Methods In total, 292 lower/southern limit and 310 upper/northern limit sites with available climatic data for all 11 extant beech species were collected by reviewing the literature, and 13 climatic variables were estimated for each site from climate normals at nearby stations. We used principal components analysis (PCA) to detect climatic variables most strongly associated with the distributio...

Accumulation of sawdust and sugarcane bagasse can cause serious problems for the environment. In this study, we examined the growth and reproductive performance of Eisenia foetida in cow manure, cow manure + sugarcane bagasse (4:1, V/V) and cow manure + sawdust (4:1, V/V) waste and its effects on CO2 evolution. The results showed that the weight gain for E. foetida (live weight) per gram of dry...

Previous studies have demonstrated that the toxic effects of 2,4,5trichlorophenol (2,4,5-TCP) are greater in agricultural soils than in forest soils; therefore these effects appear to be influenced by the total C content and soil pH. Agricultural soils (usually low in organic C) contaminated with 2,4,5-TCP may be able to be remediated by the addition of organic waste products. To test this hypo...

This experimental study was conducted at the Fruit Research Institute, Cacak, Serbia, to determine bud break and callus formation dates, the degree of callus formation, grafting success on day 20 after grafting and overall grafting success on day 28 after grafting in walnut (Juglans regia L.) under different treatments and bench grafting conditions in cultivar Seinovo (control) and the selectio...

Three experiments were conducted to determine the concentrations of phenolic monomers (para-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, vanillin, acetovanillone, para-hydroxybenzaldehyde and para-hydroxyacetophenone) and polymers (lignin) in roughages and to assess the fate of these compounds in the ruminant digestive system. In Exp. 1, low quality t imothy hay and cottonwood, silver maple and red oak sawdust...

Litter decomposition is an important process for cycling of nutrients in terrestrial ecosystems. The objective of this study was to evaluate direct and indirect effects of climate on litter decomposition along an altitudinal gradient in a temperate Alpine region. Foliar litter of European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and Black pine (Pinus nigra) was incubated in litterbags during two years in the Ho...

In view of evident changes in the reaction of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) to environmental changes, five plots with young trees of the same age were established and studied on natural beech sites. Beech trees were equally distributed along the light gradient and were divided according to light conditions. The parameter used for evaluation of light conditions was the indirect site factor...

Competition for nitrogen (N), particularly in resource-limited habitats, might be avoided by different N acquisition strategies of plants. In our study, we investigated whether slow-growing European beech and fast-growing sycamore maple seedlings avoid competition for growth-limiting N by different N uptake patterns and the potential alteration by soil N availability in a microcosm experiment. ...

The removal of volatile organic compounds (VOC) in biofilters packed with organic filter beds, such as peat moss (PM) and pine sawdust (PS), frequently presents drawbacks associated to the collapse of internal structures affecting the long-term operation. Poly(ethylene ether carbonate) (PEEC) groups grafted to these organic carriers cross linked with 4,4'-methylenebis(phenylisocyanate) (MDI) pe...

Three and four-year-old saplings of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) grown in monoculture and mixed culture were exposed in phytotrons to (1) ambient air, (2) elevated pO(3), (3) elevated pCO(2), or (4) elevated pCO(2) plus elevated pO(3). After 5 months, the contents of soluble sugars, starch, soluble amino compounds, non-structural proteins (NSP), as well as red...