Evaluation of Acorus calamus L. rhizome extract as a bio preservative against wood fungal decay

Wood is most preferred structural material throughout the world and is considered as a complex biological composite with ubiquitous nature. Throughout the world there is an immense pressure on primary durable timbers due to their ever increasing demand. To reduce pressure on the primary species like; Teak, Sal and Deodar etc. one has to look for the other lesser known or secondary species as an alternative. Durability of these species can be enhanced with application of different preservatives and for this one of the best approach is to use herbal based ecofriendly preservatives rather than hazardous chemicals. In this study, the antifungal activity of Acorus calamus rhizome extract was tested on less durable local wood species. The results showed that average growth of Polyporus fungus on taken wood samples were retarded up to 69.44% after applying 2% concentration of rhizome extract and act as suitable bio-preservative for non durable wood species

Floristic diversity of Theog Forest Division, Himachal Pradesh, Western Himalaya

We provide a check list of the vascular plants of Theog Forest Division, Himachal Pradesh, Western Himalaya. Himachal Pradesh has been extensively surveyed in terms of flora by a large number of workers, albeit highly confined to prioritized areas. The floristic inventorization resulted in a total of 442 vascular plant species belonging to 311 genera and 117 families from an area of 512 km2. Out of these, 408 species belonged to Angiosperms, 7 to Gymnosperms and 27 to Pteridophytes. The predominant families among Dicotyledons were Asteraceae, Rosaceae and Lamiaceae. Among the Monocotyledons, the most represented family was Poaceae, followed by Liliaceae and Cyperaceae. Pinaceae and Pteridaceae were found to be the most represented families among the Gymnosperms and Pteridophytes, respectively. Species richness was highest in shrubberies, which formed an ideal habitat for many herbaceous species within different habitat types. Strategic eradication of weed species, especially obnoxious species such as Lantana camara and Parthenium hysterophorus is required for effective management in the area

Analysis of Chemical Properties of Thermally Treated Pinus roxburghii Sargent Wood

Effects of thermal modification were determined relative to chemical parameters of Pinus roxburghii. Thermal modification of wood was carried out at 80, 120, 160, and 200 °C for 2, 4, and 6 h. The chemical properties were different for different temperatures and different heating time. All parameters were similar except for cold water soluble extractives. Among the chemical properties studied, the maximum mean value of cold water extractives (8.20%), hot water soluble extractives (12.7%), holocellulose content (71.8%), and ash content (1.46%) were recorded at 120 °C, whereas the maximum mean values of alcohol benzene soluble extractives (13.9%) and lignin content (33.7%) were observed at 200 °C. The minimum mean value of cold water soluble extractives (5.82%), hot water soluble extractives (9.27%), holocellulose content (65.8%), and ash content (1.03%) were found to be at 200 °C, while the highest value of alcohol benzene soluble extractives 12.2% (control) and lignin content (28.0%) were found to be at 80 °C

Floristic diversity of Theog Forest Division, Himachal Pradesh, Western Himalaya

We provide a check list of the vascular plants of Theog Forest Division, Himachal Pradesh, Western Himalaya. Himachal Pradesh has been extensively surveyed in terms of flora by a large number of workers, albeit highly confined to prioritized areas. The floristic inventorization resulted in a total of 442 vascular plant species belonging to 311 genera and 117 families from an area of 512 km2. Out of these, 408 species belonged to Angiosperms, 7 to Gymnosperms and 27 to Pteridophytes. The predominant families among Dicotyledons were Asteraceae, Rosaceae and Lamiaceae. Among the Monocotyledons, the most represented family was Poaceae, followed by Liliaceae and Cyperaceae. Pinaceae and Pteridaceae were found to be the most represented families among the Gymnosperms and Pteridophytes, respectively. Species richness was highest in shrubberies, which formed an ideal habitat for many herbaceous species within different habitat types. Strategic eradication of weed species, especially obnoxious species such as Lantana camara and Parthenium hysterophorus is required for effective management in the area

Enhancing the durability of wood using heat treatment

Heat treatment is an effective method to improve the durability of wood against biodegradation as well as dimensional stability. Heat treatment of wood at different temperatures is targeted to improve the dimensional stability, hygroscopic properties and biological resistance of wood by modifying the chemistry of its cell components. These chemical changes can be expressed as increased dimensional stability, decreased hygroscopicity and ultimately increased durability of the wood

Behavioral Change in Physical, Anatomical, and Mechanical Characteristics of Thermally Treated Pinus roxburghii Wood

Thermal treatment of pine wood was carried out at 80, 120, 160, and 200 °C for 2, 4, and 6 hours. The highest mean values were, for specific gravity (0.492), moisture content (29.1%), and maximum moisture content (191%), whereas the lowest mean values were for specific gravity (0.418), moisture content (1.20%), and maximum moisture content (127%). The maximum mean values were for shrinkage in longitudinal plane (0.42%), radial plane (4.63%), volumetric shrinkage (9.28%), and maximum mean value tangential plane (3.67%). The minimum mean values were for shrinkage in longitudinal plane (0.04%), radial plane (2.22%), tangential plane (1.55%), and volumetric shrinkage (4.88%). Maximum mean values were for swelling in longitudinal (0.41%), radial (5.22%), and tangential plane (3.15%) and maximum mean volumetric swelling (7.71%), while minimum mean values were for swelling in longitudinal plane (0.08%), radial plane (2.26%), and tangential plane (1.29%) and minimum mean volumetric swelling (3.15%). The highest mean values were for tensile strength (57.3 MPa) and compression parallel to the grain (50.3 MPa), the maximum mean value of bending strength (84 MPa) and compression strength perpendicular to grain (27 MPa), whereas the lowest values were for tensile strength (42.7 MPa), bending strength (7.33 MPa), compression parallel to the grain (7.33 MPa) and compression strength perpendicular to grain (12.3 MPa)

Forecasting of Resin Yield and Number of Blazes of Naturally Regenerated Chir Pine (Pinus roxburghii Sargent) in Himachal Pradesh by Using Single Exponential Smoothing Method

The present investigation entitled “Forecasting of resin yield and number of blazes of naturally regenerated chir pine (Pinus roxburghii Sargent) in Himachal Pradesh by using single exponential smoothing method” was carried out during the year 2020-2022. The secondary information was collected regarding the resin yield and number of resin blazes w.e.f. 2005 to 2022 from Himachal Pradesh State Forest Department. Exponential smoothing is a particular moving average technique applied to time series data and to produce smoothed data to make forecast. In exponential smoothing, one or more smoothing parameters are to be determined explicitly and those choices determine the weights assigned to the observations. Forecasting with the help of various linear and non-linear models is on the assumption that the series is stationary.  Often time series is found to be non-stationary which means they are integrated and can be made stationary by differencing the time series. To check the stationarity of the number of blazes and resin yield, Augmented Dickey Fuller test was used. The results indicated that data was not approaching stationarity even after taking third difference. So, the prerequisite condition of ARIMA model is that the data should be stationary and if the time series data does not contain trend and seasonal components, Single Exponential Smoothing model was used. The Single Exponential Smoothing model was found to be best fit for the prediction of number of blazes and resin yield as per the high value of , low value of MAPE and Normalized BIC