Trees can improve air quality, but at the same time, pollution might put them at risk. Plane(Platanus orientalis L) and willow trees (Salix babylonicaL) are important trees in the green space of Tehran. Plane trees in Tehran have experienced early autumn in recent years due to severe air pollution. The present study, investigated some physiological traits of these trees under study to determine...

A primary constraint on effective conservation of migratory animals is our inability to track individuals through their annual cycle. One such animal is the endangered southwestern subspecies of the Willow Flycatcher, which is difficult to distinguish from conspecifics. Identifying wintering regions used by the endangered subspecies would be an important step in formulating an effective conserv...

In atherogenic diet induced hyperlipidemic model, the rats receiving treatment with the aqueous extract of the leaves of E. prostrata showed significant reduction in total cholesterol, triglyceride, total protein and elevation in high density lipoprotein cholesterol. The aqueous extract of E. prostrata was found to possess significant hypolipidemic activity. The results also suggest that E. pro...

We carried out a quantitative assessment of the consumption of herbaceous plants by Opatrumsabulosum (Linnaeus, 1761) - a highly significant agricultural pest species. We researched the feeding preferences of this pest species with respect to 33 uncultivated and 22 cultivated plant species. This species of darkling beetle feeds on many uncultivated plant species, including those with hairy leav...

Herbivory, mechanical injury or pathogen infestation to vegetative tissues can induce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) production, which can provide defensive functions to injured and uninjured plants. In our studies with 'McNeal' wheat, 'Otana' oat, and 'Harrington' barley, plants that were mechanically injured, attacked by either of two Oulema spp. (melanopus or cyanella) beetles, or infecte...

Genetic modifications of trees may provide many benefits, e.g. increase production, and mitigate climate change and herbivore impacts on forests. However, genetic modifications sometimes result in unintended effects on innate traits involved in plant-herbivore interactions. The importance of intentional changes in plant defence relative to unintentional changes and the natural variation among c...

Salix matsudana is a large and rapidly-growing tree, with erect or spreading branchlets (upright willow). However, S. matsudana var. pseudomatsudana is one of the varietas, with pendulous branchlets (weeping willow). It has high ornamental value for its graceful pendulous branches. In order to study the molecular basis for this weeping trait, leaves and stems collected at different developmenta...

The phenology of arctic ecosystems is driven primarily by abiotic forces, with temperature acting as the main determinant of growing season onset and leaf budburst in the spring. However, while the plant species in arctic ecosystems require differing amounts of accumulated heat for leaf-out, dynamic vegetation models simulated over regional to global scales typically assume some average leaf-ou...

A decline in the stature and abundance of willows during the 20th century occurred throughout the northern range of Yellowstone National Park, where riparian woody-plant communities are key components in multiple-trophic-level interactions. The potential causes of willow decline include climate change, increased elk browsing coincident with the loss of an apex predator, the gray wolf, and an ab...

Corn flea beetles, Chaetocnema pulicaria, vector Erwinia stewartii (synamorph Pantoea stewartii), which causes Stewart’s bacterial wilt of corn (Zea mays) (10,11). Flea beetles introduce E. stewartii into plant tissues that are wounded during feeding. Movement of E. stewartii in the vascular system of resistant plants is restricted to within a few centimeters of flea beetle feeding wounds. The ...