A Half-yearly Peer Reviewed Journal of Bangladesh Forest Research Institute
Ecosystem exists at all scales. Ecosystem ranges from a grain of soil to the entire planet and include
forests, rivers, wetlands, grasslands, estuaries and coral reefs. The global economy has seen incredible
growth over recent decades; growth that has been fuelled by the erosion of the planet’s natural assets.
Ecosystem degradation is an environmental problem that diminishes the capacity of species to survive.
Ecological restoration has a growing role in policy aimed at reversing the widespread effects of
environmental degradation that includes activities to assist the recovery of ecosystem structure and
function; and the associated provision of goods and services. On 1st March, 2019, the United Nations
(UN) General Assembly (New York, USA) declared the decade of 2021-2030 the “UN Decade on
Ecosystem Restoration”. The purpose has been to recognize the need massively accelerate global
restoration of degraded ecosystems, and to fight the climate heating crisis and protect biodiversity on the
planet. The Sundarbans is the largest mangrove forest in the world; and it is known for its’ rich
biodiversity. Due to the increasein salinity, natural disasters, sea-level rise, illegal felling of trees and
over-exploitation of scanty available natural resources, the Sundarbans is losing its rich biodiversity.
Thus, this review aims in highlighting the restoration initiatives taken to reverse and conserve the Indian
Sundarbans ecosystem. Nurturing this vision, there are three main goals of the UN Decade’s strategy:
prevention of degradation, increasing multiple benefits and implementing the idea of ecosystem
restoration in education system. There could be a strong corporation between Indian and Bangladesh
Governments for long term, sustainable and holistic management of the entire Sundarbans region.
Seed germination percentage of Kusum (Schleichera oleosa Merr.) was examined with 5 pre-sowing treatments in the nursery of Bangladesh Forest Research Institute and growth performances of seedlings were determined in the nursery and field condition. The main aims of the study were to determine the effect of different pre-sowing treatments on seed germination and seedlings growth performance in nursery and field condition. The pre-sowing treatments were: i) soaking of seeds in tap water for 12 hours, ii) soaking of seeds in tap water for 24 hours, iii) soaking of seeds in tap water for 36 hours, iv) soaking of seeds in tap water for 48 hours and v) control (0 hour). Lhe seeds after soaking were sown in the seed bed directly in the nursery. Seed germination percentage were significantly (p < 0.05) influenced by pre-sowing treatments and the highest gennination (72%) was obtained when soaked for 36 hours, and the lowest (48%) was in control. With treatment (T3), the maximum shoot length (12.8 cm), root length (11.6 cm), and vigor index (1171.2) were noted. The young seedlings were transferred after 30 days of gennination having 3-4 leaves from seed bed to polybags (15×23 cm size) filled with soil and cow dung at 3:1 ratio by volume. Survival percentage of seedlings was maximum (96%) at 2.00 in x 2.00 in spacing in the field and maximum height 105.54 cm 12 months after out-planting. The results of the study suggest the pre-sowing treatment of seeds in tap water for 36 horn s was most effective treatment for higher gennination percentage and out-planting of one year old seedlings at 2.00 m x 2.00 m spacing in the field for better growth perfonnance of S. oleosa seedlings.
An efficient in vitro protocol was established for large production of Aloe vera (Aloe indica Royle). The shoot tip explants, collected from the axenic cultures were used for the optimization of rapid shoot production on MS medium supplemented with different concentrations (0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 mg/L) of BAP and Kn. The maximum shoot number were recorded as 14.33 per culture on medium added with MS + 1.0 mg/L BAP + 4% sucrose + 2.8 g/L gelrite after 30 days of culture. The shoots were rooted under in vitro and in vivo condition. About 90% shoots produced root on medium, Vi MS + 0.5 mg/L IBA+ 2% sugar after 30 days of culture. Simultaneously in vitro grown shoots were inoculated in the sand made propagation bed for ex vitro rooting under mist house condition. In the propagation bed 100% of the micro shoots survived and well rooted while taking a longer time (8 weeks) than that of in vitro rooting. The rooted seedlings were transferred in polybag containing garden soil, compost and sand with the proportion of 1:1:1 respectively. After hardening 99% seedlings survived in polybag and showed excellent growth.
The experiment was undertaken to investigate the retention of clnomated-copper-boron (CCB) preservatives in Pitali (Trewia nudiflora L.) wood applying soaking as well as diffusion method. The assessments were applied for 5, 7, 9 and 11 days for both the method. The retention of the preservatives were recorded 12.29 kg/m3, 14.97 kg/m3, 15.11 kg/m3 and 15.72 kg/m3 in Pitali wood where soaking method applied. Moreover, retention was found 11.43 kg/m3, 23.49 kg/m3, 24.14 kg/m3 and 25.38 kg/m3 in Pitali when diffusion method applied. In case of both the method, highest retention was recorded 15.72 kg/m3 and 25.38 kg/m3 in pitali wood after 11 days. Considering the Standard of Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), i.e., 15.72 kg/m3 and 25.38 kg/m3 in Pitali can meet the suitability of the study. According to BDS code, the required retention of CCB is 8-16 kg/m3.
Physical and mechanical properties of Thai bansh (Thyrsostachys siamensis has been studied at three different height positions along the culm. These properties were found to vary significantly along the culm height. The moisture content, sluinkage and the bending strength decreased as the height mcreased, but the specific gravity, compressive strength and modulus of elasticity increased with the height. Variations of these properties were also found significant among the species.
The Dhanmondi Lake Aiea (DLA), Dhaka possesses an overview performance for being an ideal site for bird’s habitat because of its landscape, planted vegetation coverage, old trees and wetland. A study on the avian species diversity, richness and abundance, status, and seasonal variation was conducted from July 2019 to June 2021 in the green space of Dhanmondi Lake Aiea, Dhaka, Bangladesh. A total 57 species of avian fauna belonging to 12 orders, 27 families and 43 genera were recorded during the study period. Among the bird species passerines constituted the highest 30 species (56% of the total species) belonging to 15 families and 23 genera and non-passerine represented 27 species (44% of the total species) belonging to 13 families and 20 genera. Among the total species recorded during the study period 47 (82.46%) were resident bird species and 10 (17.54%) were migratory species. Identified birds’ abundances, richness and threats to them were also discussed in this article.
Effect of pre-sowing treatments on seed germination of jigni (Trema orientalis) was conducted in different growing media to optimize cultural practices for raising seedlings at nursery level. The study was conducted during 2017-2020 at Headquarters Nursery, Silviculture Research Division, Bangladesh Forest Research Institute, Chattogram. The experiment for the nursery technique were laid out in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). The seeds of Trema orientalis have been observed to exhibit physical dormancy due to presence of hard seed-coat. To overcome this problem, seeds were heated with six water soaking treatments except two (Coated seed without treatment, To and un-coated seeds without soaking treatment, T00) and were sown in germination media such as trays, polybags and seed beds. Six pre-sowing treatments were, Coated seeds immersed in normal water for 24 hours (Tj), 72 hours (T2) and 120 hours (T3) and un-coated seeds dipped in normal water for 24 hours (T01), 72 hours (TQ2) and 120 hours (T03) respectively. Jigni seeds showed the highest germination (75.94%) in TQ3 sown in seed bed and lowest Too (20.24%) which was significantly (P<0.05) different from other treatments. The result also showed that the highest mean height (88.5 cm) and collar diameter (3.77 nun) was recoided in T03. These findings revealed that, seeds soaked in normal water for 120 horns and then sown in seedbed were found suitable for quick germination and maximum seedlings production for jigni.
This study was carried out to investigate the suitability of particleboards using uprooted tea plants (Camellia sinensis). Wastage and uprooted tea plants were collected from Neptune Tea Garden, Chattogram. The uprooted tea plants were cut into the clipper machine into small portions. Following that, they were processed into chips using a hammer mill machine, which was then dried in a batch oven to the suitable moisture content (5%). Single-layer particleboards were fabricated in a laboratory hot press machine with four different densities i.e. 650, 700, 750 and 800 kg/m3 using liquid urea formaldehyde as an adhesive. Finally the physical and mechanical properties of particleboards made from uprooted tea plants were studied. Characteristics of particleboards such as modulus of rupture (MOR), internal bond strength (IB), water absorption (WA) and thickness swelling (TS) were measured as a part of the experiment. Results show that particleboards made from uprooted tea plants of 800 kg/m3 density had good static bending MOR property (112.00 kg/cm2) and excellent IB strength pioperty (10.04 kg/cm2). The mean MOR value of the 800 kg/m3 density particleboards was above the Indian (IS 3087, 2005) and ANSI (A208.1-1999) standaid specifications but lower than the British (BS 5669-2:1989) standard specification. Moreover IB strength value was above the Indian, ANSI and British standaid specifications.
Welcome to the Bangladesh Journal of Forest Science (BJFS) – a leading platform for advancing the knowledge and understanding of forest science in Bangladesh and beyond. Established with a commitment to excellence, BJFS serves as a cornerstone for researchers, practitioners, and enthusiasts dedicated to the sustainable management and conservation of forest ecosystems.