Abstract The aim of the present work was to evaluate and analyze the growth and mineral nutrition response of stone pine (Pinus pinea L.) seedlings, an economically important forest species. We ...analyzed the salinity effects on the kinetics of growth, development, and absorption of nutrients of plants cultivated under controlled conditions on a solid organic substrate. Pinus pinea plants were able to tolerate 25 mM NaCl concentration without reduced growth compared to the non-saline control. However, the salt concentration of 50 mM significantly affected the seedling growth after two weeks of treatment. Root growth activity was decreased more than the aerial parts at applied NaCl concentrations. On the other hand, seedlings restricted the transport of Na+ ions to the aerial parts and were strongly selective in favour of K+ ions. The presence of NaCl in the culture medium decreased the absorption rate and the export of K+ and Na+ ions to the aerial parts. This was reflected in the accumulation way of these two ions in the whole plant.
Resumo O objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar e analisar a resposta de crescimento e nutrição mineral de mudas de pinheiro-manso (Pinus pinea L.), uma espécie florestal economicamente importante. Analisamos os efeitos da salinidade na cinética de crescimento, desenvolvimento e absorção de nutrientes de plantas cultivadas sob condições controladas em substrato orgânico sólido. As plantas de P. pinea foram capazes de tolerar a concentração de 25 mM de NaCl sem redução do crescimento em comparação com o controle não salino. No entanto, a concentração de sal de 50 mM afetou significativamente o crescimento das plântulas após duas semanas de tratamento. A atividade de crescimento das raízes foi mais reduzida do que as partes aéreas nas concentrações de NaCl aplicadas. Por outro lado, as plântulas restringiram o transporte de íons Na+ para a parte aérea e foram fortemente seletivas em favor dos íons K+. A presença de NaCl no meio de cultura diminuiu a taxa de absorção e a exportação de íons K+ e Na+ para as partes aéreas. Isso se refletiu na forma de acúmulo desses dois íons em toda a planta.
Active components from natural sources are the current focus in most pharmacological research to provide new therapeutic agents for clinical use. Essential oils from the Pinus species have been ...traditionally used in medicine. This study aimed to investigate the chemical profile of two Pinus species, Pinus halepensis L. and Pinus pinea Mill, from different altitudes in Libya and study the effect of environmental conditions on the biological activities of essential oils. A clevenger apparatus was used to prepare the essential oils by hydrodistillation. Analyses were done using GC/MS. Anthelmintic and antimicrobial activities were tested against the earthworm Allolobophora caliginosa, gram-positive bacteria, gram-negative bacteria, and fungi. Different chemical profiles were observed among all tested essential oils, and terpenes were the most dominant class. All studied essential oils from the Pinus species exhibited a remarkable anthelmintic activity compared to the standard piperazine citrate drug. Pinus halepensis from both altitudes showed broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against all tested microorganisms, while Pinus pinea was effective against only Escherichia coli. From these findings, one can conclude that there are variations between studied species. The essential oil compositions are affected by environmental factors, which consequently affect the anthelmintic and antimicrobial activity.
•Growth and allometry of P. pinea individual trees are enhanced in mixed stands.•Under current climate overyielding in mixed P. pinea forests is not observed.•Ecosystem services supply from P. pinea ...forests is threatened under climate change.•Mixing P. pinea reduces the impact of climate change on ES provision.
Forecasted scenarios of climate change are expected to result in a dramatic reduction in the provision of Ecosystem Services (ES) from forests. Increasing tree species diversity has been proposed as a measure for adapting forests and warrantee the provision of services, since mixed forests, if compared with monospecific forests, are expected to be more productive, resilient and stable facing disturbances. In the present work we use a modelling approach in order to quantify the provision of different ES under expected climate scenarios, comparing pure forests of Pinus pinea L. with mixed forests where the species grows accompanied by different Quercus and Juniperus species. To this aim we first adapted the existing individual tree level model PINEA2, originally constructed for pure even-aged stands of P. pinea, in order to consider the interspecific interactions acting in mixed forests. In a second step we used the so adapted model for forecasting and comparing the provision of different ES – focusing on stocking, growth, yield, CO2 fixation, economic income and structural diversity – under current climate and expected scenarios RCP 4.5 & 8.5. Our results indicate that although growth and allometry in P. pinea trees is enhanced in mixtures, this effect is currently counterbalanced by the expected reduction in growth in the species occupying the understorey, thus under current climate conditions little differences due to composition are observed in the provision of ES. On the other hand, our simulations point to a generalized decrease in the ES supply under more severe climate change scenarios, being this reduction mitigated – at least in part - in mixed P. pinea forests, which are more competitive under the most restrictive environmental conditions. As a consequence, the promotion of mixtures by under-planting and/or releasing of pre-existing advanced regeneration of complementary species may be postulated as a management concept for adapting these forests to climate change.
Understanding the combined effects of soil amendments and inoculation of mycorrhizal fungi on the response of different plant species during the phytostabilization process of trace elements ...contaminated soils is a challenge. This task is more difficult but more realistic when studied under field conditions. We assess the combined effects of two amendment doses and mycorrhizal inoculation on the response of saplings of two tree species planted in a contaminated field. The amendments were a mix of sugar beet lime and biosolid compost. The inoculation treatments were made with a commercial inoculum of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi for wild olive and ectomycorrhizal fungi for stone pine. Results showed a weak or null effect of the mycorrhizal inoculation on plant growth, survival and trace element accumulation. There was a significant increase on P nutrition for stone pine, growing on non-amended conditions. Soil amendments were very effective reducing trace elements availability and their accumulation in both plant species, especially in roots. However, the effects on plant biomass were species-dependent and contrasted; low-dose amendments increased the biomass of wild olive by 33.3%, but reduced by 28% that of pine. The high doses of amendments (60 T ha−1) produced some negative effects on plant growth and nutrition, probably related to the increase of soil salinity. Both plant species, stone pine and wild olive, have been proved to be adequate for phytostabilization of contaminated soils under Mediterranean climate, due to their drought tolerance and the low transfer of trace elements from root to shoot, thus reducing toxicity for the food web. To implement microbial-assisted phytoremediation approaches, a better understanding of the diversity and ecology of plant-associated microorganisms is needed. The use of indigenous fungi, locally adapted and tolerant to contamination, would be more suitable for phytostabilization purposes.
Display omitted
•The effects of inoculation on plant growth, survival and trace elements were weak.•Amendments were effective reducing trace elements in plants, especially in roots.•High doses of amendments may produce some negative effects on plant development.•In general, field experiments of amendments and mycorrhizal inoculation are more realistic.
By-products from the wax production process from carnauba palm (leaves), from the extraction of oil from macauba seeds (endocarp) and from pine nut production (shell) have been assessed for activated ...carbon production, using H3PO4 or CaCl2 for their chemical activation. The resulting activated charcoals have been thoroughly characterized by elemental and thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, electron scanning microscopy and N2 adsorption behavior. Subsequently, their adsorption capacity for the removal of rhodamine B (RhB) from aqueous solutions has been evaluated by studying different parameters: contact time, pH, adsorbent dose, initial dye concentration and solution temperature. The adsorption of RhB followed Freundlich's model in all cases. Kinetic studies indicate that the pseudo-second order model can be used for describing the dynamics of the adsorption process. Thermodynamic parameters have also been evaluated, indicating its endothermic and spontaneous nature. Finally, a preliminary analysis of the impact of cellulose content in the carbon precursor materials has been conducted, by using a mixture of native cellulose with one of the lignocellulosic materials.
•Activated carbons have been obtained from carnauba, macauba and pine nut wastes.•Effect of contact time, pH, temperature, adsorbent and dye dose has been assessed.•RhB removal up to 99.85% was attained for carnauba palm leaves-based carbon.•CaCl2 activation leads to better adsorptive capacities than H3PO4 activation.•Dye removal markedly improves when cellulose content is artificially increased.
PDF
