Enzyme-inducing and cytotoxic effects of South African bedding materials were investigated using a mouse hepatoma cell line, Hepa-1, cell culture system. This cell culture system is a convenient and sensitive method for the screening of bedding materials for the presence of compounds that could be potentially harmful to animals and thus the experimental outcome. Cells were exposed to acetone ex...

Extreme weather events often cause the input of fresh plant tissues into soils in forests. However, interspecific patterns tree tissue-leached dissolved organic matter (DOM) characteristics are poorly understood. In this study, we collected leaves and twigs two broadleaf trees (Liquidambar formosana Schima superba) coniferous (Pinus massoniana Pinus elliottii) subtropical plantations China, mea...

Aluminum (Al) distribution among several cellular fractions was investigated in root tips of seedlings of one Al-resistant and one Al-sensitive family of slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm.) and loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) grown in nutrient solution containing 100 microM AlCl3 (pH 4) for 167 h. Aluminum present in 5-mm-long root tips was fractionated into cell-wall-labile (desorbed in 0.5 mM...

To better understand the long-term effects of species selection and forest management practices on soil quality and soil C retention, we analyzed soil samples from an experimental planting of loblolly (Pinus taeda L.), longleaf (Pinus palustris Mill.), and slash (Pinus elliottii Engelm.) pines under different management intensities in Mississippi. The treatments included stump removal and culti...

The aim of this work was to verify the ability use Particle Image Velocimetry technique for measurements dimensional variations resulting from wood retractability Pinus elliottii wood, initially saturated and with surface marked multiple dots ink randomly distributed, used in apply technique. specimens were dried images captured during process. obtained processed by algorithm deformations that ...

Successful afforestation has been practiced in South Africa for more than a century. Recently, however, problems with afforestation of pines have occurred in the northeastern part of the Eastern Cape Province. Rapid mortality of Pinus patula and P. elliottii have occurred when small container seedlings were planted on old-agricultural soils. Death would often occur within 5 months of planting. ...