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This comprehensive book describes cork as a natural product, as an industrial raw-materials, and as a wine bottle closure. From its formation in the outer bark of the cork oak tree to the properties that are of relevance to its use, cork is presented and explained including its physical and mechanical properties.The industrial processing of cork from post-harvest procedures to the production of cork agglomerates and composites is described.Intended as a reference book, this is the ideal compilation of scientific knowledge on state-of-the-art cork production and use Key Features:*Presents comprehensive coverage from cork formation to post-harvest procedures*Explains the physical properties, mechanical properties and quality of cork*Addresses topics of interest for those in food science, agriculture and forestry

Changes in litter and nutrient inputs into soil could have significant consequences on forest carbon (C) dynamics via controls on the structure and microbial utilization of soil organic C (SOC). In this study, we assessed changes in physical fractions (250–2000 µm, 53–250 µm, and < 53 µm soil aggregates) and chemical fractions (labile, intermediate and recalcitrant pools) of SOC in the top 20 cm mineral soil layer and their influences on microbial substrate utilization after eight years of experiment in a mixed pine-oak forest. The litter treatments included: control (Lcon), litter removal (Lnil), fine woody litter addition (Lwoody), leaf litter addition (Lleaf) and a mix of leaf and fine woody litter (Lmix). Nitrogen (N) addition (application rates of 0, 5 and 10 g N m⁻² year⁻¹, respectively) was also applied. We found that complete removal of forest-floor litter (Lnil) significantly reduced the pool sizes of all SOC fractions in both the physical and chemical fractions compared with treatments that retained either leaf litter (Lleaf) or mixture of leaves and fine woody materials (Lmix). The type of litter was more important in affecting SOC fractions than the quantity of inputs; neither the level of N addition rate nor its interaction with litter treatment had significant effects on both physical and chemical SOC fractions. Microbial respiration differed significantly among the treatments of varying litter types. However, the effectiveness of microbial C utilization inferred by microbial C use efficiency and biomass-specific respiration was not affected by either the litter treatments or N addition. These results suggest that despite significant changes in SOC composition due to long-term treatments of forest-floor litter and N addition in this mixed pine-oak forest of temperate climate, microbial C utilization strategies remain unaffected.

Functional diversity is a tool for understanding biological communities and the influence of environmental filters on assembly rules. However, few studies explore the relationships of diversity metrics across contrasting ecosystems. We evaluated the effect of ecosystems (tropical dry forest and pine-oak forest) and seasons (wet and dry) on the functional diversity and community composition of amphibians in western Mexico. Our study showed that associations among metrics of diversity were not constant across contrasting ecosystems. The amphibian communities were related to changes in the environmental variables of elevation, temperature and relative humidity. We analyzed the functional diversity of the amphibian community based on 11 traits related to reproduction, trophic flow and habitat use. Seven functional groups with distinct ecological characteristics were detected, of which, four presented functional redundancy and two were represented by a single species. While the tropical dry forest during the wet season showed the highest species richness, the richness and diversity of functional groups were significantly lower than in the pine-oak forest in both seasons. These results suggest that the seasonal drought in the tropical dry forest could act as an environmental filter, promoting dominance of similar functional traits among species, while limiting similarity could be acting in the pine-oak forest, in the face of relatively stable hydric conditions, allowing a greater functional diversity. Analysis of the relationship between biological communities and ecosystem functioning is necessary to undertake conservation strategies.

Oaks exhibit unique biological characteristics and high adaptability to complex climatic and soil conditions. They are widely distributed across various regions, spanning 40 degrees latitude and 75 degrees longitude. The total area of oak forest in China is 16.72 million hm2. There are 60 lineages of Quercus in China, including 49 species, seven varieties, and four subgenera. Archaeological data indicate that oaks were already widely distributed in ancient times, and they are dominant trees in vast regions of China’s forests. In addition, the acorn was an important food for ancestral humans, and it has accompanied human civilization since the early Paleolithic. Diverse oak species are widely distributed and have great functional value, such as for greening, carbon sequestration, industrial and medicinal uses, and insect rearing. Long-term deforestation, fire, diseases, and pests have led to a continuous decline in oak resources. This study discusses the Quercus species and their distribution in China, ecological adaptation, and the threats facing the propagation and growth of oaks in a changing world. This will give us a better understanding of Quercus resources, and provide guidance on how to protect and better utilize germplasm resources in China. The breeding of new varieties, pest control, and chemical and molecular research also need to be strengthened in future studies.

Forest management allows the sustained removal of significant amounts of carbon from the atmosphere. Within different activities in the forest, wood utilisation has the most significant man-made environmental impact which affects the carbon balance, which is important to know, to be able to accurately identify its role in climate change. This study aims to determine the carbon footprint of logging during utilisation based on scenario analysis in national default and theoretical assortment structures (11 additional scenarios for each forest stand) within the entire life cycle of raw wood products. Based on a common functional unit (100 m 3 of cut wood), a comparative environmental life cycle analysis (LCA) for intermediate and final cutting was performed in shortwood forestry work systems in beech ( Fagus spp. ), oak ( Quercus spp. ), spruce ( Picea spp. ), black locust ( Robinia pseudoacacia ), and hybrid poplar ( Populus x euramericana ) stands in Hungary. After obtaining the results, the present study calculated the carbon footprint order for the utilisation life cycle phases and the entire tree utilisation life cycle. The distribution of absolute carbon footprint (ACF: considered emitted CO 2 from fossil and biotic origins together) by final cutting exhibited the following order: hybrid poplar (6%)—spruce (8%)—beech (26%)—oak (27%)—black locust (33%). The ACF ranking for the whole technological life cycle (intermediate and final cutting, 400 m3 of cut wood) was hybrid poplar– spruce—oak—beech–black locust. The carbon footprint rankings of the studied stands were expanded to the national level.

Recently fledged birds often experience low survival as they undergo rapid changes in their behavior, (e. g., habitat use, mobility, and foraging rate). For species of conservation concern, information about the post-fledging period can be critical for effective management and conservation. We investigated the post-fledging ecology of endangered Golden-cheeked Warblers (Setophaga chrysoparia) in central Texas. Current management guidelines focus on nesting habitat even though songbird fledglings may use entirely different habitats. We radio-tracked fledglings (N = 23) to assess their habitat use, estimate daily survival, and observe age-based behavioral changes. Habitat used by fledglings was similar to adult nesting habitat and was dominated by Ashe juniper (Juniperus asheii; 75%) and oak (Quercus spp.; 21%). Apparent fledgling survival was 65%, and the estimated daily survival rate of fledglings during their first 4 weeks post-fledging was 0.985 (95% CI = 0.971–0.993). To investigate the factors associated with predation, we estimated survival while excluding mortality events due to exposure. Estimated survival was greater in areas with more junipers than oaks. As fledglings aged, use of oaks as foraging substrates increased as did their prey capture rates (nearly twice as many prey captured per hour in oaks than in junipers). Current management recommendations for nesting adult Golden-cheeked Warblers specify maintaining mature juniper–oak forests composed of ~70% juniper, a recommendation that also appears to accommodate fledglings. Fledgling Golden-cheeked Warblers acquire unique benefits from junipers (i.e., safety) and oaks (i.e., foraging opportunities), so management plans should include the maintenance of both junipers and oaks. Aves que recientemente han iniciado la etapa de volantones con frecuencia experimentan baja supervivencia pues pasan por cambios rapidos en su comportamiento, e.g. uso de habitat, movilidad y tasa de forrajeo. Para especies de interes en conservacion, la informacion sobre el periodo posterior al de volantones puede ser critico para el manejo y conservacion efectivo. Investigamos la ecologia posterior al periodo de volantones de la especie amenazada Setophaga chrysoparia en el centro de Texas. Las pautas para el manejo actual estan enfocadas en el habitat de anidamiento, a pesar que los volantones usan habitats completamente diferentes. Monitoreamos volantones por medio de radio transmisores (N = 23) para determinar el uso de habitat, estimar la probabilidad diaria de supervivencia y observar cambios en el comportamiento basados en la edad. El habitat usado por los volantones fue similar al habitat de anidacion de los adultos y estuvo dominado por Enebros (Juniperus asheii; 75%) y Robles (Quercus spp; 21%). La supervivencia aparente fue del 65% y la tasa de supervivencia diaria estimada de los volantones durante sus primeras cuatro semanas despues de salir del nido fue de 0.985 (95% CI = 0.971–0.993). Para investigar los factores asociados con la depredacion, estimamos la supervivencia excluyendo los eventos de mortalidad debido a la exposicion. La supervivencia estimada fue mayor en areas con mas Enebros que robles. A medida que los volantones crecen, el uso de los robles como substrato de forrajeo incremento asi como la tasa de captura de sus presas (casi dos veces mas presas capturadas por hora en robles que en Enebros). Las recomendaciones de manejo actual para los adultos en anidacion de Setophaga chrysoparia especifican el mantenimiento de los bosques de Enebros-Robles, compuestos por ~70% Enebros, una recomendacion que tambien parece acomodarse a los volantones. Los volantones de Setophaga chrysoparia adquieren beneficios unicos de los Enebros (i. e. seguridad) y robles (i.e., oportunidades de forrajeo), por lo que los planes de manejo deben incluir el mantenimiento de ambos, Enebros y Robles.

The Gray Vireo (Vireo vicinior) is a scarcely studied species of the arid mountains of the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico, especially in the eastern part of its known range. Between May–August 2013, we located 10 nests of the Gray Vireo at the eastern canyons of the Sierra La Paila, Coahuila, Mexico; approximately 300 km SE from the closest known breeding population in Sierra Maderas del Carmen. Gray oaks (Quercus grisea) were the main nesting plant, followed by shrubby bullseyes (Nahuatlea hypoleuca). We recorded three new nesting plant species for the Gray Vireo. Six of the eight monitored nests were successful and two were abandoned due to Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothus ater) brood parasitism. This new population stands out as the southernmost, extends the breeding range of the Gray Vireo to the southeast of Coahuila, and raises questions about their potentially distinctive seasonal status, breeding ecology, and habitat use. The discovery of this breeding range extension implies the existence of more undiscovered reproductive populations throughout arid mountains of the northern Sierra Madre Oriental. El vireo gris (Vireo vicinior) es una especie poco estudiada de las montañas áridas del suroeste de Estados Unidos y el norte de México, especialmente en la parte oriental de su área de distribución conocida. Entre mayo–agosto de 2013 localizamos 10 nidos del vireo gris en los cañones orientales de la Sierra La Paila, Coahuila, México; aproximadamente 300 km al SE de la población reproductora conocida más cercana en Sierra Maderas del Carmen. Los encinos grises (Quercus grisea) fueron la principal planta usada para la anidación, seguidos por chomonques (Nahuatlea hypoleuca). Se registraron tres nuevas especies de plantas para anidación de vireo gris. Seis de los ocho nidos monitoreados tuvieron éxito y dos fueron abandonados debido al parasitismo de nido del tordo cabeza café (Molothus ater). Esta nueva población destaca como la más austral, amplía el área de reproducción del vireo gris hacia el sureste de Coahuila y plantea preguntas sobre su estatus migratorio o residente potencialmente distintivo, su ecología reproductiva y el uso de su hábitat. El descubrimiento de esta extensión del rango reproductivo implica la existencia de más poblaciones reproductivas no descubiertas en las sierras áridas del norte de la Sierra Madre Oriental. PALABRAS CLAVE chomonque; Coahuila; distribución reproductiva propuesta; encino gris; nueva población reproductiva; nuevas plantas para anidación; Sierra La Paila

Anthropogenic pressures have altered fire regimes across the western United States. These altered fire regimes, and the megafires they often produce, threaten ecologically and economically critical ecosystems and biodiversity across this region. Oak woodland savannas may be particularly sensitive to altered fire regimes, but there remains a significant gap in our understanding of how different characteristics of wildfire impact these ecosystems and the wildlife species that reside within them. In this study, we used an occupancy modeling framework to investigate how fire severity and pyrodiversity, the diversity of severity patches, impact the distributions of bird and bat species assemblages following a major wildfire in northern California. We used acoustic monitors deployed across the Hopland Research and Extension Center following the 2018 Mendocino Complex Fire and compared how patterns of fire severity and pyrodiversity influence habitat preferences across a diverse community of woodland bird and bat species. We found that fire enhances habitat use and increases occupancy for several species and species groups across both taxonomic groups. Specifically, low‐to‐moderate severity fire increased occupancy for several species and species groups. Pyrodiversity had smaller, negligible effects on species distributions relative to fire severity. Fires that reproduce the natural heterogeneity of oak woodland landscapes are likely key to sustaining high biodiversity across oak woodland ecosystems.

Monocultured pine plantation is suffering ecological degradation that is highly associated with low regeneration. Decomposed litter is an important soil amendment for enhancing regeneration through promoting nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) uptakes and utilizations. It is necessary to detect key soil attributes that contributed to this positive effect for regenerations in pine plantations. In this study, in-situ soils and litter were collected from local Chinese pine (Pinus tabuliformis Carr.) plantations (objective) and secondary forests dominated by Liaodong oak (Quercus liaotungensis Koidz.) (control). Soils were used for culturing one-year-old Chinese pine and Liaodong oak seedlings with a prolonged photoperiod in a greenhouse. Litter was composted with effective microorganisms and mixed to soils at ratios of 0% (control), 25%, and 50% (v/v). Compared to the control, the 25% ratio decreased shoot height and root-collar diameter, and the 50% ratio decreased the comprehensive seedling quality. Decomposed litter addition reduced shoot biomass and P content in pine seedlings and utilizations for N and P in both species. Multivariate linear regression indicated that high pH in growing media impaired root P content and biomass increments in shoot and root parts, and high organic matter content inhibited N content and concentration in shoots. Overall, the addition of decomposed litter resulted in overdoses of nutrient supply for both species. Our results contradict the argument that N and P released from decomposed litter are both beneficial for regenerations in plantations, neither did in secondary forests.