Fluxes of Ca(2+), K(+) and Cl(-) across the surfaces of detached needles from Sitka spruce trees: pathways and compartmentation

Uptake and efflux of (36)Cl(-), (45)Ca(2+) and (42)K(+) were measured in water-infiltrated detached needles from Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) trees incubated in 1 mol m(-3) KCl or CaCl(2) or 2 mol m(-3) NaCl solutions or in artificial rain water containing mmol m(-3) amounts of these ions. Surface efflux was measured separately from leakage from the cut ends of the needles. Needles loaded with (36)Cl(-) and killed in liquid N(2) before elution displayed a rapid and extensive loss of radioisotope, indicating that mesophyll cell membranes were the limiting factor for (36)Cl(-) exchange. Data for live needles revealed a novel phase of (36)Cl(-) efflux, with an exchange halftime of about 20 min, which was faster than that for either the vacuole or the cytoplasm, but much slower than that for the free space. The novel phase was interpreted as representing diffusion of Cl(-) through the predominantly negatively charged cuticle. Killing needles loaded with (45)Ca(2+) or (42)K(+) also increased efflux relative to that from live needles, but only to a limited degree, indicating that the main factor limiting cation efflux was the cuticle. During the first hours of (45)Ca(2+) uptake, the isotherms displayed a shoulder, indicating that there was a significant Donnan free space phase in the cuticle for Ca(2+). A shoulder was absent from (42)K(+) uptake isotherms because of the preferential adsorption of divalent cations on the exchange sites.     

The behaviour of particle board and hardboard beams during moisture cycling

Summary The effects of creep at constant conditions of moisture content and the effects of deformations occurring during cycling of moisture content have been studied in loaded beams of particleboard and hardboard. The variations in stiffness in loaded and unloaded beams of particleboard during moisture cycling were also determined. Contrary to the findings of some workers but in agreement with the findings of another, the increases in the deflections of loaded beams of particleboard during cycling of moisture content were due mainly to desorption of moisture. Qualitatively similar behaviour was found for particleboard, hardboard and wood but quantitatively the effects were greatest in particleboard and hardboard. It appears that the basic mechanism of the transient effects in bending, arising with the simultaneous action of load and change in moisture content, may be similar in wood, particleboard and hardboard.     

Application of real options theory to forestry investment analysis

This paper demonstrates the utility of the real options approach to forestry investment analysis. The main objectives are to discuss the real option theory and show how it can be adopted to model uncertainty and managerial flexibility in forest management and investment. Secondly, we show how to calculate the option values of selected options that may be available to managers of forest industry firms. The paper provides an empirical application, which compares a forestry investment using the static Faustmann model and the real options approach. Four management options are used for the real options approach: an option to delay reforestation, an option to expand the size of the wood processing plant, an option to abandon the processing plant if timber prices fall below a certain level or due to corporate take-over, and multiple options that evaluated all three options together. All options were evaluated using the binomial option-pricing model, where timber values are assumed to follow a multiplicative binomial process. The results show that the Faustmann analysis rejected the investments as unprofitable, while the option analysis showed that all three options were highly valuable if exercised. When real options are considered, the traditional Faustmann model for assessing the profitability of a forestry investment may fail to provide an adequate decision-making framework because it does not properly value management's ability to adjust to shocks in the economy, as well as risks and uncertainty.