Selective logging alters allometric relationships of five tropical tree species in seasonal semi-deciduous forests

In selectively logged forests,trees are more likely to expand their diameters(D)at the expense of height(H)growth,resulting in variations in H:D relationships.This study examines how selective logging affects the H:D allometric relationships of five common tree species and whether the effects vary with functional groups(shade-intolerant or shade tolerant)in seasonal semi-deciduous forests.Individuals of five species in a 3000 m^2(0.3 ha)plot were marked and heights and diameters recorded.Most of the species,with one exception,showed greater investment in diameter per increment of height compared to an unlogged forest,possibly because of the greater light available.This study shows the effects of selective logging on species populations as evidenced by increases in H:D ratios.Comparison of forest fragments with different degrees of human impact is important because it allows us to understand the differences in architectural characteristics caused by selective logging.     

Phenolic acid and flavonol water extracts of Delonix regia red flowers

Traditional healthy beverages in several African counties were home-made by water extraction of flowers of Delonix regia (Boj.) Raf. This tree belongs to the local biodiversity of plants used in the local medicine. It is also part of the traditional bioproducts marketed within African village communities. Scaling-up at pilot plant level, by mimicking this local recipe, lead to concentrated bioproducts containing various natural phenolic compounds, most of them have never been yet published. A three-steps process was used to prepare concentrated of water-extracted soluble phenolics. This process included: phenol extraction of dried plant by overnight diffusion in acidified water, clarification then concentration of the macerate, using membrane technology. Total phenol contents were determined as gallic acid equivalents using the Folin-Ciocalteu method. Total flavonoid contents, as delphinidin equivalents, were determined using the UV-vis colorimetric method. Comparison of concentration factors of both phenol families (phenolic acids and flavonols) contained in the 3 co-products obtained during the process were made between crude extracts, cross-flow microfiltration extracts and reverse osmosis concentrated extracts. Individual phenol compounds found in the products obtained were characterized and quantified by HPLC-DAD and by HPLC-MS². Among the 11 phenol compounds identified in the water-extracts, 3 have been already identified in the literature (2 phenolic acids and 1 flavonol), and 8 new compounds, in noticeable amounts, have never been cited. We have confirmed the presence of phenolic acids such as 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic (gallic acid), 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic (protocatechuic acid) and of quercetin. We have characterized for the first time the presence of 2-hydroxy 5-[(3,4,5 trihydroxyphenyl) carbonyl oxy] benzoic acid and of 7 other flavonols belonging to the quercetin, kaempferol and isorhamnetol compound families. Using both LCMS and NMR analyses, they have been identified and quantified as: rutin, quercetin 3-O-glucoside, quercetin 3-O-galactoside, quercetin trihexoside, quercetin 3-O-robinobioside, kaempferol rhamnosylhexoside and isorhamnetol rhamnosyl-hexoside.     

Impact of Paris Waste Upon the Chlorinated Solvent Concentrations of the River Seine (France)

The occurrence of twelve chlorinated and brominated volatile compounds was investigated by a HRGC (High Resolution Gas Chromatography) device with a dynamic purge (PTI, Chrompack) in the water of the river Seine under dry conditions and under contrasting hydrological regimes, according to three longitudinal profiles from upstream to downstream of the Paris urban centre. Our results showed an obvious rise of the solvent concentrations in the river Seine water along the profiles. The total chlorinated solvent concentration, which was below 1 μg L^-1 upstream of Paris, reached a maximum value of 8 μg L^-1 dowstream of the urban centre in December 1994. This corresponded to a flux of around 300 kg d^-1. This contamination originated in successive waste inputs, both domestic and industrial, from the Paris main sewers. The losses by evaporation from the river were taken into account for the estimation of the waste. The waste inputs represented about 85 to 97% of the total chlorinated solvent flux observed downstream of Paris. During the two first sampling sessions, dichloromethane represented 67% of the inputs. Though the hydrological regime plays a part both in the waste dilution and in the losses by evaporation processes, other factors such as the industrial activities or the ambient temperature may have a major influence upon the river contamination.     

Intra- and interspecific diversity in the response to waterlogging of two co-occurring white oak species (Quercus robur and Q. petraea)

Quercus robur L. and Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl. are sympatric oak species with different ecological requirements. Quercus robur is more tolerant to waterlogging than Q. petraea. This ecological divergence may play a role in the maintenance of the two species despite the absence of an insurmountable reproductive barrier between them. We predicted that the genetic architecture of traits related to waterlogging tolerance differs between the species. To gain insight into this architecture in the absence of genetic markers for waterlogging tolerance, we compared populations of seedlings of each species for diversity in the expression of quantitative phenotypic traits induced by severe hypoxia. To determine the capacity for hypertrophied lenticel formation, we applied gas-impermeable mastic to stems of seedlings. Two months after application, the mastic treatment had induced the formation of 3 (+/- 2) cm(-2) hypertrophied lenticels in the absence of root hypoxia. Leaf epinasty during root hypoxia was an early predictor of seedling mortality. Four weeks of waterlogging resulted in greater epinasty in Q. petraea than in Q. robur, but fewer hypertrophied lenticels (16 +/- 6 versus 21 +/- 9 cm(-2)) and adventitious roots (2.7 +/- 4.7 versus 5.2 +/- 5.9). Differences between species in these traits were associated with differences in the frequencies of extreme phenotypes rather than with a generally higher tolerance to waterlogging in Q. robur seedlings.