Words apart:Standardizing forestry terms and definitions across European biodiversity studies

Forest biodiversity studies conducted across Europe use a multitude of forestry terms,often inconsistently.This hinders the comparability across studies and makes the assessment of the impacts of forest management on biodiversity highly context-dependent.Recent attempts to standardize forestry and stand description terminology mostly used a top-down approach that did not account for the perspectives and approaches of forest biodiversity experts.This work aims to establish common standards for silvicultural and vegetation definitions,creating a shared conceptual framework for a consistent study on the effects of forest management on biodiversity.We have identified both strengths and weaknesses of the silvicultural and vegetation information provided in forest biodiversity studies.While quantitative data on forest biomass and dominant tree species are frequently included,information on silvicultural activities and vegetation composition is often lacking,shallow,or based on broad and heterogeneous classifications.We discuss the existing classifications and their use in European forest biodiversity studies through a novel bottom-up and top-driven review process,and ultimately propose a common framework.This will enhance the comparability of forest biodiversity studies in Europe,and puts the basis for effective implementation and monitoring of sustainable forest management policies.The standards here proposed are potentially adaptable and applicable to other geographical areas and could be extended to other forest interventions.

National Forest Inventories capture the multifunctionality of managed forests in Germany

Background:Forests perform various important ecosystem functions that contribute to ecosystem services.In many parts of the world,forest management has shifted from a focus on timber production to multi-purpose forestry,combining timber production with the supply of other forest ecosystem services.However,it is unclear which forest types provide which ecosystem services and to what extent forests primarily managed for timber already supply multiple ecosystem services.Based on a comprehensive dataset collected across 150 forest plots in three regions differing in management intensity and species composition,we develop models to predict the potential supply of 13 ecosystem services.We use those models to assess the level of multifunctionality of managed forests at the national level using national forest inventory data.Results:Looking at the potential supply of ecosystem services,we found trade-offs(e.g.between both bark beetle control or dung decomposition and both productivity or soil carbon stocks)as well as synergies(e.g.for temperature regulation,carbon storage and culturally interesting plants)across the 53 most dominant forest types in Germany.No single forest type provided all ecosystem services equally.Some ecosystem services showed comparable levels across forest types(e.g.decomposition or richness of saprotrophs),while others varied strongly,depending on forest structural attributes(e.g.phosphorous availability or cover of edible plants)or tree species composition(e.g.potential nitrification activity).Variability in potential supply of ecosystem services was only to a lesser extent driven by environmental conditions.However,the geographic variation in ecosystem function supply across Germany was closely linked with the distribution of main tree species.Conclusions:Our results show that forest multifunctionality is limited to subsets of ecosystem services.The importance of tree species composition highlights that a lack of multifunctionality at the stand level can be compensated by managing forests at the landscape level,when stands of complementary forest types are combined.These results imply that multi-purpose forestry should be based on a variety of forest types requiring coordinated planning across larger spatial scales.

华山松大小蠹及其伴生蓝变真菌对华山松木质部危害的解剖学特征(英文)

为揭示华山松大小蠹和伴生蓝变真菌引起秦岭华山松枯萎的机制,选择秦岭北坡沣峪林场境35年树龄的健康华山松Pinus armandi为研究对象,对接种华山松大小蠹Dendroctonus armandi及与其伴生的蓝变真菌Ceratocystis polonica引起的寄主树木木质部形态变化进行了解剖观察。结果表明:接种致病性蓝变真菌C.polonica1周后的4株华山松的木质部组织内,蓝变区域显著增加,4～6周后蓝变区域不再增加;而在接种无菌琼脂的2株对照华山松的木质部组织内,没有检测到蓝变区域。研究结果提示蓝变真菌C.polonica是致死秦岭华山松的重要病原菌,该伴生菌随华山松大小蠹入侵健康寄主华山松木质部组织,在木质部定居并分解木质部,堵塞树脂道,致使寄主华山松树脂代谢和水分代谢紊乱。该研究结果表明,虽然华山松大小蠹长期以来被认为是致死华山松的毁灭性小蠹虫,但是其共生蓝变真菌C.polonica对成熟华山松的致害作用不应该被忽视。

Diversity of Sodium Transporter HKT1;5 in Genus Oryza

Asian cultivated rice shows allelic variation in sodium transporter,OsHKT1;5,correlating with shoot sodium exclusion(salinity tolerance).These changes map to intra/extracellularly-oriented loops that occur between four transmembrane-P loop-transmembrane(MPM)motifs in OsHKT1;5.HKT1;5 sequences from more recently evolved Oryza species(O.sativa/O.officinalis complex species)contain two expansions that involve two intracellularly oriented loops/helical regions between MPM domains,potentially governing transport characteristics,while more ancestral HKT1;5 sequences have shorter intracellular loops.We compared homology models for homoeologous OcHKT 1;5-K and OcHKT1;5-L from halophytic O.coarctata to identify complementary amino acid residues in OcHKT1;5-L that potentially enhance affinity for Na+.Using haplotyping,we showed that Asian cultivated rice accessions only have a fraction of HKT1;5 diversity available in progenitor wild rice species(O.nivara and O.rufipogon).Progenitor HKT1;5 haplotypes can thus be used as novel potential donors for enhancing cultivated rice salinity tolerance.Within Asian rice accessions,10 non-synonymous HKT1;5 haplotypic groups occur.More HKT1;5 haplotypic diversities occur in cultivated indica gene pool compared to japonica.Predominant Haplotypes 2 and 10 occur in mutually exclusive japonica and indica groups,corresponding to haplotypes in O.sativa salt-sensitive and salt-tolerant landraces,respectively.This distinct haplotype partitioning may have originated in separate ancestral gene pools of indica and japonica,or from different haplotypes selected during domestication.Predominance of specific HKT1;5 haplotypes within the 3000 rice dataset may relate to eco-physiological fitness in specific geo-climatic and/or edaphic contexts.

Incidence and management of white grub, Schizonycha ruficollis on seedlings of teak （Tectona grandis Linn, f,）

In investigation was conducted annually from 2002 to 2005 between the second week of May and the end of September on the incidence of scarab beetle, Schizonycha ruficollis （Fabricius） in a teak （Tectona grandis L.f.） nursery at Ramdongari, Nagpur, India. The immature stages, that is white grubs of the scarab beetle damaged 14%-52% of teak seedlings in the nursery beds, whereas the adult of the species, that is scarab beetles, were recorded on three new host trees （ Ziziphus xylopyra, Acacia catechu and A. leucophloea） in addition to the reported hosts such as ziziphus （Z. jujuba and Z. mauritiana）. Beetles of the S. ruficollis started emerging from the nursery beds just after the pre-monsoon showers and continued for 10-18 days. While beetle of S. ruficollis defoliated tree hosts available in the surroundings, the immature stages of the beetle caused major damage by feeding on root systerfls of teak seedlings with symptoms of wilting and mortality in forest nursery beds. The result of chemical and biological treatments for the management of grubs of S. ruficollis in nursery beds indicated phorate 10% granular at the rate of 20 g/m^2 and chlorpyriphos 20% emulsifiable concentrate at the rate of 5.0 mL/m^2 to be effective. Grubs of S. ruficollis have not been recorded previously as a major pest of teak （T. grandis）. This is also the first report on occurrence of S. ruficollis adults on tree hosts such as Z. xylopyra, A. catechu and A. leucophloea. White grubs being pests of economic importance and the toughest insects to manage, information given in this paper on incidence, pest status and management of Schizonycha ruficollis is of importance to researchers and forest nursery managers.

Asterodiscus and Stigmatodiscus,two new apothecial dothideomycete genera and the new order Stigmatodiscales

During a survey on corticolous Dothideomycetes,several collections with ascospores matching the genera Asteromassaria and Stigmatomassaria(Pleomassariaceae,Pleosporales)were revealed from dead corticated twigs of Acer,Carpinus and Tamarix.Closer morphological examination showed that their ascomata were apothecial,with a hamathecium consisting of septate,branched paraphyses,which are apically swollen at maturity.Several collections were cultured and sequenced,and a Blast search of their nuc 28S rDNA sequences revealed dothideomycetous affiliation,but without a close match to a specific family or order.Phylogenetic analyses of a multigene matrix containing a representative selection of Dothideomycetes from four genes(nuc 18S rDNA,nuc 28S rDNA,rpb2 and tef1)revealed placement within Dothideomycetes but without a supported familial or ordinal affiliation.Based on the phylogenetic analyses and morphological investigations,the new genera Asterodiscus and Stigmatodiscus,with the two new species A.tamaricis and S.enigmaticus,are described and illustrated,and placed in the new family Stigmatodiscaceae and new order Stigmatodiscales.

Peptide actions on oviduct contractions in the large pine weevil, Hylobius abietis

The peptides proctolin, crustacean cardioactive peptide （CCAP） and FMRFamide, which are known to modulate insect muscle contractions, were assayed for their action on oviduct contractions in Hylobius abietis. A video microscopy technique and computer-based method of data acquisition and analysis were used to investigate the effects of theses peptides on spontaneous contractions of continuously perfused oviducts. All three peptides tested stimulate spontaneous contraction activity of the pine weevil oviduct, increasing the frequency and amplitude of phasic contractions in a dose-dependent manner. Proctolin is more potent as a stimulator than CCAR For proctolin a threshold response of oviduct muscles is at concentration of peptide 10-11-10^-10mol/L and for CCAP at concentration range 10-10-10-9 mol/L. FMRFamide exerts a weak stimulatory effect on the oviduct, and at higher concentrations of the peptide （above 10.8 mol/L）. The peptides exert different responses on oviduct contractions and they may play a role as functional regulators in such processes as egg movement and oviposition.

Role of Ocimum sanctum leaf extract on dietary supplementation in the transgenic Drosophila model of Parkinson's disease

AIM: To evaluate the effect of Ocimum sanctum leaf extract on the dietary supplementation in the transgenic Drosophila model of Parkinson's disease. METHOD: The effect of Ocimum sanctum leaf extract was studied on the transgenic Drosophila model of flies expressing normal human alpha synuclein(h-αs) in the neurons. O. sanctum extract at final concentrations of 0.042 8 × 10-4, 0.87 × 10-4, and 1.85 × 10-4 g·mL-1 of diet were established and the flies were allowed to feed for 21 days. The climbing assay and lipid peroxidation were taken as parameters for the study. RESULTS: The supplementation of O. sanctum extract showed a dose-dependent significant delay in the loss of climbing ability and reduction in oxidative stress in the brain of PD model flies. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study showed that the O. sanctum extract is potent in reducing the PD symptoms in transgenic Drosophila model.

Valsaria and the Valsariales

More than 100 recent collections of Valsaria sensu lato mostly from Europe were used to elucidate the species composition within the genus.Multigene phylogeny based on SSU,LSU,ITS,rpb2 and tef1 sequences revealed a monophyletic group of ten species within the Dothideomycetes,belonging to three morphologically similar genera.This group could not be accommodated in any known family and are thus classified in the new family Valsariaceae and the new order Valsariales.The genus Valsaria sensu stricto comprises V.insitiva,V.robiniae,V.rudis,V.spartii,V.lopadostomoides sp.nov.and V.neotropica sp.nov.,which are phylogenetically well-defined,but morphologically nearly indistinguishable species.The new monotypic genus Bambusaria is introduced to accommodate Valsaria bambusae.Munkovalsaria rubra and Valsaria fulvopruinata are combined in Myrmaecium,a genus traditionally treated as a synonym of Valsaria,which comprises three species,with M.rubricosum as its generic type.This work is presented as a basis for additional species to be detected in future.

Naming and outline of Dothideomycetes-2014 including proposals for the protection or suppression of generic names

Article 59.1,of the International Code of Nomenclature for Algae,Fungi,and Plants(ICN;Melbourne Code),which addresses the nomenclature of pleomorphic fungi,became effective from 30 July 2011.Since that date,each fungal species can have one nomenclaturally correct name in a particular classification.All other previously used names for this species will be considered as synonyms.The older generic epithet takes priority over the younger name.Any widely used younger names proposed for use,must comply with Art.57.2 and their usage should be approved by the Nomenclature Committee for Fungi(NCF).In this paper,we list all genera currently accepted by us in Dothideomycetes(belonging to 23 orders and 110 families),including pleomorphic and nonpleomorphic genera.In the case of pleomorphic genera,we follow the rulings of the current ICN and propose single generic names for future usage.The taxonomic placements of 1261 genera are listed as an outline.Protected names and suppressed names for 34 pleomorphic genera are listed separately.Notes and justifications are provided for possible proposed names after the list of genera.Notes are also provided on recent advances in our understanding of asexual and sexual morph linkages in Dothideomycetes.A phylogenetic tree based on four gene analyses supported 23 orders and 75 families,while 35 families still lack molecular data.