Temporal variability in 20 chemical elements content of Parasol Mushroom (Macrolepiota procera) collected from two sites over a few years

Mature specimens of Parasol Mushroom were collected annually in the outskirts of the Siemiany (2000–2003) and Rafa (2001–2003) sites in the northern part of Poland to examine temporal variations and similarities in the composition of 20 chemical elements. Analysis was done under the same condition and using well-validated analytical methods. Elements were determined by inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectroscopy and cold vapour–atomic absorption spectroscopy (Hg). The ranges of Ag, Al, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cu, Cr, Fe, Hg, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Rb, Sr and Zn concentrations in the caps of fruiting bodies were similar (p > 0.05; Mann-Whitney U test) for both geographically distant sites, and these specimens from Rafa were more contaminated with Pb (p < 0.05; Mann-Whitney U test). The annual collections of caps in the Siemiany site varied in Ag, Al, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Hg, Na, Rb and Sr and contents (0.05 < p < 0.001), while they were similar in Cr, K, Mg, Mn, Ni, P, Pb and Zn (p > 0.05; Mann-Whitney U test). The annual collections of specimens from the Rafa site varied in contents of Ag, Al, Ba, Ca, Fe, Hg, K, Mg, Mn, P, Rb and Zn (p > 0.05), while they were similar in Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Na, Ni, Pb and Sr (p < 0.05). The results of this study imply that metallic elements content of Parasol Mushroom collected at the same undisrupted sites, and hence keeping the same geochemical condition for mushroom development and fructification (the same stands and probably the same mycelia), can fluctuate over the years or the life-span of mycelium. Hence, when assessing the nutritional value of essential metallic elements and status of non-essential or toxic metallic elements in Parasol's Mushroom caps (and probably also of other mushrooms species) to man, the possible fluctuation in contents over time have to be taken into account.     

Rainfall Runoff Relationships for a Cloud Forest Watershed in Central America: Implications for Water Resource Engineering1

Caballero, Luis A., Alon Rimmer, Zachary M. Easton, and Tammo S. Steenhuis, 2012. Rainfall Runoff Relationships for a Cloud Forest Watershed in Central America: Implications for Water Resource Engineering. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(5): 1022‐1031. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2012.00668.x Abstract: Understanding the basic relationships between rainfall and runoff is vital for effective management and utilization of scarce water resources. Especially, this is important in Central America with widespread potable water shortage during the dry months of the monsoon. Potential good water sources are cloud forests, but little information concerning its potential is available to water supply engineers. Our objective is to define rainfall‐runoff‐base flow relationships for a cloud forest catchment. Flumes were installed for measuring river flow in four subwatersheds in La Tigra National Park, Honduras. One of the four watersheds was a 636‐ha subwatershed (WS1) with 60% cloud forest coverage. Precipitation averaged 1,130 mm/yr over the entire basin. About half of the total rainfall became runoff for the cloud forest watershed whereas, for the adjacent undisturbed forested watershed, the total discharge was <20% of the amount of precipitation. Infiltration rates were generally greater than rainfall rates. Therefore, most rainfall infiltrated into the soil, especially in the upper, steep, and well‐drained portions of the watershed. Direct runoff was generated from saturated areas near the river and exposed bedrock. This research provides compelling evidence that base flow is the primary contributor to streamflow during both wet and dry seasons in cloud forest catchments. Protecting these flow processes over time is critical for the sustained provision of potable water.     

Carbon exchange between ecosystems and atmosphere in the Czech Republic is affected by climate factors

By comparing five ecosystem types in the Czech Republic over several years, we recorded the highest carbon sequestration potential in an evergreen Norway spruce forest (100%) and an agroecosystem (65%), followed by European beech forest (25%) and a wetland ecosystem (20%). Because of a massive ecosystem respiration, the final carbon gain of the grassland was negative. Climate was shown to be an important factor of carbon uptake by ecosystems: by varying the growing season length (a 22-d longer season in 2005 than in 2007 increased carbon sink by 13%) or by the effect of short- term synoptic situations (e.g. summer hot and dry days reduced net carbon storage by 58% relative to hot and wet days). Carbon uptake is strongly affected by the ontogeny and a production strategy which is demonstrated by the comparison of seasonal course of carbon uptake between coniferous (Norway spruce) and deciduous (European beech) stands.     

高原牧区自然生态价值的测算——以四川省甘孜藏族自治州新龙县为例

自然生态系统提供人类需要的各种服务,有广泛的使用价值,其中生态服务功能,即无形资产的价值最为重要。本文对新龙县环境的特殊性进行了分析,根据影响生态价值的相关因素,计算了新龙县天然林和天然草地的生态服务功能平均价值,并进一步计算出新龙县1999~2003年受到保护和管理的天然林和天然草地的生态服务功能价值。结果显示,新龙县天然林的生态服务功能平均价值为11837元/hm2,草地为7915元/hm2,1999~2003年,新龙县生态服务功能价值增加值占调整后GDP的比重高达65%~85%。但这部分价值长期未得到统计和合理的补偿,为实现流域环境和经济的可持续发展,建议建立国家、地方、区域、行业多层次的补偿系统,同时逐步完善市场机制。     

林产品绿色政府采购内涵及衡量标准分析

林产品绿色政府采购是世界森林保护的新兴议题,一些发达国家已开始实施.分析了林产品绿色政府采购的内涵、合法性和可持续性标准的定义,以及在实践过程中的具体操作方法,认为林产品绿色政府采购虽然为解决森林可持续经营问题提供了新的思路,但是在实践中却可能导致负面效应,客观上成为发达国家新的木材贸易壁垒.     

Environmental Services Provided from Riparian Forests in the Nordic Countries

Riparian forests (RF) growing along streams, rivers and lakes comprise more than 2% of the forest area in the Nordic countries (considering a 10 m wide zone from the water body). They have special ecological functions in the landscape. They receive water and nutrients from the upslope areas, are important habitats for biodiversity, have large soil carbon stores, but may emit more greenhouse gases (GHG) than the uplands. In this article, we present a review of the environmental services related to water protection, terrestrial biodiversity, carbon storage and greenhouse gas dynamics provided by RF in the Nordic countries. We discuss the benefits and trade-offs when leaving the RF as a buffer against the impacts from upland forest management, in particular the impacts of clear cutting. Forest buffers are effective in protecting water quality and aquatic life, and have positive effects on terrestrial biodiversity, particularly when broader than 40 m, whereas the effect on the greenhouse gas exchange is unclear.     

Comparison of community composition and species diversity of understorey and overstorey tree species in a dry tropical forest of northern India

The study focuses on understorey-overstorey plant community dynamics in a dry tropical forest to facilitate appropriate management decisions. We compare community composition and species diversity of the understorey vegetation among five dry tropical forest sites in northern India. A total of 1500 quadrats distributed over 15 one-ha permanent plots in five sites differing in the degree of disturbance, were used to enumerate the understorey tree species and the results were compared with overstorey tree layer. The non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMS) ordination revealed that human disturbance intensity, as well as the overall disturbance regimes, and soil water holding capacity controlled the organisation of dry tropical forest understorey composition through effects on soil organic matter. The alpha-diversity and its components decreased with increasing human disturbance intensity, reflecting utilisation pressure and decreased soil fertility, as also revealed by the analysis of overstorey tree layer. There was a significant positive relationship between overstorey and understorey diversity. Results suggest that in the future, the existing understorey tree communities may replace the current dry tropical forest communities under prevailing environmental conditions. The study also asserts that the rate of species accumulation will be greater in more disturbed sites as well as at small spatial scale within each disturbance level.     

Including Riparian Vegetation in the Definition of Morphologic Reference Conditions for Large Rivers: A Case Study for Europe’s Western Plains

Methods for defining and retrieving reference conditions for large rivers were explored with emphasis on hydromorphologic and biologic quality indicators. For a set of four large rivers in the European Western Plains ecoregion, i.e., the rivers Meuse, Loire, Allier, and Dordogne, reference reaches were selected based on geomorphologic characteristics. A survey of riparian land use, vegetation, and bed geometry was done for the selected reaches. Responses of the riparian landscape to hydromorphologic conditions were determined with a set of existing and newly developed measures of riparian dynamics and forest development. Strong correlations were observed at the reach and local levels between the ratios of width to depth and embankment and the developed measures of riparian dynamics and forest. Boundary conditions for riparian forest development were determined for the hydromorphologic and biologic indicators of riparian dynamics and vegetation structure. These conditions also proved useful for determining the presence of sustainable populations of Populus nigra and Salix purpurea. From this agreement between abiotic and biotic boundary conditions, a set of useful reference conditions was determined, and a framework for the definition of reference and good status conditions subsequently evolved. Finally, a proposal for assessment and monitoring the proposed indicators is discussed for its applicability.     

Evapotranspiration in the Meso‐Scale Forested Watersheds in Minjiang Valley,West China1

Abstract: Information on evapotranspiration (ET) can help us understand water balance, particularly in forested watersheds. Previous studies in China show that ET was relatively low (30‐40% of total precipitation) in the Minjiang Valley located in the upper reach of the Yangtze River Basin. However, this conclusion was derived from research on small‐scale watersheds (<100 km²). The objective of this paper was to present ET information on meso‐scale watersheds in the Minjiang Valley. Four meso‐scale watersheds (1,700‐5,600 km²) located in the Minjiang Valley were used to estimate ET using the water balance approach. We first generated forest vegetation variables (coniferous forest percentage, forest cover percentage, and derived forest vegetation index) using remote sensing data. Landsat 5 TM satellite images, acquired on June 26, 1994, were selected for the vegetation classification. Actual annual ET was calculated based on 11‐year estimated precipitation and measured streamflow data (1992‐2002). We also calculated potential ET (PET) using an improved Thornthwaite model for all four watersheds for the period of 1992‐1998. PET can provide additional information about potential capacity of water flux to atmosphere in the region. Seasonal (dry and rainy) PET and ET for all studied watersheds were also estimated for comparison purposes as the water balance approach, at shorter than annual scales, would likely provide inaccurate estimates of ET. The dominant vegetations in the Minjiang Valley were grasslands, conifer forests, and shrub‐lands. Our results confirmed that both ET and PET for three studied meso‐scale watersheds in the Minjiang Valley is relatively low (39.5‐43.8 and 28.2‐47.7% for ET and PET, respectively), with an exception of ET in the Yuzixi watershed being 71.1%. This result is generally consistent with previous research at small watershed scales. Furthermore, the low ET across various scales in the Minjiang Valley may be related to the unique deeply cut valley environment.     

尤溪群众性森林资源保护"三防"体系建设浅议

集体林权制度改革后,尤溪林业呈现经营主体多元化、经营形式多样化、林权结构分散化的新格局。如何切实有效地解决森林资源保护"三防"难的问题,是尤溪现代林业发展所面临的现实问题。根据"民办、民营、民监督、民受益"的原则,尤溪在全县集体和个体私人林权所有者自愿组合、自定章程、自收会费、自主管理、互惠互利的前提下,于2003年在福建省率先成立了护林防火、联防联治森林病虫害,防止盗砍滥伐林木的群众性"三防"协会,构建了森林资源保护长效新机制。本文论述了尤溪森林资源保护"三防"体系的成立背景、组建形式、重要作用,提出了今后"三防"体系建设的一些建议。