Public acceptance of tree health management: Results of a national survey in the UK

Assumptions about public stakeholder attitudes to pest and disease management can influence the decisions of forest managers and NGOs involved in responding to pests and diseases; however, they are rarely assessed directly. Evidence on the social acceptability of tree health management methods is required to inform government led policy and management. A nationally representative survey of 2000 members of the UK public was used to address two research questions: (1) How acceptable are tree health management methods to the public? (2) How do opinions about woodland functions, concern and awareness of tree pests and diseases, and demographics influence acceptance of management methods? We found that public stakeholders are highly supportive of tree health management; however, knowledge about tree pests, diseases, and management options is low. Methods seen as more targeted and ‘natural’ were preferred, e.g. felling and burning only affected trees and using biological control rather than chemical control. There were demographic differences in attitudes: men and older people are more likely to support management interventions and stronger management methods than females and younger people. Acceptance of management can also differ according to location and local context (e.g. management is less supported when it may impact on wildlife) and values (e.g. those with economic values are more supportive of management). These findings provide evidence to support current government initiatives on tree health and should improve confidence amongst managers tasked with carrying out tree pest and disease management. However, there is a need for in-depth qualitative studies to explain the beliefs which influence demographic variations in acceptance and the influence of concepts such as ‘nativeness’ and ‘naturalness’.     

Nutrient fluxes at the landscape level and the R* rule

Nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems involves not only the vertical recycling of nutrients at specific locations in space, but also biologically driven horizontal fluxes between different areas of the landscape. This latter process can result in net accumulation of nutrients in some places and net losses in others. We examined the effects of such nutrient-concentrating fluxes on the R* rule, which predicts that the species that can survive in steady state at the lowest level of limiting resource, R*, can exclude all competing species. To study the R* rule in this context, we used a literature model of plant growth and nutrient cycling in which both nutrients and light may limit growth, with plants allocating carbon and nutrients between foliage and roots according to different strategies. We incorporated the assumption that biological processes may concentrate nutrients in some parts of the landscape. We assumed further that these processes draw nutrients from outside the zone of local recycling at a rate proportional to the local biomass density. Analysis showed that at sites where there is a sufficient biomass-dependent accumulation of nutrients, the plant species with the highest biomass production rates (roughly corresponding to the best competitors) do not reduce locally available nutrients to a minimum concentration level (that is, minimum R*), as expected from the R* rule, but instead maximize local nutrient concentration. These new results require broadening of our understanding of the relationships between nutrients and vegetation competition on the landscape level. The R* rule is replaced by a more complex criterion that varies across a landscape and reduces to the R* rule only under certain limiting conditions.     

Distribution and trends of mercury in deciduous tree cores

The distribution of total mercury (THg) within common deciduous trees and the applicability of tree cores as biomonitors of historical environmental THg trends were assessed for both contaminated and reference sites around Kingston, Ontario. Samples were collected from Acer spp., Quercus spp. Populus spp. and Salix spp. Bark and wood THg concentrations were found to be highly correlated whereas soil and wood THg concentrations were not. There were no temporal relationships for THg in dated tree rings corresponding with any other known environmental Hg trends. The shoreline speciess, Populus and Salix spp., had the greatest bark and wood Hg concentrations reaching 18 ng/g, significantly higher than for inland trees Quercus and Acer spp. with maximum values of 7 and 1.2 ng/g for bark and wood respectively. While tree cores cannot be reliably used as temporal THg biomonitors, there is promise for tree species such as Populus spp and Salix spp as spatial indicators of local long-term Hg contamination.     

Chemometrical classification of biomonitoring analytical data for heavy metals part I. trees (leaves) as bioindicators

The application of tree species (leaves) as biomonitoring devices is studies by the use of cluster analysis. It is shown that the chemical analysis of leaf samples should be accompanied by a careful chemometrical data treatment in order to obtain a reliable information on the behaviour of various tree species to heavy metal exposure (8 trees for three heavy metals in twelve different places) in fall and spring season. Additionally, the distribution of the sampling sites is studied by the same approach and a commentary on the urban aspects of sampling is given.     

ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITING: Risk Assessment in the Face of Controversy: Tree Clearing and Salinization in North Queensland

/ Several lines of evidence were followed to assess the risk of salinization after tree clearing in the upper Burdekin River basin in north Queensland. Conceptual, biophysical process-based approaches (pedological interpretation, event tree analysis, one-dimensional water balance modeling, and Boolean spatial analysis) were compared to empirical methods and field evidence. The convergence of all lines of conceptual reasoning to the conclusion that there exists a risk of salinization in north Queensland, consistent with field evidence of naturally occurring waterlogging and salinity, strengthens the argument against tree clearing.     

Removal of heavy metals（Cr~（6＋），Ni~（2＋）） from polluted water using decaying leaves of plane（Plantanus orientalis）

Ｒｅｍｏｖａｌｏｆｈｅａｖｙｍｅｔａｌｓ（Ｃｒ~（６＋），Ｎｉ~（２＋））ｆｒｏｍｐｏｌｌｕｔｅｄｗａｔｅｒｕｓｉｎｇｄｅｃａｙｉｎｇｌｅａｖｅｓｏｆｐｌａｎｅ（Ｐｌａｎｔａｎｕｓｏｒｉｅｎｔａｌｉｓ）￥ＴａｎＺｈｉｑｕｎ（ＴｚｉｔｓｃｈｕｎｇＴ．Ｔａ...     

三峡库区城市生活垃圾的理化性质研究

对三峡库区重点区县的城市生活垃圾堆场进行了采样分析，研究了堆存垃圾的组分；氮、磷、钾、重金属等指标；热值、含水率等理化性质；可生物降解度（COD）等，分析了垃圾对环境的影响，为库区城市生活垃圾的处理处置提供了技术支持。     

快速检测烟叶中的呋喃丹,抗蚜威,甲霜灵

本文提出一种快速、高效提取净化烟叶中的呋喃丹、抗蚜威、甲霜灵的前处理方法和用氮磷检测器检测的气相色谱法。该法的最低检出浓度００２ ～００５ｍｇ·ｋｇ － １ ， 在烟叶中的平均加标回收率为９０６ ～１０２６ ％ ， 变异系数２３９ ～５６２ ％ 。     

一株降低烟草中特有亚硝胺细菌的分离鉴定及特性研究

从白肋烟TRM品种叶片中分离得到一株能降低白肋烟烟草中特有的亚硝胺(TSNA)含量的内生细菌菌株,该菌株能还原硝酸盐和亚硝酸盐.通过形态、生理生化特性分析以及16SrDNA序列进行同源比较,鉴定该菌株为根瘤土壤杆菌属,定名为Agrobaterium tumefaciens.该菌株最佳生长温度为25～30℃,最佳培养基为TSB,最适pH值为7.0～8.0.在采收前一天,对白肋烟品种TN86进行菌株喷洒处理;检测晾制期间TSNA、硝酸盐、亚硝酸盐含量变化.结果表明,在晾制前期,TSNA含量比较低且变化幅度较小;晾制30d时,TSNA含量达到最大;在晾制末期,喷洒菌株处理的烟叶中TSNA含量有明显的降低,比同一时期对照烟叶中TSNA含量降低了81.3%;常规化学成分及烟叶感官质量与对照相似,都达到了优级白肋烟标准.通过分析该菌株对硝酸盐、亚硝酸盐及TSNA的影响,推测该菌株可能通过还原亚硝酸盐,使亚硝酸盐含量减少,从而降低了TSNA的形成.     

Heavy metals accumulation in tree leaves from urban areas

Higher plants may be used as biomonitors for the assessment of atmospheric heavy metal pollution by means of their bioaccumulative properties. We evaluated the reliability of biomonitoring heavy metal pollution by horse chestnut and linden leaves, common species found in Belgrade city parks. The results show that the highest concentrations of heavy metals were found in horse chestnut leaves at Studentski Park site, amounting to 110.2, 20.3 and 4.9 g g^–1 dry weight for Cu, Pb and Cd, respectively, which are considered above toxic levels for plants.Selected article from the Regional Symposium on Chemistry and Environment, Krusevac, Serbia, June 2003, organised by Dr. Branimir Jovancicevic.