Alternative eucalypts for commercial pulpwood production at moderately dry sites in the warm temperate zone of KwaZulu-Natal,South Africa

During 2001, a series of four site–taxa interaction trials was established in the warm temperate (mean annual temperature range 16–19 °C) forestry climatic zone of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa. The main objective was to investigate the commercial forestry potential of a range of alternative Eucalyptus and Corymbia taxa for moderately dry (mean annual precipitation < 850 mm) sites within the zone. At rotation end, all trials received final standing tree measurements. At one of the sites (Rockvale), trees of eight promising alternative taxa were felled, stem measurements and wood samples taken, and wood and fibre productivities determined. On the basis of tree growth and wood and fibre production, C. citriodora subsp. variegata, C. henryi, E. badjensis, E. benthamii and E. dorrigoensis (listed alphabetically) demonstrated the greatest potential as commercial alternatives for moderately dry sites in the KZN warm temperate zone. The majority of these taxa showed strong site specificity. Eucalyptus benthamii was the only taxon showing high growth adaptability to the entire range of site conditions applied in the series. The non-susceptibility of C. citriodora subsp. variegata and C. henryi to the current topical insect pests Thaumastocoris peregrinus, Leptocybe invasa and Glycaspis brimblecombei elevates the appeal of these taxa as potential alternative planting choices for moderately dry sites within lower altitude (<1 100 m asl) areas of the climate zone. The matching of the most promising alternative taxa in the series to the range of sites encountered in moderately dry areas of the KZN warm temperate forestry zone is discussed in this paper.     

Predicting abundance and productivity of blueberry plants under insect defoliation in Alaska

Unprecedented outbreaks of defoliating insects severely damaged blueberry crops near Port Graham on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska from 2008-2012. The Native people in this region rely heavily on gathered blueberries and other foods for sustenance and nourishment. Influences of topography and stand structure on blueberry abundance and fruiting were examined and used to develop spatial models to predict abundance and productivity of blueberry plants. Fruiting was associated with decreased canopy density, a low basal area and southwesterly aspects. Stands with relatively high site indices have greater abundance of blueberry plants, while the opposite trend was observed with productivity. Results demonstrate the feasibility of modeling the abundance and productivity of blueberry plants using easily obtained satellite imagery in conjunction with a well-organized field data collection system.     

Land-use and land-cover dynamics in response to changes in climatic,biological and socio-political forces: the case of southwestern Ethiopia

Few studies of land-use/land-cover change provide an integrated assessment of the driving forces and consequences of that change, particularly in Africa. Our objectives were to determine how driving forces at different scales change over time, how these forces affect the dynamics and patterns of land use/land cover, and how land-use/land-cover change affects ecological properties at the landscape scale. To accomplish these objectives, we first developed a way to identify the causes and consequences of change at a landscape scale by integrating tools from ecology and the social sciences and then applied these methods to a case study in Ghibe Valley, southwestern Ethiopia. Maps of land-use/land-cover change were created from aerial photography and Landsat TM imagery for the period, 1957–1993. A method called `ecological time lines' was developed to elicit landscape-scale explanations for changes from long-term residents. Cropland expanded at twice the speed recently (1987–1993) than two decades ago (1957–1973), but also contracted rapidly between 1973–1987. Rapid land-use/land cover change was caused by the combined effects of drought and migration, changes in settlement and land tenure policy, and changes in the severity of the livestock disease, trypanosomosis, which is transmitted by the tsetse fly. The scale of the causes and consequences of land-use/land-cover change varied from local to sub-national (regional) to international and the links between causes and consequences crossed scales. At the landscape scale, each cause affected the location and pattern of land use/land cover differently. The contraction of cropland increased grass biomass and cover, woody plant cover, the frequency and extent of savanna burning, and the abundance of wildlife. With recent control of the tsetse fly, these ecological changes are being reversed. These complex patterns are discussed in the context of scaling issues and current conceptual models of land-use/land-cover change.     

冰滑坡涌浪下冰碛坝溃决机理试验研究

[目的]对冰滑坡涌浪导致的冰碛坝溃决过程与溃决机理进行试验研究,为冰川区重大工程建设和冰湖冰碛坝溃决灾害防治提供科技支撑.[方法]开展不同滑块体积、滑动角度、滑动距离、坝体物质组成和坝体几何形态的水槽模型试验.基于试验现象、试验数据与理论推导,对涌浪过程、坝体物质起动和坝体溃决临界条件进行分析.[结果]①冰滑坡涌浪随时...     

Enzymatic and Acidic Hydrolysis of Cationized Waxy Maize Starch Granules

A series of wet‐cationized starch granules from waxy maize with different degrees of substitution (DS) were solubilized with either 2.2M HCl (lintnerization) or with the α‐amylase of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. The maximum rate of the enzymatic hydrolysis occurred in starches with intermediate DS. It appeared that the cationic substituents interfered with the binding to the active site of the enzyme at high levels of substitution. The DS remained fairly constant in the granular residues after the enzymatic attack. The rate of the acidic hydrolysis increased with increasing DS but the final level of solubilization slightly decreased. The DS of the residual starch material decreased to 40% of the original level, showing that a large part of the cationic groups was found within the amorphous parts of the granules. A dry‐cationized sample with a high DS was also treated with the acid and lost a major part of its substituents at low levels of lintnerization. Probably most of the substituents were associated with the surface and channels of these granules. The cationized starches possessed branches that were resistant to isoamylase attack and the samples also contained β‐amylolysis resistant dextrins. The proportion of resistant dextrins in the granular residues decreased after lintnerization, but remained constant after the enzymatic hydrolysis.