Effects of light quantity and quality on early seedling development in the red mangrove Rhizophora mangle L

Seedlings of the red mangrove, Rhizophora mangle L., were grown under light conditions differing in both photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) and spectral quality (red:far-red ratio, R:FR). During the first 8 mo of development, parameters of stem, leaf, and root growth were affected by PPFD. Significant responses to lowered R:FR, however, were limited to internode extension. The results are moderately indicative of a strategy to persist in shade, but illustrate the complexity of light responses and suggest that precise categorization as shade-tolerant or -intolerant may be unbefitting for this species at this particular stage of development.

Spectroscopy of Electroproduced Light to Medium Mass Lambda Hypernuclei

The E01-011 experiment at Jefferson Laboratory (JLab) studied light-to-medium mass Λ hypernuclei via the AZ + e → [special characters omitted] + e' + K+ electroproduction reaction. Precise measurement of hypernuclear ground state masses and excitation energies provides information about the nature of hyperon-nucleon interactions. Until recently, hypernuclei were studied at accelerator facilities with intense π+ and K- meson beams. The poor quality of these beams limited the resolution of the hypernuclear excitation energy spectra to about 1.5 MeV (FWHM). This resolution is not sufficient for resolving the rich structure observed in the excitation spectra. By using a high quality electron beam and employing a new high resolution spectrometer system, this study aims to improve the resolution to a few hundred keV with an absolute precision of about 100 keV for excitation energies. In this work the high-resolution excitation spectra of [special characters omitted], and [special characters omitted] hypernuclei are presented. In an attempt to emphasize the presence of the core-excited states we introduced a novel likelihood approach to particle identification (PID) to serve as an alternative to the commonly used standard hard-cut PID. The new method resulted in almost identical missing mass spectra as obtained by the standard approach. An energy resolution of approximately 400–500 keV (FWHM) has been achieved, an unprecedented value in hypernuclear reaction spectroscopy. For [special characters omitted] the core-excited configuration has been clearly observed with significant statistics. The embedded Λ hyperon increases the excitation energies of the 11B nuclear core by 0.5–1 MeV. The [special characters omitted] spectrum has been observed with significant statistics for the first time. The ground state is bound deeper by roughly 400 keV than currently predicted by theory. Indication for the core-excited doublet, which is unbound in the core itself, is observed. The measurement of [special characters omitted] provides the first study of a d-shell hypernucleus with sub-MeV resolution. Discrepancies of up to 2 MeV between measured and theoretically predicted binding energies are found. Similar disagreement exists when comparing to the [special characters omitted] mirror hypernucleus. Also the core-excited structure observed between the major s-, p- and d-shell Λ orbits is not consistent with the available theoretical calculations. In conclusion, the discrepancies found in this study will provide valuable input for the further development of theoretical models.

Modeling Light Use Efficiency in a Subtropical Mangrove Forest Equipped with CO2 Eddy Covariance °C

Despite the importance of mangrove ecosystems in the global carbon budget, the relationships between environmental drivers and carbon dynamics in these forests remain poorly understood. This limited understanding is partly a result of the challenges associated with in situ flux studies. Tower-based CO2 eddy covariance (EC) systems are installed in only a few mangrove forests worldwide, and the longest EC record from the Florida Everglades contains less than 9 years of observations. A primary goal of the present study was to develop a methodology to estimate canopy-scale photosynthetic light use efficiency in this forest. These tower-based observations represent a basis for associating CO2 fluxes with canopy light use properties, and thus provide the means for utilizing satellite-based reflectance data for larger scale investigations. We present a model for mangrove canopy light use efficiency utilizing the enhanced green vegetation index (EVI) derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) that is capable of predicting changes in mangrove forest CO2 fluxes caused by a hurricane disturbance and changes in regional environmental conditions, including temperature and salinity. Model parameters are solved for in a Bayesian framework. The model structure requires estimates of ecosystem respiration (RE), and we present the first ever tower-based estimates of mangrove forest RE derived from nighttime CO2 fluxes. Our investigation is also the first to show the effects of salinity on mangrove forest CO2 uptake, which declines 5% per each 10 parts per thousand (ppt) increase in salinity. Light use efficiency in this forest declines with increasing daily photosynthetic active radiation, which is an important departure from the assumption of constant light use efficiency typically applied in satellite-driven models. The model developed here provides a framework for estimating CO2 uptake by these forests from reflectance data and information about environmental conditions.