Biodiversity changes in the aerobic biomass have been estimated (including the "anthrobiome"). These changes seem to be strongly affected by the anthropic impact along a long-time span (starting from 2,060 AD to 12,060 BC). The aerobic biomass excluding Homo sapiens shows a progressive and, perhaps, unstoppable decline, after the advent of Western industrial civilization. This preliminary work aims to highlight how biodiversity should perhaps be studied, understood and used critically by adopting innovative approaches (eg., using biomass) and without preconceptions. Although our work is based on assumptions regarding some parameters that have been widely approximated, we believe it is necessary to proceed with this exploratory analysis considering the dramatic decline in biodiversity worldwide.
Plants are a part of life, and they are elements that are an inseparable part of landscape designs, especially in areas that are widely used by large masses of people. It is of great importance to know and choose the properties of plants that affect public health due to their aesthetic, functional, and psychological effects, as well as some components they contain. Toxic components in different organs of plants cause adverse effects for humans and animals by touching and ingesting. Furthermore, many plants can cause allergic reactions because of their pollens. This study examined open green areas designed for public use in Bursa province of Turkey, Mudanya district, and the taxa of woody landscape plants in these areas were evaluated in terms of their toxic properties for public health. In the study, it was determined that 79.4% of the 107 taxa of woody landscape plants showed toxic and allergenic properties, while 20.6% did not show toxic properties. On the other hand, it was observed that the rate of non-toxic but allergenic taxa was 18.6 %. As a result of statistical studies with the obtained data, a significant relationship among the parameters examined was determined in the study. Landscape designs made by considering the toxicological properties of plants may reduce the cases of poisoning caused by plants, and the measures to be taken for existing designs may raise awareness of the public on this issue.
The Indian soil is home to an abundance of medicinally useful plants, which, unfortunately, are being exploited and harvested at an alarming rate. The management of medicinal plant resources is therefore crucial. There are a number of medicinal plants that grow in the Indian Himalayan region that possess excellent medicinal properties. Medicinal plants like Rhododendron sp., Aconitum sp., Bacopa monneri, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Picrorhiza Kurroa and other important medicinal plants mentioned in this review paper are of great importance. To conserve and sustainable future, tissue culture is an advanced biotechnological approach that enables mass plant cultivation. The technology has the potential to meet the growing demand for plant-based medicines. The application of plant tissue culture approaches has resulted in substantial research into medicinal plant biodiversity conservation. In vitro regeneration is an extremely powerful biotechnological tool for propagating medicinal plants and increasing their bioactive compounds. It is also an excellent method for growing plants under threat of being lost to the natural soil. The Himalayan region has high altitudes and extreme climate conditions, which make it ideal for growing medicinal plants. Plants produce secondary metabolites when stressed environmental conditions alter their physiology. These compounds possess medicinal properties, so they are of great interest to researchers. There is a great deal of use for these plants in the healthcare industry. Raw materials from Himalayan medicinal plants are used in both Indian and international pharmaceutical industries. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the current status and conservation challenges relating to high-valued botanical species in the Indian Himalayan region. To ensure the sustainment of these species for future generations, conservation strategies must take into account their ecological, economic, and cultural dimensions.
The authors present a thermodynamic outlook of some significant processes and phenomena in plant evolution and ecology. The same approach is attempted to exhibit the main steps starting from the vegetation science to the ecosystem studies. Aim is not to write a usual article, but to propose a re-reading of methods and results in the vegetation research field offering a new point of discussion, in which changes in the entropy of systems are displayed in plants such as in human world. According to the Second Law of Thermodynamics, inanimate matter tends toward a continuous increasing of randomness and the accompanying spreading out of energy. The Living State appears to move in the opposite direction, generating ordered structures with low entropy and high negentropy/ syntropy. At morpho-physiologic level the leaf represents the most specialized organ to capture sun energetic clean source making the photosynthesis the process through which the negentropy trend is recognizable. Syntropic structures and functions are also generated at the community and ecosystem level. Interestingly in studying ecosystem complexity, the ecoindicators application is comparable to a mind process which reduces "entropy" of the traditional vegetation analysis integrating it in a more suitable and efficient-syntropic- way.
Huperzine A (HupA) is a lycopodium alkaloid that is important in the treatment of alzheimer's symptoms. Until now, the raw material for this compound comes from the Lycopodiceae family, which is harvested directly from nature. However, not too much ecological information exists for this plant family, while responsible utilization would require a sufficient baseline. This research aims to carry out an inventory of HupA natural resources and study their association and habitat characteristics in the Cibodas botanical gardens. A survey was conducted on 29 host trees using a purposive sampling method. Three species of HupA natural resources were identified, including Phlegmariurus pinifolius (Trevis.) Kiew, Phlegmariurus squarrosus (G. Forst.) & Aacute;. L & ouml;ve & D. L & ouml;ve, and Phlegmariurus phlegmaria (L.) Holub. The most abundant and evenly distributed species was P. pinifolius, while the least abundant and restricted distribution was P. phlegmaria. Phlegmariurus pinifolius showed no association with other vascular epiphytes, while P. squarrosus and P. phlegmaria showed associations. The species diversity of vascular epiphytes is significantly correlated with elevation and relative air humidity. Based on ecological aspects, we suggest P. pinifolius and P. squarrosus be developed in further bioprospecting studies.
