Diurnal and seasonal variability in radial distribution of sap flux density: Implications for estimating stand transpiration

Daily and seasonal patterns in radial distribution of sap flux density were monitored in six trees differing in social position in a mixed coniferous stand dominated by silver fir (Abies alba Miller) and Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst) in the Alps of northeastern Italy. Radial distribution of sap flux was measured with arrays of 1-cm-long Granier probes. The radial profiles were either Gaussian or decreased monotonically toward the tree center, and seemed to be related to social position and crown distribution of the trees. The ratio between sap flux estimated with the most external sensor and the mean flux, weighted with the corresponding annulus areas, was used as a correction factor (CF) to express diurnal and seasonal radial variation in sap flow. During sunny days, the diurnal radial profile of sap flux changed with time and accumulated photosynthetic active radiation (PAR), with an increasing contribution of sap flux in the inner sapwood during the day. Seasonally, the contribution of sap flux in the inner xylem increased with daily cumulative PAR and the variation of CF was proportional to the tree diameter, ranging from 29% for suppressed trees up to 300% for dominant trees. Two models were developed, relating CF with PAR and tree diameter at breast height (DBH), to correct daily and seasonal estimates of whole-tree and stand sap flow obtained by assuming uniform sap flux density over the sapwood. If the variability in the radial profile of sap flux density was not accounted for, total stand transpiration would be overestimated by 32% during sunny days and 40% for the entire season.     

Vertical foliage distribution determines the radial pattern of sap flux density in Picea abies

Understanding the causes determining the radial pattern of sap flux density is important both for improving knowledge of sapwood functioning and for up-scaling sap flow measurements to canopy transpiration and ecosystem water use. To investigate the anatomical connection between whorls and annual sapwood rings, pruning-induced variation in the radial pattern of sap flux density was monitored with Granier probes in a 35-year-old Picea abies (L.) Karst tree that was pruned from the crown bottom up. Modifications in the radial pattern of sap flux density were quantified by a shape index (SI), which varies with the relative contribution of the outer and inner sapwood to tree transpiration. The SI progressively diminished during bottom up pruning, indicating a significant reduction in sap flow contribution of the inner sapwood. Results suggest that the radial pattern of sap flux density depends mainly on the vertical distribution of foliage in the crown, with lower shaded branches hydraulically connected with inner sapwood and upper branches connected with the outer rings.     

Constraints on light interception efficiency due to shoot architecture in broad-leaved Nothofagus species

Shoot architecture may significantly alter mean quantum flux on foliage and thus, photosynthetic productivity. There is currently only limited information about plastic alterations in shoot structure caused by within-canopy variation in mean integrated irradiance (Q(int)) in broad-leaved trees. We studied leaf and shoot structure, and nitrogen and carbon content in late-successional, widely distributed, temperate, broad-leaved Nothofagus taxa to determine the architectural controls on light harvesting and photosynthetic performance. Nothofagus fusca (Hook. f.) Oersted has larger leaves and less densely leaved shoots than the N. solandri varieties. Nothofagus solandri var. solandri (Hook. f.) Oersted is characterized by rounder leaves that potentially have a larger overlap than the ovate-triangular leaves of N. solandri var. cliffortioides (Hook. f.) Poole. Leaf dry mass (M(A)) and nitrogen content (N(A)) per unit area increased with increasing Q(int) in all species, demonstrating enhanced investment of photosynthetic biomass in high light. Although M(A) differed between species at a common irradiance, there was a uniform relationship between N(A) and Q(int) across species. Leaf carbon content per dry mass and leaf dry mass to fresh mass ratio also scaled positively with irradiance, suggesting greater structural investments in high light. In all species, shoots became more horizontal and flatter at lower Q(int), implying an enhanced use efficiency of direct irradiance in natural leaf positions. In contrast, irradiance effects on leaf aggregation varied among species. Across the data, leaf overlap or leaf area density was often greater at lower irradiances, possibly as a result of limited carbon availability for shoot axis extension growth. In N. fusca, leaves of which were more aggregated in high light, the shoot silhouette to total leaf area ratio (S(S)) declined strongly with increasing irradiance, demonstrating a lower light harvesting efficiency at high Q(int). This effect was only moderate in N. solandri var. cliffortioides and S(S) was independent of Q(int) in N. solandri var. solandri. Although the efficiency of light interception at high irradiances was lowest in N. fusca, this species had the greatest nitrogen content per unit shoot silhouette area (2N(A)/S(S)), indicating superior shoot-level photosynthetic potential. These data collectively demonstrate that shoot architecture significantly affects light interception and photosynthesis in broad-leaved trees, and that structural carbon limitations may constrain leaf light harvesting efficiency at low irradiance.     

A microwave tomographic system for wood characterization in the forest products industry

Abstract

Nondestructive testing and evaluation techniques able to extract information about the internal structure of the samples under test are very important in the wood industry. Microwave imaging systems have been considered for a long time promising apparatuses for this task. In this framework, approaches exploiting the full scattering phenomena for creating images of the distributions of the dielectric properties of the targets have been developed in the last few years. In this paper, a prototype of microwave tomographic system is presented and several experimental validation confirming its suitability for the use in the wood and forest product industry are reported.     

Screening techniques and sources of resistance to root diseases in cool season food legumes

Summary Soil-borne fungal diseases are among the most important factors, limiting the yield of grain legumes in many countries worldwide. Root rot, caused by Aphanomyces euteiches, Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium solani and wilt, caused by several formae speciales of Fusarium oxysporum are the most destructive soil-borne diseases of pea, chickpea, lentil, fababean and lupin. The most effective control of these diseases is achieved through the use of resistant varieties. In this paper, recent advances in conventional and innovative screening methods for disease resistance are presented. Many grain legume accessions, which are maintained in national and international germplasm collections, have been evaluated for disease resistance and numerous resistant varieties have been released following incorporation of identified resistance genes from these sources. Recent identification of molecular markers tightly linked to resistance genes has greatly enhanced breeding programs by making marker assisted selection (MAS) possible and allowing the development of varieties with multiple disease resistance. Progress in the understanding of the biology of soil-borne fungal pathogens of grain legumes is also reviewed with particular reference to the genetic structure of their populations, diagnosis and host–pathogen interaction.     

Derivative potentiometric stripping analysis (dPSA) used for the determination of cadmium,copper, lead,and zinc in Sicilian olive oils

Derivative potentiometric stripping analysis (dPSA) was utilized to evaluate the Cd(II), Cu(II), Pb(II), and Zn(II) content in olive oil samples produced in Sicily in the crop year 2000-2001. The repeatability of the method was attested at 86.36% for cadmium, at 94.94% for copper, at 99.00% for lead, and at 98.92% for zinc. Recovery tests were carried out, both on cleanup procedures and on extraction steps, on olive oil spiked at different levels; obtained recoveries were 84.52 +/- 9.86 for cadmium, 97.34 +/- 2.72 for copper, 100.68 +/- 0.67 for lead and 83.35 +/- 1.72 for zinc. Theoretic detection limits were 1.2 ng g(-1) for Cd, 3.6 ng g(-1) for Cu, 5.9 ng g(-1) for Pb, and 14.3 ng g(-1) for Zn. Found concentrations range were 15.94-58.51 ng g(-1) for Cu, 32.64-156.48 ng g(-1) for Pb, and 157.00-385.22 ng g(-1) for Zn. Copper, lead, and zinc were found in all samples. The main advantage of this determination consists of a not too aggressive metals extraction procedure using hydrochloric acid, which avoids losses of elements typical of sample calcinations methods.     

Model studies on the photosensitized isomerization of bixin

The photosensitized isomerization reaction of the natural cis carotenoid bixin (methyl hydrogen 9'-cis-6, 6'-diapocarotene-6, 6'-dioate) with rose bengal or methylene blue as the sensitizer in acetonitrile/methanol (1:1) solution was studied using UV-vis spectroscopy, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and time-resolved spectroscopic techniques, such as laser-flash photolysis and singlet oxygen phosphorescence detection. In both N(2)- and air-saturated solutions, the main product formed was all-trans-bixin. The observed isomerization rate constants, k(obs), decreased in the presence of air or with increase in the bixin concentration, suggesting the participation of the excited triplet state of bixin, (3)Bix, as precursor of the cis--> trans process. On the other hand, bixin solutions in the absence of sensitizer and/or light did not degrade, indicating that the ground state of bixin is stable to thermal isomerization at room temperature. Time-resolved spectroscopic experiments confirmed the formation of the excited triplet state of bixin and its deactivation by ground state bixin and molecular oxygen quenching processes. The primary isomerization products only degraded in the presence of air and under prolonged illumination conditions, probably due to the formation of oxidation products by reaction with singlet molecular oxygen. An energy-transfer mechanism was used to explain the observed results for the bixin transformations, and the consequences for food color are discussed.     

Isolation and biochemical characterization of a basic myrosinase from ripe Crambe abyssinica seeds,highly specific for epi-progoitrin

On the basis of previous studies on the mechanism-based inhibition, activation, and active site structure of myrosinase(s) isolated from Sinapis alba and other cruciferous seeds, crambe myrosinase shows uncommon properties and behavior. For this reason homogeneous crambe myrosinase was isolated and investigated to establish the most important physicochemical features, including kinetic properties determined with the epimers progoitrin (R) and epi-progoitrin (S) as substrates, with and without ascorbate as an activator. The results of this study demonstrate that crambe myrosinase is highly specific for epi-progoitrin due to a better stabilization of the enzyme-substrate complex. This stabilization is caused by additional hydrogen bonding that only epi-progoitrin can set up between its hydroxyl group and a suitable residue in the hydrophobic pocket where the "docking" of the glucosinolates side chain takes place.     

Relationship between molecular characteristics of soil humic fractions and glycolytic pathway and krebs cycle in maize seedlings

A humic acid (HA) isolated from a volcanic soil was separated in three fractions of decreasing molecular size (I, II and III) by preparative high performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC). The molecular content of the bulk soil HA and its size fractions was characterized by pyrolysis-GC-MS (thermochemolysis with tetramethylammonium hydroxide) and NMR spectroscopy. All soil humic materials were used to evaluate their effects on the enzymatic activities involved in glycolytic and respiratory processes of Zea mays (L.) seedlings. The elementary analyses and NMR spectra of the humic fractions indicated that the content of polar carbons (mainly carbohydrates) increased with decreasing molecular size of separated fractions. The products evolved by on-line thermochemolysis showed that the smallest size fraction (Fraction III) with the least rigid molecular conformation among the humic samples had the lowest content of lignin moieties and the largest amount of other non-lignin aromatic compounds. The bulk HA and the three humic fractions affected the enzyme activities related to glycolysis and tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) in different ways depending on molecular size, molecular characteristics and concentrations. The overall effectiveness of the four fractions in promoting the metabolic pathways was in the order: III>HA>II>I. The largest effect of Fraction III, either alone or incorporated into the bulk HA, was attributed to a flexible conformational structure that promoted a more efficient diffusion of bioactive humic components to maize cells. A better knowledge of the relationship between molecular structure of soil humic matter and plant activity may be of practical interest in increasing carbon fixation in plants and redirect atmospheric CO₂ into bio-fuel resources.