Pre-Sowing Treatments Accelerate Germination Percent for Restoration of Fourteen Threatened Tree Species in Bangladesh

Ecologically valuable native tree species are becoming threatened due to deforestation, forest fragmentation and preference of fast-growing exotics than the native ones in plantation. One of the main reasons for the preference of exotic species than the native ones is its higher rate of germination and rapid growth. The effect of different pre-sowing treatments was studied on fourteen threatened tree species of Bangladesh to find out the appropriate treatments for speed up germination rate and initial seedling growth. These species are ecologically valuable multipurpose indigenous trees of Bangladesh. Methanol extract of Castanopsis indica leaves could decrease the tumor Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma volume and weight. Lophopetalum wightianum is a globally threatened tree species. Hard coated seeds of Canarium resiniferum, Castanopsis indica, Protium serratum, Quercus acuminata and Vitex peduncularis were treated with sand paper, nicking, normal water, hot water, H2SO4 and HCl. Soft coated seeds of Brownlowia elata, Dichopsis polyantha, Firmiana colorata, Lophopetalum wightianum, Pterospermum acerifolium, Pterospermum semisagittatum, Pterygota alata, Schleichera oleosa and Sterculia villosa were sown in polybags, propagator house and nursery bed in normal, flat and 45o angle positions. Among all hard-coated seeds, Castanopsis indica showed significantly higher germination percentage (67%) after seeds treated with sandpaper in comparison to control (25%). Soft-coated seeds of Lophopetalum wightianum showed significantly higher germination percentage (90%) among all studied species when sown in propagator house, whereas in natural condition it provides only 26% germination rate. This paper will help to restore ecologically valuable threatened species.

Tree regeneration in sacred groves of Kathmandu valley, Nepal

Population structure and regeneration status of tree species were studied in two sacred groves of Kathmandu valley, Pashupati (PSG) and Bajrabarahi (BSG) by sampling in concentric circular plots of 20 m radius. The dominant tree species of PSG are Schima wallichii, Pyrus pashia, Myrsine capitellata, Persea odoratissima and Quercus glauca, where as those in BSG are Neolitsea cuipala, Castanopsis indica,, Choerospondias axillaris, Schima wallichii and, Myrsine capitellata. On the basis of biomass removal, tree cutting, livestock and wildlife grazing and other anthropogenic activities, disturbance levels were classified as undisturbed, least disturbed, moderately disturbed and highly disturbed. The highest number of seedlings, saplings and adults were found in the least disturbed areas of the studied groves showing good to fair regeneration of tree species. In this study Pyrus pashia, Myrsine capitellata, Castanopsis indica, Neolitsea cuipala are found in good and fair state of regeneration. Management authority should address the prevalent factors affecting natural regeneration of the tree species.ECOPRINT 22: 29-38, 2015

Allometric equations for estimating the above-ground biomass of Castanopsis indica at juvenile stage

Most of the Castanopsis indica forest of Nepal in the midhill region was degraded in the recent past especially due to policy conflict between government and local users. But after the introduction of community forestry system, these forests have been rejuvenated gradually. Therefore, the proportion of the juvenile plants in forests is very high and the contribution of juvenile plants on total biomass production cannot be overlooked. Therefore, this study was carried out to develop juvenile biomass models. We measured diameter at 10 cm above ground level (D), total height (H), density (?) and total biomass (W) of indica juveniles. The models were estimated using “library (minpack.lm)” in R. The estimated models were evaluated by using numerical fit statistics and graphical analyses. The selected model Wi = 52.28 (Di2Hi)0.89 explained >95% juvenile biomass of indica with RSE=42.34g, AIC=406.8 and average deviation=13.26.Banko Janakari, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 14-22

Fourteen Threatened Native Trees of Bangladesh: Which Pretreatment Generates Maximum Germination Percent?

Effect of different pre-sowing treatments on germination of fourteen threatened native tree species of Bangladesh was studied to find out the appropriate pre-sowing treatments to speed up germination rate of the required and desired species. Hard coated fruits and seeds of Canarium resiniferum, Castanopsis indica, Protium serratum, Quercus acuminata and Vitex peduncularis were treated with sand paper, nicking, cold water, hot water, H2SO4 and HCl. Seeds of Brownlowia elata, Dichopsis polyantha, Firmiana colorata, Lophopetalum fimbriatum, Pterospermum acerifolium, Pterospermum semisagittatum, Pterygota alata and Sterculia villosa were sown in polybags, propagator house and nursery bed in normal, flat and in 450 angle position. Hard fruits of Castanopsis indica sown in polybags without any treatment showed 25% germination but increased to 67% when fruits were treated with sand paper rubbing at the distal end. Seeds of Lophopetalum fimbriatum germinated only 26% when sown normally in polybags but when sown in propagator house it increased to 90%. Different species response differently with pre-sowing treatments but in general pre-sowing treatments increases the germination percent in all the species.