Forage production and quality of 4 perennial grasses grown under and outside canopies of matureProsopis glandulosa Torr. var.glandulosa (mesquite)

Comparisons were made of dry matter production and forage quality of two coolseason grasses, Canada wildrye (Elymus canadensis L.), Virginia wildrye (Elymus virginicus L.), and two warm-season grasses, green panic (Panicum maximum var.trichoglume Eyles) and plains bristlegrass (Setaria leucopila Scribn. & Merr.), planted under and outside the canopies of mature honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa Torr. var.glandulosa). Green panic gave the greatest cumulative dry matter yield in both canopy (5120 kg ha^–1) and open (3370 kg ha^–1) locations, followed by plains bristlegrass under mesquite (1130 kg ha^–1) and in the open (570 kg ha^–1). One-time yields from Canada wildrye and Virginia wildrye, under and outside mesquite canopy, were 247 and 329 kg ha^–1, and 272 and 268 kg ha^–1, respectively. Dry matter production of green panic (p=0.001) and plains bristlegrass (p=0.026) was greater under mesquite only for the first of four harvests, although both warm-season grasses exhibited a trend for greater production under mesquite than in the open. Average nitrogen content of green panic was greater (p=0.0004) under mesquite than in the open, while plains bristlegrass exhibited a trend for greater crude protein content in the open than under mesquite. Overall, moisture content of the warm-season grasses was greater (p=0.0001) under mesquite than in the open, while Virginia wildrye was more (p=0.002) succulent under mesquite than in the open. Averagein-vitro dry matter digestibility of warm-season grasses was almost significantly greater (p=0.0501) in the open than under mesquite. Canopy soils contained significantly more organic C (p=0.0004) and total N (p=0.0001) than open soils, with differences of 8.3 Mg organic C ha^–1 and 1.3 Mg total N ha^–1. Correlations indicated that soil fertility was more limiting to grass production than light intensity.     

Assessing carbon storage and sequestration by Canada's urban forests using high resolution earth observation data

Urban trees are important components of the landscape and offer numerous benefits; both socio-economical and biophysical. Urban trees act as a sink for CO₂, helping to offset carbon emissions from urban areas by removing the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Environment Canada develops estimates of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions and removals which are submitted annually to the United Nations as part of ongoing commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change. As part of these reporting commitments countries are required to develop estimates of emissions and removals of Greenhouse Gas that are the result of direct impact of human activities in the Land-Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry Sector. Here, we present an approach which involves sampling high resolution aerial photographs to determine urban tree coverage across Canada's major urban areas. Our results suggest Canadian urban areas have an estimated tree canopy cover of 27%. This tree cover is estimated to store approximately 34,000 kt C and annually sequester approximately 2500 kt of CO₂. These estimates show significant improvement over previous methods used to provide Canadian estimates. The methods developed here are easily repeatable which allow for temporal changes to be analyzed and assessed over time.     

Analysis of Canadian and American legislation for controlling exotic species in the Great Lakes

• 1. The legislation of the Great Lakes jurisdictions dealing with control of exotic species introduced through ballast water, canals, and recreational boating was analysed to determine whether the USA and Canada have the capacity to manage nuisance exotic species effectively. Despite the deleterious ecological effects attributed to exotic aquatic species, there is a lack of complementary legislation between Canada and the USA to remedy this problem. Current legislation is fragmented at the bilateral, national, and the state/provincial level.
• 2. American legislative initiatives are far ahead of Canada's, especially for regulating ballast water in oceanic shipping. Canada lacks strong federal and provincial legislation to regulate ballast water in shipping and to prevent the secondary spread of exotic aquatic species through watersheds.
• 3. Legislation to regulate ballast water is developing quickly among the US federal government and the Great Lakes states. However, legislation affecting the spread of exotic nuisance species via canals and recreational boaters is needed to complement ballast water laws and to give agencies a broader mandate for management.
• 4. Amendment of the Boundary Waters Treaty Act, the Fisheries Act, and the Canada Water Act could give the Canadian federal government authority to regulate ballast water in vessels entering the St Lawrence and to begin the rehabilitation of aquatic habitats impaired by nuisance exotic species.
• 5. Preventing further species introduction and spread through the Great Lakes basin requires restricting certain shipping and boating practices. This can be achieved only by the enactment of complementary laws among all the American and Canadian jurisdictions.

Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Response to molybdenum and limestone on wheat and barley grown on podzol soils

Abstract

Molybdenum applications had no effect on the grain yield of wheat or barley. Application of limestone increased barley yield at one of the three locations and had no effect on wheat yield at any location. The Mo concentration of boot stage tissue increased with added Mo. In most cases, 0.56 kg Mo/ha applications increased the Mo concentration of boot stage tissue above 10 ppm. Increases in Mo concentration due to added Mo were generally greater at higher rates of limestone application but the Mo x limestone interaction was statistically significant only for barley at the location having the lowest pH and for wheat at the two locations with the lowest pH. Molybdenum applied as a foliar spray was found to be an effective means of increasing the Mo concentration of cereal tissues. In the case of suspected Mo deficiency in cereals, a foliar application of 0.28 kg Mo/ha should correct the problem without any ill effect from an animal nutrition standpoint.     

Privileging the sub-sector: critical sub-sectors and sectoral relationships in forest policy-making

Policy analysis has usually been organized around the concept of the policy sector, which has served as the fundamental unit for analyzing policy change. The emergence of well-defined and institutionalized issue subsectors, however, has called the utility of a purely sectoral analysis of policy dynamics into question. Utilizing evidence from a case study of forest policy development in British Columbia, Canada, in the 1990s, this article suggests that understanding policy change in complex sectors such as forestry requires a more nuanced conceptualization and analysis of sector–subsectoral relationships than exists in the present literature. The article develops the notion of critical subsectors, capable of blocking or enabling overall levels and directions of sectoral policy change, as an essential tool required to understand policy dynamics.     

北京寄生菜粉蝶的盘绒茧蜂种类鉴定

1979-1980年,中国从加拿大引进微红盘绒茧蜂(Cotesia rubecular (Marshall))防治菜粉蝶(Pieris rapae L.),尔后,北京寄生菜粉蝶的一个土著种被误定为微红盘绒茧蜂.进一步检查两国的盘绒茧蜂标本,认为虽然两者形态相似,但仍有很明显的不同,差异在于前翅翅痣及后翅后肘室形状、雄性外生殖器抱器背突形状、齿数、阳茎基侧突形状等.为此,将北京菜粉蝶幼虫育出的盘绒茧蜂定名为拟微红盘绒茧蜂(Cotesia sp.(nr.rubecula Marshall)).     

加拿大一枝黄花疫情发生分布特点与防控措施

加拿大一枝黄花是一种外来入侵的有害生物,原产于北美洲的菊科多年生草本植物,它有种子与根茎两种繁殖途径,是一种恶性杂草,弊端多于益处,为检疫对象。最初是上海作为花卉观赏引进栽培,然后逐渐向周边地区漫延。亭湖区是在08年有零星发生,近几年虽然对一些重点区域进行了铲除,但发生面积仍在扩大,发生量在增加,因此,为了遏制加拿大一枝黄花的发生与漫延,近两年我们对疫区进行了GPS定位与跟踪防控。     

Just passing through: Global change and the conservation of biodiversity in protected areas

Climate and land-use changes are expected to cause many species to shift into or beyond the boundaries of protected areas, leading to large turnover in species composition. Here, we tested whether long-established protected areas in Canada were more robust to such climate change impacts than areas with no formal protection by measuring changes in modeled butterfly species distributions (n = 139) within them. We used a recently established distribution modeling technique, Maxent, to model butterfly species’ distributions in two epochs (1900-1930 and 1960-1990). We compared rates of butterfly species richness and composition change within protected areas against distributions of randomly selected, ecologically similar, but non-protected, areas. Change in species richness and composition within protected areas were, for the most part, the same as changes observed among random areas outside protected area boundaries. These results suggest that existing protected area networks in Canada have provided little buffer against the impacts of climate change on butterfly species richness, possibly because land-use change surrounding long-standing protected areas has not been substantial enough to elevate the habitat protection afforded by these protected areas relative to other areas. Although protected areas are unarguably beneficial in conserving biological diversity, their capacity to maintain habitat appears insufficient to prevent broader-scale climate changes from sweeping species beyond their boundaries.     

A Survey of Canadian Public Health Personnel Regarding Knowledge,Practice and Education of Zoonotic Diseases

Zoonoses, diseases that can spread under natural conditions between humans and other animals, are become a major public health concern in many countries including Canada. In Canada, investigations of zoonotic disease incidents are often conducted by public health inspectors (PHIs). However, little is known about PHIs' knowledge of transmission of zoonotic pathogens, their perceptions of zoonotic disease importance or their education regarding zoonotic diseases. The objective of this study was therefore to assess the knowledge, perceptions and education of Canadian PHIs regarding zoonotic diseases. Data were collected from December 2008–January 2009 using an internet‐based survey distributed to members of the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors national listserv. Responses were received from 229 PHIs in four provinces, with a response rate of approximately 20%. The majority of respondents reported at least 10 years of experience in the public health sector, 80% (181/225) were in frontline positions, and 62% (137/222) were routinely involved in investigations of infectious diseases. Two‐thirds believed that the importance of zoonotic diseases with regards to public health would increase in the next 5 years. Whilst most respondents were able to correctly identify animals capable of directly transmitting common zoonotic pathogens, there were gaps in knowledge, particularly with regard to rabies and transmission of gastrointestinal pathogens by companion animals. PHIs tended to feel that their training on zoonotic diseases prior to working as PHIs was deficient in some areas, or left some room for improvement. Their responses also suggested that there is a need for improvement in both the quantity and the quality of continuing education on zoonotic diseases. In particular, less than one‐third of PHIs received ongoing continuing education regarding zoonotic diseases, and of those that did, nearly two‐thirds rated the quantity and quality as only fair.     

Residual Effect of Copper and Zinc from Fertilizers on Plant Concentration,Phytotoxicity, and Crop Yield Response

Abstract

To avoid toxicity resulting in reduced crop yields and/or phytotoxic symptoms on the foliage, information on the residual effect of micronutrient fertilization after periods of application is desirable. This article includes discussion on the micronutrients copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), because they are essential and are of concern from plant and animal standpoints. In general, no detrimental effects in yield reduction or phytotoxicity were noted from Cu applications of up to 50 kg Cu ha^?1 to barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Barley was an exception where 50 kg Cu ha^?1 decreased yield by about 12% in the first‐year crop. The Cu levels in plants did not exceed 9 mg kg^?1. Studies showed that Zn applications of 50 kg ha^?1 for 2 years in succession and the resulting crop tissue Zn levels as high as 105 mg kg^?1 did not cause any phytotoxicity in cereals. The results of this study suggest that cereals can tolerate high levels of Cu and Zn.