Using the carbon management index to indicate ecosystem function in brigalow (Acacia harpophylla) agro-ecosystems of South East Queensland, Australia

Soil organic matter is an effective indicator of soil resource condition that reflects functional traits such as aggregation, infiltration and microbial activity and plays a critical role in sustaining production and ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes. Agricultural practices typically reduce soil carbon levels through the action of soil disturbance and consequent mineralisation. In the Brigalow (Acacia harpophylla) landscape we studied, soil carbon levels in pellic vertisols were significantly lower in the agricultural matrix of cropping and grasslands than in remnant Brigalow vegetation. There was no detectable gradient of soil carbon across Brigalow/matrix boundaries. Uncultivated grasslands showed signaificantly higher carbon levels than currently and previously cultivated grasslands, with regenerating grasslands showing no significant recovery of soil carbon over 15 years. The carbon management index (CMI) was used to combine the active and passive components of soil carbon to provide a sensitive indicator of the rate of change of carbon dynamics in response to changes in land management at local-scales. A landscape CMI (CMIL) was developed, by aggregating soil carbon data using GIS-derived spatial data. the landscape CMI is proposed as a potentially useful tool for modelling soil carbon dynamics and ecosystem function in agro-ecosystems at a range of spatial scales

The Dynamic Effects of Disinflation Policies.

This paper investigates the effects of disinflation policies on key macroeconomic variables. Using postwar US data and episode techniques, we identify disinflation shocks as shocks that drive the inflation rate to a lower level in the long-run. We find that in the immediate aftermath of a disinflation policy, the economy enters in a persistent recession. The inflation rate increases above its long-run level and exhibits a positive hump-shaped response. A similar pattern is found for the nominal interest rate, which responds even more strongly in the short-run. We then show that the standard new Keynesian model fails to account for macroeconomic dynamics in disinflationary times. On the contrary a deep habit version of the model successfully accounts for the effects of disinflation policies.Disinflation policies ; Deep Habits ; New Keynesian Models.

Arresting woodland bird decline in Australian agricultural landscapes: potential application of the European agri-environment model

This paper considered the applicability of the European model of land stewardship payments, in particular its support for biodiversity conservation in agricultural landscapes, to an Australian context. More broadly, the research approach described in the paper may also be applied to assessing the suitability of overseas stewardship schemes to the provision of any ecoservice in Australia, such as carbon sequestration and floodwater regulation

Birds and people in Europe

At a regional scale, species richness and human population size are frequently positively correlated across space. Such patterns may arise because both species richness and human density increase with energy availability. If the species-energy relationship is generated through the 'more individuals' hypothesis, then the prediction is that areas with high human densities will also support greater numbers of individuals from other taxa. We use the unique data available for the breeding birds in Europe to test this prediction. Overall regional densities of bird species are higher in areas with more people; species of conservation concern exhibit the same pattern. Avian density also increases faster with human density than does avian biomass, indicating that areas with a higher human density have a higher proportion of small-bodied individuals. The analyses also underline the low numbers of breeding birds in Europe relative to humans, with a median of just three individual birds per person, and 4 g of bird for every kilogram of human

Research experiences for undergraduates in chemistry and biochemistry

Issued as final reportNational Science Foundation (U.S.

Geometric Morphometric Analyses Support Incorporating the Goshen Point Type into Plainview

Recent work has demonstrated that Goshen points overlap in time with another group of unfluted lanceolate points from the Plains, Plainview points. This has raised the question of whether the two types should be kept separate or consolidated into a single type. We sought to resolve this issue by applying geometric morphometric methods to a sample of points from well-documented Goshen and Plainview assemblages. We found that their shapes were statistically indistinguishable, which indicates that Goshen and Plainview points should be assigned to the same type. Because Plainview points were recognized before Goshen points, it is the latter type name that should be dropped. Sinking Goshen into Plainview allows us to move beyond taxonomic issues and toward understanding both the spatiotemporal variation that exists among Plainview assemblages and what it can tell us about the adaptations and social dynamics of Plainview groups. El trabajo reciente de citas ha demostrado que Goshen apunta se superponen en el tiempo con otro grupo de puntos lanceolados sin fluir de los puntos Plains, Plainview. Esto ha planteado la cuestión de si los dos tipos deben mantenerse separados o consolidados en un solo tipo. Buscamos resolver este problema mediante la aplicación de métodos morfométricos geométricos a una muestra de puntos de los bien documentados ensamblajes de Goshen y Plainview. Encontramos que sus formas fueron estadísticamente indistinguibles, y sugerimos que los puntos de Goshen y Plainview se asignen al mismo tipo. Debido a que los puntos de Plainview se reconocieron antes que los puntos de Goshen, es el último nombre de tipo el que debe abandonado. Sumergir a Goshen en Plainview nos permite ir más allá de los problemas taxonómicos y tratar de comprender la variación espaciotemporal que existe entre los conjuntos de Plainview y lo que puede decirnos acerca de las adaptaciones y la dinámica social de los grupos de Plainview

Orientation in Friedel-Crafts Acetylation of Nerolineand Its 6-Alkyl Homologues

The Friedel-Crafts acetylation of neroline in nitrobenzene medium is shown to result predominantly either in 1- or in 6-substitution,depending on the experimental conditions; as a byproduct, 1,6-diacetyl-2-methoxynaphthalene is obtained. Further,it is shown that 6-alkylated nerolines such as 6-propyl-2-methoxynaphthalene, are acetylated in position 1, even in nitrobenzene medium, and that 1,6-dialkylated nerolines such as 6-ethyl-2- methoxy-1-methylnaphthalene, can also be acetylated, whilst 1,6-dialkyl-2-naphthols are unable to undergo Nencki acylation reactions. In the course of this work, certain errors in the literature have been corrected