Small rocky outcrops: natural features to promote biodiversity in oak wood‐pastures

Arbutus unedo spirit is a valuable product in Mediterranean countries. This spirit is usually marketed in Portugal without wood ageing. This work aims to characterize the ageing effect on the Arbutus unedo spirit, for three and six months with oak wood (Quercus robur L.) submitted to different toasting levels, based on its chemical composition and its sensory properties. For this purpose, several parameters were analysed: acidity, pH, dry extract, and volatile compounds (methanol, acetaldehyde, ethyl acetate and fusel alcohols). The volatile compounds were identified by GC-MS and quantified by GC-FID. Sensory analysis was performed by a trained panel, who have profiled this beverage, as well as the changes acquired during ageing. Spectroscopic techniques, namely FTIR–ATR, were applied to discriminate the different beverages produced. The results highlighted an increase in Arbutus unedo spirit’s quality with the wood contact, mainly based on the sensory attributes. Additionally, they showed that the best beverages were produced using oak wood with medium toasting levels during three months of ageing.

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The Effects of Heat Treatment on the Chemical Alterations of Oak Wood

Key Engineering Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/kem.688.44 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 688 ◽

pp. 44-49 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Iveta Čabalová ◽

František Kačík ◽

Tereza Tribulová

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Properties ◽

Heat Treatment ◽

High Performance Liquid Chromatography ◽

Renewable Energy ◽

Liquid Chromatography ◽

Thermal Treatment ◽

High Performance ◽

Treated Wood ◽

National Renewable Energy Laboratory ◽

Oak Wood

Samples prepared from oak (Quercusrobur L.) wood were exposed to heat treatment at temperatures of 160, 180, 200 and 220 oC for 3, 6, 9 and 12 hours. In both untreated and thermally treated wood there were determined extractives and lignin by National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) procedures, cellulose by Seifert's method, holocellulose according to Wise, hemicelluloses as difference between holocellulose and cellulose. Monosaccharides were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (NREL).The results show that hemicelluloses are less stable at thermal treatment than cellulose. The amounts of lignin and extractives rose by increasing both temperature and time of the treatment while the amounts of hemicelluloses decreased. Thermal treatment also resulted in significant decreases of the yields of non-glucosic saccharides. Degradation of carbohydrates can cause the deterioration of mechanical properties of wood.

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The effects of moonlight on nocturnal activity in bushy-tailed wood rats (Neotoma cinerea)

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z99-006 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 77 (3) ◽

pp. 480-485 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Michael G Topping ◽

John S Millar ◽

James A Goddard

Keyword(s):

Light Level ◽

Intermediate Level ◽

Nocturnal Activity ◽

Risk Of Predation ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Neotoma Cinerea ◽

Two Measures ◽

Males And Females ◽

Rocky Outcrops ◽

Breeding Seasons

The nocturnal activity of bushy-tailed wood rats (Neotoma cinerea) was monitored for two breeding seasons (1993 and 1994) in the Canadian Rockies. Radiotelemetry was used under three levels of moonlight to assess two measures of nocturnal activity: (i) the proportion of animals crossing rocky outcrops and entering the surrounding forest to forage, search for mates, or both, and (ii) the distance moved from the den site while in the forest. Males and females exhibited significant differences among moonlight levels, with greater activity on nights of intermediate-level moonlight and less activity on nights with bright or dark moonlight. There was no difference in the proportions of males and females active at any moonlight level. The distances moved from the den did not differ among moonlight levels for either males or females. Having traversed the rocks and entered the forest, individuals moved similar distances regardless of light level. These results suggest that wood rats respond to moonlight only when making the decision to cross rocks and enter the forest. This behaviour presumably serves to counteract the increased risk of predation on bright nights.

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Colour alteration and chemistry changes in oak wood (Quercus pedunculata Ehrh) during plain vacuum drying

Wood Science and Technology ◽

10.1007/s00226-010-0381-z ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 46 (1-3) ◽

pp. 177-191 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Sadoth Sandoval-Torres ◽

Wahbi Jomaa ◽

Françoise Marc ◽

Jean-Rodolphe Puiggali

Keyword(s):

Vacuum Drying ◽

Oak Wood ◽

Colour Alteration

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Tree colonisation of abandoned arable land after 27 years of horse-grazing: the role of bramble as a facilitator of oak wood regeneration

Forest Ecology and Management ◽

10.1016/s0378-1127(03)00136-1 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 181 (1-2) ◽

pp. 239-251 ◽

Cited By ~ 49

Author(s):

A.T Kuiters ◽

P.A Slim

Keyword(s):

Arable Land ◽

Oak Wood

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Cross-species Transcriptomes Reveal Species-specific and Shared Molecular Adaptations for Plants Development on Iron-rich Rocky Outcrops Soils

10.21203/rs.3.rs-929174/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mariana Costa Dias ◽

Cecílio Caldeira ◽

Markus Gastauer ◽

Silvio Ramos ◽

Guilherme Oliveira

Keyword(s):

Circadian Rhythm ◽

Differential Expression ◽

Native Species ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Light Stimulus ◽

Differential Expression Analysis ◽

Common Mechanism ◽

Dependent Manner ◽

Rocky Outcrops ◽

Species Specific

Abstract BackgroundCanga is the Brazilian term for the savanna-like vegetation harboring several endemic species on iron-rich rocky outcrops, usually considered for mining activities. Parkia platycephala Benth. and Stryphnodendron pulcherrimum (Willd.) Hochr. naturally occur in the cangas of Serra dos Carajás (eastern Amazonia, Brazil) and the surrounding forest, indicating high phenotypic plasticity. The morphological and physiological mechanisms of the plants’ establishment in the canga environment are well studied, but the molecular adaptative responses are still unknown. We aimed to identify molecular mechanisms that allow the establishment of these plants in the canga environment.ResultsPlants were grown in canga and forest substrates collected in the Carajás Mineral Province. RNA was extracted from pooled leaf tissue, and RNA-seq paired-end reads were assembled into representative transcriptomes for P. platycephala and S. pulcherrimum containing 31,728 and 31,311 primary transcripts, respectively. We identified both species-specific and core molecular responses in plants grown in the canga substrate using differential expression analyses. In the species-specific analysis, we identified 1,112 and 838 differentially expressed genes for P. platycephala and S. pulcherrimum, respectively. Enrichment analyses showed unique biological processes and metabolic pathways affected for each species. Comparative differential expression analysis was based on shared single-copy orthologs. The overall pattern of ortholog expression was species-specific. Even so, almost 300 altered genes were identified between plants in canga and forest substrates, responding the same way in both species. The genes were functionally associated with the response to light stimulus and the circadian rhythm pathway.ConclusionsPlants possess species-specific adaptative responses to cope with the substrates. Our results also suggest that plants adapted to both canga and forest environments can adjust the circadian rhythm in a substrate-dependent manner. The circadian clock gene modulation might be a central mechanism regulating the plants’ development in the canga substrate in the studied legume species. The mechanism may be shared as a common mechanism to abiotic stress compensation in other native species.

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