An approach for examining the effects of preferential uncertainty on the contents of forest management plan at stand and holding level

A proper forest planning process includes the assessment of the decision-makers’ preferences concerning the future forest use. For some owners, it may be a difficult task to express their preferences exactly and in the form that is required for planning calculations. This study presents a new kind of approach for analyzing the effects of preferential uncertainty. The approach consists of examination of the differences in the actual decision variables in forest planning, i.e. selected treatments for stands between holding-level forest plans. In example calculations, the preferential uncertainty was examined from three different viewpoints: the uncertainty in the weights of the objective variables; the uncertainty in the partial utility function; and the combination of these two uncertainty sources. One thousand preference realizations were generated for each of these uncertainty sources. More than one treatment schedules are proposed for stands that are affected by preferential uncertainty. These stands were detected from among the resulting set of 1,000 forest plans. With this done, two potential decision-making strategies, an adaptive behavior strategy and a threshold proportion strategy, were applied as guides in decision-making for stands, which have more than one treatment alternative selected in the produced optimal forest plans. The adaptive behavior technique required that the forest owner select one treatment alternative for at least one stand that has more than one proposed treatment alternative. The treatment alternatives having frequencies exceeding the given threshold frequency were all accepted simultaneously in the threshold strategy. The main benefit of the approach is to present the effects of uncertainties in a way that can be easily understood by the actual decision-makers. It is a promising tool for practical decision-making situations because at least Finnish non-industrial private forest owners quite often focus on making stand-level forest management decisions. It is also suitable for examinations of other uncertainty sources such as timber prices or inventory data.     

Residues of diflubenzuron and two of its metabolites in a forest ecosystem after control of the pine looper moth,Bupalus piniarius L

Diflubenzuron, 1-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-(2,6-difluorobenzoyl)urea was used to control the pine looper population in about 1160 ha of Scots pine stand in eastern Finland in summer 1984. The control measure was effective, resulting in the collapse of the population in the treated area. Residues of diflubenzuron and two of its metabolites, 4-chloroaniline and 4-chlorophenylurea, were determined in water, pine needles, litter, humus, boleti and other wild mushrooms, bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) and cowberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) samples taken from this area. In water samples taken from the treated area diflubenzuron was still detected at concentrations of 0.1 μg litre^?1 2 months after application. No diflubenzuron was detected in this area the following year, nor outside the treated area. Neither metabolite was detected at any time. The sum of diflubenzuron and its metabolites in the litter layer was, on average, 0.7mg kg^?1 both 1 week and 1 month after the application. The next year, however, it had increased to 1.4 mg kg^?1. Diflubenzuron and its metabolites were not detected in the humus layer. The amount of diflubenzuron residues in the pine needles was, on average, 3.0 mg kg ^?1 1 day after the application, but in 2 months the level had decreased to 0.2-0.3 mg kg ^?1 or was not detectable. The following year the sum of diflubenzuron and its metabolites in two pine-needle samples was 0.3 and 1.6 mg kg ^?1. The sum of diflubenzuron and its metabolites in wild mushrooms was, on average, 0.07 mg kg ^?1 1 week after the application, but the following year no residues were detected. No residues were found in the boletus samples. The residues of diflubenzuron and its two metabolites in bilberries totalled, on average, 0.2 mg kg ^?1 1 day after the application, and 6 μg kg ^?1 the following year. The sum of diflubenzuron and metabolites in cowberries was, on average, 0.2 mg kg ^?1 1 month after application.     

The geometric distance and proper motion of the Triangulum Galaxy (M33)

We measured the angular rotation and proper motion of the Triangulum Galaxy (M33) with the Very Long Baseline Array by observing two H2O masers on opposite sides of the galaxy. By comparing the angular rotation rate with the inclination and rotation speed, we obtained a distance of 730 +/- 168 kiloparsecs. This distance is consistent with the most recent Cepheid distance measurement. M33 is moving with a velocity of 190 +/- 59 kilometers per second relative to the Milky Way. These measurements promise a method to determine dynamical models for the Local Group and the mass and dark-matter halos of M31, M33, and the Milky Way.     

Defining the forest landowner’s utility–loss compensative subsidy level for a biodiversity object

New, cost efficient and voluntary biodiversity protection tools may require bidding price definition on part of the seller. Both the seller and the buyer can withdraw from negotiations if they find that the conditions of the protection contract are unacceptable. However, it can be very difficult for non-industrial, private landowners to define the bidding price demand for their biodiversity objects. The terms of the protection contract, the production possibilities of the forest holding, the forest owner’s multiple forest management goals and their substitutability, and the possible monetary subsidy paid for biodiversity protection should all be simultaneously taken into account when estimating the owner’s price demand for protecting the biodiversity object. This study strives to provide relief in resolving this problem by presenting an approach in which the landowner’s utility–loss compensative subsidy can be defined based on the owner’s forest-holding level utility function and the production possibilities of the holding. The properties of the approach are illustrated by four planning cases in which the length of the protection period (permanent or 20-year temporary protection) and the holding-level goals were varied. The utility functions of the cases were derived by selecting numeric goal variables for the goals, and by defining weights and sub-utility functions for these variables. Varying subsidies for protecting an old-growth spruce stand were included into the simulation of “No treatment” schedules for the examined stand, and the holding-level total utility was maximized for every price level. The utility–loss compensative subsidy was found when the holding-level total utility equaled the total utility achieved in the plan where the stand was regenerated. This subsidy, however, is not necessarily the exact price that the owner should ask from the buyer; all prices above the defined subsidy level will increase owner’s utility if the buyer accepts them. It was concluded that the presented approach provided consistent results in the four cases and that it thus offers valuable decision support for current biodiversity-protection programs.     

Bacillimidazoles A−F,Imidazolium-Containing Compounds Isolated from a Marine Bacillus

Chemical investigations of a marine sponge-associated Bacillus revealed six new imidazolium-containing compounds, bacillimidazoles A–F (1–6). Previous reports of related imidazolium-containing natural products are rare. Initially unveiled by timsTOF (trapped ion mobility spectrometry) MS data, extensive HRMS and 1D and 2D NMR analyses enabled the structural elucidation of 1–6. In addition, a plausible biosynthetic pathway to bacillimidazoles is proposed based on isotopic labeling experiments and invokes the highly reactive glycolytic adduct 2,3-butanedione. Combined, the results of structure elucidation efforts, isotopic labeling studies and bioinformatics suggest that 1–6 result from a fascinating intersection of primary and secondary metabolic pathways in Bacillus sp. WMMC1349. Antimicrobial assays revealed that, of 1–6, only compound six displayed discernible antibacterial activity, despite the close structural similarities shared by all six natural products.     

Importance of fish biodiversity for the management of fisheries and ecosystems

A group of fisheries scientists participating in a European Union Network of Excellence (MARBEF) summarizes risks to the biodiversity of fish in European seas and recommends ways how existing fish diversity can be conserved, restored and managed.     

Does catchment geodiversity foster stream biodiversity?

Context

One approach to maintain the resilience of biotic communities is to protect the variability of abiotic characteristics of Earth’s surface, i.e. geodiversity. In terrestrial environments, the relationship between geodiversity and biodiversity is well recognized. In streams, the abiotic properties of upstream catchments influence stream communities, but the relationships between catchment geodiversity and aquatic biodiversity have not been previously tested.

Objectives

The aim was to compare the effects of local environmental and catchment variables on stream biodiversity. We specifically explored the usefulness of catchment geodiversity in explaining the species richness on stream macroinvertebrate, diatom and bacterial communities.

Methods

We used 3 geodiversity variables, 2 land use variables and 4 local habitat variables to examine species richness variation across 88 stream sites in western Finland. We used boosted regression trees to explore the effects of geodiversity and other variables on biodiversity.

Results

We detected a clear effect of catchment geodiversity on species richness, although the traditional local habitat and land use variables were the strongest predictors. Especially soil-type richness appeared as an important factor for species richness. While variables related to stream size were the most important for macroinvertebrate richness and partly for bacterial richness, the importance of water chemistry and land use for diatom richness was notable.

Conclusions

In addition to traditional environmental variables, geodiversity may affect species richness variation in streams, for example through changes in water chemistry. Geodiversity information could be used as a proxy for predicting stream species richness and offers a supplementary tool for conservation efforts.

     

Microfibril angle of Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst.] compression wood: comparison of measuring techniques

The structure of cellulose, especially the microfibril angles (MFAs), in compression wood of Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst.] was studied by wide- and small-angle X-ray scattering and polarizing microscopy. On the basis of the X-ray scattering experiments the average MF As of the cell wall layers S₂ and S₁ of the studied sample are 39 and 89, respectively; and the average diameter and length of the cellulose crystallites are 2.9 and 20.0nm, respectively. The average of the whole MFA distribution is shown to agree with the one obtained by polarizing microscopy of macerated fibers.     

Survival and juvenile growth of Populus ‘Rasumowskiana’ cuttings from different stem and branch positions

The influence of ortet position on rooting and sprout growth of Populus Rasumowskiana cuttings was studied in the nursery over a period of two years using cuttings from 1-year-old stem shoots and side branches. Apical parts of the plants were not included in the material used in this trial. For branch cuttings, survival decreased with location of the cutting from base to apex; and for stem cuttings, height growth decreased from base to apex. In neigther was the trend significant. As a rule, branch cuttings rooted and grew better than stem cuttings, although the stem cuttings were thicker.