Influence of environmental predispositions on temperate mountain forest damage at different spatial scales during alternating drought and flood periods:case study in Hruby Jeseník Mts.(Czech Republic)

Mountain forests are more prone to environmental predispositions(EPs)than submountain ones.While remote sensing of mountain forests enables instantaneous damage mapping,the investigation of the causes requires field data.However,a local field or regionally modeled environmental characteristics influence remote data evaluation differently.This study focused on the evaluation of EPs effects damaging mountain forests between various spatial resolutions during environmental change.The evaluation was divided into managed and natural forests in the Hruby Jeseník Mts.(Czech Republic;240-1491 m a.s.l.;50.082°N,17.231°E).Damage was assessed through the discrimination analysis of the normalised difference vegetation index(NDVI)by MODIS VI during alternating drought and flood periods 2003-2014.The local environmental influence was assessed using the discrimination function(DF)separability of forest damage in the training sets.The regional influence was assessed through map algebra estimated via the DF and a forest decline spatial model based on EPs from differences between risk growth conditions and biomass fuzzy sets.Management,EPs and soil influenced forest NDVI at different levels.The management afflicted the NDVI more than the EPs.The EPs afflicted the NDVI more than the soil groups.Strong winters and droughts had a greater influence on the NDVI than the flood events,with the winter of 2005/2006 inverting the DF direction,and the 2003 drought increasing differences in managed forest biomass and decreasing differences in natural forest biomasses.More than 50% of declining managed forests in the training sets occurred on Leptosols,Podzols and Histosols.On a regional scale,the soil influence was eliminated by multiple predispositions.The EPs influenced 96% of natural forest and 65% of managed forest,though managed forest damage was more evident.The mountain forest NDVI decline was dependent on both management and risk predispositions.

Stress Response Monitoring of Photoautotrophic Higher Plant Suspension Cultures by Fluorescence Imaging for High-Throughput Toxic Compound Screening

Photoautotrophic suspension cultures have been established from various model and crop plants and proved to be valuable and robust experimental system to assess coordinated responses of primary and secondary metabolism to metabolic and stress related signals. The use of suspension cultures combines the ease of handling microalgae in microtiter plates with the advantage of testing physiological responses of higher plants, notably in combination with the assessment of the response of photosynthetic activity by PAM chlorophyll fluorescence imaging as well as monitoring changes in secondary metabolite production and ROS formation by steady state fluorescence of plant fluorophores or introduced fluorescent probes. Photoautotrophic cultures provide various advantages as fast, highly sensitive, robust and high-through-put experimental system for screening and characterization of the impact of toxic compounds on higher plants. This opinion article discusses and critically evaluates the potential of photoautotrophic cultures of higher plants in combination with fluorescence imaging assays in microtiter plates as a complement to existing guidelines for testing the toxicity of chemicals in plants.

Ecosystem management in transition in Central and Eastern Europe: the need for a vision

It is well established that in current human-dominated world,environmental change is closely coupled with socio-economic factors,and this is reflected in conceptual frameworks of important policies(Díaz et al.2015).Humans are adversely affecting biodiversity and climate change on a planetary scale(Rockström et al.2009).Anthropogenic transformation of ecosystems has been driven by rapid social and economic changes,manifested by direct drivers such as land use change and climate change(Nelson et al.2006).Central and Eastern Europe(CEE)has been a rap-idly transitioning region in terms of economic growth and political changes.Following the collapse of former Eastern Bloc and revolutions in several CEE countries after 1989,CEE countries have been undergoing political and economic transformation toward democracy and free market.Continuous accession to the European Union also brought in changes of political environment and ecosystem management possibilities and outcomes.Profound socioeconomic changes have influenced environmental condition and ecosystem management in this region,with changing pres-sures on biodiversity and ecosystem services.Environmental changes in Central and Eastern Europe have been closely linked especially to agricultural policy.For example,inorganic fertilizer use in several CEE countries dropped in a single year to 25%of its former level after the collapse of socialism.This,in turn,had an enormous impact on farmland biodiversity(Stoate et al.2009).

Magnetic modification of diamagnetic agglomerate forming powder materials

A simple method for the magnetic modification of various types of powdered agglomerate forming dia- magnetic materials was developed. Magnetic iron oxide particles were prepared from ferrous sulfate by microwave assisted synthesis. A suspension of the magnetic particles in water soluble organic solvent （methanol, ethanol, propanol, isopropyl alcohol, or acetone） was mixed with the material to be modified and then completely dried at elevated temperature. The magnetically modified materials were found to be stable in water suspension at least for 2 months.