Forest fire in the central Himalaya: climate and recovery of trees

 A forest fire event is influenced by climatic conditions and is supported by accumulation of fuel on forest floor. After forest fire, photosynthetically active solar radiation was reduced due to accumulation of ash and dust particles in atmosphere. Post-fire impacts on Quercus leucotrichophora, Rhododendron arboreum and Lyonia ovalifolia in a broadleaf forest were analysed after a wild fire. Bark depth damage was greatest for L. ovalifolia and least for Q. leucotrichophora. Regeneration of saplings was observed for all the tree species through sprouting. Epicormic recovery was observed for the trees of all the species. Young trees of Q. leucotrichophora (<40 cm circumference at breast height) were susceptible to fire as evident by the lack of sprouting. Under-canopy tree species have a high potential for recovery as evident by greater length and diameter of shoots and numbers of buds and leaves per shoot than canopy species. Leaf area, leaf moisture and specific leaf area were greater in the deciduous species, with few exceptions, than in evergreen species. Received: 26 July 1995 / Revised: 1 March 1996 / Accepted: 9 September 1996     

Taxonomy and geographical distribution of Dugesia japonica and D. ryukyuensis in the Far East

Dugesia japonica Ichikawa et Kawakatsu, 1964, is a common and polymorphic species of freshwater planarian distributed widely in the Far East. In 1976 the geographic populations were separated into 2 subspecies (D.j.japonica and D.j. ryukyuensis). The taxonomy of this species is reconsidered once again from the morphological, anatomical, histological, and karyological viewpoints. From the result of these studies, D.j. ryukyuensis is elevated to the rank of species: D. ryukyuensis Kawakatsu, 1976. D. japonica (n = 8, 2x = 16, 3x = 24) differs from D. ryukyuensis (n = 7, 2x = 14, 3x = 21) in having an asymmetrical penis papilla without a well-developed valve surrounding its basal part, and a well-developed vagina (distribution: the Japanese Islands, Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula, China, and Primorskiy, Northeast Siberia, in Russia). D. ryukyuensis is characterized by an asymmetrical penis papilla with a well-developed valve surrounding its basal part, and a less-developed vagina (distribution: the Southwest Islands of Japan).     

The effect of bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) dispersal on seed germination in eastern Mediterranean habitats

The fruit-bat Rousettus aegyptiacus (Pteropodidae) in Israel consumes a variety of cultivated and wild fruits. The aim of this study was to explore some of its qualities as a dispersal agent for six fruit-bearing plant species. The feeding roosts of the fruit-bat are located an average of 30 m from its feeding trees and thus the bats disperse the seeds away from the shade of the parent canopy. The bat spits out large seeds but may pass some (2%) of the small seeds (<4 mg) through its digestive tract. However, neither the deposited seeds nor the ejected seeds (except in one case) had a significantly higher percentage germinating than intact seeds. Although the fruit-bat did not increase the percentage germinating, seeds of three plant species subject to different feeding behaviors (deposited in feces or spat out as ejecta) had a different temporal pattern of germination from the intact seeds. The combined seed germination distribution generated by these different treatments is more even over time than for each treatment alone. It is sugested that this increases asynchronous germination and therefore enhances plant fitness by spreading the risks encountered during germination, especially in eastern Mediterranean habitats where the pattern of rainfall is unpredictable.     

Neoschumannia (includingSwynnertonia), a primitive genus of theAsclepiadaceae-Stapelieae

A comparison of the West AfricanNeoschumannia Schltr. and the East AfricanSwynnertonia S. Moore reveals that the two monotypic genera must be united.Swynnertonia is sunk into synonymy ofNeoschumannia and the new combinationNeoschumannia cardinea (S. Moore)Meve is made for the East African species.Neoschumannia is shown to belong to the tribeStapelieae. The taxon exhibits a very unusual character combination: the growth form of a woody liana is combined with a tripartite corona unique within theAsclepiadaceae. The morphology of the corona suggests a position ofNeoschumannia close to the base of theStapelieae —Ceropegiinae alliance.     

Effect of different East Coast Fever control strategies on fertility, milk production and weight gain of Sanga cattle in the Central Province of Zambia

Five different East Coast Fever (ECF) (Theileria parva infection) control strategies, based on tick control and/or ECF immunization, were tested in groups of traditionally managed Sanga cattle in the Central Province of Zambia over a period of 2.5 years. Two groups were kept under intensive tick control (sprayed weekly), one group immunized and one non-immunized. Two further groups were under no tick control, one group immunized and one non-immunized, while a fifth group was immunized against ECF and maintained under strategic tick control (18 sprays per year). Tick control increased milk production and weight gain but not fertility. Immunization had neither marked detrimental nor beneficial effects on the cattle productivity. The combination of strategic tick control and immunization resulted in the highest level of production and at the same time reduced the potential risk from other tick-borne diseases.     

Selectivity of the excision of alkylation products in a xeroderma pigmentosum-derived lymphoblastoid line.

Lymphoblastoid cell derived from a complementation group C xeroderma patient were unable to remove 06-methyl guanine residues formed in DNA by treatment of cells with low concentration of N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG). The xeroderma cells were competent in their ability to excise 3-methyl adenine adducts. MNNG treatment induced excision repair in the xeroderma line and in addition the treatment resulted in the presence of numerous single-strand breaks in the DNA. The single gene, UV-excision-defective mutants of Escherichia coli, uvrA and uvrB, are able to excise MNNG-induced 06-methyl guanine adducts indicating that excision of this compound is not due to operation of UV endonuclease system.     

Rays of Hope from the Ecological Restoration Alliance of Botanic Gardens,following its recent meeting in Amman,Jordan

In the spring of 2015, the Ecological Restoration Alliance (ERA) of Botanic Gardens held its fourth international meeting in Amman, Jordan, hosted by the Royal Botanic Garden of Jordan. Three regional working groups were launched, for the Middle East, East Africa, and Latin America, and new partnerships were forged to support ecological restoration initiatives led by botanic gardens in Jordan, Oman, and elsewhere. A one‐day public symposium, attended by over 100 people, was also held—the most significant public meeting on ecological restoration held to date in the Middle East. A communications strategy for regional outreach was agreed upon starting with the translation of several Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) foundation documents into Arabic. A peer‐reviewed translation of the SER International Primer on Ecological Restoration has already been produced by staff of the Royal Botanic Garden of Jordan and posted on the SER website. Further efforts will be made to promote public awareness in Jordan and regionally, in support of existing conservation and restoration programs, and to promote greater integration of ecological restoration programs in national and regional development schemes and government policies. Key action points were agreed upon to promote the practice of ecological restoration and the role of botanic gardens globally vis‐à‐vis policy makers and funders.     

Revision of the subgenus Tinotus Sharp,stat. n., of the parasitoid rove-beetle genus Aleochara Gravenhorst (Coleoptera,Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae) from Japan,Taiwan, and the Russian Far East

The subgenus Tinotus Sharp, 1833, stat. n., of the genus Aleochara Gravenhorst, 1802 (Aleocharini: Aleocharina) from Japan, Taiwan, and the Russian Far East is revised. Tinotus is a new record from the latter two regions. Three species are recognized: Aleochara (Tinotus) morion Gravenhorst, 1802, comb. n. [Japan (new record), the Russian Far East (new record)], Aleochara (Tinotus) eoa nom. n. [replacement name for Tinotus japonicus Cameron, 1933; Japan, Taiwan (new record)], and Aleochara (Tinotus) takashii sp. n. (central Honshû, Japan). The systematic position of Tinotus is discussed. All species are (re-)described, keyed, and figured. A world checklist of Tinotus species, comprising 40 valid species, is provided in an appendix. Additional taxonomic changes are proposed, including a new synonymy, a revalidation, 13 new replacement names, and 27 new combinations.     

Ethiopian agriculture has greater potential for carbon sequestration than previously estimated

More than half of the cultivation‐induced carbon loss from agricultural soils could be restored through improved management. To incentivise carbon sequestration, the potential of improved practices needs to be verified. To date, there is sparse empirical evidence of carbon sequestration through improved practices in East‐Africa. Here, we show that agroforestry and restrained grazing had a greater stock of soil carbon than their bordering pair‐matched controls, but the difference was less obvious with terracing. The controls were treeless cultivated fields for agroforestry, on slopes not terraced for terracing, and permanent pasture for restrained grazing, representing traditionally managed agricultural practices dominant in the case regions. The gain by the improved management depended on the carbon stocks in the control plots. Agroforestry for 6–20 years led to 11.4 Mg ha^?1 and restrained grazing for 6–17 years to 9.6 Mg ha^?1 greater median soil carbon stock compared with the traditional management. The empirical estimates are higher than previous process‐model‐based estimates and indicate that Ethiopian agriculture has greater potential to sequester carbon in soil than previously estimated.     

The phylogeny of the genus Lasioserica inferred from adult morphology – implications on the evolution of montane fauna of the south Asian orogenic belt (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Sericini)

The species of Lasioserica are highly diversified within the south Asian orogenic belt, such as the Himalaya, south‐eastern Tibet and the mountains of northern Indochina. The study presents a preliminary phylogeny of Lasioserica based on adult morphology. Sixty‐one species were examined for the cladistic analysis based on parsimony using successive approximations weighting and including 84 characters. As a result of the phylogenetic hypothesis on Lasioserica elaborated here, the taxonomic definition of Lasioserica and the validity of Amiserica are questionable and need to be revised. Taxonomic conclusions are here limited so far to the genus assignment of Amiserica antennalis ( Nomura 1974 ) comb. n. The cladistic analysis revealed a large monophyletic clade of Lasioserica containing almost all species assigned to this group so far. Among this monophylum the following pattern have become evident: (1) a number of ancestral lineages from the eastern Himalaya and Indochina, (2) a large clade with almost exclusively Himalayan species and (3) one clade with only Chinese and Indochinese taxa. Based on this topology we may suggest that the more recent evolution of Lasioserica was more independent in these two major regions (Himalaya/Indochina). There is comparatively good evidence from range positions of closely related species for allopatric geographical speciation in Lasioserica with the majority of closely related central Himalayan species occurring allopatrically or parapatrically. The tree topology does not permit conclusions whether speciation progressed more often from east to west or vice versa. More easterly distributed lineages in the Himalaya seem to contrast this pattern with a greater part of closely related species occurring sympatrically. Since cumulative ranges of the major lineages of the Himalayan clade overlap in all respects, diversification of the almost strictly Himalayan clade of Lasioserica should be attributed to a rather long and persistent evolution within the Himalaya.