scholarly journals Urban Bees Benefit from a Native Forest Species Grown in a City Environment–A Case Study of Geranium Phaeum L.

2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 331-343
Author(s):  
Marzena Masierowska
Keyword(s):  
Urban Environment ◽  
Native Plants ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Food Resource ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Native Forest ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
Caloric Value ◽  
Se Poland ◽  
Natural Stands

Abstract This two-year study tested whether urban bees benefit from the forest perennial Geranium phaeum L. replanted from natural stands to an urban environment. The flowering abundance and phenology, spectrum of insect visitors, nectar and pollen production, and the energetic value of nectar were investigated in Lublin, SE Poland. The apiarian value of G. phaeum was studied for the first time. The species bloomed abundantly from late April to early June and can be regarded as a valuable spring food resource for urban bees, mainly bumblebees, which accounted for >50% of all visits in both years of study. Bees collected mainly nectar. The highest daily pollen and nectar sugar amount offered by a plant reached 73.7 mg and 36.5 mg, respectively, with the caloric value of nectar of 146 cal. The estimated mean sugar yield, caloric value of nectar and pollen yield · m−2 were 1.7 mg, 6.9 kcal, and 3.4 mg, respectively. The current study confirms the advantage of using native plants in urban landscaping and proves their positive role in strengthening both wild and managed bee populations in cities. The finding that wild plants translocated from the natural habitat can develop a self-sustaining population in the urban environment and establish beneficial relationships with urban bees is of interest in terms of the conservation of both native plants and pollinators.

Cacao, Shade, and Agroforestry

2021 ◽  
pp. 138-145
Author(s):  
Dale Walters
Keyword(s):  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Agroforestry Systems ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Native Forest ◽  
Shade Trees ◽  
Forest Trees ◽  
And Function ◽  
Trees And Shrubs

In its natural habitat, cacao grows in the shade of larger trees. In fact, 70 percent of the world’s cacao is grown with some level of shade. This comes mostly from native forest trees, thinned out to provide space for cacao seedlings to be planted, or to a lesser extent, from trees specially planted to provide shade. This mixture of shade trees and shrubs creates a three-tier canopy, resulting in a multi-species system similar in structure and function to a forest, known as an agroforest. Cacao agroforestry systems include full-sun cacao, diversified-shade cacao, and specialized-shade cacao. Achieving an appropriate level of shading for cacao is important, since it affects yield and can influence pest and disease outbreaks. Shade in cacao also helps to maintain biodiversity, so getting shade right in cacao agroforestry is important. This chapter examines the benefits and problems associated with growing cacao with and without shade.

scholarly journals Propagation and Conservation of Native Forest Genetic Resources of Medicinal Use by Means of In Vitro and ex vitro Techniques

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
pp. 1934578X1100600
Author(s):  
Sandra Sharry ◽  
Marina Adema ◽  
María A. Basiglio Cordal ◽  
Blanca Villarreal ◽  
Noelia Nikoloff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Somatic Embryogenesis ◽  
Vegetative Propagation ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Folk Medicine ◽  
Native Forest ◽  
Indirect Organogenesis ◽  
Acacia Caven ◽  
Medicinal Use

In Argentina, there are numerous native species which are an important source of natural products and which are traditionally used in medicinal applications. Some of these species are going through an intense extraction process in their natural habitat which may affect their genetic diversity. The aim of this study was to establish vegetative propagation systems for three native forestal species of medicinal interest. This will allow the rapid obtainment of plants to preserve the germplasm. This study included the following species which are widely used in folk medicine and its applications: Erythrina crista-galli or “seibo” (astringent, used for its cicatrizant properties and for bronchiolitic problems); Acacia caven or “espinillo” (antirheumatic, digestive, diuretic and with cicatrizant properties) and Salix humboldtiana or “sauce criollo” (antipyretic, sedative, antispasmodic, astringent). The methodology included the micropropagation of seibo, macro and micropropagation of Salix humboldtiana and the somatic embryogenesis of Acacia caven. The protocol for seibo regeneration was adjusted from nodal sections of seedlings which were obtained from seeds germinated in vitro. The macropropagation through rooted cuttings of “sauce criollo” was achieved and complete plants of this same species were obtained through both direct and indirect organogenesis using in vitro cultures. The somatic embryogenesis for Acacia caven was optimized and this led to obtain a high percentage of embryos in different stages of development. We are able to support the conservation of native forest resources of medicinal use by means of vegetative propagation techniques.

scholarly journals Wind Speed Affects Pollination Success in Blackberries

Sociobiology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Young ◽  
Pilar Gomez-Ruiz ◽  
Janelle Pena ◽  
Hiromi Uno ◽  
Rodolfo Jaffé
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Environmental Factor ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Agricultural Crops ◽  
Pollination Success ◽  
General Consensus

Pollination of wild plants and agricultural crops is a vitally important ecosystem service. Many landscape and environmental factors influence the pollination success of crops, including distance from natural habitat, wind speed, and solar radiation. Although there is a general consensus that increasing distance from forest decreases pollination success, few studies have examined the influence of specific environmental factors. In this study, we examined which environmental factors influence the pollination success of blackberries (Rubus glaucus). We measured the number of fruitlets per berry, a proxy for pollination success, as well as the weight and sweetness of each berry. Our results indicate that number of fruitlets is positively correlated with wind speed, but number of unripe red berries per bush is negatively correlated with wind speed. In addition, sweetness increased with increasing numbers of red berries per bush but was lower when flowers and berries were present, though this result should be considered with caution due to methodological limitations. Our findings suggest that a little studied environmental factor, wind, has a large impact on the number of fruitlets in blackberries. Although our findings should be confirmed in other locations to draw broader conclusions, they suggest that producers should consider the effect of wind on blackberry yield to optimize blackberry production.

scholarly journals Invasion-induced root-fungal disruptions alter plant water and nitrogen economies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lalasia Bialic-Murphy ◽  
Nicholas Smith ◽  
Priya Voothuluru ◽  
Robert McElderry ◽  
Morgan Roche ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Community ◽  
Native Plants ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
Nutrient Use Efficiency ◽  
Alliaria Petiolata ◽  
System Level ◽  
Native Forest ◽  
Plant Water ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Soil Fungal Community

Abstract Despite widespread evidence that biological invasion influences the biotic and abiotic soil environments, the extent to which each of these pathways underpins the effects of invasion on native plant traits and performance is unknown. Leveraging a long-term (14-yr) manipulative field experiment, we show that an allelochemical-producing invader, Alliaria petiolata, affects native plants through biotic mechanisms, altering the soil fungal community composition, with no apparent shifts in soil nutrient availability. These changes in belowground soil fungal communities resulted in a high cost of resource uptake for native forest perennial herbs and a shift in functional traits linked to their carbon and nutrient economies. Furthermore, we illustrate that some species in the invaded community compensate for high nutrient costs by reducing nutrient uptake and maintaining photosynthesis by expending more water. This demonstrates a trade-off in trait investment that increases nutrient use efficiency as nutrient costs increase. Our results show that invasion-induced disruptions in the soil fungal community belowground can cascade to affect aboveground plant communities via shifts in physiological traits needed to maintain plant water and nutrient economies. These complex above-belowground linkages suggest that plant invasions should be evaluated at the system-level to fully understand and predict their impact on native plants and communities.

scholarly journals Stingless bee floral visitation in the global tropics and subtropics

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Garcia Bulle Bueno ◽  
Liam Kendall ◽  
Denise Araujo Alves ◽  
Manuel Lequerica Tamara ◽  
Tim Heard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stingless Bees ◽  
Native Plants ◽  
Ornamental Plants ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Stingless Bee ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Plant Interactions ◽  
Social Bees ◽  
Floral Visitation ◽  
Plant Families

AbstractBees play a key role in maintaining healthy terrestrial ecosystems by pollinating plants. Stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini) are a diverse clade of social bees (>500 species) with a pantropical distribution spanning South and Central America, Africa, India and Austral-Asia. They are garnering increasing attention as commercially-beneficial pollinators of some crops, yet their contribution to the pollination of native plants in the tropics and subtropics remains poorly understood. Here we conduct for the first time a global review of the plants visited by stingless bees. We compile a database of reported associations (flower visits) between stingless bees and plants, from studies that have made either direct observations of foraging bees or analysed the pollen stored in nests. Worldwide, we find stingless bees have been reported to visit the flowers of plants from at least 215 different families and 1434 genera, with frequently reported interactions for many of the tropic’s most species-diverse plant families including Fabaceae, Asteraceae, Rubiaceae, Poaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Myrtaceae, Malvaceae, Arecaceae, Solanaceae, and Anacardiaceae. The stingless bee fauna of each of three major biogeographic regions (Neotropical, Afrotropical and Indo-Malayan-Australasian) were frequent visitors of many of the same plant families, however we detected differences in the proportional use of plant families by the stingless bees of the Indo-Malayan-Australasian and Neotropical regions, likely reflecting differences in the available flora of those regions. Stingless bees in all regions visit a range of exotic species in their preferred plant families (crops, ornamental plants and weeds), in addition to native plants. Although most reports of floral visitation on wild plants do not confirm effective pollen transfer, it is likely that stingless bees make at least some contribution to pollination for the majority of plants they visit. In all, our database supports the view that stingless bees play an important role in the ecosystems of the global tropics and subtropics as pollinators of an exceptionally large and diverse number of plants. This database also highlights important gaps in our knowledge of stingless bee resource use and should benefit future efforts to understand stingless bee-plant interactions.

scholarly journals Significance of Sphenoclea Zeylanica as a Food Resource in Twenty-first Century Urban Bali, Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Radityo Haryo Putro
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Food Resource ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Wild Plant ◽  
Selling Price ◽  
Vegetable Crop ◽  
Unequal Distribution

Abstract Background Diversifying food sources by including edible wild plants or weeds as food resources can help to combat the issues of simplified diets and food security in the modern world. The present study investigated the case of Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertn. (gooseweed or wedgewort), an edible wild plant with traces of historical consumption in Indonesia. Because previous studies have failed to clarify its significance for consumption by society, the present study aimed to clarify the significance of S. zeylanica as a food resource in the 21st century.Methods Data were collected in Bali Province (Denpasar City and Timpag Village, Tabanan Regency) through interviews with a farmer, direct field visits to wet markets and supermarkets, and an online questionnaire. Supply distribution was analyzed using geographical information system mapping to visualize point data density, while statistical significance of consumption data was analyzed using the R software.Results The results showed that S. zeylanica was cultivated as a vegetable crop by local farmers in Timpag Village from 2014. Fresh S. zeylanica could be found mainly sold in wet markets within Denpasar City, while prepared or cooked versions of the plant were noted to be sold in several food and beverage establishments. The selling price of S. zeylanica was also found to be high among other similar vegetables. A majority of the study’s survey respondents have consumed S. zeylanica at least once in the past, with most of them tended to be older and were more often female. However, it was identified that factors such as low production, unequal distribution, and high market pricing were probable causes in limiting its use and consumption. Conclusions It was concluded that S. zeylanica has limited significance in 21st century urban Bali, Indonesia, despite high awareness of the plant as a food resource. However, commercialization and preservation of cultural plant knowledge surrounding S. zeylanica were thought to be potentially important actions for maintaining its use as a future food resource. Consequently, further research is necessary on potential marketing methods and strategies to generate greater interest or demand towards S. zeylanica as a vegetable crop.

scholarly journals Nematodos del suelo en el sistema maíz–soya y en hábitats naturales adyacentes de la Altillanura colombiana (Meta)

2008 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
María Claudia Leguízamo ◽  
Julio C. Parada
Keyword(s):  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Cropping System ◽  
First Record ◽  
Maturity Index ◽  
Native Forest ◽  
Soil Nematode ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Rotation System ◽  
Soil Nematode Community ◽  
El Sistema

<p>Se describe la estructura de la comunidad de nematodos en muestras de suelos de la Altillanura colombiana procedentes de hábitats cultivados con arroz y el sistema maíz-soya, y hábitats naturales de bosque nativo adyacentes a los agroecosistemas mencionados. A tal fin, se colectaron 240 muestras de suelo, 86% de áreas cultivadas y 14% en áreas naturales; para la extracción de los nematodos se utilizó el elutridador Oostenbrink y para su identificación, claves morfológicas que incluyeron caracteres morfométricos y diagnósticos. Los taxa identificados se asignaron a grupos tróficos a nivel de Familia. A partir de las poblaciones obtenidas, se calcularon los índices de diversidad de Shanon, de riqueza de Simpson, de madurez total (mMI), de madurez (IM), de parásitos de plantas, la relación fungívoros/bacterióvoros, y los porcentajes de dorylaimidos y criconematidos, los cuales muestran diferencias entre hábitats naturales y cultivados. Los resultados permiten determinar posibles condiciones de pérdida de estructura en la cadena trófica del cultivo de arroz, ligera inestabilidad en suelos de parches de hábitat naturales, y una posible recuperación de la cadena trófica en el sistema maíz–soya. Este trabajo constituye el primer registro de nematodos de vida libre en suelos de la Orinoquía colombiana y propone la caracterización de poblaciones de nematodos en los estudios de calidad de hábitat como fundamento de procesos de recuperación de suelos. </p><p> </p><p><strong>Soil nematodes of the corn-soy rotation system and adjacent natural habitats of the Colombian well drained savannahs (Meta department) </strong></p><p>The structure of the soil nematode community in the Colombian well drained upland savannas cropped with rice, a corn soy bean rotation system, and natural adjacent habitats of native forest is described. In all, 240 soil samples were collected, 86% from cultivated areas and 14% from natural areas. Extractions were performed using an Oostenbrink elutriator and identifications with the help of key morphological, taking into account morphometry and diagnostic characters. Taxa identified, were assigned to trophic groups at the family level. Shannon diversity, richness Simpson, maturity index (MI), total maturity index (mIM), plant parasitic index, fungi/bacteria eaters relationship and % of dorylaimid and criconematid were calculated, which show the differences between cultivated and natural habitat. The results, allow for inferences of possible conditions of structure loss in the rice cropping system; some instability in soil patches of natural habitat, and possible recovery within the system corn – soybeans rotation system trophic chains. This work is the first record of free-living nematodes in the soils of the Colombian well drained savannas as a tool for the recovery of degraded soils. </p><p> </p>

Australian Native Plants

2013 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Native Plants ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Culture Methods ◽  
Seed Collection ◽  
Growing Conditions ◽  
Terrestrial Biodiversity ◽  
And Storage ◽  
Public Landscapes ◽  
Australian Native Plants

Australian Native Plants provides a comprehensive guide to the horticulture of our native plants. Based on nearly 50 years of experience at Kings Park and Botanic Garden in Perth, the book describes the necessary growing conditions for mainly Western Australian native plants and covers some of the more technical aspects such as plant propagation and grafting, the use and benefits of tissue culture, methods of seed collection and storage, and the role of smoke in improving germination. Western Australia is home to about five per cent of the world’s vascular plants and contains Australia’s only terrestrial ‘biodiversity hotspot’. Written by experts with an in-depth knowledge of how to grow these plants outside their natural habitat, Australian Native Plants provides the more technically minded professional or enthusiast with information based on decades of research, experimentation and application. It aims to encourage the growing of Australian plants so that they can be used more widely and contribute to interesting, attractive and diverse private gardens and public landscapes in a changing environment.

ASCORBIC ACID AND CAROTENE VALUES OF NATIVE EASTERN ARCTIC PLANTS

1967 ◽  
Vol 45 (10) ◽  
pp. 1859-1862 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Hoffman ◽  
F. S. Nowosad ◽  
W. J. Cody
Keyword(s):  
Ascorbic Acid ◽  
Vitamin A ◽  
Vitamin C ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Native Plants ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Far North ◽  
Arctic Plants ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Β Carotene

Leaves, stems, roots, and berries of a number of native plants which were collected in the Ungava Bay region of northern Quebec were analyzed for ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and β-carotene (vitamin A) in a laboratory set up near Fort Chimo.The results indicated that some plants from the Eastern Arctic were remarkably vitamin-rich. These findings demonstrated that wild plants represent a valuable natural resource which might be utilized under survival conditions or as required to ensure proper nutrition in the far North.

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