Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Early Season (early + season)
Selected AbstractsPartitioning sources of soil respiration in boreal black spruce forest using radiocarbonGLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2006Edward A.G. Schuur Abstract Separating ecosystem and soil respiration into autotrophic and heterotrophic component sources is necessary for understanding how the net ecosystem exchange of carbon (C) will respond to current and future changes in climate and vegetation. Here, we use an isotope mass balance method based on radiocarbon to partition respiration sources in three mature black spruce forest stands in Alaska. Radiocarbon (,14C) signatures of respired C reflect the age of substrate C and can be used to differentiate source pools within ecosystems. Recently-fixed C that fuels plant or microbial metabolism has ,14C values close to that of current atmospheric CO2, while C respired from litter and soil organic matter decomposition will reflect the longer residence time of C in plant and soil C pools. Contrary to our expectations, the ,14C of C respired by recently excised black spruce roots averaged 14, greater than expected for recently fixed photosynthetic products, indicating that some portion of the C fueling root metabolism was derived from C storage pools with turnover times of at least several years. The ,14C values of C respired by heterotrophs in laboratory incubations of soil organic matter averaged 60, higher than the contemporary atmosphere ,14CO2, indicating that the major contributors to decomposition are derived from a combination of sources consistent with a mean residence time of up to a decade. Comparing autotrophic and heterotrophic ,14C end members with measurements of the ,14C of total soil respiration, we calculated that 47,63% of soil CO2 emissions were derived from heterotrophic respiration across all three sites. Our limited temporal sampling also observed no significant differences in the partitioning of soil respiration in the early season compared with the late season. Future work is needed to address the reasons for high ,14C values in root respiration and issues of whether this method fully captures the contribution of rhizosphere respiration. [source] Early findings in comparison of AMSR-E/Aqua L3 global snow water equivalent EASE-grids data with in situ observations for Eastern TurkeyHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 15 2008A. Emre Tekeli Abstract Microwave remote sensing (RS) enables the direct determination of snow water equivalent (SWE), which is an important snow parameter for water resources management. The accuracy of remotely sensed SWE values has always been a concern. Previous studies evaluated global SWE monitoring. However, regional effects such as vegetation, snow grain size, snow density and local meteorological conditions may lead to uncertainties. Thus, regional validation studies that quantify and help to understand these uncertainties and possible error sources are important both for algorithm development and accurate SWE computation. In this study, data of Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E)/Aqua level 3 global SWE Equal Area Scalable Earth (EASE) Grids are compared with ground measurements for 2002,2003 winter period for Eastern Turkey, which includes the headwaters of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and is fed largely from snowmelt. Thus, accurate determination of SWE is important in optimum resource management for both Turkey and downstream nations. Analyses indicated that AMSR-E generally overestimated SWE in early season. As winter progressed, higher in situ SWE values with respect to AMSR-E were observed which led to underestimation by AMSR-E. The differences between AMSR-E and in situ SWE varied between , 218 and 93 mm. Use of in situ snow densities lead the correlation coefficient between AMSR-E and in situ SWE to increase from 0·10 to 0·32. Underestimation of SWE by AMSR-E occurs after some warm periods, while overestimations occur following refreezing. On rainy days or some days after precipitation within the warm periods, zero AMSR-E SWE values are observed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Pre-rainy season moisture build-up and storm precipitation delivery in the West African SahelINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 7 2008J. Bayo Omotosho Abstract The salient differences between the years of above and below normal precipitation, particularly within the long period of 1972,1990 with persistently decreasing Sahelian rainfall, are investigated for Kano, a Nigerian station within the Sahel. Daily rainfall data from 1916 to 2000, storm records from 1951 to 2000 and radiosonde data for three dry and three wet years are used in this study. Results confirm previous findings that the African Easterly Jet (AEJ) located in the 700,600 mb layer is stronger during the dry than in wet years. Significantly, however, it is shown that during the wet years, there is stronger and deeper early season (April,June) build-up of moisture below the AEJ. Furthermore, throughout the period from April to August, the middle troposphere was almost always drier than normal during the dry years and moist than normal in the wet years. Consequent upon these, the storms, which deliver almost all the rainfall in the Sahel, produce at least 150% more precipitation during the wet than in the dry years, though the June to September or annual total number of storms differs by only about 30%. Finally, during the dry years, the onset of rainfall is found to be generally very late compared to the long-term mean, with shorter length of the rainy season. Copyright © 2007 Royal Meteorological Society [source] Connections of Siberian snow onset dates to the following summer's monsoon conditions over Southeast AsiaINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 12 2005Hengchun Ye Abstract This is an exploratory study of possible links between the conditions of early season Eurasian snowfall and the following year's Southeast Asian summer monsoon. Forty years (1950,1995) of historical records are used to examine the statistical connections between early season snow cover onset dates over northern Eurasia and the following year's summer monsoon over Southeast Asia. We found that the time of snow onset is significantly associated with warm season rainfall over Southeast Asia. The most persistent connection is between northeastern Siberian snow onsets and summer monsoon strength over India and northeastern China. This connection seems to be more clearly shown during the mature stage and monsoon withdrawal and is reflected in all three aspects of monsoon characteristics. In other words, the earlier snow cover onset (more snow cover during the early season) over northeastern Siberia, the more precipitation and moisture convergence, the higher prevalence of a southwesterly monsoon wind, and the later monsoon withdrawal over Southeast Asia. The revealed connection is likely through atmospheric circulation associated with early season land surface snow cover processes independent of El Ñino conditions. The authors suggest that more studies are needed to fully understand the circuitous connections between Eurasian snowfall and the Southeastern Asian monsoon. Copyright © 2005 Royal Meteorological Society. [source] Insect pests and natural enemies in two varieties of quinua (Chenopodium quinoa) at Cusco, PeruJOURNAL OF APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 6 2002E. Yábar The quinua varieties differ, among other traits, in their content of saponins (secondary metabolites associated to plant resistance) late in the season. Whereas Agromyzidae and Cicadellidae were abundant only in the early season, both Chrysomelidae and Aphididae populations showed fluctuations. Likewise, Araneae and Braconidae showed fluctuating numbers during the season. The abundance of Coccinellidae peaked at mid-season whereas that of Syrphidae was high only in the late season. Although the overall abundance of insects was very similar in both varieties of quinua, there were different patterns depending on the season. In the early season there was a tendency towards greater insect numbers on Blanca, but in contrast, in the late season Amarilla (the high-saponin variety) had a higher load of insect pests. This suggests that saponins do not play a major role in quinua resistance against insects. In the early season, no significant relationship between pests and natural enemies held across quinua varieties. In the late season, Aphididae and Coccinellidae were negatively and significantly correlated in both varieties. The temporal population dynamics of Aphididae and both Coccinellidae and Braconidae resembled the traditional predator,prey dynamics. [source] Season of grazing and stocking rate interactively affect fuel loads in Baikiaea plurijuga Harms woodland in northwestern ZimbabweAFRICAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 4 2008J. Gambiza Abstract Wildfire is a major disturbance in Baikiaea plurijuga Harms woodland savannas. We tested the hypothesis that the timing and intensity of herbivory influence fuel loads. We used three stocking rates namely light (three cows and four goats ha,1), medium (six cows and eight goats ha,1) and heavy (eleven cows and sixteen goats ha,1) and three times of grazing namely early-, middle- and late-growing seasons. Season of grazing and stocking rate influenced herbaceous phytomass. Phytomass was generally the highest (53.5 g DM m,2) in paddocks grazed during the early growing season and the lowest (27.8 g DM m,2) in those grazed during the late growing season. Phytomass was also generally the highest (40.4 g DM m,2) in lightly stocked paddocks and the lowest (32.7 g DM m,2) in heavily stocked ones. Litter mass was the lowest (160.8 g DM m,2) in paddocks grazed during the early season whereas there were no differences in ungrazed paddocks and those grazed during either mid- or late growing seasons (205.4 g DM m,2). There was a negative relationship between litter mass and stocking rate. Baikiaea Benth. woodlands should be grazed during either the mid- or late-growing season at stocking rates greater than 0.1 LU ha,1 to reduce grass fuel loads. Résumé Les feux de brousse sont une perturbation majeure dans les savanes arborées àBaikiaea plurijuga Harms. Nous avons testé l'hypothèse selon laquelle le timing et l'intensité de la consommation par les herbivores influenceraient la quantité de combustible. Nous avons utilisé trois taux de pâturage: léger (trois vaches et quatre chèvres par hectare), moyen (six vaches et huit chèvres par hectare) et élevé (11 vaches et 16 chèvres par hectare), et trois périodes de pâturage, à savoir au début, au milieu et à la fin de la période de croissance. La période de pâturage et le taux de pâturage influençaient la phytomasse herbacée. La phytomasse était généralement la plus élevée (53.5 g MS m,2) dans les enclos pâturés au début de la saison de croissance, et la plus faible (27.8 g MS m,2) dans ceux qui sont pâturés en fin de période de croissance. La phytomasse était aussi généralement la plus grande (40.4 g MS m,2) dans les enclos légèrement pâturés et la plus basse (32.7 g MS m,2) dans les enclos très pâturés. La biomasse végétale (litière) était la plus faible (160.8 g MS m,2) dans les enclos pâturés au début de la saison, alors qu'il n'y avait pas de différence entre les enclos non pâturés et ceux qui l'étaient au milieu ou à la fin de la période de croissance (205.4 g MS m,2). Il y avait une relation négative entre la masse de litière et le taux de pâturage. Les forêts àBaikiaea Benth. devraient être pâturés en milieu ou en fin de période de croissance, et à des taux plus élevés que 0.1 UFL ha,1, pour réduire la quantité de combustible herbacé. [source] Metabolic response to two hydrocooling temperatures in sweet cherries cv Lapins and cv SunburstJOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, Issue 12 2006Rafael Alique Abstract Physiological and metabolic characterisation and analysis of response to two hydrocooling temperatures in cv Sunburst (early season) and cv Lapins (mid-season) cherries during post-harvest life has been studied. Samples were hydrocooled with water at 1 °C to reach 6 °C inside the fruit (HC-6C) and 2 °C (HC-2C) inside the fruit. After harvesting, Sunburst samples presented higher respiration rates and lower malic acid and sorbitol contents than Lapins. Glucose and fructose contents were similar in the two varieties. Sunburst control exhibited a higher respiration rate than Lapins and a higher rate of conversion from sorbitol to fructose. The change of glucose and malic acid consumption over 4 days at 20 °C was similar for the two varieties. Hydrocooling reduced respiration and the consumption of respiratory substrates. The residual effect of hydrocooling was especially significant in cherries of both varieties that had been pre-cooled to 2 °C. Hydrocooling delayed loss of skin and pulp firmness, and reduced loss of titratable acid and soluble solid contents over 4 days at 20 °C in both varieties. Hydrocooling to 2 °C checked loss of quality with respect to controls for both varieties after 4 days at 20 °C. Lapins showed better conservation properties than Sunburst under all the experimental storage conditions. Hydrocooling reduced total losses in both varieties, especially in cherries pre-cooled to 2 °C. Hydrocooling also had several residual effects: reduction of the respiration rate and consumption of respiratory substrates, and slowing of loss of quality, particularly for Lapins. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Seasonal changes in pollinator activity influence pollen dispersal and seed production of the alpine shrub Rhododendron aureum (Ericaceae)MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 4 2006A. S. HIRAO Abstract In alpine ecosystems, microscale variation in snowmelt timing often causes different flowering phenology of the same plant species and seasonal changes in pollinator activity. We compared the variations in insect visitation, pollen dispersal, mating patterns, and sexual reproduction of Rhododendron aureum early and late in the flowering season using five microsatellites. Insects visiting the flowers were rare early in the flowering season (mid-June), when major pollinators were bumblebee queens and flies. In contrast, frequent visitations by bumblebee workers were observed late in the season (late July). Two-generation analysis of pollen pool structure demonstrated that quality of pollen-mediated gene flow was more diverse late in the season in parallel with the high pollinator activity. The effective number of pollen donors per fruit (Nep) increased late in the season (Nep = 2.2,2.7 early, 3.4,4.4 late). However, both the outcrossing rate (tm) and seed-set ratio per fruit were smaller late in the season (tm = 0.89 and 0.71, seed-set ratio = 0.52 and 0.18, early and late in the season, respectively). In addition, biparental inbreeding occurred only late in the season. We conclude that R. aureum shows contrasting patterns of pollen movement and seed production between early and late season: in early season, seed production can be high but genetically less diverse and, during late season, be reduced, possibly due to higher inbreeding and inbreeding depression, but have greater genetic diversity. Thus, more pollinator activity does not always mean more pollen movement. [source] Quantification of effects of season and nitrogen supply on tree below-ground carbon transfer to ectomycorrhizal fungi and other soil organisms in a boreal pine forestNEW PHYTOLOGIST, Issue 2 2010Mona N. Högberg Summary ,The flux of carbon from tree photosynthesis through roots to ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi and other soil organisms is assumed to vary with season and with edaphic factors such as nitrogen availability, but these effects have not been quantified directly in the field. ,To address this deficiency, we conducted high temporal-resolution tracing of 13C from canopy photosynthesis to different groups of soil organisms in a young boreal Pinus sylvestris forest. ,There was a 500% higher below-ground allocation of plant C in the late (August) season compared with the early season (June). Labelled C was primarily found in fungal fatty acid biomarkers (and rarely in bacterial biomarkers), and in Collembola, but not in Acari and Enchytraeidae. The production of sporocarps of ECM fungi was totally dependent on allocation of recent photosynthate in the late season. There was no short-term (2 wk) effect of additions of N to the soil, but after 1 yr, there was a 60% reduction of below-ground C allocation to soil biota. ,Thus, organisms in forest soils, and their roles in ecosystem functions, appear highly sensitive to plant physiological responses to two major aspects of global change: changes in seasonal weather patterns and N eutrophication. [source] Is plant performance limited by abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi?NEW PHYTOLOGIST, Issue 1 2005A meta-analysis of studies published between 198 Summary ,,We conducted meta-analyses of 290 published field and glasshouse trials to determine the effects of various agricultural practices on mycorrhizal colonization in nonsterile soils, and the consequence of those effects on yield, biomass, and phosphorus (P) concentration. ,,Mycorrhizal colonization was increased most by inoculation (29% increase), followed by shortened fallow (20%) and reduced soil disturbance (7%). The effect of crop rotation depended on whether the crop was mycorrhizal. Increased colonization resulted in a yield increase in the field of 23% across all management practices. ,,Biomass at harvest and shoot P concentration in early season were increased by inoculation (57 and 33%, respectively) and shortened fallow (55 and 24%). Reduced disturbance increased shoot P concentration by 27%, but biomass was not significantly affected. Biomass was significantly reduced in 2% of all trials in which there was a significant increase in colonization. ,,Irrespective of management practice, an increased mycorrhizal colonization was less likely to increase biomass if either soil P or indigenous inoculum potential was high. [source] The effects of Beet mild yellowing virus and Beet chlorosis virus on the yield of UK field-grown sugar beet in 1997,1999 and 2000ANNALS OF APPLIED BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2004MARK STEVENS Summary The separate effects of the aphid-transmitted poleroviruses; Beet mild yellowing virus (BMYV) and Beet chlorosis virus (BChV), on the yield of field-grown sugar beet were studied following different inoculation dates from May to July in 1997,1999 and 2000. Each sugar beet plant within the appropriate plots was infected with virus using at least 10 wingless viruliferous Myzus persicae per plant. In all 3 years, overall yield losses caused by BMYV were negatively correlated with time of infection with early season (May) inoculations causing 18,27% losses in sugar yield but late season losses only 4,15%. BChV decreased the sugar yield and sugar content of beet following early season inoculations, although the effects on sugar yield were more variable (range 8,24%) and the virus appeared to be less damaging compared to BMYV. However, inoculations with BChV in July of each year caused greater root and sugar losses than inoculations with BMYV at that time. Both poleroviruses increased the sodium content of the roots early in the season, although neither virus had an effect on potassium levels at any stage. [source] Early-Season Headspace Volatiles from Apple and Their Effect on the Apple Blossom Weevil Anthonomus pomorumCHEMISTRY & BIODIVERSITY, Issue 9 2010Rafal Piskorski Abstract Apple volatiles emitted at early phenological stages are little investigated, although they may influence behavior of early-season pests. The apple blossom weevil Anthonomus pomorum is a herbivore pest of orchards in Europe. It colonizes apple trees in early season and oviposits into developing flower buds, often leading to economic damage. Using in situ radial diffusive sampling and thermal desorption, followed by GC/MS analysis, headspace volatiles from apple twigs with flower buds at three early phenological tree stages were identified and quantified. The volatile blend consisted of 13,compounds for the first, and increased to 15 compounds for the third phenological stage sampled. These blends included benzenoids, terpenes, and derivatives of fatty acids. A recombined synthetic blend served as the odor source in a still-air dual-choice olfactometer bioassay, in which individual male and female weevils were tested. Results from this behavioral test document an attraction of both sexes to odors of their host plant, suggesting that apple volatiles emitted in early season serve as olfactory cues for host location of A. pomorum in the field. [source] | |||||||||||||