Earticle

Thermal stability and rheological behaviors of Ricinodendron heudelotii wood were investigated. Thermogravimetric analysis conducted at a heating rate of 10oC/min from 20 to 600oC in a nitrogen atmosphere indicated that there was no variation in the decomposition of the onset and final temperature for all the polymers. The thermal behaviours were investigated at a temperature range from 130 to 0oC at 3oC/min, multi-frequencies of 0.1-10 Hz using dynamic mechanical analysis. N-methyl-2-pyrolidone saturated specimens were tested while submerged under the same solvent. Polymers decomposition pattern during thermogravimetric analysis are similar in the radial position of the wood. The glass transition temperature (Tg) of R. heudelotii is 45±1oC at 0.1 Hz. The Tg differs from the innerwood to outerwood. The Tg showed that N-methyl-2-pyrolidone saturated R. heudelotii would require low energy consumption during chemi-thermomechanical pulping.

The present study was conducted on ridge tops of moist temperate Oak forests in Garhwal Himalaya to assess the plant diversity, regeneration, biomass production and carbon assimilation in different Oak forests. For this purpose, three Oak forest types viz., (a) Quercus leucotrichophora or Banj Oak (FT1; between 1,428-2,578 m asl), (b) Quercus floribunda or Moru Oak (FT2; between 2,430-2,697 m asl) and (c) Quercus semecarpifolia or Kharsu Oak (FT3; between 2,418-3,540 m asl) were selected on different ridge tops in Bhagirathi catchment area of Garhwal Himalaya. A total of 91 plant species including 23 trees (8 gymnosperms and 15 angiosperms), 21 shrubs and 47 herbs species belonging to 46 families were recorded from all the ridge top Oak forests. The highest mean tree density (607±33.60 trees ha-1) was observed in Q. floribunda forest with lower mean total basal cover (TBC) value (48.02± 3.67 m2ha-1), whereas highest TBC value (80.16±3.30 m2ha-1) was recorded for Q. semecarpifolia forest, with lowest mean stem density (594±23.43 stems ha-1). The total biomass density (TBD) across three Oak forests ranged between 497.32±83.70 (FT1) and 663.16±93.85 t ha-1 (FT3), while the total carbon density (TCD) values ranged between 228.75±22.27 (FT1) and 304.31±18.12 t ha-1 (FT3). Most of the tree species were found with good regeneration (GR) status (average 45%) in all the forest types whereas, few species were found not regenerating (NR) (average 17%) however, few new recruitments were also recorded. ANOVA (Post-Hoc Tukey’s test at 5% significance level) indicated significant forest-wise differences in TBC, TBD and TCD (in tree layer); family and evenness (in shrub layer only) values, while insignificant differences were noticed in density values of tree, seedling and herb layer.

In this paper, we conducted an empirical study on the economic value of Palutungan Resort, Gunung Ciremai National Park (Indonesia), using an individual travel cost method. Gunung Ciremai is the highest mountain in West Java Province which has high biodiversity and constitutes the home range of the endangered species, Nisaetus bartelsi and leopards. Using the individual travel cost method, we estimated the annual consumer surplus of ecotourism for Palutungan Resort to be approximately $19, while its total economic value was $0.23 million. However, Palutungan Resort does not benefit exclusively, because the total economic value is divided diversely among the central government (non-tax revenue), local government (taxes), and local communities, while the transportation agencies, retailers, and gas station companies also reap some valuable benefits. In regard to the benefit allocation, all of the associated parties should participate in the conservation and preservation of natural resources in Palutungan Resort to improve the ecotourism services.

The effect of different environmental conditions and altitudes on the growth and reproductive characteristics in 12 teak plantations at 4 different blocks (Cauvery canal bank, Topslip and Parambikulam (Tamil Nadu), Nilambur and Wayanad (Kerala) of Southern India was investigated. The annual rainfall and mean monthly temperature of the study areas varied significantly from 1390 to 3188 mm and 16 to 38oC respectively. The teak plantations in Cauvery canal bank which grow in continuous moisture condition (8-10 months) retain the leaf for longer period due to moisture resulting continuous supply of photosynthates leads to fast and outstanding growth. The girth at breast height (GBH) of 34-years-old tree in canal area was similar to that of 40 to 49-years-old trees in other locations, indicating that teak plantations with regular watering and silvicultural practices may be harvested at the age of 30 years. The leaf fall, flowering and fruiting showed significant variations in different teak plantations due to environmental factors and altitudes. It was found that increase of rainfall enhances number of flowers in the inflorescence in teak. Tholpatty (block-IV) showed more flowering in a inflorescence (3,734-3,744) compared to other plantations (1,678-3,307). Flowering in Nilambur and Wayanad coincided with heavy rainfall resulting low fruitset (1.1-2.3%) probably heavy rainfall ensuing restriction of pollinators for effective pollination. On the other hand, flowering in Cauvery canal bank (Block-I) was not coincided with high rainfall exhibited high fruitset (2-3%). About 66 to 76% of the fruits in different plantations were empty, and it is one of the main reasons for poor germination in teak. The seeds of Topslip and Parambikulam (Block-II) showed higher seed weight, maximum seed filling and good germination indicating that the environmental factors and altitude play significant role in fruit setting and seed filling in teak. In addition, the teak plantations in Topslip and Parambikulam showed good growth suggesting that plantations in the altitude range of approximately 550-700 m may be suitable for converting into seed production areas for production of quality seeds.

Urban greenery is an important component of urban environment and is fast gaining prominence especially in the developing countries. The destruction of urban trees has resulted to the degradation of the environment, thus the introduction of green Kumasi project by Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, Ashanti Region of Ghana. The composition and diversity of urban trees gives rise to adequate management and monitoring, thus an inventory of urban trees of the Metropolis was conducted to document complete information on its density, diversity, composition and distribution. A total tree population of 1,101 was enumerated in the principal roads of the Metropolis. The ten most encountered tree species accounted for 61.04% of all the individual tree populations with Mangifera indica being dominant. The dominant families: Fabaceae, Moraceae and Arecaceae constitute 38.57% of the tree population. Diversity of the tree species was very high. The minimum diversity criteria were met on analysis of the diversity of this population. The proportion of exotic species was high with 65.71% of the trees belonging to the introduced species. It is recommended that greater emphasis should be placed on the planting of indigenous trees in future tree planting exercise.

We obtained a total of 36 GPS coordinates of the seven bat species of Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Myotis ikonnikovi, M. nattereri, M. petax, Murina ussuriensis, Plecotus auritus, and Pipistrellus abramus. Characteristics of forests (forest type, age class, DBH class and crown density), terrain (aspect, slope and distance from mountain stream) and disturbance factors (distance from human residential areas and distance from cultivated areas) that bats have used as their habitats were revealed from the GIS analysis based on GPS coordinates of the 36 positions that bats were found. The bats-preferred forest type is broad-leaf forests (43%) with the trees of the 2th (31%) and 5th (31%) age class, the trees of sapling (36%) and large DBH class (31%), and sparse crown density (67%). Bats prefer the slop direction of the east (39%), the gradient below 15o (61%), the ranges within 200 m from the mountain streams (92%), the ranges within 200 m near roads (89%), the ranges of 200-400 m from human residential areas (28%), and the ranges within 200 m from cultivated areas (36%).

In this study, regions infected by pine wilt disease were extracted by using object-based classification method (OB-infected region), and the characteristics of special distribution about OB-infected region were figured out. Scale 24, Shape 0.1, Color 0.9, Compactness 0.5, and Smoothness 0.5 was selected as the objected-based, optimal weighted value of OB-infected region classification. The total accuracy of classification was high with 99% and Kappa coefficient was also high with 0.97. The area of OB-infected region was approximately 90 ha, 16% of the total area. The OB-infected region in Age class V and VI was intensively distributed with 97% of the total. Also, The OB-infected region in Middle and Large DBH class was intensively distributed with 99% of the total. In terms of the topographic characteristics of OB-infected region, the damages occurred approximately 86% below the altitude of 200 m, and occurred 91% with a slope less than 10 degree. The damage occurred a lot in low hilly mountain and undulating slope. In addition, the accessibility to road and residential area from OB-infected region was less than 300 m in large part. Overall, it was figured out that artificial effect is stronger than natural effect with regard to the spread of pine wilt disease.

This review paper presents guidelines which stakeholders use in addressing on-farm tree planting configuration, establishment, tending, silvi- cultural management, management of pests and diseases, challenges and opportunities as practiced in the medium to high potential areas of Kenya. The tree planting configurations discussed includes blocks planting (woodlot), boundary, compound planting, home/fruit gardens, trees intercropped or mixed with pasture, trees on riverbanks and roadside. Participatory monitoring and evaluation techniques have been highlighted. The main challenges facing tree planting activities include culture and attitude of local people, land and tree tenure, inadequate technical support, lack of recognition and integration of technical information and indigenous knowledge, capital and labour shortages, lack of appropriate incentives measures, damage by domestic and wild animals, conflict over trees on the boundary and policy and legal issues. This guideline targets forest managers, extension agents, students and other practitioners in policy and day to day decision making processes in Kenya.