Towards repeated clear-cutting of boreal forests - a tipping point for biodiversity?

Boreal forests are important carbon sinks and host a diverse array of species that provide important ecosystem functions. Boreal forests have a long history of intensive forestry, in which even-aged management with clear-cutting has been the dominant harvesting practice for the past 50-80 years. As a second cycle of clear-cutting is emerging, there is an urgent need to examine the effects of repeated clear-cutting events on biodiversity.

A thorny tale: The origin and diversification of Cirsium (Compositae).

Widely distributed plant genera offer insights into biogeographic processes and biodiversity. The Carduus-Cirsium group, with over 600 species in eight genera, is diverse across the Holarctic regions, especially in the Mediterranean Basin, Southwest Asia, Japan, and North America. Despite this diversity, evolutionary and biogeographic processes within the group, particularly for the genus Cirsium, remain underexplored.

Response of Pedunculate Oak ( L.) to Adverse Environmental Conditions in Genetic and Dendrochronological Studies.

Pedunculate oak ( L.) is widely distributed across Europe and serves critical ecological, economic, and recreational functions. Investigating its responses to stressors such as drought, extreme temperatures, pests, and pathogens provides valuable insights into its capacity to adapt to climate change.

No winter halt in below-ground wood growth of four angiosperm deciduous tree species.

In the temperate zone, deciduous trees exhibit clear above-ground seasonality, marked by a halt in wood growth that represents the completion of wood formation in autumn and reactivation in spring. However, the growth seasonality of below-ground woody organs, such as coarse roots, has been largely overlooked. Here we use tree monitoring data and pot experiments involving saplings to examine the late-season xylem development of stem and coarse roots with leaf phenology in four common deciduous tree species in Western Europe.

Multiple drivers of spring migration timing for red deer over the past 16 years in northern Europe.

The timing of migration is fundamental for species exploiting seasonally variable environments. For ungulates, earlier spring migration is expected with earlier vegetation green-up. However, other drivers, such as access to agricultural farmland and variation in local conditions, are also known to affect migration.

Detailed Characterization of the Conversion of Hardwood and Softwood Lignin by a Brown-Rot Basidiomycete.

Wood-degrading brown-rot fungi primarily target carbohydrates, leaving the lignin modified and potentially valuable for valorization. Here, we report a comprehensive comparison of how degrades hardwood and softwood, which have fundamentally different lignin structures. By harnessing the latest advancements in analytical methodologies, we show that removes more lignin from wood (up to 36%) than previously reported.

Substrate composition evaluation for urban green infrastructure planted with calcareous grassland dicotyledonous species.

Green roofs and walls offer many benefits, not only in terms of the ecosystem services, but also in terms of improving building performance. The growing medium is the most important component of green roofs and walls. It should ensure stable plant growth with minimal maintenance and the proper choice is crucial for the survival and performance of the vegetation.

Factors influencing trust among colleagues in hospital settings: a systematic review.

Background: Many studies show positive results of collegial trust in the workplace, e.g. performance, innovation and collaboration.

A Pollen-Based Assisted Migration for Rapid Forest Adaptation.

Climate change poses an unprecedented threat to forest ecosystems, necessitating innovative adaptation strategies. Traditional assisted migration approaches, while promising, face challenges related to environmental constraints, forestry practices, phytosanitary risks, economic barriers, and legal constraints. This has sparked debate within the scientific community, with some advocating for the broader implementation of assisted migration despite these limitations, while others emphasize the importance of local adaptation, which may not keep pace with the rapid rate of climate change.

Estimating baselines of Raman spectra based on transformer and manually annotated data.

Raman spectroscopy is a powerful and non-invasive analytical method for determining the chemical composition and molecular structure of a wide range of materials, including complex biological tissues. However, the captured signals typically suffer from interferences manifested as noise and baseline, which need to be removed for successful data analysis. Effective baseline correction is critical in quantitative analysis, as it may impact peak signature derivation.

Feed additives for methane mitigation: Recommendations for testing enteric methane-mitigating feed additives in ruminant studies.

There is a need for rigorous and scientifically-based testing standards for existing and new enteric methane mitigation technologies, including antimethanogenic feed additives (AMFA). The current review provides guidelines for conducting and analyzing data from experiments with ruminants intended to test the antimethanogenic and production effects of feed additives. Recommendations include study design and statistical analysis of the data, dietary effects, associative effect of AMFA with other mitigation strategies, appropriate methods for measuring methane emissions, production and physiological responses to AMFA, and their effects on animal health and product quality.

Milk production and methane emissions from dairy cows fed silages from different grassland species and harvesting frequencies.

The aim of this study was to examine how silages from different grassland species and harvesting frequencies affect feed intake, milk production, and methane (CH) emission in dairy cows. We hypothesized that cows consuming silages of more frequent harvest, grass species with greater organic matter digestibility and legumes with lower NDFom concentration would have greater silage dry matter intake and milk yield and thereby lower CH yield and intensity. Forty Norwegian Red cows were allocated to 5 treatments in a cyclic changeover design with 4 21-d periods (14 d of adaptation, 7 d of data collection).

Biofilm application for anaerobic digestion: a systematic review and an industrial scale case.

Biofilm is a syntrophic community of microorganisms enveloped by extracellular polymeric substances and displays remarkable adaptability to dynamic environments. Implementing biofilm in anaerobic digestion has been widely investigated and applied as it promotes microbial retention time and enhances the efficiency. Previous studies on anaerobic biofilm primarily focused on application in wastewater treatment, while its role has been significantly extended to accelerate the degradation of lignocellulosic biomass, improve gas-liquid mass transfer for biogas upgrading, or enhance resistance to inhibitors or toxic pollutants.

Photosynthetic Activity Measured In Situ in Microalgae Cultures Grown in Pilot-Scale Raceway Ponds.

The microalga sp. (Chlorophyceae) was cultured in a raceway pond (RWP) placed in a greenhouse. The objective of this case study was to monitor the photosynthesis performance and selected physicochemical variables (irradiance, temperature, dissolved oxygen concentration) of microalgae cultures in situ at various depths of RWP.

β-aminobutyric acid does not induce defenses or increase Norway spruce resistance to the bluestain fungus Grosmannia penicillata.

Priming of Norway spruce (Picea abies) inducible defenses is a promising way to protect young trees from herbivores and pathogens. Methyl jasmonate (MeJA) application is known to induce and potentially prime Norway spruce defenses but may also reduce plant growth. Therefore, we tested β-aminobutyric acid (BABA) as an alternative priming chemical to enhance spruce resistance, using 2-year-old Norway spruce plants.

Seascape Genomics of the Smooth Hammerhead Shark Reveals Regional Adaptive Clinal Variation.

Globally, hammerhead sharks have experienced severe declines owing to continued overexploitation and anthropogenic change. The smooth hammerhead shark remains understudied compared to other members of the family Sphyrnidae. Despite its vulnerable status, a comprehensive understanding of its genetic landscape remains lacking in many regions worldwide.

Steaming soil is effective in eliminating invasive alien plants (IAPs) - part I: effect of exposure method.

Background: As regulations on pesticides become more stringent, it is likely that there will be interest in steam as an alternative approach for soil disinfestation. This study investigates the feasibility of utilizing a soil steaming device for thermal control of invasive plants.

Results: Seeds of Echinochloa crus-galli, Impatiens glandulifera, Solidago canadensis, and rhizome fragments of Reynoutria × bohemica were examined for thermal sensitivity through two exposure methods: (1) steam treatment of propagative material in soil; (2) exposure of propagative material to warm soil just after heated by steam.

Heat stress reduces stomatal numbers in Ginkgo biloba: Implications for the stomatal method of palaeo-atmospheric [CO] reconstruction during episodes of global warming.

The stomata of fossil plants are commonly used as proxies to reconstruct palaeo-atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations (palaeo-[CO]). Stomatal reconstruction of palaeo-[CO] during global greenhouse periods or episodes of global warming, are particularly important to our understanding of the role of CO as a climate system driver. However, the efficacy of the 'stomatal method' for palaeo-[CO] reconstruction depends upon the strength of the inverse relationship between stomatal number and the [CO] in which the leaf developed.

A Critical Review of Recent Advances in Maize Stress Molecular Biology.

With the intensification of global climate change and environmental stress, research on abiotic and biotic stress resistance in maize is particularly important. High temperatures and drought, low temperatures, heavy metals, salinization, and diseases are widespread stress factors that can reduce maize yields and are a focus of maize-breeding research. Molecular biology provides new opportunities for the study of maize and other plants.