Management Options to Conserve and Sequester Carbon in the Agricultural Sector of the Former Soviet Union

Several management practices are available to conserve and sequester C in the agricultural sector of the former Soviet Union (FSU). The highest rate of C accumulation would result from the implementation of a no-till management option which will only continue during the first ten years until new C equilibrium is reached. Agroforestry management options provide a longer period for C accumulation, but at a lower rate. It is possible that the longest period of C conservation may be achieved by increasing the area under perennial grasses in the crop rotation. During the first decade of implementation of the management practices, the amount of C conserved or sequestered would be approximately equal to the current rate of net C sequestration in FSU forest sector. At present, agricultural soils and vegetation of the FSU store approximately 120 Pg C; the accumulation of soil organic matter is 0.032 Pg C yr^-1. The annual C loss in the FSU agricultural sector was estimated at 0.21 Pg C yr^-1.     

Control of food influx by temporal subcastes in the fire ant,Solenopsis invicta

Summary Temporal subcastes in the fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren were selectively starved to determine if foragers could assess the nutritional status of their nestmates and respond accordingly. We found that starved foragers increase the honey entering the colony (Fig. 1). When nurses are starved more oil and liquid egg yolk enters the colony (Figs. 2, 3) and when both reserves and nurses are starved, more egg yolk powder is brought in by the foragers (Fig. 4). When queens are starved, more liquid egg yolk and oil enters the colony (Figs. 2, 3). Starved larvae increase the oil in the colony (Fig. 2) and when held with nurses for 24h before feeding, increase the egg yolk powder brought in and receive significantly more of it than other subcaste members (Fig. 5). We conclude that foragers can respond to the nutritional needs of their nestmates. Based on our behavioural observations, the quantity of food brought in by the foragers is regulated via discriminatory solicitation by reserves in response to the nutritional needs of the nurses.     

Greenhouse gas mitigation options in the Forest sector of Russia: National and project level assessments

Greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation options in the Russian forest sector include: afforestation and reforestation of unforested/degraded land area; enhanced forest productivity; incorporation of nondestructive methods of wood harvesting in the forest industry; establishment of land protective forest stands; increase in stand age of final harvest in the European part of Russia; increased fire control; increased disease and pest control; and preservation of old growth forests in the Russian Far-East, which are presently threatened. Considering the implementation of all of the options presented, the GHG mitigation potential within the forest and agroforestry sectors of Russia is approximately 0.6–0.7 Pg C/yr or one half of the industrial carbon emissions of the United States. The difference between the GHG mitigation potential and the actual level of GHGs mitigated in the Russian forest sector will depend to a great degree on external financing that may be available. One possibility for external financing is through joint implementation (JI). However, under the JI process, each project will be evaluated by considering a number of criteria including also the difference between the carbon emissions or sequestration for the baseline (or reference) and the project case, the permanence of the project, and leakage. Consequently, a project level assessment must appreciate the near-term constraints that will face practitioners who attempt to realize the GHG mitigation potential in the forest and agroforestry sectors of their countries.     

Implementing infrared determination of quartz particulates on novel filters for a prototype dust monitor

Research by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has pursued quartz analysis for the specialized filter assemblies of a new worker-wearable personal dust monitor (PDM). The PDM is a real-time instrument utilizing a tapered element oscillating microbalance (TEOM). Standard fiberglass TEOM filters cannot accommodate the desired P-7 infrared analytical method used by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). Novel filter materials were tested with the objective of demonstrating this type of analysis. Low temperature ashing and spectrometric examination were employed, revealing that nylon fiber candidate filters left minimal residual ash and produced no significant spectral interference. Avoiding titanium dioxide in all filter materials proved to be a key requirement. Fine quartz particulates were collected on prototype filters in a Marple chamber, either open-faced or through PDMs during test runs. The filters were then subjected to MSHA P-7 analysis and the spectrometrically based analytical results for quartz mass were compared to reference measurements. Also, PDM instrumental mass readings were compared to filter gravimetric measurements. Results suggest that the P-7 method is adaptable to variations in filter materials and that quartz dust analysis by the P-7 method when utilizing the new ashable PDM filters can have accuracy and precision within 10% and 4%, respectively. This is within the declared 13% accuracy and 7-10% precision of the P-7 method itself. Instrument mass readings had modest positive bias but met NIOSH accuracy criteria. Continued work with specialized PDM filters is merited, as they are a new type of TEOM sample amenable to ashing analysis of particulates.     

Terrestrial Carbon Dynamics: Case Studies in the Former Soviet Union,the Conterminous United States,Mexico and Brazil

This research assessed land-use impacts on C flux at a national level in four countries: former Soviet Union, United States, Mexico and Brazil, including biotic processes in terrestrial ecosystems (closed forests, woodlands, and croplands), harvest of trees for wood and paper products, and direct C emission from fires. The terrestrial ecosystems of the four countries contain approximately 40% of the world's terrestrial biosphere C pool, with the FSU alone having 27% of the global total. Average phytomass C densities decreased from south to north while average soil C densities in all three vegetation types generally increased from south to north. The C flux from land cover conversion was divided into a biotic component and a land-use component. We estimate that the total net biotic flux (Tg/yr) was positive (= uptake) in the FSU (631) and the U.S. (332), but negative in Mexico (−37) and Brazil (−16). In contrast, total flux from land use was negative (= emissions) in all four countries (TgC/yr): FSU −343; U.S. −243; Mexico −35; and Brazil −235. The total net effect of the biotic and land-use factors was a C sink in the FSU and the U.S. and a C source in both Brazil and Mexico. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Equivalency of a personal dust monitor to the current United States coal mine respirable dust sampler

The United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, through an informal partnership with industry, labor, and the United States Mine Safety and Health Administration, has developed and tested a new instrument known as the Personal Dust Monitor (PDM). The new dust monitor is an integral part of the cap lamp that coal miners normally carry to work and provides continuous information about the concentration of respirable coal mine dust within the breathing zone of that individual. Previous laboratory testing demonstrated that there is a 95% confidence that greater than 95% of individual PDM measurements fall within +/-25% of reference measurements. The work presented in this paper focuses on the relationship between the PDM and respirable dust concentrations currently measured by a coal mine dust personal sampler unit utilizing a 10 mm Dorr-Oliver nylon cyclone. The United Kingdom Mining Research Establishment instrument, used as the basis for coal mine respirable dust standards, had been designed specifically to match the United Kingdom British Medical Research Council (BMRC) criterion. The personal sampler is used with a 1.38 multiplier to convert readings to the BMRC criterion. A stratified random sampling design incorporating a proportionate allocation strategy was used to select a sample of mechanized mining units representative of all US underground coal mines. A sample of 180 mechanized mining units was chosen, representing approximately 20% of the mechanized mining units in production at the time the sample was selected. A total of 129 valid PDM/personal sampler dust sample sets were obtained. A weighted linear regression analysis of this data base shows that, in comparison with the personal sampler, the PDM requires a mass equivalency conversion multiplier of 1.05 [95% C.I.=(1.03, 1.08)] when the small intercept term is removed from the analysis. Removal of the intercept term results in a personal sampler-equivalent concentration increase of 2.9% at a PDM measurement of 2.0 mg m(-3).     

Thermally induced filter bias in TEOM mass measurement

Researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) have long used stationary tapered element oscillating microbalances (TEOMs) in laboratory settings. They have served to assess the mass concentration of laboratory-generated particulates in experimental dust chambers and they provide a reference method for comparison with other particulate-measuring instruments. Current NIOSH research is focused on further adapting TEOM technology as a wearable personal dust monitor (PDM) for coal mining occupations. This investigation's goal is to help identify, quantify, and provide means for resolving certain TEOM-related error. The present research investigated bias caused by thermal effects on filter assemblies. New filters used in the PDM for 8 h tests show an average positive bias of 25.5 microg, while similar tests of equivalent filters used in two 1400A model TEOMs show an average positive bias of 34.3 microg. The derived bias values allow correction of previously collected biased data. Also, pre-heating the filters for 24 h at 46 degrees C shows significant bias reduction, with PDM pre-heated filters subsequently averaging -3.3 microg and 1400A TEOM filters averaging 5.9 microg. On a single-point comparison to gravimetric sampling, a 25.5 microg bias is only significant at low mass loadings. At 2.5 mg, this bias represents a negligible 1% of the mass measurement. If ordinary linear regression is used, the bias is still insignificant. However, if the more valid weighted linear regression is used, it gives more weight to the smaller dependent variable values, which are more impacted by the bias. Consequently, what is 1% bias on a single high-mass value can translate into a larger bias percentage at high-mass values when performing a weighted regression on data that include a large number of low-mass values.     

Kinship and incompatibility between colonies of the acacia ant Pseudomyrmex ferruginea

Summary The effect of kinship on incompatibility between colonies of the acacia-ant Pseudomyrmex ferruginea was examined. Colonies were reared on a clone of Acacia hindsii in a standard environment. A slight but significant reduction in intercolony incompatibility was obtained within two inbred lineages, compared with the observed frequency of rejection for unrelated colonies. These results indicate that the relevant odor differences between colonies are probably not determined at a single gene locus. The gestalt model for recognition pheromones does not apply to P. ferrugnea, since nestmates are often treated differently upon introduction to a second colony. However, the resulting intermediate rejection frequencies (30–100%) fail to converge on the 50% level predicted by single locus models for recognition pheromones.     

Greenhouse gas mitigation options in the Forest sector of Russia: National and project level assessments

Greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation options in the Russian forest sector include: afforestation and reforestation of unforested/degraded land area; enhanced forest productivity; incorporation of nondestructive methods of wood harvesting in the forest industry; establishment of land protective forest stands; increase in stand age of final harvest in the European part of Russia; increased fire control; increased disease and pest control; and preservation of old growth forests in the Russian Far-East, which are presently threatened. Considering the implementation of all of the options presented, the GHG mitigation potential within the forest and agroforestry sectors of Russia is approximately 0.6–0.7 Pg C/yr or one half of the industrial carbon emissions of the United States. The difference between the GHG mitigation potential and the actual level of GHGs mitigated in the Russian forest sector will depend to a great degree on external financing that may be available. One possibility for external financing is through joint implementation (JI). However, under the JI process, each project will be evaluated by considering a number of criteria including also the difference between the carbon emissions or sequestration for the baseline (or reference) and the project case, the permanence of the project, and leakage. Consequently, a project level assessment must appreciate the near-term constraints that will face practitioners who attempt to realize the GHG mitigation potential in the forest and agroforestry sectors of their countries.