One of the major goals in speciation research is to understand which isolation mechanisms form the first barriers to gene flow. This requires examining lineages that are still in the process of divergence or incipient species. Here, we investigate the presence of behavioral and several cryptic barriers between the sympatric willow and birch host races of Lochmaea capreae. Behavioral isolation d...

Phytoextraction has been reported as an economically and ecologically sound alternative for the remediation of metal-contaminated soils. Willow is a metal phytoextractor of interest because it allows to combine a gradual contaminant removal with production of biomass that can be valorized in different ways. In this work two willow clones growing on a metal-contaminated site were selected: 'Belg...

Historically, wetlands along the St. Johns River, Florida, were dominated by herbaceous marshes. However, in the last 50 years many areas transformed to shrub-dominated wetlands, at the same time a system of levees and canals was constructed to control flooding. We tested the role of water management in controlling Carolina willow (Salix caroliniana), a native shrub that accounts for most of th...

Geophagy is thought to have several physiological benefits to animals, including mineral supplementation and adsorption of toxins. However, these benefits have rarely been demonstrated experimentally. Using soil from a known lick in northern Alaska, we investigated the effect of geophagy on food intake andmass loss in captive snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus Erxleben, 1777) fed a formulated rat...

Despite a growing body of research linking bioenergy cultivation to changing patterns of biodiversity, there has been remarkably little interest in how bioenergy plantations affect key ecosystem processes underpinning important ecosystem services. In this study, we compare how the processes of predation by ground arthropods and litter decomposition varied between Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) wi...

Precipitation data sets representing four spatial resolutions were used to evaluate the performance of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) on the basis of reproducing measured streamflow, and to show differences in model parameters when different precipitation data sets are used to calibrate the model. The experiment was conducted on the 786 km2 Ft. Cobb Reservoir experimental watershed (...

This study investigated the separate and combined anthelmintic (AH) effects of different phenolic compounds, including condensed tannins and flavonoids, all of which are known to occur in willow leaves, a potentially valuable dry season feed. A range of contrasting model tannins, which span the whole range of willow tannins, were isolated from tilia flowers, goat willow leaves, black currant le...

This research was conducted on an area of inland sands characterised by various degrees overgrowth vegetation and soil stabilisation. landscape’s origin is not natural but connected to human industrial activities dating from early medieval times, which created a powerful centre for mining metallurgy. study aims identify the changes in above- belowground phytomass initial stages succession their...

Future improvement of woody biomass crops such as willow and poplar relies on our ability to select for metabolic traits that sequester more atmospheric carbon into biomass, or into useful products to replace petrochemical streams. We describe the development of metabotyping screens for willow, using combined 1D 1H-NMR-MS. A protocol was developed to overcome 1D 1H-NMR spectral alignment proble...

Black willow (Salix nigra Marsh.) has the potential to be a significant feedstock source for bioenergy and biofuels production in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV). This potential is based on a number of primary factors including rapid growth, ease of vegetative propagation, excellent rooting, and the ability to regenerate from coppice following harvest. To date, there has been no di...