Forestry activities require accurate inventories to support sustainable forest management; however, conventional field-based inventories are costly and difficult to implement over large areas. This study aimed to define and evaluate a methodology to estimate the number of trees in commercial plantations of Pinus elliottii and Eucalyptus sp. using images acquired by an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The study was conducted in three plantations (P1 – Pinus, 17 ha; P2 and P3 – Eucalyptus, totaling 33 ha). Circular sampling plots of 400 m² were established for the conventional forest inventory. Orthomosaics were generated from UAV flights using a DJI Mavic 3M at 120 m altitude, with 80% forward and 70% side overlap. Circular and rectangular sampling units with the same area were delineated on the images at the same sampling locations. Image processing was performed in Agisoft Metashape, and spatial analysis was conducted in QGIS. Tree counts obtained by the three methods (field inventory, circular plots on imagery, and rectangular plots on imagery) were compared using the Shapiro–Wilk normality test and, when appropriate, Student’s t-test or the Mann–Whitney U test. Statistically significant differences were observed between field-based counts and UAV-derived estimates in all study areas, whereas no significant differences were found between the two image-based methods. Discrepancies were smaller in Pinus plantations and more pronounced in Eucalyptus stands, indicating underestimation related to crown architecture, stand density, crown overlap, and image resolution and illumination constraints. Under the evaluated conditions, UAV-based approaches were not efficient for sample-based estimation of tree numbers, highlighting the need for species-specific calibration, lower-altitude flights, and improved image processing strategies.

Abstract Background Street tree plantings are common in urban greening programs, and these trees provide important ecosystem services that increase as trees survive to maturity. Field-based monitoring to understand mortality rates and causes is valuable for urban forest management but very time-consuming. Methods We used street-level imagery to virtually monitor survival for 2,884 street trees over several years postplanting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Results We observed similar mortality rates to other studies, with 7.5% of trees dead or removed by the first summer after planting and the mortality rate dropping to 3.5% between the third and fourth summers postplanting. Logistic regression models were constructed over various time horizons to understand which site, neighborhood, and species characteristics related to survival outcomes. These models showed that higher tree survival was associated with less impervious surface surrounding the tree; lower social vulnerability in the neighborhood; and tree planting in the fall season as opposed to spring. Conclusions Our results point to management activities that could improve survival outcomes, such as planting site enhancements and establishment maintenance, as well as the use of monitoring data to drive decisions regarding planting season. This study demonstrates the value of streetlevel imagery interpretations to provide mortality data on a large number of street trees planted over multiple years.

Abstract Tree planting has been widely implemented worldwide to restore forest area and ecosystem services. While China has become the world’s largest country in terms of planted tree area, it remains unclear whether these tree plantations approximate the close-to-nature 3D structures that are critical for supporting ecosystem services. Using Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) data, in combination with linear mixed model analysis, this study for the first time provides a national-scale assessment of the difference in 3D structure between natural forests and tree plantations in China. We found that natural forests outperform tree plantations in canopy height (ΔRH98 = 0.58 m), foliage height diversity (ΔFHD = 0.06), plant area index (ΔPAI = 0.22), and canopy cover (ΔCover = 0.04). These differences vary across vegetation regions, with the largest ΔRH98, ΔPAI and ΔCover in the Warm Temperate Deciduous Broadleaf Forest Region, whereas the largest ΔFHD was found in the Cold Temperate Coniferous Forest Region. Linear mixed modeling further revealed that ΔPAI and ΔCover decreased under more favorable hydrothermal conditions. Our study revealed structural differences between China’s natural forests and tree plantations, highlighting the importance of selecting suitable sites with favorable environmental conditions for tree plantations and promoting close-to-nature management practice to support their ecosystem services.

The Mun River Basin, the largest Mekong tributary in Northeast Thailand, has experienced extensive agricultural expansion and forest decline, raising concerns over increasing soil erosion and sediment transfer. This study provides an integrated assessment of soil loss, sediment yield (SY), and sediment delivery ratio (SDR) across 19 sub-watersheds using the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), field-based SY data, and multivariate statistical analyses in 2024. Basinwide soil loss was estimated at ~35 million t y−1 (mean 4.96 t ha−1 y−1), with more than 80% of the basin classified in the no erosion to very low erosion classes. Despite substantial hillslope erosion, only 402,405 t y−1 of sediment reaches the river network, corresponding to a low SDR of 1.15%, which falls within the range reported for large tropical watersheds with significant reservoir infrastructure. Soil loss is most strongly influenced by slope and forested terrain, while SY responds primarily to rainfall and tree plantations; urban land, croplands, and reservoirs act as sediment sinks. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) resolved multicollinearity and produced six components explaining over 90% of predictor variance. A PCA-based regression model predicted SY per unit area with high accuracy (r = 0.81). The results highlight the dominant roles of hydroclimate and land-use structure in shaping sediment connectivity, supporting targeted soil and watershed-management strategies.

Christmas tree growers are concerned with improving establishment of their plantations. Here, we report the results of a series of on-farm trials conducted with grower-cooperators in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) and Great Lakes (Michigan—MI) regions to determine the efficacy of treatments at planting on improving tree survival and growth in Christmas tree plantations. Cooperating growers planted species that were typical for each region (Fraser fir in the Great Lakes and Douglas-fir and noble fir in the PNW) and managed the plantings using standard cultural practices, aside from test treatments. Test treatments varied between locations and years but included wood chip mulch, shade blocks, an anti-transpirant, biochar, fertilizers, and various root dips including polymer gels, mycorrhizae, and bio-stimulants. Overall, treatments that directly modified the tree environment (i.e., mulch and shade blocks) provided the most consistent benefit to tree survival and growth. In Michigan, mulching increased survival by 5% on non-irrigated farms and increased second-year shoot growth by ~3 cm. In the PNW trials, mulching increased survival of noble fir seedlings more than Douglas-fir seedlings. Installing controlled release fertilizer packets at planting increased initial growth of Douglas-firs. Application of root dips prior to planting did not improve tree survival or growth relative to dipping tree roots in water (control). Based on our results, we conclude that treatments that conserve soil moisture (mulch) or reduce tree water loss (shade blocks) offer the most direct opportunity for growers to improve initial tree survival and growth.

Baculoviruses are large DNA viruses that mainly infect insects. During infection, viral egress from midgut cells and subsequent behavior changes lead to terminally infected insects migrating to higher elevations on plant branches or tree limbs. However, the neural mechanisms driving this hyperactivity remain poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrate that the climbing behavior of Helicoverpa armigera larvae enhances the dispersal of Helicoverpa armigera single nucleopolyhedrovirus (HearNPV). Our findings reveal that HearNPV triggers a calcium response in enteroendocrine cells, leading to the release of midgut-derived tachykinin (TK). Released TK activates its receptor (TKR) in the brain, thereby promoting phototaxis and climbing behavior. Additionally, HaTTD14 functions as a downstream regulator of the TK-TKR signaling pathway. These results provide insights into the neural and molecular mechanisms driving baculovirus-induced hyperactivity, which aids in viral transmission.

Understanding how plant innovations arise and persist requires connecting mechanisms across biological scales. The growing accessibility of genomic data and methodological advances in phylogenetic comparative methods provide unprecedented opportunities to achieve this integration. Yet, functional tools remain unevenly distributed across the plant Tree of Life, and conceptual differences across scales of inquiry limit integration. Here, we highlight emerging approaches that bridge developmental, genomic, and macroevolutionary research to generate a more comprehensive view of plant evolution. We propose building a "Functional Tree of Plant Life" by investing in shared infrastructure and funding programs for developing transformation techniques and building genetic resources to incentivize research in non-model taxa. Concurrently, further methodological advances in phylogenetic comparative methods are needed to continue accommodating complex developmental, genomic, and transcriptomic data. Combined, these efforts would enable experimental validation of gene function across diverse lineages and improve reconstructions of the evolution of genetic pathways and the developmental origins of key phenotypes. Building this integrative framework will require both conceptual synthesis, collaboration, and community investment but offers a transformative path toward understanding the evolution of plant form and function.

Muara Takus Temple is a valuable historical heritage in Riau Province and a testament to the glory of ancient civilization in the Indonesian archipelago. However, the environment around the temple often faces problems such as litter, vegetation damage, and declining public awareness. Clean-up and environmental preservation activities in this area demonstrate the involvement of the younger generation and the community in preserving the historic site. Through a participatory approach, this community service program aims to describe the process, results, and social impact of preservation activities in the Muara Takus Temple area. The results of the community service program demonstrate increased public awareness, the formation of cross-institutional collaboration, and the strengthening of the value of mutual cooperation in preserving cultural heritage and the environment. The results demonstrate that the involvement of the community, students, and site managers has successfully raised collective awareness of the importance of maintaining cleanliness and preserving cultural heritage. Furthermore, this activity strengthened the synergy between historical and environmental preservation through tree planting, waste management, and the provision of educational boards. This activity demonstrates that cultural heritage preservation can be revitalized through active participation and cross-generational collaboration.

Wood-based industries make significant contribution to the utilization of forest products in terms of value addition. However, there is limited scientific evidence on the current development status of wood-based industries in the Lake Zone, which comprises Mwanza, Geita, Kagera, Shinyanga, Simiyu, and Mara regions. This study assessed the status of these industries and their optimal productivity level, types of raw materials used, their sources and quantity, trends of consumption of raw materials for wood-based industries, and the capacity of forest resources to sustain raw materials demands. Data collection methods involve desk review, interviews, field observation, and satellite image classification for plantation types and other land covers. The Lake Zone has 198 registered primary wood-based industries, which comprise only Sawmills. Most of these industries sourced wood raw materials from forest plantations as well as woodlots. Planted area of the plantations and woodlots in the zone is about 50,646.82 ha, with Pinus species covering 33,622.56 ha (66.39%) and Eucalyptus covering 17,024.26 ha (33.61%), yielding a total allowable cut of 67,988 m³ (22%). The annual demand, however, stands at 315,800 m³, resulting in a deficit of 247,812 m³ for the industries to operate at a normal state. The major challenges affecting the sustainability of forest plantations in the Lake Zone include the rapid expansion of primary wood-based industries focused mainly on sawmilling, uncontrolled livestock grazing, frequent fire outbreaks, and the use of poor-quality planting materials. To sustain the primary wood-based industries, more efforts are needed to establish more tree woodlots and plantations and improve their management. Despite the low supply of wood raw materials that focus on only sawmill technologies, the zone has the opportunity of the availability of wood residues emanating from the sawmills. Investment in appropriate Engineered Wood Products technologies, which could utilize the vast wood residues, is recommended.

A framework for strategic transformation of vacant lots for heat resilience.

Shelterbelts support edge birds but limit grassland and wetland specialists in agricultural landscape.

A survey was conducted in Purbachal town, Dhaka, to assess the opportunities and challenges of urban forestry in addressing unplanned urbanization issues. A wellstructured interview schedule and systematic random sampling method were used for the data collection during the household survey from June 15, 2023, to July 15, 2023. Main opportunities for urban forestry development in the study area included public willingness to participate in tree plantation activities, government plans, and community forestry expansion; on the other hand, the major constraints included a lack of public space, land fragmentation, and appropriate policy and awareness. The study revealed that urban forestry offered timber production, protection of soil and the environment, reduction of air temperature and pollution, support of biodiversity, and providing educational and research opportunities. In order to enhance urban forestry, the study recommended that the concerned authority organize social groups, build up institutional frameworks, and carry out long-term plantation and management strategies. J. of Sci. and Tech. Res. 6(2): 109-119, 2025

Abstract Tree planting is expanding across sub-Saharan Africa, spurred by the demand for tree products and new environmental policies. Identifying key actors is important for land use theory and for determining whether tree planting can improve rural livelihoods while contributing to environmental goals. To date, tree-planting analyses focus on obvious actors: large-scale businesses (plantations) and rural smallholders (woodlots). However, absentee, urban-based domestic investors are also engaged. Using southern Tanzania as a case study, we attribute tree planting across plantations and woodlots then analyze the potential contribution of the absentee landowners (absentee treefarms). We quantified plantations’ extent by creating and manually verifying a spatial database of planted areas (ca. 2019). We estimated woodlots’ extent by performing a bootstrap extrapolation of average woodlot area based on field surveys of 3,436 smallholders across 163 villages. We estimated absentee treefarms’ extent based on interviews with village leaders (n=36). We corroborated plantations, woodlots, and absentee treefarms against total planted tree cover as observed from remote sensing. The plantations database corresponded well to remote sensing (R=0.82), but less so for woodlots (R=0.48). A linear model with only plantations and woodlots explained 38% of the remotely sensed planted tree cover while one that included absentee treefarms explained 54%. Unexplained variation is partly due to omission errors for woodlots: 57% of villages (n = 88) had more woodlots based on interview estimates than based on remote sensing analysis. Villages with far more remotely sensed planted trees compared to interview estimates (11%, n = 17) included absentee treefarm sites. Our findings reveal the role of absentee, urban-based domestic investors in tree planting. More broadly, we show that trees planted in rural areas, even in small patches (5 - 500 ha) are not necessarily owned by rural residents. Land use attribution must incorporate absentee owners. Similarly, funding for tree planting, particularly when intended to alleviate rural poverty, must address who benefits and not just where tree planting occurs. We recommend triangulating remote sensing with field assessments to attribute ownership to improve the equity and efficacy of tree-planting campaigns.

Long-term diversifying afforestation enhances soil microbial network complexity and stability.

ABSTRACT Aims Fine‐scale floristic heterogeneity is a hallmark of mature tropical forests. Restoring such patterns in degraded habitats should produce more resilient and biodiverse systems, yet these end‐goals are rarely compared across multiple restoration scenarios. We analyzed fine‐scale spatial tree recruitment patterns in a long‐term tropical forest restoration experiment. Location Coto Brus County in southern Costa Rica, 1100–1430 m above sea level. Methods We censused seedlings and saplings in 26 experimental restoration plots (0.25 ha) after 16–18 years and six reference forests. Restoration treatments included the following: (1) plantation—four tree species planted in rows; (2) applied nucleation—six tree nuclei of varying sizes planted with the same four species; and (3) natural regeneration—no trees planted. In 2022, we censused all tree stems ≥ 20 cm and mapped each to 3 × 3 m grid cells. Results Mean local species density of seedlings (per 6 × 6 m quadrat) was significantly greater in plantation (10.9; 95% CI = 10.0–11.9) and applied nucleation (8.4; 95% CI = 7.7–9.3) than in natural regeneration subplots (5.0; 95% CI = 4.5–5.5), as the latter commonly had quadrats with no recruits. Within‐plot Bray–Curtis dissimilarity was highest in natural regeneration, intermediate in applied nucleation, and lowest in plantations. Differences arose primarily from variation in seedling abundance, rather than from species turnover, but did not differ in sapling communities. Recruits of large‐seeded, later‐successional species were significantly less clustered and established more frequently in plot interiors of planted treatments than of natural regeneration. Conclusions After nearly two decades, the extent of initially planted trees did not substantially influence the fine‐scale heterogeneity of recruit community composition beyond spatial variation in seedling density. However, both applied nucleation and plantation restoration approaches resulted in a more even spatial distribution of large‐seeded recruits, highlighting the importance of tree planting for facilitating the recovery of dispersal‐limited species.

Agroforestry is widely promoted to address biodiversity loss and climate risks in cocoa systems, yet large-scale tree-planting programmes often fall short. Evidence form Côte d’Ivoire shows that managing the complementarity of remnant, spontaneous and planted trees at field level strengthens biodiversity, carbon storage, field productivity and the long-term sustainability of cocoa farming.

Abstract Across forested boreal peatlands in western Canada, forestry and energy development disturb threatened Woodland caribou habitat. Federal policy requires ≥65% undisturbed habitat in caribou ranges. Practitioners are starting to restore a ubiquitous footprint, conventional seismic lines—narrow forest clearings (3–10 m wide) used for oil and gas exploration. Research has assessed tree growth and peatland surface responses to seismic line restoration separately but rarely together, creating uncertainty about which practices most benefit ecosystem recovery. A more inclusive view of restoration that embraces intelligent tinkering by considering multiple structural responses, rather than a narrow focus on one response such as forest cover, is needed for Woodland caribou habitat recovery. Here, we used an intelligent tinkering framework to analyse dominant tree (black spruce and tamarack), woody shrub and peatland surface responses simultaneously to identify whether active (inverted mounding and tree planting) relative to passive (inhibit re‐disturbance and leave for natural) restoration promotes initial ecosystem recovery on seismic lines. We sampled and compared dominant tree, woody shrub and peatland surface responses on seismic lines and in reference adjacent fens 8–11 years after restoration treatments in the Cold Lake woodland caribou range of north‐eastern Alberta, Canada. We used generalized linear mixed‐effects models to compare structural responses for forested poor fens (20.2% of the Cold Lake range) and forested rich fens (17.3%) between restoration treatments and adjacent reference fens. Applying intelligent tinkering by comparing multiple structural responses, we found that active restoration did not promote initial recovery of forested fens more than a simple passive restoration strategy. Active restoration increased tree density and height, likely due to tree planting, but tree growth was not expedited compared to naturally regenerating trees in passive restoration. Seismic lines in active restoration treatments had reduced bryophyte coverage, increased open water and exposed soil and decreased hummock density relative to passive restoration and reference fens due to larger, man‐made mounds with little bryophyte coverage and open water pools. Synthesis and applications. Intelligent tinkering can identify divergent structural responses to active and passive restoration treatments that inhibit ecosystem recovery. Consideration of all structural responses to adapt restoration practices is not just needed within Woodland caribou ranges but is needed across peatland restoration, globally. Intelligent tinkering in restoration supports adaptive, evidence‐based restoration practices and policies that increase the likelihood of ecosystem recovery.

The effect of place-based nature interventions on human health: A systematic review.

The control, supervision and monitoring of trees, both in terms of their location and height, is of vital importance in teak plantations (Tectona grandis L.f.). This allows planning silvicultural work related to thinning, replanting, irrigation and phytosanitary treatments, estimating production and harvesting. Knowing the number of plants, their spatial location, and estimating their height is crucial for managing large tree plantations and determining their carbon sequestration capacity to contribute to climate change mitigation. In this work, three different size versions of the anchor-free and single-stage detector YOLOX deep learning network, pre-trained on the COCO dataset, were specifically trained for automatic localization of teak trees in large and dense plantations from UAV imagery. This study used two teak plantations located in Ecuador. "La Marina" plantation (456 ha) served as the training and validation area, while "La Selena" (195 ha), was reserved for testing and accuracy evaluation, constituting a true holdout dataset to assess the generalization capabilities of the developed model. Very high-resolution RGB images were taken in both plantations using a Phantom 4 drone at a flight altitud of 120 m above ground. Regarding the results obtained, they showed that the "small" version of the YOLOX deep learning network performed significantly better than the other two versions tested ("medium" and "large" size YOLOX), presenting notably good average metrics of Precision (94.74%), Recall (82.40%) and F1-score (87.91%). In this sense, the trained model proved to be a suitable solution to address complex visual recognition challenges in very high-resolution UAV images. Keywords: UAV Images, YOLOX, Tree Detection, Teak Plantations, Deep Learning

Abstract International policies increasingly call on decision‐makers to enhance urban biodiversity. While cities can support considerable biological richness—including rare and endangered species—the persistence of plant populations in urban habitats is often at risk. Identifying and prioritizing threats to endangered plants is essential for guiding effective conservation strategies. We analysed a unique dataset derived from expert assessments of threats to 1231 populations of 201 endangered species within Berlin's Flora Protection Programme. Threats were categorized and their relative importance quantified at both population and species levels, and across habitat types. Biotic threats were most prevalent—affecting 63% of populations and 78% of species, followed by threats related to agriculture, nutrient inputs, urban development and recreation. Among biotic threats, succession and expansive plant species were similarly important, each affecting 23%–25% of populations, followed by tree and shrub plantings (11.5%). Native species (primarily Calamagrostis epigejos and Phragmites australis ) threatened 16% of populations while non‐native species (mainly Solidago taxa and Prunus serotina ) affected 15.2%. The relevance of non‐native threats varied across habitat types, with woodlands hosting the largest number of affected populations. Despite Berlin's status as an invasion hotspot, non‐native species represented a comparatively minor threat relative to other biotic drivers, agriculture and nutrient inputs—consistently across major habitat types. Notably, no EU‐listed Invasive Alien Species were identified as threats to the target taxa—including the widespread Ailanthus altissima . Synthesis and applications. This first city‐wide assessment of threats to multiple populations of endangered plant species provides a foundation for targeted threat management in urban contexts. Maintaining habitat quality and optimizing land use will be most effective in protecting endangered species from competitive pressures. While existing non‐native threats should be addressed, their limited role suggests that urban conservation efforts should prioritize more pressing drivers of decline. In Berlin, many endangered native species likely co‐exist with non‐native species at broader spatial scales. Future studies should move beyond isolated assessment of invasion risks, compare the relative importance of different threats and apply this framework across cities in diverse biogeographical and socio‐economic settings.