Modelling interactions amongst people and forest resources at the landscape scale

FLORES, the Forest Land Oriented Resource Envisioning System, is a framework to facilitate quantitative modelling of ecological, economic and social issues at the landscape scale. This issue ofSmall-scale Forest Economics, Management and Policy describes the evolution of FLORES from a concept to a series of models calibrated for diverse locations, and documents the lessons learned. The idea to construct and use landscape-scale models of the forest frontier, based on simulating household decisions and land use at a spatial scale close to the field level, arose from a desire to add rigour to land-use policy research at CIFOR, the Center for International Forestry Research (Vanclay 1995). This simulation modelling approach to addressing interdisciplinary issues, where people are strongly interacting with forest resources, became known as FLORES, the Forest Land Oriented Resource Envisioning System (Vanclay 1998). Muetzelfeldtet al. (1998) constructed a simple prototype of a FLORES model to illustrate the concept and demonstrate the ability of a system-dynamics modelling environment to animate such a model (Muetzelfeldt and Taylor 1997, 2001, Muetzelfeldt and Massheder 2003). In 1999, FLORES became a reality, when 50 scientists from diverse disciplines met in Bukittinggi, Indonesia to construct the first FLORES model styled on this prototype (CIFOR 1999, Vanclayet al. 2003). The research reported in this special issue was made possible by generous financial support from the Department for International Development (UK), the European Community, the Asian Development Bank (under RETA 5812) and the Center for International Forestry Research. The views expressed herein are those of the authors alone. We would like to thank the following people who have assisted in the production of this special issue by acting as anonymous referees for these and other papers: Andy Warner, Brendan Moran, Bruno Verbist, Chris Dake, Chris Legg, Doug Sheil, Euan Mason, Francois Bousquet, Frank Vanclay, Geoff Slaughter, James Gambiza, John Herbohn, John Poulsen, Jungho Suh, Mike Spilsbury, Paul Phillips, Paul van Gardingen, Phil Norman, Philip Nyhus, Roger Wheate, Ross Sigley, Steve Harrison and Tom Evans. Thanks also to the editorial staff, especially Steve Harrison, John Herbohn and Jungho Suh, for making this special issue possible.     

The application of ultraviolet microscopy to the distribution of lignin in wood description and validity of the technique

A method has been developed for the determination of lignin distribution in the wood cell wall by ultraviolet microscopy. The method incorporates some important advances on previus applications of UV microscopy to the study of lignin distribution. Ultrathin cross-sections of wood are obtained by the sample preparation and sectioning techniques of electron microscopy. The specimens are examined in monochromatic ultraviolet light using quartz reflection optics. The microscope image is photographically recorded and the negative is subsequently subjected to densitometric analysis. Each stage of the analytical procedure has been critically assessed to determine its validity and limitations. The method is ideally suited to the study of the removal of lignin from the wood cell wall during cooking and possesses other important applications in wood technology.     

Farmer-led approaches to increasing tree diversity in fields and farmed landscapes in Ethiopia

Agroforestry Systems - Increasing tree cover and managing trees better on farms in Ethiopia supports livelihoods and the environment but most tree-planting schemes promote only a few species. This...     

Evaluation of peripheral lymphoreticular biopsy techniques and their clinical side effects in sheep

Tissue samples were collected postmortem from 126 sheep at five lymphoreticular sites by different techniques. The three most successful combinations of sites and techniques were: the third eyelids, using a forceps and scissors, which provided a mean (se) of 5.32 (0.70) lymphoid follicles per 5 microm tissue section, a mandibular lymph node, using a Biopty gun, which gave 1.19 (0.26) lymphoid follicles per 5 microm tissue section, and tonsil, using a biopsy forceps, which gave 1.14 (0.27) lymphoid follicles per 5 microm tissue section. These three techniques were repeated once a month for five months on five sheep under general anaesthesia, and their clinical effects were compared with five control sheep which were restrained and anaesthetised in the same way but from which no biopsies were taken. Most lymphoid follicles (3.47 [0.58] per 5 pm tissue section) were obtained by using the third eyelid biopsy technique. There were no clinical side effects associated with the biopsy procedure. There were increases in the plasma concentration of cortisol in all the animals, suggesting that the restraint and anaesthesia were more stressful than the biopsy procedure.     

Effect of banding or burdizzo castration on plasma testosterone, acute-phase proteins, scrotal circumference, growth, and health of bulls

The objective was to assess the effect of banding or burdizzo castration performed on farms on plasma testosterone, acute-phase proteins, scrotal circumferences, growth, and well-being of bulls. 243 Continental bulls (12 months; 399.2 ± 5.72 kg) from three different farms were allocated at random, after stratification on weight within breed type, to one of three treatment groups: banding castration (BAND; n = 80), burdizzo castration (BURD; n = 83), or controls (CON; n = 80). The castration methods were conducted under local anaesthesia, and tetanus toxoid vaccine and antibiotic were also injected at castration. BAND and BURD castrates had lower (P < 0.001) plasma testosterone concentration than control bulls, with no difference between BAND and BURD castrates on 28 d post-castration. From days 0 to 14 post-castration, BAND (P = 0.0002) and BURD (P < 0.0001) castrates had lower average daily gain (ADG) than CON bulls, no difference (P = 0.46) was found between BAND and BURD castrates. From days 15 to 28, BAND castrates had lower ADG compared with BURD castrates (P = 0.03) and CON bulls (P = 0.01), while no difference (P = 0.76) was found between BURD and CON. From days 29 to 56, BAND (P = 0.01) and BURD (P = 0.002) castrates had lower ADG than CON bulls, no difference (P = 0.55) was found between BAND and BURD. From days 57 to 84, the ADG of BAND castrates was not different compared with BURD castrates (P = 0.12) and CON bulls (P = 0.38), while BURD had lower (P = 0.02) ADG compared with CON. The integrated ADG from day 0 to 112 of BAND (P = 0.0001) and BURD (P = 0.02) groups were lower compared with CON, while there was no difference (P = 0.09) between BAND and BURD castrates. On d 14 post-castration, BAND castrates had lower scrotal temperature than BURD (P < 0.0001) and CON (P < 0.0001), and BURD castrates had greater (P < 0.006) scrotal temperature than CON; BAND castrates had lower scrotal latitudinal and longitudinal circumferences than BURD castrates (P < 0.001) and CON bulls (P < 0.001), and BURD castrates had greater (P < 0.001) scrotal latitudinal and longitudinal circumferences than CON bulls. BAND (P < 0.0001) and BURD (P = 0.01) castrates had greater glucose concentration than CON bulls, and BAND castrates had greater (P = 0.04) glucose concentration than BURD. In conclusion, BAND or BURD castration significantly reduced plasma testosterone concentration; reduced average daily weight gain mainly during the first 2 weeks, which was not compensated during the subsequent 16 weeks; increased withdrawal of stored energy and increased plasma protein concentration. BURD showed an advantage over BAND in growth during days 15 to 28 following castration.     

A long-snouted predatory dinosaur from africa and the evolution of spinosaurids

Fossils discovered in Lower Cretaceous (Aptian) rocks in the Tenere Desert of central Niger provide new information about spinosaurids, a peculiar group of piscivorous theropod dinosaurs. The remains, which represent a new genus and species, reveal the extreme elongation and transverse compression of the spinosaurid snout. The postcranial bones include blade-shaped vertebral spines that form a low sail over the hips. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that the enlarged thumb claw and robust forelimb evolved during the Jurassic, before the elongated snout and other fish-eating adaptations in the skull. The close phylogenetic relationship between the new African spinosaurid and Baryonyx from Europe provides evidence of dispersal across the Tethys seaway during the Early Cretaceous.