Traditional knowledge about medicinal plant in the remote areas of Wari Tehsil, Dir Upper, Pakistan

Traditional medicine is cheaper and easily available to local people, to care for most frequent diseases in the Northern parts of Pakistan. Our study aimed at inventorying medicine from local plants, documenting their uses, and assessing their market value in 2015-2018 during spring, summer, and winter seasons. A total of 15 trips were made, 5 in each season. Semi-structured interviews with 165 inhabitant’s age range between 20-80 years were conducted, analyzed the data is analyzed using Relative frequency of citation(RFC), Use Value(UV), Fidelity Level(FL), Informants consensus factor(ICF), and Jaccard index(JI) to find the most frequent and well-known used species in the area. A total of 86 species belonging to 39 vascular plant families, 33 genera were documented as medicinally important. Family Asteraceae was observed as the dominant family among all the families with 10 species, the leaf was the most used parts and decoction 36% was the most preferred preparation type. Herb was the predominant life form (67%). The maximum UV (0.92) was demonstrated by J. adhatoda L. species, while A. sativum L. shows maximum RFC (0.58), the highest ICF value represented by diarrhea and dermatitis 0.92, and high FL value is recorded 100%. According to our collections, wild species were 45%, invasive species were 38% and cultivated 17% recorded, dicots species were recorded more 81%. Seven 7 medicinal species is being economically important and export to the local and international market of the world, whereas P. integrima L. species were the most exported species according to the local dealers. The investigated area is rural and the local people depend on the area's plants for their health needs, and other uses like a vegetable, fuelwood, fodder, etc. The current result of RFC, UV, ICF, FL, and JI shows that medicinal flora needs to be pharmacologically and phytochemically investigated to prove their efficacy. The documentation of medicinal knowledge is important to preserve this precious old knowledge before it is lost forever, due to technological and environmental changes in the world.

New records in non-native vascular plants of Russian Lapland

The non-native vascular plants of Murmansk Region (European Russia) are under active investigation towards the compilation of the first complete checklist. This work is part of the project 'Flora of Russian Lapland', which ultimately aims at the complete inventory of the taxonomy, distribution and status of vascular plant species in Murmansk Region, based on the comprehensive database of herbarium specimens, field observations and literature. New territory-level records of non-native vascular plants emerged during our inventory of herbarium collections and recent fieldwork. Fourteen species (Anthemis ruthenica, Aruncus dioicus, Bromus commutatus, Chaerophyllum hirsutum, Galega orientalis, Geum aleppicum, Leonurus quinquelobatus, Lepidium densiflorum, Levisticum officinale, Myrrhis odorata, Phleum phleoides, Prunus armeniaca, Rorippa sylvestris, Senecio vernalis) are reported as new to Murmansk Region. The historical occurrences of alien plants appeared in the territory largely as contaminants (of seed or forage). In particular, Rorippa sylvestris and Senecio vernalis arrived with the forage imported during the Second World War. All recent occurrences originated by escape from confinement (ornamental purposes, horticulture, agriculture), reflecting a high diversity of the modern assortment of cultivated plants in commerce and private gardens. Regarding the invasion status, five alien species are considered casual and eight species are treated as locally established or persisting (for uncertain time). Only one species, Galega orientalis, is considered naturalised and capable of further spreading in the territory, although without invasive potential.

effects of extensive grazing on the vegetation of a landscape-scale restoration site

The Wicken Fen Vision (Cambridgeshire, UK) is a landscape-scale habitat restoration project that uses process-driven, open-ended approaches to develop habitats on highly degraded and drained peat soils of former intensive arable land. The project land is extensively grazed with herds of free-roaming, minimally managed herds of Highland cattle and Konik horses. In one 119 ha area, seven 25m x 25 m grazing exclosures were erected and vascular plant species were recorded from 2007 to 2017. Plant species data were analysed to (1) compare changes in plant species composition and diversity in grazed and ungrazed areas; (2) use plant species traits and plant-environment associations to explore the nature of changes in plant composition; (3) use remote sensing to explore changes in vegetation structure; (4) examine the influence of land use histories on grazing outcomes in different parts of the site.There was a clear divergence through time between grazed and ungrazed areas, attributed to significantly greater canopy height, Ellenberg L (Light) and Ellenberg N (fertility) values within the exclosures. Species richness was significantly higher in grazed compared with ungrazed areas and species assemblages separated through the study period. After ten years, extensive free-roaming grazing has had significant impacts on vegetation structure and species richness but effects varied across the study site because of differing historical land use.

Alien flora of Oman: invasion status, taxonomic composition, habitats, origin, and pathways of introduction

We present the first inventory and status assessment of the alien flora of Oman, mainly based on field data collected from 1998 to 2021. The study provides (i) a comprehensive account of alien vascular plant species occurring in the wild in Oman, with information on their taxonomic composition. For each species information is given on (ii) invasion status (casual, naturalized or invasive), biogeography, habitat and life-form characteristics, and pathways of introduction. Further, we (iii) explain the differences in the alien species composition in different parts of the country, and (iv) analyse the drivers of plant invasions in Oman. Out of the 111 alien species reported (7.7% of the total Oman vascular flora), 34 species are casuals and 77 naturalized; of the latter seven are considered invasive. The moderate number of alien plant species is likely a result of the country’s arid climate, with extremely high summer temperatures and low annual precipitation in most of its area, and the relatively long isolation of the country. The families richest in alien plant species are Fabaceae (17 species), Asteraceae (14 species) and Poaceae (12 species). More alien plants were found in northern Oman (82 species) than in southern Oman (60 species), and very few species are recorded from the central desert (7 species). The main habitats colonized were man-made habitats, either ruderal or agricultural. Most species alien to Oman are native to South America (49 species) or North America (43 species). This inventory provides a knowledge base for developing a national management strategy for alien vascular plants in Oman.

Flora of the ussurian section of the Trans-siberian railway and its correlation with the characteristics of natural biomes

Проведена инвентаризация чужеродных и аборигенных видов растений вдоль Транссибирской магистрали на участке Тельман (Еврейская АО) - Хабаровск (Хабаровский край) - Владивосток (Приморский край) протяженностью 780 км. Исследована растительность 9 железнодорожных станций и участков железной дороги на перегонах, расположенных в трех естественных биомах: Амуро-Уссурийском подтаежном, Зее-Буреинском Приханкайском лесостепном и СихотэАлинском Южном. На каждом участке заложены площадки размером 100 м² в трех различных экотопах: на железнодорожном полотне, на откосах и на подошве железнодорожной насыпи в полосе отчуждения, всего составлено 66 геоботанических описаний. Выявлено 210 видов сосудистых растений: 22 вида древесных растений, 117 поликарпических и 71 вид монокарпических травянистых растений. Чужеродные для флоры Дальнего Востока виды составляют 35% найденных сосудистых растений, 11 из них входят в список самых опасных инвазионных видов России (ТОП-100). Наименее представлена группа древесных растений (10%), наиболее часто встречаются три дерева - инвазионный Acer negundo и аборигенные Salix nipponica и Ulmus pumila. Доля чужеродных видов минимальна в группе древесных растений - 18%. Максимальна доля чужеродных видов среди монокарпических трав (37 видов, 52%), причем большинство монокарпиков (28 видов) являются инвазионными.Наибольшее число видов (162, 77%) отмечено в Амуро-Уссурийском подтаежном биоме, 98 видов (47%) зарегистрировано в Зее-Буреинском Приханкайском лесостепном биоме и 72 вида (34%) - в Сихотэ- Алинском Южном биоме. Число видов коррелирует с природно- климатическими и флористическими характеристиками биомов; по снижению силы корреляции показатели располагаются в ряду: средняя температура → число видов сосудистых растений на 100 км² → среднегодовое количество осадков → общее число видов сосудистых растений. Наименее значимая корреляция с изученными характеристиками отмечена в группе монокарпических трав. Коэффициент сходства флор различных биомов сравнительно низок (Ks ≤ 45%), общими для всех трех биомов являются только 29 видов, причем 18 из них - чужеродные. Самое низкое сходство наблюдается между фитоценозами в полосе отчуждения: это демонстрирует сильное влияние естественной растительности на формирование «железнодорожной» флоры. An inventory of alien and native plant species along the Far East segment of Trans-Siberian Railway was carried out. The studied segment (780 km) runs from Telman station (Jewish Autonomous Region) through Khabarovsk (Khabarovsk Territory) to Vladivostok (Primorsky Territory). Vegetation was studied in three types of natural biomes - Amur-Ussuri Sub-Taiga biome, Zee-Bureya Prikhanka forest-steppe biome, and Sikhote Alin South biome. A total 66 releves were made. 210 species of vascular plants were identified: 22 woody, 117 polycarpic herbs and 71 monocarpic herbs. Alien species for the Far East account for 35% of the vascular plants found, 11 of which are included on the list of the most dangerous invasive species of Russia (Top 100). Woody species are the group that’s least represented (10%), and 3 trees are the most often recorded: invasive Acer negundo, native Salix nipponica and native Ulmus pumila. The maximum fraction of alien species is noted among monocarpic herbs (37 species, 52%), and the majority of these monocarpics (28 species) are invasive. The highest number of species (162, 77%) was recorded in the Amur-Ussuri Sub-Taiga biome. In the Zee-Bureya Prikhanka forest-steppe biome 98 species (47%) were recorded, and 72 species (34%) were recorded in the Sikhote Alin South biome. The number of species correlates with biomes’ natural-climatic and floristic characteristics; in terms of decreasing the force of correlation, the indicators are arranged in the following series: average temperature → number of vascular plant species per 100 km² → average annual precipitation → total number of vascular plant species in the biom. The group of monocarpic herbs has the lowest correlation with the studied factors. The similarity (Sørensen) of the species pool of different biomes is relatively low (Ks ≤ 45%); only 29 species are uniform to all three biomes, and 18 of them are alien ones. The lowest similarity was observed between the plant communities in the railway right of way: this demonstrates the significant influence of natural vegetation on forming the "railway" flora.

Determining Plant Diversity within Interconnected Natural Habitat Remnants (Ecological Network) in an Agricultural Landscape: A Matter of Sampling Design?

In intensively used and human-modified landscapes, biodiversity is often confined to remnants of natural habitats. Thus, identifying ecological networks (ENs) necessary to connect these patches and maintain high levels of biodiversity, not only for conservation but also for the effective management of the landscape, is required. However, ENs are often defined without a clear a-priori evaluation of their biodiversity and are seldom even monitored after their establishment. The objective of this study was to determine the adequate number of replicates to effectively characterize biodiversity content of natural habitats within the nodes of an EN in north-eastern Italy, based on vascular plant diversity. Plant communities within habitat types of the EN’s nodes were sampled through a hierarchical sampling design, evaluating both species richness and compositional dissimilarity. We developed an integrated method, consisting of multivariate measures of precision (MultSE), rarefaction curves and diversity partitioning approaches, which was applied to estimate the minimum number of replicates needed to characterize plant communities within the EN, evaluating also how the proposed optimization in sampling size affected the estimations of the characteristics of habitat types and nodes of the EN. We observed that reducing the total sampled replicates by 85.5% resulted to sufficiently characterize plant diversity of the whole EN, and by 72.5% to exhaustively distinguish plant communities among habitat types. This integrated method helped to fill the gap regarding the data collection to monitor biodiversity content within existing ENs, considering temporal and economic resources. We therefore suggest the use of this quantitative approach, based on probabilistic sampling, to conduct pilot studies in the context of ENs design and monitoring, and in general for habitat monitoring.

Vascular plants occurrences in Dokdo Islands, Korea, based on herbarium collections and legacy botanical literature

The vascular flora of the Dokdo Islands has been reported, based on primary collections made in 2012 and 2013 and legacy botanical literature. The Dokdo Islands are the remotest islands of Korea, located in the East Sea approximately 87 km from Ulleungdo Islands. They comprise two main volcanic islands, Dongdo (east islands) and Seodo (west islands) and minor islets surrounding the two main islands. This research was conducted to document vascular plant species inhabiting Korea's most inaccessible islands. We present a georeferenced dataset of vascular plant species collected during field studies on the Dokdo Islands over the past seven decades. In the present inventory of the flora of Dokdo, there are listed 108 species belonging to 78 genera and 39 families, including 93 native species and 15 newly human-induced naturalised species for these Islands' flora. The Poaceae and Asteraceae families are the most diverse, with 22 and 15 taxa, respectively. Some of the previously-listed taxa were not found on Dokdo probably because they are rare and the limited time did not allow collectors to find rare species. The spread of introduced species, especially the invasive grass Bromus catharticus Vahl., affects several native species of Dokdo flora.

The algal PETC-Pro171-Leu suppresses electron transfer in the cytochrome b6f under acidic lumenal condition

Linear photosynthetic electron flow (LEF) produces NADPH and generates a proton electrochemical potential gradient across the thylakoid membrane used to synthesize ATP, both of which are required for CO2 fixation. As cellular demand for ATP and NADPH are variable, cyclic electron flow (CEF) between PSI and cytochrome b6f complex (b6f) produces extra ATP. The b6f regulates LEF and CEF via photosynthetic control, which is a pH-dependent b6f slowdown of plastoquinol oxidation at the lumenal site. This protection mechanism is triggered at more alkaline lumen pH in the pgr1 mutant of the vascular plant Arabidopsis thaliana, carrying Pro194Leu in the b6f Rieske Iron-sulfur protein. In this work, we introduced pgr1 mutation in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (PETC-P171L). Consistent with pgr1 phenotype, PETC-P171L displayed a limited photosynthesis along with slower photoautotrophic growth under high light conditions. Our data under low oxygen revealed that the ΔpH component in algae was already sufficient to trigger the effect in PETC-P171L in sub-saturating light conditions where the mutant b6f was more restricted to oxidize the PQ pool and revealed a diminished electron flow.