Cedrus deodara is a coniferous tree native to Himalayan region. Its wood is a valuable resource for the timber industry; however, its bark is typically discarded as a waste material. The present study examines the performance of Cedrus deodara bark powder (CD) as an inexpensive adsorbent for elimination of Pb (II) ions. In addition to this multiple linear regression (MLR) and artificial neural network (ANN) models were developed for modelling the adsorption process and prediction of Pb (II) removal efficiency. The structural and chemical properties of CD were explored using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM), Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS), X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Batch experiments were conducted to investigate the influence of factors including pH, contact time, initial Pb (II) concentration and temperature on Pb (II) adsorption. The adsorption followed pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm models with maximum monolayer uptake capacity 77.52 mg/g. Based on the thermodynamic criteria, the process was endothermic and spontaneous with enthalpy change (ΔH = 8.08 kJ/mol), free energy change (ΔG = -2.44 kJ/mol) and entropy change (ΔS = 0.03 kJ/K/mol). Statistical comparison of MLR model (R2 = 0.817, RMSE = 8.954, MAPE = 17.379 %) and ANN model (R2 = 0.993, RMSE = 1.777, MAPE = 2.054 %) confirmed that ANN model was far more accurate in predicting removal efficiency.

Pinus gerardiana is considered an important species in dry temperate forests of North-Western Indian Himalaya because of its influence on ecological processes and economic dependence of local people in the region. But, large numbers of biotic and abiotic factors have affected P. gerardiana in these forests; hence, there is a crucial need to understand the regeneration dynamics of this tree species. The present investigation was conducted in P. gerardiana forests to understand vegetation pattern and regeneration processes on different sites in the region. Statistical analysis was performed to know variability in growing stock and regeneration on sample plots, while correlation coefficients and regression models were developed to find the relationship between regeneration and site factors. The vegetation study showed dominance of P. gerardiana, which is followed by Cedrus deodara, Pinus wallichiana and Quercus ilex in the region. The growing stock of P. gerardiana showed steep increasing and then steadily declining trend from lower to higher diameter class. The distribution of seedling, sapling, pole and trees was not uniform at different sites and less number of plots in each site were observed to have effective conditions for continuous regeneration, but mostly showed extremely limited regeneration. Regeneration success ranging from 8.44 to 15.93 % was recorded in different sites of the region, which suggests that in different sites regeneration success is influenced by collection of cone for extracting seed, grazing/browsing and physico-chemical properties of soil. Regeneration success showed significant correlation and relationship with most of abiotic and biotic factors. The regeneration success is lower than the requirement of sustainable forest, but varies widely among sites in dry temperate forests of Himalaya. More forest surveys are required to understand the conditions necessary for greater success of P. gerardiana in the region.

This study evaluated the effect of wood extracts from Tectona grandis, Dalbergia sissoo, Cedrus deodara, and Pinus roxburghii combined with linseed oil as protectants of two non-durable wood species against the termite, Heterotermes indicola. Heartwood blocks (19 × 19 × 19 mm) and wood shavings were extracted using an ethanol/toluene (2:1) solvent system. Results of choice and no-choice tests with solvent-extracted and non-extracted heartwood blocks showed greater wood mass loss from termite feeding on solvent-extracted blocks compared with non-extracted blocks for all wood species. Significantly higher termite mortality was observed after termite exposure to non-extracted blocks compared with extracted blocks for all durable species. Sapwood blocks of two non-durable wood species (southern pine and cottonwood) were vacuum/pressure impregnated separately with each of the four types of extract at a concentration of 7.5 mg ml⁻¹, linseed oil (20%) and a mixture of oil (20%) and extracts (4.25 mg ml⁻¹) for the laboratory and field tests. Results showed that extract-oil mixture imparted significantly higher termite resistance compared with linseed or extracts alone under laboratory conditions. This apparent synergistic effect was clearly noted when linseed oil was combined with extracts from T. grandis or D. sissoo followed by an extract-oil mixture using C. deodara. These extract oil mixtures showed significantly less weight loss for the treated non-durable wood species and higher termite mortality (83–100%) compared with the control treatments and other extract-linseed oil mixtures tested. Treatment of both non-durable wood species with T. grandis + oil and D. sissoo + oil prevented termite damage compared with other treatments when blocks and stakes were exposed in the field for a period of 2 years. Results of the current study indicated that a mixture of a particular heartwood extract with linseed oil has potential to be used as environmentally friendly wood protectants.

Background, aim, and scope Carbonyl compounds have been paid more and more attention because some carbonyl species have been proven to be carcinogenic or a risk for human health. Plant leaves are both an important emission source and an important sink of carbonyl compounds. But the research on carbonyl compounds from plant leaves is very scarce. In order to make an approach to the emission mechanism of plant leaves, a new method was established to extract carbonyl compounds from fresh plant leaves. Materials, methods, and results The procedure combining derivatization with ultrasonication was developed for the fast extraction of carbonyl compounds from tree leaves. Fresh leaves (< 0.01 g) were minced and ultrasonicated in acidic 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH)-acetonitrile solution for 30 min and then holding 30 min to allow aldehydes and ketones in leaves to react completely with DNPH. Conclusions The extraction process was performed under room temperature and only took 60 min. The advantages of this method were very little sample preparation, requiring short treatment time and usual equipment. Four greening trees, i.e., camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora), sweet olive (Osmanthus fragrans), cedar (Cedrus deodara), and dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides), were selected and extracted by this method. Seven carbonyl compounds, including formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone, acrolein, p-tolualdehyde, m/o-tolualdehyde, and hexaldehyde were determined and quantified. The most common carbonyl species of the four tree leaves were formaldehyde, acrolein, and m/o-tolualdehyde. They accounted for 67.3% in cedar, 50.8% in sweet olive, 45.8% in dawn redwood, and 44.6% in camphor tree, respectively. Camphor tree had the highest leaf level of m/o-tolualdehyde with 15.0 ± 3.4 µg g⁻¹(fresh leaf weight), which indicated that camphor tree may be a bioindicator of the level of tolualdehyde or xylene in the atmosphere. By analyzing carbonyl compounds from different tree leaves, it is not only helpful for further studying the relationship between sink and emission of carbonyls from plants, but also helpful for exploring optimum plant population in urban greening.

PURPOSE: The aim of this work was to investigate the possibility of using several bush and arboreal plant species, usually present as ornamental plants in street and parks, as environmental indicators of pollution. This is a research paper that evaluates the real possibility of using a fast and low-cost procedure to evaluate the pollution degree through data obtained from plant species growing within an urban environment. METHODS: Leaves of six different bush and arboreal species were collected from different parts of Madrid (Spain), ranging from highly polluted considered areas to medium and low contaminated ones. A total of 66 chemical elements, from major to minor and trace, were determined for every leaf sample by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Statistical analyses were carried out using mainly box and whisker plots, linear discriminant analysis and cluster analysis. RESULTS: The pollution by different elements of the studied areas of Madrid cannot be considered generally dangerous for human health. The level detected for the contaminants, in general, is similar or lower than other urban cities. Pb and V concentrations in plant samples tend to increase as traffic density increases. The different studied plant species showed a different capability of accumulation of certain elements. Cedrus deodara accumulates specially Ag, Hg, Mo and V; Cupressus sempervirens, Zr; Pinus pinea, As and Sb; Nerium oleander Ni, Pb, Mo and Se; Ligustrum ovalifolium, Sc and V; and Pittosporum tobira, Ag, Cd, Rb and Sc. CONCLUSIONS: The leaves and needles collected from bush and arboreal plants common in this city have demonstrated to be useful to evaluate the level of pollution not only through the chemical analysis but also through the recognition of the visual injury symptoms. The application of multivariate statistical techniques combined with determining of element concentration and correlation analysis has been proved to be an effective tool for reach the objectives of the present work. This allows visualising quickly the damages and leading the sampling through the points of high-level pollution, saving analysis, time and money.