Atomabsorptionsflammenphotometrische Manganbestimmung in Pflanzenaschen

In 3 Lysimetern (Standort Brandis bei Leipzig) mit Bodenmonolithen (Lys. 5 ‐ Braunerde, Lys. 7 ‐Pseudogley, Lys. 10 ‐ Schwarzerde) wurden im September 1994 vergleichend zu Bodenprofilen der Herkunftsflächen schichtweise bis Im Tiefe Untersuchungen zum Vorkommen von Lumbriciden durchgeführt. Die Anzahl der Regenwürmer stieg mit zunehmendem pH‐Wert und C_org‐Gehalt in der Reihenfolge Lys. 10 > Lys. 7 > Lys. 5. Auf Grund des geringen Probenumfangs können keine flächenbezogenen Aussagen abgeleitet werden. Es wurden überwiegend endogäische Würmer gefunden. Es ließ sich nicht mit Sicherheit feststellen, ob die anözischen Würmer in den Lysimetern leben oder sich nur kurzzeitig dort aufhalten. Durchgängige vertikale Regenwurmgänge, wie sie abschnittsweise in verschiedenen Tiefen an senkrechten Schnitten mit Hilfe der Computertomographie nachgewiesen wurden, würden für einen ständigen Aufenthalt anözischer Arten sprechen. Nur dann sind Schlußfolgerungen zur Tätigkeit der Tiefgräber und deren Einfluß auf Infiltration, Nähr‐ und Schadstofftransport möglich. Vergleichsuntersuchungen an Bodenprofilen der Herkunftsflächen zeigten, daß wohl auf Grund der andersartigen Bewirtschaftung nur eine partielle Übereinstimmung im Regenwurmvorkommen zwischen Lysimetern und Bodenprofilen besteht. Da auch viele Ackerböden einen sehr geringen Regenwurmbesatz aufweisen, scheint eine Übertragung der Lysimeterergebnisse auf das Freiland unter diesem Gesichtspunkt möglich zu sein.     

The morphology–diet relationship and its role in the coexistence of two species of annual fishes

Annual fishes, which inhabit temporary pools with extremely limited habitat complexity and niche availability, display remarkable sexual dimorphism, rapid growth, and enormous investment into reproduction, all traits associated with high energy requirement. This study tests three hypotheses for two syntopic annual fishes (Austrolebias minuano and Cynopoecilus fulgens) found in six wetlands of southern Brazil: (i) considerable morphological differences result in low dietary overlap, (ii) sexual dimorphism in both species leads to intraspecific diet segregation, and (iii) dietary richness increases during ontogenetic development, and is narrower in C. fulgens than A. minuano due to morphological limitations imposed by reduced size. The diet of 82 A. minuano and 211 C. fulgens individuals was analyzed over two annual cycles. The morphology was characterized by 26 measurements covering the entire body of both species. There was no evidence of morphological specialization related to food competition and the diet of A. minuano and C. fulgens showed high overlap. High food availability, high predator abundance, and high connectivity of adjacent wetlands are likely the main mechanisms allowing coexistence of both species. Within species, sexual dimorphism did not result in a decrease in dietary overlap, which reinforces the idea that morphological differences between the sexes did not evolve as a mechanism to decrease food competition. Large A. minuano did not have a more diverse diet than the smaller C. fulgens; however, increase in body size allowed both species to ingest larger prey. Morphological variability in both species was mainly related to ontogenetic development and reproduction.     

保护性农业带来的光明

每一个热心农业工作的人迟早都会对目前耕作的方法提出疑问。耕地的保护已经研究和试验很长时间了，然而，耕地的持续退化和侵蚀却无处不在。约定俗成的传统耕作方式，是耗尽土壤中的有机物质，并造成土壤退化的主要原因。相反，保护性农业，由于省去了种植前的土壤准备工作，给农业带来了光明。     

Forest property rights in the frame of public policies and societal change

Property rights over natural resources became a distinct area of inquiry in environmental economics and policy in the last decades, but their role has not yet been investigated thoroughly. Transition countries represent an excellent material of analysis of various policies and institutional developments concerning the regime of use and management of natural resources. The processes of societal transformation had deep impacts on the forestry sector, entailing land reforms and subsequent changes to its institutional and organisational framework. This paper presents an analysis of the reciprocal relationship between the evolving forest property rights and the conduct of policy and economic actors, in connection with their outcomes. The theoretical framework consists of institutional economics, whose core concept is that patterns of interaction between institutions and actors produce physical outcomes, assessable by criteria such as equity and efficiency. The study concentrated on three distinct periods and the applicable property regimes. Within this framework, the impacts of the characteristics of property regimes and the general framework of socio-economic conditions on the exercise of property rights were analysed. The analysis of the conduct of forest owners in relation to the institutional design was completed by the analysis of the other actors influential for land reforms. Romanian forestry sector, in evolution from the period shortly before World War II to present, represents the case of the study. Research data were collected by interviewing/questioning, participant observation and literature review. They were analysed through an integrated method of content analysis and a matrix analysis. An important conclusion is that not only the regime of forest property is determinant for the outcomes of resource use and management, but also the general settings in which they are embedded. Another essential point is that land reforms driven by either efficiency or equity rationales are not mere diversions of the benefit stream, but complex processes with serious implications for the status of the resource at stake.     

Glückwunsch und Dank!

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Zum Tode von Dr. Walter Bosshard

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Crown release improves growth of 20-year-old Betula alleghaniensis in tolerant northern hardwood stands

Twenty-year-old overstocked naturally regenerated yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britton) were thinned near Thessalon, Ontario. Treatments consisted of either a control, or the removal of all competing trees at 1, 2, 3, or 4 m around the boles of the crop trees. The size of the openings created around the crop tree crowns was found to be more strongly correlated to diameter, clear bole length, and crown increment than the removal of competing trees using fixed distance from the stem. Crop trees responded well to thinning. Five-year diameter increment and crown diameter growth were positively correlated to size of the opening created around the crop tree crown. However, the relationship between height growth and size of canopy opening was weak. Clear bole length was found to be negatively correlated to the size of canopy opening. Few epicormic sprouts developed on the stems when all competing trees were removed at 1, 2, or 3 m around the crop tree boles. However, release at 4 m greatly increased the number and size of epicormic sprouts. Providing about a 15-m² opening around the crop tree crown, corresponding to approximately a 3-m removal of competing trees around the bole, provided a good balance between diameter increment and stem quality maintenance.     

The genome of black cottonwood, Populus trichocarpa (Torr. & Gray)

We report the draft genome of the black cottonwood tree, Populus trichocarpa. Integration of shotgun sequence assembly with genetic mapping enabled chromosome-scale reconstruction of the genome. More than 45,000 putative protein-coding genes were identified. Analysis of the assembled genome revealed a whole-genome duplication event; about 8000 pairs of duplicated genes from that event survived in the Populus genome. A second, older duplication event is indistinguishably coincident with the divergence of the Populus and Arabidopsis lineages. Nucleotide substitution, tandem gene duplication, and gross chromosomal rearrangement appear to proceed substantially more slowly in Populus than in Arabidopsis. Populus has more protein-coding genes than Arabidopsis, ranging on average from 1.4 to 1.6 putative Populus homologs for each Arabidopsis gene. However, the relative frequency of protein domains in the two genomes is similar. Overrepresented exceptions in Populus include genes associated with lignocellulosic wall biosynthesis, meristem development, disease resistance, and metabolite transport.