Betula pendula Ssp. distribution and growth in the sub-Carpathian curvature

Birch ssp. in the sub-Carpathians curvature can be found in composition with beech and other resinous species, unevenly distributed from the mountain peaks at around 1200 m down to 500-600, mainly from high hills to depressions at 600m, rarely seen on plain sites, crossing different geomorphological structures and overall accounting for 3857.1 ha. The main objective of the paper was to analyze the site and stand characteristics of Betula pendula ssp. Roth. in the subCarpathians curvature as followed: stand structure, stand types and stand site types, soils and different metrics, from growth to yields and its connectivity.The ecological adaptability to climate and soil and early fast growth, makes silver birch fulfill the overall requirements as a pioneer species, mostly naturally regenerated. Birch distribution is highly influenced by stand structure having low proportion in compositions, mean height of 15 m at age 50, and a diameter of 20m. Regarding the site, characteristics are more commonly found on fertile soils, corrugated or fragmented site type with a slope of 20-50° and it is distributed as secondary species in stands, averaging 750m in attitude, ranging from 500 to 1200m, 90% being in mixtures with other species with a mean annual increment of approximately 7 m³/year/ha regardless of stand site type. As an early successional species, it serves as a first colonizer but secondary species and quite often as an ecological instrument to improve the soil characteristics, biodiversity and prevent landslides in certain sites, lacking economic value other than fuel wood or other non-wood products.

Cultural Use of Homegarden Plants in an Indigenous Community in North West Ethiopia

Background; The floristic composition of homegardens in Northwest Ethiopia in general, and the Gozamin district in particular, has received little research attention. The purpose of this research is to better understand the floristic composition and cultural significance of homegardens. Methods; Stratified random sampling procedure was used based on agroecological variation in selected kebeles. The homegarden data were collected by dividing the homegarden into four quadrats, the first quadrat stretched from the farmer’s home to 10m, the second quadrat from10m to 20m, the third quadrat from 20m to 30m and the fourth quadrat from 30m to 40m horizontally using farmer’s house as reference depending on the size of the garden. A semi-structured interview was carried out to document the informant’s knowledge on plant species.Results; A total of 238 culturally important plant species from 81 families were identified. Of these 39% were herbs,29% shrubs, 6% were climbers. Perennials made up the largest part of cultivated species (83%), whereas annuals made up the rest (17%). The Poaceae family had the foremost species, with 22, taken after by the Fabaceae, which had 21, and the Asteraceae which had 15. From these recorded plants,140(58.6%) were species utilized for environmental uses, 84(35%) food crops, 83(34.7%) medicinal plant species, 39(16.3%) fodder species, 57(23.8%) material use plants, 60(25%) fuel wood species, 50(21%) social use plants and 1(0.4%) poisonous. The direct matrix ranking revealed that Cordia Africana was found a versatile culturally important plant in the area which was also extremely threatened, followed by Ficus sur. Cordia africana highest use-value was for Building and the list value was for medicinal. The Sorensen similarity index for 64 percent of the locations investigated was less than 0.5.Conclusion; The result showed that homegardens are multi-functional, long-term production systems. Food security and biodiversity conservation are continuously supported by tribal populations cultural knowledge connected with their homegardens. The less similarity/high species diversity in the area between kebeles indicated that there was high species diversity this was due to different range of agroecological conditions among kebeles.

The current state and prospects for the development of Russian Federation green energy exports

Renewable energy is obtained from sustainable sources, which in particular include solar and wind energy, geothermal and hydroelectric energy, biomass, tidal energy. The Russian Federation has a significant potential for the development of “green” energy, is among the leaders in terms of export potential in this area. The article considers the export potential of fuel wood pellets. The European sales market, problems and prospects of entering it were studied as priority areas. The purpose of this study is to assess the export potential of the Russian Federation for “green” energy products, using the example of the group of HS 4401310000 Wood pellets. Within the framework of the study, the following tasks were solved: the importance of export relations in the framework of the development of “green” energy directions was studied, the market of wood pellets of the Russian Federation was studied and the export potential of the country for this group of goods was determined. As a result of the conducted research, the authors concluded that the development of the export of wood fuel pellets is of high importance for strengthening the country’s position in the market of foreign trade in renewable energy sources.

JUSTIFICATION OF THE CHOICE OF THE PROCESSOR FOUR FUEL WOOD MODEL FOR DIFFERENT FOREST REGIONS OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

В реалиях XXI века дрова являются конкурентоспособным топливом, не уступающим по теплоте сгорания торфу, сланцам, а по некоторым другим свойствам, таким как зольность, содержание серы и др., древесина является лучшим из всех видов твердого топлива. В последние годы наблюдается увеличение спроса на короткомерные колотые дрова на внутреннем рынке России. кроме того, данный вид лесной продукции становится экспортным товаром. В работе представлены результаты исследования распределения дров по ступеням толщины в зависимости от среднего объёма хлыста. В Российской Феде- рации это тонкомерные до 0,3 м3 древостои средней крупности 0,3–0,7 м3, толстомерные древостои свыше 0,7 м3. были рассчитаны проценты распределения дровяной древесины по толщинам в зависимости от среднего объёма хлыста. В древостоях различной крупномерности распределение дров по группам диаметров значительно отличается. Рассмотрена зависимость толщины древостоя от места его произрастания. На предприятиях Российской Федерации широко применяются финские процессоры марки PALAPOWER и словенские процессоры марки RCA, также используются отечественные процессоры марки ДРС. Результаты исследования имеют практическое значение и могут быть использованы для выбора моделей процессоров в различных лесозаготовительных регионах Российской Федерации. кроме того, эти данные можно применять в расчёте производительности работ по производству дров. Firewood is a competitive fuel in the realities of the XXI century, not inferior in terms of heat of combustion to peat, shale, and in some other properties, such as ash content, sulfur content, etc., wood is the best of all types of solid fuel. In recent years, there has been an increase in demand for short-sized chopped firewood in the domestic market of Russia. In addition, this type of forest products becomes an export commodity. The paper presents the results of a study of the distribution of firewood by thickness steps depending on the average volume of the whip. In the Russian Federation, these are thin-dimensional stands of up to 0,3 m3, medium – sized stands of 0,3–0,7 m3, thick-dimensional stands of over 0,7 m3. The percentages of the distribution of woodwood by thickness were calculated depending on the average volume of the whip. In stands of various sizes, the distribution of firewood by diameter groups differs significantly. The dependence of the thickness of the stand on the place of its growth is considered. Processors of various brands that differ in the parameter of processing raw materials are studied. Finnish processors of the PALAPOWER brand and Slovenian processors of the RCA brand are widely used at enterprises of the Russian Federation, domestic processors of the DRS brand are also used. The results of the study are of practical importance and can be used to select processor models in various logging regions of the Russian Federation. In addition, these data can be used to calculate the productivity of work on the production of firewood.

Community Use and Product Valuation of Forest Resources in Maasai Mau

Forests play an important role in the livelihoods of local people in most developing countries. Local communities depend on forest resources for various products such as fuel wood, construction materials, medicine, and food. The Maasai Mau forest plays an important role in supporting the livelihood of people living around the forest. Exploitation of forest resources should only be limited to active members. To reduce dependency on the forest, alternative means of livelihood should be provided to reduce dependency on the forest.

Influence of Tangible Ecosystem Goods Encroachment on Host Community Well-being: A Case of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

The study was set out to investigate how encroachment on ecosystem tangible goods improves the host community well-being. The problem was that over harvesting of the tangible goods resulted in the degradation of the ecosystem and thus affected the quality and quantity of the tangible goods harvested and thus negatively affected the host community's wellbeing. The study had threefold objectives and these were; to describe the ecosystem destruction trends; to determine the driving forces behind the encroachment of the park ecosystems and, to ascertain the different ecosystem tangible goods harvested from the park. The literature of the study focused on local community wellbeing and encroachment as well as the causes of rampant encroachment of the ecosystems both in unprotected areas and in protected areas. The methodology of this study was majorly descriptive and considered the population of 40 households and a sample of 32 households as well the household used as a sampling unit. The results indicated that encroachment on ecosystems occurred and as a result the ecosystem size dwindled over the past three decades. Also, the results revealed that the major cause of this encroachment was scarcity of land and poverty. Whereas the most demanded ecosystem resources were timber and fuel wood. It was concluded that because there was no wellbeing amongst the host community due to poverty and scarcity of land, they were forced to encroach on the ecosystem resources. It was therefore recommended that the park and host community should find mechanisms to empower the host community in order to minimize encroachment rates.

Adoption of Recommended Technologies by farmers in Coconut Crop

In India, coconut farming is inseparably embedded in the socio-historical culture as well as the ethnic identity. Coconut is also interlinked with socio- economic life of a large number of small and marginal farmers in peninsular India. Coconut is a source of food, beverage, medicine, natural fibre, fuel, wood and raw materials for units producing a variety of goods. It is estimated that about 12 million people in India are dependent on the coconut sector in areas of cultivation, processing and trading activities. Hence, The study was conducted in two blocks of Theni district (coconut), with a sample size of 40 respondents. The findings of the study revealed that the adoption of recommended technologies was found to be high in variety selection, fertilizer application, plant protection measures and low in seedling rate / hec, recommended spacing and weed management.

Opportunities and Challenges of Renewable Energy Production in Ethiopia

Ethiopia is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world despite immense challenges towards access to sustainable energy supplies and modern energy technologies. The country is undertaking great effort towards the development of renewable energy technologies and green legacy. However, the largest share of energy consumption (≈87%) in Ethiopia is dominated by traditional fuels (charcoal, fuel wood, dung cakes, and agricultural residues) which pose various health and environmental risks. The country has an enormous amount of renewable energy potentials (e.g., solar, hydro, wind and geothermal), but only 5% of its full hydropower potential is exploited and others are not fully harvested or not well developed to date. This review paper provides a comprehensive assessment on renewable energy availability, potential, opportunity, and challenges in Ethiopia. We believe the information provided in this review will enlighten the current and future prospects of renewable energy deployment in Ethiopia.

Plant Resources Utilization among Different Ethnic Groups of Ladakh in Trans-Himalayan Region

The nomadic pastoral indigenous communities of the Ladakhi people share roots with Tibetan culture in terms of food, clothing, religion, festivals, and habits, and rely widely on plant resources for survival and livelihood. This survey was conducted during 2019–2021 to document the indigenous knowledge about plant resources of the Balti, Beda, and Brokpa communities of the Ladakh region, trans-Himalayas. Open- and close-ended semi-structured interviews (N = 184) and group discussions (N = 17) were used to collect the data. Quantitative data was further analyzed using various statistical tools. A total of 105 plant species belonging to 82 genera and 39 families were used as medicine, fuel wood, fragrance, oil, food, flavor, fodder, decoration, and dye. Among these, medicinal use was most prevalent, with 70% of use reports, followed by fodder and fuel wood. Leaves (27%) were the most preferred plant part used, followed by roots and flowers. The principal component analysis revealed five clusters of ethnobotanical usage, i.e., food, medicine, fuel wood, fodder, and fragrance, oil, dye, and flavor. The maximum number of plant species used was reported by the Brokpa, while the Beda reported the minimum number of plant species uses. Delphinium brunonianum, Waldheimia tomentosa, and Juniperus indica played a significant role in the cultural and religious ritual aspects, whereas Allium przewalskianum, Waldheimia tomentosa, Juniperus indica, and Hippophae rhamnoides were commonly used as a livelihood source among Ladakhi communities. The local people collected most plants (65%) for self-consumption, while the rest (35%) were sold in markets as a source of income. The sustainable utilization and management of plant resources by local people is a strategy to boost livelihoods and food security and alleviate poverty.

Agroforestry practices and food security in the mount Bamboutos landscape, Western Highlands of Cameroon

This study presents agroforestry practices by farmers in Mount Bamboutos, why they adopt agroforestry practices and main constraints towards adoption as well as the relationship between agroforestry practices and household food security. A purposive sampling technique was used to administer 195 questionnaires. Data collected were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The demographic information analyzed showed that the majority of respondents were males (76%) and all were literate with a majority using fuel wood as their main source of energy. The major agroforestry practices were, planting of fodder, fertilizer, fruit and timber trees, compost manure and farm yard manure preparation. The highest year of adoption of agroforestry practices was in 2019. Most (50%) of the respondents adopted agroforestry practices for better crop yields. However, the main constraints to agroforestry adoption were lack of training, lack of seeds and much labour involved. Lack of training was the greatest constraint cited by respondents. 39% of the respondents were food secure and apart from compost manure practice that was negatively associated with food security, all the other agroforestry practices were positively associated with food security. Based on findings of this study, it is recommended that extension agents and other stakeholders should intensify efforts to educate and train more farmers on the practice and advantages of agroforestry. This will go a long way to increase adoption rate while ensuring food security.