Wild species of vaccinium composition, nutritional value and utilization

There are still, in many parts of the globe, some edible fruit collects from the wild for human feeding and other uses. These fruits are utilised either in their raw nature or after some form of processing. One of these wild fruits are Vaccinium species such as Vaccinium myrtoides (Blume) Miq., Vaccinium cylindraceum, Vaccinium padifolium, Vaccinium corymbosum, Vaccinium myrtillus and others from the plant family Ericaceae. The term wild infers non-cultivated plants found in plantation felids or the forest. The species Vaccinium myrtoides and the others are small trees (shrubs) that are well known in Southeast Asian countries such as Philippines, Indonesia and other neighbouring islands. The plants classified as wild growing shrubs. However, the locals have made it be fully utilized in some areas as the wood that are used in grafting utensils and cutleries, or as fuel and fruits. The small-sized berry-like fruits with an average diameter of about 4–5 mm turn black when ripe. They have a delicious flavour that makes it edible and used in the making of other delicacies such as tart and pies to add flavour and as preservatives as well. A few published researches were done on Vaccinium myrtoides showing that it is still used in folkloric medicine. Leaves and fruits extracts showed strong antioxidant activity when tested in-vitro using DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) free radical scavenging activity as part of a preliminary phytochemical screening for V. myrtoides. The study revealed that the antioxidant activity is due to the presence of flavonoids and other phenolic compounds in the plant leaves and fruit extracts

Identification and evaluation of the oak-lime - hornbeam forests condition (9170 - the Nature 2000 code) in Central Poland

Obszar Polski środkowej znajduje się w areale zasięgu grądu subkontynentalnego Tilio-Carpinetum i grądu środkowoeuropejskiego Galio-Carpinetum. Obydwa zespoły wykazują naturalne zróżnicowanie geograficzne na odmiany i formy wysokościowe oraz lokalno-siedliskowe na podzespoły i formy troficzne. Trwająca od wieków antropopresja spowodowała istotne zmiany w strukturze i składzie gatunkowym fitocenoz naturalnych. Obecnie większość siedlisk lasów dębowo-grabowo-lipowych zajmują zbiorowiska zniekształcone lub leśne zbiorowiska zastępcze. Odnotowano 6 form degeneracji grądów: pinetyzację, monotypizację, juwenalizację, fruticetyzację, cespityzację i neofityzację. Identyfikacja i klasyfikacja fitocenoz zdegenerowanych opiera się na analizie składu gatunkowego runa. Dominacja roślin grądowych jest przesłanką do podjęcia działań mających na celu renaturalizację i ochronę siedliska przyrodniczego 9170.Two associations of oak-lime-hornbeam forest – Tilio-Carpinetum and Galio-Carpinetum are distinguished and described in Central Poland. Both of the associations show natural geographical and ecological diversity (geographical forms, sub-associations and fertilities variants). Over a century of use of the oak-limehornbeam forests, such as the fragmentation of forest complexes, exploitation of the forest for timber, plantation of monocultures, introduction of alien wood species, the natural vegetation has been deformed. The communities show a great differentiation regarding their deformation. The most of forest secondary communities are related to the introduction of Pinus sylvestris (pinetyzation). Other degenerative forms: monotypization (characterised by simplified layer structure and reduced species composition), fruticetyzation (an expansive development of undergrowth), cespityzation (manifested by a massive occurrence of grasses) neofityzation (appearance of expansive foreign species such as Quercus rubra, Padus serotina or Impatiens parviflora) and the low age of tree-stand are noted too. At present, the identification of oak-lime-hornbeam forest based on the herb species composition

Balance of dead wood in the 'Polesie Konstantynowskie' nature reserve (central Poland)

Dead wood in the city parks is removed for safety and aesthetic reasons. ‘Polesie Konstantynowskie’ nature reserve (9.8 ha) located in the western part of Łódź is an exception. In this reserve dead wood is left for natural decomposition. So far in this reserve research was conducted on the vascular flora and stand structure only, but the amount of wood was not measured. The aim of this study was to assess the volume of coarse woody material of various types (coarse woody debris, snags), species, size, (dbh and height) and decay classes. The study was carried out in 2010. The volume of coarse woody debris was estimated with a method proposed by Van Wagner [1968]. The criterion of division into five decomposition classes follows Maser et al. [1979]