An integrated approach to identification and conservation of medicinal plants in the tropical forest - A Brazilian experience

An integrated and interdisciplinary research programme with native medicinal plants from tropical forests has been performed in order to obtain new forest products for sustainable use in regional markets vis-à-vis ecosystem conservation. For the success of this programme ethnopharmacological studies are very important with respect to (i) identification of useful plants including medicinal and aromatic species; (ii) recuperation and preservation of traditional knowledge about native plants; and (iii) identification of potential plants with economic value. The plants are selected with a view to evaluate efficacy and safety (pharmacological and toxicological studies), and phytochemical profile and quality control (phytochemical and chromatographic characterization). These studies are very important to add value to plant products and also to mitigate unscrupulous exploitation of medicinal plants by local communities, since multiple use of plants represents an excellent strategy for sustaining the tropical ecosystem through ex situ and in situ conservation. Thus, conservation of tropical resources is possible in conjunction with improvements in the quality of life of the traditional communities and production of new products with therapeutic, cosmetic and 'cosmeceutic' value. © NIAB 2005.

Can overharvesting of a non-timber-forest-product change the regeneration dynamics of a tropical rainforest? The case study of Euterpe edulis

The exploitation of non-timber forest products is often considered a low-impact activity in tropical forests. However, assessments of the impacts of such activity are mostly focused on the harvested species and not on the plant community, thus limiting our understanding for establishing forest management recommendations. We investigated the consequences of Euterpe edulis palm heart harvesting on the seed rain in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest. We compared the density of E. edulis individuals, as well as the density of E. edulis seeds, and the density, richness and functional composition of seed rain of the whole plant community, before and after palm heart harvesting in a 10 ha permanent plot. This assessment was carried out in preserved (typical old-growth Atlantic rainforest) and in disturbed (more open habitat dominated by the native bamboo Guadua tagoara) forest patches. Palm harvesting reduced the E. edulis population from 202.16 to 25.67 ind/ha and its seed rain density from 0.362 to 0.3 seeds/m2 and from 2.395 to 0.15 seeds/m2 in preserved and disturbed forest patches, respectively. Seed density of light-dependent climbers, pioneer trees, bamboo and animal-dispersed seeds increased after palm harvesting, especially in the disturbed forest patches, where palm harvesting was more intense and may have changed the light regime of the understory. On the other hand, species richness of the plant community declined by half. We observed a remarkable decline in the number of animal-dispersed species, especially for those with large seeds, suggesting that the activity of seed dispersers, including many species attracted by E. edulis fruits, was reduced. Therefore, harvesting of E. edulis palm heart may change the regeneration dynamics of the Atlantic rainforest, both due to shifts in forest structure, mediated by the removal of individuals from the forest canopy, and in community functioning, mediated by the interference on the activity of seed dispersers. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The contribution of multiple use forest management to small farmers' annual incomes in the Eastern Amazon

Small-scale farmers in the Brazilian Amazon collectively hold tenure over more than 12 million ha of permanent forest reserves, as required by the Forest Code. The trade-off between forest conservation and other land uses entails opportunity costs for them and for the country, which have not been sufficiently studied. We assessed the potential income generated by multiple use forest management for farmers and compared it to the income potentially derived from six other agricultural land uses. Income from the forest was from (i) logging, carried out by a logging company in partnership with farmers' associations; and (ii) harvesting the seeds of Carapa guianensis (local name andiroba) for the production of oil. We then compared the income generated by multiple-use forest management with the income from different types of agrarian systems. According to our calculations in this study, the mean annual economic benefits from multiple forest use are the same as the least productive agrarian system, but only 25% of the annual income generated by the most productive system. Although the income generated by logging may be considered low when calculated on an annual basis and compared to incomes generated by agriculture, the one-time payment after logging is significant (US$5,800 to US$33,508) and could be used to implement more intensive and productive cropping systems such as planting black pepper. The income from forest management could also be used to establish permanent fields in deforested areas for highly productive annual crops using conservation agriculture techniques. These techniques are alternatives to the traditional land use based on periodic clearing of the forest. Nevertheless, the shift in current practices towards adoption of more sustainable conservation agriculture techniques will also require the technical and legal support of the State to help small farmers apply these alternatives, which aim to integrate forest management in sustainable agricultural production systems.

Seed with and without Partial Tegument Removal and Substrate Affect Germination of Castanea sativa

Portuguese chestnut (Castanea sativa) is used for forest products, raw nuts and processed flour, paste, and candy. We studied the influence on germination efficiency of seed with and without partial tegument removal combined with different substrate composition (coconut fiber, pine compost and vermiculite) at São Paulo State University, Campus of Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil. Randomized blocks were used in a factorial scheme 3x2 (three substrates x two seed types) consisting of six treatments with five replications (twelve seeds). Seeds were sowed in expanded polystyrene trays, with 72 cells, and maintained at 25 C under controlled environment. Rate, time elapsed and speed of seed germination was submitted to ANOVA and the average compared using Tukey's 5% test of probability and curves adjusted based on Gompertz regression. Coconut fiber or vermiculite associated with seed without partial tegument removal showed the highest germination rate, and coconut fiber with or without partial tegument removal displayed the fastest speed of seed germination.

Portable Hardness tester for timber classification

Hardness is a property largely used in material specifications, mechanical and metallurgical research and quality control of several materials. Specifically for timber, Janka hardness is a simple, quick and easy test, with good correlations with the compression parallel to grain strength, a strong reference in structural classification for this material. More recently, international studies have reported the use of Brinell hardness for timber assessment which resumes the advantages previously mentioned for Janka hardness and make it easier to be performed in the field, especially because of the lower magnitude of the involved loads. A first generation of an equipment for field evaluation of hardness in wood - Portable Hardness tester for wood - based on Brinell hardness has already been developed by the Research Group on Forest Products from FCA/UNESP, Brazil, with very good correlations between the evaluated hardness and several other mechanical properties of the material when performing tests with different species of native and reforested wood (traditionally used as ties - sleepers - in railways). This paper presents results obtained in the experimental program with the first generation of this equipment and preliminary tests with its second generation, which uses accelerometers to substitute the indentation measurements in wood. For the first generation of the equipment functional and calibration tests were carried out using 16 native and reforestation timber lots, among there E. citriodora, E. tereticornis, E. saligna, E. urophylla, E. grandis, Goupia glabra and Bagassa guianenses, with different origins and ages. The results obtained confirm its potential in the classification of specimens, with inclusion errors varying from 4.5% to 16.6%.

Estimating hardness of eucalyptus wood with a portable hardness tester

More than 80% of the 29600 km of the Brazilian railroad mesh employs wooden sleepers. The problem of hard availability of native wood for this purpose leads to the alternative use of reforestation species to produce sleepers. Considering the great difficulty to, in field condition, evaluate characteristics that are of major importance to define its suitability to sleeper production the Research Group on Forest Products from FCA/UNESP - Brazil had developed equipment for field evaluation of hardness in wood - Portable Hardness Tester. This paper reports the functional validation tests, performed with different species of Eucalyptus. Results revealed the equipment great functionality, easy-to-use characteristics and applicability to Eucalyptus wood. Moderate to strong relationships between laboratory and validated values of hardness were found. The best validation model was obtained using the data provided by the experimental dispositive 3 (R2=0.74 and SSE= 7.71 kJ/m2) while the experimental dispositive 1 gave the worse validation (R2=0.55 and SSE= 13.46 kJ/m2).

Análise técnica e econômica da resinagem de Pinus elliottii Engelm. var. elliottii na região de Manduri, SP

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Estrutura, origem e desenvolvimento de laticíferos e coléteres em plantas de Tabernaemontana catharinensis A.DC. (Rauvolfioideae, Apocynaceae) em diferentes fases do desenvolvimento vegetativo

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Bases para o manejo sustentável de populações silvestres de Heliconia velloziana Emygdio

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Avaliação dos sistemas de redes viárias florestais em função dos custos e do risco de erosão

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Energia na Agricultura) - FCA

Avaliação econômica de diferentes composições veiculares empregadas no transporte rodoviário de madeira: estudo de caso

Transport is one the essential services for the development of most economic activities. In the forestry sector, the main transport used to carry wood from the forest to local consumption is road. The transport increases the producing costs of wood and may be responsible of a high percentage in the final price of the wood sold in the industry. To reduce the company’s costs and increase the efficiency of forest production those transport activities must be analyzed and improved. In that context, an economic analysis is the main objective of this work, evaluating three different types of log transport from a sawmill in São Paulo´s Southwest region. For this, a data collection was done to compound the costs and the incomes of timber transport, and that way, to do the economic analyses of each transport. The monitoring activities were done in the second 2013 half-year and the research achieved economic viability results utilizing tools and methods of Economic Engineering

Eficiência energética em uma indústria madeireira

In wood processing industries, which use electrical equipment in the production process, in most cases these are badly scaled or operate under inadequate conditions, resulting directly in industrial energy efficiency, which proves important because besides having technological innovation, also with practices and policies, aims to decrease power consumption. So in a wiring project should take into account the variables that influence energy efficiency. Thus this work has been reviewed and subsequently calculated some of these variables, such as active power, power factor and demand for the entire industry (global) and also for specific equipment, the chipper. The network analysis was performed in a wood processing industry in the city of Taquarivaí - SP, and evaluated these variables with a network analyzer and also by analysis on energy bills, which were found in both analysis levels below those found in literature. These factors are due to poor design, improper use, storage of equipment or even by characteristic of the production process, ie, the equipment running on empty because of the volatility of production

Reposição florestal obrigatória no município de Presidente Venceslau

The growing concern over deforestation of native forests from Brazil to the marketing of wood in various sectors had made greater attention from lawmakers. In this context, did the reforestation, which came into existence to meet the demand for forest raw material. This paper attempts to make a survey, focusing on the interplay between small and medium producers, consumers of forest products and reforestation associations. For this, we conducted a survey of legislation at the federal and state since the emergence, evolution and current context for understanding the legal basis on the subject. In addition, literature reviews have been made seeking to direct the concepts and importance of reforestation, reforestation, forest plantations and productive use of the species Eucalyptus sp for the supply of forest raw material. Approach was also sought on the structure of the system of reforestation of the state of Sao Paulo and their assignments. We also present an in loco study of Chairman Wenceslas municipality in order to analyze the participation of the municipality in the reforest the region of Pontal Paranapanema and actions of regulatory agencies. As a result presents a survey of consumers of timber enterprises in the municipality of President Wenceslas based on the resolution SMA No. 082/2008, which describes the characteristics of these companies and their fields of activity