Linking plant growth responses across topographic gradients in tallgrass prairie.

Aboveground biomass in grasslands varies according to landscape gradients in resource availability and seasonal patterns of growth. Using a transect spanning a topographic gradient in annually burned ungrazed tallgrass prairie, we measured changes in the height of four abundant C(4) grass species, LAI, biomass, and cumulative carbon flux using two closely located eddy flux towers. We hypothesized that seasonal patterns of plant growth would be similar across the gradient, but the magnitude of growth and biomass accumulation would vary by topographic position, reflecting spatial differences in microclimate, slope, elevation, and soil depth.

Comparison of effectiveness of wood decay fungi maintained by annual subculture on agar and stored in sterile water for 18 years.

Fourteen isolates of basidiomycete decay fungi (12 species) were maintained for 18 years on agar slants transferred annually and also stored as mycelium-agar cores under cold sterile water without subculture. Isolates stored by each method were evaluated for decay effectiveness using a standard laboratory accelerated soil-block decay test. Effectiveness was measured by mean percent mass loss of wood blocks.