Forests are among the most important repositories of terrestrial biodiversity and provide a broad range of ecosystem services. During millennia, forests have changed, adapted and evolved under changing conditions. However, in the present century, forests are facing environmental changes at rates with no precedents. A major concern is the risk of declining forest genetic diversity, since genetic variation as the raw material underpinning adaptation is key in maintaining the resilience of forest ecosystems against environmental changes. Understanding the different processes responsible for developing and maintaining the genetic diversity of tree species is essential to better predict tree responses under new conditions. Therefore, this thesis aimed to determine how different forces interact to shape and maintain within and among population genetic diversity of Scots pine and what the implications are for conservation and management under forthcoming environmental conditions. From local to continental scales, I followed a multilevel approach, and found that (i) historic climate changes and geographical barriers have played an important role in shaping the extent and spatial distribution of current genetic diversity of Scots pine. Despite contemporary habitat reduction and fragmentation we found that (ii) high levels of neutral genetic diversity remain in the Scottish populations of Scots pine, with gene flow and specifically wind-driven gene flow dominating over genetic drift and preventing differentiation among the Scottish populations. However, (iii) considerable impacts in the spatial distribution of genetic variation have occurred as a consequence of intensive historical forest management practices. Furthermore, we found that (iv) substantial levels of adaptive genetic variation are present in the Scottish populations of Scots pine, likely a result of selective processes resulting from the different environments they live in, with highly heritable traits, although similar capacity for response through phenotypic plasticity to warming. The results of this thesis help to further disentangle the forces maintaining genetic diversity in one of most widespread conifers in the world, and improving predictions of likely range shifts and adaptation of the species in response to contemporary changes. The thesis provides some recommendations to conservation and management practices.

Part 1 of this thesis comprises a biography which, for the first time, places Marion Angus within her historical, family and social context. A version of this was published as the introduction to my edited collection The Singin Lass: Selected Work of Marion Angus (Polygon, 2006). Assumptions made about the poet's activities and attitudes derive from critical reading of archival material: her published 'diaries', letters and prose, as well as her poetry. The appraisal of her work places it within literary contexts. The development of her linguistic awareness of the Scots language is traced and the extent of her commitment to it noted. I conclude that assessment of her work has frequently been affected by erroneous judgements about her lifestyle and that the poetry, which has greater depth than it sometimes is given credit for, illuminates her struggle rather than defines her character. Her strength and resilience, as well as her contribution to Scots literature, should be respected and admired. Part II comprises three extracts from Blackthorn, a novel based on aspects of the life and work of Marion Angus. My starting point was the marked contrast between her earlier prose and her later poetry. This, I believe, reflects an actual family crisis which is central to my narrative. The extracts presented here (dated 1900, 1930 and 1945-46) present a credible alternative to inaccurate assumptions which were made about her life. I explore two actual significant relationships in her life: with a sister who becomes wholly dependent on her, and with a younger friend who looks after her in her final year. In the absence of any firm evidence of lovers, I speculate on other relationships.

Tyrimų rezultate buvo nustatyti trako ir gyvosios dirvožemio dangos pokyčiai pušynuose po atvejinių kirtimų I atvejo Na, Nb, Nc, Lb augavietėse bei įvertinti pomiškio gausumo pokyčiai. Įvertinta gyvosios dirvožemio dangos įtaka paprastosios pušies savaiminukų gausumui po I kirtimų atvejo tirtose augavietėse. Įvertintos kirtaviečių ekologinės sąlygos pagal Elenbergo fitoindikacinės skalės indikatorines vertes skirtingose augavietėse. Nustatyta smiltyninio ir miškinio lendrūnų fitometrinių parametrų ir elementinės sudėties pokyčiai po atvejinių kirtimų I atvejo. Atliktais tyrimais nustatyti dirvožemio cheminių savybių pokyčiai. Palyginta plynųjų ir atvejinių kirtimų įtaka dirvožemio temperatūros ir drėgnio, mineralinio azoto, ir kvėpavimo intensyvumo pokyčiams. / Results of the research allowed determining the changes of undergrowth and ground vegetation in pine forest after the first step of shelterwood cuttings in Na, Nb, Nc and Lb sites and to evaluate the alterations of saplings abundance. The influence of ground vegetation on the abundance of Scotch Pine sapling after the first step of shelterwood cuttings in investigated sites was assessed. Ecological conditions of cutting sites in different soil sites were estimated according to Ellenberg’s indicator values for phytoindication. The alterations of morphometric indices and chemical composition of wood small-reed and rough small-reed after the first step of shelterwood cuttings were assessed. The changes of soil chemical characteristics were determined after investigation. The influence of clear cuttings and shelterwood cuttings on the alterations of soil moisture, temperature, mineral nitrogen and respiration intensity was compared.

Thesis (doctoral)--Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 2006. / Thesis documentation sheet inserted. Errata sheet inserted. Appendix reprints four papers and manuscripts co-authored with others. Includes bibliographical references. Issued also electronically via World Wide Web in PDF format; online version lacks appendix.

The usage of biofuel as well as wood fuel has increased in Sweden and all of Europe during recent decades, and there are several reasons to believe that this increase will continue. An important reason for this increase is that the environmental and climate problems caused by fossil fuels are becoming even more evident. By replacing fossil fuel with biofuel, the problem of emissions from, among others carbon dioxide and sulphur compounds can be alleviated. However, substitution requires in many cases high quality processed biofuel. An early stage in the processing of biofuel is drying. Previous work treats the possibility of drying wood fuel in an efficient and environmentally sustainable manner. This thesis studies the bed drying technique, conducted both experimentally and through modeling of the drying process. The experimental work is based on continuous temperature measurements in the fuel bed and provides characteristics of the drying zone that develops in the bed during drying. The character of the drying zone is affected by both the qualities of the fuel and the operating parameters, and is decisive regarding the possibility of making the drying more efficient, i.e. optimize the usage of energy and produce a fuel with low and homogeneous moisture content. A mathematical simulation model has been developed to increase the understanding of bed drying. The model is based on fundamental physical principles and is made up of five differential equations that describe vapor flow, air flow, the fuel’s moisture content, and the bed’s pressure and temperature. The modeling work complements the experimental work and a simulation of the temperature distribution, pressure and the drying zone’s dispersion is in agreement with the experimental result. The drying of wood can signify an environmental and human health risk, since volatile organic compounds (VOC) are emitted during drying. The thesis studies these emissions with regards to type and quantity. The measurements show that the majority of the emitted compounds from Norway spruce and Scots pine are volatile monoterpenes, but also that other compounds are emitted, especially higher terpenes. Further, major differences between how the compounds are emitted and the quantities of the emitted compounds from heartwood and sapwood are shown. There are also large differences between types of wood, i.e. spruce and pine. It can be stated that both emission rate and total amount of emitted compounds increase with an increase in temperature. To reduce VOC emissions, the drying temperature should be maintained low. To develop an efficient bed drying process for wood biofuels, additional parameters must be analyzed further and weighed against each other. Based on the experimental method and the simulation model presented here, the drying can be optimized towards a more efficient use of thermal energy and a low and even moisture content in the dried biofuel.

Thesis (doctoral)--Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 2003. / Thesis documentation sheet inserted. Appendix reproduces four papers and manuscripts co-authored with others. Includes bibliographical references. Also issued electronically via World Wide Web in PDF format; online version lacks appendix.

The aim of this study is to investigate the possibilities of pine natural regeneration in different nature regions in the clear-cuts with main site types. The tasks of this work are: 1. to estimate a potential possibilities of pinewood natural regeneration; 2. to find out the ecological factors, that have a great influence on pine sprouts on the Na (dry not fertile), Nb (dry less than average fertile) and Lb (with excess water and less than average fertile) site types and to set their critical borders; 3. to find out the main economical factors, that promotes pine regeneration (site preparation, seed trees, shelter wood); 4. to prepare the recommendations to promote the pinewood natural regeneration. Recency and originality. This is the first investigations were made in complexly including the most common sites in Lithuania for pinewood (Na, Nb and Lb site types) in the three native regions covering largest part of Lithuania. This enables to make prognoses of pinewood regeneration in those regions on the mentioned site index. For the first time there were defined the sufficiency of the shelter-seed trees for regeneration and their distribution in a clear and step wise cutted areas to ensure the natural regeneration of pine. There were found that 2-3 point yield of pine seeds (under Capper) and on the time and in right way implemented encouragements, ensure natural pine regeneration after clear or step wise cuttings. Following the results, it was suggested to advance the... [to full text]

Darbo tikslas Nustatyti paprastosios pušies (Pinus sylvestris L.) klonų išsilaikymą ir fenologijos ypatumus lokalios amoniako taršos sąlygomis. Darbo objektas Tyrimai 2011 m. vykdyti Jonavos miškų urėdijos, Pagelažių girininkijos teritorijoje, esančiose sėklinėje plantacijoje, kuri nuo AB „Achemos yra nutolusi 6 km. Sėklinė plantacija buvo įveista 1966-1971 m. Pasodinta 30 vietinės kilmės pliusinių medžių klonų, naudota kvadratinė schema. Metodika Buvo išmatuoti visų medžių skersmenys Šiaurės-Pietų ir Vakarų-Rytų kryptimis bei įvertinta defoliacija. Apskaičiuoti visų medžių klonų vidurkiai, F kriterijus, bei paveldėjimo koeficientas. Duomenų analizei panaudota programa STATISTICA. Darbo rezultatai Tarp nagrinėjamų parametrų tarp atskirų klonų buvo esminiai genetiniai skirtumai. Paveldėjimo koeficientas − nuo 0.13 iki 0.18. Defoliacijos paveldėjimo koeficientas buvo didesnis negu skersmens. Išskirti atskiri klonai, kurių parametrai turi esminį skirtumą. Mažesnės defoliacijos klonai buvo didesnio skersmens. Darytina prielaida, kad šie klonai gerai toleruoja aplinkos taršą. Šiai hipotezei patvirtinti reikalinga klonų metinio radialinio prieaugio genetinio salygotumo tyrimas, skirtingose oro amoniako taršos koncentracijose. / Purpose The aim of the study was to determine retenton and phenology of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) clones under local ammonia pollution condition. Object Investigation was accomplised in seed plantation of Pageleziai forestry of Jonava forestry district distance 6 km from nitrogen fertilizer factory. Seed plantation was created in 1966-1971 m. There was planted 30 local genesis plus trees of Scots pine clones and exposition of field with quadratic scheme. Methods During investigation was measured all trees diametrical values of the North-South and West-East direction and the same valued defoliation. All trees were calculated means, F-test, and heritage coefficient. Describing data analysis used STATISTICA. Results Investigation between all parameters and individual clones assessed significant genetics differences. Heritage coefficient range between 0.13 and 0.18. Heritage coefficient of the defoliation were larger than diametrical values. Seperation of the individual clones parameters showed significant diferences. Clones with less defoliation were larger diameters. Assumption of this study is that these clones can tolerate environmental pollution. The hypothesis confirmed are needed annual radial increment of the clones study of the genetic conventionality under different concentration of air ammonia pollution.

Lietuvoje iki 90% energijos gamybai naudojamos biomasės sudaro mediena. Iš miško išvežant visas miško kirtimo atliekas, o ne paliekant natūraliam suirimui, maisto medžiagų nuostoliai miško ekosistemoje padidėja iki 5 kartų. Kompensuojamasis miškų tręšimas medienos kuro pelenais – tai vienas iš būdų grąžinti maisto medžiagas į miško ekosistemą. Darbe įvertintas kompensuojamojo tręšimo medienos kuro pelenais diferencijuotas ir kompleksinis (kartu su azotu) poveikis brukninių pušynų gyvosios dirvožemio dangos struktūrai bei biomasės cheminei sudėčiai. Pirmą kartą Lietuvoje tiriamas ilgalaikio tręšimo azotu bei didelių azoto dozių poveikis brukninių pušynų, augančių nederlinguose smėlžemiuose, gyvosios dirvožemio dangos rūšių sudėčiai bei gausumui. Nustatytas foninių azoto iškritų sąlygotas nitrofilinių augalų rūšių išplitimas brukninių pušynų (Vaccinio-Pinetum) gyvojoje dirvožemio dangoje. Ištirtas miško ekosistemos edifikatorių konkurencinis poveikis rizosferoje: dirvožemio drėgniui, pH bei cheminei sudėčiai, žolių/krūmokšnių padengimui bei biomasei, gyvosios dirvožemio dangos dominanto bruknės (Vaccinium vitis-idea L.) biomasei bei biomasės cheminei sudėčiai. Atlikti tyrimai leidžia daryti išvadas, kad samanų rūšims tiek medienos kuro pelenų, tiek azoto poveikis yra neigiamas, tuo tarpu žolių/krūmokšnių rūšims – teigiamas. Visgi, azoto poveikis žolių/krūmokšnių rūšims priklauso ne tik nuo dozės, bet ir nuo patekimo į miško ekosistemą dažnio. Brukniniuose pušynuose... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / In Lithuania the energy production from the forest wood comprises up to 90% of the total biomass derived energy. Increasing use of wood fuel increases the removal of the plant essential nutrients from the ecosystem because the branches, tops and needles/leaves contain relatively higher amount of the nutrients than stems. If to compare with the removal of the stems-only, the nutrient losses from the forest ecosystem increase up to 5 times. One way to return nutrients to the ecosystem is to apply forest fuel waste – wood ash - as fertilizers. In this study the effects of the differential wood ash fertilization and ash fertilization in complex with nitrogen on the ground vegetation structure (species composition, abundance), biomass and chemical composition in Pinus sylvestris stands (forest type – Vaccinio-Pinetum) was estimated. For the first time, the long-term impact of nitrogen as well the influence of the high nitrogen doses on ground vegetation structure and abundance in Scots pine stands growing on infertile sandy soils (Haplic Arenosols) were studied in Lithuania. The spreading of the nitrophylous plant species in the ground vegetation in pine stands during 20 years period were detected. The role of the trees competition in the soil rhizosphere zone on ground vegetation was analysed. The following soil and ground vegetation parameters were estimated: soil moisture, pH and chemical composition, also the biomass of vascular plants, coverage, biomass and chemical... [to full text]

The presented diploma thesis studies extreme growth depressions of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in Central Europe. Examination of significant growth anomalies (pointer year analysis) is one of the methods, which investigates the reactions of forest stands to the ongoing climate change. Dendrochronological data was obtained from Czechia (23 sites) and Slovakia (4 sites). The main hypotheses of the thesis states that the extreme growth depressions relate to climatic anomalies, hence they can be explained geographically. The objectives were to 1) create a Cropper values chronology for each site which describes growth extreme depressions; 2) explain climatic causes of negative Cropper values for each site; 3) define geographical predispositions of a spatial distribution of extreme growth depressions; 4) spatially interpolate extreme growth depressions. The calculation of Cropper values was based on a normalisation in a moving window method with a 13-year window size and the input data detrended by a 50-year cubic smoothing spline. Created chronologies were correlated with monthly climate data (temperatures, precipitation, SPEI). Geographical predispositions of the spatial distribution of growth depressions were calculated using a hierarchical cluster analysis. The cluster analysis was also applied...