How pollution legacies and land use histories shape post-communist forest cover trends in the Western Carpathians

Forests that encompass the border triangle of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia currently suffer from centuries of inadequate forest management strategies, including overexploitation during the countries’ respective communist regimes and high stress levels due to airborne emissions from heavy industry. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, each country has approached forest monitoring, protection and the improvement of forest conditions in its own way. Spaceborne remote sensing of forest changes across country borders offers great potential for better understanding the underlying drivers of change and for developing comparable indicators between countries.     

Dating branch growth units in a tropical tree using morphological and anatomical markers: the case of Parkia velutina Benoist (Mimoso?deae)

Context

In tropical areas, studies based on the retrospective analysis of tree development have focused principally on growth ring research. The interpretation of primary growth markers is overlooked although it opens perspectives to provide long time-series on tree-crown development.

Aims

This study focused on Parkia velutina, an emergent tree of neotropical rain forests. Our objectives were (1) to characterize the phenological cycle of this species, and (2) to identify temporally interpretable morphological and anatomical markers.

Methods

We collected dominant branches in 14 adult trees and identified growth markers that limit longitudinal and radial increments. We coupled this approach with a 2-year phenological survey of 20 trees.

Results

Leaf shedding, growth unit elongation and growth ring formation define the phenological cycle. At tree scale, this cycle is synchronous and affects all axes. At population scale, trees can be desynchronized. This cycle is annual despite some slight variability. Successive growth units and growth rings are easily identifiable.

Conclusion

Dating a branch by counting the number of growth units or growth rings is possible in many years with a reasonable error. Nevertheless, estimating their precise month of formation in order to study climatic influences remains difficult.     

Establishment limitation of holm oak (Quercus ilex subsp. ballota (Desf.) Samp.) in a Mediterranean savanna — forest ecosystem

? Tree recruitment in Mediterranean savannas is generally hampered, in contrast with the original oak forests where these savannas are derived from. We asked whether this difference in recruitment success can be explained by differential post-dispersal survival. For one year we monitored experimentally cached holm oak acorns in a savanna — forest ecosystem in Central Spain, and recorded cache pilferage, type of pilferer, boar rooting, seedling emergence, seedling survival and the cause of mortality.

? Cache pilferage was significantly lower in savanna (8%) than in forest (21%). However, the higher cache survival was more than offset by lower seedling emergence and, particularly, by nine times higher seedling mortality in savanna, mainly due to desiccation. Wild boar rooting did not differ between experimental caches and controls without acorns, indicating that individual cached acorns do not trigger rooting activity.

? Our results indicate that the difference in post-dispersal survival between savanna and forest is due to lower emergence and, primarily, higher seedling mortality in savanna, not to higher cache pilferage. Absence of safe sites such as shrubs, abundantly present in the forest, may well explain the lack of recruitment in the savanna. Management measures appear necessary for long-term persistence of Mediterranean savannas in general.

     

Methane emissions from upland forest soils and vegetation

Most work on methane (CH(4)) emissions from natural ecosystems has focused on wetlands because they are hotspots of CH(4) production. Less attention has been directed toward upland ecosystems that cover far larger areas, but are assumed to be too dry to emit CH(4). Here we review CH(4) production and emissions in upland ecosystems, with attention to the influence of plant physiology on these processes in forests. Upland ecosystems are normally net sinks for atmospheric CH(4) because rates of CH(4) consumption exceed CH(4) production. Production of CH(4) in upland soils occurs in microsites and may be common in upland forest soils. Some forests switch from being CH(4) sinks to CH(4) sources depending on soil water content. Plant physiology influences CH(4) cycling by modifying the availability of electron donors and acceptors in forest soils. Plants are the ultimate source of organic carbon (electron donor) that microbes process into CH(4). The availability of O(2) (electron acceptor) is sensitive to changes in soil water content, and therefore, to transpiration rates. Recently, abiotic production of CH(4) from aerobic plant tissue was proposed, but has not yet been verified with independent data. If confirmed, this new source is likely to be a minor term in the global CH(4) budget, but important to quantify for purposes of greenhouse gas accounting. A variety of observations suggest that our understanding of CH(4) sources in upland systems is incomplete, particularly in tropical forests which are stronger sources then expected.     

Nitrogen and fine root length dynamics in a tropical agroforestry system with periodically pruned Erythrina poeppigiana

The effect of pruning all branches (complete pruning) or retaining one branch (partial pruning) on the dynamics of nitrogen cycling in aboveground biomass, nitrogen supplying power of an amended Eutric Cambisol, and fine root length, was studied in an Erythrina poeppigiana (Walp.) O.F. Cook—tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) alley cropping practice in Turrialba, Costa Rica during 1999–2000. Over the 1 year pruning cycle, in which trees were completely or partially pruned four times, respective aboveground biomass production was 4.4 Mg or 7 Mg ha⁻¹ (2-year-old trees) and 5.5 Mg or 9 Mg ha⁻¹ (8-year-old trees); N cycled in aboveground biomass was 123 kg or 187 kg ha⁻¹ (2-year-old trees) and 160 kg or 256 kg N ha⁻¹ (8-year-old trees); mean fine root length was 489 or 821 m (2-year-old-trees), 184 or 364 m per tree (8-year-old-trees). Pruning intensity did not significantly affect net N mineralisation and net nitrification rates during the tomato-cropping season. For the tomato crop, pre-plant mean net N mineralisation rate of 2.5 mg N kg⁻¹ soil day⁻¹ was significantly lower than 16.7 or 11.6 mg N kg⁻¹ soil day⁻¹ at the end of vegetative development and flowering, respectively. Mean net nitrification rates of 3.5, and 4.3 mg N kg⁻¹ soil day⁻¹, at pre-plant and end of vegetative development, respectively, were significantly higher than 0.3 mg N kg⁻¹ soil day⁻¹ at end of flowering. In humid tropical low-input agroforestry practices that depend on organic inputs from trees for crop nutrition, retention of a branch on the pruned tree stump appears to be a good alternative to removal of all branches for reducing N losses through higher N cycling in aboveground biomass, and for conserving fine root length for higher N uptake, although it might enhance competition for associated crops.     

Growth and form of Quercus robur and Fraxinus excelsior respond distinctly different to initial growing space: results from 24-year-old Nelder experiments

Initial growing space is of critical importance to growth and quality development of individual trees. We investigated how mortality, growth (diameter at breast height, total height), natural pruning (height to first dead and first live branch and branchiness) and stem and crown form of 24-year-old pedunculate oak (Quercus robur [L.]) and European ash (Fraxinus excelsior [L.]) were affected by initial spacing. Data were recorded from two replicate single-species Nelder wheels located in southern Germany with eight initial stocking regimes varying from 1,020 to 30,780 seedlings·ha -1 . Mortality substantially decreased with increasing initial growing space but significantly differed among the two species, averaging 59% and 15% for oak and ash plots, respectively. In contrast to oak, the low self-thinning rate found in the ash plots over the investigated study period resulted in a high number of smaller intermediate or suppressed trees, eventually retarding individual tree as well as overall stand development. As a result, oak gained greater stem dimensions throughout all initial spacing regimes and the average height of ash significantly increased with initial growing space. The survival of lower crown class ashes also appeared to accelerate self-pruning dynamics. In comparison to oak, we observed less dead and live primary branches as well as a smaller number of epicormic shoots along the first 6m of the lower stemof dominant and co-dominant ashes in all spacing regimes. Whereas stem form of both species was hardly affected by initial growing space, the percentage of brushy crowns significantly increased with initial spacing in oak and ash. Our findings suggest that initial stockings of ca. 12,000 seedlings per hectare in oak and 2,500 seedlings per hectare in ash will guarantee a sufficient number of at least 300 potential crop trees per hectare in pure oak and ash plantations at the end of the self-thinning phase, respectively. If the problem of epicormic shoots and inadequate self-pruning can be controlled with trainer species, the initial stocking may be reduced significantly in oak.     

Temporal changes in VAM fungi in the cocoa agroforestry systems of central Cameroon

In Cameroon, cocoa trees are mostly grown in forests and without fertilization. Our aim was to learn more about the temporal dynamics of soils in cocoa agroforests by comparing young (1–4 years old) and old (over 25 years old) cocoa agroforests. Short fallow and secondary forest were used as treeless and forest references. The numbers and diversities of soil vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi on 60 cocoa producing farms in the Central province of Cameroon were assessed based on the classical morphotyping of spore morphology. We also observed the soil organic matter, nitrogen and major soil nutrients. VAM spore density was significantly lower in the young cocoa agroforests (16 spores g⁻¹ dry soil) than in the old cocoa agroforests (36 spores g⁻¹ dry soil). Levels in the nearby secondary forest (46 spores g⁻¹ dry soil) were not significantly different from old cocoa. The spore density was significantly highest in the short fallow (98 spores g⁻¹ dry soil). The Shannon–Weaver index also showed significantly lower biodiversity in young cocoa (0.39) than in old cocoa agroforests (0.48), secondary forest (0.49) and short fallow (0.47). These observations were supported by significant differences in the C:N ratio, Ca, Mg, and cation exchange capacity between young and old cocoa agroforests. We concluded that unfertilized cocoa agroforests could be sustainable, despite a decrease in some soil characteristics at a young stage, due to traditional land-conversion practices based on selective clearing and burning of secondary forest.     

Wood Moisture Content Measurement by X-Ray Exposure Method

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Identification of two thaumatin-like proteins (TLPs) in the pollination drop of hybrid yew that may play a role in pathogen defence during pollen collection

We describe the proteomic identification of two pathogenesis-related group 5 (PR-5) proteins, an acidic thaumatin-like protein (TLP) and a basic TLP isolated from the pollination drop of hybrid yew (Taxus x media Rehder). The basic TLP (TxmTLPb) was the most abundant protein in the yew pollination drop based on protein spot size after two-dimensional electrophoresis. The acidic TLP (TxmTLPa) is also a major protein component of the yew ovular secretion and appears to be encoded by a number of mRNAs transcribed from a TLP gene family that has undergone limited sequence divergence. We have sequenced five acidic TLP-encoding cDNAs (TxmTLPa-1,2,3,4 and 5) isolated from the yew ovule that vary from each other by no more than five out of 233 amino acid residues in their predicted protein sequences. All of the cDNA variants encode TLPs possessing the 16 conserved cysteine residues and five charged amino acid side chains associated with antifungal activity. Amplification of genomic DNA with TxmTLPa primers indicated that at least 11 acidic TLPs with highly similar amino acid sequences may be expressed in yew tissues. Antibodies against TLPs confirmed the identity of TxmTLPa and TxmTLPb in the yew pollination drop and detected TLPs in the ovular secretions of four other species from three other conifer families. Our results suggest that TLPs are a conserved component of conifer ovular secretions and are involved in broad spectrum pathogen defence of ovules.