Mitigation and adaptation synergy in forest sector

Mitigation and adaptation are the two main strategies to address climate change. Mitigation and adaptation have been considered separately in the global negotiations as well as literature. There is a realization on the need to explore and promote synergy between mitigation and adaptation while addressing climate change. In this paper, an attempt is made to explore the synergy between mitigation and adaptation by considering forest sector, which on the one hand is projected to be adversely impacted under the projected climate change scenarios and on the other provide opportunities to mitigate climate change. Thus, the potential and need for incorporating adaptation strategies and practices in mitigation projects is presented with a few examples. Firstly, there is a need to ensure that mitigation programs or projects do not increase the vulnerability of forest ecosystems and plantations. Secondly, several adaptation practices could be incorporated into mitigation projects to reduce vulnerability. Further, many of the mitigation projects indeed reduce vulnerability and promote adaptation, for example; forest and biodiversity conservation, protected area management and sustainable forestry. Also, many adaptation options such as urban forestry, soil and water conservation and drought resistant varieties also contribute to mitigation of climate change. Thus, there is need for research and field demonstration of synergy between mitigation and adaptation, so that the cost of addressing climate change impacts can be reduced and co-benefits increased.     

Seven suggestive quantitative trait loci influence hygienic behavior of honey bees

In 1964, Walter Rothenbuhler proposed a two-gene model to explain phenotypic variance in the remarkable behavior in which honey bee workers remove dead brood from their colonies. Rothenbuhler's model proposed that one locus controls the uncapping of brood cells containing dead pupae, while a second controls the removal of the cell contents. We show here, through molecular techniques and quantitative trait loci (QTL) linkage mapping, that the genetic basis of hygienic behavior is more complex, and that many genes are likely to contribute to the behavior. In our cross, we detected seven suggestive QTLs associated with hygienic behavior. Each detected QTL controlled only 9-15% of the observed phenotypic variance in the character.     

在波罗的海不同的气候条件下模拟的海面温度和热通量

本文使用由不同的全球模拟所产生的区域性耦合海洋-大气模型,通过数值模型试验探讨了波罗的海气候未来可能的物理状况.将一些情景以及近来的一些气候模拟情况作了比较,以估计气候变化.海面温度总体平均明显地增高2.9℃.平均年平均增温的水平模式主要可由冰盖的减少解释.由大气向波罗的海的热输送表现出季节性变化周期秋季热损失减少,春季热吸收增加,夏季热吸收减少.年际间海面温度的变化一般是在增加.这与北部一些中平滑的频率分布有关.全部热收支表示出海面太阳辐射在增加,而太阳辐射增加由热通量其他组成成分的变化所平衡.     

Effects of landscape homogeneity on starling roost distribution

The possible effects of landscape structure on starling roost distribution were investigated in western France using GIS analysis at different radii (2, 4, 8 and 10 km). Composition (11 land use classes) and configuration (patch size, diversity index) of the landscapes surrounding 97 roost sites used by starlings from 1981 to 2002 and surrounding 50 random points not used as roost sites were compared. Significant results suggested that starling roosts were established preferentially in the centre of an agricultural landscape where large units of pastures and arable land predominated and where natural areas were lacking both in large patches (forests or wetland classes) and in small patches such as woods in the mixed land class. A varied farmland landscape with natural areas and small patches should be promoted to limit the starling damage in wintering regions and also to favour their reproduction in regions where it has declined.     

Bipolar charged aerosol agglomeration and collection by a two-zone agglomerator

ＩｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＢｅｃａｕｓｅｏｆｔｈｅｌｏｗｅｆｆｉｃｉｅｎｃｙｏｆｔｈｅｅｌｅｃｔｒｏｓｔａｔｉｃｐｒｅｃｉｐｉｔａｔｏｒ (ＥＳＰ)ｆｏｒｃｏｌｌｅｃｔｉｎｇｔｈｅｓｕｂｍｉｃｒｏｎｐａｒｔｉｃｌｅｓ ,ｔｈｅｅｌｅｃｔｒｉｃａｌａｇｇｌｏｍｅｒａｔｉｏｎｍｅｔｈｏｄｈａｓｌｅｄｔｏａｎｉｎｃｒｅａｓｉｎｇｉｎｔｅｒｅｓｔｉｎｒｅｄｕｃｉｎｇｔｈｅｅｍｉｓｓｉｏｎｏｆｔｈｅｆｉｎｅｐａｒｔｉｃｌｅｓ .Ｍａｎｙａｕｔｈｏｒｓｈａｖｅｓｔｕｄｉｅｄｅｌｅｃｔｒｉｃａｌａｇｇｌｏｍｅｒａｔｉ…     

人与非洲猎豹相处的日子

我从路华汽车里小心翼翼地滑出来，带着大型摄影机以及各式各样的器材，这可不是件容易的事。     

Sustainable resource management coupled to resilient germplasm to provide new intensive cereal–grain–legume–livestock systems in the dry savanna

Sustainable resource management is the critical agricultural research and development challenge in sub-Saharan Africa. The accumulated knowledge on soil management gathered over the last 10 years, combined with solid crop improvement and plant health research at farmers’ level, has brought us to a stage where we can now address with confidence the intensification of cereal–grain–legume-based cropping systems in the dry savanna of West Africa in a sustainable and environmentally positive manner.Two sustainable farming systems that greatly enhance the productivity and sustainability of integrated livestock systems have been developed and implemented in the dry savanna of Nigeria. These are: (i) maize (Zea mays L.)–promiscuous soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotations that combine high nitrogen fixation and the ability to kill large numbers of Striga hermonthica seeds in the soil; and (ii) miflet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaerth] and dual-purpose cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.]. Improvement of the cropping systems in the dry savanna has been driven by the adoption of promiscuously nodulating soybean varieties (in particular TGx 1448-2E) and dual-purpose cowpea. The rate of adoption is very high, even in the absence of an efficient seed distribution system. The number of farmers cultivating the improved varieties increased by 228% during the last 3 years. Increased production of promiscuous soybean has been stimulated by increased demand from industries and home utilization. Production in Nigeria was estimated at 405,000 t in 1999 compared to less than 60,000 t in 1984. Economic analysis of these systems shows already an increase of 50–70% in the gross incomes of adopting farmers compared to those still following the current practices, mainly continuous maize cultivation. Furthermore, increases in legume areas of 10% in Nigeria (about 30,000 ha in the northern Guinea savanna) and increases of 20% in yield have translated into additional fixed nitrogen valued annually at US$ 44 million. This reflects, at the same time, an equivalent increase in land-use productivity, and with further spread of the improved crops, there are excellent prospects for additional economic and environmental benefits from a very large recommendation domain across West Africa.     

Inter and intra-population variation in shoaling and boldness in the zebrafish (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Danio rerio</Emphasis>)

Population differences in anti-predator behaviour have been demonstrated in several species, although less is known about the genetic basis of these traits. To determine the extent of genetic differences in boldness (defined as exploration of a novel object) and shoaling within and between zebrafish (Danio rerio) populations, and to examine the genetic basis of shoaling behaviour in general, we carried out a study that involved laboratory-raised fish derived from four wild-caught populations. Controlling for differences in rearing environment, significant inter-population differences were found in boldness but not shoaling. A larger shoaling experiment was also performed using one of the populations as the basis of a North Carolina type II breeding design (174 fish in total) to estimate heritability of shoaling tendency. A narrow-sense heritability estimate of 0.40 was obtained, with no apparent dominance effects.