The species of the genus Chlorociboria Seaver are very common on the forest floor, and can be easily distinguished by small and numerous blue-green fruitbody, especially the blue substrate dyed with xylindein produced by this group. This genus has rather high species diversity in the Southern Hemisphere, while a little attention was paid to this group in East Asia area. During a field survey in South Korea, several Chlorociboria specimens were collected. Based on morphological and phylogenetic analyses, three species of Chlorociboria were reported, including one new record in South Korea and one new record in Jeju Island. The key to the species of Chlorociboria from South Korea is provided.
Far East ; Forests ; Korea*

Dendrobium huoshanense is a precious medicinal plant belonging to Dendrobium of Orchidaceae. It is a special medicinal material and extremely scarce in Huoshan county, Anhui province. At present, D. huoshanense has been greatly protected, which also makes it possible to industrialize relying on tissue culture and artificial cultivation technology. Three main planting methods were utilized for cultivating D. huoshanense including facility cultivation, under forest cultivation and simulative habitat cultivation. Firstly, the three cultivation modes and technical characteristics of D. huoshanense were compared and analyzed, and it was found that the ecological environment of D. huoshanense cultivated in the simulated environment was closer to that of wild D. huoshanense. Secondly, based on comparing the characters and quality of three cultivation modes, the results showed that the shape of D. huoshanense cultivated in simulated environment was more similar to that of "grasshopper thigh" recorded in Bencao Jing Jizhu, and its quality was better than that of facilities and under forest cultivation. The comprehensive benefit comparison of three modes showed that the simulated cultivation had high income, the lowest input-output ratio and significant economic benefit. The quality of cultivated D. huoshanense was further evaluated from four aspects of "excellent environment" "excellent shape" "high quality" "excellent effect", which summarized the comprehensive advantages of simulative habitat cultivation of D. huoshanense as follows: the original habitat and site environment of simulated wild D. huoshanense, the closer shape to the wild, the more content of main medicinal components, and higher economic benefit and better efficacy. The quality of D. huoshanense was improved by the use of simulative habitat cultivation, which has practical significance to guide its large-scale cultivation.
Dendrobium ; Ecosystem ; Forests ; Plants, Medicinal

We now enjoy an affluent, comfortable and efficient lifestyle that human beings have long dreamt of. And yet we feel lurking anxiety about the present and the future. Some youths do not have any definite aim in life or foresight, and some people are alarmed by nature destruction, environmental pollution, erratic climate change, global warming and so on.When it comes to medical care, there are serious shortages of physicians in rural areas and in specific departments such as obstetrics and gynecology and pediatrics. The average life expectancy of Japanese has increased, but various forms of disease including cancer and dementia debase the quality of life.Affluent urban life today is supported by the countryside, which undertakes foodproduction and preserves the natural environment. The government should make more efforts to correct disparities between urban and rural areas in population, economics, culture, and medical care.We live now at a crossroads in the 4-billion-year long history of life on the earth. The thread of genes has continued to the pressent. It must be handed down to posterity. Advances in medical technology have contribute greatly to the protection of our life and genes. Indigenous forests have unsophisticatedly fostered our health, physical and mental, soul, and have protected our genes.We humans and other animals alike are consumers in the ecosystems on the earth. Greenplants are the only producers, and bacteria and fungi are decomposers. Green plants, especially multi-layered native forests that enrich green plants, are the very foundation of human existence.Japanese were particularly zealous in protecting and bequeathing native forests in each community, and reforesting after destroying forests to construct paddy fields, roads and villages just as other peoples did in other partsof the world.Native forests in most areas of Japan are laurel forests. Main tree species of laurel forests have evergreen thick watery leaves and deep taproots grabbing thesoil. So, multi-layered native forests have the function of environmental protection including noise insulation, windbreaking, air and water purification, and water retention, as well as the function of disaster mitigation, minimizing damage from storms, earthquakes, fires and tsunamis.Forests absorb CO2 in the air through photosynthesis and fix carbon as an organic compound in the tree body. This helps curb global warming. In the age of deteriorating biodiversity, it is worthy of special mention that there are so many tree species and so many species of birds, insects and small animals in an indigenous forest as well as bacteria and fungi living in the soil. Thus, indigenous forests maintain rich biodiversity, and are the real green environments that protect our life, heart and genes.However, indigenous forests are rapidly vanishing from almost all the areas of the world. Where native forests still remain, they should be preserved. Where native forests are destroyed, they should be restored and regenerated by all possible mean. We conduct phytosociological field surveys to determine main tree species of a given district, nurse their potted seedlings until theroot system fully develops in the containers, and plant them mixed and densely with local citizens. In this ecological plantation survival rate is good, and seedlings grow steadily to form a quasi-natural forest in 10-15 years.Every one of us should plant seedlings for ecological reforestation here and now, especially around hospitals and clinics, and spread the reforestation movement to the whole world to protect our own life, heart and genes.
Forests ; seconds ; protect ; Green color ; medical care

To clarify the difference of soil moisture characteristics between mixed broad leaf-conifer forest soil and artificial cultivation of Notopterygium incisum, the HYPROP system and the dew point potential meter were used to determine soil water retention curves(SWRC) for samples of two horizons(i.e. 2-7 cm, 10-15 cm). The basic physical and chemical properties of soil and its water characteristic parameters were also determined. The result showed as fllows:①The bulk density of mixed coniferous-broad leaf forest soil was between 0.33 and 0.52 g·cm~(-3), significantly lower than the corresponding value of field soil(1.01-1.18 g·cm~(-3))(P<0.05), While the organic matter content was significantly higher than the corresponding value of field soil(P<0.05). ②The saturated water content(θ_s), field water holding capacity(θ_(FC)) and Water that can be effectively utilized by plants(θ_(PAC)) of mixed coniferous-broadleaved forest soil were significantly higher than the corresponding value of field soil(P<0.05), while the retained water content(θ_r) value that cannot be effectively utilized by plants was significantly lower than that of field soil(P<0.05). ③The values of structural porosity(0.13-0.24 cm~3·cm~(-3)) and Matrix porosity(0.34-0.44 cm~3·cm~(-3)) of mixed coniferous-broadleaved forest soil were higher than the corresponding values of field soil. Therefore, with low bulk density and high content of organic matter, mixed coniferous-broadleaved forest soil can store more water in soil in the form of effective water to meet the needs of plants for water, thus possibly forming high quality medicinal materials of Notopterygii Rhizoma et Radix. In conclusion, the results of this study can provide theoretical basis guidance for soil structure improvement and water management to form high quality medicinal materials in the artificial cultivation of N. incisum.
Apiaceae ; China ; Forests ; Soil ; Tracheophyta ; Water ; analysis

The wood decay fungi are a diverse taxonomic group that plays a pivotal role in forest carbon cycling. Wood decay fungi use various enzymatic pathways to digest dead or living wood in order to obtain carbon and other nutrients and these enzymatic systems have been exploited for both industrial and medical applications. Over 600 wood decay fungi species have been described in Korea; however, the recent application of molecular markers has dramatically altered the taxonomy of many of these wood decay fungi at both the genus and species levels. By combining molecular methods, specifically sequences of the internal transcribed spacer region, with traditional morphological characters, this study identified five new species records for Korea in five genera: Aurantiporus, Favolus, Neofavolus, Loweomyces, and Hymenochaetopsis. Three of these genera (Aurantiporus, Favolus, and Loweomyces) were previously unknown in Korea. The relatively simple morphology of the wood decay fungi often leads to ambiguous taxonomic assignment. Therefore, molecular markers are a necessary component of any taxonomic or evolutionary study of wood decay fungi. Our study highlights the need for a more robust and multifaceted approach in investigating new wood decay fungi in Korea.
Carbon ; Classification ; Forests ; Fungi* ; Korea* ; Polyporales ; Wood*

The ecological environment is closely related to the growth and quality of authentic medicinal materials. Ginseng is very strict with its natural environment and grows mostly in the damp valleys of forests, and the appearance and chemical composition of ginseng under different growth environments are very different. This article reviews the effects of different ecological factors(including light, temperature, altitude, moisture, soil factors, etc.)on the appearance and chemical composition(mainly ginsenosides) of ginseng. Through systematic review, it is found that soil physical factors are the most important ecological factors that affect the appea-rance of ginseng, and soil bulk density plays a key role; temperature affects ginsenosides in ginseng medicinal materials The dominant ecological factors for the accumulation of chemical ingredents; strong light, high altitude, high soil moisture, low soil nutrient and strong acid soil can influence the accumulation of secondary metabolites in ginseng. Environmental stress can also stimulate the formation and accumulation of secondary metabolites in medicinal plants. Appropriate low temperature stress, high or low water stress, acid or alkali stress can also promote the accumulation of ginsenosides. This article systematically reviews the ecological factors that affect the appearance and chemical composition of ginseng, and clarifies the dominant ecological factors and limiting factors for the formation of ginseng's appearance and quality, as well as beneficial environmental stress factors, in order to provide a theoretical basis for ginseng ecological planting and ginseng quality improvement.
Forests ; Ginsenosides ; Panax ; Plants, Medicinal ; Soil

The objective of this study was to describe general approaches for intervention meta-analysis available for quantitative data synthesis using the R software. We conducted an intervention meta-analysis using two types of data, continuous and binary, characterized by mean difference and odds ratio, respectively. The package commands for the R software were “metacont”, “metabin”, and “metagen” for the overall effect size, “forest” for forest plot, “metareg” for meta-regression analysis, and “funnel” and “metabias” for the publication bias. The estimated overall effect sizes, test for heterogeneity and moderator effect, and the publication bias were reported using the R software. In particular, the authors indicated methods for calculating the effect sizes of the target studies in intervention meta-analysis. This study focused on the practical methods of intervention meta-analysis, rather than the theoretical concepts, for researchers with no major in statistics. Through this study, the authors hope that many researchers will use the R software to more readily perform the intervention meta-analysis and that this will in turn generate further related research.
Forests ; Hope ; Odds Ratio ; Population Characteristics ; Publication Bias

This study proposed a rapid method to quantify the colonization rate of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in plant roots. The method involved the use of an image analysis software (WinRHIZO Pro). The colonization rate is defined as the ratio of the fungal body to the plant root area in a micrograph. Three seedlings of Chengiopanax sciadophylloides, a woody species that accumulates radiocesium, were collected from a secondary forest in the Yamakiya district of Kawamata, Fukushima Prefecture during May–September 2014. The colonization of AMF structures was examined under a light microscope, and the percentage of colonization was determined using the WinRHIZO method. The superiority of the new method was verified by comparing with a modified grid-line intersect method. The colonization of AMF was confirmed in all the seedlings, and a significant coefficient of determination (R² = 0.94) was found with both the methods. The results suggested that the WinRHIZO method is reliable for estimating the colonization of AMF in C. sciadophylloides.
Colon* ; Forests ; Fungi* ; Methods* ; Microscopy ; Plant Roots ; Seedlings

The growth parameters,clonal propagation parameters and sexual reproduction parameters of Acanthopanax giraldii population were systematically investigated and analyzed by means of population ecology in this study. The correlation among the above mentioned parameters and the correlation among canopy density,topography and soil fertility factors were analyzed. It is clear that there was a significant correlation among the clonal ramets,the fruit production capacity of the cluster and the new shoot production capacity of the A. giraldii. Sexual reproduction and clonal reproduction played an important role in the continuation of the population. Illumination was the key ecological factor that determined growth type. The increase in canopy density changed the population from " group clonal growth" to " guerrilla clonal growth",and the higher stand closure degree and low-strength herb layer competition was a necessary condition for seed germination and colonization. Under the background of natural forest protection and sustainable development of resources,the reproductive characteristics of wild A. giraldii resulted in the decrease of its recoverable quantity.
Ecosystem ; Eleutherococcus ; growth & development ; physiology ; Forests ; Reproduction ; Soil

In order to set up a technical standard for planting Amomum villosum in wood forest in the future, we analyzed the relationship between the ecological factors and the yield of A. villosum planted in five Dimocarpus imocarpus longan wood forests and five miscellaneous wood forests in Yangchun city, to find out the dominant factors that affect the yield of A. villosum. The results showed that agricultural measures of fertilization, artificial irrigation and removing the old plants were positively correlated with the yield of A. villosum, the pesticide spraying and soil pH value were negatively correlated with the yield of A. villosum. But the effects of ecological factors on the yield were not significantly. High yield regions are generally located in the ravine, two sides of mountain stream and other places where water is more adequate. The slope of cultivated field with high yield is generally less than 30°, lighting and ventilation are more appropriate; soil type is generally sandy or loam, shade density is generally about 50%, and pollinators are many in quantity and variety. And we found that there was a large difference in mineral nutrient contents of soils among ten plantations. Results indicate that the yield of A. villosum is determined by the combination of each ecological factor. Suitable light intensity, moisture, ventilation and reasonable fertilization are conductive to increase the yield of A. villosum, but the use of pesticides and soil alkalization hinder the increase of A. villosum production. Too high shade density and the abuse of pesticides may be the main reason for limiting the yield of A. villosum planted in D. longan wood forests. This study has obtained key techniques of the ecological stereoscopic cultivation mode of A. villosum-D. longan, which lays a theoretical foundation for the guidance of farmers in planting A. villosum in the D. Longan forest in the future.
Agriculture ; methods ; Amomum ; growth & development ; Ecology ; Forests ; Soil ; Water