Hasil untuk "Forestry"

Yong LI, Jin HUANG, Fangyuan SONG et al.

Photosynthesis is the basic metabolic process of plants and the efficiency of photosynthesis is a direct result of crop yield and quality. The functions of MnPsbA, MnRbcL, and MnRCA in mulberry were investigated. The coding regions of MnPsbA, MnRbcL, and MnRCA were found to be 1062 bp, 1428 bp, and 1314 bp in length, respectively, encoding proteins of 353, 475, and 437 amino acids. MnPsbA, AtPsbA, PtPsbA1, and PtPsbA2 all contain the highly conserved Photo_RC domain and exhibit high sequence similarity. Both MnRbcL and AtRbcL contain the RuBisCO_large and RuBisCO_large_N domains, showing high homology, while PtRbcL lacks the RuBisCO_large_N domain at its C-terminus. MnRCA shares 80.7% homology with AtRCA, which 83.4% and 83.0% homology with PtRCA1 and PtRCA2, respectively. All these proteins contain the highly conserved AAA domain. The tertiary structures of MnPsbA, MnRbcL, and MnRCA show significant differences in folding and spatial orientation. Expression levels of MnPsbA, MnRbcL, and MnRCA were highest in E1 and lowest in H32. Transgenic Arabidopsis leaves exhibited significantly higher Pn peak values compared to the wild type. Additionally, the transgenic lines had significantly higher ΦPSII, qP, Chla, Chlb, and total Chl levels than the wild type. Although RuBP enzyme activity was greater in the transgenic lines, the increase was not significant. These results indicate that MnPsbA, MnRbcL, and MnRCA contribute to the photosynthesis of mulberry to varying extents. Enhancing the photosynthetic rate of mulberry leaves through these genes could potentially increase yield.

Wang Na, Li Le, Zhang Zebin et al.

Determining the chemical characteristics of atmospheric precipitation and its source contributions is critical for improving atmospheric environmental quality and water security. In this study, we analyzed the pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), and major ion concentrations of precipitation from 2000 to 2021 at 29 monitoring stations in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), which typically experiences acid rain. Correlation analysis, the Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) model, and other statistical methods were used to analyze the correlations between the major ion concentrations and their source contributions. The results indicate that the pH, EC, and Fractional Acidity (FA) of precipitation from 2000 to 2021 ranged from 4.66 ± 0.18 to 5.91 ± 0.45, from 1.63 ± 0.59 to 5.49 ± 1.62 mS/m, and from 0.05 ± 0.06 to 0.19 ± 0.13, respectively. The pH exhibited interannual variations (first decreasing and then increasing), whereas EC and FA exhibited the opposite trend. The total ion concentrations in precipitation ranged from 166.63 ± 46.56 to 631.48 ± 212.83 μeq/L, which first increased and then decreased. The weighted equivalent ion concentrations were in order of SO42- > Ca2+ > NH4+ > NO3- > Cl- > Na+ > K+ > Mg2+ > F-. SO42-, NO3-, Ca2+, and NH4+ were the main ions, accounting for 72.98% of the total concentration. The ratio of the SO42- concentration to the total concentration decreased from 32.71% in 2000 to 14.33% in 2021, whereas NO3- increased from 9.03% to 13.74% during the same period. The ratio of SO42- to NO3- concentrations (SO42-/NO3-) decreased by 65.95% from 2000 to 2021. After 2008, the SO42-/NO3- values ranged from 0.5 to 3, and precipitation shifted from a sulfuric acid type to a mixed sulfuric-nitric acid type. This change indicates that increased NOx emissions in the PRD under urbanization and agricultural intensification altered the structure of precipitation pollution and further increased the complexity of regional air pollution. The ions were highly significantly positively correlated, of which NO3- and SO42- had the strongest positive correlation (r=0.69‒0.74). Generally, NOx and SO2 are emitted together and enter precipitation via overlapping pathways. Of the six ion sources, coal combustion had the highest contribution rates (a>60%) to SO42- and F-, while secondary inorganic salts contributed 82.30% of the NO3-. Agriculture, sea salt, biomass combustion, and dust contributed > 70% of the NH4+, Na+, K+, and Ca2+. The contribution rates of secondary inorganic salts to SO42-, Cl-, and NH4+ were also greater than 25%. Owing to the increase in motor vehicles driven by urbanization, the impacts of secondary inorganic salt sources on ions in precipitation have become more extensive, and controlling NOx emissions to effectively control secondary pollution sources is urgently required.

Cosmin Ilie Cuciurean, Andrei Popa

Conferința internațională EGU24 a avut loc la Viena în perioada 14-19 aprilie 2024. Această conferință reunește cercetători din întreaga lume din toate disciplinele științelor Pământului, planetare și spațiale. Ediția din acest an a atras aproape 21000 de participanți. Dintre aceștia, 18388 din 116 țări au participat fizic, iar restul de 2591 din 109 țări au participat online. Conferința a fost organizată în 1044 de sesiuni pe diferite teme, cu un total de 18896 de prezentări. Fiind o conferință care încurajează în mod special cercetătorii aflați la începutul carierei, 57% dintre prezentări au fost susținute de tineri cercetători. Această conferință este atât o bună ocazie de a disemina rezultatele obținute de tinerii cercetători, cât și o bună ocazie de a-și îmbunătăți baza de cunoștințe prin participarea la diverse cursuri de formare.

Huaiyuan Wu, Shuangshuang Chu, Xiuqin Ouyang et al.

Soil carbon mineralization plays an important role in the carbon cycle of terrestrial ecosystems. When it comes to the soil carbon cycle, however, research on how carbon mineralization characteristics of fertilized <i>Camellia oleifera</i> forest soil respond to temperature changes remains limited. This study used an indoor constant temperature incubation method to examine the effects of the vermicomposting of cow dung by applying it at three different quantities (A: 0.8 kg earthworm + 62.5 kg cow dung/<i>Camellia oleifera</i>; B: 1.6 kg earthworm + 125 kg cow dung/<i>Camellia oleifera</i>; C: 2.4 kg earthworm + 187.5 kg cow dung/<i>Camellia oleifera</i>) and set a control group with <i>Camellia oleifera</i> forest not being fertilized (CK). This research was conducted with incubators set at 5 °C, 15 °C, 25 °C, and 35 °C, and with continuous monitoring of soil carbon mineralization characteristics and temperature sensitivity of organic carbon mineralization. The results showed significant increases in soil MBC, MBN, DOC, DON, NO₃⁻-N, and NH₄⁺-N in groups with applications of cow-dung vermicomposting compared to CK. Except at 35 °C, soil respiration in the <i>Camellia oleifera</i> of Group A was consistently the strongest. The maximum soil carbon emission (C₀) was determined through a simulation of potential carbon emissions, with all correlation coefficients exceeding 0.95. The contents of TC and TN were positively correlated with MBC and MBN (<i>p</i> <0.001), while the C: N_micro was negatively correlated with TN, AN, MBN, and inorganic nitrogen. Based on temperature sensitivity (Q₁₀), the influence of temperature on soil mineralization rate was observed. The vermicomposting of cow dung had a noticeable effect, as Group B showed significantly stronger enzyme activity compared to other groups. These results indicate that changes in MBC can impact the stability of soil carbon mineralization. The roles of soil moisture and microorganisms should be considered when predicting dynamic changes in the soil carbon pool of <i>Camellia oleifera</i> when applying fertilizers and improving its soil carbon sequestration capacity.

Tian Zhang, Jian Peng, Xiaoshu Cao

Increasing human activities have greatly influenced the ecosystem and the use of ecological resources, and the unbalanced urban–rural development in China (urban and rural areas being two major bases of human activities) has always been accompanied by heterogeneous ecological effects. Human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP) is an integrated indicator quantifying the human domination of productivity and harvest in the biosphere. Identifying the unbalanced constraints of urban and rural development on HANPP has become necessary for improving human–land relationships. This study analyzed the spatial distribution and regional differentiations of the HANPP in China in 2015 and investigated how HANPP and its components responded to unbalanced regional urban–rural development. The results show that the total amount of HANPP was 2.68 PgC and gradually decreased from the southeast to the northwest of China in 2015, representing 60.33% of the NPP_pot. In addition, HANPP_luc, harvest through cropland, livestock grazing, and forestry contributed 60.70%, 29.86%, 8.53%, and 0.91%, respectively, to the total HANPP, with HANPP_luc playing the dominant role in 21 provinces. There was a significant differentiation (<i>p</i> < 0.05) in the spatial distribution of HANPP (gC/m²), HANPP_harv (gC/m²), and HANPP_luc (gC/m²), especially between the Huanyong Hu Line and the western–eastern part of China, fundamentally resulting from uneven regional development. In addition, biomass production–consumption decoupling existed in most regions in China, 17 provinces were identified as consumption type, and a universal positive correlation (<i>p</i> < 0.05) was identified between the production–consumption ratio of occupied biomass and HANPP_harv (%HANPP). Different drive mechanisms were found between urban–rural development and HANPP, and each HANPP index was more likely to be affected by urban economy (UE), rural population (RP), and rural agricultural technology (RA) in China. The higher regional average nighttime light intensity, the proportion of the built-up area, and the urban road area corresponded with a large HANPP_luc value. Conversely, HANPP would decrease as the proportion of urban green spaces increased. Furthermore, HANPP (%NPP_pot) and HANPP (gC/m²) mostly depended on the rural development index, while HANPP_luc and HANPP_harv were mainly controlled by urban and rural development, respectively. Our findings help understand, first, how unbalanced regional development influences human-induced biomass occupation, the comprehensive urban ecological construction, and rural ecological restoration and, second, that the overall planning of urban–rural integration development must be strengthened to face greater ecological pressures in the future.

Anqi Xie, Jingyue Wu, Yajie Shi et al.

To identify herbaceous peony cultivars with strong photosynthetic productivity, we compared the photosynthetic characteristics of 20 herbaceous peony cultivars based on four photosynthetic characteristics parameters and established light–response curves under a light intensity gradient, using CIRAS-3 portable photosynthetic dynamic monitoring. The net photosynthetic rate (Pn) showed a “unimodal” diurnal variation pattern, with a peak around 12:00. The diurnal pattern of the transpiration rate was the same as that of Pn. Stomatal conductance values (Gs) showed similar patterns among the cultivars, with only small differences. The daily variation in intracellular CO₂ concentration (Ci) showed an opposite trend to that of Pn. When the photosynthetically active radiation was 0–400 μmol·m⁻²s⁻¹, Pn increased linearly and gradually with increasing light intensity. ‘Xueyuanhonghua’, ‘Qingwen’, ‘Taohuafeixue’, ‘Chifen’, and ‘Qihualushuang’ showed high photosynthetic productivity. ‘Xueyuanhonghua’, ‘Fushi’, ‘Qingwen’, ‘Tianshanhongxing’, ‘Qingtianlan’, ‘Dafugui’, and ‘Hongfushi’ had high light saturation points and the highest light resistance. ‘Xueyuanhonghua’, ‘Qingwen’, ‘Taohuafeixue’, ‘Tianshanhongxing’, ‘Qingtianlan’, ‘Guifeichacui’, ‘Chifen’, and ‘Hongxiuqiu’ had low light compensation points. Thus, two cultivars with strong photosynthetic productivity, ‘Xueyuanhonghua’ and ‘Qingwen’, can be cross-bred to obtain both light- and shade-tolerant plants. This study provides a theoretical basis for breeding new cultivars with high photosynthetic productivity.

Rongyu Liu, Duhua Li, Zhaoxue Zhang et al.

The genus Apiospora includes endophytes, pathogens and saprobes, with a wide host range and geographic distribution. In this paper, six Apiospora strains isolated from diseased and healthy tissues of bamboo leaves from Hainan and Shandong provinces in China were classified using a multi-locus phylogeny based on a combined dataset of ITS, LSU, tef1 and tub2, in conjunction with morphological characters, host association and ecological distribution. Two new species, Apiospora dongyingensis and A. hainanensis, and a new record of A. pseudosinensis in China, are described based on their distinct phylogenetic relationships and morphological analyses. Illustrations and descriptions of the three taxa are provided, along with comparisons with closely related taxa in the genus.

Haryono Setiyo Huboyo, Nurandani Hardyanti, Fera Meilasari

Noise is unwanted sound at a particular time and is sourced from any source. Data from the Pusarpedal Laboratory and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia show that railroad settlements' noise in Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Semarang, and Bandung is beyond quality standards. Tambakrejo Village, Gayamsari District, Semarang, one of the railroad settlements at JPL 05 Kaligawe Street, Semarang area, close to a railroad. This research aims to know the noise level of the settlements. The sampling of noise level is done for 24 hours by measuring the noise for each time interval, with a total of 16 measuring points for 4 areas with various distances, 2.5 m, 5 m, 10 m, and 15 m. The sampling result shows that the railroad settlements have a noise level rate of 91.8 dB at a distance of 2.5 m, 89.5 dB at 5 m, 85.2 dB at 10 m, and 81.5 dB at 15 m. According to NOISE REL regulation, the maximum noise level allowed is 85.57 dB during 421 minutes or 7.02-hour of exposure. This sampling result shows that the noise levels are beyond of quality standards of both NIOSH REL and PermenLH No. 48/1996.

Maryam Hafezparast Mavadat, Foroozan Payfeshorde

A lack of sufficient water resources, climate change, and especially global warming, is causing apprehension in societies, particularly in watershed managers. Scientists and engineers are forecasting climatic data to prevent the waste of water resources and to optimize their use in watersheds. The Aran Station in the Kangavar Watershed was chosen to predict the trend of temperature, precipitation, and runoff using the CMIP5 climate model. Benefiting from 33 years of data (1983 to 2015), the Gene Expression Programming method (GEPM) and Decision Tree methods were developed to train, test, and predict the river discharge rate. Different climate models were implemented using the historical data of the study area. The Fgoals-g2 was chosen to predict temperature and precipitation data for the 2020-2052 periods. The RCP2.5 climate scenario was used as an optimistic scenario, and the output of the change factor downscaling method was used as an input for the GEP model and the ORANGE Software to find the best prediction of the discharge parameter in the future. The results indicated that the temperature of the next cycle will increase by 13 degrees and the maximum monthly temperature will reach 31.18 degrees centigrade. The maximum monthly precipitation will increase by 4 percent and reach 169.51mm. The longtime yearly mean precipitation will change from 423.39 mm to 427.15 mm. The correlation coefficient of the test data in the GEPM was 0.70. The maximum monthly discharge will decrease 1.84 percent, from 29.31 to 28.77 cubic meters per second (m3s-1). The mean discharge will decrease 5.71 percent, from 3.33 to 3.14 cubic meters per second. The correlation coefficient of the test data in the decision tree regression method, using the ORANGE software was 0.995. The mean discharge will increase by 10 percent and reach 3.69 m3s-1. The maximum yearly discharge will decrease by 6 percent, from 7.62 to 7.12 m3s-1.

Kewat Sanjay Kumar, Vinod Prasad Khanduri, Shri Kant Tripathi

For the effective management of economically and ecologically valuable tree species, it is crucial to understand pollination and resource allocation particularly in biotic pollinated species. Gmelina arborea Roxb. growing in moist tropical forest of Indo-Burma region has high economic value for the pulp and paper, quality timber, medicines and a valuable component of agroforestry systems. We studied floral morphology, pollinating vectors and the reproductive potential of the species in natural forest during the flowering and fruiting seasons (March-June) of the years 2012 and 2013, which covered about one month period in each year. Floral morphometric traits, pollinating vectors, pollination and fruit formation were observed during the flowering season on ten randomly selected individuals within the population. Floral characters exhibited strong adaptations towards entomophily with emerging adaptation towards ornithophily. G arborea flowers were mainly visited by two legitimate functional groups of pollinators’ i.e. insects (e.g. Xylocopa violacea, Amegilla cingulata, Mylabris pustulata) and five birds species belonging to 2 families of order Passeriformes. Additionally, one species of squirrel (Callosciurus pygerthus) was noted to legitimately foraging the flowers. Xylocopa violacea ascertained highest visiting frequency over other pollinators. Xylcopa bee also exhibited high level of functional synchronization with floral morphology of G. arborea and ascertained as most important pollinator in the study region. However, long billed trait of passerines birds were important determinant for the bird species to act as potential pollinators in the species. Ornithophilic adaptation in G. arborea is key feature of the species to attract the birds and facilitates reproductive effort. There is significant role of both flower and pollen production (resource allocation) and availability of pollinating vectors (pollination limitation) in reproductive success. G. arborea shall be vital for insects and birds conservation through providing floral resources in natural forest and agroforestry land setting.

Dinggang Zhou, Xiaolan Liu, Shiwu Gao et al.

Abstract Background Sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrids) is considered the most globally important sugar-producing crop and raw material for biofuel. Insect attack is a major issue in sugarcane cultivation, resulting in yield losses and sucrose content reductions. Stem borer (Diatraea saccharalis F.) causes serious yield losses in sugarcane worldwide. However, insect-resistant germplasms for sugarcane are not available in any collections all over the world, and the molecular mechanism of insect resistance has not been elucidated. In this study, cry1Ac transgenic sugarcane lines were obtained and the biological characteristics and transgene dosage effect were investigated and a global exploration of gene expression by transcriptome analysis was performed. Results The transgene copies of foreign cry1Ac were variable and random. The correlation between the cry1Ac protein and cry1Ac gene copies differed between the transgenic lines from FN15 and ROC22. The medium copy lines from FN15 showed a significant linear relationship, while ROC22 showed no definite dosage effect. The transgenic lines with medium copies of cry1Ac showed an elite phenotype. Transcriptome analysis by RNA sequencing indicated that up/down regulated differentially expressed genes were abundant among the cry1Ac sugarcane lines and the receptor variety. Foreign cry1Ac gene and endogenous borer stress-related genes may have a synergistic effect. Three lines, namely, A1, A5, and A6, were selected for their excellent stem borer resistance and phenotypic traits and are expected to be used directly as cultivars or crossing parents for sugarcane borer resistance breeding. Conclusions Cry1Ac gene integration dramatically improved sugarcane insect resistance. The elite transgenic offspring contained medium transgene copies. Foreign cry1Ac gene integration and endogenous borer stress-related genes may have a synergistic effect on sugarcane insect resistance improvement.

Shinya Aoyama, Shuichi Kojima, Keisuke Sasaki et al.

Background: Atrogin1, which is one of the key genes for the promotion of muscle atrophy, exhibits day-night variation. However, its mechanism and the role of its day-night variation are largely unknown in a muscle atrophic context. Methods: The mice were induced a muscle atrophy by hindlimb-unloading (HU). To examine a role of circadian clock, Wild-type (WT) and Clock mutant mice were used. To test the effects of a neuronal effects, an unilateral ablation of sciatic nerve was performed in HU mice. To test a timing-dependent effects of weight-bearing, mice were released from HU for 4 h in a day at early or late active phase (W-EAP and W-LAP groups, respectively). Findings: We found that the day-night oscillation of Atrogin1 expression was not observed in Clock mutant mice or in the sciatic denervated muscle. In addition, the therapeutic effects of weight-bearing were dependent on its timing with a better effect in the early active phase. Interpretation: These findings suggest that the circadian clock controls the day-night oscillation of Atrogin1 expression and the therapeutic effects of weight-bearing are dependent on its timing. Fund: Council for Science, Technology, and Innovation, SIP, “Technologies for creating next-generation agriculture, forestry, and fisheries”. Keywords: Circadian rhythm, Chrono-exercise, Atrogin1, Hindlimb-unloading, Weight-bearing

Joel Hartter, Lawrence C. Hamilton, Angela E. Boag et al.

There is a growing consensus that climate is changing, but beliefs about the causal factors vary widely among the general public. Current research shows that such causal beliefs are strongly influenced by cultural, political, and identity-driven views. We examined the influence that local perceptions have on the acceptance of basic facts about climate change. We also examined the connection to wildfire by local people. Two recent telephone surveys found that 37% (in 2011) and 46% (in 2014) of eastern Oregon (USA) respondents accept the scientific consensus that human activities are now changing the climate. Although most do not agree with that consensus, large majorities (85–86%) do agree that climate is changing, whether by natural or human causes. Acceptance of anthropogenic climate change generally divides along political party lines, but acceptance of climate change more generally, and concerns about wildfire, transcend political divisions. Support for active forest management to reduce wildfire risks is strong in this region, and restoration treatments could be critical to the resilience of both communities and ecosystems. Although these immediate steps involve adaptations to a changing climate, they can be motivated without necessarily invoking human-caused climate change, a divisive concept among local landowners. Keywords: Climate change, Inland West, Public perception, Telephone survey, Wildfire, Working landscapes

Parviz Jokar, Masoud Masoudi, Somayeh Razaghi

Land-use planning is a science that specifies the optimized land-use based on ecological and socioeconomic characteristics. This study investigated ecological capability evaluation for agriculture and rangeland uses using the GIS in the Sepidan County, Fars Province. There are different methods for weighting of parameters. A proposed quantitative method was used in this research for weighting criteria and land-use evaluation compared to the current method of multi-criteria evaluation. In relation to the common method of multi-criteria evaluation, it uses weighting approach based on the Modified Analytic Hierarchy Process (M-AHP). The performance of each of the mentioned models was evaluated throughout error matrix. Results showed that the proposed method of Regional Weighting (RW) has higher accuracy than MCE (M-AHP) in estimation of the ecological potential of the study area. In overall, the results showed that the proposed method of Regional Weighting can be replaced with common methods of weighting due to simplicity, as it has no need for questionnaires, which saves time and costs.

Fanny Chomel, Olivier Chandioux, Albert Le Courbe

Les possibilités de nouveaux débouchés pour les produits de la filière bois en zone méditerranéenne nécessitent de redéfinir les sylvicultures, souvent minimalistes, qui sont appliquées actuellement aux pinèdes de Pin d’Alep. La phase de validation d’un modèle de croissance intégré à la plateforme de simulation CAPSIS a permis ensuite de simuler différents itinéraires sylvicoles, des plus passifs aux plus dynamiques. En parallèle, la réaction des jeunes peuplements à des interventions dès le plus jeune âge — non pris en compte par le modèle — a été caractérisée. Une évaluation de ces itinéraires sur les plans technique et économique permet alors de révéler que certains itinéraires préconisés pourraient répondre aux enjeux actuels de la filière forestière méditerranéenne.

V.S Kishan Kumar, C.M Sharma, Sachin Gupta

In this paper, an attempt was made to assess the effectiveness of finger jointing in utilising mango wood sections for various end uses like furniture. The study was based on the estimation of Modulus of elasticity and Modulus of rupture under static bending and Maximum Crushing Stress and Modulus of elasticity under compression parallel to grain of finger jointed sections and comparing them with the values measured for clear wood sections from the same lot. For joining the sections, the Poly Vinyl Acetate and Urea Formaldehyde  adhesives were used. It was found that the Modulus of elasticity of the sections joined by either adhesive showed significantly better values than that of unjointed clear wood sections. The Modulus of rupture values of sections joined with Urea Formaldehyde  were similar to those of unjointed clear wood sections. However, sections jointed with Poly Vinyl Acetate adhesive exhibited lower Modulus of rupture.  Under compression, the parameters of the jointed sections joined with either adhesive were either similar or better than those of the unjointed clear wood sections. The study demonstrates the utility of finger jointing of mango wood sections for furniture parts especially with the Urea Formaldehyde  adhesive.

Leandro Silva de Oliveira, Poliana Coqueiro Dias, Gilvano Ebling Brondani

A micropropagação apresenta um enorme potencial de aplicação para a multiplicação de genótipos de espécies florestais brasileiras de interesse. Os estudos relativos ao cultivo in vitro de espécies nativas estão relacionados, principalmente, à ausência de resposta morfogênica às demais técnicas de propagação bem como, à conservação in vitro de germoplasma. A micropropagação via proliferação de gemas axilares corresponde ao principal sistema de propagação in vitro utilizado para a multiplicação de genótipos selecionados, em razão da maior simplicidade ao comparar com a organogênese e embriogênese somática. Entretanto, em vista das espécies florestais nativas serem pouco estudadas, os avanços relacionados à propagação in vitro ainda são pouco expressivos. Dessa forma, é necessária a condução de novos trabalhos para promover avanços do cultivo in vitro nestas espécies, bem como o desenvolvimento de novas composições de meios de cultura. Também se observa a necessidade de se testar a interação de reguladores de crescimento ou, até mesmo, sistemas de biorreatores, buscando assim consolidar a técnica de micropropagação como estratégia aplicável na silvicultura de espécies nativas.

Tarek Soliman, Monique C M Mourits, Wopke van der Werf et al.

BACKGROUND: Economic impact assessment of invasive species requires integration of information on pest entry, establishment and spread, valuation of assets at risk and market consequences at large spatial scales. Here we develop such a framework and demonstrate its application to the pinewood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, which threatens the European forestry industry. The effect of spatial resolution on the assessment result is analysed. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Direct economic impacts resulting from wood loss are computed using partial budgeting at regional scale, while impacts on social welfare are computed by a partial equilibrium analysis of the round wood market at EU scale. Substantial impacts in terms of infested stock are expected in Portugal, Spain, Southern France, and North West Italy but not elsewhere in EU in the near future. The cumulative value of lost forestry stock over a period of 22 years (2008-2030), assuming no regulatory control measures, is estimated at €22 billion. The greatest yearly loss of stock is expected to occur in the period 2014-2019, with a peak of three billion euros in 2016, but stabilizing afterwards at 300-800 million euros/year. The reduction in social welfare follows the loss of stock with considerable delay because the yearly harvest from the forest is only 1.8%. The reduction in social welfare for the downstream round wood market is estimated at €218 million in 2030, whereby consumers incur a welfare loss of €357 million, while producers experience a €139 million increase, due to higher wood prices. The societal impact is expected to extend to well beyond the time horizon of the analysis, and long after the invasion has stopped. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Pinewood nematode has large economic consequences for the conifer forestry industry in the EU. A change in spatial resolution affected the calculated directed losses by 24%, but did not critically affect conclusions.

Mansour Ghaffari, Ali Ghasemian, Hossein Resalati et al.

This study was carried out to optimize of cationic starch use for improvement of the mechanical properties of mixed OCC & NSSC pulps. NSSC pulps were mixed with the OCC pulps by following weight ratios: 80/20, 70/30 and 60/40, respectively. Cationic starch was used in different charges of 0.5, 1.25, 2 and 3 %. The produced paper strength properties were measured according to Tappi standard. The results obtained from normalized equation showed that treatment of C4 (60% NSSC+ 40% OCC using 3% Cationic starch) is the best suitable samples. Also, by increasing the OCC proportion in mixed pulps, tensile, Tear, burst strengths increases, but Concora medium test (CMT) and Ring crush test (RCT) decreased. In general, by increasing of the cationic starch dosage, mechanical strengths has increased and its improved use had determined by 3% cationic starch.

Marian Babiak, Vlastimil Borùvka, Henrich Lübke

This paper deals with the influence of addition of abraded fiber, as a partial substitute of softwood fibers, on the properties of insulating fiberboard. The fiber used was characterized by fractional composition of fiber length according to McNett (STN 50 0289) using the apparatus for the measurement of fiber length in aqueoussuspension (ADV) and according to Brecht-Holl (STN 50 0289) by the determination of water retained by fiber, speed of dewatering and defibrator seconds. Insulating fiberboards were prepared with different content of abraded fiber. Mechanical properties (bending strength and tension strength perpendicular to the board plane) as well as physical properties (swelling, water uptake, thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity specific heat and volumetricspecific heat) were measured for the boards.