93 research outputs found
Harry Stobbs Memorial Lecture, 2002: Seeing the wood(land) for the trees - An individual perspective of Queensland woodland studies (1965-2005)
A range of studies undertaken in Queensland woodlands since 1965 are reviewed from a personal perspective. The review does not claim to be comprehensive and references linking a rapidly growing source of ecological and management information are also included. It is suggested that there is strong evidence for an altered structure in grazed woodland remnants as a result of the introduction of domestic livestock and associated changed fire regimes. Some implications for the on-going utilisation of this huge woodland resource (c. 60 M ha) on lands assigned for agricultural production (grazing) purposes are discussed. The need for better understanding of the role of fire in keeping these woodlands 'open' is emphasised, with the impact of fire on the establishment and survival of woody seedlings requiring most attention
Allometric relationships and community biomass estimates for some dominant eucalypts in Central Queensland woodlands
Allometric equations are presented relating stem circumference to branch, leaf, trunk, bark, total above-ground and lignotuber biomass for Eucalyptus crebra F.Muell. (woodland trees), E. melanophloia Sol. Ex Gaerth. (both woodland and regrowth community trees) and E. populnea F.Muell. (woodland trees). There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) between the slopes of individual lognormal regression lines plotting stem circumference against total above-ground biomass for E. crebra, E. melanophloia and E. populnea. Root-to-shoot ratios and leaf area indices were also determined for the stands contributing to each regression. The regressions were then applied to measured eucalypt stems in the associated plant community to give estimates of each standâs component (eucalypt tree fraction only) biomass per hectare. These eucalypt regressions were next applied to measured stems of each species on a total of 33 woodland sites in which these eucalypts individually contributed > 75% of total site basal area. Above-ground biomass/basal area relationships averaged 6.74 0.29 t mâ2 basal area for 11 E. crebra sites, 5.11 0.28 t mâ2 for 12 E. melanophloia sites and 5.81 0.11 t mâ2 for 10 E. populnea sites. The mean relationship for all sites was 5.86 0.18 t mâ2 basal area. The allometric relationships presented at both individual tree and stand levels, along with calculated biomass : basal area relationships, enable ready estimates to be made of above-ground biomass (carbon stocks) in woodlands dominated by these eucalypts in Queensland, assuming individual stem circumferences or community basal areas are known. However, to document changes in carbon stocks (e.g. for Greenhouse Gas Inventory or Carbon Offset trading purposes), more attention needs to be placed on monitoring fluxes in the independent variables (predictors) of these allometric equations
Climate Change in Queensland's Grazing Lands: II. An Assessment of the Impact on Animal Production From Native Pastures
The 160 million ha of grazing land in Queensland support approximately 10 million beef equivalents (9.8 million cattle and 10.7 million sheep) with treed and cleared native pastures as the major forage source. The complexity of these biophysical systems and their interaction with pasture and stock management, economic and social forces limits our ability to easily calculate the impact of climate change scenarios. We report the application of a systems approach in simulating the flow of plant dry matter and utilisation of forage by animals. Our review of available models highlighted the lack of suitable mechanistic models and the potential role of simple empirical relationships of utilisation and animal production derived from climatic and soil indices. Plausible climate change scenarios were evaluated by using a factorial of rainfall (f 10%) * 3260C temperature increase * doubling CO, in sensitivity studies at property, regional and State scales. Simulation of beef cattle liveweight gain at three locations in the Queensland black speargrass zone showed that a *lo% change in rainfall was magnified to be a f 15% change in animal production (liveweight gain per ha) depending on location, temperature and CO, change. Models of 'safe' carrying capacity were developed from property data and expert opinion. Climate change impacts on 'safe' carrying capacity varied considerably across the State depending on whether moisture, temperature or nutrients were the limiting factors. Without the effect of doubling CO,, warmer temperatures and +lo% changes in rainfall resulted in -35 to +70% changes in 'safe' carrying capacity depending on location. With the effect of doubling CO, included, the changes in 'safe' carrying capacity ranged from -12 to +115% across scenarios and locations. When aggregated to a whole-of-State carrying capacity, the combined effects of warmer temperature, doubling CO, and +lo% changes in rainfall resulted in 'safe' carrying capacity changes of +3 to +45% depending on rainfall scenario and location. A major finding of the sensitivity study was the potential importance of doubling CO, in mitigating or amplifying the effects of warmer temperatures and changes in rainfall. Field studies on the impact of CO, are therefore a high research priority. Keywords: climate change, Queensland, simulation, rangelands, beef production, cattle, carrying capacity, CO,, utilisatio
The Spectrum of Electromagnetic Jets from Kerr Black Holes and Naked Singularities in the Teukolsky Perturbation Theory
We give a new theoretical basis for examination of the presence of the Kerr
black hole (KBH) or the Kerr naked singularity (KNS) in the central engine of
different astrophysical objects around which astrophysical jets are typically
formed: X-ray binary systems, gamma ray bursts (GRBs), active galactic nuclei
(AGN), etc. Our method is based on the study of the exact solutions of the
Teukolsky master equation for electromagnetic perturbations of the Kerr metric.
By imposing original boundary conditions on the solutions so that they describe
a collimated electromagnetic outflow, we obtain the spectra of possible {\em
primary jets} of radiation, introduced here for the first time. The theoretical
spectra of primary electromagnetic jets are calculated numerically. Our main
result is a detailed description of the qualitative change of the behavior of
primary electromagnetic jet frequencies under the transition from the KBH to
the KNS, considered here as a bifurcation of the Kerr metric. We show that
quite surprisingly the novel spectra describe linearly stable primary
electromagnetic jets from both the KBH and the KNS. Numerical investigation of
the dependence of these primary jet spectra on the rotation of the Kerr metric
is presented and discussed.Comment: 18 pages, 35 figures, LaTeX file. Final version. Accepted for
publication in Astrophysics and Space Science. Amendments. Typos corrected.
Novel notion -"primary jet" is introduced. New references and comments adde
Multimessenger astronomy with the Einstein Telescope
Gravitational waves (GWs) are expected to play a crucial role in the
development of multimessenger astrophysics. The combination of GW observations
with other astrophysical triggers, such as from gamma-ray and X-ray satellites,
optical/radio telescopes, and neutrino detectors allows us to decipher science
that would otherwise be inaccessible. In this paper, we provide a broad review
from the multimessenger perspective of the science reach offered by the third
generation interferometric GW detectors and by the Einstein Telescope (ET) in
particular. We focus on cosmic transients, and base our estimates on the
results obtained by ET's predecessors GEO, LIGO, and Virgo.Comment: 26 pages. 3 figures. Special issue of GRG on the Einstein Telescope.
Minor corrections include
How the west was once: vegetation change in south-west Queensland from 1930 to 1995
Conflicting perceptions of past and present rangeland condition and limited historical data have led to debate regarding the management of vegetation in pastoral landscapes both internationally and in Australia. In light of this controversy we have sought to provide empirical evidence to determine the trajectory of vegetational change in a semi-arid rangeland for a significant portion of the 20th century using a suite of proxy measures. Ambathala Station, approximately 780 km west of Brisbane, in the semi-arid rangelands of south-western Queensland, Australia. We excavated stratified deposits of sheep manure which had accumulated beneath a shearing shed between the years 1930 and 1995. Multi-proxy data, including pollen and leaf cuticle analyses and analysis of historical aerial photography were coupled with a fine resolution radiocarbon chronology to generate a near annual history of vegetation on the property and local area. Aerial photography indicates that minor (< 5%) increases in the density of woody vegetation took place between 1951 and 1994 in two thirds of the study area not subjected to clearing. Areas that were selectively or entirely cleared prior to the 1950s (approximately 16% of the study area) had recovered to almost 60% of their original cover by the 1994 photo period. This slight thickening is only partially evident from pollen and leaf cuticle analyses of sheep faeces. Very little change in vegetation is revealed over the nearly 65 years based on the relative abundances of pollen taxonomic groups. Microhistological examination of sheep faeces provides evidence of dramatic changes in sheep diet. The majority of dietary changes are associated with climatic events of sustained above-average rainfall or persistent drought. Most notable in the dietary analysis is the absence of grass during the first two decades of the record. In contrast to prevailing perceptions and limited research into long-term vegetation change in the semi-arid areas of eastern Australia, the record of vegetation change at the Ambathala shearing shed indicates only a minor increase in woody vegetation cover and no decrease in grass cover on the property over the 65 years of pastoral activity covered by the study. However, there are marked changes in the abundance of grass cuticles in sheep faeces. The appearance and persistence of grass in sheep diets from the late 1940s can be attributed to the effects of periods of high rainfall and possibly some clearing and thinning of vegetation. Lower stock numbers may have allowed grass to persist through later drought years. The relative abundances of major groups of plant pollen have not changed significantly over the past 65 years
ExigĂȘncia de proteĂna e composição da carcaça de galos reprodutores de 27 a 61 semanas de idade
ParĂąmetros genĂ©ticos para caracteres de sĂȘmen de aves White Leghorn.: 1. Herdabilidades e correlaçÔes
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