The Usefulness of Ecological Niche Concepts in Understanding Plant Communities

Plant communities have been attracting many scientists due to their complexity and unclear underlying mechanisms that support it. How large numbers of competing plant species manage to coexist, for instance, is one of the major unresolved questions in plant community ecology. Ecological niche concept is a classical theory which tries to address this question. The development of this concept will be presented in this paper. Recent studies, although few in number and incomplete in many ways, do suggest that plants segregate along various environmental niche axes. Although it is unlikely that niche separation along environmental axes is the only mechanism of coexistence in any large community, the evidence now suggests that ecological niche concept plays a more significant role than has been previously appreciated

Characterization of a New Biotype Moringa of Saudi Arabia Using Rapd and Issr Markers

Moringa peregrina and M. oleifera are the only Moringa species found in Saudi Arabia. Both species are drought resistant and have very high nutritional and medicinal properties. Detection of genetic diversity is of great value for the improvement of nutritional and medicinal value of these plants. The aim of the present study was to characterize a new biotype Moringa observed in Al Bahah Region, Saudi Arabia. We used 11 RAPD and 15 ISSR primers to characterize and compare the new biotype with M. peregrina and M. oleifera. Level of polymorphism generated by each marker was calculated. We also calculate Nei and Li\u27s coefficient to measure the genetic distance between the studied species. Level of polymorphism generated by RAPD and ISSR was 46% and 57%, respectively. RAPD and ISSR primers revealed that the new biotype shared 55 amplicons (45.08%) with both M. peregrina and M. oleifera, 28 amplicons with M. peregrina (22.95%), 21 amplicons (17.21%) with M. oleifera, and displayed 18 unshared amplicons (14.75%). Based on RAPD data, genetic distance between M. oleifera and M. peregrina was 0.32, whereas genetic distance between the new biotype and M. oleifera and M. peregrina was 0.21 and 0.29, respectively. For ISSR data, genetic distance between M. oleifera and M. peregrina was 0.5, whereas genetic distance between the new biotype and M. oleifera and M. peregrina was 0.36 and 0.34, respectively. Based on these results we suggested that the new biotype is a hybrid crossbred between M. peregrina and M. oleifera

Consistent patterns of common species across tropical tree communities

Trees structure the Earth’s most biodiverse ecosystem, tropical forests. The vast number of tree species presents a formidable challenge to understanding these forests, including their response to environmental change, as very little is known about most tropical tree species. A focus on the common species may circumvent this challenge. Here we investigate abundance patterns of common tree species using inventory data on 1,003,805 trees with trunk diameters of at least 10 cm across 1,568 locations1,2,3,4,5,6 in closed-canopy, structurally intact old-growth tropical forests in Africa, Amazonia and Southeast Asia. We estimate that 2.2%, 2.2% and 2.3% of species comprise 50% of the tropical trees in these regions, respectively. Extrapolating across all closed-canopy tropical forests, we estimate that just 1,053 species comprise half of Earth’s 800 billion tropical trees with trunk diameters of at least 10 cm. Despite differing biogeographic, climatic and anthropogenic histories7, we find notably consistent patterns of common species and species abundance distributions across the continents. This suggests that fundamental mechanisms of tree community assembly may apply to all tropical forests. Resampling analyses show that the most common species are likely to belong to a manageable list of known species, enabling targeted efforts to understand their ecology. Although they do not detract from the importance of rare species, our results open new opportunities to understand the world’s most diverse forests, including modelling their response to environmental change, by focusing on the common species that constitute the majority of their trees.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Consistent patterns of common species across tropical tree communities

Trees structure the Earth’s most biodiverse ecosystem, tropical forests. The vast number of tree species presents a formidable challenge to understanding these forests, including their response to environmental change, as very little is known about most tropical tree species. A focus on the common species may circumvent this challenge. Here we investigate abundance patterns of common tree species using inventory data on 1,003,805 trees with trunk diameters of at least 10 cm across 1,568 locations1,2,3,4,5,6 in closed-canopy, structurally intact old-growth tropical forests in Africa, Amazonia and Southeast Asia. We estimate that 2.2%, 2.2% and 2.3% of species comprise 50% of the tropical trees in these regions, respectively. Extrapolating across all closed-canopy tropical forests, we estimate that just 1,053 species comprise half of Earth’s 800 billion tropical trees with trunk diameters of at least 10 cm. Despite differing biogeographic, climatic and anthropogenic histories7, we find notably consistent patterns of common species and species abundance distributions across the continents. This suggests that fundamental mechanisms of tree community assembly may apply to all tropical forests. Resampling analyses show that the most common species are likely to belong to a manageable list of known species, enabling targeted efforts to understand their ecology. Although they do not detract from the importance of rare species, our results open new opportunities to understand the world’s most diverse forests, including modelling their response to environmental change, by focusing on the common species that constitute the majority of their trees

Consistent patterns of common species across tropical tree communities

Trees structure the Earth's most biodiverse ecosystem, tropical forests. The vast number of tree species presents a formidable challenge to understanding these forests, including their response to environmental change, as very little is known about most tropical tree species. A focus on the common species may circumvent this challenge. Here we investigate abundance patterns of common tree species using inventory data on 1,003,805 trees with trunk diameters of at least 10 cm across 1,568 locations1-6 in closed-canopy, structurally intact old-growth tropical forests in Africa, Amazonia and Southeast Asia. We estimate that 2.2%, 2.2% and 2.3% of species comprise 50% of the tropical trees in these regions, respectively. Extrapolating across all closed-canopy tropical forests, we estimate that just 1,053 species comprise half of Earth's 800 billion tropical trees with trunk diameters of at least 10 cm. Despite differing biogeographic, climatic and anthropogenic histories7, we find notably consistent patterns of common species and species abundance distributions across the continents. This suggests that fundamental mechanisms of tree community assembly may apply to all tropical forests. Resampling analyses show that the most common species are likely to belong to a manageable list of known species, enabling targeted efforts to understand their ecology. Although they do not detract from the importance of rare species, our results open new opportunities to understand the world's most diverse forests, including modelling their response to environmental change, by focusing on the common species that constitute the majority of their trees

Predicting the Impact of Climate Change on the Distribution of Flindersia Pimenteliana F. Muell. in Indonesian Papua and Papua New Guinea

Population of Flindersia pimenteliana (Maple Silkwood) in Indonesian Papua and Papua New Guinea is severely fragmented and experiencing a continuing decline due to habitat destruction and illegal logging. This species is very susceptible to environmental changes and at greater risk of extinction due to its small and fragmented geographic ranges and low abundance. Using maximum entropy (MaxEnt) method, the present study predicted the impact of climate change on the distribution of the species across its native distribution area. Elevation and 19 bioclimatic variables commonly used in species distribution modeling were used as predictors. The prediction model of the current potential distribution identified a total area of 156,214 km2 in Indonesian Papua and Papua New Guinea (18% of total land area) as suitable habitat for F. pimenteliana. Elevation and precipitation of the wettest, coldest and warmest quarters contributed most to the model. Based on the average of HadGEM2-ES and MIROC-ESM models, potential distribution projections under RCP8.5 scenario suggested a habitat gain of 16% for 2050 and 8% for 2070 in the species distribution. Whereas under RCP4.5, an average habitat gain of 7% was predicted for both 2050 and 2070. The newly suitable habitats were predicted to be found mainly in Southern and Western Highland of Papua New Guinea. Protection of these areas from habitat destruction and land use change is needed to assist F. pimenteliana find the most suitable climate for its survival

Optimization Cultivating Character Values That Become Integrity Nation

Rapid technological advances, whether we realize it or not, are slowly making people begin to ignore cultural values and traditions that have been handed down by their ancestors. In a basic paradigm, there are character values that should be imitated such as values, politeness, courtesy, togetherness, independence, and religiosity. The neglect of cultural values gives birth to an individualistic, materialistic, and hedonistic culture. As for the cultivation of a value foundation that has character in each individual, it should be instilled from an early age, which of course requires cooperation from various elements and support from the environment such as family, school and even the community. And the government has a role to build and instill a national character through the cultivation of character education which is applied to character educatio