Moderate drop in water table increases peatland vulnerability to post-fire regime shift.

Northern and tropical peatlands represent a globally significant carbon reserve accumulated over thousands of years of waterlogged conditions. It is unclear whether moderate drying predicted for northern peatlands will stimulate burning and carbon losses as has occurred in their smaller tropical counterparts where the carbon legacy has been destabilized due to severe drainage and deep peat fires. Capitalizing on a unique long-term experiment, we quantify the post-wildfire recovery of a northern peatland subjected to decadal drainage. We show that the moderate drop in water table position predicted for most northern regions triggers a shift in vegetation composition previously observed within only severely disturbed tropical peatlands. The combined impact of moderate drainage followed by wildfire converted the low productivity, moss-dominated peatland to a non-carbon accumulating shrub-grass ecosystem. This new ecosystem is likely to experience a low intensity, high frequency wildfire regime, which will further deplete the legacy of stored peat carbon.

Biotic and abiotic regulation of lightning fire initiation in the mixedwood boreal forest.

Lightning fire is the dominant natural disturbance of the western mixedwood boreal forest of North America. We quantified the independent effects of weather and forest composition on lightning fire initiation (a detected and recorded fire start) patterns in Alberta, Canada, to demonstrate how these biotic and abiotic components contribute to ecosystem dynamics in the mixedwood boreal forest. We used logistic regression to describe variation in annual initiation occurrence among 10,000-ha landscape units (voxels) covering a 9 million-ha study region over 11 years. At a voxel scale, forest composition explained more variation in annual initiation than did weather indices. Initiations occurred more frequently in landscapes with more conifer fuels (Picea spp.), and less in aspen-dominated (Populus spp.) ones. Initiations were less frequent in landscapes that had recently burned. Variation in initiation was also influenced by joint weather-lightning indices, but to a lesser degree. For each voxel, these indices quantified the number of days in the fire season when moisture levels were low and lightning was detected. Regional indices of fire weather severity explained substantial interannual variation of initiation, and the effect of forest composition was stronger in years with more severe fire weather. Our study is a conclusive demonstration of biotic and abiotic regulation of lightning fire initiation in the mixedwood boreal forest. The independent effects of forest composition emphasize that vegetation feedbacks strongly regulate disturbance dynamics in the region.

An analysis of the daily radial activity of 7 boreal tree species, northwestern Quebec.

In the 'Des Vieux Arbres' ecological reserve situated within northwestern Quebec, 40 band dendrometers were installed on 7 of the major boreal tree species. The late Spring-early Summer daily radial activity registered in 1997 was related to daily weather variables. For each tree species, the daily mean i) cumulative radial increment and ii) radial activity indexed series obtained by first-difference standardization were analyzed. The results indicate the existence of strong similarities among the 7 species. All showed strong synchronous fluctuations in radius during late winter and early spring. This period ended with a short but sharp increase in radial increments that marked the passage of water into the stem. This initial swelling, less obvious in Pinus species was followed by a prolonged period of little change in radial activity. Meteorological data indicated that air temperature was positively related to stem swelling during the late winter-early spring period. Both air and soil temperatures became negatively related to radial expansion once the passage of water has occurred in the stem. Starting in early June, all species registered a sustained increase in radial increments possibly associated with active cell division. After this, radial expansion was negatively related to air temperature and positively to rainfall.

Climate change and forest fires.

This paper addresses the impacts of climate change on forest fires and describes how this, in turn, will impact on the forests of the United States. In addition to reviewing existing studies on climate change and forest fires we have used two transient general circulation models (GCMs), namely the Hadley Centre and the Canadian GCMs, to estimate fire season severity in the middle of the next century. Ratios of 2 x CO2 seasonal severity rating (SSR) over present day SSR were calculated for the means and maximums for North America. The results suggest that the SSR will increase by 10-50% over most of North America; although, there are regions of little change or where the SSR may decrease by the middle of the next century. Increased SSRs should translate into increased forest fire activity. Thus, forest fires could be viewed as an agent of change for US forests as the fire regime will respond rapidly to climate warming. This change in the fire regime has the potential to overshadow the direct effects of climate change on species distribution and migration.

Morning vs evening dosing with doxazosin in benign prostatic hyperplasia: efficacy and safety.

Three hundred and fifty-three patients with symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia were randomized to doxazosin or placebo, with morning or evening dosing, to compare the effect of dosing time on the efficacy and safety of doxazosin treatment. After 24 weeks of treatment, the mean International Prostate Symptom Score had decreased by 6.8 units in the doxazosin group compared with 4.5 units in the placebo group (P=0.003). Improvements in Q(max) of 2.03 ml/s and 0.30 ml/s were seen for the doxazosin and the placebo groups, respectively (P<0.001). No differences in efficacy or safety between the morning- and evening-dosed subgroups were observed. Doxazosin was significantly more effective than placebo at improving symptoms of BPH and urinary flow rates at endpoint, and was well tolerated. The time of dosing did not appear to influence the efficacy or safety of doxazosin, suggesting that there is no need to restrict administration of doxazosin to the evening in BPH patients.

Prazosin in the treatment of prostatic obstruction. A placebo-controlled study.

Eighty patients with prostatic obstruction were entered into a double-blind parallel study of prazosin versus placebo. There were 25 withdrawals or exclusions, leaving 55 patients for analysis. Mean maximum flow rates increased significantly more in patients treated with prazosin than in those treated with placebo (P less than 0.005), but there was no significant reduction in maximum voiding pressure. The mean number of voids, recorded on diary cards, was reduced from an initial 10.0/24 h by 2.1 in the final week, a significantly greater reduction than in the placebo group (P less than 0.01). However, there were no statistically significant changes in the filling cystometrograms. When patients were classified as responders or non-responders in terms of bladder filling, urine flow, bladder emptying, weekly average of voids/24 h and nocturia, the proportion of patients responding to prazosin was significantly greater in all categories except bladder filling and emptying. It was concluded that prazosin at a dose of 2 mg bd is a safe and effective treatment for prostatic obstruction and may be used in patients awaiting surgery and those who are unfit for operation.