More-than-human Infrastructure for Just Resilience: Learning from, Working with, and Designing for Bald Cypress Trees (Taxodium distichum) in the Mississippi River Delta

Humans design infrastructure for human needs, with limited regard for the needs of nonhumans such as animals and plants. Humans also often fail to recognise nonhuman lifeforms such as trees as fellow engineers designers, or architects, even though the contribution of trees to ecosystem services is well established and their right to justice ought to be recognised. Studies have shown that flood-control infrastructure near the Mississippi River inadvertently left Southern Louisiana more vulnerable to coastal threats. We examine this characteristic outcome and identify infrastructural injustices in multispecies communities. Based on theories in philosophy and design supported by historical analyses, we defend the proposals to extend 1) the understanding of resilience to include more-than-human communities; and 2) the notion of justice to include non-human stakeholders. The reframing in more-than-human terms is already under way in a variety of disciplines. However, these efforts rarely extend into considerations of practical design and have attracted criticism for insufficient engagement with historical processes and the accumulations of power and responsibility. To illustrate these injustices, we trace the history of bald cypress trees (Taxodium distichum) in the Mississippi River Delta and show how infrastructure impacted the trees. This analysis demonstrates that designs that do not consider the needs of vulnerable stakeholders can cause harm in multispecies communities. In response, we propose that humans can work to improve infrastructural resilience by including humans and nonhumans as collaborators.

Cytotoxic Activity of Abietane-Type Diterpenes Isolated From Taxodium distichum Against Cancer Cells Adapted to Nutrient-Starved Conditions

The mechanisms of cancer cell adaptation to tumor microenvironmental conditions, such as hypoxia and nutrient starvation, are currently receiving much attention as possible therapeutic targets. In an attempt to identify selectively cytotoxic substances against cancer cells adapted to nutrient starvation, 4 abietane-type diterpenes, sugiol (1), 6-α-hydroxysugiol (2), cryptojaponol (3), and 6-hydroxy-5,6-dehydrosugiol (4), were isolated from the bark of Taxodium distichum L. Rich var. distichum (bald cypress). Compounds 1, 2, and 4 showed potent cytotoxic activity against PANC-1 cells adapted to nutrient-starved conditions with half-maximal effective concentration (EC50) values of 6.4-9.2 µM, whereas the EC50 values of these compounds against PANC-1 cells under general culture conditions were more than 100 µM. Alternatively, compound 3, which we report for the first time in the genus Taxodium, showed moderate cytotoxicity against PANC-1 cells under nutrient-starved conditions with an EC50 of 37.9 µM. The selective index (S.I.), which compared the activity under nutrient-starved conditions with that under general culture conditions, was low (7.9). Further investigation revealed that the selective cytotoxic activity of compound 2 might be affecting the mitochondria.

Radiocarbon Pretreatment Comparisons of Bald Cypress (Taxodium Distichum) wood samples from a massive buried deposit on the Georgia Coast, USA

ABSTRACTWe sampled individual growth rings from three ancient remnant bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) trees from a massive buried deposit at the mouth of the Altamaha River on the Georgia Coast to determine the best technique for radiocarbon (14C) dating pretreatment. The results of our comparison of traditional ABA pretreatment and holocellulose and α-cellulose fractions show no significant differences among the pretreatments (<1 sigma) thereby suggesting that ABA pretreatment will prove sufficient for the development of a high-resolution 14C tree-ring chronology based on these ancient bald cypresses which will indicate whether the U.S. Southeast is subject to a regional radiocarbon offset.

North Carolina Bald Cypress Tree Is at Least 2,674 Years Old

Researchers say it’s the oldest-known living tree in eastern North America. If it hadn’t been protected, it could have ended up as garden mulch.

Cypress Weevil, Eudociminus mannerheimii (Boheman) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

The cypress weevil, Eudociminus mannerheimii (Boheman), is a native insect that breeds primarily in scarred, weakened, or fallen bald cypress (Taxodium distichum [L.] L.C. Rich) and pond cypress (T. ascendens Brongn.). In Florida, adult feeding has caused limited wounding and girdling of pond cypress stump sprouts and planted seedlings. Small diameter bald cypress nursery stock has also been damaged by larvae tunneling through the main stem and root collar. Apart from entries in species checklists and catalogs, published information about the cypress weevil is extremely limited (Hopkins 1904, Blatchley and Leng 1916, Baker and Bambara 1999). Although the cypress weevil has not been a frequent pest of major economic importance, its occasional damage should be recognized, and the lack of information regarding its biology, potential hosts, and management, warrants further research. This document is EENY-360 (IN645) (originally published as DPI Entomology Circular 415), one of a series of Featured Creatures from the Entomology and Nematology Department, UF/IFAS Extension. Published: November 2005. EENY-360/IN645: Cypress Weevil, Eudociminus mannerheimii (Boheman) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) (ufl.edu)

Evaluating the Most Suitable Tree Species Using Land Expectation Value: A Case Study from Plantation in North of Iran

Plantation in north of Iran is rapidly increasing by local farmers and state but it is not clear which species is most suitable for perpetual timber production. Thus, this study is carried out to evaluate the most suitable timber species among ash (Fraxinus excelsior), elm (Alnus glutinosa), maple (Acer velutinum), oak (Quercus castanifolia), bald cypress (Taxodium distichumin) in north of Iran for evaluation of most suitability using Land Expectation Value (LEV). Data such as wood price at forest road side and variable harvesting cost was collected from secondary souce especially General Office of Natural Resources in Guilan province for a period of 20 years. Average annual increment of different species derived from previous researches. Consumer Price Index (CPI) was used for deflation of stumpage price. Regression analysis was used to predict the stumpage price of different species. Then, the mean price process was determined for different species. Faustmann's formula was used to determine the LEV or Net Present Value (NPV) for a perpetual timber production of different species. The results showed that the LEV of ash, elm, maple, oak and bald cypress were 2623.883, 4653.042, 4319.9644, 2206.8788, 8064.667 (0.33 US dollar/ m3), respectively. The LEV of bald cypress was the highest, so it can be concluded that this species is the most suitable for timber production.