The PREDICTS project—Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/our-work/biodiversity/predicts.html)—has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity.

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of climate change on the geographical distribution of selected native species from two areas from West Asia and North Africa. Three species representing two genera were selected for assessment of their vulnerability to climate change. The first species was Salsola vermiculata L. which is common to both study areas. The second genus was represented by two species, Haloxylon salicornicum (Moq.) Bunge from the Syrian rangelands and H. schmittianum Pomel from southern Tunisia. To assess the vulnerability of these species to climate change we used ecological-based models. The data inputs were composed of the species occurrence data and the environmental data which included eight climatic layers, three soil property layers in addition to an altitude layer. Since environmental parameters only enable assessing the sensitivity of target species to climate change, a grazing pressure layer was used to assess the species vulnerability. Only climatic parameters were considered as changing across three periods; current situation, 2020 and 2050. The main results indicated that threatened range species, such as S. vermiculata which were subjected to continuous grazing pressure, showed high vulnerability to climate change as expressed by the predicted decrease in the areas of their distribution. However, species with low palatability and broad ecological niches (i.e. H. salicornicum and H. schmittianum) had an advantage due to the reduced competition for water and nutrients. An adaptation strategy to increase the resilience of the most vulnerable species should involve management of grazing pressure and the establishment of other mitigation measures.

The growing demand for native planting material in ecological restoration and rehabilitation for agro-silvo-pastoral ecosystems has resulted in a major global industry in their sourcing, multiplication, and sale. Plant tissue culture is used for producing high-quality, disease-free, and true-to-type plants at a fast rate. Micropropagation can help to meet the increasing demand for planting material and afforestation programs. However, in vitro plant propagation is an expensive technique compared to conventional methods using suckers, seeds, and cuttings. Therefore, adopting measures to lower production costs without compromising plant quality is essential. This can be achieved by improving the culture media composition. Incorporating organic growth additives can stimulate tissue growth and increase the number of shoots, leaves, and roots in culture media. Organic growth supplementation speeds up the formation and development of cultures and yields vigorous plants. Plant regeneration from meristems (shoot tips and axillary buds) is a reliable way to produce true-to-type plants compared with callus and somatic embryogenesis regeneration, but in vitro culture environments can be mutagenic. Therefore, detecting somaclonal variations at an early stage of development is considered crucial in propagating plants. The genetic stability of in vitro regenerated plants needs to be ascertained by using DNA-based molecular markers. This review aims to provide up-to-date research progress on incorporating organic growth additives to enhance in vitro tissue culture protocols and to emphasize the importance of using PCR-based molecular markers such as RAPD, ISSR, SSR, and SCoT. The review was assessed based on the peer-reviewed works published in scientific databases including Science Direct, Scopus, Springer, JSTOR, onlinelibrary, and Google Scholar.

Despite the importance of fodder shrubs to small ruminant diets and production in arid and semi-arid ecosystems, they are often not considered when quantifying grazing land potential. This oversight is mainly due to the time consuming and costly traditional techniques used to estimate shrub biomass. The shrub fodder component should be measured to avoid underestimation of the carrying capacity of rangelands. In this study, we present a fast, reliable and non-destructive method to estimate canopy vegetation cover to obtain aboveground shrub biomass. The experiment was conducted under field conditions in northwest Syria, where seedlings of seven shrub species were monitored for one year: Atriplex leucoclada (Moq.) Boiss., A. halimus L., A. lentiformis (Torr.) S. Watson, A. canescens (Pursh) Nutt., A. nummularia Lindl., Salsola vermiculata L. and Haloxylon aphyllum (C.A. Meyer) Bunge. The experimental layout was a randomized complete block design with five replications. We explored the effectiveness of digital vegetation charting technique (DVCT) for estimating shrub canopy cover. Aboveground shrub biomass was clipped to estimate the dry matter (DM) weight per species and to determine its relationship to canopy cover. In this study, an estimate of greenness (percent green vegetation cover) was extracted by way of greenness algorithms. Simple linear regressions between vegetation cover and biomass for 210 plots were performed. The cover of the seven species differed (P < 0.01): A. leucoclada had the highest vegetation cover (56%) and H. aphyllum the lowest (7%). Vegetation cover and DM biomass were positively correlated (P < 0.01) with R-squared ranging from 0.66 (H. aphyllum) to 0.84 (S. vermiculata). Our method provided reasonable estimations of canopy coverage which could predict aboveground phytomass. We conclude that DVCT offers a rapid, reliable and consistent measurement of shrub cover and biomass provided that shrubs have open architecture. This study shows the potential of digital cameras and image processing to determine cover/biomass in a non-destructive, timely and cost efficient way.

Study of appropriate planting time and response to agronomic management practices is imperative for the newly introduced cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill.) into a semi-arid region of India. Responses of cactus pear to agronomic practices (planting time and irrigation and fertilizer application) were evaluated to determine the potential for fodder production and livestock feed in a semi-arid environment of India. We assessed four planting times (February, March, July and October) and two agronomic managements (with and without irrigation and fertilizer application) during 2016–2020 at Jhansi, India. Cactus pear establishment and growth improved with planting time in July and October due to favorable soil moisture and congenial temperature. However, plant height (19 cm) and cladode weight (118 g) were greater in July than in October planting. Nutrient uptake and crude protein contents, however, were higher for the earlier plantings of February and April compared to June and October. Irrigation and nutrients application had little effect on the cactus pear plant growth, except on plant width and cladode length and width. Cactus pear can be planted during July in moderately fertile soils without any agronomic intervention in semi-arid situations of India and has potential as an effective alternative source of forage for livestock during the summer months.