Globally, grasslands are under threat from woody encroachment by invasive alien plants and this undermines grass production. The study sought to determine the effects of Acacia mearnsii clearing on...

The potential evapotranspiration (PET) that would occur with unlimited plant access to water is a central driver of simulated plant growth in many ecological models. PET is influenced by solar and longwave radiation, temperature, wind speed, and humidity, but it is often modeled as a function of temperature alone. This approach can cause biases in projections of future climate impacts in part b...

Recovering biodiversity is a common goal during restoration; however, for many ecosystems, it is not well understood how restoration influences species diversity across space and time. I examined understory species diversity and composition after woody encroachment removal in a large-scale savanna restoration experiment in central Iowa, United States. Over a 4-year time series, restoration had ...

Malawi has exceptionally high rates of population growth (3.1%) and deforestation (2.4%), suggesting a Malthusian link between the two. The most important proximal cause of forest loss in Malawi has been the expansion of agricultural land. Population growth has been an important driver for this process, but is an insufficient explanation by itself. In Malawi’s case, it has been coupled with a l...

PURPOSE To assess the potential use of shortened protocol MRI of lumbar spine in the investigation of degenerative disc disease in Northern Ireland. MATERIALS & METHODS Prospective study of 35 patients having MR imaging of lumbar spine performed during a 12-month period by one consultant radiologist. T1-weighted and T2-weighted sagittal images of lumbar spine were obtained in all cases, as we...

Hangzhou, China, is a world-famous tourist city. With the increase of the urban population and the development of tourism, the requirement of the quantity and quality of groundwater is steadily increasing. Hangzhou region evolved from the ancient shallow sea gulf. According to the local chronicle (Compilation Commission on Hangzhou Chorography (CCHC) 2000), the subsurface water was not potable ...

Crown encroachment by trees surrounding newly formed gaps reduces their size, a fact that may cause error in area-based analyses of rate of gap formation and disturbance intensity. Generally, an estimate of proportional area occupied by age classes within a stand of trees can be obtained by determining the age of a selected canopy tree nearby each of randomly or uniformly located sample points....

Up to 50% of organic C and 80% of organic N within soil can exist as amino acids, amino sugars and carbohydrates. To determine how potential microbial accessibility and turnover of these compounds is impacted by encroachment of woody plants into grasslands, we investigated changes in evolved CO2 during thermal analysis and in carbohydrate and amino compound chemistry after long term laboratory ...