River Forest Research Articles

Metals Concentration in Water and Sediment of Bebar Peat Swampy Forest River, Malaysia

Metals Concentration in Water and Sediment of Bebar Peat Swampy Forest River, Malaysia

Estimating natural forest fire return interval in northeastern Ontario, Canada

Long-term forest fire regime was simulated for the Moose River Forest Management Unit (FMU) in northeastern Ontario. The simulated area has not been managed for timber production and fire suppression activity has been minimal. The available data included fire records for 1970–2006 and forest age structure from forest resource inventory completed in 1978. The fire regime was simulated using a simple percolation model driven by three parameters: probabilities of fire spread during low and high fire activity years and of a given year being a low fire activity year. The model successfully generated a long-term fire regime producing age structure and 37-year-long fire records similar to those observed for the Moose River FMU. The simulation results suggest that (a) fire return interval in northeastern Ontario is likely much shorter than indicated by estimates based exclusively on data from the last four decades of fire activity, and (b) it is possible that the fire regime in northeastern Ontario has not changed since mid-1800s but rather is characterized by relatively long periods of low incidence of fire interspersed with pulses of high fire activity.

The Way toward Wisdom: an Interdisciplinary and Intercultural Introduction to Metaphysics. By Benedict M. Ashley, O.P.

The Way toward Wisdom: an Interdisciplinary and Intercultural Introduction to Metaphysics. By Benedict M. Ashley, O.P.

Spatial, seasonal and ontogenetic variation in the diet of Astyanax aff. fasciatus (Ostariophysi: Characidae) in an Atlantic Forest river, Southern Brazil

This study described the feeding habits of the characin Astyanax aff. fasciatus. The diet compositions of specimens from two sites (A and B) on a river in Southern Brazil were compared according to the size of individuals and seasonal period. The collections were performed monthly from March 2005 to February 2006, where the stomach contents of 290 specimens were assessed. Food items for A. aff. fasciatus were basically composed of plants and insects, especially leaf fragments, seeds, fruits, filamentous algae, aquatic and terrestrial insects and insect fragments. At site A, the most common items were insect and plant fragments. Conversely at site B, plant fragments were more representative. In general, all items of animal origin showed the highest feeding index values at site A, whereas at site B detritus and grass items were more abundant. The composition of items varied seasonally, with higher diversity of items being recorded during the spring at both sites. Smaller individuals preferred items of animal origin, while the larger ones consumed mainly items of plant origin. According to its size, A. aff. fasciatus in this study may be considered a species with insectivorous tendencies when immature or herbivorous tendencies when adult. Nevertheless, its feeding habits may be flexible according to resource availability, showing wide ontogenetic, besides spatial and temporal variation.

Taxonomic revision of the Australian predaceous water beetle genus Carabhydrus Watts, 1978 (Col. Dytiscidae, Hydroporinae, Hydroporini)

The present paper treats with the enigmatic Australian predaceous water beetle genus Carabhydrus Watts, 1978 (Dytiscidae, Hydroporinae, Hydroporini) which—except C. stephanieae Watts, Hancock & Leys, 2007—is distributed in forest streams and rivers along the Great Dividing Range of the East Coast and the mountain ranges of SE Australia and Tasmania. The largest species of the genus, Carabhydrus innae sp.n. from southern Victoria and New South Wales, and the smallest, C. storeyi sp.n. from north-eastern Queensland, C. janmillerae sp.n. from south-eastern and C. turaki sp.n. from north-eastern New South Wales are described as new. All species, except C. mubboonus Larson & Storey, 1994, C. niger Watts, 1978 and C. andreas Zwick, 1981, are very rarely collected and mainly known from a few specimens from their type localities. The adults of most species can be found under pebbles and stones and among roots at the edge of running waters, only C. stephanieae has been described from ground water. A key to the ten described species of Carabhydrus is presented, and their distribution and habitats are briefly illustrated.

Predicting Individual Tree Heights In <i>Gmelina arborea</i> (Roxb) Plantations Of Ukpon River Forest Reserve, Cross River State, Nigeria

Gmelina arborea plantations were established in Nigeria mainly to provide raw materials for pulp and papermaking. The species is now being converted for timber production as a result of the failure of the mills to utilize them. Sound planning for the utilization of this resource requires availability of adequate growth and yield information. Tree Height estimates were made based on data collection from 140 trees in the 21 – 35 year-old G. arborea plantations in Ukpon River Forest Reserve, Cross River State, Nigeria. The selected equation involved a logarithmic (transformed) height model with stands age, total number of trees per hectare, site index and diameter ay breast height (dbh) as predictor variables. Paired ‘t\' statistics (0.25 at p < 0.05) and an estimated bias of 0.9% indicate that the selected tree height model can be adequately used for predicting tree height in G. arborea plantations of Ukpon River Forest Reserve. Keywords: Tree height model, Timber production, Ukpon River Forest Reserve.Journal of Agriculture, Forestry and the Social Sciences Vol. 4 (2) 2006: pp. 107-108

Discere et Docere: The Identity and Mission of the Dominican House of Studies in the Twenty-First Century

The Thomist 73 (2009): 111-27 DISCERE ET DOCERE: THE IDENTITY AND MISSION OF THE DOMINICAN HOUSE OF STUDIES IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY1 J. A. DI NOIA, 0.P. Secretary, Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments Vatican City I. LEARNING AND TEACHING IN THE DOMINICAN ORDER WHEN HE WAS ASKED once to state what rule he professed, Blessed Jordan, the successor of St. Dominic at the head of the Dominican Order, declared: "Nothing beyond the rule of the Friars Preachers, which is to live virtuously, to learn, and to teach" (Lives of the Brethren 4.31). To live virtuously, to learn and to teach (honeste vivere, discere et docere)-for Blessed Jordan, it was a phrase that summed up the whole Dominican vocation. For us today, as we celebrate the dedication of this new academic center and theological library, Blessed Jordan's simple phrase can serve as a compact description of the mission of the Dominican House of Studies: learning and teaching in the setting ofa life of prayer. It will hardly be news to you-though it bears repeating-that the centrality of learning and teaching in the Dominican charism derives directly from St. Dominic himself.2 Blessed Jordan's succinct formula expressed what he had learned from St. Dominic whose experience with the Catharist heresy in southern France 1 This article was presented at a convocation marking the formal dedication of the new Academic Center and Theological Library at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. (18 April 2009). 2 Guy Bedouelle, O.P. St. Dominic: The Grace of the Word, trans. Mary Thomas Noble (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1987). 111 112 J. A. DI NOIA, O.P. convinced him of the absolute necessity of a solid intellectual formation for his new band of preaching friars. The link between study and the apostolic aims of the Order was thus clear from the very beginning. The primitive constitutions state: "Our study must aim principally at this, that we might be useful to the souls of others."3 Blessed Jordan makes this point vividly when, in his encyclical letter of May 1233, he complains that brethren who are uninterested in study, "apart from neglecting their own benefit and depressing their teachers . . . deprive many people of a chance of salvation, when they could have helped them on their way to eternal life if only they had studied properly, instead of being careless about it"4 The Lives of the Brethren recount the story of a certain friar in the early days of the Order who, because he neglected study for the sake of long prayers and works of asceticism, was accused by the brethren "of making himself useless to the Order by not studying."5 With his usual clarity, Blessed Humbert of Romans, the fifth master general, sums it up nicely: "Study is not the purpose of the Order, but it is of the greatest necessity for the aims we have mentioned, namely, preaching and working for the salvation of souls, for without study we can achieve neither."6 The centrality of study for the apostolic aims of the Order meant that learning and teaching could not be left to chance. Successive general chapters created the organization and structures that would provide a solid institutional basis-unique at the time-for studies in the Order. They were organized in such a way that every priory took on the responsibility of structured learning and teaching in a system that was capped by the establishment of studia generalia, first in Paris, and subsequently at Oxford, Cologne, Montpellier, and Bologna.7 3 James A. Weisheipl, O.P., The Place ofStudy in the Ideal ofSt. Dominic (River Forest, Ill.: Dominican House of Studies, 1960), 11. 4 Simon Tugwell, O.P., ed., Early Dominicans (New York: Paulist Press, 1982), 123-24. 5 Weisheipl, The Place ofStudy in the Ideal ofSt. Dominic, 13. 6 Ibid., 5. 7 William A. Hinnebusch, O.P., The History ofthe Dominican Order, vol. 2, Intellectual and Cultural Life to 1500 (New York: Alba House, 1973), 37-82. THE IDENTITY AND MISSION OF THE DHS 113 It is only within the framework of this long tradition...

Zooplankton-based assessment of the trophic state of a tropical forest river in Nigeria

In this study, we explore the usefulness of zooplankton as a tool for assessing the trophic status of a Nigerian forest river. The river was sampled monthly and investigated for water physico-chemistry and zooplankton community structure using basic statistical measurement of diversity indices to characterize the zooplankton fauna. The trophic sta?tus of the river evaluated from its physico-chemical parameters indicates that the river is oligotrophic. The zooplankton composition was typical of a tropical freshwater river, with a total of 40 species, made up of 16 rotifers, 12 cladocerans, and 12 copepods and their developing stages in the following order of dominance: Rotifera &gt; Cladocera &gt; Cyclopoida &gt; Calanoida. There were strong correlations between the lake's trophic status and its zooplankton communities. The zoo?plankton community was dominated by numerous species of rotifers and crustaceans, which are typical of oligotrophic to mesotrophic systems, such species including Conochilus dossuarius and Synchaeta longipes. However, the most dominant zooplankton species in West African freshwater ecosystems, viz., Keratella tropica, Keratella quadrata, Brachionus angularis, Trichocerca pusilla, Filinia longiseta, Pompholyx sulcata, and Proales sp., and others that are indicator species of high trophic levels, were not recorded in the river. The river is very clear and can be used for all manner of recreational activities.

Dinâmica do componente arbustivo-arbóreo de uma floresta de galeria aluvial no planalto de Poços de Caldas, MG, Brasil

The dynamics of the shrub-tree component was investigated in an alluvial gallery forest in Pocos de Caldas, Minas Gerais, from 1998 to 2005. The main objective of this study was to verify if the rates of the dynamics of the alluvial gallery forests are less than other tropical riparian forest formations. Seasonal flooding was also studied to see if it generates a spatial variation in the dynamics of going from the stream side towards the forest border. The sample consisted of 101, 10×10-meter plots that were distributed in five blocks extending approximately 8 km along the Antas River's forest. Each block was divided into three sectors (stream side, forest interior, and forest edge). Compared with other tropical forests, especially the riparian ones, this forest showed lower rates in terms of structural alterations. The forest edge is more dynamic, mainly due to the greater amount of sunlight, which supplies an adequate environment for species with a short life cycle.

Carbon Storage and Carbon Emission Offset Potential in an African Riverine Forest, the Lower Tana River Forests, Kenya

Tropical deforestation contributes to atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, linked to global climate change. In response, emerging markets for carbon emission offsets offer developing nations added incentives for rehabilitation and reforestation that increase terrestrial carbon storage. The Lower Tana River forests of northern Kenya are floodplain forest fragments supported by the river's groundwater and flooding. They provide numerous ecosystem services to local communities and habitat to endangered primates, but are vulnerable to altered hydrological conditions and clearance for cultivation. Forest carbon storage was sampled in the Tana River National Primate Reserve (TRNPR) and Tana Delta Irrigation Project (TDIP) and satellite imagery was used to assess land cover changes from 1992 to 2003. Riverine forest types had carbon densities ranging from 160 to 240 Mg C.ha−1. Levee forests stored about 70 Mg C.ha−1 more than forests further from the river, which may be transitioning to woodland savannah. A net loss of forest and woodland cover was seen in the satellite imagery and ongoing felling and clearance was seen in the field at both sites. Results indicated loss of carbon storage at both sampled sites, which may continue without efforts to increase landscape carbon stocks.

Nesting ecology of Common Goldeneyes and Hooded Mergansers in a boreal river system

Common Goldeneyes (Bucephala clangula) and Hooded Mergansers (Lophodytes cucullatus) are common cavity-nesting ducks but the importance of fast-flowing rivers as suitable nesting habitat may have been overlooked. We monitored the use of >90 nest boxes installed along a boreal forest river over a 5-year period. A high nest box occupancy rate was reached in the second year (40%) and was maintained thereafter (48 to 55%). On average, 35 nest boxes were occupied by goldeneyes and 11 by mergansers each year. Laying date was similar between the two species but merganser nests hatched slightly later. Both species had similar clutch sizes but merganser nests contained more eggs than goldeneye nests when heterospecific parasitic eggs were included. On average, 16% of goldeneye nests were parasitized by mergansers, and 49% of merganser nests were parasitized by goldeneyes. Density of suitable natural cavities in the area was relatively low suggesting the high occupancy rate of nest boxes may be a response to lack of suitable cavities. Nest box use was positively related to the total surface area of ponds in the vicinity and negatively to distance to the river. Use of nest sites along fast-flowing rivers appears to be an opportunistic strategy and may be dependant on the presence of nearby ponds and lakes.

Forest Patch Structures and Bird Species Composition of a Lowland Riverine Coastal Forest in Kenya

The Lower Tana River forests in coastal Kenya represent lowland evergreen riverine tropical forest types that are rare in Kenya and probably in Africa. We assessed the bird species composition and forest conditions of 14 forest patches within the Lower Tana River valley each February and October between 1999 and 2004. Vegetation structures showed variations of different strengths in individual forest patches, but only canopy height differed significantly across sites. Overall, canopy cover was correlated directly with canopy height but inversely with bare ground. A total of 155 bird species of 43 families comprising 9 forest specialists (FF), 27 forest generalists (F), 42 forest visitors (f) and 77 species associated with savannah/woodland ecosystems were recorded from the 14 forest patches. The overall bird species composition did not differ significantly across these forest patches, but similarities in species composition of different strengths were evident across the sites.

Validation of a remote sensing based index of forest disturbance using streamwater nitrogen data

Vegetation disturbances are known to alter the functioning of forested ecosystems by contributing to export ('leakage') of dissolved nitrogen (N), typically nitrate-N, from watersheds that can contribute to acidification of acid-sensitive streams, leaching of base cations, and eutrophication of downstream receiving waters. Yet, at a landscape scale, direct evaluation of how disturbance is linked to spatial variability in N leakage is complicated by the fact that disturbances operate at different spatial scales, over different timescales, and at different intensities. In this paper we explore whether data from synoptic streamwater surveys conducted in an Appalachian oak-dominated forested river basin in western MD (USA) can be used to test and validate a scalable, synthetic, and integrative forest disturbance index (FDI) derived from Landsat imagery. In particular, we found support for the hypothesis that the interannual variation in spring baseflow total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) and nitrate-N concentrations measured at 35 randomly selected stream stations varied as a linear function of the change in FDI computed for the corresponding set of subwatersheds. Our results demonstrate that the combined effects of forest disturbances can be detected using synoptic water quality data. It appears that careful timing of the synoptic baseflow sampling under comparable phenological and hydrometeorological conditions increased our ability to identify a forest disturbance signal.

Spatial distribution and influence of large woody debris in an old-growth forest river system, New Zealand

A field survey was undertaken to determine the quantity, spatial distribution and influence of large woody debris (LWD) in a fifth-order river system in old-growth forest in New Zealand. LWD attributes were assessed at 25 sites distributed in the headwaters and along the main stem of the Whirinaki River system (73 km 2). LWD volume, number of pieces, piece length and piece size, were positively correlated with bankfull width, whereas the number of pieces/unit area, LWD/unit area, number of pieces suspended across the channel and LWD influence on channel morphology, were negatively correlated. Pieces influencing channel morphology were larger, longer and more stable than average. We identified four key zones in the river system based on LWD spatial distribution patterns and influence on habitat complexity. Zonal boundaries occurred where there were changes in the transport capacity, fluvial processes, channel width and geomorphic structure of the channel. The results of this study highlight the need to understand the characteristics, spatial distribution patterns and influence of LWD at the catchment level when undertaking protective, management or rehabilitation programmes in forested river ecosystems.

The avifauna of Cangandala National Park, Angola

smallest national park (60,000 ha; Fig. 1) and now perhaps best known as the site where Giant Sable Antelope Hippotragus niger variani was rediscovered in 2005 by PVP and co-workers (Pitra et al. 2006; Fig. 2), is recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA: Dean 2001). It is situated on the Angolan plateau at c.1,000 m in north-central part of the country (09°47’S 16°41’E), near the town of Malanje, capital of Malanje province. It is largely covered by broadleaved woodland dominated by Brachystegia and Julbernardia species (Fig. 1), and harbours a significant component of those birds confined to the Zambezian biome (Fishpool & Evans 2001), with 13 of the 48 species that occur in Angola reported from this site (Dean 2001). Other habitats include papyrus swamps, broad-grassy drainage lines/dambos and gallery forest (see Dean 2001 for further details). As is the case with most sites in Angola, the avifauna of CNP is poorly known. All previously published records are from August 1972 and September 1973, when WRJD visited the park for a total of two weeks, and some records from Merle & Brian Huntley (see Dean et al. 1988, Dean 2000). Nonetheless, these few observations were sufficient for CNP to be recognised as an IBA (Dean 2001). Our aim here is to update knowledge of the birds of this IBA and provide information on access to the park. New records include: (i) species recorded by PVP during c.20 visits between September 2003 and January 2008, (ii) species mist-netted along the Ombe River in gallery forest and adjacent woodland by PVP in October 2005, and (iii) species recorded on 7–9 August 2006 by MSLM and PVP.

Effect of Coastal and River Forests on Tsunami Run-up in River

Effect of Coastal and River Forests on Tsunami Run-up in River

Forest of Time: A Century of Science at Wind River Experimental Forest by Margaret Herring, Sarah Greene

over dams and fish runs, but the history is fairlythinand he glosses over the most difficult questions, such as the role of theEndangered Species Act requirements or near defiance of court rulings by successive federal adminis trations.Barenti findsmore information and insight inhis recorded discussions with people he encounters on his journey. In short,Barenti's journalistic approach ? he is a professional journalist ? provides most of the substance he includes on the salmon crisis in thePacific Northwest. He is unconvinced by anyone he meets, leaving readerswondering ifany posi tion on the salmon issue is salient. "A former girlfriendwho had spent her careerworking for various public advocacy groups," Barenti writes, "once called me a consensus seeker. Itwasn't a compliment_I lack the convic tions of a truebeliever. I am, instead skeptical about almost everything.Maybe working as a reporter has made me thisway; maybe my skepticismmade me a reporter" (p. 143).His skepticism may bewell placed, but itrendershis account fairlyshallow. For deeper treatmentof the issue by another journalist, readers should consult thedated, but still insightful, Common Fate: Endangered Salmon and thePeople of the Northwest (1995) by JosephCone. Barenti's book excels in adventure travel and environmental description, itsprimary contributions to literature on the Pacific Northwest. He beautifully delivers an intimate portrait, from the water's edge, of Idaho's wil derness, thedammed Lower Snake River, and theColumbia Rivermain stem that transports readers to realplaces and genuine engagement with the environment. He describes river conditions and the origins of changes that contribute to thedecline of anadromous fish, such as the South Fork of the Salmon River, where fishers regularly caught thousands of migrating Chinook until the 1960s,when "the forest service allowed timber cutting in the watershed [where] ... silt from the cleared mountainsides smothered clean gravelswhere salmon had spawned and filledpools where the young salmon lived before migrating to the ocean" (p. 67). On the lowerColumbia, where industrialism and urban growthmight seem to eliminate natural conditions, Barenti finds a riverscape that contradicts the image of an altered river."The riverbroke into amaze of channels braided throughwith islands big and small as itbroadened itselfinto an estuary.... theColumbia in its lastmiles looksmore like a patch of Pacific Ocean squeezed inland than a part of some great riversystemflowing down from high mountains in the continent's far interior" (p. 216). Mike Barenti takes themeasure of the Salmon, Snake, and Columbia riversby kayak and gives readers an up-close portraitof today's riverconditions.Mike Farmer carries us along his western road trip, providing snapshot images of today's changing American West. Both end abruptly,as domost travelnarratives, with clear affirmationsof the journeys'worth and benefits to the travelers.Like other travel ogues about the West, these two takeus to the territories, while theyalso offersmartportraits of a dynamically changing region. William L. Lang Portland State University FOREST OF TIME:A CENTURY OF SCIENCEAT WIND RIVER EXPERIMENTAL FOREST byMargaret Herring and Sarah Greene foreword by William G. Robbins Oregon State University Press, Corvallis, 2007. Photographs, maps, notes, index. 200 pages. $22.95 paper. Forests, perhaps more than any other type of ecosystem, invite long-term biological study. Because the ecosystems are dominated by spe cies thatare both long-lived and economically important, interest in better understanding both forestbiology and forestryprinciples is 486 OHQ vol. 109, no. 3 understandable. European and Asian forests have longbeen sitesof scientific investigation, and in recent centuries,American forestshave become so aswell. Situated along a tributary of theColumbia River in Skamania County, Washington, theWind River Experimental Forest has been a site for scientificactivity for a century.Research at the sitebegan very early in the twentieth century, with thefirst small scale foraysintounderstanding thephysiology and the ecology of theDouglas Fir forest.As Douglas Fir lumber increased in importance to the region's economy, so too increased the intensity of researchat the Wind River site.The United States Forest Service gradually formal ized the Wind River forest's role, eventually designating itan Experimental Forestwithin theboundaries of theGiffordPinchotNational Forest and putting itunder the control of the Portland-based Pacific Northwest Research Station. Forest of Time focuses on the scientific activitiesat the Wind River site, from itsearliest days up through itspresent-day role in federal forest research.Most of...

Classificação fitogeográfica das florestas do Alto Rio Xingu

Este trabalho propõe a inclusão da categoria Floresta Estacional Perenifólia no sistema oficial de classificação da vegetação brasileira, devido às particularidades florísticas e fisionômicas da floresta da borda sul-amazônica, que atinge maior amplitude geográfica na região do Alto Rio Xingu. Para justificar essa inclusão são apresentadas as características ambientais (clima, solo, hidrologia) e diferenças fisionômicas e florísticas entre as florestas do Alto Xingu e demais florestas ombrófilas da Bacia do Amazonas e estacionais do Planalto Central.

Simulation of an Agricultural Watershed Using an Improved Curve Number Method in SWAT

The USDA Soil Conservation Service (SCS) curve number (CN) method has been the foundation of the hydrology algorithms in commonly used continuous simulation models, including the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). This expanded use of the SCS-CN method has proven successful for many applications. However, because the SCS-CN method was originally developed to determine design peak discharges of synthetic storm events under an average antecedent moisture condition, research is needed to address the controversy over the use of this method to represent continuous precipitation runoff processes. In addition, poor results obtained for some conditions indicate the necessity to improve the method to provide a more realistic and accurate representation of water flow amounts, paths, and source areas upon which erosion and water quality predictions depend. Thus, the objectives of this study were to: (1) propose a modified curve number (MCN) method, and (2) assess the MCN method relative to the existing SWAT method with an Ia/S value either equal to 0.2 or 0.05. The equations that formulate the MCN method were coded into the SWAT 2005 framework. A SWAT model implementing the MCN method was evaluated along with the models implementing the existing SWAT method with Ia/S values of 0.2 and 0.05. The evaluation was conducted in the 870 km2 upper portion of the Forest River watershed located in northeastern North Dakota. The results revealed that the total streamflows predicted by the three models were comparable, as indicated by similar values for the Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient. However, the MCN approach resulted in the most accurate prediction of the streamflow components (i.e., baseflow versus direct flow) as well as water yields. For the study area, the MCN method was judged to be superior to the existing commonly used curve number methods in terms of mimicking the precipitation runoff processes.

Sound recordings from the 2007 emergence of Brood XIII cicada

Level calibrated recordings of the Brood XIII 17-year periodic cicadas were made in June, 2007 in River Forest, Illinois. Brood XIII consists of three separate species: Magicicada cassini, M. septendecim, and the more rare M. septendecula. Power spectrum analysis of a 2 min segment of the recording shows a 5.95 kHz resonance with Q≊6, indicative of cassini, and a 5 dB lower resonance at 1.35 kHz with a Q≊13.5, indicative of septendecim. Since other researchers have estimated that the power of septendecim is 20 dB below that of cassini, the high level of the septendecim song suggests that 30 times more septendecim than cassini were singing. Computation of the sound pressure level shows a 2–5 dB variation with a period of 7.5 s, indicative of synchronized chorus singing of cassini.