Ecological importance of the Myrtaceae in New Zealand’s natural forests

A study was conducted by using 5m × 5m sized 179 quadrates following multistage random sampling method for comparative regenerating tree species, quantitative structure, diversity, similarity and climate resilience in the degraded natural forests and plantations of Cox's Bazar North and South Forest Divisions. A total of 70 regenerating tree species were recorded representing maximum (47 species) from degraded natural forests followed by 43 species from 0.5 year 39 species from 1.5 year and 29 species from 2.5 year old plantations. Quantitative structure relating to ecological dominance indicated dominance of Acacia auriculiformis, Grewia nervosa and Lithocarpus elegans seedlings in the plantations whereas seedlings of Aporosa wallichii, Suregada multiflora and Grewia nervosa in degraded natural forests. The degraded natural forests possess higher natural regeneration potential as showed by different diversity indices. The dominance-based cluster analysis showed 2 major cluster of species under one of which multiple sub-clusters of species exists. Poor plant diversity and presence of regenerating exotic species in the plantations indicated poor climate resilience of forest ecosystem in terms of natural regeneration.

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Syntaxonomy of mid-successional stages of secondary forests of the central elevated part of the Southern Urals

Vegetation of Russia ◽

10.31111/vegrus/2012.20.109 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. 109-134

Author(s):

P. S. Shirokikh ◽

A. M. Kunafin ◽

V. B. Martynenko

Keyword(s):

Boreal Forests ◽

Floristic Composition ◽

Southern Urals ◽

Secondary Forests ◽

Natural Forests ◽

The Southern Urals ◽

Active Growth ◽

Tree Layer ◽

Shade Tolerant Species ◽

Successional Stages

The secondary birch and aspen forests of middle stages of succession of the central elevated part of the Southern Urals are studied. 4 subassociations, 1 community, and 7 variants in the alliances of Aconito-Piceion and Piceion excelsae are allocated. It is shown that the floristic composition of aspen and birch secondary forests in the age of 60—80 years is almost identical to the natural forests. However, a slight increase the coenotical role of light-requiring species of grasslands and hemiboreal forests in the secondary communities of the class Brachypodio-Betuletea was noticed as well as some reduction of role the shade-tolerant species of nemoral complex and species of boreal forests of the class Vaccinio-Piceetea. Dominant tree layer under the canopy of secondary series is marked by an active growth of natural tree species.

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Langfristige Entwicklung von zwei Waldgesellschaften im Białowieża-Urwald

Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen ◽

10.3188/szf.2008.0080 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 159 (4) ◽

pp. 80-90 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Bogdan Brzeziecki ◽

Feliks Eugeniusz Bernadzki

Keyword(s):

Species Composition ◽

Tree Species ◽

Stand Structure ◽

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Structural Parameters ◽

Forest Communities ◽

Natural Forests ◽

Tree Species Composition ◽

Strong Trend ◽

Long Term Study

The results of a long-term study on the natural forest dynamics of two forest communities on one sample plot within the Białowieża National Park in Poland are presented. The two investigated forest communities consist of the Pino-Quercetum and the Tilio-Carpinetum type with the major tree species Pinus sylvestris, Picea abies, Betula sp., Quercus robur, Tilia cordata and Carpinus betulus. The results reveal strong temporal dynamics of both forest communities since 1936 in terms of tree species composition and of general stand structure. The four major tree species Scots pine, birch, English oak and Norway spruce, which were dominant until 1936, have gradually been replaced by lime and hornbeam. At the same time, the analysis of structural parameters indicates a strong trend towards a homogenization of the vertical stand structure. Possible causes for these dynamics may be changes in sylviculture, climate change and atmospheric deposition. Based on the altered tree species composition it can be concluded that a simple ≪copying≫ (mimicking) of the processes taking place in natural forests may not guarantee the conservation of the multifunctional character of the respective forests.

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of The ecological importance of intraspecific variation.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.732227334.793578012 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Nelson Hairston Jr

Keyword(s):

Intraspecific Variation ◽

Ecological Importance

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Chemical Ecology and Off-Flavour Substances

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1988.0239 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 20 (8-9) ◽

pp. 167-178

Author(s):

O. M. Skulberg

Keyword(s):

Environmental Factors ◽

Chemical Ecology ◽

Aquatic Environment ◽

Metabolic Pathways ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Relevant Research ◽

Fundamental Research ◽

Biotic Effects ◽

Ecological Mechanisms ◽

Ecological Importance

Off-flavour substances may be regarded as a resource which can be used to study special ecological mechanisms. Relevant research on off-flavours is inextricably combined with the study of perception, ethology, genetic control etc. The chemicals concerned are commonly perceived by the senses of olfaction and gustation. Thus research on the chemical ecology of off-flavour substances in the aquatic environment involves the study of a variety of disciplines. For example the biochemistry of the relevant substances and appropriate metabolic pathways must be considered. Chemical properties are important for the behaviour of the substances. The production of off-flavours by organisms is related to phenological circumstances. The biotic effects of ecologically significant substances are dependent on several environmental factors. This paper draws attention to the possible application of fundamental research in this area to selected problems of ecological importance.

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Mapeamento do Descarte de Medicamentos em um Município do Sul de Minas Gerais/ Mapping and Disposal of Medicines at a Municipality in Southern Minas Gerais

REVISTA CIÊNCIAS EM SAÚDE ◽

10.21876/rcsfmit.v5i1.302 ◽

1970 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 35-44

Author(s):

Daniele Cristina Braz Dos Santos ◽

Alexandre Magno Batista Machado ◽

Fábio Vieira Lacerda

Keyword(s):

Water Resources ◽

Minas Gerais ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Self Medication ◽

The Public ◽

Unused Medications ◽

Ecological Importance ◽

City State ◽

Soil Water Resources ◽

Proper Disposal

Objetivo: O trabalho teve por objetivo mapear, quantificar e verificar a destinação dos medicamentos vencidos e em desuso, e contribuir com uma discussão sobre os problemas gerados com a destinação imprópria desses medicamentos e os impactos causados ao meio ambiente na cidade de Itajubá/MG. Materiais e Métodos: A pesquisa utilizou o método quantitativo de corte transversal, sendo realizada no período de maio a agosto de 2014. Participaram da pesquisa um total de trinta farmácias da cidade de Itajubá. As entrevistas foram realizadas com os responsáveis técnicos das farmácias (farmacêuticos), de forma individual, procurando identificar a forma de manejo e descarte dos fármacos. Do mesmo modo, procurou-se evidenciar como os colaboradores se comportam em relação a importância ecológica do descarte correto e como veem a importância de conscientizar a população. Resultados e Discussão: O consumo de medicamentos vem aumentando expressivamente nas últimas décadas, devido ao estímulo publicitário e à automedicação. Com isso, cada vez mais medicamentos são produzidos e descartados de forma inadequada, o que põe em risco o solo, os recursos hídricos e principalmente, a saúde humana. Por meio dos resultados obtidos pode-se perceber que poucos indivíduos possuem a conscientização do descarte correto dos medicamentos. Conclusão: A falta de colaboração por parte do poder público local em instruir a comunidade pode ser um dos motivos onde ainda existem muitas pessoas desinformadas. Apesar das farmácias estarem implementando um programa de destinação, poucas entendem ou sabem a destinação correta dos resíduos de medicamentos. Palavra-chave: Saúde. Medicamento. Destinação. ABSTRACTObjective: The study aimed to map, quantify and verify the allocation of accrued and unused medications, and contribute to a discussion of the problems created by improper disposal of these medications and the impacts to the environment in the Itajubá city state/MG. Materials and Methods: The research used a cross quantitative sectional study and was conducted in the period May to August 2014. A total of 30 pharmacies from Itajubá participated. Interviews were conducted with the technical managers of the establishments surveyed, individually, seeking to identify the form of handling and disposal of medications. Similarly, sought to highlight how employees behave towards the ecological importance of proper disposal and how they see the importance to educate the public. Results and Discussion: The consumption of drugs has been increasing significantly in recent decades due to the advertising stimulus and self-medication. With this, more and more medications are produced and discarded improperly, putting the soil, water resources and especially human health at risk. Through the results obtained can be seen that few individuals possess the awareness of proper disposal of medications. Conclusion: The lack of cooperation from the local government to instruct the community can be one of the reasons where there are still many uninformed people. Although pharmacies are implementing a program allocation, few understand or know the proper disposal of waste medicines. Keywords: Health. Medicine. Destination

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Different sexual impacts of dioecious Populus euphratica on microbial communities and nitrogen cycle processes in natural forests

Forest Ecology and Management ◽

10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119403 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 496 ◽

pp. 119403

Author(s):

Qingxue Guo ◽

Jiantong Liu ◽

Lei Yu ◽

Helena Korpelainen ◽

Chunyang Li

Keyword(s):

Microbial Communities ◽

Nitrogen Cycle ◽

Populus Euphratica ◽

Natural Forests

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Sensitivity Analysis of Sentinel-1 Backscatter to Oil Palm Plantations at Pluriannual Scale: A Case Study in Gabon, Africa

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13112075 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (11) ◽

pp. 2075

Author(s):

J. David Ballester-Berman ◽

Maria Rastoll-Gimenez

Keyword(s):

Time Series ◽

Sensitivity Analysis ◽

Oil Palm ◽

Time Interval ◽

Potential Candidate ◽

Initial Growth ◽

Natural Forests ◽

Wet Season ◽

Radar Signatures ◽

The Times

The present paper focuses on a sensitivity analysis of Sentinel-1 backscattering signatures from oil palm canopies cultivated in Gabon, Africa. We employed one Sentinel-1 image per year during the 2015–2021 period creating two separated time series for both the wet and dry seasons. The first images were almost simultaneously acquired to the initial growth stage of oil palm plants. The VH and VV backscattering signatures were analysed in terms of their corresponding statistics for each date and compared to the ones corresponding to tropical forests. The times series for the wet season showed that, in a time interval of 2–3 years after oil palm plantation, the VV/VH ratio in oil palm parcels increases above the one for forests. Backscattering and VV/VH ratio time series for the dry season exhibit similar patterns as for the wet season but with a more stable behaviour. The separability of oil palm and forest classes was also quantitatively addressed by means of the Jeffries–Matusita distance, which seems to point to the C-band VV/VH ratio as a potential candidate for discrimination between oil palms and natural forests, although further analysis must still be carried out. In addition, issues related to the effect of the number of samples in this particular scenario were also analysed. Overall, the outcomes presented here can contribute to the understanding of the radar signatures from this scenario and to potentially improve the accuracy of mapping techniques for this type of ecosystems by using remote sensing. Nevertheless, further research is still to be done as no classification method was performed due to the lack of the required geocoded reference map. In particular, a statistical assessment of the radar signatures should be carried out to statistically characterise the observed trends.

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Highly restricted dispersal in habitat-forming seaweed may impede natural recovery of disturbed populations

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-96027-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Florentine Riquet ◽

Christiane-Arnilda De Kuyper ◽

Cécile Fauvelot ◽

Laura Airoldi ◽

Serge Planes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Structure ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

Mediterranean Ecosystems ◽

Dispersal Distance ◽

Genetic Connectivity ◽

Restricted Gene Flow ◽

Isolated Populations ◽

Natural Recovery ◽

Limited Dispersal ◽

Ecological Importance

AbstractCystoseira sensu lato (Class Phaeophyceae, Order Fucales, Family Sargassaceae) forests play a central role in marine Mediterranean ecosystems. Over the last decades, Cystoseira s.l. suffered from a severe loss as a result of multiple anthropogenic stressors. In particular, Gongolaria barbata has faced multiple human-induced threats, and, despite its ecological importance in structuring rocky communities and hosting a large number of species, the natural recovery of G. barbata depleted populations is uncertain. Here, we used nine microsatellite loci specifically developed for G. barbata to assess the genetic diversity of this species and its genetic connectivity among fifteen sites located in the Ionian, the Adriatic and the Black Seas. In line with strong and significant heterozygosity deficiencies across loci, likely explained by Wahlund effect, high genetic structure was observed among the three seas (ENA corrected FST = 0.355, IC = [0.283, 0.440]), with an estimated dispersal distance per generation smaller than 600 m, both in the Adriatic and Black Sea. This strong genetic structure likely results from restricted gene flow driven by geographic distances and limited dispersal abilities, along with genetic drift within isolated populations. The presence of genetically disconnected populations at small spatial scales (< 10 km) has important implications for the identification of relevant conservation and management measures for G. barbata: each population should be considered as separated evolutionary units with dedicated conservation efforts.

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