Influence of Cutting Attachment on Noise Level Emitted by Brush Cutter during Tending of Young Forests

A brush cutter is the most frequently used equipment for tending young forests. When cutting unwanted vegetation, the operator is exposed to various harmful factors, such as: a forced body position, noise, vibrations and exhaust emissions. In this study, the impact of cutting attachment type on the noise level during tending of young pine stands was examined. The attachments used during the tests included: a wire head and cutting blades with 2, 3 and 24 cutting teeth. The research was carried out on 2–3 year old Scots pine plantations covered with three types of vegetation: herbaceous, mixed and woody. It was proven that the the wire head was the device that generated the highest level of noise. In the case of cutting blades, the number of cutting teeth was the important factor. The greater the number of teeth in the cutting blades, the lower the noise level the device produced. There was no significant influence of vegetation type on noise emission level. Based on the results, in order to minimize operators’ exposure to noise, the use of wire cutting attachment should be limited

The Community of Fine Root Fungi of Silver Fir (Abies alba Mill.) Saplings

This study aimed to assess the biodiversity of fungi colonizing the fine roots (diameter up to 2 mm) of 3-year-old silver fir saplings from areas of Międzylesie Forest District in Poland. It was hypothesized that quantitatively and qualitatively, mycorrhizal fungi would be the dominant fungi in root communities of silver fir. DNA extraction was performed using Plant Genomic DNA purification. The internal transcribed spacer1 (ITS1) rDNA region was amplified using specific primers, and the amplicons were purified and sequenced using sequencing by synthesis (SBS) Illumina technology. The obtained sequences were compared with reference sequences in the UNITE database (https://unite.ut.ee/) using the basic local alignment search tool (BLAST) algorithm to facilitate species identification. A total of 307,511 OTUs was obtained from each sample. There were 246,477 OTUs (80.15%) of fungi known from cultures. The genera Tuber spp. (7.51%) and Acephala spp. (3.23%) accounted for the largest share of the fungal communities on the fine roots of fir trees. Hence our results indicate the dominance of mycorrhizal fungi in these communities and reflect the excellent quality of the saplings that were assessed. Pathogenic fungi constituted a much smaller share of the fungal communities

Survival and Recovery of the Pine-Tree Lappet Dendrolimus pini When Subjected to Simulated Starvation

There are many reasons to study the survival and recovery of animals after starvation in simulated transport conditions or other passive dispersal methods. To do so, we chose Dendrolimus pini, an economically important pest of Scots pine with great potential in terms of passive dispersal outside its territory. In this work, we sought to answer the following questions: What is the maximum survival of different instar larvae after total starvation? Does access to dry tissues of the preferred host plant extend the lifespan of the larvae? Does the possibility of larvae recovery exist after starvation for various periods? We found that older larvae survived longer without food than younger larvae. Moreover, dry food did not extend the lifespan of the larvae. Our observations showed that insects were interested in food and tasted it at the beginning, but they did not feed on it for long. Furthermore, larvae recovery was indeed possible, and the time of starvation did not significantly affect this. We generally concluded that the D. pini larvae were characterized by the ability to survive without food for up to one month, which confirms that this species is able to survive long durations of transport to almost anywhere in the world

Particulate matter accumulation – further differences between native Prunus padus and non-native P. serotina

Particulate matter (PM) is one of the most harmful inhaled pollutants. Where pollutants have been emitted into the atmosphere, the most effective method for cleaning the air is through phytoremediation, whereby plants act as biological filters. PM has a negative impact on plants, but knowledge of PM effects on the photosynthetic apparatus is limited. In European forests, species of the genus Prunus L. play a key role in the composition of the forest understory and urban as well as industrial plantings. Shrubs of the native P. padus L. and closely-related invasive alien P. serotina Ehrh. are particularly widespread. Thus, both are good model species in which to study the impact of PM pollution. The aim of this study was to assess the accumulation of PM in the context of leaf morphology and amount of epicuticular waxes on foliage, and the efficiency of the photosynthetic apparatus of P. padus and P. serotina. The study was conducted under controlled conditions using two variants of dust, cement and roadside PM. In addition, we analyzed the absorption of dust by leaves dividing it into three fractions by size (10−100 μm, 2.5−10 μm and 0.2−2.5 μm). Results showed that both P. padus and P. serotina accumulate PM mostly on the surface of their leaves (SPM), rather than in the wax layer (WPM). P. padus accumulated higher amounts of PM than did P. serotina. The higher presence of PM on leaves of P. padus resulted in a reduction of the efficiency of the photosynthetic apparatus, manifested by lower rates of photosynthesis and chlorophyll a fluorescence, coinciding with an increased stomatal resistance. A strong negative correlation was found between the amount of PM accumulation and the efficiency of the photosynthetic apparatus in P. padus, but not in P. serotina. We have concluded that alien P. serotina is more tolerant to the conditions of stress caused by PM pollution than is the native P. padus, which may partly explain its success in the invasion in Europe

The Effects of a Forest Therapy Programme on Mental Hospital Patients with Affective and Psychotic Disorders

The positive effect of forest bathing on the mental health and wellbeing of those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or experiencing stress has been proven. It is not known, however, how ‘forest therapy’ affects the mental health of people who are treated in a psychiatric hospital for affective or psychotic disorders. Potentially, forest therapy could bring many benefits to these people. To test the potential effectiveness of this therapy, a quasi-experiment was carried out in a psychiatric hospital in Olsztyn (north Poland). In the summer and autumn of 2018, the patients of the psychiatric hospital in Olsztyn participated in forest therapy interventions. The proposed forest therapy consisted of participating in one hour and forty-five minutes walks under the supervision of a therapist. Subjects filled out the Profile of Mood States Questionnaire (POMS) and the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S) before and after the study. In the case of a group of patients with affective disorders, forest therapy had a positive effect on nearly all POMS scale subscales, with the exception of the ‘anger–hostility’ subscale, which did not change its values significantly after the intervention. In these patients, the greatest impacts were noted in the subscales ‘confusion’ and ‘depression–dejection’; the level of anxiety measured with the STAI-S scale also significantly decreased. In the case of patients with psychotic disorders, the values of the ‘confusion’ and ‘vigour’ subscales and the STAI-S scale exhibited the greatest changes. These changes were positive for the health of patients. Regarding the ‘fatigue’ subscale, no significant changes were observed in patients with psychotic disorders. The observed changes in psychological indicators in psychiatric hospital patients with both kinds of disorders indicate that the intervention of forest therapy can positively affect their mental health. The changes observed in psychological indicators were related to the characteristics of the given disorder

Intensity of stripping and sugar content in the bark and the bast of European beech (Fagus sylvatica)

The choice of particular trees for stripping by deer is puzzling because a preference is observed for trees of the highest social class. Trees ranked highest in the stand can produce more carbohydrates as a product of carbon assimilation. Among the many important nutrient and defense groups of metabolites in plants, high sugar content is postulated to be an attractant due to its impact on the sense of taste of different herbivores. Thus, we hypothesize that the carbohydrate content in the bast of the European beech is the most important factor by which deer make their choice. Our aim was to assess whether the sugar content in the bark and in the bast can be a factor which influences the intensity of bark stripping of particular trees in a beech thicket by red deer. A single episode connected with tree damaging pertained to 7% of the trees on the analyzed sampling plots. In total, 27% of the trees were damaged, including old damages. The mean size of damage to a given tree equaled 36% of the tree’s circumference and 0.06 m2 of the trunk’s surface. Analysis of the sugar content in the bast and in the bark jointly indicates that the trees subjected to bark stripping possessed a distinctly higher sugar content than the trees which were not damaged. The probability of bark stripping grows together with an increase in the sugar content of the bark and of the bast

Changing Host Plants Causes Structural Differences in the Parasitoid Complex of the Monophagous Moth Yponomeuta evonymella, but Does Not Improve Survival Rate

Recently in Poland, cases of host expansion have frequently been observed in the typically monophagous bird-cherry ermine moth (Yponomeuta evonymella), which has moved from its native host plant, bird cherry (Prunus padus), to a new, widely distributed plant that is invasive in Europe, black cherry (P. serotina). We attempted to verify the reasons behind this host change in the context of the enemy-free space hypothesis by focusing on parasitoids attacking larval Y. evonymella on one of three host plant variants: The primary host, P. padus; initially P. padus and later P. serotina (P. padus/P. serotina); or the new host, P. serotina. This experiment investigated if changing the host plant could be beneficial to Y. evonymella in terms of escaping from harmful parasitoids and improving survival rate. We identified nine species of parasitoids that attack larval Y. evonymella, and we found that the number of parasitoid species showed a downward trend from the primary host plant to the P. padus/P. serotina combination to the new host plant alone. We observed a significant difference among variants in relation to the percentage of cocoons killed by specific parasitoids, but no effects of non-specific parasitoids or other factors. Total mortality did not significantly differ (ca. 37%) among larval rearing variants. Changing the host plant caused differences in the structure of the parasitoid complex of Y. evonymella but did not improve its survival rate. This study does not indicate that the host expansion of Y. evonymella is associated with the enemy-free space hypothesis; we therefore discuss alternative scenarios that may be more likely

The Effects of Tree and Stand Traits on the Specific Leaf Area in Managed Scots Pine Forests of Different Ages

The purpose of this study was to understand the relationships between stand structure (tree size, volume, biomass, social position, stand density) and the variability of specific leaf area (SLA) at the stand level, which could improve forest management modeling. The study was carried out on 100 trees selected from 10 stands of Scots pine located in northwestern Poland. The stands had been established in a similar way and were similarly managed. Five mid-aged (51–60 years) and five mature (81–90 years) pure Scots pine stands were selected. To obtain the SLA index, we used the direct method, which involves scanning ca. 50 needles from each part of the tree crown. The average SLA was from 4.65 to 6.62 m2·kg−1 and differed significantly according to the part of the crown measured (p < 0.0001) and the tree age (p < 0.0001). The smallest SLA was in the upper part of the crown and the largest in the lower part of the crown, which is in line with the known relation to the light exposure of needles. Mid-aged stands of Scots pine have higher SLA values than mature ones. Dominant trees in mid-aged stands have a lower SLA than more shaded intermediate ones, which is probably due to the different lighting conditions within the canopy. No clear relationship is observed between the stand density and the SLA

Preference and Performance of the Pine-Tree Lappet Dendrolimus pini on Various Pine Species

Global commercial and recreational transport may lead to the unintentional invasion of insect species, which in turn may pose a threat to native organisms. In this study, we aimed to assess whether the economically important pest of Pinus sylvestris L., moth Dendrolimus pini L. (DP), is able to feed on nine other pine species, and how this will affect its survival, performance, growth, and development. We carried out food choice tests and a no-choice laboratory feeding experiment. We found that this insect mostly preferred its prime host, but also Pinus cembra L., Pinus contorta Douglas ex Loudon, Pinus nigra J.F.Arnold, and Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex C.Lawson. The performance test revealed a host-specific response of DP to the host plant. This response was manifested in a large variation in body mass as well as in a decrease or increase in life-history traits, such as fecundity, and wing morphology parameters. However, the larvae’s choice of particular hosts corresponded to the results of the performance test. Larvae more willingly selected food allowing better results in their performance. Larvae achieved better values of growth and development when fed on European and North American pine species or on species with two- and three-needle fascicles. In addition, attractants and repellents in needles of different pine species were chemically analyzed. Variations in the secondary metabolite composition as well as the specific leaf area of different pine species effectively explained the results found in the insects, but the content of sugars and nitrogen remains to be elucidated. We speculate that DP poses a serious threat to large areas of pine forests, if transferred, as it can survive and develop on many economically important tree species in North America and Europe

Northern Provenances of Silver Fir Differ with Acclimation to Contrasting Light Regimes

Phenotypic differentiation of Abies alba was identified among selected provenances originating from the northern edge of this species’ natural geographic range. We posited that although the seed sources of the study populations were not geographically distant, progenies would differ with respect to growth, needle pigment concentration, and values of photochemical parameters in response to contrasting light conditions. Potted seedlings of six provenances were grown for two seasons under low light (LL, 40% of full irradiance) or high light (HL, 100% of full irradiance). The results showed that the provenances differed in diameter at root collar (DRC) and in relative growth rates of height (RGR). Seedlings grown in full light had a greater mean value of DRC than those in LL. LL increased total needle chlorophyll (Chltot) and carotenoid concentrations compared with HL, and Chltot was modified by the provenance of the seedlings. The provenance “Syców”, localized at the northern limit of the species range, showed the lowest value of maximal electron transfer rate (ETRmax) and lower values of growth parameters compared with the other study provenances. Relative growth rate, Chltot, and non-photochemical quenching of fluorescence (NPQ) were correlated with some climatic characteristics of seed stands and formed clusters indicating the local adaptation of the study populations. These results provide evidence of low intraspecific A. alba differentiation in terms of growth dynamics, photochemical capacity, and tolerance to different light regimes. The intraspecific diversity found in our study among the northern lead populations could be, however, important for the natural expansion of this species further north and for the selection of provenances to be used in the programme of the A. alba restoration in the Sudety Mountains, southern Poland, where decline of this species has been observed