[MPWG] Excerpts about North American native plants from recent Non-Wood Forest Products (NWFP)-Digest-L
Patricia_DeAngelis at fws.gov
Patricia_DeAngelis at fws.gov
Thu May 20 10:07:07 CDT 2010
The last three issues of FAO’s NWFP(Non-Wood Forest Products)-Digest-L
included several items on North American native plant issues or species
that may be of interest to you. It's rather long, but tehre was a lot of
good stuff!
FAO’s NWFP-Digest-L is a free e-mail journal that covers all aspects of
non-wood forest products. The most recent Digests are not posted on the
website yet (though they will be, eventually). Back issues of the Digest
may be found on FAO's NWFP home page: www.fao.org/forestry/site/12980/en
Excerpts pertaining to Canadian, U.S., and Mexicican native plants are
included below. Of special note, are several articles of interest in the
February issue of Conservation Biology, Volume 24, Issue 1 (
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/123243210/issue)
-Patricia
PS: I am cross-posting this to the MPWG listserve, so pardon the duplicate
email if you subscribe to both lists.
Patricia S. De Angelis, Ph.D.
Botanist - Division of Scientific Authority
Chair - Plant Conservation Alliance - Medicinal Plant Working Group
US Fish & Wildlife Service
4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 110
Arlington, VA 22203
703-358-1708 x1753
FAX: 703-358-2276
Promoting sustainable use and conservation of our native medicinal plants.
<www.nps.gov/plants/medicinal>
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NWFP-Digest-L
No. 4/10
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COUNTRY INFORMATION
20. Mexico: Forest Pays Dividends for Farmers
Source: CEPF E-News, January 2010
Adalberto “Tito” Vargas Guillen recalls his first meeting with some 30
coffee growers in the Sierra Madre Mountains of Chiapas, Mexico. A project
coordinator with the AMBIO Cooperative, Vargas was pitching a swap:
conservation coffee for carbon offset payments.
Using balloons of carbon dioxide as models, Vargas briefed his audience on
the carbon cycle, photosynthesis and global warming. One community elder
weighed in. “We already knew that trees clean the air and supply us with
oxygen,” said the man, Vargas recounts. “What we didn’t know was that we
are the ones who are polluting the air.”
That insight and the chance for income led growers in eight villages to
join Scolel Te (“The tree that grows” in the Mayan dialect of Tzeltal), an
AMBIO-operated forestry program supported by CEPF.
Participating growers are interplanting their coffee with Inga edulis, a
tree that provides edible legumes and nitrogen-fixing bacteria that help
fertilize the soil—plus partial shade for the coffee and habitat for birds
and other species. Farmers are also planting other species of trees on
their plantations and as living fences to control livestock movement. The
additional trees absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and
companies and other entities looking to offset their emissions purchase
carbon credits generated by the project, which in turn results in payments
to the growers.
“There’s a great enthusiasm for this program among the people,” Vargas
says.
Scolel Te has a strategic role to play in establishing green buffer zones
between three protected natural reserves. The program will link the
reserves of El Triunfo, La Sepultura and La Frailescana, strengthening
biodiversity in the mountains of Chiapas.
Twelve other villages have joined the original eight and Vargas now counts
upwards of 300 participants, thanks to additional support from Mexico’s
National Commission of Natural Protected Areas.
For full story, please see:
www.cepf.net/about_cepf/annual_reports/2009/Pages/ecosystem_services.aspx
23. Building sustainable and competitive tourism enterprises in
Northern Mesoamerica
Source: Eco-Index monthly update, March 2010
Working with a number of partner organizations, the Rainforest Alliance
has increased the number and competitiveness of tourism enterprises in
Lacandonia, Mexico and Huehuetenango, Guatemala that are implementing best
management practices for sustainable tourism. The long-term goal of this
project, and the Rainforest Alliance’s work in general, was to transform
the tourism industry into one in which transparency and environmental and
social responsibility are inherent in both the operation and
commercialization of each tourism business, so as to increase the positive
impacts and reduce the negative impacts of tourism on the environment and
local cultures, particularly in areas of rich biodiversity with fragile
ecosystems and vulnerable communities.
In order to do this, the project strengthened the supply of sustainable
tourism services in target sites by providing the necessary assistance for
sustainability practices to be implemented, and linking suppliers of
sustainable tourism services with the marketplace.
Among the objectives of the project were to: (1) conserve local water and
soil resources through tourism operations’ implementation of water usage
reduction plans, solid and liquid waste management plans and introduction
of environmentally-friendly cleaning products; (2) enhance wildlife
habitat and connectivity through native species reforestation efforts; (3)
decrease negative impacts on protected areas through tourism enterprises’
cooperative enforcement of protected area regulations; (4) increase
tourist support of local conservation through direct action and
environmental education efforts; (5) protect threatened and endangered
animal and plant species through the adoption of policies and practices
that prevent the consumption, sale, traffic, and display of flora and
fauna species.
The long-term regional strategy of the Rainforest Alliance, in which this
project plays an important role in, is to work with small-medium
enterprises and community-based tourism operations located in rural areas,
inside biological corridors, and in close proximity to or within protected
areas.
For fully story, please see:
http://eco-index.org/search/results.cfm?projectID=1292
24. Communities in Colombia and Mexico invest in natural wealth
Source: CEPF E-News, January 2010
Under the August sun, humpback whales churn the waters of Málaga Bay, on
the southwest coast of Colombia. They come to breed and feast on the
teeming sea life nurtured by coastal mangrove forests.
Afro-Colombians, the descendants of escaped slaves, harvest wood and hunt
in these forests. The men fish in the bay and women gather the
black-shelled piangua mollusks from the stilt-like roots of the mangroves.
Faced with a dwindling catch, the local community council took the lead in
preserving this delicate ecosystem for future generations. Aided by CEPF,
the council successfully advocated for the government’s declaration
creating the La Plata Integrated Management System and the Regional
Natural Park of Sierpe reserves.
“The community has an interest in a protected area that would safeguard
its access to the resources needed for subsistence,” says Angela Andrade,
Conservation International’s policy coordinator in Colombia, noting local
concerns about logging and poaching as well as diminished fisheries. Plus,
a formal declaration from the government would head off periodic plans for
a mega-port on the bay.
Northward, in the Mexican state of Veracruz, other communities pushed this
year to establish new communal lands. Set aside to be locally managed for
50 years, they comprise the 1 000-hectare Grindstone reserve in La Cueva
del Jabalí, the 722-hectare Spider Monkey Forest in Francisco Javier Mina,
and the 654-hectare Pheasant Forest in Francisco Villa. The three villages
have pledged to preserve trees, curtail poaching and logging, and guard
the reserves.
It took a year of meetings to win local approval for the plan, says Paloma
Mejía, project coordinator at Mexican nonprofit Pronatura, but ultimately,
the people took the long view. “They want their sons and daughters to know
the rainforest that they knew as children,” Mejía says. To help sustain
this spider monkey habitat, the plan includes developing eco-friendly
enterprises as alternatives to traditional cattle farming.
For full story, please see:
www.cepf.net/about_cepf/annual_reports/2009/Pages/community_engagement.aspx
EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
39. Wilderness Society Scholarships
Source: Biological Conservation Newsletter, 1 March 2010
The Wilderness Society (TWS) is now accepting applications for the 2010
Gloria Barron Wilderness Society Scholarship. This US$10,000 scholarship
is awarded annually to a graduate student in natural resources management,
law or policy programs.
The scholarship seeks to encourage individuals who have the potential to
make a significant positive difference in the long-term protection of
wilderness in North America.
The award is made in support of research and preparation of a paper on an
aspect of wilderness establishment, protection, or management. The work
may apply to a particular landscape or it may address issues broadly.
TWS strongly encourages proposals relating to climate change, as well as
other topics regarding wilderness conservation.
The application deadline is 31 March 2010.
For more information and application instructions, please contact:
Christine Soliva
Research Project Coordinator
Ecology and Economics Research Department
The Wilderness Society
E-mail: Barron_scholarship at tws.org
Website:
http://wilderness.org/content/gloria-barron-scholarship-guidelines.
40. World Forestry Institute International Fellowship Program
Source: IUFRO News, Volume 39, Issue 2, 2010
The World Forestry Institute Fellowship Program invites professionals in
natural resources to conduct a practical research project at the World
Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon.
For more information, please contact:
World Forestry Institute Program
4033 SW Canyon Road
3 SW Canyon Road
Portland, Oregon 97221
USA
Tel: +1-503-488-2130
Fax:+1-503-228-4608
E-mail: swu at worldforestry.org
Website: http://wfi.worldforestry.org/index/international-fellowship.html
41. Full-time faculty appointment: Functional ecology of trees
Source: IUFRO News, Volume 39, Issue 2, 2010
The Department of Biological Sciences at UQAM (Université du Québec à
Montréal), Canada, is seeking a terrestrial ecologist to fill a
tenure-track faculty position. This position is connected to the new
National Science and Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Chair
in tree growth control.
For more information, please visit:
www.iufro.org/discover/noticeboard/#c14607
46. Web sites and e-zines
Southern Forests for the the future
The World Resources Institute has launched a website that maps forests in
the southern United States, which produce more pulp for paper than any
place on Earth. Using satellite imagery, GoogleEarth technology, and
decades of forest data, the site depicts threats to the region’s forests
including pest and pathogen outbreaks, wildfire, logging, and human
development, the leading cause of deforestation in the South.
www.seesouthernforests.org
The National Biodiversity Indicators Portal
This new website provides guidance and examples to support the development
and effective use of biodiversity indicators. These capacity building
resources are the product of more than five years of experience by
UNEP-WCMC and the 2010 BIP.
www.bipnational.net/
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PRODUCTS
3. Candelilla wax: regulating trade
Source: Gulf Times (Qatar), 15 March 2010
Top experts attending the ongoing triennial CITES meeting will consider
how best to regulate trade in wild plants and products made out of them.
Musical instruments, cancer medicines, emulsions, polishes,
gums, cosmetics and many other products contain wild plants protected by
CITES, including the big-leaf mahogany.
The CITES member-states will also discuss the merits of
removing the controls for lipsticks and other products containing
candelilla wax (Euphorbiaceae family).
Products containing candelilla wax are traded in enormous
quantities through a complex supply chain. Relaxing the current controls
on finished products containing candelilla would allow enforcement
officers to focus on the smuggling of illegal timber and other endangered
plants from their natural habitats.
Candelilla is a shrubby plant whose natural range extends from
the southwest of the US (New Mexico and Texas) to Mexico, having densely
clustered stems that yield the multipurpose candelilla wax. Its distinct
properties make it an essential raw material in a wide array of cosmetics
(especially lipsticks), inks, dyes, adhesives, coatings, emulsions,
polishes, pharmaceutical products and gum base.
To date, Mexico seems to be the only country exporting
candelilla wax. However, some of the wax is exported to the US, from where
traders re-export it to Europe or the Far East, sometimes without the
mandatory CITES re-export certificates.
For full story, please see:
www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=348830&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16
7. Ginseng: Wonder of the world
Source: Epoch Times (USA), 23 February 2010
Ginseng has always been shrouded in folklore and magic. Like the rich
mountain forests where it grows naturally, its use dates back to
antiquity. Ginseng is a perennial herb belonging to the genus Panax, which
is derived from the Greek word Panakos, or panacea in English, meaning an
all-healing remedy.
Both the Asian and American varieties are employed
medicinally, sharing the same growth habits and virtually the same
appearance, with the only difference being that the Asian variety is
larger.
American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) is found throughout the
deciduous mountain forests of Central and Eastern North America. The first
specimens of American ginseng were transported to Europe in 1704.
It should come as no surprise that the North American Indians
also knew of and utilized ginseng root for its medicinal qualities. They
called it Garantoquen, which translates as "like a man," in reference to
its forked root structure, which closely resembles the shape of a man.
American Indians have a particular method of harvesting the
root whereby it is only harvested after the red fruit of the plant has
reached maturity. They then bend the stem down to the ground before
proceeding to dig the root. This method reportedly increases the
germination rate and provides for a greater future yield.
The Sioux Indian women had especially well-developed ways of
cleaning and processing ginseng, and were said to collect the finest root
of all the tribes.
Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng) is found primarily in the
Northern Hemisphere and mainly in China, Tibet, Mongolia, and Korea. The
Korean and Manchurian species are traditionally considered the most highly
prized. Wealthy Chinese will pay up to US$200 000 for the
vitality-enhancing properties of a premium grade ginseng root.
These highly prized roots are found growing wild in the
mountainous regions of Korea and the Changbai and Xiaoxinganling Mountains
in China’s northeast. They grow on steep slopes at heights between 500
meters to 1 100 meters above sea level.
Wild ginseng growing in ancient forests with deep loamy soil
and moisture-laden air is found to have a much greater potency than
ginseng grown commercially out of its natural environment.
Ginseng is indeed the most highly valued of all herbs by
Chinese physicians and its use dates back at least 5 000 years.
For full story, please see: www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/30284/
8. Maple Syrup: Scientists highlight health benefits of
pure maple syrup
Source: www.topnews.us, 22 March 2010
Scientists have revealed that pure maple syrup is good for health,
encouraging its use.
Researcher Navindra Seeram from the University of Rhode Island
(United States), who specializes in research of medicinal plants, has
discovered that there are over 20 compounds in Canadian maple syrup which
can be directly linked to human health, with 13 of these compounds being
discovered for the first time ever. Also, eight of the said compounds have
been discovered in the Acer (commonly maple) family for the first time.
Many of these antioxidant compounds that have been discovered
in maple syrup reportedly contain anti-cancer, anti-bacterial and
anti-diabetic properties as well.
"We are proud that our producers are generously supporting
this research, bringing to light a greater understanding of the
gastronomic and health benefits of maple products. It is not just for
Canada, but for the welfare of consumers around the world", said President
of the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers, Serge Beaulieu, while
stressing that Mr. Seeram's laboratory is just one of the sources which is
now working towards expansion of a multi-national network of research
facilities contributing to the study of Canada's maple products.
http://topnews.us/content/213963-scientists-highlight-health-benefits-pure-maple-syrup
11. Medicinal Plants: Unlocking keys to herbal medicines
Source: University of Maryland, 26 March 2010
A team of researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, United
States (UMB), writing in the science journal PLoS ONE, have developed a
biologic method to tease out which compounds from herbal medicines and
medicinal herbal mixtures produce their reputed medicinal benefits.
"This provides the first step to find, from all of the
hundreds of compounds in herbs, which ones have potential for medicinal
purposes. And you can do this very quickly and efficiently," says
co-author Laura Dosanjh, graduate student with the School of Pharmacy at
UMB.
Science has not been very helpful in determining the efficacy
of herbal medicines in the United States. The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA), for example, has so far sided with science only once
to approve an herb-based treatment with multiple active ingredients – an
ointment for genital warts made from green tea leaves.
Now, using tiny worms that live only 20 days, the team sorted
out which compounds found in two common Chinese herbal formulations showed
the most potential for their stated purpose: extending life expectancy.
Cinnamon and ginseng won, showing the most promise.
A team led by Yuan Luo, PhD, MS, associate professor at the
School, conducted a first-of-its-kind, "systematic evaluation" of a
mixture of 10 herbs called Shi-Quan-Da-Bu-Tang (SQDB), reportedly
effective for fatigue and energy; and an 11-herb formula called Huo Luo
Xiao Ling Dan (HLXL) used as a treatment of arthritic joint pain. Both
mixtures are reputed to have benefits for healthy living and longevity in
humans.
The researchers tested the mixtures, as well as each separate
herb in them, on the laboratory worm model C. elegans. This particular
worm – which biochemists often use as their “lab rat” – shares genes for
aging and other traits with humans and other organisms.
Cinnamon bark (Cinnamomum cassia) from HLXL extended the life
span of the worms by 14.5 percent and cinnamon bark from SQDB extended the
life 10.8 percent. Ginseng root (Panax ginseng) from SQDB extended life
span by 7.7 percent. Significantly, cinnamon, ginseng, and SQDB also
thinned out levels of hydrogen peroxide, which can destroy cells. They
each also enhanced expression of small heat shock proteins, an indicator
for cellular response to stress that plays an important role in
maintenance of cell functions.
Herbal medicines are usually mixtures of herbs. That presents
a severe challenge for the FDA to understand which compounds or
combinations of compounds in the herbs are effective or not effective.
"Because it's very difficult to sort out so many herbs with so
many constituents together, we needed to find a model. And there is a high
level of [common genetic origins] with the nematode and humans," says
Dosanjh.
Luo adds, "To isolate a single compound from an herb and test
it for a medical condition often doesn't work; not like the whole herb
works."
C. elegans is valuable to science because its very short life
cycle is suitable for conducting rapid experiments and between 60 to 80
percent of the 20 000 genes in C. elegans genome have similar origins to
human genes. The genes are found consistently along the evolutionary paths
including the worms and humans.
For full story, please see:
www.oea.umaryland.edu/communications/news/?ViewStatus=FullArticle&articleDetail=8895
16. Vegetable ivory: Nutty jewellery
Source: The Day (USA), 21 March 2010
In the village of Ivoryton (United States), small images of elephants
adorn shop signs. For almost 100 years, some 90 percent of all the ivory
imported to the United States from Africa was shipped to factories in
Ivoryton or nearby Deep River.
By 1850, a few small companies were using the elephant tusks
to make combs, toiletries, billiard balls and sewing implements. The
business grew into making piano keys, fuelled by a national demand for a
piano in every parlour during the Victorian period.
These days, plastic materials have replaced ivory in
manufacturing many of those products, but consumer demand for ivory
remains in some parts of the world. Although the international commercial
ivory trade was banned in 1989, poaching continues to threaten the
endangered animals.
Ivoryton resident Desiree Richardell could help change that.
Originally from Ecuador, Richardell is part of a family business that's
marketing "vegetable ivory" as an alternative to the real thing.
Richardell makes jewelry from the tagua palm tree (Phytelephas
aequatorialisa) that grows in the forests of South America. It is the only
plant product that produces a material so white, durable and pure, she
says. The plant version, however, is lighter, harder and less porous than
real ivory. During the first and second world war, tagua was used for
buttons on U.S. army uniforms, making it a major industry in Colombia and
Ecuador. It, too, fell out of use in lieu of plastic, but it is coming
back into use for various crafts.
When Richardell's family came to the United States about 10
years ago, her aunt wanted to start a business that would also help their
home country. She discovered the tagua nut.
Her extended family, along with six other families, lives in
the rainforest and collects the tagua seeds, which fall naturally so the
harvest does not harm the trees. The seeds then have to dry in the sun for
six to 10 months.
The nuts are sent to her aunt, whose husband is a woodcarver.
He carves the plant into pieces, polishing some, dyeing some and leaving
others in a natural form.
Richardell then turns the pieces into chunky bracelets,
necklaces, earrings and rings, some wrapped in wire designs.
Richardell said the families in Ecuador are paid a salary,
rather than per pound, so they have a monthly income, which is important
to her because the poverty rate in her home country is about 38 percent.
"I know I'm not changing the world, but this is something that
can help," Richardell said.
For full story, please see:
www.theday.com/article/20100321/NWS08/303219992/-1/NWS
COUNTRY INFORMATION
18. Canada: Increasing recognition of value of NTFPs
Source: www.bclocalnews.com (Canada), 23 March 2010
Randy Moody from Royal Roads University (RRU) ? during a presentation of
a study on Non Timber Forest Products (NTFP) conducted by the RRU in 2009
? said that the cultivation of NTFP's including raspberries,
huckleberries, soap berries, balsam sap, cranberries, saskatoons,
rosehips, mushrooms, juniper, and birch, was receiving increased
recognition in British Columbia.
Plants such as these could be used for a food source,
traditional uses and commercial uses.
"The forest manager will only consider these species as viable
for growth in a forest if there can be a value attached to them. These
species can coexist with timber species and be grown as a value added
resource," Moody said.
"Community members often know where the very best producing
berry patches are," said Moody who also argues that constant variables
determine the areas of growth for various species native to the local
area.
Moody also pointed out that the study had identified that
plant quality was more important to people than plant quantity.
"Harvesters will always search out the best berries, there may
only be one or two berry bushes in this location, but they will produce
the biggest and juiciest berries year after year," he said.
We have made the variables available to the Burns Lake
Community Forest (British Colombia) and they can all be addressed at the
community forest level," Moody added.
According to Moody people want to have NTFP management as a component of
forest management.
"People do not want sites wiped out of all species, and
growing NTFPs would probably help generate tourism. If you attach a value
to NTFPs, then you can manage for them. We know that soap berry and
huckleberry are two species that are affected by clear cutting."
"We are hoping that silviculture surveyors and foresters
become aware of site characteristics for berry production and will
consider that there are other values out there."
For full story, please see:
www.bclocalnews.com/bc_north/lakesdistrictnews/business/88929152.html
27. United States: The trouble with Oregon's truffles
Source: www.oregonlive.com, 19 March 2010
Truffles and Oregon are becoming synonymous - at least on the West Coast
of the United States. This is where many chefs appreciate the culinary
value of Oregon truffles – and harvesters their cash value. But is this
resource sustainable?
In Oregon and elsewhere across the country, commercial
harvesters rake truffles from the soil with a garden cultivator, sometimes
called a potato fork, in a mostly indiscriminate fashion. This method
procures the most truffles in the shortest amount of time, and with the
least effort. But it yields both mature (ripe) and young (not so ripe)
truffles. For culinary purposes, only mature truffles are worth their full
value, both monetarily and gastronomically.
The reason commercial harvesters use this method is twofold.
First, it is about the money -- more truffles means higher cash returns.
Second, there is no other method readily available. Unscrupulous truffle
hunters hurt the land with their metal forks. A walk through any
accessible, coastal tree farm reveals the scars: trenches run deep along
tree roots; dirt mounds, piled in high rows, look like a battleground
cemetery; the once-sparse vegetation is gone, erosion is severe. In some
forest stands, the truffles are gone, too. Decades of abuse have
devastated the truffle's mycorrhizal network. That abuse also threatens
the continuance of Oregon's truffle industry.
But there is hope. Oregon truffles, despite decades of
haphazard harvest methods, finally have reprieve: The increasing use of
dogs to locate truffles is replacing the potato fork. Using dogs instead
of rakes assures that only truffles at their peak ripeness are dug up.
But the use of dogs to find truffles in the U.S. is in its
infancy, and places training and selling dogs for this purpose are scarce.
The North American Truffle Society's Web site (www.natruffling.org/) lists
only two facilities in the U.S. that train dogs to find truffles, with one
of those here in Oregon.
Recent news stories about truffle thieves and the damage they
cause to young forest stands highlight the need for state-wide regulation
of this resource. Stricter trespassing laws will not help alleviate theft;
truffles, apparently, are worth the risk. Nevertheless, new laws and
regulations are needed and must focus on truffle buyers, sellers and
harvesters.
A state-mandated Oregon truffle season, in tandem with a
permitting system akin to hunting and fishing licenses sold by the state,
is necessary. Without adequate regulations and enforcement of truffle
resources, on both public and private lands, landowners will continue to
incur damage to their property and lost revenues in the form of dead
trees.
For full story, please see:
www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/03/the_trouble_with_oregons_truff.html
LITERATURE REVIEW AND WEBSITES
40. FAO publishes key findings of global forest resources assessment
Source: FAO Media Centre, 25 March 2010
Globally, around 13 million hectares of forests were converted to other
uses or lost through natural causes each year between 2000 and 2010 as
compared to around 16 million hectares per year during the 1990s,
according to key findings of FAO's most comprehensive forest review to
date “The Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010.” The study covers 233
countries and areas.
FAO's Global Forest Resources Assessments are published every
five years. More than 900 specialists from 178 countries were involved in
the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010. The full report of this
Assessment will be released in October 2010.
Key findings:
Brazil and Indonesia, which had the highest loss of forests in the 1990s,
have significantly reduced their deforestation rates. In addition,
ambitious tree planting programmes in countries such as China, India, the
United States and Viet Nam - combined with natural expansion of forests in
some regions - have added more than seven million hectares of new forests
annually. As a result the net loss of forest area was reduced to 5.2
million hectares per year between 2000 and 2010, down from 8.3 million
hectares annually in the 1990s.
The world's total forest area is just over four billion
hectares or 31 percent of the total land area. The net annual loss of
forests (when the sum of all gains in forest area is smaller than all
losses) in 2000-2010 is equivalent to an area about the size of Costa
Rica.
South America and Africa had the highest net annual loss of
forests in 2000-2010, with four and 3.4 million hectares respectively.
Oceania also registered a net loss, due partly to severe drought in
Australia since 2000.
Asia, on the other hand, registered a net gain of some 2.2
million hectares annually in the last decade, mainly because of
large-scale afforestation programmes in China, India and Viet Nam, which
have expanded their forest area by a total of close to four million
hectares annually in the last five years. However, conversion of forested
lands to other uses continued at high rates in many countries.
In North and Central America, the forest area remained fairly
stable, while in Europe it continued to expand, although at a slower rate
than previously.
"For the first time, we are able to show that the rate of
deforestation has decreased globally as a result of concerted efforts
taken both at local and international level," said Eduardo Rojas,
Assistant Director-General of FAO's Forestry Department.
"Not only have countries improved their forest policies and
legislation, they have also allocated forests for use by local communities
and indigenous peoples and for the conservation of biological diversity
and other environmental functions. This is a very welcoming message in
2010 - the International Year of Biodiversity.
"However, the rate of deforestation is still very high in many
countries and the area of primary forest - forests undisturbed by human
activity - continues to decrease, so countries must further strengthen
their efforts to better conserve and manage them", he added.
For full story, please see:
www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/40893/icode/
42. Mushrooms - edible and medicinal
Source: www.downeast.com, 20 March 2010
Increasingly the United States is awakening to the health promoting
potential of wild mushrooms, and in this new book, Mushrooms for Health:
Medicinal Secrets of Northeastern Fungi, Maine mycologist Greg Marley
discusses in great depth the world’s best researched and supported
medicinal mushrooms commonly found throughout the northeast. In this
detailed guidebook, readers will find the most in-depth coverage on
mushroom identification and their intrinsic value for boosting the immune
system and warding off diseases from bronchitis to cancer. Plus, readers
will learn that these beneficial mushrooms can be really tasty.
Marley focuses on ten mushroom species found in New England
and elsewhere, too. In each case, there are no poisonous look-alikes
discussed in the book. It is an informational guide on regional mycology
that will appeal to anyone who enjoys foraging and who has an interest in
alternative, self-directed healthcare.
Greg Marley, of Rockland, Maine has studied mushrooms for more
than 30 years. He has a B.S. in Botany with a minor in Chemistry and a
focus on plant taxonomy and ecology, and he is a volunteer consultant for
the Northern New England Poison Control Center and various hospital
emergency rooms for cases involving mushroom ingestion and identification.
He also cultivates edible and medicinal mushrooms and provides wild edible
mushrooms to professional chefs.
For more information, please see: www.downeast.com/node/13179
44. Other Publications of Interest
Boissiere, M., Sassen, M., Sheil, D., Heist, M. V., Jong, W. D., Cunliffe,
R., Wan, M., Padmanaba, M., Liswanti, N., Basuki, I., Evans, K.,
Cronkleton, P., Lynam, T., Koponen, P., Bairaktari, C. 2010. Researching
local perspectives on biodiversity in tropical landscapes: lessons from
ten case studies. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK.
Adams, W.M. and Redford, K.H. 2010. Ecosystem services and conservation: a
reply to Skroch and López-Hoffman. Conserv. Biol. 24(1):328-329.
Belant, J.L.,Beever, E.A., Gross, J.E., and Lawler, J.J. 2010. Ecological
responses to contemporary climate change within species, communities, and
ecosystems. Conserv. Biol. 24(1):7-9.
Crepaldi, M.O.S., and Peixoto, A.L. 2010. Use and knowledge of plants by "
Quilombolas" as subsidies for conservation efforts in an area of Atlantic
Forest in Espírito Santo State, Brazil. Biodivers. Conserv. 19:37-60.
Fa, J.E., Albrechtsen, L., Johnson, P.J., and Macdonald, D.W. 2009.
Linkages between household wealth, bushmeat and other animal protein
consumption are not invariant: evidence from Rio Muni, Equatorial Guinea.
Anim. Conserv. 12(6):599-610
Finer, M., Moncel, R., and Jenkins, C.N. 2010. Leaving the oil under the
Amazon: Ecuador's Yasuni-ITT Initiative. Biotropica 42(1):63-66.
Gavin, M.C., Solomon, J.N., and Blank, S.G. 2010. Measuring and monitoring
illegal use of natural resources. Conserv. Biol. 24(1):89-100.
Johns, D. 2010. The International Year of Biodiversity - from talk to
action. Conserv. Biol. 24(1):338-340.
Klanderud, K., Mbolatiana, H.Z.H., Vololomboahangy, M.N., Radimbison,
M.A., Roger, E., Totland, Ø., and Rajeriarison, C. 2010. Recovery of plant
species richness and composition after slash-and-burn agriculture in a
tropical rainforest in Madagascar. Biodivers. Conserv. 19:187-204.
Krupp, F., Al-Jumaily, M., Bariche, M., Khalaf, M., Malek, M., and Streit,
B. 2009. The Middle Eastern Biodiversity Network: Generating and sharing
knowledge for ecosystem management and conservation. Zookeys 31:3-15.
Laikre, L., Allendorf, F.W., Aroner, L.C., Baker, C.S., Gregovich, D.P.,
Hansen, M.M., Jackson, J.A., Kendall, K.C., McKelvey, K., Neel, M.C.,
Olivieri, I., Ryman, N., Schwartz, M.K., Bull, R.S., Stetz, J.B., Tallmon,
D.A., Taylor, B.L., Vojta, C.D., Waller, D.M., and Waples, R.S. 2010.
Neglect of genetic diversity in implementation of the Convention on
Biological Diversity. Conserv. Biol. 24(1):86-88.
Mueller, J.G., Assanou, I.H.B., Guimbo, I.D., and Almedom, A.M. 2010.
Evaluating rapid participatory rural appraisal as an assessment of
ethnoecological knowledge and local biodiversity patterns. Conserv. Biol.
24(1):140-150.
Nelson, F., Foley, C., Foley, L.S., Leposo, A., Loure, E., Peterson, D.,
Peterson, M., Peterson, T., Sachedina, H., and Williams, A. 2010. Payments
for ecosystem services as a framework for community-based conservation in
northern Tanzania. Conserv. Biol. 24(1):78-85.
Paillet, Y., Bergès, L., Hjältén, J., Ódor, P., Avon, C.,
Bernhardt-Römermann, M., Bijlsma, R.J., De Bruyn, L., Fuhr, M., Grandin,
U., Kanka, R., Lundin, L., Luque, S., Magura, T., Matesanz, S., Mészáros,
I., Sebastià, M.T., Schmidt, W., Standovár, T., Tóthmérész, B., Uotila,
A., Valladares, F., Vellak, K., and Virtanen, R. 2010. Biodiversity
differences between managed and unmanaged forests: meta-analysis of
species richness in Europe. Conserv. Biol. 24(1):101-112.
Prajapati, Narayan Dass., Purohit, S.S., Sharma, Arun K., and Kumar,
Tarun. 2010.
A Handbook of Medicinal Plants: A Complete Source Book. India: Riddhi
International.
Abstract: The book describes more than 1 346 medicinal plants found in the
world and includes vernacular names, description, distribution, part use,
utilization, active principles, agronomic practices and 870 colour
photographs. Separate chapters on organic farming, bio-fertilizers and
bio-pesticides used for sustainable cultivation of medicinal plants, tips
for medicinal plants cultivation and multi-tier agriculture systems of
medicinal plants have been presented. The book also includes complete
addresses (including E-mail addresses) of research institutes and
agencies, NGOs, importers and exporters, traders and commission agents,
growers, seeds and planting materials suppliers, medicinal gardens, books,
analytical testing facilities, market news services, important web sites
of the world. Glossaries of various terms used and common names of
medicinal plants in different languages have been appended.
Rao, R.R., Murugan, R., and Kavitha, S. 2009. Botanical conservatories and
ex situ conservation of some rare and endemic medicinal and aromatic
plants: a case study from Western Ghats. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. India B
79:350-368.
Robinson, D. 2010. Confronting Biopiracy: Challenges, Cases and
International Debates.
UK: Earthscan.
Abstract: "Biopiracy" refers either to the unauthorised extraction of
biological resources, such as plants with medicinal properties, and
associated traditional knowledge from indigenous peoples and local
communities, or to the patenting of spurious "inventions" based on such
knowledge or resources without compensation. Biopiracy cases continue to
emerge in the media and public eye, yet they remain the source of
considerable disagreement, confusion, controversy and grief. The aim of
this book is to provide the most detailed, coherent analysis of the issue
of biopiracy to date.
The book synthesises the rise of the issue and increasing use
of the term by activists and negotiators in the World Trade Organization
(WTO) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to form a critical
understanding of the themes, implications and politics of biopiracy.
Taking a case-study based approach, derived from interviews and fieldwork
with researchers, government, industry, local farmers, healers and
indigenous people, the author sequentially documents events that have
occurred in biopiracy and bioprospecting controversies. Implications and
ethical dilemmas are explored, particularly relating to work with local
communities, and the power relations entailed.
Detailing international debates from the WTO, CBD and other
fora in an accessible manner, the book provides a unique overview of
current institutional limitations and suggests ways forward. Options and
solutions are suggested which are relevant for local communities, national
governments, international negotiators, NGO and interest groups,
researchers and industry.
Skroch, M., and López-Hoffman, L. 2010. Saving nature under the big tent
of ecosystem services: a response to Adams and Redford. Conserv. Biol.
24(1):325-327.
Wyndham, Felice, S. 2010. Environments of Learning: Rarámuri Children’s
Plant Knowledge and Experience of Schooling, Family, and Landscapes in the
Sierra Tarahumara, Mexico Human Ecology. 38:1
Abstract: This paper investigates social-environmental factors
contributing to differential ethnobotanical expertise among children in
Rarámuri (Tarahumara) communities in Chihuahua, Mexico, to explore
processes of indigenous ecological education and epistemologies of
research. One hundred and four children from two schools (one with a
Ráramuri knowledge curriculum and one without) were interviewed about
their knowledge of 40 useful plants. Overall, children showed less
ethnobotanical expertise than expected and a great deal of variability by
age, though most shared knowledge of a core set of culturally and
ecologically salient plants. The social–environmental factors significant
in predicting levels of plant knowledge among children were whether a
child attended a Rarámuri or Spanish-instruction school, and, to a lesser
extent, age. However, these effects were not strong, and individual
variability in expertise is best interpreted using ethnographic knowledge
of each child’s family and personal history, leading to a model of
ethnobotanical education that foregrounds experiential learning and
personal and family interest in useful plants. Though overall plant
knowledge may be lower among children today compared to previous
generations, a community knowledge structure seems to be reproduced in
which a few individuals in each age cohort show great proficiency, and
children make the same kinds of mistakes and share specialized names for
plants.
==============================================================
NWFP-Digest-L
No. 6/10
==============================================================
6. Chestnuts: United States growers see a future for
chestnuts
Source: www.gainesville.com (USA), 11 April 2010
Chestnut beer is one the commodities the cooperative USA Chestnut Inc.
want to market. They currently sell unprocessed chestnuts to retailers,
but they are also developing new items such as chestnut stuffing, chestnut
flour and chestnut syrup.
USA Chestnut, which is two years old, is one of a growing
number of cooperatives, nonprofits and other farming ventures in Florida
that exist outside the traditional family farm model, said Allen Wysocki,
a University of Florida professor of agricultural economics.
"It was kind of waning for a while, but I think it's on the
rise," Wysocki said of growers organized in cooperatives.
USA Chestnut Inc. consists of 10 growers who cultivate 110
acres of chestnut trees between Florida and Georgia, and they produced 23
000 pounds of chestnuts in 2008.
They pay annual dues of US$50 each, which covers the expense
of marketing materials, but cannot pay for larger projects. A majority of
the co-op members are employed outside agriculture and grow chestnuts as a
part-time activity.
Chestnut trees were once commonplace in North America until a
diseased Asian variety was introduced to the country in the early 20th
century, destroying most of the native stock. The Chinese blight fungus is
still cause for concern for growers and scientists who cultivate hybrid
varieties to become disease-resistant. Most of the chestnuts now consumed
in the United States are imported from Italy and China.
Wysocki says there is opportunity to expand this market at
home. "If co-ops can stay current with what the trends are and can find
those ways to meet customers' needs, then they're going to find success,"
he said.
For full story, please see:
www.gainesville.com/article/20100410/ARTICLES/100419967?Title=Growers-locally-see-a-future-for-chestnuts
7. Ferns: Breakthrough breast cancer treatment
Source: www.wtnh.com, 8 April 2010
The next treatment for breast cancer could stem from a fern. "The fact is
ferns had to adapt to land conditions and make some major biochemical
adaptations for purposes of protection from predators," explained Dr.
Sarah Crawford.
Dr. Crawford oversees the research at Southern Connecticut
State University (SCSU) in New Haven (Connecticut, USA). So far, the
medicinal properties of the fern are showing promising results in the
fight against aggressive forms of breast cancer.
"What we've found is that our concentrated extract works at
least as well, conservatively speaking, if not better than Taxol and some
of the standard chemotherapy that are currently used in the treatment of
the disease," Dr. Crawford explained.
In short, the highly concentrated fern extract interferes with
cancer cells.
"Attachment is essential for viability of the cells, so if the
chemicals in the plants interferes with that attachment, that will then
start to kill the cancer cells," said Deana Diamond, SCSU.
The evidence is in the tumours, which are grown outside the
body in a laboratory practice which is becoming standard. "It actually
disrupts the solid mass that we see in the dish, we can actually see it
broken apart," said Rafaela Penarreta, SCSU. And it appears the extract
has a less toxic side effect.
Next week, Dr. Crawford and her students will travel to
Washington, D.C. to present their findings before the American Association
for Cancer Research.
For full story, please see:
www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/health/health-breast-cancer
12. Palm fronds: Local churches in the USA and Palm Sunday
Source: www.northjersey.com (USA), 1 April 2010
Christians throughout the world recently celebrated Palm Sunday, and
millions of palm fronds were used around the globe to commemorate Jesus'
entrance into Jerusalem. Some churches, both globally and locally, are
providing parishioners with palms that not only help the environment, but
also help the farmers that pick them. The eco-friendly palms now being
used by some churches in South Bergen (New Jersey, USA) are harvested in
such a way that they protect and maintain palm plants and forests.
In sustainable palm harvesting, palm fronds are harvested by
quality, not quantity, so only the best palms are picked by farmers here
and abroad. Harvesting palms in a non-sustainable way means many more
palms are picked and many are discarded, harming the tree itself and its
surrounding eco-system. If they are harvested “sustainably,” the tree is
inspected for good palms and only those are taken as not to kill the tree.
The movement toward sustainability has farmers getting paid
more for their high-quality palms. St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church
in Rutherford is one of the few churches in the South Bergenite's coverage
area now using eco-friendly palms, and has been doing so for approximately
30 years.
The church orders its eco-palms from a local florist, which
get them shipped from Florida .The more eco-friendly the palm, the more
expensive it is.
Rev. Kimberly Chastain, the pastor at the United Presbyterian
Church of Lyndhurst, said the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has a
nation-wide initiative called the Eco-Palm Project that provides
Presbyterian churches throughout the country with sustainable,
eco-friendly palms. The palms are harvested in Mexico and Guatemala and
brought to the United States. Rev. Chastain said the church began using
the sustainable palms from the Eco-Palm Project in 2007, but only recently
became aware that the church was using these types of palms. "The
parishioners know about it more than I do," Rev. Chastain said.
For full story, please see:
www.northjersey.com/news/environment/89660822_Churches_go_eco-friendly_with_Palm_Sunday_services.html
15. Truffles serve up environmental information
Source: Scientific American, 6 April 2010
Truffles play a part in environmental research by attracting animals that
scientists need to observe.
Quality truffles can sell for more than a US$1000 a pound.
They’re also valuable in environmental research, work that is
discussed in an article called “The Hidden Life of Truffles” in the April
issue of Scientific American magazine, by Oregon State University’s James
Trappe and Andrew Claridge, visiting fellow at the University of New South
Wales in Australia.
Claridge is getting better estimates of Australian endangered
species populations, thanks to truffles. Some marsupials are as crazy for
truffles as some humans are. Claridge soaked foam pads with olive oil
infused with the scent of European black Perigord truffles, and left the
pads near motion-sensing cameras. The animals came in droves, with 50
times as many individuals counted as with other techniques. Claridge used
the European truffle product because it was easy to get—his team will next
see the reaction of native animals to native truffles.
Meanwhile, if you want spotted owls in the Pacific Northwest,
you need flying squirrels, the bird’s favorite food. Which means you need
an environment rich in the squirrel’s favorite food: truffles.
For full story, please see:
www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=truffles-serve-up-environmental-inf-10-04-06
COUNTRY
31. United States: Hoping to save dozens of native plants
Source: New York Times, 2 April 2010
American colonists once watched for the spring bloom of the Nantucket
shadbush, a sign that it was warm enough to bury the winter’s dead.
Today, that shadbush and dozens of other flora native to the
New York region face extinction, a result of urban development and the
encroachment of invasive plants from foreign lands, scientists from the
Brooklyn Botanic Garden report.
Hoping to revive the plants, the scientists recently completed
a 20-year project mapping species in every county within a 50-mile radius
of New York, providing detailed information on the health of more than 15
000 native and non-native species.
Humans have clearly made their mark. “Plants from other parts
of the world are now quite abundant, but there are many others that have
been lost due to urbanization,” said Gerry Moore, the botanical garden’s
science director.
Dr. Moore said the institution was hoping the maps would
inspire city and county officials and local gardeners to begin planting
endangered species.
In addition to the Nantucket shadbush, sometimes called the
Juneberry for its edible summer-ripening berries, the study found that at
least 50 native varieties were in danger of extinction, including the
coastal violet, a unique variety of violet with dissected leaves, and the
hairy angelica, a small plant with a burst of tiny white flowers.
Because plants are a crucial part of the region’s broader
biodiversity, the loss of a native plant could lead to a disappearance of
a native insect, bird or other fauna that depend on it for food, Dr. Moore
noted.
The introduction of invasive species from Europe and Asia has
played a big role in the retreat of some species, including the American
bittersweet, a vine valued for its attractive foliage and small inedible
orange berries. It was abundant in the region from the 1800s to the early
1900s, according to records. Then the Asian bittersweet, introduced from
East Asia in the 1850s, starting taking over.
Gardeners had embraced the Asian variety because it was easier
to grow, but it turned invasive, spreading wildly and eliminating other
plants.
Other native plants seem to have diminished as housing, roads
and other construction carved through meadows, woodlands and sandy
shoreland. Historical accounts first describe the coastal violet as a
resident bloom on Staten Island in the late 1800s. Today it is found only
in coastal areas of Long Island and in Monmouth County, N.J.
Movements have long been under way on the city and county
level to revive native plants. The Greenbelt Native Plant Center, a
division of New York’s Department of Parks and Recreation, opened 30 years
ago and is still planting native species in the city’s parks and gardens.
The Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s unfolding flora survey has been
a critical guide to the center over the years, said Greenbelt’s director,
Edward Toth.
“We need to know where to find these things, we need to know
where they were historically located, and we need some information on the
relative health of these plants,” Mr. Toth said.
Over the last two decades, the botanical garden has relied on
dozens of individuals and local botanical groups to survey blocks of land
in their neighbourhoods, counting and identifying plants in open fields,
vacant lots and even sidewalk cracks.
For full story, please see:
www.nytimes.com/2010/04/03/nyregion/03flora.html
32. United States: Eastern U.S. forests declining after
decades of recovery, study says
Source: Yale Environment News 360, 8 April 2010
Forest cover in the eastern U.S. has declined in recent decades after a
period of recovery that marked much of the 20th century, according to a
new study. For several decades beginning in 1920, eastern forests expanded
steadily as fields previously used for agriculture were abandoned and
trees grew, researchers with the U.S. Geological Survey found. But that
trend has reversed since the early 1970s, with a 4.1 percent decline in
forest cover from 1973 to 2000, according to a report published in the
journal BioScience.
Using remote sensing imagery, statistical data, field notes,
and photographs, researchers calculated that more than 9 million acres
were cleared from 1973 to 2000. While abandoned fields and pastures
continue to become woodlands, the study said that increases in timber
production, urban expansion, mountaintop removal mining, and reservoir
construction have created a net forest loss that “has important
implications for sustainability, future carbon sequestration, and
biodiversity.”
For full story, please see:
http://e360.yale.edu/content/digest.msp?id=2357
NEWS
33. Ecologists unveil plan for “barometer of natural life”
Source: Guardian (UK), 8 April 2010
An ambitious project to create a "barometer of life" to track the changing
fortunes of the natural world will be set out tomorrow by some of the
world's leading ecologists.
The plan is for thousands of scientists to collect information
on 160 000 of the world's nearly 2 million known species - from great
mammals, fish and birds to obscure insects and fungi - chosen to be
representative of life on Earth.
The index would more than triple the scope of what is already
the world's biggest scheme - the "red list" of extinct and endangered
species published by the International Union for the Conservation of
Nature's (IUCN) - and would be updated every five years.
The cost of building the database would be about US$60m (£39.3m), but this
would be "one of the best investments for the good of humanity," says the
proposal, published in the journal Science and co-authored by the great
American ecologist and writer Prof Edward O Wilson at Harvard University.
"The more we learn about indicator species (which can provide
information on the quality of the environment around them), the more we
know about the status of the living environment that sustains us all,"
said Wilson. "Threatened species, in particular, need to be targeted to
enable better conservation and policy decisions."
The figures could be used to help companies carry out
environmental impact assessments, allow national and international
organizations to prioritize spending, and draw public attention to
problems as a way of building support for policies to protect and improve
biodiversity, said Simon Stuart, chair of the IUCN's species survival
commission, and the paper's lead author.
"Just think of the other uses US$60m are put to by the world,
and the amount of money spent on wars or banks, or advertising," Stuart
told the Guardian. "We can put our hands on our hearts and say this would
be better for the good of humanity. First of all it's an indicator of the
health of the planet. Secondly in many parts of the world people depend on
biodiversity for food or clean water or living wages. Thirdly I'd say
because of their intrinsic value: there's something inspirational about
ecosystems and species being in good shape, and the diversity of it."
The idea – informally titled the "barometer of life" – is
supported by the IUCN and nine partner organizations, including Kew
Gardens in London, and the Zoological Society of London.
Scientists have so far described 1.9 million of the estimated
up to 10 million species of vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, fungi and
other groups on Earth, and possibly tens of millions more bacteria and
archeans.
For full story, please see:
www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/apr/08/barometer-of-life
EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
42. Center for Sustainable Development launches online
courses
Source: Tim Magee, Executive Director, 13 April 2010
The Center for Sustainable Development has launched key courses on
adapting to climate change, impact analysis, project design, community
participation, and funding inexpensively online.
The Online Learning Catalogue of Courses for Summer/Fall 2010
is now available at: www.csd-i.org/online-learning/
For more information, please contact:
Tim Magee
Executive Director
Center for Sustainable Development
724 Via Santo Tomas
Claremont, CA 91711
Tel. 909-532-5135
E-mail: Tim.Magee at csd-i.org
Website: www.csd-i.org/
LITERATURE REVIEW AND WEBSITES
45. Atlas of Global Conservation maps planet’s animals,
plants, habitats
Source: Yale Environment News 360, 7 April 2010
To mark the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, The Nature Conservancy is
publishing “The Atlas of Global Conservation,” which presents a
comprehensive picture of the planet’s animals, plants, and habitats and
the threats they face. Based on information compiled by researchers and
conservationists around the world, the atlas maps the health of habitats
and species on each continent, illustrating where nature is most
threatened and where it is thriving. For the first time, the atlas maps
specific ecosystems, such as salt marshes and kelp forests worldwide, and
depicts concentrations of freshwater birds, seabirds, and marine mammals.
Each map is supported by a database, which is searchable at a
one-kilometer scale.
In compiling the atlas, The Nature Conservancy received
contributions from more than 70 research institutions and consulted
scientific archives and Google maps. “It was easy to get data for the
United States, parts of Australia, Europe,” said Jonathan Hoekstra, lead
author of the atlas. “But for Russia? Latin America? The team had to be
creative in finding those experts.” The atlas will be published on 22
April, but an interactive version is available online.
For full story, please see:
http://e360.yale.edu/content/digest.msp?id=2356
51. Self-pollinating almond trees may replace California
beehives
Source: www.fresnobee.com (USA), 16 April 2010
Every spring, thousands of beehives are trucked into the San Joaquin
Valley (California, USA) for a massive pollination of almond trees.
Now all that could change as plant scientists and farmers begin trials of
self-pollinating almond trees that have been in development for years. If
it works, growers could save hundreds of thousands of dollars in
pollination costs.
Almonds are grown state-wide on more than 600 000 acres, and it is not
unusual for larger operations to spend more than US$1million to rent bees.
To help shave that expense, plant breeders have spent more than a decade
trying to develop an almond tree that can pollinate itself.
Those in the hunt to develop and market a self-pollinating almond tree
include Craig Ledbetter, a U.S. Department of Agriculture geneticist, the
University of California and private breeders.
The concept is not new. Self-pollinating trees have been used in Spain for
years. But Spanish almonds tend to have a hairy texture and a strong
almond taste.
Ledbetter's challenge was to isolate the self-pollination traits of the
Spanish tree and the mild taste and smoother texture of the nonpareil to
create a new tree. After years of crossbreeding, Ledbetter believes he has
found the right combination.
The USDA's new tree will be part of a field trial by the Almond Board of
California, the industry's marketing and research arm. Trees from the
University of California and private nurseries also will be evaluated.
Beekeepers say they are not overly concerned about being put out of
business.
"I think you will see a natural gravitation to these new trees," said
Roger Everett, a beekeeper and president of the California State
Beekeepers Association. "But ... some growers won't change because they
know bees improve their yields, and they won't want to stop."
For full story, please see:
www.fresnobee.com/2010/04/16/1899807/self-pollinating-almond-trees.html
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