BACKGROUND The use of medicinal plants is an option for livestock farmers who are not allowed to use allopathic drugs under certified organic programs or cannot afford to use allopathic drugs for minor health problems of livestock. METHODS In 2003 we conducted semi-structured interviews with 60 participants obtained using a purposive sample. Medicinal plants are used to treat a range of condi...

In areas with high population density, the Eurasian beaver may be forced to utilise sparsely forested landscapes where living conditions not optimal for species. Here, we examine feeding strategy of beavers along a number small (mainly) streams in Czech agricultural landscape. Diet availability these is characterised by lack woody plants but large supply herbaceous vegetation, including crops g...

Bioenergy crops provide a form of renewable energy, contributing to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Short rotation coppice (SRC) bioenergy crops, including willow (Salix spp.) and poplar (Populus spp.) are planted commercially in the UK and more widely across Europe for use in heat and power generation [1] often on set-aside or arable agricultural land. However, available data on yield ...

AP2/ERF genes encode transcriptional regulators with a variety of functions in plant growth and development and in response to biotic and abiotic stresses. To date, there are no detailed classification and expression profiles for AP2/ERF genes in Salix. In this study, a comprehensive computational analysis identified 173 AP2/ERF superfamily genes in willow (Salix arbutifolia), by using in silic...

Herbivory by domestic and wild ungulates can dramatically affect vegetation structure, composition and dynamics in nearly every terrestrial ecosystem of the world. These effects are of particular concern in forests of western North America, where intensive herbivory by native and domestic ungulates has the potential to substantially reduce or eliminate deciduous, highly palatable species of asp...

In a greenhouse experiment, two strains of plant growth promoting rizobacteria (PGPR) mixture of (ICARDA-441 and ARC-202) as seed inoculants, and white willow (Salix alba) extract as foliar and seed treatment were tested for induction systemic acquired resistance (SAR) in faba bean plants against Bean yellow mosaic virus (BYMV). The results demonstrated that BYMV challenged plants emerged from ...

The aim of this study was to investigate and to compare the extractability, bioaccessibility, and bioavailability in vitro of antioxidative compounds from bark of selected Salix species: S. alba (SA), S. daphnoides (SD), S. purpurea (SP), and S. daphnoides x purpurea (SDP) hybrid willow clones originating from their natural habitats and cultivated on the sandy soil. The highest amount of phenol...

Results Mean summer temperature across the study area decreased by 3 C per degree of increasing latitude (6 C across the study area). In the northern part of the study area, where seed viability was low, alder was less dominant than at southern sites where seed viability was high. The age structure of alder populations across the temperature gradient was highly variable, except in the northern ...