia infection

When 8-week-old BALB/c mice were sensitized with two intramuscular injections of Toxoplasma lysate antigen (TLA) at 2 week interval, the numbers of sIg(+), Thy-1,2(+), Lyt-1,2(+) Lyt-2,2(+), and Asialo GM1(ASGM1)(+) cells in the spleen, liver and peripheral blood increased by 2 to 4 times over those found in unsensitized mice of the same age. When TLA-sensitized and unsensitized mice were infected with Babesia, 4 of 10 (40%) of the TLA-sensitized mice survived infection, while none of the unsensitized control mice lived longer than 14 days after Babesia infection. By contrast, sensitization of nude mice with TLA had no effect on survival, and mice did not live more than 12 days. The number of thymic Thy-1,2(+) cells decreased in TLA-sensitized and unsensitized BALB/c mice by almost 80% within 10 days after infection (AI). During the same time, the numbers of B cells, T cells, and NK cells increased in the spleen, liver and peripheral blood of both sensitized and unsensitized mice. Especially notable were increases in numbers of Lyt-2,2(+) cells in the spleen and blood and increases in numbers of NK cells in the spleen, liver and blood in both TLA-sensitized and unsensitized mice. When spleen cells from TLA-sensitized and unsensitized mice were cultured in the presence or absence of TLA for 6 days, assays for cytotoxicity using NK-insensitive P-815 target cells and NK-sensitive YAC-1 target cells demonstrated higher rates of cytotoxicity in cultures of TLA-sensitized spleen cells.     

Evaluation of Root Sink Ability of Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas Lam.) Cultivars on the Basis of Enzymatic Activity in the Starch Synthesis Pathway

Activities of five enzymes, sucrose synthase (SUS), uridine 5'-diphosphate glucose pyrophosphorylase (UDPGPPase), fructose-1,6 bisphosphatase (FBPase), adenosine 5'diphosphate glucose pyrophosphorylase (ADPGPPase) and starch synthase (STS), in the metabolic pathway of starch synthesis, were compared between two sweet potato ( Ipomoea batatas Lam.) cultivars, Koganesengan (C.V.KOG, a recently released high yield cultivar) and Tsurunasigenji (C.V.TSU, an old, local cultivar with poor yield). The measurements were carried out using the root samples (tuberous, thick and fibrous roots) harvested at the fast tubering stage. Of the five enzymes, SUS, ADPGPPase and STS showed high activities in the tuberous root, particularly in that of C.V.KOG, and a similar trend was observed for activities of these enzymes on a protein basis. The increased activity of the three enzymes is considered to be one of the characteristics in a high yield cultivar, allowing the root to function effectively as a starch synthesis and storage organ.     

Increasing mutagenic efficiency of gamma-radiation in rice by irradiation of seeds at extremely low temperature

Summary Dry seeds of rice, Oryza sativa L., containing about 13 percent moisture, were exposed to ⁶⁰Co gamma raysat extremely low temperature (–196°C). M₁ damage on survival rate, seedling height and seed set were found to become much smaller in the cooling treatment than in the not-cooled control. Chlorophyll and heading date mutation frequencies in the M₂ generation were not affected by the decreased M₁ damage caused by the cooling treatment, and the mutation frequencies could be significantly increased by applying higher doses combined with the cooling treatment. Frequency of sterile or semi-sterile mutants in the M₂ generation was found to be significantly lower in the cooling treatment than in the not-cooled control.It is assumed from the experimental results that extremely low temperatures during irradiation could reduce the amount of physiological damage and gross chromosome aberrations. This results in an increased efficiency of producing minute deletions and/or point mutations.     

Single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping of the barley waxy gene by polymerase chain reaction with confronting two-pair primers

A high‐throughput single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping procedure was developed to select amylose‐free barley mutants whose waxy genes had a C‐ to T‐base substitution in exon 5, which converted Gln‐89 of the wild‐type gene into a termination codon. An F₂ population carrying an amylose‐free waxy gene was checked for segregation. Polymerase chain reaction with confronting two‐pair primers (PCR‐CTPP) produced allele‐specific PCR products that have different sizes and are inherited in a co‐dominant manner. Two alleles of the barley waxy gene with SNP were correctly identified in parental strains using the PCR‐CTPP procedure. Segregation of the SNP as detected by PCR‐CTPP in an F₂ population fitted the expected 1:2:1 ratio. The PCR‐CTPP procedure can provide a time saving and cost‐effective alternative to derived cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence in marker‐assisted selection.     

Bow variation in kiln-dried boxed-heart square timber of sugi (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cryptomeria japonica</Emphasis>) cultivars

To evaluate the bow variation in boxed-heart square timber of sugi (Cryptomeria japonica), bows from kiln-dried timber for five sugi cultivars with different longitudinal shrinkage trends were compared for two stem heights. Two general trends were observed, depending on the cultivar: (1) either the bow was larger at the lower than at the upper part of the stem, or (2) the bows at the lower and the upper parts of the stem were similar. In timber that had larger bow values, the gradients of longitudinal shrinkage were large across the radius and along the length of the timber. There was a positive relationship between the bow and longitudinal shrinkage. These results suggest that the bow variation between the timbers was caused by a variation in longitudinal shrinkage, which was affected by the microfibril angle. Furthermore, the bow was inversely proportional to the modulus of elasticity, which suggests that timber with a low modulus of elasticity is susceptible to a large bow due to large longitudinal shrinkage.