Representativeness of the Natura 2000 network for preserving plant biodiversity in the European Union

The Natura 2000 (N2K) network of protected areas is one of the main tools for area-based conservation in the European Union (EU), yet its role in preserving plant biodiversity requires better understanding. We examined data kept in the European Vegetation Archive from over 1.2 million vegetation plots and obtained over 14.2 million plant species occurrences. To test the N2K network's representativeness of plant species gamma diversity, we compared the number and percentage of native and conservation priority species in- and outside the N2K network throughout the EU and for individual countries, biogeographical regions, and combinations thereof. We then determined whether N2K sites hosted more species than sites outside the network with the species–area relationship. Overall, almost 90% of the native vascular plant species occurred at least once in the N2K network. Yet, significant variation exists across countries and biogeographical regions—from 0% of species in the Boreal region of Lithuania, to 98% in the Alpine region of Croatia—indicating that local N2K sites are not equally representative of the regional gamma diversity. Nonetheless, the N2K network contains more species than land outside the network when area is taken into account. The planned expansion of the N2K network, as mandated by the European Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, should prioritize areas with currently underrepresented elements of the EU vascular flora

Anaerobiosis revisited: growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae under extremely low oxygen availability

The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae plays an important role in biotechnological applications, ranging from fuel ethanol to recombinant protein production. It is also a model organism for studies on cell physiology and genetic regulation. Its ability to grow under anaerobic conditions is of interest in many industrial applications. Unlike industrial bioreactors with their low surface area relative to volume, ensuring a complete anaerobic atmosphere during microbial cultivations in the laboratory is rather difficult. Tiny amounts of O2 that enter the system can vastly influence product yields and microbial physiology. A common procedure in the laboratory is to sparge the culture vessel with ultrapure N2 gas; together with the use of butyl rubber stoppers and norprene tubing, O2 diffusion into the system can be strongly minimized. With insights from some studies conducted in our laboratory, we explore the question ‘how anaerobic is anaerobiosis?’. We briefly discuss the role of O2 in non-respiratory pathways in S. cerevisiae and provide a systematic survey of the attempts made thus far to cultivate yeast under anaerobic conditions. We conclude that very few data exist on the physiology of S. cerevisiae under anaerobiosis in the absence of the anaerobic growth factors ergosterol and unsaturated fatty acids. Anaerobicity should be treated as a relative condition since complete anaerobiosis is hardly achievable in the laboratory. Ideally, researchers should provide all the details of their anaerobic set-up, to ensure reproducibility of results among different laboratories. A correction to this article is available online at http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/131930/ https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-018-9036-

Towards the industrial production of medicinal tincture by ultrasound assisted extraction

Experiments related to the industrial production of medicinal tinctures of sage (Salvia officinalis L.) and valerian (Valeriana officinalis L.) were performed using ultrasonically assisted extraction and quality of the final tincture was evaluated by gas chromatography and dry residue determination. The constituents of the active sage compound: borneol, cineole, α- and β-thujone and also the dry residue were measured. In the case of valerian extractions, the efficiency of sonicated extraction was compared with classical extraction. The course of only the dry residue was monitored. The influence of ultrasound on the quality of valerian tincture was examined by HPLC.</p

Epiphytic lichen and moss vegetation along an altitude gradient on Mount Aenos (Kefallinia, Greece).

NatuurwetenskappeBotaniePlease help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of this article. It can be e-mailed to: [email protected]

Fire and fuels management in coast redwood forests

Coast redwood forests rank among the most significant natural features of North America, yet our understanding of how they came to be and how we might sustain them has been beset by scientific and management uncertainty for decades. A key part of this controversy has been the historical importance of fire given the mild coastal climate and small number of lightning ignitions. In the northern part of the coast redwood range, past research found that fire was uncommon, but results conflicted with others that found fire to be as frequent as in any dry forest of western North America. We established tree-ring based fire histories from across the northern coast redwood range to redress this conflict. We found that methodological shortcomings were responsible for the long fire intervals obtained in other studies, and that fire had burned with high frequency in the majority of sites examined during recent centuries. This discovery is supported by converging evidence from the pattern of basal fire cavities across the landscape. We use ethnographic and archaeological data to explain why this pattern of historical fire from scars and cavities deviates from what is expected from latitudinal and coast-to- interior climate gradients. We describe the extraordinary productivity of fuels in this forest type using an extensive array of fuels transects. While results show that these forests are not limited by fuels, fire in coast redwood is conditionally limited by ignitions and fire weather. Insights from this research help inform where prescribed fire can be used to balance the competing objectives of sustaining forest diversity that often results from fire and minimizing the loss of ancient coast redwood trees that often die because of fire

Leaf litter chemistry controls on decomposition of Pacific Northwest trees and woody shrubs

The effects of initial leaf litter chemistry on first-year decomposition rates were studied for 16 common Pacific Northwest conifers, hardwoods, and shrubs at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest in western Oregon. Leaf litters were analyzed for C, N, P, K, Ca, Mg, proximate organic fractions (nonpolar, polar, acid-hydrolyzable extractives, acid-hydrolyzable lignin, and acid-unhydrolyzable residue, previously termed “Klason lignin”), and biochemical components (total phenolics, reactive polyphenols, water-soluble carbohydrates, water-soluble proanthocyanidins, and waterand acid-unhydrolyzable proanthocyanidins). By including measurements of reactive and residual phenolic fractions and acid-hydrolyzable lignin, these analytical methods improve upon traditional proximate leaf litter analyses. Significant differences in litter chemistries and decomposition rates were found between species. For all species combined, the 1-year decay rate (k) values had highly significant correlations (P < 0.001) with 30 out of the 36 initial chemistry variables tested in this study. The three highest correlations were with acid-unhydrolyzable proanthocyanidins, lignocellulose index, and acid-unhydrolyzable residue (r = 0.83, –0.81, –0.80, respectively, with P < 0.0001 and n = 339). We found that no single litter chemistry variable was a universal predictor of the 1-year k value for each of the individual 16 species studied, though phenolic components were more frequent significant (P < 0.001) predictors of decomposition rate

Forest and rangeland owners value land for natural amenities and as financial investment

Forty-two percent of California’s forests and rangelands are privately owned (34 million acres). These lands provide important ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, pollination and wildlife habitat, but little is known about the people who own and manage them. We surveyed forest and rangeland owners in California and found that these long-time landowners value their properties for their natural amenities and as a financial investment. Owners of large properties (500 or more acres) were significantly more likely to use their land for income production than owners of smaller properties, and they were also more likely to carry out or be interested in environmental improvements. Many forest and rangeland owners reported they had been previously approached to sell their land for development. Only about one-third had participated in conservation programs; few had conservation easements. This survey can help guide outreach and education efforts, and the development of information, policies, programs and financial incentives for landowners

Forest and rangeland owners value land for natural amenities and as financial investment

Forty-two percent of California’s forests and rangelands are privately owned (34 million acres). These lands provide important ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, pollination and wildlife habitat, but little is known about the people who own and manage them. We surveyed forest and rangeland owners in California and found that these long-time landowners value their properties for their natural amenities and as a financial investment. Owners of large properties (500 or more acres) were significantly more likely to use their land for income production than owners of smaller properties, and they were also more likely to carry out or be interested in environmental improvements. Many forest and rangeland owners reported they had been previously approached to sell their land for development. Only about one-third had participated in conservation programs; few had conservation easements. This survey can help guide outreach and education efforts, and the development of information, policies, programs and financial incentives for landowners

COLLAGENE enables privacy-aware federated and collaborative genomic data analysis

Abstract Growing regulatory requirements set barriers around genetic data sharing and collaborations. Moreover, existing privacy-aware paradigms are challenging to deploy in collaborative settings. We present COLLAGENE, a tool base for building secure collaborative genomic data analysis methods. COLLAGENE protects data using shared-key homomorphic encryption and combines encryption with multiparty strategies for efficient privacy-aware collaborative method development. COLLAGENE provides ready-to-run tools for encryption/decryption, matrix processing, and network transfers, which can be immediately integrated into existing pipelines. We demonstrate the usage of COLLAGENE by building a practical federated GWAS protocol for binary phenotypes and a secure meta-analysis protocol. COLLAGENE is available at https://zenodo.org/record/8125935