The proportion of older adults in the population is increasing and ageing is associated with poorer physical, mental and social health. Hence, there is increasing need for community facilities that are appealing and suitable to older adults and promote good health and well-being. Visiting parks has been shown to facilitate a multitude of physical, psychological, and social health benefits; however

Extensive gaps in invasive plant species research in terms of ecosystem distribution and impact are major barriers faced by global decision making bodies for scientific management of plant species invasions of native flora. Effective strategies need to be worked out which would enable simultaneous management and the use of invasive plant species for ecosystem restoration. For evaluating the photosynthetic

Urban parks enhance the aesthetic quality of urban area and increase the restorative potential of cities to avoid the negative psycho-physiological impact of living in the built environment. This research aimed to model some aesthetic preference and mental restoration values in urban parks based on landscape natural characteristics to compare the MLP (Multi-Layer Perceptron), RBFNN (Radial Basis Function

The increasing availability of remotely sensed data has recently challenged the traditional way of performing forest inventories, and induced an interest in model-based inference. Like traditional design-based inference, model-based inference allows for regional estimates of totals and means, but in addition for wall-to-wall mapping of forest characteristics. Recently Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)-based

Modelling aboveground biomass (AGB) in forest and woodland ecosystems is critical for accurate estimation of carbon stocks. However, scarcity of allometric models for predicting AGB remains an issue that has not been adequately addressed in Africa. In particular, locally developed models for estimating AGB in the tropical woodlands of Ghana have received little attention. In the absence of locally

Central America is one of the most diverse floristic provinces in the world, but comprehensive plant lists for the region are incomplete and need frequent updating. Full geographic ranges of individual species are seldom known. Our detailed forest inventory plots of Panama thus lack a global geographic perspective. In order to provide one, we assembled a thoroughly vetted checklist of all tree species

The effects of selective logging in Argentinean native subtropical forests or its replacement by pine plantations on carbon and hydrological cycles is of importance for developing strategies for a sustainable use of water resources and climate mitigation in subtropical humid regions. Ecosystem-level gross primary productivity (GPP), evapotranspiration (ET) and water use efficiency (WUE) were assessed

Understanding the key processes and potential mechanisms of crops in response to elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration and drought may further shed lights on the impacts of climate change on the global agriculture ecosystems. This study examined the effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration on the growth of winter wheat under different soil water conditions (full irrigation, mild water stress

This study compared the energy budget components of latent heat flux (LE), sensible heat flux (H), net radiation (Rn) and ground heat flux (G) between an undisturbed bog and an adjacent abandoned peatland pasture within the same peatland complex in western Newfoundland, Canada. The analysis was based on the period of April 2014 to August 2015 when measurements were concurrent at both sites, thus encompassing

Phenology is an important indicator of the biological responses to climate change, and previous studies have reported divergent phenological responses of grasslands in Inner Mongolia from the analyses of in-situ measurements and satellite observations; thus, robust phenology models are required to understand and simulate the relationship between ecosystems and climate change. However, phenology models

Timely and accurate crop monitoring and yield forecasting before harvesting are valuable for precision management, policy and decision making, and marketing. The aim of this study is to explore the potential of fusing spectral and structural information extracted from the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based images in the whole growth period of rice to improve the grain yield prediction. A UAV platform

Altered precipitation regimes and increased temperatures can enhance wildfire risk, particularly in semi-arid and arid ecosystems. Since these ecosystems occupy a third of the earth's land area, the immediate loss of carbon and the post fire reduction in carbon sequestration will significantly affect regional and global carbon budgets. However, there are few studies that quantify the recovery of ecosystem

Wine production is intricately dependant on the evolution of weather conditions in a given year. Therefore, seasonal weather forecasts coupled with empirical wine production models can play a critical role in the short to medium-term management of vineyards and wineries. The implementation of suitable and timely adaptation measures based on predicted wine productions may contribute to risk reduction

Pesticide resistance is a growing issue worldwide, and susceptibility of pest populations should be monitored in migratory intersection regions for successful resistance management. We determined the susceptibility of eight noctuid species from the Florida Panhandle to bifenthrin (pyrethroid) and chlorantraniliprole (diamide). Larvae from field and laboratory populations were exposed to commercial

The subject of the paper are gardens associated with the Roman Catholic parish churches of the Warsaw Archdiocese. Church gardens derive from tradition of former churchyards which are principally characterized as places of burial. With passing years churchyards have lost their function of burial place and were transformed into designed green areas. The church gardens scattered throughout the urban

In urban environments, long-term tree survival and performance requires physiological tolerance or phenotypic plasticity in plant functional traits. Knowledge of these traits can inform the likely persistence of urban forests under future, more severe climates. We assessed the plasticity of morphological and physiological traits of tree species planted along an urban climatic gradient in the Greater

Urban green infrastructures (UGIs) are being increasingly recognized as key providers of ecosystem services (ES) in cities. However, many developing countries still lack the public awareness of the concepts of UGIs and their ES, including the benefit & monetary value of the UGIs’ services, the willingness to pay (WTP) for the UGIs’ services. The relationship between the benefits & monetary value of

There is a range of tools available to value the ecosystem services provided by urban green infrastructure including i-Tree Eco, CAVAT, GI-Val, and more. These valuation tools quantify the natural environment in order to incorporate it within urban decision-making processes. In the UK, valuation tools have been used successfully to calculate replacement values for trees (e.g. Southwark, London), enhance

In this study, X-ray computed tomography (CT) and acoustic emission (AE) monitoring were used to nondestructively analyze the oviposition behavior of the bamboo powderpost beetle, Dinoderus minutus, which takes place inside bamboo culms. Newly mated adult females of D. minutus were singly exposed to a bamboo piece, obtained from culms of madake (Phyllostachys bambusoides), and were kept at a temperature

July 2020

Studies of woodland owner values, intentions, and actions have advanced understanding of barriers and motivators to active forest management. Social marketing research has likewise offered significant insights into the effective design of persuasive conservation campaigns and importance of factors such as message framing and use of social norms. Yet, evaluation of the attributes of outreach messages

Abstract

Abstract

The experimental basis for testing the biological durability of wood often includes incubation experiments with wood-destroying basidiomycetes. Numerous parameters can affect the mass loss by fungal decay (MLF) in laboratory durability tests and therefore being decisive for the resulting durability classification. Among others, the dimension of the wood specimen and the time of incubation impact on

Key message Considering anisotropy in image reconstruction algorithm for ultrasound computed tomography of trees resulted in a more accurate detection of defects compared to common approaches used. Context Ultrasound computed tomography is a suitable tool for nondestructive evaluation of standing trees. Until now, to simplify the image reconstruction process, the transverse cross-section of trees has

Glyphosate was recently evaluated for the potential to interact with the estrogen, androgen, and thyroid (EAT) hormone pathways, including steroidogenesis, under the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP), then by Germany, the rapporteur Member State who led the European Annex 1 renewal for glyphosate, and then by the European Food Protection

Effects of high-pressure (HP) treatment on densification of poplar sapwood boards and subsequent coatings were evaluated. Tung oil (TO) and epoxy resin (ER)-coated treatments were used to improve the dimensional stability of HP-densified wood. The density of the wood after HP densification increased from 450 ± 50 kg/m3 for the control to 960 ± 20 kg/m3 at 125 MPa. This process also resulted in the

In Hungary, large stocks of plantation poplar reached their cutting age. The present paper is a part-time report of the OTKA project on the wettability of Pannónia poplar samples originating from two Hungarian plantations: Győr and Solt. The main question was whether the different sites of origin have a significant influence on the properties of the boards. Samples from the two plantation sites were

This study focused on tree mortality in spruce-dominated stands managed using the single-tree selection method in southern Finland. Together with regeneration and tree growth, mortality is one of the basic elements of the stand structure and dynamics in selection stands. The study was based on data acquired from a set of 20 permanent experimental plots monitored with repeated measurements for 20 years

The competing demands of landscape irrigation and other urban water requirements are motivating improvements in water efficiency in arid urban areas. Complex urban environments create unique microclimates that can result in different irrigation requirements across the landscape. The microclimate coefficient (Kmc) is applied to adjust evapotranspiration from reference surfaces to local microclimatic

Climate change and urbanization are increasing the urban flood risk, which can cause adverse on socio-economic and environmental impacts. Green Infrastructure (GI) can reduce stormwater runoff and offer multiple benefits that have been initiated in the United Kingdom (UK) and China, namely Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) and Sponge Cities Program (SCP) respectively. Currently, the implementation

Knowledge of the hard seed content of annual legumes, and its pattern of breakdown, is critical to the understanding of their ecology and management within farming and natural ecosystems. For logistical reasons, seed that has been stored for varying lengths of time is often used for pasture establishment and agronomy experiments. However, the implications of storage on hard seed physiology are unknown

The main feed crops on dairy farms in the northeastern U.S. are alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and maize (Zea mays L.). Projected changes in climate along with increased atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration will affect future production of these crops. We evaluated maize and alfalfa yield and evapotranspiration response to CO2 enrichment predicted by three process-based cropping system models

An understanding of the relationship between volume increment and stand density (basal area, stand density index, etc.) is of utmost importance for properly managing stand density to achieve specific management objectives. There are two main approaches to analyse growth–density relationships. The first relates volume increment to stand density through a basic relationship, which can vary with site

Most U.S. maize, soybean and cotton farmers use Bt crops, insecticidal seed treatments, soil‐applied insecticides, and foliar sprays to manage insect pests. Given the global economic importance of these crops, we examine farmer benefits of this insecticide use. Using a telephone survey, we document pest management practices and concerns, estimate adoption and farmer perceived values for these practices

Pyrethroids, a class of insecticides, acted on the nervous system of insects. Frequent consumption of foods with pyrethroid residues increased the risk of developmental and neurological diseases in human. Assessing the toxicity of novel synthetic pyrethroids to mammals was also critical to the development of agrochemicals.

Continuous N2O flux acquisition is crucial to enrich our knowledge of the complex mechanisms underlying the annual greenhouse gas budget and to refine their estimation. N2O flux measurement methodologies at high temporal resolution, i.e. micro-meteorology methodologies, are still scarce and may exacerbate the lack of important data, especially during the night if the required turbulent conditions are

Drip application of insecticides has been used for controlling crop pests, but the application doses are usually higher than foliar spray. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have been reported to improve root absorption of nutrients from soil, which may also enhance the uptake of drip‐applied insecticides, reducing the application doses. In this study, greenhouse and field experiments were carried

Apple snails from the genus Pomacea have spread widely in paddy fields and other wetlands of southern China since their introduction in the 1980s. Pomacea spp. are commonly identified using mitochondrial COI sequences. However, sequencing the nuclear EF1α gene revealed genetic introgression between field populations of P. canaliculata and P. maculata , which produce surviving hybrids in laboratory

Land-use change and forest management may alter soil organic matter (SOM) and nutrient dynamics, due in part to alterations in litter input and quality. Acacia was introduced in eucalypt plantations established in the Congolese coastal plains to improve soil fertility and tree growth. Eucalypt trees were expected to benefit from N2 fixed by acacia. However, some indicators suggest a perturbation in

Because of the wide adaptability to samples in various states, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy has attracted increasing attention. In the present work, it was firstly used to analyze lignocellulosic biomass material and develop the possible use for rapid detection. Through the analysis of the spectra, it was observed that the extremely pure microcrystalline cellulose, filter paper and purchased

Technical forest management plans are prerequisites for obtaining forest management rights by community forest user groups in Nepal. However, the relevance of such plans and the rationale for accepting them remain unexplored. Using a multiple-case-study approach, we examine the contents of the silvicultural prescriptions, and the relevance of these prescriptions in day-to-day forest management, and

Key message In our study of colonisation of abandoned farmland by Juniperus thurifera L., environmental and geographic distances were stronger drivers of functional differentiation among trees than genetic distance and tree intrinsic features. However, these effects varied both along the colonisation gradient and across predictors’ values, highlighting the complexity of the conditions under which functional

Key message The use of reduced planting spacings is an important strategy to increase the carbon storage in the above-belowground biomass and should be recommended for future exploitation of forest energy plantations when the purpose intended is the production of biomass for energy. Context Recent concerns about global warming have resulted in more concerted studies on quantifying carbon storage in

Yersinia entomophaga is an entomopathogenic bacterium that is active against scarab beetles, among other insects. In New Zealand, the African black beetle, Heteronychus arator (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), is a major pest of pastures and arable crops but very few control options exist and no insecticides are registered for use in established pastures.

The efficacy and environmental sustainability of pesticide application largely depend on maximizing target coverage, while minimizing off‐target losses. Recently, laboratory‐based measurements were used to develop new cannon‐type spout to increase the droplet size spectra produced by a pneumatic vineyard sprayer. The study described below evaluated the effectiveness of the new device to reduce off‐target

Due to the advantages of high‐efficiency, environmental protection and safety, nanoemulsions have become a highly popular water‐insoluble pesticide delivery system in recent years.

Understanding pest incursion pathways is critical for preventing new invasions and for stopping the transfer of alleles that reduce the efficacy of local control methods. The mosquitoes Aedes albopictus (Skuse) and Ae. aegypti (Linnaeus) are both highly invasive disease vectors, and through a series of ongoing international incursions are continuing to colonise new regions and spread insecticide resistance

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) is frequently planted on former agricultural fields throughout the southeastern United States. Limited information is available on the long-term growth and yield as well as stem quality of longleaf pine growing on these sites with and without midrotation fertilization. The objectives of this study were (1) to determine the growth rates, wood yields, and stem quality