The nitrogen-sink is involved in the regulation of nitrogenase activity in white clover after defoliation

The objective of the present study was to develop an empirical cold hardiness model applicable to several taxa of deciduous trees. Cold hardiness expressed as lowest survival temperature of Acer rubrum, Betula nigra, Liquidambar styracifiua, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Prunus serotina and Quercus alba was evaluated at approximately weekly intervals during the winters of three consecutive years. Plant samples and meteorological data were collected from Georgia Experiment Station, Griffin, Georgia. Maximum, minimum and average temperatures, hourly chill and heat accumulation. day length and time of year were used as input variables for model development. The statistical method of stepwise procedure of regression analysis was employed to select variables for the model. Based on the assumption that model components should be the same for all taxa included in this study and all three winters, the following independent model variables were selected as valid inputs: day length, number of accumulated hours with temperature above 20°C and number of accumulated hours with temperature below 10°C. Equation coefficients of species-specific models were determined for each species. Cold hardiness predictions were compared to actual observations for each species. The model components were interpreted as representing two processes: (1) internally regulated and independent of actual temperature, and (2) externally regulated and dependent on the amount of accumulated chill or heat. The model allowed for comparisons of cold hardening and dehardening between the studied taxa and between years.     

Tree regeneration patterns on Mount Usu, northern Japan, since the 1977–78 eruptions

Although the summit of Mount Usu was deforested by the 1977–78 eruptions, vegetative regeneration on the caldera rim was rapid due to the erosion of thick volcanic deposits by snow and rain. To obtain the mechanisms underlying regeneration patterns after the eruptions, we monitored the growth of permanently-marked stems from 1983 to 1990. Regeneration was from resprouting-branches buried in the volcanic deposits on the caldera rim, while on the crater basin, where thick volcanic deposits accumulated, regeneration was from seedlings. The seedling regeneration lagged approximately 3 years behind vegetative regeneration. Stem densities averaged 14,000 ha^-1 in the vegetatively-regenerated community on the caldera rim, and 28,000 ha^-1 in the seedling regeneration on the crater basin. Populus maximowiczii accounted for ca. 75% of total stems on the caldera rim, while P. maximowiczii accounted for ca. 30% on the crater basin where Salix integra and Betula platyphylla var. japonica were also common. In both stands, immigration and mortality rates were very low. The growth of vegetatively regenerated stems expressed as stem height and diameter was significantly faster than that of stems grown from seedlings. Herbivory damage on the terminal shoots of tall stems was restricted on the caldera rim and was restricted for B. platyphylla var. japonica on the crater basin, perhaps due to fast growth supporting herbivore avoidance or low palatability. Height growth was restricted when neighbors established in close proximity, especially in the seedling-regenerated forest. The results suggest that vegetative regeneration is rapid due to three mechanisms: 1) faster plant growth; 2) herbivore avoidance; and 3) decreased interference by neighboring.     

Short-Lived Tree Species and Their Role as Indicators for Plant Diversity in the Restoration of Natural Forests

Anthropogenic forests, particularly conifer monocultures, today constitute a large proportion of Central European woodland. Conversion of such forest stands into abundantly structured mixed‐species woodland is within the focus of ecosystem restoration and is considered to affect forest biodiversity. Short‐lived tree species play an important role in such conversion processes and may serve as focal species. However, not much is known about their relationship with forest biodiversity. In this study, the short‐lived tree species, European mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia L.), European white birch (Betula pendula Roth), Downy birch (B. pubescens Ehrh.), and Glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus P. Mill.), commonly occurring throughout Central Europe, are investigated with regard to their relationship with plant diversity. The focus is on their occurrences in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.)–dominated forests in the Northeast German lowlands. A significant increase in vascular plant diversity is revealed in stands with the selected species’ presence, in comparison to stands without them. Increase in plant species numbers is highest where the respective species occurs in the tree and/or shrub layer, compared with their presence only in the herb layer. For bryophyte species, there is a less strong inverse relationship. An analysis of different species groups, such as threatened, woody, and typical forest species of higher plants, reveals no decrease in species numbers in these groups if short‐lived tree species are present. It is concluded that short‐lived tree species can be indicators for plant diversity assessment within forest restoration processes. As to causal explanations, effects of differing site conditions, assessed by use of Ellenberg indicator values, are discussed as well as possible active effects of the tree species changing their environment.     

The reproduction of Juncus tenuis (Juncus macer) and its dispersal

Summary

Some features of the germination and dispersal of Juncus tenuis seeds are examined. The seedlings are well adapted for dissemination by human or animal agency and for colonisation of mud, hence its frequent appearance by tracks and roads. It may be a colonist from America, and has spread in the West of Britain more rapidly than in the east.