scholarly journals Microhabitat Associations for the Threatened Cheat Mountain Salamander in Relation to Early-stage Red Spruce Restoration Areas

Author(s):  
Donald J Brown ◽  
Lacy E. Rucker ◽  
Catherine Johnson ◽  
Shane Jones ◽  
Thomas K. Pauley

The Central Appalachian Spruce Restoration Initiative was formed to promote restoration of red spruce Picea rubens forests in Central Appalachia. One goal of the initiative is to increase availability and enhance quality of habitat for wildlife, including the threatened Cheat Mountain salamander Plethodon nettingi. The purpose of this research was to compare microhabitat characteristics between an occupied Cheat Mountain salamander site and early-stage spruce restoration sites, and between four occupied sites and proximal non-detection sites. We found that soil pH was higher and soil moisture was lower at spruce restoration sites compared to the occupied site, and that light intensity, sub-canopy air temperature, and ground-level air temperature were higher in spruce restoration prescriptions with reduced canopy cover. We found that soil moisture was higher at occupied sites compared to proximal non-detection sites, but soil pH was not significantly different. Our study suggests that Cheat Mountain salamanders are associated with low soil pH and high soil moisture, and thus spruce restoration could enhance habitat quality for this species in the long-term.

Plant Disease ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 82 (9) ◽  
pp. 975-978 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia A. Blank ◽  
Timothy D. Murray

Germination of Cephalosporium gramineum conidia in soil was up to twofold greater at -0.064 MPa than at -0.037 and -0.007 MPa when incubated at 5°C for 2 days. Soil pH from 4.7 to 7.5 did not have a significant influence on germination of conidia and the interaction between soil pH and matric potential on germination was not significant. Soil fungistasis, which was previously observed for conidia of C. gramineum, was not observed in these studies. Germination of conidia on mineral salts agar containing phosphate buffer was significantly less at pH 4.5 than at 5.5, 6.5, or 7.5 at 5°C in one of two experiments; however, pH had no influence on germination at 10 or 20°C in two experiments. Although Cephalosporium stripe is more severe under conditions of high soil moisture and low soil pH, increased germination of conidia in response to these factors does not explain the observed increase in disease.


1962 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 180-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Lehane ◽  
W. J. Staple

Greenhouse experiments in which wheat was grown on a limited amount of soil moisture showed that crops subjected to moisture stress at an early stage of growth yielded well on all soils tested, but that crops with moisture stress late in the season yielded poorly on loam soils. Late stress was less damaging on clay because high soil moisture tension in this soil resulted in better distribution of moisture use during the critical period.Crops grown under early stress used less moisture, but were equally as efficient in grain production as those grown under optimum conditions. Crops with moisture shortage during heading and filling were inefficient in moisture use.Similar variations in moisture efficiency caused by seasonal trends in available moisture supply have been observed under field conditions. For example, good yields of wheat were produced with a minimum of rainfall in Saskatchewan in 1958 when a shortage of moisture in May and June was followed by more favorable conditions in July.


2006 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 197-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel W. Jackson ◽  
Craig A. Harper ◽  
David S. Buckley ◽  
Bradley F. Miller

Abstract Growing emphasis on sustainability has increased the demand for information on effects of forest management on species diversity. We investigated the hypothesis that plant diversity is a function of microsite heterogeneity by documenting plant diversity and heterogeneity in canopy cover, light, and soil moisture produced by four silvicultural treatments during the first growing season following treatment: prescribed burning, wildlife retention cut with prescribed burning, wildlife retention cut, and shelterwood cutting. Treatments and controls were randomly assigned within four relatively undisturbed, 70–90-year-old oak-hickory stands. Heterogeneity in canopy cover and photosynthetically active radiation was greatest after shelterwood cutting, whereas the wildlife retention cut resulted in less removal of canopy trees and a smaller increase in heterogeneity of these factors. The addition of prescribed burning enhanced the effects of the wildlife retention cut. Prescribed burning alone had the least impact on heterogeneity of these factors. Soil moisture variability appeared to be independent of treatments. Shelterwood cutting increased first-year herbaceous plant diversity, and this increase was likely due, in part, to increased heterogeneity in canopy cover, light, and seedbed condition. These first-year results partially support the hypothesis that plant diversity is a function of microsite diversity in these forests. Long-term monitoring is underway.


1996 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 352-352
Author(s):  
Stanley R. Swier

Abstract The trial was conducted 10 May on a golf course rough, Amherst, NH. Plots were 10 X 10 ft, replicated 4 times, in a RCB design. Merit WP was applied in 4 gal water/1000 ft2 with a watering, can. Merit G granules were applied with a homemade salt shaker. Treatments were irrigated with 0.5 inch water after application. Plots were rated 30 Sep by counting the number of live grubs per 1 ft2. Conditions at the time of treatment were: air temperature 70°F; wind, 3 MPH; sky, clear; soil temperature, 1 inch, 60°F; thatch depth, 0.5 inch soil pH, 5.4; slope 0%; soil texture, silt loam, 47% sand, 50% silt, 3% clay; soil organic matter, 6.9%; soil moisture, 21.8%.


Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 188
Author(s):  
Elana Dayoub ◽  
Jay Ram Lamichhane ◽  
Céline Schoving ◽  
Philippe Debaeke ◽  
Pierre Maury

Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) may contribute to the agro-ecological transition of cropping systems in Europe, but its productivity is severely affected by summer drought. New drought-avoidance cropping strategies, such as early sowing, require cultivars with high early plant growth under suboptimal conditions. This study aims at phenotyping early-stage root and shoot traits of 10 cultivars commonly grown in Europe. Cultivars were grown in minirhizotrons under two soil moisture status in controlled conditions. Root and shoot traits were evaluated at 10 days after sowing. Field early growth of two cultivars was also analyzed under early and conventional sowing dates. A significant intraspecific variability (p < 0.05) was found for most investigated shoot and root morpho-physiological traits regardless of the soil moisture status under controlled conditions. However, no significant difference among cultivars (p > 0.05) was found in terms of root architectural traits that were mainly affected by water stress. Total root length was positively correlated with shoot length and shoot dry matter (p < 0.05). Under field conditions, the differences between cultivars were expressed by the canopy cover at emergence, which determines the subsequent canopy cover dynamics. The significant early growth difference among cultivars was not related to the maturity group. Cultivars characterized by high root depth and length, high root density and narrow root angle could be considered as good candidates to cope with water stress via better soil exploration. New agronomic strategies mobilizing the diversity of cultivars could thus be tested to improve soybean water use efficiency in response to climate change.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheng Ye ◽  
Ka Lok Chan ◽  
Tamara Brunner ◽  
Hanlin Zhang ◽  
Alexander Geiß ◽  
...  

&lt;p&gt;The global pandemic has many negative economic, social and health impacts, but the lock-downs also led to a reduction of traffic volume which resulted in lower NO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; levels in some areas. Our study made use of different air quality measurement techniques (in-situ, on-road, satellite remote sensing) to monitor long-term NO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; levels in Munich. While comparing NO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; levels associate with traffic volume before and after a lock-down, other influences based on meteorological parameters should be considered as well. In addition to traffic data we used records of wind, mixing layer height, temperature, humidity and other meteorological parameters to analyze the impact on measured pollution levels using a Generalized Additive Model (GAM) regression. Our long-term study using data between 2018 and 2021 shows that the dominating factor is wind speed, followed by traffic volume as the main factors for impacting NO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; levels, while absolute humidity and wind direction show less effects. We utilized those findings to find best suited time periods comparable to the lockdown time in terms of meteorological conditions. In order to focus on the traffic volume factor, we applied these findings to minimize other impact factors to evaluate the NO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; variability of different years comparing to the data from the lockdown periods. A significant reduction of the ground level NO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; concentrations in Munich during the early stage of the lockdown period in March 2020 could clearly be associated with a significant reduction of traffic volume.&lt;/p&gt;


1994 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 313-314
Author(s):  
Stanley R. Swier

Abstract Two formulations of Merit were compared for efficacy against Japanese beetle grubs on a golf course fairway in Amherst, NH. Plots were 10 × 10 ft, replicated 4 times in an RCB design. Treatments were applied 26 Apr and rated 24 Sep. The granular formulation was applied with a homemade salt shaker. The wettable powder was applied in a watering can at a volume of 5 gal water/1000 ft2. After application, plots were irrigated with 0.5 inches water. Plots were rated by counting the number of live grubs in a 3 ft2 sample. Conditions at the time of treatment were: air temperature, 53.3°F; soil temperature, 2 inches, 50.8°F; thatch depth, 0.5 inch; soil pH, 5.8; slope, 1%; soil texture, sandy loam, 53% sand, 43% silt, 4% clay; soil organic matter, 6.5% soil moisture, 19.4%.


Author(s):  
Ildar Rakhmatulin

This manuscript presented an autonomous home farm for predicting metrological characteristics that can not only automate the process of growing crops but also, due to a neural network, significantly increase the productivity of the farm. The developed farm monitors and manages the following indicators: illumination, soil PH, air temperature, earth temperature, air humidity, CO2 concentration, and soil moisture. The presented farm can also be considered as a device for testing various weather conditions to determine the optimal temperature characteristics for different crops. This farm as a result is completely autonomous grows tomatoes at home.


1996 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 327-327
Author(s):  
Stanley R. Swier ◽  
Alan Rollins

Abstract Three treatments were applied to third and fourth instar BCW larvae at Amherst Country Club. Plots were 7 X 7 ft, replicated 4 times, in a RCB design. Treatments were applied 7 Sep and rated 14 Sep (7 DAT). Treatments were applied with a CO2 boom sprayer, 8004 nozzles, at 40 PSI, in 2 gal water per 10002. Plots were rated using a soap flush and counting the number of emerging larvae. Conditions at the time of treatment were: air temperature, 84.3°F; wind, calm; sky, cloudy; soil temperature, 77.3°F; thatch depth, 0.25 inch; soil pH, 5.7; slope, 0%; soil texture, silt loam: sand 40%, silt 59%, clay 1%; soil organic matter, 3.7%; soil moisture, 22.6%; post treatment precipitation, 0.1 inch daily; mowing height, 0.187 inch.


Author(s):  
Jihot Lumban Gaol ◽  
Hindriyanto Purnomo ◽  
Budhi Kristianto ◽  
Radius Tanone ◽  
Yos Richard Beeh ◽  
...  

The development of technology is very helpful in agriculture by using the internet to get the information we need. The problem that farmers think of is that they cannot easily and quickly get information in the form of light intensity, precipitation, soil pH, soil moisture, soil temperature, humidity and air temperature. When farmers get the information they need from agricultural land, they usually get information through the internet so they are considered less efficient as it is quite time consuming. To solve this problem, a system is designed using the research and development method (RnD). A new Android-based application that can display data in text and graphics that are more easily accessible to farmers. This study creates an Android-based mobile application based on tests using the Android interface to display information about agricultural land conditions and display graphical data that is updated every 5 minutes.   Keywords— Land monitoring, Agriculture, IoT, Android Mobile Application


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