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Fil: Zuloaga, Fernando Omar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. Academia Nacional de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion; Argentina

A new species of Amanoa (Phyllanthaceae) is described from the sandstone Nangaritza Plateau in the Cordillera del Cóndor Region in southern Ecuador. Amanoa condorensis J.L.Clark & D.A.Neill is a small tree, 4 m tall that is only known from the type collection. The new species is distinct by a shrub habit, presence of coriaceous leaves with an acuminate apex, and congested inflorescences. The relatively high elevation of the type locality, presence of an androphore, and the habit as shrub or low tree are an unusual combination for Amanoa . The conservation status of A. condorensis is assessed as Critically Endangered (CR), based on IUCN Criteria.

Tropical forest above‐ground wood production (AGWP) varies substantially along environmental gradients. Some evidence suggests that AGWP may vary between regions and specifically that Asian forests have particularly high AGWP. However, comparisons across biogeographic regions using standardized methods are lacking, limiting our assessment of pan‐tropical variation in AGWP and potential causes. We sampled AGWP in NW Amazon (17 long‐term forest plots) and N Borneo (11 plots), both with abundant year‐round precipitation. Within each region, forests growing on a broad range of edaphic conditions were sampled using standardized soil and forest measurement techniques. Plot‐level AGWP was 49% greater in Borneo than in Amazonia (9.73 ± 0.56 vs. 6.53 ± 0.34 Mg dry mass ha⁻¹ a⁻¹, respectively; regional mean ± 1 SE). AGWP was positively associated with soil fertility (PCA axes, sum of bases and total P). After controlling for the edaphic environment, AGWP remained significantly higher in Bornean plots. Differences in AGWP were largely attributable to differing height–diameter allometry in the two regions and the abundance of large trees in Borneo. This may be explained, in part, by the greater solar radiation in Borneo compared with NW Amazonia. Trees belonging to the dominant SE Asian family, Dipterocarpaceae, gained woody biomass faster than otherwise equivalent, neighbouring non‐dipterocarps, implying that the exceptional production of Bornean forests may be driven by floristic elements. This dominant SE Asian family may partition biomass differently or be more efficient at harvesting resources and in converting them to woody biomass. Synthesis. N Bornean forests have much greater AGWP rates than those in NW Amazon when soil conditions and rainfall are controlled for. Greater resource availability and the highly productive dipterocarps may, in combination, explain why Asian forests produce wood half as fast again as comparable forests in the Amazon. Our results also suggest that taxonomic groups differ in their fundamental ability to capture carbon and that different tropical regions may therefore have different carbon uptake capacities due to biogeographic history.

The pantropical genus Schefflera J. R. Forst. & G. Forst. (Araliaceae) was recently found to be polyphyletic, making it necessary to restrict the generic name to a small clade in the southwest Pacific and to transfer the members of the four remaining clades to other genera. Recent studies of the Neotropical clade have shown that it comprises five morphologically and geographically coherent subclades, each of which is being recognized as a separate genus. In the present synopsis, Crepinella Marchal is resurrected to include the 33 currently recognized species and four infraspecific taxa belonging to one of these subclades, necessitating 36 new combinations (32 species, two subspecies, and two varieties); two names are also lectotypified. Members of Crepinella can be recognized by their leaves with coriaceous leaflets and small stipular ligules, compound umbellate inflorescences, and 2- to 5-carpellate ovaries, coupled with a distribution that is largely restricted to montane vegetation on the sandstone tepuis of the Guiana Shield, with just three species occurring on sandstone substrates elsewhere in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

Once considered pristine forests, the mid-elevational forests of the eastern Andean flank are now known to have long histories of human occupation. Past habitations, such as the ‘Lost City of the Amazon’ in the Upano Valley of eastern Ecuador, were societally and temporally complex with sophisticated cultures emerging, flourishing, and disappearing. The cultures of the Upano Valley transformed local ecosystems, but whether lasting ecological changes from those activities persist in modern forests is not known. Here, using paleoecological reconstructions from Lake Cormorán, located immediately adjacent to the Upano Valley and within 10 km of an area of >300 km 2 of abandoned mound complexes, we provide a timeline of human influence spanning the last 2770 years. We document the onset of maize cultivation c. 570 BCE, and changes in land use within the occupation phase that included slash-and-burn, slash-and-mulch, and silviculture. A gradual decline in forest exploitation presaged an apparent abandonment of the site c. 550 CE. A much later wave of land use that began about 1500 CE, coupled with abandonment and a succession influenced by a warmer and wetter climate, produced a distinctive forest composition unique to the last 120 years. Here, the authors present a timeline of human influence on the ecology of the Upano Valley (Ecuador) spanning the last 2770 years. They demonstrate how Pre- and Post- Columbian of maize cultivation and changing patterns of land use have produced a distinct forest composition today.

In this study, we performed the chemical characterization of Myrcia splendens (Sw.) DC. (Myrtaceae) essential oil from Amazonian Ecuador and the assessment of its bioactivity in terms of cytotoxic, antibacterial, and antioxidant activity as starting point for possible applicative uses. M. splendens essential oil, obtained by hydro-distillation, was analyzed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID): the major components were found to be trans-nerolidol (67.81%) and α-bisabolol (17.51%). Furthermore, we assessed the cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 (breast), A549 (lung) human tumor cell lines, and HaCaT (human keratinocytes) non-tumor cell line through 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) test: promising results in terms of selectivity and efficacy against the MCF-7 cell line (IC50 of 5.59 ± 0.13 μg/mL at 48 h) were obtained, mainly due to α-bisabolol. Furthermore, antibacterial activity against Gram positive and negative bacteria were performed through High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) bioautographic assay and microdilution method: trans-nerolidol and β-cedren-9-one were the main molecules responsible for the low antibacterial effects against human pathogens. Nevertheless, interesting values of Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) were noticeable against phytopathogen strains. Radical scavenging activity performed by HPTLC bioautographic and spectrophotometric 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) approaches were negligible. In conclusion, the essential oil revealed a good potential for plant defense and anti-cancer applications.

A new species of (Phyllanthaceae) is described from the sandstone Nangaritza Plateau in the Cordillera del Cóndor Region in southern Ecuador. J.L.Clark & D.A.Neill is a small tree, 4 m tall that is only known from the type collection. The new species is distinct by a shrub habit, presence of coriaceous leaves with an acuminate apex, and congested inflorescences. The relatively high elevation of the type locality, presence of an androphore, and the habit as shrub or low tree are an unusual combination for . The conservation status of is assessed as Critically Endangered (CR), based on IUCN Criteria.

Phylogenetic studies have shown that Schefflera, the largest genus of Araliaceae, is highly polyphyletic, comprising five non-sister clades within the family, and that the generic name must be restricted to a small group of Pacific Island species. In an effort to establish monophyletic genera for the other elements still remaining in Schefflera, phylogenetic analyses of the large Neotropical clade have revealed five morphologically and geographically coherent groups. Here, we reinstate the genus Sciodaphyllum, which corresponds to the largest of these five groups, presenting a synopsis of the 131 currently recognized species, including 109 new combinations, one replacement name (nomen novum), and three new heterotypic synonyms. The re-establishment of Sciodaphyllum opens the way for describing an estimated 200+ new species in the genus, nearly all of which are from the Northern and Central Andes.

Until recently, Schefflera was the largest genus in Araliaceae (with more than 600 described species), but with a growing understanding of its polyphyly, the circumscription of Schefflera had to be limited to just eight closely related species from the Pacific Islands. To restore monophyly, it was necessary to transfer the remaining, unrelated species to other genera. In most cases, these transfers could be accommodated by resurrecting generic names that had previously been placed in synonymy (namely, Astropanax, Crepinella, Didymopanax, Heptapleurum, Neocussonia, Plerandra, and Sciodaphyllum). For two small Neotropical clades, however, no generic name was available, and for these, we describe two new genera of Araliaceae, Cephalopanax and Frodinia. As defined here, these genera have two accepted species each, for which four new combinations are made (C. jahnii, C. pachycephalus, F. gleasonii, and F. tremula). Lectotypes are designated for two accepted names, and one previously accepted species (Schefflera cuatrecasasiana) is placed in synonymy. For each accepted species, full synonymy is provided, together with geographic ranges and notes.

We compiled a data set for all tree species collected to date in lowland Amazonian Ecuador in order to determine the number of tree species in the region. This data set has been extensively verified by taxonomists and is the most comprehensive attempt to evaluate the tree diversity in one of the richest species regions of the Amazon. We used four main sources of data: mounted specimens deposited in Ecuadorian herbaria only, specimen records of a large‐scale 1‐hectare‐plot network (60 plots in total), data from the Missouri Botanical Garden Tropicos® database (MO), and literature sources. The list of 2,296 tree species names we provide in this data set is based on 47,486 herbarium records deposited in the following herbaria: Alfredo Paredes Herbarium (QAP), Catholic University Herbarium (QCA), Herbario Nacional del Ecuador (QCNE), Missouri Botanical Garden (MO), and records from an extensive sampling of 29,768 individuals with diameter at breast height (dbh) ≥10 cm recorded in our plot network. We also provide data for the relative abundance of species, geographic coordinates of specimens deposited in major herbaria around the world, whether the species is native or endemic, current hypothesis of geographic distribution, representative collections, and IUCN threat category for every species recorded to date in Amazonian Ecuador. These data are described in Metadata S1 and can be used for macroecological, evolutionary, or taxonomic studies. There are no copyright restrictions; data are freely available for noncommercial scientific use (CC BY 3.0). Please see Metadata S1 (Class III, Section B.1: Proprietary restrictions) for additional information on usage.