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Water plants of all sizes, from the 60-meter long Pacific Ocean giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) to the micro ur-plant blue-green algae, deserve attention from critical plant studies. This is the first book in environmental humanities to approach algae, swimming across the sciences, humanities, and arts, to embody the mixed nature and collaborative identity of algae.
Ranging from Medieval Islamic texts describing algae and their use, Japanese and Nordic cultural practices based in seaweed and algae, and confronting the instrumentalization of seaweed to mitigate cow methane release and the hype of algal photobioreactors, amongst many other standpoints, this volume comprehensively addresses the ancestors of terrestrial plants through appreciating their unique aquatic medium.
Ranging from Medieval Islamic texts describing algae and their use, Japanese and Nordic cultural practices based in seaweed and algae, and confronting the instrumentalization of seaweed to mitigate cow methane release and the hype of algal photobioreactors, amongst many other standpoints, this volume comprehensively addresses the ancestors of terrestrial plants through appreciating their unique aquatic medium.
Transformations in Water, Plants
Water plants of all sizes, from the 60-meter long Pacific Ocean giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) to the micro ur-plant blue-green algae, deserve attention from critical plant studies. This is the first book in environmental humanities to approach algae, swimming across the sciences, humanities, and arts, to embody the mixed nature and collaborative identity of algae.
Ranging from Medieval Islamic texts describing algae and their use, Japanese and Nordic cultural practices based in seaweed and algae, and confronting the instrumentalization of seaweed to mitigate cow methane release and the hype of algal photobioreactors, amongst many other standpoints, this volume comprehensively addresses the ancestors of terrestrial plants through appreciating their unique aquatic medium.
Ranging from Medieval Islamic texts describing algae and their use, Japanese and Nordic cultural practices based in seaweed and algae, and confronting the instrumentalization of seaweed to mitigate cow methane release and the hype of algal photobioreactors, amongst many other standpoints, this volume comprehensively addresses the ancestors of terrestrial plants through appreciating their unique aquatic medium.
Authors:
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Abstract
The aim of the study was to assess and quantify the impact of salt stress on key morpho-physiological traits that influence biomass production in Salix clones. In February 2021, a pot experiment was conducted using stem cuttings of five selected Salix clones. The experiment followed a Factorial Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with four replications. The clones were subjected to different levels of NaCl treatments (0, 20, 40, 60, and 80 mM) during the active growth period. The observations on growth and physiological characteristics of clones were recorded at an interval of two months after initiation of salinity treatments i.e., May, July and October. However, the biomass parameters were recorded at the end of experiment. All the growth and biomass traits showed significant reduction with increase in salinity treatments. Among physiological traits significant reduction were observed in total chlorophyll, carotenoids and relative water content, while salinity stress raised the content of proline, total soluble sugar, total soluble protein and Na+/K+ ratio in all the clones. The enzymatic activities of POD and SOD increased in all the clones when subjected to higher levels of salinity stress. On the basis of overall mean performance, clone UHF-03 showed optimum growth and biomass accumulation at 80 mM and was found to be the most tolerant to salinity stress. SEM and EDS mapping confirmed anatomical changes and Na accumulations in the roots and leaves of Salix in response to salinity stress.
Abstract
Soil salt damage has become one of the main biological stresses affecting plant seed germination, crop growth and yield. Salt damage can lead to the accumulation of superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl free radicals in plants, and a large amount of accumulated reactive oxygen species will cause the oxidation of lipids, proteins and nucleic acids and then cause cell damage. In this experiment, the seedlings and adult plants of transgenic Arabidopsis with overexpression of Zostera japonica (Z. japonica) DnaJ gene ZjDjB1 were used as materials. Wild-type and transgenic ZjDjB1 Arabidopsis were treated with 100 mM and 200 mM NaCl and root length, fresh weight, leaf water content and dry weight, physiological indexes and antioxidant system enzyme activities were measured. The results showed that overexpression of Z. japonica DnaJ gene ZjDjB1 could significantly alleviate the damage caused by salt stress to transgenic ZjDjB1 Arabidopsis seedlings and adult plants. The results showed that overexpression of Z. japonica DnaJ gene ZjDjB1 could reduce the content of MDA and O2-, increase the content of proline and activate the enzyme activity of antioxidant system under salt stress, to reduce the damage of salt stress to plants.
Summary
Andean Walnut (Juglans neotropica Diels-Juglandaceae) is a long-lived, deciduous broadleaf Tropical Montane Cloud Forest (TMCF) tree species native to the Andes Cordillera; nevertheless, it has received limited attention for dendro-quantitative wood anatomical studies. Based on 70 increment cores from 50 Andean Walnut trees at two Peruvian TMCFs, two chronologies (from 1969 to 2020 and from 1964 to 2020) were developed. The xylem vessel parameters assessment allowed us to detect South American Monsoon System (SAMS) precipitation signals in the Andean Walnuts’ wood. Dendro-wood anatomical features can be assessed within an annual growth ring, which allows for assessing intra-annual past and present wood anatomy-function relationships and its climate vulnerability.
In:
IAWA Journal
Summary
Plants can modify their anatomy and physiology to improve their survival. Water stress is one of several factors that have been identified as potential wood modifiers. This study aimed to analyse whether soil physical properties and dioecy influence the wood density of Astronium fraxinifolium (Anacardiaceae). Samples of A. fraxinifolium trees were obtained from 20 male and 20 female individuals in two fields (an impacted area (IA) and a non-impacted area (NIA)) and the physical properties of soils from both areas were analysed. The apparent densities of the bark-to-bark wood samples were determined by X-ray densitometry. The apparent density values were calculated using QMS software. The IA soil showed lower porosity (macroporosity and microporosity) than the NIA soil. The wood densities of IA trees differed significantly, with IA trees having higher values than the NIA trees. The results indicated that trees growing in soils with low porosity and high soil bulk density had higher wood density. Based on the results of this study, which showed that species in areas with compacted soils had relatively high wood densities, it was concluded that A. fraxinifolium trees in environments with low water availability have dense wood with conducting vessels of large diameters. None of the wood features were influenced by the dioecy of A. fraxinifolium.
In:
IAWA Journal
Abstract
The Solanum wild relatives are valuable for developing pest and disease-resistant lines in the breeding program of S. melongena (brinjal). However, breeding new varieties that are superior to the existing ones in S. melongena faces several challenges. To overcome geographical and seasonal barriers, a breeding strategy involving pollen cryopreservation may be helpful. Fifteen different Solanum species/accessions of wild relatives and two accessions from cultivated species were studied for in vitro germination and fertility. Among these S. indicum accessions exhibited the highest fresh pollen germination of 92.7 ± 0.7 (JRPH/15–154) and 88.2 ± 3.2% after 1 year and 4 months of cryostorage. In vivo fertility was estimated by quantifying fruit set after pollination with both fresh and cryopreserved pollen. The cryopreserved pollen was able to set fruit (91.5 ± 0.5 in JRPH/15–154) compared to fresh pollen (100%). Scanning Electron Microscopic studies (SEM) were conducted on both fresh and cryopreserved pollen, and various morphological parameters such as pollen length, breadth, and perimeter were recorded for all the accessions and species. These studies explore the possibility of establishing a pollen cryobank for Solanum wild species.
A technique for high-density wood softening in the micro-sectioning process for wood anatomy studies
Author:
Summary
Wood identification for commercial applications is important and has a significant demand worldwide. Microscopic wood identification involves many processes such as softening, sectioning, and data analysis. Softening of wood is a crucial method for obtaining good sections for microscopic analysis but softening high-density wood is difficult. An alternate method of softening high-density wood for wood identification is presented. Different concentrations of alkali, NaOH, were tried, and optimized for different treatment times to obtain adequate softening of high-density wood. 20% NaOH treatment for 5 days at 30°C was used to soften high-density wood of variable density between 1 and 1.118 g/cm3. The species studied were Calophyllum spp., Shorea robusta, and Handroanthus spp., in which softening was satisfactory.
In:
IAWA Journal
Author:
Abstract
This paper presents an analysis of the environmental factors affecting the ecology of seaweed (macroalgae) populations in the Levant Basin, attempting to identify both similar and different factors that determine distribution. Using correspondence analysis (CA) the study found a significantly similar pattern in the relations between countries and macroalgae – both for the whole group and within each phylum: Chlorophyta, Ochrophyta, Rhodophyta. The study identified two different macroalgae populations in the Levant Basin: The easternmost group living in open water off the coasts of Syria, Lebanon and Israel, and the shell group found in more sheltered waters in Egypt, Turkey, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and Republic of Cyprus (Greece Cyprus): south Cyprus; and the North Cyprus. The differences between the two communities can be explained by dynamic wave activity. Following a taxonomic and nomenclatural revision according to AlgaeBase, of 693 species to date recorded from the studied area, only 573 species remained. 26 of them appear in all 7 countries and other 68 in 6 countries. 204 species appear in only one country. 3 or 4 species have only been described in the Middle East and could be endemic.
Authors:
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Abstract
Vegetables have become an indispensable part of human nutrition. This study aimed at analyzing the biochemical compositions of three leafy vegetables (Corchuorus olitorius, Telfairia occidentalis and Spinacia oleracea) collected from local farm irrigated with municipal wastewater. The biochemical parameters were assayed following standard laboratory protocols. Results revealed significantly (P < 0.05) higher Ca (207.33 mg/kg) and Mg (182.53 mg/kg) contents in wastewater with Mg contents in both clean water (72.80 mg/kg) and wastewater (182.53 mg/kg) exceeding the FAO safe limits. The wastewater had significantly (P < 0.05) higher (Fe) and (Cd) contents (1.72 and 0.42 mg/kg), than clean water from the modern farm (0.67 and 0.13 mg/kg). Both water samples had heavy metals, exceeding the FAO safe limits. The Mn, Fe and Pb contents determined in the three vegetables collected from both farms were within FAO safe limits except Cd content which ranged from 0.05–0.87 mg/kg which is above FAO acceptable limits of 0.02 mg/kg. Results on mineral composition revealed significantly higher (P < 0.05) Na, K, Ca and Mg contents in the three vegetables collected from the local farm, Telfairia occidentalis having the highest Na (123.33 mg/kg), K (6500 mg/kg) and P (6.19 mg/kg) while, Corchuorus olitorius had the highest Ca (2.15 mg/kg) and Mg (2.12 mg/kg). The result of this study shows that municipal wastewater irrigation could be utilized in improving the mineral compositions of leafy vegetables. However, it is highly recommended that the wastewater is treated properly to avoid heavy metal contamination.