Savanna woody plants and their provision of food resources to bees in southern Burkina Faso, West Africa

West African savanna ecosystems and biodiversity are severely threatened by intensified land use and increasing degradation of natural habitats. Despite the importance of bees for pollinating crops and native plant species little information is available regarding the importance of savanna woody plant species to provide bees with food resources. Flora inventories were carried out on 48 subplots laid out across three land use types. The number of bee morphospecies and their abundance as flower visitors were recorded from inflorescences of plants during the different flowering periods. Out of a total diversity of 82 woody plant species, 53 species (64.63%) from 38 genera and 21 families were melliferous. These plants were visited by bees for foraging nectar and/or pollen. Species of the Combretaceae family were the most visited by bees in terms of individuals (53.85%). Combretum glutinosum alone accounted for 36% of visits. More than half of the melliferous plants (50.94%) were visited for both nectar and pollen. About 32.08% of plants were visited for nectar only (32.08%), while 16.98% were visited for pollen only (16.98%). The majority of savanna plants are flowering in the dry season, but few flowering species can be found throughout the whole year. Savanna woody plant species constitute important food resources for bees, therefore providing a wide range of applications for the development of beekeeping activities in the Sudanian region of West Africa.

Natural and insecticide-free methods for protecting wood piles from bark beetles - using the example of the ash bark beetle (Hylesinus fraxini [Panzer, 1779]) on Common Ash (Fraxinus excelsior [L.])

This paper is investigating the insecticide-free protection of ash wood piles through the use of semiochemical dispensers with allochthonous kairomones to control ash bark beetle populations. For this purpose, borehole counts and brood gallery analyses were carried out on log piles of ash wood stored in the forest. Studies have shown that Hylesinus fraxini is repelled by the attractant dispenser with the substance mixture Sexowit, which was actually developed to catch Ips sexdentatus. In addition, the substance mixture has an aggregating effect on various bark beetle antagonists. This causality should be used to find a form of application to protect freshly stacked ash wood from H. fraxini infestation. A recommended form of application should be transferable to other bark beetle- and tree species and substances. In adaptation to the so-called Island Method of bark beetle traps, the wood piles of the five test variants were also arranged like islands. Commercially available Sexowit pheromone dispensers were used, which were attached to the piles. Besides a control without Sexowit dispenser there were test treatments with one, two, four and nine Sexowit dispensers.Within the scope of the investigation, effects between the tested variants could be determined and a recommended application method derived. Compared to control most effective protection of ash log piles was reached with variants treated with four or nine lures of Sexowit. In relation to control infestation was reduced by 78.1% on 4-dispenser variant Sexowit and 88.9% on 9-dispenser variant Sexowit.

Pest control in German forests: General patterns of biodiversity and possible impacts of Btk, diflubenzuron and lambda-Cyhalothrin on non-target arthropods, birds and bats – a literature review

This review focuses on direct and indirect impacts of three insecticides (Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki, Diflubenzuron, lambda-Cyhalothrin) on arthropods, bats and birds. General patterns of ecology, diversity, distribution and aspects of nature conservation of these three non-target animal taxa in Germany were examined, as well as their specific exposure and possible direct and indirect effects of the insecticides after application. We conclude, that a) the knowledge of direct and indirect effects of the above mentioned insecticides is still very scarce, b) there is an urgent need for more in detail studies in field in general, especially on indirect effects on vertebrates (including amphibians and reptilians), and for further ecotoxicological laboratory studies especially on sublethal effects on vertebrates.

Interesting and new street tree species for European cities

Effects of climate change lead to decreasing vitality and increase mortality risk for many native tree species growing under harsh environmental conditions in towns and cities. Taking into account the risks of invasiveness, practical management and scientific experience alternative species and rising floristic biodiversity may help to reduce vulnerability of urban green space. Regardless of the emotional debate considering foreign species, the potential of urban street tree species originating from China may be considered for European urban places in particular in regions with expected drier and hotter conditions. The selection of 40 commonly used Chinese tree species took as its starting point observations and local experiences of five research expeditions between 2009 and 2016 concentrating on the metropoles of Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, Wuxi, Jinan, and Fuyang. For the considered species only little practical and scientific knowledge is available for Central Europe.

Accuracy and Reproducibility of Acoustic Tomography Significantly Increase with Precision of Sensor Position

Acoustic tomograms are widely used in tree risk assessment. They should be accurate,repeatable and comparable between consecutive measurements. Previous work has failed to address the effects of different approaches to record sensor positions, operators and models of tomograph on the resulting tomograms.In this study, three operators used the two most common sonic tomographmodels to measure seven cross-sections of Norway spruce trees, whichwere felled after the measurement. We evaluated the effects of model, operator, and different approaches to measure sensor positions on the quality of the tomograms.The largest source of error was the position of sensors, affectingestimated stress wave velocity, the shape of the tomogram, and the sizeof the defect.To produce accurate and repeatable tomograms of trees with complex shapes,it is essential to measure the sensor positions precisely.

Aligning Socio-economic Field Laboratories and Agent Based Models assessing local climate change adaptation measures of Andean farmers

The increase in extreme weather events is a major consequence of climate change in tropical mountain rangeslike the Andes of Peru. The impact on farming households is of growing interest since adaptation and mitigation strategies are required to keep race with environmental conditions and to prevent people from increasing poverty. In this regard it becomes more and more obvious that a bottom-up approach incorporating the local socioeconomic processes and their interplay is needed. Socio-economic field laboratories are used to understand such processes on site. This integrates multi-disciplinary and participatory analyses of production and its relationship with biophysical and socio-economic determinants. Farmers react individually based on their experiences, financial situation, labor conditions, or attitude among others. In this regard socio-economic field laboratories also serve to develop and test scenarios about development paths, which involve the combination of both, local and scientific knowledge. For a comprehensive understanding of the multitude of interactions the agent-based modeling framework MPMAS (Mathematical Programming-based Multi-Agent System) is applied. In combination with continued ground-truthing, the model is used to gain insights into the functioning of the complex social system and to forecast its development in the near future. The assessment of the effect of humans’ behavior in changing environmental conditions including the comparison of different sites, transforms the model to a communication tool bridging the gap between adaptation policies and local realities.

Implementation of sustainable forest management: an application of the triple perspective typology of stakeholder theory in a case study in Sabah, Malaysia

The progress of the concept of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) is dynamic and its success or failure during implementation can be evaluated in different ways. In a detailed survey in four Forest Management Units (FMUs) in Sabah, the current implementation of SFM at the FMU level was assessed based on the triple perspective typology of stakeholder theory. This approach encompasses conceptual, corporate and stakeholder centric point of view. The conceptual perspective explores the SFM concept and how it relates to the FMU holder – stakeholder interaction at the FMU level, the corporate perspective examined how the FMU holders put the concept into practise and address their stakeholders, while the stakeholder perspective analyses how the stakeholders attempt to accomplish their claims and interests through the corporate-centric (FMU holders) at the management level. The stakeholder analysis provides the platform for stakeholder identification, categorisation and their general perception and behaviour towards the overall performance of SFM objectives. The Stakeholder Relation Management (SRM) that integrates the FMU holders and stakeholder participation under the SFM concept were also identified. Different FMU holders are engaged with distinct objectives to be achieved, which determine their direct relationship with the stakeholders. The stakeholders were attributed to static and dynamic groups, which are determined by their existence, claims and interests, and involvement in various SFM programs and activities at the FMU level. They provided distinguished preference and agreement toward various issues and characteristics related to SFM objectives, implementation and stakeholder participation at the management level. Most of the respondents of the multi-interest stakeholder group agreed with SFM main contributions towards the elements of environmental objectives, followed by economic objectives and elements of social objectives. The approach for SFM assessment based on the different lenses of conceptual, corporate and stakeholder centric provides complementary evidence on the pragmatic implementation of SFM at the forest management level.