scholarly journals Modelling the Effect of Weed Competition on Long-Term Volume Yield of Eucalyptus globulus Labill. Plantations across an Environmental Gradient

Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 480
Author(s):  
Felipe Vargas ◽  
Carlos Gonzalez-Benecke ◽  
Rafael Rubilar ◽  
Manuel Sanchez-Olate
Keyword(s):  
Eucalyptus Globulus ◽  
Environmental Gradient ◽  
Yield Loss ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Vegetation Control ◽  
Competing Vegetation ◽  
Vegetation Biomass ◽  
Volume Yield

Several studies have quantified the responses of Eucalyptus globulus Labill. plantations to weed control on its early development (2–3 years after establishment). However, long-term results of competing vegetation effects have not been included into growth and yield models that incorporate treatments of competing vegetation control, and its interaction with site resource availability. In this article, we compared several models predicting stand volume yield of E. globulus plantations established across an environmental gradient, growing under different intensity levels of competing vegetation control. Four sites were selected encompassing a gradient in rainfall and amount of competing vegetation. Treatments were applied at stand establishment and were monitored periodically until age 9 years. Competing vegetation control intensity levels considered 0, 5, 20, 44, and 100% weed-free cover around individual E. globulus cuttings. Maximum competing vegetation biomass production during the first growing season were 2.9, 6.5, 2.2, and 12.9 Mg ha−1, for sites ranging from low to high annual rainfall. As expected, reductions in volume yield at age 9 years were observed as competing vegetation control intensity decreased during the first growing season. A strong relationship was established between stem volume yield loss and the intensity of competing vegetation control, the amount of competing vegetation biomass produced during the first growing season and mean annual rainfall. The slope of the relationship was different among sites and was related mainly to water and light limitations. Our results suggest that the biomass of competing vegetation (intensity of competition), affecting site resource availability, contribute to observed long-term effects on E. globulus plantations productivity. The site with the lowest mean annual rainfall showed the highest volume yield loss at age 9 years. Sites with highest rainfall showed contrasting results related to the amount of competing vegetation biomass.

scholarly journals Modelling the Effect of Weed Competition on Long-Term Volume Yield of Eucalyptus globulus Plantations Across an Environmental Gradient

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felipe Vargas ◽  
Carlos A. Gonzalez-Benecke ◽  
Rafael Rubilar ◽  
Manuel Sanchez-Olate
Keyword(s):  
Eucalyptus Globulus ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Stem Volume ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Vegetation Control ◽  
Competing Vegetation ◽  
Vegetation Biomass ◽  
Volume Yield

Several studies have quantified the responses of Eucalyptus globulus plantations to weed control on its early development (2-3 years after establishment). However, long-term results of competing vegetation effects have been rarely incorporated into growth and yield models that forecast the long-term effects of reducing the intensity of competing vegetation control and its interaction with site resource availability on stem volume production close to rotation age. We compared several models predicting stand stem volume yield of Eucalyptus globulus plantations established across a water and fertility gradient growing under different intensity levels of free area of competing vegetation maintained during the first 3 years of stand development. Four sites were selected encompassing a gradient in rainfall and amount of competing vegetation. Treatments were applied at stand establishment and were monitored periodically until age 9 years. Competing vegetation control intensity levels considered 0, 5, 20, 44 and 100% weed-free cover around individual E. globulus seedlings. Maximum competing vegetation biomass production during the first growing season were 2.9, 6.5, 2.2 and 12.9 Mg ha-1, for sites ranging from low to high annual rainfall. As expected, reductions in volume yield at age 9 years were observed as competing vegetation control intensity decreased during the first growing season. A strong relationship was established between stem volume yield loss and the intensity of competing vegetation control, the amount of competing vegetation biomass produced during the first growing season and mean annual rainfall. The slope of the relationship was different among sites and was related mainly to water and light limitations. Our results, suggest that the biomass of competing vegetation (intensity of competition) affecting site resource availability, contribute to observed long-term effects on E. globulus plantations productivity. The site with the lowest mean annual rainfall showed the highest volume yield loss at age 9 years. Sites with highest rainfall showed contrasting results related to the amount of competing vegetation biomass.

Use of false rings in Austrian pine to reconstruct early growing season precipitation

2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (11) ◽  
pp. 1691-1697 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rupert Wimmer ◽  
Giorgio Strumia ◽  
Franz Holawe
Keyword(s):  
Growing Season ◽  
Pinus Nigra ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Dummy Variable ◽  
False Rings ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Dry Conditions ◽  
Earlywood Width ◽  
Linear Regressions

As a consequence of dry conditions, coniferous trees may produce radially smaller diameter tracheids within their tree rings before regular latewood formation starts. The resulting structures, which are commonly called false rings, have demonstrated utility as an environmental indicator. However, the climatic patterns behind false rings and their potential use in climate reconstruction models have been barely explored. The study is based on 313 Austrian pines (Pinus nigra Arn.) sampled at 29 sites in the Viennese basin, an area with low annual rainfall, extended dry periods during the growing season and usually severely cold winters. False rings relate significantly to May precipitation, and in years with higher false-ring proportions, a relationships with the combination of wet April, dry May, and wet June is often seen. In linear regressions, the presence-absence of false rings was used as a "dummy" variable and, together with earlywood width, explained 31% of variation in May precipitation. Years with high false-ring proportions were found when May precipitation was less than half its long-term average. False-ring trends during the past 100 years were closely associated with changing May rainfall pattern. Overall, false rings are shown to be a useful tree-ring feature and may be applied successfully in dendroclimatic studies, i.e., in the reconstruction of very low rainfall months in early growing seasons during pre-instrumental periods.

scholarly journals Long-term trends of climate change and its impact on crop growing season on Montreal Island

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-88
Author(s):  
Erika Bouchard ◽  
Zhiming Qi
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Daily Rainfall ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Climate Trends ◽  
Growing Season Length ◽  
Mk Test ◽  
Long Term Trends ◽  
Increasing Trends

Long-term trends in air temperature and precipitation under climate change were analyzed for two meteorological stations on the Island of Montreal: McGill (1872–1986) and Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau (P-E-T, formerly Dorval) Airport (1942–2014). A linear trendline analysis, the Mann–Kendall (MK) test and the two-sample Kolmogorov–Smirnov (KS) test were conducted to assess specific climate trends. On a 100-year basis, temperature increased 1.88°C (34%) and 1.18°C (19%) at the McGill and P-E-T Airport sites, respectively, while annual rainfall increased 23.9 mm y−1 (2.3%) and 138.8 mm y−1 (15%) over the same period. The frequency of 50% (every other year) and 95% (every year) annual maximum daily rainfall events showed decreasing trends for the McGill station, but increasing trends for the P-E-T Airport station. Growing degree-days and growing season length are prone to being influenced by climate change and are critical to managing agricultural activities in the Montreal region; both showed increasing trends. At the same time, the onset of the growing season occurred earlier as time progressed.

scholarly journals Herbivory and Competing Vegetation Interact as Site Limiting Factors in Maritime Forest Restoration

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 950 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily C. Thyroff ◽  
Owen T. Burney ◽  
Douglass F. Jacobs
Keyword(s):  
Forest Restoration ◽  
Seedling Survival ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Limiting Factors ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Significant Treatment ◽  
Vegetation Control ◽  
Competing Vegetation ◽  
Live Oak ◽  
Maritime Forest

Herbivory and competition during the regeneration phase influence forest successional dynamics. We demonstrated the importance of using the Target Plant Concept to identify and overcome site limiting factors for subtropical maritime forest restoration associated with deer browsing and competition. Quercus virginiana Mill. (live oak) bareroot seedlings were planted into clearcuts along the US Southern Atlantic coast with different treatment combinations of herbivory control (fenced or non-fenced) against white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus Zimm.) browsing and competing vegetation removal (none, one-year, or two-years). After three growing seasons, mean seedling survival was 61% with no significant treatment differences. Control of browse and vegetation interacted to facilitate growth of live oak; seedlings were significantly larger for all response parameters (diameter, height, crown width) when fenced and treated with vegetation control. Removal of vegetation improved seedling performance only in fenced plots, however, indicating a shift in pressure from herbivory to competition as the most limiting site factor when deer were excluded. After the second growing season, foliar nitrogen was greater in fenced plots than non-fenced plots and greater in two-year vegetation control subplots than non-vegetation control subplots. This result, however, was absent after the third growing season. Three years after clearcutting, there was no evidence of Q. virginiana natural regeneration in non-fenced plots. Even with artificial regeneration in non-fenced plots, Q. virginiana growth was slow, indicating that herbivory was a key limiting factor. Our findings illustrate the importance of accounting for site limiting factors and may aid in developing management prescriptions to promote semi-evergreen oak regeneration in ecosystems with high pressure from herbivory and competing vegetation.

Trends in grain production and yield gaps in the high-rainfall zone of southern Australia

2016 ◽  
Vol 67 (9) ◽  
pp. 921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Robertson ◽  
John Kirkegaard ◽  
Allan Peake ◽  
Zoe Creelman ◽  
Lindsay Bell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Yield Potential ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Potential Yield ◽  
High Rainfall ◽  
Eastern Australia

The high-rainfall zone (HRZ) of southern Australia is the arable areas where annual rainfall is between 450 and 800 mm in Western Australia and between 500 and 900 mm in south-eastern Australia, resulting in a growing-season length of 7–10 months. In the last decade, there has been a growing recognition of the potential to increase crop production in the HRZ. We combined (1) a survey of 15 agricultural consultants, each of whom have ~40–50 farmer clients across the HRZ, (2) 28 farm records of crop yields and area for 2000–2010, (3) 86 wheat and 54 canola yield observations from well managed experiments, and (4) long-term simulated crop yields at 13 HRZ locations, to investigate recent trends in crop production, quantify the gap between potential and actual crop yields, and consider the factors thought to limit on-farm crop yields in the HRZ. We found in the past 10 years a trend towards more cropping, particularly in WA, an increased use of canola, and advances in the adaptation of germplasm to HRZ environments using winter and longer-season spring types. Consultants and the farm survey data confirmed that the rate of future expansion of cropping in the HRZ will slow, especially when compared with the rapid changes seen in the 1990s. In Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia the long-term water-limited potential yield in HRZ areas, as measured by experimental yields, consultant estimates and simulations for slow developing spring cultivars of wheat and canola was 5–6 and 2–3 t/ha for a decile 5 season. For Western Australia it was 4–5 and 2–3 t/ha, where yields were less responsive to good seasons than in the other states. The top performing farmers were achieving close to the water-limited potential yield. There are yield advantages of ~2 t/ha for ‘winter’ over ‘spring’ types of both wheat and canola, and there is scope for better adapted germplasm to further raise potential yield in the HRZ. Consultants stated that there is scope for large gains in yield and productivity by encouraging the below-average cropping farmers to adopt the practices and behaviours of the above-average farmers. The scope for improvement between the below- and above-average farmers was 1–3 t/ha for wheat and 0.5–1.5 t/ha for canola in a decile 5 season. They also stated that a lack of up-to-date infrastructure (e.g. farm grain storage) and services is constraining the industry’s ability to adopt new technology. Priorities for future research, development and extension among consultants included: overcoming yield constraints where growing-season rainfall exceeds 350 mm; adaptation of winter and long-season spring types of cereals and canola and management of inputs required to express their superior yield potential; and overcoming barriers to improved planning and timeliness for crop operations and adoption of technology.

A NEW TEST METHOD FOR SHIPPING PALLETS OF SOLAR PRODUCTS

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 481-489
Author(s):  
Shu-Tsung Hsu ◽  
Yean-San Long ◽  
Teng-Chun Wu
Keyword(s):  
Yield Loss ◽  
Test Method ◽  
Package Design ◽  
Rate Analysis ◽  
Energy Demands ◽  
Pv Module ◽  
Cell Module ◽  
Solar Cell Module ◽  
Module System

The photovoltaic (PV) industry is expanding rapidly to meet the growing renewable-energy demands globally. The failure-rate analysis indicated that a large portion of the accelerated PV module qualification failures were related to the failure of PV cell itself, which was leading to the yield loss of PV products during shipping or transportation. Therefore, the damaged cell (or module) caused by shipping is always one of the serious problems to impact the long-term reliability of PV product. This paper aims to propose a new test method of reliability evaluation for shipping pallet of solar product. The first scenario is the test pallet shipped in fab (e.g., fork-lift truck or hand-pallet truck). The second scenario is the test pallet transported from fab to fab by different vehicle (e.g., truck, train, aircraft, and shipboard). Consequently, detailed results were applied to SEMI Doc. 5431 and released as SEMI PV56-1214 by voting in December 2014. The solar cell/module/system makers and buyers, or any other party interested like package design, can thus have a common document to refer to when desired.

Long-term experimentally deepened snow decreases growing-season respiration in a low- and high-arctic tundra ecosystem

2016 ◽  
Vol 121 (5) ◽  
pp. 1236-1248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp R. Semenchuk ◽  
Casper T. Christiansen ◽  
Paul Grogan ◽  
Bo Elberling ◽  
Elisabeth J. Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Growing Season ◽  
Arctic Tundra ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Tundra Ecosystem

Walleye (Stizostedion vitreum vitreum) and Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) Populations and Fisheries of the Red Lakes, Minnesota, 1930–75

1977 ◽  
Vol 34 (10) ◽  
pp. 1774-1783 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lloyd L. Smith Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Commercial Fishery ◽  
Class Strength ◽  
Parent Stock ◽  
Catch Statistics

In an investigation of the commercial fishery of Red Lakes, Minnesota, for the 46-yr period 1930–75, catch statistics were analyzed, and the dynamics of the perch and walleye populations were examined. Mean annual yields of walleye for two statistical periods, 1930–53 and 1954–75, were 309,900 and 245,100 kg, respectively for walleyes, and 96,400 and 109,500 kg for perch. Annual abundance (CPE based on average catches per day per 5-net units of gill nets) varied from 3.8 to 64.6 kg for walleye, and from 2.5 to 34.4 kg for perch. Causes of fluctuations in harvestable stock were directly related to strength of year-classes and to growth rate during the season of capture. Year-class strength was not related to the abundance of parent stock or of potential predators. The respective strengths of year-classes of perch and walleye in the same year were positively correlated (r = 0.859, P < 0.01), and are directly related to climatic factors. Growth rate of walleye in different calendar years varied from +30.7 to −42.2% of mean growth, and that of perch from +13.4 to −8.6% (1941–56). Growing season began in mid-June and was almost over by September 1. Walleye yield could be enhanced by starting harvest July 1 instead of early June. Perch yield could be improved by harvesting small perch. Key words: Percidae, Perca, population dynamics, Stizostedion, long-term yield

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