Infrared video thermography was used to observe ice nucleation temperatures, patterns of ice formation, and freezing rates in nonacclimated and cold acclimated leaves of a spring (cv Quest) and a winter (cv Express) canola (Brassica napus). Distinctly different freezing patterns were observed, and the effect of water content, sugars, and soluble proteins on the freezing process was characterize...

The Palouse area of the Northwestern Wheat and Range Region suffers high erosion throughout the winter season. The excessive soil loss is a result of a combination of winter precipitation, intermittent freezing and thawing of soils, steep land slopes, and improper management practices. Soil strength is typically decreased by the cyclic freeze and thaw, particularly during the period of thawing....

We investigated the overwintering physiology and behavior of Phyllocnistis populiella Chambers, the aspen leaf miner, which has caused severe and widespread damage to aspen in Alaska over the past 10 yr. Active P. populiella moths caught in spring and summer supercooled to an average temperature of -16°C, whereas dormant moths excavated from hibernacula in the leaf litter during fall and winte...

In temperate portions of North America, some bats that remain active during winter undergo short periods of hibernation below leaf litter on the forest floor during episodes of below-freezing weather. These winter roosts may provide above-freezing conditions, but the thermal conditions under leaf litter are unclear. Further, little is known of the relationship between temperatures under litter ...

Frost or winter survival is regarded as a complex trait with polygenic inheritance. Two major components of this survival in crop plants are freezing tolerance in the nonacclimated state and cold acclimation capacity. To date researchers have not distinguished the two components as separate heritable traits. The mode of inheritance of these two traits was investigated in F1 and backcross popula...

‘Many insects accumulate polyhydric alcohols, particularly glycerol, sorbitol, and carbohydrates during fall and winter. In the larval hymenopteran Brachon cephi, Salt (11) found glycerol concentrations as high as 5 m and supercooling points as low as -47°C. The production of these substances is correlated with increased cold hardiness in both freezing tolerant and freezing intolerant species. ...

[1] We perform two 23 year simulations using a regional climate model coupled with the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Land Model version 3.5 (RegCM‐CLM) to investigate land‐atmosphere coupling in the continental United States during the cold season (October–April) and the role of soil water phase. One simulation allows the land surface to interact freely (RunI) while the oth...

Field and laboratory experiments were conducted to elucidate various factors influencing the temperature-dependent larval eclosion of winter moth, Operophtera brumata L, in New England. We found no difference in duration of the embryonic stage of eggs reared from larvae collected in Massachusetts (MA) and on Vancouver Island, British Columbia (BC), where winter temperatures are rarely below fre...

There is increasing attention on the effects of seasonal snowpack on wintertime litter decomposition, as well as the processes following it, in cold biomes. However, little information is available on how litter nitrogen (N) dynamics vary with snowpack variations created by tree crown canopies in alpine forests. Therefore, to understand the effects of seasonal snowpack on litter N dynamics duri...

The colony-forming haptophyte Phaeocystis antarctica is an important primary producer in the Ross Sea, and must survive long periods of darkness and freezing temperature in this extreme environment. We conducted experiments on the responses of P. antarctica-dominated phytoplankton assemblages to prolonged periods of darkness and freezing. Chlorophyll and photosynthetic capacity of the alga decl...