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.

The basis for variation in leaf longevity of plants.

Abstract: Any theory of leaf phenology must predict leaf longevity, leaf habit, leaf expansion and its timing among other variables. These phenological traits may be important keys to understand the response of trees to climatic change. Here I concentrate on and review two of these critical phenological traits, leaf longevity and leaf habit. Theories of leaf longevity were re-evaluated and leaf longevity is concluded to be optimized to maximize plant carbon gain. From this perspective, three points are predicted. Leaf longevity is short when the photosynthetic rate of the leaf is high, when the photosynthetic rate decreases rapidly through time, or when the construction cost of the leaf is small. These predictions are well supported by empirical as well as experimental results on various plant species. The theory, which is extended to seasonal environments, is general and applicable to seasonal as well as aseasonal environments. The theory simulated the bimodal geographic distribution of evergreenness.

Flow paths, rainfall properties, and antecedent soil moisture controlling lags to peak discharge in a granitic unchanneled catchment

Abstract: [1] The lag time between peak rainfall and peak discharge is an important index reflecting hydrological properties in a catchment. To characterize lag times, we studied the effects of rainfall properties, antecedent moisture conditions, and flow paths on runoff response in a forested unchanneled catchment, using a hydrometric and hydrochemical approach. Soil moisture, soil pore water pressure, and piezometric surface were monitored. Also, dissolved silica and organic carbon concentrations of spring water and subsurface water were observed. Runoff response was characterized by two types of lag times: a short lag time ( 24 hours). During events with short lag times, saturation excess overland flow was dominant, and the source area was limited to the near-spring area. During events with long lag times, saturated subsurface flow above the soil-bedrock interface was dominant, and the source area near the spring was connected to the upslope area via saturated zone above soil-bedrock interface. The spring-hillslope hydrological connection to generate peak discharges with long lag times occurred when the sum of cumulative rainfall and an antecedent soil moisture index, which was derived from initial storage of surface soil layer, was greater than 135 mm. Moreover, the time between the upslope connection of source area and subsequent peak discharge decreased with the average rainfall intensity in the time. We conclude that consideration of antecedent soil moisture conditions as well as rainfall amount and intensity is essential for understanding the regional characteristics of lag times and subsurface water movement.

Larvicidal and Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitory Activities of Apiaceae Plant Essential Oils and Their Constituents against Aedes albopictus and Formulation Development

Abstract: This study evaluated the larvicidal activity of 12 Apiaceae plant essential oils and their components against the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, and the inhibition of acetylcholine esterase with their components. Of the 12 plant essential oils tested, ajowan (Trachyspermum ammi), caraway seed (Carum carvi), carrot seed (Daucus carota), celery (Apium graveolens), cumin (Cuminum cyminum), dill (Anethum graveolens), and parsley (Petroselinum sativum) resulted in >90% larval mortality when used at 0.1 mg/mL. Of the compounds identified, α-phellandrene, α-terpinene, p-cymene, (-)-limonene, (+)-limonene, γ-terpinene, cuminaldehyde, neral, (S)-+-carvone, trans-anethole, thymol, carvacrol, myristicin, apiol, and carotol resulted in >80% larval mortality when used at 0.1 mg/mL. Two days after treatment, 24.69, 3.64, and 12.43% of the original amounts of the celery, cumin, and parsley oils, respectively, remained in the water. Less than 50% of the original amounts of α-phellandrene, 1,8-cineole, terpinen-4-ol, cuminaldehyde, and trans-antheole were detected in the water at 2 days after treatment. Carvacrol, α-pinene, and β-pinene inhibited the activity of Ae. albopictus acetylcholinesterase with IC50 values of 0.057, 0.062, and 0.190 mg/mL, respectively. A spherical microemulsion of parsley essential oil-loaded poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) was prepared, and the larvicidal activity of this formulation was shown to be similar to that of parsley oil.