Spruce forest stands in a stationary state

We present stationarity criteria for forest stands,and establish embodiments using a Norwegian empirical stand development model.The natural stationary states only slightly differ from the outcome of long-term simulations previously implemented using the same empirical model.Human interference in terms of diameter-limit cutting is introduced.Consequently,stationary states differing from the natural one appear.Standing volume,growth and monetary value appear low but the financial return rate may be significant.Volume yield and financial return clearly contradict each other,the former arising from harvesting large trees,the latter from frequent removal of small trees.An exponential tree size distribution does not appear to comply with the stationarity criterion.     

Modelling agricultural expansion in Kenya’s Eastern Arc Mountains biodiversity hotspot

The Taita Hills are the northernmost part of the Eastern Arc Mountains of Kenya and Tanzania, which is one of the most important regions for biological conservation in the world. The indigenous cloud forests in this area have suffered substantial degradation for several centuries due to agricultural expansion. In the Taita Hills, currently only 1% of the original forested area remains preserved. In order to create effective policies to preserve the natural resources and biodiversity of the Eastern Arc Mountains it is crucial to understand the causes and interactions involved in the landscape changes in the most degraded areas. The research presented here aimed to understand the role of landscape attributes and infrastructure components as driving forces of agricultural expansion in the Taita Hills. Geospatial technology tools and a landscape dynamic simulation model were integrated to identify and evaluate the driving forces of agricultural expansion and simulate future landscape scenarios. The results indicate that, if current trends persist, agricultural areas will occupy roughly 60% of the study area by 2030. Agricultural expansion will likely take place predominantly in lowlands and foothills throughout the next 20 years, increasing the spatial dependence on distance to rivers and other water bodies. The main factors driving the spatial distribution of new croplands were the distance to markets, proximity to already established agricultural areas and distance to roads. Other driving forces of the agricultural expansion, as well as their implications for natural resources conservation, are discussed. Further studies are necessary to integrate the effects of population pressure and climate change on the sustainability and characteristics of local agricultural systems.     

Effects of UV light irradiation on colour stability of thermally modified, copper ethanolamine treated and non-modified wood: EPR and DRIFT spectroscopic studies

A series of experiments were carried out to investigate the colour stability of chemically treated and thermally modified wood compared to non-modified wood during long term artificial UV light irradiation. One set of wood samples was vacuum-pressure impregnated with alkaline (pH 9.8) copper (II) ethanolamine aqueous solution, while another set of samples from the same wood block was thermally modified at 210°C and −0.90 bar for 2 h. The treated and modified wood samples along with the non-modified ones were exposed to artificial UV light with the wave length in the region of UVA (315–400 nm) and UVB (280–315 nm) intermittently for 500 h. Colour measurements were carried out throughout the irradiation period at an interval of 100 h according to CIEL*a*b* system, where the results are presented in terms of ΔE, ΔL*, Δa* and Δb* values. Better photo-stability in terms of colour changes was recorded for both treated and modified woods compared to the non-modified one. By means of EPR and DRIFT spectroscopic study it was shown that some degree of colour stability of treated and modified woods, achieved during artificial UV light irradiation, resulted from lignin modifications and monomers of phenolic compounds.     

Mineralization of carbon and nitrogen,and nitrification in Scots pine forest soil treated with fast- and slow-release nitrogen fertilizers

We studied the effects of fast- and slow-release organic N fertilizers (urea and urea-formaldehyde, Nitroform) on mineralization, nitrification, and N leaching in an acid, poor forest soil. We also studied the effects of a nitrification inhibitor (dicyandiamide) applied together with urea. Net nitrification, mineralization of N and C were determined by aerobic laboratory incubation of soil samples taken one and three growing seasons after N application. Numbers of autotrophic nitrifiers were estimated by a most probable number method three growing seasons after the treatment. Urea increased the CO₂ production immediately after application, but after three growing seasons, CO₂ production was the lowest in the urea-treated soils. In the nitroform-treated soils, the concentration of exchangeable NH _inf4 ^sup+ after the first and third growing seasons was of the same magnitude, in contrast to the urea-treated soils, where hydrolysis took place immediately. Three growing seasons after application, the highest amount of NH _inf4 ^sup+ accumulated during the laboratory incubation was in the nitro-form-treated soils. Unlike urea, nitroform did not increase the production of NO _inf3 ^sup- or the number of NH _inf4 ^sup+ oxidizers. In the urea+dicyandiamide-treated soils there was less NO _inf3 ^sup- and a lower number of nitrifiers than in the urea-treated soils. The results showed that a slow-release N fertilizer, such as nitroform, increases the availability of mineral N in acid forest soils without increasing nitrification and hence the risk of NO _inf3 ^sup- leaching.     

Storage stability of microencapsulated cloudberry ( Rubus chamaemorus ) phenolics

Cloudberries ( Rubus chamaemorus ) contain phenolics (mainly ellagitannins), which have recently been related to many valuable bioactivity properties. In general, phenolics are known to react readily with various components, which may create an obstacle in producing stable functional components for food and pharmaceutical purposes. In this study, the aim was to improve the storage stability of cloudberry phenolic extract by microencapsulation. The phenolic-rich cloudberry extract was encapsulated in maltodextrins DE5-8 and DE18.5 by freeze-drying. Water sorption properties and glass transition temperatures (T(g)) of microcapsules and maltodextrins were determined. Microcapsules together with unencapsulated cloudberry extract were stored at different relative vapor pressures (0, 33, and 66% RVP) at 25 degrees C for 64 days, and storage stability was evaluated by analyzing phenolic content and antioxidant activity. Compared to maltodextrin DE18.5, maltodextrin DE5-8 had not only higher encapsulation yield and efficiency but also offered better protection for phenolics during storage. Without encapsulation the storage stability of cloudberry phenolics was weaker with higher storage RVP. Microencapsulation improved the storage stability of cloudberry phenolics. The physical state of microcapsules did not have a significant role in the stability of cloudberry phenolics because phenolic losses were observed also in amorphous glassy materials. The antioxidant activity of the microencapsulated cloudberry extract remained the same or even improved slightly during storage, which may be related to the changes in phenolic profiles.     

Effect of relative humidity on thermal degradation of Norway spruce (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Picea abies</Emphasis>) wood

The rate of thermal degradation of wood as a function of the extent of heat-bath treatment was investigated. At both 150°C and 170°C, the rate of degradation increased along with increasing relative humidity in the heating atmosphere. However, up to intermediate relative humidity (in the vicinity of 50%), the higher the temperature, the less was the effect of increasing relative humidity on the degradation rate. Furthermore, the greater the relative humidity, the less was the effect of increasing temperature on the degradation rate. On the other hand, between intermediate relative humidity and water-saturated conditions, the effect of increasing relative humidity on the degradation rate was the same regardless of the temperature, and the effect of increasing temperature on the degradation rate was the same regardless of the relative humidity. In moist conditions, significant thermal degradation occurred at temperatures as low as 150°C.     

Relationships between native tree species and soil properties in the indigenous forest fragments of the Eastern Arc Mountains of the Taita Hills,Kenya

The relationship between soil properties and spatial distribution of native woody species was studied in three Taita Hills forest fragments which, although degraded, are ranked among 34 biodiversity hotspots of the world due to their high biodiversity of both plant and animal species. This relationship was assessed by using Spearman correlation and principal component analyses (PCA). The results of these analyses should be useful in instituting forest restoration programs that are crucial for the forests. Both the soil and vegetation studied were sampled from 17 subplots in the natural forest fragments of Ngangao (120 ha), Chawia (86 ha) and Mbololo (185 ha). The soil variables measured were: pH, texture, soil nutrients of C, N, Ca, P, K, Mg and Na. In total 36 native tree species from 13 families were identified from the three forest fragments. Ordination results show that axis 1 accounted for 35% and axis 2 for 25% of the total variation in species composition, indicating that the structure of vegetation is related to two major environmental gradients. The correlation analyses of species and soil properties showed that Na and clay particles were the most important determinants of species distribution; pH and soil variables such as C, N, Ca and P also played minor roles. Unexpectedly, some species (e.g. Psychotria petitii) showed positive relationships with Na attributed to possible substitution for K. Relationships with P were both positive (e.g. Craibia zimmermannii) and negative (e.g. Albizia gummifera) with some species, attributable to pH levels. An ANOVA for soil variables showed that there were differences in the Ca content in Mbololo (due to the parent material) and P in Ngangao where a special relationship was observed between some of the species. The presence of gaps accounted for the distribution of seedlings but not for the saplings, whose distribution responded more to factors similar to those to which mature trees respond. Soil-species relationships that were established may be utilized along with soil analyses when choosing native species for restoration.     

Effects of root trenching of overstorey Norway spruce (Piceaabies) on growth and biomass of underplanted beech (Fagussylvatica) and Douglas fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii) saplings

In Central Europe, the conversion of pure Norway spruce stands (Picea abies [L.] Karst.) into mixed stands with beech (Fagus silvatica L.) and other species like e.g. Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii [Mirb.] Franco) is accomplished mainly by underplanting of seedlings beneath the canopy of overstorey spruce trees after partial cutting treatments what means exposure to shade and below-ground root competition by the overstorey to the seedlings. Particularly about the second factor, our knowledge is limited. Therefore, we carried out a below-ground competition exclusion experiment by root trenching and investigated the effects on soil resources, growth, and biomass partitioning of underplanted beech and Douglas fir saplings under target diameter and strip cutting treatments. The exclusion of overstorey root competition by trenching increased the soil water potential in the second year that had a fairly dry growing season and led to significantly higher foliar concentrations of most nutrients, particularly in Douglas fir, indicating an amended nutrient supply. Both improvements were accompanied by an increase in length and diameter increment of the underplanted saplings, appearing in both species only after having surpassed a species-specific threshold light value (Douglas fir 16% of above canopy radiation, beech 22%). We also found significant interactions between trenching and light for specific fine root length and further biomass and morphological parameters. Judged by the much steeper increase in height and diameter growth with increasing light after release from below-ground competition, Douglas fir saplings appeared to be more sensitive to root competition than beech saplings what conforms to older findings for beech. According to our results, a strip cutting seems to be more appropriate than a target diameter cutting treatment to replace a pure spruce stand by a mixed stand with beech and Douglas fir.     

Adventitious shoot regeneration from hypocotyl slices of mature apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) seeds: A feasible alternative for apricot genetic engineering

Adventitious shoot regeneration from hypocotyl slices of mature apricot seeds has been achieved with regeneration percentages of 31.7%, 44.4%, and 46.9% for the cultivars ‘Canino’, ‘Dorada’, and ‘Moniqui’, respectively. Regeneration was significantly affected by the parental origin of the explants (P < 0.05) but not by thidiazuron or 3-indolebutyric acid for any of the three cultivars, at the levels tested. None of the other factors studied (basal medium, 2,4 dichlorophenoxy-acetic acid pulses, dark incubation period, or addition of silver thiosulfate) affected significantly shoot regeneration percentage from ‘Canino’ hypocotyl sections. The effect of paromomycin on regeneration was genotype-dependent and different dose–response curves were obtained for each cultivar. While 40 μM paromomycin completely inhibited regeneration from ‘Canino’ sections, some buds were obtained from ‘Dorada’ and ‘Moniqui’ explants. The two aminoglycoside antibiotics tested, kanamycin and paromomycin, showed differing toxicity on ‘Canino’. A lower concentration of kanamycin (20 μM) than of paromomycin inhibited totally adventitious regeneration from ‘Canino’ explants. Agrobacterium-mediated transformation experiments, with the non-oncogenic strain AGL1 harboring the binary plasmid p35SGUSINT, were performed and GUS assays were carried out after four weeks to determinate stable transformation events. The utilization of paromomycin (10 μM) as the selective agent increased significantly both the number of explants that presented at least one transformation event (P < 0.05) and the number of large area or calli expressing the gus gene (P < 0.001), compared with the addition of kanamycin (10 μM). Moreover, when 10 μM paromomycin was added to the medium some massively transformed explants were observed and a chimerical bud was regenerated.     

Activation of visual pigments by light and heat

Vision begins with photoisomerization of visual pigments. Thermal energy can complement photon energy to drive photoisomerization, but it also triggers spontaneous pigment activation as noise that interferes with light detection. For half a century, the mechanism underlying this dark noise has remained controversial. We report here a quantitative relation between a pigment's photoactivation energy and its peak-absorption wavelength, λ(max). Using this relation and assuming that pigment activations by light and heat go through the same ground-state isomerization energy barrier, we can predict the relative noise of diverse pigments with multi-vibrational-mode thermal statistics. The agreement between predictions and our measurements strongly suggests that pigment noise arises from canonical isomerization. The predicted high noise for pigments with λ(max) in the infrared presumably explains why they apparently do not exist in nature.