Polyethylene tarping elevates temperature and reduces emergence of Phloeosinus punctatus LeConte (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) from giant sequoia debris piles

Woody debris structures on large clearcut openings: Oases for small mustelids and prey species?

From the redwood forest to the gulf stream waters - drought resistance in coast redwoods and giant sequoias.

PurposeThis work aims to study the hydrothermal behavior of mortar cement toward certain environmental factors (ambient air temperature and air velocity) based on its drying kinetics data. The objective is to provide a better understanding and controlling the stability of mortar structures, which integrate the sorption phenomenon, drying process, air pressure and intrinsic characteristics. This leads to predict the comportment of mortar structures in relation with main environmental factors and minimize the risk of cracking mortar structures at an early age.Design/methodology/approachThermokinetic study was carried out in natural and forced convection solar drying at three temperatures 20, 30 and 40°C and three air velocities (1, 3 and 5 m.s-1). The empirical and semiempirical models tested successfully describe the drying kinetics of mortar. These models simulate the drying process of water absorbed by capillarity, which is the most common humidity transfer mechanism in building materials and contain parameters with physical significance, which integrate the effect of several environmental factors and intrinsic characteristics of mortar structures.FindingsThe models simulate the drying process of water absorbed by capillarity, which is the most common humidity transfer mechanism in building materials and contain parameters with physical significance, which integrate the effect of several environmental factors and intrinsic characteristics of mortar structures. The average activation energy obtained expressed the temperature effect on the mortar diffusivity. The drying constant and the diffusion coefficient can be used to predict the influence of these environmental factors on the drying behavior of various building materials and therefore on their durability.Originality/valueEvaluation of the effect of several environmental factors and intrinsic characteristics of mortar structures on their durability.

Leaf- and crown-level adjustments help giant sequoias maintain favorable water status during severe drought

Sequoiadendron giganteum (giant sequoia) has a fragmented distribution of 75 groves found along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California, USA. Outplanting and range expansion or assisted migration of this iconic species for the objectives of genetic conservation and timber production would be supported by information on growth and morphology to guide seed-collection decisions. We measured and assessed giant sequoia planted as seedlings and clonal stock originating from 22 groves in two common-garden experiments at Foresthill, California, north of the current species range, after 29 growing seasons. Traits examined were tree-size parameters, fluting and asymmetry of the lower stem, basal swelling, fullness of the live crown, epicormic sprouting, and heartwood decay resistance in cut stumps. Performance in terms of tree size after 29 years varied widely among genotypes with different grove origins. Morphology and decay resistance also exhibited some variation according to grove origins. The seedling stock outperformed the clonal stock of the same grove origins in terms of size and is therefore recommended when faster early growth is desired to outcompete other trees or for other management objectives. However, more fluting was exhibited by the larger fast-growing giant sequoia, while fewer seedlings had epicormic sprouts than the clonal stock of the same grove origins. At our warm low-elevation study site, giant sequoia from Mountain Home, Giant Forest, and Converse Basin consistently exhibited above-average growth among other giant sequoia in a pure planting and in an intimate mixture with five common conifer associates. Therefore, seed collected from these three groves should perform relatively well at other locations with a similar climate. When conservation of the species and its genetic diversity is the primary objective, we recommend collecting from a wide range of groves and undertaking assisted migration by planting at multiple locations inside and outside giant sequoia’s range as a hedge against the loss of native groves.

Giant sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum [Lindl.] J. Buchholz) preserve a detailed history of fire within their annual rings. We developed a 3000 year chronology of fire events in one of the largest extant groves of ancient giant sequoias, the Giant Forest, by sampling and tree-ring dating fire scars and other fire-related indicators from 52 trees distributed over an area of about 350 ha. When all fire events were included in composite chronologies, the mean fire intervals (years between fires of any size) declined as a function of increasing spatial extent from tree, to group, to multiple groups, to grove scales: 15.5 yr (0.1 ha), 7.4 yr (1 ha.), 3.0 yr (70 ha), and 2.2 yr (350 ha), respectively. We interpreted widespread fires (i.e., fire events recorded on ≥2 trees, or ≥25% of all trees recording fires within composites) to have occurred in areas of 70 ha to 350 ha at mean intervals ranging from about 6 yr to 35 yr. We compared the annual, multi-decadal and centennial variations in Giant Forest fire frequency with those documented in tree-ring and charcoal-based fire chronologies from four other giant sequoia groves in the Sierra Nevada, and with independent tree-ring-based reconstructions of summer drought and temperatures. The other giant sequoia fire histories (tree rings and charcoal-based) were significantly (P < 0.001) correlated with the Giant Forest fire frequency record and independent climate reconstructions, and confirm a maximum fire frequency during the warm and drought-prone period from 800 C.E. to 1300 C.E. (Common Era). This was the driest period of the past two millennia, and it may serve as an analog for warming and drying effects of anthropogenic greenhouse gases in the next few decades. Sequoias can sustain very high fire frequencies, and historically they have done so during warm, dry times. We suggest that preparation of sequoia groves for anticipated warming may call for increasing the rate of prescribed burning in most parts of the Giant Forest.

Effects of several environmental factors on the anti- Listeria monocytogenes activity of an essential oil of Picea excelsa

Experiments were undertaken to test the effects of several environmental factors on the stunted formation in rice plants. The results reported here concern the stunted formation when the plants were subjected to the percolation, the wind, the shading, the heavy nitrogen, and the mechanical stress treatments, respectively. Both the percolation and the wind treatments favorably affected the root growth, leading a decrease in the number of the stunted roots. On the other hand, the shading, the heavy nitrogen, and the mechanical stress treatments affected unfavorably the root growth, resulting the abundant formation of the stunted roots, especially in the upper parts of each shoot-unit. The morphological observation of the stunted roots thus formed revealed that some of these environmental factors produce their own distinctive patterns of the stunted roots. Both the percolation and the wind treatments resulted in decreasing the number of stunted roots of the deteriolation or the swelling. type; the shading treatment, in increasing that of the tapering type; the heavy nitrogen treatment, in increasing that of the deteriolation, the swelling, or the cessation type, while in decreasing that of the tapering type; and the mechanical stress treatment, in increasing that of the cessation type, respectively. Although the real physiological mechanisms underlying the changes in the external morphology of the stunted roots are obscure, yet, these morphological changes may have some diagnostic value in relation to their nutritional and/or toxic effects.

Ophiocordyceps fungi manipulate the behaviour of their ant hosts to produce a summit disease phenotype, thereby establishing infected ant cadavers onto vegetation at elevated positions suitable for fungal growth and transmission. Multiple environmental and ecological factors have been proposed to shape the timing, positioning and outcome of these manipulations. We conducted a long‐term field study of Ophiocordyceps camponoti‐floridani infections of Camponotus floridanus ants—the Florida zombie ants. We propose and refine hypotheses on the factors that shape infection outcomes by tracking the occurrence of and fungal growth from hundreds of ant cadavers. We modelled and report these data in relation to weather, light, vegetation and attack by hyperparasites. We investigated environmental factors that could affect the occurrence and location of newly manipulated ant cadavers. New cadaver occurrence was preferentially biased towards epiphytic Tillandsia bromeliads, canopy openness and summer weather conditions (an interactive effect of temperature, humidity and precipitation). Furthermore, we suggest that incident light at the individual cadaver level reflects microhabitat choice by manipulated ants or selective pressure on cadaver maintenance for conditions that improve fungal survival. We also asked which environmental conditions affect fungal fitness. Continued fungal development of reproductive structures and putative transmission increased with moist weather conditions (interaction of humidity and precipitation) and canopy openness, while being reduced by hyperparasitic mycoparasite infections. Moreover, under the most open canopy conditions, we found an atypical Ophiocordyceps growth morphology that could represent a plastic response to conditions influenced by high light levels. Taken together, we explore general trends and the effects of various ecological conditions on host and parasite disease outcomes in the Florida zombie ant system. These insights from the field can be used to inform experimental laboratory setups that directly test the effects of biotic and abiotic factors on fungus–ant interactions or aim to uncover underlying molecular mechanisms. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Management of post-harvest woody debris structures (e.g., piles and windrows) may help conserve mammal diversity in commercial forest landscapes. A windrow (continuous woody debris) provides a linear habitat to connect patches and reserves of uncut forest and riparian areas to maintain forest-floor small mammals and allow some of their avian and mammalian predators to access and traverse clearcut openings. However, most post-harvest residues are arranged in independent piles of woody debris (separated by 20–30 m, on average) and we asked if a linear configuration of piles would provide similar habitat conditions for small mammals as that achieved by a windrow of continuous woody debris. We tested two hypotheses (H) that piles of woody debris arranged in a linear configuration, on newly clearcut sites, would (H1) enhance (a) abundance of the major small mammal species (Myodes gapperi and Microtus spp.), and (b) total abundance, species richness, and species diversity of the forest-floor small mammal community; compared with dispersed (conventional) treatment of woody debris. H2 predicted that, because of the continuity of habitat, responses of small mammals in windrows would be greater than those in piles of woody debris. Three study areas were monitored in southern British Columbia, Canada, and each had three treatments of woody debris: dispersed, in a linear set of piles, and as a windrow. Forest-floor small mammals were sampled by live-trapping in spring and fall periods from 2010 to 2012. Woody debris in a linear configuration of piles and in windrows enhanced mean abundance of the southern red-backed vole (M. gapperi), total voles, and total abundance of small mammals compared with the dispersed treatment. Small mammal responses were variable between spring and fall periods, but overall mean values ± 95% CIs indicated that abundance of M. gapperi, total voles, and total small mammals were reasonably similar in piles and windrows.

Multiple-Family Group Treatment for English- and Vietnamese-Speaking Families Living With Schizophrenia

Deadwood and the associated epixylic vegetation influence nutrient cycles in forest ecosystems. Open canopies strongly regulate deadwood decomposition and disrupt epixylic vegetation on logs. However, it is unclear how the forest canopy density and epixylic vegetation growth affect the nutrient concentrations in deadwood. We measured the concentrations of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), magnesium (Mg), and manganese (Mn) in experimentally exposed decaying logs placed in gaps, at the edge of gaps, and under the closed canopy during a four-year decomposition experiment in a Subalpine Faxon fir forest (Abies fargesii var. faxoniana) on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China. To assess the effect of the epixylic vegetation, we experimentally removed it from half of the logs used in the study. Under open canopy conditions in the gap and at the edge, the concentrations for most of the nutrients in the bark and the highly decayed wood were lower than under the closed canopy. The effect of the epixylic treatment on nutrient concentrations for all but K and Na in barks varied with the decay classes. Significantly lower concentrations of N, P, Ca, and Mn following the removal of epixylic vegetation were observed in the wood of decay class IV. Epixylic vegetation significantly increased most nutrient concentrations for decaying barks and wood under open canopy conditions. In contrast, epixylic vegetation had no or minimal effects under the closed canopy. Forest canopy density and epixylic vegetation significantly alter the nutrient concentrations in decaying logs. Open canopies likely accelerate the rate of nutrient cycling between the epixylic vegetation and decaying logs in subalpine forests.

Helper T cells 17 (Th17) and regulatory T cells (Treg), as CD4+T lymphocyte subsets, play an important role in the process of atherosclerosis. However, there are few studies on the regulation and efficacy of atorvastatin combined with amlodipine on Th17/Treg balance in hypertension combined with carotid atherosclerosis. Therefore, this study aims to verify the efficacy and immunomodulatory effects of atorvastatin combined with amlodipine in the treatment of hypertension combined with carotid atherosclerosis. A total of 260 patients with hypertension and carotid atherosclerosis were randomly divided into atorvastatin or combined treatment group. Inflammatory factors and Th17 and Treg levels were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and flow cytometry. The messenger ribonucleic acid expression of retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor gamma and forkhead spiral transcription factor were detected by real-time quantitative polymerse chain reaction. We found that the total effective rate in the treatment group was significantly higher than that in the control group. The levels of whole blood high shear viscosity, whole blood low shear viscosity, plasma specific viscosity and fibrin content in the 2 groups were significantly decreased after treatment, and the combined group was significantly lower than the control group (all P < .05). The improvement of endothelial function in the treatment group was also significantly higher than that in the control group (all P < .05). In addition, we found that there were statistically significant differences in Th17 percentage, Treg percentage and Treg/Th17 between the treatment group and the control group (P < .05). The messenger ribonucleic acid levels of retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor gamma and forkhead spiral transcription factor showed the same trend. Further detection of Th17-related inflammatory factors showed that the expression of interleukin (IL)-17, IL-6, IL-23 and tumor necrosis factor-α in the treatment group was significantly decreased, which was better than that in the control group (all P < .05). These data indicate that amlodipine combined with atorvastatin can improve Th17/Treg imbalance, vascular endothelial function and efficacy in patients with hypertension and atherosclerosis.

In order to reveal the health status of the eco-environment of Xihu area in Xiangshan Bay, the sediment and water samples were collected in August 2009, March, May and August in 2010, May and August in 2011. The bacterial community structures and predominant bacterial species were investigated using PCR-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis(DGGE),and the correlation between the bacterial community and the main environmental influencing factors were analyzed by using redundancy analysis(RDA). The results of PCR-DGGE showed the dominant bacterial phyla in sediment environment in Xihu area were Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroides, Chloroflexi and Acidobacteria. In the bottom part, the dominant bacteria was not obvious in August 2009, but Lactobacillales, Pseudomonadales, Alteromonadales, Chloroflexi and Burkholderiales appeared as alternate dominant groups during the following 5 periods with time going on. For the middle-east part,Lactobacillales, Pseudomonadales, Pseudomonadales, Vibrionales, Pseudomonadales, Lactobacillales were observed as alternate dominant bacteria during the 6 periods. The result of RDA analysis showed that the main environmental influencing factors on the bacterial community structures in the sediment of the bottom part were active silicate, dissolved inorganic nitrogen and chemical oxygen demand, but active silicate, dissolved inorganic nitrogen and ammonia for the sediment of the middle-east part, indicating that the variation of bacterial community structures are the results of the synergistic effects of several environmental factors.

Amphibians are declining worldwide, and research on their habitats and ecology is important for their conservation. The endangered dusky gopher frog (Rana sevosa) breeds exclusively in isolated, open canopy wetlands, usually with extensive herbaceous growth. Larvae of the dusky gopher frog have higher growth and survival under open canopy than under closed canopy conditions. The mechanisms whereby this occurs are poorly understood, however. In the summer of 2021 in Harrison County, Mississippi, USA, we conducted a complete factorial experiment in mesocosms to compare the relative influence of factors differing between open and closed canopy ponds on larvae. A heat and light treatment consisted of one third of tanks being exposed to full sunlight, one third of tanks being shaded with 70% shadecloth, and the final third being shaded with 70% shadecloth but heated to mimic the temperature of the full sun tanks. In addition, tanks received a closed canopy tree leaf litter mixture or an open canopy herbaceous vegetation mixture, and vertical vegetation‐like structure made of polypropylene rope or not. Cool shaded tanks and heated shaded tanks had identical survival to metamorphosis at 74.7% and produced frogs with an average mass of 2.21 g and 2.09 g, respectively, while tanks in full sunlight achieved significantly higher 93.4% survival to metamorphosis and an average mass of 2.64 g. The open canopy vegetation mixture yielded an average tank survival of 88.3% and mass of 2.94 g, compared to closed canopy vegetation tanks with a significantly lower survival of 73.5% and average mass of 1.61 g. Added structure had no effect on survival or mass. These results indicate that sunlight (not heat alone) and herbaceous plants are important in increasing dusky gopher frog survival and mass in open canopy conditions and suggest that management for these characteristics receive priority in captive‐rearing programs and habitat restoration.