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.

Forest insects and climate change: long-term trends in herbivore damage.

Abstract: Long-term data sets, covering several decades, could help to reveal the effects of observed climate change on herbivore damage to plants. However, sufficiently long time series in ecology are scarce. The research presented here analyzes a long-term data set collected by the Hungarian Forest Research Institute over the period 1961-2009. The number of hectares with visible defoliation was estimated and documented for several forest insect pest species. This resulted in a unique time series that provides us with the opportunity to compare insect damage trends with trends in weather patterns. Data were analyzed for six lepidopteran species: Thaumetopoea processionea, Tortrix viridana, Rhyacionia buoliana, Malacosoma neustria, Euproctis chrysorrhoea, and Lymantria dispar. All these species exhibit outbreak dynamics in Hungary. Five of these species prefer deciduous tree species as their host plants, whereas R.buoliana is a specialist on Pinus spp. The data were analyzed using general linear models and generalized least squares regression in relation to mean monthly temperature and precipitation. Temperature increased considerably, especially over the last 25years (+1.6 degrees C), whereas precipitation exhibited no trend over the period. No change in weather variability over time was observed. There was increased damage caused by two species on deciduous trees. The area of damage attributed to R.buoliana decreased over the study period. There was no evidence of increased variability in damage. We conclude that species exhibiting a trend toward outbreak-level damage over a greater geographical area may be positively affected by changes in weather conditions coinciding with important life stages. Strong associations between the geographical extent of severe damage and monthly temperature and precipitation are difficult to confirm, studying the life-history traits of species could help to increase understanding of responses to climate change.

Larvicidal Activity of Ajowan (Trachyspermum ammi) and Peru Balsam (Myroxylon pereira) Oils and Blends of Their Constituents against Mosquito, Aedes aegypti, Acute Toxicity on Water Flea, Daphnia magna, and Aqueous Residue

Abstract: This study evaluated the larvicidal activity of 20 plant essential oils and components from ajowan ( Trachyspermum ammi ) and Peru balsam ( Myroxylon pereira ) oils against the mosquito, Aedes aegypti . Of the 20 plant essential oils, ajowan and Peru balsam oils at 0.1 mg/mL exhibited 100 and 97.5% larval mortality, respectively. At this same concentration, the individual constituents, (+)-camphene, benzoic acid, thymol, carvacrol, benzyl benzonate, and benzyl trans-cinnamate, caused 100% mortality. The toxicity of blends of constituents identified in two active oils indicated that thymol and benzyl benzoate were major contributors to the larvicidal activity of the artificial blend. This study also tested the acute toxicity of these two active oils and their major constituents against the water flea, Daphnia magna . Peru balsam oil and benzyl trans-cinnamate were the most toxic to D. magna. Two days after the treatment, residues of ajowan and Peru balsalm oils in water were 36.2 and 85.1%, respectively. Less than 50% of benzyl trans-cinnamate and thymol were detected in the water at 2 days after treatment. The results show that the essential oils of ajowan and Peru balsam and some of their constituents have potential as botanical insecticides against Ae. aegypti mosquito larvae.

A Gradient Study of 34 Elements in the Vicinity of a Copper-Nickel Smelter in the Kola Peninsula

Abstract: Concentrations of 34 elements determined by ICP mass spectrometry were studied in surface soil and vegetation along a north–south gradient through the ‘Pechenganickel’ smelter complex in Kola peninsula, northern Russia. Strong influence from the smelter was evident for Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu, mainly associated with dry deposition of large particles. Also for As, Se, Mo, Sb, Te, Bi, and Pb the smelter or associated sources appeared to be distinct contributors of contamination consisting presumably of smaller particles. Significant but less distinct effects leading to enhanced concentration levels were observed for P, S, V, Cr, Zn, and Tl. In the case of Mn, Rb, Sr, Cs, and Ba the concentrations in vegetation were generally lower near the source, which may be due to cation exchange with protons or heavy metal cations in the soil and subsequent leaching from the root zone. For Li, Be, B, Na, Mg, Al, Ca, Y, Cd, La, Th, and U no particular influence from the smelter complex was observed. Some characteristic differences observed in element concentrations in different plant species and between different years of Pinus sylvestris needles are discussed. The high concentrations observed for many trace elements in the humus horizon indicates that it acts as an active biogeochemical barrier against downward transport of these elements.

Modelling functional landscape connectivity from genetic population structure: a new spatially explicit approach

Abstract: Functional connectivity between spatially disjoint habitat patches is a key factor for the persistence of species in fragmented landscapes. Modelling landscape connectivity to identify potential dispersal corridors requires information about those landscape features affecting dispersal. Here we present a new approach using spatial and genetic data of a highly fragmented population of capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) in the Black Forest, Germany, to investigate effects of landscape structure on gene flow and to parameterize a spatially explicit corridor model for conservation purposes. Mantel tests and multiple regressions on distance matrices were employed to detect and quantify the effect of different landscape features on relatedness among individuals, while controlling for the effect of geographic distance. We extrapolated the results to an area-wide landscape permeability map and developed a new corridor model that incorporates stochasticity in simulating animal movement. The model was evaluated using both a partition of the data previously set apart and independent observation data of dispersing birds. Most land cover variables (such as coniferous forest, forest edges, agricultural land, roads, settlements) and one topographic variable (topographic exposure) were significantly correlated with gene flow. Although inter-individual relatedness inherently varies greatly and the variance explained by geographic distance and landscape structure was low, the permeability map and the corridor model significantly explained relatedness in the validation data and the spatial distribution of dispersing birds. Thus, landscape structure measurably affected within-population gene flow in the study area. By converting these effects into spatially explicit information our model enables localizing priority areas for the preservation or restoration of metapopulation connectivity.