Terpenes of Dipterocarpus and Doona species

From the resins of Dipterocarpus hispidus, Dipterocarpus zeylanicus and Doona macrophylla, asiatic (2α,3β,23α-trihydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic) and 2α,3β-dihydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acids have been isolated. The resin of Doona macrophylla contains ursolic acid and that of Doona congestiflora asiatic acid, 20β-hydroxy-3-oxo dammar-23-ene (Dipterocarpol) and a dihydroxyolean-12-en-28-oic acid. The bark of Dipterocarpus hispidus contains betulinic acid, dipterocarpol, and 3β,20β-dihydroxydammar-23-ene (dammarenediol 20S) whilst the timber contained dipterocarpol and asiatic acid.     

Triterpenoid,coumarin and quinone constituents of eleven Diospyros species (Ebenaceae)

From the bark and/or timber extracts of Diospyros hirsuta, D. moonii, D. quaesita, D. spinescens, D. thwaitesii and D. walkeri, the following compounds have been isolated; lupeol, betulin, betulinic acid sitosterol, taraxerol, taraxerone, ursolic acid, oleanolic acid scopoletin, plumbagin, elliptinone, diospyrin and diosindigo A. TLC examination of the bark and timber extract of D. acuta, D. chaetocarpa, D. oblongifolia, D. oppositifolia and D. rheophytica is reported. Lupeol betulin, oleanolic acid and sitosterol have been isolated from the fruit of D. oblongfolia.     

Spicatin,a protolimonoid from Entandrophragma spicatum

The hexane extract of the timber of Entandrophtagma spicatum is shown to contain a new protolimonoid, spicatin, which has been identified as 24-hydroxygrandifoliolenone. The known entandrophragmin and a new ester closely related to bussein were also obtained.     

Large-Scale Variations in Lumber Value Recovery of Yellow Birch and Sugar Maple in Quebec,Canada

Silvicultural restoration measures have been implemented in the northern hardwoods forests of southern Quebec, Canada, but their financial applicability is often hampered by the depleted state of the resource. To help identify sites most suited for the production of high quality timber, where the potential return on silvicultural investments should be the highest, this study assessed the impact of stand and site characteristics on timber quality in sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) and yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britt.). For this purpose, lumber value recovery (LVR), an estimate of the summed value of boards contained in a unit volume of round wood, was used as an indicator of timber quality. Predictions of LVR were made for yellow birch and sugar maple trees contained in a network of more than 22000 temporary sample plots across the Province. Next, stand-level variables were selected and models to predict LVR were built using the boosted regression trees method. Finally, the occurrence of spatial clusters was verified by a hotspot analysis. Results showed that in both species LVR was positively correlated with the stand age and structural diversity index, and negatively correlated with the number of merchantable stems. Yellow birch had higher LVR in areas with shallower soils, whereas sugar maple had higher LVR in regions with deeper soils. The hotspot analysis indicated that clusters of high and low LVR exist across the province for both species. Although it remains uncertain to what extent the variability of LVR may result from variations in past management practices or in inherent site quality, we argue that efforts to produce high quality timber should be prioritized in sites where LVR is predicted to be the highest.     

Sesquiterpene Deterrence of a Leaf-Tying Lepidopteran, Stenoma ferrocanella, on Hymenaea stigonocarpa in Central Brazil

Study of two populations of Hymenaea stigonocarpa in the central Brazilian cerrado (savanna/woodland) shows attack by a leaf-tying lepidopteran, Steoma ferrocanella, occurred after inferred peak concentration (% of leaf dry wt) of sesquiterpene leaf resins during leaf development. Also a highly statistically significant relationship existed between leaf-tier attack and level of caryophyllene in one population and γ-muurolene in the other population. The data from one population are consistent with laboratory experiments demonstrating highly significant dose-dependent effects of caryophyllene in Hymenaea leaf resin on mortaility of the lepidopteren Spodoptera exigua. Results from both populations support other evidence that changes in the amount of single terpenes in the mixture constituting the resin may have significant antiherbivore effects and, concomitantly, that herbivory may be a source of some of the leaf resin variation.     

Timber stacks: potential ecological traps for an endangered saproxylic beetle,the Rosalia longicorn <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rosalia alpina</Emphasis>

Ecological traps are serious, anthropogenic threats to animal populations. However, in certain cases it is difficult to determine whether they really act in the expected manner. This applies to the harmful effects of beech timber stacked in forests on the endangered saproxylic beetle Rosalia longicorn Rosalia alpina, which have been mentioned in numerous scientific articles, conservation action plans and similar publications. The aim of this paper is to determine whether beech timber stacks meet the criteria of an ecological trap for the Rosalia longicorn. Two basic criteria of such a trap are analysed: the attractiveness of timber stacks and the impossibility of complete larval development. The results show that beech timber stacks are highly attractive to Rosalia longicorn imagines. Moreover, the time during which the timber is stacked is shown to be significantly shorter than the species’ larval development period. These results suggest that timber stacks can be treated as operative ecological traps for the Rosalia longicorn, even though the extent of their influence on the demographic parameters of this beetle’s population has not been estimated. Forest management practices, i.e. increasing amounts and shifts in timing of wood storage, could intensify this threat.     

Three hydroxy ellagic acid methyl ethers,chrysophanol and scopoletin from Shorea worthingtonii and Vatica obscura

Extraction of the bark and timber of Shorea worthingtonii and Vatica obscura gave three new natural products: hexamethylcoruleoellagic acid, pentamethylflavellagic acid, tetramethylflavellagic acid, together with tetramethylellagic acid, scopoletin and chrysophanol. The above are reported for the first time in the family. Several triterpenes, already described from this family, were also isolated.     

Dendroprovenancing: A preliminary assessment of potential to geo-locate kauri timbers in northern New Zealand

After 1840, New Zealand kauri (Agathis australis) became the focus of a large-scale timber industry in the upper North Island, which converted trees into timber that was then used in construction. Cities such as Auckland and Wellington relied on importing kauri to meet local demand for construction and other uses. Kauri timbers from buildings and in-ground features, mostly in Auckland city, have been collected for tree-dating and master chronology development. Although the use of timber at archaeological sites is understood, the geographic origin of the timber from within the natural range of kauri (north of 38 °S) is largely unknown. This limits interpretation of archaeological wood and constrains use of the tree-ring data in dendroclimatology. In this paper, we consider the potential to provenance kauri timbers used in 19^th and early 20^th century New Zealand buildings, using a combination of documentary sources, t-value mapping, and refined statistical matching using spatial patterns of correlations. Analysis of documentary sources for a test period of 1861–1865 CE indicates that there is sufficient information about the kauri timber industry to provide a geographic context for provenancing kauri in the upper North Island. The use of t-values for provenancing may be confounded by the relatively small size of the kauri growth region and a lack of sufficient spatial differentiation in growth patterns between the sub-regions. However, a new approach of using indexed residual chronologies and field correlations has promise for geo-locating timber in a relatively small region. The research highlights the value of establishing kauri provenance to New Zealand dendroclimatology, dendroarchaeology and environmental history.     

Identification of Esters as Novel Aggregation Pheromone Components Produced by the Male Powder-Post Beetle,Lyctus africanus Lesne (Coleoptera: Lyctinae)

Lyctus africanus is a cosmopolitan powder-post beetle that is considered one of the major pests threatening timber and timber products. Because infestations of this beetle are inconspicuous, damage is difficult to detect and identification is often delayed. We identified the chemical compounds involved in the aggregation behavior of L. africanus using preparations of crude hexanic extracts from male and female beetles (ME and FE, respectively). Both male and female beetles showed significant preferences for ME, which was found to contain three esters. FE was ignored by both the sexes. Further bioassay confirmed the role of esters in the aggregation behavior of L. africanus. Three esters were identified as 2-propyl dodecanoate, 3-pentyl dodecanoate, and 3-pentyl tetradecanoate. Further behavioral bioassays revealed 3-pentyl dodecanoate to play the main role in the aggregation behavior of female L. africanus beetles. However, significantly more beetles aggregated on a paper disk treated with a blend of the three esters than on a paper disk treated with a single ester. This is the first report on pheromone identification in L. africanus; in addition, the study for the first time presents 3-pentyl dodecanoate as an insect pheromone.     

黄土丘陵区植被类型对土壤微生物量碳氮磷的影响

选择黄土丘陵区延河流域4种典型植被类型下的土壤为研究对象,测定了土壤微生物量碳、氮、磷和相关基本理化性质。结果表明,在此流域的典型天然草地、人工灌木林、人工乔木林和农地中土壤微生物量碳(MBC)的含量范围分别为315.15-400.89、246.56-321.25、267.76-347.05和118.96-245.14 mg/kg,土壤微生物量氮(MBN)的含量范围分别为35.87-47.63、27.63-42.89、24.66-36.20和15.64-22.56 mg/kg,土壤微生物量磷(MBP)的含量范围分别为14.14-22.96、12.89-19.75、11.54-14.40和7.23-11.59 mg/kg;土壤微生物量总体呈现出天然草地最高、人工乔、灌木林次之,且均显著高于农地的趋势,表明退耕还林还草对土壤微生物生物量有明显的促进作用。不同植被类型下,土壤微生物量碳氮比和碳磷比的变化范围分别为7.49-10.87和16.27-24.11,土壤微生物量碳、氮、磷占土壤有机碳(SOC)、全氮(TN)、全磷(TP)百分比的范围分别为2.70%-4.85%、2.56%-4.45%、2.08%-5.34%。其中天然草地、人工灌木林和农地土壤的微生物量碳氮比、碳磷比均显著小于人工乔木林(P < 0.05); MBC/SOC在不同植被类型下的差异不显著,MBN/TN和MBP/TP均呈现出天然草地>人工灌木林>人工乔木林和农地的趋势,且差异显著(P < 0.05)。微生物量碳、氮、磷与土壤有机碳、全氮和土壤含水率呈现极显著或显著相关性,与土壤pH值呈现出不同程度的负相关性,表明植被类型对这些与土壤微生物量紧密相关的理化性质也有显著影响。     

Transcriptome-Wide Identification and Expression Profiles of Masson Pine WRKY Transcription Factors in Response to Low Phosphorus Stress

Plant Molecular Biology Reporter - Masson pine (Pinus massoniana Lamb.) is an economically important conifer tree that can be widely used for timber, pulp, and resin production. However, the...     

Archaeobotany at Oplontis: woody remains from the Roman Villa of Poppaea (Naples, Italy)

The Vesuvius area near Naples, southern Italy, is one of the richest places for archaeological finds from Roman times. The a.d. 79 volcanic eruption also caused the preservation of a huge quantity of archaeobotanical material. In this paper the available wood and charcoal remains from the timber structures as well as from the garden soils of the Villa of Poppea at Oplontis are presented. The analyses provide new evidence of the history of some significant trees of the Mediterranean region, such as Abies alba and Cupressus sempervirens, and allow us to put forward hypotheses about wood use during the Roman period. The identification of the building material confirms that the Romans had a good knowledge of the technological properties of wood and mainly used local resources. There is also evidence of trade in high quality timber, in particular Picea abies. The strong presence of climbing plants and of branches and small size stems of wild trees together with typical ornamental plants in the two gardens of the villa reveals a lack of regular gardening maintenance. This evidence is in agreement with the absence of occupants at the moment of the eruption, since the villa was under restoration after the a.d. 62 earthquake.     

Sulcatol: population aggregation pheromone in the scolytid beetle, Gnathotrichus sulcatus

The population aggregation pheromone produced by males of Gnathotrichus sulcatus, a timber pest, has been identified from boring dust as a $\text{65}\text{35}$ mixture of the (S)-(+) and the (R)-(?) enantiomers of 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-ol. In field studies beetles were attracted in a 2·65 female: 1 male ratio by racemic synthetic pheromone.     

Amplification,sequencing and characterization of pectin methyl esterase inhibitor 51 gene in Tectona grandis L.f.

Tectona grandis L.f. (Teak), a very important source of incomparable timber, withstands a wide range of tropical deciduous conditions. We achieved partial amplification of pectin methylesterase inhibitor 51 (PMEI) gene in teak by E. pilularis cinnamoyl Co-A reductase (CCR) gene specific primer. The amplified teak gene was of 750 bp, 79% identity and 97% query cover with PMEI of Sesamum indicum. The phylogenetic tree clustered the amplified gene with PMEI of database plant species, Erythranthe guttata and Sesamum indicum (87% bootstrap value). On conversion to amino acid sequence, the obtained protein comprised 237 amino acids. However, PMEI region spanned from 24 to 171 amino acids, 15.94 kDa molecular weight, 8.97 pI value and C₆₉₇H₁₁₁₇N₁₉₉O₂₁₁S₉ molecular formula with four conserved cysteine residues as disulfide bridges. 25.9 % protein residues were hydrophilic, 42.7% hydrophobic and 31.2% neutral. Teak 3D PMEI protein structure corresponded well with Arabidopsis thaliana and Actinidia deliciosa PMEIs. The gene maintains integrity of pectin component of middle lamella of primary cell wall and confers tolerance against various kinds of stresses. Teak conferred with overexpression of PMEI may secure a wide adaptability as well as luxuriant timber productivity and quality in adverse/ fluctuating/ scarce climatic and environmental conditions of tropical forests.     

Ground beetles (coleoptera,carabidae) of the Ola Plateau highlands,Kolyma Uplands

The ground beetle fauna was studied in 12 biotopes of the tundra belt on Ola Plateau, 130 km NW of Magadan. In all, 16 species were found above timber line (900–1220 m), which is comparable with the diversity in the mountain tundras of the upper reaches of the Kolyma (Berman et al., 1984; Bukhkalo, 1997), but the faunistic similarity of these regions is low (Jaccard’s coefficient 22–29%). Besides the widespread species, a group of ground beetles with limited ranges is present; it includes Carabus kolymensis Lafer, 1989 occurring in the East Siberian mountain tundras, the Siberian-Nearctic, mainly arctic Pterostichus agonus G. Horn, 1880, and the East Siberian Pterostichus eximius A. Mor., 1862. The use of the term “arctic species” in arealogical and ecological studies is discussed.     

Recent Surveys in the Forests of Ulu Segama Malua,Sabah, Malaysia,Show That Orang-utans (P. p. morio) Can Be Maintained in Slightly Logged Forests

Background

Today the majority of wild great ape populations are found outside of the network of protected areas in both Africa and Asia, therefore determining if these populations are able to survive in forests that are exploited for timber or other extractive uses and how this is managed, is paramount for their conservation.

Methodology/Principal Findings

In 2007, the “Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Project” (KOCP) conducted aerial and ground surveys of orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus morio) nests in the commercial forest reserves of Ulu Segama Malua (USM) in eastern Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Compared with previous estimates obtained in 2002, our recent data clearly shows that orang-utan populations can be maintained in forests that have been lightly and sustainably logged. However, forests that are heavily logged or subjected to fast, successive coupes that follow conventional extraction methods, exhibit a decline in orang-utan numbers which will eventually result in localized extinction (the rapid extraction of more than 100 m³ ha⁻¹ of timber led to the crash of one of the surveyed sub-populations). Nest distribution in the forests of USM indicates that orang-utans leave areas undergoing active disturbance and take momentarily refuge in surrounding forests that are free of human activity, even if these forests are located above 500 m asl. Displaced individuals will then recolonize the old-logged areas after a period of time, depending on availability of food sources in the regenerating areas.

Conclusion/Significance

These results indicate that diligent planning prior to timber extraction and the implementation of reduced-impact logging practices can potentially be compatible with great ape conservation.     

Molecular monitoring of protected fungi: mycelium persistence in soil after timber harvest

The largely subterranean nature of the mycorrhizal fungal life form impedes efforts to monitor protected fungi and evaluate the effectiveness of mitigations in timber harvest areas. In this study we developed and tested a multiplex PCR system capable of detecting 14 listed Phaeocollybia species in soil. We then investigated the persistence of Phaeocollybia species at three sites in northwestern Oregon where Phaeocollybia attenuata and other Phaeocollybia sporocarps had been observed prior to timber harvest. The three sites had three different levels of protection for the fungi. One site was in a buffer zone next to a thinned area, one was within a thinned area, and one was in a clearcut area. The method was effective at detecting the target species in soil. We detected Phaeocollybia species in the soil at all sites, even in the clearcut after 12 yr, during which no sporocarps were observed.     

Fuel Characteristics of Solid Biofuel Derived from Oil Palm Biomass and Fast Growing Timber Species in Malaysia

The fuel characteristics of solid biofuels derived from biomass that is abundantly available in Malaysia are presented. The objectives of the study were to characterize fuel properties of oil palm biomass (empty fruit bunch (EFB) and oil palm trunk (OPT)) and wood from a range of fast growing timber species (Albizia falcataria, Acacia spp., Endospermum spp. and Macaranga spp.), inclusive and exclusive of bark. Among the fast-growing timber species, the higher heating values ranged from 4288 cal g^-1 to 4383 cal g^-1 for wood inclusive of bark, and 4134 cal g^-1 to 4343 cal g^-1 for wood exclusive of bark. The inclusive of bark portion in the biomass sample generally increased the heating value except for Macaranga spp. Empty fruit bunch and oil palm trunk had heating values of 4315 cal g^-1 and 4104 cal g^-1, respectively. Ash-forming elements and trace elements were much higher in the timber species samples inclusive of bark than samples exclusive of bark. On the other hand, oil palm biomass contained higher ash-forming elements and trace elements than the wood from the fast growing timber species. The European energy crops show higher HHV, Cl and Si content but lower K, Mg, Na and P compared to the local biomass used in this study. The data obtained from this study can serve as a foundation for the selection of suitable biomass to be used as solid fuel, or as a reference on the fabrication of conversion systems for the selection of biomass solid fuel.     

Vegetation state and extreme drought as factors determining differentiation and succession of Carabidae communities in forests damaged by a windstorm in the High Tatra Mts

Succession of Carabidae communities in spruce forests in the High Tatra Mts damaged by the windstorm of November 2004 exhibited two trends. The first trend includes the communities differentiation according to the state and management of damaged sites into three groups: (1) the site with fallen timber in situ shows only quantitative and reversible changes in rapport to the intact stand, (2) the sites with extracted timber, where less tolerant forest species disappeared, more tolerant forest species were favored and non-forest mountain species appeared, (3) the sites with extracted timber, additionally burned in July/August 2005, where number of the forest species and their abundance declined and temporal invasions of xenocoenous open-landscape species occurred. This differentiation is explained by autecology of individual species and state of vegetation. In 2010, the communities in burned and unburned sites started to converge due to partial restoration of the vegetation cover, but they continued to strongly differ from the site with timber in situ. The second trend includes a striking decline of the number of species and individuals and cumulative biomass in all sites in 2008 and a slow increase of these parameters up to 2011. The extreme dry summer of 2012 caused a decline of these parameters about to the levels from 2009. This trend represents a long lasting consequence of the extremely dry year 2007 and an immediate response to the drought in 2012. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI24) and Standardized Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI24) fitted best these changes.