Journal articles on the topic 'Crown lands Victoria Management'

One of the few remaining points of agreement among Stuart scholars is that the Crown's political difficulties, especially the conduct of foreign affairs and wars, stemmed in large part from inadequate revenues. The Crown's “ordinary income”—so named by scholars but not by law or tradition—was eroded in the early seventeenth century by inflation, royal extravagance, and increased demands upon government. The bulk of the ordinary income came from the Crown lands whose traditional structures and management were unable to compensate for inflation. B. P. Wolffe has shown that medieval monarchs had never viewed Crown lands as a source of revenue in the same manner as parliamentary taxes or the customs. Rather, Crown lands were used primarily for the uneconomical purpose of providing royal bounty to political elites. Wallace MacCaffrey has argued that the royal clients in the bounty system shifted during the Tudor era from the feudal barons to an emerging state bureaucracy. Moreover, by the seventeenth century the list of clients grew again to include members of Parliament, especially the Commons which increasingly held the fate of royal finances in their hands. Finally, Linda Levy Peck has emphasized another profoundly entrenched English attitude, modeled after classical Roman authorities: the Crown must husband its resources against waste or corruption lest it become impoverished and the body politic decay. A monarch without ample treasure could command neither private (i.e., clients) nor public (i.e., national policy) authority.

The nature of forest tenure arrangements is analysed in terms of requirements, rights and responsibilities. The standards of private management of Crown lands frequently fall below public expectations because: (a) the benefits that rights confer on tenure holders are entirely, or partially, appropriated for the Crown through the imposition of stringent legal requirements; and/or (b) the rights, themselves, are of ambiguous legal status and non-compensable, thus introducing considerable uncertainty into forest tenure arrangements. Without security, tenure holders have less incentive to voluntarily manage Crown forests.Who should manage Crown forests? — is a judgmental question that depends on society's notions of what is morally correct or equitable. Who will manage Crown forests? — is an economic and legal question, the answer to which depends on the existence of legal rights and on the legal requirements imposed by forest tenure agreements.

An attempt is made to identify the seven most important features of Canadian forestry that determine the nature and level of silviculture practice. They are considered to be: the dominance of extensive reserves of old-growth timber often at risk; the unbalanced age class structure of many licencee areas and management units; the dominance of provincial Crown ownership of timber and the evolution of Forest Management Agreements and Tree Farm Licences; the intractable nature of the problem of silviculture on small private ownerships; the recognition of the social role of silviculture in alleviating unemployment; the lack of silviculture decision models; and the systematic tightening of silviculture performance standards on Crown lands.

A condensed history of forestry and forest management in New Brunswick's Crown Forest during the 20th century is presented. It begins with a description of the advanced state of forest management in New Brunswick today. The description provides a sharp contrast to the subsequent detailing of forestry operations, and lack of forest management, that characterized the early decades of the 20th century. A gradual improvement followed, as professional forestry education and technology combined to elevate forestry practice. Next examined is forestry practice and its change across several distinct periods: the inter-wars period (1914–1938), WWII and aftermath (1939–1957), two decades of profound change (1958–1980), and the modern era (1981–2005). It is concluded that a few key events and individuals explain the gradual evolution of forestry in New Brunswick from controlled exploitation to sustainable management. Also suggested is that the Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management at the University of New Brunswick must continue to attract the brightest and best to its forestry programmes, if New Brunswick is to maintain its leadership position in management of public forests. Key words: forest management, history, Province of New Brunswick, technological advances, forestry practice, key personnel, Crown Lands and Forests Act

Current management of known bald eagle nesting habitat on Weyerhaeuser Company lands in Oregon and Washington states is described. Observations of continued nesting productivity indicate that with careful planning successful integration of forest and eagle habitat management is achievable. Forest management programs can provide nesting habitat concurrent with the production of forest products by manipulation of forest stand structure using site-specific management plans. Factors to be considered in maintaining suitable nesting habitat relate to the specific location and prominence of the area relative to the surroundings and tree crown conditions within areas of potential eagle use. Management for nesting habitat must be directed towards the entire potential nesting site, rather than at individual nest trees for maintenance of successful eagle nesting. Key words: Bald eagle, wildlife management, forest management, endangered species.

We investigated calendar- and age-based average yield curves used in management planning for Crown lands in New Brunswick. These yield curves are derived from the same data and growth models, but are averaged differently. We found that even-flow and non-declining harvest volumes generated by strategic planning models are sensitive to the yield curve type used as input. Strategic harvest volumes per five-year period varied as much as 30% when yield curve type used was changed. Key to this change was the coarsely aggregated stratification required by calendar-based yield curves. Level of aggregation affected whether model constraints could be met, and changed model outputs. Key words: strategic management planning, yield curves

Study of the investment behaviour of a tenure-holding forestry firm in Canada has policy implications and is, therefore, important. Investment by a firm in establishing a plant was analyzed in an earlier issue (June 1986) of this journal. In this paper, the firm's investment in the management of Crown forest lands is investigated. The impacts of tenure conditions, taxation, and technological progress have been analyzed. Tenure insecurity has been found to be only partly responsible for a firm's less than enthusiastic behaviour regarding investment in forest management. Long rotation is by far the single most important factor inhibiting expenditure on forest management inputs. A judicious mixture of tenure and taxation regulations can be used as a policy instrument for encouraging intensive forest management. Anticipation of even very modest secular increases in profits due to technological progress can make intensive forestry a desirable economic activity.

The regenerating land base of Crown forest lands harvested under even-aged forest management systems since 1975 was about 14 million ha in 1995. Most harvested areas are regenerating successfully. Natural regeneration plays a much bigger role in Canadian forestry than planting or seeding. The area of forest land that remains understocked after harvesting is shrinking. The data presented were provided through the REGEN component of the National Forestry Database Program by the provincial and territorial agencies responsible for the management of forest resources in their jurisdictions. Key words: forest inventory, forest regeneration, Canadian forests

Changes in human attitudes and societal values significantly influence forest management objectives and approaches. There are important signs indicating the emergence of a new social contract for forestry on Crown lands in Canada. From the perspective of forest companies, it is imperative to manage forests for multiple purposes under a tiered and nested relationship with various stakeholders. Resource professionals, including foresters, face several challenges in their effort to facilitate innovative institutional reforms and manage forests across scales. Key words: corporate social responsibility, social licence to cut timber, stakeholders, sustainable forest management

Increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) storage in agricultural soils through changes to management may help to mitigate rising greenhouse gas emissions and sustain agricultural productivity and environmental conditions. However, in order to improve assessment of the potential for increasing SOC storage in the agricultural lands of Victoria, Australia, further information is required on current SOC levels and how they are related to environmental conditions, soil properties and agricultural management. Therefore, we measured stocks of SOC at 615 sites in pasture and cropping systems in Victoria, encompassing eight regions, five soil orders and four management classes (continuous cropping, crop–pasture rotation, sheep or beef pasture, and dairy pasture), and explored relationships between the C stocks and environment, soil and management. The results showed an extremely wide range in SOC, from 2 to 239 t C/ha (0–30 cm). Most of this variation was attributable to climate; almost 80% of the variation in SOC stock was related to annual rainfall or vapour pressure deficit (i.e. humidity). Texture-related soil properties accounted for a small, additional amount of variation in SOC. After accounting for climate, differences in SOC between management classes were small and often not significant. Management practices such as stubble retention, minimum cultivation, perennial pasture species, rotational grazing and fertiliser inputs were not significantly related to SOC stock. The relationships between SOC and environment, soil and management were scale-dependent. Within individual regions, the apparent influence of climate and soil properties on SOC stock varied, and in some regions, much of the variation in SOC stock remained unexplained. The results suggest that, across Victoria, there is a general hierarchy of influence on SOC stock: climate > soil properties > management class > management practices.

This article investigates the history of local self-government and public administration in relation to waste management to answer a question: Is there any relationship between the development of local self-government in towns and public administration in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and the current state of development? Findings regarding the development of local self-administration are divided into the following eras: the period before the arrival of Slavs, early and developed feudalism, and the beginnings of the industrial revolution, ending with the foundation of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1918. Particular attention will be paid to municipal self-government in the city of Brno.

This paper makes empirical and practical contributions to answering the question of how public and private forestry stakeholders can effectively interact in the management of the forestry sector, through an evaluation of government and industry perspectives on implementing forest certification on unalienated Crown lands in Newfoundland and Labrador. In order to evaluate the possibility and practicality of implementing certification, this study surveyed forestry stakeholders from the provincial forest service, pulp and paper industry and sawmill/product industry to discover their views on this topic and determine whether they share complementary forest certification goals. Overall, the majority of respondents agreed that certification should be pursued and favoured a joint government-industry approach to leading and financing this initiative.

In late 2001, the New Brunswick Forest Products Association submitted a letter to the New Brunswick Minister of Natural Resources, which triggered a three-year sequence of events whose potential to change New Brunswick forestry is more profound than any development since passage of the Crown Lands and Forests Act 25 years ago. Forestry in New Brunswick has risen to a level of prominence in the public and professional consciousness that is unprecedented in recent decades; the public voice is louder and stronger, industrial concerns are greater, and the economic vulnerability of the province is clearly evident. In this paper, we chronicle these events and identify some resulting and important challenges that confront the New Brunswick forestry community as it faces the future. The forestry community faces huge challenges to create a healthier forest and forest economy, which will require concerted, coordinated, and constructive efforts of practitioners, researchers, and policy-makers from the domains of social, management, and environmental science. Key words: forest policy, intensive forest management, public hearings, public participation, future directions of Crown land management

In southeastern Australia, Fusarium crown rot, caused by Fusarium culmorum or F. pseudograminearum, is an increasingly important disease of cereals. Because in-crop control options are limited, it is important for growers to know prior to planting which fields are at risk of yield loss from crown rot. Understanding the relationships between crown rot inoculum and yield loss would assist in assessing the risk of yield loss from crown rot in fields prior to planting. Thirty-five data sets from crown rot management experiments conducted in the states of South Australia and Victoria during the years 2005 to 2010 were examined. Relationships between Fusarium spp. DNA concentrations (inoculum) in soil samples taken prior to planting and disease development and grain yield were evaluated in seasons with contrasting seasonal rainfall. F. culmorum and F. pseudograminearum DNA concentrations in soil prior to planting were found to be positively related to crown rot expression (stem browning and whiteheads) and negatively related to grain yield of durum wheat, bread wheat, and barley. Losses from crown rot were greatest when rainfall during September and October (crop maturation) was below the long-term average. Losses from crown rot were greater in durum wheat than bread wheat and least in barley. Yield losses from F. pseudograminearum were similar to yield losses from F. culmorum. Yield loss patterns were consistent across experiments and between states; therefore, it is reasonable to expect that similar relationships will occur over broad geographic areas. This suggests that quantitative polymerase chain reaction technology and soil sampling could be powerful tools for assessing crown rot inoculum concentrations prior to planting and predicting the risk of yield loss from crown rot wherever this disease is an issue.

Non-industrial private forest (NIPF) land comprises approximately one-third of the forested area of New Brunswick. Harvesting activity on NIPFs has been facilitated through the establishment of forest marketing boards for primary products and legislation which requires that NIPF land be the principal source of supply for Crown licensees. Management activity on NIPFs has been encouraged through a policy of grant assistance and technical aid. The property tax structure does not necessarily reinforce these policies. Here, theoretical considerations of forest property tax structure are introduced and an examination of forest property taxation of New Brunswick NIPF lands is undertaken.

This paper provides a synthesis of a 2-phase approach used by the Canadian Ecology Centre – Forestry Research Partnership (CEC-FRP) to implement adaptive management on 6 forest management units in northeastern Ontario. It also provides a summary of a self evaluation of the partnership using a set of attributes deemed necessary to successfully implement adaptive management (i.e., leadership; alignment with organizational goals; commitment, will, and capacity to act; and formal and explicit documentation). We conclude that the adoption of the 2-phase approach, rather than direct implementation of adaptive management, provided the partners with the means to identify and address critical uncertainties related to intensifying forest management on Crown lands in Ontario, focus research and transfer activities, develop and test new landscape- and stand-level models, and adjust forest management policies and practices. Key words: adaptive management, intensive forest management, knowledge transfer

This paper considers the intensification of agriculture along racial lines in South Africa by looking at the history of one spring and nine miles of river valley. It illustrates how racial conflict included struggles over nature, and how whites and blacks had different perceptions and abilities regarding its exploitation.The ‘Eye’ of Kuruman is a large spring in a semi-arid region. Tswana herders originally used it as a water hole. Their food production system was extensive, making use of wide areas rather than increasing output in a limited area. Pastoralism was more important than agriculture. Irrigation, introduced by representatives of the London Missionary Society, was not widely practiced away from the missions until a subsistence crisis during the 1850s. It continued after the crisis passed. However, households continued to operate with the logic of extensive production, fitting irrigation into the pre-existing system.In 1885, tne British annexed the region as part of the Crown Colony of British Bechuanaland. They demarcated African reserves at springs and in river valleys, and grazing lands were opened for white settlement. The upper Kuruman valley was designated a Crown reserve and the Eye became a town site. Downstream were Tswana households which cultivated with less security than on a native reserve. Land alienation with rinderpest devastated stock keeping and caused a widespread famine at the turn of the century, yet Tswana cultivators did not greatly intensify their use of irrigable lands. More extensive methods endured and wage labor became the basis of support.In the twentieth century under Union government, use of the Eye intensified, and access to the valley became segregated by race. After 1918 the municipality of Kuruman operated a modern irrigation project, and in 1919, evicted black cultivators living at the Eye. Blacks continued to live and garden at Seodin, five miles downstream, but suffered water shortages which made even their casual irrigation impossible. Political expediency dictated against their pressing for water rights. In the 1940s the Department of Native Affairs drilled boreholes, but these were not sufficient to sustain cultivation. In 1962, the policy of Apartheid mandated the removal of blacks from Seodin. Despite state aid, the whites-only irrigation project never developed into a commercial success.

The term forest management refers to the science and business of operating a forest property, which, on Crown lands in Ontario, is typically a forest management unit. Silviculture is a component of forest management that refers to the suite of stand-level activities used to control stand composition and growth. Intensive forest management (IFM) is a concept that has been discussed and considered in Ontario for at least 30 years. Originally, it referred to an intensively managed forest in which most stands are subject to relatively intensive silvicultural practices. Over time, both professional foresters and stakeholders began using the term IFM as if it were synonymous with intensive silviculture. As a result, IFM has been inappropriately used to reference stand-level activities in several published definitions and key policy documents, creating confusion among the science community, professionals, and the public. This confusion has made it difficult to implement aspects of the 1999 Ontario Forest Accord, which calls for the use of IFM (meaning intensive silviculture) to increase forest growth and productivity in some areas to offset the withdrawal of lands for parks and protected areas. We call on forest managers to refer to the term IFM correctly and to portray forest management to stakeholders as consisting of a portfolio of natural and/or anthropogenic disturbance regimes. With this approach, forest managers could more meaningfully define the intensity of forest management and silviculture on their landbase.Key words: forest policy, land use planning, intensive silviculture, portfolio concept of forest management, triad principle of land-use zoning, Forest Research Partnership, NEBIE Plot Network

The Wimmera River is central western Victoria's most important river, rising in the Grampians National Park, filling storages that supply the major water supply to the vast Wimmera and Mallee regions. It passes through the Little Desert National Park, an area of significant scenic, recreation, historical and conservation value and terminates in Victoria's largest inland freshwater lakes (Lakes Hindmarsh and Albacutya). The brittleness of the whole closed Wimmera River system, and the over committal of the water resources was brought to the public's attention when appeals were lodged against the proposal to licence a discharge of high standard secondary effluent from an extended aeration oxidation ditch and lagoon treatment facility at Horsham. Residents, user and community groups, Municipal Councils and Government Departments, aware of the deterioration of the Wimmera River had somewhere to focus their attention. Victoria's and possibly Australia's longest environmental appeal, lasting twenty-five days, and a State Environment Protection Policy, determined that all major point sources of nutrients should be removed from the River. More resources for clearing of unwanted emergent weeds, more facilities for protection of Crown Land and catchments generally, and the implementation of environmental summer flows as piping of the Wimmera-Mallee Stock and Domestic System proceeds, are all required. A River Management Board with strength, wealth, good public relations and a dedication to the task could make the Wimmera River an example for all Australia and a tourist attraction of immense value to the region.

The allowable cut effect, or ACE, is defined as an immediate increase in today's allowable cut of a timber management unit that is attributable to expected future increases in yields. In Canada, the ACE has been adopted by provincial governments in an attempt to encourage voluntary, private investments in silviculture on Crown forest lands. However, such policies have been generally ineffective. Potential reasons for their failure include the presence of other public silvicultural policies that crowd out private, ACE-motivated expenditures; rent (stumpage) collection provisions that do not allow tenure holders adequate financial returns on their investments; yield control provisions that do not impose significant constraints on industrial activity; costs of compliance with regulations to secure increased harvests; and the uncertainty surrounding the future of existing tenure arrangements.

A symposium on the dingo (Canis lupus dingo) was held in Sydney in May 1999 to discuss issues surrounding the conflicting views of the dingo: seen both as a potentially threatened species, and as a species that needs to be controlled because of its predation on livestock. The Symposium was particularly relevant to New South Wales (NSW) because of consideration being given to place the dingo on the schedule of NSW vulnerable species, under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. The potential for conflict was exacerbated by concurrent legislative changes in NSW (Rural Lands Protection Act 1998) requiring the Crown to control pest animals declared under the Act. Despite the obvious focus on the NSW situation, many of the issues discussed have wider relevance to the management and conservation of dingoes across Australia.

The forest users' needs can be stated simply: "A continuous and sustained supply of wood at a constant real cost".Forest manufacturing is highly capital intensive. A pulp mill costing $500 million needs five 65-million-dollar sawmills and five 35-million-dollar logging operations to supply the necessary volume of chips. The total costs $1 billion and $150 million per year must be put back into the business. To obtain the money, there must be not only a secure forest tenure, but for Crown lands, an incentive for wood users to make a solid commitment to forest management.The logger needs a year-round operation with relatively consistent timber types and topography. The sawmiller needs wood of consistent size and quality at an economical hauling distance from the mill. Mills will go under if hauling distances increase year by year, hence the need for total regeneration and rehabilitation of the backlog of NSR Land. The pulp mills require raw material of consistent quality to sell pulp on the open market.Threats to these requirements are lack of regeneration of denuded lands, ever decreasing annual allowable cuts with increased haul distances, and withdrawal of forest land from production.The solution is to provide incentives for the user to manage the forests under contract with the owner. Then there will be long-term management — a time frame not compatible with the fiscal policies of politicians and hence governments. Key words: forest management, forest industry, financial requirements, forest economics.

The nesting requirements of the yellow-tailed black-cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus) were studied at 68 sites in Eucalyptus regnans forest in the Strzelecki Ranges, South Gippsland, Victoria. Nest trees were located and their characteristics related to forest stand variables. Eighteen nest hollows were found. Nest trees had a mean diameter at breast height of 2.5 m, a mean estimated age of 221 years, a mean height of 58 m and for live nest trees a mean crown diameter of 22 m. The currently proposed rotation time for silvicultural systems of 80-150 years will reduce the number of hollow-bearing trees suitable for nesting yellow-tailed black-cockatoos. Adequate numbers of trees must be retained in logged areas and wildlife corridors and reserves, and protected to ensure a continual supply for yellow-tailed black-cockatoos and other hollow-dependent species. If agonistic behaviour is operating between female yellow-tailed black-cockatoos, nesting potential may be enhanced if trees retained on coupes are evenly distributed rather than clumped. Silvicultural systems that facilitate the protection of trees retained on coupes would benefit the conservation of the yellow-tailed black-cockatoo.

This paper aims to analyse in a comparative perspective diplomatic exchanges involving the Christian realms of the Iberian peninsula, especially the crown of Aragon, during the later middle ages. In a framework of legal pluralism, two types of community—kingdoms and towns—were especially important in diplomatic practice. The diplomacies of kings, communities within kingdoms and towns interacted in complex entanglements. When kings were absent or became the enemy of communities, the diplomatic role of the latter could increase dramatically. This phenomenon is explored in two case-studies: the so-called ‘great division’ of the Mallorcan king’s lands (1324–26) and the Catalan civil war (1462–73). Some communities appear to have had an expert knowledge of diplomatic codes, practices and languages. The execution of diplomacy could be challenging and crucial for the resilience of communities but it could also reveal the fragility of their unity.

With ever-increasing demands being made on remote and natural lands, planners and managers require more detailed information than hitherto to assist them in monitoring the status of this wilderness resource and developing appropriate and effective management prescriptions. These requirements are addressed by a computer-based wilderness evaluation procedure that has been developed for a national wilderness survey of Australia.The methodology, based on the wilderness continuum concept (Lesslie & Taylor, 1985), places emphasis on measuring variation in wilderness quality by using four indicators that represent the two essential attributes of remoteness and naturalness. This permits a precise assessment to be made of the wilderness resource, revealing those factors which contribute to or compromise wilderness quality. The computer-based storage and analysis of data enables surveys to be conducted over large, even continental, areas, yet at a relatively fine level of resolution that is appropriate to localized planning needs.Trial application to the State of Victoria, Australia, demonstrates that the survey procedure can be successfully adapted to a wide range of environments, use-patterns, data-base characteristics, and management objectives, which should be applicable and very widely useful elsewhere.

The article analyzes the history of the using the regalia images of regalia in the titular heraldry of the Moscow Kingdom of the 16th – 17th centuries. Titular heraldry is a complex of coats of arms for the territories of which the names were part of the object title of the Russian sovereigns. The total number of titular coats of arms of the Moscow Kingdom is more than thirty. They were first recorded on the Great Seal of Ivan the Terrible in the late 1570s. On this seal, out of 24 titular coats of arms (emblems, “seals”), four had the images of certain regal objects. In two cases, these were the conditional crowns cresting the armorial figures and testifying to the royal status of the designated administrative territories (the Kazan and Astrakhan kingdoms). In two cases, the images of a “place” were used, which meant a seat for the ruler (or an authorized officer). On the Novgorod seal, that place had the steps, which was, apparently, a more archaic version of such a seat on the Tver seal, the “place” looked like a throne. The pastoral staff in the Novgorod “place” and the princely cap in the Tver “place” testified to the local specifics of the management of these most important titular objects in the general context of the power system of Muscovy. Subsequently, the Astrakhan coat of arms had underwent a radical change, and the appearance of the crown began to resemble a royal crown of the Western European type. The same crown instead of a princely hat appeared on the Tver emblem by the end of the 17th century. In the “Titulyarnik” (title reference book) of 1672, two more coats of arms with the images of regalia appeared. In the Siberian coat of arms, the crown again symbolized the royal status of the titular object. In the Vladimir coat of arms, the crown cresting the lion apparently signified the special status of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir among the lands of northern and north-eastern Rus’. In general, the images of the regal objects in the titular coats of arms followed clear patterns, corresponded to the status of the analogous objects, as well as to their historical significance.

Abstract. Forest assessment and measurement can be costly, laborious and time-consuming when done manually. Remote Sensing aids by providing data of sufficient accuracy for large tracts of forest lands in the form of maps. These data can then assist in decision- making for better forest management. This study estimated canopy cover, a primary forest measurement parameter, using remotely- sensed data. Satellite images such as Planetscope and WorldView were used to estimate canopy cover. The results were then compared to measurements obtained from a manual inventory – in this case, of an Acacia mangium plantation. The manual inventory was conducted in a National Greening Program (NGP) site in Basay, Negros Oriental. Field inventory involved a Static Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) survey and a Total Station survey to get the accurate location of trees present in the plot. Diameter- at- breast was measured for all trees. Tree height and crown diameter were measured for at least 10 percent of all trees in the plot.

Leadbeater’s possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri) is an arboreal marsupial that occurs primarily in the montane ash forests of the Central Highlands of Victoria. Leadbeater’s possum is among the best studied endangered species globally. Despite extensive monitoring and research, the ongoing population trajectory of the species has resulted in its recent upgrading from Endangered to Critically Endangered. One of the key processes threatening the species is the widespread use of clearfell logging, which significantly degrades the habitat of the species and results in long-term habitat loss, fragmented populations, and an elevated risk of high-severity crown-scorching fires. A general principle underpinning conservation biology is to remove key threatening processes to enhance the conservation of species. The cessation of clearfell logging and a major expansion of the reserve system are urgently needed to limit the risk of extinction of Leadbeater’s possum. Current government policies and practices that continue to result in clearfelling of montane ash forests run counter to the large body of science indicating what is needed to conserve Leadbeater’s possum. A large ecological reserve is urgently required to maximise the chances that the species will persist in the wild.

AbstractLegislation emerging from Treaty of Waitangi settlements provide Māori, the Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand, with new opportunities to destabilize and decolonize the colonial knowledge, processes and practices that contribute towards negative material and metaphysical impacts on their rohe [traditional lands and waters]. In this article we focus our attention on the Nga Wai o Maniapoto (Waipa River) Act 2012 and the Deed of Settlement signed between the Crown (the New Zealand government) and Ngāti Maniapoto (the tribal group with ancestral authority over the Waipā River) as an example of how the law in Aotearoa New Zealand is increasingly stretched beyond settler-colonial confines to embrace legal and ontological pluralism. We illustrate how this Act serves as the foundation upon which Ngāti Maniapoto are seeking to restore, manage, and enhance the health of their river. Such legislation, we argue, provides a far higher degree of recognition of Māori rights and interests both as an outcome of the settlement process and by strengthening provisions under the Resource Management Act 1991 regarding the role of Māori in resource management. We conclude by suggesting that co-governance and co-management arrangements hold great potential for transforming river management by recognizing and accommodating ontological and epistemological pluralism, which moves Aotearoa New Zealand closer to achieving sustainable and just river futures for all.

It is an honour for an otological surgeon to be asked to deliver the second Sir Morell MacKenzie address. Thank you for the invitation and for that honour. Exactly 100 years ago MacKenzie, with Norris Wolfenden, founded ‘The Journal of Laryngology and Rhinology’. ‘Otology’ was not added to the title until 1892, the year MacKenzie died. I shall return to this theme later. It is also exactly 100 years since, in 1887, MacKenzie was asked by Queen Victoria to examine her son-in-law, Frederick, Crown Prince of Germany. The controversy and subsequent recrimination which flowed from the management of Frederick's laryngeal lesion I shall leave to future lecturers to assess. It is as the founder of British laryngology that he should be remembered. As early as 1863 he had started the Metropolitan Free Dispensary for Diseases of the Throat and Loss of Voice, the first institution of its kind in the world. He wrote authoritatively on diseases of the throat and invented many instruments for the difficult art of indirect laryngeal and pharyngeal surgery. He received his Knighthood, also in 1887.

This paper reports on the collection phase of a research program which aimed to identify Australian native grasses that may be useful for pastoral purposes and for controlling land degradation on hill-lands in the high (>500 mm) rainfall zone of south-eastern Australia. Live plants of 37 target species were collected along a number of transects, and at specific locations, in New South Wales and Victoria. The collection sites were generally along public roads, and were chosen for their vegetation diversity. Each collection site was marked on a 1: 250000 topographic map, and detailed notes were taken of the native vegetation, geology, soil types, land use, and other features. Surface (00—10 cm) soil samples were collected at most sites and analysed for phosphorus, pH CaCl 2 , electrical conductivity, and particle size distribution. A total of 807 accessions were collected from 210 locations. At most collection sites, soils were acidic (median pH 5.6); soil phosphorus (Olsen) was in the low range (<8.5 mg/kg); and the target genera occurred with a low frequency (half of the sites yielded 3 accessions or less). Although genera collected in the study could be ranked on the basis of the mean pH of their collection sites, they all tolerated a considerable soil pH range (of about 2mp;mdash;5 pH units). Allowing root and shoot growth to recommence by growing collected plants for a short period in coarse sand considerably improved establishment success. Accessions collected in this study will be further evaluated.

Establishing zones to be intensively managed for timber production is proposed by some in Canada as one way to meet the numerous and diverse objectives for which society expects forests to be managed. Concentrating timber production in such zones could make possible the expansion of protected and other areas where non-timber objectives prevail. The jury is out as to the desirability of such a land allocation strategy relative to the alternative of integrated management where low intensity timber management is practised and multiple timber and non-timber objectives are sought from the same lands. In the event some agencies opt for a zoned forest land allocation, a critical issue becomes where to situate the intensive timber management zones. To help address this issue, we present a simple and flexible quantitative process for ranking candidate areas based on their suitability for intensive timber management. The framework involves: (1) defining candidate areas, (2) specifying indicators for economic, ecological, and social criteria of suitability and scoring each candidate relative to those indicators, and (3) ranking candidates using a composite index that factors in all suitability indicators. The process is sufficiently flexible to have application in any jurisdiction, but we demonstrate its use for the 3 million ha of Crown forest in New Brunswick. We conduct several exploratory analyses designed to provide insight into selection of suitable intensive timber management zones. These analyses include controlling the geographic dispersion of candidates, quantifying sensitivity of candidate rankings to differential weighting of suitability criteria, and identifying those candidates that consistently score well across a variety of criteria weightings. Use of the ranking framework to conduct such analysis could prove of significant value in the process of selecting intensive timber management zones. Key words: intensive timber management, New Brunswick, zoning, land allocation

Urban heat islands are characterized by the increased temperature in urban areas compared with the rural surroundings due to human-made interventions that replace natural lands with buildings and roads. This study focuses on the assessment and utilization of using local nature-based solutions such as trees, sensitive landscaping types and design strategies to enhance microclimate in neighborhood streets and the public realm in desert areas, taking Abu Dhabi as a case study. The research utilizes a design-based approach to propose landscaping and layouts of urban street trees in low-rise residential urban areas. In this study, two methods namely an on-site measurement using citizen science, and a numerical simulation model in the ENVI-met software are used. Site-measurements included the tree physical characteristics such as tree height, crown width (crown spread/diameter), and trunk height, and the use of technology (photography and the Fulcrum mobile application, Nikon Forestry pro Laser Rangefinder) and air temperature around trees. ENVI-met included four scenarios: 1—“no-vegetation”, 2—“grass-only”, 3—“existing conditions” and 4—“proposed landscape design”. Grass and three types of local street trees are used in the proposed scenarios including Ghaf, Poinciana, and Temple tree. In addition, a standard of 6 and 8 m spacing between each tree is applied to determine the effect of varying vegetation densities on the outdoor temperature. The combined results using citizen science and the model allowed the identification of particular urban tree species that show substantial cooling effects. This is the case of Poinciana trees, which decreased the air temperature up to 0.9 °C when spaced every six meters in pathways and open unshaded areas amongst alleys, improving the overall thermal conditions in neighborhoods of hot-arid landscapes.

Esso Australia Pty Ltd, in Victoria, Australia has recently been involved in the preparation of over 20 safety cases to meet both offshore (Victoria and Western Australia) [Petroleum {Submerged Lands} Act] and onshore [Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Act] regulatory requirements.This paper focusses on the development of the onshore safety cases for both Longford and Long Island Point plants to meet the Victorian Occupational Health and Safety (Major Hazard Facilities) Regulations 2000. Both plants have been granted a five-year unconditional licence to operate.The objectives of the safety case development were to ensure that Esso:addressed major hazard facilities regulatory requirements; maximised benefit from the process, and to maximise benefit from existing work; was consistent with site approach to risk assessment/ safety culture; involved appropriate workforce from all areas— operations, maintenance and technical support; enhanced the effective knowledge and understanding of the workforce; and developed a communication tool to enable ease of understanding by site personnel.Esso’s approach of using qualitative risk assessment techniques (familiar to many site personnel) enabled the process to use tools that provided ease of involvement for the non-technical or safety specialists. This paper will explain this approach in greater detail, demonstrating how this successfully met the stringent requirements of the regulations whilst providing Hazard Register documentation readily understood by the key customer— our site workforce.The hazard register clearly identifies the relevant hazards and their controls, as well as highlighting the linkages to the safety management system and documented performance standards. A comprehensive training program provides all personnel working at site with an overview of the safety case, and the necessary skills and knowledge to be able to use the safety case and hazard register to its maximum advantage. The safety case resource booklet (similar to our offshore approach) is an integral part of the training program, and provides an ongoing reference source for trainees. It continues to receive recognition by both regulators and industry.

Increases in the concentrations of greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and halocarbons in the atmosphere due to human activities are associated with global climate change. The concentration of N2O has increased by 16% since 1750. Although atmospheric concentration of N2O is much smaller (314 ppb in 1998) than of CO2 (365 ppm), its global warming potential (cumulative radiative forcing) is 296 times that of the latter in a 100-year time horizon. Currently, it contributes about 6% of the overall global warming effect but its contribution from the agricultural sector is about 16%. Of that, almost 80% of N2O is emitted from Australian agricultural lands, originating from N fertilisers (32%), soil disturbance (38%), and animal waste (30%). Nitrous oxide is primarily produced in soil by the activities of microorganisms during nitrification, and denitrification processes. The ratio of N2O to N2 production depends on oxygen supply or water-filled pore space, decomposable organic carbon, N substrate supply, temperature, and pH and salinity. N2O production from soil is sporadic both in time and space, and therefore, it is a challenge to scale up the measurements of N2O emission from a given location and time to regional and national levels.Estimates of N2O emissions from various agricultural systems vary widely. For example, in flooded rice in the Riverina Plains, N2O emissions ranged from 0.02% to 1.4% of fertiliser N applied, whereas in irrigated sugarcane crops, 15.4% of fertiliser was lost over a 4-day period. Nitrous oxide emissions from fertilised dairy pasture soils in Victoria range from 6 to 11 kg N2O-N/ha, whereas in arable cereal cropping, N2O emissions range from <0.01% to 9.9% of N fertiliser applications. Nitrous oxide emissions from soil nitrite and nitrates resulting from residual fertiliser and legumes are rarely studied but probably exceed those from fertilisers, due to frequent wetting and drying cycles over a longer period and larger area. In ley cropping systems, significant N2O losses could occur, from the accumulation of mainly nitrate-N, following mineralisation of organic N from legume-based pastures. Extensive grazed pastures and rangelands contribute annually about 0.2 kg N/ha as N2O (93 kg/ha per year CO2-equivalent). Tropical savannas probably contribute an order of magnitude more, including that from frequent fires. Unfertilised forestry systems may emit less but the fertilised plantations emit more N2O than the extensive grazed pastures. However, currently there are limited data to quantify N2O losses in systems under ley cropping, tropical savannas, and forestry in Australia. Overall, there is a need to examine the emission factors used in estimating national N2O emissions; for example, 1.25% of fertiliser or animal-excreted N appearing as N2O (IPCC 1996). The primary consideration for mitigating N2O emissions from agricultural lands is to match the supply of mineral N (from fertiliser applications, legume-fixed N, organic matter, or manures) to its spatial and temporal needs by crops/pastures/trees. Thus, when appropriate, mineral N supply should be regulated through slow-release (urease and/or nitrification inhibitors, physical coatings, or high C/N ratio materials) or split fertiliser application. Also, N use could be maximised by balancing other nutrient supplies to plants. Moreover, non-legume cover crops could be used to take up residual mineral N following N-fertilised main crops or mineral N accumulated following legume leys. For manure management, the most effective practice is the early application and immediate incorporation of manure into soil to reduce direct N2O emissions as well as secondary emissions from deposition of ammonia volatilised from manure and urine.Current models such as DNDC and DAYCENT can be used to simulate N2O production from soil after parameterisation with the local data, and appropriate modification and verification against the measured N2O emissions under different management practices.In summary, improved estimates of N2O emission from agricultural lands and mitigation options can be achieved by a directed national research program that is of considerable duration, covers sampling season and climate, and combines different techniques (chamber and micrometeorological) using high precision analytical instruments and simulation modelling, under a range of strategic activities in the agriculture sector.

Mangroves (stretch of intertidal tropical and subtropical forests between inland coastal forests and the sea) are being exploited at a rate that is unprecedented, there is loss of biodiversity because of conflicting and unsuitable uses. This study was aimed at promoting the protection of mangrove and associated coastal forests within Tiko and Limbe III municipalities in south western Cameroon, Central Africa via the contribution of buffer zone agroforestry. Representative traditionally dominant agricultural land use sites were surveyed for the identification and analysis of farming practices using participatory rapid appraisal (PRA). Data collected (qualitative and quantitative) were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics. Out of twelve (12) agroforestry practices currently carried out by farmers under three widely dominant classic agroforestry systems (agri-silvicultural – plantation and non-plantation, silvo-pastoral and agri-silvo-pastoral systems), 5 of them under plantation and non-plantation systems (palms on crops lands, cocoa-based, rubber on crop lands, scattered trees on farmland and home gardens) were considered climate smart agroforestry practices. The maximum diameter, density, height and crown diameter of trees were dominant in the cocoa-based except for the mango-based which had the maximum tree height. The tree size class for poles (≥10cm to <30cm) was dominant in the 5 practices. For a more inclusive green economy and climate smart agriculture, some improvements on tree density, shade management and choice of multi-purpose trees species (Cedrela sepium, Moringa oleifera, Leucaena leucocephala and fruit trees) for vital functions such as firewood, soil improvement, medicine, food and construction are advocated to enhance sustainable exploitation of adjacent coastal forests thus protecting mangrove. Moreover, on account of resultant stable tree species, structural and use diversity of adjacent coastal forests, further make buffer agroforestry to hold promise for the conservation of fragile and vulnerable mangroves. There is therefore also need to expand the present study in other mangrove areas especially the mangroves of Cameroon Estuary which is the major deforestation hotspot in Cameroon.

An experiment was undertaken to determine the production and water use of pure swards of white clover (Trifolium repens L. cv. Haifa), red clover (Trifolium pratense L. cv. Redquin) and lucerne (Medicago sativa L. cv. Validor) between December 1987 and December 1990. The experiment was a split plot design with 3 irrigation interval treatments, which were the main plots, and 3 legume species, which were the subplots, all of which were replicated 4 times. Irrigation frequency was determined by evaporation minus rainfall (E-R) and was scheduled to occur at intervals of about 40, 80 or 120 mm of cumulative E-R. Annual amounts of harvested dry matter (DM) ranged from 8 to 22 t/ha depending on irrigation and species treatment. There was an interaction (P<0.05) between irrigation interval and species during each irrigation season. White clover DM harvested was reduced (P<0.05) by an average of 23 and 41%, respectively, as irrigation intervals were extended beyond 40 mm E-R (where up to 12 t DM/ha was recorded in an irrigation season). The decline in white clover growth in the less frequently irrigated treatments, relative to the 40 mm E-R irrigation treatment, was most pronounced between December and February, the months of highest evaporative demand, when these swards were 30 and 52% less productive (80 and 120 mm E-R, respectively). This compared with reductions of 16 and 32%, respectively, for red clover and 1 and 4%, respectively, for lucerne during the same period. Red clover, a dense productive stand initially, lost vigour and density in the second summer of this experiment, and from February in the second year was not harvested. However, for the period during which it was harvested, red clover production was reduced (P<0.05) by 21%, on average, when the irrigation interval was 120 mm E-R compared with the 40 and 80 mm E-R irrigation treatments. The production of lucerne was not affected (P>0.05) by the range of irrigation frequencies used in this experiment, although its crown density in the most frequent irrigation treatment was 30% less than in the 2 less frequently irrigated treatments when measurements were terminated in December 1990. However, after the first year, the lucerne swards were all highly productive, producing up to 21 t DM/ha in an irrigation season. For white clover to be productive, frequent irrigation is essential. However, all the indices of plant and sward performance measured during intensive studies showed that frequent irrigation of white clover resulted in earlier onset of water stress relative to the less frequent irrigation intervals. Despite this earlier onset of water stress, the yield advantage of frequent irrigation was large. Red clover and lucerne were less reliant on frequent irrigations to maintain productivity than white clover. However, red clover may need to be re-sown on a regular basis in the northern Victorian environment because of its failure to persist beyond 2 years. It is suggested that lucerne should be considered in preference to white clover because of its greater water use efficiency and its less critical reliance on irrigation management to maintain productivity.

The management of the umbrella rubber plant of a clone PB 260 in the former mine is considered to be one of the main alternative solutions to overcome the unproductive lands with the provision of a solid decanter. This research was conducted at Teaching and Research Farm Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jambi from June to September 2017 with the aim to know the best decanter dose of rubber seed growth on the former land of coal mine in polybag. This research used a Completely Randomized Design (RAL) with 6 levels of treatment (a0) Without the solid decanter, (a1) 400 g/polybag, (a2) 500 g/polybag, (a3) 600 g/polybag, (a4) 700 g/polybag, (a5) 800 g/polybag. Each treatment consisted of 4 replications, and each replication consisted of 4 plants and 2 plants used as samples.Based on the result of this research, it can be concluded that the provision of solid decanter to the growth of rubber seedlings (Hevea brasiliensis Muell. Arg) one umbrella with soil media used for coal mining area gives better growth to diameter, number of leaf, dry weight of crown, and root dry weight than seed rubber without a solid decanter and generally a solid decanter treatment with a dose of 500 g / polybag showed improved rubber seed growth better than other treatments. Keyword: rubber seedlings the first umbrella,coal mine, solid decanter.

Fine-scale variation in habitat structure and composition is likely to influence habitat use by avian species with limited flight capabilities. I investigated proportional use of available habitat and microhabitat by the southern emu-wren (Stipiturus malachurus), a threatened, flight-limited passerine, at three sites in Victoria, in relation to vegetation structure and composition. Emu-wrens appeared to discriminate between habitats with regard to structural rather than floristic characteristics. Habitats with dense vertical foliage of shrubs, grasses and sedges/rushes between ground level and 100 cm, and dense horizontal cover of medium to tall shrubs, were used most frequently. However, when availability of habitat was taken into account, habitat use was negatively correlated with the vertical density of low shrub foliage and species richness. Within habitats, emu-wrens more frequently used plant species that had a dense canopy cover (26 ± 2% of total cover, crown diameter 93 ± 5 cm), high foliage density between 50 and 100 cm, and average heights of ~1 m. Plant species in which the birds nested comprised ~14% of total canopy cover and were densest between ground level and 50 cm. Canopy cover, vegetation height and vertical foliage density were consistently important variables correlated with emu-wren habitat use at multiple fine-scales. This study provides valuable information for conservation management of the species; in particular, the restoration of degraded habitats.

Land use and land cover change as a result of human-induced transitions is a major environmental challenge in Lake Victoria Basin. The study adopted a mixed-method consisting of remote sensing and GIS-based analysis, key informant interviews, and household survey consisting of 384 households to asses Land Use and Land Cover Dynamics and associated human-induced transformations in Ombeyi wetland. The study aimed at generating a characterized area estimate of Ombeyi wetlands land use and land cover change schema for the study period (1990-2017), and examining the spatial and temporal characteristics of anthropogenic impacts and their relationship with land use and land cover change in Ombeyi wetland. The gis-based analysis revealed that built-up area/settlements and agricultural lands extensively increased in area at the expense of wetland vegetation. Key informants attributed the changes to population increase (29.2%) and an associated demand for land and natural resources as the major driving forces for the changes. Analysis of household-survey results validated the observed patterns during the remotely sensed data analysis phase of the research, as 90.1% (n=384) of the respondents reported to own land within the wetland through inheritance. 92.2% of the respondents are farmers practicing farming in the wetland with 72.4% of the same respondents attaining primary level education and below. Poverty and education levels were significant factors in influencing unsustainable land use and land cover changes observed in this study. The present state of land cover and its dynamics have had negative impacts on the riparian rural livelihoods and natural resource management.

Under modern conditions of development of historical science, the study and analysis of document systems in different historical periods require comprehensive attention. It will help to understand more about the nature of the issue of retrospective functioning of record-keeping relations. Today there is a lack of new research on the historical and regional features of this process. Moreover, the accession of Galicia to the Kingdom of Poland, the creation of the Russian Voivodeship, and hence the introduction of large-scale Polish administrative management, legal system, production, education, culture have not been fully disclosed. Certain differences in the organizational principles of institutional documentation in the Ukrainian lands have not been revealed. The article defines the socio-political status of the population of Galicia, which was determined by belonging to a certain state, namely: nobility, clergy, burghers, peasants, which was reflected in the formation of relevant representative bodies of government at all levels with appropriate regulatory framework, that defined general way of working with documents and managing administrative institutions. At the same time, the article states the fact that despite the accession of Galicia to the Kingdom of Poland forced the indigenous Ukrainian population to get used to the system of government forcibly imposed by the invaders, it did not lose its ethnic identity. It was reflected in the formation of documentary and office-based territorial vocabulary with the preservation of words inherited from the times not only of Galicia-Volyn, but also from ancient Russia. The convening of regular congresses of the nobility and the adoption of relevant documents-decisions not only contributed to the formation of the foundation of aristocratic democracy in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, but also accelerated the consolidation of various ethnic and religious groups.

The upland (800-2000 m) snow tussock (Chionochloa spp.) rangelands of South Island, New Zealand have a long history of burning that pre-dates human occupation during the last millennium. Their present extent in part reflects their ability to displace a range of woody vegetation, including forest, through tolerance of periodic fne. Research has confirmed the general tolerance of these grasslands to fire, though recovery of some features (e.g. biomass and flowering potential) may take more than 14 years. Mammalian grazing, by contrast, is a recent phenomenon, associated with European settlement and pastoralism over the last 150 years, on these mostly Crown (i.e. public-owned) lands. Such grazing, particularly when combined with regular burning, has usually resulted in prolonged reductions in tussock biomass, vigour and stability, as well as in the control and yield of water, potentially the most valuable product for humans from the upland grasslands. Fire promotes vegetative growth, flowering and seed germination within 2 years of burning. It also increases the palatability of these long-lived dominant grasses which are vulnerable to severe grazing by introduced ruminants, especially in the immediate post-fire recovery period when nutrients are reallocated from roots to leaf tissue. Management constraints, particularly restriction of grazing during the post-fie recovery period, have been inadequate to prevent continued degradation of the grasslands through weakening or displacement of the dominant tussock grass cover and a consequent loss of stability in many areas. Under pastoralism, the productive potential of the grasslands, together with their water, soil and nature conservation values have generally declined. Existing pastoral practices in many areas clearly represent non-sustainable utilisation of the rangelands for pastoralism. Recovery will be difficult and costly, both economically and socially. Some representative areas have been formally reserved and are being monitored to serve as baseline references.

Carrum Carrum Swamp was a vast wetland to the south-east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, at the time that it was first sighted by white colonists in 1803. By 1878, the colonists had commenced converting the swamp to dry land for agricultural and horticultural pursuits, and 100 years later it was predominantly residential land. Shifting values in the 1970s led to environmental concerns about water quality in local creeks and Port Phillip Bay and subsequent residential development on the former swamp included the construction of stormwater treatment wetlands. Perceptions of wetlands are now diverse, including positive perceptions that support their presence in urban settings. In contrast, traditionally, wetlands have been perceived negatively, as waste lands, leading to their drainage. Nevertheless, alternative, perhaps positive, perceptions could have existed, only to be overwhelmed by the negative perceptions driving drainage. Understanding the full range of past perceptions is important to ensure that the historical record is correct and to provide historical context to contemporary perceptions of wetlands. It will better equip natural resource managers and designers and managers of constructed wetlands in urban locations to ensure that wetlands are healthy, functioning and appreciated by their local and wider communities. Thus, the perceptions of Carrum Carrum Swamp by colonists from 1803 to 1878 were examined through qualitative content analysis of historical documents, and a typology was developed. Seven different perceptions were identified: scientific, premodern, exploitative, romantic, aesthetic, medico-mythic and ecological. Most could be traced to the colonists’ predominantly British heritage, but one perception arose in the colony in response to the specific environmental conditions that the colonists encountered. This ecological perception valued wetlands as places of predictable water supply in a land of unpredictable rainfall. It recognised wetlands as part of a broader hydrological system, with influences on the local climate. Its proponents promoted the need for a different approach to the management of wetlands than in Britain and Europe. Nevertheless, a dominant exploitative perception prevailed, leading to the drainage of Carrum Carrum Swamp. The typology developed in this study will be useful for exploring perceptions of other wetlands, both colonial and contemporary.

The experiment was conducted in the Agronomy Field, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (SAU), Dhaka-1207 during the period of November 17, 2016 to March 29, 2017 on growth and yield performance of selected wheat genotypes at variable irrigation. In this experiment, the treatment consisted of three varieties viz. V1 = BARI Gom 26, V2 = BARI Gom 28, V3 = BARI Gom 30, and four different irrigations viz. I0 = No Irrigation throughout the growing season, I1 = One irrigation (Irrigate at CRI stage), I2= Two irrigation (Irrigate at CRI and grain filling), I3= Three irrigation (irrigate at CRI, booting and grain filling stages). The experiment was laid out in two factors split plot with three replications. The collected data were statistically analyzed for evaluation of the treatment effect. Results showed that a significant variation among the treatments in respect majority of the observed parameters. Results showed significant variation in almost every parameter of treatments. The highest Plant height, number of effective tillers hill-1, spike length, number of grain spike-1 was obtained from BARI Gom-30. The highest grain weight hectare-1 (3.44 ton) was found from wheat variety BARI Gom-30. All parameters of wheat showed statistically significant variation due to variation of irrigation. The maximum value of growth, yield contributing characters, seed yield was observed with three irrigation (irrigate at CRI, booting and grain filling stages). The interaction between different levels of variety and irrigation was significantly influenced on almost all growth and yield contributing characters, seed yield. The highest yield (3.99 t ha-1) was obtained from BARI Gom-30 with three irrigation (irrigate at CRI, booting and grain filling stages). The optimum growth and higher yield of wheat cv. BARI Gom-30 could be obtained by applying three irrigations at CRI, booting and grain filling stages. Introduction Wheat (Triticumaestivum L.) is one of the most important cereal crops cultivated all over the world. Wheat production was increased from 585,691 thousand tons in 2000 to 713,183 thousand tons in 2013 which was ranked below rice and maize in case of production (FAO, 2015). In the developing world, need for wheat will be increased 60 % by 2050 (Rosegrant and Agcaoili, 2010). The International Food Policy Research Institute projections revealed that world demand for wheat will increase from 552 million tons in 1993 to 775 million tons by 2020 (Rosegrantet al.,1997). Wheat grain is the main staple food for about two third of the total population of the world. (Hanson et al., 1982). It supplies more nutrients compared with other food crops. Wheat grain is rich in food value containing 12% protein, 1.72% fat, 69.60% carbohydrate and 27.20% minerals (BARI, 2006). It is the second most important cereal crop after rice in Bangladesh. So, it is imperative to increase the production of wheat to meet the food requirement of vast population of Bangladesh that will secure food security. During 2013-14 the cultivated area of wheat was 429607 ha having a total production of 1302998 metric tons with an average yield of 3.033 metric tons ha-1whereas during 2012-13 the cultivated area of wheat was 416522 ha having a total production of 1254778 metric tons with an average yield of 3.013 tons ha-1 (BBS, 2014). Current demand of wheat in the country is 3.0-3.5 million tons. Increasing rate of consumption of wheat is 3% per year (BBS, 2013). Wheat production is about 1.0 milllion from 0.40 million hectares of land. Bangladesh has to import about 2.0-2.5-million-ton wheat every year. Wheat is grown all over Bangladesh but wheat grows more in Dhaka, Faridpur, Mymensingh, Rangpur, Dinajpur, Comilla districts. Wheat has the umpteen potentialities in yield among other crops grown in Bangladesh. However, yield per hectare of wheat in Bangladesh is lower than other wheat growing countries in the world due to various problems. Increasing food production of the country in the next 20 years to much population growth is a big challenge in Bangladesh. It is more difficult because, land area devoted to agriculture will decline and better-quality land and water resources will be divided to the other sector of national economy. In order to grow more food from marginal and good quality lands, the quality of natural resources like seed, water, varieties and fuel must be improved and sustained. Variety plays an important role in producing high yield of wheat because different varieties responded differently for their genotypic characters, input requirement, growth process and the prevailing environment during growing season. In Bangladesh the wheat growing season (November-March) is in the driest period of the year. Wheat yield was declined by 50% owing to soil moisture stress. Irrigation water should be applied in different critical stages of wheat for successful wheat production. Shoot dry weight, number of grains, grain yield, biological yield and harvest index decreased to a greater extent when water stress was imposed at the anthesis stage while water stress was imposed at booting stage caused a greater reduction in plant height and number of tillers (Gupta et al., 2001). Determination of accurate amount of water reduces irrigation cost as well as checks ground water waste. Water requirements vary depending on the stages of development. The pick requirement is at crown root initiation stage (CRI). In wheat, irrigation has been recommended at CRI, flowering and grain filling stages. However, the amount of irrigation water is shrinking day by day in Bangladesh which may be attributed to filling of pond river bottom. Moreover, global climate change scenarios are also responsible for their scarcity of irrigation water. So, it is essential to estimate water saving technique to have an economic estimate of irrigation water. Information on the amount of irrigation water as well as the precise sowing time of wheat with change in climate to expedite wheat production within the farmer’s limited resources is inadequate in Bangladesh. The need of water requirement also varies with sowing times as the soil moisture depletes with the days after sowing in Bangladesh as there is scanty rainfall after sowing season of wheat in general in the month of November. With above considerations, the present research work was conducted with the following objectives: To evaluate yield performance of selected wheat genotypes(s) at variable irrigation management. To identify the suitable genotype (s) of wheat giving higher yield under moisture stress condition. Materials and Methods Description of the experimental site The experiment was conducted in the Research Field, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (SAU), Dhaka-1207 during the period of November, 2016 to March, 2017 to observe the growth and yield performance of selected wheat genotypes at variable irrigation management. The experimental field is located at 23041´ N latitude and 90º 22´ E longitude at a height of 8.6 m above the sea level belonging to the Agro-ecological Zone “AEZ-28” of Madhupur Tract (BBS, 2013). Soil characteristics The soil of the research field is slightly acidic in reaction with low organic matter content. The selected plot was above flood level and sufficient sunshine was available having available irrigation and drainage system during the experimental period. Soil samples from 0-15 cm depths were collected from experimental field. The experimental plot was also high land, having pH 5.56. Climate condition The experimental field was situated under sub-tropical climate; usually the rainfall is heavy during Kharifseason, (April to September) and scanty in Rabi season (October to March). In Rabi season temperature is generally low and there is plenty of sunshine. The temperature tends to increase from February as the season proceeds towards kharif. Rainfall was almost nil during the period from November 2016 to March 2017 and scanty from February to September. Planting material The test crop was wheat (Triticumaestivum). Three wheat varieties BARI Gom-26, BARI Gom-28 and BARI Gom-30 were used as test crop and were collected from Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Joydebpur, Gazipur. Treatments The experiment consisted of two factors and those were the wheat genotypes and irrigation. Three wheat genotypes and four irrigations were used under the present study. Factor A: three wheat varieties- V1 = BARI Gom-26, V2 = BARI Gom-28 and V3= BARI Gom-30. Factor B: four irrigations- I0 = No Irrigation throughout the growing season, I1 = One irrigation (Irrigate at CRI stage), I2= Two irrigation (Irrigate at CRI and grain filling) and I3= Three irrigation (Irrigate at CRI, booting and grain filling stages). The experiment was laid out in a split plot design with three replications having irrigation application in the main plots, verities in the sub plots. There were 12 treatments combinations. The total numbers of unit plots were 36. The size of unit plot was 2 m x 2 m = 4.00 m2. The distances between sub-plot to sub-plot, main plot to main plot and replication to replication were, 0.75, 0.75 and 1.5 m, respectively. Statistical analysis The collected data on each plot were statistically analyzed to obtain the level of significance using the computer-based software MSTAT-C developed by Gomez and Gomez, 1984. Mean difference among the treatments were tested with the least significant difference (LSD) test at 5 % level of significance. Results and Discussion Plant height Plant height varied significantly among the tested three varieties (Table 1). At, 75 DAS, BARI Gom 30 showed the tallest plant height (34.72 cm) and BARI Gom 26 recorded the shortest plant height (32.32 cm). At, 90 DAS, BARI Gom 30 recorded the highest plant height (76.13 cm) was observed from BARI Gom 26. However, BARI Gom 26 recorded the shortest plant height (75.01 cm) which was also statistically similar with BARI Gom 28. Islam and Jahiruddin (2008) also concluded that plant height varied significantly due to various wheat varieties. Plant height of wheat showed statistically significant variation due to amount of irrigation at 75, 90 DAS under the present trial (Table 2). At 75 DAS, the tallest plant (34.78 cm) was recorded from I3 (Three irrigation) while the shortest plant (32.02 cm) was observed from I0 (No Irrigation throughout the growing season) treatment. At 60 DAS, the tallest plant (77.51 cm) was found from I3, which was statistically similar with I2 (Two irrigation) and I1 (One irrigation). The shortest plant (71.29 cm) was observed from I0. Plant height was likely increased due to applying higher amount of irrigation compared to less amount of irrigation. Sultana (2013) stated that increasing water stress declined the plant height. Interaction effect of variety and different amount of irrigation showed significant differences on plant height of wheat at 75 and 90 DAS (Table 3). The highest plant height at 30 was 38.00 cm obtained from V3I3 treatment combination. The shortest plant height at 30 was 30.67 cm obtained from V1I0 treatment combination. At 60 DAS, plant height was 78.50 cm obtained from V3I3 and lowest was 69.83 cm obtained from V1I0 treatment combination, which was statistically similar with V2I0 and 3I0 treatment combination. Table 1. Effect of variety on plant height of wheat at different days after sowing Table 2. Effect of irrigation on plant height of wheat at different days after sowing Table 3. Interaction effect of variety and irrigation on plant height of wheat Number of effective tiller hill-1 Number of effective tillers hill-1of wheat was not varied significantly due to varieties (Table 4). BARI Gom 30 produced the highest number of effective tillers hill-1 (9.33) and the lowest number of effective tillers hill-1(8.58) was observed in BARI Gom 26. Different levels of irrigation varied significantly in terms of number of effective tillers hill-1 of wheat at harvest under the present trial (Table 5). The highest number of effective tillers hill-1 9.89 was recorded from I3 treatment, while the corresponding lowest number of effective tillers hill-1 were 7.89 observed in I0 treatment. Sultana (2013) stated that increasing water stress reduced the number of tillers per hill. Variety and irrigation showed significant differences on number of effective tillers hill-1 of wheat due to interaction effect (Table 6). The highest number of effective tillers hill-1 10.33 were observed from V3I3 treatment combination, while the corresponding lowest number of effective tillers hill-1 as 7.33 were recorded from V1I0 treatment combination. Number of non-effective tiller hill-1 Number of non-effective tillers hill-1of wheat was not varied significantly due to varieties (Table 4). BARI Gom 26 produced the highest number of non-effective tillers hill-1 (1.33) and the lowest number of non-effective tillers hill-1(1.00) was observed in BARI Gom 30. Different levels of irrigation varied significantly in terms of number of non-effective tillers hill-1 of wheat at harvest under the present trial (Table 5). The highest number of non-effective tillers hill-1 (2.00) was recorded from I0, while the corresponding lowest number of non-effective tillers hill-1 (0.67) was observed in I3. Variety and irrigation showed significant differences on number of non-effective tillers hill-1 of wheat due to interaction effect (Table 6). The highest number of non-effective tillers hill-1 (2.33) were observed from V1I0 treatment combination, while the corresponding lowest number of non-effective tillers hill-1 (0.33) were recorded from V3I2 treatment combination. Table 4. Effect of variety on yield and yield contributing characters of wheat Table 5. Effect of irrigation on yield and yield contributing characters of wheat Table 6. Interaction effect of variety and irrigation on yield and yield contributing characters of wheat Spike length (cm) Insignificant variation was observed on spike length (cm) at applied three types of modern wheat variety as BARI Gom-26 (V1), BARI Gom-28 (V2), and BARI Gom-30 (V3). From the experiment with that three types of varieties BARI Gom-30 (V3) (8.46 cm) given the largest spike length and BARI Gom-26 (V1) (8.08 cm) was given the lowest spike length (Table 4). Similar result was found using with different type varieties by Hefniet al. (2000). Different irrigation application has a statistically significant variation on spike length as irrigated condition (I3) was given the maximum result (9.17 cm) and non-irrigated condition (I0) given the lowest spike length (7.17 cm) (Table 5). Interaction effect of improved wheat variety and irrigation showed significant differences on spike length. Results showed that the highest spike length was obtained from V3I3 (10.33 cm). On the other hand, the lowest spike length was observed at V1I0 (6.50cm) treatment combination (Table 6). Grain spike-1 Significant variation was observed on grain spike-1 at these applied three types of modern wheat variety. The BARI Gom-30 (V3) (37.75) given the maximum number of grain spike-1 and BARI Gom-26 (V1) (36.92) was given the lowest number of grain spike-1, which was statistically similar with V2 treatment (Table 4). Different wheat genotypes have significant effect on grain spike-1 observed also by Rahman et al. (2009). Different irrigation application has a statistically significant variation on grain spike-1 as the irrigation condition (I3) was given the maximum result (39.33), which was statistically similar with I2 and non-irrigated condition (I0) given the lowest grain spike-1 (34.56) (Table 5). Sarkar et al. (2010) also observed that irrigation have a significant effect on grain spike-1. Interaction effect of improved wheat variety and irrigation showed significant differences on grain spike-1. Results showed that the highest grain spike-1 was obtained from V3I3 (41.0). On the other hand, the lowest grain spike-1 was observed at V1Io (34.00) which were also statistically similar with V3Io (34.67) (Table 6). 3Thousand Seed weight There was significant variation was observed on thousand seed weight due to different types of modern wheat variety. The wheat variety of BARI Gom-30 (V3) (50.40 g) given the maximum thousand seed weight and statistically different from BARI Gom-28 (V2) (46.74 g). BARI Gom-26 (V1) (46.22 g) was given the lowest thousand seed weight (Table 7). Rahman et al. (2009), Islam et al. (2015) also conducted experiment with different variety and observed have effect of varieties on yield. Different irrigation application has a statistically significant variation on thousand seed weight. The I3 was given the maximum thousand seed weight (48.91) and non-irrigated condition (I0) given the lowest yield (46.13 g) (Table 8). Sarkar et al. (2010), Baser et al. (2004) reported that grain yield under non-irrigated conditions was reduced by approximately 40%. Bazzaet al. (1999) reported that one water application during the tillering stage allowed the yield to be lower only than that of the treatment with three irrigations but Meenaet al. (1998) reported that wheat grain yield was the highest with 2 irrigations (2.57 ton/ha in 1993 and 2.64 ton/ha) at flowering and/or crown root initiation stages. Wheat is sown in November to ensure optimal crop growth and avoid high temperature and after that if wheat is sown in the field it faces high range of temperature for its growth and development as well as yield potential. Islam et al. (2015) reported that late planted wheat plants faced a period of high temperature stress during reproductive stages causing reduced kernel number spike-1 as well as the reduction of grain yield. Interaction effect of improved wheat variety and irrigation showed significant differences on thousand seed weight (Table 9). Results showed that the highest thousand seed weight (52.33 g) was obtained from V3I3 which was statistically similar with V3I2 (52.06 g). On the other hand, the lowest yield (45.36 g) was observed at V1I1. Table 7. Effect of variety on yield and yield of wheat Table 8. Effect of irrigation on yield and yield of wheat Table 9. Interaction effect of variety and irrigation on yield and yield of wheat Grain yield (t ha-1) Different wheat varieties showed significant difference for grain weight hectare-1 (Table 7). The highest grain yield hectare-1 (3.44 ton) was found from wheat variety BARI Gom-30 (V3), which was statistically similar with V2, whereas the lowest (3.21 ton) was observed from wheat variety BARI gom 26. Rahman et al. (2009), Islam et al. (2015) also conducted experiment with different variety and observed have effect of varieties on yield. Significant difference was observed for yield for different irrigation application. The three irrigation (I3) was given the maximum yield (3.74 t ha-1), which was statistically similar with I2 treatment and non-irrigated condition (I0) given the lowest yield (2.97 t ha-1) (Table 8). Sarkar et al. (2010), Baser et al. (2004) reported that grain yield under non-irrigated conditions was reduced by approximately 40%. Bazzaet al. (1999) reported that one water application during the tillering stage allowed the yield to be lower only than that of the treatment with three irrigations but Meenaet al. (1998) reported that wheat grain yield was the highest with 2 irrigations (2.57 ton/ha in 1993 and 2.64 ton/ha) at flowering and/or crown root initiation stages. Wheat is sown in November to ensure optimal crop growth and avoid high temperature and after that if wheat is sown in the field it faces high range of temperature for its growth and development as well as yield potential. Islam et al. (2015) reported that late planted wheat plants faced a period of high temperature stress during reproductive stages causing reduced kernel number spike-1 as well as the reduction of grain yield. Interaction effect of improved wheat variety and irrigation showed significant differences on yield (t ha-1). Results showed that the highest yield (3.99 t ha-1) was obtained from V3I3, which was statistically similar with V2I3 and V3I2. On the other hand, the lowest yield (2.93 t ha-1) was observed at V1I0 (Table 7). Straw yield (t ha-1) Applied three types of wheat variety have a statistically significant variation on straw yield (t ha-1). The maximum straw yield (1.95 t ha-1) was obtained from BARI Gom-30 and BARI Gom-26 (V1) was given the lowest straw yield (1.87 t ha-1), which was statistically similar with V2 treatment. Different irrigation application has a statistically significant variation on straw yield (t ha-1) of wheat. The I3 treatment for straw yield (2.01 t ha-1) was given the maximum result and non-irrigated condition (I0) given the lowest (1.80 t ha-1). Similar results were found by Ali and Amin (2004) through his experiment. Interaction effect of improved wheat variety and irrigation showed significant differences on straw yield (t ha-1). The highest straw yield (2.08 t ha-1) was obtained from V3I3 which was statistically similar with V3I2 (2.07 t ha-1) treatment combination. On the other hand, the lowest straw yield (1.78 t ha-1) was observed at V1Io, which was statistically similar with V2I0 (2.07 t ha-1) treatment combination. Biological yield Significant variation was attained for biological yield for different wheat varieties. The variety BARI Gom-30 given the maximum biological yield (5.39 t ha-1) and BARI Gom-26 (V1) was given the lowest biological yield (5.078 t ha-1). Different irrigation application has a statistically significant variation biological yield (t ha-1) of wheat. The I3 treatment for biological yield (5.76 t ha-1) was given the maximum result and non-irrigated condition (I0) given the lowest (4.77 t ha-1). Similar results were found by Ali and Amin (2004) through his experiment. At the time of biological yield (t ha-1) consideration with variety and irrigation statistically significance variation was observed as maximum biological yield (t ha-1) at V3I3 (6.07 t ha-1). On the other hand, the lowest result was given at V1Io (4.72 tha-1). Summary And Conclusion It may be concluded within the scope and limitation of the present study that the optimum growth and higher yield of wheat cv. BARI Gom-30 could be obtained by applying three irrigations at irrigate at CRI, booting and grain filling stages. However, further studies are necessary to arrive at a definite conclusion. References Ali, M. N.; and Amin, M.S. Effect of single irrigation and sowing date on growth and yield of wheat. M. S. thesis, SAU, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 2004. (Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute). Hand book of Agricultural Technology. Joydebpur, Gazipur. 2006, 9. Baser, I.; Sehirali, S.; Orta, H.; Erdem, T.; Erdem, Y.; Yorganclar, O. Effect of different water stresses on the yield and yield components of winter wheat. Cereal Res. Comn. 2004, 32(2), 217-223. Bazza, S. S.; Awasthi, M. K.; Nema, R. K. Studies on Water Productivity and Yields Responses of Wheat Based on Drip Irrigation Systems in Clay Loam Soil. Indian J. Sci. Tech. 1999, 8(7), 650-654. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Planning, Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka. 2013. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Planning, Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka. 2014. K. A.; Gomez, A. A. Statistical Procedures for Agricultural Research. 2nd edition. John Willy and Sons, New York. 1984, 28-192. Gupta, P. K.; Gautam, R. C.; Ramesh, C. R. Effect of water stress on different stages of wheat cultivation. Plant Nutri. and Fert. Sci. 2001, 7(2), 33-37. Hanson, M.; Farooq, M.; Shabir, G.; Khan, M. B.; Zia, A. B.; Lee, D. G. Effect of date sowing and rate of fertilizers on the yield of wheat under irrigated condition. J. Agril. & Biol. 1982, 14(4), 25-31. Hefni, S.; Sajjad, A.; Hussain M. I.; Saleem, M. Growth and yield response of three wheat varieties to different seeding densities. J. Agric. Biol. 2000, 3(2), 228-229. Islam, S.; Islam, S.; Uddin, M. J.; Mehraj, H.; Jamal Uddin, A. F. M. Growth and yield response of wheat to irrigation at different growing stages. J. Agron. Agril. Res. 2015, 6(1), 70-76. Meena, B. N.; Tunio, S. D.; Shah, S. Q. A.; Sial, M. A.; Abro, S. A. Studies on grain and grain yield associated traits of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties under water stress conditions. Pakistan J. Agril. Engin. Vet. Sci. 1998, 24(2), 5-9. Rahman, M. ; Hossain, A.; Hakim, M. A.; Kabir, M. R; Shah, M. M. R. Performance of wheat genotypes under optimum and late sowing condition. Int. J. Sustain Crop Prod. 2009, 4(6), 34-39. Rosegrant, M. W.; Agcaoili, M. Global food demand, supply, and price prospects to 2010. Washington, DC: Int. Food Policy Res. Inst. 2010. Rosegrant, M. W.; Sombilla, M. A.; Gerpacio R. V.; Ringler, C. Global food markets and US exports in the twenty-first century. Paper prepared for the Illinois World Food and Sustainable Agriculture Program Conference ‘Meeting the Demand for Food in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities for Illinois Agriculture’, 1997. Sarker, S.; Singh, S. K.; Singh, S. R.; Singh, A. P. Influence of initial profile water status and nitrogen doses on yield and evapotranspiration rate of dryland barley. Indian Soc. Soil Sci. 2010, 47(1), 22-28. Sultana, F. Effect of irrigation on yield and water use of wheat. M.S. Thesis, Dept. of Irrigation and Water Management. Bangladesh Agril. Univ., Mymensingh. 2013.

Sonadrill Lands Contract for Drillship Seadrill confirmed a new contract has been secured by Sonadrill Holding, Seadrill’s 50:50 joint venture with an affiliate of Sonangol for the drillship West Gemini. Sonadrill has secured a 10‑well contract with options for up to eight additional wells in Angola for an unknown operator. Total contract value for the firm portion of the deal is expected to be around $161 million, with further revenue potential from a performance bonus. The rig is expected to begin the work in the fourth quarter of this year with a firm term of about 18 months, in direct continuation of the West Gemini’s existing contract. The West Gemini is the third drillship to be bareboat chartered into Sonadrill, along with two Sonangol‑owned units, the Sonangol Quenguela and Sonangol Libongos. Seadrill will manage and operate the units on behalf of Sonadrill. Together, the three units position the Seadrill joint venture as an active rig operator in Angola, furthering the goal of building an ultradeepwater franchise in the Golden Triangle and driving efficiencies from rig clustering in the region. Petrobras Receives TotalEnergies, Shell Payments for Atapu TotalEnergies and Shell have formalized payments to Petrobras for separate, minority stakes in the pre‑salt Atapu field in the Santos Basin. TotalEnergies paid $4.7 billion reais ($940 million) while Shell paid closer to $1.1 billion. The Atapu block was acquired by the consortium comprising Petrobras (52.5%), Shell (25%), and TotalEnergies (22.5%) in the Second Bidding Round for the Transfer of Rights auction held 17 December 2021. The payments are compensation for monies spent thus far by Petrobras, which was granted contractual rights to produce 550 million BOE from Atapu in 2010. The partners will now work together to produce additional volumes from the field. Production at Atapu started in June 2020 via the P-70 FPSO. The unit is in about 2000 m of water and has the capacity to produce 150,000 BOED. CNOOC Brings New Bohai Sea Discoveries On Stream CNOOC Limited has kicked off production from its Luda 5‑2 oil field North Phase I project and Kenli 6‑1 oil field 4‑1 Block development project. Luda 5‑2 is in the Liaodong Bay of Bohai Sea, with average water depth of about 32 m and utilizes a thermal recovery wellhead platform and production platform tied into the Suizhong 36‑1 oil field. A total of 28 development wells are planned, including 26 production wells and two water‑source wells. The project is expected to reach its peak production of 8,200 B/D of oil in 2024. Kenli 6‑1 is in the south of Bohai Sea, with average water depth of about 17 m. The resource is being developed by a wellhead platform in addition to fully utilizing the existing processing facilities of the Bozhong 34‑9 oil field. A total of 12 development wells are planned, including seven production wells and five water‑injection wells. The field is expected to reach its peak production of 4,000 B/D of oil later this year. CNOOC Limited is operator and sole owner of the Luda 5‑2 oil field North and the Kenli 6‑1 oil field 4‑1 Block. Stabroek Block Bounty Off Guyana Gets Bigger The partners in the prolific Stabroek Block have again increased the gross discovered recoverable resource estimate for the area offshore Guyana. The owners now believe they have discovered reserves of at least 11 billion BOE, up from the previous estimate of more than 10 billion BOE. The updated resource estimate includes three new discoveries on the block at Barreleye, Lukanani, and Patwa in addition to the Fangtooth and Lau Lau discoveries announced earlier this year. The Barreleye‑1 well encountered approximately 70 m of hydrocarbon‑bearing sandstone reservoirs of which 16 m is high‑quality oil‑bearing. The well was drilled in 1170 m of water and is located 32 km southeast of the Liza field. The Lukanani‑1 well encountered 35 m of hydrocarbon‑bearing sandstone reservoirs of which approximately 23 m is high‑quality oil‑ bearing. The well was drilled in water depth of 1240 m and is in the southeastern part of the block, approximately 3 km west of the Pluma discovery. The Patwa‑1 well encountered 33 m of hydrocarbon‑bearing sandstone reservoirs. The well was drilled in 1925 m of water and is located approximately 5 km northwest of the Cataback‑1 discovery. “These new discoveries further demonstrate the extraordinary resource density of the Stabroek Block and will underpin our queue of future development opportunities,” said John Hess, chief executive of Hess and a partner in Stabroek. The co‑venturers have sanctioned four developments to date on Stabroek with both Liza and Liza Phase 2 on stream. The third planned development at Payara is ahead of schedule and is now expected to come on line in late 2023; it will utilize the Prosperity FPSO with a production capacity of 220,000 BOPD. The fourth development, Yellowtail, is expected to come on line in 2025, utilizing the ONE GUYANA FPSO with a production capacity of 250,000 BOPD of oil. At least six FPSOs with a production capacity of more than 1 million gross BOPD are expected to be on line on the Stabroek Block in 2027, with the potential for up to ten FPSOs to develop gross discovered recoverable resources. The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres. ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is operator and holds 45% interest; Hess Guyana Exploration holds 30% interest; and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25%. ConocoPhillips Gets Ekofisk License Extension Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy (MPE) has extended production licenses in the Greater Ekofisk Area from 2028 to 2048 with ConocoPhillips as operator. The company said the license extension provides long‑term operations and resource management aligned with the company’s long‑term perspective on the Norwegian continental shelf. Fields on the shelf are required to operate with a valid production license where the operator and licensees enter into an agreement with the authorities, including relevant field activities. The authorities may require commitments, leading to increased oil recovery. The existing production licenses 018, 018 B, and 275 in the Greater Ekofisk Area were set to expire on 31 December 2028; however, the MPE approved an extension through 2048. The new terms provide a potential for extending Ekofisk’s lifetime to nearly 80 years. The license partners are ConocoPhillips (operator, 35.11%), TotalEnergies EP Norge (39.896%), Vår Energi (12.388%), Equinor (7.604%), and Petoro (5%). BHP’s Wasabi Disappoints in US GOM Australian operator BHP encountered noncommercial hydrocarbons with its Wasabi‑2 well in the US Gulf of Mexico. BHP said the well in Green Canyon Block 124 was plugged and abandoned following the disappointing results. “This completes the Wasabi exploration program, with results under evaluation to determine next steps,” the company said. The well was targeting oil in an early Miocene reservoir. Transocean drillship Deepwater Invictus spudded the well in 764 m of water in November 2021. The previous Wasabi‑1 well had a mechanical problem and was plugged and abandoned 4 days earlier, prior to reaching its prospective targets. BHP operates Wasabi with a 75% interest. Lukoil Says Titonskaya Holds 150 Million BOE Russia’s Lukoil believes it has discovered around 150 million BOE following analysis of the two wells it drilled at the Titonskaya structure on the Caspian Sea shelf. Work is now underway to refine the seismic models of productive deposits and study deep samples of formation fluids. The results of the assessment will be submitted to the State Reserves Commission of the Russian Federation. The structure is in the central part of the Caspian Sea, not far from the Khazri field. Lukoil drilled the first well at the Titonskaya structure in 2020 and announced the new discovery in April 2021. According to that assessment, the probable geological resources of the Titonskaya are 130.4 million tons. In 2021, drilling of the second prospecting and appraisal well began to identify oil and gas deposits in the terrigenous‑carbonate deposits of the Jurassic‑ Cretaceous age. The well was drilled using the Neptune jackup drilling rig. The new find at Titonskaya will likely be tied into Khazri infrastructure. Petrobras’ Roncador IOR Project Comes On Line Petrobras has successfully started production from the first two wells of the improved oil recovery (IOR) project at the Roncador field in the Campos Basin offshore Brazil. The two wells are the first of a series of IOR wells to reach production. Startup is almost 5 months ahead of schedule and at half of the planned cost, according to partner Equinor. The wells will add a combined 20,000 BOED to Roncador, bringing daily production to around 150,000 bbl and reducing the carbon intensity (emissions per barrel produced) of the field. Through this first IOR project, the partnership will drill 18 wells that are expected to provide additional recoverable resources of 160 million bbl. Improvements in well design and the partners’ combined technological experience are the main drivers behind the 50% cost reduction across the first six wells, including the two in production. Roncador is Brazil’s fifth‑largest producing asset and has been in production since 1999. Petrobras operates the field and holds a 75% stake. In 2018, Equinor entered the project as a strategic partner with the remaining 25% interest. In addition to the planned 18 IOR wells, the partnership believes it can further improve recovery and aims to increase recoverable resources by a total of 1 billion BOE. The field has more than 10 billion BOE in place under a license lasting until 2052. The strategic alliance agreement also includes an energy‑efficiency and CO2‑emissions‑reduction program for Roncador. Gazania-1 To Spud Off South Africa Africa Energy will move ahead with its planned Gazania‑1 wildcat well offshore South Africa after securing partner Eco Atlantic’s $20 million in capital requirements for its portion of the probe. The well will be drilled in Block 2B. Island Drilling semisubmersible Island Innovator has been contracted for the work and is expected to mobilize from its current location in the North Sea for the 45‑day trip to South Africa. The Block 2B joint venture plans to spud the well by October with drilling expected to last 30 days, including a full set of logs if the well is successful. The block has significant contingent and prospective resources in relatively shallow water and contains the A‑J1 discovery that flowed light sweet crude oil to surface. Gazania‑1 will target two large prospects 7 km updip from A‑J1 in the same region as the recent Venus and Graff discoveries. Block 2B is located offshore South Africa in the Orange Basin where both TotalEnergies and Shell recently announced significant oil and gas discoveries offshore Namibia. The block covers 3062 km2 approximately 25 km off the west coast of South Africa near the border with Namibia in water depths ranging from 50 m to 200 m. The Southern Oil Exploration Corp. (Soekor) discovered and tested oil on Block 2B in 1988 with the A‑J1 borehole, which intersected thick reservoir sandstones between 2985 m and 3350 m. The well flowed 191 B/D of 36 °API oil from a 10‑m sandstone interval at around 3250 m. Africa Energy has a 27.5% interest in Block 2B offshore South Africa. The block is operated by a subsidiary of Eco Atlantic which holds a 50% interest. A subsidiary of Panoro Energy holds a 12.5% stake, and Crown Energy AB indirectly holds the remaining 10%. Brazil Grants New Exploration Blocks Brazil’s National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Biofuels (ANP) has granted 59 exploratory blocks of oil and natural gas to 13 companies, including Shell, TotalEnergies, and 3R Petroleum. The awards were part of a permanent bid offer round held in Rio de Janiero in April. The auction totaled 422.4 million reais in signature bonuses with leases granted in six Brazilian states: Rio Grande do Norte, Alagoas, Bahia, Espírito Santo, Santa Catarina, and Paraná. The awards will result in investments of 406.3 million reais in the exploratory phase of the contracts. Shell Brazil (70%) was granted six blocks in the Santos Basin in a consortium with the Colombian Ecopetrol (30%). The blocks leases were SM‑1599, SM‑1601, SM‑1713, SM‑1817, SM‑1908, and SM‑1910. TotalEnergies won two areas in the same basin while Brazilian company 3R Petroleum received six areas in the Potiguar Basin. Petro‑Victory was also awarded 19 new blocks in Potiguar, increasing its holdings in Brazil to 38 blocks (37 in Potiguar). The new blocks are nearby Petro‑Victory infrastructure at the Andorinha, Alto Alegre, and Trapia oil fields. Eni Finds More Oil in Egypt’s Western Desert Eni struck new oil and gas reserves with a trio of discoveries in the Meleiha concessions of Egypt’s Western Desert. The finds have already been tied into existing infrastructure in the region and have added around 8,500 BOED to overall production from the area. The operator drilled the Nada E Deep 1X well, which encountered 60 m of net hydrocarbon pay in the Cretaceous‑Jurassic Alam El Bueib and Khatatba formations Meleiha SE Deep 1X well, which found 30 m of net hydrocarbon pay in the Cretaceous‑Jurassic sands of the Matruh Khatatba formations, and the Emry Deep 21 well, which encountered 35 m of net hydrocarbon pay in the massive cretaceous sandstones of Alam El Bueib. The results, added to the discoveries of 2021 for a total of eight exploration wells, give Eni a 75% success rate in the region. The company added that additional exploration activities in the concession are ongoing with “promising indications.” With these discoveries, Eni, through AGIBA, a joint venture between Eni and EGPC, continues to pursue its near‑field strategy in the mature basin of the Western Desert, aimed at maximizing production by containing development costs and minimizing time to market. Eni is planning a new high‑resolution 3D seismic survey in the Meleiha concession this year to investigate the gas potential of the area. Eni is currently the leading producer in Egypt with an equity production of around 360,000 BOED.

Abstract Pruning or the physical removal of lower branches, in combination with wider tree spacing, offers an alternative management scheme for small nonindustrial private forest landowners in areas lacking markets for small diameter wood. A 5-year-old loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) plantation was thinned to 495 trees/ha (200 trees/ac). Four crown-lifting treatments of 35%, 40%, 45%, and 50% live crown ratio (LCR) were then implemented. An additional unmanaged plot was established in an unthinned, unpruned area. Two replications were established for all pruning treatments. The target LCR was maintained throughout the study with the additional crown-lifting activities in 2003, 2004, and 2008. At age 8, the average diameter of the unmanaged plot was 13.5 cm (5.3 in), and the diameter of the 50% LCR treatment, which had the greatest diameter growth of all the treatments, was 20.8 cm (8.2 in). The highest mortality rate (22%) was observed in the unmanaged plot, but it was not significantly greater than the other treatments. Low density plantings maintained with pruning could allow small nonindustrial private landowners to obtain a high value sawtimber product while eliminating the need for thinning practices commonly used in traditional pine plantation management. Study Implications: Pruning in combination with wider tree spacing offers an alternative management scheme for nonindustrial private forest landowners in areas lacking small diameter wood markets. This study compared the performance of thinned and pruned treatments with four live crown ratios (LCR) with unmanaged stands. At age 21, total tree height and survival were not affected by the treatments. The unmanaged plot had a significantly lower average diameter than all of the treatment plots. There was no significant difference in tree diameters between the pruned treatments. Therefore, the 50% LCR was most efficient since more pruning did not confer added growth gains.

The Government of Canada retained control of Crown lands and mineral and water rights in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba until 1930 when they were transferred to the three provincial governments as a result of agreements reached in 1929. In the case of Alberta, the agreement also settled the boundaries for Banff and Jasper national parks. The national parks discussions helped establish the principle that resource extraction would not take place in national parks anywhere in Canada. This paper examines the political background to the discussions over national parks and the process for setting the boundaries of these parks, with an emphasis on a report on park boundaries that addressed resource development and wildlife management in and near the parks, issues that parks administrators continue to face today.