Volume 10 (2017): Issue 2 (November 2017)

Agroforestry farming system comprises considerable cultivated land area in the tropics. Despite the economic and social benefits of the system for farmers, it is also known to have an important role in the conservation of tree species. This study aims to evaluate the composition and distribution of tree species in coffee based agroforestry system to determine the potential for biodiversity conservation. To address the objective of this study, 57 sample plots in farmers’ coffee field and 12 sample plots in forest reserve were surveyed in Eastern Uganda. The result shows that the number of indigenous tree species in coffee farms was lower than that of forest reserve. Similarly, tree species richness per plot, Shannon and Simpson diversity indexes of forest reserve were significantly (p≤0.05) higher than that of coffee farms. However, with the inclusion of exotic tree species, coffee farms were found to be significantly higher than that of forest reserve for the above diversity indexes. On the other hand, the distribution of tree species in the coffee farms were mainly dominated by few tree species indicating the need for measures that ensure the sustainability of those less represented tree species.

The study assessed the patterns of spatio-temporal configuration imposed on a forest landscape in Southwestern Nigeria due to fragmentation for the period 1986 – 2010 in order to understand the relationship between landscape patterns and the ecological processes influencing the distribution of species in tropical forest environment. Time-series Landsat TM and ETM satellite images and forest inventory data were pre-processed and classified into four landuse/landcover categories using maximum likelihood classification algorithm. Fragstats software was used for the computation of seven landscape and six class level metrics to provide indicators of fragmentation and landscape connectivity from the classified images.

The result shows that although deforestation reduced between 2000 and 2010, fragmentation, however intensified during the 24 years period. Fragmentation was highest between 1991 and 2000, leading to significant landscape variability, alteration in the general biotic and abiotic conditions and exchange of material and energy. While it appears that overall forest area increased between 2000 and 2010, connectivity and biodiversity indicators declined the most during this period. The resulting scenario is that forest fragmentation, despite the control of deforestation in the last decade of this study have certainly not receded in the study area. This may continue to have subtle negative impact on exchange of material and energy in the ecosystem, contribute to increased depletion of vital forest resources and the disappearance of wildlife from previously known areas.

The objective of this study was to investigate the duration of flowering and fruiting and the growth of riparian species in the natural forest along Phra Prong River, Watthana Nakhon District, Sa Kaeo province. The occurrence of flowering and fruiting was recorded every month from February 2015 to January 2016 (12 months) along a 7km distance of the riversides. Sixty six species belonging to 36 families were seen flowering and fruiting in this study. They were observed during February – April. The peak of flowering and fruiting occurred in March (early summer). Hydnocarpus anthelminthicus, Uvaria rufa, and Combretum latifolium had a long lasting flowering and fruiting period. Oxystelma esculentum, Capparis micracantha, Connarus cochinchinensis, Derris scandens, and Ficus racemosa produced flowers and fruits more than once a year. Those species may play an important role in availability of food resources for animals in the riparian forest. The appropriate time to collect seeds in Phra Prong riparian forest starts from February and lasts until August. The germination test indicated that Xanthophyllum lanceatum and Crateva magna had a high germination rate, about 70%. Growth of some riparian species, including Cinnamomum iners, Dipterocarpus alatus, Hydnocarpus anthelminthicus and Hopea odorata was monitored every three months from July 2015 to June 2016. Diameter growth of D. alatus was significantly higher during the wet season (Jul-Sep) than other seasons. In contrast, the rest of the species showed no significant differences among monitoring periods. Height growth rate of C. iners was significantly highest late in the dry period (Jan-Mar).

Ancient coppice woodlands are coppice-originated forest stands with a long-term continual development, and with the preserved typical natural and historic elements of old sprout forests. Prominent natural elements in the ancient coppice woodlands are namely old coppice stools. There is, in scientific literature, lack of information about features of ancient coppice stools. Therefore, our contribution aims to describe shape and form of ancient coppice stools, including the most important microhabitat of coppice woodlands – dendrothelms. Based on field survey of 20 localities of important coppice woodlands we recorded 135 ancient coppice stools of 13 tree species and a total of 80 dendrothelms in 9 tree species. Basic features of ancient coppice stools and dendrothlems were measured and evaluated.

The studies focused on distribution and characteristic of small woodlands and trees as a typical feature of traditional agricultural landscapes (TAL) in Slovakia are missing or are rather local. The source data for this study was obtained from the national inventory of TAL performed in 2010-2012 in Slovakia, where woody vegetation was considered as one of the landscape elements creating mosaic of TAL. Based on the types of woodland present, which endow the landscape with a distinctive character and structure, we have divided TAL into five subtypes: 1) TAL with low occurrence of woodland – not more than 10 % of the site covered by woods, 2) TAL with spatial woodland formation, 3) TAL with solitaire trees dominant, 4) TAL with lines of trees or shrubs dominant, and 5) TAL with small woodland dominant.

The proportion of woodland was relatively low, as TAL with low occurrence of woodland (36 %) was the most extended subtype of TAL. The most common dominant woodland structure was lines of trees and shrubs, with significant occurrence in TAL of arable-land and grassland and TAL with dispersed settlement. They tended to occur on typical agrarian relief forms. Our evaluation was supported by statistical analyses focused on the relationships between woodland type on agrarian relief forms (mostly balks) and their biotic and abiotic characteristics (type of agrarian relief form, content of skeleton, width, height, its continuity, as well as continuity of wood cover)

The aim of the article is to assess the extensive database of memorial trees operated by AOPK CR (Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic) and to determine the occurrence and abundance of the most monumental trees in chosen biogeographical units, (altitudinal vegetation zone, altitude, ecological series (Buček & Lacina, 2002), province, subprovince, bioregion (Culek et. al., 1996)) and the maximum size and age they can reach in these units.

This assessment of monumental trees at a national level was made possible based on the provision of two extensive databases containing the information about the trees (AOPK CR Database of Memorial Trees) and about the biogeographical units of the Czech Republic (Biogeographical Registry of the Czech Republic). Basic unit of both databases is cadastral area and the fact allowed to link the data and to evaluate them. The occurrence rate of memorial trees and species in individual cadastral areas and in biogeographical regions is presented in the map outputs.

An increasing number of people all around the world have become interested in remarkable and magnificent trees in recent years. Accessible databases of champion trees are available. Unfortunately, the Czech Republic does not have a single database of remarkable or champion trees. We have old tradition to find and describe an old and monumental trees in our country. In 1899 the first book was issued about it. Many of the biggest specimens are already registered in the Monumental Trees database, which is run by the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic, registered a total of 25,598 memorable trees in 2017. Not all remarkable or champion trees are designated as memorable. Due too we present the known data on champion trees in an independent checklist. There are shown 116 species of trees with their girth and other information as height, GPS coordinate etc. from various sources. This checklist is a basis for a future one national database. When comparing the champion trees of the Czech Republic with the databases of other European states, particularly that of Monumental Trees, it emerges that we are not far from coming first. The Czech champion tree, Vejda's Lime Tree in Pastviny (Tilia platyphyllos Scop.) measured 1,305 cm at girth in 2015. We would like to prepare one integrated Czech database of remarkable trees and champion trees by help of the Professor August Bayer Foundation as soon as possible.

Industrial processes are marked with various deposits of wastes in landscapes. They are typically characterized by high pollution levels in all their ecosystem components, including soil, water and air. Even more than natural ecosystems, artificial ash and mine tailings containments or industrial dumps are disconnected from nature or agricultural surroundings by their construction geometry. This combination of factors directs such patches of landscape to the isolation (island) effect and hihglighting of land-surface fragmentation. What is the most proper tool serving efficiently for support of sharp boundaries dissolution and comeback of the habitat close to natural one? In the European climatic conditions, trees function as reliable ecosystem engineers under the conditions of keeping sites without human interventions. However, spontaneous colonization and succession include vegetational phases of both increased species diversity (advanced successional stages) and secondary species diversity reduction (successional retrogradation), usually in dependence on the soil-substrate development.

Innovative programme of so-called functional planting of fruit trees in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia in order to increase the resilience of the territory to climate change.