Harvesting Adaptation to Biodiversity Conservation in Sawmill Industry: Technology Innovation and Monitoring Program

Social demands related to native forest ecosystems are based on an efficient management, with a balance between conservation and timber production. This paper describes the industry adaptation to a biodiversity program with an alternative regeneration method. The proposed method leaves 30% of the timber-quality forest as aggregated retention and 15 m² ha-1 basal area as dispersed retention. While many costs increased considerably, the incomes also may increase by applying new management strategies and technology innovation. A monitoring program was established in the harvested stands to evaluate the ecological functionality of the applied regeneration system (forest structure, climate change, regeneration dynamics, habitat quality and abiotic cycles). The implementation of an innovated technology and monitoring program in the forest and industry determined a balance between economic values and biodiversity conservation.Las demandas sociales relacionadas con los ecosistemas forestales se basan en una gestión eficiente, con un equilibrio entre la conservación y la producción de madera. El siguiente trabajo describe la adaptación de la industria a un programa de biodiversidad con un método alternativo de regeneración. El método propuesto mantiene un 30% del bosque de calidad maderera como una retención agregada y un área basal de 15 m² ha-1 Como una retención dispersa. Mientras muchos de los costos aumentan considerablemente, los ingresos también aumentan mediante la aplicación de las nuevas estrategias de gestión y de las tecnologías de innovación. Un programa de monitoreo se estableció en la cosecha para evaluar la funcionalidad ecológica del sistema de regeneración aplicado (estructura del bosque, cambio climático, dinámica de regeneración, calidad del hábitat y ciclos abióticos). La implementación de una tecnología de innovación y un programa de monitoreo en el bosque y la industria determinan un equilibrio entre los valores económicos y la conservación de la biodiversidad.Social demands related to native forest ecosystems are based on an efficient management, with a balance between conservation and timber production. This paper describes the industry adaptation to a biodiversity program with an alternative regeneration method. The proposed method leaves 30% of the timber-quality forest as aggregated retention and 15 m² ha-1 basal area as dispersed retention. While many costs increased considerably, the incomes also may increase by applying new management strategies and technology innovation. A monitoring program was established in the harvested stands to evaluate the ecological functionality of the applied regeneration system (forest structure, climate change, regeneration dynamics, habitat quality and abiotic cycles). The implementation of an innovated technology and monitoring program in the forest and industry determined a balance between economic values and biodiversity conservation

Landscape variables influence over active restoration strategies of Nothofagus forests degraded by invasive Castor canadensis in Tierra del Fuego

North American beavers (Castor canadensis) are responsible for the major changes in the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago, altering riparian forests for the long-term. Passive restoration of the areas affected was ineffective in the medium-term (up to 20 years), being necessary active strategies. Plantations in abandoned ponds were made with Nothofagus pumilio and N. antarctica tree species across Tierra del Fuego island (Argentina). In the first experiment, we analysed the influence of biotic and abiotic factors in three micro-habitats in the impacted areas: front and tail of ponds, and cut not-flooded forest areas. Five-years-old N. pumilio seedlings had 39% survival in front, 21% in tails, and 46% in cut areas at year-3 of the restoration experiments, being negatively influenced by plant cover and soil moisture. Lower growth was recorded during year-1 (0.7–0.9 cm yr−1), but increased on time (1.9 cm yr−1 front, 1.6 cm yr−1 tail, 4.3 cm yr−1 cut areas). A second experiment explores the alternative to substitute the tree species to face the harder conditions of the impact and climate change. For this, we conducted a new plantation at four locations across the main bioclimatic zones, where 10–40 cm N. antarctica plants attained 17% survival in meadows (front and tail) and 30% in cut areas, being higher with larger than smaller plants (25% vs. 18%), and where they are mainly influenced by rainfall (4% in sites 400 mm yr−1). The main damage was detected in the above-ground biomass due to dryness, but root survival allowed the emergence of new shoots in the following growing season. It is necessary to monitor different Nothofagus species across natural environments in the landscape to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of different strategies in restoration plans, considering the selection of climate-resilient tree species.EEA Santa CruzFil: Martínez Pastur, Guillermo José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC); Argentina.Fil: Cellini, Juan Manuel. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Laboratorio de Investigaciones en Maderas; Argentina.Fil: Lencinas, María Vanessa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC); Argentina.Fil: Rosas, Yamina Micaela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC); Argentina.Fil: Henn, Jonathan J. University of Gothenburg. Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences; SueciaFil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santa Cruz; Argentina.Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral; Argentina.Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina

Long-term forest management research in South Patagonia - Argentina: Lessons from the past, challenges from the present

Argentina ha basado su economía en la agricultura y el ganado, donde el bosque ha sido visto como un obstáculo para el desarrollo. La cosecha forestal en Patagonia Sur ha sido una actividad basada en la colonización y explotación de nuevas áreas. Esta se realiza principalmente en bosques primarios sin ningún manejo silvícola posterior. A pesar de que el manejo actual no es sustentable, la investigación científica ha definido las bases para conservar, proteger y mejorar las propuestas de manejo forestal para los bosques nativos de Patagonia Sur. Las primeras parcelas de estudio a largo plazo (1965-1966) basaron su monitoreo en parámetros económicos y estructura forestal, estableciéndose cerca de veinte parcelas en bosques fiscales de Tierra del Fuego. La mayoría fueron destruidas o discontinuadas debido a la falta de planificación del uso de la tierra, escaso interés social en la investigación, falta de compromiso de instituciones, y poca colaboración con empresas forestales. Posteriormente, un segundo grupo de nueve parcelas se estableció en Patagonia Sur (1993-2004) basado en la colaboración entre empresas privadas e instituciones nacionales. Los objetivos incluyeron parámetros económicos y ecológicos. Las parcelas se establecieron en tierras privadas conjuntamente con empresas privadas y estancieros, mediante la firma de acuerdos y proyectos de investigación. Los principales problemas encontrados fueron: falta de compromiso de las administraciones forestales, ausencia de proyectos financiados a largo plazo, y que la responsabilidad de las parcelas continúa bajo la iniciativa personal de los investigadores participantes. El estudio de las parcelas permitió: (i) proponer nuevos sistemas de regeneración basados en la maximización del rendimiento y el mejoramiento del valor de conservación de los bosques manejados (e.g., retención variable y sistemas silvopastoriles), (ii) determinar la factibilidad económica de aplicación de tratamientos intermedios, (iii) determinar líneas base y definir los impactos de distintos sistemas silvícolas, (iv) proponer metodologías de monitoreo de amplio espectro y establecer áreas demostrativas de manejo, y (v) proveer áreas y conocimientos para entrenar profesionales en prácticas de manejo forestal y conservación de la biodiversidad. Las parcelas permanentes ya establecidas en los bosques de Nothofagus de Patagonia Sur y las bases de datos obtenidas podrían servir como punto de partida para definir un núcleo regional que pueda participar en el International Long Term Ecological Research para asegurar el uso sustentable de los bosques nativos.Argentina has based its economy in agriculture and cattle production seeing forests as one of the main obstacles for future development. Forest harvesting in South Patagonia has been an activity based on colonization and exploitation of new areas. Harvesting is mainly carried out in old-growth forests without silviculture management after the first cuts. Beyond this mismanagement, scientific research defined the basis to conserve, protect and improve the present forest management for the South Patagonia native forests. The first long-term study permanent plots (1965-1966) monitored only economic and forest structure parameters, and near twenty plots were established in public forested lands of Tierra del Fuego. Most of these plots were destroyed or discontinued due to a lack of land use planning, scarce social interest for long-term researches, absence of commitment of institutions, and few contributions of forest companies. After this, a second group of nine long-term study permanent plots were established in South Patagonia (1993- 2004) based in the collaboration between private companies and national research institutions. The objectives included economic as well as ecological parameters. The new plots were established on private lands based on several agreements and joint venture projects between national institutions, private companies and ranch owners. The main limitations in these processes were: a lack of commitment from the provincial forest administrations, absence of long-term financed projects and a clear forest policy from the government, and that continuity of plot measurements rely only under the responsibility of researchers. The study of the long-term plots allowed: (i) to propose new harvesting systems by maximizing yield and improving conservation value of managed forests (e.g., variable retention and silvopastoral systems), (ii) to determine the economical feasibility of the intermediate treatments, (iii) to define base-lines and impacts of different silvicultural treatments, (iv) to propose a wide spectrum of monitoring methodologies and establish demonstrative areas of forest management, and (v) to provide areas and knowledge to train professionals in forest management and biodiversity conservation practices. The surviving permanent plots in Nothofagus forest in South Patagonia and the obtained information could be used as a starting point to define a regional nucleus that could participate in the International Long Term Ecological Research to improve the use of native forests.Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestale

Altered Antioxidant-Oxidant Status in the Aqueous Humor and Peripheral Blood of Patients with Retinitis Pigmentosa

Retinitis Pigmentosa is a common form of hereditary retinal degeneration constituting the largest Mendelian genetic cause of blindness in the developed world. It has been widely suggested that oxidative stress possibly contributes to its pathogenesis. We measured the levels of total antioxidant capacity, free nitrotyrosine, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) formation, extracellular superoxide dismutase (SOD3) activity, protein, metabolites of the nitric oxide/cyclic GMP pathway, heme oxygenase-I and inducible nitric oxide synthase expression in aqueous humor or/and peripheral blood from fifty-six patients with retinitis pigmentosa and sixty subjects without systemic or ocular oxidative stress-related disease. Multivariate analysis of covariance revealed that retinitis pigmentosa alters ocular antioxidant defence machinery and the redox status in blood. Patients with retinitis pigmentosa present low total antioxidant capacity including reduced SOD3 activity and protein concentration in aqueous humor. Patients also show reduced SOD3 activity, increased TBARS formation and upregulation of the nitric oxide/cyclic GMP pathway in peripheral blood. Together these findings confirmed the hypothesis that patients with retinitis pigmentosa present reduced ocular antioxidant status. Moreover, these patients show changes in some oxidative-nitrosative markers in the peripheral blood. Further studies are needed to clarify the relationship between these peripheral markers and retinitis pigmentosa

MASTREE+ : time-series of plant reproductive effort from six continents

Significant gaps remain in understanding the response of plant reproduction to environmental change. This is partly because measuring reproduction in long-lived plants requires direct observation over many years and such datasets have rarely been made publicly available. Here we introduce MASTREE+, a data set that collates reproductive time-series data from across the globe and makes these data freely available to the community. MASTREE+ includes 73,828 georeferenced observations of annual reproduction (e.g. seed and fruit counts) in perennial plant populations worldwide. These observations consist of 5971 population-level time-series from 974 species in 66 countries. The mean and median time-series length is 12.4 and 10 years respectively, and the data set includes 1122 series that extend over at least two decades (≥20 years of observations). For a subset of well-studied species, MASTREE+ includes extensive replication of time-series across geographical and climatic gradients. Here we describe the open-access data set, available as a.csv file, and we introduce an associated web-based app for data exploration. MASTREE+ will provide the basis for improved understanding of the response of long-lived plant reproduction to environmental change. Additionally, MASTREE+ will enable investigation of the ecology and evolution of reproductive strategies in perennial plants, and the role of plant reproduction as a driver of ecosystem dynamics

A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Finding communication strategies that effectively motivate social distancing continues to be a global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-country, preregistered experiment (n = 25,718 from 89 countries) tested hypotheses concerning generalizable positive and negative outcomes of social distancing messages that promoted personal agency and reflective choices (i.e., an autonomy-supportive message) or were restrictive and shaming (i.e., a controlling message) compared with no message at all. Results partially supported experimental hypotheses in that the controlling message increased controlled motivation (a poorly internalized form of motivation relying on shame, guilt, and fear of social consequences) relative to no message. On the other hand, the autonomy-supportive message lowered feelings of defiance compared with the controlling message, but the controlling message did not differ from receiving no message at all. Unexpectedly, messages did not influence autonomous motivation (a highly internalized form of motivation relying on one’s core values) or behavioral intentions. Results supported hypothesized associations between people’s existing autonomous and controlled motivations and self-reported behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing. Controlled motivation was associated with more defiance and less long-term behavioral intention to engage in social distancing, whereas autonomous motivation was associated with less defiance and more short- and long-term intentions to social distance. Overall, this work highlights the potential harm of using shaming and pressuring language in public health communication, with implications for the current and future global health challenges

MASTREE+: Time-series of plant reproductive effort from six continents.

Significant gaps remain in understanding the response of plant reproduction to environmental change. This is partly because measuring reproduction in long-lived plants requires direct observation over many years and such datasets have rarely been made publicly available. Here we introduce MASTREE+, a data set that collates reproductive time-series data from across the globe and makes these data freely available to the community. MASTREE+ includes 73,828 georeferenced observations of annual reproduction (e.g. seed and fruit counts) in perennial plant populations worldwide. These observations consist of 5971 population-level time-series from 974 species in 66 countries. The mean and median time-series length is 12.4 and 10 years respectively, and the data set includes 1122 series that extend over at least two decades (≥20 years of observations). For a subset of well-studied species, MASTREE+ includes extensive replication of time-series across geographical and climatic gradients. Here we describe the open-access data set, available as a.csv file, and we introduce an associated web-based app for data exploration. MASTREE+ will provide the basis for improved understanding of the response of long-lived plant reproduction to environmental change. Additionally, MASTREE+ will enable investigation of the ecology and evolution of reproductive strategies in perennial plants, and the role of plant reproduction as a driver of ecosystem dynamics