Natural Resources Research Research Articles

User Satisfaction and Crowding at Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

Effective management and monitoring of recreational use is fundamental in marine protected areas. The primary purpose of this study is to examine user’s satisfaction levels, crowding levels and the relationship between them at Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Online surveys were sent via Qualtrics to email addresses obtained from the state of Florida during the summer of 2020. The results showed that the respondents felt very satisfied and only slightly crowded while snorkeling or scuba diving during their most recent 2019 trip in the Florida Keys, although satisfaction was still negatively impacted by crowding. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that satisfaction levels were significantly lower in users who saw more people than they expected. A linear regression indicated significantly lower satisfaction with increasing age. Furthermore, a multiple regression showed that experiencing natural surroundings has a significant positive relationship in overall trip satisfaction, i.e., users that are more satisfied experiencing natural surroundings are also likely to be more satisfied with their overall trip satisfaction. This study suggests that the convergence of social and natural resource research and practices can help managers to create better policies that will maximize human benefits from, and minimize human pressures on, ocean and coastal environments.

Navigating Ecological Transformation: Resist–Accept–Direct as a Path to a New Resource Management Paradigm

AbstractNatural resource managers worldwide face a growing challenge: Intensifying global change increasingly propels ecosystems toward irreversible ecological transformations. This nonstationarity challenges traditional conservation goals and human well-being. It also confounds a longstanding management paradigm that assumes a future that reflects the past. As once-familiar ecological conditions disappear, managers need a new approach to guide decision-making. The resist–accept–direct (RAD) framework, designed for and by managers, identifies the options managers have for responding and helps them make informed, purposeful, and strategic choices in this context. Moving beyond the diversity and complexity of myriad emerging frameworks, RAD is a simple, flexible, decision-making tool that encompasses the entire decision space for stewarding transforming ecosystems. Through shared application of a common approach, the RAD framework can help the wider natural resource management and research community build the robust, shared habits of mind necessary for a new, twenty-first-century natural resource management paradigm.

The Effect of Foliar Application of Magnetic Water and Nano-Fertilizers on Phytochemical and Yield Characteristics of Fennel

Environmental factors, especially nutrients, can influence the production of medicinal plants. Thus, the present study assessed the response of some morphological and physiological characteristics of fennel ecotypes to the foliar application (magnetic water, organic and chemical fertilizers). The study was a factorial experiment based on the randomized complete block design, with three replications and 25 treatments at the research farm of the Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center of West Azerbaijan province, Iran, in the spring and summer of two consecutive years, 2014–2015 and 2015–2016. The first factor was assigned to fennel landraces (Gaziantep, Hamedan, Urmia, Yazd, and Shiraz) and the second factor to the foliar application (nitrogen nano-fertilizer, magnetic water, urea, chicken manure, and the control). Results showed that interaction of fertilizer treatment and landrace increased fresh and dry weight, biological yield, and seed yield significantly. In the first year, the highest fresh weight (166 g) and dry weight (35.5 g) were observed in the Gaziantep landrace fertilized with chicken manure. The highest anethole and fenchone contents (81.75% and 7.92%, respectively) were observed in the landraces treated with chicken manure. Based on the percentages, the Urmia landrace had the highest anethole percentage (83.2%), and the Shiraz landrace had the lowest one (77.5%). The highest fenchone contents (9.61%) and the lowest (2.18%) were observed in the Yazd and Urmia landraces. Due to the positive effect of application of chicken manure on improving the studied traits of fennel, it is recommended to include chicken manure inputs to enhance the efficiency of crops, reduce environmental pollution, and move toward sustainable agriculture.

Growth and Bulb Yield of Garlic as Influenced by Clove Size.

Garlic is an important cash crop in many regions of Ethiopia. However, the yield of the crop is constrained by several factors. Among these, inappropriate clove size is one of the major agronomic practices that can decrease the yield of the crop. Hence, a field experiment was conducted during the 2020/21 main cropping season at Debre Berhan University, College of Agriculture and Natural Resource Sciences, demonstration and research site to evaluate the effect of clove size on growth and bulb yield of garlic (Allium sativum L.). The treatments consisted of five clove sizes: 1–1.49 g, 1.5–1.99 g, 2–2.50 g, 2.51–2.99 g, and 3–3.5 g. An improved variety “Tseday” was used as a planting material. The experiment was laid out as a randomized complete block design in a factorial arrangement and replicated for three times. The results revealed that clove size significantly influenced all growth and yield parameters of garlic. Planting of 3–3.5 g cloves reduced days to emergence by 11 and 6.33 days and days to maturity by 28.33 and 18.00 days, respectively, as compared to planting of 1–1.49 g and 2–2.5 g cloves. This treatment also increased total bulb yield by 25.88% and 15.58%, respectively, as compared to planting of 1–1.49 g and 2–2.5 g cloves. In addition, this treatment significantly increased most of the growth and bulb yield components. Hence, it can be concluded that planting of 3–3.5 g cloves could be recommended to enhance early emergence, good vegetative growth, and total bulb yield of garlic.

GIScience and remote sensing in natural resource and environmental research: Status quo and future perspectives

Geographic information science (GIScience) and remote sensing have long provided essential data and methodological support for natural resource challenges and environmental problems research. With increasing advances in information technology, natural resource and environmental science research faces the dual challenges of data and computational intensiveness. Therefore, the role of remote sensing and GIScience in the fields of natural resources and environmental science in this new information era is a key concern of researchers. This study clarifies the definition and frameworks of these two disciplines and discusses their role in natural resource and environmental research. GIScience is the discipline that studies the abstract and formal expressions of the basic concepts and laws of geography, and its research framework mainly consists of geo-modeling, geo-analysis, and geo-computation. Remote sensing is a comprehensive technology that deals with the mechanisms of human effects on the natural ecological environment system by observing the earth surface system. Its main areas include sensors and platforms, information processing and interpretation, and natural resource and environmental applications. GIScience and remote sensing provide data and methodological support for resource and environmental science research. They play essential roles in promoting the development of resource and environmental science and other related technologies. This paper provides forecasts of ten future directions for GIScience and eight future directions for remote sensing, which aim to solve issues related to natural resources and the environment.

Hide and Seek: The Orphan Well Problem in America

It’s a problem as old as the industry itself. The initial oil rush in the late 1800s spread like wildfire through Pennsylvania, and by 1891 the state’s annual crude output had hit 31 million barrels, or 58% of the nation’s total oil production for that year. However, by the turn of the century the bloom was off the rose. Pennsylvania’s once-robust oil allure had been eclipsed by finds in Texas, California, and Oklahoma, each spawning its own regional oil booms. So why the history lesson? Because it’s important to understand the potential volume and impact of orphan wells in the US. In the infancy of the industry, plugging-and-abandonment (P&A) techniques were crude at best, if anyone even went to the trouble. Worse still was the overall record keeping at the time. With oil booms around the country setting off races to harness as much black gold as possible, wells were being drilled at breakneck pace. Once these earliest wells were tapped of their commercial usefulness, operators moved on to the next. There was little-to-no over-sight. No regulations. No standards. The result? Thousands, if not more, of scattered, undocumented wells. “Back in the day, you have people drilling wells, and nobody’s keeping track of where the wells are drilled and who owns the wells,” said Daniel Raimi, fellow with Resource for the Future, an independent institution that conducts environmental, energy, and natural resource research. “The government’s not keeping track and has little to no regulation in place to ensure that operators safely decommission their assets at the end of their lives. As a result, you have wells that maybe produce for a couple of years, and then the owners walk away. Multiply that by a couple of hundred thousand and now you’ve got a problem.” Today, there is plenty of oversight and regulation for the industry to leave abandoned wells in much better shape than those earliest probes. However, orphan wells are still a problem. To paint the clearest picture, it would be prudent to define what an orphan well is. This is where we run into our first problem. Definitions can vary wildly from state to state and organization to organization. Some lump all abandoned, unplugged wells into their counts as orphan wells. Others count all idle wells. However, for the sake of clarity we will define orphan wells as those nonproducing, idle wells whose ownership is unknown. By that definition it is safe to say that many of the nation’s earliest wells fit that criteria. In more modern times, orphans result from idle wells whose owner goes belly-up prior to any P&A work. In most of these cases, bonds are employed to help offset the cost of plugging these wells. However, while they vary state to state, most bonding minimums do not cover the full cost of abandonment and remediation, if needed. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, there are about 2 million unplugged, abandoned oil and gas wells scattered across the US. Other experts place the number higher; some believe it is lower. Some researchers believe as many as half of those could be orphan wells. A survey by the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission in 2018 put the range of orphaned and idle wells at around 560,000 to 1.1 million. Again, abandoned doesn’t always mean orphaned. One fact that can be extrapolated from the data gathered to date is that no one knows for sure just how many orphaned wells are out there. But that is changing.

Expanded Ethical Principles for Research Partnership and Transdisciplinary Natural Resource Management Science.

Natural resource researchers have long recognized the value of working closely with the managers and communities who depend on, steward, and impact ecosystems. These partnerships take various forms, including co-production and transdisciplinary research approaches, which integrate multiple knowledges in the design and implementation of research objectives, questions, methods, and desired outputs or outcomes. These collaborations raise important methodological and ethical challenges, because partnering with non-scientists can have real-world risks for people and ecosystems. The social sciences and biomedical research studies offer a suite of conceptual tools that enhance the quality, ethical outcomes, and effectiveness of research partnerships. For example, the ethical guidelines and regulations for human subjects research, following the Belmont Principles, help prevent harm and promote respectful treatment of research participants. However, science-management partnerships require an expanded set of ethical concepts to better capture the challenges of working with individuals, communities, organizations, and their associated ecosystems, as partners, rather than research subjects. We draw from our experiences in collaborative teams, and build upon the existing work of natural resources, environmental health, conservation and ecology, social science, and humanities scholars, to develop an expanded framework for ethical research partnership. This includes four principles: (1) appropriate representation, (2) self-determination, (3) reciprocity, and (4) deference, and two cross-cutting themes: (1) applications to humans and non-human actors, and (2) acquiring appropriate research skills. This framework is meant to stimulate important conversations about expanding ethics training and skills for researchers in all career-stages to improve partnerships and transdisciplinary natural resources research.

Towards a Robust Intellectual Property and Technology Commercialization Platform at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB): The Case of DOST-PCAARRD-funded Research Projects

An intellectual property (IP) audit was conducted among 212 research projects funded by the Department of Science and Technology–Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD) and implemented by the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) from 2010–2015. A total of 71 (33%) have the IP component only, while 17 (8%) have both IP and technology commercialization (TC) elements. Of the 17 research projects, 12 (71%) have undergone the technology readiness level (TRL) and are included in the 19 technologies funded by DOST-PCAARRD currently being prioritized by Technology Transfer and Business Development Office (TTBDO) for IP rights (IPRs) protection and TC. Of these technologies, six have ongoing licensing agreements with the private sector, and another three are groomed for a spin-off. All nine have undergone fairness opinion board (FOB) examination, while the remaining 10 are in various stages of IP protection and commercialization. A notable surge in patent application occurred in the first three quarters of 2017 when 14 applications representing 33% of the total patent applications in the last 16 years were filed in the IP Office of the Philippines. As of 2012, with financial support from local and foreign funding, UPLB has produced more than 200 technologies ranging from agriculture and biotechnology to machinery and postharvest technology plus other allied fields. Included in the list are Sinta papaya, BIO-N, Mykovam, virgin coconut oil, and Trichoderma. Some of which have reached the international market earning substantial income for the university and its inventors and breeders principally through royalties ranging from 3–10 % of the licensee’s gross sales. Additional seven technologies funded by other government funding agencies ripe for commercialization are open to manufacturers, distributors, and research service agreements.

Effects of Urbanization on Ecosystem Services in the Shandong Peninsula Urban Agglomeration, in China: The Case of Weifang City

Ecosystem services are the material basis of economic and social development, and play essential roles in the sustainable development of ecosystems. Urbanization can remarkably alter the provision of ecosystem services. Most studies in this area have focused on densely populated metropolises with poor ecological environments, while comparatively few studies have focused on cities with low ecological pressures. Therefore, to avoid continuing to engage in the repetitive pattern of destroying first and rehabilitating later, quantitative analyses of urbanization and ecosystem services should be carried out in representative cities. In this study, based on partial least squares-discriminant analysis, kernel density estimation, and correlation analysis, we quantitatively evaluated the impact of urbanization on ecosystem services in Weifang city. The Data Center for Resources and Environmental Sciences at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research provided remote sensing data on land use, the gross domestic production (GDP), population data, and ecosystem services. The results were as follows: (1) The variation in population, GDP, and built-up areas consistently increased throughout the study period, whereas the ecosystem service values (ESVs) decreased; (2) food production, raw material production, nutrient cycle maintenance, and soil conservation were decisive ecosystem services that led to vast reductions in ESVs during the process of urbanization; and (3) the negative correlation coefficient between built-up areas and ecosystem services was greater than that between the population or GDP and ecosystem services, which indicated that the impacts of population and economic urbanization on ecosystem services lagged behind the impact of land urbanization. This study provides references for fully recognizing the ecological effects of urbanization, and make suggestions regarding the application of ecosystem services in sustainable development.

The role of stakeholders in ecotourism development in Marsegu Island Nature Tourism Park (MINTP) in Western Seram Regency, Eastern Indonesia

This study aimed to 1) Identifying stakeholders involved in ecotourism activities and 2) Analyze the role of stakeholders in support ecotourism activities in MINTP Western Seram Regency. A survey method with interview technique and Focus Group Discussions The data were analyzed descriptively qualitatively using stakeholder analysis. The stakeholder identification results showed that the primary stakeholder is the community in coastal villages around Kotania Bay. The key stakeholder is Nature Conservation Agency, Maluku and North Maluku. Supporting stakeholders are the private sector and academics, supporting capital dan facilities, and providing education and natural resources research. The results showed that each stakeholder is performed functions partially; therefore, it is necessary to have a collaboration management.

بررسی اثر سطوح مختلف نیتروژن و تراکم بر رشد و عملکرد Datura stramonium L.

Datura stramonium L. is one of the important medicinal plants in the pharmaceutical industry due to its alkaloid compounds. To investigate the effects of urea fertilizer at three levels (60, 120, and 180 kg.ha-1) and planting density at three levels (6, 10, and 14 plants.m-2) on the yield and yield components of this plant species, a factorial experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design in the research farm of Isfahan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Iran in 2018 and 2019 crop years. The main effects of density and urea on the traits including height, number of lateral branches, and 1000-seed weight and the interaction of different urea and density levels on the traits including seed yield, biological yield, number of capsules per plant, number of seeds per plant, and number of seeds per capsule were significant in both years. The highest seed yield (1282.37 and 1212.53 kg.ha-1, respectively in 2018 and 2019 years) was obtained in the urea fertilizer 180 kg.ha-1 and 6 plants.m-2 treatment. The causal analysis results showed that the highest direct positive effect at the different levels of density and urea was related to the number of capsules per plant. The results of this experiment showed that the application of 180 kg.ha-1 of urea and 6 plants.m-2 could play an important role in increasing the seed yield of medicinal plant D. stramonium.

بررسی تأثیر باکتری تیوباسیلوس، کود گوگردی و فسفری بر جمعیت باکتری‌های حل‌کننده فسفات در خاک

Introduction: According to WHO and FAO studies, the diseases caused by contaminated foods are of the most widespread threats to human health in developing and developed countries. Therefore, in recent years, researchers have been trying to use soil microorganisms to solve this problem and maintain the health of plants and the environment. Phosphorus after nitrogen, is a major macronutrient in plants which controls the growth, seeding and fruit production and involves in basic biological functions such as cell division, nucleic acids synthesis, photosynthesis and respiration and energy transfer. However, high amount of soluble inorganic phosphate is annually applied to the soil as chemical fertilizer but a large portion of it is immobilized rapidly after application due to phosphate fixation by aluminum, calcium, iron, magnesium and soil colloids and becomes unavailable to plants. The use of biological agents especially phosphate solubilizing microorganisms, can play an important role in supplying plant nutrients and improves crop health and productivity without causing any harm in agricultural and natural ecosystems. Bacteria and fungi are the two important groups of phosphate solubilizing microorganisms. Phosphate solubilizing bacteria in soil include Rhizobium, Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Agrobacterium, Achromobacter, Enterobacter and Burkholderia, and the most important ones i.e., Bacillus sp. and Pseudomonas flourescens. Material and Methods: In order to evaluate the effect of Thiobacillus, sulfur and phosphorus applicationon population of phosphate solubilizing bacteria in soil, a field experiment was conducted at Zarghan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center of Iran in a factorial, based on complete randomized block design with 3 replications. Treatments consisted of three levels of sulfur fertilizer with biofertilizer containing Thiobacillus bacteria (without sulfur and biofertilizer containing Thiobacillus (S0), application of 500 kg S + 10 kg biofertilizer containing Thiobacillus (S1), 1000 kg S + 20 kg biofertilizer containing Thiobacillus (S2) and 2000 kg S + 40 kg biofertilizer containing Thiobacillus (S3) per hectare), three levels of triple super phosphate (without phosphorus (P0), 100% (P1) and 65% (P2) percent phosphorus recommended based on the soil test) in two corn planted and not planted states. After harvesting, 72 soil samples were collected from each plot and transferred to the biology laboratory of soil and water research institute of Karaj. Soil samples were stored in sterile conditions at 4◦C. In order to isolate phosphate solubilizing bacteria, 10 gram of soil from each sample was suspended in 90 ml of sterilized water to make 1:10 dilution. Then, series of dilution were made (101 – 107) and 0.1 ml of suspensions of the diluted soil sample were transferred to petri dishes containing pikovskaya medium and incubated at 28- 30˚C. To identify PSP from halos surrounding characterized colonies was used and counting was performed 1-14 days after cultivation. The colonies were isolated on the basis morphological characteristics such as shape, color and size and then purified by linear culture. Finally, 60 strains were purified that were used to compare phosphate solubilizing capability. Results and Discussion: The results of this study showed that the main and interaction effects of sulfur fertilizer and biofertilizer treatments of Thiobacillus, phosphorus and plants on the population of phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (cells per gram of dry soil) in Pikovskaya medium were significant at 0.01 level probability. The highest population of bacteria was obtained at the lowest level (S1). Increasing the level of sulfur fertilizer and Thiobacillus biofertilizer decreased the population of phosphate-solubilizing bacteria and the highest level of sulfur and Thiobacillus biofertilizer led to the lowest bacterial population. Also, the study of phosphorus application on the bacterial population showed that phosphorus fertilizer at both levels significantly increased the bacterial population compared to the control (no application phosphorus). The best fertilizer treatment for phosphorus application was P1 which had the greatest effect on bacterial population compared to P2 treatment in Pikovskaya environment. In this experiment, the population of bacteria in corn planted conditions was higher than in non-planted conditions and this population increase was observed in almost all different levels of sulfur and phosphorus fertilizers. The highest bacterial population was observed in combined treatment of S1P2 under corn planted conditions. The results of microscopic, physiological and biochemical tests of the strains showed that all 60 bacterial strains were capable to form clear zone in Pikovskaya medium. Among them, 15 strains (7, 3, 2 and 3 strains belonging to Bacillus megaterium, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas fluorescent, respectively) had higher phosphate solubility than the others.

Establishment of Regional Phytoremediation Buffer Systems for Ecological Restoration in the Great Lakes Basin, USA. II. New Clones Show Exceptional Promise

Poplar tree improvement strategies are needed to enhance ecosystem services’ provisioning and achieve phytoremediation objectives. We evaluated the establishment potential of new poplar clones developed at the University of Minnesota Duluth, Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) from sixteen phytoremediation buffer systems (phyto buffers) (buffer groups: 2017 × 6; 2018 × 5; 2019 × 5) throughout the Lake Superior and Lake Michigan watersheds. We divided clones into Experimental (testing stage genotypes) and Common (commercial and/or research genotypes) clone groups and compared them with each other and each NRRI clone (NRRI group) at the phyto buffers. We tested for differences in clone groups, phyto buffers, and their interactions for survival, health, height, diameter, and volume from ages one to four years. First-year survival was 97.1%, with 95.5%, 96.2%, and 99.6% for the 2017, 2018, and 2019 buffer groups, respectively. All trees had optimal health. Fourth-year mean annual increment of 2017 buffer group trees ranged from 2.66 ± 0.18 to 3.65 ± 0.17 Mg ha−1 yr−1. NRRI clones ‘99038022’ and ‘9732-31’ exhibited exceptional survival and growth across eleven and ten phyto buffers, respectively, for all years. These approaches advance poplar tree improvement efforts throughout the region, continent, and world, with methods informing clonal selection for multiple end-uses, including phytotechnologies.

تولید گیاهان خودریشه گلابی رقم ʼنطنزʽ (Pyrus communis L. cv. Natanz) در شرایط درون‌شیشه‌ای

Introduction Pyrus communis L. cv. Natanz is a popular pear cultivar in Iran because of its customer-friendly attribute due to its excellent characteristics. Pear own-rooted plants has better traits such as high vigorous in growth, low levels on tree losses and damaging by insects (Spornberger et al., 2008; Stanica et al., 2000) rather than cut-rooted and grafted plants. Meristem culture widely used for micropropagation (Erij and Fortes, 2002; Postman and Sugar, 2002), in vitro germplasm preservation (Reed, 1990; Niino and Sakai, 1992; Scottez et al., 1992; Bell and Reed, 2002; Sedlak el al., 2004) and virus eradication purposes in pear (Postman, 1994; Zilka et al., 2002; Dong et al. 2002; Hong et al., 2004; Wang et al., 2006; Postman and Hadidi, 1995; Tan et al. 2010). As pear is belonged to difficult-to-root fruit tree cultivars perhaps the rooting stage is the most important, yet most difficult phase during the in vitro propagation procedure. In vitro rooting of microcuts was varied by genotypes (cultivars) (Sedlak and Paprstein, 2015), type and concentration of used auxin (A1-Maarri el al., 1994; Sedlak and Paprstein, 2015), the method of root induction and formation (Bhojwani et al., 1984; Saadat et al., 2012; Erturk, 2013; Aygun and Dumanglu, 2015), different additional materials such as PVP, polyamines, PP333 (Marino, 1988; Rugini et al., 1992; Erturk, 2013) and so on. Materials and Methods Vegetative buds were taken from current growth shoots of Pyrus communis cv. Natanz from Pear collection orchard (25.36 E, 58.54 N and altitude 1380 meter) of Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Centre of Semnan Province (Shahrood city). New shoots of active buds after 4 weeks transfer to PMI media (Reed et al., 2013) containing BA (0.5, 1, 1.5 mg l-1) and Fe-EDDHA (0, 100, 150 and 200 mg l-1). Meristems (containing 2 newest leaf primordia) was excited from in vitro shoots and incubation on MS media containing BA (0.5, 1, and 1.5 mg l-1) and GA3 (0.1 and 0.5 mg l-1) plus 0.1 mg l-1 IBA for all treatments. Mersitems were kept in dark for 4 days then were transferred to growth chamber. Different concentrations and combinations of two auxins were used. 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 mg l-1 of IBA or NAA and two combination solutions of them (1000 IBA+1000 NAA and 2000 IBA+2000 NAA, mg l-1). Shoots were immersing quick dip in solutions for 5 seconds then transfer to PGRs-free PMI medium and kept them to growth chamber. Data of all experiments were analyzed according by completely randomized design (CRD) with 5 replications. BA (3 levels) and Fe-EDDHA (4 levels) for experiment 1; BA (3 levels) and GA3 (2 levels) for experiment 2 were considered as factorial. SAS (v. 9.1) was used for analysis and means were compared with LSD test at 5% probably level. Results and Discussion Proliferated shoot number was affected by BA (p≤0.01) and Fe-EDDHA (p≤0.05) concentrations and also interaction of them (p≤0.05) while BA (p≤0.01) was caused elongation of proliferated shoots and Fe-EDDHA had no effect. BA (p≤0.05), Fe-EDDHA (p≤0.01) concentrations and BA×Fe-EDDHA (p≤0.01) interaction had significant effect on leaf production. Shoot tip necrosis was shown in shoots grown in all media based on BA concentration with different intensities (p≤0.05). Vegetative growth was counted as a power index of medium that in our experiment was under influence of BA concentrations (p≤0.01), Fe-EDDHA (p≤0.05) and BA×Fe-EDDHA interaction (p≤0.05). Shoots were proliferated (5.50 shoot/explant) and elongated in PMI media (MS ×1.5 CaCl2. 2H2O, KH2PO4 and MgSO4. 7H2O) containing 1.5 mg l-1 BA with no Fe-NaEDDHA while the lower concentrations of both BA and Fe-NaEDDHA caused the higher mature leaf production. PMI media containing 1 mg l-1 BA plus 150 mg l-1 Fe-NaEDDHA is recommended for Natanz shoot proliferation because of the highest vegetative growth and highest quality in proliferated shoots. MS media with 0.5 mg l-1 BA+ 0.5 mg l-1 GA3 (81%) and 1 BA mg l-1 + 0.1 mg l-1 GA3 (63%) had the highest meristem establishment, respectively. The established meristems in media supplement of 0.5 mg l-1 BA + 0.5 mg l-1 GA3+0.1 mg l-1 IBA naturally grown. Different types of auxin and their concentrations had significantly effect on Natanz pear cultivar microshoots rooting (p≤0.05). NAA induced rooting in lower concentrations while IBA had positive effect on rooting with concentration increasing. Microcuts were rooted via quick dip in 1000+1000 mg l-1 (IBA+NAA) solution followed by incubation in PMI medium. The rooted shoots well adapted to environmental condition.

WUE, protein and grain yield of wheat under the interaction of biological and chemical fertilizers and different moisture regimes

The present study aimed to investigate water use efficiency (WUE), protein and grain yield of wheat under the interaction of biological and chemical fertilizers in different moisture regimes. To that end, a split-plot based on a randomized complete block design with four replications was conducted over two cropping years of 2017–2018 and 2018–2019 at Zakah–Zabol Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Station in Iran. Irrigation regime was applied at three levels, serving as the main plot. On the other hand, biofertilizer resources along with chemical fertilizer were employed at seven levels as the sub-plots. Based on slicing of interactions, biofertilizers significantly affected offsetting the losses resulting from the moisture regime stress. Consequently, grain yield, harvest index and protein percentage in the Azotobacter biofertilizer treated with 50% of the locally common chemical fertilizer (respectively) showed a 37.8, 30.55 and 29.62% increase in comparison with the control group. The highest percent of seed protein and biological yield were observed in the treatments with a combination of Azotobacter and phosphobacteria biofertilizers, showing 61.28% and 16.13% increase, relative to the control, respectively. Azotobacter and phosphobacteria biofertilizers, alone or in combination, increased the grain yield, biological yield, harvest index, water use efficiency and protein percentage in the Arg wheat cultivar. Overall, the results of this study revealed that biological fertilizers, in addition to offsetting the losses resulting from the moisture regime stress, had a positive effect on improving the quantitative and qualitative yield of wheat.

Natural Resources Research: Acknowledgement of Reviewers for 2020

Natural Resources Research: Acknowledgement of Reviewers for 2020

Agro-physiological parameters for improving drought tolerance in rapeseed genotypes to cultivate in saline soils

ABSTRACT- This study was conducted to introduce agro-physiological traits for improving drought tolerant rapeseed winter genotypes for cultivation in saline areas. Eighteen rapeseed genotypes were evaluated under non-stressed and drought-stressed conditions from flowering and seed filling stages to seed maturity for two years (2012-2014) at the saline soils (EC=6.7 dS m-1) in Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center of East Azarbaijan, Iran. Drought stress significantly decreased pod length, plant height, seed yield, yield components and stomatal conductance and increased canopy temperature.Among the genotypes, significant differences were observed for pod length, the number of seeds in a pod, seed and oil yields, and stomatal conductance. The correlations among the traits were significantly positive. According to the results of genotypes grouping, HW101, L183, L73, and L72 having higher pod length, the number of seeds in a pod, stomatal conductance, seed and oil yields, which were recognized as the promising ones. The results of this study indicated that, the pod length, the number of seeds in a pod and stomatal conductance as simple and easy parameters can be used to select late season drought tolerant rapeseed winter genotypes for cultivation in saline areas. Also, the cluster analysis method was able to discriminate productive genotypes. Water deficit during flowering and seed filling stages, decreased the mean of seed yields by 800 and 584 Kg h-1 during the first year and 1764 and 1154 Kg h-1 during the second year of the experiment, of this study respectively. Thus, it was concluded that the evaluated rapeseed genotypes at the flowering stage were more sensitive to drought compared to the seed filling stage.

Reviewing tourism and natural resource research in the Arctic: towards a local understanding of sustainable tourism in the case of South Greenland

ABSTRACT Tourism and natural resources are rapidly changing in the Arctic. Human activities and climate change are transforming natural landscapes and affecting populations of wildlife, while remote Arctic destinations that were previously regarded as inaccessible and unattractive are being engulfed by the global increase in tourism. In parallel with these developments, the concept and practice of “sustainable tourism” is gaining weight. Connecting these two trends raises multiple questions, including how tourism affects natural resources in the Arctic and whether sustainable Arctic tourism is possible. We conduct a systematic review of scientific publications connecting tourism and natural resources in the Arctic in order to shed light on the environmental dimensions of sustainable tourism. Based on our review, we highlight the multidirectional relationship between tourism and natural resources, and we use southern Greenland as a concrete example of an Arctic destination to which we tie our discussion of “sustainable tourism” in both theory and practice. We conclude that framing sustainable tourism as a relative and comparative concept specific to the time, place and type of tourism activity, rather than as a set of general and ideal criteria, might be more applicable and meaningful in research and as a development strategy for tourism destinations.

Community Level Project Planning (CLPP) Assessment Report, Natural Resource Research Directorate, Worabe, Southern Ethiopia

Ethiopian economy is supported by its agricultural sector which is fundamental instrument for poverty alleviation, food security, and economic growth. One of the constraints in agricultural research is weak participatory project planning to alleviate agricultural problems. Any research activities carried out without baseline information were not targeted on root problems of the research area. Most of research activities carried out in the field was not considered constraints and opportunity of the study area. In other words, in agricultural research, poor problems identifications before field demonstration/experimentation may lead to reaching in to false finding. Therefore, this community level based project planning/CLPP/ assessment was aimed to identify agricultural constraints and opportunities of targeted Woredas of Silte, Gurage Zones and Yem Special woreda in 2008 E.C. The assessment was done from Silte Zone in (Alicho Weroro, Misrak Azernet Berbere and Mierab Azernet Berbere districts), from Gurage Zone (Geta, Enemor Ener, Gummer, Endigagn and Cheha Woredas) and Yem special woreda. Therefore, this paper highlights the CLPP (community level project planning) assessment was reported in tabular and listed. The aim of this assessment was to provide information to those who develop demand driven research activities. The assessment report mainly focused on Natural resource research constraint and opportunities of Worabe agricultural research center AGP-II thematic Woredas by selected representative kebeles from each Woreda in the project zones. All the collected constraints and opportunities of natural resource research directorate were listed down in tabular form and short bulleted discussion from each woredas’ were written in precisely. In addition to this, major problems of the area were attempted to narrate below in the table shortly. The study shows there were different research constraint almost all in assessed woredas’ which needs intervention of natural resource research work in different disciplines.

Vectors of Efficiency in Hybrid Poplar Genotype Testing

Abstract The Natural Resources Research Institute Hybrid Poplar Program breeds and tests genetically improved clones for bio-mass production and environmental services. The testing process progresses from Nursery Progeny Tests (NPT) to Family Field Trials (FFT) to Clone Trials (CT) to Yield Blocks (YB), with limited replication of many clones in FFT and CT and a limited number of highly selected clones set out in monoclonal blocks (YB) to approximate the conditions of commercial plantations. We used correlation vectors, R2 (coefficient of determination) and rs (Spearman’s Coefficient) for growth (DBH2) and McFadden’s Pseudo R2 for canker severity score, to determine where testing times could be altered (age – age correlations) and whole testing steps eliminated. FFT can be shortened from 5 years to 4 years. In CT, rank correlations between age 5 (half-rotation) and age 9/10 (full rotation) were significant (R2 = 0.39 – 0.72), but age 5 selection missed 44 % of the top ten clones at age 9/10. Clone rank in CT at full, but not half, rotation was correlated with rank at full rotation in YB. Choosing clones at 9 years in CT adds 4 years but allows possible elimination of YB for clone selection. Both FFT and CT are necessary. Canker abundance and severity in CT at full rotation cannot be determined at earlier ages. An aggressive strategy saves 6 years of testing.