Decomposition Rate Comparisons Between Frequently Burned and Unburned Areas of Uneven-aged Loblolly Pine Stands in Southeastern Arkansas

Although fire has been used extensively over long periods of time in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) ecosystems, little is known concerning the effects of frequent fire use on nutrient cycling and decomposition. To better understand the long-term effects of fire on these processes, foliar litter decomposition rates were quantified in a study investigating prescribed fire and uneven-aged loblollypine management in the Upper Coastal Plain in Arkansas. Part of the study area had been burned on a 2- to 3-year cycle since 1981, whereas another portion had not received any prescribed fires. Decomposition rates were determined by placing foliar litter from each area in litterbags, installing these bags in the field within each area, and monitoring the litter mass loss over a 10-month period. During this period, no differences were found in decomposition rates between the burned and unburned areas. However, an initial increase in decomposition was found in litterfall collected from the burned areas when compared with litterfall collected from unburned areas

Similarity in cognitive complexity and attraction to friends and lovers: Experimental and correlational studies

Abstract OnlyTwo studies are reported examining whether similarities in cognitive complexity foster different forms of interpersonal attraction. Study 1 provided an experimental test of the hypothesis that perceivers would be more attracted to targets with similar levels of complexity than to targets with dissimilar levels of complexity. Participants read interpersonal impressions reflecting low and high levels of cognitive complexity and completed 3 assessments of attraction (social, task, and intellectual) to the source of the impressions. As predicted, there were significant interactions between perceiver complexity and target complexity such that high-complexity perceivers were more attracted to high-complexity targets than were low-complexity perceivers, whereas low-complexity perceivers were more attracted to low-complexity targets than were high-complexity perceivers. Unexpectedly, however, low-complexity perceivers were more attracted to a high-complexity target than a low-complexity target. Study 2 examined the effects of similarities in cognitive complexity on attraction among 126 pairs of dating partners. Partners having similar levels of cognitive complexity expressed significantly greater intellectual attraction to one another than partners having dissimilar levels of cognitive complexity