Effect of Carex rostrata on seasonal and interannual variability in peatland methane emissions

Peatlands are a large natural source of atmospheric methane (CH4), and the sedge Carex rostrata plays a critical role in the production, oxidation, and transport of CH4 in these systems. This 4 year clipping experiment examined the changes in CH4 emissions from a temperate peatland after removing all aboveground C. rostrata biomass. Methane fluxes, dissolved CH4, and environmental variables were measured during spring, summer, and fall from 2008 to 2011. Clipping and removing the C. rostrata leaves and stems caused an immediate decrease in CH4 emissions that persisted over 4 years of this study. There was a strong seasonal trend in CH4 flux, with the largest treatment effects occurring during the fall months when the sedges were senescing. As expected, there was a strong positive correlation between C. rostrata green-leaf area and CH4 flux, implying that the presence of C. rostrata increases CH4 emissions from this peatland. Large interannual variability in vegetation distribution and biomass, water table depth, and temperature was observed in this study, indicating the importance of multiyear studies for understanding the interactions among these factors to determine how they could be incorporated into biogeochemical models to predict CH4 emissions under changing environmental conditions

Effect of Carex rostrata removal on methane emissions from a temperate peatland

Peatlands are a large natural source of atmospheric methane (CH4). Carex rostrata, a sedge species, has a critical role in the production, oxidation, and emission of CH4 from these systems. This study examined the changes in CH4 emissions from a temperate peatland after removing all aboveground C. rostrata biomass. Methane flux, dissolved CH4 concentration at various depths, C. rostrata green leaf area, temperature, and water table depth were measured from June 2008 to November 2010. There is a strong positive correlation between C. rostrata green area and CH4 flux and the mean summer CH4 flux from the control plots was always higher than from the plots without C. rostrata. Model results indicate that 35--74% of total summer CH4 emissions may come from transport through C. rostrata , though C. rostrata green area, water-table depth, and temperature only explain around 35% of the observed CH4 flux variability, perhaps because of inter-annual variability

Does a rising intonation at the end of a spoken statement affect a witness\u27s credibility?

Past research has shown that the speech style employed by 11 witness in a jury trial may affect their credibility (Erikson, Lind, Johnson, & ()\u27Barr, 1978). One common linguistic device used by witnesses is a rising intonation, which is defined as the inflection of a speaker’s tone that occurs at the end of a spoken passage. Past research has shown that the use of a rising intonation in speech can add a questioning tone to a passage or signify that the speaker is unsure of what they are saying (Smith and Clark. 1993). If a witness uses a rising intonation they may sound less believable to a juror. The effect of rising intonation on the credibility of witness testimony was examined in the present study. Three independent variables were tested: the intonation contour at the end of a spoken witness statement (rising or nonrising); the gender of the witness; and the gender of the participant. Five dependent variables relating to how subjects judged the believability and credibility of the witness statements were measured. The primary finding was that rising intonation alone did not significantly affect perceptions of the speaker\u27s credibility. However, the gender of the speaker was found to affect overall believability, with female speakers being rated as significantly less believable than male speakers. The results are interpreted from a sociocultural perspective, with the suggestion that rising intonation, given its frequency of use amongst Australian speakers, does not seem to indicate that the speaker is uncertain about their statements

Preparing fruit and vegetables for winter use

Citation: Riddle, Genevieve L. Preparing fruit and vegetables for winter use. Senior thesis, Kansas State Agricultural College, 1908.Introduction: If the agitation and alarm excited by “Food scandals,” with the details of which the newspapers have reeked lately, have no other permanent result, they have revived the custom of domestic preserving in thousands of households. Canning is hardly fifty years old. It made its way but slowly for a time

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Review: Object vision in a structured world

In natural vision, objects appear at typical locations, both with respect to visual space (e.g., an airplane in the upper part of a scene) and other objects (e.g., a lamp above a table). Recent studies have shown that object vision is strongly adapted to such positional regularities. In this review we synthesize these developments, highlighting that adaptations to positional regularities facilitate object detection and recognition, and sharpen the representations of objects in visual cortex. These effects are pervasive across various types of high-level content. We posit that adaptations to real-world structure collectively support optimal usage of limited cortical processing resources. Taking positional regularities into account will thus be essential for understanding efficient object vision in the real world

The 2001 recession and the Chicago Fed National Index: identifying business cycle turning points

The initial release of the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) in early 2001 pointed to the very real possibility that the U.S. economy was teetering on the brink of recession. This article quantifies the statistical ability of the CFNAI to act as an early warning indicator of economic recessions. In simulation experiments, the CFNAI performed virtually as well as the statistical model's ideal measure of the business cycle.Recessions ; Economic indicators ; Index numbers (Economics) ; Business cycles

FRENCH QUALITY AND ECO-LABELING SCHEMES: DO THEY ALSO BENEFIT THE ENVIRONMENT?

The environmental effects of various 'quality' and 'eco-labeling' programs in the Midi-Pyrenees region of the south of France are analyzed, using factor analysis, analysis of variance, and qualitative analysis. Implications for agri-environmental policies on both sides of the Atlantic are discussed.Environmental Economics and Policy,

Minds at the edge of chaos

The concept of a mental model is increasingly becoming of interest to organisations, as it is a person\u27s beliefs, thoughts, interpretations, or otherwise termed, \u27mental model\u27 that can affect our actions and therefore how people achieve organisational outcomes (Jensen & Rasmussen 2004). This paper establishes a robust definition of the concept of a mental model for future research. The research was conducted using coherent conversations as part of a complexity-based inquiry. This project seeks to understand and explore the views held by individuals about actual work practices and ideal work practices. This research concludes that the individuals, who make up the organisation, are in a state of chaotic edge thinking, where everything is perceived as a threat, procedures are formed to control, and people react radically. Moreover, this is concluded to be due to miscommunication and a lack of communicative connectedness between staff and supervising managers