Archive for March 2011

Written by fatih al-farahat in


Seedless Cherimoya






This item is important because wemay just have a genetic protocol for producing seedless plants on demand. Itmay not be ready yet for prime time, but the possibility is now with us.

We forget that the seedlesscultivars we do have were never anyone’s first choice in terms of flavor andmany other characteristics.  Suddenly wecan plan to optimize a variety and then proceed to produce a seedlessversion. 

How about a better banana?

If this methodology can beadapted to the rest of our universe of cultivars, we are about to witness arevolution in flavor and quality.

My first nominee is to produce aproper sweet seedless watermelon.  From thatwe can also produce dried watermelon without fuss.  Both would have tremendous commercial value.

Just how many varieties of grapesare there?  I would love to eat astrongly flavored concord grape without the seeds while retaining the interiorstructure.


Seedless cherimoya, the next banana?

March 14, 2011

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-03-seedless-cherimoya-banana.html

Mark Twain called it "the most delicious fruit known to man."But the cherimoya, or custard apple, and its close relations the sugar appleand soursop, also have lots of big, awkward seeds. Now new research by plantscientists in the United Statesand Spaincould show how to make this and other fruits seedless.

Going seedless could be a big step for the fruit, said Charles Gasser,professor of plant biology atUC Davis.

"This could be the next banana -- it would make it a lot morepopular," Gasser said. Bananas in their natural state have up to a hundredseeds; all commercial varieties, of course, are seedless. A paper describingthe work is published March 14 in the journal Proceedingsof the National Academy of Sciences.

Researchers José Hormaza, Maria Herrero and graduate student Jorge Loraat the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas in Malaga and Zaragoza,Spain, studied the seedless variety of sugar apple. When they looked closely atthe fruit, they noticed that the ovules, which would normally form seeds,lacked an outer coat.

They looked similar to the ovules of a mutant of the lab plantArabidopsis discovered by Gasser's lab at UC Davis in the late 1990s. InArabidopsis, the defective plants do not make seeds or fruit. But the mutantsugar apple produces full-sized fruit with white, soft flesh without the large,hard seeds.

The Spanish team contacted Gasser, and Lora came from Malaga to work on the project in Gasser'slab. He discovered that the same gene was responsible for uncoated ovules inboth the Arabidopsis and sugar apple mutants.

"This is the first characterization of a gene for seedlessnessin any crop plant," Gasser said.

Seedless varieties of commercial fruit crops are usually achieved byselective breeding and then propagated vegetatively, for example throughcuttings.

Discovery of this new gene could open the way to produce seedlessvarieties in sugar apple, cherimoya and perhaps other fruit crops.

The discovery also sheds light on the evolution of flowering plants,Gasser said. Cherimoya and sugar apple belong to the magnolid family of plants,which branched off from the other flowering plants quite early in theirevolution.

"It's a link all the way back to the beginning of theangiosperms," Gasser said.

Provided by University of California - Davis

Written by fatih al-farahat in


Using Wind to Stabilize the Grid




It appears the idea is to usesmall local energy sources such as windmills to allow islands to be cut out ofthe grid to prevent a failure mode from propagating further.  I do not see how that could work but we maypresume there is a good reason for it, if only because it maintains a localbase load that allows time to side step the problem.

In the event, this is more towardintegrating alternative power into the grid in the best way possible.

If we have learned anything it isthat diverse distributed energy sources hugely increase the robustness of the griditself as was so recently shown in Japan were the wind is presently providingsome system reassurance.


K-State Research Channels Powerful Kansas Wind To Keep Electricity Running

by Staff Writers

Manhattan KA (SPX)Mar 23, 2011

The Kansaswind can potentially provide abundant renewable energy that could power thedisconnected portion of the network. For data collecting and testing purposes,the researchers plan to use the university's wind turbine north of campus, nearthe intersection of Denison and Kimball avenues, as well as four other windturbines installed at the Riley County Public Works Facility.

http://www.winddaily.com/reports/K_State_Research_Channels_Powerful_Kansas_Wind_To_Keep_Electricity_Running_999.html

One of Kansas'most abundant natural resources may hold the key to preventing major poweroutages. A team of Kansas State Universityengineers is researching ways to use Kansaswind and other distributed energy sources to avoid cascading failures.

Sakshi Pahwa, doctoral student in electrical and computer engineering,India, explored the topic for her recently completed master's project,"Distributed Sources and Islanding to Mitigate Cascading Failures in PowerGrid Networks." The project was a winner at the recent Capitol GraduateResearch Summit in Topeka.

Pahwa's co-advisers on the project include Caterina Scoglio, associateprofessor of electrical and computer engineering, and Noel Schulz, Paslayprofessor of electrical and computer engineering and K-State's first lady.Pahwa is continuing this work for her doctoral research under Scoglio and RuthDouglas Miller, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering.

The research looks at using distributed energy sources to avoidcascading failures in power grids. A cascading failure occurs when aninterconnected part of a power system fails and then triggers successive partsto fail - like the one that happened in the Northeast Blackout of 2003, a poweroutage that affected 55 million people in the United States and Canada.

To prevent cascading failures researchers are investigating atechnique called islanding, which works to minimize the impact of a powersystem fault to a small area. Islanding prevents this fault from affectingother areas and stops further disturbances in the network.

"We used a network partitioning algorithm, and then depending onwhere the fault is I can disconnect that portion of the network," Pahwasaid. "That disconnected portion can then be powered using renewable ordistributed energy sources, such as wind turbines or solar panels, and theremaining parts are still being powered by conventional sources."

The Kansaswind can potentially provide abundant renewable energy that could power thedisconnected portion of the network. For data collecting and testing purposes,the researchers plan to use the university's wind turbine north of campus, nearthe intersection of Denison and Kimball avenues, as well as four other windturbines installed at the Riley County Public Works Facility.

The university turbine was installed for Wind for Schools, a projectled by Miller, director of the Kansas Wind Application Center. The Riley Countywind turbines were installed for the Resourceful Kansas project, a cooperativeeffort between Miller, Scoglio, Riley County and the Kansas City-based consulting firm GBA,and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

"We need to set up power systems that are reliable and stable sothat when that wind is blowing, we can use that power, but when the wind isn'tblowing, there are also stable systems," Schulz said. "That's whatthis project is about - modeling the network so we understand the differentaspects for when there are changes, when the wind blows, when it doesn't andhow that affects the power system."

Scoglio and Pahwa started the project when Pahwa was a master'sstudent. As they began studying complex network systems, they turned to Schulz,a power grid expert who has done previous work with islanding. They alsocollaborated with power systems expert Anil Pahwa, professor of electrical andcomputer engineering, and Shelli Starrett, associate professor of electrical andcomputer engineering.

"With the proper design and the right intelligence, some of theproblems related to power failures can be prevented," Scoglio said."We need to make sure that the communication network willmonitor the network and detect the problem and will implement the reactionsecurely to implement these solutions."

Sakshi Pahwa's research aims to not only study the problem from atheoretical aspect, but also provide practical solutions to real-worldproblems. It also fits in with the Renewable Energy Standards Act, which wassigned in 2009 and states that major Kansas utilities should be able togenerate about 10 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2011 and 20percent by 2020.

"This project benefits the state because it reduces carbonemissions through renewable energy," Pahwa said. "It is a goodopportunity to create jobs, and renewable energy incorporation isalso a support to the conventional sources so we don't need to import fuelsfrom other countries. It helps the economy as well."

Pahwa's research was supported by the four companies involved in theK-State Electrical Power Affiliates Program:Westar Energy, Burns and McDonnell, Nebraska Public Power District and OmahaPublic Power District. Schulz directs the program, which supports undergraduateand graduate research programs.

"This research is a benefit for Kansas and the whole nation becauseI think that innovation, coming from research and support from companies suchas those that are part of the power affiliates, can really bring the countryback to a better economic situation," Scoglio said. "Innovation comeswith jobs and can really improve the whole nation."


Written by fatih al-farahat in


Importance of Old Trees







I have posted many times on theneed for forest refugia.  Here we getanother lesson.  The older trees grow mossesand these mosses actually fix nitrogen which is then dropped onto the forestfloor.

In fact, proper forest husbandrymust include refugia in various shapes and sizes, but most likely best set innarrow strips that perhaps go for miles. Such strips also cater to the needs of wildlife.  Such strips are usually best set right alongthe valley drainage to protect the fishery as well.  Yet hillside strips are also called for. 

This way planned timberharvesting can follow decadal programs rather easily while also preserving a lotof natural fertility and diversity.

Even better will be the day wesimply practice selective logging from time to time that includes extensivebrush clearing through burning.

I personally think that mostforestry needs to be privately owned with a quota system put in place anddesignated refugia that is deliberately preserved. 

This shows us another controlthat can be put in place.  Just licensethe allowable cut on the basis of the number of healthy refugia trees whose ageexceeds a certain standard.  Unhealthytrees would be removed posthaste but then one would wait for their replacementsto reach the proper age before new cutting was allowed.  That should motivate everyone to be good andalso careful.

Old trees 'important for forests'

Mar 15, 2011

http://environmentalresearchweb.org/cws/article/news/45364

Bacteria living in mosses on tree branches are twice as effective at'fixing' nitrogen as those on the ground, say researchers from McGill University, Canada.

A new study by McGill's Zoë Lindo and Jonathan Whiteley shows thatlarge, ancient trees may be very important in helping forests grow.

These findings highlight the importance of maintaining the largeold-growth trees in the coastal temperate rainforests that stretch fromSouthern Alaska to Northern California.Lindo's findings suggest that interactions between old trees, mosses andcyanobacteria contribute to nutrient dynamics in a way that may actuallysustain the long-term productivity of these forests.

"What we're doing is putting large, old trees into a context wherethey're an integral part of what a forest is," says Lindo. "Theselarge old trees are doing something: they're providing habitat for somethingthat provides habitat for something else that's fertilizing the forest. It'slike a domino effect; it's indirect but without the first step, without thetrees, none of it could happen."

There are three players in this story: large, old trees; mosses thatgrow along their branches; and cyanobacteria associated with the mosses. Thecyanobacteria take nitrogen from the atmosphere and make it available to plants– a process called "nitrogen fixation" that very few organisms cando.

The growth and development of many forests is thought to be limited bythe availability of nitrogen. Cyanobacteria in mosses on the ground wererecently shown to supply nitrogen to boreal forest, but until now cyanobacteriahave not been studied in coastal forests or in canopies (tree-tops). Bycollecting mosses on the forest floor and then at 15 and 30 metres upinto the forest canopy, Lindo was able to show both that the cyanobacteria aremore abundant in mosses high above the ground, and that they "fix"twice as much nitrogen as those associated with mosses on the forest floor.

It seems moss is the crucial element; the amount of nitrogen comingfrom the canopy depends on trees having mosses.

"You need trees that are large enough and old enough to startaccumulating mosses before you can have the cyanobacteria that are associatedwith the mosses," says Lindo. "Many trees don't start to accumulatemosses until they're more than 100 years old. So it's really the densityof very large, old trees that are draped in moss that is important at a foreststand level. We surveyed trees that are estimated as being between500 and 800 years old."

Written by fatih al-farahat in


Chilean Mastodon





This is the first intact mastodonskull found in Chile.  Yet it is a reminder that the genus made itnot just into North America, but also into South America.

The extinction of large animalsin the Northern Hemisphere can be explained by the event that I have named thePleistocene nonconformity which initially decimated the extantpopulations.  We can easily surmise thatthe remainder was hunted out by early man who had the tools.  The problem I have with all that is theAfrican Elephant particularly.  It neverwas successfully hunted by well equipped local tribesmen before the advent ofmodern arms.

That it could be hunted isirrelevant, it simply never was properly exploited.  Thus I find the human agency theory for both Americasuncomfortable, just as the Pleistocene Nonconformity also failed to actuallyeliminate all individuals.  And theargument of habitat change simply does not fly with a mastodon that eats brush.

As this item reminds us, thiscreature was able to populate every valley on earth at will, and only a handfulever pulled that feat off.

On top of that the mastodon was aforest dweller, quite able to protect itself. Recall that no one in his right mind is going to sneak up on an elephantin the woods and stick a spear into its gut. There is plenty of easier ways to make a meal.

They almost certainly would havebeen trapped in a pit at the least.  Theywere also likely too clever to run over a cliff or even be stampeded.   Certainly, African elephant do not looklikely to ever stampede, unless it is over their tormentors.

The fact remains that the genusis incredibly successful.  Yet we havehuge extinction events that can not be properly explained.  Even the Indian Elephant avoided extinctionand it was exposed to some of the worse land disturbances if we accept the consequencesof the Nonconformity.  In fact allobvious threats are just as obviously survivable.  These creatures were never thin on the groundand vulnerable to over hunting at all. Besides, you would only learn to hunt them if they were common enough tomake it worthwhile.  Even in Africa, that turned out to be an unattractiveproposition.

On top of that, the end of theIce Age would have naturally expanded their range and they would have easilyadapted to warmer conditions.

One other option that does workis that they were deliberately hunted out by an ancestral human stock withaccess to modern tools.  We could todaychoose to eliminate all elephants quite easily and could also reduce oreliminate a few other inconvenient large creatures.  I prefer not to use that option, except thatthe genus was just too successful globally to simply disappear easily.

Builders unearth 2million-year-old skull and tusks of elephant'sancient relative

By DAILYMAIL REPORTER

Last updated at 11:46 AM on 25th March 2011

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1369832/Mammoth-discovery-builders-unearth-rare-skull-tusks-ancient-beasts-relative-mastodon.html


The skull and tusks of a giant primitive elephant that died up to2million years have been discovered by builders in Chile, it emerged today.

The mastodon, around the same size as modern elephants, is thought tohave roamed  forests and plains before dying and sinking into a swamp thatpreserved it.

The find, beside a river, could allow scientists to piece together moreinformation about the DNA they share with their much bigger relative, thewoolly mammoth.




Preserved: The remains of a mastodon discovered on the building site ofa hydroelectric plant in Chile

It could also shed more light on the origins of elephants.

The discovery was made by contrustion workers building a hydroelectricpower plant beside a river in Padre Hurtaldo, near the Chilean capital Santiago.

Digging into the ground, they first noticed the pointed end of one ofthe 4ft long by 6in wide tusks.

Paleontologists were called in and, after further excavation,discovered what is Chile’sfirst ever discovery of a complete mastodon skull.

Directed by Rafael Labarca, of Chile’s PDI institute, told Chileannewspaper La Tercera: 'When we were in the excavation process we were awarethat the bone continued.



Intact: The discovery's is the first complete skull of the ancientcreature ever made in Chile




Big gnashers: The massive, crushing molar teeth that measure about 9inlong

'Practically the whole skull complete and in perfect conditions, withits four molars and together with both tusks of almost four feet in length.

'In addition, inside the skull one was part of the vertebrae of thespine.'

Mastodons were around the same size as modern elephants but were muchmore heavily muscled and had furry coats to protect them from cold.

The ancestry of the elephant has long been a source of fascination forbiologists.

Fossil evidence shows it began in Africaaround 50million to 60million years ago with moeritheres, pig-like creatureswith long snouts.




Brushing teeth: Paleontologist Consuelo Huidobro cleans the molars.They could provide clues about elephants

These animals evolved into a range of other species, many of them muchlarger, and spread across the globe, inhabiting every continent exceptAustralasia and Antarctica.

The four-tusked trilophodon appeared 26million years ago and lasteduntil 2million years ago in Eurasia, Africa, and North America. Modern humans, by contrast, evolved only around 200,000years ago.

Biggest of all was the imperial mammoth, which adapted to the cold inEurasia, Africa, and North America during thePleistocene epoch 2million years ago.

It is believed that they are the closest relative of the elephants.Unlike, mastadons which eat shoots and leaves, mammoths were grazers.


Both species appear to have survived until just a few thousand yearsago and early humans would have been familiar with them.



Padre Hurtado: Where the mastodon was found


It is believed that the evolution and extinction of many modernelephant species may be closely tied up with the spread of the human race.

Both mammoths and mastodons are proboscids, but the former is assignedto the mammutidae family, while the latter is of the eliphantitae.

Most excavations of mastodons have been made in North America. Very few have been discovered in the southern part of thecontinent.

Previously, only fragments had been found in Chile, for example.

One of the biggest finds was made in 1993 at the DiamondValley Lakereservoir outside of Hemet, California.

It yielded numerous remains and led to the site being nicknamed the"Valley of the Mastodons".

Current excavations are going on annually at the Hiscock Site in Byron, New York.

In July 2007, the longest mastodon tusks in the world – measuring 16ftand each weighing a ton – were discovered in Milia, north of Athens.



Read more:
 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1369832/Mammoth-discovery-builders-unearth-rare-skull-tusks-ancient-beasts-relative-mastodon.html#ixzz1I6AroXLc

Written by fatih al-farahat in


Seedless Cherimoya






This item is important because wemay just have a genetic protocol for producing seedless plants on demand. Itmay not be ready yet for prime time, but the possibility is now with us.

We forget that the seedlesscultivars we do have were never anyone’s first choice in terms of flavor andmany other characteristics.  Suddenly wecan plan to optimize a variety and then proceed to produce a seedlessversion. 

How about a better banana?

If this methodology can beadapted to the rest of our universe of cultivars, we are about to witness arevolution in flavor and quality.

My first nominee is to produce aproper sweet seedless watermelon.  From thatwe can also produce dried watermelon without fuss.  Both would have tremendous commercial value.

Just how many varieties of grapesare there?  I would love to eat astrongly flavored concord grape without the seeds while retaining the interiorstructure.


Seedless cherimoya, the next banana?

March 14, 2011

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-03-seedless-cherimoya-banana.html

Mark Twain called it "the most delicious fruit known to man."But the cherimoya, or custard apple, and its close relations the sugar appleand soursop, also have lots of big, awkward seeds. Now new research by plantscientists in the United Statesand Spaincould show how to make this and other fruits seedless.

Going seedless could be a big step for the fruit, said Charles Gasser,professor of plant biology atUC Davis.

"This could be the next banana -- it would make it a lot morepopular," Gasser said. Bananas in their natural state have up to a hundredseeds; all commercial varieties, of course, are seedless. A paper describingthe work is published March 14 in the journal Proceedingsof the National Academy of Sciences.

Researchers José Hormaza, Maria Herrero and graduate student Jorge Loraat the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas in Malaga and Zaragoza,Spain, studied the seedless variety of sugar apple. When they looked closely atthe fruit, they noticed that the ovules, which would normally form seeds,lacked an outer coat.

They looked similar to the ovules of a mutant of the lab plantArabidopsis discovered by Gasser's lab at UC Davis in the late 1990s. InArabidopsis, the defective plants do not make seeds or fruit. But the mutantsugar apple produces full-sized fruit with white, soft flesh without the large,hard seeds.

The Spanish team contacted Gasser, and Lora came from Malaga to work on the project in Gasser'slab. He discovered that the same gene was responsible for uncoated ovules inboth the Arabidopsis and sugar apple mutants.

"This is the first characterization of a gene for seedlessnessin any crop plant," Gasser said.

Seedless varieties of commercial fruit crops are usually achieved byselective breeding and then propagated vegetatively, for example throughcuttings.

Discovery of this new gene could open the way to produce seedlessvarieties in sugar apple, cherimoya and perhaps other fruit crops.

The discovery also sheds light on the evolution of flowering plants,Gasser said. Cherimoya and sugar apple belong to the magnolid family of plants,which branched off from the other flowering plants quite early in theirevolution.

"It's a link all the way back to the beginning of theangiosperms," Gasser said.

Provided by University of California - Davis

Written by fatih al-farahat in


Using Wind to Stabilize the Grid




It appears the idea is to usesmall local energy sources such as windmills to allow islands to be cut out ofthe grid to prevent a failure mode from propagating further.  I do not see how that could work but we maypresume there is a good reason for it, if only because it maintains a localbase load that allows time to side step the problem.

In the event, this is more towardintegrating alternative power into the grid in the best way possible.

If we have learned anything it isthat diverse distributed energy sources hugely increase the robustness of the griditself as was so recently shown in Japan were the wind is presently providingsome system reassurance.


K-State Research Channels Powerful Kansas Wind To Keep Electricity Running

by Staff Writers

Manhattan KA (SPX)Mar 23, 2011

The Kansaswind can potentially provide abundant renewable energy that could power thedisconnected portion of the network. For data collecting and testing purposes,the researchers plan to use the university's wind turbine north of campus, nearthe intersection of Denison and Kimball avenues, as well as four other windturbines installed at the Riley County Public Works Facility.

http://www.winddaily.com/reports/K_State_Research_Channels_Powerful_Kansas_Wind_To_Keep_Electricity_Running_999.html

One of Kansas'most abundant natural resources may hold the key to preventing major poweroutages. A team of Kansas State Universityengineers is researching ways to use Kansaswind and other distributed energy sources to avoid cascading failures.

Sakshi Pahwa, doctoral student in electrical and computer engineering,India, explored the topic for her recently completed master's project,"Distributed Sources and Islanding to Mitigate Cascading Failures in PowerGrid Networks." The project was a winner at the recent Capitol GraduateResearch Summit in Topeka.

Pahwa's co-advisers on the project include Caterina Scoglio, associateprofessor of electrical and computer engineering, and Noel Schulz, Paslayprofessor of electrical and computer engineering and K-State's first lady.Pahwa is continuing this work for her doctoral research under Scoglio and RuthDouglas Miller, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering.

The research looks at using distributed energy sources to avoidcascading failures in power grids. A cascading failure occurs when aninterconnected part of a power system fails and then triggers successive partsto fail - like the one that happened in the Northeast Blackout of 2003, a poweroutage that affected 55 million people in the United States and Canada.

To prevent cascading failures researchers are investigating atechnique called islanding, which works to minimize the impact of a powersystem fault to a small area. Islanding prevents this fault from affectingother areas and stops further disturbances in the network.

"We used a network partitioning algorithm, and then depending onwhere the fault is I can disconnect that portion of the network," Pahwasaid. "That disconnected portion can then be powered using renewable ordistributed energy sources, such as wind turbines or solar panels, and theremaining parts are still being powered by conventional sources."

The Kansaswind can potentially provide abundant renewable energy that could power thedisconnected portion of the network. For data collecting and testing purposes,the researchers plan to use the university's wind turbine north of campus, nearthe intersection of Denison and Kimball avenues, as well as four other windturbines installed at the Riley County Public Works Facility.

The university turbine was installed for Wind for Schools, a projectled by Miller, director of the Kansas Wind Application Center. The Riley Countywind turbines were installed for the Resourceful Kansas project, a cooperativeeffort between Miller, Scoglio, Riley County and the Kansas City-based consulting firm GBA,and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

"We need to set up power systems that are reliable and stable sothat when that wind is blowing, we can use that power, but when the wind isn'tblowing, there are also stable systems," Schulz said. "That's whatthis project is about - modeling the network so we understand the differentaspects for when there are changes, when the wind blows, when it doesn't andhow that affects the power system."

Scoglio and Pahwa started the project when Pahwa was a master'sstudent. As they began studying complex network systems, they turned to Schulz,a power grid expert who has done previous work with islanding. They alsocollaborated with power systems expert Anil Pahwa, professor of electrical andcomputer engineering, and Shelli Starrett, associate professor of electrical andcomputer engineering.

"With the proper design and the right intelligence, some of theproblems related to power failures can be prevented," Scoglio said."We need to make sure that the communication network willmonitor the network and detect the problem and will implement the reactionsecurely to implement these solutions."

Sakshi Pahwa's research aims to not only study the problem from atheoretical aspect, but also provide practical solutions to real-worldproblems. It also fits in with the Renewable Energy Standards Act, which wassigned in 2009 and states that major Kansas utilities should be able togenerate about 10 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2011 and 20percent by 2020.

"This project benefits the state because it reduces carbonemissions through renewable energy," Pahwa said. "It is a goodopportunity to create jobs, and renewable energy incorporation isalso a support to the conventional sources so we don't need to import fuelsfrom other countries. It helps the economy as well."

Pahwa's research was supported by the four companies involved in theK-State Electrical Power Affiliates Program:Westar Energy, Burns and McDonnell, Nebraska Public Power District and OmahaPublic Power District. Schulz directs the program, which supports undergraduateand graduate research programs.

"This research is a benefit for Kansas and the whole nation becauseI think that innovation, coming from research and support from companies suchas those that are part of the power affiliates, can really bring the countryback to a better economic situation," Scoglio said. "Innovation comeswith jobs and can really improve the whole nation."


Written by fatih al-farahat in


Importance of Old Trees







I have posted many times on theneed for forest refugia.  Here we getanother lesson.  The older trees grow mossesand these mosses actually fix nitrogen which is then dropped onto the forestfloor.

In fact, proper forest husbandrymust include refugia in various shapes and sizes, but most likely best set innarrow strips that perhaps go for miles. Such strips also cater to the needs of wildlife.  Such strips are usually best set right alongthe valley drainage to protect the fishery as well.  Yet hillside strips are also called for. 

This way planned timberharvesting can follow decadal programs rather easily while also preserving a lotof natural fertility and diversity.

Even better will be the day wesimply practice selective logging from time to time that includes extensivebrush clearing through burning.

I personally think that mostforestry needs to be privately owned with a quota system put in place anddesignated refugia that is deliberately preserved. 

This shows us another controlthat can be put in place.  Just licensethe allowable cut on the basis of the number of healthy refugia trees whose ageexceeds a certain standard.  Unhealthytrees would be removed posthaste but then one would wait for their replacementsto reach the proper age before new cutting was allowed.  That should motivate everyone to be good andalso careful.

Old trees 'important for forests'

Mar 15, 2011

http://environmentalresearchweb.org/cws/article/news/45364

Bacteria living in mosses on tree branches are twice as effective at'fixing' nitrogen as those on the ground, say researchers from McGill University, Canada.

A new study by McGill's Zoë Lindo and Jonathan Whiteley shows thatlarge, ancient trees may be very important in helping forests grow.

These findings highlight the importance of maintaining the largeold-growth trees in the coastal temperate rainforests that stretch fromSouthern Alaska to Northern California.Lindo's findings suggest that interactions between old trees, mosses andcyanobacteria contribute to nutrient dynamics in a way that may actuallysustain the long-term productivity of these forests.

"What we're doing is putting large, old trees into a context wherethey're an integral part of what a forest is," says Lindo. "Theselarge old trees are doing something: they're providing habitat for somethingthat provides habitat for something else that's fertilizing the forest. It'slike a domino effect; it's indirect but without the first step, without thetrees, none of it could happen."

There are three players in this story: large, old trees; mosses thatgrow along their branches; and cyanobacteria associated with the mosses. Thecyanobacteria take nitrogen from the atmosphere and make it available to plants– a process called "nitrogen fixation" that very few organisms cando.

The growth and development of many forests is thought to be limited bythe availability of nitrogen. Cyanobacteria in mosses on the ground wererecently shown to supply nitrogen to boreal forest, but until now cyanobacteriahave not been studied in coastal forests or in canopies (tree-tops). Bycollecting mosses on the forest floor and then at 15 and 30 metres upinto the forest canopy, Lindo was able to show both that the cyanobacteria aremore abundant in mosses high above the ground, and that they "fix"twice as much nitrogen as those associated with mosses on the forest floor.

It seems moss is the crucial element; the amount of nitrogen comingfrom the canopy depends on trees having mosses.

"You need trees that are large enough and old enough to startaccumulating mosses before you can have the cyanobacteria that are associatedwith the mosses," says Lindo. "Many trees don't start to accumulatemosses until they're more than 100 years old. So it's really the densityof very large, old trees that are draped in moss that is important at a foreststand level. We surveyed trees that are estimated as being between500 and 800 years old."

Written by fatih al-farahat in


Chilean Mastodon





This is the first intact mastodonskull found in Chile.  Yet it is a reminder that the genus made itnot just into North America, but also into South America.

The extinction of large animalsin the Northern Hemisphere can be explained by the event that I have named thePleistocene nonconformity which initially decimated the extantpopulations.  We can easily surmise thatthe remainder was hunted out by early man who had the tools.  The problem I have with all that is theAfrican Elephant particularly.  It neverwas successfully hunted by well equipped local tribesmen before the advent ofmodern arms.

That it could be hunted isirrelevant, it simply never was properly exploited.  Thus I find the human agency theory for both Americasuncomfortable, just as the Pleistocene Nonconformity also failed to actuallyeliminate all individuals.  And theargument of habitat change simply does not fly with a mastodon that eats brush.

As this item reminds us, thiscreature was able to populate every valley on earth at will, and only a handfulever pulled that feat off.

On top of that the mastodon was aforest dweller, quite able to protect itself. Recall that no one in his right mind is going to sneak up on an elephantin the woods and stick a spear into its gut. There is plenty of easier ways to make a meal.

They almost certainly would havebeen trapped in a pit at the least.  Theywere also likely too clever to run over a cliff or even be stampeded.   Certainly, African elephant do not looklikely to ever stampede, unless it is over their tormentors.

The fact remains that the genusis incredibly successful.  Yet we havehuge extinction events that can not be properly explained.  Even the Indian Elephant avoided extinctionand it was exposed to some of the worse land disturbances if we accept the consequencesof the Nonconformity.  In fact allobvious threats are just as obviously survivable.  These creatures were never thin on the groundand vulnerable to over hunting at all. Besides, you would only learn to hunt them if they were common enough tomake it worthwhile.  Even in Africa, that turned out to be an unattractiveproposition.

On top of that, the end of theIce Age would have naturally expanded their range and they would have easilyadapted to warmer conditions.

One other option that does workis that they were deliberately hunted out by an ancestral human stock withaccess to modern tools.  We could todaychoose to eliminate all elephants quite easily and could also reduce oreliminate a few other inconvenient large creatures.  I prefer not to use that option, except thatthe genus was just too successful globally to simply disappear easily.

Builders unearth 2million-year-old skull and tusks of elephant'sancient relative

By DAILYMAIL REPORTER

Last updated at 11:46 AM on 25th March 2011

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1369832/Mammoth-discovery-builders-unearth-rare-skull-tusks-ancient-beasts-relative-mastodon.html


The skull and tusks of a giant primitive elephant that died up to2million years have been discovered by builders in Chile, it emerged today.

The mastodon, around the same size as modern elephants, is thought tohave roamed  forests and plains before dying and sinking into a swamp thatpreserved it.

The find, beside a river, could allow scientists to piece together moreinformation about the DNA they share with their much bigger relative, thewoolly mammoth.




Preserved: The remains of a mastodon discovered on the building site ofa hydroelectric plant in Chile

It could also shed more light on the origins of elephants.

The discovery was made by contrustion workers building a hydroelectricpower plant beside a river in Padre Hurtaldo, near the Chilean capital Santiago.

Digging into the ground, they first noticed the pointed end of one ofthe 4ft long by 6in wide tusks.

Paleontologists were called in and, after further excavation,discovered what is Chile’sfirst ever discovery of a complete mastodon skull.

Directed by Rafael Labarca, of Chile’s PDI institute, told Chileannewspaper La Tercera: 'When we were in the excavation process we were awarethat the bone continued.



Intact: The discovery's is the first complete skull of the ancientcreature ever made in Chile




Big gnashers: The massive, crushing molar teeth that measure about 9inlong

'Practically the whole skull complete and in perfect conditions, withits four molars and together with both tusks of almost four feet in length.

'In addition, inside the skull one was part of the vertebrae of thespine.'

Mastodons were around the same size as modern elephants but were muchmore heavily muscled and had furry coats to protect them from cold.

The ancestry of the elephant has long been a source of fascination forbiologists.

Fossil evidence shows it began in Africaaround 50million to 60million years ago with moeritheres, pig-like creatureswith long snouts.




Brushing teeth: Paleontologist Consuelo Huidobro cleans the molars.They could provide clues about elephants

These animals evolved into a range of other species, many of them muchlarger, and spread across the globe, inhabiting every continent exceptAustralasia and Antarctica.

The four-tusked trilophodon appeared 26million years ago and lasteduntil 2million years ago in Eurasia, Africa, and North America. Modern humans, by contrast, evolved only around 200,000years ago.

Biggest of all was the imperial mammoth, which adapted to the cold inEurasia, Africa, and North America during thePleistocene epoch 2million years ago.

It is believed that they are the closest relative of the elephants.Unlike, mastadons which eat shoots and leaves, mammoths were grazers.


Both species appear to have survived until just a few thousand yearsago and early humans would have been familiar with them.



Padre Hurtado: Where the mastodon was found


It is believed that the evolution and extinction of many modernelephant species may be closely tied up with the spread of the human race.

Both mammoths and mastodons are proboscids, but the former is assignedto the mammutidae family, while the latter is of the eliphantitae.

Most excavations of mastodons have been made in North America. Very few have been discovered in the southern part of thecontinent.

Previously, only fragments had been found in Chile, for example.

One of the biggest finds was made in 1993 at the DiamondValley Lakereservoir outside of Hemet, California.

It yielded numerous remains and led to the site being nicknamed the"Valley of the Mastodons".

Current excavations are going on annually at the Hiscock Site in Byron, New York.

In July 2007, the longest mastodon tusks in the world – measuring 16ftand each weighing a ton – were discovered in Milia, north of Athens.



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