Kauppi, P.E.

Kuusela, K.

Mielikäinen, K.

Helsingin yliopiston digitaalinen arkisto

https://helda.helsinki.fiEstimating Biomass (Response)Kauppi, P.E.American Association for the Advancement of Science1992Kauppi, P.E., Mielikäinen, K. and Kuusela, K. 1992. Estimating Biomass (Response).Science 257: 146-147.http://hdl.handle.net/1975/297Downloaded from Helda, University of Helsinki institutional repository.This is an electronic reprint of the original article.This reprint may differ from the original in pagination and typographic detail.Please cite the original version.Joachim Guenther ( l) ,  Sergio Gloor (2),Jurg Sommer (3), Meli t ta Dihanich (4),and Hana Suidan (5), who aie pasr orpresenr collaborators at the Friedrich Mie-scher Institute, and Marie-Charlotte Hoff-mann (6), who is associated with CordulaNiach's group at the Universiry of Basel.The demonstration that thrombin actson neuronal cells by activation ofa specificreceptor (5), initiating still unknown cas-cades, possibly through a linkage with a Gprotein (Z), indicates thar the classicalcoagulation pathway may nor be the pri-mary mode of action in the nervous system,as Marx points out- Similar results support-ing this concepr were recenrly obnined byWouter Moolenaar and his colleagues inAmsterdam (8). In addirion, David Smalland his collaborators at the Universiry ofMelboume have demonstrated that PN-l isa potent inhibitor of a secretase of theamyloid precursor protein which can beassociated with acetylcholinesterase and isthought to pr@ess the protein from the cellsurface or from the exrracellular matrix (9).Together with the presence of messengerRNA for prorhrombin (4) and thrombinreceptor (10) in neural srmctures, theseresults indicare that these proteins are notonly involved as safeguard components toprevent serious damage from local nrptureof the blood-brain barrier, but that theycould have addirional functions importantfor the development and plasticiry of theneryous system- These novel aspects willrender research in this 6eld even moreexciting in the years to come.Denis MonardF ric dich Mies cher lrurirur,Post Offrce Box 2543,CH-4002 Basel, Switzerhnd.REFERENCESL J. Guenth€r, H. Nick, D. Monard, EMBO J.4,196:3(1985).2. S. Gloor, K. Odink, J. Guenther. H Nick. OMonard, C€l/47, 687 (i996).3. J. Sommer et al.. Birchemistry26,UOt (198t).4. M. Dihanich, M. Kaser, E. Reinhard, D. Cunning-ham, D. Monard,  Neuron6.5Z5 (1991).5. H. S. Suidan, S. R. Stone. B. A. Hemmings, D.Monard. tbld. 8, 363 (1992).6 M.-C Hoffmann, C Nitsch, A L. Scotti, E. Rein-hard, D Monafd. Neuroscr-nce. In press7 .  T .K  Vu .D  T  Hung .V  lWhea ton ,S .R  Cough t i n ,Ce l / 64 .1057  (1991 )8. K. Jalink and W H Moolenaar J Cetl Biol.. inoress9 D. H Smal l  et  at  .  J  Neuosc/ .  In prcss10 U. B Rasmussen et at, FEBS Left. 288, 123(1991  )IEstimating Biomass&timates of global and continental biomassand carbon storage are rarely based on dataintended for that purpose - This is rhe case146with the data used as a baseline by Pekka E-Kauppi et al. (Articles, 3 Apr-, p. ?0). Thesource they cite for baseline biomass esti-mates of European forests (l) is a compila-tion of many unrelated estimates of timberstocks. They convert these estimates toassess biomass and carbon storage and in-clude no estimates of error, without whichit is difficult to evaluate discrepanciesamong estimates or test the significance ofsuggested trends. Examination of rhissource and others (2) cited by Kauppi er al.reveals that the data they conrain are notwell documented, and it is dificuk to eval-uate their merit.Under the heading of "Universal-globaltendencies" Kauppi et al. cite a source (3)that states that growing stock and timbergowth potential in the United States havebeen repeatedly underestimated. M. Claw-son, however, states at the outset of (l) thathis study, like many other historical reviews,is "limited by the paucity, suspectd inaccu-racy, and noncomparability of availabledata." Kauppi et al- cite this study andconclude that underestimation may be com-mon. On the conn'ary, it has been shownrecently that the biomass and carbon storageof Nonh American boreal and Eastem de-ciduous forests have been vasdy overestimat-ed (4). \Thether this is rrue for Europe we donot know, but it is a quesrion that should beexamined- In addition, a recent publicationabout Nonh American forests (5) fiom thesource of the authors' primary data (1 , 2)suggests that in Canada growing stock isdeclining, which apparently contradicts thesame data source. How valid are rhe resuhsand conclusioru of a study that depends onquestionable data with no independenr mea-sures or confrmationlDaniel B. BotlcinUord G. SimpsonH. toclwt SclrcnkDepartrnent of Bbfuical Scierrces,Universiry of Califonna,Sanu Barbaru. CA 93106REFERENCES1 . Fhe Forest Resources ol the ECE Region (Europe,USSR, and North Arnerica) (ECVT|M/27. UnitedNations, Economic Commrssion for Europe/Foodand Agricultural Organization, Geneva Swttzerl and ,1985 ) .2 Europan Timber Trends and ProsFsects to theYear 2OOO and Beyond (ECVI|M/3O, Unrled Nations Economic Commission for Europetrood anclAgncultural Organization, Geneva, Swlzerland,1986),  vol .  2.3. M Clawson. Scrence 204, 1 168 (1979)4. D. Botkin and L. Simpson. Biogeocftemstry g,161 (199O).5. Tim&t Trends and Pros@cts lo( Nodh Arnerica(ECE/TlM/53, United Nations Economic Commrs-sion for Europe, Geneva, Switzerland, 1990).ResPonse: We appreciate the comment byBotkin er al., which we think supporrs rherecommendation we made in our articleSCTENC-E .  \ / ( ) l - .  157 .  la  lu t  )  raa  j..- r:.:: :.1 . t 1 :,:i : : ; a.,.::+it:i.)Na a.,about research priorities with rcgard rc es-lma:ilg the carbon budget of ecosystems.Confidence limits can "I"ty U. calculatedwhen the primarv measurernents are takenfrom sample ploti located randomly or witha systematic grid-Botkin and Simpson have estimated rhecarbon storage of "bo.,eground forest vege-tation on a continenhl scale with unbiasedsampling ( l) .  Their study area covered 5.1mil l ion square ki lometers. Y. I lvessalo pub-lished an early corresponding narionalstudy, an unbiased forest inventory cover-ing 0.38 mil l ion square ki lometers (2).Although his study and subsequenr foresrresource suweys in Europe were not de-signed for carbon assessments, they can beused in this context because all trees reach-ing breast height (1.3 meters) were includ-ed in the samples. The large pool of below-ground carbon was not measured in either( l )  o r  (2 ) .It is useful to distinguish berween carbonstorage and the change ofcarbon storage. Iris the change that counts in budget calcu-lations- Therefore, we need periodicallyrepeated, statistically representative mea-surements. Forest inventories have beenrepeated periodically since the 1920s andare probably the only relevant studies pro-viding unbiased time series data for carbonstorage in forest vegetation. The samplinggrid in these inventories has extended atbest to national geographic scale.In Europe, forest inventories have beencarried out and repeated in Finland, Swe-den, and Austria and, with some interrup-tions and shortcomings, in France. Theycover a total of 14% o( rhe European forestsarea (1896 if France is included)- The grow-ing stock, an indicator ofaboveground car-bon storage, increased fiom l97l to 1990by 28 t 2.0% in Finland, 14 + 2.0olo inSweden, and 24 + 2.5Vo in Austr ia (3).The development was similar in France.Our conclusions were based on 6ve kindsof references, (i) complete forest inventoryrecords (fiom Finland, Sweden, Austria,and, with reservation, France); (ii) incom-plere forest inventory records (from Germa-ny and Switzerland); (iii) official statistics onfrrrest resources from the remaining coun-tr ies; ( iv) reviews and primary research art i-clcs on growth and yicld; and (v) fcrrestprcxlucrs stat ist ics. The data consistentlyshowcd a trend of increasing forest biomass,foresr growth potential,  and accumulation offorest products- The cnticism of Botkin er al.appl ies only t t ' r  category ( i i i ) .Official forestry statistics can be biased.For some countries (in the worst cases) theinformation is based on expert opinion.However. we believe that listing and re-viewing results from different studies fiorndifferent countries represents sclentificprogress as compared with thc state 1;f tl-1c'!,,,:.-'a..'..:.:l::i-:,i:i:):.+it:;;;rji.a?di{(?rr*f.;.tp./;B{f$$ *,S"i&A i^Aiit*;i;:f,f,i.f,:j::+ffi*Jd${i{}ia*,.a"r&t:j!1({:.9;Jt{'*44a&ffiffiffi4i&&l@:@{ffiffi#Xggi&-'21#.tr€egat#&Sni\+iix:.;lr;;.\.!i+,tu|i(girwi?aw$ &i+.iin the 1970s. Others have concluded,tire basis of limited and inconsistentr, that nontropical forests would act assources of atmospheric carbon ({).n this century, land use in Europe hasrged markedly. Cattle grazing on forestI has decreased, the use of small-sizedd for fuel has also decreased, 6re controlimproved, and loggings have shiftedr primary to secondary forests. Someutants have acted as fertilizers. Theseages have conrributed to the trend ofeasing forest biomass-lhe developmenr in orher continenrsbeyond the scope of our paper- How--, we presented a hypothesis that "[ilf'e has been similar development in oth-:ontinents, biomass accumulation innopical forests can accounr for a large)orrion of the estimated mismatch be-:n sinks and sources of armosphericon dioxide." We look forward to arn of a second periodic measurement of"Botkin and Simpson Cnd" (l) after 50 years, which will tesr our hypothesis.n we might approach a solution to the,lem of the so-called "missing carbon-"Pel&aE. KauppiKtriMielilld;inatKullrrrro KulselaFmrush Foresr Research bstitutc,Unionirll<atu 40 A,SF-00 I 70 Hetsm.ki, FinlzrndREFERENCES). Botkin ard L. Simpson, 9iqffitEmistryg,1611990)'. ftvessalo, Tle Forests of Suomi (Finland). Re-:ults ol tl]€ &neral Suwsy ot tle Forcsts ol the)otntry Canie<l Od During the Years t92t-1924Gor'emrnent Printing Ofiice, Helsinki, Finland,92ni. Kenpe, personal confnunication (Sweden); K.'€fiieler, personal cornrrunicatioo (Arslria): ( t).i. M. Woodrrrell et al., *ierrce 199, l4t (1970).IPrevious Sol€el Enzymes)ur report of 28 February (p. lll3),:apsulation of proteiru in rransparentus silicate glasses prepared by rhe sol-nethod" ( l) ,  after rhe senrence "En-:s immobilized in or on inert matrices: been studied extensively as catalysts,rhe matrices in general have not been,ble for use in optically based molecularrrs because they are opaque," we citedwork of S. Braun er al. that described)repaftrtion of opaque samples contain-.nzymes encapsulated using the sol-gelrod (2). It has been called to ourrtion by those authors that our merhod'ferencing did nor give them adequateit because it did nor specify that they' used sol-gel methods ro encapsularemes. We wish to state that our sen-tence summarizing enaJme immobilizationwas too terse and was in no way intended todiminish the imporranr conrriburions ofthese authors.Bruce DunnDepaftnlent of Materiak Scienceand Engilleering,Uniuerity of Califania,Uts Angeles, CA 90024-1569J oan Selaqstote V alelrircIffiey l. ZinkDepanrnent of Chnristry and Bitrchemistrl,Universicy of California, Ins AngelesREFERENCES'1. L. M. Ellerby, C. R. Nishida. F. Nishida. S. A.Yamanaka, B. Dunn, J. S. Valentine, J. l. Zink,Science 255, 1113 (1992).2. S. Braun, S. Rappoport, R. Zusman, D. Avnir, M.ofiofenghi, Mater. Lett. 10, 1 (1990).IOct-3 and Mammalian Development:Conection of DiscussionIn our Perspective of 12 July 1991 (p. 144)[Science 253, 144 (1991)1, we discussed therole of the POU domain protein Oct-J inmouse development. One of the papers towhich we referred, by M. H- Rosner, R- J.De Santo, H. Amheiter, and L- M. Staudt(l), which dealt with the role of Oct-J inthe one-cell embryo, has since beetr retract-ed because the experimental evidence wasfabricated by M- H. Rosner without anyknowledge by the other authors. It there-fore follows that our discussions of this CelJpaper should be disregarded. \0ile emphasizethat no doubt attaches ro any of the otherwork we reviewed.*#;f#!ffi*'ffi180 Imgwurd Auenue,Boston, MA 02115M. Alessandra VigarwDepartment of PhamacologJ, Chemotlwrapy,and Medical Toxicobgy,Universiq of Milan,Milan 20122, I:a;lyPeter W. J. RiStyItbtratrny of Eularyotic Molecular Genetics,Natfunal lrcdtute for Medical Research,The Rid.geway,Mtll Hill, Indar NWZ lAA.LJnited KngfunnHeinz ArnlwitaLo,Intamry of Vnal antMolecuhr P atlwgenesis,Nadonol lrutiture of NauologXal Disord,ersnd Strol<e.Natiowl Irudcures of Health,Betlwda, MD 20892Louis M. StaudtMetabolism Brarrch,N atjarul Catlcer hutitute,Natiollal lruricures of HeaUuBetfusdn. MD 20892REFERENCESM. H. Rosner. R. J. De Santo. H. Arnheiter. Lstaudt. cel/64, 1103 (1991).Corrections and Glarifi cationsThe title of the 5 June report on page 1445 W R. C- del. Milton ec ai. should have been "Totalchemical synthesis of a Deruyme: The enantiomers of HIV-I protease show reciprocal chiralsubstrate specificity." Figure 3 in the same report (p- 144?) was inadvenently printed upside down.The labels 'L-Hry protease" and "D'HIV protease" were therefore under the wrong illusrations.The correct figure is printed below.L+llV protoss.sc lENCE -  vo l _  257  .  l 0  JULY  1992D-HIV Dmiersa

Estimating Biomass (Response)

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Estimating Biomass (Response)

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Helsingin yliopiston digitaalinen arkisto