Woody species composition and community types of Hangadi Watershed, Guji Zone, Ethiopia

Background Hangadi watershed is endowed with the only virgin forest in Odo shakisso harbouring high biodiversity, but it has been suffered from anthropogenic activities. This study was conducted to investigate composition and community diversity of woody species in restoration for posterity. Satellite images of 1988, 2008, and 2018 were used to classify and analyse trends of deforestation. For both woody species and topsoil (0–30 cm), 20 m × 20 m, 100 plots laid at every 300 m along line transects, 1 km apart from each other. In each sample plot, woody species ≥ 3 m were counted, Shannon–wiener diversity index, cluster analysis and ordination were computed. Results Agroforestry is found to be the dominant land use/land cover class followed by forest and cultivated land. A total of 61 woody species belonging to 34 families; 8.2% of the species were endemic to Ethiopia. The highest number of species was recorded from families Euphorbiaceae and Rubiaceae (5 species, 8.2%), Rutaceae, Celastraceae, and Oleaceae (3 species, 5.08%) followed by Flacourtiaceae, Meliaceae, Araliaceaae, Myrsinaceae, Moraceae, Boraginaceae, Asteraceae, Spontaceae, Lauraceae and Sapindaceae (2 species each). Four woody plant communities were identified using free statistical software R version 3.1.1. The canonical correspondence analysis result showed that EC, pH, OM, altitude, C:N, CEC, sand, silt, AvP, and TN significantly affected species distribution in the watershed. Conclusion Local people involved in cutting mature woody species for timber production, making farm implements and, cultivated land expansion. Protection of woody species diversity of forest and coffee systems with low biodiversity value conservation concepts are recommended to be executed jointly by local people and stakeholders.

Ditiola haasii (Basidiomycota, Dacrymycetaceae)—taxonomy and ecology of a rare species from Central Europe

Ditiola haasii, a largely unknown member of the Dacrymycetes described from Germany, is documented in detail based on two specimens collected on Picea abies wood in the Boubínský prales virgin forest, Czech Republic. The work represents the first complete taxonomic/ecological investigation of the species since its original description. The morphology of the newly studied samples is evaluated to gain a better knowledge of intraspecific variation, and a phylogenetic analysis based on nrLSU data is provided to further confirm our identification and show the phylogenetic position of D. haasii within the Dacrymycetes. A comparison with similar species and those with which it has been confused is made and ecological details are provided based on our collections. Colour photographs of basidiomata and micromorphological characters are published. Ditiola haasii is currently documented by just six records worldwide, all of them from Central Europe.

Trichoderma dumbbelliforme sp. nov. an undescribed fungus of order Hypocreales from India

Trichoderma is an important genus of family Hypocreaceae, which contain nearly 375 known species. In current study, a new species Trichoderma dumbbelliforme collected from virgin forest soil of Nagaland and confirmed based on morphological and phylogenetic analyses. Morphologically, T. dumbbelliforme sp. nov. distinguished from other species of Trichoderma by producing nodules on sterile part of the conidiophores and pyriform to dumbbell shaped conidia with the size of 4.0–6.0×2.5–3.0µm and having two big guttulae at each end. Furthermore, the fungus was confirmed by molecular characterization using Translation elongation factor 1-α (tef-1) gene sequencing. The phylogenetic relationship was established for generated sequence and many related ex-type sequences downloaded from NCBI GenBank by maximum-parsimony analysis. Tef-1 sequence data clarified the phylogenetic affinity to clade-1 of Trichoderma as per new authoritative guide line on molecular identification of Trichoderma. Phylogenetically, this new species of Trichoderma closely related to T. crassum, T. spirale, T. sulawesense, T. longisporum, T. virens, T. gelatinosum and T. gliocladium species. Therefore, the morphological comparisons were done with closely related species viz., T. crassum and T. spirale which lead to the conclusion that the collected taxon is new to science.

Assessment of Aqueous Extraction Methods on Extractable Organic Matter and Hydrophobic/Hydrophilic Fractions of Virgin Forest Soils

The assessment of water-extractable organic matter using an autoclave can provide useful information on physical, chemical, and biological changes within the soil. The present study used virgin forest soils from Chini Forest Reserve, Langkawi Island, and Kenyir Forest Reserve (Malaysia), extracted using different extraction methods. The dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), total dissolved phosphorus (TDP), and ammonium-nitrate content were higher in the autoclave treatments, up to 3.0, 1.3, 1.2, and 1.4 times more than by natural extraction (extracted for 24 h at room temperature). Overall, the highest extractable DOC, TDN, TDP, ammonium and nitrate could be seen under autoclaved conditions 121 °C 2×, up to 146.74 mg C/L, 8.97 mg N/L, 0.23 mg P/L, 5.43 mg N mg/L and 3.47 N mg/L, respectively. The soil extracts became slightly acidic with a higher temperature and longer duration. Similar trends were observed in the humic and nonhumic substances, where different types of soil extract treatments influenced the concentrations of the fractions. Different soil extraction methods can provide further details, thus widening the application of soil extracts, especially in microbes.

Viability and Vigor of Bacaba Seed (Oenocarpus bacaba) in Different Substrates

The Bacaba (Oenocarpus bacaba) belongs to the Arecaceae family, is a palm tree native to the Amazon, in which it is distributed throughout the Amazon basin, mainly in the regions of Pará, Tocantins, Acre, and in southern Maranhão, having as habitat the high virgin forest. The production of quality seedlings depends on several factors, and the composition of substrates is a major factor, because seed germination, root initiation, and rooting are directly linked to the chemical, physical and biological characteristics of the substrate. The experiment was carried out at the Federal Institute of Education - IFTO, Sciences, and Technology of Tocantins, in the city of Gurupi - TO, between September 5, 2018, and December 30, 2018. For the realization of the same, Bacaba seeds (Oenocarpus bacaba) were used, which were purchased at the street fair in the municipality of Gurupi - TO. Root and shoot length, number of leaves, root and shoot dry mass, first emergency count and seedling emergence were evaluated. The substrates: Washed Sand, Commercial Substrate, Pinus Bark + Sawdust Powder + Commercial Substrate, and Worm Humus + Coconut Shell + Commercial Substrate + Sawdust Powder provided the highest values of viability and vigor in Bacaba seeds.

How Joannites’ economy eradicated primeval forest and created anthroecosystems in medieval Central Europe

During European states’ development, various past societies utilized natural resources, but their impact was not uniformly spatially and temporally distributed. Considerable changes resulted in landscape fragmentation, especially during the Middle Ages. Changes in state advances that affected the local economy significantly drove trajectories of ecosystems’ development. The legacy of major changes from pristine forest to farming is visible in natural archives as novel ecosystems. Here, we present a high-resolution densely dated multi-proxy study covering the last 1500 years from a peatland located in CE Europe. The economic activity of medieval societies was highly modified by new rulers—the Joannites (the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaller). We studied the record of these directorial changes noted in the peat profile. Our research revealed a rapid critical land-use transition in the late Middle Ages and its consequences on the peatland ecosystem. The shift from the virgin forest with regular local fires to agriculture correlates well with the raising of local economy and deforestations. Along with the emerging openness, the wetland switched from alkaline wet fen state to acidic, drier Sphagnum-dominated peatland. Our data show how closely the ecological state of wetlands relates to forest microclimate. We identified a significant impact of the Joannites who used the novel farming organization. Our results revealed the surprisingly fast rate of how feudal economy eliminated pristine nature from the studied area and created novel anthroecosystems.

Specifics of bulk chemical composition of virgin forest cambisols within the Ukrainian Carpathians

Material composition is one of the most vital components of soil analysis and it which allows to determine the bulk or elemental composition, to get an insight into the total content of chemical elements per the genetic horizons of a soil profile against the soilforming rock, and to identify the direction of soil formation processes, that is, to establish the genesis of soils. The study objective supposed both the identification of bulk chemical composition (BCC) specifics peculiar to cambisols (acc. the WRB) located beneath different virgin forest ecosystems and the change caused by the composition of soil-forming rock, specifics of mountainous terrain and climatic conditions. The study subject is cambisol of virgin (beech and coniferous) ecosystems formed at the eluvium-deluvium flysch with prevailing sandstones, argillites and siltstones. The study scope is bulk chemical composition of beech and coniferous forest cambisols within the Ukrainian Carpathians and its transformation. Comparative-geographical, comparative-profile, analytical and statistical methods have been used accounting for the above objective. The bulk chemical composition has been determined under the method devised by E.V. Arinushkina. Recalculations and ratios have been used to analyse data on the bulk chemical composition of soils. Our article provides the results of the study of bulk chemical composition of cambisols located beneath beech and the coniferous virgin forests. Changes occurred in this, one of the most conservative, soil substance, under the influence of phytocenotic diversity of virgin forest ecosystems and soil species, are analysed, the nature and direction of changes as well as their main regularities are identified. Molecular ratios for the genetic soil horizons are calculated since they testify the removal of elements outside the soil profile boundaries and are the main factor used to assess the direction of cambisols soil-forming process. The article considers the content of constitutional water and the ratio of change in the siliceous soil part. Results obtained allow suggesting intrinsic weathering in the soils under study. Major reasons of changes in the bulk chemical composition of virgin forest cambisols are caused by the character of vegetation, its aggressiveness with respect to the soil mineral content, by climatic features that affect processes of soil formation in mountainous areas depending on the vertical zonality, and by the composition of soil-forming rocks being the substrate for the studied soils. SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3 oxides form the predominant bulk chemical composition of virgin forest cambisols in the Ukrainian Carpathians. Their total content ranges from 65.59 to 87.56 %. The mineral base of virgin forest cambisols is SiO2 and its content in virgin forest cambisols amounts up to 63.46 - 75.03 %, Al2O3 sesquioxide content is 13.16 - 17.14 %, Fe2O3 content is 4.25 - 6.83 %. Molecular ratios in cambisols located beneath the beech virgin forests postulate the removal of sesquioxides out from a soil profile. For instance, the ratios of SiO2/Fe2O3 in beech virgin forests cambisols are 42.8 - 44.61 and they decrease sharply at the soil profile bottom to 26.35, i.e. the removal of Fe2O3 sesquioxide out from a soil profile is observed. The molar ratio of SiO2/R2O3 in cambisols located beneath coniferous virgin forests is narrower than in beech virgin forest cambisols and amounts up to 5.64 - 5.81, which is due to the lower content of SiO2 oxide and higher number of Fe2O3 and Al2O3 sesquioxides. The analysis of leach factor indices shows that leaching of Calcium and Magnesium oxides is observed in these soils. However, leaching in cambisols located beneath the beech virgin forests is less intense than in cambisols located beneath the coniferous virgin forests. Leaching of Sodium and Potassium oxides in cambisols located beneath the beech virgin forests is minor, and in cambisols located beneath the coniferous virgin forests is weakly expressed.

Birdwatching Track: Peluang Konservasi Burung di RPH Tambak Ngargoyoso Karanganyar Jawa Tengah

Resort Pemangku Hutan (Forest Manager Resort) or RPH Tambak is one of the forests managed by Indonesian State Forestry Enterprise in the northern part of Lawu Mountain, Surakarta. RPH Tambak located in the Berjo village, in Ngargoyoso, Central Java. This area offers ecotourism attraction for locals and international tourists. The management of forest becomes the main focus with involvement from the locals and stakeholders. This area is a potential area for avian conservation although this area is still relatively unknown. Because of its virgin forest and natural landscape, RPH Tambak has the potential to become a birdwatching spot. The aim of this research is to gather data about local avian species, to interpret the initial data for ecotourism, and to make a birdwatching track. The research methods used in this research are by tracking, and surveying the local avian species to create a roadmap for birdwatching track. The finding of this research is there are 40 species of birds from 25 families living along as cosmopolite and rarely in the birdwatching track. The birdwatching track has 5 posts with different specifications (vegetation, altitude, and tracking time) and tracking distance to make various contact with local avian species. The birdwatching track will be maintained by locals that has the access to the peak of the Lawu Mountain.