Current taxonomy places all rust fungi that occur on willow (Salix spp.) in North America in one species complex, Melampsora epitea Thüm. Characteristics of M. epitea isolates from the Canadian arctic were compared to M. epitea isolates from temperate regions of North America. Sequences from internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of rDNA were obtained from urediniospores from rust-infected S...

After nearly a century of height suppression, willows (Salix spp.) in the northern range of Yellowstone National Park, U.S.A., are increasing in height growth as a possible consequence of wolf (Canis lupus) restoration, climate change, or other factors. Regardless of the drivers, the recent release of this rare but important habitat type could have significant implications for associated songbi...

Historically, wetlands along the St. Johns River, Florida, were dominated by herbaceous marshes. However, in the last 50 years many areas transformed to shrub-dominated wetlands, at the same time a system of levees and canals was constructed to control flooding. We tested the role of water management in controlling Carolina willow (Salix caroliniana), a native shrub that accounts for most of th...

Geophagy is thought to have several physiological benefits to animals, including mineral supplementation and adsorption of toxins. However, these benefits have rarely been demonstrated experimentally. Using soil from a known lick in northern Alaska, we investigated the effect of geophagy on food intake andmass loss in captive snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus Erxleben, 1777) fed a formulated rat...

Future improvement of woody biomass crops such as willow and poplar relies on our ability to select for metabolic traits that sequester more atmospheric carbon into biomass, or into useful products to replace petrochemical streams. We describe the development of metabotyping screens for willow, using combined 1D 1H-NMR-MS. A protocol was developed to overcome 1D 1H-NMR spectral alignment proble...

Black willow (Salix nigra Marsh.) has the potential to be a significant feedstock source for bioenergy and biofuels production in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV). This potential is based on a number of primary factors including rapid growth, ease of vegetative propagation, excellent rooting, and the ability to regenerate from coppice following harvest. To date, there has been no di...

Changes in the hydrology of sediments in tidal marshes or landfills may affect the uptake of metals in the vegetation. Leaf and stem samples of Salix cinerea (grey sallow) were collected during four consecutive growing seasons at six contaminated plots on a polluted dredged sediment landfill and one plot on an uncontaminated reference site. The first three contaminated plots were already emerge...

Minimizing nitrogen (N) fertilization inputs during cultivation is essential for sustainable production of bioenergy and biofuels. The biomass crop willow (Salix spp.) is considered to have low N fertilizer requirements due to efficient recycling of nutrients during the perennial cycle. To investigate how successfully different willow genotypes assimilate and allocate N during growth, and remob...