Disease gradient of the anthracnose agent Apiognomonia quercina in a natural oak stand

Patterns of spore dispersal of the fungal pathogen Apiognomonia quercina and its anamorph Discula quercina were investigated over two consecutive growing seasons in a natural mixed stand of Quercus cerris and Q. pubescens trees located in a inland area of Tuscany, at an altitude of 400 m a.s.l. To measure spore dispersal, a transect was laid out in the stand to serve as an inoculum source. The rate of inoculum dispersal (conidia and ascospores) was quantifi ed by means of spore traps positioned at 10, 100, 500 and 1000 m from the southern end of the transect. The disease gradient was also assessed by determining the disease incidence on selected trees at the same distances from the transect. The amount of inoculum detected decreased steeply with the distance from the transect. Disease incidence was inversely correlated with the disease gradient, i.e. with the distance from the inoculum source, and it was much higher at the shorter distances. The level of spore dispersal was related to both the distance from the infection foci and the sporulation time. The experimental approach constituted a valid means for describing and understanding the dynamics of windborne diseases in forests

Phytophthora root and collar rot of Paulownia, a new disease for Europe

Paulownia species are fast growing trees native to China, which are being grown in managed plantings in several European countries for the production of wood and biomasses. In 2018, wilting, stunting, leaf yellowing, and collapse, as a consequence of root and crown rot, were observed in around 40% of trees of a 2-year-old planting of Paulownia elongata × P. fortunei in Calabria (Southern Italy). Two species of Phytophthora were consistently recovered from roots, basal stem bark, and rhizosphere soil of symptomatic trees and were identified as Ph. nicotianae and Ph. palmivora on the basis of both morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of rDNA ITS sequences. Koch’s postulates were fulfilled by reproducing the symptoms on potted paulownia saplings transplanted into infested soil or stem-inoculated by wounding. Both Phytophthora species were pathogenic and caused root rot and stem cankers. Even though P. palmivora was the only species recovered from roots of naturally infected plants, in pathogenicity tests through infested soil P. nicotianae was more virulent. This is the first report of Phytophthora root and crown rot of a Paulownia species in Europe. Strategies to prevent this emerging disease include the use of healthy nursery plants, choice of well-drained soils for new plantations, and proper irrigation management

Disease gradient of the anthracnose agent Apiognomonia quercina in a natural oak stand

Patterns of spore dispersal of the fungal pathogen Apiognomonia quercina and its anamorph Discula quercina were investigated over two consecutive growing seasons in a natural mixed stand of Quercus cerris and Q. pubescens trees located in a inland area of Tuscany, at an altitude of 400 m a.s.l. To measure spore dispersal, a transect was laid out in the stand to serve as an inoculum source. The rate of inoculum dispersal (conidia and ascospores) was quantifi ed by means of spore traps positioned at 10, 100, 500 and 1000 m from the southern end of the transect. The disease gradient was also assessed by determining the disease incidence on selected trees at the same distances from the transect. The amount of inoculum detected decreased steeply with the distance from the transect. Disease incidence was inversely correlated with the disease gradient, i.e. with the distance from the inoculum source, and it was much higher at the shorter distances. The level of spore dispersal was related to both the distance from the infection foci and the sporulation time. The experimental approach constituted a valid means for describing and understanding the dynamics of windborne diseases in forests

The effect of the noncentral impurity-matrix interaction upon the thermal expansion and polyamorphism of solid CO-C60 solutions at low temperatures

Orientational glasses with CO molecules occupying 26% and 90% of the octahedral interstitial sites in the C60 lattice have been investigated by the dilatometric method in a temperature interval of 2.5 - 23 K. At temperatures 4 - 6 K the glasses undergo a first-order phase transition which is evident from the hysteresis of the thermal expansion and the maxima in the temperature dependences of the linear thermal expansion coefficients, and the thermalization times of the samples. The effect of the noncentral CO-C60 interaction upon the thermal expansion and the phase transition in these glasses was clarified by comparing the behavior of the properties of the CO-C60 and N2-C60 solutions.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure

Impacts of climate change on plant diseases – opinions and trends

There has been a remarkable scientific output on the topic of how climate change is likely to affect plant diseases in the coming decades. This review addresses the need for review of this burgeoning literature by summarizing opinions of previous reviews and trends in recent studies on the impacts of climate change on plant health. Sudden Oak Death is used as an introductory case study: Californian forests could become even more susceptible to this emerging plant disease, if spring precipitations will be accompanied by warmer temperatures, although climate shifts may also affect the current synchronicity between host cambium activity and pathogen colonization rate. A summary of observed and predicted climate changes, as well as of direct effects of climate change on pathosystems, is provided. Prediction and management of climate change effects on plant health are complicated by indirect effects and the interactions with global change drivers. Uncertainty in models of plant disease development under climate change calls for a diversity of management strategies, from more participatory approaches to interdisciplinary science. Involvement of stakeholders and scientists from outside plant pathology shows the importance of trade-offs, for example in the land-sharing vs. sparing debate. Further research is needed on climate change and plant health in mountain, boreal, Mediterranean and tropical regions, with multiple climate change factors and scenarios (including our responses to it, e.g. the assisted migration of plants), in relation to endophytes, viruses and mycorrhiza, using long-term and large-scale datasets and considering various plant disease control methods

Mycorrhization of fagaceae forests within mediterranean ecosystems

Mediterranean Fagaceae forests are valuable due to their ecological and socioeconomic aspects. Some profitable plant species, such as Castanea (timber and chestnut), Quercus (timber and cork), and Fagus (timber), encounter in this habitat the excellent edaphoclimatic conditions to develop. All Fagaceae plants are commonly associated to ECM fungal species, which are found in these forests in quite stable communities, mainly enriched in Russulaceae and Telephoraceae species. Currently, the Mediterranean Basin is considered as one of the global biodiversity hotspots, since many of their endemic plant species are not found elsewhere and are now under threat. Due to climate changing and introduction of disease agents, Fagaceae forests are facing an adaptation challenge to both biotic and abiotic threats. Although ECM communities are highly disturbed by climate factors and tree disease incidence, they could play an important role in increasing water availability to the plant and also improving plant tree defense against pathogens. Recent advances, namely, on genomics and transcriptomics, are providing tools for increasing the understanding of Fagaceae mycorrhization process and stress responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. Such studies can provide new information for the implementation of the most adequate management policies for protecting threaten Mediterranean forests.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Low temperature heat capacity of fullerite C60 doped with nitrogen

The heat capacity Cm of polycrystalline fullerite C60 doped with nitrogen has been measured in the temperature interval 2 - 13 K. The contributions to heat capacity from translational lattice vibrations (Debye contribution), orientational vibrations of the C60 molecules (Einstein contribution) and from the motion of the N2 molecules in the octahedral cavities of the C60 lattice have been estimated. However, we could not find (beyond the experimental error limits) any indications of the first - order phase transformation that had been detected earlier in the dilatometric investigation of the orientational N2-C60 glass. A possible explanation of this fact is proposed.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, to be published in Fiz. Nizk. Temp. (Low Temp. Phys.

Specific features of thermal expansion and polyamorphism in CH4–C60 solutions at low temperatures

The temperature dependence of the linear thermal expansion coefficient α(T) has been investigated in the temperature range of 2.5 to 23 K for two different CH4–C60 solutions in which CH4 molecules occupied 24 and 50% of the octahedral interstitial sites of the C60 lattice. In both cases, α(T) exhibits hysteresis, suggesting the existence of two types of orientational glass associated with these solutions. The temperature of the first-order phase transition between these two glasses was estimated and the behavior of these two glasses compared. The characteristic times of thermalization τ1, reorientation of the C60 molecules τ2, and of the phase transformation between the glasses τ', have been estimated for these solutions. Both the temperature dependence of α(T) and the characteristic thermalization time τ1are found to have features near the phase transition temperature and an explanation has been put forward to explain these observed features

Ectomycorrhizal fungal diversity and community structure associated with cork oak in different landscapes

Cork oak (Quercus suber L.) forests play an important ecological and economic role. Ectomycorrhizal fungi (ECMF) are key components for the sustainability and functioning of these ecosystems. The community structure and composition of ECMF associated with Q. suber in different landscapes of distinct Mediterranean bioclimate regions have not previously been compared. In this work, soil samples from cork oak forests residing in different bioclimates (arid, semi-arid, sub-humid, and humid) were collected and surveyed for ectomycorrhizal (ECM) root tips. A global analysis performed on 3565 ECM root tips revealed that the ECMF community is highly enriched in Russula, Tomentella, and Cenoccocum, which correspond to the ECMF genera that mainly contribute to community differences. The ECMF communities from the rainiest and the driest cork oak forests were distinct, with soils from the rainiest climates being more heterogeneous than those from the driest climates. The analyses of several abiotic factors on the ECMF communities revealed that bioclimate, precipitation, soil texture, and forest management strongly influenced ECMF structure. Shifts in ECMF with different hyphal exploration types were also detected among forests, with precipitation, forest system, and soil texture being the main drivers controlling their composition. Understanding the effects of environmental factors on the structuring of ECM communities could be the first step for promoting the sustainability of this threatened ecosystem.This work was supported by Fundacao Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT/MCTES/PIDDAC, Portugal), under the project (PEst-OE/BIA/UI4046/2014; UID/MULTI/04046/2013) and PhD grant to F.R. (SFRH/BD/86519/2012)