Earticle

Global environmental changes have the capacity to make dramatic alterations to floral and faunal composition, and elucidation of the mechanism is important for predicting its outcomes. Studies on global climate change have traditionally focused on statistical summaries within relatively wide scales of spatial and temporal changes, and less attention has been paid to variability in microclimates across spatial and temporal scales. Microclimate is a suite of climatic conditions measured in local areas near the earth’s surface. Environmental variables in microclimatic scale can be critical for the ecology of organisms inhabiting there. Here we examine the effect of spatial and temporal changes in microclimates on those of carabid beetle communities in Hyangnobong, Korea. We found that climatic variables and the patterns of annual changes in carabid beetle communities differed among sites even within the single mountain system. Our results indicate the importance of temporal survey of communities at local scales, which is expected to reveal an additional fraction of variation in communities and underlying processes that has been overlooked in studies of global community patterns and changes.

The effects of application of fuel-reduction treatment in wildfire management has not been tested in dry forests of Ghana. Therefore, the short-term ecological effects of prescribed burning and hand thinning treatments followed by experimental wildfire were investigated in degraded forests and Tectona grandis forest plantations in two forest reserves of different levels of dryness in Ghana. The results showed that more trees were killed in prescribed burning (average of 41% in degraded forest and 18% in plantations) than hand thinning (7.2% in degraded forests and 8% in plantation). More tree seedlings were also killed in prescribed burning (72%) than hand thinning (47%). The mortality of trees and seedlings were greater in Worobong South forest, a less dry forest reserve than the Afram Headwaters forest, a drier forest reserve. Fuel treatment especially prescribed burning compared to the control reduced wildfire effects on forest canopy particularly in the less dry forest and tree mortality especially in the drier forest. Prescribed burning temporarily increased pH, exchangeable potassium (52%) and available phosphorus (82%) in the surface soils of the entire plots. The two fuel treatment methods did not have much influence on basal area, organic matter and total nitrogen. Nevertheless, they were able to reduce the adverse wildfire effects on soil pH, exchangeable potassium, available phosphorus, organic matter and total nitrogen concentrations. Fuel treatments therefore have potential application in dry forest management in Ghana due to their ability to retain important forest ecological traits after a wildfire incidence.

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for the estimation of tree height is gaining recognition. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of tree height estimation of Pinus densiflora Sieb. et Zucc. and Pinus koraiensis Sieb. et Zucc. using digital surface model (DSM) generated from UAV-acquired imageries. Images were taken with the TrimbleⓇ UX5 equipped with Sony 5100. The generated DSM, together with the digital elevation model (DEM) generated from a digital map of the study areas, were used in the estimation of tree height. Field measurements were conducted in order to generate a regression model and carry out accuracy assessment. The obtained coefficients of determination (R2) and root mean square error (RMSE) for P. densiflora (R2=0.71; RMSE=1.00 m) and P. koraiensis (R2=0.64; RMSE=0.85 m) are comparable to the results of similar studies. The results of the paired two-tailed t-test show that the two tree height estimation methods are not significantly different (p-value=0.04 and 0.10, alpha level=0.01), which means that tree height estimation using UAV imagery could be used as an alternative to field measurement.

Populus. caspica L. is an Iranian indigenous poplar species which naturally distributed in the northern part of country. Unfortunately, overuse has removed many of the stems of better form, so that natural stands now usually appear small and crook. Therefore genetic variation for selection of new superior clone of this species is needed. Conventional hybridization system is currently used to induce genetic variation in poplar species but incompatibility barriers have been observed between them. In vitro ovule embryo culture was used to overcome incompatibility obstacle for interspecific hybridization between Populus caspica L. with Populus deltoids L.62/75. Female flowers of Populus caspica L. have artificially been pollinated with pollen grain of P. deltoides 62/75 in one direction using twig and pot crossing system. Ovaries at different ages (7, 14 and 21 days after pollination) were disinfected through 70% ethanol for 1 minute, 5% of sodium-hypochlorite solution for fifteen min followed by three time rising with sterile distil-water. Isolated ovaries were then transferred to MS hormone free medium containing 30 and 60 g/L sucrose for embryo development and germination. Collected data have been analyzed by two factorial experimental designs. The results indicated that there were significant differences between age of embryos for development and germination at =0.01%. Highest embryo germination (45%) was observed from 21 days old ovaries. No significant differences were observed between MS culture media containing 30 and 60 g/L for percentages of ovary-embryo germination and number of germinated embryo per ovary at =0.05%. Fourteen percentage of embryo germination obtained in MS medium supplemented with 60 g/L sucrose, while only 35% of isolated ovaries were able to germinate in MS containing 30 g/L sucrose. Induced plantlets in 4 cm height were transferred into pots containing soilless (1:1:1 peat, per lit and vermiculite) medium for acclimatization. After successful acclimatization, plants were delivered to nursery.

Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) has gained a lot of significance over the years as a means of income generation. Forests are playing a vital role in the supply of these products, however, due to their continuous extraction, the population of many species might have depleted. Very little information is known about community structure and population status of NTFPs. No specific studies have been made to find out the occurrence, availability of species and population status in the forests, supplying the resources. The present study has been carried out in community forests of the naturally occurring NTFPs in the temperate forest of the Ziro valley of Arunachal Pradesh. The main aim is to determine community structure, species composition and population status of NTFPs. Three forest stands viz., Nyilii, Dura and Gyachi were selected which are used by the Apatani tribe for extraction of the NTFPs. For evaluation of species composition and community characteristics, the sampling of the vegetation was done using the quadrat method. A total 137 species representing 68 families and 116 genera were recorded. Herbs represent the maximum diversity with 71 species followed by 35 shrub species and 31 tree species. The families Asteraceae and Rosaceaeae exhibited maximum representation followed by Urticaceae. The species under Fagaceae, Lauraceae, Rosaceae and Rutaceae were found to be important NTFP yielding species. Highest species richness was recorded in Nyilii having 124 species, while lowest in Dura with 102 species. Density of tree, shrub and herb ranged between 376 to 456 individuals ha-1, 2848 to 3696 individuals ha-1 and 31.44 to 36.64 individuals m-2, respectively. The total basal area was found to be highest (51.64 m2 ha-1) in Dura followed by Nyilii (25.32 m2 ha-1) and lowest in Gyachi (22.82 m2 ha-1). In all the three study stands the species diversity indices showed the trend, herbs ＞ shrubs ＞ trees while the evenness index showed the trend as shrubs ＞ herbs ＞ trees. The overall species similarity index was highest (82.35%) between Dura and Gyachi. About 80% of the total recorded species showed clumped distribution while, no regular distribution was shown by any species. The three selected stands harbor about 50 important NTFP yielding species which are being used commonly by the Apatani people in their day to day life. Among the three study sites, overall diversity of NTFP was found highest in the Nyilii stand while the density of population was found better in Dura and Gyachi stands. The population of many species was found to be low due to continue harvesting without any sustainable management by the communities. All the selected forest stands have the potentiality to grow the high value NTFP yielding species and if managed properly, they can support the livelihood and economy of the local communities.

Dhup (Canarium resiniferum) is an economically and aesthetically important rare native tree species of Bangladesh. In natural condition 78.5-98.7% seeds do not germinate due to inhibition by hard seed coat, seed predation and unfavorable environmental conditions. A study was conducted in the Seed Research Laboratory and nursery of Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, Chittagong University, Bangladesh in 2013 to find out appropriate pre-sowing treatments for maximizing germination and initial seedling growth. Eleven pre-sowing treatments were provided in both the seeds sown in polybags and seeds sown in propagator house. Results revealed that, germination started at first (after 20 days of seed sown) in seeds immersed in water at room temperature for 24 hours and germination completed within 38 days. Significantly higher (p＜0.05) germination percentage (33%), germination energy (16.7%), plant percent (33%) and germination value (0.4) was found with seeds immersed in water at room temperature for 24 hours. Seedling height measured at three, four and five months after the seed germination in case of seeds treated by immersion in water for 24 hours was also greater than others. Therefore, pre-sowing treatment by immersion in water at room temperature for 24 hours was more effective in germination and production of quality vigor seedlings of Dhup.

This study was carried out to figure out the number of logs for sawtimber by DBH and height class and to compare merchantable volume ratio by categorizing into sawtimber, lagging board and pulpwood, and others for Pinus densiflora, Pinus koraiensis, and Larix kaempferi. Logs for sawtimber were hardly produced in small DBH class of three species, but produced evidently from medium DBH class. In large DBH class, the number of logs for sawtimber were noticeably different among species: 4.3 logs for L. kaempferi, 2.6 logs for P. densiflora, and 1.0 logs for P. koraiensis on average. Similarly, merchantable volume ratio for sawtimber were largely different among species in large DBH class with higher than 15 m: 82% logs for L. kaempferi, 60% logs for P. densiflora, and 44% logs for P. koraiensis. When compared to the upper diameter and upper height by species with regard to the last log of a tree produced for sawtimber, upper diameter was smallest with 14.1 cm and upper height was highest with 12.2 m in L. kaempferi. Overall, L. kaempferi was considered as the more commercial species for sawtimber production than P. densiflora and P. koraiensis.

Although camera traps have been widely used to understand the abundance of wildlife in recent decades, the effort has been restricted to small sub-set of wildlife which can mark-and-recapture. The Random Encounter Model shows an alternative approach to estimate the absolute abundance from camera trap detection rate for any animals without the need for individual recognition. Our study aims to examine the feasibility and validity of the Random Encounter Model for the density estimation of endangered leopard cats (Prionailurus bengalensis) in Maekdo riparian park, Busan, South Korea. According to the model, the estimated leopard cat density was 1.76 km-2 (CI 95%, 0.74-3.49), which indicated 2.46 leopard cats in 1.4 km2 of our study area. This estimate was not statistically different from the previous leopard cat population count (2.33±0.58) in the same area. As follows, our research demonstrated the application and usefulness of the Random Encounter Model in density estimation of unmarked wildlife which helps to manage and protect the target species with a better understanding of their status.

Plants planted in the green-roofed areas in Busan and Jinju were surveyed. The woody plants investigated in this study were classified into 52 families and 156 species, and the herbaceous plants were classified into 30 families and 97 species. Woody plants mainly planted were Rhododendron yedoense var. poukhanense, R. indicum, C. kousa, P. mume, and E. alatus. However, Pinus spp. were planted in all areas. The main herbaceous species planted were Sedum kamtschaticum, S. takesimense, S. middendorffianum, T. quinquecostatus var. japonica, and A. spathulifolius Maxim. According to surveying the distribution of woody plant pests, they could be classified into six orders, 24 families, and 46 species that usually appeared from April to October but especially between June and September. We investigated 39 insect species in relation to pest damage to leaves, 21 insect species in relation to that of branches, and 39 insect species in relation to that of stems of woody plants.