Forestry Sciences

In 1933, Joaquim Vieira Natividade established an experimental field with oaks and related genera at Mata Nacional do Vimeiro, Portugal. This experimental area includes the only Portuguese plots with the hybrid Quercus x hispanica hybrid ‘Lucombeana’ (Quercus cerris x suber) with seeds obtained from the Cambridge Botanic Gardens.In 1962-1965, their offspring were included in this area.Those plots integrate an ex situ forest genetic resources, representing a unique population for understanding the structure, function and evolution of the genome (genomics) and its gene expression (transcriptomics). In all progenies, with approximately 60 years, it is evident the segregation for several phenotypic characteristics, specifically in the cork formation and in the leaf shape. Based on that, two projects were developed with this plant material. The first was focused on finding out the molecular basis responsible for the variation in cork and the other on association genetic studies.The aim o...

Influence of wild ungulates on forest regeneration: overview for Switzerland Terminal shoots of tree saplings are part of the diet of chamois, roe and red deer, which in turn can affect forest regeneration. We investigated the current extent of browsing influence on the Swiss forest and the existence of regional differences. Our overview includes all available, regionally assessed data on the influence of roe deer, chamois and red deer in Switzerland, i.e. data of the fourth Swiss National Forest Inventory (NFI 2009/13) and data from the cantons derived from 1) representative sample plot inventories, 2) surveys in selected forest areas and 3) assessments by expert opinion. In the time period between approx. 2009 and 2014 no larger region of Switzerland stood out with respect to browsing influence. On the level of the ungulates home range or forest districts we found large differences in the browsing impact, but on at least two-thirds of the assessed forest area of Switzerland browsi...

Species composition estimated from forest resource inventory (FRI) was validated using field data collected in 136 stands in Nipissing Forest (Ontario, Canada). FRI- and field-based species composition matched in 54% and 56% of cases using stand count and area coverage, respectively. Possible causes of discrepancy between FRI- and field-based species composition are discussed. Low level of agreement between FRI and field data indicated a need for more extensive studies on FRI validation prior to its use for forest management planning. Key words: forest resource inventory, FRI, forest unit, photo-interpretation, timber cruise

Os modelos polinomiais são mais difundidos no meio florestal brasileiro na descrição do perfil de árvores devido à sua facilidade de ajuste e precisão. O mesmo não ocorre com os modelos não-lineares, os quais possuem maior dificuldade de ajuste. Dentre os modelos não-lineares clássicos, na descrição do perfil, podem-se citar o de Gompertz, o Logístico e o de Weibull. Portanto, este estudo visou comparar os modelos lineares e não lineares para a descrição do perfil de árvores. As medidas de comparação foram o coeficiente de determinação (R²), o erro-padrão residual (s yx), o coeficiente de determinação corrigido (R²ajustado), o gráfico dos resíduos e a facilidade de ajuste. Os resultados ressaltaram que, dentre os modelos não-lineares, o que obteve melhor desempenho, de forma geral, foi o modelo Logístico, apesar de o modelo de Gompertz ser melhor em termos de erro-padrão residual. Nos modelos lineares, o polinômio proposto por Pires & Calegario foi superior aos demais. Ao comparar o...

El uso de agentes biológicos en la producción en vivero ha aflorado como un elemento que permite no sólo mejorar la calidad morfológica y fisiológica de las plantas, sino que también posibilitar un mayor éxito en el ámbito silvicultural de una plantación. Estos agentes biológicos requieren de un ambiente óptimo para crecer, asociarse y reproducirse. El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar la dependencia del pH y el medio de cultivo en el crecimiento in vitro de distintas cepas de Suillus luteus y Scleroderma citrinum asociadas a Pinus radiata y Eucalyptus globulus, respectivamente. El estudio se realizó en condiciones controladas de temperatura y humedad, disponiendo los inóculos en placas Petri con diferentes medios cultivo, evaluando parámetros de crecimiento y biomasa a los 38 días para S. luteus y 105 días para S. citrinum. Los resultados indican que tanto el medio de cultivo, el pH del medio, así como las cepas de cada especie estudiada, son determinantes en las respuestas d...

Urban forests are increasingly acknowledged as important areas for producing ecosystem services and maintaining ecosystem processes. In response, municipalities throughout North America have been adopting long-term plans to support strategic management of the urban forest. These plans have the potential to shape the urban forest for decades to come. Most management plans emphasize the planting of native trees, to improve ecological integrity and ecosystem services, and acknowledge the need for resident stewardship to help meet urban forestry goals. Residents’ support and action is crucial, since the majority of urban trees are located on residential property, yet it is unclear what residents’ attitudes and actions are regarding native trees. Using a case study of four municipalities in southern Ontario, Canada (two that have management plans that call for more native species plantings and two that do not), researchers administered a survey that explored residents’ attitudes and acti...

Designing a fuel-sampling program that accurately and efficiently assesses fuel load at relevant spatial scales requires knowledge of each sample method’s strengths and weaknesses. We obtained loading values for six fuel components using five fuel load sampling techniques at five locations in western Montana, USA. The techniques included fixed-area plots, planar intersect, photoloads, a photoload macroplot, and a photo series. For each of the six fuels, we compared (1) the relative differences in load values among techniques and (2) the differences in load between each method and a reference sample. Totals from each method were rated for how much they deviated from totals for the reference in each fuel category. The planar-intersect method, which used 2.50 km of transects, was rated best overall for assessing the six fuels. Bootstrapping showed that at least 1.50 km of transect were needed to obtain estimates that approximate the reference sample. A newly developed photoload method,...

Recent enhancement of the pool of known molecular markers for avocado has allowed the construction of the first moderately dense genetic map for this species. Over 300 SSR markers have been characterized and 163 of these were used to construct a map from the reciprocal cross of two Florida cultivars 'Simmonds' and 'Tonnage'. One hundred thirty-five primer pairs amplified 163 usable loci with 20 primer pairs amplifying more than one locus. 'Tonnage' was heterozygous for 152 (93%) loci, whereas 'Simmonds' was heterozygous for 64 (39%). Null alleles were identified at several loci. Linkage maps were produced for both reciprocal crosses and combined to generate a composite linkage map for the F1 population of 715 individuals. The composite map contains 12 linkage groups. Linkage groups ranged in size from 157.3 cM (LG2) to 2.4 cM (LG12) and the number of loci mapped per group ranged from 29 (LG1) to two (LG12). The total map length was 1,087.4 cM. Only seven markers were observed to have segregation distortion (α ≤ 0.05) across both sub-composite (reciprocal) maps. Phenotypic data from traits of horticultural interest are currently being collected on this population with the ultimate goal of identifying useful quantitative trait loci and the development of a marker-assisted selection program.

Conduziu-se este trabalho, com o objetivo de desenvolver uma metodologia de zoneamento ambiental para identificar áreas onde plantios de eucalipto possam ser desenvolvidos sem restrições ambientais e legais, utilizando o Município de Vassouras, no Estado do Rio de Janeiro, como estudo de caso. Foram considerados dados do meio físico, legislação ambiental, presença de áreas urbanas e o plano diretor municipal. Foram identificadas como zonas restritivas as áreas de preservação permanente, conforme a lei 4.771 de 1965 e suas alterações; as unidades de conservação e zonas de expansão industrial estabelecidas pelo plano diretor municipal; fragmentos florestais da mata atlântica e regiões próximas dos núcleos urbanos. Vassouras possui um território de 552 km², destes, aproximadamente 144 km² não apresentam nenhum tipo de restrição legal para o plantio de eucalipto, dos quais 97% estão atualmente ocupados por pastagens subutilizadas. Aproximadamente 93 % das áreas sem restrições apresentam...

L’agroforesterie consiste en l’association dans l’espace ou dans le temps d’un ligneux (arbre, palmier, liane) avec une ou plusieurs espèces annuelles ou pluriannuelles. Les systèmes agroforestiers se caractérisent ainsi par le degré de complexité des associations végétales qui les composent, et par leur structure spatiale, décrite en termes de strates verticales et de répartition horizontale (occupation des sols). Ces systèmes sont très variés, allant de l’association d’une culture pérenne plantée en lignes avec des cultures intercalaires à des systèmes complexes associant une multitude d’espèces végétales pérennes, pluriannuelles et annuelles dans une architecture multi -strates proche de celle d’une forêt naturelle, ces derniers systèmes étant communément appelés agroforêts. Ces sys-tèmes agroforestiers sont alors des plantations paysannes combinant des cultures de rente pérennes (hévéa, caféier, cacaoyer, cocotier…) avec d’autres plantes utiles comme des arbres à bois, des arbre...

Oak decline is insufficiently described problem. Declining oaks are in various age and the most commonly observed symptoms of the disease include growth inhibition and buds mortality. The dieback occurs periodically, mainly because of the impact of abiotic factors (drought, frost and the lowering of the groundwater level). In this complex phenomenon the biological factors, including numerous species of Chromista (Chromalveolata) and fungi play important role as well. The list of pathogens responsible for the dieback includes numerous species of Pythium and Phytophthora, as well as Biscogniauxia, Discula, Pleurophoma, Botryosphaeria and Diplodia. Among other organisms responsible for the oak decline are fungi belonging to Fusarium species. The aim of this study was to investigate the species composition of pathogens colonizing the dying oak buds including undeveloped or dying shoots obtained from Łomża, Rudka and Czarna Biało− stocka forest districts (eastern Poland). Sampling of sym...

Between April 2000 and March 2007, the Canadian Ecology Centre – Forestry Research Partnership funded, directed, or catalyzed approximately 145 projects. Most of these focused on knowledge and data acquisition, providing a solid foundation for a series of sensitivity and gap analyses to determine whether a long-term goal of enhancing productivity on 6 forest management units in Ontario was achievable, and more importantly, sustainable. A research strategy provided the focus for knowledge and data acquisition and the partnership facilitated integrated research, development, transfer, and implementation. Here we provide an overview of this effort, which is expected to position forest managers of the 6 forests to apply an adaptive management process to increase understanding of the response of their forests to various forest management policies and practices in the future. The strategy and approach described could be useful to other jurisdictions aiming to more closely integrate forest...

The aim of this work was to isolate a lectin from Myracrodruon urundeuva heartwood and to evaluate its antimicrobial activity against bacteria and fungi that attack plants, including woods. The lectin was isolated from heartwood through affinity chromatography on a chitin column monitored by hemagglutination assay. The lectin inhibited Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and was more effective than antifungal Cercobin in growth inhibition of phytopathogenic fungi. The detected antimicrobial activity reveals the possible role of the lectin in the resistance of M. urundeuva heartwood against deteriorative biological agents. The M. urundeuva lectin is the first bioactive peptide found in heartwood, probably stored as a chemical protection against biodegradation.