Browse from Three Tree Legumes Increases Forage Production for Cattle in a Silvopastoral System in the Southwest Amazon

Assessing the palatability of forage from locally adapted trees could improve the sustainability of livestock production systems. However, grasses continue to dominate livestock feed across the Amazon. We established a silvopastoral cattle farming system in Peru, comparing three different forage tree species with grass monocultures using a randomised block design. Trees were arranged in alleys of 0.5 × 7.5 m, planted alongside grass, and were directly browsed by cattle. Browse removal was estimated by three methods: destructive sampling, canopy measurements and leaf counts. We found that all three tree species were palatable to cattle. Plots containing trees and grass produced more available forage (mean > 2.2 Mg ha−1) for cattle than the grass monocultures (mean = 1.5 Mg ha−1). Destructive sampling below 1.6 m demonstrated that cattle consumed 99% of the available Erythrina berteroana forage, 75% of the available Inga edulis forage and 80% of the available Leucaena leucocephala forage in 8 days. This research demonstrates methodologies to estimate the intake of locally adapted browse species by cattle and highlights the potential benefits of silvopastoral systems in the Amazon. Planting trees could also benefit animal health and provide ecosystem services such as soil regeneration, enhanced nutrient cycling and carbon capture

Botanical Monography in the Anthropocene

Unprecedented changes in the Earth's biota are prompting urgent efforts to describe and conserve plant diversity. For centuries, botanical monographs — comprehensive systematic treatments of a family or genus — have been the gold standard for disseminating scientific information to accelerate research. The lack of a monograph compounds the risk that undiscovered species become extinct before they can be studied and conserved. Progress towards estimating the Tree of Life and digital information resources now bring even the most ambitious monographs within reach. Here, we recommend best practices to complete monographs urgently, especially for tropical plant groups under imminent threat or with expected socioeconomic benefits. We also highlight the renewed relevance and potential impact of monographies for the understanding, sustainable use, and conservation of biodiversity.Fil: Grace, Olwen M.. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Reino UnidoFil: Pérez-Escobar, Oscar A.. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Reino UnidoFil: Lucas, Eve J.. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Reino UnidoFil: Vorontsova, Maria S.. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Reino UnidoFil: Lewis, Gwilym P.. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Reino UnidoFil: Walker, Barnaby E.. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Reino UnidoFil: Lohmann, Lúcia G.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Knapp, Sandra. Natural History Museum; Reino UnidoFil: Wilkie, Peter. Royal Botanic Gardens; Reino UnidoFil: Sarkinen, Tiina. Royal Botanic Gardens; Reino UnidoFil: Darbyshire, Iain. Royal Botanic Gardens; Reino UnidoFil: Lughadha, Eimear Nic. Royal Botanic Gardens; Reino UnidoFil: Monro, Alexandre. Royal Botanic Gardens; Reino UnidoFil: Woudstra, Yannick. Universidad de Copenhagen; Dinamarca. Royal Botanic Gardens; Reino UnidoFil: Demissew, Sebsebe. Addis Ababa University; EtiopíaFil: Muasya, A. Muthama. University Of Cape Town; SudáfricaFil: Díaz, Sandra Myrna. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Baker, William J.. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Reino UnidoFil: Antonelli, Alexandre. University of Oxford; Reino Unido. University Goteborg; Sueci

Social Networking Technology, Social Network Composition, and Reductions in Substance Use Among Homeless Adolescents

Peer-based prevention programs for homeless youth are complicated by the potential for reinforcing high-risk behaviors among participants. The goal of this study is to understand how homeless youth could be linked to positive peers in prevention programming by understanding where in social and physical space positive peers for homeless youth are located, how these ties are associated with substance use, and the role of social networking technologies (e.g., internet and cell phones) in this process. Personal social network data were collected from 136 homeless adolescents in Los Angeles, CA. Respondents reported on composition of their social networks with respect to: home-based peers and parents (accessed via social networking technology; e.g., the internet, cell phone, texting), homeless peers and agency staff (accessed face-to-face) and whether or not network members were substance-using or non-substance-using. Associations between respondent’s lifetime cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine use and recent (previous 30 days) alcohol and marijuana use were assessed by the number of non-substance-using versus substance-using ties in multivariate linear regression models. 43% of adolescents reported a non-substance-using home-based tie. More of these ties were associated with less recent alcohol use. 62% of adolescents reported a substance-using homeless tie. More of these ties were associated with more recent marijuana use as well as more lifetime heroin and methamphetamine use. For homeless youth, who are physically disconnected from positive peers, social networking technologies can be used to facilitate the sorts of positive social ties that effective peer-based prevention programs require

Combination of Sanger and target-enrichment markers supports revised generic delimitation in the problematic ‘Urera clade’ of the nettle family (Urticaceae)

Urera Gaudich, s.l. is a pantropical genus comprising c. 35 species of trees, shrubs, and vines. It has a long history of taxonomic uncertainty, and is repeatedly recovered as polyphyletic within a poorly resolved complex of genera in the Urticeae tribe of the nettle family (Urticaceae). To provide generic delimitations concordant with evolutionary history, we use increased taxonomic and genomic sampling to investigate phylogenetic relationships among Urera and associated genera. A cost-effective two-tier genome-sampling approach provides good phylogenetic resolution by using (i) a taxon-dense sample of Sanger sequence data from two barcoding regions to recover clades of putative generic rank, and (ii) a genome-dense sample of target-enrichment data for a subset of representative species from each well-supported clade to resolve relationships among them. The results confirm the polyphyly of Urera s.l. with respect to the morphologically distinct genera Obetia, Poikilospermum and Touchardia. Afrotropic members of Urera s.l. are recovered in a clade sister to the xerophytic African shrubs Obetia; and Hawaiian ones with Touchardia, also from Hawaii. Combined with distinctive morphological differences between Neotropical and African members of Urera s.l., these results lead us to resurrect the previously synonymised name Scepocarpus Wedd. for the latter. The new species epiphet Touchardia oahuensis T.Wells & A.K. Monro is offered as a replacement name for Touchardia glabra non H.St.John, and subgenera are created within Urera s.s. to account for the two morphologically distinct Neotropical clades. This new classification minimises taxonomic and nomenclatural disruption, while more accurately reflecting evolutionary relationships within the group