Forest carbon management in the United States: 1600-2100

This paper reviews the effects of past forest management on carbon stocks in the United States, and the challenges for managing forest carbon resources in the 21st century. Forests in the United States were in approximate carbon balance with the atmosphere from 1600-1800. Utilization and land clearing caused a large pulse of forest carbon emissions during the 19th century, followed by regrowth and net forest carbon sequestration in the 20th century. Recent data and knowledge of the general behavior of forests after disturbance suggest that the rate of forest carbon sequestration is declining. A goal of an additional 100 to 200 Tg C/yr of forest carbon sequestration is achievable, but would require investment in inventory and monitoring, development of technology and practices, and assistance for land managers.     

Environmental levels of sediment-associated tri-n-butyltin chloride (TBTCl) and ionic regulation in flounders during seawater adaptation

The effects of exposure to sediment-associated tri-n-butyltin chloride (TBTCl) were examined in the euryhaline European flounder, Platichthys flesus (L.). The effects were quantified by measuring the changes in sodium efflux; Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase activity; and the numbers, areas, and distribution of chloride cells in the gills of freshwater-adapted fish, following a rapid transfer to seawater. Following the transfer to seawater, the Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase activity and the sodium efflux were significantly increased in the control group but remained unchanged in the TBTCl-exposed group. The normal morphological changes to the gill epithelium associated with seawater adaptation, which involve chloride cell distribution, took place in the control group but were significantly inhibited or delayed in the TBTCl group. The results presented in this study lead to the conclusion that environmental concentrations of tri-n-butyltin chloride in sediments are capable of significantly disrupting both the physiological and the morphological components of iono-regulatory functions of an estuarine flatfish.     

Analysis of gaseous diisocyanates in air using chemosorption sampling

A sampling procedure for 2,4- and 2,6-toluenediisocyanate (TDI) and 4,4′-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) in the range 0.007-0.7 mg/m³ in a 15 L air sample is described. The sampling is performed with 9-(N-methylaminomethyl)-anthracene (MAMA) adsorbed on a solid sorbent, Amberlite XAD-2. The recoveries are 80–100% in this chemosorption reaction. The urea derivatives are desorbed with N,N-dimethylformamide and analysed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Samples and prepared chemosorption tubes are stable for at least two weeks if stored in the dark. To complete the investigation, field measurements of TDI were performed in an industrial atmosphere.     

Sampling of ethylene glycol and ethylene glycol derivatives in work-room air using Amberlite XAD resins

The porous polymers Amberlite XAD-2 and XAD-7 were evaluated for the sampling of ethylene glycol, 2-methoxyethanol, 2-ethoxyethanol, 2-butoxyethanol and 2-ethoxyethyl acetate in work-room air. Using diethyl ether desorption, these adsorbents were found excellent for the compounds studied.     

Hot Spots of Perforated Forest in the Eastern United States

National assessments of forest fragmentation satisfy international biodiversity conventions, but they do not identify specific places where ecological impacts are likely. In this article, we identify geographic concentrations (hot spots) of forest located near holes in otherwise intact forest canopies (perforated forest) in the eastern United States, and we describe the proximate causes in terms of the nonforest land-cover types contained in those hot spots. Perforated forest, defined as a 0.09-ha unit of forest that is located at the center of a 7.29-ha neighborhood containing 60–99% forest with relatively low connectivity, was mapped over the eastern United States by using land-cover maps with roads superimposed. Statistically significant (P < 0.001) hot spots of high perforation rate (perforated area per unit area of forest) were then located by using a spatial scan statistic. Hot spots were widely distributed and covered 20.4% of the total area of the 10 ecological provinces examined, but 50.1% of the total hot-spot area was concentrated in only two provinces. In the central part of the study area, more than 90% of the forest edge in hot spots was attributed to anthropogenic land-cover types, whereas in the northern and southern parts it was more often associated with seminatural land cover such as herbaceous wetlands.