Effects of abrasive mineral, grit size and feed speed on the quality of sanded surfaces of sugar maple wood

Sanding is a common practice required in order to prepare wood surfaces for coating. Little literature is available regarding the effect of sanding parameters on the quality of surfaces. Sugar maple wood surfaces were evaluated in samples that had been sanded using two types of abrasive minerals, three grit sizes and four feed speeds. Roughness, wetting properties and cell damage were used to assess surface quality. Both abrasives decreased roughness and cell damage from 100- to 120-grit sanding stage. Addition of a 150-grit stage did not further reduce the roughness, whereas the cell damage continued to decrease. Increasing feed speed led to rougher surfaces due to higher fibrillation. Surfaces produced by silicon carbide were smoother and less damaged than those obtained with aluminum oxide. However, the surfaces sanded with aluminum oxide were more wettable and showed no significant difference in wetting time as a function of grit size. For these surfaces, the wetting time was reduced as feed speed increased.An erratum to this article is available at .An erratum to this article can be found at     

Biomass production,nutrient cycling and distribution in age-sequence Chinese fir (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cunninghamia lanceolate</Emphasis>) plantations in subtropical China

Biomass production and nutrient (N, P, K, Ca and Mg) accumulation, distribution and cycling were quantified in young, mature and over-mature (10-, 22-, and 34-year old) Chinese fir [Cunninghamia lanceolate (Lamb.) Hook] plantations in southern China. Total stand biomass of young, mature and over-mature stands was 38, 104 and 138 t ha^?1 respectively. Biomass production increased significantly with age. Stem wood represented the highest percentage of stand biomass, accounting for 41, 55 and 63 % in the young, mature and over-mature plantations respectively. Nutrients concentration was highest in live needles and branches, and lowest in stem wood. The plantations accumulated more N, followed by K, Ca, Mg, and P. Nutrient return amount, nutrient utilization efficiency, nutrient turnover time, the ratio of nutrient return and uptake increased with stand age, which implies that young Chinese fir deplete soil nutrients to maintain growth, and efficiently utilize nutrients to decrease dependence on soil nutrients as they age. Harvesting young Chinese fir plantations would therefore lead to high nutrient loss, but prolonging the rotation length could improve soil recovery, and help sustain productivity in the long-term. Improved nutrient return through litterfall as stands get older may also be beneficial to nutrient pool recovery.     

Adaptation of Asia-Pacific forests to climate change

Climate change is a threat to the stability and productivity of forest ecosystems throughout the Asia-Pacific region. The loss of forests due to climate-induced stress will have extensive adverse impacts on biodiversity and an array of ecosystem services that are essential for the maintenance of local economies and public health. Despite their importance, there is a lack of decision-support tools required to evaluate the potential effects of climate change on Asia-Pacific ecosystems and economies and to aid in the development of regionally appropriate adaptation and mitigation strategies. The project Adaptation of Asia-Pacific Forests to Climate Change, summarized herein, aims to address this lack of knowledge and tools and to provide support for regional managers to develop effective policy to increase the adaptive capacity of Asia-Pacific forest ecosystems. This objective has been achieved through the following activities: (1) development of a high-resolution climate downscaling model, ClimateAP, applicable to any location in the region; (2) development of climate niche models to evaluate how climate change might affect the distribution of suitable climatic conditions for regionally important tree species; (3) development and application of forest models to assess alternative management strategies in the context of management objectives and the projected impacts of climate change; (4) evaluation of models to assess forest fire risk and the relationship between forest fire and climate change; (5) development of a technique to assess ecosystem carbon storage using LiDAR; and (6) evaluation of how vegetation dynamics respond to climate change using remote sensing technology. All project outputs were developed with a focus on communication and extension to facilitate the dissemination of results to regional forest resource managers to support the development of effective mitigation and adaptation policy.     

Supercritical extracts of forest fuels in Great Xing’an Mountains

Extracts are important components of fuels.Fatty-extracts with high heating value(HV) are hypothesized by researchers as positively related to the HV of fuels.The Soxhlet extractor is typically used to extract fatty-extracts but it has shortcomings,including long processing time(8–10 h) and the requirement for large amounts of organic solvent.Supercritical extraction is an alternate and useful technique for extraction of natural products.However,published studies rarely discuss the relationship between extracts and HV.In this study,we assessed the supercritical extracts(Su E) of forest fuels in the Great Xing'an Mountains.Our results indicated that the optimum conditions for extraction of Su Es were40–60 mesh,40–50 MPa,45 °C,80 min and a CO_2 flow rate of 1.5–2.0 dm~3/min.The Soxhlet extracts contents and the Su E contents were all related to HV.However,R~2 of the coniferous samples(0.8499) and needle samples(0.9722) demonstrated that the correlation between HV and the Su E content was closer.We conclude that supercritical fatty-extracts provide a useful index of the HV of fuels,especially coniferous fuels.Su E data can be used in fire management,for example to estimate the rate of fire spread or fire intensity.     

Sensitivity of fungi isolated from onychomycosis to Eugenia cariophyllata essential oil and eugenol

The antifungal activity of Eugenia cariophyllata essential oil and eugenol, its major constituent, on fungal strains isolated from onychomycosis was evaluated. The natural products presented prominent antifungal action with MIC of 1% and 4%, respectively.     

Vegetative propagation of Colutea istria Mill. from leafy stem cuttings

This study investigates the optimal conditions for the vegetative propagation of the multipurpose leguminous shrub Colutea istria from leafy stem cuttings. The conditions examined included 1) the origin of the cutting (apical, medial or basal), 2) indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) treatment (0, 50, 200 or 400 mg/l), 3) the relative humidity of the propagation environment (high or low), 4) wounding base of cutting, and 5) the season in which the cutting was taken. The rooting ability of the cuttings was significantly influenced by all these factors. Winter cuttings obtained from the middle and base of the branch showed a greater rooting capacity than those harvested from the apical area, while autumn cuttings harvested from the middle and apical areas of the branch showed a greater rooting capacity than those harvested from the base. Winter cuttings showed the best rooting capacity than autumn cuttings. IBA treatment (200 mg/l), high humidity (98-100%), and wounding increased the rooting capacity of the cuttings. The sprout of new leaves was higher in basal cuttings, while IBA and wounding also significantly enhanced the root number of rooted cuttings. A method for vegetatively propagating C. istria plants is given.     

Anatomical variations in wood among four native species of Leguminosae grown in arid areas of China

Morphological features and anatomical variations are described and illustrated in detail for four native species of Legumi-nosae grown in arid sandy regions in China, which are Hedysarum scoparium Fisch.et Mey., Caragana korshiskii Kom., Lespedeza bicolor Turcz. and Ammopiptanthus mongolicus (Maxim. ex Kom.) Cheng f. All species showed similar morphological features: distinct growth ring boundaries, ring to semi-ring-porosity, simple perforation plates, alternate intervessel pitting, nonseptate fibers, para...     

The biochemical control of the cell cycle by growth regulators in higher plants

The cell cycle is an important research field in cell biology and it is genetically and developmentally regulated in animals and plants. The aim of this study was to review knowledge about the biochemical regulation of the cell cycle by plant growth regulators through molecular checkpoints that regulate the transition from G0-G1-S-phase and G2-M in higher plants.Recent research has shown that zeatin treatment led to the up-regulation of CycD3 in Arabidopsis. Benzyladenine treatment can also shorten the duration of S-phase through recruitment of latent origins of DNA replication. Kinetin is involved in the phosphoregulation of the G2-M checkpoint; the major cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) at this checkpoint has recently shown to be dephosphorylated as a result of cytokinin treatment, an effect that can also be mimicked by the fission yeast Cdc25 phosphatase. Gibberellic acid (GA) treatment induces internode elongation in deepwater rice, this response is mediated by a GA-induced up-regulation of a cyclin-Cdk at the G2-M checkpoint. Recent evidence has also linked abscisic acid to a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor. A new D-type cyclin, recently discovered in Arabidopsis may have a key role in this process. A brief review on plant growth regulator-cell cycle interfacing during development and a cytokinin-induced continuum of cell cycle activation through the up-regulation of a plant D-type cyclin at the G1 checkpoint and the phosphoregulation of the Cdk at the G2/M checkpoint had been concluded. This review could be valuable to research on cell and developmental biology in plants.     

Interactions between soil scarification and Norway spruce seedling types

Interactions between scarification treatments and seedling types of Norway spruce were examined at two different locations in southern Sweden. The scarification treatments were not scarified control, mounding and soil inversion and the seedling types were a 10 week-old containerized seedling (mini seedling), a 2 year-old containerized seedling and a 2 year-old hybrid seedling, grown as a containerized seedling the first year and as a bare-root seedling the second year. Site preparation intensity had a greater effect on the mini seedlings. The results indicated that mini seedlings established faster in the soil inversion treatment compared to the larger seedling types. At the same seedling age, the mini seedlings had faster or similar growth rate as the containerized and the hybrid seedlings regardless of scarification treatment. Although mini seedlings grew as well as or even better than larger seedlings if they were successfully established, they were more sensitive to their planting environment and proper handling was critical. Problems with frost heaving and competing vegetation have to be taken into consideration when choosing site preparation method and seedling type.