REMOTE SENSING FOREST BIOMASS: AN EVALUATION USING HIGH RESOLUTION REMOTE SENSOR DATA AND LOBLOLLY PINE PLOTS

Eight-year-old Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) plots located in South Carolina were evaluated using high resolution aircraft multispectral scanner data to determine if biomass could be accurately measured. Sixteen pine plots located on both sandy and clay soils were treated with 0, 180, or 360 kg. (approximately 0, 400, or 800 lb.) of nitrogen per plot. Indices of biomass from remote sensing data were significantly correlated with in situ biomass measurements made in each plot. A ratio of infrared (.9–1.1 μm) and red (.65–.70 μm) channels yielded the best correlation. The indices were not sensitive to differences in soil type (sandy or clay).     

Microbial mineralization and assimilation of black carbon: Dependency on degree of thermal alteration

Black carbon is degraded slowly in the environment and its formation can therefore be an effective sink for atmospheric CO₂. This study examined whether charcoal is assimilated by microorganisms or not and estimated the rate of mineralization depending on the degree of thermal alteration of the black carbon. Charcoals were produced at three different temperatures from homogeneously ¹⁴C labelled plant material and incubated in soil, and ¹⁴C in the evolved CO₂ and the microbial biomass was measured. Unlike parallel plant samples, CO₂ evolution from the charcoals showed no lag phase, but a period of faster CO₂ evolution for the first 5–8 days followed by a period of slow evolution. The mineralization of charcoal appeared to decrease with increasing temperature at which it was produced. This was also the case after the initial period of fast CO₂ evolution. With the techniques used, it was not possible to observe any microbial assimilation of charcoal, either because it did not occur, or because the methods used were not sufficiently sensitive. However, the lack of a lag phase in the CO₂ evolution from the charcoals is in line with earlier evidence that charcoal is initially oxidized at the surfaces by abiotic processes.     

Eddy Diffusion Coefficients of Suspended Particulate Matter: Effects of Wind Energy Transfer and Stratification

Gross sedimentation rates (GSR) have been measured using sediment traps placed at nine different levels above the bed (0·3, 0·5, 0·8, 1·0, 2·0, 4·0, 6·0, 8·0 and 10·0 m). The sediment traps were deployed for 1·25 years and recovered 28 times during the study period. Low average GSR values of 5·5 g m^-2 day^-1 were obtained at 10·0 m, and high average GSR values of 114·8 g m^-2 day^-1 were obtained at 0·3 m. An expression for the eddy diffusion coefficient of suspended particulate matter (K_s), based on the measured GSR is given. The expression has been used for modelling of K_s at the different trap levels above the bed. High values (≈42 cm² s^-1) of K_s were obtained at the upper traps, whereas low values (≈2 cm² s^-1) were obtained near the bed. Comparison between level of turbulent energy in terms of shear stress at the boundaries of the water column, i.e. from the wind and the bed flow, showed that wind energy exceeded that of the bed flow by a factor 16. At 5·0 m K_s was positively correlated (r=0·66) to the eddy diffusion coefficient of momentum (K_m) derived from the wind energy transfer to the water, giving an average β of 0·5 for K_s =βK_m. The density difference between surface and bottom waters has been designated a parameter of stratification, and is discussed in relation to variations of K_s and K_m .     

Exposure of phytoplankton to ekofisk crude oil

Solutions of Ekofisk crude oil in sea water were prepared by slow stirring for 21h in a closed system. Headspace and GC/MS techniques were applied to establish dose composition and levels. The standardized test medium produced in a closed system contained approximately 14 mg oil per litre and was dominated by low molecular weight aromatic hydrocarbons and phenols.The toxicity of the standarized oil-containing medium to three marine diatoms was studied in a cage culture turbidostat and by conventional batch culture technique. The three algal species differed in sensitivity to the oil compounds, but showed identical ranking in both test systems.Standardized test medium diluted to 50% with respect to oil content stopped the growth of the most sensitive alga, Skeletonema costatum. For comparison naphthalene was applied and gave 50 % growth reduction at a concentration of 400 μg litre^?1. The growth of Chaetoceros ceratosporum was only slighty affected by the full strength standard test medium, which had no influence on the growth of Phaeodactylum tricornutum, the least sensitive organism. The presence of an oil layer on the surface of the standard test medium during the growth test greatly increased its toxicity and blocked completely the photosynthesis even of P. tricornutum after 4 days.     

What is good for the fishermen, is good for the nation: co-management in the Norwegian fishing industry in the 1990s

This paper analyses the concept of ‘co-management’ and tries to explain why co-management has recently become important to different types of fisheries administration. A preliminary analytical framework is sketched, before going on to describe the Norwegian co-management system, known as ‘centrally directed consultation’, where fishermen's representatives are established on a wide range of organisations that exert a direct influence on fisheries policy, including not only quota management but grant aid, sales, research and education. The final section is devoted to the lessons that may be learned from the Norwegian experience, bearing in mind the particular background of Norway and its historical setting.