Augmenting Water Deficit Index as a Tool to Estimate Forest Plantation Water Availability

Water availability is the largest limitation for trees to grow in several parts of the world. With climatic patterns varying over the last two decades, characterizing water available to the crop trees, becomes an important task as it relates to stand growth. Several authors have tried to integrate rainfall into growth and yield equations with varying levels of success. From the very simple yearly rainfall to more complex full water balance models, determining an index of water availability remains a task that needs to be taken into account when projecting forest growth. With this objective in mind, a water deficit index was derived for the forest plantation region in Chile. This area is characterized by a Mediterranean climate, with a rains exceeding four folds the potential evapotranspirations in the winter, and the opposite in the summer. In this area, the index serves as a simple indicator of site drought allowing comparison between different sites around the world independently of yearly rainfall distribution. In order to calculate the index, we used a 90m digital elevation model to estimate potential radiation, this was combined with interpolated maximum and minimum mean monthly temperature to estimate potential evapotranspiration using Hargreaves equation. Water deficit was calculated as the summation of all negative values for a given year. Finally, soil water storage capacity, derived out of soil maps and pedotransferfunctions, was discounted from the water deficit to account for differences in storage under sites with equal water deficit. The index was compared against other widely used water indices, highlighting the importance of seasonality in the final outcome. When used as a comparison tool, the index was able to accommodate differences between areas with same total rainfall but different yearly distribution, making it a rapid method to assess the magnitude of water limitations under any given environment

Augmenting Water Deficit Index as a Tool to Estimate Forest Plantation Water Availability

Water availability is the largest limitation for trees to grow in several parts of the world. With climatic patterns varying over the last two decades, characterizing water available to the crop trees, becomes an important task as it relates to stand growth. Several authors have tried to integrate rainfall into growth and yield equations with varying levels of success. From the very simple yearly rainfall to more complex full water balance models, determining an index of water availability remains a task that needs to be taken into account when projecting forest growth. With this objective in mind, a water deficit index was derived for the forest plantation region in Chile. This area is characterized by a Mediterranean climate, with a rains exceeding four folds the potential evapotranspirations in the winter, and the opposite in the summer. In this area, the index serves as a simple indicator of site drought allowing comparison between different sites around the world independently of yearly rainfall distribution. In order to calculate the index, we used a 90m digital elevation model to estimate potential radiation, this was combined with interpolated maximum and minimum mean monthly temperature to estimate potential evapotranspiration using Hargreaves equation. Water deficit was calculated as the summation of all negative values for a given year. Finally, soil water storage capacity, derived out of soil maps and pedotransferfunctions, was discounted from the water deficit to account for differences in storage under sites with equal water deficit. The index was compared against other widely used water indices, highlighting the importance of seasonality in the final outcome. When used as a comparison tool, the index was able to accommodate differences between areas with same total rainfall but different yearly distribution, making it a rapid method to assess the magnitude of water limitations under any given environment

A Call for Data-Driven Networks to Address Equity in the Context of Undergraduate Biology

National efforts to improve equitable teaching practices in biology education have led to an increase in research on the barriers to student participation and performance, as well as solutions for overcoming these barriers. Fewer studies have examined the extent to which the resulting data trends and effective strategies are generalizable across multiple contexts or are specific to individual classrooms, institutions, or geographic regions. To address gaps in our understanding, as well as to establish baseline information about students across contexts, a working group associated with a research coordination network (Equity and Diversity in Undergraduate STEM, EDU-STEM) convened in Las Vegas, Nevada, in No-vember of 2019. We addressed the following objectives: 1) characterize the present state of equity and diversity in undergraduate biology education research; 2) address the value of a network of educators focused on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics equity; 3) summarize the status of data collection and results; 4) identify and prioritize questions and interventions for future collaboration; and 5) construct a recruitment plan that will further the efforts of the EDU-STEM research coordination network. The report that follows is a summary of the conclusions and future directions from our discussion

Biodiversity inventories in high gear: DNA barcoding facilitates a rapid biotic survey of a temperate nature reserve

Comprehensive biotic surveys, or ‘all taxon biodiversity inventories’ (ATBI), have traditionally been limited in scale or scope due to the complications surrounding specimen sorting and species identification. To circumvent these issues, several ATBI projects have successfully integrated DNA barcoding into their identification procedures and witnessed acceleration in their surveys and subsequent increase in project scope and scale. The Biodiversity Institute of Ontario partnered with the rare Charitable Research Reserve and delegates of the 6th International Barcode of Life Conference to complete its own rapid, barcode-assisted ATBI of an established land trust in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada

Leaf area and growth of Chilean radiata pine plantations after thinning across a water stress gradient

Abstract Background Pinus radiata D.Don has been established in a wide range of soils and climatic conditions, showing high variability in both leaf area and volume productivity. Previous research has shown that plantation yield is affected by water availability, but the majority of this work has been done in unthinned stands and provided little insight on the effect of water availability on the productivity of thinned plantations. In order to improve forest productivity for plantations under a climate change scenario, we must understand the effect of plantation management, including thinning on the relationships among available water, leaf area index, and productivity. The aim of this work is to evaluate the effect of site water availability on the leaf area production and consequent volume growth in thinned radiata pine plantations over a water availability gradient. Methods The effect of site available water on leaf area production and consequent volume growth in thinned Pinus radiata plantations over a water availability gradient across five sites in central and southern-central Chile was determined. Results Regression analysis revealed water deficit to be related to both leaf area index and volume growth accounting for 77 and 78% of the variation respectively. Eighty-one percent of the variation in volume growth was explained by the leaf area index. Results showed a growth efficiency of 5 m3 ha−1 per unit of leaf area index. Conclusions Strong linear positive relationships between site water availability, leaf area, and stand growth after thinning found in this research suggest that water is the key factor controlling current productivity of radiata pine plantations across sites. A simple and robust water index that is well correlated with leaf area and stand annual volume growth allows for the construction of a simple predictive model that may support management decisions for radiata pine plantations

Structured telephone support or telemonitoring programs for patients with chronic heart failure [Intervention Protocol]

Chronic heart failure is a debilitating condition, which can lead to frequent stays in hospital and shortened life expectancy. In recent years, a variety of ways to strengthen self-management and education interventions have been researched and developed. The most successful strategies involve specialist multidisciplinary disease management programs but many patients with heart failure don't have access to these specialist services. This is either because of limited healthcare resources and services, or difficulty in attending the management programmes because of distance or disability