Local Plant Species Research Articles

Responses of soil seed bank and its above-ground vegetation to various reclamation patterns

Coastal land reclamation has become a primary strategy for alleviating conflicts between human development and land resource utilization. However, anthropogenic activities associated with land reclamation inevitably result in significant changes to coastal wetland ecosystems. Previous studies have mainly focused on the ecological consequences of land reclamation on above-ground vegetation, while overlooking the distinctions between different reclamation patterns and the critical role of soil seed bank in maintaining ecosystem stability. In this study, the responses of soil seed bank and vegetation to various reclamation patterns, as well as the factors influencing changes in seed bank characteristics, were analyzed in a natural coastal wetland (NCW), a reclaimed wetland with sea embankments constructed on native wetland (SEW), and another reclaimed wetland formed through land reclamation from the sea (LRW). These findings suggest that seed banks and their vegetation adopt different adaptation strategies under various reclamation patterns. In the NCW, the proportion of non-halophytes (1.39%), diversity, and density of the seed bank were at their lowest levels, whereas the species compositions derived from the seed bank and vegetation were very similar (similarity coefficient = 0.67). Conversely, the seed bank in the SEW demonstrated the highest species diversity, which differed significantly from the species composition of its above-ground vegetation (similarity coefficient = 0.21). However, the highest proportion of non-halophytes (36.60%), vegetation diversity, and seed bank density occurred in LRW. Furthermore, differences in seed bank characteristics under different reclamation patterns may be related to changes in soil salinity and plant reproductive strategies after reclamation. Adjusting reclamation patterns and restoring soil properties could potentially optimize the types of local plant species and their distribution in reclaimed areas.

Lithogeochemical characteristics and potential hyperaccumulator identification as phytomining agent at the Ratatotok gold mine, Indonesia

In the future, phytomining will be an environmentally friendly alternative mining technology. Therefore, the exploration of vegetation types having the potential as hyperaccumulators in gold phytomining needs to be carried out. This study aimed to (1) investigate the effect of rock/soil mineralogy characteristics and Au content on the diversity of vegetation types at gold mine sites, and (2) determine the type of potential hyperaccumulator vegetation as a phytomining agent based on the Biological Concentration Factor (BCF). This study was conducted at the Ratatotok gold mine in North Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. The sampling locations consisted of 3 sites, i.e., Bulex, Yance, and Leon, and each site consisted of 5 sampling plots. Soil samples were taken from each sampling plot and then tested for gold content using the ICP-MS method and mineral content using the XRD method. Mineralized bedrock samples were also taken for mineralogical analysis through petrography. Data analysis of soil geochemistry was carried out descriptively. Quantitative descriptive analysis was also carried out to determine the dominant type of vegetation, which was potential for hyperaccumulators at the mine site. The results showed that gold content in the soil affected the diversity of vegetation, which was possibly due to gold stress, which affected plant growth. Based on the BCF value, three local plant species having potential as gold hyperaccumulators with moderate bioaccumulation ability (BCF>0.1-1) were found, namely Pteris vittata, Syzygium aromaticum, and Swietenia mahagoni. However, the use of these plants as phytomining agents requires further research.

Таксационная характеристика особенностей лесного фонда Барнаульского лесничества Алтайского края

The study was conducted in order to identify forestry and taxation features of forest plantations in the Barnaul forestry of the Altai Territory, located in the suburban area of Barnaul. Areas of the forest fund were selected at different distances from the city of Barnaul: in the zone of a dense network of roads and settlements (0‑15 km) and in the zone of less intensive infrastructure (37 km). Using the methods of ecological profiles, variation statistics, comparative analysis, and forest taxation, the taxation materials of 32 forest quarters were processed, including data from 718 forest taxation allotments. Using two-factor analysis of variance, it was found that the individual studied indicators of forest plantations (average height, completeness, bonus class and reserve per 1 ha) depend on the type of forest. The taxation indicators of stands in the suburban area (except for the average stock per 1 ha) do not have a reliable dependence on the features of Barnaul. The analysiso f variance in relation to the natural renewal of the main breed showed that the average height and density depend on the type of forest, and the distance from the city limits affects only the average density. High vaul es of occurrence (65.4‑89.5%) of undergrowth were noted in fresh forest, lower in grass forest (15.5‑48.4%), but the occurrence increases with distance from the city in both types of forest. Ash-leaved maple finds its ecological niche mainly in the grass forest, displacing local plant species, preventing the natural renewal of pine. It has been previously established that the parameters of forest plantations in suburban pine forests of Barnaul depend on the type of forest, showing different structural and positional stability in relation to anthropogenic factors.

Plant neighbourhood effects on insect herbivores associated with Junipers and Pistacia in Cyrenaica- Libya

This research set out to test whether there are neighbourhood effects on insect herbivory among the plants of the Al Jabal Al Akhdar region of Libya. Neighbouring plants in the locale of an individual plant might help or hinder it in the task of defence against insect herbivores, depending on their levels of defence (chemical or physical), and their interactions with potential herbivores. Such ‘neighbourhood effects’ are part of the complex network of species interactions that structure ecological communities. Having chosen to concentrate on the two main species of three study sites, Juniperus phoenicea and Pistacia atlantica, nine plots were mapped in detail and the insect herbivores sampled from focal plants, and then from all plants. Plant leaves of Juniperus and Pistacia were sampled for chemical analysis of their phenol content. Phenol levels were much higher in Pistacia (2308 ± 43 ppm, n = 45), than in Juniperus (1516 ± 43 ppm, n = 45), and there were effects of elevation as well, plants from middle elevation plots had the highest levels, while those from the lowest elevation at the coast had the lowest levels of tannins. The number of individual insects per plant was affected by the neighbourhood in both Pistacia No. individuals on the nearest conspecific (x2 = 5.22, df = 1, P = 0.022) and No. individuals on the nearest allospecific (x2 = 52.12, df = 1, P = 0.00) and Juniperus No. individuals on the nearest conspecific (x2 = 43.89, df = 1, P = <.001) and No. individuals on the nearest allospecific (x2 = 93.89, df = 1, P = <.001). There were clear effects of neighbouring plants on the density of insects of individual plants, in both Pistacia and Juniperus. From analysis result we found that the number of insect herbivores were a strongly affected by the local neighbourhood plant species, which attacked the focal shrubs (Juniperus sp and Pistacia sp) in the study sites, where the number of insect herbivores were not affected by the same neighbourhood (surroundings) plant species, however, the different neighbourhood plant species affected in each insect herbivores. There were no signs of any protective neighbourhood effects of tannin levels. Thus in the plant communities of Al Jabal Al Akhdar, associational avoidance appears to be the major mechanism of neighbourhood effects, rather than associational resistance.

Documentation of flowering plants and ethnobotany in Jhilmil Lake area, Kanchanpur, Sudurpaschim Province

Documentation of indigenous knowledge about plants plays a key role for conservation and utilization of plant resources. The present paper documents the diversity of plants and their traditional use in and around the Jhilmil Lake Area, one of the forest-dominated peri-urban areas of Kanchanpur district lying in Sudurpaschim Province. Vegetation sampling and ethnobotanical surveys were carried out twice between January, 2020 and January, 2021. Semi-structured questionnaire and checklists were used to record the use and distribution of the plant species and their conservation. A total of 126 plant species representing 52 families and 113 genera were reported. Among the total plants recorded, 114 (90.48 %) species were found to be ethnomedicinally used. The results showed that the use of plants as ethnomedicine was culturally motivated and less influenced by availability of the plants. The plant “importance value index” (IVI) was found to be negatively associated with the plant “relative frequency of citation” (RFC; p=0.057–0.790). The high RFC values of the trees and climbers hinted that the plant collection was subjectively oriented towards quality products. The findings suggested that the rare plants with high-use values such as Pterocarpus marsupium, Dalbergia latifolia, Rauvolfia serpentina, Citrus limonum, and Mussaenda frondosa should be prioritised for future conservation. It illustrates that lakes in forested areas are essential resources for plant diversity and local life because they include a variety of rare and useful local plant species

Herbal Plant Image Classification using Transfer Learning and Fine-Tuning Deep Learning Model

Herbal plants are highly significant to the local community in Malaysia, as the country's fertile land is rich in diverse species that are widely used for various purposes, including traditional medicine, culinary, aromatherapy, and even in the cosmetic industries. This situation demands numerous applications and activities, including plant species identification, medicinal plant research, agriculture research, and environmental monitoring, which makes image classification of herbal plants a substantial task. However, this task is complicated by the complex nature of the plants, particularly includes plants variations in appearance, close similarities between species, and limited availability of labeled data and images. Motivated to mitigate the issues, this paper investigated the use of transfer learning and fine- tuning the deep learning neural network to classify different herbal plant species. Transfer learning is an algorithm that learns to recognize image features in one domain and having the capability to generalize the learnt knowledge to a new domain with a smaller dataset. Additionally, fine-tuning can be used to further improve the performance of the model on the new task with less training time and fewer training data. The authors performed experiments on ResNet-50 which been previously trained with ImageNet dataset. The experiments were carried out on a subset of the MYLPherbs-1 dataset, which consisted of two local perennial herbs plant species. Different hyperparameters were used across the various experiment settings, and the authors observed the behavior and relationships of the distinct models, datasets, and hyperparameters toward the classification task's accuracy. The authors also employed two different transfer learning approaches: (i) using pre-trained models as feature extractors with different classifiers, (ii) fine-tuning the pre-trained model. Based on the results and discussion, fine-tuning the ResNet-50 model on the MYLPherb-1 dataset demonstrated the best overall performance.

Maximizing diesel removal from contaminated sand using Scirpus mucronatus and assessment of rhizobacteria addition effect

Phytoremediation is one of the green technologies that is friendly to nature, utilizes fewer chemicals, and exhibits good performance. In this study, phytoremediation was used to treat diesel-contaminated sand using a local aquatic plant species, Scirpus mucronatus, by analyzing the amount of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs). Optimization of diesel removal was performed according to Response Surface Methodology (RSM) using Box-Behnken Design (BBD) under pilot-scale conditions. The quadratic model showed the best fit to describe the obtained data. Actual vs. predicted values from BBD showed a total of 9.1 % error for the concentration of TPH in sand and 0 % error for the concentration of TPH in plants. Maximum TPH removal of 42.3 ± 2.1 % was obtained under optimized conditions at a diesel initial concentration of 50 mg/kg, an aeration rate of 0.48 L/min, and a retention time of 72 days. The addition of two species of rhizobacteria (Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus licheniformis) at optimum conditions increased the TPH removal to 51.9 ± 2.6 %. The obtained model and optimum condition can be adopted to treat diesel-contaminated sand within the same TPH range (50–3000 mg/kg) in sand.

Theoretical and Methodological Approaches to the Analysis of the Spatial Distribution of Endemic Diseases of Geochemical Nature

—Throughout millions of years of geological history (in the Phanerozoic), the coevolution of all living organisms took place in a fierce competition for resources and opportunities for the maximum reproduction. Due to the geochemical heterogeneity of the primary (pre-Quaternary) biosphere, this resulted in a self-regulating system of ecological niches, within which all local biocenoses and their animal and plant species were maximally adapted to the parameters of the habitat. However, with the emergence of reason, the situation changed fundamentally. Human beings became the dominant species and began the conscious development of new territories, including geochemically unfavorable ones, which led to the formation of zones of stable endemic diseases. Based on this premise, for all existing species, there should be areas with physiologically optimal habitat conditions, i.e., those under which the species has evolved to its present state. It follows that, by being able to record the geochemical parameters of the undisturbed biosphere, it is possible to obtain characteristics that are ecologically ideal for local animal and plant species. In theoretical terms, this allowed us to put forward the hypothesis that by fixing the difference between observed and ideal geochemical conditions, it is possible to build maps of risk of diseases of geochemical nature, including in areas subjected to anthropogenic pollution. The paper outlines the methodology and gives examples of construction of such maps. The obtained results can have an important practical value in organizing the system of sanitary–epidemiological service, in solving the problems of liquidation of the consequences of anthropogenic pollution, and in carrying out preventive measures to minimize the risk of diseases of geochemical nature.

Theoretical and Methodological Approaches to the Analysis of Peculiarities of Spatial Distribution of Endemic Diseases of a Geochemical Nature

Over millions of years of geological history (Phanerozoic), the co-evolution of all living organisms took place in condtions of fierce competition for resources and opportunities for maximum reproduction, which, given the geochemical heterogeneity of the primary (pre-Quaternary) biosphere, resulted in a self-regulating ecological niche system, within which all local biocenoses and their animal and plant species were adapted to the parameters of the habitat to the maximum extent. However, with the development of the brain and the emergence of reason, the situation changed radically. Humans became the dominant species and began to develop new territories, including geochemically unfavourable ones, which caused the formation of zones of persistent endemic diseases. Based on this premise, for all existing species, there must be territories with physiologically optimal habitat conditions, i.e. those in which the species was formed in its present form. This implies that by being able to determine the geochemical parameters of the undisturbed biosphere, it is possible to obtain characteristics corresponding to the ecologically ideal ones for local animal and plant species. In theoretical terms it has allowed to put forward the hypothesis that by fixing the difference between the observed and ideal geochemical conditions it is possible to build maps of risk of diseases of geochemical nature, including those caused by technogenic pollution. The article presents a methodology and examples of such mapping. The results obtained may have an important practical value in improving the system of sanitary and epidemiological services, in solving problems of carrying out preventive measures to minimize endemic morbidity eliminating endemic diseases.

Coexistence and Succession of Spontaneous and Planted Vegetation on Extensive Mediterranean Green Roofs: Impacts on Soil, Seed Banks, and Mesofauna

Extensive green roofs are well known to improve the urban environment, but in the Mediterranean regions, dry climatic conditions pose the problem of their sustainability when no irrigation is applied. After planting or sowing in 2012, 18 local Mediterranean plant species on different types of exposure and substrate in a non-irrigated extensive green roof in Avignon (South-Eastern France), the physico-chemical characteristics of the soil, winter and spring soil seed banks, soil mesofauna and initially sown, planted, or spontaneous vegetation expressed on the surface were studied from 2013 to 2020. In 2020, significant differences related to the exposure conditions (shade/sun) and, to a lesser extent, to the depth of substrate used (5 cm/5 cm or 10 cm with a water retention layer) were found. The deeper plots in the shade have significantly higher soil fertility, cover, and vegetation height. However, the plots in the sun have higher moss cover, planted or sowed vegetation abundance, and springtail abundance. By 2020, more than half of the initially sown species had disappeared, except for several planted perennials and short-cycle annual species. On the other hand, a significant increase in the species richness of spontaneously established species was measured over time. In the absence of a permanent and transient seed bank for the sowed and spontaneous species, the plant community is then mostly dependent on species flows via the local surrounding seed rain. Planting perennial species (Sedum spp., Iris lutescens), followed by spontaneous colonization of species present in the vicinity of the roof would then represent a more efficient strategy for the persistence of extensive non-irrigated green roofs in Mediterranean environments than sowing a species-rich local Mediterranean seed mixture dominated by annual species.

Application of Local Species for Sustainable Phytoremediation

Phytoremediation is green technology based on the application of plants to remediate contaminated media. This paper reviews five species of local plants used for phytoremediation in Thailand: Pteris vittata L., Pityrogramma calomelanos L., Chrysopogon zizanioides L., Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms, and Pistia stratiotes L. For each plant, its pollutant removal efficiency and mechanism is reviewed. The main mechanisms of phytoremediation, such as phytoextraction, rhizofiltration, phytostabilization, phytodegradation, rhizodegradation, and phyto-volatilization, are concisely described. Screening local plants for phytoremediation is a cost-effective and easy to manage approach to derive suitable plants that are resistant to harmful environmental conditions. To be suitable, plants should have a fast growth rate, produce a large biomass yield, have a high tolerance to the toxic effects of the pollutants, and have a good capacity for pollutant uptake. Moreover, applying the proper species for each contaminant enhances the removal efficiency and supports sustainable phytoremediation.

Increased hydraulic risk in assemblages of woody plant species predicts spatial patterns of drought-induced mortality

Predicting drought-induced mortality (DIM) of woody plants remains a key research challenge under climate change. Here, we integrate information on the edaphoclimatic niches, phylogeny and hydraulic traits of species to model the hydraulic risk of woody plants globally. We combine these models with species distribution records to estimate the hydraulic risk faced by local woody plant species assemblages. Thus, we produce global maps of hydraulic risk and test for its relationship with observed DIM. Our results show that local assemblages modelled as having higher hydraulic risk present a higher probability of DIM. Metrics characterizing this hydraulic risk improve DIM predictions globally, relative to models accounting only for edaphoclimatic predictors or broad functional groupings. The methodology we present here allows mapping of functional trait distributions and elucidation of global macro-evolutionary and biogeographical patterns, improving our ability to predict potential global change impacts on vegetation.

Horizontal and vertical distribution of nitrate-driven anaerobic methane oxidation process in coastal wetlands under different plant species cover across southeast China

Coastal wetlands are an important methane emission source. Nitrate-driven anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM), catalyzing via a novel clade of anaerobic methanotrophic archaea (ANME-2d), is a potentially important process for methane emission mitigation in coastal wetlands. However, the influence of regional and local environmental conditions, as well as plant species cover on this AOM process, remains unclear. Here, we investigated the horizontal and vertical distribution of nitrate-driven AOM activity and ANME-2d archaeal community in four coastal wetlands under both native and invasive plant species across southeast China. It was estimated that this AOM process could potentially reduce 5.7–9.5% methane emissions from the studied wetlands. Generalized linear mixed-effects model showed that sampling locations and sediment layers had greater impact on nitrate-driven AOM activity than plant species cover, and all these factors significantly affected the abundance of ANME-2d archaea. Nitrate-driven AOM activity was higher in low-latitude coastal wetlands than in high-latitude areas, and the activity positively correlated with mean annual temperature. Furthermore, both nitrate-driven AOM activity and ANME-2d archaeal abundance showed significant vertical variations along sediment profiles, with higher values in the slightly alkaline surface sediment. The plant species cover was found to impact the ANME-2d archaeal abundance and diversity by regulating the availability of substrates for the archaea. Overall, our study provides valuable insights into effects of regional and local environmental parameters and plant species cover on the horizontal and vertical distribution of nitrate-driven AOM activity and ANME-2d archaeal community in coastal wetlands.

Economic value assessment of edible plants in Muang District, Kalasin Province, Thailand

Abstract. Phatlamphu N, Saensouk S, Saensouk P, Junsongduang A, Setyawan AD. 2023. Economic value assessment of edible plants in Muang District, Kalasin Province, Thailand. Biodiversitas 24: 3960-3967. Edible plants have been traded as economic plants for food consumption, and their supply can be used at the industry level. However, modern agriculture might be disrupting a local plant value that the indigenous people use as their food in daily life. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the economic value of edible plants in Muang District, Kalasin Province, based on their market value and trading volume in a year. Data were collected through a pricing survey in the municipal and local markets from March 2019 to February 2021. The value was applied using the formula of the economic Value of Edible Plants (EVEP) that focus on the local scale of economy to explore the relationships between edible plant traders and consumers in the study area. There were 78 edible plant species that belonged to 67 genera and 41 families. The highest value is Oryza sativa L. (rice) which gains income averaging 684,000 THB annually/trader, followed by Coriandrum sativum L. (coriander) and Alpinia galanga (L.) Willd. (galangal) with averaging values of 216,000 and 187,200 THB annually/trader, respectively. When we identified the edible plants into two groups based on their sources, including the economic plants and the local plants, they were found 40 species of economic plants (51%) and 38 species of local plants (49%). In addition, we found that 43 species of edible plants were traded throughout the year (12 months), including 14 species of local plants (32.6%) and 29 species of economic plants (67.4%). That shows the risk trend of local plant consumption loss is due to the growth of economic plants.

Phytodiversity of trees and shrubs in Vindhyabasni Sacred grove, Girwan, Banda, Uttar Pradesh

Sacred groves are the storehouse of medicinal plants, trees, shrubs, and important useful plants for the locals. The present study was conducted to study the diversity of woody vegetation across the topography (pediment, slope and hilltop.) in Vindhyavasini sacred grove, Girwan Banda Uttar Pradesh. The vegetation data were quantitatively analyzed for community characteristics such as species richness, dominance, diversity and distribution pattern by using the quadrat method. A total of 68 sample plots of 32.5×32.5m² for trees and 136 sub-plots of 5×5m² for shrubs were laid down. A total of 32 plant species (18 trees and 14 shrubs) belonging to 20 families were recorded and identified during the study. The highest species diversity and species richness for both trees (0.93, 14) and shrubs (1.77, 11) were recorded in pediment and species richness of the family Combretaceae was the highest (79.56) followed by Lamiaceae (36.78) and Apocynaceae (29.26). Terminalia pendula (IVI -187.80) and Carissa spinarum (IVI-86.89) were the most dominant tree and shrub species respectively. This sacred grove may work as a vital pool for the preservation of endemic and local plant species.

Evaluation of Local Wild Plants, Including Recently Discovered Endemics, as Ornamentals: the EXPO-2021 Hatay, Türkiye Example

This study was carried out in order to determine the potential of wild plants in an Eastern Mediterranean province, Hatay (Türkiye), as ornamentals. In the light of floristic field studies that the authors have been carrying out in the region for more than ten years, plants that may have ornamental features were identified. Most of these plants were evaluated as ornamental plants within the scope of horticulture EXPO-2021 Hatay. Local endemic plants discovered by the authors in recent years have also been successfully cultivated as ornamental plants and one of them, Scorzonera pacis, was even chosen as the emblem of the event. The preference for exotic, showy species in landscape design is a common trend that is still prevalent around the world and that we witness both in Hatay and throughout Türkiye. However, due to global climate changes and the freshwater crisis, it is now necessary to use local species that are compatible with the existing habitat so they can be cultivated more easily. In addition to the advantage of easy cultivation, choosing local wild plant species for landscape design will contribute to the diversification of agricultural products and to the local economy, as well as to the conservation of endangered species and the local ecological balance. Even very rare local endemic plants can be cultivated and successfully used as ornamentals in foreign habitats, as in the examples of the Turkish endemics Origanum amanum and Tulipa sprengeri. Both species are extremely rare in nature. The former is currently almost only available in European botanical gardens ex situ. The second is a very popular and widespread ornamental plant and, after years of extinction in nature, it was replanted in its natural habitat in Türkiye where it was discovered. Moreover, the economic and ecological advantages of using native flora species instead of foreign ones will give parks and gardens unique identities. Hatay was the province that suffered the greatest destruction in the February 23, 2023 earthquake. We hope that this article, prepared before the earthquake, will guide the reconstruction of the city by suggesting alternative agricultural and economic products.

Natural regeneration offers an effective way for large‐scale restoration of degraded lands in Tigray, Ethiopia

AbstractLand rehabilitation through exclosures has been recognized as a promising practice in the restoration of degraded drylands. This study evaluated woody species density, diversity, cover, and biomass production from three regeneration approaches (EMTs): (1) Naturally Regenerated (ENR) exclosures, (2) exclosures with Soil and Water Conservation Structures (ECNR), and (3) those enriched with exotic and local plant species in addition to SWC structures (ECP) among which empirical evidence of comparisons are lacking for appropriate decision making of which restoration strategy to promote. Primary data were collected from a total of 72 study plots located across transects laid within exclosures and in adjacent grazing areas with similar ecological condition. Interview with 331 households and focus groups was used to further understand the effects. Regression analysis revealed that the mean difference in herbaceous and canopy cover, herbaceous and woody biomass, and woody species density and diversity of the three EMTs was statistically significantly higher than in the adjacent open grazing areas. Moreover, herbaceous biomass in ECP differed significantly from that of ECNR. The results indicated that ENR and ECP equally enhanced the selected vegetation parameters. This is predominantly attributed to the comparable responsiveness of many degraded areas to natural regeneration as they do to active regeneration approaches. Implementation of natural regeneration is suitable for immediate recruitment of strategy in terms of resources, time, and meeting objectives before decisions are made for assisted models of exclosure that require massive campaigns to construct soil and water conservation structures and huge seedling production in the dryland areas.

TO THE BIOLOGY OF INVASIVE SPECIES OF IМРАТIЕNS GLАNDULIFЕRА RОYLЕ. (BALSAMINACEAE) IN BASHKORTOSTAN REPUBLIC

Morphometric parameters and population characteristics of the invasive species Impatiens glandulifera in the Southern Ural Range (Republic of Bashkortostan) are analyzed. Twenty four localities of invasion in 20 districts of the Cis-Urals were examined. The density of the species in communities is 18-79 individuals per 1 m2; its biomass ranges from 1 to 9 kg/m2. The biomass share of the species reaches from 49.7 to 99.0%, i.e. this species dominates in all localities. It is established that the maximum values of morphometric parameters are characteristic of populations growing in conditions more favorable in terms of moisture availability and richness of soils, with a slight anthropogenic impact. Minimal ones are observed under conditions of a stronger anthropogenic impact (recreational load, trampling, landfills). The good adaptation of the species to different growing conditions in new habitats and the competitive advantages of I. glandulifera over local plant species were noted. There is a high probability of further settlement of the species in slightly disturbed, as well as in natural habitats along the shores of the reservoirs of the republic.

Rehabilitation plan for coal pit revegetation area East Kalimantan

The degraded mining area, especially the disposal area, must be reclaimed to preserve the possibility of its subsequent use in the future. The open pit rehabilition must ensure post-mining contributes powerfully to the ecosystem by restoring the production capacity and stability of the area. The exercise was applied to a nearly 0.5 Ha of open-pit coal mine conducted in cooperation between Korea and Indonesia to create a production forest that can ultimately support the environment. The objective of this work was to design mine pit reclamation plan through characterization physically and chemically the location by regenerating, checking the drainage system, analyzing soil fertility and the possibility of soil contamination and discovering fast growing local crop and forest plant species. The main focus is more on analyzing the soil condition affected by the acid mine drainage problem. The results showed that the northern restoration target site had the steep slope, characterized as acidic soil (pH was 4.2 – 4.6) with low exchangeable cation and low phosphate availability. The heavy metals did not exceed the contamination limit, so separate processing to prevent leaching of heavy metals is not required. Routine monitoring of the drainage system is important because it will affect the watering frequency and leaching control. Understanding the step by step mine rehabilitation can assist in designing reclamation efforts especially for revegetation purpose.

From the wild to the field: effect of foliar or soil application of inorganic or semi-organic fertilizers on various parameters of four local endemic plant species of Crete (Greece)

Domestication of wild plant species of interest coupled with introduction of pilot cultivation practices and appropriate fertilization schemes could be an efficient alternative for addressing sustainable exploitation needs of threatened and/or declining wild phytogenetic resources. In this field study focusing on four threatened wild-growing plants (Carlina diae, Origanum dictamnus, Origanum microphyllum, and Sideritis syriaca subsp. syriaca) confined to Crete (local endemics), the effects of three types of fertilization (inorganic, plain semi-organic or co-applied with commercial biostimulants based on edible raw plant materials) by two methods (foliar/soil application) on plants’ growth were investigated. Specifically, plant parameters such as aboveground biomass yield, content and uptake of nutrients by plants as well as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi root colonization were evaluated. Results revealed a distinction in plants’ multi-elemental stoichiometry, except in the case of Origanum species, in which the variance of their ionomics showed a significant overlap. The elements most closely related to yield were K and Zn, while Pearson tests showed various correlations between studied essential nutrients. Among them, the positive correlations between B and Ca, and Mg (with r value up to 0.9 at p ≤ 0.001, in all studied species except O. dictamnus); the negative correlations between K and Mg (in O. dictamnus and S. syriaca subsp. Syriaca, r = − 0.5 at p ≤ 0.001); and the positive correlation patterns between Fe and Mn, or Cu and Zn, respectively (in all studied species) , were observed. Biostimulant application alone or in combination with semi-organic fertilizers increased the yield of C. diae (up to 161%) and of the two Origanum species studied (up to 70% and 68% for O. dictamnus and for O. microphyllum, respectively), while inorganic fertilization was beneficial for S. syriaca subsp. syriaca (up to 170% increase) and O. microphyllum (up to 79% increase). However, no solid conclusions could be derived in respect of the preference of the four species for any fertilizers' application method (foliar or by soil).