Search

Abstract: Field studies of biodegradable polymerized vegetable oil-coated paper mulches were conducted to determine if these could replace non-degradable polyethylene mulches for stopping weeds and promoting growth of cottonwood trees. Tests were conducted over two growing seasons in two adjacent field sites in southeastern Missouri. At the end of the 2001 season, eastern cottonwood trees grown on the coated paper mulches had average heights (4.57–4.66m, 15.0–15.3ft), which were not significantly different from the control black polyethylene mulch (4.75m, 15.6ft). Tree heights were significantly less for uncoated paper mulch (4.45m, 14.6ft) or no mulch (3.90m, 12.8ft), presumably due to heavy weed growth around the trees. Uncoated paper mulch was extensively degraded after only about 4 weeks, while the coated paper persisted until the fall. Addition of ZnO to the oil coating delayed the onset of visible degradation, such as the formation of holes and tears, especially near the buried edge and above the drip tube. Similar results were seen for the 2002 study except that weed growth was not extensive so that tree heights for the mulched and bare plots were not significantly different. These results suggest that polymerized vegetable oil-coated paper mulches can function as effective mulches during the first year of tree growth, and thus, eliminate the need to use non-degradable polyethylene mulches. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The first overview is presented of the paper contents of Kew’s Economic Botany Collections (EBC). There are more than 350 specimens of paper representing nearly 50 plant families and more than a hundred genera. The dominant families numerically – and each for different reasons – are the Moraceae, Gramineae, Thymelaeaceae and Cyperaceae, examples from which are highlighted. Some emphasis is given to the historical context and geographical origin of papers, and to the people who collected or donated them. It is suggested that one focus of a future collecting strategy for the EBC should be the sorts of plant products, including papers, that are under threat due to losses of cultural diversity or biological diversity, or both. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the high production of forest products in Finland according to the Finnish Forest Industries Federation. Increase in the productivity of the pulp and paper industry; Operating rate in the paper industry.

While interest in land use in the prehistoric periods in Italy has received attention, that cannot be said of the Post-Medieval period. The general view is that all activities and objects from the last 300–500 years or so are so indecipherable from their contemporary counterparts and that there is no need to study them. There is, in fact, very little Post-Medieval archaeological work done in the south of Italy, which is the focus of this paper. The landscape of southern Calabria has changed radically over the centuries. The distribution of dense macchia forests was diminished in the late 18th and 19th centuries for building railroads and ships, and more recently, arson has been used as social or political revenge. The removal of the macchia led to erosional landscapes and the loss of archaeological footprints. This paper explores agricultural practices and forest exploitation in the early 19th and 20th centuries by the citizens of Bova to better understand the social and economic dynamics that continue to influence the lives of people living in the community. It utilizes cadastral records, archival documents from the early 1800–1900s, and spatial analysis to better understand the potential economic and social dynamics in this community. Consideration is also given to how social status and power, represented by Church-owned vs. lay citizen-owned properties, was reflected in local land use. The overall paucity of archaeological materials from this period across the landscape supports and complicates the overall picture while also supporting an interpretation of a very local and insular community poorly integrated into the greater Italian economy of the day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's experiences as the editor-in-chief of the journal "Economic Botany" and provides brief information about the operational settings in the publication of this journal. During the last year's meetings of the Society for Economic Botany, the owner of this journal, held in Canterbury, Connecticut, the author was asked to head the journal's editorial board. He appraises the intellects of several of his colleagues, botanists and their contributions. During the conference, the journal's shape, size and scope were decided. Discussions were conducted to design the journal more analytic, more scientific and less descriptive. The author is planning to ask the Society's Council at the next annual meeting to mandate that all manuscripts must be submitted electronically and that manuscripts submitted in paper form will be automatically rejected. He guarantee that each submitted manuscripts will be react carefully. The author's future goal is to enhance the journal as a lively, compelling and quoted journal.

Copyright of Boletín de la Sociedad Argentina de Botánica is the property of Sociedad Argentina de Botanica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Immigrant farmers from Southeast Asia have brought knowledge of tropical fruit and vegetable production from their home countries to Homestead, Florida. They have developed a new style of farming, one that most closely resembles agricultural systems described as “homegardens.” Although biodiverse agricultural systems are generally thought to be commercially unviable, homegarden farmers successfully manage crop diversity as an economic strategy. By focusing on growing a mixture of specialty Southeast Asian herbs, fruits, and vegetables, the farmers have created their own economic niche and have shielded themselves from the competition of high-volume, single commodity producers. This paper shows that the Homestead homegardens constitute an alternative form of agriculture that is defined by their agroecological and socioeconomic attributes. It also shows that although the homegarden farms are a form of “alternative agriculture,” they do not operate outside of conventional, global systems of agricultural trade; rather the homegarden farms are embedded in global agriculture. The Homestead case problematizes the tendency to delineate between the global and local scales, and alternative and conventional sectors in agriculture today. This paper concludes that the emergence of the Homestead homegardens can only be understood by taking a place-based approach to studying the environment in which the homegardens are situated as well as identifying the large-scale influences on Miami-Dade County. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the abundance and Aboriginal use of botanical non-timber forest products in the Gwich`in Settlement Area in the Northwest Territories, Canada. Informants indicated that wild berries are important to Gwich`in diets and an important factor in culture and traditional land use. People collected mostly cloudberries (Rubus chamaemorus), blueberries (Vaccinium uliginosum), and lingonberries (Vaccinium Vitis-idaea). The total quantities collected were estimated to be greater than other published accounts of berry gathering by northern Aboriginal peoples in North America. The total collected by the 450 households in the year 2000 was about 16,000 L. Inventories of wild berries on the landscape suggest that substantial quantities could be collected for commercial production, although the between-year supply can show considerable variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While interest in land use in the prehistoric periods in Italy has received attention, that cannot be said of the Post-Medieval period. The general view is that all activities and objects from the last 300–500 years or so are so indecipherable from their contemporary counterparts and that there is no need to study them. There is, in fact, very little Post-Medieval archaeological work done in the south of Italy, which is the focus of this paper. The landscape of southern Calabria has changed radically over the centuries. The distribution of dense macchia forests was diminished in the late 18th and 19th centuries for building railroads and ships, and more recently, arson has been used as social or political revenge. The removal of the macchia led to erosional landscapes and the loss of archaeological footprints. This paper explores agricultural practices and forest exploitation in the early 19th and 20th centuries by the citizens of Bova to better understand the social and economic dynamics that continue to influence the lives of people living in the community. It utilizes cadastral records, archival documents from the early 1800–1900s, and spatial analysis to better understand the potential economic and social dynamics in this community. Consideration is also given to how social status and power, represented by Church-owned vs. lay citizen-owned properties, was reflected in local land use. The overall paucity of archaeological materials from this period across the landscape supports and complicates the overall picture while also supporting an interpretation of a very local and insular community poorly integrated into the greater Italian economy of the day.

Copyright of Ekonomika APK is the property of Economy of Argo-Industrial Complex and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The purpose of this paper, on the occasion of the 125 anniversary of The New York Botanical Garden, is to provide an overview of NYBG's graduate studies program along with updated information since the last major review of the program, 25 years ago. Graduate student education has always been, and continues to be, a core mission of The New York Botanical Garden. The program is affiliated six major universities: the City University of New York, Columbia University, New York University, Yale University, Cornell University, and Fordham University. In the 125 year history of the program, the Garden has produced more than 300 graduates, including 216 Ph.D.s and 87 Master's degrees. Students have focused on floristics, systematics, structural botany, and economic botany; the program has evolved to keep up with the continuous changes in science, with students using the most modern techniques to study plant diversity. Since 1996, the program has produced 93 graduates, including 81 Ph.D.s and 12 Master's degrees; the Garden's affiliation with Yale's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies has produced a dozen graduates; and the Garden's affiliation with Fordham University, which was reinitiated in 2008, has produced its first graduates. With the growth of the Cullman Program for Molecular Systematics and the Genomics Program in the mid-1990s, student research projects began to incorporate molecular biology (primarily based on DNA sequencing) and to address questions related to genome evolution and evolutionary developmental biology. Technological advances have also changed economic botany research. On the 125 anniversary of NYBG, the hallmark of the graduate studies program is its excellence in teaching and training, with students continuing to integrate data from modern and traditional sources to better understand plant diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Boletín de la Sociedad Argentina de Botánica is the property of Sociedad Argentina de Botanica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Exchange of duplicate specimens was an important element of the relationship between metropolitan and regional museums in the period 1870–1940. Evidence of transfers of botanical museum objects such as economic botany specimens is explored for the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and six museums outside the capital: Cambridge University Botanical Museum, National Museum Wales, Glasgow Museums, Liverpool World Museum, Manchester Museum and Warrington Museum. Botany became an important element in these museums soon after their foundation, sometimes relying heavily on Kew material as in the case of Glasgow and Warrington, and usually with a strong element of economic botany (except in the case of Cambridge). Patterns of exchange depended on personal connections and rarely took the form of symmetrical relationships. Botanical displays declined in importance at various points between the 1920s and 1960s, and today only Warrington Museum has a botanical gallery open to the public. However, botanical objects are finding new roles in displays on subjects such as local history, history of collections, natural history and migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Objective] The paper was to explore ecological effect of paddy field rotation on reducing disease, pests and weeds of rice. [Method] With long-term continuous cropping rice as control, according to field location experiments for consecutive 14 years, the effects of paddy field rotation on diseases, pests and weeds of rice were studied in details. [Result] Paddy field rotation in some extent could reduce diseases, pests and weeds of rice. The diseased plant rate and disease index of rice sheath blight in early rice under paddy field rotation treatment were averagely 10% and 0.4% lower than those in continuous cropping treatment, respectively. The diseased plant rate and disease index of rice sheath blight in late rice were 17.7% and 13.3% lower than those in treatments with continuous cropping mode, respectively. The diseased plant rate and disease index of rice false smut in both early rice and late rice under rotation treatments were lower than those in treatments with continuous cropping mode. White leaf rate caused by rice leaf roller and dry heart rate caused by striped rice borer under rotation treatments were significantly lower than those under continuous cropping treatment. The growth status of weeds under rotation treatments was weaker than that under continuous cropping treatment. [Conclusion] The paper has important significance on alleviating diseases, pests and weeds of rice and improvement of ecological environment of farmland, and provides theoretical basis for sustainable development of agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyrethrum flowers are the world's well-known effective natural insecticides. This paper deals with the origin, early history, introduction of the crop in India and the causes of its failure in the country. The advantages and disadvantages of natural pyrethrin over the synthetic pyrethrins and other insecticides are elaborated. Pyrethrum is used in negligible quantity in India and is mostly imported and re-exported for profitable business purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systematic archaeobotanical analysis, conducted in conjunction with archaeological enquiry at Australian archaeological sites, is still rare despite recent developments. It is still rarer that previously analysed macrobotanical assemblages are revisited over time. Extending on macrobotanical research conducted by McConnell in 1997, this paper presents the results of a recent analysis of Carpenter's Gap 1 non-woody macrobotanical remains (seeds, fruits, nuts, and other floristic elements) from the deepest square with the longest chronology, Square A2. Over 47,000 years of time is represented in the sequence, and excellent chronological control, coupled with preservation of carbonised and desiccated macrobotanical remains in the earliest cultural units, allows an examination of plant exploitation over time and human responses/adaptations to periods of documented climatic instability. Carpenter's Gap 1 macrobotanical remains show that diet, subsistence, and site occupation were intimately associated with botanical resources derived from ecologically productive monsoon rainforest environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes data on the contribution of homegardens to the livelihoods of rural people in Nhema communal area, Zimbabwe. Variables analyzed were plant use and diversity, homegarden input, benefit, and income generation. Data were collected through plant inventories, direct observations, semi-structured and open-ended questionnaires, and interviews. A total of 69 plant species were identified as being important to local livelihoods, either for domestic use or for trading in the local market. Tubers, vegetables, and fruit trees were the most important plant use categories. Food production was found to be the primary function of homegardens, almost all of them being subsistence production systems. Homegardens were an important occupation for rural people, with an average labor investment of 48 h per family per month. Although homegarden production provides a small source of income, it is particularly important for poor households to overcome adversity and meet basic needs. The results of this study demonstrate that properly managed homegardens can improve people's livelihoods and quality of life, reduce poverty, and foster economic growth into the future on a sustainable basis. Some homegardens have extensive collections of plant biodiversity, hence revealing the potential of homegardens in conserving useful plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An effective computer generation method is presented in this paper to more perfectly and rapidly generate the random distribution domains with large numbers of grains (pores). At first, the geometries of heterogeneous grains and the stationary random distribution model with large numbers of grains are defined. Second, the effective computer generation method, including compactness algorithm and selection algorithm, is described in detail. Then the effectiveness of the generation method and the comparison with the take-and-place method are given, and some examples with different geometries of grains in 2- and 3-dimension cases are illustrated. The computer generation method in this paper has been applied to the computation of effective heat transfer behavior for the composites of the random distribution with large numbers of grains, and some numerical results are demonstrated. The generation method in this paper is able to make the generated samples hold better stochastic property, and it is also suitable to generating samples subjected to non-uniform probability model. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The incorporation of small amounts of pyrethroid-based preservatives (Organic solvent-based permethrin (OSP), Water-based permethrin (WP) and deltamethrin) into particleboards made from latex timber clone rubberwood (RRIM 2002) (Hevea brasiliensis), empty fruit bunches (EFB) of oil pahn (Eleasis guineensis) and rubberwood + EFB (70:30 parts) blend through spraying during blending of furnish significantly increased the resistance of the boards to white rot (Pycnoporous sanguineus) and subterranean termite (Coptotermes curvignathus) attacks. This paper discusses the physical and mechanical properties of the pyrethroid-treated particleboards. These properties were compared with those of boric acid-treated and untreated particleboards. The preservative treatment did not significantly affect the internal bond (IB) and modulus of rupture (MOR) of rubberwood and rubberwood + EFB blend particleboards. However, the modulus of elasticity (MOE) of these boards increased when treated with either WP, or OSP. For the EFB boards, all pyrethroid compounds reduced the IB of the board whereas the MOR and MOE were either reduced or unaffected. However, the thickness swelling (TS) of rubberwood particleboard, improved when treated with all the pyrethroid-based preservatives, whilst the other two types of boards were less stable when treated with OSP or WP. Among the three types of particleboards, the mechanical properties of EFB particleboards were affected most by the pyrethroid treatments. The mechanical and physical properties of treated particleboards from rubberwood and admixture were comparable or better than those of the untreated particleboards. Boric acid treatment reduced the MOR of all particleboards but other properties were either improved or unaffected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding of the gathering of nontimber forest products (NTFPs) in woodlands has focused heavily on politics surrounding public lands and harvester communities. Yet forest gathering may be far more universal. This paper reports the results of a survey of residents in New England, querying whether people gather wild things and for what purposes. The results suggest that gathering in New England, and elsewhere in the developed world, is not restricted to a unique type of community or economy, but instead is a form of practice. Those analytical approaches to NTFPs that seek to produce ‘alternatives’ to the dominant economy may therefore ironically work to reinforce a capitalocentric view of daily life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents findings from a study that assessed influence of continuous application of a particular traditional tillage practice on weed species richness, diversity and composition and identifies weed species with positive benefits to the communities in semi-arid areas of Mpwapwa district, central Tanzania. In this area farmers apply three different traditional tillage practices which are no-till (NT), shallow tillage (ST) and Ridging System (RT). A total of 36 farm fields were surveyed in 2006/2007 cropping season where 63 weed species from 26 families were identified. Analysis of variance indicated significant differences between practices (p < 0.05), with NT practice having highest weed species richness and diversity. Among the five more prevalent weed species appearing, Bidens lineariloba was observed to exist in all the three practices. Community representatives during focus group discussions indicated 9 weed species out of 63 identified to have beneficial uses. These species are Cleome hirta, Amaranthus graecizans, Bidens lineoriloba, Bidens pilosa, Dactyloctenium aegyptium, Launaea cornuta, Heteropogon contortus, Tragus berteronianus and Trichodesma zeylanicum. Their main uses include leaf-vegetable, medicines, fodder and materials for thatching. From this study NT has highest weed species richness and diversity which therefore suggests that much more time is needed for weeding in this practice compared to other practice which was the farmers' concern. It was also noted that although weed species have negative effects in crop production and production costs, they still play a vital role in food security and for the health of different people in marginal areas as well as for the complete ecosystem including micro and macrofauna. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Forest Research is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract: The paper investigates management and cultivar type effects on pearl millet stover yield and fodder quality. Sixteen pearl millet cultivars available to farmers in India were selected to represent three cultivar types: (1) traditional landrace germplasm from the arid/semi-arid millet production zones, (2) improved dual-purpose (grain and stover) open-pollinated varieties incorporating differing amounts of traditional landrace germplasm and (3) commercial, grain-type F1 hybrids, bred for use in the arid/semi-arid zone. The cultivars were grown for 2 years (2000 and 2001) at high fertility (HF: 65kgNha−1 and 18kgPha−1) and low fertility (LF: 21kgNha−1 and 9kgPha−1). Within each fertility level high (HP) and low (LP) plant population densities were established by varying sowing rate and then thinning to the target populations (HP: 11plantsm−2 and LP: 5plantsm−2). Stover fodder quality traits (nitrogen concentration, sugar content, in vitro digestibility and metabolizable energy content) were analyzed using a combination of conventional laboratory analysis and near infrared spectroscopy. In general, fertility level and cultivar type had strong effects on grain and stover yields, and on a range of stover nutritional quality traits, but with significant year interactions. In contrast, the effect of population density on these variables was largely insignificant. Higher fertilizer application significantly increased grain and stover yields and stover nitrogen concentration, in vitro digestibility and metabolizable energy content. As a result, fertilization resulted in significant increases in the yields of both digestible and metabolizable stover. Landrace cultivars as a group produced higher quality fodder than modern hybrids, but at a significant cost in grain yield. Dual-purpose, open-pollinated cultivars were generally intermediate between the landraces and hybrids, in terms of both stover quality and grain yield, but produced the highest yields of both digestible and metabolizable stover. The paper discusses the implications of these findings for Indian pearl millet farmers with various resource levels and farming objectives. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The indigenous people of Australia have a long and well-documented history of using native plants as an essential component of their customary economy. However few have engaged successfully in commerce based on native plant use. Recently there has been an increasing interest in exploring options for use of native plants for food, food additives, botanical medicines, and related purposes. In this paper, we determine the issues important to Aboriginal people in enterprise development utilizing plant products, and we define some of the factors affecting progress in realizing opportunities. The Aboriginal people with whom we have worked appear to prefer small-scale enterprises where they have community ownership of ideas and control of the rate and direction of development. Government could play a larger and more active role through supporting additional research and marketing information, providing training, and better matching policy and legislation to support indigenous development and reduce dependence of welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports a study of paddy vegetation in central Laos. Plants were inventoried and vegetation types classified. Relationships between vegetation and agricultural practices were identified. A total of 184 wild herbaceous species and 17 cultivated species were recorded in two villages. Of the wild species, 19 were used by local people, four were rare species, and three were major weeds. Paddy vegetation was arranged in order of water regime from shorter to longer hydroperiod by DCA. The factors contributing to high species diversity were: (1) the presence of species unique to different paddy types; (2) the presence of remnant species from original vegetation; and (3) the impact of agricultural practices. Thus, at this study site, multiple plant species coexisted in paddy fields under various agricultural practices, and some species were essential sources of food or were used in other ways to support the subsistence livelihoods of local residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Economic Botany is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract. Precision treatment of both crops and weeds requires the accurate identification of both types of plant. However both identification and treatment methods are subject to error and it is important to understand how misclassification errors affect crop yield. This paper describes the use of a conductance growth model to quantify the effect of misclassification errors caused by an image analysis system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the relationships between the dispersal of seeds and the distribution pattern of an annual weed. A comparative study of seed dispersal by combine harvesters, with and without a straw chopper attached, was established using Lolium rigidum, a common weed in Mediterranean cereal crops. Seed dispersal distance was quantified and the relationships between dispersal and fine-scale seedling distribution evaluated. Primary dispersal of L. rigidum seeds occurs in a very limited space around the parent plants, but the density of seed is low because most seeds do not fall from spikes spontaneously. In contrast, many seeds are spread by combine harvesters. In this study the maximum dispersal exceeded 18 m from established stands in cereal fields, although the modal distance was close to the origin. In addition, the action of the combine harvesters tended to accumulate L. rigidum seeds predominantly under the straw swath, with some lateral movement. This action could explain the fine-scale banded pattern of L. rigidum in cereal fields. Although the treatment of straw by the standard and straw chopper combines differed, the resultant seed distribution showed few differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a case study from Jumla District, Nepal, investigating local management systems and ecological sustainability of commercial collection of a medicinal plant, spikenard (Nardostachys grandiflora DC, Valerianaceae), growing in alpine meadows. Interviews were undertaken with local collectors, traders, and district forest office staff, and the dynamics of people–plant interactions are analyzed using the Oakerson model. In all, 110 sample plots 1m square were laid out in three areas with differing collection and grazing pressures for recording of floristic composition and abundance of spikenard root biomass. Comparisons show significantly more root biomass in uncollected than collected areas with local management and the interpretation of differences in abundance is discussed. The combination of qualitative and quantitative investigations can provide a framework for the study of people–plant interactions, and this study can serve as first step in a compilation of cases to create a more detailed picture of local management systems of Nepali nontimber forest products in general and commercially collected medicinal and aromatic plants in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The success of weed management based on ecological principles and weed biology will depend on a better understanding of the effect of environment on lift history strategies, growth, and competition of weeds and crops, and particularly upon the ability to predict weed and crop phenology, This paper reviews the importance of phenotypic plasticity to weed and crop competition and other biological interactions. We also discuss the utility of phenological predictions in weed management and review current weed phenology models that are based on thermal time. By understanding the variables that drive plant phenotypic responses, new approaches and more long-term solutions for weed problems can be developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grain-boundary (GB) structure and properties are usually analyzed in terms of ground-state (minimum-energy) GB states. However, global equilibrium is rarely achieved in materials. In this paper, we investigate the nature of GB metastability and its impact on material properties. Higher-energy GB states can be the result of nonequilibrium processes or simply thermal excitations. While the existence of limited GB metastability is widely known for a few simple GBs, we demonstrate that the multiplicity of metastable GB states is, in general, very large. This conclusion is based upon extensive atomistic bicrystal simulations for both symmetric tilt GBs and twist GBs in three very different materials. The energies of these GB states are densely distributed so that the dependence of the GB energy on misorientation is better described as an energy band rather than as a single curve as in the traditional picture. Based upon the distribution of metastable GB states, we introduce a GB statistical-mechanics picture and apply it to predict finite-temperature equilibrium and nonequilibrium properties. When GB multiplicity exists, GB structures can be thought of as domains of different GB states separated by various classes of line defects. The existence of a large set of metastable GB states, very close in energy, suggests an analogy between the behaviors of GBs and glasses and implies the potential for GB engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the objective was to survey therapeutic plants used by the inhabitants in a coastal region located along Rio de la Plata and between the riverside resort of Bagliardi and La Balandra. Thirty six species used in folk medicine were recorded among them ten are also used as condiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an obituary for Dan F. Austin, long-serving book review editor for the journal and has served on the Society for Economic Botany (SEB) from 1993-1996.

At the end of the eighteenth century and beginning of the 19th, Spain and the Italian States contributed to the development of European agricultural science and the improvement of manufacturing. They collaborated with each other and reworked the most advanced models of France, Central Europe and Great Britain. Despite their somewhat less prosperous economic status, they demonstrated great originality in research and experimentation. In this process, botanical knowledge served as a starting point for a new epistemological path. Through three case studies – the botanists Antonio José Cavanilles and Domenico Nocca, and the agriculturist Filippo Re – my article analyses how Spanish and Italian naturalists and learned individuals contributed to forming the concept of 'economic botany' through the exchange of seeds, plant specimens, books, journals, and – more in general – opinions, becoming germinal forces in a large transnational network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]