Application of process-based models to forest management: experience with PROMOD, a simple plantation productivity model.

Process-based growth models are rarely used as a basis for decisions in forest management. Reasons for this are discussed and the development and application of PROMOD, a simple process-based plantation productivity model designed to meet the needs of managers, is described. In particular,PROMOD is intended for screening prospective plantation sites on the basis of readily available input data, including site latitude, soil characteristics, and long-term climate data.

Whole-tree transpiration and water-use partitioning between Eucalyptus nitens and Acacia dealbata weeds in a short-rotation plantation in northeastern Tasmania.

Whole-tree water use in 4- and 8-year-old plantations of Eucalyptus nitens Deane and Maiden (ex Maiden) in the presence and absence of Acacia dealbata Link. weeds was estimated by the heat pulse velocity technique during a six-week summer period. Maximum sap velocities were recorded between 5 and 15 mm under the cambium for both eucalypt and acacia trees, and marked radial and axial variations in sap velocity were observed.

Modeling the effect of physiological responses to green pruning on net biomass production of Eucalyptus nitens.

Green pruning of Eucalyptus nitens (Deane and Maiden) Maiden increases instantaneous rates of light-saturated CO(2) assimilation (A), and changes patterns of total leaf area and foliage distribution. We investigated the importance of such changes on the rate of recovery of growth following pruning. A simple process-based model was developed to estimate daily net biomass production (G(d)) of three-year-old plantation-grown trees over a 20-month period.

Interactive effects of nitrogen and irradiance on sustained xanthophyll cycle engagement in Eucalyptus nitens leaves during winter.

Eucalyptus nitens is a species that is adapted to low temperature. This study examines xanthophyll-cycle engagement in E. nitens seedlings exposed to cold-induced photoinhibitory conditions under different levels of irradiance and nutrient status.

Transpecific microsatellites for hard pines.

Microsatellites are difficult to recover from large plant genomes so cross-specific utilisation is an important source of markers. Fifty microsatellites were tested for cross-specific amplification and polymorphism to two New World hard pine species, slash pine ( Pinus elliottii var. elliottii) and Caribbean pine ( P.

Chilling-dependent photoinhibition, nutrition and growth analysis of Eucalyptus nitens seedlings during establishment.

Effects of chilling-dependent photoinhibition on gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence, growth and nutrition of Eucalyptus nitens (Deane and Maiden) Maiden seedlings were assessed for 70 weeks after transplanting 9-month-old seedlings in early winter. One month before transplanting, the seedlings were assigned to fertilized or nutrient-deprived treatments. Immediately after transplanting, half the seedlings in each nutrient treatment were placed in shadecloth tree shelters.

Conversion of canopy intercepted radiation to photosynthate: review of modelling approaches for regional scales.

A fundamental component of most models of terrestrial carbon balance is an estimate of plant canopy photosynthetic uptake driven by radiation interception by the canopy. In this article, we review approaches used to model the conversion of radiation into photosynthate. As this process is well understood at the leaf-scale, the modelling problem is essentially one of up-scaling, to canopy, regional or global scale.

Kinetics of ammonium and nitrate uptake by eucalypt roots and associated proton fluxes measured using ion selective microelectrodes.

Ion-selective microelectrodes were used non-invasively to measure the concentration dependence of NH and NO fluxes around the roots of intact solution-cultured Eucalyptus nitens (Deane & Maiden) Maiden. In addition, NH and H fluxes were measured simultaneously at a range of NH concentrations, and NO and H fluxes were measured simultaneously at a range of NO concentrations. Nitrogen concentrations ranged from 10-250 μM, i.

Comparison of two bioassay techniques for assessing the acute toxicity of pesticides to chironomid larvae (Diptera: Chironomidae).

Two container and substrate combinations were compared to determine which provided optimal survival of larvae of Chironomus tepperi and Glyptotendipes paripes in the absence of toxicants. Unfed final-stage larvae of G. paripes survived significantly (P < 0.

Rhythmic patterns of nutrient acquisition by wheat roots.

Oscillatory patterns in H, K, Ca2 and Cl uptake were observed at different regions of the root surface, including root hairs, using a non-invasive ion flux measuring technique (the MIFE™ technique). To our knowledge, this is the first report of ultradian oscillations in nutrient acquisition in the mature root zone. Oscillations of the largest magnitude were usually measured in the elongation region, 2-4 mm from the root apex.

Maternal inheritance of the chloroplast genome in Eucalyptus globulus and interspecific hybrids.

The utility of chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) in Eucalyptus, either as a molecular marker for genetic studies or as a potential vehicle for genetic manipulation, is based on knowledge of its mode of inheritance. Chloroplast inheritance in angiosperms can vary among and within species, and anomalous inheritance has been reported in some interspecific-hybrid combinations. In Eucalyptus, abnormalities of pollen-tube growth occur in a number of interspecific-hybrid combinations, and this might increase the likelihood of anomalous chloroplast transmission.

Crown structure and leaf area index development in thinned and unthinned Eucalyptus nitens plantations.

The crown structure of Eucalyptus nitens (Deane & Maiden) Maiden 6 years after thinning, and the development of stand leaf area index both immediately and 6 years after thinning, were investigated. Thinning did not alter branch angle, branching density or the relationship between branch size and branch leaf area. However, larger branches were found in the lower crown of thinned trees and the increase in leaf area as a result of thinning occurred on the northern aspect of the crown.

Chloroplast sharing in the Tasmanian eucalypts.

The biogeographic pattern of chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) haplotypes in Eucalyptus on the island of Tasmania is consistent with reticulate evolution, involving at least 12 Tasmanian species from the subgenus Symphyomyrtus. Intraspecific cpDNA polymorphism in 14 of 17 species is coupled with extensive sharing of identical haplotypes across populations of different species in the same geographic area. Haplotype diversity is lowest in central regions of Tasmania formerly occupied by alpine vegetation during glacial intervals and in northern regions that were periodically linked to continental Australia by land bridges.

Plant genetics affects arthropod community richness and composition: evidence from a synthetic eucalypt hybrid population.

To examine how genetic variation in a plant population affects arthropod community richness and composition, we quantified the arthropod communities on a synthetic population of Eucalyptus amygdalina, E. risdonii, and their F1 and advanced-generation hybrids. Five major patterns emerged.

F1 hybrid inviability in eucalyptus: the case of E. ovata x E. globulus.

The impact of inbreeding and hybridization on fitness was compared in the two co-occurring forest tree species, Eucalyptus ovata and E. globulus, aimed at explaining the rarity of their hybrids in nature. The success of selfing, open-pollination and outcrossing of both species and interspecific hybridization was monitored from seed-set to 10-year's growth in a field trial.

Strong, independent, quantitative genetic control of the timing of vegetative phase change and first flowering in eucalyptus globulus ssp. globulus (Tasmanian blue gum).

Analyses of large open-pollinated and controlled-cross field trials of Eucalyptus globulus ssp. globulus show quantitative genetic independence of the times of first flowering and the abrupt change in leaf form. The onset of each of these critical developmental events is under moderate to strong additive genetic control in this taxon, with individual narrow-sense heritabilities of 0.

Identification of disease response genes expressed in Gossypium hirsutum upon infection with the wilt pathogen Verticillium dahliae.

Verticillium wilt is a vascular disease of cotton (Gossypium spp.) caused by the fungal pathogen Verticillium dahliae. To begin to understand the molecular mechanisms of the disease response in cotton cultivars that display superior wilt tolerance, such as Gossypium hirsutum cv.

Incongruence between chloroplast and species phylogenies in Eucalyptus subgenus Monocalyptus (Myrtaceae).

Seventy-eight polymorphic cpDNA (chloroplast DNA) characters were found in 13 closely related taxa from Eucalyptus series Amygdalinae (subgenus Monocalyptus) and seven potential outgroup taxa. The strict consensus of six cladograms generated from cpDNA data confirmed monophyly of Monocalyptus. However, cpDNA phylogeny within Monocalyptus was incongruent with taxonomic classification, being more related to geography, even when accessions were from divergent series.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CROSS SUCCESS AND SPATIAL PROXIMITY OF EUCALYPTUS GLOBULUS SSP. GLOBULUS PARENTS.

The genetic structure of Eucalyptus globulus forest was examined using progeny vigor as an indirect measure of parental relatedness. Seven trees were crossed with pollen from trees: 0 m (seifing); 21 m (nearest flowering neighbors), 250 m, 500 m, 1 km, 10 km, and 100 km away from the female. Only selfing depressed seed set.

Biodegradation and plant protection from the herbicide 2,4-D by plant-microbial associations in cotton production systems.

A significant "biosafening" protection of plants from the effect of 2,4-D in plant-microbial associations has been demonstrated in this study. The 2,4-D-degrading plasmid, pJP4 was transferred into Rhizobium sp. CB1024, which nodulates Dolichos lablab, and Azospirillum brasilense Sp7 carrying a nifA-lacZ gene marker, which can colonize cotton roots.