Production,application, and field performance of Abietiv™, the balsam fir sawfly nucleopolyhedrovirus

Beginning in the early 1990s, the balsam fir sawfly (Neodiprion abietis) became a significant defoliating insect of precommercially thinned balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) stands in western Newfoundland, Canada. In 1997, a nucleopolyhedrovirus (NeabNPV) was isolated from the balsam fir sawfly and, as no control measures were then available, NeabNPV was developed for the biological control of balsam fir sawfly. In order to register NeabNPV for operational use under the Canadian Pest Control Products Act, research was carried out in a number of areas including NeabNPV field efficacy, non-target organism toxicology, balsam fir sawfly ecology and impact on balsam fir trees, and NeabNPV genome sequencing and analysis. As part of the field efficacy trials, approximately 22 500 hectares of balsam fir sawfly-infested forest were aerially treated with NeabNPV between 2000 and 2005. NeabNPV was found to be safe, efficacious, and economical for the suppression of balsam fir sawfly outbreak populations. Conditional registration for the NeabNPV-based product, Abietiv™, was received from the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (Health Canada) in April 2006. In July 2006, Abietiv was applied by spray airplanes to 15 000 ha of balsam fir sawfly-infested forest in western Newfoundland in an operational control program.      

不同林龄杉木人工林土壤团聚体磷素分布特征

探究不同林龄杉木人工林土壤团聚体各形态磷素的分布特征有利于提升杉木人工林土壤磷素有效性。本研究选取位于广西融水县的幼龄(9 a)、中龄(17 a)、成熟(26 a)杉木人工林和邻近撂荒地(CK),利用干筛法将采集到的表层(0～20 cm)原状土壤分为4个粒级团聚体(>2、1～2、0.25～1和<0.25 mm),测定各粒级团聚体中不同形态磷组分。结果表明: 1)不同林龄杉木人工林土壤团聚体组成差异显著,CK和各林龄杉木人工林中>2 mm粒级团聚体含量显著较高,随林龄的增长先增后减,在17 a时最高;土壤平均重量直径(MWD)和几何平均直径(GMD)的变化趋势与>2 mm粒级团聚体一致。2)CK和各林龄杉木人工林中各粒级土壤团聚体全磷、无机磷和有机磷含量差异均不显著,而土壤有效磷含量在>2 mm粒级团聚体中显著较高,达1.23～7.33 mg·kg^-1;不同林龄杉木人工林土壤团聚体及全土全磷、有效磷和无机磷含量均显著高于CK,并随杉木林龄的增长先增后减,全土总磷和有效磷含量在9 a时最高,分别为322.40和7.33 mg·kg^-1,全土无机磷含量在17 a时最高,为114.05 mg·kg^-1;全土有机磷含量随杉木林龄的增长先增再减再增,在9 a时最高,为210.00 mg·kg^-1。3)不同粒级土壤团聚体磷储量与土壤团聚体组成比例显著相关。CK和各林龄杉木人工林中>2 mm粒级团聚体各形态磷储量较高。除有机磷外,各形态土壤磷储量均随杉木林龄的增长先增后减。综上,林龄17 a之前,杉木人工林的种植有利于提升土壤团聚体稳定性,促进土壤磷素水平的提升;林龄17 a后,>2 mm粒级团聚体的破碎导致土壤团聚体稳定性和土壤磷素供应水平逐渐下降。因此,在杉木人工林培育栽种17 a以后应重视土壤中>2 mm粒级团聚体的保护,以保障土壤质量,维持土壤供磷水平。     

Endogenous levels of free and conjugated forms of auxin, cytokinins and abscisic acid during seed development in Douglas fir

Endogenous levels of free and conjugated forms of three classes of planthormones were quantified at various stages of megagametophyte development inDouglas fir. Megagametophytes were excised weekly from 8–16 weeks pastpollination (WPP), a period encompassing the central cell to the earlymaturation stage of seed development. The hormones indole-3 acetic acid (IAA),indole-3-aspartate (IAAsp), zeatin (Z), zeatin riboside (ZR), isopentenyladenine(iP), isopentenyladenosine (iPA), abscisic acid (ABA) and abscisic acid glucoseester (ABA-GE) were extracted, purified, fractionated by high- performanceliquid chromatography (HPLC), and then quantified using an enzyme-linkedimmunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Z levels ranged from 0–25ng/g dry weight (DW) and were highest in megagametophytes at thecentral cell stage (8 WPP). During embryogenesis, Z levels peakedduring week 13. In contrast, the ZR conjugate was not detected over the periodstudied. The iP content of megagametophytes increased at 10 and 13WPP, while the iPA concentration increased at 13 WPP.Prior to fertilisation, IAA was highest in megagametophytes at 9WPP. During embryogenesis, the major IAA accumulations occurred at11, 13 and 15 WPP, the concentration ranging from 0–0.43g/g DW. IAAsp concentrations reached their highest level duringembryogenesis at 14 WPP. ABA content increased at 11 and 13WPP, with a concentration range of 0.1–13 g/gDW. In contrast, ABA-GE levels were relatively constant over the 9-weekperiod analyzed. The endogenous levels of plant hormones varied withmegagametophyte development and were associated with morphological changes.     

Fire, fuels and restoration of ponderosa pine–Douglas fir forests in the Rocky Mountains, USA

Aim Forest restoration in ponderosa pine and mixed ponderosa pine–Douglas fir forests in the US Rocky Mountains has been highly influenced by a historical model of frequent, low‐severity surface fires developed for the ponderosa pine forests of the Southwestern USA. A restoration model, based on this low‐severity fire model, focuses on thinning and prescribed burning to restore historical forest structure. However, in the US Rocky Mountains, research on fire history and forest structure, and early historical reports, suggest the low‐severity model may only apply in limited geographical areas. The aim of this article is to elaborate a new variable‐severity fire model and evaluate the applicability of this model, along with the low‐severity model, for the ponderosa pine–Douglas fir forests of the Rocky Mountains. Location Rocky Mountains, USA. Methods The geographical applicability of the two fire models is evaluated using historical records, fire histories and forest age‐structure analyses. Results Historical sources and tree‐ring reconstructions document that, near or before ad 1900, the low‐severity model may apply in dry, low‐elevation settings, but that fires naturally varied in severity in most of these forests. Low‐severity fires were common, but high‐severity fires also burned thousands of hectares. Tree regeneration increased after these high‐severity fires, and often attained densities much greater than those reconstructed for Southwestern ponderosa pine forests. Main conclusions Exclusion of fire has not clearly and uniformly increased fuels or shifted the fire type from low‐ to high‐severity fires. However, logging and livestock grazing have increased tree densities and risk of high‐severity fires in some areas. Restoration is likely to be most effective which seeks to (1) restore variability of fire, (2) reverse changes brought about by livestock grazing and logging, and (3) modify these land uses so that degradation is not repeated.     

Winter Forage Selection in White-Tailed Deer at High Density: Balsam Fir is the Best of a Bad Choice

Abstract: We assessed winter forage selection by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on Anticosti Island, Quebec, Canada, using cafeteria-feeding trials. Winter habitat on Anticosti is degraded and free-ranging deer at high densities consume 70% balsam fir (Abies balsamea) and 20% white spruce (Picea glauca), even though spruce is much more available than fir. Deer ate 89.9% balsam fir and 10.1% white spruce when the availability of both trees was equal. Deer did not eat shredded twigs more than intact twigs. Fiber content and condensed tannins were greater in white spruce than in balsam fir. Deer preference for fir was not based on texture but, more likely, on plant constituents, so we concluded that deer will nearly eliminate fir before they use any significant amount of white spruce. Management actions, therefore, need to be undertaken to enhance balsam fir regeneration.     

衫木叶片蛋白质组的双向电泳技术优化

为建立适用于杉木(Cunninghaimia lanceolata)叶片蛋白质组研究的双向电泳技术,对杉木叶片蛋白质的溶解方法、上样量、IEF及SDS-PAGE电泳等关键步骤进行了优化。结果表明,杉木叶片蛋白质主要分布在pH4-7范围;裂解液中含有硫脲(2mmol/L)才能较充分地溶解蛋白,DTT浓度为60mmol/L、上样量1.5mg时得到的图谱分辨率较好且蛋白斑点分布均匀、清晰,拖尾现象明显减少,平衡液Ⅱ中碘代乙酰胺浓度为450mg(15ml)-1时能提高图谱分辨率;采用与质谱兼容的考马斯亮兰进行染色,得到近700个蛋白点。     

Specific features of meiosis in the Siberian fir (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Abies sibirica</Emphasis> Ledeb.) artificial populations

Meiosis was studied in the Siberian fir (Abies sibirica Ledeb.) at the arboretum of the Sukachev Institute of Forest. Specific features of meiosis in planted trees have been described. Both general and specific types of irregularities have been identified. The range of irregularities under the arboretum conditions was much wider than in natural ecosystems.     

Modelling and predicting the spatial distribution of tree root density in heterogeneous forest ecosystems

Background and Aims In mountain ecosystems, predicting root density in three dimensions (3-D) is highly challenging due to the spatial heterogeneity of forest communities. This study presents a simple and semi-mechanistic model, named ChaMRoots, that predicts root interception density (RID, number of roots m^–2). ChaMRoots hypothesizes that RID at a given point is affected by the presence of roots from surrounding trees forming a polygon shape.Methods The model comprises three sub-models for predicting: (1) the spatial heterogeneity – RID of the finest roots in the top soil layer as a function of tree basal area at breast height, and the distance between the tree and a given point; (2) the diameter spectrum – the distribution of RID as a function of root diameter up to 50 mm thick; and (3) the vertical profile – the distribution of RID as a function of soil depth. The RID data used for fitting in the model were measured in two uneven-aged mountain forest ecosystems in the French Alps. These sites differ in tree density and species composition.Key Results In general, the validation of each sub-model indicated that all sub-models of ChaMRoots had good fits. The model achieved a highly satisfactory compromise between the number of aerial input parameters and the fit to the observed data.Conclusions The semi-mechanistic ChaMRoots model focuses on the spatial distribution of root density at the tree cluster scale, in contrast to the majority of published root models, which function at the level of the individual. Based on easy-to-measure characteristics, simple forest inventory protocols and three sub-models, it achieves a good compromise between the complexity of the case study area and that of the global model structure. ChaMRoots can be easily coupled with spatially explicit individual-based forest dynamics models and thus provides a highly transferable approach for modelling 3-D root spatial distribution in complex forest ecosystems.     

Tree diversity in 30-year chronosequences of cool-humid forests

Tree data collected in four inventories of twelve permanent sampling plots during 30 years were analyzed to determine to what extent the abundance of the ubiquitous balsam fir (Abies balsamea) drives tree diversity in mixed stands of Eastern Cape Breton Island, Canada. Dominant deciduous species comprised yellow birch (Betula allegheniensis), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), and American beech (Fagus grandifolia). Tree species richness ranged from 2 to 6. The Shannon–Wiener diversity index indicated that high fir proportion decreased tree species diversity (H’) and structural evenness (J’). The basal area ratio for year 30 over year 1 provided an index of resilience (R) for forest stands subject to natural self-thinning and epidemic insect infestations. There was no significant effect of fir admixture on R since basal area losses due to fir decline were offset within the 30-year period largely by hardwood increases. Stand dynamics were however, structurally stratified due to low R-values for low-diameter trees. The indices H’, J’, and R are recommended for assessing the naturalness and apparent resilience function of tree diversity and large trees in mixed forests of low species richness.