The root systems of two sugar maple groves, one on acidic parent material, the other on calcareou... more The root systems of two sugar maple groves, one on acidic parent material, the other on calcareous parent material, were studied in Quebec. The microrelief of both sites consisted of bumps and holes. Bumps represented 65% of the area. On acidic parent material, the roots > 1 cm in diameter were more than 5 m long. On calcareous parent material, they rarely exceeded 4 m in length. These larger roots branched out into many smaller roots in all directions in the bumps, and in the upper soil horizons of the holes. In the acidic site, the rootlet mass was smaller (about 16 t•ha−1) than that observed in calcareous site (about 19 t•ha−1). In both sites, rootlet mass was higher in the bumps (14–17 t•ha−1) than in holes (2–4 t•ha−1). In bumps, 80 and 69% of these rootlets grew in the B horizons in acidic and calcareous sites, respectively. In the holes, rootlets were concentrated (> 65%) in the F and Ah horizons. In the acidic site, rootlets
Este trabajo tiene como objetivo analizar la distribución espacio-temporal de las actividades ext... more Este trabajo tiene como objetivo analizar la distribución espacio-temporal de las actividades extractivas del bosque en un ejido del sur de la península de Yucatán, con el fin de evaluar su impacto potencial sobre la conservación de los recursos naturales. Se eligieron como actividades extractivas la recolecta de leña, la extracción de chicle, la extracción de madera y la cacería. Además, se incluyó a la milpa debido a que su práctica está íntimamente relacionada con la dinámica del bosque y con otras de las actividades evaluadas. Se entrevistaron a 32 ejidatarios con un cuestionario estructurado para obtener información referente a las actividades extractivas en el ejido. Posteriormente, con ayuda de un gps, se ubicaron espacialmente los sitios donde se desarrollan. Se calculó un índice de perturbación para cada actividad para elaborar un mapa de sensibilidad basado en la suma espacial de los índices de perturbación. La actividad con mayor índice de perturbación fue la milpa, debid...
The lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris Linnaeus, 1758) is the largest mammalian herbivore in Brazi... more The lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris Linnaeus, 1758) is the largest mammalian herbivore in Brazil. Only small numbers remain in Atlantic Forest fragments in north-east Brazil. The population downfall of the lowland tapir is linked to hunting, and to the destruction and fragmentation of its habitat. Changes in the environment may impact the diet of this potentially at-risk mammal. We focused on tapirs living in the Mata dos Pintos, a 3 000 ha forest fragment on the Usina Serra Grande land (state of Alagoas, Brazil). We determined diet by following the paths of tapirs to collect plant species they foraged on. Foraging occurrence was assessed by visual identification of markings (teeth marks on stems and leaves) and seeds identification in the feces. Fifty-five plant species were identified as consumed by tapirs of Mata dos Pintos including 42 browsed species. The mostcommon plant families consumed were Rubiaceae, Melastomataceae and Arecaceae, which are all specific to secondary fore...
In the present study, sludge composition from 112 municipalities in southern Quebec, Canada, were... more In the present study, sludge composition from 112 municipalities in southern Quebec, Canada, were studied in order to examine the potential of alternative, environmentally sound sludge disposal, such as land application. Twenty-four municipalities with complete data set produced 24,000 dry tons of sludge per year. Of this amount, 47% (11,000 dry tons) could potentially be used for agricultural land application, according to Quebec standards. The other municipalities could not use their sludge for agricultural land application because of heavy metal contamination. The available areas of agricultural lands in southern Quebec are limited to about 149,454 ha. Considering that only 15% of this surface is adequate for sludge application and that a large part is already applied with manure, only 86,683 ha could be used for sludge application. Geographical Information System modeling in a smaller portion of this region showed that another 38% of land must be removed for other reasons, e.g.,...
Disposal of sewage sludge on agricultural or forest lands has been shown to be an economical mean... more Disposal of sewage sludge on agricultural or forest lands has been shown to be an economical means of sludge disposal which reduces the amount of waste going to landfills and returns nutrients to the soil. The heavy metal content of sludge generally depends on the composition of influents and on the treatment process. The present study considers the sludge chemical composition of 23 municipalities in southern Quebec and the heavy metal concentrations in their respective drinking water supplies. This study attempts to determine the main multielement relationships characterizing sludge composition, and to verify the occurrence of a possible link between chemical element concentration in sludge and in water supplies. The main phenomena influencing the chemical composition of municipal sewage sludge were modeled by using principal component analysis. The analysis shows that Cu concentration in sludges highly correlates with the organic nitrogen, and a series of metals (Cd-Co-Cr-Ni-Pb) a...
Abstract: Carbon (C) content in several forest ecosystem pools, including trees, understory speci... more Abstract: Carbon (C) content in several forest ecosystem pools, including trees, understory species, downed logs, litter, soil organic and mineral layers, and fine roots, and tree growth were compared in balsam fir (Abies balsamea) and black spruce (Picea mariana) ecosystems located along a climatic gradient in eastern Canada spanning regions that differed by 4 °C in mean annual temperature. A total of 19 experimental sites were established, 12 in balsam fir ecosystems and 7 in black spruce ecosystems. Diameter at breast height (dbh), height growth rate, and C contents in trees, understory species, downed logs, litter, and soil organic and mineral layers did not differ significantly between northern and southern experimental sites (P < 0.05). The only C pool that differed significantly among the regions was fine roots. Tree ring data collected on trees greater than 5 cm in dbh at all the sites were related to monthly climatic data between April and October, the active physiological season at the latitudes of the study. The relationships derived indicated that the differential effects of significant climatic variables along the climatic gradient were more important for black spruce than balsam fir. These results suggest that the changes in climatic conditions in the next 100 y may have a relatively small effect on the productivity and C allocation of both forest types when located within a range of climatic conditions similar to those of this study.
A anta (Tapirus terrestris Linnaeus, 1758) é o maior mamífero herbívoro do Brasil. A população de... more A anta (Tapirus terrestris Linnaeus, 1758) é o maior mamífero herbívoro do Brasil. A população de anta está restrita somente a poucos indivíduos, nos fragmentos de mata Atlântica do nordeste brasileiro. Esta população reduzida está ligada à caça, à destruição e à fragmentação de seu habitat, uma vez que as mudanças ocorridas em seu ambiente podem impactar sua rotina diária e sua dieta. Duas antas que vivem no fragmento ”Mata dos Pintos”, Usina Serra Grande (Alagoas) foram o foco principal deste trabalho. A dieta das antas foi determinada seguindo suas trilhas. As plantas que apresentavam marcas de dentes nos caules e folhas foram coletadas, bem como as sementes encontradas nos excrementos. Quarenta e duas espécies vegetais foram consumidas pelas antas da mata dos Pintos, das quais as mais frequentes foram Rubiaceae, Melastomataceae e Arecaceae, típicas de florestas secundárias. Sementes de dezenove espécies foram encontradas nos excrementos das antas, destas 15 estavam intactas, sen...
The root systems of two sugar maple groves, one on acidic parent material, the other on calcareou... more The root systems of two sugar maple groves, one on acidic parent material, the other on calcareous parent material, were studied in Quebec. The microrelief of both sites consisted of bumps and holes. Bumps represented 65% of the area. On acidic parent material, the roots &amp;amp;gt; 1 cm in diameter were more than 5 m long. On calcareous parent material, they rarely exceeded 4 m in length. These larger roots branched out into many smaller roots in all directions in the bumps, and in the upper soil horizons of the holes. In the acidic site, the rootlet mass was smaller (about 16 t•ha−1) than that observed in calcareous site (about 19 t•ha−1). In both sites, rootlet mass was higher in the bumps (14–17 t•ha−1) than in holes (2–4 t•ha−1). In bumps, 80 and 69% of these rootlets grew in the B horizons in acidic and calcareous sites, respectively. In the holes, rootlets were concentrated (&amp;amp;gt; 65%) in the F and Ah horizons. In the acidic site, rootlets
Este trabajo tiene como objetivo analizar la distribución espacio-temporal de las actividades ext... more Este trabajo tiene como objetivo analizar la distribución espacio-temporal de las actividades extractivas del bosque en un ejido del sur de la península de Yucatán, con el fin de evaluar su impacto potencial sobre la conservación de los recursos naturales. Se eligieron como actividades extractivas la recolecta de leña, la extracción de chicle, la extracción de madera y la cacería. Además, se incluyó a la milpa debido a que su práctica está íntimamente relacionada con la dinámica del bosque y con otras de las actividades evaluadas. Se entrevistaron a 32 ejidatarios con un cuestionario estructurado para obtener información referente a las actividades extractivas en el ejido. Posteriormente, con ayuda de un gps, se ubicaron espacialmente los sitios donde se desarrollan. Se calculó un índice de perturbación para cada actividad para elaborar un mapa de sensibilidad basado en la suma espacial de los índices de perturbación. La actividad con mayor índice de perturbación fue la milpa, debid...
The lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris Linnaeus, 1758) is the largest mammalian herbivore in Brazi... more The lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris Linnaeus, 1758) is the largest mammalian herbivore in Brazil. Only small numbers remain in Atlantic Forest fragments in north-east Brazil. The population downfall of the lowland tapir is linked to hunting, and to the destruction and fragmentation of its habitat. Changes in the environment may impact the diet of this potentially at-risk mammal. We focused on tapirs living in the Mata dos Pintos, a 3 000 ha forest fragment on the Usina Serra Grande land (state of Alagoas, Brazil). We determined diet by following the paths of tapirs to collect plant species they foraged on. Foraging occurrence was assessed by visual identification of markings (teeth marks on stems and leaves) and seeds identification in the feces. Fifty-five plant species were identified as consumed by tapirs of Mata dos Pintos including 42 browsed species. The mostcommon plant families consumed were Rubiaceae, Melastomataceae and Arecaceae, which are all specific to secondary fore...
In the present study, sludge composition from 112 municipalities in southern Quebec, Canada, were... more In the present study, sludge composition from 112 municipalities in southern Quebec, Canada, were studied in order to examine the potential of alternative, environmentally sound sludge disposal, such as land application. Twenty-four municipalities with complete data set produced 24,000 dry tons of sludge per year. Of this amount, 47% (11,000 dry tons) could potentially be used for agricultural land application, according to Quebec standards. The other municipalities could not use their sludge for agricultural land application because of heavy metal contamination. The available areas of agricultural lands in southern Quebec are limited to about 149,454 ha. Considering that only 15% of this surface is adequate for sludge application and that a large part is already applied with manure, only 86,683 ha could be used for sludge application. Geographical Information System modeling in a smaller portion of this region showed that another 38% of land must be removed for other reasons, e.g.,...
Disposal of sewage sludge on agricultural or forest lands has been shown to be an economical mean... more Disposal of sewage sludge on agricultural or forest lands has been shown to be an economical means of sludge disposal which reduces the amount of waste going to landfills and returns nutrients to the soil. The heavy metal content of sludge generally depends on the composition of influents and on the treatment process. The present study considers the sludge chemical composition of 23 municipalities in southern Quebec and the heavy metal concentrations in their respective drinking water supplies. This study attempts to determine the main multielement relationships characterizing sludge composition, and to verify the occurrence of a possible link between chemical element concentration in sludge and in water supplies. The main phenomena influencing the chemical composition of municipal sewage sludge were modeled by using principal component analysis. The analysis shows that Cu concentration in sludges highly correlates with the organic nitrogen, and a series of metals (Cd-Co-Cr-Ni-Pb) a...
Abstract: Carbon (C) content in several forest ecosystem pools, including trees, understory speci... more Abstract: Carbon (C) content in several forest ecosystem pools, including trees, understory species, downed logs, litter, soil organic and mineral layers, and fine roots, and tree growth were compared in balsam fir (Abies balsamea) and black spruce (Picea mariana) ecosystems located along a climatic gradient in eastern Canada spanning regions that differed by 4 °C in mean annual temperature. A total of 19 experimental sites were established, 12 in balsam fir ecosystems and 7 in black spruce ecosystems. Diameter at breast height (dbh), height growth rate, and C contents in trees, understory species, downed logs, litter, and soil organic and mineral layers did not differ significantly between northern and southern experimental sites (P < 0.05). The only C pool that differed significantly among the regions was fine roots. Tree ring data collected on trees greater than 5 cm in dbh at all the sites were related to monthly climatic data between April and October, the active physiological season at the latitudes of the study. The relationships derived indicated that the differential effects of significant climatic variables along the climatic gradient were more important for black spruce than balsam fir. These results suggest that the changes in climatic conditions in the next 100 y may have a relatively small effect on the productivity and C allocation of both forest types when located within a range of climatic conditions similar to those of this study.
A anta (Tapirus terrestris Linnaeus, 1758) é o maior mamífero herbívoro do Brasil. A população de... more A anta (Tapirus terrestris Linnaeus, 1758) é o maior mamífero herbívoro do Brasil. A população de anta está restrita somente a poucos indivíduos, nos fragmentos de mata Atlântica do nordeste brasileiro. Esta população reduzida está ligada à caça, à destruição e à fragmentação de seu habitat, uma vez que as mudanças ocorridas em seu ambiente podem impactar sua rotina diária e sua dieta. Duas antas que vivem no fragmento ”Mata dos Pintos”, Usina Serra Grande (Alagoas) foram o foco principal deste trabalho. A dieta das antas foi determinada seguindo suas trilhas. As plantas que apresentavam marcas de dentes nos caules e folhas foram coletadas, bem como as sementes encontradas nos excrementos. Quarenta e duas espécies vegetais foram consumidas pelas antas da mata dos Pintos, das quais as mais frequentes foram Rubiaceae, Melastomataceae e Arecaceae, típicas de florestas secundárias. Sementes de dezenove espécies foram encontradas nos excrementos das antas, destas 15 estavam intactas, sen...
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