Stand growth and structure of mixed-species and monospecific stands of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and oak (Q. robur L., Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.) analysed along a productivity gradient through Europe

19 Pág.Past failures of monocultures, caused by wind-throw or insect damages, and ongoing climate change currently strongly stimulate research into mixed-species stands. So far, the focus has mainly been on combinations of species with obvious complementary functional traits. However, for any generalization, a broad overview of the mixing reactions of functionally different tree species in different mixing proportions, patterns and under different site conditions is needed, including assemblages of species with rather similar demands on resources such as light. Here, we studied the growth of Scots pine and oak in mixed versus monospecific stands on 36 triplets located along a productivity gradient across Europe, reaching from Sweden to Spain and from France to Georgia. The set-up represents a wide variation in precipitation (456–1250 mm year−1), mean annual temperature (6.7–11.5 °C) and drought index by de Martonne (21–63 mm °C−1). Stand inventories and increment cores of trees stemming from 40- to 132-year-old, fully stocked stands on 0.04–0.94-ha-sized plots provided insight into how species mixing modifies stand growth and structure compared with neighbouring monospecific stands. On average, the standing stem volume was 436 and 360 m3 ha−1 in the monocultures of Scots pine and oak, respectively, and 418 m3 ha−1 in the mixed stands. The corresponding periodical annual volume increment amounted to 10.5 and 9.1 m3 ha−1 year−1 in the monocultures and 10.5 m3 ha−1 year−1 in the mixed stands. Scots pine showed a 10% larger quadratic mean diameter (p < 0.05), a 7% larger dominant diameter (p < 0.01) and a 9% higher growth of basal area and volume in mixed stands compared with neighbouring monocultures. For Scots pine, the productivity advantages of growing in mixture increased with site index (p < 0.01) and water supply (p < 0.01), while for oak they decreased with site index (p < 0.01). In total, the superior productivity of mixed stands compared to monocultures increased with water supply (p < 0.10). Based on 7843 measured crowns, we found that in mixture both species, but especially oak, had significantly wider crowns (p < 0.001) than in monocultures. On average, we found relatively small effects of species mixing on stand growth and structure. Scots pine benefiting on rich, and oak on poor sites, allows for a mixture that is productive and most likely climate resistant all along a wide ecological gradient. We discuss the potential of this mixture in view of climate change.The authors wish to thank the European Union for funding the project ?Mixed species forest management. Lowering risk, increasing resilience (REFORM)? (#2816ERA02S, PCIN2017-026) under the framework of Sumforest ERA-NET. All contributors thank their national funding institutions to establish, measure and analyse data from the triplets. The first author also thanks the Bayerische Staatsforsten (BaySF) for supporting the establishment of the plots and the Bavarian State Ministry for Nutrition, Agriculture, and Forestry for permanent support of the project W 07 ?Long-term experimental plots for forest growth and yield research? (#7831-22209-2013). The French site (FR-1) belongs to the OPTMix experimental site (https://optmix.irstea.fr), which is supported annually by Ecofor, Allenvi, and the French national research infrastructure ANAEE-F. Research on the Lithuanian triplets was made possible by the national funding institution Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT), agreement No. S-SUMFOREST-17-1. Thanks are also due to Ulrich Kern for the graphical artwork. Finally, we thank two anonymous reviewers for their constructive criticism.Peer reviewe

Ruxolitinib for Glucocorticoid-Refractory Acute Graft-versus-Host Disease

BACKGROUND: Acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) remains a major limitation of allogeneic stem-cell transplantation; not all patients have a response to standard glucocorticoid treatment. In a phase 2 trial, ruxolitinib, a selective Janus kinase (JAK1 and JAK2) inhibitor, showed potential efficacy in patients with glucocorticoid-refractory acute GVHD. METHODS: We conducted a multicenter, randomized, open-label, phase 3 trial comparing the efficacy and safety of oral ruxolitinib (10 mg twice daily) with the investigator's choice of therapy from a list of nine commonly used options (control) in patients 12 years of age or older who had glucocorticoid-refractory acute GVHD after allogeneic stem-cell transplantation. The primary end point was overall response (complete response or partial response) at day 28. The key secondary end point was durable overall response at day 56. RESULTS: A total of 309 patients underwent randomization; 154 patients were assigned to the ruxolitinib group and 155 to the control group. Overall response at day 28 was higher in the ruxolitinib group than in the control group (62% [96 patients] vs. 39% [61]; odds ratio, 2.64; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.65 to 4.22; P<0.001). Durable overall response at day 56 was higher in the ruxolitinib group than in the control group (40% [61 patients] vs. 22% [34]; odds ratio, 2.38; 95% CI, 1.43 to 3.94; P<0.001). The estimated cumulative incidence of loss of response at 6 months was 10% in the ruxolitinib group and 39% in the control group. The median failure-free survival was considerably longer with ruxolitinib than with control (5.0 months vs. 1.0 month; hazard ratio for relapse or progression of hematologic disease, non-relapse-related death, or addition of new systemic therapy for acute GVHD, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.35 to 0.60). The median overall survival was 11.1 months in the ruxolitinib group and 6.5 months in the control group (hazard ratio for death, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.60 to 1.15). The most common adverse events up to day 28 were thrombocytopenia (in 50 of 152 patients [33%] in the ruxolitinib group and 27 of 150 [18%] in the control group), anemia (in 46 [30%] and 42 [28%], respectively), and cytomegalovirus infection (in 39 [26%] and 31 [21%]). CONCLUSIONS: Ruxolitinib therapy led to significant improvements in efficacy outcomes, with a higher incidence of thrombocytopenia, the most frequent toxic effect, than that observed with control therapy

Tree species growth response to climate in mixtures of Quercus robur/Quercus petraea and Pinus sylvestris across Europe - a dynamic, sensitive equilibrium

Quercus robur/Quercus petraea and Pinus sylvestris are widely distributed and economically important tree species in Europe co-occurring on mesotrophic, xeric and mesic sites. Increasing dry conditions may reduce their growth, but growth reductions may be modified by mixture, competition and site conditions. The annual diameter growth in monospecific and mixed stands along an ecological gradient with mean annual temperatures ranging from 5.5 °C to 11.5 °C was investigated in this study. On 36 triplets (108 plots), trees were cored and the year-ring series were cross-dated, resulting in year-ring series of 785 and 804 trees for Q. spp. and P. sylvestris, respectively. A generalized additive model with a logarithmic link was fit to the data with random effects for the intercept at the triplet, year and tree level and a random slope for the covariate age for each tree; the Tweedie-distribution was used. The final model explained 87 % of the total variation in diameter increment for both tree species. Significant covariates were age, climate variables (long-term mean, monthly), local competition variables, relative dbh, mixture, stand structure and interactions thereof. Tree growth declined with age and local density and increased with social position. It was positively influenced by mixture and structural diversity (Gini coefficient); mixture effects were significant for P. sylvestris only. The influence of potential evapotranspiration (PET) in spring and autumn on tree growth was positive and non-linear, whereas tree growth sharply decreased with increasing PET in June, which proved to be the most influential month on tree growth along the whole ecological gradient. Interactions of PET with tree social position (relative dbh) were significant in July and September for Q. spp. and in April for P. sylvestris. Interactions of climate with density or mixture were not significant. Climatic effects found agree well with previous results from intra-annual growth studies and indicate that the model captures the causal factors for tree growth well. Furthermore, the interaction between climate and relative dbh might indicate a longer growth duration for trees of higher social classes. Analysis of random effects across time and space showed highly dynamic patterns, with competitive advantages changing annually between species and spatial patterns showing no large-scale trends but pointing to the prevalence of local site factors. In mixed-species stands, the tree species have the same competitivity in the long-term, which is modified by climate each year. Climate warming will shift the competitive advantages, but the direction will be highly site-specific

On Teaching International Courses on Health Information Systems: Lessons Learned during 16 Years of Frank – van Swieten Lectures on Strategic Information Management in Health Information Systems

Background: Health information systems (HIS) are one of the most important areas for biomedical and health informatics. In order to professionally deal with HIS well-educated informaticians are needed. Because of these reasons, in 2001 an international course has been established: The Frank – van Swieten Lectures on Strategic Information Management of Health Information Systems. Objectives: Reporting about the Frank – van Swieten Lectures and about our students‘ feedback on this course during the last 16 years. Summarizing our lessons learned and making recommendations for such international courses on HIS. Methods: The basic concept of the Frank – van Swieten lectures is to teach the theoretical background in local lectures, to organize practical exercises on modelling sub-information systems of the respective local HIS and finally to conduct Joint Three Days as an international meeting were the resulting models are introduced and compared. Results: During the last 16 years, the Universities of Amsterdam, Braunschweig, Heidelberg/Heilbronn, Leipzig as well as UMIT were involved in running this course. Overall, 517 students from these universities participated. Our students‘ feedback was clearly positive. The Joint Three Days of the Frank – van Swieten Lectures, where at the end of the course all students can meet, turned out to be an important component of this course. Based on the last 16 years, we recommend common teaching materials, agreement on equivalent clinical areas for the exercises, support of group building of international student groups, motivation of using a collaboration platform, ensuring quality management of the course, addressing different levels of knowledge of the students, and ensuring sufficient funding for joint activities. Conclusions: Although associated with considerable additional efforts, we can clearly recommend establishing such international courses on HIS, such as the Frank – van Swieten Lectures

On Teaching International Courses on Health Information Systems

Background: Health information systems (HIS) are one of the most important areas for biomedical and health informatics. In order to professionally deal with HIS well-educated informaticians are needed. Because of these reasons, in 2001 an international course has been established: The Frank – van Swieten Lectures on Strategic Information Management of Health Information Systems. Objectives: Reporting about the Frank – van Swieten Lectures and about our students‘ feedback on this course during the last 16 years. Summarizing our lessons learned and making recommendations for such international courses on HIS. Methods: The basic concept of the Frank – van Swieten lectures is to teach the theoretical background in local lectures, to organize practical exercises on modelling sub-information systems of the respective local HIS and finally to conduct Joint Three Days as an international meeting were the resulting models are introduced and compared. Results: During the last 16 years, the Universities of Amsterdam, Braunschweig, Heidelberg/Heilbronn, Leipzig as well as UMIT were involved in running this course. Overall, 517 students from these universities participated. Our students‘ feedback was clearly positive. The Joint Three Days of the Frank – van Swieten Lectures, where at the end of the course all students can meet, turned out to be an important component of this course. Based on the last 16 years, we recommend common teaching materials, agreement on equivalent clinical areas for the exercises, support of group building of international student groups, motivation of using a collaboration platform, ensuring quality management of the course, addressing different levels of knowledge of the students, and ensuring sufficient funding for joint activities. Conclusions: Although associated with considerable additional efforts, we can clearly recommend establishing such international courses on HIS, such as the Frank – van Swieten Lectures

Croissance et structure des peuplements mixtes et monospécifiques de pin sylvestre (Pinus sylvestris L.) et de chêne sessile (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.). Analyses le long d'un gradient de productivité en Europe

International audiencePast failures of monocultures, caused by wind-throw or insect damages, and ongoing climate change currently strongly stimulate research into mixed-species stands. So far, the focus has mainly been on combinations of species with obvious complementary functional traits. However, for any generalization, a broad overview of the mixing reactions of functionally different tree species in different mixing proportions, patterns and under different site conditions is needed, including assemblages of species with rather similar demands on resources such as light. Here, we studied the growth of Scots pine and oak in mixed versus monospecific stands on 36 triplets located along a productivity gradient across Europe, reaching from Sweden to Spain and from France to Georgia. The set-up represents a wide variation in precipitation (456-1250 mm year-1), mean annual temperature (6.7-11.5 °C) and drought index by de Martonne (21-63 mm °C-1). Stand inventories and increment cores of trees stemming from 40- to 132-year-old, fully stocked stands on 0.04-0.94-ha-sized plots provided insight into how species mixing modifies stand growth and structure compared with neighbouring monospecific stands. On average, the standing stem volume was 436 and 360 m3 ha-1 in the monocultures of Scots pine and oak, respectively, and 418 m3 ha-1 in the mixed stands. The corresponding periodical annual volume increment amounted to 10.5 and 9.1 m3 ha-1 year-1 in the monocultures and 10.5 m3 ha-1 year-1 in the mixed stands. Scots pine showed a 10% larger quadratic mean diameter (p is smaller than 0.05), a 7% larger dominant diameter (p is smaller than 0.01) and a 9% higher growth of basal area and volume in mixed stands compared with neighbouring monocultures. For Scots pine, the productivity advantages of growing in mixture increased with site index (p is smaller than 0.01) and water supply (p is smaller than 0.01), while for oak they decreased with site index (p is smaller than 0.01). In total, the superior productivity of mixed stands compared to monocultures increased with water supply (p is smaller than 0.10). Based on 7843 measured crowns, we found that in mixture both species, but especially oak, had significantly wider crowns (p is smaller than 0.001) than in monocultures. On average, we found relatively small effects of species mixing on stand growth and structure. Scots pine benefiting on rich, and oak on poor sites, allows for a mixture that is productive and most likely climate resistant all along a wide ecological gradient. We discuss the potential of this mixture in view of climate change

Temporal stability of productivity in mixed vs monospecific forest stands across Europe

Species diversity had been found to increase temporal stability of productivity in plant communities, although there are still few studies in forest ecosystems. The main drivers of species diversity stabilising effect are species asynchrony, overyielding, and species interactions, which are inter-related among them. In this study we investigate the temporal stability of productivity in mixed vs monospecific forest stands along Europe and explore the role of the different drivers. The analysis was based on three triplets-transects of mixtures of Pinus sylvestris L. with species of different functional traits (Picea abies (L.) Karst, Fagus sylvatica L and Quercus petraea (Matts.) Liebl.), established along Europe. There are a total of 88 triplets and 264 plots (one triplet includes one mixed plot and two monospecific plots of the component species). Stand basal area increment was used a proxy of forest productivity. Annual basal area increments by plot were reconstructed from forest inventory data and tree ring analyses for a 15-year period, and were used to estimate temporal stability, overyielding and species asynchrony. Species composition influenced on temporal stability of productivity, resulting in greater or similar stability in mixed than in monospecific stand depending on the mixture and the reference monospecific stand. Inter-specific asynchrony in growth was related to temporal stability, although there was a great variability along the transects. Our findings corroborate the relevance of mixing species to reduce forest vulnerability to climate change. The implications for adapting forest management to future climate conditions were further discussedMiškų ir ekologijos fakultetasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta