Forest in Mozambique: actual distribution of tree species and potential threats

In recent decades, there has been a perception that the Mozambican forests have been threatened with massive exploitation for commercialization, deforesting vast areas, leading to desertification and contributing to the extinction of some forest species. The present research summarizes the official information obtained by monitoring the country’s natural resources over time and identifying the major types of existing forests in Mozambique. The main objective is to elucidate on the current state of Mozambican forests, analyze change and trends, and characterize the actual distribution of forest species in Mozambique to verify the sustainability of forest resources and their composition. It is a case study of the qualitative descriptive type, with data obtained through a bibliographic research method focusing on scientific articles on the type of forest species existing in Africa and Mozambique and data from official sources of the forests. Various types of forests were identified, such as mopane, mercrusse, semi-deciduous, miombo, and semi-evergreen, including the gallery forest. Forest species with particular relevance were highlighted, such as Afzelia quanzensis, Swartzia madagascariensis, Pterocarpaus angolensis, Combretum imberbe, and Millettia stuhalmannii. Major threats to these natural resources were identified and reported, including anthropogenic activity associated with traditional practices of illegal logging or due to the valuation of other goods of primary necessity, lack of protection and conservation measures, and impacts resulting from climate change. The Munza district is presented as a case study, carrying out a characterization of the forest in this district and identifying the main threats in the study area from 2015 to 2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Potential of silicon fertilization in the resistance of chestnut plants toink disease(Phytophthora cinnamomi)

The European chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) is a specie with great economic importance in Europe that have been present for thousands of years. In Portugal, the chestnut helps to maintain a positive trade balance, by contributing to the gross national product (GDP). One of the biggest threats for the chestnut is the ink disease caused by Phytophthoracinnamomi, this disease is problematic to chestnut crop with a damaging impact. Silicon (Si) is classified as a beneficial nutrient, having the ability to make plants more resistant to attacks by pathogens. Studies on the effect of silicon on chestnut are practically non-existent, so the aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of silicon in the resistance of chestnut plants to P. cinnamomi. The plants were treated by 0 mM, 5 mM, 7.5mM and 10 mM SiK® with the analyzed mad at 0, 15 and 30 days after inoculation by P. cinnamomi. These findings showed that the Si-treated plants had higher survival rate resulted from the presence of phytoliths in root tissues, that acted as a mechanical barrier reducing the development of pathogenic structures and they arealso associated with the improvement on antioxidant activity through the increase of CAT and SOD, higher values of total phenols compounds and less oxidative damage. The presence of Si in PDA medium reduced the growth of P. cinnamomi all over the time, presenting high PI. This work shows that the Si fertilization in chestnut plants contributes to increase the resistance against P. cinnamomi infection

Effects of recent minimum temperature and water deficit increases on Pinus pinaster radial growth and wood density in southern Portugal

Western Iberia has recently shown increasing frequency of drought conditions coupled with heatwave events, leading to exacerbated limiting climatic conditions for plant growth. It is not clear to what extent wood growth and density of agroforestry species have suffered from such changes or recent extreme climate events. To address this question, tree-ring width and density chronologies were built for a Pinus pinaster stand in southern Portugal and correlated with climate variables, including the minimum, mean and maximum temperatures and the number of cold days. Monthly and maximum daily precipitations were also analyzed as well as dry spells. The drought effect was assessed using the standardized precipitation-evapotranspiration (SPEI) multi-scalar drought index, between 1 to 24-months. The climate-growth/density relationships were evaluated for the period 1958-2011. We show that both wood radial growth and density highly benefit from the strong decay of cold days and the increase of minimum temperature. Yet the benefits are hindered by long-term water deficit, which results in different levels of impact on wood radial growth and density. Despite of the intensification of long-term water deficit, tree-ring width appears to benefit from the minimum temperature increase, whereas the effects of long-term droughts significantly prevail on tree-ring density. Our results further highlight the dependency of the species on deep water sources after the juvenile stage. The impact of climate changes on longterm droughts and their repercussion on the shallow groundwater table and P. pinaster’s vulnerability are also discussed. This work provides relevant information for forest management in the semi-arid area of the Alentejo region of Portugal. It should ease the elaboration of mitigation strategies to assure P. pinaster’s production capacity and quality in response to more arid conditions in the near future in the regioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Microclimatic conditions and gas exchange in a vineyard under plastic cover

4 páginas.-- 1 figura.-- 2 tablas.-- 8 referencias.-- Comunicación oral presentada en el XII Luso-Spanish Symposium on Plant Water Relations – Water to Feed the World. 30th of September – 3rd of October (Evora) PortugalPlastic covers are being used in an increasing number of vineyards to avoid problems derived from high radiation and rainfall levels. The effects of this new management system on microclimatic, gas exchange and crop water demand are not well known. In this context, the objective of this study was to analyse possible changes in soil moisture, microclimatic variables and gas exchange in a vineyard (cv. Niágara Rosada, for table consumption) under transparent plastic cover. The experiments were performed in São Fidelis, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, on a growing cycle (March to June 2013). The crop was covered at the top with a 160 μm thick low density polyethylene film. Within a commercial vineyard (1 ha) we had two plots (covered and uncovered, 0.035 ha each), each one instrumented with a meteorological station. Soil humidity was determined by gravimetry. Stomatal conductance (gs) and net photosynthesis (AN) measurements were made at 08.00-10.00 am, in 5 plants of each treatment and on days 42, 56, 68, 91 and 106 after pruning. The plastic cover permitted greater soil humidity, reduced the photosynthetic active radiation, and increased the maximum and medium temperature and the vapor pressure deficit. The greater soil water availability, however, may not lead to greater plant water use efficiencyPeer Reviewe

Diagnóstico estrutural de personalidade em psicopatologia psicanalítica Structural diagnosis of personality in psychoanalytical psychopathology

Este artigo apresenta o diagnóstico estrutural de personalidade como prática clínica fundamentada na Psicopatologia Psicanalítica Estrutural. As concepções de Bleger, Bergeret e Winnicott são articuladas visando oferecer subsídios teóricos para o estabelecimento de tal diagnóstico, cuja finalidade principal é orientar decisões clínicas quanto à escolha de técnicas e estratégias psicanalíticas adequadas ao tipo de psicopatologia envolvido em cada caso particular. Procedimentos Projetivos, utilizados transicionalmente nas entrevistas clínicas, são especialmente mencionados, uma vez que possibilitam o acesso, num contexto lúdico e criativo, aos determinantes lógico-emocionais subjacentes às condutas humanas.<br>This article presents the structural diagnosis of personality, as a clinical practice based on Psychoanalytic Structural Psychopathology and established from Bleger, Bergeret and Winnicott&#146;s theoretical conceptions. The aim of this diagnosis consists on guiding the psychoanalyst through clinical decisions about peculiar techniques and strategies, depending on the kind of psychopathology of each particular case. Projective Procedures, transitionally used on clinical interviews, are specially mentioned, once they provide the access, in a ludic and creative basis, to the latent logical-emotional determinants related to human manifestations