Illegal logging is one of the largest illicit trades in the world, with high profits and generally low risks of detection and prosecution. Timber identification presents problems for law enforcement as traditionally used forensic methods such as wood anatomy and dendrochronology are often unable to confidently match wood evidence to the remains of illegally felled trees. Here we have developed and validated a set of genetic markers for individualisation in bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum), a high value timber species often felled illegally in the USA. Using 128 single nucleotide polymorphisms and three insertion/deletion markers developed through massively parallel sequencing, 394 individuals were genotyped on the MassARRAY® iPLEX™ platform (Agena Bio-science™, San Diego, USA) to produce a population reference database for the species. We demonstrate that the resulting DNA assay is reliable, species specific, effective at low DNA concentrations (< 1 ng/μL) and suitable for application to timber samples. The P ID for the most common profile, calculated using an overall dataset level F ST -correction factor, was 1.785 × 10 −25 and P ID-SIB across all individuals (treated as a single population) was 2.496 × 10 -22 . The further development of forensic identification assays for timber species has the potential to deliver robust tools for improved detection and prosecution of illegal logging crimes as well as for the verification of legality in reputable supply chains.
In a Panamanian lower montane rain forest we: (1) analyzed the vertical and horizontal distribution of fine roots; and (2) assessed the relationship of fine root mass to thickness of the soil organic layer, soil pH, and soil-extractable nitrogen. The soil in the study area has developed on volcanic ash deposits and was classified as Hapludand. In randomly distributed samples, the median fine root mass (biomass and necromass, diam < 2 mm) to a depth of 100 cm mineral soil was 544 g/m , 41 percent of which was found in the organic layer. Fine root mass was approximately twice as high in the vicinity of stems of the tree species Oreomunnea mexicana (1069 g/m ) and the palm species Colpothrinax aphanopetala (1169 g/m ) and was associated with thick organic layers. The median thickness of the soil organic layer in a larger random sample (A = 64) was 8 cm with a considerable variation (interquartile range: 7 cm). In these samples, the density of fine root biomass was correlated with the concentration of extractable nitrogen (r = 0.33, P = 0.011), and on an areal basis, fine root biomass in the organic layer increased with increasing thickness of the organic layer (r= 0.63, P < 0.001) and decreasing pH^cl (r = -0.33, /* < 0.01). Fine root biomass in the upper mineral soil did not show significant correlations with any of the studied parameters.Abstract in Spanish is available at http://www.blaclcwell-synergy.com/loi/btp.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.