Vegetation Patterns in Relation to Topography and Edaphic Variation Nebraska Sandhills Prairie

Detailed studies on soil texture and moisture retention indicate a close association between edaphic features and the distribution and composition of plant communities along topographic gradients at Arapaho Prairie, a typical, semi-arid Nebraska Sandhills prairie. The vegetation characteristics of three major habitat types (ridge, slope, and valley) and several minor subtypes (swale, stable ridge, and eroding ridge) are recognized and quantitatively described. Texture analysis indicates that the soils of dune slopes and ridges are largely azonal and are very coarse with substantially lower fine fractions (silt-clay ~ 13-15%) than soils of the more lowland swale and valley sites where surfact silt-clay fractions can reach 20-25 %. Soil moisture contents at 0.1 bar (10-14% by volume) and 15 bars (3-4 %) are similarly lower for dune sands than the surface soils at the lowland sites (0.1 bar ~ 19-23% and 15 bars ~ 5-9%). These moisture characteristics result in potentially 50-100% more moisture stored in the surface lowland soils which is rapidly utilized by the shallow-rooted, drought-tolerant grasses Stipa comata, Agropyron smithii, and Bouteloua gracilis. Deeprooting grasses (Andropogon hallzi, Panicum virgatum, and Sorghastrum avenaceum), forbs (Helianthus rigidus and Petalostemon purpureum) and shrubs (Yucca glauca, Prunus besseyi, and Amorpha canescens) are more abundant on the coarse-textured dune sands where soil moisture is stored deep in the profile. On dune ridges Sorghastrum and Stipa appear to be mutually exclusive with their distributions closely related to small-scale variations in topographic relief and surface soil texture and moisture characteristics. For all vegetation types, gradient analysis of major grasses, forbs, and shrubs shows systematic replacement of individual species along topographic gradients which, in many cases, can be related to rooting morphology, physiological differences in water use, and spatial and temporal variation in soil moisture

Vegetation Patterns in Relation to Topography and Edaphic Variation Nebraska Sandhills Prairie

Detailed studies on soil texture and moisture retention indicate a close association between edaphic features and the distribution and composition of plant communities along topographic gradients at Arapaho Prairie, a typical, semi-arid Nebraska Sandhills prairie. The vegetation characteristics of three major habitat types (ridge, slope, and valley) and several minor subtypes (swale, stable ridge, and eroding ridge) are recognized and quantitatively described. Texture analysis indicates that the soils of dune slopes and ridges are largely azonal and are very coarse with substantially lower fine fractions (silt-clay ~ 13-15%) than soils of the more lowland swale and valley sites where surfact silt-clay fractions can reach 20-25 %. Soil moisture contents at 0.1 bar (10-14% by volume) and 15 bars (3-4 %) are similarly lower for dune sands than the surface soils at the lowland sites (0.1 bar ~ 19-23% and 15 bars ~ 5-9%). These moisture characteristics result in potentially 50-100% more moisture stored in the surface lowland soils which is rapidly utilized by the shallow-rooted, drought-tolerant grasses Stipa comata, Agropyron smithii, and Bouteloua gracilis. Deeprooting grasses (Andropogon hallzi, Panicum virgatum, and Sorghastrum avenaceum), forbs (Helianthus rigidus and Petalostemon purpureum) and shrubs (Yucca glauca, Prunus besseyi, and Amorpha canescens) are more abundant on the coarse-textured dune sands where soil moisture is stored deep in the profile. On dune ridges Sorghastrum and Stipa appear to be mutually exclusive with their distributions closely related to small-scale variations in topographic relief and surface soil texture and moisture characteristics. For all vegetation types, gradient analysis of major grasses, forbs, and shrubs shows systematic replacement of individual species along topographic gradients which, in many cases, can be related to rooting morphology, physiological differences in water use, and spatial and temporal variation in soil moisture

Electron surface layer at the interface of a plasma and a dielectric wall

We study the potential and the charge distribution across the interface of a plasma and a dielectric wall. For this purpose, the charge bound to the wall is modelled as a quasi-stationary electron surface layer which satisfies Poisson's equation and minimizes the grand canonical potential of the wall-thermalized excess electrons constituting the wall charge. Based on an effective model for a graded interface taking into account the image potential and the offset of the conduction band to the potential just outside the dielectric, we specifically calculate the potential and the electron distribution for magnesium oxide, silicon dioxide and sapphire surfaces in contact with a helium discharge. Depending on the electron affinity of the surface, we find two vastly different behaviors. For negative electron affinity, electrons do not penetrate into the wall and an external surface charge is formed in the image potential, while for positive electron affinity, electrons penetrate into the wall and a space charge layer develops in the interior of the dielectric. We also investigate how the electron surface layer merges with the bulk of the dielectric.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, accepted versio

Observation of a New Type of Low Frequency Waves at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

We report on magnetic field measurements made in the innermost coma of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in its low activity state. Quasi-coherent, large-amplitude ($\delta B/B \sim 1$), compressional magnetic field oscillations at $\sim$ 40 mHz dominate the immediate plasma environment of the nucleus. This differs from previously studied comet-interaction regions where waves at the cometary ion gyro-frequencies are the main feature. Thus classical pick-up ion driven instabilities are unable to explain the observations. We propose a cross-field current instability associated with newborn cometary ion currents as a possible source mechanism.Comment: 6 pages, 3 Figure

Regulation of Granulocyte and Macrophage Populations of Murine Bone Marrow Cells by G-CSF and CD137 Protein

BACKGROUND: Granulocytes and monocytes/macrophages differentiate from common myeloid progenitor cells. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and CD137 (4-1BB, TNFRSF9) are growth and differentiation factors that induce granulocyte and macrophage survival and differentiation, respectively. This study describes the influence of G-CSF and recombinant CD137-Fc protein on myelopoiesis. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Both, G-CSF and CD137 protein support proliferation and survival of murine bone marrow cells. G-CSF enhances granulocyte numbers while CD137 protein enhances macrophage numbers. Both growth factors together give rise to more cells than each factor alone. Titration of G-CSF and CD137 protein dose-dependently changes the granulocyte/macrophage ratio in bone marrow cells. Both factors individually induce proliferation of hematopoietic progenitor cells (lin-, c-kit+) and differentiation to granulocytes and macrophages, respectively. The combination of G-CSF and CD137 protein further increases proliferation, and results in a higher number of macrophages than CD137 protein alone, and a lower number of granulocytes than G-CSF alone demonstrating that CD137 protein-induced monocytic differentiation is dominant over G-CSF-induced granulocytic differentiation. CD137 protein induces monocytic differentiation even in early hematopoietic progenitor cells, the common myeloid progenitors and the granulocyte macrophage progenitors. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This study confirms earlier data on the regulation of myelopoiesis by CD137 receptor - ligand interaction, and extends them by demonstrating the restriction of this growth promoting influence to the monocytic lineage

The effect of radiation on transient natural convection past a doubly infinite plate

The present research note is concerned with the transient (short time) simultaneous free convection and radiation analysis of a viscous fluid along a doubly infinite vertical isothermal flat plate. To simplify a very complicated problem, an incompressible flow field is used in the analysis. Generally, the exact numerical solution of this problem is quite lengthy. However, by considering an optically thick radiating gas, expressed by the Rosseland diffusion approximation, the solution is much simpler. Moreover, this case leads to a complete similarity transformation of the governing partial differential equations into a set of ordinary differential equations. An exact numerical solution is obtained of the resulting ordinary differential equations for a Prandtl number equal to 0.733 and for a wide range of involved parameters. Der vorliegende Bericht befaßt sich mit der Untersuchung der transienten Vorgänge bei gleichzeitiger freier Konvektion und Strahlung an einem zähen Fluid entlang einer unendlichen isothermen ebenen Platte. Um das komplizierte Problem zu vereinfachen, wird eine inkompressible Strömung angenommen.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46654/1/231_2005_Article_BF01461488.pd

SiC Nanowires Synthesized by Rapidly Heating a Mixture of SiO and Arc-Discharge Plasma Pretreated Carbon Black

SiC nanowires have been synthesized at 1,600 °C by using a simple and low-cost method in a high-frequency induction furnace. The commercial SiO powder and the arc-discharge plasma pretreated carbon black were mixed and used as the source materials. The heating-up and reaction time is less than half an hour. It was found that most of the nanowires have core-shell SiC/SiO2nanostructures. The nucleation, precipitation, and growth processes were discussed in terms of the oxide-assisted cluster-solid mechanism

Constructing a new understanding of the environment under postsocialism

This paper introduces a special grouping of papers on the theme of the environment and postsocialism. After the collapse of state socialism in Europe between 1989 and 1991, many immediate approaches to environmental reconstruction assumed that economic liberalisation and democratisation would alleviate problems. Since then, critics have argued that these proposed solutions were themselves problematic, and too closely reflected Western European and North American conceptions of environmental quality and democracy. The result has been a counterreaction focusing on detail and specificity at national levels and below. In this paper, we summarise debates about the environment and postsocialism since the period 1989 - 91. In particular, we examine whether an essentialistic link can be made between state socialism and environmental problems, and how far civil society -- or environmentalism -- may result in an improvement in perceived environmental quality. Finally, we consider the possibility for developing an approach to the environment and postsocialism that lies between crude generalisation and microscale studies

Engineering self-organising helium bubble lattices in tungsten

The self-organisation of void and gas bubbles in solids into a superlattices is an intriguing nanoscale phenomenon. Despite the discovery of these lattices 30 years ago, the atomistics behind the ordering mechanisms responsible for the formation of these nanostructures are yet to be fully elucidated. Here we report on the direct observation via transmission electron microscopy of the formation of bubble lattices under He+ ion bombardment. By careful control of the irradiation conditions, it has been possible to engineer the bubble size and spacing of the superlattice leading to important conclusions about the significance of vacancy supply in determining the physical characteristics of the system. Furthermore, no bubble lattice alignment was observed in the directions pointing to a key driving mechanism for the formation of these ordered nanostructures being the two-dimensional diffusion of self-interstitial atoms