Cannabis clients often shared the same lobbyists/agencies

These 14 funders were exclusively cannabis affiliates or lobbying agencies with known cannabis industry connections: Liv Well, Buddy Boy, Dixie Brands, Gobi Labs, Gold Dome Access, Lightshade, Medicine Man, MedPharm Holdings, Native Roots, Natural Selections, TEQ Analytic Solutions, The Green Solution, Vicente Sederberg, and Wolf Public Affairs. All but Gobi Labs shared professional ties: John Fritzel was an owner of both Lightshade and Buddy Boy,  and Andy Williams was the president of both Medicine Man and MedPharm Holdings . Representatives from Lightshade, LivWell, Native Roots, Vicente Sederberg, Medicine Man, MedPharm Buddy Boy, Dixie Brands, and Columbia Care were board members or donors for the Cannabis Trade Federation. Leadership from Medicine Man, Med- Pharm Holdings, Native Roots, Dixie Brands, TEQ Analytical Solutions, Vicente Sederberg and the chairman of the Marijuana Industry Group all sat on the Board of Directors for Colorado Leads, an alliance of cannabis businesses. Lobbying records also indicated that Gold Dome Access rep- resented the Marijuana Industry Group, Wolf Public Affairs represented Vicente Sederberg, mobile grow system and David Nagel lobbied for both TEQ Analytical Solutions and Natural Selections.

Cannabis industry affiliates paid lobbyists to monitor amend, sup- port, or oppose 367 bills between fiscal years 2010–2021. Of these bills, 220  mentioned the words cannabis, marijuana, or hemp, and dealt with issues related to licensing and physical requirements for cannabis businesses, biomedical research, public safety, product standards, and public education. Examples include support for HB16–1373, which allowed primary caregivers to administer medical cannabis to K- 12 public school students and opposition of HB15–1298, which would have prohibited cannabis retailers from advertising to pregnant women and required signage warning pregnant women about the potential risks caused by cannabis use. Cannabis industry affiliates with an out-of-state address spent $802,983 between fiscal years 2010–2021 . Given that some cannabis businesses are multistate operations with locations in Colorado and others use in-state PO boxes, this proportion is likely an underestimate. Immediately following adult-use legalization in November 2012 and prior to the creation of the recreational sales market in January 2014, the Washington D.C. based nonprofit Marijuana Policy Project dramatically increased its expenditures in Colorado. The proportion of out-of-state lobbying expenditures increased from 5.5% of lobbying expenditures in fiscal years 2010–2015 to 12.6% in fiscal years 2016–2021 . California-based cannabis organizations lobbying in Colorado increased from one business spending $14,492 in 2017 to five spending $153,220 in 2020.

One cannabis affiliated organization each from Ontario , New York , and Oregon  lobbied in Colorado, as well as two from Washington D.C. . HB1076 removed exemptions to clean indoor air policies and added e-cigarette use to the definition of smoking and was initially op- posed by tobacco interests including Reynolds American and the Inter- national Premium Cigar and Pipe Association,cannabis grow supplies as well as the cannabis affiliate Renaissance Solutions. Renaissance Solutions changed its position from opposing to monitoring the bill two days after the passage of an amendment that exempted cannabis retailers from the Colorado clean indoor air act. Altria Client Services , Smoker Friendly, the Cannabis Business Alliance, the Colorado Gaming Association, the Colorado Petroleum Marketers Association, and the Medical Marijuana Industry Association had all sought to amend the bill. Lobbyists employed by cannabis affiliates represented both that industry and other industries. Although some lobbyists exclusively rep- resented cannabis affiliates , others lobbied for cannabis and the tobacco, alcohol, pharmaceutical, and gaming industries.

This shared representation may have allowed opportunities for inter-industry alliances. Axiom Strategies represented cannabis affiliates including the Medical Marijuana Industry Group, the Colorado Cannabis Chamber of Commerce, and Folium Biosciences in addition to the International Premium Cigar and Pipe Association, Altria Client Services, Reynolds American, Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of Colorado, Alkermes  and Isle of Capri Casinos. Axiom Strategies’ largest client was HCA Healthcare. Margaret-Mary “Peggi ”O’Keefe concurrently represented the Cannabis Business Alliance, the Colorado Cannabis Manufacturers Association, Altria Client Services, The Colorado Gaming Association, the Generic Pharmaceutical Association, and Mylan . Capitol Focus, LLC represented Gold Dome Access, the Marijuana Industry Group, the Colorado Gaming Association, Genetech, Glaxosmithkline, Johnson and Johnson, The Wine Institute, The Wine and Spirit Wholesalers of Colorado, the Smoke Free Alternative Trade Association, and JUUL Labs.

The airborne particles hit the adhesive tape and are retained

The trap is equipped with a slit for air intake. The air is suctioned by a motor and intercepted by a rotating drum fitted with a belt made of Melinex, coated with adhesivesilicone.The tape is cut into daily segments weekly and mounted on slides with glycerogelatin and fuchsin, protected with coverslips and, after a rest period,observed under an optical microscope for analysis. In this study,four longitudinal transects were read with an immersion 50× optical zoom lens. The surface area read was more than 10% of the total sampling area, allowing us to identify the different pollen types and carry out the corresponding count .The Cannabis pollen grain is a medium-sized monad, 20–30 μ min diameter,spheroidal, isopolar and trizonoporate. The pores have an annulus,and the in tine forms an oncus under the pore. Under an optical microscope,the ornamentation of the exine is psilate . Data on days with an intrusion of African air masses in Spain have been obtained from the Spanish Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge.

Information about African dust out breaks reaching the Iberian Peninsula is relevant to associate African Cannabis pollen with northwards air masses from Africa.The methodology used to identify these episodes is available in the document “Establishing guidelines for the demonstration and subtraction of exceedances attributable to natural sources under Directive 2008/50/ECon ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe” . Daily meteorological situations were identified, cannabis grow system and air mass back trajectories were obtained with HYSPLIT. The results were then validated by studying the synoptic maps of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, Aerosol Index Maps reflecting the Ozone Monitoring Instrument indirect measurement and daily results from SKIRON, the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre and the Navy Aerosol Analysis and Prediction System .This work has used MITECO reports available from 2009 to 2020. For the period 2004 to 2008, the African dust intrusion data were taken from Negral Álvarez , and for the years 2002 and 2003, the NAAPs aerosol maps were consulted. No NAAPs maps were available for 1999, so the arrival of African dust intrusions was estimated using the back trajectories obtained with HYSPLIT. The presence of Cannabis pollen in the bioaerosol of the Region of Murcia was sporadic until 2017.

Up to that time, it was considered aminority pollen type in our region and was not a part of the pollen calendar. Although up to 21 pollen grains/m3 could be found in the air of Cartagena before 2017, almost half of it was collected on a single day, and its presence was concentrated on specific days. As an example, the peak day in 2002, 04/26/2002, was of local/regional origin . However, we have verified that since2017, a systematic count that could be due to autochthonous flowering has occurred in Cartagena, Murcia and Lorca. This asseveration is supported by the dismantling of illegal Cannabis crops in the Region of Murcia over the last five years. Alvarez et al.  warned about changes in Cannabis consumption in Spain, marijuana grow system where “the rise of large-scale Cannabis plantations in the Spanish Mediterranean coast has been increasingly replacing Moroccan hashish imports.” Likewise, the expansion of small scale cultivation in Spain is assumed to be taken place . In this context, the control of Cannabis pollen broadens the scope of Aerobiology with a new application for public health/law professionals. These professionals could be interested in the Cannabis MPS. Depending on the year, it can start at any time from the beginning to the end of June and last until the first days of August or even September, with a variation of13 days in Cartagena, 16 days in Murcia and 32 days in Lorca . Althoug hour MPS is not the standard definition in which 95% of the population is retained, discarding the 5% at the tails , Jato et al. argued that the MPS should be defined according to the purpose of the research.

The purpose of our research was to identify the origin of the Cannabis pollen grains, regardless of the concentrations. Nevertheless, the option to work with the standard MPS was assessed. This idea was discarded because it would mean leaving out high concentration days,even the peak day, e.g., in Lorca in 2018. This behaviour is not expected for plants spread naturally in the area of study.The duration of the MPS in the Region of Murcia is much shorter than that defined for areas where there is widespread cultivation of this plant,like Tetouan. There, the duration of the MPS is in the range of 127to 172 days, and it constitutes a major pollen type. In Islamabad, Pakistan, it is the most important allergen from July to September .The concentrations registered in the three cities of the Region of Murcia increased from 2017 to 2020, with differences among the mean values and a positive trend in the evolution of the AP In . In terms of the consequences for allergy sufferers, the AP In was probably not high enough to cause problems for the general population during the years of the study.

Five significant indirect effects of anxious-depressive symptoms were discriminated on harmful cannabis use

In the mediation model a non-significant total-effect was demonstrated between anxious-depressive symptoms and cannabis use frequency. Therefore, indirect effects were not estimated on this relationship. Existing findings reported significant, positive and weak associations between anxious-depressive symptoms and cannabis use . However, the studies in the literature largely vary how they measure cannabis use and which confounding variables they control for. These can influence the association between cannabis use and anxious-depressive symptoms .These indirect effects can be categorized into three groups based on the similarities in the mediational mechanisms between them. First, higher levels of anxious-depressive symptoms were associated with lower levels of CRSE and CPBS which subsequently contributed to higher levels of harmful cannabis use. In line with these single mediation pathways, previous studies also reported negative relationships between cannabis use outcomes and CRSE, and between cannabis use outcomes and CPBS .

However, to the best of the Authors’ knowledge, less empirical evidence is available on the links between anxious-depressive symptoms and CRSE, and between anxious depressive symptoms and CPBS. This is the first time that the mediating effects of CRSE and CPBS were tested and supported between anxious-depressive symptoms and outcomes of cannabis use. The single mediation pathway via CRSE matches and extends previous gambling-related findings which suggested the mediating role of refusal self-efficacy on the relationship between depressive symptoms and negative gambling outcomes . The single mediation pathway via CPBS shows similarities with previous studies, which demonstrated mediating effects via APBS between anxious-depressive symptoms and alcohol use outcomes . These single mediation pathways might suggest that limited self-regulation capacities that are related to distressful and negative affective states can account for the negative links of anxious-depressive symptoms with CRSE and CPBS . Alternatively,outdoor cannabis grow it might be possible that those with more harmful cannabis use patterns have more negative self-views on their ability to successfully control and regulate their behavior when experiencing distressful and negative affective states . However, these assumptions should be interpreted cautiously as the present study did not test these explanations. Moreover, double-mediation pathways indicated that anxious-depressive symptoms had a positive effect on reflection which in turn was positively associated with CPBS and CRSE which subsequently contributed to lower levels of harmful cannabis use.

Previous studies also reported that higher levels of depressive symptoms are associated with increased levels of reflection, in addition to findings showing that CPBS are positively correlated with more adaptive ER strategies and negatively with outcomes of cannabis use . Although existing literature findings also reported negative relationships between cannabis use outcomes and CRSE , they did not investigate the associations between CRSE and ER processes. To the best of the Authors’ knowledge, this is the first time that the double mediating effects via reflection and CPBS as well as via reflection and CRSE were supported between anxious-depressive symptoms and outcomes of cannabis use. The double-mediation pathway via reflection and CPBS is in line with previous findings which suggested the mediating function of APBS on the effects of adaptive ER on alcohol use outcomes . However,cannabis grow equipment the present sequential mediating effect might contribute to broaden the existing knowledge on the link between ER and protective behavioral strategies by testing for cannabis use for the first time and by controlling for the effects of anxious-depressive symptoms and different rumination dimensions in the mediation model.

In the context of refusal self-efficacy, previous studies reported that difficulties in ER are inversely related to DRSE . Therefore, the double-mediating effect via reflection and refusal self-efficacy was not only tested and supported for the first time for cannabis use, but it also provides new empirical data on the associations of substance use refusal self-efficacy with more adaptive ER processes and with rumination. A possible  explanation for these double mediating effects can be that some elements of reflection indicate a more active, problem- and goal-focused orientation which might lead to a more adaptive and pre-planned regulation of cannabis use. Finally, in a double mediation pathway, higher levels of anxious-depressive symptoms were associated with increased rates of NU which in turn had a negative effect on CRSE which subsequently contributed to less harmful cannabis use.

This trend was moderately observed in the Pre-Planting assessment being almost diluted at Post-Emergence

Barbour et al.  finally proposed the inverse of the variance  as an indicator of precision; in this study, we considered a threshold level of “1” as the minimal precision accepted for a reliable sampling. Only dominance of rapeseed in Winter was considered not reliable , being considered with restrictions in the further analysis. The percentage of soil surface covered by straw resulting from the winter crops, as well as crop stubble dry mass, is shown in Figure 1. There was a direct relationship between the volume of dry mass produced by each crop/management and the respective the percentage of soil covered by this stubble On the other hand, there were only weak relationships both between the percentage of soil covered and the number of plants of weed species, and between soil covered and dry mass of weeds, which were not significant. The number of weed individuals and dry mass of weeds per area was lower in areas planted with any oilseed crop compared to fallow areas, for all seasons,cannabis grow tray except dry mass of weeds in crambe at pre-planting . In Winter , about 27 plants∙m−2 were observed as average of the winter crops while 108 plants∙m−2 were observed at the fallow area, immediately after oilseed crops harvest.

The same was observed for dry mass, where 30 g∙m−2 were observed in the oilseed crop areas against 83 g∙m−2 at the fallow area. This translated to about 25% and 36% of the infestation, respectively for number of weed individuals and dry mass accumulated, for areas planted with oilseed crops compared to areas under fallow . At the pre-planting of soybean , infestation was kept at low levels in areas previously planted with radish and rapeseed, but crambe straw failed to suppress weeds at the same level. While 12 and 21 plants∙m−2 were observed for areas previously planted with radish and rapeseed, respectively, at the area with crambe 32 plants∙m−2 were reported, against 71 plants∙m−2 at the fallow area. Dry mass presented similar behavior, except for rapeseed, where plants emerged but did not grow at the same rate of the ones observed at radish and crambe areas . All oilseed crops were able to inhibit weeds emergence and establishment during winter, when crops were present, but at the pre-planting crambe did not perform well. This may be due to two reasons: 1 both soil covered and crop dry mass accumulated at the post-harvest of oilseed crops were smaller for crambe compared to radish or rapeseed, in part because this crop has shorter cycle thus being harvested about 60 days in advance , vertical grow system and 2 the allelopathic effect of radish and rapeseed in suppressing weeds may be more pronounced than crambe. In fact, Uygur et al.  reported that extracts of radish completely inhibited the germination of 4 crop plants and 11 weed species.

Although radish accumulate greater dry mass than crambe , its ability to suppress weeds  was higher than what would be attributed to the differential dry mass accumulation, being attributed to the allelopathic effect of radish, as previously reported. At post-emergence of soybean , there was still effects of the winter management on the level of weeds infestation, where areas previously planted with oilseed crops were always less infested than the area under fallow, and similar among them in terms of number of weed individuals per area. Dry mass of weeds, however, differed not only from the fallow but also among oilseed crops . Weed dry mass was about 13, 37 and 46 g∙m−2 , respectively at areas previously planted with rapeseed, radish and crambe. Although weed dry mass accumulation was not pronounced at the fallow area by the time of evaluation-probably due to the coupled effect of soybean shading and glyphosate application, the high number of individuals at this treatment indicated that weeds were smaller than the observed at the areas under oilseed crops, but the latent infestation was high. The season-pooled analysis  showed that radish and rapeseed performed better than crambe in inhibiting the occurrence of weed species, and winter fallow should not be adopted in areas where soybeans are to be cropped. Although infestation at the area with crambe was higher, this crop was still able to suppress in more than 50% the occurrence of weeds compared to fallow, which also resulted in smaller weed dry mass per area . When number of weeds and its respective dry mass are compared in Pre-Planting  and PostEmergence  of rapeseed, it is possible to infer that weeds were smaller compared to the ones present at the other areas, thus with delayed emergence. This delayed emergence of weeds in rapeseed is most probably a consequence of the time needed for seeds forced to a quiescent or dormant state to restart their metabolism and allow germination .

Greater water retention by pine bark early in the experiment was likely due to initial hydrophobicity common in sphagnum peat moss

The amount of water held by peat moss can be 15 to 20 times its own weight, depending on peat moss type . By week 4, water retention was equal or greater in peat moss compared to pine bark across both experiments. Greater water retention by pine bark early in the experiment was likely due to initial hydrophobicity common in sphagnum peat moss. As the experiment progressed over time with daily irrigation events, this initial hydrophobicity was overcome and peat moss retained a greater volume of water compared to pine bark. The layer of mulch within the round Buchner funnels of this experiment was disc-shaped with a height of 2.5 cm, vertical grow system diameter of 13.1 cm, and volume of 342 cm3 . Thus volumetric water content  in each mulch layer could be calculated for the volumes of water retained listed in Table 3. Pine bark and peat moss VWC ranged from 0.40 to 0.50 cm∙cm−1 at hour 0 throughout the two experiments, and decreased to 0.2 to 0.4 cm∙cm−1 by hour 24. In contrast, VWC in rice hulls never exceed 0.20 cm∙cm−1 at hour 0 and declined to less than 0.10 cm∙cm−1 by hour 24 in the experiment.

O’Meara et al.  used hydrangea  and gardenia  in a pine bark substrate to show that the ability of plants to extract water from a soilless substrate is species-dependent, and for these two species transpiration declined at VWC of 0.20 to 0.28 cm∙cm−1 and slowed to near zeroonce VWC dropped below 0.12 to 0.16 cm∙cm−1 . Rice hulls do not exclude enough light at depths of 2.5 cm to prevent bitter cress or creeping wood sorrel germination. The amount of PAR penetrating rice hulls from 0.6 to 2.5 cm averaged 1.3 µmol∙m−2 ∙sec−1 . While flexuous bitter cress germination declined when PAR dropped below 41.3 µmol∙m−2 ∙sec−1 , germination still occurred in complete darkness. Creeping wood sorrel had 92% germination across all light levels. Numbers and shoot fresh weights of both species decreased with increasing rice hull depth when seed were placed beneath the mulch layer. The mechanism of this control is not likely due to light reduction or light exclusion, especially with creeping wood sorrel. It is widely accepted that germination rate of seed decreases with increasing burial depth . Decreasing numbers and shoot fresh weights with increasing rice hull depth in our study was likely a function of burial depth as well.

A meta-analysis of seedling recruitment in natural grasslands found that plant litter up to 500 g∙m−2 improved seedling recruitment, cannabis grow equipment while greater litter amounts  inhibited seedling recruitment . Teasdale and Mohler  showed a similar response in germination of four weed species beneath various mulch materials over a silt loam soil. The mass of rice hulls applied in our experiment was 46 g at a depth of 2.5 cm in a 15 cm diameter container, resulting in an application equivalent to 2523 g∙m−2 . Cumulative germination and shoot fresh weights of the flexuous bitter cress and creeping wood sorrel in our experiment were reduced at 1.3 and 2.5 cm depths , but not reduced at 0.6 cm depth . Flexuous bitter cress and creeping wood sorrel establishment beneath rice hull mulch seem to follow the general rule of seedling establishment beneath litter proposed by Loydi et al. . Altland and Krause  speculated that gaps in the mulch barrier common with applications of 0.6 cm rice hulls were responsible for greater establishment of liverwort and bitter cress; however, it is likely that lack of rice hull mass also contributes to poor control. Flexuous bitter cress cumulative numbers that established from beneath the 2.5 cm rice hull layer was reduced 68% relative to the non-mulched control.

Likewise, cumulative shoot fresh weights of these bitter cress were reduced 78% compared to the nonmulched control. In contrast, creeping wood sorrel numbers and shoot fresh weight from beneath 2.5 cm rice hulls was reduced 88% and 94%, respectively, compared to non-mulched controls. Flexuous bitter cress seed used in this study were 0.9 ± 0.13 mm long and 0.6 ± 0.06 mm wide , while creeping wood sorrel were larger with length of 1.4 ± 0.14 mm and width of 1.0 ± 0.05 mm . Others have shown decreasing sensitivity to mulch depth with larger seed Thus it was somewhat surprising that the larger seed of creeping wood sorrel were more affected by burial depth than the smaller-seeded bitter cress. Rice hulls retain less water than pine bark or peat moss, and this seems to be the primary mechanism by which rice hulls provide weed control when seeds are applied to the mulch surface. Weed seed can germinate in soils with water potential as low as −1.5 MPa, as summarized by Bullied et al. .

Physical control involves use of mechanical harvesting and hydrologic drawdown

Common water hyacinth remains the oldest and most widely spread invasive aquatic plant in Louisiana as evidenced by Figures 4-6. Alligator weed infestation in 41 HUC of Louisiana made it the highest among all other species. Recently, giant Salvinia aggressive nature is causing a widespread in the State waterways within the short time of introduction. Several measures developed to manage the aquatic invasive plants by the state include: chemical, physical and biological control. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries performs aquatic vegetation control through the use of 2, 4-D applications against water hyacinth, followed by fluridone to control hydrilla, and combinations of glyphosate and diquat on common Salvinia as a form of chemical control . For biological control of giant Salvinia in Louisiana, USDA APHIS, LDWF, and LSU AgCenter are working together to develop effective Cyrtobagous salviniae that can control the growth of Salvinia molesta throughout the entire season of the year . USDA APHIS Center for Plant Health Science and Technology laboratories will supply biological control agents. Tests began in June 2002 at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve and have since been a major control of giant Salvinia.

Mechanical harvesting typically uses equipment to remove small populations of nuisance plants while hydrological drawdown has been used on water hyacinth at Lake Henderson. Recent innovation in the management of invasive aquatic plants is the integrated pest management , cannabis grow tray an approach correct identification of the invasive or nuisance plants, identifying desired vegetation to achieve fish and wildlife habitat goals, establishing tolerable levels of any single plant species, including target nuisance plants, making decisions based on site-specific information, the use of the ecosystem, watershed, and cost-benefit perspectives to determine long-term management strategies, developing an on-going system of integrated control methods that include mechanical, cultural, biological, and chemical treatments as needed, educating local managers and the public about the importance of protecting water resources from invasive weeds to maintain healthy water quality and fish and wildlife habitat assessing results of invasive weed control programs and re-evaluating management options .

The continuous spread of invasive aquatic plants in Louisiana could be due to favorable weather conditions, excessive nutrients runoff from agricultural practices, reduction of government allocated funds, and uncooperative human community. It is very difficult to eradicate an invasive species once it has been established in a particular location. The current State of Louisiana statewide management plan has done little in the control of the major notorious aquatic plant invaders such as giant Salvinia and water hyacinth. Although, several biological, chemical and mechanical management controls are being implemented yearly, there is a need for interagency collaboration, establishment of efficient State database, and stricter laws on voluntary anthropogenic activities such as sales of invasive weeds as ornamental plants and smuggling of unwanted species through the waterways into the states. The state government should place emphasis and fund universities and organizations studying control of invasive aquatic plants as much as water quality funding because if the surface waters can be rid of the plants it will directly improve the standard qualities of the coastal Louisiana surface waters. In the course of this research, there are some discrepancies between species listed as aquatic invasive plants from different agencies.

Louisiana department of wildlife and fishes needs an accessible database for the State. Laws pertaining to importation and sale of invasive plant through nursery and garden sales should be strengthened and enforced. Federal and State border personnel should inspect foreign arriving vessels, cargo, and cruise ship passengers at all Louisiana maritime docks for exotic plants. Above all, vertical grow systems for sale more money should be invested in the research of eradication and controls of invasive aquatic plants. Floors of persimmon orchards in South Korea are managed in general with growing various weeds which are periodically mowed or sprayed with herbicides to prevent their excessive growth. The weeds have been used as one of the most important sources to improve the organic matter supply into the soil of the orchards. When the weeds were mowed in an orchard throughout a year, DM produced per ha reached to 15 ton but they compete with crops for nutrients from the soil . Weeds can take up 232 kg N, 42 kg P, and 267 kg K per ha during the year in pear orchard of South Korea . Once the residues from cover crops are deposited on the soil surface, inorganic nutrients contained in the residues are released to the soil throughout the decomposition, increasing their availability, and they may be taken up by succeeding crops.

There has been an increasing and competing demand for other water uses in urban areas

An early concern with the planting of trees and shrubs in channels was they would be too effective and cause the channel to migrate, especially in areas where the original channel was some distance, and lower, than the constructed channel. Although more sinuosity in a channelized stream might ultimately be a desirable objective, in the early phases of the project channel movement could have jeopardized establishment of newly planted vegetation. Anecdotally, there seemed to be substantially more raptors and upland game birds at the site than in surrounding fields or adjacent to Gerking Creek above and below the project. This was expected, as avian communities increase with increasing plant community complexity, including variety in plant size and life form, and accumulation of detritus . Before the project was begun, the site was a mono-cropped agricultural field, and in 2000 and 2001 the site supported a monoculture of the targeted-nonnative tall wheatgrass.

By 2008, we observed patchiness in the distribution of vegetation, with distinct areas of tall wheatgrass, non target-nonnative species , and accumulations of detritus in various states of decomposition throughout the site. In the Philippines, rice  is the most important source of food, where it is mainly grown after intensive tillage in wet conditions. There are two seasons  and farmers grow rice in both seasons. In dry seasons, however, rice requires a huge amount of water for puddling  and planting . Farmers in Asia, including the Philippines, are expected to have limited irrigation water in the future to flood their rice fields.The risk of water scarcity may lead to changes in production systems to bring about less water demanding systems . They may include dry seeded rice and crop diversification. Soybean  is one of such crops,mobile vertical rack which can be grown in dry seasons. Compared to rice monoculture systems, the rice-soybean cropping system may prove more water-efficient in the Philippines. At present, soybean is not grown on a large area in the Philippines; however, there is a trend of increasing its area in the response to water scarcity and need for crop diversification. In different countries, soybean is grown at different row spacing . The row spacing in soybean can vary from 19 to 76 cm . Narrow row spacing is known to suppress weed growth by closing crop canopy earlier than wider row spacing .

Narrow row spacing may also increase available moisture to the crop, for example, corn In soybean and corn, narrow row spacing was found to increase light interception . Soybean yield can also be influenced by the plant to plant spacing within a crop row. A computer search of published literature revealed that there is limited information available on the effect of row spacing and plant to plant spacing on the growth and grain yield of soybean in the Philippines. Plant geometry can also influence weed growth in the crop. A study was therefore conducted to evaluate the effect of plant geometry on the growth and yield of soybean at Los Baños, Philippines. Palmer amaranth  is an important weed that has spread from its origin in southwestern North American, to eastern North America, Europe, Asia and Australia It has been reported to be resistant to several classes of herbicides including the triazines, acetolactate-synthase inhibitors, dinitroaniline, protoporphyrinogen oxidase inhibitors and glyphosate -. The molecular mode of action of glyphosate is inhibition of 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase , a key enzyme in the shikimate pathway , responsible for the synthesis of aromatic amino acids  and phenolic compounds, some of which are related to plant defense .

Currently, 44 weed species have been found resistant to glyphosate . Glyphosate resistance in Palmer amaranth plants has been attributed to high copy numbers of the EPSPS gene, compared to glyphosate-susceptible plants  and high EPSPS copy numbers enable adequate EPSPS production and the concomitant synthesis of required aromatic amino acids even when high levels of glyphosate exist in the resistant plant tissues. The high EPSPS gene copy number trait is heritable when plants are cross-bred . The transfer of resistance through cross-breeding, its aggressive nature and the prolific seed-producing capacity of Palmer amaranth  have intensified its spread. Previously we found two biotypes of Palmer amaranth in a population of this economically important weed that were resistant to glyphosate but differed with respect to pigmentation . One biotype was typically red-pigmented while the other was green, with no visual appearance of red hue on any plant part at any growth stage. The compounds responsible for these pigmentations are betalains, a small group of in dole-derived glycoside pigments.

Their presence in a mangrove forest shows that the system had been disturbed by humans

Most of the weeds found in this study are dominant because they are all aquatic and lowland weeds that benefit from the closeness of the area to a river. The change in the habitat from swampy to sandy soil contributed to the transition from exclusively a mangrove community to a weed community. Loss of mangrove forest as a result of anthropogenic action lead to a loss of the ecosystem services they provide e.g. carbon sequestration, fire wood and basket production and fisheries. The weed are not known to provide any significant ecosystem services to the environment apart from being host to some disease parasites, causing bush fires and acting as a nuisance in the environment. The species Mariscus longibracteatus are more dominant because they are aquatic weed that grow in wet grounds in forest zones. They are of the family Cyperaceae . They are large tufted sedge that can grow to about 1 m, and are produced from seeds. Their seeds are tiny and are propagated by wind. They have very prominent spikes on an inflorescence, which sticks to clothing and facilitates dispersal and propagation.

This has made them to be found in any environment. Although they are mangrove forest plants, but are introduced through human activities such as logging, sand filling, construction and reclamation. High concentration of Zn can be ascribed to increased land runoffs and influx of metal-rich water in the weed root soil giving rise to elevated metal levels. Similarly, elevated levels of metals in weed root soil were observed in Pondicherry Harbor . However, it was found that the total concentrations of all selected heavy metals in the weed root soil were below the critical soil concentration values , which reflect the topography and bed rock of the area as the origin of these metals. Several studies of plant phenology and insects have focused on the relationship between plants and the life cycle or population dynamics of phytophagous insects.Published studies on the influence of plant phenology on carabid beetles  have examined the consumption of weed seeds by carabid species,grow lights for cannabis as well as the role of weeds as a refuge and dispersal aid for carabids in agroecosystems There are also reports of weedy plants causing changes in the carabid community structure Feeding habits of carabid beetles range from carnivory to phytophagy, but there are also carabid species with more-specialized feeding behaviors .

For example, in terms of phytophagy, carabids can be classified into two groups: 1) those that are carnivorous but supplement their diets with vegetation; and 2) those that are seed consumers Thus, in addition to being recognized as important biological control agents of crop pests, carabids are also an important group of seed feeders and, thus, can act efficiently to reduce the size of weed populations in agroecosystems Carabids and crickets dominate the granivorous taxa of temperate regions  whereas ants are dominant in the tropics . Among the carabid beetles, the Harpalini and Zabrini tribes contain the most granivores Despite the rich carabid fauna in Brazilian agroecosystems there are no specific studies from this region on carabid beetles as weed seed consumers or on their relationship with the phenological stages of weedy plants. The only studies published on the feeding habits of Brazilian carabids were by Barbosa et al. , who evaluated the effect of different diet types on biological aspects of two carabid species, and Matta et al. , who determined the types of food within the digestive tract of carabids associated with herbaceous plants and colored cotton.

It is also worth noting that the life cycle of Brazilian carabids inhabiting agroecosystems is almost unknown; however there is information available about seasonal activity of several dominant carabid species in the state of São Paulo . Therefore, in the current study, a survey of adult carabids was carried out in the edge habitat covered by weedy plants and located between a forest fragment and a soybean/corn crop or an orange orchard in five sites in northeastern São Paulo state, Brazil. The objective was to determine the changes in the density of carabid species in relation to different phenological stages of weeds. We considered the increased number of individuals of a carabid species during the reproductive stages of weedy plants, an indication of preference to feed on seeds of agricultural weeds.

SWIR bands 2 – 8 were a necessity for differentiating between the plant species

Those indices are sensitive to moisture content in plant leaves suggesting leaf succulence was important in crop weed separation and weed to weed separation. The SWIR band serves as a measure of water content, leaf internal structure, and dry matter; whereas, the NIR band serves as measurement of only leaf internal structure and dry matter . When combined into an index, SIWSI provides a measurement of leaf water content expressed as equivalent water thickness. Also, GRNDVI was ranked within the top three indices for each date supporting the role that plant pigment played in separating the plant species. Other pigment indices having relevant variable importance values on both dates were GNDVI and NPCI. NDVI, the most wildly used vegetation index throughout the literature  was ranked eighth and eleventh according to the variable importance tabulated for the June 30, 2014 and September 17, 2014 datasets respectively, indicating its weak relevance for discriminating between the plant species.

Thus, the variable importance rankings of the former were easily understood by evaluating the variable importance rankings of the latter. Therefore, vegetation indices derived with one those bands would be ranked higher on the variable importance scale than a vegetation index excluding SWIR bands . The findings of this study are similar to those of , which indicated shortwave-infrared data were important for soybean weed discrimination. Their study focused on the following weeds discrimination from soybean: hemp sesbania , palm leaf morning glory , pitted morning glory , prickly sida , sicklepod , and small flower morning glory . Overall,vertical grow systems for sale this study demonstrated that vegetation indices derived from leaf reflectance data can be used as input into cforest for differentiating soybean, velvetleaf, and two pigweeds. It is important to note that the data were collected using pure leaf spectra and not canopy spectra. For canopy spectra, some differences will occur due to in-canopy shadowing, leaf orientation, and differences in leaf area. One of the strengths of vegetation indices is that they are influenced less by shadowing and sensor viewing angle than multispectral bands, indicating the benefit of using them at the canopy level.

Conyza bonariensis  Cronq. Walker is a weed annual broad-leaved species in the Asteraceae family native to South America , present in fallow in autumn and spring in Argentina. Previous to the widespread adoption of no-till systems, this species was confined to pastures and undisturbed areas . No-till favours germination and emergence of small-seeded weed species including Conyza spp which typically emerges during the whole fallow period. In the last years, applications of glyphosate in no-till fallow have increased significantly achieving initially very good control of Conyza spp. in the region of the study . At present, control of some populations is difficult in many sites of the Argentine soybean region, although no glyphosate resistant Conyza spp. biotypes have been reported. The selection of these tolerant biotypes may be due to suboptimal growth stage at application,overreliance on glyphosate and long-term use of sublethal doses . Resistance to glyphosate of C. bonariensis was observed for the first time in 2003 in South Africa . At present, resistance to five modes of action with Conyza canadensis  Cronq. and four modes of action C. bonariensis have been reported . Resistance biotypes were identified in Europe -, Brazil  and USA . In Argentina, a better understanding of the differences in control between biotypes is essential for developing effective long-term management strategies.

The small size of weed plants at herbicide application is relevant for achieving an acceptable control as at this stage, weeds are more susceptible.Glyphosate efficacy is particularly influenced by weed size In some biotypes of Conyza spp., glyphosate control fails due to an inappropriate dose when there is a delay in application that allows plants to reach sizes that are difficult to kill consistently . In no-tillage fallow, control of annual weeds increases by applying residual herbicides combined with glyphosate Many of the residual herbicides for Conyza spp. control are acetolactate synthase – inhibiting herbicides, particularly chlorimuron-ethyl, metsulfuron-methyl and diclosulam Mixtures of such herbicides with glyphosate may control biotypes resistant to glyphosate . Other herbicides included in this group consist of mixtures containing sulfometuron or chlorsulfuron and are less studied, so the dose for adequate control is not clear.

Percentages were taken as a single main-plot value

Spot applications of glyphosate at the same rate previously mentioned were also utilized to control perennial weed species, Canada thistle  and field horsetail , within all plots. Weed control treatments were initially applied in the spring of 2008. Data were collected for the growing seasons of 2008 and 2009. Dormant season data were collected in the springs of 2009 and 2010. Annual weed control was evaluated twice per season at 10 and 20 weeks after application . Weed control was quantified as percent control by visual inspection compared to weed presence in an untreated plot margin near the treated row where 0 equated to no control and 100 indicated complete plant death or no plants present outdoor cannabis grow.Plant growth was evaluated as vine shoot length and biomass production through dormant pruning weight. Each measure was averaged for the two vines within each sub-plot for analysis. Plant shoot lengths were measured during the dormant season as the length of the combined trunk and cordon from ground level.

Dormant pruning weight was determined as the total fresh weight of one-year-old wood removed. In both years, each vine was pruned under the same goals of removal of dead material, trunk and cordon establishment, reduction in the number of trunks, and removal of undesirable lateral branches. Effects on vegetative bud-break timing were monitored as the number of Julian days prior to the first unfurled leaf. Values were averaged over the two vines within each cultivar subplot for analysis. Bud hardiness was evaluated each spring as the number of viable primary buds in a 50 bud sample taken from 10 random stems during dormant pruning. Randomly selected buds were sampled from stems with different diameters and from different positions in order to be representative of the entire vine. Viable buds were determined as buds that retained green tissue in the primary bud Primary buds that were brown were considered not viable. Soil temperature was monitored using thermistors  and soil water content was monitored using soil probes  with periodic recording after calibration for the soil type. Thermistors and soil water content probes were placed in the center of each main-plot at a depth of 15 cm. Temperature and moisture content were recorded hourly from July 8 to November 13 during the summers of 2008 and 2009.

Values were averaged monthly for analysis. Data were subjected to analysis of variance using proc mixed with SAS statistical analysis software . Treatment effects on plant growth and development were evaluated as randomized complete block designs with a split-plot arrangement with four weed control methods as wholeplots and four cultivars as subplots with three replications. For weed control and soil conditions, data were evaluated as a randomized complete block design with four weed control treatments and three replications cannabis grow equipment. Years were treated as repeated measures. Months were treated as repeated measures when soil temperature and moisture content were evaluated and were independently evaluated for weed control data. Cultivars differed in their combined trunk and cordon establishment. MN 1131 had longer shoots  compared to either DM 8521 or St. Croix  indicating greater progress toward establishment. The applied weed control treatments did not affect the rate of trunk and cordon establishment in the current study . Dormant pruning weights also did not differ among weed control treatments or among cultivars in the two studied years . Overall, impacts on growth rate and progress toward vine establishment were caused by cultivar differences and were not attributable to weed control methods.

There were no significant deficiencies caused by the alternative weed control measures, thus mulches may be considered acceptable weed control methods in North Dakota vineyards during establishment. St. Croix broke-bud significantly later than DM 8521 and MN 1131 , while MN 1200 did not differ from any other cultivar. The interaction between weed control method and year also showed significant variation . When tests of simple effects were used to evaluate the variation within each year, treatments significantly varied in 2009, but not in 2010. In 2009, vines in plots where herbicide was used broke-bud as much as five days earlier than vines in plots treated with mulch. The early bud-break of these vines may lend them more susceptible to late spring frosts in certain years. It was anticipated that the mulches would delay bud-break due to their moisture conserving and soil cooling effects .