Retraction Notice

On 11th September 2018 the Editorial Board of Ecoprint: An International Journal of Ecology agreed to retract the article ‘DOES BETTER ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE REDUCE ANTHROPOGENIC CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSION? A CROSS-COUNTRY ANALYSIS’ published in Ecoprint: An International Journal of Ecology, Vol.23(2016) pages 29-38 (DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/eco.v23i0.20649) as it was found to be a duplicate publication of the following article: ‘DOES BETTER ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE REDUCE ANTHROPOGENIC CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSION? A CROSS-COUNTRY ANALYSIS’ published in Law, Environment and Development Journal 12/1 (2016), p. 35, available at http://www.lead-journal.org/content/16035.pdf

AIR POLLUTION TOLERANCE INDEX OF SOME SELECTED GYMNOSPERM SPECIES ALONG THE ROAD SIDE OF KATHMANDU VALLEY, NEPAL

Response of plants towards air pollution is assessed by air pollution tolerance index (APTI). Four species of Gymnosperms (Thuja orientiales, Cedrus deodara, Pinus roxburghii and Araucaria bidwillii) were evaluated for APTI. Leaves were collected during winter season from polluted sites (Airport, Dhumbarahi, Jawalakhel, Ratnapark, and Sankhapark) and less polluted site (Narayanthan) of Kathmandu valley. Of four gymnosperm species collected from road side, all species (Cedrus deodara, Araucaria bidwillii, Thuja orientiales and Pinus roxburghii) showed high value of APTI (i.e., more than 8), indicating their resistance to air pollution.ECOPRINT 24: 13-19, 2017

AN ENQUIRY ON ICHTHYODIVERSITY OF THE CHALAN BEEL, A KEY ICHTHYOFAUNAL HOTSPOT OF NORTHWESTERN BANGLADESH

This meta-analysis focused on the drift in ichthyodiversity of the Chalan Beel, a marshy, natural inland indentation, the largest of its kind in northwest (NW) Bangladesh. To apprehend the objective, we considered peer-reviewed fish inventories of the area published since 1971. The first checklist on the fishes of the Chalan Beel was compiled in 2009 after which, till now, we found only four similar studies. In total, we found 139 species annotated in these works including 10 exotic species. We, however, surmised a downward trend in fish fauna; from 114 species listed in 2009, in 2017 the Chalan Beel is reported to have 66 species – comprising only 30 species common in each of the five works. Cyprinidae is turned out as the most diverse abundant family for the area with 43 species. The most diverse order, on the contrary, is Siluriformes represented by 10 families and 42 species. Of the fish inventory, 3 were Critically Endangered, 15 Endangered, 13 Vulnerable and 21 Near Threatened in Bangladesh. The Chalan Beel is reported to have 3 globally Vulnerable and 10 globally Near Threatened fish. Reviewing works on the Chalan Beel revealed a potential new exotic species Trichogaster labiosa for Bangladesh and mentioning of 3 species found in no national fish inventories viz., Erethistoides infuscatus, Parachiloglanis hodgarti and Poropuntius clavatus.ECOPRINT 24: 37-46, 2017

RAIDING PATTERN OF MIGRATORY ELEPHANTS IN A HUMAN DOMINATED LANDSCAPE IN NORTHERN BANGLADESH

This study addresses raiding patterns of migratory elephants in northern Bangladesh by raiding area visit, focus group discussions (FGDs), key informant interviews and other secondary sources. During the study period, over 750 acres of cropland, at least 228 houses, death of 8 people and serious injury to 26 people was caused due to elephant raiding; additionally, 2 elephants also died due to conflict. We observed that migratory herds cross the surrounded border fence from India to Bangladesh through at least 61 entry points, raided for a week or more in 54 border villages then moved back. The group sizes of raiding elephants were highly biased to large groups and didn’t vary seasonally. Raiding is elevated during the summer and autumn months, at night, and just before and after the paddy harvest season. It has been found that raiding incidents took place mainly around the crop fields and human settlements which were in close proximity to the border fence. Possible mitigation measures recommended specific for this transboundary region include improvement and preservation of remaining forest patches as a core elephant zone, eco-development initiatives, intensive awareness program, bilateral collaboration with Indian government towards conservation initiatives.ECOPRINT 24: 21-27, 2017

SHIFTS IN LEAF PHENOLOGY OF THREE HIMALAYAN OAK SPECIES: ROLE OF WOOD WATER PROPERTIES

An investigation has been done with the three Himalayan oak species at Phulchowki Hill Lalitpur Nepal to relate leaf phenology responses of trees to wood water properties. We recorded the wood water content, wood density, water in wood and leaf phenological patterns of three evergreen oak species (Quercus semecarpifolia, Quercus lamellosa and Quercus glauca) for 2 years. Our results revealed significant changes in leaf phenology within oak species between years, with shifts in leaf emergence, leaf damage and leaf senescence. Shifts in tree leaf phenology found in studied years suggest that the inter-annual and monthly variation in wood water properties could attribute to shift in tree leaf phenology.ECOPRINT 24: 29-36, 2017

Book Review: Researches on the Nepalese mycoflora - 3: Erysiphales from Nepal

Not available.ECOPRINT 24: 47-48, 2017

ETHNOBOTANICAL STUDY OF WILD PLANTS OF PARSA DISTRICT, NEPAL

The present study was carried out to assess ethnobotanical information of some wild plants used by the Tharu community of Parsa district of Nepal. The study was conducted in four villages; Gadi, Madhuban mathwal, Sonbarsa and Shanker Sharaiya. The study focuses on the ethno botanical practices of the Tharu community and documentation of the traditional knowledge for the benefit of mankind. The information presented in this paper was gathered by frequent field visits in the villages, participatory observations, group discussion, interviews with local knowledgeable people in the year 2013 from February to November. A total of 46 ethnomedicinal wild plant species belonging to 31 families and 44 genera are documented in this study. Some new ethno medicinal uses of the plant species like Ficus benghalensis, Gymnema sylvestre, Mimosa pudica Oroxylem indicum, Hibiscus-rosa sinensis, Hydragia anomala, Matricaria chammomilla, Kalanchoe spathelata, Leucas cephalotes, Madhuca indica, Murraya koenigii, Melia azedarachta, Mentha arvensis, Nephrolepsis cordifolia, Morus alba, Nyctanthes arbortritris, Ocimum sanctum, Oxalis corniculata, Phyllanthus amarus, Plumbago zeylanica, Pterocarplus marsupium, Putranjiva roxburghii and Rauvolfia serpentine among Tharu community of Parsa district of Nepal are discussed in the present study.ECOPRINT 24: 1-12, 2017

CHLOROPHYLL CONTENT AND ITS RELATION TO PRODUCTIVITY OF CROPS AND WEEDS IN A TROPICAL AGROECOSYSTEM AT GUJAR LAKE MARGIN, INDIA

The paper deals with evaluation of magnitude of changes in chlorophyll concentration, chlorophyll density and relationship of chlorophyll density with net primary productivity of mixed winter crop (wheat and mustard) community at Gujar lake margin in the district Jaunpur (U.P.). The chlorophyll concentration of each component of crops, dominant weed Cynodon dactylon (Linn.) Pers. and ‘other weeds’ have shown increasing trend in the beginning and reached their peak values at the same time (75-90 days). Thereafter, chlorophyll concentration have declined sharply. Maximum chlorophyll density value of total crop (wheat and mustard) was 2015.77 mg m-2 and for total weeds was 810.08 mg m-2, both at the age of 90 days of crop. There was a significant positive correlation between productivity and chlorophyll density of total crop (r = 0.903, p = 0.002) and total weeds (r = 0.580, p = 0.131).ECOPRINT 23: 39-44, 2016

SEED MYCOFLORA OF Lens culinaris MEDDIK. FROM DIFFERENT STORAGE CONDITIONS AND IN-VITRO INHIBITION USING PLANT EXTRACTS

Nine hundred sixty seeds of lentils (Lens culinaris) from three different storage sources were tested for seed fungi using Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) and Blotter technique. Thirty five different fungi were isolated, PDA method being better than Blotter technique. Seeds from traditional village storage were found to be more infested with fungi than source local market and source Nepal Agricultural Research Centre (NARC). The fungal infestation on seeds from village storage was 49.37%, source NARC was 44.37% and source local market was 30.31%. Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Alternaria alternata, Penicillium chrysogenum and Fusarium oxysporum were the fungi having higher incidence and frequency. Surface disinfection by 2% NaOCl reduced the fungal incidence and frequency. The aqueous extract of three plants viz, Ageratum houstonianum, Eclipta prostrata and Vitex negundo at 25%, 50% and 100% concentration were assessed in-vitro for antifungal activity against Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus niger, Chaetomium funicola and Fusarium oxysporum. Among these fungi, Alternaria alternata was best controlled by Ageratum houstonianum; Aspergillus niger by Eclipta prostrata; Fusarium oxysporum by Vitex negundo and Ageratum houstonianum. The inhibition increased from lower concentration (25%) to higher (100%).ECOPRINT 23: 19-27, 2016

TAXONOMY OF THREE TAXA OF BULBOCHAETE C. AG. AND PHYSICO-CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF WATER IN WEST BENGAL, INDIA

In the present paper, altogether three algal taxa of genus Bulbochaete C. Ag. (Oedogoniales, Chlorophyceae) viz. Bulbochaete elatior f. pumila Hirn, Bulbochaete pseudoelatior Jao and Bulbochaete triangularis var. bengalensis J.P. Keshri have been morpho-taxonomically described with physico-chemical characterization of water and some additional information. These algal samples were collected as epiphytic conditions on submerged stems of angiospermic plants from two freshwater ponds in Hooghly district, West Bengal, India. All these three species are new records from this region. They were greenish, nannandrous, gynandrosporous or idioandrosporous. Most importantly, phenotypically their oospore shape was more or less alike as oogonium. The results of analyses of physico-chemical parameters of water showed that pH ranged from 7.2-7.4 (alkaline). The primary nutrients like nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) and phosphate (PO43-) values were measured in lower amounts (0.15-0.17 mg/l and 0.23-0.24 mg/l, respectively) which affected Bulbochaete growth and diversity in the lentic water bodies. It was interesting to note that winter season was suitable for their occurrences.ECOPRINT 23: 13-18, 2016