Elihu Stone collection undated, 1913-1962.

Collection contains materials pertaining to the life and work of Stone.

Vertical Distribution of Soil Denitrifying Communities in a Wet Sclerophyll Forest under Long-Term Repeated Burning

Soil biogeochemical cycles are largely mediated by microorganisms, while fire significantly modifies biogeochemical cycles mainly via altering microbial community and substrate availability. Majority of studies on fire effects have focused on the surface soil; therefore, our understanding of the vertical distribution of microbial communities and the impacts of fire on nitrogen (N) dynamics in the soil profile is limited. Here, we examined the changes of soil denitrification capacity (DNC) and denitrifying communities with depth under different burning regimes, and their interaction with environmental gradients along the soil profile. Results showed that soil depth had a more pronounced impact than the burning treatment on the bacterial community size. The abundance of 16S rRNA and denitrification genes (narG, nirK, and nirS) declined exponentially with soil depth. Surprisingly, the nosZ-harboring denitrifiers were enriched in the deeper soil layers, which was likely to indicate that the nosZ-harboring denitrifiers could better adapt to the stress conditions (i.e., oxygen deficiency, nutrient limitation, etc.) than other denitrifiers. Soil nutrients, including dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total soluble N (TSN), ammonium (NH4 +), and nitrate (NO3 −), declined significantly with soil depth, which probably contributed to the vertical distribution of denitrifying communities. Soil DNC decreased significantly with soil depth, which was negligible in the depths below 20 cm. These findings have provided new insights into niche separation of the N-cycling functional guilds along the soil profile, under a varied fire disturbance regime.

The use of neurocognitive methods in assessing health communication messages: A systematic review

We review 20 studies that examined persuasive processing and outcomes of health messages using neurocognitive measures. The results suggest that cognitive processes and neural activity in regions thought to reflect self-related processing may be more prominent in the persuasive process of self-relevant messages. Furthermore, activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), the superior temporal gyrus, and the middle frontal gyrus were identified as predictors of message effectiveness, with the MPFC accounting for additional variance in behaviour change beyond that accounted for by self-report measures. Incorporating neurocognitive measures may provide a more comprehensive understanding of the processing and outcomes of health messages.

Cereal cultivars can be ranked consistently for resistance to root-lesion nematodes (Pratylenchus thornei & P. neglectus) using diverse procedures

The root-lesion nematodes (RLN) Pratylenchus thornei and P. neglectus are widely distributed in Australian grain producing regions and can reduce the yield of intolerant wheat cultivars by up to 65 , costing the industry ~123 M AUD/year. Consequently, researchers in the northern, southern and western regions have independently developed procedures to evaluate the resistance of cereal cultivars to RLN. To compare results, each of the three laboratories phenotyped a set of 26 and 36 cereal cultivars for relative resistance/susceptibility to P. thornei and P. neglectus respectively. The northern and southern regions also investigated the effects of planting time and experiment duration on RLN reproduction and cultivar ranking. Results show the genetic correlation between cultivars tested using the northern and southern procedures evaluating P. thornei resistance was 0.93. Genetic correlations between experiments using the same procedure, but with different planting times, were 0.99 for both northern and southern procedures. The genetic correlation between cultivars tested using the northern, southern and western procedures evaluating P. neglectus resistance ranged from 0.71 to 0.95. Genetic correlations between experiments using the same procedure but with different planting times ranged from 0.91 to 0.99. This study established that, even though experiments were conducted in different geographic locations and with different trial management practices, the diverse nematode resistance screening procedures ranked cultivars similarly. Consequently, RLN resistance data can be pooled across regions to provide national consensus ratings of cultivars.

Polyphasic characterization of four new plant pathogenic Phyllosticta species from China, Japan, and the United States

The black rot disease of Vitis species and other host genera of Vitacease is caused by Phyllosticta ampelicida and allied taxa which is considered to be a species complex. In this paper, we introduce four new species of Phyllosticta, including two from the P. ampelicida complex, based on a polyphasic characterization including disease symptoms and host association, morphology, and molecular phylogeny. The phylogenetic analysis was conducted based on the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and a combined multi-locus alignment of the ITS, actin (ACT), partial translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF-1), and glyceraldehydes 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) gene regions. Our study confirms the phylogenetic distinctions of the four new species, as well as their phenotypic differences with known species in the genus.

Weinstein-Levin family trees 1862-1987

2 volumes each containing the geneaelogy of the family of Jack Weinstein: the Weinstein and the Levin families. Volumes contain photographs, newspaper clippings and other materials relevant to history of the two families.

Estimation and evaluation of multi-decadal fire severity patterns using Landsat sensors

Retrospective identification of fire severity can improve our understanding of fire behaviour and ecological responses. However, burnt area records for many ecosystems are non-existent or incomplete, and those that are documented rarely include fire severity data. Retrospective analysis using satellite remote sensing data captured over extended periods can provide better estimates of fire history. This study aimed to assess the relationship between the Landsat differenced normalised burn ratio (dNBR) and field measured geometrically structured composite burn index (GeoCBI) for retrospective analysis of fire severity over a 23 year period in sclerophyll woodland and heath ecosystems. Further, we assessed for reduced dNBR fire severity classification accuracies associated with vegetation regrowth at increasing time between ignition and image capture. This was achieved by assessing four Landsat images captured at increasing time since ignition of the most recent burnt area. We found significant linear GeoCBI–dNBR relationships (R2 = 0.81 and 0.71) for data collected across ecosystems and for Eucalyptus racemosa ecosystems, respectively. Non-significant and weak linear relationships were observed for heath and Melaleuca quinquenervia ecosystems, suggesting that GeoCBI–dNBR was not appropriate for fire severity classification in specific ecosystems. Therefore, retrospective fire severity was classified across ecosystems. Landsat images captured within ~ 30 days after fire events were minimally affected by post burn vegetation regrowth.

Fauna community trends during early restoration of alluvial open forest/woodland ecosystems on former agricultural land

Vertebrate fauna was studied over 10 years following revegetation of a Eucalyptus tereticornis ecosystem on former agricultural land. We compared four vegetation types: remnant forest, plantings of a mix of native tree species on cleared land, natural regeneration of partially cleared land after livestock removal, and cleared pasture land with scattered paddock trees managed for livestock production. Pasture differed significantly from remnant in both bird and nonbird fauna. Although 10 years of ecosystem restoration is relatively short term in the restoration process, in this time bird assemblages in plantings and natural regeneration had diverged significantly from pasture, but still differed significantly from remnant. After 10 years, 70 and 66% of the total vertebrate species found in remnant had been recorded in plantings and natural regeneration, respectively. Although the fauna assemblages within plantings and natural regeneration were tracking toward those of remnant, significant differences in fauna between plantings and natural regeneration indicated community development along different restoration pathways. Because natural regeneration contained more mature trees (dbh > 30 cm), native shrub species, and coarse woody debris than plantings from the beginning of the study, these features possibly encouraged different fauna to the revegetation areas from the outset. The ability of plantings and natural regeneration to transition to the remnant state will be governed by a number of factors that were significant in the analyses, including shrub cover, herbaceous biomass, tree hollows, time since fire, and landscape condition. Both active and passive restoration produced significant change from the cleared state in the short term.

Field measurement of beef pen manure methane and nitrous oxide reveals a surprise for inventory calculations

Few data exist on direct greenhouse gas emissions from pen manure at beef feedlots. However, emission inventories attempt to account for these emissions. This study used a large chamber to isolate N2O and CH4 emissions from pen manure at two Australian commercial beef feedlots (stocking densities, 13-27 m(2) head) and related these emissions to a range of potential emission control factors, including masses and concentrations of volatile solids, NO3-, total N, NH4+, and organic C (OC), and additional factors such as total manure mass, cattle numbers, manure pack depth and density, temperature, and moisture content. Mean measured pen N2O emissions were 0.428 kg ha(-1) d(-1) (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.252-0.691) and 0.00405 kg ha(-1) d(-1) (95% CI, 0.00114-0.0110) for the northern and southern feedlots, respectively. Mean measured CH4 emission was 0.236 kg ha(-1) d(-1) (95% CI, 0.163-0.332) for the northern feedlot and 3.93 kg ha(-1) d(-1) (95% CI, 2.58-5.81) for the southern feedlot. Nitrous oxide emission increased with density, pH, temperature, and manure mass, whereas negative relationships were evident with moisture and OC. Strong relationships were not evident between N2O emission and masses or concentrations of NO3- or total N in the manure. This is significant because many standard inventory calculation protocols predict N2O emissions using the mass of N excreted by the animal.

Public Demand for Safer Speeds: Identification of Interventions for Trial

Speeding is a major contributor to road injuries and fatalities and remains prevalent. Changing community perceptions about speeding is an important priority. Austroads commissioned research to identify a range of potential interventions for future trial and evaluation aimed at creating, increasing, and/or sustaining public demand for safer speeds. This project had three phases: a literature review; consultations with key stakeholders regarding intervention options (including feasibility, and likely benefits and costs of identified interventions); and providing research results, including recommendations for future phases of the program of work. The literature review led to the development of a draft Campaign Strategy targeting nine aims across three themes underpinning this research: 1) creating, 2) increasing, and 3) sustaining public demand for safer speeds on the road. Twenty-one stakeholders commented on the suitability and feasibility of, and likely barriers to, countermeasures within the draft Campaign Strategy and its applicability to the Australian and New Zealand context. There was overwhelming positive support for the proposed Campaign Strategy by the majority of respondents; many, noting that it addressed key misperceptions and complemented many existing approaches. A small number of respondents expressed some concerns with various aspects. Stakeholder feedback was incorporated into the final proposed Campaign Strategy to enhance its potential effectiveness. Wide diversity across jurisdictions makes the recommendation of individual interventions for specific areas problematic. Individual jurisdictions should consider a range of costs and benefits of the proposed Campaign Strategy to determine the likely feasibility from their unique perspective. Issues to be addressed when considering implementation of the proposed Campaign Strategy include speed limit setting policies, resourcing, messaging and advertising strategies, and political will associated with promoting safer speeds.

Managing reforestation to sequester carbon, increase biodiversity potential and minimize loss of agricultural land

Reforestation will have important consequences for the global challenges of mitigating climate change, arresting habitat decline and ensuring food security. We examined field-scale trade-offs between carbon sequestration of tree plantings and biodiversity potential and loss of agricultural land. Extensive surveys of reforestation across temperate and tropical Australia (N = 1491 plantings) were used to determine how planting width and species mix affect carbon sequestration during early development (< 15 year). Carbon accumulation per area increased significantly with decreasing planting width and with increasing proportion of eucalypts (the predominant over-storey genus). Highest biodiversity potential was achieved through block plantings (width > 40 m) with about 25% of planted individuals being eucalypts. Carbon and biodiversity goals were balanced in mixed-species plantings by establishing narrow belts (width < 20 m) with a high proportion (>75%) of eucalypts, and in monocultures of mallee eucalypt plantings by using the widest belts (ca. 6–20 m). Impacts on agriculture were minimized by planting narrow belts (ca. 4 m) of mallee eucalypt monocultures, which had the highest carbon sequestering efficiency. A plausible scenario where only 5% of highly-cleared areas (<30% native vegetation cover remaining) of temperate Australia are reforested showed substantial mitigation potential. Total carbon sequestration after 15 years was up to 25 Mt CO2-e year−1 when carbon and biodiversity goals were balanced and 13 Mt CO2-e year−1 if block plantings of highest biodiversity potential were established. Even when reforestation was restricted to marginal agricultural land (<$2000 ha−1 land value, 28% of the land under agriculture in Australia), total mitigation potential after 15 years was 17–26 Mt CO2-e year−1 using narrow belts of mallee plantings. This work provides guidance on land use to governments and planners. We show that the multiple benefits of young tree plantings can be balanced by manipulating planting width and species choice at establishment. In highly-cleared areas, such plantings can sequester substantial biomass carbon while improving biodiversity and causing negligible loss of agricultural land.

Long-term frequent prescribed fire decreases surface soil carbon and nitrogen pools in a wet sclerophyll forest of Southeast Queensland, Australia

Prescribed fire is one of the most widely-used management tools for reducing fuel loads in managed forests. However the long-term effects of repeated prescribed fires on soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) pools are poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate how different fire frequency regimes influence C and N pools in the surface soils (0–10 cm). A prescribed fire field experiment in a wet sclerophyll forest established in 1972 in southeast Queensland was used in this study. The fire frequency regimes included long unburnt (NB), burnt every 2 years (2yrB) and burnt every 4 years (4yrB), with four replications. Compared with the NB treatment, the 2yrB treatment lowered soil total C by 44%, total N by 54%, HCl hydrolysable C and N by 48% and 59%, KMnO4 oxidizable C by 81%, microbial biomass C and N by 42% and 33%, cumulative CO2–C by 28%, NaOCl-non-oxidizable C and N by 41% and 51%, and charcoal-C by 17%, respectively. The 4yrB and NB treatments showed no significant differences for these soil C and N pools. All soil labile, biologically active and recalcitrant and total C and N pools were correlated positively with each other and with soil moisture content, but negatively correlated with soil pH. The C:N ratios of different C and N pools were greater in the burned treatments than in the NB treatments. This study has highlighted that the prescribed burning at four year interval is a more sustainable management practice for this subtropical forest ecosystem.

Soil N availability, rather than N deposition, controls indirect N2O emissions

Ammonia volatilised and re-deposited to the landscape is an indirect N2O emission source. This study established a relationship between N2O emissions, low magnitude NH4 deposition (0–30  kg N ha − 1 ), and soil moisture content in two soils using in-vessel incubations. Emissions from the clay soil peaked ( < 0.002 g N [ g soil ] − 1 min − 1 ) from 85 to 93% WFPS (water filled pore space), increasing to a plateau as remaining mineral-N increased. Peak N2O emissions for the sandy soil were much lower ( < 5 × 10 − 5 μg N [ g soil ] − 1 min − 1 ) and occurred at about 60% WFPS, with an indistinct relationship with increasing resident mineral N due to the low rate of nitrification in that soil. Microbial community and respiration data indicated that the clay soil was dominated by denitrifiers and was more biologically active than the sandy soil. However, the clay soil also had substantial nitrifier communities even under peak emission conditions. A process-based mathematical denitrification model was well suited to the clay soil data where all mineral-N was assumed to be nitrified ( R 2 = 90 % ), providing a substrate for denitrification. This function was not well suited to the sandy soil where nitrification was much less complete. A prototype relationship representing mineral-N pool conversions (NO3− and NH4+) was proposed based on time, pool concentrations, moisture relationships, and soil rate constants (preliminary testing only). A threshold for mineral-N was observed: emission of N2O did not occur from the clay soil for mineral-N <70 mg ( kg of soil ) − 1 , suggesting that soil N availability controls indirect N2O emissions. This laboratory process investigation challenges the IPCC approach which predicts indirect emissions from atmospheric N deposition alone.

Oxonium salt intermediates from half ester acid chlorides

Isomeric half eater acid chlorides derived from 1,2-and 1-3-carboxylic acids give rise to the same oxonium salt with Lewis acids.

The problem of liquid droplet combustion-reexamination

The simple quasi-steady analysis of the combustion of a liquid fuel droplet in an oxidising atmosphere provides unsatisfactory explanations for several experimental observations. It's prediction of values for the burning constant (K), the flame-to-droplet diameter ratio ( ) and the flame temperature (Tf) have been found to be amgibuous if not completely inaccurate. A critical survey of the literature has led us to a detailed examination of the effects of unsteadiness and variable properties. The work published to date indicates that the gas-phase unsteadiness is relatively short and therefore quite insignificant.A new theoretical analysis based on heat transfer within the droplet is presented here. It shows that the condensed-phase unsteadiness lasts for about 20â??25% of the total burning time. It is concluded that the discrepancies between experimental observations and the predictions of the constant-property quasi-steady analysis cannot be attributed either to gas-phase or condensed-phase unsteadiness.An analytical model of quasi-steady droplet combustion with variable thermodynamic and transport properties and non-unity Lewis numbers will be examined. Further findings reveal a significant improvement in the prediction of combustion parameters, particularly of K, when consideration is given to variations of cp and λ with the temperature and concentrations of several species. Tf is accurately predicted when the required conditions of incomplete combustion or low ( ) at the flame are met. Further refinement through realistic Lewis numbers predicts ( ) meaningfully.