Judul: Variations of organic carbon content as related to the difference in water table levels of peatlands cultivated for plantation commodities.
Abstrak: Peatlands are important sinks for the atmospheric carbon (C) and play major roles in the global C cycle. In virgin forest, C sink and emission is balanced. During land reclamation, this balance is disturbed by drainage channel construction which affects water table level and other consequences. It is therefore important to study the effects of drainage channel construction on the distribution of soil C content and its dynamics. This research aimed at to evaluate: (1) the effects of distance to the drainage channel in water table level, (2) the effects of water table level on organic-C content, and (3) the relationships among organic-C content with the characteristics of peatland based on land use time for cultivation of plantation commodities. The research was conducted in Bengkalis District, Riau Province from January until June 2011. The characteristics of peatland observed were bulk density, ash content, peat thickness, and water table level. The results showed that the closer the distance from drainage channel, the deeper was the water table level. Two patterns of the relationship between water table level and organic-C content were observed. The first pattern at 50-100 cm layer was the increase in organic-C with the decrease in water table level up to water table level about -46.5 cm. The second at 0-50 cm layer was the opposite of first pattern up to water table level about -49 cm. Peatlands of the study area were characterized by organic-C content of 55.16-57.28%, bulk density of 0.04-0.11 g/cm3, ash content of 1.25-4.90%, water content of 492.54-1226.81%, and degree of peat maturity of fibric, hemic and sapric with fibre content of 11.67-35%. Generally, at 0-50 cm layer organic-C content was influenced significantly by ash content, with at 50- 100 cm layer was by ash content and water table level.
Keyword: 

Judul: Variability of Some Physical and Chemical Properties of Peat  Based on Distance from River and Peat Depth
Abstrak: Pemanfaatan lahan gambut menjadi lahan pertanian harus dilakukan dengan baik dan bijaksana. Hal ini disebabkan banyaknya faktor penghambat yang dimiliki oleh lahan gambut seperti produktivitas lahan yang semakin rendah seiring dengan bertambahnya ketebalan gambut dan rendahnya kesuburan alami tanah. Sifat fisik dan kimia gambut sangat penting untuk pengelolaan produktivitas tanaman dalam kaitannya dengan jarak dari sungai dan kedalaman pengambilan contoh. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mempelajari hubungan antara sifat fisik dan kimia gambut di perkebunan kelapa sawit di Kabupaten Labuhanbatu, Provinsi Sumatera Utara berdasarkan jarak dari sungai dan kedalaman. Pengambilan contoh gambut dilakukan pada transek hidrosekuen dari Sungai Leidong sebanyak 10 titik contoh. Setiap titik berjarak sekitar 300 m dari titik lainnya dan pada setiap titik diambil contoh gambut pada kedalaman 0-50 cm dan 50-100 cm. Analisis bobot isi, porositas, pH, C-organik, KTK, N-total, P-tersedia, P-total dilakukan pada setiap contoh. Perbedaan jarak dari sungai tidak berpengaruh pada bobot isi dan porositas gambut. Sebaliknya, contoh yang lebih dalam nyata memiliki bobot isi yang lebih rendah dan porositas yang lebih tinggi. Jarak yang jauh dari sungai nyata memiliki pH yang lebih rendah. Jarak dari sungai dan kedalaman contoh tidak mempengaruhi C-organik, KTK, N-total, P-total, dan P-tersedia gambut. Studi ini menunjukkan bahwa perlu dilakukan penelitian lebih detil untuk mengetahui pengaruh jarak dari sungai, kedalaman gambut dan pengaruh antropogenik terhadap pengelolaan produktivitas gambut., The utilization of peatlands for agriculture must be coducted properly and wisely. This is due to the many inhibiting factors possessed by peatlands such as lower land productivity along with increasing peat thickness and low natural fertility of the soil. The study of peat physical and chemical properties are very important for management of plant productivity in relation with the distance from the rivers and depth of samples. This study was aimed to examine the relationship between physical and chemical properties of peat in oil palm plantation in Labuhanbatu Regency, North Sumatra Province based on the distance from the river and the depth of sampling. Ten peat sampling points were carried out according to hydro sequence transect from the Leidong River. Each point was about 300 m apart from one another, and at each point peat samples were taken at depths of 0-50 cm and 50-100 cm. Analysis of bulk density, porosity, pH, organik-C, CEC, total-N, total-P, available-P was carried out on each sample. The difference of the distance from the river had no effect on the peat bulk density and porosity. On the other hand, deeper samples had lower bulk density and higher porosity. More distance from the river had lower pH. The distance from the river and depth of samples did not affect peat organik-C, CEC, total-N, total-P, and available-P. This study showed that a more detailed research is needed to determine the effect of distance from river, peat depth, and anthropogenic affect on peat productivity.
Keyword: bulk density, hydrosequence transect, oil palm, pH, porosity

Judul: Infeksi Virus Parainfluenza Pada Anjing
Abstrak: Virus parainfluenza anjing termasuk famili Paramyxoviridae, berbentuk pleomorf dengan ukuran bervariasi (bergaris tengah antara 100-500 nm), berpembungkus peka ether, berisi genom RNA dan secara serologis mempunyai kesamaan dengan virus SV-5 kera; dikenak sebagai salah satu kausa penting dari sindrom "kennel cough". Infeksinya dapat mengenai anjing semua umur yang belum pernah terinfeksi atau mendapatkan vaksinasi mengakibatkan gejala klinis ringan yang terbatas pada traktus respirasi atu infeksi yang secara klinis tidak memperlihatkan gejala nyata. Gejala klinis yang nampak setelah masa inkubasi (1-5 hari) terlewati berupa batuk yang tidak berat selama beberapa hari, berbagai tingkat tonsilitis dan pharyngitis dan kadang-kadang ditemukan kenaikan temperatur rektal antara 1-2 derajat C dari temperatur normal rat-rata. Anjing terinfeksi mengandung virus pada traktus respirasi bagian atas dan bawah serta limfonoduli sampai hari ke 9 setelah infeksi. Penyebaran virus antar anjing terjadi secara aerogen.
Keyword: