Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Seedling Rate'

Human-modified landscapes are ubiquitous and often made up of remnant fragments of natural ecosystems nested within an agricultural or urban matrix. Understanding how species are affected by habitat degradation is a central issue in biodiversity research, yet investigations into the impacts on key ecological interactions have not kept pace. Gaining insight into the responses of ecological processes is vital in order to maximise biodiversity conservation and develop sustainable management practices in a changing world. Herbivory is a fundamental ecosystem process as it mediates the transfer of energy between primary production and higher trophic levels. In tropical rainforests herbivory is primarily carried out by insects. Here, I investigate how leaf damage changes over time by carrying out repeated measures of herbivory following fragmentation. In doing so, I build upon previous ‘snapshot’ studies which have primarily quantified leaf damage at single points in time. An experiment was established within a large-scale manipulation experiment: the Stability of Altered Forest Ecosystems (SAFE) project in the Malaysian state of Sabah, within Borneo. I used seedlings of two species of endemic Dipterocarpaceae as the study system for two main reasons. Firstly, seedlings represent the most vulnerable life stage in a tree’s life cycle, and therefore insect herbivory may be a major determinant of their growth and survival. Secondly, not only do members of the family Dipterocarpaceae dominate in lowland tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia, most are economically valued for their timber and are consequently under pressure from logging which is leading to conservation concern. Five hundred and seventy-six seedlings were planted in 12 recently isolated one hectare fragments and 12 continuous forest control sites. Eight of these control sites were located in an area of continuous forest estimated to be over one million hectares north of the experimental landscape of the SAFE project. Four further control sites were established in a virgin jungle reserve which is over 2,200 hectares and located to the south-west of the experimental area. All leaves were scanned in situ on six occasions over two field seasons (May- October) in 2015 and 2016. At the end of the experiment, traits analyses were performed to quantify three common metrics of leaf defence: total phenolic content, acid detergent fibre and leaf strength. Through this experiment I addressed the following aims; (1) to determine the initial effects of fragmentation on rates of leaf damage, (2) to investigate whether bottom-up control of herbivory was altered by fragmentation through changes in foliar defence, and (3) to assess whether responses were shared among study species or were instead individualistic. I also use data from a key published monograph to create species interaction networks between lepidopteran caterpillars and their known host plants in tropical Asia, with the aim of exploring the importance of members of the Dipterocarpaceae for insect herbivores. I found some evidence that herbivory is disrupted by fragmentation, with both species exhibiting lower levels of herbivory in fragments. Forest type was an important predictor of patterns of leaf area loss in this experiment, but overall differences between herbivory in fragments and control sites were not significant. Instead, herbivory was best explained by seedling traits, and predictors of leaf area loss varied between species indicating species-specific responses. Relaxation of phytochemical defensive traits was also detected in forest fragments, perhaps due to decreased levels of herbivory. A reduction in phytochemical defence may imply an increased vulnerability of seedlings in forest fragments which translates to differences in herbivore damage over time. I highlight the importance of repeated measures experiments when investigating a complex and dynamic ecological process such as herbivory, and propose long term monitoring to fully understand the effects of forest fragmentation. The results of this thesis contribute to understanding the effects of fragmentation on insect herbivory, which remain uncertain, and provide evidence of the extent to which this key ecosystem process is disrupted due to anthropogenic habitat modification<br>Thesis (PhD Doctorate)<br>Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)<br>School of Environment and Sc<br>Science, Environment, Engineering and Technology<br>Full Text

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior<br>Aiming to characterize the main transgenic soybeans cultivars used in Rio Grande do Sul, experiments were conducted during the 2007/2008 season, in Santa Maria/RS. In the field, the cultivars Relmo Anta RR 82, A 6001 RG, A 8000 RG, FUNDACEP 53 RR, FUNDACEP 54 RR, FUNDACEP 56 RR, BRS 244 RR, and CD 214 RR CD 219 RR, drilled at seeds rates of 250, 400 and 550 thousand seed ha-1 and at row spacing of 0.30, 0.45 and 0.60m. The variables were: grain yield, yield components, distribution of income in different strata of the plant, morphological characteristics, rate of soil covering and amount of light incident on the canopy. The experimental design was a randomized blocks, with 4 repetitions in trifatorial outline (9 cultivars x 3 seed rates x 3 row spacing). In laboratory, tests of peroxidase reaction had been carried through only using the tegument of the seeds or the entire seeds and also seedling color for 50 soybean cultivars. For the grain yield cultivars CD 214 RR and FUNDACEP 53 RR had the best results (3589 and 3530 kg ha-1, respectively). For the distribution of income in the plant strata, there is interaction between density of planting and row spacing, which indicate the trends for each cultivar. For the amount of light incident on the canopy, the interactions between the factors of planting density, row spacing, timing of the cycle of development and level of the canopy, combined with the architecture of each cultivar define the amount of light intercepted, after flowering. The morphological response of each cultivar is different for every situation tested, indicating the need for understanding the behavior of each material, to select the practices to maximize the yield. The use of the test of reaction of peroxidase used the entire seed can be used of so efficient form how much the traditionally used method (tegument). The identification of the seedling color may be an early way to identify varietal blend.<br>Com o objetivo de caracterizar as principais cultivares transgênicas de soja utilizadas no Rio Grande do Sul, foram realizados experimentos durante a safra agrícola 2007/2008, em Santa Maria/RS. Em campo, as cultivares Relmo Anta 82 RR, A 6001 RG, A 8000 RG, FUNDACEP 53 RR, FUNDACEP 54 RR, FUNDACEP 56 RR, BRS 244 RR, CD 214 RR e CD 219 RR foram submetidas às densidade de semeadura de 250, 400 e 550 mil semente ha-1 e aos espaçamentos entre linhas de 0,30, 0,45 e 0,60m. As variáveis avaliadas foram: rendimento de grãos, componentes do rendimento, distribuição do rendimento em diferentes estratos da planta, características morfológicas, taxa de cobertura do solo e quantidade de luz incidente no dossel. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o de blocos ao acaso, com 4 repetições, no esquema trifatorial (9 cultivares x 3 densidades de semeadura x 3 espaçamentos entre linhas). Em laboratório, foram realizados testes de reação da peroxidase utilizando somente o tegumento das sementes ou as sementes inteiras e também coloração do hipocótilo para 50 cultivares de soja. Para o rendimento de grãos as cultivares CD 214 RR e FUNDACEP 53 RR apresentaram os melhores resultados (3589 e 3530 kg ha-1, respectivamente). Para a distribuição do rendimento nos estratos da planta, existe interação entre densidade de semeadura e espaçamento entre linhas, os quais indicam as tendências para cada cultivar. Para a quantidade de luz incidente no dossel, as interações entre os fatores densidade de semeadura, espaçamento entre linhas, época do ciclo de desenvolvimento e nível do dossel, aliados à arquitetura de cada cultivar definem a quantidade de luz interceptada, após o florescimento. A resposta morfológica de cada cultivar é diferenciada para todas as situações testadas, indicando a necessidade do conhecimento do comportamento de cada material, para a escolha das práticas que visem maximizar o rendimento de grãos. O uso do teste de reação da peroxidase utilizando a semente inteira pode ser utilizado de forma tão eficiente quanto o método tradicionalmente utilizado (tegumento). A identificação da coloração do hipocótilo pode ser uma forma precoce de identificar mistura varietal.

Many coastal plant species thrive across a range of environmental conditions, often displaying dramatic phenotypic variation in response to environmental variation. We characterized the response of the critical foundation species Rhizophora mangle L. to full factorial combinations of salt and nitrogen (N). We used seedlings collected from five populations and measured traits related to salt tolerance and N amendment. The response to increasing salt included significant plasticity in succulence, leaf mass area (LMA), and root to shoot ratio (R:S). Seedlings also showed overall reduced maximum photosynthetic rate in response to N amendment, but this response depended on the level of salt and varied by site of origin of the seedlings. Seedlings from different sites also differed in height growth, LMA, R:S, and total dry biomass. Generally, survival was lower in high salt and high N, but the impact varied among sites. Overall, this study revealed significant trait plasticity in response to salt and N level, and differentiation of responses of seedlings among different sites. Seedling survival depended on maternal family for 3 of 5 sites showing variation within and among sites. Variation in trait plasticity and seedling survival in R. mangle may be important for future adaptation to a complex mosaic of environmental conditions.

This study consisted of two sheep grazed dryland pasture experiments. Experiment l compared sheep production from 3-year-old cocksfoot based pastures grown in combination with white, Caucasian, subterranean or balansa clover with a ryegrass-white clover pasture and a pure lucerne forage. Sheep liveweight gain per head from each pasture treatment and the pure lucerne stand was recorded in the 2006/07 and 2007/08 seasons. The cocksfoot-subterranean clover pasture provided equal (381 kg LW/ha in 2006) or higher (476 kg LW/ha in 2007) animal production in spring and gave the highest total animal production (646 kg LW/ha) averaged across years of the five grass based pastures. However, total annual liveweight production from lucerne was higher than any grass based pasture mainly due to superior animal production during summer when lucerne provided 42-85% higher animal production than any of the grass based pastures. In Experiment 2, the effect of stocking rate (8.3 (low) and 13.9 (high) ewes + twin lambs/ha) and time of closing in spring on lamb liveweight gain, pasture production and subterranean clover seedling populations was monitored over 2 years for a dryland cocksfoot-subterranean clover and ryegrass-subterranean clover pasture in Canterbury. In both years, twin lambs grew faster (g/head/d) in spring at low (327; 385) than high (253; 285) stocking rate but total liveweight gain/ha (kg/ha/d) was greater at high (7.26; 7.91) than low (5.43; 6.38) stocking rate. Ewes also gained 0.5 and 1.5 kg/head at the low stocking rate in 2006 and 2007 respectively but lost 0.2 kg/head in 2006 and gained 0.3 kg/head at high stocking rate in 2007. Mean subterranean clover seedling populations (per m²) measured in autumn after grazing treatments in the first spring were similar at both low (2850) and high (2500) stocking rate but declined with later closing dates in spring (3850, 2950, 2100 and 1700 at 2, 4, 6, 8 weeks after first visible flower). Seedling populations measured in autumn after grazing treatments in the second spring were also unaffected by stocking rate (low 1290, high 1190) but declined with later closing dates in spring (1470, 1320 and 940 at 3, 5 and 8 weeks after first flowering, respectively). The effect of stocking rate and closing dates in spring on pasture and clover production in the following autumn was similar to the effects on seedling numbers in both years. However, clover production in the following spring was unaffected by stocking rate or closing date in the previous year at the relatively high seedling populations generated by the treatments. This was presumably due to runner growth compensating for lower plant populations in pastures that were closed later in spring. Subterranean clover runner growth in spring may not compensate in a similar manner if seedling numbers in autumn fall below 500/m². Mean annual dry matter production from cocksfoot and ryegrass pastures grown with and without annual clovers pasture production ranged from 6.4 to 12.4 t DM/ha/y but stocking rate (8.3 vs. 13.9 ewes/ha) during spring did not affect annual pasture production. Pastures overdrilled with annual clovers yielded 23-45% more dry matter production than pastures grown without annual clovers. The study confirms the important role of subterranean clover in improving pasture production and liveweight gains of sheep in dryland cocksfoot and ryegrass pastures. Lowering stocking rate from 13.9 to 8.3 ewes/ha was a less effective method of increasing seed production of subterranean clover in dryland pastures although it did lead to increased liveweight gain per head.

A demanda por projetos de restauração ecológica, com a utilização de técnicas de plantio total, tem aumentado nos últimos anos, com a consequente necessidade de otimização dos insumos para tal atividade que, além de garantir maior sobrevivência das mudas a campo, é essencial para o setor. Assim, as compensações ambientais, geradas pela obra do trecho sul do Rodoanel Mário Covas (São Paulo), proporcionaram uma importante oportunidade de se realizar alguns estudos nessa temática. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a taxa de sobrevivência e o crescimento inicial (12 meses), de 30 espécies arbóreas nativas, provenientes de mudas acondicionadas em recipientes com 3 volumes distintos (tubetão 290 cm3, tubetinho 56 cm3 e bandeja 9 cm3), com e sem utilização de hidrogel no plantio, e submetidas às mesmas ações de manutenção. As espécies nativas regionais contemplaram todos os grupos sucessionais (pioneira e não pioneiras), pertencentes a 17 famílias botânicas. Como resultados deste trabalho, pode-se concluir que as espécies provenientes do recipiente tubetão obtiveram as menores porcentagens de mortalidade, seguidas de tubetinho e bandeja, entretanto algumas espécies de bandeja mostraram-se com índices de mortalidade menores, se comparadas a outras espécies provenientes de tubetinhos, apresentando assim possibilidades de uso, desde que adotados manejos diferenciados (irrigação pós-plantio e controle de competidores) visando a garantir o aumento da sobrevivência inicial das mudas. O hidrogel não interferiu no estabelecimento e nem no crescimento das mudas nos diferentes recipientes, para o período em que o experimento foi avaliado. Quanto ao desenvolvimento das mudas em crescimento e incremento de altura, pode-se concluir que, uma vez garantido o estabelecimento das mudas, não houve diferenças entre os recipientes, reforçando que, com manejos diferenciados, os custos da restauração poderão ser significativamente reduzidos, para as situações que exijam como metodologia o plantio total na restauração ecológica de uma dada área.<br>The demand for ecological restorations project, using total planting techniques, has increased in recent years, with the consequent optimizations need of inputs for such activity that, besides increasing the seedlings survival in the field, is essential for the sector. Thus, environmental compensation, generated by the work of the southern section of the Rodoanel Mário Covas (São. Paulo), provided a valuable opportunity to conduct some studies in this area. This studys aim was to evaluate the survival rate and early growth (12 months) of 30 native species from plants in containers packed with three separate volumes (290 cm3 tubetão, tubetinho 56 cm3 and bandeja 9 cm3), with and without hydrogels use at planting, and subordinated to the same maintenance actions. The regional native species, contemplated at all successional groups (pioneer and non-pioneer), belonging to 17 botany families. As a result of this work, we can conclude that species from the container tubetão had the lowest percentage of mortality, followed by tubetinho and bandeja, however some bandeja species have come out with lower mortality rates, compared to other species from tubetinhos, thus presenting use opportunities since different management are adopted (irrigation after planting and control of competitors) in order to guarantee the increase of initial survival of seedlings. The hydrogel did not affect the establishment and neither the growth of seedlings in different containers, during the period in which the experiment was evaluated. Concerning the seedlings development in growth and increase in height, one can conclude that once guaranteed the seedlings establishment of, there were no differences between the containers, reinforcing that with different managements, the restoration costs may be significantly reduced for situations that require the total planting as a methodology in ecological restoration of a given area.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T17:40:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Norma_Barbado.pdf: 2070778 bytes, checksum: ed667fd80db82f8ed6cdf85c71dfa73e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-08-27<br>The collection site of seeds and the environment where seedlings develop can be limiting factors for the development of forest plants. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the germination and seedling growth of the pink pepper tree (Schinus terebinthifolius RADDI), grown from seeds from four locations with different altitudes (São Francisco do Sul - SC, Foz do Iguaçu - PR, Maringá PR and Guarapuava - PR) and developed under different light conditions (50, 60, 70 and 100%). The seeds were collected from three arrays of each selected place and sent to Refúgio Biológico Bela Vista de Itaipu, where a sample was taken for analysis of vigor and germination according to the methodology of the Rules for Seed Analysis. The experimental design used in the germination test was randomized with twelve replicates of 50 seeds per treatment. Analyses related to the development of the seedlings occurred from collections in 30, 60, 90 and 120 days after sowing, assessing growth rates on the plant height, the size of the root, diameter of the collect, the number of leaves, fresh and dry weight of leaves, fresh and dry weight of stem + petiole, fresh and dry weight of root, fresh weight and total dry mass. The experiment was arranged in triple factorial scheme with four levels for each factor (43). The factors evaluated were: local seed collection, luminosity and time, with nine replications, discarding the two highest and the two lowest values. Data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of variance and for the meaningful responses to the variables it was used analysis of variance univariate and Tukey test. To identify the best treatment for the production of seedlings of Pink Pepper, the set of response variables (b1) from the treatments applied to principal component analysis (PCA) on the correlation matrix (Pearson) of variables and the criterion for retention of principal components (PCs) used was "broken-stick", also used on the randomizing test. The seeds that showed better percentage of normal seedlings, better germination in the first count (7 DAS), higher index of germination speed, best length of roots and shoots of seedlings at 21 DAS were those from São Francisco do Sul - SC. The seeds that showed the lowest germination rate and a lower percentage of the first count germination (7 DAS), were from Maringá - PR. The best seedlings of the Pink Pepper were obtained from seeds collected in Maringá - PR at 70% brightness, with lower variability. The seedlings that had the lowest rates of development were produced with the seeds of São Francisco do Sul - SC and Foz do Iguaçu - PR at 50% brightness<br>O local de coleta de sementes e o ambiente onde as mudas se desenvolvem, podem ser fatores limitantes para o desenvolvimento de mudas de plantas florestais. Diante do exposto, a execução deste estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a germinação e o crescimento de plântulas de aroeira vermelha (Schinus terebinthifolius RADDI), oriundas de sementes provenientes de quatro locais com diferentes altitudes (São Francisco do Sul - SC, Foz do Iguaçu - PR, Maringá - PR e Guarapuava - PR), desenvolvidas sob diferentes condições de luminosidade (50, 60, 70 e 100%). As sementes foram coletadas de três plantas matrizes de cada local selecionado e encaminhadas ao Refúgio Biológico Bela Vista de Itaipu, onde foi retirada uma amostra para as análises do vigor e germinação das sementes de acordo com a metodologia das Regras para Análise de Sementes. O delineamento experimental usado no teste de germinação foi inteiramente casualizado, com doze repetições de 50 sementes por tratamento. As análises relacionadas ao desenvolvimento das mudas produzidas ocorreram a partir das coletas em 30, 60, 90 e 120 dias após a semeadura, avaliando-se as taxas de crescimento relativas à altura da planta, ao tamanho da raiz, ao diâmetro de coleto, ao número de folíolos, a massa fresca e massa seca das folhas, a massa fresca e massa seca do caule + pecíolo, a massa fresca e massa seca da raiz, a massa fresca e massa seca total. O delineamento experimental foi organizado em esquema fatorial triplo, com quatro níveis em cada fator (43). Os fatores avaliados foram: local de coleta das sementes, luminosidade e tempo, com nove repetições, descartando-se os dois maiores e os dois menores valores. Os dados foram avaliados por meio da análise de variância multivariada e para as variáveis respostas significativas, utilizou-se a análise de variância univariada e o teste de Tukey. Visando identificar o melhor tratamento para a produção das mudas de aroeira-vermelha, no conjunto das variáveis respostas (b1) provenientes dos tratamentos aplicou-se a análise de componentes principais (PCA) sobre a matriz de correlação (Pearson) das variáveis e o critério de retenção de componentes principais (PCs) adotado foi o de broken-stick , também foi utilizado o teste de randomização. As sementes que apresentaram melhor porcentagem de plântulas normais, melhor porcentagem de germinação na primeira contagem (7 DAS), maior índice de velocidade de germinação, melhor comprimento de raiz e parte aérea das plântulas aos 21 DAS, foram as oriundas de São Francisco do Sul - SC. As sementes que apresentaram menor índice de velocidade de germinação e menor porcentagem de germinação na primeira contagem (7 DAS), foram as provenientes de Maringá - PR. As melhores mudas de aroeira vermelha foram obtidas a partir de sementes coletadas em Maringá - PR a 70% de luminosidade, apresentando menor variabilidade. As mudas de aroeira vermelha que apresentaram as menores taxas de desenvolvimento foram as produzidas com sementes de São Francisco do Sul - SC e Foz do Iguaçu - PR a 50% de luminosidade

Effect of soil moisture potential (?), temperature (T), genotype, seeding depth (SD) and rate (SR) on seedling emergence (SE), emergence velocity (EV), root yield and grades of cut and peel carrots were studied. SE was reduced at –120 kPa and totally inhibited at -156 kPa. EV was the lowest at – 5 kPa and – 90 kPa. SE was delayed by 33 d at 5°C, reduced at 30°C and totally inhibited at 35 and 40 °C. Heat units 99.75 and 159.60°Cd were the lowest to initiate and complete SE respectively while the optimum was 300 – 350 °Cd. There was no interaction effect between ? and T on SE. Honey snax at 85 seeds/ 30 cm showed the best SE whereas, Triton recorded the highest total yield at 2.54 cm SD and Fancy yield at 85 seeds/ 30 cm implying certain crop ecological and management factors can influence SE, root yield and quality.

碩士<br>國立嘉義大學<br>農藝學系研究所<br>97<br>This study is to determine the best sowing rate and quantities oftransplants for paddy rice (Oryza sativa) Tainan No. 11 in and to its agronomic traits. The seedling tray applying to current mechanicaltransplanting of paddy rice seedling was utilized in this test. Each seedling tray used different planting densities in 200 g, 250 g, 300 g, 350 g respectively. We planted for single, triple and mechanical transplanting seedlings for multeity, then observing the physical changes and influences of its agronomic traits in each groups after seedling transplanting. It showed that the 200 g seedling rate had better agronomic traits and higher yield than others. Resides comparison of cropping yield in three different transplanting quantities, in first-crop paddy rice, the highest yield is three,second-crop is multeity. The result suggested that the 200 g seedling rate and mechanical transplanting of rice seedling had the best agronomic traits,offering a fine example for paddy rice breeder and agriculturist.

碩士<br>明道大學<br>材料暨系統工程研究所<br>95<br>Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a C4 perennial grass grown naturally in most of the central and eastern United States. A stand of switchgrass can grow vigorously over 10 years, resist drought, and survive with low fertilizer inputs. Thus, the U.S. Department of Energy has identified switchgrass as the most promising species for development into herbaceous biomass fuel crop. Switchgrass is also cultivated for the purpose of soil reclamation and habitat development of grassland birds. Switchgrass is as a multi-purpose crop with ecological function, soil conservation and bioenergy production. However, studies on switchgrass cultivation in Taiwan are very limited. In order to assess the feasibility of establishment of this multi-purpose crop in Taiwan, it is required to do detailed researches on cultivation management of switchgrass. In this study, two ecotypes of switchgrass, Alamo (A) and Blackwell (B), were selected for pot experiments. Seedling were grown in pots containing Yuliao soil and were maintained in a greenhouse for 6 months. Nitrogen (N) was applied at the rate of 0, 25, 50, 125 kg ha-1. Soil moisture levels were controlled by watering at 2 days (2D), 5 days (5D) and 8 days (8D) intervals. The results revealed that soil moisture influenced the tiller number, plant height, chlorophyll index, and tissue dry weight of switchgrass plants more significantly than nitrogen application. Tiller number and plant height of Alamo were significantly higher than that of Blackwell. Tiller number and plant height could be enhanced by increasing the nitrogen application rate and watering interval. Effects of nitrogen application and soil moisture on the tiller number and plant height were more prominent on Alamo than those on the Blackwell. Tiller number and plant height are considered as the evaluation factors for indicating the biomass yield to be harvested. The results showed that the effects of nitrogen application and soil moisture on the dry weight of aboveground tissues were more pronounced on Alamo than on Blackwell. On the other hand, the biomass yield of underground tissues of both the cultivars was influenced by the watering intervals; the dry weight of underground tissues was significantly increased with the increase in soil moisture levels resulting from frequent watering. Moreover, Alamo yielded more dry weight of underground tissues than Blackwell. Establishment of Alamo would be more beneficial for soil carbon sequestration than that of Blackwell. However, nitrogen application rate did not dshow a consistent positive response on the dry weight of underground tissues harvested. In conclusion, the morphological growth pattern and biomass yield of Alamo cultivar showed its strong ability to be a successful candidate for biofuel feedstock production in Taiwan, but the Blackwell cultivar has limited usefulness in teams of biofuel production because of low biomass yield.

Submitted in partial compliance with the requirements of the Master’s Degree in Technology: Homoeopathy, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2016.<br>Aim The aim of this controlled, experimental study was to compare the biological activity of various homoeopathic potencies of gibberellic acid manufactured radionically (AMS transfer device) and conventionally (GHP) in terms of their respective influence on germination rate and seedling development of barley seeds; all the respective results being contrasted against those produced by the distilled water control. Methodology The research was completed by employing quantitative research techniques and followed true experimental design. Homoeopathically (Hahnemannian) prepared gibberellic acid followed the manufacturing guidelines of method 5a involving liquid preparations, as specified in the German Homoeopathic pharmacopoeia (GHP) (Benyunes 2005). A second radionic ‘equivalent’ version of each of the Hahnemannian potencies was manufactured using the ‘AMS wave transfer’ device. Four sources of data were collected namely, germination count and rate, seedling development (root length), seedling dry mass, and number of seeds with measurable roots. All the data was collected and documented on a data collection sheet using Microsoft Excel. All the data was statistically analysed and subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using GenStat Version 14 (VSN International, UK) at the 5% level of significance. The statistical data was used to produce a comparison between the different remedies and distilled water. Results All of the remedy treatment groups (Radionic 200c, Hahnemannian 200cH, Radionic 4c and Hahnemannian 4cH) displayed suppressive effects (to certain extents respectively ) on seed growth and development in comparison to the control group (distilled water). The control group displayed greater seedling development in comparison to all remedy treatment groups which was most evident in the average root lengths and high vigour seed lot root lengths having longer roots than all remedy treatment groups. The control group also displayed a higher number of seeds with measurable roots compared to all the remedy treatment groups in both total number of seeds and in the seeds accounted for in the high vigour lots. This suggests that all Homoeopathic remedies irrespective of potency or manufacture method (Radionic or Hahnemmanian) had similar suppressive effects on root growth and seedling development and this suppressive effect was in turn not evident in the control group. Conclusion The experiment results suggest that radionically manufactured homoeopathic remedies (AMS wave transfer device) have similar biological effects (suppressive effects) to the equivalent Hahnemannian manufactured homoeopathic remedies, although further research in this field is necessary to confirm these findings the results from this study are supportive of the use of radionically prepared remedies in homoeopathic practice.<br>M

碩士<br>國立屏東科技大學<br>森林系<br>93<br>Species composition and forest physiognomy at windward sites and leeward sites of Nanjenshen Forest, Taiwan, differ distinctly due to the differential impacts of wind stress produced by the northeasterly monsoon. In this study stomatal conductance and transpiration in seedlings of 6 windward species, 7 leeward species, and 5 ubiquitous species were measured under wind speed of 1 to 4 m s-1. Measurements were conducted at 25.5℃, 80% relative humidity, and 700 μmol m-2s-1 of irradiance. The hypothesis of this study was that stomata openness of leeward species would be much more sensitive to wind than that of windward species; therefore under higher wind speeds, decreasing rates of stomatal conductance and transpiration of the leeward species would be significantly higher than those of the windward species. Results showed that stomatal conductance and transpiration of all the 18 species decreased as the wind speeds increased. Stomatal conductance of the 7 leeward species decreased 43.3% in average, while those in the 6 windward species decreased only 26.6%, under wind speed of 4 m s-1. Since the stomatal openness was relatively unaffected in the windward species, this ability should enable the windward species to maintain normal physiological functions under strong winds. Since stomata of the leeward species almost closed at wind speed of 4 m s-1, transpiration in these species decreased significantly. These results indicated that stomatal conductance and transpiration of the windward species at higher wind speed were still significantly higher than those in the leeward species. The decreasing rates of these physiological activities in ubiquitous species were all between the leeward and the windward species. As for individual species comparison, decreasing rates of both stomatal conductance and transpiration were between 30 and 40% for most species. The decreasing rates were greatest in Elaeocarpus sylvestris and Ficus septica, which decreased more than 50%, while those in Lindera akoensis were less than 18%, under wind speed of 4 m s-1. Under wind speed of 1 m s-1, only Machilus zuihoensis, among the 18 species, exhibited increasing stomatal conductance. Nine species showed significant decreasing in stomatal conductance and 8 species showed no significant difference. In this study, the effects of winds on leaf temperature among leeward and windward species were also compared. Result showed that leaf temperature of the leeward and the windward species decreased 4.8℃ and 3.4℃, respectively, under wind speed of 6 m s-1. In conclusion, results of this study indicated that stomatal conductance, transpiration, and leaf temperature of the windward species were all significantly higher than those in the leeward species at higher wind speed. The hypothesis of this study was thus supported.

碩士<br>國立屏東科技大學<br>森林系<br>89<br>Dynamic of Carbon Dioxide Concentration Within Forest Canopies and Their Effects on Photosynthetic Rates of Understory Seedlings in Nanjenshan Lowland Rain Forest Chun-Teng Cheng and Yau-Lun Kuo Graduate Institute of Forestry, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology Abstract Diurnal and seasonal patterns of vertical carbon dioxide profile in lowland rain forest of Nanjenshan were monitored in this study. In addition, in situ effects of high CO2 concentrations near the forest floor on the net photosynthesis of young seedlings were investigated. CO2 concentrations increased from the upper canopy to the forest floor, showing significant CO2 profile. The CO2 concentration at 0.02 m above ground was 40 m L L-1 and 62 m L L-1 higher than those at 0.2 m and above canopy layer, respectively. Leaves of young seedlings at the height of 2~10 cm would experience CO2 concentrations in the range of 380~410 m L L-1, which were 20~50 m L L-1 higher than ambient air above the canopy. In situ photosynthetic light-response curves at CO2 concentration of 360, 380, 400 and 420 m L L-1 were determined on shade-tolerant species Machilus kusanoi, Aglaia elliptifolia, and Drypetes hieranensis, as well as shade-intolerant species Mallotus paniculatus, Bischofia javanica, and Laportea perostifm. When CO2 concentrations increased from 360 to 420 m L L-1, dark respiration and photosynthetic light compensation points decreased while maximum photosynthetic rates increased for all the six species. However, the responses were much higher in seedlings of shade-tolerant species than those in shade intolerant species. These results indicated that photosynthetic responses in shade-tolerant seedlings were much more sensitive to elevated CO2 concentration than shade-intolerant seedlings. By drawing air at 0.06 m and 1m above ground to create different CO2 concentrations, net photosynthesis in seedlings of 24 species increased linearly and significantly as ambient CO2 concentrations increased under natural forest floor lighting. These 24 species were all shade-tolerant species. On the other hand, net photosynthesis in 16 species did not respond significantly to the CO2 levels. Among them, 13 species were shade-intolerant. This result indicated that higher CO2 concentration near the forest floor could compensate the light-limited photosynthesis of shade tolerant seedlings in the understory. This ability could increase carbon gain of these seedlings and ensure their better growth and survival in the low-light understoy conditions. Keyword: Carbon dioxide concentration, Photosynthetic rate, Shade tolerant species

Identifying mechanisms that determine who lives and dies is the first step in developing successful restoration techniques for rare species and endangered habitats. We studied interactions that affect establishment of native plant forbs of conservation concern at the seedling stage to support the theoretical basis for restoration activities in Pacific Northwest prairies. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that seedling establishment is controlled by 1) competition with or 2) facilitation by existing vegetation and that the interaction is mediated in part by environmental stress. We direct-seeded or planted vegetative plugs of Lupinus oreganus, Castilleja levisecta, Erigeron decumbens, Iris tenax and Sidalcea malviflora ssp. virgata into 20 plots with a range of community compositions in high-stress upland prairies at each of three sites. We counted seedlings and estimated cover of plant functional groups as well as litter, bare soil and disturbance then used linear regression to test for effects of these factors on seedling establishment. We found evidence of indirect facilitation of grass on seedling establishment in the first year: higher accumulations of leaf litter increased seedling numbers at two sites. In the second year, there was evidence of facilitation by live vegetation and litter on seedlings at one site, but no net effect of either competition or facilitation at the other two sites. Overall, we found more evidence for positive interactions than we did for competition. In particular, litter appeared to have a positive effect on seedling establishment of L. oreganus and S. malviflora ssp. virgata. This is contrary to the common perception that litter inhibits plant establishment but supports the theory that facilitation is more common in high stress sites; practitioners should consider seeding into leaf litter at some sites. To support a robust approach to conservation and reintroduction of species with dormant seed, we characterized dormancy types and developed germination protocols for S. malviflora ssp. virgata and I. tenax. S. malviflora ssp. virgata has physical dormancy and may have physiological dormancy. Scarification followed by four weeks of cold moist stratification was effective in initiating germination. I. tenax has morphophysiological dormancy which is overcome by four weeks of warm moist stratification followed by 6-12 weeks of cold stratification. We also conducted a meta-analysis of experiments that tested pre-sowing seed scarification of L. oreganus and conclude that breaking physical dormancy prior to direct seeding does not support higher establishment relative to unscarified seeds in this species.<br>Graduation date: 2012