Neighbor Tree Research Articles

Transcriptome-based single-nucleotide polymorphism markers between Pinus brutia and Pinus halepensis and the analysis of their hybrids

Natural hybridization occurs in sites where Pinus halepensis Mill. and Pinus brutia Ten. overlap geographically. Studies have shown that these hybrids demonstrate vigorous growth. Currently, there is no efficient method for hybrid identification. In the present study, a transcriptome database that was established from P. halepensis and P. brutia provided 111,388 potential SNP markers for hybrid identification. We selected 295 SNPs that were verified in silico using the Integrative Genomics Viewer (IGV) program. Forty-three SNPs were confirmed in vitro using several methods, including CAPS, HRM, TaqMan, KASP, and direct sequencing. Seven SNPs that were used for genotyping P. brutia trees in three planted sites along the climatic gradient of Israel demonstrated hybrid incidences of 2.5, 6.3, and 9.4%. The trunk volume of the hybrids in these sites was 2.9, 2.4, and 1.2 times larger than that of their P. brutia neighboring trees. Differences among the sites in the hybrid vigorous growth extent might have resulted from several factors, including genetic source, stand age, thinning history, and site conditions. However, the overall vigorous growth of the hybrids that was more pronounced in the arid site highlights the potential of interspecific hybridization as a means for improving the drought resistance of forest trees. This work provides a reliable SNP database for the identification of P. brutia × P. halepensis hybrids for the potential utilization of these hybrids to confront changes in climate.

Onsite age discrimination of an endangered medicinal and aromatic plant species Valeriana jatamansi using field hyperspectral remote sensing and machine learning techniques

ABSTRACT Valeriana jatamansi Jones is an aromatic herb well known for its essential oil contents, and its high medicinal and commercial values. The amount of essential oils present in it increases with maturity (age) of the plant. In this study, Hyperspectral remote sensing data recorded in the field using Analytical Spectral Devices (ASD) handheld spectroradiometer was used to discriminate the age (6, 12, 24 and 36 months) of V. jatamansi. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used for feature selection and 06 machine learning classifiers were used to classify the plant based on their ages, i.e., Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest (RF), Boosting Decision Tree (BDT), Decision Tree (DT) and k-Nearest Neighbourhood (kNN). For comparison, these classifiers were applied on full range of spectral reflectance data without feature selection and on feature-selected data using PCA. It was found that the accuracies of ANN, RF, BDT, SVM, DT and kNN were 91, 85, 57, 78, 35 and 42%, respectively for non-feature selected datasets. The accuracies of ANN and DT classifiers were, respectively, increased by 100% and 75% after applying PCA. The ANN classifiers resulted in 100% overall accuracy with a Kappa coefficient (K) of 1. The wavelength regions 860, 870 to 874, 876 to 885 nm in near-infrared (NIR), and 747 to 756 nm (red-edge) were identified as regions suitable for discriminate the age groups of V. jatamansi. The final trained model thus prepared was again validated on 60 plants (with different age group) grown in its natural habitat and the obtained accuracy was 88% (K = 0.84). Thus, the present study have provided a rapid technology for onsite identification of age of V. jatamansi in the field itself. The developed technology thus provides a scientific way for harvesting of this plant at its optimum age avoiding its wastage. The results of this study can also be applied to other endangered and valuable plants by way of finding its optimum growth stages for its harvesting.

The significance of tree-tree interactions for forest ecosystem functioning

Global change exposes forest ecosystems to many risks including novel climatic conditions, increased frequency of climatic extremes and sudden emergence and spread of pests and pathogens. At the same time, forest landscape restoration has regained global attention as an integral strategy for climate change mitigation. Owing to unpredictable future risks and the need for new forests that provide multiple ecosystem services, mixed-species forests have been advocated for this purpose. However, the successful establishment of mixed forests requires intrinsic knowledge of biodiversity's role for forest ecosystem functioning. In this respect, a better understanding of tree-tree interactions and how they contribute to observed positive tree species richness effects on key ecosystem functions is critical. Here, we review the current knowledge of the underlying mechanisms of tree-tree interactions and argue that positive net biodiversity effects at the community scale may emerge from the dominance of positive over negative interactions at the local neighbourhood scale. In a second step, we demonstrate how tree-tree interactions and the immediate tree neighbourhood's role can be systematically assessed in a tree diversity experiment. The expected results will improve predictions about the effects of tree interactions on ecosystem functioning based on general principles. We argue that this knowledge is urgently required to guide the design of tree species mixtures for the successful establishment of newly planted forests.

Associations of the residential built environment with adolescent sleep outcomes.

Over 75% of US high school students obtain insufficient sleep, placing them at risk for adverse health outcomes. Identification of modifiable determinants of adolescent sleep is needed to inform prevention strategies, yet little is known about the influence of the built environment on adolescent sleep. In this prospective study, actigraphy was used to assess sleep outcomes among 110 adolescents for 14 days each in eighth and ninth grades: duration (hours/night), onset and offset, and sleeping ≥8 hours. Home addresses were linked to built environment exposures: sound levels, tree canopy cover, street density, intersection density, population density, and housing density. Mixed-effects regression estimated associations of built environment measures with sleep outcomes, adjusting for sex, race, parent education, household income, household size, grade, weeknight status, and neighborhood poverty. A 1-standard deviation (SD) increase in neighborhood sound was associated with 16 minutes later sleep onset (β = 0.28; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.06, 0.49) and 25% lower odds of sleeping for ≥8 hours (odds ratio (OR) = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.59, 0.96). A 1-SD increase in neighborhood tree canopy was associated with 18 minutes earlier sleep onset (β = -0.31, 95% CI: -0.49, -0.13) and 10 minutes earlier sleep offset (β= -0.17, 95% CI: -0.28, -0.05). No associations were observed for density-based exposures. Higher neighborhood sound level was associated with lower odds of sufficient sleep, while higher tree canopy cover was associated with more favorable sleep timing. Neighborhood sound levels and tree canopy cover are potential targets for policies and interventions to support healthier sleep among adolescents.

Multidimensional spatial clustering and visualization of 3D topographic relief data

Point cloud contains a large collection of point data as surface returns to describe the multidimensional aspect of the topographic features. Data points within these point clouds at the atomic level convey little or no information about the structural, physical, and spatial information about objects of interest within the scene in its raw form. Analyzing the surface described as a set of the point is complex and challenging. This paper describes the framework and methods for analyzing topographical reliefs and terrain regions to extract surface features using spatial clustering and aggregation of point cloud data. The method also describes the effectiveness of Kd- tree and nearest neighbor estimates in segmenting and visualizing the surface topographical terrain and relief region. The morphological correspondence between the points within clusters and the corresponding surface is demonstrated. It is also defined as clusters and spatially varying aspects of the object structures for further studies. The result obtained with the experiments shows significant improvement in classifying and clustering small and large surface structures of topographic reliefs over other known methods. It establishes the relevance of using spatial clustering and the use of surface normals for clustering object structures of varying sizes on the earth's surface.

Prediksi Kelulusan dan Putus Studi Mahasiswa dengan Pendekatan Bertingkat pada Perguruan Tinggi

Currently, the problem of college failure, its on-time graduation, and the factors that cause it is still an interesting research topic (C. Marquez-Vera, C. Romero and S. Ventura, 2011). This study compares three data mining classification algorithms namely Naive Bayes, Decision Tree and K-Nearest Neighbor to predict graduation and dropout risk for students to improve the quality of higher education and the most accurate algorithms to use Prepare graduation and dropout prediction Student studies. The best algorithm for predicting graduation and dropout is the decision tree with the best accuracy value of 99.15% with a training data ratio of 30%. Keyword : Data Mining; Algoritma Naive Bayes; Decision Tree; K-Nearest Neighbor; Predict Graduation; Drop Out.

Economic Effectiveness and Agricultural Indicators of Combinations Grafting-Varieties of Apple Plants

Research was carried out in the north-eastern part of the republic, in the Khuba-Khachmaz zone. Was carried out a comparative analysis of apple varieties on the different grafting and landing schemes. Namely, on the generative rootstock in the gardens, established in the village of Timiryazev of the Khuba region, according to the scheme 5x4m, in the village of Yeni Hayat of the Khusar region on the grafting M9 according to the scheme 4х1,25м and in the village of Dashliyatakh of the Shabran ragion on the grafting MM106 according to the scheme 5x3 m. The agricultural yield was calculated to the formula, proposed by A.S Ovsyannikov by the formula; Уa= Уs х Sa х N : 100; here Уs - Specific productivity, kg / m2 crown projection; Sa - area occupied by crown projection, м2; N – Number of trees per hectare; 100- for transfer of kg, in centners / hectare. To determine the optimum area for plant nutrition were used generally accepted formula: Sop = (D- 0,3) x (D+2)м2 ; D is the diameter of the crown in the period of full fruiting, м; 2- necessary gleam between rows, м; 0,3- the possibility of penetration of branches into the crown of a neighboring tree, м. Economic efficiency was determined by the method proposed by P. V.Dubrava. The results of research is different combinations varieties-grafting. It was determined that all varieties shows high profitability on different grafting. Also, identified a significant impact of the grafting both to the morphometric parameters, to the productivity and economic productivity of varieties. Varieties on the generative rootstock having a relatively large area of crown projection (11.3 m2), respectively, reduce the productivity of the crown to 3.63 kg / m2, against of, having the smaller area of the crown projection (2.43 ... 7.96 m2) and accordingly high productivity (11.70 ... 5.40 kg / m2) on the clonal grafting as M9 and MM106. Relatively less crown volume creates conditions for reducing the area of supply trees, thereby increase the number of trees per unit area and, accordingly, an increase the agrecultural harvest per hectare. This helps to increase the level of net income of varieties on clonal grafting. They have a net income of 3622.97 .... 16335.91 AZN is more than in the varieties of generative rootstock (3029.57 AZN). Accordingly, indicators of agrcultural produoctivity, in varieties on clonal grafting, vastly more (correspondingly 598.92 ... 352.56 center / ha) than in the varieties on the generative rootstock (247.87 center / ha). At the same time, high and high quality productivity of varieties on clonal grafting contributes to the increase in net income and, together with them, the profitability of production. It should be noted that, the profitability of farming in gardens on generative grafting is 100.06%, then this indicator in apple gardens, on clonal grafting is much higher and amounts of 147.54% on MM106 and 381.14% on M9.

The dynamics of conspecific tree and seedling neighbors on seedling survival in a subtropical forest

Negative intraspecific interactions could provide opportunities for heterospecific regeneration, thereby maintaining species coexistence in forest communities. Increasing conspecific tree and seedling neighbor densities often have negative correlations with seedling survival. If and how the strength of interactions change with seedling age remains a knowledge gap. In this study, we followed 2184 newly germinated seedlings belonging to 26 species for five years in a subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest in eastern China. We tested the density distribution pattern of different aged live seedlings and used generalized linear mixed models to assess the dynamic influence of conspecific tree and seedling neighbors on seedlings survival across years. Our results showed that the density distribution of newly germinated seedlings was more clustered than the other aged live seedlings. Over five years, the clustered density distribution of live seedlings gradually weakened. Particularly, the density distribution of five years old seedlings was statistically random. Meanwhile, the degree of positive correlation between the density of live seedlings and the density of conspecific tree neighbors decreased with seedling age. Correspondingly, the conspecific seedling neighbors had a significant negative correlation with newly germinated seedlings survival in the first year and had a greater effect than conspecific tree neighbor density. As seedlings age, the conspecific tree neighbors had a greater negative relative effect on seedlings survival than the conspecific seedling neighbors. Our findings demonstrate that intraspecific negative interactions are an important mechanism on seedling survival and the magnitude of those interactions change with seedling age. In younger seedlings, intraspecific negative interactions were mainly from conspecific seedling neighbors and weakened as the seedlings aged. In later seedling ages, the interactions from conspecific tree neighbors dominated. Ultimately, these effects reduce species clumping dynamically and provide space for establishment of heterospecifics which would maintain diversity in the forest.

Integrating Diverse Perspectives for Managing Neighborhood Trees and Urban Ecosystem Services in Portland, OR (US)

Municipalities worldwide are increasingly recognizing the importance of urban green spaces to mitigate climate change’s extreme effects and improve residents’ quality of life. Even with extensive earlier research examining the distribution of tree canopy in cities, we know little about human perceptions of urban forestry and related ecosystem services. This study aims to fill this gap by examining the variations in socioeconomic indicators and public perceptions by asking how neighborhood trees and socioeconomic indicators mediate public perceptions of ecosystem services availability. Using Portland, Oregon (USA) as our case study, we assessed socioeconomic indicators, land cover data, and survey responses about public perceptions of neighborhood trees. Based on over 2500 survey responses, the results indicated a significant correlation among tree canopy, resident income, and sense of ownership for urban forestry. We further identified the extent to which the absence of trees amplifies environmental injustices and challenges for engaging communities with landscape management. The results suggested that Portland residents are aware of tree maintenance challenges, and the inclusion of cultural ecosystem services can better address existing environmental injustices. Our assessment of open-ended statements suggested the importance of conducting public outreach to identify specific priorities for a community-based approach to urban forestry.

Introducing tree neighbouring relationship factors in forest pattern spatial analysis: weighted Delaunay triangulation method

It is important to quantify and analyze forest spatial patterns for studying biological characteristics, population interaction and the relationship between the population and environment. In this study, the forest spatial structure unit was generated based on the Delaunay triangulation model (DTM), and the weights were generated using the comprehensive values of the tree diameter at breast height, total height and crown width. The distance between neighbors determined by the DTM was weighted to transform the original coordinates of trees into logical coordinates. Then, a weighted spatial pattern (WSP) was developed. After weighting, the neighboring trees were replaced, the replacement ratio was 38.3%, and there was 57.4% of the central tree. Correlation analysis showed that the uniform angle index of the WSP was significantly correlated with the tree size standard deviation under uniformity (r = 0.932) and randomness (r = 0.711). The DTM method not only considers the spatial distance between trees, but also considers the non-spatial attributes of trees. By changing the spatial topological relation between trees, this method further improves the spatial structure measurement of forest.

DNA barcoding of some common coastal fishes from Japan and China

To determine the species status of some common coastal fishes from Japan and China, 652 bp fragments of cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) of 184 individuals of 37 species, 34 genera, 24 families, 7 orders in Japan were sequenced, combined with 143 homologous sequences from Japan and China downloaded from GenBank, a total of 327 sequences of 40 species, 35 genera, 24 families and 7 orders were analyzed. Results showed that the average interspecific genetic distance (6.25%) was about 14.88 times the mean intraspecific distance (0.42%), and 36 species were monophyletic with 97%-99% bootstrap support, supporting their species status. The intraspecies genetic distance of <italic>Lateolabrax</italic> spp. was 3.91%, and formed two clades on the neighboring tree, and the genetic distances between the clades (6.98%) were about 14.2 times those within clades (0.49%), suggesting that <italic>L</italic>. <italic>japonicus</italic> from Japan and <italic>L</italic>. <italic>maculatus</italic> from China might have evolved to two different species, which was consistent with previous studies. The intraspecies genetic distance of <italic>Pennahia argentata</italic> was 2.01%, and it formed two clades with 99% bootstrap support, and the genetic distances between the clades (3.28%) were about 11.3 times those within clades (0.29%), suggesting that <italic>P</italic>. <italic>argentata</italic> from Japan and China might be 2 subspecies or 2 species. <italic>Cleisthenes herzensteini</italic> and <italic>C</italic>. <italic>Pinetorum</italic> were mixed on a clade and both average genetic distances between species (0.32%) and within species (0.23%) was less than 2%, thus it is assumed that there might be misidentification, but the possibility of incomplete lineage sorting can not be ruled out. <italic>Callionymus valenciennei</italic> and <italic>Repomucenus ornatipinnis</italic> clustered into 2 clades, and the average genetic distance between clades (1.97%) was 4.6 times that within clades (0.43%), it is therefore speculated that they might be 2 subspecies or 2 species. Due to the small size of Callionymid fish and significant morphological differences between males and females, the possibility of morphological misidentification can not be ruled out.

Light can modify density‐dependent seedling mortality in a temperate forest

AbstractQuestionsThere is growing evidence on how density‐dependent drivers of plant performance are influenced by habitat heterogeneity such as variation in understorey light availability. How these processes operate in temperate forests still remains an open question, however. We examined the interactive effects of density dependence and light availability on woody seedling mortality across multiple species, two size stages and growth forms.LocationAlluvial old‐growth temperate forest, southeastern Czech Republic.MethodsWe mapped seedlings of woody species (≥10 cm tall) and recorded their mortality over a two‐year period on 21 square seedling plots (25 m2) within one large square plot with all trees mapped (≥1 cm diameter at breast height). Seedling mortality was studied using a combined approach of generalised linear mixed models and spatial point pattern analyses.ResultsDensity‐dependent effects of tree and seedling neighbours influenced seedling mortality at different spatial scales, depending on their size class, growth form and by taxon. Conspecific inhibition raised the mortality of seedlings other than Acer campestre at low light levels, indicating that host‐specific enemies and/or intraspecific competition may be important in unfavourable habitats. While small seedlings experienced conspecific inhibition at low light levels, tall seedlings were additively affected by low‐light conditions and competition with trees. Both conspecific and heterospecific neighbours tended to affect tree seedlings at low light levels, whereas shrub seedlings experienced light‐ and density‐independent mortality. Some negative interspecific interactions indicated ongoing expansion of species like Acer campestre in currently flood‐free habitats.ConclusionsHow density‐dependent effects translate into demographic outcomes for woody seedling populations may be largely determined by variation in understorey light availability. Given that seedlings differ in size, growth form and taxa, we also demonstrate that both seedling and tree neighbours may contribute to the strength and spatial variation in density‐dependent effects at seedling neighbourhood scales.

Hyperparameter tuning and comparison of k nearest neighbour and decision tree algorithms for cardiovascular disease prediction

Hyperparameter tuning and comparison of k nearest neighbour and decision tree algorithms for cardiovascular disease prediction

Cavity construction by reintroduced populations of Red‐cockaded Woodpeckers (Dryobates borealis)

Although species reintroduction attempts are now common, monitoring of reintroduction attempts rarely extends beyond initial population establishment. This short timespan likely fails to document long‐term population stability, subtle changes in behavior, and the potentially larger effects that some reintroduced species may have on other species. The Red‐cockaded Woodpecker (RCW; Dryobates borealis) is an important habitat specialist and ecosystem engineer that excavates cavities in living trees. Excavation of natural RCW cavities can take years to complete, but they also persist for many years and are used by many other species. We quantified characteristics of cavity trees excavated by RCWs (n = 44) in two populations that were reintroduced to unoccupied areas more than 10 years earlier. We measured features associated with heartwood rot and used generalized linear mixed effects regression to determine whether these features differed for trees selected for cavity excavation compared with random neighboring trees. We also assessed population trends for cavity‐nesting species that commonly used RCW cavities on one of the sites. Height of first live limb was the only factor distinguishing natural RCW cavity trees from control trees. Four of six cavity‐nesting species monitored increased significantly following RCW establishment. The increases may relate to the many natural and artificial cavities created during the reintroduction effort. Future reintroductions of the RCW should lead to successful natural cavity excavation if sufficiently large trees with smaller live crowns are present. Future efforts may also benefit the broader community of cavity‐nesting birds.

Mapping functional diversity using individual tree-based morphological and physiological traits in a subtropical forest

Functional diversity (FD) provides a link between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, summarizing inter- and intra-specific variation of functional traits. However, quantifying plant traits and FD consistently and cost-effectively across large and heterogeneous forest areas is challenging with traditional field sampling. Airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and imaging spectroscopy provide spatially explicit data, which allow mapping of selected forest traits and FD at different spatial scales. We develop an individual tree-based method to measure forest FD from tree neighborhoods to whole forests, and demonstrate the approach by mapping functional traits of over one million trees in a subtropical forest in China. We retrieved canopy morphological traits (95th quantile height, leaf area index and foliage height diversity) and physiological traits (proxies of nitrogen, carotenoids and specific leaf area) for each individual canopy tree crown from LiDAR and imaging spectroscopy data, respectively. Based on the multivariate trait space spanned by the six trait axes and filled by measured tree individuals, we mapped forest FD as richness, divergence and evenness, and explored spatial patterns of FD as well as FD–area and FD–tree number relationships. The results show that LiDAR-derived morphological traits and spectral indices of physiological traits are consistent with field measurements and show weak correlations between each other at individual tree level. Morphological functional richness follows a hump-shaped pattern along the elevational gradient of 984–1805 m, with maximum values at elevations around 1450 m, while high physiological functional richness occurs at medium and high elevations. At an ecosystem scale of 30 × 30 m, morphological richness increases continuously with tree density, but physiological richness decreases again at very high densities. Moreover, functional richness shows a logarithmic relationship with increasing area or number of individual trees, and local trait convergence is predominant in our study area. We demonstrate the ability to quantify FD using morphological and physiological traits by remote sensing, which provides a pathway to conduct individual-level trait-based ecology with wall-to-wall data.

Influence of neighbor competition and tree attributes on the fruit production of Sinomanglietia glauca, an endangered tree species endemic to China

Sinomanglietia glauca is a critically endangered species with limited population and narrow distribution in China. Yet to date, we know surprisingly little about how the characteristics of forests affect the reproduction process of S. glauca individuals. The fruit production of S. glauca individuals was examined in artificial forest (AF), free-encroached deciduous forest (FF), and intensively encroached forest by evergreen trees and moso bamboos (EF) at Mingyueshan Mountain in Jiangxi province. The relationships between the characteristics of fruits and seeds and those of parent trees and neighborhood were analyzed through redundancy analysis. The fruiting indicators (number, weight and volume of fruits/seeds) for S. glauca in AF were significantly higher than those in EF and FF. The fruit production was positively related to the crown radius and the ratio of crown length to tree height, and was negatively linked to neighbor enclosure index. The characteristics of parent trees, neighborhood and their interaction explained the variation of fruit production by 70.6%. Although the competition of neighbors exerted less explanatory power than the characteristics of parent trees, it was negatively correlated with the crown radius and volume. The crown radius and neighbor enclosure were identified as the two dominant causal factors taking the major responsibility to the fruit production. The increasing competition from neighbors bring detrimental impacts on the fruiting of S. glauca. Efficient management strategies were proposed to reduce the interference from neighbors, such as reasonably pruning and thinning adjacent evergreen trees and bamboos.

Silver fir growth responses to drought depend on interactions between tree characteristics, soil and neighbourhood features

Mixed forests are expected to be more productive and resilient against disturbances than pure forests. However, tree to tree interactions are complex and vary depending on tree characteristics and multiple site features including soil properties. Such complexity is not normally accounted for in studies of mixing effects on tree response to drought. Here, we evaluate if neighbourhood tree identity influence soil biotic and abiotic characteristics in three mature, mixed Silver fir (Abies alba) forests. Further, we investigate the relationships between radial growth response to drought, tree characteristics (growth rate, size and competition pressure), tree neighbourhood, and soil physico-chemical and biological properties. Patterns of covariation between tree size, competition pressure, soil microbial composition, and growth recovery after drought were observed among different neighbourhood types. Slow-growing, small Silver fir trees experiencing high competitive pressure were associated with higher proportions of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) in the neighbourhood, high soil C:N ratios, and showed a faster growth recovery after drought. A neighbourhood dominated by broadleaf species (mainly European beech, Fagus sylvatica) was associated with high biomass of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and low biomass of Gram-positive bacteria and Eukaryote, together with lower tree growth recovery. Therefore, coexistence with other Silver fir, Scots pine or European beech trees is associated to different covariation patterns of tree, soil and drought performance variables of the target Silver fir trees. Finally, our study remarks that combining tree, soil and neighbour variables at individual level helps to understand patterns of tree growth and growth response to drought under different stand mixtures.

Effect of structure and dynamics of forests on the occurrence of Erythronium dens-canis

The paper presents the results of a study on the impact of forest stand structure and development in 1998 to 2018 on the occurrence of dog’s tooth violets (Erythronium dens-canis L.) in the Medník National Nature Monument, Czech Republic. The research was carried out in mixed European hornbeam and sessile oak stands, herb-rich European beech stands and the Sázava-river Norway spruce ecotype stands. The site and stand characteristics of the following three forest stand types were compared: 1) oak-hornbeam forests, 2) herb-rich beech forests and 3) secondary spruce forests. The results showed that the ratio of sterile and fertile plants was 2.9 to 1. The occurrence of E. dens-canis was higher in older stands with differentiated structure. On the contrary, stands characterized by a higher number of trees and basal area negatively affected the population size of E. dens‑canis. Significantly, the density of E. dens-canis decreased with increasing stand density index (SDI) and increased with increasing diameter differentiation index in relation to tree neighbours (TM&lt;sub&gt;d&lt;/sub&gt;). During the period of 20 years, the E. dens-canis population increased by 40.4% on permanent research plots, while the highest changes were observed on spruce plots (+92.1%) and the lowest increase was in oak-hornbeam forests (+18.0%). The highest numbers of E. dens-canis plants were found in herb-rich beech forests (1 774 plants·ha&lt;sup&gt;–1&lt;/sup&gt;), lower numbers occurred in oak-hornbeam forests (784 plants·ha&lt;sup&gt;–1&lt;/sup&gt;) and minimal in secondary spruce forests (51 plants·ha&lt;sup&gt;–1&lt;/sup&gt;). &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;

Odd-Even-Prime pattern for PV array to increase power output under partial shading conditions

The output power of the Photovoltaic (PV) array diminishes considerably due to Partial Shading Condition (PSC). The significant factors that influence the PSC are neighboring trees, neighboring buildings, and moving clouds. This paper proposes a novel static one-time reconfiguration called “Odd-Even-Prime” (OEP) arrangement. The PV modules in the PV array are physically relocated according to the OEP arrangement. The OEP arrangement mitigates the power loss due to PSC, as well as avoid multiple peaks in P–V characteristics by effectively distributing the shade to all the possible rows. Five different partial shadings considered to study the performance of the proposed OEP arrangement. In the end, results of OEP arrangement compared with the existing “Odd-Even” method, and obtained results are validated using MATLAB/SIMULINK. The performance of the proposed technique studied with Global maximum power point (GMPP), Mismatch-Power-Loss (MPL), Fill-Factor (FF), and Efficiency (η) indices.

Molecular Depiction of Thirteen Indian Toxic Plants with ITS Markers

Plant identification is an overwhelming task due to different biological attributes and great diversity in plant species. In the absence of physical markers, molecular techniques have become useful for the identification of species of origin of medicinal plant seeds, pastes, and formulations of suspected plants. The ITS region of nuclear rRNA was amplified from thirteen different toxic plant species by using universal primer ITS 1 &amp; 4. Nucleotide sequences of all selected plants were submitted in NCBI and accession numbers were acquired. The results of this study give accurate identification of thirteen plant species and proved the ITS region of 18s-26s nuclear ribosome to be an important tool for phylogenetic analysis and species identification of plants. The sequence was aligned with top matched reference sequence and presented in Clustal Omega software for making a phylogenetic neighbour tree. The significance of these findings is paramount in forensic toxicology scenarios especially when fragmentary plant material is found in the stomach/intestine and its morphological identification becomes impossible. In these circumstances, the PCR based molecular technique surely plays a significant role in solving complicated forensic cases.