 |
|
Beetle dung helps forests recover from fire
December 04, 2007Armed with a pair of tweezers and a handful of beetle droppings, University of Alberta forestry graduate Tyler Cobb has discovered why the bug-sized dung is so important to areas ravaged by fire.
Cobb studied the burned-out area of a northern Alberta hamlet which was partially lost to wildfire during the blazing summer of 2001. By studying a certain species of fire-loving beetles hard at work in the burned and decaying trees, he was able to determine that the insects' droppings play a vital role in replenishing soil nutrients that help plants regenerate after a fire.
Cobb, while earning his PhD in the University of Alberta Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Home Economics, in the Department of Renewable Resources, worked with about 10 grams of beetle dung-50 to 60 beetles can produce just a handful-over two years, slowly teasing it apart with tweezers and chemically analyzing the contents and using it for experiments to pinpoint the benefits to soil.
Beetle droppings-known in the scientific world as frass-are crucial to forests recovering from fire. The tiny piles of droppings, found at the bases of trees, resemble cones of sawdust, and they help nourish the forest floor by increasing microbial activity in the soil. This process can also determine which kinds of trees grow back.
"This means that rather than being considered a pest or a nuisance, these beetles are in fact very important to helping burned forests recover," Cobb said. He is concerned, though, because salvage logging is taking the beetles out of the forest before they can do their job; the insects lay their eggs in the dead trees, and the larvae are subsequently destroyed when the wood is processed at sawmills. "That population is being removed from the salvage site and that takes away the mechanism by which the nutrients are returned to the soil."
Salvage logging should be delayed after a fire to allow the beetles to complete their life cycle, Cobb said. "In theory, if you delayed logging for two years, these beetle populations could survive." Another option, he added, is to leave some burned timber-perhaps 10 to 25 per cent-as-is.
Though he intensively studied the frass of only one beetle species, Cobb says that dead wood-associated beetles are found throughout the world, and that without their valuable back-end contributions, forests damaged by fire and other disturbances will be worse off. "Forest management activities that threaten these species could have widespread ecological impacts. Wherever you've got forest you've got a beetle community essentially dedicated to this decomposition process, which is critical to the overall health of the forest."
University of Alberta
Beetle droppings-known in the scientific world as frass-are crucial to forests recovering from fire. The tiny piles of droppings, found at the bases of trees, resemble cones of sawdust, and they help nourish the forest floor by increasing microbial activity in the soil. This process can also determine which kinds of trees grow back.
"This means that rather than being considered a pest or a nuisance, these beetles are in fact very important to helping burned forests recover," Cobb said. He is concerned, though, because salvage logging is taking the beetles out of the forest before they can do their job; the insects lay their eggs in the dead trees, and the larvae are subsequently destroyed when the wood is processed at sawmills. "That population is being removed from the salvage site and that takes away the mechanism by which the nutrients are returned to the soil."
Salvage logging should be delayed after a fire to allow the beetles to complete their life cycle, Cobb said. "In theory, if you delayed logging for two years, these beetle populations could survive." Another option, he added, is to leave some burned timber-perhaps 10 to 25 per cent-as-is.
Though he intensively studied the frass of only one beetle species, Cobb says that dead wood-associated beetles are found throughout the world, and that without their valuable back-end contributions, forests damaged by fire and other disturbances will be worse off. "Forest management activities that threaten these species could have widespread ecological impacts. Wherever you've got forest you've got a beetle community essentially dedicated to this decomposition process, which is critical to the overall health of the forest."
University of Alberta
Dung News and Current Dung Events RSSDrinking water in Gaza Strip contaminated with high levels of nitrate
Palestinian and German scientists have recommended to the authorities in the Gaza Strip that they take immediate measures to combat excessive nitrate levels in the drinking water.
Uncertain future for elephants of Thailand
Worries over the future of Thailand' s famous elephants have emerged following an investigation by a University of Manchester team.
Black carbon pollution emerges as major player in global warming
Black carbon, a form of particulate air pollution most often produced from biomass burning, cooking with solid fuels and diesel exhaust, has a warming effect in the atmosphere three to four times greater than prevailing estimates, according to scientists in an upcoming review article in the journal Nature Geoscience.
Pathway links inflammation, angiogenesis and breast cancer
A well-known inflammatory protein spawns an enzyme that inactivates two tumor-suppressing genes, ultimately triggering production of new blood vessels to nourish breast cancer cells.
Elephant highways of death
A new study coordinated by the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society and other groups found that Central Africa's increasing network of roads - which are penetrating deeper and deeper into the wildest areas of the Congo Basin - are becoming highways of death for the little known forest elephant.
NASA probes the sources of the world's tiny pollutants
Pinpointing pollutant sources is an important part of the ongoing battle to improve air quality and to understand its impact on climate. Scientists using NASA data recently tracked the path and distribution of aerosols — tiny particles suspended in the air — to link their region of origin and source type with their tendencies to warm or cool the atmosphere.
Review study finds association between tobacco smoking and increased risk of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that causes an estimated 2 million deaths each year. The majority of those deaths occur in developing countries, home to more than 900 million of the world's 1.1 billion smokers.
Genetic Analysis of Asian Elephants in India Reveals Some Surprises
Researchers in India and from The Earth Institute at Columbia University have discovered that one of the few remaining populations of Asian elephants in India is actually two genetically distinct groups.
An invisible threat could change Britain's landscapes
People and farm animals are helping an invisible pollutant to change the types of plants that grow in Britain, particularly in remote and rural regions such as the Lake District.
Ebola virus a threat to great ape populations
The Ebola virus, identified for the first time in 1976 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (ex-Zaire), has unleashed several lethal epidemics in Central Africa. For several years, many outbreaks have been occurring simultaneously in the Republic of Congo and Gabon, making the control of Ebola virus infection a major public health priority for these countries. In humans infection triggers haemorrhagic fever. In 80% of cases it leads to death in a few days. High mortality generated by this particularly virulent virus, transmitted by direct contact, engenders serious social and economic consequences for the countries affected. There is no therapy or vaccine available and preventive measures and
More Dung News Articles
 | Who Ordered This Truckload of Dung?: Inspiring Stories for Welcoming Life's Difficulties by Ajahn Brahm The 108 stories in Who Ordered this Truckload of Dung? offer thoughtful commentary on everything from love and commitment to fear and pain. Drawing from his own life experience, as well as traditional Buddhist folk tales, author Ajahn Brahm uses over 30 years of spiritual growth as a monk to spin delightful tales that can be enjoyed in silence or read aloud to friends and family. Featuring titles... |
 | Tom Kundig: Houses by Dung Ngo The work of Seattle-based architect Tom Kundig has been called both raw and refined, as well as super-crafted and warm. Kundig’s projects, especially his houses, uniquely combine these two seemingly disparate sets of characteristics to produce some of the most inventive structures found in the architecture world today. Kundig’s internationally acclaimed work is inspired by both... |
 | Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung: The Work of a Legendary Critic: Rock'N'Roll as Literature and Literature as Rock 'N'Roll by Lester Bangs Vintage presents the paperback edition of the wild and brilliant writings of Lester Bangs--the most outrageous and popular rock critic of the 1970s--edited and with an introduction by the reigning dean of rack critics, Greil Marcus. Advertising in Rolling Stone and other major... |
 | Auto Body Repair Technology, Fourth Edition by James E. Duffy The single most authoritative information resource available today, Auto Body Repair Technology, 4E explains all aspects of collision repair more clearly and in greater detail than any other collision repair book. Its 7 sections and 29 newly up-to-date chapters allow readers to gain modern professional skills as well as the technical know-how needed to tackle everything from initial collision... |
 | Bent Ply by Dung Ngo, Eric Pfeiffer Plywood is arguably the most modern design artifact: it is a material born of natural wood and formed by vigorous industrial processes that can assume the most organic of shapes through bending, laminating, and molding. plywood truly fulfills that most modern of dreams: bridging the gap between technology and nature. Bent Ply is the first book devoted to plywood in modern design. The book... |
 | The Princess, the Crone, and the Dung-Cart Knight (The Squire's Tales) by Gerald Morris Meet thirteen-year-old Sarah, who has been living on her own andsearching for the knight who was responsible for her mother'sdeath. Her quest for revenge leads to an even greater adventurewhen she witnesses Queen Guinevere being kidnapped. Soon Sarahfinds herself accompanying Sir Gawain and Squire Terence on aremarkable journey to rescue the queen. Join Sarah on her inspiringquest to avenge her... |
 | Curmudgeing Through Paradise: Reports from a Fractal Dung Beetle by Fred Reed Fred Reed, who has referred to Oprah Winfrey as looking “like five hundred pounds of bear liver in a plastic bag,” takes a jaundiced and highly irreverent view of all things sacred—journalism, marriage, affirmative action, federal scams, governmental uselessness, women, men, fellow reporters, and popular culture. On the other hand, he has a kind word for drunks, bar girls, and children. Neither... |
 | Darwin's Plantation: Evolution's Racist Roots by Ken Ham, A. Charles Ware Join Answers in Genesis president Ken Ham and president of Crossroads Bible College Dr Charles Ware as they examine the racist historical roots of evolutionary thought and what the Bible has to say about this disturbing issue. This fascinating book gives a thorough history of the effect of evolution on the history of the United States, including slavery and the civil rights movement, and goes... |
 | The Doggy Dung Disaster & Other True Stories: Regular Kids Doing Heroic Things Around the World by Garth Sundem Eleven-year-old Tilly saved lives in Thailand by warning people that a tsunami was coming. Six-year-old Ryan raised $800,000 for water wells in Africa. Eight-year-old Chen fought for the rights of Taiwanese workers. And 12-year-old Haruka invented an environmentally friendly dog-poop scooper. Thirty true stories profile kids around the world who used their heads, hearts, courage, and... |
 | World House Now (Universe Architecture Series) by Dung Ngo World House Now is the sequel to America House Now and European House Now in Universe's popular and affordable architecture series, books that are the leading surveys of their field. This volume showcases international talent, including such well-recognized architects as Tadao Ando (Japan), Glenn Murcutt (Australia), Samuel Mockbee (US), and rising stars like Shigeru Ban (Japan), TEN Arquitectos... |
| © 2008 BrightSurf.com |