Shrub Research Articles

Preliminary Assessment of the Common Land Model Coupled with the IAP Dynamic Global Vegetation Model

AbstractThe Common Land Model (CoLM) was coupled with the IAP Dynamic Global Vegetation Model (IAPDGVM), and the performance of this combined CoLMIAP model was evaluated. Offline simulations using both the original Common Land Model (CoLM-LPJ) and CoLM-IAP were conducted. The CoLM-IAP coupled model showed a significant improvement over CoLMLPJ, as the deciduous tree distribution decreased over temperate and boreal regions, while the distribution of evergreen trees increased over the tropics. Some biases in CoLM-LPJ were preserved, including the overestimation of evergreen trees in tropical savanna, the underestimation of boreal evergreen trees, and the absence of boreal shrubs. However, most of these biases did not exist in a further coupled simulation of IAP-DGVM with the Community Land Model (CLM), for which the parameters of IAP-DGVM were optimized. This implies that further improvement is needed to deal with the differences between CoLM and CLM in parameterizations of landbased physical and biochemica...

Leaf micromorphology and anatomy of Myrceugenia rufa (Myrtaceae). An endemic coastal shrub of north-central Chile

Las especies con frutos carnosos de Myrtaceae estan generalmente asociadas a ambientes humedos y su anatomia vegetativa es principalmente mesofitica. Myrceugenia rufa es una especie rara y endemica de lugares secos de la costa de Chile central y no hay estudios anatomicos de sus hojas en terminos de adaptaciones ambientales. En este articulo describimos la micromorfologia y anatomia foliar de la especie usando protocolos estandar para microscopia optica y electronica de barrido. La anatomia foliar de M. rufa es similar a otras especies de Myrtaceae, en lo que respecta a presencia de drusas, canales secretores esquizogenos y floema interno. Las hojas de M. rufa tienen una epidermis doble, cuticula gruesa, pelos unicelulares abundantes, cavidades subestomaticas amplias y cubiertas por tricomas, y un denso parenquima en empalizada. Los caracteres foliares de la especie confirman una afinidad morfoanatomica a ambientes xerofiticos.

Nutritional diagnosis by DRIS method of the cultivars coffee in the northern region of Paraná, Brazil.

Due to the lack of knowledge on the nutritional status of the coffee shrub, DRIS method was introduced in coffee culture in the northern region of the state of Parana, Brazil. Current research aimed at establishing a data base for DRIS guidelines in coffee culture and introducing other parameters for the rational and balanced application of fertilizers. Assay was performed between February 2011 and February 2012 (Harvest 2011/201) in coffee plantations in the municipality of Pitangueiras PR Brazil, 23o 14’ 03” S and 51o 35’ 06” W; altitude 600 m. Leaf samples from 75 coffee shrub lots were retrieved from 69 plantations, featuring cultivars IAPAR 59, IPR 98, IPR 99, Catuai, Mundo Novo and Tupi. DRIS norms were established for the nutritional diagnosis of the coffee shrub for the northern region of the state of Parana through the criterion of productivity at 55 sacks ha-1. Data revealed that potassium constituted the highest deficiency, followed by Cu and Zn. Fe, S and Mn had excessive rates with regard to parameters at regional level.

Ontomorphogenesis of Hyssopus officinalis L. introduced in conditions of ZhNAEU’s Botanical Garden

The paper establishes some special features of Hyssopus officinalis growth, development and morphology when being introduced in the ZhNAEU’s Botanical Garden. The results of investigations of H. officinalis ontogenesis ex situ are presented for the next periods: latent, pregenerativе and generative. The signs of the age states of individuals are specified. In the period of 7 years of growing the maximum indices of shrub height were observed in the 3rd year of life (89,7±2,7 cm), whereas the maximum numder of vegetative and generative sprouts – in the 5th year (96,7±8,4 cm). The green mass yielding capacity of hyssop in the 4th year – 38,91± 2,04 t/ha and in 7th year – 36,19±1,12 t/ha. It has been stated that while introduced, plants of the species under consideration go through the complete cycle of growth and development, which speaks about sufficient rate of adaptation of the species to the conditions of the region.

Investigation the effects of green pruning treatment and local position of Berry on fruit quality traits measured and seed length growth in berry in Seedless Askari grape varieties of shrubs ) Vitis vinifera L.)

Abstract. The effects of green pruning on fruit quality traits were investigated. In industry food science Lab Science and Technology Park Khorasan Razavi province situated in 10 km of Mashhad is done. And its effect in different situation of berry on the punicle , in terms of seed length growth and fruit growth in Seedless grape varieties of Askari grapes in 2013 in commercial Vineyard place on the Kalakub village (20 km north of Mashhad) were investigated. In the spring of 2013 Green pruning different treatments (1-control, 2- traditional green pruning as a removal 4-5 mature leaves from the lower per branch 3- pound arrangement and remove Seedlings grown on the old branches that in addition charge is grown. And , as well as growing remove tributaries the 4- third treatment+ topping branches growing from 20 seedlings) in a randomly complete block design with two replications for Askari grapes variety was used. The design as a Factorial trial with two factors inserted in above analyze based on randomly complete block design. Which none of factors and their interactions on seed length were not significant effects but on number of seeds formed in factor berry of berry situation in punicle were significant effects in 1% level. Green pruning treatments on fruit quality traits was non-significant effects.

Effect of abrasive pretreatment on hot dried goji berry

Goji (Lycium barbarum L.) is a Solanaceous deciduous shrub that grows in China, Tibet and other parts of Asia. Nowadays, goji berries are known as being very rich in nutrients with high antioxidant capacity, fact for which they were included in the novel category of “superfruits”. Goji berries contain high amounts of antioxidants, carotenoids, vitamin A and zeaxanthin. Most of goji berries produced are dried because they are very delicate fruits. Drying process improves fruit stability, since it decreases considerably the water activity of the food, reduces microbiological and enzymatic activity and minimizes physical and chemical reactions during storage. However, drying of goji berries can be difficult due to the wax layer surrounding the fruit and the health properties may be reduced by long exposure to high temperatures.In this study, a physical wax abrasive pretreatment was used to carefully remove the wax layer and reduce drying time. The abrasion of the goji peel was carried out in a motorized drum lined inside with sandpaper. The rotating time was optimized to reduce the damage to the fruits. The drying characteristics of pretreated and untreated fruits were studied using a convective oven at 60 °C and air velocity of 2.1 m/s.The drying kinetics and fruit quality parameters such as colour, sugars and antioxidant activity were evaluated before and after drying. The results showed that the dried fruit were obtained in less time when they were pretreated (from 21 h for untreated samples to 15 h for pretreated samples), preserving better the colour, increasing the antioxidant activity and maintaining the same sugar content with respect to the untreated case.

Current status of Phytoplasma diseases of forest and landscape trees and shrubs

This paper summarizes the current knowledge of phytoplasma diseases of forest and landscape trees and shrubs, with special reference to molecular and taxonomic aspects of the associated phytoplasmas in the light of the plethora of data generated over the last years. Phytoplasma diseases of such kind of trees and shrubs are of considerable economic and ecological significance throughout the world, either because of the local impact or of their widespread distribution. However, information is still missing on many aspects of some of these diseases, including insect vectors, phytoplasma-vector relationships, phytoplasma-host plant interactions, strain virulence, strain interference, host tolerance, host range, and impact of the infections on the growth and yield of affected plants. In some instances, phytoplasma- infected forest and landscape trees and shrubs can serve as reservoirs of phytoplasmas affecting agricultural crops. Latent phytoplasma infections in some forest and landscape trees and shrubs are common.

First report of Catharanthus yellow mosaic virus infecting Duranta repens in Pakistan.

Duranta repens (pigeon berry) is an ornamental shrub that, in Pakistan, frequently exhibits leaf curl symptoms that are typical of begomovirus infection (genus Begomovirus, family Geminiviridae). Leaf samples from two D. repens plants with mild leaf curl and from one apparently symptomless plant, were collected from areas around Islamabad during 2013. Total DNA was isolated from both types of samples by the CTAB method. Diagnostic PCR produced an amplification product of the expected size (ca. 750 bp) from the symptomatic sample only. An amplification product of ca. 2,800 bp was obtained by PCR with an abutting primer pair (BGAF/BGAR; Tahir et al., 2010) designed to amplify the complete genomes of monopartite begomoviruses or DNA A components of bipartite begomoviruses. The amplicon from one sample was cloned and its sequence (2752 nt) was submitted to GenBank (accession No. LK028570). The sequence from D. repens had the highest nucleotide identity (95%) with that of the begomovirus Catharanthus yellow mosaic virus (CYMV; HE580234). Attempts to identify a possible second component (DNA B and/or betasatellite) in the infected D. repens by PCR with universal betasatellite primers (Briddon et al., 2002) or DNA B primers (BGBF/BGBR; Tahir et al., 2010), were negative. Leaf curl disease of D. repens is thus associated with a monopartite begomovirus, CYMV, without a betasatellite, in agreement with Ilyas et al. (2013) who first isolated this virus from Catharanthus roseus and showed it to be monopartite and not associated with a betasatellite. Previously only the bipartite begomovirus Tomato leaf curl New Delhi had been found in D. repens in Pakistan. This is the first report of a CYMV infecting D. repens.

DETECTION OF ALFALFA MOSAIC VIRUS IN LAURUSTINUS IN APULIA

Laurustinus (Viburnum tinus L.), an evergreen shrub of the Mediterranean scrub, is widely used in Italy as an ornamental in private and public gardens. In the spring of 2014, conspicuous interveinal yellow spots and mottling were observed on the foliage of a V. tinus plant cv. Eve Price growing in the Campus of the University of Bari (Italy). Since Alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV) has been reported from V. tinus and related species (V. opulus and V. lucidum) in several countries, and in northern Italy (De Sanctis and Quacquarelli, 1985; Parrella et al., 2011), the symptomatic plant was tested by RT-PCR for the presence of this virus. The specific primer set CPAMV1/CPAMV2, designed in the viral RNA3 sequence (Finetti-Sialer et al., 1997) amplified the expected 754 bp fragment, spanning the whole coat protein gene and the 3’-UTR. There was no amplification from symptomless plants. The amplified fragment was cloned into pSC-A-amp/kan, custom-sequenced (Macrogen Europe, The Netherlands) and the sequence was deposited in GenBank as accession No. KP233749. The cloned sequences were BLAST compared with those of a Chilean strain of AMV from V. tinus and a Spanish isolate from V. lucidum, with which an identity at the nucleotide level of 99% and 94%, respectively, was found. These results demonstrate the presence of an AMV strain in laurustinus in southern Italy.

Influence of plant communities and soil properties during natural vegetation restoration on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in a karst region

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are crucial for vegetation regeneration because they play an important role in plant establishment and growth. We investigated the relationships among AM fungal diversity, plant diversity, and soil properties during vegetation restoration in degraded karst ecosystems. Pyrosequencing approach was used to determine the genetic diversity and composition of AM fungal communities in four typical ecosystems of vegetation restoration (tussock (TK), shrub (SB), secondary forest (SF), and primary forest (PF)) in a karst region of southwest China. The diversity, richness, and evenness of plant species were evaluated through field surveys. Basic soil properties were measured. Plant species diversity and soil nutrient contents increased with vegetation restoration from tussock to primary forest, but the diversity of AM fungi followed the order of shrub≈secondary forest≈primary forest<tussock. The composition of AM fungi and plant communities differed significantly between ecosystems (p<0.05). The richness of AM fungi was negatively correlated with both the plant diversity (the indices of plant Shannon–Wiener, evenness and richness) and soil properties (soil available phosphorus (AP), soil organic carbon (SOC) and pH) (p<0.05). Redundancy analysis showed that the AM fungal communities closely linked to plant richness, soil organic carbon, soil available phosphorus and pH. These results suggest that the diversity and composition of AM fungi in karst region are influenced by plant communities and soil nutrient conditions.

Effects of different planting-years of artificial Caragana intermedia shrubs on soil organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry characteristics in desert steppe.

Effects of different planting-years of artificial Caragana intermedia shrubs on soil organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry characteristics in desert steppe.

Species-specific fertilization can benefit container nursery crop production.

Clark, M. J. and Zheng, Y. 2015. Species-specific fertilization can benefit container nursery crop production. Can. J. Plant Sci. 95: 251-262. To determine the responses of six container-grown shrub species to different controlled-release fertilizer (CRF) application rates, plant growth and root-zone traits were evaluated following fertilization with Polyon® 16-6-13, 5-6 month CRF incorporated at 0.60, 0.89, 1.19, 1.49 and 1.79 kg m-3 N. The six species tested at a southwestern Ontario, Canada, nursery were Cornus stolonifera ‘Flaviramea’ (yellow-twig dogwood), Euonymus alatus ‘Compactus’ (dwarf winged euonymus), Hydrangea paniculata ‘Grandiflora’ (Pee Gee hydrangea), Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Nugget’ (Nugget ninebark), Spiraea japonica ‘Magic Carpet’ (Magic Carpet spirea), Weigela florida ‘Alexandra’ (Wine and Roses weigela). Different species responded differently to the CRF rates applied. For the majority of species at the final harvest, growth index, plant height, canopy area, leaf area and above-ground dry weight were greater in high vs. low CRF rates; however, different species had different optimal CRF application rates or ranges: 1.49 kg m-3 N for Hydrangea and Spiraea, 1.19 kg m-3 N for Weigela, 1.19 to 1.49 kg m-3 N for Cornus and Physocarpus, and =0.60 kg m-3 N for Euonymus. Based on these species-specific optimal fertilizer rates or ranges, growers can group plant species with similar fertilizer demands, thereby reducing fertilizer waste and maximizing plant production.

Flowering and Fruiting Phenology of some Herbs, Shrubs and Undershrubs from Girnar Reserve forest, Gujarat, India

The present study was carried out on 26 species of 13 different botanical families in Girnar Reserve Forest near Junagadh, Gujarat, India, for their reproductive phenological events, viz. flowering and fruiting from August 2008 to August 2011. Flowering and fruiting phenology varied significantly (P < 0.01). Mean values of percentage of species in flowering event indicated highest peak in September followed by August; the highest peak for fruiting (83.3%) was observed in December followed by January (57.7%). Sida cordifolia L. showed highest pooled average of 179 days for flowering. However, Vernonia anthelmintica L. pooled the lowest average of 33.3 flowering days. Highest and lowest pooled average number of fruiting days were recorded for Cassia auriculata L. and Cassia occidentalis Linn. with 279.7 and 35.7 days/year respectively. On the basis of flowering, three species were identified with long flowering duration whereas six species were identified with short flowering duration. In the case of fruiting, five and two species were screened for long fruiting duration and short fruiting duration respectively. Average deviation in flowering among all species was ± 15.5 days from the first to second year of study; however, this was ± 15.4 days for the second to third year, resulting in overall 16.4 days of deviation for the entire study period. In the case of fruiting, the deviation was ± 20.7 and ± 17.3 days respectively, from the first to second year and second to third year, whereas the pooled deviation was 19 days in fruiting.

In vitro germination and direct shoot induction of Yeheb (Cordeauxia edulis Hemsl.)

‘Yeheb’ (Cordeauxia edulis Hemsl) is a multipurpose and evergreen shrub and endemic to southeastern corner of Ethiopia and Somalia. It is adapted to low and irregular rainfall and survives a very long dry season. It has enormous economic and food security role to the pastoralist of Somali in Ethiopia. However, the plant is threatened with extinction due to overexploitation and its’ poor natural regeneration capacity. In addition, ‘yeheb’ is usually reported having limited reproductive capacities and often have very specific and limited conditions for seed germination, flowering and seed shelf life. Therefore, to overcome these propagation challenges, an experiment was conducted with the aim of developing a protocol for the in vitro regeneration of ‘yeheb’ from cotyledonary node. The result of these studies revealed that seed was washed by 5% sodium hypochlorite for ten min in aseptic condition found to be more effective in surface sterilization. The sterilized seed cultured on half strength of Gamborg (B5) medium was found to be the most suitable medium for germination (26.67%).The highest shoot initiation percentage (89 % of explants produces shoots), number of shoots per explant and number of leaf per shoot were obtained from cotyledonary node explants cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) media supplemented with 2.00 mg. l-1 N6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) within nine weeks. While, the highest shoot length and shoot fresh weight were recorded from control (free BAP) and 6.00 mg. l-1 BAP, respectively. The highest shoot multiplication (4.56 number of shoot induced) and elongation (2.97cm) were obtained from the induced shoot were cut and placed on MS media supplemented with 2.00 mg. l 1BAP+6.00 mg. l-1of gibberellic acid (GA3) and free BAP+6.00 mg. l-1 of GA3, respectively. The elongated shoots were transferred to different media supplemented with various types and levels of hormones but none of them induced root. As a conclusion, this is the first attempt for direct in vitro regeneration of C. edulis and permissible result for cryopreservation.

Angiosperm Diversity of Sandy Coast of Balasore District, Odisha, India

The paper deals with the angiosperm diversity of sandy coast of Balasore district, Odisha. The angiospermous flora consists of 352 species under 258 genera belonging to 84 families. Monocotyledons are represented by 20% (72 species). The flora consists of 212 herbs, 19 climbers, 51 shrubs and 70 tree species. Leguminosae are the dominant family followed by Poaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Cyperaceae, Asteraceae, Convolvulaceae and Verbenaceae.

NEW HOSTS OF XYLELLA FASTIDIOSA STRAIN CoDiRO IN APULIA

In the course of surveys carried out in June 2014 in the Salento (Apulia, southern Italy) area affected by an epidemic of a strain of Xylella fastidiosa subsp. pauca (Cariddi et al., 2014) denoted CoDiRO (abbreviation from the Italian name “Complesso del Disseccamento Rapido dell’Olivo”), the following symptomatic plants were observed: (i) cherry (Prunus avium), 13 trees showing scanty vegetation and bud failure, but no leaf scorching; (ii) myrtle-leaf milkwort (Polygala myrtifolia), three shrubs showing extensive desiccation of twigs and scorched leaves; (iii) coastal rosemary (Westringia fruticosa), one shrub with extensive chlorosis and desiccation of the leaves. Samples collected from all these hosts (except for two of the 13 cherry plants) were ELISA- and PCR-positive upon testing with the protocols described by Loconsole et al. (2014). Sequencing of the amplified products from five housekeeping genes (gyrB, 16S rRNA, dnaK, tonB, RNA polymerase sigma factor) and of the PCR products obtained using the X. fastidiosa strain- specific primers 272-1int/272-2int, showed that all these amplicons, regardless of the host of origin, had 100% sequence identity with the homologous products amplified from diseased olive trees (Cariddi et al., 2014). These results provide evidence that all the analyzed positive samples contain the same X. fastidiosa strain infecting olives in the same area. With the exception of cherry, for which there is a recorded infection by X. fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa in California (Hernandez- Martinez et al., 2007), to the best of our knowledge P. myrtifolia and W. fruticosa are hitherto unreported hosts of this bacterium.

Alpine treeline and timberline dynamics during the Holocene in the Northern Romanian Carpathians

High altitude environments (treeline and alpine communities) are particularly sensitive to climate changes, disturbances and land-use changes due to their limited tolerance and adaptability range, habitat fragmentation and habitat restriction. The current and future climate warming is anticipated to shift the tree- and timberlines upwards thus affecting alpine plant communities and causing land-cover change and fragmentation of alpine habitats. An upslope movement of some trees, shrubs and cold adapted alpine herbs as a response to the current climate warming has already been noted in many montane and subalpine regions. Four Holocene peat and lacustrine sediment sequences located between 1670 and 1918 m a.s.l. (Fig.1), in the Rodna Mountains (Northern Romania, Eastern Carpathians) are used with the aim to determine: i) the sensitivity of high mountain habitats to climate, fire and land use changes; ii) tree- and timberline shifts: and iii) the influence of landscape topography on trees and shrubs.

Reprint of “Spectral fluorescence variation of pollen and spores from recent peat-forming plants”

The fluorescence properties of spores and pollen grains examined under ultraviolet incident light are used to assess the maturity of sedimentary organic matter and may have other applications in relation to recent sediments, in areas such as paleoenvironmental research. In this study pollen grains and spores from 33 species common in peat ecosystems were mounted on a glass slide in accordance with standard palynologycal procedures for recent plants. The main objective of this work was to assess the variability of fluorescence spectra of pollens and spores within a single species or even within a single sample. A minimum of 10 spectra were recorded from each sample and were averaged to obtain a spectrum characteristic of each sample. Both the average scattering and the scattering in different spectral regions were calculated using the standard deviation (SD) and the coefficient of variation (CV). The effect of the preparation techniques was assessed on some samples of Ericaceae taxa. The results indicated similar spectra for alcohol-washed and distilled water-washed samples, whereas the application of an acetolysis solution caused an increase in intensity and a shift to longer wavelengths. The spectra corresponding to the Sphagnum spores had the lowest intensity of all the families studied and displayed their maxima at the lowest registered wavelengths. They often showed a peak in the red region of the spectra, causing a larger scatter in fluorescence in this region. This peak is probably the result of wax or cytoplasmic material attached to the exospore. A significant number of Ericaceae taxa had two fluorescing pollen populations: a blue one of high intensity and smaller size and a yellow-orange one of low intensity and larger size. This difference could be related to different degrees of maturity of the pollen grains. In the case of pollen grains of herbaceous, tree and bush plants the largest scatter was found in the tails of the spectra toward the blue and red regions. The decreasing trend of fluorescence intensity with the shift of the spectra toward red was not observed in the pollen and spores of fresh plants. A good correlation was found between the spectral maxima (λmax) and the red-green quotient (QR/G) regardless of the type of plant.

The effects of shrubs Salsola arbusculiformis Drob. on soil chemical and physical characteristics in North east rangelands of Iran

The purpose of this investigation was to study the effects of Salsola arbusculiformis on soil physico-chemical characteristics in rangelands of in Garmeh Located in northeast of Iran. After surveying the regions, the three sites (karnakh, Aspakho, Robat) with Salsola arbusculiformis were selected. Vegetation cover and soil parameters were sampled by a random systematic method, in each region. Five transects each 100 meter length were selected and then 50 plots by the average of 1m ×2m were randomly chosen and vegetation cover parameters such as percentage canopy cover, production, density and percentage litter were measured in the key area of each site. Soil samples were taken from two depths (0-30, 30-60 cm) under plant and in control areas. The measured characteristics of soil included texture, electrical conductivity (EC), acidity (pH), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), Sodium (Na), Organic matter(OM), CaCO 3 and CaSO 4 .Data were analyzed using SPSS software under windows. One-way ANOVA and T-test were used to compare the data related to planted and control treatments. Results showed that Salsola arbusculiformis significantly increased the amount of K, pH, EC, N, Na (P<0.01), and O.M (P<0.05). In these sites measured characteristics of soil in planted areas were more than the control ones.

Intercropping of organic coffee with jack beans or hyacinth beans for different periods.

This paper evaluates the effects of the period of intercropping of hyacinth beans (Dolichos lab-lab) and jack beans (Canavalia ensiformis) on coffee (Coffea arabica) growth and productivity. The treatments were the two legume species combined in a factorial design with four intercropping periods (30, 60, 90 e 120 days after planting). The control treatment consisted of plots with coffee sole crop. The experiment was carried out for two years at Rio Pomba, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The biomass of legumes and the growth and yield of coffee shrubs was quantified in each year. There was a positive linear accumulation of the legume dry matter as intercropping period increased. On the first year, jack beans (2.65 t ha-1) accumulated more biomass than hyacinth beans (1.89 t ha-1). On the second year, hyacinth beans accumulated 5.74 t ha-1 of dry biomass and jack beans 2.89 t ha-1 at 120 days. On the first year, the increasing of intercropping period with hyacinth beans resulted in a decrease of the coffee shrub canopy diameter and number of leaves. On the second year, the coffee shrubs intercropped with hyacinth beans grew more than the ones intercropped with jack beans. Compared to the control treatment, the intercropping reduced coffee yield, presenting different effects on them.