Dendrometer measurements of arctic-alpine dwarf shrubs and micro-environmental drivers of plant growth - Dataset from long-term alpine ecosystem research in central Norway

Erdkunde ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörg Löffler ◽  
Svenja Dobbert ◽  
Roland Pape ◽  
Dirk Wundram
Keyword(s):  
Root Zone ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Environmental Drivers ◽  
Horizontal Distance ◽  
Ecosystem Research ◽  
Alpine Ecosystem ◽  
Vegetation Shifts

Here, we present fine-scale measurements of stem diameter variation from three common arctic-alpine dwarf-shrub species monitored in two mountain regions of Central Norway. All three species (Betula nana, Empetrum nigrum ssp. hermaphroditum, and Phyllodoce caerulea) are abundant within the studied regions and highly important contributors to potential future arctic-alpine vegetation shifts. A profound understanding of their radial growth patterns therefore has the potential to yield crucial information regarding climate-growth relations within these ecosystems. We used high-resolution dendrometers (type DRO) to monitor 120 specimens, taking measurements near the shoot base of one major horizontal stem. Along with the shrub growth measurements, we measured on-site micro-environmental data at each studied site, including shoot zone and root zone temperatures as well as soil moisture. All data were recorded at an hourly scale and are presented as daily mean values. The monitoring period spanned five full years (2015 - 2019), with additional data from 2014 and 2020. Data were collected within one of the most continental climate regions of Europe, the Vågå/Innlandet region, and in the oceanic climate region Geiranger/Møre og Romsdal, spanning a steep climate gradient over just ~100 km horizontal distance. Both study regions are characterized by steep elevational gradients and highly heterogeneous micro-topography. The studied sites were chosen to represent these natural conditions using the transect principle. The collection of our original data is subject of our long-term alpine ecosystem monitoring program since 1991, from which numerous publications function as the basis for a recent project on the use of dendrometer data in alpine ecosystem studies.

scholarly journals State tagging for improved earth and environmental data quality assurance

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Tso ◽  
Peter Henrys ◽  
Susannah Rennie ◽  
John Watkins
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Environmental Change ◽  
Data Science ◽  
Contextual Information ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Prediction Intervals ◽  
Environmental Drivers ◽  
System State ◽  
System States

<p>Long-term monitoring data that considers a wide array of environmental variables provides key insights to environmental change because responses of ecosystem functions and services to environmental drivers are inherently long-term and strongly interlinked. To ensure that the data are reliable for analysis and interpretation, they must undergo quality assurance procedures. However, the expected or acceptable range of data values vary greatly as the state of the ecosystem changes. Current quality assurance procedures for environmental data take no consideration of the system state at which each measurement is made, and provide the user with little contextual information on the probable cause for a measurement to be flagged out of range. We propose the use of data science techniques to tag each measurement with an identified system state. The term “state” here is defined loosely and they are identified using k-means clustering, an unsupervised machine learning method. The meaning of the states is open to specialist interpretation. Once the states are identified, state-dependent prediction intervals can be calculated for each observational variable. This approach provides the user with more contextual information to resolve out-of-range flags and derive prediction intervals for observational variables that considers the changes in system states. Our highly flexible and efficient approach is applicable to any point data time series in earth and environmental sciences, regardless of their sub-discipline. Such advantage is particularly relevant when conducting simultaneous analysis of multiple processes and feedbacks, where a wide variety of data is used.</p><p>We illustrate our approach using the moth and butterfly data from the UK Environmental Change Network (ECN), where meteorological variables are used to define system states. A web application is publicly available to allow users to explore the method on various ECN site, while a generic is also available for users to upload their own data files. Our work contributes to the ongoing development of a better data science framework that allows researchers and other stakeholders to find and use the data they need more readily and reliably.</p><p> </p>

scholarly journals A new mechanistic understanding of ecophysiological patterns in a widespread alpine dwarf shrub – Refining climate-growth relationships

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svenja Dobbert ◽  
Roland Pape ◽  
Jörg Löffler
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conditions ◽  
Frost Damage ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Annual Growth ◽  
Dwarf Shrub ◽  
Environmental Drivers ◽  
Growth Responses ◽  
Evergreen Species ◽  
Early Season

Abstract. Considering the recent widespread greening associated with dwarf shrubs in arctic and alpine ecosystems, further understanding of how these shrubs respond to environmental conditions is of crucial importance. Here we present novel insights and propose a new method to monitor shrub growth, using high-precision point dendrometers. We analyzed intra- and inter-annual growth patterns of a common evergreen species (Empetrum nigrum ssp. hermaphroditum) by measuring its hourly radial stem variability at a micrometer scale over four successive years on exposed ridge positions and along a steep elevational gradient. With the same temporal resolution, we collected near-ground micro-environmental data and identified environmental drivers controlling growth behaviour. Overall, we found high inter-plant variability in growth-defining parameters, but high similarities in growth responses to the micro-environment. Early-season radial growth in spring exhibited high sensitivity to winter thermal conditions and prolonged ground-freezing in spring, suggesting that the evergreen species E. hermaphroditum remains photosynthetically active during the snow-free period, which increases carbohydrate accumulation for early season physiological activities. We discovered a phase of radial stem shrinkage during the winter months, which can be attributed to an active cell water reduction to protect the plant from frost damage. We present the first fine-scale intra-annual growth curves for an alpine dwarf shrub and identify soil moisture availability and winter freezing conditions as the main drivers of radial stem variability, thus forwarding the ongoing debate on the functional mechanisms of greening and browning in arctic and alpine regions.

Opioid Consumption Patterns and Prolonged Opioid Use Among Opioid-Naïve Ankle Fracture Patients

2021 ◽  
pp. 193864002199292
Author(s):  
Hope Skibicki ◽  
Sundeep Saini ◽  
Ryan Rogero ◽  
Kristen Nicholson ◽  
Rachel J. Shakked ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ankle Fracture ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Opioid Consumption ◽  
Consumption Patterns ◽  
Utilization Rate ◽  
Opioid Use ◽  
Index Procedure ◽  
Postoperative Visit ◽  
Fracture Surgery

Introduction Previous literature has demonstrated an association between acute opioid exposure and the risk of long-term opioid use. Here, the investigators assess immediate postoperative opioid consumption patterns as well as the incidence of prolonged opioid use among opioid-naïve patients following ankle fracture surgery. Methods Included patients underwent outpatient open reduction and internal fixation of an ankle or tibial plafond fracture over a 1-year period. At patients’ first postoperative visit, opioid pills were counted and standardized to the equivalent number of 5-mg oxycodone pills. Prolonged use was defined as filling a prescription for a controlled substance more than 90 days after the index procedure, tracked by the New Jersey Prescription Drug Monitoring Program up to 1 year postoperatively. Results At the first postoperative visit, 173 patients consumed a median of 24 out of 40 pills prescribed. The initial utilization rate was 60%, and 2736 pills were left unused. In all, 32 (18.7%) patients required a narcotic prescription 90 days after the index procedure. Patients with a self-reported history of depression (P = .11) or diabetes (P = .07) demonstrated marginal correlation with prolonged narcotic use. Conclusion Our study demonstrated that, on average, patients utilize significantly fewer opioid pills than prescribed and that many patient demographics are not significant predictors of continued long-term use following outpatient ankle fracture surgery. Large variations in consumption rates make it difficult for physicians to accurately prescribe and predict prolonged narcotic use. Level of Evidence: Level III

scholarly journals Light curve analysis of the late type binary V523 Cassiopeiae

2009 ◽  
pp. 45-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Latkovic ◽  
M. Zboril ◽  
G. Djurasevic
Keyword(s):  
Light Curve ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Neck Region ◽  
Bright Spot ◽  
Late Type ◽  
Light Curve Analysis ◽  
Type Contact ◽  
Contact Binary ◽  
Previous Solution

We present the analysis of V and R light curves of the late type contact binary V523 Cas for the season of 2006. These observations make part of the monitoring program aimed at studying the long-term light curve variability in this system. Our results confirm that the system is in an over contact configuration, and include a bright spot in the neck region of the cooler and larger primary. We compare these results with the previous solution, obtained for the season 2005 dataset and discuss the differences.

Distribution and Abundance of Odonata Species Across Massachusetts: Results of a Long-term Monitoring Program

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 501-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Buchsbaum ◽  
Christopher W. Leahy ◽  
Taber Allison
Keyword(s):  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Long Term Monitoring ◽  
Term Monitoring

scholarly journals Worldwide variations in artificial skyglow

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher C. M. Kyba ◽  
Kai Pong Tong ◽  
Jonathan Bennie ◽  
Ignacio Birriel ◽  
Jennifer J. Birriel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Artificial Light ◽  
Clear Sky ◽  
International Monitoring ◽  
Sky Brightness ◽  
Ground Truthing ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Night Sky Brightness ◽  
Key Questions

Abstract Despite constituting a widespread and significant environmental change, understanding of artificial nighttime skyglow is extremely limited. Until now, published monitoring studies have been local or regional in scope and typically of short duration. In this first major international compilation of monitoring data we answer several key questions about skyglow properties. Skyglow is observed to vary over four orders of magnitude, a range hundreds of times larger than was the case before artificial light. Nearly all of the study sites were polluted by artificial light. A non-linear relationship is observed between the sky brightness on clear and overcast nights, with a change in behavior near the rural to urban landuse transition. Overcast skies ranged from a third darker to almost 18 times brighter than clear. Clear sky radiances estimated by the World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness were found to be overestimated by ~25%; our dataset will play an important role in the calibration and ground truthing of future skyglow models. Most of the brightly lit sites darkened as the night progressed, typically by ~5% per hour. The great variation in skyglow radiance observed from site-to-site and with changing meteorological conditions underlines the need for a long-term international monitoring program.

Long-term environmental data explain better the abundance of the red octopus (Octopus maya) when testing the niche centroid hypothesis

2021 ◽  
Vol 544 ◽  
pp. 151609
Author(s):  
Luis Enrique Ángeles-González ◽  
Enrique Martínez-Meyer ◽  
Carlos Rosas ◽  
Paulina Valeria Guarneros-Narváez ◽  
Jorge A. López-Rocha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Data ◽  
Octopus Maya
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