Emerald ash borer (EAB; Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) is an invasive wood-borer causing rapid, widespread ash tree mortality, formation of canopy gaps, and accumulation of coarse woody debris (CWD) in forest ecosystems. The objective of this study was to quantify the effects of canopy gaps and ash CWD on forest floor invertebrate communities during late stages of EAB-induced ash mortality, whe...

Calorific values of plants are important indices for evaluating and reflecting material cycle and energy conversion in forest ecosystems. Based on the data of Masson Pine (Pinus massoniana) in southern China, the calorific values (CVs) and ash contents (ACs) of different plant organs were analyzed systematically using hypothesis test and regression analysis in this paper. The results show: (i) ...

The effects of intensifying the management of 15% of the Swedish forest land on potential future forest production over a 100-year period were investigated in a simulation study. The intensive management treatments, which were introduced over a period of 50 years, were: intensive fertilization of Norway spruce (IntFert); bulking-up Norway spruce elite populations using somatic embryogenesis (SE...

Wood chips and logging residues currently comprise the largest share of biomass fuels used for heat generation in district heating plants are provided by a variety suppliers. Ash moisture contents, as well calorific value, may vary considerably depending on composition fuel, seasonality, location, other factors. This paper provides summarized results main characteristics wood chip ash content e...

Power generation from biomass is a substantial source of ashes, the extent of which depends on the type of biomass fuel and technology of combustion being used. The current study focuses on comparison of ashes with a special emphasis on hazardous organic compounds, particularly the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) fraction, present in ash. The reason is that ashes from combustion of wood...

A laboratory aerobic incubation study was performed during 18 weeks under controlled conditions to assess the effects of applying different doses of pulp mill inorganic wastes on the physical-chemical properties of an acid Dystric Cambissol. Three different inorganic wastes were tested - wood ash, dregs and grits, and an agriculture limestone was used as reference. Results showed that increasin...

This chapter includes overall chemical composition of wood, methods of analysis, structure of hemicellulose components and degree of polymerization of carbohydrates. Tables of data are compiled for woods of several countries. Components include: cellulose (Cross and Bevan, holo-, and alpha-), lignin, pentosans, and ash. Solubilities in 1% sodium hydroxide, hot water, ethanol/ benzene, and ether...

Commercial bamboo chips were evaluated as raw material for dissolving pulp production. The chips were auto-hydrolyzed (AH) and subsequently cooked by the NaOH/AQ process and bleached to full brightness with the O-CCE-D-(EP)-D-P sequence. The term CCE designates a cold caustic extraction stage. The bamboo chip chemistry (22.4% lignin, 19.5% xylans, 49.3% cellulose, 16.8% total extractives, and 1...

"Bottom-up" influences, that is, masting, plus population density and climate, commonly influence woodland rodent demography. However, "top-down" influences (predation) also intervene. Here, we assess the impacts of masting, climate, and density on rodent populations placed in the context of what is known about "top-down" influences. To explain between-year variations in bank vole Myodes glareo...