Primitive Forest Research Articles

Biogeografia, origem e distribuição da domiciliação de triatomíneos no Brasil

An association is established between the Brazilian geographical pattern of the domiciliarity of the triatominae bugs and open lands characterized by natural savanna vegetation or artificial, man-made landscapes. The Brazilian open lands involved are the "caatingas'' and "cerrados", both wholly included in Brazilian territory, while the mixed Southern subtropical prairies belong to systems extending bevond national boundary lines. The other open lands are anthropic-lands opened mainly by the destruction of primitive forests of the tropical Atlantic system. Attempts were made to subject the four synanthropic species of epidemiological importance to model paleoecologic refuges and endemic centers. Triatoma sordida, Triatoma brasiliensis, and Triatoma pseudomaculata seem to have their endemic centers in the "cerrados" and "caatinga", while the Panstrongylus megistus may have originated in the tropical Atlantic forest system. The Triatoma infestans, however, seem to have originated in Bolivia, then were spread to large dispersal regions by man. Thus it can be assumed that domiciliarity is arrived at through an opportunistic mechanism stimulated by shelter and food availability factors. Once established, domiciliarity favors the species survival and dispersal, and this is of particular interest to control and surveillance programs because it increases the probability of the triatominae's success in synanthropic specialization. The present intense anthropic activities in the Amazonian system will lead to even greater expansion into the open lands; consequently, a triatominae domiciliarity spread can be expected, due to either autochthonous or man-introduced populations. A public health problem will then arise in a region where it has, heretofore, been unknown.

Microarray-based analysis of changes in diversity of microbial genes involved in organic carbon decomposition following land use/cover changes

To increase our understanding of the impact of land use/cover changes on soil microbial decomposition genes involved in organic carbon decomposition, we analyzed soil samples in four sites with different land cover/use histories in a subalpine region of western Sichuan. One site was in a primitive Abies faxoniana forest, the second and the third sites were spruce plantations established in 1960's and 1980's, respectively, and the fourth site was in a cropland dating back to 1960's. The genomic DNA from the microbial community was isolated and hybridized against a functional gene microarray containing 1,961 probes. There were 39, 62, 41, and 28 gene probes with statistically significant positive signals and the gene diversity index (H') values were 3.59, 4.04, 3.70 and 3.16 in primitive forest, spruce plantations established in 1960s and 1980s and cropland, respectively. The results suggested that the number of functional genes and the gene diversity index were correlated with increasing amounts of soil organic carbon, except in the primitive Abies faxoniana forest site. cluster analysis demonstrated that primitive forest soil was clustered more closely to soil from the spruce plantation established in 1960s.

Nutrient and Litter Patterns in Three Subalpine Coniferous Forests of Western Sichuan, China

ABSTRACT Investigations were conducted to quantify litterfall, and litter and nutrient accumulation in forest floor, and to acquire information on litter decomposition and nitrogen and phosphorus release patterns in three different subalpine coniferous forests, a plantation (PI), a secondary forest (SF), and a primitive forest (PF), in western Sichuan, China. The litter trap method was used to evaluate litterfall with the litterbag method being utilized for litter decomposition. Seasonal patterns of litterfall were similar in the three forests, with two peaks occurring in September-November and March-May. The plantation revealed an annual litterfall of 4.38 × 103 kg ha−1, which was similar to those of SF and PF, but PI had a lower mass loss rate and a higher C/N ratio. The C/N ratio may be a sound predictor for the decomposition differences. N concentrations of leaf litter in both the secondary forest and primitive forest increased first and then decreased, and the percentages of their final/initial values were 108.9% and 99.9%, respectively. P concentration in the three forests increased by the end of the study. The results of litterfall and decomposition indicated that in the plantation the potential to provide nutrients for soil organic matter was similar to those of SF and PF; however, its slower decomposition rate could result in a somewhat transient accumulation of litter in the forest floor.

Acheflour: Wise Woman or Foolish Female?

The story of Acheflour and her son in Sir Perceval of Galles is a particularly poignant and empowering one for the female reader, but, strangely, this fourteenth-century romance has remained relatively untouched by feminist scholars. The majority of studies of Sir Perceval of Galles, to date, have concentrated on its sources, structure, analogues, and ancient mythic content.1 Another significant body of work has explored the meaning of the Grail—its presence or absence—in the text.2 In this essay I will argue that a reading which focuses on Acheflour and her values, both overt and covert, can highlight the significant challenge which Sir Perceval of Galles poses to the values and underpinning philosophy of androcentric society, be it medieval or contemporary. The portrayal of Acheflour in the tale of Sir Perceval of Galles differs markedly from both the German and the French versions of this story. Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival and Chrétien de Troyes' tale of Perceval each demonstrate the misogyny characteristic of their age, both in relation to the female protagonists and, specifically, to Perceval's mother and to issues of power and linguistic control. Sir Perceval of Galles, however, exhibits a curious ambivalence towards Acheflour and towards the value systems—social and spiritual—of the two opposing worlds in which the story is played out, the royal court and the primitive forest. While it might be argued that this ambivalence is simply a feature of any male-dominant narrative, psychoanalytic theory clearly demonstrates that areas of ambivalence often provide significant clues to hidden textual meaning. Terry Eagleton proposes that the real meaning of a text lies in precisely these areas, in the sub-texts . . . the "unconscious" of the work itself . . . what it does not say, and how it does not say it, may be as important as what it articulates; what seems absent, marginal or ambivalent about it may provide a central clue to its meanings.3 This study of Sir Perceval of Galles will, therefore, facilitate a focus on Acheflour and on her values as articulated (albeit ambivalently) in the text. [End Page 452] The reading will also provide a structure from within which to examine the male characters in the tale, particularly Perceval "þe fole one þe filde" [the fool in the field] (289), and the impact of Acheflour's value system on her son.4 It will challenge the traditionally held interpretations of this poem, which demonstrate a consistent androcentricity and fail to tap the depths of meaning and feminist egalitarian vision present in the text.5 The essay will utilize key aspects of Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza's "feminist hermeneutics of suspicion" to question "the underlying presuppositions, androcentric models, and unarticulated interests of contemporary . . . interpretation."6 It will explore the role and power of women in Sir Perceval of Galles, the contrast between gynecentric and androcentric values and social systems, and the curious ambivalence with which Acheflour's values and philosophy are discussed in the text. Of particular importance for the contemporary reader of this tale of Sir Perceval of Galles will be the exploration of the range of alternative subject positions available to the female protagonists in the text, and the personal, social, and spiritual implications, for them—and also for the male protagonists—of assuming these alternative and challenging subject positions. A Classic (Male) Tale The tale of Sir Perceval of Galles has commonly been viewed as a story of action and adventure, that is, of male action and adventure.7 In his quest for such adventure the young Perceval interacts with several women: his mother, Acheflour; the unnamed sleeping maiden; and Lufamour of Maidenland. Each of these women has an integral role to play in Perceval's adventures: Acheflour to prepare him for life in the world of men; the sleeping maiden to provide the magic ring which will protect him; and Lufamour to gift him with the sovereignty of her land...

Distribution characteristics and succession regulation of the forests in alpine and canyon region of western Sichuan Province, P. R. China

Since 1950, 700 plots were established in the alpine and canyon region of western Sichuan. The distribution characteristics and the relationships between forest succession and environmental gradients were studied. The results showed that the main tree species werePicea andAbies in this region, and there were more than 90 forest types.Abies forests mainly distributed in the middle and upper reaches of rivers and their branches, andPicea forests mainly distributed in the wide valleys and on half-shaded and half-sunny slopes. The natural regeneration was poor under primitive spruce and fir forest canopy, but was good in the spruce and fire forest gap. The relationship between forest succession and vertical gradient was closely related to the relationship between forest succession procession and plant synusia under primary forests. Human activities could promote and postpone succession process. The results of expanding regeneration were often influenced by topography, vegetation and wind direction.

Condicionantes históricos do processo de degradação do ambiente natural na bacia hidrográfica do rio Biguaçu - SC

The Biguacu basin was settled by German and Azores immigrants and by groups of African slaves. German immigrants occupied the upper Biguacu region, while the Azores people settled in the lowlands and later near the mouth of the river. The resource exploitation model and the settling sites of these populations were later shown to have impaired the environment and the economy. Lumber industry replaced the primitive forest by a secondary vegetation cover consisting of fewer species on the slopes of hills and mountains. The lowlands with their seasonal floods were deforested. This required rectification projects of the principal rivers forming the Biguacu basin, carried out between 1966 and 1977. However, such rectifications were not able to provide a complete control of floods and rather caused chain reactions in the natural environment

Influence de la remise en exploitation de taillis-sous-futaie sur la faune entomologique | Influence of Renewed Coppicing with Standards on the Entomological Fauna

This study estimates the influence of renewed coppicing with standards on the abundance and diversity of four beetle families(Buprestidae, Cerambycidae, Lucanidae and phytophagous Scarabaeidae) in a forest where this practice was abandoned. The study was conducted from mid-May to mid-August 1998 in the region of Ferreyres - Moiry (VD). Eight sites were chosen for the sampling of these insects, which were captured by means of window and water traps. Coppicing with standards is very favourable to these beetles, which are often thermophilous. In such places, they find stumps and branch heaps, which are suitable for the development of their larvae. On the contrary, in abandoned coppice, the abundance and diversity of the selected beetles are very low. This kind of forest is extremely dark and unsuitable for thermophi-lous species. Renewed coppicing with standards is, therefore, very recommendable. It creates very favourable biotopes for the beetles, where they find both light and deadwood and which, to a certain extent, recreate the biotopes naturally formed by the fall of old trees in primitive forests.

Culicidae Vectors and Anthropic Changes in a Southern Brazil Natural Ecosystem

ABSTRACTThe influences of human‐caused changes in a natural ecosystem of Southern Brazil on mosquitoes of the family Culicidae, which may be vectors of diseases, were investigated. Particular attention was given to the effects of deforestation and human settlements with artificial irrigation. The work assumes a preserved environment as representative of the natural ecosystem before human intervention. Another collection site, 50 kilometers from the primitive forest, that presented the same fauna and flora of the former some 50 years ago was chosen as the modified environment. The results clearly showed that some species, such as the Kerteszia subgenus, do not survive these changes, whereas others have found such conditions favorable and have proliferated.

Relaction entre la flora aeropalinologica y el espectro polinico de tres ciudades del sw. de España (1989)

Abstract Relationship between aeropalynological flore and pollen spectrum in SW Spain (1989). - This work presents the results of aeropalynological studies carried out in three cities in the SW of the Iberian Peninsula (Cadiz, Huelva and Seville). These are situated in the Guadalquivir valley, which opens into the Atlantic forming a low coast of estuaries and marshes. The surrounding vegetation has been transformed by man over the years. The primitive Mediterranean forest has been partly substituted by agricultural plantations of annuals or perennials, among which have installed communities of invaders; repopulated areas; communities of nitrophilous weeds in the urban belts; wet regions colonized by pasture or by plants adapted to the salinity of the marsh soil; and leisure areas of the cities (parks and gardens). These will all be represented in the spectrum, which will depend not only on the surface occupied (sometimes indirectly related), but on factors of the plants themselves: flowering (intensity an...

Literature and the Exact Sciences

I believe that every body of literature, and more broadly, the sum of all academic, literary and popular traditions, anecdotes and songs, old wives' tales, sayings and cliches, beliefs, myths, languages, and even religions, form a sort of reserve, a stock, the local treasure of ethnic groups, of cultures, of diverse groups, and that these constitute, in addition, the global treasure of mankind, accumulated in a fluctuating and unstable way throughout history and time. This immense reserve of intelligence and language, of experience, of errors and attempts, seems to me to be henceforth endangered, just as the evolutionary stock of species in the primitive forests and the changing treasure of the animal species are on the point of disappearing. Time is in danger. In danger, first of all, for an ordinary reason: the harsh competition between local strains, which destroy themselves as well as others. This death is neither a fact of life, as is believed, nor the guarantee of expansion, of power. Worse, the recent appropriation by a single culture of the majority of the media, of the means of communication and of the stockpiles of information, precipitates the sacking of cultural treasures. Some works are already in ashes or inaccessible in the jungle conditions of war; they will be completely destroyed under the domination of a single cultural type. I hope to die before hearing only a single language spoken in the world. Such a world will be a barbarous wasteland, unliveable. Imagine our planet inhabited exclusively by a single species-by ferns, only, or by billions of lizards. One end of the world like another would be rung in, with the total victory of the strongest: the entire earth invaded by identical ants. By a single way of living and of speaking. Time is in danger, subsequently and especially, for a very new reason: the crushing of all cultures by the culture that is led astray by the exact sciences. The exact sciences take all the places and soon all the space: money, professional openings, techniques, research, politics, power, the religious confidence of the population. Tomorrow the world will not speak

Commerce and Industry in Nineteenth Century Paraguay: The Example ofYerba Mate

Yerba mate, a primitive forest industry, demonstrates the interaction of private and state enterprise in nineteenth century Paraguay. A low capital investment industry based upon utilizing seasonal and unskilled labor,yerba matewas financed, collected, and sold by the private entrepreneur and the state. Demand for yerba in both internal and external markets assured satisfactory profits for businessmen, above average wages for laborers, and necessary revenues for government. As a major export of Paraguay from the end of the seventeenth century until the War of the Triple Alliance, The Great War of 1864-1870, yerba mate provides insight into government regulations, taxation, price controls, and foreign trade policies. Because of the significance of yerba mate for the Paraguayan economy, the state was involved in both production and trade, although government interest primarily assured revenues rather than state control. A description of the organization of the yerba mate industry and an analysis of government policies supports revisionist studies that the governments of José Gaspar de Francia, 1811-1840, Carlos Antonio López, 1844-1862, and Francisco Solano López, 1862-1870 were pragmatic and rational rather than dictatorial and monopolistic.

Ecological polarity in primate evolution

Relationships of the catarrhine primates based on morphological similarity are presented and then combined with habitat data to determine polarity of ecological change in the catarrhines. The ancestral habitat of two sister-groups is estimated by combining that of the sister groups, so that if they share one habitat type the ancestral condition is taken to be that type, or if they differ the ancestral condition is taken to be both alternatives. Analysed in this way the ancestral habitat preference of the Catarrhini is tropical lowland forest, and while the Hominoidea retain this primitive condition, the Cercopithecoidea are derived with a savanna habitat preference. Most hominoids retain the primitive forest habitat condition, and those groups that are associated with woodland-savanna habitats, notably the ramapitbecines and hominines, therefore share a derived habitat preference. There is no evidence, however, that this arose through common ancestry, and it is concluded that the functional similarities between the two groups could have arisen through parallel adaptation to the same habitat type. Similarly, many of the extant cercopithecoid groups that are now forest living may have re-entered forest independently. The derived savanna habitat preference of the cercopithecoids is linked with a number of morphological characters that also are derived with respect to catarrhine ancestry, and these include their terrestrial and/or their above-branch adaptations, and their specialized digestive, dietary and dental adaptations. In contrast, the hominoids that retain the primitive catarrhine habitat preference also retain the primitive condition in all these characters.

Biogeography, origin and distribution of Triatominae domicile dispersal in Brazil

Considerando a distribuição atual da domicialiação triatomínea no Brasil, pode-se verificar sua associação com a referente aos espaços abertos. Estes podem ser considerados como naturais e artificiais. Os primeiros estão essencialmente situados nos domínios paisagísticos das caatingas, dos cerrados, totalmente incluídos em território brasileiro, e das pradarias mistas subtropicais pertencentes a paisagem que se estende além desses limites. Os outros são os originados da ação antrópica resultando em expansão da paisagem aberta principalmente em virtude da devastação da cobertura florestal do domínio tropical atlântico. Embora tentativamente, procurou-se aplicar o modelo de refúgios paleoecológicos e da existência de centros de endemismo às quatro espécies de domiciliação epidemiologicamente significante. O Triatoma sordida, Triatoma brasiliensis e Triatoma pseudomaculata parece ter seus centros de endemismo nos espaços abertos dos cerrados e das caatingas, enquanto o Panstrongylus megistus teria tido sua origem nas florestas do ambiente tropical atlântico. Quanto ao Triatoma infestans, sua área endêmica estaria localizada em território boliviano, de onde se dispersou e continua se dispersando pela ação do homem. A invasão domiciliar, ao que tudo indica, obedece a mecanismo oportunista propiciado por vários estímulos de abrigo e alimentação. Uma vez instalada, a domiciliação permite não apenas a sobrevivência, mas também a dispersão da espécie. Esses conceitos devem ser levados em conta nas campanhas de controle, uma vez que a probabilidade de sucesso aumenta com essa especialização do triatomíneo. A continuidade da ação antrópica sobre o ambiente, atualmente intensificada na região do domínio equatorial amazônico, resultará na expansão dos espaços abertos. Assim sendo, seja a custa de espécies locais seja a custa de espécies introduzidas, poderá ocorrer a domiciliação triatomínea, como problema de saúde pública, em região onde ainda não foi assinalada.

Distribution and ecology of the genusLeontopithecus lesson, 1840 in Brazil

The three forms of the genusLeontopithecus are found only in restricted localities in the States of Rio de Janeiro (Leontopithecus rosalia rosalia), Bahia and Espirito Santo (Leontopithecus rosalia chrysomelas) and Sao Paulo (Leontopithecus rosalia chrysopygus) in southeastern Brazil. All three are gravely threatened with extinction, mainly by destruction of primitive forest habitat. Diet ofLeontopithecus ssp. consists of fruit, buds, small vertebrates and insects. Group size varies from two to eight, but temporary congregations of up to 15–16 have been observed. Within the forest, the animals frequent the middle layers of the canopy, between three and ten meters above the ground.

Una Nuova Stazione diHookeria Lucens(L.) Sm. Nei Boschi Cusiani

Abstract A new station of « Hookeria lucens » (L.) Sm. — To complete the author's previous notes on the forestal musks growing in the Cusian region (Orta Lake) and on the probable briologic entities of the local primitive forest, we are informed of a new station of « Hookeria lucens » (L.) Sm. in the woods of the eastern Cusian region.

LACTICIFEROUS PLANTS OF THE KARAPARANÁ-IGARAPARANÁ REGION OF COLOMBIA

During the first fifteen years of the present century, the production of rubber from wild trees was a thriving, though nefarious, industry in the northwestern part of the Amazon Valley. The heaviest concentration of this primitive forest industry — and the most widely notorious — was centered in the area drained by the Rios Karaparana and Igaraparana, northern tributaries of the Rio Putumayo, lying between the Rios Putumayo and Caqueta (Map 1). In this hey day of rubber production, the area was claimed by both Colombia and Peru, but the Peruvians actually occupied and exploited it. As a result of the war between Colombia and Peru in the early 1930’s, the boundaries have been set with the Rio Putumayo as the frontier. Colombia is now in possession of the areas north of the Putumayo, which are incorporated into the Colombian political unit known as the Comisaria del Amazonas.

Edward Livingston Trudeau (1848–1915)

WHEN he was a student at the New York College of Physicians and Surgeons, Edward Livingston Trudeau, who was born on October 5, 1848, was taught to regard tuberculosis as an incurable disease. When, therefore, the celebrated physician Edward G. Janeway in 1873 diagnosed extensive tuberculosis in his left lung, his patient, who had recently graduated and married and whose brother had died of the same disease, felt he was under sentence of death and gave up his practice to spend his last days in the Adirondack Mountains. To his and everyone else‘s surprise he recovered, and in 1884 established the open-air Adirondack Cottage Sanitarium—the first in the United States. In the isolation of a primitive forest, badly crippled and single-handed, Trudeau preached and practised the gospel of fresh air and extolled the virtues of rest. Having read a translation of Koch‘s classic paper on the etiology of tuberculosis, he built himself a modest laboratory in his own home. Out of its ashes sprung the present Saranac Laboratory—the first of its kind in the United States. Trudeau wrote little on clinical subjects ; but his laboratory studies are contained in a large number of valuable papers, including experiments on immunity and on the effect of fresh air on tuberculous rabbits. He was the first president of the National Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis. His optimism and charm, endeared him to all his patients, perhaps the most famous of whom was Robert Louis Stevenson.

Estudos dos agrupamentos vegetativos relacionados com as áreas onde foram efetuadas as pesquisas sôbre a febre amarela silvestre no Município de Passos, Estado de Minas Gerais

Estudos dos agrupamentos vegetativos relacionados com as áreas onde foram efetuadas as pesquisas sôbre a febre amarela silvestre no Município de Passos, Estado de Minas Gerais

Fossil Skeleton of Uintatherium

AN almost complete skeleton of Uintatherium, a six-horned animal the size of an elephant which dominated the primitive forests of southern Wyoming about thirty million years ago, has been found by Dr. Charles L. Gazin, palaeontologist of the Smithsonian Institution. Bones of this giant mammal are common; but a skeleton with only a few parts missing is rare. Dr. Gazin's find lacks only one hind leg, part of a foreleg, and the neck vertebræ. The skull, about three feet long, is in exceptionally good condition, although the lower jaw is considerably crushed. There is also a second skull, including one of the beast's sabre-like down-pointed tusks about a foot long. The skeleton is expected to become one of the main exhibits in the U.S. National Museum, after it has been worked free from the matrix of hardened clay in which it is embedded, and properly mounted. This work may require as much as a year.

Geology of the Naparima Region of Trinidad, British West Indies

In the middle of the Island of Trinidad, south of the Central Range, is a broad undulating lowland. It stretches across the Island at its narrowest part, practically in the latitude of San Fernando. Towards the west it is the heart of the sugar-cane industry; towards the east it merges into the low ground of the Nariva, a derelict lowland of forest and swamp. It is to the western portion of this lowland that the name Naparima is usually applied. The present paper is concerned with the area extending from the Gulf of Paria on the west to Princes Town on the east. Its northern boundary is formed by the foothills of the Central Range, while on the south it extends practically to the Oropuche lagoon, a total area of approximately 35 square miles. The Naparima area includes a large portion of the famous black soils of Trinidad, which have been utilized extensively for sugar-cane plantations. From it almost every vestige of the primitive forest has long been removed, and the undulating lowland is now one broad expanse of cane-fields, while in places a less fertile patch is given over to grass or guava scrub. From the distance it looks like one broad plain, but actually it is covered almost entirely by a complicated valley-system, leaving the intermediate high ground as a ‘fingering’ system of hog-backed ridges. These practically all attain the same general height, and are the remnants of an uplifted and partly dissected peneplain, tilted gradually westwards to