Perceived personal safety in relation to urban woodland vegetation – A review

Urban woodland vegetation provides people with many aesthetic, ecological and psychological benefits, but can also generate problems concerning people's perception of safety. This paper reviews existing knowledge about perceived personal safety in relation to vegetation, particularly woodland vegetation, in urban green spaces such as parks and residential areas. Individual and social factors, but also vegetation character, maintenance and design, proved to be important for perceived personal safety. Vegetation-related aspects identified as being of particular importance include landscape design, possibilities for overview and control, vegetation density, and vegetation character and maintenance. Vegetation of an open character with low density undergrowth might have positive effects on perceived personal safety without reducing other benefits. Issues for future research include context-based studies to consider several aspects of vegetation and their interactions.     

Incoming! Association of landscape features with dispersing mountain pine beetle populations during a range expansion event in western Canada

Mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae), is a forest insect that undergoes intermittent population eruptions, causing landscape-level mortality to mature pines. Currently, an outbreak covers over 16.3 million ha of British Columbia and Alberta in western Canada. Recent incursion into the jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) of northwestern Alberta threatens further range expansion through the boreal forest to central and eastern Canada. The spread from British Columbia into northwestern Alberta has been facilitated by above-canopy dispersal of the insect by meso-scale atmospheric currents. At these scales, dispersing D. ponderosae may behave like inert particles, causing terrain-induced tropospheric convective and advective currents to influence population dispersal and establishment. We use spatial point process regression models to examine the association of meso-scale variables, including landscape features and their orientations, habitat suitability, elevation and treatment efforts, with occurrence of D. ponderosae infestations in 2004, 2005, and 2006. Infestations of D. ponderosae primarily established in canyons and valleys, before moving into more open-sloped areas. Southwestern slopes of midslope ridges and small hills, southwest facing open slopes, and valleys that run in a northeast–southwest cardinal direction were positively associated with higher intensities of infestation. This study provides insight into the influences of complex terrain on landscape disturbance by a forest insect, and can be used to prioritize areas for potential management.     

The effect of the ‘Gait keeper’ mutation in the DMRT3 gene on gaiting ability in Icelandic horses

A nonsense mutation in DMRT3 (‘Gait keeper’ mutation) has a predominant effect on gaiting ability in horses, being permissive for the ability to perform lateral gaits and having a favourable effect on speed capacity in trot. The DMRT3 mutant allele (A) has been found in high frequency in gaited breeds and breeds bred for harness racing, while other horse breeds were homozygous for the wild‐type allele (C). The aim of this study was to evaluate further the effect of the DMRT3 nonsense mutation on the gait quality and speed capacity in the multigaited Icelandic horse and demonstrate how the frequencies of the A‐ and C‐ alleles have changed in the Icelandic horse population in recent decades. It was confirmed that homozygosity for the DMRT3 nonsense mutation relates to the ability to pace. It further had a favourable effect on scores in breeding field tests for the lateral gait tölt, demonstrated by better beat quality, speed capacity and suppleness. Horses with the CA genotype had on the other hand significantly higher scores for walk, trot, canter and gallop, and they performed better beat and suspension in trot and gallop. These results indicate that the AA genotype reinforces the coordination of ipsilateral legs, with the subsequent negative effect on the synchronized movement of diagonal legs compared with the CA genotype. The frequency of the A‐allele has increased in recent decades with a corresponding decrease in the frequency of the C‐allele. The estimated frequency of the A‐allele in the Icelandic horse population in 2012 was 0.94. Selective breeding for lateral gaits in the Icelandic horse population has apparently altered the frequency of DMRT3 genotypes with a predicted loss of the C‐allele in relatively few years. The results have practical implications for breeding and training of Icelandic horses and other gaited horse breeds.     

Sieving as an effluent treatment method for aquaculture

A new device designed for sieving of fish farm effluent (trademark Triangel Filter TF 2400) was tested in order to prove if such an apparatus may be used instead of the swirl concentrator. The phosphorus reduction was estimated by water sampling and phosphorus budget and by measuring the phosphorus content in flushing water and in settled sludge.

Sieving is a promising and useful method to treat aquaculture effluent, especially in ‘high-tech’ systems (recirculation, warmed water facilities) where high effluent quality and the most effective removal of solids is needed.     

Long-term responses of ecosystem components to stand thinning in young lodgepole pine forest: IV. Relative habitat use by mammalian herbivores

Pre-commercial thinning (PCT) is a silvicultural practice that can provide diverse understory and overstory vegetation conditions. We tested the hypothesis that relative habitat use by snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and moose (Alces alces) would increase in response to enhanced abundance of herbs and shrubs, and species diversity and structural diversity of conifers, in heavily thinned (≤1000 stems/ha) stands, at 12–15 years post-thinning. Replicate study areas were located near Penticton, Kamloops, and Prince George in south-central British Columbia, Canada. Each study area had three young pine stands thinned to densities of 500 stems/ha (low), 1000 stems/ha (medium), and 2000 stems/ha (high), with an unthinned young pine and old-growth pine stand for comparison.

Relative habitat use, based on counts of fecal pellets and pellet-groups, was similar among the five treatment stands for hares (P = 0.24), deer (P = 0.23), and moose (P = 0.16). However, low-density stands (500 stems/ha) had ca. 3–20 times as many deer pellet-groups, and ca. 2–4 times as many moose pellet-groups, than other stands. Low-density stands had significantly greater canopy openness, volume of shrubs <2 m, and horizontal hiding cover <1.6 m than other treatments. Relative habitat use by deer and moose was positively related to understory characteristics such as enhanced abundance of forage and security cover. These results support our hypothesis that deer and moose responded positively to enhanced volume of herbs and shrubs as well as to species diversity and structural diversity of conifers and overall vegetation in heavily thinned (≤1000 stems/ha) stands at 12–15 years post-thinning. Our results suggest that ungulate management would be enhanced if greater emphasis was placed on forage enhancement throughout the year, which differs from current management recommendations which tend to focus on winter range and snow-interception cover.     

Cold acclimation of Pinus contorta and Pinus sylvestris assessed by chlorophyll fluorescence

Needle samples of six provenances each of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. var. latifolia) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), originating from latitudes 55 to 68 degrees N in western Canada and northern Sweden, were collected during the autumn and subjected to freezing temperatures in the range of -8 to -29 degrees C on three occasions in September and October. Needle injury was assessed by two different methods: visual assessment and chlorophyll a fluorescence. Chlorophyll a fluorescence data showed a highly significant correlation with the visual assessments of injury, indicating that the technique can be used as a simple, non-destructive and objective measure for rapid detection of freezing injury and for ranking of needle materials with respect to development of cold acclimation. The analyses showed that, during the autumn, lodgepole pine needles were more hardy and acclimated to low temperatures earlier than Scots pine needles.     

A model integrating seed source adaptation and seed use

A conceptual model that considers theperformance (adaptability) of a seed source (=anorigin) and the location or range of its deployment isdeveloped employing the Cauchy function. The modelassumes that there exists an optimal site type foreach provenance origin (genetic material), and thatloss in performance is a function of the distance (ameasure of increasing maladaptation) from the optimalsite. The model requires the estimate of threeparameters: a site requirement value that measuressite type in one dimension; a measure of optimalperformance; and a flexibility measure of the width ofseed source adaptability. The Cauchy function has aknown integral, thus the average adaptability over arange (a possible seed use zone) can be mathematicallyevaluated. The model was also extended to seed orchardcrops representing progeny of parents of variableorigins. Scots pine information in Sweden was used todemonstrate possible applications of the model.     

Structural studies on the chemical bonds between lignins and carbohydrates in spruce wood

Summary A lignin-carbohydrate material from black spruce (Picea mariana) was treated with a hemicellulase mixture. The carbohydrates in the remaining material were studied by the following methods. a) Treatment with 0.1 M NaOH in the presence of sodium borohydride followed by selective hydrolysis of the furanosidic bonds, b) Smith degradation (periodate oxidation followed by mild acid hydrolysis). The results obtained indicate that lignin is bound to all types of sugar units in the hemicelluloses. For arabino-4-O-methylglucuronoxylan, linkages to the side-chain units seem to dominate. The links to the 4-O-methylglucuronic acid units are ester bonds, probably benzyl ester bonds. Those to the other sugar units in the hemicelluloses are ether bonds, probably benzyl ether bonds. The results suggest, furthermore, that fractions of cellulose are linked to lignin.The authors are indebted to Dr. H. H. Brownell, Ottawa, Canada, for a gift of extracted black spruce wood meal, and to Professor Bengt Lindberg, Stockholm, Sweden, for the use of glc equipment in his laboratory     

A major QTL for common bacterial blight resistance derives from the common bean great northern landrace cultivar Montana No.5

Knowledge of the evolutionary origin and sources of pest resistance genes will facilitate gene deployment and development of crop cultivars with durable resistance. Our objective was to determine the source of common bacterial blight (CBB) resistance in the common bean Great Northern Nebraska #1 (GN#1) and GN#1 Selection 27 (GN#1 Sel 27). Several great northern cultivars including GN#1, GN#1 Sel 27, and Montana No.5 (the female parent of the common x tepary bean interspecific population from which GN #1 and GN # 1 Sel 27 were derived) and known susceptible checks were evaluated for CBB reaction in field and greenhouse environments. These genotypes and CBB resistant and susceptible tepary bean including Tepary #4, the male parent and presumed contributor of CBB resistance toGN#1 and GN#1 Sel 27, were assayed for presence or absence of three SCAR markers tightly linked with independent QTLs conditioning CBB resistance. The parents and F₂ of Montana No. 5/GN #1 Sel 27 and Montana No.5/Othello(CBB susceptible) were screened for CBB reaction and SCAR markers. CBB resistance in Montana No.5 was comparable to that of GN#1 and GN#1 Sel27. The SAP6 SCAR marker present in GN#1 and GN#1 Sel 27 was also present in Montana No.5, and it co-segregated (R ² =35%) with the CBB resistance in the Montana No.5/Othello F₂ population. Although a few CBB resistant and susceptible transgressive segregants were found in the F₂ of MontanaNo.5/GN #1 Sel 27 and later confirmed by F₃ progeny tests, SAP6 SCAR marker was present in all progenies. None of the tepary bean specific CBB resistance-linked SCAR markers were present in GN#1, GN#1 Sel 27, or Montana No.5. A cluster analysis of 169 polymorphic PCR-based markers across three common bean and Tepary #4 indicated that GN#1, GN#1 Sel 27, and Montana No.5 were closely related, and not related at all with Tepary #4.Thus, these results clearly indicate Montana No.5, not Tepary #4, as the source of CBB resistance in GN#1 and GN#1 Sel 27. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.