Aims:  The effects of medium‐composition and fermentation parameters on the properties of mixed mesophilic starters were studied. The starter was composed of Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis (L. lactis), Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris (L. cremoris), Lactobacillus rhamnosus (Lact. rhamnosus) and Leuconostoc mesenteroides ssp. cremoris (Leuc. cremoris). Methods and Results:  The media used were reconstituted skim milk (RSM), and whey‐based media with either citrate or phosphate buffers. The fermentation parameters were incubation temperature (22°C or 32°C), no pH control, and pH control in pH zones of either pH 6·0–5·8 or pH 6·0–5·2. The starter properties were strain ratio, specific acidifying activity (SAA), total population, residual carbohydrates and organic acids produced. The growth of L. lactis was favoured under pH control in whey‐based media. High concentrations of Lact. rhamnosus were favoured in whey‐based media prepared at 32°C. The highest contents of Leuc. cremoris were obtained in starters prepared in RSM at 22°C without pH control. Starters prepared under pH control gave the highest populations and made it possible for significantly lower inoculation rates (IR) to be used to carry out subsequent milk fermentations. However, the SAA of starters prepared under pH control were lower than the SAA of starters grown without any pH control. Conclusions:  None of the conditions enabled the strain ratio at inoculation to be maintained. The data show that it is possible to prepare a mesophilic starter that has a significant probiotic Lact. rhamnosus content; this starter could be used in the preparation of probiotic‐containing cheeses or in Leuc. cremoris for aroma production in fermented milks. Significance and Impact of the Study:  This study provides data on what should be expected with respect to strain ratios and IR if cheesemakers decide to shift their aroma‐producing starter production method from the traditional ‘milk‐based without pH control’ method to whey‐based media used with pH‐zone control strategies.

Application of base cation fertilizers is widely used to ameliorate decline symptoms in hardwood forests in southern Quebec, but little is known about the effects of fertilization on nutrient cycling. Control and fertilized plots in a sugar maple (Acersaccharum Marsh.) dominated stand were monitored over a 4-year period to determine the effects of fertilization on exchangeable soil base cations in soil, foliar nutrient concentrations, and fluxes of N, K, Ca, and Mg in litter fall and throughfall. Fertilization had a large, immediate effect on exchangeable K, whereas effects on Ca and Mg were delayed and restricted to the organic forest floor, presumably because of the lower solubility of the limestone-based Ca and Mg components of the fertilizer. Fertilization raised pH in the organic forest floor the second and third years after application but had no effect in the B horizon. Foliar K, Ca, and Mg were elevated in the year of fertilization, but foliar concentrations of Ca and Mg did not differ from, or were lower than, controls in following years. Litter-fall K flux was increased by fertilization, but litter-fall Ca and Mg fluxes and all through-fall base cation fluxes were unaffected. In control plots, nutrient concentrations in soil remained relatively constant throughout the study, but foliar concentrations and, in particular, litter-fall fluxes varied widely from year to year. This natural variation caused control plots to shift from a state of deficiency in N, Ca, and Mg to a nutrient-sufficient state between the first and second years of study. Fertilization effects are superimposed on a naturally variable nutrient cycling system, and controls on this variability must be understood if fertilizer response is to be accurately predicted.