Occurrence of protosteloid amoebae in foliar litters of the mangrove Rhizopora apiculata

Using metabarcoding to ask if easily collected soil and leaf-litter samples can be used as a general biodiversity indicator

Relationship between mangrove forest diversity and ecosystem function

Stronger ecosystem carbon sequestration potential of mangrove wetlands with respect to terrestrial forests in subtropical China

Transitions in Ancient Inland Freshwater Resource Management in Sri Lanka Affect Biota and Human Populations in and around Coastal Lagoons

Effects of the annual invasive plant Impatiens glandulifera on the Collembola and Acari communities in a deciduous forest

Mangrove ecosystem has a strategic function as a buffer for coastal areas, marine conservation, mitigates climate change and global warming. Bangka Belitung is an archipelagic province with many coastal areas, including mangrove ecosystems. This study aims to determine the quality of the mangrove ecosystem by analyzing the structure, composition, and health index of mangroves in the mangrove forest ecosystem in Baskara Bakti Village, Central Bangka Regency. Data were collected through observations at several sampling points used to analyze species composition, vegetation community structure, and environmental physicochemical conditions using stratified random sampling with an observation plot size of 10 m x 10 m and canopy cover determination using the hemispherical photography method. The study results show that the composition of mangrove vegetation in the study area consisted of 5 true mangrove species and 6 associated mangrove species. Rhizophora apiculata is the species with the highest Important Value Index of 91.87%. The mangrove community showed a good health condition with an average value of 50.41%. Environmental parameters that directly influence the mangrove forest ecosystem include temperature, water pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), and salinity. Planting and enrichment of mangrove species need to conserve sustainable mangrove ecosystems.

An efficient method by which to bring tropical leaf-litter fungi into culture was sought in order to survey these organisms for pharmacologically useful metabolites. A simplified particle-filtration procedure, based on the method of soil washing, was tested to determine if the characteristic fungal genera of leaf litter could be preferentially isolated while minimizing recovery of soil and common saprobic fungi. At the same time, we made some preliminary measurements of the magnitude of fungal species richness in tropical forest litter. Litter from four sites in a primary rain forest of the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica were examined. Pulverized leaf litter from each site was separated into fine particles and repeatedly washed. From each leaf litter sample, a 1-ml particle suspension was plated onto two selective media. One-ml suspensions of leaf litter from the four samples yielded a total 1709 isolates, ranging from 281 to 559 isolates/sample (mean = 424). The number of species/sample ranged from 78 to 134. Rarefaction curves based on the number of species expected in random subsamples were used to compare species richness among samples. Many uncommon genera of litter fungi were recovered as well as coelomycetes, sterile strains, endophytes, and phy- topathogens. Typical soil fungi were a relatively minor component of the total isolates. Species-abundance distributions showed that there were few abundant species and a high proportion of rare species. In no sample did the single most abundant species account for more than 23% of the total isolates. Species present in all samples were Cylindrosympodiella sp., Glomerella cingulata, Lasiodiplodia theobromae, Pestalotiopsis guepinii and an unidentified coelomycete. Particle filtration of leaf litter appears to be practical for use in a microbial screening program because it circumvents the tedious process of hand isolation of uncommon genera of litter fungi. However, if endophytic or soil fungal communities from the same region are being examined simultaneously as reservoirs for screening isolates, then redundant taxa distributed vertically through different forest strata will need to be eliminated.

Effect of rainfall exclusion on ant assemblages in montane rainforests of Ecuador

Microbial communities play a major role in terrestrial ecosystem functioning, but the determinates of their diversity and functional interactions are not well known. In this study, we explored leaf litter fungal diversity in a diverse Panama lowland tropical forest in which a replicated factorial N, P, K and micronutrient fertilization experiment of 40 × 40 m plots had been ongoing for nine years. We extracted DNA from leaf litter samples and used fungal-specific amplification and a 454 pyrosequencing approach to sequence two loci, the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and the nuclear ribosomal large subunit (LSU) D1 region. Using a 95% sequence similarity threshold for ITS1 spacer recovered a total of 2523 OTUs, and the number of unique ITS1 OTUs per 0.5-1.0 g leaf litter sample ranged from 55 to 177. Ascomycota were the dominant phylum among the leaf litter fungi (71% of the OTUs), followed by Basidiomycota (26% of the OTUs). In contrast to our expectations based on temperate ecosystems, long-term addition of nutrients increased, rather than decreased, species richness relative to controls. Effect of individual nutrients was more subtle and seen primarily as changes in community compositions especially at lower taxonomic levels, rather than as significant changes in species richness. For example, plots receiving P tended to show a greater similarity in community composition compared to the other nutrient treatments, the +PK, +NK and +NPK plots appeared to be more dominated by the Nectriaceae than other treatments, and indicator species for particular nutrient combinations were identified.

Pselaphine beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae) are cosmopolitan, species‐rich, and yet poorly studied, particularly in the tropics. We sampled beetles in three types of primary forest and two types of disturbed forest habitats in eastern Thailand to assess the utility of pselaphine beetles as bioindicators of forest disturbance. We simultaneously measured leaf litter mass, soil moisture, soil acidity and canopy cover at each site to infer which environmental factors affect pselaphine beetle diversity and abundance. At each site, pselaphine beetles were extracted from ten 1 m2samples of leaf litter and soil with Tullgren funnels. We sampled 1867 adult beetles representing six supertribes, 51 genera and 114 morphospecies; 7% of the genera and 92% of the species were undescribed. Forest types differed significantly in species richness, abundance, diversity and evenness. Primary forest had greater numbers of species and individuals, and higher diversity indices (H′). Teak plantation and secondary forest had substantially fewer individuals and species of pselaphine beetles. Species composition differed between primary and degraded forests. Canopy cover, soil moisture, and leaf litter mass positively correlated with beetle species richness and abundance. Leaf litter mass and soil moisture were the two most important factors affecting the diversity of pselaphine beetle assemblages. Among the 114 morphospecies collected, 43 morphospecies were specific to two or three habitats and 64 morphospecies were found only in a single habitat. Thus pselaphine beetles appear to have rather narrow habitat requirements and their presence/absence was correlated with environmental differences. These traits make pselaphine beetles a suitable bioindicator taxon for assessing forest litter diversity and monitoring habitat change.

The purpose of this study is to: 1) identify various types of direct and indirect benefits of mangrove forests, and 2) estimate the total economic value of the mangrove forest in Sarawet Village. This type of research is descriptive and quantitative using survey methods. Data analysis in this study uses descriptive and quantitative analysis. Descriptive analysis is used to explain the activities of utilizing natural resources of mangrove ecosystems, while quantitative analysis is used to calculate the total economic value of mangrove ecosystems. The selection of respondents used the purposive sampling method, with a total of 76 respondents. Analysis of the total economic value for the value of direct benefits using market prices, and the value of indirect benefits using replacement costs. The results showed that the people of Sarawet Village use the mangrove forest ecosystem directly in the form of mangrove wood used as firewood and fence stakes, leaves Nipah are made with roofs, and the community carries out fishing and crab activities around mangrove waters.Analysis of the total economic value of the mangrove forest in Sarawet Village amounted to Rp. 6.884.344.178,-/year. The total economic value is obtained from the value of direct benefits including utilization as firewood Rp. 4,160,000,- /year; fence pegs Rp. 87.500,-/year; roof of the house Rp. 330.000,-/year; fishing Rp. 769.174.000,-/year; crab fishing is Rp. 190.320.000,-/year, and the value of indirect benefits is as a barrier to abrasion and seawater waves Rp. 5.920.272.678,-/year. The large economic value of the total mangrove forest ecosystem in Sarawet Village shows that the mangrove ecosystem provides great benefits to the community.Keywords: direct benefit value, indirect benefit value, total economic value, MangroveAbstrakThe purpose of this study is to: 1) identify various types of direct and indirect benefits of mangrove forests, and 2) estimate the total economic value of the mangrove forest in Sarawet Village. This type of research is descriptive and quantitative using survey methods. Data analysis in this study uses descriptive and quantitative analysis. Descriptive analysis is used to explain the activities of utilizing natural resources of mangrove ecosystems, while quantitative analysis is used to calculate the total economic value of mangrove ecosystems. The selection of respondents used the purposive sampling method, with a total of 76 respondents. Analysis of the total economic value for the value of direct benefits using market prices, and the value of indirect benefits using replacement costs. The results showed that the people of Sarawet Village use the mangrove forest ecosystem directly in the form of mangrove wood used as firewood and fence stakes, leaves Nipah are made with roofs, and the community carries out fishing and crab activities around mangrove waters.Analysis of the total economic value of the mangrove forest in Sarawet Village amounted to Rp. 6.884.344.178,-/year. The total economic value is obtained from the value of direct benefits including utilization as firewood Rp. 4,160,000,- /year; fence pegs Rp. 87.500,-/year; roof of the house Rp. 330.000,-/year; fishing Rp. 769.174.000,-/year; crab fishing is Rp. 190.320.000,-/year, and the value of indirect benefits is as a barrier to abrasion and seawater waves Rp. 5.920.272.678,-/year. The large economic value of the total mangrove forest ecosystem in Sarawet Village shows that the mangrove ecosystem provides great benefits to the community.Keywords: direct benefit value, indirect benefit value, total economic value, Mangrove.

A study on the occurrence of Aspergillus spp. on selected mangrove forests in Sarawak was conducted to find out their diversity and distribution. Samples were obtained from mangrove soils and leaf litters at different locations, i.e. Sematan, Lundu, Kampung Bako, Bako in Sarawak. Soil and leaf litter samples were taken randomly at different locations with five replicates from each area. A total of 138 isolates of Aspergillus species were obtained from the soil and leaf litter samples by using direct plating and Warcup method. Based on both macroscopic and microscopic observations, using an identification key, individual isolates were classified within the genus Aspergillus, belonging to three subgenera, four sections and five species. The fungi isolates were identified as A. terreus, A. flavipes, A. carneus, A. fumigatus and A. clavatus. The most frequent isolated species was A. flavipes (63.04%), followed by A. fumigatus (16.7%), A. terreus (13.04%), A. carneus (5.8%) and A. clavatus (1.44%). All of the isolated Aspergillus species grew well on MEA and CYA at 25°C. A. carneus produced reddish sclerotia on MEA after seven days and this could be used as an important characteristic in this species identification. A. clavatus from mangrove soil in Kampung Bako has shown long conidiophores (ranging from 3-5 cm) with swollen hyphal structures, while A. clavatus from Sematan area has shorter conidiophores (ranging from 2.5-3.5 cm) on MEA.

In this paper, laboratory-based bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) analysis of vegetation leaves, soil, and leaf-litter samples is presented. The leaf litter and soil samples, numbered 1 and 2, were obtained from a site located in the savanna biome of South Africa (Skukuza: 25.0deg S, 31.5deg E). A third soil sample, number 3, was obtained from Etosha Pan, Namibia (19.20deg S, 15.93deg E, altitude of 1100 m). In addition, BRDF of local fresh and dry leaves from tulip polar tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) and black locust tree (Robinia pseudoacacia) were studied. It is shown how the BRDF depends on the incident and scatter angles, sample size (i.e., crushed versus whole leaf), soil samples fraction size, sample status (i.e., fresh versus dry leaves), vegetation species (i.e., poplar versus locust), and the vegetation's biochemical composition. As a demonstration of the application of the results of this paper, airborne BRDF measurements acquired with NASA's Cloud Absorption Radiometer over the same general site where the soil and leaf-litter samples were obtained are compared to the laboratory results. Good agreement between laboratory and airborne-measured BRDF is reported.

Organic carbon burial and sources in soils of coastal mudflat and mangrove ecosystems

In the mangrove forest ecosystem in the Java Island Coastal Area, there are shrimp and fish ponds owned by the community. Mangrove formations in coastal areas are generally the same, which is Avicennia spp, and are found from the boundaries of residential villages to far ahead of pond areas, specifically on aanslibbing which is the result of sedimentation from the coast and deposition from the sea. The Total Economic Value of mangrove ecosystems in the coastal area of Kraton District, Pasuruan Regency is the sum of benefit values, such as Direct Use Value, Indirect Use Value, Option Value, and Existence Value.The results of this study explained that the indirect benefits of mangrove forest ecosystems in Kraton District, Pasuruan Regency have the largest percentage which is 90.74% with a value of Rp. 4,807,905,315.53/year. The value of the greatest indirect benefits explains the ecological benefits of mangrove forests which are the greatest compared to economic and social benefits. Meanwhile, direct benefits are the second largest with a value of Rp. 185,145,655.00. This considerable value is due to the large value of the benefits of other biotas around the mangrove ecosystem. The total value of these direct benefits directly provides an indicator of economic benefits. The same result was also obtained from research conducted by Rangkuti (2013) where mangrove cover significantly contributed to daily shrimp and crab/biota catches (99% confidence interval). Furthermore, other benefits were identified, such as the benefits of choice and the benefits of existence. The results of the quantification of other benefits obtained successively the value of the optional benefit of Rp. 16,440,975.00/year (3.97%) and the value of the existence benefit of Rp. 20,782,079.29/year (0.52%). The comparison of the benefits generated from the mangrove forest ecosystem further strengthens that the ecological value of the mangrove forest is the greatest. Therefore, the community should be aware of the importance of managing the mangrove ecosystem while maintaining its sustainability. This means that the change in the mangrove forest ecosystem by becoming a shrimp pond system will be ecologically resistant and the real impact is the damage to the coastal environment which is no longer a barrier from waves crashing on the edge of the mainland.