Tree Taxa Research Articles

New Data on the Distribution and Systematic Position of Marsupella minutissima, a Poorly Known Species from Gymnomitriaceae (Marchantiophyta).

Marsupella minutissima was recorded for the first time outside of Japan in Jeju-do in the Republic of Korea. The new data significantly improve the knowledge of the species distribution. An analysis of the phylogenetic affinities of the species based on nuclear ITS and plastid trnL-trnF regions showed that it is resolved within the clade corresponding to Marsupella sect. Ustulatae, which is where the most morphologically similar M. funckii and M. sprucei are placed. These tree taxa are well delimited geographically. When found within the same region, such as a mountain chain, they occupy different altitudinal belts. Our results showed clear molecular delimitation; however, we failed to estimate the affinities of M. minutissima within the section based on the available molecular data. A description, line-art illustrations and photographs of the collected materials are provided; data on the oil bodies of the species were obtained for the first time.

Therapeutic Importance of Extracts from Leaf and Bark of <i>Gymnacranthera farquhariana</i>

Background: Gymnacranthera farquhariana (Hook. f. and Thomson) Warb. is one of the endangered tree taxon of the Western Ghats, a biodiversity hot-spot in peninsular India. Very few reports are available on biological applications of the bark, leaf and seed of this plant. Aim: The present work deals with the screening of methanol and aqueous extracts of G. farquhariana from leaf and bark for therapeutic importance. Methods: Anti-bacterial activities of extracts were carried out using two bacterial strains viz., Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus through the agar well diffusion method. The antifungal activities by poison bait method using Aspergillus niger, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Fusarium solani. Each experimental parameter was conducted in triplicate. Results: The results showed that G. farquhariana bark and leaf extracts exhibited promising activities against bacteria. Antifungal activity also showed good inhibition activity. The extracts showed a good anti-diabetic potential in α-amylase inhibitory assay. Bark aqueous extract showed 54.79% inhibition for α- amylase inhibition assay at 250μL. The extract also showed good anti-inflammatory potential in the Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) denaturation assay. Bark aqueous extract showed 83.9% inhibition for BSA denaturation assay at 100 μL. Conclusion: Both leaf and bark extracts of the plant showed good antioxidant, anti-diabetic and antimicrobial activity. This is the first such in vitro report concerning G. farquhariana plant parts.

Paleosol charcoal: 12,700 years of high-altitude mediterranean vegetation history in relation to forest fires in the southwestern baetic cordillera (Spain)

Mountain forests are sensitive ecosystems. This is why in recent years the dynamics of these forest ecotones have been researched from several different approaches. One of these has been the paleoecological perspective, which is particularly interesting in the mountainous areas of the Mediterranean region, where interactions between climate, vegetation and anthropic activities have been documented for millennia. This is the case of the Sierra de las Nieves Natural Park (southwestern Baetic Cordillera), a mountainous area that constitutes an important refuge for flora in southern Iberian Peninsula. At present, endemic trees such as Abies pinsapo and Quercus faginea subs. alpestris are found. However, its strategic geographical location may also have served in the past as a refuge for other tree taxa. In order to reconstruct the vegetation history in this protected natural area, this research aims to use pedoanthracological analysis in an unexplored area of this mountainous system. The results obtained have allowed to identify a new paleopopulation of Abies, a finding that provides new keys on the paleobiogeography of this species. This is the oldest evidence of this genus and at the highest altitude of those found to date in the southwestern Baetic Cordillera, which would confirm that this fir tree was present in high elevations of the Sierra de las Nieves during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. Likewise, the first anthracological evidence of Pinus nigra/sylvestris type in the southwestern end of the Baetic Cordillera has been obtained. Forest fires could have been one of the main factors which would be determined the shaping and evolution of the vegetation landscape, as suggested by the fire events identified from the soil analysis. This information can be useful for the conservation and adaptive management of the most threatened forests and their habitats in the face of global change.

Qualitative and quantitative metabolomics of Pamburus missionis Swingle – a medicinal tree taxon

Since ancient times, Plant based medicine is a well-known oldest form of healthcare to mankind. Even the commercial medications used for the treatment of various ailments today, contains a large proportion of plant derived chemical compounds. Hence chemical profiling of medicinal plants gained a key role to use them in pharmaceuticals as well as commercial industries. Pamburus missionis is one of the medicinal plants used in the Indian and Srilankan traditional medicine system to reduce kapha dosha. The ayurvedic physicians used its leaves to treat swelling, piles, fractures, fistula, puerperal diseases and as serpent venom. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to reveal the phytocompounds from various parts of this plant. Metabolomics revealed the presence of primary and secondary metabolites like carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, alkaloids, phenols, flavonoids, steroids etc. From the aqueous extract, Alkaloid content is almost same in leaf, stem and bark extracts with around 1.2 to 1.3 g (w/v%) and completely absent in the fruit. Phenolic content and steroids are notably high in leaf extract with 112.77±0.34 mg/g of extract and 17.91±0.26 mg respectively, where the flavonoid content in fruit extract with 44.69±0.30 mg/g of extract and the tannin content in bark extract with 62.37±1.75 mg/g of extract.

Will large-scale forestation lead to a soil water deficit crisis in China's drylands?

Trading water for carbon has cautioned large-scale afforestation in global drylands. However, model simulations suggested that the consumption of soil water could be partially offset by increasing precipitation due to vegetation feedback. A systematic meta-analysis of long-term and large-scale field observations is urgently required to address the abovementioned limitations, and the implementation of large-scale afforestation since 1978 in northern China provides an ideal example. This study collected data comprising 1226 observations from 98 sites in northern China to assess the variation in soil water content (SWC) with stand age after afforestation and discuss the effects of tree species, precipitation and conversions of land use types on SWC. We found that the SWC has been decreased by coniferous forest and broadleaf forest at rates of 0.6 and 3.2 mm decade–1, respectively, since 1978. There is a significant declining trend of SWC with the stand age of plantations, and the optimum growth stage for plantation forest is 0–20 a in northern China. However, we found increases in SWC for the conversion from grassland to forest and in the low-precipitation region, both are corresponding to the increased SWC in coniferous forest. Our study implies that afforestation might lead to a soil water deficit crisis in northern China in the long term at the regional scale but depends on prior land use types, tree taxa and the mean annual precipitation regime, which sheds light on decision-making regarding ecological restoration policies and water resource management in drylands.

Evaluating the reliability of DNA Barcoding for Central American Pacific shallow water echinoderms identification: a molecular taxonomy and database accuracy analysis

Introduction: Molecular divergence thresholds have been proposed to distinguish recently separated evolutive units, often displaying more accurate putative species assignments in taxonomic research compared to traditional morphological approaches. This makes DNA barcoding an attractive identification tool for a variety of marine invertebrates, especially for cryptic species complexes. Although GenBank and the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD) are the major sequence repositories worldwide, very few have tested their performance in the identification of echinoderm sequences.
 Objective: We use COI echinoderm sequences from local samples and the molecular identification platforms from GenBank and BOLD, in order to test their accuracy and reliability in the DNA barcoding identification for Central American shallow water echinoderms, at genus and species level.
 Methods: We conducted sampling, tissue extraction, COI amplification, sequencing, and taxonomic identification for 475 specimens. The 348 obtained sequences were individually enquired with BLAST in GenBank as well as using the Identification System (IDS) in BOLD. Query sequences were classified depending on the best match result. McNemar’s chi-squared, Kruskal-Wallis’s and Mann-Whitney’s U tests were performed to prove differences between the results from both databases. Additionally, we recorded an updated list of species reported for the shallow waters of the Central American Pacific.
 Results: We found 324 echinoderm species reported for Central American Pacific shallow waters. Only 118 and 110 were present in GenBank and BOLD databases respectively. We proposed 325 solved morphology-based identities and 21 provisional identifications in 50 putative taxa. GenBank retrieved 348 molecular-based identifications in 58 species, including twelve provisional identifications in tree taxa. BOLD recovered 170 COI identifications in 23 species with one provisional identification. Nevertheless, 178 sequences retrieved unmatched terms (in 34 morphology-based taxa). Only 86 sequences (25 %) were retrieved as correct identifications and 128 (37 %) as identification errors in both platforms. We include 84 sequences for eleven species not represented in GenBank and 65 sequences for ten species in BOLD Echinoderm COI databases. The identification accuracy using BLAST (175 correct and 152 incorrect identifications) was greater than with IDS engine (110 correct and 218 identification errors), therefore GenBank outperforms BOLD (Kruskal-Wallis = 41.625, df = 1, p < 0.001).
 Conclusions: Additional echinoderm sample references are needed to improve the utility of the evaluated DNA barcoding identification tools. Identification discordances in both databases may obey specific parameters used in each search algorithm engine and the available sequences. We recommend the use of barcoding as a complementary identification source for Central American Pacific shallow water echinoderm species.

Intraspecific genetic divergence of the subalpine shrubby variety Quercus crispula var. horikawae from the mountain tree variety Q. crispula var. crispula in Japan

AbstractEcotypic divergence in tree taxa often occurs in subalpine habitats, where environmental conditions are more stressful than those in lower elevations. In the white oak species in Japan Quercus crispula, the subalpine shrubby variety Q. crispula var. horikawae (Qch) has been recognized in central and northern Honshu. Although Qch has different phenotypes from Q. crispula var. crispula (Qcc), genetic divergence between Qcc and Qch has not been examined yet. Pairs of Qcc and Qch populations in eight locations and additional Qcc and Qch populations around these locations were investigated. Leaf size of Qch was smaller than that of Qcc. Chloroplast DNA haplotypes were shared between the Qcc and Qch populations. In genotypes at 29 nuclear microsatellite loci, genetic diversity did not differ between the Qcc and Qch populations. Principal component analysis and a neighbor‐joining tree of populations based on the genotypes demonstrated that 13 Qcc populations and eight Qch populations were grouped separately, except for three Qch populations that were grouped to Qcc. Climatic conditions in the eight Qch populations were characterized by lower temperature and heavier snowfall than those in the 16 populations of the genetic group of Qcc. These results suggest genetic divergence between Qcc and Qch associated with subalpine climatic conditions, irrespective of leaf size. The origin of the subalpine Qch lineage and the history of ecotypic divergence should be investigated in future genomic studies.

Modern pollen–vegetation relationship from the Mahasamund District (Chhattisgarh), central India: implications for palaeoecological reconstruction

The study of modern pollen–vegetation relationship is crucial for the proper interpretation of fossil pollen records. In the present study, a total of 29 surface samples, collected from the edge of the forested areas of the Mahasamund District, Chhattisgarh State, central India, were palynologically analysed with the principal aims of evaluating the modern pollen assemblages and understanding the modern pollen and extant vegetation relationship. The study reveals the dominance of non-arboreal pollen (NAP) taxa over the arboreal pollen (AP) taxa, suggesting open mixed tropical deciduous forest type vegetation in and around the study area. The tree taxa, on the whole, constitute an average sum of 19.78% pollen of the total pollen sum, whereas the contribution of herbs is 43.58% pollen (average sum). The major non-arboreal taxa are Cerealia/Cereal Poaceae (average value; 5.45% pollen) and Poaceae (average value; 4.34%), whereas the cultural plant pollen taxa, such as Amaranthaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Brassicaceae, Cannabis sativa, Alternanthera, and Borreria contribute with an average sum of 11.69% pollen to the total pollen sum. Most of the common forest elements are not recorded because they are insect-pollinated or have low pollen preservation potential, and, hence, the modern pollen assemblages do not directly reflect the actual extant vegetation occupying the landscape of the study area. This bias would also be expected in late Quaternary pollen records of central India and, hence, can provide information of the actual vegetation when analysing fossil pollen samples.

A Millennial‐Scale Oscillation in Latitudinal Temperature Gradients Along the Western North Atlantic During the Mid‐Holocene

AbstractChanges in vegetation in North America indicate Holocene shifts in the latitudinal temperature gradient along the western margin of the North Atlantic. Tree taxa such as oak (Quercus) and birch (Betula) experienced opposing directions of change across different latitudes consistent with changes in temperature gradient steepness. Pollen‐inferred temperatures from 34 sites quantify the gradient changes and reconstruct a long‐term northward steepening in summer and southward steepening in winter. From 4.8 to 3.8 ka, an oscillation in tree distributions interrupted the long‐term trends as a steep temperature gradient developed north of 43.5°N. The shift likely limited cold outbreaks to the south, producing anomalously high summer temperatures at 42–43.5°N, and enabling a northward expansion of oak forests. The forest and temperature gradient changes appear consistent with orbital and ice sheet forcing as well as millennial variability in the North Atlantic pressure field analogous to the North Atlantic Oscillation on interannual time scales.

Limits of thermal and hydrological tolerance in a foundation tree species (Populus fremontii) in the desert southwestern United States.

Populus fremontii is among the most dominant, and ecologically important riparian tree species in the western United States and can thrive in hyper-arid riparian corridors. Yet, P. fremontii forests have rapidly declined over the last decade, particularly in places where temperatures sometimes exceed 50°C. We evaluated high temperature tolerance of leaf metabolism, leaf thermoregulation, and leaf hydraulic function in eight P. fremontii populations spanning a 5.3°C mean annual temperature gradient in a well-watered common garden, and at source locations throughout the lower Colorado River Basin. Two major results emerged. First, despite having an exceptionally high Tcrit (the temperature at which Photosystem II is disrupted) relative to other tree taxa, recent heat waves exceeded Tcrit , requiring evaporative leaf cooling to maintain leaf-to-air thermal safety margins. Second, in midsummer, genotypes from the warmest locations maintained lower midday leaf temperatures, a higher midday stomatal conductance, and maintained turgor pressure at lower water potentials than genotypes from more temperate locations. Taken together, results suggest that under well-watered conditions, P. fremontii can regulate leaf temperature below Tcrit along the warm edge of its distribution. Nevertheless, reduced Colorado River flows threaten to lower water tables below levels needed for evaporative cooling during episodic heat waves.

Evolutionary host shifts across plant orders despite high host specificity in tree stem surface-living Stomaphis aphids inferred from molecular phylogeny

We reconstructed Stomaphis phylogeny and analyzed evolutionary host-plant shifts. The molecular phylogeny revealed 23 well-supported lineages, each specialized to use specific host plant family, whilst host plants of Stomaphis aphids ranged across 6 orders, 11 families, 21 genera, and 28 species. This combination of high host specificity with evolutionarily distant host shifts is exceptional in herbivores. To explain this pattern, we propose one hypothesis among several possibilities: Stomaphis aphids are generalists with respect to the defensive chemicals produced by the plant, but specialists with respect to the stem surface structure of the host tree. This hypothesis predicts that tree taxa having stem surface structures preferred by Stomaphis would be used again and again by genetically distinct Stomaphis lineages. Consistent with this prediction, we found that different (occasionally phylogenetically distant) Stomaphis lineages shared the same host plant genera such as Alnus and Betula. This result suggests that, in the course of their evolutionary history, Japanese Stomaphis aphids have repeatedly colonized a limited number of host plant genera.

A 2600-yr multiproxy record for climate and vegetation reconstruction along the Mahanadi River delta, east coast of India

Understanding the impact of climate change on the vegetation cover in the past is crucial for predicting the future warming scenario and its consequences. The present study integrates biotic (palynological analysis) and abiotic proxy (sediment chemistry, clay mineral assemblages and grain size end member (EM) analysis) records in a chronologically constrained sedimentary sequence from the southeastern part of the Mahanadi River delta to reconstruct the hydroclimate since 2600 years. The Mahanadi delta sediments are primarily derived from felsic rock source possibly composed of granites or granulites. The dominance of herbaceous taxa, high aridity index and deposition of fine grain (EM1) sediment possibly suggest a relatively cold and dry climate in the study region during ~2600–2100 cal yr BP corresponding to the Iron Age Cold Period (IACP). Presence of diverse mangrove and tree taxa, deposition of coarser sediment (EM3) and relatively high abundance of secondary clay minerals possibly indicate high precipitation associated with the Roman Warm Period (RWP, ~2100–1800 cal yr BP). A decline in mangroves, dominance of herbaceous taxa and high deposition of fine grain (EM2) sediment from ~1800 to 1300 cal yr BP may indicate a relatively drier climate coinciding with the Dark Age Cold Period (DACP). High moisture index and an increased value of Rb/Sr during ~1300 cal yr BP may suggest a wet phase with the onset of the Medieval Climatic Anomaly (MCA) and later shifted to an arid climate during ~1100–800 cal yr BP. After ~800 cal yr BP, a sharp decline in all weathering indices and vegetation cover, dominance of illite indicates a relatively dry climate which could mark the Little Ice Age (LIA, ~800–300 cal yr BP). A small increase in the terrestrial flux, as well as the weathering indices after ~300 cal yr BP, may suggest the onset of recent warming.

Oak and others, new to Poland, hosts of mistletoe Viscum album subsp. album in the city of Toruń and its immediate vicinity

The paper presents the distribution of localities of seven tree taxa, identified as new hosts of mistletoe in Poland, in the city of Toruń. Particular attention was paid to the description of a site with mistletoe on an oak identified as Quercus x rosacea. The reason for this is that native oaks are rare hosts of mistletoe in Central and Eastern Europe and this is the first finding of such a host–parasite association in Poland. The occurrence of all eight host species at 14 sites was compared with the distribution and description of localities and morphological characteristics of both host–mistletoe association components presented in the botanical, ecological and forestry literature.

Global patterns of mobile carbon partitioning in mountain trees in response to elevation

Non-structural carbohydrate (NSC), a major substrate of primary metabolism, has been implicated in mediating cold-induced termination of tree growth, particularly in the alpine environment. Despite its functional significance, NSC pattern as well as its partitioning between sugar and starch in response to elevation across the globe remains unclear. Here, we compiled data from 67 studies encompassing 90 elevational transects worldwide and conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the responses of NSC (including sugar, starch, and total NSC concentrations) as well as sugar:starch ratio in mountain trees to increasing elevation at organ scale. Our results showed that declining temperature with increasing elevation promoted NSC accumulation in aboveground organs, but did not affect the sugar:starch ratio in all organs analysed, implying that the remarkably significant role of NSC in both short-term cellular metabolism and long-term recalcitrant storage. Trees grown within warmer mountain regions (i.e., regions with relatively higher mean temperature during the growing season) stored more NSC in leaf in response to elevation than those grown within colder mountain regions. We also found that the observed increasing pattern of NSC with elevation occurred only in treeline tree species but not in non-treeline trees (i.e., tree taxa that do not reach the alpine treeline). Additionally, a significant negative effect of elevation on NSC revealed an unbalanced carbon supply in the roots of angiosperms tree species, indicating that the growth inhibition of belowground organ with increasing elevation occurred mainly in angiosperms rather than in gymnosperms. Our findings suggest that a sugar-starch partitioning pattern, which remains essentially stable over a wide range of climates and functional type species, predominately modulates the balance of carbon assimilates between supply and demand in responding to cold stress in the mountain trees worldwide.

Host-tree selection by the ant garden-initiating arboreal ponerine Neoponera goeldii.

Host-tree selection by the ant garden-initiating arboreal ponerine Neoponera goeldii.

An Algorithmic Approach to Reducing Taxonomic Detail from Actual Datasets to their Metadata Representation to Increase Findabilty

An Algorithmic Approach to Reducing Taxonomic Detail from Actual Datasets to their Metadata Representation to Increase Findabilty

Filtros ambientais urbanos na movimentação de aves e morcegos em uma cidade média do Sul do Brasil

Urbanization causes drastic changes in the diversity and distribution of many species in Brazil, there are insufficient data on the accessibility and quality of urban forest fragments for wildlife. Thus, we estimated the proportion of bird and bat species barred from entering the intra-urban area of Ponta Grossa (PR) through a multiscale study of landscape and vegetation quality in the core area and the avian and chiropteran fauna present. Phytosociological analyses were carried out by means of tree and shrub vegetation plots in three urban parks. Bird surveys were carried out in a non-systematic manner over 12 months at dawn and dusk at potential birding sites in the urban area. Data on bats were obtained from the literature on local sampling in the urban area. Finally, landscape fragmentation metrics were calculated to assess the resistance of urban areas to the transit of the target species. A total of 142 shrub and tree taxa were surveyed in forested urban remnants, with diversity H' ranging from 3.68 to 3.87. This vegetation supported 62 species of birds and 8 bats, exceeding the literature estimative. The urban space is frequented by 37% of the regional avifauna and 50% of the regional chiropterofauna. The forest fragments have significant areas with a good supply of resources, close enough to connect these populations. However, the species observed are mostly generalists due to the poverty of the transition area corridors, which causes those peri-urban source areas could strongly select species adapted to environments subjected to edge effects. An integrated analysis of the vegetation cover of riparian areas, street trees, and backyard vegetation could point out the bottlenecks that urban planning should focus on to increase the environmental quality of the urban area.

Phytosociology and Diversity Assessment of tree species of Northern Delhi Ridge Forest

The interaction of biodiversity with the physical environment is the bedrock of sustainable development.The world’s forests covered more than 4 billion hectares, accounting for 31% of total land area or 0.6 ha percapita. Tropical forests in India, which are mostly deciduous, are poorly understood in terms ofphytodiversity, phytosociology, and quantification regimes. Ridge forests of Delhi are of great interest forbiodiversity management in the city. Phtyodiversity inventories set a baseline for other forest managementstudies and initiatives. The Northern Delhi Ridge also known as the Kamla Nehru Ridge the study area forthe current work, is located in Delhi, India, one of the significant biodiversity rich areas in the Delhi, tostudy the phytosociological attributes of tree species from the sampled inventory of different tree taxa. Thestudy revealed that average tree density per hectare for the Northern ridge forest as 322 trees/ha.

Temporal variation in stomatal sensitivity to vapour pressure deficit in western riparian forests

Abstract Increasing atmospheric vapour pressure deficit (D) can influence plant water and carbon uptake. However, growing season variation in stomatal responses to D among tree taxa has not been thoroughly quantified and therefore has not been well‐characterized in stomatal regulation models. Using sap flux data from nine riparian species spanning a 600‐m elevation gradient in semi‐arid northern Utah, USA, we fit a time‐varying empirical model of stomatal conductance to D in a hierarchical Bayesian framework. The reference conductance (Gref, conductance at D = 1 kPa) term was modelled as a function of cumulative growing season D, which varied with site elevation. Seven species exhibited Gref that varied significantly with cumulative growing season D, but the direction was not consistent among species. Two low‐elevation ring‐porous species, the invasive Tamarix ramosissima and Elaeagnus angustifolia, exhibited significantly positive correlation between Gref and cumulative D, such that standardized stomatal sensitivity (S) decreased during the season. Despite lower D at the mid‐ and high‐elevation sites, five diffuse‐porous native species exhibited progressively increasing sensitivity to D during the growing season. Stomatal strategies exhibit seasonal trends that vary by environmental conditions (D) and functional traits (wood anatomy), which complicates the prediction of plant hydraulic function under increasing atmospheric drought. In the increasingly arid western United States, the progressively less sensitive stomatal behaviour of invasive taxa may hasten their dominance in riparian forests. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Seed Viability and Potential Germination Rate of Nine Endemic Boswellia Taxa (Burseraceae) from Socotra Island (Yemen).

The endemic Boswellia species (Burseraceae) on Socotra Island (Yemen) are of great local significance due to their various local ethnobotanical uses. However, despite the fact that these trees are endangered, little is known about their biology. We tested seed germination rates in controlled experiments (trials of 21 days) for two subsequent years and for nine endemic taxa of Boswellia occurring on Socotra Island. For this, seeds were collected island-wide from a wide range of localities and for several populations per species. We observed differences in germination among Boswellia species, among species and localities and among both years, which indicates that the development of seeds is strongly affected by external ecological factors. Although we noted a large variation in seed germination (relatively high in Boswellia socotrana), and half of the species showed relatively low mean daily germination, our study indicated that all endangered endemic Frankincense Tree taxa of Socotra harbor the potential for in situ conservation through recruitment, given that known impacts can be reduced in local replantation areas (e.g., grazing).