Declinación forestal

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D. Granados Sánchez

2001-01-01

Full Text Available Se analizan las causas de la declinación forestal como son los factores climáticos, la lluvia y niebla ácida, el exceso y deficiencia de nutrimentos, plagas y enfermedades, los contaminantes gaseosos y otros factores; abordándose a la vez, varias hipótesis en la relación causa-efecto. Además, se enfatizan síntomas y daños en el crecimiento de los árboles, métodos de evaluación y clasificación de los árboles de acuerdo a su salud, así como el impacto de la declinación en aspectos adaptativos de sensibilidad, tolerancia y evolución de las especies arbóreas. También, se propone la consideración del ciclo del bosque en la dinámica de la declinación forestal.

¿Son los obreros idiotas e irracionales?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francisco José León

2010-01-01

Full Text Available En este artículo presentamos un análisis crítico de la aproximación posmoderna y posestructuralista a la cuestión de la subjetividad obrera. El examen evidencia que: a algunas de sus proposiciones explicativas son internamente contradictorias o lógicamente inconsistentes; b en otras ocasiones la contradicción se produce entre las distintas proposiciones que la teoría ofrece para explicar un mismo fenómeno; c son frecuentes las contradicciones entre las proposiciones explicativas y los principios teóricos de los que se derivan; d es común la falta de inteligibilidad de las proposiciones; e abundan los "agujeros negros" en las cadenas de acontecimientos que se presentan como previos a la producción del efecto que pretenden explicar, y f muchas de sus proposiciones o bien no son plausibles empíricamente o simplemente no son empíricamente testables. Atribuimos a estas deficiencias la responsabilidad del fracaso de los autores posmodernos en su intento por recuperar la agencia obrera en los estudios del proceso de trabajo.

Male-mediated infertility in sons of building painters and gardeners

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ramlau-Hansen, C H; Stoltenberg, C D G; Hougaard, K S

2012-01-01

To investigate whether sons of gardeners and building painters have increased risk of infertility in comparison with sons of bricklayers, carpenters and electricians.......To investigate whether sons of gardeners and building painters have increased risk of infertility in comparison with sons of bricklayers, carpenters and electricians....

Demographic controls of aboveground forest biomass across North America.

Science.gov (United States)

Vanderwel, Mark C; Zeng, Hongcheng; Caspersen, John P; Kunstler, Georges; Lichstein, Jeremy W

2016-04-01

Ecologists have limited understanding of how geographic variation in forest biomass arises from differences in growth and mortality at continental to global scales. Using forest inventories from across North America, we partitioned continental-scale variation in biomass growth and mortality rates of 49 tree species groups into (1) species-independent spatial effects and (2) inherent differences in demographic performance among species. Spatial factors that were separable from species composition explained 83% and 51% of the respective variation in growth and mortality. Moderate additional variation in mortality (26%) was attributable to differences in species composition. Age-dependent biomass models showed that variation in forest biomass can be explained primarily by spatial gradients in growth that were unrelated to species composition. Species-dependent patterns of mortality explained additional variation in biomass, with forests supporting less biomass when dominated by species that are highly susceptible to competition (e.g. Populus spp.) or to biotic disturbances (e.g. Abies balsamea). © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

Increased topsoil carbon stock across China's forests.

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Yang, Yuanhe; Li, Pin; Ding, Jinzhi; Zhao, Xia; Ma, Wenhong; Ji, Chengjun; Fang, Jingyun

2014-08-01

Biomass carbon accumulation in forest ecosystems is a widespread phenomenon at both regional and global scales. However, as coupled carbon-climate models predicted, a positive feedback could be triggered if accelerated soil carbon decomposition offsets enhanced vegetation growth under a warming climate. It is thus crucial to reveal whether and how soil carbon stock in forest ecosystems has changed over recent decades. However, large-scale changes in soil carbon stock across forest ecosystems have not yet been carefully examined at both regional and global scales, which have been widely perceived as a big bottleneck in untangling carbon-climate feedback. Using newly developed database and sophisticated data mining approach, here we evaluated temporal changes in topsoil carbon stock across major forest ecosystem in China and analysed potential drivers in soil carbon dynamics over broad geographical scale. Our results indicated that topsoil carbon stock increased significantly within all of five major forest types during the period of 1980s-2000s, with an overall rate of 20.0 g C m(-2) yr(-1) (95% confidence interval, 14.1-25.5). The magnitude of soil carbon accumulation across coniferous forests and coniferous/broadleaved mixed forests exhibited meaningful increases with both mean annual temperature and precipitation. Moreover, soil carbon dynamics across these forest ecosystems were positively associated with clay content, with a larger amount of SOC accumulation occurring in fine-textured soils. In contrast, changes in soil carbon stock across broadleaved forests were insensitive to either climatic or edaphic variables. Overall, these results suggest that soil carbon accumulation does not counteract vegetation carbon sequestration across China's forest ecosystems. The combination of soil carbon accumulation and vegetation carbon sequestration triggers a negative feedback to climate warming, rather than a positive feedback predicted by coupled carbon-climate models

Vegetation carbon sequestration in Chinese forests from 2010 to 2050.

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He, Nianpeng; Wen, Ding; Zhu, Jianxing; Tang, Xuli; Xu, Li; Zhang, Li; Hu, Huifeng; Huang, Mei; Yu, Guirui

2017-04-01

Forests store a large part of the terrestrial vegetation carbon (C) and have high C sequestration potential. Here, we developed a new forest C sequestration (FCS) model based on the secondary succession theory, to estimate vegetation C sequestration capacity in China's forest vegetation. The model used the field measurement data of 3161 forest plots and three future climate scenarios. The results showed that logistic equations provided a good fit for vegetation biomass with forest age in natural and planted forests. The FCS model has been verified with forest biomass data, and model uncertainty is discussed. The increment of vegetation C storage in China's forest vegetation from 2010 to 2050 was estimated as 13.92 Pg C, while the average vegetation C sequestration rate was 0.34 Pg C yr -1 with a 95% confidence interval of 0.28-0.42 Pg C yr -1 , which differed significantly between forest types. The largest contributor to the increment was deciduous broadleaf forest (37.8%), while the smallest was deciduous needleleaf forest (2.7%). The vegetation C sequestration rate might reach its maximum around 2020, although vegetation C storage increases continually. It is estimated that vegetation C sequestration might offset 6-8% of China's future emissions. Furthermore, there was a significant negative relationship between vegetation C sequestration rate and C emission rate in different provinces of China, suggesting that developed provinces might need to compensate for undeveloped provinces through C trade. Our findings will provide valuable guidelines to policymakers for designing afforestation strategies and forest C trade in China. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Son preference in rural China: patrilineal families and socioeconomic change.

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Murphy, Rachel; Tao, Ran; Lu, Xi

2011-01-01

This article draws on a survey conducted in six provinces in summer 2008 to investigate the determinants of son preference in rural China. The analysis confirms the conventional wisdom that son preference is embedded within patrilineal family structures and practices. We extend our analysis by exploring specific aspects of variation within patrilineal family culture. We find that the patrilineal group (clan) composition of villages and family participation in practices such as building ancestral halls and updating genealogies significantly influence son preference. Yet even though son preference is embedded within patrilineal family culture, our analysis suggests that over time the attenuation of son preference is likely. This is because determinants associated with socioeconomic change—for instance, higher levels of education, direct exposure to official policy education materials, higher income (a proxy for rural industrialization), and agricultural mechanization—all attenuate son preference. Being younger and female are also associated with weaker son preference, and both characteristics are likely to interact with education and industrialization to further dilute son preference in the longer term. Nevertheless, our findings suggest that concerted efforts are needed to ameliorate institutional discrimination against rural people in welfare provisioning and in labor markets, and to promote multiple dimensions of gender equality, including in land rights, wage rates, and education.

SO(N) reformulated link invariants from topological strings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borhade, Pravina; Ramadevi, P.

2005-01-01

Large N duality conjecture between U(N) Chern-Simons gauge theory on S 3 and A-model topological string theory on the resolved conifold was verified at the level of partition function and Wilson loop observables. As a consequence, the conjectured form for the expectation value of the topological operators in A-model string theory led to a reformulation of link invariants in U(N) Chern-Simons theory giving new polynomial invariants whose integer coefficients could be given a topological meaning. We show that the A-model topological operator involving SO(N) holonomy leads to a reformulation of link invariants in SO(N) Chern-Simons theory. Surprisingly, the SO(N) reformulated invariants also has a similar form with integer coefficients. The topological meaning of the integer coefficients needs to be explored from the duality conjecture relating SO(N) Chern-Simons theory to A-model closed string theory on orientifold of the resolved conifold background

Son preference in a rural village in North Vietnam.

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Bélanger, Danièle

2002-12-01

This article explores the continuing preference for sons in the context of low fertility in Vietnam. Although the total fertility rate for Vietnam declined from 6.0 children per woman of reproductive age in 1979 to 2.2 children in 1998, demographic evidence shows that son preference remains strong and influences contraceptive and fertility behavior. This study examines the underlying factors for son preference in a rural village in North Vietnam. The methodology includes focus-group discussions, an in-depth study of 25 families, and ethnographic observation. Results indicate that sons are highly desired for their social, symbolic, and economic value. In spite of four decades of socialist policies aimed at reducing gender-based inequalities and at weakening the patriarchal kinship system, the desire for sons continues to drive the family-building process. The article also indicates a gap between discourse and social practice with respect to roles assigned to children on the basis of their sex.

Climate change-associated trends in net biomass change are age dependent in western boreal forests of Canada.

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Chen, Han Y H; Luo, Yong; Reich, Peter B; Searle, Eric B; Biswas, Shekhar R

2016-09-01

The impacts of climate change on forest net biomass change are poorly understood but critical for predicting forest's contribution to the global carbon cycle. Recent studies show climate change-associated net biomass declines in mature forest plots. The representativeness of these plots for regional forests, however, remains uncertain because we lack an assessment of whether climate change impacts differ with forest age. Using data from plots of varying ages from 17 to 210 years, monitored from 1958 to 2011 in western Canada, we found that climate change has little effect on net biomass change in forests ≤ 40 years of age due to increased growth offsetting increased mortality, but has led to large decreases in older forests due to increased mortality accompanying little growth gain. Our analysis highlights the need to incorporate forest age profiles in examining past and projecting future forest responses to climate change. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

Temperature and rainfall interact to control carbon cycling in tropical forests.

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Taylor, Philip G; Cleveland, Cory C; Wieder, William R; Sullivan, Benjamin W; Doughty, Christopher E; Dobrowski, Solomon Z; Townsend, Alan R

2017-06-01

Tropical forests dominate global terrestrial carbon (C) exchange, and recent droughts in the Amazon Basin have contributed to short-term declines in terrestrial carbon dioxide uptake and storage. However, the effects of longer-term climate variability on tropical forest carbon dynamics are still not well understood. We synthesised field data from more than 150 tropical forest sites to explore how climate regulates tropical forest aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) and organic matter decomposition, and combined those data with two existing databases to explore climate - C relationships globally. While previous analyses have focused on the effects of either temperature or rainfall on ANPP, our results highlight the importance of interactions between temperature and rainfall on the C cycle. In cool forests (forests (> 20 °C) it consistently enhanced both ANPP and decomposition. At the global scale, our analysis showed an increase in ANPP with rainfall in relatively warm sites, inconsistent with declines in ANPP with rainfall reported previously. Overall, our results alter our understanding of climate - C cycle relationships, with high precipitation accelerating rates of C exchange with the atmosphere in the most productive biome on earth. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

Cuidados invisibles: ¿son suficientemente reconocidos?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosanna de la Rosa Eduardo

Full Text Available Los cuidados invisibles son un elemento central y fundamental de la práctica de la Enfermería y son la base de su identidad profesional. La Enfermería ha sufrido un importante y positivo proceso de profesionalización en los últimos 150 años, sin embargo, los cuidados invisibles siguen siendo poco reconocidos, a pesar de su importancia en la recuperación y en la calidad de vida de los usuarios. En este trabajo se analizan brevemente las grandes transformaciones sociales actuales que obligan a replantearse la necesidad de visibilizar los cuidados invisibles, se plantean interrogantes clave para abordar esta discusión y se proponen una serie de acciones concretas para avanzar en este reconocimiento.

Maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index and pubertal development among sons

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hounsgaard, M L; Håkonsen, L B; Vested, A

2014-01-01

Maternal overweight and obesity in pregnancy has been associated with earlier age of menarche in daughters as well as reduced semen quality in sons. We aimed at investigating pubertal development in sons born by mothers with a high body mass index (BMI). The study included 2522 sons of mothers...... indicators of pubertal development, results also indicated earlier pubertal development among sons of obese mothers. After excluding sons of underweight mothers in a subanalysis, we observed an inverse trend between maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and age at regular shaving, acne and first nocturnal emission....... In conclusion, maternal pre-pregnant obesity may be related to earlier timing of pubertal milestones among sons. More research, preferably based on prospectively collected information about pubertal development, is needed to draw firm conclusions....

The discovery and exploration of Hang Son Doong

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Limbert, H.; Limbert, D.; Hieu, N.; Phai, V. V.; Kinh Bac, D.; Phuong, T. H.; Granger, D.

2016-08-01

Hang Son Doong is located in the Phong Nha Ke Bang Limestone Massif in Quang Binh Province, Central Vietnam. Cave exploration by British cavers has been continuous in this area since 1990. Hang Son Doong is part of the Phong Nha Cave system which runs from the southern end of the National Park near the Lao border to the final resurgence at Phong Nha Cave. (Author)

Climate-driven speedup of alpine treeline forest growth in the Tianshan Mountains, Northwestern China.

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Qi, Zhaohuan; Liu, Hongyan; Wu, Xiuchen; Hao, Qian

2015-02-01

Forest growth is sensitive to interannual climatic change in the alpine treeline ecotone (ATE). Whether the alpine treeline ecotone shares a similar pattern of forest growth with lower elevational closed forest belt (CFB) under changing climate remains unclear. Here, we reported an unprecedented acceleration of Picea schrenkiana forest growth since 1960s in the ATE of Tianshan Mountains, northwestern China by a stand-total sampling along six altitudinal transects with three plots in each transect: one from the ATE between the treeline and the forest line, and the other two from the CFB. All the sampled P. schrenkiana forest patches show a higher growth speed after 1960 and, comparatively, forest growth in the CFB has sped up much slower than that in the ATE. The speedup of forest growth at the ATE is mainly accounted for by climate factors, with increasing temperature suggested to be the primary driver. Stronger water deficit as well as more competition within the CFB might have restricted forest growth there more than that within the ATE, implying biotic factors were also significant for the accelerated forest growth in the ATE, which should be excluded from simulations and predictions of warming-induced treeline dynamics. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Genetically engineered trees for plantation forests: key considerations for environmental risk assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Häggman, Hely; Raybould, Alan; Borem, Aluizio; Fox, Thomas; Handley, Levis; Hertzberg, Magnus; Lu, Meng-Zu; Macdonald, Philip; Oguchi, Taichi; Pasquali, Giancarlo; Pearson, Les; Peter, Gary; Quemada, Hector; Séguin, Armand; Tattersall, Kylie; Ulian, Eugênio; Walter, Christian; McLean, Morven

2013-09-01

Forests are vital to the world's ecological, social, cultural and economic well-being yet sustainable provision of goods and services from forests is increasingly challenged by pressures such as growing demand for wood and other forest products, land conversion and degradation, and climate change. Intensively managed, highly productive forestry incorporating the most advanced methods for tree breeding, including the application of genetic engineering (GE), has tremendous potential for producing more wood on less land. However, the deployment of GE trees in plantation forests is a controversial topic and concerns have been particularly expressed about potential harms to the environment. This paper, prepared by an international group of experts in silviculture, forest tree breeding, forest biotechnology and environmental risk assessment (ERA) that met in April 2012, examines how the ERA paradigm used for GE crop plants may be applied to GE trees for use in plantation forests. It emphasizes the importance of differentiating between ERA for confined field trials of GE trees, and ERA for unconfined or commercial-scale releases. In the case of the latter, particular attention is paid to characteristics of forest trees that distinguish them from shorter-lived plant species, the temporal and spatial scale of forests, and the biodiversity of the plantation forest as a receiving environment. © 2013 ILSI Research Foundation. Plant Biotechnology Journal published by Society for Experimental Biology, Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Father-Son Inter-Generational Transmission of Authoritarian Paternal Attitudes.

Science.gov (United States)

Peretti, Peter O.; Statum, Jo Ann

1984-01-01

Attempted to determine authoritarian paternal attitude inter-generational transmission in fathers and sons (N=75). Results suggested that authoritarian paternal attitudes could be indicated in terms of five factors: Dominant, Rigidity, Conformity, Intolerant, and Uncreative; and that the sons expressed strongly the authoritarian attitudes of their…

The Transmission of Parenting from Fathers to Sons

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Hofferth, Sandra L.; Pleck, Joseph H.; Vesely, Colleen K.

2012-01-01

SYNOPSIS Objective We address the extent to which parenting practices of fathers and mothers are associated with their sons’ parenting behaviors as young adults and whether adolescent behavior explains this association. Design Data come from 409 young men interviewed in the 2006 Young Adult study of the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Results Men whose fathers were positively involved with them when growing up report more positive parenting of their own children, a direct effect. Less harsh mothering and more positive fathering are associated with reduced adolescent behavior problems, and positive mothering is associated with positive adjustment of these young men as adolescents. However, neither adolescent problem behavior nor positive adjustment is associated with young men’s fathering of their own children, and thus does not explain the association between the fathering young men received and their own fathering behavior. Conclusions Men’s parenting of their sons can have a long-term direct effect on how their sons parent their own children. Although parenting is associated with both positive and negative behaviors of sons during adolescence, these adolescent behaviors are not directly linked to later parenting behavior when sons have their own children. More research is needed to examine mediation mechanisms for the intergenerational transmission of parenting. PMID:23284271

Parent-son decision-making about human papillomavirus vaccination: a qualitative analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander Andreia B

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Licensed for use in males in 2009, Human Papillomavirus (HPV vaccination rates in adolescent males are extremely low. Literature on HPV vaccination focuses on females, adult males, or parents of adolescent males, without including adolescent males or the dynamics of the parent-son interaction that may influence vaccine decision-making. The purpose of this paper is to examine the decision-making process of parent-son dyads when deciding whether or not to get vaccinated against HPV. Methods Twenty-one adolescent males (ages 13–17, with no previous HPV vaccination, and their parents/guardians were recruited from adolescent primary care clinics serving low to middle income families in a large Midwestern city. Dyad members participated in separate semi-structured interviews assessing the relative role of the parent and son in the decision regarding HPV vaccination. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded using inductive content analysis. Results Parents and sons focused on protection as a reason for vaccination; parents felt a need to protect their child, while sons wanted to protect their own health. Parents and sons commonly misinterpreted the information about the vaccine. Sons were concerned about an injection in the penis, while some parents and sons thought the vaccine would protect them against other sexually transmitted infections including Herpes, Gonorrhea, and HIV. Parents and sons recalled that the vaccine prevented genital warts rather than cancer. The vaccine decision-making process was rapid and dynamic, including an initial reaction to the recommendation for HPV vaccine, discussion between parent and son, and the final vaccine decision. Provider input was weighed in instances of initial disagreement. Many boys felt that this was the first health care decision that they had been involved in. Dyads which reported shared decision-making were more likely to openly communicate about sexual issues than those

Are ungulates in forests concerns or key species for conservation and biodiversity? Reply to Boulanger et al. (DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13899).

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Fløjgaard, Camilla; Bruun, Hans Henrik; Hansen, Morten D D; Heilmann-Clausen, Jacob; Svenning, Jens-Christian; Ejrnaes, Rasmus

2018-03-01

Increasing species richness of light demanding species in forests may not be a conservation concern if we accept a macroecological and evolutionary baseline for biodiversity. Most of the current biodiversity in Europe has evolved in the Pleistocene or earlier, and in ecosystems markedly influenced by dynamic natural processes, including grazing. Many threatened species are associated with high-light forest environments such as forest glades and edges, as these have strongly declined at least partially due to the decline of large herbivores in European forests. Hence, moderate grazing in forests should be an ecological baseline and conservation target rather than a concern. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Forest transitions in Eastern Europe and their effects on carbon budgets.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuemmerle, Tobias; Kaplan, Jed O; Prishchepov, Alexander V; Rylsky, Ilya; Chaskovskyy, Oleh; Tikunov, Vladimir S; Müller, Daniel

2015-08-01

Forests often rebound from deforestation following industrialization and urbanization, but for many regions our understanding of where and when forest transitions happened, and how they affected carbon budgets remains poor. One such region is Eastern Europe, where political and socio-economic conditions changed drastically over the last three centuries, but forest trends have not yet been analyzed in detail. We present a new assessment of historical forest change in the European part of the former Soviet Union and the legacies of these changes on contemporary carbon stocks. To reconstruct forest area, we homogenized statistics at the provincial level for ad 1700-2010 to identify forest transition years and forest trends. We contrast our reconstruction with the KK11 and HYDE 3.1 land change scenarios, and use all three datasets to drive the LPJ dynamic global vegetation model to calculate carbon stock dynamics. Our results revealed that forest transitions in Eastern Europe occurred predominantly in the early 20th century, substantially later than in Western Europe. We also found marked geographic variation in forest transitions, with some areas characterized by relatively stable or continuously declining forest area. Our data suggest extensive deforestation in European Russia already prior to ad 1700, and even greater deforestation in the 18th and 19th centuries than in the KK11 and HYDE scenarios. Based on our reconstruction, cumulative carbon emissions from deforestation were greater before 1700 (60 Pg C) than thereafter (29 Pg C). Summed over our entire study area, forest transitions led to a modest uptake in carbon over recent decades, with our dataset showing the smallest effect (forests of the region, a trend that may be amplified through ongoing land abandonment, climate change, and CO2 fertilization. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Coupling coefficients of SO(n) and integrals involving Jacobi and Gegenbauer polynomials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alisauskas, Sigitas

2002-01-01

The expressions for the coupling coefficients (3j-symbols) for most degenerate (symmetric) representations of orthogonal groups SO(n) in a canonical basis (with SO(n) restricted to SO(n-1) and different semicanonical or tree bases (with SO(n) restricted to SO(n')xSO(n''), n'+n''=n) are considered, respectively, in context of integrals involving triplets of the Gegenbauer and the Jacobi polynomials. Since the directly derived triple-hypergeometric series do not reveal the apparent triangle conditions of the 3j-symbols, they are rearranged, using their relation with semistretched isofactors of the second kind for the complementary chain Sp(4) contains SU(2)xSU(2) and analogy with the stretched 9j coefficients of SU(2), into formulae with more rich limits for summation intervals and obvious triangle conditions. The isofactors of class-one representations of orthogonal groups or class-two representations of unitary groups (and, of course, the related integrals involving triplets of the Gegenbauer and the Jacobi polynomials) turn into double sums in the cases of canonical SO(n) contains SO(n-1) or U(n) contains U(n-1) and semicanonical SO(n) contains SO(n-2)xSO(2) chains, as well as into the 4 F 3 (1) series under more specific conditions. Some ambiguities of the phase choice of the complementary group approach are adjusted, as well as problems with an alternating sign parameter of SO(2) representations in the SO(3) contains SO(2) and SO(n) contains SO(n-2)xSO(2) chains. (author)

A Letter from a Black Mom to Her Son

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Watson, Dyan

2012-01-01

An African American mother and teacher educator uses examples from her own childhood to describe how she hopes her child will be treated by teachers, and what she fears. In her letter to her son, the African American mom expresses how she want teachers to know her son's journey to school--metaphorically and physically. She wants them to know that…

Crustal thickness mapping in Raipur–Katni area of Narmada–Son ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The Narmada–Son lineament (NSL) is one of the most prominent tectonic features which divides the .... fault at Red Sea area (Bhattacharjee and Koide. 1978). The Son and .... relationship between SI and number of infinite dimension of the ...

Benefits of Self-Organizing Networks (SON for Mobile Operators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olav Østerbø

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Self-Organizing Networks (SON is a collection of functions for automatic configuration, optimization, diagnostisation and healing of cellular networks. It is considered to be a necessity in future mobile networks and operations due to the increased cost pressure. The main drivers are essentially to reduce CAPEX and OPEX, which would otherwise increase dramatically due to increased number of network parameters that has to be monitored and set, the rapidly increasing numbers of base stations in the network and parallel operation of 2G, 3G and Evolved Packet Core (EPC infrastructures. This paper presents evaluations on the use of some of the most important SON components. Mobile networks are getting more complex to configure, optimize and maintain. Many SON functions will give cost savings and performance benefits from the very beginning of a network deployment and these should be prioritized now. But even if many functions are already available and can give large benefits, the field is still in its infancy and more advanced functions are either not yet implemented or have immature implementations. It is therefore necessary to have a strategy for how and when different SON functions should be introduced in mobile networks.

SON is a spliceosome-associated factor required for mitotic progression.

Science.gov (United States)

Huen, Michael S Y; Sy, Shirley M H; Leung, Ka Man; Ching, Yick-Pang; Tipoe, George L; Man, Cornelia; Dong, Shuo; Chen, Junjie

2010-07-01

The eukaryotic RNA splicing machinery is dedicated to the daunting task of excising intronic sequences on the many nascent RNA transcripts in a cell, and in doing so facilitates proper translation of its transcriptome. Notably, emerging evidence suggests that RNA splicing may also play direct roles in maintaining genome stability. Here we report the identification of the RNA/DNA-binding protein SON as a component of spliceosome that plays pleiotropic roles during mitotic progression. We found that SON is essential for cell proliferation, and that its inactivation triggers a MAD2-dependent mitotic delay. Moreover, SON deficiency is accompanied by defective chromosome congression, compromised chromosome segregation and cytokinesis, which in turn contributes to cellular aneuploidy and cell death. In summary, our study uncovers a specific link between SON and mitosis, and highlights the potential of RNA processing as additional regulatory mechanisms that govern cell proliferation and division. © 2010 Landes Bioscience

Case report

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ebutamanya

2016-03-24

Mar 24, 2016 ... Onset of polymyositis with autoantibodies to threonyl. tRNA synthetase during pregnancy. J Rheumatol. 1994 Aug;. 21(8):1564-6.PubMed | Google Scholar. 9. Huong DLT, Wechsler B. Maladies systémiques pendant la grossesse. Revue du Rhumatisme. 2005 ;72 (8): 744-. 749. PubMed | Google Scholar.

Monoterpene ‘thermometer’ of tropical forest-atmosphere response to climate warming

OpenAIRE

Jardine, KJ; Jardine, AB; Holm, JA; Lombardozzi, DL; Negron-Juarez, RI; Martin, ST; Beller, HR; Gimenez, BO; Higuchi, N; Chambers, JQ

2017-01-01

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Tropical forests absorb large amounts of atmospheric CO 2 through photosynthesis but elevated temperatures suppress this absorption and promote monoterpene emissions. Using 13 CO 2 labeling, here we show that monoterpene emissions from tropical leaves derive from recent photosynthesis and demonstrate distinct temperature optima for five groups (Groups 1–5), potentially corresponding to different enzymatic temperature-dependent reaction mechanisms within β-ocimen...

Shifts in functional traits elevate risk of fire-driven tree dieback in tropical savanna and forest biomes.

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Pellegrini, Adam F A; Franco, Augusto C; Hoffmann, William A

2016-03-01

Numerous predictions indicate rising CO2 will accelerate the expansion of forests into savannas. Although encroaching forests can sequester carbon over the short term, increased fires and drought-fire interactions could offset carbon gains, which may be amplified by the shift toward forest plant communities more susceptible to fire-driven dieback. We quantify how bark thickness determines the ability of individual tree species to tolerate fire and subsequently determine the fire sensitivity of ecosystem carbon across 180 plots in savannas and forests throughout the 2.2-million km(2) Cerrado region in Brazil. We find that not accounting for variation in bark thickness across tree species underestimated carbon losses in forests by ~50%, totaling 0.22 PgC across the Cerrado region. The lower bark thicknesses of plant species in forests decreased fire tolerance to such an extent that a third of carbon gains during forest encroachment may be at risk of dieback if burned. These results illustrate that consideration of trait-based differences in fire tolerance is critical for determining the climate-carbon-fire feedback in tropical savanna and forest biomes. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Rapid warming accelerates tree growth decline in semi-arid forests of Inner Asia.

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Liu, Hongyan; Park Williams, A; Allen, Craig D; Guo, Dali; Wu, Xiuchen; Anenkhonov, Oleg A; Liang, Eryuan; Sandanov, Denis V; Yin, Yi; Qi, Zhaohuan; Badmaeva, Natalya K

2013-08-01

Forests around the world are subject to risk of high rates of tree growth decline and increased tree mortality from combinations of climate warming and drought, notably in semi-arid settings. Here, we assess how climate warming has affected tree growth in one of the world's most extensive zones of semi-arid forests, in Inner Asia, a region where lack of data limits our understanding of how climate change may impact forests. We show that pervasive tree growth declines since 1994 in Inner Asia have been confined to semi-arid forests, where growing season water stress has been rising due to warming-induced increases in atmospheric moisture demand. A causal link between increasing drought and declining growth at semi-arid sites is corroborated by correlation analyses comparing annual climate data to records of tree-ring widths. These ring-width records tend to be substantially more sensitive to drought variability at semi-arid sites than at semi-humid sites. Fire occurrence and insect/pathogen attacks have increased in tandem with the most recent (2007-2009) documented episode of tree mortality. If warming in Inner Asia continues, further increases in forest stress and tree mortality could be expected, potentially driving the eventual regional loss of current semi-arid forests. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Long-term forest resilience to climate change indicated by mortality, regeneration, and growth in semiarid southern Siberia.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Chongyang; Liu, Hongyan; Anenkhonov, Oleg A; Korolyuk, Andrey Yu; Sandanov, Denis V; Balsanova, Larisa D; Naidanov, Bulat B; Wu, Xiuchen

2017-06-01

Several studies have documented that regional climate warming and the resulting increase in drought stress have triggered increased tree mortality in semiarid forests with unavoidable impacts on regional and global carbon sequestration. Although climate warming is projected to continue into the future, studies examining long-term resilience of semiarid forests against climate change are limited. In this study, long-term forest resilience was defined as the capacity of forest recruitment to compensate for losses from mortality. We observed an obvious change in long-term forest resilience along a local aridity gradient by reconstructing tree growth trend and disturbance history and investigating postdisturbance regeneration in semiarid forests in southern Siberia. In our study, with increased severity of local aridity, forests became vulnerable to drought stress, and regeneration first accelerated and then ceased. Radial growth of trees during 1900-2012 was also relatively stable on the moderately arid site. Furthermore, we found that smaller forest patches always have relatively weaker resilience under the same climatic conditions. Our results imply a relatively higher resilience in arid timberline forest patches than in continuous forests; however, further climate warming and increased drought could possibly cause the disappearance of small forest patches around the arid tree line. This study sheds light on climate change adaptation and provides insight into managing vulnerable semiarid forests. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

THE MOTIF OF THE PRODIGAL SON IN IVAN TURGENEV'S NOVELS

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Valentina Ivanovna Gabdullina

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The author questions the perception of Ivan Turgenev as a “non- Christian writer” and studies the problem of the prodigal son motif functioning in a series of his novels. In his novels, Turgenev pictured different phases of the archetypal story, originating from the Gospel parable of the prodigal son. In the novel Rudin he depicted the phase of spiritual wanderings of the hero who had lost touch with his native land — Russia. In his next novels (Home of the Gentry, Fathers and Sons and Smoke, after leading his hero in circles and sending him back to his paternal home, Turgenev reconstructs the model of human behavior, represented in the parable, thereby recognizing the immutability of the idea formalized in the Gospel. The motif of the return to Russian land gets its completion in Turgenev's last novel Virgin Soil, in which the author paradoxically connects the Westernist idea with the Gospel imperative. Solomin, the son of a deacon, sent by his wise father out to Europe “to get education”, studies in England, masters the European knowledge and returns back “to his native land” to establish his own business in inland Russia. Thus, a series of Turgenev's novels, in which he portrayed different phases of social life, are interlinked with the motif of the prodigal son, who is represented by novels' main characters.

HPV vaccine for teen boys: Dyadic analysis of parents' and sons' beliefs and willingness.

Science.gov (United States)

Moss, Jennifer L; Reiter, Paul L; Brewer, Noel T

2015-09-01

Parents and adolescents often decide together whether the child should receive human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. However, few studies have investigated the dyadic nature of beliefs that affect this process. Data came from the 2010 HPV Immunization in Sons (HIS) Study, a national sample of 412 parents and their adolescent sons. We conducted dyadic multivariate logistic regression to examine the relationships between parents' and sons' HPV vaccine beliefs and their willingness to have the son receive the vaccine. Less than half of parents and sons were willing to have the sons receive HPV vaccine (43% and 29%, respectively). Willing parents and sons anticipated greater regret if the son did not receive HPV vaccine but later contracted an HPV infection (parent odds ratio [OR]=1.72, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.24-2.40; son OR=1.51, 95% CI=1.04-2.19) (both pCommunication campaigns may be able to target these beliefs to increase parents' and sons' willingness to seek HPV vaccination. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Black Rock Forest Consortium: A narrative

Science.gov (United States)

Buzzetto-More, Nicole Antoinette

The Black Rock Forest is a 3,785-acre wilderness area whose richly forested landscape represents the splendor of the Hudson Valley Region of New York State. Although originally intended to become the home of wealthy banker James Stillman, it was his son Ernest whose love of conservation caused him to embrace the then new and revolutionary practice of sustainable forestry and establish Black Rock in 1928. Due to Ernest Stillman's foresight, the property was protected from development and bequeathed to Harvard University following his death for the establishment of an experimental forest. The modern environmental movement in America began when the Black Rock Forest was threatened with development by Consolidated Edison, and the people of the surrounding community banded together, battling tirelessly for over 17 years to stop the degradation of this historic forest. The outcome of this crusade marked a hallmark win for the environment leaving an illustrious and inveterate legacy. The campaign resulted in the watershed legislation the National Environmental Policy Act, the formation of several environmental advocacy groups, the creation of the Council on Environmental Quality of the Executive Office of the President, as well as set a precedent for communities to initiate and win cases against major corporations in order to safeguard natural resources. In the midst of the controversy it became apparent that alternative futures for the Forest needed to be explored. As a result of a committee report and one man's vision, the idea emerged to create a consortium that would purchase and steward the Forest. With a formation that took nearly fifteen years, the Black Rock Forest Consortium was formed, a unique amalgamation of K--12 public and private schools, colleges and universities, and science and cultural centers that successfully collaborate to enhance scientific research, environmental conservation, and education. The Consortium works to bridge the gaps between learners

Rapid Turnover and Minimal Accretion of Mineral Soil Carbon During 60-Years of Pine Forest Growth on Previously Cultivated Land

Science.gov (United States)

Richter, D., Jr.; Mobley, M. L.; Billings, S. A.; Markewitz, D.

2016-12-01

At the Calhoun Long-Term Soil-Ecosystem field experiment (1957-present), reforestation of previously cultivated land over fifty years nearly doubled soil organic carbon (SOC) in surface soils (0 to 7.5-cm) but these gains were offset by significant SOC losses in subsoils (35 to 60-cm). Nearly all of the accretions in surface soils amounted to gains in light fraction SOC, whereas losses at depth were associated with silt and clay-sized particles. These changes are documented in the Calhoun Long-Term Soil-Ecosystem (LTSE) study that resampled soil from 16 plots about every five years and archived all soil samples from four soil layers within the upper 60-cm of mineral soil. We combined soil bulk density, density fractionation, stable isotopes, and radioisotopes to explore changes in SOC and soil organic nitrogen (SON) associated with five decades of the growth of a loblolly pine secondary forest. Isotopic signatures showed relatively large accumulations of contemporary forest-derived carbon in surface soils, and no accumulation of forest-derived carbon in subsoils. We interpret results to indicate that land-use change from cotton fields to secondary pine forests drove soil biogeochemical and hydrological changes that enhanced root and microbial activity and SOM decomposition in subsoils. As pine stands matured and are now transitioning to mixed pines and hardwoods, demands on soil organic matter for nutrients to support aboveground growth has eased due to pine mortality, and bulk SOM and SON and their isotopes in subsoils have stabilized. We anticipate major changes in the next fifty years as 1957 pine trees transition to hardwoods. This study emphasizes the importance of long-term experiments and deep soil measurements when characterizing SOC and SON responses to land use change. There is a remarkable paucity of E long-term soil data deeper than 30 cm.

Supersymmetric vector multiplets in nonadjoint representations of SO(N)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishino, Hitoshi; Rajpoot, Subhash

2007-01-01

In the conventional formulation of N=1 supersymmetry, a vector multiplet is supposed to be in the adjoint representation of a given gauge group. We present a new formulation with a vector multiplet in the nonadjoint representation of SO(N) gauge group. Our basic algebra is [T I ,T J ]=f IJK T K , [T I ,U i ]=-(T I ) ij U j , [U i ,U j ]=-(T I ) ij T I , where T I are the generators of SO(N), while U i are the new ''generators'' in certain nonadjoint real representation R of SO(N). We use here the word generator in the broader sense of the word. Such a representation can be any real representation of SO(N) with the positive definite metric, satisfying (T I ) ij =-(T I ) ji and (T I ) [ij| (T I ) |k]l ≡0. The first nontrivial examples are the spinorial 8 S and conjugate spinorial 8 C representations of SO(8) consistent with supersymmetry. We further couple the system to chiral multiplets and show that a Higgs mechanism can give positive definite (mass) 2 to the new gauge fields for U i . We show an analogous system working with N=1 supersymmetry in 10D, and thereby N=4 system in 4D interacting with extra multiplets in the representation R. We also perform superspace reformulation as an independent confirmation

Climate warming feedback from mountain birch forest expansion: reduced albedo dominates carbon uptake.

Science.gov (United States)

de Wit, Heleen A; Bryn, Anders; Hofgaard, Annika; Karstensen, Jonas; Kvalevåg, Maria M; Peters, Glen P

2014-07-01

Expanding high-elevation and high-latitude forest has contrasting climate feedbacks through carbon sequestration (cooling) and reduced surface reflectance (warming), which are yet poorly quantified. Here, we present an empirically based projection of mountain birch forest expansion in south-central Norway under climate change and absence of land use. Climate effects of carbon sequestration and albedo change are compared using four emission metrics. Forest expansion was modeled for a projected 2.6 °C increase in summer temperature in 2100, with associated reduced snow cover. We find that the current (year 2000) forest line of the region is circa 100 m lower than its climatic potential due to land-use history. In the future scenarios, forest cover increased from 12% to 27% between 2000 and 2100, resulting in a 59% increase in biomass carbon storage and an albedo change from 0.46 to 0.30. Forest expansion in 2100 was behind its climatic potential, forest migration rates being the primary limiting factor. In 2100, the warming caused by lower albedo from expanding forest was 10 to 17 times stronger than the cooling effect from carbon sequestration for all emission metrics considered. Reduced snow cover further exacerbated the net warming feedback. The warming effect is considerably stronger than previously reported for boreal forest cover, because of the typically low biomass density in mountain forests and the large changes in albedo of snow-covered tundra areas. The positive climate feedback of high-latitude and high-elevation expanding forests with seasonal snow cover exceeds those of afforestation at lower elevation, and calls for further attention of both modelers and empiricists. The inclusion and upscaling of these climate feedbacks from mountain forests into global models is warranted to assess the potential global impacts. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Some relevant properties of SO(n) representations for Grand unified theories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Girardi, G.; Sorba, P.; Sciarrino, A.

1980-05-01

General properties of the SO(n) groups are examined, with emphasis on the usefulness of the Gel'fand-Zetlin basis for explicit calculations. The SO(n) representations containing a vector stabilized by subgroups of the type S[O(n-p) x O(p)], SU(k) x U(1) or SU(k) if n=2k, are characterized in view of selecting Higgs representations in SO(n) gauge models. Some useful properties of the SU(n) Gel'fand-Zetlin basis are given in the appendices

Logging disturbance shifts net primary productivity and its allocation in Bornean tropical forests.

Science.gov (United States)

Riutta, Terhi; Malhi, Yadvinder; Kho, Lip Khoon; Marthews, Toby R; Huaraca Huasco, Walter; Khoo, MinSheng; Tan, Sylvester; Turner, Edgar; Reynolds, Glen; Both, Sabine; Burslem, David F R P; Teh, Yit Arn; Vairappan, Charles S; Majalap, Noreen; Ewers, Robert M

2018-01-24

Tropical forests play a major role in the carbon cycle of the terrestrial biosphere. Recent field studies have provided detailed descriptions of the carbon cycle of mature tropical forests, but logged or secondary forests have received much less attention. Here, we report the first measures of total net primary productivity (NPP) and its allocation along a disturbance gradient from old-growth forests to moderately and heavily logged forests in Malaysian Borneo. We measured the main NPP components (woody, fine root and canopy NPP) in old-growth (n = 6) and logged (n = 5) 1 ha forest plots. Overall, the total NPP did not differ between old-growth and logged forest (13.5 ± 0.5 and 15.7 ± 1.5 Mg C ha -1  year -1 respectively). However, logged forests allocated significantly higher fraction into woody NPP at the expense of the canopy NPP (42% and 48% into woody and canopy NPP, respectively, in old-growth forest vs 66% and 23% in logged forest). When controlling for local stand structure, NPP in logged forest stands was 41% higher, and woody NPP was 150% higher than in old-growth stands with similar basal area, but this was offset by structure effects (higher gap frequency and absence of large trees in logged forest). This pattern was not driven by species turnover: the average woody NPP of all species groups within logged forest (pioneers, nonpioneers, species unique to logged plots and species shared with old-growth plots) was similar. Hence, below a threshold of very heavy disturbance, logged forests can exhibit higher NPP and higher allocation to wood; such shifts in carbon cycling persist for decades after the logging event. Given that the majority of tropical forest biome has experienced some degree of logging, our results demonstrate that logging can cause substantial shifts in carbon production and allocation in tropical forests. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Una aplicación de apoyo a la toma de decisiones para el costeo de maquinarias de cosecha forestal

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Eduardo Acuña

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Desde hace años las empresas forestales y en especial las que prestan servicios de cosecha forestal han implementado la computación como una herramienta de trabajo, esto ha permitido automatizar la toma de decisiones. El propósito de esta práctica es lograr que el sector forestal siga siendo competitivo a nivel internacional, para tal objetivo se hace necesario optimizar las diferentes actividades que participan en la producción forestal. Los costos asociados a la faena de cosecha forestal son los de mayor incidencia dentro de los planes operativos, por ello es importante tener conocimiento de sus efectos reales en el cálculo de las tarifas. El trabajo realizado consistió en desarrollar un software de aplicación y consulta para la estructuración y tarifa a cobrar para una faena de cosecha forestal mecanizada, desarrollado en el lenguaje de programación Visual Basic. SICOFOR 1.0.1 al ser comparado con otras planillas de cálculo como por ejemplo las desarrolladas en Microsoft Excel entrega una mayor facilidad de trabajo, permite actualizar las bases de datos de la maquinaria a utilizar, personal, administración e implementación de trabajo para cada sistema de aprovechamiento, además entrega detalladamente la tarifa a cobrar. Aunque realmente los que fijan las tarifas de los diferentes servicios son las empresas demandantes de los servicios, el desarrollo del programa como herramienta de apoyo a la toma de decisiones, sigue siendo útil para comparar la tarifa que la empresa forestal mandante ofrece y los costos reales del servicio de cosecha, para tomar la decisión de aceptar o desestimar el negocio.

Views of Astronaut (Col.) Joe Engle and son Jon with L-5 Piper Cub

Science.gov (United States)

1981-01-01

Views of Astronaut (Col.) Joe Engle and son Jon with L-5 Piper Cub at Clover Airport. Photos include Engle turning propeller while his son sits in the cockpit (34323); both Engle and son examine propeller (34324); Engle works on engine while his son sits in cockpit (34325).

Negative emissions from stopping deforestation and forest degradation, globally.

Science.gov (United States)

Houghton, Richard A; Nassikas, Alexander A

2018-01-01

Forest growth provides negative emissions of carbon that could help keep the earth's surface temperature from exceeding 2°C, but the global potential is uncertain. Here we use land-use information from the FAO and a bookkeeping model to calculate the potential negative emissions that would result from allowing secondary forests to recover. We find the current gross carbon sink in forests recovering from harvests and abandoned agriculture to be -4.4 PgC/year, globally. The sink represents the potential for negative emissions if positive emissions from deforestation and wood harvest were eliminated. However, the sink is largely offset by emissions from wood products built up over the last century. Accounting for these committed emissions, we estimate that stopping deforestation and allowing secondary forests to grow would yield cumulative negative emissions between 2016 and 2100 of about 120 PgC, globally. Extending the lifetimes of wood products could potentially remove another 10 PgC from the atmosphere, for a total of approximately 130 PgC, or about 13 years of fossil fuel use at today's rate. As an upper limit, the estimate is conservative. It is based largely on past and current practices. But if greater negative emissions are to be realized, they will require an expansion of forest area, greater efficiencies in converting harvested wood to long-lasting products and sources of energy, and novel approaches for sequestering carbon in soils. That is, they will require current management practices to change. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Mapping Forest Inventory and Analysis forest land use: timberland, reserved forest land, and other forest land

Science.gov (United States)

Mark D. Nelson; John Vissage

2007-01-01

The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program produces area estimates of forest land use within three subcategories: timberland, reserved forest land, and other forest land. Mapping these subcategories of forest land requires the ability to spatially distinguish productive from unproductive land, and reserved from nonreserved land. FIA field data were spatially...

Influência das vogais na estimulabilidade dos sons líquidos

OpenAIRE

Castro,Márcia Mathias de; Wertzner,Haydée Fizbein

2009-01-01

OBJETIVO: verificar o número de crianças, entre 5:0 e 11:6 anos, com e sem Transtorno Fonológico, falantes do Português Brasileiro que imitaram corretamente os sons líquidos no teste de estimulabilidade considerando cada uma das vogais subsequentes. MÉTODOS: a estimulabilidade foi medida por uma prova de imitação de 63 sílabas com os sons com as sete vogais orais, em três repetições. Foi analisada a porcentagem de sujeitos que produziu corretamente os sons em função da vogal subsequente. RESU...

Edge effects on moisture reduce wood decomposition rate in a temperate forest.

Science.gov (United States)

Crockatt, Martha E; Bebber, Daniel P

2015-02-01

Forests around the world are increasingly fragmented, and edge effects on forest microclimates have the potential to affect ecosystem functions such as carbon and nutrient cycling. Edges tend to be drier and warmer due to the effects of insolation, wind, and evapotranspiration and these gradients can penetrate hundreds of metres into the forest. Litter decomposition is a key component of the carbon cycle, which is largely controlled by saprotrophic fungi that respond to variation in temperature and moisture. However, the impact of forest fragmentation on litter decay is poorly understood. Here, we investigate edge effects on the decay of wood in a temperate forest using an experimental approach, whereby mass loss in wood blocks placed along 100 m transects from the forest edge to core was monitored over 2 years. Decomposition rate increased with distance from the edge, and was correlated with increasing humidity and moisture content of the decaying wood, such that the decay constant at 100 m was nearly twice that at the edge. Mean air temperature decreased slightly with distance from the edge. The variation in decay constant due to edge effects was larger than that expected from any reasonable estimates of climatic variation, based on a published regional model. We modelled the influence of edge effects on the decay constant at the landscape scale using functions for forest area within different distances from edge across the UK. We found that taking edge effects into account would decrease the decay rate by nearly one quarter, compared with estimates that assumed no edge effect. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

In the Pursuit of Sons: Additional Births or Sex-Selective Abortion in Pakistan?

Science.gov (United States)

Zaidi, Batool; Morgan, S Philip

2016-12-01

Even though Pakistan is a highly patriarchal society, it has not featured prominently in studies focusing on sex-selective abortion and sex ratios at birth. But with fertility declining and existing strong son preference-Pakistan has one of the highest desired sex ratios in the world-how will Pakistani families respond? In the pursuit of sons, will they have additional children or resort to sex-selective abortions? Or is there evidence that the pursuit of sons is weakening? Using data from three rounds of the demographic and health survey, we show clear evidence of son preference in fertility intentions, patterns of contraceptive use and parity progression ratios. More specifically, we find pervasive evidence that Pakistanis continue childbearing to have a son, to have more than one son and to have at least one daughter. We do not find consistent and convincing evidence that sex ratios at birth (which indicate sex-selective abortion) are increasing.

Soil charcoal as long-term pyrogenic carbon storage in Amazonian seasonal forests.

Science.gov (United States)

Turcios, Maryory M; Jaramillo, Margarita M A; do Vale, José F; Fearnside, Philip M; Barbosa, Reinaldo Imbrozio

2016-01-01

Forest fires (paleo + modern) have caused charcoal particles to accumulate in the soil vertical profile in Amazonia. This forest compartment is a long-term carbon reservoir with an important role in global carbon balance. Estimates of stocks remain uncertain in forests that have not been altered by deforestation but that have been impacted by understory fires and selective logging. We estimated the stock of pyrogenic carbon derived from charcoal accumulated in the soil profile of seasonal forest fragments impacted by fire and selective logging in the northern portion of Brazilian Amazonia. Sixty-nine soil cores to 1-m depth were collected in 12 forest fragments of different sizes. Charcoal stocks averaged 3.45 ± 2.17 Mg ha(-1) (2.24 ± 1.41 Mg C ha(-1) ). Pyrogenic carbon was not directly related to the size of the forest fragments. This carbon is equivalent to 1.40% (0.25% to 4.04%) of the carbon stocked in aboveground live tree biomass in these fragments. The vertical distribution of pyrogenic carbon indicates an exponential model, where the 0-30 cm depth range has 60% of the total stored. The total area of Brazil's Amazonian seasonal forests and ecotones not altered by deforestation implies 65-286 Tg of pyrogenic carbon accumulated along the soil vertical profile. This is 1.2-2.3 times the total amount of residual pyrogenic carbon formed by biomass burning worldwide in 1 year. Our analysis suggests that the accumulated charcoal in the soil vertical profile in Amazonian forests is a substantial pyrogenic carbon pool that needs to be considered in global carbon models. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

My Son 22.10.11

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Rebecca Baillie

2013-01-01

Full Text Available 'My Son 22.10.11' was made immediately following a miscarriage 8 weeks into pregnancy. After bleeding lightly for a couple of hours, I went to the toilet and a large bloody mass fell from within me. I knew that I could not flush this away, and that to retrieve the mass was my only chance to connect with the unborn foetus. I fished the contents from the bottom of the toilet bowl using my hands and carried them into my small studio. I found some paper and began to dissect the mass. At the centre, I found the tiny, cold, hard foetus. I kissed it and then began to use it as a kind of painting tool, drawing the outline of the lost child using its very own flesh and blood. I knew that to create a lasting and tangible portrait of 'my son' was the best way to understand the somewhat unreal and fleeting experience of miscarriage. I thought of Frida Kahlo while making the work, thinking 'thank God' that I had a reference to miscarriage before it happened to me. I also thought of my childhood days spent on our family pig farm, and of all the dead pig foetuses that I had seen at various stages of development. Before the miscarriage, I thought little about the subject; afterwards, I recognise the profundity of the creation of a life that is never born. The experience is so common, yet so very rarely discussed or depicted.

Son Preference and Family Limitation in Pakistan: A Parity- and Contraceptive Method-Specific Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Channon, Melanie Dawn

2017-09-01

Son preference exerts a strong influence over contraceptive and fertility decisions in many South Asian countries. In Pakistan, where fertility remains high and contraceptive use low, research on son preference has been limited. Data from Pakistan Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in 1990-1991, 2006-2007 and 2012-2013 were used to examine potential indicators and outcomes of son preference. Descriptive analyses looked at sex composition preferences of men and women, as well as the sex ratio at last birth. Multivariate logistic regression analyses examined parity progression by birth order, while multinomial logistic regression was used to identify associations between sex composition and use of permanent, temporary and traditional contraceptive methods. Parity progression and choice of contraceptive method are increasingly associated with the sex composition of children. Many respondents wanted at least two sons, though most also wanted at least one daughter. Analyses suggest that the prevalence of modern contraceptive use among parous women would have been 19% higher in 2012-2013 in the absence of son preference. Permanent method use was extremely low among women with no sons and increased significantly with number of sons. The association between number of sons and use of temporary methods was weaker, while son preference had little relationship with traditional method use. The association of son preference with parity progression and modern contraceptive use has become stronger in Pakistan. Continuation of the fertility transition may be difficult unless the degrees of differential stopping behavior and differential contraceptive use decline.

US forest response to projected climate-related stress: a tolerance perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Liénard, Jean; Harrison, John; Strigul, Nikolay

2016-08-01

Although it is widely recognized that climate change will require a major spatial reorganization of forests, our ability to predict exactly how and where forest characteristics and distributions will change has been rather limited. Current efforts to predict future distribution of forested ecosystems as a function of climate include species distribution models (for fine-scale predictions) and potential vegetation climate envelope models (for coarse-grained, large-scale predictions). Here, we develop and apply an intermediate approach wherein we use stand-level tolerances of environmental stressors to understand forest distributions and vulnerabilities to anticipated climate change. In contrast to other existing models, this approach can be applied at a continental scale while maintaining a direct link to ecologically relevant, climate-related stressors. We first demonstrate that shade, drought, and waterlogging tolerances of forest stands are strongly correlated with climate and edaphic conditions in the conterminous United States. This discovery allows the development of a tolerance distribution model (TDM), a novel quantitative tool to assess landscape level impacts of climate change. We then focus on evaluating the implications of the drought TDM. Using an ensemble of 17 climate change models to drive this TDM, we estimate that 18% of US ecosystems are vulnerable to drought-related stress over the coming century. Vulnerable areas include mostly the Midwest United States and Northeast United States, as well as high-elevation areas of the Rocky Mountains. We also infer stress incurred by shifting climate should create an opening for the establishment of forest types not currently seen in the conterminous United States. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Having a Son Promotes Clean Cooking Fuel Use in Urban India: Women's Status and Son Preference

OpenAIRE

Avinash Kishore; Dean Spears

2014-01-01

Urban Indian households with a male first child are approximately 2 percentage points more likely to use clean cooking fuel than comparable households with a female first child. Given Indian son preference, there are at least two mechanisms by which child sex could affect fuel choice: by improving the intrahousehold status of women, who bear more of the costs of traditional fuels, or by presenting an opportunity to invest in children's health, in the context of a preference for healthier boys...

Regional analysis of drought and heat impacts on forests: current and future science directions.

Science.gov (United States)

Law, Beverly E

2014-12-01

Accurate assessments of forest response to current and future climate and human actions are needed at regional scales. Predicting future impacts on forests will require improved analysis of species-level adaptation, resilience, and vulnerability to mortality. Land system models can be enhanced by creating trait-based groupings of species that better represent climate sensitivity, such as risk of hydraulic failure from drought. This emphasizes the need for more coordinated in situ and remote sensing observations to track changes in ecosystem function, and to improve model inputs, spatio-temporal diagnosis, and predictions of future conditions, including implications of actions to mitigate climate change. © 2014 The Authors. Global Change Biology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Mothers' Predictions of Their Son's Executive Functioning Skills: Relations to Child Behavior Problems

Science.gov (United States)

Johnston, Charlotte

2011-01-01

This study examined mothers' ability to accurately predict their sons' performance on executive functioning tasks in relation to the child's behavior problems. One-hundred thirteen mothers and their 4-7 year old sons participated. From behind a one-way mirror, mothers watched their sons perform tasks assessing inhibition and planning skills.…

The institutionalization of Jesus' charismatic authority: "Son of Man" as case study1

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yolanda Dreyer

2000-12-01

Full Text Available This article argues that Jesus used the expression "son of man" not in a titular way, but genetically, meaning "humankind". This use of "son of man" developed into a titular usage in which Jesus is identified with "Son of Man". The study shows that Jesus' use of the expression "son of man" should be understood in the context of the "little tradition" which was reinterpreted in terms of the "great tradition" in a titular way. It is argued that this transition from "litle tradition" to "great tradition"can be seen as "false attribution". After Jesus' death when his followers reorganized themselves into a cultic community, they gave Jesus the position "founder of the cult". They did this by making use of honorary titles. The use of the title "Son of Man" for Jesus is interpreted in terms of the social theory of the institutionalization of charismatic authority. The focus is on the title "Son of Man" as it appears in legal sayings or church rules, wisdom sayings and prophetic and apocalyptic sayings.

Forest resources of the Lincoln National Forest

Science.gov (United States)

John D. Shaw

2006-01-01

The Interior West Forest Inventory and Analysis (IWFIA) program of the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, as part of its national Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) duties, conducted forest resource inventories of the Southwestern Region (Region 3) National Forests. This report presents highlights of the Lincoln National Forest 1997 inventory...

The impact of tropical forest logging and oil palm agriculture on the soil microbiome.

Science.gov (United States)

Tripathi, Binu M; Edwards, David P; Mendes, Lucas William; Kim, Mincheol; Dong, Ke; Kim, Hyoki; Adams, Jonathan M

2016-05-01

Selective logging and forest conversion to oil palm agriculture are rapidly altering tropical forests. However, functional responses of the soil microbiome to these land-use changes are poorly understood. Using 16S rRNA gene and shotgun metagenomic sequencing, we compared composition and functional attributes of soil biota between unlogged, once-logged and twice-logged rainforest, and areas converted to oil palm plantations in Sabah, Borneo. Although there was no significant effect of logging history, we found a significant difference between the taxonomic and functional composition of both primary and logged forests and oil palm. Oil palm had greater abundances of genes associated with DNA, RNA, protein metabolism and other core metabolic functions, but conversely, lower abundance of genes associated with secondary metabolism and cell-cell interactions, indicating less importance of antagonism or mutualism in the more oligotrophic oil palm environment. Overall, these results show a striking difference in taxonomic composition and functional gene diversity of soil microorganisms between oil palm and forest, but no significant difference between primary forest and forest areas with differing logging history. This reinforces the view that logged forest retains most features and functions of the original soil community. However, networks based on strong correlations between taxonomy and functions showed that network complexity is unexpectedly increased due to both logging and oil palm agriculture, which suggests a pervasive effect of both land-use changes on the interaction of soil microbes. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The production of phytolith-occluded carbon in China's forests: implications to biogeochemical carbon sequestration.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Zhaoliang; Liu, Hongyan; Li, Beilei; Yang, Xiaomin

2013-09-01

The persistent terrestrial carbon sink regulates long-term climate change, but its size, location, and mechanisms remain uncertain. One of the most promising terrestrial biogeochemical carbon sequestration mechanisms is the occlusion of carbon within phytoliths, the silicified features that deposit within plant tissues. Using phytolith content-biogenic silica content transfer function obtained from our investigation, in combination with published silica content and aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) data of leaf litter and herb layer in China's forests, we estimated the production of phytolith-occluded carbon (PhytOC) in China's forests. The present annual phytolith carbon sink in China's forests is 1.7 ± 0.4 Tg CO2  yr(-1) , 30% of which is contributed by bamboo because the production flux of PhytOC through tree leaf litter for bamboo is 3-80 times higher than that of other forest types. As a result of national and international bamboo afforestation and reforestation, the potential of phytolith carbon sink for China's forests and world's bamboo can reach 6.8 ± 1.5 and 27.0 ± 6.1 Tg CO2  yr(-1) , respectively. Forest management practices such as bamboo afforestation and reforestation may significantly enhance the long-term terrestrial carbon sink and contribute to mitigation of global climate warming. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Forest resources of Mississippi’s national forests, 2006

Science.gov (United States)

Sonja N. Oswalt

2011-01-01

This bulletin describes forest resource characteristics of Mississippi’s national forests, with emphasis on DeSoto National Forest, following the 2006 survey completed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis program. Mississippi’s national forests comprise > 1 million acres of forest land, or about 7 percent of all forest...

A large-scale field assessment of carbon stocks in human-modified tropical forests.

Science.gov (United States)

Berenguer, Erika; Ferreira, Joice; Gardner, Toby Alan; Aragão, Luiz Eduardo Oliveira Cruz; De Camargo, Plínio Barbosa; Cerri, Carlos Eduardo; Durigan, Mariana; Cosme De Oliveira Junior, Raimundo; Vieira, Ima Célia Guimarães; Barlow, Jos

2014-12-01

Tropical rainforests store enormous amounts of carbon, the protection of which represents a vital component of efforts to mitigate global climate change. Currently, tropical forest conservation, science, policies, and climate mitigation actions focus predominantly on reducing carbon emissions from deforestation alone. However, every year vast areas of the humid tropics are disturbed by selective logging, understory fires, and habitat fragmentation. There is an urgent need to understand the effect of such disturbances on carbon stocks, and how stocks in disturbed forests compare to those found in undisturbed primary forests as well as in regenerating secondary forests. Here, we present the results of the largest field study to date on the impacts of human disturbances on above and belowground carbon stocks in tropical forests. Live vegetation, the largest carbon pool, was extremely sensitive to disturbance: forests that experienced both selective logging and understory fires stored, on average, 40% less aboveground carbon than undisturbed forests and were structurally similar to secondary forests. Edge effects also played an important role in explaining variability in aboveground carbon stocks of disturbed forests. Results indicate a potential rapid recovery of the dead wood and litter carbon pools, while soil stocks (0-30 cm) appeared to be resistant to the effects of logging and fire. Carbon loss and subsequent emissions due to human disturbances remain largely unaccounted for in greenhouse gas inventories, but by comparing our estimates of depleted carbon stocks in disturbed forests with Brazilian government assessments of the total forest area annually disturbed in the Amazon, we show that these emissions could represent up to 40% of the carbon loss from deforestation in the region. We conclude that conservation programs aiming to ensure the long-term permanence of forest carbon stocks, such as REDD+, will remain limited in their success unless they effectively

Disturbances catalyze the adaptation of forest ecosystems to changing climate conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Thom, Dominik; Rammer, Werner; Seidl, Rupert

2017-01-01

The rates of anthropogenic climate change substantially exceed those at which forest ecosystems - dominated by immobile, long-lived organisms - are able to adapt. The resulting maladaptation of forests has potentially detrimental effects on ecosystem functioning. Furthermore, as many forest-dwelling species are highly dependent on the prevailing tree species, a delayed response of the latter to a changing climate can contribute to an extinction debt and mask climate-induced biodiversity loss. However, climate change will likely also intensify forest disturbances. Here, we tested the hypothesis that disturbances foster the reorganization of ecosystems and catalyze the adaptation of forest composition to climate change. Our specific objectives were (i) to quantify the rate of autonomous forest adaptation to climate change, (ii) examine the role of disturbance in the adaptation process, and (iii) investigate spatial differences in climate-induced species turnover in an unmanaged mountain forest landscape (Kalkalpen National Park, Austria). Simulations with a process-based forest landscape model were performed for 36 unique combinations of climate and disturbance scenarios over 1000 years. We found that climate change strongly favored European beech and oak species (currently prevailing in mid- to low-elevation areas), with novel species associations emerging on the landscape. Yet, it took between 357 and 706 years before the landscape attained a dynamic equilibrium with the climate system. Disturbances generally catalyzed adaptation and decreased the time needed to attain equilibrium by up to 211 years. However, while increasing disturbance frequency and severity accelerated adaptation, increasing disturbance size had the opposite effect. Spatial analyses suggest that particularly the lowest and highest elevation areas will be hotspots of future species change. We conclude that the growing maladaptation of forests to climate and the long lead times of autonomous

Would protecting tropical forest fragments provide carbon and biodiversity cobenefits under REDD+?

Science.gov (United States)

Magnago, Luiz Fernando S; Magrach, Ainhoa; Laurance, William F; Martins, Sebastião V; Meira-Neto, João Augusto A; Simonelli, Marcelo; Edwards, David P

2015-09-01

Tropical forests store vast amounts of carbon and are the most biodiverse terrestrial habitats, yet they are being converted and degraded at alarming rates. Given global shortfalls in the budgets required to prevent carbon and biodiversity loss, we need to seek solutions that simultaneously address both issues. Of particular interest are carbon-based payments under the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism to also conserve biodiversity at no additional cost. One potential is for REDD+ to protect forest fragments, especially within biomes where contiguous forest cover has diminished dramatically, but we require empirical tests of the strength of any carbon and biodiversity cobenefits in such fragmented systems. Using the globally threatened Atlantic Forest landscape, we measured above-ground carbon stocks within forest fragments spanning 13 to 23 442 ha in area and with different degrees of isolation. We related these stocks to tree community structure and to the richness and abundance of endemic and IUCN Red-listed species. We found that increasing fragment size has a positive relationship with above-ground carbon stock and with abundance of IUCN Red-listed species and tree community structure. We also found negative relationships between distance from large forest block and tree community structure, endemic species richness and abundance, and IUCN Red-listed species abundance. These resulted in positive congruence between carbon stocks and Red-listed species, and the abundance and richness of endemic species, demonstrating vital cobenefits. As such, protecting forest fragments in hotspots of biodiversity, particularly larger fragments and those closest to sources, offers important carbon and biodiversity cobenefits. More generally, our results suggest that macroscale models of cobenefits under REDD+ have likely overlooked key benefits at small scales, indicating the necessity to apply models that include finer

Son, Sent, and Servant

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Truls Åkerlund

2015-11-01

Full Text Available This study challenges the claim that Jesus is the archetypical servant leader as described in contempo-rary leadership literature. Based on a theological reading of the Fourth Gospel, the paper suggests that, as a servant, Jesus cannot be understood apart from his mission and obedience to God. Consequently, Jesus was not primarily a servant leader but rather the Son who was sent to the world to enact the Fa-ther’s will. In this regard, the Fourth Gospel provides a unique perspective that is barely noted in the current discourse on servant leadership modelled on the example of Christ. Although certain aspects of servant leadership theory correspond to John’s portrayal of Jesus, the study concludes that other de-scriptions of him as a servant leader suffer from a one-sided and reductionist Christology. Implications of this view for Christian ministry are briefly sketched out.

The experience of sons caring for a parent with dementia.

Science.gov (United States)

McDonnell, Eilis; Ryan, Assumpta A

2014-11-01

This study explored the experiences of sons caring for a parent with dementia. Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of sons (n = 13) in a rural part of Ireland. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim and analysed for common themes. The key themes that emerged were 'the parental bond', 'a binding role', 'coordinating care and support' and a 'getting on with it' approach to care. The study highlighted the commitment of sons to their caregiving role and the strong sense of duty that motivated them to provide care. The findings suggested that while many aspects of the caregiving experience such as lack of information and support are gender neutral, there are differences in the caregiving experiences of men and women in how they view their relationship with their parent and in the management of their caregiving role that merit further investigation. © The Author(s) 2013 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

De Novo Truncating Variants in SON Cause Intellectual Disability, Congenital Malformations, and Failure to Thrive.

Science.gov (United States)

Tokita, Mari J; Braxton, Alicia A; Shao, Yunru; Lewis, Andrea M; Vincent, Marie; Küry, Sébastien; Besnard, Thomas; Isidor, Bertrand; Latypova, Xénia; Bézieau, Stéphane; Liu, Pengfei; Motter, Connie S; Melver, Catherine Ward; Robin, Nathaniel H; Infante, Elena M; McGuire, Marianne; El-Gharbawy, Areeg; Littlejohn, Rebecca O; McLean, Scott D; Bi, Weimin; Bacino, Carlos A; Lalani, Seema R; Scott, Daryl A; Eng, Christine M; Yang, Yaping; Schaaf, Christian P; Walkiewicz, Magdalena A

2016-09-01

SON is a key component of the spliceosomal complex and a critical mediator of constitutive and alternative splicing. Additionally, SON has been shown to influence cell-cycle progression, genomic integrity, and maintenance of pluripotency in stem cell populations. The clear functional relevance of SON in coordinating essential cellular processes and its presence in diverse human tissues suggests that intact SON might be crucial for normal growth and development. However, the phenotypic effects of deleterious germline variants in SON have not been clearly defined. Herein, we describe seven unrelated individuals with de novo variants in SON and propose that deleterious variants in SON are associated with a severe multisystem disorder characterized by developmental delay, persistent feeding difficulties, and congenital malformations, including brain anomalies. Copyright © 2016 American Society of Human Genetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera of the southeastern Truong Son Mountains, Quang Ngai Province, Vietnam

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nguyen Truong Son

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Bat communities of mainland Southeast Asia can be highly diverse. Many are under threat. Despite this, regional faunal composition is not well documented for many areas, including regions of Vietnam.  We assessed the biodiversity of bats in a watershed protection forest in the southeastern Truong Son (Annamite Mountains, southwestern Quang Ngai Province, Vietnam in 2011–2013.  Twenty species of insectivorous bats were documented including a high diversity of Murina species Tube-nosed Bats.  Diversity and abundance indices were compared with that recorded previously in two nature reserves and one national park in Vietnam, and were higher or comparable in several measures despite the lack of a karst substrate for roosts.  Reproduction in the insectivorous bat fauna coincided with the early rainy season.  In the late dry season, pregnant females of several species were observed but volant juveniles were not present, whereas in the early wet season adult females were lactating or post-lactating and volant juveniles of nine species were detected.  We recorded echolocation calls of 14 bat species; for each species, we compared features of calls with those reported previously in other Asian localities.  For some species we found discrepancies in call metrics among studies, perhaps suggesting a greater hidden biodiversity of bats in Southeast Asia.

SON connects the splicing-regulatory network with pluripotency in human embryonic stem cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Xinyi; Göke, Jonathan; Sachs, Friedrich; Jacques, Pierre-Étienne; Liang, Hongqing; Feng, Bo; Bourque, Guillaume; Bubulya, Paula A; Ng, Huck-Hui

2013-10-01

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) harbour the ability to undergo lineage-specific differentiation into clinically relevant cell types. Transcription factors and epigenetic modifiers are known to play important roles in the maintenance of pluripotency of hESCs. However, little is known about regulation of pluripotency through splicing. In this study, we identify the spliceosome-associated factor SON as a factor essential for the maintenance of hESCs. Depletion of SON in hESCs results in the loss of pluripotency and cell death. Using genome-wide RNA profiling, we identified transcripts that are regulated by SON. Importantly, we confirmed that SON regulates the proper splicing of transcripts encoding for pluripotency regulators such as OCT4, PRDM14, E4F1 and MED24. Furthermore, we show that SON is bound to these transcripts in vivo. In summary, we connect a splicing-regulatory network for accurate transcript production to the maintenance of pluripotency and self-renewal of hESCs.

Risk of cryptorchidism among sons of horticultural workers and farmers in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Kristian Tore; Jensen, Morten Søndergaard; Toft, Gunnar Vase

2014-01-01

on occupation and cryptorchidism. METHODS: The cohort consisted of >600 000 boys born in Denmark from 1980-2007 with a parent in employment during pregnancy. These boys were followed for cryptorchidism from 1980-2009 comparing risks among sons of horticultural workers and farmers with sons of parents in other...... occupations. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated using Cox regression adjusting for parental age, birth years, parity, and geographical region. RESULTS: Sons of maternal farmers were at increased risk of cryptorchidism (157 cases; HR 1.31, 95% CI 1.12-1.53) compared to boys...... of mothers in other occupations (15 511 cases). Paternal occupation as farmer was unrelated to the risk among sons. Maternal occupation as a horticultural worker was associated with a non-significantly increased risk (72 cases; HR 1.20, 95% CI 0.95-1.52). A similar association was found for paternal...

Untitled

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

20. Nevill GA and Cook D 1969 Can. J. Chen. 47 743. 21. Glasel GA 1969 Org. Magn. Reson. 1481. 22. Soundarajan S 1958 Trans. Faraday Soc. 54147. 23. Rein R 1971 Int. J. Quant. Chem., Symp, 4341. 24. Woet D 1972.J. Am. Chen, Soc. 94.8213. 25. Bideau.JP, Huong PV and Toure S 1976 Acta Crystallogr. B32481.

Spatial and topographic trends in forest expansion and biomass change, from regional to local scales.

Science.gov (United States)

Buma, Brian; Barrett, Tara M

2015-09-01

Natural forest growth and expansion are important carbon sequestration processes globally. Climate change is likely to increase forest growth in some regions via CO2 fertilization, increased temperatures, and altered precipitation; however, altered disturbance regimes and climate stress (e.g. drought) will act to reduce carbon stocks in forests as well. Observations of asynchrony in forest change is useful in determining current trends in forest carbon stocks, both in terms of forest density (e.g. Mg ha(-1) ) and spatially (extent and location). Monitoring change in natural (unmanaged) areas is particularly useful, as while afforestation and recovery from historic land use are currently large carbon sinks, the long-term viability of those sinks depends on climate change and disturbance dynamics at their particular location. We utilize a large, unmanaged biome (>135 000 km(2) ) which spans a broad latitudinal gradient to explore how variation in location affects forest density and spatial patterning: the forests of the North American temperate rainforests in Alaska, which store >2.8 Pg C in biomass and soil, equivalent to >8% of the C in contiguous US forests. We demonstrate that the regional biome is shifting; gains exceed losses and are located in different spatio-topographic contexts. Forest gains are concentrated on northerly aspects, lower elevations, and higher latitudes, especially in sheltered areas, whereas loss is skewed toward southerly aspects and lower latitudes. Repeat plot-scale biomass data (n = 759) indicate that within-forest biomass gains outpace losses (live trees >12.7 cm diameter, 986 Gg yr(-1) ) on gentler slopes and in higher latitudes. This work demonstrates that while temperate rainforest dynamics occur at fine spatial scales (biomass accumulation suggest the potential for relatively rapid biome shifts and biomass changes. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Forests

Science.gov (United States)

Louis R. Iverson; Mark W. Schwartz

1994-01-01

Originally diminished by development, forests are coming back: forest biomass is accumulating. Forests are repositories for many threatened species. Even with increased standing timber, however, biodiversity is threatened by increased forest fragmentation and by exotic species.

Forest structure in low-diversity tropical forests: a study of Hawaiian wet and dry forests.

Science.gov (United States)

Ostertag, Rebecca; Inman-Narahari, Faith; Cordell, Susan; Giardina, Christian P; Sack, Lawren

2014-01-01

The potential influence of diversity on ecosystem structure and function remains a topic of significant debate, especially for tropical forests where diversity can range widely. We used Center for Tropical Forest Science (CTFS) methodology to establish forest dynamics plots in montane wet forest and lowland dry forest on Hawai'i Island. We compared the species diversity, tree density, basal area, biomass, and size class distributions between the two forest types. We then examined these variables across tropical forests within the CTFS network. Consistent with other island forests, the Hawai'i forests were characterized by low species richness and very high relative dominance. The two Hawai'i forests were floristically distinct, yet similar in species richness (15 vs. 21 species) and stem density (3078 vs. 3486/ha). While these forests were selected for their low invasive species cover relative to surrounding forests, both forests averaged 5->50% invasive species cover; ongoing removal will be necessary to reduce or prevent competitive impacts, especially from woody species. The montane wet forest had much larger trees, resulting in eightfold higher basal area and above-ground biomass. Across the CTFS network, the Hawaiian montane wet forest was similar to other tropical forests with respect to diameter distributions, density, and aboveground biomass, while the Hawai'i lowland dry forest was similar in density to tropical forests with much higher diversity. These findings suggest that forest structural variables can be similar across tropical forests independently of species richness. The inclusion of low-diversity Pacific Island forests in the CTFS network provides an ∼80-fold range in species richness (15-1182 species), six-fold variation in mean annual rainfall (835-5272 mm yr(-1)) and 1.8-fold variation in mean annual temperature (16.0-28.4°C). Thus, the Hawaiian forest plots expand the global forest plot network to enable testing of ecological theory for

Forest structure in low-diversity tropical forests: a study of Hawaiian wet and dry forests.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rebecca Ostertag

Full Text Available The potential influence of diversity on ecosystem structure and function remains a topic of significant debate, especially for tropical forests where diversity can range widely. We used Center for Tropical Forest Science (CTFS methodology to establish forest dynamics plots in montane wet forest and lowland dry forest on Hawai'i Island. We compared the species diversity, tree density, basal area, biomass, and size class distributions between the two forest types. We then examined these variables across tropical forests within the CTFS network. Consistent with other island forests, the Hawai'i forests were characterized by low species richness and very high relative dominance. The two Hawai'i forests were floristically distinct, yet similar in species richness (15 vs. 21 species and stem density (3078 vs. 3486/ha. While these forests were selected for their low invasive species cover relative to surrounding forests, both forests averaged 5->50% invasive species cover; ongoing removal will be necessary to reduce or prevent competitive impacts, especially from woody species. The montane wet forest had much larger trees, resulting in eightfold higher basal area and above-ground biomass. Across the CTFS network, the Hawaiian montane wet forest was similar to other tropical forests with respect to diameter distributions, density, and aboveground biomass, while the Hawai'i lowland dry forest was similar in density to tropical forests with much higher diversity. These findings suggest that forest structural variables can be similar across tropical forests independently of species richness. The inclusion of low-diversity Pacific Island forests in the CTFS network provides an ∼80-fold range in species richness (15-1182 species, six-fold variation in mean annual rainfall (835-5272 mm yr(-1 and 1.8-fold variation in mean annual temperature (16.0-28.4°C. Thus, the Hawaiian forest plots expand the global forest plot network to enable testing of ecological

Travailler loin de son domicile

OpenAIRE

Bonnet, Estelle; Verley, Elise; Ries, Tammy

2017-01-01

Résumé : La mobilité géographique liée à un lieu de travail éloigné du domicile – supposant soit de longs trajets quotidiens, soit de dormir en dehors du domicile – s’inscrit à l’articulation de la sphère professionnelle et de la sphère privée. Elle met à l’épreuve le couple et la distribution des rôles sexués en son sein. Cet article interroge les divisions sexuées inhérentes à cette articulation selon que l’on se place du point de vue d’une mobilité féminine ou masculine. Il examine en quoi...

Forest ownership dynamics of southern forests

Science.gov (United States)

Brett J. Butler; David N. Wear

2013-01-01

Key FindingsPrivate landowners hold 86 percent of the forest area in the South; two-thirds of this area is owned by families or individuals.Fifty-nine percent of family forest owners own between 1 and 9 acres of forest land, but 60 percent of family-owned forests are in holdings of 100 acres or more.Two-...

African-American Fathers' Perspectives on Facilitators and Barriers to Father-Son Sexual Health Communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Randolph, Schenita D; Coakley, Tanya; Shears, Jeffrey; Thorpe, Roland J

2017-06-01

African-American males ages 13 through 24 are disproportionately affected by sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), accounting for over half of all HIV infections in this age group in the United States. Clear communication between African-American parents and their youth about sexual health is associated with higher rates of sexual abstinence, condom use, and intent to delay initiation of sexual intercourse. However, little is known about African-American fathers' perceptions of what facilitates and inhibits sexual health communication with their preadolescent and adolescent sons. We conducted focus groups with 29 African-American fathers of sons ages 10-15 to explore perceived facilitators and barriers for father-son communication about sexual health. Participants were recruited from barbershops in metropolitan and rural North Carolina communities highly affected by STIs and HIV, and data were analyzed using content analysis. Three factors facilitated father-son communication: (a) fathers' acceptance of their roles and responsibilities; (b) a positive father-son relationship; and (c) fathers' ability to speak directly to their sons about sex. We also identified three barriers: (a) fathers' difficulty in initiating sexual health discussions with their sons; (b) sons' developmental readiness for sexual health information; and (c) fathers' lack of experience in talking with their own fathers about sex. These findings have implications for father-focused prevention interventions aimed at reducing risky sexual behaviors in adolescent African-American males. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The linkages between photosynthesis, productivity, growth and biomass in lowland Amazonian forests.

Science.gov (United States)

Malhi, Yadvinder; Doughty, Christopher E; Goldsmith, Gregory R; Metcalfe, Daniel B; Girardin, Cécile A J; Marthews, Toby R; Del Aguila-Pasquel, Jhon; Aragão, Luiz E O C; Araujo-Murakami, Alejandro; Brando, Paulo; da Costa, Antonio C L; Silva-Espejo, Javier E; Farfán Amézquita, Filio; Galbraith, David R; Quesada, Carlos A; Rocha, Wanderley; Salinas-Revilla, Norma; Silvério, Divino; Meir, Patrick; Phillips, Oliver L

2015-06-01

Understanding the relationship between photosynthesis, net primary productivity and growth in forest ecosystems is key to understanding how these ecosystems will respond to global anthropogenic change, yet the linkages among these components are rarely explored in detail. We provide the first comprehensive description of the productivity, respiration and carbon allocation of contrasting lowland Amazonian forests spanning gradients in seasonal water deficit and soil fertility. Using the largest data set assembled to date, ten sites in three countries all studied with a standardized methodology, we find that (i) gross primary productivity (GPP) has a simple relationship with seasonal water deficit, but that (ii) site-to-site variations in GPP have little power in explaining site-to-site spatial variations in net primary productivity (NPP) or growth because of concomitant changes in carbon use efficiency (CUE), and conversely, the woody growth rate of a tropical forest is a very poor proxy for its productivity. Moreover, (iii) spatial patterns of biomass are much more driven by patterns of residence times (i.e. tree mortality rates) than by spatial variation in productivity or tree growth. Current theory and models of tropical forest carbon cycling under projected scenarios of global atmospheric change can benefit from advancing beyond a focus on GPP. By improving our understanding of poorly understood processes such as CUE, NPP allocation and biomass turnover times, we can provide more complete and mechanistic approaches to linking climate and tropical forest carbon cycling. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

SiBiFor: Forest Biometric System for forest management in Mexico

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benedicto Vargas-Larreta

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Introducción: Los sistemas biométricos forestales constituyen las herramientas analíticas más utilizadas para el análisis de la producción y el crecimiento de los bosques. Objetivo: Presentar un nuevo sistema biométrico para los bosques templados y tropicales de México. Materiales y métodos: El área de estudio comprendió los estados de Chihuahua, Guerrero, Jalisco, Oaxaca, Michoacán, Puebla, Estado de México, Hidalgo, Tlaxcala, Veracruz y Quintana Roo. La toma de datos de campo se realizó mediante muestreo destructivo y no destructivo en cada Unidad de Manejo Forestal Regional (UMAFOR en los estados. La metodología utilizada permitió generar sistemas de ecuaciones para la estimación de atributos de árboles individuales que son aditivos entre componentes, escalables a nivel de árbol completo y consistentes a lo largo de las diversas condiciones forestales del país. Resultados y discusión: El Sistema Biométrico Forestal "SiBiFor" está integrado por más de 6000 nuevas ecuaciones para 97 especies arbóreas de los bosques templados y tropicales. SiBiFor contiene 2 917 ecuaciones de volumen, 2868 de ahusamiento-volumen, 341 de índice de sitio y 288 de crecimiento en diámetro. Conclusión: Las ecuaciones desarrolladas mejorarán el manejo de los ecosistemas forestales del país lo que contribuirá a la sustentabilidad de los mismos.

Aditivos alimentarios: ¿qué son, cómo actúan, por qué son tan necesarios?

OpenAIRE

Blanco de Alvarado-Ortiz, Teresa

2014-01-01

Para John M. deMan, en su obra PrincipIes of Food Chemistry a los aditivos alimentarios con frecuencia se les asocia a algo químico, otorgándose erradamente a lo quimico características de artificial, no siempre bueno para la salud.Dicen bien erradamente, porque hombres, animales, plantas, microorganismos, alimentos, aire, cerros, minas y todo lo que nos rodea en la maravillosa naturaleza, es químico. Los aditivos alimentarios,todos químicos, naturales o artificiales son extraordinarias susta...

Forests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Melin, J.

1997-01-01

Forests have the capacity to trap and retain radionuclides for a substantial period of time. The dynamic behaviour of nutrients, pollution and radionuclides in forests is complex. The rotation period of a forest stand in the Nordic countries is about 100 years, whilst the time for decomposition of organic material in a forest environment can be several hundred years. This means that any countermeasure applied in the forest environment must have an effect for several decades, or be reapplied continuously for long periods of time. To mitigate the detrimental effect of a contaminated forest environment on man, and to minimise the economic loss in trade of contaminated forest products, it is necessary to understand the mechanisms of transfer of radionuclides through the forest environment. It must also be stressed that any countermeasure applied in the forest environment must be evaluated with respect to long, as well as short term, negative effects, before any decision about remedial action is taken. Of the radionuclides studied in forests in the past, radiocaesium has been the main contributor to dose to man. In this document, only radiocaesium will be discussed since data on the impact of other radionuclides on man are too scarce for a proper evaluation. (EG)

Forests and Forest Cover - MDC_NaturalForestCommunity

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC Local Govt | GIS Inventory — A point feature class of NFCs - Natural Forest Communities. Natural Forest Community shall mean all stands of trees (including their associated understory) which...

An improved approach for remotely sensing water stress impacts on forest C uptake.

Science.gov (United States)

Sims, Daniel A; Brzostek, Edward R; Rahman, Abdullah F; Dragoni, Danilo; Phillips, Richard P

2014-09-01

Given that forests represent the primary terrestrial sink for atmospheric CO2 , projections of future carbon (C) storage hinge on forest responses to climate variation. Models of gross primary production (GPP) responses to water stress are commonly based on remotely sensed changes in canopy 'greenness' (e.g., normalized difference vegetation index; NDVI). However, many forests have low spectral sensitivity to water stress (SSWS) - defined here as drought-induced decline in GPP without a change in greenness. Current satellite-derived estimates of GPP use a vapor pressure deficit (VPD) scalar to account for the low SWSS of forests, but fail to capture their responses to water stress. Our objectives were to characterize differences in SSWS among forested and nonforested ecosystems, and to develop an improved framework for predicting the impacts of water stress on GPP in forests with low SSWS. First, we paired two independent drought indices with NDVI data for the conterminous US from 2000 to 2011, and examined the relationship between water stress and NDVI. We found that forests had lower SSWS than nonforests regardless of drought index or duration. We then compared satellite-derived estimates of GPP with eddy-covariance observations of GPP in two deciduous broadleaf forests with low SSWS: the Missouri Ozark (MO) and Morgan Monroe State Forest (MMSF) AmeriFlux sites. Model estimates of GPP that used VPD scalars were poorly correlated with observations of GPP at MO (r(2) = 0.09) and MMSF (r(2) = 0.38). When we included the NDVI responses to water stress of adjacent ecosystems with high SSWS into a model based solely on temperature and greenness, we substantially improved predictions of GPP at MO (r(2) = 0.83) and for a severe drought year at the MMSF (r(2) = 0.82). Collectively, our results suggest that large-scale estimates of GPP that capture variation in SSWS among ecosystems could improve predictions of C uptake by forests under drought. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons

Landscape-level effects on aboveground biomass of tropical forests: A conceptual framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Melito, Melina; Metzger, Jean Paul; de Oliveira, Alexandre A

2018-02-01

Despite the general recognition that fragmentation can reduce forest biomass through edge effects, a systematic review of the literature does not reveal a clear role of edges in modulating biomass loss. Additionally, the edge effects appear to be constrained by matrix type, suggesting that landscape composition has an influence on biomass stocks. The lack of empirical evidence of pervasive edge-related biomass losses across tropical forests highlights the necessity for a general framework linking landscape structure with aboveground biomass. Here, we propose a conceptual model in which landscape composition and configuration mediate the magnitude of edge effects and seed-flux among forest patches, which ultimately has an influence on biomass. Our model hypothesizes that a rapid reduction of biomass can occur below a threshold of forest cover loss. Just below this threshold, we predict that changes in landscape configuration can strongly influence the patch's isolation, thus enhancing biomass loss. Moreover, we expect a synergism between landscape composition and patch attributes, where matrix type mediates the effects of edges on species decline, particularly for shade-tolerant species. To test our conceptual framework, we propose a sampling protocol where the effects of edges, forest amount, forest isolation, fragment size, and matrix type on biomass stocks can be assessed both collectively and individually. The proposed model unifies the combined effects of landscape and patch structure on biomass into a single framework, providing a new set of main drivers of biomass loss in human-modified landscapes. We argue that carbon trading agendas (e.g., REDD+) and carbon-conservation initiatives must go beyond the effects of forest loss and edges on biomass, considering the whole set of effects on biomass related to changes in landscape composition and configuration. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Combating Forest Corruption: the Forest Integrity Network

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gupta, A.; Siebert, U.

2004-01-01

This article describes the strategies and activities of the Forest Integrity Network. One of the most important underlying causes of forest degradation is corruption and related illegal logging. The Forest Integrity Network is a timely new initiative to combat forest corruption. Its approach is to

ESTIMACIÓN DE LA BIOMASA FORESTAL PARA LAS ESPECIES QUERCUS ROTUNDIFOLIA Y QUERCUS SUBER BASADA EN IMÁGENES DEL SATÉLITE QUICKBIRD

OpenAIRE

Sousa, Adélia; Marques da Silva, José; Gonçalves, Ana Cristina; Mesquita, Paulo; Silva, Luis; Baptista, F.J.

2013-01-01

para una buena gestión. Actualmente las técnicas de inventario y monitoreo de biomasa forestal son usualmente lentas, muy trabajosas y de elevado coste, verificándose así la necesidad de desarrollar otras técnicas, que sean fiables y con costes relativamente reducidos. El objetivo de este estudio es desarrollar una metodología para estimar la biomasa forestal de las especies Quercus rotundifolia y Quercus suber basada en imágenes del satélite QuickBird. La estimación de la biomasa...

Forest biomass, productivity and carbon cycling along a rainfall gradient in West Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Sam; Adu-Bredu, Stephen; Duah-Gyamfi, Akwasi; Addo-Danso, Shalom D; Ibrahim, Forzia; Mbou, Armel T; de Grandcourt, Agnès; Valentini, Riccardo; Nicolini, Giacomo; Djagbletey, Gloria; Owusu-Afriyie, Kennedy; Gvozdevaite, Agne; Oliveras, Imma; Ruiz-Jaen, Maria C; Malhi, Yadvinder

2018-02-01

Net Primary Productivity (NPP) is one of the most important parameters in describing the functioning of any ecosystem and yet it arguably remains a poorly quantified and understood component of carbon cycling in tropical forests, especially outside of the Americas. We provide the first comprehensive analysis of NPP and its carbon allocation to woody, canopy and root growth components at contrasting lowland West African forests spanning a rainfall gradient. Using a standardized methodology to study evergreen (EF), semi-deciduous (SDF), dry forests (DF) and woody savanna (WS), we find that (i) climate is more closely related with above and belowground C stocks than with NPP (ii) total NPP is highest in the SDF site, then the EF followed by the DF and WS and that (iii) different forest types have distinct carbon allocation patterns whereby SDF allocate in excess of 50% to canopy production and the DF and WS sites allocate 40%-50% to woody production. Furthermore, we find that (iv) compared with canopy and root growth rates the woody growth rate of these forests is a poor proxy for their overall productivity and that (v) residence time is the primary driver in the productivity-allocation-turnover chain for the observed spatial differences in woody, leaf and root biomass across the rainfall gradient. Through a systematic assessment of forest productivity we demonstrate the importance of directly measuring the main components of above and belowground NPP and encourage the establishment of more permanent carbon intensive monitoring plots across the tropics. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Impaired Reproductive Development in Sons of Women Occupationally Exposed to Pesticides during Pregnancy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Helle Raun; Schmidt, Ida M.; Grandjean, Philippe

2008-01-01

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this prospective study was to investigate whether occupational pesticide exposure during pregnancy causes adverse effects on the reproductive development in the male infants. DESIGN AND MEASUREMENTS: Pregnant women employed in greenhouses in Denmark were consecutively...... recruited, and 113 mother-son pairs were included. The mothers were categorized as occupationally exposed (91 sons) or unexposed (22 sons) to pesticides during pregnancy. Testicular position and volume, penile length, and position of urethral opening were determined at 3 months of age using standardized...

Disability in the Family: John and Alice Dewey Raising Their Son Sabino

Science.gov (United States)

Danforth, Scot

2018-01-01

Background/Context: The current biographic understanding of John Dewey's experience adopting and raising an Italian boy named Sabino emphasizes the theme of finding an emotional replacement for Morris and Gordon, two young sons who had tragically died on family trips to Europe. Lacking is substantive attention to the fact that John Dewey's son had…

The Telephone Connection: An Interview with Ernest Hemingway's Son.

Science.gov (United States)

Workman, Brooke

1979-01-01

Relates how a conference call to Ernest Hemingway's son, Gregory, resolved questions and brought understanding and excitement to a group of Iowa high school students enrolled in a 12-week Hemingway seminar. (FL)

Forest resources of the Nez Perce National Forest

Science.gov (United States)

Michele Disney

2010-01-01

As part of a National Forest System cooperative inventory, the Interior West Forest Inventory and Analysis (IWFIA) Program of the USDA Forest Service conducted a forest resource inventory on the Nez Perce National Forest using a nationally standardized mapped-plot design (for more details see the section "Inventory methods"). This report presents highlights...

Carbon pool densities and a first estimate of the total carbon pool in the Mongolian forest-steppe.

Science.gov (United States)

Dulamsuren, Choimaa; Klinge, Michael; Degener, Jan; Khishigjargal, Mookhor; Chenlemuge, Tselmeg; Bat-Enerel, Banzragch; Yeruult, Yolk; Saindovdon, Davaadorj; Ganbaatar, Kherlenchimeg; Tsogtbaatar, Jamsran; Leuschner, Christoph; Hauck, Markus

2016-02-01

The boreal forest biome represents one of the most important terrestrial carbon stores, which gave reason to intensive research on carbon stock densities. However, such an analysis does not yet exist for the southernmost Eurosiberian boreal forests in Inner Asia. Most of these forests are located in the Mongolian forest-steppe, which is largely dominated by Larix sibirica. We quantified the carbon stock density and total carbon pool of Mongolia's boreal forests and adjacent grasslands and draw conclusions on possible future change. Mean aboveground carbon stock density in the interior of L. sibirica forests was 66 Mg C ha(-1) , which is in the upper range of values reported from boreal forests and probably due to the comparably long growing season. The density of soil organic carbon (SOC, 108 Mg C ha(-1) ) and total belowground carbon density (149 Mg C ha(-1) ) are at the lower end of the range known from boreal forests, which might be the result of higher soil temperatures and a thinner permafrost layer than in the central and northern boreal forest belt. Land use effects are especially relevant at forest edges, where mean carbon stock density was 188 Mg C ha(-1) , compared with 215 Mg C ha(-1) in the forest interior. Carbon stock density in grasslands was 144 Mg C ha(-1) . Analysis of satellite imagery of the highly fragmented forest area in the forest-steppe zone showed that Mongolia's total boreal forest area is currently 73 818 km(2) , and 22% of this area refers to forest edges (defined as the first 30 m from the edge). The total forest carbon pool of Mongolia was estimated at ~ 1.5-1.7 Pg C, a value which is likely to decrease in future with increasing deforestation and fire frequency, and global warming. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Reproductive Rights and Son Preference in India : Mobilizing ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

This project is concerned with two overlapping manifestations of gender inequality in India : limited access to reproductive rights on the one hand, and practices associated with son preference on the other. Work that brings together these two issues is urgently needed, particularly in the context of declining funding for ...

Short-lived radiopharmaceutical development at E.R. Squibb and Sons, Inc

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loberg, M.D.

1985-01-01

This paper describes the present status and future plans of E.R. Squibb and Sons, Inc. as they relate to the development of short-lived radiopharmaceuticals. The advantages of short-lived radiopharmaceuticals are summarized as are the problems inherent in their manufacture, quality control, and distribution. The nuclear generator is advocated as the best means of distributing short-lived radiopharmaceuticals. The E.R. Squibb and Sons work with the 82 Sr → 82 Rb generator is summarized

Spectral tensor parameters for wind turbine load modeling from forested and agricultural landscapes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chougule, Abhijit S.; Mann, Jakob; Segalini, A.

2015-01-01

A velocity spectral tensor model was evaluated from the single-point measurements of wind speed. The model contains three parameters representing the dissipation rate of specific turbulent kinetic energy, a turbulence length scale and the turbulence anisotropy. Sonic anemometer measurements taken...... was better than that of the cross-wind component. No significant difference was found between the performance of the model at the forested and the agricultural areas. © 2014 The Authors. Wind Energy published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd....

Evaluating mechanisms of diversification in a Guineo-Congolian tropical forest frog using demographic model selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Portik, Daniel M; Leaché, Adam D; Rivera, Danielle; Barej, Michael F; Burger, Marius; Hirschfeld, Mareike; Rödel, Mark-Oliver; Blackburn, David C; Fujita, Matthew K

2017-10-01

The accumulation of biodiversity in tropical forests can occur through multiple allopatric and parapatric models of diversification, including forest refugia, riverine barriers and ecological gradients. Considerable debate surrounds the major diversification process, particularly in the West African Lower Guinea forests, which contain a complex geographic arrangement of topographic features and historical refugia. We used genomic data to investigate alternative mechanisms of diversification in the Gaboon forest frog, Scotobleps gabonicus, by first identifying population structure and then performing demographic model selection and spatially explicit analyses. We found that a majority of population divergences are best explained by allopatric models consistent with the forest refugia hypothesis and involve divergence in isolation with subsequent expansion and gene flow. These population divergences occurred simultaneously and conform to predictions based on climatically stable regions inferred through ecological niche modelling. Although forest refugia played a prominent role in the intraspecific diversification of S. gabonicus, we also find evidence for potential interactions between landscape features and historical refugia, including major rivers and elevational barriers such as the Cameroonian Volcanic Line. We outline the advantages of using genomewide variation in a model-testing framework to distinguish between alternative allopatric hypotheses, and the pitfalls of limited geographic and molecular sampling. Although phylogeographic patterns are often species-specific and related to life-history traits, additional comparative studies incorporating genomic data are necessary for separating shared historical processes from idiosyncratic responses to environmental, climatic and geological influences on diversification. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

L'astronomie et son histoire

CERN Document Server

Roy, Jean-René

1982-01-01

Le livre de Jean-René Roy nous présente une vaste synthèse des connaissances présentes en astronomie. Le grand mérite du livre est de dérouler son sujet en parallèle avec une histoire de l'astronomie. Le côté historique est ici beaucoup plus qu'un luxe. Il redonne leurs dimensions vraies aux réponses qu'apporte l'astronomie. Pour bien sentir la nature d'une étape franchie, il faut aussi avoir vécu la situation telle qu'elle se présentait avant. Et les fiches personnelles incluses dans le livre ont l'intérêt de nous rapprocher encore plus du "" feu de l'action "". Écrit dans un style direct et

Spatio-temporal analysis of forest modeling in Mexico

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saira Y. Martínez-Santiago

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Hay consenso de que las acciones antropogénicas están degradando los ecosistemas a un ritmo alarmante. La modelación y las nuevas tecnologías, como las tecnologías de la información y de la comunicación ( TIC, se utilizan en modo creciente para tomar decisiones sobre el manejo y la conservación de los recursos naturales. En este trabajo se analizaron la evolución temporal y la distribución espacial de la producción científica en modelación forestal en México. De 1980 a 2015, 454 autores participaron en la publicación de 259 artículos en 37 revistas (84 % mexicanas, de las cuales 28 están indizadas en el Journal Citation Reports (JCR. Los trabajos sobre manejo forestal han sido los más relevantes, aunque tienen una importancia relativa a la baja, mientras que los de servicios ambientales y distribución potencial van ganando importancia. Los autores pertenecen a 89 instituciones, de las cuales 65 % son mexicanas. Durante el periodo analizado, el número de autores (y las colaboraciones y publicaciones incrementaron 12 y nueve veces, respectivamente. Estos incrementos coinciden con la evolución de las políticas normativas y el establecimiento y apoyo del Sistema Nacional de Investigadores. Las colaboraciones en la red actual de modelación forestal aún tienen gran potencial de crecimiento.

The institutionalization of Jesus' charismatic authority: "Son of Man" as case study¹

OpenAIRE

Yolanda Dreyer

2000-01-01

This article argues that Jesus used the expression "son of man" not in a titular way, but genetically, meaning "humankind". This use of "son of man" developed into a titular usage in which Jesus is identified with "Son of Man". The study shows that Jesus' use of the expression "son of man" should be understood in the context of the "little tradition" which was reinterpreted in terms of the "great tradition" in a titular way. It is argued that this transition from "litle tradition" to "great t...

Types of sons/siblings, fraternal function and peers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luisa Brunori

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In this article, the author starts by exploring family dynamics using the psychodynamic-groupanalytic paradigm to explore the intertwined relationships amongst the family figures like son, daughter, parents and sibling. The work focuses on the analysis of the psychological aspects related to siblings in the family, birth order and their consequences.

Girl adoption in China-A less-known side of son preference.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yuyu; Ebenstein, Avraham; Edlund, Lena; Li, Hongbin

2015-01-01

In 1987, 4 per cent of girls were adopted within China. Why? Unlike infanticide, abandonment rids parents of daughters while preserving the supply of potential brides. In fact, an erstwhile tradition common in Fujian and Jiangxi provinces had parents of sons adopting an infant girl to serve as a future daughter-in-law and household help. Analysing a nationally representative 1992 survey of children, we found that: (1) girl adoptions were concentrated in the above-mentioned provinces; (2) girls were predominantly adopted by families with sons; (3) adopted girls faced substantial disadvantage as measured by school attendance at ages 8-13. In the 1990s, as the sex ratio at birth climbed, were girls aborted rather than abandoned? Observing that in the 2000 census too many girls appear in families with older sons, we estimated that at least 1/25 girls were abandoned in the 1990s, a proportion that in Fujian and Jiangxi may have peaked at 1/10 in 1994.

Forest rights

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Balooni, Kulbhushan; Lund, Jens Friis

2014-01-01

One of the proposed strategies for implementation of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation plus (REDD+) is to incentivize conservation of forests managed by communities under decentralized forest management. Yet, we argue that this is a challenging road to REDD+ because...... conservation of forests under existing decentralized management arrangements toward a push for extending the coverage of forests under decentralized management, making forest rights the hard currency of REDD+....

Dispersal, isolation and diversification with continued gene flow in an Andean tropical dry forest.

Science.gov (United States)

Toby Pennington, R; Lavin, Matt

2017-07-01

The Andes are the world's longest mountain chain, and the tropical Andes are the world's richest biodiversity hot spot. The origin of the tropical Andean cordillera is relatively recent because the elevation of the mountains was relatively low (400-2500 m palaeoelevations) only 10 MYA with final uplift being rapid. These final phases of the Andean orogeny are thought to have had a fundamental role in shaping processes of biotic diversification and biogeography, with these effects reaching far from the mountains themselves by changing the course of rivers and deposition of mineral-rich Andean sediments across the massive Amazon basin. In a recent issue of Molecular Ecology, Oswald, Overcast, Mauck, Andersen, and Smith (2017) investigate the biogeography and diversification of bird species in the Andes of Peru and Ecuador. Their study is novel in its focus on tropical dry forests (Figure 1) rather than more mesic biomes such as rain forests, cloud forests and paramos, which tend to be the focus of science and conservation in the Andean hot spot. It is also able to draw powerful conclusions via the first deployment of genomic approaches to a biogeographic question in the threatened dry forests of the New World. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Forest structure in low diversity tropical forests: a study of Hawaiian wet and dry forests

Science.gov (United States)

R. Ostertag; F. Inman-Narahari; S. Cordell; C.P. Giardina; L. Sack

2014-01-01

The potential influence of diversity on ecosystem structure and function remains a topic of significant debate, especially for tropical forests where diversity can range widely. We used Center for Tropical Forest Science (CTFS) methodology to establish forest dynamics plots in montane wet forest and lowland dry forest on Hawai‘i Island. We compared the species...

Reliability of P mode event classification using contemporaneous BiSON and GOLF observations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simoniello, R; Chaplin, W J; Elsworth, Y P; Garcia, R A

2008-01-01

We carried out a comparison of the signals seen in contemporaneous BiSON and GOLF data sets. Both instruments perform Doppler shift velocity measurements in integrated sunlight, although BiSON perform measurements from the two wings of potassium absorption line and GOLF from one wing of the NaD1 line. Discrepancies between the two datasets have been observed. We show,in fact, that the relative power depends on the wing in which GOLF data observes. During the blue wing period, the relative power is mugh higher than in BiSON datasets, while a good agreement has been observed during the red period.

Does participatory forest management promote sustainable forest utilisation in Tanzania?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Treue, Thorsten; Ngaga, Y.M.; Meilby, Henrik

2014-01-01

Over the past 20 years, Participatory Forest Management (PFM) has become a dominant forest management strategy in Tanzania, covering more than 4.1 million hectares. Sustainable forest use and supply of wood products to local people are major aims of PFM. This paper assesses the sustainability...... of forest utilisation under PFM, using estimates of forest condition and extraction rates based on forest inventories and 480 household surveys from 12 forests; seven under Community Based Forest Management (CBFM), three under Joint Forest Management (JFM) and two under government management (non......-PFM). Extraction of products is intense in forests close to Dar es Salaam, regardless of management regime. Further from Dar es Salaam, harvesting levels in forests under PFM are, with one prominent exception, broadly sustainable. Using GIS data from 116 wards, it is shown that half of the PFM forests in Tanzania...

Urban Forests

Science.gov (United States)

David Nowak

2016-01-01

Urban forests (and trees) constitute the second forest resource considered in this report. We specifically emphasize the fact that agricultural and urban forests exist on a continuum defined by their relationship (and interrelationship) with a given landscape. These two forest types generally serve different purposes, however. Whereas agricultural forests are...

Major ion chemistry of the Son River, India

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The chemistry of major ions in the surface water of the Son River was studied in detail to determine various source(s) and processes controlling its water chemistry, seasonal and spatial variations in water chemistry, dissolved fluxes and chemical denudation rate (CDR). The study shows that Ca2+, Mg2+ and HCO 3 − are ...

Breaking the ice! Predictors about communication between nonresident African American fathers and sons about sex.

Science.gov (United States)

Burns, Jade C; Caldwell, Cleopatra H

2016-02-01

Research on communication between resident and nonresident African American fathers and their sons about sex has been understudied. The purpose of this study is to determine the influence of parenting variables, specifically, racial socialization and father involvement on nonresident African American father-son communication about sex. Data for this study are from the Fathers and Sons Project. This intervention study is designed to enhance relationships between nonresident African American fathers and their 8-12 year old sons and to prevent risky health behaviors among sons. The present study is based on 345 African American boys who completed baseline face-to-face interviews. The average age of the sons was 10.2 years old (SD = 1.4), with an average of two siblings (SD = 1.53). Age and sons' perceptions of more parental monitoring by their fathers were predictive of increased communication about sex. Racial socialization messages explained additional variance in communication about sex above other parenting variables and controls. Findings suggest when working with African American families, providers who counsel parents, and in particular provide outreach to fathers regarding communication about sex, are in a unique position to enhance parenting communication skills about sexuality. ©2015 American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

Phylobetadiversity among forest types in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest complex.

Science.gov (United States)

Duarte, Leandro Da Silva; Bergamin, Rodrigo Scarton; Marcilio-Silva, Vinícius; Seger, Guilherme Dubal Dos Santos; Marques, Márcia Cristina Mendes

2014-01-01

Phylobetadiversity is defined as the phylogenetic resemblance between communities or biomes. Analyzing phylobetadiversity patterns among different vegetation physiognomies within a single biome is crucial to understand the historical affinities between them. Based on the widely accepted idea that different forest physiognomies within the Southern Brazilian Atlantic Forest constitute different facies of a single biome, we hypothesize that more recent phylogenetic nodes should drive phylobetadiversity gradients between the different forest types within the Atlantic Forest, as the phylogenetic divergence among those forest types is biogeographically recent. We compiled information from 206 checklists describing the occurrence of shrub/tree species across three different forest physiognomies within the Southern Brazilian Atlantic Forest (Dense, Mixed and Seasonal forests). We analyzed intra-site phylogenetic structure (phylogenetic diversity, net relatedness index and nearest taxon index) and phylobetadiversity between plots located at different forest types, using five different methods differing in sensitivity to either basal or terminal nodes (phylogenetic fuzzy weighting, COMDIST, COMDISTNT, UniFrac and Rao's H). Mixed forests showed higher phylogenetic diversity and overdispersion than the other forest types. Furthermore, all forest types differed from each other in relation phylobetadiversity patterns, particularly when phylobetadiversity methods more sensitive to terminal nodes were employed. Mixed forests tended to show higher phylogenetic differentiation to Dense and Seasonal forests than these latter from each other. The higher phylogenetic diversity and phylobetadiversity levels found in Mixed forests when compared to the others likely result from the biogeographical origin of several taxa occurring in these forests. On one hand, Mixed forests shelter several temperate taxa, like the conifers Araucaria and Podocarpus. On the other hand, tropical groups, like

Forest tenure and sustainable forest management

Science.gov (United States)

J.P. Siry; K. McGinley; F.W. Cubbage; P. Bettinger

2015-01-01

We reviewed the principles and key literature related to forest tenure and sustainable forest management, and then examined the status of sustainable forestry and land ownership at the aggregate national level for major forested countries. The institutional design principles suggested by Ostrom are well accepted for applications to public, communal, and private lands....

Associations Between Fathers' and Sons' Sexual Risk in Rural Kenya: The Potential for Intergenerational Transmission.

Science.gov (United States)

Giusto, Ali M; Green, Eric P; Puffer, Eve S

2017-08-01

Despite high rates of HIV in areas of Sub-Saharan Africa and men's role in driving the epidemic, little is known about whether or how sexual risk-both behaviors and beliefs-may be passed down through generations of males. This study examined associations between sexual risk behaviors and sex-related beliefs of adolescent males and those of their male caregivers in Kenya, as well as the potential moderating effects of parenting characteristics and father-son relationship quality. Cross-sectional linear regression analysis was applied to baseline data from a trial of a family- and church-based intervention for families in rural Kenya that followed a stepped-wedge cluster randomized design. Our subsample consisted of 79 male caregiver and son (aged 10-16 years) dyads. Results demonstrated a direct relationship between fathers' and sons' sex-related beliefs that was not moderated by parenting or quality of father-son relationship. Parenting/relationship characteristics did moderate the relationship between fathers' and sons' sexual behavior; if fathers did not engage in high-risk sex and exhibited more positive parenting/higher relationship quality, their sons were less likely to be sexually active. Among fathers having high-risk sex, parenting was unrelated to sons' behavior except at very high levels of positive parenting/relationship quality; at these levels, sons were actually more likely to have had sex. Findings support recommendations to include male caregivers in youth HIV prevention efforts, potentially by targeting fathers' parenting strategies and their individual risk. Copyright © 2017 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Has Their Son Been Vaccinated? Beliefs About Other Parents Matter for Human Papillomavirus Vaccine.

Science.gov (United States)

Schuler, Christine L; Coyne-Beasley, Tamera

2016-07-01

The goal of this study was to determine if parents' beliefs about social norms of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination for sons were associated with knowledge of HPV, intention to vaccinate sons, or beliefs about side effects. A cross-sectional, survey-based study of parents with sons was performed in 2010. Fisher's exact tests were used to examine associations between demographics and responses about social norms. Multivariate logistic regression models examined beliefs about social norms of male HPV vaccination and primary outcomes. Few parents agreed that others were vaccinating sons (n = 31/267, 12%), including 1% responding strongly agree and 11% responding agree. Most parents, 52%, disagreed that others were vaccinating (40% disagree, 11% strongly disagree), and 37% chose prefer not to answer regarding others' vaccination practices. Hispanic parents and those with a high school education or less were significantly more likely to choose prefer not to answer than their respective counterparts regarding vaccination norms. In multivariate models, parents agreeing others were vaccinating sons had greater odds of having high knowledge of HPV (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] high vs low knowledge 3.15, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.13, 8.77) and increased intention to vaccinate sons (n = 243, aOR = 4.41, 95% CI = 1.51, 12.89). Beliefs about side effects were not significantly associated with beliefs about social norms. Parents' beliefs about others' vaccination practices are important with regard to knowledge of HPV and intention to vaccinate sons. Studying how various public messages about HPV vaccine may influence normative beliefs could be relevant to improving vaccination coverage. © The Author(s) 2015.

Seed dissemination by frugivorous birds from forest fragments to adjacent pastures on the western slope of Volcán Barva, Costa Rica

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gilbert Barrantes

2002-06-01

Full Text Available Logging, cattle raising, and agricultural activities have caused the destruction of most forested areas in Costa Rica. In some middle and highlands the abrupt topography delayed the complete destruction of montane forest. Consequently, some fragments of almost pristine forest remain along streams that run in deep canyons. Frequently, these remnants serve as corridors between larger forested areas and as routes for movement of frugivorous birds. Eighteen bird species, e.g., Turdus plebejus, Elaenia frantzii and Ptilogonys caudatus are common dwellers of forest patches throughout the Pacific slope of the Volcán Barva. These species fly frequently from forest fragments to adjacent pastures. They defecated and regurgitated seeds of 28 plant species on stumps scattered on pasture areas. Isolated trees and specially the stumps are suitable microhabitats for germination of seeds and establishment of seedlingsLa deforestación, la ganadería y las actividades agrícolas han causado la destrucción de la mayoría de los bosques en Costa Rica. Sin embargo, la abrupta topografía de las zonas medias y altas del país ha retardado este proceso de deforestación en el bosque montano. Es así como aún algunos fragmentos de bosques poco alterados estan todavía en pie a lo largo de riachuelos que corren en cañones profundos. Estos fragmentos sirven como corredores entre áreas más grandes de bosque y como rutas para el movimiento altitudinal de aves frugívoras. Dieciocho aves, e.g., Turdus plebejus, Elaenia frantzii y Ptilogonys caudatus son habitantes comunes de los parches de bosque presentes en la vertiente Pacífica del Volcán Barva. Estas especies vuelan frecuentemente entre los fragmentos de bosque y potreros adyacentes. Estas aves defecaron y regurgitaron semillas de 28 especies de plantas en troncos distribuidos en los potreros. Los árboles aislados y troncos son micro-hábitats adecuados para la germinación de semillas y el establecimiento de

Estimating forest conversion rates with annual forest inventory data

Science.gov (United States)

Paul C. Van Deusen; Francis A. Roesch

2009-01-01

The rate of land-use conversion from forest to nonforest or natural forest to forest plantation is of interest for forest certification purposes and also as part of the process of assessing forest sustainability. Conversion rates can be estimated from remeasured inventory plots in general, but the emphasis here is on annual inventory data. A new estimator is proposed...

The rise of the daughter-in-law: Why son preference is weakening in ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2012-11-13

Nov 13, 2012 ... Millions of women are 'missing' because they die in much larger ... This means that the population of Bangladesh, along with that of India and Pakistan, ... Sons, on the other hand, were considered insurance against poverty in old age. ... sons would defy child mortality rates to look after their aged parents.

La croissance demographique et son impact sur le developpement ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

La croissance demographique et son impact sur le developpement des grandes villes au ... La ville de Porto-Novo au Bénin n'est pas en marge de cette réalité que ... and the need for improving its framework of life through its development.

Chronic water stress reduces tree growth and the carbon sink of deciduous hardwood forests.

Science.gov (United States)

Brzostek, Edward R; Dragoni, Danilo; Schmid, Hans Peter; Rahman, Abdullah F; Sims, Daniel; Wayson, Craig A; Johnson, Daniel J; Phillips, Richard P

2014-08-01

Predicted decreases in water availability across the temperate forest biome have the potential to offset gains in carbon (C) uptake from phenology trends, rising atmospheric CO2 , and nitrogen deposition. While it is well established that severe droughts reduce the C sink of forests by inducing tree mortality, the impacts of mild but chronic water stress on forest phenology and physiology are largely unknown. We quantified the C consequences of chronic water stress using a 13-year record of tree growth (n = 200 trees), soil moisture, and ecosystem C balance at the Morgan-Monroe State Forest (MMSF) in Indiana, and a regional 11-year record of tree growth (n > 300 000 trees) and water availability for the 20 most dominant deciduous broadleaf tree species across the eastern and midwestern USA. We show that despite ~26 more days of C assimilation by trees at the MMSF, increasing water stress decreased the number of days of wood production by ~42 days over the same period, reducing the annual accrual of C in woody biomass by 41%. Across the deciduous forest region, water stress induced similar declines in tree growth, particularly for water-demanding 'mesophytic' tree species. Given the current replacement of water-stress adapted 'xerophytic' tree species by mesophytic tree species, we estimate that chronic water stress has the potential to decrease the C sink of deciduous forests by up to 17% (0.04 Pg C yr(-1) ) in the coming decades. This reduction in the C sink due to mesophication and chronic water stress is equivalent to an additional 1-3 days of global C emissions from fossil fuel burning each year. Collectively, our results indicate that regional declines in water availability may offset the growth-enhancing effects of other global changes and reduce the extent to which forests ameliorate climate warming. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Forest Classification Based on Forest texture in Northwest Yunnan Province

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jinliang; Gao, Yan; Wang, Xiaohua; Fu, Lei

2014-03-01

Forest texture is an intrinsic characteristic and an important visual feature of a forest ecological system. Full utilization of forest texture will be a great help in increasing the accuracy of forest classification based on remote sensed data. Taking Shangri-La as a study area, forest classification has been based on the texture. The results show that: (1) From the texture abundance, texture boundary, entropy as well as visual interpretation, the combination of Grayscale-gradient co-occurrence matrix and wavelet transformation is much better than either one of both ways of forest texture information extraction; (2) During the forest texture information extraction, the size of the texture-suitable window determined by the semi-variogram method depends on the forest type (evergreen broadleaf forest is 3×3, deciduous broadleaf forest is 5×5, etc.). (3)While classifying forest based on forest texture information, the texture factor assembly differs among forests: Variance Heterogeneity and Correlation should be selected when the window is between 3×3 and 5×5 Mean, Correlation, and Entropy should be used when the window in the range of 7×7 to 19×19 and Correlation, Second Moment, and Variance should be used when the range is larger than 21×21.

Forest Classification Based on Forest texture in Northwest Yunnan Province

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Jinliang; Gao, Yan; Fu, Lei; Wang, Xiaohua

2014-01-01

Forest texture is an intrinsic characteristic and an important visual feature of a forest ecological system. Full utilization of forest texture will be a great help in increasing the accuracy of forest classification based on remote sensed data. Taking Shangri-La as a study area, forest classification has been based on the texture. The results show that: (1) From the texture abundance, texture boundary, entropy as well as visual interpretation, the combination of Grayscale-gradient co-occurrence matrix and wavelet transformation is much better than either one of both ways of forest texture information extraction; (2) During the forest texture information extraction, the size of the texture-suitable window determined by the semi-variogram method depends on the forest type (evergreen broadleaf forest is 3×3, deciduous broadleaf forest is 5×5, etc.). (3)While classifying forest based on forest texture information, the texture factor assembly differs among forests: Variance Heterogeneity and Correlation should be selected when the window is between 3×3 and 5×5; Mean, Correlation, and Entropy should be used when the window in the range of 7×7 to 19×19; and Correlation, Second Moment, and Variance should be used when the range is larger than 21×21

Simulation of Forest Cover Dynamics for Eastern Eurasian Boreal Forests

Science.gov (United States)

Shugart, H. H.; Yan, X.; Zhang, N.; Isaev, A. S.; Shuman, J. K.

2006-12-01

We are developing and testing a boreal zone forest dynamics model capable of simulating the forest cover dynamics of the Eurasian boreal forest, a major biospheric ecosystem with potentially large roles in the planetary carbon cycle and in the feedback between terrestrial surface and the atmosphere. In appreciating the role of this region in the coupling between atmosphere and terrestrial surface, on must understand the interactions between CO2 source/sink relationships (associated with growing or clearing forests) and the albedo effects (from changes in terrestrial surface cover). There is some evidence that in the Eurasian Boreal zone, the Carbon budget effects from forest change may oppose the albedo changes. This creates complex feedbacks between surface and atmosphere and motivates the need for a forest dynamics model that simultaneous represents forest vegetation and carbon storage and release. A forest dynamics model applied to Eastern Eurasia, FAREAST, has been tested using three types of information: 1. Direct species composition comparisons between simulated and observed mature forests at the same locations; 2. Forest type comparisons between simulated and observed forests along altitudinal gradients of several different mountains; 3. Comparison with forest stands in different succession stages of simulated forests. Model comparisons with independent data indicate the FAREAST model is capable of representing many of the broad features of the forests of Northeastern China. After model validation in the Northeast China region, model applications were developed for the forests of the Russian Far East. Continental-scale forest cover can be simulated to a relatively realistic degree using a forest gap model with standard representations of individual-plant processes. It appears that such a model, validated relatively locally in this case, in Northeastern China, can then be applied over a much larger region and under conditions of climatic change.

Andrew Wyeth and N.C. Wyeth: a psychodynamic perspective on father and son.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, Jon A

2013-01-01

This paper examines the relationship between two extraordinary artists, father and son--N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945) and Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009)--and their art. N.C. Wyeth, the father, the most famous illustrator of his day, painted scenes full of drama and action, often of men engaged in violent life and death struggles. N.C. was unable to separate from his powerful mother and yearned for his iconic father. He thought himself an artistic failure and dedicated himself to raising his children to be geniuses. The youngest son, Andrew Wyeth, who lived a "secret life," painted scenes often characterized by pathos: bleak and barren landscapes, leaden skies, tire tracks, gray framed houses, desiccated fields, and circling buzzards. In the father-son relationship, we often seen three themes perpetuated developmentally: (1) the son's identification with the innermost conflicts of his father; (2) the yearning for the iconic father of his youth; and (3) a continuation and disavowal of his father's life. These themes are played out in the relationship between Andrew Wyeth and his father.

European mixed forests

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bravo-Oviedo, Andres; Pretzsch, Hans; Ammer, Christian

2014-01-01

Aim of study: We aim at (i) developing a reference definition of mixed forests in order to harmonize comparative research in mixed forests and (ii) review the research perspectives in mixed forests. Area of study: The definition is developed in Europe but can be tested worldwide. Material...... and Methods: Review of existent definitions of mixed forests based and literature review encompassing dynamics, management and economic valuation of mixed forests. Main results: A mixed forest is defined as a forest unit, excluding linear formations, where at least two tree species coexist at any...... density in mixed forests, (iii) conversion of monocultures to mixed-species forest and (iv) economic valuation of ecosystem services provided by mixed forests. Research highlights: The definition is considered a high-level one which encompasses previous attempts to define mixed forests. Current fields...

Toward an integrated monitoring framework to assess the effects of tropical forest degradation and recovery on carbon stocks and biodiversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Bustamante, Mercedes M C; Roitman, Iris; Aide, T Mitchell; Alencar, Ane; Anderson, Liana O; Aragão, Luiz; Asner, Gregory P; Barlow, Jos; Berenguer, Erika; Chambers, Jeffrey; Costa, Marcos H; Fanin, Thierry; Ferreira, Laerte G; Ferreira, Joice; Keller, Michael; Magnusson, William E; Morales-Barquero, Lucia; Morton, Douglas; Ometto, Jean P H B; Palace, Michael; Peres, Carlos A; Silvério, Divino; Trumbore, Susan; Vieira, Ima C G

2016-01-01

Tropical forests harbor a significant portion of global biodiversity and are a critical component of the climate system. Reducing deforestation and forest degradation contributes to global climate-change mitigation efforts, yet emissions and removals from forest dynamics are still poorly quantified. We reviewed the main challenges to estimate changes in carbon stocks and biodiversity due to degradation and recovery of tropical forests, focusing on three main areas: (1) the combination of field surveys and remote sensing; (2) evaluation of biodiversity and carbon values under a unified strategy; and (3) research efforts needed to understand and quantify forest degradation and recovery. The improvement of models and estimates of changes of forest carbon can foster process-oriented monitoring of forest dynamics, including different variables and using spatially explicit algorithms that account for regional and local differences, such as variation in climate, soil, nutrient content, topography, biodiversity, disturbance history, recovery pathways, and socioeconomic factors. Generating the data for these models requires affordable large-scale remote-sensing tools associated with a robust network of field plots that can generate spatially explicit information on a range of variables through time. By combining ecosystem models, multiscale remote sensing, and networks of field plots, we will be able to evaluate forest degradation and recovery and their interactions with biodiversity and carbon cycling. Improving monitoring strategies will allow a better understanding of the role of forest dynamics in climate-change mitigation, adaptation, and carbon cycle feedbacks, thereby reducing uncertainties in models of the key processes in the carbon cycle, including their impacts on biodiversity, which are fundamental to support forest governance policies, such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Forest crimes as a threat to sustainable forest management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Özden

2016-08-01

Full Text Available From ancient times to the present day, forest public relations has been an issue on the agenda. This relationship’s purpose was initially needed for shelter and nutrition; however today this process has changed with urbanization, overpopulation and understanding the new functions of forests. When land ownership became a tool of production, offenses occurred in order to convert forestlands to agricultural lands. So the vast majority of the world’s forests have been lost for this reason. Today, deforestation is occurring in tropical countries that are expecting to gain agricultural area. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between urbanization and the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of forest crimes, which are a major obstacle for sustainable forestry. Although forests cover about 27 % of Turkey’s territory, the forests are losing viability; the status of wood raw material per unit area and the total area of the country in the ratio of productive forests are becoming critical in Turkey. Turkey’s rugged terrain and factors such as human interventions, fires, deforestation for agriculture, illegal cuttings, or improper grazing reduce existing forests or cause deterioration of their structure. In the past, deforestation, as a result of human interventions in Turkey, was done by forest villagers who live in rural areas. The forest crimes depend on various socio-economic reasons and have many adverse effects on the sustainability of forest and forest existence. In developed countries, illegal interventions such as opening, grazing, cutting, occupation, use, settlement, or hunting crimes have been largely eliminated because of the absence of cadastral problems, the existence of more responsive people to protect the environment and forests and a rural population, which has a higher standard of living. In the last 20 years, there has been both a dramatic decrease in the population living in rural areas and a

Amazon soil charcoal: Pyrogenic carbon stock depends of ignition source distance and forest type in Roraima, Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

da Silva Carvalho, Lidiany C; Fearnside, Philip M; Nascimento, Marcelo T; Barbosa, Reinaldo I

2018-04-18

Pyrogenic carbon (PyC) derived from charcoal particles (paleo + modern) deposited in the soil column has been little studied in the Amazon, and our understanding of the factors that control the spatial and vertical distribution of these materials in the region's forest soils is still unclear. The objective of this study was to test the effect of forest type and distance from the ignition source on the PyC stocks contained in macroscopic particles of soil charcoal (≥2 mm; 1 m depth) dispersed in ecotone forests of the northern Brazilian Amazon. Thirty permanent plots were set up near a site that had been occupied by pre-Columbian and by modern populations until the late 1970s. The sampled plots represent seasonal and ombrophilous forests that occur under different hydro-edaphic restrictions. Our results indicate that the largest PyC stock was spatially dependent on distance to the ignition source ( 50 cm) in seasonal forests was limited by hydro-edaphic impediments that restricted the occurrence of charcoal. These results suggest that PyC stocks derived from macroscopic charcoal particles in the soil of this Brazilian Amazon ecotone region are controlled by the distance from the ignition source of the fire, and that forest types with higher hydro-edaphic restrictions can inhibit formation and accumulation of charcoal. Making use of these distinctions reduces uncertainty and improves our ability to understand the variability of PyC stocks in forests with a history of fire in the Amazon. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Older Parents Benefit More in Health Outcome From Daughters' Than Sons' Emotional Care in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Yi; Brasher, Melanie Sereny; Gu, Danan; Vaupel, James W

2016-12-01

To examine whether older parents in China would benefit more from daughters' care than from sons' emotional care. Analysis of the unique data sets of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey conducted in 2002, 2005, and 2008-2009 in 22 provinces. As compared with having son(s), having daughter(s) is significantly more beneficial at older ages in China, with regard to maintaining higher cognitive capacity and reducing mortality risk. Such daughter advantages in providing emotional care to older parents are more profound among the oldest-old aged 80+ as compared with the young-old aged 65 to 79 and surprisingly more profound in rural areas as compared with urban areas, even though son preference is much more common among rural residents. We describe how educational campaigns aimed at informing the public about the benefits of daughter(s) for older parents' health outcome could help promote gender equality and reduce traditional son preference, especially in rural China.

The Son Jarocho and Fandango Amidst Struggle and Social Movements: Migratory Transformation and Reinterpretation of the Son Jarocho in La Nueva Espa�a, M�xico, and the United States

OpenAIRE

Hern�ndez, Alexandro David

2014-01-01

This dissertation is a study on the son jarocho and its fandango as a migratory and transformative musical culture between nations and social circumstances. The son jarocho embodies tradition in many cultural practices of society, such as its presence at social rites and at fandangos. However, there exist hidden histories, transcripts of resistance not accounted for in M�xico's official history, of the son jarocho as music of struggle and protest. From censorship, punishment, and imprisonme...

Modelling mixed forest growth : a review of models for forest management

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Porte, A.; Bartelink, H.H.

2002-01-01

Most forests today are multi-specific and heterogeneous forests (`mixed forests'). However, forest modelling has been focusing on mono-specific stands for a long time, only recently have models been developed for mixed forests. Previous reviews of mixed forest modelling were restricted to certain

SON68 glass alteration enhanced by magnetite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Godon, Nicole; Gin, Stephane; Rebiscoul, Diane; Frugier, Pierre [CEA, DEN-Marcoule, F30207, Bagnols-sur-Ceze (France)

2013-07-01

This paper reports experimental and modeling results of SON68 glass / magnetite interactions while in contact with synthetic groundwater from a clay environment. It is shown that magnetite enhances glass alteration, first by the sorption of Si released from the glass onto magnetite surfaces, then by a second process that could be the precipitation of an iron silicate mineral or the transformation of magnetite into a more reactive phase like hematite or goethite. This study globally suggests a detrimental effect of magnetite on the long-term durability of nuclear glass in geological disposal conditions. (authors)

Forest Stakeholder Participation in Improving Game Habitat in Swedish Forests

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eugene E. Ezebilo

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Although in Sweden the simultaneous use of forests for timber production and game hunting are both of socioeconomic importance it often leads to conflicting interests. This study examines forest stakeholder participation in improving game habitat to increase hunting opportunities as well as redistribute game activities in forests to help reduce browsing damage in valuable forest stands. The data for the study were collected from a nationwide survey that involved randomly selected hunters and forest owners in Sweden. An ordered logit model was used to account for possible factors influencing the respondents’ participation in improving game habitat. The results showed that on average, forest owning hunters were more involved in improving game habitat than non-hunting forest owners. The involvement of non-forest owning hunters was intermediate between the former two groups. The respondents’ participation in improving game habitat were mainly influenced by factors such as the quantity of game meat obtained, stakeholder group, forests on hunting grounds, the extent of risk posed by game browsing damage to the economy of forest owners, importance of bagging game during hunting, and number of hunting days. The findings will help in designing a more sustainable forest management strategy that integrates timber production and game hunting in forests.

Effects of Deforestation and Forest Degradation on Forest Carbon Stocks in Collaborative Forests, Nepal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ram Asheshwar MANDAL

2012-12-01

Full Text Available There are some key drivers that favor deforestation and forest degradation. Consequently, levels of carbon stock are affected in different parts of same forest types. But the problem lies in exploring the extent of the effects on level of carbon stocking. This paper highlights the variations in levels of carbon stocks in three different collaborative forests of same forest type i.e. tropical sal (Shorea robusta forest in Mahottari district of the central Terai in Nepal. Three collaborative forests namely Gadhanta-Bardibas Collaborative Forest (CFM, Tuteshwarnath CFM and Banke- Maraha CFM were selected for research site. Interview and workshops were organized with the key informants that include staffs, members and representatives of CFMs to collect the socio-economic data and stratified random sampling was applied to collect the bio-physical data to calculate the carbon stocks. Analysis was carried out using statistical tools. It was found five major drivers namely grazing, fire, logging, growth of invasive species and encroachment. It was found highest carbon 269.36 ton per ha in Gadhanta- Bardibash CFM. The findings showed that the levels of carbon stocks in the three studied CFMs are different depending on how the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation influence over them.

Predicting the responses of forest distribution and aboveground biomass to climate change under RCP scenarios in southern China.

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Erfu; Wu, Zhuo; Ge, Quansheng; Xi, Weimin; Wang, Xiaofan

2016-11-01

In the past three decades, our global climate has been experiencing unprecedented warming. This warming has and will continue to significantly influence the structure and function of forest ecosystems. While studies have been conducted to explore the possible responses of forest landscapes to future climate change, the representative concentration pathways (RCPs) scenarios under the framework of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) have not been widely used in quantitative modeling research of forest landscapes. We used LANDIS-II, a forest dynamic landscape model, coupled with a forest ecosystem process model (PnET-II), to simulate spatial interactions and ecological succession processes under RCP scenarios, RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, respectively. We also modeled a control scenario of extrapolating current climate conditions to examine changes in distribution and aboveground biomass (AGB) among five different forest types for the period of 2010-2100 in Taihe County in southern China, where subtropical coniferous plantations dominate. The results of the simulation show that climate change will significantly influence forest distribution and AGB. (i) Evergreen broad-leaved forests will expand into Chinese fir and Chinese weeping cypress forests. The area percentages of evergreen broad-leaved forests under RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP8.5 and the control scenarios account for 18.25%, 18.71%, 18.85% and 17.46% of total forest area, respectively. (ii) The total AGB under RCP4.5 will reach its highest level by the year 2100. Compared with the control scenarios, the total AGB under RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 increases by 24.1%, 64.2% and 29.8%, respectively. (iii) The forest total AGB increases rapidly at first and then decreases slowly on the temporal dimension. (iv) Even though the fluctuation patterns of total AGB will remain consistent under various future climatic scenarios, there will be certain responsive differences among various forest types. © 2016

Climate-driven disparities among ecological interactions threaten kelp forest persistence.

Science.gov (United States)

Provost, Euan J; Kelaher, Brendan P; Dworjanyn, Symon A; Russell, Bayden D; Connell, Sean D; Ghedini, Giulia; Gillanders, Bronwyn M; Figueira, WillIAM; Coleman, Melinda A

2017-01-01

The combination of ocean warming and acidification brings an uncertain future to kelp forests that occupy the warmest parts of their range. These forests are not only subject to the direct negative effects of ocean climate change, but also to a combination of unknown indirect effects associated with changing ecological landscapes. Here, we used mesocosm experiments to test the direct effects of ocean warming and acidification on kelp biomass and photosynthetic health, as well as climate-driven disparities in indirect effects involving key consumers (urchins and rock lobsters) and competitors (algal turf). Elevated water temperature directly reduced kelp biomass, while their turf-forming competitors expanded in response to ocean acidification and declining kelp canopy. Elevated temperatures also increased growth of urchins and, concurrently, the rate at which they thinned kelp canopy. Rock lobsters, which are renowned for keeping urchin populations in check, indirectly intensified negative pressures on kelp by reducing their consumption of urchins in response to elevated temperature. Overall, these results suggest that kelp forests situated towards the low-latitude margins of their distribution will need to adapt to ocean warming in order to persist in the future. What is less certain is how such adaptation in kelps can occur in the face of intensifying consumptive (via ocean warming) and competitive (via ocean acidification) pressures that affect key ecological interactions associated with their persistence. If such indirect effects counter adaptation to changing climate, they may erode the stability of kelp forests and increase the probability of regime shifts from complex habitat-forming species to more simple habitats dominated by algal turfs. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Forest soils

Science.gov (United States)

Charles H. (Hobie) Perry; Michael C. Amacher

2009-01-01

Productive soils are the foundation of sustainable forests throughout the United States. Forest soils are generally subjected to fewer disturbances than agricultural soils, particularly those that are tilled, so forest soils tend to have better preserved A-horizons than agricultural soils. Another major contrast between forest and agricultural soils is the addition of...

Organic carbon stocks and sequestration rates of forest soils in Germany.

Science.gov (United States)

Grüneberg, Erik; Ziche, Daniel; Wellbrock, Nicole

2014-08-01

The National Forest Soil Inventory (NFSI) provides the Greenhouse Gas Reporting in Germany with a quantitative assessment of organic carbon (C) stocks and changes in forest soils. Carbon stocks of the organic layer and the mineral topsoil (30 cm) were estimated on the basis of ca. 1.800 plots sampled from 1987 to 1992 and resampled from 2006 to 2008 on a nationwide grid of 8 × 8 km. Organic layer C stock estimates were attributed to surveyed forest stands and CORINE land cover data. Mineral soil C stock estimates were linked with the distribution of dominant soil types according to the Soil Map of Germany (1 : 1 000 000) and subsequently related to the forest area. It appears that the C pool of the organic layer was largely depending on tree species and parent material, whereas the C pool of the mineral soil varied among soil groups. We identified the organic layer C pool as stable although C was significantly sequestered under coniferous forest at lowland sites. The mineral soils, however, sequestered 0.41 Mg C ha(-1) yr(-1) . Carbon pool changes were supposed to depend on stand age and forest transformation as well as an enhanced biomass input. Carbon stock changes were clearly attributed to parent material and soil groups as sandy soils sequestered higher amounts of C, whereas clayey and calcareous soils showed small gains and in some cases even losses of soil C. We further showed that the largest part of the overall sample variance was not explained by fine-earth stock variances, rather by the C concentrations variance. The applied uncertainty analyses in this study link the variability of strata with measurement errors. In accordance to other studies for Central Europe, the results showed that the applied method enabled a reliable nationwide quantification of the soil C pool development for a certain period. © 2014 The Authors. Global Change Biology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Power of a Single Mother: The Influence of Black Women on Their Sons' Academic Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Quintin L.; Werblow, Jacob

2013-01-01

This study examines the ways single Black mothers contribute to the educational success of their 11th-grade sons, despite the fact that their sons are enrolled in "failing schools." Data from five interviews and one focus group reveal common characteristics of how single-Black mothers help their sons beat the odds.

Forest Management

Science.gov (United States)

S. Hummel; K. L. O' Hara

2008-01-01

Global variation in forests and in human cultures means that a single method for managing forests is not possible. However, forest management everywhere shares some common principles because it is rooted in physical and biological sciences like chemistry and genetics. Ecological forest management is an approach that combines an understanding of universal processes with...

Forest hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Ge Sun; Devendra Amatya; Steve McNulty

2016-01-01

Forest hydrology studies the distribution, storage, movement, and quality of water and the hydrological processes in forest-dominated ecosystems. Forest hydrological science is regarded as the foundation of modern integrated water¬shed management. This chapter provides an overview of the history of forest hydrology and basic principles of this unique branch of...

Texas' forests, 2008

Science.gov (United States)

James W. Bentley; Consuelo Brandeis; Jason A. Cooper; Christopher M. Oswalt; Sonja N. Oswalt; KaDonna Randolph

2014-01-01

This bulletin describes forest resources of the State of Texas at the time of the 2008 forest inventory. This bulletin addresses forest area, volume, growth, removals, mortality, forest health, timber product output, and the economy of the forest sector.

Illinois' Forests 2005

Science.gov (United States)

Susan J. Crocker; Gary J. Brand; Brett J. Butler; David E. Haugen; Dick C. Little; Dacia M. Meneguzzo; Charles H. Perry; Ronald J. Piva; Barry T. Wilson; Christopher W. Woodall

2009-01-01

The first full, annualized inventory of Illinois' forests reports more than 4.5 million acres of forest land with an average of 459 trees per acre. Forest land is dominated by oak/hickory forest types, which occupy 65 percent of total forest land area. Seventy-two percent of forest land consists of sawtimber, 20 percent contains poletimber, and 8 percent contains...

Minnesota's Forests 2008

Science.gov (United States)

Patrick D. Miles; David Heinzen; Manfred E. Mielke; Christopher W. Woodall; Brett J. Butler; Ron J. Piva; Dacia M. Meneguzzo; Charles H. Perry; Dale D. Gormanson; Charles J. Barnett

2011-01-01

The second full annual inventory of Minnesota's forests reports 17 million acres of forest land with an average volume of more than 1,000 cubic feet per acre. Forest land is dominated by the aspen forest type, which occupies nearly 30 percent of the total forest land area. Twenty-eight percent of forest land consists of sawtimber, 35 percent poletimber, 35 percent...

A tale of two "forests": random forest machine learning AIDS tropical forest carbon mapping.

Science.gov (United States)

Mascaro, Joseph; Asner, Gregory P; Knapp, David E; Kennedy-Bowdoin, Ty; Martin, Roberta E; Anderson, Christopher; Higgins, Mark; Chadwick, K Dana

2014-01-01

Accurate and spatially-explicit maps of tropical forest carbon stocks are needed to implement carbon offset mechanisms such as REDD+ (Reduced Deforestation and Degradation Plus). The Random Forest machine learning algorithm may aid carbon mapping applications using remotely-sensed data. However, Random Forest has never been compared to traditional and potentially more reliable techniques such as regionally stratified sampling and upscaling, and it has rarely been employed with spatial data. Here, we evaluated the performance of Random Forest in upscaling airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging)-based carbon estimates compared to the stratification approach over a 16-million hectare focal area of the Western Amazon. We considered two runs of Random Forest, both with and without spatial contextual modeling by including--in the latter case--x, and y position directly in the model. In each case, we set aside 8 million hectares (i.e., half of the focal area) for validation; this rigorous test of Random Forest went above and beyond the internal validation normally compiled by the algorithm (i.e., called "out-of-bag"), which proved insufficient for this spatial application. In this heterogeneous region of Northern Peru, the model with spatial context was the best preforming run of Random Forest, and explained 59% of LiDAR-based carbon estimates within the validation area, compared to 37% for stratification or 43% by Random Forest without spatial context. With the 60% improvement in explained variation, RMSE against validation LiDAR samples improved from 33 to 26 Mg C ha(-1) when using Random Forest with spatial context. Our results suggest that spatial context should be considered when using Random Forest, and that doing so may result in substantially improved carbon stock modeling for purposes of climate change mitigation.

A tale of two "forests": random forest machine learning AIDS tropical forest carbon mapping.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joseph Mascaro

Full Text Available Accurate and spatially-explicit maps of tropical forest carbon stocks are needed to implement carbon offset mechanisms such as REDD+ (Reduced Deforestation and Degradation Plus. The Random Forest machine learning algorithm may aid carbon mapping applications using remotely-sensed data. However, Random Forest has never been compared to traditional and potentially more reliable techniques such as regionally stratified sampling and upscaling, and it has rarely been employed with spatial data. Here, we evaluated the performance of Random Forest in upscaling airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging-based carbon estimates compared to the stratification approach over a 16-million hectare focal area of the Western Amazon. We considered two runs of Random Forest, both with and without spatial contextual modeling by including--in the latter case--x, and y position directly in the model. In each case, we set aside 8 million hectares (i.e., half of the focal area for validation; this rigorous test of Random Forest went above and beyond the internal validation normally compiled by the algorithm (i.e., called "out-of-bag", which proved insufficient for this spatial application. In this heterogeneous region of Northern Peru, the model with spatial context was the best preforming run of Random Forest, and explained 59% of LiDAR-based carbon estimates within the validation area, compared to 37% for stratification or 43% by Random Forest without spatial context. With the 60% improvement in explained variation, RMSE against validation LiDAR samples improved from 33 to 26 Mg C ha(-1 when using Random Forest with spatial context. Our results suggest that spatial context should be considered when using Random Forest, and that doing so may result in substantially improved carbon stock modeling for purposes of climate change mitigation.

Forest and water relationships: hydrologic implications of forestation campaigns in China

Science.gov (United States)

Ge Sun; Guoyi Zhou; Zhiqiang Zhang; Xiaohua Wei; Steven G. McNulty; James Vose

2005-01-01

Reforestation and afforestation (referred to forestation thereafter) campaigns in the past two decades have resulted in great increases in both forest land area and forest ecosystem productivity in China. Although the ecological benefits of forests are well accepted, the hydrologic consequences of man-made forests by forestation are unclear. Debate and confusion on the...

Potential of the Russian forests and forest industries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anttonen, T.; Petrov, A.P. [eds.

1997-12-31

The publication contains the proceedings of the seminar `Potential of the Russian Forests and Forest Industries` held in Moscow, May 14-16, 1997. The seminar was one step along the road to spread knowledge and become acquainted with forestry and forest industries in northern Europe and Russia. The seminar proceedings contain a lot of fresh information concerning forestry and forest industries in Russia. Both have undergone many changes and reforms during the last few years

Climate- and successional-related changes in functional composition of European forests are strongly driven by tree mortality.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruiz-Benito, Paloma; Ratcliffe, Sophia; Zavala, Miguel A; Martínez-Vilalta, Jordi; Vilà-Cabrera, Albert; Lloret, Francisco; Madrigal-González, Jaime; Wirth, Christian; Greenwood, Sarah; Kändler, Gerald; Lehtonen, Aleksi; Kattge, Jens; Dahlgren, Jonas; Jump, Alistair S

2017-10-01

investigated and modelled to adequately predict the impacts of climate change on forest function. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Successional and seasonal variations in soil and litter microbial community structure and function during tropical postagricultural forest regeneration: a multiyear study.

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Smith, A Peyton; Marín-Spiotta, Erika; Balser, Teri

2015-09-01

Soil microorganisms regulate fundamental biochemical processes in plant litter decomposition and soil organic matter (SOM) transformations. Understanding how microbial communities respond to changes in vegetation is critical for improving predictions of how land-cover change affects belowground carbon storage and nutrient availability. We measured intra- and interannual variability in soil and forest litter microbial community composition and activity via phospholipid fatty acid analysis (PLFA) and extracellular enzyme activity across a well-replicated, long-term chronosequence of secondary forests growing on abandoned pastures in the wet subtropical forest life zone of Puerto Rico. Microbial community PLFA structure differed between young secondary forests and older secondary and primary forests, following successional shifts in tree species composition. These successional patterns held across seasons, but the microbial groups driving these patterns differed over time. Microbial community composition from the forest litter differed greatly from those in the soil, but did not show the same successional trends. Extracellular enzyme activity did not differ with forest succession, but varied by season with greater rates of potential activity in the dry seasons. We found few robust significant relationships among microbial community parameters and soil pH, moisture, carbon, and nitrogen concentrations. Observed inter- and intrannual variability in microbial community structure and activity reveal the importance of a multiple, temporal sampling strategy when investigating microbial community dynamics with land-use change. Successional control over microbial composition with forest recovery suggests strong links between above and belowground communities. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Ecological consequences of forest elephant declines for Afrotropical forests.

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Poulsen, John R; Rosin, Cooper; Meier, Amelia; Mills, Emily; Nuñez, Chase L; Koerner, Sally E; Blanchard, Emily; Callejas, Jennifer; Moore, Sarah; Sowers, Mark

2017-10-27

Poaching is rapidly extirpating African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) from most of their historical range, leaving vast areas of elephant-free tropical forest. Elephants are ecological engineers that create and maintain forest habitat; thus, their loss will have large consequences for the composition and structure of Afrotropical forests. Through a comprehensive literature review, we evaluated the roles of forest elephants in seed dispersal, nutrient recycling, and herbivory and physical damage to predict the cascading ecological effects of their population declines. Loss of seed dispersal by elephants will favor tree species dispersed abiotically and by smaller dispersal agents, and tree species composition will depend on the downstream effects of changes in elephant nutrient cycling and browsing. Loss of trampling and herbivory of seedlings and saplings will result in high tree density with release from browsing pressures. Diminished seed dispersal by elephants and high stem density are likely to reduce the recruitment of large trees and thus increase homogeneity of forest structure and decrease carbon stocks. The loss of ecological services by forest elephants likely means Central African forests will be more like Neotropical forests, from which megafauna were extirpated thousands of years ago. Without intervention, as much as 96% of Central African forests will have modified species composition and structure as elephants are compressed into remaining protected areas. Stopping elephant poaching is an urgent first step to mitigating these effects, but long-term conservation will require land-use planning that incorporates elephant habitat into forested landscapes that are being rapidly transformed by industrial agriculture and logging. © 2017 Society for Conservation Biology.

Sexy sons: a dead end for cytoplasmic genes.

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Zeh, Jeanne A

2004-08-07

Critics of sexual conflict theory argue that females may gain a net reproductive benefit from mating with manipulative males because the direct costs that they suffer may be offset by the production of sexy, i.e. manipulative, sons. However, this exclusive focus on nuclear gene effects represents an incomplete view of female fitness. Females differ fundamentally from males in transmitting not only nuclear genes but also a wide range of cytoplasmic genetic elements (CGEs) that can have profound effects, from male killing to influencing development of the nervous system and cognitive ability. Maternal transmission of CGEs has two major implications for sexual selection. First, the evolution of male fitness traits, such as sperm competitive ability, may be constrained because response to selection on mitochondrial genomes can occur only through the female line. Second, CGEs bear the direct costs of male manipulation but gain no indirect benefits when females produce sexy sons. This should result in perpetual antagonistic coevolution between nuclear genes involved in male manipulation and CGEs that promote female resistance to male sexually selected traits. Explicit consideration of the consequences of selection acting on CGEs is therefore necessary for a better understanding of the relationship between sexual selection and sexual conflict.

Indiana's Forests 2008

Science.gov (United States)

Christopher W. Woodall; Mark N. Webb; Barry T. Wilson; Jeff Settle; Ron J. Piva; Charles H. Perry; Dacia M. Meneguzzo; Susan J. Crocker; Brett J. Butler; Mark Hansen; Mark Hatfield; Gary Brand; Charles. Barnett

2011-01-01

The second full annual inventory of Indiana's forests reports more than 4.75 million acres of forest land with an average volume of more than 2,000 cubic feet per acre. Forest land is dominated by the white oak/red oak/hickory forest type, which occupies nearly a third of the total forest land area. Seventy-six percent of forest land consists of sawtimber, 16...

How much does climate change threaten European forest tree species distributions?

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Dyderski, Marcin K; Paź, Sonia; Frelich, Lee E; Jagodziński, Andrzej M

2018-03-01

Although numerous species distribution models have been developed, most were based on insufficient distribution data or used older climate change scenarios. We aimed to quantify changes in projected ranges and threat level by the years 2061-2080, for 12 European forest tree species under three climate change scenarios. We combined tree distribution data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, EUFORGEN, and forest inventories, and we developed species distribution models using MaxEnt and 19 bioclimatic variables. Models were developed for three climate change scenarios-optimistic (RCP2.6), moderate (RCP4.5), and pessimistic (RPC8.5)-using three General Circulation Models, for the period 2061-2080. Our study revealed different responses of tree species to projected climate change. The species may be divided into three groups: "winners"-mostly late-successional species: Abies alba, Fagus sylvatica, Fraxinus excelsior, Quercus robur, and Quercus petraea; "losers"-mostly pioneer species: Betula pendula, Larix decidua, Picea abies, and Pinus sylvestris; and alien species-Pseudotsuga menziesii, Quercus rubra, and Robinia pseudoacacia, which may be also considered as "winners." Assuming limited migration, most of the species studied would face a significant decrease in suitable habitat area. The threat level was highest for species that currently have the northernmost distribution centers. Ecological consequences of the projected range contractions would be serious for both forest management and nature conservation. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Risky future for Mediterranean forests unless they undergo extreme carbon fertilization.

Science.gov (United States)

Gea-Izquierdo, Guillermo; Nicault, Antoine; Battipaglia, Giovanna; Dorado-Liñán, Isabel; Gutiérrez, Emilia; Ribas, Montserrat; Guiot, Joel

2017-07-01

Forest performance is challenged by climate change but higher atmospheric [CO 2 ] (c a ) could help trees mitigate the negative effect of enhanced water stress. Forest projections using data assimilation with mechanistic models are a valuable tool to assess forest performance. Firstly, we used dendrochronological data from 12 Mediterranean tree species (six conifers and six broadleaves) to calibrate a process-based vegetation model at 77 sites. Secondly, we conducted simulations of gross primary production (GPP) and radial growth using an ensemble of climate projections for the period 2010-2100 for the high-emission RCP8.5 and low-emission RCP2.6 scenarios. GPP and growth projections were simulated using climatic data from the two RCPs combined with (i) expected c a ; (ii) constant c a  = 390 ppm, to test a purely climate-driven performance excluding compensation from carbon fertilization. The model accurately mimicked the growth trends since the 1950s when, despite increasing c a , enhanced evaporative demands precluded a global net positive effect on growth. Modeled annual growth and GPP showed similar long-term trends. Under RCP2.6 (i.e., temperatures below +2 °C with respect to preindustrial values), the forests showed resistance to future climate (as expressed by non-negative trends in growth and GPP) except for some coniferous sites. Using exponentially growing c a and climate as from RCP8.5, carbon fertilization overrode the negative effect of the highly constraining climatic conditions under that scenario. This effect was particularly evident above 500 ppm (which is already over +2 °C), which seems unrealistic and likely reflects model miss-performance at high c a above the calibration range. Thus, forest projections under RCP8.5 preventing carbon fertilization displayed very negative forest performance at the regional scale. This suggests that most of western Mediterranean forests would successfully acclimate to the coldest climate change scenario

Mixed-Forest Species Establishment in a Monodominant Forest in Central Africa: Implications for Tropical Forest Invasibility

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Peh, Kelvin S.-H.; Sonké, Bonaventure; Séné, Olivier; Djuikouo, Marie-Noël K.; Nguembou, Charlemagne K.; Taedoumg, Hermann; Begne, Serge K.; Lewis, Simon L.

2014-01-01

Background Traits of non-dominant mixed-forest tree species and their synergies for successful co-occurrence in monodominant Gilbertiodendron dewevrei forest have not yet been investigated. Here we compared the tree species diversity of the monodominant forest with its adjacent mixed forest and then determined which fitness proxies and life history traits of the mixed-forest tree species were most associated with successful co-existence in the monodominant forest. Methodology/Principal Findings We sampled all trees (diameter in breast height [dbh]≥10 cm) within 6×1 ha topographically homogenous areas of intact central African forest in SE Cameroon, three independent patches of G. dewevrei-dominated forest and three adjacent areas (450–800 m apart). Monodominant G. dewevrei forest had lower sample-controlled species richness, species density and population density than its adjacent mixed forest in terms of stems with dbh≥10 cm. Analysis of a suite of population-level characteristics, such as relative abundance and geographical distribution, and traits such as wood density, height, diameter at breast height, fruit/seed dispersal mechanism and light requirement–revealed after controlling for phylogeny, species that co-occur with G. dewevrei tend to have higher abundance in adjacent mixed forest, higher wood density and a lower light requirement. Conclusions/Significance Our results suggest that certain traits (wood density and light requirement) and population-level characteristics (relative abundance) may increase the invasibility of a tree species into a tropical closed-canopy system. Such knowledge may assist in the pre-emptive identification of invasive tree species. PMID:24844914

Mixed-forest species establishment in a monodominant forest in central Africa: implications for tropical forest invasibility.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kelvin S-H Peh

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Traits of non-dominant mixed-forest tree species and their synergies for successful co-occurrence in monodominant Gilbertiodendron dewevrei forest have not yet been investigated. Here we compared the tree species diversity of the monodominant forest with its adjacent mixed forest and then determined which fitness proxies and life history traits of the mixed-forest tree species were most associated with successful co-existence in the monodominant forest. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We sampled all trees (diameter in breast height [dbh]≥10 cm within 6×1 ha topographically homogenous areas of intact central African forest in SE Cameroon, three independent patches of G. dewevrei-dominated forest and three adjacent areas (450-800 m apart. Monodominant G. dewevrei forest had lower sample-controlled species richness, species density and population density than its adjacent mixed forest in terms of stems with dbh≥10 cm. Analysis of a suite of population-level characteristics, such as relative abundance and geographical distribution, and traits such as wood density, height, diameter at breast height, fruit/seed dispersal mechanism and light requirement-revealed after controlling for phylogeny, species that co-occur with G. dewevrei tend to have higher abundance in adjacent mixed forest, higher wood density and a lower light requirement. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results suggest that certain traits (wood density and light requirement and population-level characteristics (relative abundance may increase the invasibility of a tree species into a tropical closed-canopy system. Such knowledge may assist in the pre-emptive identification of invasive tree species.

Prioritizing forest fuels treatments based on the probability of high-severity fire restores adaptive capacity in Sierran forests.

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Krofcheck, Daniel J; Hurteau, Matthew D; Scheller, Robert M; Loudermilk, E Louise

2018-02-01

In frequent fire forests of the western United States, a legacy of fire suppression coupled with increases in fire weather severity have altered fire regimes and vegetation dynamics. When coupled with projected climate change, these conditions have the potential to lead to vegetation type change and altered carbon (C) dynamics. In the Sierra Nevada, fuels reduction approaches that include mechanical thinning followed by regular prescribed fire are one approach to restore the ability of the ecosystem to tolerate episodic fire and still sequester C. Yet, the spatial extent of the area requiring treatment makes widespread treatment implementation unlikely. We sought to determine if a priori knowledge of where uncharacteristic wildfire is most probable could be used to optimize the placement of fuels treatments in a Sierra Nevada watershed. We developed two treatment placement strategies: the naive strategy, based on treating all operationally available area and the optimized strategy, which only treated areas where crown-killing fires were most probable. We ran forecast simulations using projected climate data through 2,100 to determine how the treatments differed in terms of C sequestration, fire severity, and C emissions relative to a no-management scenario. We found that in both the short (20 years) and long (100 years) term, both management scenarios increased C stability, reduced burn severity, and consequently emitted less C as a result of wildfires than no-management. Across all metrics, both scenarios performed the same, but the optimized treatment required significantly less C removal (naive=0.42 Tg C, optimized=0.25 Tg C) to achieve the same treatment efficacy. Given the extent of western forests in need of fire restoration, efficiently allocating treatments is a critical task if we are going to restore adaptive capacity in frequent-fire forests. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Like daughter, like son? Fertility decline and the transformation of gender systems in the family

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Keera Allendorf

2012-10-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND An important question for population research is whether fertility decline transforms gender systems. OBJECTIVE This paper contributes to answering this broad question by examining how fertility decline may change the relative value and roles of daughters versus sons in families. First, I outline theoretical pathways, suggesting that a key factor is the gender composition of families. As fertility declines, the proportion of families with children of only one gender increases, which may facilitate greater gender symmetry between daughters and sons. Second, I explore how fertility decline may be transforming the relative value and roles of sons and daughters in practice in one place. METHODS The analysis draws primarily on semi-structured interviews with 30 respondents living in one Indian village. RESULTS In recent decades, fertility has declined to at least replacement levels. Respondents also perceive changes in the gender system, including less son preference, more equal schooling for sons and daughters, more freedom in marriage and pre-marital relationships, and perhaps greater daughter support of parents in old age. CONCLUSIONS The results describe changes in the relative value, treatment, and behavior of sons and daughters that are consistent with the theorized effects of fertility decline. Future research is needed, however, to determine whether fertility decline makes a unique causal contribution to changes in the gender system.

Forest owners' perceptions of ecotourism: Integrating community values and forest conservation.

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Rodríguez-Piñeros, Sandra; Mayett-Moreno, Yesica

2015-03-01

The use of forest land for ecotourism has been well accepted due to its ability to provide income to local people and to conserve the forest. Preparing the forest with infrastructure to attract and educate visitors has been reported of importance. This study applied Q methodology in a small rural community of the State of Puebla, Mexico, to reveal forest owners' perceptions to build infrastructure in their forest as part of their ecotourism project. It also discloses forest owners' underlying motives to use their forest for ecotourism. Ecotourism is perceived as a complementary activity to farming that would allow women to be involved in community development. Low impact infrastructure is desired due to forest owners' perception to preserve the forest for the overall community well-being.

Forest inventory: role in accountability for sustainable forest management

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Lloyd C. Irland

2007-01-01

Forest inventory can play several roles in accountability for sustainable forest management. A first dimension is accountability for national performance. The new field of Criteria and Indicators is an expression of this need. A more familiar role for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program is for assessment and...

The Putative Son's Attractiveness Alters the Perceived Attractiveness of the Putative Father.

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Prokop, Pavol

2015-08-01

A body of literature has investigated female mate choice in the pre-mating context (pre-mating sexual selection). Humans, however, are long-living mammals forming pair-bonds which sequentially produce offspring. Post-mating evaluations of a partner's attractiveness may thus significantly influence the reproductive success of men and women. I tested herein the theory that the attractiveness of putative sons provides extra information about the genetic quality of fathers, thereby influencing fathers' attractiveness across three studies. As predicted, facially attractive boys were more frequently attributed to attractive putative fathers and vice versa (Study 1). Furthermore, priming with an attractive putative son increased the attractiveness of the putative father with the reverse being true for unattractive putative sons. When putative fathers were presented as stepfathers, the effect of the boy's attractiveness on the stepfather's attractiveness was lower and less consistent (Study 2). This suggests that the presence of an attractive boy has the strongest effect on the perceived attractiveness of putative fathers rather than on non-fathers. The generalized effect of priming with beautiful non-human objects also exists, but its effect is much weaker compared with the effects of putative biological sons (Study 3). Overall, this study highlighted the importance of post-mating sexual selection in humans and suggests that the heritable attractive traits of men are also evaluated by females after mating and/or may be used by females in mate poaching.

?Cuales son las amenazas o peligros volcanicos?

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Myers, Bobbie; Brantley, Steven R.; Stauffer, Peter; Hendley, James W.

2000-01-01

Los volcanes son capaces de producir numerosos peligros geologicos e hidrologicos. Los cientificos del Servicio Geologico de los EE. UU. (USGS, por sus siglas en ingles) y de otras instituciones alrededor del mundo estan estudiando los peligros de muchos de los centenares de volcanes activos y potencialmente activos del mundo. Estos cientificos vigilan muy de cerca la actividad de algunos de los volcanes mas peligrosos, por lo que estan preparados para alertar a las autoridades y/o a la poblacion en caso de que aumente sustancialmente la probabilidad de que ocurra una erupcion u otro evento peligroso.

"There is such a thing as too many daughters, but not too many sons": A qualitative study of son preference and fetal sex selection among Indian immigrants in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Puri, Sunita; Adams, Vincanne; Ivey, Susan; Nachtigall, Robert D

2011-04-01

In response to concerns from feminists, demographers, bioethicists, journalists, and health care professionals, the Indian government passed legislation in 1994 and 2003 prohibiting the use of sex selection technology and sex-selective abortion. In contrast, South Asian families immigrating to the United States find themselves in an environment where reproductive choice is protected by law and technologies enabling sex selection are readily available. Yet there has been little research exploring immigrant Indian women's narratives about the pressure they face to have sons, the process of deciding to utilize sex selection technologies, and the physical and emotional health implications of both son preference and sex selection. We undertook semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 65 immigrant Indian women in the United States who had pursued fetal sex selection on the East and West coasts of the United States between September 2004 and December 2009. Women spoke of son preference and sex selection as separate though intimately related phenomena, and the major themes that arose during interviews included the sociocultural roots of son preference; women's early socialization around the importance of sons; the different forms of pressure to have sons that women experienced from female in-laws and husbands; the spectrum of verbal and physical abuse that women faced when they did not have male children and/or when they found out they were carrying a female fetus; and the ambivalence with which women regarded their own experience of reproductive "choice." We found that 40% of the women interviewed had terminated prior pregnancies with female fetuses and that 89% of women carrying female fetuses in their current pregnancy pursued an abortion. These narratives highlight the interaction between medical technology and the perpetuation of this specific form of violence against women in an immigrant context where women are both the assumed beneficiaries of reproductive choice

Tropical Forest Gain and Interactions amongst Agents of Forest Change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sean Sloan

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The tropical deforestation literature advocates multi-agent enquiry in recognition that key dynamics arise from inter-agent interactions. Studies of tropical forest-cover gain have lagged in this respect. This article explores the roles and key aspects of interactions shaping natural forest regeneration and active reforestation in Eastern Panama since 1990. It employs household surveys of agricultural landholders, interviews with community forest-restoration organisations, archival analysis of plantation reforestation interests, satellite image analysis of forest-cover change, and the consideration of State reforestation policies. Forest-cover gain reflected a convergence of interests and land-use trends amongst agents. Low social and economic costs of sustained interaction and organisation enabled extensive forest-cover gain, but low transaction costs did not. Corporate plantation reforestation rose to the fore of regional forest-cover gain via opportunistic land sales by ranchers and economic subsidies indicative of a State preference for autonomous, self-organising forest-cover gain. This reforestation follows a recent history of neoliberal frontier development in which State-backed loggers and ranchers similarly displaced agriculturalists. Community institutions, long neglected by the State, struggled to coordinate landholders and so effected far less forest-cover gain. National and international commitments to tropical forest restoration risk being similarly characterised as ineffective by a predominance of industrial plantation reforestation without greater State support for community forest management.

Forest insect pest management and forest management in China: an overview.

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Ji, Lanzhu; Wang, Zhen; Wang, Xiaowei; An, Linli

2011-12-01

According to the Seventh National Forest Inventory (2004-2008), China's forests cover an area of 195.45 million ha, or 20.36% of the total land area. China has the most rapidly increasing forest resources in the world. However, China is also a country with serious forest pest problems. There are more than 8,000 species of potential forest pests in China, including insects, plant diseases, rodents and lagomorphs, and hazardous plants. Among them, 300 species are considered as economically or ecologically important, and half of these are serious pests, including 86 species of insects. Forest management and utilization have a considerable influence on the stability and sustainability of forest ecosystems. At the national level, forestry policies always play a major role in forest resource management and forest health protection. In this paper, we present a comprehensive overview of both achievements and challenges in forest management and insect pest control in China. First, we summarize the current status of forest resources and their pests in China. Second, we address the theories, policies, practices and major national actions on forestry and forest insect pest management, including the Engineering Pest Management of China, the National Key Forestry Programs, the Classified Forest Management system, and the Collective Forest Tenure Reform. We analyze and discuss three representative plantations-Eucalyptus, poplar and Masson pine plantations-with respect to their insect diversity, pest problems and pest management measures.

Forest Insect Pest Management and Forest Management in China: An Overview

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, Lanzhu; Wang, Zhen; Wang, Xiaowei; An, Linli

2011-12-01

According to the Seventh National Forest Inventory (2004-2008), China's forests cover an area of 195.45 million ha, or 20.36% of the total land area. China has the most rapidly increasing forest resources in the world. However, China is also a country with serious forest pest problems. There are more than 8,000 species of potential forest pests in China, including insects, plant diseases, rodents and lagomorphs, and hazardous plants. Among them, 300 species are considered as economically or ecologically important, and half of these are serious pests, including 86 species of insects. Forest management and utilization have a considerable influence on the stability and sustainability of forest ecosystems. At the national level, forestry policies always play a major role in forest resource management and forest health protection. In this paper, we present a comprehensive overview of both achievements and challenges in forest management and insect pest control in China. First, we summarize the current status of forest resources and their pests in China. Second, we address the theories, policies, practices and major national actions on forestry and forest insect pest management, including the Engineering Pest Management of China, the National Key Forestry Programs, the Classified Forest Management system, and the Collective Forest Tenure Reform. We analyze and discuss three representative plantations— Eucalyptus, poplar and Masson pine plantations—with respect to their insect diversity, pest problems and pest management measures.

Independent Contributions of Early Positive Parenting and Mother-Son Coercion on Emerging Social Development.

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Akcinar, Berna; Shaw, Daniel S

2018-06-01

In the current study, we explored associations between parent-child coercion and positive parenting in the toddler period in relation to children's social-behavioral development during the school-age period. The data were drawn from the Pitt Mother & Child Project, a sample of 310 low-income, ethnically diverse boys. Drawing on tenets of both attachment and social learning theory, it was hypothesized that coercive mother-son interaction would lead to reductions in positive maternal parenting in the toddler period, and that both positive parenting and mother-son coercion in the toddler period would contribute to children's conduct problems at school entry and lower social skills and peer rejection in middle childhood. The results were largely confirmed, such that mother-son coercive interaction at 18 months was related to decreases in positive parenting at 24 months. Additionally, mother-son coercive interaction and positive parenting at 24 months were linked to child conduct problems at age 5, which in turn predicted child social skills and peer rejection during middle childhood. In addition to indirect effects through child conduct problems, mother-son coercion continued to be independently related to school-age peer rejection. The findings are discussed with respect to the importance of early coercive interactions in the growth of child social-behavioral development from early to middle childhood.

Sons fricativos surdos Voiceless fricatives sounds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carla Aparecida Cielo

2008-01-01

Full Text Available TEMA: características dos sons fricativos surdos. OBJETIVO: propor uma revisão da literatura pertinente às características acústicas, fonéticas e fonológicas dos fonemas fricativos surdos que integram o sistema fonológico do Português. Além disso, são descritas suas aplicações na terapia vocal. CONCLUSÕES: os fricativos são fonemas agudos, abrangendo de 2500 a 8000Hz; são plenamente adquiridos até os 3:7 anos de idade; o /s/ que também é o mais afetado em casos de frênulo lingual curto; a omissão do /s/ é uma das ocorrências mais freqüentes na alfabetização; sendo que, no desvio fonológico e na fissura lábio-palatina, freqüentemente ocorre comprometimento de toda a classe de fricativos. Na avaliação de voz, os fricativos são mencionados com as medidas de TMF e relação s/z, bem como seu uso como sons de apoio na fonoterapia.BACKGROUND: characteristics of voiceless fricative sounds PURPOSE: to review the literature related to acoustic, phonetics and phonological characteristics of voiceless fricative sounds that are part of the phonological system of the Portuguese Language. Furthermore, it describes the use of these sounds in voice therapy. CONCLUSIONS: fricatives are acute phonemes comprised between 2500 and 8000 Hz; they are fully acquired up to the age of 3:7 years; the /s/, which is the most affected in cases of short lingual frenum; omission of the /s/ is one of the most frequent occurrences during literacy education; and in the phonological deviation and labial-palatine fissure the entire class of fricatives is frequently affected. In voice assessment, fricative sounds are mentioned as TMF measurements and s/z relationship, and their use as support sounds in speech therapy.

Major ion chemistry of the Son River, India: Weathering processes ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

solute flux and CDR values. The water chemistry indicates that the Son River water is good to excellent .... to separate suspended sediments and preserved at. 4◦C for further ...... and waste water, 20th edn; American Public Health. Association ...

Strong spatial structure, Pliocene diversification and cryptic diversity in the Neotropical dry forest spider Sicarius cariri.

Science.gov (United States)

Magalhaes, Ivan L F; Oliveira, Ubirajara; Santos, Fabrício R; Vidigal, Teofânia H D A; Brescovit, Antonio D; Santos, Adalberto J

2014-11-01

The Brazilian Caatinga is part of the seasonally dry tropical forests, a vegetation type disjunctly distributed throughout the Neotropics. It has been suggested that during Pleistocene glacial periods, these dry forests had a continuous distribution, so that these climatic shifts may have acted as important driving forces of the Caatinga biota diversification. To address how these events affected the distribution of a dry forest species, we chose Sicarius cariri, a spider endemic to the Caatinga, as a model. We studied the phylogeography of one mitochondrial and one nuclear gene and reconstructed the paleodistribution of the species using modelling algorithms. We found two allopatric and deeply divergent clades within S. cariri, suggesting that this species as currently recognized might consist of more than one independently evolving lineage. Sicarius cariri populations are highly structured, with low haplotype sharing among localities, high fixation index and isolation by distance. Models of paleodistribution, Bayesian reconstructions and coalescent simulations suggest that this species experienced a reduction in its population size during glacial periods, rather than the expansion expected by previous hypotheses on the paleodistribution of dry forest taxa. In addition to that, major splits of intraspecific lineages of S. cariri took place in the Pliocene. Taken together, these results indicate S. cariri has a complex diversification history dating back to the Tertiary, suggesting the history of dry forest taxa may be significantly older than previously thought. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Secondary Forest Age and Tropical Forest Biomass Estimation Using TM

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, R. F.; Kimes, D. S.; Salas, W. A.; Routhier, M.

1999-01-01

The age of secondary forests in the Amazon will become more critical with respect to the estimation of biomass and carbon budgets as tropical forest conversion continues. Multitemporal Thematic Mapper data were used to develop land cover histories for a 33,000 Square kM area near Ariquemes, Rondonia over a 7 year period from 1989-1995. The age of the secondary forest, a surrogate for the amount of biomass (or carbon) stored above-ground, was found to be unimportant in terms of biomass budget error rates in a forested TM scene which had undergone a 20% conversion to nonforest/agricultural cover types. In such a situation, the 80% of the scene still covered by primary forest accounted for over 98% of the scene biomass. The difference between secondary forest biomass estimates developed with and without age information were inconsequential relative to the estimate of biomass for the entire scene. However, in futuristic scenarios where all of the primary forest has been converted to agriculture and secondary forest (55% and 42% respectively), the ability to age secondary forest becomes critical. Depending on biomass accumulation rate assumptions, scene biomass budget errors on the order of -10% to +30% are likely if the age of the secondary forests are not taken into account. Single-date TM imagery cannot be used to accurately age secondary forests into single-year classes. A neural network utilizing TM band 2 and three TM spectral-texture measures (bands 3 and 5) predicted secondary forest age over a range of 0-7 years with an RMSE of 1.59 years and an R(Squared) (sub actual vs predicted) = 0.37. A proposal is made, based on a literature review, to use satellite imagery to identify general secondary forest age groups which, within group, exhibit relatively constant biomass accumulation rates.

Restoring forest structure and process stabilizes forest carbon in wildfire-prone southwestern ponderosa pine forests.

Science.gov (United States)

Hurteau, Matthew D; Liang, Shuang; Martin, Katherine L; North, Malcolm P; Koch, George W; Hungate, Bruce A

2016-03-01

Changing climate and a legacy of fire-exclusion have increased the probability of high-severity wildfire, leading to an increased risk of forest carbon loss in ponderosa pine forests in the southwestern USA. Efforts to reduce high-severity fire risk through forest thinning and prescribed burning require both the removal and emission of carbon from these forests, and any potential carbon benefits from treatment may depend on the occurrence of wildfire. We sought to determine how forest treatments alter the effects of stochastic wildfire events on the forest carbon balance. We modeled three treatments (control, thin-only, and thin and burn) with and without the occurrence of wildfire. We evaluated how two different probabilities of wildfire occurrence, 1% and 2% per year, might alter the carbon balance of treatments. In the absence of wildfire, we found that thinning and burning treatments initially reduced total ecosystem carbon (TEC) and increased net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB). In the presence of wildfire, the thin and burn treatment TEC surpassed that of the control in year 40 at 2%/yr wildfire probability, and in year 51 at 1%/yr wildfire probability. NECB in the presence of wildfire showed a similar response to the no-wildfire scenarios: both thin-only and thin and burn treatments increased the C sink. Treatments increased TEC by reducing both mean wildfire severity and its variability. While the carbon balance of treatments may differ in more productive forest types, the carbon balance benefits from restoring forest structure and fire in southwestern ponderosa pine forests are clear.

Paternal antisocial behavior and sons' cognitive ability: a population-based quasiexperimental study.

Science.gov (United States)

Latvala, Antti; Kuja-Halkola, Ralf; Långström, Niklas; Lichtenstein, Paul

2015-01-01

Parents' antisocial behavior is associated with developmental risks for their offspring, but its effects on their children's cognitive ability are unknown. We used linked Swedish register data for a large sample of adolescent men (N = 1,177,173) and their parents to estimate associations between fathers' criminal-conviction status and sons' cognitive ability assessed at compulsory military conscription. Mechanisms behind the association were tested in children-of-siblings models across three types of sibling fathers with increasing genetic relatedness (half-siblings, full siblings, and monozygotic twins) and in quantitative genetic models. Sons whose fathers had a criminal conviction had lower cognitive ability than sons whose fathers had no conviction (any crime: Cohen's d = -0.28; violent crime: Cohen's d = -0.49). As models adjusted for more genetic factors, the association was gradually reduced and eventually eliminated. Nuclear-family environmental factors did not contribute to the association. Our results suggest that the association between men's antisocial behavior and their children's cognitive ability is not causal but is due mostly to underlying genetic factors. © The Author(s) 2014.

Major ion chemistry of the Son River, India: Weathering processes ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Major ion chemistry of the Son River, India: Weathering processes, dissolved fluxes and water quality assessment. Chinmaya Maharana, Sandeep Kumar Gautam,. Abhay Kumar Singh and Jayant K Tripathi. J. Earth Syst. Sci. 124(6) cO Indian Academy of Sciences. Supplementary data ...

Tenure and forest income

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jagger, Pamela; Luckert, Martin K.; Duchelle, Amy E.

2014-01-01

We explore the relationship between tenure and forest income in 271 villages throughout the tropics. We find that state-owned forests generate more forest income than private and community-owned forests both per household and per hectare. We explore whether forest income varies according...... to the extent of rule enforcement, and congruence (i.e., overlap of user rights between owners and users). We find negative associations between enforcement and smallholder forest income for state-owned and community forests, and positive associations for privately owned forests. Where user rights are limited...... to formal owners we find negative associations for state-owned forests. Overlapping user rights are positively associated with forest income for community forests. Our findings suggest that policy reforms emphasizing enforcement and reducing overlapping claims to forest resources should consider possible...

...And Kronos Ate His Sons

Science.gov (United States)

Vitiello, Giuseppe

In closed systems, energy is conserved. The origin of the time axis is completely arbitrary due to the invariance under continuous time-translations. The flowing of time swallows those fictitious origins one might assign on its axis, as Kronos ate his sons. Dissipation breaks such a scenario. It implies a non-forgettable origin of time. Open systems need their complement (their "double") in order to become, together, a closed system. Time emerges as an observable measured by the evolution of the open system complement, which acts as a clock. The conservation of the energy-momentum tensor in electrodynamics is considered and its relation with dissipative systems and self-similar fractal structures is discussed. The isomorphism with coherent states in quantum field theory (QFT) is established and the generator of transitions among unitarily inequivalent representations of the canonical commutation relations (CCR) is shown to provide sequences in time of phases, which defines the arrow of time. Merging properties of electrodynamics, fractal self-similarity, dissipation and coherent states point to an integrated vision of Nature.

Forest Loss in Protected Areas and Intact Forest Landscapes: A Global Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Heino, Matias; Kummu, Matti; Makkonen, Marika; Mulligan, Mark; Verburg, Peter H; Jalava, Mika; Räsänen, Timo A

2015-01-01

In spite of the high importance of forests, global forest loss has remained alarmingly high during the last decades. Forest loss at a global scale has been unveiled with increasingly finer spatial resolution, but the forest extent and loss in protected areas (PAs) and in large intact forest landscapes (IFLs) have not so far been systematically assessed. Moreover, the impact of protection on preserving the IFLs is not well understood. In this study we conducted a consistent assessment of the global forest loss in PAs and IFLs over the period 2000-2012. We used recently published global remote sensing based spatial forest cover change data, being a uniform and consistent dataset over space and time, together with global datasets on PAs' and IFLs' locations. Our analyses revealed that on a global scale 3% of the protected forest, 2.5% of the intact forest, and 1.5% of the protected intact forest were lost during the study period. These forest loss rates are relatively high compared to global total forest loss of 5% for the same time period. The variation in forest losses and in protection effect was large among geographical regions and countries. In some regions the loss in protected forests exceeded 5% (e.g. in Australia and Oceania, and North America) and the relative forest loss was higher inside protected areas than outside those areas (e.g. in Mongolia and parts of Africa, Central Asia, and Europe). At the same time, protection was found to prevent forest loss in several countries (e.g. in South America and Southeast Asia). Globally, high area-weighted forest loss rates of protected and intact forests were associated with high gross domestic product and in the case of protected forests also with high proportions of agricultural land. Our findings reinforce the need for improved understanding of the reasons for the high forest losses in PAs and IFLs and strategies to prevent further losses.

Les Ilenti ou maudire son prochain en turc

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Altan Gokalp

2009-05-01

Full Text Available La langue turque contemporaine dispopse d’un nombre important de formules d’invective et de malédiction qui relèvent d’un genre appelé ilenç ou ilenti, forme qui est connue depuis les premières inscriptions turques runiques de la Haute Asie. Bien que l’islam réprouve le fait de maudire son prochain, le genre issu d’une grande tradition turque ancienne est d’un usage commun chez les Turcs. Plus encore, la manière de maudire relève d’une tradition savante, d’un « Grand Parler » qui s’apparente aux genres littéraires les plus classiques comme l’épopée, le conte ou la poésie lyrique : la métrique, les rimes, l’usage des assonances obéissent aux mêmes règles que la grande tradition littéraire turque. En cela, le fait d’user de l’invective et de la malédiction est d’une certaine manière une prétention à la distinction et à la domination de l’autre. Les cibles de l’invective éclairent bien cette volonté de dominer et de détruire son ennemi (le corps, la famille, la maladie, une mort peu digne, etc..

Illinois' Forests 2010

Science.gov (United States)

Susan J. Crocker; Mark D. Nelson; Charles J. Barnett; Brett J. Butler; Grant M. Domke; Mark H. Hansen; Mark A. Hatfield; Tonya W. Lister; Dacia M. Meneguzzo; Ronald J. Piva; Barry T. Wilson; Christopher W. Woodall

2013-01-01

The second full annual inventory of Illinois' forests, completed in 2010, reports more than 4.8 million acres of forest land and 97 tree species. Forest land is dominated by oak/hickory and elm/ash/cottonwood forest-type groups, which occupy 93 percent of total forest land area. The volume of growing stock on timberland totals 7.2 billion cubic feet. The average...

Nebraska's Forests 2010

Science.gov (United States)

Dacia M Meneguzzo; Susan J. Crocker; Mark D. Nelson; Charles J. Barnett; Brett J. Butler; Grant M. Domke; Mark H. Hansen; Mark A. Hatfield; Greg C. Liknes; Andrew J. Lister; Tonya W. Lister; Ronald J. Piva; Barry T. (Ty) Wilson; Christopher W. Woodall

2012-01-01

The second full annual inventory of Nebraska's forests reports more than 1.5 million acres of forest land and 39 tree species. Forest land is dominated by the elm/ash/cottonwood and oak/hickory forest types, which occupy nearly half of the total forest land area. The volume of growing stock on timberland currently totals 1.1 billion cubic feet. The average annual...

Forest report 2016

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2016-01-01

This forest condition report of Hesse (Germany) includes the following topics: forest condition survey for all tree species, forest in the in the Rhine-Main area, weather and climate, soil water balance and drought stress, insects and fungi, Forestry Environment Monitoring, infiltrated substances, main results of Forest soil survey in Hesse (BZE II), the substrate group red sandstone, heavy metal contamination of forests.

Michigan's Forests 2009

Science.gov (United States)

Scott A. Pugh; Lawrence D. Pedersen; Douglas C. Heym; Ronald J. Piva; Christopher W. Woodall; Charles J. Barnett; Cassandra M. Kurtz; W. Keith. Moser

2012-01-01

The seventh inventory of Michigan's forests, completed in 2009, describes more than 19.9 million acres of forest land. The data in this report are based on visits to 7,516 forested plots from 2005 to 2009. Timberland accounts for 97 percent of this forest land, and 62 percent is privately owned. The sugar maple/beech/yellow birch forest type accounts for 18...

Michigan's forests 2004

Science.gov (United States)

Scott A. Pugh; Mark H. Hansen; Lawrence D. Pedersen; Douglas C. Heym; Brett J. Butler; Susan J. Crocker; Dacia Meneguzzo; Charles H. Perry; David E. Haugen; Christopher Woodall; Ed Jepsen

2009-01-01

The first annual inventory of Michigan's forests, completed in 2004, covers more than 19.3 million acres of forest land. The data in this report are based on visits to 10,355 forested plots from 2000 to 2004. In addition to detailed information on forest attributes, this report includes data on forest health, biomass, land-use change, and timber-product outputs....

Size of forest holdings and family forests: implications for forest management in South Carolina.

Science.gov (United States)

Brian Williams; Thomas Straka; Richard Harper

2012-01-01

There are about 11.3 million private forest owners in the United States; of those, 10.4 million are family forest owners who control 62% of the nation's private timberland. South Carolina has about 262,000 family forest owners who control almost two-thirds of the state's private timberland (Butler, 2008). In the recent past, these ownerships were generally...

Analysis of Expectations of Forest Products Industry from Forest Industry Engineering Education

OpenAIRE

GEDİK, Tarık; ÇİL, Muhammet; SEVİM KORKUT, Derya; CEMİL AKYÜZ, Kadri; KOŞAR, Gökşen; BEKAR, İlter

2016-01-01

Forest industry engineers, representing the qualified labor within the forest products industry, choose their field of study either deliberately or by chance. This study explores the main skill sets of forest industry engineers required by forest products industry. As representatives of forest industry owner of forest products companies were surveyed about their views on the qualifications a forest industry engineer must have.This study covered total 7111 companies registered to TOBB as a for...

Divergent phenological response to hydroclimate variability in forested mountain watersheds.

Science.gov (United States)

Hwang, Taehee; Band, Lawrence E; Miniat, Chelcy F; Song, Conghe; Bolstad, Paul V; Vose, James M; Love, Jason P

2014-08-01

Mountain watersheds are primary sources of freshwater, carbon sequestration, and other ecosystem services. There is significant interest in the effects of climate change and variability on these processes over short to long time scales. Much of the impact of hydroclimate variability in forest ecosystems is manifested in vegetation dynamics in space and time. In steep terrain, leaf phenology responds to topoclimate in complex ways, and can produce specific and measurable shifts in landscape forest patterns. The onset of spring is usually delayed at a specific rate with increasing elevation (often called Hopkins' Law; Hopkins, 1918), reflecting the dominant controls of temperature on greenup timing. Contrary with greenup, leaf senescence shows inconsistent trends along elevation gradients. Here, we present mechanisms and an explanation for this variability and its significance for ecosystem patterns and services in response to climate. We use moderate-resolution imaging spectro-radiometer (MODIS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data to derive landscape-induced phenological patterns over topoclimate gradients in a humid temperate broadleaf forest in southern Appalachians. These phenological patterns are validated with different sets of field observations. Our data demonstrate that divergent behavior of leaf senescence with elevation is closely related to late growing season hydroclimate variability in temperature and water balance patterns. Specifically, a drier late growing season is associated with earlier leaf senescence at low elevation than at middle elevation. The effect of drought stress on vegetation senescence timing also leads to tighter coupling between growing season length and ecosystem water use estimated from observed precipitation and runoff generation. This study indicates increased late growing season drought may be leading to divergent ecosystem response between high and low elevation forests. Landscape-induced phenological patterns

A model of forest floor carbon mass for United States forest types

Science.gov (United States)

James E. Smith; Linda S. Heath

2002-01-01

Includes a large set of published values of forest floor mass and develop large-scale estimates of carbon mass according to region and forest type. Estimates of average forest floor carbon mass per hectare of forest applied to a 1997 summary forest inventory, sum to 4.5 Gt carbon stored in forests of the 48 contiguous United States.

'SON-GO-KU' : a dream of automated library

Science.gov (United States)

Sato, Mamoru; Kishimoto, Juji

In the process of automating libraries, the retrieval of books through the browsing of shelves is being overlooked. The telematic library is a document based DBMS which can deliver the content of books by simulating the browsing process. The retrieval actually simulates the process a person would use in selecting a book in a real library, where a visual presentation using a graphic display is substituted. The characteristics of prototype system "Son-Go-Ku" for such retrieval implemented in 1988 are mentioned.

Abrupt fire regime change may cause landscape-wide loss of mature obligate seeder forests.

Science.gov (United States)

Bowman, David M J S; Murphy, Brett P; Neyland, Dominic L J; Williamson, Grant J; Prior, Lynda D

2014-03-01

Obligate seeder trees requiring high-severity fires to regenerate may be vulnerable to population collapse if fire frequency increases abruptly. We tested this proposition using a long-lived obligate seeding forest tree, alpine ash (Eucalyptus delegatensis), in the Australian Alps. Since 2002, 85% of the Alps bioregion has been burnt by several very large fires, tracking the regional trend of more frequent extreme fire weather. High-severity fires removed 25% of aboveground tree biomass, and switched fuel arrays from low loads of herbaceous and litter fuels to high loads of flammable shrubs and juvenile trees, priming regenerating stands for subsequent fires. Single high-severity fires caused adult mortality and triggered mass regeneration, but a second fire in quick succession killed 97% of the regenerating alpine ash. Our results indicate that without interventions to reduce fire severity, interactions between flammability of regenerating stands and increased extreme fire weather will eliminate much of the remaining mature alpine ash forest. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Forest Grammar(Ⅰ)

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

张松懋

1994-01-01

Forest grammar,a new type of high-dimensional grammar,is proposed in this paper,of which both the left and the right parts of every production are concatenations of tree structures.A classification of forest grammar is studied,especially,a subclass of the forest grammar,i.e.the context-sensitive forest grammar,and one of its subclasses is defined,called the weak precedence forest grammar.

Temporal Forest Change Detection and Forest Health Assessment using Remote Sensing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ya'acob, Norsuzila; Azize, Aziean Binti Mohd; Mahmon, Nur Anis; Yusof, Azita Laily; Azmi, Nor Farhana; Mustafa, Norfazira

2014-01-01

This paper presents the detection of Angsi and Berembun Reserve Forest change for years 1996 and 2013. Forest is an important part of our ecosystem. The main function is to absorb carbon oxide and produce oxygen in their cycle of photosynthesis to maintain a balance and healthy atmosphere. However, forest changes as time changes. Some changes are necessary as to give way for economic growth. Nevertheless, it is important to monitor forest change so that deforestation and development can be planned and the balance of ecosystem is still preserved. It is important because there are number of unfavorable effects of deforestation that include environmental and economic such as erosion of soil, loss of biodiversity and climate change. The forest change detection can be studied with reference of several satellite images using remote sensing application. Forest change detection is best done with remote sensing due to large and remote study area. The objective of this project is to detect forest change over time and to compare forest health indicated by Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) using remote sensing and image processing. The forest under study shows depletion of forest area by 12% and 100% increment of deforestation activities. The NDVI value which is associated with the forest health also shows 13% of reduction

Forest Islands and Castaway Communities: REDD+ and Forest Restoration in Prey Lang Forest

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Courtney Work

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Climate Change policies are playing an ever-increasing role in global development strategies and their implementation gives rise to often-unforeseen social conflicts and environmental degradations. A landscape approach to analyzing forest-based Climate Change Mitigation policies (CCM and land grabs in the Prey Lang Forest landscape, Cambodia revealed two Korea-Cambodia partnership projects designed to increase forest cover that are juxtaposed in this paper. Case study data revealed a REDD+ project with little negative impact or social conflict in the project area and an Afforestation/Reforestation (A/R project that created both social and ecological conflicts. The study concludes that forest-based CCM policies can reduce conflict through efforts at minimal transformation of local livelihoods, maximal attention to the tenure rights, responsibilities, and authority of citizens, and by improving, not degrading, the project landscapes. The paper presents the circumstances under which these guidelines are sidestepped by the A/R project, and importantly reveals that dramatic forest and livelihood transformation had already affected the community and environment in the REDD+ project site. There are deep contradictions at the heart of climate change policies toward which attention must be given, lest we leave our future generations with nothing but forest islands and castaway communities.

Non-timber forest products: alternative multiple-uses for sustainable forest management

Science.gov (United States)

James L. Chamberlain; Mary Predny

2003-01-01

Forests of the southern United States are the source of a great diversity of flora, much of which is gathered for non-timber forest products (NTFPs). These products are made from resources that grow under the forest canopy as trees, herbs, shrubs, vines, moss and even lichen. They occur naturally in forests or may be cultivated under the forest canopy or in...

How do mangrove forests induce sedimentation?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Kathiresan

2003-06-01

Full Text Available The mangrove forests play a significant role as sediment traps. They reduce tidal flows and induce sedimentation of soil particles at low tide. However, there are no such processes taking place in the non-mangrove areas. Site of Avicennia-Rhizophora interphase is more efficient than Avicennia and or Rhizophora zones, in trapping the sediment by 30, 25 and 20% respectively at low tide as compared to high tide.Los bosques de manglar juegan un papel significativo como trampas de sedimentos. Ellos reducen los flujos de mareas e inducen las sedimentación de las partículas del suelo en la marea baja. Sin embargo, tal proceso no ocurre en areas sin manglares. Los sitios de interfase Avicennia-Rhizophora son más eficientes que las zonas monoespecíficas de Avicennia o de Rhizophora para atrapar sedimentos, en un 30, 25 and 20% respectivament, durante la marea baja en comparación con la marea alta.

Private forest owners of the Central Hardwood Forest

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas W. Birch

1997-01-01

A recently completed survey of woodland owners provides insight into the owners of private forest lands in the Central Hardwood Region. There is increasing parcelization of forested lands and an increase in the numbers of nonindustrial private forest-land owners. Over half of the private owners have harvested timber from their holdings at some time in the past, they...

Effects of national forest-management regimes on unprotected forests of the Himalaya.

Science.gov (United States)

Brandt, Jodi S; Allendorf, Teri; Radeloff, Volker; Brooks, Jeremy

2017-12-01

Globally, deforestation continues, and although protected areas effectively protect forests, the majority of forests are not in protected areas. Thus, how effective are different management regimes to avoid deforestation in non-protected forests? We sought to assess the effectiveness of different national forest-management regimes to safeguard forests outside protected areas. We compared 2000-2014 deforestation rates across the temperate forests of 5 countries in the Himalaya (Bhutan, Nepal, China, India, and Myanmar) of which 13% are protected. We reviewed the literature to characterize forest management regimes in each country and conducted a quasi-experimental analysis to measure differences in deforestation of unprotected forests among countries and states in India. Countries varied in both overarching forest-management goals and specific tenure arrangements and policies for unprotected forests, from policies emphasizing economic development to those focused on forest conservation. Deforestation rates differed up to 1.4% between countries, even after accounting for local determinants of deforestation, such as human population density, market access, and topography. The highest deforestation rates were associated with forest policies aimed at maximizing profits and unstable tenure regimes. Deforestation in national forest-management regimes that emphasized conservation and community management were relatively low. In India results were consistent with the national-level results. We interpreted our results in the context of the broader literature on decentralized, community-based natural resource management, and our findings emphasize that the type and quality of community-based forestry programs and the degree to which they are oriented toward sustainable use rather than economic development are important for forest protection. Our cross-national results are consistent with results from site- and regional-scale studies that show forest-management regimes that

The relation of son preference and religion to induced abortion: the case of South Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Woojin

2007-09-01

This paper explores the factors that influence the practice of induced abortion in a very low fertility society, with particular emphasis on son preference and three distinct religions: Confucianism, Buddhism and Christianity. Using multivariate logistic regression models fitted by the generalized estimating equation (GEE) method, this paper analysed the data collected by the 2000 Korea National Fertility and Family Health Survey of 6348 married women aged 15-49 years with a total of 1217 pregnancy outcomes. The results showed that the likelihood of induced abortions in women with two or more children, compared with those with one child, was significantly influenced by the sex composition of the previous children: odds ratio (OR)=12.71 (95% CI=5.49, 29.42) for women with only son(s), and OR=3.91 (95% CI=1.67, 9.14) for women with only daughter(s). At parity two, women with two sons were much more likely to have induced abortions than women with two daughters (OR=5.88, 95% CI=2.70, 12.85). Although Buddhist women were not significantly different from Confucian women in induced abortion practice, Christian women were much less likely than Confucian women to have an induced abortion (OR=0.39, 95% CI=0.18, 0.88 for women with only sons and OR=0.44, 95% CI=0.24, 0.81 for women with two children). This suggests that even in this very low fertility society, son preference and religious affiliation are significant predictors of women's practice of induced abortion.

78 FR 38287 - Bitterroot National Forest, Darby Ranger District, Como Forest Health Project

Science.gov (United States)

2013-06-26

... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service Bitterroot National Forest, Darby Ranger District, Como Forest Health Project AGENCY: Forest Service. ACTION: Notice; Correction. SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service, Bitterroot National Forest, Darby Ranger District published a document in...

Forest Resources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2016-06-01

Forest biomass is an abundant biomass feedstock that complements the conventional forest use of wood for paper and wood materials. It may be utilized for bioenergy production, such as heat and electricity, as well as for biofuels and a variety of bioproducts, such as industrial chemicals, textiles, and other renewable materials. The resources within the 2016 Billion-Ton Report include primary forest resources, which are taken directly from timberland-only forests, removed from the land, and taken to the roadside.

A mid-Pleistocene rainforest corridor enabled synchronous invasions of the Atlantic Forest by Amazonian anole lizards.

Science.gov (United States)

Prates, Ivan; Rivera, Danielle; Rodrigues, Miguel T; Carnaval, Ana C

2016-10-01

Shifts in the geographic distribution of habitats over time can promote dispersal and vicariance, thereby influencing large-scale biogeographic patterns and ecological processes. An example is that of transient corridors of suitable habitat across disjunct but ecologically similar regions, which have been associated with climate change over time. Such connections likely played a role in the assembly of tropical communities, especially within the highly diverse Amazonian and Atlantic rainforests of South America. Although these forests are presently separated by open and dry ecosystems, paleoclimatic and phylogenetic evidence suggest that they have been transiently connected in the past. However, little is known about the timing, magnitude and the distribution of former forest connections. We employ sequence data at multiple loci from three codistributed arboreal lizards (Anolis punctatus, Anolis ortonii and Polychrus marmoratus) to infer the phylogenetic relationships among Amazonian and Atlantic Forest populations and to test alternative historical demographic scenarios of colonization and vicariance using coalescent simulations and approximate Bayesian computation (ABC). Data from the better-sampled Anolis species support colonization of the Atlantic Forest from eastern Amazonia. Hierarchical ABC indicates that the three species colonized the Atlantic Forest synchronously during the mid-Pleistocene. We find support of population bottlenecks associated with founder events in the two Anolis, but not in P. marmoratus, consistently with their distinct ecological tolerances. Our findings support that climatic fluctuations provided key opportunities for dispersal and forest colonization in eastern South America through the cessation of environmental barriers. Evidence of species-specific histories strengthens assertions that biological attributes play a role in responses to shared environmental change. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Older parents enjoy better filial piety and care from daughters than sons in China

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zeng, Yi; George, Linda; Sereny, Melanie

2016-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether older parents in China would benefit more from daughters' care than from sons' emotional care. METHOD: Analysis of the unique data sets of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey conducted in 2002, 2005, and 2008-2009 in 22 provinces. RESULTS: As compared......' health outcome could help promote gender equality and reduce traditional son preference, especially in rural China....

A case of aneurysmal bone cyst in father and son

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leithner, A.; Windhager, R.; Kainberger, F.; Lang, S.

1998-01-01

The authors report a familial case of primary aneurysmal bone cyst in father and son, affecting both at the same location at nearly the same age. This fact again raises the speculation of a genetic link as another factor in the pathogenesis of aneurysmal bone cyst

Mother-son discrepant reporting on parenting practices: The contribution of temperament and depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Shishido, Yuri; Latzman, Robert D

2017-06-01

Despite low to moderate convergent correlations, assessment of youth typically relies on multiple informants for information across a range of psychosocial domains including parenting practices. Although parent-youth informant discrepancies have been found to predict adverse youth outcomes, few studies have examined contributing factors to the explanation of informant disagreements on parenting practices. The current study represents the first investigation to concurrently examine the role of mother and son's self-reported affective dimensions of temperament and depression as pathways to informant discrepancies on parenting practices. Within a community sample of 174 mother-son dyads, results suggest that whereas mother's self-reported temperament evidenced no direct effects on discrepancies, the association between the product term of mother's negative and positive temperament and discrepancies on positive parenting was fully mediated by mother's depression (a mediated moderation). In contrast, son's self-reported temperament evidenced both direct and indirect effects, partially mediated by depression, on rating discrepancies for positive parenting. All told, both son's self-reported affective dimensions of temperament and depression contributed to the explanation of discrepant reporting on parenting practices; only mother's self-reported depression, but not temperament, uniquely contributed. Results highlight the importance of considering both parent and youth's report in the investigation of informant discrepancies on parenting practices. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Organization of private forest sector in Timok forest area

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vojislav Milijic

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Today, private forest owners (PFOs in Serbia cooperate in form of private forest owners associations (PFOAs. Currently, there are 20 PFOAs, of which 15 are in Timok region. Initiatives of PFOs from Timok forest area, animated the owners from other parts of the country and led to foundation of Serbian Federation of Forest Owners' Associations. Twelve of PFOAs from Timok forest area are the founders of Serbian private forest owners' umbrella organization. Restructuring of Public Enterprise (PE "Srbijasume", which started in 2001, led to development of private small and medium forest enterprises, engaged as contractors of PE for harvesting, timber transport and construction of forest roads. The objectives of this paper are to elaborate if there are differences between PFOs in Serbia and Timok region and to analyze organization of private forest owners in Timok forest area. In order to reach these objectives, results of PRIFORT project were used. This project focused on four countries of Western Balkans region: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Macedonia. The aim of this project was to explore precondition for formation of PFOs in this region. Quantitative survey (n = 350 of randomly selected PFOs was conducted in nine municipalities in Serbia, of which two were in Timok region (n = 100. The results show that there are differences between PFOs in Serbia and Timok region in number of PFOs, size of private property and in additional incentives. These results also indicate that economic interest is a motive for establishment of PFOAs and that state support is very important for their development. Since a number of PFOs are entrepreneurs, it can be assumed that, further development of theirs organizations could lead to development of SMEs clusters. 

Impacts of participatory forest management on species composition and forest structure in Ethiopia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yietagesu, Aklilu Ameha; Meilby, Henrik; Feyisa, Gudina Legese

2016-01-01

The present study assesses the impacts of decentralized forest management on forest conditions in Ethiopian Montane forests. We compared observed densities of different tree species and size categories in forests managed by local forest user groups (FUGs) and the government. We used forest...

Dipterocarpaceae: forest fires and forest recovery

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Priadjati, A.

2002-01-01