Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Shaziya Gull Author-Workplace-Name: Section of Entomology, Department of Zoology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, India Author-Name: Ahmad Tariq Author-Workplace-Name: Section of Entomology, Department of Zoology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, India Author-Name: Abdul Lateef Khanday Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Zoology, Government Degree College Kulgam 192231, Jammu & Kashmir, India Author-Name: Sureshan Pavittu Meethal Author-Workplace-Name: Zoological Survey of India, Western Ghat Regional Centre, Kozhikode, Calicut 673006, Kerala, India Author-Name: Gowhar Rashid Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Zoology, Government Degree College Kulgam 192231, Jammu & Kashmir, India Title: Pathogenicity of the entomopathogenic fungi against Myllocerus fotedari Ahmad, 1974 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) under laboratory conditions in India Abstract: The weevil, Myllocerus fotedari Ahmad, 1974 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is widely recognised as one of the major walnut pests. Fungal pathogens have shown great potential for the management of some pest species. In the present study, the efficacy of three entomopathogenic fungi, namely Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin, Metarhizium anisopliae sensu lato (Metchnikoff) Sorokin and Lecanicillium lecanii (Zimmerman) Zare and Gams were evaluated against the weevil, M. fotedari, under laboratory conditions. Each fungal suspension contained 1.0 × 109 spores of fungi in 1 mL. The experiment comprised of five treatments along with control (distilled water) and three replicates. An insecticide - chloropyrifos 20% emulsifiable concentrate (EC), was also used as positive control in the experiment. The experimental results revealed that the weevil, M. fotedari, showed mortality due to both virulence of entomopathogens and insecticide. The mortality caused by fungi varied from two days after treatment to eight days after treatment. However, the highest mortality of 100% was recorded for B. bassiana, followed by 85.1% for M. anisopliae after eight days of treatment. The efficacy of L. lecani was the lowest, leading to only 51.8% mortality, and was found significantly less virulent compared to the other two used entomopathogens. The present study is an attempt to use entomopathogens to control M. fotedari over conventional chemical insecticides. Keywords: Beauveria bassiana, biological control, Juglans regia, Metarhizium anisopliae, Lecanicillium lecanii Journal: Journal of Forest Science Pages: 277-286 Volume: 69 Issue: 7 Year: 2023 DOI: 10.17221/10/2023-JFS File-URL: http://jfs.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/10/2023-JFS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/jfs-202307-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnljfs:v:69:y:2023:i:7:id:10-2023-JFS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Nizar Ali Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, University of Haripur, Haripur, Pakistan Author-Name: Muhammad Saad Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, University of Haripur, Haripur, Pakistan Author-Name: Anwar Ali Author-Workplace-Name: Pakistan Forest Institute Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan Author-Name: Naveed Ahmad Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Forestry and Range Management, University of Arid Agriculture Rawalpindi, Pakistan Author-Name: Ishfaq Ahmad Khan Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Forest Science & Biodiversity, Faculty of Forestry and Environment, University Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang, Malaysia Author-Name: Habib Ullah Author-Workplace-Name: School of Forestry, North-East Forestry University, Herbin, China Author-Name: Areeba Binte Imran Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Forestry and Range Management, University of Arid Agriculture Rawalpindi, Pakistan Title: Assessment of aboveground biomass and carbon stock of subtropical pine forest of Pakistan Abstract: The presented study estimated the aboveground biomass (AGB) of Pinus roxburghii (chir pine) natural forests and plantations, and created biomass maps using a relationship (regression model) between AGB and Sentinel-2 spectral indices. The mean AGB and BGB (belowground biomass) of natural forests were 79.54 Mg.ha-1 and 20.68 Mg.ha-1, respectively, whereas the mean AGB and BGB of plantations were 94.48 Mg.ha-1 and 24.56 Mg.ha-1, respectively. Correlation showed that mean diameter at breast height (DBH) and mean height have weak relationships with AGB, and BGB has shown correlation coefficients (R2 = 0.46) and (R2 = 0.56) for polynomial models. Regression models between AGB (Mg.ha-1) of Pinus roxburghii natural forest and Sentinel-2 spectral indices showed a strong relationship with Ratio Vegetation Index (RVI) with R2 = 0.72 followed by Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Atmospherically Resistant Vegetation Index (ARVI) with R2 = 0.70. In contrast, the lower performance of spectral indices has been shown in regression with plantation AGB. Correlation coefficients (R2) were 0.41, 0.41, and 0.40 for RVI, NDVI, and ARVI, respectively. All indices showed that the distribution of AGB data was not the best fit with the linear regression model. Therefore, non-linear exponential and power models were considered the best fit for NDVI, RVI, and ARVI. A biomass map was developed from RVI for both natural forests and plantation because RVI has the highest R2 and lowest P-value. Keywords: natural forest, Pinus roxburghii, plantations, regression analysis, Sentinel-2, vegetation index Journal: Journal of Forest Science Pages: 287-304 Volume: 69 Issue: 7 Year: 2023 DOI: 10.17221/125/2022-JFS File-URL: http://jfs.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/125/2022-JFS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/jfs-202307-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnljfs:v:69:y:2023:i:7:id:125-2022-JFS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Petr Dujka Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Forest Botany, Dendrology and Geobiocenology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Workplace-Name: Forest Management Institute Brandýs nad Labem, Branch Kroměříž, Kroměříž, Czech Republic Author-Name: Antonín Kusbach Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Forest Botany, Dendrology and Geobiocenology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Title: Assessment of the Ellenberg quotient as a practical tool for vertical vegetation zonation Abstract: The Ellenberg quotient (EQ) is a climate index defined as a ratio of the hottest month's temperature and the average annual precipitation sum. The quotient indirectly expresses the relationship between climate and vegetation, and its application is related to the ecological niche of Fagus sp. Although the quotient was curated on the grounds of field research primarily on German vegetation, the possibilities of its utilisation are not limited to the Central European region. The objective of this study is (i) to compare the EQ values calculated for the forest vegetation zones in the Czech Republic with the published data using the ecological niche of Fagus sylvatica; and (ii) to compare the new EQ-based vertical model with field empirical mapping. The study area is the Czech Republic, Central Europe. We used climate data from 1970-2000 and the data of the National Forest Inventory, 2nd cycle (2011-2015), representing an objective data design. Geospatial analytic methods, machine learning (boosting), and verification through statistical testing were performed. The results indicate higher EQ values between the two most substantial spatial frames - the Hercynicum and Carpaticum regions. By comparing empirical mapped units to their climatic potential (in the EQ), a match was found only within the Carpaticum region. The study presents a concretisation of the general climate index for a specific region, adds to the knowledge about the Fagus ecological niche in context with the Central European vegetation, and also points to the EQ's potential for evaluating the concept of vertical differentiation of forest communities, as well as a possible prediction tool for the vegetation migration in context with climate change. Keywords: European beech, Fagus sylvatica, forest vegetation zones, national forest inventory, zonal concept Journal: Journal of Forest Science Pages: 305-316 Volume: 69 Issue: 7 Year: 2023 DOI: 10.17221/133/2022-JFS File-URL: http://jfs.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/133/2022-JFS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/jfs-202307-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnljfs:v:69:y:2023:i:7:id:133-2022-JFS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Jussi Manner Author-Workplace-Name: Skogforsk, Uppsala, Sweden Author-Name: Back Tomas Ersson Author-Workplace-Name: School of Forest Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skinnskatteberg, Sweden Title: A pilot study of continuous cover forestry in boreal forests: Do remaining trees affect forwarder productivity? Abstract: According to the literature, forwarding productivity depends chiefly on log concentration, the number of assortments, mean log volume, load-size, slope, and extraction distance. However, there is not much scientific knowledge available on forwarding in continuous cover forestry (CCF) in boreal forests, nor whether the presence of remaining trees actually affects forwarding productivity. Thus, the objective of our study was to isolate the effect of remaining trees (i.e. stand density) on forwarding productivity during CCF, specifically selection cutting. The results showed that productivity was explained mainly by the log concentration, while other factors had at most minor effects. Most importantly, stand density did not significantly affect forwarding productivity, ceteris paribus. Thus, we conclude that remaining trees do not affect forwarding productivity in boreal forests. Although the study results from this CCF operation must only be cautiously applied to even-aged forestry, our results raise a general question: do we need separate productivity models for thinning and clearcut operations in boreal forests if remaining trees (stand density) do not affect forwarding productivity? Because of the small dataset, we consider our paper to be a pilot study whose findings need to be verified by studies based on larger datasets including several operators and stands. Keywords: cut-to-length logging, time study, forest operation, partial cutting, single-tree selection, extraction Journal: Journal of Forest Science Pages: 317-323 Volume: 69 Issue: 7 Year: 2023 DOI: 10.17221/44/2023-JFS File-URL: http://jfs.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/44/2023-JFS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/jfs-202307-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnljfs:v:69:y:2023:i:7:id:44-2023-JFS