• Energy Research

The Central African region hosts the largest continuous tract of forest in Africa, regulating global climate while providing essential resources and livelihoods for millions of people and harbouring extensive biodiversity. Extractive industries, infrastructure development and industrial agriculture have often been cited as major threats to these forests and are expected to increase. A regional collaborative effort has produced the first systematically validated remote sensing assessment of deforestation and degradation drivers in six central African countries for the 2015–2020 time period. Multiple, overlapping drivers are assessed through visual interpretation and show that the rural complex, a combination of small-scale agriculture, villages, and roads contributes to the majority of observed deforestation and degradation. Industrial drivers such as mining and forestry are less common, although their impacts on carbon and biodiversity could be more permanent and significant than informal activities. Artisanal forestry is the only driver that is observed to be consistently increasing over the study period. Our assessment produces information relevant for climate change mitigation and land use planning which requires detailed information on multiple direct drivers to target specific activities and investments.

Abstract Mycorrhizal associations are essential in the establishment and growth of plant species. The types of mycorrhizas were investigated in the roots of poplar clones introduced in Alberta. We sampled roots of 28 poplar clones from a 5-year old trial established at the Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries Inc. mill site located 40 km North of Boyle, Alberta. The two most common types of mycorrhizas were quantified in plant roots. The poplar clones showed variable degrees of colonization by both ectomycorrhizal and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, suggesting differential host susceptibility. This highlights the potential use of selected strains of both ectomycorrhizal and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi for inoculation trials in populiculture to improve the establishment of introduced poplars on to previously cleared agricultural or disturbed sites in the province of Alberta in particular and in the Canadian prairie provinces in general.

Summary The impact of invasive species across their native and nonnative ranges is poorly quantified and this impedes a complete understanding of biological invasions. We compared the impact of the native North American plant, Conyza canadensis, which is invasive to Eurasia, on species richness at home and in a number of introduced regions through well replicated transcontinental field studies, glasshouse experiments and individual‐based models. Our results demonstrated mostly negative relationships between C. canadensis abundance and native species richness in nonnative ranges, but either positive or no relationships in its native North American range. In glasshouse experiments, the total biomass of Conyza was suppressed more by species from its native range than by species from regions where it is nonnative, but the effects of Conyza on other species did not show a consistent biogeographical pattern. Finally, individual‐based models led to the exclusion of Conyza from North American scenarios but to high abundances in scenarios with species from the nonnative ranges of Conyza. We illustrate biogeographical differences in the impact of an invader across regional scales and suggest that inherent differences in one specific aspect of competitive ability, tolerance to the effects of other species, may play some role in these differences.

Canadian oil sands tailings are predominately sodic residues contaminated by hydrocarbons such as naphthenic acids. These conditions are harsh for plant development. In this study, we evaluated the effect of inoculating roots of Alnus viridis ssp. crispa and Alnus incana ssp. rugosa with ectomycorrhizal fungi in the presence of tailings compounds. Seedlings were inoculated with 7 different strains of Paxillus involutus and Alpova diplophloeus and were grown under different treatments of NaCl, Na2SO4, and naphthenic acids in a growth chamber. Afterwards, seedling survival, height, dry biomass, leaf necrosis, and root mycorrhization rate were measured. Paxillus involutus Mai was the most successful strain in enhancing alder survival, health, and growth. Seedlings inoculated with this strain displayed a 25% increase in survival rate, 2-fold greater biomass, and 2-fold less leaf necrosis compared with controls. Contrary to our expectations, A. diplophloeus was not as effective as P. involutus in improving seedling fitness, likely because it did not form ectomycorrhizae on roots of either alder species. High intraspecific variation characterized strains of P. involutus in their ability to stimulate alder height and growth and to minimize leaf necrosis. We conclude that in vivo selection under bipartite symbiotic conditions is essential to select effective strains that will be of use for the revegetation and reclamation of derelict lands.

The effectiveness of ectomycorrhizal inoculation at the tree nursery seedling production stage on growth and survival was examined in jack pine (Pinus banksiana) and white spruce (Picea glauca) planted in oil sands reclamation sites. The seedlings were inoculated with Hebeloma crustuliniforme strain # UAMH 5247, Suillus tomentosus strain # UAMH 6252, and Laccaria bicolor strain # UAMH 8232, as individual pure cultures and in combinations. These treatments were demonstrated to improve salinity resistance and water uptake in conifer seedlings. The field responses of seedlings to ectomycorrhizal inoculation varied between plant species, inoculation treatments, and measured parameters. Seedling inoculation resulted in higher ectomycorrhizal colonization rates compared with non-inoculated control, which had also a relatively small proportion of roots colonized by the nursery contaminant fungi identified as Amphinema byssoides and Thelephora americana. Seedling inoculation had overall a greater effect on relative height growth rates, dry biomass, and stem volumes in jack pine compared with white spruce. However, when examined after two growing seasons, inoculated white spruce seedlings showed up to 75% higher survival rates than non-inoculated controls. The persistence of inoculated fungi in roots of planted seedlings was examined at the end of the second growing season. Although the inoculation with H. crustuliniforme triggered growth responses, the fungus was not found in the roots of seedlings at the end of the second growing season suggesting a possibility that the observed growth-promoting effect of H. crustuliniforme may be transient. The results suggest that the inoculation of conifer seedlings with ectomycorrhizal fungi could potentially be carried out on a large scale in tree nurseries to benefit postplanting performance in oil sands reclamation sites. However, these practices should take into consideration the differences in responses between the different plant species and fungal strains.

Mineral weathering plays an important role in poor-nutrient environments such as mine spoils and tailings. Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi are able to enhance mineral weathering through different mechanisms, thereby increasing the availability of minerals and nutrients to plants. Six ECM fungi (Cadophora finlandia, Cenococcum geophilum, Hebeloma crustuliniforme, Lactarius aurantiosordidus, Paxillus involutes, and Tricholoma scalpturatum) were tested here for their tolerance to biotite-quartz-rich mine tailings. Either solid- or liquid-medium methods were used for in vitro selection of ECM fungi for their ability to grow on mine tailings. ECM fungi were selected based on their mycelial radial growth and metabolite production (ergosterol and low-molecular-mass organic acids, LMMOAs). We found a strong correlation between fungal ergosterol content and mycelial radial growth using the solid-medium method. However, the liquid-medium method was more appropriate for ergosterol synthesis and permitted direct measurement of organic acid production. We found that LMMOAs were exuded by ECM fungi, which solubilized mine tailings for their own growth and nutrition. Finally, we concluded that the ECM fungi C. finlandia and T. scalpturatum are the species most tolerant to tailings and could potentially improve the survival rate, growth, and health of white spruce seedlings planted on biotite mine spoils and tailings.

Despite the technical, socio-economic and environmental challenges, indigenous subsistence agroforestry, generally referred to as slash-and-burn agriculture or bush-fallow farming, is a common practice for local populations in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This study analyzed the proportion of adopters and non-adopters, together with other factors that influence farmers’ choices of adopting agroforestry or that discourage its adoption in the Luki Biosphere Reserve (LBR) area. Data were collected through a survey of 390 households using a structured questionnaire. A logistic regression model, with SPSS Statistics software was fitted to the data against a binary response (1 = adopt; 0 = not adopt). The proportion of adopters of agroforestry practices in the LBR area far exceeds (more than three-fold) that of non-adopters. Six factors exert a positive and significant (p-value = 5%) effect on peasant decisions to adopt agroforestry practices in LBR, including age (51 to 60 years old), marital status, education level, main activity, land tenure and farmers’ membership in a local association. Gender, other age categories, household size, number of years of agroforestry experience, number of assets, distance between residence and fields, and access to credit did not positively influence the adoption of these practices. The results of this study would help engage the indigenous community with different sectors and disseminate agroforestry as a sustainable practice appropriate to the real needs of local populations.

Abstract Aspen and balsam poplar seedlings were inoculated with six species of ectomycorrhizal fungi (Hebeloma longicaudum, Laccaria bicolor, Paxillus involutus, Pisolithus tinctorius, Rhizopogon vinicolor, and Suillus tomentosus), one species of endomycorrhizal fungus (Glomus intraradices), two species of bacteria (Agrobacterium sp. and Burkholderia cepacia), treated with a growth hormone (SR3), and co-inoculated with a combination of Paxillus and Burkholderia. The seedlings were grown in a greenhouse under three different fertility regimes. Bacterial inoculation alone did not affect seedling growth and nutrition as observed when co-inoculated with ectomycorrhizal fungus. The biomass and root collar diameter of aspen and balsam poplar were significantly increased when adequate mycorrhizas are formed and more prominent when co-inoculated with P. involutus and B. cepacia and grown at the 67% fertilizer level. Except for R. vinicolor and S. tomentosus, the other four species of ectomycorrhizal fungi and G. intraradices formed symbiotic associations with both plant species. Both ectomycorrhizal and endomycorrhizal colonization were observed at all fertilizer levels and fertilizer applications did not affect the colonization rates. Nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations were significantly improved in both aspen and balsam poplar compared with control only when co-inoculated with P. involutus and B. cepacia. However, plant net nitrogen uptake (content) increased significantly in all successful inoculation treatments and co-inoculated treatment when compared with control. These results hold promise for incorporation of inoculation of Populus sp. with appropriate mycorrhizal fungi and selected bacteria into commercial nursery system to improve the establishment of Populus in various sites.