Policy to Encourage Carbon Sequestration in Plantation Forests

Carbon sequestration in plantation forests provides the main means by which New Zealand will meet its international climate change obligations in the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (2008–2012). However, without active policy, forests are unlikely to contribute as much in subsequent commitment periods. This research paper provides the background for examining policy measures for encouraging carbon sequestration in plantation forests in New Zealand. Part I focuses on providing factual information and positive analysis of: key domestic and international regulations; information on New Zealand forests, the forestry industry and forest profitability; discussion of land-use decision making, including the central question of what influences conversion of farmland to forestry; and forest carbon ecology. Part II moves on to normative analysis of policy design. It discusses how including considerations of the value of carbon sequestration and storage changes optimal land-use behaviour, and outlines key issues that need to be addressed when developing a policy to encourage sequestration and storage in a pragmatic way. Finally, the paper identifies a number of key areas where we need more information before we can make well- informed choices about policy design. Future work will endeavour to identify and evaluate policies that would effectively encourage sequestration.climate, forest, carbon sequestration, policy, New Zealand, Kyoto

Policy to Encourage Carbon Sequestration in Plantation Forests

Carbon sequestration in plantation forests provides the main means by which New Zealand will meet its international climate change obligations in the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (2008-2012). However, without active policy, forests are unlikely to contribute as much in subsequent commitment periods. This research paper provides the background for examining policy measures for encouraging carbon sequestration in plantation forests in New Zealand. Part I focuses on providing factual information and positive analysis of: key domestic and international regulations; information on New Zealand forests, the forestry industry and forest profitability; discussion of land-use decision making, including the central question of what influences conversion of farmland to forestry; and forest carbon ecology. Part II moves on to normative analysis of policy design. It discusses how including considerations of the value of carbon sequestration and storage changes optimal land-use behaviour, and outlines key issues that need to be addressed when developing a policy to encourage sequestration and storage in a pragmatic way. Finally, the paper identifies a number of key areas where we need more information before we can make well-informed choices about policy design. Future work will endeavour to identify and evaluate policies that would effectively encourage sequestration.climate, forest, carbon sequestration, policy, New Zealand, Kyoto

Do denser urban areas save on infrastructure? Evidence from New Zealand territorial authorities

How urban planners shape urban form and longlived infrastructure in these coming few years will largely determine whether the world gets locked into a traditional model … or moves onto a better path, with more compact, connected and liveable cities, greater productivity and reduced climate risk.&nbsp

The public's climate change views: strong beliefs but low salience

What does the British public think about climate change? Is there strong public pressure on politicians to enact policy to bring down emissions? Drawing on online survey data, Sam Crawley, Hilde Coffé and Ralph Chapman explain that there are five climate change opinion 'publics'. The two largest publics have strong beliefs that climate change is occurring, but view it as a low salience issue

Prolonging the Cut of Southern Pine Part I. Possibilities of a Second Cut; Part II. Close Utilization of Timber

Part I - Since 1907 the Yale Forest School has conducted the field workand instruction of the Senior class in the spring term in coopera-tion with lumber companies located in the southern states. Thecompanies which have extended this cooperation are:1907, Missouri Lumber and Mining Co., Grandin, Missouri.1908, Kaul Lumber Co., Hollins, Alabama.1909, Thompson Brothers Lumber Co., Doucette, Texas.1910, Louisiana Central Lumber Co., Clarks, Louisiana.1911, Thompson Brothers Lumber Co., Trinity, Texas.191~, Crossett Lumber Co., Crossett, Arkansas. Part II - The lack of close utilization of yellow pine timber is apparenton many operations in the South. In the following discussionsome of the more common wastes are considered and a methodsuggested whereby lumbermen may prolong the life of their opera-tions. The data were secured during the years 1907-1~ in ~Iis‐souri, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas. The need forthe exercise of more care in felling and log making was distinctlyshown in the discussion which followed the writer\u27s presentation ofthis subject before the Southern Logging Association during itsannual meeting in September, 191~. 1913, Southern Lumber Co., Warren, Arkansas

Comparison of telescopic and naked‐eye sunspots for the very small spots on February 15, 1900 and January 30, 1911

In a recent discussion of the Maunder Minimum, two sunspot observations by Chinese court astronomers on February 15, 1900 and January 30, 1911 (±1 day) – presumably made with the unaided eye – were considered false detections because the spot areas of the largest spot on those days (±1 day) as recorded by the Royal Greenwich Observatory, would be too small for naked‐eye detection, namely 11 and 13 millionths of a solar disk (msd), respectively (Usoskin et al. 2015). We revisit this issue here. First, we review theoretical and empirical considerations of the lower limit for the sunspot area detectable by the naked eye: under optimal conditions, very good observers can detect spots as small as ∼100 msd (and we present one example, where an observer reported a spot, when the largest spot on that day was only 65 msd, but being part of a longish group facilitating the detection). Then, we review all known sunspot observations on and around February 15, 1900 and January 30, 1911, including full‐disk drawings. For February 15, 1900, Kalocsa observatory, Hungary, shows a feature close to the western limb with an area of 134 msd, but it is not clear whether it was a spot or faculae or pores (as spot, it could have been detectable even by naked‐eye). The two spot groups detected in Kodaikanal, India, on January 31, 1911 and February 1 with 18.5 to 33.0 msd area would be too small for detection by the naked eye. However, the Chinese records for February 15, 1900 and January 30, 1911 do not even mention whether the observations were performed with a telescope or by the unaided eye. We conclude that there is no convincing evidence that these two – or even all – Chinese sunspot records are unreliable

The geological evolution of the Northern Kamasia Hills Baringo District, Kenya

The Kamasia Hills are formed essentially by a line of 'en echelon' tilted blocks within the main rift valley in northern Kenya. The metamorphic basement crops out locally at the foot of the eastern fault-scarps of the range and is overlain by the thickest sequence of the late Miocene plateau phonolites so far known. in Kenya. This sequence, which includes minor amounts of basic and intermediate lavas and thick sedimentary units, is described, together with that of a thick series of Pliocene basalts, trachytes and fossiliforous sediments exposed in the foot-hills to the east of the main range. Isotopic (K-Ar) age determinations from the lavas facilitate the dating if the main geological events. Deformation is by normal faulting, associated with block tilting and fault-bounded flexuring on axes normal to the dominant fault trend. Faulting episodes are identified by consideration of stratigraphic relationships and movement on the largest faults is shown to have occurred repeatedly. Major features of the geomorphology are described and a geomorphde tectonic history is constructed for the area. Volcanism was mainly of the plateau, lava1 type; very few volcanic centres were found in the area but it is apparent that the western limits of both volcanic activity and minor faulting have moved towards the rift centre with time. The petrography of the lavas is summarised and fifty-one representative chemical analyses are presented and discussed, A major faulting episode in the early Pliocene which, from field relations, clearly terminated the phase of phonolite lava extrusion is shown also to define a distinct petrochemical break-with respect to both the mafic and the felsic lavas. Problems of petrogenesis are briefly considered.<p

Analysis of common bean expressed sequence tags identifies sulfur metabolic pathways active in seed and sulfur-rich proteins highly expressed in the absence of phaseolin and major lectins

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A deficiency in phaseolin and phytohemagglutinin is associated with a near doubling of sulfur amino acid content in genetically related lines of common bean (<it>Phaseolus vulgaris</it>), particularly cysteine, elevated by 70%, and methionine, elevated by 10%. This mostly takes place at the expense of an abundant non-protein amino acid, <it>S</it>-methyl-cysteine. The deficiency in phaseolin and phytohemagglutinin is mainly compensated by increased levels of the 11S globulin legumin and residual lectins. Legumin, albumin-2, defensin and albumin-1 were previously identified as contributing to the increased sulfur amino acid content in the mutant line, on the basis of similarity to proteins from other legumes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Profiling of free amino acid in developing seeds of the BAT93 reference genotype revealed a biphasic accumulation of gamma-glutamyl-<it>S</it>-methyl-cysteine, the main soluble form of <it>S</it>-methyl-cysteine, with a lag phase occurring during storage protein accumulation. A collection of 30,147 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) was generated from four developmental stages, corresponding to distinct phases of gamma-glutamyl-<it>S</it>-methyl-cysteine accumulation, and covering the transitions to reserve accumulation and dessication. Analysis of gene ontology categories indicated the occurrence of multiple sulfur metabolic pathways, including all enzymatic activities responsible for sulfate assimilation, <it>de novo </it>cysteine and methionine biosynthesis. Integration of genomic and proteomic data enabled the identification and isolation of cDNAs coding for legumin, albumin-2, defensin D1 and albumin-1A and -B induced in the absence of phaseolin and phytohemagglutinin. Their deduced amino acid sequences have a higher content of cysteine than methionine, providing an explanation for the preferential increase of cysteine in the mutant line.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The EST collection provides a foundation to further investigate sulfur metabolism and the differential accumulation of sulfur amino acids in seed of common bean. Identification of sulfur-rich proteins whose levels are elevated in seed lacking phaseolin and phytohemagglutinin and sulfur metabolic genes may assist the improvement of protein quality.</p