scholarly journals A development cycle of the forest with fir (Abies alba Mill.) and beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) in its species composition in the Świętokrzyski National Park

2012 ◽  
Vol 50 (No. 2) ◽  
pp. 55-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Podlaski

The objectives of this study are to determine the progress of the development cycle of the forest taking into account untypical development periods caused by fir decline and recovery, and to compare the per cent participation of individual phases and periods of forest development in the Święta Katarzyna and Święty Krzyż Forest Ranges of the Świętokrzyski National Park. The development stages, phases, and periods was determined in P<sub>6</sub> fields of the SINUS System of Information on Natural Environment. Tree age distribution, stand structure, volume increment tendency (an increasing or decreasing one), and also the radial increment of fir and beech, and the age of the stand upper story or upper layer were taken as criteria. Fir until about 1960 was characterized by more or less even growth while during 1960&ndash;1985 a strong increment collapse occurred, followed by its recovery since 1986. On the other hand, beech during the whole analysed period (1890&ndash;1994) did not exhibit any significant decrease in its radial increment. After taking into account the progress of diameter increment of fir and beech the hypothetical series of successive changes of stand phases, mainly caused by decline and then recovery of fir, were developed. Seven new development phases taking place during the periods of decline, recovery and transformation, and not occurring in typical KORPEĽ&rsquo;s (1982) development cycle, are described. New phases were found in 140 P<sub>6</sub> fields out of 206 analysed fields. It was proved on the basis of the fraction equality chi-squared test that there was no reason to reject a null hypothesis according to which the per cent participation of phases during the recovery period in the Święta Katarzyna Forest Range is the same as in the Święty Krzyż Forest Range (<sup>2</sup> = 2.756; df = 3; p = 0.4308). The absence of significant difference between these two forest ranges indicates, among others, an extensive and strong process of fir decline in the analysed part of the Świętokrzyski National Park (in the Łysog&oacute;ry Mountain Range). In order to improve the description of the development phases of the forest during the periods of decline, recovery and transformation these studies should be continued, especially on permanent research plots.

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (No. 9) ◽  
pp. 377-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Podlaski

The objectives of this study are to determine a trend of the radial growth at breast height (b.h.) and to compare the radial growth of trees of younger and older generations in the XX century for fir (Abies alba Mill.), beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in the Świętokrzyski National Park. In the investigated area fir, 41 to 200–300 years of age at breast height, gradually regenerated its radial growth after a very strong decline during 1971–1990, and most likely the process of vitality reduction and death of its stands of various age is slowly coming to an end. Pine showed a systematic decrease in the radial increment during 1885–1994, and there were no distinct symptoms indicating a change of this unfavourable trend. Beech showed no significant decrease in the radial increment during 1885–1994. In the Świętokrzyski National Park the differences in the radial growth between younger and older generations were noticeable only in the case of beech. The radial growth of trees of different ages was very similar in the case of fir and pine.  


2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (No. 3) ◽  
pp. 93-99
Author(s):  
R. Podlaski

The objectives of this study are to determine the relationship between crown characteristics and the radial increment of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and to specify the characteristics of beech trees with the radial increment above the average in the Świętokrzyski National Park. The following relationships have been found: the radial increment of beech increases as the degree of the freedom of the light part of the crown from neighbouring trees increases, and the increase in the relative crown length causes a significant increase in the radial increment. Most of the best growing beech trees are characterized by the light part of the crown confined in an area of up to about 55%, and the relative crown length spanning the range of 55% (trees 61 to 80 years of age at b.h.) to 76% (trees 21 to 40 years of age at b.h).


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Mohd Helmy Ibrahim ◽  
Mohd Nazip Suratman ◽  
Razali Abd Kader

Trees planted from agroforestry practices can become valuable resources in meeting the wood requirements of many nations. Gliricidia sepium is an exotic species introduced to the agricultural sector in Malaysia mainly for providing shade for cocoa and coffee plantations. This study investigates its wood physical properties (specific gravity and moisture content) and fibre morphology (length, lumen diameter and cell wall thickness) of G. sepium at three intervals according to age groups ( three, five and seven years of ages). Specific gravity (0.72) was significantly higher at seven years ofage as compared to five (0.41) and three (0.35) years age group with a mean of 0.43 (p<0.05). Mean moisture content was 58.3% with no significant difference existing between the tree age groups. Fibre diameter (22.4 mm) was significantly lower (p<0.05) for the trees which were three years of age when compared to five and seven years age groups (26.6 mm and 24. 7 mm), respectively. Means of fibre length, lumen diameter and cell wall thickness were 0.83 mm, 18.3 mm, and 6.2 mm, respectively, with no significant differences detected between trees in all age groups. Further calculation on the coefficient of suppleness and runkel ratio suggest that wood from G.sepium may have the potential for insulation board manufacturing and paper making. However, future studies should experiment the utilisation of this species for these products to determine its full potential.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 8006
Author(s):  
Till Schmäing ◽  
Norbert Grotjohann

The Wadden Sea ecosystem is unique in many respects from a biological perspective. This is one reason why it is protected by national parks in Germany and by its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In biology didactics, there are only a few studies that focus on the Wadden Sea. This work investigates students’ word associations with the two stimulus words “national park” and “UNESCO World Heritage Site”. The survey was conducted among students living directly at the Wadden Sea and among students from the inland. The analysis of the identified associations (n = 8345) was carried out within the framework of a quantitative content analysis to be able to present and discuss the results on a group level. A statistically significant difference was found between the two groups. Overall, results showed that the students made subject-related associations as well as a large number of associations to both stimulus words that could be judged as non-subject-related. In some cases, a connection with the region of residence could be found, but this was not generally the case. Even students’ immediate residential proximity to the Wadden Sea is no guarantee that they have knowledge of the two considered protection terms.


IAWA Journal ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudio S. Lisi ◽  
Mário Tomazello Fo ◽  
Paulo C. Botosso ◽  
Fidel A. Roig ◽  
Vivian R.B. Maria ◽  
...  

Many tropical tree species produce growth rings in response to seasonal environmental factors that influence the activity of the vascular cambium. We applied the following methods to analyze the annual nature of treering formation of 24 tree species from a seasonal semi-deciduous forest of southeast Brazil: describing wood anatomy and phenology, counting tree rings after cambium markings, and using permanent dendrometer bands. After 7 years of systematic observations and measurements, we found the following: the trees lost their leaves during the dry season and grew new leaves at the end of the same season; trunk increment dynamics corresponded to seasonal changes in precipitation, with higher increment (active period) during the rainy season (October–April) and lower increment (dormant period) during the dry season (May–September); the number of tree rings formed after injuries to the cambium coincided with the number of years since the extraction of the wood samples. As a result of these observations, it was concluded that most study trees formed one growth ring per year. This suggests that tree species from the seasonal semi-deciduous forests of Brazil have an annual cycle of wood formation. Therefore, these trees have potential for use in future studies of tree age and radial growth rates, as well as to infer ecological and regional climatic conditions. These future studies can provide important information for the management and conservation of these endangered forests.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-81
Author(s):  
A.A. Yusuf ◽  
O.A. Jayeola ◽  
I.O.O. Osunsina ◽  
G.A. Dedeke

The desire to shore up the shortfall in protein supply, the increased awareness of the importance of cholesterol free animal protein, like guineafowl, and the need to conserve their wild genes, have necessitated studies on improved captive breeding of feral helmeted guineafowl. Hence, this study was aimed at determining the effects of ecological zones and storage systems on the guineafowl eggs. Guineafowl eggs (n=214), were collected from identified and monitored-nests within the Kainji Lake National Park (KLNP) and Old Oyo National Park (OONP). Out of 91 eggs collected from KLNP, 32 and 38 were stored at room temperature (RT-21-25°C) and refrigerator (RF-17-20°C), respectively for five days prior to incubation while 21 eggs were not stored (NS-27-29°C), and out of 123 collected from OONP, 70 and 19 were stored for five days prior to incubation at (RT-21-25°C) and (RF-17-20°C), respectively while 34 eggs were (NS- 27-29°C). Prior to incubation, eggs were weighed, the height and width were measured. The process was repeated after incubation for unhatched eggs. Candling was done three days before hatching at day 29 of egg incubation. Embryo status of unhatched eggs was determined by cracking the eggs. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The NS eggs from Kainji (7.60%) and Oyo (2.01%) had the lowest percentage shrinkage in weight across the three storage systems. The order was reversed in height with RF eggs from Kainji (0.96%) and Oyo (0.46%) having lowest. The least shrinkage in width of eggs from Oyo was recorded in the RF eggs (0.00%) and in NS (0.59%) from Kainji. Eggs candling showed that presumed fertile (opaque) was highest (69.10%) in NS eggs followed by RT (45.00%). There was no significant difference (p>0.05) between the hatchability of eggs from the two parks though hatchability (7.60%) of Kainji eggs was higher than those of Oyo (7.40%). Further check on fertilization after incubation showed that RT (37.50%) eggs from Kainji were fertilized but were unable to hatch alive so also was RF eggs (21.10%). The study showed that the eggs sizes vary with ecozones while size of the eggs and storage systems affects hatchability and survival of feral helmeted guineafowl eggs in captivity. Keywords: Guineafowl; ecozones; storage systems; incubation; candling; hatchability


2018 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Irena Canjuga ◽  
Danica Železnik ◽  
Marijana Neuberg ◽  
Marija Božicevic ◽  
Tina Cikac

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of self-care on the prevalence of loneliness among elderly people living in retirement homes and older people living in their homes/communities. Design/methodology/approach The research was conducted through standardized SELSA-L assessment loneliness questionnaires and the Self Care Assessment Worksheet for self-care assessment. The results were processed using the Kruskal–Wallis test. Findings The obtained results have shown that impaired self-care ability affects the prevalence of loneliness among the elderly almost the same in both groups of participants. However, regarding the relationship between the state of health and self-care, only a statistically significant difference in the prevalence of loneliness is found in the case of the participants living in their homes, with the worst health condition affecting the poorer psychological care. Research limitations/implications It is necessary to point out the limitations of the research, primarily sample limitations and the selected design of the study. The sample consisted of two different and relatively small groups of participants which could adversely affect the representativeness of the sample and reduce the possibility of generalising the results. The next limiting factor is the age distribution the authors used in the research, where the age of the participants as a very important variable was collected by age range and not precisely which consequently resulted in inequality in subgroup sizes. Thus, the middle age (75–85) covers up to ten years, which is a huge range at an older age and can mean major differences in functional ability, and can impact the self-care assessment. Practical implications Nurses are indispensable in care for the elderly and they need to promote and encourage self-care of the elderly through health care. Elderly people living in retirement homes should be allowed to participate equally in health care in order to preserve their own autonomy and dignity. However, to benefit those who live in their homes, nurses should be connected to the local community and thus stimulate various forms of preventative (testing blood sugar levels, blood pressure and educating on the importance of preventive examinations) or recreational activities in the environment of elderly people with the goal of preserving their functional abilities. Originality/value The impact of self-care on loneliness was not sufficiently researched, and this paper contributed to understanding the complexity of loneliness phenomena among the elderly with the aim of developing a model of prevention.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramires Tibana ◽  
Nuno de Sousa ◽  
Jonato Prestes ◽  
Fabrício Voltarelli

The aim of this study was to analyze blood lactate concentration (LAC), heart rate (HR), and rating perceived exertion (RPE) during and after shorter and longer duration CrossFit® sessions. Nine men (27.7 ± 3.2 years; 11.3 ± 4.6% body fat percentage and training experience: 41.1 ± 19.6 months) randomly performed two CrossFit® sessions (shorter: ~4 min and longer: 17 min) with a 7-day interval between them. The response of LAC and HR were measured pre, during, immediately after, and 10, 20, and 30 min after the sessions. RPE was measured pre and immediately after sessions. Lactate levels were higher during the recovery of the shorter session as compared with the longer session (shorter: 15.9 ± 2.2 mmol/L/min, longer: 12.6 ± 2.6 mmol/L/min; p = 0.019). There were no significant differences between protocols on HR during (shorter: 176 ± 6 bpm or 91 ± 4% HRmax, longer: 174 ± 3 bpm or 90 ± 3% HRmax, p = 0.387). The LAC was significantly higher throughout the recovery period for both training sessions as compared to pre-exercise. The RPE was increased immediately after both sessions as compared to pre-exercise, while there was no significant difference between them (shorter: 8.7 ± 0.9, longer: 9.6 ± 0.5; p = 0.360). These results demonstrated that both shorter and longer sessions induced elevated cardiovascular responses which met the recommendations for gains in cardiovascular fitness. In addition, both training sessions had a high metabolic and perceptual response, which may not be suitable if performed on consecutive days.


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