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Malengue AS, Miranda I, Simões R, Lourenço A, Gominho J, Pereira H. Cork cellular and chemical features underlying bark environmental protection in the miombo species Parinari curatellifolia. Heliyon 2023; 9:e21135. [PMID: 37928381 PMCID: PMC10622615 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Revised: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Parinari curatellifolia is an important evergreen tree from the Miombo woodland of south-central and eastern Africa. The bark is corky, suggesting an increased protection against the ecosystem high temperatures and drought conditions as well as against wild fires. The cork in the bark rhytidome of P. curatellifolia was analyzed here for the first time with a focus on chemical and cellular features. P. curatellifolia cork has the cellular characteristics of cork tissues, with typical honeycomb structure in the tangential section and a brick-wall layer in the transverse and radial sections, without intercellular voids. Chemically P. curatellifolia cork has 8.4 % extractives, 33.9 % suberin, 31.9 % lignin and 25.2 % polysaccharides of the cork. The hemicelluloses are mostly xylans, with a substantial proportion of arabinose and galactose. Suberin showed a proportion of long chain lipids to glycerol (LCLip:Gly, mass ratio) of 8.5, and the long chain monomeric composition included a similar proportion of α,ω-diacids and ω-hydroxy acids (35.4 % and 31.5 % of long chain monomers) with a substantial proportion of monoacids (19.4 % of long chain monomers). Lignin is a guaiacyl-syringyl lignin with S/G of 0.32 and H:G:S of 1:14.1:4.5. The rhytidome composition and the cellular and chemical features of its cork are in line with environment-targeted protective features namely as a transpiration and insulation barrier, and as an increased fire protection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abílio Santos Malengue
- Centro de Estudos Florestais, Laboratório Associado Terra, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
- Faculdade de Ciências Agrarias da Universidade José Eduardo dos Santos, Huambo, Angola
| | - Isabel Miranda
- Centro de Estudos Florestais, Laboratório Associado Terra, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Rita Simões
- Centro de Estudos Florestais, Laboratório Associado Terra, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Ana Lourenço
- Centro de Estudos Florestais, Laboratório Associado Terra, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Jorge Gominho
- Centro de Estudos Florestais, Laboratório Associado Terra, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Helena Pereira
- Centro de Estudos Florestais, Laboratório Associado Terra, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
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Riparian plant species of Sherichhu River in Eastern Bhutan: their diversity, distribution, and ethnobotanical uses. Trop Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s42965-021-00173-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Forest Resources Management and Sustainability: The Specific Case of European Union Countries. SUSTAINABILITY 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/su13010058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Forest land provides several environmental services and goods with significant implications for different socioeconomic and environmental dimensions. Forestry and its management are determinant activities for sustainable development, specifically in the current context of urgent mitigation of climate change. In this perspective, one objective of this research was to survey the main insights from the literature about the forest and management dimensions put together, highlighting the contributions of these activities to mitigate climate change. Another objective was to explore indicators related to forest management (land, employment, output, and net emissions) in order to obtain a forest sustainability index through factor analysis. As main insights from this study, we can quote that the literature survey pinpoints the most relevant factors framing forest management: soil characteristics, ecology, ecosystems, biodiversity, deforestation, climate change, socioeconomic frameworks, local knowledge, public policies, institutional context, and new technologies. Forest indicators reveal a strong relationship between forest land, employment and output, and a weaker relation with net emissions. We concluded that there is a need for stakeholders to explore and improve the interlinkage with climate change impact, specifically with regard to improving the relationships of forestry greenhouse gas emissions impacts with forest size and output.
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Jinga P, Palagi J. Dry and wet miombo woodlands of south-central Africa respond differently to climate change. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2020; 192:372. [PMID: 32417982 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-020-08342-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2019] [Accepted: 05/04/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
It is important to understand how species distributions will shift under climate change. While much focus has been on species tracking temperature changes in the northern hemisphere, changing precipitation patterns in tropical regions have received less attention. The aim of the study was to estimate the current distribution of wet and dry miombo woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa and to predict their distributions under different climate change scenarios. A maximum entropy method (Maxent) was used to estimate the distributions and for projections. Occurrence records of dominant tree species in each woodland were used for modeling, together with altitude, soil characteristics, and climate variables as the environmental variables. Modeling was done under all four representative concentration pathways (RCPs) and three general circulation models. Three dominant tree species were used in models of dry miombo while seven were used for wet miombo. Models estimated dry miombo to cover almost the entire known distribution of miombo woodlands while wet miombo were estimated to predominate in parts of Angola, southern Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Future climate scenarios predict a drier climate in sub-Saharan Africa, and as a result, the range of dry miombo will expand. Dry miombo were predicted to expand by up to 17.3% in 2050 and 22.7% in 2070. In contrast, wet miombo were predicted to contract by up to - 28.6% in 2050 and - 41.6% in 2070. A warming climate is conducive for the proliferation of dry miombo tree species but unfavorable for wet miombo tree species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Percy Jinga
- Biological Sciences Department, Bindura University of Science Education, Private Bag, 1020, Bindura, Zimbabwe.
| | - Jason Palagi
- Biological Sciences Department, Sewanee: The University of the South, 735 University Avenue, Sewanee, TN, 37383, USA
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Maquia I, Catarino S, Pena AR, Brito DRA, Ribeiro NS, Romeiras MM, Ribeiro-Barros AI. Diversification of African Tree Legumes in Miombo-Mopane Woodlands. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2019; 8:E182. [PMID: 31226765 PMCID: PMC6631767 DOI: 10.3390/plants8060182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2019] [Revised: 06/17/2019] [Accepted: 06/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
The southern African Miombo and Mopane ecoregions constitute a unique repository of plant diversity whose diversification and evolutionary history is still understudied. In this work, we assessed the diversity, distribution, and conservation status of Miombo and Mopane tree legumes within the Zambezian phytoregion. Data were retrieved from several plant and gene databases and phylogenetic analyses were performed based on genetic barcodes. Seventy-eight species (74 from Miombo and 23 from Mopane, 19 common to both ecoregions) have been scored. Species diversity was high within both ecoregions, but information about the actual conservation status is scarce and available only for ca. 15% of the species. Results of phylogenetic analyses were consistent with current legume classification but did not allow us to draw any conclusion regarding the evolutionary history of Miombo and Mopane tree legumes. Future studies are proposed to dissect the diversity and structure of key species in order to consolidate the network of conservation areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivete Maquia
- Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food (LEAF), Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ISA), Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisbon, Portugal.
- Biotechnology Center, Eduardo Mondlane University, Av. de Moçambique Km 1.5, Maputo 1109, Mozambique.
| | - Silvia Catarino
- Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food (LEAF), Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ISA), Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisbon, Portugal.
- Forest Research Center (CEF), Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ISA), Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisboa, Portugal.
| | - Ana R Pena
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c), Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisbon, Portugal.
| | - Denise R A Brito
- Biotechnology Center, Eduardo Mondlane University, Av. de Moçambique Km 1.5, Maputo 1109, Mozambique.
| | - Natasha S Ribeiro
- Faculty of Agronomy and Forest Engineering, Eduardo Mondlane University, Campus1, P.O. Box 257, Maputo 1102, Mozambique.
| | - Maria M Romeiras
- Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food (LEAF), Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ISA), Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisbon, Portugal.
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c), Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisbon, Portugal.
| | - Ana I Ribeiro-Barros
- Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food (LEAF), Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ISA), Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisbon, Portugal.
- Unidade de Geobiociências, Geoengenharias e Geotecnologias (GeoBioTec), Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 2829-516 Monte de Caparica, Portugal.
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Defining Deforestation Patterns Using Satellite Images from 2000 and 2017: Assessment of Forest Management in Miombo Forests—A Case Study of Huambo Province in Angola. SUSTAINABILITY 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/su11010098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
A few studies have recently been published on changes in land use/land cover (LU/LC) of Angolan Miombo forests, however, none have attempted to offer forest management solutions for degraded Miombo forests. Landscapes are witness to past and present natural and social processes influencing the environment, where each period in the past leaves footprints on the landscape’s development, which can be described by a continual decrease in forest area over time. The expansion of degraded areas from 2000 to 20017 began near urban areas where many Miombo forests have been eliminated or highly degraded, particularly in the southwest and northeast of the Huambo province. Large areas of degraded forests were observed along the Benguela railway (Caminho de ferro de Benguela). Our detailed analysis of the landcover map suggests that the impact has been devastating and there is no form of forest protection, which leads to unregulated exploitation. Descriptions of the Miombo forest dynamics are explained using height–diameter curves developed for different vegetation types that provide important insights about forest structures in the management zones. The height–diameter models differed for all vegetation types, and four management zones (MZ) were created based on a set of particular attributes. The vegetation types differed in each management zone, which included agricultural land and bare soil (MZ–E), grassland or savanna (MZ–C), open Miombo forests (MZ–B), and closed Miombo forests (Miombo forests). The four management zones were easily identified on the available maps and the height–diameter models developed represent a fundamental tool for future studies on forest planning.
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Value Chain of Charcoal Production and Implications for Forest Degradation: Case Study of Bié Province, Angola. ENVIRONMENTS 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/environments5110113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Forest degradation and forest loss threaten the survival of many species and reduce the ability of forests to provide vital services. Clearing for agriculture in Angola is an important driver of forest degradation and deforestation. Charcoal production for urban consumption as a driver of forest degradation has had alarming impacts on natural forests, as well as on the social and economic livelihood of the rural population. The charcoal impact on forest cover change is in the same order of magnitude as deforestation caused by agricultural expansion. However, there is a need to monitor the linkage between charcoal production and forest degradation. The aim of this paper is to investigate the sequence of the charcoal value chain as a systematic key to identify policies to reduce forest degradation in the province of Bié. It is a detailed study of the charcoal value chain that does not stop on the production and the consumption side. The primary data of this study came from 330 respondents obtained through different methods (semi-structured questionnaire survey and market observation conducted in June to September 2013–2014). A logistic regression (logit) model in IBM SPSS Statistics 24 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY, USA) was used to analyze the factors influencing the decision of the households to use charcoal for domestic purposes. The finding indicates that 21 to 27 thousand hectares were degraded due to charcoal production. By describing the chain of charcoal, it was possible to access the driving factors for charcoal production and to obtain the first-time overview flow of charcoal from producers to consumers in Bié province. The demand for charcoal in this province is more likely to remain strong if government policies do not aim to employ alternative sources of domestic energy.
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