Morphology, phylogeny, and molecular clock analyses were carried out on Savoryellaceae in order to understand the placements of taxa in this family. Ascotaiwania and Neoascotaiwania formed a well-supported separate clade in the phylogeny of concatenated partial SSU, LSU, TEF, and RPB2 gene data. These two genera share similar morphological features, especially in their asexual morphs, indicating that they are congeneric. Hence, we synonymize Neoascotaiwania under Ascotaiwania . Ascotaiwania hughesii (and its asexual morph, Helicoon farinosum ) and Monotosporella setosa grouped in a clade sister to Pleurotheciales and are excluded from Ascotaiwania which becomes monophyletic. A novel genus Helicoascotaiwania is introduced to accommodate Ascotaiwania hughesii and its asexual morph, Helicoon farinosum . A novel species, Savoryella yunnanensis is introduced from a freshwater habitat in Yunnan Province, China. Comprehensive descriptions and illustrations are provided for selected taxa in this family. In addition, we provide evolutionary divergence estimates for Savoryellomycetidae taxa and major marine based taxa to support our phylogenetic and morphological investigations. The taxonomic placement of these marine-based taxa is briefly discussed. Our results indicate that the most basal group of marine-based taxa are represented within Lulworthiales, which diverged from ancestral Sordariomycetes around 149 Mya (91–209) and Savoryellomycetidae around 213 Mya (198–303).

Otto friedrich bollnow's concept of human space.

Mangroves are salt tolerant plants that occur in tropical and sub-tropical sheltered coasts. Saltwater intrusions into terrestrial landscapes often occur due to either anthropogenic reasons or natural calamities such as tsunamis. We investigated the potential of using mangrove species for rehabilitation of high saline environments by revealing the capacities of species to remove salt from sediment. We established the salt retention capacity of common mangrove species in Sri Lanka i.e., Rhizophora apiculata, Rhizophora mucronata, Ceriops tagal, and Avicennia marina through exsitu and in-situ measurements of NaCl content in plant tissue and soil samples, by titrating with 0.01 N AgNO 3. The results revealed A. marina to be the most efficient in retaining salt within plant tissues while C. tagal is superior to R. mucronata but inferior to A. marina in performing this function. These findings were further confirmed by measuring salt uptake rates of hydroponically grown seedlings of the same species. Although R. mucronata is the most popular species used for restoration, A. marina appears the most suitable mangrove species not only for coastal mangrove restoration but also for rehabilitating salinity affected landscapes.

No abstract

One of the first cities, Anuradhapura (377 BCE-1017CE) remains a world heritage site in Sri Lanka. Apart from the great Buddhist architectural edifices, agriculture landscape significant in this city is apparent in creating a Buddhist sacred landscape: large water tanks, paddy fields, and canal systems are an essential part of the city landscape and the social/cultural system. This research examines how and why these large water tanks and paddy fields are incorporated in the ancient city concept to achieve a Buddhist sacred place, thus a sustainable city and society. The research examines the ancient city concepts and evaluates Anuradhapura city through different time periods, focusing on the agricultural landscape, Buddhist sacred city, and everyday life performances around these. The research methodology synthesises aspects of phenomenology, anthropo-ethnography, landscape analysis, Buddhist philosophy, and historical analysis. In Anuradhapura sacred city, the everyday life of people has been bounded around large water tanks and vast paddy fields for the maintenance of the city as well as to achieve sacred experiences by engaging with sacred natural landscape elements through everyday performing and dwelling in the city. Thus, urban agriculture acts as a mechanism of engaging the everyday life of the people with the landscape and uplift the nature of the humans and human wellbeing, hence establishes a healthy city, while enhancing the city form and the Buddhist sacred landscape.

The climate and edaphic characteristics primarily determine the spatial distribution and dynamics of mangrove forests. The present study was initiated to determine how species composition and structural characteristics vary along with climate and substrate salinity of six mangrove forests located on the west coast, i.e., Negombo estuary, Chilaw lagoon, and Malwathu oya estuary, and east coast, i.e., Batticaloa lagoon, Uppar lagoon, and Urani lagoon. The structural parameters in terms of tree height, basal area, biomass, and density were obtained to determine the vegetation structure of mangrove forests. The current study found that although the structure of mangrove communities of the two coasts does not differ significantly (P<0.05), plant diversity in mangrove areas on the west coast is significantly higher than that of the east coast mangroves. In contrast, the biomass accumulation in west coast mangroves is relatively lower than that of east coast. Tree height was found to influence the productivity in terms of biomass increment of mangrove forests under investigation. As such, our study suggests that regional variations in salinity, temperature, and rainfall primarily serve as drivers of variation in mangrove species composition and vegetation structure of mangrove forests along the coasts of Sri Lanka.

No abstract

The original version of the book was inadvertently published with an incorrect figure 14 in Chapter "Mountains and Urbanism in Kandy", the figure 14 is updated with the correct figure listed below. The chapter and book have been updated with the changes.