Floral biodiversity: a question of survival in the Indian Thar Desert

The Thar Desert of North-west India has sprung into prominence recently because of nuclear testing in 1998. It occupies about 3 million km² of diverse habitat. Each of the various habitats and landforms in the desert supports distinctive plants. 682 plant species have been identified including 107 grasses. Plants are removed for fuel, fodder, fencing and other farming, domestic and commercial purposes. There are about 200 species of plants with recognised medicinal uses in the desert. The medicinal usefulness of others is yet to be established. Commiphora wightii, Withania somnifera and Urginia indica have high glycoside content and are valued for gums and used in ayurvedic medicines for enhancing mental retention and memory enhancement. Such plants are being indiscriminately exploited for fuelwood.     

Conservation of biodiversity in western India

Director of environmental studies at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Human Ecology, Environmental and Population Studies at the University of Rajasthan. This paper describes the biodiversity in the north-western Indian State of Rajasthan, its relationship with the environment and the existing human and livestock populations. As the biodiversity is depleting in this area due to zoogenic and anthropogenic reasons, certain pragmatic conservation strategies are advocated. The north-western part of India is occupied by a desert ecosystem, the Thar Desert. Animal husbandry is the major livelihood in the region, followed by agriculture. The vegetation, which is predominantly xerophytic and quite sparse, occurs in great variety. Six hundred and eighty-two plant species and 390 animal species have been identified from the Thar Desert. Many plant and animal species have become endangered due to zoogenic and anthropogenic activities. Plants such as Calligonum polygonoides, Tecomella undulata and Prosopis cineraria urgently require conservation.     

The medicinal and aromatic plants business of Uttarakhand: A mini review of challenges and directions for future research

The medicinal and aromatic plants resources of Uttarakhand, India offer significant opportunities of employment and livelihood for rural communities and contribute a large share in the medicinal and aromatic plants trade of India. With the growing trade of medicinal and aromatic plants resources in the global market, the medicinal and aromatic plants business of Uttarakhand is also continuously growing in terms of trade volume, value and market reach. But, considering the ecological importance as well as unregulated exploitations of these resources, the growing business activities in this sector appear incompatible to the sustainability agenda. Through a mini review, this study assesses the medicinal and aromatic plants sector of Uttarakhand and identifies key challenges that seem incompatible for resource and business sustainability and offers some prospective research directions essential for identifying pragmatic solutions to support sustainability in the sector. This review identifies nine key challenges to sustainability in Uttarakhandʼs medicinal and aromatic plants sector. It is therefore pertinent that future research focus on the prevailing challenges of the medicinal and aromatic plants sector of Uttarakhand to develop strategies for sustainable business prospects.     

沙漠尾水综合利用模式探讨研究——以群克消纳地尾水处理工程为例

水资源匮乏成为当前世界改善沙漠生态环境面临的凸出问题之一，合理利用企业尾水成为缓解甚至实现改善沙漠环境的一种尝试。研究以群克消纳地沙漠尾水处理工程为例，提出一种针对尾水沙漠综合利用的新型技术模式。通过研究分析尾水对周边水域、土壤以及绿地植物、脊椎动物、水体生物的影响，结合科学的评价方法，对沙漠尾水综合利用进行评价，得出以下结论:群克消纳地尾水沙漠综合利用的规范化技术新型技术工程有利于周边生态环境变好，对动植物、水体、土壤等没有不良影响;水域边上植被盖度增加，对周边活动沙丘固定起到初步积极作用，同时，也为周边动植物提供栖息场所以及生长发育的环境基础;区域生态环境恢复良好，形成了与区域自然水体类似的生态系统结构，群克消纳地尾水处理工程形成的稳定的生态系统表明，在沙漠中采用无害、生态性的尾水处理技术是可行的。     

内蒙古乌兰布和沙漠旅游资源开发研究

旅游业对于开发区域丰富的资源及提高区域经济竞争力有着不可忽视的作用。沙漠是一种特殊的旅游资源，国际上沙漠旅游正成为一种新兴的旅游方式。积极开发沙漠旅游资源，既利于区域人地关系的和谐演进，又利于全面推进区域的可持续发展。以内蒙古乌兰布和沙漠旅游资源为研究对象，通过对沙漠中自然和人文资源的分析，探讨了沙漠旅游资源在开发利用中的优势和劣势。最后对乌兰布和沙漠旅游可持续发展的对策进行了探讨，并结合区情，提出了开发的具体措施，目的在于全面推进乌兰布和沙漠旅游业的发展。     

黄山百合科野生药用植物资源及其利用

论述了安徽省黄山市分布的百合科野生药用植物的种质资源、地理分布、药用部位，为进一步开发利用提供依据。     

Desertification Control and Management of Land Degradation in the Thar Desert of India

India has 2.34 million km² of hot desert called Thar located in the north-western part of Rajasthan between latitudes 23°3 and 30°12 North and longitudes 63°30 and 70°18 East. The Indian desert is spreading annually over 12000 ha of productive land degrading it and slowly advancing towards the national capital New Delhi at the rate of 0.5 km per year. The Indian desert is characterised by huge shifting sand dunes; high wind speed; scarce rainfall; and intense solar radiation. Tremendous efforts have been made since the 1960s to arrest desertification and for ecological restoration of the Thar desert. An Ambitious afforestation programme including stabilisation of shifting sand dunes and creation of micro-climates through tree-screens and shelter-belt plantation was launched by the forest department of Rajasthan. A huge canal, 649 km long was also introduced to the Thar desert for ecological restoration.     

完达山地区药用植物资源调查与开发利用

通过对完达山地区进行长期调查发展,该地区共有药用植物资源80科224种,并以植物分类学进行了统计,提出了合理开发利用药用植物的建议,为研究和合理利用完达山地区药用植物资源提供了基础材料。     

乌蒙山山脉药用植物资源调查研究

通过野外考察、标本采集、资料查阅整理及标本鉴定,对乌蒙山山脉药用植物资源进行了调查。结果表明,乌蒙山山脉共有药用植物272科1189属3184种（含变种和亚种）,其中地衣植物8科9属13种、苔藓植物40科74属116种、蕨类植物45科108属358种、裸子植物10科22属37种、被子植物169科976属2660种。对其物种组成、生态类型、分布、优势科属、药用部位、功效等进行了统计分析,对常用中药、国家重点保护野生药材、民间习用药物进行了简要介绍,并对其开发利用提出了建议。     

黄山市珍稀濒危药用植物资源及保护策略

归纳<国家珍稀濒危保护植物名录>、<国家重点保护野生植物名录(第一批)>和<国家重点保护野生药材物种名录>,黄山市拥有珍稀濒危药用植物42种,通过对其种类、分布,药用部位、功能主治的介绍,以期为制定黄山市珍稀濒危药用植物的保护措施和合理开发利用提供参考.     

神农架国家级自然保护区樟科资源植物分析

神农架樟科植物种类共有 7属 3 1种 (含变种 ) ,资源植物十分丰富 ,按其用途可分为观赏植物类、蜜源植物类、药用植物类、木材植物类、香料植物类、工业用油脂植物类及珍稀保护植物类等。这些资源植物具有较大的开发利用价值。     

安徽省蓼族植物资源的开发利用

安徽省有蓼族植物43种6变种，分布广、用途多、蕴藏量大，其中42种可供药用，29种可作观赏植物，10种可在农业生产上作农药，具有良好的开发利用前景。     

Indian dye yielding plants: Efforts and opportunities

The present review article deals with the information on the dye‐yielding plants of India. Dyes are intensively coloured compounds that are applied to a substrate such as fibre, paper, cosmetics, hair, etc. to give colours and can be extracted from the roots, fruits/berries, bark, leaves, flowers, and stem/wood, fungi, and lichens by various processes of extractions. In addition to their dye‐yielding characteristics, many of these plants possess medicinal values and can be used for multiple other purposes. Plant derived‐colours have an important role in human life because of their safe and eco‐friendly nature. But due to the availability of economically cheaper synthetic dyes, the indigenous knowledge of extraction, processing, and proper utilisation has been diminished. Nowadays, the demand for natural dyes has been increased worldwide due to awareness about their beneficial properties. It has been essential that proper documentation and measure of conservation should be undertaken to preserve these natural dye‐yielding plants. This review article is an aid to a collective inquiry into Indian dye plants.     

Effects of Protective Fencing on Birds, Lizards, and Black-Tailed Hares in the Western Mojave Desert

Lepus californicus ), perennial plant cover, and structural diversity of perennial plants were evaluated from spring 1994 through winter 1995 at the Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area (DTNA), in the Mojave Desert, California. Abundance and species richness of birds were higher inside than outside the DTNA, and effects were larger during breeding than wintering seasons and during a high than a low rainfall year. Ash-throated flycatchers (Myiarchus cinerascens), cactus wrens (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus), LeConte's thrashers (Toxostoma lecontei), loggerhead shrikes (Lanius ludovicianus), sage sparrows (Amphispiza belli), and verdins (Auriparus flaviceps) were more abundant inside than outside the DTNA. Nesting activity was also more frequent inside. Total abundance and species richness of lizards and individual abundances of western whiptail lizards (Cnemidophorous tigris) and desert spiny lizards (Sceloporus magister) were higher inside than outside. In contrast, abundance of black-tailed hares was lower inside. Structural diversity of the perennial plant community did not differ due to protection, but cover was 50% higher in protected areas. Black-tailed hares generally prefer areas of low perennial plant cover, which may explain why they were more abundant outside than inside the DTNA. Habitat structure may not affect bird and lizard communities as much as availability of food at this desert site, and the greater abundance and species richness of vertebrates inside than outside the DTNA may correlate with abundances of seeds and invertebrate prey.     

Developing of a pricing model for Turkish lignite used in thermal plants

The objective of this paper is to develop a general pricing model for Turkish Lignite, which is mainly sold to thermal plants. This model will contribute to the development of coal mining within the scope of privatization efforts of the Turkish energy market. The paper consists of two stages. First, data of 10 thermal plants have been evaluated by using hedonic pricing analysis to determine influential price parameters. The results of hedonic regression analysis indicate the effect and importance of calorific value and electricity price on lignite prices. Second, a general coal-pricing model has been developed by taking into account the results of hedonic analysis. Comparison of the coal prices estimated by the developed pricing model and the coal prices obtained from thermal plants indicates an acceptable relation.     

“林光互补”:库布其沙漠治理的探索

从单一的工程措施到复合生态治理是沙漠治理的必然趋势。为探寻沙漠复合生态治理的可行性方案，探究复合生态治理的实践过程和综合效益。通过对库布其沙漠“林光互补”的实践，进行案例研究。发现“林光互补”复合生态治理，以在沙漠地区建设光伏板的方式，将太阳能转换为电能，利用光伏板下降温增湿的优点，发展板下种植，实现经济效益的同时，减少了风沙对发电设备的影响，促进了当地生态的修复。“林光互补”的复合生态治理将经济发展与生态修复互构，促进沙漠地区的良性运行。同时还应考虑生态与人类生活的关系问题，实现沙漠治理的可持续发展。     

Benefits of protective fencing to plant and rodent communities of the western Mojave Desert,California

Human disturbance in the western Mojave Desert takes many forms. The most pervasive are livestock grazing and off-highway vehicle use. Over the past few decades several areas within this region have been fenced to preclude human disturbance. These areas provide opportunities to study the impact of human activities in a desert ecosystem. This paper documents the response of plant and small mammal populations to fencing constructed between 1978 and 1979 at the Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area, Kern County, California. Aboveground live annual plant biomass was generally greater inside than outside the fenced plots during April 1990, 1991, and 1992. The alien grassSchismus barbatus was a notable exception, producing more biomass in the unprotected area. Forb biomass was greater than that of alien annual grasses inside the fence during all three years of the study. Outside the fence, forb biomass was significantly higher than that of alien grasses only during spring 1992. Percent cover of perennial shrubs was higher inside the fence than outside, while no significant trend was detected in density. There was als more seed biomass inside the fence; this may have contributed to the greater diversity and density of Merriam's kangaroo rats (Dipodomys merriami), long-tailed pocket mice (Chaetodipus formosus), and southern grasshopper mice (Onychomys torridus) in the protected area. These results show that protection from human disturbance has many benefits, including greater overall community biomass and diversity. The significance and generality of these results can be further tested by studying other exclosures of varying age and configurations in different desert regions of the southwestern United States.     

Managing a Subsidized Predator Population: Reducing Common Raven Predation on Desert Tortoises

Human communities often are an inadvertent source of food, water, and other resources to native species of wildlife. Because these resources are more stable and predictable than those in a natural environment, animals that subsist on them are able to increase in numbers and expand their range, much to the detriment of their competitors and species they prey upon. In the Mojave Desert, common ravens (Corvus corax) have benefited from human-provided resources to increase in population size precipitously in recent years. This trend has caused concern because ravens prey on juvenile desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii), a federally threatened species. In this paper, I discuss management strategies to reduce raven predation on desert tortoises. The recommendations fall into three categories: (1) managing raven populations by reducing access to anthropogenic resources; (2) removing offending ravens or other birds in specially targeted tortoise management zones; and (3) continuing research on raven ecology, raven behavior, and methods of reducing raven predation on tortoises. I also recommend approaching the problem within an adaptive management framework: management efforts should first be employed as scientific experiments—with replicates and controls—to yield an unbiased assessment of their effectiveness. Furthermore, these strategies should be implemented in concert with actions that reduce other causes of desert tortoise mortality to aid the long-term recovery of their populations. Overall, the approaches outlined in this paper are widely applicable to the management of subsidized predators, particularly where they present a threat to a declining species of prey.     

重庆獐牙菜属药用植物资源及其开发利用

经调查鉴定，重庆獐牙菜属药用植物有9种，其中西南獐牙菜、北方獐牙菜为重庆分布新记录。重点介绍了它们的医疗用途、地理分布、资源现状及其开发前景，为正确鉴别使用，编制了其分种检索表。     

Simplified method for detecting tritium contamination in plants and soil

Cost-effective methods are needed to identify the presence and distribution of tritium near radioactive waste disposal and other contaminated sites. The objectives of this study were to (i) develop a simplified sample preparation method for determining tritium contamination in plants and (ii) determine if plant data could be used as an indicator of soil contamination. The method entailed collection and solar distillation of plant water from foliage, followed by filtration and adsorption of scintillation-interfering constituents on a graphite-based solid phase extraction (SPE) column. The method was evaluated using samples of creosote bush [Larrea tridentata (Sessé & Moc. ex DC.) Coville], an evergreen shrub, near a radioactive disposal area in the Mojave Desert. Laboratory tests showed that a 2-g SPE column was necessary and sufficient for accurate determination of known tritium concentrations in plant water. Comparisons of tritium concentrations in plant water determined with the solar distillation-SPE method and the standard (and more laborious) toluene-extraction method showed no significant difference between methods. Tritium concentrations in plant water and in water vapor of root-zone soil also showed no significant difference between methods. Thus, the solar distillation-SPE method provides a simple and cost-effective way to identify plant and soil contamination. The method is of sufficient accuracy to facilitate collection of plume-scale data and optimize placement of more sophisticated (and costly) monitoring equipment at contaminated sites. Although work to date has focused on one desert plant, the approach may be transferable to other species and environments after site-specific experiments.