The Keystone Role of Bison in North American Tallgrass Prairie<subtitle>Bison increase habitat heterogeneity and alter a broad array of plant, community, and ecosystem processes</subtitle>

Results of the study of salt-affected soils on the Tanana River floodplain in interior Alaska raised a number of key issues that are important to resolve with future research in this fluvial environment. The results emphasized the prominent role of plant succession in ecosystem structure and function in northern boreal forests. For example, alder plays a crucial role in organic matter and nitrogen dynamics in floodplain ecosystems. This plant species has an impact on ecosystem processes in successional stages beyond its period of dominance on the floodplain. The potential facilitative nature of nitrogen accumulation, mediated by alder, to plant community development during and subsequent to the alder phase of succession should be examined in future studies. Organic matter chemistry and soil temperature appeared to be more important controls of soil processes than high soil salt content. Moreover, secondary plant chemicals may play a role in determining rates of soil nitrification in these floodplain ecosystems. The importance of ion balance to plant nutrition and primary production in salt-affected soils is an important topic for future research. Groundwater may be a unique source of water and nutrients to floodplain plant communities. The magnitude of water flux to the rooting zone in relation to terrace elevation and river level and its importance to plant growth is a significant consideration in the semiarid environment of interior Alaska. The established plant community indicates which species are successful in this environment. Optimum species-terrace combinations may exist that maximize productivity through use of unique moisture and nutrient supplies associated with a shallow water table. Results of this work suggested that new research initiatives are crucial to advance the fundamental understanding of controls of ecosystem processes and as a base of information to support forest resource management.

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Altered Ecosystem Processes as a Consequence of Juniperus virginiana L. Encroachment into North American Tallgrass Prairie

Western North American Juniperus Communities - Ecological Studies ◽

10.1007/978-0-387-34003-6_9 ◽

2008 ◽

pp. 170-187 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Duncan C. McKinley ◽

Mark D. Norris ◽

John M. Blair ◽

Loretta C. Johnson

Keyword(s):

Tallgrass Prairie ◽

North American ◽

Ecosystem Processes ◽

Juniperus Virginiana

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Gender Indeterminacy in Translation: the Case of R. L. Stine’s Give Yourself Goosebumps Gamebooks via Portuguese Translation

Revista de Estudos Anglo-Portugueses/Journal of Anglo-Portuguese Studies ◽

10.34134/reap.1991.208.2710 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 329-345

Author(s):

Ana Brígida Paiva

Keyword(s):

North American ◽

Grammatical Gender ◽

Second Person ◽

The North ◽

Person Perspective ◽

Gender Neutral ◽

Literary Systems ◽

Second Person Perspective ◽

Neutral Language

As works of fction, gamebooks offer narrative-bound choices – the reader generally takes on the role of a character inserted in the narrative itself, with gamebooks consequently tending towards being a story told in the second-person perspective. In pursuance of this aim, they can, in some cases, adopt gender-neutral language as regards grammatical gender, which in turn poses a translation challenge when rendering the texts into Portuguese, a language strongly marked by grammatical gender. Stemming from an analysis of a number of gamebooks in R. L. Stine’s popular Give Yourself Goosebumps series, this article seeks to understand how gender indeterminacy (when present) is kept in translation, while examining the strategies used to this effect by Portuguese translators – and particularly how ideas of implied readership come into play in the dialogue between the North-American and Portuguese literary systems.

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The role of land-use history in major invasions by woody plant species in the northeastern North American landscape

Biological Invasions ◽

10.1007/s10530-008-9418-8 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 11 (10) ◽

Cited By ~ 52

Author(s):

Eric S. Mosher ◽

John A. Silander ◽

Andrew M. Latimer

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Plant Species ◽

North American ◽

Woody Plant ◽

Land Use History ◽

Woody Plant Species ◽

American Landscape

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The role of anthropogenic dispersal in shaping the distribution and genetic composition of a widespread North American tree species

Ecology and Evolution ◽

10.1002/ece3.7944 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Graham E. Wyatt ◽

J. L. Hamrick ◽

Dorset W. Trapnell

Keyword(s):

North American ◽

Tree Species ◽

Genetic Composition ◽

Anthropogenic Dispersal

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First comparison of quantitative estimates of termite biomass and abundance reveals strong intercontinental differences

Journal of Tropical Ecology ◽

10.1017/s0266467413000898 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 143-152 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Cecilia A.L. Dahlsjö ◽

Catherine L. Parr ◽

Yadvinder Malhi ◽

Homathevi Rahman ◽

Patrick Meir ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Functional Groups ◽

Functional Diversity ◽

Ecosystem Processes ◽

Global Scale ◽

Species Density ◽

Abundance Data ◽

Standardized Protocol ◽

Biogeographical Distribution ◽

Belt Transect

Abstract:Termite species and functional groups differ among regions globally (the functional-diversity anomaly). Here we investigate whether similar differences in biomass and abundance of termites occur among continents. Biomass and abundance data were collected with standardized sampling in Cameroon, Malaysia and Peru. Data from Peru were original to this study, while data from Cameroon and Malaysia were compiled from other sources. Species density data were sampled using a standardized belt transect (100 × 2 m) while the biomass and abundance measurements were sampled using a standardized protocol based on 2 × 2-m quadrats. Biomass and abundance data confirmed patterns found for species density and thus the existence of the functional diversity anomaly: highest estimates for biomass and abundance were found in Cameroon (14.5 ± 7.90 g m−2 and 1234 ± 437 ind m−2) followed by Malaysia (0.719 ± 0.193 g m−2 and 327 ± 72 ind m−2) and then Peru (0.345 ± 0.103 g m−2 and 130 ± 39 ind m−2). The biomass and abundance for each functional group were significantly different across sites for most termite functional groups. Biogeographical distribution of lineages was the primary cause for the functional diversity anomaly with true soil-feeding termites dominating in Cameroon and the absence of fungus-growing termites from Peru. These findings are important as the biomass and abundance of functional groups may be linked to ecosystem processes. Although this study allowed for comparisons between data from different regions further comparable data are needed to enhance the understanding of the role of termites in ecosystem processes on a global scale.

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