Cupressus arizonica (Arizona cypress).

At present, in the New World, C. arizonica and its varieties are of low economic importance, but they are sometimes cut for fenceposts, fuelwood and lumber, and recently they have become popular as Christmas trees. By contrast, the Arizona cypress (C. arizonica var. arizonica) and the smooth cypress (C. arizonica var. glabra) are widespread in Europe and are used for landscaping, erosion control, windbreaks, and to a minor extent for lumber.

Insecticidal activity of essential oils of Cupressus arizonica greene and C. sempervirens L. on Tortrix viridana (Lepidotera, Tortricidae)

Tortrix viridana is one of the most important defoliators of oak trees. In 2006 and 2007, this insect caused significant defoliations of oak forests in the Northwestern Tunisia. This work aims at studying the insecticidal activity of essential oils of Cupressus arizonica and C. sempervirens on 3rd, 4th and 5th instars larvae of T. viridana by the contact test. Three different concentrations of essential oils (0.05%, 0.1% and 0.5%) were used to test their contact effectiveness; the Deltamethrin and the ethanol were used as positive and negative controls. Larvicidal activity was determined by measuring the Mean Mortality Time (MMT) to kill 100% of larvae. A total of 28 chemical compounds have been identified from C. arizonica and 20 chemical compounds from C. sempervirens. The difference in MMT of the 3rd instar larva was highly significant between the 3 concentrations of the two tested essential oils, the negative and positive controls. In fact, the concentration (0.5%) was more efficient than the two other concentrations with a MMT=1h31min12s for C. arizonica and 5h11min20s for C. sempervirens. The same results were observed for the 4th (MMT=3h23min24s (Ca) and 4h1min (Cs)) and 5th (MMT= 3h23min24s (Ca) and 4h01min (Cs)) instars. The results revealed that the essential oil of C. arizonica was more effective than C. sempervirens. Therefore, it is recommended to use the essential oil of C. arizonica and not that of C. sempervirens, given its insecticidal efficiency on the 3rd instar larva of T. viridana

Producing Urban Aerobiological Risk Map for Cupressaceae Family in the SW Iberian Peninsula from LiDAR Technology

Given the rise in the global population and the consequently high levels of pollution, urban green areas, such as those that include plants in the Cupressaceae family, are suitable to reduce the pollution levels, improving the air quality. However, some species with ornamental value are also very allergenic species whose planting should be regulated and their pollen production reduced by suitable pruning. The Aerobiological Index to create Risk maps for Ornamental Trees (AIROT), in its previous version, already included parameters that other indexes did not consider, such as the width of the streets, the height of buildings and the geographical characteristics of cities. It can be considered by working with LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data from five urban areas, which were used to create the DEM and DSM (digital elevation and surface models) needed to create one of the parameters. Pollen production is proposed as a parameter (α) based on characteristics and uses in the forms of hedges or trees that will be incorporated into the index. It will allow the comparison of different species for the evaluation of the pruning effect when aerobiological risks are established. The maps for some species of Cupressaceae (Cupressus arizonica, Cupressus macrocarpa, Cupressus sempervirens, Cupressocyparis leylandii and Platycladus orientalis) generated in a GIS (geographic information system) from the study of several functions of Kriging, have been used in cities to identify aerobiological risks in areas of tourist and gastronomic interest. Thus, allergy patients can make decisions about the places to visit depending on the levels of risk near those areas. The AIROT index provides valuable information for allergy patients, tourists, urban planning councillors and restaurant owners in order to structure the vegetation, as well as planning tourism according to the surrounding environmental risks and reducing the aerobiological risk of certain areas.