Monday, June 24, 2013

Ailanthus tree's status as invasive species offers lesson in human interaction

Ailanthus tree's status as invasive species offers lesson in human interaction [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 24-Jun-2013
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Contact: Matthew Swayne
mls29@psu.edu
814-865-9481
Penn State

An exotic tree species that changed from prized possession to forest management nightmare serves as a lesson in the unpredictability of non-native species mixing with human interactions, according to researchers.

"There are other invasive tree species in Pennsylvania, but the Ailanthus, by far, has been here longer and does more damage than any other invasive tree," said Matthew Kasson, who received his doctorate in plant pathology and environmental microbiology from Penn State. "It's the number one cause of native regeneration failure in clearcuts in Pennsylvania."

Kasson, who is a post-doctoral researcher in plant pathology, physiology and weed science at Virginia Tech, said that William Hamilton, a pioneer botanist who corresponded with William Bartram and Thomas Jefferson, imported the first Ailanthus altissima -- Tree-of-Heaven -- a tree native to China, from England sometime between 1784 and 1785 and cultivated the tree on his estate, the Woodlands, in Philadelphia. The deciduous tree, which grows rapidly, often to a height of 50 feet, has become one of the biggest forest management problems, especially since the 1980s, according to the researchers.

Kasson and colleagues report in a recent issue of the Northeastern Naturalist that Ailanthus can invade quickly in areas where large, continuous stands of trees are cut down -- clearcuts -- and displace slower-growing native plants. The spread of Ailanthus in Pennsylvania occurred in spurts that seem to be connected with stages of human development, particularly during cross-state transportation projects, Kasson said.

While the tree was initially isolated to the properties of a few botanists and wealthy plant collectors, commercialization of Ailanthus after 1820 coupled with railroad construction projects that connected the eastern and western parts of the state in the mid-1800s intensified its spread, according to Kasson, who worked with Matthew Davis, lab assistant and Donald Davis, professor of plant pathology, both of Penn State.

In the 1980s, widespread gypsy moth infestation in Pennsylvania led to the death or near death of large stands of oak trees in the state forests, especially in south-central Pennsylvania. Crews that cut down the trees built roads to reach the sites, which became avenues for the spread of Ailanthus. From 1989 to 2004 the number of Ailanthus trees on inventory plots increased from 76 million to 135 million.

"In parts of the state forests there were no roads in areas associated with the gypsy moth devastation," said Kasson. "During these timber salvage operations, crews are building roads and moving a lot of soil and seed."

The researchers found one or two older female Ailanthus trees near areas where foresters removed trees following the gypsy moth infestation, but also discovered that most of the Ailanthus trees started to grow shortly after the clearing operation. The older seed-producing trees were often found upwind from the sites of the recent Ailanthus growth. Kasson said this indicates that following the clearcut Ailanthus grew faster than competing species and quickly dominated these forests.

Kasson said recent mining and drilling operations in Pennsylvania forests may also cause the species to expand.

"New roads are being constructed into these active drilling sites," said Kasson. "These drilling operations could lead to future spread."

Previous research may have also underestimated how long Ailanthus can live, according to Kasson. While prior studies estimated that Ailanthus's lifespan was between 50 to 75 years, the tree routinely lives longer than 100 years.

The researchers conducted tree-ring studies of Ailanthus in all the counties where the tree grows in Pennsylvania, as well as several surrounding states. The researchers used these studies, along with historic surveys and reports on plant species in the state, to determine age and growth patterns.

Ailanthus, which is also called Chinese sumac or stinking sumac, grows in 60 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties, according to the researchers -- nine more counties than reported in previous studies. The research also suggests that the incidence of Ailanthus in Pennsylvania's northern-tier counties, where the tree has been historically absent, will likely increase like previous Ailanthus expansions in southern parts of the state.

###

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources supported this work.


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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Ailanthus tree's status as invasive species offers lesson in human interaction [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 24-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Matthew Swayne
mls29@psu.edu
814-865-9481
Penn State

An exotic tree species that changed from prized possession to forest management nightmare serves as a lesson in the unpredictability of non-native species mixing with human interactions, according to researchers.

"There are other invasive tree species in Pennsylvania, but the Ailanthus, by far, has been here longer and does more damage than any other invasive tree," said Matthew Kasson, who received his doctorate in plant pathology and environmental microbiology from Penn State. "It's the number one cause of native regeneration failure in clearcuts in Pennsylvania."

Kasson, who is a post-doctoral researcher in plant pathology, physiology and weed science at Virginia Tech, said that William Hamilton, a pioneer botanist who corresponded with William Bartram and Thomas Jefferson, imported the first Ailanthus altissima -- Tree-of-Heaven -- a tree native to China, from England sometime between 1784 and 1785 and cultivated the tree on his estate, the Woodlands, in Philadelphia. The deciduous tree, which grows rapidly, often to a height of 50 feet, has become one of the biggest forest management problems, especially since the 1980s, according to the researchers.

Kasson and colleagues report in a recent issue of the Northeastern Naturalist that Ailanthus can invade quickly in areas where large, continuous stands of trees are cut down -- clearcuts -- and displace slower-growing native plants. The spread of Ailanthus in Pennsylvania occurred in spurts that seem to be connected with stages of human development, particularly during cross-state transportation projects, Kasson said.

While the tree was initially isolated to the properties of a few botanists and wealthy plant collectors, commercialization of Ailanthus after 1820 coupled with railroad construction projects that connected the eastern and western parts of the state in the mid-1800s intensified its spread, according to Kasson, who worked with Matthew Davis, lab assistant and Donald Davis, professor of plant pathology, both of Penn State.

In the 1980s, widespread gypsy moth infestation in Pennsylvania led to the death or near death of large stands of oak trees in the state forests, especially in south-central Pennsylvania. Crews that cut down the trees built roads to reach the sites, which became avenues for the spread of Ailanthus. From 1989 to 2004 the number of Ailanthus trees on inventory plots increased from 76 million to 135 million.

"In parts of the state forests there were no roads in areas associated with the gypsy moth devastation," said Kasson. "During these timber salvage operations, crews are building roads and moving a lot of soil and seed."

The researchers found one or two older female Ailanthus trees near areas where foresters removed trees following the gypsy moth infestation, but also discovered that most of the Ailanthus trees started to grow shortly after the clearing operation. The older seed-producing trees were often found upwind from the sites of the recent Ailanthus growth. Kasson said this indicates that following the clearcut Ailanthus grew faster than competing species and quickly dominated these forests.

Kasson said recent mining and drilling operations in Pennsylvania forests may also cause the species to expand.

"New roads are being constructed into these active drilling sites," said Kasson. "These drilling operations could lead to future spread."

Previous research may have also underestimated how long Ailanthus can live, according to Kasson. While prior studies estimated that Ailanthus's lifespan was between 50 to 75 years, the tree routinely lives longer than 100 years.

The researchers conducted tree-ring studies of Ailanthus in all the counties where the tree grows in Pennsylvania, as well as several surrounding states. The researchers used these studies, along with historic surveys and reports on plant species in the state, to determine age and growth patterns.

Ailanthus, which is also called Chinese sumac or stinking sumac, grows in 60 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties, according to the researchers -- nine more counties than reported in previous studies. The research also suggests that the incidence of Ailanthus in Pennsylvania's northern-tier counties, where the tree has been historically absent, will likely increase like previous Ailanthus expansions in southern parts of the state.

###

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources supported this work.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/ps-ats062413.php

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At least 13 dead in bus crash in Montenegro

PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) ? At least 13 people were killed and 32 were injured when a bus carrying Romanian tourists swayed off a bridge and plunged into a deep ravine in central Montenegro on Sunday, police said.

Montenegro Interior Minister Rasko Konjevic said the bus with 46 people on board crashed some 30 kilometers (18 miles) north of the capital, Podgorica. He said the bus was traveling from Romania to Montenegro's Adriatic coast.

Police said the bus plunged from a bridge over the Moraca river during a rain storm and crashed some 40 meters (130 feet) into the ravine. A helicopter was used in the rescue operation mounted by Montenegro police.

Konjevic said "sadly, this death toll could climb further" because seven of the passengers were seriously injured.

The winding road that leads from Serbia in the north through the Moraca canyon and then to the seacoast is notorious for traffic accidents because it is narrow and slippery in wet weather conditions.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/least-13-dead-bus-crash-montenegro-185624354.html

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Ex-Stone Temple Pilots singer Weiland weds

Celebs

22 hours ago

Image: Scott Weiland.

? Bill Auth / Reuters

Scott Weiland.

Former Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland is officially a married man!

The rocker said "I do" to photographer girlfriend Jamie Wachtel Saturday night at their Los Angeles home, according to PEOPLE. "We had the most beautiful, heartfelt ceremony," Wachtel tells the mag.

The bride donned a vintage dress from Paper Bag Princess in Beverly Hills and the groom looked dapper in John Varvatos as they exchanged their Pade Vavra rings.

PHOTOS: Guess the celebrity engagement rings

The Wildabouts rocker first met his now wife back in 2011 while filming music videos for his Christmas album. Scott told Billboard last year he knew when he met Jamie he'd be falling in love with her.

While on the music video shoot, Jamie told him "to tuck in your belly a little bit." He laughs: "It was around the holidays-it was after Thanksgiving, and you know how that tends to be. I was kind of caught off guard, and I started laughing and she started laughing. And I don't know ... something magical happened."

She then gave the rocker a ride home when he "just thought, 'I have a feeling that I am going to fall in love with this woman.'"

Congrats to the happy couple!

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/scott-weiland-marries-girlfriend-jamie-wachtel-6C10423394

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Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Featured Collector: Troy Collman and his Impressive University of ...

We love telling the story of super collectors and what they get excited about collecting. When Upper Deck released the University of Texas Longhorns Football set, it was the perfect product for alumni and fans to go after. Such is the case with Troy Collman and this is his story:

?I am a huge Texas Longhorns fan and have been a season ticket holder for over 20 years. I am a legacy and most of my family attended the University of Texas. We attend all the home games and pick an away game or two as well to get out to. We had the outstanding luck of running into Vince Young at the airport shortly after the 2006 Rose Bowl where Texas won the National Championship in a very memorable game against USC. Getting to meet Vince was a great way to celebrate that title!

University-of-Texas-Longhorns-Football-Super-Fan-Collector-Vince-Young-Revised-High-Res

?I started collecting Texas football memorabilia about 10 years ago and began my collection with Texas Football Media guides. I then moved to other collectibles including autographed footballs, programs, tickets and Texas bowl game memorabilia including rings and watches. What I soon discovered was all these items take up a lot of space and my wife has limited me only to one room so I really needed to find a way to enjoy my hobby, but in a more space friendly way.

University-of-Texas-Longhorns-Football-Super-Fan-Collector-Championship-Rings

University-of-Texas-Longhorns-Football-Super-Fan-Collector-Signed-Footballs-Media-Guides

?When Upper Deck came out with the University of Texas Longhorns Football card set I was ecstatic. I finally had a solution to allow my to continue my love for collecting without taking up more space in the house. I am still about 25 cards short from the full master set (mostly the rarer /3 and /5 cards duo and trio autographs) and am always searching various websites and attending sports memorabilia shows to find them.

University-of-Texas-Longhorns-Football-Super-Fan-Collector-Triple-Autograph-Card

Troy is working hard to complete a master set of the University of Texas Longhorns Football card set from Upper Deck! If you can help, please contact him!

?The most prized card in my collection is the one I received during the last Texas vs. Oklahoma football game for the Red River Rivalry. Upper Deck was at the game creating personal trading cards so I had one made with my daughter. While the outcome of the football game was terrible, the card and memory of attending the game with my daughter was priceless!?

University-of-Texas-Longhorns-Football-Super-Fan-Collector-Personalized-Trading-Card

Collecting can really bring families closer together as this one-of-a-kind trading card proves.

Thanks for sharing Troy. If you are also collecting the set, maybe you can help Tim out with some cards he still needs and perhaps he can in turn help you. Email him at tcollman001@yahoo.com to discuss!

Source: http://upperdeckblog.com/2013/06/featured-collector-troy-collman-and-his-impressive-university-of-texas-longhorns-collection/

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Divided Supreme Court upholds DNA swabbing

The Supreme Court didn?t announce a decision on affirmative action on Monday, but it did rule on a major privacy issue involving DNA tests and arrests.

dnasamplesIn a 5-4 decision in Maryland v. King, the court said that people arrested under probable cause in felony cases can be subject to DNA swabbing, even if they aren?t later charged, tried, and convicted.

At issue in the ruling Monday was if taking DNA samples from a person in custody, without a warrant, was an unconstitutional ?search.?

The Fourth Amendment guarantees a person?s right against unreasonable searches.

Link: Read the court?s decision

?When officers make an arrest supported by probable cause to hold for a serious offense and they bring the suspect to the station to be detained in custody, taking and analyzing a cheek swab of the arrestee?s DNA is, like fingerprinting and photographing, a legitimate police booking procedure that is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment,? said Justice Anthony Kennedy in the court?s majority opinion.

The dissenters included the unusual combination of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, and three liberals: Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

?The court?s assertion that DNA is being taken, not to solve crimes, but to identify those in the state?s custody, taxes the credulity of the credulous,? said Scalia. ?And the court?s comparison of Maryland?s DNA searches to other techniques, such as fingerprinting, can seem apt only to those who know no more than today?s opinion has chosen to tell them about how those DNA searches actually work.?

?Make no mistake about it: because of today?s decision, your DNA can be taken and entered into a national database if you are ever arrested, rightly or wrongly, and for whatever reason,? Scalia said.

The decision in Maryland v. King upheld the rape conviction of Alonzo King. When King was arrested for an alleged assault in 2009, a DNA sample was taken under Maryland law that identified him as a suspect in an unsolved rape from 2003.

About 28 states and the federal government allow taking DNA swabs after arrests.

The Maryland Court of Appeals had reversed King?s rape conviction, saying it was illegal for officers to take King?s DNA sample without approval from a judge.

Recent Constitution Daily Stories

Scorecard: June Supreme Court decisions with wide-ranging impacts
How to judge the Supreme Court?s upcoming equality rulings
Two congressmen insist you aren?t guaranteed a right to vote
Yes, reality TV is talking about the Constitution

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/divided-supreme-court-upholds-dna-swabbing-152613492.html

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Tuesday, June 4, 2013

NFL Communications - NFL Offers Seventh Annual ?NFL Broadcast ...

Top NFL Producers & Talent to Instruct Players:

CBS? James Brown to Serve as Host Joined By

John Saunders, Ron Jaworski, Kenny Albert,

Solomon Wilcots & Dick Vermeil

?Advanced? Curriculum Offered to 4 Former Boot Campers

Players can earn guest hosting opportunity on

NFL TV and radio partners in U.K.

Twenty four current and former NFL players, including Pro Bowlers A.J. HAWK (Green Bay), TORRY HOLT (retired), RICKY WATTERS (retired), ERIC MOULDS (retired), and JEFF FEAGLES (retired) will take part in the seventh annual NFL Broadcast Boot Camp at NFL Films in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey from June 17-20, the NFL announced today.

?This boot camp is more than an introduction to the many facets of the sports broadcasting industry,? says TROY VINCENT, Senior Vice President of NFL Player Engagement. ?It is a hands-on, demanding course for current and former players who seek a career in broadcasting after their NFL playing experience. Nearly 40% of the players who participated in past camps have earned broadcasting jobs.?

The program, directed by the NFL Player Engagement and NFL Broadcasting departments, covers a wide range of topics with instructors from each of the NFL?s broadcast partners ? CBS, ESPN, FOX, NBC, NFL Network, SiriusXM, Dial Global Radio, plus local radio and TV.? It will include hands-on work in areas such as tape study, editing, show preparation, radio production, control room operation, studio preparation, production meetings, field reporting and game preparation.? Each player will tape segments as a studio and game analyst and take part in a networking session with television executives.? Each player also will serve as a live guest host on SiriusXM NFL Radio.

With the longer offseason, the Broadcast Boot Camp is the record 10th post-NFL career training program offered in 2013 by NFL Player Engagement to assist current and former players.? For further information, please visit https://www.nflplayerengagement.com/.

Four veteran Broadcast Boot Campers ? CHAD BROWN (Class of 2012), KEVIN O?CONNELL (2012), TAKEO SPIKES (2007) and ROLAND WILLIAMS (2007) ? will participate in ?Boot Camp Advanced? featuring one-on-one training with faculty members offering extensive training in speech and vocal techniques, getting the most out of production meetings, and studio and play-by-play analysis.

In addition, players from this year?s NFL Broadcast Boot Camp class will have the opportunity to earn a guest hosting spot on one of the league?s United Kingdom broadcasting partners during the 2013 season. Last season former NFL players TROY BROWN and MARK TAUSCHER were selected to serve as studio analysts for an NFL regular-season Sunday on Sky Sports in the U.K.

For the complete release, click here

Source: http://nflcommunications.com/2013/06/03/nfl-offers-seventh-annual-nfl-broadcast-boot-camp-june-17-20/

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A 19th Century Geometry Lesson Makes For Beautiful Wall Art

A 19th Century Geometry Lesson Makes For Beautiful Wall Art

Geometry is one of the few sort of math that uses visual logic?after all, even if you didn't understand whatever problem was on hand, you could usually puzzle it out by simply looking at it.

Back in 1896, students were expected to learn using the same basic principle. These elegant gridded prints?snapped from a vintage Swedish geometry text book?each illustrate a different geometric principle of a An elementary treatise on analytical geometry, the 1860 paper of a French mathematician and astronomer named Jean-Baptiste Biot.

Thankfully, most of us are of an age when we can afford to hang them on our walls, rather than furtively pour over them for the half hour before a test. Hope you did well in school (or are independently wealthy), though: at $995 per piece, these prints are exorbitantly expensive. [Dwell Studio]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/a-19th-century-geometry-lesson-makes-for-beautiful-wall-511301884

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