Legacy effects of grassland management on soil carbon to depth.

The importance of managing land to optimize carbon sequestration for climate change mitigation is widely recognized, with grasslands being identified as having the potential to sequester additional carbon. However, most soil carbon inventories only consider surface soils, and most large-scale surveys group ecosystems into broad habitats without considering management intensity. Consequently, little is known about the quantity of deep soil carbon and its sensitivity to management. From a nationwide survey of grassland soils to 1 m depth, we show that carbon in grassland soils is vulnerable to management and that these management effects can be detected to considerable depth down the soil profile, albeit at decreasing significance with depth. Carbon concentrations in soil decreased as management intensity increased, but greatest soil carbon stocks (accounting for bulk density differences), were at intermediate levels of management. Our study also highlights the considerable amounts of carbon in subsurface soil below 30 cm, which is missed by standard carbon inventories. We estimate grassland soil carbon in Great Britain to be 2097 Tg C to a depth of 1 m, with ~60% of this carbon being below 30 cm. Total stocks of soil carbon (t ha(-1) ) to 1 m depth were 10.7% greater at intermediate relative to intensive management, which equates to 10.1 t ha(-1) in surface soils (0-30 cm), and 13.7 t ha(-1) in soils from 30 to 100 cm depth. Our findings highlight the existence of substantial carbon stocks at depth in grassland soils that are sensitive to management. This is of high relevance globally, given the extent of land cover and large stocks of carbon held in temperate managed grasslands. Our findings have implications for the future management of grasslands for carbon storage and climate mitigation, and for global carbon models which do not currently account for changes in soil carbon to depth with management.

Parasitic plants indirectly regulate below-ground properties in grassland ecosystems.

Parasitic plants are one of the most ubiquitous groups of generalist parasites in both natural and managed ecosystems, with over 3,000 known species worldwide. Although much is known about how parasitic plants influence host performance, their role as drivers of community- and ecosystem-level properties remains largely unexplored. Parasitic plants have the potential to influence directly the productivity and structure of plant communities because they cause harm to particular host plants, indirectly increasing the competitive status of non-host species. Such parasite-driven above-ground effects might also have important indirect consequences through altering the quantity and quality of resources that enter soil, thereby affecting the activity of decomposer organisms. Here we show in model grassland communities that the parasitic plant Rhinanthus minor, which occurs widely throughout Europe and North America, has strong direct effects on above-ground community properties, increasing plant diversity and reducing productivity. We also show that these direct effects of R. minor on the plant community have marked indirect effects on below-ground properties, ultimately increasing rates of nitrogen cycling. Our study provides evidence that parasitic plants act as a major driver of both above-ground and below-ground properties of grassland ecosystems.

Use of plant-derived products to control arthropods of veterinary importance: a review.

The use of synthetic products in veterinary pest management is becoming increasingly problematic. Issues, including pest resistance, product withdrawal, undesirable environmental persistence, and high mammalian toxicity associated with synthetic pesticides, are driving research to identify new pest management approaches. One approach employs the repellent/toxic effects of plant-derived products (PDPs). Several pesticides based on PDPs are already available in some areas of pest management. This review highlights instances in which such products have been used with success against pests of domestic animals, livestock, apiculture, and poultry.

Case report: Myofascial pain syndrome: a double crush-like appearance.

OBJECTIVE: To discuss the case of a patient with myofascial pain syndrome that appeared similar to double crush syndrome. CLINICAL FEATURES: This is a case report of a 45-year old female who presents to the private practice clinic with the same signs and symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, 1 year post-carpaltunnel surgery. The history is consistent with injuries that result in double crush syndrome and thoracic outlet syndrome. The patient history includes a motor vehicle accident (MVA) in 1963 that resulted in a prolonged hospital stay and fracture of a cervical vertebral (C4) body. She fractured the olecranon process of the right elbow during a fall in 1970's. She has smoked approximately 1 pack a day for 20 years. Her job involves long periods of sitting at a keyboard and in a car. All of these portions of the patient history are possible factors in the clinical signs and symptoms of double crush syndrome. INTERVENTION AND OUTCOME: Treatment involved chiropractic manipulation and physical therapy modalities for the elimination of pain and returning the patient's full range of motion in the wrist, elbow, shoulder and cervical spine. After range of motion was restored, a home exercise program was initiated. The home exercise program included a return to past sporting activity and active, resistive (Theraciser band) activities for the elbow and cervical spine. Also a reduction in smoking was initiated as part of the patient's treatment plan. CONCLUSION: It is our contention that patients who have electromyographic (EMG) demonstrable carpal tunnel syndrome need a cervical spine workup and a period of conservative care to include skilled manipulation, physical therapy and home exercises before surgery is recommended.