Using a stand-level model to predict light absorption in stands with vertically and horizontally heterogeneous canopies

Background： Forest ecosystem functioning is strongly influenced by the absorption of photosynthetically active radiation （APAR）, and therefore, accurate predictions of APAR are critical for many process-based forest growth models. The Lambert-Beer law can be applied to estimate APAR for simple homogeneous canopies composed of one layer, one species, and no canopy gaps. However, the vertical and horizontal structure of forest canopies is rarely homogeneous. Detailed tree-level models can account for this heterogeneity but these often have high input and computational demands and work on finer temporal and spatial resolutions than required by stand-level growth models. The aim of this study was to test a stand-level light absorption model that can estimate APAR by individual species in mixed-species and multi-layered stands with any degree of canopy openness including open-grown trees to closed canopies. Methods： The stand-level model was compared with a detailed tree-level model that has already been tested in mixed-species stands using empirical data. Both models were parameterised for five different forests, including a wide range of species compositions, species proportions, stand densities, crown architectures and canopy structures. Results： The stand-level model performed well in all stands except in the stand where extinction coefficients were unusually variable and it appears unlikely that APAR could be predicted in such stands using （tree- or stand-level） models that do not allow individuals of a given species to have different extinction coefficients, leaf-area density or analogous parameters. Conclusion： This model is parameterised with species-specific information about extinction coefficients and mean crown length, diameter, height and leaf area. It could be used to examine light dynamics in complex canopies and in stand-level growth models.     

Nitrogenous waste excretion and accumulation of urea and ammonia inChalcalburnus tarichi (Cyprinidae), endemic to the extremely alkaline Lake Van (Eastern Turkey)

The endemic, anadromous cyprinidChalcalburnus tarichi is the only fish species known to occur in alkaline Lake Van (Eastern Anatolia, Turkey). EightC. tarichi were maintained individually in Lake Van water (17 – 19°C; pH 9.8; 153 mEq·I^–1 total alkalinity; 22 total salinity) and tank water samples analyzed for 24 h in 2 to 4 h intervals. At zero time, < 1µM ammonia was present and urea was undetectable in the tank water; at 24 h, total ammonia and urea made up 114±32 and 35±25µM, respectively. Over the experimental period, ammonia-N and urea-N excretion averaged 1041±494 and 607±169moles·kg^–1 fish·h^–1, respectively. The extent of urea excretion was highly variable between specimens. Uric acid excretion was not detectable.Urea was present at high concentrations in all tissues and plasma (25 – 35moles·g^–1·ml^–1) of freshly caughtC. tarichi; total ammonia content of the tissues was by a factor of 1.9 (liver) to 3.0 (brain) lower. High arginase activity (2.4±0.2 U·min^–1·g^–1) was detected in the liver ofC. tarichi but ornithine carbamoylphosphate transferase, a key enzyme of the ornithine-urea-cycle, was absent. Ureagenesis is likely through degradation of arginine and/or uricolysis. High glutamine synthetase activity (11±0.6 U·min^–1·g^–1) and low ammonia content in brain suggest that, like other teleosts,C. tarichi has an efficient ammonia detoxification in the brain, but in no other tissue.Nitrogenous waste excretion at alkaline pH is discussed. The ability ofC. tarichi to excrete high levels of ammonia at extremely alkaline pH is unique among teleosts studied so far. The mechanism of ammonia excretion under Lake Van conditions remains to be elucidated.     

The influence of precipitation pulses on soil respiration - Assessing the “Birch effect” by stable carbon isotopes

Sudden pulse-like events of rapidly increasing CO₂-efflux occur in soils under seasonally dry climates in response to rewetting after drought. These occurrences, termed “Birch effect”, can have a marked influence on the ecosystem carbon balance. Current hypotheses indicate that the “Birch” pulse is caused by rapidly increased respiration and mineralization rates in response to changing moisture conditions but the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. Here, we present data from an experimental field study using straight-forward stable isotope methodology to gather new insights into the processes induced by rewetting of dried soils and evaluate current hypotheses for the “Birch“-CO₂-pulse. Two irrigation experiments were conducted on bare soil, root-free soil and intact vegetation during May and August 2005 in a semi-arid Mediterranean holm oak forest in southern Portugal. We continuously monitored CO₂-fluxes along with their isotopic compositions before, during and after the irrigation. δ¹³C signatures of the first CO₂-efflux burst, occurring immediately after rewetting, fit the hypothesis that the “Birch” pulse is caused by the rapid mineralization of either dead microbial biomass or osmoregulatory substances released by soil microorganisms in response to hypo-osmotic stress in order to avoid cell lyses. The response of soil CO₂-efflux to rewetting was smaller under mild (May) than under severe drought (August) and isotopic compositions indicated a larger contribution of anaplerotic carbon uptake with increasing soil desiccation. Both length and severity of drought periods probably play a key role for the microbial response to the rewetting of soils and thus for ecosystem carbon sequestration.     

Charakterisierung der Virulenz einer Braunrost-Feldpopulation (Puccinia triticina f. sp. tritici) und Nachweis effektiver Braun-rost-resistenz-gene in Weizen (Triticum aestivum)

Puccinia triticina f. sp. tritici, the causal agent of leaf rust causes yield losses in wheat up to 60%. In order to avoid such losses, leaf rust resistance (Lr-) genes have been incorporated into wheat cultivars. The Lr- genes confer mostly vertical resistance, i.e. they are race specific. Therefore, knowledge of still effective resistance genes is required for efficient breeding of resistant cultivars. To get information on these virulences, a leaf rust population was monitored in field experiments in 2010. For this purpose naturally infection at three different timepoints of wheat development was monitored on Thatcher near isogenic lines (NILs) carrying 37 and accessions carrying 6 additional Lr-genes. Thatcher-NILs carrying Lr2a, Lr9, Lr19, Lr22a, Lr23, Lr24, Lr35, Lr38 and Lr49 showed a significantly lower infection with Puccinia triticina than the susceptible cultivar Thatcher. Thatcher-NILs carrying Lr13, Lr16, Lr37 and Lr46 showed no significant differences in comparison to Thatcher. In order to get information on the effectiveness of resistance genes, P. triticina isolates were collected from the NILs analysed in field trials and a leaf segment test was conducted followed by microscopic analyses. In the field and in the leaf segment test Lr9, Lr19, Lr24 and Lr38 and to some extent Lr3a turned out to be the most effective genes. By microscopic analyses, the infection process as well defense reactions activated before macroscopic symptoms are visible were monitored. By counting haustorial mother cells, it could be demonstrated which Lr-genes provide resistance, which were overcame and whether P. triticina isolates exist already at a low frequency, which may overcome a certain Lr-gene in the future. Thus microscopy offers a timesaving and effective method to detect susceptible or resistant plants and the upcoming of virulent races prior to typical symptom expression.     

Job Lock in Rural versus Urban Labor Markets

While the possible negative effect of employer‐sponsored health insurance on labor mobility (job lock) has spawned substantial research, little research has considered differences in job lock between rural and urban areas. Job lock might differ in rural areas because of specific features of rural economies, in particular, the thinness of rural labor markets. This paper estimates measures of job lock for rural and urban areas. Parameter estimates suggest that it is larger in rural areas. The results also indicate that nonwage benefits such as retirement plans, paid vacation, and sick pay are more important factors in married rural workers decisions to change jobs while wages are a more important factor in the transition decisions of single urban workers.     

Influence of soil temperature and soil compaction on growth and P uptake of sugar beet

Sugar beet growth is often impaired by cold and compacted soil. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of soil temperature and soil compaction on the growth and function of sugar beet roots. For this purpose a pot experiment with sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) was conducted in a growth chamber in which the soil temperature was kept constant either at 10°C or 20°C and air temperature at 20°C. The soil was uncompacted (1.30 g cm^?3) or compacted to a bulk density of 1.65 g cm^?3. In order to find out whether growth restriction was caused by insufficient P supply of the plant the experiment was run without and with P application (300 mg per kg soil). Root growth was much smaller at 10°C compared to 20°C, whereas root/shoot ratio was not affected by soil temperature. Hence, root and shoot growth was inhibited to the same extent. P content of the plants was not reduced, neither by cold nor by compacted soil, although parameters of acquisition such as root length and morphological root properties were altered. Soil temperature strongly affected P influx, whereas compaction did not. The calculation with a simulation model showed that at 10°C soil temperature the predicted P uptake of the plants agreed with the measured P uptake irrespective of compaction and P application. However, at 20°C the model underestimated the P influx at low soil P availability even if allowance was made for root hairs. It is concluded that under conditions of high shoot P demand and low P availability in soil P has been mobilized by mechanisms not taken into account by the model.