Abstract/Overview Background: Natural forest succession often affects soil physical and chemical properties. Selected physical and chemical soil properties were studied in an old-growth forest across a forest successional series in Dinghushan Nature Reserve, Southern China. Methodology/Principal Findings: The aim was to assess the effects of forest succession change on soil properties. Soil samples (0–20 cm depth) were collected from three forest types at different succession stages, na...
Abstract/Overview CO2 fluxes were measured continuously for twelve months (2003) using eddy covariance technique at canopy layer in a dominant subtropical forest in South China. Our results showed that daytime maximum CO2 fluxes of the whole ecosystem varied from −15 to −20 µmol m−2 s −1 5 . The peaks of CO2 fluxes appeared earlier than the peaks of solar radiation. Contribution of CO2 fluxes in a subtropical forest in the dry season was 53% of the annual total from the whole for...
Abstract/Overview Functional convergence in water use of trees across species from diverse geographic locations was examined using data on tree water use parameters, with the intention of gaining an understanding on the capacity for water transport for trees with varying structural and functional traits. Wood density (ρw), which is reported to have a negative exponential relation with sap flow density (SFD), showed a bell-shaped curve when the daily SFD data from 101 tree species belongi...
Abstract/Overview Experiments were conducted between 2003 and 2008 to examine how N additions influence soil organic C (SOC) and its fractions in forests at different succession stages in the subtropical China. The succession stages included pine forest, pine and broadleaf mixed forest, and old‐growth monsoon evergreen broadleaf forest. Three levels of N (NH4NO3)‐addition treatments comprising control, low‐N (50 kg N ha–1 y–1), and medium‐N (100 kg N ha–1 y–1) were est...
Abstract/Overview Data collected on a free ranging group of Tana River mangabeys (Cercocebus galeritus) indicates that this endangered primate species, which has previously been regarded as a seed predator, plays an important role in seed dispersal and do contribute to the regeneration of a highly fragmented gallery forest. We observed fruit handling behavior and the post-dispersal fate of seeds ingested by the mangabeys. The two main fruit handling behaviors observed, fruit swallowing an...
Abstract Mangroves around the world are being threatened by a combination of natural and human factors. Losses of mangroves leads to reduced forest cover and enhanced carbon emission. This study assessed cover change, forest structure, natural regeneration, and carbon stocks of mangroves in Lamu County, Kenya. Landsat images were used to assess cover change from 1990 to 2019, and structural data were obtained in the field using the plot method. Using stratified random design, mangroves were ...
Abstract Mangrove forests provide harvestable wood and non-wood resources to human society around the world. The current study evaluated value chain of mangrove wood products from Lamu County, Kenya, and how these impacts on resources’ sustainability. To assess structure and yield data of Lamu mangroves, stratified random sampling design was used in the different blocks. Quadrats measuring 20 m × 20 m were established along transects, running perpendicular to the shoreline covering differ...
Abstract Mangrove forests occur across a diversity of coastal landforms with different geomorphological, climatic and oceanographic influences. These factors influence mangrove structural development and productivity and as a result, the structural development of mangroves varies with the coastal geomorphology. Earlier inventory studies in Kenya suggest that mangroves growing in north of the Tana River have different structural attributes from those growing south of the river. The current st...
Abstract In Kenya, rice is an important staple crop after wheat and maize and the rate of consumption surpasses its production. Apart from consumption, rice is a cash crop for smallholder farmers including those in Kirinyaga County. Despite its usefulness in contributing to food security, rice production has remained low due to various constraints. Among these are plant-parasitic nematodes (PPN) that account for up to 20% of yield losses. Other than the deleterious effect of PPN, rice agroec...
Abstract In Kenya, rice is an important staple crop after wheat and maize and the rate of consumption surpasses its production. Apart from consumption, rice is a cash crop for smallholder farmers including those in Kirinyaga County. Despite its usefulness in contributing to food security, rice production has remained low due to various constraints. Among these are plant-parasitic nematodes (PPN) that account for up to 20% of yield losses. Other than the deleterious effect of PPN, rice agroec...
Abstract Wild boar (Sus scrofa) is a wild Suidae native in Europe, North West Africa and Asia. The population of wild boar has drastically increased during the last threedecades in Southern and Central Sweden. This increase in population density has caused severe damages to agricultural fields thus affecting the agricultural economy.There has been a significant loss of wheat, worth over 60 - 70 million Euros between1990 - 2016 due to crop damage by wild boar. This study sought to investigate...
Abstract Somalia is one of the most drought prone countries in Africa. Drought is the country’s costliest natural disaster. The impact of drought events on the economy, on people`s livelihoods and on lives has grown. Drought events usually develop gradually unnoticed, causing tremendous effects on both agriculture and environment. This study evaluated the spatio-temporal variations of drought occurrences in Somalia and its implication on forest cover. In this study, precipitation and tempe...
Abstract Bacterial wilt disease caused by Ralstonia solanacearum is one of the major diseases affecting solanum species, including cultivated African nightshade (Solanum nigrum L). The bacterial wilt (BW) management in the african nightshade vegetable presents a great challenge to production due to high survival rate of the pathogen in soil. Use of chemical application to control the disease is not eco-friendly. There is increasing demand for the crop as a vegetable and medicinal plant. Farm...
Abstract In insect species characterized by inbreeding, limited dispersal, and a metapopulation structure, high genetic differentiation and reduced genetic diversity within local populations are expected. Using the model system Lysiphlebus hirticornis Mackauer, a specialist parasitoid of the tansy aphid, Metopeurum fuscoviride Stroyan (Hemiptera: Aphididae), we examined within-site temporal population dynamics and genetics, including molecular variation at the tansy plant level. Aphid-parasi...
Abstract The demand for non-renewable fossil fuel has greatly increased in the last few years from 84 million barrels of fossil fuel per day in 1980’s to over 100 million barrels per day in 1990. To supplement this demand, research on alternative sources has been going on since 1960’s in different parts of the world. Among the alternative sources, the phytoplanktons have shown great promise due to their high oil yield in comparison to energy crops. In Kenya, despite the occurrence of hig...