Process-Based Modeling to Assess the Effects of Recent Climatic Variation on Site Productivity and Forest Function across Western North America

A process-based forest growth model, 3-PG (Physiological Principles Predicting Growth), parameterized with values of soil properties constrained by satellite-derived estimates of maximum leaf area index (LAI[subscript max]), was run for Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) to contrast the extent to which site growth potential might vary across western North America between a cool, wet period (1950–1975) and a more recent, generally warmer and drier one (2000–2009). LAI[subscript max] represents a surrogate for overall site growth potential, as demonstrated from a strong correlation between the two variables, with the latter based on the culmination of mean annual increment estimates made at 3356 ground-based U.S. Forest Service survey plots across the states of Oregon and Washington. Results indicate that since 2000, predicted LAI[subscript max] has decreased more than 20% in portions of the Southwest USA and for much of the forested area in western Alberta. Similar percentage increases in LAI[subscript max] were predicted for parts of British Columbia, Idaho and Montana. The modeling analysis included an assessment of changes in seasonal constraints on gross primary production (GPP). A general reduction in limitations caused by spring frost occurred across the entire study area. This has led to a longer growing season, along with notable increases in summer evaporative demand and soil drought for much of the study area away from the maritime influence of the Pacific Ocean.Keywords: Douglas-fir, FIA survey plots, Climate change, Leaf area index, 3-PG model, Productivit

Crop Updates 2002 - Farming Systems

This session covers forty one papers from different authors: INTRODUCTION 1. Future Farming Systems session for Crop Updates 2002 Peter Metcalf, FARMING SYSTEMS SUBPROGRAM MANAGER GRAINS PROGRAM Department of Agriculture 2. Perennial pastures in annual cropping systems: Lucerne and beyond, the ‘Big Picture’, Mike Ewing, Deputy CEO CRC for Plant-based Management of Dryland Salinity, Department of Agriculture 3. Perennial pastures in annual cropping systems: lucerne and beyond, Roy Latta and Keith Devenish, Department of Agriculture 4. Establishing Lucerne with a cover crop, Diana Fedorenko1, Clayton Butterly1, Chantelle Butterly1, Kim and Neil Diamond2, Stuart McAlpine2, Bill Bowden1, Jessica Johns3, 1Centre for Cropping Systems, Northam, 2Farmer, Buntine, 3Department of Agriculture 5. Overcropping: Chemical suppression of Lucerne, Terry Piper1, Diana Fedorenko1, Clayton Butterly1, Chantelle Butterly1, Stuart McAlpine2, Jessica Johns3, 1Centre for Cropping Systems, Northam, 2Farmer, Buntine, 3Department of Agriculture 6. Overcropping: Effect of Lucerne density on crop yield, Diana Fedorenko1, Bill Bowden1, Clayton Butterly1, Chantelle Butterly1, Stuart McAlpine2, Terry Piper1,1Centre for Cropping Systems, Department of Agriculture, Northam, 2Farmer, Buntine 7. Residual effect of weed management in the third year of Lucerne on the following wheat crop, Diana Fedorenko1, Clayton Butterly1, Chantelle Butterly1, Stuart McAlpine2,Terry Piper1, David Bowran1, Jessica Johns3,1Centre for Cropping Systems, Northam, 2Farmer, Buntine, 3Department of Agriculture 8. Production of Lucerne and serradella in four soil types, Diana Fedorenko1 Clayton Butterly1, Chantelle Butterly1, Robert Beard2 1Centre for Cropping Systems, Department of Agriculture, 2Farmer, Cunderdin 9. The effect of spray topping on newly established Lucerne, Keith Devenish, Agriculture Western Australia 10. Leakage from phase rotations involving Lucerne, Phil Ward, CSIRO Plant Industry 11. Fungal diseases present in Western Australian Lucerne crops, Dominie Wright and Nichole Burges, Department of Agriculture 12. Survey of Western Australian Lucerne stands reveals widespread virus infection, Roger Jones and Danae Harman, Crop Improvement Institute, Department of Agriculture, and Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture, University of WA ANNUAL PASTURE SYSTEMS 13. The use of Twist Fungus as a biosecurity measure against Annual Ryegrass Toxicity (ARGT), Greg Shea, GrainGuard Coordinator and George Yan, Biological and Resource Technology 14.Limitations and opportunities for increasing water use by annual crops and pastures, David Tennant1, Phil Ward2and David Hall1 1Department of Agriculture, 2CSIRO, Plant Industries, Floreat Park 15. Developing pasture species mixtures for more productive and sustainable cropping systems – 2001 crop performance, Anyou Liu, Clinton Revell and Candy Hudson, Centre for Cropping Systems, Department of Agriculture 16. Developing pasture species mixtures for more productive and sustainable cropping systems – weed management in regenerating mixtures, Anyou Liu and Clinton Revell, Centre for Cropping Systems, Department of Agriculture 17. Aphid tolerance of annual pasture legumes, Andrew Blake, Natalie Lauritsen, Department of Agriculture 18. Selecting the right variety for phase pasture systems, Keith Devenish, Department of Agriculture 19. Responses of alternative annual pasture and forage legumes to challenge with infectious subterranean clover mottle virus, John Fosu-Nyarko, Roger Jones, Lisa Smith, Mike Jones and Geoff Dwyer, State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre and Centre for Bioinformatics and Biological Computing, Murdoch University, Department of Agriculture, and Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture SOIL AND LAND MANAGEMENT 20. Nutrition in 2002: Decisions to be made as a result of last season, Bill Bowden,Western Australia Department of Agriculture 21. Profitability of deep banding lime, Michael O\u27Connell, Chris Gazey and David Gartner, Department of Agriculture 22. Lime efficiency percentage…the new measure of lime effectiveness for Western Australia, Amanda Miller, Department of Agriculture 23. Boron – should we be worried about it, Richard W. BellA, K. FrostA, Mike WongBand Ross BrennanC ASchool of Environmental Science, Murdoch University, BCSIRO Land and Water, CDepartment of Agriculture 24. Impact of claying and other amelioration on paddock profit, N.J. Blake1, G. McConnell2, D. Patabendige1and N. Venn11Department of Agriculture, 2PlanFarm P/L 25. Raised bed farming in the 2001 growing season, Derk Bakker, Greg Hamilton, Dave Houlbrooke and Cliff Spann, Department of Agriculture 26. Economics of tramline farming systems, Paul Blackwell and Bindi Webb, Department of Agriculture, Stuart McAlpine, Liebe Group. 27. Relay planting from Tramlines to increase water use and productivity os summer crops, Dr Paul Blackwell, Department of Agriculture, Neil and Kim Diamond, Buntine. Liebe Group 28.Evidence-based zone management of paddock variability to improve profits and environmental outcomes, M.T.F. WongA, D. PatabendigeB, G. LyleA and K. WittwerA ACSIRO Land and Water, BDepartment of Agriculture 29. How much soil water is lost over summer in sandy soils? Perry Dolling1, Senthold Asseng2, Ian Fillery2, Phil Ward2and Michael Robertson3 1University of Western Australia/Department of Agriculture Western Australia/CSIRO, 2CSIRO Plant Industry 3CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Indooroopilly, Queensland FARMER DECISION SUPPORT AND ADOPTION 30. Economic comparisons of farming systems for the medium rainfall northern sandplain, No 1, Caroline Peek and David Rogers, Department of Agriculture 31. Sensitivity analysis of farming systems for the medium rainfall northern sandplain No 2, Caroline Peek and David Rogers, Department of Agriculture 32. Transition analysis of farming systems in the medium rainfall northern sandplain. No 3, Caroline Peek and David Rogers, Department of Agriculture 33. Implementing on-farm quality assurance, Peter Portmann, Manager Research and Development, The Grain Pool of Western Australia 34. On-farm research – principles of the ‘Test As You Grow’ kit, Jeff Russell, Department of Agriculture 35. Broadscale wheat variety comparisons featuring Wyalkatchem, Jeff Russell, Department of Agriculture 36. GrainGuardÔ - A biosecurity plan for the Canola Industry,Greg Shea Department of Agriculture 37. Are Western Australian broadacre farms efficient? Ben Henderson, University of Western Australia, Ross Kingwell, Department of Agriculture and University of Western Australia DISEASE MODELLING WORKSHOP 38. WORKSHOP: Pest and disease forecasts for you! An interactive forum, Tresslyn Walmsley, Jean Galloway, Debbie Thackray, Moin Salam and Art Diggle, Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture and Department of Agriculture 39. Blackspot spread: Disease models are based in reality (Workshop paper 1), JeanGalloway,Department of Agriculture 40. Blackspot spread: Scaling-up field data to simulate ‘Baker’s farm’ (Workshop paper 2), Moin U. Salam, Jean Galloway, Art J. Diggle and William J. MacLeod, Department of Agriculture, Western Australia 41. A decision support system for control of aphids and CMV in lupin crops (Workshop paper 3), Debbie Thackray, Jenny Hawkes and Roger Jones, Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture and Department of Agricultur

Process-Based Modeling to Assess the Effects of Recent Climatic Variation on Site Productivity and Forest Function across Western North America

A process-based forest growth model, 3-PG (Physiological Principles Predicting Growth), parameterized with values of soil properties constrained by satellite-derived estimates of maximum leaf area index (LAIᵐᵃˣ), was run for Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) to contrast the extent to which site growth potential might vary across western North America between a cool, wet period (1950–1975) and a more recent, generally warmer and drier one (2000–2009). LAIᵐᵃˣ represents a surrogate for overall site growth potential, as demonstrated from a strong correlation between the two variables, with the latter based on the culmination of mean annual increment estimates made at 3356 ground-based U.S. Forest Service survey plots across the states of Oregon and Washington. Results indicate that since 2000, predicted LAIᵐᵃˣ has decreased more than 20% in portions of the Southwest USA and for much of the forested area in western Alberta. Similar percentage increases in LAIᵐᵃˣ were predicted for parts of British Columbia, Idaho and Montana. The modeling analysis included an assessment of changes in seasonal constraints on gross primary production (GPP). A general reduction in limitations caused by spring frost occurred across the entire study area. This has led to a longer growing season, along with notable increases in summer evaporative demand and soil drought for much of the study area away from the maritime influence of the Pacific Ocean.Forestry, Faculty ofNon UBCForest Resources Management, Department ofReviewedFacult

Decisions, disagreement and responsibility: towards an agonistic green citizenship

In recent explications of green citizenship, citizenship responsibilities are emphasised over citizenship rights. Too often it is assumed that deciding the content of these citizenship responsibilities and acting collectively in accordance with them is a straightforward matter of rational consensus. Using Mouffe's account of the political, this article argues that a rational and fully inclusive consensus is impossible. The inevitable conflict of the political realm, however, should not be seen as an obstacle to responsible collective action but rather as integral to the political decisions underpinning collective action. The article outlines a model of ‘agonistic green citizenship’ in which responsibility is understood in terms of acknowledging the irreducible disagreement arising from differently embodied citizens. The environment here is not simply an object of disagreement but contributes to the different perspectives that underpin that disagreement

Providing Risk of the Environment’s Changing Climate Threats for Galleries, Libraries, Archives, & Museums (PROTECCT-GLAM) Data File

The data file was created as part of the IMLS-funded project, PROTECCT-GLAM: Risk of The Environment’s Changing Climate Threats for Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums in an effort to gather the identities and georeferences of all galleries, libraries, archives, and museums located within the United States. The data file includes 22,388 archives, 21,189 libraries, and 29,781 museums

Crop Updates 1999 - Cereals

This article covers sixty papers FOREWORD ACKNOWLEDGMENTS PLENARY PAPERS 1. Western Australia’s climate: trends and opportunities, Len W. Broadbridge, Director, Bureau of Meterorology 2. Managing seasonal variations in agriculture, Dr Doug Abrecht, Director, Dryland Research Institute, Merredin CROP ESTABLISHMENT 3. Soil management to prevent waterlogging on duplex soils in the Great Southern, D. Bakker, Greg Hamilton, Cliff Spann and Doug Rowe, Agriculture Western Australia 4. The influence of no-till and press wheels on crop production for heavy soils, Peter Fisher, Jennifer Bignell, Matthew Braimbridge, Greg Hamilton, Agriculture Western Australia NUTRITION 5. Fertiliser nitrogen, applied late, needs rain to increase grain nitrogen and protein levels in wheat, Bill Bowden1, Ross Brennan1, Reg Lunt1 and Senthold Asseng2 1 Agriculture Western Australia, 2 CSIRO 6. Canola upsets the nutrition of the next cereal crop? Bill Bowden1, Garren Knell1, Cherie Rowles 1, Simon Bedbrook\u27, Chris Gazey 1,Mike Bolland1, Ross Brennan 1, Lyn Abbott2, Zed Rengel2 and Wayne Pluske3, 1 Agriculture Western Australia, 2 UWA Soil Science, 3 CSBP 7. Comparisons between high analysis nitrogen sources, Erin Cahill, CSBP 8. Urea additives for reduced drilled urea toxicity for canola and wheat, Bill Crabtree, WANTFA 9. Fertiliser placement, Matthew Evans, CSBP 9. The profitability of variable rate nitrogen applications on wheat, Tim Nielsen, CSBP Technical Services DISEASE 10. Fungicide for wheat leaf disease: boon or bane? Jat Bhathal, Rob Loughman and D. Rasmussen, Plant Pathology, Agriculture Western Australia 11. Role of retained wheat stubbles in disease carryover in wheat/lupin rotations, Jat Bhathal and Rob Loughman, Plant Pathology, Agriculture Western Australia 12. Comparison of aerial and ground application of fungicide for lead disease control ion wheat, Jat Bhathal and Rob Loughman, Plant Pathology, Agriculture Western Australia 13. Bean yellow mosaic virus infection of alternative pasture legume species, Roger Jones, CRC for legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture and Agriculture Western Australia 14. Survey of cereal root nematodes in cropping soils in Western Australia, Sean Kelly1, Ian Riley2 and Robert Loughman1, 1 Agriculture Western Australia,2 University of Adelaide 15. Crop management options for root lesion nematode, Robert Loughman 1, Sharyn Taylor2, Vivien Vanstone 3, Ian Riley3 and Dominie Wright1, 1 Agriculture Western Australia, 2SARDI Plant Research Centre, Glen Osmond, South Australia 3 University of Adelaide, Glen Osmond, South Australia 16. Forecasting barley yellow dwarf risk in cereals, Debbie Thackray and Roger Jones, Agriculture Western Australia and CRC for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture 17. Managing barley yellow dwarf virus in cereal crops, Debbie Thackray, Roger Jones and Simon McKirdy, Agriculture Western Australia and CRC for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture 18. Broadacre diagnostic service, Dominie Wright, Agriculture Western Australia, AGWEST Plant Laboratories 19. Using twist fungus (Dilophospora alopecuri) to reduce the risk of annual ryegrass toxicity, Dr George Yan1 and Dr Ian Riley2, 1 Plant Research and Development Service, Agriculture Western Australia, 2 Applied and Molecular Ecology, Waite Campus, The University of Adelaide, South Australia NEW VARIETIES 20. New wheat and oat varieties for 1999, Robin Wilson, lain Barclay, Robyn Mclean, Dean Diepeveen, Robert Loughman, and Bill Lambe, Agriculture Western Australia 21. Performance in 1998 of recently released wheat varieties, Robin Wilson, lain Barclay, Robyn Mclean, Dean Diepeveen, Robert Loughman and Bill Lambe, Agriculture Western Australia WHEAT AGRONOMY 22. Increasing the noodle ‘strike rate’, Wal Anderson, Brenda Shackley and Mechelle Owen, Agriculture Western Australia, Quality Wheat CRC 23. Variety trials: wheat and barley, Peter Burgess, Lamond Burgess & Associates 24. South coast wheat variety farmer survey, Ben Curtis, Agriculture Western Australia 25. Residual effects of deep ripping, gypsum and nutrients on grain yields and soil properties, Mohammed A. Hamza and W.K. Anderson, Agriculture Western Australia 26. How to ensure durum wheat profitability! Jamie Henderson, Frank Boetel and Alfredo lmpiglia, Agriculture Western Australia 27. Agronomic evaluation of new wheat varieties for 1999 in the Northern Agricultural Region, Frances Hoyle, Agriculture Western Australia 28. The influence of on-farm management and variety of grain screening levels, Frances Hoyle, Agriculture Western Australia 29. Variety response of hard wheats to management, Darshan Sharma and Wal Anderson, Agriculture Western Australia BARLEY AND OATS 30. Studies into production of export oaten hay, Pierre Fievez, Pierre Fievez and Associates 31. Gairdner barley in the Central and Northern Regions, Blakely Paynter, Agriculture Western Australia 32. Improving milling oat quality, Glenn McDonald, Agriculture Western Australia 33. Gairdner barley in the Southern Region, Kevin Young, Agriculture Western Australia PASTURE 34. The herbicide tolerance of some annual pasture legumes, Andrew Blake, Agriculture Western Australia 35. Pasture systems for cropping rotations in the northern wheatbelt, Keith Devenish, Agriculture Western Australia 36. Perennial pastures reduce recharge and acidification, Perry Dolling, Agriculture Western Australia 37. It’s time to include Lucerne in the pasture-crop system, Roy Latta 1, Lisa-Jane Blacklow2 and Chris Matthews 1,1 Agriculture Western Australia, 2 University of Western Australia, 38. New alternative pasture legume for fine textured soils, Angelo Loi, Brad Nutt and Rochelle McRobb, National Australian Pasture Legumes Improvement Program (NAPLIP) and Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA) 39. Increasing pasture productivity on acid wodjil soils, Brad Nutt, David Webb and Andrew McRobb, Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA) 40. Annual legume pasture species now available for use in cropping systems. Clinton Revell, Agriculture Western Australia 41. Herbicide and cultural management of Cadiz serradella in ‘phase’ pastures, Clinton Revell, Agriculture Western Australia 42. Spring spraying for redlegged earth mite, James Ridsdill-Smith and Celia Pavri, CSIRO Entomology and CLIMA 43. Water use and water extraction by recently developed pasture legume species and cultivars, David Tennant1, Darryl McClements2, Ross Thompson 1 and Mike Ewing2, 1 Natural Resource Management Services, Soil Management, 2 Plant Research and Development, Pasture Sciences 44. Death knell to doublegees? Tim Woodburn· and Paul Yeoh, CSIRO Entomology/CRC Weed Management Systems, Floreat LIMING 45. Calculated lime requirements for rotations, James Fisher1, Art Diggle 1•2 and Bill Bowden 1•2, 1 Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture 2 Agriculture Western Australia 46. The RH lime reactivity test and RH of typical WA limes, Mark Whitten and Andrew Rate, Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, University of Western Australia YIELD MAPPING 47. Benchmarking target yields for wheat, Senthold Asseng 1, Bill Bowden2 and Paul Carlile3, 1 CSIRO Plant Industry, 2 Agriculture Western Australia, 3 UWA 48. Getting the most information from farm scale trial, Ed Blanchard, Agricultural Engineering and Precision Farming Consultant, Merredin, WA 49. Measuring nutrient changes using yield maps, Ed Blanchard, Agricultural engineering and precision farming consultant; Precision Farming Demonstration Project Coordinator for the Kondinin Group, Merredin WA BREEDING 50. Crop improvement royalties – investing in the future, Bevan Buirchell and Dean Diepeveen, Agriculture Western Australia 51. Screening cereals for genotypic variation in phosphorus efficiency, Lorraine Osborne and Zed Rengel, Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, University of Western Australia ON FARM TESTING 52. Test as you grow pays dividends, John Blake, Tress Walmsley, Terry Piper, Wal Anderson, Dean Diepeveen, Cameron Weeks, Michael Dodd, Amanda Falconer, Caroline Peek, Glenn Adam, Agriculture Western Australia 53. How useful is on-farm testing, Camray Gethin 1, Richard Guinness2, Simon Bedbrook1, Dean Diepeveen4, 1 TopCrop Development Officer, Agriculture Western Australia, 2 Farmer, Kunjin TopCrop Group, Corrigin, 3 Agricultural Consultant, Farmanco, York, 4 CVT service, Crop Industries, Agriculture Western Australia, ECONOMICS 54. The impact of farm practices on sustainability costs of rotations, Pierre Fievez, Pierre Fievez and Associates 55. Right rotations for TopCrop, Daniel Fels, Agriculture Western Australia 56. Dollars of water use efficiency, Andrew Rintoul, FAST National, GRDC funded project, Planfarm 57. Farm business structures, Andrew Rintoul, FAST National, GRDC funded project, Planfarm CLIMATE 58. Broadscale weather aspects affecting Western Australia during 1998 and prospects for 1999, Mal Lamond, Lamond Weather Services 59. An updated look at aspects of rainfall trends and variability in the south-west of Western Australia, Roger Tapp, Climate and Consultancy Section, Bureau of Meteorology, Perth WA 60. Frost research in the eastern wheatbelt, Craig White, Research Officer, Agriculture Western Australia, Presented by D.G. Abrech

The conservation status of the world’s reptiles

Effective and targeted conservation action requires detailed information about species, their distribution, systematics and ecology as well as the distribution of threat processes which affect them. Knowledge of reptilian diversity remains surprisingly disparate, and innovative means of gaining rapid insight into the status of reptiles are needed in order to highlight urgent conservation cases and inform environmental policy with appropriate biodiversity information in a timely manner. We present the first ever global analysis of extinction risk in reptiles, based on a random representative sample of 1500 species (16% of all currently known species). To our knowledge, our results provide the first analysis of the global conservation status and distribution patterns of reptiles and the threats affecting them, highlighting conservation priorities and knowledge gaps which need to be addressed urgently to ensure the continued survival of the world’s reptiles. Nearly one in five reptilian species are threatened with extinction, with another one in five species classed as Data Deficient. The proportion of threatened reptile species is highest in freshwater environments, tropical regions and on oceanic islands, while data deficiency was highest in tropical areas, such as Central Africa and Southeast Asia, and among fossorial reptiles. Our results emphasise the need for research attention to be focussed on tropical areas which are experiencing the most dramatic rates of habitat loss, on fossorial reptiles for which there is a chronic lack of data, and on certain taxa such as snakes for which extinction risk may currently be underestimated due to lack of population information. Conservation actions specifically need to mitigate the effects of human-induced habitat loss and harvesting, which are the predominant threats to reptiles