• Title/Summary/Keyword: tropical forest

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Teak (Tectona grandis Linn. f.): A Renowned Commercial Timber Species

  • Palanisamy, K.;Hegde, Maheshwar;Yi, Jae-Seon
    • Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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    • v.25 no.1
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    • pp.1-24
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    • 2009
  • Teak (Tectona grandis) is one of the most valuable timber yielding species in the world, with predominant distribution in tropical or sub-tropical countries. However, natural teak available only in few countries like India, Myanmar, Laos People's Democratic Republic and Thailand. Teak grows well in deep, well-drained alluvial soils, fairly moist, warm, tropical climate with pH ranges from 6.5-7.5. Teak is cultivated in many Asian, African and South American countries for timber production. The global teak plantations are estimated to be three million hectare with major share in India (44%) followed by Indonesia (33%). India is considered as richest genetic resources of teak with large areas of natural teak bearing forests (8.9 million ha), plantations (1.5 million ha), clonal seed orchards (1000 ha) and seed production areas (5000 ha). The studies on diversity of teak populations showed that teak is an out crossing species with major portion of diversity present within the populations. The productivity and quality of teak timber varies depending upon the site and environmental conditions. Teak wood is moderately heavy, strong and tough,straight grained, coarse textured and ring porous with specific gravity varies from 0.55 to 0.70. The sapwood is white to pale yellow in colour and clearly demarcated while heartwood is dark brown or dark golden yellow in colour. Teak is one of the most durable timbers in the world, practically, impervious to fungus and white ant attack and resistant to decay. Teak wood is used in ship and boat constructions, furnitures and aesthetic needs. Genetic improvement programmes have been undertaken in countries like Thailand, India, Malaysia and Indonesia. The programme includes provenance identification and testing, plus tree selection and clonal multiplication, establishment of seed orchards and controlled hybridization. Several aspects like phenology, reproductive biology, fruit characteristics, silvicultural practices for cultivation, pest and diseases problems, production of improved planting stock, harvesting and marketing, wood properties and future tree improvement strategy to enhance productivity have been discussed in this paper.

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Monitoring Mangrove Plantation along the Coastal Belts of Bangladesh (1989-2010)

  • Rahman, M. Mahmudur;Pramanik, Md. Abu Taleb
    • Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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    • v.31 no.3
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    • pp.225-234
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    • 2015
  • Mangroves are important coastal ecosystems and are located at the inter-tidal zones of tropical and sub-tropical belts. The global mangrove forests are declining dramatically because of the conversion of forests to shrimp farming, over-exploitation, pollution and freshwater diversion. The Bangladesh Forest Department initiated mangrove afforestation throughout the coastal belts of Bangladesh in 1966 to provide better protection for the coastal communities. Up to 1990, 120,000 ha of mangroves had been planted and it is one of the largest coastal afforestaton programs in the world. The objective of this study is to exploit the spatial extent of mangrove plantation and their dynamics of changes over the last two decades using multispectral Landsat imagery. The study area covers the coastal areas of Bangladesh that is extended over the eastern part of Sundarbans up to Teknaf, the southern tip of mainland Bangladesh. Mangrove plantations were interpreted visually on computer screen and interactive delineation of forest boundary was done. The mangrove plantation area has been estimated as 32,725, 47,636 and 43,166 ha for the year of 1989, 2000 and 2010, respectively. Mangrove deforestation by human activity has increased almost six times in the recent decade in comparison to the previous one. The mangrove forest loss due to coastal erosion has slightly declined in the 2000s. Mangroves have been lost primarily because of agricultural expansion. The result of this investigation will be helpful to understand the dynamics of mangrove plantation and the main drivers of changes in this coastal ecosystem.

Distributional Pattern of Tree Species in Response to Soil Variables in a Semi Natural Tropical Forest of Bangladesh

  • Ara, Saida Hossain;Limon, Mahedi Hasan;Kibria, Mohammad Golam
    • Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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    • v.37 no.1
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    • pp.14-24
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    • 2021
  • A plant community is a group of populations that coexist in space and interact directly or indirectly with the environment. In this paper, we determined the pattern of tree species composition in response to soil variables in Khadimnagar National Park (KNP), which is one of the least studied tropical forests in Bangladesh. Soil and vegetation data were collected from 71 sample plots. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) with associated Monte Carlo permutation tests (499 permutations) was carried out to determine the most significant soil variable and to explore the relationship between tree species distribution and soil variables. Soil pH and clay content (pH with p<0.01 and Clay content with p<0.05) were the most significant variables that influence the overall tree species distribution in KNP. Soil pH is related to the distribution and abundance of Syzygium grande and Magnolia champaca, which were mostly found and dominant species in KNP. Some species were correlated with clay content such as Artocarpus chaplasha and Cassia siamea. These observations suggest that both the physico-chemical properties of soil play a major role in shaping the tree distribution in KNP. Hence, these soil properties should take into account for any tree conservation strategy in this forest.

Exploring on the Defense Strategies against Hervivory of Several Broad-leaved Tree Species in Solomon Islands (솔로몬제도에 생육중인 몇 활엽수종의 초식에 대한 방어전략 탐색)

  • Kim, Gab-Tae
    • Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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    • v.24 no.5
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    • pp.611-616
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    • 2010
  • To explore on the defense strategies against hervivory of broadleaved tree species growing in tropical rain forest, Solomon Islands, morphological characteristics of the leaf, leaf domatia structure and the number, herbivores insects and mites on the leaves of 26 tree species, collected from the trees growing in Guadalcanal, New Georgia, and Tetepare islands, were investigated from Feb. 25 to March 5, 2010. The results are summarized as follows. Six tree species including Terminalia catappa(23.08%) among total 26 species have domatia structure. Especially, domatia of T. catappa reveals two types; pouch type and pit+tuft type. Predatory mites are observed on the leaves of only three species including T. catappa. Predatory mites' number per leaf or leaflet proved a few, 0.33~0.40. Insect pests destroying the leaf of tree species are such as aphids, Diaspididae sp., larva of Lepidoptera, and Eriosoma sp.(Pemphlogidae). Ants are co-works with aphids and Diaspididae sp., and supports herbivores. These results indicate that protective mutualisms between tree and predatory mites may be less frequent in woody species of tropical rain forest in Solomon Islands.

Preparation of Microcrystalline Cellulose by using Sawdust of Tropical Hardwood Nyatoh (열대활엽수 니아토 제재 부산물을 활용한 미세결정 셀룰로오스의 제조)

  • Sung, Yong-Joo;Lee, Ji-Young;Lee, Han-Ba-Loh;Kim, Sung-Jun;Lee, Joon-Woo;Kim, Se-Bin;Park, Gwan-Soo
    • Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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    • v.43 no.3
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    • pp.59-65
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    • 2011
  • The saw dust of tropical hardwood, Nyatoh(Palaquium Spp.), was used as a raw material for the preparation of the high valued microcrystalline cellulose(MCC). Three pulping methods, soda pulping, Kraft pulping, and acid-sulfite pulping were applied to obtain cellulose from the saw dust. The residual impurities were removed with the additional bleaching processes: (A) $ClO_2{\rightarrow}H_2O_2$; (B) $ClO_2{\rightarrow}O_3$; (C) $O_3$. For the acid treatment for MCC preparation, the $H_2SO_4$, with three concentration, 20%, 40%, 60% were applied and the effects of $H_2SO_4$ concentration on the properties of MCC were evaluated. The results indicated that the MCC obtained by acid-sulfite pulping followed with $O_3$ treatment and 40% $H_2SO_4$ treatment showed less residual lignin, higher brightness and crystallinity than that of Avicel MCC.

New Species of Termitomyces (Lyophyllaceae, Basidiomycota) from Sabah (Northern Borneo), Malaysia

  • Seelan, Jaya Seelan Sathiya;Yee, Chong Shu;Fui, Foo She;Dawood, Mahadimenakbar;Tan, Yee Shin;Kim, Min-Ji;Park, Myung Soo;Lim, Young Woon
    • Mycobiology
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    • v.48 no.2
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    • pp.95-103
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    • 2020
  • The genus Termitomyces (Lyophyllaceae, Basidiomycota) is often associated with fungus-feeding termites (Macrotermitinae) due to their strong symbiotic relationships. The genus is widely found exclusively in certain regions of Africa and Asia. They are recognized as edible mushroom within Southeast Asia as well. But it is often misidentified based on morphology by the local communities especially in Malaysia for Chlorophyllum molybdites which is a highly poisonous mushroom. Thus, it is necessary to study the genus for Malaysia with the synergy of using both morphological and molecular identification. In this study, we aim to describe another new species as an addition to the genus Termitomyces found within Sabah, Malaysia. We generated two new sequences (nrLSU and mtSSU) for the new species and a total of 28 nrLSU and mtSSU sequences were retrieved from GenBank for the phylogenetic analysis using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inferences. We identified that the new collection from Sabah province is a new species and named as Termitomyces gilvus based on the termites found in the mound. A phylogeny tree made from the concatenated genes of LSU and mtSSU suggests that T. gilvus is closely related to T. bulborhizus from China. According to our results, the combination of molecular and morphology proved to be a robust approach to re-evaluate the taxonomic status of Termitomyces species in Malaysia. Additional surveys are needed to verify the species diversity and clarify their geographic distribution.

Parasitic Behaviour of Xanthopimpla pedator Fabricius (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) on Tropical Tasar Silkworm, Antheraea mylitta Drury (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) Reared on Seven Forestry Host Plants in Uttarakhand, India

  • Bhatia, Narendra Kumar;Yousuf, Mohammad
    • International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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    • v.27 no.2
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    • pp.243-264
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    • 2013
  • Antheraea mylitta Drury is a commercial silk producing forest insect in India and Xanthopimpla pedator Fabricius is its larval-pupal endoparasitoid, which causes pupal mortality that affects seed production. Effects of host plants, rearing season and their interactions on parasitic behaviour of X. pedator were studied here, as influence of these factors on biological success of X. pedator is not known. Seven forest tree species were tested as food plants for A. mylitta, and rate of pupal parasitization in both the rearing seasons were recorded and analysed. Results showed that rearing season and host plants significantly affected the rate of pupal parasitization in both the sexes. Pupal mortality was found significantly higher (14.52%) in second rearing season than the first (2.89%). Likewise, host plants and rearing seasons significantly affected length, diameter, and shell thickness of cocoons in both sexes. Out of all infested pupae, 85.59% were found male, which indicated that X. pedator chooses male spinning larva of A. mylitta for oviposition, but we could not answer satisfactorily the why and how aspect of this sex specific parasitic behaviour of X. pedator. Multiple regression analysis indicated that length and shell thickness of male cocoons are potential predictors for pupal parasitization rate of X. pedator. Based on highest cocoon productivity and lowest pupal mortality, Terminalia alata, T. tomentosa, and T. arjuna were found to be the most suitable host plants for forest based commercial rearing of A. mylitta in tropical forest areas of Uttarakhand state, where it has never been reared earlier. Sex and season specific interaction of X. pedator with its larval-pupal host, A. mylitta is a novel entomological study to find out explanations for some of the unresolved research questions on parasitic behaviour of X. predator that opens a new area for specialised study on male specific parasitization in Ichneumonidae.

A Study on the Collection and Utilization of Myanmar Plants as Garden Plants (정원소재로서의 미얀마 유용 및 관상식물 수집·활용에 관한 연구)

  • Ahn, Tai Hyeon;Goh, Yeo Bin;Jin, Hye Young;Bae, Jun Gyu;Lee, Ki Cheol
    • Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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    • v.33 no.4
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    • pp.404-416
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    • 2020
  • Studies on the preservation and propagation of tropical and subtropical plants are required, but the studies are insufficient in Korea. Since 2013, the Tropical Plant Resources Research Center has been collaborating on field research and publication to preserve plant diversity in Myanmar protected areas and Sagging areas in cooperation with Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Conservation and the Myanmar Forest Research Institute. This study is to provide information on cooperative projects. As a result of the joint research between the Korea National Arboretum and Myanmar, in December 2018, the Korea National Arboretum Tropical Plant Resources Research Center is on display for conservation and education purposes with the 65 Myanmar useful materials and specimens of 326 kinds of plants and specimens that Myanmar Forest Research Institute donated. This donation is the first case of Myanmar's export of plant organisms to a foreign country, and as for the Korea National Arboretum, it is the second official case of introducing a mass plant from foreign governments. The study will also accelerate preservation biodiversity and propagation methods of tropical and subtropical plants as well as research on biodiversity conservation and industrial use.

Forest Insect Industry in Collaborative Forest Management: An Overview

  • Bhatia, Narendra Kumar;Yousuf, Mohammad
    • International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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    • v.27 no.1
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    • pp.166-179
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    • 2013
  • In India, forest based insect enterprises has never been linked up with any forest management activity, either as a forest conservation strategy or to reduce the poverty in forested area. This investigation indicated that when forest dependent people are associated with forest insect industry (FII) like forest sericulture, lac culture or apiculture; this income generating activity links livelihood with forest conservation, and generates a viable model of collaborative forest management (CFM). In this model different stakeholders work together as a coherent entity for unified goal of managing the forest for well-being of the poor people in fringe areas. Article summaries and evaluates the prospect of India specific forest insect industry, and discusses how and to what extent integration of FII could be a viable livelihood component in CFM to conserve the forest and insect biodiversity. We analysed a case study on forestbased rearing of tropical tasar silkworm rearing in Central India from CFM perspective. Arguments in this communication are intended to provide forest managers and policy-makers with necessary input to consider location specific FII in CFM mode to provide a continuous source of small income to forest dependent people to ensure long lasting success of their forest management endeavours.