Natural plant revegetation on reclaimed coal mine landscapes in Agacli-Istanbul

In this study, natural vegetation development was compared on one abandoned open coal mine spoil and three reclaimed coal mine areas with umbrella pine-Pinus pinea L., maritime pine-Pinus pinaster Ait. and leguminous black locust-Robinia pseudoacacia L. in Agacli-Istanbul. Soil data of these sample areas were determined in previous studies. These properties demonstrate physically and nutritionally poor conditions and some rehabilitative effects after tree species were introduced. The plant species composition and total coverage for each species (vertical projection onto the ground) was estimated visually and recorded on each sample plot. Naturally revegetated plant species, species composition, Shannon-Wiener diversity index values, species richness, evenness, total abundance and their coverabundance scales were evaluated by comparing each other. Generally, the best-represented species belong to Rosaceae in all investigated plots. Shannon diversity index and its components give the different results among sample plots. However, higher values were found on reclaimed sites. Highest Shannon diversity index (H') was found on the sample area reclaimed with maritime pine. Plant species richness (S) was highest under umbrella pine and plant species evenness (J') was highest on black locust sample plot. Despite the sample area reclaimed, black locust has the more fertile soil conditions, it has only the highest plant species evenness (J') value among areas.Key words: Coal mine, plant composition, reclamation, revegetation, species richness, species diversit

Études sur les composés polyphénoliques en relation avec l'alimentation de la tordeuse des bourgeons de l'épinette (Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.))

La qualité nutritive et allélochimique de la plante hôte joue un rôle déterminant dans la dynamique des populations des défoliateurs forestiers. La tordeuse des bourgeons de l’épinette (Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.)) (Lepidoptera : Tortricidae) (TBE) est un lépidoptère considéré comme le plus important ravageur des forêts d’Amérique du Nord et attaque principalement le sapin baumier (Abies balsamea (L.)) et l’épinette blanche (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss). Le feuillage de ces essences hôtes contient des composés polyphénoliques (les tannins) lesquels sont souvent rapportés dans la littérature comme composés chimiques utilisés par les plantes pour limiter les impacts des espèces herbivores. Certains traitements sylvicoles comme les éclaircies sont parmi un ensemble de facteurs aptes à influencer la composition polyphénolique des essences ligneuses. Ainsi, l’éclaircie dans de jeunes peuplements de sapins baumiers a déjà été reliée à des baisses en contenu de tannins et des hausses en azote foliaire un an après le traitement. De plus, lors d’une étude sur le terrain, les effets à court terme de l’éclaircie sur ces composés chimiques ont été corrélés à des augmentations de survie larvaire et de vitesse de développement chez la tordeuse des bourgeons de l’épinette. Toutefois, la relation de cause à effet entre les effets de l’éclaircie sur la chimie de l’essence hôte et les performances de l’insecte reste à être établie. Dans la présente étude, l’impact des variations en tannins et azote foliaire induites par l’éclaircie sur la survie, le développement, la croissance et l’utilisation de la nourriture par les larves de TBE a été étudié à l’aide d’extraits polyphénoliques purifiés et de diverses sources d’azote incorporés à diverses concentrations dans une nourriture artificielle. Les résultats de cette étude supportent l’hypothèse que les variations polyphénoliques et azotées foliaires, induites par l’éclaircie des jeunes peuplements de sapin baumier, sont responsables des effets positifs à court terme de ce traitement sur la survie et le développement de l’insecte de même que sur les augmentations de défoliation observées suite au traitement. Des expériences sur l’utilisation de la nourriture par la TBE en fonction des contenus en tannins de sa nourriture ont aussi été menées à l’aide de tannins extraits et purifiés de feuillage de sapin baumier et incorporés à diverses concentrations dans une nourriture artificielle. Ces travaux visaient à documenter le degré de plasticité de l’insecte en terme de processus d’utilisation de nourriture face aux variations en contenus polyphénoliques de sa nourriture. Des travaux similaires ont été conduits à l’aide de tannins extraits de feuillage d’épinette blanche. Dans le cas du sapin baumier, les résultats montrent que l’insecte possède une panoplie de mécanismes de compensation dans ces processus alimentaires pour limiter les impacts des tannins. Toutefois, des effets négatifs sur les performances de l’insecte sont détectés à mesure que les contenus en tannins de sapin baumier augmentent dans le substrat alimentaire. En ce qui concerne l’épinette blanche, l’insecte possède aussi une panoplie de mécanismes de compensation. Contrairement au sapin baumier, l’épinette blanche semble contenir un niveau optimal de tannins dans son feuillage au delà duquel la plante n’obtient pas de gain supplémentaire en terme d’effets létaux sur l’insecte. Une expérience a aussi été conduite sur le système d’interaction Tannins d’épinette blanche - Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Btk) – TBE à l’aide d’extraits polyphénoliques de feuillage et de toxines de Btk incorporés seuls et/ou en combinaison à diverses concentrations dans un substrat alimentaire artificiel. Les résultats de ces travaux ont montré qu’individuellement ces deux types de composés (tannins et Btk) ont de sérieux effets délétères sur l’insecte. Cependant, lorsqu’ils sont présents ensemble dans la nourriture, ces derniers ont des effets antagonistes mutuels réduisant ainsi leurs effets létaux respectifs envers l’insecte.Host plant nutritive and allelochemical characteristics are important factors of forest insect defoliator population dynamics. The spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.)) (Lepidoptera : Tortricidae) is one of the most important lepidopteran forest pests of North America attacking especially balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.)) and white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) trees, two host tree species that contains polyphelonics which are believed to act as defensive chemicals against herbivores. Certain sylvicultural treatments such as stand thinning are among the variables that affect host tree foliar polyphenolics. Stand thinning of young balsam fir tree stands is known to decrease, the year following the treatment, host content in foliar tannin and to increase foliar nitrogen. These short term changes in host chemistry have already been related shown to increases in spruce budworm larval survival and development rates in field studies. However, the cause-effect relationship remains to be established. In the current study, effects of variations in balsam fir foliar tannin and nitrogen related to stand thinning were investigated on spruce budworm survival, growth, development and food utilization using purified tannins from host tree foliage and various sources of proteins incorporated into artificial diet. Results from this study support the hypothesis that changes in host tree tannin and nitrogen following thinning of young balsam fir stands are responsible for increases budworm survival and defoliation. Food utilization studies were also conducted using balsam fir foliage purified tannin extract incorporated into artificial diet in order to document the level of tolerance and plasticity of budworm larvae to foliar polyphenolic variations. Similar studies were conducted using white spruce foliage. In the case of balsam fir foliar tannins, it appears that the spruce budworm is negatively affected by these compounds as their concentration increases in host trees. The insect exhibited various types of compensatory feeding mechanisms that allowed it to partially deal with both balsam fir and white spruce tannins. Contrary to balsam fir, white spruce trees appear to contain an optimal amount of tannins above which the host tree does not produce any more gain more deleterious effect on the insect. An additional study that investigated the system of interactions white spruce tree tannin - Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Btk) - spruce budworm was conducted using artificial diet supplemented with various concentrations of tannin and Btk purified toxin. Results indicate that alone in the diet, tannin and Btk toxin have deleterious effects on spruce budworm larvae. However, when these compounds are both present in the diet they antagonize each other such that their respective potency against the insect is reduced

Spruce budworm biological and nutritional performance responses to varying levels of monoterpenes

Dose effect of six monoterpenes (a-pinene, bornyl acetate, camphene, (o) over bar -3-carene, terpinolene, tricyclene) found in the foliage of host trees was tested on sixth-instar spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.)) using artificial diet. The larval mortality, growth and food utilization have been observed. Two monoterpenes, a-pinene and d-3-carene caused 22 and 12% mortality respectively at concentrations found in balsam fir foliage. Bornyl acetate and camphene reduced larval survival when their concentration was higher than the foliage. Terpinolene and tricyclene have no effect on mortality. All six tested monoterpenes reduced larval growth rate. Spruce budworm tried to minimize this negative growth impact by increasing his digestibility in presence of camphene and d-3-carene, and by increasing his efficiency of conversion of ingested-digested food with a-pinene and bornyl acetate. These results support the traditional theory that monoterpenes are a defense agent against spruce budworm and that each monoterpene has a different mode of action and effects which are not necessarily proportional to its concentration

Long term effects of red deer (Cervus elaphus) grazing on soil in a breeding area

This paper examines the effects of red deer grazing on some properties of soil (sand, silt, clay, pH, electrical conductivity organic carbon, bulk density, fine soil weight, compaction and saturation capacity), and litter (unit weight-mass, organic matter content (%) and organic matter mass) properties on a red deer breeding area by comparing an undisturbed area in Istanbul Belgrad Forest-Turkey. According to the results obtained in this study, the litter mass in the breeding area has been found considerably lower There were some crucial changes in the characteristics of the soil which has been investigated in 0-5 cm depth. No important difference had been detected between the breeding area and the undisturbed area in terms of electrical conductivity. However, other investigated soil properties in 0-5 cm depth showed significant differences between the undisturbed area and the breeding area. Soil was significantly compacted by red deer grazing, The soil pH was 2.18 unit higher in undisturbed area. Moreover, organic carbon content (1.395%) in the breeding area was found quite lower Depending on the compaction of the soil and lessen quantity of soil organic matter, the value of saturation capacity (28.83%) on the breeding area is considerably lower, bulk density and fine soil weights were significantly higher Mean silt and clay proportions (25.4 and 33.7%, respectively) are quite higher and the mean sand proportion (40.9%) was lower in the breeding area than in the undisturbed area. Results indicated that long term red deer grazing in the breeding area adversely affected litter and soil properties

Comparative study on soil properties in a picnic and undisturbed area of Belgrad forest, Istanbul

The aim of this paper was to investigate the recreational impacts on some soil properties (sand, silt, clay, pH, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, bulk density, fine soil weight, compaction and saturation capacity), and litter (unit weight-mass, organic matter content (%) and organic matter mass) properties in a picnic area by comparing an undisturbed area in Istanbul Belgrad Forest-Turkey According to the results obtained in this study, the litter mass on the picnic area has been found considerably lower There were some crucial changes in the characteristics of the soil which has been investigated in 0-5 cm depth. No important difference had been detected between the picnic area and the undisturbed area in terms of sand, silt and clay proportions. However, other investigated soil properties in 0-5 cm depth showed significant differences between undisturbed area and picnic area. Soil was significantly compacted by recreational activities in picnic area. Moreover, organic carbon content (1.328%) on the picnic area has found quite lower Depending on the compaction of the soil and lessen quantity of soil organic matter, the value of saturation capacity (24.13%) in the picnic area was considerably lower, bulk density and fine soil weights significantly higher Thus, the soil properties in the picnic area were negatively affected by recreational pressure

Effects of tree age and stand thinning related variations in balsam fir secondary compounds on spruce budworm Choristoneura fumiferana development, growth and food utilization

The effect of tannins and monoterpenes on the development, mortality and food utilization of spruce budworm Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) was investigated under laboratory conditions using an artificial diet. Tannins were extracted from balsam fir foliage of thinned and unthinned stands to reproduce stand thinning related variations in tannins. A mixture of synthetic monoterpenes was utilized to simulate the concentration found in young and old balsam fir trees

Natural plant revegetation on reclaimed coal mine landscapes in Agacli-Istanbul

In this study, natural vegetation development was compared on one abandoned open coal mine spoil and three reclaimed coal mine areas with umbrella pine-Pinus pinea L., maritime pine-Pinus pinaster Ait. and leguminous black locust-Robinia pseudoacacia L. in Agacli-Istanbul. Soil data of these sample areas were determined in previous studies. These properties demonstrate physically and nutritionally poor conditions and some rehabilitative effects after tree species were introduced. The plant species composition and total coverage for each species (vertical projection onto the ground) was estimated visually and recorded on each sample plot. Naturally revegetated plant species, species composition, Shannon-Wiener diversity index values, species richness, evenness, total abundance and their cover-abundance scales were evaluated by comparing each other. Generally, the best-represented species belong to Rosaceae in all investigated plots. Shannon diversity index and its components give the different results among sample plots. However, higher values were found on reclaimed sites. Highest Shannon diversity index (H') was found on the sample area reclaimed with maritime pine. Plant species richness (S) was highest under umbrella pine and plant species evenness (J') was highest on black locust sample plot. Despite the sample area reclaimed, black locust has the more fertile soil conditions, it has only the highest plant species evenness (J') value among areas

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN BARK BEETLE DIVERSITY AND HABITAT CHARACTERISTICS IN PINE FORESTS OF SOUTH MARMARA, TURKEY

The bark beetles are of particular importance in the evolution and biodiversity of forest stands. To contribute to the knowledge on the biodiversity and ecology of bark beetles on pine species, we performed this research in South Marmara, Turkey. During 2014, Scolytinae species were obtained from baiting logs, which were 1.5 m long, and 0.2 m in diameter located at 8 sites in total in the research area. In total, 1100 individuals were collected representing 6 tribes, 11 genera, and 24 species. Orthotomicus erosus was the most abundant species and occurred in all areas. Our study demonstrated that black pine is associated with high diversity of beetles while brutian pine is correlated with high abundance of Scolytinae. In addition, stone pine has lowest diversity and abundance of bark beetles. Pinus brutia, which showed strong correlation with temperature, had relationship with O. erosus and P. pennidens. Pinus nigra showed a strong correlation with altitude, additionally it had relationship with I. sexdentatus. Our results indicate that these abiotic factors affect the composition and the number of bark beetles

Interactions among white spruce tannins, Bacillus thuringiensis subsp kurstaki, and spruce budworm (Lepidoptera : Tortricidae), on larval survival, growth, and development

The interactions among white spruce, Picea glauca (Moench) Voss, purified acetone tannin extracts (hydrolyzable and condensed tannin), Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki CrylA(c) delta-endotoxin strain HD-73 (Btk), and spruce budworm, Chotistoneura fumiferana (Clemens) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) on larval survival, growth, and development were investigated over the whole larval feeding period by using artificial diet supplemented with three concentrations of Btk toxins per milliliter of diet (0, 0.021, and 1.72 mu g/ml) and three concentrations of foliar tannin extract (0, 8, and 15% dry mass basis). At high Btk concentration, tannin antagonized Btk potency against spruce budworm by lowering Btk-related larval mortality from 83 to 43%. At moderate Btk concentration tannin did not affect Btk potency. Host tree tannins antagonized not only the lethal effects of Btk toxin but also sublethal Btk-related impacts in terms of larval development, pupal weight, relative consumption rate, and growth rate. When alone in the diet, tannin negatively affected larval survival, growth, and development. Maximum potency of tannins against spruce budworm larvae (60% mortality) was reached at dietary concentrations corresponding to what is found in the plant (8% dry mass). The addition of Btk toxin in food containing tannin reduced percentage of larval mortality by one-third, indicating that Btk toxin can antagonize tannin potency against the insect. Development of Btk transgenic spruce trees should consider the antagonistic effect the toxin may have on the resistance conferred by tannins that have evolved naturally in spruce trees