The European charcoal trade

Abstract About half the wood extracted worldwide from forests is used as fuelwood to produce energy, about 17 percent is converted to charcoal (FAO 2017) which represents one of the least controlled/monitored segments of the European timber market. Although charcoal has a significant share on the European market of wood-based products it is not yet covered by the European Timber Regulations (EUTR), (EU) No 995/2010. For this project, a total of 150 charcoal consignments from eleven countries (Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Ukraine, Czech Republic, and Belgium) were examined and evaluated based on the 3D-reflected light microscopy technique. The high-resolution study indicates the proportion of different European timbers compared with that of timbers from subtropical and tropical regions. The share of subtropical and tropical species is surprisingly high with approximately 46% for material received from all countries studied, but far over 60% for Spain, Italy, Poland, and Belgium. The study shows that comparing the results for charcoal received from these countries there is an inversely proportional relation of certified products (FSC and PEFC) and products with timbers from subtropical or tropical origins. In the charcoal consignments from Switzerland, the share of timbers from subtropical or tropical origin is only 13.5%, whereas that of certified products is 60%. In material received from Spain, the proportion of timbers from subtropical or tropical regions is 67%, whereas that of certified products only 8%. A careful check of the declaration on the packaging, of the accompanying certificates, and the information on origin revealed alarming evidence: only 25% of the consignments examined provide information on the bags, e.g., with regard to the processed wood species; and well over half of such declarations were incorrect and/or incomplete. A trade flow analysis of EU member states was carried out to contribute to a better understanding of the relationships between international charcoal trade flows and the end products in European countries. This approach contributes to an essential understanding of charcoal transit in Europe and the results constitute a strong motive for the inclusion of charcoal in the respective annex to the EUTR.

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Greenhouses – urban biodiversity hotspot of alien Oribatida (Acari) species

Fragmenta Faunistica ◽

10.3161/00159301ff2020.63.1.001 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 63 (1) ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Mateusz OSZUST ◽

◽

Ziemowit OLSZANOWSKI ◽

Marta PRZYMUSZAŁA ◽

d Aleksandra JAGIEŁŁO ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alien Species ◽

Native Species ◽

Biodiversity Hotspot ◽

Oribatid Mites ◽

Future Research ◽

Tropical Species ◽

Tropical Regions ◽

Stable Conditions ◽

The World ◽

Different Parts

Palm houses and other greenhouses, due to maintaining constant temperature and humidity, allow the cultivation in Europe of plants from different parts of the world, even from tropical regions. However, sometimes they are also a habitat for alien species of spiders, mites, insect, etc. These animals have been introduced accidentally with contaminated plants, seeds, seedlings, soil and thanks to stable conditions maintained in greenhouses, they may colonize these places. Example of arthropods, of which even tropical species occur in several greenhouses, are oribatid mites – minute saprophagous arachnids that mostly inhabit soil. In Europe they are represented by about 2,000 species, while worldwide – over 10,000 taxa were described. The aim of this research was to investigate the selected greenhouses for the biodiversity of oribatid mites and the presence of non-native species. In total, 49 taxa were recorded, including 23 alien species (for example, a Neotropical taxon Galumna hamifer, or Oriental Suctobelbella parallelodentata). These results confirm that greenhouses are the places of occurrence of many alien oribatid species. The obtained results may be used in future research on the biology of poorly known tropical mites.

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Prospects for freshwater turtle population recovery are catalysed by pan-Amazonian community-based management

10.7287/peerj.preprints.27044v1 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Darren Norris ◽

Carlos A Peres ◽

Fernanda MIchalski ◽

James P Gibbs

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Use ◽

Freshwater Turtle ◽

Tropical Species ◽

Area Network ◽

Freshwater Turtles ◽

Community Based ◽

Tropical Regions ◽

Continental Scale ◽

Turtle Population ◽

Business As Usual

Sustainable use as a mechanism for the conservation and recovery of exploited wildlife populations remains intensely debated, including for freshwater turtles, a diverse and imperilled group of aquatic reptiles that are an important food source for many residents of tropical regions. Here we evaluated the geographical extent of recovery options for a heavily exploited tropical freshwater turtle fauna across 8.86 M km2 of South American river catchments under Business-as-Usual (BAU), Protection (Pr) and Community-Based-Management (CBM) scenarios. For the widespread indicator species, Podocnemis unifilis, demographic analysis showed that populations subject moderate levels of female harvest (≤10%) can recover over broad areas if concurrent headstarting of hatchlings is practiced more widely. With regional strengthening of the protected area network unlikely, CBM developed with harvest frameworks derived from demographic rates appropriate to tropical species could catalyse a rapid continental scale recovery of Amazonian freshwater turtles within a few decades.

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Prospects for freshwater turtle population recovery are catalysed by pan-Amazonian community-based management

10.7287/peerj.preprints.27044 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Darren Norris ◽

Carlos A Peres ◽

Fernanda MIchalski ◽

James P Gibbs

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Use ◽

Freshwater Turtle ◽

Tropical Species ◽

Area Network ◽

Freshwater Turtles ◽

Community Based ◽

Tropical Regions ◽

Continental Scale ◽

Turtle Population ◽

Business As Usual

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Macroecology of parental care in arthropods: higher mortality risk leads to higher benefits of offspring protection in tropical climates

10.32942/osf.io/zqes4 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Eduardo S. A. Santos ◽

Pedro Penna Bueno ◽

James Gilbert ◽

Glauco Machado

Keyword(s):

Parental Care ◽

Mortality Risk ◽

Natural Enemies ◽

Field Experiments ◽

Biotic Interactions ◽

Tropical Species ◽

Tropical Regions ◽

Offspring Protection ◽

Tropical Climates ◽

The Tropics

The intensity of biotic interactions varies around the world, in such a way that mortality risk imposed by natural enemies is usually higher in the tropics. A major role of offspring attendance is protection against natural enemies, so the benefits of this behaviour should be higher in tropical regions. We tested this macroecological prediction with a meta‐regression of field experiments in which the mortality of guarded and unguarded broods was compared in arthropods. Mortality of unguarded broods was higher, and parental care was more beneficial, in warmer, less seasonal environments. Moreover, in these same environments, additional lines of defence further reduced offspring mortality, implying that offspring attendance alone is not enough to deter natural enemies in tropical regions. These results help to explain the high frequency of parental care among tropical species and how biotic interactions influence the occurrence of parental care over large geographic scales. Finally, our findings reveal that additional lines of defences – an oftentimes neglected component of parental care – have an important effect on the covariation between the benefits of parental care and the climate‐mediated mortality risk imposed by natural enemies.

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Structural characteristics and biotechnological applications of frutalin: lectin extracted from Artocarpus incisa

Ciência e Natura ◽

10.5902/2179460x30905 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 40 ◽

pp. 46

Author(s):

Bianca Régia Silva ◽

Franscisco Léo Nascimento de Aguiar ◽

José Roberto Viana Silva

Keyword(s):

Cancer Cells ◽

Cell Membranes ◽

Structural Characteristics ◽

Mechanisms Of Action ◽

Tropical Species ◽

Biotechnological Applications ◽

Glycosylation Pattern ◽

Biotechnological Potential ◽

Tropical Regions ◽

Artocarpus Incisa

Frutalin is a lectin extracted from the seeds of Artocarpus incisa, which belongs to the Moreacae family. This family consists of approximately 75 genera and 1,550 tropical species that commonly found in pan-tropical regions. Frutalin has attracted the attention of researchers due to its ability to recognize carbohydrates in cell membranes with modifications in the glycosylation pattern. Therefore, frutalin presents a striking potential to be used as biomarker of cancer cells. Despite having a great biotechnological potential, research involving this lectin is still limited. Thus, the aim of this review is to discuss the structural and functional characteristics of frutalin, properties, the mechanisms of action, as well as the biotechnological applications of this lectin.

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Impacts of dams on freshwater turtles: a global review to identify conservation solutions

10.1101/2021.10.21.465338 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Andrea Barcenas-Garcia ◽

Fernanda Michalski ◽

William H. Morgan ◽

Rebecca K. Smith ◽

William J. Sutherland ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Freshwater Ecosystems ◽

Freshwater Turtle ◽

Tropical Species ◽

Life History Stage ◽

Freshwater Turtles ◽

Tropical Regions ◽

Turtle Species ◽

Threat Status ◽

Dam Impacts ◽

The Impact

Dams create many impacts on freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity. Freshwater turtles are at direct and indirect risk due to changes caused by damming including the loss of terrestrial and aquatic nesting and feeding habitats, changes to resource availability and reduced dispersal. We reviewed the global scientific literature that evaluated the impact of dams on freshwater turtles, and carried out additional searches of literature published in seventeen languages for studies evaluating actions to mitigate the impact of dams. The search produced 43 published articles documenting dam impacts on 29 freshwater turtle species from seven families (Chelidae, Chelydridae, Emydidae, Geoemydidae, Kinosternidae, Podocnemididae and Trionychidae) in 13 countries. More than a third of studies (41.9%, n = 18) focused on nine North American species of the Emydidae. Few studies were found from Europe and Asia and none from Africa. The number of studies, life-history stage studied and threat status differed significantly between temperate and tropical latitudes. Most studies were from temperate latitudes, where studies focused more on adults and less threatened species compared with tropical latitudes. Studies evaluated dam impacts as barriers and changes to water flow and quality, but no studies were found that assessed turtles and changes to land cover or mercury caused by dams. More than half of the studies (59%, n = 24) suggested actions to help mitigate dam impacts. Yet, only four studies on three temperate and one tropical species documented the effect of interventions (dam removal, flow management, artificial pond maintenance and community-based action). These findings demonstrate a lack of documented evidence evaluating dam impacts on freshwater turtles particularly in tropical regions. This lack of evidence reinforces the importance of strengthening and maintaining robust long-term studies of freshwater turtles needed to develop effective conservation actions for this group of vertebrates.

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The Thermal Biology of Takydromus kuehnei Indicates Tropical Lizards From High Elevation Have Not Been Severely Threatened by Climate Change

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution ◽

10.3389/fevo.2021.767102 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Shiang Tao ◽

Kunming Cheng ◽

Xinghan Li ◽

Xingzhi Han ◽

Jichao Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Safety Margin ◽

High Elevation ◽

Tropical Species ◽

Thermal Safety ◽

Thermal Biology ◽

Tropical Regions ◽

Tropical Mountains ◽

Maximum Temperatures ◽

High Elevations

Climate change poses different threats to animals across latitudes. Tropical species have been proposed to be more vulnerable to climate change. However, the responses of animals from tropical mountains to thermal variation and climate change have been scarcely studied. Here, we investigated the thermal biology traits of a tropical lizard (Takydromus kuehnei) distributed at high elevations (>950 m) and evaluated the vulnerabilities of T. kuehnei by thermal biology traits, thermal safety margin, and thermoregulatory effectiveness. The average active body temperatures of T. kuehnei in the field were 26.28°C and 30.65°C in April and June, respectively. The selected body temperature was 33.23°C, and the optimal temperature for locomotion was 30.60°C. The critical thermal minimum and critical thermal maximum temperatures were 4.79°C and 43.37°C, respectively. Accordingly, the thermal safety margin (1.23°C) and thermoregulatory effectiveness (1.23°C) predicted that T. kuehnei distributed in tropical mountains were not significantly depressed by environmental temperatures. This study implies that high-elevation species in tropical regions may not be severely threatened by ongoing climate change and highlights the importance of thermal biology traits in evaluating the vulnerability of species to climate change.

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Plant growth on a low calcium status solodic soil in a subtropical environment

Australian Journal of Agricultural Research ◽

10.1071/ar9660673 ◽

1966 ◽

Vol 17 (5) ◽

pp. 673 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

JS Russell

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Soil Conditions ◽

Tropical Species ◽

Legume Species ◽

Tropical Regions ◽

Low Calcium ◽

Tropical Legumes ◽

Calcium Status ◽

Legume Growth ◽

Subtropical Environment

The importance of calcium in legume growth and soil fertility in temperate regions is well known, but there is evidence that in tropical regions adequate legume growth may be obtained under conditions of low calcium status. These differences require further elucidation for a subtropical environment, particularly as both temperate and tropical species occur and climatic conditions are transitional between temperate and tropical regions. Large areas of solodic soils of very low calcium status occur in southern Queensland. Volunteer plant growth is poor and sparse. In considering the use of legume species to increase the amount of nitrogen in the soil–plant system the possible effect of low calcium status assumes importance. Investigations were carried out on a solodic soil from Tara, Trifolium repens L. and Phaseolus lathyroides L. being used as representative of temperate and tropical legumes respectively. Initial nutrient studies showed an extreme phosphorus deficiency. Even with adequate phosphorus supplied as sodium dihydrogen phosphate, however, yield of the temperate legume was poor. This was due to the existence of soil conditions which could be ameliorated by the application of calcium carbonate (lime). Interactions between legume species, nutrient elements, and lime were observed. Lime with zinc substantially increased the yield of T. repens. Smaller increases were obtained with P. lafhyroides; in the absence of zinc, lime depressed the yield of this species. The sulphur treatment decreased soil pH, but a positive lime=sulphur yield interaction was obtained. A copper deficiency in T. repens uncomplicated by lime interaction was found. There was no evidence of molybdenum deficiency or of a molybdenum-lime interaction. The beneficial effects of lime are considered to be associated with both calcium deficiency and mineral element toxicity. The possible effect of climatic factors on both zinc deficiency and aluminium toxicity in relation to temperate and tropical legumes is discussed. A range of 48 species and strains of temperate legumes also showed marked responses to lime on this solodic soil, although differences were observed between species and genera. The role of calcium in superphosphate and the multiplicity of effects associated with the use of this fertilizer emphasize the difficulty of interpreting field responses and of attributing response to any one factor.

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