ABSTRACT
In northern Alaska nearly 65% of the terrestrial surface is composed of polygonal ground, where geomorphic tundra landforms disproportionately influence carbon and nutrient cycling over fine spatial scales. Process-based biogeochemical models used for local to Pan-Arctic projections of ecological responses to climate change typically operate at coarse-scales (1km2-0.5°) at which fine-scale (<1km2) tundra heterogeneity is often aggregated to the dominant land cover unit. Here, we evaluate the importance of tundra heterogeneity for representing soil carbon dynamics at fine to coarse spatial scales. We leveraged the legacy of data collected near Utqiagvik, Alaska between 1973 and 2016 for model initiation, parameterization, and validation. Simulation uncertainty increased with a reduced representation of tundra heterogeneity and coarsening of spatial scale. Hierarchical cluster analysis of an ensemble of 21st-century simulations reveals that a minimum of two tundra landforms (dry and wet) and a maximum of 4km2 spatial scale is necessary for minimizing uncertainties (<10%) in regional to Pan-Arctic modeling applications.
ABSTRACT
The assessment of the effect of tree age on leaves is usually limited by the difficulty of sampling sun leaves from tall ageing trees. In this study, we investigated tree age-related effects on sun leaves in a chronosequence of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) stands. The effects of stand age on leaf mass to area ratio (LMA), chlorophyll (Chl), epidermal polyphenols (EPhen), nitrogen and carbon contents in sun leaves were investigated in 17 even-aged stands distributed into six age classes (14-175 years old). Chl and EPhen were assessed in vivo with SPAD and Dualex portable leaf-clips respectively. Leaves were sampled by shooting and sun leaves were identified based on criteria obtained from a vertical profile of the ratio abaxial vs adaxial EPhen across the canopy. Sun leaves were characterised by a high and similar adaxial and abaxial EPhen contents, high LMA value and low mass-based Chl content. These sun leaf characteristics, together with leaf nitrogen and carbon contents, were not significantly affected by stand age. Along the chronosequence, beech trees invested a stable fraction of leaf mass into nitrogen, carbon, Chl and EPhen with decreasing leaf size, i.e. dry mass and area.
ABSTRACT
The encapsulation of biomolecules in solid materials that retain the native properties of the molecule is a desired feature for the development of biosensors and biocatalysts. In the current study, protein entrapment in silica-based materials is explored using the sol-gel technique. This work surveys the effects of silica confinement on the structure of several model polypeptides, including apomyoglobin, copper-zinc superoxide dismutase, polyglutamine, polylysine, and type I antifreeze protein. Changes in the secondary structure of each protein following encapsulation are monitored by circular dichroism spectroscopy. In many cases, silica confinement reduces the fraction of properly-folded protein relative to solution, but addition of a secondary solute or modification of the silica surface leads to an increase in structure. Refinement of the glass surface by addition of a monosubstituted alkoxysilane during sol-gel processing is shown to be a valuable tool for testing the effects of surface chemistry on protein structure. Because silica entrapment prevents protein aggregation by isolating individual protein molecules in the pores of the glass material, one may monitor aggregation-prone polypeptides under solvent conditions that are prohibited in solution, as demonstrated with polyglutamine and a disease-related variant of superoxide dismutase.
ABSTRACT
Two types of physiological mechanisms can contribute to growth decline with age: (i) the mechanisms leading to the reduction of carbon assimilation (input) and (ii) those leading to modification of the resource economy. Surprisingly, the processes relating to carbon allocation have been little investigated as compared to research on the processes governing carbon assimilation. The objective of this paper was thus to test the hypothesis that growth decrease related to age is accompanied by changes in carbon allocation to the benefit of storage and reproductive functions in two contrasting broad-leaved species: beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and sessile oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.). Age-related changes in carbon allocation were studied using a chronosequence approach. Chronosequences, each consisting of several even-aged stands ranging from 14 to 175 years old for beech and from 30 to 134 years old for sessile oak, were divided into five or six age classes. In this study, carbon allocations to growth, storage and reproduction were defined as the relative amount of carbon invested in biomass increment, carbohydrate increment and seed production, respectively. Tree-ring width and allometric relationships were used to assess biomass increment at the tree and stand scales. Below-ground biomass was assessed using a specific allometric relationship between root:shoot ratio and age, established from the literature review. Seasonal variations of carbohydrate concentrations were used to assess carbon allocation to storage. Reproduction effort was quantified for beech stands by collecting seed and cupule production. Age-related flagging of biomass productivity was assessed at the tree and stand scales, and carbohydrate quantities in trees increased with age for both species. Seed and cupule production increased with stand age in beech from 56 gC m(-)(2) year(-1) at 30 years old to 129 gC m(-2) year(-1) at 138 years old. In beech, carbon allocation to storage and reproductive functions increased with age to the detriment of carbon allocation to growth functions. In contrast, the carbon balance between growth and storage remained constant between age classes in sessile oak. The contrasting age-related changes in carbon allocation between beech and sessile oak are discussed with reference to the differences in growing environment, phenology and hydraulic properties of ring-porous and diffuse-porous species.
