How reliable is the monitoring of permanent vegetation plots? A test with multiple observers

Questions: A multiple plot design was developed for permanent vegetation plots. How reliable are the different methods used in this design and which changes can we measure? Location: Alpine meadows (2430 m a.s.l.) in the Swiss Alps. Methods: Four inventories were obtained from 40 m(2) plots: four subplots (0.4 m(2)) with a list of species, two 10m transects with the point method (50 points on each), one subplot (4 m2) with a list of species and visual cover estimates as a percentage and the complete plot (40 m(2)) with a list of species and visual estimates in classes. This design was tested by five to seven experienced botanists in three plots. Results: Whatever the sampling size, only 45-63% of the species were seen by all the observers. However, the majority of the overlooked species had cover < 0.1%. Pairs of observers overlooked 10-20% less species than single observers. The point method was the best method for cover estimate, but it took much longer than visual cover estimates, and 100 points allowed for the monitoring of only a very limited number of species. The visual estimate as a percentage was more precise than classes. Working in pairs did not improve the estimates, but one botanist repeating the survey is more reliable than a succession of different observers. Conclusion: Lists of species are insufficient for monitoring. It is necessary to add cover estimates to allow for subsequent interpretations in spite of the overlooked species. The choice of the method depends on the available resources: the point method is time consuming but gives precise data for a limited number of species, while visual estimates are quick but allow for recording only large changes in cover. Constant pairs of observers improve the reliability of the records.

Map Showing Woodruff and Sanderson Plots

Map showing the Woodruff and Sanderson plots in the St. Catharines Cemetery (This is a photocopy), section P, division 9, April 9, 1932.

Excitation of low-profile equilateral-triangular dielectric resonator antenna using a conducting conformal strip

A new configuration that employs a conducting conformal strip to excite the low-profile equilaterial-triangular dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) of very high permittivity is proposed. As compared with the previous aperture-coupling configuration, the new configuration has a wider impedance bandwidth (- 5.5%) and a higher front-to-back radiation ratio. The return loss, radiation patterns, and antenna gain are measured and discussed

Compact dual-polarised square microstrip antenna with triangular slots for wireless communication

Design of a dual linearly-polarised microstrip patch antenna, excited by two orthogonal microstrip feed lines, is presented. A reduction in patch size of 35% is obtained when compared to a square patch operating at the same frequency. The polarisations are oriented at +45 and - 45 with an isolation of more than 36 dB between the ports. Unlike earlier designs, the proposed structure provides better gain.

Comments on Simple and Accurate Formula for the Resonant Frequency of the Equilateral Triangular Microstrip Patch Antenna

Antennas and Propagation, IEEE Transactions on,VOL 48,issue 4,pp 636

Attitudes and behaviour towards food attributes and organic food – a triangular methodological investigation of occasional organic consumers

Organic food is increasingly available in the conventional food retail, where organic products are offered alongside with various other types of products and compete mainly with conventional and the so-called conventional-plus products. The latter are conventional products displaying particular quality attributes on the product packaging, such as ‘no artificial additives’, or ‘from animal welfare husbandry’. Often, these quality attributes also apply to organic products. Occasional organic consumers might prefer such conventional-plus alternatives that are perceived to be ‘between’ organic and conventional products. The overall objective of this PhD thesis was to provide information about the segment of occasional organic consumers. In particular, the thesis focussed on consumer perceptions and attitudes towards the quality of, and preferences for, organic, conventional and conventional-plus products in two countries: Germany and Switzerland. To achieve these objectives, qualitative and quantitative consumer research was combined in order to explore occasional organic consumers’ perceptions and attitudes as well as to observe their preferences and buying behaviour regarding different types of food products: organic, conventional and conventional-plus products. The qualitative research showed that, depending on single criteria, organic production was both positively as well as negatively assessed by consumers. Consumer perception of organic food was found to be highly selective and primarily focussed on the final stage of the particular production process. A major problem is that consumers are still mostly unfamiliar with factors associated with organic production, have a lack of confidence, and often confuse organic with conventional products. Besides this, consumer expectations of organic products are different from the expectations of conventional products. The quantitative research revealed that attitudes strongly determine consumers’ preferences for organic, conventional and conventional-plus products. Consumer attitudes tended to differ more between organic and conventional choices rather than conventional-plus and conventional choices. Furthermore, occasional organic consumers are heterogeneous in their preferences. They can be grouped into two segments: the consumers in one segment were less price sensitive and preferred organic products. The consumers in the other segment were more price sensitive and rather preferred conventional-plus or conventional products. To conclude, given the selective and subjective nature of consumer perception and the strong focus of consumer perception on the final stage of the food production process, specific additional values of organic farming should be communicated in clear and catchy messages. At the same time, these messages should be particularly focussed on the final stage of organic food production. The communication of specific added values in relation with organic products to improve the perceived price-performance-ratio is important since conventional-plus products represent an interesting alternative particularly for price sensitive occasional organic consumers. Besides this, it is important to strengthen affirmative consumer attitudes towards organic production. Therefore, policy support should emphasise on long-term communication campaigns and education programmes to increase the consumer awareness and knowledge of organic food and farming. Since consumers expect that organic food is regionally or at least domestically produced while they less accept organic imports, policy support of domestic and regional producers is a crucial measure to fill the current gap between the increasing consumer demand of organic food and the stagnation of the domestic and regional organic food supply.

La cooperación triangular como herramienta que contribuye al desarrollo en América Latina. El caso de la Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo y de los países del A, B, C (Argentina, Brasil y Chile). Periodo 2005 -2010

Desde 2005 la cooperación triangular ha venido fortaleciéndose. Esta modalidad ha tenido una importante acogida entre los países beneficiarios o receptores, dado que puede adaptarse mejor a las necesidades de países con realidades similares, planteando múltiples ventajas como: menores costos económicos, impacto más rápido y directo, y un mayor respeto hacia la soberanía de los países beneficiarios o receptores.

La educación en medios, los centros escolares y la familia. Una necesaria relación triangular.

Se presenta la existencia de una revolución tecnológica sin precedente que pone de manifiesto la necesidad de crear nuevas formas de actuación ante los efectos que ello pueda provocar. La familia y los centros escolares se convierten en primera instancia en los sustentadores de esa nueva forma de educar en medios. La educación en medios permite transmitir los nuevos valores que hoy imperan en la sociedad desde una perspectiva abierta, libre de influencias externas.

Sampling the soil in long-term forest plots: The implications of spatial variation

Long-term monitoring of forest soils as part of a pan-European network to detect environmental change depends on an accurate determination of the mean of the soil properties at each monitoring event. Forest soil is known to be very variable spatially, however. A study was undertaken to explore and quantify this variability at three forest monitoring plots in Britain. Detailed soil sampling was carried out, and the data from the chemical analyses were analysed by classical statistics and geostatistics. An analysis of variance showed that there were no consistent effects from the sample sites in relation to the position of the trees. The variogram analysis showed that there was spatial dependence at each site for several variables and some varied in an apparently periodic way. An optimal sampling analysis based on the multivariate variogram for each site suggested that a bulked sample from 36 cores would reduce error to an acceptable level. Future sampling should be designed so that it neither targets nor avoids trees and disturbed ground. This can be achieved best by using a stratified random sampling design.

The double triangular test in practice

The double triangular test was introduced twenty years ago, and the purpose of this paper is to review applications that have been made since then. In fact, take-up of the method was rather slow until the late 1990s, but in recent years several clinical trial reports have been published describing its use in a wide range of therapeutic areas. The core of this paper is a detailed account of five trials that have been published since 2000 in which the method was applied to studies of pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, myocardial infarction, epilepsy and bedsores. Before those accounts are given, the method is described and the history behind its evolution is presented. The future potential of the method for sequential case-control and equivalence trials is also discussed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A very rare hydrogen-bridged hexanuclear CuII complex containing a triangular Cu3O core capped by an unusual triply coordinated perchlorate anion

An unusual hexanuclear Cu-II complex, [{[Cu(NHDEPO)](3)(mu(3)-O)(O3ClO)}(2)(mu-H)]center dot 7ClO(4)center dot 4H(2)O (1) was prepared starting from Cu(ClO4)(2)center dot 6H(2)O and the oxime-based Schiff base ligand NHDEPO (= 3-[3-(diethylamino)propylimino]butan-2-one oxime). Structural characterization of the complex reveals that it consists of two triangular Cu3O units, the copper ions being at the corners of an equilateral triangle, separated by an O center dot center dot center dot O distance of 2,447(5) angstrom, held together solely by a proton. In each triangle, the copper atoms are in square-pyramid environments. The equatorial plane consists of the bridging oxygen of the central OH-(O2-) group together with three atoms (N, N, O) of the Schiff base. All Unusual triply coordinated perchlorate ion (mu(3)-kappa O:kappa O':kappa O '') interacts in axial position with the three copper ions, Variable-temperature (2-300 K) magnetic susceptibility measurements show that complex 1 is antiferromagnetically Coupled (J = -148 cm(1-)). The EPR data at low temperature clearly indicates the presence of spin frustration phenomenon in the complex.

Comparing methods for sampling large- and medium-sized mammals: camera traps and track plots

Activities involving fauna monitoring are usually limited by the lack of resources; therefore, the choice of a proper and efficient methodology is fundamental to maximize the cost-benefit ratio. Both direct and indirect methods can be used to survey mammals, but the latter are preferred due to the difficulty to come in sight of and/or to capture the individuals, besides being cheaper. We compared the performance of two methods to survey medium and large-sized mammal: track plot recording and camera trapping, and their costs were assessed. At Jatai Ecological Station (S21 degrees 31`15 ``- W47 degrees 34`42 ``-Brazil) we installed ten camera traps along a dirt road directly in front of ten track plots, and monitored them for 10 days. We cleaned the plots, adjusted the cameras, and noted down the recorded species daily. Records taken by both methods showed they sample the local richness in different ways (Wilcoxon, T=231; p;;0.01). The track plot method performed better on registering individuals whereas camera trapping provided records which permitted more accurate species identification. The type of infra-red sensor camera used showed a strong bias towards individual body mass (R(2)=0.70; p=0.017), and the variable expenses of this method in a 10-day survey were estimated about 2.04 times higher compared to track plot method; however, in a long run camera trapping becomes cheaper than track plot recording. Concluding, track plot recording is good enough for quick surveys under a limited budget, and camera trapping is best for precise species identification and the investigation of species details, performing better for large animals. When used together, these methods can be complementary.