Exploring bioactive compounds produced by forest plants is essential to reveal their potential as sources of medicinal chemicals. Sumatran benzoin ( Styrax benzoin ), a resin-producing plant, should be promoted as a forest conservation species that yields bioactive compounds with medicinal properties. Isolating the bioactive compounds found in Sumatran benzoin resin is necessary to determine the economic value of this non-timber forest product. The study aimed to isolate phenolics from Sumatran benzoin resin and evaluate their antioxidant activity to uncover the potential of this forest plant as a source of high-value bioactive compounds. The research stages included preparing raw resin material (obtained via bark tapping), followed by isolation, purification, analysis, and antioxidant testing. Sumatran benzoin resin served as the raw material for bioactive compound isolation. Phenolics were isolated through stepwise maceration of the resin using organic solvents of varying polarities to produce a crude extract. The extract was purified via solvent extraction to yield total phenolics (15.39% yield). Fractionation of the phenolics yielded a vanillin isolate (1.34% yield). The compound is in the form of a yellowish-white crystalline powder with a distinctive and soft aroma of vanillin, a density of 1.056 g/mL, a boiling point of 285 °C, a melting point of 81 °C, soluble in alcohol, ether, chloroform, acetic acid and hot water. The quantity of phenolics in Sumatran benzoin resin is large and the antioxidant power of phenolics is strong (IC₅₀ 22.10 < 50 ppm). The main component of the isolate content is identified as vanillin, which is an important compound for pharmaceutical and industrial raw materials. Sumatran benzoin as a woody forest plant needs to be conserved as a producer of bioactives, a global oxygen source and as an economic source for communities around forest areas.
Metasequoia glyptostroboides is an endangered relict tree endemic to China, but the long-term status of its native population remains poorly quantified. Historical surveys registered 5779 native mother trees across the species’ natural range, including 5746 in Lichuan, where >99% of registered trees occurred. We combined repeated censuses in 2007, 2017, and 2023 to evaluate changes in the historically registered Lichuan adult cohort, natural regeneration observed in 2023, recorded proximate mortality categories, spatial clustering of mortality, and associations with prior vigor and local landscape context. By 2023, the cohort had declined to 5593 surviving trees, a net loss of 153 individuals (2.7%). The mortality hazard during 2017–2023 was higher than during 2007–2017 (hazard ratio = 3.43, 95% confidence interval = 2.11–5.74, p < 0.001), and recent deaths were significantly spatially clustered. Lightning strike (29.4%), human-related disturbance (24.2%), and senescence (22.9%) were the most frequent recorded proximate mortality categories. Naturally regenerated seedlings or saplings were detected within standardized search areas around only 26 of 5593 surviving mother trees (0.47%). Prior classification as declining or critical and the presence of roads within 40 m were associated with higher odds of subsequent mortality. Despite the persistence of most registered adults, higher recent mortality and limited observed regeneration raise concern about long-term cohort replacement. Adult abundance alone may therefore mask demographic vulnerability. Conservation should prioritize the protection of weakened adults and confirmed regeneration patches, with repeated assessment of juvenile survival and establishment.
Deforestation and fragmentation threaten forest biodiversity, and the Brazilian Atlantic forest is a striking example, with most remnants small, isolated, and topographically constrained. Reintroducing lost large-bodied frugivores can support the ecological recovery of degraded forest landscapes, but successful programmes require identifying which environmental and management factors govern where these species settle. We combined long-term field monitoring with forest structure metrics derived from airborne laser scanning (LiDAR), with topographic and landscape variables, to model habitat suitability for a reintroduced population of the red-billed curassow (Crax blumenbachii) across a 753-ha forest fragment managed under a 30-year reintroduction programme. Habitat suitability was primarily explained by proximity to human infrastructure (the release site and head office) and by topography (slope), whereas forest structural attributes (canopy height, canopy cover, and distance to forest edge) showed comparatively weaker effects. Steep terrain reduced suitability, indicating that slope can act as a physical barrier limiting range expansion for this ground-dwelling species, a relevant constraint given that many Atlantic forest fragments and potential corridors lie on steep terrain unsuitable for agriculture. The species also tolerated open and human-modified areas, suggesting that eucalyptus plantations, when connected to native forest, could function as movement corridors enhancing connectivity, though this possibility warrants further assessment. These findings show that topographic relief and site-management choices, more than fine-scale forest structure, shape where a reintroduced frugivore establishes itself, with direct implications for selecting release sites, designing forest restoration and plantation-based connectivity strategies, and managing human-wildlife proximity in reintroduction programmes across fragmented tropical landscapes.
Macaronesian laurel forests are relict, cloud-dependent ecosystems of high conservation value, currently restricted to fragmented island patches and threatened by climate change, disturbance and land-use legacies. However, spatially explicit assessments of recent forest-condition trajectories remain scarce at multi-archipelago scales. Here, we assessed long-term spatial and temporal trajectories of laurel forests across Madeira and the Canary Islands from 2000 to 2025 and evaluated their geographical, disturbance and climatic context.Annual MaxEnt models generated a habitat suitability index (HSI) from MODIS time-series predictors, interpreted here as a remotely sensed indicator of habitat condition. Temporal trends within current forest stands were quantified using Mann–Kendall tests and Sen’s slope, locally benchmarked against temperature and precipitation series and related to elevation, forest loss and island using Random Forest regression.Results revealed marked spatial heterogeneity and no uniform regional trajectory. EVI (Enhanced Vegetation Index) was the dominant predictor throughout most of the time series, while negative trends were particularly evident in parts of Madeira, La Gomera and Tenerife. Local climate series in selected declining areas showed significant warming of 0.019–0.036 °C yr⁻¹, whereas precipitation generally declined. The Random Forest yielded an OOB-R² of 0.454 and an OOB-RMSE of 0.00054, interpreted as measures of internal model fit. Island identity showed the highest variable importance, indicating substantial between-island heterogeneity, followed by forest loss and elevation, which showed predominantly negative and non-linear partial responses.Overall, recent laurel-forest trajectories were strongly island-specific, highlighting the value of long-term satellite monitoring for identifying areas requiring finer-resolution assessment, field validation and targeted conservation action.
