Neurospora crassa has a long history as an excellent model for genetic, cellular, and biochemical research. Although this fungus is known as a saprotroph, it normally appears on burned vegetations or trees after forest fires. However, due to a lack of experimental evidence, the nature of its association with living plants remains enigmatic. Here we report that Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) is a...

The reduction of wood response to variations of ambient humidity, described as kind of ageing, has been studied from both points of view of moisture uptake and dimensional changes. Clearwood specimens from 3 gymnosperms (Pinus sylvestris L., Pinus pinaster Ait., Pinus insignis Dougl.) and 4 angiosperms (Populus spp., Quercus pyrenaica Willd., Entandrophragma cylindricum Sprague, Chlorophora exc...

The timber and pulp industries of Finland rely heavily on importations from Russia as source of raw timber. These imports raise the risk of accidentally importing forest pests and pathogens, especially bark beetles and their associated fungi, into Finland. Although ophiostomatoid fungi have previously been reported from Finland and Russia, the risks of accidentally moving these fungi has prompt...

Mushrooms are important non-wood-forest-products in many Mediterranean ecosystems, being highly vulnerable to climate change. However, the ecological scales of variation of mushroom productivity and diversity, and climate dependence has been usually overlooked due to a lack of available data. We determined the spatio-temporal variability of epigeous sporocarps and the climatic factors driving t...

The sharp temperature changes in nature (e.g., forest fires, ice, and snow) can cause mechanical damage to trees and bamboo. The mechanical properties of Mongolia Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris L. var. mongolica) and Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) were investigated by a three-point bending test with a repeated thermal shock process (i.e., sudden changes of temperature). The experimental resu...

The value of two heat sum methods, one linear (degree days > 5 degrees C) and the other curvilinear (period units), were assessed together with calendar days as predictors of the duration of microsporogenesis in seven natural stands of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) and eleven natural stands of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). Microsporogenesis was divided into two subperiods: March 1...

the paper deals with the analysis of the external factor (solar activity, volcanic eruptions) influence on tree growth at the kola peninsula, northwestern russia. pinus sylvestris l. (scots pine) tree-ring chronologies collected nearby the northern timberline (68.63n, 33.25e) include the oldest (1445-2005 ad) living pine tree found up to date in the kola peninsula. a total of 18 living trees p...

Acclimation to elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration and temperature of respiration by the foliage in the crown of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) trees is measured and modelled. Starting in 1996, individual 20-year-old trees were enclosed in chambers and exposed to either normal ambient conditions (CON), elevated CO2 concentration (EC), elevated temperature (ET) or a combination of E...