Question: Does the overstorey of pine savannas influence plant species biodiversity in the ground cover? Location: Camp Whispering Pines (30°41' N; 90°29' W), eastern Louisiana (USA). Methods: We used ecologically sensitive restoration logging to remove patches of Pinus palustris (longleaf pine) in a second-growth loess plain Pinus palustris savanna managed using frequent lightning season fires. Five years later, we measured numbers of vascular plant species and transmitted light in replicated 100-m 2 plots. Treatments involved three different overstorey conditions: no overstorey for 5 years, no overstorey for several decades, and overstorey pines present for decades. Results: Both recent and long-term openings contained, on average, about 100 vascular plant species per 100 m 2 , 20% more than in similar-sized areas beneath overstorey trees. Responses varied with life form; more herbaceous species occurred in recent and older overstorey openings than beneath overstorey trees. Total numbers of all species and of less abundant forb species were positively and linearly related to light transmitted to ground level. Those species responding to openings in the overstorey and positively associated with increased transmitted light levels were monocarpic and shortlived perennial forb and grass species with a seed bank in the soil. In addition, community structure, as reflected in species composition and abundances, appeared to vary with canopy condition. Conclusions: Restoration involving ecologically sensitive removal of patches of overstorey pines in frequently burned pine savannas should benefit the ground cover and increase plant species biodiversity as a result of increased abundance of seed bank species.

end of life is now every health care professional's business and this may have the potential to raise the place of palliative care in general on the professional agenda.

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A structured protocol for weaning patients from PN to EN can reduce overfeeding in critically ill patients given nutrition support via a combination of routes.

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This paper focuses on one aspect of a research study exploring qualified and student nurses' constructed meaning of nursing in a community context. Uncertainty and risk were particularly important factors in the practice constructions reported by qualified nurses. However, this aspect of practice did not constitute a significant element of the clinical curriculum, and students displayed a limited appreciation of these concepts. The visibility and articulation of these aspects of practice may therefore need to be enhanced to develop a more accurate appreciation of practice in the community context, as well as refining the education agenda for this aspect of health care. Four types of uncertainty were identified in this research, namely uncertainty as a consequence of an unpredictable practice context, uncertainty created by the nurse-patient power balance, uncertainty created by exposure to diverse needs and finally, facing risk and dealing with uncertainty when alone. By drawing on a range of literature, the particular dimensions of risk and uncertainty experienced in community practice are differentiated. It is argued that as a core tenet of the practice experience it is timely and appropriate to review perceptions of risk and uncertainty. Acknowledging these as an accepted part of practice may not only facilitate the practitioner's ability to manage the experience but also allow learners to develop their appreciation and understanding of risk and uncertainty.

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