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For thousands of years ?edacho Kue (Artillery Lake, Northwest Territories) has been a key water crossing site for barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus). Human disturbance of barren-ground caribou habitat in northern Canada has emerged as an important focus of study in the last decade; particularly in the Bathurst range of the Northwest Territories where caribou populations have declined by more than 95% since the 1980s. Guided by local Indigenous leaders and Elders, a collaborative research project was developed with the Denesoline people of Lutsel K'e Dene First Nation (2012-14). This paper describes linkages between knowledge derived from Denesoline oral history and quantitative dendroecological analysis of trample scars on black spruce (Picea mariana) root samples collected at ?edacho Kue to provide a better understanding of caribou use at this location. Findings from oral histories and dendroecology analysis were consistent with one another and with previous dendroecology study in the region, although some discrepancies were detected in data from 1995-2006 that require further study to elucidate. Key findings include relatively low caribou use at ?edacho Kue during the 1930s and late 1960s, with use increasing into the 1970s and peaking in the late 1980s, as well as Elder and hunter reports of no caribou in some years between 2005 and 2012. This work addresses a gap in scientific data about barren- ground caribou movements at ?edacho Kue prior to satellite collar use in 1996 and corroborates previously documented oral histories about the enduring value of ?edacho Kue as critical habitat to barren-ground caribou. Given the drastic decline of the Bathurst caribou over the last two decades, more research is needed to understand movements and their relationship to population dynamics. In this context, the research approach described in this paper could be used as an example of how to meaningfully bring together place-based Indigenous knowledge and science in addressing an urgent issue of Arctic sustainability. Key words: caribou; Rangifer; sub-Arctic; Indigenous knowledge; Denesoline; Lutsel K'e; dendroecology; Northwest Territories; place-based research; collaborative community-based research Depuis des milliers d'annees, ?edacho Kue (lac Artillery, Territoires du Nord-Ouest) sert d'important point de franchissement de cours d'eau pour le caribou de la toundra (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus). La perturbation anthropique de l'habitat du caribou de la toundra dans le Nord canadien a fait l'objet d'etudes importantes ces dix dernieres annees, plus particulierement dans l'aire de repartition de Bathurst, dans les Territoires du Nord-Ouest, ou les populations de caribous ont chute de plus de 95 % depuis les annees 1980. Un projet de recherche collaborative guide par des chefs et des aines autochtones locaux a ete concu en consultation avec le peuple Denesoline de la Premiere Nation Lutsel K'e Dene (2012-2014). Cet article decrit les liens entre les connaissances derivees de l'histoire orale des Denesolines et l'analyse dendroecologique quantitative des cicatrices de pietinement se trouvant sur les echantillons de racines d'epinettes noires (Picea mariana) preleves a ?edacho Kue afin de mieux comprendre l'utilisation de ce lieu par les caribous. Les constatations decoulant de l'histoire orale et de l'analyse dendroecologique concordaient ensemble ainsi qu'avec une etude dendroecologique anterieure de la region, bien que certains ecarts aient ete deceles dans les donnees de 1995 a 2006, ecarts qui se doivent d'etre etudies afin d'etre elucides. Parmi les principales constatations, notons l'utilisation relativement faible de ?edacho Kue par les caribous pendant les annees 1930 et la fin des annees 1960, une utilisation accrue dans les annees 1970 ayant atteint un sommet vers la fin des annees 1980, ainsi que le signalement de l'absence de caribous par les aines et les chasseurs au cours de certaines annees entre 2005 et 2012. Notre recherche comble un manque de donnees scientifiques relativement aux deplacements du caribou de la toundra a ?edacho Kue avant que les colliers emetteurs a transmission par satellite ne commencent a etre employes en 1996. Elle corrobore l'histoire orale documentee precedemment au sujet de la valeur durable de ?edacho Kue en tant qu'habitat critique du caribou de la toundra. En raison de la chute importante de la population du caribou de Bathurst ces deux dernieres decennies, de plus amples recherches s'imposent afin de comprendre les deplacements et leur lien avec la dynamique de la population. Dans ce contexte, la demarche de recherche decrite dans cet article pourrait servir d'exemple montrant comment concilier les connaissances autochtones d'un endroit avec la science pour faire face a un enjeu urgent de durabilite de l'Arctique. Mots cles: caribou; Rangifer; subarctique; connaissances autochtones; Denesoline; Lutsel K'e; dendroecologie; Territoires du Nord-Ouest; recherche axee sur les lieux; recherche communautaire collaborative Traduit pour la revue Arctic par Nicole Giguere., INTRODUCTION The stresses on global biodiversity are growing, with species declines evident in many parts of the world, including the Arctic (IPBES, 2019; Taylor et al., 2020). Populations of barren-ground [...]

Wildfires, insect outbreaks, and windstorms are increasingly common forest disturbances. Post-disturbance management often involves salvage logging, i.e., the felling and removal of the affected trees; however, this practice may represent an additional disturbance with effects on ecosystem processes and services. We developed a systematic map to provide an overview of the primary studies on this topic and created a database with information on the characteristics of the retrieved publications, including information on stands, disturbance, intervention, measured outcomes, and study design. Of 4341 retrieved publications, 90 were retained in the systematic map. These publications represented 49 studies, predominantly from North America and Europe. Salvage logging after wildfire was addressed more frequently than after insect outbreaks or windstorms. Most studies addressed logging after a single disturbance event, and replication of salvaged stands rarely exceeded 10. The most frequent response variables were tree regeneration, ground cover, and deadwood characteristics. This document aims to help managers find the most relevant primary studies on the ecological effects of salvage logging. It also aims to identify and discuss clusters and gaps in the body of evidence, relevant for scientists who aim to synthesize previous work or identify questions for future studies. Key words: salvage harvesting, sanitation logging, wildfire, insect outbreak, windthrow. Les feux de foret, les epidemies d'insectes et les tempetes de vent sont des perturbations forestieres de plus en plus frequentes. A la suite d'une perturbation, l'amenagement implique souvent une coupe de recuperation, c.-a-d., l'abattage et le prelevement des arbres endommages. Cependant, cette pratique peut constituer une perturbation additionnelle et avoir des effets sur les services et processus de l'ecosysteme. Nous avons developpe une carte systematique destinee a fournir un apercu des etudes originales sur ce sujet et cree une base de donnees contenant de l'information sur les caracteristiques des publications retenues, incluant des informations sur les peuplements, la perturbation, l'intervention, les resultats mesures et la methodologie de l'etude. Des 4341 publications trouvees, 90 ont ete retenues dans la carte systematique. Ces publications representaient 49 etudes menees principalement en Amerique du Nord et en Europe. La coupe de recuperation apres feu a ete etudiee plus frequemment qu'apres des epidemies d'insectes ou des tempetes de vent. La plupart des etudes portaient sur la coupe apres une seule perturbation et le nombre de repetitions de peuplements recuperes depassait rarement 10. Les variables reponse les plus frequentes etaient la regeneration de la strate arborescente, le couvert vegetal et les caracteristiques du bois mort. Ce document vise a aider les gestionnaires a trouver les etudes les plus pertinentes portant sur les effets ecologiques de la coupe de recuperation. Il vise aussi a identifier et examiner les points forts et les lacunes parmi l'ensemble des arguments pertinents pour les scientifiques qui cherchent a synthetiser les travaux anterieurs ou a identifier les sujets de futures etudes. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles : coupe de recuperation, coupe d'assainissement, feu de foret, epidemie d'insectes, chablis., Introduction Large, episodic, severe forest disturbances such as those caused by wildfires, insect outbreaks, and windstorms are part of the natural dynamics of forest ecosystems across the world (Noss et [...]

Abstract: so too forest management has evolved from timber-focused even-aged management to more holistic paradigms like ecosystem-based management. Emulation of natural disturbance (END) is a variant of ecosystem management that [...]

Background Falls are a leading reason for older people presenting to the emergency department (ED), and many experience further falls. Little evidence exists to guide secondary prevention in this population. This randomised controlled trial (RCT) investigated whether a 6-month telephone-based patient-centred program-RESPOND-had an effect on falls and fall injuries in older people presenting to the ED after a fall. Methods and findings Community-dwelling people aged 60-90 years presenting to the ED with a fall and planned for discharge home within 72 hours were recruited from two EDs in Australia. Participants were enrolled if they could walk without hands-on assistance, use a telephone, and were free of cognitive impairment (Mini-Mental State Examination > 23). Recruitment occurred between 1 April 2014 and 29 June 2015. Participants were randomised to receive either RESPOND (intervention) or usual care (control). RESPOND comprised (1) home-based risk assessment; (2) 6 months telephone-based education, coaching, goal setting, and support for evidence-based risk factor management; and (3) linkages to existing services. Primary outcomes were falls and fall injuries in the 12-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes included ED presentations, hospital admissions, fractures, death, falls risk, falls efficacy, and quality of life. Assessors blind to group allocation collected outcome data via postal calendars, telephone follow-up, and hospital records. There were 430 people in the primary outcome analysis-217 randomised to RESPOND and 213 to control. The mean age of participants was 73 years; 55% were female. Falls per person-year were 1.15 in the RESPOND group and 1.83 in the control (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 0.65 [95% CI 0.43-0.99]; P = 0.042). There was no significant difference in fall injuries (IRR 0.81 [0.51-1.29]; P = 0.374). The rate of fractures was significantly lower in the RESPOND group compared with the control (0.05 versus 0.12; IRR 0.37 [95% CI 0.15-0.91]; P = 0.03), but there were no significant differences in other secondary outcomes between groups: ED presentations, hospitalisations or falls risk, falls efficacy, and quality of life. There were two deaths in the RESPOND group and one in the control group. No adverse events or unintended harm were reported. Limitations of this study were the high number of dropouts (n = 93); possible underreporting of falls, fall injuries, and hospitalisations across both groups; and the relatively small number of fracture events. Conclusions In this study, providing a telephone-based, patient-centred falls prevention program reduced falls but not fall injuries, in older people presenting to the ED with a fall. Among secondary outcomes, only fractures reduced. Adopting patient-centred strategies into routine clinical practice for falls prevention could offer an opportunity to improve outcomes and reduce falls in patients attending the ED. Trial registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12614000336684)., Author(s): Anna Barker 1, Peter Cameron 1,2, Leon Flicker 3,4,5, Glenn Arendts 3,5, Caroline Brand 1,6,7, Christopher Etherton-Beer 3,4,5, Andrew Forbes 1, Terry Haines 8,9, Anne-Marie Hill 10, Peter Hunter [...]

Investigated relationships among demographics, self-esteem, health locus of control, health promotion activities, perceived health, and functional health ratings in 179 older adults. Discovered meaningful and significant relationships suggesting that exercise and nutrition may be critical health promotion activities associated with better scores on five functional dimensions. Compared to younger subjects, those 85+ had significantly higher reported exercise scores. (Author/NB)

Promotion of species diversity has become a major goal in forestry. This requires an understanding of the impacts of management disturbance on species diversity relative to natural drivers such as climatic or edaphic conditions on the relevant temporal scales, i.e., centuries. We examined the effects of long-term management disturbance on understory plant diversity in coniferous forests by comparing structure types (ages since disturbance) between regions with comparable abiotic settings but contrasting management history, i.e., management for centuries in central Europe versus the first logging in primary forests in western Canada. We systematically sampled three age classes after disturbance and compared their alpha diversity and species composition. The structure types (age classes) showed similar differences in alpha diversity in both landscapes, while the response of species compositions differed between the two. Fewer late-successional specialists occurred in the European landscape. Within the setting of our study, the structure types, which reflect the time since major forest management disturbance, affected understory species richness and composition at least as strongly as environmental conditions such as climate, soil, and tree layer diversity across the broad altitudinal gradients that we sampled. Our results suggest that forest management affects the diversity of coniferous forests, with management for centuries disadvantaging late-successional specialists. Furthermore, it appears that human action is becoming the major determinant of diversity of coniferous forests, emphasizing the need for sustainable management schemes. Resume: La promotion de la diversite des especes est devenue un enjeu forestier important. Pour ce faire, il est important de comprendre les impacts des perturbations causees par l'amenagement sur la diversite des especes en relation avec des facteurs naturels comme les conditions climatiques ou edaphiques sur une echelle temporelle pertinente, c'est-a-dire des siecles. Nous avons etudie les effets a long terme des perturbations causees par l'amenagement sur la diversite des plantes de sous-bois dans des forets de coniferes en comparant le type de structure (temps ecoule depuis la perturbation) entre des regions ayant des caracteristiques abiotiques semblables, mais un historique d'amenagement tres different, c'est-a-dire un ame-nagement seculaire en Europe centrale et une premiere coupe dans une foret vierge de l'ouest du Canada. Nous avons systematiquement echantillonne trois intervalles de temps apres la perturbation et compare leur diversite alpha et leur com-position en especes. Les differences de diversite alpha entre les types de structure (classes d'age) des deux milieux etaient semblables alors que la reaction de ces milieux en termes de composition en especes etait differente. Il y avait moins de specialistes de fin de succession dans le milieu europeen. Dans le cadre de notre etude, le type de structure, qui reflete le temps ecoule depuis la derniere perturbation forestiere majeure, a influence la richesse des especes de sousbois et leur composi-tion au moins aussi fortement que les conditions environnementales comme le climat, le sol et la diversite de la strate arbo-rescente le long du large gradient altitudinal que nous avons echantillonne. Nos resultats indiquent que l'amenagement forestier influence la diversite des forets de coniferes et que l'amenagement seculaire desavantage les specialistes de fin de succession. De plus, il semble que l'action humaine soit devenue un determinant majeur de la diversite des forets de conife-res, ce qui souligne le besoin de schemas d'amenagement durable. [Traduit par la Redaction], Introduction Coniferous forests are the characteristic zonal ecosystem of the boreal biome that covers major portions of the Northern Hemisphere. Towards lower latitudes, these forests inhabit a major altitudinal zone [...]

When species are introduced into new regions, there is great uncertainty whether the trait differences of the introduced species or regional factors, such as climate or edaphic properties, will serve as the dominant control of ecosystem properties or processes. In this study, we examined whether the introduction of Pinus contorta Douglas ex Loudon into Sweden has altered forest floor properties and processes or whether these properties are more strongly controlled by regional factors. We compared forest floor pH, potential N mineralization rates, bulk density, litter and forest floor depths, C and N concentrations and pool sizes, C:N ratios, and soil microbial communities using substrate-induced respiration and phospholipid fatty acid analysis among stands of introduced P. contorta (SwPc), native Swedish Pinus sylvestris L. (SwPs), and native Canadian P. contorta (CaPc). For most forest floor properties (pH, net NH4+ mineralization, bulk density, N mass, and the microbial phospholipid fatty acid community structure), SwPc sites were more similar to SwPs than to CaPc, whereas litter and forest floor depth were significantly higher in SwPc than the two other forest types. Our findings suggest that regional factors exerted a stronger control on most forest floor properties and processes than did species differences between the two Pinus species for the regions we studied. Resume: Lorsque des especes sont introduites dans de nouvelles regions, il y a une grande incertitude quand a savoir si les proprietes et les processus de l'ecosysteme seront surtout determines par les differences de caracteristiques des especes introduites ou par les facteurs regionaux, tels que le climat ou les proprietes du sol. Dans cette etude, nous examinons si l'introduction de Pinus contorta Douglas ex Loudon en Suede a modifie les processus et les proprietes de la couverture morte, ou si ces proprietes sont plus fortement determinees par les facteurs regionaux. Nous avons compare le pH, le taux potentiel de mineralisation du N, la densite apparente de la couverture morte, la profondeur de la litiere et de la couverture morte, la concentration et la taille des reservoirs de N et de C, le rapport C:N et les communautes microbiennes du sol a l'aide de la respiration induite par le substrat et de l'analyse des acides gras phospholipidiques dans des peuplements de P. contorta introduit (SwPc), de Pinus sylvestris L. indigene (SwPs) et de P. contorta canadien (CaPc). Pour la plupart des proprietes de la couverture morte (pH, mineralisation nette de [NH.sub.4.sup.+], densite apparente, masse de N et structure de la communaute microbienne basee sur les acides gras phospholipidiques), les stations de SwPc etaient plus semblables aux stations de SwPs qu'aux stations de CaPc, tandis que la litiere et la couverture morte etaient plus profondes dans les stations SwPc que dans les deux autres types forestiers. Nos resultats indiquent que les facteurs regionaux exercent une plus forte influence sur les proprietes et les processus de la couverture morte que les differences entre les deux especes de Pinus dans les regions que nous avons etudiees. [Traduit par la Redaction], Introduction Humans frequently distribute species outside their native ranges, and sometimes these introductions adversely affect the composition and diversity of native communities; indeed, nonnative species invasions are considered one of [...]