This paper presents new ancient DNA (aDNA) results from a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) megafossil dated to the earliest intervals of the Lateglacial Interstadial (13,786–13,500 cal yr BP (calibrated years before present)). The investigated trunk was discovered between sediment layers at the Pamerkiai Outcrop in southern Lithuania, an area situated within the marginal zone of the Late Weichselian Glaciation. To date, this is the oldest megafossil successfully subjected to aDNA analysis in the eastern Baltic region. Nuclear microsatellite (nSSR) analysis indicates a strong genetic affinity to the northern genetic lineage, supporting the hypothesis of Scots pine expansion from a “Northern Refugium” (50–55° N; 35–45° E) into present-day southern Lithuania during the initial afforestation stages of the Lateglacial Interstadial. Consequently, these findings support a model involving two glacial refuge sources for Scots pine in the eastern Baltic region during the Lateglacial. Furthermore, the aDNA results demonstrate a close genetic association between this ancient sample and present-day Scots pine populations typical of wetland environments, suggesting the prevalence of a wetland palaeoenvironmental regime at the site during the earliest stages of the Lateglacial Interstadial.
Vegetation can mitigate courtyard heat stress, but nonlinear and interactive effects of canopy amount, layout continuity, and species composition remain poorly quantified for semi-enclosed courtyards in hot-summer and cold-winter regions. Using a single representative courtyard in Wuhan, this study coupled ENVI-met /RayMan Pro simulation with a Random Forest surrogate and SHAP interpretation to examine how tree canopy coverage (TCC), layout pattern (LP), and evergreen-to-deciduous ratio (ETR) affect physiological equivalent temperature (PET). Twenty greening scenarios were simulated over five representative meteorological days (2400 hourly samples). The surrogate achieved R2 = 0.98 and RMSE = 1.28 °C. Meteorological and solar variables contributed >93% of global SHAP attribution, whereas TCC, LP, and ETR together contributed 6.3%. Vegetation–PET relationships were condition-specific, and SHAP interactions were non-monotonic. Matched-pair simulations holding TCC and ETR constant showed that layout effects involve spatial continuity and orientation relative to building shade and airflow, not canopy amount alone. Relative to the baseline ATCP of 11.33%, the best tested configuration reached 19.80% (+8.47 percentage points), and all configurations reduced absolute PET deviation. These findings provide a case-conditional screening framework; generalization requires multi-courtyard validation.
The oomycete Phytophthora pseudosyringae is mainly associated with rhizosphere infections of declining oak, beech, and alder in mainland Europe where it is considered native. However, the species has recently come to prominence in Britain, initially by causing significant damage to the heathland and woodland dwarf shrub Vaccinium myrtillus, then more recently associated with aerial infections on larch (Larix). The emergence of P. pseudosyringae on conifers raises concerns for forestry, particularly of larch in Europe, plus questions about its significance compared to P. ramorum, which has killed millions of plantation-grown larch in Britain since 2009. To understand the drivers underlying the emergence of P. pseudosyringae, we investigated the genetic, morphological, and pathological diversity of P. pseudosyringae isolates obtained from various hosts across Britain. Major gene sequence analyses identified two major genetic lineages within the British population of P. pseudosyringae. Within these lineages, three host-associated groups (Fagus–Nothofagus, Vaccinium and Larix) could be differentiated based on colony morphology, sporangial size, and in vitro growth characteristics. Moreover, pathogenicity varied markedly between groups with Larix-associated isolates producing larger lesions on Japanese larch (L. kaempferi) comparable to those formed by P. ramorum, whereas Fagus-Nothofagus- and Vaccinium isolates caused smaller or negligible lesions, respectively. Our findings suggest that P. pseudosyringae comprises genetically differentiated lineages that differ in host association, morphology, growth characteristics and pathogenicity. The Larix-associated group produced lesions on Japanese larch comparable in size to those caused by P. ramorum, suggesting that it has the potential to be an important pathogen of larch in Britain.
High moisture content in unseasoned green wood significantly influences bonding kinetics in moisture-curing systems. This study investigated the in situ viscoelastic 1. C-PUR viscoelastic curing kinetics without compromising ultimate stability. A Two-Way ANOVA confirmed a dominant main effect of moisture condition on the 50% consolidation milestone (t50%, p < 0.001, partial ηp2 = 0.954). Specifically, green moisture reduced t50% from 62.8 ± 4.4 min to 24.0 ± 0.8 min for Adhesive A (61.8% acceleration) and from 89.4 ± 2.3 min to 56.3 ± 8.3 min for Adhesive B (37.1% acceleration). No statistically significant difference occurred for the 120 min storage modulus baseline (E′120 > 6000 MPa, p = 0.166), demonstrating that interfacial free water acts as a stoichiometric promoter rather than a defect, overriding cell-wall plasticization. While these findings validate early viscoelastic screening feasibility for green gluing high-density hardwoods, complete structural joint qualification requires subsequent standardized macro-mechanical shear and durability testing.
Wetlands are among the most efficient terrestrial ecosystems for long-term carbon sequestration; however, information on carbon stocks in karst-derived tropical freshwater wetlands remains scarce. We estimated carbon stocks in above-ground and below-ground components of vegetation types associated with the Bacalar lagoon system in southeastern Mexico. We compared different carbon estimation methodologies to assess how methodological choices affect carbon stock estimates at the sample’s sites. Five vegetation types were studied; above-ground biomass was estimated using multiple allometric equations, which were compared in terms of relative variability using coefficients of variation. Below-ground carbon was quantified from root biomass and soil organic carbon using the loss-on-ignition (LOI) and Dumas methods. Gallery forest had the highest above-ground carbon stocks due to larger tree sizes, while mangroves (included petenes) stored greater amounts of below-ground carbon, reflecting the influence of hydrology, clay-rich substrates, and the accumulation of organic matter. The LOI based estimates were higher than Dumas, although both approaches showed similar patterns and high agreement following cross-validation. Our results show that vegetation type, substrate characteristics, and methodological choices significantly influence estimates of carbon stocks. Karst wetlands are important carbon reservoirs, and their conservation contributes to the mitigation of regional climate change.
