Bacanora and Sotol: So Far, So Close

El propósito de este trabajo es familiarizar al lector con algunos aspectos relacionados, no sólo con dos bebidas alcohólicas de profundo arraigo en la cultura rural del México norteño, sino también con Agave angustifolia, conocido en Sonora como “agave (o mezcal) bacanora”; y un grupo de especies del género Dasylirion, conocido en México como “sotoles”, y “desert spoon” o ¨cuchara del desierto¨ en los Estados Unidos de América. Ambas comparten múltiples características morfológicas, fisiológicas y ecológicas que les permiten vivir en ambientes áridos. De igual forma, también intenta señalar aspectos únicos de las dos denominaciones de origen que protegen la elaboración de esas bebidas y que han surgido en los albores de este siglo, así como a las normas que rigen su elaboración

Convergence of dynamic vegetation net productivity responses to precipitation variability from 10 years of MODIS EVI

According to Global Climate Models (GCMs) the occurrence of extreme events of precipitation will be more frequent in the future. Therefore, important challenges arise regarding climate variability, which are mainly related to the understanding of ecosystem responses to changes in precipitation patterns. Previous studies have found that Above-ground Net Primary Productivity (ANPP) was positively related to increases in annual precipitation and this relation may converge across biomes during dry years. One challenge in studying this ecosystem response at the continental scale is the lack of ANPP field measurements over extended areas. In this study, the MODIS EVI was utilized as a surrogate for ANPP and combined with precipitation datasets from twelve different experimental sites across the United States over a 10-year period. Results from this analysis confirmed that integrated-EVI for different biomes converged toward common precipitation use efficiency during water-limited periods and may be a viable surrogate for ANPP measurements for further ecological research

Does Amazon forest leaf phenology mediate transpiration seasonality and hence, ecoclimate teleconnections?

Abstract OOS 11-5

Looking deeper into the soil : biophysical controls and seasonal lags of soil CO2 production and efflux

Author Posting. © Ecological Society of America, 2010. This article is posted here by permission of Ecological Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Ecological Applications 20 (2010): 1569–1582, doi:10.1890/09-0693.1.We seek to understand how biophysical factors such as soil temperature (Ts), soil moisture (θ), and gross primary production (GPP) influence CO2 fluxes across terrestrial ecosystems. Recent advancements in automated measurements and remote-sensing approaches have provided time series in which lags and relationships among variables can be explored. The purpose of this study is to present new applications of continuous measurements of soil CO2 efflux (F0) and soil CO2 concentrations measurements. Here we explore how variation in Ts, θ, and GPP (derived from NASA's moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer [MODIS]) influence F0 and soil CO2 production (Ps). We focused on seasonal variation and used continuous measurements at a daily timescale across four vegetation types at 13 study sites to quantify: (1) differences in seasonal lags between soil CO2 fluxes and Ts, θ, and GPP and (2) interactions and relationships between CO2 fluxes with Ts, θ, and GPP. Mean annual Ts did not explain annual F0 and Ps among vegetation types, but GPP explained 73% and 30% of the variation, respectively. We found evidence that lags between soil CO2 fluxes and Ts or GPP provide insights into the role of plant phenology and information relevant about possible timing of controls of autotrophic and heterotrophic processes. The influences of biophysical factors that regulate daily F0 and Ps are different among vegetation types, but GPP is a dominant variable for explaining soil CO2 fluxes. The emergence of long-term automated soil CO2 flux measurement networks provides a unique opportunity for extended investigations into F0 and Ps processes in the near future.Data collection was possible thanks to NASA, the NSF Center for Embedded Networked Sensing (CCR-0120778), DOE (DE-FG02-03ER63638), CONACyT, UCMEXUS, NSF (EF-0410408), NSF-LTER, KAKENHI (12878089 and 13480150), the Academy of Finland (213093), the Austrian Science Fund (FWF, P18756-B16), the Kearney Foundation, the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences (CFCAS), and the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). R. Vargas was supported by grant DEB-0639235 during the preparation of this manuscript

Age-dependent leaf function and consequences for carbon uptake of leaves, branches, and the canopy during the dry season in an Amazon evergreen forest.

Abstract COS 124-3

ECOHYDROLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF WOODY PLANT ENCROACHMENT

vi, 582 hlm, 25 c

Effects of Increased Nitrogen Deposition and Precipitation on Seed and Seedling Production of Potentilla tanacetifolia in a Temperate Steppe Ecosystem

The responses of plant seeds and seedlings to changing atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition and precipitation regimes determine plant population dynamics and community composition under global change.In a temperate steppe in northern China, seeds of P. tanacetifolia were collected from a field-based experiment with N addition and increased precipitation to measure changes in their traits (production, mass, germination). Seedlings germinated from those seeds were grown in a greenhouse to examine the effects of improved N and water availability in maternal and offspring environments on seedling growth. Maternal N-addition stimulated seed production, but it suppressed seed mass, germination rate and seedling biomass of P. tanacetifolia. Maternal N-addition also enhanced responses of seedlings to N and water addition in the offspring environment. Maternal increased-precipitation stimulated seed production, but it had no effect on seed mass and germination rate. Maternal increased-precipitation enhanced seedling growth when grown under similar conditions, whereas seedling responses to offspring N- and water-addition were suppressed by maternal increased-precipitation. Both offspring N-addition and increased-precipitation stimulated growth of seedlings germinated from seeds collected from the maternal control environment without either N or water addition. Our observations indicate that both maternal and offspring environments can influence seedling growth of P. tanacetifolia with consequent impacts on the future population dynamics of this species in the study area.The findings highlight the importance of the maternal effects on seed and seedling production as well as responses of offspring to changing environmental drivers in mechanistic understanding and projecting of plant population dynamics under global change