Reimplementation of the Biome-BGC model to simulate successional change

Biogeochemical process models are increasingly employed to simulate current and future forest dynamics, but most simulate only a single canopy type. This limitation means that mixed stands, canopy succession and understory dynamics cannot be modeled, severe handicaps in many forests. The goals of this study were to develop a version of Biome-BGC that supported multiple, interacting vegetation types, and to assess its performance and limitations by comparing modeled results to published data from a 150-year boreal black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) chronosequence in northern Manitoba, Canada. Model data structures and logic were modified to support an arbitrary number of interacting vegetation types; an explicit height calculation was necessary to prioritize radiation and precipitation interception. Two vegetation types, evergreen needle-leaf and deciduous broadleaf, were modeled based on site-specific meteorological and physiological data. The new version of Biome-BGC reliably simulated observed changes in leaf area, net primary production and carbon stocks, and should be useful for modeling the dynamics of mixed-species stands and ecological succession. We discuss the strengths and limitations of Biome-BGC for this application, and note areas in which further work is necessary for reliable simulation of boreal biogeochemical cycling at a landscape scale.     

Growth and water potential of j-rooted loblolly and eastern white pine seedlings over three growing seasons

The effects of j-rooting on water stress and growth of loblolly (Pious taeda L.) and eastern white pine (Pious strobus L.) were examined over three growing seasons in the field. Seedlings were planted in an area with severe herbaceous competition with either their roots planted straight or bent into a j shape. All seedlings were planted with their root collars placed at the soil surface. During the first year j-rooted seedlings consistently had lower water potentials but never statistically significant. Since both treatments were planted with the root collar at the soil surface, this trend was likely due to an initial shallower root system in j-rooted seedlings. In year three no differences in water potential were significant and no trends were evident. Growth did not differ significantly by treatment at any time but, by year three, j-rooted plants were consistently larger for both species.     

Contribution of root respiration to soil surface CO2 flux in a boreal black spruce chronosequence

We quantified the contributions of root respiration (RC) and heterotrophic respiration to soil surface CO2 flux (RS) by comparing trenched and untrenched plots in well-drained and poorly drained stands of a black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) fire chronosequence in northern Manitoba, Canada. Our objectives were to: (1) test different equations for modeling RS as a function of soil temperature; and (2) model annual RS and RC for the chronosequence from continuous soil temperature measurements. The choice of equation to model RS strongly affected annual RS and RC, with an Arrhenius-based model giving the best fit to the data, especially at low temperatures. Modeled values of annual RS were positively correlated with soil temperature at 2-cm depth and were affected by year of burn and trenching, but not by soil drainage. During the growing season, measured RC was low in May, peaked in late July and declined to low values by the end of the growing season. Annual RC was < 5% of RS in the recently burned stands, approximately 40% in the 21-year-old stands and 5-15% in the oldest (152-year-old) stands. Evidence suggests that RC may have been underestimated in the oldest stands, with residual root decay from trenching accounting for 5-10% of trenched plot RS at most sites.     

Photosynthetic responses to phosphorus nutrition in two-year-old maritime pine seedlings

We analyzed processes limiting photosynthesis in two-year-old, container-grown Pinus pinaster Ait. seedlings subjected to phosphorus (P) deficiency. After withholding P for 3 months, seedlings were supplied P at four relative addition rates (0, 0.005, 0.01 and 0.02 day(-1)) in a nutrient recycling system. At Weeks 12 and 22, responses of photosynthesis to CO(2) and irradiance were measured and the following parameters derived: maximal velocity of carboxylation by Rubisco, V(m); apparent quantum efficiency of electron transport, alpha maximal electron transport rate, J(m); stomatal conductance and relative stomatal limitation of photosynthesis. At Week 22, these measurements were combined with concurrent measurements of chlorophyll fluorescence to determine the quantum yield of PSII, and a theoretical partitioning of total light-driven linear electron flow between fractions used to regenerate carboxylated and oxygenated RuBP. After 12 weeks of treatment, needle P concentrations ranged from 0.04 to 0.15 x 10(-2) g g(DW) (-1), and then remained constant until Week 22. Values of J(m), alpha and V(m) increased with increasing needle P concentration (from 30 to 133 &mgr;mol m(-2) s(-1), 0.02 to 0.25 mol mol(-1) and 13 to 78 &mgr;mol CO(2) m(-2) s(-1) at the lowest and highest needle P concentrations, respectively). Under ambient conditions, net assimilation rates in P-deficient seedlings were limited by V(m) under saturating irradiance, and by J(m) under limiting irradiance, but not by triose-P regeneration. There was no detectable change in the partitioning of total light-driven linear electron flow between the fractions used for carboxylation and oxygenation. Predawn photochemical efficiency of PSII was significantly reduced in seedlings with low P concentrations. Although stomatal conductance tended to decrease with decreasing needle P concentration, relative stomatal limitation was not significantly affected. At Week 22, there was an attenuation of the effects of P nutrition on V(m) and an increase in alpha and J(m) that was probably related to cessation of growth and the seasonal decline in natural irradiance.     

The virulence of phytopathogenic fungi associated with the bark beetles Tomicus piniperda and Orthotomicus erosus in Tunisia

Phytopathogenic fungi associated with the bark beetles Tomicus piniperda and Orthotomicus erosus were isolated in various pine forests of Tunisia. Tomicus piniperda and its galleries yielded Leptographium wingfieldii, Ophiostoma minus, and Ophiostoma ips. Ophiostoma minus was the most frequent species associated with T. piniperda, in both the attacking and the emerging beetles. It was collected from most investigated forests, whereas O. ips and L. wingfieldii were obtained only from forests located in Central and Northern Tunisia. Frequencies of association with T. piniperda were always low, reaching 11.1% only once, for O. ips. Ophiostoma ips was the only blue stain fungus associated with O. erosus and its galleries. It was found in all the localities, but at a low and variable frequency, exceeding 15% very rarely. The virulence of 16 fungal isolates was tested by single inoculations into Pinus halepensis (Aleppo pine) at two localities. Differences were detected among species; L. wingfieldii was the most virulent and O. minus the least virulent species in terms of phloem reaction zone formation and fungal growth in the phloem. In a separate experiment, mass inoculations (400 and 800 inoculations per m² of bole on 1‐m high belts) were performed with two isolates of L. wingfieldii on Aleppo pine and on Pinus brutia (Brutia pine). Three months later, measurements of sapwood status (% of conductive transversal section) and of its specific hydraulic conductivity, as well as of the phloem reaction zone lengths, did not show any isolate or density effect. At these experimental sites, Brutia pines appeared significantly more susceptible than Aleppo pines.     

Incubation of ovine scrapie with environmental matrix results in biological and biochemical changes of PrPSc over time

Ovine scrapie can be transmitted via environmental reservoirs. A pool of ovine scrapie isolates were incubated on soil for one day or thirteen months and eluted prion was used to challenge tg338 mice transgenic for ovine PrP. After one-day incubation on soil, two PrP^Sc phenotypes were present: G₃₃₈ or Apl₃₃₈ii. Thirteen months later some divergent PrP^Sc phenotypes were seen: a mixture of Apl₃₃₈ii with either G₃₃₈ or P_338, and a completely novel PrP^Sc deposition, designated Cag₃₃₈. The data show that prolonged ageing of scrapie prions within an environmental matrix may result in changes in the dominant PrP^Sc biological/biochemical properties.     

Anhydrous goat's milk fat: thermal and structural behaviors studied by coupled differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction. 2. Influence of cooling rate

Crystallization and melting properties of triacylglycerols (TGs) in anhydrous goat's milk fat (AGMF) are investigated by X-ray diffraction as a function of temperature (XRDT) coupled with high-sensitivity differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), using synchrotron radiation and Microcalix. The polymorphic behavior of AGMF was monitored by varying the cooling rates between 5 and 1 degrees C/min from 45 to -20 degrees C with their subsequent melting at 1 degrees C/min. Quenching of AGMF at -20 degrees C was also examined to determine the metastable polymorphic form of AGMF. At intermediate cooling rates, TGs in AGMF crystallize, from about 18 degrees C in two different lamellar structures with triple chain length 3Lalpha stacking of 72 A and a double chain length 2Lalpha stacking of 48 A, which are correlated to two overlapped exothermic peaks recorded by DSC. A reversible transition sub alpha <--> alpha was observed. Subsequent heating at 1 degrees C/min shows numerous structural rearrangements before final melting. At fast cooling of AGMF (5 degrees C/min), similar unstable crystalline varieties are formed while three endotherms are recorded. Several new unstable lamellar structures are observed after quenching. All of these data are compared to those previously reported at slow cooling (0.1 degrees C/min) showing a relative stability of the structures formed. In spite of general similitude, the thermal and structural behavior of the goat's milk is more complex than that of the cow's milk.     

Prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in small mammals from the Ardennes region, France

Serum samples from 218 small mammals trapped in forest and grassland in the Ardennes region (North-eastern France) were tested for antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii. Using the modified agglutination test, positive results were found in 4/92 Apodemus sp., 3/64 Clethrionomys glareolus, 0/26 Microtus agrestis, 0/4 Micromys minutus, 3/5 Sorex sp., 2/9 Arvicola terrestris, and 7/18 Talpa europaea. Toxoplasma gondii was not isolated from the heart of seropositive individuals after bioassay in mice. Seroprevalence was significantly higher in large fossorial mammals living in grassland than in small forest mammals, probably related to ecological factors.