The Current Conservation Efforts and Future Prospects for the Endangered Nubian Ibex (Capra nubiana ibex) in Sudan

A comprehensive action plan for the conservation of the endangered species, the Nubian ibex in Sudan, can be developed by gaining a thorough understanding of their current status, conservation strategy, and relevant laws and regulations, as well as raising awareness about the importance of protecting endangered species. The Nubian ibex is listed as an endangered species on The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, highlighting the need for further research on population conservation efforts due to insufficient population data. To address this knowledge gap, a questionnaire was conducted with various stakeholders, including police officers, researchers, and lecturers, representing a diverse range of organizations and universities. The findings revealed that hunting is the primary factor contributing to endangerment. Mammals account for 80% of endangered species, while reptiles comprise less than one-tenth. Research centers are recognized as the main governing body, and 85% of participants are concerned about the declining population. Hunting accounted for less than half of the threats to the ibex population in Sudan, while habitat loss made up a quarter. Mining, climate change, human activity, and agriculture were also identified as risks. However, there were no plans, strategies, procedures, or measures in place to conserve the Nubian ibex. There were also no initiatives to preserve its biodiversity, and awareness about endangered species was lacking. Although participants believed that laws were effective in protecting the ibex, no licenses were issued for its conservation, and annual surveys were not conducted. Additionally, there were no recorded instances of Mukhalfat related to the Nubian ibex. In light of these findings, we propose various conservation measures to address these challenges. These measures include the implementation of laws and regulations, conducting annual surveys to monitor population trends, protecting habitats, establishing breeding and releasing programs, launching awareness campaigns, undertaking rehabilitation efforts, enhancing research efforts, and developing comprehensive conservation strategies. Additionally, it is crucial to foster cooperation among wildlife institutes to ensure the effective implementation of these conservation measures.

Eco-morphological characteristics of fern species for slope conservation

Degradation of slopes due to shallow landslide and the subsequent erosional processes are a big challenge on the application of soil bioengineering techniques; that is the use of plants as main structural components of a slope protection and conservation system. An optimal application of soil bioengineering techniques should include not only the technical factor of plants as structural components but also the ecology of species and the plant adaptations to disturbances, which is crucial if a longterm successful slope restoration system is intended. Ferns are a dominant understory vegetation species in the forest of Japan, but its characteristics and influences on the recovery of shallow landslide scars have not been fully studied yet. This study aims to find out the ecological characteristics of fern species through the calculation of ecological indicators and the quantification of the morphological features of specimens growing on disturbed and non-disturbed forest slopes in Japan. Gleichenia japonica was found as the vegetation species with biggest ecological indicators on both slopes. The analysis of morphological characteristics of the specimens growing on both sites showed that the development of the specimens is focused in below-ground characteristics. The pull-out force of Gleichenia japonica root system as an indicator of ecological adaptation to a constraint environment and morphological characteristics quality is influenced by height and root length according to the principal component analysis. The eco-morphological characteristics of species can be used as an indicator of an optimal element in soil bioengineering establishment for slope conservation proposes. The long and fibrous root system could be placed on forest roads, steep or small slopes where space limitation is an issue for the establishment of bigger species and if the slope conditions allow it, it can control soil losses due to rainfall and provide stability.

Estimation of Timber Production of Five Species of the Tamaulipas Thorny Shrubs Growing in Native Stands and Plantations

Shrub species have a great capacity to develop in extreme climatic conditions;this ability has a direct influence on their development and productivity in timber and firewood. In this paper, the timber’s production of experimental plantation aged 28 years of Acacia berlandieri (Benth.), Havardia pallens (Benth.) Britton & Rose, Helietta parvifolia (Gray) Benth., Ebenopsis ebano (Berl.) Barneby and Acacia wrightii (Benth.) species is quantified and compared with the production of the same species developed naturally in the native bush. The variables recorded were the number of shoots per tree, total height, basal diameter and diameter at breast height of each tree to determine the volume of wood with the Smalian equation. The results indicate that the volume of usable wood was higher in experimental plantation than that on native vegetation for H. parvifolia, A. berlandieri and H. pallens. The species that produced the highest volume of timber were H. parvifolia (0.396 m3·ha-1·year-1) in plantations and E. ebano (0.118 m3·ha-1·year-1) in native shrubs, species with lower production were H. pallens (0.059 m3·ha-1·year-1) and A. berlandieri (0.052 m3·ha-1·year-1) in the native area. The highest number of shoots was registered for A. berlandieri and H. parvifolia, with eight shoots per tree in experimental plantations of both species compared with native vegetation, which was five and three shoots per tree respectively. These results high-light the importance of developing plantations in degraded areas of scrub, which can increase timber volume production.

Study of the Copper,Chromium,Manganese and Zinc Contents in the Species Azorella spinosa(Apiaceae),Collected in the Maule Region,Chile

The increase in prevalence of environmental pollution, especially soil contamination with toxic metals has led to their uptake in the human food chains through plant parts. Accumulation and magnification of heavy metals in human tissues through comsuption of herbal medicine can cause hazardous impacts on health. Therefore, chemical profiling of four heavy metals (Cu, Cr, Mn and Zn) was undertaken in samples of Azorella spinosa from coast and mountain of Maule Region in Chile. The Cu, Cr, Mn and Zn concentrations were determined in plants of the species Azorella spinosa and their soils of origin. For each plant, the metal contents in the stalk, leaves and soil were determined by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy. The methodology was validated using certified reference material: BIMEP-432 for the plant samples and MESS-1 for the soil samples. The concentration ranges found in the plant tissue were: Cu: 1.2 - 62.5;Cr: 0.2 - 3.2;Mn: 188.6 - 1345.1 and Zn: 7.5 - 55.9 mg·kg-1 (dry weight). For the soil samples, the ranges were: Cu: 6.4 - 81.5;Cr: 4.6 - 50.4;Mn: 335.6 - 1936.1 and Zn: 15.6 - 65.9 mg·kg-1 (dry weight). The results were evaluated statistically (two-way ANOVA) to correlate the Cu, Cr, Mn and Zn concentrations in Azorella spinosa plant tissues with those in the soil samples from the corresponding sampling areas.