Ground Beetle Range Extensions: Six New Ohio Records (Coleoptera: Carabidae)

We newly report six ground beetles from Ohio, comprising Badister parviceps, Stenolophus dissimilis, Harpalus somnulentus, Pentagonica fiavipes, Agonum albicrus, and Lebia collaris

The Dynamics of Sphagnum in Forest and Peatland Communities in Southeastern Labrador, Canada

Long fire rotation, high levels of precipitation, and acidic nature of the bedrock are factors contributing to the dominance of Sphagnum in many upland and peatland communities in southeastern Labrador. Vegetation development induced by local or regional environmental change frequently involves replacement of species assemblages of various bryophytes and lichens by species assemblages dominated by Sphagnum. In upland forests the successional sequence following fire often culminates in a carpet of Sphagnum girgensohnii overgrowing feather mosses. Similarly, following a change in the water table, Sphagnum lindbergii encroaches as a broad carpet over Cladopodiella fluitans and Gymnocolea inflata on recently exposed mud bottoms in bog hollows. On bog hummocks, following fire or changes in the moisture regime, Sphagnum fuscum overtops Cladonia lichens to form a pronounced recurrence horizon.Key words: Sphagnum, vegetation development, fire, Labrador, paludification, succession, bryophytesMots clés: Sphagnum, croissance de la végétation, incendie, Labrador, formulation de paluds, succession, bryophyte

Pharmacologic and Bacteriologic Properties of SCH‐27899 (Ziracin), an Investigational Antibiotic from the Everninomicin Family

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90360/1/phco.19.15.1111.30576.pd

Agribusiness Skills Required by Agriculture Students as Perceived by Nebraska Vocational Agriculture Instructors and Agribusiness Managers

Agribusiness instruction in vocational agriculture programs can help prepare employees for service related job opportunities in agriculture. Many employment opportunities can be found in occupations related to food and fiber production, transportation, processing, packaging, storing, advertising, and distributing. These jobs are numerous and diverse, strengthening the link between farm products and the consumer (Steward, 1987). The need for trained employees in non-farm agricultural occupations has been well documented in the decade of the 1960\u27s (Williams, 1971). Cooper (1985), reported there is a need for continuous expansion and revision of competencies for employment in agriculture/agribusiness occupations. Birkenholz and Stewart (1986), found that local programs were less than adequate in preparing students for careers in agribusiness. Priebe (1986) surveyed 1,312 business firms and reported that entry level agribusiness opportunities were good because they required little work experience and low levels of education. To advance professionally, the student must seek higher levels of education; often a baccalaureate degree. Litzenberg (1987) remarked, that any effective agribusiness education program in the future will require a commitment of time and money from public and private agricultural interests. Future agribusiness programs will depend heavily on the educator\u27s ability to develop curriculum and to provide relevant course materials to current instructors of agribusiness education. It has become the responsibility of agricultural educators to determine present and future agribusiness needs and to revitalize agricultural education. The development of curriculum which prepares students to enter the occupations of their choices is the major reason for the existence of vocational educators at all levels (Matteson, 1974). Secondary and postsecondary vocational educators are ultimately responsible for the development of appropriate vocational education curriculum

The Influence of Land Use and Climate Change on Forest Biomass and Composition in Massachusetts, USA

Land use and climate change have complex and interacting effects on naturally dynamic forest landscapes. To anticipate and adapt to these changes, it is necessary to understand their individual and aggregate impacts on forest growth and composition. We conducted a simulation experiment to evaluate regional forest change in Massachusetts, USA over the next 50 years (2010–2060). Our objective was to estimate, assuming a linear continuation of recent trends, the relative and interactive influence of continued growth and succession, climate change, forest conversion to developed uses, and timber harvest on live aboveground biomass (AGB) and tree species composition. We examined 20 years of land use records in relation to social and biophysical explanatory variables and used regression trees to create “probability-of-conversion” and “probability-of-harvest” zones. We incorporated this information into a spatially interactive forest landscape simulator to examine forest dynamics as they were affected by land use and climate change. We conducted simulations in a full-factorial design and found that continued forest growth and succession had the largest effect on AGB, increasing stores from 181.83 Tg to 309.56 Tg over 50 years. The increase varied from 49% to 112% depending on the ecoregion within the state. Compared to simulations with no climate or land use, forest conversion reduced gains in AGB by 23.18 Tg (or 18%) over 50 years. Timber harvests reduced gains in AGB by 5.23 Tg (4%). Climate change (temperature and precipitation) increased gains in AGB by 17.3 Tg (13.5%). Pinus strobus and Acer rubrum were ranked first and second, respectively, in terms of total AGB throughout all simulations. Climate change reinforced the dominance of those two species. Timber harvest reduced Quercus rubra from 10.8% to 9.4% of total AGB, but otherwise had little effect on composition. Forest conversion was generally indiscriminate in terms of species removal. Under the naïve assumption that future land use patterns will resemble the recent past, we conclude that continued forest growth and recovery will be the dominant mechanism driving forest dynamics over the next 50 years, and that while climate change may enhance growth rates, this will be more than offset by land use, primarily forest conversion to developed uses