Invasive Plant Relations in a Global Pandemic: Caring for a “Problematic Pesto”

2021 ◽  
pp. 251484862110661
Author(s):  
Gabrielle Doiron
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Plant ◽  
Urban Forestry ◽  
Invasion Ecology ◽  
Nature Management ◽  
Garlic Mustard ◽  
Prescribed Burn ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Transformative Justice ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Black Oak

In Spring 2020, amidst a COVID-19 state of emergency, the City of Toronto's Parks & Urban Forestry department posted signs in the city's remaining Black Oak Savannahs to announce the cancellation of the yearly ‘prescribed burn’ practice, citing fears it would exacerbate pandemic conditions. With this activity and other nature management events on hold, many invasive plants continued to establish and proliferate. This paper confronts dominant attitudes in invasion ecology with Indigenous epistemologies and ideas of transformative justice, asking what can be learned from building a relationship with a much-maligned invasive plant like garlic mustard. Written in isolation as the plant began to flower in the Black Oak savannahs and beyond, this paper situates the plant's abundance and gifts within pandemic-related ‘cancelled care’ and ‘cultivation activism’ as a means of exploring human-nature relations in the settler-colonial city. It also asks what transformative lessons garlic mustard can offer about precarity, non-linear temporalities, contamination, multispecies entanglements, and the impacts of colonial property regimes on possible relations. Highlighting the entanglements of historical and ongoing violences with invasion ecology, this paper presents ‘caring for invasives’ as a path toward more liveable futures.

scholarly journals COVID-19, mobility and self-isolation. Experiences of the Serbia’s citizens in the times of global pandemic

Sociologija ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 467-485
Author(s):  
Jelena Pesic
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
The State ◽  
Sociological Research ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Public Media ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Times ◽  
The Given

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-Cov-2 virus and closing the state borders across the world led to the mass return of the citizens of Serbia immediately before and after the declaration of the state of emergency in March 2020. The measure of placing under health supervision and the obligation of self-isolation, were the key means of mobility management in the situation of the health crisis in Serbia. How were the given measures implemented? How did they affect the citizens who returned to the country? What resources did they have at their disposal and in what way did they meet their basic needs during self-isolation? How was their experience of self-isolation shaped by public media perceptions of diaspora by representatives of the authorities and by their own social environment during the state of emergency? The aim of this paper is to answer these questions relying on the results of the online survey of 305 returnees, conducted during April and May 2020 by the researchers from the Institute for Sociological Research of the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade.

scholarly journals The Labour Market Crisis in Romania Causes, Effects and Potential Solutions

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-20
Author(s):  
Cindrea Ioan
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Business Development ◽  
The Other ◽  
Natural Phenomenon ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Difficult Situation ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Development Objectives

AbstractWe are going through troubled times, with worldwide pandemic crises affecting us altogether: citizens, companies and states. This article presents analyses and solutions to the workforce crisis of December 2019 and the workplace crisis of March 2020. Things have escalated from a workforce crisis to a new stage, namely an accelerated loss of workplaces and to a workplace crisis. In a matter of weeks, the labour market has moved from one extreme to the other extremely fast because of a very rough natural phenomenon which could not have been predicted, i.e. the global pandemic crisis caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus. It goes without saying that we all wish to achieve a relative balance on the labour market. This study puts forward concrete solutions adapted to the situation of the Romanian labour market at the end of 2019, when we saw a significant workforce crisis which severely affected companies’ business development objectives. At the same time, it introduces 11 solutions to the new job crisis, which is quickly expanding as a result of the global pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus and by the declaration of a state of emergency in Romania. In a few weeks of crisis, Romania went from minus 1 million workers to plus 1 million workers. This is an extremely difficult situation. However, I believe that it is temporary and that after the pandemic crisis both the economy and the labour market will gradually recover.

Quarantine of the Covid-19 pandemic in suicide: A psychological autopsy

2020 ◽  
Vol 88 (4) ◽  
pp. 182-184
Author(s):  
Isabella Aquila ◽  
Matteo Antonio Sacco ◽  
Cristoforo Ricci ◽  
Santo Gratteri ◽  
Pietrantonio Ricci
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Psychological Autopsy ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Occupational Risk Factors ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Forensic Case ◽  
The Impact ◽  
General Concern

The epidemiology of suicide has identified numerous psychiatric and occupational risk factors. The circumstances surrounding a suicide are fundamental to determining whether its characteristics will play a crucial role in the decision-making process. The state of emergency arising from the Covid-19 pandemic has introduced a new element, given the general concern and feelings of alarm which are global. The most suitable forensic method to analyse these cases is the psychological autopsy. This study’s purpose is to analyse the application of the psychological autopsy method to evaluate the impact of the pandemic where government lockdowns impose restrictions on personal freedom. We set out to consider how far this together with other factors may induce suicide. The literature does not as yet offer us a retrospective analysis of the influence of the global pandemic state on rates of suicide. Accordingly, we report a forensic case and examine the critical issues and problems in the management of these cases.

Effects of the invasive plant garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) on bacterial communities in a northern hardwood forest soil

2010 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Burke ◽  
Charlotte R. Chan
Keyword(s):  
Forest Soil ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Invasive Plant ◽  
Native Plants ◽  
Soil Samples ◽  
Alliaria Petiolata ◽  
Garlic Mustard ◽  
Soil Bacterial Communities ◽  
Soil Bacterial

We compared the effects of the invasive plant Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) and 2 native plants on soil bacterial communities in a mature mesophytic forest. Soil samples were collected from plant patches containing either Alliaria or the native plants Allium tricoccum (wild leek) and Gallium triflorum (bedstraw). Since Alliaria litter contains secondary compounds that have reported antimicrobial properties, soil was collected outside the root zone of the plants but within the plant patches such that the soil would have been influenced by the litter of the respective plant species but not by plant roots. DNA was extracted from the soil samples and used to amplify the 16S rRNA gene region using bacterial specific primers. Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP) profiles of each bacterial community were used to examine differences in bacterial communities among the plant species and between August and April sampling. Bacterial richness, evenness, and diversity were not significantly affected by plant species. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMS) suggested that differences existed between August and April sampling, but that plant species litter exerted a much weaker effect on soil bacterial communities. Soil physiochemical conditions were significantly correlated with soil bacterial communities and may underlie the observed seasonal changes in bacterial communities.

Developing Regional Invasive Species Watch Lists: Colorado as a Case Study

2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 390-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilary R. Drucker ◽  
Cynthia S. Brown ◽  
Thomas J. Stohlgren
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Plant ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Garlic Mustard ◽  
Invasive Potential ◽  
Computing Power ◽  
Nonnative Plants ◽  
Limited Success ◽  
Threat Index ◽  
Comprehensive Evaluations

AbstractIt is essential that we improve our ability to predict which nonnative species will become invasive in order to prevent their introduction and spread. Past attempts to foresee invasions have met with limited success, but increased computing power, increased availability of information about exotic species, and comprehensive evaluations of invasion potential are improving our ability to predict which species are likely to invade most successfully. We used data from Colorado and other states to develop an effective means of predicting the spread of invasive plant species among states. Qualitative criteria were used to develop a numerical threat index, which rates potential invaders based on distribution and abundance with respect to climate, biological characteristics, and preferred habitats of the species. Out of a compiled list of 388 species, we identified six invasive nonnative plants that are highly likely to invade Colorado, 10 with medium invasive potential and five with low potential. Species found to be likely to invade Colorado included garlic mustard, smooth distaff thistle, and Syrian beancaper.

scholarly journals Mental stress post-COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 194
Author(s):  
Zafir Khan Mohamed Makhbul ◽  
Zainab Rawshdeh
Keyword(s):  
Human Resource Development ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
World Health ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Physical Systems ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Excessive Stress

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that is plaguing the world today surely carves a dark, unforgettable history. It has been declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). This shows that it has spread worldwide, transcending every border, and then finally penetrating every corner of the world. Despite its small size (measured in nanometer), its influence is great enough in triggering stress. As various countries declare a state of Emergency, restricted movement order and lockdown, varying reactions like sorrow, anxiety, misperception and fear have been ignited in the society. All of these have cumulatively caused stress among them. This current review paper summarizes and discusses the published literature addressing mental health concerns linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies show that excessive stress causes the failure in the individual’s mental and physical systems. The issue here is how the situation at the workplace, post-COVID-19 is different from the previous situation. Thus, the psychological preparation of every member in the organization is crucial to face the challenges coming their way. The available literature showed consensus that the COVID-19 pandemic not only affects physical health, but also stress and well-being. In conclusion, emotional well-being must be emphasized through training and human resource development strategy to prepare and empower the mentality of the organizational members to address this stress.

scholarly journals Urban forestry research needs identified by Canadian municipalities

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Jacques Larouche ◽  
Danny Rioux ◽  
Adrina C. Bardekjian ◽  
Nancy Gélinas
Keyword(s):  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Invasive Plant ◽  
Urban Forest ◽  
Knowledge Exchange ◽  
Urban Forestry ◽  
Research Needs ◽  
Urban Settings ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Rainwater Runoff

At a time when the future of our planet remains fraught with uncertainty, interest in the state and role of forests, especially in urban settings, is growing rapidly. Our project, based on a Canada-wide survey, identifies the research needs of 192 municipalities of 5000 inhabitants or more, and verifies whether the size of the municipality, the region or the canopy have an impact on these needs. The numerous needs identified by municipalities show that there is a strong demand for research in this area. In particular, municipalities want to know: a) which tree species are better adapted to urban settings; b) the effects of trees on rainwater runoff and on human health; and c) that more studies be conducted on topics such as trees and infrastructure, on hazardous trees, on invasive plant species, and on various tree pests. Our analysis reveals that small municipalities are less interested in certain needs than larger municipalities, and that municipalities in the Maritimes region show more interest in certain topics than those in other Canadian regions. Results also reveal that urban forest canopy size has no influence on the identified needs. This study allows researchers to better define their projects, and it highlights the importance of improving knowledge exchange with and among key stakeholders in cities actively pursuing and interested in urban forestry activities.

scholarly journals First report of Erysiphe cruciferarum causing powdery mildew of Alliaria petiolata in Maryland

Plant Disease ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Robert Fulcher ◽  
Paul C Owen-Smith
Keyword(s):  
Powdery Mildew ◽  
Invasive Plant ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Alliaria Petiolata ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Garlic Mustard ◽  
Internal Transcribed Spacer Region ◽  
First Report ◽  
Erysiphe Cruciferarum ◽  
Disease Free

Alliaria petiolata (Bieb.) Cavara & Grande (garlic mustard) is a biennial crucifer native to Europe and invasive in North America, where it outcompetes native plants in deciduous forests. In July 2021, powdery mildew was observed on A. petiolata in Frederick County, Maryland. Signs of the disease included white, tomentose mycelium producing abundant conidia (Fig S1). A majority of plants were affected, and severity ranged from the presence of small, discrete infections to complete colonization of leaves, stems, and ripening seed pods. Conidia from field collected leaves were transferred to disease-free A. petiolata for maintenance in a growth chamber at 20°C and 80% RH with a 12 hr photoperiod. Fungal morphology was recorded 30 days after this transfer. Appressoria were irregularly lobed, and conidiophores were straight and composed of 2-3 cells. Cylindrical to oblong conidia were produced singly in pseudochains of 2-6 (x̄ = 3), measured 39-64 by 18-29 (x̄ = 52 by 24) μm, had a length to width ratio greater than two, and germinated at the ends. Fibrosin bodies were absent from conidia, and chasmothecia were not observed in the field or on inoculated plant material. Based on anamorphic characteristics, the pathogen was placed in the genus Erysiphe (Boesewinkel 1980). Species level identity was determined using DNA sequences. Conidia and mycelia were scraped from leaves and used for genomic DNA extraction with the Quick-DNA Fungal/Bacterial Miniprep Kit (Zymo Research, Irvine, CA). A portion of the internal transcribed spacer region of rDNA was amplified using the primers ITS5/ITS4 (White et al. 1990). Purified amplicons (PCR & DNA Cleanup Kit, New England BioLabs Inc., Ipswich, MA) were sequenced at Eurofins Genomics (Louisville, KY). The resulting sequence was compared to those in NCBI GenBank using the blastn algorithm (Altschul et al. 1990). The newly generated sequence (GenBank: OK157430) was identical (599/599 bp) to samples of E. cruciferarum from the United Kingdom (GenBank: KY660931.1, KY660879.1, KY660752.1). Because E. cruciferarum sensu lato is heterogeneous (Pastirčáková et al. 2016), additional sequence comparisons were made to the E. cruciferarum sensu stricto holotype (589/599 bp, GenBank: KU672364) and a vouchered E. cruciferarum s. lat. (596/599 bp, GenBank: LC009943). This supports identification of the pathogen as E. cruciferarum s. lat. and suggests the taxonomy of isolates from A. petiolata should be reassessed following any revision to E. cruciferarum. A modified Koch’s postulates procedure was followed to confirm pathogenicity. Leaves colonized by E. cruciferarum were briefly pressed against the leaves of three disease-free plants grown from seed in a greenhouse. After 14 days, inoculated plants showed signs of powdery mildew similar to those observed in the field, and a control treatment using pathogen-free leaves resulted in no disease. This inoculation experiment was performed twice, and the identity of the pathogen was reconfirmed based on morphology. This is the first report of powdery mildew on A. petiolata in Maryland. Erysiphe cruciferarum s. lat. is widely distributed on other hosts and has been found on A. petiolata throughout Europe and in Ohio and Indiana (Farr and Rossman 2021; Blossey et al. 2001; Enright and Cipollini 2007; Ciola and Cipollini 2011). This pathogen has been proposed as a biological control agent (Cipollini and Enright 2009; Cipollini et al. 2020), and the presence of disease in Maryland suggests the local population of A. petiolata is susceptible to E. cruciferarum and the environment there is favorable to disease development. References: Altschul, S. F., et al. 1990. J. Mol. Biol. 215:403. Blossey, B., et al. 2001. Nat. Areas J. 21:357. Boesewinkel, H. J. 1980. Bot. Rev. 46:167. Ciola, V., and Cipollini, D. 2011. Am. Midl. Nat. 166:40-52. Cipollini, D., and Enright, S. M. 2009. Invasive Plant Sci. Manag. 2:253. Cipollini, D., et al. 2020. Biol. Invasions. 22:1657-1668. Enright, S. M., and Cipollini, D. 2007. Am. J. Bot. 94:1813. Farr, D. F., and Rossman, A. Y. 2021. Fungal Databases, Syst. Mycol. Microbial. Lab., ARS, USDA. https://nt.ars-grin.gov/fungaldatabases/ Pastirčáková, K., et al. 2016. Mycol. Prog. 15:36 White, T. J., et al. 1990. Page 315 in: PCR Protocols. A Guide to Methods and Applications, Academic Press, San Diego. Keywords: Alliaria petiolata, Erysiphe cruciferarum, garlic mustard, powdery mildew, invasive plant, biocontrol Funding and Disclaimer: The author(s) declare no conflict of interest. This work was supported by USDA-ARS Appropriated Project Number 8044-22000-047-000-D. Mention of trade names or commercial products in this report is solely for the purpose of providing specific information and does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. USDA is an equal opportunity lender, provider, and employer.

scholarly journals Climate change both facilitates and inhibits invasive plant ranges in New England

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (16) ◽  
pp. E3276-E3284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cory Merow ◽  
Sarah Treanor Bois ◽  
Jenica M. Allen ◽  
Yingying Xie ◽  
John A. Silander
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
New England ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Community Dynamics ◽  
Invasive Plant ◽  
Alliaria Petiolata ◽  
Invasion Success ◽  
Garlic Mustard ◽  
High Fecundity ◽  
Japanese Barberry

Forecasting ecological responses to climate change, invasion, and their interaction must rely on understanding underlying mechanisms. However, such forecasts require extrapolation into new locations and environments. We linked demography and environment using experimental biogeography to forecast invasive and native species’ potential ranges under present and future climate in New England, United States to overcome issues of extrapolation in novel environments. We studied two potentially nonequilibrium invasive plants’ distributions, Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) and Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry), each paired with their native ecological analogs to better understand demographic drivers of invasions. Our models predict that climate change will considerably reduce establishment of a currently prolific invader (A. petiolata) throughout New England driven by poor demographic performance in warmer climates. In contrast, invasion of B. thunbergii will be facilitated because of higher growth and germination in warmer climates, with higher likelihood to establish farther north and in closed canopy habitats in the south. Invasion success is in high fecundity for both invasive species and demographic compensation for A. petiolata relative to native analogs. For A. petiolata, simulations suggest that eradication efforts would require unrealistic efficiency; hence, management should focus on inhibiting spread into colder, currently unoccupied areas, understanding source–sink dynamics, and understanding community dynamics should A. petiolata (which is allelopathic) decline. Our results—based on considerable differences with correlative occurrence models typically used for such biogeographic forecasts—suggest the urgency of incorporating mechanism into range forecasting and invasion management to understand how climate change may alter current invasion patterns.

scholarly journals COVID-19 pandemic: Impact on children and adolecents

2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 99-111
Author(s):  
Roberto Grujičić ◽  
Jasmina Bogdanović ◽  
Sanja Stupar ◽  
Jovana Maslak ◽  
Milica Pejović-Milovančević
Keyword(s):  
Minority Groups ◽  
Virus Disease ◽  
Lifestyle Changes ◽  
Psychological Consequences ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
More Care ◽  
Precautionary Measures ◽  
Crisis Situations

The global pandemic caused by Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to major lifestyle changes in people living in the affected countries. Namely, most countries declared the state of emergency which included the implementation of different precautionary measures, such as restriction of movement, travel ban, isolation, social distancing and wearing protective equipment. The global fight with the unknown virus generated an abundance of different, often contradictory and inconsistent information. These new changes can have a potentially major impact on the physical and mental health of both children and adults. Children are a particularly vulnerable population in crisis situations. Although research shows that children and young people exhibit clinically significantly milder forms of COVID-19 compared to adults, their vulnerability is reflected in a greater susceptibility to develop serious psychological consequences. Mental problems of children most often develop due to the inability to adequately understand the new situation, fear, separation from peers, changes in the mental state of parents and greater susceptibility to abuse and neglect. Also, systematic changes in the country (closure of educational institutions, reduced workload or closure of health institutions or institutions of support and assistance to children and vulnerable individuals) contribute to the difficulty of overcoming the pandemic. These changes especially affect children with pre-existing mental disorders, neurodevelopmental difficulties, and children from vulnerable and minority groups who require more care and services from different support systems. In order to avoid harmful consequences for the health of children, we will present recommendations focused on children and parents, which are intended for the easier overcoming of crisis situations such as the current pandemic.

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