Distillation in a boreal mossy forest floor

2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 663-671 ◽  
Author(s):  
T J Carleton ◽  
K M.M Dunham
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Mass Gain ◽  
Dew Point ◽  
Organic Layers ◽  
Dry Down ◽  
Microclimate Monitoring ◽  
Capillary Wicking

The feathermoss-dominated floor of coniferous boreal forests can experience midsummer drought. From ecophysiological studies, based on single shoots, it is unclear how the live moss carpet can survive such stress. External capillary wicking from the lowest, moist organic layers is one possibility. Another is evaporation from the same source followed by condensation on the upper, live moss shoots (distillation). A laboratory wicking experiment showed that, under ideal conditions, much of the organic forest floor profile can be supplied with moisture by capillarity from below. However, the uppermost live moss shoots could not be hydrated by this mechanism. In contrast, a gravimetric field experiment indicated nocturnal mass gain by turves of live moss shoots, placed in situ on the forest floor, during dry-down conditions. For turf treatments with an underlying vapour barrier, no such mass gain was evident. Turf treatments with a vapour barrier on top were little different from controls. It is concluded that nocturnal distillation occurs during all summer dry-downs and that this is likely to ensure moss shoot survival during diurnal periods of drought stress. Limited microclimate monitoring indicated that nocturnal cooling at the forest floor surface was sufficient to bring the moss shoot surfaces to the dew point and to reverse the daytime temperature gradient through the organic forest floor profile. This appears to be most noticeable late in the growing season when the lowermost organic layers have progressively warmed throughout the summer.

Small root exclusion collars provide reasonable estimates of root respiration when measured during the growing season of installation

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (9) ◽  
pp. 2112-2117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason G Vogel ◽  
David W Valentine
Keyword(s):  
Forest Floor ◽  
Root Respiration ◽  
Microbial Respiration ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Tree Density ◽  
Soil Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Small Root ◽  
Root Exclusion ◽  
Installation Time

A common method to determine in situ root respiration is to insert root exclusions to sever roots and then to measure soil carbon dioxide (CO2) efflux in and outside the exclusion. We report the use of relatively small root exclusions (15.2 cm diameter plastic pipe) (SREs), installed and measured within a growing season. We switched from long-used, large root exclusions (2.5 m × 3 m) (LREs) for three reasons. First, temperature artifacts were apparent in LREs, likely because increased soil moisture altered soil thermal balance. Second, LREs in dense stands required a relatively low tree density, which then impacted snowpack depth and insolation. Third, the LREs were much more time-consuming to install than SREs. Using a powered mechanical trencher (ditch witch®) decreased LRE installation time, but introduced a large edge-effect apparent in soil profile pCO2 that would obviate trenched plots smaller than 1600 cm2. However, when trenches were dug by hand, the distance from the LRE wall had no effect on soil pCO2. In a subsequent experiment, SREs were installed by cleanly cutting the forest floor, and then immediately measured. Within 1-3 weeks the SREs provided similar root respiration estimates to those made with LREs that had been in place for nearly 10 months. SREs placed in and outside LREs provided indistinguishable microbial respiration values from one another and to the LREs. We conclude SREs provide root respiration estimates indistinguishable from other methods, even when installed and measured within the same growing season.

scholarly journals Effects of nitrogen fertilization on the forest floor carbon balance over the growing season in a boreal pine forest

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 8223-8231 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. B. Metcalfe ◽  
B. Eisele ◽  
N. J. Hasselquist
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Nitrogen Availability ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Carbon Fluxes ◽  
Nitrogen Addition ◽  
Sink Strength ◽  
Understorey Vegetation

Abstract. Boreal forests play a key role in the global carbon cycle and are facing rapid shifts in nitrogen availability with poorly understood consequences for ecosystem function and global climate change. We quantified the effects of increasing nitrogen availability on carbon fluxes from a relatively understudied component of these forests – the forest floor – at three intervals over the summer growing period in a northern Swedish Scots pine stand. Nitrogen addition altered both the uptake and release of carbon dioxide from the forest floor, but the magnitude and direction of this effect depended on the time during the growing season and the amount of nitrogen added. Specifically, nitrogen addition stimulated net forest floor carbon uptake only in the late growing season. We find evidence for species-specific control of forest floor carbon sink strength, as photosynthesis per unit ground area was positively correlated only with the abundance of the vascular plant Vaccinium myrtillus and no others. Comparison of understorey vegetation photosynthesis and respiration from the study site indicates that understorey vegetation photosynthate was mainly supplying respiratory demands for much of the year. Only in the late season with nitrogen addition did understorey vegetation appear to experience a large surplus of carbon in excess of respiratory requirements. Further work, simultaneously comparing all major biomass and respiratory carbon fluxes in forest floor and tree vegetation, is required to resolve the likely impacts of environmental changes on whole-ecosystem carbon sequestration in boreal forests.

Atomic Layer Deposition of LiF and Lithium Ion Conducting (AlF3)(LiF)x Alloys Using Trimethylaluminum, Lithium Hexamethyldisilazide and Hydrogen Fluoride

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Younghee Lee ◽  
Daniela M. Piper ◽  
Andrew S. Cavanagh ◽  
Matthias J. Young ◽  
Se-Hee Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lithium Ion ◽  
Atomic Layer ◽  
Mass Gain ◽  
Alloy Film ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Layer Deposition ◽  
Ion Conducting ◽  
Good Agreement

<div>Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of LiF and lithium ion conducting (AlF<sub>3</sub>)(LiF)<sub>x</sub> alloys was developed using trimethylaluminum, lithium hexamethyldisilazide (LiHMDS) and hydrogen fluoride derived from HF-pyridine solution. ALD of LiF was studied using in situ quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and in situ quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS) at reaction temperatures between 125°C and 250°C. A mass gain per cycle of 12 ng/(cm<sup>2</sup> cycle) was obtained from QCM measurements at 150°C and decreased at higher temperatures. QMS detected FSi(CH<sub>3</sub>)<sub>3</sub> as a reaction byproduct instead of HMDS at 150°C. LiF ALD showed self-limiting behavior. Ex situ measurements using X-ray reflectivity (XRR) and spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) showed a growth rate of 0.5-0.6 Å/cycle, in good agreement with the in situ QCM measurements.</div><div>ALD of lithium ion conducting (AlF3)(LiF)x alloys was also demonstrated using in situ QCM and in situ QMS at reaction temperatures at 150°C A mass gain per sequence of 22 ng/(cm<sup>2</sup> cycle) was obtained from QCM measurements at 150°C. Ex situ measurements using XRR and SE showed a linear growth rate of 0.9 Å/sequence, in good agreement with the in situ QCM measurements. Stoichiometry between AlF<sub>3</sub> and LiF by QCM experiment was calculated to 1:2.8. XPS showed LiF film consist of lithium and fluorine. XPS also showed (AlF<sub>3</sub>)(LiF)x alloy consists of aluminum, lithium and fluorine. Carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen impurities were both below the detection limit of XPS. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) observed that LiF and (AlF<sub>3</sub>)(LiF)<sub>x</sub> alloy film have crystalline structures. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and ionic chromatography revealed atomic ratio of Li:F=1:1.1 and Al:Li:F=1:2.7: 5.4 for (AlF<sub>3</sub>)(LiF)<sub>x</sub> alloy film. These atomic ratios were consistent with the calculation from QCM experiments. Finally, lithium ion conductivity (AlF<sub>3</sub>)(LiF)<sub>x</sub> alloy film was measured as σ = 7.5 × 10<sup>-6</sup> S/cm.</div>

Effect of forest harvesting and slash piling on microbial biomass and respiration in Newfoundland boreal forests

2007 ◽  
Vol 87 (4) ◽  
pp. 455-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin T Moroni ◽  
Paul Q Carter ◽  
Dean W Strickland ◽  
Franz Makeschin ◽  
Don-Roger Parkinson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Biomass ◽  
Key Words ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Fungal Biomass ◽  
Forest Harvesting ◽  
Organic Layer ◽  
Total Microbial Biomass ◽  
Organic Layers ◽  
Respiration Rates ◽  
Fumigation Extraction

Clearcutting Newfoundland boreal forests significantly reduced organic layer fungal and total microbial biomass in clearcut areas with and without slash cover, compared with forested plots. However, aerobically incubated respiration rates were highest in organic layers from clearcut areas under slash, intermediate under forests, and lowest from clearcut areas without slash. Key words: Carbon, ergosterol, fumigation–extraction, fungal biomass, harvest slash, nitrogen

Early growth of lodgepole pine after establishment of alsike clover–Rhizobium nitrogen-fixing symbiosis

1992 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 1089-1093 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Trowbridge ◽  
F.B. Holl
Keyword(s):  
Forest Floor ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
Nitrogen Concentration ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Early Growth ◽  
Percent Cover ◽  
Foliar Nitrogen ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Pine Seedlings ◽  
Needle Mass

An overdense lodgepole pine (Pinuscontorta Dougl. ex Loud.) stand was knocked down and the site was prepared by broadcast burn, windrow burn, or mechanical forest floor removal. Inoculated alsike clover (Trifoliumhybridum L.) was seeded at 0, 10, 20, and 30 kg/ha for the three different site preparation treatments to determine the effects of (i) site preparation on infection and effectiveness of the clover–Rhizobium symbiosis and clover percent cover and (ii) the clover–Rhizobium N2-fixing symbiosis on survival, early growth, and foliar nitrogen concentration of lodgepole pine seedlings. The N2-fixing symbiosis established well in all treatments. Clover percent cover increased with increasing rate of seeding, although by relatively few percent in the clover seeded plots. Broadcast burning, windrow burning, and mechanical forest floor removal did not affect the establishment of the N2-fixing symbiosis or clover percent cover. Lodgepole pine survival was not affected by the seeding treatments in any year, nor were height measurements during the first three growing seasons. Seedling height was slightly less in clover-seeded plots compared with controls in the fourth growing season. Lodgepole pine seedlings on clover-seeded plots had decreased diameter growth compared with controls during the first three growing seasons, but incremental diameter growth no longer showed this effect by the fourth growing season. Needle mass (g/100 needles) was less in clover-seeded plots at the end of the second growing season, but this effect was reversed by the fourth growing season, when both needle mass and foliar nitrogen concentration in lodgepole pine foliage were greater in clover-seeded plots.

Wounding of aspen roots promotes suckering

2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 310-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin C Fraser ◽  
Victor J Lieffers ◽  
Simon M Landhäusser
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Organic Layer ◽  
Trembling Aspen ◽  
Layer Depth ◽  
Injury Type ◽  
Organic Layers ◽  
Root Injury ◽  
Root Sucker

In early May, 1-m sections of trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) roots in a forest cutblock were carefully exposed and examined for damage. Undamaged roots were subjected to one of three wounding treatments (scrape, sever, or uninjured control) and were then reburied to either the full normal organic layer depth or to one third of the normal depth. Following one growing season, the roots were reexposed and assessed for aspen sucker numbers and growth rates. Results indicate that injured roots produced suckers nearly twice as often as uninjured roots. Further, injured roots produced more suckers per root, and these suckers were taller and had greater leaf area. Roots buried under shallow organic layers also generated more suckers, regardless of injury type. The side of injury (distal or proximal) did not affect any of the measured variables. The present study suggests that moderate wounding of aspen roots increases initial sucker numbers and growth rates.Key words: trembling aspen, root sucker, root injury, regeneration.

EFFECTS OF GROWING SEASON SOIL TEMPERATURE, MOISTURE, AND NH4-N ON SOIL NITROGEN

1974 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 403-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. CAMPBELL ◽  
D. W. STEWART ◽  
W. NICHOLAICHUK ◽  
V. O. BIEDERBECK
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Relationship ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Stepwise Multiple Regression ◽  
Soil N ◽  
N Transformations ◽  
Temperature Changes ◽  
Diurnal Patterns ◽  
Multiple Regression Technique ◽  
Time Required

Wood Mountain loam was wetted with water or (NH4)2SO4 solution to provide a factorial combination among three moisture and three NH4-N levels. Samples in polyethylene bags were incubated at 2.5-cm depths in fallow, and in an incubator that simulated the diurnal patterns of temperature fluctuation recorded in the field. During the growing season, treatments were sampled regularly for moisture, NO3− and exchangeable NH4-N. Similar determinations were made on in situ samples taken in fallow Wood Mountain loam. The incubator simulated the effects of growing season temperatures on soil N transformations satisfactorily. Pronounced increases or decreases in temperature led to flushes in N mineralization. However, in the 1972 growing season, temperature was suboptimal and temperature changes were generally small. Consequently, when a stepwise multiple regression technique was used to analyze the data, neither ammonification nor nitrification showed a quantitative relationship to temperature. Comparison of the nitrification occurring in laboratory-incubated soils with that occurring in situ led to the conclusion that 70 to 90% of the NO3-N produced in surface soil resulted from wetting and drying. Estimates of potentially ammonifiable soil N(No) and its rate of mineralization (k) were derived from cumulative ammonification by assuming that the laws of first-order kinetics were applicable. In the 10, 15, and 20% moisture treatments the average No was 27, 41, and 82 ppm, respectively. Under the conditions of this study, the time required to mineralize half of No was about 7 wk.

scholarly journals In situ elastic modulus measurements of ultrathin protein-rich organic layers in biosilica: towards deeper understanding of superior resistance to fracture of biocomposites

RSC Advances ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (17) ◽  
pp. 5798 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Zlotnikov ◽  
Doron Shilo ◽  
Yannicke Dauphin ◽  
Horst Blumtritt ◽  
Peter Werner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Elastic Modulus ◽  
Organic Layers ◽  
Protein Rich

scholarly journals Palaeoecology and Archaeology of the Kärlich–Seeufer Open-Air Site (Middle Pleistocene) in the Central Rhineland, Germany

1996 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 319-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Gaudzinski ◽  
Felix Bittmann ◽  
Wolfgang Boenigk ◽  
Manfred Frechen ◽  
Thijs Van Kolfschoten
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Sensu Stricto ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Recent Analysis ◽  
Small Lake ◽  
Wooden Structure ◽  
Archaeological Sample

The Kärlich–Seeufer archaeological site in Germany's central Rhineland was excavated between 1980 and 1992. The site provides evidence for hominid activity during a Middle Pleistocene interglaciation known up to now only from the Kärlich clay pit and therefore defined as the Kärlich Interglaciation, which is considered to be post-Cromer IV and pre-Holstein (sensu stricto) in age. The site is characterized by Acheulean artifacts, a fauna dominated by Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus, and a unique and outstanding preservation of wooden and other palaeobotanical remains. Assuming all finds are associated, the site previously was interpreted as an elephant hunting camp with a wooden structure, together with wood and bone implements preserved in situ. Recent analysis of the same features has shown that the site can also be interpreted as a reworked archaeological sample. Hominid occupation occurred in the vicinity of a small lake with prevailing meso-oligotrophic conditions. Expanding boreal forests and fen vegetation characterized the landscape.

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