Search results for "wt"

Structural variables drive the distribution of the sensitive lichen Lobaria pulmonaria in Mediterranean old-growth forests

2015

a b s t r a c t We tested the hypothesis that structural variables related to old-growth features affect the distribution of Lobaria pulmonaria in a Mediterranean National Park of Italy. A total of 36 plots, with old-growth characteristics and representing overall three forest types (beech- oak- and mixed- forests) were studied. The lichen was absent in about half of the sites, suggesting that the selection of old-growth forests based solely on structural features is not sufficient to predict the presence of this species, which therefore proves to be rather sensitive and selective. Its abundance was related to high tree circumference and basal area, and to availability of deadwood, confirmi…

Age and spatial structure of natural Pinus sylvestris stands in Latvia

2005

Abstract The age and spatial structure of six natural old growth Pinus sylvestris stands in Latvia were investigated, to attempt to identify retrospectively the past features of development. In each stand, one or two plots of size 200–900 m2 were established. Tree locations were mapped, stem diameter was measured, and tree age was determined from cores or by counting branch whorls. Tree distribution was assessed by Ripley's K function. A clumped spatial pattern was shown for P. sylvestris younger than 100 years. The temporal patterns of establishment could be partly linked to favourable climatic periods. The major disturbance affecting pine stands along the coast was windblown sand, which p…

Response of wood-inhabiting fungal community to fragmentation in a beech forest landscape

2014

Fragmentation of natural habitats has become one of the main causes of the loss of biodiversity. To assess the effects of forest fragmentation on wood-inhabiting fungal community in a beech-dominated landscape, 15 differently shaped beech forest fragments were examined in northern Spain. This work covers all the wood-inhabiting macromycetes, including Basidiomycota and Ascomycota. A modelling approach was used to examine the predictability of the fungal community in a fragmented beech forest landscape. In the beech forest patches, a large proportion of edge, low tree densities and low levels of variety of woody debris caused a decrease of wood-inhabiting fungal richness. The fungal communit…

Tectonothermal Evolution of the Broadly Rifted Zone, Ethiopian Rift

2019

The Broadly Rifted Zone (BRZ) of southern Ethiopia is a long-lived and structurally complex segment of the East African Rift System. However, due to poor surface exposure of early synrift strata and a dearth of subsurface data, the evolution of the BRZ remains poorly understood. We present new apatite (U-Th-Sm)/He and augmented apatite fission track low-temperature thermochronology data from the Beto and Galana basin boundary fault systems to constrain the tectonothermal evolution of the western and eastern BRZ, respectively. Time-temperature reconstructions suggest that East African Rift System-related extension began concurrently across the BRZ in the early Miocene (20–17 Ma), at least 6 …

A comparison of different methods for speleothem age modelling

2012

Abstract Speleothems, such as stalagmites and flowstones, can be dated with unprecedented precision in the range of the last 650,000 a by the 230Th/U-method, which is considered as one of their major advantages as climate archives. However, a standard approach for the construction of speleothem age models and the estimation of the corresponding uncertainty has not been established yet. Here we apply five age modelling approaches ( StalAge , OxCal, a finite positive growth rate model and two spline-based models) to a synthetic speleothem growth model and two natural samples. All data sets contain problematic features such as outliers, age inversions, large and abrupt changes in growth rate a…

Effects of salinity, temperature and food level on the demographic characteristics of the seawater rotifer Synchaeta littoralis Rousselet.

2001

A strain of the seawater species Synchaeta littoralis, isolated from a Spanish Mediterranean coastal salt marsh, was cultured in the laboratory and fed with the alga Tetraselmis sp. The effect of three salinities (25 per thousand, 30 per thousand and 35 per thousand), two temperatures (20 degrees C and 25 degrees C) and two food levels (75,000 and 150,000 cells ml(-1)) on demographic parameters was studied using a life table approach. Average lifespan (LS) ranged between 4.0 and 7.3 days, net reproductive rate (R(0)) between 4.2 and 9.1 offspring per female, and intrinsic growth rate (r) between 0.50 and 0.95 day(-1). Salinity and temperature had a significant negative effect (***p<0.001) o…

Larval fish assemblages in the central Mediterranean Sea: spatio spatio-temporal dynamics and biological effect on early life stage of Sardinella aur…

Greenhouse gas emissions from membrane bioreactors

2018

Nowadays, it is widely accepted that wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are significant sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, significantly contributing to anthropogenic sources of GHG emission. Among the GHG emitted from WWTPs, nitrous oxide (N2O) has been identified as the potentially major component, since its high global warming potential (GWP) is 298 times higher than that of Carbon dioxide (CO2) and also to its capability to react with stratospheric ozone, causing the ozone layer depletion. Up to now, most of the experimental investigations aimed at assessing the key mechanisms of N2O formation, as well as the operational conditions that can enhance its emission, have been carrie…

Consequences of the Digital Economy : Transformation of the Growth Concept

2018

The digital economy is transforming the traditional concepts of economic growth.The recent reversal trend in GDP growth of ICT leaders can be attributed to effective utilization of soft innovation resources in Finland and adherence to traditional resources in Singapore.Confronting a productivity decline in the digital economy, global information and communication technology (ICT) leaders are transforming business models into those with uncaptured GDP creation. This can be attributed tothe harnessing soft innovation resourcesagainst a productivity decline. This in turn activates a self-propagating function and induces supra-functionality beyond economic value corresponding to a shift in peop…

Angiopoietin-2 plasma dosage predicts time to first treatment and overall survival in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

2010

Abstract The clinical relevance of angiopoietin-2 (Ang2) in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) was previously suggested by the association between high Ang2, and shorter progression-free survival reported in small series of patients. Here, we evaluated Ang2 glycoprotein levels in plasma samples collected from a multicentric cohort of CLL patients (n = 316) using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method, and we investigated its prognostic role in relation to time to first treatment (TTFT) and overall survival. Based on a cutoff equal to 2459 pg/mL, we divided our cohort in 2 subsets (high and low Ang2) composing 100 (31.6%) and 216 (68.4%) patients, respectively. High Ang2 was predictive …