Litter decomposition under snow cover in a balsam fir forest

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry R. Taylor ◽  
H. Gerald Jones
Keyword(s):  
Balsam Fir ◽  
First Year ◽  
Decomposition Rates ◽  
Mixed Species ◽  
Respiration Rates ◽  
Mass Losses ◽  
Winter Snow ◽  
Key Words Decomposition ◽  
Spring Snowmelt

In a subalpine balsam fir forest in Quebec, Canada, mass losses, respiration rates, and nitrogen and sulphur dynamics were measured on fir needles, birch leaves, lichens (mixed species), and small twigs decomposing under deep (> 1.5 m) winter snow for 6 months. Mass losses ranged from <6% (twigs) to 70% (lichens) and relative decomposition rates of needles and leaves were reversed from those expected at higher temperatures. Isolation of fir needles from direct contact with the snow did not affect decay rate, nor was decay accelerated by spring snowmelt. In situ respiration rates increased from about 1 mg CO2/(g∙day)) in February to 3–5 mg CO2/(g∙day)) in May, mostly because of rising temperatures. Summer respiration rates were much higher (> 6 mg CO2/(g∙day)). Nitrogen and suphur concentrations increased in all nonwoody litter over winter, but only birch leaves and some fir needles appeared to assimilate nutrients from the environment. Melting snow could easily have provided all of the nitrogen and sulphur taken up by decomposing litter. Decomposing lichens released 40 and 60%, respectively, of their initial nitrogen and sulphur contents. A literature review indicates mass losses from leaf litter decomposing under deep snow vary according to the proportion of labile material in the litter and usually constitute 40–60% of total first-year mass losses. Key words: decomposition, winter, balsam fir, snow.

scholarly journals ECONOMIC-FISHING ANALYSIS OF THE PRAWN Cryphiops caementarius (MOLINA, 1782) IN THE MAJES-CAMANÁ RIVER AREQUIPA-PERÚ (2019)

2021 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. e627
Author(s):  
Kristhian Franchesco Paul PINAZO Beltran ◽  
Jesús Miguel Angel BERRÚ Beltran ◽  
Edwin Fredy BOCARDO Delgado
Keyword(s):  
Net Present Value ◽  
Cost Ratio ◽  
First Year ◽  
Monthly Income ◽  
Sale Price ◽  
Fishing Activity ◽  
Benefit Cost Ratio ◽  
Price Increases ◽  
Benefit Cost

The prawn (Cryphiops caementarius) is the only resource in the Peruvian coastal rivers that supports a commercial fishery. Bioeconomic-fishing aspects are reported based on data (fishing, costs and income derived from fishing) acquired in situ monthly in four altitudinal strata (every 200 meters above sea level - masl) of the Majes-Camaná river during 2019. The catch per unit of effort (CPUE) was expressed in kg h-1, monthly income was estimated based on the average catch values, number of tasks and price of the resource. To evaluate the profitability of the activity of an average fisherman (by stratum), a cash flow based on income and expenses was executed under situations with a constant future, using economic profitability indicators such as the Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Benefit-Cost ratio (B/C) and Discounted Payback Period (DPB). There was a predominance of the diving method, the catches (kg) and the fishing yield increased throughout the fishing period (April-December) with a maximum value of 4.8 kg h-1 (December - high strata). Investment costs per fisherman were low, roughly 1,000 soles. The sale price increases with altitude, decreasing over the course of the year depending on the availability of the resource; the monthly income per fisherman varied from 964 soles (April - low stratum) to 6,760 soles (December - high stratum). The economic simulation model showed that the income exceeded the costs of the fishing activity from the first year of activity in all the altitudinal strata, the economic profitability indicators showed high profitability for the activity.

scholarly journals Tensile fracture of a single crack in first-year sea ice

2018 ◽  
Vol 376 (2129) ◽  
pp. 20170346 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Dempsey ◽  
D. M. Cole ◽  
S. Wang
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Field Trips ◽  
Cohesive Crack ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Tensile Fracture ◽  
First Year ◽  
Crack Model ◽  
Separation Curve ◽  
Ice Phenomena

The break-up of sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctic has been studied during three field trips in the spring of 1993 at Resolute, NWT, and the fall of 2001 and 2004 on McMurdo Sound via in situ cyclic loading and fracture experiments. In this paper, the back-calculated fracture information necessary to the specification of an accurate viscoelastic fictitious (cohesive) crack model is presented. In particular, the changing shape of the stress separation curve with varying conditions and loading scenarios is revealed. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Modelling of sea-ice phenomena’.

Interplanetary dust observations with the Solar Orbiter RPW instrument: a first year of data.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnaud Zaslavsky ◽  
Ingrid Mann ◽  
Stuart Bale ◽  
Andrzej Czechowski ◽  
Karine Issautier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Interstellar Dust ◽  
Plasma Waves ◽  
Interplanetary Dust ◽  
First Year ◽  
Voltage Waveform ◽  
Dust Density ◽  
Spacecraft Trajectory ◽  
Impact Data

&lt;p&gt;Impacts of dust grains on spacecraft are known to produce typical impulsive signals in the voltage waveform recorded at the terminals of electric antennas. Such signals are, as could be expected, routinely detected by the radio and plasma waves (RPW) instrument aboard Solar Orbiter, therefore providing in-situ measurements of the interplanetary dust density along the spacecraft trajectory.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;We present a statistical analysis of the first year and half of dust impact data recorded by Solar Orbiter RPW between 1 AU and 0.5 AU. We discuss the results in terms of constraints that can be put on beta-meteoroids and interstellar dust fluxes, and compare them to results obtained by STEREO at 1 AU and more recently by Parker Solar Probe at 0.5 AU.&lt;/p&gt;

Effect of conservation agriculture practices on the resilience of Mediterranean soils to the predicted seasonal drought events

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Morales ◽  
María T Domínguez ◽  
Mª Belén Herrador ◽  
Engracia Madejón ◽  
Elena Fernández-Boy
Keyword(s):  
Land Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
No Tillage ◽  
Soil Dna ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Respiration Rates ◽  
Soil Functioning ◽  
Soil Resilience

&lt;p&gt;How climate change will affect soil functioning is a major concern, especially in Mediterranean agrosystems, where, according to climate change projections, the occurrence of extreme temperatures and drought events will be increased. The main objective of our experiment was to evaluate the effect of land management (tillage system) on soil resilience against a simulated dry-rewetting cycle. Soil samples were collected from an in-situ field experiment established in 2008 in the Guadalquivir Valley, where conservation agriculture practices have been tested. Three different land management practices under a typical Mediterranean wheat-legume rotation system were compared: 1) traditional tillage (TT), 2) minimum tillage (MT) and 3) no-tillage (NT). Following our hypothesis, conservation agriculture practices (reduced tillage and no-tillage) may allow a more mature soil microbial community by reducing soil perturbation, and this would result in higher resistance of soil functioning against drought periods. Soil enzyme activities (&amp;#946;-glucosidase, phosphatase, acetylglucosaminidase, aminopeptidase, and dehydrogenase activities), microbial functional diversity (Microresp method), and soil DNA concentration (as an index of microbial biomass) were analyzed in a base-line sampling. Afterwards, a dry-rewetting cycle was simulated under controlled conditions. 8 subsamples of 50g from each soil sample were hydrated to reach 70% of each soil water holding capacity (WHC) and kept in those conditions for a pre-incubation period of 15 days. After this period, half of the replicates were let dry for 12 days (drought), while the others were maintained at 70% WFC (controls). Finally, all replicates were rehydrated again to the initial water content during a 14 days rewetting period. During this cycle, soil respiration rates were periodically measured to study the evolution of soil microbial activity. Our results showed that initial respiration rates were slightly higher in MT compared to NT (p&lt;0.1), likely due to higher organic C and N content in the MT soils. Drought extremely reduced respiration rates in the three treatments, but the results did not show a clear pattern among treatments. During the rewetting period, respiration rates were significantly higher in drought samples in comparison with the controls, while no significant differences were found for the land management treatments. Besides, land management practices did not have a significant effect on soil DNA concentration, functional diversity of the microbial community, or enzyme activities. To conclude, the absence of a clear effect of land management practices on soil resilience to drought may be due to the experimental conditions. An in-situ experiment will allow us to determine if tillage reduction enhances soil resilience to moisture stress.&lt;/p&gt;

Effect of Depth and Duration of Seed Burial on Ripgut Brome (Bromus rigidus)

Weed Science ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean A. Gleichsner ◽  
Arnold P. Appleby
Keyword(s):  
Effective Control ◽  
First Year ◽  
Initial Population ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Seed Burial ◽  
Tillage Practices ◽  
Viability Loss ◽  
Seed Supply ◽  
Seed Loss

The influence of depth (0 to 30 cm) and duration (1 to 24 months) of burial on the deterioration, germination, and viability of ripgut brome seed was studied in the field. Both surface-sown and buried ripgut brome seed were depleted within 15 months. Persistence of surface-sown seed declined relatively slowly during the first year, falling from 83 to 62 to 23% after 1, 9, and 12 months, respectively. Seed covered by soil, however, germinated more rapidly, with less than 10% of the initial population ungerminated after 1 month at all depths. The mode of seed disappearance was closely related to whether or not the seed was covered with soil. Seed loss at depths of 1 to 30 cm was primarily due to germination in situ, with little effect from viability loss or enforced or induced dormancy. In contrast, the persistence of surface-sown seed was due primarily to induced dormancy for up to 12 months, with viability loss and enforced dormancy becoming important thereafter. Tillage practices aimed at providing favorable germination conditions may reduce ripgut brome seed survival in the soil. Because seed is relatively short lived, seed supply in soil may be reduced by short-term rotation to a crop that allows for effective control of ripgut brome.

Decomposition of Seston in the Hyolimnion

1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 146-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Cornett ◽  
F. H. Rigler
Keyword(s):  
Oxygen Consumption ◽  
Water Temperature ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Chlorophyll A ◽  
Significant Fraction ◽  
Oxygen Deficit ◽  
Total Oxygen ◽  
Respiration Rates ◽  
Hypolimnetic Oxygen

In 12 lakes a significant fraction of the hypolimnetic oxygen deficit was produced by the respiration of seston in the hypolimnetic water column. Mean summer seston respiration rates ranged between 4 and 80 mg O2∙m−3∙d−1. Rates of seston respiration were proportional to the in situ water temperature and to the concentration of Chlorophyll a. The amount of oxygen consumed in the water column and the fraction of the total oxygen deficit produced by sestonic respiration were correlated with the amount of phosphorus sedimented from the epilimnion. Fifteen to 66% of the total oxygen consumption occurred in the water column of the hypolimnion. Seston respiration was a larger proportion of the total respiration in the hypolimnion of lakes with a thick hypolimnion than in lakes with a shallow hypolimnetic water column.

The Sensitivity of Young White Spruce to Spruce Budworm Defoliation

1991 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 168-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald Piene
Keyword(s):  
Volume Growth ◽  
Spruce Budworm ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
First Year ◽  
Average Volume ◽  
Shoot Production ◽  
Prolific Shoot

Abstract Relationships between defoliation and volume growth were determined for 68 young white spruce trees in a 20-year-old plantation defoliated over a 2-year period by the spruce budworm. In the first year of defoliation, intensities ranging from 7 to 89% of the current foliage did not influence volume growth significantly. Two consecutive years of defoliation, averaging over the 2-year period from 0-33, 34-66, and 67-100% of the current foliage, reduced average volume growth by about 6, 11, and 27%, respectively. White spruce is much less sensitive to defoliation than balsam fir. This is partly due to white spruce's ability to compensate for even moderate defoliation intensities by a prolific shoot production. North. J. Appl. For. 8(4):168-171.

scholarly journals First-year sea ice melt pond fraction estimation from dual-polarisation C-band SAR – Part 1: In situ observations

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 2147-2162 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. K. Scharien ◽  
J. Landy ◽  
D. G. Barber
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Morphological Changes ◽  
Weather Forecast ◽  
Equation Model ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
First Year ◽  
Ice Melt ◽  
Melt Pond

Abstract. Understanding the evolution of melt ponds on Arctic sea ice is important for climate model parameterisations, weather forecast models and process studies involving mass, energy and biogeochemical exchanges across the ocean–sea ice–atmosphere interface. A field campaign was conducted in a region of level first-year sea ice (FYI) in the central Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA), during the summer of 2012, to examine the potential for estimating melt pond fraction (fp) from satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR). In this study, 5.5 GHz (C-band) dual co- (HH + VV – horizontal transmit and horizontal receive + vertical transmit and vertical receive) and cross-polarisation (HV + HH – horizontal transmit and vertical receive + horizontal transmit and horizontal receive) radar scatterometer measurements of melt-pond-covered FYI are combined with ice and pond properties to analyse the effects of in situ physical and morphological changes on backscatter parameters. Surface roughness statistics of ice and ponds are characterised and compared to the validity domains of the Bragg and integral equation model (IEM) scattering models. Experimental and model results are used to outline the potential and limitations of the co-polarisation ratio (VV / HH) for retrieving melt pond information, including fp, at large incidence angles (≥35°). Despite high variability in cross-polarisation ratio (HV / HH) magnitudes, increases at small incidence angles (<30°) are attributed to the formation of ice lids on ponds. Implications of the results for pond information retrievals from satellite C-, L- and P-band SARs are discussed.

scholarly journals Snow Thickness Estimation on First-Year Sea Ice from Late Winter Spaceborne Scatterometer Backscatter Variance

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 417 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Yackel ◽  
Torsten Geldsetzer ◽  
Mallik Mahmud ◽  
Vishnu Nandan ◽  
Stephen Howell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Snow Cover ◽  
Winter Season ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
First Year ◽  
Snow Layer ◽  
Independent Case ◽  
Brine Volume ◽  
Snow Thickness

Ku- and C-band spaceborne scatterometer sigma nought (σ°) backscatter data of snow covered landfast first-year sea ice from the Canadian Arctic Archipelago are acquired during the winter season with coincident in situ snow-thickness observations. Our objective is to describe a methodological framework for estimating relative snow thickness on first-year sea ice based on the variance in σ° from daily time series ASCAT and QuikSCAT scatterometer measurements during the late winter season prior to melt onset. We first describe our theoretical basis for this approach, including assumptions and conditions under which the method is ideally suited and then present observational evidence from four independent case studies to support our hypothesis. Results suggest that the approach can provide a relative measure of snow thickness prior to σ° detected melt onset at both Ku- and C-band frequencies. We observe that, during the late winter season, a thinner snow cover displays a larger variance in daily σ° compared to a thicker snow cover on first-year sea ice. This is because for a given increase in air temperature, a thinner snow cover manifests a larger increase in basal snow layer brine volume owing to its higher thermal conductivity, a larger increase in the dielectric constant and a larger increase in σ° at both Ku- and C bands. The approach does not apply when snow thickness distributions on first-year sea ice being compared are statistically similar, indicating that similar late winter σ° variances likely indicate regions of similar snow thickness.

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