Recovery of the herbaceous layer in the young silver birch and black alder stands that developed spontaneously after a forest fire

The studies, which were conducted in southern Poland, focused on the recovery of the herb layer in 17-year-old post-fire silver birch and black alder forests. Although both types of stands, which are of the same age, developed spontaneously, the alder stands occupied damper sites (with thicker A horizons that survived the fire) than those in the birch forests. We surveyed the migration rates of 44 woodland species, primarily ancient woodland indicators, into both forests and the potential differences in these rates depending on their moisture regime and the community type represented by unburned forests, which were treated as the source of the woodland species pool. Additionally, the role of local depressions with high humidity that were covered by post-fire alder woods in the colonization process, as well as species survivorship and recolonisation, were estimated. Woodland species showed diverse migration paces among the sites; most of them migrated faster on more fertile sites with a higher humidity. Small patches of post-fire alder woods contributed to the recolonisation process since many woodland species in the herb layer survived the fire due to its high humidity, which inhibited the intensity of the forest fire. The recovery of woodland species in post-fire woods is the combined effect of regeneration, which relies on autochthonic propagules, and secondary succession, which is based on allochthonic propagules. Local depressions, which provide refuges for fire-sensitive, dispersal-limited species, contribute to their survivorship and thus to the successive recovery of herbaceous layers after a fire

Micromechanical Properties of Injection-Molded Starch–Wood Particle Composites

The micromechanical properties of injection molded starch–wood particle composites were investigated as a function of particle content and humidity conditions. The composite materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction methods. The microhardness of the composites was shown to increase notably with the concentration of the wood particles. In addition,creep behavior under the indenter and temperature dependence were evaluated in terms of the independent contribution of the starch matrix and the wood microparticles to the hardness value. The influence of drying time on the density and weight uptake of the injection-molded composites was highlighted. The results revealed the role of the mechanism of water evaporation, showing that the dependence of water uptake and temperature was greater for the starch–wood composites than for the pure starch sample. Experiments performed during the drying process at 70°C indicated that the wood in the starch composites did not prevent water loss from the samples.Peer reviewe

The Influence of Selected Melting Parameters on the Physical and Chemical Properties of Cast Iron

This paper presents the problems related to smelting gray and ductile cast iron. Special attention is paid to the metallurgical quality of cast iron. It depends on the type of furnace, charge materials and the special combination of charge, overheating and holding temperature, melting time, modification and spheroidization method. The evaluation of metallurgical quality has been performed by using derivative-thermal analysis (DTA). During the smelting process and secondary metallurgy, the ITACA system was used allowing to obtain information on alloy characteristic temperatures (Tliquidus, TeMin, TeMax, Tsolidus), VPS value, recalescence value, IGQ coefficient, nucleation gauge, porosity etc. The results of investigations and calculations are displayed in the form of graphs and dependencies. It has been shown that the derivative-thermal analysis (DTA) is an effective complement of chemical analysis and it has been found that both the increase in temperature and metal holding time have a negative impact on the metallurgical quality of liquid metal. The metallurgical quality can be improved by using proper composition of charge materials and modifiers