Evaluation of sampling strategies to estimate crown biomass

Background:Depending on tree and site characteristics crown biomass accounts for a significant portion of the total aboveground biomass in the tree.Crown biomass estimation is useful for different purposes including evaluating the economic feasibility of crown utilization for energy production or forest products,fuel load assessments and fire management strategies,and wildfire modeling.However,crown biomass is difficult to predict because of the variability within and among species and sites.Thus the allometric equations used for predicting crown biomass should be based on data collected with precise and unbiased sampling strategies.In this study,we evaluate the performance different sampling strategies to estimate crown biomass and to evaluate the effect of sample size in estimating crown biomass.Methods:Using data collected from 20 destructively sampled trees,we evaluated 11 different sampling strategies using six evaluation statistics:bias,relative bias,root mean square error(RMSE),relative RMSE,amount of biomass sampled,and relative biomass sampled.We also evaluated the performance of the selected sampling strategies when different numbers of branches(3,6,9,and 12)are selected from each tree.Tree specific log linear model with branch diameter and branch length as covariates was used to obtain individual branch biomass.Results:Compared to all other methods stratified sampling with probability proportional to size estimation technique produced better results when three or six branches per tree were sampled.However,the systematic sampling with ratio estimation technique was the best when at least nine branches per tree were sampled.Under the stratified sampling strategy,selecting unequal number of branches per stratum produced approximately similar results to simple random sampling,but it further decreased RMSE when information on branch diameter is used in the design and estimation phases.Conclusions:Use of auxiliary information in design or estimation phase reduces the RMSE produced by a sampling strategy.However,this is attained by having to sample larger amount of biomass.Based on our finding we would recommend sampling nine branches per tree to be reasonably efficient and limit the amount of fieldwork.     

Influence of chemical characteristics in the development of soil colour

Factors responsible for the development of colour in reddish-brown basaltic soils of Malwa Plateau, India, were studied with the aid of multiple regression correlation analysis between the soil Munsell colour parameters and the chemical characteristics. Titanium and ferrous iron for soil “hue”, clay and organic matter for soil “value” were found to influence the development of colour in these soils. Partial regression analysis was carried out to assess the relative importance of individual factors in soil colour.     

Sorption and desorption of diuron and norflurazon in Florida citrus soils

The potential for surface and groundwater contamination of soil applied herbicides is partly dependent on soil properties. Sorption and desorption of diuron and norflurazon were studied in seven soils representative of the southern citrus-belt of Florida using the batch-equilibrium technique. Sorption of herbicides was influenced by soil properties. Sorption coefficients (K _d) ranged from 0.84 to 3.26 mL g^?1 for diuron and 0.63 to 2.20 mL g^?1 for norflurazon indicating weak to moderate binding of herbicides to soil. For norflurazon, K _dwas significantly related to organic C content, soil pH, and cation exchange capacity. For diuron, absence of a significant relationship between K _dand selected soil properties suggests that the soil properties other than those studied may play a role in determining sorption on these soils. Desorption studies showed that higher amounts of diuron and norflurazon was desorbed by water than by 0.5 M CaCl₂. An inverse relationship was apparent between herbicides sorbed and that which was desorbed among the soils studied. The soil which exhibited higher sorption had lower desorption and the soil which exhibited lower sorption had higher desorption.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Verticillium tricorpus</Emphasis> causing lettuce wilt in Japan differs genetically from California lettuce isolates

In January 2002, Verticillium wilt of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) caused by Verticillium tricorpus occurred in upland paddy fields in Hyogo Prefecture for the first time in Japan. This fungal species was first isolated from lettuce in California, USA. In the present study, the genetic relationships between the American and Japanese isolates of V. tricorpus from lettuce were analyzed to determine whether the pathogen could have migrated to Japan from the USA, the major lettuce-seed supplier for Japan. Nucleotide sequences of the rDNA internal transcribed spacer regions, as well as the genes coding for translation elongation factor 1-alpha and RNA polymerase II were compared among American and Japanese V. tricorpus isolates from lettuce. The Japanese isolates of V. tricorpus were distinct from the American. Random amplified polymorphic DNA analyses also supported this conclusion. These results demonstrated that Verticillium wilt on lettuce caused by V. tricorpus in Japan was not related to the isolates causing the disease in California.     

Characterization of starches of proso,foxtail, barnyard,kodo, and little millets

Scanning electron microscope (SEM) pictures of small millet starch granules showed more large polygonal and few small spherical or polygonal granules. The granules of small millets resembled those of rice starch granules. The size of the starch granules ranged from 0.8–10 m. The size of the granules was larger in barnyard millet and smaller in proso millet. Several granules showed deep indentation caused by protein bodies. SEM of starch isolated from 24 hour-germinated kodo millet showed pitting or pinholes at some points due to the attack of amylases (preferentially on bigger granules). Brabender viscoamylograph studies on small millet starches revealed that the gelatinization temperatures ranged from 75.8 to 84.9 ^° C. Barnyard millet possessed lower amylograph viscosity, minimum breakdown, and relative breakdown values when compared to the other small millets.     

Seed globulins of Cajanus cajan

Seed globulins ofCajanus cajan a widely cultivated legume were purified and characterised. About 78% of the seed proteins were salt soluble, out of which 61% were globulins which were further separated into three fractions. The fraction was insoluble at pH 4.7 and consisted of two subfractions. Fraction and were soluble at pH 4.7. All the fractions were characterised as glycoproteins by cesium chloride centrifugation. The proteins consisted of subunits which were not held together by covalent disulphide linkages. Amino acid analysis of the different globulin fractions showed that the fraction was comparatively rich in sulphur amino acids.     

Broadening the genetic base of lentil cultivars through inter‐sub‐specific and interspecific crosses of Lens taxa

Wild Lens taxa are invaluable sources of useful traits for broadening genetic base of cultivated lentil. Nine inter‐sub‐specific and interspecific crosses were made successfully between cultivated (Lens culinaris ssp. culinaris) and wild lentils (L. culinaris ssp. orientalis, odemensis, lamottei and ervoides). The effect of species groups, day length and temperature on crossability in lentils was evident under normal winter sowing in New Delhi and in summer Himalayan nursery at Sangla in Himachal Pradesh, India, although pollen fertility assessed in all the cross‐combinations showed no significant variation. True hybridity of nine inter‐sub‐specific and interspecific crosses was confirmed through morphological and molecular (ISSR) markers, in which three of 120 primers could confirm the hybridity of all the crosses. All cross‐combinations were also studied for important quantitative traits related to yield. The range, mean and coefficient of variation were estimated in parental lines, F₁ and F₂ generations to determine the extent of variability generated in cultivated lentils through the introgression of genes from wild L. taxa. A high level of heterosis was observed in F₁ crosses for important traits studied. Substantially higher variations for seed yield and its attributing traits were exhibited in F₂ generations indicating transgressive segregation. The results of the present investigation revealed that wild L. taxa can be successfully exploited for lentil improvement programmes, and the variations generated could be easily utilized for broadening the genetic base of cultivated lentil gene pool for improving the yield as well as wider adaptation.     

巴西橡胶树未成熟胚胎的离体培养

<正>1前言当植物种间及属间杂交不能得到发育完熟的胚胎时借助胚胎离体培养技术无疑是获得可存活远缘杂种后代最有效的途径之一。植物胚胎     

Insect growth-regulating effects of <Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">Withania somnifera</Emphasis> in a polyphagous pest, <Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">Spodoptera litura</Emphasis>

Treatment of sixth instar larvae and pupae of the polyphagous pest Spodoptera litura Fabr. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) with an acetone extract of leaves of Ashwagandha, Withania somnifera L. (Solanaceae), caused toxicity, molt disturbances, formation of larval–pupal, pupal–adult intermediates and adultoids. Our results suggest that W. somnifera acts as an insect growth regulator causing disruption of the endocrine mechanism regulating molting and metamorphosis.     

Differential gene expression of proinflammatory chemokines and cytokines in lungs of ascites-resistant and -susceptible broiler chickens following intravenous cellulose microparticle injection

Intravenous injection of microparticles (MPs) is a tool to reveal susceptibility to pulmonary hypertension (PH) syndrome (PHS, ascites) in broilers. After injection MPs get lodged in pulmonary arterioles and cause localized inflammation. To examine the expression of chemokines/cytokines during the MP-induced pulmonary inflammatory response, lungs were collected from 4-week-old broilers (6/line/time point) from the PHS-resistant (RES) and -susceptible (SUS) broilers before (0 h) and after (2, 6, 12, 24, and 48 h) MP injection and analyzed using quantitative RT-PCR. In both lines, expression of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, IL-8, and K60 increased from 0 to 6 h, reached peak levels at 6 and 12 h, and decreased thereafter, whereas IL-4 and interferon gamma (IFN-γ) expression remained elevated past 12 h. Lungs from the RES line broilers had higher expression (P < 0.05) of IL-1β and IL-6 at 2, 6, and 12 h; higher IL-8 at 6 and 12 h; higher K60 at 6, 12, and 24 h; higher IL-4 at 12, 24, and 48 h and higher IFN-γ expression at 6 and 48 h post-MP injection than SUS line broilers. Higher expression of chemokines/cytokines in RES compared to SUS line lungs may explain the ability of RES line broilers to effectively counteract the MP-induced PH and resolve the vascular occlusion.