Microbial C and N dynamics during mesophilic and thermophilic incubations of ryegrass

Laboratory studies were conducted to determine C and N dynamics during the decomposition of ryegrass straw under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions. A K_C of 0.61 was developed for the chloroform-fumigation extraction method to estimate microbial biomass C. These estimates showed that the C and N requirement of the thermophilic biomass was approximately 50% of the mesophilic biomass. There was no relationship between chloroform-fumigation microbial biomass estimates and plating of microorganisms from straw on specific media. Mineralized C was measured as 185 and 210 g kg^-1 straw in the 25°C and 50°C treatments, respectively. The efficiency of microbial substrate use, on a total straw basis, was 34 and 28% in the 25°C and 50°C incubations, respectively. The level of soluble C declined more slowly than total C mineralization at both temperatures, indicating that a portion of the labile C was not readily biodegradable. The addition of N decreased the rate of C mineralization at both temperatures. The reduced N requirement of the thermophiles explains why rapid degradation of the high C:N residue occurred without additional N or the need for the addition of a low C:N ratio substrate. Additional inoculum did not affect the decomposition process. We conclude that the promotion of thermophilic biomass activities, through composting for example, may prove useful in upgrading agricultural wastes for introduction into sustainable cropping systems.     

Bat activity on riparian zones and upper slopes in Australian timber production forests and the effectiveness of riparian buffers

Unlogged buffers are used to ameliorate impacts to riparian areas in timber production forests. One function of these buffers is to protect the biodiversity of riparian areas. We measured bat activity in buffered streams with ultrasonic detectors across four different stream orders in logged, regrowth and mature forests (60 sites). Bat activity, foraging rates and species richness were similar in buffered streams surrounded by logged, regrowth and mature forests, suggesting that riparian areas effectively provide habitat for foraging and commuting bats in selectively logged forests. Vespadelus pumilus was the only species that responded to logging history, with decreased activity in mature forests. We found higher activity on larger rather than smaller order streams, a pattern also not affected by logging history. Bat activity along paired forest trail flyways on upper slopes (60 sites) was measured simultaneously with riparian flyway activity (for a total of 120 sites) to determine the importance of riparian areas relative to other available flyways. Activity was higher on upper slopes than on small streams, but similar to levels on larger streams. Total foraging activity was similar between riparian zones and upper slopes. Upper slopes contained higher species diversity, with Chalinolobus gouldii, Miniopterus schreibersii, Mormopterus norfolkensis, Scotorepens sp., Vespadelus pumilus and, to a lesser extent, Vespadelus darlingtoni detected more often than along streams. Other species (Rhinolophus megaphyllus, Nyctophilus spp. and Miniopterus australis) were not affected by topography. Estimates of total vegetation cover and, in particular, rainforest cover, were negatively associated with bat activity, highlighting the need for management of forest ‘clutter’ in regrowth forests for a suite of bat species. Streams and forest trails provide areas of lower clutter, which assist in maintaining high species diversity in regrowth forests. Our results support the use of riparian buffers, and point to the need for greater recognition of tracks on upper slopes as important habitat.     

The potential aboveground carbon storage of north American forests

To assess the possibility of using C offset as a method of sequestering CO₂ produced by the burning of fossil fuels, it is necessary to have accurate estimates of C reservoirs and fluxes. Recent studies have shown that estimates of C commonly used in the past are too large, and this may lead to confusion about the global C budget. Field data used in recent estimates of present C storage for the North American boreal and eastern deciduous forest biomes were reanalyzed to estimate their maximum potential C storage. The original data were collected using a stratified two-stage cluster survey sampling design. The reanalysis suggests that the boreal forest and eastern deciduous forest could sequester possibly as little as 13.4% (3.0 Pg) and 18.5% (1.5 Pg), respectively, more C than they presently store. These estimates represent the potential increase in C storage under present conditions, if the study areas were allowed to revert back into forests.     

Analysis of 2-methylisoborneol and geosmin in catfish by microwave distillation--solid-phase microextraction

The semivolatile cyclic alcohols 2-methylisoborneol (MIB) and geosmin (GSM) impart muddy or musty flavors to water and food products. A rapid quantitative analytical technique has been developed whereby microwave distillation is used to remove the volatile organic compounds from a lipophilic matrix into an aqueous matrix. Solid-phase microextraction (MD-SPME) is then used to extract and concentrate the analytes, which are then desorbed in the injection port of a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (GC/MS) for analysis. Limits of detection are 0.01 microg/kg and limits of quantification are 0.1 microg/kg. MD-SPME is comparable in precision, requires no solvents, and is faster than current methods of analysis. This methodology allows detection of MIB and GSM at concentrations below human sensory thresholds in fish tissue.     

Quantum superposition of macroscopic persistent-current states

Microwave spectroscopy experiments have been performed on two quantum levels of a macroscopic superconducting loop with three Josephson junctions. Level repulsion of the ground state and first excited state is found where two classical persistent-current states with opposite polarity are degenerate, indicating symmetric and antisymmetric quantum superpositions of macroscopic states. The two classical states have persistent currents of 0.5 microampere and correspond to the center-of-mass motion of millions of Cooper pairs.     

Role of land-surface changes in arctic summer warming

A major challenge in predicting Earth's future climate state is to understand feedbacks that alter greenhouse-gas forcing. Here we synthesize field data from arctic Alaska, showing that terrestrial changes in summer albedo contribute substantially to recent high-latitude warming trends. Pronounced terrestrial summer warming in arctic Alaska correlates with a lengthening of the snow-free season that has increased atmospheric heating locally by about 3 watts per square meter per decade (similar in magnitude to the regional heating expected over multiple decades from a doubling of atmospheric CO2). The continuation of current trends in shrub and tree expansion could further amplify this atmospheric heating by two to seven times.     

Spontaneous formation of macroscopic chiral domains in a fluid smectic phase of achiral molecules

A smectic liquid-crystal phase made from achiral molecules with bent cores was found to have fluid layers that exhibit two spontaneous symmetry-breaking instabilities: polar molecular orientational ordering about the layer normal and molecular tilt. These instabilities combine to form a chiral layer structure with a handedness that depends on the sign of the tilt. The bulk states are either antiferroelectric-racemic, with the layer polar direction and handedness alternating in sign from layer to layer, or antiferroelectric-chiral, which is of uniform layer handedness. Both states exhibit an electric field-induced transition from antiferroelectric to ferroelectric.