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The Mbanza-Ngungu region (Kongo-Central province, DRC) currently faces continued forest deterioration. Many of these forests were traditionally protected areas of which to date, only traces are left. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the importance of forest remnants and other components of the landscape for the collection of medicinal plants in the Mbanza-Ngungu Region, DRC. Between February 2009 and May 2012, semi-structured interviews and participatory observations were conducted in this region with 51 traditional healers selected by means of the ‘snowball method’. Local importance of medicinal plants was determined by the medicinal Use Value parameter. Statistical analyses were carried out with SPSS 20.0 and based on chi-square test, analysis of variance and post hoc comparison of means. Our results show that the forest remnants remain the main medicinal species provider: 68 species against 62 for agro-ecosystems. However, the total number of citations for medicinal species uses is higher for agro-ecosystems (293) than for forest remnants (233), and this difference is significant (P

In the absence of previous molecular characterization, we assessed genetic diversity of 53 Moroccan lentil landraces including two local cultivars using simple sequence repeat (SSR) and amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP). Nineteen SSRs yielded 213 alleles, and seven AFLP primer combinations gave 766 fragments of which 422 were polymorphic. Moderate to high genetic variation was observed. Several small groups of landraces were differentiated. Interestingly, one of the smallest groups contained short-cycle landraces with high early vegetative growth. Landraces in that group were from the dry land location of Abda, where they were likely selected for adaptation to drought and heat stress over centuries. Another group contained two landraces from highland areas that may have been selected for specific adaptation to cold stress. A third group contained one landrace from the Zear region known for its seed quality and has been proposed for the protected designation of origin (PDO) quality mark. Both techniques gave evidence of differentiation of the latter landrace supporting the idea of PDO attribution. Functional grouping according to agro-environmental origins, cycle duration and early vegetative vigour was observed.

Aim Application of environmental envelope modelling (EEM) for conservation planning requires careful validation. Opinions of experts who have worked with species of interest in the field can be a valuable and independent information source to validate EEM because of their first-hand experience with species occurrence and absence. However, their use in model validation is limited because of the subjectivity of their feedback. In this study, we present a method on the basis of cultural consensus theory to formalize expert model evaluations. Methods We developed, for five tree species, distribution models with nine different variable combinations and Maxent EEM software. Species specialists validated the generated distribution maps through an online Google Earth interface with the scores from Invalid to Excellent. Experts were also asked about the commission and omission errors of the distribution models they evaluated. We weighted expert scores according to consensus theory. These values were used to obtain a final average expert score for each of the produced distribution models. The consensus-weighted expert scores were compared with un-weighted scores and correlated to four conventional model performance parameters after cross-validation with test data: Area Under Curve (AUC), maximum Kappa, commission error and omission error. Results The median consensus-weighted expert score of all species–variable combinations was close to Fair. In general, experts that reached more consensus with peers were more positive about the EEM outcomes, compared to those that had more opposite judgements. Both consensus-weighted and un-weighted scores were significantly correlated to corresponding AUC, maximum Kappa and commission error values, but not to omission errors. More than half of the experts indicated that the distribution model they considered best included areas where the species is known to be absent. One third also indicated areas of species presence that were omitted by the model. Conclusions Our results indicate that experts are fairly positive about EEM outcomes. This is encouraging, but EEM application for conservation actions remains limited according to them. Methods to formalize expert knowledge allow a wider use of this information in model validation and improvement, and they complement conventional validation methods of presence-only modelling. Online GIS and survey applications facilitate the consultation of experts.

This article addresses two concepts that are quite widespread among Latin American cultures: susto or "'fright sickness," and the "masters of the animal species" philosophy, whereby individual animal spirits are believed to be "owned" by species-specific spiritual masters. This is the first article to integrate both these aspects, drawing from ethnographic data from the Trinitario people in Bolivia collected through participant-observation and semistructured ethnobotanical interviews on medicinal plants. Although Trinitarios have a long history of agriculture, their worldview is still partly one of animistic hunter and fisherman societies. This worldview is reflected in Trinitario susto etiology and treatment. Susto is locally believed to originate through soul theft by a variety of masters of the animal species and landscape spirits. Treatment is partly based on the principle of similia similibus curantur or "like cures like" and magicoritual ceremonies, but ethnopharmacological preparations are also well known and frequently used.

Summary 1The growing interest in medicinal plants from both international industry and local markets requires management of tree bark harvesting from natural forests in order to prevent inappropriate exploitation of target species. This study was designed to determine the bark re-growth response of a selected number of medicinal tree species as a basis for the development of an optimal bark harvesting method. 2In 2004, bark was harvested from 925 trees belonging to 12 species in 38 sites in a dry forest in Benin, West Africa. Two years later, the response of trees to bark harvesting was examined with respect to re-growth (edge or sheet), development of vegetative growth around the wound, and the sensitivity of the wound to insect attack. 3Two species, Khaya senegalensis and Lannea kerstingii, showed complete wound recovery by edge growth. At the other extreme, Afzelia africana, Burkea africana and Maranthes polyandra had very poor edge growth. M. polyandra showed good sheet growth, whereas the other 11 species had none or poor sheet growth after total bark harvesting. In contrast, partial bark removal allowed better sheet growth in all 12 species studied. 4Insect sensitivity was species-specific. Insect attacks were negatively correlated with non-recovered wound area, but there was a marked species effect for the same rate of regeneration. L. kerstingii and K. senegalensis had very good and similar re-growth, but L. kerstingii was very susceptible to insect attack, whereas K. senegalensis appeared to be very resistant. Only a few individuals developed vegetative growth, and each tree usually developed only one or two agony shoots, but there was no significant difference between species. 5Synthesis and applications. This is the first study to provide data on the ability of trees to close wounds after bark harvesting in West Africa. We report large variability in the response of different species to our bark harvesting technique, and identify just two out of the 12 study species as suitable for sustainable bark harvesting. Based on our results, we developed a decisional step method to help forest managers select the best techniques for managing medicinal tree species as an alternative to bark harvesting, for example, coppice management, harvesting leaves instead of bark, stand establishment, and collaboration with timber companies.

This study evaluates the spatial genetic structure of baobab (Adansonia digitata) populations from West African agroforestry systems at different geographical scales using AFLP fingerprints. Eleven populations from four countries (Benin, Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Senegal) had comparable levels of genetic diversity, although the two populations in the extreme west (Senegal) had less diversity. Pairwise F(ST) ranged from 0.02 to 0.28 and increased with geographic distance, even at a regional scale. Gene pools detected by Bayesian clustering seem to be a byproduct of the isolation-by-distance pattern rather than representing actual discrete entities. The organization of genetic diversity appears to result essentially from spatially restricted gene flow, with some influences of human seed exchange. Despite the potential for relatively long-distance pollen and seed dispersal by bats within populations, statistically significant spatial genetic structuring within populations (SGS) was detected and gave a mean indirect estimate of neighborhood size of ca. 45. This study demonstrated that relatively high levels of genetic structuring are present in baobab at both large and within-population level, which was unexpected in regard to its dispersal by bats and the influence of human exchange of seeds. Implications of these results for the conservation of baobab populations are discussed.

Summary This study investigates tropical fruit acceptance in terms of confirmation or disconfirmation of consumers’ general expectations. Consumers evaluated multiple product attributes before and after tasting five fresh and five processed tropical fruit products. Consumers’ general expectations were confirmed after tasting persimmon (Diospyros kaki L.) and cashew apple juice (Anacardium occidentale L.). Positive disconfirmation occurred after the consumption of cherimoya (Annona cherimola Mill.) and berrycactus jam (Myrtillocactus spp.) whereas expectations were negatively disconfirmed after consuming dragon fruit (Hylocereus spp.), mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L.), tree tomato (Solanum betaceum Cav.), acai juice (Euterpe oleracea Mart.), baobob juice (Adansonia digitata L.) and tamarind jam (Tamarindus indica L.). Sensory experiences are demonstrated to greatly influence the acceptance and purchasing intention of tropical fruits and their products, as well as to affect consumers’ perceptions about the product’s health and nutritional benefits, in particular in cases where negative taste disconfirmation occurred.

This study was conducted to evaluate the anthelmintic effectiveness of Albizia anthelmintica, as a first step in investigating the hypothesis that livestock self-medicate. In July 2006, an observational study was conducted with 56 young female lambs, to validate A. anthelmintica efficacy. Faecal egg per gram for Coccidia, Strongyle-type, Monezia, Strongyloides and Dicrocoelia eggs were counted and analysed. Results indicate that A. anthelmintica is effective in controlling infection with a variety of internal parasites in lambs, Monezia was the most sensitive. Furthermore, treatment of Strongyle-type worms requires a biweekly dose of A. anthelmintica as an effective deworming protocol.

The influence of different weed types (grass, broadleaved and sedge species) on growth and yield parameters of mungbean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek) was evaluated under field conditions. The presence of all types of weeks had the most significant effect on growth and yields of mungbean. Broadleaved species alone had a greater adverse effect than grasses, and the influence of sedges was the lowest. The adverse effect of weeds was most prominent on vegetative growth. The influence on yield components reduced with time. However, the adverse impact of weeds on yields was similar to that on vegetative growth. A significant correlation between weed biomass and yield loss was observed. The study indicated the critical competitive period to be in the vegetative phase. Some possible implications for selective weeding are presented.

Indigenous fruit tree species such as tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.) in African sub-Saharan traditionally act to build resilience into the farming system in terms of food security, income generation and ecosystem stability. Therefore, increasing our knowledge on their ecology and distribution is a priority. Tamarind is mainly grown for the fruits but is also a valuable timber species. The fruit pulp has a high content of vitamin B and is eaten fresh or made into jam, chutney, juice or sweets. Flowers, leaves and seeds are also edible and used in a variety of dishes. The main objective of this study is to evaluate actual density of tamarind in Senegal and the climate change effects on its distribution for better conservation strategies. Tamarind's distribution and density around villages were recorded and modelled in different agro-ecological zones in Senegal using transect method and under current and future climates. Distribution under two future climate scenarios were modelled using four climate models and three time slices (2020, 2050 and 2080). Results show a decreasing gradient in tree density (from 7 to 1 trees km-2) from the Sudano agro-ecological zone (in the south) to the Sahel (in the north). Future climate predictions show that although tamarind distribution will increase in the north-west and south of the country in 2020; by 2050, the area identified as suitable for its growth will be greatly reduced. Areas in the north-west basin appear to be an important refugia for the species under future climate conditions. However, density around villages in this area was found to be relatively low indicating that this could lead to problems of poor connectivity and inbreeding depression. This region should therefore be highlighted as important conservative management and protection strategies of tamarind in this region.

An emerging topic in plant biology is whether plant cells display similar elements of programmed cell death (PCD) as animal cells do. We have studied cell death in maize roots exposed to cold stress by using fluorescence microscopy, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL), DNA gel electrophoresis, single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE), cell electrophoresis, and annexin binding techniques. The results showed that cell death in maize root cells triggered by cold stress was accompanied by a subset of features characteristic of animal PCD such as nuclear condensation and fragmentation, and oligonucleosomal DNA fragmentation. In addition to DNA laddering and TUNEL positivity, a "comet" pattern indicative of DNA breakage appeared as short as after one day of treatment. The maize root cell PCD process was also accompanied by an increase in negative surface charge of the dying cells due to exposure of phosphatiolylserine (PS) from inner to outer membrane. After annexin binding, however, the enhanced electrophoretic mobility (EPM) of the dying cells decreased nearly to normal values. This result suggests that the combination between cell electrophoresis and annexin binding provides a quantitative method for monitoring PS exposure during plant PCD.