Lichens of six vernal pools in Acadia National Park, ME, USA

Whereas lichen-habitat relations have been well-documented globally, literature on lichens of vernal pools is scant. We surveyed six vernal pools at Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island, Maine, USA for their lichen diversity. Sixty-seven species were identified, including seven species that are new reports for Acadia National Park: Fuscidea arboricola, Hypogymnia incurvoides, Lepraria finkii, Phaeographis inusta, Ropalospora viridis, Usnea flammea, and Violella fucata. Five species are considered uncommon or only locally common in New England: Everniastrum catawbiense, Hypogymnia krogiae, Pseudevernia cladonia, Usnea flammea, and Usnea merrillii. This work represents the first survey of lichens from vernal pools in Acadia National Park and strongly suggests that previous efforts at documenting species at the Park have underestimated its species diversity. More work should be conducted to determine whether a unique assemblage of lichens occurs in association with this unique habitat type

New Trends of Sugarcane Cultivation Systems Toward Sugar Production on the Free Market: A Review

Sugar is one of the staple food commodities that has an important role in the Indonesian economy. The high demand for domestic sugar has resulted in the inability of sugar factories to meet the demand for sugar consumption because domestic sugar production is still low. This is due to decreased land area and productivity, low sugar yield rates, and low factory efficiency. This paper describes the improvement of sugarcane cultivation to the process of making sugar to support national consumption. The article uses a systematic review method on the latest sugarcane research and reports the conditions directly on the plantation. The results show that the existing sugarcane supply is still less than the factory's demand, so the factory worked inefficiently. Even though the factory has new machines and technology to produce good quality sugar with a capacity of 4,600 TCD, companies can take a coaching approach to the surrounding community to carry out sugarcane cultivation and provide financial support to the surrounding community. Based on the reality of low production and factory efficiency, the government needs to support the sugarcane cultivation system through farming production systems, improving factory machine capacity and labor for sugarcane estate in the global market era

Ecological strategies in California chaparral: Interacting effects of soils, climate, and fire on specific leaf area

Background: High values of specific leaf area (SLA) are generally associated with high maximal growth rates in resource-rich conditions, such as mesic climates and fertile soils. However, fire may complicate this relationship since its frequency varies with both climate and soil fertility, and fire frequency selects for regeneration strategies (resprouting versus seeding) that are not independent of resource-acquisition strategies. Shared ancestry is also expected to affect the distribution of resource-use and regeneration traits. Aims: We examined climate, soil, and fire as drivers of community-level variation in a key functional trait, SLA, in chaparral in California. Methods: We quantified the phylogenetic, functional, and environmental non-independence of key traits for 87 species in 115 plots. Results: Among species, SLA was higher in resprouters than seeders, although not after phylogeny correction. Among communities, mean SLA was lower in harsh interior climates, but in these climates it was higher on more fertile soils and on more recently burned sites; in mesic coastal climates, mean SLA was uniformly high despite variation in soil fertility and fire history. Conclusions: We conclude that because important correlations exist among both species traits and environmental filters, interpreting the functional and phylogenetic structure of communities may require an understanding of complex interactive effects

Diversity and Functional Traits of Lichens in Ultramafic Areas: A Literature Based Worldwide Analysis Integrated by Field Data at the Regional Scale

While higher plant communities found on ultramafics are known to display peculiar characteristics, the distinguishability of any peculiarity in lichen communities is still a matter of contention. Other biotic or abiotic factors, rather than substrate chemistry, may contribute to differences in species composition reported for lichens on adjacent ultramafic and non-ultramafic areas. This work examines the lichen biota of ultramafics, at global and regional scales, with reference to species-specific functional traits. An updated world list of lichens on ultramafic substrates was analyzed to verify potential relationships between diversity and functional traits of lichens in different Köppen–Geiger climate zones. Moreover, a survey of diversity and functional traits in saxicolous communities on ultramafic and non-ultramafic substrates was conducted in Valle d’Aosta (North-West Italy) to verify whether a relationship can be detected between substrate and functional traits that cannot be explained by other environmental factors related to altitude. Analyses (unweighted pair group mean average clustering, canonical correspondence analysis, similarity-difference-replacement simplex approach) of global lichen diversity on ultramafic substrates (2314 reports of 881 taxa from 43 areas) displayed a zonal species distribution in different climate zones rather than an azonal distribution driven by the shared substrate. Accordingly, variations in the frequency of functional attributes reflected reported adaptations to the climate conditions of the different geographic areas. At the regional scale, higher similarity and lower species replacement were detected at each altitude, independent from the substrate, suggesting that altitude-related climate factors prevail over putative substrate–factors in driving community assemblages. In conclusion, data do not reveal peculiarities in lichen diversity or the frequency of functional traits in ultramafic areas

Vaccine efficacy of ALVAC-HIV and bivalent subtype C gp120–MF59 in adults

BACKGROUND : A safe, effective vaccine is essential to eradicating human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. A canarypox–protein HIV vaccine regimen (ALVAC-HIV plus AIDSVAX B/E) showed modest efficacy in reducing infection in Thailand. An analogous regimen using HIV-1 subtype C virus showed potent humoral and cellular responses in a phase 1–2a trial in South Africa. Efficacy data and additional safety data were needed for this regimen in a larger population in South Africa. METHODS : In this phase 2b–3 trial, we randomly assigned 5404 adults without HIV-1 infection to receive the vaccine (2704 participants) or placebo (2700 participants). The vaccine regimen consisted of injections of ALVAC-HIV at months 0 and 1, followed by four booster injections of ALVAC-HIV plus bivalent subtype C gp120–MF59 adjuvant at months 3, 6, 12, and 18. The primary efficacy outcome was the occurrence of HIV-1 infection from randomization to 24 months. RESULTS : In January 2020, prespecified criteria for non-efficacy were met at an interim analysis; further vaccinations were subsequently halted. The median age of the trial participants was 24 years; 70% of the participants were women. The incidence of adverse events was similar in the vaccine and placebo groups. During the 24-month followup, HIV-1 infection was diagnosed in 138 participants in the vaccine group and in 133 in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 1.02; 95% confidence interval, 0.81 to 1.30; P = 0.84). CONCLUSIONS : The ALVAC–gp120 regimen did not prevent HIV-1 infection among participants in South Africa despite previous evidence of immunogenicity.Supported by grants (HHSN272201300033C and HHSN272201600012C) to Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics (now part of the GlaxoSmithKline [GSK] Biologicals) by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the selection and process development of the two gp120 envelope proteins TV1.C and 1086.C; by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Global Health Grant (OPP1017604) and NIAID for the manufacture and release of the gp120 clinical grade material; and by U.S. Public Health Service Grants — UM1 AI068614 to the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN), UM1 AI068635 to the HVTN Statistical and Data Management Center, and UM1 AI068618 to the HVTN Laboratory Center — from the NIAID. GSK Biologicals contributed financially to the provision of preexposure prophylaxis to trial participants. The South African Medical Research Council supported its affiliated research sites.http://www.nejm.orgam2022School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH

Ultramafic vegetation and soils in the circumboreal region of the Northern Hemisphere

The paper summarizes literature on climate, soil chemistry, vegetation and metal accumulation by plants found on ultramafic substrata in the circumboreal zone (sensu Takhtajan, Floristic regions of the world, 1986) of the Northern Hemisphere. We present a list of 50 endemic species and 18 ecotypes obligate to ultramafic soils from the circumboreal region of Holarctic, as well as 30 and 2 species of Ni and Zn hyperaccumulators, respectively. The number of both endemics and hyperaccumulators are markedly lower compared to that of the Mediterranean and tropical regions. The diversity of plant communities on ultramafics soils of the circumboral region is also described. The underlying causes for the differences of ultramafic flora between arctic, cold, cool temperate and Mediterranean and tropical regions are also discussed. © 2018, The Ecological Society of Japan

Forest expansion on serpentine grassland communities: the impact of atmospheric N and land use

In the Mid-Atlantic, USA we see a conservation crisis where multifaceted drivers and mesophication are accompanying afforestation on native rare serpentinite grasslands endangering local biodiversity. There are a number of directional natural and anthropogenic drivers, such as succession, acid rain, atmospheric composition, climate change, land use change, and pollutant deposition. The study objective was to explore the timing of expansion of Pinus virginiana and Pinus rigida was influenced by anthropogenic drivers. Comparisons of reconstructed tree establishment was related to climate (growing degree days and mean annual precipitation), pollution deposition (N and S) and site characteristics. Specifically, we hypothesize that traditional serpentine syndrome has been ameliorated by anthropogenic change that act as drivers of loss in species diversity, widespread mesophication, and compositional changes of plant communities. We established 32 plots (10m x 15m) using stratified random sampling. Cores from 161 trees were sampled and cross-dated and interpreted in conjunction with aerial photographs to derive periods of woody establishment into grasslands. The effects of topographic (slope, inclination, annual direct incident radiation and heatload), soil variables (elemental analysis, pH, soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, depth, texture, δ15N, and δ13C values) and pollutant deposition data (total N and S) on species were examined using ordination and regression. Trends in establishment were compared to historic decadal means of the Palmer Drought Severity Index and mean maximum temperature (Tmax) and minimum temperatures (Tmin). Multiple linear regression was used to establish relationships between potential drivers of woody afforestation. Diversity (H) is strongly correlated with soil depth, bulk density and negatively related to heavy metal content and heat load. The tree age structure show discontinuous patterns with peaks of regeneration pulses and periods of either low or absent recruitment. The period prior to 1900 is composed of 54% xeric oaks and when all oaks are grouped they comprise 79% of trees from that era, though Q. montana is absent from this group.  The period between 1900 and before 1940 records a change in the age-frequency distribution of species with a marked increase in conifers and concomitant decrease of xeric oaks comprising 39% and 19% of all species respectively. Between1950 and 1990 the percent of xeric oaks decreased to 3%, conifers to 13% while Acer spp increased to 19%. The number of shade tolerant species rose from 12.5% in the decades from 1850-1900 to 59% during the interval from 1950-1990. Percentage decadal tree establishment showed strong relationships with climate variables such as PDSI and pollutant deposition. Our preliminary results highlight the importance of anthropogenic driven change affecting species composition in serpentine systems undergoing rapid afforestation.peerReviewe

Serpentine Geoecology of Eastern North America: A Review

Serpentine outcrops are model habitats for geoecological studies. While much attention has been paid to serpentine outcrops worldwide, the literature on eastern North American serpentine and associated biota is scant. This review examines the available literature, published and unpublished, on geoecological studies conducted on serpentine in eastern North America, from Newfoundland through Québec and New England south to Alabama. Most serpentine outcrops in the region have been mapped, but there have been few intensive mineralogical and pedological investigations. The limited soil analyses available suggest elevated levels of heavy metals such as Ni, near-neutral pH values, and Ca∶Mg ratios \u3c 1, characteristic of serpentine soils worldwide. Botanical studies to date have largely focused on floristic surveys and the influence of fire exclusion and grazing on indigenous vegetation. To date, 751 taxa of vascular plants belonging to 92 families have been reported from serpentine outcrops in the region. Two taxa, Agalinis acuta and Schwalbea americana, are federally endangered in the United States while many others are listed as rare, endangered, or imperiled in one or more states or provinces. Globally, six species, Adiantum viridimontanum, Minuartia marcescens, Pycnanthemum torrei, S. americana, Scirpus longii, and Symphyotrichum depauperatum are listed as imperiled (G2) while one species, Agalinis acuta, is listed as critically imperiled (G1). Cerastium velutinum var. villosissimum is the only recognized serpentine endemic plant for eastern North America while Adiantum viridimontanum, Aspidotis densa, M. marcescens, and S. depauperatum are largely restricted to the substrate. Based on current distributions, we propose that A. viridimontanum and M. marcescens be considered endemic to serpentine substrates in eastern North America. Studies on cryptogams list 165 species of lichens and 146 species of bryophytes for the region. None of the species found appear to be restricted to the substrate. Compared to other regions of the world, ecophysiological and evolutionary investigations are scant. Biosystematic investigations are restricted to the taxa Adiantum aleuticum, C. velutinum var. villosissimum, and S. depauperatum. Plant-soil relations, especially the capacity to hyperaccumulate metals such as Ni and the ecological consequences of metal accumulation, are also under explored. One report from eastern Canada lists Arenaria humifusa, M. marcescens, Packera paupercula, and Solidago hispida as hyperaccumulating Ni although the findings have yet to be confirmed by subsequent investigations. Overall, serpentine geoecology in eastern North America remains largely unexplored

Lichens of Pine Hill, a Peridotite Outcrop in Eastern North America

Despite a large body of work on the serpentine-substrate effect on vascular plants, little work has been undertaken to describe lichen communities growing on serpentine soils derived from peridotite and other ultramafic rocks. Most such work has been conducted in Europe and western North America. Only one study to date has examined the lichen flora of an ultramafic outcrop in eastern North America. The current paper examines the lichen flora of a peridotite outcrop from Deer Isle, Hancock County, Maine, U.S.A. The lichen flora is presented along with relevant ecological and geochemical data. Sixty-three species were found, comprising 35 genera. Two species, Buellia ocellata and Cladonia symphycarpia, are new reports for New England. Fuscopannaria praetermissa, Psorula rufonigra, and Spilonema revertens are new reports for Maine. Twenty species including one genus, Lobaria, are new reports for ultramafic soils worldwide. Buellia ocellata, P. rufonigra, and S. revertens are reported from several localities on the outcrop. Soil analyses were conducted for pH, electrical conductivity, cation exchange capacity, heavy metals, and cations. Soil pH and cation and heavy metal concentrations are similar to those reported from west coast ultramafic soils suggesting that a similarly strong substrate effect may exist for species present on ultramafic soils in eastern North America