The effectiveness of conservation measures to enhance nest survival in a meadow bird suffering from anthropogenic nest loss

The main reason for meadow bird declines is supposed to be the intensification of grassland management with earlier first harvest dates and more frequent harvests, resulting in high nest destruction rates. To increase productivity of meadow bird populations in intensified grassland areas a delay of mowing date and individual nest protection measures have been proposed. However, for ground-nesting songbirds such as the whinchat (Saxicola rubetra) the effectiveness of such measures remains widely unknown. In particular, if nest predation rate is high, measures to protect nests from agricultural destruction alone might be questionable. Here, we quantify whinchat nest survival of (1) unprotected nests situated in early mown meadows, (2) protected nests situated in early mown meadows, and (3) nests situated in late mown meadows. Analyses considered the fact that successful and unsuccessful nests are not found with equal probabilities. Periods of reduced nest survival were associated with mowing periods in the different types of meadows. In early mown meadows nest survival rates were low (S < 0.1), and both conservation measures, individual nest protection and delayed mowing, resulted in significantly increased nest survival rates (S > 0.7). Individual nest protection cannot avoid changes in habitat quality of intensively managed meadows, and therefore is only suitable as small-scale and short-term measure to increase nest success until a high portion of late mown meadows is established. Thus, we suggest that a combination of the two measures applied to intensified grassland fields should be provided to maintain viable sizes of endangered meadow bird populations.     

Antigenic and genetic variations in European and North American equine influenza virus strains (H3N8) isolated from 2006 to 2007

Equine influenza virus (EIV) surveillance is important in the management of equine influenza. It provides data on circulating and newly emerging strains for vaccine strain selection. To this end, antigenic characterisation by haemaggluttination inhibition (HI) assay and phylogenetic analysis was carried out on 28 EIV strains isolated in North America and Europe during 2006 and 2007. In the UK, 20 viruses were isolated from 28 nasopharyngeal swabs that tested positive by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. All except two of the UK viruses were characterised as members of the Florida sublineage with similarity to A/eq/Newmarket/5/03 (clade 2). One isolate, A/eq/Cheshire/1/06, was characterised as an American lineage strain similar to viruses isolated up to 10 years earlier. A second isolate, A/eq/Lincolnshire/1/07 was characterised as a member of the Florida sublineage (clade 1) with similarity to A/eq/Wisconsin/03. Furthermore, A/eq/Lincolnshire/1/06 was a member of the Florida sublineage (clade 2) by haemagglutinin (HA) gene sequence, but appeared to be a member of the Eurasian lineage by the non-structural gene (NS) sequence suggesting that reassortment had occurred. A/eq/Switzerland/P112/07 was characterised as a member of the Eurasian lineage, the first time since 2005 that isolation of a virus from this lineage has been reported. Seven viruses from North America were classified as members of the Florida sublineage (clade 1), similar to A/eq/Wisconsin/03. In conclusion, a variety of antigenically distinct EIVs continue to circulate worldwide. Florida sublineage clade 1 viruses appear to predominate in North America, clade 2 viruses in Europe.     

Treatment of clinically diagnosed equine sarcoid with a mistletoe extract (Viscum album austriacus)

Background: Equine sarcoids (ES) are common, difficult to treat, and have high recurrence rates. Viscum album extracts (VAE) are used in human cancer treatment. Hypothesis: That therapy with VAE (Iscador P) is effective in the treatment of ES. Animals: Fifty‐three horses (444 ES); 42 were treated with VAE or placebo as monotherapy; 11 were treated with VAE or placebo after selective excision of ES. Methods: Prospective, randomised, blinded, clinical trial. Horses were randomly assigned to treatment (VAE; n = 32) or control group (Placebo; n = 21). One milliliter of VAE (Iscador P) in increasing concentrations from 0.1 to 20 mg/mL or physiological NaCl solution was given SC 3 times a week over 105 days. Number, localization, and type of the ES were documented over 12 months. A subset of 163 clinically diagnosed equine sarcoid (CDES) lesions (95 VAE, 68 Placebo) was evaluated in detail, considering clinical findings and tumor volume. Results: No undesired adverse effects were observed except for mild edema at the injection site in 5 of 32 horses (16%). Complete or partial regression was observed in 13 horses of the VAE group (41%) and in 3 of the control horses (14%; P < .05). After VAE treatment, 48 of 95 CDES (67%) showed an improvement compared with 17 of 68 CDES in the control group (40%; P < .01). Twenty‐seven CDES had disappeared completely in the VAE group (38%) compared with 9 CDES in the control group (13% NS). Conclusions and Clinical Importance: VAE (Iscador P) represents a safe and effective treatment for CDES.     

Atmospheric CO2: principal control knob governing Earth's temperature

Ample physical evidence shows that carbon dioxide (CO(2)) is the single most important climate-relevant greenhouse gas in Earth's atmosphere. This is because CO(2), like ozone, N(2)O, CH(4), and chlorofluorocarbons, does not condense and precipitate from the atmosphere at current climate temperatures, whereas water vapor can and does. Noncondensing greenhouse gases, which account for 25% of the total terrestrial greenhouse effect, thus serve to provide the stable temperature structure that sustains the current levels of atmospheric water vapor and clouds via feedback processes that account for the remaining 75% of the greenhouse effect. Without the radiative forcing supplied by CO(2) and the other noncondensing greenhouse gases, the terrestrial greenhouse would collapse, plunging the global climate into an icebound Earth state.     

A comparison of different methods for forest resource estimation using information from airborne laser scanning and CIR orthophotos

This article compares three methods for forest resource estimation based on remote sensing features extracted from Airborne laser scanning and CIR orthophotos. The estimation was made exemplarily for the total stem volume of trees for a given area, measured in cubic metres per hectare [m3 ha⁻¹] (as one of the most important quantitative parameters to characterise a forest stand). The following methods were compared: Regression Analysis (RA), k-NN (nearest neighbour) method and a method that utilises regional yield tables, referred to as the yield table method (YT-method). The estimation of stem volume was examined in a mixed forest in Southern Germany using 300 circular inventory plots, each with a size of 452 m2. Remote sensing features relating to vegetation height and structures were extracted and used as input variables in the different approaches. The accuracy of the estimation was analysed using scatter plots and quantified using absolute and relative root mean square errors (RMSE). The comparison was made for all plots, as well as for averaged plot values located within forest stands that have the same age class. On “plot level” the RMSE yielded 79.79 m3 ha⁻¹ (RA), 81.93 m3 ha⁻¹ (k-NN) and 81.78 m3 ha⁻¹ (YT-method) and for the averaged values 35.75 m3 ha⁻¹ (RA), 35.06 m3 ha⁻¹ (k-NN) and 42.98 m3 ha⁻¹ (YT-method). Advantages and disadvantages, as well as requirements, of the methods are discussed.     

Using canopy heights from digital aerial photogrammetry to enable spatial transfer of forest attribute models: a case study in central Europe

This paper describes a workflow utilizing detailed canopy height information derived from digital airphotos combined with ground inventory information gathered in state-owned forests and regression modelling techniques to quantify forest-growing stocks in private woodlands, for which little information is generally available. Random forest models were trained to predict three different variables at the plot level: quadratic mean diameter of the 100 largest trees (d₁₀₀), basal area weighted mean height of the 100 largest trees (h₁₀₀), and gross volume (V). Two separate models were created – one for a spruce- and one for a beech-dominated test site. We examined the spatial portability of the models by using them to predict the aforementioned variables at actual inventory plots in nearby forests, in which simultaneous ground sampling took place. When data from the full set of available plots were used for training, the predictions for d₁₀₀, h₁₀₀, and V achieved out-of-bag model accuracies (scaled RMSEs) of 15.1%, 10.1%, and 35.3% for the spruce- and 15.9%, 9.7%, and 32.1% for the beech-dominated forest, respectively. The corresponding independent RMSEs for the nearby forests were 15.2%, 10.5%, and 33.6% for the spruce- and 15.5%, 8.9%, and 33.7% for the beech-dominated test site, respectively.