Neighboring Forest Research Articles

Inoculation with rhizospheric microorganisms in tropical dry forests restoration increased microbial diversity but had no effect on seedling growth

The diversity of soil microbial organisms is rarely considered in restoration scenarios, even though this diversity is an important component of the ecological complexity that we aim to understand. Plant growth promoting microorganisms can positively affect plants by providing nutrients regularly, producing phytohormones to stimulate root growth and development, and modifying the rhizosphere environment. The present study evaluated, over a 5‐month period, the effects of inoculation of Inga densiflora nurse seedlings with rhizospheric microorganisms taken from a neighbor forest habitat, in the context of an early‐stage ecological restoration project in a Tropical Dry Forest area invaded by Guinea grass (Panicum maximum). The inoculation's effect on two response variables was evaluated: (1) growth of the seedling (I. densiflora), and (2) the diversity of bacteria and fungi, with an emphasis on genera associated with rhizosphere that promote vegetation growth. Bacterial and fungal diversity were evaluated using the metabarcoding method and Hill numbers q = 0, 1, and 2. Significantly higher microorganism diversity was found in the rhizosphere of inoculated seedlings compared to non‐inoculated seedlings. However, no significant differences were found in the growth of inoculated versus non‐inoculated seedlings. This evidence suggests that, in the short term and through a restoration context, inoculating trees with microorganisms taken directly from a neighboring forest can increase bacterial diversity, and possibly also fungal diversity. While understanding the intricacies of these processes requires further study, this technique seems to be a promising approach for recovering the diversity of rhizosphere microbiomes during ecological restoration.

Unexpected contribution of cloud seeding to NPP increase during drought

Abstract Cloud seeding is generally used to secure additional water resources, which is not an easy goal to achieve, as the spatial variability of rainfall is high. Instead, the increased rain may moisten the neighboring forest. This study focuses on this situation and estimates the possible increase in the net primary production (NPP) due to cloud seeding. This study considers the Boryeong Dam basin in Korea as a study area and uses the Carnegie–Ames–Stanford Approach (CASA) model to estimate the NPP at 8-day intervals. As a result, first, the increase of the current 8-day NPP is greater when the rainfall amount during the last 16-day period is 50 mm or more. The mean increase of the 8-day NPP is estimated at about 1.873 g/m2 of carbon. Second, the increase of the NPP with the target 16-day rainfall of 50 mm is estimated at about 3%, which is about 4% with the target 16-day rainfall of 100 mm. Simply extrapolating the derived result to the entire forest in Korea, the increased carbon accumulation can be extended to about 0.6 and 0.8% of the total carbon emission in 2018, respectively. These amounts correspond to about 1.2 and 1.5% of the target amount of carbon reduction by 2030 in Korea.

Exploring the mycobiome and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated with the rizosphere of the genus Inga in the pristine Ecuadorian Amazon.

This study explored the composition of the mycobiome in the rhizosphere of Inga seedlings in two different but neighboring forest ecosystems in the undisturbed tropical Amazon rainforest at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station in Ecuador. In terra firme plots, which were situated higher up and therefore typically outside of the influence of river floods, and in várzea plots, the lower part of the forest located near the riverbanks and therefore seasonally flooded, tree seedlings of the genus Inga were randomly collected and measured, and the rhizosphere soils surrounding the root systems was collected. Members of the Fabaceae family and the genus Inga were highly abundant in both forest ecosystems. Inga sp. seedlings collected in terra firme showed a lower shoot to root ratio compared to seedlings that were collected in várzea, suggesting that Inga seedlings which germinated in várzea soils could invest more resources in vegetative growth with shorter roots. Results of the physical-chemical properties of soil samples indicated higher proportions of N, Mo, and V in terra firme soils, whereas várzea soils present higher concentrations of all other macro- and micronutrients, which confirmed the nutrient deposition effect of seasonal flooding by the nearby river. ITS metabarcoding was used to explore the mycobiome associated with roots of the genus Inga. Bioinformatic analysis was performed using Qiime 2 to calculate the alpha and beta diversity, species taxonomy and the differential abundance of fungi and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. The fungal community represented 75% of the total ITS ASVs, and although present in all samples, the subphylum Glomeromycotina represented 1.42% of all ITS ASVs with annotations to 13 distinct families, including Glomeraceae (72,23%), Gigasporaceae (0,57%), Acaulosporaceae (0,49%). AMF spores of these three AMF families were morphologically identified by microscopy. Results of this study indicate that AMF surround the rhizosphere of Inga seedlings in relatively low proportions compared to other fungal groups but present in both terra firme and várzea Neotropical ecosystems.

Iconic Celebration of Charms and Friendship in Poetry: Fálétí’s “Adébímpé Ọ̀jẹ́dòkun”

Iconic Celebration of Charms and Friendship in Poetry: Fálétí’s “Adébímpé Ọ̀jẹ́dòkun”

Initial Reintroduction of the Aye-Aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) in Anjajavy Reserve, Northwestern Madagascar

Madagascar’s biodiversity is imperiled by habitat loss and degradation. Furthermore, species may be locally extirpated due to targeted hunting or disease. Translocating at-risk individuals to areas devoid of the species may be an effective conservation intervention. The aye-aye, Daubentonia madagascariensis, is uniquely susceptible to hunting pressure due to a cultural superstition. In June 2018, we reintroduced two aye-ayes in the Anjajavy Reserve, a dry deciduous forest in northwestern Madagascar. The translocated individuals, an adult female and juvenile offspring, were rescued from a neighboring forest that was subjected to pressure from fires and logging. We safely secured and transported the aye-ayes to Anjajavy and put them in a quarantine enclosure, where they were subjected to biomedical and behavioral monitoring. After release in the adjacent, protected forest, we conducted postrelease monitoring of the adult female using radio-tracking and scan sampling to determine ranging and activity patterns. We conducted behavioral observations from October 2018 to February 2019 and collected sleeping site data from October 2018 to September 2019. The female aye-aye fed on local resources including Canariumsp. seeds. During the study period, the aye-aye used 31 nests, occupied a home range of approximately 85 ha and traveled, on average, at a pace of 320 m/h. Our findings are comparable with published data on wild aye-ayes in other regions of Madagascar and provide support for future reintroductions of adult aye-ayes, and potentially other endemic species to the natural and protected habitats of Anjajavy.

Selected Physicochemical Properties of the Soils Under Different Land Uses in Some Areas of Ethiopia

Agriculture is the primary source of income for most developing countries, including Ethiopia. However, Ethiopian agriculture is under risk due to unwise use of land resources and changes in land use. In Ethiopia, land use changes such as conversion of natural forest to farming, open grazing, and homestead land are common. These activities have resulted in the degradation of agricultural soil quality and a decrease in land productivity, resulting in low agricultural production and food insecurity in the country. As a result, long-term advantages for environmental health and economic growth are provided through sustainable management of agricultural resources such as soil. As a result, Ethiopia has recently developed an interest in assessing the quality of soil resources. Understanding the impact of agro-ecosystem change on agricultural soil quality and long-term land production requires assessing soil physicochemical parameters and their implications on soil fertility. Thus, many studies have been conducted with regards to designated physicochemical properties of the soils under different land use types. Therefore, this review papers were aimed to assess selected physicochemical properties of the soils under different land use in some areas of Ethiopia. Different studies showed that soil physicochemical properties such as Soil texture (sand, silt, clay), Bulk density, Total porosity (%), OC, C: N ratio, TN, pH, CEC Ava-P, and Ava (EB: K + , Ca 2+ , and Mg 2+ ), Ava (EX; Fe 2+ , Mn 2+ , Zn 2+ , Cu 2+ ) were influenced by different land use systems. The findings of the various research revealed that the degree and direction of changes in soil attributes under various land uses reflect the long-term impact of humans on land resources, as well as the repercussions of expanding human and animal populations. In comparison to the neighboring forest and grazing area soils, the soil properties under farmed land indicated an overall trend in the direction of loss of fertility. In general, continuous cultivation has degraded greatest of the important soil physicochemical attributes of the area as compared to the uncultivated lands. Therefore, the studies have been showed that reducing the continues cultivation and the use of integrated soil fertility management could help to sustain current soil conditions and restore the country’s damaged soil qualities. Keywords : land uses, soil fertility, soil physicochemical properties DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/11-15-02 Publication date: August 31 st 2021

Restoring commercial timber species through silvicultural patch clear-cuts and natural regeneration in Mexico’s Maya Forest: Composition and growth 11 years after three treatments

The natural regeneration of 27 commercial and potentially commercial timber species was studied on experimental clearings in managed forests on three ‘ejidos’ and one private property in Quintana Roo, Mexico. Eight ½ ha clear-cuts had been created 11 years earlier using each of three different clearing treatments: slashing, felling and leaving (felled); slashing, felling and burning (burned); and machine-clearing. More than 6000 trees of 108 species were identified and measured on six 49 m2 quadrats on each of the experimental clear-cuts, and on the same number and size of quadrats in the neighboring forest. The Basal Area (BA) of different commercial timber groups differed among treatments. After machine-clearing, 47% of the BA was made up of currently commercial timber species, 39% the more valuable decorative hardwoods and 8% lesser value softwoods; on burned treatments, 40% of the BA was currently commercial timber species, 29% decorative hardwoods and 11% softwoods. On both these treatments Lysiloma latisiliquum, one of the most valuable hardwoods, accounted for more than 25% of the BA. On felled treatments, 29% of the BA was commercial timber species; 6% decorative hardwoods, 22% softwoods and 1% precious woods (Swietenia macrophylla). On controls, currently commercial species accounted for 27% of the BA, of which 21% was decorative hardwoods, 5% softwoods and 1% precious woods. The decorative hardwood species L. latisiliquum did not occur on control plots and was rare on felled plots. Depending on the treatment, palms and non-commercial species accounted for 31% to 52% of the BA, and ‘potentially commercial’ species or ‘other species of commercial interest’ accounted for 15% to 41% of the BA. On felled clearings, 30% of individuals were sprouts, as compared to 19% on burned clearings and 11% after machine-clearing. The largest trees on burned and machine-made clearings had grown approximately 1 cm in diameter year−1. Opening small clearings within the forest matrix using the same slash and burn treatments that local farmers use to open their agricultural fields, or machines like bulldozers, stimulated the natural regeneration of commercially valuable decorative hardwood species, of which 75% have been classified as shade-intolerant. These do not regenerate satisfactorily under the current regime of selective logging. The silvicultural management system for the Maya Forest must include patch clear-cuts and the conservation of seed trees and their pollinators and dispersors to sustain the commercial timber value of the forest, and its biodiversity.

The Effects of Forest Litter and Waterlogging on the Ecotoxicity of Soils Strongly Enriched in Arsenic in a Historical Mining Site

This study examined the effects of waterlogging and forest litter introduced to soil on chemical properties of soil pore water and ecotoxicity of soils highly enriched in As. These effects were examined in a 21-day incubation experiment. Tested soil samples were collected from Złoty Stok, a historical centre of arsenic and gold mining: from a forested part of the Orchid Dump (19,600 mg/kg As) and from a less contaminated site situated in a neighboring forest (2020 mg/kg As). An unpolluted soil was used as control. The concentrations of As, Fe and Mn in soil pore water were measured together with a redox potential Eh. A battery of ecotoxicological tests, including a bioassay with luminescence bacteria Vibrio fischeri (Microtox) and several tests on crustaceans (Rapidtox, Thamnotox and Ostracodtox tests), was used to assess soil ecotoxicity. The bioassays with crustaceans (T. platyurus, H. incongruens) were more sensitive than the bacterial test Microtox. The study confirmed that the input of forest litter into the soil may significantly increase the effects of toxicity. Waterlogged conditions facilitated a release of As into pore water, and the addition of forest litter accelerated this effect thus causing increased toxicity.

The Role of Feral Goats in Maintaining Firebreaks by Using Attractants

The threat of large forest fires is increasing, and the main causes are the depopulation of rural areas, along with the effects of climate change. To counter this threat in recent decades, there have been numerous proposals and actions aimed at promoting grazing in the forest as a tool for controlling biomass fuel. However, the continued disappearance of traditional herds makes this activity difficult. Rural depopulation has also meant that domestic species become feral, being habitual in the case of goats. Currently, little is known about the role that feral goats can play in the fight against forest fires. In this work, an analysis is made on the effect of feral goats on the control of the vegetation in firebreak areas. Furthermore, the effect of attractants, such as water, salt, or food, on goat behavior is also studied. The study was carried out on the island of Mallorca, where a population of feral goats occupies the mountain areas, and where it is common for them to graze on the network of firebreaks. The results showed that these areas in themselves exert an attractive effect with respect to the neighboring forest, and that the herbaceous biomass is reduced. This effect was enhanced with the implementation of water and salt points, although only in certain periods of the year. In general, it was possible to reduce the phytovolume of many species without affecting biodiversity in the short or medium term. Therefore, strategic management of feral animals, aimed at firebreak areas, could contribute not only to reducing the risk of fires and, consequently, to the mitigation of climate change, but also to attracting these animals to the forests, thus avoiding their dispersion to conflictive places such as roads, residences, agricultural fields, and gardens.

Can regional aerial images from orthophoto surveys produce high quality photogrammetric Canopy Height Model? A single tree approach in Western Europe

Forest monitoring tools are needed to promote effective and data driven forest management and forest policies. Remote sensing techniques can increase the speed and the cost-efficiency of the forest monitoring as well as large scale mapping of forest attribute (wall-to-wall approach). Digital Aerial Photogrammetry (DAP) is a common cost-effective alternative to airborne laser scanning (ALS) which can be based on aerial photos routinely acquired for general base maps. DAP based on such pre-existing dataset can be a cost effective source of large scale 3D data. In the context of forest characterization, when a quality Digital Terrain Model (DTM) is available, DAP can produce photogrammetric Canopy Height Model (pCHM) which describes the tree canopy height. While this potential seems pretty obvious, few studies have investigated the quality of regional pCHM based on aerial stereo images acquired by standard official aerial surveys. Our study proposes to evaluate the quality of pCHM individual tree height estimates based on raw images acquired following such protocol using a reference filed-measured tree height database. To further ensure the replicability of the approach, the pCHM tree height estimates benchmarking only relied on public forest inventory (FI) information and the photogrammetric protocol was based on low-cost and widely used photogrammetric software. Moreover, our study investigates the relationship between the pCHM tree height estimates based on the neighboring forest parameter provided by the FI program.Our results highlight the good agreement of tree height estimates provided by pCHM using DAP with both field measured and ALS tree height data. In terms of tree height modeling, our pCHM approach reached similar results than the same modeling strategy applied to ALS tree height estimates. Our study also identified some of the drivers of the pCHM tree height estimate error and found forest parameters like tree size (diameter at breast height) and tree type (evergreenness/deciduousness) as well as the terrain topography (slope) to be of higher importance than image survey parameters like the variation of the overlap or the sunlight condition in our dataset. In combination with the pCHM tree height estimate, the terrain slope, the Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) and the evergreenness factor were used to fit a multivariate model predicting the field measured tree height. This model presented better performance than the model linking the pCHM estimates to the field tree height estimates in terms of r² (0.90 VS 0.87) and root mean square error (RMSE, 1.78 VS 2.01 m). Such aspects are poorly addressed in literature and further research should focus on how pCHM approaches could integrate them to improve forest characterization using DAP and pCHM. Our promising results can be used to encourage the use of regional aerial orthophoto surveys archive to produce large scale quality tree height data at very low additional costs, notably in the context of updating national forest inventory programs.

Resilience of Rhizopogon-Douglas-fir mycorrhizal networks 25years after selective logging.

Rhizopogon vesiculosus and R. vinicolor are sister fungal species; they form ectomycorrhizas exclusively with Douglas-fir roots, and they are important in forming relatively large mycorrhizal networks, but they may be vulnerable to disturbance caused by logging practices. The main objective was to determine the resilience of mycorrhizal networks 25years following removal of large hub trees. We predicted that the targeted removal of mature trees would reduce network connectedness compared with a non-harvested neighboring forest. Rhizopogon vesiculosus was nearly absent in the non-harvested plots, whereas both species were prominent in the harvested plots. Initially, network analysis was based only on networks formed by R. vinicolor because they were well represented in both treatments. These analyses showed that the R. vinicolor-Douglas-fir MN was more densely linked in the non-harvested plots than the harvested plots. When we accounted for differences in link and node density, there was still an edge difference and a greater vulnerability to fragmentation in harvested forests than in non-harvested forests. When both Rhizopogon sister species were included in the analysis, both treatments had similar connectivity and limited vulnerability to fragmentation. This suggests that when these forests transition from a regenerating to a non-regenerating state, the Rhizopogon network will lose R. vesiculosus but will maintain link density due to the colonization with R. vinicolor.

Traditional plant and shurb used by the gujjar and bakarwal tribe of District Poonch, Jammu and Kashmir (India)

The use of medical plant and Shrubs by the Gujjar and Bakarwal represents a long history on the earth planet. The survival of human beings on the earth surface is dependent on one another for the survival of good live hoods. The major segmentation of Gujjars and Bakarwal population contributes to the study area and lives in the neighboring forest for their purpose of pasture. The rearing of cattle buffalo goats sheep are the primary occupation and the source of income, and hence they migrate from one place to another place. The Gujjar and Bakarwal spend their lives for the domestication of animals for fulfills their needs such as food, fodder clothing, housing and for medicine they use such natural traditional plants and shrubs. Throughout the world, the importance and value of traditional knowledge of medical plants increase day by day. The knowledge of traditional shrubs carried out by Gujjar and Bkarwhal. They make use of the Shrubs to cure different ailments. They used a different part of the medical plants such as roots, flowers, barks, fruit, leaf, wood, etc. Sometimes the whole plant is used. The herbal plants and shrubs used by this tribe are to treat different diseases joint pain, headache, toothache, skin problem, stomach problems, cut and wounds, body pain, vomiting, fever, juidence, dysentery, heart problem, infections, and gastro problem, etc. They use different methods to prepared include powder, juice, oil, paste, extract, smoke, and raw material.

Plant communities in the lysimeter experiment of ash reclamation in the Dolna Odra Power Station in Nowe Czarnowo (Poland)

The aim of the study was to determine the type and origin of plant communities on an area of 4 lysimeters (35 m2 each) filed with ash and covered with two superlayers 12 years after the beginning of the experience. The paper presents the species of grasses sown in 2003, their sward participation then and the flrist status in 2015. Phytosociological records were taken using the Braun-Blanquet’s method, distinguished plant communities, the syngenesis of the recognized phytocoenoses was defied. The results allowed to determine the advantage of the ruderal synanthropic communities: Artemisio-Tanacetetum vulgaris Br-Bl. 1931 corr. 1949 (in L-2), Leonuro Ballotetum nigrae (in L-3), a community with Rubus caesius (in L-4) over the natural auxochoric Calamagrostietum epigeji Juraszek 1928 (in L-1). Their current state is referred to as a hull form. However, due to the presence of the expansive species characteristic of the above-mentioned communities, continued development can be expected towards fully developed phytocoenoses. The thesis founded about the inflence of the neighboring forest communities on the species composition of the vegetation of the subject has not been confimed. There were only three forest and scrub species with a negligible sward participation.

Tree seed rain and seed removal, but not the seed bank, impede forest recovery in bracken (Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn)-dominated clearings in the African highlands.

Considerable areas dominated by bracken Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn occur worldwide and are associated with arrested forest recovery. How forest recovery is impeded in these areas remains poorly understood, especially in the African highlands. The component processes that can lead to recruitment limitation—including low seed arrival, availability and persistence—are important determinants of plant communities and offer a potential explanation for bracken persistence. We investigated key processes that can contribute to recruitment limitation in bracken‐dominated clearings in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. We examined if differences in seed rain (dispersal limitation), soil seed bank, or seed removal (seed viability and persistence) can, individually or in combination, explain the differences in tree regeneration found between bracken‐dominated areas and the neighboring forest. These processes were assessed along ten 50‐m transects crossing the forest–bracken boundary. When compared to the neighboring forest, bracken clearings had fewer seedlings (bracken 11,557 ± 5482 vs. forest 34,515 ± 6066 seedlings/ha), lower seed rain (949 ± 582 vs. 1605 ± 335 tree seeds m−2 year−1), comparable but sparse soil seed bank (304 ± 236 vs. 264 ± 99 viable tree seeds/m2), higher seed removal (70.1% ± 2.4% vs. 40.6% ± 2.4% over a 3‐day interval), and markedly higher rodent densities (25.7 ± 5.4 vs. 5.0 ± 1.6 rodents per 100 trapping sessions). Camera traps revealed that rodents were the dominant animals visiting the seeds in our seed removal study. Synthesis: Recruitment limitation contributes to both the slow recovery of forest in bracken‐dominated areas, and to the composition of the tree species that occur. Low seed arrival and low persistence of unburied seeds can both explain the reduced density of seedlings found in bracken versus neighboring forest. Seed removal, likely due to rodents, in particular appears sufficient to constrain forest recovery and impacts some species more severely than others.

Meteorological and Chemical Factors Controlling Ozone Formation in Seoul during MAPS-Seoul 2015

Author(s): Kim, H; Choi, WC; Rhee, HJ; Suh, I; Lee, M; Blake, DR; Kim, S; Jung, J; Lee, G; Kim, DS; Park, SM; Ahn, J; Lee, SD | Abstract: To understand the chemical mechanisms of controlling factors in ozone (O3) formation in early summer in Seoul, a comprehensive study encompassing measurement and modeling was conducted under the Megacity Air Pollution Study-Seoul (MAPS-Seoul) campaign. From May 18 to June 12, 2015, O3 and peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) were measured, along with their precursors, including NOx and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, located in northeast Seoul. VOCs were sampled in a canister twice a day (at 09:30 and 15:00) and analyzed via gas chromatography. The meteorological conditions and chemical regimes of the air masses were clearly distinguished during the study period. In May, NOx concentrations were higher with more pronounced diurnal cycles of precursors and O3 under constant westerly winds. By contrast, stagnant conditions developed in June, which reduced the inflow of primary emissions from the downtown area but increased the influence from the neighboring forest under high temperatures. As a result, the ratio of O3 to odd oxygen was higher in June, indicating a less efficient removal of O3 by NOx. In the same context, the air mass was chemically more aged with a higher NO2/NOx ratio and enhanced OH reactivity of oxygenated and biogenic VOCs in June. The overall measurement results suggest that O3 formation is slightly more sensitive to VOCs than to NOx in Seoul during this season, when O3 concentrations are the highest of the year.

Comparison Between Ground Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Communities Foraging in the Straw Mulch of Sugarcane Crops and in the Leaf Litter of Neighboring Forests.

In many sugarcane plantations in Brazil, the straw is left on the soil after harvesting, and vinasse, a by-product of the production of sugar and ethanol, is used for fertigation. Our goal was to compare ant community composition and species richness in the straw mulch of sugarcane crops with the leaf litter of neighboring forests. We tested the hypothesis that ant communities in the straw mulch of vinasse-irrigated sugarcane crops and in the forest leaf litter were similar, because the combination of straw mulching and vinasse irrigation has a positive effect on soil fauna. Straw mulch and leaf litter were collected from 21 sites and placed in Berlese funnels. In total, 61 species were found in the forest leaf litter, whereas 34 and 28 species were found in the straw mulch of sugarcane fields with and without vinasse, respectively. Ant communities differed between forest and crop fields, but the species in the sugarcane straw mulch were a subset of the species found in the forest leaf litter. Although vinasse is rich in organic matter, it did not increase ant diversity. Seven feeding and/or foraging types were identified and, among the different types, surface-foraging omnivorous ants were the most prevalent in all habitats. Vinasse-irrigated sugarcane straw mulch had more predatory species than mulch from vinasse-free fields, but fewer than forest leaf litter. However, this positive effect of vinasse irrigation should be carefully evaluated because vinasse has negative effects on the environment.

Does the Genotype Have a Significant Effect on the Formation of Intra-Annual Density Fluctuations? A Case Study Using Larix decidua from Northern Poland.

Intra-annual density fluctuations (IADFs) can imprint environmental conditions within the growing season and most of the research on IADFs has been focused on their climatic signal. However, to our knowledge, the genetic influence on the frequency and type of IADFs has not been evaluated. To understand if the genotype can affect the formation of IADFs we have used a common garden experiment using eight families of Larix decidua established in two neighboring forest stands in northern Poland. Four types of IADFs were identified using X-ray density profiles: latewood-like cells within earlywood (IADF-type E), latewood-like cells in the transition from early- to latewood (IADF type E+), earlywood-like cells within latewood (IADF-type L), and earlywood-like cells in the border zone between the previous and present annual ring (IADF-type L+). The influence of explanatory variables i.e., families, sites, and years on identified density fluctuations was analyzed using generalized estimating equations (GEE). We hypothesized that trees from different families will differ in terms of frequency and type of IADFs because each family will react to precipitation and temperature in a different way, depending on the origin of those trees. The most frequent fluctuation was E+ and L types on both sites. The most important factors in the formation of IADFs were the site and year, the last one reflecting the variable climatic conditions, with no significant effect of the family. However, the relation between the formation of IADFs and selected climate parameters was different between families. Although, our results did not give a significant effect of the genotype on the formation of IADFs, the different sensitivity to climatic parameters among different families indicate that there is a genetic influence.

Farmers and Forest Conservation: How Might Land Sparing Work in Practice?

ABSTRACTCritical biodiversity areas are being converted into cropland to feed a growing global population. One solution to this problem is the highly debated land sparing hypothesis, which promotes agricultural intensification on farms to abate conversion of “wild nature.” However, food is not the only valuable farm product; trees on farms provide timber and firewood. This study presents empirical evidence from Barjomot, Tanzania, to ask: Does it make sense for both farmers and forest conservation to maximize food production where both food and tree products are produced? Participant observation, focus groups, and 40 household interviews were conducted. Results show that farmers with trees on their farms were 30% less likely to collect tree products from a neighboring forest reserve. This tentatively suggests that under agricultural intensification of food crops, farmers may have no other option but to collect tree products from “spared” forests, potentially impacting forest conservation.

Changes in the ecological diversity of the forest population of ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) after deforestation and during the initial period of reforestation

The ecological structure of ground beetles was studied. Its dynamics during the migration of ground beetles from one habitat to another as a result of severe ecological disturbances caused by tree felling and subsequent reforestation was considered. Some regularities in the formation and development of a ground beetle community in the early stage of secondary succession at the felling site were determined. Further trends were revealed using the simplest indices of diversity, species, abundance, distribution, and dominance of species. The species richness of ground beetles at the site one year after felling increased from 28 to 41 species. It decreased to 36 species in four years. According to the ecological preference, the basis of the complex of ground beetles at the forest site before felling was formed by spring-breeding species. Four years after felling, the proportion of forest species decreased (from 73.4 to 65.7%) and the significance of forestmarsh and meadow-field species increased. The proportion of summer- and autumn-breeding species also increased. The species and quantitative composition of ground beetles at the site during the first year after felling was mostly determined by neighboring forests. As reforestation proceeded, a separate biocenosis developed at the felling site and the influence of the forests became lower. The proportion of summer- and autumnbreeding species increased. The species and quantitative composition of ground beetles at the felling site was mostly determined by the neighboring forest during the first year. A separate biocenosis developed at the felling site in the following years, and the influence exercised by the forest diminished.

Changes in soil microbial community structure and activity in a cedar plantation invaded by moso bamboo

Moso bamboo is fast-growing and can invade a neighboring forest with its rhizome system. We investigated the effect of bamboo invasion on an adjacent Japanese cedar plantation in terms of soil microbial biomass, activities and community structure by analysis of phospholipid-derived fatty acid (PLFA) and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) profiles. In the cedar-plantation soil invaded by bamboo, soil microbial biomass C (Cmic) decreased and biomass N (Nmic) increased, which reduced Cmic/Nmic. Similarly, soil cellulase and xylanase activities decreased with invasion, indicating that bamboo invasion into the cedar plantation facilitated changes in microbial biomass and activities by changing soil biochemical properties. The proportion of total PLFAs that was attributed to all bacteria, Gram-positive (G+) bacteria and Gram-negative (G−) bacteria, was reduced with invasion. The ratio of G+/G− bacteria, 16:ω7t to 16:1ω7c, and cyclopropyl fatty acids to their precursors (i.e., cy17:0/16:1ω7 and cy19:0/18:1ω7c) was highest in cedar-plantation soil, suggesting that environmental stress for soil bacterial communities is alleviated in bamboo invaded soils. Low ratio of G+/G− in the bamboo-plantation and transition-zone soil was associated with increased level of easily decomposable organic matter (Cmic/Corg and Nmic/Ntot) in bamboo-invaded soil. Principle component analysis of PLFA content separated the cedar-plantation soil from bamboo and transition-zone soil. DGGE analysis revealed that change in both bacterial and fungal community structure was associated with bamboo invasion. Bamboo invasion caused significant changes in soil microbial activities and community structure in the Japanese cedar plantation.