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Nelson Mandela
\"Anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician, and philanthropist, Nelson's Mandela's journey from political prisoner to president of South Africa is an incredible tale of triumph in the face of adversity\"--Back cover.
Book
Increasing Demand for Natural Rubber Necessitates a Robust Sustainability Initiative to Mitigate Impacts on Tropical Biodiversity
Strong international demand for natural rubber is driving expansion of industrial‐scale and smallholder monoculture plantations, with >2 million ha established during the last decade. Mainland Southeast Asia and Southwest China represent the epicenter of rapid rubber expansion; here we review impacts on forest ecosystems and biodiversity. We estimate that 4.3–8.5 million ha of additional rubber plantations are required to meet projected demand by 2024, threatening significant areas of Asian forest, including many protected areas. Uncertainties concern the potential for yield intensification of existing cultivation to mitigate demand for new rubber area, versus potential displacement of rubber by more profitable oil palm. Our review of available studies indicates that conversion of forests or swidden agriculture to monoculture rubber negatively impacts bird, bat and invertebrate biodiversity. However, rubber agroforests in some areas of Southeast Asia support a subset of forest biodiversity in landscapes that retain little natural forest. Work is urgently needed to: improve understanding of whether land‐sparing or land‐sharing rubber cultivation will best serve biodiversity conservation, investigate the potential to accommodate biodiversity within existing rubber‐dominated landscapes while maintaining yields, and ensure rigorous biodiversity and social standards via the development of a sustainability initiative.
Journal Article
Disruption of KPC-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae membrane via induction of oxidative stress by cinnamon bark (Cinnamomum verum J. Presl) essential oil
Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP) remains the most prevalent nosocomial pathogen and carries the carbapenemase (KPC) gene which confers resistance towards carbapenem. Thus, it is necessary to discover novel antimicrobials to address the issue of antimicrobial resistance in such pathogens. Natural products such as essential oils are a promising source due to their complex composition. Essential oils have been shown to be effective against pathogens, but the overall mechanisms have yet to be fully explained. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of essential oil towards KPC-KP cells would provide a deeper understanding of their potential use in clinical settings. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the mode of action of essential oil against KPC-KP cells from a proteomic perspective by comparing the overall proteome profile of KPC-KP cells treated with cinnamon bark (Cinnamomum verum J. Presl) essential oil (CBO) at their sub-inhibitory concentration of 0.08% (v/v). A total of 384 proteins were successfully identified from the non-treated cells, whereas only 242 proteins were identified from the CBO-treated cells. Proteins were then categorized based on their biological processes, cellular components and molecular function prior to pathway analysis. Pathway analysis showed that CBO induced oxidative stress in the KPC-KP cells as indicated by the abundance of oxidative stress regulator proteins such as glycyl radical cofactor, catalase peroxidase and DNA mismatch repair protein. Oxidative stress is likely to oxidize and disrupt the bacterial membrane as shown by the loss of major membrane proteins. Several genes selected for qRT-PCR analysis validated the proteomic profile and were congruent with the proteomic abundance profiles. In conclusion, KPC-KP cells exposed to CBO undergo oxidative stress that eventually disrupts the bacterial membrane possibly via interaction with the phospholipid bilayer. Interestingly, several pathways involved in the bacterial membrane repair system were also affected by oxidative stress, contributing to the loss of cells viability.
Journal Article
Protecting tropical forests from the rapid expansion of rubber using carbon payments
Expansion of
Hevea brasiliensis
rubber plantations is a resurgent driver of deforestation, carbon emissions, and biodiversity loss in Southeast Asia. Southeast Asian rubber extent is massive, equivalent to 67% of oil palm, with rapid further expansion predicted. Results-based carbon finance could dis-incentivise forest conversion to rubber, but efficacy will be limited unless payments match, or at least approach, the costs of avoided deforestation. These include opportunity costs (timber and rubber profits), plus carbon finance scheme setup (transaction) and implementation costs. Using comprehensive Cambodian forest data, exploring scenarios of selective logging and conversion, and assuming land-use choice is based on net present value, we find that carbon prices of $30–$51 per tCO
2
are needed to break even against costs, higher than those currently paid on carbon markets or through carbon funds. To defend forests from rubber, either carbon prices must be increased, or other strategies are needed, such as corporate zero-deforestation pledges, and governmental regulation and enforcement of forest protection.
Expansion of rubber plantations threatens tropical forest carbon stocks and biodiversity, but may be dis-incentivised using carbon finance. Here, Warren-Thomas et al. use forest and agricultural data for Cambodia to show that carbon prices of $30–$51 per tCO
2
are needed to match forest protection costs.
Journal Article
Lavender essential oil induces oxidative stress which modifies the bacterial membrane permeability of carbapenemase producing Klebsiella pneumoniae
Misuse of antibiotics in the clinical and agricultural sectors has caused the emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR)
Klebsiella pneumoniae
which contributes a threat to human health. In this study, we assessed the feasibility of lavender essential oil (LVO) as an antimicrobial agent in combinatory therapy with meropenem in suppressing the growth of carbapenemase-producing
K
.
pneumoniae
(KPC-KP). Synergistic interactions between LVO and meropenem were detected, which significantly reduce the inhibitory concentration of both LVO and meropenem by 15 and 4-fold respectively. Comparative proteomic profiling identified a disruption in the bacterial membrane via oxidative stress that was indicated by loss of membrane and cytoplasmic proteins and the upregulation of oxidative regulators. As a proof of concept, zeta potential measurements showed a change in cell surface charge while outer membrane permeability measurement indicated an increase in membrane permeability following exposure to LVO. This was indicative of a disrupted outer membrane. Ethidium bromide influx/efflux assays demonstrated no significant efflux pump inhibition by LVO, and scanning electron microscopy revealed irregularities on the cell surface after exposure to LVO. Oxidative stress was also detected with increased level of ROS and lipid peroxidation in LVO-treated cells. In conclusion, our data suggest that LVO induced oxidative stress in
K
.
pneumoniae
which oxidizes the outer membrane, enabling the influx of generated ROS, LVO and meropenem into the bacterial cells, causing damage to the cells and eventually death.
Journal Article
Reviewing and benchmarking ecological modelling practices in the context of land use
Despite habitat loss and degradation are the primary drivers of biodiversity loss, different conclusions have been drawn about the importance of land‐use or land‐cover (LULC) change for biodiversity. Differences may be due to the difficulty of framing a coherent model design to assess LULC effects. Recommendations have previously been identified for the design of statistical models and failing to follow them can risk misidentification of drivers, misinterpretation of predictions, overconfidence, high uncertainty, and incorrect management recommendations. We review modelling practices in statistical models assessing biodiversity responses to LULC, and investigated relationships between modelling practices and citations by scientific articles and policy documents. We benchmarked practices across model approaches, political extents, and objectives. From 346 model applications, we found that more than half of the model applications have justified ecologically‐relevant predictors, have used 1 km² or lower LULC spatial resolution, have used fine LULC thematic resolutions, performed validation or communicated uncertainty. However, we found that the model approach and political extent were strong determinants of the misuse of modelling recommendations. Top–down models followed less frequently three recommendations out of six, compared to other model approaches. Global studies used coarser LULC thematic and spatial resolution than studies at other extents, and thus potentially underestimated the relationships between LULC and biodiversity. Global studies were however more frequently cited by both scientific studies and policy documents. Modelling recommendations are not universally applied, especially because of methodological tradeoff, technical difficulties in their applications and data requirements. However, the multiples risks associated with the misuse of modelling recommendations, particularly in large‐scale modelling exercises, raise concerns on model interpretation and policy support from science, regarding the impacts of LULC on biodiversity.
Journal Article
Rubber's inclusion in zero‐deforestation legislation is necessary but not sufficient to reduce impacts on biodiversity
Agricultural commodity production is a major driver of tropical deforestation and biodiversity loss. Natural rubber from Hevea brasiliensis , a valuable commodity without viable substitutes, has recently been included in the European Union (EU) deforestation regulation that aims to halt imports of goods containing embedded deforestation. Sustained growth in demand for rubber is driven by increasing tire production, caused by rising transport flows and personal car ownership. We show that average natural rubber yields remain static, meaning 2.7–5.3 million ha of additional plantations could be needed by 2030 to meet demand. A systematic literature search identified 106 case studies concerning transitions to and from rubber, revealing that substantial rubber plantation area expansion since 2010 has occurred at the expense of natural forest. Eliminating deforestation from rubber supply chains requires support for millions of smallholder growers to maintain or increase production from existing plantations, without land or water degradation. Supply chain traceability efforts offer opportunities to deliver such support. While the inclusion of rubber in EU legislation is a positive step, it is critical to ensure that smallholders are not marginalized to avoid exacerbating poverty, and that other markets follow suit to avoid displacement of rubber‐driven deforestation to unregulated markets.
Journal Article
Large-scale α-diversity patterns in plants and ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) indicate a high biodiversity conservation value of China's restored temperate forest landscapes
Aim Following the near‐complete destruction of China's forest ecosystems during the 20th century, recent reforestation programmes have created large‐scale mosaics of protected secondary and plantation forests. These restored forests are often assumed to have limited biodiversity conservation value, but large‐scale evaluations of their diversity are lacking. In our study, we compared α‐diversity and species dissimilarity patterns of vascular plants and ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in restored secondary and plantation forests to remnant mature forests across north‐eastern temperate China. We also assessed functional traits of beetles and cross‐taxon diversity links to evaluate differences in ecosystem functioning among forest types. Location . Northeast China. Methods Vascular plant and ground beetle assemblages were recorded in 159 temperate forest plots. The α‐diversity and species compositional dissimilarity of these taxa and the functional traits of beetles were compared between plantation, secondary and mature forest ecosystems. Results Herbaceous plant species richness peaked in mature forests, while carabid and woody plant diversity did not differ between forest types. Species dissimilarity of carabids was lowest in mature forests and highest in plantation forests. Mature forest contained the highest proportion of carnivorous beetles and secondary forests of large‐bodied carabids. Carabid diversity and woody plant species richness were positively correlated in mature forests, but not in secondary or plantation forests. Main conclusions While China's mature forests show a great conservation value in harbouring highly diverse herbaceous plant assemblages and an abundance of distinct invertebrate trait groups such as small predatory carabids, China's restored temperate forests also support a high diversity of woody plants and carabids. Overall, our findings offer an encouraging conservation message for biodiversity conservation in China and demonstrate the importance of policy measures that ensure effective long‐term protection of both, China's remnant mature forests, but also its new forest ecosystems.
Journal Article