Juniper Publishers Ecology Open Access Journals

  Juniper Publishers - Open Access Journal of Ecology Introduction Natural treelines in high-mountain regions are considered as excellent and broad-scale indicators of biological responses to climate change and variability [1-10]. Since the early 20th century, treelines of different species have advanced by maximum 200-245 altitudinal meters in the Swedish Scandes, while the forest limit has changed substantially less in elevation [3,11]. Treeline is here taken in a broad sense, as the transition zone (ecotone) between the closed forest and the treeline proper, i.e. the highest trees of a specific species, with a minimum height of 2 m. Up to the present most studies have focused on the treeline with this narrow definition, since spatially-precise early 20th century measurements exist from a large area in the Swedish Scandes. Studies of the entire treeline ecotone are constrained by lack of stringent and repeatable old records and the strongly shifting structure and c...

Juniper Publishers - Open Access Journal of Ecology Introduction Natural treelines in high-mountain regions are considered as excellent and broad-scale indicators of biological responses to climate change and variability [1-10]. Since the early 20th century, treelines of different species have advanced by maximum 200-245 altitudinal meters in the Swedish Scandes, while the forest limit has changed substantially less in elevation [3,11]. Treeline is here taken in a broad sense, as the transition zone (ecotone) between the closed forest and the treeline proper, i.e. the highest trees of a specific species, with a minimum height of 2 m. Up to the present most studies have focused on the treeline with this narrow definition, since spatially-precise early 20th century measurements exist from a large area in the Swedish Scandes. Studies of the entire treeline ecotone are constrained by lack of stringent and repeatable old records and the strongly shifting structure and configu...

Juniper Publishers - Open Access Journal of Ecology Introduction Ecology is a relatively young science. Although its historical roots are quite deep, it was not until the second half of the 20th century that it became a separate and legitimate discipline within biology [1]. Ecology is the study of the myriad, complex interrelationships between and among living things and their environment, including how those interactions influence their survival. These ideas were early on adopted by another new discipline, the social sciences, with the earliest efforts to introduce ecological concepts found in the writings of Kurt Lewin [2]. However, four decades later noted psychologist, Urie Bronfenbrenner [3], utilized ecological constructs to formulate his Ecological Systems Theory and associated bio-ecological model. The model described how human development is influenced by myriad interactions between children and their environments, from the most immediate home ecological system, o...

  Juniper Publishers - Open Access Journal of Ecology Introduction How is the New Life Capsule NLC constructed and how does it work? The New Life Capsule NLC is a biological reactor whose idea is to create the right conditions for living together for algae and fungi. The algae would provide fungi with oxygen, and they would themselves take in the carbon dioxide necessary in the process of photosynthesis. The device has an advantage over the biological reactors used so far, because the influence of unfavorable weather conditions on the functioning of the biological reactor is significant. The New Life Capsule NLC has two most important structural elements. These are: the algal reactor A and the fungi reactor B. Algae develop in the upper reactor A. They need water and a mineral nutrient. Water appears in the condensed water station [1] as a result of changes in the temperature of the air heated during the day and cooled down during the night. Water flows by gravity to the...