Mark D. Merlin

Montane Cloud Forest in the Tropical Pacific: Some Aspects of Their Floristics, Biogeography, Ecology, and Conservation

In the Pacific region, tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF) typically occurs as small and isolated patches on the rugged upland ridges and peaks of high volcanic islands. In addition to copious amounts of orographic rainfall, these forests receive substantial “horizontal precipitation” through direct canopy interception of wind-driven cloud water. Pacific Island cloud forests are also known as mossy, dwarf, or elfin forests because of the plethora of herbaceous epiphytes that festoon the gnarled and stunted trunks and branches of the woody vegetation.

Kava Cultivation, Native Species Conservation, and Integrated Watershed Resource Management on Pohnpei Island

ABSTRACT For many centuries, the kava plant, Piper methysticum, a series of sterile clones of a truly wild Piper species, has been used in several high islands in remote Oceania, including Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. Until modern times, its use on all of these islands was largely restricted to chiefly, priestly, and medicinal use. Because of colonial suppression and/or the use of other nonindigenous psychoactive drugs, its use was abandoned on some of these islands. On other islands, such as Pohnpei, its use has increased greatly, with substantial changes in rank, gender, motivation, time, and place. This steep rise in its use has resulted in a large increase in its cultivation. On Pohnpei, intensification of cropping in upland environments is largely responsible for more than 70% loss of the remaining native, tropical rain forest since 1975. This impact and other human activities endanger the unique upland biodiversity of this remote tropical island. Recent historical trends in forest exploitation, threats to biodiversity, and watershed disturbance on Pohnpei are discussed in this paper. The Watershed Conservation Plan and management benefits of the proposed Pacific-Asia Biodiversity Transect (PABITRA) are emphasized with permanent plot establishment for long-term monitoring.

Ethnomycology, biochemistry, and cultivation of Psilocybe samuiensis Guzmán, Bandala and Allen, a new psychoactive fungus from Koh Samui, Thailand

Several specimens of Psilocybe and Copelandia species in Koh Samui, Thailand were recently collected for herbarium deposit and scientific study. This paper presents an ethnomycological and biochemical study of one of the species; P. samuiensis Guzmán, Bandala and Allen, a new psychoactive gill fungus reported from Thailand. Mycelium for the cultivation of P. samuiensis was obtained on 6% malt agar from the spores of a dried specimen. The growth of P. samuiensis was similar to that of P. tampanensis Guzmán and Pollock, but more rapid than the mycelium of P. semilanceata (Fr.:Sacc.) Kumm. Laboratory analyses indicates that the alkaloid content in cultured fruit bodies of P. samuiensis is of the same order of magnitude as that found in naturally occurring mushrooms of this species. HPLC analyses of both naturally occurring and in vitro cultivated fruit bodies of P. samuiensis revealed high concentrations of psilocybin and psilocin. Small amounts of baeocystin were also detected. Psilocybin levels varied from 0.23% up to 0.90%. The psilocybin content was highest in the caps. Psilocybin was also found in the cultured non-bluing mycelia of P. samuiensis and varied from 0.24% to 0.32% dry weight. The relative alkaloidal content of psilocybin, psilocin, and baeocystin found in P. samuiensis was similar to that measured in many other psychoactive fungi species, but completely different from that found in P. semilanceata.

Cannabis Domestication, Breeding History, Present-day Genetic Diversity, and Future Prospects

ABSTRACT Humans and the Cannabis plant share an intimate history spanning millennia. Humans spread Cannabis from its Eurasian homelands throughout much of the world, and, in concert with local climatic and human cultural parameters, created traditional landrace varieties (cultivars resulting from a combination of natural and farmer selection) with few apparent signs of domestication. Cannabis breeders combined populations from widely divergent geographical regions and gene pools to develop economically valuable fiber, seed, and drug cultivars, and several approaches were used with varying results. The widespread use of single plant selections in cultivar breeding, inbreeding, and the adoption of asexual reproduction for commercial drug production, reduced genetic diversity and made many present-day cultivars susceptible to pathogens and pests. The great majority of drug Cannabis cultivars are now completely domesticated, and thus are entirely dependent on humans for their survival. Future ramifications remain to be realized.

Identification of Cannabis Fiber from the Astana Cemeteries, Xinjiang, China, with Reference to Its Unique Decorative Utilization

Identification ofCannabisFiber from the Astana Cemeteries, Xinjiang, China, with Reference to Its Unique Decorative Utilization: In the Turpan District of Xinjiang, China, large numbers of ancient clay figurines, with representations including equestrians, animals, and actors, have been excavated from the Astana Cemeteries and date from about the 3rd to the 9th centuries C.E. Based on visual inspection, the tails of some of the figurines representing horses are made of plant fibers. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, light microscope examination, and drying–twist tests demonstrated that these fibers were extracted from one or more stalks of hemp (Cannabis) plants. This is a unique report of the utilization of Cannabis bast fibers for figurine decoration in ancient Turpan.阿斯塔那古墓群出土大麻纤维的鉴定分析及其装饰功能的探讨. 中国新疆吐鲁番地区阿斯塔那古墓群出土了大量年代为公元3–9世纪的泥俑,其中包括骑马俑,动物俑和演员俑等。肉眼观察发现骑马俑的马尾可能由植物纤维制成。通过傅里叶变换红外光谱、光学显微镜观察和纤维旋转方向实验鉴定出这些植物纤维来自于大麻纤维。这一发现为我们提供了吐鲁番先民利用大麻纤维装饰泥俑的新证据。

Environmental Impacts of Nuclear Testing in Remote Oceania, 1946–1996

We both had a strange feeling. We noticed no flies, no movement of lizards and no booby birds. We found several burnt and dead pigs, and in the distance we heard one of the three wild pigs. It was badly burnt and going around in circles, blind. I said, “[T]his bloody place is contaminated, and what the hell are we doing here?” – Ken Cox, on the conditions he observed on Malden Island shortly after an aboveground nuclear bomb test in 1957 The testing of atomic and thermonuclear bombs can provide various types of information, including how these extremely destructive weapons work, how they perform under different conditions, and how natural and man-made structures, as well as organisms, react when subjected to nuclear explosions. Atomic and thermonuclear bomb testing has been used frequently to manifest both military and scientific power, especially during the Cold War. In fact, most, if not all, tests were initiated with explicit political intention, often with little regard for the ecological consequences. Here, for the first time, we present an up-to-date regional review of the main direct and indirect atmospheric, geological, and ecological effects of nuclear testing in Remote Oceania. In the process, we draw attention to short- and long-term environmental consequences of this testing as well as the human motivations and mistakes involved in these nuclear experiments.

Wood Analysis of An Outer Coffin Unearthed From the Qian Zhang Tomb (Ad 1535) In Wuxi of East China

A well-preserved outer coffin, several hundred years old, was discovered under waterlogged conditions in the ancient Qian Zhang Tomb located within Wuxi, an old eastern Chinese city in southern part of Jiangsu Province. Wood anatomy was employed to identify the tree species used to build this ancient outer coffin. The results showed it was constructed of sturdy Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata). In addition, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was undertaken to examine the chemical composition of wood extract. The analysis indicates that cedrol, a sesquiterpene alcohol found in the essential oils, was the major compound of the extract and apparently a key factor responsible for the outstanding durability of this wood. A review of Chinese fir uses recorded in ancient Chinese literature is presented for historical context, along with a list of known archaeological sites that have contained remains of this conifer species in China. A hypothetical explanation for its selection as a coffin construction material by the noble family of Qian Zhang is also discussed.