One of the most fundamental questions in ecology is how many species inhabit the Earth. However, due to massive logistical and financial challenges and taxonomic difficulties connected to the species concept definition, the global numbers of species, including those of important and well-studied life forms such as trees, still remain largely unknown. Here, based on global ground-sourced data, we estimate the total tree species richness at global, continental, and biome levels. Our results indicate that there are ∼73,000 tree species globally, among which ∼9,000 tree species are yet to be discovered. Roughly 40% of undiscovered tree species are in South America. Moreover, almost one-third of all tree species to be discovered may be rare, with very low populations and limited spatial distribution (likely in remote tropical lowlands and mountains). These findings highlight the vulnerability of global forest biodiversity to anthropogenic changes in land use and climate, which disproportionately threaten rare species and thus, global tree richness.
Water hyacinth (WH) is a troublesome aquatic weed of natural and artificial water bodies of India and other tropical countries and causing severe ecological problems. The WH biomass is low in lignin content and contains high amount of cellulose and hemicellulose, making it suitable material for conversion into liquid fuels for energy production. This study highlighted that, how different imidazolium based ionic liquids (ILs) [1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide, [Cnmim]Br (n = 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10)] with tunable properties can be employed for the degradation of WH biomass. Different characterizations techniques, such as XRD, FT-IR, SEM, and DSC are used to unravel the interplay between ILs and the biomass. In this study, it is observed that [Emim][Br] pretreated samples have maximum crystalline value (Crl = 26.38%) as compared to other ionic liquids pretreatments. FTIR data showed the removal of lignin from WH biomass by 12.77% for [Emim][Br] and 10.74% for [Edmim][Br]. SEM images have proven that [Emim][Br] pretreatment have altered the structure of biomass the most. Our results proved that IL pretreatment is a promising approach for effective treatment of WH biomass and causes high levels disruption of cellulose structure.
In the present study, biodiesel-derived waste glycerol (WG) was used for the isolation and production of gellan, an exopolysaccharide, on media containing WG as the main carbon source. Two bacterial isolates showed gellan producing potential which were identified as (Accession No. GI:724472387) and (GI:724472388) by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. To maximize gellan production by and, media optimization was performed at different pHs and glycerol concentrations. Morphological observations through microscopic images showed the production of gellan from these isolates. Simple linear regression showed better utilization of WG by than at pH 6 and pH 7. Though, both the strains showed reverse trend at pH 8. Both the strains were able to produce high amounts of gellan gum (51.6 and 52.6 g/l, respectively) using WG (80 g/l) as the sole carbon source, in a minimal medium. This is the first report on the efficient degradation of WG and low-cost production of gellan. Owing to these characteristics, and demonstrate great potential for use in the commercial production of gellan and in the bioremediation of WG.
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