bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Background to the Grain Law of Gaius Gracchus
Authors: Garnsey Peter , Rathbone Dominic 
Published: May 2006

One of the measures carried by Gaius Gracchus in the course of his first tribunate in 123–2 B.C. provided for the regular sale of grain to citizens of Rome at the price of 6⅓ asses per modius. Gracchus also, presumably by the same law, provided for the construction of state granaries.The sources for the law are meagre. None of them is contemporary, and those later writers who do comment on the law furnish few details. What is known of its content is conveyed in a brief sentence from Livy's Epitomator supported by a scholiast on Cicero'spro Sestio, and in a few words of Appian. The Epitomator and Scholiast give the price at which the grain was sold.
From Mountain to Lovers' Tryst: Horace's Soracte Ode
Authors: Vessey D. W. T. 
Published: May 2006

Vides ut alta stet nive candidumSoracte, nec iam sustineant onussilvae laborantes, geluqueflumina constiterint acuto.dissolve frigus ligna super focolarge reponens atque benigniusdeprome quadrimum Sabina,o Thaliarche, merum diota:permitte divis cetera, qui simulstravere ventos aequore fervidodeproeliantis, nec cupressinec veteres agitantur orni.quid sit futurum eras fuge quaerere etquern Fors dierum cumque dabit lucroappone, nec dulcis amoressperne puer neque tu choreas,donec virenti canities abestmorosa. nunc et campus et areaelenesque sub noctem susurricomposita repetantur hora,nunc et latentis proditor intimogratus puellae risus ab angulopignusque dereptum lacertisaut digito male pertinaci.‘This poem has been destroyed by the critics,’ David West has written. And certainly a familiar dilemma arises in relation to it. We admire and remember the poem; but, when we turn to some of its interpreters, we may feel our confidence diminished. We may wonder if we overlooked something on first and later reading and if our impressions, however favourable, were ill-grounded.
Polyonomy in the Late Roman Aristocracy: the Case of Petronius Probus
Authors: Cameron Alan 
Published: May 2006

No aristocrat of the fourth century A.D. was so brilliantly successful or so widely hated as S. Petronius Probus. Greedy for public office when his peers preferred opulent leisure, more at home amid the intrigues of court than the salons of Rome, a Christian when most of his peers were still pagan, he rose to a pinnacle of wealth and power.His unusually long career is abundantly documented by literary, legal and epigraphic sources. But the details have always been problematic. And in 1971 G. Barbieri published a new dedication from Capua that raised a whole new set of problems.
Epigraphic Consciousness
Authors: Mann J. C. 
Published: May 2006

The paper by Saller and Shaw in JRS 1984 calls for some comment on its treatment of epigraphic evidence, and especially on the question of what we can expect inscriptions to tell us about the people of a given area.A first point to make in relation to their argument is that the poorer classes throughout the empire could not in any case afford stone inscriptions. If, then, the extended family is (as could be argued) an adaptation of the nuclear family induced by poverty, rather than its biological or cultural predecessor, evidence for it will naturally tend to be absent from the epigraphic record, even if it is in fact quite common at the lowest levels of society.But my present purpose is to consider a different aspect of the use of inscriptions—the question of habit, a subject recently raised by Ramsay MacMullen. After examining the relevance of this matter to the claim by Sailer and Shaw that there was little or no local recruitment to the Roman army in Britain, it will be argued that the epigraphic evidence cannot be used to support this view.
Insinuations of Womanly Influence: An Aspect of the Christianization of the Roman Aristocracy
Authors: Cooper Kate 
Published: May 2006

Here is one of the laws of history: every event begins with a woman. It is the woman who confers life or death. It is in conformity with the nature of things that Helena should have converted Constantine. It is contrary to the nature of things that Constantine should have converted Helena.While we may smile at the ruminations of a nineteenth-century bourgeois on the sexual politics of Constantine's conversion to Christianity, if we turn our attention for a moment from the Emperor to the Empire itself we will perceive that our own more scientific studies reflect a similar vision of Helena, refracted in the persons of pious matrons across the Empire. For we generally imagine the religious changes which swept the later Roman Empire as resulting from a fateful collaboration, that of a few unusually persuasive clerics with a multitude of devout Christian women, who enforced the views of their clerical friends at home, and shepherded their prominent husbands towards the once-only cleansing of baptism. The view has much to recommend it, and it has sparked some of the most interesting writing on late antiquity in recent decades, beginning with a celebrated contribution by Peter Brown to this journal.
Scale dependence of vegetation‐environment correlations: A case study of a North Carolina piedmont woodland
Authors: Reed R. A. , Peet R. K. , Palmer M. W. , White P. S. 
Published: May 2006

Abstract. Vegetation and its correlation with environment has been traditionally studied at a single scale of observation. If different ecological processes are dominant at different spatial and temporal scales, the results obtained from such observations will be specific to the single scale of observation employed and will lack generality. Consequently, it is important to assess whether the processes that determine community structure and function are similar at different scales, or whether, how rapidly, and under what circumstances the dominant processes change with scale of observation. Indeed, early work by Greig‐Smith and associates (Greig‐Smith 1952; Austin & Greig‐Smith 1968; see Greig‐Smith 1979; Kershaw & Looney 1985; Austin & Nicholls 1988) suggested that plant‐plant interactions are typically important at small scales, but that the physical environment dominates at large scales.Using a gridded and mapped 6.6 ha portion of the Duke Forest on the North Carolina piedmont for a case study, we examined the importance of scale in vegetation studies by testing four hypotheses. First, we hypothesized that the correlation between vegetation composition and environment should increase with increasing grain (quadrat) size. Our results support this hypothesis. Second, we hypothesized that the environmental factors most highly correlated with species composition should be similar at all grain sizes within the 6.6‐ha study area, and should be among the environmental factors strongly correlated with species composition over the much larger extent of the ca. 3500 ha Duke Forest. Our data are not consistent with either portion of this hypothesis. Third, we hypothesized that at the smaller grain sizes employed in this study (< 256 m2), the composition of the tree canopy should contribute significantly to the vegetation pattern in the under‐story. Our results do not support this hypothesis. Finally, we predicted that with increased extent of sampling, the correlation between environment and vegetation should increase. Our data suggest the opposite may be true.This study confirms that results of vegetation analyses can depend greatly on the grain and extent of the samples employed. Whenever possible, sampling should include a variety of grain sizes and a carefully selected sample extent so as to ensure that the results obtained are robust. Application of the methods used here to a variety of vegetation types could lead to a better understanding of whether different ecological processes typically dominate at different spatial scales.
Resprouting of Erica multiflora after experimental fire treatments
Authors: Lloret Francisco , López‐Soria Luis 
Published: May 2006

Abstract. The effect of fire intensity ‐ both temperature and duration ‐ on the resprouting pattern of the evergreen Mediterranean shrub Erica multiflora in relation to plant size, was experimentally investigated by subjecting plants to the flame of a propane torch, and observing mortality and resprouting after 5 and 20 months.Pre‐treatment plant size was not important in determining post‐fire plant survival, but it did influence the resprouting vigour, increasingly so with time. High temperatures induced higher mortality rates within populations, but duration of fire did not effect mortality. Biomass of resprouts was lower following more intense fire treatments, but this effect progressively disappeared over time, except in plants subjected to the most intense fire treatment. This is probably because of the increasing importance of the below‐ground organs for the regeneration of the above‐ground biomass. Some of the plants which were clipped but not exposed to fire also died 20 months after treatment. The effect of clipping onmortality andresprout‐ing response, estimated as biomass of resprouts, was not significantly different from the effect induced by either low or medium temperature treatments, but was significantly different when compared with the effect of high‐temperature treatments.Field observations show that the establishment of seedlings of E. multiflora is rare both after fire and between fires. Thus, our data support the idea that both a single fire or clipping can diminish the population size of a resprouting species. We conclude that fire may have a stochastic effect on E. multiflora populations, due to the variation in fire intensity existing within a single burning stand.
Competition and centrifugal organization of plant communities: theory and tests
Authors: Wisheu Irene C. , Keddy Paul A. 
Published: May 2006

Abstract. The concept of centrifugal organization integrates community ecology's two main conceptual approaches: description of gradients and study of process. Centrifugal organization describes distributional patterns of species and vegetation types along standing crop gradients that are caused by different combinations of environmental constraints. Gradients radiate outwards from a single core habitat to many different peripheral habitats. The assumed mechanism is a competitive hierarchy where weaker competitors are restricted to the peripheral end of the gradient as a result of a trade‐off between competitive ability and tolerance limits. The benign ends of the gradients comprise a core habitat which is dominated by the same species. At the peripheral end of each axis, species with specific adaptations to particular sources of adversity occur.In wetlands, the core habitat has low disturbance and high fertility, and is dominated by large leafy species capable of forming dense canopies. Peripheral habitats are formed by different kinds and combinations of infertility and disturbance and support distinctive floras. The centrifugal organization model therefore allows us to predict the distribution of particular organisms (rare species) and to predict how changes to the conditions creating peripheral habitats will alter community composition.
Vegetation asymmetry in Hawaii under the trade wind regime
Authors: Noguchi Yasuo 
Published: May 2006

Abstract. Interpretation of aerial photographs (1962–1965) revealed vegetation asymmetry on opposite valley slopes in the semi‐arid to semi‐humid zones of the island of Oahu. Field studies after 5 and 10 yr showed that this asymmetry is a transitional feature during recovery from disturbance (fire).The types of asymmetry ranged from difference in vigour of shrub canopies to total difference in floristic composition. Slopes exposed to the trade winds are typically characterized by grassy vegetation and landslides, whereas on the protected part of the upper west‐facing slope immediately behind a ridge, vigorous shrubs and trees grow without any mechanical damage or deformation of crowns. This part of the slope is richer in species, including rare ones, than other parts. It is also characterized by the invasion of grasses from more exposed sites and the elongation of shrub canopies above the crest line.Different levels of exposure to exceptionally strong trade winds and salt spray at different parts of slopes seem to allow different speeds of recovery and thus contrasting vegetation structure and species composition. The existence of many shrub seedlings on the exposed upper slope suggests that succession is taking place and the vegetation asymmetry seems at least structurally to be a transitional feature.
Tree regeneration after bamboo die‐back in Chinese Abies‐Betula forests
Authors: Taylor Alan H. , Zisheng Qin 
Published: May 2006

Abstract. Gaps created by disturbance in the forest canopy are important sites for tree regeneration from seed but plants already established in gaps may slow gap‐filling. This study deals with consequences of bamboo die‐back for tree regeneration and the dynamics of Abies‐Betula forests in southwest China. Bamboo dominates the forest understory impeding tree regeneration when in its vegetative phase. Populations of tree seedlings were sampled in 1984–85 and 1990 in two sets of permanent plots where bamboo had died back in 1983.Both Abies and Betula density increased after bamboo die‐back, Betula more so than Abies, especially in gaps. Before bamboo die‐back, seedlings were established on raised surfaces such as logs but afterwards seedlings became common on the forest floor. This reduced the intensity of clumping of seedling populations between 1984 and 1990. A tree by tree replacement model predicts an increase in Abies and a decrease in Betula after bamboo die‐back. Life histories of tree species, gap characteristics, and the bamboo growth cycle (mature/die‐back/building) interact to promote fluctuating dominance of Abies and Betula in old‐growth forests.
The calcifuge behaviour of Visearía vulgarís
Authors: Tyler Germund , Olsson Pal Axel 
Published: May 2006

AbstractSoil factors responsible for the inability of Visearía vulgaris to colonize or survive on calcareous soils in Scandinavia were studied using experiments with plant establishment from seeds and re‐establishment of mature plants, in soils of naturally differing or artificially varied chemical properties. Limestone soil proved less suitable for re‐establishment of mature plants, and establishment from seeds was not possible in this soil. The plants grown on limestone had a very low phosphorus content and displayed deficiency symptoms. Acid leptite soil and soil from the A‐horizon of a dystric cambisol were suitable for plant establishment from seeds and re‐establishment of adult individuals, respectively. However, growth increased significantly when pH‐KCl was raised to 7.6 by adding CaC03. Establishment from seeds was successful in the Archaean and Ordovician limestone soils only when CaHP04 was added. The calcifuge behaviour of Visearía vulgaris is not due to negative effects of a high pH or a high Ca concentration in the soil. Inability to utilize the native phosphorus of such soils is the most evident explanation.
Allosyncarpia‐dominated rain forest in monsoonal northern Australia
Authors: Russell‐Smith J. , Lucas D.E. , Brock J. , Bowman D. M. J. S. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractFollowing recent classifications of rain forest vegetation in northern Australia this paper examines the biogeo‐graphical status and condition of a rain forest type endemic to that region, dominated by the sclerophyllAllosyncarpia ternata (Myrtaceae).These forests are restricted to the Arnhem Land region of the Northern Territory, which includes Kakadu National Park. They cover an area of 1138 km2, or 41 % of all rain forest in northern and northwestern Australia. DCA of floristic data from 140 sites illustrates thatAllosyncarpiaforests occupy a range of sandstone‐derived substrates, from moist valley sediments to steep, freely draining, rocky sites. DCA of floristic transect data illustrates thatAllosyncarpiais by far the dominant canopy species over this topographic‐moisture sequence, but especially on seasonally dry substrates where it provides over 80 % basal area and effectively the entire canopy. DCA of floristic quadrat data from a floristi‐cally singular site illustrates major death of the fire‐sensitive gymnospermCallitris intratropica, and, to a lesser extent,Allosyncarpiaitself, on the forest‐savanna boundary.Biogeographical implications arising from the Gondwanic distributions ofAllosyncarpiaand its close relatives,Arillas‐trum(New Caledonia),Eucalyptopsis(eastern Malesia), and an as yet undescribed taxon (eastern Australia), suggest that taxa ancestral to this group were extensive in the late Cretaceous. Their current restriction is in marked contrast to the success of their near relatives, the eucalypts. Given the tolerance ofAllosyncarpiato a wide range of substrate moisture conditions in the present day, it is argued that fire regulates patch margins of this forest type. Although tolerant of light fires, canopy trees at patch margins are susceptible under a regime of frequent, intense late dry‐season fires, such as are prevalent in Arnhem Land today. For effective conservation of fire‐sensitive communities in this floristically significant region, greater attention must be given to management and monitoring of the fire regime.
Diversity patterns of wet meadows along geochemical gradients in central Spain
Authors: Rey Benayas Jose M. , Scheiner Samuel M. 
Published: May 2006

AbstractFour measures of biodiversity (species number per site, total species number, mean similarity and mosaic diversity) and their relationships with soil chemical composition were studied in vascular plant communities in groundwater discharge ecosystems of central Spain. Species richness decreased with increasing salinity, alkalinity and halite concentration. Species richness was apparently controlled more by soil toxicity than by soil nutrient levels, although a positive correlation of Ca2+ with species richness was found after accounting for the effects of toxic compounds. All relationships were strictly monotonic. Six community types were identified based on their soil chemical characteristics: glycophyte, subglycophyte, tolerant, subalkalinophyte, alkalinophyte, and halocalcicole communities. Within community types, species richness showed very few significant relationships with soil characteristics. Mean species richness was lowest in the environmentally stressful communities. Total species richness was greatest in the ecotonal community type. Mean similarity, a measure of among‐community diversity, and mosaic diversity, a measure of landscape complexity, differed among community types. Mean similarity was smaller (higher diversity) in species‐poor community types, while mosaic diversity was greatest (greater complexity) in species‐rich community types. The halocalcicole community type was richest in rare species.
Topographic position and water chemistry of fens in a Dutch river plain
Authors: Wassen Martin J. , Barendregt Aat 
Published: May 2006

Abstract. On the Vecht river plain (western Netherlands), small fens, remnants of a large mesotrophic wetland bordering a moraine, of 1 to 5 ha are found in a man‐made matrix of lakes and pastures. The regional position of the fens, local position of sampling sites, composition of the vegetation and local hydrological variables were measured.Polders in the river plain produce a complex hydrology obscuring the regional zonation between moraine and river. Water supply and species composition are determined more by a site's regional than local position. High‐productivity reedlands are abundant close to the river. Carex paniculata reedlands receive large amounts of river water, which gives their fen water a high K+ concentration. Low‐productivity C. diandra fens and litter fens have their optimum closer to the moraine. C. diandra fens are fed mainly by inflowing nutrient‐poor ground‐ or surface water; litter fens receive primarily rainwater.Nutrients in fen water and in peat are lowest in C. diandra and C. lasiocarpa fens, but do not differ significantly between the communities. In both, iron seems to be more important than calcium in reducing phosphate solubility. Iron richness in the C. diandra fens is caused by present inflows of ground‐ or surface water, while in C. lasiocarpa fens, which succeed the former, iron richness is the result of historical inflows.
Effects of high temperatures, ash and seed position in the inflorescence on the germination of three Spanish grasses
Authors: González‐Rabanal F. , Casal M. , Trabaud L. 
Published: May 2006

Abstract. Seed germination of three perennial grasses, Agrostis curtisii, Avenula marginata and Pseudarrhenatherum longifolium was studied in relation to the position (basal, intermediate, apical) in the panicle and two factors typically associated with fire, high temperatures and ash.Two similar germination responses were observed in A. curtisii and A. marginata: (1) germination rates were lower for seeds from higher positions in the inflorescence; and (2) watering with a plant‐ash solution improved the ability of apical seeds to germinate, but had the opposite effect on basal seeds. In A. curtisii, the latter response was also dependent on whether or not the seed was exposed to high temperatures. In P. longifoliium the exposure to high temperatures and the position of the seeds in the inflorescence influenced the effect of ash. This could be due to the different degrees of development of the seeds.
Interaction between the cactus Neobuxbaumia tetetzo and the nurse shrub Mimosa luisana
Authors: Valiente‐Banuet Alfonso , Vite Fernando , Zavala‐Hurtado J. Alejandro 
Published: May 2006

Abstract. Pattern analysis and association analysis showed that recruitment of the giant columnar cactus Neobuxbaumia tetetzo in the semi‐arid valley of Zapotitlán is largely limited to areas beneath the canopies of perennial shrubs, acting as nurse plants. Chi‐square and Haberman tests revealed that young cacti were more frequently found beneath canopies of leguminous shrubs, especially Mimosa luisana, than were older cacti. Segregation analysis indicated a positive association (= negative segregation) of young cacti and M. luisana canopies, but older cacti were randomly distributed with respect to M. luisana. This, and the height class distributions of cacti associated withM luisana or not, suggested the replacement of M. luisana by N. tetetzo. Mimosa luisana plants in association withiV. tetetzo had greater amounts of dead basal area thanM luisana lacking associated N tetetzo. This suggested competition from JV. tetetzo promotes the replacement process.The roots of N tetetzo are ≤ 30 cm deep. Interception of soil water before penetration to deeper roots of M luisana may be the mode of competition between the two species.