Thinning affects water-use efficiency of hardwood saplings naturally recruited in a Pinus radiata D. Don plantation.

Plantations for timber production combine the productive to the nursery function for natural regeneration of native species. Thinning plays a crucial role in recruitment and establishment of native species, by modifying the irradiance regime beneath the canopy cover. It also promotes the secondary succession towards a more stable forest, which is a main goal in protected areas. The present study was carried in a timber plantation of Pinus radiata D. Don, located in the National Park of Cilento and Vallo di Diano (Southern Italy). The ecophysiological responses of saplings of two hardwood species, Quercus cerris L. and Fraxinus ornus L., according to two contrasting (low and high) relative irradiance (RI) regimes were analysed. Leaf and tree ring δ13C values were employed as indicators of water use efficiency (WUE) to explore plant responses to light regime. A preliminary methodological comparison between bulk wood and extracted holocellulose showed no significant differences in δ13C between the two materials. Results indicate lower δ13C values, thus suggesting a lower WUE, at higher RI regimes (corresponding to heavy thinning) for both the studied species. Furthermore, Q. cerris δ13C values are lower than those of F. ornus. These results suggest that, under the same light conditions, the mesophile Q. cerris exhibits a weaker stomatal control than the xerophile F. ornus, which keeps higher WUE. In the mesic environment studied, Q. cerris may overcome F. ornus in the long run, owing to a heavy thinning

Cambial phenology, wood formation and temperature thresholds in two contrasting years at high altitude in Southern Italy

Xylogenesis was monitored during 2003 and 2004 in a timberline environment in southern Italy to assess links between temperature, cambial phenology and wood formation on a short-time scale. Wood microcores were collected weekly from May to October from 10 trees of Pinus leucodermis Ant., histological sections were cut with a rotary microtome and anatomical features of the developing and mature tracheids were observed and measured along the growing tree ring. Spring 2003 was hotter than spring 2004, with temperatures up to 2.6°C above historical means. The hotter conditions resulted in an earlier onset of cambial activity and all differentiation phases of about 20 days, resulting in an increased duration of xylogenesis of about 23 days. Air and stem temperatures at which xylogenesis had a 0.5 probability of being active were calculated with logistic regressions fitted on binary responses. In both years, similar thresholds were estimated with daily mean values of 8.2 and 9.5°C for air and stem temperatures, respectively. The observed convergent responses of cambium phenology to temperature during the two contrasting springs confirm the key role of this environmental factor in determining the onset and duration of wood formation in timberline areas. The intra-annual dynamics of ring-width increase differed between years, with significantly narrower rings formed in 2004 than in 2003. These differences were mainly related to cell size because larger early wood tracheids were produced in 2003. This study demonstrates the plasticity of tree-ring formation in response to high temperatures as a result of modifications in the onset and duration of differentiation

Comparing carbon isotope composition of bulk wood and holocellulose fromQuercus cerris,Fraxinus ornusandPinus radiatatree rings

Tree-ring \u3b413C is widely employed in ecophysiological studies, because it represents an integrated proxy of the ratio between photosynthesis (A) and stomatal conductance (g), which expresses the intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE), strongly affected by the environmental conditions experienced by the plant during its life span. Tree-ring \u3b413C also reflects long term variations of atmospheric CO2 concentration and of its carbon isotope composition, partly due to increasing anthropogenic emissions. Carbon isotope abundances in tree rings can be assessed on bulk wood as well as on wood biochemical components, wich show different \u3b413C values because of secondary discrimination during biosynthesis. We present the results of a comparison between \u3b413C values of bulk wood and holocellulose samples obtained from the last three (1999, 2000 and 2001) annual growth rings of two hardwood (Quercus cerris L. and Fraxinus ornus L. and one conifer (Pinus radiata D. Don, species. We found that 13C values differed significantly among tree species, both in the case of holocellulose and bulk wood, but only in the case of P. radiata bulk wood samples tend to provide more negative \u3b413C values than holocellulose, as reported in the literature. We suggest that, at least for the two hardwood species studied, bulk wood is a suitable material to work with for \u3b413C assessment, whilst in P. radiata holocellulose could provide a more stable and reliable index, when studying plant ecophysiological responses to changing environmental conditions

Facing drought in a Mediterranean post-fire community: tissue water relations in species with different life traits.

Bulk shoot water potential, the osmotic component and the bulk modulus of elasticity were measured throughout one growing season in four species co-occurring in a post-fire Mediterranean community in southern Italy: Pinus halepensis, Phillyrea latifolia, Cistus salvifolius and Rosmarinus officinalis. A severe drought occurred throughout the measurement period. Large seasonal fluctuations have been observed for both predawn and afternoon water potential in all species. Although minimum values down to –4 MPa have been measured, plant water potential always recovered to less negative values after drought. Daily amplitude of water potential decreased with increasing plant water stress in all species. In Cistus and Rosmarinus less ability for short-term control of plant water status has been assessed. Osmotic potential at full turgor did not display clear seasonal patterns, with no consistent ranking of species by their osmotic values. In most cases, no osmotic adjustment (lowering of osmotic potentials) and no change in tissue elastic properties were observed in response to increasing summer drought and intensity of water stress

Serious damage by Diplodia africana on Pinus pinea in the Vesuvius National Park.

In some municipalities, located within the boundaries of the Vesuvius National Park, several area with forest cover of Pinus pinea showed severe withering of the crowns and damage to pine cones. In the present study, we have isolated in the period may 2013 ??? may 2014 from Ercolano, San Sebastiano, Terzigno, Torre del Greco and Trecase an anamorphic form of Botryosphaeriaceae. The latter cause dieback and serious canker on several woody plants, including species of Pinus. Morphological and cultural characteristics as well as DNA sequence data (5.8S rDNA, ITS-1 and ITS-4) were made on 30 isolates obtained from 5 municipalities. All strains belonged to only two species: Botryosphaeria dothidea and its anamorph, Diplodia africana. These two fungi were present on all pine cones collected and analyzed. Finally we carried out growth assays at different temperatures: 8 °C, 18 °C and 28 °C. All fungi found the optimum of growth at 28°C while at 8°C we noted the lowest growth. This seems to be the first report of D. africana on Pinus species in Campania Region

A rare case report of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy induced by catecholamine-producing tumor

RATIONALE: Catecholamine-producing tumors are rare, occurring in less than 0.2% of patients with hypertension, but can have relevant cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 37-year-old woman presented with a history of dyspnea, chest pain, palpitations, and paroxysmal hypertension. Electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, and cardiac magnetic resonance showed severe LVH with a prevalent involvement of the anterior portion of interventricular septum. Endomyocardial biopsy found severe hypertrophy with disarray of cardiomyocytes and ultrastructural evidence of contraction and necrosis of myocytes. Hormone investigations revealed high values of 24-hours urinary metanephrines. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) showed an enlarged left adrenal gland with a strong uptake of I-metaiodobenzylguanidine at scintigraphy scan. INTERVENTIONS:Thus, the adrenal tumor was surgically removed. OUTCOMES: At follow-up examination, the patient's metanephrines levels were normalized and the transthoracic echocardiogram showed a reduction of LVH. DIAGNOSIS AND LESSONS: We report a rare case of catecholamine-induced cardiomyopathy due to an adrenal adenoma mixed with nodules enriched in epinephrine-types secreting granules

Dal solipsismo alla sharedness: una riflessione sui precursori della Teoria della Mente

Riassunto: Lo sviluppo umano è stato tradizionalmente considerato come processo in cui i bambini passano da una originaria condizione solipsistica a una piena comprensione degli altri individui come agenti motivati dai propri stati mentali. Di recente invece la ricerca psicologica, in particolare quella relativa alle manifestazioni precoci della cosiddetta Teoria della Mente, sta intaccando questa lettura tràdita della vita psichica del neonato. Nozioni come sharedness o intersoggettività primaria enfatizzano proprio l’innata predisposizione della mente umana a tessere relazioni coerentemente rispetto all’idea per cui l’interazione con altre menti risulta essenziale per la sopravvivenza.Parole chiave: Teoria della Mente; Imitazione; Condivisione; Gioco di finzione; Attenzione condivisa. From Solipsism to Sharedness: A Reflection on Theory of Mind Precursors Abstract: Human development has been traditionally considered as a process in which infants – considered to be originally in a solipsistic condition – gain access to a full understanding of other persons as agents motivated by their own mental states. In recent times psychological investigations – in particular research concerning the early manifestations of the so-called Theory of Mind – are undermining this traditional picture of infants’ mental life. Notions like sharedness or primary intersubjectivity emphasize the innate tendency of the human mind to be involved in relationships, a perspective consistent with the idea that interacting with other minds is crucial for survival.Keywords: Theory of Mind; Imitation; Sharedness; Pretence; Shared Attention

Lengthening single-stem rotation improves biomass yield and water use efficiency in black poplar genotype multi-stem rotation coppice plantations

Poplar short rotation coppice (SRC) plantations have great potential for supplying environmentally friendly bio-based industries. However, little research has focussed on the linkages between SRC management regimes and the consumption of water for biomass production in the Mediterranean environment. Therefore, we compared six hybrid clones and four native black poplar genotypes with an aim to examine how two different lengthening periods (3 vs. 5 years) of single-stem rotation affected growth performance in the following three years of multi-stem rotation coppice. To achieve this goal, we assessed the aboveground dry biomass production and variation in water use efficiency (WUE) of the genotypes annually. A longer single-stem rotation increased biomass productivity and WUE in the multi-stem rotation of the native black poplar, rather than that of the hybrid genotypes. In contrast, biomass and WUE performances did not diverge between the native and hybrid genotypes under the shorter single-stem phase. These findings underline the importance of lengthening the rotation of single-stem SRC plantations in hot and dry Mediterranean climates. Native black poplar genotypes managed in SRC should be strongly considered as environmentally compatible genetic resources both in protected areas and in areas where water supply constrains biomass production