Microbial responses of forest soil to moderate anthropogenic air pollution

There is a need to introduce soil microbiological methods into long term ecological monitoring programs. For this purpose we studied the impact of moderate anthropogenic air pollution in polluted and less polluted area districts, forest site types Calluna (CT), Vaccinium (VT) and Myrtillus (MT) and the amount of organic matter, measured as carbon content on the soil respiration activity and the ATP content. The main sources of local air pollutants (SO₂ and NO_x) in the polluted area district were from the capital' region and an oil refinery. Humus (F/H-layer) and the underlying 0 to 5 cm mineral soil samples were collected from 193 study plots located in the 5300 km² study area. We found that the soil respiration rate in humus layer samples was lower in the polluted area district compared to the less polluted one (16.0 and 19.5 μL CO₂ h^?1g^?1 dw, respectively), but the difference occurred only in the dry, coarse-textured CT forest site type. The mineral soil respiration rate and the mineral soil and humus layer ATP content were not affected, by the air pollution. Most of the variations of the biological variables were explained primarily by the soil carbon content, secondly by the forest site type and thirdly by the area division.     

Comparison of different pH measurement methods in meat

The accuracy of portable pH meters and the nitrazine yellow method was compared with the reference method by determining the pH of 74 beef and 96 pork muscles. The pH was measured directly from the muscle. The results showed statistically significant differences (p less than 0.001) between the different electrometric combinations. Combinations of portable pH meters with puncture electrodes gave systematically higher pH values than the reference method. These differences were not very large but they may be of practical significance. The use of a piercing cover on the electrode to help the insertion of the electrode into the meat is not recommended, since it may cause a rise in pH values. Electrometric methods were found to be more precise than the nitrazine yellow method. On the basis of these findings there still is a need of further harmonization of the methods used for pH measurement of meat.     

Hematological and blood chemical data of pigs fed various amounts of mink manure

The effect of feeding mink manure to pigs and the utilization of its protein and mineral content was studied by blood analyses. Individual variation was large, and the differences between groups were small. Growth of the animals had a significant effect on the levels of several blood components. Judging from the blood analyses, mink manure feeding did not have any harmful effects on the health of the pigs, and the differences to normal feeding were small.     

An epidemiological and genetic study on registered diseases in Finnish Ayrshire cattle. III. Metabolic diseases

The epidemiology of clinical ketosis, hypocalcaemia and hypomagnesaemia was examined. In addition, the genetic variability of ketosis and parturient paresis was investigated. The data set consisted of the lactation records of 70,775 Finnish Ayrshire dairy cows. Each cow was under observation for 2 days before and for 305 days after calving. Lactation incidence rates (%) were: ketosis 6.0, parturient paresis 3.8, non-parturient paresis 0.6, hypomagnesaemic tetany, outdoor 0.6, and indoor 0.2. These diseases formed 22 % of all first treatments by veterinarians during farm visits. 92 % of the cases of ketosis occurred with 8 weeks of parturition, with the highest occurrence 3–5 weeks after calving. Four % of cases of parturient paresis occurred before, and 45 % within 24 h after calving. When cases were categorized by month of calving the risk of ketosis was higher during indoor feeding (October-April) than during outdoor feeding (May-September). The risk of parturient paresis did not significantly vary with month of calving. The occurrence of ketosis increased with parity up to the 4th and decreased thereafter. The occurrence of parturient paresis increased with parity. Both the increase in herd milk yield and the increase in individual milk yields were positively associated with the occurrence of ketosis and parturient paresis. The cows with a history of the reproductive tract infection had a higher risk of contracting ketosis. Heritability estimates for ketosis in various parity groups were from 1.6 % to 4.1 % on the binomial scale (corresponding to 7.3 %–14.4 % on the normal scale), and for parturient paresis from 3.5 to 10.5% (corresponding from 18.3 % to 27.4 %). The genetic correlation between ketosis and parturient paresis, and these and current milk production for all material were insignificant.     

The effect of the pH of meat on the boiling test

The effect of the pH on the boiling test was studied in 68 beef and 108 pork muscles. The pH had a significant effect on the sensory scores obtained from the boiling test. The effect was particularly pronounced in the odour of meat. In beef the odour scores remain steady for samples with a pH value under about 6.2 and start to increase rapidly in higher pH values. In pork the increase in scores appears to be linear. The odour observed in high pH meat was described by the judges as abnormal and ammonialike. In the case of meat with a high pH, the results of the boiling test at meat inspection should be interpreted with extreme caution.     

The Effect of pH and Potassium Phosphate Buffer on the Toxicity of Cadmium for Bacteria

An increase in the pH of Plate Count Agar led to increased toxicity of cadmium (Cd) for Micrococcus luteus ATCC 9341, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 12600, Clostridium perfringens ATCC 8798, Escherichia coli ATCC 11775 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 10145. The effect of the pH on toxicity was not clearly observed with Streptococcus bovis ATCC 9809 and was absent with Bacillus subtilis ATCC 8473.When potassium phosphate buffer was added to the growth medium, the Cd toxicity for M. luteus and B. subtilis was enhanced. The toxicity of Cd for S. bovis decreased when potassium phosphate buffer was added to the medium. When the pH increased at differing phosphate concentrations, the sensitivity of M. luteus to Cd decreased.In the authors’ opinion, the effect of pH on Cd toxicity for bacteria is due to a continuously increasing negative charge towards an alkaline value by most bacteria which increases the affinity of cations towards the cell wall.     

Drought damage in the park forests of the city of Helsinki

During spring and summer 2003 severe drought-caused damage was observed in the park forests of the city of Helsinki; especially in barren site pine and spruce stands. The objectives of this study were to map and document the extent of the damage through the use of existing geographical information, digital aerial photography and field surveys and to examine the feasibility of assessing drought damage by visual interpretation of digital aerial photography. Our aim was also to assess the reasons for drought damage in Helsinki city park forests using geographic information system (GIS) analyses of existing interpretative and geographical data, i.e. digital aerial photographs, rainfall statistics and the compartmentwise GIS database of the park forest site and soil types.The total amount of area falling into serious damage classes represented approximately 25 ha (the total forested area in Helsinki is about 3700 ha). A majority of these areas were located on rocky sites having low stem volumes. The total proportion of damaged stock volume was estimated as 17 300 m³, which is 3.3% of the total stock volume in the study area. An accuracy assessment showed that visual interpretation of digital aerial photos is an excellent tool for assessing drought damage. The mean estimation error was 0.7 classes, and errors comprising 2 classes were found in all test grids. The overall correct percentage of photointerpretation was 46%, and estimation was unbiased (kappa 0.264). The forest site and soil type together with the tree species on site showed the greatest correlation with drought damage. The drier and more barren the site, the more likely that damage will occur. Roadside forests were in better condition than areas located further off the roads. Hills clearly impacted the condition of the trees through soil type and flow.     

Activity of nematodes and enchytraeids, bacterial community composition, and functional redundancy in coniferous forest soil

Soil faunal activity stimulates terrestrial carbon and nutrient cycling and maintains soil physical structure. Interestingly, the effects of faunal activity on soil microbial community composition and activity is less clear, although the microbial community evidently is the key element of terrestrial decomposition processes and nutrient cycling. We manipulated the composition of soil fauna in mesh bags with various mesh sizes (5, 45, and 1,000 µm) to exclude faunal groups based on body size. Our experiment indicated that feeding and foraging activity of nematodes and enchytraeids modified the physical–chemical properties of the soil and had long-term effects on soil bacterial community composition (measured by denaturing gel electrophoresis, colony-forming unit counts, and phospholipid fatty acid pattern). However, microbial enzyme (phosphomonoesterase, butyrate-esterase, ß-glucosidase, N-acetyl-glucosamidase, and ß-cellobiosidase) activities (measured by fluorogenic model substrates), decomposition rate of woody and cellulose material, or C and N status of the soil were not altered by the faunal treatment. Instead, enzyme activity was reduced by soil drying. Our results give support to ideas that functional redundancy is a common characteristic of the soil organisms, but no support was found for the idea that the community composition of soil decomposers had a strong link to the regulation of C and N cycles in the soil.     

Extreme neutral genetic and morphological divergence supports classification of Adriatic three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) populations as distinct conservation units

The fact that the intraspecific genetic differentiation in neutral genetic markers and genes coding for adaptive traits are not typically correlated has caused a great deal of conceptual and practical trouble in delimitation of conservation units. Although the importance of combining information on adaptive genetic divergence with information on historical and recent gene flow in the delimitation of conservation units has been recognized, integrated empirical studies to this end are still rare. We explored the evidence for the specific conservation status of two freshwater three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) populations on the Adriatic side of the Balkan Peninsula by comparing their phenotypic and genetic characteristics to those of other representative European populations. Apart from focusing on the neutral genetic divergence in mitochondrial DNA sequences and microsatellite markers, we also compared the patterns of morphological differentiation (i.e. bony armour development) resulting from adaptation to freshwater environments. The Balkanic populations formed two distinct groups with regard to neutral genetic variation and had the least developed bony armour of all the examined populations. All morphometric analyses identified the two Balkanic populations as phenotypically – and hence most likely also ecologically – clearly distinct from other European three-spined stickleback populations. These results suggest that the two Balkanic populations (River Neretva and River Zeta) fulfil the most stringent criteria (i.e. lack of genetic and ecological exchangeability) to be classified as conservation units distinct from other European three-spined stickleback populations.     

Soil decomposer community as a model system in studying the effects of habitat fragmentation and habitat corridors

Due to the practical difficulties of experimental study of habitat fragmentation and habitat corridors at the landscape scale, the use of smaller-scale model systems has been offered as a feasible alternative to uncover the ecological phenomena taking place in fragmented environments. In this mini-review, we consider the applicability of the soil decomposer community as such a model system. For the most part, this article is based on the few studies that have explicitly addressed this question by experimental manipulations of the natural habitat of soil decomposer community. However, to broaden the view, we also capitalize upon studies focusing on the effects of isolation and soil use changes on soil organisms and on dispersal of soil fauna, all of these being considered as factors determining the sensitivity of organisms to habitat fragmentation. Since usability of a model system by definition depends on the possibility of applying the results to other (usually larger scale) systems, we discuss the characteristics of the soil decomposer community also from this point of view.The existing data suggest that soil organisms, in general, are not sensitive to habitat fragmentation even in small scale. Because of this, and the unique features of the belowground environment and its biota combined with gaps in the knowledge of the life history characteristics of soil organisms, the soil decomposer community is not ideal for predicting the implications of habitat fragmentation and habitat corridors on threatened species. Despite this, we still believe that there are lessons to be learned by studying the effects of habitat fragmentation on this important community of organisms, especially in combination with the consequences of ongoing climate change.