28 research outputs found
The Effects of Forest Management Activities on Genetic Diversity of Forest Trees
Get PDFGenetic diversity helps to survive forest trees in several environmental changes and disease conditions. Different forest management activities such as harvesting, thinning, natural or artificial regeneration, seedlings or coppice forests, fragmentation, and overexploitation have a tremendous influence on the genetic diversity and population structure of forest trees. This paper aimed to review the impacts of these activities on the genetic diversity of forest trees. For this, we reviewed several scientific literature related to forest management practices that affect genetic diversity. Altogether,75 papers were reviewed, interpreted, and evaluated to prepare our final manuscript. The result of this study recommends that the level of genetic impacts varies with management activities, stand structure as well as species characteristics. There is very limited information about the impacts of forest management practices on the genetic diversity of forest trees since it is only focused on the growth of stands. The field research activities for species-specific must be executed considering ecological and reproductive parameters to assure sustainable forest ecosystems. Hence, this review will be beneficial for forest conservationists, researchers, and managers for the management of forests through better forest management activities preserving a genetic pool of the forest trees, and sustainable utilization of forest products
Ethnomedicinal uses of plants by major ethnic groups of Hilly Districts in Nepal: A review
No full textEthnomedicinal Uses of Plants by Major Ethnic Tribes in Terai Districts of Nepal
Get PDFIndigenous communities and tribes of Nepal have been using medicinal plants for the treatment of several diseases or ailments since their origin. Various studies were conducted in the Terai region of Nepal regarding the pharmacological, ethnobotanical, and medicinal importance of plant species. This study aims to compile information on ethnomedicinal uses of plants by major ethnic groups in the Terai districts of Nepal. A total of 35 published documents based on ethnomedicinal uses of several medicinal plants in Terai of Nepal till 2020 A.D. were accessed for the study from online portals like Research Gate, Scopus, and Google Scholar. A total of 300 plant species from 98 families were documented which are used for the treatment of 120 diseases or ailments by the 8 ethnic groups of 6 terai districts. Leaf of plants is found to be used for the treatment of maximum number of diseases (72). Plants from families like Fabaceae, Malvaceae, Poaceae, etc. were used for the treatement of diseases like Diabetes, jaundice, syphilis, gastritis and other wounds, fractures along mental disorders. Indigenous knowledge and ethnomedicinal importance of different plant species must be explored, documented, and passed through different generations which could widen the scope of modern herbal medicine science
Would There Be Surplus Grains for Biofuels? An Assessment of Agro-economic Factors and Biofuel Production Potential at the Global Level
No full textPaper removed for editing by author 10/19/11.biofuel, land resources, productivity increase, food supply, Crop Production/Industries, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q0, Q42, Q18,
'Operation Enduring Nightmare'? : a strategic critique of the military intervention in Afghanistan from October 2001-October 2008
No full textIncludes abstract.Includes bibliographical references.In October 2011, the war in Afghanistan reached its ignominious ten year anniversary. As the conflict rolls on relentlessly, observers from across all disciplines, and indeed the general public themselves, have attempted to identify why the intervention, which began as Operation Enduring Freedom, has instead become an ‘Enduring Nightmare’. This dissertation attempts to provide empirical reasoning to this question by means of a literature review of the established strategic critiques of the intervention between the years of October 2001 and October 2008
Chiuri (Aesandra butyracea) and Beekeeping for Sustainable Livelihoods of Chepang Community in Raksirang-6, Makawanpur, Nepal
Get PDFChiuri trees and beekeeping are the major sources of livelihood among the Chepang community. The study was performed to assess the role of Chiuri on livelihood improvement of the Chepang community through beekeeping and to analyze the efforts of CFUGs to conserve the Chiuri in Silinge Community Forest User Group, Raksirang-6, Makawanpur district, Nepal. Focus Group Discussion, Key Informant Survey and Individual interview in households were carried out for the study from January to March 2019. With the increasing demand for organic honey made from Chiuri, the locals of the Chepang village in Makawanpur have started generating a good income from beekeeping. The majority (63%) of the respondents reported that the trends of the status of beekeeping were increasing in households. The selling of honey was the main source of income for the people of Silinge CFUGs. 1/3 of households earned the money in the range of NRs 200,000 (US 2,581.24). Physical capital and financial capital have significantly increased, whereas human, social and natural capitals were in increasing trends. The relationship between Chiuri and honey bees was very positive for both. The marketing system of Chiuri is not well developed in the study area. The Chepang community will get more prices after certifying their products as organic. Organic Certification of Nepal (OCN) should conduct studies about organic honey
Urban Road Transportation Externalities: Costs and Choice of Policy Instruments
No full textUrban transportation externalities are a key development challenge. Based on the existing literature, the authors illustrate the magnitudes of various external costs, review response policies, and measure and discuss their selection, particularly focusing on the context of developing countries. They find that regulatory policy instruments aimed at reducing local air pollution have been introduced in most countries in the world. On the other hand, fiscal policy instruments aimed at reducing congestion or greenhouse gas emissions are limited mainly to industrialized economies. Although traditional fiscal instruments, such as fuel taxes and subsidies, are normally introduced for other purposes, they can also help to reduce externalities. Land-use or urban planning, and infrastructure investment, could also contribute to reducing externalities; but they are expensive and play a small role in already developed megacities. The main factors that influence the choice of policy instruments include economic efficiency, equity, country or city specific priority, and institutional capacity for implementation. Multiple policy options need to be used simultaneously to reduce effectively the different externalities arising from urban road transportation because most policy options are not mutually exclusive. Copyright The Author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / <sc>the world bank</sc>. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: [email protected], Oxford University Press.
Semi-supervised regression using diffusion on graphs
Get PDFIndexación ScopusIn real-world machine learning applications, unlabeled training data are readily available, but labeled data are expensive and hard to obtain. Therefore, semi-supervised learning algorithms have gathered much attention. Previous studies in this area mainly focused on a semi-supervised classification problem, whereas semi-supervised regression has received less attention. In this paper, we proposed a novel semi-supervised regression algorithm using heat diffusion with a boundary-condition that guarantees a closed-form solution. Experiments from artificial and real datasets from business, biomedical, physical, and social domain show that the boundary-based heat diffusion method can effectively outperform the top state of the art methods. © 2021 The Author(s)https://www-sciencedirect-com.recursosbiblioteca.unab.cl/science/article/pii/S1568494621001113?via%3Dihu
Biomass and Carbon Stock Variation Along Slopes in Tropical Forest of Nepal: a Case of Depard Community Forest, Makwanpur, Nepal
No full textThis study was conducted to assess biomass and carbon stock along slopes in Depard community forest, Manahari-6, Makwanpur district of Nepal. In Nepal, carbon stock estimation has been less practiced in community forest. A random sampling method was applied in this study to collect biophysical data i.e. DBH and height by non-destructive method to estimate the quantity of tree biomass and carbon stock. 21 sample plots with 1% sampling intensity were established within the study area. The circular area of 250 m2 was predetermined with the radius of 8.92 m for this study. Secondary data were collected through published and unpublished literature. Data were pooled and analyzed with SPSS software. The total biomass and carbon stock were calculated to be 1381.30 t/ha and 649.21 t/ha, respectively. The biomass and carbon stock were highest (563.12 t/ha and 242.42 t/ha) in 0-5% slope, and lowest in >20% of slope (334.75 t/ha and 143.60 t/ha). The difference of biomass and carbon in slopes may be due to the accumulation of more organic matter and other minerals in the less sloped areas through rainfall, landslide
Asiatic Black Bear–Human Conflict: A Case Study from Guthichaur Rural Municipality, Jumla, Nepal
No full textOur study assessed patterns of Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus)–human conflicts within the Guthichaur rural municipality, Jumla, Nepal. Through semi-structured interviews with villagers, focus group discussions (FGDs), and key informant interviews (KIIs), we gathered black bear–human conflict information from 2009 to 2019. We identified three primary types of black bear–human interactions: crop damage, livestock depredation, and human injuries. Of these, crop damage (77.03%) emerged as the most prevalent issue. Notably, peak occurrences were observed during autumn (September–October) typically between 9 PM and 3 AM. Livestock depredations were more frequent during nighttime in April–August, with cows/ox (70.12%) being the most depredated animal. Our data also revealed five recorded cases of black bear attacks on humans, which transpired from September to October, primarily in farmland areas in varying years. Despite a prevailing negative perception of bears, a notable level of support exists for their conservation efforts among local communities. Furthermore, these conflicts could be mitigated by reinforcing indigenous crop protection methods and implementing targeted mitigation strategies, as observed in other regions with successful black bear–human interaction management
