Trampling Intensity and Vegetation Response and Recovery according to Altitude: An Experimental Study from the Himalayan Miyar Valley

The trampling of vegetation caused by recreation and tourism can lead to the loss of vegetation and the degradation of plant communities, which adversely affects natural habitats. This paper investigates the impact of trampling on plant species in the high-mountain environment, where plant resources are limited and any recovery is slow. It is commonly accepted that the sensitivity of the vegetation in mountains increases as altitude increases. Therefore, this study supposed that the same plant species would have different responses to trampling at different altitudes. By using a standardized method of experimental trampling, an empirical study was conducted on eight plant species at two altitudes: 4072 m and 4480 m. Each species was trampled 0–500 times. Response to trampling was assessed by determining plant cover two weeks after trampling and one year after trampling. For most species, the relationship between plant cover after trampling and trampling intensity was very clear (linear). This research found the following: (1) vegetation has extremely high ecological sensitivity to trampling in the examined environment; (2) above 4000 m, an increase in altitude does not increase the sensitivity of vegetation. Vegetation above a certain altitude exhibits similar, very high sensitivity to trampling.

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Results of pasture monitoring research

Mongolian Journal of Agricultural Sciences ◽

10.5564/mjas.v22i03.941 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 22 (03) ◽

pp. 41-45

Author(s):

Bolormaa D ◽

Lkhagvasuren D ◽

Gantuya J ◽

Gankhuyag L ◽

Altanzul R

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Plant Cover ◽

Forest Steppe ◽

High Mountain ◽

Ecological Zones ◽

Mountain Zone ◽

Arid Steppe ◽

Pasture Plant ◽

The Impact ◽

Zones And Subzones

Rangeland deterioration and restoration management has been one of the prominent issues. The present study focuses on the composition, cover, and yields accumulation of rangeland plant species from different ecological zones and subzones. Pasture yield in Mongolia varies in ecological zones and subzones (p≥0.001), so 39 sheep, during the summer, comfortably graze in one-hectare area in high mountain zone, - 72 in forest steppe, 21 in steppe and 13 in arid steppe area respectively. Whereas types and cover of plant species in high mountain rangelands are more than other areas, yield accumulation is most in forest steppe. The impact of climate change has dramatically increased recent years, considerably affecting on pasture plant cover and yield. During a dry season or period of drought, amount of yield reduces 40% in high mountain zone; 49% in forest steppe, 52% in semi-arid steppe and 55% in arid steppe. Since rangeland productivity varies due to the nature and climate in the ecological zones and subzones, pasture shall be utilized under appropriate policy that regulates this depending on its capacity, resource and natural and climate feature of area.

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Sustainable use of wild plant species: A research bibliography

Social Change ◽

10.1177/004908570303300313 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 33 (2-3) ◽

pp. 204-221

Author(s):

Ghazala Shahabuddin

Keyword(s):

Biodiversity Conservation ◽

Plant Species ◽

Sustainable Forest Management ◽

Sustainable Use ◽

Wild Plant ◽

Natural Ecosystems ◽

Nature Protection ◽

Plant Resources ◽

Natural Habitats ◽

Field Methods

During the last few decades, there has been a growing realisation that biodiversity conservation cannot be successful without the active involvement of the people living close to and dependent on natural ecosystems for their survival and livelihoods. Consequently, there has been a gradual broadening of the global conservation agenda from strict nature protection to include the sustainable use of natural resources, which is now reflected in governmental policy the world over. However, as conservationists strive today towards the harmonisation of people's needs with biodiversity conservation, one of the most elusive, yet critical, goals for them has been the sustainable extraction of plant resources from the wild. Hundreds of plant species continue to be extracted from natural habitats for use as food, medicine, fuel and fodder in households and for commercial sale, both legally and illegally. As a consequence of unmonitored extraction and over-exploitation, many plant species populations are reported to be declining in the wild. In the face of increasing pressure on forest resources, it has become more important than ever before to devise quantitative management policies for sustainable plant use so that both forests and the livelihoods of millions of rural people who are dependent on them, can be sustained. One of the major stumbling blocks for conservationists in developing countries, who are attempting to design and implement sustainable forest management systems, is the lack of information on the state-of-the-art in this field, especially that relating to field methods, data analysis, data recording and monitoring systems. In order to fill this lacuna, a comprehensive bibliography of studies undertaken so far in the science of sustainable use from terrestrial ecosystems is presented here. The scope of this bibliography includes sustainable

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Abundance and Phenotypic Diversity of the Medicinal Sideritis Scardica Griseb. in Relation to Floristic Composition of Its Habitat in Northern Greece

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12062542 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (6) ◽

pp. 2542

Author(s):

Pinelopi K. Papaporfyriou ◽

Eirini Sarrou ◽

Eleni Avramidou ◽

Eleni M. Abraham

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Phenotypic Diversity ◽

Plant Cover ◽

Floristic Composition ◽

Anthropogenic Factors ◽

Species Number ◽

Medicinal Species ◽

Northern Greece ◽

Natural Habitats ◽

The North

Sideritis scardica (S. scardica) is an endemic medicinal species of the Central Balkan Peninsula. The aerial parts are traditionally used in folk medicine and, therefore, have been collected extensively from natural habitats. Overexploitation in combination with climate change has resulted in severely fragmented populations. In this context, the purpose of this study was to access the abundance and phenotypic diversity of S. scardica populations in relation to plant community structure and environmental and anthropogenic factors in six mountainous areas of Northern Greece. For this reason, the floristic composition and diversity was determined by accessing the number of plant species, number of individuals per plant species, and plant cover in each study area. In addition, the soil properties of the studied areas were determined and the phenotypic diversity of S. scardica populations was accessed through the imaging of leaf and inflorescence main characteristics. As a result, 141 plant species were identified in all studied areas, while the floristic composition clearly distinguished the North-Central from the North-Eastern studied areas. S. scardica was the predominant species in the habitats where the presence of forbs was favored, while a high presence of graminoid and shrub species in the study areas depressed its presence. A high coefficient of variations was recorded among the six populations, varying from 12.2%–29.2% and 13.3%–43.1% for inflorescence and leaf traits.

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Ten years of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin testing in the Netherlands: impact on the diagnosis of myocardial infarction

European Heart Journal ◽

10.1093/ehjci/ehaa946.1758 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 41 (Supplement_2) ◽

Author(s):

D.M Kimenai ◽

Y Appelman ◽

H.M Den Ruijter ◽

N.L Mills ◽

S.J.R Meex

Keyword(s):

Myocardial Infarction ◽

The Netherlands ◽

Cardiac Troponin ◽

High Sensitivity ◽

Funding Source ◽

Private Company ◽

Absolute Change ◽

Before And After ◽

One Year ◽

The Impact

Abstract Introduction High-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn) assays have enhanced sensitivity for myocardial injury and may lead to an increase in the diagnosis of myocardial infarction. Few real-world studies have investigated the transition from conventional cardiac troponin (cTn) to hs-cTn. We evaluated the impact of implementing hs-cTn assays and sex-specific thresholds in the Netherlands on the diagnosis of myocardial infarction in women and men. Methods Twelve Dutch hospitals were included (hs-cTnI assay [sex-specific thresholds], n=4; hs-cTnT assay [uniform threshold], n=8). Data from the health insurance claims of consecutive patients with anginal symptoms were collected before (cTn period) and after (hs-cTn period) implementation from January 2008 to December 2017. The proportion of patients with a diagnosis of myocardial infarction overall, and in men and women separately, and one-year mortality was compared before and after implementation of the hs-cTn assay. Results Across twelve hospitals, a total number of 77,464 patients presenting with anginal symptoms were included (cTn period: 35,409 [36.6% women]; hs-cTn period: 42,055 [34.6% women]). Following implementation of hs-cTn testing the proportion of patients with anginal symptoms diagnosed with myocardial infarction doubled from 24% (3,111/12,970) to 48% (7,014/14,560) in women, and from 25% (5,712/22,439) to 51% (13,912/27,495) in men, with similar increases in sites implementing hs-cTnI and hs-cTnT. The proportion of patients diagnosed with myocardial infarction who were women increased in sites implementing sex-specific thresholds (from 36.4% [1,435/3,941] to 37.5% [1,700/4,532], absolute change 1.1%), but did not increase in sites using a uniform threshold (from 34.3% [1,676/4,882] to 32.4% [5,314/16,394], absolute change −1.9%). In patients with a diagnosis of myocardial infarction, one-year mortality was 15.6% (485/3,111) and 11.6% (814/7,014) in women, and was 11.8% (673/5,712) and 9.4% (1,303/13,912) in men, before and after implementation of hs-cTn. Conclusions In patients presenting with anginal symptoms, the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction doubled after implementation of hs-cTn testing in both women and men. Use of sex-specific thresholds increased the proportion of patients with myocardial infarction who were women compared to use of a uniform threshold. Implementation was associated with a reduction in one-year mortality, but further research is needed to understand whether this is due to differences in the risk profile of patients with myocardial infarction or improvements in treatment. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: Private company. Main funding source(s): This study was supported by a grant from Abbott Laboratories to S.J.R.M.

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The influence of vermicomposting on photosynthetic activity and productivity of maize (Zea mays L.) crop under semi-arid climate

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0256450 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (8) ◽

pp. e0256450

Author(s):

Muhammad Younas ◽

Huasong Zou ◽

Tasmia Laraib ◽

Waseem Abbas ◽

Muhammad Waqar Akhtar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Photosynthetic Activity ◽

Farmyard Manure ◽

Crop Productivity ◽

Growth And Yield ◽

Ziziphus Mauritiana ◽

Desert Plant ◽

Natural Habitats ◽

Maize Crop ◽

The Impact

Food production and waste recycling are the two major issues faced globally with rapidly increasing population. Recycling organic wastes to crop amendments could be a possible solution to these issues. Earthworms transfer organic waste to compost, which is used to grow crops and increase crop productivity. This study assessed the impact of vermicompost produced from the residues of six desert plant species, i.e., (Ziziphus mauritiana, Aerva javanica, Calligonum comosum, Sacchrum benghalens, Calligonum polygonoides and Prosopis cineraria) combined with farmyard manure (5 t ha-1) on growth, yield and photosynthetic activity of maize crop. Earthworm species Eisenia fetida (Savigny, 1826) was used to prepare vermicomposting of all tested plant species. The desert species were collected from natural habitats, chopped, dried, mixed with FYM and then earthworms were released to prepare the vermicompost. The earthworms were excluded twenty days after release and resultant was considered as compost and used in the experiment. Results revealed that application of P. cineraria vermicompost resulted in the highest plant height (75.33 cm), stem diameter (22.66 mm), cob length (17.66 cm), number of grains/cob (374.67), 1000-grain weight (260.41 g) and grains yield (3.20 t/ha). Application of P. cineraria vermicompost resulted in the highest uptake of macronutrients, i.e., N (91.01%), P (22.07%), K (80.41%), micronutrients, i.e., Fe (19.07 ppm), Zn (40.05 ppm), and phenolic contents (150). Application of P. cineraria vermicompost also resulted in the highest quantum photosynthetic yield (0.42 mole C/mole of photon), chlorophyll florescence (355.18 moles of photon m-2s-1) and electron transport rate (310.18 micro mole m-2s-1). It is concluded that vermicomposting has the potential to improve growth and yield of maize crop. Particularly, application of vermicompost obtained from P. cineraria can be used to improve the growth and yield of maize crop. Nonetheless, field trials are necessary for a wide scale recommendation.

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Variation of Small and Large Wild Bee Communities Under Honeybee Pressure in Highly Diverse Natural Habitats

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution ◽

10.3389/fevo.2021.750236 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Imre Demeter ◽

Adalbert Balog ◽

Miklós Sárospataki

Keyword(s):

Species Diversity ◽

Deleterious Effect ◽

Species Turnover ◽

Wild Bees ◽

Natural Habitats ◽

Wild Bee ◽

Previous Contact ◽

One Year ◽

Bee Communities ◽

The Impact

During the study, the honeybee effects on wild bees were tested and hypothesized that smaller distances from beehives will increase competitions between honeybees and wild bees, while greater distances will have a deleterious effect on competition. The impact on species richness and diversity was tested with distances from beehives, considering that this may differ when large and small wild bee species are considered separately. Altogether 158 species and 13,164 individuals were collected, from which 72% (9,542 individuals) were Apis mellifera. High variation in abundances was detected from one year to another, and the species turnover by sites was 67% in site A, 66% in site V, and 63% in site F. This last one was the site with the previous contact with honeybees. Considering distances from beehives, significant decreases in small bee species diversity were detected from one year to another at each distance except site F, 250 m from hives. The changes in species diversity and community structure of small bee species are detected from one year to another.

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High-sensitivity Troponin T in hemodialysis patients: a randomized placebo-controlled sub-study investigating angiotensin-II-blockade, variation over time and associations with clinical outcome

BMC Nephrology ◽

10.1186/s12882-020-02103-1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Christian D. Peters ◽

Krista D. Kjaergaard ◽

Kent L. Christensen ◽

Bo M. Bibby ◽

Bente Jespersen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Angiotensin Ii ◽

Troponin T ◽

High Sensitivity ◽

Left Ventricular ◽

Angiotensin Ii Receptor Blocker ◽

Angiotensin Ii Receptor ◽

One Year ◽

The Impact ◽

Over Time

Abstract Background Troponin T (TnT) is a well-known risk factor for negative outcome in hemodialysis (HD) patients, but little is known about variation over time, and the impact of clinical and dialysis specific factors. This study investigated the effect of angiotensin II receptor blockade (ARB), short and long-term variation in TnT and associations with clinical parameters. Methods In this analysis based on the SAFIR-cohort (Clinical Trials ID: NCT00791830) 81 HD patients were randomized double-blind for placebo (n = 40) or angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) treatment (n = 41) with irbesartan (150–300 mg) and followed for 12 months with six serial measurements of TnT using a high-sensitivity assay. Results Fifty-four patients (67%) completed follow-up. Baseline TnT-medians (min-max) were (placebo/ARB): 45(14–295)/46(10–343) ng/L. ARB-treatment did not significantly affect mean TnT-levels over the 12-month study period. Median week-to-week and one-year TnT-variation (5th–95th-percentile range) using all samples regardless of intervention were: 0(− 14–10) ng/L (week-to-week) and 3(− 40–71) ng/L (12 months). Median TnT-amplitude, capturing the change from the lowest to the highest TnT-value observed during the one-year study period was 38% or 20.5 ng/L. Median ratios with 95% limits of agreement were: 1.00(0.73–1.37); P = 0.92 (1 week/baseline; n = 77) and 1.07(0.52–2.25); P = 0.19 (12 months/baseline; n = 54). Baseline TnT was positively correlated with diabetes, ultrafiltration volume, arterial stiffness, change in intradialytic total peripheral resistance and N-terminal pro b-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and negatively correlated with hematocrit, residual renal function and change in intradialytic cardiac output. High baseline TnT was associated with a higher risk of admission and cardiovascular (CV) events during follow-up. Increase in TnT over time (ΔTnT = 12-months-baseline) was significantly associated with increase in left ventricular (LV) mass and NT-proBNP and decrease in LV ejection fraction and late intradialytic stroke volume. ΔTnT was not significantly associated with admissions, CV or intradialytic hypotensive events during follow-up. Admissions were significantly more likely with a high (TnT-amplitude> 20.5 ng/L) than a low TnT-amplitude. Peaks in TnT were less frequent in aspirin-treated patients. Conclusion ARB-treatment had no significant effect on TnT-levels. Week-to-week variation was generally low, yet over 12 months individual patients had considerable TnT fluctuations. Rise in TnT over time was significantly correlated with markers of cardiac deterioration. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00791830. Date of registration: November 17, 2008. EudraCT no: 2008–001267-11.

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Perspective of the rehabilitation of marginal areas: the case of Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-11421 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Patrícia Vidigal ◽

Erisa S. Santos ◽

Augusto Manuel Correia ◽

Fernando Monteiro ◽

Maria Manuela Abreu

Keyword(s):

Environmental Management ◽

Plant Species ◽

Food Chain ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Plant Cover ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

World Population ◽

Lablab Purpureus ◽

The Impact ◽

Translocation Factors

<p>It is estimated that the world population reach 9.1 billion in 2050 resulting in increasing food demand and consumption, but also waste production. Moreover, to help achieve the goals set by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, it is imperative to develop sustainable strategies for the recovery marginal lands (e.g. landfills or abandoned mining areas) and create conditions for agriculture activities. Thus, there is a need to increase agricultural production and to create sustainable waste management approaches. Several landfills pose health and environmental concerns associated to non-selective deposition of wastes, which present potentially hazardous elements (PHE), and inexistence of environmental management systems. Therefore, leachates rich-in PHE can spread to adjacent areas leading to soil and water contamination. This is particularly concerning considering the growing rate of Sub-Saharan African (SSA) population that will be living in urban or peri-urban areas, and practice subsistence farming in those areas. For SSA it is estimated that by 2050 about 50% of the population will be living in towns and cities. The recovery of landfills, in addition to other environmental management measures, can involve the development of a secure plant cover that creates conditions for agriculture activities, while protecting the food-chain, but also improve environmental and landscape impacts. Plant species selected for green cover should have the ability to decrease the mobility or immobilize PHE in the rhizosphere. Furthermore, these plant species should also have low PHE translocation factors from the soil/roots to the shoots. Plants with these characteristics are not common, and it is necessary to increase our efforts to identify them. Moreover, in the scope of SSA it is important that these species should be native and known by the population. The study of African crops behaviour, such as <em>Lablab purpureus</em> (L.) Sweet, can be a promising option since Lablab shows the ability to accumulate PHE in the roots and low translocation factors from the soil/roots to the shoots, resulting the concentrations present in the shoots safe for animal consumption. It is important to point that the characteristics of each landfill can be totally different as well as climatic conditions where is located the landfill, thus the initial and multidisciplinary characterization of the study area is crucial. Moreover, the ecophysiological plant behaviours, namely PHE accumulation in the edible part, depends on plant species and edafoclimatic conditions, so more studies should be done in order to assess the impact in the food-chain.</p>

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Repetition of deliberate self-poisoning in rural Sri Lanka

10.1101/344424 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

PHGJ Pushpakumara ◽

SUB Thennakoon ◽

TN Rajapakse ◽

Ranil Abeysinghe ◽

AH Dawson

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

Time History ◽

High Sensitivity ◽

Life Time ◽

Deliberate Self Harm ◽

Self Harm ◽

One Year ◽

The One ◽

The Impact ◽

Lethal Means

AbstractRepetition of deliberate self harm is an important predictor of subsequent suicide. Repetition rates in Asian countries appear to be significantly lower than in western high income countries. The reason for these reported differences is not clear and has been suggested to due methodological differences or the impact of access to more lethal means of self harm. This prospective study determines the rates and demographic pattern of deliberate self-poisoning, suicide and fatal and non fatal repeated deliberate self-poisoning in rural Sri Lanka.Details of deliberate self poisoning admission in all hospitals (n=46) and suicides reported to all the police stations (n=28) of a rural district were collected for 3 years, 2011-2013. Demographic details of the cohort of deliberate self-poisoning patients admitted to all hospitals in 2011 (N=4022), were screened to link with patient records and police reports of successive two years with high sensitivity using a computer program and manual matching was performed with higher specificity. Life time repetition was assessed in a randomly selected subset of DSP patients (n=438).There were 15,914 DSP admissions and 1078 suicides during the study period. Within the study area the deliberate self poisoning and suicide population incidences were, 248.3/100,000 and 20.7/100,000 in 2012. Repetition rate for four weeks, one-year and two-years were 1.9% (95% CI 1.5-2.3%), 5.7% (95% CI 5.0 to 6.4) and 7.9% (95% CI 7.1 to 8.8) respectively. The median interval between two attempts were 92 (IQR 10 - 238) and 191 (IQR 29 - 419.5) days for the one and two-year repetition groups. The majority of patients used the same poison in the repeat attempt. Age and hospital stay of individuals with repetitive events were not significantly different from those who had no repetitive events. The two-year rate for suicide following DSP was 0.7% (95% CI 0.4-0.9%). Reported life time history of deliberate self harm attempts was 9.5% (95% CI 6.7-12.2%).The low comparative repetition rates in rural Sri Lanka was not explained by higher rates of suicide or access to more lethal means or differences in methodology.

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The impact of forest infrastructure reconstruction on expansion of potentially invasive plant species: First results from a study in Latvia

Journal of Forest Science ◽

10.17221/28/2018-jfs ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 64 (No. 8) ◽

pp. 353-357

Author(s):

Matisone Ilze ◽

Zumberga Amanda ◽

Lībiete Zane ◽

Gerra-Inohosa Linda ◽

Jansons Jurģis

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Small Scale ◽

Anthropogenic Pressure ◽

Alien Plant Species ◽

Natural Habitats ◽

Alien Plant ◽

Forest Roads ◽

Invasive Alien Plant ◽

First Results ◽

The Impact

Today, when anthropogenic pressure on natural ecosystems promotes degradation of natural habitats and facilitates distribution of alien species, local disturbances such as forest management become more significant in relation to alien plant species expansion. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of forest road and drainage network reconstruction on the vegetation composition focusing on the expansion of invasive alien plant species. The occurrence and coverage of vascular plant and bryophyte species were recorded within 160 sample plots along four forest roads and four drainage ditches. This paper summarises the first results of this study. The main results indicate that small-scale linear corridors like forest roads and drainage networks can promote the expansion of invasive alien plant species.

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