Seed and seedling responses to inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi and root nodule bacteria: implications for restoration of degraded Mediterranean-type Tuart woodlands

Inoculation with beneficial soil microorganisms has the potential to enhance success of restoration, particularly in harsh Mediterranean-type ecosystems (MTEs). We investigated the effects of microorganisms (mycorrhizal fungi and root nodule bacteria) and planting material (seed and nursery-raised seedlings) on early establishment and growth of two key postdisturbance colonizing species with different life histories, life forms and functional types (Eucalyptus gomphocephala and Acacia saligna) under field conditions. Establishment and growth were monitored at 13months, following the first MTE drought period. For E. gomphocephala, establishment was higher for seedlings (81%) than for seeding (7.5%). Inoculation with ectomycorrhizal fungal spores was not beneficial. For A. saligna, establishment was also higher for seedlings (84%) than for seeding (42.5%). Mycorrhizal fungal inoculum had no effect on establishment or growth. This study has shown that in harsh MTE conditions, the use of seedlings is more effective than seeding in degraded woodlands even when attempting to reintroduce key colonizing species. The microorganism treatments tested did not result in significant improvement in establishment or growth

Beyond neighborhood revitalization

After community groups rescue a troubled neighborhood, the area may attract many newcomers—and become expensive. One community shows how to help activists retain the diversity of the towns they work so hard to revitalize.Community development - Massachusetts ; Housing - Prices ; Housing - Boston

So, how are the children?

Since her arrival at Concordia in 1978, Professor Emerita of Education Dr. Barbara Schoenbeck established a well-deserved reputation as an outstanding educator, a compassionate and influential mentor, a cherished colleague, and a humble, inspirational servant-leader passionately driven to promote positive, inclusive social change. Dr. Schoenbeck served Concordia St. Paul with distinction for twenty-seven years before her retirement in 2005, but has continued playing an essential role in Concordia’s graduate program and as supervisor of practicum students and student teachers. Her unparalleled dedication to the church, community, and to social justice, has been an inspiration to generations of students, staff, and faculty

Europe: So Many Languages, So Many Cultures

The number of different languages in Europe by far exceeds the number of countries. All European countries have national languages, and in nearly all of them there are minority languages as well, whereas all major languages have dialects. National borders rarely coincide with linguistic borders, but the latter (including dialect borders) mark by their nature also more or less distinct cultural areas. This paper presents a survey of the different language families represented in Europe: Indo-European, Uralic, Altaic, and the four Caucasian language families, each with their sub-branches and individual languages. Some information is given on characteristic structural phenomena and on the status and history of these languages or language families and on some of their extinct predecessors. The paper ends with a short discussion on the language policy and practices of the institutions of the European Union. Europe lacks a language with the status and power comparable to Indonesian in Indonesia. The policy is therefore based on equal status of all national languages and on respect for all languages, including national minority ones. The practice, however, is unavoidably practical: “the more languages, the more English”

On the Magic Matrix by Makhlin and the B-C-H Formula in SO(4)

A closed expression to the Baker-Campbell-Hausdorff (B-C-H) formula in SO(4) is given by making use of the magic matrix by Makhlin. As far as we know this is the {\bf first nontrivial example} on (semi-) simple Lie groups summing up all terms in the B-C-H expansion.Comment: Latex ; 11 pages ; 1 figure ; minor changes. To appear in International Journal of Geometric Methods in Modern Physics (vol.4, no.5 or 6), 200

A nonprofit chooses a path to expansion

Successful nonprofits often wonder whether to grow and, if so, how. In 2006, the Massachusetts-based MY TURN began an in-depth self-assessment as part of a strategizing process that may be instructive for other organizations.Nonprofit organizations - Massachusetts

Is housing next in company benefits?

The call for employers to offer housing benefits has been made in Greater Boston - but to little avail so far. Looser labor markets and lack of familiarity with a new concept are some reasons why employers are hesitant. What are the prospects for employer assisted housing and what is being done to spark enthusiasm?Housing - Prices ; Housing - Massachusetts

Phase Diagram of SO(3) Lattice Gauge Theory at Finite Temperature

The phase diagram of SO(3) lattice gauge theory at finite temperature is investigated by Monte Carlo techniques with a view i) to understand the relationship between the deconfinement phase transitions in the SU(2) and SO(3) lattice gauge theories and ii) to resolve the current ambiguity of the nature of the high temperature phases of the latter. Phases with positive and negative adjoint Polyakov loop are shown to have the same physics. A first order deconfining phase transition is found for N_t=4.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, latex2e, uses espcrc2.sty. Contribution to Lattice '97, Edinburgh, July 1997, to appear in Nucl. Phys. B (Proc. Suppl.) Latex command for figures correcte