The damage profile of kerai payung (Filicium desipiens) in University of Sumatera Utara green space based on Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) method

The University of Sumatera Utara (USU) campus in Medan is a green space area with numerous social and environmental benefits. In the USU campus, trees were planted for providing inhabitant needs such as fresh air, pollutant absorber, medicine, wood, fuel, fiber, aesthetic, and food. One of the medicine, wood, and aesthetic species that grows on the USU campus is kerai payung (Filicium decipiens). Along with fallen trees and broken branches incidents, detection of kerai payung trees damage in the campus USU was needed to prevent undesirable incidents and provide recommendations for maintenance. This research aims to get information on the distribution and damage profile of Kerai payung. To determine and assess the damage profile, the Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) approach was used. Research showed that the Kere payung diameter structure ranges from 8 cm to 74 cm. Based on FHM, damage types of Kerai payung trees in USU campus are as follows; broken or dead branch, open wound, brum in branch, loss of dominant tips, leaves change color and konk. While the damage location is found in branches, buds and tips, lower and upper bole, leaves and upper bole. Our research pointed out that maintaining activities still be needed to avoid further damages.

Rugitermes ursulae (Isoptera, Kalotermitidae), a new drywood termite from the Caribbean coast of Colombia

Rugitermes ursulaesp. nov. is described from a sample collected inside a dead branch in a tropical dry forest of Colombia’s Caribbean coast using molecular information and external morphological characters of the imago and soldier castes. Rugitermes ursulaesp. nov. soldiers and imagoes are the smallest among all described Rugitermes species. The imago’s head capsule coloration is dark castaneous, while the pronotum is contrastingly pale yellow. Our description includes soldier characters, such as subflangular elevation and shape of the antennal sockets, that can help in identification of samples lacking imagoes.

First report of Boeremia exigua var. exigua causing branch blight on walnut in China

Walnut (Juglans sinensis L.) is an important economic tree. Its fruit are rich in omega-3 essential fatty acids, which are valuable nutritionally (Cheon et al, 2013). In March 2019, severe branch blight of walnuts (cv. Qingxiang) were observed in two fields in Ganquan Town, Gansu Province, China (N 33°56'/E105°44'). The incidence was about 3% among 10,000 walnuts. Disease symptoms included fusiform or oval black lesions gradually expanded on the branches, blight and dieback of branches, reddish brown dead branch bark with lots of black small spots (pycnidia), and defoliation. To isolate pathogen, 30 diseased tissues collected from different trees were disinfected with 0.1% HgCl solution for 1 min, rinsed in sterilized water 3 times, and placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) at 25℃ in the dark. About three days later, 4 fungal isolates (3-3, 3-6, 3-9 and H3) with similar morphological characteristics were obtained. Their colonies, with regular margin on OA, 6.1~6.8 cm diam. after 7 days, were loose, greenish olivaceous to olivaceous grey, velvety, floccose to woolly. The conidia (n=60) were 4.77 to 8.84 μm long (mean = 6.88 μm; SD ± 0.91 μm) × 1.71 to 3.89 μm wide (mean = 2.81 μm; SD ± 0.53 μm), cylindrical, ellipsoidal to oblong, hyaline and aseptate. Pycnidia (n=25) were 76.66 ~ 132.86μm diam. (mean = 102.93 μm; SD ± 12.15 μm), variable in shape and size, mostly globose to subglobose. These characteristics were similar to B. exigua var. exigua (Boeremia et al, 2004). Pathogenicity tests of four isolates were performed 3 times on 5 healthy 2-3 years old walnuts (cv. Qingxiang). Plants were wounded by insect needle No.6 and inoculated with 5 mm mycelium block grew on PDA medium or PDA medium as control and kept moist in climatic cabinet (> 85% RH, 25°C). After 3 days, oval black lesions were occurred on branches and gradually expanded, but control was asymptomatic. And original isolates were re-isolated from these diseased shoots. Genomic DNA of four isolates were extracted, and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), β-tubulin (tub2) and RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (rpb2) gene were amplified and sequenced using the primers ITS1/ITS4, Btub2Fd/Btub4Rd and RPB2-5F2/fRPB2-7CR (White et al, 1990; Woudenberg et al, 2009; Chen et al, 2015), respectively. Sequences were deposited in GenBank (accession no. ITS: MT154621, MT154622, MT154623, MT154624; tub2: MT223481, MT223482, MT223483, MT223484; rpb2: MW448152, MW448153, MW459982, MW459983), and compared with available sequences in NCBI. Results showed that ITS of four isolates have 100% sequence identity to Boeremia spp., tub2 and rpb2 have 100% sequence identity to B. exigua var. exigua (GenBank accession no. MN983734, MN983315) and B. exigua var. linicola (GenBank accession no. MN983785, MT920619). According to host specificity (Boeremia et al, 1976). A 106 conidium/mL spore suspension of four isolates or sterile water were inoculated on stem base of two-month old flax seedlings, placed in climatic cabinet (> 85% RH, 25°C) for moisturing and repeated three times. After two weeks, all inoculated plants still were asymptomatic, indicated that four isolates aren’t B. exigua var. linicola. Therefore, they were identified as B. exigua var. exigua based on morphological characteristics, molecular analysis and pathogenicity tests. To our knowledge, this is the first report of B. exigua var. exigua causing walnut branch blight worldwide, which will provide further guidance for prevention and control of walnut branch blight.

Dendrostoma covidicola sp. nov. (Erythrogloeaceae, Diaporthales) on Fagus sylvatica from Sichuan Province, China

Dendrostoma covidicola sp. nov. is described from a dead branch of Fagus sylvatica (Fagaceae) collected from Sichuan Province, China. The taxon has 5–20 perithecia per pseudostroma and small, ellipsoidal to subfusiform ascospores with polar appendages. Phylogenetic analyses of a combined ITS–LSU–rpb2–tef1 sequence matrix confirmed its placement in Dendrostoma where it is close to D. qinlingense, D. osmanthi and D. quercus, but representing a distinct lineage. The new taxon is compared with other Dendrostoma species and comprehensive descriptions and illustrations are provided. An ascospore comparison for relevant species is also provided, as well as an updated phylogenetic tree (ITS–LSU–rpb2–tef1) including all the species of Dendrostoma.

The Xiphydria annulitibia group in northeastern Asia (Hymenoptera, Xiphydriidae)

The Xiphydria annulitibia group is defined to include the following five species from northeastern Asia: X. annulitibia Takeuchi, 1936, from Japan (Hokkaido, Kunashiri Is., Honshu, Shikoku), Korea and Russia (Sakhalin, Primorskij kraj), X. kanba n. sp. from Japan (Hokkaido, Honshu), X. kastsheevi Ermolenko, 1979, from Russia (Primorskij Kraj), X. konishii n. sp. from Japan (Hokkaido, Honshu) and X. melanoptera n. sp. from Japan (Hokkaido). Xiphydria annulitibia is redescribed based on a long series of specimens, including the holotype. Three new species, X. kanba, X. konishii and X. melanoptera, are described and illustrated, and a key is provided for the five species. Xiphydria kastsheevi is excluded from the fauna of Japan. For X. kanba, notes on a rare successful case of branch trapping which yielded 87 adult specimens and observations on the adult emergence from a dead branch and peculiar drumming behavior of the male are given.

Branch Occlusion and Discoloration under the Natural Pruning of Mytilaria laosensis

The production of knot-free and high-quality wood can be a vital issue in silviculture and forest management. In this study, knot properties, branch occlusion, and wood discoloration were investigated in an 11-year-old Mytilaria laosensis plantation in Guangxi, China, to examine the effectiveness of natural pruning in reducing knot-related defects. A total of 1513 occluded branches from 20 trees were sampled and dissected. Occluded branches were most common at heights of 2–6 m, and the mean diameter of the occluded branches gradually increased with height from the base to 6 m. Linear and generalized linear mixed-effect models were developed to reveal the relationship between branch occlusion and discoloration. The mortality of branches was highest in the third and fourth year and it took roughly three to six years to occlude. The mixed-models indicated that the branch occlusion time was positively correlated with the occluded branch diameter and dead branch stub length, and negatively correlated with the stem radial increment during branch occlusion. Branch discoloration was positively correlated with the occluded branch diameter and branch occlusion time, and was negatively correlated with the branch angle. The probability of wood discoloration also increased with the branch occlusion time. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the spatiotemporal allocation and internal characteristics of occluded branches, and provide a reference for growing high-quality M. laosensis wood.

Elements of disturbance that affect epiphyte vitality in a temperate rainforest: an experimental approach

Aims Epiphytes are an abundant and diverse component of many wet temperate forests and have significant roles in ecosystem processes. Little is known about the processes and rates of their death and decomposition when they fall from the canopy, which limits our understanding of their role in forest carbon sequestration and nutrient cycling. In the temperate rainforest of the Quinault River Valley, Washington State, our aim was to test hypotheses regarding four elements of disturbance that might contribute to their decline. Methods We established set of experiments in which we placed samples of canopy epiphytes and their branch segments: (i) in the canopy versus forest floor microenvironment (stratum); (ii) attached to live versus dead branch substrates; (iii) subjected to physical disruption and ‘jarring’; and (iv) in direct versus indirect contact with the forest floor. Over the 2-year study, we assigned a non-destructive ‘vitality index’ (based on color and apparent mortality and dryness) to each sample every 2–3 months to compare effects of the experimental treatments and analyzed with a statistical model and post hoc pairwise comparisons of treatments. Important Findings The canopy versus ground stratum and live/dead branch status significantly affected epiphyte vitality. Effects of physical disruption and ground contact were not significant. There were seasonal effects (low vitality during the sampling times in the summer, revitalization upon sampling times in the winter) for all treatments except samples in contact with the ground. One implication of these results relates to effects of climate change, which is predicted to shift to hotter, drier summers and wetter winters. Climate change may affect forest dynamics and nutrient cycling in unpredictable ways. Results also point to future experiments to understand biotic and abiotic effects on epiphyte disturbance and dynamics.

Dictyosporium wuyiense sp. nov. from Wuyi Mountain China

Dictyosporium wuyiense, a new anamorphic fungus collected on a dead branch of bamboo in Tongmugou, Wuyi Mountain, China, is described and illustrated. It is characterised by being cheiroid, septate, complanate, and yellow, with two types of conidia composed mostly of five parallel compact rows of cells, sometimes with variable hyaline apical vesical appendages. Type 1 conidia are longer and the three central rows are protruding with swollen apical cells; type 2 conidia are wider and fan-shaped, with rows of apical cells approximately the same length. The conidial morphology on potato dextrose agar plates was variable, most with 2–3 vesical appendages. In phylogenetic analyses of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of rDNA, Dictyosporium wuyiense clustered with most Dictyosporium species in Dictyosporiaceae, but was a distinct species. Both morphological and molecular evidence support its description as a new species. A brief review of Dictyosporium and allied species is provided.

Morphological characterization and DNA based taxonomy of Fusiconidium gen. nov. with two novel taxa within Melanommataceae (Pleosporales)

Fusiconidium mackenziei sp. nov. and Fusiconidium aquaticum sp. nov., isolated from a dead branch of Clematis vitalba in Italy and a submerged decaying wood in China respectively, are described and illustrated. The new taxa are characterized by having rhexolytic conidial secession, percurrently proliferating conidiophores, with enteroblastic conidiogenous cells and acrogenous, pale brown to dark brown, verruculose, fusiform, euseptate conidia. Fusiconidium is introduced as a novel genus to accommodate these novel species base on morphologically distinct from related asexual genera within the Dothideomycetes and multigene phylogenetic analyses. Based on multigene phylogenetic analyses, Fusiconidium is referred to the family Melanommataceae (Pleosporales).