Riparian zones are vital components of the landscape. Much attention has been focused on the question of how wide a buffer is needed to protect the original riparian environment. We sampled five streams 2–4 m wide and associated riparian ecosystems before and after clearcutting in western Washington. Buffers ranging from 17 to 72 m wide were left intact at all sites when harvesting. Our objecti...

Though often overlooked, small wetlands in an upland matrix can support diverse plant communities that increase both local and regional species richness. Here we characterize the full range of wetland vegetation within an upland forest landscape and compare the diversity and composition of different wetland plant communities. In an old-growth forest reserve in southern Quebec, Canada, we sample...

A series of glycan-coated quantum dots were prepared to probe the effect of glycan presentation in intracellular localization in HeLa and SV40 epithelial cells. We show that glycan density mostly impacts on cell toxicity, whereas glycan type affects the cell uptake and intracellular localization. Moreover, we show that lactose can act as a "Trojan horse" on bi-functionalized QDs to help intrace...

Patterns of soil organic carbon (SOC) vary widely across the landscape leading to large uncertainties in the SOC budget especially for agricultural landscapes where water, tillage and wind erosion redistributes soil and SOC across the landscape. It is often assumed that soil erosion results in a loss of SOC from the agricultural ecosystem but recent studies indicate that soil erosion and its su...

BACKGROUND With world food demand expected to double by 2050, identifying farming systems that benefit both agricultural production and biodiversity is a fundamentally important challenge for the 21(st) century, but this has to be achieved in a sustainable way. Livestock grazing management directly influences both economic outputs and biodiversity on upland farms while contributing to potential...

Upland and lowland rice (Oryza sativa L.) represent two of the most important rice ecotypes adapted to ago-ecosystems with contrasting soil-water conditions. Upland rice, domesticated in the water-limited environment, contains valuable drought-resistant characters that can be used in water-saving breeding. Knowledge about the divergence between upland and lowland rice will provide valuable cues...

Fire is an important factor controlling the composition and thickness of the organic layer in the black spruce forest ecosystems of interior Alaska. Fire that burns the organic layer can trigger dramatic changes in the underlying permafrost, leading to accelerated ground thawing within a relatively short time. In this study, we addressed the following questions. (1) Which factors determine post...

The loss of shrubland habitat is linked to population declines formanywildlife species, including several bird species of conservation concern. Conservation agencies in the northeastern United States encourage private landowners to clearcut patches of forest to create shrubland habitat. Many private landowners are only willing to create small clearcuts; therefore, it is important to understand ...

The tidal marshes of North America are home to a diverse collection of morphologically differentiated reptiles, birds, and mammals. We reviewed the existing molecular studies on endemic tidal-marsh vertebrates, including turtles, snakes, sparrows, rails, shrews, and rodents. We found both deep and shallow divergences from their nearest upland relatives in all geographic regions. In the Northeas...