Tropical grasslands in South Assam, northeast India originated as a result of secondary succession on the abandoned lands after cultivation or deforestation. The grasslands are dominated by Imperata cylindrica and maintained under fire management as a customary practice. The rice farming communities exploit these grasslands for obtaining thatch leaves. This paper therefore, explores the culturally old grassland in Dorgakona, South Assam, northeast India and the impact of fire regime on its herbaceous flora and grasses. It presents 1) vegetation study to generate quantitative information on analytical characters of grasses and associated species and 2) an analysis of life-forms, biological spectrum and phenology of the grassland herbaceous flora followed by citing the significance of the current vegetation studies. Imperata cylindrica was dominant based on IVI (132. 27 and 141.68) for the burnt and unburnt plots respectively. Borreria pusilla (co-dominant) with IVI of (63.10 and 29.75) was fire dependent species as revealed by the data sequentially placed for burnt and unburnt plots respectively. Fire induced grasses (Chrysopogon aciculatus and Sacciolepis indica), tuber (Colocasia esculenta) were restricted to burnt plot. Multifold proliferation in the therophytes and cryptophytes occurred over Raunkiaer’s spectrum assigned with thero-cryptophytic climate. Plant phenological study revealed sequential changes in the phenoogical events. The tropical grasslands are predominated with fire resistant I. cylindrica and are adapted to the indigenous management procedures. It is recommended that the outcome of this study will generate valuable database for future researches on the degraded lands.
The distribution of Euphorbia maculata L. (spotted spurge) in Poland was studied on the basis of published and original records as well as digitized herbaria and online databases. This North American species was first observed in the Botanical Garden in Kraków in 1864. Since then, data on 22 localities of E. maculata in Poland have been collected, primarily in the southern and central parts of the country. The species was reported initially from botanical gardens (six locations), where it still grows along roadsides, pathways, and flower beds. It also occurs in ruderal habitats, primarily in cracks between paving stones. Notably, half of the local populations (12) were observed for the first time in 2024-2025. These findings indicate that the species is expanding its range in Poland.
Protected areas are key elements in conservation. However, baseline data for these areas is often missing making estimation of biodiversity trends and effectiveness of management difficult to assess. Moreover, severe weather events that are intensified by climate change might heavily affect protected areas. Herein, we analyse breeding bird surveys from a small-scale protected area, the mouth of the river Ahr in western Germany. The area was stroked by a catastrophic flood event in the year 2021. We perform a before-after study spanning 38 years using breeding bird data from the yeas 1984, 2020 and 2022. Our results show only minor effects caused by the flood event. In contrast, long term data show an increase of species tight to woody vegetation while open habitat birds, among them more specialist species, often decreased. Hence, the protected area does only partially fulfil its purpose and important gaps are identified. Finally, we conclude that the results of our case study might well be exemplary for many insufficiently managed special protected areas and recommend more effective conservation efforts.
Information on soil macroarthropods in Kendari City has not been reported so far, even though soil macroarthropods play an important role in supporting the lives of other organisms and in recent years have decreased in number globally. This study aims to identify soil macroarthropod communities and calculate the diversity of soil macroarthropods located in green open spaces in Kendari City. The green open spaces include Baruga forest, Mayor’s park, and Nanga-nanga botanical garden. The data obtained were integrated to calculate the Shannon-Wiener index and Simpson index. Individuals of each taxa were evaluated with Menhinick index and Pielou index. The similarity of soil macroarthropod groups was measured using the similarity index and the ratio of diversity index values at each location will be tested using Duncan's test with a p value of 0.05. The soil macroarthropod community found in green open space was 3505 individuals consisting of 4 Classes, 12 Orders, 27 Families, and 72 Genus. The number of genus in three consecutive research locations, namely Nanga-nanga botanical garden with 26 genus, Baruga forest with 25 genus, and Mayor’s park with 21 genus. Baruga forest had the highest species diversity of soil macroarthropods compared to other locations. The highest abundance of soil macroarthropods was shown by Family Formicidae (Ants), followed by Isoptera (Termites), Aranae (Spiders), and the lowest were Dermaptera (Cocopet), Scolopendromorpha (Centipedes), and Isopoda (Dead woodlice).
In the course of research on species diversity of wild living Aculeata on post-exploitation areas such as unused quarries and sandstones in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in 2012-2014 rare (in terms of occurrence) kleptoparasitic Aculeata were found.
Global climate change poses unprecedented challenges to biodiversity, prompting urgent investigations into its effects on various species. This study focuses on Mus musculus , a small rodent species and a crucial indicator of ecosystem health. Spanning from the last glacial maximum to the end of the 21 st century, employed Species Distribution Models (SDMs) to assess the impacts of climate change on Mus musculus and its four subspecies across Asia ( M. m musculus , M. m domesticus , M. m castaneus , and M. m bactrianus ). The SDMs reveal nuanced responses among subspecies, with M. m. domesticus , M. m. musculus , and M. m. castaneus facing potential habitat contractions, while M. m. bactrianus shows habitat expansion. Variable importance analysis highlights the significance of temperature-related variables, indicating the growing impact of rising temperatures on distribution patterns. Findings underscore the ecological implications of these shifts, emphasizing the need for tailored conservation strategies. The robustness of models, as indicated by high Area Under the Curve (AUC) values, enhances confidence in the reliability of predictions. Despite data limitations, this study contributes valuable insights into the complex dynamics between climate change and Mus musculus populations, guiding future conservation efforts in the face of ongoing global environmental transformations.
Human casualties caused due to human-elephant conflicts are a major problem in modern world where conservation is often pitted against development. This review paper is an attempt to study cases where human casualties have occurred due to human-elephant conflicts involving Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) by using peer-reviewed articles and verified news reports from various national and international dailies. The main aim of this study is to understand monthly, seasonal, spatial and temporal patterns of human casualties and our study reveals that most human casualties due to Asian elephants occur during the dry season (winter) mostly in December and January with very few exceptions and occur in higher frequency in farmlands located near fringe areas or boundaries of protected zones. Temporal patterns indicate that most of these casualties have occurred in the night time. The patterns are supported with relevant statistical data and analysis for better understanding of the problem. Mitigating this problem is a challenge which is discussed in this article with potential solutions suggested as per proven and tested methods and is also based on our understanding of these patterns.
Lepidopteran species serve as one of the most important pollinators in ecosystem and this species also coevolved with their nectaring plants. They regarded as one of the good indicators of ecosystem health due to their high sensitivity to the changes in environmental variables. There are numerous butterfly and moth species are found in India whose possible distribution in the geographic areas yet to be known. In our present study we try to find out the predicted distribution area of Variable Tawny Rajah (Charaxes bernardus hierax) in West Bengal by the use MaxEnt 3.4.4 program. It was observed that northern part of West Bengal consists of greater areas that contain suitable environmental conditions (maximum and moderate) than southern part of West Bengal. This type of study may helps to provide an idea about predicted distribution of Charaxes bernardus hierax in West Bengal and selection of conservation strategies for this butterfly species in particular geographical region.
