KEY MESSAGE : This review highlights some of the discoveries and applications made possible by “omics” technologies over the last 10 years and provides perspectives for pioneering research to ...increase our understanding of tree biology. CONTEXT : A decade after the first forest tree genome sequence was released into the public domain, the rapidly evolving genomics and bioinformatics toolbox has advanced our understanding of the structure, functioning, and evolution of forest tree genomes. AIMS AND METHODS : This review highlights some of the discoveries and applications that “omics” technologies have made possible for forest trees over the past 10 years. RESULTS : In this review, we start by our current understanding of genome evolution and intricacies of gene regulation for reproduction, development, and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. We then skim over advances in interactome analysis and epigenomics, the knowledge of the extent of genetic variation within and between species, revealing micro- and macro-evolutionary processes and species history, together with the complex architecture of quantitative traits. We finally end with applications in genetic resource conservation and breeding. CONCLUSION : The knowledge gained through the use of these technologies has a huge potential impact for adapting forests to the main challenges they will have to face: changing demand from ecosystem services with potentially conflicting strategies in terms of conservation and use, as well as climate changes and associated threats. Genomics will undoubtedly play a major role over the next decade and beyond, not only to further understand the mechanisms underlying adaptation and evolution but also to develop and implement innovative management and policy actions to preserve the adaptability of natural forests and intensively managed plantations.
KEY MESSAGE : Adaptation of forest management to climate change requires an understanding of the effects of climate on forests, industries and communities; prediction of how these effects might ...change over time; and incorporation of this knowledge into management decisions. This requires multiple forms of knowledge and new approaches to forest management decisions. Partnerships that integrate researchers from multiple disciplines with forest managers and local actors can build a shared understanding of future challenges and facilitate improved decision making in the face of climate change. CONTEXT : Climate change presents significant potential risks to forests and challenges for forest managers. Adaptation to climate change involves monitoring and anticipating change and undertaking actions to avoid the negative consequences and to take advantage of potential benefits of those changes. AIMS : This paper aimed to review recent research on climate change impacts and management options for adaptation to climate change and to identify key themes for researchers and for forest managers. METHODS : The study is based on a review of literature on climate change impacts on forests and adaptation options for forest management identified in the Web of Science database, focusing on papers and reports published between 1945 and 2013. RESULTS : One thousand one hundred seventy-two papers were identified in the search, with the vast majority of papers published from 1986 to 2013. Seventy-six percent of papers involved assessment of climate change impacts or the sensitivity or vulnerability of forests to climate change and 11 % (130) considered adaptation. Important themes from the analysis included (i) predicting species and ecosystem responses to future climate, (ii) adaptation actions in forest management, (iii) new approaches and tools for decision making under uncertainty and stronger partnerships between researchers and practitioners and (iv) policy arrangements for adaptation in forest management. CONCLUSIONS : Research to support adaptation to climate change is still heavily focused on assessing impacts and vulnerability. However, more refined impact assessments are not necessarily leading to better management decisions. Multi-disciplinary research approaches are emerging that integrate traditional forest ecosystem sciences with social, economic and behavioural sciences to improve decision making. Implementing adaptation options is best achieved by building a shared understanding of future challenges among different institutions, agencies, forest owners and stakeholders. Research-policy-practice partnerships that recognise local management needs and indigenous knowledge and integrate these with climate and ecosystem science can facilitate improved decision making.
In this study, Kraft lignin was modified by ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (ADP) and urea for achieving phosphorylation and carbamylation, aiming to protect wood against biological and fire attack. ...Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) sapwood was impregnated with a water solution containing Kraft lignin, ADP, and urea, followed by heat treatment at 150 °C, resulting in changes in the properties of the Kraft lignin as well as the wood matrix. Infrared spectroscopy, 13C cross-polarisation magic-angle-spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and direct excitation single-pulse 31P MAS NMR analyses suggested the grafting reaction of phosphate and carbamylate groups onto the hydroxyl groups of Kraft lignin. Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy indicated that the condensed Kraft lignin filled the lumen as well as partially penetrating the wood cell wall. The modified Kraft lignin imparted fire-retardancy and increased char residue to the wood at elevated temperature, as confirmed by limiting oxygen index, microscale combustion calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis. The modified wood exhibited superior resistance against mold and decay fungi attack under laboratory conditions. The modified wood had a similar modulus of elasticity to the unmodified wood, while experiencing a reduction in the modulus of rupture.
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Bamboo fiber-based composite made from crushed bamboo fiber, termed bamboo scrimber, has gained particular interest of researchers and manufacturers on account of its excellent mechanical ...characteristics and design. This paper reviewed the available literature on the state of the art of bamboo scrimber including the developing history and current production technology of high-performance bamboo scrimber. The results of analytical and experimental investigations illustrate the effects of bamboo species, defibering times, heat treatment, adhesives, densities, etc. on the performance of bamboo scrimber.
The excessive utilization of petroleum resources leads to global warming, crude oil price fluctuations, and the fast depletion of petroleum reserves. Biodiesel has gained importance over the last few ...years as a clean, sustainable, and renewable energy source. This review provides knowledge of biodiesel production via transesterification/esterification using different catalysts, their prospects, and their challenges. The intensive research on homogeneous chemical catalysts points to the challenges in using high free fatty acids containing oils, such as waste cooking oils and animal fats. The problems faced are soap formation and the difficulty in product separation. On the other hand, heterogeneous catalysts are more preferable in biodiesel synthesis due to their ease of separation and reusability. However, in-depth studies show the limited activity and selectivity issues. Using biomass waste-based catalysts can reduce the biodiesel production cost as the materials are readily available and cheap. The use of an enzymatic approach has gained precedence in recent times. Additionally, immobilization of these enzymes has also improved the statistics because of their excellent functional properties like easy separation and reusability. However, free/liquid lipases are also growing faster due to better mass transfer with reactants. Biocatalysts are exceptional in good selectivity and mild operational conditions, but attractive features are veiled with the operational costs. Nanocatalysts play a vital role in heterogeneous catalysis and lipase immobilization due to their excellent selectivity, reactivity, faster reaction rates owing to their higher surface area, and easy recovery from the products and reuse for several cycles.
The market for new durable products of modified wood has increased substantially during the last few years, especially in Europe. This increased interest depends partly on the restricted use of toxic ...preservatives due to increased environmental concern, as well as the need for reduced maintenance for wood products that are mainly for exterior use. Furthermore, as sustainability becomes a greater concern, the environmental impact of construction and interior materials should be included in planning by considering the entire life cycle and embodied energy of the materials used. As a result, wood modification has been implemented to improve the intrinsic properties of wood, widen the range of sawn timber applications, and acquire the form and functionality desired by engineers, without bringing environmental friendliness into question. The different wood modification processes are at various stages of development, and the challenges that must be overcome to expand to industrial applications differ amongst them. In this paper, three groups of wood modification processes are discussed and exemplified with modified wood products that have been newly introduced to the market: (i) chemical processing (acetylation, furfurylation, resin impregnation etc.); (ii) thermo-hydro processing (thermal treatment); and (iii) thermo-hydro-mechanical processing (surface densification). Building on these examples, the paper will discuss the environmental impact assessment of modification processes and further development needs.
Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) measurements of water-saturated radiata pine wood in the temperature range from 0 ℃ to 100 ℃ were focused to clarify the transition in viscoelastic properties within ...successive annual rings. Four radially consecutive specimens were taken per annual ring and DMA measurements in the tangential direction were performed using these specimens. The following results were obtained. The peak of tan
δ
caused by micro-Brownian motion of lignin was observed in all samples. The temperature of peak tan
δ
tended to decrease from earlywood to latewood within an annual ring. The temperature of peak tan
δ
increased across annual ring boundary. The same trend was repeated within the next annual ring. It was found that the viscoelastic properties transitioned within successive annual rings.
KEY MESSAGE : Increasing human impacts on forests, including unintentional movement of pathogens, climate change, and large-scale intensive plantations, are associated with an unprecedented rate of ...new diseases. An evolutionary ecology perspective can help address these challenges and provide direction for sustainable forest management. CONTEXT : Forest pathology has historically relied on an ecological approach to understand and address the practical management of forest diseases. A widening of this perspective to include evolutionary considerations has been increasingly developed in response to the rising rates of genetic change in both pathogen populations and tree populations due to human activities. AIMS : Here, five topics for which the evolutionary perspective is especially relevant are highlighted. RESULTS : The first relates to the evolutionary diversity of fungi and fungal-like organisms, with issues linked to the identification of species and their ecological niches. The second theme deals with the evolutionary processes that allow forest pathogens to adapt to new hosts after introductions or to become more virulent in homogeneous plantations. The third theme presents issues linked to disease resistance in tree breeding programs (e.g., growth-defense trade-offs) and proposes new criteria and methods for more durable resistance. The last two themes are dedicated to the biotic environment of the tree–pathogen system, namely, hyperparasites and tree microbiota, as possible solutions for health management. CONCLUSION : We conclude by highlighting three major conceptual advances brought by evolutionary biology, i.e., that (i) “not everything is everywhere”, (ii) evolution of pathogen populations can occur on short time scales, and (iii) the tree is a multitrophic community. We further translate these into a framework for immediate policy recommendations and future directions for research.
The chemical composition of wood is one of the key features that determine wood quality. The focus of this study was on identifying differences between juvenile and mature woods in Scots pine (
Pinus ...sylvestris
L.) and developing models for predicting the chemical composition of these two wood types. Chemical traits, determined by traditional wet chemistry techniques, included the proportion of lignin, polysaccharides and extractives. Partial least squares regression of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra was used for model building. The model performance was primarily evaluated by root mean squared error of predictions (RMSEP). High predictive power was attained for the content of lignin (RMSEP of 0.476 and 0.495 for juvenile and mature woods, respectively) and extractives (0.302 and 0.471), good predictive power for cellulose (0.715 and 0.696) and hemicelluloses in juvenile wood (0.719) and low predictive power for hemicelluloses in mature wood (0.823). A distinct band was observed at 1693 cm
−1
, and its intensity was strongly associated with the content of extractives (
r
= 0.968 and 0.861 in juvenile and mature woods, respectively). FTIR has proved suitable for the rapid, non-destructive, cost-efficient assessment of the chemical composition of juvenile and mature woods in Scots pine. The band at 1693 cm
−1
is to be further investigated to unravel its link with individual extractive components.
Lignocellulosic biomass generated from different sectors (agriculture, forestry, industrial) act as biorefinery precursor for production of second-generation (2G) bioethanol and other biochemicals. ...The integration of various conversion techniques on a single platform under biorefinery approach for production of biofuel and industrially important chemicals from LCB is gaining interest worldwide. The waste generated on utilization of bio-resources is almost negligible or zero in a biorefinery along with reduced greenhouse gas emissions, which supports the circular bioeconomy concept. The economic viability of a lignocellulosic biorefinery depends upon the efficient utilization of three major components of LCB—cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. The heterogeneous structure and recalcitrant nature of LCB is main obstacle in its valorization into bioethanol and other value-added products. The success of bioconversion process depends upon methods used during pre-treatment, hydrolysis and fermentation processes. The cost involved in each step of the bioconversion process affects the viability of cellulosic ethanol. The lignocellulose biorefinery has ample scope, but much-focused research is required to fully utilize major parts of lignocellulosic biomass with zero wastage. The present review entails lignocellulosic biomass valorization for ethanol production, along with different steps involved in its production. Various value-added products produced from LCB components were also discussed. Recent technological advances and significant challenges in bioethanol production are also highlighted in addition to future perspectives.
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