Condensed tannins in Leucaena and their relation to psyllid resistance

Leucaena species and hybrids were examined to determine the relative content of condensed tannins and its relationship to susceptibility to defoliation by the Leucaena psyllid (Heteropsylla cubana). The interspecific Leucaena hybrid KX2 (L. leucocephala × L. pallida) was examined for variability of condensed tannin levels. A broad range of condensed tannin values were found which indicate potential for improved forage value through selection for KX2 trees with lower condensed tannin while maintaining psyllid resistance. A significant correlation was not found linking condensed tannins and psyllid resistance.     

云南豆科蛋白饲料灌木的研究现状和利用前景

豆科灌木树种具有蛋白质含量高、适应性强、生长快、易采收等特点, 是比较理想的植物蛋白质资源。云南山地广阔, 豆科蛋白质饲料灌木资源丰富, 但开发利用尚不充分, 仅有木豆、马鹿花等少数几个种做过较为深入的营养成分和营养价值研究。广泛栽培、采集、加工利用豆科灌木中有饲用价值的灌木, 代替饲料用粮,是云南省解决粮食问题和畜牧业发展的新途径。     

Rapid estimation of kraft pulp yield and lignin in Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Leucaena leucocephala by diffuse reflectance near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)

Near-infrared spectroscopy has been used to develop calibration models for the rapid determination of kraft pulp yield (KPY) and lignin in Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Leucaena leucocephala. The correlation coefficient for cross-validation is 0.90 for KPY and 0.95 for lignin prediction, while the root mean square error for cross-validation for KPY and lignin prediction are 1.46 and 0.77, respectively. The method has been validated with 37 samples of E. camaldulensis and 18 samples of L. leucocephala. The root mean square error of prediction for KPY (1.53) is higher than for lignin (0.77). The method is rapid and can be used for screening a large number of samples.     

Effect of cutting height and cutting interval on dry matter yield of Leucaena leucocephala (Lam) De Wit

The effect of cutting height and cutting interval on dry matter production of Leucaena leucocephala (Lam) De Wit was investigated at Njala, Sierra Leone using three year old Leucaena trees. Four cutting heights, (25, 50, 75 and 100 cm), and two cutting intervals (one and three months), were adopted.Dry matter yields were highest at the 75 and 100 cm cutting heights, especially at the longer, three-monthly, cutting interval. They were significantly reduced by more frequent cutting, probably due to the increased number of recovery phases.Leaf nitrogen yields per tree for trees cut at three-monthly intervals were over twice as high as the total yields obtained from monthly cutting over the same period.     

Forage value of Mediterranean deciduous woody fodder species and its implication to management of silvo-pastoral systems for goats

Forage value of 10 deciduous woody fodder species during six stages of maturity as well as their acceptance by goats in July and August were studied in Macedonia, northern Greece. The fodder species studies wereAmorpha fruticosa L.,Carpinus orientalis Mill.,Colutea arborescens L.,Corylus avellana L.,Fraxinus ornus L.,Ostrya carpinifolia Scop.,Pyrus amygdaliformis Vill.,Quercus pubescens Willd.,Quercus sessiliflora Salich, andRobinia pseudoacacia L. with two accessions, common and spineless. All these species are integral components of the mediterranean silvo-pastoral systems. Monthly forage samples were collected throughout their growing period (May to November), which coincides with the long dry summer when herbaceous plants are dormant, and analyzed for crude protein content, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), lignin and in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD). Comparing the leguminous species (Robinia pseudoacacia, Amorpha fruticosa, Colutea arborescens) with the remaining species, the leguminous one had on average a higher (P0.05) content of crude protein (21.1%, 21.0% and 17.1% vs. 10.5–13.3%, respectively) and higher (P0.05) IVOMD values (58.4%, 56.0% and 60.0% vs. 47.3–52.8, respectively). Moreover, the leguminous species were among species with lower NDF (42.3%, 45.0% and 35.2% vs. 36.0–48.9%, respectively) and lignin content (7.1%, 8.3% and 9.1% vs. 7.6–10.9%). All species showed a significant increase in crude protein when new leaves appeared (May). Most of the fodder species had digestibilities in the higher range (>55% IVOMD) and low NDF content (<53.5%) during the growing season (first five stages). Lignin contents ranged from 5.9% (A. fruticosa, May) to 16.0% (O. carpinifolia, Nov.).Robinia pseudoacacia had the highest relative acceptance index whileAmorpha fruticosa, Colutea arborescens andCorylus avellana the lowest. It is concluded that deciduous woody fodder species may play a significant role as sources of nutrients in the mediterranean silvo-pastoral systems during the summer period of seasonal nutritional shortage.     

Shading effects of alley cropped Leucaena leucocephala on weed biomass and maize yield at Mtwapa,Coast Province,Kenya

Reductions of up to 90% in weed biomass was observed under Leucaena leucocephala alley cropping with varying tree between (2,4 and 8 m) and within-row spacing combinations when compared to crop-only control. An increase of 24 to 76 % in maize yields of alley cropped plots compared to the crop-only control was also recorded. The 2m alley widths closed canopy faster than the 4 and 8m, and hence realized highest weed biomass reduction during the short-fallow period between two cropping seasons. At the end of the short fallow period, substantial fuelwood (up to 8 t ha ^–1) was realized.     

The effect of young Leucaena leucocephala (Lam) De Wit hedges on the growth and yield of maize,sweet potato and cowpea in an agroforestry system in Sierra Leone

An investigation was undertaken at Senehun — Kamajei, a high rainfall region in Sierra Leone, to assess the effects of Leucaena leucocephala, on the growth and productivity of maize, cowpea and sweet potato. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomised design with four replicates of each treatment. The treatments and controls were: (i) pure crops of maize, cowpea, sweet potato, Leucaena clean weeded and unweeded and (ii) intercrops of Leucaena with the food crops, both (iii) with and without applied fertilizers after the first year.The growth of Leucaena was slow but nevertheless tended to reduce grain yields of maize, and tuber and vine yields of sweet potato in the rows in the immediate vicinity of the trees, especially in the nitrogen-treated plots. The maize, in particular, caused an improvement in the early height growth of the trees.     

Effect of alley cropping with Leucaena leucocephala and fertilizer application on yield of vegetable crops

Field experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of alley cropping vegetable crops with Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit for two seasons on a sandy loam Oxic paleustalf in southwestern Nigeria. Four vegetable crops (Amaranthus cruentus L.; Celosia argentea L.; Okra, Hibiscus esculentus L.; and tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) were grown in control plots and in 4-m wide alleys between established Leucaena hedgerows without and with fertilizer (30 N-13 P-24 K kg ha^–1). Leucaena prunings yielded large dry biomass and nutrients during both seasons. Yield of four vegetable crops responded more to fertilizer in control than in alley cropped treatments. Better yield of vegetables in alley cropped plots was in part due to following effect of the Leucaena hedgerows. Fertilizer application increased mean yields of Amaranthus, Celosia, okra and tomato by 325, 164, 47 and 94% in control plots and by 36, 26, 4 and 20% in alley cropped plots, respectively. For both seasons, yields were not significantly different between alley cropped with and without fertilizer and the control with fertilizer treatments. Yield was least in control without fertilizer. Alley cropping with Leucaena can reduce fertilizer requirement for vegetable production. Cost and return analysis using 1988 prices indicated that alley cropping with vegetable crops can be profitable.c/o Miss Maureen Larkin, L. W. Lambourn & Company, 26 Dingwall Road, Croydon CR9 3EE, England     

Browse yield and nutritive value of two Salix species and Dorycnium rectum in New Zealand

The willows Salix matsudana x alba and S. kinuyanagi, and the leguminous shrub Dorycnium rectum, are used for soil conservation in New Zealand and have potential value as browse plants. Two experiments were conducted in the lower North Island to ascertain the effect of selected establishment and cutting practices on their browse yield and nutritive value. A hill site experiment determined the effect of rooted and unrooted stem cuttings on establishment and initial production of the Salix species. A flat site experiment determined the effect of cutting height (0.10–0.30 m, 0.80 m, and 1.20 m above ground) and cutting frequency (once or twice per year) on yield of the Salix species and D. rectum. The establishment and dry matter (DM) yields of the Salix species were unaffected by the type of stem cutting. S. matsudana x alba (1.2 kg DM/tree) plants yielded more edible DM than S. kinuyanagi (0.9 kg DM/tree) and D. rectum (0.4 kg DM/tree). Cutting height had no effect on edible DM yield but affected total DM yield of the Salix species. Nitrogen concentration in edible DM, of all species, was 18–22 g/kg DM. In vitro organic matter digestibility of S. matsudana x alba (648–691 g/kg DM) and D. rectum (664–666 g/kg DM) was greater than S. kinuyanagi (611–615 g/kg DM). The condensed tannin concentration in edible DM of S. kinuyanagi was four-fold higher than in S. matsudana x alba (255 vs. 59 g/kg DM). It was concluded that S. matsudana x alba had the greatest potential as a browse species and D. rectum the least.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Spatial terrain analysis for matching native tree species to sites: A methodology

This methodology has been developed to predict the distribution of preferable biophysical sites for three of the favored plantation species for private land rehabilitation in the Atherton Tablelands of tropical north Queensland: Araucaria cunninghamii, Eucalyptus cloeziana, and Flindersia brayleyana. The site prediction is expressed in a spatial and quantitative form of site classification. The sites (termed toposites) are characterized by soil and terrain qualities using spatial analytical techniques afforded by the predictive capacity of DTMs (digital terrain models) and conceptual regolith-terrain relationships in an explicit approach to forest site analysis through a geographic information system (GIS). Knowledge-based relationships and recorded soil-topographic data are used in this methodology to create conceptual models of climatic, terrain and parent material interaction. These guide the algorithms for digital terrain analysis through use of transfer functions and topographic DTM derivatives. Spatial regolith-terrain attribute predictions for potential toposites from DTMs are then combined with modeled climatic surfaces. The spatial arrangement of potentially favorable toposites for each of the selected species can be portrayed in raster format involving fuzzy classification. This form of classification provides multiple membership values for given regolith-terrain attributes for each grid cell. These can then be grouped as desired in an a posteriori classification to produce toposite preference in raster or vector map form.     

Anatomical Changes During Transition from Juvenile to Adult Wood in Branch and Main Trunk Xylem of Subabul (Leucaena leucocephala [Lam.] de Wit)

The anatomical changes occurring during transition from juvenile to mature wood were studied in the branch and main trunk of Leucaena leucocephala. To confirm the wood maturity in the 5-yr-old tree, the anatomical features were compared with the adult wood collected from the main trunk of a 15-yr-old tree. In both the branch and wood of the trunk, most of the anatomical features—such as increase in dimensions of fibers and vessel elements, and decrease in frequency of vessel elements and rays—were gradual during radial growth from pith to periphery. A noticeable anatomical change is observed in the transition of triseriate rays to multiseriate rays in the region of wood which is about 5.5 cm away from the pith. The ray dimensions and anatomical features of other elements from the periphery of the branch and 5-yr-old trunk xylem match with that of 15-yr-old main trunk wood. This indicates that in both the branches and main trunk of Leucaena, transition from juvenile to adult or mature wood occurs after the trees have attained 14 cm radial growth.     

银杏叶生产饲料复合酶的固态发酵条件及产物分析

研究了以银杏叶为原料,黑曲霉为菌种生产饲料复合酶的固态发酵条件,分析了发酵产物中主要营养成分和活性成分的变化.结果表明,适宜的工艺参数为:浅盘发酵的料层厚度 4 cm,初始含水率为64.3 %,培养基初始pH值5.0,接种量 2.5 %,培养温度28～30 ℃.银杏叶通过生物转化后营养丰富,生物活性增强.其中,粗蛋白、总氨基酸、必需氨基酸分别提高106.09 %、69.26 % 和 79.17 %;总黄酮提取率提高 5.77 %;纤维素酶和半纤维素酶的活力分别达到11.83和 122.17 U/g.同时,产品中还富含高活力的风味酶(β-葡萄糖苷酶),其活力为 36.11 U/g,该酶使产品的生物活性及香味得到了明显的改善.     

Susceptibility of Corymbia species and hybrids to arthropod herbivory inAustralian subtropical hardwood plantations

Corymbia hybrids are becoming significant plantation varieties in subtropical and tropical Australian plantation forestry. Although primarily developed for disease resistance and amenability to clonal propagation, they have also proven to have good growth rates and site plasticity. Here we examined the susceptibility of pure Corymbia species and hybrids to pest attack. Three trial sites containing C. citriodora subsp. variegata, C. torelliana, and the hybrids C. torelliana × C. citriodora subsp. variegata, C. torelliana × C. citriodora subsp. citriodora and C. torelliana × C. henryi were assessed for pest identity, incidence and severity. Pests caused about three-quarters of the visible crown damage to trees in these trials. At the site that had the most arthropod damage, hybrid trees had higher damage scores and higher growth scores (height, diameter at breast height over bark, and volume) than pure species. Site was more important than taxon in explaining damage scores, and taxa performed differently for most traits between sites. Tree growth was negatively correlated with general crown damage, while arthropod damage alone showed no significant relationship with growth. Our results highlight the importance of establishing taxa trials across a range of sites when selecting for pest resistance.     

Estimation of yield and ultimate strengths of bolted timber joints by nonlinear analysis and yield theory

A finite element nonlinear analysis was conducted on bolted timber joints under lateral loads parallel and perpendicular to the grain. The results obtained from this analysis were compared with the experimental results and calculated values based on the yield theory. The analysis and experiment were performed on double shear bolted joints parallel and perpendicular to the grain with steel side plates and a slotted-in steel plate. It was found from the analysis that the yielding of wood and bolt occurred before the overall yielding of the bolted joint. Shear strength of bolted joints calculated from the yield theory using the embedding yield strength of wood and the yield moment of the bolt showed comparatively good agreement with the shear strength evaluated by 5% offset of the load–slip curve in the experiment and analysis. The shear strength of the bolted joint calculated from the yield theory using the embedding ultimate strength of wood and the ultimate moment of the bolt agreed quite well with the shear strength evaluated by the maximum load up to 15mm slip in the analysis. The former, parallel and perpendicular to the grain, were 11% and 34%, on average smaller than the latter in the experiment.Part of this paper was presented at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Gifu, April 2002; the Annual Meeting of Architectural Institute of Japan 2002, Ishikawa, August 2002; and the World Conference on Timber Engineering 2002, Shah Alam, Malaysia, August 2002     

Relationship between resistance to vole browsing and content of ether extract in the bark of larch species and hybrids

We determined the survival rate of tree families produced by the intra- and interspecific crossing of larch species damaged by browsing of vole (Clethrionomys rufocanus bedfordiae Thomas) and the contents of ether extracts (EE) in their bark. The average survival ofLarix gmelini var.japonica Pilg. (L. gmelini)×L. gmelini (G×G) was highest, followed by the hybridL. gmelini×L. leptolepis Gordon (G×L). The families of the hybrid G×L, which is considered suitable for silviculture in Hokkaido, Japan, showed significant differences in survival rates, suggesting that it is possible to produce improved varieties of the hybrid which are more resistant to vole browsing. The EE contents of the bark were under strong hereditary control, and the rank of the EE content among the various families hardly fluctuated between the location of the test fields. The correlation coefficient between the survival rates and the EE contents was highly significant (r=0.89,n=24,p<0.01), indicating that the EE content in the bark may be used as a possible index of resistance or susceptibility to vole browsing in larch plantations. A part of this report was presented at the 106th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Forestry Society, at Sapporo, April, 1995.     

Log sawing positioning optimization and log bucking of tropical hardwood species to increase the volume yield

The sawmill industry is a very important link in the Mozambique forest products value chain, but the industry is characterized by undeveloped processing technology and high-volume export of almost unrefined logs. The low volume yield of sawn timber has been identified as a critical gap in the technological development of the industry. To improve the profitability of the industry, there is thus a need to develop methods and techniques that improve the yield. In this paper, different positioning of logs prior to sawing and the possibility of increasing the volume yield of crooked logs by bucking the logs before sawing have been studied. A computer simulation was used to study the cant-sawing and through-and-through sawing of the logs to determine the volume yield of sawn timber from the jambirre (Millettia stuhlmannii Taub.) and umbila (Pterocarpus angolensis DC.) species. The optimal position, i.e. the position of the log before sawing that gives the highest volume yield of sawn timber for a given sawing pattern when the positioning parameters, offset, skew and rotation, are considered gave a considerable higher volume yield than the horns-down position. By bucking very crooked logs and using the horns-down positioning before sawing, the volume yield can be of the same magnitude as that obtained by optimal positioning on full-length (un-bucked) logs. The bucking reduces the crook of the logs and hence increases the volume yield of sawn timber.     

普通油茶优良单株产量与主要性状的主成分分析

应用主成分分析法,由样本相关矩阵出发,对11个油茶品系单株的10个主要性状（树高、冠幅、分枝级数、果形指数、单果重、出籽率、花蕾直径、雄蕊数、雌蕊长度、产量）进行分析,以性状的累积方差贡献率达到86．52％确定了4个反映油茶主要经济性状的主成分,并通过计算品系的重要主成分值,对供试品系进行比较,进而选择综合经济性状优良的品系。表明用主成分分析法对油茶主要经济性状综合评选,比采用优良性状打分评优法科学、简便;应用主成分分析对油茶品种的选择比传统的人为打分更具有准确性和科学性,为以后油茶优良品种的选择提供了理论依据。     

秦岭植被景观多样性与物种梯度分析

秦岭植被景观类型丰富,具有过渡性和复杂性特点,植被垂直分带明显,在分析秦岭植被景观空间分布格局的基础上,利用植被景观多样性指数,分析了秦岭山地植被景观的数量统计特征与海拔的变化关系;利用基于GIS的梯度分析方法,分析了秦岭的植被与海拔梯度的关系,得到秦岭不同植被景观类型的斑块数、分布范围、植被分布的高度均值和标准差,并以太白山为例,对太白山植物种进行了梯度分析。结果表明:秦岭各植被型的多样性指数Simpson指数D、Shannon-wiener指数H′和均匀度指数基本上呈相同的变化趋势,随着海拔的增加,呈波浪式的变化趋势,自然植被在海拔1 325 m、1 500 m和2 930 m时出现峰值。乔木的多样性指数在海拔1 500 m和2 930 m时达到最大值,在海拔1 200~1 470 m和1 600~2 650 m左右处,乔木的多样性指数值较小,但均匀度指数却较高;灌木的多样性指数在海拔1 325 m时达到最大值;草本的多样性指数呈波浪式上升的趋势,海拔2 400 m和3 500 m左右处有2个峰值。随着海拔高度的增加,太白山依次出现温带草丛→温带落叶灌丛→温带落叶阔叶林→亚热带针叶林→亚热带和热带山地针叶林→草甸→高寒草甸等植被类型,并随海拔的升高,依次出现相应的植物种。     

福建山樱花野生群落物种数量特征与区系分布研究

通过对福建山樱花野生群落典型样地的调查,分析了该群落植物组成、乔灌木数量特征和种子植物区系分布。结果表明,福建山樱花野生群落共有维管植物80科157属226种,但优势树种不明显,主要伴生乔灌木有拟赤杨、白花泡桐、银钟花、马尾松、青冈、构树、香桂、木和杜鹃。科、属、种区系成分都以热带成分占显著优势,群落的演化过程与泛热带及热带亚洲联系最为密切,与近代的热带大洋洲、热带非洲、北温带、东亚存在或多或少的联系,而与地中海区、西亚、中亚没有联系。群落特有现象并不十分明显,无中国特有分布科、属、种,只有腊梅科的山腊梅和杉科的杉木2属2种。     

两种杨树对铅和铅-镉复合胁迫的生理响应

不同品种的杨树对重金属污染土壤的修复和耐受性存在显著差异,为了解不同品种的杨树对铅(Pb)和镉(Cd)的耐抗特性,以南林95杨和南林895杨为研究对象,研究其在不同浓度Pb胁迫和PbCd复合胁迫下的生理响应,对其根系活力、过氧化氢酶(CAT)活性、可溶性蛋白质和叶绿素含量等指标进行对比分析,并采用主成分分析和隶属函数法综合评价2种杨树对Pb和Cd胁迫的耐受性。结果表明,南林95杨和南林895杨在Pb胁迫和Pb-Cd复合胁迫下,各生理指标的变化趋势大致相同,均表现出较强的耐受性;在Pb胁迫和Pb-Cd复合胁迫下,南林895杨的根系活力和CAT活性均强于南林95杨,但其叶绿素含量少于南林95杨。Pb胁迫下,南林95杨的可溶性蛋白质含量略高于南林895杨,在Pb-Cd复合胁迫下则相反。综合评价结果表明,南林895杨对重金属Pb和Cd的耐受性强于南林95杨,具有更好的修复前景。