Treesearch

Landscape carbon (C) flux estimates help assess the ability of terrestrial ecosystems to buffer further increases in anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Advances in remote sensing have led to coarse-scale estimates of gross primary productivity (GPP; e.g., MODIS 17), yet efforts to develop spatial respiration products are lacking. Here we demonstrate a method to predict growing season soil respiration at a regional scale in a mixed subalpine ecosystem. We related field measurements (n = 396) of growing season soil respiration mostly from subalpine forests in the Southern Rocky...

We surveyed some major fungal herbaria in Japan to find collections of "extinct" mushroom species. The presence of voucher collections was confirmed for a total of 21 out of 26 "extinct" mushroom species listed in a Red Data Book of Japan. We then assessed the type status and quality of these specimens based on collection data on collection labels and physical appearance of fruit bodies. The majority of voucher collections of "extinct" species were demonstrated to be the type (holotype, isotype or syntype) with various degrees of quality. Some were heavily contaminated by mold or highly...

Midwestern savannas and woodlands were once dominant transitional communities but are now considered endangered. Savanna and woodland habitat is being restored and managed throughout the central and east-central portions of the United States, but few studies have investigated the effects of management on songbird nest survival. We monitored songbird nests in managed savanna and woodland sites in southern Missouri from 2009 to 2011 to estimate nest survival and to predict the relationships between nest survival and temporal, vegetation structure, and nest site variables. Daily nest survival...

Black walnuts (Juglans nigra L.) are highly valued for producing phenolic-enriched nuts. The objectives of this study were to identify and characterize the phenolic contents of 11 different black walnut cultivars and compare the levels of these phenolics between black walnuts and English walnut (Juglans regia L.). Totally, 16 phenolics including phenolic acids, flavonoids, and catechins were identified in the black walnut kernels, with ellagic acid predominating over the other phenolics. Significant differences were noted for the levels of quinic acid, gallic acid, 1,3,6-trigalloylglucose,...

Over the past decade, long-term socio-ecological research (LTSER) has been established to better integrate social science research and societal concerns into the goals and objectives of the International Long-Term Ecological Research (ILTER) network, an established global network of long-term ecological monitoring sites. The Horizon 2020 eLTER project, currently underway, includes as one of its key objectives to evaluate the performance of LTSER platforms. This article reflects part of this evaluation: six LTSER platforms were assessed through site visits of the lead author, coupled with...

Balsamia, a hypogeous, sequestrate genus in the Helvellaceae, has been characterized variously as having three to eight species in North America, and these have been considered either different from or conspecific with European species. No available modern systematic treatment of Balsamia exists to allow for accurate identification at the species level. We sequenced DNA from recent western North American Balsamia collections, assessed relationships by sequence similarity, and identified molecular taxonomic units. From these data, we determined which matched descriptions and types of named...

We describe three new species of Elaphomyces from eastern North America. Of the three, Elaphomyces loebiae is the rarest, known only from North Carolina and South Carolina, and appears to associate primarily with ectomycorrhizal hardwoods but possibly also with conifers. Elaphomyces cibulae is widely distributed but disjunct from Florida, Mississippi, and North Carolina. Elaphomyces cibulae seems to primarily associate with Quercus species. Elaphomyces mitchelliae has the widest distribution of the three species, from Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia, and...

When considering soils in the context of climate regulation, thoughts most often turn to soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. However, over geologic time scales, a large part of the earth's C cycle is controlled by the weathering of silicate minerals and carbonates, as well as the formation of pedogenic carbonates. This is the role of mineralogy in the earth's inorganic C cycle.

Much of the family-forest-owned land in the United States is expected to change hands as current ownerships grow older and pass on their holdings. To date, little research has been conducted on this ownership decision. Using mail survey data from the northeastern United States, we explore family-forest-owner (FFO) legacy planning. We summarized FFO interest in planning for the future use of their land. We found that nearly 50% of respondents believe that controlling future use of their land is important; and one-half to two-thirds of respondents are open to keeping most or all of their...

Polyamines (PAs) are essential biomolecules that are known to be involved in the regulation of many plant developmental and growth processes as well as their response to different environmental stimuli. Maintaining the cellular pools of PAs or their metabolic precursors and by-products is critical to accomplish their normal functions. Therefore, the titre of PAs in the cells must be under tight regulation to enable cellular PA homeostasis. Polyamine homeostasis is hence achieved by the regulation of their input into the cellular PA pool, their conversion into secondary metabolites, their...