text: Flooring Xtra is New Zealand's largest flooring retailer, with 60+ stores located across the country. All Flooring Xtra stores are proudly New Zealand owned and operated, so you can rest assured that when you shop with Flooring Xtra you're supporting hard working Kiwi families and their local communities. Our stores specialise in both residential and commercial flooring solutions, with all stores offering full end to end installation services. Shop and browse our extensive product ranges today, including: carpet, timber, laminate, vinyl, lino, luxury vinyl tiles, underlay, rugs, garage carpet, floor cleaning kits and floor accessories. There's something for everyone at Flooring Xtra!


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Elrin, cute . If I had a bloke, and it was his birthday he wouldn't be getting a present from me even if I wanted to get him one because I am that broke. I have about 3,50 euros, and an "elf coin" from a fair I went to in Holland last weekend. Very kewl, but useless all at the same time. (So like most of the things I possess ).
Motorwife, ahh good stuff . Tell him I'll trade, he can come here and I'll even provide him with:
a) a large plastic sheet with which he can hang over himself (to save from electrocution from using b))
b) a hairdryer
Heat, humidity and a chance to visit new places. What more could he want!?!

subset: commoncrawl


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Hideaways: New bands in strange places
The Treatment, The Stabones, and Hours on End
on Price Avenue
April 10
In Charlottesville, most venues have a set list of bands that they rotate through their weekly schedules– it's hard for new, untested acts to get a handhold in the club scene here. One way of seeing new bands is to attend parties where musical acts are scheduled to perform.
Free suds, the chance to meet a mate, and the possibility of seeing a newly formed musical movement (though the latter is more unlikely than possibility #2) are but a few of the reasons younger music aficionado should adopt "
like it's 1999" as a theme song, at least once in a while.
After some well-refereed boxing (including one round of very foxy boxing), and setting up more equipment than you see at a Kiss concert, the first band of the evening, The Treatment, went on. Made up of two guitars, bass, and drums, The Treatment describe themselves as "line-dance punk," and instrumentally their alt-rock vibe was pretty clear.
Vocally, the simple melodies injected over this new/old west background owed more to Pavement's Stephen Malkmus than Uncle Tupelo, a fact that was immediately apparent from the group's first 3/4 lullaby. "Do-do-do-do-mother-f***ers" went a lyrical selection from the group's second tune, another pop number, as the Radiohead-reminiscent lead guitar of Thomas Orgren provided background stabs and vibes.
The Stabones were on next and proved to be my favorite group of the night. Fronted by Bartley McGowan– who more or less talks in the baritone in which he sings– the group had an '80s punk/pop crossed with an early '90s ska group the Mighty Might Bosstones feel (the later comparison strengthened by McGowan's vocals). Covers such as The Misfits' "Where Eagles Dare" and original sing-along numbers peppered the Stabones' set, as McGowan dominated the band side of the room, careering back and forth with the dance-happy tunes.
Hours on End were on last, and though the crowd had thinned out, the group treated the remaining partiers to the most well-performed set of the night. Each of the group's numbers seemed to flow into the next one, and the group played for at least 30 minutes, apparently with no set list.
With a sound best described as "pop with a passion for dynamics" in the mold of '90s alternative/proto-emo group Sunny Day Real Estate, Hours on End produced a sound much bigger than might have been expected from only three members (guitar, bass, drums). Though lyrics were hard to be heard for most of the night (owing to the PA), strong melodies could be heard between the blasts of distorted guitar and cymbal crashes.
The Treatment, The Stabones, and Hours on End– possibly coming to a club near you.
The gang's all here.


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Health & Fitness Resources in Central Islip, NY
Fidelis Care
Phone: (888)FIDELIS / (888)343-3547
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On-line version ISSN 2071-0771
Print version ISSN 0075-6458
Koedoe vol.55 n.1 Pretoria Jan. 2013
Plant communities along the Eerste River, Western Cape, South Africa: Community descriptions and implications for restoration
Clifton S. MeekI, II; David M. RichardsonII; Ladislav MucinaII, III
IPercy FitzPatrick Institute, DST/NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, South Africa
IICentre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
IIIDepartment of Environment and Agriculture, Curtin University, Australia
Riparian plant communities fulfil many functions, including the provision of corridors linking protected areas and other zones of high conservation value. These habitats across much of South Africa's Cape Floristic Region, especially in the lowlands, have been heavily impacted and degraded by human activities. There is increasing interest in the restoration of degraded riparian zones and the ecosystem services they provide to enhance the conservation value of landscapes. Previous studies of riparian vegetation in the Cape Floristic Region focused on pristine headwater systems, and little is known about human-impacted communities that make up most of the riparian vegetation in downstream areas. More information is needed on the composition of these plant communities to establish a baseline for management intervention. The riparian zone of the Eerste River in South Africa's Western Cape province provides a good opportunity to study the features of riparian vegetation along the entire gradient, from pristine vegetation in a protected area through different levels of human-mediated degradation. Riparian vegetation was surveyed in 150 plots along the entire length of the Eerste River (ca. 40 km). Data were analysed using the vegetation classification and analysis software package JUICE. Final groupings were plotted onto a two-dimensional detrended correspondence analysis plane to check the position of the communities in the reduced multidimensional space. Ten distinct plant communities were identified, including several novel communities dominated by alien plant species. Descriptions of each plant community are presented. Diagnostic, constant and dominant species are listed and the major structural and ecological characteristics of each community are described.
Conservation implications: Major changes to hydrological and soil properties, nutrient dynamics and disturbance regimes and plant species composition along sections of the riparian zone mean that restoration of many of these habitats to their historic condition is not feasible. However, several native plant species that provide key ecosystem services persist in and adjacent to transformed communities, offering substantial opportunities for restoration to achieve certain goals.
The flora of South Africa's Cape Floristic Region (CFR) is exceptionally diverse, with one of the highest levels of species diversity endemism of any flora in the world. Research on vegetation ecology in the Fynbos biome of the CFR has focused largely on aspects of the iconic Cape shrublands - mainly fynbos and renosterveld (e.g. Cowling 1992; Cowling, Richardson & Mustart 1997; Linder 2003). Riparian vegetation in the Fynbos biome is, however, structurally and compositionally distinct from the surrounding Cape shrublands. The predominant vegetation type of riparian zones in the Western Cape has been variously named closed scrub fynbos (Campbell 1986; Cowling & Holmes 1992; Cowling et al. 1997), hygrophilous mountain fynbos (Taylor 1978) and broad sclerophyllous closed scrub (Holmes et al. 2005; Kruger 1978). Other types, ranging from tall herblands to forests, may also occur in the riparian zone (Kruger 1978). True afrotemperate forest may develop in areas of steep topography that afford protection from fires (Manders & Richardson 1992). Despite being recognised as a special vegetation type in the biome, riparian vegetation has been paid very little attention in the regional literature. Where it is discussed, it is usually in the context of the larger terrestrial matrix. Very few formal classifications of riparian vegetation in the Fynbos biome have been published (but see Prins, Holmes & Richardson 2004; Sieben, Mucina & Boucher 2009; Sieben & Reinecke 2008) and none have looked at riparian communities outside relatively pristine headwater systems, which occur mostly in protected areas.
Riparian communities in the CFR, especially those in the south-western part of the region, have been heavily impacted recently by human activities. Intensive land use in the lowlands has led to increased soil erosion and sedimentation, increased nutrient inputs, and altered hydrological regimes due to water impoundment and abstraction. In many cases, vegetation clearance for agriculture and urbanisation has included riparian vegetation. In addition, riverine corridors provide ideal conditions for the establishment, proliferation and spread of the many alien plants that were introduced to the region. The constant disturbance along rivers as a result of their dynamic hydrological nature and their ability to function as conduits for dispersal of propagules means that riparian zones are severely invaded worldwide (Foxcroft, Rouget & Richardson 2007; Hood & Naiman 2000; Planty-Tabacchi et al. 1996). Positive feedback mechanisms promote rapid spread of aliens along riparian corridors through human-induced habitat alteration and increased propagule pressure (Richardson et al. 2007).
This combination of pressures on the natural environment has led to the establishment of novel ecosystems (sensu Hobbs et al. 2006) along the riparian corridors of the CFR. No corridors remain undisturbed in their lower reaches and it is unclear what the composition of historical plant communities in these downstream systems would have been (Brown 1998; Prins et al. 2004). These riparian ecosystems fulfil a range of useful functions in the Western Cape and there is increasing interest in conserving or restoring key ecosystem services in these zones. Intact riparian corridors in the CFR have also been identified as being important for migration and exchange of inland and coastal biotas in a human-dominated landscape in the face of global change (Rouget et al. 2003). Before sensible restoration efforts can be undertaken, more information is required on the composition of these ecosystems. The Eerste River provides a superb natural laboratory for the study of the changing dynamics of a river and its associated riparian habitats.
This study aimed to describe the plant communities along the entire length of the riparian corridor of the Eerste River in the Western Cape province to establish a baseline for management and future research. The 150 permanent plots established in this study (see also Meek, Richardson & Mucina 2010) form a permanent transect with considerable potential for other studies of biotic and abiotic changes along a well-studied river situated close to a university. Another objective of this work was to identify native species that could be used in restoration efforts in disturbed riparian areas in the Fynbos biome.
Research method and design
Study area
The Eerste River originates in the Jonkershoek Mountains in the Western Cape, South Africa. It has a catchment area of 420 km2, and it is approximately 40 km long. The source of the river lies 60 km east of Cape Town at an altitude of 530 m, from where it flows in a north-westerly direction towards the town of Stellenbosch. At Stellenbosch, the river takes an abrupt turn, flowing southwards until it meets the Atlantic Ocean in False Bay near the town of Macassar (Figure 1). The river is influenced by flows from several tributaries along its route, with the bank-to-bank width averaging 5 m near the headwaters and 14 m in the lower river zone. The average gradient of the river ranges from 24 m/km in the mountain stream zone to as little as 2 m/km in the lower reaches of the river (King 1981).
The geology of the Eerste River catchment is composed of Table Mountain Sandstone in the upper reaches and Malmesbury Shale and Cape Granite of the Bokkeveld Group in the lower reaches. Low-lying coastal plain areas are composed of aeolian sands (Brown & Dallas 1995). The catchment of the river lies entirely within a Mediterraneanlike climate zone, which has cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers. Annual rainfall averages range from more than 3000 mm (Sieben et al. 2009) in the upper reaches of the river to around 570 mm in the lower reaches. About 80% of this precipitation falls in winter downpours, with only 7% of the annual rain occurring between December and March (King 1981).
As with most rivers in areas of concentrated development, the Eerste River has undergone dramatic changes in the years since European settlement. Intensive human use of the river dates back to as early as 1697, with over-abstraction becoming a problem as early as 1862. Indigenous trees were used for firewood and timber in the early days of European settlement and were later replaced by plantings of English oaks (Quercus robur) (Brown & Magoba 2009). Currently, the landscape surrounding the Eerste River supports a number of land uses, including nature conservation, commercial forestry, residential use, various forms of agriculture (vineyards, orchards and crop production) and communal grazing.
Approximately the first 6 km of the upper river reaches are bordered by natural vegetation within the Hottentots Holland and Jonkershoek Nature Reserves, and is relatively unaffected by human influence. Although forestry plantations of Pinus radiata exist in portions of the landscape in the Jonkershoek Nature Reserve, 'a wide buffer zone of natural fynbos vegetation has been maintained between the river and plantation areas' (Meek et al. 2010). Since 1981, the upper reach of the river has been regulated by the Kleinplaas Dam, above which the Eerste River is perennial (Department of Water Affairs and Forestry [DWAF] 2004). During summer months, a municipal weir above the dam diverts the river's flow to the Ida's Valley Dam, which supplies drinking water and water for domestic use to the town of Stellenbosch (Brown & Dallas 1995). In order to provide compensation releases for downstream users, this flow is replaced with water from the Theewaterskloof Dam through an interbasin transfer scheme. Water from the Theewaterskloof Dam contains high sediment loads, significantly reducing the water quality and negatively affecting downstream biotas in the Eerste River (Brown & Magoba 2009).
'Stellenbosch (human population ca. 117,000) is the main urban area along the river, with additional urban development present in Macassar' (Meek et al. 2010). Historically, the river through Stellenbosch was notably shallower and more flood prone than it is today, containing heavily wooded banks and numerous islands. Considerable canalisation of the river through the town of Stellenbosch has all but eliminated the river's historic flood regime through this area (Brown & Magoba 2009). The banks of the river through Stellenbosch are currently both deep and heavily confined.
Just south of Stellenbosch, the Eerste River is joined by the Plankenburg River. Water is abstracted at this point, near the confluence with the Blouklip River, and (at lower levels by by owners of riparian properties) along most of its length. Treated municipal effluent enters the river through the Veldwagters tributary. Below the confluence of the Veldwagters and Eerste Rivers, treated effluent is an important component of river flow in summer. This makes the river largely perennial in downstream areas.
Field sampling
Vegetation of the riparian zone was surveyed along the entire length of the Eerste River, from the headwaters to just upstream of the estuary. All fieldwork was performed from mid-September through mid-December (i.e. in spring) 2008 in order to capture the greatest number of herbaceous species. Vegetation plots were paired at intervals of 500 m along both banks of the river and plot edges were extended to bankfull margins. A total of 150 plots were surveyed and locations were recorded using a Garmin GPS Map76 handheld global positioning system. Plot sizes were adjusted depending upon structure of the plant community at each plot location in order to capture all regularly occurring species. Herb-dominated communities were sampled with plots of 20 m2, shrublands/ thicket with 50 m2 plots, and forest communities with 100 m2 plots. The decision on the plot size was based upon values suggested in Westhoff and Van der Maarel (1973).
All plant species within a plot were recorded, and height and absolute cover for each species was estimated. Species were determined to be native or alien following the criteria of Pysek et al. (2004) and using published floras including Goldblatt and Manning (2000), Henderson (2001) and Bromilow (2005). Species that could not be identified in the field were collected and labelled, and identifications were later made at the Bolus Herbarium, University of Cape Town. All species determinations were verified by the herbarium curator (Meek et al. 2010), and collections have been archived at the Centre for Invasion Biology at Stellenbosch University (http://academic.sun.ac.za/cib/). The nomenclature of the plant names follows Goldblatt and Manning (2000), except for Searsia (see Moffett 2007).
Surface soil samples collected from each plot were air dried and the pH was measured using a calibrated pH meter in 10-g samples of soil suspended in 25 mL of potassium chloride solution. Soil cation concentrations of sodium, calcium, magnesium, and potassium were measured using ammonium acetate extraction, and phosphorous was measured using the Bray II method for samples with a pH < 6.9 (Bray & Kurtz 1945) and the Olsen method (Olsen et al. 1954) for samples with a pH > 7. Total carbon content (Walkley-Black method; Walkley 1935) and electrical resistance were also measured.
Vegetation analysis and presentation
Vegetation data comprising 150 sample plots were classified by beta-flexible clustering (fi = -0.25), using square root transformation and Manhattan distances as the resemblance measure to calculate distance between plots. The result of the clustering was translated into a structured releve table using the software package JUICE version 7.0 (Tichy, Chytry & Zeleny 2009). Vegetation data recorded per vertical layer were used to assure that both floristic and structural components of vegetation composition would be considered by the classification. Fidelity values were calculated for each of the resulting clusters, and the species in each of the columns of the synoptic table constructed by JUICE were sorted by fidelity using the phi coefficient of association (cut level of 0.35; L. Tichy, pers. comm., 16 Mar. 2009). The structured synoptic table was then translated back into a releve table and inspected for plausibility (interpretability) of the resulting clusters. Clusters were further split or combined until desired resemblance and homogeneity criteria were reached. Interpretability of clusters with respect to field knowledge of the plant communities factored heavily in the decision on the final make-up of clusters. The final 10 clusters were plotted on a two-dimensional ordination plot of the detrended correspondence analysis (DCA; Hill & Gauch 1980) using the ecological software package Canoco 4.5 (Ter Braak & Smilauer 2002) to visualise the level of 'spatial' separation (relative to the ordination plane) of the classification.
Descriptions of each plant community were compiled. These list diagnostic, constant and dominant species (alien species are marked using an asterisk), and provide a narrative describing the major structural and ecological characteristics of the community. Diagnostic species were determined using the phi coefficient of association between species and vegetation units as a measure of fidelity (Chytry et al. 2002). Species were considered to be diagnostic if they had a phi coefficient of 0.35 or higher. Constant taxa are those that occurred in at least 35% of releves for a given community, whilst dominant species are those that had a cover value of 45% or greater in at least 5% of the releves. A species binomial system was used in naming the communities, with one dominant and one diagnostic species being selected for the names.
Plant communities
Ten distinct plant communities were identified. The floristic and structural composition of the communities is represented in the structured releve table (Table 1). A list of all species encountered in the vegetation plots appears as Online Appendix 1.
Cunonia capensis-Brachylaena neriifolia community
Abbreviated name: Cunonia community (Figure 2a).
Diagnostic species: Cunonia capensis, Brachylaena neriifolia, Ilex mitis, Schoenoxiphium lanceum, Todea barbara, Blechnum capense, Cassine schinoides, Maytenus acuminata, Aristea capitata, Rapanea melanophloeos, Metrosideros angustifolia, Podalyria calyptrata, Blechnum punctulatum, Brabejum stellatifolium, Erica caffra, Ischyrolepis subverticillata, Pteridium aquilinum, Pellaea calomelanos, Elegia capensis, Cliffortia cuneata, Diospyros glabra, Asparagus scandens, Cassytha ciliolate.
Constant taxa: M. angustifolia, I. mitis.
Dominant species: C. capensis, R. melanophloeos, P. aquilinum, B. stellatifolium.
The Cunonia community occurs at altitudes of 262 m - 496 m, primarily where there has been no disturbance on lands immediately adjacent to the riparian zone. Rock cover estimates range from 10% - 80%, with an average of 42%. Very little soil is present amidst the rock and tree roots. Where soils are present, they are sand or gravel with a low pH (average = 4.5), low nutrient content, and high resistivity (i.e. low electrical conductivity). This community is characterised by a tall tree stratum (6 m - 13 m) with an average cover of 72%. This stratum is dominated by C. capensis, I. mitis, M. angustifolia and B. stellatifolium. Less common tree species in this stratum include C. schinoides, Platylophus trifoliatus, Maytenus oleoides and R. melanophloeos. A tall shrub stratum (3 m - 6 m) grows below this, and has an average cover of 61%. It is dominated by B. neriifolia and B. stellatifolium, although M. acuminata and M. angustifolia are also common in this stratum. This combination of tall tree and shrub strata creates a fully closed canopy above the forest floor. A herb stratum (< 1.5 m), with an average cover of 29% and dominated by ferns, is the typical understorey of this community. Common understorey species include B. capense, B. punctulatum, T. barbara and S. lanceum. Structurally and floristically, this community is similar to the R. melanophloeos - C. capensis community described by McDonald (1988). It should be noted that this community was completely devoid of alien vegetation, with the exception of a single Acacia melanoxylon sapling present in one releve. This releve is adjacent to a bridge used by forestry vehicles, suggesting that the A. melanoxylon seed may have been introduced into the habitat by a passing vehicle.
Brabejum stellatifolium-Metrosideros angustifolia community
Abbreviated name: Brabejum community (Figure 2b).
Diagnostic species: M. angustifolia, B. stellatifolium, Virgilia oroboides, I. mitis, P. aquilinum, Freylinia lanceolata, E. caffra, Halleria elliptica, Rubus pinnatus, Psoralea aphylla, Phylica pubescens, Pentameris thuarii, P. calyptrate.
Constant taxa: Searsia angustifolia, Olea europaea subsp. africana, Kiggelaria africana, B. neriifolia, Prionium serratum, Pittosporum undulatum, D. glabra.
Dominant species: B. stellatifolium, F. lanceolata, P. serratum.
The Brabejum community can be found at altitudes from 228 m to 400 m, on sandy soils with low pH (average = 4.3), low resistivity and low nutrient content. This community tends to be interspersed with the Cunonia community where it occurs at altitudes between 228 m and 262 m, above which the Cunonia community dominates. The amount of exposed rock ranges from 2% to 90%, with an average of 35%. The vegetation is composed primarily of an almost impenetrable layer of shrubs (up to 5 m), with an average cover of 96%. This stratum is dominated by B. stellatifolium, which occurs in every releve. Interspersed with the B. stellatifolium in this layer are M. angustifolia, F. lanceolata, I. mitis, E. caffra and P. calyptrata, amongst others. P. serratum often grows along the water's edge. Above this stratum there is sometimes an emergent tree layer (up to14 m) with an average cover of 11%. The dominant species in this stratum is V. oroboides. A herb stratum dominated by P. aquilinum provides the understorey in this community, with an average cover of 15%. Whilst this community is composed primarily of native species, a number of alien species have managed to invade, including P. undulatum and Acacia saligna. Structurally and floristically, this community has many similarities to the K. africana - B. stellatifolium community described by Prins et al. (2004), the H. elliptica - B. stellatifolium community described by McDonald (1988) and the Restio gaudichaudianus - M. angustifolia community described by Van Wilgen and Kruger (1985).
Sporobolus africanus-Stoebe plumosa community
Abbreviated name: Sporobolus community (Figure 2c).
Diagnostic species: Stoebe plumosa, R. pinnatus, Sporobolus africanus, Juncus lomatophyllus, Paspalum urvillei*, Passerina corymbosa, Searsia tomentosa, Cliffortia strobilifera, A. saligna*, Juncus effuses.
Constant taxa: S. angustifolia, O. europaea subsp. africana, D. glabra.
Dominant species: S. africanus.
The Sporobolus community occurs along the banks of the Kleinplaas Dam at an altitude of 277 m. It is represented here by only two releves. This community is dominated by S. africanus, which forms its own stratum, 1.0 m high and with an average cover of 53%. S. angustifolia and C. strobilifera emerge from this stratum, reaching 2 m in height, whilst S. plumosa and R. pinnatus form a low stratum up to 0.5 m. Less prominent species found within this community include P. urvillei, J. lomatophyllus and D. glabra, amongst others. Whilst P. serratum grows in dense patches along some areas of the Kleinplaas Dam, it was not captured in either of these releves.
Quercus robur-Cinnamomum camphora community
Abbreviated name: Quercus community (Figure 2d).
Diagnostic species: Cinnamomum camphora*, Ligustrum ovalifolium*, Acacia longifolia*, Syzygium australe*, Acacia elata*, Q. robur*, P. undulatum*, Quercus palustris*, Agapanthus africanus (native, but here not in original habitat).
Constant taxa: B. stellatifolium, Commelina benghalensis*, Acacia mearnsii*, Tradescantia fluminensis*, O. europaea subsp. africana, S. angustifolia, K. africana, P. serratum, M. angustifolia, Bromus diandrus*, Briza maxima*, Brachiaria deflexa, Ageratina adenophora*.
Dominant species: Q. robur*, P. serratum, B. stellatifolium.
The Quercus community is the most prominent riparian plant community of urban areas in and around Stellenbosch, occurring at altitudes between 81 m and 225 m. Soils are sandy and mildly acidic (average pH = 5.08), with low resistivity and moderate nutrient content. Exposed rock ranges from 0% to 80%, with an average of 18%. This is the most diverse of the Eerste River plant communities, thanks in part to the extraordinary number of alien species that have been introduced into the area. However, this community also maintains high native-species diversity relative to the other alien-dominated communities. Absolute cover of alien species averages 123%, whilst the absolute cover of native species averages 73%. Dominating the tree stratum (5 m - 21 m) in this community is Q. robur. The alien species C. camphora, Eucalyptus camaldulensis and A. mearnsii play a secondary role in the canopy, as do the native species O. europaea subsp. africana, I. mitis and M. angustifolia. Average cover in this stratum is 67%. Below the tree stratum is a diverse shrub stratum (1.5 m - 5 m) dominated by the natives P. serratum and B. stellatifolium, with an average cover of 68%. Other native species that commonly occur in this stratum are O. europaea subsp. africana, S. angustifolia, and K. africana. Alien species common to this stratum include C. camphora, L. ovalifolium, A. mearnsii, A. longifolia and P. undulatum. Dominating the understorey are alien T. fluminensis and Pennisetum clandestinum. Other common understorey alien species include B. maxima, C. benghalensis and A. adenophora. This stratum is sparser than the shrub and tree strata, with an average cover of 49%.
Cliffortia odorata-Ageratina adenophora community
Abbreviated name: Cliffortia community (Figure 2e).
Diagnostic species: Cliffortia odorata, Sesbania punicea*,
A. adenophora*, Cynodon dactylon, Paraserianthes lophantha*.
Constant taxa: P. clandestinum*, C. benghalensis*, F. lanceolata, B. diandrus*.
Dominant species: C. odorata.
A dense growth of C. odorata (up to 1.5 m) is the defining component of this community, which occurs at altitudes from 114 m to 225 m on sandy soils with moderate resistivity, low nutrient content and an average pH of 5.2. Often interspersed with C. odorata are the alien species A. adenophora, C. benghalensis, P. clandestinum and in several releves, small saplings of S. punicea. Emergent through this ground cover are shrubs (up to 4 m) such as F. lanceolata and P. lophantha, providing a cover ranging from 0% to 74%, with an average of 35%. This community generally lacks a tree stratum, although in two releves it contained a relatively open canopy of alien trees, including E. camaldulensis, Q. robur and A. mearnsii. This community is possibly identical to the C. odorata shrublands described by Sieben (2003).
Populus x canescens-Tropaeolum majus community
Abbreviated name: Populus community (Figure 3a).
Diagnostic species: Populus x canescens*, Tropaeolum majus*.
Constant taxa: T. fluminensis*, Galium spurium, P. clandestinum*, B. deflexa, Zantedeschia aethiopica, Sonchus oleraceus*, Q. robur*.
Dominant species: T. fluminensis*, T. majus*, P. x canescens*, Q. robur*, O. europaea subsp. africana, E. camaldulensis*, C. benghalensis*.
Of all the communities described here, the Populus community is by far the most widespread along the Eerste River, accounting for close to a third of all releves. It is found primarily adjacent to agricultural lands at altitudes between 6 m and 162 m. Soils are sandy and mildly acidic (average pH = 5.48), with low resistivity and high nutrient content. This community has the highest absolute cover of alien species of all the Eerste River plant communities, whilst the average absolute cover of native species is only 27%. Dominating the tree stratum (5 m - 22 m) in this community is P. x canescens, although E. camaldulensis or Q. robur replace P. x canescens as the dominant species in some releves. Other prominent tree species in this community include A. mearnsii and Salix babylonica. The only native tree species that seem to have maintained a foothold in some areas are O. europaea subsp. africana and, to a lesser extent, K. africana and Salix mucronata subsp. mucronata. The tree canopy is almost never closed in this community (63% cover on average), allowing for enough light to promote growth of a herb stratum (< 1 m) with an average cover of 97%. Dominating this understorey are T. fluminensis and T. majus, both of which form dense mats of vegetation along the forest floor, which makes it difficult for competing plants to germinate. Other common understorey species include B. deflexa, C. benghalensis and P. clandestinum, as well as the native species G. spurium and Z. aethiopica. The shrub stratum (1 m - 4 m) is generally sparse (average cover of 22%) and is dominated by young P. x canescens.
Bromus diandrus-Erodium moschatum community
Abbreviated name: Bromus community (Figure 3b).
Diagnostic species: Erodium moschatum*, Ehrharta longiflora, B. diandrus*, Fumaria muralis*, Medicago polymorpha*, Hordeum murinum*, Geranium molle*.
Constant taxa: P. clandestinum*, G. spurium, T. majus*, Z. aethiopica, Echium plantagineum*.
Dominant species: B. diandrus*, P. clandestinum*, T. majus*, Rapistrum rugosum*.
The Bromus alien grassland community occurs at altitudes from 6 m to 114 m in heavily disturbed areas along the river, primarily downstream of Stellenbosch and adjacent to agricultural or communal grazing lands. It generally does not occur as a continuous unit, but rather in isolated patches interspersed amongst other communities. Soils are sandy, with low resistivity, neutral pH (average = 6.11), and high nutrient content. This plant community is dominated by non-native grasses and herbs and is unique amongst the riparian communities represented here for its lack of a shrub or tree stratum. Common species found within this community include the annual grasses B. diandrus, E. longiflora and H. murinum, as well as the perennial grass P. clandestinum. Herbs common to this community include the aliens E. moschatum, T. majus and E. plantagineum, as well as the native species G. spurium and Z. aethiopica. Dwarf versions of many of these species can be found in heavily grazed areas along the river, where a majority of the species have been pruned to within a few centimetres off the ground. P. clandestinum does particularly well in these areas owing to its creeping, mat-forming nature. Very little bare ground is present within this community, which has an average cover of 96%.
Arundo donax-Tradescantia fluminensis community
Abbreviated name: Arundo community (Figure 3c).
Diagnostic species: Arundo donax*, T. fluminensis*, Rubus fruticosus*, Q. robur*, Anredera cordifolia*.
Constant taxa: T. majus*, Vinca major*, G. spurium.
Dominant species: A. donax*, T. fluminensis*, Q. robur*.
The Arundo community occurs within an altitudinal range of 15 m - 53 m, adjacent to agricultural lands downstream of Stellenbosch. Soils are sandy, with low resistivity, low pH (average = 4.45) and unusually high phosphorus and potassium content. Species diversity is particularly low, with a mean of nine species per 50 m2 quadrat. As with the Bromus community, this community occurs primarily in isolated patches distributed amongst other downstream communities. The defining component of this community is the dense stands of the alien species A. donax (up to 6 m), within which very few, if any, native species are able to survive. The thicket of A. donax emerges above a herbaceous stratum (up to 0.6 m) of other alien species, including V. major, T. majus and T. fluminensis, as well as the weedy native species G. spurium. The tree K. africana was the only other native species found growing within this community. The alien herbaceous vine A. cordifolia is often found twining up the A. donax stalks, whilst Q. robur creates a canopy up to 13 m tall above the A. donax thicket. The tree stratum has a relatively low cover (average 26%) compared to the herb(44%) and shrub strata (95%).
Phragmites australis-Persicaria lapathifolia community
Abbreviated name: Phragmites community (Figure 3d).
Diagnostic species: Phragmites australis, Persicaria lapathifolia*, Rumex crispus*, Helminthotheca echioides*, R. rugosum*, Tetragonia fruticosa, Lolium perenne*, Sonchus asper*, Lycium ferocissimum, Malva arborea*, Raphanus raphanistrum*, C. strobilifera.
Constant taxa: Z. aethiopica, S. mucronata subsp. mucronata, P. clandestinum*, G. spurium, F. muralis*, C. benghalensis*, Xanthium strumarium*, T. majus*, S. oleraceus*, E. plantagineum*, C. dactylon.
Dominant species: P. australis, P. lapathifolia*.
The Phragmites community occurs within an altitudinal range between 5 m and 10 m, primarily adjacent to agricultural and grazing lands in the lower reaches of the river, as well as some untransformed lands close to the river estuary. Soils are sandy with low resistivity, neutral pH (average = 6.80), and high nutrient content. Similar to the Arundo community, the most prominent feature of this community is the dense thickets (3 m - 5 m tall) formed by the dominant species, in this case P. australis. This community differs from the Arundo community, however, in that it contains a greater cover percentage of native species and is found further downstream. The tall herb P. lapathifolia (up to 1 m) is often interspersed with P. australis, particularly in releves further from the estuary. In some areas, portions of the P. australis thicket have been grazed down and P. clandestinum has taken hold, along with other non-native herbaceous species such as F. muralis, C. benghalensis and X. strumarium. This community often abuts the Salix community (see later) and, as such, S. mucronata subsp. mucronata occasionally overhangs the P. australis, providing minimal tree cover.
Salix mucronata subsp. mucronata-Cyperus textilis community
Abbreviated name: Salix community (Figure 3e).
Diagnostic species: S. mucronata subsp. mucronata, Z. aethiopica, Cynanchum obtusifolium, Cyperus textilis.
Constant taxa: T. fluminensis*, R. crispus*, R. rugosum*, P. clandestinum*, C. benghalensis*.
Dominant species: S. mucronata subsp. mucronata, C. textilis, Cyperus dives, T. fluminensis"*, T. majus"*.
As mentioned earlier, this community often abuts the Phragmites community and is found in similar areas along the lower reaches of the river, at altitudes from 5 m to 15 m. Soils are similarly sandy, with low resistivity, neutral pH (average = 6.83), and high nutrient content. Native species dominate in this community, with an average absolute cover of 95% as compared with an average of 65% for alien species. The native S. mucronata subsp. mucronata forms a moderately tall (6 m - 11 m) canopy above an otherwise heavily herbaceous community. Prominent understorey herbs include the alien T. fluminensis and native Z. aethiopica, with native C. obtusifolium occasionally twining through the branches of the S. mucronata subsp. mucronata. In some areas, S. mucronata subsp. mucronata tends to grow in dense, shrub-like patches. Thick clumps of C. textilis often intermingle with shrubby S. mucronata subsp. mucronata, creating a tangle of impenetrable vegetation.
The results of the DCA ordination are graphically illustrated in Figure 4. The plant communities show very clear 'spatial' separation (with reference to the reduced multivariate space) along axes 1, 2 and 3, suggesting that the floristic-based classification was robust.
This study provides the first description of riparian plant communities along the entire length of a river system in the CFR, including the many novel communities that now occur in the human-impacted riparian areas in this region. A study of this nature poses a particular challenge owing to the continually changing nature of many of these plant communities. This is especially true in urban and agricultural stretches of the river, which continue to be transformed by the proliferation of already present alien plant species and the incursion of new alien species.
The distribution of plant communities along the Eerste River is not determined by any single factor, but by the interaction of several environmental factors. It is difficult to separate the effects of environmental factors in a system that has been, and continues to be, so heavily transformed by human intervention. No single environmental component can be treated in isolation, although it appears that land use has played an important role in shaping the composition of plant communities. Those riparian areas where the landscape surrounding the river has been most heavily transformed by human factors are home to many of the novel plant communities dominated by alien species that are described in this paper, including the Bromus, Populus, Arundo, and Quercus communities. The relationship between alien plant species and surrounding land use was addressed in a separate study (Meek et al. 2010).
Owing to the extensive changes in soil nutrients and species composition that have occurred, complete restoration of these areas to their historic species assemblages (where this is known) is not feasible, and may even be detrimental (potentially leading to further degradation) in some cases. Steps can, however, be taken to remove some of the more aggressive alien species that are well established, whilst also re-introducing key native species into some communities (Galatowitsch & Richardson 2005). Whilst it is impossible to know with certainty which native species dominated in these communities prior to human intervention, the native species that persist provide some clues. For instance, the Populus community, which now occurs along 30% of the Eerste River, has a number of native species that maintain a tenuous foothold in this novel community. These include the native trees S. mucronata subsp. mucronata, O. europaea subsp. africana and K. africana, all of which provide valuable ecosystem services to both humans and wildlife (Holmes et al. 2008; Richardson & Fraser 1995; Venter & Venter 1996). It is likely that the dense understorey of T. majus and T. fluminensis within the Populus community has suppressed the germination of native seedlings of these species, but they seem able to thrive below a canopy of P. x canescens. Consequently, active planting will be necessary to establish denser stands of native vegetation, but little maintenance other than managing the invasive species may be necessary following these initial restoration activities. Once native species have grown large enough to provide the necessary soil stabilisation, P. x canescens and other alien trees could be removed in order to provide a greater opportunity for native species to thrive.
There is an even greater opportunity for restoration along portions of the river dominated by the Quercus community, as a diverse array of native plant species persist amidst the alien species here. In fact, there is considerable overlap between native species in the Brabejum community and those in the Quercus community, including species such as B. stellatifolium, M. angustifolia, P. serratum, and F. lanceolata. This, combined with the observation that these two communities exist both adjacent to and interspersed with each other, suggests that the Quercus community may have historically looked very similar to the Brabejum community. As such, land managers interested in restoring portions of the riparian habitat dominated by the Quercus community can consider the composition of the Brabejum community to discover suitable species for restoration activities. The most appropriate inventory of native species for restoration along a particular stretch of river could further be confirmed by scanning upstream and downstream vegetation for key native species in these areas.
The Quercus community exists as far downstream as the confluence with the Plankenburg River, below which the Populus community becomes dominant. Interspersed with the Populus community is the Arundo community, which is relatively rare along the river. The reed species A. donax is highly invasive and has major impacts in many Mediterranean-type ecosystems (Brooks et al. 2004; Coffman, Ambrose & Rundel 2010; Gaertner et al. 2009). Efforts should be made to remove this species whilst it still occurs along only a small section of the Eerste River. Arundo donax tends to crowd out all other species, creating monospecific stands and providing few, if any, of the ecosystem services that other alien species may provide.
Interspersed with both the Populus and Salix communities is the Bromus community. As with the Arundo community, this community is in need of active restoration along the Eerste River. The Bromus community exists as a result of extensive clearing of woody vegetation by landowners and intensive grazing along portions of the lower river. This has left the river in these areas extremely vulnerable to erosion and sedimentation, adding to the river's already poor water quality in downstream areas. Where this community occurs in communal grazing lands, the appropriate species for restoration can be found amongst the native species in the Salix community, primarily S. mucronata subsp. mucronata and C. textilis. In these cases, the riparian area will need to be fenced or otherwise protected from grazing until the plants are of such a size that grazing will not disturb them. This could probably be achieved over one or two growing seasons, given the rapid growth of these species. Once these species have established themselves along the riverbank, they will provide not only numerous ecosystem services but also additional forage for cattle being grazed in the area. In other areas of the river where this community exists, the appropriate species for restoration will depend on adjacent communities. Where it exists interspersed with the Populus community, the appropriate species for restoration will be those listed earlier for the Populus community; where it exists adjacent to the Quercus community, the appropriate species for restoration can be found amongst the native species in the Brabejum or Cliffortia communities.
No other study from South Africa has shown such distinct differences amongst riparian plant communities as we have revealed in the current study. In fact, other studies of riparian communities (e.g. Prins et al. 2004) tended to show an overlapping continuum of plant communities rather than a series of unique communities with distinct differences. This is largely because previous studies were confined to riparian communities of headwater systems, where most native vegetation is intact and there is little human interference. Invasion by alien plant species and a range of human-mediated habitat modifications in downstream areas of the Eerste River have radically changed vegetation structure and composition (Meek et al. 2010). This has created an extensive array of novel plant communities, effectively disrupting the natural continuous vegetation patterns through increased local dominance and associated disassembly processes. However, even the two primarily native plant communities (those dominated by Brabejum and Cunonia), limited to the upper reaches of the river, were quite distinct on the axes of the DCA. Whilst these communities share many floristic similarities, they are structurally quite different. Had the species structural data layers been combined into a single layer, these two communities would likely have overlapped to a much greater extent in the diagram, and would not have been as distinct in the initial cluster analyses. Of the 10 plant communities, the Brabejum and Cunonia communities were also the most tightly clustered in the ordination diagram, whilst the compositional attributes of other plant communities were quite diffuse. This attests to the ever evolving nature of the downstream plant communities, which continue to be changed and shaped by human activities in the surrounding landscape, as well as the major influence of humans on the hydrological regime of the river.
An important priority for biodiversity conservation in South Africa is the protection and management of riparian habitats, which have become increasingly valuable owing to the multitude of ecosystem services they supply. Appropriate management of these riparian areas depends largely upon knowledge of riparian plant communities so that informed decisions can be made regarding their management and restoration. This study details the extensive changes in plant species composition that have occurred in many portions of the Eerste River's riparian zone, and helps to further an understanding of how riparian plant communities in the Western Cape are changing as a result of anthropogenic activities. Furthermore, it provides key data on those native species that continue to persist within and adjacent to alien-dominated communities and offers insights with regard to options for restoration. Additional research is needed to determine long-term goals for the riparian vegetation along the Eerste River. All stakeholders need to be consulted to establish achievable goals. The results of this study provide important baseline information to guide management aimed at delivering sustainable ecosystem services.
Support for this work was provided by the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology. We thank SuzaanKritzinger-Klopper and Donald Iponga for assistance and companionship in the field, Terry Trinder-Smith for help with identifying plant specimens, Christy Momberg and Mathilda van der Vyver for administrative support, Lubomir Tichy for help with the JUICE software program, and the many landowners along the Eerste River, who kindly allowed us access to their land. C.S.M. also thanks the staff and students at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute for their support during the study. CapeNature kindly provided the plant collection permits.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationship(s) that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article.
Authors' contributions
C.S.M. (University of Cape Town) and D.M.R. (Stellenbosch University) were responsible for writing of the manuscript, C.S.M. was responsible for vegetation sampling and data analysis and L.M. (Stellenbosch University) assisted with the ordination analysis and classification of plant communities. D.M.R. provided overall project guidance.
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Correspondence to:
David Richardson
Private Bag X1
Matieland 7602, South Africa
Received: 20 June 2012
Accepted: 25 Oct. 2012
Published: 15 Mar. 2013


text:
Explore Scientific 25mm 100 degree eyepiece
Posted 13 July 2013 - 11:21 AM
By Richard Lines
Posted 13 July 2013 - 03:09 PM
BUT, I would be lying if I said that I don't daydream a decent bit about a great Dob every here and there (and also about the accompanying eyepieces that would enable me to luxuriously slew by hand at low to moderate powers with it). So it is with ample interest that I like to hear what others have to say about these meaty 2" oculars.
Based on my own experiences, and on those of countless ones shared here on our forums, I am gradually learning that tolerances for edges in various fields of views vary tremendously. Perhaps I am a fairly tolerant one when it comes to such things, for I have not found different sorts of slightly mushy, partly coma-y edges to really bother or hinder me too much overall. Sure, I care about more than just what's up front and centered, but I have to wonder as to just how much of a deal-breaker this would be for many folks out there. I understand that some are very sensitive and particular to these details, and more finely attuned to slight changes in them from eyepiece to eyepiece.
Right now I see that one can buy the ES 20mm AND the ES 25mm for about the price of one 21mm Ethos. So I wonder, without having owned any of these - is the 21mm Ethos so superior to the 25mm ES (or other ES eyepieces for that matter) that it is worth so much more? The Ethos also has an extra 9th element, I assume? (It would be fascinating to see how they would both test out on-axis.)
I too am eager to hear from others who have had experiences with the ES 25mm. We eyepiece connoisseurs are certainly spoiled for choice these days with all of the dizzying arrays of glass combinations that are now being produced!
Posted 13 July 2013 - 04:10 PM
Posted 13 July 2013 - 09:49 PM
I spent a fair amount of time with the 25mm in my 12.5" under dark skies, too.
My comments could be similar to yours, since I use both a 31 Nagler and a 21 Ethos, in a 12.5" f/5 scope with Paracorr.II.
Here is what I found:
1)distortion--obviously corrected for AMD, because RD is noticeable. It's obviously corrected for nighttime, astronomical observation. This is not a negative, just a comment.
2)vignetting--obviously significant, since it's easily visible in both day AND night viewing, starting about 80% of the way to the edge. Not unexpected, since the field stop is a little larger than would be expected in a 2" barrel with this AFOV (probably why TeleVue stayed away from this focal length), but also minimally noticeable at night, and pretty much only if you let the moon drift toward the edge of the field.
3)light scatter--not great. When the crescent Moon is in the field, the light from the lighted part bleeds over to the earthlit part and reduces contrast. Averted vision shows this.
When the Moon is outside the field, it's obvious which direction the Moon lies.
More aggressive baffling would have reduced the FOV, I believe. Not a great lunar eyepiece, therefore, but since the eyepiece is highly unlikely to be used as a lunar or planetary eyepiece in any scope, this may be a non-issue.
Suggestion: use for all purposes except Moon viewing.
4)astigmatism correction--not the best. Even in the Paracorr, star image degradation starts a little more than half-way to the edge and gets suddenly worse at about the 90% point.
Going back and forth through focus on a star near the edge, the astigmatism at the edge is obvious.
It's better than many 80 degree eyepieces, though.
Suggestion: Use as a finder eyepiece for really low power.
5)lateral color. Star images become prismatic near the edge, and moving the eye only partially eliminates this. Holding the eye in the wrong place with an Ethos can do this too, but changing the position of the eye eliminates it. In this case, it can't be eliminated, AND the blue ring at the edge is very noticeable on the Moon; otherwise not at all.
Suggestion: Experimenting with eye placement is essential to reduce this effect.
6)internal reflections. With Sirius slightly outside the field of view, there is a semi-circular ghost in the field. The center of that circle is where Sirius is.
The ghost is not evident when Sirius is in the field, but it's obvious that reflection from the interior wall of the eyepiece barrel, or the side of a lens, or the filter threads at the bottom, or a modestly bright spacer ring visible near the bottom causes this. It could have been fixed with a baffle, probably, but wasn't, and for the reasons I mentioned above.
Suggestion: I would recommend darkening the filter threads on the bottom of the eyepiece and the bottom of the barrel itself.
7)image sharpness on axis and in the center 50% of the field is very good. If a user mainly looks here, it will be an engaging eyepiece to use.
Suggestion: Use for objects that can be framed well by the field of view.
8)field curvature. In the Paracorr, I didn't really notice anything that I couldn't eliminate by careful focusing (I'm 62). But without the Paracorr, though coma dominated the edge, (and astigmatism), I could focus the edge a little better and when I did, it defocused the center. Since my scope has a 1587mm focal length sans Paracorr (1825mm with), I would bet the field curvature of the eyepiece matches the scope and augments it to create a noticeable curvature. It really didn't matter, though, since FC wasn't the biggest issue at the edge, and it was fully eliminated in the Paracorr by focusing partway out from center.
Suggestion: Don't focus on a star in the center, but partway out and the entire field will be in better focus. Astigmatism and lateral chomaticism are reduced by having a better focus over the entire field.
9)coloration. Well, I'm pretty insensitive to this. Even if the tint were slightly yellow, my eye would see it as white 2 seconds after looking through the eyepiece. It's one of the reasons I regard any discussion of tint as a "tempest in a teapot". You might notice it if quickly changing eyepieces, like in a turret, but otherwise? It's only important to me if it reduces the ability to see colors in stars or objects. if I see a tint, it's STRONG. But in eyepieces? REALLY subtle. I saw none in this eyepiece, even on the Moon.
It would be interesting to see if a simple black ring on the bottom of the eyepiece might eliminate an internal reflection (as it has done on some other eyepieces) or whether simple blackening of the filter threads helps. Had internal baffling been more aggressive, and the FOV reduced to, say, 90 degrees, this eyepiece could easily have earned a better review.
[Excerpted from a March 17th post and somewhat enhanced]
- Jon Isaacs, Neptune, Procyon and 1 other like this
Posted 14 July 2013 - 09:22 AM
- Procyon likes this
Posted 14 July 2013 - 05:14 PM
The value-for-money argument is a good one and rather different over here. In the UK all US imports become dollars-to-pounds plus dealer factor X. Thus there is an incentive to import directly from the US. In the UK the ES prices are certainly lower than TV but the relative differential is less, certainly for the 100 degree series. It's very much a premium product.
Just a little extra perspective...
Posted 14 July 2013 - 05:44 PM
Posted 14 July 2013 - 05:49 PM
I used it in a friend's f/6.5 scope a while back, and it was OK--much of the complaints that Richard and I had about the eyepiece were considerably reduced and a much larger % of the field was in sharp focus.
Of course, most of the users of this eyepiece will have short f/ratios and larger scopes, so that doesn't help, but I did want to point that out.
Posted 15 July 2013 - 08:39 AM
Posted 15 July 2013 - 10:45 AM
Posted 15 July 2013 - 01:10 PM
This is why ES is introducing a new 3" barrel size for the 30mm 100* eyepiece, although I think it may ultimately be a fool's errand. Of course, that's what people said about Al Nagler's namesake eyepieces when they first came out.
Posted 15 July 2013 - 05:34 PM
The focus is generally ok in the middle, although there is a touch of ambiguity in the exact focus which under other circumstances would pass un-noticed at this level of magnification. The issues really start about half way out. The scope is a 12" f/4 Newtonian so, yes, it is a tough test. But doubling the focal ratio with a barlow lens (of known good quality) fails to provide much of an inprovement! The main market for this ep will be big heavy dobs that can brush off the balance problems. My own comments after 2 weeks of ownership mirror virtually exactly what Don has said....it's not a one-off. Other comments are coming in to the same effect.; no-one has replied saying they've got a good one. They're all like this...You might as well take a 25mm 2" plossl and remove the field stop. RL
Posted 15 July 2013 - 06:05 PM
I've had other eyepieces like that (35 Panoptic comes to mind), where focusing half way out allowed me to see an entire field more-or-less in focus.
And since the Paracorr will tame the coma and flatten the field slightly, that just might work to give you a larger portion of the field in good focus.
If you can get 75% of the field into sharp focus and only the edge deteriorates, then most of any edge problems will be outside the normal viewing field.
Posted 15 July 2013 - 08:42 PM
Interesting that you say, "If you can get 75% of the field into sharp focus ... most of the edge problems will be outside the normal viewing field". That helps explain, perhaps, why I like eyepieces with a 70 degree FOV so much. Of course wider FOV eyepieces are nice because the remaining FOV (over 70 degrees) adds to the overall observing experience. It's like looking forward at the bookshelf and seeing the rest of the room with my peripheral vision which is not in sharp focus.
Posted 16 July 2013 - 01:02 PM
Posted 16 July 2013 - 01:03 PM
Posted 16 July 2013 - 02:28 PM
Having said that, I own other ES eyepieces; they are uniformly excellent performers. I also own several Televue eyepieces, which are also excellent performers. For the best possible views, better than either ES or Televue products but with a smaller apparent field, I own a set of Baader Classic Orthos (see list below). And just a word about my 9mm ES120 (which actually has a true AFOV or almost 140 degrees) which is simply revolutionary, and also is as good as a Delos in the central field (same 72 degrees).
I won't bash Televue except to complain about their high prices, but ES has produced eyepieces rivalling Televue's quality at much more reasonable prices. Bashing ES and Scott Roberts - who I have met and who is not only a gentleman but a true innovator - is just off the mark. Hopefully, this competition will spur more innovation and even better prices all around.
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Posted 16 July 2013 - 06:34 PM
I live at altitude with some pretty dark skies so I will be curious to see how it measures up to the 82/30mm and my 100/14mm. If it is not to my liking, I will just return it and stick with the 30.
Posted 16 July 2013 - 08:44 PM
Posted 17 July 2013 - 03:11 PM
Agreed. I have seen and heard nothing but good from Mr Roberts. Like the eyepieces or not, I think we should be respectful.
Bashing ES and Scott Roberts - who I have met and who is not only a gentleman but a true innovator - is just off the mark. Hopefully, this competition will spur more innovation and even better prices all around.
Posted 27 July 2013 - 03:05 PM
Not that much I can add but to confirm this EP really is a nightmare on the moon (I do like to look at the moon wide-field occasionally) with a bright orange ring all the way around. I struggle somewhat with eye-placement as well, black-outs are common as I try to scan the sky - not excessive but it certainly detracts from the immersion experience. I do also find the light scatter to be excessive.
Finding a spot to focus well off-center does seem to create a nice balanced pleasing view, and it's nice to have the extra magnification in such a wide-field when compared to the pinpoint tighter view of the 30mm. Maybe one more night with this review in mind and I can finally come to a conclusion on whether to keep or let someone else try the 25mm...
Posted 27 July 2013 - 06:17 PM
I also saw the orange on the moon but thankfully won't be using it for that instead opting for binoviewing.
It's not a one size fits all world, it's best to buy eyepieces based on specific needs rather than over enthusiastic consensus in my opinion....
I have since sold my ES 30, another great eyepiece...
Posted 27 July 2013 - 09:55 PM
Posted 19 September 2013 - 08:51 PM
Posted 19 September 2013 - 09:17 PM


text:
Pork Sausage Patties With Braised Cabbage and Apples
Get the Recipe
Each and every year, as the cold winter nights grow even colder, I find myself craving the Eastern European-style dishes of my heritage: warming soups like borscht, starchy fare like kasha varnishkes, and long-cooking braises of meat and vegetables alike.
One of my favorite square meals in this category is sweet-but-funky braised cabbage and apples accompanied by tender slices of roast pork loin: they pair beautifully and, combined, are filling without being too heavy. But here's the thing about that roast pork: sometimes it's tempting to take slice after slice of it, going light on the cabbage served alongside. I think that's a shame; humble braised cabbage might not win any beauty contests, but when it's made with care and enlivened with a few key aromatics, it's actually a subtly complex side dish.
For this recipe, I decided to make the cabbage the star. Sweetened with soft apples and onions and rounded out with nutty caraway seeds, bright apple cider vinegar, a hint of sugar and fragrant fresh dill, this is one cabbage dish you'll want to heap on the plate. And instead of fussing around with a huge pork loin that can take an hour to cook, I serve the soft cabbage with fast-cooking, easy to whip up homemade pork sausage patties that are full of flavor from shallots, garlic, fennel seeds, and chile flakes, with a dash of dry sherry for added moisture. Just one and a half pounds of ground meat will serve four people, ensuring that the tender cabbage will play the main character at dinner.
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


text: Welcome to the general education website. In its quest for excellence and in keeping with its commitment to meeting the needs of twenty-first century students, SIUE embarked on the challenging journey of general education reform. This site chronicles the milestones of this faculty-driven journey to date. Feel free to explore the site to learn more about the history of general education reform at SIUE, as well as discover new initiatives related to general education.


text:
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Find A Salt Route
The City of Madison limits the amount of salt that is applied to its streets as an effort to protect its groundwater and the quality of the lakes. We salt the following streets: main arterials, thoroughfares, main connector streets, Madison Metro bus routes, streets surrounding hospitals and schools, major hills and curves. All other City of Madison streets receive sand to act as an abrasive on hills, intersections and curves.


text:
Free Beer & Hot Wings: Creepy New York Anchor Leers at Reporter in Bikini [Video]
Fox 5 entertainment reporter Anna Gilligan was at the soon-to-be newly-reopened Action Park in New Jersey last week, giving "Good Day New York" viewers a tour.
During one segment, Gilligan stripped down to just a bikini to ride a zipline, climbed out of the pool, was handed her microphone and went back to her report. Back in the studio, anchor Greg Kelly was obviously flustered because he made about four comments on how good she looked in her bikini.
Now in his defense, yes, she DID look good. Great even. But c'mon man. Keep it together and stop being a creep on live TV!
Source: Free Beer & Hot Wings


text:
One hangup with being Lisa Marie Presley will be that familial connections — including a fairly famous father, mother and ex-husband — will likely always trump notice for any musical accomplishments. But in the 10 years since releasing her debut album Presley has issued two more, suggesting she's not just dabbling in music.
The latest is "Storm & Grace," which was produced by the great T Bone Burnett and released last year. And Presley is out on the road plugging the record. The tour will bring her to the Dosey Doe in The Woodlands on Sept. 15.
Tickets run $78-$98 (dinner included) at 281-367-3774 or www.doseydoe.com. And $218 gets you a VIP pass, which includes admission to Presley's sound check and an opportunity for a photo with her.


text:
Concerns with security are nothing new for educational institutions, say security experts, but the tragedy in Newtown, Conn., underscores both how important and difficult it is to keep people safe from a madman.
"It can happen anytime and anyplace, and it is an issue of national concern," says Kevin Wilkes, vice president and security practice leader for Willis Security Risk consulting for Willis North America.
He says educators have done a good job of working to protect students, exercising "due diligence and good security practices."
At the Sandy Hook Elementary School, where an armed man shot his way into the building and took the lives of 20 children and six school administrators, security measures were in place. Doors were locked and no one was allowed in unless they were recognized and buzzed in, news reports say.
Without commenting on the Sandy Hook incident itself, Wilkes says there is security best practices that educational institutions need to implement no matter what their size. More importantly, he says, some of these practices should be expanded to other venues such as malls, movie theaters and places of worship "that are thought to be places of safety and comfort, not places of death and carnage."
"When it comes to acts of violence, they really don't discriminate," says Wilkes, a former detective with the Pittsburgh police who worked with the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service. "Loss of life is just tragic and should not be tolerated."
Wilkes says there are signs of trouble that should be noted, adding that people who commit these crimes "don't snap." He says they suffer a slow burn. What people need to begin to do is "recognize the red flags and intervene to deescalate" their anger.
"Nothing ever occurs in a vacuum," he notes.
Wilkes says that one way to combat violence in a business or institution is to put a workplace-violence program in place. This program will train managers, supervisors and employees on how to respond to acts of violence. The program will include not just response but also how to assess a threat.
In developing a plan, Jim Smith, director, and Mark Waring, assistant director, of risk control services for Arthur J. Gallagher in Florida say many educational institutions have plans in place. What makes them effective is how quickly they can be implemented.
"The simpler the plan is, the better," says Smith.
The question then is how often do they walk through the plan, and is it engrained in their culture?
The tragedy at Sandy Hook School has heightened the concern about security for clients, says Smith, and these institutions are now assessing if more needs to be done.
One major focus, says Waring, is standardizing security while at the same time being mindful of a school's budgetary restraints. This is of particular concern for private education institutions with limited resources.
Among some of the security standards Waring says need to be implemented are a single entry point into the school for visitors, proper credentialing of individuals in the school, communication and response training to a crisis.
"You need a well written plan, but keeping it simple is a lot easier than a hefty binder," observes Smith. "People need to make decisions quickly in a crisis, and that's why it is important not to make the plan complicated."
Waring says AJG and its clients have taken the initiative and reduced those two to three inch binders from years ago to a two or three page, color coded action plan.
Another element to good security, say all three consultants, is working with the local police department to assess threats and sharing the crisis plan with them.
Summing security concerns, Wilkes says, "It is unfortunate that we have to have this conversation, but unless those in the risk-management community, and those in leadership positions for our schools, businesses and organizations really begin to proactively take steps to minimize this risk, that is coming far too frequently in our places of business, worship and campuses of learning, then we will continue to see these types of [violent] issues evolve."


text:
Energy Fruits
Energy fruits – free classic fruit machine games
Energy Fruits is a 5-reel, 3-row video-slot with 5 fixed paylines.
The objective is to land as many identical symbols as possible along a payline. Winning combinations start on the first reel on the left (excluding the SCATTER symbol) and run along an active payline to the last reel on the right. Only the highest winning combination of one symbol is paid out.
Scatter combinations are paid in addition to line combinations.
Scatter symbol
The SCATTER in this free classic fruit machine games is the STAR symbol.
SCATTER symbols can appear on all reels. Only one SCATTER can appear on each reel.
Landing three SCATTER symbols or more on the reels create a winning combination.


text:
NBC's Luke Russert reports from Capitol Hill where House Speaker John Boehner has been re-elected to his position in the House.
Updated 2:14 p.m. -- Ohio Rep. John Boehner, R, won a second term as speaker of the House on Thursday over the dissent of a handful of House conservatives.
Following a bruising first two years as speaker and leader of House Republicans, 10 conservative lawmakers cast votes for someone other than Boehner during a roll call vote in the first hours of the new Congress. Several other conservative Republicans abstained from voting. Boehner received 220 votes of a total of 426 cast.
While Boehner won re-election to the speakership with the overwhelming support of the GOP, he also narrowly avoided the 16 total defections from fellow Republicans that would have triggered a second ballot of House lawmakers on electing a speaker. That would have been the first time a second ballot was needed since 1923, and a mild embarrassment for Boehner.
In remarks after the vote, a characteristically emotional Boehner urged members to resist pursuing "political victory" in lieu of leadership.
"If you've come here to see your name in the lights or to pass off political victory as some accomplishment, you've come to the wrong place. The door's right behind you," he said. "If you have come here humbled by the opportunity to serve, if you've come here to be the determined voice of the people, if you've come here to carry the standard of leadership demanded not by our constituents but by the times, then you've come to the right place. "
Lawmakers in the House of Representatives convene for the first session of the 113th Congress and re-elect House Speaker John Boehner for a second term.
Boehner cited the federal deficit as the overwhelming problem to be addressed by lawmakers, alluding to the need for serious negotiations to solve it.
"As Speaker, I pledge to listen and to do all I can to help all of you carry out the oath of office that we are all about to take," he said. "Because in our hearts, we know it's wrong to pass this debt on to our kids and grandkids, now we have to be willing - truly willing - to make this problem right."
Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the No. 4 Republican in the House, said that Republicans' support for Boehner was "unanimous," and no other GOP lawmaker publicly nominated an alternative candidate.
"There's one person I turn to," she said during her nominating speech, "to help point the way forward."
Democrats mostly cast their ballots for House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Calif., for speaker, though a handful of moderate Democrats defected.
In remarks after the vote, Pelosi praised Boehner as a family man and a leader who has won "the respect of his colleagues on both sides of the aisle."
First Thoughts: Boehner boxed in
Boehner during his two years as speaker oftentimes struggled to manage an unruly Republican conference that threatened to scuttle deals the Ohio Republican had cut with President Barack Obama and Democrats. Boehner led Republicans to the majority in 2010 thanks to an infusion of energy from the Tea Party, but the demands of these conservatives often pushed Boehner into brinksmanship during battles with the administration over funding the government, extending the debt ceiling, extending a payroll tax cut through 2012 and resolving the fiscal cliff.
Arm-in-arm with Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-Ill., Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., makes a dramatic return to Capitol Hill after suffering a stroke, cheered on by his peers as he walks up the steps of the Capitol building.
At the beginning of the last Congress, Republicans unanimously acclaimed Boehner as their speaker. But during the intervening two years, Boehner encountered internal challenges that threatened to undercut his leadership.
During the high-stakes 2011 debates over continuing government funding and extending the nation's borrowing authority, jockeying between Boehner and his No. 2, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., were little more than an open secret in Washington. (That dynamic cooled during 2012; while Cantor opposed the final fiscal cliff deal, his and Boehner's team took great strides toward downplaying any sense of a rift between the two Republican leaders.)
But Cantor received a handful of votes from some conservative and freshman lawmakers during Thursday's election; one of the other common names was that of former Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., one of the most high-profile conservative firebrands from the last Congress who lost his bid for re-election.
The internal Republican discord most strikingly spilled into the public spotlight during the lame-duck Congress, following elections which saw Republicans lose eight seats but retain their majority in the House. Boehner earned enemies from a handful of Republican congressman after the Republican steering committee stripped them of plum committee spots after they were deemed "not team players." Kansas Rep. Tim Huelskamp, one of the four rogue Republicans, has almost made it a personal mission since then to highlight Boehner's difficulties with conservatives.
Boehner's speakership also arguably reached its weakest point during the final days of the 112th Congress when his fallback plan in fiscal cliff negotiations – which would have allowed taxes to rise on income over $1 million – was rejected by conservatives, thereby weakening their speaker's own bargaining position.
Saul Loeb / AFP - Getty Images
Members of the 113th House of Representatives recite the Pledge of Allegiance during the opening session at the Capitol, on Jan. 3, 2013.
But Boehner's chief advantage in winning a second term as speaker stemmed from his lack of a formidable adversary. Though some grassroots conservatives had sought out different challengers to the speaker, none had emerged as a consensus choice during December. When conservatives floated the name of Rep. Tom Price – Boehner had supported Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., over Price in a race for the GOP's fourth-ranking position – the Georgia Republican quickly quashed rumors that he would challenge Boehner.
And the leaders best-positioned to challenge Boehner – Cantor, Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, Calif., or even Wisconsin Rep. and former vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan – closed ranks around the speaker, tasking Boehner for another two years with one of the most unenviable tasks in Washington: managing the House Republican Conference.
NBC's Carrie Dann contributed to this report.
NBC's Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro discuss the end of the 112th Congress and looking ahead to the 113th Congress.


text:
The master's degree course "World Heritage at Work", offered by the University of Turin and the Polytechnic of Turin and organized by the International Training Centre of ILO in collaboration with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, is preparing for its second year.
The programme is intended for professionals involved in the management of a World Heritage property and those who are associated with site activities.
The course was designed for the following categories of participants who are:
- already involved in projects concerning a World Heritage property, or interested in designing and managing special projects for a possible future World Heritage property;
- motivated to design and carry out research activities to support the main activities of a World Heritage property;
- interested in and knowledgeable about local cultures and indigenous traditions; interested in dialogue both with local authorities and with the community.
The course offers a number of special features:
- integration of theory and practice;
- an interdisciplinary approach to culture as a resource for development, with emphasis on management of a World Heritage property;
- emphasis on operational issues in project design and project cycle management;
- interactive presentations followed by analysis of case studies and close tutoring support
A limited number of scholarships are available to participants from developing countries and countries in transition.
The course will be held in Turin, Italy, at the International Training Centre of the ILO. Coursework takes place at the Centre's compact and functional campus, where participants from around the world meet, live and learn together, in a stimulating international environment. The campus and facilities (bank, post office, travel agency, laundry, gym, sports and recreation facilities) provide an ideal environment for living and studying, sharing experience and creating networks.
Interested candidates should complete an application form (which is available on the web page 'Application Form') and submit it, together with the corresponding project idea, by e-mail or fax no later that 29th May 2009.
For further information about the Master, availability of scholarships and for all other communications please contact the course secretariat:
International Training Centre of the ILO
Sustainable Development and Governance Programme
Viale Maestri del Lavoro, 10, 10127 Turin, Italy.
Tel.: +39-011-6936945 Fax.: +39-011-6936369
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com;


text: wednesdays are our official "rest day" but we offer a skills class at 6:30pm to help our members master the skills of crossfit! whether you are a beginner or an experienced crossfitter, you will benefit by attending our 1 hour class. there is a short wod at the end of the class that incorporates the skill we worked on.


text:
Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson has a new musical collaborator: George Gershwin.
The late composer's estate has been looking for the right musician to complete more than 70 unfinished works, and has settled on the musical genius behind "California Girls" and "Good Vibrations." Gershwin's great-nephew Todd Gershwin said the songs range from nearly complete to just a few bars.
"George for his time was a visionary." Todd Gershwin said. "He certainly crossed genres and musical lines, tried things that hadn't been done before and Brian Wilson has done exactly the same thing."
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
Wilson, who has already gotten started, said most of the pieces will likely remain instrumentals, which he said could easily make for three-minute pop singles. Others might be developed into longer pieces, he said.
"I'm proud to be able to do it," said Wilson, 67. "Hopefully, I'll be able to do them justice."
Get more: Los Angeles Times


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I wanted to Share information about the ST:NG episode, and there are a lot of Google results I was amazed to see, but not one with a FB link!
If you want to read an excellent synopsis, go to Memory-Alpha, the ST Wiki. The article is named the Tamaran language.
You can also find the episode on YouTube, but it's dubbed in German!
The phrase can be bought on T-shirts, mugs, and bumper stickers. It's become a meme, which is a bit self-referential since Tamaran is all memes.
I wondered about the process of how the language reached its present state. Obviously it once was a normal language to have generated the stories that became those memes.
And could somebody develop the equivalent in English? "The Witch-King and Eowyn on the Fields of Pellenor.". How would you understand that?