Context dependency is deemed to position the outcomes of species interactions along a continuum of mutualism to parasitism. Thus, it is imperative to understand which factors determine where a particular interspecific interaction falls along the continuum. Over the past 20 years research on the ectomycorrhizal symbiosis has resulted in sufficient independent studies to now generalize about the ...

Terrestrial plants are powerful climate sentinels because their annual cycles of growth, reproduction and senescence are finely tuned to the annual climate cycle having a period of one year. Consistency in the seasonal phasing of terrestrial plant activity provides a relatively low-noise background from which phenological shifts can be detected and attributed to climate change. Here, we ask whe...

The biogas production through the anaerobic digestion (AD) of giant reed (Arundo donax L.) biomass has received increasing attention. However, due to presence lignin, a low CH4 yield can be obtained. Aiming improve from biomass, effectiveness thermo-chemical pre-treatment based on KOH was evaluated in this paper. usefulness washing step before AD also assessed. led specific up 232 mL g−1 VS whi...

the future of biomass energy in the global energy system depends on many major factors, among others on the attitude of society in rural areas to the biomass energy and the renewable energy resources. biomass energy plays increasing role in rural areas with its contribution to the self sufficiency of people in the countryside. the paper deals with the analysis the opportunities of utilization o...

Microbial sulfur metabolism, particularly the formation and consumption of insoluble elemental sulfur (S0), is an important biogeochemical engine that has been harnessed for applications ranging from bioleaching and biomining to remediation of waste streams. Chlorobaculum tepidum, a low-light-adapted photoautolithotrophic sulfur-oxidizing bacterium, oxidizes multiple sulfur species and displays...

The suitability of protein and glucosamine measurements of cell components for biomass estimation of fungi Aspergillus niger S,4, a mangrove isolate, and Aspergillus oryzae NCIM 1212 was evaluated using wheat bran as substrate in solid-state fermentation (SSF). Both direct as well as indirect methods were used. The protein and glucosamine contents and direct weight of the fungi were determined ...

Two hybrid poplar (Populus) clones (the fast-growing clone Beaupré (P. trichocarpa Torr. and Gray x P. deltoides Bartr. ex Marsh.) and the slow-growing clone Robusta (P. deltoides Bartr. ex Marsh. x P. nigra L.)) were grown from hardwood cuttings for one or two growing seasons (1993-1994) in either ambient or elevated (= ambient + 350 micro mol mol(-1)) CO(2) in open-top chambers at the Univers...

Widespread burning of mixed tree–grass ecosystems represents the major natural locus of pyrogenic carbon (PyC) production. PyC is a significant, pervasive and yet poorly understood “slow-cycling” form of carbon present in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, soils and sediments. We conducted 16 experimental burns on a rainfall transect through northern Australian savannas with C4 grasses ranging from 3...

We compared radiation-use efficiency of growth (epsilon;), defined as rate of biomass accumulation per unit of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation, of forest plots exposed to ambient (approximately 360 micro l l-1) or elevated (approximately 560 micro l l-1) atmospheric CO2 concentration ([CO2]). Large plots (30-m diameter) in a loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantation, which containe...