Elasmobranch fisheries in the Arabian Seas Region: Characteristics,trade and management

The Arabian Seas Region plays an important role in the global landings and trade of sharks and rays. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Yemen, two countries with stark socio‐economic differences, serve as major regional trade hubs for shark and ray products and four countries (Oman, Pakistan, UAE and Yemen) supply nearly 11% of dried fin exports to Hong Kong. Yet, little information is available on the characteristics of this trade and the fisheries contributing to it. Here, we review the fisheries characteristics, trade, utilization and distribution chain of sharks and rays in 15 countries of the Arabian Seas Region based on published and grey literature, landing surveys, field observations and interviews with fishermen and traders. Although regional shark fisheries remain mostly artisanal, reported shark and ray landings represent 28% of the regional total fish production, reaching 56,074 mt in 2012 (7.3% of total world catches), with Iran, Oman, Pakistan and Yemen ranking as the primary catchers. Utilization and distribution patterns are complex, vary between landing sites and countries, and remain unmonitored. Based on widespread over‐exploitation of most teleost fisheries, current exploitation levels for most sharks and rays are potentially unsustainable. The situation is exacerbated by limited research and political will to support policy development, the incomplete nature of fisheries data, as well as insufficient regulations and enforcement. A better understanding of shark and ray fisheries will be key for regulating trade, promoting conservation and developing management initiatives to secure food security, livelihoods and biodiversity conservation in the region.     

Impact of agroforestry intervention on farm income under the subsistence farming system of the middle hills, Nepal

Practices that minimize the rate of soil degradation, increase crop yields and raise farm income are key to sustaining agricultural productivity in the hills of Nepal. The use of farmland is undergoing rapid changes in response to increasing population pressure, deforestation and subsistence needs. Against this background, this study examined the impact of an agroforestry intervention project on farm income based on a sample of subsistence farm households in Dhadhing district. The project was implemented by Nepal Agroforestry Foundation in 1993/94 to increase fodder production through the promotion of agroforestry. A total of 223 households (82 with project and 141 without project) were interviewed during May–October 1998 to collect information on production and agroforestrys' impact on farm income. The benefit-cost analysis showed that the agricultural system including agroforestry was more profitable than the conventional one. The results also showed that the introduction of mulberry trees for sericulture could further enhance the profitability of an agroforestry-based system. Thus, agroforestry has great potential for enhancing food production and farmers' economic conditions in a sustainable manner through its positive contributions to household income.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Multivariate analysis of invasive plant species distributions in southern US forests

Landscape Ecology - Invasive plants cause significant impacts in forested areas throughout the world. However, little is known about the relative importance of environmental drivers on the...     

Molecular biology of male gametogenesis

Pollen development has been studied at a molecular level in several systems that are amenable to genetic or transgenic analysis. We have characterized several tomato genes that are expressed late in pollen development. Our goals in this research were 1) to determine the cis- and tran-acting factors that mediate pollen expression, and 2) to determine the functions of the proteins encoded by these genes. We currently favor the hypothesis that pollen-specific gene expression is mediated in a combinatorial manner. Antisense experiments have indicated an important role for the LAT52 protein during pollen hydration.     

Participatory urban forestry in Nepal: Gaps and ways forward

Managing urban population and environment has been one of the most important challenges recently. This paper attempts to assess the existing practices, people's perception, gaps and ways forward for participatory urban forestry and aims to help promote UF through identifying the current status, future prospects for and peoples’ perception about UF in two cities of Nepal. The study was conducted in Pokhara sub-metropolitan city and Bharatpur municipality of Nepal. Total numbers of plants in the effective green spaces are estimated as 285,500 in Pokhara and 213,250 in Bharatpur, and the number of tree species was 62 and 52 respectively. The religious tree species – Ficus bengalensis and Ficus religiosa are the most common and hazardous in both cities. The urban people have preferred small, less branchy and attractive tree species. However, the choice of existing species is inappropriate and not according to the people's interest. Therefore, urban people are unsatisfied with the existing species and their frequencies. The municipal authorities and other related organizations do not have any specific plan, programs and activities nor is there any public involvement to promote urban forestry. Regular coordination, cooperation and monitoring are required for the involvement of various stakeholders such as municipality, government office, community organizations and urban people. Analysis further shows that people's perception on urban forestry is encouraging as most of them agreed that the urban forests are useful for addressing the challenging urban environment. Adequate institutions and financial resources coupled with effective cooperation and coordination among concerned organizations could ameliorate the urban environment as urban community forestry.     

Mapping QTL controlling soybean seed sucrose and oligosaccharides in a single family of soybean nested association mapping (SoyNAM) population

The meal value of Soybean for monogastric animals is determined partly by sucrose, raffinose and stachyose. Of these, sucrose is desirable, while raffinose and stachyose are indigestible, causing flatulence and abdominal discomfort. The objective of this study was to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling seed sucrose, raffinose, and stachyose in a set of 140 SoyNAM (Nested Association Mapping) recombinant inbred lines (RILs), developed from the cross between lines IA3023 and LD02‐4485. A total of 3,038 SNP markers from the Illumina SoyNAM BeadChip SNP were used to map the QTLs for sucrose and the RFOs, raffinose, and stachyose. Significant genotypic differences (p < .001) among RILs were observed for sucrose, raffinose and stachyose contents across years. A 3038 Illumina SoyNAM BeadChip SNPs identified three QTLs for sucrose, one on chromosome 1, explaining 10% variance and two on chromosome 3 each explaining 22%. Raffinose QTL was detected on chromosome 6, explaining 6% variance. The mapped QTLs were novel and spanned regions harbouring candidate genes with roles in plant growth including seed development.     

Can We Reduce Rainfed Maize (Zea mays L.) Nitrogenous Fertilizer Application Rate with Addition of Nitrapyrin?

Application of nitrification inhibitor has potential to increase soil nitrogen (N) retention throughout the growing season and finally increase corn (Zea mays L.) yield. During the 2012–2014 growing seasons, on-farm field trials were conducted to determine the effects of nitrapyrin (Instinct) with two N sources, urea and urea ammonium nitrate, at two rates, 85% and 100% of recommended N, and side-dress on grain yield and soil inorganic N availability in the Red River Valley of the North Dakota. Preplant urea N at 100% recorded the greatest yield in 2 out of 3 years. At late sampling, the greatest soil inorganic N was observed with side-dress urea ammonium nitrate at 100% within 0–30 cm (last 2 years). For spring fertilizer N management, addition of nitrapyrin had no effect on yield and inconsistent effect on soil N availability. Our results suggest that fertilizer N management should be evaluated on a local scale and consider annual variability in weather.     

Impacts of land fragmentation on input use,crop yield and production efficiency in the mountains of Nepal

Amidst the growing concern about agricultural underdevelopment in developing countries, this study addresses the causes and trends of land fragmentation. It analyses the impact of land fragmentation on input use efficiency, crop yield and production efficiency, especially with reference to a mountain district in Nepal. Necessary information was obtained from discussions with groups and individual land users and a questionnaire survey covering 184 households representing different degrees of land fragmentation. The analyses focused on two staple crops, namely, maize and paddy. The analysis revealed an increasing trend in the number of land parcels and a decreasing trend in the size of land parcels, primarily due to the heredity tradition of equal division of land among the inheritors. Other factors such as land purchase have also contributed to land fragmentation. Yield analysis revealed that small parcels are more productive than large parcels, because of higher applications of inputs. Consistent with this, small parcels also appeared to have a higher production efficiency than large parcels—considering both benefit and cost of purchased inputs—indicating a positive impact of land fragmentation on farmers' income. However, an analysis considering also the cost of inputs produced on the farm revealed an opposite trend, that is, on large land parcels, production is more efficient than on small parcels. In view of the need to also recover the cost of the inputs produced on‐farm, it is concluded that land fragmentation—leading to small plots—has a negative impact on production efficiency, thereby constraining agricultural development. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Impacts of resource extraction on forest structure and diversity in Bardia National Park,Nepal

Repeated biomass harvesting for human livelihood needs can cause significant changes in forest structure, composition and diversity. Such impacts have often been associated with the distance to villages and their size, but the effects of individual villages in relation to their characteristics have been little studied. Focussing on the issues around communities’ impacts on the forest, this research aimed to understand how resource extraction by two Buffer Zone villages in Nepal's Bardia National Park affects forest structure and diversity. Tree density, basal area, diameter at breast height (DBH), species richness, two diversity indices and disturbance indices were recorded in 108 plots in 12 transects, from March till May 2005, within the park along the village boundaries, where resource extraction occurs, and in the core park area which is isolated from human disturbance. Forest subject to resource extraction had a lower density of trees, smaller DBH and lower species richness and diversity. Forest disturbance declined with distance from the villages but the two villages differed widely in their impact on the forest. Resource use was more intensive in Shivapur village and percentage of trees lopped, average lopping intensity and numbers of dung piles were statistically significant. This was mainly due to the lack of access to Buffer Zone community Forest for Shivapur households. Interviews with villagers suggested that there have been changes in species availability compared to 5 years ago. Households also underestimated the impact of their resource extraction, which may prevent them from changing their behaviour to benefit conservation. It is clear that understanding rural communities’ needs, their framing of resource extraction and utilisation, and dependence on forest resources will be very helpful for long term conservation measures.