Earticle

Lignocellulosic biomass has recalcitrant characteristics against chemical and biological conversion due to its structural heterogeneity and complexity. The pretreatment process to overcome these recalcitrant properties is essential, especially for the biochemical conversion of lignocellulosic biomass. In recent years, pretreatment methods using ionic liquids (ILs) and deep eutectic solvents (DESs) as the green solvent has attracted great attention because of their advantages such as easy recovery, chemical stability, temperature stability, nonflammability, low vapor pressure, and wide liquids range. However, there are some limitations such as high viscosity, poor economical feasibility, etc. to be solved for practical use. This paper reviewed the research activities on the pretreatment effect of various ILs including DESs and their co-solvents with organic solvents on the enzymatic saccharification efficiency of lignocellulosic biomass and the nanocellulose preparation from the pretreated products.

We studied forest structure and composition in the vicinity of Srinagar Hydroelectric Power Project in Alaknanda Valley, Garhwal Himalaya, India to provide baseline data for the management of forests. Eight sites were selected in the vicinity of power project based on elevation and species composition. Density varied from 650 to 340 ind ha-1 for trees and from 4,360 to 6,480 ind ha-1 for shrubs. TBC ranged from 35.02 to 54.02 m2 ha-1 for trees and from 0.875 to 2.628 m2 ha-1 for shrubs. On the basis of density and IVI, Pinus roxburghii was found dominant tree species in most of the sites, whereas among the shrubs, Carissa opaca was dominant. Dominance of Pinus roxburghii in most of the sites is an indication towards possible threat to associated species in the area. The dominance-diversity curve of trees showed a geometric distribution, whereas the shrubs displayed log-normal curves. The forest has rich and diverse species composition however; habitat degradation caused by the construction of Power Project might lead to reduction of plant species from the area. The information obtained from this study will be helpful in predicting possible changes in the forest ecosystem properties in near future after completion of the power project.

In Ethiopia, dry land vegetation including the fairly intact lowland and western escarpment woodlands occupy the largest vegetation resource of the country. These forests play a central role in environmental regulation and socio-economic assets, yet they received less scientific attention than the moist forests. This study evaluated the woody plant species composition, population structure and carbon sequestration potential of the A. senegal woodland across three distance gradients from the settlements. A total of 45 sample quadrants were laid along a systematically established nine parallel transect lines to collect vegetation and soil data across distance gradients from settlement. Mature tree dry biomass with DBH＞2.5 cm was estimated using allometric equations. A total of 41 woody plant species that belong to 20 families were recorded and A. senegal was the dominant species with 56.4 IVI value. Woody plant species diversity, density and richness were significantly higher in the distant plots compared to the nearest plots to settlement (p＜0.05). The cumulative DBH class distribution of all individuals had showed an interrupted inverted J-shape population pattern. There were 19 species without seedlings, 15 species without saplings and 14 species without both seedlings and saplings. A significant above ground carbon (5.3 to 12.7 ton ha-1), root carbon (1.6 to 3.6 ton ha-1), soil organic carbon (35.6 to 44.5 ton ha-1), total carbon stock (42.5 to 60.7 ton ha-1) and total carbon dioxide equivalent (157.7 to 222.8 ton ha-1) was observed consistently with an increasing of distance from settlement (p＜0.05). Distance from settlement had significant and positive correlation with species diversity and carbon stock at 0.64** and 0.78**. Disturbance intensity may directly influence the variation of species composition, richness and density along the A. senegal woodland. The sustainability of the A. senegal woodland needs urgent protection, conservation and restoration.

This study was carried out in degraded and non-degraded community forests (CF) in the Terai region of Kanchanpur district, Nepal. A total of 63 concentric sample plots each of 500 m2 was laid in the inventory for estimating above and below-ground biomass of forests by using systematic random sampling with a sampling intensity of 0.5%. Mallotus philippinensis and Shorea robusta were the most dominant species in degraded and non-degraded CF accounting Importance Value Index (I.V.I) of 97.16 and 178.49, respectively. Above-ground tree biomass carbon in degraded and non-degraded community forests was 74.64±16.34 t ha-1 and 163.12±20.23 t ha-1, respectively. Soil carbon sequestration in degraded and non-degraded community forests was 42.55±3.10 t ha-1 and 54.21±3.59 t ha-1, respectively. Hence, the estimated total carbon stock was 152.68±22.95 t ha-1 and 301.08±27.07 t ha-1 in degraded and non-degraded community forests, respectively. It was found that the carbon sequestration in the non-degraded community forest was 1.97 times higher than in the degraded community forest. CO2 equivalent in degraded and non-degraded community forests was 553 t ha-1 and 1105 t ha-1, respectively. Statistical analysis showed a significant difference between degraded and non-degraded community forests in terms of its total biomass and carbon sequestration potential (p＜0.05). Studies indicate that the community forest has huge potential and can reward economic benefits from carbon trading to benefit from the REDD+/CDM mechanism by promoting the sustainable conservation of community forests.

The study examined revenue generation trend and perception of challenges facing it by forestry personnel in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Data for the study was generated through primary and secondary sources. Primary sources involved the use of questionnaire which was administered to all Forest Officers and Uniformed Field Staff in all the 31 Forest Division and Headquarter in the state. Secondary sources involved collation of generated revenue from all the divisions for the study period. Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics including Least square regression. The results indicated an increasing trend in forest revenue for the state statistically defined by the function y =45631x -900000000＋e (p＞0.05) with a coefficient of determination of 0.7492 or 74.92%. There was also a positive correlation (r=0.866) between generated revenue and year for the 20 years under review. The mean revenue was ₦4776247.00 with the highest generated revenue (₦9823550.00) in 2014. However, majority (55.13%) of the respondents perceived revenue generation in the state to be decreasing and attributed the decline majorly to lack of mobility (16.84%) and insufficient man power (15.79%). Attitude and level of offence in the study area was perceived to be fairly cooperative (62.81%) and high (43.80%), while recruitment of more personnel (11.05%) and provision of mobility (10.03%) was considered an effective means of improving revenue generation in the state. Also, educating the people and regular patrol by forest personnel was considered as the best ways of curtailing forest offences in the area. The study recommended increased allocation of funds to the sector in addition to tackling the challenges faced by the personnel.

Soil physical and chemical properties at three layers such as top (0-10 cm), middle (10-20 cm) and bottom (20-30 cm) layers under three different vegetation types were studied. Soil samples were collected from Acacia forest, vegetable and fallow lands of Chittagong university campus, Chittagong, Bangladesh. Results showed that sand was the dominant soil particle followed by clay and silt fractions in all soil depths under different vegetation types. Soils of fallow land showed the highest values of bulk density while forest soils had the lowest values at three depths. Acacia forest soil having lowest values of dispersion ratio (DR) is less vulnerable while fallow soil with highest DR values is more vulnerable to soil erosion. The lower pH value at all soil layers in three ecosystems represented that soils under study are acidic in nature. Contents of organic matter, total nitrogen, exchangeable cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, K+ and Na+) and cation exchange capacity (CEC) were observed higher in Acacia forest soils compared to vegetable and fallow soils. Only soils of vegetable land had higher level of available phosphorus in three layers than that of other two land covers. The study also revealed that different soil properties were observed in three different vegetation types might be due to variation in vegetation and agronomic practices.

A juniper pocket rot fungus, Pyrofomes demidoffii is a basidiomycetous fungus responsible for damage of living Juniperus spp. However, its effect on the residual strength and on the extent of decay of juniper’s trunk was not determined in any prior studies. The purpose of this study was to study the features of J. procera infected by P. demdoffii, and to estimate the level of strength loss and decay severity in the trunk at D.B.H height using different five formulas. Infected juniper stands were examined in two Ethiopian forests through Visual Tree Assessment (VTA) followed by a slight destructive drilling of the trunk at D.B.H height. The decayed juniper tree is characterized by partially degraded lignin material at incipient stage of decay to completely degraded lignin material at final stage of decay. In the evaluated formulas, results of ANOVA showed that a significantly higher mean percentage of strength loss and decay severity were recorded in the trees of larger D.B.H categories (p＜0.001). The strength loss formulas produced the same to similar patterns of sum of ranks of strength loss or decay severity in the trunk, but the differences varied significantly among D.B.H categories in Kruskal Wallis-test (p＜0.001). In conclusion, the employed formulas showed similar to different degree of variability in quantification of strength loss or decay severity in the trunk. The findings of our study could be used as the baseline for further study on juniper’s strength loss or decays in the trunk of Juniperus spp. and unequivocally helps to design the corresponding management as result of P. demidoffii.

This study was conducted to analyze the current management status of green tea processors in two regions (Hadong-gun and Boseong-gun) in Korea and to suggest directions for the development of the green tea industry based on an understanding their difficulties in management. This study showed that the number of green tea farms and the cultivation area had decreased, while the average unit sales price of green tea in Boseong-gun was approximately three times higher than that in Hadong-gun. Also, this study found that Hadong-gun mainly provided green tea products to wholesalers, whereas Boseong-gun sold it directly to the local retail stores targeting tourists, and this results in generating relatively higher unit prices. Meanwhile, we discovered that both regions had difficulties in management which were caused by the demand for low delivery unit costs from large corporations and small food companies. Therefore, in order to develop the green tea industry in both regions, the size of green tea fields and the scenery satisfaction should be improved to draw more tourists and boost tourists’ intention to revisit. In addition, it is necessary to enhance guidance and accessibility of related tourist sites, to expand green tea experience activities, and to improve product satisfaction by developing various goods. By inducing more tourists in these ways, it could change the sales type of green tea from wholesale to retail and help activate the management of green tea processors.

The objective of this study was to develop evaluation criteria for forest education using the Context, Input, Process, and Product (CIPP) model. To this end, we designed a survey based on expert advice and content analysis of previous studies on the CIPP model and forest education. The survey was conducted on 393 forest education specialists, and Cronbach’s  coefficient was set as 0.6 or higher to verify reliability and validity, and to determine reliability by factor. Eventually, 52 out of 57 evaluation items were extracted, and the evaluation indexes were selected through factor analysis as follows: four evaluation indexes for the context dimension, namely “Clarity of goal setting,” “Developing conditions for education,” “Meeting of requirements,” and “Institutional drive”; three evaluation indexes for the input dimension, namely “Acquisition of education infrastructure,” “Establishment of operational support,” and “Adequacy of assigned manpower”; four evaluation indexes for the process dimension, which were “Adequacy of budget allocation,” “Expertise of forest education instructors,” “Diversity of programs,” and “Public-private academic partnership”; and five evaluation indexes for the product dimension, namely “Effectiveness of perception change,” “Influence over the society,” “Continuity of improvement in evaluation,” “Continuity of education,” and “Verification of the effects of education.”