ABSTRACT
The fragments of Abies guatemalensis forests in Western Guatemala are the reservoirs of plant species that have been poorly documented, missing the opportunity to expand the knowledge of the local flora and its use in conservation planning. To assess this, a floristic study was done in areas between 2 950-3 360masl in Western Guatemala between 2010-2011. Ten locations were sampled: in each a 500m² plot was surveyed, and plants were classified in four strata by plant height (0.05-30m). A total of 119 species, 92 genera and 50 families in four divisions were found. The families with more species were Asteraceae, Poaceae, Rosaceae, Lamiaceae, Apiaceae and Solanaceae, and the most abundant genera were Salvia, Alchemilla and Bidens. The number of species found by strata was: 33 (low herbaceous), 49 (high herbaceous), 30 (shrubs) and seven in the tree strata. Regarding geographical distribution, the biggest species group detected was from central Mexico to Central America with 67%, which compared to the forests of A. guatemalensis in central and Southern Mexico, showed high floristic affinity, especially at the family and genus level. However, even having families and genera in common in the general structure of the fir forests, their floristic particularities should be taken into account when making management and conservation plans, because these are influenced by soil, latitude and microclimate conditions.
Hay una carencia de información detallada sobre la composición y estructura de las comunidades montanas guatemaltecas. El objetivo del estudio fue contribuir al conocimiento de la flora de bosques de abeto (Abies guatemalensis), para esto se hizo el levantamiento florístico en bosques de abeto del occidente de Guatemala. Se encontraron 119 especies, 92 géneros, 50 familias en cuatro divisiones. Las familias más numerosas fueron: Asteraceae, Poaceae, Rosaceae, Lamiaceae, Apiaceae y Solanaceae y los géneros más abundantes Salvia, Alchemilla y Bidens. Las especies se ubicaron en cuatro estratos, 33 en el herbáceo inferior, 49 en el herbáceo superior, 30 en arbustos y siete en árboles. Se hace énfasis en la contribución del estudio al conocimiento de la flora de bosques de A. guatemalensis y la necesidad de otros similares en los demás bosques de esta especie, que sirva para fomentar su conocimiento y conservación. Se consideraron seis grupos de distribución geográfica, el principal es del centro de México a Centroamérica con 67% de especies. Se realiza una comparación fitogeográfica y de composición florística, con otras áreas de Abies de Guatemala y México. Se propone que a pesar de haber familias y géneros comunes, que proporcionan la estructura general entre los bosques de abeto, se deben considerar las particularidades florísticas de cada área, en el manejo y conservación influidas por suelo, latitud y microclima.
Subject(s)
Abies , Magnoliopsida/classification , Ecosystem , Trees , Biodiversity , GuatemalaABSTRACT
Objective: To establish a method by which the multi-analysis and identification on the crude and processed Pyritum (natural coppor) could be carried out. Methods: The qualitative and semi-quantitative analyses of the structure, chemical composition, and thermal stability of crude and processed Pyritum were determined by means of far-infrared (FIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses, and thermogravimetric differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA). Results: FIR spectroscopy showed that processed Pyritum had the chemical composition of Fe2O3. XRD analysis indicated that in crude Pyritum, the phase was mainly made up of FeS2; however, in processed one, the more complicated phase was made up of Fe7S 8, FeO(OH), Fe2O3, and Fe3O 4, etc and appeared. Thermal analysis suggested that the phase FeS2 can be gradually decomposed, the composition structure of the processed Pyritum changed less than that of the crude one when heated from 400 to 1 000°C. Conclusion: The method of analyzing and identifying the crude and processed Pyritum is feasible.
ABSTRACT
The Finnish wood heat treatment technology, ThermoWood, was recently introduced to Turkey. Data about the mechanical and physical properties of Turkish wood species are important for industry and academia. In this study, two industrially important Turkish wood species, pine (Pinus nigra Arnold.) and fir (Abies bornmülleriana Mattf.) were heat-treated using the ThermoWood process. Pine and fir samples were thermally modified for 2 hr at 212 and 190oC, respectively. The modulus of rupture (MOR), modulus of elasticity in bending (MOE), impact bending strength (IBS), and compression strength (CS), in addition to swelling (Sw) and shrinkage (Sh) of thermallymodified wood were examined. The results indicate that the heat treatment method clearly decreased the MOR, MOE and IBS of pine and fir. However, a small increase was observed for CS values of heat treated wood species. The most affected mechanical properties were MOR and IBS for both pine and fir. The reduction in MOE was smaller than that in MOR and IBS. Volumetric shrinkage and swelling of these species were also improved by approximately half. In addition, the changes in the mechanical and physical properties studied in pine were larger than that of fir.
ABSTRACT
Beginning in the early 1990s, the balsam fir sawfly (Neodiprion abietis) became a significant defoliating insect of precommercially thinned balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) stands in western Newfoundland, Canada. In 1997, a nucleopolyhedrovirus (NeabNPV) was isolated from the balsam fir sawfly and, as no control measures were then available, NeabNPV was developed for the biological control of balsam fir sawfly. In order to register NeabNPV for operational use under the Canadian Pest Control Products Act, research was carried out in a number of areas including NeabNPV field efficacy, non-target organism toxicology, balsam fir sawfly ecology and impact on balsam fir trees, and NeabNPV genome sequencing and analysis. As part of the field efficacy trials, approximately 22 500 hectares of balsam fir sawfly-infested forest were aerially treated with NeabNPV between 2000 and 2005. NeabNPV was found to be safe, efficacious, and economical for the suppression of balsam fir sawfly outbreak populations. Conditional registration for the NeabNPV-based product, Abietiv(, was received from the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (Health Canada) in April 2006. In July 2006, Abietiv was applied by spray airplanes to 15 000 ha of balsam fir sawfly-infested forest in western Newfoundland in an operational control program.