Forest Research Institute

About: Forest Research Institute is a facility organization based out in Dehra Dūn, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Forest management. The organization has 5320 authors who have published 7625 publications receiving 185876 citations.

Ammonium nitrate as extractant for soil exchangeable cations, exchangeable acidity and aluminum

Abstract: NH4NO3 (1 M) has been used as an extractant for soil exchangeable cations, exchangeable acidity and aluminum. The results obtained using NH4NO3 were identical to those using KC1 and NH4Cl as extractants for the purpose of evaluating soil chemical status. The NH4NO3 extraction has practical analytical advantages.

Evolutionary advantages of mast seeding in Fagus crenata

Abstract: Summary 1 Two non-mutually exclusive hypotheses have been proposed to explain the evolutionary advantages of mast seeding (the intermittent production of large crops of flowers or seeds by a population of perennial plants). Mast seeding could have evolved as a result of increased pollination efficiency in mast-flowering years and/or as an anti-predator adaptation that increases the survival of seeds by alternately starving seed predators in non-mast years and satiating them in mast years. 2 We investigated annual seed crops to test the relative contributions of pollination efficiency and pre-dispersal predator satiation to mast seeding in Fagus crenata, a tall tree species dominating cool-temperate forests in Japan. Thirteen-year (1990–2002) time series data were collected for five beech forests in south-western Hokkaido. 3 The negative relationship observed between the pollination failure rate and the total seed crop in the current year supports the pollination efficiency hypothesis. The predator satiation hypothesis was also supported by the fact that the predation rate showed a good fit to the ratio of successive total seed crops, suggesting that a numerical response (starving the predator in low seed years) operated in F. crenata. 4 Key-factor analysis revealed that pre-dispersal seed predation had a larger effect on seed production per flower than did pollination efficiency. 5 We used a simulation model to examine how the magnitude of fluctuation in the total seed crop would influence the pollination failure rate, the predation rate and the viable seed rate. The mean levels of fluctuation of total seed crops of F. crenata were just large enough to provide maximum benefits from predator satiation at some sites. 6 Mast seeding in F. crenata thus appears to be determined by selective pressures from its seed predators.

Nucleotide variation in genes involved in wood formation in two pine species

Abstract: Summary • Nucleotide diversity in eight genes related to wood formation was investigated in two pine species, Pinus pinaster and P. radiata. • The nucleotide diversity patterns observed and their properties were compared between the two species according to the specific characteristics of the samples analysed. • A lower diversity was observed in P. radiata compared with P. pinaster. In particular, for two genes (Pp1, a glycin-rich protein homolog and CesA3, a cellulose synthase) the magnitude of the reduction of diversity potentially indicates the action of nonneutral factors. For both, particular patterns of nucleotide diversity were observed in P. pinaster (high genetic differentiation for Pp1 and close to zero differentiation associated with positive Tajima's D-value for CesA3). In addition, KORRIGAN, a gene involved in cellulose–hemicellulose assembly, demonstrated a negative Tajima's D-value in P. radiata accompanied by a high genetic differentiation in P. pinaster. • The consistency of the results obtained at the nucleotide level, together with the physiological roles of the genes analysed, indicate their potential susceptibility to artificial and/or natural selection.