The winter roost-site selection of most North American foliage-roosting bats is relatively unknown. We examined winter roost-site selection of Seminole bats (Lasirrrus seminolus) in the Lower Coastal Plain of South Carolina during January 2004. Seminole bats used a variety of day-roost structures including the canopy of overstory hardwood trees, hanging vines, pine needle clusters suspended fro...

Ecology of Alopoglossus angulatus and A. atriventris (Squamata, Gymnophthalmidae) in western Amazonia. We studied the ecology of Alopoglossus angulatus and A. atriventris in western Amazonia. Both species are found in leaf litter of lowland tropical forest, but A. angulatus tends to be found near water whereas A. atriventris is found in terra firme forest. Both tend to be active in shade on sun...

the present study aimed to assess pure planted species (i.e., alnus subcordata l., poplus deltoids l., taxadium distichum l. rich) and a mixed natural forest (i.e., dominated by quercus castaneifolia c. a. mey. - carpinus betulus l. - parrotia persica c. a. meyer) on basis of some soil quality indices in mazandaran province, northern iran. sixteen samples per stand were taken from the top 10 cm...

Conspecific adults have strong negative effect on the survival of nearby early-stage seedlings and thus can promote species coexistence by providing space for the regeneration of heterospecifics. The leaf litter fall from the conspecific adults, and it could mediate this conspecific negative adult effect. However, field evidence for such effect of conspecific leaf litter remains absent. In this...

Alteration in the amount of soil organic matter input can have profound effect on carbon dynamics in forest soils. The objective of our research was to determine the response in soil respiration to above- and belowground organic matter manipulation in a Chinese pine (Pinus tabulaeformis) plantation. Five organic matter treatments were applied during a 2-year experiment: both litter removal and ...

Fungal secretory peroxidases mediate fundamental ecological functions in the conversion and degradation of plant biomass. Many of these enzymes have strong oxidizing activities towards aromatic compounds and are involved in the degradation of plant cell wall (lignin) and humus. They comprise three major groups: class II peroxidases (including lignin peroxidase, manganese peroxidase, versatile p...

The microbial decomposition respiration of plant litter generates a major CO2 efflux from terrestrial ecosystems that plays a critical role in the regulation of carbon cycling on regional and global scales. However, the respiration from root litter decomposition and its sensitivity to temperature changes are unclear in current models of carbon turnover in forest soils. Thus, we examined seasona...

Eucalypt plantations cover over 1.5 million ha in the Iberian Peninsula. The effects of the replacement of native deciduous forests by exotic plantations on stream communities and litter decomposition, a key ecosystem process in forest streams, are poorly understood. We compared microbially driven and total (microbes + invertebrates) decomposition of alder and oak leaf litter (high and low qual...

ABSTRACT During 2001 to 2003, the transmission biology of Phytophthora ramorum, the causal agent of sudden oak death, was studied in mixedevergreen forest, a common forest type in northern, coastal California. Investigation of the sources of spore production focused on coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) and bay laurel (Umbellularia californica), dominant hosts that comprised 39.7 and 46.2% of t...