Geographic information system (GIS) application for windthrow mapping and management in Iezer Mountains, Southern Carpathians

Windthrow problem is a difficult task for the forest managers in the Romanian Carpathians and especially in Iezer Mountains. The last windthrow, in July 2005, affected about 370 ha within the study area and left unprotected large slopes with important declivities (20-30°). In our study, we try to propose a tool for forest management, in order to control and minimize the negative effect of wind upon the mountain forest ecosystem. The digital data input derived from forestry data (forest stand typology, age, canopy coverage index, forest productivity class) and from the forest biotope features (soil and topography parameters). The main goal was to find a more objective way for digital layer reclassification in order to obtain the windthrow areas susceptibility map for the Iezer Mountains. Each digital layer has its own weight within the analysis and one of them was difficult to be modeled (the wind features). A statistical approach was developed on the basis of local phenomena and the windthrow features in the Romanian Carpathians. This allowed us to obtain the reclassification conditions for each digital layer. Forest canopy typology and soil features (mainly its volume) were considered as the key factors for the windthrow occurrence analysis. The final windthrow susceptibility map was validated with the help of the statistic occurrence of windthrow areas within each susceptibility class and after a field check of the sites. The result was encouraging, because 92.5% of the windthrow areas fall into the highest windthrow susceptibility class.     

Flavonoids in horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) seeds and powdered waste water byproducts

Horse chestnut extracts are widely used in pharmacy and cosmetic industries. The main active constituents are saponins of oleane type, but seeds of horse chestnut also contain flavonoids, being glycosides of quercetin and kaempferol. Their contribution to the overall activity of the extracts was not clear. In the present work, the main flavonoids from horse chestnut seeds were isolated and their structures established with spectral methods. Seven glycosides were isolated, out of which six ( 2, 3, 4, 7, 11, 13) were previously reported and one ( 9) was identified as a new tamarixetin 3- O- [beta- d-glucopyranosyl(1-->3)]- O-beta- d-xylopyranosyl-(1-->2)- O-beta- d-glucopyranoside. The structures of three additional compounds 1, 10, and 12, not previously reported, were deduced on the basis of their LC-ESI/MS/MS fragmentation characteristics. A new ultraperformance liquid chromatographic (UPLC) method has been developed for profiling and quantitation of horse chestnut flavonoids. The method allowed good separation over 4.5 min. Thirteen compounds could be identified in the profile, out of which di- and triglycoisdes of quercetin and kaempferol were the dominant forms and their acylated forms occurred in just trace amounts. The total concentration of flavonoids in the powdered horse chestnut seed was 0.88% of dry matter. The alcohol extract contained 3.46%, and after purification on C18 solid phase, this concentration increased to 9.40% of dry matter. The flavonoid profile and their content were also measured in the horse chestnut wastewater obtained as byproduct in industrial processing of horse chestnut seeds. The total flavonoid concentration in the powder obtained after evaporation of water was 2.58%, while after purification on solid phase, this increased to 11.23% dry matter. It was concluded that flavonoids are present in a horse chestnut extract in a relatively high amount and have the potential to contribute to the overall activity of these extracts. Industrial horse chestnut wastewater can be used to obtain quercetine and kaempferol glycosides for cosmetic, nutraceutical, and food supplement industries.     

Activity Disequilibrium between 234U and 238U Isotopes in Southern Baltic

The aim of the work was to determine the concentration of ²³⁴U and ²³⁸U and calculate the values of the ²³⁴U/²³⁸U activity ratio in samples of living organisms, bottom water, surface and interstitial water and also sediments from the various regions of southern Baltic Sea. The knowledge of ²³⁴U/²³⁸U activity ratio in ecosystem allows getting know about the mechanisms and processes of uranium transport and origin.The activities of the analyzed uranium radionuclides in samples were measured using alpha spectrometry. The results of researches revealed diversified concentrations of uranium in the sediments of the southern Baltic Sea (sea and coastal waters) and increase of uranium with sediment depth, suggesting the diffusion of uranium from sediments to water through interstitial water and diagenesis processes in sediment material. The nuclides of uranium ²³⁴U and ²³⁸U were radioactive state equilibrium in most of the sediments. The values of the ²³⁴U/²³⁸U activity ratio oscillate around one. In bottom, surface, interstitial water and living organisms mean values of the ²³⁴U/²³⁸U activity ratio are between 1.12 and 1.15. Higher uranium concentration was observed in samples of sediments and seawater after flood in 1997 and torrential rainfalls in 2000–2001. River waters are characterized by higher ²³⁴U/²³⁸U activity ratio. The values of the ²³⁴U/²³⁸U activity ratio equal 1.27 in sediments and 1.34–1.38 in seawater indicate the influence of fresh waters.