Morphology and Economic Value of Macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia Maiden and Betche)

Macadamia has a scientific name Macadamia integrifolia Maiden and Betche from the Proteaceae family. The Macadamia plant habitat is in highland areas with an altitude of 1000 masl with a temperature of ≤ 32˚C. Macadamia plants are perennials with tough stems, and the branching is visible (monopodial). The purpose of this study was to determine the morphological characteristics of Macadamia plants and their economic value. The research was conducted at PTPN XII Sempol Plantation, Bondowoso with descriptive-qualitative method. The results of morphological observations showed that macadamia fruit is a dry fruit, indehiscent (when ripe the skin/shell does not break), similar to the type of achene fruit but the shell is thick and hard. Woody stems (lignosus) with monopodial branching type, incomplete leaves consisting of stalks and leaf blades, leaf blades are oblong-elongated, incised independently, pinnate leaf bones, phyllotaxis opposite crosswise. Macadamia trees can produce round fruit of about 20-70 kg per year with a monthly profit of Rp. 8,905,500. The economic potential of the Macadamia plant is very promising, as evidenced by the ongoing import of peeled macadamia with a volume of 6,862 kilograms worth US$ 145,100 (approximately Rp 1.9 billion) or Rp 291,405.29 per kilogram.

A Study of the Plant Folk Nomenclature of the Yi People in Xiaoliangshan, Yunnan Province, China, and the Implications for Protecting Biodiversity

BackgroundFolk plant nomenclature is a part of knowledge of indigenous people often used to distinguish plant species. This study aimed to document the folk botanical nomenclature of the Yi people in Xiaoliangshan, north-west Yunnan Province, which has not been systematically investigated to date. The results of this study will assist in conserving biodiversity and the language of the Yi people and will promote the transmission of ethnobotanical knowledge. MethodsAn ethnobotanical survey of plants used by the Yi people in Xiaoliangshan, Yunnan Province, was conducted from September 2019 to August 2021. Semi-structured Interviews and Key Informant Interviews were conducted to collect and document ethnobotanical information, which was then used to analyse the folk botanical nomenclature of the Yi people. In addition, the folk names of plants used by the Xiaoliangshan Yi community were compared with those of the Yi people living in the Daliangshan, where the environment is considerably different.ResultsIn this study, 266 informants were interviewed, and the names of 228 indigenous plants were extracted from 3088 use reports. The nomenclature used by the local Yi people is based on plant characteristics, plant habitat, plant-use, and the local culture. The folk names and the plant species have three types of correspondence. Moreover, some plant names are related to animals or Chinese loanwords. The comparison between the folk botanical names used by the Yi people in Xiaoliangshan and those used by the Yi people in the Daliangshan shows that 55 names are identical and the Yi people in both locations use 41 identical plants.ConclusionsThere are certain similarities and differences between the folk nomenclature of the Yi people in Xiaoliangshan and those in the Daliangshan. The findings are an example of how language evolves when people from the same ethnic group live in different geographical environments for extensive periods. In addition, the numerous Chinese loanwords in the folk botanical names of the Yi people in both locations indicate that a loss of traditional knowledge may be one of the greatest challenges to preserving the cultural heritage of the Yi people and to the conservation of biodiversity.

Active behaviour of terrestrial caterpillars on the water surface

Most butterfly and moth larvae (Lepidoptera) are terrestrial. When terrestrial caterpillars accidentally fall into water, they may drown or be preyed upon by aquatic predators before they can safely reach land. However, how terrestrial caterpillars escape aquatic environments and predators remains unclear. In July 2018, we observed a terrestrial caterpillar actively moving forward on the surface of a pond in Japan until it successfully reached the shore. To further investigate this behaviour in terrestrial caterpillars, we experimentally placed larvae of 13 moth species (four families) on a water surface under laboratory and field conditions. All caterpillars floated. Larvae of seven species moved forward on the water surface, whereas those of six species did not. A total of two types of behaviour were observed; in Dinumma deponens, Hypopyra vespertilio, Spirama retorta, Laelia coenosa, Lymantria dispar (all Erebidae), and Naranga aenescens (Noctuidae), larvae swung their bodies rapidly from side to side to propel themselves along the water surface (i.e., undulatory behaviour); in contrast, larvae of Acosmetia biguttula (Noctuidae) rapidly moved the abdomen (posterior segments) up and down for propulsion along the water surface (i.e., flick behaviour). Although thoracic legs were not used for undulatory and flick behaviour, rapid movements of the abdomen were used to propel caterpillars on the water surface. We also observed that undulatory and flick behaviour on the water surface aided caterpillars in escaping aquatic predators under field conditions. In addition, we investigated the relationship between body size and undulatory behaviour on the water surface in the erebid S. retorta under laboratory conditions. The frequency and speed of forward movement on the water surface increased with body length. Together, these results show that the rapid movement of elongated bodies results in forward propulsion on the water surface, allowing some terrestrial caterpillars to avoid drowning or aquatic predators. We further suggested potential factors related to morphology, host plant habitat, and defensive behaviour that may have led to the acquisition of aquatic behaviour in terrestrial caterpillars.

Root cap at soil interface: a driving force towards plant adaptation and development

Land plants harbour robust roots to grow in diverse soil ecosystems. The distal end of the primary root tip has specialized tissue, called “root cap.” The evolution of root cap-like structures in early plants rudimentary roots and well-developed root caps in vascular plants hints towards developing an adaptive trait for a localized plant habitat. Root cap interacts with soil and assists roots in penetrating the below ground, avoid/adsorb metals, uptake water, minerals, and regulates rhizosphere microbiota that drives plant-soil feedback. Besides, the root cap governs lateral root patterning and directs root growth in varying conditions. This review article presents the retrospective and our perspective on root cap characters for root-soil interaction. We discussed the anatomy of root cap among the different taxa of land plants and their relevance in diverse habitats and elucidated the root cap functions under various growth conditions. We took advantage of recently published single-cell RNAseq data and shed light on biological relevance of root cap cell-type enriched genes from arabidopsis, rice, maize, and tomato. Additionally, analyzed the transcription factor binding site enrichment in root cap enriched genes and constructed gene-regulatory networks operating in root cap to contribute its multi-faceted role in plant growth and adaptation.

Phytolith Palaeoenvironments at Mumba Rock Shelter

The rock shelter site of Mumba in northern Tanzania plays a pivotal role in the overall study of the late Pleistocene archaeology of East Africa with an emphasis on the Middle to Later Stone Age transition. We used phytolith analysis to reconstruct general plant habitat physiognomy around the site from the onset of the late Pleistocene to recent times, tallying 4246 individual phytoliths from 19 archaeological samples. Statistical analysis explored phytolith richness, diversity, dominance, and evenness, along with principal components to compare phytolith distributions over the site’s sequence with known plant habitats today. Generally, the phytolith record of Mumba signifies paleoenvironments with analogs in the Somalia – Masai bushland and grassland, as well as Zambezian woodlands.

Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Satellite Imagery (NDVI) to Identify Terroir and Vineyard Yeast Differences According to Appellation of Origin (AOP) and Biogeographic Origin

Terroir is one of the core concepts associated with wine and presumes that the land from which the grapes are grown, the plant habitat, imparts a unique quality that is specific to that growing site. Additionally, numerous factors can influence yeast diversity, and terroir is among the most relevant. Therefore, it can be interesting to use Remote Sensing tools that help identify and give helpful information about the terroir and key characteristics that define the AOP (Appellation of Origin). In this study, the NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) calculated from Landsat 8 imagery was used to perform a spatio-temporal analysis during 2013, 2014, and 2015 of several vineyards belonging to four different AOP in Galicia (Spain). This work shows that it is possible to use Remote Sensing for AOP delimitation. Results suggest: (i) satellite imagery can establish differences in terroir, (ii) the higher the NDVI, the higher the yeast species richness, (iii) the relationship between NDVI, terroir, and yeasts shows a stable trend over the years (Pearson’s r = 0.3894, p = 0.0119).

Variation in Seed Harvest Potential of Carapa guianensis Aublet in the Brazilian Amazon: A Multi-Year, Multi-Region Study of Determinants of Mast Seeding and Seed Quantity

This work augments research on masting for the economically important tropical tree Carapa guianensis Aublet, specifically on whether determinants of mast years vary regionally, spatially, and due to longer term ENSO climate patterns. Longer term measurements (an 11-year period in Acre and Roraima; 4 years and 8 months in Amapá) from three regions of the Brazilian Amazon allowed for the analysis of whether climate cues were regionally consistent for this species. We used generalized linear mixed models, to determine which factors were significant in predicting whether trees would produce in a given year and to model the seed production quantity. We found a positive effect of increasing the diameter at breast height (dbh) on the quantity and likelihood of seed production. Our results also suggested that ecosystems and climate cues may jointly affect seed production. In flooded forests, increases in dry season rainfall had a negative impact on the likelihood of seed production whilst none of the precipitation variables investigated influenced the quantity of seeds produced. In drier terra firme forests in Acre with extended dry seasons, increases in dry season precipitation had significant and positive impacts on both the likelihood and the quantity of seed production. Our results illustrate the importance of considering plant habitat and climate to better understand individual and regional differences in seed production and their responses to inter-annual climate variation.