Investments in Pinus elliottii Engelm. Plantations: Real Options Analysis in Discrete Time

Background: The commonly used methods for the financial evaluation of plantation forest investment projects do not incorporate uncertainties and ignore the value related to flexibility. The real options analysis makes it possible to capture these values in investment projects, increasing their value and return. Despite this, studies involving real options in forest investment projects are scarce, specifically those related to Pinus spp. Therefore, this study aimed to: (a) analyze whether the real options analysis adds value to investment projects of Pinus elliottii Engelm. plantations; and (b) make the real options analysis more accessible to forest managers and potentially increase its use in the investment projects of Pinus spp. plantations. Methods: We evaluated two investment projects in P. elliottii plantations in southern Brazil, which differed in the way of obtaining the land for planting: with lease or purchase of land on a planning horizon of 21 years. In the real options analysis, we used deferral, expansion, and abandonment. Results: Individually, the deferral, expansion, and abandonment options add value to investment projects in Pinus elliottii plantations. The option to expand the forested area is one that adds the most value to the investment project with land lease. In the investment project with land purchase, it is abandonment. Conclusions: Investment projects in Pinus elliotti plantations that contemplate the land purchase analyzed through the real options analysis present higher financial returns than those that consider land lease, inverting the result provided by the traditional analysis.

First Report of Coleosporium helianthi infecting Helianthus verticillatus (Whorled Sunflower)in the United States

Helianthus verticillatus, the whorled sunflower, is an endangered species found only in the southern United States (Trigiano et al. 2021) that is being developed for ornamental uses. This sunflower species requires little to no maintenance, produces spectacular floral displays from September into October, and attracts numerous potential pollinators including many native bees (Strange et al. 2020). In June and July of 2021, chlorotic, irregularly shaped spots were observed on the adaxial surface of mature leaves of two vegetatively produced clones of H. verticillatus (Trigiano et al., 2021) at three locations in Knoxville, TN. In September, yellow (4A, Royal Horticultural Society Color Chart) sori were abundant on abaxial surfaces and more rarely on the adaxial leaf surfaces of both clones at all locations. Globose-to-cylindrical, yellow urediniospores were 23.7µm (20-32) x 18.9 (16-22) µm (n = 30) with irregular, verrucose ornamentation. The morphology and dimensions of the urediniospores were similar to other Coleosporium species (e.g., C. asterum, Back et al., 2014). Telia were waxy, red-brown (167A; B) and developed in October with colder temperatures. Cylindrical teliospores were sessile, 1-celled, thin-walled with basidia ca. 93 µm (70-117) x 25 µm (19-29), consistent with spores of C. helianthi (Cummins, 1978). DNA was obtained from urediniospores using a Phire kit (ThermoFisher Scientific, Waltham, MA) and the 28S rDNA region was amplified using the NL1 and NL4 primers (Back et al. 2014) (Genbank accession # OL364847) as well as ITS 1-4 primers (White et al. 1990) (GenBank accession OL364848). For comparison, DNA sequences were also obtained from authentic C. helianthi on H. divaricatus in the Arthur Fungarium at Purdue University (#PURN11678; GenBank accession OL364846) using the protocols of Aime et al. (2018). 28S sequences shared 99.65% (568/570 bp) identity. To test Koch’s postulates, seven healthy detached leaves were lightly brushed on both leaf surfaces with leaves with uredia producing urediniospores. The leaves were incubated adaxial side up in 9-cm-diameter Petri dishes on moistened filter paper at ambient laboratory conditions. A similar number of healthy leaves were brushed with healthy leaves, incubated in the laboratory and served as the control treatment. After 7-10 days, uredia with urediniospores formed primarily on the abaxial leaf surface, but a few were present on the adaxial surface of leaves treated with urediniospores, whereas the leaves in the control remained healthy. Molecular, morphological and infectivity studies identified C. helianthi as the pathogen. Coleosporium helianthi occurs on the commercial sunflower, H. annuus, and several wild sunflower species, including H. tuberosum (Jerusalem artichoke) and H. microcephalus (small-headed sunflower), among others in the southern U.S. (Farr and Rossman 2021). Coleosporium species are heteroecious and mostly macrocyclic rusts (McTaggart and Aime, 2018) with aecia and aeciospores typically found on pines (Pinus spp.). Although H. verticillatus is very susceptible to rust infection and it probably reduces photosynthetic capability, it does not appear to adversely affect flowering in the fall. The disease primarily degrades the aesthetic appeal of the plant but does not require control measures. To our knowledge, this is the first report of C. helianthi infecting H. verticillatus. Voucher material is deposited in the Arthur Herbarium (#PURN23470).

The Chemical Environment at Maturation Stage in Pinus spp. Somatic Embryogenesis: Implications in the Polyamine Profile of Somatic Embryos and Morphological Characteristics of the Developed Plantlets

Changes in the chemical environment at the maturation stage in Pinus spp. somatic embryogenesis will be a determinant factor in the conversion of somatic embryos to plantlets. Furthermore, the study of biochemical and morphological aspects of the somatic embryos could enable the improvement of somatic embryogenesis in Pinus spp. In the present work, the influence of different amino acid combinations, carbohydrate sources, and concentrations at the maturation stage of Pinus radiata D. Don and Pinus halepensis Mill. was analyzed. In P. radiata, the maturation medium supplemented with 175 mM of sucrose and an increase in the amino acid mixture (1,100 mgL–1 of L-glutamine, 1,050 mgL–1 of L-asparagine, 350 mgL–1 of L-arginine, and 35 mgL–1 of L-proline) promoted bigger embryos, with a larger stem diameter and an increase in the number of roots in the germinated somatic embryos, improving the acclimatization success of this species. In P. halepensis, the maturation medium supplemented with 175 mM of maltose improved the germination of somatic embryos. The increase in the amount of amino acids in the maturation medium increased the levels of putrescine in the germinated somatic embryos of P. halepensis. We detected significant differences in the amounts of polyamines between somatic plantlets of P. radiata and P. halepensis; putrescine was less abundant in both species. For the first time, in P. radiata and P. halepensis somatic embryogenesis, we detected the presence of cadaverine, and its concentration changed according to the species.

Thinning Effect of C Sequestration along an Elevation Gradient of Mediterranean Pinus spp. Plantations

Forests are key elements in mitigating the effects of climate change due to the fact of their carbon sequestration capacity. Forest management can be oriented to optimise the carbon sequestration capacity of forest stands, in line with other productive objectives and the generation of ecosystem services. This research aimed to determine whether thinning treatments have a positive influence on the growth patterns of some of the main Mediterranean pine species and, therefore, on their Carbon (C) fixation capacity, both in terms of living biomass and soil organic carbon. The results obtained show that C sequestration capacity (biomass and SOC) increased at higher thinning intensities due to the induced alterations in tree growth patterns. We observed almost a 1.5-fold increase in P. nigra and P. sylvestris, respectively, and over a two-fold increase in P. pinaster under heavy thinning treatments; SOC stocks were affected by the intensity of the thinning treatments. These results can contribute to improving silvicultural practices aimed at C sequestration in forest plantations located in dry areas of the Mediterranean.

Life cycle analysis (LCA) of the production of wood waste briquettes from Pinus spp.: Case study San Francisco Pichátaro, México.

This study shows a life cycle analysis (LCA) of the production of briquettes from wood residues of Pinus spp. in an indigenous community in Mexico. The analysis was carried out considering one Mega Joule (1MJ) of heat as a functional unit, including mainly environmental sustainability indicators, through the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), and generating environmental impact scenarios for the functional unit by: a) comparing the carbon footprint using solar drying and firewood drying in the production of briquettes and (b) comparing the carbon footprint of the heat obtained by the briquettes from both previous systems with heat obtained from liquefied petroleum gas (LP gas) and firewood. The results show that solar-dried briquettes have the lowest carbon footprint, and more than 80% of the emissions are biogenic, making it an excellent choice as a clean and renewable energy source. In addition, the methane emissions from LP gas is much higher than emissions from briquettes, but the carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions are lower. This methodology applied to the production process will help decision-making in the creation of a micro-enterprise for the generation of solid biofuels in rural communities in Mexico.

Diversity of Tree Species in Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

This study was carried out to examine the distribution of plant species in Rivers State University campus at different locations at the Rivers State University Nkpolu-Oroworukwo Port Harcourt Nigeria. The general objective of this study was to examine the Ecological distribution of plant species in Rivers State University campus at different locations. The specific objective was to determine the species abundance of various plants in the study area and also to examine the ecological diversity of tree species in the various groups. The study area was divided into three groups (stations) with the various plants species identified and recorded. Data gotten from the field was analyzed using descriptive statistic and some ecological indices such as Margalef, Mehinick, Shannon diversity, Shannon Wiener, Evenness/Equitability and Simpson dominance. A total of one thousand Sixty-nine (1069) individual plant were identified with 16, 17 and 12 species in stations 1-3 respectively. The highest individual plants (561) were observed in station 1 while the least (87) were observed in station 3. The mean values of stations 1 and 2 were significantly and statistically different from site 3 at p<0.05. The results obtained showed some dominant species to include Elaeis guincensis, Polyaithia longifolia, Pinus spp, Gmelina arborea, Wodyetia bifareata, Citrus sinensis, Cocos nuciferia while others were the least dominant species found in the study area. The Margalef, Mehinicks and Shannon Wiener values were consistently highest in station 2 but lowest in station 3. Human disturbances had negative impact on tree species abundance especially in site 3. It is therefore recommended that management interventions are necessary in other to stop indiscriminate felling of the various trees species that made up the different groups.

Ophiostomatoid species associated with pine trees (Pinus spp.) infested by Cryphalus piceae from eastern China, including five new species

Cryphalus piceae attacks various economically important conifers. Similar to other bark beetles, Cr. piceae plays a role as a vector for an assortment of fungi and nematodes. Previously, several ophiostomatoid fungi were isolated from Cr. piceae in Poland and Japan. In the present study, we explored the diversity of ophiostomatoid fungi associated with Cr. piceae infesting pines in the Shandong Province of China. We isolated ophiostomatoid fungi from both galleries and beetles collected from our study sites. These fungal isolates were identified using both molecular and morphological data. In this study, we recovered 175 isolates of ophiostomatoid fungi representing seven species. Ophiostoma ips was the most frequently isolated species. Molecular and morphological data indicated that five ophiostomatoid fungal species recovered were previously undescribed. Thus, we proposed these five novel species as Ceratocystiopsis yantaiensis, C. weihaiensis, Graphilbum translucens, Gr. niveum, and Sporothrix villosa. These new ophiostomatoid fungi add to the increasing number of fungi known from China, and this evidence suggests that numerous novel taxa are awaiting discovery in other forests of China.

Insights into the Role of Fungi in Pine Wilt Disease

Pine wilt disease (PWD) is a complex disease that severely affects the biodiversity and economy of Eurasian coniferous forests. Three factors are described as the main elements of the disease: the pinewood nematode (PWN) Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, the insect-vector Monochamus spp., and the host tree, mainly Pinus spp. Nonetheless, other microbial interactors have also been considered. The study of mycoflora in PWD dates back the late seventies. Culturomic studies have revealed diverse fungal communities associated with all PWD key players, composed frequently of saprophytic fungi (i.e., Aspergillus, Fusarium, Trichoderma) but also of necrotrophic pathogens associated with bark beetles, such as ophiostomatoid or blue-stain fungi. In particular, the ophiostomatoid fungi often recovered from wilted pine trees or insect pupal chambers/tunnels, are considered crucial for nematode multiplication and distribution in the host tree. Naturally occurring mycoflora, reported as possible biocontrol agents of the nematode, are also discussed in this review. This review discloses the contrasting effects of fungal communities in PWD and highlights promising fungal species as sources of PWD biocontrol in the framework of sustainable pest management actions.

New insights into the role of constitutive bacterial rhizobiome and phenolic compounds in two Pinus spp. with contrasting susceptibility to pine pitch canker

The rhizobiome is being increasingly acknowledged as a key player in plant health and breeding strategies. The pine pitch canker (PPC), caused by the fungus Fusarium circinatum, affects pine species with varying susceptibility degrees. Our aims were to explore the bacterial rhizobiome of a susceptible (Pinus radiata) and a resistant (Pinus pinea) species together with other physiological traits, and to analyze shifts upon F. circinatum inoculation. Pinus seedlings were stem inoculated with F. circinatum spores and needle gas exchange and antioxidant-related parameters were analyzed in non-inoculated and inoculated plants. Rhizobiome structure was evaluated through 16S rRNA gene massive parallel sequencing. Species (non-inoculated plants) harbored distinct rhizobiomes (&lt;40% similarity), where P. pinea displayed a rhizobiome with increased abundance of taxa described in suppressive soils, displaying plant-growth-promoting (PGP) traits and/or antifungal activity. Plants of this species also displayed higher levels of phenolic compounds. Fusarium circinatum induced slight changes in the rhizobiome of both species and a negative impact in photosynthetic-related parameters in P. radiata. We concluded that the rhizobiome of each pine species is distinct and higher abundance of bacterial taxa associated to disease protection was registered for the PPC-resistant species. Furthermore, differences in the rhizobiome are paralleled by a distinct content in phenolic compounds, which are also linked to plants’ resistance against PPC. This study unveils a species-specific rhizobiome and provides insights to exploit the rhizobiome for plant selection in nurseries and for rhizobiome-based plant-growth-promoting strategies, boosting environmentally friendly disease control strategies.