Pesticide contamination of the upper Elbe River and an adjacent floodplain area

Journal of Soils and Sediments - Pesticide contamination of river waters is a global problem, and therefore, authorities regularly monitor the water quality status. Especially, flood events might...     

Effects of coppicing on the root and stump carbohydrate dynamics in birches

Whole birch stems were cut off in order to determine how coppicing affects root and stump starch, glucose, fructose and sucrose concentrations and their correlation with shoot regeneration capacity. The Betula pubescens Ehrh. and B. pendula Roth studied included intact trees, trees that had been coppiced 8 years earlier, trees coppiced at the beginning of the experimental season, and birches that had been coppiced twice, 8 years earlier and at the beginning of the experimental season. Carbohydrate accumulation differed between 8 years earlier coppiced and intact trees. Recent coppicing clearly decreased the starch and sugar concentrations of the roots, which were often highest in the thin roots. The concentrations of these compounds in the stumps were always low, although the carbohydrate concentrations of stumps, in particular, correlated with shoot regeneration capacity. Starch was the most labile of the carbohydrates measured and most clearly reacted to coppicing. Differences in starch- and sugar-reserve dynamics indicate a difference between these birch species in the use and replenishing of root and stump reserves. This information may also be of help when the effects of other stresses, for example, severe animal damage or burning, on the regrowth of young birch stands are estimated.     

Retention of Molybdenum(VI) by Three Finnish Mineral Soils

Abstract

Retention of molybdate by three Finnish mineral soils from 10^?4 and 10^?5 M sodium molybdate solutions at room temperature was investigated at pH 2.3–7.5. In the adsorption experiments 0.02 M KCl was used as ionic medium, and the samples were left to equilibrate for 72 h. The solid: solution ratio was 1:100 (w: v). Maximum adsorption occurred below pH 4.5, where about 60–80 % of added molybdenum was retained. Desorption of the adsorbed molybdenum was measured by adding 50 ml of 0.02 M KCl into weighed soil samples and shaking for 17 h in an apparatus with a mechanical stirrer. In each soil an appreciable amount of Mo was so tightly bound that it could not be removed by KCl treatment.     

Growth and carbon sequestration by ectomycorrhizal fungi in intensively fertilized Norway spruce forests

A substantial portion of the carbon (C) fixed by the trees is allocated belowground to ectomycorrhizal (EM) symbionts, but this fraction usually declines after fertilization. The aim of the present study was to estimate the effect of optimal fertilization (including all the necessary nutrients) on the growth of EM fungi in young Norway spruce forests over a three year period. In addition, the amount of carbon sequestered by EM mycelia was estimated using a method based on the difference in δ¹³C between C₃ and C₄ plants. Sand-filled ingrowth mesh bags were used to estimate EM growth, and similar bags amended with compost made from maize leaves (a C₄ plant) were used to estimate C sequestration. Fertilizers had been applied either every year or every second year since 2002 and the estimates of EM growth started in 2007. The application of fertilizer reduced EM growth to between 0% and 40% of the growth in the control plots at one site (Ebbegärde), while no significant effect was found at the other three sites studied. The effect of the fertilizer was similar in sand-filled and maize-compost-amended mesh bags, but the total production of EM fungi was 3-4 times higher in maize-compost-amended mesh bags. The fertilizer tended to reduce EM growth more when applied every year than when applied every second year. The amount of C sequestered in maize-compost-amended mesh bags collected from unfertilized treatments was estimated to be between 0.2 and 0.7 mg C g sand⁻¹ at Ebbegärde and between 0.2 and 0.5 mg C g sand⁻¹ at Grängshammar. This corresponds to between 300 and 1100 kg C per ha, assuming a similar production in the soil as in the mesh bags. Fertilization at the Ebbegärde site reduced carbon sequestration, which confirmed the results based on estimates of fungal growth (ergosterol levels). A correlation was found between fungal biomass and δ¹³C in mesh bags amended with maize compost. Based on this, it was estimated that a fungal production of 1 μg ergosterol corresponded to 0.33 mg of sequestered carbon. In conclusion, the effect of the fertilizer on EM growth seemed to be dependent on the effect of the fertilizer on tree growth. Thus, at Ebbegärde, were tree growth was less stimulated by the fertilizer, EM growth was reduced upon fertilization. At other sites, where tree growth was more stimulated, the fertilizer did not influence EM growth. The large amounts of carbon sequestered during the experiment may be a result of fungal residues remaining in the soil after the death of the hyphae.     

Detection of traces of tetracyclines from fish with a bioluminescent sensor strain incorporating bacterial luciferase reporter genes

Bioluminescent Escherichia coli K-12 strain for the specific detection of the tetracycline family of antimicrobial agents was optimized to work with fish samples. The biosensing strain contains a plasmid incorporating the bacterial luciferase operon of Photorhabdus luminescens under the control of the tetracycline responsive element from transposon Tn10 (Korpela et al. Anal. Chem. 1998, 70, 4457-4462). The extraction procedure of oxytetracycline from rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) tissue was optimized. There was neither need for centrifugation of homogenized tissue nor use of organic solvents. The lowest levels of detection of tetracycline and oxytetracycline from spiked fish tissue were 20 and 50 microg/kg, respectively, in a 2-h assay. The optimized assay protocol was tested with fish that were given a single oral dose of high and low concentrations of oxytetracycline. The assay was able to detect oxytetracycline residues below the European Union maximum residue limits, and the results correlated well with those obtained by conventional HPLC (R = 0.81).     

Reading past landscapes: combining modern and historical records,maps, pollen-based vegetation reconstructions,and the socioeconomic background

Context

Anthropogenic and environmental changes are reshaping landscapes across the globe. In this context, understanding the patterns, drivers, and consequences of these changes is one of the central challenges of humankind.

Purpose

We aim to test the possibilities of combining modern multidisciplinary approaches to reconstruct the land-cover and linking the changes in land-cover to socioeconomic shifts in southern Estonia over the last 200 years.

Methods

The historical records from five, and maps from six time periods and 79 pollen-based land-cover reconstructions from four lakes are used to determine the land-cover structure and composition and are thereafter combined with the literature based analyses of socioeconomic changes.

Results

All information sources recorded similar changes in the land-cover. The anthropogenic deforestation was comparable to today’s (approximately 50%) during the nineteenth century. Major political and socioeconomic changes led to the intensification of agriculture and maximal deforestation (60–85%) at the beginning of the twentieth century. The land nationalisation following the Soviet occupation led to the reforestation of the less productive agricultural lands. This trend continued until the implementation of European Union agrarian subsidies at the beginning of the twenty first century.

Conclusions

Pollen-based reconstructions provide a trustworthy alternative to historical records and maps. Accounting for source specific biases is essential when dealing with any data source. The landscape’s response to socioeconomic changes was considerable in Estonia over the last 200 years. Changes in land ownership and the global agricultural market are major drivers in determining the strength and direction of the land-cover change.

     

Critical night length for bud set and its variation in two photoperiodic ecotypes of Betula pendula

We studied the variation in critical night length for bud set in two photoperiodic ecotypes (two latitudinally distant stands) of silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) in three phytotron experiments. Seeds from 21 open-pollinated mother trees in a southern (Tuusula, 60 degrees N) and a northern (Kittil?, 67 degrees N) Finnish stand were germinated and grown for 4 weeks in a 24-h photoperiod in a greenhouse and then moved to different night length treatments at 18 degrees C for 4 to 6 weeks. Night lengths from 5 to 8.5 h were used for southern origin seedlings and from 1 to 4.5 h for northern origin seedlings. At the end of the treatments, apical bud set was observed and the percentage of seedlings with bud set calculated for each treatment and tree progeny. The critical night lengths (CNL) for 50% bud set were determined separately for seedlings from each mother tree by regression analysis. In both ecotypes, the mean percentage of seedlings with bud set was lowest for the shortest night lengths and increased rapidly as night lengths increased. Mean CNL with its 95% confidence interval for the southern and northern ecotypes was 6.3 +/- 0.2 and 3.1 +/- 0.3 h, respectively. The CNL of the two ecotypes differed significantly in three experiments. Within-ecotype variance of the CNL was significantly higher in the northern ecotype (0.484) than in the southern ecotype (0.150). Significant differences in CNL were detected between individual mother trees of the southern ecotype, but not between mother trees of the northern ecotype. The ranking of individual mother trees, based on CNL, differed in the three experiments.     

Effects of seed origin and sowing time on timing of height growth cessation of Betula pendula seedlings

We studied the effects of seed origin and sowing time on height development and timing of height growth cessation of first-year silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) seedlings in a greenhouse experiment. Seeds of seven origins ranging in latitudes from 58 degrees to 67 degrees N were sown at 1-2-week intervals eight times from May 21 to July 30, 2001. The day/night temperature in the greenhouse was set at 20/10 degrees C, but lighting was natural and day length varied accordingly. Seedling height was measured twice a week. The interaction term between seed origin and sowing date was significant, but the pattern of height development and timing of growth cessation depended systematically on latitude of seed origin and sowing date. As seed origin became increasingly northern, growth cessation began earlier and resulted in shorter growth periods. Later sowing dates delayed growth cessation but also shortened the growth period. Final seedling height systematically decreased with increasingly northern origins and with later sowings. Linear regression analysis predicted timing of growth cessation, night length at growth cessation, length of growth period and final seedling height with high precision when the latitude of seed origin and sowing time were predictor variables. The timing of height growth cessation was determined by the seed origin, night length and developmental stage of the seedlings.     

Development and growth of primordial shoots in Norway spruce buds before visible bud burst in relation to time and temperature in the field

The timing of bud development in ecodormancy is critical for trees in boreal and temperate regions with seasonally alternating climates. The development of vegetative buds and the growth of primordial shoots (the primordial shoot ratio) in Norway spruce were followed by the naked eye and at stereo and light microscopic levels in fresh-cut and fixed buds obtained by regular field samplings during the spring of 2007, 2008 and 2009. Buds were collected from 15 randomly selected trees (all 16 years old in 2007) of one southern Finnish half-sib family. The air temperature was recorded hourly throughout the observation period. In 2008 and 2009, initial events in the buds, seen as accumulation of lipid droplets in the cortex area, started in mid-March and were depleted in late April, simultaneously with the early development of vascular tissue and primordial needles. In mid-April 2007, however, the development of the buds was at least 10 days ahead as a result of warm spells in March and early April. Variation in the timing of different developmental phases within and among the sample trees was negligible. There was no clear one-to-one correspondence between the externally visible and the internal development of the buds. The dependence of the primordial shoot ratio on different types of temperature sum was studied by means of regression analysis. High coefficients of determination (R(2)?≈?95%) were attained with several combinations of the starting time (beginning of the year/vernal equinox), the threshold value (from -3 to +5 °C), and the time step (hour/day) used in the temperature summation, i.e., the prediction power of the primordial shoot ratio models turned out to be high, but the parameter estimate values were not unambiguous. According to our results, temperature sums describe the growth of the primordial shoot inside the bud before bud burst. Thus, the results provide a realistic interpretation for the present phenological models of bud development that are based on temperature sums and external observations of bud burst only, and they also provide new tools for improving the models.