A parameterization scheme for calculating gaseous dry deposition velocities in air-quality models is revised based on recent study results on non-stomatal uptake of O3 and SO2 over 5 different vegetation types. Non-stomatal resistance, which includes in-canopy aerodynamic, soil and cuticle resistances, for SO2 and O3 is parameterized as a function of friction velocity, relative humidity, leaf a...

Rice receives a large amount of water during land preparation and the growing period, causing poor crop water productivity and lower net benefits. In wheat, excessive tillage operations delay its sowing, resulting in low yields and net returns. Dry seeding of rice and zero tillage in wheat can be expected to reduce water inputs and tillage costs compared with the conventional system of rice-whe...

Sex differences are prominent influences on spatial performance. One of the most common tasks to assess sex differences in spatial navigation in rodents is the Morris water task (MWT). In this task rats swim in a pool of water to locate a hidden platform employing the topographical relationships among the distal visual cues, pool wall, and goal location. Some evidence suggests that male rats di...

The Amazon basin is characterized by a strong interplay between the atmosphere and vegetation. Anthropogenic land use and land cover change (LULCC) affects vegetation and the exchange of energy and water with the atmosphere. Here we have assessed potential LULCC impacts on climate and natural vegetation dynamics over South America with a regional Earth system model that also accounts for vegeta...

Intercropped corn (Zeu mays L.) and soybean [Glycine mux (L.) Merr.] may produce more total yield per hectare than either grown separately, ie., land equivalent ratio (LER) >l. Low N fertility, limited moisture, and weed competition have each been reported to result in high land equivalent ratios. Thus it was hypothesized that intercropping advantages were greater under stress conditions. The o...

Traditionally Land Use Cover Change (LUCC) studies have focused on processes of negative land-cover change, primarily deforestation, partially because examples of positive land-cover change were not common. During the last two decades an outstanding tropical dry forest restoration process had taken place in the province of Guanacaste, Costa Rica, which has given us a unique opportunity to study...

Dry Land Asia is the largest arid and semi-arid region in the northern hemisphere that suffers from land desertification. Over the period 1982–2011, there were both overall improvement and regional degeneration in the vegetation NDVI. We analyze future climate changes in these area using two ensemble-average methods from CMIP5 data. Bayesian Model Averaging shows a better capability to represen...

We studied the ecological characteristics of 45–50-yr-old subtropical dry forest stands in Puerto Rico that were growing on sites that had been deforested and used intensively for up to 128 yr. The study took place in the Guánica Commonwealth Forest. Our objective was to assess the long-term effects of previous land use on this forest—i.e., its species composition, structure, and functioning. P...

Forested watersheds, an important provider of ecosystems services related to water supply, can have their structure, function, and resulting streamflow substantially altered by land use and land cover. Using a retrospective analysis and synthesis of long-term climate and streamfiow data (75 years) from six watersheds differing in management histories we explored whether streamflow responded dif...

Plant functional traits are widely used to predict community productivity. However, they are rarely used to predict individual plant performance in grasslands. To assess the relative importance of traits compared to environment, we planted seedlings of 20 common grassland species as phytometers into existing grassland communities varying in land-use intensity. After 1 year, we dug out the plant...