Acta Ecologica Sinica最新文献

Insect pests pose a large threat to alpine landscapes, especially under global environmental change conditions. It is necessary to explore the effects of environmental factors on the distribution of pests and provide implications for pest management in alpine landscapes. The main objective of this study was to explore whether habitat heterogeneity and topographic variation could drive insect pest distributions in alpine landscapes. We used species distribution modelling to project the distributions of 58 insect pest species in alpine landscapes based on occurrence records from 5513 field sites and different sets of environmental variables (i.e., climate, climate + habitat heterogeneity, climate + topographic variation, and climate + habitat heterogeneity + topographic variation). Then, we applied the jackknife method to determine the contribution of environmental variables to insect pest distributions. We found that habitat heterogeneity and topographic variation could significantly affect the distribution probability for all insect pest species in Qinghai, China. The response curves of the probability of pest distribution to habitat heterogeneity and topographic variation vary depending on the species present in alpine landscapes. There were four types of response curves of habitat heterogeneity and topographic variation to insect pest distribution probability, namely, 1) increasing, 2) decreasing, 3) increasing and then decreasing, and 4) decreasing and then increasing. Habitat heterogeneity and topographic variation should be integrated into modelling the distributions of insect pest species in alpine landscapes for pest risk assessment.

A total of twenty four forest types were selected along altitudinal and disturbance gradients on various aspects to analyse the composition, diversity and distribution of tree species in an ecosensitive region of Garhwal Himalaya. A significant impact of anthropogenic/human induced disturbance was recorded on the existing community parameters, consequently the density, Total Basal Cover (TBC) and species diversity values were decreased with increseasing disturbance intensity. The overall density was recorded in the range from 411 trees ha⁻¹ to 840 trees ha⁻¹, whereas the TBC values existed between 21.72 m² ha⁻¹ to 95.41 m² ha⁻¹. The canopy structure of the forest (mostly in moderate disturbance condition) has significantly (P ≤0.05, r = 0.439), whereas the light attenuation significantly but negatively (P≥0.05, r = −0.445) impacted the growth of ground herbaceous vegetation. The Cedrus deodara (Roxb. ex D.Don) G.Don (between 1600 and 3000 m asl), Lyonia ovalifolia (Wall.) Drude (1832–3000 m asl) and Rhododendron arboreum Sm. (1832–3000 m asl) species have shown a very wide ecological amplitude for their range distribution in study area. The Canonical Correspondence Analysis has categorized the canopy forming tree species into different patches by identifying the prominent disturbance indices/parameters according to their niche resource requirement in the study area. The obtained dominance-diversity curves reflected mostly the geometric type of model for trees, however lognormal to log type of models for shrubs and herbaceous vegetation. Overall, this study reviews enough evidences of species susceptibility towards fragmentation of habitats because of anthropogenic disturbance. Moreover, the current species range distribution records will help to develop baseline datasets for existing tree species to access in future for their range shift from the conventional habitats due to climate change and notify them as climate sensitive species in Himalaya.

The freshwater availability remains a big challenge for various countries in the world; especially in arid and semi-arid regions. Furthermore, to overcome the freshwater shortage problem; solar desalination technology is considered the most suitable, clean and, cost-effective solution for the drinking water production without requiring fossil assets. This paper aims to present seasonal thermal performances of single slope solar still developed by using rectangular channels filled with heat storage material. Thus, a parametric study of the developed passive solar still was numerically formulated using a finite element method carried out by COMSOL Multiphysics to predict the effect of design parameters: number and width of rectangular channels. Hence, the optimum values were tested at various seasons to define the increasing rate of daily yield. In fact, for selected typical days, it was deduced from the simulation results that the optimal design for modified solar still with rectangular channels is suggested with 5 numbers and 2 cm width for best output productivity. Also, the analysis of MSSRC during autumn, winter, spring, and summer shows that the daily yield is 24.40%, 37.79%, 9.80%, and 22.66% greater than the conventional solar still respectively.

Biological form of Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAMs) have been often practiced in the traditional healthcare systems (THS) worldwide. In this regard, medicinal animals (MAs), secretions, excreta and animal products (APs) are routinely employed in the preparation of traditional medicines (TMs) for the amelioration of different disorders globally, including Ethiopia. Recent reports echoed that different animal-based medicines (ABMs) are used for the treatment of neurological and related disorders (NRDs) such as epilepsy, evil spirit, evil eye, mental illness, mental disorder, tremor, nightmare, phobia, anxiety, migraine, etc. in different Regional states of Ethiopia. The present review documented around 42 MA species which belong to the class of mammals, reptiles, fishes, arthropods and birds where the former accounted for 66.67% of AS. Meat (15.85%) was the most frequently sought body part for remedy preparation followed by skin (14.63%) and bone (10.98%). The ABMs were administered for patients mainly through the oral (33.33%) and nasal (29.49) routes. Different traditional healthcare practitioners (THPs) reported the use of two or more animal species (AS) body parts and a combination of animal parts with medicinal plants (MPs) for the formulation of TMs to benefit from the synergistic effect of bioactivities of compounds present in the target animal parts and MPs. Although ABMs are priceless in the THS of Ethiopia, their sustainable is hampered by fear of zoonosis, habitat encroachment due to anthropogenic factors and poor conservation practices in the country. Thus, the-state-of-art zoonotic diseases (ZDs) surveillance system and a legal framework to curb destruction of wildlife habitats and hunting should be implemented to maximize the benefit of zootherapy in Ethiopia.

The composition and structure of the vegetation not only reflect the nature of basic phytosociological associations but also form a habitat for numerous organisms. This work aimed to study floristic composition. Five sites each considered as a stand in the research area were selected to analyze the vegetation. The data was collected through the quadrates method. In each stand 10 quadrates (10*10 m) for tree and shrub and a sub quadrate (1*1 m) for herb were taken for determining the Frequency, Density, and Cover of plant species. A total of 93 plant species were collected. Leading families of the area were Asteraceae (12) and Poaceae (10). The leading life form was Therophytes with the highest number of plant species (28) while Megaphenerophytes with only one species. In terms of leaf size, the area was dominated by Nanophylls. Stand wise constant species were Ailanthus altissima, Ficus palmate, and Populus nigra while the rare species were represented by Cynoglosum officinale, Artemisia vulgarus and Bellis perensis. Communities in each stand were developed based on the importance value index. These communities were Oxalis-Zanthoxylum-Platanus Community, Oxalis-Populus-Rosa Community, Dodonaea-Ficus-Ailanthus Community, Oxalis-Ficus-Ziziphus Community, and Ficus-Olea-Dodonaea. Due to the increase in population the demand for timber, and wood (fuel) has significantly increased and the natural vegetation of the area is under threat. Proper management is required for the conservation of vegetation in the area.

Background

The undocumented indigenous knowledge of Kuki-Chin tribes within the fringe villages of Kaihlam Wildlife Sanctuary (KWLS) is vanishing without a trace, therefore preserving the valuable assets is critical for future generations.

Methods

Ethnomedicinal information was collected from 84 informants from Kuki-Chin tribes (Paite, Thadou, Hmar, Gangte, Simte, Vaiphei and Zo) and quantitatively analyzed using ICF (Informant consensus factor), FL (Fidelity level), UV (Use value) and RFC (Relative frequency of citation).

Results

The total ethnomedicinal plants reported include 102 plant species under 90 genera in 55 families and were utilized by the different ethnic groups of Kuki-Chin tribes in the present study. These plants were used against 53 different ailments grouped into 16 categories. The most commonly used plant part was represented by leaves (45%) and the most common form of preparation was decoction (41%). The calculated ethnobotanical indices range for informant consensus factor (ICF; 0.91–0.99), fidelity values (FL; 84%–100%), use value (UV; 0.5–0.9), the relative frequency of citation (RFC; 0.01–0.71) and the Pearson correlation coefficient between UV and RFC reflecting a positive correlation (0.788) between use value and the relative frequency of citation. The unique features of the study area were the perspectives for the corpse preservation, deworming in children, trichinosis and food poisoning remedies. Among the reported ethnomedicinal plants, two threatened taxa Cycas pectinata Griff. and Dillenia pentagyna Roxb. were highly utilized by the tribal communities as good source of medicines and food which need to be highlighted for their sustainable utilization and conservation.

Conclusion

The ethnomedicinal plants were analyzed quantitatively for the first time from the study site regarding their indigenous use by different ethnic groups belonging to Kuki-Chin tribes in Kaihlam Wildlife Sanctuary. The present study will help in the conservation of such intangible assets for their sustainable utilization and prospecting for discovery of new drugs based on the traditional knowledge.