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PubMedDate not supplied

Malaria control in a forest camp in an oil exploration area of Upper Assam.

BACKGROUND: Assam, in north-east India, is extremely rich in hydrocarbon deposits and the oil industry is the major contributor to its economy. A large number of oil fields and related installations in Assam are located in forest areas or on their fringes where malaria is a serious problem among field staff and security personnel, adversely affecting oil production. We carried out an operational research study for one year in a forest-based industrial security camp of Dibrugarh district and developed an effective malaria control strategy for such areas. METHODS: The specific strategy was formulated and implemented after taking into account the local epidemiology of malaria, vector's ecology and malaria risk behaviour of the camp inmates. The strategy was based on reducing the man-vector contact, using deltamethrin-treated mosquito nets in conjunction with mosquito repellent cream and weekly chemoprophylaxis with 300 mg chloroquine. The impact of the strategy was monitored entomologically and epidemiologically for one year after implementation. RESULTS: The mean landing rate of Anopheles dirus, the vector mosquito in the camp area, was 5.03 per person per night during the monitoring. In spite of such a high density of the vector, the man-vector contact was effectively checked by the intervention measures adopted. As a result, the incidence of malaria in the camp was reduced by > 90% as compared to previous years and the number of malaria cases came down from 6.7 per 1000 man-nights in 1998-99 to 0.06 in 2000-01. Mortality due to malaria was completely eliminated. CONCLUSION: Control of malaria should be based on the local determinants of transmission. The use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets in conjunction with a mosquito repellent cream is a good intervention for controlling Anopheles dirus-transmitted malaria in the forests of north-east India. The control module developed on the principle of reducing man-mosquito contact is easy to implement, cost-effective and replicable in similar forest-based locations.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Changes in composition and structure of a tropical dry forest following intermittent cattle grazing.

In northwestern Costa Rica, cattle are being used as a "management tool" to reduce the amount of combustible material, mainly dominated by Hyparrhenia rufa, an African grass. This project is being developed within Parque Nacional Palo Verde and Reserva Biológica Lomas Barbudal, both of which form part of the only remaining tropical dry forests in Mesoamerica. To determine the short-term effects of cattle grazing on the natural vegetation, we compared the floristic composition within Palo Verde in an area under intermittent cattle grazing with an area that has not been grazed. There were significantly fewer plant species in the area with intermittent cattle grazing compared to the area with no grazing. Floristic composition of these two habitats was different as reflected by both Fisher's alpha values and the Shannon index of diversity, both of which were significantly higher in the ungrazed site. The ungrazed area contained more plant species and was more similar to mature forest. The structure of the vegetation was significantly different between the intermittently grazed and ungrazed sites with more small stems (1-5 cm dbh) and fewer large stems (> 5 cm dbh) in the intermittently grazed habitat. These results indicate that cattle grazing has an impact on the dry forest by reducing the relative abundance and density of larger tree species and by changing the species composition and structure of the community. The current management plan implemented in Palo Verde and Lomas Barbudal is not appropriate because of the impact that cattle have on the structure of the natural vegetation and should not be considered a viable alternative in other protected areas of dry forest in the Neotropics. We suggest that alternative fire prevention measures be evaluated including hand-cutting H. rufa, the creation of more frequent and larger fire breaks, and the development of green breaks.

Animal Feed↗
PubMed2003

[Small rodents in the forest ecosystem as infectious disease reservoirs].

Due to numerousness of populations and width of ecologic valence, small rodents are important parts of almost any forest ecosystem. The represent an important animal group, which connects primary makers with higher trophic levels. They transmit various infectious diseases dangerous for the health of people and domestic and wild animals (trichinosis, leptospirosis, tick encephalitis, Lyme disease, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, etc.). The following species of small rodents live in forest ecosystems of Croatia: Chletrionomys glareolus Schreib., Arvicola terrestris L, M. subterraneus de Sel., M. arvalis Pall., M. agrestis L, M. multiplex Fat., Apodemus agrarius Pall., A. sylvaticus L. and A. flavicollis Melch. Small rodents transmit causative agents of diseases in active (excretion products) of passive (ectoparasites and endoparasites) ways. Their multiplication potential is quite high. Transmission of certain disease sometimes takes place extremely fast due to the high number of rodents, their high movability and distribution, and the fact that they easily get in touch with men and domestic and wild animals. The number of population of each species is directly influenced by abiotic and biotic factors and changes during one year and in a several year period. In a year when the influence of ecologic factors is favorable, it is presumed that the number of these rodents will significantly increase, by which the danger of their damaging effect also increases. The following factors influence the increase of a small rodent population: number and physiologic condition of the population, meteorologic conditions, habitat, food sources, natural enemies, and diseases. The occurrence of an epidemic is closely connected to the number and infectivity of causative agents. Regular control of the number of rodent population and their infectivity can help in planning preventive epidemiologic and sanitary measures to preclude the occurrence of epidemics and individual cases of disease among animals and humans who come in contact with forest (forest workers, holiday makers, hikers, soldiers, tourists, etc.).

Animals↗
PubMed2004

[Dynamics of Amomum villosum growth and its fruit yield cultivated under tropical forests].

Investigations on the dynamics of Amomum villosum growth and its fruit yield cultivated under tropical ravine rainforest and secondary forest at different elevations in Xishuangbanna showed that the yield of A. villosum was influenced by the site age, sun light level of understorey, and water stress in dry season. The fruit yield and mature plant density decreased with increasing age of the A. villosum site. The fruit yield increased with sun light level when the light level in understorey was under 35% of full sun light (P < 0.05). The fruit yield at the lower site by stream was significantly higher than that at upper site (P < 0.05). The yield difference between ravine rainforest and secondary forest was not significant. Planned cultivation of A. villosum in the secondary forest of the shifting cultivation land by ravine from 800-1000 m elevation instead of customary cultivation in the ravine rainforest, could not only resolve the problem of the effect of light deficiency in understorey and water stress in the dry season on A. villosum fruit yield, but also be useful to protect the tropical ravine rain forest.

Fruit↗
PubMed2004

[Effect of forest litter on microenvironment conditions of forestland].

Litter is a very important component in forest ecosystem. This paper made a systematic review on the previous studies about the effects of litter on forestland microsites. Litter significantly reduced the light on the soil surface of forestlands, and the light transmittance was varied with the type, water content and weight of litter. The spectral composition of the light was dramatically shifted to longer wavelengths after transmitted through forest capony, especially through moist litter leaves, intact forest litter, and even the thinner soil layer, which greatly reduced the R/FR ratio and PPFD (photosynthetic photo flux density) beneath litter and surface soil (2 mm depth), and resulted in a stronginhibitory effect on the germination of photoblastic seeds, and on the growth of seedling and sapling. It was the reason why the appearance of massive numbers of pioneer plants and their successful establishment required relatively large gaps of the forest canopy. Many references concerned the effects of litter on soil nutrient cycling and water and soil conservation. The previous studies indicated that litter could create a moist micro-site above soil, and make soil more moist and fertile. Furthermore, litter could also increase the numbers of arthropods such as Carabidae adults and larvae, crickets, millipedes, spiders, ants and others. An increase in the activity of herbivorous arthropods might produce the negative effects on the establishment of individual seedlings. Although the mechanical barrier of litter was neglected in the paper, litter might act as a mechanical impediment to the emergence of the seedlings of pioneer species with small seeds. The effects of litter on micro-sites were of complexity because it varied greatly with the density, age, structure and species composition of the canopy, sunfleck frequency, presence of gaps, as well as litter thickness, moisture, and species composition, and also with climate and topography factors. The effects of litter were comprehensive, including positive and negative effects on seed germination and seedling growth. Each effect of litter on regeneration was dependent on species physiology, litter physical properties and environmental conditions. Therefore, it should be encouraged to integrate the physical properties (such as changing light, temperature and moisture) of litter with the physiological ecology (including seed, germination and growth natures) of species, and with environment (vegeneration, climate and topography propersities) on the basis of combination of regeneration patterns of litter, understory and gap scales.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

[Chemical properties of litter in dark coniferous forest of Sejila Mountains in Tibet].

The storage and chemical properties of the forest litter in dark coniferous forest of Sejila Mountain were studied. The results showed that the existing storage was 5.863 t.hm-2 and the annual litter fall was 0.3205 t.hm-2. It implied that the forest litter decomposed slowly and accumulated quickly, and the turnover of nutrient circles was slow. The contents of N, Ca, Na, and Mn nutrient elements in litter layer were in the order of un-decomposed layer (U layer) > semi-decomposed layer (S layer) > decomposed layer (D layer), those of K, Fe, and Mg were in the order of D layer > S layer > U layer, and P element content was in the order of U layer > D layer > S layer. The pool of elements was 78.483 kg.hm-2 N, 3.843 kg.hm-2 P, 48.205 kg.hm-2 K, 23.115 kg.hm-2 Ca, 13.157 kg.hm-2 Na, 30.554 kg.hm-2 Fe, 2.113 kg.hm-2 Mn and 27.513 kg.hm-2 Mg. The turnover of forest litter was the total of nutrient release accumulation. K, Fe, and Mg were enriched, and N, Ca, Na, Mn, and P were released with the turnover rate in the order of N > Ca > Na > Mn > P.

Ecosystem↗
PubMed2001

Planktonic primary production in a tidally influenced mangrove forest on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.

The seasonal variation of planktonic primary productivity was measured during one year in the main channel in the interior part of the mangrove forest of the Estero de Morales (Estero de Punta Morales), a mangrove system located in the Golfo de Nicoya at the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Samples were incubated at the surface, 0.5 m and 1.0 m depth and the "light and dark bottle technique" was employed. The annual gross primary productivity (PPg) was 457 and the net primary productivity (PPn) was 278 g C m(-2) a(-1). Daily PPg ranged from 0.29 to 3.88 and PPn from 0.12 to 2.76 g C m(-2) d(-1). The highest rates observed in May and September were due to red tide blooms. The seasonal variation of primary productivity inside the mangrove forest depends closely on the PP in the adjacent area of the upper Golfo de Nicoya. Obviously the PP was light-limited since the compensation depth in the ebb current was found at only 1 m depth. In the flood current it was somewhat deeper. The planktonic primary productivity inside the mangrove forest was completely restricted to the open channels. A simultaneous measurement demonstrated that PPn of the phytoplankton could not take place under the canopy of the mangroves. Additional studies on the time course of the oxygen concentration in the mouth of the main channel over 24 hrs demonstrated a relation between the O2 and the tidal curves. The ebb current had always lower O2 concentrations than the flood current, regardless of the time of the day. The difference to the foregoing high tide, however, was much smaller when the low tide occurred during the day. This indicates that under the canopy the net primary production and hence O2 liberation of the attached macro- and microalgae, together with the high PPn of the phytoplankton in the channels, helped the oxygen concentration not to decrease as far as during the night. Nevertheless it shows that the consumtion of organic material in the submersed part of the mangrove forest exceeds always its production.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

The invasion of urban forest by dengue vectors in Rio de Janeiro.

The invasion of a secondary forest within the city of Rio de Janeiro by Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus was evaluated from July 1997 to June 1998 through collections of immature stages in ovitraps set at 1 m, 10 m, 100 m, 500 m, and 1,000 m into the forest from houses on the periphery. Both mosquito species were much more abundant close to houses (1-10 m). Aedes aegypti was not collected beyond 100 m, while Ae. albopictus was the most abundant species overall and in ovitraps at all distances from houses. Abundances of Ae. albopictus were significantly correlated with time-lagged rainfall and with abundances of Ae. aegypti. Co-occurrences of Ae. albopictus in traps with Ae. aegypti and Limatus durhami, but not with Culex dolosus, were more likely close to houses. The results suggest that the urban forest is a refuge for both Aedes species, but especially for Ae. albopictus, whose abundance both near houses and in the forest raises concern that this invader may transmit arboviruses to humans that are presently restricted to the sylvan environment.

Aedes↗
PubMed2004

[Assessing forest ecosystem health I. Model, method, and index system].

Ecosystem health assessment is one of the main researches and urgent tasks of ecosystem science in 21st century. An operational definition on ecosystem health and an all-sided, simple, easy operational and standard index system, which are the foundation of assessment on ecosystem health, are necessary in obtaining a simple and applicable assessment theory and method of ecosystem health. Taking the Korean pine and broadleaved mixed forest ecosystem as an example, an originally creative idea on ecosystem health was put forward in this paper based on the idea of mode ecosystem set and the idea of forest ecosystem health, together with its assessment. This creative idea can help understand what ecosystem health is. Finally, a formula was deduced based on a new effective health assessment method--health distance (HD), which is the first time to be brought forward in China. At the same time, aiming at it's characteristics by status understanding and material health questions, a health index system of Korean pine and broadleaved mixed forest ecosystem was put forward in this paper, which is a compound ecosystem based on the compound properties of nature, economy and society. It is concrete enough to measure sub-index, so it is the foundation to assess ecosystem health of Korean pine and broadleaved mixed forest in next researches.

Ecosystem↗
PubMed2004

[Dynamics of heat balance during growing season of broadleaved Korean pine forest in Changbai Mountains].

Based on the gradient measurement of microclimate factors, radiation and soil heat flux from late May to early October, 2001 and by the method of Bowen ratio-energy balance (BREB), this paper estimated the latent heat and sensible heat above the broadleaved Korean pine forest in Changbai Mountains. The energy storage of forest air and vegetative was calculated, and the seasonal variations of heat balance components of the forest were analyzed. The results showed that the net radiation of the forest and the solar radiation were linearly correlated. All the heat balance components had the similar characteristics of diurnal variation to the net radiation, showing curves positive at daytime and negative at night, and the terms ranged as net radiation > latent heat > sensible heat > storage. The time of keeping positive terms in a day became shorter from June to October as influenced by shinning time. The highest net radiation was in June and the lowest in October. The monthly averaged net radiation was 0-527 and 0-(-)121 W x m(-2), and the latent heat was 0-441 and 0-(-)81 W x m(-2) for day and night, respectively. Sensible heat was 0-80 and 0-(-)26 W x m(-2), and energy storage was 0-44 and 0-(-)26 W x m(-2) for day and night, respectively. The ratio of latent heat to net radiation at daytime decreased gradually from August to October, and the ratio of sensible heat and energy storage increased correspondingly. Especially 2-3 days after the first severe frost, a sudden drop of latent heat and a sudden bounce of sensible heat appeared. The instruments and measurement methods of heat flux were also concisely discussed in this paper.

China↗
PubMed2004

[Ecological function of wood-inhabiting fungi in forest ecosystem].

Wood-inhabiting fungi are one of the most important parts of forest ecosystem, and play an important role in degrading the wood in forest ecosystem. The major species of these fungi include the groups of Aphyllophorales (Basidiomycota), Discomycetes (Ascomycota) and some imperfect fungi. They have the ability to degrade cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin of wood. Three type of wood decaying have been found, i.e., white rot, brown rot and soft rot. Many other organisms of forest ecosystem have symbiosis relationship with wood-decaying fungi. Wood-inhabiting fungi could offer the nutrition for many insects and birds, and spores of many wood-rotting species are spread by some insects. The high biodiversity of wood-decaying fungi is one of the important factors for the health of forest ecosystem.

Ascomycota↗
PubMed2004

[Biodiversity of tree species, their populations' spatial distribution pattern and interspecific association in mixed deciduous broadleaved forest in Changbai Mountains].

Based on the data collected from the sampling plot with an area of 1 hm2 at the Experimental and Management Bureau of Jiaohe in Jilin Province, this paper analyzed and researched the community structure, biological diversity, spatial distribution pattern and interspecific association between tree species populations in a mixed deciduous broadleaved forest. The results indicated that there was no obvious dominant order among tree species populations, and the indices of tree species diversity such as Shannon-Wiener index (H'), Pielou evenness index (E) and Simpson ecological dominant index (D) were all low. Shrub and herb species diversity indices were also not high. The spatial distribution pattern of five dominant tree species all presented aggregative. Based on 2 x 2 contigency table, the interspecific associations of 15 tree species in the community were examined by means of chi2-test, together with the association coefficient (AC). The results showed that there were 14 species pairs in 15 species showing significantly negative association. The proportion of species pairs showing negative association was much more than that of showing positive association. It could be deduced that the community was instable and at the stage of autogenic succession from soft deciduous broadleaved forest to hard deciduous broadleaved forest, and then, the Korean pine broadleaved forest.

Biodiversity↗
PubMed2004

[Effects of forest restoration patterns on soil microbial communities].

In this paper, soil microbial community properties of five vegetation patterns were measured by bacterial, microbial biomass carbon and metabolic diversity (BIOLOG) assays to evaluate the effects of different forest restoration patterns on soil microbial community. The results showed that among five sampling sites, soil microbial biomass carbon and bacterial amount were the highest under natural secondary forest, while those in CK were the least. In BIOLOG assays, the average well colour development (AWCD) and the richness and diversity indices indicated the differences of microbial metabolic diversity. The variation tendency of the indices was the same as that of microbial biomass and bacterial amount. It is suggested that under natural secondary forest, soil microbial community had a stronger ability of utilizing carbon source and a greater functional diversity than that in plantations and CK. The metabolic diversity of microbial communities in 0-20 and 20-40 cm soil layers showed a fairly good correlation with root biomass (r = 0.933, P < 0.05; r = 0.925, P < 0.05). In a word, soil microbial biomass, bacterial amount and metabolic diversity patterns were the highest under natural secondary forest, and natural restoration should be more propitious to improve the structure and function of soil microbial community.

Biodiversity↗
PubMed2005

Economic assessment of the negative impacts of ozone on crop yields and forest production. A case study of the estate Ostads Säteri in southwestern Sweden.

Ground level ozone concentrations, in combination with the prevailing climate, at the estate Ostads Säteri in southwestern Sweden were estimated to reduce the yield of wheat and potato ranging between 5% and 10%. Occasionally, in years with the highest ozone concentrations and/or climatic conditions favoring high rates of ozone uptake to the leaves, yield loss levels above 10% may occur. Based on simple extrapolation, these ozone-induced reductions of crop yields at Ostads Säteri represent a potential total annual yield loss in Sweden in the range of 24.5 million Euro for wheat and 7.3 million Euro for potato, respectively. A simulation of forest growth at Ostad Säteri predicted that prevailing mean ozone exposure during 1993-2003 had the potential to reduce forest growth by 2.2% and the economic return of forest production by 2.6%. Using this value for extrapolation to the national level, the potential annual economic loss for Sweden due to negative impacts of ozone on forest production would be in the range of 56 million Euro (2004 prices).

Agriculture↗
PubMed2005

[Research advance in response of forest seedling regeneration to light environmental heterogeneity].

Based on the analysis of characteristics of forest light environmental heterogeneity, this paper reviewed the research advance in the response of forest seedlings to light environmental heterogeneity from the aspects of photosynthesis, thermal dissipation, biomass accumulation and distribution, morphological traits, germination, and population dynamics, and discussed the ecological significance of different responses of seedling regeneration to light environmental heterogeneity in forest biodiversity maintenance, forest succession, and revegetation. Some suggestions for future research in this field were put forward.

Biodiversity↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Imitation model of 90Sr behaviour in the soil and stand of pine forest].

The algorithm of display of 90Sr behaviour mechanisms in forest ecosystems by method of imitating modeling is developed. Distinctive features of algorithm: the 90Sr contents in vegetation is subdivided into two parts (outside and internal pollution), which dynamics is considered separately; dynamics of a radionuclide is considered in connection with dynamics of organic substance; it is supposed, that 90Sr behaviour in plants is similar to Ca behaviour; the biological availability 90Sr contained in a soil, is integrated function of time and physico-chemical properties of the given soil. On the basis of offered algorithm the model is constructed which is used for realization of a number of numerical experiments, including reconstruction of a situation of pollution of forest ecosystem on grey forest soils in result of Kyshtym accident. The quantitative estimations of intensity of 90Sr redistribution between stand components and soil are received. The modern problems of creation of prognostication models of 90Sr dynamics in the forest ecosystems are discussed.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2005

[Litterfall in main forest ecosystems of Northeast China].

A three-year investigation on the litterfall of 15 forests in 4 different regions of Northeast China showed that the annual litterfall had a significant difference among forest types in the same region, but no significant difference was found between years. In the litterfall, leaf occupied 70% and more, while branch, flower and fruit were less than 20%. The branch production correlated positively with leaf production, and the correlation coefficient was 0. 82. According to the investigation of 5 forest types in Changbai Mountain, the litterfall was 2.62-9.14 times higher in autumn and winter than in spring and summer. The peak of leaf-fall appeared in autumn, while that of branch and others withered evenly during a year. The litterfall of same forest type decreased with increasing latitude, and the relationships of the total and birch litterfall with latitude were established. Both the total and the birch litterfall were positively related to annual mean temperature, with the correlation coefficient 0.95 and 0.91, respectively.

China↗
PubMed2005

[Neural network grade program of natural forest protection].

In this paper, the implement steps of natural forest protection program grading (NFPPG) with neural network (NN) were summarized, and the concepts of program illustration, patch sign unification and regress, and inclining factor were set forth. Employing Arc/Info GIS, the tree species diversity and rarity, disturbance degree, protection of channel system, and classification management in Moershan National Forest Park were described, and, used as the input factors of NN, the relationships between NFPPG and above factors were analyzed. Through artificially determining training samples, the NFFPG of Moershan National Forest Park was built. Tested with all patches in the park, the generalization of NFFPG was satisfied. NFPPG took both the classification management and the protection of forest community types into account, as well as the ecological environments. The excitation function of NFPPG was not seriously saturated, indicating the leading effect of inclining factor on the network optimization.

Conservation of Natural Resources↗