Anredera baselloides (Madeira vine).

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julissa Rojas-Sandoval ◽  
Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Dominican Republic ◽  
Native Plants ◽  
Native Vegetation ◽  
Light Penetration ◽  
Canopy Layer ◽  
Tea Plantations ◽  
Agricultural Weed ◽  
Environmental Weed

Abstract A. baselloides is an invasive succulent vine capable of smothering and destroying native vegetation. Currently, this species is regarded as an environmental weed in the Dominican Republic and as an agricultural weed in Sri Lanka where it is impacting tea plantations (Ranamukhaarachchi et al., 1997). The species has climbing stems which can totally envelop the canopy layer, reducing light penetration and eventually killing the plants beneath and preventing the germination and regeneration of native plants.

scholarly journals Fear of Small Numbers and Political Behaviour of Ethnocentric Majority of Sri Lanka: Undeclared War against Upcountry Tamil Females

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-125
Author(s):  
Harsha Senanayake
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
International System ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Social Process ◽  
Normative Values ◽  
Political Behaviour ◽  
Tea Plantations ◽  
Gender Hierarchies ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
Legal Frameworks

Abstract The United Nations Human Development Report (UNHDR) mentions that the rights of women and female children are inalienable, integral and indivisible. It further highlights the full and equal participation of women in every segment of the social process without any discrimination or without considering sex - gender hierarchies.1 The legal frameworks of the international system and local political space is accepting of the normative values of gender equality and the eradication of gender-based discrimination. But most of the majoritarian societies challenge these legal frameworks to address their political, social and market-oriented interests. These actions are driven by political, social and structural frameworks which have been accepted by the majoritarian societies in the liberal democratic world. Tamil women in upcountry tea plantations in Sri Lanka were subjected to systemic and structural violence because of Sinhala majoritarian statecrafts in post-independence Sri Lanka. The ethnocentric violence directly problematises human security, survival and the personal rights of the upcountry Tamil female labour force. This paper discusses the survival of Tamil female plantation labour forces, focusing mainly on the security crisis of female reproductive rights under the ethnocentric Sinhala Majoritarian Society.

Burkholderia glumae. [Distribution map].

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Oryza Sativa ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
North America ◽  
South America ◽  
Dominican Republic ◽  
Burkina Faso ◽  
Central America ◽  
Distribution Map ◽  
Burkholderia Glumae ◽  
New Distribution

Abstract A new distribution map is provided for Burkholderia glumae (Kurita & Tabei) Urakami et al. Proteobacteria: Burkholderiales. Hosts: rice (Oryza sativa). Information is given on the geographical distribution in Asia (Cambodia, China, Hainan, Japan, Korea Republic, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Vietnam), Africa (Burkina Faso, Tanzania), North America (USA, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas), Central America & Caribbean (Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Panama), South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela).

scholarly journals Midday Meals as an Early Childhood Nutrition Intervention: Evidence from Plantation Communities in Sri Lanka

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Udeni De Silva Perera ◽  
Brett A. Inder
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Random Effects ◽  
Nutrition Intervention ◽  
Child Malnutrition ◽  
Vulnerable Communities ◽  
Tea Plantations ◽  
Height For Age ◽  
Weight For Age

Abstract Background: High rates of child malnutrition are a major public health concern in developing countries, particularly among vulnerable communities. Midday meals programs can be effective for combatting childhood malnutrition among older children. However, their use in early childhood is not well documented, particularly within South Asia. Anthropometric measures and other socioeconomic data were collected for children below the age of five years living in selected Sri Lankan tea plantations, to assess the effectiveness of midday meals as a nutrition intervention for improving growth among young children.Methods: The study exploits a natural experiment whereby the provision of the midday meals program is exogenously determined at the plantation level, resulting in comparable treatment and control groups. Longitudinal data is regularly collected on heights and weights of children, between 2013-2015. Standardized weight-for-age, height-for-age, BMI-for-age and weight-for-height are calculated following WHO guidelines, and binary variables for stunting, wasting and underweight are constructed. All modelling uses STATA SE 15. Random-effects regression with instrumental variables is used for modelling standardized growth variables whilst random-effects logistic regression is used for binary outcome variables. Robustness analysis involves different estimation methods and subsamples. Results: The dataset consists of longitudinal data from a total of 1279 children across three tea plantations in Sri Lanka, with 799 children in the treatment group and 480 in the control group. Results show significant positive effects of access to the midday meals program, on the growth of children. A child with access to the midday meals intervention reports an average standardized weight-for-age 0.03 (±0.01) and height-for-age 0.05 (±0.01) units higher than a similar child without access to the intervention. Importantly, access to the intervention reduces the likelihood of being underweight by 0.45 and the likelihood of wasting by 0.47. The results are robust to different model estimations and across different subsamples by gender, birthweight and birth-year cohort. Qualitative data analysis suggests a high viability of implementing similar programs within tea plantations in Sri Lanka.Conclusions: Midday meals programs targeting early childhood can be an effective intervention to address high rates of child malnutrition, particularly among vulnerable communities in developing countries like Sri Lanka.

Nitrification potential in the rhizosphere of Australian native vegetation

Soil Research ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saikat Chowdhury ◽  
Ramya Thangarajan ◽  
Nanthi Bolan ◽  
Julianne O'Reilly-Wapstra ◽  
Anitha Kunhikrishnan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Growth ◽  
Microbial Activity ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Native Plants ◽  
Rhizosphere Soil ◽  
Native Vegetation ◽  
Rhizosphere Soils ◽  
Nitrification Potential ◽  
Growth Experiments ◽  
Australian Native Plants

The rhizosphere influences nutrient dynamics in soil mainly by altering microbial activity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the rhizosphere effect on nitrogen transformation in Australian native vegetation in relation to nitrification potential (NP). Microbial activity, NP, and nitrifiers (ammonia-oxidising bacteria, AOB) were compared between rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils of several Australian native vegetation under field conditions. These parameters were also measured with increasing distance from the rhizosphere of selected plant species using plant growth experiments. To examine the persistence of nitrification inhibitory activity of rhizosphere soil on non-rhizosphere soil, the soils were mixed at various ratios and examined for NP and AOB populations. The rhizosphere soil from all native vegetation (29 species) had higher microbial activity than non-rhizosphere soil, whereas 13 species showed very low NP in the rhizosphere when compared with non-rhizosphere soil. Nitrification potential and AOB populations obtained in the soil mixture were lower than the predicted values, indicating the persistence of a nitrification inhibitory effect of the rhizosphere soils on non-rhizosphere soils. In plant growth experiments the microbial activity decreased with increasing distance from rhizosphere, whereas the opposite was observed for NP and AOB populations, indicating the selective inhibition of nitrification process in the rhizosphere of the Australian native plants Scaevola albida, Chrysocephalum semipapposum, and Enteropogon acicularis. Some Australian native plants inhibited nitrification in their rhizosphere. We propose future studies on these selected plant species by identifying and characterising the nitrification inhibiting compounds and also the potential of nitrification inhibition in reducing nitrogen losses through nitrate leaching and nitrous oxide emission.

scholarly journals How are Brewer's Sparrows Affected by the Encroachment of the Exotic Grass Species, Smooth Brome (Bromus Inermis Leyss.)?

2006 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 149-152
Author(s):  
Megan Rhuemann ◽  
Sue Wolff
Keyword(s):  
Native Plants ◽  
Western United States ◽  
Grass Species ◽  
Native Vegetation ◽  
The West ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Smooth Brome ◽  
Native Grasslands ◽  
Domestic Livestock ◽  
Exotic Grass

Sagebrush habitats (Artemisia spp.) across the western United States have been continuously altered since the arrival of early European settlers. Habitat loss and fragmentation in sagebrush-dominated habitats has been attributed to domestic livestock, introduction of non-native vegetation, agricultural expansion, urbanization, and changes in ecological processes that regulate ecosystems (Knick et al. 2003). These alterations have resulted in landscape level changes; for example, it is estimated that between 50-60% of the nearly 63 million hectares once covered by sagebrush in the west have been either completely converted to non-native grasslands or now contain non­native grasses in the understory (Miller and Eddleman 2001, West 2000 and 1996). The encroachment of non-native plants that compete with native vegetation has been identified as one of the most serious threats to the health and integrity of sagebrush ecosystems throughout the west (Paige and Ritter 1999).

scholarly journals Hiking and Livestock Favor Non-Native Plants in The High Andes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Alisa Alvarez ◽  
Ana Agustina Barros ◽  
Diego Pedro Vázquez ◽  
Lorena de Jesús Bonjour ◽  
Jonas Lembrechts ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Composition ◽  
Native Plants ◽  
Environmental Filtering ◽  
Elevational Gradient ◽  
Native Vegetation ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Native Community ◽  
Upper Limits ◽  
Native Plant Community ◽  
Facilitative Interactions

Abstract Hikers and livestock using mountain trails damage native vegetation and act as seed vectors, thus favouring the spread of non-native plants. We evaluated the effect of trails and livestock abundance on the success of non-native plants in the arid central Andes of Argentina. We surveyed six trails, covering elevations between 2400 m and 3570 m a.s.l. and recorded non-native and native vegetation using transects distributed along the elevational gradient and spanning distances up to 22 m from the trail. We assessed how non-native occurrence, richness and cover varied with distance from the trail, intensity of use by livestock, native plant community composition and elevation. We found that trails favoured non-native occurrence, but did not influence richness and cover, while livestock favoured non-native occurrence, richness and cover. Non-native richness and cover decreased with elevation and varied with native community composition. In addition, non-native richness was positively correlated with native shrub cover suggesting possible facilitative interactions. Our results show that despite strong environmental filtering that decreases non-native abundance with elevation, non-natives occur up to the upper limits of vegetation, and that trails and livestock favour their spread in the mountains.

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