The Utilization of Wuluh Starfruit for Making Facial Cleansing Solid Soap

Belimbing wuluh is one of the species in the family (Averrhoa). It is estimated that this plant comes from tropical America, this plant grows well in its country of origin, while Indonesia is mostly kept in the yard and sometimes grows wild in the fields or forest edges. In general, wuluh starfruit for the people of Aceh is used as a spice called sunti acid. Starfruit can also be used as a raw material for making soap which has properties to inhibit premature aging and overcome acne problems because starfruit contains vitamins A and C.Belimbing wuluh is also known as a plant that grows in the yards of Acehnese houses, which every time it bears fruit it will produce quite a lot of fruit, if it is not used for making processed products, the fruit will rot on the tree or fall on the ground. Based on the abundant raw materials, this research will focus on "Utilization of Starfruit for Making Facial Cleansing Solid Soap". The purpose of this research is to make solid soap with additional ingredients of starfruit, and produce solid facial soap from starfruit in the form of face wash sticks so that it is easy to use. The research method used is an experimental method which produces three samples that meet the 2016 SNI standard with a moisture content of 10% and a degree of acidity (pH) 10. From the three samples, the first sample had a hardness that matches the characteristics of solid soap.

Free-ranging Van Gelder’s bat Bauerus dubiaquercus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) preying on dung beetles in southern Mexico

We report the first prey species consumed by the free-ranging Van Gelder’s bat Bauerus dubiaquercus. We trapped four pregnant individuals of this species carrying freshly captured dung beetles. We describe the wing morphology and flight descriptors (wing loading and wing aspect ratio) of the species, which presents wings more suitable for capturing insects by aerial hawking, although the evidence suggests that is able to capture dung beetles of nearly 10% of its body mass in flight close to the ground. The species could obtain their prey while foraging on uncluttered pasture near forest edges.

Elevated growth and biomass along temperate forest edges

Fragmentation transforms the environment along forest edges. The prevailing narrative, driven by research in tropical systems, suggests that edge environments increase tree mortality and structural degradation resulting in net decreases in ecosystem productivity. We show that, in contrast to tropical systems, temperate forest edges exhibit increased forest growth and biomass with no change in total mortality relative to the forest interior. We analyze >48,000 forest inventory plots across the north-eastern US using a quasi-experimental matching design. At forest edges adjacent to anthropogenic land covers, we report increases of 36.3% and 24.1% in forest growth and biomass, respectively. Inclusion of edge impacts increases estimates of forest productivity by up to 23% in agriculture-dominated areas, 15% in the metropolitan coast, and +2% in the least-fragmented regions. We also quantify forest fragmentation globally, at 30-m resolution, showing that temperate forests contain 52% more edge forest area than tropical forests. Our analyses upend the conventional wisdom of forest edges as less productive than intact forest and call for a reassessment of the conservation value of forest fragments.

SHADING AND LIGHT INTERCEPTION IN THICKETS OF INVASIVE ACER NEGUNDO AND SORBARIA SORBIFOLIA

The aim of the work is to establish how greatly the light conditions change under the leaf canopy of two invasive plant species in the Middle Urals - Acer negundo and Sorbaria sorbifolia . In June - August 2020, using a portable light meter, 8370 measurements of illumination were performed in forest parks (at a height of 1.5 and 0.5 m, i.e. above and below the canopy of the leaves of the invasive shrub S. sorbifolia and the native shrub Rubus idaeus ; in random points under the canopies of Pinus sylvestris ; on glades, paths and forest edges) and in urban habitats (at a height of 1.5 m and 0.5 m in dense thickets of the invasive tree A. negundo and other tree species). The average illumination intensity was as following: under S. sorbifolia - 4 ± 1 lux × 10; under R. idaeus - 7 ± 1 lux × 10; in A. negundo thickets - 13 ± 2 lux × 10; in thickets of other tree species - 25 ± 4 lux × 10; under the canopies of urban pine forests - 80 ± 10 lux × 10; in the forest edges - 96 ± 14 lux × 10. In dense thickets, A. negundo intercepts about 94% of the light falling on its canopies, S. sorbifolia - about 93%. This is significantly higher than the light interception level in habitats used as control: other tree species canopies of greatly urbanized habitats intercept about 89%, the thickets of R. idaeus - about 82%. Thus, invasive plants reduce the amount of light available to other plant species in communities significantly more than native plants.

ОСОБЕННОСТИ ЕСТЕСТВЕННОГО ЛЕСОВОЗОБНОВЛЕНИЯ ГАРИ УРАЙСКОГО ЛЕСНИЧЕСТВА ХМАО

Приведены данные исследований естественного лесовозобновления гари в условиях Западно-Сибирского среднетаежного равнинного лесного района таежной лесорастительной зоны (на примере Урайского лесничества, расположенного в юго-западной части Ханты-Мансийского автоном- ного округа – Югры на территории кондинского административного района). Оценка лесовозобновле- ния проведена по методу учетных лент, заложенных на расстоянии 50 и 100 м от стены леса. Данные исследований показали непрерывность лесовосстановительного процесса на гари. Отмечается наличие всходов, самосева и подроста высотных категорий «мелкий», «средний» и «крупный». лесовозобновле- ние гари происходит двумя древесными породами – сосной и березой. По существующим нормативам возобновление сосны оценивается как хорошее. По количеству всходов и подроста преобладает сосна. При удалении от стены леса на 100 м происходит уменьшение количества всходов и подроста всех кате- горий крупности в 2–3 раза в сравнении с аналогичными показателями на расстоянии 50 м от стены леса независимо от вида древесной породы. Во всех высотных категориях отмечается преобладание жизне- способного подроста сосны – до 90–100 %, что является основным показателем успешности лесовос- становления исследуемой гари на данном этапе развития. береза в большинстве случаев представлена сомнительными по жизнеспособности экземплярами. В качестве лесохозяйственных мероприятий мож- но предложить проведение мониторинга за состоянием подроста и уходные мероприятия за подростом. The results of features formations of post-fire pine undergrowth on burnt area of the middle taiga zone of Western Siberia (for example, Uraisk forestry department) in location of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area. Undergrowth was studied on tapes laid out parallel to the forest edges at a distance of 50 and 100. According to studies it is observed of reafforestation continuity of burned areas. The presence of sprouting and undergrowth of the high- elevation categories «small», «medium» and «large» is noted. The burned areas reforestation with two tree species – pine and birch proceed. According to current specification, the pine natural regeneration is assessed as «normal». The amount of pine undergrowth is greater than the amount of birch undergrowth. To be at 100 m from forest edges the number of seedlings and undergrowth decreases by 2–3 times in comparison with the same indicators at 50 m from the forest edges. There is a predominance of vital pine undergrowth – up to 90–100 %. This is evidence of the successful reforestation of burned areas at this stage of development.

Hotspots of Agricultural Ecosystem Services and Farmland Biodiversity Overlap with Areas at Risk of Land Abandonment in Japan

Agriculture provides a wide range of ecosystem services and has the potential to contribute to biodiversity conservation. In Japan, many of the resources associated with agroecosystems are threatened by farmland abandonment. Identifying where and to what extent agricultural ecosystem services and farmland biodiversity are affected by farmland abandonment is essential for developing effective strategies to counter the potential loss of these services and the biological communities that support them. Our study aimed to examine how a set of indicators for ecosystem services and biodiversity linked to agroecosystems (proportions of land dedicated to rice production and other agricultural production, proportion of agricultural land on slopes potentially providing landscape aesthetics, proportion of villages promoting rural tourism, and densities of forest edges and irrigation ponds in agricultural land) are distributed at the municipal level across the Japanese Archipelago, and to analyze their spatial patterns in relation to the distribution of farmland abandonment. It was hypothesized that hotspots of agricultural ecosystem services and farmland biodiversity occur in areas at risk of farmland abandonment owing to shared drivers. The cluster analysis identified four distinct ecosystem service bundle types, two of them representing areas specializing in agricultural production, while the other two provided high levels of cultural services and habitats for diverse biological communities. The latter two bundles were located in hilly and mountainous areas and accounted for 58% of rice production, 27% of other agricultural production, 77% of landscape aesthetics, 77% of rural tourism, 64% of forest edges, and 87% of irrigation ponds in Japan. In support of the hypothesis, farmland abandonment was pronounced in these areas, with 64% of recently abandoned fields located where 44% of agricultural land was found. This spatial overlap suggests that substantial losses of ecosystem services and biodiversity may occur if current patterns of farmland abandonment continue. In order to prevent large-scale losses of agricultural ecosystem services and farmland biodiversity, measures to counteract the ongoing abandonment trends should prioritize hilly and mountainous areas, and future studies should further evaluate the multiple functions of agricultural areas to improve policies that aim to ensure sustainable development of rural areas in Japan.

Infestation of Early- and Late-Flushing Trees by Spring Caterpillars: An Associational Effect of Neighbouring Trees

In temperate forests within Europe, early-flushing (EF) deciduous trees are often heavily infested by early spring leaf-eating Lepidoptera, while late-flushing (LF) trees are better protected in a phenological manner against such heavy infestations, as spring moth larvae begin to appear before their bud burst. The associational effects of EF trees on LF ones are only poorly known. We studied whether or not the infestation of LF trees by spring Lepidoptera can be affected by EF ones if they grow in the immediate vicinity. We compared spring assemblages of leaf-eating larvae of Lepidoptera on LF Quercus cerris L. with those on EF Q. pubescens Willd. in several microhabitats in Slovakia, Central Europe. Larvae were collected from mature and young trees. Mature trees sampled were growing: (1) in a closed-canopy forest; (2) in small groups; or (3) as a lone tree. Forest and tree groups are both constituted by oak species. Tree groups and lone trees were 20–50 m distant from forest edges. Young trees were growing (1) under mature Q. pubescens trees in a forest or (2) as a lone tree within forest gaps or near the edges. In the closed-canopy forest where LF trees (Q. cerris) were surrounded by EF ones (Q. pubescens), the caterpillars on mature LF trees were in abundance, almost as on mature EF ones. The species composition of larval assemblages on the two oak species was similar. In contrast, on small groups and on lone trees, the lepidopteran larvae were significantly less abundant on LF trees than EF ones. In the case of young trees, the abundance of larvae and their composition assemblages on both oaks were comparable in the forest. In the open habitat, LF trees were less infested by larvae than EF ones and the assemblages of moth larvae differed between the two. Our results reveal the effect (associational susceptibility) of EF trees on LF ones when growing in a close vicinity. It means that the phenological protection of LF trees may not be sufficient if they grow close to or are surrounded by EF ones.

Simplified Communities of Seed-Dispersers Limit the Composition and Flow of Seeds in Edge Habitats

Edge effects, driven by human modification of landscapes, can have critical impacts on ecological processes such as species interactions, with cascading impacts on biodiversity as a whole. Characterizing how edges affect vital biotic interactions such as seed dispersal by frugivores is important for better understanding potential mechanisms that drive species coexistence and diversity within a plant community. Here, we investigated how differences between frugivore communities at the forest edge and interior habitats of a diverse tropical rainforest relate to patterns of animal-mediated seed dispersal and early seedling recruitment. We found that the lemur communities across the forest edge-interior gradient in this system showed the highest species richness and variability in body sizes at intermediate distances; the community of birds showed the opposite pattern for species richness. Three large-bodied frugivores, known to be effective dispersers of large seeds, tended to avoid the forest edge. As result, the forest edges received a lower rate of animal-mediated seed dispersal compared to the interior habitats. In addition, we also found that the seeds that were actively dispersed by animals in forest edge habitats were smaller in size than seeds dispersed in the forest interior. This pattern was found despite a similarity in seed size of seasonally fruiting adult trees and shrubs between the two habitats. Despite these differences in dispersal patterns, we did not observe any differences in the rates of seedling recruitment or seed-size distribution of successful recruit species. Our results suggest that a small number of frugivores may act as a potential biotic filter, acting on seed size, for the arrival of certain plant species to edge habitats, but other factors may be more important for driving recruitment patterns, at least in the short term. Further research is needed to better understand the potential long-term impacts of altered dispersal regimes relative to other environmental factors on the successional dynamics of edge communities. Our findings are important for understanding potential ecological drivers of tree community changes in forest edges and have implications for conservation management and restoration of large-seeded tree species in disturbed habitats.